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Open Access: Enabling Broadband
Connectivity in Kenya
Mwende NjirainiDissertation presentation
Masters in Communications Management
University of Strathclyde, 2006Disclaimer: Views expressed here (except those quoted or referenced) are the author’s own
Project motivation
• Information society commitments for broadband connectivity
• Increased use of VoIP• East African Submarine Cable• Purpose of research:
– Highlight the key aspects of the open access concept in the telecommunications industry
– Analyse the application of open access through an examination of various case studies
– Test the applicability of the open access concept in the Kenyan context
2
Options for Delivering Broadband
1st Option• Facilities
based competition
2nd Option• Service based
competition – Local Loop unbundling
3
3rd Option: Open Access
• Multiple competitors use a common shared infrastructure/platform - under equivalent terms and conditions
• Customers can elect services from alternative providers
4
Contextual Understanding
• United States– Open access to information and content – Access to cable networks by non-affiliated ISPs– Access to municipality networks
• Europe– Regulatory framework - open network provision– Open access is a criteria for state aid to
telecommunication infrastructure
5
OAN Characteristics
• Broadband capacity - operated and maintained by an operator who is not a service provider
• Serve a geographic location - local community town or city
• ‘A public utility for the information society’ – providing free choice of service providers and unfettered access to users
• Operated on an open access basis - owned and controlled independently of any service or content which runs over it.
6
OAN Drivers
• Perception of social and economic development of broadband infrastructure
• Private operators inability to deliver ubiquitous access to affordable services
• Introduction of IP networks
7
OAN Benefits
• Demand side– Freedom to choose from numerous resources and
services – Freedom to create and avail relevant content as well
as introduce new services without economic justification
• Supply side– Facilitates new entrants access to existing
infrastructure• Reducing barriers to entry• Improved efficiency to capital allocation
– Reduces monopoly risks - exploiting the advantages of vertical integration
8
Freedom of choice to customers
ISP 1
Tele 1
TV 1
TV
PC
TV
PC
TV
PC
TV
PC
LAN
OAN ISP 2
Tele 2
TV 2
Services fromLocal & Regional
Authority
Source: www.stokab.se
OAN Benefits
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OAN Principles
• Any one can play
• Technological Neutrality
• Fair and non-discriminatory competition at all layers
• Transparency to ensure fair trading within and between layers
• Devolved rather than centralized solutions
10
Typical Wired OAN
‘Layer 0’ Duct
‘Layer 1’ Dark Fibre
‘Layer 2’ Band width
‘Layer 3’ Services
Customers
Source: www.stokab.se
Information providers
Telecom operators
Telecom operators
Municipality/community
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Fibre OAN
www.stokab.se 12
Typical Wireless OAN
Source:http://commerce.senate.gov/pdf/berryman-021406.pdf 13
OAN: Regulatory Framework
• Traditional vertical orientated regulatory structure – interconnection distortions, – universal service concerns, – disincentive for the investment
• Converged, Technology neutral, layered regulation– functionally similar services –
regulated in the same way
• Licences categories:– service– service infrastructure– transport infrastructure
14
Case studies• Nepal Wireless Networking Project:
– Technology: open access architecture, open source software, licence-exempt wireless technologies
– Community driven• Stokab
– Competition-neutral – Public utility provided on commercial terms– Politically driven: ‘an information society for all’
• Knysna Municipality network– Public private partnership with UniNet – wireless ISP – Licence exempt wireless technologies– Politically driven: Anchor tenant
• Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency (UTOPIA)– Collaboration of 18 municipalities – FTTH open publicly-owned network
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Case studies
• Two broad categories of OAN– Community/cooperative networks
• end-user-equipment-centric networking models• emergence of cheap wireless technologies
– Municipal networks• economic development and improving the quality of life of citizens• operators were unwillingness to invest
• Operating models– Non profit model– Cooperative model– Public-private partnership model– Municipal model– Government loan-grant model
» Source FTC, 2006
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Kenyan Market
• Infrastructure improvements – pursued through sector reform – Delivery of broadband minimal
• Evolution of the market structure– Network Facilities Provider – Applications Service Provider – Contents Services Provider
17
Testing Applicability of OAN in Kenya
• Access infrastructure – circuit switched, new IP networks
• Regulatory environment – licence exempt frequency, structural separation and layered licensing
• Operating environment – Incumbent and licensed operators
• Choice of technology – Wired and wireless depending on demography and topology
• Appropriate operating model – PPP and cooperative
18
East African Submarine System (EASSy)
• Run from Port Sudan to Durban:8,840km
• Capacity: 16 or 32 wavelength at 10Gb/s, total capacity of 320 or 640 Gb/s
• Originally structured to operate as a consortia
19
Open Access on EASSY
• Special purpose vehicle: Single entity public private partnership ownership structure– equal ownership and participation opportunities by
new entrants– Direct access to additional operators without paying
high entry charges
• Challenges: – harmonisation of regulatory frameworks– Participants have an objective of profit-making rather
than providing a public service
20
Lessons
• Absence of specific policy and regulatory frameworks.
• Community driven with non-profit motive
• Infrastructure provided as public utility
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Analysis and Recommendations
• OAN run counter to sector reform objectives– From Competition to Single network provision– From private sector provision to government provision
• Recommendations– Government incentives– Demand analysis– Regulatory intervention– Access to public infrastructure – Content development– National broadband policy– Spectrum policy
22
Conclusion
• Conventional strategies not sufficient to deliver broadband infrastructure
• OAN deployed by government and communities due to market failure
• OAN allow competitive entry at different layers encouraging innovative, low-cost service delivery to users
• Kenya has an ‘open access friendly’ regulatory environment
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Personal Reflection
• Selection and structuring of the project in the initial stages critical
• Emerging topics may not have the sufficient literature
• Keeping a positive attitude is critical– Do not panic– ‘Rome was built in one day’– Ambitions should be informed
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