Wireless Broadband Services and Policy Concerns in Hong Kong

Xu Yan HKUST Business School xuyan@ust.hk

Mobile Multi-media Services in Hong Kong

Highly competitive mobile market: 11 2G licenses + 4 3G licenses + 7 MVNO

Licenses Market restructuring in past 12 months

Three trends in the 3G era Mobile/media Convergence Synergy of Corporate Resources and

Strategies Fixed/mobile Convergence

Mobile/media Convergence

Mobile + TV Mobile + Radio Mobile + Newspaper Mobile + Internet Portal

Synergy of Corporate Resources

Shared channel by NOW and PCCW Mobile

Fixed/mobile Convergence

Internet

WS Mobile Video Surv App Server

Internet / IP Access

Video Streaming

WAP Access Servers

Web Access Servers

Broadband Modem

Router (Wired/ Wireless)

Home / Office/Retail WiseWatch Platform Mobile Operator

WiseWatch Wired Camera

WiseWatch WiFiCamera

•Server Authentication Security•Automatic IP adaptation•Automatic screen sizing•M otion detection

View from Mobile Data

GPRS / EDGE / 3G Data

3GPP Video Streaming

View from PCInternet / IP Access

Video Streaming

2G/3G

Mobile

Data

Network

Broadband Wireless Access (BWA)

Broadband Wireless Access (BWA):

Multiple Technologies: technology neutral Short delivery period: “on-demand” high speed

connectivity for temporary event Primarily the wireless extension of

conventional wireline based fixed network An effective solution for Type II Network

Interconnection

Accelerated Market Share of New Entrants in Local Fixed Network

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

BWA: A Solution after Withdrawing Type II Network Interconnection?

Local Exchange of Network 1

MDF

Distribution Point

Street Building

Network 1

Network 2

Block-wiring

TBE Room

A

B

C

The BWA and Fixed/Mobile Convergence

Mobile operators’ worry: will BWA pose a threat to 3G?

OFTA: BWA will complement rather than threaten 3G – at least until the technology fully matures, namely with the handoff and roaming capabilities.

Handoff between Adjacent Cells

Cellular SwitchDMS-MTX

PSTN

Who Should Get BWA License?

Current licensing and regulatory frameworks for mobile and fixed carriers: Separated and different

Can fixed carrier holding a BWA license provide mobile service? No – then what about technology neutrality? Yes – then what license? Fixed or mobile?

Who Should Get BWA License?

Can mobile carrier get a BWA license? If yes, can they use their 3G spectrums for

BWA service? If no, how can the mobile/fixed convergence be

facilitated?

OFTA is positively working on the convergence of mobile and fixed carrier license and conducting a comprehensive policy review of spectrum regulation

Digital Terrestrial TV (DTT) in Hong Kong

1998 – government policy paper to introduce DTT in HK after 2002

1999 – technology trials of three DTT standards 2000/2003 – two rounds public consultation 2007 – DTT to be launched in Hong Kong 2008 – 75% coverage in HK 2012: Analogue switch off

Digital Terrestrial TV (DTT)

0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 0

Fixed Reception Only

Both Fixed and Mobile Reception

Merger of Telecom and Broadcasting Services

DTT supports all kinds of services including: Mobile broadcasting service Interactive multimedia service Text broadcast services Telecommunications services Merger of audio, sound, video and text services

DTT and Its Policy Implications

DTT supports mobile TV and mobile interactive multimedia service, while current licenses do not allow mobile communications

DTT offers both paid and free service while current license are separated for these two business models in accordance with the Broadcasting Ordinance

A new regime to deal with the merger of telecommunications and broadcasting services is required.

Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA)

Towards a Converged Regulatory Framework

BROADCASTING TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFORMATIONTECHNOLOGYTelevision and

Entertainment Licensing Authority (TELA)

Information Technology Service Department (ITS)

Regulatory Framework

Communications Authority (CA): Merger of Telecommunications Authority (TA) and Broadcasting Authority (BA)

The industry don’t see any urgency of merger Infrastructure may suffer from content-related

political controversies

Policy level merger may be more critical

Spectrum Policy

Innovative royalty auction of 3G license Consistency of renewed 2G licenses Urgency for flexible trade of spectrum Spectrum regulation for Digital Terrestrial

TV Comprehensive frequency policy review:

Asymmetric regulation between mobile &. wireless fixed technology?

Towards a Converged Regulatory Framework

From technology-orientated regulation towards application-orientated regulation

The political objective of telecom policy should be guaranteeing “Universal Connection” rather than guaranteeing “Universal Service” in the specific context of EoIP

Efficiency remains the economic objective of telecommunications policy, while competition between different technologies and different players remains the best option to achieve the economic objective

Thank You!