Telecommunications (International Edition) articles from April 2002

Telecommunications (International Edition) archives from April 2002

In search of truth: "we should be wary of opinions masquerading as facts in an industry as complex and dynamic as telecom.". (Commentary).
April 1, 2002... Telecom is capable of constant surprise. Not only has it had more than its fair share of ups and downs but has continually wrong-footed the analyst community with unpredictable twists and turns. Let's look at a few examples from the past,...

Analysts argue over videoconferencing prospects. (Global).
April 1, 2002... Not everyone believes the videoconferencing industry will benefit in the long term after the tragic events of September 11th. "There has been a hike in interest for videoconferencing products but it's more than likely to dissipate as customers...

Roaming charges must fall says EC. (Europe).
April 1, 2002... The European Commission (EC) has warned mobile operators to reduce their roaming charges and introduce greater tariff transparency for end-users this year. One issue is the pricing of 'on-net' roaming, which refers to a user roaming from...

OFS disputes 'fibre glut' perception. (Global).(Optical Fibre Solutions )
April 1, 2002... Journalists and analysts are wrong when they say there is a fibre glut. That's the view of Optical Fibre Solutions (OFS), which believes the 'misunderstanding' has primarily stemmed from a report by Merrill Lynch. Although the fibre-optic...

MobileOne urges 3G realism. (Singapore).
April 1, 2002... "3G was over-hyped a couple of years ago but now I think it's over-criticised," says Neil Montefiore, CEO of MobileOne (M1), a fixed-line and mobile operator in Singapore. "The reality is it will take time before it takes off." Speaking to...

Satellite operators form association. (News in brief).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The major executives of nine satellite operators hove signed 'articles of association', which form the European Satellite Operators Association (ESOA), a non-profit group to be based in Brussels. The organisation will now represent the...

3G network sharing approved. (News in brief).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The Swedish Competition Authority has given the green light for 3G network sharing between two competing mobile operators -- Telia and Tele2 -- within their home markets. The decision means that they are now exempt for five years from on...

Vodafone/T-Mobile payment initiative. (News in brief).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Vodafone and T-Mobile, the mobile arm of Deutsche Telekom, hove announced the creation of on interoperable mobile payment platform, which is aimed at accelerating customer and merchant adoption of mobile transactions. The companies are planning...

Saying it how it is: Peter Erskine, CEO of mmO2, talks candidly to Telecommunications[R] International about life after the BT de-merger. (View from the top).
April 1, 2002... Peter Erskine is a no-nonsense man who likes to get straight to the point. "We know what we've got to deliver and we know we're only as good as each quarter," says mmO2's CEO. Formerly known as BT Wireless, the mmO2 holding company was...

NGOSS means a quicker ROI: if operators are to shorten their return on investment (ROI) period, a new approach to OSS is required -- cue new generation operations systems and software (NGOSS). (The cost-effective network).
April 1, 2002... Today's generation of OSS/BSS is not keeping pace with industry change. That's not to say that the current crop of operational support systems (OSS) and business support systems (BSS) has nothing to offer but rather the telecoms landscape has...

No wholesale changes: in much the same way as ILECs have resisted local loop unbundling to protect their own interests, there's no reason to believe that their DSL wholesale strategies will represent a change of priorities. (The cost-effective network).
April 1, 2002... Local loop unbundling (LLU) in Europe has been a failure. No matter how you look at the ECTA LLU scorecard (Table 1) the penetration levels of fully unbundled lines -- with the possible exceptions of Germany and Denmark -- are pitifully low....

Lowering the iTV barriers: according to the vendor community, technological advances are strengthening the business case for delivering interactive TV (iTV) services over DSL networks. (The cost-effective network).
April 1, 2002... Telco operators would be making a grave mistake if they ignored the business opportunity provided by broadband entertainment and interactive TV (iTV) services. The traditional telco business -- fixed-line telephony -- is shrinking and cable...

VPNs under surveillance: operators who can offer their VPN customers an easy way to monitor SLAs will enjoy market advantage. (The cost-effective network).
April 1, 2002... A virtual private network (VPN), if well engineered, can provide all of the liability, security and performance of a private network. More imporatantly, it can do so at a fraction of the cost. Instead of the service provider devoting...

The IP clearinghouse defence: the revenues of ILECs and carriers are under constant market attack -- IP clearinghouses could be a valuable form of defence. (The cost-effective network).
April 1, 2002... At a time when the telecom industry is awash with stories of depressed profits, redundancies and cost cutting, how can the wholesale market continue to offer realistic hopes of profit for the despondent carrier or ILEC (incumbent local exchange...

VSATs -- the rural choice? In remote and rural areas, where there is little or no terrestrial communications infrastructure, can VSAT platforms prove their value despite market barriers? (Industry & Market Update).(Very Small Aperture Terminals)
April 1, 2002... Making a phone call, surfing the internet or receiving a fax are everyday functions of life token for granted -- by only 50 per cent of the world's population. For the other half, access to communication systems is far more elusive. The...

A business strategy reappraisal: a small but growing number of mobile operators are radically rethinking their business models to make sure that m-commerce application providers are adequately funded. (Industry & Market Update).(report by Mobile Matrix)
April 1, 2002... Have you ever tried to grow a plant without any water? By the same token, it seems equally ridiculous that mobile operators -- after spending a fortune on 3G licences and infrastructure rollout -- should not invest in the very thing that...

EW SY 1600 phase-locked loop modules. (New Products and Services).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... Thales Microsonics (TMX) Thales Microsonics has introduced a new family of phase-locked loop (PLL) modules for base station applications, which integrate the PLL IC, the loop filter and the voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO). The company...

FTB-5800 Chromatic Dispersion Analyser. (New Products and Services).(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... EXFO Electra-Optical Engineering EXFO has released the FTB-5800 Chromatic Dispersion Analyser, a high-performance test module contained inside the FTB-400 field-testing platform for deployment and upgrade of high-speed DWDM networks. ...

QESM04. (New Products and Services).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... Temex Temex has announced QESM04, a crystal unit housed in a SMD package that measures 6x3/5x1 mm. Specifically dedicated to bluetooth applications it offers an overall stability of [+ or -]20ppm in one year. The company says it is easily...

Dual Gigabit Ethernet Transponder. (New Products and Services).(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2002... Lumentis Lumentis has introduced the one-slot Dual GigE Transponder which is capable of aggregating two gigabit ethernet (GigE) signals on a single wavelength. The company says this allows for more efficient use of the metro network and...