Industry comment
In the rapidly evolving telecoms environment, all players must be prepared for the challenges brought by constant change. Our consultants offer an expert perspective on the issues that confront the telecoms industry.
Micro-trenching: can it cut the cost of fibre to the home?
December 9, 2008
Government funding of fibre to the home (FTTH) networks is one of the key issues exercising the creative thinking of telecommunications carriers around the world. Naturally, the public insists that government money is spent wisely, so cost-effective solutions must be used for publicly funded fibre roll-out.
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The decline of fixed lines: implications for universal service
May 14, 2008
Over the past few years, operators in mature markets have been reporting falls in the number of fixed line services. According to Eurostat, fixed lines in Europe peaked in 2001 and have been declining ever since.
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The US 700MHz auction: truckloads of cash, but…
April 15, 2008
With the recently concluded US 700MHz auction raising USD19.1 billion – almost double the reserve price of USD10 billion – national administrators must be wondering what level of revenues could be achieved in their own markets.
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Privacy in an Information Society: issues from the Facebook experience
February 27, 2008
In recent weeks the social network, Facebook, has been widely criticised for the difficulties experienced by its users wishing to end their association with the site, and seeking to delete their accounts and all of their content. However, in Facebook’s November 2007 Terms of Use, to which members would have agreed in order to complete the registration process, it is clearly stated that although “you may remove your User Content from the Site at any time”, “you acknowledge that the Company may retain archived copies of your User Content”.
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Capturing network externalities: should a surcharge apply?
February 5, 2008
The introduction of a network externality surcharge (NES) is a factor that can be included when determining termination charges, and is usually considered within the context of cost-based pricing regimes. However, the degree to which the effect of this component is felt would be a function of whether or not, and to what extent, it can be demonstrated that the introduction of such a subsidy would encourage more people to join the network.
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Shall we regulate together? Insights on the workings of a multi-national telecommunications regulatory mechanism
November 27, 2007
The creation of a multinational telecommunications regulatory machinery was unprecedented prior to 2000. Accordingly, the ground-breaking arrangement instituted by five nations in the Eastern Caribbean has been a source of keen interest worldwide, for possible application among other regional groups.
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Halting the ARPU slide: strategies for growing mobile voice revenues
November 7, 2007
Aggressive competition in the mobile market is placing increasing pressure on operators as ARPUs continue to decline. Operators have been looking to non-voice services to counter falling revenues, but what strategies are being used to increase voice ARPUs?
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NGNs: what regulatory challenges lie ahead?
May 22, 2007
Emerging NGN networks and services represent a fundamental change from the conventional technologies and architectures of the PSTN. Services such as NGN voice telephony reside at a higher network layer, meaning that new services and applications can be defined without considering the underlying transport and network capabilities. Not surprisingly regulators are dispensing with the old rule-books and facing up to a host of new issues.
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The secrets of porting success: experiences in MNP
February 13, 2007
Mobile number portability (MNP) is recognised by regulators as a key facilitator for competition. Research conducted by the Singapore regulator in 2005 indicated that 64% of consumers considered it critical to keep their number when switching mobile service providers and a 2005 survey in Canada found that 80% of mobile subscribers want the option to keep their number. Without MNP, consumers are forced to change their number if they change service providers – a fundamental barrier for new entrants trying to capture market share.
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NGNs and the future of regulated voice services
April 19, 2006
As Next Generation Network (NGN) technologies and services begin to replace conventional telecommunications infrastructure, regulators around the world are recognising the need to review and adapt policies and processes accordingly. One of the key regulatory issues that arises from the introduction of NGN is the rapid replacement of PSTN voice services with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
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