Transcript Broadband Access and the Telecom Industry

Broadband Wireless Access and
the Telecom Industry
Mr. Hubert Chan
Chairman & CEO
HKC International Holdings Ltd
April 2005
1
Agenda





2
Technology & Interoperability issues
Hong Kong Telecom development
User’s wish list
Equipment Manufacturer’s perspective
Manufacturer’s wish list
BWA


3
Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) provides
high throughput to users wherever indoors or
outdoors, with capability to bring in voice,
data and video
BWA such as 3G and WiMAX and VoIP are
expected to bring revolution to the
communication habit
BWA





4
IEEE 802.16 requires line of sight
IEEE 802.16a was rectified in Jan 2003
which does not requires line of sight
IEEE 802.16e is working on the handoff and
roaming issues
IEEE 802.16f is working on the mesh
network topology
The standard is evolving, which may cause
confusion to Industry
Communication


5
Communication between two parties requires
some kind of ‘PROTOCOL’
In reality, telecom equipment has the well
know INTEROPERABILITY problems
Interopability issues

Different standards cannot talk
–

Different version of standards cannot talk
–

e.g. IEEE 802.11a vs IEEE 802.11b
Different manufacturer’s products of the
same standard have interoperability issues
–
–
6
e.g. H.323 vs SIP
e.g. Handoff and Roaming of 802.11G products
e.g. High speed version of Wireless LAN devices
(SpeedBooster vs 125* High Speed Mode)
Interoperability Issues

Same manufacturer and device of same
standard at different countries are different
–
7
e.g. IEEE802.16a frequency spectrum 2.5G vs
3.5G due to different Government regulations
Hong Kong Telecom development

In Hong Kong
–
6 Mobile Network operators

Mobile subscriber penetration 118.3%
–
–
10 Fixed Network operators

–
(more service subscription than population)
Fixed line penetration 54.8%
188 ISP

Household broadband penetration 61.2%
(OFTA Mar 05)
8
Hong Kong Telecom development


9
In accordance with the TA Statement issued on 6
July 2004 on Review of Type II Interconnection
Policy, mandatory Type II interconnection at
telephone exchanges (i.e. Type II interconnection at
Point A) would be withdrawn by 30 June 2008
For those FTNS operators relying heavily on Type II
interconnection, BWA is a possible alternative that
operators may consider as ‘last mile’ access
Hong Kong Telecom development


10
Mobile Data services has been offered by six
2G network operation and six MVNO,
together with 3G operators
OFTA recognizes that BWA technologies
have the potential to support fully fledged
mobile services
BWA legal framework

11
OFTA has issued a consultation paper in Dec
2004 to consults the industry on the issues
prior to establishment of the regulatory
framework for BWA services in Hong Kong
BWA legal framework




12
Basic issues:
Whether BWA should be licensed in HK
If yes, when and how e.g. by Auction or by
Contest
Which frequency Spectrum: 2.5G, 3.5G or
5G?
BWA legal framework

13
OFTA: “To differentiate BWA services from a
full mobile service, the TA proposes that the
service offered by a fixed carrier license
through BWA would only be allowed to have
‘limited mobility’. ‘Limited mobility’ here shall
be interpreted as no cell handoff capability
allowed.”
BWA legal framework


14
The consultation period has been extended
to March 2005 and received 30 submission
of comments from the Industry
Some comments have been extracted from
OFTA’s publication in the following slides
PCCW




15
“TA should seriously consider allocating the 2.3 GHz
frequency band for mobile BWA so that operators
have more flexibility in selecting the technology for
the BWA services.”
PCCW does not agree that BWA licences should
have restrictions on mobility
“Assignment of BWA spectrum should be done via
auction to ensure transparency and equity”
“(In China) the fixed BWA services initially acted as a
supplement to the fixed broadband network. Later
the services have developed and directly competed
with the fixed broadband services such as ADSL.”
HK Broadband Network


16
“As the mandatory Type II interconnection would be
expired on June 2008, the TA should allocate the
BWA spectrum to the industry in the soonest
possible so that the licensees could plan ahead for
the prompt introduction of the service to the market.”
“any regulation of BWA, no matter (UTMS or TDD,
ETSI HiperMAN or IEEE 802.16 as advocated by the
WiMAX Forum) should offer equal obligations/
opportunities to licensees and TA should not favor
any underlying technology in any manner
whatsoever”
CSL


17
“OFTA’s claim that an auction for BWA
spectrum would allow the market to decide
who will be assigned BWA spectrum is
obviously flawed. By insisting that all
potential bidders hold a fixed carrier license,
the TA will be precluding many organizations
or consortia from bidding for BWA spectrum.”
“need to license BWA in the same way as 3G
services”
Hutchison Telecom


18
“HTHK strongly objects to the issuance of
BWA licenses for mobile services, including
the TA’s suggestion that such licenses be
initially used for fixed services with the
possibility of being subsequently converted
to provide mobile services”
“TA must come with a clear ‘no mobility’
restriction over the full term of the license”
HK Cable TV


19
“HKCTV is of the view that the TA should allow
broadband wireless access (“BWA”) services to have
“full” mobility rather than “limited mobility” and should
allocate more frequency for BWA service.”
“TA’s proposed regulatory restraint concerning the
so-called “limited mobility” of BWA services would
stifle innovation and may prevent the introduction of
advanced BWA technology in Hong Kong.”
CM Tel (HK) Ltd


20
“We support the TA’s proposal that BWA in
Hong Kong to be initially be offered as a
wireless extension of the conventional
wireline based fixed network service.”
“CMT disagrees with the proposal of
spectrum assignment by auction. We
consider that a better approach for the
assignment of spectrum is selection by
beauty contest.”
Sin Chung Kai, JP, Legislative
Councillor


21
“I consider that OFTA's attempt to dedicate
the 3.5 GHz bands to BWA is appropriate for
Hong Kong.”
“OFTA's restriction on the use of BWA
spectrum for fixed telecom services is
artificial and could potentially deter the rollout
and adoption of BWA technology in long run.”
WiMAX Forum



22
“we agree that the 3.5 GHz band is a good initial
choice as a licensed broadband wireless band.”
“for the 3.4 – 3.6 GHz band, to be consistent with the
rest of the global allocations, this band should be
licensed.”
“Relative to the question of auction timing, WiMAX
equipment will be available in the second half of
2005; therefore it would be recommended that any
time within the next 6 months to year end would be
optimum timing.”
HK ISP Association


23
“ BWA licenses should be open to all service
providers and should not be limited to
existing FTNS operators.”
“Mobility and roaming should be covered in
the new BWA license, as it is anticipated that
mobility capability should be widely available
in forthcoming equipments when BWA can
be deployed in Hong Kong.”
User’s wish list


24
On the road, he can be reached by the cell
phone network. He can also download news
clips.
At hotspot, he watches live high quality video,
his device connects with high speed wireless
LAN
User’s wish list




25
At office, the mobile device shall be connected to the
PABX system via the wireless LAN and becoming an
extension of the PABX
With the same mobile device, he can receive calls
made to his office number and also intercom calls
He can make inter-office call at other city via the
company’s VPN
He never miss calls when he move around at the
office
User’s wish list


26
At home, the device shall connects to the
cordless phone base and perform like an
cordless phone
All he need is a SINGLE handsome device
which enable him to be reached wherever he
is.
User’s wish list


27
A manufacturer may think that the user’s
wish list can be accomplished with the
technology of WCDMA/CDMA2000, WiFi,
WiMAX, Bluetooth, IPv6, SIP/H.323,
Symbian/Windows Mobile and VoIP
How true is it?
Equipment Manufacturer’s perspective



28
“VoIP – the wave at the Turn of the Century”
is a major revolution in the telecom industry
At late 1990’s, telephone manufacturers were
very interested on the IP Phone products, as
the traditional POTS telephone margin was
getting very thin.
Users were also interested on VoIP as they
were attracted by the “Toll by-pass”
Equipment Manufacturer’s perspective



29
However, the market growth of IP Phone at
years before and after Year 2000 was totally
unsatisfactory.
Many manufacturers were too embarrass to
announcement the sales volume
VoIP sales volume has solid growth only
recently
Equipment Manufacturer’s perspective

Some reasons:
–
–
–
–
–
30
High cost and high price
Reliability
Restricted Broadband Internet coverage
Not easy to setup and high maintenance cost
such as get through firewall/NAT, dynamic IP
updating
a totally different story from plugging a POTS
phone into the wall socket
Equipment Manufacturer’s perspective


31
Need to be back to the BASIC
Technology innovation arises public interest,
but the success also relies on business case
and solid user benefits
Manufacturer’s wish list

Standard – not standard(s)
–

32
It is a nightmare if communication standard is
rectified and not full compatible with the current
version of product which is under development
Implies standardization body should not be
purely technology focus but also should have
roadmap of interoperability in mind
Manufacturer’s wish list

Interoperability
–
–
–
33
products has NO Interoperability issues with other
manufacturers (implying tighten control of
standard specification rectification)
Single product works at different countries
Regulatory bodies in different countries come up
with the same frequency spectrum and protocol
(e.g. WiMAX 2.5G vs 3.5G, GSM vs CDMA)
Manufacturer’s wish list

34
Technology solution providers (e.g. chipset
manufacturers) not only supply basic
development design but also allow innovative
application development
Manufacturer’s wish list

35
Last but not least – Users have solid benefits
from the new technology, otherwise it is just
another ivory tower.
Q&A
website : http://www.hkc.com.hk
email : [email protected]
36