NGA, IP-Interconnection and their Impact on Business Models and Competition

Developments towards Next Generation Networks (NGN) have a strong impact on the design of the markets for electronic communications in general, but specifically on intercarrier relations with respect to interconnection and access. Due to the fact that competition in the European telecommunications environment has brought about alternative providers and their business models it is an interesting area to investigate how these business models will develop in an NGN environment and which (additional) business models may emerge in the future. To that end, the current paper looks at the development of different business models in the PSTN world and likely developments in the NGN world. This leads to conclusions with respect to requirements of the future regulatory framework of next generation networks in order to maintain the achievements of competition in the telecommunications area.NGN, business models, migration, competition, regulatory framework.

NGA, IP-Interconnection and their Impact on Business Models and Competition

Developments towards Next Generation Networks (NGN) have a strong impact on the design of the markets for electronic communications in general, but specifically on intercarrier relations with respect to interconnection and access. Due to the fact that competition in the European telecommunications environment has brought about alternative providers and their business models it is an interesting area to investigate how these business models will develop in an NGN environment and which (additional) business models may emerge in the future. To that end, the current paper looks at the development of different business models in the PSTN world and likely developments in the NGN world. This leads to conclusions with respect to requirements of the future regulatory framework of next generation networks in order to maintain the achievements of competition in the telecommunications area.NGN, business models, migration, competition, regulatory framework

Regulatory Approaches to NGNs: An International Comparison

The emergence of Next Generation Networks (NGNs) raises profound challenges for regulators everywhere. Different regulatory authorities have approached these problems in strikingly different ways, depending in part on the overall regulatory milieu in which they operate, and in part on the nature of the NGN migration envisioned by major market players. Also, the NGN core network raises significantly different issues from those of the NGN access network. The migration to NGN raises many of the same issues that were already on the table as a result of the broader migration to IP-based services,notably in regard to the de-coupling of the service from the underlying network. To these concerns are added profound questions related to the nature of market power. Will NGNs enable new forms of competition? Will competitive bottlenecks remain, especially in the last mile? Will NGN enable new forms of bottlenecks to emerge, especially in the upper layers of the network, perhaps as a result of new IMS capabilities? Regulators in the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Japan and the United States have been forced to deal with these issues due to relatively rapid migration to NGNs proposed by their respective incumbent telecoms operators. Many of the same issues are also visible in the recommendations that the European Commission finalised on 13 November 2007 as part of the ongoing review of the European regulatory framework for electronic communications. In this paper, we compare and contrast the many regulatory proceedings that have been produced by these regulatory authorities.Regulation; Next Generation Networks; access network; core network; all-IP; competition; market power; international comparison.

Regulatory Approaches to NGNs: An International Comparison

The emergence of Next Generation Networks (NGNs) raises profound challenges for regulators everywhere. Different regulatory authorities have approached these problems in strikingly different ways, depending in part on the overall regulatory milieu in which they operate, and in part on the nature of the NGN migration envisioned by major market players. Also, the NGN core network raises significantly different issues from those of the NGN access network. The migration to NGN raises many of the same issues that were already on the table as a result of the broader migration to IP-based services, notably in regard to the de-coupling of the service from the underlying network. To these concerns are added profound questions related to the nature of market power. Will NGNs enable new forms of competition? Will competitive bottlenecks remain, especially in the last mile? Will NGN enable new forms of bottlenecks to emerge, especially in the upper layers of the network, perhaps as a result of new IMS capabilities? Regulators in the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Japan and the United States have been forced to deal with these issues due to relatively rapid migration to NGNs proposed by their respective incumbent telecoms operators. Many of the same issues are also visible in the recommendations that the European Commission finalised on 13 November 2007 as part of the ongoing review of the European regulatory framework for electronic communications. In this paper, we compare and contrast the many regulatory proceedings that have been produced by these regulatory authorities.Regulation; Next Generation Networks; access network; core network; all-IP; competition; market power; international comparison

"Please hold for your connection": Determining points of interconnection for open access broadband

One of the early decisions facing a regulator in the context of an open access Next Generation Access networks (NGA) is the location of the points of interconnection to that NGA. This decision is one which needs to take into account the scope of the natural monopoly associated with an NGA and the extent to which there is the potential for competitive supply of transmission services (or backhaul) from access seeker points of presence to the NGA. The Australian NGA is called the National Broadband Network (NBN). This paper starts with the research question, where are the optimum sites for points of interconnection to the Australian NBN?. The paper commences by describing the architecture of the Australian NBN and considering some of the issues which arise from the fact that it is designed to be ubiquitous. The paper considers the issues that need to be considered in determining the extent to which there is a natural monopoly in transmission services as well as the effects on outcomes that arise from the existing deployment of infrastructure associated with the delivery of digital subscriber line broadband services based on unbundled local loops and line sharing services. The paper then moves to consider the requirements for consideration in the Australian regulatory context. This is summarised by the phrase long-term interests of end-users and the paper considers the interpretation of this phrase in the context of decisions on the number and location of points of interconnection. There is a review of the nature and extent to which operators in Australia contributed to the deliberations of the Australian regulator in determining the location of points of interconnection. In turn the paper then describes the actual approach taken in respect of the Australian NBN and the rationale behind those decisions. The final part of the paper describes the decision that was taken along with the rationale. It also examines the subsequent positions taken by stakeholders in respect of the points of interconnection to the Australian NBN. --Next generation access network,national broadband network,natural monopoly,transmission,point of interconnection,GPON

Wireless Broadband Access: Policy Implications of Heterogeneous Networks

A wireless heterogeneous network can help increase the access transmission speed and contribute thereby to the broadband deployment policies of administrations and telecommunications operators. Given the technical particularities of wireless heterogeneous networks, the deployment of wireless heterogeneous networks raises a number of challenges that need to be addressed by regulatory authorities. This article analyses the following regulatory implications: standardisation and technology neutrality, spectrum management, market analysis, open access and infrastructure sharing, interconnection pricing and charging, broadband deployment policies, and privacy and security issues. --4G,heterogeneous networks,cooperative networks,spectrum management,regulation,wireless networks

Half glass empty? politics & institutions in the liberalization of the fixed line telecommunications industry in Turkey

This chapter reviews Turkish experience with reform of the fixed line telecommunications industry. It provides an account of earlier incoherent attempts to privatize the incumbent operator in the absence of any regulatory framework or political consensus. It also describes the regulatory framework emerged in early 2000s and discusses the various political-economic and institutional factors behind its weak implementation, and hence its limited success in promoting competition

Glass half empty? politics and institutions in the liberalization of the fixed line telecommunications industry in Turkey

This chapter reviews Turkish experience with reform of the fixed line telecommunications industry. It provides an account of earlier incoherent attempts to privatize the incumbent operator in the absence of any regulatory framework or political consensus. It also describes the regulatory framework emerged in early 2000s and discusses the various political-economic and institutional factors behind its weak implementation, and hence its limited success in promoting competition

Network neutrality: Hong Kong's perspectives

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