Hong Kong’s market-driven approach fosters a competitive telecom industry, comprising local, mainland China and foreign operators investing in facilities and developing new services and products, Hong Kong Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Frederick Ma told the APEC Ministerial Meeting on Telecommunications and Information Industry (TELMIN 7) in Bangkok. The Hong Kong government is scrutinizing development of next generation networks and their impact on regulation, and will create an environment to help operators transition to NGN as they see fit, he said.
Exports to China
China Unicom GSM network added 1.324 million new subscribers, 88,000 more than estimated, due to stronger- than-expected prepaid net additions, partly offset by weaker- than-expected postpaid net additions, said Pali Research. CDMA subscribers increased 13.5 percent at the end of March, said China Unicom.
Bilateral international discussions on telecommunications and information policy will begin shortly, starting with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting on Telecommunications and Information Industry (TELMIN7) next week, said Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information Policy Chairman Richard Wiley. He spoke at the International Communications and Information Policy advisory committee meeting.
STANFORD, Calif. -- FCC Chairman Kevin Martin opened a Thursday hearing on network management and net neutrality saying pointedly that Comcast and other big network owners declined invitations to send witnesses to the session on what limitations to set on companies so they don’t impede access to content or applications. Comcast was invited again this week, as was technology company Pando, after they said they would lead what they envision as a broad private effort to create a “bill of rights” on the subject, Martin said.
LAS VEGAS -- Proliferation of multi-standard devices that get mobile TV reduces the need for a for a single standard for delivering mobile TV, speakers told an NAB convention panel organized by the FLO Forum. “Almost every single receiver device is multi-standard,” said Vinod Valloppillil, Roundbox vice president of product marketing. Conforming a device to multiple standards has costs, but they are “trending toward zero,” he said.
An “international approach” to national environmental regulation of certain materials, electronics recycling and energy efficiency are high on the agenda of a “trilateral” meeting of consumer electronics and information technology trade associations from the U.S., Europe and Japan in Kyoto April 17, officials said.
The U.S. leads the world in broadband subscribers, but second-ranked China added more Q4, Point Topic reported. The rest of its top 10: Japan, Germany, the U.K., France, South Korea, Italy, Canada and. Pakistan led in percentage growth Q4. Vietnam and Egypt were the runners-up. Belarus led in 2007 growth, with Indonesia in second, Point Topic said. Nearly 350 million broadband subscribers were signed up worldwide during the fourth quarter, a 4.8 percent rise from the third, the survey found. Net additions were the lowest since Q2 of 2006, it said. Western Europe has the largest share of subscribers, closely followed by North America, and those regions lead in broadband penetration. DSL, cable and FTTx are the dominant broadband service technologies worldwide, DSL having 65 percent of the global market. Cable is second. DSL is favored in Western Europe and South and East Asia, and cable predominates in North America, though Western Europe and Asia Pacific also make significant use of that technology, Point Topic said. All regions saw growth in DSL subscriptions, it said. Monaco had the highest broadband penetration, Point Topic said.
U.S. telecom companies face barriers competing in China, Germany, Australia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Oman and Singapore, U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab said Tuesday, announcing results of a 2008 annual review of telecom trade agreements. In China, U.S. companies face impediments accessing the telecom market due to high capitalization requirements and limits on joint venture partnerships, the report said. U.S. companies face difficulty accessing the Telstra network in Australia, elements of Deutsche Telekom’s network in Germany, and leased lines in Singapore, it said. There are problems interconnecting with CTE in El Salvador and Telgua in Guatemala, and delays licensing basic telecom service in Oman, said the report. It also raised concerns about Jamaica’s universal service program and Mexico telecom equipment testing requirements. Non-country-specific concerns include regulatory frameworks that hinder telecom competition, elevated mobile termination rates, continued barriers to VoIP use and conformity assessment requirements related to telecom and information technology equipment. The USTR said it’s seen some progress on concerns from previous reviews. For example, Columbia “drastically reduced its high licensing fee for long distance service,” while India killed its Access Deficit Charge, a fee that increased costs to U.S. carriers sending telecom traffic to India, it said. German competitive carrier association VATM is “glad” the USTR picked up the Deutsche Telekom issue, said Axel Spies, the Washington, D.C., representative for VATM. But USTR should also look into “vexing” issues concerning DT’s use of bundled offers and long-term contracts, and a German policy known as “regulatory holidays,” which exempt incumbents from regulation if they invest in infrastructure such as glass fiber networks, he said. A case on regulatory holidays is ongoing in the European Court of Justice, he said.
China Voice Holding’s CVC International unit acquired the assets of a Dallas-based VoIP telecommunications carrier, doubling the size of the company’s network infrastructure as well as its customer base, China Voice Holding said.
Cyren Call founder Morgan O'Brien will be meeting with potential builders of a national public safety interoperable network, he said Friday. O'Brien couldn’t hold meetings until anticollusion rule limits expired Thursday, but now will do so in his role as advisor to the Public Safety Spectrum Trust (PSST), he said. Meanwhile, an expected House Commerce Committee hearing on the D-block spectrum is a key next step as FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and agency staff put together a rulemaking seeking more comment on that spectrum’s future, commission sources said Friday. Martin is unlikely to release anything until after the hearing, they said. Martin said last week he wants a notice out this month, or May at the latest.