Broadband Bulletin Issue 3 - January
2006
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Intel Commercial WiMAX Trials
Westminster WiFi
Virgin Cable
NTL-Telewest Cable Merger
VoIP Service Announcements
Network News
Broadband Take-up
Consultations
Events Roundup
Market Reports
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
has ratified the standards for the IEEE 802.16™ WirelessMAN ®
standard.
"The IEEE 802.16e standard gives service operators the ability
to provide a wide range of new and revolutionary high-speed, mobile
wireless applications and services that will greatly improve
people's way of life," Brian Kiernan, Chair of the IEEE 802.16e
Task Group.
Delays in certifying mobile Wimax standards could cause it to
miss out to competition from 3G and WiFi according to Research
Analysts Frost & Sullivan.
ZDNet Research reported the number of 3G subscribers exceeded
50 million earlier this year.
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group is planning to co-operate
more closely with the WiFi, Ultra-wideband (UWB) and Near Field
Communications (NFC) wireless standards.
New Orleans will deploy a publicly-owned WiFi network
which will be free for all users, to help boost business and living
standards in the city devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
Philadelphia has announced plans to develop a
135-square-mile network which will be built and managed by
Earthlink.
news.bbc.co.uk
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Intel Commercial WiMAX Trials
Thirteen internet providers are deploying WiMAX networks using
Intel technology through partners including Irish Broadband in
Ireland.
Eleven more companies are due to start by the end of the year;
however none will be based in the UK.
The commercial deployments were announced on 9 November 2005
and include rural and urban communities.
Westminster City Council has announced plans to expand its
WiFi network to cover the whole of Soho and two housing estates in
Marylebone and Pimlico.
The network, which is currently being used to connect wireless
CCTV cameras attached to lampposts, may also be used in the future
to improve local government service such as bill payment, waste
management and parking. The council has also stated its
intention to provide public access to the network for a fee.
Plans to create a free WiFi network throughout Prague
have been met with opposition from telecoms companies who have sent
their views to the Czech Information Technology Ministry
claiming
"Internet access is quite developed in Prague and the city has
a good commercial environment."
A potential deal between NTL and Virgin Mobile may not be dead
according to the Financial Times.
An initial offer from NTL was rejected by the Virgin Mobile
board. However, the FT reported on 11 December 2005 that Sir
Richard Branson is keen to agree a deal which would create a merged
company providing mobile, TV, landline and broadband services under
the Virgin brand. NTL currently own Virgin Broadband.
Reports suggest that France Telecom (who own Orange and
Wanadoo) and Vodaphone are now considering bidding for Virgin
Mobile.
Optus, owned by SingTel, is rumoured to be considering a bid
for Richard Branson's 75% stake in Virgin Mobile Australia.
NTL-Telewest Cable Merger
The merger between the UK's two cable companies could be
flipped so that NTL is bought out by Telewest to avoid making a
£100m change-of-ownership payment to the BBC in relation to the
UKTV venture.
The merger between NTL and Telewest was reported in the
November issue of the Broadband Bulletin.
Reuters reports that a group of private equity companies is
considering a bid for the combined cable company.
Telewest has made the UK's first high definition (HD) TV
service available to 400 selected customers as a commercial
trial. HD programmes are delivered through Teleport,
Telewest's TV-on-demand service. Programmes are received
using a new personal video recorder (PVR) known as TVDrive and can
be watched on HD-ready TV sets.
The service is expected to be launched in all Telewest regions
early in 2006. Telewest services are available in parts of
England and Scotland only.
Telewest Satisfies over BT or NTL
Cable broadband provider Telewest achieved the highest
customer satisfaction score in a study published by JD Power and
Associates on 13 December 2005.
AOL, Wanadoo and Tiscali also achieved above average scores,
while BT and NTL scored below the industry average. The
study, based on responses from 935 ISP customers, also found that
broadband users spend approximately 20 hours online per week.
Fewer than 10% questioned currently use voice over internet
protocol services (VOIP) which allow users to make telephone calls
using their broadband connection instead of using their regular
phone line. However, of those who don't currently have VOIP
more than half are interested in having the service.
BT Broadband Support to Move
Derby and Bristol based ClientLogic, provider of a technical
helpdesk service for BT Broadband, have failed to win a competitive
tender to continue the service.
The new contract has been won by Indian outsourcing firm HCL
according to The Register on 13 December 2005.
Skype Video Launched
Skype launched the beta of their version 2.0 software on 1
December 2005. The new version includes Skype Video, enabling
free video calls between users with almost any webcam.
Skype certified webcams are available and joint marketing will
be carried out with Logitech.
Blog-integration has also been added to the Skype
software. Ebay announced their acquisition of Skype in
October 2005.
VOIP Service Announcements
Microsoft and MCI announced on 12 December 2005 a joint
venture to provide PC-to-phone calls using Windows Live Messenger
software. A limited beta is currently available in the United
States, the product will officially launch in 2006.
BT is planning a new VOIP service incorporating hi-definition
sound and video phone. The launch is due to coincide with a
launch of BT video phones in spring 2006. Services may be
provided through a new BT hub according to announcements on 8
December 2005.
Wanadoo claimed to be the UK's leading broadband telephony
outfit with more than 80,000 registered VOIP users. The
company, owned by France Telecom, claimed on 17 November 2005 that
5,000 new users are registering each week.
Yahoo! is planning to improve its Messenger service to compete
with Skype for PC-to-phone calling and inbound calling. Sony
has also unveiled a free video and voice service.
Market Intelligence provider IDC has published research in to
hosted VOIP services for businesses, claiming: "hosted VoIP
represents an opportunity to eliminate redundant infrastructure,
manage all voice and data communications via a single Internet
network with a single provider, and deploy the same telephony
solution in every branch office."
ICT Innovation Digital Challenge
Local authorities working with public, private and voluntary
and community sector partners have been invited to take part in a
competition to win part of a
£9 million fund.
The challenge was launched on 7 December 2005 by Jim
Fitzpatrick, Minister for Local E-Government: "The challenge is to
use technology to transform the face of services, including local
and central government services, to better meet the needs of local
communities - including the most disadvantaged."
S4C Warns of Digital Funding
Gap
S4C has warned that it could face a multi-million-pound
funding gap by 2009 if it does not receive further subsidies for
digital broadcasting and new media ventures.
S4C is funded by an annual fixed budget from the Treasury. In
2000, the sum received was £78.2 million. The analogue S4C
service is currently supplemented by Channel 4 English language
programming. Once the analogue signal is switched off in
Wales in 2009 these programmes will need to be replaced by
additional Welsh language content which may affect viewing figures
and advertising revenues.
The warning follows a similar call by Channel 4, the publicly
owned broadcaster, which said last year it might need financial
assistance to plug an estimated £100m deficit by 2012.
BT 21CN Trials Continue
BT claims to have successfully carried three million customer calls
over an Internet Protocol (IP) link between exchanges in Cambridge
and Woolwich, in the latest phase of its 21st Century Network
(21CN) trials.
Most of the calls carried were live customer calls diverted
from the BT PSTN network. BT will now increase the number of
calls carried over the IP link to reflect normal loading on a
similar network path.
In November's Broadband Bulletin we reported that BT will
migrate 350,000 customers in Cardiff to the 21CN network during
2006.
TV Without Frontiers Update
The European Commission is proposing to update the TV Without
Frontiers directive to take in to account the technological
developments and changes to the market landscape. The
directive would include rules on TV-like "linear" services
including scheduled broadcasting on the internet and users
downloading "non-linear" on-demand films and other content.
Intellect and the Broadband Stakeholders Group claims the
directive will harm competition and competitiveness.
Antony Walker, Director at Intellect said: "The
linear/non-linear split may be a useful conceptual framework for
policy makers but it doesn't reflect the nature of the new
interactive, on-demand, IP-based services, such as IPTV, Video on
Demand, and mobile TV under development. The reality is that new
services are likely to seamlessly blend push and pull
characteristics. Working out which rules apply is going to be a
real headache for the industry going forward."
www.intellectuk.org
IPTV For UK Students
Abercynon-based company Inuk will start rolling out an IPTV
service during spring 2006 which will enable every student in the
UK to watch digital television through computers with internet
connections.
The Western Mail reported on 14 December 2005 that the service
will be initially offering free to air services but should also
offer subscription channels by September 2006.
The Information and Telecommunications Minister has vetoed
local loop unbundling in India, despite recommendations by
both India's Department of Telecommunications and the
regulator.
France Telecom has been fined 80 million Euros by the
regulator for failing to open up its network to broadband
competition. The incumbent telecoms company owns Wanadoo and
Orange.
German incumbent, Deutsche Telecom, has announced plans
to upgrade 50 cities to VDSL (FTTN) with speeds of up to 50Mbps at
a cost of three billion euros. However plans could be put in
jeopardy if the German regulator rules that the network would need
to be opened up to competitors.
Ihug a broadband provider has criticised a government approved
scheme which would not require incumbent in New Zealand to
allow local loop unbundling. The scheme, which consists of
the incumbent selling wholesale DSL services to competitors, was
labelled as "just lipstick on a pig". Broadband Bulletin
reported last month on Telstra's criticisms of Telecom New
Zealand.
Advancing Copper Broadband
The U-Broad project claims to have delivered 100 Mbps access
speeds over twisted pair copper cabling for a distance of 200
metres. The project partners include universities, telecoms
and technology companies and are focusing on ultra high bit
rate-over-copper technologies for broadband multi-service
access. The project was set up to address the EC's 'Broadband
For All' strategic objectives.
The wireless and mobile telecoms market in Portugal is
"saturated and the focus is quite clearly on stimulating usage and
migrating users to data services" according to a country and
operator profile by IDC.
The ninth annual US Consumer Telecommunications Survey
from IDC reports: "Consumer demand for broadband data service
continues to show strong growth, especially among households that
buy a bundle of telecom services... bundled households reported
115% higher DSL penetration rates and 38% higher cable modem
penetration rates compared with unbundled households."
Research by Datamonitor has shown that by 2008 broadband
adoption will settle at a rate of 60 percent of households in the
UK and the rest of Western Europe, while PC ownership will
settle at 70 percent.
US Healthcare by Broadband
Leading US economist Robert Litan claims that broadband
deployment could provide better healthcare for 70 million elderly
and disabled citizens and save over one trillion dollars.
In a report for the New Millennium Research Council he shows
how this could be achieved through lower medical costs, lower costs
of institutionalised living and additional output generated by
seniors and disabled people.
Consultation News
The Register has reported that Ofcom is due to announce a
consultation on ways to make switching telephone company and
broadband provider easier.
Ofcom is holding a series of public meetings across the UK to
hear views on its draft Annual Plan for 2006/7. Among topics
which may be discussed are broadband and the digital
switchover.
Each meeting will begin with a brief presentation, after which
there will be an opportunity to comment and ask questions.
In Wales, meetings will take place at the Millenium Stadium,
Cardiff on 20 January 2006 in English and in Caernarvon on 3
February 2006 in Welsh. Pre-registration is essential, please
see the website for more details.
Consultations Announced
Ofcom have identified nine priorities for their proposed
Annual Plan for 2006/7 including promoting competition and
innovation in both voice and broadband services by ensuring
effective implementation of the Undertakings made by BT Group
plc. Ofcom are requesting views on the draft plan.
Closes – 10 February 2006
New media and the creative industries
Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Closes - 19 January 2006
www.parliament.uk
Digital Dividend Review (DDR), Ofcom
Closes – 25 January 2006
Consultation Findings Published
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.
europa.eu.int
Events Roundup
IT Wales hosted a series of events designed to highlight
relevant and useful technology applications and ensure the smooth
integration of such processes into day-to-day life. The
events took place around Wales under the title ICT Forum Wales
2005. Presentations and video from the event are available
online.
EC Infringement Proceedings
Formal notices have been sent to the UK, Portugal and Cyprus
for failing to ensure a comprehensive telecoms directory
service.
Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding
stated:
"I encourage all Member States against whom infringement
proceedings are still pending to get the job done as soon as
possible, as further delay could seriously endanger growth and jobs
in this key sector of Europe's economy."
Internet of Things
The ITU have published their seventh annual internet report,
entitled The Internet of Things. The report looks at how
today's internet of data and people will be replaced by an internet
of things, with technologies such as RFID, enabling communication
between everything from tyres to toothbrushes. An executive
summary is available to read online.
www.itu.int
Internet Connectivity
Report October 2005
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) revealed that
broadband connections formed 58.9% of all Internet connections in
the UK, up from 57.3% in September 2005.
The figures for November 2005 are due to be
released on 20 January 2006.
Broadband Line Figures
|
Broadband type
|
No of Lines
|
|
DSL BT Wholesale/Retail
|
6.2 million
|
|
Cable
|
2.6 million
|
|
DSL Local Loop Unbundled
|
163,000
|
Data sources:
Telewest third quarter results
www.telewest.com
Please note - figures used on this page are a sample of figures
obtained from publicly available documents and comparisons may not
be statistically accurate.
Digital Television Update Q3
2005
The Ofcom third quarter report estimates that 65.9% of UK
homes were receiving digital TV services as of September
2005. This is up from 63.0% in June 2005 and brings the total
number of digital households to approximately 16 million.
The number of households receiving digital TV over ADSL has
grown from 20,000 to 37,000. This is equivalent to 0.15% of
UK homes, giving a 0.23% share of the digital TV market.
Satellite has 45.4% market share, cable has 16.1% and digital
terrestrial (Freeview) has 35.1%.
Broadband Retailer Figures
|
Company
|
No of Lines
|
Line Type
|
|
BT Retail
|
2.1 million
|
DSL
|
|
NTL
|
1.72 million
|
Cable
|
|
Telewest
|
920,000
|
Cable
|
|
Pipex
|
215,000
|
LLU/Reseller
|
|
AOL
|
1 million
|
Reseller
|
|
Tiscali
|
764,000
|
Reseller
|
|
Easynet
|
21,000
|
LLU
|
Data sources: