Economic issues of (broadband) access networks
Topics Broadband access networks* Economics of deployment* Municipal access networks Πρόσκληση 93 * WIK Consult: The economics of NGA Economics of access - 2
The importance of access networks For providers: it is the most expensive portion of their infrastructure, thus making the right access architecture investment is critical to their ongoing business success Wireline networks: cost for trenching, ducting, strands of copper/coax/fibre, to customer premises Wireless networks: license for spectrum, antennas, Less cost but limited bandwidth For regulators: open access to the incumbent s last mile is critical for competition to flourish LLU (Telecom Act of 1996), Investment Ladder concept For users: traditionally it poses performance constraints to those that expect advanced services Economics of access - 3
Architecture
Broadband access network architecture FTTC - VDSL FTTH Passive Optical networks (PON) FTTH Point to Point (P2P) Economics of access - 5
NGN/NGA architecture Economics of access - 6
FTTC-VDSL Economics of access - 7
FTTH-PON model Economics of access - 8
WDM PONs Economics of access - 9
FTTH Point-to-Point model Economics of access - 10
Economics of deployment
Economic issues for NGA NGA technologies considered: FTTC, PON, P2P Interesting business cases: what are the conditions under which NGA deployment is viable? Under what conditions it is replicable? (second mover) Standalone operators acting as first movers Second movers Different assumptions of regulatory intervention (% of shared infrastructure with first mover) Key factors: market share (cost per subscriber depends on population density), ARPU (average revenue per user) Economics of access - 12
Cluster definition The model will determine the minimum market share/cluster Economics of access - 13
Example: Germany Economics of access - 14
Results Economics of access - 15
Results Economics of access - 16
Germany Economics of access - 17
Itally Incumbent Second mover Economics of access - 18
Europe Economics of access - 19
Analysys report Generic model of ROI fro an operator in a typical European country 10m Economics of access - 20
Business models for municipal access networks
Municipal access networks The ultimate goal from a public sector point of view is to create a situation in which access and services are offered by a number of competing service providers, driving down costs for consumers and businesses and generating a broad range of high-quality, innovative broadband services. Broadband is a moving target ; currently can be considered as symmetric connectivity at 4Mbps or over Economics of access - 22
Factors to be considered The geological/geographical situation of the city or region (e.g. rural mountain area vs.metropolitan area); Demographics and concentration of population / businesses in given geographical areas; The amount of dark fiber infrastructure already in the ground and/or the availability of civil infrastructure which can host fiber (e.g. pipes and ducts used for water, gas or electricity); Local expertise in operating broadband infrastructure, managing access and providing services; The degree of existing competition in telecommunication services and the strategy of the main telecommunication provider in relation to the provision of real broadband; Economics of access - 23
Broadband Building Blocks Building Block 1: Passive Infrastructure is the physical infrastructure that is used to provide the broadband connectivity and may consist of fiber optic or copper cable. Building Block 2: Active Infrastructure consists of the elements used to transmit, forward and route information data packets over fiber optic or copper cables. The main elements are switches and routers Building Block 3: Service Offerings are the actual services offered to customers. Building Block 4: Operating Company is the company that maintains and operates the active and passive network elements. Building Block 5: Existing Telcos and Content Providers Building Block 6: Public Sector, Residential and Business Customers Economics of access - 24
City utility builds passive infrastructure Active elements are added and operated by an operator Providers of services and content buy (wholesale) access service Low barriers to entry stimulates competition and creation of advanced services Equal Access Economics of access - 25
High Level Functional Diagram of Equal Access Business Model Operating company maintains a portal of available service and content offerings Customers select offerings from portal and billing data are passed to the respective provider Customers pay their provider directly Economics of access - 26
Variations of the Equal Access Model Public-Private Partnerships PPPs orchestrated City utility acts as the coordinator and adds infrastructure where needed A joint venture manages the aggregated passive infrastructure as a single asset Case-study: Amsterdam city (NL) Public Sector Telco Public sector takes responsibility for the active infrastructure as well as providing the passive infrastructure Case study: Catalonia (ES) Economics of access - 27
Sole Private Service Provider City utility builds passive infrastructure Operating company does both network management and service provision Temporary solution until critical mass of customers is achieved Case study: Stockholm (SE) Economics of access - 28
Full Public control through Public- Private Partnerships PPPs Public involvement in all aspects of the project including the infrastructure (passive, active) and services. The case for remote or rural communities, where no service providers is willing to invest Case study: Siena (ITA) Economics of access - 29
Four Stage Roadmap for a Broadband City Economics of access - 30