[prnewswire] Today, a group of rural telecom associations, comprised of the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (NTCA), the Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies (OPASTCO) and the Western Telecommunications Alliance (WTA), were joined by U.S. Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK) and U.S. Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE) to urge the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to promote and preserve sustainable broadband access for rural consumers. The campaign includes an advertising and social media effort intended to educate consumers and members of Congress about the consequences of the rule changes currently under consideration, as well as economic studies and other initiatives to shine greater light on how the proposed changes would adversely affect rural consumers and small businesses.
"The FCC's intention to expand broadband access to all Americans is one we all support," said Shirley Bloomfield, chief executive officer of NTCA. "But if the FCC adopts rules like those currently under consideration, it would likely create all-new 'unserved' areas in rural America and mean higher broadband access costs for those rural consumers lucky enough to keep their access to broadband. It would also harm small companies and entrepreneurs who rely on broadband to conduct business in rural areas. In today's struggling economy, that is something neither consumers nor small businesses can afford."
The associations also reacted to the House Republican proposal that would take $1 billion from the Universal Service Fund and apply it to deficit reduction:
"The House Republican proposal is a new, hidden tax on consumers," the associations said. "This will not only mean less money for consumers, but will also negatively impact commerce, e-government, agriculture and our overall prosperity, and result in defaults in government and private sector loans leading to more economic distress and lost service. We urge consumers to reach out to their members of Congress and tell them to leave the Universal Service Fund alone."
Currently, rural carriers of last resort obtain support through the federal Universal Service Fund (USF) for a portion of the costs they incur to provide and expand broadband services to nearly five million customers in high-cost rural areas. This support enables small rural telephone companies and cooperatives to provide consumers and businesses in their service areas with affordable broadband service, to extend such services to "unserved" areas over time, and to upgrade their networks in response to consumer demand for faster connection speeds and more bandwidth-intensive applications and services.
However, new rules currently being considered by the FCC would put affordable and reliable rural broadband service and upgrades in jeopardy by slashing and redistributing this essential USF support.
"Simply put, the FCC shouldn't throw the baby out with the bathwater," stated OPASTCO President John Rose. "Rural telecommunications companies and cooperatives have built and maintained broadband networks in rural areas. A proven mechanism exists to continue funding these efforts. The FCC should keep what is working, and we have proposed an alternative that will help ensure rural broadband service is available now and in the long term without material increases in spending."
The rural telecom associations' alternative would achieve USF and intercarrier compensation (ICC) reform by encouraging fiscal responsibility, demanding accountability, reasonably constraining growth in the USF and modernizing existing mechanisms. Specifically, it would:
Develop a cost-based, "rate of return" based broadband funding mechanism for rural carriers.
Establish several targeted measures to enhance efficiency in the use of USF support.
Apply existing ICC rules and rates to all traffic originating from or terminating to switched networks, strengthen call signaling requirements, and adopt reasonable rules to address access stimulation.
Minimize opportunities and incentives for arbitrage by unifying intrastate and interstate ICC rates.
Avoid arbitrary long-term ICC rate-setting goals such as "bill and keep" or a uniform rate applicable to all carriers.
To highlight the consequences of the FCC's proposed rules, the rural telecom associations are beginning a Washington, DC-based print advertising campaign that warns that the proposed rule changes would "... result in lost jobs, less comprehensive health care, and blocked access to global markets, which would stifle innovation and hamper our nation's competitiveness." The ads urge policy makers to "... work together to modernize telecom policy for the broadband era – not send it backwards."
The rural telecom associations have also launched a website, www.SaveRuralBroadband.org, a Facebook fan page, "Save Rural Broadband," a Twitter handle, @SaveRuralBB, and a "Save Rural Broadband" YouTube channel, to inform consumers and encourage them to contact members of Congress to oppose the FCC's proposed rule.
"The FCC's proposed rules would have significant consequences, and consumers and their elected leaders in Washington need to be aware of them. Our advertising and online campaign will inform them of what is at stake and give consumers the means to make their concerns known. The future of rural broadband hangs in the balance, and rural America can't afford to be silent on this issue," stated Kelly Worthington, WTA's executive vice president.
Rural Telecom Associations Unveil New Campaign to Promote and Sustain Rural Broadband Access
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Nigeria - Parliament is to inquire into unsatisfactory services by mobile operators as an economic bottleneck
[Tribune] THE House of Representatives, on Thursday, set the machinery in motion to probe the unsatisfactory services being provided by the telecommunications operators in Nigeria.
To this end, the House resolved that its Committee on Communications, when constituted, should probe the activities of the telecommunications companies and report back to the House for appropriate legislative action.
The resolution was sequel to a motion sponsored by Honourable Eddie Mbadiwe representing Imo State on the ticket of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), saying that “the services of the current mobile providers are irregular, epileptic, irritating, expensive and sometimes frustrating, certainly not up to the speed to drive the economy of Nigeria.”
According to him, “telecommunications tariffs have crashed globally, but charges in Nigeria have remained high and, in some cases, rates charged to Nigerians by the companies are on the high side, as compared with charges in neighbouring African countries.”
Supporting the motion, Honourable Zakari Mohammed from Kwara State, on the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said “Nigeria suffers a great deal, it is only in Nigeria that you have network problem and it is the duty of this House to ensure that Nigerians should have value for their money.”
In the same vein, Honourable Mohammed Onawo from Nassarawa State and Honourable Onyewuchi Ezenwa from Imo State urged the House to be more concerned about strengthening Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) and Consumer Protection Council (CPC), so that they would rise up to the challenges of ensuring that Nigerians got better services from the operators.
While decrying the poor services by the telecommunication companies, Hono-urable Razak Osagie blamed the CPC and other regulating agency for failing in their duties to protect Nigerians from exploitation
Poor services: Reps to probe telecommunications companies
To this end, the House resolved that its Committee on Communications, when constituted, should probe the activities of the telecommunications companies and report back to the House for appropriate legislative action.
The resolution was sequel to a motion sponsored by Honourable Eddie Mbadiwe representing Imo State on the ticket of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), saying that “the services of the current mobile providers are irregular, epileptic, irritating, expensive and sometimes frustrating, certainly not up to the speed to drive the economy of Nigeria.”
According to him, “telecommunications tariffs have crashed globally, but charges in Nigeria have remained high and, in some cases, rates charged to Nigerians by the companies are on the high side, as compared with charges in neighbouring African countries.”
Supporting the motion, Honourable Zakari Mohammed from Kwara State, on the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said “Nigeria suffers a great deal, it is only in Nigeria that you have network problem and it is the duty of this House to ensure that Nigerians should have value for their money.”
In the same vein, Honourable Mohammed Onawo from Nassarawa State and Honourable Onyewuchi Ezenwa from Imo State urged the House to be more concerned about strengthening Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) and Consumer Protection Council (CPC), so that they would rise up to the challenges of ensuring that Nigerians got better services from the operators.
While decrying the poor services by the telecommunication companies, Hono-urable Razak Osagie blamed the CPC and other regulating agency for failing in their duties to protect Nigerians from exploitation
Poor services: Reps to probe telecommunications companies
UK - Govt to introduce regulations for gambling at point of consumption, affecting offshore gambling providers
[the telegraph] John Penrose, the minister responsible for gambling policy, said the regulations would be based on the "point of consumption rather than production".
Licences granted by certain jurisdictions are currently treated as if they are issued by the UK.
While the proposals from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport did not mention taxation, its statement said offshore operators are not "bearing a fair share of the costs of regulation".
Evolution Securities analyst James Hollins said "the statement firmly implies" the legislation will include taxation.
He said the most likely outcome was a 15pc gross profits tax rate for online operators to match the level applied to land-based gambling, which would "impact William Hill and Ladbrokes by about £25m to £30m per annum".
Ladbrokes chief executive Richard Glynn said the proposals were "welcome" but a more "comprehensive solution" was required.
William Hill shares fell 3.7pc and Ladbrokes lost 1.7pc.
Offshore bookies face crackdown
Licences granted by certain jurisdictions are currently treated as if they are issued by the UK.
While the proposals from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport did not mention taxation, its statement said offshore operators are not "bearing a fair share of the costs of regulation".
Evolution Securities analyst James Hollins said "the statement firmly implies" the legislation will include taxation.
He said the most likely outcome was a 15pc gross profits tax rate for online operators to match the level applied to land-based gambling, which would "impact William Hill and Ladbrokes by about £25m to £30m per annum".
Ladbrokes chief executive Richard Glynn said the proposals were "welcome" but a more "comprehensive solution" was required.
William Hill shares fell 3.7pc and Ladbrokes lost 1.7pc.
Offshore bookies face crackdown
Kenya - Govt has launched an open data initiative allowing unprecedented access to data collected by govt
[the guardian] When violence erupted after the 2007 Kenyan elections, a team of activists produced Ushahidi – a digital open-source platform to monitor crises in near real-time. Taking its name from the kiswahili word for testimony, or witness, Ushahidi has since been deployed to monitor unrest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, track violence in Gaza, and gather global reports about the spread of Swine Flu. Around the same time, a partnership between Vodafone and Safaricom, Kenya's largest mobile operator, produced M-PESA, the mobile banking system that has revolutionised the way many Kenyans manage their money.
Projects from Ushahidi to M-PESA have put Kenya firmly on the map of ICT innovation in international development – a position and a trend the Kenyan government now seems eager to promote. Last week, Kenya became the first sub-Saharan African country to launch a national open data initiative, opening the books on public expenditures, parliamentary proceedings and the locations of public services.
The Kenya Open Data Initiative (KODI), which went live last Thursday, holds more than 160 datasets organised under six subheadings: education, energy, health, population, poverty and water and sanitation. Users can explore data at the country-level, but also by county or constituency. The platform includes newly created geospatial boundaries for Kenya's 47 counties and geocoded datasets can be visualised quickly using simple built-in tools. Data is pulled in from the national census and governMwment ministries as well as from the World Bank.
"Our information is a national asset, and it's time it was shared: this data is key to improving transparency; unlocking social and economic value; and building Government 2.0 in Kenya," says the KODI website.
The initiative, launched by the Kenyan government, aims to promote data-driven decision making and help improve government transparency and accountability.
Users of the open data portal can create interactive charts and tables, and developers can download the raw data via an API to analyse and build applications for web and mobile. There's also a "suggest a dataset" button that collects requests for new data. Demands have already piled in with requests for data on youth unemployment, libraries, crime and the locations of primary and secondary schools.
Writing for the East African, Charles Onyango-Obbo, Nation Media Group's executive editor for Africa and digital media, suggests that Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki's acceptance of the open data intiative is linked to the "enlightened malice" of an outgoing leader putting measures in place "that make it harder for their predecessors to govern with as free a hand as they did". Kenya currently ranks 154 out of the 178 countries listed in Transparency International's annual corruption index.
"For the first time ever, people in our communities will be empowered to choose the best schools for their children, locate the nearest health facility that meets their needs, and use regional statistics to lobby their constituency representative for better infrastructure and services in their county," said Paul Kubuko, CEO of the Kenya ICT Board, to mark the launch.
The data portal is managed by the Kenya ICT Board in partnership with the World Bank, and is powered by Socrata, a Seattle-based startup that has worked on open data projects with partners such as the City of Chicago and Medicare, the US government social insurance programme for those over 65 and for people living with disabilities.
But with the still low proportion of people connected to the internet in Kenya, does a digital platform for government data really make that information more accessible? According to Socrata, only 25.9% of Kenyans have access to the internet. But, the developer is quick to point out, the majority of Kenyans – 63.2% – have mobile access, and the open data portal should be seen as an important first step towards the development of mobile applications to improve the lives of ordinary Kenyans.
"It now falls to Kenya's dynamic and entrepreneurial citizens to create user-friendly and relevant applications that will benefit Kenyans by identifying development solutions and improving development outcomes," said World Bank country director Johannes Zutt at the launch event in Nairobi.
To promote the new platform, the Kenya ICT Board is awarding grants to developers to create "high-impact" apps using the data. Already, the team behind the Ushahidi-powered platform, Huduma – kiswahili for "services" – has used the data to map and explore access to health, infrastructure and education. Virtual Kenya has built an application mapping counties where MPs have refused to pay taxes. The Nairobi-based Business Daily has announced plans to publish a series of articles on the newly released data.
The right to information was enshrined in the 2010 Kenyan Constitution, which also requires the government to publish and publicise any important information affecting the country. But progress on translating words into action has been slow and the government has yet to enact freedom of information legislation. An open data initiative, though, is a big step for any country - and how the newly accessible datasets will effect the relationships between Kenyans and their government is certainly something to watch.
Kenya opens its books in revolutionary transparency drive - The government says making data public through the Kenya Open Data Initiative is key to improving transparency
see also Kenya Open Data Initiative
Projects from Ushahidi to M-PESA have put Kenya firmly on the map of ICT innovation in international development – a position and a trend the Kenyan government now seems eager to promote. Last week, Kenya became the first sub-Saharan African country to launch a national open data initiative, opening the books on public expenditures, parliamentary proceedings and the locations of public services.
The Kenya Open Data Initiative (KODI), which went live last Thursday, holds more than 160 datasets organised under six subheadings: education, energy, health, population, poverty and water and sanitation. Users can explore data at the country-level, but also by county or constituency. The platform includes newly created geospatial boundaries for Kenya's 47 counties and geocoded datasets can be visualised quickly using simple built-in tools. Data is pulled in from the national census and governMwment ministries as well as from the World Bank.
"Our information is a national asset, and it's time it was shared: this data is key to improving transparency; unlocking social and economic value; and building Government 2.0 in Kenya," says the KODI website.
The initiative, launched by the Kenyan government, aims to promote data-driven decision making and help improve government transparency and accountability.
Users of the open data portal can create interactive charts and tables, and developers can download the raw data via an API to analyse and build applications for web and mobile. There's also a "suggest a dataset" button that collects requests for new data. Demands have already piled in with requests for data on youth unemployment, libraries, crime and the locations of primary and secondary schools.
Writing for the East African, Charles Onyango-Obbo, Nation Media Group's executive editor for Africa and digital media, suggests that Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki's acceptance of the open data intiative is linked to the "enlightened malice" of an outgoing leader putting measures in place "that make it harder for their predecessors to govern with as free a hand as they did". Kenya currently ranks 154 out of the 178 countries listed in Transparency International's annual corruption index.
"For the first time ever, people in our communities will be empowered to choose the best schools for their children, locate the nearest health facility that meets their needs, and use regional statistics to lobby their constituency representative for better infrastructure and services in their county," said Paul Kubuko, CEO of the Kenya ICT Board, to mark the launch.
The data portal is managed by the Kenya ICT Board in partnership with the World Bank, and is powered by Socrata, a Seattle-based startup that has worked on open data projects with partners such as the City of Chicago and Medicare, the US government social insurance programme for those over 65 and for people living with disabilities.
But with the still low proportion of people connected to the internet in Kenya, does a digital platform for government data really make that information more accessible? According to Socrata, only 25.9% of Kenyans have access to the internet. But, the developer is quick to point out, the majority of Kenyans – 63.2% – have mobile access, and the open data portal should be seen as an important first step towards the development of mobile applications to improve the lives of ordinary Kenyans.
"It now falls to Kenya's dynamic and entrepreneurial citizens to create user-friendly and relevant applications that will benefit Kenyans by identifying development solutions and improving development outcomes," said World Bank country director Johannes Zutt at the launch event in Nairobi.
To promote the new platform, the Kenya ICT Board is awarding grants to developers to create "high-impact" apps using the data. Already, the team behind the Ushahidi-powered platform, Huduma – kiswahili for "services" – has used the data to map and explore access to health, infrastructure and education. Virtual Kenya has built an application mapping counties where MPs have refused to pay taxes. The Nairobi-based Business Daily has announced plans to publish a series of articles on the newly released data.
The right to information was enshrined in the 2010 Kenyan Constitution, which also requires the government to publish and publicise any important information affecting the country. But progress on translating words into action has been slow and the government has yet to enact freedom of information legislation. An open data initiative, though, is a big step for any country - and how the newly accessible datasets will effect the relationships between Kenyans and their government is certainly something to watch.
Kenya opens its books in revolutionary transparency drive - The government says making data public through the Kenya Open Data Initiative is key to improving transparency
see also Kenya Open Data Initiative
China - More than 40 per cent of web sites were closed as tightened content regulation was enforced
[Mashable] China shut down more than 40% of websites based in the country between 2010 and 2009, according to a study by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a state-sponsored think tank.
Despite the 1.3 million Chinese sites that were shut down, the study insists there is a high level of Internet freedom in China.
“This means our content is getting stronger, while our supervision is getting more strict and more regulated,” Liu Ruisheng, a Chinese researcher told the BBC.
The Chinese government has tightened regulations on websites and the content they post. Even though China’s constitution guarantees freedom of speech, the government is able to shut down websites under a “subversion of state power” clause and if their content is deemed unfit. Human rights groups have dubbed this effort the Great Firewall of China. In June, the UN declared disconnecting people from the Internet a violation of human rights.
China Shut Down 1.3M Websites in 2010 [STUDY]
Despite the 1.3 million Chinese sites that were shut down, the study insists there is a high level of Internet freedom in China.
“This means our content is getting stronger, while our supervision is getting more strict and more regulated,” Liu Ruisheng, a Chinese researcher told the BBC.
The Chinese government has tightened regulations on websites and the content they post. Even though China’s constitution guarantees freedom of speech, the government is able to shut down websites under a “subversion of state power” clause and if their content is deemed unfit. Human rights groups have dubbed this effort the Great Firewall of China. In June, the UN declared disconnecting people from the Internet a violation of human rights.
China Shut Down 1.3M Websites in 2010 [STUDY]
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
+211 - The ITU has assigned this E.164 country code to South Sudan, following official recognition of the coutnry
[isria] The Republic of South Sudan has been issued 211 by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as the country code for telecommunications, H.E. Madut Biar Yel, the minister for Telecommunications and Postal Services, has announced.
Addressing the media at the ministry’s headquarters this morning, the minister reported that they have been in touch with the ITU over the issue and are delighted with the telecommunications body’s prompt action on the matter.
He announced that the code will be activated 48 hours after the official recognition of the Republic of South Sudan by the United Nations. He also reported that the United Nations General Assembly is meeting today to formally recognize the new country. He expressed confidence that recognition process will sail through smoothly and that the code will be in operation shortly.
The minister explained that the new code is memorable given that the digits closely resemble 2011 which is the birthday of the new country. He also said that the digits are simple and can be remembered by all and sundry.
He urged the telecommunications operators in the country to configure their systems appropriately and roll out the new code as soon as it is activated. He reported that the citizens started calling him on the Independence Day to find out the new code of the new Republic.
The undersecretary in the ministry, Engineer Juma Stephen Lugga explained that the ITU will issue an operation bulletin to all the international community announcing the activation of the new code. With that the country will desist from using 249 and migrate to the new code forthwith.
The minister also announced that the country’s top level domain will also be issued soon. He reported that the ministry has applied for .ss and are confident that it will be issued in due course.
The press briefing was attended by other senior ministry officers, telecommunications network operators and journalists from local and international media houses.
Republic of South Sudan gets new country code
Addressing the media at the ministry’s headquarters this morning, the minister reported that they have been in touch with the ITU over the issue and are delighted with the telecommunications body’s prompt action on the matter.
He announced that the code will be activated 48 hours after the official recognition of the Republic of South Sudan by the United Nations. He also reported that the United Nations General Assembly is meeting today to formally recognize the new country. He expressed confidence that recognition process will sail through smoothly and that the code will be in operation shortly.
The minister explained that the new code is memorable given that the digits closely resemble 2011 which is the birthday of the new country. He also said that the digits are simple and can be remembered by all and sundry.
He urged the telecommunications operators in the country to configure their systems appropriately and roll out the new code as soon as it is activated. He reported that the citizens started calling him on the Independence Day to find out the new code of the new Republic.
The undersecretary in the ministry, Engineer Juma Stephen Lugga explained that the ITU will issue an operation bulletin to all the international community announcing the activation of the new code. With that the country will desist from using 249 and migrate to the new code forthwith.
The minister also announced that the country’s top level domain will also be issued soon. He reported that the ministry has applied for .ss and are confident that it will be issued in due course.
The press briefing was attended by other senior ministry officers, telecommunications network operators and journalists from local and international media houses.
Republic of South Sudan gets new country code
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
LTE - Telenor is taking 4G services to Svalbard/Spitsbergen inside the Arctic Circle
[telecoms] Those who are waiting impatiently for 4G services to arrive in their local market might find it galling to discover that an LTE network is now up and running inside the Arctic Circle. Telenor Norway has launched an LTE site in Svalbard, an archipelago located within the Arctic Circle, making it the northernmost next generation network in the world.
The site uses Huawei’s SingleRAN LTE solution and is located in Longyearbyen, Svalbard’s largest settlement, where temperatures drop to as low as 50 degrees below zero in winter.
Svalbard has a long telecommunications history and barring a few months during World War II, Telenor Svalbard has been in operation constantly for over 100 years.
The network has provided communications for shipping and aviation since the days of the Titanic, and now it serves Norway’s International Maritime Organization (IMO), which has responsibility for safety at sea, covering an area from Scotland to the North Pole. The LTE network now helps the inhabitants of Longyearbyen enjoy interactive IPTV and fast mobile broadband.
Mr Harald Norvik, chairman of the board of Telenor Group, said in a statement that “Svalbard has changed radically in recent years, and we have continually improved the communications options for the local populace. The launch of this advanced LTE network marks the next step in our evolution.”
Telenor brings LTE to the Arctic Circle
The site uses Huawei’s SingleRAN LTE solution and is located in Longyearbyen, Svalbard’s largest settlement, where temperatures drop to as low as 50 degrees below zero in winter.
Svalbard has a long telecommunications history and barring a few months during World War II, Telenor Svalbard has been in operation constantly for over 100 years.
The network has provided communications for shipping and aviation since the days of the Titanic, and now it serves Norway’s International Maritime Organization (IMO), which has responsibility for safety at sea, covering an area from Scotland to the North Pole. The LTE network now helps the inhabitants of Longyearbyen enjoy interactive IPTV and fast mobile broadband.
Mr Harald Norvik, chairman of the board of Telenor Group, said in a statement that “Svalbard has changed radically in recent years, and we have continually improved the communications options for the local populace. The launch of this advanced LTE network marks the next step in our evolution.”
Telenor brings LTE to the Arctic Circle
Fiji - Regulator intervened in telco dispute to restore service to the Nadi international airport
[radio fiji] The Commerce Commission today had to intervene in a dispute between FINTEL and Telecom Fiji Limited.
Commission Chair Dr. Mahendra Reddy reveals FINTEL pulled the plug on TFL’s internet cables this morning, cutting off all access for customers.
Dr. Reddy says the dispute was over a payment owed to FINTEL and at about 7am, the telecommunications company took the drastic step, disallowing internet access to TFL.
He says this resulted in a three hour blackout in TFL’s internet services until the Commission stepped in.
“We have made it very clear with Fintel that this is an unacceptable thing – if there is a dispute you don’t just pull off the plug because there is an issue of business, an issue of security and we have made it clear that if there is a dispute you bring it to the commission and we will examine it to see that business is not disrupted”
Dr Reddy says it is unfortunate that reputable companies are resorting to petty behaviour when issues can be dealt with professionally.
Commission resolves telecommunication dispute
Commission Chair Dr. Mahendra Reddy reveals FINTEL pulled the plug on TFL’s internet cables this morning, cutting off all access for customers.
Dr. Reddy says the dispute was over a payment owed to FINTEL and at about 7am, the telecommunications company took the drastic step, disallowing internet access to TFL.
He says this resulted in a three hour blackout in TFL’s internet services until the Commission stepped in.
“We have made it very clear with Fintel that this is an unacceptable thing – if there is a dispute you don’t just pull off the plug because there is an issue of business, an issue of security and we have made it clear that if there is a dispute you bring it to the commission and we will examine it to see that business is not disrupted”
Dr Reddy says it is unfortunate that reputable companies are resorting to petty behaviour when issues can be dealt with professionally.
Commission resolves telecommunication dispute
Fiji - 3-hour outage of telecoms caused by an inter-operator dispute closed the main international airport
[fiji times] A THREE-hour Internet outage brought the country almost to a stop yesterday as disconnected telecommunication provider Telecom Fiji Limited disputed its approximately $300,000 bill with international gateway provider FINTEL.
"The disruption of Internet services nationwide crippled critical services, not only for TFL but Fiji. International flights were disrupted, causing delays and other critical services, including banks, were affected. TFL will refer the issue to the Commerce Commission," TFL said in a statement.
FINTEL said "an outstanding account was the key reason for the disconnection notice served to TFL together with a notification to the commission. Furthermore, a further seven days grace period was not honoured and regrettably, the action taken on unpaid accounts."
It added "a very substantial amount owing since the Commerce Commission's June 4th 2010 determination"( when the international market was deregulated).
Commerce Commission chairman Dr Mahendra Reddy said the parties met last week where the issue was raised.
"While TFL was willing to pay the bill, it wanted FINTEL to provide a computation of the bill," he said.
"And with that amount, of course they would want to have the details of the bill. TFL had even wanted to give the money to the commission while waiting for the details of the bill. FINTEL did not say no to that agreement. This morning at 7am they disconnected TFL resulting in the internet outage which affected 40 per cent of TFL customers including government and disrupting essential services," Dr Reddy said.
He added that the action taken by FINTEL was an abuse of its position as the sole gateway provider and had negative impact on the economy. The action, Dr Reddy said, also disrupted TFL's business model and may cause customers to think it was an unreliable provider. He saw this as a serious issue and would be taking some action.
The blackout affected flights to Auckland, Sydney and Korea from Nadi International Airport who were delayed for up to three hours.
Airports Fiji Limited general manager, Lawrence Liew said that during the outage all systems had to be operated manually "seriously affecting check-ins."
Air Pacific said its flights to Brisbane, Sydney, Auckland, Melbourne, Honolulu and subsequent flights to Auckland on Saturday were or would be delayed from between 30 minutes to two hours. The airline's daily flight to Sydney was most affected by the severance of telecommunications, as it departed Nadi 2 hours and 25 minutes behind schedule. Air Pacific planned to do a quick turnaround in Sydney to try to make up for some lost time. Last night's Melbourne and Honolulu flights are also expected to be affected by up to two hours.
Air Pacific's domestic carrier Pacific Sun said the communication link problem had also affected its services, but its shorter flight and turn times allowed it to make up for most of lost time by late afternoon today. Pacific Sun separately confirmed that it had a weather-related cancellation today that was not linked to telecom issues.
Telecom gets disconnected
"The disruption of Internet services nationwide crippled critical services, not only for TFL but Fiji. International flights were disrupted, causing delays and other critical services, including banks, were affected. TFL will refer the issue to the Commerce Commission," TFL said in a statement.
FINTEL said "an outstanding account was the key reason for the disconnection notice served to TFL together with a notification to the commission. Furthermore, a further seven days grace period was not honoured and regrettably, the action taken on unpaid accounts."
It added "a very substantial amount owing since the Commerce Commission's June 4th 2010 determination"( when the international market was deregulated).
Commerce Commission chairman Dr Mahendra Reddy said the parties met last week where the issue was raised.
"While TFL was willing to pay the bill, it wanted FINTEL to provide a computation of the bill," he said.
"And with that amount, of course they would want to have the details of the bill. TFL had even wanted to give the money to the commission while waiting for the details of the bill. FINTEL did not say no to that agreement. This morning at 7am they disconnected TFL resulting in the internet outage which affected 40 per cent of TFL customers including government and disrupting essential services," Dr Reddy said.
He added that the action taken by FINTEL was an abuse of its position as the sole gateway provider and had negative impact on the economy. The action, Dr Reddy said, also disrupted TFL's business model and may cause customers to think it was an unreliable provider. He saw this as a serious issue and would be taking some action.
The blackout affected flights to Auckland, Sydney and Korea from Nadi International Airport who were delayed for up to three hours.
Airports Fiji Limited general manager, Lawrence Liew said that during the outage all systems had to be operated manually "seriously affecting check-ins."
Air Pacific said its flights to Brisbane, Sydney, Auckland, Melbourne, Honolulu and subsequent flights to Auckland on Saturday were or would be delayed from between 30 minutes to two hours. The airline's daily flight to Sydney was most affected by the severance of telecommunications, as it departed Nadi 2 hours and 25 minutes behind schedule. Air Pacific planned to do a quick turnaround in Sydney to try to make up for some lost time. Last night's Melbourne and Honolulu flights are also expected to be affected by up to two hours.
Air Pacific's domestic carrier Pacific Sun said the communication link problem had also affected its services, but its shorter flight and turn times allowed it to make up for most of lost time by late afternoon today. Pacific Sun separately confirmed that it had a weather-related cancellation today that was not linked to telecom issues.
Telecom gets disconnected
Fiji - A dispute between two telcos blacked out the airport at Nadi stopping flights
[radio fiji] A number of international flights out of the Nadi International Airport were delayed yesterday following a dispute between FINTEL and Telecom Fiji Limited yesterday over a payment owed to FINTEL.
The dispute resulted in FINTEL pulling the plug on their services to TFL – resulting in a three hour blackout for TFL customers.
National airline - Air Pacific says - like other airlines at the Airport, its international flights were delayed by up to two hours after outside telecommunications links were severed.
This resulted in passengers being checked in manually.
Air Pacific flights to Brisbane, Sydney, Auckland, Melbourne, Honolulu were delayed for between 30 minutes to two hours.
The airline's daily flight to Sydney was most affected by the severance of telecommunications, as it departed Nadi 2 hours and 25 minutes behind schedule.
Air Pacific plans to do a quick turnaround in Sydney to try to make up for some lost time.
Last night’s Melbourne and Honolulu flights were also affected.
This morning’s flight to Auckland is also expected to be delayed.
Telecommunication dispute causes flight delays
The dispute resulted in FINTEL pulling the plug on their services to TFL – resulting in a three hour blackout for TFL customers.
National airline - Air Pacific says - like other airlines at the Airport, its international flights were delayed by up to two hours after outside telecommunications links were severed.
This resulted in passengers being checked in manually.
Air Pacific flights to Brisbane, Sydney, Auckland, Melbourne, Honolulu were delayed for between 30 minutes to two hours.
The airline's daily flight to Sydney was most affected by the severance of telecommunications, as it departed Nadi 2 hours and 25 minutes behind schedule.
Air Pacific plans to do a quick turnaround in Sydney to try to make up for some lost time.
Last night’s Melbourne and Honolulu flights were also affected.
This morning’s flight to Auckland is also expected to be delayed.
Telecommunication dispute causes flight delays
UK - complaints by homeowners over BT's installation of 52,000 tall green street cabinets for broadband equipment
[daily mail] A Government Minister has clashed with BT over thousands of 5ft-high metal broadband cabinets cropping up in outlandish positions in the middle of residential streets.
Paul Burstow accused the telecom giant of behaving ‘outrageously’ after an elderly constituent woke to find one of the green broadband boxes blocking the view from her front window.
Wendy Russell, 77, also had her gas pipe cut and garden wall damaged by BT contractors while they were digging up the pavement.
About 52,000 green boxes are being installed across the country over the next four years in a £2.5billion operation by BT Openreach to provide two-thirds of homes with faster broadband by the end of 2015.
But Health Minister Mr Burstow claims the firm is ignoring the wishes of residents and local councils by positioning the broadband cabinets in unsuitable places.
Mrs Russell knew nothing of a plan to put one outside her front gate in Sutton, Surrey, until she was roused by the sound of drilling at 8am.
‘I only found out it was BT when I went down to ask the workmen what they were doing,’ said Mrs Russell.
‘The cabinet is 3ft foot higher than my wall and blocks the view from my front window.
‘It’s an eyesore which I fear will lower the value of the house. It brings no benefit to me as I only occasionally use my computer and have no interest in having faster broadband. I am not even a BT customer.
‘I asked the workmen to move the box to the side of the house where I wouldn’t be able to see it, but they said that would cost too much.’
Mrs Russell, who has lived in her home for 42 years, complained to local Liberal Democrat MP Mr Burstow.
He said: ‘As a company which prides itself on good customer service, BT needs to get a grip on the way it places its cabinets.
‘It’s just common sense to keep residents in the loop about work that is going on outside their homes. I think it is outrageous that the first thing someone hears about one of the cabinets being installed is when they are woken up by the sound of drilling.’
BT does not need planning permission, except in conservation areas, to install the boxes but is required to tell the local authority of proposed locations a month before work starts.
Sutton Council objected to the site outside Mrs Russell’s home but was overruled by BT.
The cabinets, appearing across Britain at the rate of 200 to 300 a week, allow a fibre-optic connection to be made between the local telephone exchange and homes and businesses in the area.
Their dimensions vary, but most are 66in high, 47in wide and 17in deep.
Similar concerns about them have been raised as far afield as Brighton and Dundee.
And when the first cabinets were installed two years ago, householders in Muswell Hill, North London, complained they blocked pavements.
The residents’ association said the ‘unsightly’ units were blighting the neighbourhood because they were taller than most garden walls.
A BT spokesman said: ‘We work very closely with local authorities to try to resolve any concerns. Without these cabinets, people would miss out on the benefits of super-fast broadband.
‘Unfortunately Mrs Russell’s property was accidentally disconnected from the gas supply for a few hours while underground ducts were being laid.’
BT's 52,000 green giants... the next metal monstrosity could be stuck outside your home
Paul Burstow accused the telecom giant of behaving ‘outrageously’ after an elderly constituent woke to find one of the green broadband boxes blocking the view from her front window.
Wendy Russell, 77, also had her gas pipe cut and garden wall damaged by BT contractors while they were digging up the pavement.
About 52,000 green boxes are being installed across the country over the next four years in a £2.5billion operation by BT Openreach to provide two-thirds of homes with faster broadband by the end of 2015.
But Health Minister Mr Burstow claims the firm is ignoring the wishes of residents and local councils by positioning the broadband cabinets in unsuitable places.
Mrs Russell knew nothing of a plan to put one outside her front gate in Sutton, Surrey, until she was roused by the sound of drilling at 8am.
‘I only found out it was BT when I went down to ask the workmen what they were doing,’ said Mrs Russell.
‘The cabinet is 3ft foot higher than my wall and blocks the view from my front window.
‘It’s an eyesore which I fear will lower the value of the house. It brings no benefit to me as I only occasionally use my computer and have no interest in having faster broadband. I am not even a BT customer.
‘I asked the workmen to move the box to the side of the house where I wouldn’t be able to see it, but they said that would cost too much.’
Mrs Russell, who has lived in her home for 42 years, complained to local Liberal Democrat MP Mr Burstow.
He said: ‘As a company which prides itself on good customer service, BT needs to get a grip on the way it places its cabinets.
‘It’s just common sense to keep residents in the loop about work that is going on outside their homes. I think it is outrageous that the first thing someone hears about one of the cabinets being installed is when they are woken up by the sound of drilling.’
BT does not need planning permission, except in conservation areas, to install the boxes but is required to tell the local authority of proposed locations a month before work starts.
Sutton Council objected to the site outside Mrs Russell’s home but was overruled by BT.
The cabinets, appearing across Britain at the rate of 200 to 300 a week, allow a fibre-optic connection to be made between the local telephone exchange and homes and businesses in the area.
Their dimensions vary, but most are 66in high, 47in wide and 17in deep.
Similar concerns about them have been raised as far afield as Brighton and Dundee.
And when the first cabinets were installed two years ago, householders in Muswell Hill, North London, complained they blocked pavements.
The residents’ association said the ‘unsightly’ units were blighting the neighbourhood because they were taller than most garden walls.
A BT spokesman said: ‘We work very closely with local authorities to try to resolve any concerns. Without these cabinets, people would miss out on the benefits of super-fast broadband.
‘Unfortunately Mrs Russell’s property was accidentally disconnected from the gas supply for a few hours while underground ducts were being laid.’
BT's 52,000 green giants... the next metal monstrosity could be stuck outside your home
UK - Welsh Executive is extending its Broadband Support Scheme where speeds are below 512 kbps
[wales online] More households and businesses in Wales are set to get broadband access thanks to the Welsh Government’s Broadband Support Scheme, Business Minister Edwina Hart has announced.
Residents, communities, businesses and third sector organisations located in broadband “notspots” – where connectivity is less than 512 kilobytes per second – can currently apply for a grant of up to £1,000 to connect.
The announcement will extend the scheme to include “slowspots”, where connectivity is less than two megabytes per second.
Mrs Hart said: “It is vital that everyone across Wales has access to basic broadband. That is why we launched the Broadband Support Scheme – to help households and businesses in Wales get broadband access regardless of where they live.”
Since the scheme was launched last July more than 800 broadband access applications have been approved.
Assembly aid for broadband slowspots
Residents, communities, businesses and third sector organisations located in broadband “notspots” – where connectivity is less than 512 kilobytes per second – can currently apply for a grant of up to £1,000 to connect.
The announcement will extend the scheme to include “slowspots”, where connectivity is less than two megabytes per second.
Mrs Hart said: “It is vital that everyone across Wales has access to basic broadband. That is why we launched the Broadband Support Scheme – to help households and businesses in Wales get broadband access regardless of where they live.”
Since the scheme was launched last July more than 800 broadband access applications have been approved.
Assembly aid for broadband slowspots
UK - Govt is accused of reducing the minimum speed of "superfast" broadband to only 15 Mbps from 24 Mbps
[cable.co.uk] Politicians have not slashed their super-fast broadband speed targets to a minimum of 15Mbps.
The government has moved to play down concerns that it is targeting minimum speeds of 15Mbps in its super-fast broadband rollout plans.
Ofcom, the UK's telecoms industry watchdog, defines 'super-fast' connections as those that deliver download capabilities of at least 24Mbps, but a tender document from Broadband Delivery UK only tasked providers with achieving 15Mbps speeds.
Despite the information contained in the framework agreement, a spokesperson for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport insisted the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition has not lowered its ambitions.
Speaking to V3, the source explained the 15Mbps figure is only intended as a broad guide that providers must meet if they are to be chosen in the tender process.
The spokesperson went on to restate the government's target to bring super-fast broadband to 90 per cent of homes and businesses, as well as delivering universal speeds of at least 2Mbps.
Malcolm Corbett, chief executive of the Independent Networks Cooperative Association, expressed his satisfaction at the confirmation but questioned the administration's motives for using the 15Mbps figure as a guide.
"The more ambitious the government is, the more likely it is that the UK will have the best broadband network in Europe by 2015," he remarked.
"It seems odd, though, that it's used a different figure in the document to the 25Mbps goal, as companies applying for funding could see that as a target even though it's not."
Published earlier this week, the tender is looking to find up to 12 internet service providers to carry out the bulk of work required to meet the government's broadband goals.
Individual projects will be at sub-county, county, multi-county or regional levels and could involve as many as 500,000 properties.
All work is expected to be carried out at a total cost of between £750 million and £2 billion, with this money set to be raised through a combination of public and private funding.
Govt denies reduction in super-fast broadband speed target
The government has moved to play down concerns that it is targeting minimum speeds of 15Mbps in its super-fast broadband rollout plans.
Ofcom, the UK's telecoms industry watchdog, defines 'super-fast' connections as those that deliver download capabilities of at least 24Mbps, but a tender document from Broadband Delivery UK only tasked providers with achieving 15Mbps speeds.
Despite the information contained in the framework agreement, a spokesperson for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport insisted the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition has not lowered its ambitions.
Speaking to V3, the source explained the 15Mbps figure is only intended as a broad guide that providers must meet if they are to be chosen in the tender process.
The spokesperson went on to restate the government's target to bring super-fast broadband to 90 per cent of homes and businesses, as well as delivering universal speeds of at least 2Mbps.
Malcolm Corbett, chief executive of the Independent Networks Cooperative Association, expressed his satisfaction at the confirmation but questioned the administration's motives for using the 15Mbps figure as a guide.
"The more ambitious the government is, the more likely it is that the UK will have the best broadband network in Europe by 2015," he remarked.
"It seems odd, though, that it's used a different figure in the document to the 25Mbps goal, as companies applying for funding could see that as a target even though it's not."
Published earlier this week, the tender is looking to find up to 12 internet service providers to carry out the bulk of work required to meet the government's broadband goals.
Individual projects will be at sub-county, county, multi-county or regional levels and could involve as many as 500,000 properties.
All work is expected to be carried out at a total cost of between £750 million and £2 billion, with this money set to be raised through a combination of public and private funding.
Govt denies reduction in super-fast broadband speed target
Android - SonyEricsson is trying to take the leading position with this mobile operating system in Asia-Pacific
[asia one] Sony Ericsson has announced the release of two new smart phones and a new feature phone on Asia-Pacific markets in a bid to support its business position as a communication entertainment brand and to make itself the markets' leading supplier of mobile phones based on the Android operating system.
The new phones - the Xperia ray, the Xperia active and the Sony Ericsson txt - will be available in the third quarter of this year.
Sony Ericsson's corporate vice president and head of Asia-Pacific region
Matthew Lang said that the firm wanted to become the No 1 supplier of Android-based mobile phones and it saw the opportunity for growth in Asia Pacific.
"We see great opportunities in the market for our new products. We have great expectations for active markets such as Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and India. We need to be No 1 in Android-based mobile phones to be the market leader," he said.
Moreover, Lang said Sony Ericsson would introduce a new tablet PC to the market when it was able to develop something unique and different. At present, it is waiting to see how the market segment emerges.
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications International's corporate vice president and head of marketing Steve Walker said that the growth of the Asia-Pacific mobile-phone market had led his company to unveil the Sony Ericsson Xperia ray and Xperia active, to give consumers access to the world of Sony Ericsson and Android.
The Xperia ray and Xperia active smart phones both run the latest version of the Android platform (Gingerbread 2.3) and deliver rich consumer experiences.
"As the Android platform gains market share in Asia Pacific, the Xperia portfolio is positioned to deliver consumers a unique and differentiated experience. We continue to deliver a portfolio to make the Sony Ericsson experience available to a broad range of consumers," he said.
Walker said the two new smart phones were designed to offer consumers unique design and technology for an entertaining experience.
The Xperia ray, combines a slim 9.4mm form factor with a high quality aluminium frame and a 3.3-inch screen. The phone has a 1Ghz processor and uses Sony technology such as Reality Display with a Mobile Bravia engine and an 8.1-megapixel camera with a Sony Exmor R CMOS sensor.
Meanwhile, the Xperia active has a compact design combined with a number of innovative hardware features including a 3-inch screen, a 1Ghz processor and a 5-megapixel camera. It is also dust proof and water resistant and incorporates wet-finger tracking.
It features pre-loaded sports apps that enable users to easily track their fitness levels. By using built-in GPS, barometer and compass in combination with an on-screen heart rate and pulse monitor (enabled by ANT+ wireless networking technology), and the iMapMyFitness app, users can easily monitor their day to day performance.
The company also introduced the Sony Ericsson txt, a feature phone designed for the entry-level market. It offers a full Qwerty keyboard, a 2.6-inch screen and an SMS shortcut key for easy and fast messaging. It also comes equipped with a "friends" application that enables users to see Facebook and Twitter updates from their top five friends at a glance.
"The Sony Ericsson txt is Wi-Fi enabled and comes equipped with a 3.2-megapixel camera with video recording. The phone feels comfortable in the hand with a rounded back. It is a phone for easy and fast messaging on the move," Walker said, adding that all three phones would be available in the third quarter of this year.
Illustrating the rate of growth that has spurred not only Sony Ericsson but many other phone makers to develop new products, market-research firm IDC says that Thailand's total mobile phone market is expected to reach 21.1 million units this year. Smart phones will make up 16.6 per cent of these and feature phones 83.4 per cent.
IDC's first quarter Thailand Mobile Device Tracker reported year-on-year growth of 66.7 per cent in smart-phone sales.
Sony Ericsson bids for Android leadership
The new phones - the Xperia ray, the Xperia active and the Sony Ericsson txt - will be available in the third quarter of this year.
Sony Ericsson's corporate vice president and head of Asia-Pacific region
Matthew Lang said that the firm wanted to become the No 1 supplier of Android-based mobile phones and it saw the opportunity for growth in Asia Pacific.
"We see great opportunities in the market for our new products. We have great expectations for active markets such as Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and India. We need to be No 1 in Android-based mobile phones to be the market leader," he said.
Moreover, Lang said Sony Ericsson would introduce a new tablet PC to the market when it was able to develop something unique and different. At present, it is waiting to see how the market segment emerges.
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications International's corporate vice president and head of marketing Steve Walker said that the growth of the Asia-Pacific mobile-phone market had led his company to unveil the Sony Ericsson Xperia ray and Xperia active, to give consumers access to the world of Sony Ericsson and Android.
The Xperia ray and Xperia active smart phones both run the latest version of the Android platform (Gingerbread 2.3) and deliver rich consumer experiences.
"As the Android platform gains market share in Asia Pacific, the Xperia portfolio is positioned to deliver consumers a unique and differentiated experience. We continue to deliver a portfolio to make the Sony Ericsson experience available to a broad range of consumers," he said.
Walker said the two new smart phones were designed to offer consumers unique design and technology for an entertaining experience.
The Xperia ray, combines a slim 9.4mm form factor with a high quality aluminium frame and a 3.3-inch screen. The phone has a 1Ghz processor and uses Sony technology such as Reality Display with a Mobile Bravia engine and an 8.1-megapixel camera with a Sony Exmor R CMOS sensor.
Meanwhile, the Xperia active has a compact design combined with a number of innovative hardware features including a 3-inch screen, a 1Ghz processor and a 5-megapixel camera. It is also dust proof and water resistant and incorporates wet-finger tracking.
It features pre-loaded sports apps that enable users to easily track their fitness levels. By using built-in GPS, barometer and compass in combination with an on-screen heart rate and pulse monitor (enabled by ANT+ wireless networking technology), and the iMapMyFitness app, users can easily monitor their day to day performance.
The company also introduced the Sony Ericsson txt, a feature phone designed for the entry-level market. It offers a full Qwerty keyboard, a 2.6-inch screen and an SMS shortcut key for easy and fast messaging. It also comes equipped with a "friends" application that enables users to see Facebook and Twitter updates from their top five friends at a glance.
"The Sony Ericsson txt is Wi-Fi enabled and comes equipped with a 3.2-megapixel camera with video recording. The phone feels comfortable in the hand with a rounded back. It is a phone for easy and fast messaging on the move," Walker said, adding that all three phones would be available in the third quarter of this year.
Illustrating the rate of growth that has spurred not only Sony Ericsson but many other phone makers to develop new products, market-research firm IDC says that Thailand's total mobile phone market is expected to reach 21.1 million units this year. Smart phones will make up 16.6 per cent of these and feature phones 83.4 per cent.
IDC's first quarter Thailand Mobile Device Tracker reported year-on-year growth of 66.7 per cent in smart-phone sales.
Sony Ericsson bids for Android leadership
Mergers - US regulator has issued updated guidelines for its processing of merger cases
[usdoj] The Department of Justice released an updated version of the Antitrust Division’s Policy Guide to Merger Remedies. The policy guide is a tool for Antitrust Division staff to use in analyzing proposed remedies in its merger matters. It also provides transparency into the division’s approach to merger remedies for the business community, the antitrust bar and the broader public.
Although the updated policy guide reflects changes in the merger landscape, the goal of the Antitrust Division remains the same – to provide an effective remedy to eliminate the anticompetitive effects of a proposed transaction, the department said.
“In every case, the Antitrust Division focuses on the specific facts of the proposed transaction. We are prepared to clear a merger, block a merger or accept a remedy that maintains efficiencies as long as the result eliminates any competitive harm,” said Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “In the current environment of increasing transnational mergers and complex vertical transactions, the Antitrust Division must be ever nimble in its efforts to ensure that any remedies effectively preserve competition, promote innovation and protect consumers. The updated policy guide takes into account these changes.”
Updated Guide Recognizes Change in Merger Landscape
Although the updated policy guide reflects changes in the merger landscape, the goal of the Antitrust Division remains the same – to provide an effective remedy to eliminate the anticompetitive effects of a proposed transaction, the department said.
“In every case, the Antitrust Division focuses on the specific facts of the proposed transaction. We are prepared to clear a merger, block a merger or accept a remedy that maintains efficiencies as long as the result eliminates any competitive harm,” said Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “In the current environment of increasing transnational mergers and complex vertical transactions, the Antitrust Division must be ever nimble in its efforts to ensure that any remedies effectively preserve competition, promote innovation and protect consumers. The updated policy guide takes into account these changes.”
Updated Guide Recognizes Change in Merger Landscape
Abuse of dominance - Research paper by Fernando Diez on different approaches to abuse, in particular the Telefonica and Microsoft cases
[University of Antonio de Nebrija] Article 82 of EC Treaty prohibits any abuse by one or more undertakings of a dominant position; the examples contained of “abuse” reflect a variety of public policies that have led European antitrust authorities in several directions simultaneously, indicating also a highly regulatory policy of control of the adverse effects of market power in the EU. The lack of guidance in this field both for undertakings and enforcers led the European Commission to issue in 2005 the well known Discussion Paper on exclusionary abuses; although also announced, a further notice on the so-called exploitative abuses is still waited. Besides, a more economic approach to abusive practices is preached from virtually all the communitarian instances. However, two recent decisions – the fine imposed in July 2007 to Telefonica for practicing excessive prices in the form of margin squeeze in the broad band market in Spain, and the confirmation in September 2007 by the Court of First Instance of the fine imposed to Microsoft in 2004 for two allegedly anticompetitive practices (tying and refusal to supply) - suggest that this new economic understanding is either still forthcoming or not yet understood as such by everybody. In this paper we take all this considerations into account when analyzing two features of the current understanding of abusive practices under EC law. First, the evolution from early decisions finding excessive prices and refusals to deal – which were mostly vertical in nature- to the latest pronouncements show a shift to horizontal effects. In addition to it, the ex ante regulation of certain industries – e.g. telecommunications - has certainly altered the way in which antitrust ex post intervention is conducted. Both phenomena are illustrated respectively by the Telefonica and Microsoft cases, and need to be assessed under the new economic approach to Article 82 practices.
Article 82, Sector-Specific Regulation, Microsoft and Telefonica: Really a New Economic Understanding of Abusive Practices Under EC Law?
Article 82, Sector-Specific Regulation, Microsoft and Telefonica: Really a New Economic Understanding of Abusive Practices Under EC Law?
Bahrain - The Regulator has completed a comparison of mobile QoS of this small Arab autocracy with France and Germany
[ame] The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has released its first mobile quality of service report for the Kingdom of Bahrain. The audit which was performed by Directique, an independent consulting firm during October 2010 identified that all three mobile operator, Batelco, Viva and Zain were achieving good performances compared with benchmarked mobile operators in other markets including UAE, France and Germany.
The evaluation included the following mobile services: voice, sms & mms, email and data services over computer and smartphone; and was performed with a method designed to gather a faithful qualitative record of the end user's point of view.
This quality of service report follow and complement a mobile coverage audit published by TRA last month. The coverage audit was conducted to verify that all three mobile operators did comply with their mobile license obligation to provide mobile coverage to 95% of the population in the Kingdom; the audit confirmed that Operators comply in fact exceed their license obligation by offering near to 100% outdoor population coverage based on 87,683 individual test calls.
Commenting on those reports TRA's Technical and Operations Director Mr. Mohammed Mahmood said, "The result of the audits is clearly indicating that mobile operators are putting a lot of efforts not only to comply with their license conditions but also to provide consumers with state of the art mobile services and satisfy their needs. TRA can be satisfied that consumers are enjoying a wide range of mobile telecommunications services with good levels of coverage and quality TRA will continue to closely monitor the evolution of the Mobile QoS."
The availability of quality mobile telecommunications services are critical elements for the success of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Mobile services have seen a succession of different technologies which have enabled mobile services to evolve from basic voice and message services to more recently multimedia services including email, access to the internet and the conveyance of real time video. The common factor is the evolution of mobility towards higher data speeds, initially available only through fixed services.
Today's mobile telecommunications services allow many different economic and social sectors to benefit from enhanced applications and services. For the younger population, this translates to easy contact, music and inter-active games. Whilst in the business environment, the evolutions of mobile services meant that many company executives initially and now many employees have access to secured company email and data while on the move allowing for flexibility, continuity and maintenance of response times.
Telecommunications Regulatory Authority publishes first mobile quality of service report
The evaluation included the following mobile services: voice, sms & mms, email and data services over computer and smartphone; and was performed with a method designed to gather a faithful qualitative record of the end user's point of view.
This quality of service report follow and complement a mobile coverage audit published by TRA last month. The coverage audit was conducted to verify that all three mobile operators did comply with their mobile license obligation to provide mobile coverage to 95% of the population in the Kingdom; the audit confirmed that Operators comply in fact exceed their license obligation by offering near to 100% outdoor population coverage based on 87,683 individual test calls.
Commenting on those reports TRA's Technical and Operations Director Mr. Mohammed Mahmood said, "The result of the audits is clearly indicating that mobile operators are putting a lot of efforts not only to comply with their license conditions but also to provide consumers with state of the art mobile services and satisfy their needs. TRA can be satisfied that consumers are enjoying a wide range of mobile telecommunications services with good levels of coverage and quality TRA will continue to closely monitor the evolution of the Mobile QoS."
The availability of quality mobile telecommunications services are critical elements for the success of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Mobile services have seen a succession of different technologies which have enabled mobile services to evolve from basic voice and message services to more recently multimedia services including email, access to the internet and the conveyance of real time video. The common factor is the evolution of mobility towards higher data speeds, initially available only through fixed services.
Today's mobile telecommunications services allow many different economic and social sectors to benefit from enhanced applications and services. For the younger population, this translates to easy contact, music and inter-active games. Whilst in the business environment, the evolutions of mobile services meant that many company executives initially and now many employees have access to secured company email and data while on the move allowing for flexibility, continuity and maintenance of response times.
Telecommunications Regulatory Authority publishes first mobile quality of service report
Mauritius - With the declining cost of bandwidth and competition on international routes prices are expected to fall
[defimedia] Minister Tassarajen Chedumbrum Pillay made this declaration to Radio Plus last week. He explained that the price for the exploitation of bandwidths has “reduced considerably” and that Mauritius Telecom (MT) has no monopoly anymore. At present, Emtel offers a decrease of up to 44% to corporates.
“Before, it was mandatory for operators to buy bandwidths from MT but this is not the case anymore. They can buy the bandwidths from foreign operators,” he said.
He pointed out that this decrease was possible thanks to the Government’s policy to open access to underwater cables.
“We have circulated documents in this regard to the Cabinet on October 15, 2010. Hence, we have been able to bring a significant reform in ICT in the country. As a result, Emtel now buys bandwidths which are not used by MT. This also implies that it can afford to offer a much more competitive rate. For the time being, it is only corporates which are benefitting from this decrease. For example, the price offered by Emtel for an Internet subscription at the rate of 256 kbps is Rs 15,000 instead of Rs 27,000 at Telecom Plus, which represents a difference of 44%. The connection of 512 kbps cost Rs 30,000 at Emtel which also offers a subscription at the rate of 1 megabyte is at Rs 40,000 while the same is at Rs 65,000 at Telecom Plus. As for a subscription with the capacity of 2 megabytes, Emtel offers the service at Rs 60,000 while Telecom Plus offers it as Rs 98,900. But as mentioned earlier, it is only corporates which are benefitting from this decrease at the moment at Emtel. The public will be able to enjoy the decrease in the days to come,” he underscored.
As far as the rate of mobile phones is concerned, it has known a decrease of 33% since July 2, 2011. The Interconnection Usage Charge has gone down from 90 cents to 60 cents. This decrease applies to calls made from one operator to another from a mobile, from a landline to a mobile and from a mobile for an international call.
This measure also applies to the communication from a landline to a mobile and from a MT mobile phone to other operators as well as for international calls. However, this decrease in rates does not apply for users of Orange mobile phones who will communicate between themselves. In short, since last Friday, MT mobile users will pay 60 cents instead of 90 cents when calling a user from another operator.
The last review of the rates was carried out in 2004. Presently, the number of landline users has reached 400,000, from 375,000 in 2009 to 387,700 in 2010. The number of mobile users is expected to reach the bar of 1.2 million this year.
Technology news: Internet rates to go down soon
“Before, it was mandatory for operators to buy bandwidths from MT but this is not the case anymore. They can buy the bandwidths from foreign operators,” he said.
He pointed out that this decrease was possible thanks to the Government’s policy to open access to underwater cables.
“We have circulated documents in this regard to the Cabinet on October 15, 2010. Hence, we have been able to bring a significant reform in ICT in the country. As a result, Emtel now buys bandwidths which are not used by MT. This also implies that it can afford to offer a much more competitive rate. For the time being, it is only corporates which are benefitting from this decrease. For example, the price offered by Emtel for an Internet subscription at the rate of 256 kbps is Rs 15,000 instead of Rs 27,000 at Telecom Plus, which represents a difference of 44%. The connection of 512 kbps cost Rs 30,000 at Emtel which also offers a subscription at the rate of 1 megabyte is at Rs 40,000 while the same is at Rs 65,000 at Telecom Plus. As for a subscription with the capacity of 2 megabytes, Emtel offers the service at Rs 60,000 while Telecom Plus offers it as Rs 98,900. But as mentioned earlier, it is only corporates which are benefitting from this decrease at the moment at Emtel. The public will be able to enjoy the decrease in the days to come,” he underscored.
As far as the rate of mobile phones is concerned, it has known a decrease of 33% since July 2, 2011. The Interconnection Usage Charge has gone down from 90 cents to 60 cents. This decrease applies to calls made from one operator to another from a mobile, from a landline to a mobile and from a mobile for an international call.
This measure also applies to the communication from a landline to a mobile and from a MT mobile phone to other operators as well as for international calls. However, this decrease in rates does not apply for users of Orange mobile phones who will communicate between themselves. In short, since last Friday, MT mobile users will pay 60 cents instead of 90 cents when calling a user from another operator.
The last review of the rates was carried out in 2004. Presently, the number of landline users has reached 400,000, from 375,000 in 2009 to 387,700 in 2010. The number of mobile users is expected to reach the bar of 1.2 million this year.
Technology news: Internet rates to go down soon
Mauritius - Delays in an appeal against a refusal to issue Outremer with a 3G licence may result in operator withdrawing
[bloomberg] Outremer Telecom (OMT) SA may cancel its plan to invest 1.6 billion rupees ($56 million) in Mauritius, l’Express reported, citing Michel Rigot, the company’s general manager for the country.
Outremer Telecom had applied for a third-generation mobile license, which was denied, the Port Louis-based newspaper said. The case was referred to court and no decision has been taken, it reported. A third-generation, or 3G network, enables faster data transmission and allows mobile-phone users to download music and videos to their handsets.
Outremer Telecom May Cancel Mauritius Investment, l’Express Says
Outremer Telecom had applied for a third-generation mobile license, which was denied, the Port Louis-based newspaper said. The case was referred to court and no decision has been taken, it reported. A third-generation, or 3G network, enables faster data transmission and allows mobile-phone users to download music and videos to their handsets.
Outremer Telecom May Cancel Mauritius Investment, l’Express Says
Poland - EC fines on Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. (TPSA) open the way to claims for compensation by rivals
[eurocomms] Telecommunications specialists predict that the European Commission anti-trust fine levied last week against Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. (TPSA) could open the door to compensation claims from competitors, writes Andrew Kureth.
Brussels hit TPSA, Poland's dominant telecom operator, with a €127.5 million penalty, saying it had illegally stymied competitors' access to its network.
In a statement addressing the ruling, the Commission (EC) said that between August 2005 and October 2009, the firm, which is 49% owned by France Telecom, blocked or delayed its competitors from entering the Polish broadband market.
“This case shows our determination to ensure that dominant telecom operators do not systematically hinder competitors who can make a real difference in the market to the benefit of consumers and businesses,” said EU competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia.
As the decision reverberates throughout Poland's telecoms market, analysts said that the door has now been opened for the company's competitors to gain compensation through the courts.
Piotr Janik, a telecoms analyst at KBC Securities in Warsaw, said he saw the possibility that Netia, TPSA's biggest competitor in Poland’s landline market, could see the ruling as the basis for a claim.
“I would not be surprised if Netia filed some claim for remuneration. It could be an opportunity for them since the EC has opened the door for compensation claims,” he said.
“It's widely known that either the regulator or the EC found some facts that could suggest that TPSA was abusing its dominant market position and made the life of alternative operators a bit more difficult,” he added.
When asked if he thought the decision was justified, despite the ruling concerning actions taken as many as six years ago, Janik said Brussels had acted correctly.
“If the EC is trying to keep market competitiveness as high as possible…then it is the right decision,” he said.
In its response to the ruling, TPSA said: “The EC’s decision is surprising, as the contemplated irregularities were voluntarily removed by TP [TPSA] promptly upon discovery, ie, no later than in 2009.”
The company had been fined several times by local Polish anti-trust regulators for the same violations. In 2006 alone it received Polish Zloty 500 million ($179 million) in fines for non-compliance.
Nevertheless, Janik said that the penalty was par for the course for the EC, which had handed down penalties to companies in other countries that had also been fined by their local regulators in the past.
“Look at the level of the fine – it could have been up to 10 per cent [of 2010 revenues] and it was only 3 per cent. So they got off easy,” he added.
Whatever compensation claims are made, they will likely take a long time to work their way through the courts, as TPSA has already pledged to fight the ruling – it could take Brussels to the European Court of Justice for an appeal.
“The decision of the EC is not final. Therefore, TP will cooperate with its lawyers to take any and all possible and reasonable steps regarding the EC’s decision,” the company said in its official statement.
EU FINE ON LEADING POLISH TELCO COULD OPEN DOOR TO COMPENSATION CLAIMs
Brussels hit TPSA, Poland's dominant telecom operator, with a €127.5 million penalty, saying it had illegally stymied competitors' access to its network.
In a statement addressing the ruling, the Commission (EC) said that between August 2005 and October 2009, the firm, which is 49% owned by France Telecom, blocked or delayed its competitors from entering the Polish broadband market.
“This case shows our determination to ensure that dominant telecom operators do not systematically hinder competitors who can make a real difference in the market to the benefit of consumers and businesses,” said EU competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia.
As the decision reverberates throughout Poland's telecoms market, analysts said that the door has now been opened for the company's competitors to gain compensation through the courts.
Piotr Janik, a telecoms analyst at KBC Securities in Warsaw, said he saw the possibility that Netia, TPSA's biggest competitor in Poland’s landline market, could see the ruling as the basis for a claim.
“I would not be surprised if Netia filed some claim for remuneration. It could be an opportunity for them since the EC has opened the door for compensation claims,” he said.
“It's widely known that either the regulator or the EC found some facts that could suggest that TPSA was abusing its dominant market position and made the life of alternative operators a bit more difficult,” he added.
When asked if he thought the decision was justified, despite the ruling concerning actions taken as many as six years ago, Janik said Brussels had acted correctly.
“If the EC is trying to keep market competitiveness as high as possible…then it is the right decision,” he said.
In its response to the ruling, TPSA said: “The EC’s decision is surprising, as the contemplated irregularities were voluntarily removed by TP [TPSA] promptly upon discovery, ie, no later than in 2009.”
The company had been fined several times by local Polish anti-trust regulators for the same violations. In 2006 alone it received Polish Zloty 500 million ($179 million) in fines for non-compliance.
Nevertheless, Janik said that the penalty was par for the course for the EC, which had handed down penalties to companies in other countries that had also been fined by their local regulators in the past.
“Look at the level of the fine – it could have been up to 10 per cent [of 2010 revenues] and it was only 3 per cent. So they got off easy,” he added.
Whatever compensation claims are made, they will likely take a long time to work their way through the courts, as TPSA has already pledged to fight the ruling – it could take Brussels to the European Court of Justice for an appeal.
“The decision of the EC is not final. Therefore, TP will cooperate with its lawyers to take any and all possible and reasonable steps regarding the EC’s decision,” the company said in its official statement.
EU FINE ON LEADING POLISH TELCO COULD OPEN DOOR TO COMPENSATION CLAIMs
#China - China Mobile is pressing ahead with 4G technologies using TD-LTE and the Global TD-LTE Initiative (GTI)
[china daily] China Mobile, the country's largest mobile telecom operator, is taking ambitious steps to promote the "fourth-generation," or 4G mobile technologies, according to the general manager of its research institute.
"You have to be a leader, not a follower...timing is everything," said Huang Xiaoqing, general manager of China Mobile's Research Institute, in an interview with Xinhua.
With more than 600 million subscribers, the mobile giant, which is both listed in Hong Kong and New York, is pushing for China's home-grown 4G standard, known as TD-LTE, or "Time Division-Long Term Evolution," to be a globally accepted standard.
The technology is expected to provide faster broadband wireless services to meet the explosive future demand in data communication that the current 3G network is unable to deliver, Huang said.
"Demand for mobile communications, especially for mobile internet, is rapidly growing, totally beyond our expectation and forecast," he said.
The TD-LTE network is believed to be "ten times lower in price and ten times better in performance" than the current 3G service, he added.
The upgraded version of TD-LTE, or TD-LTE-Advanced, is now among the three international 4G standards accepted by the UN's International Telecommunication Union(ITU). The other two are LTE FDD and WiMAX, which are dominated by Europe and the United States, respectively.
Currently the company has arranged large-scale TD-LTE trials in six Chinese cities and set up a demonstration network in Beijing. It has also developed a TD-LTE mobile network in Taiwan with the local Far EasTone Telecommunications for testing purposes.
According to Huang, telecommunication operators worldwide are seeking a single and unified global standard and tend to agree to the LTE standard.
China Mobile joined with seven other operators to form Global TD-LTE Initiative(GTI) at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February, he said.
The GTI now has 22 members, including telecommunication giants like the UK's Vodafone, Japan's Softbank, and Axiata from eastern Europe. Currently, trial networks of TD-LTE have been established in 29 countries.
Goldman Sachs is also optimistic about TD-LTE's future. In a report released late June, the investment bank said TD-LTE is becoming the global solution for unpaired spectrum due to its 3G inter-operability, large data capacity, and leverage of the LTE FDD system.
The report expects China Mobile, Bharti (India), and Softbank to launch TD-LTE services in late 2012 or 2013, which would cover nearly 2.7 billion people, or 39 percent of the world's total population, in the three countries.
China is leading the global promotion of the TD-LTE standard, therefore, tests on the network are fully open, said Cao Shumin, vice director of the Telecommunication Research Institution under with the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology(MIIT).
The test site at the MIIT institution has gathered not only domestic cell phone manufacturers but also multinational tycoons like Motorola, Ericsson, and Nokia Siemens Networks.
The LTE FDD network, which is promoted by European operators, is seen as a strong competitor to TD-LTE. But as the two technologies are based on the same LTE system, they are able to share R&D results and subscribers at a global level, Cao said.
The company is also pinning hope on the 4G technology to gain back its high-end subscribers lost to China Unicom and China Telecom in the 3G business.
China Mobile, whose 3G network technology isn't supported by the iPhone, has announced it will work with Apple on a TD-LTE-type iPhone.
Currently, China Mobile's iPhone users can only run their device on the 2G mobile network.
But the Chinese government has not given a clear timetable for the commercial launch of TD-LTE.
Miao Wei, minister of the MIIT, said in April that China plans to commercially promote the TD-LTE technology nationwide within three to five years.
The government has only issued the 3G licenses in 2009, with China Mobile getting the self-developed TD-SCDMA standard.
"The regulator is afraid that China Mobile is becoming stronger, gaining more market share and monopolizing the market," Huang said.
China Mobile had 611 million subscribers by the end of May, of which 32 million were 3G users. China Unicom had 22.1 million 3G users in May, while China Telecom came in third with 19.7 million.
China Mobile ambitious to lead 4G tech
"You have to be a leader, not a follower...timing is everything," said Huang Xiaoqing, general manager of China Mobile's Research Institute, in an interview with Xinhua.
With more than 600 million subscribers, the mobile giant, which is both listed in Hong Kong and New York, is pushing for China's home-grown 4G standard, known as TD-LTE, or "Time Division-Long Term Evolution," to be a globally accepted standard.
The technology is expected to provide faster broadband wireless services to meet the explosive future demand in data communication that the current 3G network is unable to deliver, Huang said.
"Demand for mobile communications, especially for mobile internet, is rapidly growing, totally beyond our expectation and forecast," he said.
The TD-LTE network is believed to be "ten times lower in price and ten times better in performance" than the current 3G service, he added.
The upgraded version of TD-LTE, or TD-LTE-Advanced, is now among the three international 4G standards accepted by the UN's International Telecommunication Union(ITU). The other two are LTE FDD and WiMAX, which are dominated by Europe and the United States, respectively.
Currently the company has arranged large-scale TD-LTE trials in six Chinese cities and set up a demonstration network in Beijing. It has also developed a TD-LTE mobile network in Taiwan with the local Far EasTone Telecommunications for testing purposes.
According to Huang, telecommunication operators worldwide are seeking a single and unified global standard and tend to agree to the LTE standard.
China Mobile joined with seven other operators to form Global TD-LTE Initiative(GTI) at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February, he said.
The GTI now has 22 members, including telecommunication giants like the UK's Vodafone, Japan's Softbank, and Axiata from eastern Europe. Currently, trial networks of TD-LTE have been established in 29 countries.
Goldman Sachs is also optimistic about TD-LTE's future. In a report released late June, the investment bank said TD-LTE is becoming the global solution for unpaired spectrum due to its 3G inter-operability, large data capacity, and leverage of the LTE FDD system.
The report expects China Mobile, Bharti (India), and Softbank to launch TD-LTE services in late 2012 or 2013, which would cover nearly 2.7 billion people, or 39 percent of the world's total population, in the three countries.
China is leading the global promotion of the TD-LTE standard, therefore, tests on the network are fully open, said Cao Shumin, vice director of the Telecommunication Research Institution under with the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology(MIIT).
The test site at the MIIT institution has gathered not only domestic cell phone manufacturers but also multinational tycoons like Motorola, Ericsson, and Nokia Siemens Networks.
The LTE FDD network, which is promoted by European operators, is seen as a strong competitor to TD-LTE. But as the two technologies are based on the same LTE system, they are able to share R&D results and subscribers at a global level, Cao said.
The company is also pinning hope on the 4G technology to gain back its high-end subscribers lost to China Unicom and China Telecom in the 3G business.
China Mobile, whose 3G network technology isn't supported by the iPhone, has announced it will work with Apple on a TD-LTE-type iPhone.
Currently, China Mobile's iPhone users can only run their device on the 2G mobile network.
But the Chinese government has not given a clear timetable for the commercial launch of TD-LTE.
Miao Wei, minister of the MIIT, said in April that China plans to commercially promote the TD-LTE technology nationwide within three to five years.
The government has only issued the 3G licenses in 2009, with China Mobile getting the self-developed TD-SCDMA standard.
"The regulator is afraid that China Mobile is becoming stronger, gaining more market share and monopolizing the market," Huang said.
China Mobile had 611 million subscribers by the end of May, of which 32 million were 3G users. China Unicom had 22.1 million 3G users in May, while China Telecom came in third with 19.7 million.
China Mobile ambitious to lead 4G tech
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Australia NBN - Government has published the five key regulator instruments to reform the telecommunications industry
[arn] The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, has introduced five key regulatory instruments to move closer the structural reform of the telecommunications industry.
The instruments provide the framework for Telstra’s structural separation.
Telstra can opt to proceed with lodging its structural separation undertaking with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
According to Senator Conroy, significant improvements were made to the instruments resulting from submissions obtained during the consultation period, which closed on June 15.
"The telecommunications industry fully understands the magnitude of these reforms and they provide a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a level playing field and enable competition and investment to flourish for the benefit of consumers," he said.
Senator Conroy mentioned interim transparency and equivalence arrangements are not intended to require Telstra to undertake functional separation but rather, intended to provide meaningful advances to existing arrangements for industry access to Telstra's copper network.
"The instruments I made today will require Telstra to make new commitments to equivalence and provide for stronger transparency measures during Telstra’s transition to full structural separation,” he said.
Senator Conroy also said the delivery of the structural reform in conjunction with the rollout of the National Broadband Network (NBN), will present all locals with better, fairer, and cheaper access to broadband services.
The five instruments made under Part 33 of the Telecommunications Act 1997 include: The Telecommunications (Acceptance of Undertaking about Structural Separation—Matters) Instrument 2011, Telecommunications (Structural Separation—Networks and Services Exemption) Instrument (No.1) 2011, Telecommunications (Migration Plan Principles) Determination 2011, Telecommunications (Migration Plan—Specified Matters) Instrument 2011 and the Telecommunications (Regulated Services) Determination (No. 1) 2011.
Structural reform of telecommunications a step closer
The instruments provide the framework for Telstra’s structural separation.
Telstra can opt to proceed with lodging its structural separation undertaking with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
According to Senator Conroy, significant improvements were made to the instruments resulting from submissions obtained during the consultation period, which closed on June 15.
"The telecommunications industry fully understands the magnitude of these reforms and they provide a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a level playing field and enable competition and investment to flourish for the benefit of consumers," he said.
Senator Conroy mentioned interim transparency and equivalence arrangements are not intended to require Telstra to undertake functional separation but rather, intended to provide meaningful advances to existing arrangements for industry access to Telstra's copper network.
"The instruments I made today will require Telstra to make new commitments to equivalence and provide for stronger transparency measures during Telstra’s transition to full structural separation,” he said.
Senator Conroy also said the delivery of the structural reform in conjunction with the rollout of the National Broadband Network (NBN), will present all locals with better, fairer, and cheaper access to broadband services.
The five instruments made under Part 33 of the Telecommunications Act 1997 include: The Telecommunications (Acceptance of Undertaking about Structural Separation—Matters) Instrument 2011, Telecommunications (Structural Separation—Networks and Services Exemption) Instrument (No.1) 2011, Telecommunications (Migration Plan Principles) Determination 2011, Telecommunications (Migration Plan—Specified Matters) Instrument 2011 and the Telecommunications (Regulated Services) Determination (No. 1) 2011.
Structural reform of telecommunications a step closer
#Australia #NBN - Taxpayers face a liability of billions of dollars if the agreement with Telstra is broken by the next government
[the australian] TAXPAYERS face a potential multi-billion-dollar liability to Telstra in addition to a possible break fee if the National Broadband Network is halted by a Coalition government after the next federal election.
While Finance Minister Penny Wong said on Thursday that Telstra could receive the one-off break fee of up to $500 million if a future government backed out of the super-fast internet project, stockbroking analysts stressed yesterday that lease payments for Telstra infrastructure would still have to be paid for decades and could reach into billions of dollars if the project were stopped after the 2013 election.
The government has guaranteed these payments in an $11bn deal under which Telstra will allow NBN Co to access infrastructure such as ducts, pits and manholes for a more efficient rollout.
JP Morgan estimated that if the NBN rollout was halted in 2014 NBN Co could have already committed to payments worth $3.2bn until 2035. Goldman Sachs estimated Telstra would receive $2.7bn if the rollout was halted in 2013 under a new government.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy's office conceded last night that lease payments to Telstra would have to continue where Telstra's infrastructure had been used but disputed claims that they would be as high as $3.2bn.
"The extent of these liabilities will depend on the stage of the rollout and the extent of the commitment undertaken to use Telstra infrastructure at that point," his spokesman said.
The infrastructure payments would apply regardless of when the rollout is ceased or scaled back and would last up to 35 years.
By June 2013, the NBN could have passed about 1.3 million premises - or 12 per cent of the project - although analysts already say delays mean about 10 per cent of the project would be done.
Goldman Sachs estimated the $2.7bn would consist of $2.1bn in infrastructure lease payments, $400m for disconnecting customers from the copper and cable network, and $200m for guaranteeing a basic phone service to all Australians.
Goldman Sachs said Telstra would be unlikely to get the break fee if the $36bn project were dumped in 2013, as it is triggered by NBN Co reaching 20 per cent of its goal to connect fibre to 93 per cent of the nation.
The comments underline the bind facing a potential Coalition government in 2013, with the opposition pledging to scale back the NBN if it wins power.
Opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull said the government had tried to "make it harder to take a different approach to the network design", but said that some of the Telstra infrastructure was valuable and that most of the investments made by 2013 were "in respect of assets which can be used".
"Whether they paid too much for them is another question," he said.
NBN Co and Telstra have not disclosed detail on the timing and cash value of the lease payments.
Government sources said NBN Co had agreed to the long-term leases because it needed certainty of access to Telstra's ducts. Sources also said NBN Co would retain the right to full use of the infrastructure during the lease and that returning assets to Telstra would fail to smash Telstra's dominance of the telecommunications sector.
The commonwealth has guaranteed NBN Co's liabilities for the four biggest agreements with Telstra and will continue to do so until NBN Co has an investment-grade credit rating and has repaid the government's $27.5bn contribution, or until the NBN is declared to be built and fully operational.
If the current government runs its full term, an election would be held by November 2013.
If a Coalition government came into office, any decision to scale back the NBN would probably spill into 2014 because of a commitment to perform a cost-benefit analysis ahead of such a pronouncement.
By 2014, it's possible NBN Co would have reached close to 20 per cent of its fibre footprint, which is the trigger for the break fee of up to $500m.
Even if the conditions for a break fee are not met, the infrastructure payments would still flow to Telstra for the parts of the network that had been built by NBN Co.
While Telstra will also be paid for each customer it disconnects from its copper network and migrates on to the new fibre broadband structure, the most significant and ongoing payments are tied to an infrastructure access agreement that will run for an initial term of 35 years. This so-called infrastructure services agreement is needed by NBN Co to gain access to critical fibre and exchange space from Telstra to build the backbone of its network, which it hopes to complete by 2014.
Scotched National Broadband Network deal 'could cost public $3bn'
While Finance Minister Penny Wong said on Thursday that Telstra could receive the one-off break fee of up to $500 million if a future government backed out of the super-fast internet project, stockbroking analysts stressed yesterday that lease payments for Telstra infrastructure would still have to be paid for decades and could reach into billions of dollars if the project were stopped after the 2013 election.
The government has guaranteed these payments in an $11bn deal under which Telstra will allow NBN Co to access infrastructure such as ducts, pits and manholes for a more efficient rollout.
JP Morgan estimated that if the NBN rollout was halted in 2014 NBN Co could have already committed to payments worth $3.2bn until 2035. Goldman Sachs estimated Telstra would receive $2.7bn if the rollout was halted in 2013 under a new government.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy's office conceded last night that lease payments to Telstra would have to continue where Telstra's infrastructure had been used but disputed claims that they would be as high as $3.2bn.
"The extent of these liabilities will depend on the stage of the rollout and the extent of the commitment undertaken to use Telstra infrastructure at that point," his spokesman said.
The infrastructure payments would apply regardless of when the rollout is ceased or scaled back and would last up to 35 years.
By June 2013, the NBN could have passed about 1.3 million premises - or 12 per cent of the project - although analysts already say delays mean about 10 per cent of the project would be done.
Goldman Sachs estimated the $2.7bn would consist of $2.1bn in infrastructure lease payments, $400m for disconnecting customers from the copper and cable network, and $200m for guaranteeing a basic phone service to all Australians.
Goldman Sachs said Telstra would be unlikely to get the break fee if the $36bn project were dumped in 2013, as it is triggered by NBN Co reaching 20 per cent of its goal to connect fibre to 93 per cent of the nation.
The comments underline the bind facing a potential Coalition government in 2013, with the opposition pledging to scale back the NBN if it wins power.
Opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull said the government had tried to "make it harder to take a different approach to the network design", but said that some of the Telstra infrastructure was valuable and that most of the investments made by 2013 were "in respect of assets which can be used".
"Whether they paid too much for them is another question," he said.
NBN Co and Telstra have not disclosed detail on the timing and cash value of the lease payments.
Government sources said NBN Co had agreed to the long-term leases because it needed certainty of access to Telstra's ducts. Sources also said NBN Co would retain the right to full use of the infrastructure during the lease and that returning assets to Telstra would fail to smash Telstra's dominance of the telecommunications sector.
The commonwealth has guaranteed NBN Co's liabilities for the four biggest agreements with Telstra and will continue to do so until NBN Co has an investment-grade credit rating and has repaid the government's $27.5bn contribution, or until the NBN is declared to be built and fully operational.
If the current government runs its full term, an election would be held by November 2013.
If a Coalition government came into office, any decision to scale back the NBN would probably spill into 2014 because of a commitment to perform a cost-benefit analysis ahead of such a pronouncement.
By 2014, it's possible NBN Co would have reached close to 20 per cent of its fibre footprint, which is the trigger for the break fee of up to $500m.
Even if the conditions for a break fee are not met, the infrastructure payments would still flow to Telstra for the parts of the network that had been built by NBN Co.
While Telstra will also be paid for each customer it disconnects from its copper network and migrates on to the new fibre broadband structure, the most significant and ongoing payments are tied to an infrastructure access agreement that will run for an initial term of 35 years. This so-called infrastructure services agreement is needed by NBN Co to gain access to critical fibre and exchange space from Telstra to build the backbone of its network, which it hopes to complete by 2014.
Scotched National Broadband Network deal 'could cost public $3bn'
#USA - Industry "coalition" has called for more support for mobile broadband in "underserved" and rural communities
[business wire] The Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA), a broad-based coalition supporting broadband access and adoption for all Americans, particularly increased mobile connectivity for underserved and rural communities, today issued the following statement on a new report, entitled "Bringing Broadband to Rural America: Update to Report on a Rural Broadband Strategy," released by The Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Federal Communication Commission (FCC):
“Bringing Broadband to Rural America: Update to Report on a Rural Broadband Strategy”
“Expanding high-speed Internet access and adoption has been a top priority of the IIA for many years, and Rural America is home to a significant number of the broadband have-nots. As revealed by the joint USDA-FCC report, nearly one-third (28%) of rural residents still lack access to Internet speeds that accommodate the demands of today’s business world and enable advanced opportunities related to jobs, health care and education. Closing this divide will improve individual lives and strengthen our nation as a whole.
“We applaud the Commission for placing focus on the Obama Administration’s goal of connecting 98 percent of Americans to broadband within five years and recognizing that ‘more needs to be done’ – in addition to ‘ongoing loan and grant programs’ administered by USDA's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and ‘regulatory reform measures and tools set forth by the FCC’ – to fulfill this objective of ‘widespread deployment of affordable, quality broadband services to every community.’ It is our belief that private sector investments and actions are also essential to driving rural broadband availability, in addition to these government efforts. For example, IIA Member AT&T’s proposed purchase of T-Mobile, which alone would bring broadband to more than 97 percent of Americans, would dramatically reduce the number of rural homes lacking broadband, leaving a far smaller gap to be filled by government funds, grants and loans.”
IIA Commends FCC’s Focus on Expanding High-Speed Internet to Rural America, Achieving Universal Broadband
See also http://www.internetinnovation.org/
“Bringing Broadband to Rural America: Update to Report on a Rural Broadband Strategy”
“Expanding high-speed Internet access and adoption has been a top priority of the IIA for many years, and Rural America is home to a significant number of the broadband have-nots. As revealed by the joint USDA-FCC report, nearly one-third (28%) of rural residents still lack access to Internet speeds that accommodate the demands of today’s business world and enable advanced opportunities related to jobs, health care and education. Closing this divide will improve individual lives and strengthen our nation as a whole.
“We applaud the Commission for placing focus on the Obama Administration’s goal of connecting 98 percent of Americans to broadband within five years and recognizing that ‘more needs to be done’ – in addition to ‘ongoing loan and grant programs’ administered by USDA's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and ‘regulatory reform measures and tools set forth by the FCC’ – to fulfill this objective of ‘widespread deployment of affordable, quality broadband services to every community.’ It is our belief that private sector investments and actions are also essential to driving rural broadband availability, in addition to these government efforts. For example, IIA Member AT&T’s proposed purchase of T-Mobile, which alone would bring broadband to more than 97 percent of Americans, would dramatically reduce the number of rural homes lacking broadband, leaving a far smaller gap to be filled by government funds, grants and loans.”
IIA Commends FCC’s Focus on Expanding High-Speed Internet to Rural America, Achieving Universal Broadband
See also http://www.internetinnovation.org/
#USA - AT&T has made more donations to members of the US Congress than any other US corporation
[paidcontent.org] Over the last two decades, AT&T has donated more money to members of Congress than any other company in the country. As regulators examine AT&T’s proposed $39 billion merger with T-Mobile, the telecom giant is hoping its largesse pays off.
A group of Democratic lawmakers is expected to deliver a letter to the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Dept. Friday afternoon touting the benefits of deal.
Critics of the deal immediately pounced on the letter (.pdf), which was first reported by Politico, with one group calling it “riddled with misleading and factually inaccurate statements.”
Although the letter doesn’t explicitly call for the merger’s approval, (and it’s unclear how many lawmakers will ultimately sign the document), it does advance some of AT&T’s key arguments: that the deal will lead to billions of dollars in additional investment, create thousands of jobs, and enable the company to expand wireless broadband access to rural and under-served communities.
AT&T has been lobbying aggressive in support of the deal and has lined up supporters across the political spectrum, including the powerful Communications Workers of America union.
Rep. G.K. Butterfield, a North Carolina Democrat, led the group sending the letter to the FCC and Justice Dept. AT&T is Butterfield’s second largest campaign contributor since 2004, according the Center for Responsive Politics.
The letter says that AT&T’s commitment, as part of the merger, to cover 97 percent of Americans with next-generation wireless broadband coverage “will greatly contribute to our continuing economic recovery.”
But Free Press, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group that opposes the mergers, blasted the letter, calling it “simply wrong on the facts.”
Despite AT&T’s claim that the merger will help bring wireless broadband to 97 percent of Americans, “the truth is that it won’t take a merger to get next-generation mobile broadband to rural and under-served communities,” Free Press said in a statement. “AT&T has already publicly committed to expanding its 4G coverage to the same 97 percent by 2012 without the merger, and Verizon has done the same.”
Free Press also disputes AT&T’s argument, echoed in the letter, that the merger will lead to billions of dollars in additional investment and create thousands of jobs.
“AT&T has already told Wall Street that it expects to spend at least $10 billion less in capital investment over the coming years,” Free Press said. “This drop in investment will unquestionably lead to fewer jobs. And the only benefits tens of thousands of T-Mobile workers will see from this deal are unemployment benefits.”
The FCC and the Justice Dept. are currently scrutinizing the deal.
Group Of House Democrats Touts AT&T/T-Mobile Merger
A group of Democratic lawmakers is expected to deliver a letter to the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Dept. Friday afternoon touting the benefits of deal.
Critics of the deal immediately pounced on the letter (.pdf), which was first reported by Politico, with one group calling it “riddled with misleading and factually inaccurate statements.”
Although the letter doesn’t explicitly call for the merger’s approval, (and it’s unclear how many lawmakers will ultimately sign the document), it does advance some of AT&T’s key arguments: that the deal will lead to billions of dollars in additional investment, create thousands of jobs, and enable the company to expand wireless broadband access to rural and under-served communities.
AT&T has been lobbying aggressive in support of the deal and has lined up supporters across the political spectrum, including the powerful Communications Workers of America union.
Rep. G.K. Butterfield, a North Carolina Democrat, led the group sending the letter to the FCC and Justice Dept. AT&T is Butterfield’s second largest campaign contributor since 2004, according the Center for Responsive Politics.
The letter says that AT&T’s commitment, as part of the merger, to cover 97 percent of Americans with next-generation wireless broadband coverage “will greatly contribute to our continuing economic recovery.”
But Free Press, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group that opposes the mergers, blasted the letter, calling it “simply wrong on the facts.”
Despite AT&T’s claim that the merger will help bring wireless broadband to 97 percent of Americans, “the truth is that it won’t take a merger to get next-generation mobile broadband to rural and under-served communities,” Free Press said in a statement. “AT&T has already publicly committed to expanding its 4G coverage to the same 97 percent by 2012 without the merger, and Verizon has done the same.”
Free Press also disputes AT&T’s argument, echoed in the letter, that the merger will lead to billions of dollars in additional investment and create thousands of jobs.
“AT&T has already told Wall Street that it expects to spend at least $10 billion less in capital investment over the coming years,” Free Press said. “This drop in investment will unquestionably lead to fewer jobs. And the only benefits tens of thousands of T-Mobile workers will see from this deal are unemployment benefits.”
The FCC and the Justice Dept. are currently scrutinizing the deal.
Group Of House Democrats Touts AT&T/T-Mobile Merger
#USA - Congress has been urged to block a wireless services that it is claimed interferes with GPS and thus poses safety hazards
[federal times] Government and industry representatives urged Congress last week to halt the rollout of an ambitious commercial wireless broadband network that, they argue, would interfere with the Global Positioning System and pose risks to national security and public safety.
Officials from the Defense, Transportation and Homeland Security departments told lawmakers at the June 23 hearing that the broadband phone network, being built by LightSquared, will rely on radio spectrum close in proximity to spectrum used by the GPS system.
As a result, there is a high probability the broadband network would interrupt GPS signals that guide planes, ships and emergency first responders.
Among the critics is Rear Adm. Robert Day Jr., chief information officer for the Coast Guard.
"Our aviation assets rely heavily on GPS services ... and any impact in that accuracy is going to ... potentially put the crew in harm as well as delay possible rescues," he told lawmakers.
For its part, DoD relies heavily on GPS signals to steer precision-guided bombs, conduct research and rescue operations, and guide troops, said Teri Takai, the Defense Department's chief information officer. House lawmakers raised fears the broadband network will also interfere with the Federal Aviation Administration's planned Next Generation Air Transportation System, which will manage aviation traffic in the future using GPS signals instead of radar.
Because of the possibility of interference, LightSquared has developed a new plan for using lower-level radio spectrum and lower power levels that it claims will not interfere with GPS signals.
"The impact of LightSquared's revised plan should be independently and thoroughly tested to ensure the FCC [Federal Communications Commission] does not approve plans that would introduce unacceptable risks into the aviation system or leave the aviation GPS users with new and costly burdens," said Rep. Thomas Petri, R-Wis., chairman of the House subcommittee on aviation.
LightSquared officials said a planned July 1 report by a joint government-industry technical working group will show that its revised plan will not interfere with GPS.
Until the FCC and affected government agencies are satisfied, LightSquared will not use the spectrum near the GPS, but rather a lower block of spectrum, said Jeffrey Carlisle, executive vice president for regulatory affairs and public policy at LightSquared.
But the company isn't ruling out use of the upper-level spectrum in the distant future, if authorized by the FCC and affected agencies.
Officials seek to halt network they say would interfere with GPS
Officials from the Defense, Transportation and Homeland Security departments told lawmakers at the June 23 hearing that the broadband phone network, being built by LightSquared, will rely on radio spectrum close in proximity to spectrum used by the GPS system.
As a result, there is a high probability the broadband network would interrupt GPS signals that guide planes, ships and emergency first responders.
Among the critics is Rear Adm. Robert Day Jr., chief information officer for the Coast Guard.
"Our aviation assets rely heavily on GPS services ... and any impact in that accuracy is going to ... potentially put the crew in harm as well as delay possible rescues," he told lawmakers.
For its part, DoD relies heavily on GPS signals to steer precision-guided bombs, conduct research and rescue operations, and guide troops, said Teri Takai, the Defense Department's chief information officer. House lawmakers raised fears the broadband network will also interfere with the Federal Aviation Administration's planned Next Generation Air Transportation System, which will manage aviation traffic in the future using GPS signals instead of radar.
Because of the possibility of interference, LightSquared has developed a new plan for using lower-level radio spectrum and lower power levels that it claims will not interfere with GPS signals.
"The impact of LightSquared's revised plan should be independently and thoroughly tested to ensure the FCC [Federal Communications Commission] does not approve plans that would introduce unacceptable risks into the aviation system or leave the aviation GPS users with new and costly burdens," said Rep. Thomas Petri, R-Wis., chairman of the House subcommittee on aviation.
LightSquared officials said a planned July 1 report by a joint government-industry technical working group will show that its revised plan will not interfere with GPS.
Until the FCC and affected government agencies are satisfied, LightSquared will not use the spectrum near the GPS, but rather a lower block of spectrum, said Jeffrey Carlisle, executive vice president for regulatory affairs and public policy at LightSquared.
But the company isn't ruling out use of the upper-level spectrum in the distant future, if authorized by the FCC and affected agencies.
Officials seek to halt network they say would interfere with GPS
Friday, July 08, 2011
#Australia - The regulator is continuing its review of geographic exemptions from regulation of fixed line services
[accc] The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission today flagged a continuing review of whether geographic exemptions from regulation should be included in final access determinations (FADs) for the declared fixed line services.
In the April 2011 Discussion Paper into making FADs for fixed line services the ACCC noted that it would consider the future operation of the exemptions in respect of wholesale line rental, PSTN terminating access and the local carriage service. The ACCC's preliminary view was to incorporate the effect of the previous ordinary and class geographic exemptions made by the Australian Competition Tribunal and the ACCC for these services.
However, the ACCC is concerned that competitive pressures on Telstra in the exempt exchanges may not be living up to expectations at the time of the original exemption decision. The ACCC is also concerned that wholesale service offers in the exempt exchanges may be on substantially less favourable terms than those available in regulated exchanges.
Submissions have raised a wide range of issues, including the implications of the National Broadband Network on investment in, and deployment of, equipment to produce services subject to the geographic exemption and the creation of a competitive market for services such as wholesale line rental.
The ACCC considers the complex issues raised concerning the operation and impact of the exemptions on markets require further investigation. The ACCC will be seeking additional information on market impacts to assist in its consideration of the future of the exemptions.
At the same time, the ACCC is satisfied that it has largely resolved the issue of pricing for declared fixed line services and expects to make a decision within the next four weeks. To ensure price certainty, the ACCC will not delay its decision on this aspect of the FAD while other issues such as exemptions and non-price terms are under further consideration. The ACCC expects to resolve important non-price issues, including the future operation of exemptions, well before the new ESA exemptions take effect on 30 December 2011.
"The impact of the exemptions is significant - in practice, once the exemptions take effect, access seekers can no longer rely on regulated access to the services in these ESAs and must commercially agree the terms and conditions of access," ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said.
"In considering this important issue, we need to gather some additional information on matters such as access seeker investment, alternative supply, and the impact of the NBN".
ACCC seeks further information on exemptions while proceeding to finalise fixed line pricing
In the April 2011 Discussion Paper into making FADs for fixed line services the ACCC noted that it would consider the future operation of the exemptions in respect of wholesale line rental, PSTN terminating access and the local carriage service. The ACCC's preliminary view was to incorporate the effect of the previous ordinary and class geographic exemptions made by the Australian Competition Tribunal and the ACCC for these services.
However, the ACCC is concerned that competitive pressures on Telstra in the exempt exchanges may not be living up to expectations at the time of the original exemption decision. The ACCC is also concerned that wholesale service offers in the exempt exchanges may be on substantially less favourable terms than those available in regulated exchanges.
Submissions have raised a wide range of issues, including the implications of the National Broadband Network on investment in, and deployment of, equipment to produce services subject to the geographic exemption and the creation of a competitive market for services such as wholesale line rental.
The ACCC considers the complex issues raised concerning the operation and impact of the exemptions on markets require further investigation. The ACCC will be seeking additional information on market impacts to assist in its consideration of the future of the exemptions.
At the same time, the ACCC is satisfied that it has largely resolved the issue of pricing for declared fixed line services and expects to make a decision within the next four weeks. To ensure price certainty, the ACCC will not delay its decision on this aspect of the FAD while other issues such as exemptions and non-price terms are under further consideration. The ACCC expects to resolve important non-price issues, including the future operation of exemptions, well before the new ESA exemptions take effect on 30 December 2011.
"The impact of the exemptions is significant - in practice, once the exemptions take effect, access seekers can no longer rely on regulated access to the services in these ESAs and must commercially agree the terms and conditions of access," ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said.
"In considering this important issue, we need to gather some additional information on matters such as access seeker investment, alternative supply, and the impact of the NBN".
ACCC seeks further information on exemptions while proceeding to finalise fixed line pricing
Thursday, July 07, 2011
#UK - Appeal on the level of #MTRs has been referred to the Competition Commission to consider by February 2012
[cat] The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has today referred to the Competition Commission (CC) the price control matters in appeals brought against Ofcom by British Telecom, Everything Everywhere, Hutchison 3G and Vodafone. The reference is about the prices that Ofcom permits communication providers to charge for the termination of a wholesale mobile voice call.
Under the 2003 Communications Act, if decisions by Ofcom are appealed to the CAT and include a price control matter, then this matter must be referred to the CC for determination. The CC has until 9 February 2012 to determine the pricing issues.
CAT REFERS MOBILE PRICE CONTROL MATTERS TO CC
Under the 2003 Communications Act, if decisions by Ofcom are appealed to the CAT and include a price control matter, then this matter must be referred to the CC for determination. The CC has until 9 February 2012 to determine the pricing issues.
CAT REFERS MOBILE PRICE CONTROL MATTERS TO CC
#Zambia - Approval given for a joint-venture to provide #fibre-optic connectivity
[it news africa] Zambia’s Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has approved a proposed joint venture between Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) and Liquid Telecommunications Holding of Mauritius.
The move has investors and analysts excited about the future prospects of the telecom sector in Zambia.
“We have long been left outside major moves and investment so hopefully this will help jumpstart the industry in the right direction,” says John Yubo, a Zambian IT professional.
The agreement will create a new company CEC Liquid Telecommunications Limited. Brian Lingela, CCPC spokesperson, says the commission gave the final authorization as the deal did not infringe upon competition concerns.
The new venture will see each company with an equal 50% share in the new company and is to be incorporated in Zambia. Both companies are also expected to invest some $30 million in the establishment of the new company.
“The transaction did not raise competition concerns in the fiber optic market,” says Lingela.
“Investigations by the commission found that the proposed joint venture would not raise competition concerns in terms of increasing barriers to entry in the market,” he added.
Lingela says that the CCPC did not believe that CEC would abuse its 40 percent market share of the fibre optic market.
“In their deliberations, the board expressed hope that the transaction would result into some efficiencies particularly because Liquid Telecom has a regional reputation in the provision of fiber optic network from which CEC would benefit,” says Lingela.
Zambia Telecom gets deal approved
The move has investors and analysts excited about the future prospects of the telecom sector in Zambia.
“We have long been left outside major moves and investment so hopefully this will help jumpstart the industry in the right direction,” says John Yubo, a Zambian IT professional.
The agreement will create a new company CEC Liquid Telecommunications Limited. Brian Lingela, CCPC spokesperson, says the commission gave the final authorization as the deal did not infringe upon competition concerns.
The new venture will see each company with an equal 50% share in the new company and is to be incorporated in Zambia. Both companies are also expected to invest some $30 million in the establishment of the new company.
“The transaction did not raise competition concerns in the fiber optic market,” says Lingela.
“Investigations by the commission found that the proposed joint venture would not raise competition concerns in terms of increasing barriers to entry in the market,” he added.
Lingela says that the CCPC did not believe that CEC would abuse its 40 percent market share of the fibre optic market.
“In their deliberations, the board expressed hope that the transaction would result into some efficiencies particularly because Liquid Telecom has a regional reputation in the provision of fiber optic network from which CEC would benefit,” says Lingela.
Zambia Telecom gets deal approved
#France - Competition authority has opened a sector inquiry into e-commerce in the light of its rapid growth in recent years
[autorite de la concurrence] The online sales sector in France is growing very fast. Its growth, with sales of €31 billion in 2010 (+24% compared to 2009), is faster than our European neighbours' (sales grew by 29.5% between 2008-2010 compared to 19% in all the European countries). 28 million French people purchase over the Internet today.
E-commerce offers consumers numerous benefits, and gives them new prospects: greater diversity of selection, 24-hours access, easy comparison between products and services offered, and consumer assessment services… Cyber-purchasers order products and services in numerous sectors, the most popular being tourism, household electrical goods, clothing household furnishing, cultural products and food.
Faced with the growing weight of Internet in household consumption, the Autorité has decided, through the self-referral procedure, to analyze how the competition works in the sector, detect any malfunctions and make any necessary recommendations to correct them.
Sector inquiry into competition in the e-commerce sector
E-commerce offers consumers numerous benefits, and gives them new prospects: greater diversity of selection, 24-hours access, easy comparison between products and services offered, and consumer assessment services… Cyber-purchasers order products and services in numerous sectors, the most popular being tourism, household electrical goods, clothing household furnishing, cultural products and food.
Faced with the growing weight of Internet in household consumption, the Autorité has decided, through the self-referral procedure, to analyze how the competition works in the sector, detect any malfunctions and make any necessary recommendations to correct them.
Sector inquiry into competition in the e-commerce sector
#research - Paper from Gans on the pricing of mobile apps purchased individually and as a platform
[Melbourne B-school] This paper examines the pricing of mobile applications when app providers can supply consumers directly or through a mobile platform (such as a mobile smart phone, tablet or other device). It is demonstrated that when platform access (i.e., purchasing a device) takes place in advance of app pricing, a non-trivial unravelling problem exists that rules out selling platform access at a positive price. Consequently, all platform revenues come from sharing app provider revenues. It is demonstrated that several restrictive conditions on app providers such as most favoured customer clauses can allow the platform provider to earn more profits and charge a positive access price in situations where the platform might not otherwise be provided.
Joshua S. Gans Mobile Application Pricing
Joshua S. Gans Mobile Application Pricing
British Virgin Is - Regulator has found LIME (C&W) to have engaged in ant--competitive behaviour
June - The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (“TRC”) has today sent to LIME its findings in the investigation into LIME’s practices related to the calls within the Caribbean. This investigation concerns the alleged anti-competitive behaviour of LIME1 in pricing calls and termination services2 to other LIME destinations in the Caribbean. This is a confidential document which will also be issued to CCT once LIME has reviewed commercially confidential information contained in the document.
The TRC will not be able to release the document into the public domain as it contains commercially confidential information and sets out the findings of the TRC which are not yet final. The investigation process also allows for LIME to present its case to the TRC Board which is due to issue a final determination on the matter later in August. The TRC are unable to comment on the findings of the investigation at this point until LIME has been given a hearing and a final decision has been made by the TRC Board. Once the final decision is made, the TRC will inform the public accordingly.
This case will continue to be run separately from the case concerning Digicel’s practices.
TRC Presents LIME with the Findings on its Allegedly Anti-Competitive Behaviour
The TRC will not be able to release the document into the public domain as it contains commercially confidential information and sets out the findings of the TRC which are not yet final. The investigation process also allows for LIME to present its case to the TRC Board which is due to issue a final determination on the matter later in August. The TRC are unable to comment on the findings of the investigation at this point until LIME has been given a hearing and a final decision has been made by the TRC Board. Once the final decision is made, the TRC will inform the public accordingly.
This case will continue to be run separately from the case concerning Digicel’s practices.
TRC Presents LIME with the Findings on its Allegedly Anti-Competitive Behaviour
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
#australia - A class action is being assembled against Vodafone Hutchison for poor quality of service on its 3G network
[the australian] A BID to bring a consumer class action suit against Vodafone Hutchison Australia over the performance of its mobile network has proceeded apace with more litigants joining the proposed action.
Law firm Piper Alderman, which is preparing a proposal for the suit, confirmed that the number of claimants had grown by a thousand to 23,000 since April and that efforts to raise money to fund the litigation had progressed.
The law firm said it was continuing its investigation of complaints by litigants which includes a mix of individual consumers, small businesses and companies. Piper Alderman litigation partner Sasha Ivanstoff said that once the investigation was complete and funding arrangements were secured, the company would prepare a statement of claim to be lodged in the Federal Court under trade practice and consumer protection laws. Mr Ivanstoff said he was not at liberty to discuss the details of the funding proposal.
The suit would contain allegations that VHA subsidiary Vodafone Australia Pty Ltd has made false claims about the capacity and coverage of its 3G network over a period stretching as far back as 2007.
Its parent company, VHA, may also be directly named as a respondent in the claim if Piper Alderman investigators assembled sufficient evidence it also misled customers, Mr Ivanstoff said.
The claim may eventually extend to associated telecommunications services such as voicemail, data and email.
Vodafone was yesterday hesitant to comment on the lawsuit in detail.
"We are aware of a law firm that is seeking litigation funding however we have not received any official word or approach from this firm. Our priority has always been to work to resolve any issues with our customers directly," a Vodafone spokeswoman said.
Mr Ivanstoff told The Australian that the law firm was yet to fully quantify the extent of the damages claim. Larger claims could come from small businesses claming direct business losses due to problems with Vodafone’s mobile service.
"A lot of the businesses that are coming to us are saying that they missed work because of calls that weren't received or voicemails that weren't received. So there is that additional category of losses flowing from the service not functioning properly," he said.
Around a third of the claimants were small businesses but Piper Alderman was unable to provide details on their size.
Reported problems with VHA's network include constant call drop-outs and reception problems.
Damage to the company's brand due to the service problem was believed to have contributed to a disastrous subscriber growth performance result for the mobile provider for the second-half of 2010. VHA's subscriber growth for the half to December 31 was 142,000 compared with new customer additions of 539,000 in the previous corresponding half.
As the extent of Vodafone’s network problems were becoming apparent last October, VHA announced a major network upgrade program to boost its 900MHz and 2100MHz network and add a new 3G 850MHz network layer to ease pressure on it network resources.
It said it would add 1400 new sites to its 900Mhz and 2100MHz networks in metro and regional areas, and build its new 850MHz network across 1500 sites.
Around 900 of the new metro 2100MHz sites would come from a pool of around 1350 sites it expected to retrieve from the gradual termination of its 2004 joint-venture with Telstra.
Last December VHA chief executive Nigel Dews issued an apology to the carrier’s customers and pledged to fix the problems.
Last week the company announced its network roll-out was proceeding on schedule.
It said it had turned on 775 new 850MHz sites and that a further 810 sites had been upgraded, including 330 in high-congestion areas.
By the end of the year it aimed to upgrade a further 520 sites and establish a further 500 850MHz sites, the company said.
Last October VHA said that it had spent $550 million on its business consolidation program to consolidate Hutchison 3 and Vodafone into a single business since they merged in 2009.
It may all be too little too late, however, to hold off the class action suit and further brand damage.
Mr Ivanstoff said that the number of litigants was expected to grow if the company could secure firm funding arrangements for the class action.
"If we get funding in place and we can communicate that with people, if and when that happens, we'd hope to get more," Mr Ivanstoff said.
Vodafone Australia class action gathers momentum
Law firm Piper Alderman, which is preparing a proposal for the suit, confirmed that the number of claimants had grown by a thousand to 23,000 since April and that efforts to raise money to fund the litigation had progressed.
The law firm said it was continuing its investigation of complaints by litigants which includes a mix of individual consumers, small businesses and companies. Piper Alderman litigation partner Sasha Ivanstoff said that once the investigation was complete and funding arrangements were secured, the company would prepare a statement of claim to be lodged in the Federal Court under trade practice and consumer protection laws. Mr Ivanstoff said he was not at liberty to discuss the details of the funding proposal.
The suit would contain allegations that VHA subsidiary Vodafone Australia Pty Ltd has made false claims about the capacity and coverage of its 3G network over a period stretching as far back as 2007.
Its parent company, VHA, may also be directly named as a respondent in the claim if Piper Alderman investigators assembled sufficient evidence it also misled customers, Mr Ivanstoff said.
The claim may eventually extend to associated telecommunications services such as voicemail, data and email.
Vodafone was yesterday hesitant to comment on the lawsuit in detail.
"We are aware of a law firm that is seeking litigation funding however we have not received any official word or approach from this firm. Our priority has always been to work to resolve any issues with our customers directly," a Vodafone spokeswoman said.
Mr Ivanstoff told The Australian that the law firm was yet to fully quantify the extent of the damages claim. Larger claims could come from small businesses claming direct business losses due to problems with Vodafone’s mobile service.
"A lot of the businesses that are coming to us are saying that they missed work because of calls that weren't received or voicemails that weren't received. So there is that additional category of losses flowing from the service not functioning properly," he said.
Around a third of the claimants were small businesses but Piper Alderman was unable to provide details on their size.
Reported problems with VHA's network include constant call drop-outs and reception problems.
Damage to the company's brand due to the service problem was believed to have contributed to a disastrous subscriber growth performance result for the mobile provider for the second-half of 2010. VHA's subscriber growth for the half to December 31 was 142,000 compared with new customer additions of 539,000 in the previous corresponding half.
As the extent of Vodafone’s network problems were becoming apparent last October, VHA announced a major network upgrade program to boost its 900MHz and 2100MHz network and add a new 3G 850MHz network layer to ease pressure on it network resources.
It said it would add 1400 new sites to its 900Mhz and 2100MHz networks in metro and regional areas, and build its new 850MHz network across 1500 sites.
Around 900 of the new metro 2100MHz sites would come from a pool of around 1350 sites it expected to retrieve from the gradual termination of its 2004 joint-venture with Telstra.
Last December VHA chief executive Nigel Dews issued an apology to the carrier’s customers and pledged to fix the problems.
Last week the company announced its network roll-out was proceeding on schedule.
It said it had turned on 775 new 850MHz sites and that a further 810 sites had been upgraded, including 330 in high-congestion areas.
By the end of the year it aimed to upgrade a further 520 sites and establish a further 500 850MHz sites, the company said.
Last October VHA said that it had spent $550 million on its business consolidation program to consolidate Hutchison 3 and Vodafone into a single business since they merged in 2009.
It may all be too little too late, however, to hold off the class action suit and further brand damage.
Mr Ivanstoff said that the number of litigants was expected to grow if the company could secure firm funding arrangements for the class action.
"If we get funding in place and we can communicate that with people, if and when that happens, we'd hope to get more," Mr Ivanstoff said.
Vodafone Australia class action gathers momentum
#interoperability - Facebook blocks interoperability with Google+ in a bid to retain customers
[digital trends] It was a matter of time before Facebook issued some kind of retort to Google+. While interested users continue to clamor everywhere (even on Facebook) for an invite and Mark Zuckerberg gives the new social network a go, that doesn’t mean everyone’s ready to play nice. A Chrome extension that allowed new Google+ users to import their Facebook contacts has been blocked by the world’s largest social network.
This is all too familiar. Last fall, Google and Facebook had something of a falling out over the ability to import contacts from their respective sites. Google tried to disable Facebook users’ ability to import Gmail contacts – a move that was swiftly circumvented by a workaround. Google, of course, took issue with this because Facebook didn’t give users the option of exporting any contact information from its site into Gmail. At the time, Facebook engineer Mike Vernal said it wasn’t just to be petty – Facebook had a reason. “Email is different from social networking because in an email application, each person maintains and owns their own address book, whereas in a social network your friends maintain their information and you just maintain a list of friends. Because of this, we think it makes sense for email applications to export email addresses and for social networks to export friend lists.”
But the lines between these two sites functions are becoming blurred, making it difficult to determine who should be able to import what and from where. Google’s main communications platform, Gmail, now stands in addition to Google+, a bon-afide social network. Facebook, on the other hand, has introduced its Messages client, which includes @facebook.com email addresses. But no matter the technicalities, Facebook is still not willing to enter a two-way, equal sharing relationship with Google. Google+ users remain unable to pull their Facebook friends into the new service, which can easily be attributed to protecting user information. Of course, it could have something to do with the heavy praise Google+ has been receiving.
Facebook is also infiltrating enemy territory by sending execs and engineers to the site to glean information for its own purposes. Many a Google employee holds an active Facebook account, but Facebook’s staffers are being quite brazen about their intentions using Google+.
Facebook blocks Google+ extension that pulls contacts
This is all too familiar. Last fall, Google and Facebook had something of a falling out over the ability to import contacts from their respective sites. Google tried to disable Facebook users’ ability to import Gmail contacts – a move that was swiftly circumvented by a workaround. Google, of course, took issue with this because Facebook didn’t give users the option of exporting any contact information from its site into Gmail. At the time, Facebook engineer Mike Vernal said it wasn’t just to be petty – Facebook had a reason. “Email is different from social networking because in an email application, each person maintains and owns their own address book, whereas in a social network your friends maintain their information and you just maintain a list of friends. Because of this, we think it makes sense for email applications to export email addresses and for social networks to export friend lists.”
But the lines between these two sites functions are becoming blurred, making it difficult to determine who should be able to import what and from where. Google’s main communications platform, Gmail, now stands in addition to Google+, a bon-afide social network. Facebook, on the other hand, has introduced its Messages client, which includes @facebook.com email addresses. But no matter the technicalities, Facebook is still not willing to enter a two-way, equal sharing relationship with Google. Google+ users remain unable to pull their Facebook friends into the new service, which can easily be attributed to protecting user information. Of course, it could have something to do with the heavy praise Google+ has been receiving.
Facebook is also infiltrating enemy territory by sending execs and engineers to the site to glean information for its own purposes. Many a Google employee holds an active Facebook account, but Facebook’s staffers are being quite brazen about their intentions using Google+.
Facebook blocks Google+ extension that pulls contacts
Monday, July 04, 2011
#Australia - #Regulator issued a discussion paper on mobile termination rates #MTRs for comments until 27th July
[ACCC] The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission today issued a discussion paper to commence an inquiry into the domestic mobile terminating access service (MTAS) under the new telecommunications access regime.
The MTAS is a technology-neutral wholesale input, used by providers of voice calls from fixed line, mobile and IP networks, in order to complete voice calls to end users directly connected to digital mobile networks.
ACCC pricing principles reduced the rate for the MTAS from 21 cents per minute in 2004 to 9 cents per minute from 1 July 2007. The rate has remained at 9 cents per minute since that time and the current pricing principles expire on 31 December 2011.
The new telecommunications regime requires the ACCC to conduct a public inquiry to establish an access determination setting out the terms and conditions of access to the declared service.
While parties will still be able to negotiate their own terms and conditions, an access determination will establish benchmark terms and conditions for access seekers to fall back on in negotiations.
The ACCC is now seeking comments on the options for regulation of the MTAS under the new regime.
ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said significant changes have taken place in the mobiles industry since the current pricing principles were issued in 2009.
"The changes include the merger of two smallest network operators, increasing mobile voice call volumes, sustained migration to more efficient 3G networks and plans to employ Long Term Evolution networks, continued reductions in network equipment costs and the increased importance of data on mobile networks.
"These changes are likely to significantly impact the regulation of the MTAS," Mr Samuel said.
ACCC issues MTAS pricing discussion paper
The MTAS is a technology-neutral wholesale input, used by providers of voice calls from fixed line, mobile and IP networks, in order to complete voice calls to end users directly connected to digital mobile networks.
ACCC pricing principles reduced the rate for the MTAS from 21 cents per minute in 2004 to 9 cents per minute from 1 July 2007. The rate has remained at 9 cents per minute since that time and the current pricing principles expire on 31 December 2011.
The new telecommunications regime requires the ACCC to conduct a public inquiry to establish an access determination setting out the terms and conditions of access to the declared service.
While parties will still be able to negotiate their own terms and conditions, an access determination will establish benchmark terms and conditions for access seekers to fall back on in negotiations.
The ACCC is now seeking comments on the options for regulation of the MTAS under the new regime.
ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said significant changes have taken place in the mobiles industry since the current pricing principles were issued in 2009.
"The changes include the merger of two smallest network operators, increasing mobile voice call volumes, sustained migration to more efficient 3G networks and plans to employ Long Term Evolution networks, continued reductions in network equipment costs and the increased importance of data on mobile networks.
"These changes are likely to significantly impact the regulation of the MTAS," Mr Samuel said.
ACCC issues MTAS pricing discussion paper
#two-sided-markets - Research paper by Waverman concerning 2-sided markets in telecommunications
[competition policy international] A two-sided market is one where two different parties are connected to each other through a third-party platform. Examples are many: nightclubs and dating clubs are platforms that bring together people wishing to meet other people; newspapers are platforms providing advertising and content to readers. In this brief paper, I examine the two-sided nature of telecommunications. It is clear that a traditional telecom is a platform allowing a calling party (C) to connect to a receiving party (R). However, it is, in a sense, too easy to label economic activity as two-sided. Without clear limits, most activities appear to be of a twosided nature. Therefore, I begin by examining whether telecoms meet the conditions of two-sidedness as defined by Tirole and Rochet in their 2007 paper. I then turn to examining briefly the history of pricing in fixed-line and mobile telecoms. The pricing structure we see today in many markets is a result of historical business models. In most countries, the calling party pays all the costs of the call, while caller and called pay for access to the network. I show how the pricing structures first developed in fixed-line telecoms had unintended consequences on subsequent developments in new mobile telephony. Since pricing structures and not just the level of prices are important in two-sided markets, these unintended consequences need to be recognized, and dealt with, if possible. I then turn to the brave new world—telecom operators providing content and being the platform for IP services and applications.
Two-Sided Telecom Markets and the Unintended Consequences of Business Strategy
Two-Sided Telecom Markets and the Unintended Consequences of Business Strategy
#price-squeeze - Research paper on widening trans-Atlantic differences in doctrines of price squeeze in telecommunications
[ssrn] The price-squeeze doctrine, and the discussion of up to what extent can a dominant firm discipline its rivals by means of pricing policies has lead to a wide divergence of antitrust enforcement and consequent liability rules across the Atlantic, and even between US’ agencies – the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission - themselves. In two high-profile decisions – the European Commission’s July 2007 imposition of a fine on Spanish telecom incumbent Telefonica, and the European Court of First Instance’s April 2008 decision affirming a similar fine imposed earlier on telecom provider Deutsche Telekom – European authorities have recognized price squeezes as an appropriate ground for finding an abuse of dominance under Article 102 of the Treaty of Functioning of the European Union.
The structure with which we are going to address these issues would follow a route which will lead us from the more general matters to the more specific questions at stake here. Consequently, after this introductory section, we will show – briefly – the main differences and similarities between US and EU enforcement policies regarding broad unilateral conduct. In the next section we turn to the specific behaviour of anticompetitive margin squeeze, as considered in both jurisdictions by jurisprudence and scholarship. This analytical framework is biased – more heavily in the EU than in the US – by the interaction between regulation and antitrust, and to such matter we devote the following section of this paper, with specific reference to the recent Telefonica and Deutsche Telekom cases. The next section in turn analyses the recent linkLine decision, from the different point of view of the Ninth Circuit, the DOJ and the FTC. Of course, after all those we pay close attention to the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion. At this point we will ask ourselves if an integrative analytical framework (suitable for both the US and EU, and acceptable for both the DOJ and the FTC) is possible to be found. Before the concluding section, a comprehensive account of the rules governing unilateral conduct regarding margin squeeze claims is offered, to conclude – in the following section – than unfortunately the approach to margin squeeze in the three referred cases is quite diverging. Finally, some general conclusions are given in the last section of this paper.
Fernando Diez, University of Antonio de Nebrija asks Telecoms Regulation, Antitrust and Margin Squeeze: Widening the Already Wide Gap between US and EU Competition Policy?
The structure with which we are going to address these issues would follow a route which will lead us from the more general matters to the more specific questions at stake here. Consequently, after this introductory section, we will show – briefly – the main differences and similarities between US and EU enforcement policies regarding broad unilateral conduct. In the next section we turn to the specific behaviour of anticompetitive margin squeeze, as considered in both jurisdictions by jurisprudence and scholarship. This analytical framework is biased – more heavily in the EU than in the US – by the interaction between regulation and antitrust, and to such matter we devote the following section of this paper, with specific reference to the recent Telefonica and Deutsche Telekom cases. The next section in turn analyses the recent linkLine decision, from the different point of view of the Ninth Circuit, the DOJ and the FTC. Of course, after all those we pay close attention to the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion. At this point we will ask ourselves if an integrative analytical framework (suitable for both the US and EU, and acceptable for both the DOJ and the FTC) is possible to be found. Before the concluding section, a comprehensive account of the rules governing unilateral conduct regarding margin squeeze claims is offered, to conclude – in the following section – than unfortunately the approach to margin squeeze in the three referred cases is quite diverging. Finally, some general conclusions are given in the last section of this paper.
Fernando Diez, University of Antonio de Nebrija asks Telecoms Regulation, Antitrust and Margin Squeeze: Widening the Already Wide Gap between US and EU Competition Policy?
Africa - Report on the role of MXIT in development of the information society
[guardian] The mobile phone will have a dramatic impact on development in Africa over the next five years, declared Rakesh Rajani of Twaweza at the Activate conference this week on technology and social change in London. The technology industry has a track record of hype, but Rajani's comments sound plausible given the huge number of pilot projects for mobiles in Africa in all areas of development. A race is on to find what mobiles can do in areas as disparate as public health, governance and education.
The effort pouring into mobile phones in Africa is largely driven by the realisation that it is likely to be the only connection to the internet for the vast majority of Africans for many years to come, argued Herman Heunis, the founder and chief executive of South Africa based MXit.
Activate 2011: Mobiles look set to play a big role in Africa's development
The effort pouring into mobile phones in Africa is largely driven by the realisation that it is likely to be the only connection to the internet for the vast majority of Africans for many years to come, argued Herman Heunis, the founder and chief executive of South Africa based MXit.
Activate 2011: Mobiles look set to play a big role in Africa's development
#Broadband - Welsh Government’s Broadband Support Scheme (BSS) will support homes and business premises
[wales.gov] Currently residents, communities, businesses and third sector organisations located in broadband notspots (where connectivity is less than 512Kbps) can apply for a grant of up to £1,000 to give them access to a broadband connection using the most appropriate technology available.
The announcement will extend the scheme to include slowspots (where connectivity is less than 2Mbps).
Announcing the changes Mrs Hart said: “It is vital that everyone across Wales has access to basic broadband. That is why we launched the Broadband Support Scheme - to help households and businesses in Wales get broadband access regardless of where they live.
“Since the Scheme was launched last July over 800 households, businesses and third sector organisations have had applications approved and now have broadband access.
“By extending the criteria for the BSS we can make sure that more people can access broadband and take advantage of the opportunities provided by digital technologies."
Slowspots get connected thanks to Welsh Government
The announcement will extend the scheme to include slowspots (where connectivity is less than 2Mbps).
Announcing the changes Mrs Hart said: “It is vital that everyone across Wales has access to basic broadband. That is why we launched the Broadband Support Scheme - to help households and businesses in Wales get broadband access regardless of where they live.
“Since the Scheme was launched last July over 800 households, businesses and third sector organisations have had applications approved and now have broadband access.
“By extending the criteria for the BSS we can make sure that more people can access broadband and take advantage of the opportunities provided by digital technologies."
Slowspots get connected thanks to Welsh Government
Broadband - China Telecom has selected Alcatel-Lucent to supply its "Broadband China, Fibre cities" with PON technologies
[telecoms.com] China Telecom has selected Alcatel-Lucent to provide a range of technology solutions for its project to deliver fibre optic broadband services to many unserved or underserved areas of the country.
The project is called ‘Broadband China, Fibre Cities’ and will involve the deployment of a mix of passive optical networking (PON) technologies connecting homes, office buildings and remote ‘nodes’ which can then distribute the broadband signals to multiple locations over existing copper wires.
Alcatel-Lucent is to supply its Intelligence Services Access Manager (ISAM) product family, which supports GPON, EPON and DSL technologies and enables Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH), Fibre-to-the-Node (FTTN) and Fibre-to-the-Building (FTTB) deployment models.
Following the deployment, China Telecom will be able to offer subscribers a range of consumer and business services including IPTV, video-on-demand, voice over IP (VoIP) and more at speeds of up to 50 Mbps, all with guaranteed quality of service (QoS) levels.
Wei Leping, Chairman of China Telecom Science & Technology Committee, said: “China Telecom launched ‘Broadband China, Fibre Cities’ strategy at the beginning of 2011, which aims to realise optical network coverage in all the cities in three years. By 2015, China Telecom will achieve a FTTH coverage of 100 million households and 30 million FTTH subscribers.”
The project is described as a central element of China Telecom’s plan to extend its FTTH coverage to 100 million users by the end of China’s 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015).
Alcatel-Lucent selected for ‘Broadband China, Fibre Cities’ project
The project is called ‘Broadband China, Fibre Cities’ and will involve the deployment of a mix of passive optical networking (PON) technologies connecting homes, office buildings and remote ‘nodes’ which can then distribute the broadband signals to multiple locations over existing copper wires.
Alcatel-Lucent is to supply its Intelligence Services Access Manager (ISAM) product family, which supports GPON, EPON and DSL technologies and enables Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH), Fibre-to-the-Node (FTTN) and Fibre-to-the-Building (FTTB) deployment models.
Following the deployment, China Telecom will be able to offer subscribers a range of consumer and business services including IPTV, video-on-demand, voice over IP (VoIP) and more at speeds of up to 50 Mbps, all with guaranteed quality of service (QoS) levels.
Wei Leping, Chairman of China Telecom Science & Technology Committee, said: “China Telecom launched ‘Broadband China, Fibre Cities’ strategy at the beginning of 2011, which aims to realise optical network coverage in all the cities in three years. By 2015, China Telecom will achieve a FTTH coverage of 100 million households and 30 million FTTH subscribers.”
The project is described as a central element of China Telecom’s plan to extend its FTTH coverage to 100 million users by the end of China’s 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015).
Alcatel-Lucent selected for ‘Broadband China, Fibre Cities’ project
Bhutan - Govt and UN have launched an ICT development programme to bridge the Himalayan digital divide
[unescap] More than 40 senior Bhutan government officials and policymakers are meeting in Thimphu this week for a United Nations information and communication technology (ICT) capacity building programme that aims to support national socio-economic development.
The UN Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development (APCICT), a subsidiary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), has partnered with Bhutan’s Ministry of Information and Communication (MoIC) and the Royal Institute of Management (RIM) to launch its Academy of ICT Essentials for Government Leaders (Academy) programme in the country.
The Academy is APCICT’s flagship training programme with a comprehensive ICT-for- development (ICTD) curriculum designed to equip government leaders with the necessary skills and knowledge to leverage ICT for socio-economic development.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, APCICT Director Dr. Hyeun-Suk Rhee noted the significance of the Academy launch. “Today’s roll-out clearly demonstrates the Royal Government of Bhutan’s commitment to developing ICT human resource capacity for the purpose of enhancing and driving the country’s socio-economic development work.”
Bhutan is making considerable progress in implementing numerous ICT activities, according to the latest review by the International Development Research Centre. In 2009, work began on the Royal Government of Bhutan’s flagship ICT infrastructure project, the Thimphu Tech Park. ICT human resource capacity development has been made a government priority as demonstrated by Bhutan’s Chiphen Rigpel “Empowering a Society, Enabling a Nation” project designed to provide ICT training to all social sectors in order to move Bhutan into the Information Age.
“The Royal Government of Bhutan is very pleased to be partnering with APCICT to strengthen the ability of government officials and development stakeholders in the country to effectively use ICT to achieve our national development goals,” said H.E. Lyonpo Nandalal Rai, Minister for Information and Communication in his opening address. “It is through ICT awareness and skills that our leaders and citizens will achieve their full potential and enable us to build a knowledge–based Gross National Happiness society.”
First launched in 2008, the Academy has been implemented in 20 countries across the Asia-Pacific region in partnership with national governments, academic institutions and regional development stakeholders.
UN and Bhutan launch ICT capacity development programme to improve connectivity and bridge digital divide in Himalayan kingdom
The UN Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development (APCICT), a subsidiary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), has partnered with Bhutan’s Ministry of Information and Communication (MoIC) and the Royal Institute of Management (RIM) to launch its Academy of ICT Essentials for Government Leaders (Academy) programme in the country.
The Academy is APCICT’s flagship training programme with a comprehensive ICT-for- development (ICTD) curriculum designed to equip government leaders with the necessary skills and knowledge to leverage ICT for socio-economic development.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, APCICT Director Dr. Hyeun-Suk Rhee noted the significance of the Academy launch. “Today’s roll-out clearly demonstrates the Royal Government of Bhutan’s commitment to developing ICT human resource capacity for the purpose of enhancing and driving the country’s socio-economic development work.”
Bhutan is making considerable progress in implementing numerous ICT activities, according to the latest review by the International Development Research Centre. In 2009, work began on the Royal Government of Bhutan’s flagship ICT infrastructure project, the Thimphu Tech Park. ICT human resource capacity development has been made a government priority as demonstrated by Bhutan’s Chiphen Rigpel “Empowering a Society, Enabling a Nation” project designed to provide ICT training to all social sectors in order to move Bhutan into the Information Age.
“The Royal Government of Bhutan is very pleased to be partnering with APCICT to strengthen the ability of government officials and development stakeholders in the country to effectively use ICT to achieve our national development goals,” said H.E. Lyonpo Nandalal Rai, Minister for Information and Communication in his opening address. “It is through ICT awareness and skills that our leaders and citizens will achieve their full potential and enable us to build a knowledge–based Gross National Happiness society.”
First launched in 2008, the Academy has been implemented in 20 countries across the Asia-Pacific region in partnership with national governments, academic institutions and regional development stakeholders.
UN and Bhutan launch ICT capacity development programme to improve connectivity and bridge digital divide in Himalayan kingdom
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