Broadband Bulletin Issue 2 - December
2005
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If you have any information that you
would like to contribute, contact: newsletter@bbwo.org.uk.
World Summit on the Information
Society
Over 200,000 delegates from 170 countries took part in the
second phase of the UN's largest ever summit in Tunis on 16-18
November 2005. The event called for action from delegates to
achieve the UN Millennium Development Goal to connect all the
villages of the world to the internet by 2015.
Kofi Annan, UN secretary General, opened the three-day event:
"There is a tremendous yearning, not for technology per se, but for
what technology can make possible. The hurdles are more of a
political than financial nature... it is possible to lower the
costs of connectivity, computers and mobile phones."
The first phase of the summit was held in Geneva in December
2003. Visit the WSIS website for outcomes from both phases of
the summit
www.itu.int/wsis
The WSIS was preceded by the International Telecommunication
Union's 6th annual Global Symposium for Regulators, also held in
Tunisia.
Regulators, policy makers and service providers from 110
countries gathered to develop a new regulatory framework to promote
broadband deployment and access in developing countries based
around ten main principles for action:
- facilitate deployment of innovative broadband technologies
- transparency
- embrace technology neutrality
- adopt flexible use measures
- ensure affordability
- optimise spectrum availability on a timely basis
- manage spectrum efficiently
- ensure a level playing field
- harmonise international and regional practices and
standards
- adopt a broad approach to promote broadband access
Hamadoun I. Touré, Director of ITU's Telecommunication
Development Bureau, opened the conference stating: "The pace of
broadband take-up largely hinges on the regulatory
framework." Visit the ITU website for presentations and
supporting documents
www.itu.int
Fibre and ADSL Trials in
Wales
A successful trial in Pembrokeshire of a new fibre technology
is now to be extended to other parts of the UK.
Known as 'blown fibre drop-tube', it involves running a thin
optical fibre cable between existing telephone poles straight to
the customer's premises.
The approach uses a new, lightweight tube through which up to
four fibres, bundled together, are blown at high speed using
compressed air. Each optical fibre is the thickness of a human
hair.
In Cardiff, BT Wholesale is due to extend trials of 8Mbps ADSL
services to the Cardiff Central and Roath exchanges by the end of
December 2005.
Last month's Broadband Bulletin reported the start of the
trial in Llandaff, Llanishen and Radyr.
Up to 150,000 customers around the UK will be invited to
participate in the trials by their ISPs.
Local Loop Length
Point Topic believe that 55% of lines are more than 3km long –
meaning that for these households and businesses ADSL2+ would
perform like ADSL, giving a maximum speed of 8Mbps.
The estimated figure has been achieved by reverse engineering
the loop length from various sources of data.
ADSL Guide reported that the figure differs from previous
research which suggested only 20% of lines were more than 3km
long.
BT IPTV Due Next
Year
BT is planning to offer TV services across the UK through a
set-top box from autumn 2006. Services will include more than
30 digital terrestrial channels, on-demand entertainment and video
telephone on TV. Software will be supplied by Microsoft and the
service will be delivered over BT broadband. On-demand
content will be supplied by BBC Worldwide, Paramount and Warner
Music Group.
Philips have been selected by BT to supply the set top box
which will include a personal video recorder (PVR) capable of
storing up to 80 hours of programming and delivering high
definition content. Trials begin summer 2006.
ITV Pilot Broadband Video
Broadband users in Hastings and Brighton can watch local
television services on their PCs using the new ITV Local
service.
The service includes weather forecasts, classified
advertising, news and sports. It uses technology provided by
Narrowstep.
ITV purchased Friends Reunited on 6 December 2005 to
strengthen its online presence. Friends Reunited will be
added to ITV.com and ITV Local.
Convergence is Happening
Digital TV and convergence featured in a speech on the
Creative Industries given by Lord David Currie (Chairman, Ofcom) to
the National Assembly for Wales All-Party Group.
West Midlands Initiative
BT has won a contract to improve broadband coverage by
enabling 45 exchanges.
Rural Broadband Access Project (RBAP) is funded by Advantage
West Midlands and delivered by the West Midlands Networking Company
(WMNC). The project covers three regions: West Midlands, East
Midlands and the South West of England.
The first exchanges are set to be enabled in February, with
the project due to complete in July 2006.
LLU Product Announcements
Two new products have been launched by Bulldog – a Pay as You
Go product with no fixed monthly subscription fee and an 8Mbps
broadband service for £9.75 per month (down from £19.50).
Customers are also required to purchase a phone line from
Bulldog which costs £10.50 per month plus call charges. In
Wales, Bulldog serves customers in Cardiff and Wrexham.
UK Online has launched a 22Mbps service based on ADSL 2+
technology. The service is available to 4.4 million homes within
reach of the Easynet LLU network. As yet, this network does not
extend to sites in Wales.
The Register reported on 3 November 2005 that Opal, owned by
Carphone Warehouse, is planning to unbundle 1,000 exchanges to
offer xDSL broadband to customers in the UK.
ZDNET reported on 8 November 2005 that Wanadoo, owned by
France Telecom, launched an unbundled service at 16 exchanges in
Leeds.
Countdown to New
Satellite Service
Following the launch of the new Inmarsat-4 F2 communications
satellite, the provider has launched Broadband Global Area Network
(BGAN) - a new 400kbps internet service aimed at business
users. For information on distribution partners for the
service and terminals visit
www.inmarsat.com
In the UK, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) has
announced plans to issue a revised Householders Guide on the siting
of antennas, including satellite dishes.
Housing and Planning Minister Yvette Cooper said: "The
planning system needs to adapt to take account of changing
technology. People want to get access to wireless broadband
services and digital and satellite TV."
Wireless Windsor
Following the successful trials of wireless broadband in the
Thames Valley region under the brand name Netvigator, UK Broadband
has extended the service offering to London
Broadband over Power Lines
Power Line Communication (PLC) is being extensively tested in
Austria, Spain, Italy and Portugal under the OPERA project. The 37
partners think broadband over PLC could achieve 10% market
penetration.
istresults.cordis.lu
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DSL Competition
In Australia, telecoms company AAPT, owned by Telecom
NZ, has joined forces with six other Telstra competitors to run a
full page advert in a national newspaper. The advert claims
the incumbent operator maintains an industry structure that allows
it major advantages over competitors. The advert also claims that
Telstra has increased wholesale charges.
In New Zealand, Telstra have criticised the slow pace
of unbundling.
In Ireland opposition parties have blamed the
government for slow take-up of broadband services. The
country currently has 175,000 broadband subscribers (20% of all
internet users) and 3,000 unbundled lines..
The regulator in
Italy recently carried out a market
analysis and found that Telecom Italia has a 100% share of the
local loop. The incumbent operator will be obliged to
provide both full and shared access to competitors at a regulated
tariff.
europa.eu.int
Google Wireless Net to Go Ahead
The city of Mountain View, California has approved a
proposal from Google to erect 400 Wi-Fi hubs on street posts to
provide free wireless internet connections.
Rumours on the internet have suggested that Google may be
planning to create a pan-American wireless network. This has
been played down by Google who maintain that the wireless network
is a community outreach programme.
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Balloon-net
Trials in Sweden have shown that airships may be
providing high-speed internet access within three to five
years.
Led by the University of York in the UK, the trials used a
12,000 cubic metre balloon flying at an altitude of around 24
kilometres for nine hours providing an 11Mbps data link.
3.5G is Coming
SK Telecom, the second largest mobile operator in South
Korea, plans to launch 3.5G services in April 2006 using
WCDMA/HSDPA.
Manx Telecom, owned by O2, is planning to replace the entire
fixed telephone network and the core of the mobile network on the
Isle of Man with an integrated IP infrastructure. 3.5G
high speed mobile broadband will be available through an IP
Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) overlay on the existing 3G
network.
State
Aid
An EC ruling on state aid in Germany may have
implications for the digital switchover in the UK. The
European Commission ruled that state aid subsidies are acceptable
for the purchase of digital decoders "as long as they are
technologically neutral and especially if they encourage the use of
open standards for interactivity."
The Ofcom Watch website reported that this could allow the UK
government to subsidise Freeview decoders which use an open
standard, while BSkyB uses a proprietary system.
The European Commission has authorised a broadband
intervention initiative in the Land of Kärnten in
Austria. The scheme will enable citizens and
businesses to have access to broadband in areas which do not
currently have it. The Commission concluded that the state
aid was not likely to distort competition
significantly.
europa.eu.int
The European Commission is to carry out a formal investigation
in to whether the public funding of a fibre access network in the
town of Appingedam in
Holland complies with state aid
rules.
europa.eu.int
Living in a World of Convergence
The European Commission has published a series of online
brochures pulling together research in to converging information
and communication technologies, including broadband.
OECD-Observer has reported that OECD Communications Outlook
2005 shows the extent of the digital divide due to the lack of
basic network infrastructure in low-income economies. The total
population of Liberia shares an international internet connection
of 256kbps. A single Danish resident has more bandwidth than Guinea
Bissau, Liberia, Comoros, Turkmenistan, Chad and Niger
combined.
www.oecdobserver.org
Events Roundup
On 17 November 2005, Andy Williamson (Broadband Wales
Programme, Welsh Assembly Government) and Ann Beynon (Director, BT
Wales) talked about the future for the telecoms industry beyond
meeting demands for faster broadband services.
Broadband Europe 2005 conference in Bordeaux from 12-15
December 2005 featured Cardiff University's Centre for Intelligent
Network Design who talked about "Business case assessments of a
wireless broadband network deployment".
Consultations Announced
The Culture, Media and Sport Committee announced an inquiry
into the challenges and opportunities for the creative industries
arising from the development of new media platforms.
www.parliament.uk
Wireless broadband services have been listed among potential
uses for the spectrum which will be made available following the
switch over from analogue to digital television.
Ofcom have requested views to be sent to them as part of the
Digital Dividend Review (DDR)
Consultations Closed
An online consultation has been carried out seeking views on
how to develop the e-Government Action Plan due to be proposed in
2006 as part of the i2010 initiative. Results are due to be
available online by end of December.
http://europa.eu.int
Consultation Findings Published
In November, Ofcom set a maximum price of £81.69 per
year that BT can charge its competitors to rent a fully unbundled
local loop. This follows
consultation on proposals published by Ofcom in September
2005.
On 1 August 2005, BT voluntarily reduced its fully unbundled rental
charge
from £105.09 to £80.00 a year.
www.ofcom.org.uk
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Internet Connectivity
Report September 2005
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) revealed that
broadband connections formed 57.4% of all Internet connections in
the UK, up from 55.7% in August 2005.
OTA Update for November 2005
The Office of the Telecommunications Adjudicator announced on
9 December 2005 that the number of unbundled lines has exceeded
163,000. This is up from 140,000 in October and is now
growing at a rate of over 5,000 per week.
The number has more than doubled since June when 70,000 lines
had been unbundled.
Broadband Subscriber Figures
BT has 6.2 million broadband subscribers according to their
second quarter results announced on 10 November 2005. Of
these, 2.1 million are BT DSL customers – the remainder are using
other ISPs who buy wholesale DSL lines from BT.
According to third quarter results announced on 3 November
2005, NTL has 1.72 million broadband subscribers.
According to third quarter results announced on 10 November
2005, Telewest has 920,000 broadband subscribers.
Ofcom Communications Market
Report – Quarterly Update
The latest DSL broadband figures, published in August, showed
that the three main competitors to BT were AOL, Wanadoo and
Tiscali.
Between the three providers they shared over 25% of the entire
broadband retail market.