connections - Connect-World

All articles are available for download at www.connect-world.comCONTENTSConnectionsFrom the Editor-In-Chief’s deskby Fredric J. MorrisImprintSubscription5 9 13 1720 22 24 2730 34 37 4044 46 51 53AdvertorialCommunicAsia 2007AdvertisementsBTAlvarionINTECPCCWEmerson Network PowerITU Telecom EuropeBroadband World Forum AsiaSviaz/Expo Comm Moscow 2008WiMax World Europe 2007TeleManagment ForumNXTCOMMCommunicAsia 2007Mobility World Congress & ExhibitionEEBC2nd World Mobile TV Summit & Show4th Annual Telecom Conference forCSEEVoIP & Wireless VoIPTelecoms World Africa 07Customer Contact Asia-Pacific 2007KeymileEricsson225642IFC34781112151619262932353841475055IBCOBCNational developmentICT – the shaping of Bulgaria’s future 5by Dr Plamen Vatchov, Chairman, State Agency for Information Technology andCommunications, Republic of BulgariaA matter of inclusion 9by Paolo Gentiloni, Minister for Communications, ItalyRegulatory affairsRe-thinking regulation in the age of convergence 13by Corrado Calabrò, President of AGCOM -The Communications Regulatory Authority, ItalyReinventing the sectorCompeting for our future 17by Andy Green, CEO, BT Global ServicesFixed-mobile convergenceDigital technology - changing the world of media 20by Jacques Dunogué, Senior Executive Vice President, andHead of Systems Division, ThomsonConvergent communicationsConvergence ‘à la carte’ for enterprise-wide IP communications 22by John Irvine, Vice President, International Marketing, Verizon BusinessFixed-mobile convergenceEnterprise convergence - communications on the move 24by Lars-Michael Paqvalën, CEO and Co-founder, TelepoUsage convergenceBlurring the lines 27by Roy Bedlow, Vice President of Palm EMEA3G broadbandKeep on moving: the evolution of 3G 30by Mikael Bäck, Vice President, Product and Portfolio Management, Business Unit Networks,Ericsson ABBillingFixed-mobile convergence - who owns the customer? 34by Stuart Madeley, Chairman, Global Billing AssociationInternet service providersThe ISP’s changing universe 37by Barry Shrier, Founder and Chief Executive, Liberty Europe NetworkSIPSIP network strategies 40by Olle Westerberg, CEO, Ingate SystemsOpen accessTriple play first, what next? 44by Michael Engström, VP Global Business Development, PacketFront Sweden ABIPTVThe IPTV edge 46by Reto Brader, General Manager, Pixelmetrix CorporationIntellectual propertyIntellectual property in the new network environment 51by Robert Lind, Partner, Marks & Clerk, Patent and Trademark AttorneyNetwork strategiesThe network business - strategies for tomorrow 53by Konstantin Nikashov, VP, External Economic Activities, MERA Systemsand member of the Executive Board, MERA GroupEurope issue II 2007 n 01

National developmenting sure that all networks can accept allthe ‘vehicles’ that satisfy its predefinedcharacteristics.Metaphors aside, we need to normalise,at a global level, the network protocolsand frequencies, and the information formatsand communication protocols usedin networked information systems. In fact,the success of the Internet is built uponthe automatic systems that establish andmaintain communications between the users.These automatic systems are basedupon precise information, exchange rulesor protocols that let the equipment coordinatethe communications session, andmaintain it so that users can exchangeinformation. The capacity of networks tocommunicate with each other, and theease of communication between man andterminal, are the fundamental prerequisitesfor global networks and real informationexchange among users, no matterwhere they are or where the informationcomes from.Another issue on the electronic communicationsagenda is ‘convergence’. Todaythere is talk of ‘triple play’, meaning theconvergence of voice, data and video services,all delivered simultaneously to userson the same network, without the needfor the separate networks each service requiredin the past. If we also include theincreasingly common convergence betweenfixed and mobile telephony, we arespeaking, then, of ‘quadruple (or quad)play’. What sorts of networks, however,are needed for such broad convergence,and what are operators and manufacturersactually doing to provide quad-play?Throughout the world, research, developmentand deployment of NGNs, next generationnetworks, able to integrate fixedand mobile voice, data and video are allbeing actively pursued. The crucial issuesmanufacturers and operators alike aretackling include those of network trafficcapacity, the availability of content suitablefor local needs and the universalisation ofaccess. Perhaps the biggest issue to beresolved is that of access to all citizens -regardless of where they are, where theylive or their economic status.In Italy, all operators, to a greater or lesserdegree, are considering the deploymentof NGNs, and are trying to develop solutionsbased on present services and technologies.In Italy today, next generationnetworks mean VoIP, Voice over InternetProtocol, IPTV, Internet Protocol Television,and triple-play solutions in general,and operators are trying to identify an integratedframework for all these servicescompatible with the specifications emergingfrom NGN research. Italy’s operators,as are operators throughout the world,are closely watching NGN developmentsaround the globe, which are increasinglymoving in the direction of greater serviceintegration and the definition of commonstandards.Italy strongly supports all the internationalinitiatives that promote the widest possibledeployment and availability of telecommunicationsnetworks for both economic developmentand personal use. This meansgiving our support to the international bodiesresponsible for drawing up access protocols,deploying network infrastructure,facilitating multi-technology and multi-serviceaccess, and providing support to telecommunicationoperators and companiesfor the development of networks. Moreover,we are supporting and promoting thedevelopment of technologies that facilitatecost effective, technologically efficient,access for the population as a whole, toenable all citizens to benefit from the servicesprovided on the new networks.We are also promoting new online services,especially those that make informationand social services available to those thatwould be penalised if profit is the only considerationin deciding which content andapplications are made available. No lessimportant, since networks have no bordersand are beyond the control of national authorities,is the development of initiativesoutside national and regional spheresaimed at blocking the transmission ofcontent that glorifies violence and racialhatred or offends the dignity of people, orinvolves paedophilia and pornography.Our primary concern is digital exclusionand the need to promote the digital inclusionof our entire population. At a timewhen network access is opening up theworld, giving users a chance to reach farbeyond their local environment by accessingglobal services and knowledge, exclusionfrom access means marginalisation.It is fundamentally important to provideaccess for those who are currently denied,for one reason or another, access toknowledge or services.What are the consequences of being deniedaccess to the network, to the Internetand to the global information society?First, such exclusion means fewer opportunitiesto gain knowledge and information.In fact, if we consider the item fromthe New York Times I quoted at the beginning,not having access to networksmight one day mean not being able to access,at all, certain sources of information.Paradoxically, this notice comes at a timewhen the global nature of networks makesall information, potentially at least, accessibleeven in the most distant and isolatedareas of the planet. Second, since thetendency is to provide an ever increasingnumber of public services through the net,those without access will find it increasinglydifficult to avail themselves of publicservices; they will be increasingly excludedin a world where, again paradoxically,the availability of these services is potentiallyubiquitous.Digital exclusion occurs primarily on twolevels. One level excludes certain, predominantlylower social strata and remoteregions within a given country. Anotherlevel of exclusion is seen when entirecountries or multinational regional communitieslack significant access to digitalcommunications, to the global economyand the information society. In both instances,technology instead of closingexisting gaps between have and have-notcommunities, tends to widen them. Thisresults in the marginalisation of increasinglylarge populations, areas of a countryor entire multi-national communities.To address both these issues, Italy is workingprogressively to reduce existing differencesand facilitate the use of advancedservices hosted on electronic communicationnetworks. The growing use of NGNsand the advance services and applicationsthey make possible, makes the riskof exclusion even greater. Strong, decisiveaction is needed to foster widespread accessfor all levels of society everywhere,no matter how far, how remote, the regionis. n10 n Europe issue II 2007

MAKE THE RIGHT CONNECTIONSMultiplying ideas, transferring knowledge and making the right connections are whatSofia, Bulgaria3-6 DecemberITU TELECOM EUROPE 2007 is all about. It’s the crucial ICT networking platform for theEuropean region. Join leaders of industry, governments, regulators, innovators andvisionaries to explore, discuss and shape the future of Europe’s ICT sector. Organizedby the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Visit www.itu.int/europe2007Europe issue II 2007 n 11

Regulatory affairsRe-thinking regulation in the age of convergenceby Corrado Calabrò, President of AGCOM -the Communications Regulatory Authority, ItalyThe rapid technological evolution of the telecom sector, the expansion of the globalinformation-based economy, and the need to ensure equitable, universal access tosociety as a whole has focused attention upon the need for independent regulators.The regulator must balance the needs of society and regulate the use of telecommunicationsfor the common good. Fostering the affordable availability of broadbandaccess, and the services it carries, is essential to the growth of Italy’s economy andthe well-being of its population.Corrado Calabrò is the President of AGCOM, Italy’s regulatory authority. He served previously as the President of the Regional AdministrativeCourt of Lazio Region, where he also chaired the section that oversees the Competition Authority, Consob (Stock marketControl Authority) and the National Bank of Italy. At the Council of State he was assigned to jurisdictional and consultative sections andto the Council of Administrative Justice of Sicily Region. Mr Calabrò has served in a great number of significant posts, including: Headof Cabinet to a number of ministers (Budget, South, Health, Industry, Agriculture, Commercial Navy, Post & Telecommunications, PublicEducation and University, EU Policies, Institutional Reforms); President of the 3rd Section; President of the Section for regulatoryacts; Chairman of the Permanent Advisory Committee on intellectual property; President of the Association of Judges of the Council ofState; Head of the technical-legal Secretariat of the President of the Council of Ministers, Aldo Moro. Mr Calabrò was first ranked in anational competition for the Council of State, of which he later became President. He is the author of a number of works on labour andadministrative law. He is a poet and a writer.Mr Calabrò graduated, magna cum laude, in law from Messina University. Both Mechnikov University of Odessa, in 1997, and Vest DinUniversity of Timisoara, in 2000, awarded him honorary degrees honoris causa ad gradum.The trend towards the convergence of thebroadcasting and telecom sectors is widelyacknowledged. What remains to be assessed,fully understood and tackled arethe regulatory consequences with regardto telecom and broadcasting networks,services and operators, including the newemerging markets such as broadcastingto mobile devices, broadcasting over theInternet, over broadband networks, andthe like.Bottlenecks may arise because of convergencethat might result in the appearanceof new monopolies that restrict accessto certain resources, such as networks,spectrum and content, among others.Regulation to guarantee fair competitionand access to scarce resources will needto be addressed, focusing upon the regulatoryapproaches that are being appliedor considered.In this context, the topics that the stakeholdersneed to address and focus uponare:• should all service providers be subjectto the same regulation?• Who has access to the necessary resources?• How should access to networks orspectrum be provided and regulated?• Who shall be authorised or licensed?• Who can access, develop and delivercontent? Who is entitled to distribute selfgeneratedcontent? and,• What sort of competition should be encouragedand guaranteed in order to accesscontent?Lately, an article in The Economist beganby questioning whether today’s convergencefrenzy is a case of mass hysteriain the telecom sector. This is clearly a provocativequestion, but it helps us bring thediscussion back to earth and deal with theproblem more realistically than has beenthe practice in recent debates.In the past we have too often witnessedforecasting failures. I remember, a driveto concentrate marketing and operationsbased upon a so-called ‘multi-utilities’concept, this was to have resulted in thebundling of a wide variety of services suchas telecom, electricity, and even water andgas into a single package.In the past few years, however, the bundling,the convergence, has just occurredin the communication services sector(voice, data, video, content, and IT services)with little or no inclusion of servicesfrom other sectors.In addition, overly optimistic forecastshave prevailed in the market for 4-C (computer,communications, consumer electronics,e-content) convergence; remember,for example, the prices paid in Europefor 3G licences and how heavily Europeanoperators were burdened as a result.Convergence is now seen, however, injoint offers of integrated communicationservices that bundle fixed telephony andbroadband access to the Internet for adouble-play package, the addition of audiovisualcontent for triple play and, finally,the inclusion of mobile services to create aquadruple-play bundle. It is still difficult tosay how these will contribute to the growthof individual operators.If these services are to succeed, thegovernment, the regulatory institutionsin particular, need to adopt a long-termstrategy that fosters and facilitates the disseminationof convergent services. Thedissemination of broadband is of criticalimportance for Italy - it will change ourcountry’s productive paradigm and impactprofoundly our nation’s entire social andeconomic system. This need to improveEurope issue II 2007 n 13

Regulatory affairsthe growth of our economy makes it evenmore necessary and urgent to update andmodernise the telecom infrastructures -especially the broadband networks.Currently, the broadband market in Italyhas its highlights and shadows. On onehand, we have recently stepped aheadsignificantly. During the past two yearswe have shown continuous growth at levelsabove those of other major Europeancountries. Today, prices have fallen to bestpractice levels and there are now about8.3 million broadband connections, 97 percent of which are ADSL. Other technologieshave smaller penetration; Italy has200,000 fibre accesses and 100,000 Internetsatellite accesses.With regard to the market structure,broadband is shaping up as an increasinglycompetitive sector; broadband pricesare falling and service offerings are on therise.On the other hand, the spread of broadbandservice in Italy seems to have beenslowed by such structural limitations as:• the low IT ‘alphabetization’ of the populationcreates problems on the demandside - 56 per cent of 16- to 74-year-old citizenshave never used a PC (compared toa Europe-wide figure of 34 per cent and17 per cent in the UK); and,• limited infrastructure presents problemson the supply side that significantlylimit the options for the effective diffusionof new services.Although the demand side problem is nationalin scope, there are significant geographicaldifferences in the demand andutilization of electronic communicationservices, particularly broadband. Theseare due to the dualistic nature of the Italianeconomic system. To reach the levelsof IT and Internet service usage seen inother European countries, Italy needs totackle its regional usage and availabilitydifferences.First, let’s focus on the infrastructural issue.Italy is one of the few European countrieswhere, due to the lack of widespread alternativebroadband networks, the entiresector depends on the access network ofthe former telephone monopoly.The dependence of the sector on a singlecopper infrastructure creates at least threeproblems that regulation can only partiallysolve, and this weakens Italy’s ability tocompete in international markets.First, new convergent services tend tosaturate the copper networks that still supplymost of the connectivity in urban areasand interfere even with the core of the system.Looking ahead, the problem will be totackle the bottlenecks that make it difficultto expand services to all users.Second, there is only one wide-scale accessnetwork based upon an intenselyvertical infrastructure, and so a sizeablepart of the population could be cut off fromthe innovation and services that broadbandbrings. It is estimated that some 13per cent of the Italian population currentlyresides in ‘digitally divided’ territories.Italy is also highly fragmented geographicallyand, of its 8,101 municipalities, about3,200 lack DSL coverage completely andareas of another 2,400 municipalities areonly partially covered.In the past, Italy fell behind technologicallyfor lack of a suitable long-term visionto guide it, so now is the time to adopt astrategy that provides incentives for thecreation of hybrid infrastructures - suchas fibre optic in the urban areas, WiMAX,Worldwide Interoperability for MicrowaveAccess, in the rural ones - to bring broadbandto the entire country. This couldsatisfy the need to lift the burden on thesingle access network (Telecom Italia),upon which our system currently reliesand meet the need to foster competition inthe broadband network market. We havegreat expectations for WiMAX technology.It is likely that WiMAX will be used inthose rural areas where it has not beeneconomically or technically feasible orproductive for operators to install cableor DSL networks. Given the ease and lowcost of WiMAX deployment, it is likely tobe a commercially valid solution, especiallyif the government considers it to bestrategically important to guarantee the‘universal’ availability of broadband services.The government could then stepin, directly or indirectly, and provide operatorswith incentives to offer broadbandservices. By fostering this wireless broadbandtechnology, the government couldhelp modernise the most remote regionsof our country. Accordingly, we urgentlyneed to regulate the spectrum to makethe needed frequencies fully available forthis new service. We are optimistic aboutthe outcome based upon the early resultsof the efforts to coordinate this within theadministration.Agcom and EuropeThe NRA’s, National Regulatory Authority’s,role proved to be the key to the coherentdevelopment of the telecom sector.The NRA exercises a delicate function;it must be neutral with regard to differingtechnologies and platforms in order tobalance the market well between the interestsof each company, innovation andnew technologies, competition and theconsumer’s interest.To maintain its neutrality, regulatory activitieshave to be independent from the government.Indeed, NRAs have been createdas inherently independent from theexecutive power.Of course, this does not mean that theregulators could not be ‘controlled’. On thecontrary, we have a duty to listen to publicopinion, to parliament and to representativesof our country’s leading institutions.We must also balance and assess ourguidelines and the outcomes of our activitieswith those of other European NRAs.With today’s rapid technical, social andmarket evolution, the European RegulatorsGroup, ERG, proved to be a usefulgathering point for the sharing of ideasand the framing of homogenous rule. TheEuropean space is the correct geographicaland institutional framework to addressthe emerging technologies that providereal trans-frontier services - especiallywhen enterprises tend to merge into internationalones. Remaining ‘local’ wouldbe a setback and would effect overall nationaland - eventually - European welfarenegatively. It would also be contrary to theprinciples of the European Union.In this context, the ERG is coordinatingamong the NRAs to protect the skills andexperience they have acquired in the field,and to provide best practices and guidelinesto other NRAs.AGCOM chairs the ERG throughout 2007.Among the highlights on the agenda arethe evolution of the European regulatoryframework, convergence and new generationnetworks. It is part of the Europeanvision to stimulate and foster competitionand innovation in the communication sector,without localism and distortions. In thecommon, single, market that our fathersconceived for the circulation of goods andworkers, the telecom market, due to the inherentdifficulty of confining technologies,is the one that least tolerates geographicaland administrative boundaries. n14 n Europe issue II 2007

SVIAZ/EXPO COMM TMMOSCOW 2008May 12–16, 2008Krasnaya Presnya FairgroundsMoscow, RussiaThe 20 th Presentation of Russia’sLargest and Most SuccessfulInternational Exhibition andConference forTelecommunications/IT,Wireless/Broadband, and IPCommunications.Please Contact:EJK MOSCOW:Svetlana Rusakovarusakova@ejkrause.ruCo-organized by:EJK GERMANYRegine Gessnergessner@ejkgermany.deExpocentr MoscowAndrey E. Andreevandreev@expocentr.ruParticipate in Russia’s Leading InternationalTelecommunications/IT EventEurope issue II 2007 n 15

16 n Europe issue II 2007

Reinventing the sectorCompeting for our futureby Andy Green, CEO, BT Global ServicesThe needs of the global society are dramatic. Technology gives us the means to meetmany of these needs and reinvent the global economy. Companies need to re-shapethemselves to pursue ‘heroic goals’. Society needs this, and customers demand it.The pursuit calls for working with the trend of work processes, digitalisation, takingadvantage of the globalisation of the workforce, using the power of IP networks toautomate the delivery of products and services, and outsourcing tasks to achievemaximum efficiency.Andy Green is CEO of BT Global Services - the part of BT’s business that serves corporate and government clients worldwide. He wasappointed to the board of BT Group plc in November 2001.Mr Green began his career with Shell and later joined Deloitte Haskins & Sells. He took on his present role after spending periods aschief executive of BTopenworld - BT’s mass market Internet services company – and as BT’s group director of strategy.Andy Green holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from Leeds University.A decade or so ago, Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahalad published an influential book,Competing for the Future. In it, they talkedabout the need for companies to revitalise,develop the foresight to shape the futureof their industries, and mobilise theirpeople and resources in pursuit of ‘heroicgoals’.Despite the rate of change in today’s globaleconomy, I believe these remain exactlythe things telecom companies should befocused on today. Indeed, they are thethings to focus on, and with good reason.Convergence is changing not only thetechnical side of communications but thecustomers’ expectations. Our choice is torevitalise our business or risk extinction.It is indeed a heroic goal to be the first - andbest - of a new breed of services organisationthat combines the skills and methodstypical of an IT services company with theoperational expertise and experience of aglobal network operator.It’s not something picked out of thin air; it isa vision of the global trends that are challengingcustomers, including the world’scorporations and governments, and theyneed to understand what lies ahead andhow best to gain advantage.Global trendsIn all, there are four such trends at work.All are increasingly making location irrelevant,levelling the playing field on whichorganisations operate and eliminating barriersto participation.The first - and most advanced - is the switchto digital. Correspondence, designs, salespresentations, spreadsheets, purchaseorders, phone calls, still and moving imagesare the lifeblood of modern business.These days, all can be converted into digitalform, stored in databases and movedquickly from place to place through globaldata networks. Among other benefits, thisallows work to be moved to people, reducingthe need for people to travel to work.The second trend is globalisation of thework force. India, China and other countriesin Asia-Pacific have invested heavilyin their people’s education. At the sametime, the skills and experience of EasternEuropean countries and Russia havebecome easier to access. The result is aglobal pool of highly skilled people who,now that high-performance data networkshave reached most parts of the world, canbe employed as easily as those availablelocally.Third is the rapidly escalating power ofcomputers and IT. Linked by high-performanceIP networks, IT systems not onlyallow customers to serve themselves, butcan increasingly automate the delivery ofproducts and services. Computers canconnect supply chains, negotiating deliveries.They can turn services on and off,configure them to the customer’s requirementsand arrange for billing and payment.They can speak to customers and,in limited situations, even understand theirreplies. What’s crucial, however, is thatcomputers have no understanding of geography.Once connected to the Internet,they’re happy to serve everyone equally.Finally, there’s the trend towards outsourcing.Organisations have been outsourcingwork for centuries - the construction of newbuildings, for example. It has never madesense to do everything in house, and probablynever will. What’s new today is thatthere’s more work that can be outsourcedEurope issue II 2007 n 17

Reinventing the sector- especially ‘back office’ tasks like payrolladministration, purchasing, software developmentand the operation of customersupport centres. For many businesses,there is no longer a commercial advantageto be gained from having their ownpeople do this work - indeed, advantageis more likely to result when a partner isengaged that has greater expertise in thearea and can deliver higher quality and alower cost. And, given the global reach oftoday’s digital networks, that partner canas easily be on the other side of the worldas in the next city.Global standardsEach of these trends is significant on itsown. Together, however, their power toreshape the world is immense – virtuallyunstoppable. The result is the digital networkedeconomy, and it’s clear what liesbehind it: the new standards that are theresult of convergence.The telecoms business is no stranger tostandards. Indeed, we’ve worked harderthan many industries to create them. Bodieslike the International TelecommunicationsUnion, ITU, the European TelecommunicationsStandards Institute, ETSI,and the TeleManagement Forum haveplayed a central role in allowing traffic topass between operators, for example.However, as international travellers areonly too aware, such standards only go sofar. To connect your PC to a phone line,you need to carry an array of adapterswith you from country to country. Stayingin touch through your mobile phoneis much easier, but not in all parts of theworld.The choice of IP as the ubiquitous commonstandard makes the global trendspossible. It is simpler to connect people topeople, machines to machines, people tomachines and vice versa, and it frees organisationsfrom the need to make difficultchoices between alternative networkingtechnologies. Today, no matter where youare, what you want to send, and whereand to whom you need to send it, IP is theway to do it.IP, however, isn’t like the standards thetelecoms industry has been used to. Itsorigins are in IT, and they stem from a desireto achieve not just technical interoperability,but open access. As a result, IPhas done more than level the playing field“IP, however, isn’t like thestandards the telecomsindustry has been used to.Its origins are in IT...”for network providers - it has completelychanged the game.Raising the stakesSo where is the game now? And wheremust operating companies focus if theyare to win?The first priority, of course, is the network.The age of application-specific networksthat offer a limited range of facilities isgone. The 21st century demands somethingdifferent - flexible networks that cancarry anything an organisation needs toget from A to B in whatever quantity theyneed to at the time.Although few saw it at first, change wasneeded, and next-generation networkswere the answer. In 2004, for example, weannounced a plan to replace 16 existingnetworks with a single all-IP 21st centurynetwork that could carry all our services,present and future.The project is both vast and all-encompassing.By the time it is complete in 2011,some £10 billion will have been invested.Much will be spent on new infrastructure- on routers, servers and other equipment- and on processes and systems to run it.But this is just the start - the stakes arehigh to take part in the game. Of greaterimportance are the services you deliverover your network and standard of serviceyou offer to your customers. Both must bedelivered consistently across the world,not just in certain countries.Let’s start by looking at services. In thepast, organisations could achieve competitiveadvantage by building and runningtheir own networks and IT systems. Bandwidthand processing power were limited,so the ability to squeeze the maximumpossible performance from the availableinfrastructure could make a big difference.Bespoke solutions dominated the market.Today, bandwidth and processing powerare effectively unlimited. This turns thesituation on its head. Before too muchlonger, standard applications running onstandard platforms will meet most needsof most organisations. And rather than buyand operate them themselves, many organisationswill access them as standardservices delivered across standard - thatis, IP - networks. Either that or they’ll employexpert third parties to manage theservice for them.Great expectationsLet’s be clear, however: while standardapplications and technologies may bethe answer, a ‘standard’ level of service isnot.In every dimension, customers demandthe best. Skills and infrastructure must beworld class, and delivery must be both fastand flawless. Excellent customer care isan absolute essential.This is simply said, but not easily achieved- especially on a global scale. Nonetheless,it is what players in the new networked ITservices market must achieve - day in,day out with monotonous reliability.The challenge is huge, and expectationsare rising all the time. Success requiresfocus in three areas - cost to serve, customersatisfaction, and service and operationalexcellence - and continual investmentin both skills and resources. It alsorequires a change of attitude. Telecomhas traditionally been a product-orientedbusiness, focused on technical performance.The services business is moreabout relationships and experience. Thechange is significant, and involves muchmore than an investment in new or bettersupport systems.I have no doubt that customer service willremain one of our greatest challengesthrough the years ahead. Competition inthe networked IT services market will beintense, and we are determined to succeed.There will be no opportunity to relax.Our view, however, is that this is wherethe future lies. We can’t afford to ignoreour heritage - world-class networkingand technical skills will continue to beessential, but so too will dedication tobuilding great relationships and deliveringservices that meet or exceed thecustomers’expectations. n18 n Europe issue II 2007

Platinum Sponsor:Gold Sponsors:Official TV Sponsor:Silver Sponsors:Europe issue II 2007 n 19

Fixed-mobile convergenceDigital technology - changing the world of mediaby Jacques Dunogué, Senior Executive Vice President, andHead of Systems Division, ThomsonAlthough there have been many technical and marketing challenges, fixed and mobileservices are increasingly converging. Home broadband IP gateways for triple- andquadruple-play services, IPTV, VoIP, Internet and mobile TV now play an increasingpart in the market. Hosted business telephony services give users a single phonenumber and voicemail box for both their cellular and broadband IP phones so, throughconvergence, mobile phones can perform such PBX functions as short dialling, calltransfer and call conferencing.Jacques Dunogué is the Senior Executive Vice President of Thomson. He heads one of the Group’s three operational divisions, the SystemsDivision, which provides video solutions, systems and products for cable, satellite, terrestrial broadcasters, telecommunications operatorsand the content industry. Previously, Mr Dunogué served as Executive Vice President of Alcatel and President Europe and South,in charge of sales and local operations in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India and Latin America. At Alcatel, Mr Dunogué served asCEO of Alcatel Data Networks and President of the Business Systems Division. As Alcatel’s Secretary General, he helped structure theAlcatel Shanghai Bell joint venture in China. He contributed to the founding of the EICTA, the European Information and CommunicationsTechnology Industry Association, and served as its President for two years. Before Alcatel, Mr Dunogué worked in various positionswithin the telecom industry, including R&D at the CNET, France Telecom’s research centre, and in Latin America and the United Statesfor a start-up operator (Argo).Jacques Dunogué is a graduate of Ecole Polytechnique and Sup’Telecom, both in Paris.High definition, broadband Internet andmobility are opening vast areas of newservices for customers, but at the sametime strongly impact the business modelsof media and entertainment industries.To make things even more complex, asnetworks available to distribute contentbecome more diverse, the user’s needfor simplicity increasingly calls for convergence.In this evolving world, the actorsof these new value chains need to rely ontechnologies, solutions and services, helpingthem create, format and distribute videoand other contents. Home broadbandIP gateways for triple, and quadruple, playservices, software platforms for IPTV andVoice over IP, VoIP, high performancehead ends for encoding and processingvideo signals over fixed and mobile networks,broadcast server software allowingprogramme play out to the Internet, andMobile TV networks, are now playing an increasingpart in the market. In many partsof the world, because of the developmentof triple-play, fixed-mobile convergence,and mobile TV services, broadcasters andnetwork operators need new solutions tohelp them inter-work more efficiently.Fixed-mobile convergenceWith raised user expectations for bundledservices with follow-me powerful featuresand simplified billing, fixed and mobile operatorsalike are turning to fixed-mobileconvergence, FMC, solutions.The idea is not new, but the road has beenlong. However, 2006 saw the first concretedeployments in Europe in particular. Thishas been made possible by the developmentof new standards, in particular UMA,Unlicensed Mobile Access, by the commitmentof handset vendors to includeWiFi in the telephone sets, and by thedeployment of broadband gateways thatalso support WiFi connections. Strangelyenough, the push for convergence, firststarted by fixed operators anxious to tapinto the higher mobile ARPUs, averagerevenues per user, has now been extendedto mobile operators, who are seeingtheir revenue grow at a lower pace than inprevious years.The advantage of the UMA standard is thesimplicity of its architecture: in essence, itemulates the functioning of a GSM mobilenetwork on a broadband fixed access network.In this context, the home gatewaybecomes the equivalent of an individualGSM base station. There were a numberof technical and marketing challenges,but this now makes transparent call handoverspossible when the user leaves orenters home.The handset presented the first technicalchallenges. WiFi technology is power20 n Europe issue II 2007

Fixed-mobile convergence“While different implementations of fixed-mobile convergence are now somewhat in competition,these different technical implementations will become appealing to all fixed, mobile andconverged operators as network architectures evolve toward IMS.”hungry; it uses often crowded, unlicensedfrequencies and is prone to interference,and - to complicate matters - it had to beadded at the same time as 3G was introduced.On the network side, emulating theGSM protocols over IP required a numberof timing and security precautions. Thegateway was equally challenging since ithad to ensure access control, bandwidthmanagement, security and quality of serviceover the radio link, as well as theseamless introduction of the service onexisting equipment by software upgrade,especially for large installed bases as inthe case of Orange’s ‘Livebox’.The major marketing challenge was, perhaps,to convey the simplicity of the serviceto users who had been accustomedto see mobile and fixed as two separateworlds, and then to offer simple and fairbilling practices - would a call initiated athome be billed as fixed or mobile, andwhat about hotspots? - that made senseto the user.These problems are now behind us, astestified by the successful launch of servicessuch as BT’s ‘Fusion’ or Orange’s‘Unik’.From UMA to 3G and wireless VoIPFrom a network architectural evolutionstandpoint, one of the most powerful innovationsof these first converged serviceshas probably been the use of the broadbandaccess gateway as the home’s basestation, thus playing an integral part in thequadruple play service offerings.This function becomes particularly attractivein the third generation UMTS, UniversalMobile Telecommunications System,services, for which deep indoor penetrationis a real challenge. Of course, a solutionsimilar to UMA applied to 3G couldalways be used to resolve this problem.With a new range of residential gatewaysequipped with 3G femtocell coverage, mobileoperators will have a choice of solutionsthat may prove especially attractive.The main advantage is, of course, to use aregular handset, not necessarily equippedwith WiFi, and to provide connexions overlicensed 3G spectrum, thus providing aguaranteed level of radio quality and security.This solution could also prove economicallyattractive in business environments,especially for smaller enterprises.Coming from the other end of the spectrum,new generation, mostly fixed basedoperators have had a natural tendencyto approach convergence by using WiFi,wherever available, as an extension oftheir fixed footprint. This is the case ofFree (Iliad Group) in France, which is leveragingits infrastructure of WiFi homegateways to allow roaming of dual modeWiFi/GSM devices to any of its subscribers’hotspots. The launch of this servicewas made possible by extending the softswitchplatforms, which already carry itsfixed telephony services to more than twomillion subscribers, to include roamingfunctionalities. Users are now automaticallyauthenticated by the platform to givethem access immediately to their full homephone services wherever they are.This is an excellent illustration of howto use IP-based architecture to offer ina simple way services that are currentlysupported by the mobile networks. In addition,the principle is that users actuallycarry their fixed-line services whilst on themove. When in a hotel lobby or an airport,using a GSM/WiFi phone or a laptop, theycan receive all their inbound calls andplace outbound calls as if they were athome.As a wide range of dual mode WiFi/GSMphones are now hitting the market, thiswireless VoIP solution allows operators toextend the service to all family membersby offering multi-phone, multi-line service.The softswitch can handle this service inconjunction with the home gateway to provideunique features for each family member,e.g. ringing all WiFi phones on incomingcalls to the fixed line, call transfer, callpick-up to answer incoming calls to anygroup member’s WiFi phone, three-wayconferencing, etc.While different implementations of fixedmobileconvergence, FMC, are nowsomewhat in competition, these differenttechnical implementations will become appealingto all fixed, mobile and convergedoperators as network architectures evolvetoward IMS.FMC for businessThe penetration of WiFi and mobile voiceis rapidly increasing in the business world,but attempts to converge fixed and mobileservices have had limited success. Thismay well represent the next wave of development.Circumstances are now more favourablethan ever as the market evolvestowards VoIP, voice over IP, by the technologicalevolution of PABXs to their IPdrivensoftware server equivalents.SFR, the second French mobile operator- a Vodafone affiliate - announced such aservice at the last 3GSM congress. Madepossible by softswitches, the service is ahosted business telephony service, whereusers have a single phone number andvoicemail box shared by their cellular andbroadband IP phones. Mobile phones canthus perform all the PBX-type functionssuch as short dialling, call transfer andcall conferencing. Adding these new capabilitiesto the existing mobile infrastructurehas been done quite seamlessly withoutthe need for replacing any of the legacyGSM phones being used - an importantconsideration for potential enterprise users.The path to FMCIn a few years, fixed-mobile convergencehas evolved from dream to reality. It hasalso taken a much more pragmatic approachin order to bring faster services thatmake sense to the user and the operator.Solutions, accordingly, have been basedon extending current network architectures,also making use of the existence ofbroadband gateways to extend the coverage.At the same time, some practical examplesshow how an IP-based approachcan bring alternative attractive solutions.There is no doubt that, while pragmaticapproaches will continue to prove the bestpath in the near future, they will progressivelyinclude more and more pre-IMS, IPMultimedia Subsystem, components, thuspaving the way for a smooth evolution towarda full-blown IMS architecture that willbe necessary when demand increases.nEurope issue II 2007 n 21

Convergent communicationsConvergence ‘à la carte’ for enterprise-wide IPcommunicationsby John Irvine, Vice President, International Marketing, Verizon BusinessBusinesses are becoming increasingly global; their markets, units and workers arespread throughout the world. They need instantaneous, cost-effective connectivitybetween distant units and workers to function - and IP-based solutions are seen asthe way to achieve this. Voice over IP, typically, is the first step. Since voice traffic iscarried over the same networks as data, significant savings can be realised and advanceddata-dependent services can be integrated with voice to provide operationalefficiencies, greater productivity and improved service delivery.John Irvine is the Vice President of International Marketing for Verizon Business responsible for all marketing activities for Verizon Businessin Asia-Pacific, Emerging Markets, Europe and Latin America. Prior to joining Verizon Business as Vice President for Marketing inEurope, Mr Irvine held senior positions in a European Voice over IP, VoIP, start-up business and at Level 3 Communications in Europe,having spent more years than he cares to remember at BT and IBM.Mr Irvine has a BSc (Hons) in Computer Science from the University of Ulster and an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at DukeUniversity, North Carolina.Now more than ever before, businessesthat wish to be successful in a global environmentrequire a truly global presence.For global organisations, this means theyneed secure and simple communicationsto enable an increasingly mobile globalworkforce to collaborate successfully.Convergence, long referenced as theCIO’s Holy Grail, is now seen as a realisticstrategy for enabling global enterprisecommunications - and Internet Protocol,IP-based solutions are now broadly acceptedas the means that will enable theend.Yet deploying IP solutions across businessinfrastructure remains a challenge.The idea of converging global voice anddata communications on a unified IP networkinfrastructure seems simple enough- but the biggest question for organisationsembarking on this path remains, “When isthe right time?” Industry commentatorscounsel varying approaches to the problem,but too often the so-called ‘definitive’roadmap for IP convergence is one that istoo far removed from current infrastructurestatus to be realistic. And if cost or otherconcerns make a complete infrastructurerebuild unrealistic, where and how couldtransition begin?The global business challengeToday, organisations depend on instantaneouscommunication between geographicallydispersed departments to function.If departments cannot communicate, businessescannot operate - or at least not atthe optimum level. Therefore, there is nodoubt that today’s multinational corporationsare more dependent than ever oncommunications technology.When building global business operations,organisations face new challengesthat can seem daunting. Developing aneffective supporting infrastructure is oftenthe key concern; however, this mustbe approached in the context of the wider,global business environment and, moreimportantly, in the context of runningseamless 24/7 global operations in differentlocations and time zones. The aim isto maintain operations through transparent,simple-to-use and secure connectivityto critical business applications - at anyplace and at any time.Why IP?We now work and play in an economythat is communications centric, and thecommunications platform of choice is increasinglyIP-based. IP is a data-orientedmethod for communicating data in a packet-switchednetwork.Public networks, both wireline and wireless,are now increasingly transitioningto IP to leverage the potential of Internettechnology.For business, the key potential of IP technologylies in its ability to enable voice trafficto be carried over networks in the samemanner as data traffic. By leveraging thepotential of VoIP, businesses are able tobring together their voice and data networksin a single structure. As well as theobvious cost efficiency, this also has significantimplications in terms of the addedvalue functionality that data networks canprovide, as well as overall network control.IP telephony - or VoIP is therefore a keyconcern for business users consideringthe move to IP.Transitioning voice and data communicationsto a converged IP platform offersbusinesses four key benefits: minimisedcommunication costs; increased operationalefficiency; enhanced productivityof individuals and workgroups; and, improvedservice delivery.22 n Europe issue II 2007

Convergent communicationsThe ability to minimise communicationcosts is often the primary driver for businessesconsidering migrating to IP. WithVoIP solutions, businesses are able toroute intra-office calls on their data networkover IP, as well as utilise the intelligentcall control within the network to mostcost effectively route outbound and deliverinbound calls. When you consider the averagetelecommunications costs incurredby enterprise, this is a significant potentialoperational saving.IP - the collaboration enablerHowever, it is the ‘softer’ benefits of IPimplementation - including indirect costsavings and functionality - that are likelyto have the biggest impact on businesssuccess in the longer term.An IP platform provides the opportunity tounify communications in a common infrastructure;it therefore enables businessesto operate more efficiently by enhancingthe potential for collaboration across itsdispersed business sites, as well as reducingthe management burden associatedwith managing associated tools. Andby building collaboration technologies onan IP foundation, their net impact, particularlyin terms of a company’s ability tomore effectively service its customers, issignificantly increased.Collaborative technologies to facilitateglobal team-working have evolved dramaticallyover recent years, and there isnow an abundance of solutions available,whether instant messaging, web conferencing,audio conferencing, presence,email or video conferencing. By buildingcollaborative tools of this type over a unifiedIP platform, business users are ableto link all forms of communication in realtime;they can see instantly the availabilityof a colleague via an instant message platformlinked to their Outlook diary; they canuse Instant Messenger to chat in real time,or link directly back into their address bookto call them over a VoIP phone. They cansummon an instant web meeting or audioconference directly from their addressbook contacts, or even set up a video conference.They can set up voicemail managementsolutions to drive messaging to amobile device, or a Blackberry, effectivelyremoving mailbox size limitations - and allvia a single-user interface.IP is therefore about much more than VoIP- it’s about enabling the future of integratedcommunication, and delivering addedvalueapplications and solutions to usersacross the network. VoIP is essentiallyan enabler in the move toward a single,network-hosted IP environment, where IPbasedtools such as VoIP, conferencingand instant messaging will all work in harmonyto enhance business collaborationand performance.Going IP? the evolutionary approachThe business case for migrating to IPcommunications is therefore clear. However,the key concern for organisationspreparing to make the move to IP is whenand how to do so.The particular challenge for multinationalorganisations is the diverse and variednature of their communications requirements.Large global enterprises may havehundreds of sites around the world ofvarying sizes and infrastructures. Of necessity,migration to IP will normally needto be done on an individual, per-site basis,taking into consideration the specific requirementof that site’s infrastructure andbusiness needs.As an example, a key concern for businesseswishing to transition to IP is toensure they protect the inherent value oftheir legacy investments. PBXs, phonesand cabling absorb a major part of mostorganisations’ IT spending and manycompanies actually went through a completesystems upgrade in recent years tocounter concerns regarding the so-calledMillennium bug. So, many organisationsare NOT keen to rip out and replace - butrather to look at ways of gradually, and incrementally,moving to IP telephony.The good news here is that in most cases,not all business users require, or woulduse, the additional functionality that IPtelephony provides in the short term. Infact, there are IP telephony services thatcan be implemented without the end useractually being impacted, or even realisingthat such a solution is in place, whilst stilloffering benefits and cost savings to thebusiness. Users can be segmented intogroups for phased transition. Those thatdon’t require the additional functionalitycontinue to use their regular PBX phone,but knowledge workers and other relevantstaff are given an IP phone. New extensionnumbers aren’t needed and, as bothsystems interoperate, the way calls (internal,intra-office and external) are madedoes not change.Most importantly, however, IP transitioncan be approached in a number of differentways. Users can indeed opt for an ‘instantIP’ migration of their entire system,or adopt a phased approach. Gone arethe days when the only option was the ‘bigbang’ approach, a complete swap out ofinfrastructure to be achieved practicallyovernight. Now, new IP solutions can comfortablyco-exist and integrate with existinghardware and software. If they can’t, thenyou are talking to the wrong service provider.The key consideration is to ensurethe approach to IP transition sits well withthe company’s own business objectives.Global + business = IPThe IP future is clear. How and when themajority of businesses are going to makethe move to an IP environment is still to bedetermined.The ultimate objective of multinationalcompanies is to maintain a competitiveedge in a global business environment.This has to be coupled with the need forhigh-quality customer service - and, forpublic companies, the ability to demonstrateshareholder value. To do this, companiesneed to look at how best to usetechnology to meet their communicationsobjectives today, and lay a strong foundationfor future development.This foundation will be built on IP. Thequestion is how to move to an IP platformin a way that complements overall businessobjectives.IP telephony is indeed the first step in IPcommunications that organisations aretaking as they transition to an IP environment,beyond simple Internet access. ButIP telephony is really just a taster of anexciting world of added-value applicationsthat can truly impact on business performance.IP is an enabling technology, notan application. To truly realise the benefitsof IP, businesses must understand thepotential of the emerging global businessenvironment and be prepared to makechanges to their own infrastructure andprocesses that will help them make themost of that new infrastructure.Our view is that ‘Convergence à la carte’ isthe only possible approach - one size doesnot fit all, and only by taking the time tounderstand each individual organisation’sobjectives and strategies can a suitable IPmigration strategy be developed. nEurope issue II 2007 n 23

Usage convergenceBlurring the linesby Roy Bedlow, Vice President of Palm EMEAMany technologies - computers, for example - were first developed for the high-end,professional users. The devices are expensive and they can be difficult to use. Withtime, the designs are refined, prices drop and usability improves. Today, devices suchas the smartphone and PDA, originally aimed at the business user, are increasinglyfinding their way into the home. This is not surprising, since the business user, onceaccustomed to the convenience that technologies bring, wants to use them at homeas well.Roy Bedlow is the Vice President of Palm EMEA. Mr Bedlow was previously Director of Palm EMEA’s Wireless Business Unit, withresponsibility for the Treo family of smartphones and alliances with operators in Europe. In this role he successfully built the foundationof Palm EMEA’s wireless business around the Treo product family.Prior to joining Palm, Mr Bedlow was EMEA marketing director at Handspring, before it merged with Palm in 2003. Earlier rolesincluded European Business Unit director for Iomega International in Geneva, and a variety of sales and marketing positions at AppleComputer over a period of six years, based in London and Munich.Cutting-edge technology was originally thedomain of the state - the costs involvedwere so high that not even businessescould afford to use it. As costs camedown, these technologies crept into thedomain of the business and then eventuallyreached the consumer. As disposableincome increases and the cost of newtechnology plummets, many technologieshave now reached the mass market. Thehost of devices and applications used andexperienced by consumers and businessusers alike cannot help but shape theirperception and the way users interact withthem.This shift in usage is not so much causedby the demands of users, but more by theavailability of the technology itself, whichmay not always be used for its initial purpose.The example of SMS is excellent inthis respect. SMS was created as a meansto alert individual mobile users to eventssuch as incoming voice mail. However,within a matter of years, SMS became ahugely popular means of communication.As users adopt technology, they will useit in a manner suited to them. This hasdriven business users to become heavilyreliant on email as a means for communication,which in turn slipped into the moresocial use of email. Mobile phones, againoriginally the domain of the high-incomeprofessional, have now become ubiquitous,to the point where many consumershave discarded their landline telephonesaltogether.“It’s easy to draw a linebetween business users andconsumers on paper, butreally they are all the samepeople - just fulfilling differentroles at different times ofthe day or week.”It’s easy to draw a line between businessusers and consumers on paper, but reallythey are all the same people - just fulfillingdifferent roles at different times of the dayor week. It follows then that they will havea tendency to want to use similar devicesat home and in the office. For example,a worker who has been using MicrosoftWindows at work for years and decides toinvest in a home PC is likely to buy Microsoftat home. Similarly, someone familiarwith Windows is also likely to prefer asmartphone working on the same operatingsystem - simply because of the comfortablefamiliarity of the user interface.The desire for people to achieve work-lifebalance will also inevitably have an effecton the way they use the technologies theyhave access to. It is another example ofthe blurring of the boundaries betweenwhat is work and what leisure is - the twoare converging rapidly. In an internationalsurvey we sponsored recently, the GlobalMobile Mindset Audit, it was found thatmobile users were just as likely to use theirmobile device in business environmentsas they were for recreational use. We describedthis trend as ‘life blending’, whereusers demand the kind of functionality thatenables them more effectively to managesocial and work commitments simultaneouslyand on one single device. In a similarvein, 40 per cent of those questionedstated they are ‘highly dependent’ on and‘strongly attached’ to their mobile phones.This ‘emotional attachment’ is stronger inthe case of mobile devices than with anyEurope issue II 2007 n 27

Usage convergence“Consumers will continue todrive developments in technology.Business devices arealready becoming more andmore consumer friendly...”other electronic device included in thestudy. Furthermore, an additional 15 percent of respondents said that they plan toincrease their mobile usage over the nextyear to 18 months. We believe that if usersare looking to increase device usage,they are likely to invest in a device thatenables ‘life blending’ as a priority.Referring again to the Global Mobile MindsetAudit, for more than 80 per cent of respondents,access to personal informationmanagement, PIM, such as calendarand contacts information, is consideredthe leading advantage of owning a mobiledevice after, obviously, being able to makecalls and send text messages. PIM data isactually valued more, and used far moreoften, by smartphone users than such capabilitiesas music playback, MMS/videomessaging and camera. Indeed, PIMfunctions such as calendaring and contactmanagement are used ‘all the time’ or‘frequently’ by 55 per cent of smartphoneusers. The natural progression is for consumers’demands to continue to growand become more sophisticated, which iswhere the complex business devices suchas smartphones may become more popular,as features traditionally associatedwith leisure use are added, allowing usersto blend work with leisure.Consumers will continue to drive developmentsin technology. Business devicesare already becoming more and moreconsumer friendly and multi-functional;this allows them more truly to reflect users’converging ‘work’ and ‘leisure’ values.One area that some technology companiesneed to guard against is in focusingtoo much on the ‘leisure’, to the detrimentof the professional uses the business usersstill require from the device. This canlead to design hindering the intendedfunctionality. On the other hand, the appealof attractive, familiar-looking devicesthat are designed with ease of use, as theprimary consideration, could drive greateradoption amongst users who traditionallywould have shunned mobile computingdevices. The companies that succeed willbe the ones that can best strike this balancebetween functionality and consumerappeal; something that has always beencrucial to design values.As new technologies and applicationsappear, from social networking sites tovirtual worlds such as Second Life, decision-makersshould ensure they are wellinformed and open minded. They shouldconsider all emerging technologies aspotentially beneficial to the business(and also some as potentially harmful.Think, for instance, of the risk of virusesspreading via non-secure instant messagingapplications). Businesses should stayabreast of all these developments andmonitor personal and professional uptakeof these technologies, as they can providecompetitive advantage and create a happier,more productive workforce. nConducted by GMI (Global Market Insite,Inc.), the CMO (Chief Marketing Officers’)Council research initiative is part of an extensiveauthority leadership programmeby FAME, a strategic interest group oftop marketers, associations and expertsdrawn from all sectors of the wireless ecosystem.28 n Europe issue II 2007

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3G broadbandKeep on moving: the evolution of 3Gby Mikael Bäck, Vice President, Product and Portfolio Management, Business UnitNetworks, Ericsson ABIt has only been a decade or so since most user connections to the Internet werevia a fixed analogue modem operating at 28.8kbit/s. The first data connections viaGSM, Global System for Mobile Communications, phones were a patience-stretching9.6kbit/s. Today, the latest commercial releases of 3G WCDMA radio networks supportdownload speeds of up to 14.4Mbit/s - more than a match for most fixed broadbandconnections - and they are set to get faster still as WCDMA radio networks evolve tomeet growing demand for mobile broadband.Mikael Bäck is the Vice President of Product and Portfolio Management of Ericsson’s Business Unit Networks. Prior to this positionMr Bäck was Vice President and Head of the Product Area for WCDMA Radio Networks. Prior to joining the WCDMA group, he wasresponsible for Japanese standards within the PDC Business Unit.Mikael Bäck holds a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.Over the years, some industry commentatorshave questioned whether investmentin WCDMA, Wideband Code Division MultipleAccess, mobile technology is worthwhileand wondered whether a successionof alternative technologies would render3G mobile networks obsolete. Meanwhile,GSM/WCDMA operators have beensteadily building their WCDMAbusinesses - rolling out networks,adding subscribers anddelivering ever-enhanced functionality.Now WCDMA is undergoingone of its most significanttransformations to date, andthere is much more to come.The advanced and growing capabilitiesof WCDMA, in combinationwith its global adoption,make it the most attractive technologychoice for mobile operatorswho want to deploy voiceservices and beyond. These capabilitiesare now on a par with“...WCDMA does not requireoperators to build new, separatenetworks to start offeringbroadcast and interactivemobile TV services.”those currently offered by wireline DSL- with the complementary advantage oftrue global mobility. Enhancing WCDMAin this way will enable mass-market mobilebroadband services, such as mobileemail, online music, high-speed Internetaccess, true mobile office and mobile TVanywhere. Unlike competing mobile TVtechnologies, WCDMA does notrequire operators to build new,separate networks to start offeringbroadcast and interactivemobile TV services.An evolving global successstoryWhen it comes to technologychoices for delivering mobilebroadband services, the markethas already voted. WCDMA hasbeen selected as 3G technologyby eight out of the world’sten largest operators. It alreadyserves more than 100 million30 n Europe issue II 2007

3G broadbandsubscribers, and that number is growingdaily. Today, more than 80 per cent ofall mobile subscribers are served by theGSM/WCDMA family, and this marketshare is growing month by month.The health of the WCDMA marketis testament to industry effortsto ensure openness andinteroperability. The scale ofthe WCDMA market has meantwell-funded R&D programmeswith a large pool of technicalexpertise, with economies inmanufacturing, supply and logistics.This volume advantagebenefits the development ofhandsets and network equipment,and drives down manufacturingcosts. It also helpsmaintain competitive advantagefor the standard, distributedacross a large volume ofmanufactured units.WCDMA was always intendedto be an evolutionary technology,and it has continuouslyevolved to meet the needs ofa changing world and of evermore universal wireless communications.It gives GSM operatorsa standardized route to 3G servicecapabilities, and provides a continuousevolutionary path into the future. Whilethere are other wireless technologies thatmay offer higher data rates, none canclaim the mobility features, global reach oreconomies of scale provided by WCDMA.Perhaps WCDMA’s strongest hand is itsability to keep growing as a technology,to offer ever-improving mobile broadbandservice capabilities. Let’s take a look atthe most significant developments of thestandard.Higher speeds in both directionsAs end-user devices get ever more sophisticated,with the ability to handle highresolution images, video calls and emailswith attachments, the need for fasterdownlink and uplink speeds continues togrow. WCDMA is evolving to stay aheadof the curve.The most immediate enhancement ofWCDMA is High Speed Packet Access,HSPA. The downlink version, HSDPA, iscurrently being deployed globally and willsoon be followed by its uplink HSPA sibling,EUL, enhanced uplink, or HSUPA.HSDPA offers unprecedented mobiledownload speeds - up to 14.4Mbit/s - andshort response times for users, as well asmore than double the system capacity formobile operators compared with earlierreleases.“WCDMA was always intended to be an evolutionarytechnology, and it has continuouslyevolved to meet the needs of a changingworld and of ever more universal wirelesscommunications.”According to the latest information fromthe GSM Suppliers’ Association, nearly200 HSDPA devices have already beenlaunched by over 50 suppliers, including:86 mobile phones; 39 PC cards; and, 34notebooks. Nearly 100 HSDPA networkshave been commercially launched in over50 countries.Based on the 3GPP Release 6 standard,HSUPA represents the second step ofHSPA. Initially, HSUPA will provide uplinkspeeds approaching 1.4Mbit/s - morethan three times the uplink data speed inWCDMA networks. This will add a newmobile dimension to things such as onlinecommunities and video-sharing services.Later HSUPA phases will deliver uplinkspeeds approaching 5.8Mbit/s.“...nearly 200 HSDPA deviceshave already been launchedby over 50 suppliers, including:86 mobile phones; 39 PCcards; and, 34 notebooks.”Combined, HSPA’s faster downlink anduplink speeds will further enhance end-users’experiences with reduced delay andquicker responses when using interactiveapplications such as mobile office or fastInternet access with support for gamingor audio and video downloads. Additionally,the uplink will improve the user’s experienceof mobile broadbandservices such as video conferencing,email with attachmentsand file sharing.Several HSPA devices are alreadyavailable, and the firstcommercial launches are imminent.Several laptop manufacturershave announced plansto integrate HSPA modems.HSPA offers very low latency- the time it takes for a messageto travel from the enduserdevice to a server on theInternet and back. This meansit can provide a user experienceequivalent to that fromfixed connections. Low latencyis important when downloadingweb pages with a lot of differentobjects, or when playing gamesonline when users need to reactfast. WCDMA with HSPAprovides an ideal access platformfor services based on IMS and, ultimately,all-IP. A multitude of consumer andenterprise mobile multimedia services willbe enabled by this combination.HSPA will continue to evolve, for examplewith the addition of higher-order modulationschemes and MIMO, Multiple InputMultiple Output, to deliver even higher bitratesper carrier.Initially, 2x2 MIMO will deliver up to 28Mbit/s. Rather than transmitting a single datastream from a single antenna, this transmitstwo different data streams from twoantennas. By combining the two differentdata streams at the user terminal, thedata speed can be doubled (2x14Mbit/s).The introduction of 2x2 MIMO is relativelyEurope issue II 2007 n 31

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3G broadbandstraightforward, since virtuallyevery WCDMA base stationinstalled today already has twoantennas per sector.Today, two modulationschemes are supported, knownas 16QAM, Quadrature AmplitudeModulation, and QPSK,Quadrature Phase Shift Keying.A third modulation scheme,64QAM, will be introduced toenable data speeds of up to21Mbit/s.Bit rates will be increasedeven further in forthcoming system releases,which will combine 64QAM and2x2 MIMO, which delivers speeds of upto 42Mbit/s - double the speed of a singlestream with 64QAM. Even higher speedswill be possible in the future with the introductionof 4x4 MIMO.Looking to the futureA standard initiative known as Long TermEvolution, LTE, provides a clear evolutionarypath to meet future demands fora system that supports different spectrumallocations. Defined by 3GPP, Third GenerationPartnership Project, and set forrelease later this year, LTE enables efficientspectrum utilization for both legacyand future wireless frequency bands. Itprovides smooth migration for 2G, 3Gand other spectrum (such as TV bands)for use in future mobile communicationnetworks. The large wireless industry behindLTE ensures economies of scale andvery cost-efficient solutions. The standard,sometimes referred to as ‘Super3G’, is specified to provide data rates ofover 100Mbit/s in the downlink, and over50Mbit/s in the uplink, with latency ofaround 10ms.LTE enhances WCDMA’s single 5MHzcarrier transmission scheme with supportfor spectrum allocations ranging from1.25MHz to 20MHz, according to the allocationof subcarriers. LTE supports bothunpaired Time Division Duplex, TDD,and paired Frequency Division Duplex,FDD, spectrum. This enables operatorsto expand in new frequency bands or tomigrate smoothly into legacy bands tosupport fixed, mobile and broadcast applications.Looking beyond LTE, the InternationalTelecommunication Union, ITU, defines‘4G’ as network technology with throughputof 100Mbit/s for wide-area mobile useand 1Gbit/s for hotspot coverage to be appliedin new spectrum bands with 100MHzchannels. Such systems will be commerciallyavailable for deployment well beyond2010.There was a live demonstration of an LTEsystem at 3GSM World Congress in Barcelonain February 2007. The demonstrationencompassed a variety of applications,with speeds of up to 144Mbit/s supportedby MIMO antenna technology on a20MHz carrier in the 2.6GHz frequencyband. With the advantages of HSPA andLTE, WCDMA will further enable operatorsto provide users with more advancedapplications with wide-area coverage andmobility and create a true mass market formobile broadband services.New operator opportunitiesAs well as offering GSM operators a welldefinedpath to the future, WCDMA is nowbeing seen as an attractive evolution optionfor CDMA operators. As these operatorsconsider their next technology step,they recognise the secure developmentpath, enhanced revenue opportunities,lower total cost of ownership and globalsupport that come with the economies ofscale offered by a truly global standardsuch as GSM/WCDMA.Many network operators havesuccessfully run - and still arerunning - multiple network standardsin parallel for as long asit takes to get subscribers tomigrate and to ensure there issufficient coverage and capacityduring the migration.As 3G mobile services enter anew phase of growth and development,GSM/WCDMA iswell placed to help operatorssucceed in the mobile broadbandmass market. nConnect-World iscelebrating its tenthanniversaryThrough the years, Connect-World’s authors told of the riseof mobile, of fibre, of wirelessand of broadband; they told ofthe dot.com meltdown, ofdigital inclusion and convergence,of standards and breakthroughs,the rise of IP andthe fall of switching and of theregulatory turnaround.In every issue of Connect-Worldheads of state, ministers andregulators, heads ofinternational institutions andleaders of industry speak ofwhat the ICT revolution, as ithappens, means to the peoplein their regions of the world.www.connect-world.com“As well as offering GSM operators a well-defined path to thefuture, WCDMA is now being seen as an attractive evolutionoption for CDMA operators.”Europe issue II 2007 n 33

BillingFixed-mobile convergence - who owns the customer?by Stuart Madeley, Chairman, Global Billing AssociationFixed-mobile convergence brings subscribers a variety of advantages. Operatorstake advantage of the variety of services to offer discount-priced service bundles thatappeal to users. Operators understand that with each new service they provide theyearn more, learn more about the customer and make themselves increasingly indispensablein their users’ lives. On the other hand, the traditional business model forfixed telephony and that for mobile do not easily mix, and put mobile revenues - andcustomer control - under pressure.Stuart Madeley is Chairman of the GBA (Global Billing Association). The GBA is at the forefront of the theoretical discussions about billfor content when operating within a converged world. Mr Madeley is also the Head of Billing and Credit for Virgin Mobile in the UK. Hepreviously held positions in Europe and the USA with NCR and Lucent Technologies.Mr Madeley has a Bachelors degree in Industrial Economics. He is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.Fixed-mobile convergence has been discussedfor many years, but now it is actuallyhappening. In the UK, leading playerssuch as BT ‘Fusion’ and Orange ‘Unik’both offer mobile handsets that also workwith Bluetooth or WiFi wireless networks.Carphone Warehouse lets users top uptheir mobile account through their homephone bill when both are supplied by theirTalk Talk brand. In the content arena, 3’sX series enables customers to accesstheir home TV and broadband servicesanywhere in the world from their mobilephone.The driver for these convergence-basedapplications is the desire to capture aslarge a share of the customer’s revenueas possible. The new convergence-basedservices are opening up more complexquestions as to who owns - and indeedwho is - the customer.It is not simply that many communicationcompanies now operate across severalmarket sectors; after all, BT operated fixedand mobile divisions quite independentlyfor over a decade without feeling the needto offer any converged products. It is ratherthat the saturated voice telephony marketnow means that the focus is on retainingexisting customers while poaching newones from competitors. A combined producthelps absorb the cost of a discount- £10 off being easier to bear with a £100-a-month quad-play bundle than it is on a£25-a-month mobile-only package. Servicebundles also hold customers throughinertia; the prospect of untangling andmoving four products to a new supplier isdaunting if they are bundled together. Socommunications companies are expandingfrom their core product into new sectors:Orange from mobile into DSL; NTL(soon to be Virgin Media) from cable TV,fixed voice and broadband into mobile; BTinto mobile (again) and video on demand;and Sky from satellite TV into DSL.To obtain the benefits of this convergencethe products and the processesbehind them must be truly merged. It isnot enough for the Orange website to bea combined sales portal for mobile andDSL. Discounted bundles of productsmust be supported by common processesto achieve the necessary efficiencies andeconomies. Similarly, if the products aredelivered independently then the customercan move them independently to whichevercompetitor offers a better deal for thatproduct. To ensure customer retention theservices need to be bundled together onone bill and supported as a package fromone call centre.By and large people will tend to buy morefrom companies that they trust. In the UK,the supermarket Tesco is a good exampleof this. It has used the trust built up in thegrocery sector to expand into the retail-“In the UK, leading players such as BT ‘Fusion’ and Orange‘Unik’ both offer mobile handsets that also work with Bluetoothor WiFi wireless networks.”34 n Europe issue II 2007

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Billing“Fixed communications in the UK is extremely open and customers will regularly acquireproducts and services from a variety of suppliers: BT, Tiscali, BBC, You Tube, Amazon, Ebay,Wikipedia etc.”ing of financial services, electronics andmobile phone services. Tesco has constructeda clear, comprehensive view ofits customers and it knows how to makegood use of this information. This kind ofcustomer knowledge and ability to react isimpressive. Convergence can help build acomprehensive view of the customer thatif used correctly can strengthen the bondbetween supplier and customer.Fixed-mobile convergence, FMC, providesparticular challenges when it comesto the relationship with the customer. Mobilephones are simply variants of theirfixed-line cousins, but people use mobilephones quite differently than they do fixed.Mobile phones are extremely personalitems. A recent UK newspaper article observedthat a mobile phone is a personalstyle statement, just as a person’s car is.Similarly, a study for Virgin Mobile foundthat single men show off their mobilephones in public to appear more attractiveto women; in contrast, a home phoneis simply a device for talking to people.Where mobile telecom is a highly personalservice, fixed telecom is a sharedor communal one. Consequently, mobilecustomers can be treated as individuals ina way that fixed line customers cannot. Afixed-line belongs to the household.This has implications for converged billing.What would a joint fixed and mobilebill actually show? It might list thehousehold’s fixed line and all the mobilephones of the family members, but wouldall the family want their mobile call recordsseen by the bill payer? For teenagers, amobile phone means private telephoneconversations - without the interrogationas to how long they were on the phone,or with whom, that the household fixedlinebill brings. This applies as much toother forms of communications as it doesto voice: an Austrian study of mobile TVviewing showed that peak viewing occursin the early morning and early evening,on the way to and from work or school,at lunchtime and, surprisingly, throughoutthe evening peak viewing hours. It seemsthat teenagers will use their mobile to viewTV away from the rest of the family. If FMCbilling is to be accepted, it must deal withthese complex relationships and deliverbilling information only to the person it relatesto. It ought to be possible to chargeindividuals separately for the services thatthey use, at rates that acknowledge thepurchasing power of the household as awhole and still offer privacy and personalisation.Logically it would be the handsetthat would control and enable this, but thisis not happening.However, there are a couple of mobilenetworks in the UK that are edging in thisdirection. BT’s Fusion product offers amobile phone that is charged at fixed linerates when used in the home. It does thisby routing home calls via a Bluetooth networkover DSL. Thus it provides fixed andmobile from a single dual function handset.Each family member can have theirown handset and phone number. Orangehas a similar product called Unik that usesa home WiFi network instead of Bluetooth.Neither is a completely standaloneservice; the household must have a fixedDSL line, and for the moment this will bebilled separately.The key to success for both services isnot so much the technology as the pricingand the customer relationship. Customerswant to switch to DSL at home becausefixed line is cheaper than mobile, but theycould get the home calls even cheaper,free even, from a VoIP provider such asSkype. If they buy Fusion or Unik it is becauseBT or Orange make it easier than itwould be to buy the services from separatesuppliers. BT or Orange may keep hold ofthose customers who make this choice.Many will still choose to buy the servicesseparately, but BT and Orange shouldhave an advantage over those supplierswho don’t have converged products, becausethey can build a unified view of theircustomers across the converged productrange. Whether they can exploit this remainsto be seen.A very different approach has been takenby 3 with its X series product. This usesconvergent technology to unbundle content.Instead of, or as well as, offering customers3’s own limited content, X seriesactively encourages customers to viewthird-party content on their 3G handsets.Using a gadget called a Sling Box and anX series mobile phone, customers canwatch content from their home TV on theirmobile handset anywhere in the world, butwhose customers are they? They will paySky or NTL for their TV content and anISP for their home broadband/DSL connection.This leaves 3 to charge for themobile access as a simple monthly fee. All3 will see of their customers’ usage is themegabytes of data used - but they do noteven bill this because of the monthly fee.3 follows the traditional mobile model ofdiscounting the hardware and trying torecover the cost through the monthlycharge. Paradoxically, it may well be thismodel that has limited the practical implementationof FMC.Fixed communications in the UK is extremelyopen and customers will regularlyacquire products and services from a varietyof suppliers: BT; Tiscali; BBC; YouTube; Amazon; Ebay; Wikipedia, etc. Keyto this is the fact that for most part customerspay for and install their own fixed lineequipment and software. This is in markedcontrast to the mobile market that, in theUK at least, has always given away freehandsets or subsidised them. As a resultmobile operators have to ensure that theyretain their customers through the paybackperiod and spend a lot of their timecombating churn.The two business models do not come togethereasily.Opening up mobiles to access the fullrange of fixed services puts mobile revenuesunder pressure. If the mobile operatorrelies on network access chargesto provide their revenue stream they arestepping back from their current positionas primary or even sole owner of the customer.They will find themselves with thesame relationship that currently exists fora fixed ISP. It is doubtful if this relationshipwould bear the comparatively higher acquisitioncost of the mobile operator.While FMC ought to provide opportunitiesfor better customer management, andtherefore a closer customer relationship,it is unlikely to happen while the currentbusiness model exists for mobile. n36 n Europe issue II 2007

Internet service providersThe ISP’s changing universeby Barry Shrier, Founder and Chief Executive, Liberty Europe NetworkUntil recently, you got an Internet connection from an Internet service provider, ISP.New technology, new networks and new business models, combined in many parts ofthe world with more permissive regulations, have changed all that. Today, just aboutevery network operator is getting into the market. Many networks have much excesscapacity that anyone, handset retailers, for example, can buy and resell becoming operatorsof their own virtual networks. The rapidly increasing competition is threateningtraditional ISP business models.Barry Shrier is the Founder and Chief Executive of The Liberty Europe Network, a group of businesses focusing on wireless Internetexpansion throughout the EU. Previously, Mr Shrier worked with Deutsche Bank to launch Paybox, the world’s first international mobilepayment system. Prior to Deutsche Bank, Mr Shrier worked for several strategic marketing consultancies managing a variety of internationalprojects for Unilever, Guinness, Procter & Gamble, Mars and Nestlé. He is a member of the Institute of Directors, I.O.D, and aBoard Member of the WiFi Group, Europe’s leading business organisation promoting future wireless technologies.Barry Shrier has an MSc in Philosophy from the London School of Economics, and a BA in Politics from Middlebury College, Vermont,USA.Robert F. Kennedy said, “Like it or not, welive in interesting times...” This is indeedtrue in our times as the Internet continuesto redefine our lives. In the 40 years sinceits inception, and the 15 years since theadvent of the World Wide Web, the Internethas become the greatest communicationchannel in human history. However,with technological advances, traditionalInternet service providers, ISPs, increasinglyface a variety of pressures from theindustry that threaten their very survival.The role of the ISPHistorically, Internet service provider, theISP has provided a fairly narrow service- one that was easy to define, price andprovide. The ISP delivered a connectionto the Internet. However, there has beenenormous change in focus during thepast decade, from the supply side withits transport technology and the relationshipwith the telephone operator, to thedemand side where market fragmentationand the introduction of new market playersfrom outside the telecoms industryhave dominated.With America Online, AOL, came the realisationthat providing connectivity wasnot enough. The Internet was, at the time,so limited in its content and capability thatonly a small segment of the populationwas attracted to it. How could this be developedinto a proposition that would be of“The Internet was, at thetime, so limited in its contentand capability that only asmall segment of the populationwas attracted to it.”interest to a mass-market audience? Theanswer was to simplify it and to add moreto the Internet, to create special content.The case of America Online illustratesa fundamental strategic issue for ISPs.What are they? Are they just data transmissionpipes, or are they providers ofvalue-added services?Historically, this issue was not so important.The leading telephone operators deliveredvoice connectivity and, in most ofthe world, were usually government-controlledagencies with guaranteed monopolies.These PTTs, postal, telegraph, andtelephone providers, with their guaranteedmarkets, merely offered acceptable pricesfor the connectivity and the limited additionalservices they provided and had littleincentive to innovate.Europe issue II 2007 n 37

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Internet service providersWith ISPs, however, the picture was morecomplicated. Most are not network operators,i.e. they do not own or operate thephysical infrastructure over which theyprovide their connectivity services. TheISP, therefore, relies upon the network- the copper, fibre, exchanges, switchingservices, etc - as this dictates their wholesalecosts.Disrupting ISPsLet’s say you make cars, great cars, saytop-of-the-range BMWs. I then comealong with the ability, based on new technologies,to create a similar or even bettercar at a considerably lower cost. I wouldimmediately have a major price advantageand be in a powerful position to attackyour market.This is, of course, what has recently beenhappening in the connectivity industry.The transition in transport technologieshas been profound, from analogue dial-upto broadband. We now all have IP wirelessnetworks, which entirely eliminate theneed for a physical network infrastructurereaching all the way out to the ‘last mile’.The implications of this are profound, bothfor the incumbent ISPs and consumers ofconnectivity. For the ISP, we are seeing adecline in hardware costs, combined withan ever-increasing ability to deliver betterservices. This results in higher bandwidthdelivery and lower contention (line-sharing)ratios, all at a lower cost to the endconsumer.This commoditisation of the service is creatingchallenges for the ISP - manifestedin lower margins - but has resulted in amore attractive proposition for end-consumers.As retails prices plummet, a largersegment of the population accept theservice. The social consequences of thisare very exciting. As more and more peoplehave broadband access to the Internet,the more valuable this communicationand commercial channel becomes. It’s aclassic example of both the network effectand Reed’s Law: “the value of the networkgrows exponentially as the number of usersincreases”.The results of these trends are noteworthy.• In the UK, for example, 70,000 homesare now signing up for broadband everyweek, making it one of the fastest-growingconsumer products of all times.• Broadband access has also been amajor driver for e-commerce, which continuesto achieve double and sometimestriple digit annual growth rates.The ISPIf you accept a broad definition of an ISPas a provider of an Internet connectivityservice, then ISPs include a wide range ofbusinesses, from straightforward providers(Earthlink), to telecom operators (Telefonica),to virtual providers such as Virgin,to cellular telephone operators or mobilenetwork operators, MNO’s, such as Vodafone,and all the way down to retail Internetcafés (Easy Café). These examples highlightboth how diverse the marketplace is,but also emphasise the difficulty for themore traditional providers.For example, as the MNOs reach out tosaturated markets, the need to continuedelivering revenue growth requires themto branch out to new markets. For a traditionalISP that previously only providedInternet connectivity, the arrival of verylarge, international MNOs which havesubstantial customer acquisition budgetsis clearly a powerful threat.Ten years ago we had only a small handfulof ISPs offering Internet connectionsvia telephone dial-up modems; we nowhave a wide variety of service providersincluding telephone operators, Cable TVoperators, ISPs, virtual ISPs, and mobiletelephone operators.ISPs and new business modelsIf you’re a philosopher, the marketing disciplineprovides a great source of profoundmaterial. For example, the question: ‘whenis Free not equal to Free’? Answer: whenit is an Internet-access offer from the marketingdepartment of the UK’s leading mobilephone retailer; Carphone Warehouse.This famous example of a new bundledconsumer connectivity proposition is wellknown and worth evaluating.Last year, Carphone Warehouse launcheda major marketing initiative, promotingfree broadband. The catch of course wasthat you had to purchase a 12-month telephonecontract from them. This resulted inconsumer sign-ups well above Carphone’sinitial forecasts, which caused large-scalecustomer service and delivery problems.This clearly showed that bundled servicesbased on a fixed contract paymentscheme, but heavily promoted with aFREE add-on, are, still, amazingly potentpropositions driving substantial customeracquisition. Carphone also showed justhow much pressure traditional ISP Internetconnectivity providers are getting fromnewcomers from outside the sector withinnovative business models.Remember, Carphone Warehouse waspreviously only a mobile phone handsetand contract retailer. Now, Orange, TalkTalk and Sky are among the firms offering‘free’ high-speed Internet to their subscribers.As reported by the BBC recently,“Very soon customers are going to be ableto turn around to their provider and say:‘Why should I carry on paying for my Internetconnection?’”What’s next for ISPs?There is a well-known phrase from thedawn of the Internet revolution: “Here isyour lunch, if you don’t eat it someoneelse will.”This is what ISPs are facing. They areconfronting major challenges from newtechnology - including extremely rapidchanges in transport technologies - andmeeting threats from businesses that previouslyhad little or no involvement in theconnectivity sector.What will happen to the ISP sector? Willthe telephone operators, cable providersand MNOs dominate the marketing withtheir bundled offers of fixed line and wirelessvoice, data, TV and more? Can nicheISPs succeed with a proposition based onquality and customer care?History can provide us with little guidance,except that today’s largest and most successfulproviders may not be tomorrow’s.nEurope issue II 2007 n 39

SIPSIP network strategiesby Olle Westerberg, CEO, Ingate SystemsThe movement towards all-IP communications, as a way to provide seamless connectivitybetween networks, is almost unstoppable. Within a few years, we are likelyto see just about every communication device and every network using IP. SIP, theSession Initiation Protocol, is a simple tool that creates the communications ‘sessions’that make VoIP, multimedia distribution, presence sensing, instant messaging and ahost of other services possible. This is transforming the way businesses communicateinternally, with clients and with customers.Olle Westerberg is the CEO, of Ingate Systems. He has had more than 20 years of experience in the technology sector in a wide range ofroles, from hands-on software development to company leadership. Mr Westerberg held senior management positions with Ericsson, DSCCommunications and Alcatel with a focus on international sales and marketing activities, serving as Vice President, Private Operatorsat Ericsson Switzerland and Vice President, Sales, EMEA at DSC. Mr Westerberg gained first-hand experience with small business needsas the CEO of Sweden’s first dedicated e-service company, Buybridge.Mr Westerberg holds an MSc in Engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology (Stockholm) and a Master of Business Administrationdegree from the London Business School.The Internet has literally transformed theway companies do business. When the Internetfirst started as a defence, researchand university network, few anticipatedjust how widely accepted its use wouldbe. Email and Web surfing have becomeso popular that today they are used ona daily basis by nearly every companyaround the world. New Internet-based applicationsare changing the communicationslandscape even further; VoIP (Voiceover IP) is quickly becoming one of thosetransformative technologies that will soonmake us wonder how we ever did businesswithout it.VoIP is a real-time service, it’s one of thosetools that, unlike email, lets us communicateimmediately, as do instant messagingthat lets us chat with colleagues rightnow, and those ‘presence’ features thatlet you know who is available for a quickcall right now. Real-time communicationsapplications - not only VoIP - are becomingincreasingly useful to companies withbroadband Internet connections.SIP, Session Initiation Protocol, is the standardupon which all of these real-time applicationsare based. If SIP hasn’t becomea big part of your corporate network strategy,it should. There are a number of significantadvantages to using SIP, includinginteroperability and future-proofing.SIP - Session Initiation ProtocolSIP began as a way to start sessions betweenusers on the Internet. It has sincebecome the basis for a wide variety of applications,such as IP telephony with video,presence, conference calls with video, applicationsharing and instant messaging.In the future, SIP will enable applicationsfrom games to the monitoring and controlof a smart home. SIP has grown beyondthe desktop - it has become the standardprotocol for multimedia on the third generationmobile phone system (3G, IMS).A powerful force driving the acceptanceof, and production of applications for, SIPis Microsoft’s Office Live CommunicationServer. In addition, most if not all of theleading PBX vendors are now deployingSIP-based, IP-based PBXs to meet thedemands of the market.SIP uses the same infrastructure as theInternet. It is a standard protocol with thepurpose of ensuring interoperability. SinceSIP is a standard, all products based onSIP should work seamlessly with one another.This straightforward approach future-proofsthe network - as it is automaticallyset up to leverage new SIP-basedtechnologies as they are developed.IP telephonyIP telephony - where ordinary telephonyis transported over IP - represents just afraction of the communication capabilitiesfor which SIP was created. Manufacturersare busy churning out products and softwarethat take advantage of the standardInternet protocol. SIP telephones, PC cli-40 n Europe issue II 2007

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CommunicAsia2007CommunicAsia2007 -setting the stage for a convergent worldA four-day trade event bringing together key technologies, companies and thoughtleaders to deliver on the ‘Digital Convergence in Reality’ experience.The region’s premier technology event,CommunicAsia, will return to the SingaporeExpo from 19 to 22 June 2007 toshowcase a converged world, it will featurea wide spectrum of leading-edge,enabling, digital technologies by globalcompanies.Spread over a total of eight halls, CommunicAsia- alongside EnterpriseIT,BroadcastAsia and InteractiveDME - willgather together over 2,400 companiesto demonstrate the transforming powersof the digital technologies that are redefiningthe boundaries of the traditionallysegmented telecommunications, networks,enterprise solutions and entertainmentarenas.CG Overdrive, Computer Graphics Overdrive,will also be held alongside CommunicAsiafor the first time in responseto the growing interest in animation anddemand for Asian animated content.Interactive, digital media and entertainmentin the spotlight this yearThe convergence of media, communicationsand IT has changed the landscapeof the media and entertainment industrydramatically, and is revolutionising theway we think, live, work and play.Reflecting the growth of the industryand its demand for enabling solutions,interactive and digital media as well asentertainment technologies will be in thelimelight at CommunicAsia2007.Some ‘hot’ converged applications underthe CommunicAsia spotlight this year includemobile entertainment, IPTV, connecteddigital home devices, as well asmobile gaming.Some of the key enabling technologieson the show floor this year are:• Wireless - covering 3G, HSDPA,WiMax/WiBro, Fixed-Mobile Convergence,FMC, Radio Frequency Identification,RFID, and Embedded technologies;• Broadcasting - covering Satellite,Digital Multimedia Broadcasting, DMB,and Digital Video Broadcasting, DVB;• Digital Networks - covering NextGeneration Networks, NGN, Voice overIP, VoIP, and information security;CommunicAsia, EnterpriseIT andBroadcastAsia will play host to 31 grouppavilions this year. For CommunicAsiaand EnterpriseIT, these hail from Europe(Germany, Sweden and UK), Asia (Korea,China and Taiwan) and the UnitedStates. Likewise, BroadcastAsia willfeature pavilions from China, France,Germany, Italy, Korea, USA and UK.CommunicAsia2007 SummitTo take place from 19 to 21 June at SuntecSingapore, the CommunicAsia2007Summit takes a high-level, strategicoverview of the way new technologiesare applied in business, and how attendeescan leverage market intelligence tosharpen their competitive edge, growrevenue and gain market share.This year, the Summit will highlight threenew additions as part of its programmeline-up - the Convergence, Satellite andWireless Broadband Forums.Other notable issues to be covered arefixed-mobile convergence, voice/text/data/multimedia and video convergence,satellite communications convergence,WiMAX, 3GLTE and their role in Asianmobile and broadband markets. nFacts at a glanceShow:CommunicAsia2007The 18th International Communications andInformation Technology Exhibition and ConferenceHeld in conjunction with EnterpriseIT2007and BroadcastAsia2007Date: 19 - 22 June 2007(Tuesday - Friday)Time: 19 - 21 June 20071030hrs - 1800hrsVenue:22 June 20071030hrs - 1600hrsSingapore Expo(for the CommunicAsia exhibition)Suntec Singapore(for the CommunicAsia Summit)PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

Mobile access SIPents, SIP servers, SIP-based IP-PBXs,routers and firewalls that handle SIP arejust the beginning of what we can expectfrom companies eager to bring SIP to theenterprise.Within a company, using the local network,SIP can bring every employee IM applications,presence, white boarding and evenvideo - along with VoIP - to share ideasand communicate. With tools, employeescan choose the form of communicationmost appropriate for their needs.With SIP, these communications toolscan also be used outside the enterprisenetwork for secure real-time applicationswith external customers or partners and,as well, to provide these capabilities tobranch offices and remote workers, reducingcosts and improving efficiency.Leveraging the networkIn order to leverage SIP outside the enterprise,the network must handle bothincoming and outgoing SIP traffic, so thefirewall/edge device must also be SIP-capable.The majority of current firewalls and NATrouters,network address translation-routers,are not designed to handle real-timecommunication, restricting the use of VoIPand the like to within the enterprise LAN.In order to communicate with anyone -employees working from home or from hotels,business partners or even customers- situated outside the LAN, the enterprisefirewall must have SIP support.Firewalls or network edge devices withSIP support should also provide effectivecontrol over the SIP traffic flow and, at thesame time, protect the enterprise network,including the IP-PBX, against attacks andunauthorized use. Like any enterpriseclassfirewall, they need to handle the SIPtraffic while maintaining control and securityof the traditional data traffic to andfrom the enterprise network.Global connectivityOne of the IETF’s, Internet EngineeringTask Force, goals in creating SIP was tofacilitate global connectivity, so that everyonewould be reachable anywhere, atanytime. Breaking down the barriers ofcountry, time zone, even liberating us fromthe constraints of landline telephone communications,SIP’s true vision was to bringthe global business community togetherfor collaboration, to improve productivityand generally help everyone work smarter,together.Global connectivity is beginning to happenin three steps. First, the adoption ofSIP trunking, a technology that rapidly reducescommunications costs by eliminatingredundancies and making a connectionbetween VoIP and the PSTN, publicswitched telephone network. The nextstep is allowing remote workers to utilizetheir corporate VoIP, IM etc. by accessingthese features from anywhere, as long asthere is access to an Internet connection.Last, this revolution toward global connectivitywill happen as enterprises communicatewith each other, freely and in realtime over the Internet.SIP trunkingA SIP trunk is a SIP-controlled link betweenan IP-PBX and a service provider for voiceover IP. Unlike traditional telephony, wherea physical, wired and switched connectionis needed to connect the caller to the receiver,a SIP trunk uses logical connectionsfrom one point to another over an IPnetwork, working the same way the publicInternet functions.The emergence of service providers offeringSIP trunks to enterprises means thatenterprises can outsource their PSTNconnectivity to a third party - the serviceprovider. All calls, including long-distancecalls, are carried over the Internet - eveninternationally - and the connection to thePSTN is as close as possible to the partyyou are trying to reach. The call is passedover the PSTN from that connecting pointto its final destination. For companies doingbusiness globally, this can have a significantimpact on long-distance communicationscosts.SIP trunks reduce costs by making it unnecessaryto purchase ISDN, BRIs, BasicRate Interfaces, PRIs, Primary RateInterfaces, or local PSTN gateways. SIPtrunks also produce long-term savingsby supporting business growth. Existingbroadband IP connections typically haveenough excess capacity to handle VoIPcalls, often without needing to purchaseadditional capacity.Remote workersNearly 40 per cent of employees, accordingto recent studies, work away from theoffice occasionally. Most want access tothe tools that the IP-PBX offers at their office.SIP can deliver that and enable realtimecommunications for remote userssituated behind residential NATs or hotelNATs.There are solutions that enable SIPtraffic to traverse both near-end firewalls/NATs and far end NATs while maintainingsecurity.Today, a number of companies offer thesefar-end NAT traversal solutions for the remoteworker, satellite office, etc., that effectivelyextend the desktop to whereveremployees may be and enable secure,universal access to IP communicationfrom any available Internet connection.Enterprise-to-enterpriseAs more and more enterprises implementSIP-based communication tools, it will bepossible to communicate between enterprisesin real-time over IP. Let your customerschoose the best communicationmethod for their location and needs: applicationsharing; IM; real-time video; or,VoIP. In time, with SIP, we will achieve thetrue vision of global connectivity.The vision of true global connectivity isfor everyone to be able to communicatewith anyone, anytime, wherever theymay be located at that moment. For thisto happen, SIP must become a universalprotocol supported on all devices - fromcomputers to phones. Right now peopleequate IP communications only with VoIP.However, with SIP, our communicationsoptions are expanded beyond voice.When SIP is widely deployed, interactionwill become more collaborative, withpartners, vendors, employees and evencustomers using the most effective toolfor every occasion, whether it is instantmessaging, presence, voice, video, applicationsharing, white-boarding or file sharing.Preparing the enterprise network forSIP prepares it for the future and createsa network that today gives users a varietyof effective, efficient, forms of communicationwith a rapid return on investment. nEurope issue II 2007 n 43

Open accessTriple play first, what next?by Michael Engström, VP Global Business Development,PacketFront Sweden ABInternet service providers generally do not share in the revenues generated throughits services, so they have little financial incentive to upgrade the networks for nextgenerationneeds. Open access providers build and run networks for anyone whoneeds broadband to do business. Open access providers who offer better quality thanthe public Internet’s best-effort service, provide hosting and operations for servers,quality of service for content providers and an operational solution for home-baseddevices might become the next killer application.Michael Engström is PacketFront Sweden’s VP of Global Business Development. Previously, during his years at PacketFront, he hasbeen responsible for marketing and sales to carriers.Mr Engström co-founded two management consulting companies prior to joining PacketFront - Anzur Norway and 42Networks Sweden.At Cisco Systems EMEA, he served as a strategic advisor to EMEA and in-country management.Mr Engström has 20 years in the data communications industry, and has built wide, deep expertise ranging from deep technical designto senior management consulting.Open access - the network killer applicationGreenfield broadband investments duringthe past five years have been as much politicallyas commercially motivated. The rationalefor the investments, however, varieswith the types of players moving intothe broadband space.One type of investor is essentially just afinancial backer. In this category, you findplayers such as Swedish B2 (today ownedby Norwegian Telco Telenor) and Fast-Web Italy. In addition, we find investmentsin areas such as property development,business parks and hospitality where theinvestor aims to increase the value of itscore business by adding advanced networkinfrastructures to his offerings.The second category of investor has beenthe public utility sector. Here, the investmentshave been very much politicallymotivated. The argument has been thatas a community-owned utility you make somuch money that you should give somethingback to the community.The business cases of each of these playershave been based on the assumptionthat triple play offers the foundation forthe business case. TV, ISP and voice servicesaccount for the revenue portion ofthis model, thereby guaranteeing financialsuccess. Over time, it has proven difficultto: a) get TV content on board; and, b) turnthe TV content into a significant net margincontributor. The result is that the Internetand good old voice have risen to thestars as the key financial supporters.Open accessWhile the commercial player tends to investin, develop and operate the servicesas well as the network, most multi-utilitieshave taken the path of open access. Openaccess means commercial and technicalseparation of the network from the servicesit delivers. In the telco world this is called‘wholesale at service level’. The playerwho builds and operates the network doesnot take a stake in service delivery, theysimply provide tools, business models andprocesses to allow any service provider toget on to their broadband network. Notethat the definition, within the context ofthis article, applies to services within thebroadband domain and not services comingover the Internet transit.The utility sector has gained a significantinsight from its efforts. That the local, aswell as global, environment is much strongerat devising and developing the rightservices that users are willing to pay forthan, for example, the board of directorsat the local telco. This is the very reasonthat the open access networks provide theuser with a vastly superior service offering,both in capability, quality and price,than those of the closed network operator.Open access will be the killer applicationof the future due to its inherent compliance44 n Europe issue II 2007

Open accesswith the idea that the more people that invent,the more services will arrive.Internet-centric service providers“Video and TV services over the Internet will require massiveinvestments in Internet capacity as well as in access networksin the foreseeable future.”When they look at the future of services,those within the broadband space areworried about the advent of players suchas Skype, Apple, Google, MSN and nowJoost. These players utilize a wholly Internet-drivenmodel; access to the user isachieved via the Internet. For this modelto work efficiently no discrimination betweentypes of content transmitted overthe access network can exist; the onlycommercial agreement is that set betweenthe owner and the buyer - for example betweenGoogle and the consumer - of thecontent.It is easy to see the threat for the networkoperator: should you combine the capabilitiesof these players? Imagine a worldwhere we consume all media content ondemand. A world where we subscribe toall we wish to pay and that the set-topbox, STB, contains the necessary hardwareto store everything we subscribe to.In addition, our national broadcast TV isnow DTT-based, Digital Terrestrial Television,and every flat screen contains a builtin DTT decoder. The implications of thisapproach are that broadcast services arelimited. Since all services will come overthe Internet, and all users on the broadbandnetwork run Joost, transit will no longerbe a bottleneck. The access networkis suddenly capable of dealing with allyour content because it is on-demand; itis constantly downloading content to yourbox in the background while you are atwork and the need for real-time deliveryno longer exists.The main consequence of this would bethat the access network provider is completelyleft out of the revenue stream. TheInternet-centric service providers are simplyusing the strength, working with thebasic principles, of the Internet.There are, however, some importantthings to consider.First of all, of course, we will need moreand more bandwidth in the access portionof the network as well as over the publicInternet. Network owners will not continueto invest in new technologies and accessnetwork capacity, to accommodate moretransit capacity, unless there is a reasonablereturn on investment. Although it maybe difficult for the network owner to be partof the revenue stream from current services,it does not mean this must be the casein the future.Secondly, the content required to accommodatelocal needs is owned and controlledby institutions a lot more conservativein their business approach than thatof the telco. It will take time to ensure thatall content is available over new technicalplatforms.Thirdly, even though Skype has millions ofusers, its application is still limited due tothe payment structure, the business modelitself, the technical requirements and thelack of guaranteed quality of service. Thesame goes for YouTube and other ‘cool’offerings on the Internet. These playersare nowhere near mass market eventhough they have millions of users. Marketadoption is measured as the level of acceptanceand usage across all parts of thesociety, not only how well tools for geekswith deep pockets are accepted.Last but not least, the market will continueto devise new and fantastic ways of utilizingcapacity and bandwidth. Currently,there is much hype about compressedHDTV, but we still see low definition andeven un-compressed content coming overthe broadband network. People are investingfortunes in new HDTV capable TVsets, and prices are dropping faster thanever at the high-end part of the market.People will scream for content that fullyutilizes their new sofa companion. Thequality thing of the content will itself proveto be somewhat of a killer application. Thenetworks must accommodate this transition.The next stepsIt is vital to understand the benefits ofthe Internet model as well as its flaws. Itis also vital to understand that there is aneco-system in place that actually makesthe Internet work.The benefits of the Internet model are theubiquitous access to services and users.The flaw is the fact that Internet is a besteffort service only and critical applicationssuch as TV, voice and future video telephonyservices must be given preferentialand intelligent treatment to work.The very definition of an eco-system isthe sum of the entities that are requiredfor a community to function as a whole.If one fails, the community’s interests areat stake. The current debate around Internet-centricservices vs. access networksshows a fundamental lack of understandingabout how closely linked these playersare to each other’s survival.When Joost and iTunes really start to addressthe mass market they will see thechallenge of having very complex homedevices connected to the central point ofsocial stimuli within the family. If the serviceas a whole does not provide the qualityand ease of use the user expects, millionsand millions of users will start callingthe first line support of … well, whom?Video and TV services over the Internetwill require massive investments in Internetcapacity as well as in access networksin the foreseeable future. Even Googlepublicly states that the Internet is not builtfor video distribution; this is something tothink about for those touting Google as thenext mass-market video provider.An easy way to solve the Internet-centricservice quality issue would be for thebroadband provider to commercialise specialservice packages on their broadbandnetworks. Providing hosting and operationsfor servers, quality of service for contentproviders and an operational solutionfor home devices will bring true addedvalueto the Internet-centric provider, thatcan be commercialised - perhaps basedon the revenue sharing nature of the openaccess business model. After all, if thecost for providing bandwidth within thebroadband network is lower than that ofproviding high-quality bandwidth serviceover the public Internet, why focus the efforton the more expensive solution?Who knows what tomorrow brings? Telcosspent billions of euros on 3G licences,they over-invested in WAP and they didnot see SMS coming. We cannot predictthe future, but we should do everythingwithin our power to anticipate and accommodatefuture services over our infrastructure- over the Internet as well as withinthe broadband network itself.Open access takes care of the eco-systemand governs the processes. It provides thetechnology and, in the end, defines the financialmodel that will guarantee that thekiller applications of the future run on yournetwork. Open access is the killer applicationof the future. nEurope issue II 2007 n 45

IPTVThe IPTV edgeby Reto Brader, General Manager, Pixelmetrix CorporationIPTV, using the Internet protocol to deliver TV, is the best hope fixed-line telcos have tocomplete the triple-play - voice, data and video - package they need to compete withISPs and cable companies. Moving to IPTV is not simple; there are many challenges,from programming to technology, that they must master. Only constant monitoring ofeverything from the content delivery to the technical parameters - a demanding task- will guarantee the sort of experience and end-to-end quality users demand.Reto Brader is the General Manager for Pixelmetrix Corporation, a Singapore-based company that specialises in the design and productionof management and telemetry systems for digital broadcasters, satellite, cable and IPTV operators worldwide. Mr Brader hasmore than 12 years of digital data, video distribution and monitoring experience. Prior to joining Pixelmetrix, he was Product MarketingManager at Hewlett-Packard’s High-speed Telecom and Digital Video Test Division in Canada. Mr Brader currently represents Pixelmetrixin the DVB Forum.Mr Brader holds a bachelors degree in Electronic Engineering and a masters degree in Business and Administration (MBA).IPTV’s ignition is on. The spark of thisemerging technology stirred muchhype among the telcos and cable operatorsas they look to harness thistechnology for their content deliveryinfrastructure.Dwindling wire line revenues, increasedcompetition, bundling opportunities,consumer demand for greatercontrol over viewing preferences, fallingvoice revenues, increasing penetrationof broadband – telcos all overthe world have finally realised theimportance of shifting from a voicecentricmodel to an IP-centric modelin which video and other content-richinteractive services play key roles. IPnetworks enable telecommunicationsoperators to provide their customerswith IP-based television, IPTV, as wellas myriad next-generation IP-basedservices that end users incorporateinto their increasingly digital lifestyle.46 n Europe issue II 2007

VoIP and Wireless VoIP: The Future Is CallingCapitalising on VoIP to leverage new revenue, increased mobility andlower costsMarina Mandarin HotelSingapore4th & 5th June 2007** Connect World subscribers will be entitled a 10%discount upon registration for this event. Pleasequote MP- discount: Connect World onto theregistration form.“The more elaborate our means ofcommunication, the less we communicate”Joseph PriestleyAcquire insights and best practices in planning, implementing and provisioning of VoIPand Wireless VoIP servicesHalf-day workshop on:Commercial and strategic considerations in deployingWireless VoIPAmrish Kacker Principal ConsultantAndrew Kloeden ConsultantWireless and Multimedia PracticeAnalysys ConsultingAttend this informative event andgain practical insights into:• Incorporating VoIP services into telcos and ISPs product mixes• Recognising new threats and challenges brought about by VoIP• Learning from case studies and best practices for implementing IPbasedservices• Analysing best practices for successful Wireless VoIP deployment• Identifying profitable business models to maximise ROI• Evaluating different strategies for offering VoIP services• Implementing security policies for secure VoIP communications• Optimising QoS issues for mainstream VoIP adoption• Understanding how regulatory issues affect their companies• Educating customers on benefits of VoIPEndorsersMedia PartnersYour distinguished chairperson:Andrew Batten Head of 21C Consultancy PracticeBT TeleconsultKeynote Presentations by:Chan Kin Hung Senior VP, Advanced Multimedia ServicesStarHubStarHub is an info-communications company delivering a full range of information,communications and entertainment services over fixed, cable, mobile and Internetplatforms. First South East Asian cable company to offer a commercial HDTV service.Kevin Lim Managing DirectorPacific InternetPacific Internet Limited is the largest teIco-independent Internet Communications ServiceProvider in the Asia Pacific region by geographic reach.Zam Zamzairani Mohd Isa Chief Executive OfficerMalaysia Business, TMTM is a regional information and communications group with investments and operationsin 12 countries around Asia and globally.Featuring expert presentations by:Garth Freeman Chief Executive OfficerBuzz BroadbandDr Haila Wang Chief Technology OfficerFrance Telecom R&D, BeijingDr Seong-Choon Lee Asst VP, Mobile Internet Development DepartmentKorea TelecomProf Ferrie Hu Chief ScientistChina MotionBen Green General Manger, Specialised VoIP ServicesVerizon BusinessDr Woo Kang Wei Executive Director (Technical)Air-Touch Pte LtdMark P. Simpson Convergence Marketing Proposition Development ManagerOrange UKDr Wen-Hao Yang Project Manager of Wireless Access Network TechnologyChunghwa Telecommunications LaboratoriesAnton Raharja Founder & Lead DeveloperVoIP RakyatSupporting Publication*Early Bird & Group DiscountsAsk about our savingsconferencesFor more information and registration,please contact Tan Peng Pheng,Tel: +603 2723 6614Email: tanp@marcusevanskl.comwww.marcusevans.comEurope issue II 2007 n 47

IPTVIt is indeed the network operator’s strategyfor tomorrow.IPTV excites! What does it offer?With IPTV, telco operators can implementall the traditional services available on rivaltechnologies - e.g. satellite - such as:• free-to-air broadcast channels;• premium broadcast channels;• radio channels.Thanks to the high-speed connection andthe always-on ‘return channel’, telcos arealso able to implement interactive servicessuch as:• T-Mail, which allows customers to accesstheir email accounts on television;• T-Browsing, which allows customersto surf the Web on TV;• T-Services, which enable shoppingor banking services on TV;• T-SMS and T-MMS, televisionbasedshort message and multimediamessage services;• network PVR, personal video recorder,and network Time-Shift Television,TST;• viewer voting and polling.Multimedia Research Group estimatesthat IPTV subscribers willballoon from eight million in 2006to 50.7 million in 2010 (worldwide),with Europe leading the market. Theindustry’s revenue could reach nearlyUS$13 billion by that time. IPTV isgrowing in leaps and bounds.What’s the big challenge?IPTV has huge market potential,rich interactive servicesand gives choice to customers.IP television, while alluring,also carries many bigchallenges for telcos; in fact,to make a mark in this marketsuccessfully, they haveto focus on efficient businessand operating models, regulatoryissues and enhancingtheir technological capabilities.All these factors collectivelyplay an important role in defining theexperience of their customers.One of the prime challenges faced by IPTVservice providers is the customer’s expectationof ‘always on’ service. The constantavailability of all IPTV programmes andservices is a critical factor for the successof a service. Cable and satellite providershave set the bar extremely high in termsof the richness of content offering, availability,quality and pricing of television services.This leaves IPTV service providerswith multiple challenges - challenges thatevery service provider must overcome toachieve successful service roll out.Correctly addressing the above factorsrequires careful network design. Comprehensivesystems for managing thecustomer’s quality of experience are akey component of that strategy - to guardagainst known challenges and stayingprepared for the unknown.Quality of experienceTo harness the power of IP and digitaltelevision fully calls for the reconciliationof these technologies designed for ‘besteffort’ and real-time delivery of content respectively.The immediate goal, however,is to provide user-centric IP services in linewith customers’ demand for total end-toendQoE, Quality of Experience. The successof IPTV lies in the adoption of bestpractices in service planning, deploying,managing and maintaining the service.Quality assurance covers the completenetwork, from signal acquisition to enduserdelivery. In order to implement qualityassurance, priorities must first be defined.This can be achieved by studying error impact:if a DSL, digital subscriber line, is notfunctioning properly - dropping packets,for example - video quality will be compromised.The acquisition of live contentin the IPTV head-end must be monitored.If a stream fails to leave the head-end,customers will be affected, disrupting theirviewing pleasure.Monitoring successThe many technical challenges make astrong case for the use of extensive testand monitoring in both the deploymentand the operation of an IPTV network.48 n Europe issue II 2007

IPTVThe end-to-end monitoring of IP networks,from checking the integrity of content atingest to the intended delivery to the finalcustomer, is a must.A key strength of IPTV is the wealth ofmonitoring and control information thatcan be collected, aggregated and correlatedto determine video and audio qualityon a network-wide and per-user basis.Taking QoE measurements from all elementsin the service delivery path makesit possible to correlate transport-layer QoSwith application QoE. Therefore, networktransport errors can be compensated atthe application layer through the use oferror correction algorithms or packet retransmission.The IPTV network needs to be monitoredgeographically, across different locationsand identified monitoring points withinthe network, and over time, since historicalperformance data is as important astoday’s real-time telemetry. Also, monitoringshould include problems in the transmissionchain as they happen, now, andfor problems that might be expected tomanifest themselves over a period of time.Also, most importantly, monitoring of theprotocol axis is essential to insure the integrityof the signal is maintained and thatthe content is reaching the subscriber.Maintaining service integrity is a majorissue; this means guaranteeing that theright content - the content the subscriberexpects - is delivered.To elaborate on the importance of monitoringeach aspect of the IPTV deliverychain at identified monitoring points, letus consider the head-end. IPTV headenddesigners can tap on the experienceof well-informed head-end operators withregard to what they consider a key problem- loss of the incoming signal or partof it. Another common issue that arises iswhen ‘something goes wrong’ within thedecoding and encoding chain; this leadseither to erroneous or no output from thehead-end. Accordingly, the monitoringsolution must actually ‘look and listen, todetermine that there is content within theIP packets. If there is no signal from theinput, most of the equipment in the transmissionchain will produce a pre-definedoutput; this could be anything from a blackscreen, to a test signal without audio, to asimple test tone.The only way to ensure that ‘real’ contentleaves the head-end is to check the contentcontinuously at a number of controlpoints. If an error is detected, operatorsneed the tools to check that the input isin order and to identify the causes of theerrors.Information at each layer of the protocolstack is equally important to determinewhat sort of ‘content experience’ the customerwould get. Monitoring solutions aredesigned with a clear focus on the lowerlayers of the protocol stack for bit, byte,datagram, packet and transport stream,etc, errors. The questions, among others,that need to be answered are: Arethe subtitles on the content right? Is thecontent audio good? Does the parentalcontrol work as intended? Is the channelchanging on time? The experience is decidedby factors that cannot be confined toa single protocol layer or a group of layers,but correct data and processing at everysingle layer has an equal contribution towardsdelivering quality experience.IPTV networks cover large areas. The serviceprovider needs to have complete visibilityof the service throughout the area toensure an end-to-end quality experience.The monitoring system should consolidateall the telemetry data at a single point, sothat the system as a whole can be auditedby the network owners and provide completedata for all parties with a stake in thesuccessful delivery of content, from contentaggregators, content owners and networkequipment manufacturers to IPTVsystems vendors.IP television is here to stay. The Internetprotocol is redefining the way we perceiveand consume video content. It empowersconsumers to decide what they want,how they want it, where they want it andhow much they want. The adoption of thispath-breaking technology brings challenges,but they can be faced head-on;there are efficient strategies to overcomethem. Customer-centric business models,robust technologies and, most importantly,continually delighting the customerwith exceptional quality experiences, areimportant elements of a successful IPTVservice.Customer churn, and the drag it has onrevenues, can be reduced by using efficienttest and monitoring platforms. Theseensure that problems are attacked beforethey affect the viewer. The three-dimensionalprotocol model for efficient monitoringtakes into account all the significantaspects of IPTV network monitoring: thegeography; time; and, protocol stack.IPTV is more than about meeting requirements;it is about surpassing expectations.nConnect-World iscelebrating its tenthanniversaryThrough the years, Connect-World’s authors told of the riseof mobile, of fibre, of wirelessand of broadband; they told ofthe dot.com meltdown, ofdigital inclusion and convergence,of standards and breakthroughs,the rise of IP andthe fall of switching and of theregulatory turnaround.In every issue of Connect-Worldheads of state, ministers andregulators, heads ofinternational institutions andleaders of industry speak ofwhat the ICT revolution, as ithappens, means to the peoplein their regions of the world.www.connect-world.comEurope issue II 2007 n 49

31 July – 2 August 2007Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South AfricaInnovation and strategy for 21stcentury telcosTelecoms World Africa is once again set to be the place that brings youin contact with senior level decision makers with the power to purchaseyour solutions.We are delighted to provide you with the opportunity to:• Penetrate the African telecommunications sector• Increase your marketing ROI for 2007• Position your solutions to a very select group of senior decisionmakers• Evaluate new business opportunities and prospects• Join an already existing line-up of elite sponsorsCompete. Win.• Meet, network and do businessIf you are a supplier of telecommunications solutions to the Africanmarket or are looking to enter this lucrative, untrapped market, thenthis is where you will do business.Response form Fax back to +27 (0)11 707 8342 Yes! Yes!I have a leading brand and want topromote it to decision makers in thetelecoms industry. Please call me todiscuss sponsorship opportunities.I want to attend the conference.Please send me more information.Name: ......................................................................................................“Telecoms World Africa is definitely THE place to be present ifyou’re in anyway involved with telecommunications.Congratulations on a great conference with top level speakersand delegates learning and sharing useful and accurateinformation.”Alexis Indenge, Chief Executive Officer, Telecom Plus,Democratic Republic of Congo.Secure your place NOW, fax the response form to +27 (0)11 707 8342or contact Shiri-Lee Castellan on +27 (0)11 516 4040.Job title: ....................................................................................................Company:..................................................................................................Diamond sponsorPostal Address: ............................................................................................................................................................ Code: ..................................Tel: ............................................................................................................Fax: ..........................................................................................................Silver sponsorBronze sponsorsOrganised byMobile:......................................................................................................E-mail: ......................................................................................................100969/Connect-WorldELECTRONICSwww.terrapinn.com/2007/telecomza50 n Europe issue II 2007Terrapinn1327

Intellectual propertyIntellectual property in the newnetwork environmentby Robert Lind, Partner, Marks & Clerk, Patent and Trademark AttorneyConvergence raises many serious intellectual property rights, IRP, questions. Howcan we deal with content IRP when networks throughout the world are involved? TheIRP issues involving technologies and equipment used in a converged environment,given the differing laws around the world, are truly complex and perplexing even whenstandards and international standards organisations are involved. The growth of convergencewould be greatly facilitated by international agreement based upon genuinelycommon standards and obligatory licensing on fair and reasonable terms.Robert Lind is a Partner in Marks & Clerk, Patent and Trademark Attorney; he is a Chartered Patent Attorney and European Patent Attorneyspecialising in the patenting of inventions related to telecommunications and computing, with particular emphasis on Internet-relatedtechnologies. Dr Lind joined Marks & Clerk after training with a firm of patent attorneys in London. He later worked as an in-houseattorney for Nokia Mobile Phones in Finland before returning to the firm. He is a contributor to the European Patents Handbook.Dr Lind graduated from Glasgow University with an honours degree in Electronic Engineering and subsequently obtained a PhD inBioelectronics from the same university.Undeniably, today’s networks are evolvingat a rapid pace. More convergent technologiesare starting to emerge, whilstthe promise of third generation mobilenetworks may be on the point of deliverythrough higher speed data access and theprovision of quality content. Yet in spite ofthis high rate of change, the landscaperemains a disparate collection of differenttechnologies. Debates as to the respectivemerits of WiMAX and LTE, Bluetoothand WiFi rage despite all the talk of convergence.So what role does intellectualproperty have to play in this complex environment?Should the industry genuinely crack theconvergence model, the role of intellectualproperty will be unlike anything we have“Looking back over the historyof the mobile networks,every leap in technologyhas resulted in subsequentpatent disputes, from GSMthrough to 3G.”seen to date. For achieving convergencewill necessarily involve the agreement ofgenuinely common standards - and allthose who participate will likely be forcedto license on fair and reasonable terms.The benefits of convergence are clear- from the seamless roaming capabilitiesfor the consumer, to the advantage forproviders of delivering exceptional contentthrough a simple, generic Internet protocolinfrastructure.Contrast this model with the co-existenceof multiple competing technologies, whichlends power to organisations to use thepatent system to create near monopolisticpositions in their technology areas, with allthe downsides of reduced competition andfragmented access and service provision.In both of these scenarios, intellectualproperty remains at the centre of innovation- as it should. The patent system isdesigned to encourage innovation andreward those who participate in technologicaldevelopment. In the creation of asingle standard converged network, however,compulsory licensing on fair termswill allow a greater number of entrantsinto the market, increasing competitionand driving down prices. For those whoEurope issue II 2007 n 51

Intellectual propertyinnovate and contribute to the convergednetwork environment, royalty rates maybe reduced, but the total income will bethat much greater.But what about those who choose to remainoutside the creation of this standard?How will they use intellectual property?Looking back over the history of the mobilenetworks, every leap in technology has resultedin subsequent patent disputes, fromGSM through to 3G. Many of these haveinvolved ‘outsiders’. The disputes havealso resulted in the industry grapplingwith the very different intellectual propertysystems that operate across Europe andAmerica. Notably, in the NTP/RIM case,the spotlight was cast on the US intellectualproperty framework and this hassince led to NTP pursuing Palm for similarinfringement. The US allows an injunctionto be granted purely on the basis of patentinfringement, before the validity of thepatent has been considered. In the Black-Berry case, this made it difficult for RIMnot to settle, irrespective of whether thecontested patent would be upheld.Still, for all the criticism of the various intellectualproperty systems, and the way inwhich IPR is managed by individual organisations,intellectual property itself shouldnot be cast as defensive or burdensome.To do so would be to ignore the major,positive role that intellectual property hashad in technological development and itsrole in stimulating innovation. Jari Vaario,Director of Intellectual Property Rights forNokia in Finland, recently commented: “Ingeneral, royalty payments force companiesto compete by introducing innovativeproducts, rather than with price, makingthem even stronger in the long run. Thusroyalty payments should not be consideredonly negatively, but as an incentivefor innovation.”Of course, the potential for abuse will existin a converged model. The creation ofa powerful, global standard could evenmake it more of a target to those outsideof its development. Such a scenario wouldsee the industry face yet more strain dueto the differences between the various intellectualproperty legal systems acrossthe globe - perhaps one of the most pressingconcerns to date. However, the hopeis that a converged model will leave feweroutsiders.This is clearly preferable but, of course, alarge number of patent disputes have todate involved the big players, the ‘insiders’,such as Nokia and Qualcomm. Onewould have hoped that bodies such as theEuropean Telecoms Standards Institute,ETSI, would have resolved disputes betweenthose involved in the creation of astandard. However this has not been thecase, and whilst ETSI has avoided regulatoryaction, following accusations of a laxattitude to intellectual property, criticismremains. Despite ETSI tightening its IPRpolicy, players such as T-Mobile remainvocal on the impact of IPR licensing onequipment pricing.Such criticisms have at times resulted in acall for greater transparency and upfrontdisclosure as to the intellectual propertycosts that will be incurred from licensing.In the converged model, patent pools maywell become more of a norm, but ultimately,to avoid insider disputes, these kinds ofindustry bodies will need to get better atdefining what constitutes fair and reasonable.Challenges will remain.Sharing technology effectively betweenorganisations both inside and outside ofthe standards is, and will, prove fundamental.One of the key advantages ofconvergence is that it allows for the reuseof technology at multiple points in the network.Yet the industry may itself alreadybe making some progress in sharing technologymore effectively.This can be seen by the recent move bysome companies to create technologyplatform licences, in a bid to shape theirpatent portfolios into income generatingassets. Ericsson is an example of a companythat has actively marketed itself torivals, making its IPR a major part of itscorporate agenda. Its intellectual propertyhas become a business case that nodoubt will be adopted by others. The licensingof IPR in this way should be seenby the industry as an opportunity as muchas a threat - and a necessary step on theroad to convergence. In this respect, theuse of IP rights is in some cases alreadymore forward-looking than is often portrayed.Meanwhile, the clearer delineationin strategy between the respectivetelecoms companies may in fact end upcontributing to better partnerships and thedevelopment of more innovation.Recognising the value of intellectual property,and allowing IPR to shape the wayin which the industry competes, shouldbe seen as a given in an era of such immensechange. If anything, the telecomsindustry should expect to see IPR play anincreasingly important role in doing business,seeing as there will be a proliferationof strategic alliances around mobilecontent to secure access to others’ intellectualproperty. Intellectual property hasmoved from the sidelines to the very heartof corporate affairs. It is down to the individualplayers in the market to stimulatetheir own innovation and manage theirown intellectual assets to compete effectivelyin this new environment. nConnect-World iscelebrating its tenthanniversaryThrough the years, Connect-World’s authors told of the riseof mobile, of fibre, of wirelessand of broadband; they told ofthe dot.com meltdown, ofdigital inclusion and convergence,of standards and breakthroughs,the rise of IP andthe fall of switching and of theregulatory turnaround.In every issue of Connect-Worldheads of state, ministers andregulators, heads ofinternational institutions andleaders of industry speak ofwhat the ICT revolution, as ithappens, means to the peoplein their regions of the world.www.connect-world.com52 n Europe issue II 2007

Network strategiesThe network business -strategies for tomorrowby Konstantin Nikashov, VP, External Economic Activities,MERA Systems and member of the Executive Board, MERA GroupVoice over IP, VoIP, is revolutionising the telephony market, changing the competitivelandscape and forcing operators around the world to re-think their business modelsand strategies. VoIP offers customers much lower calling rates - especially for longdistancecalls; it also offers users a great many advanced features and lets operatorsadd value-added services. Sophisticated softswitches ensure quality of service bymonitoring service parameters and dynamically re-routing calls; they also help operatorsfind the least-cost/high-quality routings needed to maximise profitability.As Vice President for External Economic Activities for MERA Systems and a member of the Executive Board of the MERA Group, KonstantinNikashov is responsible for developing and managing new business partnerships. Dr Nikashov joined MERA as the Vice Presidentfor Business Development and led the company’s efforts to establish international business relations. Prior to joining MERA,Dr Nikashov was Technical Director for KIS, the first regional ISP in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia and supervised the company’s technologicalinitiatives.Konstantin Nikashov earned his MSEE and his PhD from the State University of Technology in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia.The all-embracing tendency towards globalizationbrings an ever-increasing demandfor communication. The revolutionaryVoIP, voice over IP, technology hasreshuffled the telecom landscape and thecompetitive edge of existing and emergingcarriers. Its popularity is due to the manyopportunities it offers both carriers andcustomers, including greater flexibility andmore attractive prices compared to thehigh long-distance rates charged by traditionaloperating companies. VoIP also offersa wide range of additional calling features,such as call management functions;these functions are free of charge, unlikethose offered by PSTN, public switchedtelephone network, operators.Tense competition between legacy telephonyproviders and VoIP carriers, andthe rapid evolution of technology, requiresadvances in service reliability and qualityof service. Carriers realise that the mainreason home and enterprise users moveto VoIP is to reduce communication costs,but they insist upon receiving the samesort of quality they have become accustomedto. To date, enterprise customersare still wary about VoIP quality and arelikely to return to traditional, legacy, telephonyservices if they feel their needs arenot being met. If VoIP networks do not becomeas reliable as the PSTN, VoIP carrierswon’t win their customer’s loyalty. Althoughthe negligible cost of a VoIP phonecall might make poor quality tolerable forsome, most business users expect to heara pin drop and will not tolerate outages forany reason.An obvious approach to providing QoS,quality of service, calls for reliable, redundant,equipment and systems. VoIPnetworks must be fully redundant in orderto preserve and maintain call informationeven during equipment failures. To ensure“VoIP networks must be fullyredundant in order topreserve and maintain callinformation even duringequipment failures.”ample QoS and real-time delivery carriersdeploy class 4 softswitches (call agents,caller servers or media gateway controllers)as the backbone elements of theirVoIP networks. Intelligent routing capabilitiesenable softswitches to monitor QoSparameters across IP-networks and detectperformance degradation. The abilityto switch dynamically between paths withdifferent QoS minimizes latency, enhancesrouting efficiency, enables creation ofcustomer-tailored services and providesService Level Agreement, SLA, assurance.Softswitches provide a vast choiceof analytical capabilities to enable realtimemonitoring of network performanceEurope issue II 2007 n 53

Network strategies“VoIP carriers are now poised to change their business strategies. The traditional VoIP businessmodel - pure wholesale or pure retail - is no longer effective in the high-speed businessenvironment of today.”and protect carriers from QoS theft - deviationsbetween the QoS carriers claimthey are delivering and the QoS actuallyreceived. Rigorous control of QoS, constantquality assurance, builds customerloyalty by better satisfying their needs.At the same time, the competitive struggleto maintain customer loyalty puts constantpressure on their rates, drives them down,reduces profit margins and forces carriersconstantly to revise their strategiesto maintain their revenues. To acceleratetheir ROI, return on investment, and maximizeprofits telcos need powerful solutionsthat enable them to respond flexibly andpromptly to the pricing whims of partnersand customers. The ability to offer customer-specificservices, tailored to theirpayment preferences, leverages carriers’competitive advantage and keeps themfrom being left behind by the competition.Best-of-breed class 4 and 5 softswitcheswith highly intelligent routing capabilitiesmaintain information about the tariff plansof the operator’s networking partners, aswell as per-route QoS data, in their databases.Using this information, they performlook-ahead route hunting based on ‘routeappeal’ - the most attractive combinationof cost, quality and other business-criticalparameters. Utilizing these flexible routingschemes, carriers can offer servicesbased on SLAs and optimize peering withtheir partners. Another important featureof softswitches is automated profitabilitycontrol; this handy feature safeguards thecarrier against mistakes and ensures thatthey are not losing money at any givenmoment. The operational analysis andreporting tools provided by the best softswitchesenable telcos constantly to keeptheir ‘finger’ on the pulse of their networksand make profitability projections basedon available pricing and traffic forecasts.All these features enable carriers to selectthe best business partner in each particularcase, for each connection, to stay afloatand enhance their business profitability.Finding a VoIP business modelThe rapid development of VoIP technologyand the rise of a large number of alternativetelcos have led to increased demandfor traffic aggregation services and, as aresult, given birth to a wholesale marketfor IP traffic capacity. The abundant supplyof VoIP services has brought pricesdown - recent research shows that wholesaletermination/origination revenues areexperiencing declining growth rates.VoIP carriers are now poised to changetheir business strategies. The traditionalVoIP business model - pure wholesale orpure retail - is no longer effective in thehigh-speed business environment of today.Massive change is now about to overtakethe trillion-dollar global VoIP industry.The future of the VoIP business, as we seeit, is moving from pure wholesale or retailoperations into a mixed-mode, multi-servicebusiness. In this way, the VoIP providersare building diverse revenue streamsderived from a number of innovative communicationsservices. Industry players willuse their own capabilities - and their peeringpartners’ - class 4 and 5 softswitchesto route VoIP traffic between originatorsand terminators. This will tend to reducethe excessive number of intermediariesthey must currently use and, accordingly,enhance the revenues. Under these circumstances,the requirement for fault-tolerantinteroperability will be more criticalthan ever before.Albeit cautiously, VoIP carriers are pushingahead with their new strategies, makingworkable business plans for the nascentservice. Today, we can no longersee clearly where telecommunicationsend and content service provision begins.Call costs continue moving towards zeroand revenue-hungry carriers have to rethinktheir profit structure. In the near futureit will be value-added services thatwill drive operator revenues. Better conferencingsupport, video, advertising supportedcalls, surveys and polls, voicemail,personal video recorders - we can onlyimagine what sorts of services VoIP providerswill find profitable. A wide range of“...VoIP carriers are pushingahead with their new strategies,making workable businessplans for the nascentservice.”extra services, however, can help increaseARPU, average revenues per user, andreduce customer churn, which is of utmostimportance in a highly competitive, customer-centredenvironment.Carriers will compete not only based onprice and performance, but also with regardto delivery time, which will be crucialwhen introducing value-added services.Those who move more quickly will penetratethe market, deploy their service suiteand survive, others will quit. To capturemarket-share, win the competition, carriersand service providers will need reliabletechnologies that enable them to createnew service suites quickly. This will leadto increased demand for open-standardclass 5 softswitches. They provide a costefficientalternative to traditional switchesbuilt on legacy architectures that are oftenincompatible with some of the newerequipment that services operators seek toincorporate into the network.Class 5 softswitches reduce up-front costs;ensure carrier-to-carrier and carrier-to-enterpriseconnectivity and guarantee unsurpassedtechnical flexibility now and inthe future. This sort of network equipmentenables carriers to solve various interoperabilityissues, allows them to work in amultiple-vendor environment and providesas well secure interconnection betweenotherwise incompatible networks, regardlessof the equipment or protocols used.This new approach, which facilitatesvalue-added services, offers carriers andservice providers tremendous opportunitiesand many ways to improve their ROI,but also poses considerable challenges.Value-added applications will completelyredefine the value chain, competitive landscapeand available customer choices.All of these trends clearly indicate thatVoIP carriers must have the ability to seethe multidimensional aspects of what ishappening on their networks. Understandingthe impact of these changes will undoubtedlyhelp networking providers benefitfrom new opportunities. n54 n Europe issue II 2007

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YES! Send me the following Connect-World issuesAfrica & the Middle East issueLatin America issueNorth America issueEMEA issueICT Global Challenges issueAsia-Pacific issue I, II & III (3 issues)India issue I & II (2 issues)India issueA total of 11 issues for the publishing year of 2007, at a special discounted rateof £100. Online subscription also available.Subscription FormSubscribe to receive your copy now!!Title (Mr/Mrs/Miss):___________________________Company*: _________________________________Address*: __________________________________State/Province: ______________________________Country*: __________________________________Fax: ______________________________________(Fill all fields marked *)Name*: _____________________________Job Title*: ___________________________City*: _______________________________Postcode/Zip*: _ ______________________Telephone*: _________________________Email*: _ ____________________________Check preferred subscription mediumg Online - Digital Magazine £15 (11 issues, online download PDF)g UK - Printed Magazine for UK subscribers £95 (11 issues, hard copy by post)g Europe - Printed Magazine for Europe subscribers £100 (11 issues, hard copy by post)g Foreign - Printed Magazine for Rest of the World subscribers £115 (11 issues, hard copy by post)g Corporate - Printed Magazine for Corporate subscribers (11 issues, hard copy by post)- sign my company up for a two-year subscription to Connect-World series of magazines with an additional15 per cent discount. Please charge my credit card once a year until I notify you otherwise.I’ll get the same low subscription rate I’ve chosen above for as long as I am a subscriber. Pleasenote: all corporate subscriptions must be pre-paid. Please provide your credit card information whenplacing your order.Note: Please allow up to four weeks for mailing of first issue.Please charge my:g Visa g MasterCard g American ExpressCard Number:_______________________________ Expiry Date: _____/_______(MM/YYYY)Signature: ______________________________________________________________________Bill me laterg Tick here if you want us to bill you later. Available only to domestic UK addresses.Please sign _____________________________and send back by:-Fax: +44 (0) 207 474 0090 or Email: info@connect-world.com orPost: World InfoComms Ltd., Global House, 12 Albert Road, London E16 2DW, UK.56 n Europe issue II 2007connect-world.com

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