The Federal Trade Commission proposed Thursday to revamp its online child privacy rules to reflect the ubiquity of smartphones and geolocation services. The proposed updates (.pdf) to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 were welcomed by many in the privacy community. They see the new proposal as a means to combat behavioral advertising targeting America’s youth. By contrast, Facebook, Microsoft, the Entertainment Software Association, the Toy Industry Association and others are arguing for self-regulation when it comes to targeted, online behavioral advertising. The law in question, commonly referred to as COPPA, is designed to protect the privacy of children under 13. Among other things, a major proposed upgrade generally would forbid websites and mobile apps that cater to children under 13 from deploying tracking cookies or using GPS location tracking for marketing without parental consent.

See Press Release 
Source: Wired

The global Internet is far less centered on the United States than it was 10 years ago. According to new data from TeleGeography’s Global Internet Geography study, the development of rich regional networks, coupled with a need for diversification, has reduced the share of international capacity connected to the U.S. for all regions except Latin America. Operators have also diversified the array of city-to-city connections used in global backbones to create additional routing options and improve resiliency. For example, the London-New York route’s share of total trans-Atlantic capacity has declined from 46 percent in 2005 to 30 percent in 2011 as ISPs have deployed more capacity on other routes across the Atlantic, such as Paris-Washington and Frankfurt-New York.

See Press Release
Source: Telegeography

Brazil's largest telecom group Oi (TNLP4.SA), Telesp (TLPP4.SA), CTBC and Sercomtel will participate in Brazil's National Broadband Plan, Communications Minister Paulo Bernardo said on Thursday. Bernardo said the plan aims to expand high-speed Internet of 1 megabyte per second across Latin America's largest economy of 200 million people at a cost of 35 reais ($22) a month. The companies are expected to start offering the economical broadband Internet in the next 90 days.

See Press Release
Source: Reuters

The wireless subsidiary of Bolivia’s state-owned telco Empresa Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (Entel), Entel Movil, has revealed that it has expanded HSPA+ coverage to the cities of La Paz, El Alto, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz, according to Next Wireless Latam. The cellco, as previously reported by CommsUpdate, last month said it would spend around USD32 million on the introduction of HSPA+ to its network, at which date it claimed to have already launched commercial mobile broadband services using the technology in the cities of Trinidad (Beni), Tarija, Oruro, Sucre and Potosi. Entel’s general manager, Roy Mendez, also noted that so far this year the wireless unit has deployed 372 new cell sites across the country, while he added that a total of 40 new base stations that supported HSPA+ had been brought online last week.

See Press Release
Source: Cellular-News

Malaysian WiMAX network, Packet One Networks (P1) has said that it is in "dire need" of additional radio spectrum to continue to manage its subscriber growth, and has asked the regulator to grant it 30Mhz of spectrum in the 2.3Ghz bands. The company already has a 30Mhz block in that band and is one of nine networks due to be allocated a 20Mhz block in the 2.6Ghz band. "The challenge is really roll-out as, for now, its network faces congestion and this deteriorates the Wimax user experience. Any measure taken to address the congestion would be seen as temporary,'' an unnamed source told The Star newspaper, adding that what the company needed was a permanent solution, which was more bandwidth.

See Press Release 
Source: Cellular-News

Acquisition clears final hurdle a week after Huawei drops intellectual property lawsuit.Chinese regulators have approved Nokia Siemens Networks' planned acquisition of most of Motorola Solutions Inc.'s network-equipment assets, the two companies said Thursday, clearing the path for the deal to close next week. Nokia Siemens Networks, the joint venture between Finland's Nokia Corp. and Germany's Siemens AG, agreed to buy the bulk of Motorola's network-equipment business for $1.2 billion in July last year, but the deal was awaiting approval from China's Ministry of Commerce, which has the authority to review foreign mergers on antitrust grounds.

The sale is a key component of Motorola's restructuring, generating much-needed cash after the company split into two parts: Motorola Solutions, which sells public safety gear; and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., which sells mobile phones and set-top boxes.

See Press Release 
Source: Total Telecom

Qtel, Saudi Telecom only operators left in running after rivals abandoned auction over government's revenue sharing plan.Syria has postponed next week's auction of a third mobile license due to political ructions in the Arab country, a person familiar with matter said Thursday. "The license has been postponed because some elements on the supervisory committee were from the old government," the person told Zawya Dow Jones by telephone."Some people are no longer on the committee." No new date for the auction, that was slated for April 27, has been set, the person added. The postponement comes after Syria's President Bashar Assad, in moves aimed at containing popular anti-government sentiment, replaced his prime minister and cabinet, and promised to introduce new electoral and media laws.

See Press Release
Source: Total Telecom

According to local press reports, mobile operator Vodacom South Africa has confirmed that it has exceeded 1,000 active 43.2Mbps HSPA+ sites on its network. Although the deployment has taken place over time, Vodacom stressed that it did not want to publicise the improved speeds until they had achieved ‘significant’ HSPA+ coverage. CEO Pieter Uys commented: ‘We have actually had the technology up and running for some time, but we wanted to have a critical mass of at least 1,000 base stations before flipping the switch to allow consumers access at up to double the speed. We wanted to make sure that we had the service available in more than just one city’.

See Press Release 
Source: Telegeography 

Technical rules on how the 900 and 1800 MHz radio frequency bands should be opened up to advanced 4th generation (4G) communication devices have just been adopted by the European Commission. The rules, which are important to avoid interference problems with existing GSM and 3G devices, are an important step to bringing wireless broadband access to more EU citizens and businesses. The Commission Decision, which must be implemented by Member States by the end of 2011, will therefore help to achieve the targets of the Digital Agenda for Europe to give every European access to basic broadband by 2013 and fast and ultra fast broadband by 2020 (see IP/10/581, MEMO/10/199 and MEMO/10/200). Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission for the Digital Agenda, said: "This Decision opens the way for the latest 4G mobile devices to gain access to the radio spectrum they need to operate, and so further stimulate high-speed broadband services and foster more competition."

See Press Release 
Source: Europe

The UAE's telecoms regulator, the TRA has refuted reports that it has ordered a ban on Blackberry email services by private individuals and confirmed that the service would remain available. "The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority confirms the continuation of all Blackberry services in the UAE to both individuals and to business customers, including Blackberry messenger, Blackberry email and Blackberry browsing," the Tra said in a statement." Any confusion to TRA regulations will be clarified by the TRA with the operators concerned this week" The statement was issued after reports suggested that access to the BlackBerry Enterprise Server would to be restricted to companies with 20 or more BlackBerry users - forcing smaller firms to lose the services or purchase unnecessary unused BlackBerry accounts.

See Press Release 
Source: Cellular-News

Israel’s Ministry of Communications (MoC) has launched a tender to select two new mobile network operators, Globes Online reports, with four potential bidders set to take part in the sale process. Bidding started at 10am local time on Monday morning, and the regulator is offering two 3G licences, although a number of alterations to the auction process have been made. Under the revised sale plans the starting bid amount has been lowered to ILS10 million (USD2.91 million), down from ILS100 million, with bids to be updated every ten minutes. The second alteration made to the sale was a change in the amount and timing of bids once the ILS100 million threshold is reached; bids will now increase by ILS5 million every ten minutes, instead of rising in ILS1 million increments per hour. Bidding will take place for both concessions simultaneously, and will run until just two would-be buyers remain.

See Press Release 
Source: Telegeography

Bolivian mobile network operator Entel Movil, a subsidiary of fixed line incumbent Empresa Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (Entel), is set to spend around USD32 million on the introduction of HSPA+ technology to its network, national news agency ABI.bo reports.

According to the general manager of the cellco’s parent company, Roy Mendez, theoretical speeds over the improved network will reach up to 21Mbps, the fastest downlink rates offered by any operator in the country, and commenting on the development he said: ‘With this technological leap, Entel offers Bolivians technology at the same level as in the major capitals of the world, significantly reducing the digital divide.’

See Press Release
Source: Telegeography

The Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology (ictQATAR) announced on March 28, 2011 that Qatar’s government has established a new company - Qatar National Broadband Network Company (Q.NBN) – with a mandate to accelerate the rollout of a nationwide, open, and accessible high-speed broadband Fiber to the Home (FTTH) network.

Q.NBN will provide fiber access to citizens and businesses across Qatar, achieving coverage targets in excess of 95 percent by 2015. The resulting high-speed broadband connectivity will enable the effective use of multimedia and communications applications that are central to developing Qatar’s knowledge economy.
“The Qatar National Broadband Network represents a bold step forward in Qatar’s drive to be a leading knowledge economy. Ubiquitous access to a high-speed network is essential to business development, economic growth, innovation and enhanced government services for our citizens.  This network will do more than connect Qatar to the world; it will truly help enrich the lives of those who live here,” said Dr. Hessa Al-Jaber, Secretary General, ictQATAR.

 

See Press Release 
Source: ictQATAR

 

Mexican fixed line incumbent Telefonos de Mexico (Telmex) has unveiled plans to break its fixed line voice operations apart, revealing it aims to form two separate companies, one of which will exclusively serve rural areas, the Wall Street Journal reports. Under the telco’s proposals, which will require the approval of the Secretario de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT) and other regulatory bodies, Telmex intends to create a new company, Telmex Social, to service rural regions and those areas of the country ‘in which there is no economic interest of any competitor’. The new company, Telmex said, would continue to pay the same interconnection rates to competitors as the enlarged operator currently does.

See Press Release
Source: TeleGeography

European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes is visiting the CeBIT2011 information technology (IT) exhibition in Hannover, Germany on 2 and 3 March, where the main theme is cloud computing. Cloud computing is the term used when users such as companies and public administrations, using networks such as the internet, access data and software stored on a service provider's computers in another location (potentially on the other side of the world). It is one of the key enabling information technologies that can help European businesses –especially SMEs – to drastically reduce IT costs, help governments supply services at a lower cost to citizens and make computing much more energy efficient.

See Press Release 
Source: Europe

Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda, has issued an urgent call to twenty one EU countries to rapidly introduce all the legislative measures necessary to allow the pan-EU deployment of mobile satellite services that could be used for high-speed internet, mobile television and radio or emergency communications to EU consumers and businesses. According to the timetable agreed by a Decision of the European Parliament and the EU's Council of Ministers in 2008, Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) should be deployed in all EU Member States by May 2011 at the latest (MEMO/09/237). But, more than twenty months after the Commission selected two operators to provide such pan-European services, 21 Member States have not yet adopted all the national rules needed to facilitate MSS deployment. Vice-President Kroes recently appealed also to the two operators concerned to step up their efforts.

See Press Release
Source: Europe's Information Society

EriTel, Eritrea’s state-owned incumbent telecoms operator, has completed the first phase of its network expansion and upgrade project, local newspaper Shabait reports. According to the company’s head of trade, Tekle Woldeslasie, EriTel has fully renewed its network connections and changed all transmitters in the past two years. To ease mobile network congestion, the company has constructed additional stations in Asmara, Keren, Mendefera and Massawa, among other areas, while new telephone stations have been installed in Merhano, Tsaeda Kristian, Arbaete Asmera, Bisha, Foro and Massawa to accommodate more customers. Additionally, EriTel is rolling out a third-generation mobile network in order to upgrade data and internet services, and is also considering expanding its 2G network nationwide.

See Press Release
Source: Telegeography

Finland and Russia Agree on 800Mhz Spectrum Usage for LTE Services Finland and Russia have held negotiations on making the 800 frequency band available for mobile communications. As a result of the negotiations, Finland may begin the construction of LTE test networks within this frequency band. Agreement was reached in Moscow at a meeting last week of the working group on frequency management, a body operating under the Finnish-Russian Commission for Economic Cooperation. Director-General Juhapekka Ristola, leader of the Finnish delegation, considers the outcome of the negotiations a significant step forward. The meeting was preceded by a technical meeting between frequency management experts of both countries.

See Press Release
Source: Cellular-news

The Federal Communications Commission today took important steps to meet the nation’s demand for innovative wireless broadband services and preserve the benefits that free over-the- air TV provides for consumers. In adopting proposals to make more efficient use of the nation’s airwaves, the FCC set the stage for voluntary broadcast spectrum auctions that could provide consumers with the robust mobile broadband services they demand while preserving over-the-air TV that many rely upon. The resulting efficient use of airwaves will help ensure that America leads the global wireless revolution and enjoys the resulting jobs and economic growth. Specifically, a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking adopted by the FCC today proposes that wireless broadband providers have equal access to television broadcast frequencies that could become available in spectrum auctions. The Notice seeks comment on establishing new allocations for both fixed and mobile wireless services in the TV broadcast bands.

See Press Release
Source: FCC - Federal Communications Commission

Five out of the six original bidders have been qualified to bid in Syria's forthcoming tender for the country's third mobile operator license. Etisalat, France Telecom, Qtel, Turkcell, Saudi Telecom were pre-qualified, with Iranian group Tamco being dropped from the tender. The bids were evaluated by a joint committee from the ministry and a German advisory company. The second phase of the auction competition related to technical qualification will be announced Dec. 12. Applicants need at last three years of experience in operating a cellphone license and must be already operating in two countries with at least 1.5 million customers in each. The two incumbent operators will have to buy out their current BOT agreements and convert to a conventional license agreement. The buyout price has been previously reported as being around US$500 million.

See Press Release
Source:Cellular-news

A government-appointed panel in Japan, set up to oversee plans to roll out fibre-optic broadband access to all homes by 2015, has said it will not force the incumbent, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp (NTT), to spin off the division responsibility for fibre infrastructure. The Nikkei daily reports that although the fibre-optic networks are primarily owned by the telco’s regional units NTT East Corp and NTT West Corp, rivals such as Softbank Corp are calling for government intervention arguing that NTT’s dominance in the sector makes for an unfair playing field.

See Press Release
Source: Telegeography

Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) says that it has been awarded radio spectrum for LTE services in Armenia. VivaCell-MTS, a majority-owned subsidiary of MTS, is the first mobile operator to have been allocated frequencies for the deployment of a LTE network from Public Services Regulatory Commission of the Republic of Armenia. In accordance with the regulator's decision VivaCell-MTS has an obligation to launch the LTE network into commercial operation before March 2011.

See Press Release
Source: Cellular-news

The USA is planning to release 115Mhz of radio spectrum for use in wireless broadband service within the next five years under plans announced today by the US Commerce Department, through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

In late June, President Obama committed to make available 500 megahertz of Federal and nonfederal spectrum over the next 10 years. The NTIA has now undertaken a fast-track review to identify some reallocation opportunities that exist in the next five years and to make a down payment on the overall goal. In the coming months, NTIA will continue to investigate reallocation opportunities that will maximize private sector investment, while protecting critical Federal missions.

See Press Release
Source: Cellular-news

Ofcom announced how a new form of wireless communication called “white space technology” will work in practice. This follows an earlier consultation, exploring the potential of the technology, which could be used for a wide range of innovative applications. For example, technology manufacturers have suggested that it might wirelessly link up different devices and offer enhanced broadband access in rural areas. The technology works by searching for unused radio waves called “white spaces” between TV channels to transmit and receive wireless signals. Compared with other forms of wireless technology, such as Bluetooth and WiFi, white-space devices are being designed to use lower frequencies that have traditionally been reserved for TV.

See Press Release
Source: UK Ofcom

After USD29 million bid, Mozambique’s Instituto Nacional das Comunicacoes (INCM) has selected Movitel, a unit of Vietnamese cellco Viettel, as its third mobile phone operator, the country’s head of telecoms regulation has confirmed. Movitel tabled a bid worth USD29 million for the licence, USD4 million less than the USD33 million bid offered by its rival UNI-Telecom. Announcing the decision, Da Silva stressed that the tender process was weighted towards technical (70%) rather than financial considerations (30%). Portugal Telecom’s TMN unit brought up the rear, with a bid of USD25 million.

See Press Release
Source: TeleGeography

The Solomon Islands is planning to tender for a third mobile operator license, the Solomon Island's National Telecommunications Commissioner Nick Williams announced at a speech last week. Mr Williams said this is part of major reforms that took place last year in which the government reached an agreement for Solomon Telekom to give up its exclusive license. The incumbent operator had blocked the launch of the country's second mobile network, bemobile for nearly ten months after its license was originally granted.

See Press Release
Source: Cellular-news

Brazil's telecoms regulator, Anatel has published the details of its planned auction the remaining 3G radio spectrum - the Band H block. The spectrum auction has been designed in a manner that could potentially see a new entrant into the market, although this is felt by analysts to be unlikely. The auction is expected to be held on the 15th December 2010, and the minimum price for the sale of all the frequency blocks in Band H is R$1.1 billion (US $640 million).

The auction will also include some additional 2G spectrum in the 1900Mhz bands. The H band is made up of (10 MHz + 10 MHz), Sub-band extension H (SE) (5 MHz + 5 MHz), sub-bands on the (S), D (S), E (S) and M (S) and extension sub-bands (SE ) 900 MHz and 1800 MHz, including the sub-bands for TDD Systems.

See Press Release
Source: Cellular-news

The Federal Communications Commission announced the release of a white paper entitled, “Mobile Broadband: The Benefits of Additional Spectrum.” This detailed technical and economic forecast of mobile broadband market trends details the looming spectrum crunch in a concrete, data-driven fashion. The National Broadband Plan recognized the exponential growth of mobile data usage and recommended that the Commission make available 500 megahertz (MHz) of new spectrum for wireless broadband within ten years, including 300 MHz for mobile flexible use within five years. In addition, the President directed in a June 28, 2010, Executive Memorandum that 500 MHz of new spectrum be made available for mobile and fixed broadband use.

See Press Release http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2010/db1021/DOC-302330A1.pdf
Source FCC Federal Communications Commission http://www.fcc.gov

Long-delayed legislation designed to enhance competition, force Australian fixed line incumbent Telstra to structurally separate, increase the powers of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), and provide a framework for the country’s upcoming National Broadband Network (NBN) has been reintroduced to parliament, Reuters is reporting. The legislative proposals have been raised in the lower house by Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese, with the politician claiming that the regulations would give Telstra more legislative certainty as the telco looks toward the split of its wholesale and retail operations. ‘This bill is an important step on the road to an improved telecommunications industry structure, with better competitive outcomes and stronger safeguards for consumers,’ Mr. Albanese told parliament. Telstra for its part has said that it supports the legislation although it has called for some amendments, and the telco’s CEO David Thodey said of the matter: ‘We believe the interests of Telstra shareholders would be best served by the bill being passed this year so that a definitive agreement on our involvement in the NBN can be reached quickly.’

See Press Release
Source: Telegeography

Kampala — UGANDA's telecom industry is one of the most vibrant in Africa. The call rates have drastically dropped. Patrick Mwesigwa, the Uganda Communications Commission industry regulator's boss stated that the interconnection rate that was announced in June 2010 is a default or reference rate that the operators refer to when negotiations fail between two parties. Today, a number of operators have revised their interconnection rates from a high rate of sh151 to now sh131 in line with what we recommended as the default rate proposed by UCC. We will make efforts to review the rates even downwards. But right now, nobody is complaining about the sh131.

See Press Release
Source: All Africa

The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) has expressed concern over Somaliland authorities’ decision to temporarily suspend, on the evening of 5 October 2010, the operations of the London-based private Universal TV network in Somaliland.
A letter issued by Somaliland Minister of Information and Public Orientation, Abdullahi Osman Jama, accused Universal TV of having “failed to execute its media duties impartially”. The Minister, who asked the Somaliland law enforcement organs and the Interior Ministry to implement the suspension, added that Universal TV bypassed “international standards of journalism” and that its administration had refused to answer telephone calls from the Ministry, an allegation denied by Ahmed Abubakar, Director General of Universal TV who said that they did not receive any complaint or communication from the authorities.

See Press Release
Source: BalancingAct-Africa

Region overtakes Europe in terms of mobile connections; Wireless Intelligence expects global mobile users to hit 6 billion by first half of 2012. Latin America is now the world's second largest mobile market behind Asia-Pacific after net subscriber additions of nearly 15 million during the second quarter of 2010 saw the region overtake Western Europe. According to new figures published on Friday by Wireless Intelligence, mobile connections across Latin America reached a total of 530 million in Q2, while in Western Europe the number of connections declined sequentially to 515 million from 520 million. "In recent quarters, Latin American mobile operators have increased their marketing and technological investments, which have had a positive impact on connections growth," said Joss Gillet, senior analyst at Wireless Intelligence, in a research note.

See Press Release
Source: Total telecom

The US Federal Communications Commission approved a proposal on Thursday that would open vast amounts of unused broadcast television airwaves for high-speed wireless broadband networks and other unlicensed applications.

See Press Release
Source: USA Federal Communications Commission

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today directed the large telephone companies to rebate $310.8 million to their urban home telephone customers. At the same time, the CRTC has approved a plan for the deployment of broadband Internet service to 287 rural and remote communities.

See Press Release
Source: CRTC

Last week U.S. President Obama announced investment in 66 new broadband projects, many of which fill in fiber “middle mile” gaps in rural communities. The awarded projects are believed to “create approximately 5,000 jobs, help spur economic development in some of the nation’s hardest-hit communities, helping create jobs for years to come. In total, tens of millions of Americans and over 685,000 businesses, 900 healthcare facilities and 2,400 schools in all 50 states stand to benefit from the awards.” While the vast majority of projects is related to building and improving middle mile and FttH infrastructures, some of the projects aim to expand computer center capacity for public use in libraries, community colleges and other public venues.

See Press Release
Source: DSL reports, Whitehouse.gov

The Federal Communications Commission today opened a new proceeding to identify the legal approach that will best support its efforts to ensure universal access to affordable, highquality broadband services; promote broadband innovation, investment, and competition; and protect and empower consumers. A Notice of Inquiry adopted by the agency begins a public process to consider possible frameworks for addressing the high-speed connections most consumers use to access the Internet.

See Press Release
Source: National Broadband Plan

"ICT for all - Technology supporting an inclusive world" has been published. This report explores Europe's vision for a society where every individual can make a valuable contribution. Investments in pioneering and commercially focused research will produce information and communication technologies (ICTs) that should help everyone - including the elderly, disabled and marginalised - to fulfil their potential.

Source: Europa

INF 7 0100 IST-R policy report-eInclusion_final studio.pdf (604,32 KB)

The European Commission today welcomed the launch of a €500 million initiative which boosts European supercomputer capacities and opens them up to scientists across Europe. The Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe (PRACE) unites the European Commission and 20 countries across Europe in a unique initiative which will enable researchers to use super fast computers located in other countries to make up to 1000 trillion calculations per second for their research projects. This could be used for example to speed up the development of more efficient solar cells or help us understand how drugs interact with the human body.

See Press Release
Source: Europe

Increasing competition, key regulatory changes, and the arrival of number portability for mobile services will all help to drive telecom revenue in Turkey over the next five years, according to a new report from Pyramid Research.

With the effects of the economic crisis slowly diminishing, Pyramid forecasts that Turkey's telecom sector will grow at 4.3 percent CAGR over the next five years, reaching US$17.5 billion by 2014. Growth will be propelled by strong demand for mobile voice and data services, as well as increases in broadband data and pay-TV revenues, notes Kerem Arsal, analyst at Pyramid Research and author of the report.

See Press Release
Source: cellular-news

The Botswana Telecommunications Authority launched the second phase of its Nteletsa project with a groundbreaking ceremony in Nswazwi last week.
Nteletsa II, as the project is known, is a spawn of the government's Rural Telecommunications Development Programme aimed at providing communities with access to telecommunications services. These include voice, data and Internet services. This phase of the project will see 197 villages in the Chobe, Ghantsi, Kgalagadi, Central, Kgatleng, the North West and Kweneng Districts provided with telecommunications services for the first time. The villages have been divided into four areas.

See Press Release
Source: TeleGeography

Developing intelligent artificial hands for hand amputees, neural devices to help people suffering from vertigo, dizziness and other vestibular disorders and the possibility to see how your brain responds while learning are a few examples of European research carried out in the area of future and emerging information and communication technologies (FET) that are being presented in the European Parliament in Strasbourg today. Twelve outstanding science projects funded under the European Commission's Future and Emerging Technologies programme will be showcased at the exhibition on "Science beyond Fiction: an Excursion into Future and Emerging Technologies".
Europe is taking the lead in FET by proposing to invest around €500 million in exploratory research into high risk future Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).

See Press Release 
Source: Europa

The European Commission has decided to send a formal request for information to Spain over a new charge imposed on telecoms operators to offset the ending of paid advertising by the Spanish public broadcaster RTVE (Radio Televisión Española). The Commission is concerned that this administrative charge, based on authorised operators' turnover, may be incompatible with EU law because it does not appear to be related to costs arising from regulatory supervision. The Commission position takes the form of a "letter of formal notice under EU infringement procedures (Article 258 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union). Spain has two months to reply. The Commission has also closed an infringement case on financing the universal service after Spain modified its national law and launched a tender and a public consultation on a new way of designating universal service providers.

See Press Release
Source: EUROPA

Federal regulators trying to bring high-speed Internet connections to all Americans will propose tapping the government program that now subsidizes telephone service in poor and rural areas. The Federal Communications Commission will include a proposal to revamp the Universal Service Fund as part of a national broadband plan due to Congress on March 17. Although the proposal itself has been expected for months, Friday's announcement offered the first solid details.

The FCC said it envisions transforming the Universal Service program over the next decade to pay for high-speed Internet access instead of the traditional voice services that it currently finances. The proposal would create a Connect America fund inside the Universal Service program to subsidize broadband, and a Mobility Fund to expand the reach of so-called 3G, or third-generation, wireless networks.

See Press Release
Source: Cellular-news

A public consultation on what is the best approach to ensure that basic telecoms services are available for all EU citizens has been launched today by the European Commission. Current EU rules on universal service obligations for telecoms date from 2002 and guarantee that Europeans have access to public telephone networks and to services like basic internet access. The consultation launched today aims to see if these rules and definitions on universal service need to be updated for the digital age, and in particular if they should be extended to cover broadband access. Reactions from consumers, industry stakeholders, and policy experts will help the Commission decide if it needs to present new legislative proposals on universal service obligations for telecoms by end of 2010. The consultation will run until 7 May 2010.

See press release

Source: Europa

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is contemplating to come up with a consultation paper on IMT-Advanced (4G) Mobile wireless broadband services. International Mobile Telecommunications-Advanced (IMT-Advanced) systems are mobile systems which include the new capabilities of IMT that go beyond those of IMT-2000. In other words, IMT-Advanced (or 4G) will see a progression beyond third-'generation (3G) technology. The new 4G networks will allow users to stream mobile multimedia, such as TV broadcasts and online games, with speeds up to 10 times than that of third-generation (3G) networks. Such systems provide access to a wide range of telecommunication services supported by mobile and fixed networks that are increasingly accessed using hand held devices.

See Press Release
Source: TRAI India

From today, all Wireless@SG users will be able to enjoy faster and easier access at most Wireless@SG hotspots around the country. The free Wireless@SG service, with its access speeds doubled from 512 kbps to 1 Mbps in September 2009, will now be even easier to access with a new automatic log-in feature.
This new feature, called Seamless and Secure Access (SSA) enables an "always on" experience by automatically connecting and logging into the network when the user's device is at a Wireless@SG hotspot. This means users of the network would not have to re-enter their credentials each time they log-in, in order to access applications like VoIP, instant messaging and social networking.

See Press Release
Source: IDA Singapore

During a conference on Universal Service, ANCOM has announced that the first stage of the new Universal Service strategy implementation has been completed. The Universal Service is a minimum set of electronic communications services, made available, upon request, to all end-users, at affordable prices and at a certain quality level, irrespective of their geographic location on the territory of an EU Member State. The Universal Service is a right of all the European Union’s citizens and the state The first stage of the implementation of the new Universal Service strategy consisted of a study undertaken in view of identifying the localities where electronic communications networks need to be rolled out.  According to the study, there are currently in Romania two villages (with a total of 140 inhabitants living in 45 households) which do not benefit from any telephone services. As soon as the technical aspects are clarified and the ANCOM decisions on Universal Service are amended, the Authority will designate one or more Universal Service providers which will ensure a connection capable to uphold the provision of telephone services (including emergency calls) and of broadband services (i.e. up to 1Mbps), taking into consideration the principles of efficiency, non-discrimination, technological neutrality and minimum market distortion.needs to intervene where the access to the minimum set of communications services is not ensured by the market mechanisms.

 

 

See Press Release

Source : Ancom

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted unanimously today to begin the process of crafting formal rules for "net neutrality," the principle that all content on the Internet should be equally accessible to all users, and that companies cannot discriminate or block one set of content in favor of another.

The Commission agreed at its monthly open meeting to publish a "Notice of Proposed Rulemaking" that would solicit public comment on how best to create rules for ensuring net neutrality, while enabling Internet service providers and telecom networks to continue policing their systems for spam and illegal content.

See Press Release
Source: cellular-news

Canada's Supreme Court  dismissed an appeal by two main phone companies asking to reject an order by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission for BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. to distribute  funds to residential subscribers through a one-time tax credit or by lowering phone rates.

Source:  Total Telecom

See the decision Bell Canada v. Bell Aliant Regional Communications, 2009 SCC 40

The Commerce Commission has finalised its first review of backhaul services. Backhaul is the final link connecting competitors’ networks to Telecom's local loop, so those competitors can provide services such as landlines and broadband to consumers.

The review looked at a number of backhaul routes and examined whether there was actual or potential competition to Telecom on those routes. Where the Commission finds that there is actual or potential competition on a backhaul route, it is not subject to regulation. By contrast, routes that the Commission finds not to be competitive are regulated.

See Press Release
Source: New Zealand - Commerce Commission

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued a paper on measures to improve Telecom Penetration in Rural India – The next 100 million subscribers.

See paper
Source: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)

A través de la Providencia Administrativa Nº 1330 de fecha 10 de diciembre de 2008, la Comisión Nacional de Telecomunicaciones, CONATEL, ordenó la apertura del procedimiento de oferta pública N° 0031, destinado al otorgamiento del bloque de frecuencias 1805-1810 MHz pareado con 1710-1715 MHz, para la prestación del servicio de telefonía móvil en todo el espacio geográfico nacional.

See Press Release
Source: CONATEL

The Australian Communications and Media Authority and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission today released a joint report titled Communications Infrastructure and Services Availability in Australia 2008. The report, developed using the expertise of both agencies, discusses the availability of broadband, fixed voice, mobile voice and mobile data in the community.

Key findings identified in the report include:

* The number of broadband subscribers increased by 1.1 million in the 12 months to June 2008. This increase was driven by growth in wireless broadband (47 per cent) and DSL provided on unbundled services (33 per cent). Unbundled services are the unbundled local loop service (ULLS) and the line sharing service (LSS).
* Broadband connection speeds are rising with a 25 per cent increase in subscribers using a 1.5 Mbps service, predominantly as a result of evolution from ADSL1 to ADSL2+ services.
* Mobile services are evolving from second generation (2G) to third generation (3G) mobile with 8.55 million 3G services in operation at June 2008 (an increase of 88 per cent).
* Fixed voice remains a large part of consumers’ spend on communications services and the number of fixed lines remained stable in the year to June 2008 at 11 million fixed line services in operation. Alternatives to the standard telephone service (STS) for making fixed voice calls are emerging.

See Press Release
Source: Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA)

The Commerce Commission has today released its final standard terms determination (STD) on the non-price terms on which access providers must make co-location on cellular mobile transmission sites (the Mobile Co-location Service) available to other mobile network operators.

The Mobile Co-location Service allows the equipment of a mobile network operator to be installed on another operator’s cell masts. Co-location makes it easier for mobile network operators to manage their mobile networks by allowing for the sharing of facilities, and avoids the unnecessary and inefficient duplication of facilities. As a result, co-location contributes towards removing barriers to entry and lead to the improvement of the competitive conditions in the retail mobile services market. 

See Press Release
Source: Commerce Commission

As the demand for communication technology continues to grow in Africa, incumbent Malawi Telecommunications Limited (MTL) is intensifying efforts to speed up laying of underground fibre-optic cables throughout the country with a view to boast free flow of information. Malawi is keen to ensure that it is easy to connect and inter-link with the world as far as information technology is concerned, and more importantly to enable the country to compete with the rest of the continent and the world at large.

It is estimated that a total of US$30 million would be required for the ambitious project in Malawi in order to replace its VSAT links. MTL’s Lester Tandwe, said the latest development sought to keep the country moving with the times in the field of information and technology.

“The first part of the capable will be operational by April 2009 while the second part will be operational by 2010 and will connect to international cables to provide international bandwidth,” said Tandwe. Given growing user demand in technology, Malawi is now laying an average of 50 kilometres of underground capable with a view to provide internet and telecommunication services to both urban and the countryside.

See Press Release
Source: Balancingact-africa

The director general of the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA), John Nkoma, says he expects the country will be home to 13 million fixed and mobile telephone connections by mid-2009, up 25% on the figure reported in mid-2008, with much of the growth coming from cellular connections. Nkoma notes that telecoms is one of the fastest growing segments in the country, increasing subscribers by 20.1% in 2007, up from 19.2% the previous year. The TCRA official notes that barely four years ago Tanzania could only muster two million fixed and mobile lines. ‘We do expect that by the end of this year, we should be hitting maybe 10.5 million or eleven million [subscribers]. It's largely driven by mobile,’ he said. By 30 June 2008 Tanzania had a total of 10.43 million fixed and mobile users, up from 8.48 million at the start of the year. However, with overall penetration of about 25%, the TCRA says there is still ample room for growth in the market, making it an attractive prospect for new entrants.

See Press Release
Source: Telegeography

At the end of the third quarter of 2008, the total number of main telephone accesses installed at customer request stood at around 4 million, corresponding to a penetration rate of approximately 37.9 accesses per 100 inhabitants. Compared to the previous quarter, there was a slight decrease in the number of accesses (-0.6%). The decline in analogue accesses and reduction in basic, primary and fractioned ISDN accesses was not fully offset by the growth of accesses using other technologies, including GSM, VoIP and cable.
Year-on-year the number of accesses installed at customer request saw a fall of 1.3%. It should be mentioned that accesses based on GSM technology increased by 20.2% year-on-year. The exponential growth seen in the number of accesses based on VoIP technology should also be pointed out.

See Press Release
Source: ANACOM - National Authority of Telecommunications

The Commerce Commission today released a telecommunication service obligation (TSO) determination for the Local Residential Telephone Service covering the 2006/07 year. The draft cost is $62.8 million.

Under the TSO, Telecom is obliged to provide certain local residential telephone services to residential customers who may not otherwise be provided with those services at an affordable price. The TSO allows Telecom to recover its costs of providing this service.

In producing this draft determination the Commission has followed the modelling approach used in the 2004/05 and 2005/06 determinations.

The total cost for 2006/07 will be shared according to the TSO Cost Allocation determination for 2006/07 which is available on the Commission’s website. Under the Cost Allocation determination the costs will be shared amongst the following: Telecom, Vodafone, TelstraClear, WorldxChange, Compass, CallPlus, Ihug, Woosh and Teamtalk.

See Press Release
Source: New Zealand - Commerce Commission

Internet penetration in the country lags behind the take up of other services in the ICT market, the CCK Director-General has said. Mr. Charles J.K. Njoroge said the number of regular Internet users in Kenya remains below three million compared to 15 million mobile subscribers.
 
He attributed the sub-sector’s poor performance to high bandwidth costs, lack of relevant content and limited ICT infrastructure in the rural areas. The Director-General said the completion of the ongoing national and international marine cable projects would make the Internet more affordable to a larger proportion of Kenyans.
 
See Press Release
Source: Kenya - Communications Commission of Kenya

The Digital Migration Pilot project has been officially launched on behalf of the Minister of Communication, Dr Benjamin Aggrey Ntim by the Chief Director of the Ministry. This took place at the Kofi Annan ICT Centre in Accra.

Mr. Kwaku Ofosu-Adarkwa Chief Director of the Ministry of Communications who read the statement on behalf of the minster said the launch of a Pilot Project on the migration to Digital Broadcasting is very timely because the forum is going to serve as a platform to identify practical challenges that lie ahead of Ghana. Adding that the meeting is a step forward to monitor what the technical advantages and challenges will be like from a practical point of view.

He stressed on the need to continue to plan and analyse the implications of the migration, bearing in mind that broadcasting services should reach the populace at affordable cost and impact positively on their lives. The Minister for Communication then called on the Ministry of Communications to facilitate an all inclusive national migration committee to address the task ahead.

See Press Release
Source: Ministry of Communications of Ghana

In today's round of telecoms infringement proceedings, the European Commission closed the case against France over the designation of universal service providers, following changes to French rules. EU rules under the Universal Service Directive provide a safety net guaranteeing a minimum level of services such as connection to a telephone network and basic internet access that fill societal needs not delivered by the market. The Commission launched a case against France in 2005 because its procedure for designating providers of the universal service was only open to operators offering nationwide services. EU rules say that the process should not discriminate against any operator interested in providing the service only in parts of a country. France amended its rules after the European Court of Justice ruled in favour of the Commission in June 2008. These amendments will ensure that no telecoms provider interested in providing the universal service in parts of the country will be excluded from a designation process in advance.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

According to Balancing Act, the government of Mauritius is establishing a Universal Service Fund (USF) to give citizens in poor regions of the country better access to Internet and communication technologies. Regulations under the Information Communication Technology (ICT) Act of 2001 have been finalized. The fund should come into operation in several weeks time. Operators will contribute to the fund US$2.5 million. With the fund, the authority intends to help public institutions work together to reduce the cost of Internet access and promote broadband Internet in Mauritius.

Source: Balancing Act

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has announced that licence fees for rural landline services will be waived, Telecom Tiger reports. It is expected that the ruling could save providers up to INR2 billion (USD46.7 million) per year, and it is hoped may encourage private players to consider investment in rural areas. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, the Ministry of Communications (MoC) has committed to increasing rural teledensity to 4% by 2010.

See Press Release
Source: TeleGeography

A Decision Notice requires Eircom to meet legally binding quality of service performance targets for the delivery of Universal Service Obligation. ComReg believes the targets are reasonable and proportionate and will lead to a higher quality of service going forward. Achieving these targets will ensure benefits for end-users, promote  greater confidence in the USP and the sector generally, and generate ancillary social  benefits in terms of Irish end-users finding it easier to access communications services.

See Decision
Source: ComReg
 

As part of Budget 2008 the Government has announced a major contestable fund aimed at facilitating high speed broadband connections to businesses in urban centres and key users in the health and education sectors, to extend the reach of broadband into underserved regions, and to improve the resilience of New Zealand's international connections. Government is seeking feedback on the draft process and criteria for urban and rural funding applications.

See Press Release
Source: Ministry of Economic Development

Statement by The Minister Energy Water and Communications, Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications:

"I would like to announce the Government’s decision to increase broadband services to the whole country. This is necessary given that Malaysia’s broadband penetration rate, at 18% is very low as compared to other more developed nations in Asia like Singapore (at 78%), Hong Kong (80%) and Korea (93%).

The implementation of nationwide broadband services will significantly contribute to the development of the country’s social-economic development. In the past, water supply and electricity were important factors in attracting foreign investment and today, broadband connectivity has become a basic necessity."

See Press Release
Source: Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission

The Federal Communications Commission on May 1st  adopted an interim cap on payments to competitive eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) under the Universal Service Fund (Fund).

This action was a crucial first step toward comprehensive reform of Universal Service and intercarrier compensation, two carrier compensation regimes that are directly interrelated. Such comprehensive reform is critical to ensuring the continued provision of affordable telecommunications for all Americans.

See Press Release
Source: Federal Communications Commission - FCC

Minister of Communications and Information Technology Dr. Tarek Kamel and that of Local Development General Abdel-Salam Mohamed Mahgoub witnessed today the signing of a cooperation agreement between National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) and Local Development Ministry on the second landline network operations.

The agreement aims to set and unify the procedures of carrying out the operations required for establishing the second landline network infrastructure across Egypt.

See Press Release
Source: National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority - NTRA

The 8^th Global Symposium for Regulators took place from 11 to 13 March 2008 in Pattaya, Thailand. This major ITU event focused on best practices in regulatory measures to foster and encourage sharing of infrastructure resources as a means of stimulating investment and growth in the ICT sector.

Ten discussion papers were developed for this year's GSR:

1. What do we mean by 6 Degrees of Sharing?
2. Extending Open Access to National Fibre Backbones in Developing Countries
3. International Gateway Liberalization: the Singapore experience
4. Breaking Up is Hard to Do: The Emergence of Functional Separation as a Regulatory Remedy
5. Mobile Sharing
6. Spectrum Sharing
7. WRC-07 Results and Impact on Terrestrial Broadband Wireless Access Systems
8. End-User Sharing
9. International Mobile Roaming Regulation – An Incentive for Cooperation
10. IPTV and Mobile TV: New Challenges for Regulators

Comments are welcome by 13 April 2008 at: gsr08@itu.int.   

More information on the event as well as the presentations from the panel sessions can be found at the GSR 2008 website.

See: Press release 

Source: ITU

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has directed all the country's Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block an internet Website "You Tube", on account of showing highly blasphemous Dutch film.

The decision to the effect came after a meeting held at the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom in Islamabad. Senior representatives from the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Religious Affairs, Cabinet Division, FIA and PTA attended the meeting. You Tube, a video sharing website has been found to be running highly provocative and blasphemous anti Quranic video with reference to the Dutch politician Mr. Geert Wilders.

See Press Release
Source: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA)

Subscribers Addition inches towards 9 million per month.
Wreless Subscribers addition touches new peak of 8.77 million per month.
Broadband continues to grow in the country.
Tele-density reaches 24.63%.

See Press Release
Source: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

Australia’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the rural sector are reasonably connected online and on the phone, with 92 per cent of SMEs and 74 per cent of farms having an internet connection, and 93 per cent and 85 per cent respectively reporting the use of a mobile phone.
The reports found that broadband take-up is high especially among SMEs, with 91 per cent of those connected using broadband. For the farm sector, there is a continuing reliance on dial-up internet connections: 53 per cent of respondents with an internet connection reported using dial-up. Satellite connection accounts for almost 50 per cent of those respondents with broadband.

See Press Release
Source: ACMA - Australian Communications and Media Authority

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today approved several initiatives that will benefit Canadians with disabilities and expand broadband services to rural and remote communities. The major local telephone companies were also directed by the Commission to finalize proposals for the dispersal of the funds in their deferral accounts.

“Today's decision will not only make telecommunications services more accessible to all Canadians, but also serve to enhance social and economic development in underserved communities,” said Len Katz, the CRTC's Vice-Chairman of Telecommunications.

The proposals approved by the Commission include initiatives to improve accessibility to telecommunications services for persons with disabilities in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. In developing their proposals, the companies consulted with federal and provincial governments, national and provincial organizations representing persons with disabilities, and researchers in the field.

See Press Release and links to documents
Source: CRTC

The government will concentrate on 2.3 gigahertz (GHz) world interoperability for microwave access (WiMax) and at the same time monitor the development of 2.5 Ghz spectrum, said Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik. "We cannot have both spectrums at the same time because the costs to set up the bases are expensive," he told reporters after lauching the Asia Pacific Wireless Broadband Forum 2008 here Friday.

See Press Release
Source: KTAK - Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications

Como un paso adelante en la competencia de los servicios de telecomunicaciones que finalmente beneficiará a los usuarios, calificó la ministra de Transportes y Comunicaciones Verónica Zavala Lombardi al nuevo BackBone (red) de Fibra Optica de la Costa Norte inaugurada esta mañana en San Juan de Miraflores por el presidente de la República, Alan García Pérez.

El BackBone es una red de fibra óptica desarrollada por la empresa Internexa S.A., instalación desplegada sobre 1,200 kilómetros de red eléctrica que beneficiará a cinco regiones del país: Ancash, La Libertad, Lambayeque, Piura y Tumbes. A partir de ahora, dijo Zavala Lombardi, en las ciudades de la Costa norte se podrá brindar el servicio de transporte para los operadores de telecomunicaciones, con lo cual éstos podrán desarrollar proyectos de internet de banda ancha, telefonía y otras modalidades de transmisión de datos.

See Press Release

Source: Ministerio de Transportes y Comunicaciones - MTC

Despite technological progress and enhanced competition, more than one in three Europeans are still excluded from fully benefiting from the digital society. Benefits of EUR 35-85 billion over five years could be generated if society would be made more inclusive, websites more accessible and broadband Internet made available to all EU citizens. On 29 November, the Commission presents its e-Inclusion initiative to Council, calling on Member States to support a number of key actions, including an awareness campaign for 2008 "e-Inclusion, be part of it!" e-Accessibility legislation, similar to that of the USA, is also under consideration.

See Press Release

Source : Europa

Está aberto o prazo para envio de contribuições à proposta da Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações (Anatel) de alteração do Plano Geral de Metas para a Universalização (PGMU) e de Minuta de Termo Aditivo aos Contratos de Concessão das operadoras do Serviço Telefônico Fixo Comutado (STFC). A alteração pode possibilitar a troca de 8.461 Postos de Serviços de Telecomunicações (PSTs), que devem ser instalados pelas concessionárias da telefonia fixa, por troncos (backhauls) com infra-estrutura de rede e de suporte do STFC para conexão banda larga por meio do protocolo IP em alta velocidade, o que beneficiará 3.570 cidades. Full press news

Source: Anatel, Brazil

O Conselho Diretor da Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações (Anatel) decidiu hoje, em sua 459º Reunião, submeter à consulta pública proposta de alteração do Plano Geral de Metas para a Universalização (PGMU) e Termo Aditivo ao Contrato de Concessão da telefonia fixa. A proposta prevê a substituição de 8.461 Postos de Serviços de Telecomunicações (PSTs) por backhauls com infra-estrutura de banda larga em todos os municípios brasileiros, o que beneficiará 3.570 municípios sem banda larga. A consulta ficará disponível para contribuições entre os dias 8 e 19 de novembro. Full press release

Source: Anatel, Brazil

On Wednesday, October 31, 2007, Dan Georgescu, President of the National Regulatory Authority for Communications and Information Technology, together with Mihail Tarniceanu, Business Strategy&Regulatory Affairs Manager, were present at Mologesti, in order to launch the telecentre Vodafone Romania installed therein within the national programme for the implementation of the universal service initiated by ANRCTI.

“So far, more than 17,000 children living in the communities where telecentres have been installed have access to Internet, information and communication. It is a great pleasure for us to be able to offer the children of Mologesti the opportunity to be connected with other children like them, living in the communities that benefit from telecentres, as well as with children living worldwide. Due to the programme for the implementation of the universal service initiated by ANRCTI, approximately 230,000 people from 271 localities where telecentres were installed are able now to communicate easier with friends or relatives from abroad and may always be informed”, Dan Georgescu, the President of ANRCTI, declared. He also announced that in Valcea county, out of the 45 telecentre to be installed following the tenders organised by ANRCTI, 30 telecentres are currently functional. Full press release

Source: ANRCTI, Romania

A Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações (Anatel) abriu consulta pública para ouvir a sociedade a respeito do cumprimento das metas de universalização por parte das operadoras de telefonia fixa que atuam no regime público. O Plano Geral de Metas de Universalização (PGMU), previsto no decreto 4.769, de 27 de junho de 2003, estabelece as obrigações de expansão do serviço a partir de 1º de janeiro de 2006.

Entre as metas a serem cumpridas estão a instalação de Telefone de Uso Público (TUP), conhecido como orelhões, em cada localidade com mais de 100 habitantes e o atendimento com linhas individuais em cada localidade com mais de 300 habitantes. Elas devem ser cumpridas por todas as operadoras de telefonia fixa que atuam no regime público: as concessionárias na modalidade local, nas suas áreas de atuação - Brasil Telecom, Oi/Telemar, CTBC Telecom, Sercomtel e Telefônica - e a concessionária na modalidade longa distância - Embratel -, com atuação em todo o território nacional. Full press release

Source: ANATEL, Brazil

ANRCTI launches for public consultation the Decision of the President of the National Regulatory Authority for Communications and Information Technology on the conditions and procedure for the designation of the Universal Service providers in the field of postal services.

 

The draft decision submitted to public consultation today aims at adapting the Regulatory framework to the amendments brought to the Government Ordinance no.31/2002 on postal services by the Government Emergency Ordinance no.70/2006 on the amendment and completion of several normative acts in the field of electronic communications and postal services, approved with amendments and completions by Law no.133/2007, and will replace the ANRC President’s Decision no.1.351/2003 on the conditions and procedure for the designation of the universal service providers in the field of postal services. Full press reelase

 

Source: ANRCTI, Romania 

ComReg has published three publications, two being related to consultations on interconnection and call termination, and one on Services of social value.

Response to Consultation & Consultation on Draft Decision - Interconnection Market Review - Fixed Wholesale Call Termination Services

Response to Consultation - Interconnection Market Review Wholesale Call Origination & Transit Services

Information Notice-Harmonised Services of Social Value

Source: ComReg

MIC invites public comment on the draft report compiled by the Study Group on Future Images of Universal Service Fund System during the period from October 5 (Fri.) to November 5 (Mon.), 2007. MIC has held the meetings of the Study Group on Future Images of Universal Service Fund System since January 29, 2007, to discuss the universal service fund system in addressing the transition to IP-based networks. The draft report has been compiled based on the results of discussions at this study group, and MIC thus invites public comment thereon.

See Press Release

Source: MIC

Report on the provision of universal service to disabled people by Telekomunikacja Polska S.A.
Find the complete press release

Source : UKE

Chile's government has assigned US$80mn to subsidize projects designed to boost internet coverage during 2008-09, Pablo Bello, head of the telecoms regulator Subtel, told press.

Bello made the announcement at a presentation of the latest broadband internet index for Chile developed by US networking equipment vendor Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) and tech consultancy IDC. The latest Barometer report for Chile shows broadband penetration of 7.9% at the end of June, with 1.2mn connections, up 33% year-on-year. Full press release

Source: Business News Americas

In the context of its universal service strategy in the telecommunications sector, Senegal plans a pilot projet in the region of Matam.

Click here for the submission form

Source: ARTP

 
According to a Press Release on Sept. 26th 2007 and following the tender that ANRCTI organised between June  and August 2007, three providers of electronic communications services were designated to perform the installation of telecentres in other 130 localities of the rural area, with limited or without access to telephony and Internet services. The winning companies are S.C. Orange Romania S.A., National Radiocommunications Company S.A. and S.C. Vodafone Romania S.A.

See Press Release

Source: ANRC

Wi-Fi free connexion is being provided by Paris.

See  more

Source: Mairie de Paris

Following the tender that ANRCTI organised between June 2007 and August 2007, three providers of electronic communications services were designated to perform the installation of telecentres in other 130 localities of the rural area, with limited or without access to telephony and Internet services. The winning companies are S.C. Orange Romania S.A., National Radiocommunications Company S.A. and S.C. Vodafone Romania S.A.

Orange Romania shall install telecentres in 42 villages of 18 counties, the National Radiocommunications Company shall install telecentres in 54 villages of 23 counties, whereas Vodafone Romania was designated to perform the installation of 34 telecentres in 17 counties. The tender was launched for 131 localities, but no winner was designated for Valea Mare village in Band commune, Mures county, since none of the qualified applicants has submitted an offer for this locality.

The list with the localities where the universal service providers shall install telecentres is available for consultation here, on the ANRCTI website. Full press release

 

Source: ANRC, Romania 

Biel-Bienne, 20.09.2007 - The Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) has launched a public consultation on the possibilities of allocating free UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System) frequencies. By doing so, OFCOM wishes to enable interested parties to give their comments and to determine the needs and intentions of the players concerned. The consultation period runs until 2 November 2007.

On 4 September 2007 ITU has released a major publication, Trends in Telecommunication Reform: the Road to NGN. This is the 8^th of a series of reports focusing on the ongoing transformation in the telecom/ICT sector to inform regulators and policy makers around the world.

During the past week, the report got news coverage by numerous leading national and international media, witnessing the interest of the ten chapters of research and analysis dedicated to issues related to the transition towards Next Generation Networks (NGN). You can find links to some of the news reports in the attached document.

More information about the 2007 report is available at the “On the Road to NGN” website.

The publication is available for sale at the ITU bookshop.

Com o Termo assinado, há a previsão de se beneficiar 782 instituições que assistem pessoas com deficiência auditiva. A Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações (Anatel) e as concessionárias da telefonia fixa local - Brasil Telecom, CTBC, Oi, Sercomtel e Telefônica - assinaram o Termo de Obrigações de Universalização que prevê o benefício, por meio da instalação de Terminal de Telecomunicações para Surdos (TTS), a 782 instituições que assistem pessoas com deficiência auditiva. A assinatura do Termo ocorreu em cerimônia realizada na tarde de quarta-feira, 5, na Anatel. Full Press release

Source: ANATEL, Brazil

Geneva, 4 September 2007 — ITU has released a major publication, Trends in Telecommunication Reform: the Road to NGN. In its 8th edition, Trends reports on the evolution of circuit-switched telecommunication into "next-generation" networks, as operators around the world fight to remain competitive. The Report aims at enabling regulators and policy-makers in developing countries to better understand the changes transforming the ICT sector so they can evolve their policy and regulatory frameworks to leverage today’s technological and market developments.

What does NGN mean for regulators? They have many choices to make. Some view NGN as the intersection of the telecom and Internet worlds. If so, which regulatory regime should apply? The current heavily-regulated telecom regulatory model? The lightly-regulated Internet model? Or some new hybrid model? The migration to NGN affords an opportunity for regulators to analyze current practices and revise them in light of what makes sense going forward. This Trends report offers a detailed discussion of the kinds of measures that are needed to ensure that regulation keeps pace with technological and market developments so that the best of NGN is available to all of the world’s people.

The ITU press release is available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

More information about the content of the 2007 report is available at the “On the Road to NGN” website.

The publication is available for sale at the ITU bookshop.

August 30, 2007, Pravaleni, Hunedoara county. Dan Georgescu, the President of the National Regulatory Authority for Communications and Information Technology together with Alin Gadian, Timisoara Regional Manager, on behalf of Vodafone Romania, have met with the users of the telecentre which Vodafone Romania installed in Pravaleni, Hunedoara county, in order to test the telephony and Internet services it offers.

“Today, with the launch of the telecentre of Pravaleni, we should look behind and make a review of what we have accomplished up to now. So far, in figures, the experience of the telecentres may be resumed as follows: 232 functional telecentres out of the total of 600 which ANRCTI proposed to install in the isolated communities of the rural area. These telecentres shall ensure the access to telephony and Internet services by means of the national programme for the installation of telecentres; furthermore, approximately 200,000 people whose life changed due to ANRCTI initiative, people that are now able to communicate easier with their relatives or friends from abroad, who have access to information, to whom the world seems closer now and, as well, more than 15,000 children able to broaden their horizons, who have access to knowledge and can be informed”, declared Dan Georgescu, the President of ANRCTI. Full Press release

Source: ANRC, Romania

August 29, 2007, Zimbru, Arad county. Today, the Vice-president of the National Regulatory Authority for Communications and Information Technology, Codruta Meran and Claudiu Velimirovici, Manager of the Sales Area Department of Radiocom – the National Society for Radiocommunications – have met with the users of the telecentre installed in Zimbru, Arad county by Radiocom, in order to test the telephone and Internet services offered.

“The telecentre should become a centre of knowledge, a place where both young and old people can find means to communicate and get informed, so necessary today, whether they live in the rural or the urban area. The openness that people showed to our initiative and the results we have had so far following the installation of telecentres give us a lot of confidence and prove once more the importance communications have in the development of each person”, Codruta Meran, Vice-President of ANRCTI, declared. Full Press release

Source: ANRC, Romania

Adopts Measures to Improve the Management, Administration and Oversight of the Fund

In a Report and Order released today, the Commission adopts several measures to further safeguard the Universal Service Fund from waste, fraud, and abuse.  In the Comprehensive Review of the Universal Service Fund Management, Administration, and Oversight proceeding, the Commission fortifies its debarment rule for parties convicted of criminal violations or found civilly liable in connection with acts arising from participation in any of the four universal service programs.  Previously, the Commission's debarment rules applied only to the E-rate Program.  As a result of the changes adopted in this order, bad actors who defraud the program can be prohibited from receiving funds in the High Cost, Low Income, and Rural Healthcare programs. Full Press release

 

Source: FCC, United States

 

A Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações (Anatel) aprovou na quarta-feira, 22, o Termo de Obrigação de Universalização a ser assinado pelas cinco concessionárias de telefonia fixa. O termo viabiliza a utilização dos recursos do Fundo de Universalização dos Serviços de Telecomunicações (Fust) na implementação do Plano de Metas para a Universalização do Serviço Telefônico Fixo Comutado em Instituições de Assistência às Pessoas Portadoras de Deficiência Auditiva (PMU I), aprovado pelo Decreto n.º 6.039, de 7 de fevereiro de 2007.

O termo é o documento necessário para a implementação do Programa de Atendimento às Pessoas com Deficiência Auditiva, instituído pelo Ministério das Comunicações em abril de 2006. Esse projeto, que viabiliza a utilização dos recursos do Fust pela primeira vez, vai fornecer às instituições que assistem pessoas com deficiência auditiva a instalação gratuita de uma linha telefônica na sede da instituição beneficiada; a isenção do pagamento mensal da assinatura básica; e equipamentos de interface, os Terminais de Telecomunicações para Surdos (TTS), que permitam a utilização da telefonia fixa pelas pessoas com deficiência auditiva. Full Press release

Source: ANATEL, Brazil

Remarks on Commission historical step creating a nationwide, interoperable public safety broadband network.

See document at: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-275812A1.pdf

Source: FCC

ANACOM - Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações has decided to apply a deduction of 1% to the weighted average of variation in prices of services reserved to CTT - Correios de Portugal, authorised for 2007. The regulator has further determined that, within a period of 20 working days, CTT shall present a proposal on the measure's implementation, which should be applied by the end of the current year.

ANACOM has made this decision as part of its remit for monitoring and controlling the quality of the universal service provider, and it follows an analysis of the Post Office's 2006 quality of service indicators, which failed to achieve the levels set out in the Universal Postal Service Quality Convention. Full Press release

Source: ANACOM, Portugal

Las empresas Rural Telecom S.A. C. y Consorcio Trébol Informática S.L. e Itaca Perú S.A. se adjudicaron hoy el programa “Banda Ancha Rural a Nivel Nacional”, al ofrecer el menor financiamiento requerido por cada proyecto, así como las mejores condiciones en términos de calidad, cobertura y tarifas.

Rural Telecom se adjudicó las zonas centro, centro norte y nororiente del país, mientras que el Consorcio Trébol e Ítaca Perú se adjudicó las zonas centro sur, norte y sur. Como se recuerda el proyecto está dividido en seis regiones (centro, centro norte, centro sur, nororiente, norte y sur) y los operadores podrán adjudicarse hasta un máximo de tres regiones. Full Press Release

Source: Ministerio de Transportes y Comunicaciones (MTC), Peru

The Commission today proposes measures to make it easier and more lucrative for mobile operators in Europe to offer and develop innovative wireless technologies. By opening radio spectrum for advanced mobile data and multimedia services (such as 3G services that allow video streaming and fast downloads on a mobile handset), the Commission proposals, if they become law, will increase the number and choice of wireless services available, and will expand their geographic coverage to the benefit of all European citizens. The new EU measures will also reduce network deployment costs for Europe's wireless communications industry. Full Press Release

Source: European Commission

200 telecentres installed so far, namely 1/3 of the total of 600 isolated communities in the rural area where ANRCTI planned to ensure access to telephony and Internet services by means of the national programme for the installation of telecentres. Approximately 200,000 people whose life changed completely due to ANRCTI inititative, people that are now able to communicate easier with their relatives and friends from abroad, who have access to information and to whom the world seems closer. More than 15,000 children will broaden their horizon, can have access to knowledge, can be informed.

The 200^th telecentre was installed in Valea Lupsii, marking one third of the entire national programme for the installation of telecentres initiated by ANRCTI. On July 18, 2007,  Dan Georgescu, President of the National Regulatory Authority for Communications and Information Technology, together with Amalia Fodor, PR Manager Orange Romania, were present at Lupsa to celebrate together with the inhabitants this special moment, as well as to present and test the telephony and Internet services offered by the telecentre which Orange Romania installed.

Source: ANRC, Romania

ANRCTI launches for public consultation a draft decision on the rules based on which the Authority will designate the universal service provider which shall have the obligation of making available for the telephony services users a subscribers directory and directory services, that will include the telephone numbers as well as certain identification data of the subscribers of all publicly available telephone services providers.  

 

At present, in Romania, the commercial mechanisms specific to a competitive market do not satisfy the end-users’ right to have access to this type of directories and directory services, set out by the EU Directive which regulates the universal service in the electronic communications sector. The Law no.304/2003 on the Universal Service and users’ rights relating to the electronic communications networks and services, with the subsequent amendments and completions, stipulates that the universal service providers designated by the Authority have the obligation to make available to the end-users at least one subscribers directory, in printed format, electronic format or both, and at least one directory service, which would comprise the subscribers of all fixed or mobile telephone services providers, whether the payment for such services is made in advance (through prepaid cards, for instance) or after the services had been provided.

 

Source: ANRC, Romania

Ofcom today announces the award of seven new community radio licences.

Community radio is a new tier of radio which complements the mix of services already provided by the BBC and commercial radio sectors. Community radio services typically cover a small geographical area and are provided on a not-for-profit basis focusing on the delivery of specific social benefits to enrich a particular geographical community or a community of interest.

Ofcom has awarded community radio licences in the following areas in Scotland and Northern Ireland:

• Stonehaven and the Mearns, South Aberdeenshire
• St Boswells, Borders
• Dunoon, Argyll
• Glasgow
• Barrhead, East Renfrewshire
• Lisburn
• Belfast

Source: OFCOM, United Kingdom

The Federal Communications Commission (ComCom) has designated Swisscom as the universal service licensee from 1 January 2008 onwards. For the next ten years, the licensee will be obliged to provide the services which constitute the universal service in the telecommunications sector to all sections of the population and in all regions of the country. The new licence obliges Swisscom to provide a broadband internet connection in addition to analogue and digital telephone connections.

The universal service in telecommunications will continue to be provided by Swisscom in the future; ComCom has awarded it the licence for the period 2008-1017. This licence will enter into force on 1 January next year. It will continue to be Swisscom's responsibility to guarantee all sections of the population a basic telecommunication service offering which is subject to a price cap and a specific level of quality. In particular, the universal service in Switzerland will incorporate a broadband internet connection, with a 600 / 100 kbit/s transmission speed. For more information, click here.

Source: ComCom

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Berne, 22.06.2007 - The Federal Communications Commission (ComCom) has designated Swisscom as the universal service licensee from 1 January 2008 onwards. For the next ten years, the licensee will be obliged to provide the services which constitute the universal service in the telecommunications sector to all sections of the population and in all regions of the country. The new licence obliges Swisscom to provide a broadband internet connection in addition to analogue and digital telephone connections.

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To keep pace with the market developments, the Telecommunications Authority (TA) today (8 June 2007) announced his decisions to update the existing universal service arrangements.

After considering the submissions in response to the consultation paper of "Review of the Regulatory Framework for Universal Service Arrangement" issued on 28 December 2006, the TA issued a Statement today to conclude the review. The existing universal service arrangements were put in place in 1998. PCCW-HKT Telephone Ltd. (PCCW), the only universal service provider, has been compensated under the Universal Service Contribution (USC) scheme for the net cost of providing universal service to unprofitable customers. At present, the compensation is shared by telecommunications service providers who provide external telecommunications services (commonly known as International Direct Dialling (IDD) services) on the basis of the traffic volume handled.

"The TA agrees with the majority of the respondents to the consultation that the universal service arrangements should be maintained so that affordable basic telephone service will continue to be available to all members of the public," a spokesperson of the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) said.

"However, the market landscape has undergone massive changes since 1998. Competitors of PCCW have rolled out customer access networks to connect directly their customers. More than 76% of households are accommodated in buildings connected by at least one alternative access network constructed by PCCW’s competitors. PCCW’s competitors are competing with PCCW in these buildings. To be fair to the competitors of PCCW, PCCW should no longer receive subsidy in the form of USC in those buildings connected by alternative access networks," continued the spokesperson.

"The TA also updated the methodology for the calculation of the universal service cost. For example, the net cost of providing universal service should not be calculated on an individual customer basis. The net cost of serving all customers connected by the same distribution point should be considered instead," the spokesperson elaborated.

The above changes to the existing universal service arrangements will take effect from 1 July 2007.

"Regarding the funding arrangement, the existing mechanism of sharing the cost of providing universal service on the basis of IDD traffic volume will gradually become unsustainable as more and more traffic will be routed through IP-based networks. The TA decides that the status quo will remain until the end of April 2009, when the fixed-mobile interconnection charge is deregulated and the new funding arrangement will be based on the quantity of telephone numbers allocated," the spokesperson added.

The TA Statement, which is entitled "Review of the Regulatory Framework for Universal Service Arrangements", can be downloaded from OFTA's website at www.ofta.gov.hk .

Source: OFTA, Hong Kong

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday upheld an order by U.S. regulators requiring Internet telephone services like Vonage Holdings Corp. to contribute part of their revenues into a federal subsidy fund.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said the Federal Communications Commission was within its authority last year when it issued an order requiring providers of voice-over-Internet protocol, or VOIP, service to pay into the Universal Service Fund.

The fund subsidizes phone service to rural and low-income areas as well as communications services and Internet access for schools, hospitals and libraries.

Vonage had appealed the decision, arguing that the FCC had exceeded its authority and made mistakes in determining how much the company should pay.

The appeals court struck down two minor parts of the order, but overall it said the FCC had statutory authority to require VOIP providers to make contributions to the fund.

Companies offering long-distance and international telephone services as well as high-speed Internet service via digital subscriber lines must currently contribute 10.9 percent of that revenue into the $7.3 billion fund.

Source: Reuters

06-1276a.pdf (56,14 KB)

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Today, June 1, 2007, the National Regulatory Authority for Communications and Information Technology (ANRCTI) has launched the sixth public tender for the installation of telecentres in 131 new rural localities in 29 counties of Romania. Any person that is both a provider of public electronic communications networks and a provider of publicly available electronic communications services may participate in the tender.

“Telecentres cover elementary communications needs and ensure to rural communities equal chances for development. The national programme for installation of telecentres shall continue until it will enable the inhabitants of all eligible localities to use the multiple services which are made available for them. In the isolated regions from geographic, but mainly from access to communications means viewpoint, it is very important to ensure people’s access to knowledge, information, as well as to help them enlarge their horizon. The tender launched today is addressed to 62,000 inhabitants in 131 new rural localities”, the President of ANRCTI, Dan Georgescu, declared.

The 131 villages were selected from the localities identified as having low access to telephone services. Furthermore, the mayoralties of these localities expressed their availability to participate in the telecentre programme initiated by ANRCTI and committed themselves to fully cover the telecentre management costs.

The list of the localities envisaged by today’s tender for the installation of telecentres is available here, on the ANRCTI website.

The telecentre is a public space equipped with at least two telephones, two computers, a fax and a UPS device. Thus, the inhabitants will be able to make and receive local, national and international calls, including towards the mobile telephony networks. Furthermore, they will be able to call the emergency number - 112 - and have access to Internet and fax.

The documents required for drawing up and submitting the offer in order to participate in the tender for the installation of telecentres may be purchased from the ANRCTI headquarters between June 1, 2007 and July 13, 2007. The parties willing to purchase the documents must send a written request therefor, one day in advance, to the following fax number: +40 21 3075 408. Further requests for details may be transmitted by July 16, 2007. The deadline for submitting the offers is July 30, 2007, 17:00 hours. The offers will be opened on July 31, 2007 at 10:00 hours and the winning offer will be designated by the tender commission within 30 days from the opening date.

Source: ANRC, Romania

On May 22, 2007 Ministry of Communications and Informatization launched a tender for universal services. The tender is for fixed telephony services in rural areas - telephones and paystations; public Internet access points. A deadline for bids has been set for 25 June 2007. Belarusian State Universal Services (fixed telephony and PIAPs) Fund was created in 2007 according to the Presidential Decree N96 (February 20, 2007). All Belarusian telecommunications companies are to pay 1,5 % of their net profit to the Fund. It is planned that BLR 29,285 billion (13,5MUSD) will be paid in the Fund during 2007.

Draft decision of the BIPT Council acting as manager of the universal service fund for social tariffs of 16 May 2007 cancelling the decision of 30 October 2006

Source: BIPT

Chile's telecoms regulator Subtel expects to launch three universal access projects in the next few months, drawing on a subsidy budget of 8.94bn pesos (US$17.2mn), Subtel's head Pablo Bello told press.

The projects include a plan to provide community access centers in 200 neighborhoods, building on the approximately 730 infocenters already installed across the country; a legal move to abolish the difference between rural and town rates on the island of Chiloé; and a 5bn-peso plan to provide connectivity for microenterprises and SMEs, necessary to help them improve productivity.

There is a fourth project already underway, a 2.44bn-peso fiber optic backbone to connect the city of Puerto Montt to Chiloé island and Coyhaique in the far south. Subtel awarded local telco Telsur 1.35bn pesos in subsidies for the project.

Subtel intends to use the 8.9bn-peso telecoms development fund (FDT) to provide subsidies that at least match any investment made by concession winners, so the total cost of universal access projects this year should be around 18bn-20bn pesos, Bello told BNamericas.

Subtel has been in talks with the finance ministry to ensure that this amount remains constant each year going forward, he added.

Despite Chile's famously advanced state in telecommunications there are whole towns that still lack internet access, even towns that are relatively close to Santiago, he told attendees at an event to celebrate International Telecommunications Day (May 17).

Source:Bussines News Americas

infoDev and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) announce the beginning of work on the long-awaited universal access module of their collaborative online ICT Regulation Toolkit.

The module will develop a set of definitions for universal service and universal access that will cover the gamut from traditional telephony and mobile phones, to shared public facilities such as payphones, telecenters, and Internet access points in shops, post offices, libraries, and local government offices, to broadband and next-generation networks. It will also encompass the provision of access to underserved groups such as disabled users, women, youth, and indigenous peoples, as well as coverage in urban and rural environments, schools, health facilities, and other public services. The module will highlight the key role that regulatory reform plays in promoting universal access and will provide regulators with an array of both traditional and innovative tools and approaches that they can consider in formulating their own policies, including universal access funds, output-based aid targeted subsidies, incentives for infrastructure sharing, and authorization and interconnection for local operators. The module will be available in October 2007.

The Federal Network Agency today decreased the price for the local loop (LL) to € 10.50. This means a lowering of the charge for the most important wholesale product in local network competition by 15 cents. Deutsche Telekom AG (DT) had applied for an increase to € 12.03.

"In the final outcome of the analysis, an increase as applied for by Deutsche Telekom AG was out of the question. The increase in the cost of certain important components such as the expected rate of return or of copper since our last decision two years ago, is more than offset by efficiencies achieved, for example, in common costs or by growing synergies in cable installation," said Matthias Kurth, President of the Federal Network Agency.  (…)

Source: Bundesnetzagentur.

“It is ANRCTI’s intention to ensure that all communities in Romania will be connected to telephony and Internet, considering that access to communications represents a fundamental element towards the development of any community and towards maintaining connections between people, in view of improving communication and – why not? – saving lives under emergency situations. Even since 2004, ANRCTI initiated the national programme for the installation of telecentres, a programme that involves both the industry and the local administrations, the support of which we are very keen to obtain and keep since we intend to launch other approximately 270 telecentres this year and provide as many people as possible with access to information and knowledge”, Dan Georgescu, President of ANRCTI, declared today.

 

The telecentres inaugurated today - Sarateni, Vaslui county (installed by Vodafone Romania) and Plesani, in Botosani county (installed by Rartel) – are part of the national programme for the installation of telecentres in villages with low access or without access to telephony services, initiated by ANRCTI in 2004. So far, ANRCTI has organised 5 tenders for the installation of telecentres in a number of 331 localities. 133 telecentres are currently operational.

On today’s occasion, ANRCTI has also launched an action plan for the implementation of universal service in the field of electronic communications for the year 2007. Thus, several objectives have been established: the telecentres will be transformed from informatics centres into information centres, and dedicated training sessions will be organised for the telecentre managers, in view of ensuring the fulfilment of the objectives set out by the 2004 programme.

The need for an effective support to the programme initiated by ANRCTI is confirmed by the fact that, less than a year since their establishment, several telecentres have already diversified their activities and efficiently used the resources made available through the programme. A local radio station, informatics school classes carried out inside the telecentre, commercial transactions finalised by means of the Internet, these are only a few of the good practice examples one can find in the telecentres.

A telecentre is a public site endowed with at least 2 telephone sets, 2 computers and one fax machine, within which the end-users may initiate and receive local, national and international calls. A telecentre may also provide facsimile and data communications services at a transfer rate high enough to allow functional access to the Internet.

A telecentre operates for at least 3 years, the same period for which the universal service providers are designated. After 3 years, the equipment made available by the universal service provider becomes the property of the mayoralty that may decide to continue the administration of the telecentre.

 

Source: ANRCTI, Romania 

Bringing together regulatory authorities from all around the world, the 7th Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR) has identified best practice guidelines needed to facilitate the migration of Next Generation Networks (NGN). The 38-point roadmap is designed to encourage regulatory frameworks that foster innovation, investment and affordable access to NGN. "Our goal is to encourage the design of regulatory frameworks that foster innovation, investment and affordable access to NGNs and that facilitate the migration to NGN and ultimately lead to bridging the digital divide," said Dr Hamadoun I. Touré, ITU Secretary-General. "We believe the best practices adopted at this meeting will ultimately offer the possibility of delivering real benefits to providers and consumers, through cost reduction as well as offering innovative new services". The best practice guidelines underscore the importance of embracing the principles of a clear and transparent regulatory process including the adoption and enforcement of rules; technology-neutral and competitive network provision under a coherent approach that address the issues raised by convergence. The guidelines also call on regulators to adopt forward-looking regimes subjected to regular reassessments to ensure that undue regulatory barriers to competition and innovation are removed. This on-going monitoring would also ensure that users and providers are able to migrate to future networks whenever market conditions are met. Mohamed Al Ghanim, Director General of the TRA of the UAE and Chairman of GSR 2007 said, "GSR is the industry’s premiere symposium for ICT regulators and we are delighted that it has concluded on such a high note. We at the TRA of the United Arab Emirates are firmly committed to adopting the best practices identified at this symposium and tailor them for the UAE market", Al Ghanim added. "We encourage all to reap the benefits of these guidelines in order to collectively raise the standards of the telecommunications industry." Regulators are also urged to adopt investment friendly regulation considered as of paramount importance for the success of NGN network deployment, while maintaining a level playing field and protecting consumer interests. The adoption of flexible but accurate interconnection models are also encouraged to allow smooth transitioning to NGNs. In particular, participants agreed that regulators should take steps to ensure that the market suffers no undue distortion of competitiveness. In view of the high level of convergence both at the transport and service level, participants felt that there was a risk that NGN providers and operators could be in a position to restrict service level competition to their own advantage. There was therefore agreement that regulators should be vigilant and monitor any incident that could require a regulatory response in a way that would not act as a deterrent for NGN service providers and operators. Regulators are also asked to keep in mind the need to create regulatory certainty for both incumbent and competing or alternative providers. "NGN is seen as somewhere between the telecom and Internet worlds, creating a whole new range of issues to be tackled by regulators," said Mr Sami Al-Basheer Al-Morshid, Director of ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT)". "The best practice guidelines endorsed by over 100 CEOs and board members of national regulatory authorities come a long way in addressing the issues and provide the way forward for all regulators around the world," he added. Because the deployment of NGN will not happen overnight, the best practices encourage regulators to define policies that allow for the co-existence of legacy and IP networks, alternative voice services such as VoIP or bundled services that can offer voice together with TV and Internet also called triple play. In doing so, regulators are to consider applying the same obligations to all operators and providers of telephony services whether traditional irrespective of how they are delivered to consumers, under the symmetrical regulatory approach. Commenting on the success of the Symposium, Professor Ibrahim Kadi, Senior Advisor of the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) of Saudi Arabia said, "GSR 2007 met its set objectives of providing networking opportunities and the symposium format facilitated the sharing of knowledge and experiences amongst regulators from all over the world." The best practice guidelines cover all aspects of service provision including authorization, access, interconnection and interoperability, numbering and NGN identification systems, universal access, quality of service, consumer awareness, security and protection. This year’s event introduced a new feature, Speed Exchanges, to provide additional opportunities for participants to meet informally and exchange views. Topics discussed in the Speed Exchanges included interconnection, the enabling environment, consumer protection, quality of service, regulatory implications of VoIP, why holding public consultation on NGN, international roaming, regulatory issues for convergence and what to do with regulatory bottlenecks. Speed Exchanges were also held on building confidence and security in the use of ICT as called for by the Action Plan of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and on the next steps in the negotiations of the World Trade Organization (WTO). "The Speed Exchanges proved extremely useful and came at the right time," expressed Roxanne Maria McElvane, Senior Counselor of International Development at the US Federal Communications Commission International Bureau. "After two days of high-level presentations and discussions, the exchanges allowed us to address specific topics and areas of interest with other regulators from around the world providing greater interaction and networking opportunities." The Symposium was organized by ITU and hosted by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of the United Arab Emirates (TRA). More than 470 participants took part in the Symposium, with Heads and Board Members from 100 national regulatory authorities as well as private sector representatives and international organizations. http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/treg/Events/Seminars/GSR/GSR07/index.html

India's Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has announced that it has advised the Telecom Commission to fine seven telecoms operators, including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications, Hutchison Essar and Tata Teleservices, for failing to meet their roll-out obligations. Under their new Universal Access Service (UAS) licences, the seven operators were obliged to provide 90% external and in-building coverage within their licensed service areas. The DoT has asked the Telecoms Commission to levy a fine of 70 million rupees (US$1.6 million) per service area.

Source: Global Insight.

Biel-Bienne, 01.02.2007 - Swisscom is the only company to have submitted a candidature dossier with a view to the award of the next universal service licence.

The National Regulatory Authority for Communication and Information Technology (ANRCTI) launches a pilot tender in view of designating the universal service providers for 50 rural localities in Olt county. “Each company interested in becoming a universal service provider must submit an offer for the installation of public pay telephones in at least 40 of the 50 localities listed in this group, namely minimum 80%. Any person having the capacity as a provider of publicly available electronic communications networks and, at the same time, the capacity as a provider of publicly available telephone services may participate in the tender”, Dan Cristian Georgescu, President of ANRCTI, declared.

By means of public pay telephones, the citizens in the rural areas may at least initiate local, long-distance and international calls to public fixed telephone networks, calls to public mobile telephone networks, as well as free calls to the unique emergency number (112).

The minimum mandatory lifetime of a public pay telephone is of 4 years. The net cost registered by each universal service provider for purchasing, installing and operating public pay telephones shall be compensated from the universal service fund managed by ANRCTI.

The universal service provider will have the obligation to install the public pay telephones within 120 days after the necessary location is made available, and will therefore benefit from the support of the local authorities. One of the main responsibilities taken over by the local authorities is to make available a proper location and ensure the end-users permanent access (24/24, 7/7) to the services provided by means of the public pay telephones.

Public pay telephones will be installed in localities with less than 400 inhabitants, where the installation of telecentres is not a viable solution. The localities are selected depending on the geographical area, demographic features, degree of availability of the publicly available telephone services, as well as by the commitments taken over by the public local authorities. The list comprising the localities covered by today’s tender for the installation of public pay telephones is available for consultation here, on the website of ANRCTI.

Source: ANRC, Romania

The three-day meeting (5-7 February) will bring together Heads of national regulatory authorities from both developed and developing countries to achieve consensus on the best ways to address the challenges brought about by the migration to NGN networks. 60 heads of regulatory authorities, together with 50 of their commissioners and board members are slated to attend. By 2008, at least 50% of all international telecommunication traffic is expected to be carried on IP networks. IP provides a common language in which different networks (for instance fixed and mobile; local and wide-area) can communicate together. Thus, IP is the touchstone for convergence and a common platform for NGN, while network capacity increases every month. In order to remain strategically competitive in an increasingly converged world of services and content where voice is no longer the sole source of revenue, operators and carriers are migrating from circuit-switched to Internet-Protocol (IP) networks and from there to Next-Generation Networks or NGN, which allow for decoupling the network’s transport and service layers. NGN networks promise to offer full and true convergence of fixed and mobile, voice and data, data and video and IT, telecoms and broadcast sectors. This means that the choice of technology used for infrastructure will no longer have an impact on the kinds and variety of services delivered over that infrastructure. The deployment of NGN networks will also offer ubiquitous access for users of these networks as well as for competing service providers. This shift, while taking place gradually, is already happening in several parts of the world. NGN presents many opportunities but also many complexities and challenges and requires new regulatory thinking to promote investment and ensure that carriers can remain competitive in this new environment while ensuring open access. For more information see: http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/treg/Events/Seminars/GSR/GSR07/

Peru's state investment promotion agency ProInversión has released bidding rules for a US$17mn rural telecoms project, according to the agency's website.

The project aims to provide telecoms service to 3,010 localities with 2 million potential users. The tender calls for broadband internet service for 2,850 of the communities, public telephony for 1,535 and residential service in 95 localities.

Co-financing is available though no amount has been specified. The bidding rules and participation rights cost US$1,000.

Peru's telecoms regulator Osiptel and the country's transport and communications ministry (MTC) will supervise the project. The selected company must handle the installation, maintenance and community training so that residents can use the new services.

ProInversión is accepting comments and questions on the project until February 26 and the deadline for purchasing bidding rules is March 12. The agency will announce further deadlines for the projects after the public comments period.

Source: Business News Americas

[...] On behalf of the President of India, sealed tenders are hereby invited from existing Basic Services Operators (BSO), Cellular Mobile Telephone Service (CMTS) Providers, Unified Access Services Licensees (UASL) and Shortlisted Infrastructure Providers Category-I (IP-Is) for the scheme of “Support from USO Fund for Setting up and Managing Infrastructure Sites and Provision of Mobile Services in specified rural and remote areas of the country”. Support from USO Fund shall be provided to the successful bidder(s) on the Representative Rate arrived through a multi stage bidding process. This Representative Rate shall be provided each year on quarterly basis in arrears for a period of five years. [...]

Source: DoT, India.

Bolivia's telecoms regulator will implement a per second billing scheme for all mobile and fixed line operators in lieu of the current per minute system, local press reported. The billing change came via a presidential decree that said the new system would provide better access to telecommunications for Bolivia's population.[...]

Source: Cellular-News.

The Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) issued today ( 28 December 2006 ) a consultation paper to solicit views from the public and the industry on its proposal of reviewing the universal service obligation (USO) arrangements.

The purpose of the USO is to ensure that basic service, which consists essentially of telephone line service and public payphone service, is available and affordable to all people in Hong Kong on a non-discriminatory basis irrespective of where they live or do business. PCCW-HKT Telephone Ltd. (PCCW-HKTC) is currently the only service provider being charged with the obligation to provide universal service in the territory.

Under the USO scheme, PCCW-HKTC is compensated for the net cost that it has to incur for providing services to unprofitable customers and public payphones. The net cost is shared by all licensees who provide external telecommunications service (ETS), commonly known as IDD service, based on the traffic volume which the individual licensee handles.

"The present USO regulatory framework has been in place since 1998. Although it was updated in 2000, the telecommunications market has since then experienced rapid changes, such as more households being served by alternative network operators, declining profits in the IDD service and emergence of new technologies such as voice over Internet protocol (VoIP). In view of the fast-changing telecommunications landscape, the existing USO regulatory framework may not be sustainable in its present form. There is therefore a need to review the regulatory framework to ensure that it may keep pace with the market and technological developments," a spokesperson of OFTA said.

"At present, 76% of households have already had alternative local fixed network operators serving their buildings. All local fixed network operators also provide ETS and therefore need to bear the costs of PCCW-HKTC serving unprofitable customers. We have to examine whether alternative fixed network operators should continue to subsidise the costs incurred by PCCW-HKTC in serving unprofitable customers when the operators themselves are able and willing to serve these customers without subsidisation. As such, we would like to seek the views of the public and the industry on the proposed exclusion from the USO scheme of areas or buildings with alternative fixed network coverage," the spokesperson added.

"The profit margin of ETS operators has been significantly driven down by the intensive competition since the liberalization of the ETS market in 1999. The advent of VoIP technology and broadband network access has also made possible the provision of international voice service outside the traditional public switched telephone network. We therefore see also the need to review the current sharing mechanism and explore other alternatives in order that we may put in place a fair, sustainable and effective arrangement," elaborated the spokesperson.

Other issues identified in the consultation paper include the scope of the universal service, how the cost for the USO should be assessed and whether competition should be introduced for the provision of the universal service.

Interested parties are invited to submit their comments on the consultation paper on or before 28 February 2007 . The paper can be downloaded from OFTA's website at www.ofta.gov.hk.

Source: OFTA, Hong Kong

Today, December 19, 2006, ANRC has designated the companies that are to install telecentres in 123 more localities in the rural area with limited access to telephone services. The companies that won this tender launched in September 2006 are: Orange Romania, Rartel, the National Radiocommunications Company (Radiocom) and Vodafone Romania.

           

Orange Romania will install 36 telecentres in villages of 18 counties (read more)

Rartel will install 24 telecentres in villages of 14 counties (read more)

The National Radiocommunications Company will install 44 telecentres in villages of 16 counties (read more)

      Vodafone Romania will install 19 telecentres in villages of 13 counties (read more)

 

The installation of the 123 telecentres will start as soon as the winners of the tender, the mayors of the respective localities and ANRC sign the three-party agreements. The three-party agreements provide the obligation of the local administrations to make available to the companies designated as universal service providers, within 15 days, the site required for the telecentre operation. The companies have the obligation to install the telecentres and start providing the services within 120 days from the date when the required space is made available. The 123 telecentres are to be progressively installed by mid-2007.

The net cost for the installation of these 123 telecentres amounts to RON 4,973,881.31, which is to be compensated by ANRC from the universal service fund. On average, the total cost of the equipments installed and of the maintenance of one telecentre for 3 years, as established by the tender, amounts to RON 40,438 (approximately 11.800 Euro). This cost varies from one locality to another, depending on the technology used and on the distance from the telecentre to the last point of the designated provider’s network.

So far, ANRC organised tenders for the installation of telecentres in 331 localities. The telecentres in 124 of these localities are already functioning; the rest are due to be commissioned by the middle of next year.

A telecentre is a public site endowed with at least 2 telephone sets, 2 computers and one fax machine, within which the end-users may initiate and receive local, national and international calls. A telecentre may also provide facsimile and data communications services at a transfer rate high enough to allow functional access to the Internet.

 

Source: ANRC, Romania

In a new round of proceedings against possible infringements of EU telecom rules, the European Commission has opened two new infringement cases against Poland. The Commission is also sending a reasoned opinion to Slovakia and Latvia, opening the second stage of infringement proceedings. The Commission is referring two Member States (France and Poland) to the European Court of Justice and closing one case against Latvia.

“Compliance with EU law is particularly important in the telecom sector, which is increasingly subject to cross-border competition. This is why the Commission will launch infringement proceedings whenever necessary and not shy away from bringing non-compliant Member States before the European Court of Justice,” said Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding. "Independence of National Regulatory Authorities is crucial to ensure that the EU’s regulatory framework for electronic communications is correctly and efficiently applied at national level. We also continue to follow up on the availability of caller location information for the Single European Emergency Number 112 because failure of the Member States to act here may have dire consequences for EU citizens.” [...]

Source: European Commission.

Chief Executives from around the globe will gather from 2-3 December in Hong Kong (just prior to the ITU World Telecom events) for an executive level training programme organized by ITU and infoDev in cooperation with the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA), Hong Kong, China. The training is reserved exclusively for the heads of national regulatory authorities and senior executives of national policy-makers. The programme will focus on New Technologies, New Thinking: ICT Regulation in a Changing World. Rapid technological changes are taking place in the ICT sector, led by the vast deployment of IP networks, the convergence of fixed and mobile networks and services, and the advent of next generation networks. These developments call for new thinking and informed and sound policy/regulatory decisions. More information can be found on http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/treg/Events/Seminars/2006/ceotraining/index.html 

The Brazilian government has announced plans to provide broadband internet access in all municipalities nationwide by the end of next year, writes BNamericas which cites local newspapers quoting the country’s communications minister Hélio Costa. At present, the federal government has 3,258 broadband access points across 2,057 municipalities, but it intends to increase this to 8,000 access points over all of Brazil’s 5,658 municipalities, Costa told a public meeting. The Minister says the state plans to utilise the universal internet access programme, Gesac, to provide broadband internet services via terrestrial and satellite platforms as well as via digital inclusion contracts with telecoms operators. However, critics of the scheme have responded by saying it is over ambitious. José Barbosa Melo, president of the IT and communications committee (CTIC) of the Brazilian American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham), told BNamericas that the government’s plan was ‘not realistic’, saying that a much larger investment was needed to realise its goal. Melo went on to say that in a country where even mobile phone technology, which has been used for much longer than fixed broadband technologies, had not yet achieved coverage of every municipality, it was unlikely that the government could gain broadband nationwide penetration within the next twelve months. Others have gone further to suggest that the minister’s statement is more a publicity stunt than a realistic goal.

Source: Telegeography

The National Regulatory Authority for Communications (ANRC) organised, at its headquarters, the opening of the offers for the installation of telecentres in 123 more rural localities launched for tender in September 2006. The following companies submitted offers for the installation of telecentres in the 32 counties: S.C. 2 K Telecom S.R.L., S.C. TV Adler Trading S.R.L., S.C. Celesta S.R.L., S.C. Orange Romania S.A., S.C. Rartel S.A., the National Radio-Communications Company S.A., S.C. Sensolink S.R.L., S.C. Vodafone Romania S.A. ANRC will analyse the offers submitted by the eight providers and will designate, by December 2006, at the latest, the Universal Service Provider for each locality. Each winner will have the obligation to install, in the locality or localities for which he has been designated, one telecentre where all the inhabitants of the respective village may initiate and receive national and international telephone calls, facsimile and Internet services.

Source: ANRC, Romania

According to reports in Irish newspaper The Sunday Business Post, former fixed line monopoly eircom is considering a plan to ask the government to provide it with EUR200 million (USD252 million) in funding to help it redress deficiencies in its network which it says are hampering its rural broadband rollout programme. Although the state has committed to help fund the upgrade of local exchanges where broadband is deemed economically unviable, the incumbent is asking it to go further and help fix the problem of shared lines in some Irish homes which, it says, dates back to a government directive in the 1980s. In its former guise of Telecom Eireann, the telco was ordered to speed up the deployment of fixed lines by installing a line in each and every house that requested one. However, short cuts were taken which, in some cases, resulted in two households sharing a single line. Although not a problem to traditional voice calls, shared lines cannot be used by both parties for the receipt of broadband services. eircom is to hold talks with the Department of Communications over how to fund its rural broadband programme, but is looking for a government concession on fixing the problem of shared lines, or ‘carriers’ as they are also known. The exact number of lines affected is unknown, but the cost of rectifying the problem is estimated at EUR200 million.
Source: Telegeography

The Argentine regulator, Comisión Nacional de Comunicaciones (CNC), is studying around 90 requests from small operators looking to provide services in remote areas, reports BNamericas. The government last year launched a universal service fund (USF) to encourage the provision of WiLL fixed line services, based on CDMA-450 technology. The areas that will benefit from the projects, once authorised, will include parts of the provinces of Chubut, Córdoba, Santa Fé, Neuquén and Entre Rios, as well as the towns of El Calafate and Merlo.

Source: Telegeography

The Indian government has approved plans to utilise the country’s Universal Services Obligation Fund (USOF) to ramp up the availability of broadband internet and mobile telephony services in rural and remote areas, according to Dow Jones quoting a Cabinet spokesman. All telecom operators contribute 5% of their annual licence fees to the USOF. The government proposes to use INR50 billion (USD1.1 billion) from the USOF to build out mobile and broadband infrastructure to areas not yet covered by operators. ‘The Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Ordinance 2006 will enable the USOF to extend financial support for provision of mobile services in rural and remote areas,’ spokesman Priyaranjan Dasmunsi said.

Sorce: Telegeography

The Singaporean government said it planned to cover most of the country with public wireless internet access by next year and provide nearly 10,000 subsidised computers to low-income students to offer digital opportunities to all its citizens, according to Dow Jones reports citing Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Lee said the government would increase the number of public wireless hot spots from 900 to 5,000 by next year as part of the plan. Lee said about 10,000 households with school-going children would qualify for subsidised computers, and efforts would be made to help the elderly and disabled use the internet.

Source: Global Insight.

The Transport and Communications Ministry is planning to open a tender next month for a rural telephony licence. The winner is expected to be announced by the end of this year and will be able to deploy infrastructure by January 2007. The licence tender is part of the government's rural broadband service implementation programme. The winner will also be required to train a minimum of 56,800 people in new technologies to help them administer the services.

Source: Global Insight.

The International Telecommunication Union ITU has stated that an increase in connectivity has been recorded on ICT/Telecommunication development in least developed countries (LDCs). ITU report released in New York examines key developments in the information and communication technology (ICT) and telecommunications sector including trends and challenges in the world's poorest countries in the period 2001 to 2005. ITU's findings reveal that considerable progress has been made to bridge the digital divide and that teledensity targets set by the Brussels Programme of Action (BPoA) have been met by 25 of the 50 LDCs. [...]

Source: Efem Nkanga, All Africa. 

New York Gov. George Pataki (R.) has signed legislation that will create a task force to explore further deployment of broadband in underserved areas of the state.

Under SB 2747, the Department of Economic Development, in partnership with the state department, the Department of Public Service, and the Office of Technology will recommend alternative financial incentives and programs to "hasten the most beneficial and economic expansion of deployment of broadband services." In making such recommendations, the Department of Economic Development will consider utilizing and expanding federal, state, and local programs and capacities and private sector deployments to the extent practicable.

The task force must submit recommendations by Jan. 1, 2007. The measure was first introduced in early 2005, but failed to advance last session.

Source: Telecommunications Reports.

The FCC has determined that certain prepaid calling card providers should be considered telecommunications service providers, and thus are required to pay intrastate and interstate access charges for interexchange calls and pay into the Universal Service Fund (USF) based on their interstate revenues.

As part of the ruling, which was unveiled by the Commission June 30, regulators said they decided to take action to preserve universal service and to "provide regulatory certainty" while they continue to consider wholesale reform of USF and intercarrier compensation in separate ongoing proceedings. They said their action would provide a level playing field and would reduce the ability of prepaid card providers to "game" the system. (…)

Source: Telecommunications Reports.

The Spanish government is planning to invest EUR231 million (USD295 million) in extending the reach of broadband services in rural areas by 2008, according to business daily Expansión. Fixed line incumbent Telefónica de España is heading the project and says it has already introduced high speed access to more than 1,700 rural communities; the state expects 3,700 such communities, representing a population of 2.55 million, to have broadband access by the end of this year, rising to 6.5 million by 2008.

Source: TeleGeography.

Bangladeshi mobile market leader GrameenPhone has reported that a pilot project to provide internet access and other communications services to rural areas, 'Community Information Centre' (CIC), has met with success. Since February 2006 26 CICs have been established across the country. GrameenPhone’s partners in the project, Grameen Telecom Corporation and Society for Economic and Basic Advancement (SEBA), are involved in selecting and training entrepreneurs to run the village centres, whilst the cellco provides GSM/EDGE infrastructure and technical support.

TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database notes that Grameen Telecom operates the national Village Phone programme, alongside its own parent Grameen Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), acting as the sole provider of telecommunications services to a number of rural areas. Village Phone works as an owner-operated GSM payphone whereby a borrower takes a BDT12,000 (USD200) loan from Grameen Bank to subscribe to GP and is then trained on how to operate it and how to charge others to use it at a profit; most Village Phone participants are women living in remote areas. At the end of 2004 (latest available official figures) there were more than 95,000 Village Phone operators in 28,000 villages across Bangladesh.

Source: TeleGeography

Ireland’s telecoms regulator ComReg has published its findings on the future of the country’s universal service obligation (USO) and says that incumbent operator eircom will be required to provide payphone services, which are still seen as valuable, particularly to parts of the immigrant community. The regulator is also imposing obligations on eircom relating to services for people with a disability. These include braille billing and translation of voice messages into text.

Source: TeleGeography.

South Korea and Japan lead the world in terms of access to digital communications technology and its use, according to a new index released by the UN's International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

The two Asian countries came top of the league table of "digital opportunity" based on eleven technical, economic and social criteria measuring access to computers, the Internet and telephone services according to the ITU's "World Information Society report 2006". They were followed by Denmark, Iceland, Hong Kong, Sweden, Britain, Norway, the Netherlands and Taiwan respectively in the table of 180 countries.

South Korea and Japan were reaping the benefit of their "pioneering take-up" of high-speed broadband and 3G (third-generation) mobile telephone services, the report said.

"Nearly all Internet subscribers in South Korea are broadband subscribers, whilst Japan is the only market in the world where subscribers are more likely to access the Internet through mobile connections, the ITU added.

Tiny Estonia in 20th place in the table was just ahead of the world's most powerful economy, United States.

Developing nations were making significant progress, helped on by major emerging economies in Asia and Latin America, the report said.

China (74th), India (75th), Brazil (71st) and Russia (60th) have recorded the fastest growth in digital opportunity, although there were major differences in the way they had developed their telecommunications.

China and Russia have concentrated on expanding their infrastructure, while India has made a major effort with the affordability of services.

Brazil had succeeded in strengthening all three key pillars for digital growth -- opportunity, infrastructure and use -- "implying rounded and balanced development of the information society", the ITU said.

Despite progress in poorer nations, especially with cellphone or mobile connections, the digital divide is highlighted by the difference in Internet use.

In Europe and North America, about 31 percent of inhabitants use the Internet compared to just 2.6 percent in Africa, and a world average of 13.7 percent, the report said.

However, the ITU found that broadband services are now commercially available in 166 countries, and their price has fallen by up to 20 percent a year over the past two years.

Source: Agence France Presse.

The Philippine’s telecoms regulator the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) plans to require VoIP providers to roll out IP telephony services to specific parts of the country – to be determined by the watchdog – in return for operating licences. The proposal is similar to a scheme introduced back in the 1990s by the NTC on mobile operators, which were forced to build a certain number of fixed lines in those parts of the country deemed less economically viable, the so-called missionary areas, in exchange for concessions to operate wireless networks. The NTC hopes the move will stimulate the development of VoIP and bring down the cost of telecoms access to the average Filipino. Source: TeleGeography.

Telecom operators and technology companies, which rarely share opinion, will work together to secure fast Internet access of the population. Bulgarian leading cellphone operator MobilTel launched the initiative called ITC Broadband Platform, and more than ten companies have already declared participation – dominant fixed-line operator BTC, cable TV operator Eurocom Cable, Siemens, Microsoft, Ericsson, HP Bulgaria and others. The State Agency for Information Technology and Communications (DAITS), the Bulgarian Association of Information Technologies (BAIT), Bulgarian ICT cluster and Communication Regulation Commission (CRC) have pledged support to the project.

The main aim of the project is to increase the Internet access to 50 pct of the Bulgarian population from 6.0 pct at present.

MobilTel CEO, Josef Vinatzer, expects that Bulgarian GDP, generated by IT and telecommunications, will increase by 1.0 pct or by 200 mln euro.

When speaking about broadband Internet, we usually mean data transfer speed of over 256 kilobits per sec. Under the international organisation ITU, however, broadband Internet starts at 2.0 megabits per sec. MobilTel initiative ITC Broadband Platform is about this really high-speed broadband Internet. Under MobilTel data some three million Bulgarians will have access to the Web in 2006 but only 4.6 pct of them will have such a high-speed connection.

The number of dial-up Internet users in Bulgaria is gradually diminishing. Users have to choose among three options for high-speed Internet – LAN networks, cable TV or BTC DSL. Several forthcoming events are expected to stir the market. The first one is the long-awaited appearance of BTC competitors for the DSL service. Though BTC has signed contracts with several telecom operators which are to sell DSL packages using BTC infrastructure, neither of the telecom operators has actually launched the service due to uncompetitive prices and terms.

At the same time cable TV market is undergoing a consolidation. CableTEL recently bought ESTnet (former Evrotur SAT) and Eurocom Bulgaria showed interest in buying Eurcom Plovdiv. Big cable operators plan to significantly boost their presence in the Bulgarian market.

The price is a key criterion in picking the type of Internet access. BTC, whose DSL tariffs were close to the cable TV operators’ tariffs, gradually reduced the prices.

The competition on the high-speed Internet will strengthen after several new players enter the market. Four operators won at end-2005 licences for point-to-multipoint (P2MP) wireless data transfer which allows for offering high-speed mobile Internet. The licence terms oblige the operators to launch the service by end-2006. They will use the WiMAX technology for setting up their networks, which is relatively new and expensive. The two major gas companies in Bulgaria also have telecom plans. Overgas announced it would offer its household subscribers a 10 megabit Internet connection. Competition on the broadband Internet market will be strong in 2007 if gas companies, WiMAX operators and alternative DSL providers are quick to enter this market segment.

Source: Capital Weekly by Katerina Ognyanova , AII Data Processing Ltd.

Incumbent telcos would be the clearest winners, and small providers of interconnected VoIP the biggest losers, if the FCC and Senate proceed as they have been on changes in the Universal Service Fund (USF), according to interviews with industry executives and analysts. Satellite would benefit by becoming eligible under a new fund for places unserved by broadband.

The FCC is expected as early as its meeting today (Wed.) to impose USF contribution obligations on interconnected VoIP providers up to 64.9% of their traffic and to raise the effective maximum, or "safe harbor," on wireless carriers to 37.1% from 28.5%. The moves aim to lighten the estimated $350 million-per-year blow of removing DSL service from the USF contribution base in Aug. as a result of last year's wireline broadband order. (…)

Source: Warren's Washington Internet Daily.

The European Commission will reconsider which "universal" services telephone companies must offer customers as it seeks to simplify regulatory burdens on operators, a document from the EU executive showed. The Commission is reviewing how the European Union's five sets of electronic communications rules should be modernised as services move onto the Internet and television turns digital. Later this month, it will publish proposals that are set to impact a communications industry worth 614 billion euros ($777.5 billion) last year. Universal services -- a minimum range that operators must provide at an affordable price if they want regulatory approval -- will be fundamentally reviewed, the document obtained by Reuters said. Such services include having a nationwide network, providing connections to it on request, and a directory inquiry service. "Irrespective of the outcome of this debate, many of the provisions in the universal service directive are linked to traditional telephone services," the document said. The Commission has already said the obligation to offer universal service will not be extended to mobile phone and broadband operators. Source: Reuters

Indian mobile operator Idea Cellular has launched its Shared Access programme in cooperation with the GSM Association in an attempt to improve communications in rural areas of the country. The scheme aims to create a new breed of local entrepreneur who will lease airtime via their mobile handset to residents in remote municipalities. Idea says tailored software is being developed to provide a printable bill to customers if required, whilst transparency is ensured by the displaying of call charges on the handset itself. After a successful trial in Maharashtra, the service will now be launched across the entire Idea network. Source: TeleGeography.

Australia’s Communications Minister Helen Coonan has approved the latest plan by fixed line incumbent Telstra for delivering services to rural and regional areas. Under the terms of its licence the telco must submit a business plan for service provision in outlying regions every three years; Senator Coonan rejected an initial plan submitted in March for not being detailed enough. She says the new Local Presence Plan is a significant improvement. ‘It contains 27 commitments regarding Telstra's local presence in regional, rural and remote Australia - an increase of ten commitments from the previous draft,’ Senator Coonan told ABC Online. ‘It contains more information about Telstra's planned activities… and more detail about obtaining service level information.’ The plan will be implemented from July.

Under the plan, Telstra must now consult with local communities before decommissioning public telephony services in unprofitable areas. Coonan specifically requested the safeguard be put in place following public outcry in February 2006, when it was reported that Telstra was mulling the disconnection of 5,000 of its 32,000 public payphones. Officially, Telstra is to remove 950 of its payphones over the coming twelve months, but some sections of the press believe the telco is looking to decommission as many as five-times that number in a bid to cut costs.

Meanwhile, Telstra has signed an AUD100 million deal to allow alternative operator People Telecom to continue to resell its broadband and fixed line telephony services until the end of 2007. A current agreement between the two companies expires in July. People will resell only Telstra’s basic ADSL services after it inked a deal to utilise the broadband network of NEC Australia’s NEXTEP division to offer ADSL2+ services in January.

Source: TeleGeography.

Cut-rate PC/hardware Windows XP Starter Edition bundles aren't Microsoft's only solution for bringing computing to the masses. Microsoft unveiled a new financing program designed to make PCs more affordable to emerging-market customers on May 22, the day before the kick-off of its annual Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in Seattle.

The new pay-as-you-go program and associated metering technology that enables it are known collectively as "FlexGo." In partnership with a handful of hardware, telecommunications, retail and financial services partners, Microsoft is launching this week full-fledged FlexGo trials in Brazil and will add trials in India, China, Russia and Mexico within the month, Microsoft officials said.

Microsoft and its partners-which include Advanced Micro Devices, HSBC Bank Brasil, Infineon Technologies, Intel, Lenovo, Phoenix Technologies and Transmeta, as well as local service providers in several countries-are testing FlexGo in two different ways. [...]

Source: eweek.com.

Incumbent Telefónica del Perú announced on Tuesday (16 May) that it is trialling a satellite-based VoIP system for rural areas. This trial is being conducted in the Canta region, 105 km northeast of the capital. The system is being provided by Siemens and to provide the service the operator is using the Spanish satellite fleet operator Hispasat.

Significance: If the trial and the feasibility project are successful, Telefónica del Perú will be able to offer telephony and internet services in other rural regions with no telecommunications services. Therefore, the operator aims to increase its portfolio of services by implementing a cheaper and faster solution.

Source: Global Insight.

Commission wants regional rather than national approach to universal services. The European Commission is readying action against the French government for anti-competitive universal telecommunications service laws, according to the French economic daily, Les Echos. The EC is due on Tuesday to formally ask the French government to change its law on ensuring all citizens have access to affordable telecoms services, even in isolated rural areas. Current French law states that any operator wishing to offer universal service must do so over the entire country. In effect this means that only France Telecom can offer universal service, which flies in the face of the EC directive. Although providing universal telecoms access is costly, any operator that does so is guaranteed a percentage of its competitors' revenues to compensate for the expense of maintaining telecom access in remote places. France Telecom gains an additional advantage in being the only operator to offer ADSL services in certain geographies. The EC would like France to spilt universal service provisioning into regions, which would allow France Telecom's competitors to compete to provide universal access within smaller and more manageable geographical areas. The EC issued France in mid-2005 a quite warning that its law needs to change. If France does not take action, then the EC's next step will be legal action. Source: Total Telecom

There are more mobile phones and computers in the world's poorest countries than ever, but it's far too early to declare that the technological divide between industrialized and developing nations is shrinking.

Granted, organizations such as the International Telecommunications Union are quick to point out that in absolute terms, the digital divide is indeed shrinking, if one is simply to calculate the number of fixed-line and mobile phones as well as Internet connection that are used in the wealthier nations compared to those in poorer countries. That index number was four in 2004, compared to nine at the end of 2000, according to the ITU.

More here...

ITU/BDT is pleased to present the seventh edition of Trends in Telecommunication Reform, an integral part of our dialogue with the world’s information and communications technology (ICT) policymakers and regulators. This 7th edition has been released at a time of remarkable transformation of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector, fueled by a combination of technological, market, policy and regulatory developments. These changes include unparalleled numbers of voice telephone subscribers, the rise of IPenabled networks and Voice over IP (VoIP) services, initial—yet promising—deployment of fixed line broadband and broadband wireless access (BWA) services and intelligent radio devices. At the same time that developed countries are busy planning for the deployment of next generation networks and visualize a world of ubiquitous networks, most developing countries have expanded their continuing quest to provide universal access to basic voice services to include universal access to broadband internet services. Are developing countries making any progress in this quest? How can regulators harness the potential of new technologies and innovative business models to foster ICT sector development?... Summary

The World Telecommunication Development Conference 2006 opens in Doha, Qatar, tomorrow with a call to connect all communities by 2015.

This follows a key decision of the World Summit on the Information Society, which concluded last November in Tunis, to ensure that all villages, schools, libraries and local governments will be connected to information and communication technologies (ICT) by 2015.

The Doha meeting is the first major world development conference of the year, and the first gathering of experts to focus on the implementation of the road map laid out by world leaders at the World Summit on the Information Society, which concluded last November in Tunis. [Full article]

Global Symposium for Regulators Releases Best Practice ‘Connectivity’ Guidelines

Telecommunication regulators participating in the 5th annual ITU Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR) have identified the best practices needed to facilitate access so that the social and economic benefits of the information society can benefit all the world’s citizens. They expressed a shared goal to create national regulatory frameworks that are flexible and that enable competition between multiple private sector service providers who may want to utilize a variety of technology platforms and delivery options.

"Technological innovations and market developments are forcing telecommunication regulators to rethink their regulatory practices," said Hamadoun I. Touré, Director of the ITU Development Bureau. "The reality is that with a full range of ICT services and devices available on different networks – regulators must face the question of whether licences that limit operators to specific services or technologies still makes sense."

The information and communication technology (ICT) sector is undergoing a radical transformation from one based on "plain old telephone service" (POTS) to one that provides voice, data and multimedia applications. At the same time, countries around the world are in the process of updating their licensing and regulatory frameworks to address this convergence and to better promote affordable Internet and broadband access.

ITU’s Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR) brought together the heads of 54 national regulatory authorities from both developed and developing countries, with representatives from 106 countries, to achieve consensus on the best ways to address the challenges of convergence and to achieve the shared goal of affordable access. The GSR, which attracted 350 participants, has a reputation as the most important global venue for regulators to share views and experiences by fostering an open dialogue amongst themselves and with key stakeholders, including the private sector, investors and consumers. Full article

• 5th Global Symposium for Regulators

• Guidelines

The Missing Link report published in 1984, set the early part of the 21st century as a target by when all human beings should have easy access to a telephone. Published by the Commission for Worldwide Telecommunications Development, the report recognized the importance of telecommunications infrastructure for the economic and social development of all countries. But how close are we to achieving the goal of universal access and bridging the digital divide?

According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), there are 1.2 billion main telephone lines and 1.3 billion mobile cellular subscribers in the world. But with a world population of over 6 billion, even when allowing for multiple persons per phoneline, we have not yet reached universal access. Especially considering that over 50% of the main phone lines are located within the 29 richest countries. Full article.

Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) has launched a strategy to license more Local Loop Operators (LLO) in an effort aimed at increasing access to fixed telephone lines. The Director General of CCK recently announced that the Commission had reduced barriers to the granting of local loop licenses. LLOs are expected to satisfy part of Kenya’s significant unmet demand for services (it is estimated that only 10% of Kenyans have access to fixed telephone lines) by complementing the efforts of facilities-based carriers in the provision of local services.

This initiative is in line with Kenya’s undertaking to establish a policy and strategy for universal access to information and communications, announced in early March.

Julio R. Montero
G-REX Advisor
Adapted from: Computer Society of Kenya – Newsletter. March 2004

Regulators map ‘Universal Access’ route to Information and Communication Technology

Telecommunication regulators from around the world delivered a powerful message to world leaders convening in Geneva for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). The regulators identified a series of steps nations can take to bridge the digital divide. They called upon countries to open their information and communications technology (ICT) sectors to greater competition. They further identified the kinds of regulations and practices needed to promote universal access to ICT services. Full article

• 4th Global Symposium for Regulators
• Best practice guidelines

The digital divide is narrowing. It could do little else, with just one fixed phone line per 100 inhabitants in 1995 (that's a whopping three today). But the biggest surprise is the ultimate fill-in technology — mobile phones — and means. New investments by regional carriers are picking up the slack from their counterparts in richer countries that have all but abandoned their commitment to telecommunications development in nations that still lack a basic telecommunications infrastructure.

Mobile phone use in Africa has skyrocketed with cell phone subscribers outnumbering those from fixed lines in countries like Morocco at an astonishing six-to-one rate. Over 80% of all phone users in the Congo, Cameroon, Kenya and Uganda do so from handsets. And mobile phone users more than tripled in Nigeria to 1.5 million in just over a year. The continent leads the world in mobile phone growth.

That surge suggests that fixed line access may morph into an outdated measure of a maturing telecommunications infrastructure, and that follow-on services like Internet access will likely focus on the roving handset, instead. Worldwide, mobile phone users now outnumber fixed line ones with their numbers in low-income countries surging to over 500 million today from 3 million in 1993, for the fastest take-up rates in the world.