CDMA2000 Subscribership Accelerating in Vietnam, Up 230 Percent in 2007
The CDMA Development Group (CDG) today announced that CDMA2000(r) subscribership has seen rapid growth in Vietnam, increasing by more than 230 percent in 2007. The availability of affordable handsets and the proliferation of dynamic new services enabled by EV-DO have made Vietnam's two major CDMA operators, S-Telecom (S-Fone) and EVN Telecom (E-Com/E-Phone/E-Mobile), leaders in the region's competitive wireless telecommunications market.
From the end of 2006 to the end of 2007, CDMA subscribers grew from 1.9 million to 6.3 million. This impressive growth rate is expected to continue at its current pace, increasing to 10.5 million users by the end of 2008 and 15.5 million users by the end of 2009(1). On the whole, the greater Asia-Pacific region is host to 49% of the world's CDMA2000 deployments.
"The CDG is pleased by the remarkable growth of CDMA in Vietnam, showcasing the range of service capability CDMA2000 enables which allows emerging-market CDMA operators to thrive," said Dr. Chungming An, the CDG's vice president of Southeast Asia and Greater China. "In addition, the evolution path to EV-DO Revisions A and B gives operators the ability to scale their network capacity incrementally based on market demand, an exceptional long-term competitive advantage that will ensure the continued steady growth of CDMA2000 in the region."
S-Fone, Vietnam's first CDMA network, has witnessed notable success due to its investment from SK Telecom. With mobile and WLL services available in all 64 of Vietnam's provinces, S-Fone's CDMA2000 network currently serves 3.7 million subscribers, making it Vietnam's largest CDMA operator. Having launched its high-speed EV-DO broadband network in five major cities, the operator is well on its way to expanding multi-megabit-per-second broadband access to Vietnam's untapped marketplace, where only 3 million out of the 85 million residents have broadband access to the Internet. In addition to providing Internet access to hospitals and schools, S-Phone will be providing world-class broadband connectivity to Vietnam's highly coveted enterprise customers and its growing number of small- and medium-sized businesses.
In 2005 EVN Telecom launched its CDMA2000 1X network in the 450MHz band and is now serving more than 2.7 million subscribers, making it the largest CDMA450 network outside of China. EVN is focused on promoting its post-paid WLL service to the more than 78 million households in nationwide that don't have access to a traditional fixed-line telephone service. Like S-Fone, the operator is also upgrading its CDMA450 network to EV-DO to provide the citizens and businesses of Vietnam with advanced broadband data services.
Optimistic about the prospects in 2008, Dr. An noted, "CDMA2000 Mobile Broadband services can boost economic growth and create more jobs in Vietnam by narrowing the digital divide between those who have access to high-speed Internet services and those who do not."
Friday, April 04, 2008
iPass - roaming offer
Roaming Service Pins 3G and Wi-Fi for Heck of a Deal for Travelers
see also iPass Connect
iPass is best known as a corporate aggregator of dial-up, Wi-Fi, and hotel Ethernet service, but they've moved into the mainstream today, with a new roaming service that directly competes with Boingo Wireless's individual roaming plans. iPass offered up four plans from $29.95 to $84.95 for all comers, although they expect mostly business travelers to sign up. iPass has 95,000 hotspots in their aggregated network worldwide, along with dial-up in nearly 90 countries.The plans are split into North American service and global service: you can buy unlimited North American dial-up, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi, or the global version of same, and add U.S.-only unlimited 3G on top. North American Wi-Fi is $29.95 per month, while global service runs $44.95 per month. Add U.S. 3G to either plan for $40 per month additional ($69.95 and $84.95, if you'd rather not do the math).The 3G option uses a domestic EVDO network, and requires an iPass-branded PC Card. The connection software for any of the four plans requires Windows XP, 2000, or Vista. (A Mac version and USB or ExpressCard adapters may come in the future.)For travelers who lusted after the ubiquity of 3G, and settled for Wi-Fi where available, the $40 add-on for unlimited 3G with the extra benefit of having access to dial-up service when that's the only option for connectivity--especially outside of the U.S.--makes the pricing and set of services particularly attractive.
Carriers charge $60 to $80 per month for unlimited 3G, typically requiring a 2-year commitment and a voice plan for the best price. iPass's 3G card runs $125 (including shipping and handling), and has a 1-year term, with a $100 early-cancellation penalty. Wi-Fi service purchased by itself is month to month, with no cancellation fee.Previously, Boingo Wireless--with about 100,000 hotspots in its global network--had the best deal by far for coverage and cost, with a $21.95 domestic and $39 global plan. iPass aces Boingo slightly at the moment by including all the T-Mobile Starbucks hotspot locations, which aren't included in other aggregated network footprints. By this fall, most Starbucks will be under AT&T's operation, and AT&T has reseller agreements with Boingo, iPass, and many other roaming aggregators.
see also iPass Connect
iPass is best known as a corporate aggregator of dial-up, Wi-Fi, and hotel Ethernet service, but they've moved into the mainstream today, with a new roaming service that directly competes with Boingo Wireless's individual roaming plans. iPass offered up four plans from $29.95 to $84.95 for all comers, although they expect mostly business travelers to sign up. iPass has 95,000 hotspots in their aggregated network worldwide, along with dial-up in nearly 90 countries.The plans are split into North American service and global service: you can buy unlimited North American dial-up, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi, or the global version of same, and add U.S.-only unlimited 3G on top. North American Wi-Fi is $29.95 per month, while global service runs $44.95 per month. Add U.S. 3G to either plan for $40 per month additional ($69.95 and $84.95, if you'd rather not do the math).The 3G option uses a domestic EVDO network, and requires an iPass-branded PC Card. The connection software for any of the four plans requires Windows XP, 2000, or Vista. (A Mac version and USB or ExpressCard adapters may come in the future.)For travelers who lusted after the ubiquity of 3G, and settled for Wi-Fi where available, the $40 add-on for unlimited 3G with the extra benefit of having access to dial-up service when that's the only option for connectivity--especially outside of the U.S.--makes the pricing and set of services particularly attractive.
Carriers charge $60 to $80 per month for unlimited 3G, typically requiring a 2-year commitment and a voice plan for the best price. iPass's 3G card runs $125 (including shipping and handling), and has a 1-year term, with a $100 early-cancellation penalty. Wi-Fi service purchased by itself is month to month, with no cancellation fee.Previously, Boingo Wireless--with about 100,000 hotspots in its global network--had the best deal by far for coverage and cost, with a $21.95 domestic and $39 global plan. iPass aces Boingo slightly at the moment by including all the T-Mobile Starbucks hotspot locations, which aren't included in other aggregated network footprints. By this fall, most Starbucks will be under AT&T's operation, and AT&T has reseller agreements with Boingo, iPass, and many other roaming aggregators.
USA - Sirius XM merger
Satellite radio decision criticized
When antitrust regulators decided last week to allow the nation's only two satellite radio companies to become one, they put forth an unexpected argument — that the two companies largely do not compete with one another.
That may be true, but it's not what government regulators intended.
Justifying its decision, the Justice Department said customers of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. generally stick to one service once they have signed up, because if they want to switch, they have to buy a new radio. XM's receivers don't get Sirius signals, and vice versa.
When the Federal Communications Commission approved rules that created the business in 1997, it insisted that the two licensees "certify" that their radios would receive both services. The rule was meant to promote competition by making it easy for consumers to switch between satellite radio providers.
"At the very least, consumers should be able to access the services from all licensed satellite DARS (digital audio radio service) systems and our rule on receiver inter-operability accomplishes this," the FCC's 1997 decision reads.
Eleven years later, that goal has been all but abandoned. Subscribers to XM buy one type of radio, subscribers to Sirius buy another. Auto makers install one system or the other, depending on which company they have an exclusive contract with.
The failure to deploy radios that work with both systems was cited by the Justice Department as part of its justification to clear the merger.
It said "there has never been significant competition" between the companies for customers who already subscribed to one of the services. While the companies "made some efforts" to develop an interoperable radio, it said, "no such inter-operable radio is on the market and that such a radio likely would not be introduced in the near term."
Gene Kimmelman, vice president for federal and international affairs for Consumers Union, nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, accused the government of failing to protect consumers.
"If the DOJ truly believes the failure to develop an inter-operable radio is diminishing competition between XM and Sirius, it should be promoting aggressive steps to market that inter-operable radio rather than allow the two companies to combine into a monopoly," he said.
Thomas O. Barnett, assistant attorney general for antitrust at the Justice Department, told The Associated Press that the interoperable radio issue was a part of the investigation, but he declined to pass judgment on what the companies' FCC obligations were.
"We focused on what was actually happening in the marketplace and what was likely to happen in the marketplace going forward," he said.
"The parties did in fact develop an inter-operable radio and my understanding is they have one," he continued. "But there's a difference between developing something and market acceptance of something."
The companies subsidize the cost of equipment, which reduces the upfront cost to subscribers. An inter-operable radio might lead to a more expensive radio, Barnett said, and it would be unclear who would subsidize the cost.
The $5 billion buyout of XM by Sirius still needs approval from the FCC, which prohibited a merger when it granted satellite radio operating licenses in 1997. The companies argue that the prohibition was a "policy statement" rather than a "binding commission rule."
The companies say that ample competition is provided by other forms of audio entertainment, including "high-definition" radio, Internet-based radio stations and even devices like Apple Inc.'s iPod, an argument the Justice Department found convincing.
The FCC has the authority to block the sale or impose conditions on pricing or program offerings.
Mel Karmazin, who would assume the role as chief executive officer of the merged company, told a House subcommittee that the two companies have spent $25 million and successfully developed an inter-operable receiver, but manufacturers are not interested in making it.
"We've developed it, we've lived up to our license. There's not a question," he said.
There is nothing in the license that says the company has to subsidize such a radio and bring it to the market. And to expect the companies to have done that on their own isn't realistic, Karmazin said.
"The reason we will not subsidize it today (is) because it's possible that Sirius would subsidize an inter-operable radio which would result in XM getting a subscription," Karmazin told Rep. Ed Markey, R-Mass., chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Internet. "It doesn't make any sense for us to subsidize a radio where we don't get a subscription."
It is uncertain when the FCC will act on the merger, and the agency declined to comment for this story.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said when the companies announced the merger that "the hurdle here, however, would be high" for the companies to receive approval because of the agency's no-merger rule. The companies will have to demonstrate that "consumers will be clearly better off with both more choice and affordable prices."
On Nov. 2, the agency sent extensive requests for documents to both companies, including a request for them to "provide a description of all efforts to develop and commercialize inter-operable satellite radio receivers and any difficulties in such development and commercialization."
Through the end of 2007, Washington, D.C.-based XM reported 9 million subscribers and New York City-based Sirius reported 8.3 million subscribers.
When antitrust regulators decided last week to allow the nation's only two satellite radio companies to become one, they put forth an unexpected argument — that the two companies largely do not compete with one another.
That may be true, but it's not what government regulators intended.
Justifying its decision, the Justice Department said customers of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. generally stick to one service once they have signed up, because if they want to switch, they have to buy a new radio. XM's receivers don't get Sirius signals, and vice versa.
When the Federal Communications Commission approved rules that created the business in 1997, it insisted that the two licensees "certify" that their radios would receive both services. The rule was meant to promote competition by making it easy for consumers to switch between satellite radio providers.
"At the very least, consumers should be able to access the services from all licensed satellite DARS (digital audio radio service) systems and our rule on receiver inter-operability accomplishes this," the FCC's 1997 decision reads.
Eleven years later, that goal has been all but abandoned. Subscribers to XM buy one type of radio, subscribers to Sirius buy another. Auto makers install one system or the other, depending on which company they have an exclusive contract with.
The failure to deploy radios that work with both systems was cited by the Justice Department as part of its justification to clear the merger.
It said "there has never been significant competition" between the companies for customers who already subscribed to one of the services. While the companies "made some efforts" to develop an interoperable radio, it said, "no such inter-operable radio is on the market and that such a radio likely would not be introduced in the near term."
Gene Kimmelman, vice president for federal and international affairs for Consumers Union, nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, accused the government of failing to protect consumers.
"If the DOJ truly believes the failure to develop an inter-operable radio is diminishing competition between XM and Sirius, it should be promoting aggressive steps to market that inter-operable radio rather than allow the two companies to combine into a monopoly," he said.
Thomas O. Barnett, assistant attorney general for antitrust at the Justice Department, told The Associated Press that the interoperable radio issue was a part of the investigation, but he declined to pass judgment on what the companies' FCC obligations were.
"We focused on what was actually happening in the marketplace and what was likely to happen in the marketplace going forward," he said.
"The parties did in fact develop an inter-operable radio and my understanding is they have one," he continued. "But there's a difference between developing something and market acceptance of something."
The companies subsidize the cost of equipment, which reduces the upfront cost to subscribers. An inter-operable radio might lead to a more expensive radio, Barnett said, and it would be unclear who would subsidize the cost.
The $5 billion buyout of XM by Sirius still needs approval from the FCC, which prohibited a merger when it granted satellite radio operating licenses in 1997. The companies argue that the prohibition was a "policy statement" rather than a "binding commission rule."
The companies say that ample competition is provided by other forms of audio entertainment, including "high-definition" radio, Internet-based radio stations and even devices like Apple Inc.'s iPod, an argument the Justice Department found convincing.
The FCC has the authority to block the sale or impose conditions on pricing or program offerings.
Mel Karmazin, who would assume the role as chief executive officer of the merged company, told a House subcommittee that the two companies have spent $25 million and successfully developed an inter-operable receiver, but manufacturers are not interested in making it.
"We've developed it, we've lived up to our license. There's not a question," he said.
There is nothing in the license that says the company has to subsidize such a radio and bring it to the market. And to expect the companies to have done that on their own isn't realistic, Karmazin said.
"The reason we will not subsidize it today (is) because it's possible that Sirius would subsidize an inter-operable radio which would result in XM getting a subscription," Karmazin told Rep. Ed Markey, R-Mass., chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Internet. "It doesn't make any sense for us to subsidize a radio where we don't get a subscription."
It is uncertain when the FCC will act on the merger, and the agency declined to comment for this story.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said when the companies announced the merger that "the hurdle here, however, would be high" for the companies to receive approval because of the agency's no-merger rule. The companies will have to demonstrate that "consumers will be clearly better off with both more choice and affordable prices."
On Nov. 2, the agency sent extensive requests for documents to both companies, including a request for them to "provide a description of all efforts to develop and commercialize inter-operable satellite radio receivers and any difficulties in such development and commercialization."
Through the end of 2007, Washington, D.C.-based XM reported 9 million subscribers and New York City-based Sirius reported 8.3 million subscribers.
USA - Internet gambling regulations
Regulators struggling with Internet gambling rules
Federal Reserve and Treasury officials said on Wednesday they were struggling to craft rules to ban bank and credit card payments to illegal Internet gambling sites because federal law is unclear about what type of gambling is illegal online.
"That is something we're really struggling with," Louise Roseman, the Fed's director of reserve bank operations and payment systems, told a House Financial Services subcommittee.
"The challenge we have is interpreting ... federal laws that Congress itself isn't sure what they mean," Roseman said.
Congress passed a bill in 2006, when Republicans were still in control of the Senate and the House of Representatives, that prohibits companies from accepting payments in connection with "unlawful Internet gambling."
It also instructed the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department, in consultation with the Justice Department, to come up with rules to enforce the act.
But rather than define what types of gambling are illegal online, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 relied on existing Federal and state laws to answer that question. It also still allowed any online horserace betting permissible under the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978.
Now, both gambling and financial industry companies want to be told specifically which transactions should be blocked.
"Clarity on this point would permit them to design policies and procedures that they could be assured would meet the rule's requirements," Roseman said. "Still others, including some gambling businesses and many consumers, asked that the rule clarify that certain types of gambling, such as pari-mutuel betting or poker, are lawful."
The payment system that companies rely on to do business "isn't frankly well designed" to identify an illegal Internet gambling transaction from a legal one, which is another challenge to crafting a rule, Roseman said.
Valerie Abend, deputy assistant secretary of Treasury, said regulators were striving to craft a rule that comes as close as possible to what lawmakers intended.
But the question of which forms of Internet gambling are illegal is an issue regulators "are struggling with and trying to figure out what, if anything, we can do," Abend said.
The 2006 law has incurred the wrath of the European Union, which argues that it discriminates against European gambling operators. U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, the Massachusetts Democrat who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, has proposed legislation to repeal the ban.
Roseman told the subcommittee that Fed and Treasury staffs were pressing ahead with a final rule that provides "reasonably practical examples" of actions by banks and payment companies to comply with the existing law.
"Our objective is to craft a rule to implement the act as effectively as possible in a manner that does not have a substantial adverse effect on the efficiency of the nation's payment system," Roseman said.
After the hearing, Roseman said regulators hoped to issue a final rule before the end of 2008 but did not have a precise target date for finishing their work.
Federal Reserve and Treasury officials said on Wednesday they were struggling to craft rules to ban bank and credit card payments to illegal Internet gambling sites because federal law is unclear about what type of gambling is illegal online.
"That is something we're really struggling with," Louise Roseman, the Fed's director of reserve bank operations and payment systems, told a House Financial Services subcommittee.
"The challenge we have is interpreting ... federal laws that Congress itself isn't sure what they mean," Roseman said.
Congress passed a bill in 2006, when Republicans were still in control of the Senate and the House of Representatives, that prohibits companies from accepting payments in connection with "unlawful Internet gambling."
It also instructed the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department, in consultation with the Justice Department, to come up with rules to enforce the act.
But rather than define what types of gambling are illegal online, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 relied on existing Federal and state laws to answer that question. It also still allowed any online horserace betting permissible under the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978.
Now, both gambling and financial industry companies want to be told specifically which transactions should be blocked.
"Clarity on this point would permit them to design policies and procedures that they could be assured would meet the rule's requirements," Roseman said. "Still others, including some gambling businesses and many consumers, asked that the rule clarify that certain types of gambling, such as pari-mutuel betting or poker, are lawful."
The payment system that companies rely on to do business "isn't frankly well designed" to identify an illegal Internet gambling transaction from a legal one, which is another challenge to crafting a rule, Roseman said.
Valerie Abend, deputy assistant secretary of Treasury, said regulators were striving to craft a rule that comes as close as possible to what lawmakers intended.
But the question of which forms of Internet gambling are illegal is an issue regulators "are struggling with and trying to figure out what, if anything, we can do," Abend said.
The 2006 law has incurred the wrath of the European Union, which argues that it discriminates against European gambling operators. U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, the Massachusetts Democrat who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, has proposed legislation to repeal the ban.
Roseman told the subcommittee that Fed and Treasury staffs were pressing ahead with a final rule that provides "reasonably practical examples" of actions by banks and payment companies to comply with the existing law.
"Our objective is to craft a rule to implement the act as effectively as possible in a manner that does not have a substantial adverse effect on the efficiency of the nation's payment system," Roseman said.
After the hearing, Roseman said regulators hoped to issue a final rule before the end of 2008 but did not have a precise target date for finishing their work.
Deaf - access to telecommunications
Deaf call for better phone access
SignVideo's Tish Kerfoot has real-time phone calls with fully-hearing people via the video interpretation service
Deaf people are lobbying politicians in the UK for greater access to technology that helps them use the phone.
A mass lobby of MPs is being carried out using the same technology to which deaf people want improved access.
These systems use different means to turn sign language or text into speech to support a phone conversation.
"We want to keep pace with technology," said Ruth Myers, chair of the TAG consortium that is co-ordinating the day of protests.
Lower price
The TAG consortium includes the Royal National Institute for Deaf People, the British Deaf Association, Hearing Concern, Sense, and many others.
Added Ms Myers: "We want equality in education, training, the workplace and as consumers and citizens in the information society."
The mass lobby takes place on 3 April and aims to get politicians thinking about ways to help deaf people get at the technology.
Ms Myers said many deaf people still struggled to make good use of the telephone.
She said: "They are bereft of key telephone services that could help them gain equality with the rest of society, educationally and professionally."
There are several different ways that technology can help deaf people chat via the phone:
* Captioned telephony - this uses two communication channels and speech recognition software to convert a relay operator's voice into text that is then read by a deaf caller
* Video relay - employs webcams to allow a deaf person to use sign language to communicate through an operator
* Text relay - this allows deaf people to type a message that an operator reads out on their behalf
Captioned relay, TAG
New technologies can help deaf people make better use of the phone
TAG is calling on the government for funding to give deaf people greater access to these technologies.
At the moment, the service conditions for telecommunications firms laid down by Ofcom only demand that a text relay service be offered. These regulations only apply to BT and Kingston Communications.
These systems have flourished in the US and Australia but a lack of funds has forced most similar services in the UK to close down.
In the UK, deaf people wanting to use the phone can turn to the RNID's text relay system or the SignVideo video relay system run by Significan't.
The SignVideo system is being widely used in the mass lobby and marks the start of a TAG campaign to update communications for deaf people.
"New types of phone relay systems using technologies like video communications and the internet can dramatically improve telecommunications for deaf people," said Ms Myers in a statement. "But the powers-that-be are dragging their feet in enabling their use by deaf and hard-of-hearing people at an affordable price."
SignVideo's Tish Kerfoot has real-time phone calls with fully-hearing people via the video interpretation service
Deaf people are lobbying politicians in the UK for greater access to technology that helps them use the phone.
A mass lobby of MPs is being carried out using the same technology to which deaf people want improved access.
These systems use different means to turn sign language or text into speech to support a phone conversation.
"We want to keep pace with technology," said Ruth Myers, chair of the TAG consortium that is co-ordinating the day of protests.
Lower price
The TAG consortium includes the Royal National Institute for Deaf People, the British Deaf Association, Hearing Concern, Sense, and many others.
Added Ms Myers: "We want equality in education, training, the workplace and as consumers and citizens in the information society."
The mass lobby takes place on 3 April and aims to get politicians thinking about ways to help deaf people get at the technology.
Ms Myers said many deaf people still struggled to make good use of the telephone.
She said: "They are bereft of key telephone services that could help them gain equality with the rest of society, educationally and professionally."
There are several different ways that technology can help deaf people chat via the phone:
* Captioned telephony - this uses two communication channels and speech recognition software to convert a relay operator's voice into text that is then read by a deaf caller
* Video relay - employs webcams to allow a deaf person to use sign language to communicate through an operator
* Text relay - this allows deaf people to type a message that an operator reads out on their behalf
Captioned relay, TAG
New technologies can help deaf people make better use of the phone
TAG is calling on the government for funding to give deaf people greater access to these technologies.
At the moment, the service conditions for telecommunications firms laid down by Ofcom only demand that a text relay service be offered. These regulations only apply to BT and Kingston Communications.
These systems have flourished in the US and Australia but a lack of funds has forced most similar services in the UK to close down.
In the UK, deaf people wanting to use the phone can turn to the RNID's text relay system or the SignVideo video relay system run by Significan't.
The SignVideo system is being widely used in the mass lobby and marks the start of a TAG campaign to update communications for deaf people.
"New types of phone relay systems using technologies like video communications and the internet can dramatically improve telecommunications for deaf people," said Ms Myers in a statement. "But the powers-that-be are dragging their feet in enabling their use by deaf and hard-of-hearing people at an affordable price."
South Korea - handsets
Cell Phone Exports Recover to $2 Bil. Monthly
Korean exports of digital gadgets and components last month soared to US$11.3 billion, 13 percent higher than the same month last year.
A Ministry of Knowledge Economy report released Thursday showed mobile phones led the growth with $2 billion worth shipped abroad for an increase of more than 50 percent.
That topped off six consecutive months of growth in cell phone exports. On the other hand semiconductor sales declined for three consecutive months.
The ministry says the increase in phone shipments was enough to cancel out sluggish semiconductor sales.
Korean exports of digital gadgets and components last month soared to US$11.3 billion, 13 percent higher than the same month last year.
A Ministry of Knowledge Economy report released Thursday showed mobile phones led the growth with $2 billion worth shipped abroad for an increase of more than 50 percent.
That topped off six consecutive months of growth in cell phone exports. On the other hand semiconductor sales declined for three consecutive months.
The ministry says the increase in phone shipments was enough to cancel out sluggish semiconductor sales.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
USA - regulation of mobile
Execs speak out on regulations at U.S. wireless show
Telecommunications executives railed against the prospect of increased regulation of the U.S. wireless industry at a conference this week, complaining about everything from network access rules to taxes that they say could stunt growth.
Their angst comes against the backdrop of a recently completed government airwaves auction, which introduced new requirements for Verizon Wireless, the winner of a big chunk of the airwaves auctioned, to open its network to a wider array of devices.
The specter of the November U.S presidential elections may also be shadowing the discussion, analysts said, as a potential Democratic administration may get tougher on scrutinizing the telecom industry than the Republicans have been.
"The wireless industry has enjoyed and perhaps earned a large degree of freedom from regulation. I think they're seeing themselves losing some of that freedom, the hands-off stance the government has taken," said Stifel Nicolaus analyst Rebecca Arbogast.
While any regulator is expected to look at each issue on a case-by-case basis, "how sharply they react and what they react to could very well differ depending if it's a Republican or Democratic administration," Arbogast said.
At the annual CTIA wireless convention in Las Vegas this week, Federal Communications Commissioner Kevin Martin drew cheers from the audience when he said he was opposed to a petition from Web-based phone service Skype, a unit of eBay Inc, to force open wireless networks.
At the center of Skype's petition were "Carterfone" requirements, named after a decision by the FCC in 1968 that forced the Bell telephone monopoly to allow outside devices to run on formerly closed wired phone networks as long as they did not cause damage to the system.
"On a technical level the proposal made no sense and was unmanageable," Tony Melone, chief technical officer for Verizon Wireless, told Reuters in an interview, arguing that wireless networks were more complex to manage than wired networks.
"It's much too simplistic," he said.
Verizon Wireless, a venture of Verizon Communications Inc and Vodafone Group Plc has offered to support any device that works on its network so long as manufacturers go through a certification process to meet its requirements. Verizon made the decision around the time Google Inc successfully lobbied the FCC to make open access a requirement for part of the spectrum sold at the government auction.
Wireless companies such as Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc are expected to unveil plans for the airwaves they won in the auction after a quiet period ends on Thursday at 6 p.m. EDT.
NET NEUTRALITY
As wireless companies look to offer data services such as Web-surfing on mobile phones, they are starting to come under the same scrutiny faced by wireline broadband companies on the so-called issue of net neutrality.
Proponents of net neutrality seek to force service providers to allow any type of content or service to be transmitted over their networks.
"The net neutrality open access debate has brought wireless companies into the fold in a significant way," said Stifel's Arbogast. "How far it's going to go nobody knows yet."
Verizon Communications and AT&T have said that they support neutrality but argue that they should be able to charge extra for services that use a lot of bandwidth, such as mobile videos offered by sites like Google's YouTube.com.
Nortel Networks Corp Chief Executive Mike Zafirovski agreed with this premise during a panel discussion among network equipment vendors. "You should be able to charge a premium for premium services," he said.
Alcatel-Lucent Chief Executive Patricia Russo said everybody should have access to high-speed Internet services, including free content, but regulation should be light enough to encourage service providers to invest in their networks and purchase equipment from companies like hers.
"There really is no free lunch," Russo said. "There's got to be a capability for the investment to continue to occur."
Soleil Securities analyst Todd Rethemeier said that even without formal rules, operators are likely to be bound to net neutrality in practice as consumers tend to revolt when a popular service is blocked by a carrier.
"Practically or legislatively, it will happen. Either they're forced by consumers or Congress," he said.
While the Republican-led FCC has resisted calls for net neutrality rules, Rethemeier said: "If there is a Democratic administration and FCC, that could change."
Lowell McAdam, the chief executive of Verizon Wireless, also complained about high taxes on cell phone use in the United States, where taxes vary depending on the state.
"These inconsistencies just don't make sense," he said, citing the inclusion in cell phone bills in Chicago of a 20 percent tax rate, about 18 percent of which is a local tax.
Telecommunications executives railed against the prospect of increased regulation of the U.S. wireless industry at a conference this week, complaining about everything from network access rules to taxes that they say could stunt growth.
Their angst comes against the backdrop of a recently completed government airwaves auction, which introduced new requirements for Verizon Wireless, the winner of a big chunk of the airwaves auctioned, to open its network to a wider array of devices.
The specter of the November U.S presidential elections may also be shadowing the discussion, analysts said, as a potential Democratic administration may get tougher on scrutinizing the telecom industry than the Republicans have been.
"The wireless industry has enjoyed and perhaps earned a large degree of freedom from regulation. I think they're seeing themselves losing some of that freedom, the hands-off stance the government has taken," said Stifel Nicolaus analyst Rebecca Arbogast.
While any regulator is expected to look at each issue on a case-by-case basis, "how sharply they react and what they react to could very well differ depending if it's a Republican or Democratic administration," Arbogast said.
At the annual CTIA wireless convention in Las Vegas this week, Federal Communications Commissioner Kevin Martin drew cheers from the audience when he said he was opposed to a petition from Web-based phone service Skype, a unit of eBay Inc, to force open wireless networks.
At the center of Skype's petition were "Carterfone" requirements, named after a decision by the FCC in 1968 that forced the Bell telephone monopoly to allow outside devices to run on formerly closed wired phone networks as long as they did not cause damage to the system.
"On a technical level the proposal made no sense and was unmanageable," Tony Melone, chief technical officer for Verizon Wireless, told Reuters in an interview, arguing that wireless networks were more complex to manage than wired networks.
"It's much too simplistic," he said.
Verizon Wireless, a venture of Verizon Communications Inc and Vodafone Group Plc has offered to support any device that works on its network so long as manufacturers go through a certification process to meet its requirements. Verizon made the decision around the time Google Inc successfully lobbied the FCC to make open access a requirement for part of the spectrum sold at the government auction.
Wireless companies such as Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc are expected to unveil plans for the airwaves they won in the auction after a quiet period ends on Thursday at 6 p.m. EDT.
NET NEUTRALITY
As wireless companies look to offer data services such as Web-surfing on mobile phones, they are starting to come under the same scrutiny faced by wireline broadband companies on the so-called issue of net neutrality.
Proponents of net neutrality seek to force service providers to allow any type of content or service to be transmitted over their networks.
"The net neutrality open access debate has brought wireless companies into the fold in a significant way," said Stifel's Arbogast. "How far it's going to go nobody knows yet."
Verizon Communications and AT&T have said that they support neutrality but argue that they should be able to charge extra for services that use a lot of bandwidth, such as mobile videos offered by sites like Google's YouTube.com.
Nortel Networks Corp Chief Executive Mike Zafirovski agreed with this premise during a panel discussion among network equipment vendors. "You should be able to charge a premium for premium services," he said.
Alcatel-Lucent Chief Executive Patricia Russo said everybody should have access to high-speed Internet services, including free content, but regulation should be light enough to encourage service providers to invest in their networks and purchase equipment from companies like hers.
"There really is no free lunch," Russo said. "There's got to be a capability for the investment to continue to occur."
Soleil Securities analyst Todd Rethemeier said that even without formal rules, operators are likely to be bound to net neutrality in practice as consumers tend to revolt when a popular service is blocked by a carrier.
"Practically or legislatively, it will happen. Either they're forced by consumers or Congress," he said.
While the Republican-led FCC has resisted calls for net neutrality rules, Rethemeier said: "If there is a Democratic administration and FCC, that could change."
Lowell McAdam, the chief executive of Verizon Wireless, also complained about high taxes on cell phone use in the United States, where taxes vary depending on the state.
"These inconsistencies just don't make sense," he said, citing the inclusion in cell phone bills in Chicago of a 20 percent tax rate, about 18 percent of which is a local tax.
Bahrain - Batelco fine for discrimination in tail circuits
Bahrain Telecommunications Company rejects TRA's fine
Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco) has reacted strongly to the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority’s Section 35 Order and fine of BD100,000, imposed for an alleged failure to provide Customer Access Tail services to another licensed operator.
Batelco, in a statement to the media, said that the TRA’s grounds for the issuance of the order were not legally justified, based on the background circumstances of the matter and the relevant provisions of the Telecommunications Law.
Batelco charged that the TRA has behaved inappropriately by its involvement which disrupted a potential commercial business relationship between Batelco and the other licensed operator.
“We had informed the TRA well in advance of the reasons for such delays which included inaccurate and inadequate forecasting by the other operator in violation of specific processes under which Batelco has to comply with to provide such services,” the company said.
“According to Batelco’s Reference Offer to other OLO’s (other licensed operators), Batelco was not obliged to accept orders for such services in cases where capacity on its network was unavailable,” Peter Kaliaropoulos, Batelco Chief Executive, said.
“Delivering such services in the requested time frame would also have required Batelco to invest in its legacy network, a matter that Batelco was not obliged to do under the Telecommunications Law.”
“Batelco has invested $52 million in its new NGN (Next Generation Network) to deliver countrywide MPLS services in the Kingdom of Bahrain and believes that investment in its legacy network, which will no longer be required once the NGN is complete, is not a financially sound or viable option,” said Kaliaropoulos.
“We have brought forward our NGN rollout plan and will complete the full migration of services from Batelco’s legacy network to the NGN in 2008 and not 2010 as originally planned.”
“In view of this fact we explained to the TRA that Batelco could meet the full requirements of new services from operators at that time in three locations in the Kingdom. We also requested permission to enter into a commercial deal with the operator to resolve the problem in the interim and understood that the TRA had no issue with this,” he said.
“We believe that the TRA acted inappropriately by subsequently involving themselves in the commercial relationship between the operator and Batelco.”
“This is clearly discriminatory conduct by the TRA against Batelco’s commercial interests and has undermined Batelco’s capacity to strike a sound commercial agreement with the operator that would resolve all issues between them.”
“The imposition of such a fine of this magnitude is discriminatory and under such circumstances is disproportionate to the alleged breach of the Telecommunications Law, as claimed by the TRA,” he said.
Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco) has reacted strongly to the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority’s Section 35 Order and fine of BD100,000, imposed for an alleged failure to provide Customer Access Tail services to another licensed operator.
Batelco, in a statement to the media, said that the TRA’s grounds for the issuance of the order were not legally justified, based on the background circumstances of the matter and the relevant provisions of the Telecommunications Law.
Batelco charged that the TRA has behaved inappropriately by its involvement which disrupted a potential commercial business relationship between Batelco and the other licensed operator.
“We had informed the TRA well in advance of the reasons for such delays which included inaccurate and inadequate forecasting by the other operator in violation of specific processes under which Batelco has to comply with to provide such services,” the company said.
“According to Batelco’s Reference Offer to other OLO’s (other licensed operators), Batelco was not obliged to accept orders for such services in cases where capacity on its network was unavailable,” Peter Kaliaropoulos, Batelco Chief Executive, said.
“Delivering such services in the requested time frame would also have required Batelco to invest in its legacy network, a matter that Batelco was not obliged to do under the Telecommunications Law.”
“Batelco has invested $52 million in its new NGN (Next Generation Network) to deliver countrywide MPLS services in the Kingdom of Bahrain and believes that investment in its legacy network, which will no longer be required once the NGN is complete, is not a financially sound or viable option,” said Kaliaropoulos.
“We have brought forward our NGN rollout plan and will complete the full migration of services from Batelco’s legacy network to the NGN in 2008 and not 2010 as originally planned.”
“In view of this fact we explained to the TRA that Batelco could meet the full requirements of new services from operators at that time in three locations in the Kingdom. We also requested permission to enter into a commercial deal with the operator to resolve the problem in the interim and understood that the TRA had no issue with this,” he said.
“We believe that the TRA acted inappropriately by subsequently involving themselves in the commercial relationship between the operator and Batelco.”
“This is clearly discriminatory conduct by the TRA against Batelco’s commercial interests and has undermined Batelco’s capacity to strike a sound commercial agreement with the operator that would resolve all issues between them.”
“The imposition of such a fine of this magnitude is discriminatory and under such circumstances is disproportionate to the alleged breach of the Telecommunications Law, as claimed by the TRA,” he said.
Vodafone CEO - LTE as the future standard
Vodafone CEO Wants Wireless Industry To Standardize On LTE
The industry could innovate and deliver better services faster if everyone used one 4G standard, or at least settled on technologies that work well together, said industry leaders at CTIA.
Arun Sarin, chief executive of telecom heavyweight Vodafone Group, called on the wireless industry Wednesday to adopt fourth-generation LTE technology as the high-speed standard of the future.
During his keynote speech at the CTIA Wireless conference in Las Vegas, Sarin said the wireless industry would be able to move faster in delivering an Internet experience similar to what exists on a PC today, if it rallied around one broadband standard. Sarin listed the mobile Internet, the evolutionary shift of voice and data services to IP networks, as the industry's economic future.
"We need to look at LTE as an all-encompassing standard," Sarin said.
Sarin's comments are controversial because others in the industry believe WiMax is the better 4G technology. Supporters of the latter include Sprint Nextel, which is testing the high-speed service in Chicago and the Baltimore-Washington area. Intel (NSDQ: INTC) is also a major supporter of WiMax.
In a keynote on Tuesday, Sprint (NYSE: S) president and CEO Dan Hesse said that unlike 4G alternatives, "WiMax is not slide-ware. It works now."
Sarin said Vodafone is heavily investing in HSDPA, a third-generation technology considered a stepping stone to the faster 4G networks of the future. Verizon Wireless in the United States, in which U.K.-based Vodafone holds a 45% stake, is investing in EV-DO as its 3G technology of choice.
Sarin said Vodafone and Verizon will eventually migrate to LTE, which optimistic proponents believe could make its way to the market around 2010. While not expecting WiMax to disappear, Sarin advocates that the technology be folded into LTE.
In a panel discussion following Sarin's keynote, CEOs from infrastructure vendors Alcatel Lucent (NYSE: ALU), Ericsson, and Nortel (NYSE: NT) agreed that the industry could innovate and deliver better services faster, if everyone used one 4G standard, or at least settled on technologies that work well together.
Carl-Henric Svanberg, president and CEO of Ericsson, said, "It is true that in a perfect world, it's better that we compete and gather all our resources around one standard." Svanberg went on to say that he expected 85% of the world's carriers to eventually adopt LTE. "That will dominate the world going forward."
Patricia Russo, CEO of Alcatel Lucent, and Mike Zafirovski, CEO of Nortel, agreed that it was likely carriers would favor LTE. However, they expected LTE and WiMax to coexist. "I think we're going to see a coexistence for some time," Russo said.
In an education session on Tuesday at CTIA, analysts for ABI Research said LTE, which is an evolution of existing cellular networks, is likely lagging in development behind WiMax, which is already being deployed in South Korea, Russia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and other regions. "The question is not if it will happen, but the scale in which it will be rolled out," Clint Wheelock, chief research officer for ABI, said of WiMax. By 2013, WiMax could account for 5% to 10% of the wireless market, which is likely to be a mixture of 2G, 3G, and 4G technologies.
The industry could innovate and deliver better services faster if everyone used one 4G standard, or at least settled on technologies that work well together, said industry leaders at CTIA.
Arun Sarin, chief executive of telecom heavyweight Vodafone Group, called on the wireless industry Wednesday to adopt fourth-generation LTE technology as the high-speed standard of the future.
During his keynote speech at the CTIA Wireless conference in Las Vegas, Sarin said the wireless industry would be able to move faster in delivering an Internet experience similar to what exists on a PC today, if it rallied around one broadband standard. Sarin listed the mobile Internet, the evolutionary shift of voice and data services to IP networks, as the industry's economic future.
"We need to look at LTE as an all-encompassing standard," Sarin said.
Sarin's comments are controversial because others in the industry believe WiMax is the better 4G technology. Supporters of the latter include Sprint Nextel, which is testing the high-speed service in Chicago and the Baltimore-Washington area. Intel (NSDQ: INTC) is also a major supporter of WiMax.
In a keynote on Tuesday, Sprint (NYSE: S) president and CEO Dan Hesse said that unlike 4G alternatives, "WiMax is not slide-ware. It works now."
Sarin said Vodafone is heavily investing in HSDPA, a third-generation technology considered a stepping stone to the faster 4G networks of the future. Verizon Wireless in the United States, in which U.K.-based Vodafone holds a 45% stake, is investing in EV-DO as its 3G technology of choice.
Sarin said Vodafone and Verizon will eventually migrate to LTE, which optimistic proponents believe could make its way to the market around 2010. While not expecting WiMax to disappear, Sarin advocates that the technology be folded into LTE.
In a panel discussion following Sarin's keynote, CEOs from infrastructure vendors Alcatel Lucent (NYSE: ALU), Ericsson, and Nortel (NYSE: NT) agreed that the industry could innovate and deliver better services faster, if everyone used one 4G standard, or at least settled on technologies that work well together.
Carl-Henric Svanberg, president and CEO of Ericsson, said, "It is true that in a perfect world, it's better that we compete and gather all our resources around one standard." Svanberg went on to say that he expected 85% of the world's carriers to eventually adopt LTE. "That will dominate the world going forward."
Patricia Russo, CEO of Alcatel Lucent, and Mike Zafirovski, CEO of Nortel, agreed that it was likely carriers would favor LTE. However, they expected LTE and WiMax to coexist. "I think we're going to see a coexistence for some time," Russo said.
In an education session on Tuesday at CTIA, analysts for ABI Research said LTE, which is an evolution of existing cellular networks, is likely lagging in development behind WiMax, which is already being deployed in South Korea, Russia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and other regions. "The question is not if it will happen, but the scale in which it will be rolled out," Clint Wheelock, chief research officer for ABI, said of WiMax. By 2013, WiMax could account for 5% to 10% of the wireless market, which is likely to be a mixture of 2G, 3G, and 4G technologies.
WiMax - forecast
WiMAX Forum Forecasts 133 Million Subscribers by 2012
Aggressive prediction by non-profit trade group surpasses figures from popular analyst firms.
The WiMAX Forum announced it projects more than 133 million WiMAX users globally by 2012. The forecast is based on the results of an independently commissioned research study with an unnamed partner. The report, "WiMAX Forum Worldwide Subscriber and User Forecasts" is to be published later this month.
Approximately 70% of WiMAX users in 2012 (93.1 million) will utilize mobile and portable WiMAX devices to access broadband Internet services. The remaining 30% (39.9 million) will utilize fixed WiMAX CPE for broadband Internet access. Asia and the Americas are cited as the regions with the greatest potential to adopt WiMAX technologies.
The new predictions from WiMAX Forum outpace data from other analyst firms, including Infonetics Research, Informa Telecoms, Juniper Research, Maravedis, Parks Associates and Yankee Group. In fact, the Forum estimate is double that of its trade show partner Informa. Yankee Group offers the most conservative view with WiMAX subscribers worldwide expected to reach 36 million by 2011, according to senior vice president Phil Marshall. Forecast averages place global WiMAX subscribers in the 78 million range during the 2012-2013 timeframe.
More than 260 service providers are currently deploying WiMAX services in 110 countries worldwide, according to the industry group. The announcement also reiterated the timeline for the first portable/mobile WiMAX Forum Certified products. Base stations and subscriber stations based on the IEEE 802.16e-2005 standard and conforming to the Wave 1 profile for 2.3 GHz and the Wave 2 profile for 2.5 GHz are expected by the end of June
Aggressive prediction by non-profit trade group surpasses figures from popular analyst firms.
The WiMAX Forum announced it projects more than 133 million WiMAX users globally by 2012. The forecast is based on the results of an independently commissioned research study with an unnamed partner. The report, "WiMAX Forum Worldwide Subscriber and User Forecasts" is to be published later this month.
Approximately 70% of WiMAX users in 2012 (93.1 million) will utilize mobile and portable WiMAX devices to access broadband Internet services. The remaining 30% (39.9 million) will utilize fixed WiMAX CPE for broadband Internet access. Asia and the Americas are cited as the regions with the greatest potential to adopt WiMAX technologies.
The new predictions from WiMAX Forum outpace data from other analyst firms, including Infonetics Research, Informa Telecoms, Juniper Research, Maravedis, Parks Associates and Yankee Group. In fact, the Forum estimate is double that of its trade show partner Informa. Yankee Group offers the most conservative view with WiMAX subscribers worldwide expected to reach 36 million by 2011, according to senior vice president Phil Marshall. Forecast averages place global WiMAX subscribers in the 78 million range during the 2012-2013 timeframe.
More than 260 service providers are currently deploying WiMAX services in 110 countries worldwide, according to the industry group. The announcement also reiterated the timeline for the first portable/mobile WiMAX Forum Certified products. Base stations and subscriber stations based on the IEEE 802.16e-2005 standard and conforming to the Wave 1 profile for 2.3 GHz and the Wave 2 profile for 2.5 GHz are expected by the end of June
WiMax - Prepaid
WiMax Goes Prepaid
Seeing potential for WiMax to attract short-term customers, Xanadoo Company LLC is preparing what it believes will be the first prepaid wireless broadband service in the United States.
Xanadoo already offers seven WiMax plans with contract lengths of three to five years. Starting in May, the operator wants to add short-term plans, with customers paying up-front for 7 to 90 days of access.
The prepaid model is familiar for landline users (think phone cards), and it's starting to get some play in the wireless broadband sphere. Bridgewater Systems Corp. came to CTIA Wireless 2008 yesterday announcing a prepaid option for its WiMax policy control products.
Bridgewater is probably not at the heart of Xanadoo's offering, though, since Xanadoo CEO Mark Pagon says he's not familar with that announcement.
For about two years, Xandaloo has been serving up WiMax to Texas, Oklahoma, and Illinois, attracting 14,000 customers despite that hair.
Part of Xanadoo's plan has been to reach the customers that don't like the bundled cable or DSL subscriptions -- twentysomethings who use cellphones in place of landlines, for instance. "The profile of our customer is younger and the lifestyle is different from most of our communities," Pagon says.
WiMax could delve further into that territory by going prepaid. The service could also reach credit-strapped consumers who aren't 100 percent sure they can sustain a monthly bill, or business travelers who might be stationed in the area for just a few weeks.
Sprint Nextel Corp. and Clearwire LLC, the heavy hitters in U.S. WiMax, haven't talked about prepaid plans so far. But they've got all week at CTIA to come up with something.
Separately, Xanadoo announced it's been using Cisco Systems Inc. equipment in its WiMax network. That is, it's been using gear from Navini Networks, which got acquired by Cisco in December.
It's a rare U.S. win for Cisco's WiMax group. "We put our focus on the emerging markets. This is a move into public network radio, which we are not the strongest on," says John Hindle, director of service provider mobility marketing at Cisco.
Among Cisco's recent WiMax wins is a nationwide deployment by Max Telecom, due to be completed by the end of 2009.
Seeing potential for WiMax to attract short-term customers, Xanadoo Company LLC is preparing what it believes will be the first prepaid wireless broadband service in the United States.
Xanadoo already offers seven WiMax plans with contract lengths of three to five years. Starting in May, the operator wants to add short-term plans, with customers paying up-front for 7 to 90 days of access.
The prepaid model is familiar for landline users (think phone cards), and it's starting to get some play in the wireless broadband sphere. Bridgewater Systems Corp. came to CTIA Wireless 2008 yesterday announcing a prepaid option for its WiMax policy control products.
Bridgewater is probably not at the heart of Xanadoo's offering, though, since Xanadoo CEO Mark Pagon says he's not familar with that announcement.
For about two years, Xandaloo has been serving up WiMax to Texas, Oklahoma, and Illinois, attracting 14,000 customers despite that hair.
Part of Xanadoo's plan has been to reach the customers that don't like the bundled cable or DSL subscriptions -- twentysomethings who use cellphones in place of landlines, for instance. "The profile of our customer is younger and the lifestyle is different from most of our communities," Pagon says.
WiMax could delve further into that territory by going prepaid. The service could also reach credit-strapped consumers who aren't 100 percent sure they can sustain a monthly bill, or business travelers who might be stationed in the area for just a few weeks.
Sprint Nextel Corp. and Clearwire LLC, the heavy hitters in U.S. WiMax, haven't talked about prepaid plans so far. But they've got all week at CTIA to come up with something.
Separately, Xanadoo announced it's been using Cisco Systems Inc. equipment in its WiMax network. That is, it's been using gear from Navini Networks, which got acquired by Cisco in December.
It's a rare U.S. win for Cisco's WiMax group. "We put our focus on the emerging markets. This is a move into public network radio, which we are not the strongest on," says John Hindle, director of service provider mobility marketing at Cisco.
Among Cisco's recent WiMax wins is a nationwide deployment by Max Telecom, due to be completed by the end of 2009.
Europe - mobile broadband forecast
50% of Europeans to use mobile broadband
Half of Europeans will be using mobile broadband by 2012, a new study has claimed.
Lower prices for mobile broadband services will dramatically increase the number of people opting to use mobile broadband technology, a study by Arthur D Little and Exane and reported by TotalTelecom claims.
"Lower [data] prices, the rollout of HSDPA networks, and also the uptake of HSDPA devices means that mobile broadband traffic growth is set to explode," Antoine Pradayrol, head of telecoms at Exane BNP Paribas, told the website.
The increasing usage of mobile broadband is expected to put pressure on carriers however.
To overcome this Mr Pradayrol said broadband providers will need to employ femtocells to boost mobile signal strength and ensure network coverage.
Jean-Luc Cyrot, co-author of the report and director in Arthur D Little's TIME Practice added: "We believe that mobile broadband offers large opportunities for value creation at all levels of the value chain, but while telecom operators have traditionally occupied a prime spot in the value chain, they face fast-moving competition from sophisticated global giants coming from the Internet and hardware worlds."
Half of Europeans will be using mobile broadband by 2012, a new study has claimed.
Lower prices for mobile broadband services will dramatically increase the number of people opting to use mobile broadband technology, a study by Arthur D Little and Exane and reported by TotalTelecom claims.
"Lower [data] prices, the rollout of HSDPA networks, and also the uptake of HSDPA devices means that mobile broadband traffic growth is set to explode," Antoine Pradayrol, head of telecoms at Exane BNP Paribas, told the website.
The increasing usage of mobile broadband is expected to put pressure on carriers however.
To overcome this Mr Pradayrol said broadband providers will need to employ femtocells to boost mobile signal strength and ensure network coverage.
Jean-Luc Cyrot, co-author of the report and director in Arthur D Little's TIME Practice added: "We believe that mobile broadband offers large opportunities for value creation at all levels of the value chain, but while telecom operators have traditionally occupied a prime spot in the value chain, they face fast-moving competition from sophisticated global giants coming from the Internet and hardware worlds."
Qatar - broadband
Broadband penetration in Qatar at 50pc: Qtel
Broadband penetration in Qatar is rapidly increasing and standing currently at 50 percent, Qatar Telecom (Qtel) COO, Sheikh Fahad bin Jassim Al Thani told the Global Wireless Broadband 2008 Summit which concluded here on Monday. He said this has led to challenges Qtel is facing in managing its bandwidth as more consumers shift to peer-to-peer (P2P) and streaming applications.
Shaikh Fahad, who was one of the speakers at the summit hosted by ictQatar with Qtel as the Platinum Sponsor, covered the broad spectrum of advanced broadband wireless services being offered by Qtel to its consumers and businesses in Qatar.
He said the world has witnessed a phenomenal growth in both Internet and Broadband penetration. However, the past years have seen a steady decline in broadband Internet adoption mainly due to infrastructure constraints such as ADSL and fiber networks, especially in emerging markets which do not have enough coverage to meet consumer demand.
Broadband wireless services are expected to overcome the infrastructure hurdles. However, they have suffered historically from lack of standardization and regulatory support, he said.
With the development of WiMAX, HSPA and LTE standards, availability of commercial WiMAX and HSPA equipment, and the large number of broadband wireless trial and commercial deployments across the world, Sheikh Fahad said, Qtel believes that broadband wireless is gaining momentum, operators have a number of options and now is the time to enter the broadband wireless arena with a prudent strategy.
He also spoke of the broadband wireless services being offered by some of Qtel’s subsidiaries in Middle East and Asia and the joint venture launched by Qtel in partnership with ATCO and Clearwire International to offer broadband wireless/WiMAX services in the region.
He pointed out that broadband wireless deployments still face a number of challenges and require strong regulatory support, especially in emerging markets. He said it is important that the regulators issue sufficient spectrum to WiMAX operators, reduce speculative investments by encouraging serious bidders and expedite WiMAX spectrum auctions to support industry momentum.
Broadband penetration in Qatar is rapidly increasing and standing currently at 50 percent, Qatar Telecom (Qtel) COO, Sheikh Fahad bin Jassim Al Thani told the Global Wireless Broadband 2008 Summit which concluded here on Monday. He said this has led to challenges Qtel is facing in managing its bandwidth as more consumers shift to peer-to-peer (P2P) and streaming applications.
Shaikh Fahad, who was one of the speakers at the summit hosted by ictQatar with Qtel as the Platinum Sponsor, covered the broad spectrum of advanced broadband wireless services being offered by Qtel to its consumers and businesses in Qatar.
He said the world has witnessed a phenomenal growth in both Internet and Broadband penetration. However, the past years have seen a steady decline in broadband Internet adoption mainly due to infrastructure constraints such as ADSL and fiber networks, especially in emerging markets which do not have enough coverage to meet consumer demand.
Broadband wireless services are expected to overcome the infrastructure hurdles. However, they have suffered historically from lack of standardization and regulatory support, he said.
With the development of WiMAX, HSPA and LTE standards, availability of commercial WiMAX and HSPA equipment, and the large number of broadband wireless trial and commercial deployments across the world, Sheikh Fahad said, Qtel believes that broadband wireless is gaining momentum, operators have a number of options and now is the time to enter the broadband wireless arena with a prudent strategy.
He also spoke of the broadband wireless services being offered by some of Qtel’s subsidiaries in Middle East and Asia and the joint venture launched by Qtel in partnership with ATCO and Clearwire International to offer broadband wireless/WiMAX services in the region.
He pointed out that broadband wireless deployments still face a number of challenges and require strong regulatory support, especially in emerging markets. He said it is important that the regulators issue sufficient spectrum to WiMAX operators, reduce speculative investments by encouraging serious bidders and expedite WiMAX spectrum auctions to support industry momentum.
India - a possible mobile cartel
MRTPC issues notice against Bharti, Vodafone for cartelisation
see MTRPC
In a major set back to the three big telecom operators -- Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular, anti-monopoly watchdog MRTPC today issued "notice of enquiry" against them for allegedly forming a cartel to distort competition.
Admitting a report of MRTPC's investigative unit DGIR, a Bench of the quasi-judicial body, headed by Justice O P Dwivedi, issued "notice of enquiry" and started judicial inquiry against these operators for cartelising and increasing prices of telecom services simultaneously.
The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) Bench also directed the three companies to file their reply before it within four weeks.
In the investigation report, Director General of Investigations and Registrations (DGIR) has said that the three GSM operators, by colluding, have simultaneously increased the price.
The report stated that despite having different cost factors, structures and profits, they all fixed the tariff of their local call at Rs 1.20 a minute.
The report further said that though the rental and tariff charges of calls and SMS fall under the forbearance category under the Telecommunications Tariff (23rd amendment) and GSM operators are free to fix any tariff for their services, "But it can not be mere coincidence" that the tariff revision by them is of the identical scale."
It also said that the area of operation was different. Also, the operation cost of each operator was not on same scale and number of subscribers was different. In such a scenario, how they landed at the same tariff is a matter of investigation.
see MTRPC
In a major set back to the three big telecom operators -- Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular, anti-monopoly watchdog MRTPC today issued "notice of enquiry" against them for allegedly forming a cartel to distort competition.
Admitting a report of MRTPC's investigative unit DGIR, a Bench of the quasi-judicial body, headed by Justice O P Dwivedi, issued "notice of enquiry" and started judicial inquiry against these operators for cartelising and increasing prices of telecom services simultaneously.
The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) Bench also directed the three companies to file their reply before it within four weeks.
In the investigation report, Director General of Investigations and Registrations (DGIR) has said that the three GSM operators, by colluding, have simultaneously increased the price.
The report stated that despite having different cost factors, structures and profits, they all fixed the tariff of their local call at Rs 1.20 a minute.
The report further said that though the rental and tariff charges of calls and SMS fall under the forbearance category under the Telecommunications Tariff (23rd amendment) and GSM operators are free to fix any tariff for their services, "But it can not be mere coincidence" that the tariff revision by them is of the identical scale."
It also said that the area of operation was different. Also, the operation cost of each operator was not on same scale and number of subscribers was different. In such a scenario, how they landed at the same tariff is a matter of investigation.
Telkom South Africa - renewed bid by Oger
Oger to renew offer for South Africa's Telkom
Dubai-based telecom operator Oger Telecom will renew its offer to South Africa's largest telecoms operator Telkom after Telkom turned down a first proposal, said Oger Chief Executive Paul Doany.
Telkom said on Monday it would not consider the sale of the group, or any of its units or joint ventures, without a "strategic rationale", and therefore rejected Oger's undisclosed proposal on grounds it was not in the shareholders' interest.
But Doany, also chairman of land-line operator Turk Telekom, told Reuters they planned a fresh offer that will benefit all stakeholders.
"We will continue to seek to engage with Telkom in order to assess whether a value-creating transaction for all parties can be agreed including Oger Telecom, Cell C, our South African partners (CellSAf), and of course the shareholders and stakeholders of Telkom," he said in an interview.
"We believe that our proposal is a clear win-win-win for all stakeholders. We will be making new proposals at the appropriate time," said Doany, speaking in an exclusive hotel by the Bosphorus strait.
Oger, controlled by the family of late Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, also operates in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Jordan, providing fixed-line, mobile and internet services.
Doany said their Telkom offer, which was for a "substantial minority stake with management control", would aim at merging Oger's South African mobile subsidiary Cell C with Telkom's fixed business.
STRATEGIC RATIONALE
Doany dismissed Telkom's concerns that Oger's offer did not have a strategic rationale, which he said was "precisely the basis of the offer from Oger Telecom."
Doany said Oger wanted to create a structure in South Africa similiar to that in Turkey, where it has a controlling 55-percent stake in Turk Telekom and 81-percent in Avea, Turkey's third-largest mobile operator.
"The joint operation of the No. 1 fixed line operator and No. 3 mobile operator is a very good combination, similar to Telkom and Cell C. Great synergies are created and this is ideal in terms of competition, particularly in convergence, ADSL and IpTV services" he said. "We are producing good results in Turkey and we want to have the same in South Africa because the two markets resemble each other in many ways," he said.
"We fully support the expansion plans of Telkom in the African continent, with South Africa being a natural for such expansion, focusing on segments hitherto neglected by other operators, whose primary focus has been GSM."
Talks between Telkom and South African mobile phone operator MTN over the sale of the former's fixed-line business were called off in November, also scuppering Telkom's hopes of selling its 50-percent stake in Vodacom to joint owner Vodafone . Telkom said talks to sell part of its mobile phone assets to Vodafone, the world's largest mobile phone company by revenue, had hinged on a successful deal to sell all or some of its fixed-line assets to MTN.
Dubai-based telecom operator Oger Telecom will renew its offer to South Africa's largest telecoms operator Telkom after Telkom turned down a first proposal, said Oger Chief Executive Paul Doany.
Telkom said on Monday it would not consider the sale of the group, or any of its units or joint ventures, without a "strategic rationale", and therefore rejected Oger's undisclosed proposal on grounds it was not in the shareholders' interest.
But Doany, also chairman of land-line operator Turk Telekom, told Reuters they planned a fresh offer that will benefit all stakeholders.
"We will continue to seek to engage with Telkom in order to assess whether a value-creating transaction for all parties can be agreed including Oger Telecom, Cell C, our South African partners (CellSAf), and of course the shareholders and stakeholders of Telkom," he said in an interview.
"We believe that our proposal is a clear win-win-win for all stakeholders. We will be making new proposals at the appropriate time," said Doany, speaking in an exclusive hotel by the Bosphorus strait.
Oger, controlled by the family of late Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, also operates in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Jordan, providing fixed-line, mobile and internet services.
Doany said their Telkom offer, which was for a "substantial minority stake with management control", would aim at merging Oger's South African mobile subsidiary Cell C with Telkom's fixed business.
STRATEGIC RATIONALE
Doany dismissed Telkom's concerns that Oger's offer did not have a strategic rationale, which he said was "precisely the basis of the offer from Oger Telecom."
Doany said Oger wanted to create a structure in South Africa similiar to that in Turkey, where it has a controlling 55-percent stake in Turk Telekom and 81-percent in Avea, Turkey's third-largest mobile operator.
"The joint operation of the No. 1 fixed line operator and No. 3 mobile operator is a very good combination, similar to Telkom and Cell C. Great synergies are created and this is ideal in terms of competition, particularly in convergence, ADSL and IpTV services" he said. "We are producing good results in Turkey and we want to have the same in South Africa because the two markets resemble each other in many ways," he said.
"We fully support the expansion plans of Telkom in the African continent, with South Africa being a natural for such expansion, focusing on segments hitherto neglected by other operators, whose primary focus has been GSM."
Talks between Telkom and South African mobile phone operator MTN over the sale of the former's fixed-line business were called off in November, also scuppering Telkom's hopes of selling its 50-percent stake in Vodacom to joint owner Vodafone . Telkom said talks to sell part of its mobile phone assets to Vodafone, the world's largest mobile phone company by revenue, had hinged on a successful deal to sell all or some of its fixed-line assets to MTN.
Nigeria - undersea cable
Glo Optic Fibre: The only road to world class telecoms services
NEVER has any issue rocked the Nigeria’s fledging telecommunications industry like the current poor quality of service as being witnessed in the country presently. Not even the contentious high tariff nor the much-talked about interconectivity imbroglio that has since been resolved.
Of course, to many stakeholders, the issue of quality of service has different meanings. Many did not want to know the cause or why the situation remains what it is today. And for an average subscriber, who thought he/ she has done the best by buying a N200 recharge card, nothing but the best is expected of the network.
Ordinarily, the situation shouldn’t have been this bad, had the country prepared for eventualities like the telecoms revolution. The Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) to whom much was given, courtesy bad government policies and ineptitudeness, failed to institute the much-needed infrastructure that could have paved the way for seamless telecommunications services by the current operators in the country today.
But thanks in part to the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo who liberalised the telecomunications sector and the activities of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) which translated into the revolution being witnessed in the industry today regardless of the current hiccups.
And matter of factly, much credit goes to the Second National Carrier, Globacom Nigeria Limited, which came two years after three other GSM giants have commenced operations to chart many courses that have made telephony more accessible and affordable to every segment of the Nigerian society. Apart from the fact that it brought many innovations into the industry, the Second National Carrier has moved tremendously to enforce its terms of licence.
And to ensure that it fulfils is terms of licence effectively, Globacom has embarked upon various activities in this regard. Ever before the issue of poor telecoms services reared its ugly head, the company, knowing what it takes to give excellent telecoms services never left anybody in doubt as to its seriousness of purpose.
For instance, the company told the world that it has capacity for more than 30 million subscribers when its subscribers base was just about 10 million. Not many believed this, even now that its subscriber base is nearing 20 million. What can only bear witness is the fact that the network does not suffer any congestion and in fact, it is less bothered by poor telecoms services as attested to by the NCC’s exemption of the operator from its hammer.
In order to maintain the lead and to institute a complete world class telecommunications services, Globacom has since commenced the laying of a 10,000-kilometer-Optic Fibre-backbone round the country.The building of the Optic Fibre, which started some few years ago is nearing completion and may soon be completed in the next few months.
To date, the foremost telecoms company has launched three segments of the optic fibre in Minna, Niger State, Onitsha in Anambra state and Owerri in Imo state. As a matter of fact, the actual launching is just a formality as 90 per cent of the cities and villages in Nigeria have begun to enjoy the quality of the optic fibre, even though, they may not know this. But this could be evident in the excellent quality of service being witnessed on the Glo network nationwide.
In a nutshell, the Optic Fibre Cable backbone is an information super highway that transmits voice and data at the speed of light. It provides large bandwidth for offices and corporate organisations. With it, telecoms companies, internet service providers, individual businesses, manufacturers, oil companies, banks and financial institutions, governments and other corporate organisations have a better alternative for their bulk voice and data transmission requirements.
Part of the current problem resulting in the poor quality of service was that the country’s telecoms sector has relied so much on satellite and microwave transmission system which could not guarantee seamless telecoms services as the optic fibre would do. Therefore, a new dawn has come in the telecoms industry with the successful building of the optic fibre by Globacom.
Speaking at the launch of the Minna leg of the optic fibre ring in Niger state last year December, the state governor, Dr. Muazu Aliyu described the project as the new dawn in telecommunications services in Niger and neighbouring states.
During the inauguration ceremony in Minna last year, Mr. Mohammed Jameel, Globacom’s Chief Operating Officer disclosed that the optic fibre cable network had already covered the entire Lagos–Abeokuta–Ibadan route, Lagos–Ijebu-Ode–Ore–Benin and Abuja–Kaduna–Zaria–Kano routes. Only recently, the Onitsha–Awka–Enugu section of the Glo Optic fibre was launched, while just last week, the Owerri–Onitsha leg was launched in Owerri.
As Jameel pointed out, upon completion of the first phase of the optic fibre, the network will span 10,000 kilometres further covering Benin-Warri-Port Harcourt, Port-Harcourt-Aba–Umuahia–Owerri and Owerri–Onitsha–Enugu, Enugu–Oturkpo–Makurdi–Lafia–Abuja and Ibadan–Ilorin–Jebba–Mokwa–Bida–Minna–Abuja routes down to Kaduna–Zaria–Kano–Kebbi–Sokoto routes. He said there was no limit to the capacity of the infrastructure in terms of the volumes and data that can be transmitted.
Also, speaking during the inauguration of the Onitsha–Awka–Enugu leg of the optic fibre in Onitsha three weeks ago, the acting Chief Operating officer, Glo Broad Access, Mr. Martins Olowonihi said all this while all over the country, transmission on the GSM has been through microwave transmission and that as we know, this wasn’t the best way to communicate.
According to Olowonihi, there had been a lot of limitations; call drops, poor call completion etc, but that in order to give the best services to Nigerians, just like we have in America, Europe and all around the world, that Globacom was laying the ten thousand kilometer optic fibre ring round the country. He stated that the issue of poor telecoms services would be a thing of the past by the time the project is completed which he said would be in a couple of months from then.
During the inauguration of the Owerri- Onitsha leg of the optic fibre in Owerri last week, Olowonihi reiterated the superiority of the optic fibre to the satellite and microwave transmission networks, saying it eliminates problems caused by changes in weather conditions. According to him, while a thunderstorm can render the microwave and satellite ineffective, the optic fibre, he said is immuned from such problems. He said it guarantees high speed, reliable and voice connective and has a much faster transmission of data, voice and broadband internet and multi-media services.
Speaking at the launching ceremony in Onitsha, Governor Peter Obi of Anambra state said the efforts of Globacom to change the face of telecommunications by providing world class telecoms services were quite commendable. According to Governor Obi, Anambra has the biggest and largest market after Lagos, hence the launch of the infrastructure has become strategic to commercial activities in the state and the entire South-East in general. He urged the management of Globacom to continue the good work it was doing in the telecoms industry, noting that the sky was the limit.
What all this means is that, Globacom has once again blazed the trail in the telecoms industry with the revolution called the Optic Fibre backbone which is the magic needed for excellent telecommunications services that will end the industry’s poor service, at least on Glo’s network. It also means that Glo is now better placed to provide other telecoms operators with this facility as stipulated in its licence and will as well forge ahead with the commencement of its fixed telephony services.
NEVER has any issue rocked the Nigeria’s fledging telecommunications industry like the current poor quality of service as being witnessed in the country presently. Not even the contentious high tariff nor the much-talked about interconectivity imbroglio that has since been resolved.
Of course, to many stakeholders, the issue of quality of service has different meanings. Many did not want to know the cause or why the situation remains what it is today. And for an average subscriber, who thought he/ she has done the best by buying a N200 recharge card, nothing but the best is expected of the network.
Ordinarily, the situation shouldn’t have been this bad, had the country prepared for eventualities like the telecoms revolution. The Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) to whom much was given, courtesy bad government policies and ineptitudeness, failed to institute the much-needed infrastructure that could have paved the way for seamless telecommunications services by the current operators in the country today.
But thanks in part to the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo who liberalised the telecomunications sector and the activities of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) which translated into the revolution being witnessed in the industry today regardless of the current hiccups.
And matter of factly, much credit goes to the Second National Carrier, Globacom Nigeria Limited, which came two years after three other GSM giants have commenced operations to chart many courses that have made telephony more accessible and affordable to every segment of the Nigerian society. Apart from the fact that it brought many innovations into the industry, the Second National Carrier has moved tremendously to enforce its terms of licence.
And to ensure that it fulfils is terms of licence effectively, Globacom has embarked upon various activities in this regard. Ever before the issue of poor telecoms services reared its ugly head, the company, knowing what it takes to give excellent telecoms services never left anybody in doubt as to its seriousness of purpose.
For instance, the company told the world that it has capacity for more than 30 million subscribers when its subscribers base was just about 10 million. Not many believed this, even now that its subscriber base is nearing 20 million. What can only bear witness is the fact that the network does not suffer any congestion and in fact, it is less bothered by poor telecoms services as attested to by the NCC’s exemption of the operator from its hammer.
In order to maintain the lead and to institute a complete world class telecommunications services, Globacom has since commenced the laying of a 10,000-kilometer-Optic Fibre-backbone round the country.The building of the Optic Fibre, which started some few years ago is nearing completion and may soon be completed in the next few months.
To date, the foremost telecoms company has launched three segments of the optic fibre in Minna, Niger State, Onitsha in Anambra state and Owerri in Imo state. As a matter of fact, the actual launching is just a formality as 90 per cent of the cities and villages in Nigeria have begun to enjoy the quality of the optic fibre, even though, they may not know this. But this could be evident in the excellent quality of service being witnessed on the Glo network nationwide.
In a nutshell, the Optic Fibre Cable backbone is an information super highway that transmits voice and data at the speed of light. It provides large bandwidth for offices and corporate organisations. With it, telecoms companies, internet service providers, individual businesses, manufacturers, oil companies, banks and financial institutions, governments and other corporate organisations have a better alternative for their bulk voice and data transmission requirements.
Part of the current problem resulting in the poor quality of service was that the country’s telecoms sector has relied so much on satellite and microwave transmission system which could not guarantee seamless telecoms services as the optic fibre would do. Therefore, a new dawn has come in the telecoms industry with the successful building of the optic fibre by Globacom.
Speaking at the launch of the Minna leg of the optic fibre ring in Niger state last year December, the state governor, Dr. Muazu Aliyu described the project as the new dawn in telecommunications services in Niger and neighbouring states.
During the inauguration ceremony in Minna last year, Mr. Mohammed Jameel, Globacom’s Chief Operating Officer disclosed that the optic fibre cable network had already covered the entire Lagos–Abeokuta–Ibadan route, Lagos–Ijebu-Ode–Ore–Benin and Abuja–Kaduna–Zaria–Kano routes. Only recently, the Onitsha–Awka–Enugu section of the Glo Optic fibre was launched, while just last week, the Owerri–Onitsha leg was launched in Owerri.
As Jameel pointed out, upon completion of the first phase of the optic fibre, the network will span 10,000 kilometres further covering Benin-Warri-Port Harcourt, Port-Harcourt-Aba–Umuahia–Owerri and Owerri–Onitsha–Enugu, Enugu–Oturkpo–Makurdi–Lafia–Abuja and Ibadan–Ilorin–Jebba–Mokwa–Bida–Minna–Abuja routes down to Kaduna–Zaria–Kano–Kebbi–Sokoto routes. He said there was no limit to the capacity of the infrastructure in terms of the volumes and data that can be transmitted.
Also, speaking during the inauguration of the Onitsha–Awka–Enugu leg of the optic fibre in Onitsha three weeks ago, the acting Chief Operating officer, Glo Broad Access, Mr. Martins Olowonihi said all this while all over the country, transmission on the GSM has been through microwave transmission and that as we know, this wasn’t the best way to communicate.
According to Olowonihi, there had been a lot of limitations; call drops, poor call completion etc, but that in order to give the best services to Nigerians, just like we have in America, Europe and all around the world, that Globacom was laying the ten thousand kilometer optic fibre ring round the country. He stated that the issue of poor telecoms services would be a thing of the past by the time the project is completed which he said would be in a couple of months from then.
During the inauguration of the Owerri- Onitsha leg of the optic fibre in Owerri last week, Olowonihi reiterated the superiority of the optic fibre to the satellite and microwave transmission networks, saying it eliminates problems caused by changes in weather conditions. According to him, while a thunderstorm can render the microwave and satellite ineffective, the optic fibre, he said is immuned from such problems. He said it guarantees high speed, reliable and voice connective and has a much faster transmission of data, voice and broadband internet and multi-media services.
Speaking at the launching ceremony in Onitsha, Governor Peter Obi of Anambra state said the efforts of Globacom to change the face of telecommunications by providing world class telecoms services were quite commendable. According to Governor Obi, Anambra has the biggest and largest market after Lagos, hence the launch of the infrastructure has become strategic to commercial activities in the state and the entire South-East in general. He urged the management of Globacom to continue the good work it was doing in the telecoms industry, noting that the sky was the limit.
What all this means is that, Globacom has once again blazed the trail in the telecoms industry with the revolution called the Optic Fibre backbone which is the magic needed for excellent telecommunications services that will end the industry’s poor service, at least on Glo’s network. It also means that Glo is now better placed to provide other telecoms operators with this facility as stipulated in its licence and will as well forge ahead with the commencement of its fixed telephony services.
Kenya - 3G
Safaricom to unveil 3G service
Safaricom is set to unveil a third generation (3G) high-speed mobile voice and internet service later this month.
The mobile service provider postponed the launch from April 1st because of the ongoing initial sale of its shares to the public.
The 3G High Speed Packet Data (HSPD) network will offer subscribers fast data communications such as mobile Internet access, mobile videoconferencing and videophone.
Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph said the launch of the 3G service follows a series of successful tests in Nairobi.
“We will be launching the network soon and it will be particularly valuable to our corporate clients,” Mr Joseph said after signing a partnership agreement with Postal Corporation of Kenya (PCK).
Subscribers will, however, only access the service from a 3G-enabled handset.
Under the agreement Mr Joseph signed on Wednesday with the Postmaster General, Fred Odhiambo, the Corporation will sell Safaricom airtime of denominations between Sh100 to Sh1,000 through its post offices across the country.
Mr Joseph said the post offices would supplement Safaricom’s current outlets numbering over 100,000.
“The branches will provide a secure, reliable and professionally-run environment for our subscribers to buy airtime even in rural Kenya,” he said.
Mr Odhiambo said the service would initially be available in 38 branches. “This will be followed by a gradual rollout to all our outlets countrywide in the next few months,” he said.
Safaricom is the latest among 20 corporations that have entered into partnerships with PCK’s agency business launched five years ago.
Among the services customers can access at PCK paying water and electricity bills, pay TV subscriptions as well as receiving monthly pension and salaries.
Safaricom is set to unveil a third generation (3G) high-speed mobile voice and internet service later this month.
The mobile service provider postponed the launch from April 1st because of the ongoing initial sale of its shares to the public.
The 3G High Speed Packet Data (HSPD) network will offer subscribers fast data communications such as mobile Internet access, mobile videoconferencing and videophone.
Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph said the launch of the 3G service follows a series of successful tests in Nairobi.
“We will be launching the network soon and it will be particularly valuable to our corporate clients,” Mr Joseph said after signing a partnership agreement with Postal Corporation of Kenya (PCK).
Subscribers will, however, only access the service from a 3G-enabled handset.
Under the agreement Mr Joseph signed on Wednesday with the Postmaster General, Fred Odhiambo, the Corporation will sell Safaricom airtime of denominations between Sh100 to Sh1,000 through its post offices across the country.
Mr Joseph said the post offices would supplement Safaricom’s current outlets numbering over 100,000.
“The branches will provide a secure, reliable and professionally-run environment for our subscribers to buy airtime even in rural Kenya,” he said.
Mr Odhiambo said the service would initially be available in 38 branches. “This will be followed by a gradual rollout to all our outlets countrywide in the next few months,” he said.
Safaricom is the latest among 20 corporations that have entered into partnerships with PCK’s agency business launched five years ago.
Among the services customers can access at PCK paying water and electricity bills, pay TV subscriptions as well as receiving monthly pension and salaries.
Nigeria - consumer compensation
Nigeria Group Queries Glo Mobile Exclusion in Service Ruling
The National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS), a non-governmental consumer group, is pressing
the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to declare whether Glo Mobile will be forced to compensate subscribers for poor quality of service.
The NCC last September said it would issue directives to three GSM operators -- Glo Mobile, MTN and Celtel -- to reimburse subscribers for service that was below average quality. The operators failed to meet minimum service levels as measured by the NCC's Key Performance Indicator (KPI) benchmarks.
MTN and Celtel filed a lawsuit to halt the directive, but two weeks ago a federal high court in Lagos ruled that they had to offer compensation, as directed by NCC.
While commending the court over the decision, NATCOMS has expressed concern about Glo Mobile. The operator did not participate in the suit brought by MTN and Celtel. However, neither Glo Mobile nor the NCC has commented on whether the operator is paying for poor service levels.
“We also noted with utmost dissatisfaction and dismay the non-inclusion of the Glo network in the compensation deal for Glo subscribers by the Nigerian Communications Commission," NATCOMS said.
“Why is the Glo Mobile network not included in the compensation deal for subscribers on Glo? Is the NCC saying that Glo has been giving subscribers on its network good quality service since they started in 2003? Is Glo Mobile a perfect network that has complied with international best practices?” NATCOMS said.
NATCOMS is asking for Key Performance Indicator benchmarks for Glo Mobile between 2006 and 2007.
The group also called on the NCC to ensure that the deadline given to the operators to complete compensation is adhered to, in line with the court judgment. The operators must credit 175 Naira (US$1.50) to each of their subscribers. The total amount could total billions of Nairas (tens of millions of dollars). Plaintiffs may appeal the Federal High Court within 30 days of the ruling.
The National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS), a non-governmental consumer group, is pressing
the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to declare whether Glo Mobile will be forced to compensate subscribers for poor quality of service.
The NCC last September said it would issue directives to three GSM operators -- Glo Mobile, MTN and Celtel -- to reimburse subscribers for service that was below average quality. The operators failed to meet minimum service levels as measured by the NCC's Key Performance Indicator (KPI) benchmarks.
MTN and Celtel filed a lawsuit to halt the directive, but two weeks ago a federal high court in Lagos ruled that they had to offer compensation, as directed by NCC.
While commending the court over the decision, NATCOMS has expressed concern about Glo Mobile. The operator did not participate in the suit brought by MTN and Celtel. However, neither Glo Mobile nor the NCC has commented on whether the operator is paying for poor service levels.
“We also noted with utmost dissatisfaction and dismay the non-inclusion of the Glo network in the compensation deal for Glo subscribers by the Nigerian Communications Commission," NATCOMS said.
“Why is the Glo Mobile network not included in the compensation deal for subscribers on Glo? Is the NCC saying that Glo has been giving subscribers on its network good quality service since they started in 2003? Is Glo Mobile a perfect network that has complied with international best practices?” NATCOMS said.
NATCOMS is asking for Key Performance Indicator benchmarks for Glo Mobile between 2006 and 2007.
The group also called on the NCC to ensure that the deadline given to the operators to complete compensation is adhered to, in line with the court judgment. The operators must credit 175 Naira (US$1.50) to each of their subscribers. The total amount could total billions of Nairas (tens of millions of dollars). Plaintiffs may appeal the Federal High Court within 30 days of the ruling.
Chile - regulator's blog
SUBTEL launches first government blog to discuss telecommunications
see also Subtel Blog
Do you ever feel like government authorities are too distant, would never listen to you, or, perhaps you would simply like to offer them a piece of advice? Well, the Internet has now shortened the gap, allowing citizens to directly communicate with the Chilean Telecommunications Secretariat (SUBTEL).
Bringing the people closer in order to hear everyone’s opinion is the motivation behind the SUBTEL´s decision to launch the first government blog in Chile. The Internet forum will serve as an open and free way for anyone to offer an opinion and discuss SUBTEL activities within the realms of Telecommunications and the Information Community.
While the technology is new to Chile, it is also state of the art on an international level. With the blog, SUBTEL will become the first telecommunications regulation organization in Latin America to have this kind of Internet site.
The web site (blog.subtel.cl) will feature up to date information concerning public policies as well as projects and works being carried out by the organization throughout Chile. Citizens will be able to comment on the information presented, giving users an opportunity to voice their opinions and recommendations directly to government officials of this strategically important national department.
see also Subtel Blog
Do you ever feel like government authorities are too distant, would never listen to you, or, perhaps you would simply like to offer them a piece of advice? Well, the Internet has now shortened the gap, allowing citizens to directly communicate with the Chilean Telecommunications Secretariat (SUBTEL).
Bringing the people closer in order to hear everyone’s opinion is the motivation behind the SUBTEL´s decision to launch the first government blog in Chile. The Internet forum will serve as an open and free way for anyone to offer an opinion and discuss SUBTEL activities within the realms of Telecommunications and the Information Community.
While the technology is new to Chile, it is also state of the art on an international level. With the blog, SUBTEL will become the first telecommunications regulation organization in Latin America to have this kind of Internet site.
The web site (blog.subtel.cl) will feature up to date information concerning public policies as well as projects and works being carried out by the organization throughout Chile. Citizens will be able to comment on the information presented, giving users an opportunity to voice their opinions and recommendations directly to government officials of this strategically important national department.
Qatar - consultation
Qatar telecom watchdog to poll mkt on Qtel services
Qatar's telecoms regulator invited domestic firms and institutions on Wednesday to give their verdict on the services of Qatar Telecommunications Co QTEL.QA (Qtel).
"The Supreme Council of Information and Communications Technology invited ... opinions and comment on the tariff of services provided by Qtel and the products it provides," the official Qatar News Agency said.
It said the move comes in line with the watchdog's "commitment to transparency", but did not give further explanation.
Qtel currently runs the only mobile and fixed-line networks in Qatar, which plans to sell another fixed-line licence in May.
Eight companies, including Britain's Vodafone Group Plc (VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and U.S. firm Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N: Quote, Profile, Research), expressed an interest in the country's second fixed-line telephone licence.
Qatar in December sold its second mobile phone licence to a group including Vodafone, which will end the last mobile telephone monopoly in the Arab world.
Qatar holds the world's third-largest reserves of natural gas. Its population is expected to rise to 1.34 million by 2015 from 840,000 now, according to the telecom regulator.
Qatar's telecoms regulator invited domestic firms and institutions on Wednesday to give their verdict on the services of Qatar Telecommunications Co QTEL.QA (Qtel).
"The Supreme Council of Information and Communications Technology invited ... opinions and comment on the tariff of services provided by Qtel and the products it provides," the official Qatar News Agency said.
It said the move comes in line with the watchdog's "commitment to transparency", but did not give further explanation.
Qtel currently runs the only mobile and fixed-line networks in Qatar, which plans to sell another fixed-line licence in May.
Eight companies, including Britain's Vodafone Group Plc (VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and U.S. firm Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N: Quote, Profile, Research), expressed an interest in the country's second fixed-line telephone licence.
Qatar in December sold its second mobile phone licence to a group including Vodafone, which will end the last mobile telephone monopoly in the Arab world.
Qatar holds the world's third-largest reserves of natural gas. Its population is expected to rise to 1.34 million by 2015 from 840,000 now, according to the telecom regulator.
China - Beijing Telecom
China Telecom to buy Beijing Telecom
China Telecom, the nation's largest fixed-line phone company will pay 5.56 billion Yuan (£400 million) to acquire Hong-Hong listed Beijing Telecom, just in time for the 2008 Olympics.
Industry analysts predict the move is an attempt to tap into the increasing demand for broadband IPTV market during the Beijing Games this summer.
Last week, China Telecom posted a 1.7 per cent decline in fourth-quarter profit after a drop in subscribers by 2.24 million in 2007 to 220 million, as consumers turn to mobile phones instead. Full-year profit of 23.7 billion Yuan was down from a slightly revised 27.2 billion Yuan a year ago.
In 2007, China's subscriptions for mobile-phone services rose 86.2 million, while fixed lines declined by 2.3 million, according to official data. The Chinese government may allocate fixed-line companies wireless assets to increase competition after six straight months of subscriber loss to mobile services.
“Although the intensifying market competition is a serious change for us, the upcoming full services offering will bring enormous business opportunities,” said China Telecom Chairman Wang Xiaochu.
China Telecom is hoping to attract Beijing’s residents with the purchase, of which half are now online and 70 per cent are using broadband, according to data by the China Internet Network Information Centre.
If the government announces the decision to reorganise the industry, China Telecom will sell debt and shares in China to fund restructuring costs, said Chairman Wang.
China Telecom, the nation's largest fixed-line phone company will pay 5.56 billion Yuan (£400 million) to acquire Hong-Hong listed Beijing Telecom, just in time for the 2008 Olympics.
Industry analysts predict the move is an attempt to tap into the increasing demand for broadband IPTV market during the Beijing Games this summer.
Last week, China Telecom posted a 1.7 per cent decline in fourth-quarter profit after a drop in subscribers by 2.24 million in 2007 to 220 million, as consumers turn to mobile phones instead. Full-year profit of 23.7 billion Yuan was down from a slightly revised 27.2 billion Yuan a year ago.
In 2007, China's subscriptions for mobile-phone services rose 86.2 million, while fixed lines declined by 2.3 million, according to official data. The Chinese government may allocate fixed-line companies wireless assets to increase competition after six straight months of subscriber loss to mobile services.
“Although the intensifying market competition is a serious change for us, the upcoming full services offering will bring enormous business opportunities,” said China Telecom Chairman Wang Xiaochu.
China Telecom is hoping to attract Beijing’s residents with the purchase, of which half are now online and 70 per cent are using broadband, according to data by the China Internet Network Information Centre.
If the government announces the decision to reorganise the industry, China Telecom will sell debt and shares in China to fund restructuring costs, said Chairman Wang.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
TeliaSonera - improving business practices
Directors of TeliaSonera’s Equality Access Board Appointed
In a move to further increase market confidence and trust, TeliaSonera has set up a committee to promote impartial business practices, the Equality Access Board (EAB). EAB will objectively and impartially follow and monitor how successfully TeliaSonera lives up to its decision to deal with all wholesale customers in an equal manner. TeliaSonera President and CEO Lars Nyberg has appointed EAB’s two external directors: Professor Ulf Körner of Lund University’s Faculty of Engineering and former Vice President of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, Per-Arne Sandström.
Ulf Körner (year of birth: 1946) is a Doctor of Engineering and professor at the Department of Electrical and Information Technology at Lund University’s Faculty of Engineering. Ulf Körner is a member of the board of Cybercom Group Europe AB and Cale Access AB. He has previously served on the boards of other Swedish telecom and IT industry companies, such as Consafe IT AB and Doro AB, as well as the Swedish Post and Telecom Agency (PTS) board for many years.
Per-Arne Sandström has held a number of leading positions within Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson since the 1970s, most recently as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer responsible for the restructuring of the Ericsson group from 2001 to 2004. Per-Arne Sandström is Chairman of the Board for the Norwegian company Infocare A/S and a member of the board at SAAB AB, Note AB, Human Care AB, Cellmax AB, KTH Executive School and One Phone Holding AB. He has previously been a member of the board of the Danish telecom operator TDC A/S.
EAB’s chairman and third director is the previously appointed Mikael Svensson, head of TeliaSonera’s internal auditing.
”I’m very pleased to have been able to recruit two such experienced and competent people with such a high level of integrity to the EAB,” says Lars Nyberg, TeliaSonera’s President and CEO. ”Together with Mikael Svensson, they will make a strong team. I firmly believe that their work will contribute to an increased level of confidence on the part of the market that TeliaSonera’s wholesale operations in Sweden are handled in a professional and proper way.”
TeliaSonera created the separate limited liability company, TeliaSonera Skanova Access AB, on 1 January with the purpose of achieving increased efficiency and increasing the market’s confidence and trust in TeliaSonera as a supplier of wholesale products.
Reports from EAB will be delivered to the president every four months with the first coming in June 2008.
In a move to further increase market confidence and trust, TeliaSonera has set up a committee to promote impartial business practices, the Equality Access Board (EAB). EAB will objectively and impartially follow and monitor how successfully TeliaSonera lives up to its decision to deal with all wholesale customers in an equal manner. TeliaSonera President and CEO Lars Nyberg has appointed EAB’s two external directors: Professor Ulf Körner of Lund University’s Faculty of Engineering and former Vice President of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, Per-Arne Sandström.
Ulf Körner (year of birth: 1946) is a Doctor of Engineering and professor at the Department of Electrical and Information Technology at Lund University’s Faculty of Engineering. Ulf Körner is a member of the board of Cybercom Group Europe AB and Cale Access AB. He has previously served on the boards of other Swedish telecom and IT industry companies, such as Consafe IT AB and Doro AB, as well as the Swedish Post and Telecom Agency (PTS) board for many years.
Per-Arne Sandström has held a number of leading positions within Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson since the 1970s, most recently as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer responsible for the restructuring of the Ericsson group from 2001 to 2004. Per-Arne Sandström is Chairman of the Board for the Norwegian company Infocare A/S and a member of the board at SAAB AB, Note AB, Human Care AB, Cellmax AB, KTH Executive School and One Phone Holding AB. He has previously been a member of the board of the Danish telecom operator TDC A/S.
EAB’s chairman and third director is the previously appointed Mikael Svensson, head of TeliaSonera’s internal auditing.
”I’m very pleased to have been able to recruit two such experienced and competent people with such a high level of integrity to the EAB,” says Lars Nyberg, TeliaSonera’s President and CEO. ”Together with Mikael Svensson, they will make a strong team. I firmly believe that their work will contribute to an increased level of confidence on the part of the market that TeliaSonera’s wholesale operations in Sweden are handled in a professional and proper way.”
TeliaSonera created the separate limited liability company, TeliaSonera Skanova Access AB, on 1 January with the purpose of achieving increased efficiency and increasing the market’s confidence and trust in TeliaSonera as a supplier of wholesale products.
Reports from EAB will be delivered to the president every four months with the first coming in June 2008.
Benin - Glo getting ready to launch
Glo Sets for Commercial Launch in Benin Republic
Three (Cargoes) Boeng 747 Jumbo Jets arrived Cotonou , Benin Republic, within the last one week, each carrying 100 tons of various pieces of equipment for Telecommunications giant, Globacom. They include transmission equipment flown in from South Africa and Europe.
The generators in particular are to secure constant and adequate power back up for the company's operations when it takes off in a few days.
Expressing Globacom's delight on the development, the company's project coordinator, Mr Lawrence Ezigbo, who received the Cargoes at the Cotonou International Airport , said that the launch of the network was now imminent. "The arrival of these latest items signifies the countdown to our launch... and this should be in a matter of days", he said.
Significantly, the materials will be deployed nationwide, particularly to areas hitherto, bereft of telecoms services. "We have taken sufficient time to assess the needs of the country and we have put in place a modern, efficient and adequate technological back up for the smooth running of our operations ", he affirmed to airport correspondents.
Globacom, since the acquisition of a mobile (GSM) license in Benin late in 2007, has consistently assured the government and people of Benin of world class operations, when it takes off. With virtually all the sites in place nationwide, and Switches/Base stations confirmed ready, it is only a matter of time before Beninoise begin to enjoy the proven technological niche and service quality of Globacom.
"We are here for the long haul", Ezigbo said, noting that Globacom as an African company, with a vision to build the continent's biggest and best network is poised to delight and empower the people of Benin.
Signs that Globacom is already entrenched in the country could be gleaned from the people's familiarity with its messages of hope and strident call for its launch. The company's unprecedented support for the ongoing biennial FITHEB, a cultural festival, is a clear indication of its intents and purpose. Globacom had also recently collaborated with the Sports Ministry on the hosting of the African Handball Federation tourney in Benin .
Three (Cargoes) Boeng 747 Jumbo Jets arrived Cotonou , Benin Republic, within the last one week, each carrying 100 tons of various pieces of equipment for Telecommunications giant, Globacom. They include transmission equipment flown in from South Africa and Europe.
The generators in particular are to secure constant and adequate power back up for the company's operations when it takes off in a few days.
Expressing Globacom's delight on the development, the company's project coordinator, Mr Lawrence Ezigbo, who received the Cargoes at the Cotonou International Airport , said that the launch of the network was now imminent. "The arrival of these latest items signifies the countdown to our launch... and this should be in a matter of days", he said.
Significantly, the materials will be deployed nationwide, particularly to areas hitherto, bereft of telecoms services. "We have taken sufficient time to assess the needs of the country and we have put in place a modern, efficient and adequate technological back up for the smooth running of our operations ", he affirmed to airport correspondents.
Globacom, since the acquisition of a mobile (GSM) license in Benin late in 2007, has consistently assured the government and people of Benin of world class operations, when it takes off. With virtually all the sites in place nationwide, and Switches/Base stations confirmed ready, it is only a matter of time before Beninoise begin to enjoy the proven technological niche and service quality of Globacom.
"We are here for the long haul", Ezigbo said, noting that Globacom as an African company, with a vision to build the continent's biggest and best network is poised to delight and empower the people of Benin.
Signs that Globacom is already entrenched in the country could be gleaned from the people's familiarity with its messages of hope and strident call for its launch. The company's unprecedented support for the ongoing biennial FITHEB, a cultural festival, is a clear indication of its intents and purpose. Globacom had also recently collaborated with the Sports Ministry on the hosting of the African Handball Federation tourney in Benin .
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
USA - demand-side polices needed for broadband
Experts Say 'Demand-Side' Policies Needed to Close the Broadband Gap
Current broadband policy is directed too much toward infrastructure development at the expense of demand-side initiatives that prove better at closing the gap in broadband adoption between the general population and certain demographics, particularly low-income households and seniors. That was the consensus that emerged among panelists in a session on broadband metrics at the 2008 State of the Net Conference in Washington in late January.
The session, "Measuring Broadband: What Metrics Really Matter?" used the controversial broadband penetration statistics issued regularly by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as a starting point.
U.S. Rated Low
OECD places the United States 15th in the world in per-capita broadband penetration, with 22.1 lines per hundred users. (See "U.S. Broad Adoption Rank Triggers Debate," IT&T News, July 2007.) According to OECD, Denmark leads the word with a penetration of 34.3 per hundred.
Over the past few years, the U.S. rank has been steadily falling. Meanwhile, OECD consistently reports U.S. users pay more on a per-megabit basis for service than their foreign counterparts.
The accuracy of the numbers has been routinely challenged because they rely on data provided by governments and don't measure broadband penetration among businesses or the effect of wireless. Nonetheless, all sides of the debate use OECD statistics to promote their policy agendas.
Media Coverage Skewed
The January conference panel's OECD representative, Taylor Reynolds, a communications analyst and economist with the agency, admitted concerns about the U.S. media reporting the ranking without presenting a number of other OECD metrics that reflect positively on the U.S. performance.
Those include the areas in the United States where broadband service is available and, most pointedly, that broadband use here is not capped. The average bit cap among OECD nations is 10 gigabytes, after which additional charges kick in. Ten gigabytes is about one season of half-hour TV episodes downloaded from a service such as iTunes, Reynolds noted.
The panel also included George Ford, co-founder and chief economist with the Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal and Economic Policies; Link Hoewing, assistant vice president for issues management and technology policy for Verizon; and John Horrigan, associate director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project. The session was moderated by Robert Atkinson, president of the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation.
Sound Measurements Needed
The group did not so much debate the accuracy of the OECD numbers as stress the importance of careful measurement of the so-called digital divide and emphasize the difference between gaps in infrastructure and gaps in use.
"What's really the benchmark?" asked Horrigan, whose organization also measures broadband growth and use in the United States. "What if broadband was universally available? It would still take time to get people on."
Ford agreed. "Why aren't people signing up?" He noted there are plenty of subsidies and grants for extension of broadband infrastructure, but little investment in "demand-side" policies that educate groups who may feel disconnected from the information revolution. In particular, Ford said, low-income households, minorities, and senior citizens need to be persuaded that there is real value for them in broadband.
Pew's research shows 54 percent of U.S. households have broadband at home, Horrigan said, and 75 percent have wireline broadband facilities passing their homes. Yet many still see the Internet as "a risky place," he said, and others do not see the content or applications as particularly relevant to their lifestyle.
Horrigan could not say for sure how many of the 25 percent of the households that do not have access to wireline broadband may be using broadband with a wireless device.
Market Approaches Viable
Hoewing said his company's FiOS fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) service passes 9 million homes, and he noted the most recent FTTH Council report, from October of last year, showed 2 million homes are connected to the Internet via fiber. Overall, he said, U.S. broadband growth has been strong, going from 3.2 million connections in 2000 to 53 million in 2007.
The panel largely agreed delivering FTTH broadband to rural areas remains a major challenge, and it endorsed a number of state programs, such as ConnectKentucky, that attempt to drill down geographically to determine specific rural areas where there is no broadband and develop constructive ways, usually in partnership with the industry, to address lack of service.
Most of these state efforts attempt to keep subsidies to a minimum and instead spark private investment. For example, a program may not attempt a citywide FTTH network, but instead provide a tax break to a company willing to install fiber to a factory or business campus. That, in turn, may spark greater investment as more employers use broadband and the experience spreads to local residents, who as a result create greater market demand.
Current broadband policy is directed too much toward infrastructure development at the expense of demand-side initiatives that prove better at closing the gap in broadband adoption between the general population and certain demographics, particularly low-income households and seniors. That was the consensus that emerged among panelists in a session on broadband metrics at the 2008 State of the Net Conference in Washington in late January.
The session, "Measuring Broadband: What Metrics Really Matter?" used the controversial broadband penetration statistics issued regularly by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as a starting point.
U.S. Rated Low
OECD places the United States 15th in the world in per-capita broadband penetration, with 22.1 lines per hundred users. (See "U.S. Broad Adoption Rank Triggers Debate," IT&T News, July 2007.) According to OECD, Denmark leads the word with a penetration of 34.3 per hundred.
Over the past few years, the U.S. rank has been steadily falling. Meanwhile, OECD consistently reports U.S. users pay more on a per-megabit basis for service than their foreign counterparts.
The accuracy of the numbers has been routinely challenged because they rely on data provided by governments and don't measure broadband penetration among businesses or the effect of wireless. Nonetheless, all sides of the debate use OECD statistics to promote their policy agendas.
Media Coverage Skewed
The January conference panel's OECD representative, Taylor Reynolds, a communications analyst and economist with the agency, admitted concerns about the U.S. media reporting the ranking without presenting a number of other OECD metrics that reflect positively on the U.S. performance.
Those include the areas in the United States where broadband service is available and, most pointedly, that broadband use here is not capped. The average bit cap among OECD nations is 10 gigabytes, after which additional charges kick in. Ten gigabytes is about one season of half-hour TV episodes downloaded from a service such as iTunes, Reynolds noted.
The panel also included George Ford, co-founder and chief economist with the Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal and Economic Policies; Link Hoewing, assistant vice president for issues management and technology policy for Verizon; and John Horrigan, associate director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project. The session was moderated by Robert Atkinson, president of the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation.
Sound Measurements Needed
The group did not so much debate the accuracy of the OECD numbers as stress the importance of careful measurement of the so-called digital divide and emphasize the difference between gaps in infrastructure and gaps in use.
"What's really the benchmark?" asked Horrigan, whose organization also measures broadband growth and use in the United States. "What if broadband was universally available? It would still take time to get people on."
Ford agreed. "Why aren't people signing up?" He noted there are plenty of subsidies and grants for extension of broadband infrastructure, but little investment in "demand-side" policies that educate groups who may feel disconnected from the information revolution. In particular, Ford said, low-income households, minorities, and senior citizens need to be persuaded that there is real value for them in broadband.
Pew's research shows 54 percent of U.S. households have broadband at home, Horrigan said, and 75 percent have wireline broadband facilities passing their homes. Yet many still see the Internet as "a risky place," he said, and others do not see the content or applications as particularly relevant to their lifestyle.
Horrigan could not say for sure how many of the 25 percent of the households that do not have access to wireline broadband may be using broadband with a wireless device.
Market Approaches Viable
Hoewing said his company's FiOS fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) service passes 9 million homes, and he noted the most recent FTTH Council report, from October of last year, showed 2 million homes are connected to the Internet via fiber. Overall, he said, U.S. broadband growth has been strong, going from 3.2 million connections in 2000 to 53 million in 2007.
The panel largely agreed delivering FTTH broadband to rural areas remains a major challenge, and it endorsed a number of state programs, such as ConnectKentucky, that attempt to drill down geographically to determine specific rural areas where there is no broadband and develop constructive ways, usually in partnership with the industry, to address lack of service.
Most of these state efforts attempt to keep subsidies to a minimum and instead spark private investment. For example, a program may not attempt a citywide FTTH network, but instead provide a tax break to a company willing to install fiber to a factory or business campus. That, in turn, may spark greater investment as more employers use broadband and the experience spreads to local residents, who as a result create greater market demand.
China - 3G in Shanghai
Dazzling debut for 3G service
China's new 3G phones debuted in Shanghai Tuesday with flashy functions that attracted crowds of shoppers, even though sales were only moderate.
A limited variety of models and the public's unfamiliarity with the 3G technology affected the first day of the commercial trial, industry sources said.
People can purchase the TD-SCDMA (time division-synchronous code division multiple access) phones and subscribe to 3G services, with a number starting with 157, from China Mobile.
From early Tuesday, people crowded into Shanghai Mobile's Renmin Road shop, one of the carrier's two main TD-SCDMA outlets. The available phones were made by six firms, including ZTE, Samsung, Lenovo and LG, and they cost from 1,800 to 3,800 yuan (US$256 to US$535).
By 4 p.m., Samsung and Lenovo phones were sold out in the Renmin Road outlet. By evening, about 50 3G services had been sold in the other outlet on Zhangwu Road near Tongji University.
Customers were most impressed with eyeball-catching functions such as mobile stock quotes, video calling and TV on the handsets. During a video-calling demonstration, callers could clearly see each other but image quality was lost if they were moving.
The TD-SCDMA signal offers coverage within the city's Outer Ring Road, at the airports, around the Formula One circuit and hotels, and along Metro lines.
China Mobile has launched the 3G service in eight cities including Guangzhou and Beijing. In Shanghai, the carrier will sell the phones in 164 outlets, with the first batch expected to be about 10,000 units.
The 3G network is not available in other cities but users can switch to 2G networks there, outlet officials said.
"I'm interested in China's 3G services for high-speed data services and my most-needed functions are Internet access and a faster e-mail service," said Dimitri Kaczmarek, who works for a finance firm in Shanghai.
Kaczmarek wanted to buy the Samsung L288 (2,800 yuan) but it was sold out , so he bought a ZTE U980 (3,800 yuan) dual-model phone and a ZTE MU318 data card (700 yuan), which can be plugged into a laptop for Internet access.
An IT engineer named Wang said: "It's cool to have a 3G phone and it's the right time for me to replace phone." Wang admitted he would mainly use voice services on his LG KD876 (2,500 yuan).
Credit cards were not accepted yesterday, which meant some people were unable to buy 3G phones.
Users can choose packages costing from 28 yuan for 150 minutes to 88 yuan for 600 minutes. During the trial, users can enjoy a 50-percent fee discount, which makes 3G costs close to 2G services, according to China Mobile.
China's new 3G phones debuted in Shanghai Tuesday with flashy functions that attracted crowds of shoppers, even though sales were only moderate.
A limited variety of models and the public's unfamiliarity with the 3G technology affected the first day of the commercial trial, industry sources said.
People can purchase the TD-SCDMA (time division-synchronous code division multiple access) phones and subscribe to 3G services, with a number starting with 157, from China Mobile.
From early Tuesday, people crowded into Shanghai Mobile's Renmin Road shop, one of the carrier's two main TD-SCDMA outlets. The available phones were made by six firms, including ZTE, Samsung, Lenovo and LG, and they cost from 1,800 to 3,800 yuan (US$256 to US$535).
By 4 p.m., Samsung and Lenovo phones were sold out in the Renmin Road outlet. By evening, about 50 3G services had been sold in the other outlet on Zhangwu Road near Tongji University.
Customers were most impressed with eyeball-catching functions such as mobile stock quotes, video calling and TV on the handsets. During a video-calling demonstration, callers could clearly see each other but image quality was lost if they were moving.
The TD-SCDMA signal offers coverage within the city's Outer Ring Road, at the airports, around the Formula One circuit and hotels, and along Metro lines.
China Mobile has launched the 3G service in eight cities including Guangzhou and Beijing. In Shanghai, the carrier will sell the phones in 164 outlets, with the first batch expected to be about 10,000 units.
The 3G network is not available in other cities but users can switch to 2G networks there, outlet officials said.
"I'm interested in China's 3G services for high-speed data services and my most-needed functions are Internet access and a faster e-mail service," said Dimitri Kaczmarek, who works for a finance firm in Shanghai.
Kaczmarek wanted to buy the Samsung L288 (2,800 yuan) but it was sold out , so he bought a ZTE U980 (3,800 yuan) dual-model phone and a ZTE MU318 data card (700 yuan), which can be plugged into a laptop for Internet access.
An IT engineer named Wang said: "It's cool to have a 3G phone and it's the right time for me to replace phone." Wang admitted he would mainly use voice services on his LG KD876 (2,500 yuan).
Credit cards were not accepted yesterday, which meant some people were unable to buy 3G phones.
Users can choose packages costing from 28 yuan for 150 minutes to 88 yuan for 600 minutes. During the trial, users can enjoy a 50-percent fee discount, which makes 3G costs close to 2G services, according to China Mobile.
European Telcos
Europeans telecommunications companies hit by prediction of lower rates
Shares of telecommunications companies including Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom and Telefónica fell in European trading Monday after Morgan Stanley said that regulators would cut rates "aggressively" for calls between fixed and mobile phones.
Vodafone, the world's largest cellphone company, fell as much as 6.1 percent. Deutsche Telekom, the region's biggest phone company, sank as much as 2.9 percent, to the lowest point in five years. Telefónica, owner of the O2 wireless company, lost as much as 2.1 percent, the steepest decline in two weeks.
Lower rates might cut European mobile operators' earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization by 11 percent over three to four years, Morgan Stanley analysts, including Nick Delfas, wrote in a note to clients.
"Regulatory drags should therefore be seen as an incremental negative, in our view, and a real risk on earnings from 2009 onwards," the note said.
Vodafone closed down 6.1 pence, or 3.89 percent, at 150.9 pence, or $3, in London. Deutsche Telekom retreated 7 cents, or .66 percent, to close at €10.61, or $16.77, in Frankfurt.
Today in Technology & Media
After yearlong battle, Microsoft open document format wins
Olympic committee tells China to keep Internet open during Beijing Games
FCC chief opposes opening all U.S. wireless networks to Skype
Telefónica declined 34 cents, or 1.83 percent, to €18.20 in Madrid.
Portugal Telecom dropped 21 cents. or 2.71 percent, to €7.36 in Lisbon, the first decline in a week.
Delfas cut Vodafone to "underweight" from "overweight" and lowered his price estimate to 170 pence from 215 pence.
Luis Prota lowered his estimate on Telefónica, the second-largest European telephone company after Deutsche Telekom, to €25.50 from €26.50. He lowered Portugal Telecom to €8.50 from €9.
"Sentiment for the industry that was seen as a safe haven has dimmed as intensifying price competition made investors realize telecom shares don't offer risk-free returns," said Philipp Musil, who helps oversee more than $24 billion at Constantia Privatbank in Vienna. "Negative research notes amplify the disenchantment."
In November, the EU telecommunications commissioner Viviane Reding called for national regulators to adopt a "common approach" to the rates, which are fees that wireless companies charge rivals for routing calls to their own network.
In Brussels, the European Commission, the EU executive arm, will issue a recommendation in June that fees be cut "aggressively," the Morgan Stanley analysts wrote Monday.
Shares of telecommunications companies including Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom and Telefónica fell in European trading Monday after Morgan Stanley said that regulators would cut rates "aggressively" for calls between fixed and mobile phones.
Vodafone, the world's largest cellphone company, fell as much as 6.1 percent. Deutsche Telekom, the region's biggest phone company, sank as much as 2.9 percent, to the lowest point in five years. Telefónica, owner of the O2 wireless company, lost as much as 2.1 percent, the steepest decline in two weeks.
Lower rates might cut European mobile operators' earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization by 11 percent over three to four years, Morgan Stanley analysts, including Nick Delfas, wrote in a note to clients.
"Regulatory drags should therefore be seen as an incremental negative, in our view, and a real risk on earnings from 2009 onwards," the note said.
Vodafone closed down 6.1 pence, or 3.89 percent, at 150.9 pence, or $3, in London. Deutsche Telekom retreated 7 cents, or .66 percent, to close at €10.61, or $16.77, in Frankfurt.
Today in Technology & Media
After yearlong battle, Microsoft open document format wins
Olympic committee tells China to keep Internet open during Beijing Games
FCC chief opposes opening all U.S. wireless networks to Skype
Telefónica declined 34 cents, or 1.83 percent, to €18.20 in Madrid.
Portugal Telecom dropped 21 cents. or 2.71 percent, to €7.36 in Lisbon, the first decline in a week.
Delfas cut Vodafone to "underweight" from "overweight" and lowered his price estimate to 170 pence from 215 pence.
Luis Prota lowered his estimate on Telefónica, the second-largest European telephone company after Deutsche Telekom, to €25.50 from €26.50. He lowered Portugal Telecom to €8.50 from €9.
"Sentiment for the industry that was seen as a safe haven has dimmed as intensifying price competition made investors realize telecom shares don't offer risk-free returns," said Philipp Musil, who helps oversee more than $24 billion at Constantia Privatbank in Vienna. "Negative research notes amplify the disenchantment."
In November, the EU telecommunications commissioner Viviane Reding called for national regulators to adopt a "common approach" to the rates, which are fees that wireless companies charge rivals for routing calls to their own network.
In Brussels, the European Commission, the EU executive arm, will issue a recommendation in June that fees be cut "aggressively," the Morgan Stanley analysts wrote Monday.
India - infrastructure sharing
DoT allows telcos to share active infrastructure; tariffs may fall
Having sat over it for well over a year, the communication ministry on Tuesday approved sector regulator TRAI’s recommendation to let service providers share active infrastructure. The move will bring down the overall expenditure of telecom companies by over 50% and help reduce tariffs further.
So far, Indian telecom companies were permitted to share only passive infrastructure such as towers, repeaters, shelters and generators. Active infrastructure sharing will allow operators to use all key electronic components including antennas, feeder cables, nodes, radio access network, transmission systems and backhaul, with the exception of spectrum. ET had reported about DoT giving its nod to the active infrastructure sharing policy in its edition date February 21.
“Active infrastructure sharing will be limited to antenna, feeder cable, Node B, Radio Access Network (RAN) and transmission system only. Sharing of the allocated spectrum will not be permitted. The licensing conditions will be suitably amended wherever necessary to permit such sharing,” the DoT said in a statement.
Put simply, the DoT announcement means that apart from spectrum (radio frequencies), telcos can now share all physical infrastructure.
The policy will give a boost to the new entrants who have bagged licences for telecom operations who can now share both active and passive infrastructure of existing players and launch services within a short span. The quick rollout is likely to trigger off a fresh tariff war which may lead to cuts in call rates.
Indian cellular subscribers already enjoy the lowest tariffs in the world. Importantly, active infrastructure sharing will play a major role in expediting the rollout of mobile networks across the country, especially rural India, which is costlier.
Active infrastructure sharing will also enable operators to provide mobile services to subscribers wherever their own network is not available and help increase coverage area and quality of service at almost no additional expenditure.
“This move will significantly bring down the cost of rolling-out the telecom network infrastructure resulting in lowering of tariffs and increase in telecom penetration. This is a win-win development for the government, industry and consumers,” a Tata Teleservices spokesperson said.
GSM players were also positive about the move. “Sharing of active infrastructure will significantly accelerate growth and expansion on networks and coverage leading to speedy rollout and delivery of cost effective services in both urban as well as rural areas” the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the industry body representing GSM players, said in a statement.
The DoT also reduced the timeframe for the Standing Advisory Committee for Frequency Allocation (SACFA) to clear applications for setting up of towers and other related infrastructure to 45 days from 90 days. “SACFA procedure is being further simplified to reduce the time for SACFA clearance to about 45 days.
Sites located beyond 7 km from Airport Reference Point (ARP) and the antenna height not exceeding 40 meters from airport level need only to be “registered” on the Wireless Planning Coordination website and clearance will be issued accordingly,” the DoT statement added.
The new guidelines also makes it difficult for local bodies to randomly tax telcos. The DoT has said that state governments should charge an uniform levy irrespective of the number of operators that share the infrastructure. At present, some state governments and municipal bodies impose different levies on telcos for towers and other infrastructure, which include registration charges, processing fees, stamp duty, octroi amongst others and each operator has to pay these levies independently even if they share the infrastructure with existing players.
The guidelines also add that the tower companies and telecom service providers can both bid for all upcoming projects funded from the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF). The DoT will soon invite bids to set up 11,000 mobile towers across the country and the project is estimated to cost between Rs 3,000-4,000 crore.
Last year, the DoT had invited bids to set up about 8,000 towers, and the DoT has said that even ‘beneficiaries in the first phase infrastructure sharing’ can participate in the second stage for the 11,000 towers project. “To encourage the concept of infrastructure sharing in rural and remote areas, no subsidy shall be paid if newly-erected tower is not shared,” the DoT policy said.
Active infrastructure
It includes base tower station, microwave radio equipment, switches, antennas, transceivers for signal processing and transmission.
Passive infrastructure
It includes air-conditioning equipments, tower, shelter, diesel electric generator, battery, electrical supply, technical premises and easements & pylons that account for nearly 60% of network rollout costs.
Current situation
Till now, Indian telecom companies were permitted to share only passive infrastructure.
So, what happens now?
Apart from spectrum (radio frequencies), telcos can now share all physical infrastructure—passive as well as active.
How will telcos benefit?
Active infrastructure sharing will enable operators to provide mobile services to their subscribers wherever their own network signal is not available and help them increase their coverage area and quality of service (QoS) with almost no additional expenditure. While passive sharing enables telcos to share over 30% in both capex and opex spendings, service providers say that this figure could touch 50% once active infrastructure sharing gets nod.
How will govt benefit?
It’s estimated that India would require approximately 3,30,000 towers by 2010. Now, sharing of active infrastructure will save huge investments as well as time taken for rollout of services. It will also lead to optimal utilisation of scarce national resources and Improve the aesthetics of the landscape.
And, what about you?
Indian cellular subscribers already enjoy the lowest tariffs in the world. Now, quicker rollout of services may trigger off a fresh tariff war which may lead to cut in call rates. Moreover, it will also improve quality of service.
Having sat over it for well over a year, the communication ministry on Tuesday approved sector regulator TRAI’s recommendation to let service providers share active infrastructure. The move will bring down the overall expenditure of telecom companies by over 50% and help reduce tariffs further.
So far, Indian telecom companies were permitted to share only passive infrastructure such as towers, repeaters, shelters and generators. Active infrastructure sharing will allow operators to use all key electronic components including antennas, feeder cables, nodes, radio access network, transmission systems and backhaul, with the exception of spectrum. ET had reported about DoT giving its nod to the active infrastructure sharing policy in its edition date February 21.
“Active infrastructure sharing will be limited to antenna, feeder cable, Node B, Radio Access Network (RAN) and transmission system only. Sharing of the allocated spectrum will not be permitted. The licensing conditions will be suitably amended wherever necessary to permit such sharing,” the DoT said in a statement.
Put simply, the DoT announcement means that apart from spectrum (radio frequencies), telcos can now share all physical infrastructure.
The policy will give a boost to the new entrants who have bagged licences for telecom operations who can now share both active and passive infrastructure of existing players and launch services within a short span. The quick rollout is likely to trigger off a fresh tariff war which may lead to cuts in call rates.
Indian cellular subscribers already enjoy the lowest tariffs in the world. Importantly, active infrastructure sharing will play a major role in expediting the rollout of mobile networks across the country, especially rural India, which is costlier.
Active infrastructure sharing will also enable operators to provide mobile services to subscribers wherever their own network is not available and help increase coverage area and quality of service at almost no additional expenditure.
“This move will significantly bring down the cost of rolling-out the telecom network infrastructure resulting in lowering of tariffs and increase in telecom penetration. This is a win-win development for the government, industry and consumers,” a Tata Teleservices spokesperson said.
GSM players were also positive about the move. “Sharing of active infrastructure will significantly accelerate growth and expansion on networks and coverage leading to speedy rollout and delivery of cost effective services in both urban as well as rural areas” the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the industry body representing GSM players, said in a statement.
The DoT also reduced the timeframe for the Standing Advisory Committee for Frequency Allocation (SACFA) to clear applications for setting up of towers and other related infrastructure to 45 days from 90 days. “SACFA procedure is being further simplified to reduce the time for SACFA clearance to about 45 days.
Sites located beyond 7 km from Airport Reference Point (ARP) and the antenna height not exceeding 40 meters from airport level need only to be “registered” on the Wireless Planning Coordination website and clearance will be issued accordingly,” the DoT statement added.
The new guidelines also makes it difficult for local bodies to randomly tax telcos. The DoT has said that state governments should charge an uniform levy irrespective of the number of operators that share the infrastructure. At present, some state governments and municipal bodies impose different levies on telcos for towers and other infrastructure, which include registration charges, processing fees, stamp duty, octroi amongst others and each operator has to pay these levies independently even if they share the infrastructure with existing players.
The guidelines also add that the tower companies and telecom service providers can both bid for all upcoming projects funded from the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF). The DoT will soon invite bids to set up 11,000 mobile towers across the country and the project is estimated to cost between Rs 3,000-4,000 crore.
Last year, the DoT had invited bids to set up about 8,000 towers, and the DoT has said that even ‘beneficiaries in the first phase infrastructure sharing’ can participate in the second stage for the 11,000 towers project. “To encourage the concept of infrastructure sharing in rural and remote areas, no subsidy shall be paid if newly-erected tower is not shared,” the DoT policy said.
Active infrastructure
It includes base tower station, microwave radio equipment, switches, antennas, transceivers for signal processing and transmission.
Passive infrastructure
It includes air-conditioning equipments, tower, shelter, diesel electric generator, battery, electrical supply, technical premises and easements & pylons that account for nearly 60% of network rollout costs.
Current situation
Till now, Indian telecom companies were permitted to share only passive infrastructure.
So, what happens now?
Apart from spectrum (radio frequencies), telcos can now share all physical infrastructure—passive as well as active.
How will telcos benefit?
Active infrastructure sharing will enable operators to provide mobile services to their subscribers wherever their own network signal is not available and help them increase their coverage area and quality of service (QoS) with almost no additional expenditure. While passive sharing enables telcos to share over 30% in both capex and opex spendings, service providers say that this figure could touch 50% once active infrastructure sharing gets nod.
How will govt benefit?
It’s estimated that India would require approximately 3,30,000 towers by 2010. Now, sharing of active infrastructure will save huge investments as well as time taken for rollout of services. It will also lead to optimal utilisation of scarce national resources and Improve the aesthetics of the landscape.
And, what about you?
Indian cellular subscribers already enjoy the lowest tariffs in the world. Now, quicker rollout of services may trigger off a fresh tariff war which may lead to cut in call rates. Moreover, it will also improve quality of service.
Australia - broadband contract cancelled
Conroy knocks Opel broadband plan
THE Federal Government says it terminated a $958 million contract to build a rural broadband network because the project fell short of delivering coverage to 90 per cent of under-serviced premises.
Broadband and Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has announced today the cancellation of a contract the former Howard coalition government signed off for the Opel WiMAX network, a joint venture project by Optus and Elders.
Senator Conroy said his department had determined the network would cover only 72 per cent of "identified under-served premises" and so failed to meet the terms of the contract.
Opel's contract required it to provide coverage to 90 per cent of under-served homes, he said.
"On the basis of (the department's) assessment, the Government determined that Opel's implementation plan did not satisfy the condition precedent of the funding agreement, and as a result the contract has been terminated," Senator Conroy said.
Senator Conroy said Opel submitted its implementation plan in early January.
The network was to provide broadband coverage for 638,000 square kilometres across all states and territories.
"This was the final failed broadband plan produced by the former coalition government," Senator Conroy said.
He said the Rudd Government had committed $4.7 billion to build a high-speed, open access, fibre-based national broadband network.
"The new network will deliver minimum speeds of 12Mbps to 98 per cent of Australian homes and businesses," Senator Conroy said.
He said the remaining 2 per cent would continue to receive support through the Government's $95 million investment in the Australian Broadband Guarantee for 2008-2009.
THE Federal Government says it terminated a $958 million contract to build a rural broadband network because the project fell short of delivering coverage to 90 per cent of under-serviced premises.
Broadband and Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has announced today the cancellation of a contract the former Howard coalition government signed off for the Opel WiMAX network, a joint venture project by Optus and Elders.
Senator Conroy said his department had determined the network would cover only 72 per cent of "identified under-served premises" and so failed to meet the terms of the contract.
Opel's contract required it to provide coverage to 90 per cent of under-served homes, he said.
"On the basis of (the department's) assessment, the Government determined that Opel's implementation plan did not satisfy the condition precedent of the funding agreement, and as a result the contract has been terminated," Senator Conroy said.
Senator Conroy said Opel submitted its implementation plan in early January.
The network was to provide broadband coverage for 638,000 square kilometres across all states and territories.
"This was the final failed broadband plan produced by the former coalition government," Senator Conroy said.
He said the Rudd Government had committed $4.7 billion to build a high-speed, open access, fibre-based national broadband network.
"The new network will deliver minimum speeds of 12Mbps to 98 per cent of Australian homes and businesses," Senator Conroy said.
He said the remaining 2 per cent would continue to receive support through the Government's $95 million investment in the Australian Broadband Guarantee for 2008-2009.
Rwanda - ICT underutilised
Rwanda: New Study Shows ICT is Underutilised
Businesses and governments must make better use of their communications and computing infrastructure if they are to benefit from the full economic and social benefits of ICT, according to a breakthrough study by Prof. Leonard Waverman of the London Business School and global economic consulting firm LECG. The Connectivity Scorecard analyses not only a nation's ICT infrastructure but the effectiveness of its use.
According to the study, commissioned by Nokia Siemens Networks, even the world's best connected countries are not exploiting communications technologies to their fullest potential and in many cases policy and regulatory activity designed to promote connectivity is not having the impact intended.
The Connectivity Scorecard ranks the United States first in a group of 16 innovation driven economies [as defined by the World Economic Forum], although its score is only 6.97 out of a possible 10.0.
The differentiated nature of the Scorecard compared to other rankings is illustrated by the fact that Korea, typically a high scorer on other indexes, is ranked 10th on the list, with a rating of just 4.78.
It measures the extent to which governments, businesses and consumers make use of connectivity technologies - the copper wires, fiber-optic lines, mobile phones and PCs that underpin today's information economy - to enhance social and economic prosperity.
For each component of the Scorecard, countries are benchmarked against the best in class in their tier; thus if a country was best in all dimensions, it would score a maximum of 10.0. Countries typically considered to be highly connected achieved only modest scores on the Scorecard - the average score for a group of 16 countries that include the U.S., Sweden and Korea was 5.05.
These results indicate an opportunity for countries to add hundreds of billions of dollars in economic benefit by rethinking how they measure and enable connectivity, according to the study authors.
The authors point to a well-known study by Crandall and Jackson1 ("The $500 Billion Opportunity: The Potential Economic Benefit of Widespread Diffusion of Broadband"), that showed a $500 billion long-term economic benefit to the U.S. just from achieving near-universal broadband penetration.
Given the room for improvement on multiple measures of connectivity, there is every reason to believe that the worldwide gain from improving connectivity would be several multiples higher.
"What this study demonstrates is that not even the world's richest countries can afford to become complacent about their current telecom and computing profile. Every nation has substantial work to do before achieving an ideal score in connectivity," says Leonard Waverman, Professor of economics at London Business School and the creator of The Connectivity Scorecard.
"To increase the societal and economic benefits made possible by connectivity, countries need to consider infrastructure and usage as a combined yardstick."
Russia placed first among the nine nations that are classified in the study as resource or efficiency driven economies. The country's high literacy rate, along with solid scores on several measures of usage and infrastructure, especially mobile usage, resulted in a rating of 6.11.
Malaysia finished second, while India and Nigeria placed at the bottom of the rankings, with scores of 1.68 and 1.10 respectively. Other countries like Brazil, South Africa and Philippines scored 4.28, 4.11 and 2.38 respectively, in this category.
"This study is a call to arms for government and businesses. In a period of great economic uncertainty there are great benefits to be gained from the effective use of communications infrastructure," says Ilkka Lakaniemi, head of global political dialogues and initiatives at Nokia Siemens Networks.
"And as we move toward the vision of five billion people connected by 2015, policy makers and business leaders must simultaneously encourage the deployment of infrastructure and invest in the complementary assets - people - that will enable this infrastructure to be used to its maximum potential.
The research also finds that different countries have different "to-do lists" to achieve maximised gains from connectivity.
The U.S. needs to address the issue of raising broadband penetration and improving affordability; Korea needs to understand why its businesses spend apparently so little on enterprise telephony and IP applications: India and Nigeria face the daunting challenges of improving performance on basic literacy and access measures, while not falling behind in the deployment of cutting-edge broadband and mobility technologies.
Rwanda ICT pacesetter
Regional media houses describe as pacesetter in Information, Communication Technologies (ICT) initiatives. That the country has achieved what to many other African countries like Ethiopia for instance, would consider a feat in the ICT deregulation.
East African Business Week, a regional weekly paper says for President Paul Kagame, ICT is the most pro-active invention ever created against poverty, whose use he advocates in order to cut down on the role of the middle-men, who eat the hard earnings of farmers. He believes ICT tools should cease to be symbols of status.
"In 10 short years, what was once an object of luxury and privilege, the mobile phone has become a basic necessity in Africa," President Kagame told a recent Summit in Kigali.
"Farmers use this medium to receive market information of where to sell their products at better prices," The East African Business Week quotes President Kagame telling delegates including six African leaders during an ICT summit.
In Rwanda, ICT is rapidly becoming the engineering tool on which every business transaction is based. Even though the prices of various ICT tools and equipment still remain beyond the reach of many, efforts to reduce these prices are now underway.
Internet access in Kigali is free in most international hotels unlike in most places in Africa where access to the internet is still considered a terrible luxury.
ICT is an enabler for businesses in Kigali. Rwandan businesses utilise free broadband access to lure customers to their shops, in effect using the internet to add value to their products, unlike in places like Nairobi, where such facilities are not as yet accessible.
Businesses and governments must make better use of their communications and computing infrastructure if they are to benefit from the full economic and social benefits of ICT, according to a breakthrough study by Prof. Leonard Waverman of the London Business School and global economic consulting firm LECG. The Connectivity Scorecard analyses not only a nation's ICT infrastructure but the effectiveness of its use.
According to the study, commissioned by Nokia Siemens Networks, even the world's best connected countries are not exploiting communications technologies to their fullest potential and in many cases policy and regulatory activity designed to promote connectivity is not having the impact intended.
The Connectivity Scorecard ranks the United States first in a group of 16 innovation driven economies [as defined by the World Economic Forum], although its score is only 6.97 out of a possible 10.0.
The differentiated nature of the Scorecard compared to other rankings is illustrated by the fact that Korea, typically a high scorer on other indexes, is ranked 10th on the list, with a rating of just 4.78.
It measures the extent to which governments, businesses and consumers make use of connectivity technologies - the copper wires, fiber-optic lines, mobile phones and PCs that underpin today's information economy - to enhance social and economic prosperity.
For each component of the Scorecard, countries are benchmarked against the best in class in their tier; thus if a country was best in all dimensions, it would score a maximum of 10.0. Countries typically considered to be highly connected achieved only modest scores on the Scorecard - the average score for a group of 16 countries that include the U.S., Sweden and Korea was 5.05.
These results indicate an opportunity for countries to add hundreds of billions of dollars in economic benefit by rethinking how they measure and enable connectivity, according to the study authors.
The authors point to a well-known study by Crandall and Jackson1 ("The $500 Billion Opportunity: The Potential Economic Benefit of Widespread Diffusion of Broadband"), that showed a $500 billion long-term economic benefit to the U.S. just from achieving near-universal broadband penetration.
Given the room for improvement on multiple measures of connectivity, there is every reason to believe that the worldwide gain from improving connectivity would be several multiples higher.
"What this study demonstrates is that not even the world's richest countries can afford to become complacent about their current telecom and computing profile. Every nation has substantial work to do before achieving an ideal score in connectivity," says Leonard Waverman, Professor of economics at London Business School and the creator of The Connectivity Scorecard.
"To increase the societal and economic benefits made possible by connectivity, countries need to consider infrastructure and usage as a combined yardstick."
Russia placed first among the nine nations that are classified in the study as resource or efficiency driven economies. The country's high literacy rate, along with solid scores on several measures of usage and infrastructure, especially mobile usage, resulted in a rating of 6.11.
Malaysia finished second, while India and Nigeria placed at the bottom of the rankings, with scores of 1.68 and 1.10 respectively. Other countries like Brazil, South Africa and Philippines scored 4.28, 4.11 and 2.38 respectively, in this category.
"This study is a call to arms for government and businesses. In a period of great economic uncertainty there are great benefits to be gained from the effective use of communications infrastructure," says Ilkka Lakaniemi, head of global political dialogues and initiatives at Nokia Siemens Networks.
"And as we move toward the vision of five billion people connected by 2015, policy makers and business leaders must simultaneously encourage the deployment of infrastructure and invest in the complementary assets - people - that will enable this infrastructure to be used to its maximum potential.
The research also finds that different countries have different "to-do lists" to achieve maximised gains from connectivity.
The U.S. needs to address the issue of raising broadband penetration and improving affordability; Korea needs to understand why its businesses spend apparently so little on enterprise telephony and IP applications: India and Nigeria face the daunting challenges of improving performance on basic literacy and access measures, while not falling behind in the deployment of cutting-edge broadband and mobility technologies.
Rwanda ICT pacesetter
Regional media houses describe as pacesetter in Information, Communication Technologies (ICT) initiatives. That the country has achieved what to many other African countries like Ethiopia for instance, would consider a feat in the ICT deregulation.
East African Business Week, a regional weekly paper says for President Paul Kagame, ICT is the most pro-active invention ever created against poverty, whose use he advocates in order to cut down on the role of the middle-men, who eat the hard earnings of farmers. He believes ICT tools should cease to be symbols of status.
"In 10 short years, what was once an object of luxury and privilege, the mobile phone has become a basic necessity in Africa," President Kagame told a recent Summit in Kigali.
"Farmers use this medium to receive market information of where to sell their products at better prices," The East African Business Week quotes President Kagame telling delegates including six African leaders during an ICT summit.
In Rwanda, ICT is rapidly becoming the engineering tool on which every business transaction is based. Even though the prices of various ICT tools and equipment still remain beyond the reach of many, efforts to reduce these prices are now underway.
Internet access in Kigali is free in most international hotels unlike in most places in Africa where access to the internet is still considered a terrible luxury.
ICT is an enabler for businesses in Kigali. Rwandan businesses utilise free broadband access to lure customers to their shops, in effect using the internet to add value to their products, unlike in places like Nairobi, where such facilities are not as yet accessible.
Sri Lanka - change in ownership of Sri Lanka Telecom
Japan NTT sells S.Lanka Telecom stake for $297 mln
Japan's Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp sold its 35.2 percent stake in Sri Lanka Telecom to a Malaysian mobile network operator for $297 million, sending Sri Lanka Telecom shares to a record high.
The deal, which values Sri Lanka Telecom at $844 million, had been expected after a court last month ruled that NTT could sell its stake in Sri Lanka Telecom following a lengthy legal battle, but the price exceeded analysts' expectations.
NTT and Sri Lanka Telecom said Tuesday's sale of the 635 million shares to a unit of Maxis Communications' parent Usaha Tegas Sdn Bhd was completed at 50.50 rupees per share, a 22 percent premium to Monday's closing price
"The market expected the deal to go through around 42-45 rupees level. We never expected it at 50.50 rupees," said Vajira Premawardhana, head of research at Lanka Orix Leasing.
Global Telecommunications Holdings N.V., an investment unit of Usaha Tegas Sdn, said it was obliged to launch an offer for the remaining shares in Sri Lanka Telecom.
Shares in Sri Lanka Telecom surged 16.4 percent to a record high of 48 rupees, giving a boost to the CSE All-share index .CSE, which jumped 2.7 percent.
NTT Communications, a data network and outsourcing unit of Japan's NTT, said it would book a 3.3 billion yen ($33 million) gain on the sale of the stake in April-June.
"The timing was right to seek returns on our investment," a NTT Communications spokesman said. "Sri Lanka Telecom now looks for growth in the mobile arena, where we cannot help."
Officials at the Colombo Stock Exchange said it had been a record day for business on the Sri Lankan bourse.
"It is the highest ever turnover in a single day of the Colombo Stock Exchange's history," Thushara Jayaratne, market development manager at the bourse told Reuters.
MAXIS OFFER
Global Telecommunications announced a mandatory offer to buy the remaining shares of Sri Lanka Telecom.
"We are obliged to make an offer to the holders of SLT (Sri Lanka Telecom) to acquire the remaining ordinary shares carrying voting rights held by them in SLT," the company said in a letter to the Colombo Stock Exchange.
Sri Lanka Telecom is among the biggest companies in the local exchange, accounting for about 10 percent of the market's capitalisation. Its capitalisation after the deal is around 86.63 billion rupees, bourse data showed.
Japan's Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp sold its 35.2 percent stake in Sri Lanka Telecom to a Malaysian mobile network operator for $297 million, sending Sri Lanka Telecom shares to a record high.
The deal, which values Sri Lanka Telecom at $844 million, had been expected after a court last month ruled that NTT could sell its stake in Sri Lanka Telecom following a lengthy legal battle, but the price exceeded analysts' expectations.
NTT and Sri Lanka Telecom said Tuesday's sale of the 635 million shares to a unit of Maxis Communications' parent Usaha Tegas Sdn Bhd was completed at 50.50 rupees per share, a 22 percent premium to Monday's closing price
"The market expected the deal to go through around 42-45 rupees level. We never expected it at 50.50 rupees," said Vajira Premawardhana, head of research at Lanka Orix Leasing.
Global Telecommunications Holdings N.V., an investment unit of Usaha Tegas Sdn, said it was obliged to launch an offer for the remaining shares in Sri Lanka Telecom.
Shares in Sri Lanka Telecom surged 16.4 percent to a record high of 48 rupees, giving a boost to the CSE All-share index .CSE, which jumped 2.7 percent.
NTT Communications, a data network and outsourcing unit of Japan's NTT, said it would book a 3.3 billion yen ($33 million) gain on the sale of the stake in April-June.
"The timing was right to seek returns on our investment," a NTT Communications spokesman said. "Sri Lanka Telecom now looks for growth in the mobile arena, where we cannot help."
Officials at the Colombo Stock Exchange said it had been a record day for business on the Sri Lankan bourse.
"It is the highest ever turnover in a single day of the Colombo Stock Exchange's history," Thushara Jayaratne, market development manager at the bourse told Reuters.
MAXIS OFFER
Global Telecommunications announced a mandatory offer to buy the remaining shares of Sri Lanka Telecom.
"We are obliged to make an offer to the holders of SLT (Sri Lanka Telecom) to acquire the remaining ordinary shares carrying voting rights held by them in SLT," the company said in a letter to the Colombo Stock Exchange.
Sri Lanka Telecom is among the biggest companies in the local exchange, accounting for about 10 percent of the market's capitalisation. Its capitalisation after the deal is around 86.63 billion rupees, bourse data showed.
Gulf mobile giants looking to expand
Mideast telecom giants eye EU, Asia
Following the wave of consolidation in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region last year, pan-regional telecoms titans will continue to acquire small stakes in larger players in other adjacent regions such as southern and eastern Europe and southeast and central Asia this year, according to a new report by Dubai-based telecoms advisory and investment firm Delta Partners.
With stiff competition coming from European operators, pan-regional players will be looking to step up on their game to compete with European players’ strong operational and managerial experience, innovative R&D and globally recognisable brands, according to the report on challenges and opportunities for telecoms operators released on Monday.
The wave of industry mergers and acquisitions completed among the region’s top players in 2006 and last year will require regional titans to prove the value that their acquiring company is bringing to the acquisition target, it said.
According to Delta Partners, 17 of the largest regional M&A deals in the mobile sector in the MEA region had a total deal value of $23 billion (Dh84.47bn). “This year will see these regional titans start dealing with the challenges of driving the cost synergies, while identifying ways of realising more revenue synergies. As regional players do so, it will be crucial for them to focus their efforts on synergies,” it said.
The report said the next wave of outsourcing opportunities will be around the up-stream part of the value chain. “As network operators continue to realise the need to focus on their core functions, while ensuring desired service levels at competitive prices and business profitability, outsourcing several areas of the business to third party vendors will become critical this year.”
The report said emerging outsourcing opportunities that the industry needs to watch out for this year include network operations outsourcing and managed services, including tower management, and outsourcing transmission to wholesale operators. As markets mature and new network operators enter the industry, existing operators will need to shift away from acquisition (market share) towards customer retention (value share) in order to protect their customer base from being stolen by new challengers, said the report.
“In order to do so, it will be vital for such incumbent operators to implement successful customer management programmes by re-enforcing their newly created customer-centric organisation structure, investing time and effort in improving customer analytics, and launching a series of segmented and targeted customer retention and development initiatives focused on their high-value customers, including the delivery of a consistent brand experience,” the report said.
Following the wave of consolidation in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region last year, pan-regional telecoms titans will continue to acquire small stakes in larger players in other adjacent regions such as southern and eastern Europe and southeast and central Asia this year, according to a new report by Dubai-based telecoms advisory and investment firm Delta Partners.
With stiff competition coming from European operators, pan-regional players will be looking to step up on their game to compete with European players’ strong operational and managerial experience, innovative R&D and globally recognisable brands, according to the report on challenges and opportunities for telecoms operators released on Monday.
The wave of industry mergers and acquisitions completed among the region’s top players in 2006 and last year will require regional titans to prove the value that their acquiring company is bringing to the acquisition target, it said.
According to Delta Partners, 17 of the largest regional M&A deals in the mobile sector in the MEA region had a total deal value of $23 billion (Dh84.47bn). “This year will see these regional titans start dealing with the challenges of driving the cost synergies, while identifying ways of realising more revenue synergies. As regional players do so, it will be crucial for them to focus their efforts on synergies,” it said.
The report said the next wave of outsourcing opportunities will be around the up-stream part of the value chain. “As network operators continue to realise the need to focus on their core functions, while ensuring desired service levels at competitive prices and business profitability, outsourcing several areas of the business to third party vendors will become critical this year.”
The report said emerging outsourcing opportunities that the industry needs to watch out for this year include network operations outsourcing and managed services, including tower management, and outsourcing transmission to wholesale operators. As markets mature and new network operators enter the industry, existing operators will need to shift away from acquisition (market share) towards customer retention (value share) in order to protect their customer base from being stolen by new challengers, said the report.
“In order to do so, it will be vital for such incumbent operators to implement successful customer management programmes by re-enforcing their newly created customer-centric organisation structure, investing time and effort in improving customer analytics, and launching a series of segmented and targeted customer retention and development initiatives focused on their high-value customers, including the delivery of a consistent brand experience,” the report said.
Africa - yet more mobile phones
330m Africans will own cellphones in 2008
Africa is projected to experience a 22 per cent jump in its mobile phone subscriber base during 2008, with the number of people owning a phone increasing from the current 270 million to 330 million.
The Global System for Mobile Communication Association (GSMA) — a global trade association representing 700 GSM celullar operators in 215 countries — says mobile phone penetration will also rise by a corresponding 5 per cent from 28.78 per cent in 2007 to 33.9 per cent in 2008.
Addressing the Africa e-Government conference that ended in Kampala recently, Vitalis Kizito Olunga, chairman of GSM Africa, said the outlook remained positive, with mobile phone subscribers outnumbering fixed lines by a ratio of 15:1.
“Mobile phone subscription has grown rapidly and we expect further penetration, especially in Africa,” said Mr Olunga.
Between 2006 and 2007, the subscriber base in Africa grew by 40 per cent, the highest rate of all compared to other continents. The growth in Eastern and Western Europe stood at 0.003 per cent and 2.05 per cent respectively.
The growth in Africa is mainly attributed to the stagnation in fixed lines. Government policies in most African countries have failed to expand fixed-line subscriptions,” said Mr Olunga. “Governments have been too rigid in that respect, but there has been liberalisation of their economies, which has attracted several private telecommunication firms.”
“In Europe,” he said, “the rate of expansion in the subscriber base is slowing because almost everyone owns a mobile phone. In certain cases, individuals carry two or more handsets.”
In East Africa, he said, as of 2007, the penetration rate was highest in Kenya at 28 per cent, followed by Tanzania at 20 per cent, Uganda at 15 per cent, then Rwanda at 7 per cent and Burundi at 3 per cent.
Mobile phone usage is expected to take centre-stage in e-governance, under which public services can easily be accessed. E-government is the modernisation of processes and functions of government using ICT tools.
According to a survey on e-governance in new growth markets by the Nokia Siemens Network in Ghana, South Africa and India recently, mobile devices are the technology with the most potential to stimulate the supply and demand of public services via e-content.
“The value of mobile devices in this context lies in their pervasiveness, interactivity and multiple functions, with voice, radio, Internet, payment and other capabilities,” the survey, commissioned during an e-government conference in Kampala, states.
According to the survey, ICT users have shown interest in the areas of news, health education and training opportunities and job opportunities, marketing information, availability and price of resources and information on new products and services.
However, the study shows that the importance of mobile communications has not been widely recognised, and few users think that receiving e-content through a mobile device is important.
The report suggests that in spite of the merits of radio, the technologies that can truly be considered as most effective are the Internet and mobile devices, as they offer the interactivity that will ensure users can demand and receive the public services they need.
“Mobile devices have the potential to be the most effective form of ICT. The large and increasing number of users, the growing amount of content/value added services provided by the private sector and the fact that mobile devices are being used to give people an Internet experience justify why most must be done to realise their potential.
“Among people who do not currently own ICTs such as the Internet, fixed-line phone and mobile, the intention to acquire a mobile device is strongest.
“Also, in all countries, non-owners’ intention to get an Internet connection is stronger than their intention to get a fixed-line phone, implying that there may be a market for wireless Internet,” says the report.
Africa is projected to experience a 22 per cent jump in its mobile phone subscriber base during 2008, with the number of people owning a phone increasing from the current 270 million to 330 million.
The Global System for Mobile Communication Association (GSMA) — a global trade association representing 700 GSM celullar operators in 215 countries — says mobile phone penetration will also rise by a corresponding 5 per cent from 28.78 per cent in 2007 to 33.9 per cent in 2008.
Addressing the Africa e-Government conference that ended in Kampala recently, Vitalis Kizito Olunga, chairman of GSM Africa, said the outlook remained positive, with mobile phone subscribers outnumbering fixed lines by a ratio of 15:1.
“Mobile phone subscription has grown rapidly and we expect further penetration, especially in Africa,” said Mr Olunga.
Between 2006 and 2007, the subscriber base in Africa grew by 40 per cent, the highest rate of all compared to other continents. The growth in Eastern and Western Europe stood at 0.003 per cent and 2.05 per cent respectively.
The growth in Africa is mainly attributed to the stagnation in fixed lines. Government policies in most African countries have failed to expand fixed-line subscriptions,” said Mr Olunga. “Governments have been too rigid in that respect, but there has been liberalisation of their economies, which has attracted several private telecommunication firms.”
“In Europe,” he said, “the rate of expansion in the subscriber base is slowing because almost everyone owns a mobile phone. In certain cases, individuals carry two or more handsets.”
In East Africa, he said, as of 2007, the penetration rate was highest in Kenya at 28 per cent, followed by Tanzania at 20 per cent, Uganda at 15 per cent, then Rwanda at 7 per cent and Burundi at 3 per cent.
Mobile phone usage is expected to take centre-stage in e-governance, under which public services can easily be accessed. E-government is the modernisation of processes and functions of government using ICT tools.
According to a survey on e-governance in new growth markets by the Nokia Siemens Network in Ghana, South Africa and India recently, mobile devices are the technology with the most potential to stimulate the supply and demand of public services via e-content.
“The value of mobile devices in this context lies in their pervasiveness, interactivity and multiple functions, with voice, radio, Internet, payment and other capabilities,” the survey, commissioned during an e-government conference in Kampala, states.
According to the survey, ICT users have shown interest in the areas of news, health education and training opportunities and job opportunities, marketing information, availability and price of resources and information on new products and services.
However, the study shows that the importance of mobile communications has not been widely recognised, and few users think that receiving e-content through a mobile device is important.
The report suggests that in spite of the merits of radio, the technologies that can truly be considered as most effective are the Internet and mobile devices, as they offer the interactivity that will ensure users can demand and receive the public services they need.
“Mobile devices have the potential to be the most effective form of ICT. The large and increasing number of users, the growing amount of content/value added services provided by the private sector and the fact that mobile devices are being used to give people an Internet experience justify why most must be done to realise their potential.
“Among people who do not currently own ICTs such as the Internet, fixed-line phone and mobile, the intention to acquire a mobile device is strongest.
“Also, in all countries, non-owners’ intention to get an Internet connection is stronger than their intention to get a fixed-line phone, implying that there may be a market for wireless Internet,” says the report.
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