High mobile termination rates charged by some foreign wireless providers were among the 5 top areas of concern in a USTR annual report on foreign compliance with telecom trade agreements released Thurs. “While the general trend over the past 2 years has been a reduction in mobile termination rates, excessively high rates in several countries remain a concern,” the report said. That is “particularly troubling,” said Acting U.S. Trade Representative Peter Allgeier: “These mobile termination charges involve tens of millions of dollars in charges U.S. companies and consumers pay for international calls. Protecting U.S. consumers and companies from being gouged will remain a USTR priority.” The report said this year would see USTR continue to monitor market trends and results of regulatory reviews, focusing on countries that have failed to address the lack of competition for mobile termination rates. USTR also would keep “close watch” on markets “of particular concern” where regulatory action or inaction could boost rates. Those markets include Germany, Japan, Mexico, Peru and Switzerland. Other key areas of concern: (1) Curbs on access to leased lines and submarine cable capacity, including pricing and provisioning times, in Germany, India and Singapore. (2) Overregulation, including licensing fees and capitalization requirements, in China, Colombia and India. (3) Burdensome testing and certification of terminal equipment requirements in Mexico and Korea. (4) Govt. mandate of particular technical standards in China and Korea. “We are deeply concerned by the tepid commitment some of out trade partners have shown to competition in the telecommunications sector,” Allgeier said: “This is especially true in countries such as China, India and Japan where national operators are already competing on a global level, but remain protected at home by relatively closed markets.” He said the U.S. would “work vigorously to strengthen and enforce our trade rights in these countries and elsewhere.”
Exports to China
A Russian Proton rocket successfully launched Russia’s Express AM-2, a next-generation domestic communications satellite, Tues. According to a Spaceflight Now report, the Russian Satellite Communications Company will operate the bird for state users and commercial customers at 80 degreesE., with 16 C- band and 12 Ku-band transponders covering users across all of Russia and parts of China.
Rep. Portman (R-O.) has solid credentials and ties to the White House and Capitol Hill, but President Bush’s nominee as U.S. Trade Representative will be an unknown quantity in that role, telecom industry officials said Thurs. Portman, 49, was a surprise choice to replace Robert Zoellick, who left in Feb. for the State Dept.’s No. 2 spot.
China is set to build its 4th satellite launching center on its southernmost island in Hainan province, state media reported March 11. No details were revealed. Feasibility studies will begin this year to speed the project, according to a Jan. notice to the Hainan Provincial People’s Congress in Jan. reported by the Xinhua News Agency.
SAN JOSE -- NTIA Dir. Michael Gallagher stuck to his free-market guns Wed. when challenged over the low U.S. ranking in broadband penetration and mobile carriers use of their control over networks and handsets to deflect or destroy new capabilities. The U.S. will have the highest broadband adoption rate in the world, but through private efforts, not govt. mandates that lock in particular technologies, Gallagher said after speaking to the VON Conference here.
U.S. policy makers must reinvigorate the nation’s global technology leadership through faster, more widespread broadband deployment, strengthening public education and supporting entrepreneurship and innovation, TechNet members said Tues. Ahead of its annual lobbying blitz on Capitol Hill, the group cited “profound changes in the global economy” that are putting America’s competitiveness at risk and unveiled a roadmap for the Bush Administration and Congress to follow.
Tachyon Networks is expanding its IP-based satellite broadband services to Asia, the Pacific Rim, Latin America and Africa in 2005, officials said Tues. The company already serves N. America, Europe, the Middle East, N. Africa and Mexico. The first new areas to be added will enable service in Afghanistan, China and Southeast Asia. Officials said Tachyon has already started the build-out of the necessary hubs and teleports to support its global coverage strategy and has started acquiring additional satellite bandwidth to support the enhancement.
China’s National Development & Reform Commission said the risk of mobile manufacturing overcapacity in the country is rising amid rapid expansion by both local and foreign manufacturers. “Investors should take note of the overheating mobile phone industry and analyze the supply- demand situation and investment risk,” the Commission warned in a statement on its website. The bulletin fretted over the speedy growth in capacity in the industry, noting that 37 more mobile phone makers are set to start production this year. The newcomers will take China’s mobile production capacity to more than 500 million units per year, which the Commission said is “equivalent to 80% of world demand.” The Commission predicted only about 50% of that volume could reasonably be expected to be used, and warned that mobile industry profitability has already begun falling in China. Meanwhile, the Chinese Ministry of the Information Industry (MII) prepared this week to loosen regulatory controls over handset manufacturing licenses. “We are working on new handset manufacturing authorization policies in line with the requirement of the State Council,” an MII spokesman said. Current regulations require handset manufacturers to seek MII’s approval for a licence; Chinese media reported Thurs. 20 manufacturers are applying for new licenses. Under the new policy, the MII said it’s likely to focus its supervision on the performance of the handset manufacturing firms instead of just valuing a firm’s qualification for obtaining a licence.
The race between 3G technologies is becoming much more competitive, with Verizon Wireless’s EVDO high-speed data offering no longer the clear leader, Mike Iandolo, Lucent vp- mobility product management, said Thurs. at Goldman Sach’s Technology Investment Symposium.
Nokia will set up a 3G development and test center in Hangzhou, where its China R&D center is also located, said Mike Wang, gen. mgr.-Nokia Taiwan. Wang said he believes the surging 3G demand will help Nokia expand its presence further into “Greater China,” a term for the nonurban areas, noting that the total number of Nokia employees in China has gone up from 5 in 1985 to nearly 6,000 this year. Nokia took a 12% share of the China handset market in 2004 -- the top spot -- followed by Motorola with 11%, according to Japanese research firm Fuji-Keizai.