© Blend Images/Alamy

Next-generation networks

Driven by convergence

Convergence between broadcasting, computing and telecommunications is here, and it is changing the nature of communication services and the networks over which they are delivered. Convergence is largely being driven by the migration to next-generation networks (NGN), which form a new architecture, based on the Internet protocol (IP), that can unify fixed and mobile networks, as well as broadcasting.

NGN can be developed using various technologies, including optical fibre (see Fibre rolls on), satellite, cable, fixed wireless and mobile wireless, or by upgrades to existing copper lines. A number of companies are already rolling out NGN in developed countries, including Japan, the Republic of Korea, and parts of the United States and Western Europe. ITU predicts that, by 2012, a number of developed countries will have full implementation of NGN in fixed-line networks, and in mobile networks by 2020. Developing countries are also seeking to deploy NGN, mainly through wireless broadband technologies. This could dramatically improve access to telecommunications in their remote and rural areas.

ITU plays a key role in regulating the radio-frequency spectrum to help make this happen. It is leading one of the largest technical standards development initiatives ever undertaken, known as the “Next-Generation Network Global Standards Initiative” (NGN-GSI). This focuses on building a global road map of the technologies and services that will define tomorrow’s digital environment. In addition, ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau is studying the status of NGN deployment in different regions of the world and examining how the transition to these networks is affecting regulation.

NGN promise seamless global connectivity over any network and any device, at any time, from anywhere. This has led to new players (including cable television providers, broadband Internet service providers and virtual network operators) to begin moving into territory traditionally dominated by telecommunication companies and State-licensed broadcasters. Companies are increasingly offering “triple-play” packages of voice, Internet access and entertainment over a single connection.

New IPTV standard supports global roll-out

In many countries, voice over the Internet protocol (VoIP) and Internet protocol television (IPTV) have become important drivers for NGN (see Figure 1). IPTV viewers can determine their own viewing schedules, receiving programmes at a time and place of their choice and over a range of devices, from an ordinary television set to a laptop computer, or a third-generation (3G) mobile phone. Users can also share files with friends and family, and post them on the Internet for others to download. In a sense, they are becoming broadcasters themselves.

An important milestone for IPTV was reached in February 2009 with the approval of a new ITU standard known as Recommendation ITU–T Y.1901. It was developed through a wide international effort under the umbrella of ITU’s Internet Protocol Television Global Standards Initiative (IPTV-GSI), with the active participation of service providers and equipment vendors from many countries.

Standards are essential for the roll-out of global IPTV. A second generation of IPTV services could face a change in regulations or market demand that will require interoperation between providers of services and/or networks. One result of this might be that a customer would be able to buy an IPTV box, sign up with a network operator, and then access services from a range of third-party service providers. A standardized IPTV environment could mean an end to “walled garden” approaches that limit subscribers to content from a particular service provider.

Regulation

While NGN are streamlining the delivery of content and services, they are also posing complex challenges for regulators. Before convergence transformed the landscape for information and communication technologies (ICT), individual services ran on separate networks optimized for the services they carried. Now, as they move onto IP-based networks, the digital bits and bytes “co-mingle” and one service becomes indistinguishable from another as they travel across networks. The prioritization of traffic to ensure quality of services becomes an urgent and complex issue. In an NGN world, should different bit streams be regulated differently — and if so, how?

With individuals in the driving seat as both consumers and (increasingly) generators of content, can governments exercise any degree of control to ensure that offensive or dangerous material is not distributed widely? Issues such as copyright, advertising and consumer protection can also prove controversial in the online world, where content can be disseminated instantaneously. This can have major commercial consequences. For example, the music industry is seeing its former model of content distribution being rewritten by the ease with which cheap (and sometimes unlawful) downloads of music can be made from the Internet.

The clearly defined regulations that have traditionally characterized the telecommunication and broadcasting spheres are coming into conflict with the Internet community’s values of self-regulation, where content and applications are judged on their own merit and utility to users.

The World Telecommunication Policy Forum in Lisbon, Portugal, on 22–24 April 2009, will bring together delegates from across the ICT sector to debate the policy and regulatory issues raised by the deployment of NGN.

Investing in super-fast broadband

An essential aspect of NGN is that they can carry one of the most significant developments in ICT in recent years: broadband Internet access. The move from dial-up access to broadband services has had a phenomenal impact on consumers and businesses alike. And now we are on the cusp of a new development — the move to “super-fast” or very high-speed broadband.

In the home, super fast broadband will allow different members of a household to access a variety of high-bandwidth services simultaneously. These could include watching high-definition television (HDTV), playing interactive online games and streaming or downloading music, television programmes and films over the Internet. For businesses, it will enable simultaneous services such as two-way video calls and improved data retrieval.

In order to stimulate the provision of the super-fast broadband that can transform economies, some governments are helping to finance NGN that are being built or planned, even amid the current financial crisis. For example, the Australian government announced on 7 April 2009 a project worth AUS 43 billion to build and operate a new super-fast National Broadband Network. It is expected to be the single largest nation-building infrastructure project in Australian history, and it will:

• Connect 90 per cent of all Australian homes, schools and workplaces with broadband services at speeds of up to 100 Mbit/s — 100 times faster than those currently used by many households and businesses.
• Connect the remaining 10 per cent of premises with next-generation wireless and satellite technologies that will deliver broadband speeds of 12 Mbit/s.
• Directly support up to 25 000 local jobs every year, on average, over the eight-year period of the project.

The new investment is also described as Australia’s biggest reform in telecommunications in two decades because it delivers separation between the infrastructure provider and retail service providers. This means better and fairer infrastructure access for service providers, greater retail competition, and better services for families and businesses.

Country case studies

LG Fibre-optic networks are expected to support a new generation of devices — from television sets to DVD players — which are starting to arrive on the market. IPTV operators will be able to offer interactive services, such as gaming, as well as movies in 3D that can be downloaded straight to the living room.

There is no single migration path to NGN. The diversity of operators’ plans and activities is leading to different regulatory responses. In some countries, regulators and governments are leaving it to market players to decide when and how much to invest; in others, such as Portugal, governments are offering credit lines for the roll-out of next-generation broadband networks. The following case studies illustrate the variety of circumstances to be found.

Austria

Telekom Austria, the country’s incumbent operator, began its first installation of NGN core infrastructure in 2004. By the end of that year, the company had invested EUR 780 million, with plans to invest a similar amount over a five-year period.

Telekom Austria has been carrying domestic long-distance voice traffic using asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) and IP technology for several years. It plans to roll out fibre-to-the-curb infrastructure in cooperation with various municipalities and utilities, and has chosen the “wait and see” strategy for its NGN access deployment.

Meanwhile, Wienstrom, Austria’s largest electricity supplier, is offering fibre-optic broadband access as a wholesale service to other operators. It has connected 10 000 premises with fibre-to-the-home, and plans to reach 50 000 more by the end of 2009. The eventual target is 960 000 homes, at an estimated investment of EUR 10 million.

The Austrian national regulatory authority initiated a discussion process in June 2007 by launching three papers for public consultation. In February 2008, the NGA-NGN industry working group was established to continue discussions on migrating the incumbent’s public-switched telephone network to NGN.

South Africa

In South Africa, mobile operators Vodacom and MTN, along with Neotel (the country’s second national operator), have decided to build together a 5000-km national long-distance fibre-optic network that is estimated to cost some USD 197 million. The companies have agreed to share the costs of trenching and project management, but are expected to provide their own optical fibre and transmission equipment.

As the host nation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, South Africa is capitalizing on advances in 3G mobile communications to ensure that every mobile phone in the country can receive mobile television, and that visitors from around the world can use mobile multimedia services to send images and video footage of the action at South African stadiums. Meanwhile, the “National Broadband Forum” is drafting a framework for the country’s broadband strategy.