telco newsletter

Indosat contracts Nokia for GSM expansion

2005-12-01T17:23:00.000+08:00

Indosat contracts Nokia for GSM expansion

Indonesian cellco Indosat has selected Nokia to expand the GSM network of its subsidiary Satelindo in Bali and Java (excluding Jakarta and surrounding areas). Under the terms of the deal, the value of which has not been disclosed, Nokia will supply radio network and circuit and packet switched core networks, and cellular transmission for East Java. It will also include the Nokia NetAct network and service management system, which ensures speed and service quality to customers, as well as network planning, implementation and optimisation services. Satelindo claimed 12.7 million mobile subscribers at the end of September.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian government has revealed plans to issue a new regulation in 2006, which will require telcos to set aside 20% of their capital expenditure to buy local products.

Indonesia to force telcos to buy local goods

2005-11-30T16:07:00.000+08:00

The Indonesian government plans to issue a regulation requiring telecommunications companies to set aside 20% of their capital expenditure to buy local products.

The new regulation, to be effective next year, is expected to boost the domestic industry, Post and Telecommunications director general Basuki Yusuf Iskandar said.

Iskandar said the domestic industry has gained little from the thriving telecommunications industry over the past several years.

He said telecommunication products produced in the country have a foreign content of 90%.

The official said the country's telecommunications market, excluding handsets, was valued at $2.5 billion this year and most of the spending is for imports of networks equipment produced by foreign vendors.

Indonesia's Bakrie Telekom eyes $49m from IPO

2005-09-27T13:08:00.000+08:00

PT Bakrie Telekom hopes to launch an IPO in December or January next year, offering up to 20% of its shares, a local daily reported.

The subsidiary of PT Bakrie & Brothers hopes to earn between Rp500 billion ($49 million) to Rp750 billion from the IPO, the daily quoted the company's president as saying.

The Bakrie group is set to maintain the majority share of at least 51% in the telecommunication subsidiary. Currently the Bakrie Group owns 78.63% of Bakrie Telecom with Richweb Investment owning 2.94% and CMA Fund 21.34%.

The funds expected to come from the IPO will be used to finance installation of networks in various areas in Java.

Good bye i-mode, welcome FeliCa

2005-09-02T14:54:00.000+08:00

It's quite shocking when a senior manager at a major Japanese wireless operator points out that i-mode is basically passe'.

The words weren't as severe as that, but the executive, from one of DoCoMo's competitors asserts that DoCoMo's wireless data strategy no longer focuses on the traditional perception of i-mode as a platform for accessing the Internet with a mobile phone.

"DoCoMo's whole service focus now is actually on transactions and not on content," he said over his Heineken in the sleek surroundings of the Isola bar in Hong Kong.

Obviously, statements from a company's competitor must be taken with a pinch of salt, but the topic certainly roused my curiosity enough to look into a bit further.

No, i-mode isn't exactly dead because it continues to contribute a significant part of DoCoMo's ARPU (some 26% for the quarter ending June 30, 2005). While the actual amount of ARPU from i-mode (2G and 3G) is down about 7%, the decline is consistent with the overall drop in revenue per user.

Certainly, money from i-mode has helped DoCoMo slow the erosion of ARPU and more important, insulate its balance sheet. In 2004, the operator recorded service revenue of some $43 billion. i-mode's 26% would equal some $11 billion!

Yet, despite the huge market value of i-mode, there are signs that the platform that launched the wireless Internet is fast approaching middle age.

For starters, ARPU from i-mode is declining at a steady pace. For example, 2G i-mode users spent about 2,000 yen in the second quarter of 2004. A year later, they spent 1,550 yen, or 23% less. DoCoMo's 3G business is faring significantly better, registering much lower ARPU erosion, but erosion nevertheless.

At the same time, subscriber growth is slowing down and the penetration rate is now over 90% of DoCoMo's overall customer base.

It's safe to say that i-mode as a business has quietly slipped past its peak. Put another way, the wireless Internet has reached commoditization in a little over five years since i-mode was launched in 1999. With commoditization comes continual price decline.

All of which suggests the available revenue from the traditional i-mode platform of ringtone downloads and information services will shrink. So it should come as no surprise that DoCoMo is probably putting less emphasis on it, thus confirming the claim from my friend from Japan.
Besides, i-mode revenue for DoCoMo consists primarily of a monthly subscription fee to the service, packet charges for accessing the platform and a percentage of the subscription fees to content providers, all of which are supported in a well functioning ecosystem - albeit in a (very) slowly declining overall market.

DoCoMo is now focused on enabling transactions using its handsets.
DoCoMo's FeliCa service, which allows i-mode handsets to pay for things, is the company's fastest growing business. In less than a year since its launch in August 2004, over five million FeliCa-enabled users have signed up.

Between February and April, the number of FeliCa transactions doubled from 320,000 to 690,000 and the trend is likely to accelerate. So while traditional i-mode services offer a steady revenue stream, FeliCa is certainly looking like the new growth opportunity.

More importantly, FeliCa allows DoCoMo to explore additional business opportunities, such as becoming the clearinghouse for these transactions or adding credit to the payment system.
So as i-mode's revenues decline as it enters maturation, DoCoMo has found a way to evolve beyond i-mode by linking its services to traditional "brick and mortar" businesses via transactions. In that sense, transactions are the new mobile content - at least in terms of new revenue growth. It will be interesting to see if FeliCa generates as much overseas buzz as i-mode did.--Telecomasia.net

China signs agreement to invest $20b in Indonesia

2005-09-02T13:43:00.000+08:00

Sep 2, 2005
Telecom Asia Daily

China signed agreements to invest $20 billion in Indonesia to build scores of electricity, telecommunications and other infrastructure projects over the next 20 years, a news report said.

Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla also said the rupiah's recent depreciation which saw the currency fall to a four-year low against the dollar, earlier this week, offered the Chinese an opportunity to get more for their money.

"There is now a good opportunity for Chinese businessmen to invest in Indonesia due to our favorable and competitive exchange rate," Kalla said on a visit to China, according to The Jakarta Post. "You can buy land and invest in machinery cheaper than before."

The two sides signed six MOUs and four agreements involving Indonesian state enterprises and their Chinese counterparts in many projects including gas transmission, electricity, telecommunication, mining, housing development and the medical sector.
Indonesia badly needs foreign investment to keep the economy growing and produce the jobs for the millions of new graduates.

It has struggled to attract foreign investment in recent years, in the face of widespread corruption and government red tape.

But a weakening rupiah and a more stable government has increased the country's prospects and helped foreign investment jump 74% in the first seven months of this year.

Internet Traffic Growth Slows by Half in 2005

2005-08-23T16:53:00.000+08:00

Internet Traffic Growth Slows by Half in 2005

After a decade of remarkable growth, the international Internet is showing substantial signs of maturity. According to TeleGeography's latest survey of Internet backbone providers, global cross-border internet traffic grew by just 49 percent in 2005, down from 103 percent in 2004. The Internet's fastest growing regions, Asia (76%) and Latin America (70%), produced only modest traffic growth by previous years' standards.

The rate of traffic growth going forward may hinge most on the underlying growth in broadband subscribers, which has begun to slow in many developed markets. As of mid-2005, the combined average traffic on all cross-border backbone routes stood at just under 1 Terabit per second (Tbps). TeleGeography projects that average traffic will range from 2 to 3 Terabits per second by 2008.

An important secondary sign of market maturity is stabilization in Internet backbone access pricing. TeleGeography's latest pricing survey shows that in the 12 months up to mid-2005, prices fell less sharply than in previous years. In 2004, backbone access prices around the world fell about 50 percent over the previous year. This year prices fell between 23 and 33 percent, and many providers have stated that they have no plans to reduce prices further.

This new research is presented as part of the completely updated Global Internet Geography, available as either an updated online subscription service or as a 414 page printed report. Key features include:

- Internet traffic and bandwidth forecasts through 2008
- Review of traffic by application: Web/P2P/email/VoIP
- Analysis of backbone growth, geographic coverage, and pricing
- Profiles of 77 backbone operators, including network maps
- Top routes, traffic, and users for 64 countries

Internet users reach 130m

2005-07-28T00:37:00.000+08:00

China’s Internet Network Information Centre has released statistics which show that the country is now home to 130 million internet users, making it the world’s second largest internet market behind the US. The market grew by 18.4% in the first six months of the year. There were 53 million broadband subscribers at the end of June, up 23.8% from the start of the year.

TA Orange targets rural regions; expects 4.2 million users by year-end

2005-07-28T00:34:00.000+08:00

True Corp’s Thai mobile operator TA Orange says it expects to end 2005 with 4.2 million users, up from the 3.38 it started the year with. The cellco is the main protagonist in the cut-throat price war currently enveloping the mobile market and it continues to target low-revenue users in Thailand’s rural areas. TA Orange currently has around 4.1 million users and an estimated 20% market share.

Telcos predicting strong growth over next five years

2005-07-28T00:26:00.000+08:00

Two of Indonesia’s leading operators, PT Telkom and PT Indosat, predict that the country’s telecoms market will double, or triple, in terms of revenues by 2010. Telkom president director Arwin Rasjid forecasts that, excluding handset sales, the industry will be worth between IDR141 trillion (USD14.37 billion) and IDR181 trillion, up from IDR48 trillion last year.

Arwin predicts that by 2010 the number of main lines in service will have doubled from the current figure of around nine million (a teledensity of less than 5%), internet usage will triple to about 48 million users, and cellular penetration will rise from 35 million to more than 100 million – or 42% of the population.

Indosat’s president director Hasnul Suhaimi backed up his counterpart’s claims saying that the rapid pace of growth seen over the last twelve years would continue as telecoms penetration in Indonesia remains relatively low, compared to its regional neighbours.

However, the task of extending the reach of telecoms services to all will not be an easy one. Arwin highlighted the problems of the country’s geography - a key challenge for telecoms companies looking to develop their infrastructure. “As of last month, our division in the eastern part of Indonesia could only cover 29% of regencies and 9% of villages in the whole of the island of Papua,” he said.

VSNL Buys Top VoIP Carrier

2005-07-26T04:45:00.000+08:00

VSNL Buys Top VoIP Carrier

India's incumbent international operator, VSNL, announced today that it had agreed to buy Teleglobe, the largest international voice over IP (VoIP) carrier in the world -- and former Canadian monopoly overseas voice carrier. Should the deal meet with shareholder approval and pass regulatory review, the merged company -- which also includes the recently integrated Tyco Global Network -- would become one of the largest multinational providers of voice, Internet, and bandwidth services.

The data below are drawn from the reports and databases of TeleGeography Research, the authoritative source for statistics and analysis on international communications:

VOICE
Teleglobe became the largest carrier in the 30 billion minute international VoIP market when it acquired ITXC in 2004. Although VoIP represented under 15 percent of the global call market in 2004, it is growing at double to triple the rate of the traditional public switched voice market. Combined with Teleglobe's wholesale voice operations around the world, VSNL will become the fifth largest carrier of voice minutes in the world.

source: TeleGeography

INTERNET

Although VSNL is a significant carrier of voice minutes in its own right, its international Internet infrastructure has been limited to a few routes out of India. With the acquisition of Teleglobe, VSNL will be adding backbone Internet connectivity to 14 new countries, bringing its total to 17. Still, the combined VSNL and Teleglobe international Internet backbone puts it only in the top 30 of global backbone providers. This may change rapidly if VSNL builds out its Internet infrastructure to serve India's growing demand for corporate bandwidth.

source: Global Internet Geography

BANDWIDTH
By purchasing Teleglobe, VSNL will be pairing Teleglobe, a major wholesale services provider, with the Tyco Global Network, a major provider of wholesale submarine and terrestrial network capacity that VSNL acquired recently. As of early 2005, Teleglobe owned or controlled part of 90 submarine and terrestrial network systems, as well as satellite connectivity around the world. Although other carriers, such as AT&T and MCI, may connect to more individual city locations, few companies are known to control capacity on as many different systems.

source: International Bandwidth

voip vs Mobile: the future

2005-07-20T05:10:00.000+08:00

"Corporate comms managers find it hard to justify migration to VoIP, other than in the contact centre, unless another change is also being made – new offices, new working practices, or a new data network are cited in interviews as factors associated with the move to VoIP." - Margaret Hopkins

VoIP versus Mobile: forecasts for the future of enterprise voice complements other Analysys Research reports addressing the issues of migration to VoIP services, such as The Impact of Voice over Broadband: forecasts for Western Europe . This report focuses on the network and technology issues for large and medium-sized organisations as the vendors cease development of traditional PBXs, and mobile phones become increasingly ubiquitous. In large and medium-sized organisations, comms managers are considering the options for the upgrade or replacement of their voice systems; it is relatively easy to argue for migration to VoIP on the grounds of cost for contact centres, where everything is monitored, but much harder to justify replacing the phone on every desk elsewhere, while, at the same time, costs for calls to and from mobile phones are often running out of control.

The report looks at the drivers of change in enterprise networks and considers how voice technologies are evolving to meet those needs. It identifies the early adopter sectors for new voice systems and which areas of the organisation are the first to change, and spells out the roadmap for migration to VoIP. It also identifies the market-leading services being launched in Europe for VoIP and mobile services. The strategic consequences of these changes are analysed from the point of view of fixed operators, mobile operators and systems integrators.

VoIP versus Mobile: forecasts for the future of enterprise voice covers spend for:

- voice in large (500+ employees) and medium (20–499 employees)
enterprisesorganisations in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, the
UK and Western Europe
- fixed and mobile voice calls and services
- equipment for enterprise voice networks
- management of voice networks
- connectivity such as leased lines and VPN capacity

The report also estimates the numbers of organisations choosing VoIP, hosted VoIP and mobile-only solutions.
VoIP versus Mobile: forecasts for the future of enterprise voice answers your key questions.

-- Can corporate comms managers justify migration to VoIP?
-- How many organisations might choose a mobile-only voice solution and when?
-- Will VoIP over broadband become an important part of corporate voice networks?
-- Will voice over WLAN have a role to play in corporate voice networks?
-- Is there a future for corporate voice VPNs?
-- Will operators manage to retain their lucrative PBX businesses?

Report: Stability in the Atlantic Capacity Market?

2005-07-16T06:43:00.000+08:00

According to TeleGeography's latest Bandwidth Pricing Report, a consortium of major American and European carriers have begun shopping for as much as a terabit of capacity across the Atlantic. Such a huge capacity purchase would have two key outcomes:

First, if the purchase goes through, the consortium would be picking up nearly a third of current lit capacity on the route.
Second, because the consortium is looking at a long term purchase, it may indicate that the biggest carriers think that capacity prices are near their long term floor, ending a decade-long plunge in pricing.

Because of the size of the consortium's purchase, the price stabilization theory may turn out to be self-fulfilling. With a great deal of available bandwidth supply taken up, cable operators will be forced, somewhat ahead of schedule, to upgrade their systems. The costs incurred will give them little choice but to hold, or perhaps even raise, prices up for other customers to recoup the upgrade expense.

Report info: Adult Mobile Services

2005-07-15T09:46:00.000+08:00

Adult Services is an insightful strategic report from Informa Telecoms & Media, providing you with thorough analysis of the adult content industry as well as key market forecasts to 2010 for all content segments. The business intelligence and expert industry commentary contained in this report will prove invaluable when making successful investment decisions for your company.

The market for erotic content for mobile devices is predicted to be worth USD2.3bn by 2010, but realisation of this is highly dependent on mobile phone carriers and content providers working with regulators in order to determine solid controls and age verification procedures. This is one of the conclusions to come out of the research for Informa Telecoms and Media's new report, Mobile Adult Services. "The key to turning erotic mobile content into a sustainable revenue stream is to adopt a responsible approach, making sure subscribers who wish to view such content are age verified and that those providers who are looking to make a quick buck are squeezed out of the equation", said Daniel Winterbottom, senior research analyst at Informa and author of the report.

The report goes on to commend the stance taken by the operators in the UK and especially the Vodafone Group for the proactive approach adopted to introduce controls that protect minors whilst not restricting customers who wanted to purchase erotic material. "Of course, there is an element of self preservation involved, but it would be churlish not to recognise the positive standard that the UK operators have set for other cellcos globally," said Winterbottom.

"The formation of the Independent Mobile Classification Board (IMCB) has allayed fears that strict regulation would be introduced, ruining the market for the more responsible providers".
The introduction of age verification systems in the UK, in line with stipulations set out by the IMCB, has surprised many in the industry by resulting in an increase in traffic for adult content, rather than stifling usage levels.

One of the proposed reasons behind this is that consumers have a higher propensity to use services that they are confident in - the robust controls are a far cry from the chaotic and unregulated Internet environment.

Further research in the report looks at the potential outcomes in other regions with regards to regulation.

"We're seeing the Italian operators take a similar approach to those in the UK and banding together to address the issue of content control, averting any possible heavy-handedness from the regulator there" commented Winterbottom. "The situation in the US is slightly different in that many of the operators have taken a walled garden approach to mobile content, and have therefore been relatively unconcerned with the issue of content control. However, consumer pressure and the success of the direct-to-consumer channel for content distribution is meaning that this content strategy is unlikely to survive any significant length of time. Without controls, operators will find themselves being used to distribute adult content whether they like it or not".

The report estimates that by 2010, there will be over 114 million regular users of mobile adult content globally. However, this figure hinges on operators and content providers creating a robust system for content control, one that allays any concerns from the regulators and one that creates a trustworthy environment in which consumers can feel safe when purchasing premium content. "In the adult market, the Internet has tarnished the purchase of premium content for many. However, given the close relationship between mobile operator and the consumer, and with a responsible strategy, there is no reason that this market cannot generate revenue for all in the value chain" said Winterbottom.

Forecasts to 2010 for all key content segments - including premium text messaging, video, voice services and MMS as well as adult games and ringtone analysis for all world regions - make accurate predictions on where the market is heading and target your investments accordingly

A clear overview of the market - understand the key drivers of the market, its size in the various world regions and significant developments to date

Market segmentation analysis - benefit from a thorough examination of services provided in each market segment, as well as the underpinning technologies, including age verification and content filtering mechanisms

Mobile adult content business models - analyse successful revenue models and the different characteristics that have contributed to their success, including pricing, delivery channels, operator and content provider partnerships - what are the regulation differences for mobile content in the various markets across the world?

Real-life case studies - how have different players in the value chain - including Vodafone and Playboy - gone about launching mobile adult services? What lessons for success can be taken from these companies’ approaches to the market?

Adult content services road map - assess key challenges for the future and benefit from invaluable commentary from the industry experts

Major industry questions answered in this report:

What are likely to be the key markets for adult content usage by 2010?
How have operators gone about establishing guidelines for the adult content sector in the UK? Has this proved successful?
What approach has the Australian regulatory authority taken to mobile adult content?
How did Cherry Sauce and Playboy go about launching their services?

Strike and Privatisation

2005-07-08T09:52:00.000+08:00

Pakistan Telecom workers
Strike ends but opposition to privatisation continues

FOLLOWING ALMOST three weeks of struggle against privatisation most Pakistan Telecommunication (PTCL) workers have returned to work. This was after the national leaders of the Employees' Union, one of the unions in the nine-union strong Action Committee, signed a deal with the government.

The semi-military government, under ferocious international pressure from its imperialist backers, was desperate to break the workers' opposition to privatisation fearing that it could undermine the regime's whole economic policy. They employed a combination of concessions and repression.

The concessions were quite extensive, including a 30% wage increase, no redundancies for two years for PTCL workers employed before 1992, quotas for the children of retired PTCL workers and leave cash payments of £500-600 per worker. However, in return the government was demanding that the trade unions not only end this particular struggle against privatisation but sign a deal not to further oppose privatisation.

The Action Committee refused to give up its opposition to privatisation and on 11 June Musharraf's regime deployed military units to guard PTCL installations and ordered widespread arrests of trade unionists. Over 1,100, mainly local, trade unionists were rapidly jailed. Three days later the Employees' Union leaders signed a deal with the government and, as one of the largest unions in the PTCL, effectively split the workforce.

Against this background the government announced that it had decided to sell the management rights and a 26% stake in the PTCL to Etisalat, the United Arab Emirates' state-owned telecoms company. But Etisalat has said that it will not finalise the purchase until the unions drop their opposition to privatisation.

The Action Committee is still negotiating with the government but is refusing to sign a deal that includes acceptance of PTCL privatisation. Furthermore, there is still the issue that repression must be stopped. While the local trade unionists who were arrested have been released, up to 15 trade union leaders are still being detained and others, fearful that they could be arrested, are in hiding.

The PTCL workers' struggle has attracted widespread support and, even though work has resumed, there still remains large scale opposition to privatisation. Within the Employees Union there is much opposition to their national leadership deal with the government. The local regional leaderships in Balochistan, interior Sindh and Karachi have announced that they are breaking away. Employees' Union leaders have not been able to hold workplace meetings to justify their position.

Activists are drawing conclusions from this struggle and drawing up plans to resist any attacks that the new Etisalat management attempt to make and to oppose any further privatisation. At the same time they are continuing to demand the renationalisation of all privatised industries, this time under workers' control and management.

Protests need to be continued to demand that all PTCL trade unionists are released from detention and that no further repressive measures are used against the telecoms workers.

Protests
ON 15 JUNE protests took place in several European countries in solidarity with the Pakistan telecom workers who were suffering arrests and victimisation for fighting the government's privatisation plans.

The protests were organised by the Committee for a Workers International (CWI - the socialist international organisation to which the Socialist Party is affiliated) after requests for solidarity from the Trade Union Rights Campaign in Pakistan.

In response, Pakistan embassies and consulates were picketed, including the embassy in Dublin where there was a well-attended lunchtime picket. A delegation led by Joe Higgins, Socialist Party TD (MP), Socialist Party councillor Ruth Coppinger and Socialist Youth representative, Paul Murphy met the ambassador.

Joe strongly protested the brutal methods employed by the regime and warned the ambassador that if the intimidation and arrests continued the Socialist Party would step up its campaign. Joe explained that he intended to raise the issue with the Taoiseach (Irish PM) who is due to attend an upcoming meeting of EU leaders, where relations with Pakistan are to be discussed.

In London, a 40-strong lobby outside the Pakistan High Commission included Janice Godrich, PCS president (the main civil service trade union), John McDonnell, Labour MP, and Glenn Kelly, executive member of UNISON (the largest public sector union in Britain).

Janice Godrich and John McDonnell spoke to the first secretary to the high commissioner and presented a protest letter demanding an end to the sacking of trade unionists and an end to the repression.

Indosat to test 3G

2005-07-06T10:08:00.000+08:00

Indosat, the second largest telco in Indonesia, has announced plans to try out 3G technology next month. The operator said it will begin with a pilot project in August which it will use to monitor the market response to the technology. The company hopes that the trial launch will support its bid for a 3G licence and increase its customer base.

Maxis and 3G

2005-07-06T10:04:00.000+08:00

Maxis to invest USD105 million in 3G network in 2005

Malaysian mobile operator Maxis Mobile says it will invest MYR400 million (USD105 million) this year in building out its third generation network, officially launched last Friday. Investment in the network so far has reached MYR200 million and Maxis plans to spend another MYR200 million by the end of December. It currently has 300 base stations providing 3G services throughout the Klang Valley, Malaysia’s most highly populated region, including the capital Kuala Lumpur. The company says it will roll out another 80 to 100 UMTS stations next year, based local research which found that of its 6.5 million subscribers, 850,000 were active GPRS users, 40% of which expressed strong interest in migrating to 3G. Maxis’ launch followed that of Telekom Malaysia’s wireless arm Celcom, which invested around MYR300 million in the launch of its 3G service on 17 May.

Huawei partners cooperatives in wireless venture

2005-06-29T10:54:00.000+08:00

Chinese equipment manufacturer Huawei has entered into a partnership with Argentine telecoms cooperative associations Fecotel and Fecosur to set up a factory in Buenos Aires producing wireless and broadband equipment. Huawei has agreed to provide the cooperatives with USD1 million in cash and equipment to launch wireless in the local loop (WiLL) operations in several areas of the country in the fourth quarter of this year.

Minister predicts ‘One India’ telecom tariff soon

2005-06-29T10:51:00.000+08:00

India’s Communications and IT Minister Dayanidhi Maran said this week that the government was firm on its commitment towards a uniform national telecom tariff system for the country, referred to as a ‘One India’ charge. Maran said that the country could move towards the ‘One India’ goal ‘very soon’, once disparities between intra-state charges are removed. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) recently announced that intra-state calls in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh would be treated as local calls. The minister added that the announced hike in the foreign investment cap in the telecom sector to 74% from the current 49% was also likely to be finalised shortly.

Opposition to privatisation continues

2005-06-28T10:32:00.000+08:00

Despite the strikes against the privatisation of Pakistan Telecommunications Ltd (PTCL) having ended last week, workers at the company are still heavily opposed to the process. PTCL employees have only returned to work after the company agreed to a series of concessions; these included a 30% wage increase, no redundancies for two years for PTCL workers employed before 1992 and holiday pay cash payments for all workers. In return, the government has demanded that the trade unions sign a deal saying that they will not oppose any privatisation further.

Users may have to register to pay-as-they-go

2005-06-22T18:55:00.000+08:00

The Malaysian government is considering introducing laws to make pre-paid mobile users provide proof of identity before purchasing a SIM card, and cellcos register their pre-paid customers with the authorities. The proposed measures are intended to help police trace users that make abusive or threatening phone calls and text messages, or operate other criminal activity via mobile phone. Similar legislation was introduced in Thailand earlier this year.

200506-17: Telekom Malaysia's denial

2005-06-16T18:38:00.000+08:00

Telekom Malaysia has denied recent stories which claimed it made a solo bid for a 47.7% stake in India’s fourth largest cellco Idea Cellular. Telekom had lodged a USD390 million joint bid with Singapore Technologies Telemedia for the stake, but failed to obtain approval from the Indian regulator within the required six-month period. The company now says it is reviewing its options, and is still interested in investing in India and neighbouring countries.

200506-16: 30% of US broadband subscribers unaware of VoIP

2005-06-16T18:34:00.000+08:00

TeleGeography's latest consumer survey research has found that 30% of US residential broadband subscribers have never heard of voice-over-IP (VoIP) telephone service. This is a crucial point for providers to consider, as TeleGeography's research also reveals a strong, positive correlation between familiarity with VoIP and likelihood of subscribing. People who are already familiar with VoIP are 50% more likely to subscribe than those who are unfamiliar.

The survey of 1,500 households, conducted as part of TeleGeography's new US VoIP report, also covered price sensitivity and service concerns.

Some of the key findings include:

52% of online households said they were likely to subscribe to a flat-rate VoIP service package if it was priced at USD30 per month

Only 30% of online households were likely to replace their existing landline phone with VoIP if automatic 911 services were unavailable in the VoIP package

76% of online households said they would completely replace their existing phone service if they subscribed to VoIP

Many of the most likely VoIP subscribers are also considering wireless substitution for their home phone line as well.

200506-15: Eight companies to bid for PTCL

2005-06-16T18:32:00.000+08:00

Eight companies have been shortlisted to bid for a 26% stake in Pakistan Telecommunications Company ltd (PTCL), and must put down a deposit of PKR40- million (USD672,000) by the end of today in order to take part in the bidding process. The shortlisted firms are Singapore Telecom (SingTel), China Mobile, Telekom Malaysia, Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC) of Kuwait, Saudi Oger, Saudi Telecom, Emirates Telecommunication Corp (Etisalat) and Turkcell. The bidding date was delayed from 10 June following employee protests spurred by fears of job losses because of privatisation. One union group reached an agreement with management earlier this week and has called off its strike, but other unions have rejected the agreement and some have threatened to shut the company’s operations down on 18 June.

200506-14: Army takes over PTCL installations

2005-06-16T14:59:00.000+08:00

By Zia Syed - All Pakistan Federation of United Trade Unions (APFUTU)

ISLAMABAD: Army and paramilitary troops along with police Saturday assumed control of the state-owned telephone facilities across the country, shortly after the date for sale of the Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation Limited (PTCL) was announced.

"We have deployed regular troops, Rangers and police at 150 PTCL installations throughout the country," confirmed Director-General Inter Services Public Relations Major-General Shoukat Sultan.

He said the troops and police were deployed at the request of the Ministry of Communication through the Ministry of Defense. "The assistance is being provided in term of technical matters to run communication and to protect sensitive installations."

The move is in the backdrop of negotiations between the government and PTCL employees union held before June 5 and which failed to make headway. PTCL exchanges would now be operated by army technicians from Signals Corps.

"It’s done," said Gen Sultan when asked whether troops had taken over PTCL installations. "This is a transitory step to run the communications uninterrupted ...I have not heard of any resistance from any one against this move to protect telephone exchanges," he added.

Gen Sultan said the security forces would remain deployed as a long as the government requires. To a question, he said that technicians from Signals would replace the entire technical staff of the PTCL.

He said the takeover was mulled substantially earlier and troops were ordered to stay ready in the event the trouble gets worse and out of control.

Unions plan complete nationwide strike

On the other hand, the PTCL Workers Action Committee leader Ziauddin and Malik Maqbool rejected the package, saying they would not compromise their principled position as a bargain for the sale of government entity.

"We have decided to give a strike call to our employees and would hope the government would come to the negotiating table with a free mind," said Ziauddin while talking to The News by telephone.

He said it was the unanimous decision of the 26-member committee of the employee unions that the privatization should be rejected outright. Zia said, "The government’s time-buying tactics will not work any more and if the talks remain fruitless we are going to jam the entire system on the night of June 14."

The News learnt that some 10 employees, including three union leaders, have been arrested or missing with their mobile phones switched off.

In a brief remark, the Telecom Association of Pakistan hoped the deregulation process would continue unhindered with the army’s takeover of the installations.

200506-13: Army takes technical control of PTCL

2005-06-16T14:43:00.000+08:00

Pakistan army seized control of the national telecoms firm after trade unions called a strike against the company’s privatization this week, Military officials said security forces had taken technical control of sensitive installations of the PTCL in all cities while police and paramilitary Rangers were posted to check on the law and order situation. “We have sent our experts from the Corps of Signals on the request of the PTCL authorities to take control of all important installations,” said military spokesman Colonel Idrees Malik.Witnesses said troops arriving in machine-gun fitted vehicles took control of telephone exchanges and vital installations in major cities of the populous Punjab province. “We have asked the staff to perform their duties as usual,” an army officer said.

200506-12: Striking Employees are Terrorist: Federal Minister

2005-06-16T14:31:00.000+08:00

Islamabad: Federal Minister for Interior Aftab Khan Sherpao said National Industrial Relations Corporation has termed the strike call of PTCL trade union an illegal step. The minister in a statement directed the leaders and workers of PTCL trade union not to create any hurdles in the smooth functioning of company.

He warned that strict action will be taken against those who violate the NIRC verdict, adding, any one found involved in such activities will be dealt with an iron hand.

The minister said any negative step by the trade union’s leaders could deprive them of the incentives announced by the government for them after announcing privatization of PTCL.

He said the privatization of PTCL is fully in favor of PTCL’s workers. He said the privatization of PTCL will be held on the due date. Sherpao said “those threatening the government against the privatization of PTCL are terrorist according to the law. They will face trouble if they continue their anti-state activities.”

200605-11: 500 Govt Employees held in crackdown

2005-06-16T14:26:00.000+08:00

By: Zia Syed (All Pakistan Federation of United Trade Unions)
13th June 2005

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) Employees Union claimed that authorities had arrested 500 workers and the union had damaged the fiber-optic cable linking Quetta with other parts of the country.

At a press conference in Karachi, the PTCL Union Action Committee’s central leader gave the government a 24-hour ultimatum to withdraw its proposal to privatize the company and release all arrested employees. He said the union had set June 15 as the deadline to jam the system against the proposed privatization, but the plan had been rescheduled now that its leaders and workers had been arrested.

The union leader said that 500 workers had been arrested throughout the country and the police had raided his and other leaders’ houses. He warned the parties interested in buying the company against participating in bidding, saying, “The workers will stop them.”

200506-10: Mobile Music Value Chain

2005-06-16T06:00:00.000+08:00

The telecoms and music industries have been impatiently waiting for the product of the Motorola and Apple partnership announced last year: a cell phone using Apple’s popular iTunes music software. Mobile carriers have been reluctant to contribute to the rollout of such handsets that would leave them outside the mobile music value-chain. We believe they are swimming against the tide, unless they figure out models that would reduce the cost of a download to less than US$1, as in the Internet world.

Pyramid Research CMT Director Guy Zibi argues that “the number of parties in the mobile music value-chain is one of the key obstacles for the development of a workable business model.” The crowded mobile music value chain must pass through music companies to publishers through the mobile operator to the end user.

The reluctance of mobile operators to support the Motorola/iTunes mobile handset indicates how actively mobile operators wish to grab a piece of the pie. This reluctance, Pyramid Research asserts, is another key obstacle facing the evolution of mobile music. Initially, mobile carriers will wield all their power to become a key part of the value-chain. They will face the challenge of recouping the cost of downloading a 3Mbps - 4Mbps file over-the-air without charging too much.

Some argue that end-users will be willing to pay US$2-US$3 per song, with a premium afforded towards mobility; however, Zibi contends, “Apple’s iTunes has essentially set a psychological barrier at US$1 for a download and the mobile industry must bring the cost to consumers down into this price range.”

200506-9: Vietnam mobile charges due to drop

2005-06-16T05:48:00.000+08:00

Vietnam Post and Telecommunications (VNPT) has submitted a plan to the Ministry of Post and Telematics (MPT) to reduce mobile phone tariffs charged by its subsidiaries MobiFone and VinaPhone. The two GSM operators are planning a 25% fee reduction in addition to changes to charge structures: call duration will be calculated by blocks of 15 or 20 seconds, instead of the current 30 seconds. Competitors Viettel and S-Fone already calculate charges in blocks of six and ten seconds respectively.

200506-8: Fraudsters use IPODS to steal corporate data

2005-06-16T05:32:00.000+08:00

Anti-fraud experts warn that Apple iPods, along with other music players that boast hard drives with up to 20Gbytes of memory, could become widely used by employees to fool security officials and breach data security rules. In one case a recruitment agency found much of its client database had been copied to an iPods's memory and used to defraud the firm.

more...

200506-7: Top ISPs host most infected computers

2005-06-16T05:28:00.000+08:00

According to a report released by Prolexic Technologies, Internet "zombie" attacks that attempt to knock computer systems offline are more likely to come from users of AOL than any other source. Prolexic said the report could indicate that some Internet providers do not protect their customers as much as companies like EarthLink.

more..

200506-6: Siemens name to disappear by December?

2005-06-16T05:20:00.000+08:00

BenQ, the Taiwanese handset manufacturer that has agreed to acquire the loss making operations of German rival Siemens Mobile, will stop selling Siemens branded phones from September, according to a number of German newspapers. As part of the deal, BenQ has the right to use the Siemens brand name for 18 months and a combined brandname for five years, but its chairman Lee Kuen-yao told Focus magazine that from September onwards all phones will be branded as either BenQ Siemens or BenQ alone. It had originally been expected that BenQ would stick with the Siemens name longer in Europe and South America in a bid to cash in on brand recognition. Meanwhile, Der Spiegel claims that, despite assurances that it will not be changing manufacturing practices, the Taiwanese company is planning to make significant cuts in Siemens’ German workforce as early as 2006.

200506-5: Internet access in China

2005-06-15T17:38:00.000+08:00

The Chinese government has approved a plan to build a new 350km undersea cable to increase net access speeds for internet users in northern China by as much as 50%. Asia Netcom, the international cable arm of state owned China Netcom, will install the new 80Gbps capacity cable to link the eastern port of Qingdao with South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Work on the project will be completed in early 2006.

200506-4: Finance: EWI says attempts to sell V-Mobile are Bad

2005-06-15T17:33:00.000+08:00

The battle for control of Nigerian cellco Vee-Networks has taken yet another twist with the news that minority shareholder Econet Wireless International (EWI) is threatening court action against fellow investors if they attempt to sell their shares in the operator to Vodacom and Virgin Mobile. Earlier this month Vodacom and Virgin Mobile announced that they would make a joint bid for a controlling stake in Vee Networks (which trades under the V-Mobile brand name) and that their bid had the backing of the company’s board. However, it looks like any buyout will now have to wait until a legal claim by former V-Mobile shareholder and manager EWI is resolved. EWI was forced to give up its shareholding in V-Mobile in early 2004 and saw its management contract for the cellco handed to Vodacom amid claims that its business dealings were not transparent. At the start of the month an international tribunal referred the case to a new panel to be appointed by a Nigerian court and EWI has publicly said that any V-Mobile investor attempting to sell their stake in the cellco will be cited for contempt of court.

200506-3: Most Intercity Bandwidth Still Unlit

2005-06-11T16:45:00.000+08:00

Despite significant and consistent growth in data traffic flows across the world's communications networks, a huge portion of potential network capacity remains unused. Based on research released this month in TeleGeography's International Bandwidth report and database, only three percent of the maximum possible intercity bandwidth in Europe and the U.S. has been "lit" for service provision.

For example, the 32 terrestrial carriers connecting to the New York metropolitan area have a combined potential capacity of 818.2 Terabits per second. Of that, only 22.6 Terabits per second -- 2.8 percent -- of network bandwidth is actually lit.
However, the aggregated fiber glut does not translate to a bandwidth glut for all carriers on all routes. In fact, many carriers are actually running out of bandwidth on certain network segments, and are having to face unwelcome network upgrade costs. For certain, they won't need to lay new fiber. But lighting dark fiber or adding wavelengths on existing fiber can be extremely expensive, and carriers may have a hard time taking on major new costs in what is still a very competitive market subject to rapid price erosion.

200506-2: Top and Bottom Wireless Markets

2005-06-11T16:39:00.000+08:00

3G Adoption

While 2004 was the year in which 3G services became a reality for many, new research from TeleGeography shows that 3G subscribers account for only a slim percentage of mobile users around the world.

According to GlobalComms, TeleGeography's online encyclopedia of wireline and wireless telecommunications markets, early 3G introducers Japan and South Korea claimed the highest percentage of users, at 12.5% (10.79 million 3G users) and 16.1% (5.9 million) respectively, while Italy and the U.K. fell significantly behind, with 3G users accounting for 4% of all subscribers in these two countries.
Globally, 3G accounted for less than 30 million users in 2004, but TeleGeography expects total subscribers to more than double in 2005.
Mobile Haves- and Have-Nots

Another sign of the times is wireless penetration rates of over 100%; at the end of 2004 there were ten countries which reported this phenomenon, ranging from Luxembourg (a staggering 135%) to Germany (102%). At the other end of the scale, 35 of 159 countries covered in GlobalComms had wireless penetration rates of less than 5%, including India (3.5%) and Bangladesh (2.7%).
In terms of the expansion of subscriber bases, 19 countries achieved triple-digit growth in 2004. Top of the list was Iraq, which reported a massive 1,757% increase in subscribers to 1.2 million; further down the list were Nigeria (170% to 8.79 million) and Pakistan (139% to 8.51 million). Eastern Europe, too, saw three countries enjoy growth of over 100%: Belarus (120%), Ukraine (111%) and Russia (104%). By contrast, Iceland managed annual growth of just 2.6%.

200506-1: U.S. Residential VoIP to Exceed $1bn in 2005

2005-06-11T16:30:00.000+08:00

Although the technology behind Voice-over-IP has existed for well over a decade, only recently has VoIP been capable of replacing the home phone service of residential customers. The result has been stunning growth: U.S. residential subscriber totals have jumped from 150,000 at the end of 2003 to well over 2 million as of March 2005. According to preliminary findings from TeleGeography's latest research, total subscribers in the U.S. should exceed 4.1 million by year end, generating over $1bn in gross revenues for the year.

As of today, the largest provider of home VoIP service has been Vonage, which entered the market early but does not own a communications network of its own. Close on the heels of Vonage now are the cable companies, which have a huge installed base of broadband customers and nearly ubiquitous connectivity. By the end of 2005, TeleGeography predicts that Cablevision, Comcast, and Time Warner together will have 2 million subscribers and nearly one-half of the total residential VoIP market.
This analysis is excerpted from the U.S. VoIP Report, TeleGeography's new study of carriers and consumers of broadband voice service in the U.S.