Monthly Archives: March, 2009
On the improvement of India’s universal-service policy environment
Two surveys of India’s telecom regulatory and policy environments conducted in 2006 and 2008 by LIRNEasia show a dramatic increase in the score for universal service policies since the policy changes effected in 2007. From being ranked lowest among six emerging Asian countries, India now has close to the highest score for universal service policy [...]
TRE results presented at Voice & Data event in New Delhi
The results of the 2008 TRE research were presented at a well attended event in New Delhi on 6 March 2009. The picture above shows Mr R.N. Prabhakar, Member of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India responding to points raised in the discussion. In the background are members of the panel, including LIRNEasia Chair and [...]
Expropriation makes a comeback in Russia, with a twist
Glimmerings of a return to the bad old days, when governments “nationalized” telecom companies. The end result was pillage by the government flunkies and bad/no service to the public. The Russians are back in this game, but this time through the courts and with a different beneficiary, the local partner oligarch. Already jittery investors were [...]
SAARC mobile tariffs converging; competition (finally) drives down Nepal tariffs by 50 percent
LIRNEasia’s price-benchmarking research shows that Pakistan has overtaken Bangladesh as the country with the cheapest monthly prepaid costs in the SAARC region, when compared to September 2008. Pakistan recorded a monthly cost of USD 1.75 for a low user, followed by Bangladesh (USD 1.96) and India (USD 2.10). The greatest drop in tariffs since September 2008 [...]
Warning: The “terminators” may return to India
Grey market may rein India’s overseas calls again as the regulator has increased international termination charge and slashed local termination fees, warned the Association of Competitive Telecom Operators (ACTO). This trade body was formed last month by AT&T, BT, Cable & Wireless, Orange Business Services and Verizon Business. “Increasing the termination rates of international [...]
Sri Lanka: The vicious circle of mobile advertising
I may be wrong, not having conducted a systematic study of mobile advertising in Sri Lanka, but the impression I have is that while there is plenty of it, it’s all about calling to maintain relationships if not about price/quality aspects. In the short term this works, because this is where people’s heads are. But [...]
Bangladesh blocks YouTube and esnips.com
In a futile move, the Bangladesh government has blocked YouTube and esnips.com for hosting the recorded consultation between the prime minister and the country’s army officers. Country’s regulatory head has confirmed it to the press. This consultation was held after a brutal mutiny had wiped out the entire hierarchy of the country’s border guard force on February 25. More [...]
India’s urban-rural telecom gap?
An AFP story published today talks about the Indian boom in mobile connections, despite all round economic gloom: a record 15m new connections were added in India in January 2009 according to the article. India’s “mobile revolution” is still mainly seen in the cities, but the real prize for phone companies is the vast rural [...]
Voice&Data carries TRE 2008 findings
Detailed findings from LIRNEasia’s Telecom Regulatory Environment (TRE) study conducted in 2008, have been published in Voice&Data, India’s only magazine on the business of communications, including analyses on the business, technology and regulatory aspects of Indian telecom and networking: Telecom growth is phenomenal in some emerging nations of the Asia Pacific region, but the risk attached [...]
LIRNEasia’s Broadband Quality of Service Experience (QoSE) Testing – Feb 2009 results out!
In the third round, LIRNEasia has extended the testing to one more location. With that we have tested two packages in New Delhi (MTNL and AirTel), two in Chennai (BSNL and AirTel), five in Colombo (SLT ADSL, Dialog WiMax, Dialog 3G, Dialog 3G Unlimited and Mobitel Zoom 890) and two in Dhaka (SKYbd and Sirius). [...]
Mobile broadband is it
Just liked everything else in telecom, the signs were visible in Asia first, Indonesia and Sri Lanka in particular. The debate in the blogsphere is all about HSPA and HSDPA, no one cares about tired old ADSL. We do, of course, and will continue to work on fixed, nomadic and mobile broadband price and QOSe. [...]
LIRNEasia presents TRE 2008 findings today in Delhi, India
LIRNEasia will present findings from the Telecom Regulatory Environment (TRE) 2008 study at a panel discussion today, in Delhi, India. Organized in association with Voice and Data, the event entitled, ‘The Challenging Policy and Regulatory Environment’, will be held at Le Meridien Hotel, Delhi from 10 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. More information on the findings can [...]
India Regulator issues QoS guidelines; adopts some LIRNEasia-TeNet recommendations
Contention Ratios varying from 1:50 and 1:20 (Can be relaxed a bit in residential as the links are not shared) is what LIRNEasia and TeNet jointly proposed, but Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) thought it best to adopt 1:50 and 1:30. According to ‘Guidelines for service providers providing Internet/broadband services for ensuring better quality [...]
Progress (miniscule) on implementing low intra-SAARC international voice tariffs
Given coincidence of the SAARC Minister’s meeting and the release of LIRNEasia’s twice-a-year price benchmarks, I was tempted to see how much progress had been achieved, with regard to the Colombo Declaration’s para 6 which called for low intra-SAARC international voice tariffs. Not much progress to report, unfortunately. On the fixed side, the only countries [...]
LK Release of T@BOP3 preliminary findings: March 4th, 2009
Preliminary findings from the Teleuse@BOP3 study conducted by LIRNEasia in November 2008, will be presented on the 4th of March (Wednesday) from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. Presentations will be made by Rohan Samarajiva, Harsha de Silva and Ayesha Zainudeen, followed by discussion. Several senior officials of telecom companies, analysts and journalists are expected to attend the [...]
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