ABN Newswire http://www.abnnewswire.net Thu, 20 June 2013 22:38:52 newsroom@abnnewswire.net newsroom@abnnewswire.net 60 <![CDATA[ Asian Markets Report of December 11 ]]> en61927 Y http://www.abnnewswire.net/press/en/61927/ Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:30:17 GMT Wall Street climbed on Thursday as the economic data showed a continued downtrend in continuing jobless claims and a drop in the US trade deficit to US$32.9 billion.

Asian stocks mostly Friday moved higher at opening after the strong economic figures from the US boosted investor confidence. Today the focus will be on a series of economic data of China. The nation's key official figures on industrial production, CPI, and retail sales are due out later in the day.

Company News

Japan's major telecommunications carrier KDDI Corp. (TYO:9433) said it will lay an undersea fibre-optic cable network to link Japan and Singapore in a joint project with five companies including U.S. Internet search giant Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG). The project is to deal with an expected increase in demand for communications services in the Asia-Pacific region, with cost estimated at US$400 million dollars. The consortium behind the project comprises Globe Telecom (PSE:GLO) of the Philippines, Google, KDDI Corp of Japan, Network i2i, Reliance Globalcom and TPG subsidiary Telemedia Pacific Inc.

Taiwanese synthetic rubber maker TSRC Corp. (TPE:2103) said Thursday its board has approved a plan to take a 30% stake in a synthetic rubber-producing joint venture in India. State-run Indian Oil Corp. (BOM:530965) will hold 50% of the joint venture and Japan's Marubeni Corp. (TYO:8002) the remaining 20%, said a person familiar with the situation.

It is reported that South Korea's Hana Micron (067310.KQ) has formed a joint-venture with Brazil's Altus Sistemas de Informatica to build a US$40 million semiconductor assembly plant in Brazil. The joint-venture will be known as HT Micron, which could invest up to $200 million in the plant.

Hontai Life Insurance Co. and Waterland Financial Holdings Co. (TPE:2889) are both bidding for US insurer Metlife Inc.'s (NYSE:MET) Taiwan unit, said sources. The acquisition cost of the unit could be between US$50 million and US$100 million.

Panasonic Corp. (TYO:6752) said it will buy a majority stake in Sanyo Electric Co. (TYO:6764) to secure its position as a leading provider of batteries for fuel-efficient cars. Panasonic has acquired a 50.19 percent stake in Sanyo Electric Co. for 403.78 billion yen, completing a tender offer that would create one of the world's largest consumer electronics conglomerates with a strong grip on solar and battery markets.

China CNR Corp, a leading maker of trains and rolling stock, plans to launch its Shanghai initial public offering later this month. It planned to issue up to 3 billion A shares in IPO to raise 6.44 billion yuan for investment projects. CNR and its rival China South Locomotive and Rolling Corporation (SHA:601766)(HKG:1766) are the two major train manufacturers in China, accounting for more than 95 percent market share in the country.

Michelle Liang
Asia Business News Asia Bureau
Tel: +61-2-9247-4344
Email: michelle.liang@abnnewswire.net

]]> newsroom@abnnewswire.net <![CDATA[ BuddeComm Announce Global FttH Update ]]> en42913 Y http://www.abnnewswire.net/press/en/42913/ Mon, 15 Oct 2007 10:48:00 GMT
Apart from Japan, it comes as no surprise that the movement towards fibre in Asia has been occurring in the more developed markets. However, the adoption rate varies considerably from market to market. In South Korea, for example, the situation is complicated by the use of both fibre and fibre-hybrid infrastructure to deliver broadband services. Whilst number of FttH subscribers is relatively small in South Korea, there has been strong growth in FttC and FttN services, which in turn support other platforms to deliver service to the premises. Other Asian markets, like Singapore and Taiwan, are busy with pilot FttH networks and early commercial activity. Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom has an ambitious plan to cover the island with fibre and was aiming for 2.5 million FttH subscribers by 2011. China has also been making positive statements about FttH roll-outs. Interestingly, the development of FttH sat in 11th priority position in China's five-year plan published in 2005. With the 2008 Beijing Olympics fast approaching, China Netcom said it was making extensive use of fibre as its broadband platform of choice in preparation. China Telecom has announced plans to have FttH established nationwide by 2010.

USA
The US fibre-to-the-home (FttH) market reached more than two million subscribers by September 2007, according to figures released by the FttH Council and the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA). This amounts to more than 100% growth since September 2006, driven largely by Verizon's ambitious FiOS network deployment. The number of homes passed has grown by more than 50%, from around six million to nine-and-a-half million. The take-up rate has thus increased from around 15% to 20%, principally due to the active marketing of the networks in 2007.

The largest FttH network is Verizon's, which has been deployed to around 4 million households in twelve states and reported more than 500,000 subscribers in June 2007. However, its target of passing 18 million households (between three and four million subscribers) by 2010 indicate that it does not yet regard FttH to be an economical replacement for all of its DSL network, which currently passes around 33 million households.

The other major fibre protagonist is AT&T, whose fibre strategy, comprising a Fibre-to-the-Node (FttN) network with VDSL2, is starting to gain momentum after some initial technological glitches related to Microsoft's IPTV platform. By September 2007 it had reached around 100,000 subscribers from approximately five million homes passed. AT&T's U-Verse TV uses an all-IPTV architecture with a per household deployment cost estimated at around half that of Verizon's FiOS TV service. Thus although AT&T's FttN-VDSL2 solution will not provide as high broadband speeds as Verizon's FttH network, it may soon surpass Verizon's subscriber numbers, albeit in different footprints. Ultimately, with nearly half of all US households expected to be passed by some form of fibre network by 2010, the cable-TV companies will need to address this growing threat to their TV-markets.

Europe
In coming years Europe will be one of the world''s more vibrant regions for fibre deployment. The Key countries remain Sweden and The Netherlands, both of which have pooled government, municipal and telco resources in a coordinated response to future-proof national and regional infrastructure. This is partly to meet growing consumer needs for higher bandwidth applications, but also with an eye to practical social welfare solutions (e-learning, e-health) and economic security in an internationally competitive environment.

This co-operation between governments and telcos helps to manage investments and avoid financial difficulties and unnecessary network duplication. The Netherlands has also demonstrated that fibre networks can be built from the ground up without government subsidies. In mid-2007 there were some 25 Dutch municipalities involved in or making preparations for broadband projects based on fibre, and more than 40 fibre projects.

The UK''s regulator recently launched a consultation (closing in December 2007) to evaluate approaches for promoting fibre as a long-term successor to existing copper. This anticipates that BT''s 21CN may be insufficient for future bandwidth demand, and that guarantees may be needed to encourage operator investments in the sector. The UK''s interest in a national fibre network, costing up to £15 billion, is sure to have repercussions in other European markets.


FttH Roundtable

International case studies will assist Australia in finding its strategic way forward and will be discussed in the following sessions:

- Overview of strategic fibre plans in the Asia Pacific region - Frank Jaffer, Vice-President, FttH Council Asia-Pac.

- Case Study FttH in Amsterdam and other European projects - Martin Stewart-Weeks, Director, Public Sector (Asia Pacific), Internet Business Solutions Group, Cisco Systems Australia.

Senator Stephen Conroy, Shadow Minister for Communications will open the Roundtable and will lead a discussion on the strategic fibreing of Australia.

Strategies for Fibreing Australia - Roundtable with Paul Budde and Industry Experts
Thursday 18 October 2007 - Opening address by Senator Stephen Conroy, Shadow Minister for Communications. Venue: The Observatory Hotel, 89-113 Kent Street, Sydney

Bookings and information:
http://www.budde.com.au/consultancy/public-workshops-seminars.html

PAUL BUDDE Communication Pty Ltd,
T/As BuddeComm
5385 George Downes Drive
BUCKETTY NSW 2250B,
Ph 02 49 988 144 (international x 61 2 4998 8144)
Fx 02 49 988 247 (international x 61 2 4998 8247)
mailto:pbc@budde.com.au
http://www.budde.com.au

]]> newsroom@abnnewswire.net <![CDATA[ Australian Mobile Content Market Still Struggling For Survival ]]> en39731 Y http://www.abnnewswire.net/press/en/39731/ Sat, 18 Aug 2007 18:15:48 GMT
It is also important to remember that close to 50% of all PSMS services is still text based: horoscopes, love predictions, etc.

True PSMS content is very popular in the following areas:

- Polyphonic tones - realtones starting to replace these where handsets are capable;

- Animated screensavers and wall papers also very popular. Most of this is being driven by TV and print advertising, with web based promotion on the increase;

- Chat / dating services are a strong second segment after personalisation;

- Marketing / votes and comps also remains strong in Australia - though by revenue as opposed to volume comparison is smaller than the first two sectors.

Music services remain a key growth market, with the music industry rapidly developing a whole range of new music services - both real tones and full track. Some full tracks may be already preloaded on phones and/or memory cards in some cases but activated and paid for by PSMS, or downloaded via PC or Bluetooth and activated paid for by PSMS.

Video based services are the largest new addition to the mobile content industry - both downloads (Girls and Goals) and uploads - (blogging apps). This market is set for rapid growth over this period - both via MMS and direct videocall type services.

Despite the new capped plans as well as the fractioned billing of content, demand remains high. The main problem remain the operators, in Europe they are tripping over each other to subtract value from the market by including in the capped plans, free videocalls, free Internet access and free multimedia services.

Despite this the industry is confidents it can find ways around these roadblocks. A strong demand has been created in the youth market for mobile content, and the right business eco-systems are in place to provide new services. As services extend their way across wider demographics the potential for mobile content remains strong.

New Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) models in Europe also point into the direction on better revenue sharing arrangements. It is expected that the market will move towards Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) and event based billing rather than per message billing in 2007, as operate in Singapore, France and the UK. This will lead to a more flexible charging model - and a better customer experience.

See separate reports:

Australia - Mobile Content - Industry Overview, Forecasts

Australia - Mobile Content - Premium Rate SMS;

Please don't forget our Roundtable on Digital Content this Thursday 23rd of August . More info:

http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/4Q933FW0

2. Business models for content providers
Ever since the arrival of the Internet the question has been asked: 'where is the business model?'

Initially, most incumbent industries (telecoms, media, finance, film, music) discredited the Internet. Then they denied it would have any impact on its business. And, finally when they couldn't deny its success any longer, they attempted to dominate it.

However, none of these strategies have been overly successful for the incumbents, and they have eventually had to join the newcomers and in looking at new and different business models. Early leaders here are the BBC in relation to digital TV, News Limited with MySpace, ING with online banking, and so on.
The stage has now been reached where companies, both new and old, are working on new business models.

In mid 2007 I gave a presentation at the Australian Film TV and Radio School (AFTRS). I have met with students of this school in the past, and always very much enjoy interacting with these creative young people.

The school has produced an interesting overview of the various business models that exist around sites such as Yahoo, Google, MySpace and so on.

Content providers can make their content available on these sites.

Table 1 - Selection of some business models
Site
 Business Model
 
TurnHere
 Fees of up to $1,000 per clip, based on popularity
 
Revver
 20% of ad revenues; 50/50 split portal and CP
 
Metacafe
 $5 per 1,000 views (minimum 20,000 views)
 
Amazon
 50% of own product
 
BlipTV
 Click per pay ads; 50/50 revenue split
 
Brightcove 
 Ads inserted in content revenue-sharing


(Source: AFTRS)

The industry is still waiting on models from companies such as Google Video, YouTube, Apple iTune, Joost, Bablegum and many others.

The students were encouraged to try out some of the models and report back to the school. This would give valuable feedback to the school, and to the content industry as a whole.

PAUL BUDDE Communication Pty Ltd,
Ph 02 49 988 144 (international x 61 2 4998 8144)
Fx 02 49 988 247 (international x 61 2 4998 8247)
Email: pbc@budde.com.au
http://www.budde.com.au

]]> newsroom@abnnewswire.net <![CDATA[ The Rapidly Emerging Digital Content Market ]]> en39434 Y http://www.abnnewswire.net/press/en/39434/ Mon, 13 Aug 2007 11:44:38 GMT
The most significant change broadband is bringing to the market is that it is opening up consumer markets. For decades only corporate users have been able to afford data services. The Internet quickly used this new data development to create an enormous number of consumer applications. Broadband improved the quality, by allowing for video-based applications, and, just as importantly, it has made access to digital media affordable to the mass market. Over the next decade this market will grow to over $20 billion.

At this Roundtable we will provide an insight into this market and analyse the various segments and specifics.

AGENDA
09.30 - 10.00
Arrival, networking and coffee

10.00 - 10.15
Welcome, introduction of delegates
 
10.15 - 11.00
Opening remarks and Industry Update

Paul Budde

11.00 - 11.30
Morning coffee
 
11.30 - 12.05
Digital media and its implications for business models 

Andrew Parker, Partner, Asia Pacific Communications Sector Leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers

12.05 - 12.40
Business opportunities for content providers

Robbee Spadafora FAMI, Client Services Director, Seven Network Ltd

12.45 - 13.45
Light lunch
 
13.45 - 14.20
Music and video markets

Domenic Carosa, CEO, Destra Corporation

14.20 - 14.55
Key market; youngsters and teens

Tom Kennedy, Director Digital, belong

14.55 - 15.10
Afternoon coffee
 
15.10 - 16.30
Roundtable discussion with delegates
 
16.30
Close - drinks in the bar
Venue:

The Observatory Hotel
89-113 Kent Street, Sydney

Booking:

Online registration:

http://www.budde.com.au/consultancy/public-workshops-seminars.html

Telephone: 02 4998 8144
Email: pbc@budde.com.au

Cancellations/Refunds Policy Roundtables

We are happy to give a refund, provided we are notified no less than 24 hours before the event.

PAUL BUDDE Communication Pty Ltd,
Ph 02 49 988 144 (international x 61 2 4998 8144)
Fx 02 49 988 247 (international x 61 2 4998 8247)
Email: pbc@budde.com.au
http://www.budde.com.au

]]> newsroom@abnnewswire.net <![CDATA[ Analyses of Australia Connected ]]> en37134 Y http://www.abnnewswire.net/press/en/37134/ Tue, 19 June 2007 11:18:34 GMT
Is the new plan, Australia Connected, the best way forward? Probably not, but it certainly is the most realistic plan for Australia at this point in time.

The best option would have been for Telstra to work with the government and the industry, but the incumbent has clearly indicated that is has no interest in collaborating with the government, the regulator or the industry to achieve a national broadband plan.

There are/were two ways to proceed.

One would be to legislate the structural separation of Telstra; however very soon after the full privatisation of Telstra (T3) Telstra made it abundantly clear that in those circumstances it would take the government to the High Court, and this would not be an acceptable option for a government seeking re-election.

The second option would be to fund a competitive challenge to Telstra - not perhaps the most efficient and cost-effective tactic, but certainly a good way to get more innovative services and lower broadband prices into the market.

There is no doubt that the new government-funded OPEL consortium will face head-on competition from Telstra. I predict that Telstra will soon launch ADSL2+ services in regional Australia, with prices under the $35 mark (this being at the lower end of the prices that OPEL has indicated it will charge as an entry level). Telstra will want to grab as large a share of this market as possible before OPEL gets off the ground.

This will be a challenge for OPEL but certainly a great outcome for consumers, as it will speedily drive the uptake of high-speed broadband (higher than 2Mb/s) in Australia to close to 50% of all 4.5 million broadband users.

Infrastructure deployment will always be a matter of horses for courses, with fibre, ADSL2+, wireless and broadband power line (BPL) all playing a role in the overall broadband infrastructure map of Australia. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this - all these technologies are quite capable of delivering fast broadband quickly; all are scalable and able to move us towards 50Mb/s and 100Mb/s networks over the next 5 to 15 years.

Of course, I would have preferred the government to have come up with a national broadband blueprint much earlier. I began advocating for this back in 1997 and have been arguing for such a blueprint ever since. To now have yet another expert panel looking at it is a bit late.

Having said that, I am impressed with the people on the government's expert panel, and I am sure that they will come up with some sort of structural separation for the incumbent - or, if not that, then a guarantee that Telstra will be severely restricted in overbuilding and/or undermining any new FttN/FttH networks that may be built by other providers.

We all have learned a lesson from the HFC (cable TV network) overbuild in the mid-1990s, which led to a $7 billion waste of infrastructure investment.

Telstra may have succeeded in delaying the development of broadband in Australia, but it has certainly lost the case it was arguing for - that it needed a monopoly in order to advance broadband in Australia. It is now facing severe competition in both regional and metropolitan Australia. This is a far worse outcome for its shareholders than if the company had opted for a cooperative process in which it could have had a serious input. It has now been pretty much sidelined.
Sure, if the current management stays in place for another year or so we will no doubt see some more tricky tactics , but these will actually only benefit the end-users. Telstra will now be forced to show that it can be competitive. So far its proposed broadband charges would have been double those charged overseas, and the quality would be inferior to that offered elsewhere.

This was clearly picked up by the ACCC last year and when the regulator confronted Telstra on the subject the company broke off discussions. Eventually the Minister also had to accept that this was a totally unreasonable price; voters would simply not have accepted such an outcome.

Telstra's response to Australia Connected, in the form of lower broadband prices for high-speed services, will most certainly undermine some of the investments made by the government and the industry, but the outcome will be good for consumers - and both the government and the industry are going into this process with their eyes open. There is no excuse for them not to have presumed what Telstra's reaction would be in relation to their investments.

A certain waste of infrastructure investment in telecoms is the price we have to pay for ten years of mismanagement of telecoms policies, and for Telstra's bullying over the last two years.

Having accepted this, I believe we can now look ahead to:

- The implementation of Broadband Connect regional infrastructure and access networks from OPEL

- Telstra's competitive reaction to this rollout

- The outcomes of the Expert Panel of experts and the competitive position that Telstra will take in the metropolitan broadband market.

From Legion to belong

I have been following the market activities of Legion since the early nineties.

These were the audiotex days that some of our readers might still remember - providing information services via what are now the 1900 numbers.

It entailed all the drama of any other new development in the telecommunications world: big problems with Telstra, who wanted to dominate both the service and the content; margins were squeezed; and the industry often had to fight for survival. We had to deal with adult content, complete with Senate Inquiries, special regulations, calls for bans and so on.

All these issues are long gone, but Legion, and especially its CEO David Burden, played a key role in guiding the industry through these turbulent times, which attracted its share of cowboys, as well as some very serious media players.

Under David's leadership the industry survived and flourished, and his company became the leading interactive marketing services bureau, as companies like Legion were called in the late 1990s.

Mobile was then added, whereupon Legion pioneered SMS marketing and quickly became the leading partner of the broadcasting industry, both with 1900 numbers and with SMS.

However, it was the Internet that changed the industry forever and, based on the knowledge and experience built up over the years, Legion Interactive, as it was called at that time, became the country's leading digital media marketing company.

No wonder this company has featured several times at the Digital Media Roundtables that I initiated in the early 00s.

The company never sits still. It is now moving into yet another phase, and I am sure this won't be the last. It has now merged with SEE to form an even larger digital media outfit with 130 employees in three cities. SEE is also a rather new advertising company, that has specialised itself in 'branding campaigns' (SEE things differently). Both Legion Interactive and SEE were acquired last year by the Photon Group, an organisation consisting of a number of specialised marketing service companies.

The merged company, belong, claims to be the first communications company that combines purist strategic branding prowess with specialist digital and interactive marketing expertise.

It certainly is the first merger of its kind in Australia. They aim to help brands make sense of the digital age through engaging consumers in their own space, on their own terms. Interestingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, this new company will have an IT group larger than any other advertising agency in the country.

The company has indicated that it will proactively guide brands into the digital age and present them to the new digital consumers in a way that will suit them.

Given Legion's credentials the new company is well-positioned to guide its customers through an increasing number of the digital communication channels that companies can now use to communicate with consumers.

Paul Budde

]]> newsroom@abnnewswire.net <![CDATA[ Roundtable With Paul Budde And Industry Experts Thursday 7th June 2007 ]]> en36955 Y http://www.abnnewswire.net/press/en/36955/ Wed, 6 June 2007 11:47:34 GMT
The key will be to try and achieve the best possible outcome. This might be difficult since diametrically opposed political and business interests are in the balance as well. Nevertheless there are enough people pushing for solutions that will be in the best interest of Australia.

If the regulatory environment is right the government needs to spend significantly less money. Telecommunications is a profitable and lucrative business and the financial market is also watching this space with great interest. At the very least new infrastructure should be based on structural separation.

The Roundtable will update on national developments. The various projects, such as Broadband Connect/the Labor Broadband plan will be discussed, and the technology mix, FttH/FttN, wireless, BPL and ADSL2+, will be unravelled.

AGENDA
09.30 - 10.00
 Arrival and coffee
 
10.00 - 10.15
 Welcome, introduction of delegates
 
10.15 - 11.15
 High level infrastructure vision and strategies.

Paul Budde
 
11.15 - 11.45
 Morning coffee
 
11.45 - 12.05
 Getting the groundwork in place: regulations and policies.

Rosemary Sinclair ATUG
 
12.05 - 12.25
 Investing in telecoms

Mark McDonnell, Telecommunications, Media & Technology Analyst, BBY Limited

12.30 - 13.30
 Light lunch
 
13.30 - 13.50
 Infrastructure developments - fixed networks and facilities

Malcolm Roe, Business Development Director, Nextgen Networks

13.50 - 14.10
 Developments in wireless infrastructure

David Spence Unwired
 
14.10 - 14.40
 Afternoon coffee
 
14.40 - 16.30
 Panel discussion with presenters

16.30
 Close
In the panel discussions delegates have the opportunity to discuss of course the various market and industry developments with the experts but also query them about how they forecast, what criteria they use, etc.

Cost includes morning/afternoon coffee and lunch

Venue: The Observatory Hotel, 89-113 Kent Street, Sydney

Booking:

Online registration:
http://www.budde.com.au/consultancy/public-workshops-seminars.html 

PAUL BUDDE Communication Pty Ltd,
T/As BuddeComm
5385 George Downes Drive
BUCKETTY NSW 2250B,
Ph 02 49 988 144 (international x 61 2 4998 8144)
Fx 02 49 988 247 (international x 61 2 4998 8247)
mailto:pbc@budde.com.au
http://www.budde.com.au

]]> newsroom@abnnewswire.net <![CDATA[ 2007 Latin America - Telecoms, Mobile &amp; Broadband Overview ]]> en36486 Y http://www.abnnewswire.net/press/en/36486/ Mon, 14 May 2007 01:48:43 GMT
This report presents a concise overview of sector liberalisation and privatisation in Latin America, government initiatives and regulations in the telecom industry, the development of product offerings for both mobile and broadband technologies, essential country statistics in all telecom sectors, and the emergence of new technologies such as VoIP, WiMAX, convergence, and triple play.

Key highlights

- The Latin American economy grew by 5.0% in 2006. Forecasts for 2007/08 show a slowing down of economic growth, to 4.3% and 3.9% respectively.

- Despite a low 17% average teledensity, fixed-line growth in Latin America continues to stagnate.

- There is a marked trend towards the use of alternative systems in fixed-line telephony, especially WLL and VoIP.

- Broadband grew at an annual rate of around 54% in 2006, making Latin America one of the world's fastest growing regions in terms of broadband uptake. But broadband penetration at end-2006 was only 2.5%, considerably less than the global average of 5.4%. With its level of GDP per capita, Latin America should in principle have ended 2006 with a broadband penetration of 3.5%.

- By early 2007, broadband subscribers exceeded dial-up accounts in all of Latin America's major markets.

- ADSL continues to be the prevalent broadband technology in Latin America, retaining a 73% share of the broadband market.

- The Latin American broadband leaders are Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Chile. In early 2007, these four countries accounted for around 80% of all broadband subscribers in the region.

- Latin America is at the forefront of global WiMAX deployment. WiMAX Forum certified networks have been launched in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Venezuela, while pre-WiMAX systems are operating in Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Uruguay.

- Several companies are planning to launch IPTV, but some must wait for regulatory reforms because in a few countries (eg, Argentina) telcos are not allowed to offer pay TV services. Telefonica, in particular, is hoping to launch IPTV in Chile, Argentina, and Brazil, where it could replicate the service it already offers in Spain under the brand name Imagenio. Other companies with plans to launch IPTV include UNE-EPM and ETB in Colombia, and Telemar and Brasil Telecom in Brazil.

- TV companies in Mexico began to offer Latin America's first HDTV services in 2005 and 2006, following the government's formal approval of the ATSC standard for DTTV in July 2004.

- In June 2006, the Brazilian government officially adopted the Japanese digital TV standard, known as Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting (ISDB).

- Honduras was the third country in Latin America and the first in Central America to elect a standard for digital terrestrial TV. It officially adopted the ATSC digital TV standard in January 2007.

- There has been much disagreement in Latin America on the issue of DTT standards, since there is a strong lobby that favours the ATSC system, while supporters of Europe's Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) are also active, and of course, Brazil is exerting pressure on its neighbours to adopt the ISDB standard.

- Mobile telephony is one of the most dynamic industries in Latin America, growing 37% in 2005 and 28% in 2006. Subscriber additions were slowing down towards the end of 2006, however, which could be an indication that the region's largest markets are nearing maturity.

- Mobile phones have overtaken fixed-lines in service in every Latin American country except Cuba. In early 2007, there were 308 million mobile subscribers in Latin America compared with 96 million fixed-lines. Paraguay leads the trend, with ten mobile phones for every fixed line in service.

- By early 2007, mobile penetration in the region had surpassed the 50% milestone, but there are considerable variations from country to country. Apart from a few small Caribbean islands with mobile penetration is over 100%, the highest rates are found in Chile, Jamaica, and Argentina, with 80.5%, 80.4%, and 74.8% penetration respectively. Cuba continues to stagnate at 1.4% mobile penetration, while Haiti shot up by 323.1% in 2006 to 19.8% penetration, thanks to the launch in May 2006 of Digicel's low-priced GSM phones.

- Seven countries - Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, and Peru - claim around 84% of the region's mobile subscribers. Brazil and Mexico together account for 51% of all mobile subscribers in Latin America.

- GSM is the preferred technology by far, with a market share of around 69%, CDMA continues to increase sluggishly, and TDMA is on its way out. Every country in Latin America and the Caribbean (including, since 2006, Haiti) enjoys GSM-based mobile services.

- 3G spectrum auctions are expected to begin in Brazil and in Chile before the end of 2007. Differently from Europe and Japan, Latin American countries do not anticipate expensive 3G licences.

- Mobile Average Revenue per User (ARPU) in Latin America has stabilised at around US$17, increasing slightly during 2006 in some of the major markets.

- America Movil and Telefonica Moviles (jointly with Portugal Telecom in Brazil) compete with each other in all of Latin America's major economies. Between them, they serve around 65% of the region's mobile subscribers.

- Verizon pulled out of the Dominican Republic in December 2006 and out of Puerto Rico in March 2007. It sold both Verizon Dominicana and Telecomunicaciones de Puerto Rico to America Movil.

- In April 2006, Verizon had also agreed to sell Venezuela incumbent CANTV to America Movil and Telmex, but in February 2007, the Venezuelan government moved to re-nationalise the operator, and offered approximately US$572 million for Verizon's 28.5% stake in CANTV.

- Telecom Italia had been toying with the idea of selling its 50% stake in Entel, Bolivia's long-distance incumbent operator, since 2004. But in April 2007, the Bolivian government issued a presidential decree setting a 30-day deadline to negotiate Entel's re-nationalisation.

- Mossel's Digicel continued its expansion, adding new operations in Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Haiti, and Turks & Caicos. By early 2007, it was active in about 20 Caribbean markets. It entered El Salvador in October 2006 - this being Digicel's first incursion into the mobile market of Central America.

For those needing high-level strategic information and objective analysis on this region, this 91+ page report is essential reading and gives further information on:

- Regulatory developments;

- Fixed-line developments, including the adoption of alternative technologies such as VoIP;

- Mobile telephony growth, and the up-take of mobile data services;

- Broadband growth and the incursion into wireless technologies such as WiMAX;

- Convergence and triple play developments.


Data in this report is the latest available at the time of preparation and may not be for the current year.

Latin America Reports

BuddeComm produces 8 Latin America reports which are all unique publications.
Some published this year for the 6th time.

- The Mercosur Countries, Guyana, Surname and Venezuela

- The Andean Countries

- Mexico and the Caribbean Countries

- Central America

- Latin America Overview

- Convergence, Broadband and Internet Market

- Mobile Communications and Mobile Data Market

- Telecommunications Market


For detailed information, table of contents and pricing see:

http://www.budde.com.au/publications/annual/latin-america/latin-america.html

Chris Lewis 
Paul Budde Communications
www.budde.com.au

Tel. +61 2 4998 8144.
Fax. +61 2 4998 8247.
E-mail: louise@budde.com.au
Web site: www.budde.com.au

]]> newsroom@abnnewswire.net <![CDATA[ Budde Communications Publish Latin America Telecommunications Reports ]]> en35958 Y http://www.abnnewswire.net/press/en/35958/ Fri, 30 Mar 2007 13:58:23 GMT
- Belize: While geographically part of Central America, Belize has much in common with its Caribbean Island neighbours. The Belizean telecom market was officially liberalised in January 2003, yet the incumbent, Belize Telecommunications (BTL), still holds a virtual monopoly. With scant competition and ineffective regulatory control, it has been able to charge exorbitant rates for its services. A controversy over VoIP is a case in point. Although both the government and the regulator declared that they wanted to move the telecom sector towards greater competition, in practice BTL lobbied against VoIP and has been able to block any possible competitors from using VoIP. BTL does, however, face competition in the mobile sector, where SpeedNet launched services in March 2005 under the brand name Smart, and succeeded in carving out about 18% of the market after only 15 months of operation.

- Costa Rica: State-owned Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) and its subsidiary RACSA are the monopoly providers of virtually all telecom services except for pay TV and paging. While this situation worked in the past, it is now leading to considerable problems, such as long waiting lists for phones, poor service quality, obsolescence, and lack of investment. Although it has one of the highest fixed-line teledensity rates in Latin America, Costa Rica's mobile penetration is significantly lower than the regional average and well below what could be expected given its relatively high GDP per capita. The preliminary signing of the Dominican Republic-Central American Free-Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) in January 2004 marked a significant step for Costa Rica, as DR-CAFTA calls for the liberalisation of some telecom services. But the Costa Rican population is deeply divided over DR-CAFTA, and the ratification of the agreement has been delayed, together with any liberalisation plans.

- El Salvador: The country's telecom market is among the most open in Central America. The government's liberal approach has allowed new technologies to flourish. Fixed-line teledensity, however, remains low. Despite growing steadily, phone lines, mainly in rural areas, are insufficient to meet local demand. Mobile telcos have capitalised on the underdeveloped fixed-line network by emphasising their ability to offer a fast, high-quality service with nationwide coverage. At more than 42%, El Salvador's mobile penetration is lower than the Latin American average, but is remarkably high considering the country's low GDP per capita. The mobile market is served by five competing operators, and there are about three times as many mobile phones as fixed lines in service. With a budding VoIP market, and cable TV telcos permitted to provide telephony and Internet, El Salvador is a promising country for convergence strategies. Two operators already offer triple play services.

- Guatemala: The largest telecom market in Central America, Guatemala has been held back by poverty, income inequality, and violence. The distribution of income in Guatemala is highly unequal, with around 75% of the population below the poverty line. The telephone system reflects this inequality, with a relatively modern network centred in Guatemala City, but one of the lowest teledensity rates in the region. Outside the capital, the rest of the country's fixed-line infrastructure is inadequate and antiquated, though much improved since the telecom sector was liberalised in 1996. Mobile telephony is the fastest growing market. There are about four times as many mobile phones as fixed lines in service. While mobile penetration is about 20% lower than the Latin American average, it is remarkably high considering that the country's GDP per capita is roughly one-half that of the region as a whole.

- Honduras: One of the poorest countries in the Latin America, Honduras has one of the least developed telecom infrastructures and the fourth lowest teledensity in the region. Fixed-line telephony was officially opened to competition in December 2005. A New Telecom Law governing full liberalisation, however, has been delayed due to political controversy over the role of Empresa Hondurena de Telecomunicaciones (Hondutel), the state-owned national telecom provider. Efforts to privatise the incumbent have so far failed to come to fruition, and are awaiting the New Telecom Law to be passed. Two companies compete in the mobile market: Millicom's Tigo and America Movil's Claro. Unsatisfied demand for basic telephony has driven a veritable boom in the mobile market, with annual growth rates of around 80%.

- Nicaragua: With the second lowest fixed-line teledensity in Latin America (after Haiti), Nicaragua is one of a growing list of countries leapfrogging directly into mobile communications. Nicaragua's mobile phones exceed the number of fixed lines in service by almost seven to one. In fact, while Nicaragua's fixed-line teledensity is the second lowest in Latin America, its mobile penetration is the fifth lowest, surpassing Honduras, Peru, Haiti, and Cuba. Since 2004, the country's mobile market has been growing at an average annual rate of approximately 60%. Liberalisation of the fixed-line market is still awaiting proper implementation, having been delayed by political and legal wrangles. America Movil's Enitel holds a virtual monopoly over the country's fixed lines. The mobile market, on the other hand, is a lively duopoly between Telefonica's Movistar and America Movil's Claro, the latter clearly in the lead with a 70% market share.

- Panama: With significant telecom infrastructure, a liberalised market, and serviced by five global fibre optic cables, Panama is an attractive country for telecom investments, especially following the October 2006 decision to broaden the Panama Canal. Competition, however, is slow to develop in basic telephony, where the incumbent Cable & Wireless Panama (C&WP) is reluctant to unbundle its local network, but the long distance sector has attracted several players, leading to huge price drops, especially in international calls. During 2006, C&WP was the Panamanian public services company that incurred the most complaints. Its mobile unit, trading as +Movil, has a 50% share of the mobile market; Telefonica's Movistar has the other 50%. In the Internet market, although penetration is still low, dial-up and ADSL connections are developing at a fast pace; growth potential in this sector is excellent. The leading cable TV company, Cable Onda, has started to offer Triple Play services (converged broadband, telephony and pay TV).

Country Reports

BuddeComm produces 8 Latin America reports which are all unique publications.
Published this year for the 6th time.

- The Mercosur Countries

- The Andean Countries

- Mexico and the Caribbean Countries

- Central America

- Latin America Overviews

- Mobile Communications and Mobile Data Market

- Convergence, Broadband and Internet market

- Telecommunications Market

For detailed information, table of contents and pricing see:

http://www.budde.com.au/publications/annual/latin-america/latin-america.html 

The reports are available from:
BuddeComm, 5385 George Downes Drive, 
Bucketty NSW 2250 AUSTRALIA
Tel: +61 2 4998 8144
Fax: +61 2 4998 8247
E-mail: louise@budde.com.au
E-mail: pbc@ budde.com.au 
Web site: www.budde.com.au

]]> newsroom@abnnewswire.net <![CDATA[ Utilities and Broadband Power Line Workshop Roundtable Sydney Oct 18 ]]> en33345 Y http://www.abnnewswire.net/press/en/33345/ Fri, 6 Oct 2006 10:19:11 GMT
BPL is performing well, when compared with most other technologies. The next step is to make the transition from the current trial status to the commercial arena, and this will require the establishment of an appropriate regulatory framework to support the technological developments that are occurring.

The federal, state and territory governments recently suggested a national rollout of energy-saving smart meters commencing in 2007. Trials are underway in all states, some using off line solutions, others narrowband communications. However, this meter overhaul is an once-in-a-lifetime chance to propel Australia to the forefront of this development - let's not waste it. A smart-reader broadband infrastructure (BPL) could well lead to a third national broadband platform, next to telecoms and digital TV. Such a network could save energy costs; is good for the environment; cuts operational network costs and opens up opportunities for new home automation and home networking business opportunities.

Aurora in Tasmania is a global leader in BPL with advanced plans to deliver true broadband services to Tasmania. The company is steaming ahead and there will be an update on the project.

BPL is also an integral part of the UtiliTel's response to Broadband Connect. UtiliTel works together with other companies within the Wholesale Industry Group. And the latest updates on these developments will also be discussed.

Topics will include:

- Smart metering and home automation

- Network automation

- Demand side management

- Broadband BPL

- VoIP and IPTV

- Networking fibre with BPL

- International standardisation still 2 years away?

- The truth about radio interference

- BPL for home networking

Venue: The Observatory Hotel, 89-113 Kent Street, Sydney

Booking:
For online registration: http://www.budde.com.au/conferences/public-workshops-seminars.html.
Telephone: 02 4998 8144
Email: pbc@budde.com.au


Networking dinner - Tuesday (night before the Roundtable) 17th of October

Theme - Investments and Partnerships

With the government's guidelines out in the open, and a deadline for end November, the various consortia are now busily getting their plans together.

With government funding in place, and some very solid partnerships in the making, there is increased interest in issues such as equity investments, partnerships and around the corner mergers and acquisitions are appearing on the horizon.

It is also appropriate for the financial market to participate in the debate in order to achieve outcomes that are financially realistic and viable.

The exact format of this networking dinner will be based on your input. Let me know if you have any ideas and suggestions.

Booking:

For online registration:
http://www.budde.com.au/conferences/public-workshops-seminars.html.
Alternatively Telephone: 02 4998 8144
Email: pbc@budde.com.au

PAUL BUDDE Communication Pty Ltd,
T/As BuddeComm
5385 George Downes Drive
BUCKETTY NSW 2250B,
Ph 02 49 988 144 (international x 61 2 4998 8144)
Fx 02 49 988 247 (international x 61 2 4998 8247)
mailto:pbc@budde.com.au
http://www.budde.com.au

]]> newsroom@abnnewswire.net <![CDATA[ 2006 Asia Telecom, Broadband and Mobile Reports; Malaysia, Philippines ]]> en33008 Y http://www.abnnewswire.net/press/en/33008/ Tue, 12 Sept 2006 15:35:45 GMT
Mobile penetration passed the 80% mark in early 2006, with subscriber numbers at the same time passing 20 million. This was up from only 2 million subscribers in 1998. Malaysia has the second highest mobile penetration in South East Asia after Singapore. Malaysia's mobile users have also been enthusiastic in their adoption of Short Message Service (SMS), with the regulator reporting that Malaysians sent more than 9 billion SMS during 2005. On the other hand, the story with fixed-line services has not been so good. Having moved rapidly from around 2 million in 1990 to 4.7 million in 2002 (penetration approaching 20% at the time), fixed-line subscriber numbers dipped to 4.6 million by end-2003 and were sitting at 4.3 million by the start of 2006.

Malaysia has also been continuing to develop its multi-billion dollar Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) project, another part of the government's strategy to turn Malaysia into the high technology hub of South East Asia. So far more than US$5 billion has been invested in this project. The government says that it is meeting targets, with over 1,200 companies already involved.

Philippines - Over the last decade or so, there has been a concerted effort by the government in the Philippines, working with the country's telecom operators, to expand the national fixed network. Despite a lot of effort and the best of intentions, the country has been struggling to extend its basic telephone network to reach the wider population. Despite this effort fixed-line teledensity stands at less than 5% and only a little more than half of all Philippine towns and cities have a telephone service. In fact, a fixed-line teledensity of 12% by 2002 was the target set for the government's Service Area Scheme. The plan fell well short of target, achieving a teledensity of just over 4% by that time. Fixed-line penetration has not increased much since.

More recently, however, there has been a rapid take-up of mobile services and, following on from that, the remarkably high national usage of the Short Message Service (SMS) throughout the country. Mobile penetration has grown quickly to have reached 40% (35 million subscribers) by early 2006, up from only 2.7 million mobile subscribers in the country at end-1999. For the moment it looks to have reached a plateau at the 40% penetration level. Not surprisingly, mobiles have well and truly overwhelmed fixed-line services. Much of the recent growth in mobiles was coming from outside the main city of Manila, with the big operators, Globe and Smart, vying for lower income segments of the population by offering a range of cheap prepaid products. Further growth in the market will depend on the pricing and marketing strategies of the operators, as well as the growth in the country's economy.

There appears to be considerable ongoing optimism in the Philippine telecom market as the sector has been contributing over 10% to the country's GDP, boosted considerably by the mobile segment.

Overview of Asian Reports:
Geographical Reports:

- China
- India
- Japan
- Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
- Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
- Brunei Darussalam and Singapore
- Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam
- Indonesia, Timor Leste
- Malaysia, Philippines
- Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan
- North Korea and South Korea

Regional Market Reports:

- Central Asian Broadband and Internet Market
- Central Asian Telecom Statistics and Market Overview
- Central Asian Mobile Communications and Mobile Data Markets
- North Asian Broadband and Internet Market
- North Asian Telecom Statistics and Market Overview
- North Asian Mobile Communications and Mobile Data Markets
- South Asian Broadband and Internet Market
- South Asian Telecom Statistics and Market Overview
- South Asian Mobile Communications and Mobile Data Markets
- South East Asian Broadband and Internet Market
- South East Asian Telecom Statistics and Market Overview
- South East Asian Mobile Communications and Mobile Data Markets


2006 Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband in Asia report - Malaysia and Philippines

This report provides a comprehensive overview of the trends and developments in telecommunications, broadcasting and pay TV markets in Malaysia and Philippines.

Subjects covered include:
- Key Statistics
- Market and Industry Overviews
- Regulatory Environment
- Major Players (fixed and mobile)
- Infrastructure
- Mobile Voice and Data Markets
- Internet, VoIP, IPTV
- Broadband (FttH, DSL, cable TV, wireless)
- Convergence and Digital Media

Approx number of pages 180

For detailed information, table of contents and pricing see:
www.budde.com.au/publications/annual/asia/malaysia-philippines.html

Tel. 61 2 4998 8144
Chris Lewis
Paul Budde Communications
www.budde.com.au

]]> newsroom@abnnewswire.net