Russian telco Prestige Internet says it has completed the first phase of its WiMAX broadband wireless rollout, with networks now deployed in 15 cities. Subscribers in Barnaul, Chelyabinsk, Irkutsk, Khabarovsk, Nizhny Tagil, Novokuznetsk, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Orendurg, Perm, Ryazan, Tyumen, Ufa, Vladivostok and Yekaterinburg can gain high speed wireless internet access for USD49 per month. Dutch-owned Prestige Internet, which operates under the Enforta brand, plans a further 14 city networks by the end of next year. Source: TeleGeography.

U.S. RBOCs have been losing 150,000 subscriber lines per month so far this year. At the same time, Voice over IP (VoIP) service providers are adding about 100,000 subscribers per month. It appears that most of these -- about 100,000 per month -- are being picked up by new Voice over IP (VoIP) service providers. The balance of local service subscription losses -- about 50,000 -- are moving to wireless-only plans or canceling their secondary household lines. TeleGeography predicts that VoIP service providers will capture 22 percent of all local exchange carriers' existing customers, contributing to a cumulative loss of $18.2 billion in local service revenues between 2006 and 2010. Loss of revenues from access charges and consumer long-distance services will result in several billions of dollars of additional damage to traditional telephone service providers. Source:Telegeography

The government of Botswana announced its decision to further liberalize the telecom industry in order to increase competition with enhanced quality of service at reduced costs. The following measures will be instituted: - lift the restriction on the provision of VoIP by value-added network service providers (Aug. 2006); - mobile operators start self providing (transmission links) (Aug 2006); - current fixed line and cellular operators may apply for service-neutral licenses (Sept. 2006); - new entrants may tender for service-neutral rural/district level licenses (Sept. 2006) - liberalization of the international voice gateway (Oct. 2006) - BTC attains a satisfactory level of tariff rebalancing (Dec. 2007) - new entrants may tender for service-neutral national licenses (Dec. 2009) A decision has also been taken to privatize Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC). This will be done by selling off a portion of about 40% of the equity to a strategic equity partner, 5% of the shares would be allotted to citizen employees of BTC, another portion of shares in a privatization trust fund (15-20%), and 25-30% would be retained for a future stock market listing.

Source: Press statement by Minister of Communications, Science and Technology

Fixed and mobile videotelephony services are set to reach 110 million active users in Western Europe by 2011, generating a potential service revenue of E3.5 billion, according to a new report from U.K.-based research and analyst firm Analysys.

The growth rate of videotelephony applications, so far hampered by low quality and poor device form factors, is set to improve as 3G mobile technology and IPTV applications boosts the popularity of the service.

However, the growth of the service depends on improvements in technology, in particular the introduction of higher-bandwidth broadband, as well as more effective marketing, Analysys warned. (…)

Source: Total telecom.

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 Estonian National Communications Board (ENCB) has launched a public tender for the construction of a broadband wireless service in the 450MHz band. The regulator says that the winner will construct a nationwide wireless broadband network offering end users data transfer rates of no less than 144kbps. The tender is technology neutral, but the ENCB has stressed that time is of the essence, saying it will prioritise bidders with a rapid rollout timetable. The winner will be announced by 1 December at the latest.

According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, Estonia is enjoying a boom in internet and broadband usage, due to low prices and the country's dynamic economy. By 31 December 2005 the number of broadband connections had reached an estimated 213,000, a penetration rate of 15%, up from just 50,841 in December 2003 and 31,000 the year before that. The state's forward thinking IT policy has also seen the creation of 700 Public Internet Access Points and 400 free wireless internet zones, as well as the link-up of all schools to the web through the state-run 'Tiger leap' programme. As a result of these initiatives, Estonia nestles among the leading countries in Europe in terms of the number of permanent high speed internet connections, ranked 7th in the European Union in terms of broadband internet penetration.

Source: TeleGeography.

Thai state-run operator CAT Telecom says it is ready to begin rolling out 3G mobile services as soon as regulator the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) clarifies regulations for the next generation technology. CAT is in talks with the Thai arm of Hutchison International, its partner in joint venture Hutchison CAT Wireless Multimedia, about introducing 3G services based on CDMA2000 1xEV-DO technology, and insists that it will be straightforward to upgrade to the new platform. Teerasak Karnchanasakchai, a CAT board member, said the company would seek a 3G licence for the 800MHz frequency band currently used by Hutchison CAT’s CDMA2000 1x and IS-95A networks. The NTC earlier called a meeting for all interested parties to contribute towards setting licensing guidelines for 3G services. Most telecom operators agreed that a 2x15MHz paired spectrum allocation within the 1900MHz-2100MHz band would be suitable to award three W-CDMA 3G licences. According to unconfirmed reports in October 2005, the government previously gave CAT the nod to roll out a CDMA2000 1xEV-DO network, but the licensing requirements for the service remain unclear. State-owned Thai Mobile is the country's sole holder of a 3G licence, awarded by a previous government in August 2000. Source: TeleGeography.

Verizon sued Vonage for what the Bell said are 7 counts of patent infringement related to VoIP technology, the companies said Mon. Adding difficulty to a trying month at Vonage, the suit claims the VoIP provider used technologies originally patented by Verizon and Verizon developers for its gateway interfaces, billing and fraud detection. Curiously, Verizon also cited $500 million raised by Vonage's recent IPO as a strong motivation for the suit, despite massive consensus that the IPO was a catastrophic failure.

Verizon sued in U.S. Dist. Court, Richmond, Va., over 7 patents, including technology for: (1) Termination signaling; (2) network session management; (3) DNS management; (4) IP-based name-number translation; (5) network presence software; (6) integrated services; (7) wireless public gateway management. Verizon claimed funds raised in the IPO allowed Vonage to market and advertise aggressively "services created with Verizon's appropriated technology." The Bell voiced fear that, good economic performance or not, Vonage had added 1.1 million customers the past 15 months, and now has 47% of the domestic non-cable VoIP market.

Vonage respects the valid intellectual property rights of others, the company said Mon. in a statement on its website. The VoIP provider believes its technology is its own, it said, claiming Verizon previously hadn't contacted it about the 7 patents. Vonage wouldn't comment beyond the statement, a spokesman said. [...]

Source: Warren's Washington Internet Daily, Volume 7; Issue 118.

Bids are being tendered to Ukraine's National Commission for Communications Regulation for WiMAX frequencies, reports Prime-Tass. The development comes following the government's recent approval of a plan for the allocation of radio frequencies, which allows the introduction of WiMAX technology from 1 July 2006. The frequencies will be 40 MHz, within the range of 5.47 MHz and 5.67 MHz. Bids will be accepted until 15 July.

Source : Global Insight.

Safaricom, Kenya's leading mobile operator, has reportedly erected a satellite earth station in Nairobi, according to the East African Standard newspaper. This would allow the operator to route its own international traffic, in addition to linking with base stations in remote locations by VSAT. Following the end of fixed-line incumbent Telkom Kenya's monopoly on 30 June 2004, the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) issued a forthright new licensing framework on 8 September 2004, which was to allow cellular mobile operators (GSM) to construct and operate their own international gateways if they choose to do so. On 7 April 2006 the CCK issued a notice saying that it will issue the licences by mid-2006, and gave the statutory 60-day notice period within which interested parties could submit objections. Safaricom also uses the microwave transmission network of Telkom Kenya to route its own traffic into northern Kenya, but said that it will start using VSAT to connect base stations in Daadab, Maralal, Marsabit, El Wak and Lamu. It already uses VSAT to connect base stations beyond the reach of Telkom's network.

Source : Global Insight.

Estonia's National Communications Board (ENCB) has launched a tender for the construction and provision of a broadband network in the 450 MHz frequency band. The successful bidder will be able to construct a network providing services with data transfer rates of no less than 144 kbits/s, according to a press release from the ENCB. The results of the tender will be announced by December 2006.

Source : Global Insight.

Bolivian Minister of Development Carlos Villegas yesterday announced that the government will nationalise Entel Bolivia, as well as three other electricity companies and two railways, as part of the 2006-10 National Development Program, according to reports from EFE News Service. Earlier this year Bolivian President Evo Morales had announced that the state would regain control of 10 partially privatised companies.

Source: Global Insight.

According to BNamericas, Colombia’s communications ministry has cut the rates operators pay for the use of broadband spectrum in the 3.5GHz band. The ministry hopes to facilitate the adoption of wireless internet in the country. Source: TeleGeography.

The Philippines’ National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is calling on Congress to pass a new law that would require all pre-paid mobile users to register their personal details with mobile network operators. The NTC hopes such measures would reduce the incidents of street crime that have blighted mobile users in recent years. ‘We are supporting Congress' initiatives to require the registration of SIM cards because [the NTC believes] this is one very important way of reducing the crime rate,’ NTC Deputy Commissioner Jorge Sarmiento told local press. The watchdog’s move has been opposed by the mobile firms, however, which fear that the process will reduce their handset sales. It is also being criticised by civil rights activists who fear the confidential information could be used by the government in a way that would erode the citizens' right to privacy.

In a separate story, Filipino mobile operator Smart Communications has launched an HSDPA network using equipment supplied by Nokia. Smart has deployed over 1,000 W-CDMA 3G base stations, which are being HSDPA-enabled through a software upgrade.

Source: TeleGeography.

At least 40 national and regional television channels and eight radio channels will provide digital broadcasting services in Bulgaria after 2015, the Communications Regulatory Commission (CRC) said on Monday after an agreement was signed in Geneva during the Regional Radiocommunication Conference of the International Telecommunication Union. The agreement follows two years of negotiations among institutions in Balkan countries. All proposals made by Bulgaria were included in the final digital broadcasting plan and approved by the Regional Conference. In Bulgaria, broadcasting will be digitalized gradually in accordance with a future strategy. The process will involve all interested state bodies. Source: Bulgarian News Agency

Albanian Economy Minister Genc Ruli has revealed that the privatisation of up to 80% of Albtelecom will begin by the end of 2006; the shares will placed on the market through an international tender. The move signals a change of direction from the Albanian government, and follows a failed takeover of the company last year. Calik Eneriji Telekom, a joint venture between a Turkish power utility company and Turk Telekom, agreed to pay USD144 million for a 76% stake, only for the sale to be cancelled in October 2005 when the government claimed the process was against national legislation and not in the interest of the country. Source: TeleGeography.

Delegates from 101 nations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East signed a treaty on Friday to replace traditional radio and TV broadcasts with a standard digital system by 2015, officials said. "This agreement is a big epoch-making decision," said Yoshio Utsumi, secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union, the United Nations agency that organized the negotiations.

Listeners and viewers in the 119-nation region will have a greater choice of radio and television programs which will be available in top quality images and sound, and they will have better telecommunications and mobile technology, said Utsumi. He said it will be possible to have 70,500 digital broadcasting stations in the region, compared with about 5,000 under the European analog system that was adopted in 1961. The treaty is based on the adoption of the European digital standard, as opposed to competitors from the United States and Japan, but the whole world will benefit because other regions will see a big drop in cost of receivers and other equipment and will be able to use the complicated agreement as a model even though they use a different system, officials said.

It will be of special benefit to Africa because "the digital switchover will leapfrog existing technologies to connect the unconnected in underserved and remote communities and close the digital divide," ITU said. The addition of digital broadcasting has already begun in the United States, Japan and some other countries, but the new treaty is the first multiregional accord that that has set a deadline for dropping the old analog system. It involved complex negotiations between neighbors such as Israel and Arab states to avoid interference between frequencies so that analog and digital broadcasts could coexist during the transition period, officials said. Consumers and broadcasters will have to replace their traditional equipment to use the new system. Utsumi said the treaty allows for an additional five years for African nations to convert their VHF transmissions to digital, but that all other broadcasts in the region should be switched over by June 17, 2015.

Source: Alexander G. Higgins, Associated Press Newswires.

A U.S. appeals court on Friday upheld the Federal Communications Commission's latest attempt to ease requirements that the large telephone companies lease their networks to competitors at government-set rates. A divided FCC ruled in December 2004 that companies such as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications should only have to continue providing discount rates for rivals to serve business customers where competition is lacking. Under the new rules for the residential market, the big carriers, known as the Baby Bells, would no longer have to provide the access to their networks that has allowed rivals to serve homes at a low price. The FCC set a transition period for the new regulations to take effect. Still, the Bells and competitor Covad Communications Group Inc. appealed the decision. "Because we conclude the commission's fourth try is a charm, we deny all of the petitions for review," a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The FCC has tried for almost a decade to set local telephone rules to promote competition for service, but the three previous attempts were struck down by the court.

Source:  Reuters.

The net neutrality debate hasn't hit the fever pitch in Europe it has in the U.S., but it's only a matter of time, officials said. Industry players and analysts "know that it will become an important issue over the next 6-12 months" as most telcos roll out IPTV and many invest in content, said analyst Martin Olausson of Strategy Analytics. The EC, which says it doesn't intend to regulate in this area, nevertheless will discuss it in a June 28 communique on its review of the e-communications regulatory framework, sources close to the Commission said Thurs.

Until recently, net neutrality was deemed largely an American issue. The "regulatory environment in the U.S. is very different to the situation in the EU where local loop unbundling (LLU) markets and other wholesale broadband products are regulated to underpin the prospect of sustainable competition in broadband markets," U.K. Office of Communications Chief Policy Partner Kip Meek told us. The EU regulatory framework "provides a degree of [preemptive] regulatory intervention in infrastructure markets from the beginning," he said. Regulators have the power to handle competition problems in unregulated markets, and are committed to a "level playing field in infrastructure," he said.

LLU lets any company offer DSL over an incumbent's network, Olausson said in May. That opens the field for competitors to run new services atop the network, he said. Net neutrality is more important in the U.S., where cable operators and telcos wage facilities-based competition and companies such as Google have no guaranteed network access to offer unbundled services.

Net neutrality arguments in Europe concern only next- generation networks (NGNs) such as Deutsche Telekom's (DT) VDSL fiber system, Olausson said. The question is "who will be able to use the infrastructure," something not at issue in the U.S., he said.

As yet there's no "hot news," but net neutrality shows up increasingly in discussions with industry, Olausson said more recently. Once telcos offer IPTV and content, "it will be very tempting for them to try to keep users in their 'walled garden' to protect their investment," he said. If Apple, say, offers a service competing with British Telecom (BT) IPTV service, "BT will have an incentive to try to limit the effects of such a competitor by either blocking it or making sure it gets a piece of the revenue," he said.

In April, DT and Telecom Italia were reported to be lobbying the EC for the right to charge Google and others for carrying their content. "Some telecom operators have indeed mentioned this issue to the Commission in bilateral meetings," Information Society & Media Comr. Viviane Reding's spokesman told us then. But, he said, the EC had made not concrete request for regulatory intervention.

BT said then it was satisfied with current regulations, admitting its position could change. "Genuinely competitive markets like the one in the U.K. address many of the issues that the neutrality debate is throwing up," a BT spokesman said at the time. BT services are designed around what all customers -- consumers and other service providers -- want. Nevertheless, he said, the issue is "gathering momentum" and, if the regulatory regime were to change, BT's stance might as well.

The EC communique is expected to say a key aim is to ensure that the Internet stays open to new service offerings and to consumers wanting to access, create and distribute the services of their choice, said sources close to the EC. The EC is expected to say that operators can offer different services to different customer groups but dominant players may not discriminate between customers in similar circumstances. But due to a risk that in some cases quality of service could degrade unacceptably, the EC will propose giving national regulatory authorities (NRAs) the power to set minimum quality levels for network transmission services on NGNs based on technical standards set at EU level.

The EC line likely will be that NRAs already have power to impose antitrust rules on operators with significant market power and to address access and interconnection issues, officials said. That power could be used to prevent blocking of information society services or degradation in the quality of e-communications services for 3rd parties, as well as to require interoperability, they said.

The communique likely will say the 4 FCC "net freedoms" -- users' rights to access and distribute lawful content, run applications and connect devices of their choice -- are "equally applicable in Europe," the sources said. But the EC seems to maintain that those freedoms are "best regarded as general guidelines" for regulators and policy-makers, not laws. -- Dugie Standeford

Source: Warren's Washington Internet Daily, Volume 7; Issue 116. 
 

Telecom companies have much work to do to comply with FCC CALEA rules by May 14, 2007, especially since some probably don't understand the complex requirements, panelists said Thurs. on a USTelecom webinar. Developing a system to give law enforcement access to subscriber activity is hard because such data usually are distributed over multiple networks, said VeriSign Vp Raj Puri. Real time access to content requires quickly identifying and isolating all services a targeted subscriber uses, he said.

Among the "gray areas" attorney Albert Gidari described: Whether ISPs are covered if they don't provide their own broadband Internet access. Probably not, meaning Verizon would be covered by the requirements but a company that doesn't own its "access component," such as EarthLink, might not, Gidari said. Another area of uncertainty, he said, is whether gateway routers used by private networks are covered. In a recent decision upholding the FCC CALEA order, the U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., said that issue isn't "ripe" for appeal, leaving the matter murky, said Gidari, who represented some parties in the appeal.

Another "open question" is how to discern between the duties of access and application providers when surveillance of VoIP is sought, Gidari said. "If the access provider has the primary obligation, what is the applications provider required to do?" he asked. Are there situations where an applications provider would have to modify its operations? Gidari asked.

A pending order will decide whether entities providing P2P or one-way VoIP can be exempted, Gidari said. The order will set criteria to weigh when making such a determination, but won't list actual exemptions, he said. Providers will have to apply to the FCC for exemption, Gidari said. FCC discretion to include "electronic communications" under the CALEA mandate could extend to email, instant messaging, P2P and other forms, though DoJ hasn't shown interest in P2P, he said.

Providers will have 2 ways to meet CALEA requirements, said VeriSign Regulatory Affairs Vp Tony Rutkowski. The "do- it-yourself" method has the provider hiring staff, setting up a security system and developing so-called capabilities that enable law enforcement to tap into communications services, he said. The other option is the "trusted 3rd party" method, in which providers give the project to outside firms. Hardware, software and interception gear costs can be high, VeriSign's Puri said. Engineering and technical staffs must decide how to connect law enforcement to the network and ensure that infrastructure on which messages are being intercepted is "isolated" from outside access, he said.

The FCC has said companies can outsource many such tasks to a trusted 3rd party, said Puri, whose company does such work. In selecting a contractor, providers should be sure the company has good security, doesn't require customers to change their network architecture and is financially stable, Puri said. -- Edie Herman

Source: Warren's Washington Internet Daily, Volume 7; Issue 116.

ITU-infoDev ICT Regulation Toolkit Launches Legal and Institutional Framework Module

 

New tools for nations engaged in regulatory and sector reform were released Mon. by the ITU and infoDev, officials said. The ICT Regulation Toolkit consists of modules on key regulatory topics, said Susan Schorr, ITU regulatory officer. "It's designed as a tool for developing countries, primarily," she said. "There are 140 regulators worldwide, so the majority of communications regulators are in developing countries and they are hungry for best practice information... Many regulators understand the concept of regulatory reform, but often need support on the political level." The toolkit has 540 reference materials on rules and policy and about 180 practice notes. Modules on radio spectrum management, new technologies and competition, interconnection and pricing are expected soon. Future modules will cover universal service and regulation, officials said. ITU and infoDev jointly developed the project.

Source:  Communications 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

BATELCO HITS BACK By TARIQ KHONJI MANAMA:

Batelco plans to take legal action against the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) after it ordered the company to stop pre-registering customers for a BD10 Internet package and ordered it to refund those who had already paid.

In a statement issued yesterday, the company said it was forced to pursue all legal means to defend itself against "such an unprecedented and arbitrary approach by the TRA".

Batelco also said that it was not holding any payments for the BD10 package in response to the TRA's order to refund customers who have registered.

"Batelco has been requesting approval from the TRA for this service since January 2006," the company said. "The BD10 package has met all the criteria about offering a service above cost to consumers and thus, Batelco believes, complies with the Telecommunications Law."

The TRA has insisted that Batelco offer a similar service, at wholesale rates, to its competitors.

Despite Batelco's repeated protests to the TRA that it is 'unfair and unreasonable' under the Telecommunications Law to link a retail service with a wholesale one, Batelco has since offered its competitors such a service at significantly more competitive rates than those applying to its retail customers.

Batelco said that since companies had signed up for the service, it must mean that they considered the rates to be fair, equitable and non-discriminatory. "Thus, Batelco is of the opinion that it has met the TRA conditions for the BD10 package," said the statement. "Furthermore, Batelco's offer to its competitors will stimulate strong competition and consumers will significantly benefit compared to current Internet packages.

"Batelco, as part of its submission to the TRA, did receive approval for a number of higher priced Internet packages than the BD10.

"Batelco continues to be concerned as to why the TRA now will not approve this lower priced Internet package, which will benefit consumers in Bahrain.

"Batelco can only conclude that while the BD10 retail offer meets the cost criteria under the Telecommunications Law, the TRA's action is primarily aimed at preventing Batelco from offering this product and from effectively competing in the market."

The "emergency order" issued by the TRA to stop offering customers a BD10 Internet package also asked Batelco to issue a Press release by yesterday explaining that the company wrongfully launched the package as it had not obtained the required approval and was taking steps to rectify the situation and comply with its obligations and the law. It gave Batelco 10 days to refund money to customers who it said had paid in advance for the service.

Source: Gulf Daily News

L'ARCEP propose de fixer le tarif maximal de la terminaison d’appel SMS en métropole à 3 centimes d’euros par SMS pour Orange France et SFR et à 3,5 centimes d’euros pour Bouygues Télécom. L'Autorité notifie ce jour son projet de décision à la Commission européenne et le soumet à consultation publique ; la France est le premier pays en Europe à envisager une régulation sur ce marché de gros. Communiqué. Source: ARCEP.

Vietnam Data Communications (VDC), the wholly owned subsidiary of VNPT, has signed an agreement with Intel to begin a WiMAX trial in the mountainous province of Lao Cai. The trial will begin in early July 2006 and is scheduled to finish in December. VDC received its WiMAX licence in February 2006 and is one of four companies permitted to roll out the technology, although the licences cover fixed WiMAX services only. It is expected that the Ministry of Post and Telematics will issue mobile WiMAX concessions in 2007. Source: TeleGeography.

Finnish telco Elisa Corporation has contracted Siemens to deploy equipment for its next generation broadband network (NGN). Under the terms of the contract, Siemens will supply, install, deploy and maintain an IP-DSLAM (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer) platform to modernise Elisa’s nationwide broadband network. Siemens says the solution is based on an Ethernet technology platform and offers connections under both the ADSL2+ and VDSL2 standards at downlink speeds of up to 24Mbps. The value of the deal was not disclosed. Source: TeleGeography.

Vodafone Ireland says it plans to launch a flat-rate 3G mobile internet access service costing EUR49 (USD61.6) a month and confirmed that the rate would apply to its High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) service, due for launch later this year. Vodafone Ireland has around 250,000 customers signed up to its 3G service and is investing over EUR1 billion in improving the network. It is the country’s leading mobile operator with a market share of around 47%, ahead of nearest rival O2 Ireland. Source: TeleGeography.

Mexican telcos Axtel, Avantel and Alestra have teamed up to threaten legal action against the Federal Telecommunications Commission (Cofetel) over plans to introduce a calling-party-pays (CPP) system for domestic long-distance (DLD) fixed-to-mobile calls, reports Dow Jones Newswire. The three operators say that the introduction of CPP for local fixed-to-mobile services has resulted in fixed line customers subsidising wireless operators to the tune of USD1 billion annually. They claim it is illegal that cellcos can charge wireline operators more for fixed-to-mobile interconnection than they pay for mobile-to-fixed or mobile-to-mobile calls. Cofetel announced plans to extend CPP to DLD as part of its controversial revamp of Mexico’s telecoms regulations announced in April. Source: TeleGeography.

Australia's competition regulator has rejected Telstra's proposed unbundled local loop (ULL) service charge of A$30 (US$22) per month, according to media reports. In a draft decision, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said that the monthly charge, which allows access to the basic infrastructure of Telstra's network, is unreasonable. The commission said that local-loop unbundling (ULL) is a key area in the development of facility-based competition in Australia's telecoms sector. ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said that the commission believes Telstra's proposed average price is unlikely to promote competition, and is likely to heavily distort the use of, and investment in, telecoms infrastructure. The ACCC has said that it is seeking further submissions on its findings by 7 July this year. Telstra originally proposed charging a range of prices from A$13 in central business districts to A$100 for remote areas, which the ACCC rejected last December. Telstra's new management then submitted a national average price of A$30; it argued that in order to provide parity of retail pricing between rural and metropolitan customers, it needed to have parity of wholesale pricing.

Source: Global Insight.

The European Regional Seminar on "Telecommunication Liberalization - Challenges and Opportunities for CEE, CIS and Baltic States", will be held in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova from 20 to 22 June 2006

The Seminar is aimed at building capacity in addressing the following major policy and regulatory issues to ensure competitive and vibrant ICT markets throughout the region and allow for the edification of the Information Society:

• Policies, strategies and regulation for liberalized markets; roles and functions of policymakers, regulators and operators.

• Key subjects of regulation – challenges in implementing effective regulation; interconnection of networks and services; VoIP regulation; and lessons learned.

• Ensuring independence and improving the efficiency of the national regulator by increasing authority and enforcement powers.

As you may be aware, ITU and infoDev are jointly developing the ICT Regulation Toolkit, an online resource for regulators and policy makers. The Toolkit includes two modules that are highly relevant to the themes of this workshop, the Legal and Institutional Framework for Regulatory Authorities and Competition, Interconnection and Price Regulation.

Israeli international telephony provider Xfone Communications has received approval from the Communications Ministry to trial IP telephony, according to Reuters. The Israeli regulator is taking a cautious approach to the introduction of VoIP, issuing permission for the launch of trial services to just a handful of alternative operators. In January 2006 012 Golden Lines had its temporary permit upgraded to become the country's first commercial VoIP concession. Two months later cellco Pelephone was handed a test licence to provide VoIP services to up to 8,500 residential and business customers for a year.

A major debate on the regulation of VoIP services was due to take place in January 2006, but the hearing was postponed due to former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's ill health. The debate has yet to be rescheduled and under new Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, VoIP is currently some way from the top of the agenda. Source: TeleGeography.

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.

Indian utilities companies PowerGrid, Railtel and Oil India are set to become the country’s newest telecoms providers after all three received letters of intent from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) paving the way for the granting of long-distance telephony licences. For PowerGrid and Railtel it marks the end of a decade-long quest to enter the telephony market. All three are only days away from signing the licence agreements, according to the Times of India. The regulator hopes that the utilities companies’ already extensive network infrastructure will help expand the availability of services in remote and rural regions. Source: TeleGeography.

Telecoms minister says 45-MHz to be released from defence services in order to help boost mobile services coverage. India's telecoms minister Dayanidhi Maran said the government will by November this year release 45 megahertz of spectrum that is currently used by the nation's defence services in order to make it available to telecoms operators. "We should be able to release 45 MHz of spectrum from defence this year. The faster we do this, the quicker we will be able to reach our target of providing better services to our people," Maran said following the GSM Association board meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday. At the meeting the GSMA said the number of GSM subscribers globally would hit the 2 billion mark this week, and Maran pointed out India's role in reaching that number. He also said the government is working on an important initiative for enabling shared infrastructure in rural areas to improve connectivity. "We are targeting 250 million subscribers in 2007, and 500 million subscribers by 2010, out of which a major chunk should come from rural India," Maran said. India has 150 million subscribers now, of which two-thirds are mobile users. Maran said India's rural teledensity still languishes at around 1.9%, but stressed that the country cannot move forward unless it supports the 70% of the population who live in rural India. He separately asked operators to help reduce the high cost of international roaming paid by Indian users. Maran said the government is looking to 3G to help connect rural areas and provide e-governance services, and the regulator had begun the process of consulting stakeholders. "We should learn the best practises in the world as we are depending on 3G for e-governance services which will reach out to the rural areas and connect the unconnected," Maran said.

Source: Total telecom.

Glenayre Messaging, a division of Glenayre Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:GEMS), a global leader in providing next-generation messaging solutions, announced it has completed the migration of more than five million MTN mobile subscribers to its next generation voice and video messaging platform, Versera ICE™.

The new platform not only enables millions of South African mobile users to benefit from the latest next generation messaging technology, but according to MTN, should bring considerable reductions in operational costs. For example, MTN has replaced more than 90 legacy system cabinets with just 14 next generation voice mail platform cabinets, delivering more than twice the capacity of the legacy platforms.

“We set out to do what the industry thought was impossible and achieved it in great time,” said Ashraff Paruk, Head: Strategy and Product Innovation at MTN South Africa. “A huge migration such as this one has not been easy, but Glenayre has been responsive and totally committed. Glenayre’s ability to address technical issues rapidly has been a key to the success of this ambitious project.”

The Next Generation platform is now enabling MTN to provide its subscribers with advanced video and voice application capabilities. For example, integration with the MTNLoaded web portal allows subscribers to have greater control over their messaging and mailbox features online. In addition, the Glenayre Versera ICE video platform allows MTN to offer 3G users new ways to access information very rapidly and conveniently through a rich mobile graphic experience.

“Glenayre continues to work with MTN on improving and refining the subscriber experience,” explained Andy Minnaar, Glenayre’s regional sales director in South Africa. “One of the preeminent features of Versera ICE is that it enables many new applications that give MTN’s subscribers the services they want and expect from Africa’s leading mobile operator.”

As one of the industry’s first true next-generation messaging solutions, Versera ICE enables the deployment of multiple applications on a single, open platform while providing carrier-grade quality for both circuit-switched and IP networks. Through its compatibility with IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), Versera ICE is the future-proofed application environment for mobile operators.

Source: Total telecom.

As agreed in Maputo, in 2005, the CEOs of African Regulatory bodies, Telecom and other Services Providers, and Policy Makers from Ministries got together in Yaoundé 7-8 June to discuss the challenges of IP Networks and related services to the African Regulators including the Voice over IP (VoIP). See the agenda and documents of the Forum on Telecommunication Regulation in Africa (FTRA-2006) (English -  French).

Uganda Telecom has completed the first phase of the rollout of a USD5 million IP-based Next Generation Network (NGN). The deployment is being jointly undertaken by Huawei Technologies and Cisco Systems. The second phase is due to be finished by July 2006. Source: TeleGeography.

Uganda Telecom has completed the first phase of the rollout of a USD5 million IP-based Next Generation Network (NGN). The deployment is being jointly undertaken by Huawei Technologies and Cisco Systems. The second phase is due to be finished by July 2006. Source: TeleGeography.

With this paper OPTA wishes to consult interested parties about issues related to KPN's transition towards an ALL-IP network. Closing date for reactions is June 20th 2006. (See KPN’s Next Generation Network: All-IP)

Source: OPTA.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations specialized agency for telecommunications, and infoDev, a multi-donor programme focusing on information and communication technologies (ICT) for development, today launched the second module of their collaborative online ICT Regulation Toolkit, the Legal and Institutional Framework. "This is the single most helpful regulatory tool that I have seen", said Dr. Salomão Manhiça Chairman, Instituto Nacional de Telecomunicações de Moçambique, Mozambique. "It has such a tremendous potential to assist all the staff at the INCM, as well as to help me too", he added. Tracy Cohen, Councillor of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, agrees: "The ICT Regulation Toolkit is a critical resource for regulators, both in developed and developing countries. With its origins in the well known 2000 Telecommunications Regulation Handbook, its credibility and usefulness is already established. The revised toolkit builds on this reputation and is essential reading for all regulators needing to gain access to the leading thinking on effective regulation, especially in a converging environment."

The ICT legal and institutional framework determines how rapidly markets grow in different countries and how many users have access to ICT. An enabling environment is key to reaching the goal of connecting all the world’s villages to ICT by 2015, as agreed by world leaders at the World Summit on the Information Society. The Legal and Institutional Framework Module of the joint ITU-infoDev ICT Regulation Toolkit addresses all of these issues and more. This free online resource brings best practices to the fingertips of policy makers, regulators and stakeholders anywhere in the world. It includes in-depth analysis of the key issues, and real examples of how best practices have been put into action in over 50 countries in both the developed and developing world. It contains a portfolio of over 500 references to laws, regulations, regulatory consultations, proceedings, decisions, licenses and case studies. It is the most comprehensive study of its kind, presenting a wealth of information in a manner that allows for systematic synthesis of regulatory concepts against a backdrop of tried and tested scenarios in developed, transitional and developing economies. To buttress against uncertain change, the module also looks at the future, identifying flexible legal and regulatory solutions to benefit economic growth and consumer welfare. Developing countries are hungry for in-depth information on best regulatory practices, such as financial and structural independence, organizational structure, corporate governance, enforcement and dispute-resolution procedures, staffing, ethics and appraisal processes. They seek answers to questions such as, what responsibilities should regulators be granted in today’s converged ICT world? Who has the power to authorize market entry — the regulator or the ministry? What mechanisms can regulators adopt to provide consumer protection in a competitive environment? What qualifications do regulators require? How much should they be paid? What guidelines apply to public consultations with ICT stakeholders? What new regulatory frameworks have been implemented to address technological changes in today’s converged ICT sector? How can regulators resolve disputes quickly and efficiently to continue to attract investment in services and infrastructure? This latest module of the ICT Regulation Toolkit was developed by a team of experienced regulatory advisors from Telecommunications Management Group, Inc. (TMG), on the basis of an internationally competitive process.

Extensive inputs on the module’s content were received from seasoned regulators, the business community, and regulatory experts at ITU, infoDev and the academic world. It was presented to the wider community of regulators and policy makers at the 2005 ITU Global Symposium for Regulators. Their feedback was utilized to further enrich the module. Designed as a living resource, the module will continue to reflect changes as they impact the sector in the quest to achieve effective and efficient regulation worldwide. See http://www.ictregulationtoolkit.org/

Hong Kong-based telco PCCW is deploying the Homeplug Turbo Powerline networking standard for its broadband and IPTV platforms. The powerline technology will be used to reach broadband customers who are unable or unwilling to install new cables at home. PCCW will give powerline networking adapters to users prepared to self-install in order to distribute broadband access as well as MPEG2-based IPTV around their homes. The adapters are based on Intellon’s turbo chipset which generates transmission speeds of up to 85Mbps. Source: TeleGeography.

Technology publication Computerworld has reported that the government of Porto Alegre – capital city of Brazil’s most southernly state Rio Grande do Sul – will invest USD1.5 million in building a WiMAX network. Coverage will extend to most public buildings such as state offices, schools and health centres. The city’s own government IT and communications company, Procempa, will be in overall charge of the rollout, which will see 28 connection points established by the end of June 2006, and 350 points when the network is eventually fully deployed. Source: TeleGeography.

The president of Italy’s telecoms regulator Agcom says he will consider forcing dominant telco Telecom Italia to separate its retail and network operations. Corrado Calabro told local business daily Il Sole 24 Ore that he has studied the model used in the UK, where BT was made to create a new business unit to handle its network operations and make it easier for competitors to gain equal access to its infrastructure. Source: TeleGeography.

The US House of Representatives has passed a bill which paves the way for telcos such as AT&T, Verizon Communications and BellSouth to offer nationwide pay-TV services. Under previous legislation telecoms operators had to negotiate rollouts on a city-by-city basis, which they argued could take years. The new bill will allow telcos to apply for a national TV licence, enabling them to compete more effectively with cable TV operators which have already added telephony and high speed internet services to their own portfolios. The law will now pass to the Senate for approval and if successful there should be enacted by year-end. BellSouth’s VP of governmental affairs, Herschel Abbott, welcomed the news, commenting: “Completion of video franchise legislation will allow faster rollout of a video service that can provide another competitive alternative to cable, offering the kind of customer service and quality that customers demand.” 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.

According to reports in Japanese business newspaper Nihon Keizai, the country’s Communications Ministry is considering asking dominant fixed line provider NTT to cut the charges it levies on other wireline service providers for use of its fibre-optic lines. The proposal is likely to form part of a report due in July on competition in the Japanese telecommunications market. The monthly fibre-optic access charge per customer household is currently fixed at JPY5,074 (USD44.6) until the end of March 2008, but this could fall by as much as half depending on the outcome of the proposal. Source: TeleGeography.

NGNuk today published the latest NGNuk Chairman’s Update; minutes of recent NGNuk Executive Meetings and details of the organisation’s 90 day plan.  NGNuk is a new industry body set up to focus on the technical and commercial arrangements for Next Generation Network (NGN) development.

Source: Next Generation Networks UK.

The U.K. Office of Communications (Ofcom) wants to regulate Internet dialer software as a controller premium rate service (CPRS), it said Thurs. The move to regulate dialers software that switches a computer's modem setting from one Internet setting to another -- aims to handle a growing consumer problem with rogue dialers. Pay-as-you-go dial-up and unmetered dial-up Internet services would be excluded from the proposed definition of Internet dialer software, Ofcom said. The regulator earlier weighed a shift in its definition of CPRS to clarify that premium-rate services accessed by mobile phone are also regulated, but delayed action out of concern its language inadvertently might exclude reverse SMS and other data services from the scope of PRS regulation. Instead, it suggested removing the mobile services exclusion from premium rate services (PRS) rules, arguing that ordinary calls to mobile phones aren't PRS in the first place. For the same reason it proposed striking the exclusion for personal numbering and radiopaging services. Ofcom will revisit PRS regulation in the context of new services in a policy review beginning shortly, it said. That inquiry will consider whether and how to apply PRS rules to commercial services emerging from mobile, fixed telephony and broadcast, as well as growth in broadband and VoIP billings, as potential routes to content. Ofcom will approve revisions to an Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services code of practice governing premium rate services, it said Thurs.

Source: Warren's Washington Internet Daily.

Please see Conditions regulating Preminum Rate Services.

A U.S. appeals court on Friday upheld Federal Communications Commission rules making it easier for the police and other law enforcement officials to wiretap Internet phone calls.

The decision was a blow to groups who had argued that federal regulators had been inconsistent when they deregulated Internet services under the 1996 Telecommunications Act, while subjecting Internet-based calls to regulation under a law giving the government wiretapping powers.

The FCC in May affirmed that providers of Internet-based phone services, known as voice over Internet protocol, or VOIP, must install systems allowing the FBI, the police, and other law enforcement officials to tap into phone calls. The agency said that Internet-based phone providers must comply with the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act starting in May 2007.

Two days later, education and civil liberties groups challenged the decision before the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. The groups had said that "information services" are exempt from that law, and noted that the FCC treated Internet-phone service as a deregulated "information service" under the 1996 Act.

Source: Dow Jones News Service.

The House of Representatives approved the most extensive telecommunications legislation in a decade on Thursday, largely ratifying the policy agenda of the nation's largest telephone companies. The bill passed by a lopsided vote of 321 to 101. Supporters of the legislation said it would promote competition and lower costs by enabling the telephone companies to offer bundled packages of video, telephone, broadband, wireless and mobile phone services in new markets. They said the legislation was an important antidote to rapidly rising cable television subscription rates. But even as the House took up the measure on Thursday, the political action had already swung to the Senate, which has been peppered by lobbyists and executives from many major telecommunications companies in recent days as it prepares to draft its own version. The prospects there are uncertain. [...]