A new study suggests that attitude rather than availability may be the key reason why more Americans don’t have high-speed Internet access. The findings from the Pew Internet and American Life Project challenge the argument that broadband providers need to more aggressively roll out supply to meet demand. Only 14 percent of dial-up users say they’re stuck with the older, slower connection technology because they can’t get broadband in their neighborhoods, Pew reported Wednesday. Thirty-five percent say they’re still on dial-up because broadband prices are too high, while another 19 percent say nothing would persuade them to upgrade. The remainder have other reasons or do not know.
Europe’s mobile phone industry will today mount a last-ditch effort to ward off strict price caps on text messages and data downloads within the EU by warning that heavy regulation is cutting capital spending and profit margins. With Viviane Reding, EU telecoms commissioner, poised to propose a new round of price caps this month, mobile operators claim their capital spending has already slipped from 13% of revenues in 2005 to 11% last year – and could fall further. The GSM Association – the global trade body representing more than 750 GSM mobile phone operators – citing data from a study by management consultants, says the industry’s return on capital employed was as low as 7% in 2007 or less than half that of other significant sectors such as steel and software. Sources said this gives the lie to Reding’s claim that it is making excessive profits from “roaming” services in the EU. Read the full stiry in the Guardian here.
A complaint lodged by BT about the speeds of Virgin Media’s broadband service has been upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority. The challenge centred around its advertisement “Hate to Wait?”, which ran in the national media and featured download times for songs and TV shows. BT argued that Virgin’s usage caps meant that downloads during peak times would be slower than advertised. The ASA has agreed and ordered Virgin to make it clear that speeds will vary.
The Sunday Times, Sri Lanka, June 08 2008. http://www.sundaytimes.lk/080608/FinancialTimes/ft331.html Norman Gunawardene was one of the three part-time members appointed to the reconstituted Telecom Regulatory Commission in 1997.
Bangladesh is a country that is constantly hammered by cyclones and other severe weather hazards. While Cyclone Nargis threatened to hit Bangladesh but deviated from its original path devastated Myanmar instead. However, it was not the same with Cyclone Sidr, in September of 2007. Policy makers, practitioners, and researchers, in Bangladesh, are focusing on satellite technology to reduce the risks associated with natural hazards. It is logical to use satellite technology because during a cyclone terrestrial infrastructure is bound to be destroyed by the powerful natural forces; where the satellite technologies will remain functional.
An article, co-written by Anu Samarajiva, and LIRNEasia researchers Ayesha Zainudeen and Harsha de Silva, has been published in the Information for Development (i4d) magazine, on the efficacy of telephones in expediting socio-economic development and buttressing accessibility. Based on findings from the Teleuse@BOP study conducted in 2006, the article illustrates that while previous studies have provided strong evidence for the connection between phone access and development at a macro level, the link is less clearly visible at a micro-level, with low income users at the BOP failing to perceive the potential financial and economic benefits arising from access to telephony. The PDF version of the article can be accessed HERE. Results from the survey responses of 8,660 households do not manifest a strong correlation with the macroeconomic evidence that access to phones carries significant economic benefits. Where then is the disconnect coming from between what households perceive as the limited economic benefits of phone use, and the significant increases in macro-level output?
Indonesia’s telecommunication giants have demanded the government limit the number of new entrants to the industry, citing limited resources and growing investment risk, local press said. The Indonesian Cellular Telephones Association (ATSI) argued limited frequency allocations and phone numbers meant there was no room to accommodate new players. Unlimited entry to the industry would crowd the market, increase competition and generate greater investment risk for existing players. “The government must regulate the number of players so as to ensure the sustainability of the industry,” ATSI chairman Merza Fachys was quoted by English-language daily The Jakarta Post as saying. Read the full story in telecomasia.
The New York Times documents a recent study conducted by Nielsen Mobile among 30, 000 wireless customers, that estimates over 3.6% of all mobile phone users in the United States have used their phones to pay for goods and services. This figure is expected to grow in the future, with nearly half of all users of text messages and mobile internet, stating that they hope to make a mobile phone purchase in the future. However, security concerns remain. 41 percent of the consumers who transmit data said security was the reason they didn’t buy things via their mobile phone.
Where exactly the line that segregates ‘Broadband’ from ‘Narrowband’? Interestingly every country and every organization seems to have one’s own definition. 256 kbps is adequate ‘broadband’ for some countries to claim to be at the top of the broadband map. More ambitious have kept the level at 1 Mbps or even 2 Mbps. FCC too was happy with 200 kbps (on either direction) for some time, but apparently has apparently realized that outdated.
Indonesia’ competition watchdog found six mobile phone providers guilty of price fixing, which may have cost consumers more than $300 million in additional rates. The Business Competition Supervisory Commission says the companies formed a cartel to keep tariffs for text messaging artificially high. The companies include Telkomsel, Telkom and Smart Telecom. They were given fines totaling more than eight million dollars. Source: Voice of America
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has asked the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to review termination charges, a major component of telecom bills. The charges are paid by the operator, from whose network the call is made, to the operator on whose network the call terminates. The DoT has asked TRAI to review these charges on a priority basis so that consumers benefit at the earliest. “Given that the central aim of the telecom policy is to provide services at affordable rates, it is suggested that a review of mobile termination charges, based on present and projected costs and traffic, be undertaken by TRAI in a time-bound manner,” the DoT said in a letter to the regulator. In 2003, Trai had recommended a termination charge of 30 paise per minute.
An interesting article on the use of ICTs among those at the BOP, has been written by Syed Mohammed Ali, a participant at the 12th Executive Course on Telecom Reform, held recently in Singapore. The article explores the potential benefits users at the BOP can enjoy from the use of mobile telephony, as well as the current gender divide that exists in some developing countries. Development through mobiles | Daily Times, Pakistan Unless the prevailing range of gender-related hurdles in availing the opportunities being provided by communication technologies, it is likely that women may become further marginalised from the economic, social, and political mainstream of their countries. Citing LIRNEasia research, he argues that that the simplicity and affordability of mobile technology has allowed it to penetrate developing markets fairly quickly. However, an evident gender divide exists with regards to mobile accessibility in both Pakistan and India, and to a lesser extent in Sri Lanka.
Presented by Payal Malik at the LIRNE.NET – IDRC Meeting. Ottawa - June 23, 2008
An Expert Forum on ICT Sector Indicators and Benchmarks Regulation for SAARC Regulatory Authorities, co-organized by LIRNEasia and Connectasia, and funded by the IDRC, was held from June 14 – 15, 2008 at the Changi Village Hotel, Singapore. The forum brought together representatives from National Regulatory Agencies (NRAs), in addition to participants attending the 12th Executive Course on Telecom Reform, held prior to the event, at the same venue. Photos taken of the event can be viewed HERE. The presentations made are available for download below; a report outlining the day’s proceedings will follow shortly. 14 June 2008 Setting the Stage: Intelligent Regulation – Rohan Samarajiva (Dinner speaker) 15 June 2008 Collecting & Reporting Indicators: Problems & Potential – Helani Galpaya Broadband Quality of Service – Rajamanickam Thirumurthy Broadband QoS Test Results Illustration – Chanuka Wattegama NRA Website Survey: Asia- Pacific – Chanuka Wattegama and Lara Alawattegama Benchmarking broadband/data prices – Helani Galpaya Benchmarking telecom prices: The South Asian case – Tahani Iqbal Asian ICT Indicators Database: An introduction – Sriganesh Lokanathan
Couldn’t Financial Times be more careful? This 10.7 million is neither the number of telephones nor the number of subscribers. It is the ‘access paths’: Number of connections in case of ‘fixed’ lines (including the dissent CDMA) plus SIMs in case of mobile (including ones not used, issued to tourists for short term use and perhas as sales promotions too) Many subscribers have used more than one SIM. So certainly it cannot be the number of telephone subscribers (or owners) which has to be less.
Twenty two participants from across the world, from Fiji to Ecuador and from Brazil to Kyrgyzstan, participated in the course (plus the 1.25 day expert forum of regulators from the SAARC region) at Changi Village Hotel in Singapore, June 10-15, 2008. The topics covered included challenges of NGN and mobile payments, how to make the spectrum management process more efficient and the pros and cons of general competition regulation versus sector-specific regulation. The two keynotes were delivered by Lai Kok Fung, CEO of Buzz City and Sherrill Ismail, senior official at the FCC (speaking in a personal capacity). A more detailed report will be posted shortly.