Tag Archive for ‘Hong Kong’ at LIRNEasia

Tag Archive for 'Hong Kong'

Call for Papers: Infrastructure Regulation: What works, Why, and How do we know?
Deadline: 05 December 2008.

Call for Papers: Infrastructure Regulation - What works, Why, and How do we know?

on November 17, 2008

A conference entitled, ‘Infrastructure Regulation: What works, Why, and How do we know?’, is being organized by LIRNEasia, together with the Institute of Water Policy, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore and the University of Hong Kong, to be held from 26 - 27 February, 2009, at the University of Hong Kong.

Sponsored by the IDRC, Canada, the conference will bring together distinguished scholars and practitioners who are experts in the area to address essential issues in regulations through conceptual and empirical studies.

The conference will address the following questions: Does regulation work? What kind of regulation works? What kinds don’t work? Why do some forms of regulation work and not others? How do we know whether they work or not? How do we isolate the effects of different political, economic…

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Tags: call for papers, Hong Kong, IDRC, infrastructure regulation, Institute of Water Policy, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, University of Hong Kong.

LIRNEasia’s ED to present at IIC annual conference, 3 - 4 November, Hong Kong

Nirmali Sivapragasam

on October 28, 2008

Rohan Samarajiva will make a presentation entitled, ‘Small Screen, Big Scream: How much has the mobile really delivered, how much more to come?’ at the International Institute of Communications Annual Conference to be held from 3-4 November 2008, in Hong Kong. The event is co-hosted by the Broadcasting Authority and the Office of the Telecommunications Authority, Hong Kong.

Themed, ‘Trends in Global Communications: Capturing the High Ground in an Uncertain World’, the conference seeks to examine the impact of current trends and twists in the telecom market, against the backdrop of developing regulatory policy and the inevitably huge demands of infrastructure investments.

Some of the questions the conference hopes to address are:

What new scenarios will tomorrow’s broadband, internet, mobile and media markets present for business, government, regulators and consumers?
How…

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Tags: Hong Kong, International Institute of Communications Annual Confer, Rohan Samarajiva.

Asia-Pacific region leads high-speed Broadband connectivity, but wide divide prevails, says ITU

Chanuka Wattegama

on September 3, 2008

While some Asia-Pacific economies are world leaders in information and communication technologies (ICT) where broadband access is ultra-high speed, affordable and close to ubiquitous, in most of the region’s poorer countries Internet access remains limited and predominantly low-speed.

This is what ITU’s Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Report for the Asia-Pacific region 2008 says. It was released at ITU TELECOM ASIA 2008, Bangkok, Thailand yesterday (Sept 2, 2008).

The Report finds evidence that ICTs and broadband uptake foster growth and development, but the question remains as to the optimal speed that should be targeted in view of limited resources.

The area in which the region really stands out is the uptake of advanced Internet technologies, especially broadband Internet access. The Asia-Pacific region is the world’s largest broadband market with a 39…

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Tags: 3G, Asia-Pacific, Bangkok, Bangladesh, Broadband, broadband access, broadband and triple-play services, broadband Internet access, broadband Internet subscribers, broadband technologies, Cambodia, China, communication services, communication technologies, continuous high-speed Internet access, desirable and valuable online services, Distance Learning, fibre optic, Fixed and mobile broadband technologies, HIGH-speed Internet access, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Internet technologies, Internet Telephony, IP telephony, ITU TELECOM, Japan, Laos, Maldives, mobile phones, Myanmar, poorer countries Internet access remains, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the Philippines, Tonga, ubiquitous Internet access plan combining, ultra-high speed Internet applications, USD, Wi-Fi.

Copper comes back?

Rohan Samarajiva

on August 12, 2008

Nicholas Negroponte said, in the context of the United States, that all that was carried on wireguides would shift to wireless (e.g., telephony) and all that was carried by wireless (e.g., television) would shift to wireguides. Wireless was better at connecting people who were inherently mobile; while wireguides made better sense for hauling large amounts of data needed to give people high-quality entertainment experiences. George Gilder called this the Negroponte Switch.

The US market, of course, was heavily wired to start with: twisted-pair copper from the phone company and co-ax from the cable company coming to most homes and offices. In this context, the Negroponte Switch made eminent sense. The refarming, for mobile uses, of 700 MHz frequencies that were inefficiently used for television, earlier in…

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Tags: George Gilder, Hong Kong, legacy copper network, Nicholas Negroponte, Sri Lanka, telephone services, telephony, United States, wireless connections.

OFTA Hong Kong: The best telecom regulator website in Asia Pacific

Chanuka Wattegama

on July 7, 2008

Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) of Hong Kong was ranked as the most effective National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority site in the recently conducted LIRNEasia study ‘NRA Website survey: Asia Pacific 2008’ receiving 94%, followed by Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) of Singapore with 89% and Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) with 87%.

In South Asia Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) scored highest (80%) but Telecommunication Regulatory Commission of India (TRAI) was not too behind (75%). PTA site which scored highest marks in the previous survey in 2005 this time lost marks due to the lack of some features like the non availability of local language version.

More information in paper format and Presentation Slides

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Tags: Asia-Pacific, Australian Communications and Media Authority, Hong Kong, India, InfoComm Development Authority, National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority, Singapore, South Asia Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, Telecommunication Regulatory Commission of India, Telecommunications Authority.

Watching TV thru Internet

Chanuka Wattegama

on May 6, 2008

NEARLY a third of Hong Kong’s households watch television via the internet, according to a new report from Telecommunications Management group, a consultancy. Because internet protocol television (IPTV) uses the same technology as that which links computer networks, smaller countries with high broadband penetration tend to have more subscribers. As well as plain old programmes, viewers can also enjoy other services such as on-demand video. So far, Europe accounts for over half of the world’s subscribers.

http://www.economist.com/daily/chartgallery/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11318291

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Tags: Broadband, Europe, Hong Kong, Internet Protocol Television, IP, same technology.

Why not ‘Times of India’ suggest a better broadband QoSE testing methodology to its readers?

Chanuka Wattegama

on April 8, 2008

Broadband QoSE testing is generating interest. A news report on ‘Times of India’ yesterday (April 7) suggested the site www.speedtest.net to determine connection speed. This site, like many such others available on web, lets a user to ping to a selected server to check the throughput. (See above – A Sri Lankan user pings to a server in Hong Kong, one of the few available options)

This is fine as long as only the bigger picture will do, but as found in early stages of our research, it gives no clue about the point of bottleneck. Neither has it measured other metrics than the throughput which can be important depending upon the application.

The difference in AshokaTissa methodology proposed by LIRNEasia and IIT Madras is that it covers not only more…

1 Comment
Tags: Broadband, Hong Kong, Quality of Service, Times of India, www.speedtest.net.

Pure BOP play in Sri Lanka increases EBITDA by 52.5%

Rohan Samarajiva

on March 19, 2008

At last report, Hutch Sri Lanka had an ARPU of around USD 3.

Sri Lanka Hutch subscribers double in 2007 - LANKA BUSINESS ONLINE

Subscribers of the Sri Lanka mobile unit of Hutchison Telecom doubled to more than a million in 2007, while revenue growth topped 50 percent, the group said in a statement.

Total subscribers had increased by 104 percent to 1,141,000 in 2007 while revenue measured in Hong Kong dollars grew 52.4 percent 189 million dollars (2.6 billion Sri Lanka rupees).

“Our Sri Lankan operations performed well in 2007 fuelled by our continued network expansion during the year and a series of efforts to enhance our sales and distribution network in the country,” the company said.

The company said earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortization was 52.5…

1 Comment
Tags: Hong Kong, Hutchison Telecom, Sri Lanka, USD.

Why the iPhone won’t be in Asia

Abu Saeed Khan

on January 21, 2008

Robert Clark says: Apple and China Mobile recently broke off talks over selling the device in the mainland after the Chinese carrier rejected Apple’s insistence on a 30% commission. An executive at a non-mainland operator said the company was keen on selling the iPhone, but just couldn’t raise Apple’s interest. Apple doesn’t have a senior executive in Asia trying to push the device and is conducting negotiations from
Cupertino at a leisurely pace.

It’s worth remembering developing countries have never been happy hunting grounds for Apple’s high-end devices. The iPhone is a low-volume, high-margin device demanding a fat airtime commission. In other words, not for developing Asia. So far Apple has shown no interest in developing Singapore or Hong Kong. Until it does, the iPhone’s sole Asian channels…

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Tags: Asia, China Mobile, eBay, high-margin device, Hong Kong, Singapore.

Mobile number portability: the case for and against

Tahani Iqbal

on October 4, 2007

The implications of mobile number portability (MNP) were discussed at a Workshop on Implementing Mobile Number Portability, held in August 2007 in Islamabad, Pakistan. The forum, comprising participants from the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, provided insight into the technical, regulatory and operational aspects impacted by the porting process, with a focus on the Pakistani MNP experience.

The reasons cited in favor of MNP were classified into advantages to subscribers and regulators. The former were benefited by an increase in choice (of packages) and the eliminated costs of having to inform third parties of a number change, while the latter saw MNP as an approach to attract new investment and generate healthy competition. Operators on the other hand, were split in their views; new entrants…

2 Comments
Tags: Africa, Asia-Pacific, Australia, cellular telephone, Finland, fixed line services, GSM, Hong Kong, implemented solution, intelligent network, Ireland, Islamabad, John Horrocks, Malta, Middle East, MNP, Pakistan, PTA, Singapore, SMS, Telecommunication Authority of Singapore, The Netherlands, United Kingdom.

Cell Phones Double as e-wallets in RP

Lorraine Salazar

on October 4, 2007

Cell phones double as electronic wallets in RP
By Oliver Teves
Associated Press
Last updated 10:42am (Mla time) 09/30/2007
Philippine Daily Inquirer

SAN MIGUEL, Philippines–It’s Thursday, so 18-year-old Dennis Tiangco is off to a bank to collect his weekly allowance, zapped by his mother–who’s working in Hong Kong–to his electronic wallet: his cell phone.

Sauntering into a branch of GM Bank in the town of San Miguel, Dennis fills out a form, sends a text message via his phone to a bank line dedicated to the service.

In a matter of seconds, the transaction is approved and the teller gives him P2,500 (US$54), minus a 1-percent fee. He doesn’t need a bank account to retrieve the money.

More than 5.5 million Filipinos now use their cell phones as virtual wallets, making the Philippines…

1 Comment
Tags: Ahli United Bank, Anna Tiangco, Associated Press, ATM, Bahrain, bank, bank account, bank accounts, bank line, bank products, bank wire transfer, cell phones, cellular telephone, computer chip, Dennis Tiangco, e - commerce, e-wallets, Etisalat, EUR, financial transactions over mobile networks, G-Xchange, Globe Telecom, GM Bank, HKD, Hong Kong, Hong Kong CSL Ltd., Joseph Estrada, Kenya, Middle East, Mobile banking, Mobile banking services, mobile phones, money transfer service, MTC, Peso, Philippines, Ramon Isberto, Rizza Maniego Eala, SAN, San Miguel, Smart, Smart Communications, South Africa, telecommunications operator, the Philippines, UAE, United States, USD, Vodafone.

Vietnam’s submarine cable ‘lost’ and ‘found’

Abu Saeed Khan

on June 2, 2007

Dhaka, June 1 (bdnews24.com)—Maritime thieves have stolen at least 11-kilometres Vietnamese portion of Thailand bound SEA-ME-WE3 submarine cable and sold the 100 tons of illicit cargo as scrap, reported VietNamNet Bridge online newspaper Tuesday.

Such bizarre underwater international telecoms infrastructure robbery occurred on March 25 and since then Vietnam’s Internet users have been struggling with far slower speed.

The broken cable system, named TVH, was built in 1993-1995, connecting Thailand, Vietnam and Hong Kong with a capacity of 560 megabits per second.

The Vietnam Telecom International (VTI) got puzzled when the cable went down. It occurred soon after the Asia Pacific region recovered from prolonged bandwidth crisis as earthquake snapped bunch of submarine cables in the Taiwanese coast

VTI called a submarine cable fixing ship from Singapore. But its…

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Tags: Asia-Pacific, Ca Mau Sea, DHAKA, fibre optic, Hong Kong, Internet users, Kien Giang, LAN, Lan Quoc Cuong, Ministry of Public Security, Naval Command, online newspaper, optical fibre, Singapore, Soc Trang, South Vietnamese government, Taiwanese coast, Thailand, USD, Vietnam, Vietnam Telecom International, VietNamNet Bridge, Vietnam\'s Ministry of Defence, Vung Tau.

Hong Kong plans three new 2.3GHz licenses

Abu Saeed Khan

on May 15, 2007

Hong Kong’s Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) says that it wants to auction off spectrum in the 2.3GHz band for wireless broadband - and is also considering what to do with the 2.5GHz band.

In what it described as its “third consultation” on broadband wireless access, OFTA says it wants to allocate 85MHz of spectrum between 2.305 and 2.390GHz for broadband wireless, with a small guard band separating it from electronic news gathering/outside broadcast services at 2.20-2.29Ghz and the unlicensed 2.4-2.4835GHz band. Read more.

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Tags: Broadband, broadband wireless, broadband wireless access, Hong Kong, Hong Kong\'s Office, Telecommunications Authority, wireless broadband.

Emerging markets: a basic services bonanza?

Abu Saeed Khan

on May 10, 2007

Data and 3G may not be a priority in Asia: discuss. No, we’re not referring to Japan, Korea or Hong Kong. Not even China. This time we’re looking at the area’s so-called emerging markets - markets like Indonesia where the market-leading operator Telkomsel and third-ranked player Excelcom launched 3G services in early September. Or the Philippines, where rival operators Globe and Smartcom have been offering 3G for a slightly longer period. The question is: has anyone noticed?

1 Comment
Tags: 3G, 3G services, Asia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Telkomsel, the Philippines.

South Asia slipping in e-readiness? Pakistan as the exception

Rohan Samarajiva

on April 27, 2007

The e-readiness rankings are relatively well regarded and do not contain absurdities such as Zimbabwe being ahead of India. The latest rankings are out and show India and the Philippines tied for 54th place (a one-place drop for India); Sri Lanka at 61 (dropping two places); and Pakistan at 63 (up four places and likely to catch up with Sri Lanka soon). Indonesia, another country of focus for LIRNEasia, has slipped 5 places to 67.

Zimbabwe, the country that leads all of South Asia according to the ITU, is not in the top- 70 that is provided. Nigeria, on the other hand, is just behind Sri Lanka, at 62. Unless some action is taken, next year, both Nigeria and Pakistan will be ahead of Sri Lanka.

PRESS…

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Tags: Asia, Broadband, broadband and other advanced infrastructure, e-readiness, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Intelligence Unit, Japan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Taiwan, the Philippines, United States, Zimbabwe.

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