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There will be 250 million mobile Internet subscribers by the end of 2009. A post on GigaOm goes into great depth about the state of wireless broadband. By September of this year EMEA (Europe, M. East, Africa) will have 60 million subscribers, North America 37 million, and Asia-Pacific will have 56 million mobile broadband users. All indicative of the reality that mobile broadband will be a key gateway for users to get onto the Internet.
These are all signs that the emerging wireless broadband network — regardless of the networking protocol is good for innovators and innovation. More entrepreneurs should be thinking about leveraging this wireless broadband platform in a more meaningful fashion. In developing and emerging markets, this could see technology helping people overcome everyday struggles and generate whole new sectors to economies.
The graphic below helps put the emergence of mobile broadband in context:
Click to view in High-Resolution
emergence of the netbook brings word of a new OS
Some stories emerge and snowball so quickly, that trying to piece them all together in a coherent manner takes a keen ability to make sense of all the developments. There has been a quite a bit about netbooks, low-cost PC notebook computers, in the news recently. Netbooks are experiencing a tremendous growth in sales world-wide. A previous post had detailed how telcoms in India have started bundling these PC’s with long-term mobile data contracts. In North America, Verizon now offers a sub-$200 netbook for it’s mobile data subscribers.
From GigaOm, news of a new entrant to the market and the dramatic rise in netbook sales:
In developed countries with high rates of broadband Internet usage in homes, mobile Internet will be seen as a separate category from fixed broadband offerings. In the UK, incumbent operator BT is adding mobile broadband to its consumer packages, positioning the technology as a complement to fixed broadband:
BT Total Broadband customers can now get up to 8Mbps cellular broadband including 1GB of monthly data usage. The lowest option costs £15.65 per month over 18 months for both fixed and mobile broadband, with BT claiming HSDPA download speeds of 7.2Mbps.
In developing/majority world countries, where broadband Internet usage rates are low, consumers are less likely to see the services as complementary. As speeds on next-generation wireless networks catch up to what is typically expected of wired connections like cable, there will be less of a distinction between the two types of service. Already there are devices on the market that blur the distinction between fixed and mobile Internet service and hint at the exciting possibilities convergence will offer down the road.
- Novatel’s MiFi 2200, a 3G Wi-Fi router.
The New York Times recently covered the Novatel MiFi 2200, a device that will be made available from Verizon in North America in mid-May. It is a new take on existing cellular-modems as the device uses a cellular 3g signal from a mobile network to create a portable Wi-Fi hotspot anywhere you take the device. The Wi-Fi signal covers about a 30ft. radius and can be shared with up to 5 users.
What is incredible about this device is that Verizon even suggests that the MiFi device could be used as a primary family Internet service at home. Just two short years ago, sharing a cellular-modem account was discouraged by the same provider–a real sign of the maturation of the ability of 3g networks to carry greater traffic.
Mobile Internet offerings from operators like Vodafone and Digicel are to be expected and do not come as a surprise for anyone. Leadership at TFL should take notice of the BT case. Combining mobile Internet, fixed Internet, voice, and IPTV in a consumer package could make TFL Fiji’s first triple-play or quad-play threat.
In an earlier post, Unwired Fiji was praised for deploying a next-generation WiMAX network. A loyal reader forwarded me me an email sent out by Unwired that details new services that take advantage of their new network infrastructure and this news should be greeted with much less enthusiasm. Unwired would have benefitted from waiting for the July 17th announcement of the liberalisation of access to the international gateway to go to their customers with much more attractive pricing terms.
The company has unveiled two new service offerings for business users. Axxcess is a shared solution aimed at small and medium-scale enterprises. SkyFibre is a dedicated option for larger corporate outfits.
Alcatel-Lucent and Tatung University have announced the launch of Taiwan’s first WiMAX 16e campus network. The project will foster research and innovation in wireless broadband technologies.
Such deployments are crucial to rolling out commercial services:
“Before deploying WiMAX application services in the commercial market, field testing and evaluation are crucial. Tatung University’s network not only proves WiMAX’s capabilities in real life but also provides a wealth of data as well as an R&D environment for WiMAX developers and research institutes,” said C.Y. Hsu, the leader of Tatung University’s Wireless Broadband Laboratory.
Tatung Infocomm, a local operator, seeks to launch it’s commercial WiMAX offering in the near future. Everyone involved agree on what is possible over WiMAX:
Tatung University and Alcatel-Lucent are also demonstrating WiMAX technology’s maturity through various innovative, state-of-the-art WiMAX application services, including smart metering, digital video surveillance systems, IPTV, PS3 gaming , IMS, and high-speed video streaming.
The maturing of WiMAX as a technology should mean greater consideration for deployment from operators in the Pacific.
An earlier post on next-generation wireless deployment dealt with standards viable for commercial deployment (WiMAX & LTE). Incumbent operators and new ISPs will utilize this technology to extend the reach of connectivity. Here, the discussion will focus on two attempts to extend network coverage to indigenous communities in North America.
In the United States, Native American reservations remain some of the most unconnected populations, but these underserved and forgotten communities are gearing up for the future. Our first examples comes from Sacred Wind, an operator serving Indigenous communities in New Mexico. Their investment in new wireless infrastructure that is commercially viable means a dramatically different outlook for their customers:
Sacred Wind is building a fixed WiMax network using Fujitsu access gear over the 3.65 GHz unlicensed band to extend phone and broadband access to a community that the telecom industry seems to have forgotten. Of the 8500 households distributed among thousands of square miles, only 29% have phones, but after Sacred Wind’s $70-million project is complete, John Badal, Sacred Wind’s chief executive officer, hopes to have more than 90% of the population connected to voice and broadband through some combination of copper, fiber and wireless point-to-point and point-to-multipoint technologies.
Our second example differs from the first because it is not the project of a telecom operator. Based at the University of California, San Diego, the High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network (HPWREN) works to build for research purpose, experimental wireless network connectivity over a wide expanse of difficult terrain in Southern California.
HPWREN addresses education needs of rural indigenous communities
Funded by a National Science Foundation grant, HPWREN is a research project that is utilized by:
- researchers in a wide range of science and engineering disciplines
- planning agencies working in disaster management and emergency services
- Native American communities building distance education capabilities
Read more from a PDF brochure outlining project initiatives. Below is a map of their current network deployment:
Map of Research and Education Networks in the San Diego area. Click image to view in Hi-resolution
For Pacific Island nations, the low rate of Internet take-up in the population represents a market failure on two fronts: the provision of backhaul and last-mile service. Where market failures exist, it is the prerogative of regulatory bodies to step in to address the underlying issues. It’s absolutely critical that regulators put in place appropriate incentives to get operators to deploy networks to as wide a segment of the population as possible.
WiMAX technology is allowing Sacred Wind to address a concern and extend the reach of their business to customers who were previously unreachable. Similarly, the work of researchers in San Diego seeks to expand the capabilities of wireless networks, while also providing benefits for research and education. Taken together, these two examples highlight the potential of wireless technology.
Where communities in the Pacific still remain outside the reach of new expanded service, the duty of the regulatory body should be to ensure that operators are properly incentivized to continue the expansion of networks. For these still existing beyond the reach of connectivity, efforts like those undertaken by HPWREN should be utilized to further the expansion of network coverage.
The newly convened Telecommunications Authority of Fiji (TAF) is to fund its operation from levies collected from operators. Setting aside a portion of these dollars to fund projects that expand the coverage area (while providing benefit to academic researchers and distance education) might prove worthwhile. It might also serve as an effective resource to assist industry in continually improving network coverage and performance.
For several weeks now, I have been parsing through websites and academic papers trying to understand the available literature 
on telecommunication policy. An earlier post on O3b referenced the International Telecommunication Union meeting in Tonga.
One of the outcomes from this meeting was a direction for ‘officials to work toward establishing a shared regulator resource centre at the earliest possible date.’
From its founding, this has been exactly the goal for this blog, to be a resource for everyone in the region to better understand how ICT and telecommunications liberalization impacts the lives of those living in the Pacific.
In true Pacific fashion, island nations have shown up late for the telecommunications liberalization party. This is regrettable, but it presents us with the opportunity to study how liberalization has fared in other countries in the world. In the literature on development, this is referred to as the benefit of being a latecomer.
Of course, it’s only a benefit if we learn the right lessons, make the appropriate comparisons, and take the necessary steps to avoid pitfalls faced by other nations who attempted to bring about change to their telecommunications sector.
Read about telecommunications policy and failures of liberalization in South Africa, as well as challenges faced by small economies, particularly relevant for the small island states of the Pacific.
There is an overwhelming amount of information that is available on this topic from online sources.
Click above image to view table of contents for ITU's ICT Regulation Toolkit
The plan is to have this become the first in a series of posts that will examine issues of telecommunications policy pertaining to liberalization and regulation.
To get a better understanding, it’s helpful for us to develop a road map to better put into perspective the many issues of concern. For our needs, the framework of analysis is offered in Section 2.4 of the ICT Regulation Toolkit, which outlines responsibilities of a good regulatory body:
- implementating the authorization framework that provides opportunities for new companies and investors to establish ICT businesses. Simple authorization procedures tend to maximize new entry (see Module 3);
- regulating competition (including tariffs) involving the effective enforcement of fair and equitable competitive market principles, restraining the power of dominant suppliers and leveling the playing field for new entrants (see Module 2);
- interconnecting networks and facilities. Normally transparent rules are established for interconnecting all types of traditional and new communications networks and associated cost-based payments (see Module 2)
- implementing universal service/access mechanisms to ensure the widespread (and affordable) diffusion of ICT (see Module 4);
- managing the radio spectrum effectively to facilitate new entrants and new technologies, which is particularly relevant to new broadband wireless opportunities such as Wi-Fi and WiMAX (see Module 5); and
- minimizing the burden and costs of regulation and contract enforcement (see Module 7)
Future posts on policy will be oriented around these modules. You can also expect more emphasis on academic articles that focus on small economies, since that is where the most apt comparisons to Pacific nations can be made.
It seems like just the other day that I was writing about Digicel’s arrival in Fiji. 
Well, it’s safe to say that their impact has been immediate and significant.
Earlier reports confirm what everyone in Fiji already knows about mobile calling rates. Digicel entered the market in October of 2008 and since that time incumbent provider Vodafone has slashed rates by 44% to hold on to market share.
Peak rates for Vodafone “on-net” calls have been dropped from 27 cents a unit to 15 cents a unit or 30 cents a minute in comparison to 54 cents previously. Off peak rates have been slashed from 18 cents a unit to 12 cents a unit or 24 cents a minute. SMS charges have been dropped by 50 per cent to 10 cents per txt compared to 20 cents earlier.
As these two companies battle it out, it should be consumers who rejoice. 
Real Competition in the mobile sector will mean continued improvements in these areas:
- improvements in call quality
- expanded coverage areas
- responsive customer support
- more frequent releases of services and features in-demand with customers
And really, the list of benefits is far too extensive to be detailed here. The real measure of the success of Digicel’s entry into the market will be made several years down the road.
Digicel has built its reputation on monopoly-busting in small markets all over the Caribbean and the Pacific and there’s nothing to indicate that they will stray from their credo as they expand in Fiji.
Announcement of their donation of $500,000 to assist victims of the recent floods in Fiji, as well as their plans to build a green-powered mobile network in Vanuatu show Digicel’s comittment to being a genuine partner in the Pacific.
I’ve written previously about O3b Networks, a satellite start-up that promises to deliver IP backhaul services to the developing world. I had a good fortune to speak with their CEO, Director of Asia-Pacific Sales, and Head of Ground Networks at the recent PTC conference in Honolulu.
Satellite technology, in a new configuration, promises to release the 3rd world from the shackles placed on them by domestic telecom monopolies.
They have just announced the signing of a new contract with Quark Communications in Guyana. An excerpt from their press release:
“With less than 1% penetration of broadband Internet usage in Guyana, we feel we have a moral obligation to provide all Guyanese Internet access for educational, commercial, and medical purposes,” said Brian Yong, CEO and Founder of Quark Communications. “The problem has traditionally been that it is very expensive to connect into the global communications infrastructure. With O3b, we now have access to ‘fibre like’ connectivity at an affordable price.”
Though emphasis of this blog is on Fiji and the Pacific Islands, it helps to bear in mind that a wide range of countries in the Global South face essentially the same issues when it comes to access to international telecommunications. O3b’s presence helps ISPs in these countries to get access to high-speed backhaul facilities for a fraction of the price. Where the only alternative is to lay expensive fiber-optic cable to establish international access, O3b offers hope. Fiber projects come with price tags starting at $300 million, an impossibility for small nations dealing when looking at their spending priorities.
O3b is not tackling this problem with unproven technology. They are relying on existing satellite technology (see graphic below) deployed in a very different constellation to achieve a coverage area for majority world/developing countries in entirety. Some technical specifications:
Courtesy of O3b Networks
Additional online resources for O3b:
A Link to a short clip where you can hear a National Public Radio program feature on O3b in Africa
Diagram of O3b satellite constellation, a key difference from providers of the past (Video provided by O3b):
You can find press releases, media coverage, and the most current company information on the O3b Networks website.
Increasing PC penetration in emerging economies looks to be within real reach with announcement from India. One of the largest telcos there, Reliance, is offering a free netbook computer for customers who sign up for a two-year wireless internet agreement. Read the story from GigaOm here:
This application of the wireless industry business model (subscription) to the computing business means that we may finally see computer penetration go up in emerging economies. It is not easy for people to buy expensive computers in the emerging economies, but these smaller netbooks that can be attached to a keyboard, mouse and a monitor can help overcome those barriers.
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