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The annual conference of CTIA, the wireless association, was held last week of March 2007 in Florida. The CTIA annual event is said to be ”the world’s largest technology event dedicated exclusively to wireless, broadband convergence and mobile computing technologies”. It is a great place to showcase new technologies, network and socialize with top decision makers and create buzz about upcoming work. For example the much awaited voice search applications from Google and Yahoo were announced here.
The event covers the entire industry from network infrastructure to microprocessors to applications to content to end-user hardware. More info at the CTIA site.
The covered topics for 2007 conference include:
- The Quadruple Play
- Mobile Enterprise
- Mobile Payments
- Mobile Entertainment
- Social Networking & Mobile Communities
- Advertising
- Globalization
- WiMAX
See the webcasts of the conference here.
One of the major highlights is the Emerging Technology Forum track at the conference. The forum focussed on the following four tracks:
For detailed roundup of the conference see this post.
This post is first in a series in which IPTV services in Pakistan will be discussed. First an introduction to IPTV: in simple terms IPTV is television content that, instead of being delivered through traditional formats and cabling, is received by the viewer through the technologies (IP) used for computer networks. IPTV provides multimedia services via a broadband connection with the help of a set-top box (STB) which resembles a traditional cable box. A single connection (fiber optic, copper or cable) coming to your premise can serve phone, TV and Internet service - terms such as FTTH or FTTP are used when fiber optic cable is being used for higher bandwidth transmission.
See the full post at the new site.
Till recently voice and data used to be transported on separate networks. With advances in network technologies this separation is no longer there. Next Generation Networking (NGN) is a term which refers to the technology where a single network is capable of transporting all information and services (voice, data, video) by encapsulating these into packets. NGNs are commonly built around the Internet Protocol, and therefore the term “all-IP” is also sometimes used to describe the transformation towards NGN (adapted from Wikipedia NGN page). The IP Multimedia Subsystem, IMS, is a related concept to NGN. Technologies such as WiFi and WiMAX belong to the NGN area.
The NGN illustration below is from Cisco Systems (get full paper in pdf or html).
ITU Definition of NGN - A NGN is a packet-based network able to provide telecommunication services and able to make use of multiple broadband, QoS-enabled transport technologies and in which service-related functions are independent from underlying transport-related technologies. It enables unfettered access for users to networks and to competing service providers and/or services of their choice. It supports generalized mobility which will allow consistent and ubiquitous provision of services to users.
The interesting thing is that countries like Pakistan were able to adopt (or should I say import?) NGN without too much difficulty as they did not have a hefty investment in old technology infrastructure. The US companies, for example took considerable time to make the change. Only in 2001 the move beyond 2G was made which allowed the US companies to go from circuit switching to packet switching.
As ITU points out, the concept behind NGN is a shift away from an era of separate networks (such as narrowband fixed, broadband fixed, cellular mobile, cable TV), bearing different services (voice, video, text, data) to multiple devices, e.g. fixed handset, mobile handset, PC. NGN moves towards a unitary IP-based network in which the common features of the user environment (for example user preferences, contacts, databases, files and so on) are accessible as the user moves around, say between home, car and office, or between desk and meeting room. From a regulation point of view Next generation networks (NGNs) are likely to require next-generation regulation as the problems of scarcity are replaced by dilemmas of abundance and complexity.
Per ITU the NGN functional architecture should incorporate the following principles.
Support for multiple access technologies: The NGN functional architecture shall offer the configuration flexibility needed to support multiple access technologies.
Distributed control: This will enable adaptation to the distributed processing nature of packet-based networks and support location transparency for distributed computing.
Open control: The network control interface should be open to support service creation, service updating, and incorporation of service logic provision by third parties.
Independent service provisioning: The service provisioning process should be separated from transport network operation by using the above-mentioned distributed, open control mechanism. This is intended to promote a competitive environment for NGN development in order to speed up the provision of diversified NGN services.
Support for services in a converged network: This is needed to generate flexible, easy-to-use multimedia services, by tapping the technical potential of the converged, fixed-mobile functional architecture of the NGN.
Enhanced security and protection: This is the basic principle of an open architecture. It is imperative to protect the network infrastructure by providing mechanisms for security and survivability in the relevant layers.
Alcatel, Nortel, Huawei, Siemens and Cisco are a few of the major companies who dominate NGN. Many of them are suppliers for service providers in Pakistan. As a case study, lets take a look at Wateen’s network which is poised for triple play in Pakistan. Wateen’s website provides the following information about their NGN and other networks.
Wateen’s Next Generation Network (NGN) Core
- IMS enabled converged IP/MPLS core multi-access network based on layered architecture designed to provide quad-play services (voice, data, multimedia and limited mobility) and much more
- Robust class 4 and class 5 soft switches with a host of applications and value-added services to provide depth and breadth to our product offering
Pakistan is one of the early adopter of WiMax technology and Wateen has made ambitious announcements for WiMax rollout in 17 cities. Wateen is using the technology to provide fixed wireless broadband data services for residential use, and through its 5,500 kilometre long haul optical fibre, metro optical fibre rings and FTTx, the company will offer total communication solutions (Triple Play) including voice services, video conferencing, broadband internet and TV viewing. Others such as Dancom and Burraq are also implementing WiMax. For an overview of Wimax in Pakistan see my previous posts, especially this. Despite all this buzz around WiMax there are still many who express doubts about it, especially when 3G is out there.
An article in THE ECONOMIST says that for the 60,000 people attending the 3GSM trade show recently in Barcelona, WiMax was everywhere … on huge banners, on the lips of executives, and on products in display cases.. everywhere, that is, except in the real world. The article says that even as mobile operators start to upgrade their networks to the latest enhanced 3G equipment, WiMax boosters say their technology is superior … and now that WiMax networks are starting to pop up around the world, the industry will soon find out if they are right. I think that startups such as Meraki which is developing low-cost wireless mesh technology and routers, can make a big difference in WiMax adoption.
As discussed at ZDNet here, the market for high-speed connectivity has split into two camps: one stands by wireless standards such as WiMax and Wi-Fi, while the other supports mobile technology 3G and HSDPA. Motorola which is one of main Wimax provider thinks that Wimax can replace wired broadband in 20 years. The GSM camp disagrees. The truth is probably somewhere in between: both mobile and wireless (wimax) technology segments are complementary and can co-exist in the market (see illustration above - source: Alcatel / Forrester). In my opinion, it is the local economics and demand which will favor one technology over the other.
As noted in ZDNet, Wi-Fi and WiMax have been largely confined to facilitating high-speed connectivity to laptops and PDAs, while 3G and HSDPA have focused on mobile phones. However, there are now suggestions that 3G can be extended to laptops, particularly as the data speeds offered by these mobile standards catch up to those provided by WiMax.
Mobilink CEO Zouhar Khaliq has been reported to state that Mobilink had trialled WiMAX in the past but said that no trials were currently underway. “Our main aim is to continue to be the dominant cellular and telecoms player in Pakistan, offering services beyond the cellular space,” Khaliq added.
“Over 80 percent of the world’s population has GSM coverage, but I don’t think that’s true for WiMax ,” a GSM Association officer said. “Why then would you want to invest some millions of dollars building up a WiMax network when you have a [GSM] network that already covers 80 percent of the world’s population?”
The mobile companies in many regions of the world do not enjoy the subscriber growth witnessed today in Pakistan, India and China. Therefore they have to work on new strategies to spur the growth and increase the revenue per subscriber. A recent paper in Alcatel Telecommunications Review (3Q 2006) summarized the challenges of high growth mobile markets and provided some suggestions to increase revenue. The paper “Innovating to maintain momentum in mobile penetration” is available at Alcatel’s site. In this post I’ll share a few key points and figures from their paper.
Figure 1 is a summary of key challenges (click to see larger resolution image). The mobile companies in Pakistan will soon face many of these challenges.
Figure 2 is a graphical representation of growth markets vs. mature markets in terms of digial access index (see my earlier post on digial opportunity index).
Figure 3 presents a view of how the telecom companies can use IP based networks to converge and optimize their solution offerings and at the same time increase their penetration by offering new services such as micro-payments. The next generation networks will play a key role in this growth. Of course some of the technologies shown here - WiMAX for example - are so new that their success or failure is still an open question. Still the point remains that current products and services can take these companies only so far. Companies such as WATEEN are already moving in this direction by providing triple play and mobile services.
Source: Alcatel.
Triple play made its way to Pakistan. Triple Play service is a marketing term for the 3 services: high-speed Internet, Video (TV, Video on Demand) and telephone service - all over a single broadband connection. Wateen, PTCL and Nayatel are a few examples for which services are already or soon to be available in some parts of Lahore and Islamabad. The important question is if these services will be affordable and reliable?
Wateen’s triple play offering was recently unveiled with its services for DHA Lahore, scheduled for commercial launch in January 2007. With all the digging work going on in DHA, it will be a relief for the public. According to the press release by Wateen:
This project will provide DHA residents access to a breadth and depth of 21st century telecommunication and media services through fiber optic and wireless WiMAX networks. Services provided will include innovative telephony calling plans for local, nationwide and international routes, video conferencing/video telephony, true broadband internet (both fixed and wireless), DVD quality TV viewing and Value Added Services such as security & surveillance and interactive gaming.
Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) was awarded the country’s first IPTV operating licence in November 2006 and will be an major competitor. PTCL has yet to announce a timetable for rollout of the service. “We have some exciting plans that we will be announcing soon,” was all PTCL CEO Mohammad Bamakhrama would tell local press. According to discussion forums, PTCL will use Alcatel IPTV solution which is based on partnership with Microsoft.
Alcatel (NYSE:ALA) also helped Naya Tel of Pakistan to supply the region’s first fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) solution to deliver a high bandwidth triple play (voice, video and data) services to over 30,000 subscribers in the capital city of Islamabad. More on this here. Sample rates for Nayatel’s Internet service are:
Now that we have these services available to select few, let’s monitor their success rate in 2007. Price is the main factor here and the one-time cost of the equipment (i.e. ONT) is likely to be the hurdle. If companies can asborb the equipment price in exchange for a contract, it can speed up adoption.
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