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SUMMARY
Executive Summary
This report looks at the infrastructure that supports Asia's
telecommunications markets. The regional market has been continuing its
overall strong growth phase and with that there has been a correspondingly
strong development of infrastructure. The report looks at the telecom
infrastructure in each of the region's economies. Governments across Asia have
long recognised - some earlier than others - that there needed to be some
encouragement of private sector investment to meet the demand for the
all-important investment capital in the telecom sector. At the same time, it
was generally well recognised that this strategy could not rely on local
investment alone, and would inevitably mean a substantial level of foreign
investment. Of course, despite this recognition, there has nevertheless been
some resistance within governments to opening up the telecom sector to foreign
investors and as a consequence the level of ‘encouragement' has been
variable.
The changing nature of the telecom market has also had a major impact on the
approach to investment in infrastructure. With shifting revenue patterns
across the market segments and falling ARPUs on many services, operators have
been more selective about what they actually invest in. Telecom operators
throughout Asia have been increasing investment levels on the back of
carefully considered investment strategies. This has seen companies shifting
business focus, looking for new ways to add value to existing revenue streams;
it has also seen a strong desire to leverage new value from infrastructure
that is already in place.
Over a number of decades the economies of Asia have progressively built
substantial fixed-line national networks followed by national mobile networks.
In many of the developing nations of the region, the building of fixed-line
infrastructure was not far advanced before it was overwhelmed by the
introduction of mobile infrastructure. This has created the phenomenon of
‘substitution' in many of the markets of Asia (where mobile services
perform the function of the non-existent fixed services.) Nevertheless,
despite the unevenness in disposition, fixed infrastructure remains an
important component in the overall development of the region's telecom sector.
By March 2008, Asia had infrastructure in place supporting a total of more
than two billion telephone subscribers; of these, more than 630 million were
fixed-line subscribers, the remainder of course being mobile subscribers.
More recently the focus of infrastructure building has shifted to the
upgrading of domestic telecoms networks to Next Generation Networks.
Basically, this process is seeing large scale investment by Asia's leading
telecoms markets in new-generation IP-based telecommunications networks. Those
countries that have government backing for NGN roll-out are the ones that are
setting the pace. Even some of the lesser-developed markets are pushing hard
on this front.
In addition to the national networks, international connectivity remains
central to the overall effectiveness of the region's telecommunications
services. Submarine cable routes criss-cross the Asia Pacific area, providing
both intra-regional and inter-regional networks. This sector of the market has
been characterised by fluctuating supply and demand, which in turn has seen
somewhat erratic investment strategies. Over-supply of capacity has been a
phenomenon in the market. More recently it has been recognised that
investments need to be more focused on growth and less speculative. Starting
in 2007, a series of new submarine cable projects were being proposed in the
region, mainly trans-Pacific networks aimed at a particular predicted
shortfall in capacity between Asia and the US as Asia's broadband usage
started to rapidly increase. However, it was not certain that all these
projects would come to fruition, as their respective business cases undergo
closer scrutiny.
In the meantime, players operating within the region, including VSNL, FLAG
Telecom and PacNet (formerly Asia Netcom), among others, were lighting
additional wavelength and fibre pairs on an ‘as-needed' basis. By
adopting this incremental approach to managing spare circuit inventories the
operators were working to bring lit bandwidth supply and bandwidth demand into
balance. Operators needed to make more of what capacity they already had
before getting involved in a new round of submarine network construction and
another boom. As the demand for wholesale services has continued to rise in
Asia, still driven in the short term by voice services, but in the longer term
by data services, there has been a boom in IP-based services, with the volume
of international VoIP traffic into and out of Asia increasing at a rapid rate
at the expense of the traditional IDD traffic. In the short term this has
distorted the demand for bandwidth. However, in the longer term, this will
inevitably lead to demand for more optical fibre networks to support the
necessary increased bandwidth.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Afghanistan
- 1.1 Overview
- 1.2 Infrastructure projects
- 1.2.1 Globecomm contracts
- 1.2.2 AWCC's microwave ring
2. Armenia
- 2.1 Local and national
- 2.2 International
3. Azerbaijan
- 3.1 National telecom network
- 3.2 International infrastructure
- 3.3 Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) cable network
4. Bangladesh
- 4.1 National telecom network
- 4.1.1 Fibre optic networks
- 4.1.2 Public payphones
- 4.1.3 Grameen Telecom
- 4.2 International infrastructure
- 4.2.1 Satellite networks
- 4.2.2 Submarine cable networks
5. Bhutan
- 5.1 National telecom network
- 5.1.1 Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSATs)
- 5.1.2 E-Shabtog
- 5.2 International infrastructure
6. Brunei Darussalam
- 6.1 National telecom network
- 6.1.1 Telecommunications development project
- 6.1.2 Public payphones
- 6.1.3 GSM payphones
- 6.1.4 Brunei Information Infrastructure
- 6.2 International infrastructure
- 6.2.1 Trans-Borneo Optical Cable Network
- 6.2.2 Submarine cable networks
- 6.2.3 Satellite networks
- 6.3 Infrastructure developments
- 6.3.1 Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
- 6.3.2 Next Generation Networks (NGNs)
7. Cambodia
- 7.1 National telecom network
- 7.2 International infrastructure
- 7.2.1 Greater Mekong Subregion Telecommunications Cooperation Group
8. China
- 8.1 Overview of infrastructure developments in China
- 8.1.1 Official condemnation of redundant network construction
- 8.1.2 Analysis - China's telcos need structural separation - January
2007
- 8.2 National telecom networks
- 8.2.1 Backbone Internet networks
- 8.3 International infrastructure
- 8.3.1 Submarine cable infrastructure
- 8.3.2 Satellite infrastructure
- 8.4 Fibre-to-the-Home (FttH)
- 8.4.1 Market overview
- 8.4.2 Gigabit Ethernet/FTTx+LAN
- 8.5 Broadband over Powerline (BPL)/Powerline Communications (PLC)
- 8.6 Next Generation Networks (NGNs)
- 8.6.1 World's largest NGN in the works
- 8.6.2 China Railway fibre network
- 8.6.3 High-speed network technologies
- 8.6.4 Data and Multi-Media Communications Network
- 8.7 IP-Virtual Private Network (IP-VPN)
- 8.7.1 Growth of IP-VPN in China
- 8.7.2 Peer-to-Peer (P2P) streaming
- 8.7.3 International Ethernet Private Line (IEPL)
- 8.8 IP telephony/ VoIP
- 8.8.1 Market overview
- 8.8.2 Major VoIP networks
- 8.9 Telecoms & IT
- 8.9.1 Data communications
9. Georgia
- 9.1 National telecom network
- 9.2 International infrastructure
10. Hong Kong
- 10.1 Overview
- 10.2 Mainland connection
- 10.3 National infrastructure
- 10.4 Full liberalisation of FTNS market
- 10.4.1 Local and STD calls
- 10.4.2 International calls
- 10.5 Submarine cable networks
- 10.5.1 Level 3 Communications Ltd
- 10.5.2 Teleglobe (VSNL International)
- 10.5.3 Asia Netcom (formerly Asia Global Crossing)
- 10.5.4 China Unicom (Hong Kong) Group Ltd
- 10.5.5 Hutchison Global Telecommunications (Hong Kong)
- 10.5.6 C2C Pte Ltd
- 10.5.7 MCI (WorldCom)
- 10.5.8 Telstra/PCCW strategy
- 10.5.9 Tricom Asia
- 10.6 Satellite networks
- 10.6.1 AsiaSat
- 10.6.2 APStar
- 10.6.3 Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS)
11. India
- 11.1 National infrastructure
- 11.1.1 Overview
- 11.1.2 Network development
- 11.1.3 National network
- 11.1.4 Tariffs
- 11.1.5 Infrastructure sharing
- 11.1.6 Rural and regional networks
- 11.1.7 Fibre optic cable projects
- 11.1.8 Wireless Local Loop (WLL)
- 11.2 International infrastructure
- 11.2.1 Overview
- 11.2.2 India-Pakistan
- 11.2.3 Submarine cable networks
- 11.2.4 Satellite communications
- 11.3 Infrastructure developments
- 11.3.1 Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
- 11.3.2 IP networks
- 11.3.3 Next Generation Networks (NGNs)
12. Indonesia
- 12.1 National infrastructure
- 12.1.1 Overview
- 12.1.2 Infrastructure developments
- 12.1.3 Joint operating service (KSO) ventures - five-zone plan
- 12.1.4 Rural telephony
- 12.1.5 Wireless Local Loop (WLL)
- 12.1.6 Sumatra High Performance Back Bone project
- 12.2 International infrastructure
- 12.2.1 International gateway exchanges
- 12.2.2 Submarine cable networks
- 12.2.3 Satellite networks
13. Japan
- 13.1 Overview of infrastructure developments in Japan
- 13.1.1 The push to develop Next Generation Network (NGN) standards
- 13.1.2 Opening up the last mile
- 13.2 Regulatory issues
- 13.2.1 Policy on national information superhighway
- 13.2.2 Government's IT Basic Strategy
- 13.2.3 Government plan for ubiquitous networks
- 13.3 Major national infrastructure players
- 13.3.1 Crosswave Communications
- 13.3.2 KDDI Corp
- 13.3.3 NTT Corp
- 13.3.4 Softbank
- 13.3.5 Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) and Kansai Electric Power (KEPCO)
- 13.3.6 Willcom (formerly DDI Pocket)
- 13.3.7 Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ)
- 13.3.8 Jupiter Telecommunications (J:COM)
- 13.3.9 China Network Communications
- 13.4 Broadband networks
- 13.5 Fibre-to-the-Home (FttH)
- 13.5.1 Market overview
- 13.5.2 Development patterns
- 13.5.3 Fibre-to-the-Curb (FttC)
- 13.6 IPv6
- 13.7 International submarine cable infrastructure
- 13.8 Satellite infrastructure
- 13.8.1 Overview
- 13.8.2 Plans for powerful broadband satellite for 2015
- 13.8.3 Japanese satellite provides Internet access at 1.2Gb/s
- 13.8.4 Global Multimedia Mobile Satellite Communications (GMMSC)
- 13.8.5 Inmarsat
- 13.8.6 Asia Pacific Mobile Telecommunications (APMT)
- 13.8.7 Japan's Space Development Plan
- 13.8.8 Major satellite operators
- 13.9 Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
- 13.9.1 Overview
- 13.9.2 Major VoIP providers
- 13.9.3 Regulatory environment for IP telephony
14. Kazakhstan
- 14.1 National telecom network
- 14.1.1 National fibre optic cable network
- 14.1.2 Wireless Local Loop (WLL)
- 14.2 International infrastructure
- 14.2.1 Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE)
- 14.2.2 Satellite networks
15. Kyrgyzstan
- 15.1 National telecom network
- 15.2 International infrastructure
16. Laos
- 16.1 National telecom network
- 16.1.1 Rural Telecom Project
- 16.2 International infrastructure
- 16.2.1 Terrestrial cable links
- 16.2.2 Asian Development Bank Backbone Telecommunications Network
- 16.2.3 Proposed satellite system
17. Macau
- 17.1 Domestic and international
18. Malaysia
- 18.1 Overview
- 18.2 National telecom network
- 18.2.1 Customer Access Network (CAN)
- 18.2.2 Fixed-line networks
- 18.2.3 Wireless Local Loop (WLL)
- 18.2.4 Fibre optic backbones
- 18.2.5 National numbering plan
- 18.2.6 Corporate Information Superhighway (COINS)
- 18.2.7 Infrastructure audit
- 18.2.8 Universal Service Provision (USP)
- 18.2.9 Next Generation Networks (NGNs)
- 18.2.10 Internet Protocol TV (IPTV)
- 18.3 International infrastructure
- 18.3.1 International gateways
- 18.3.2 Submarine cable networks
- 18.3.3 Terrestrial cable networks
- 18.3.4 Satellite networks
- 18.4 Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
19. Maldives
- 19.1 National telecom network
- 19.2 International infrastructure
- 19.2.1 Satellite networks
- 19.2.2 Submarine cable networks
20. Mongolia
- 20.1 National telecom network
- 20.2 International infrastructure
21. Myanmar
- 21.1 National infrastructure
- 21.1.1 Wireless Local Loop (WLL)
- 21.2 International infrastructure
22. Nepal
- 22.1 National telecom network
- 22.1.1 Nepal East West SDH project
- 22.2 International infrastructure
23. North Korea
- 23.1 National telecom network
- 23.1.1 Telecommunications modernisation plans
- 23.2 International infrastructure
- 23.2.1 Satellite networks
- 23.2.2 International calls
24. Pakistan
- 24.1 National telecom network
- 24.1.1 Fibre optic networks
- 24.1.2 Broadband network
- 24.1.3 Payphones and Public Call Offices (PCOs)
- 24.1.4 Wireless Local Loop (WLL)
- 24.1.5 Next Generation Networks (NGN)
- 24.2 International infrastructure
- 24.2.1 Submarine cable networks
- 24.2.2 Satellite networks and systems
- 24.2.3 VSAT networks
- 24.2.4 Paksat Project
- 24.3 Infrastructure developments
- 24.3.1 Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
- 24.3.2 IP networks
25. Philippines
- 25.1 Overview
- 25.2 National telecom network
- 25.2.1 Service Area Scheme (SAS)
- 25.2.2 Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN)
- 25.2.3 National long-distance
- 25.2.4 Payphones
- 25.3 International infrastructure
- 25.3.1 International gateways
- 25.3.2 Submarine cable networks
- 25.3.3 Satellite systems
- 25.3.4 Carriers' carriers
- 25.3.5 Common carriers
- 25.4 Infrastructure developments
- 25.4.1 Wireless Local Loop (WLL)
- 25.4.2 Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
- 25.4.3 VSAT services
- 25.4.4 Next Generation Networks (NGNs)
26. Singapore
- 26.1 National telecom network
- 26.1.1 Overview
- 26.1.2 StarHub's network
- 26.1.3 The MobileOne Network
- 26.1.4 Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC)
- 26.1.5 Triple play services
- 26.2 International infrastructure
- 26.2.1 Submarine cable networks
- 26.2.2 Satellite networks
- 26.3 Infrastructure developments
- 26.3.1 International services
- 26.3.2 Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
- 26.3.3 Internet Protocol (IP) networks
- 26.3.4 IP-VPNs
- 26.3.5 Next Generation National Infocomm Infrastructure (Next Gen NII)
27. South Korea
- 27.1 Overview of infrastructure developments in South Korea
- 27.1.1 Introduction
- 27.1.2 Infrastructure investment overview
- 27.2 Regulatory issues
- 27.2.1 Government support for infrastructure
- 27.2.2 Korean Information Infrastructure (KII) project
- 27.2.3 IT839 Strategy
- 27.3 Next Generation Network (NGN)
- 27.3.1 Market overview
- 27.3.2 Ubiquitous Korea (uKorea)
- 27.4 Major national infrastructure players
- 27.5 Fibre-to-the-Home (FttH)
- 27.6 Broadband over Powerline (BPL)/Powerline Communications (PLC)
- 27.7 IPv6
- 27.8 IP-Virtual Private Network (IP-VPN)
- 27.9 Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
- 27.9.1 Market overview
- 27.9.2 Internet phone services go mainstream
- 27.9.3 Issuance of VoIP licences
- 27.10 Apartment LANs
- 27.11 National submarine cable infrastructure
- 27.12 International submarine cable infrastructure
- 27.13 Satellite infrastructure
- 27.13.1 KoreaSat (KT)
- 27.13.2 Dacom
- 27.13.3 SK Telecom/MBSat satellite for mobile Digital Multimedia
Broadcasting (DMB)
- 27.13.4 Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI)
- 27.14 Data communications
- 27.14.1 KT Hitel (KTH)
- 27.14.2 Korea Thrunet data services
- 27.14.3 Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)
- 27.14.4 Value-Added Networks (VANs)
- 27.14.5 Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSATs)
28. Sri Lanka
- 28.1 Overview
- 28.2 National telecom network
- 28.2.1 Wireless Local Loop (WLL)
- 28.2.2 Fibre optic network
- 28.2.3 Payphones
- 28.2.4 Numbering plan
- 28.2.5 Internet Protocol (IP) networks
- 28.2.6 Rural communications
- 28.3 International infrastructure
- 28.4 Telecom City Project
29. Taiwan
- 29.1 National telecom network
- 29.1.1 NGN/IP networks
- 29.1.2 Network expansion
- 29.2 International infrastructure
- 29.2.1 Submarine cable networks
- 29.2.2 Satellite networks
30. Tajikistan
- 30.1 National and international
- 30.2 Infrastructure developments
- 30.2.1 Next Generation Network (NGN)
31. Thailand
- 31.1 National telecom network
- 31.1.1 Overview
- 31.1.2 Next Generation Network (NGN)
- 31.1.3 SDH project
- 31.1.4 Public payphones
- 31.1.5 Build-Transfer-Operate (BTO)
- 31.1.6 Fibre-to-the-Home (FttH)
- 31.2 International infrastructure
- 31.2.1 Submarine cable networks
- 31.2.2 Satellite networks
32. Timor Leste
- 32.1 International infrastructure
- 32.1.1 Satellite networks
33. Turkmenistan
- 33.1 National and international
34. Uzbekistan
- 34.1 National telecom network
- 34.1.1 Fibre optic cables
- 34.2 Satellite communications
35. Vietnam
- 35.1 National telecom network
- 35.1.1 Background to development
- 35.1.2 Payphones
- 35.1.3 Coordination of infrastructure development
- 35.1.4 Next Generation Networks (NGNs)
- 35.1.5 Wireless Local Loop (WLL)
- 35.2 National infrastructure projects
- 35.3 International
- 35.3.1 Submarine cable networks
- 35.3.2 Satellite networks
36. Glossary of Abbreviations
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