Regional Overview of Telecom and ICT Development

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Regional Overview of Telecom and ICT Development

• R. B. Kumarapathirana
• Director Project Development
• Asia-Pacific Telecommunity

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Outline

• 1. Telecommunication penetration in the region
• 2. Development of telecommunication sector
• 3. Environment for ensuring Internet access
• 4. Building Information Society

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1. Telecommunication penetration in the region

• (a) Telephones
• Main telephone lines per 100 persons (APT, 2004)

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Main telephone lines per 100 persons (cont. APT,
2004)
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Main telephone lines

• Main telephone lines are important not only for
  voice communication but also for Internet access.
• The disparity may cause further disparity in
  access to ICTs.

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Mobile subscribers per 100 persons (APT, 2004)
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Mobile subscribers per 100 persons (cont. APT,
2004)
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Ratio of mobile subscribers to main telephone
lines (APT, 2004)
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Mobile telephones

• Mobile telephones have improved the access in
  very many developing countries and taken the lead
  in providing access.
• In many developing countries the number of mobile
  phone subscribers exceeds number of main
  telephone lines

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Main telephone lines plus mobile subscribers per
100 persons (APT, 2004)
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Main telephone lines plus mobile subscribers per
100 persons(cont. APT, 2004)
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Total telephone penetration

• Even with development in the mobile sector in
  developing countries there is still much
  disparity among member countries

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(b) Internet and broadband
Internet users per 1000 persons
Myanmar Bangladesh Bhutan India Maldives Sri
Lanka Nepal Viet Nam Pakistan Micronesia Samoa Mon
golia Indonesia Philippines Palau China Iran Thail
and Malaysia Macao New Zealand Brunei Australia Ho
ng Kong Singapore Korea, Rep. Japan
(including mobile Internet in case of Japan)
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Internet users and costs
AUS Australia BAN Bangladesh BHU Bhutan BRU Brunei
CHN China HKG Hong Kong INA Indonesia IND India I
RI Iran JPN Japan KOR Republic of
Korea MAC Macau MAS Malaysia MDV Maldives MGL Mong
ol MYA Myanmar NEP Nepal NZL New
Zealand PAK Pakistan PHI Philippines SIN Singapore
SRI Sri Lanka THA Thailand VIE Vietnam
Internet users (per 1,000 people in 2004 APT
survey, population in 2002 World Bank)
Internet total monthly price ( of monthly GNI
per capita in 2003, World Development Indicators
Online, World Bank)
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Internet users and rural population
AUS Australia BAN Bangladesh BHU Bhutan BRU Brunei
CHN China HKG Hong Kong INA Indonesia IND India I
RI Iran JPN Japan KOR Republic of
Korea MAC Macau MAS Malaysia MDV Maldives MGL Mong
ol MYA Myanmar NEP Nepal NZL New
Zealand PAK Pakistan PAL Palau PHI Philippines SIN
Singapore SRI Sri Lanka THA Thailand VIE Vietnam
Internet users (per 1,000 people in 2004, APT
survey, population in 2002 World Bank)
Rural population ( of total population in 2002,
World Development Indicators Online, World Bank)
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Internet use

• Higher relative cost for Internet access is the
  main impediment for many people.
• Internet is more accessible for urban population
  than for rural population.

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Larger disparity in active use of Internet
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Broadband access costs in some members are among
the lowest in the world.
Price per 100 kbit/s as  of monthly income
1 ITU, Policy and Strategy Trends (October -
December 2003)
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2. Development of telecommunication sector

• (a) Promoting competition in the
  telecommunications sector
• Malaysia Departure from Technology-based
  licenses, Licensing framework separating network
  from the service, CMA
• Nepal UTL a private operator introduced CDMA-WLL
  services in Sept. 2003, Privatization of NTC
  planned
• Bangladesh Abolition of state monopoly planned,
  Formation of Bangladesh Telecommunication
  Regulatory Commission
• India Moving towards unified licensing
• Indonesia Plan to set up an interconnection
  traffic clearing house, Setting up of
  Telecommunication Regulatory Committee
• Pakistan Reduction in yearly license fees
• Hong Kong Liberalization of local fixed network
  market, Jan 2003

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Development in mobile telecommunication

• 3G rollout
• Japan (W-CDMA services started in October 2001, 4
  million subscribers in May 2004),Australia
  (W-CDMA services started in April 2003)Hong Kong
  (W-CDMA services started in Jan
  2004)Korea(CDMA2000-1x services started in Oct
  2000)
• Hong Kong Open network access for Mobile Virtual
  Network Operators (MVNOs)

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(b) Rural Telecommunications

• Technologies in use copper cables, radio systems
  such as VHFUHF microwave systems, cellular, WLL,
  VSAT
• Problems encountered low bandwidth, low quality
• Rural access by telecentres
• Increasing teledensity in rural areas is costly.
  Telephones in rural areas can be shared among
  villagers. - Telecenters

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Telecenters

• India Communication information centers in
  remote states, V-sat based info kiosks for
  citizen centric e-services,Internet Dabhas (Low
  cost Internet café)
• Multipurpose Community Telecenter (Myanmar, with
  assistance from ITU planned in Nepal)
• Philippines Community E-Center
  ProgramAffordable telephone calls and Internet
  access,
• Access for e-government, e-learning,
  e-environment and e-science
• Deployment of broadband
• Malaysia Rural Internet Centres
• Sri Lanka the government encourages
  telecommunication operators to provide telephone
  service in post offices.
• Bhutan ITUs project aimed at providing
  telephones and e-mail in 38 postal offices of
  which 20 are in rural parts of the country

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Universal service (1)

• India
• USO Fund levy as 5 of adjusted gross revenue on
  all telecom operators
• US 936m collected by the end of 2002.
• Support for household services in rural/remote
  areas
• Provide public voice access to 607,000 villages,
  voice data to 40,000 villages
• Indonesia
• USO fund scheme annual US 50m by the government
  1 from operators
• Deployment of 3,010 lines in 2003, 17,000 in
  progress for 2004
• Multiple technologies
• Issues Availability of power, human resources,
  local implementation capacity
• Malaysia
• USO for Telekom Malaysia
• All operators are mandated to contribute to a
  Universal Service Fund
• Mongolia
• Setting up of USO fund

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Universal service (2)

• New Zealand
• Telecommunications Service Obligations requiring
  that price capped local telephone service be
  available to residential users
• Nepal
• Telecom Policy 2004 Access to telephony at
  shouting distance in rural areas, Rural Telecom
  Fund, custom privilege on importation of telecom
  equipment for rural use
• USO Fund 2 levy from licensed operators
• Pakistan
• Universal Internet Access and Subsidized Internet
  Access to allow affordable Internet access
  without limitation of time
• USO for the incumbent to deploy fixed lines in
  rural areas
• New entrants in the long distance, international
  and cellular markets also contribute to USO Fund

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(c) Projects

• Bangladesh Connection to submarine fiber-optic
  cable project, SEA-ME-WE-4 by June 2005
• India Gramin Sanchar Sewak Scheme, Wireless
  phones carried by postmen/franchisees to people
  in remote areas
• Malaysia Multimedia Super Corridor
• Philippines ICT Parks offering competitive
  financial and tax incentives for ICT businesses
• Thailand Rural Telephone Project (public
  telephones in villages), Rural Wireless Broadband
  Access Initiative

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3. Environment for ensuring Internet access

• (a) Factors contributing to broadband deployment
• i) Regulations
• Pro-competitive regulation policy to reduce
  broadband Internet prices
• Deregulation to encourage market entry
• Unbundling of access lines (Australia, Japan,
  Korea, Singapore , Hong Kong)
• Statutory right of access to common areas of
  buildings for Internet rollout (Hong Kong)
• Interconnection to In-building wiring systems or
  local loop underneath public streets (Hong Kong)
• Collocation rules (Japan)
• Fair competition
• Conduct regulation against anti-competitive
  retail pricing (Australia)

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• ii) Technologies employed
• DSL, HFC, optical fibers, LMDS, power line, WLAN
  at hot spots, satellite broadband, WiMax
• iii) Targets and achievements
• Hong Kong Fiber-to-the-building 45 of
  households by mid 2004
• Australia 90 ADSL coverage by 2006
• Malaysia 1 broadband coverage by Q4/2004
• iv) Government support
• Regulatory safeguards (Australia) minimum
  19.2kpbs dial-up, 64kbps ISDN to 96 of the
  population, satellite services for the rest
• Higher Bandwidth Incentive Scheme (HiBIS)
  (Australia)
• LocalNet Unmetered domestic access to encourage
  development of domestic Internet use (Palau)

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(b) Encouraging Internet/computer usage

• Bangladesh Tax exemption on computer items
• Malaysia Tax incentive (Rebate) for purchase of
  computers, One Home One PC Project
• Thailand Low cost PCs provided to low income
  high school and university students

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4. Building Information Society

• a) Education/Capacity Building
• Bangladesh
• Computer courses and distribution of computers at
  secondary and higher secondary school levels
• Computer science courses at universities
• Republic of Korea
• IT equipment support to educational and
  vocational institutes
• Scholarship for IT students in foreign countries
• Myanmar
• Emphasis on ICT education, 900 high schools with
  multimedia classrooms
• Establishment of computer universities
• 455 E-learning centers at universities, colleges
  and high schools

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• Pakistan
• Virtual University
• Philippines
• PC for Public School Program
• Strong Republic School Program
• Thailand
• SchoolNet Thailand
• (b) E-health
• Australia
• Government funding to improve access to
  e-services with increased bandwidth in health and
  education sectors

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• (c) E-government
• Bangladesh
• E-Governance system in 38 ministries and
  divisions
• Japan
• 96.2 of 13,312 application/notification
  procedures for the central government available
  online in March 2004
• Actual usage 66,54 million applications/notificat
  ion made online in FY 2003 (81 of all)
• Malaysia
• Smart card, e-procurement, Project Monitoring
  System, Human Resource Management Information
  System
• Palau
• Applications such as tax and social security to
  be expanded to general government
• Philippines
• E-Local Government Units
• E-Procurement
• Agriculture and fishery data consolidated,
  updated and made available on the network by
  government institutions on agriculture

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Conclusions

• Factors contributing to Telecom and ICT
• Development
• Competitive policy environment
• Application of right technology
• Government leadership in promoting applications
• Incentives by Governments
• Human Capacity building
• Strong Government-industry-people partnership
• Self sustainability through enhanced applications

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Thank you