Mobile Telephony and Broadband services

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Mobile Telephony and Broadband services"

Betty Barker
6 years ago
Views:

1 Mobile Telephony and Broadband services A way to reduce the gap of digital divide in Mediterranean Marios Yiatzidis Regulatory Manager

2 Table of Contents The growth of mobile communications Mobile Broadband Services Stimulating the mobile broadband 2

The rapid growth of mobile communications Source: 11 th Report on European Electronic Communications Regulations and Markets 2005 GSM Operators: 658 Countries

3 The rapid growth of mobile communications Source: 11 th Report on European Electronic Communications Regulations and Markets 2005 GSM Operators: 658 Countries with GSM networks: 208 WCDMA license holders: 146 Launched WCDMA networks: 91 Countries with WCDMA: >30 WCDMA subscribers (million): 35 Source: GSM Association

The growth of Vodafone Greece Licenses: 2G, 3G, LMDS, WLAN, fiber optic, provisional WiMAX Spectrum: 2x15 MHz GSM (900MHz) 2x15 MHz GSM (1800MHz) 2x20 MHz 3G/FDD 5 MHz 3G/TDD GSM Coverage: >99% 3G

4 The growth of Vodafone Greece Licenses: 2G, 3G, LMDS, WLAN, fiber optic, provisional WiMAX Spectrum: 2x15 MHz GSM (900MHz) 2x15 MHz GSM (1800MHz) 2x20 MHz 3G/FDD 5 MHz 3G/TDD GSM Coverage: >99% 3G Coverage: 45% Base Stations: >2000 (2G & 3G) Transmission Network: Fiber Optic Network (750 Km) Microwave Links (9500 Km) LMDS (23% population coverage) Network Expenditures: 200 M/year for the next three years ( ) Subscribers: 4,4 M 4

5 The evolution of mobile services to broadband 1993 Launch of mobile telephony SMS 1997 ALACARTE & SMS WAP April 2000 CU & WAP GPRS May 2001 GPRS MMS Nov 2002 MMS Jan 2003 Vodafone live! March 2003 VMCC July G VMCC November 2004 Vodafone live! 3G 5

6 Mobile Broadband services Mobile operators will need to develop their networks beyond basic 3G to support new services such as mobile TV/video and high-speed Internet access, which could consume substantial network traffic. While the 3G W-CDMA is deployed extensively to support service demand, it will be significantly enhanced by the arrival of its evolved forms like HSDPA and HSUPA. Advantages of Mobile Broadband services Flexible and scalable on-demand capacity Coverage in areas not reached by wired solutions Competition with established broadband wired technologies e.g DSL Mobility TECHNOLOGY MOBILITY Bluetooth Wi-Fi UWB WiMAX WiMAX e TD-CDMA HSDPA No handover No handover No handover No handover handover up to 100km/h handover up to 120km/h handover up to 250 km/h 6

7 Can mobile fill the gap of digital divide in the Mediterranean region? Despite the increase in connectivity there is a broadband digital divide between the North and South of Europe, rural and urban areas and between Mediterranean countries. Causes of digital divide are often attributed to socio-economical factors but the lack of infrastructure deployment (access and backhaul) and of effective regulation may also be considered as significant factors. In developing markets where fixed infrastructure is simply not available but the penetration of the mobile communications is already very high, there is a clear opportunity for mobile operators using 3G and BWA technologies to provide cost-effective delivery of broadband services. Mobile operators are in an unparalleled position to secure the commercial success of both cellular and BWA technologies e.g. HSDPA and WiMAX. HSDPA has the major benefit that it can be deployed in existing spectrum allocated for W-CDMA services, allowing immediate deployment when the technology becomes available WiMAX can be deployed cost effectively on existing cellular networks and provide seamless management of the two wireless systems. The success of broadband services is dependant on the economies of scale (with lower system costs and efficient operations) and the interworking. Both may be achieved by major worldwide mobile operators like Vodafone. 7

8 Stimulating the mobile broadband - The role of the Governments and the NRAs intervention The regulatory framework shall: Encourage competition, investments and innovation Increase consumer s choice Accelerate network deployment and enhancement of infrastructure Governments policy shall: Allow 3G and BWA deployment without undue restrictions Harmonise the conditions of use and optimise the management of spectrum Facilitate and encourage investments NRA s intervention is deemed necessary in order to: Make available sufficient spectrum resources and enhance spectrum efficiency e.g GSM spectrum refarming Accelerate network deployment by introducing flexible licensing processes, collocation and sharing facilities. All problems caused by fragmented local policies on siting base stations must be addressed and barriers must be overcome. Facilitate the cross-border interoperability of networks and services by harmonizing the regulatory environment between countries in cooperation with other NRAs. Minimise market distortions (but avoid excessive regulation) 8

9 Conclusions Broadband can have a much larger impact on the development of countries and geographical areas than any other communications infrastructure e.g. roads, railways Mobile broadband can fill the gap of the broadband digital divide in the Mediterranean region Cooperation between all key players (governments, regulators, operators, content providers, local authorities) is needed to resolve the outstanding issues 9

IMT-2000 vs. Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) systems. The 3G/UMTS Proposition

IMT-2000 vs. Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) systems Regional Workshop for the Arab Region on Guidelines on the smooth transition of existing mobile networks to IMT-2000 for Developing Countries Jean-Pierre