Regulation of NGN: Structural Separation, Access Regulation, or No Regulation at All?

Since the introduction of Next Generation Networks (NGNs) by telecommunication network operators, national regulators have begun to adapt their access regulation regimes to the new technological conditions. The regulatory reactions gravitate towards three distinct regulatory trajectories: unregulated competition, access regulation, and structural separation. We first analyze the extent of market power in access Networks in NGNs from a technological perspective. Second, we use case studies to identify patterns between technological and market conditions and regulators' reactions in selected countries. We find that market power in the access network is likely to prevail. Regulatory reactions differ with the extent of infrastructure competition and the regulators position in the trade-off between promoting investment and protecting competitionNext Generation Network, deregulation, access regulation, structural separation.

Regulation of NGN: Structural Separation, Access Regulation, or No Regulation at All?

Since the introduction of Next Generation Networks (NGNs) by telecommunication network operators, national regulators have begun to adapt their access regulation regimes to the new technological conditions. The regulatory reactions gravitate towards three distinct regulatory trajectories: unregulated competition, access regulation, and structural separation. We first analyze the extent of market power in access Networks in NGNs from a technological perspective. Second, we use case studies to identify patterns between technological and market conditions and regulators' reactions in selected countries. We find that market power in the access network is likely to prevail. Regulatory reactions differ with the extent of infrastructure competition and the regulators position in the trade-off between promoting investment and protecting competition.Next Generation Network, deregulation, access regulation, structural separation

Techno-economic Model for Broadband Copper Access Life-cycle

Laajakaistaverkkoa kehitetään jatkuvasti tukemaan suurempia nopeuksia, kehittyneempää teknologiaa ja uusia laitteita. Suomessa laajakaistaverkko on toteutettu useamman eri teknologian yhdistelmänä. Käytetyt siirtotieteknologiat ovat karkeasti kupari, optinen valokuitu ja liikkuva langaton laajakaista. Kupariverkko kykenee tarjoamaan tarvittavia nopeuksia tiettyyn asiakasjohtopituuteen saakka, mutta on laajakaistayhteyden siirtotienä jokseenkin vanha teknologia. Haurastuneet kuparikaapelit voivat aiheuttaa paljonkin vikoja verkossa. Kaapeleita voidaan kuitenkin tekohengittää vahvistimia lisäämällä tai kuparijohdon pituutta lyhentämällä, mutta jossain pisteessä kuparikaapeleiden korjauskustannukset alkavat maksaa yhtä paljon kuin uusien asiakasjohtojen asentaminen. Tämän diplomityön tarkoituksena on tutkia kupariverkon kannattavuutta ja soveltuvuutta laajakaistapääsyverkkotekniikkana Suomessa niillä alueilla, joilla se on vielä käytössä. Kupariverkon elinkaari määritellään teknoekonomista laskentaa hyväksi käyttäen. Tämän elinkaaren oletetaan poikkeavan eri alueiden kesken ja siksi elinkaaren mallinnus tehdään erikseen kaupunkialueille, esikaupunkialueille ja haja-asutusalueille. Työ tarjoaa perustellun määritelmän kupariverkon elinkaareksi. Elinkaarta mallinnetaan vertaamalla kupariverkkoa kilpaileviin laajakaistateknologioihin erityyppisillä alueilla. Kupari kilpailee kaupunkialueilla olemassa olevan kuituverkon kanssa, esikaupunkialueilla tulevaisuuden kuituverkon kanssa ja haja-asutusalueilla langattomien laajakaistatekniikoiden kanssa. Tulokset näyttävät, että kupariverkko on kilpailukykyinen kuituverkon kanssa vain lyhyillä asiakasjohtopituuksilla. Kuituverkkoon on kannattava investoida, jos kaivumetrit kotitaloutta kohden ovat alle kahdeksan metriä. 3G verkon radiokapasiteetti on 1,5 käyttäjää neliökilometrillä. 3G on kilpailukykyinen kupariverkon kanssa alle 8 Mb/s kuparinopeuksilla. Tulevaisuudessa 4G olisi kilpailukykyinen kupariverkon 24 Mb/s nopeuksille, jos käyttäjämäärä jää alle 3,2 käyttäjää neliökilometrillä.Broadband network is constantly improved with faster connections, advanced technology and equipment. The broadband access network in Finland consists of combination of multiple different technologies. The main technologies in use are copper, optical fiber and wireless radio signal. A copper network offers required speeds for limited distances but is a rather old technology for a broadband connection. A perished copper access line can cause a lot of failures in a network. Wires can be maintained by installing amplifiers and shortening loop lengths, but costs of maintaining the wires are soon as expensive as installing new access lines. The purpose of this thesis is to study the profitability and suitability of copper network as a broadband access media in Finland in areas where it is still in use. Techno-economic calculations are applied in the copper network life-cycle analysis in this study. The life-cycle is assumed to be different in different types of areas and therefore the analysis is divided to urban, sub-urban and rural areas. As a result, this thesis presents a reasonable definition for copper based network’s life-cycle. The life-cycle modeling is conducted by comparing competitive technologies in different competition areas. Copper access competes with existing fiber access in urban areas, with future fiber access in sub-urban areas and with mobile broadband solutions in rural areas. The results of this study show that copper network is able to compete with fiber access only at short loop lengths. Fiber is a profitable investment if the number of installation meters stays below eight meters per household, and it could then replace copper. The radio capacity of 3G in the rural areas is 1.5 users per square kilometer and it is able to compete with copper network at data rates below 8 Mbps. 4G could compete with 24 Mbps copper access connections in the future if the user density is below 3.2 users per square kilometer

Regulation of NGN: Structural Separation, Access Regulation, or No Regulation at All?

Since the introduction of Next Generation Networks (NGNs) by telecommunication network operators, national regulators have begun to adapt their access regulation regimes to the new technological conditions. The regulatory reactions gravitate towards three distinct regulatory trajectories: unregulated competition, access regulation, and structural separation. We first analyze the extent of market power in access Networks in NGNs from a technological perspective. Second, we use case studies to identify patterns between technological and market conditions and regulators' reactions in selected countries. We find that market power in the access network is likely to prevail. Regulatory reactions differ with the extent of infrastructure competition and the regulators position in the trade-off between promoting investment and protecting competition

Solution strategies of service fulfilment Operation Support Systems for Next Generation Networks

Suomalainen operatiivisten tukijärjestelmien toimittaja tarjoaa ratkaisuja palvelujen aktivointiin, verkkoresurssien hallintaan ja laskutustietojen keruuseen. Nämä ratkaisut ovat pääosin käytössä langattomissa verkoissa. Tässä tutkimuksessa arvioidaan kyseisten ratkaisujen soveltuvuutta palvelutoimitusprosessien automatisointiin tulevaisuuden verkkoympäristöissä. Tarkastelun kohteena ovat runko- ja pääsyverkkojen kiinteät teknologiat, joiden suosio saavuttaa huippunsa seuraavan 5-10 vuoden aikana. Näissä verkoissa palvelujen, kuten yritys-VPN:n tai kuluttajan laajakaistan, aktivointi vaatii monimutkaisen toimitusprosessin, jonka tueksi tarvitaan ensiluokkaista tukijärjestelmää. Teknologiakatsauksen jälkeen tutkimuksessa verrataan viitteellistä tuoteportfoliota saatavilla oleviin operatiivisten tukijärjestelmien arkkitehtuurisiin viitekehyksiin, ja analysoidaan sen soveltuvuus tulevaisuuden verkkoympäristöjen palvelutoimitusprosessin automatisointiin. Myös palvelutoimitusprosessien automatisointiin soveltuvien tukijärjestelmien markkinatilanne arvioidaan, ja tämän perusteella tutkitaan optimaalisinta sovellusstrategiaa. Lopulta voidaan päätellä, että tuoteportfoliolle parhaiten soveltuvin sovellusalue on kuluttajan laajakaistan, ja siihen liittyvien kehittyneempien IP-palveluiden palvelutoimitusprosessien automatisointi.A Finnish Operation Support Systems (OSS) vendor provides solutions for service activation, network inventory and event mediation. These solutions have mostly been deployed in mobile environments. In this thesis it will be studied how feasible it is to use similar solutions for service fulfilment in Next Generation Networks (NGN). NGN is a broad term that describes some key architectural evolutions in telecommunication core and access networks that will be deployed over the next 5 to 10 years. In these networks service, e.g. Triple Play or Virtual Private Network (VPN), activations require an extensive service fulfilment process that must be supported by first-class OSS. After introducing the NGN technologies, the research compares a reference product portfolio to available service fulfilment frameworks and evaluates the applicability. The study analyses the current state of service fulfilment OSS markets and evaluates various solution strategies. Eventually it will be concluded that the most interesting and adequate solution scenario is residential broadband, including value-added IP services

Regulation of NGN: Structural Separation, Access Regulation, or No Regulation at All?

Since the introduction of Next Generation Networks (NGNs) by telecommunication network operators, national regulators have begun to adapt their access regulation regimes to the new technological conditions. The regulatory reactions gravitate towards three distinct regulatory trajectories: unregulated competition, access regulation, and structural separation. We first analyze the extent of market power in access Networks in NGNs from a technological perspective. Second, we use case studies to identify patterns between technological and market conditions and regulators' reactions in selected countries. We find that market power in the access network is likely to prevail. Regulatory reactions differ with the extent of infrastructure competition and the regulators position in the trade-off between promoting investment and protecting competition