Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Tomas Lamanauskas
Deputy Director
Communications Regulatory Authority
LITHUANIA
What Rules for IP-Enabled NGNs?, March 23-24 2006, Geneva Page 1
CONTENT
What Rules for IP-Enabled NGNs?, March 23-24 2006, Geneva Page 2
Historic overview or where do we come from?
What Rules for IP-Enabled NGNs?, March 23-24 2006, Geneva Page 3
Historic overview or where do we come from?
Historic variety of devices
• Intended for reception of one
type of services:
– Simple phones
• Wired
• Wireless-mobile
– Simple radios
– Simple TV sets
What Rules for IP-Enabled NGNs?, March 23-24 2006, Geneva Page 5
Drivers for change
What Rules for IP-Enabled NGNs?, March 23-24 2006, Geneva Page 6
Drivers for change
• GENERAL MARKET TRENDS
– decreasing revenue from traditional services
– significantly shortened product life cycle
– innovative materials and applications
– economic globalization
– concentration of players
– economy of scale
• MANAGERIAL CREATIVITY
– unconventional ways to create innovative products for niche markets
applied by small start-up companies
– enhanced service intelligence
– reduced time to market for new services
– option for consumers to customise their services
• GOVERNMENTAL LIBERALIZATION AND DEREGULATION
– 1984 in USA, a decade later in EU
Convergence of technologies
Convergence of markets
What Rules for IP-Enabled NGNs?, March 23-24 2006, Geneva Page 9
Convergence of devices
• Interactive TV-sets
– display a TV signal & computer data simultaneously,
watching TV and surfing Internet at the same time
…as a prerequisite…
• More efficient use and evolution of traditional service-
optimized networks:
– Voice optimized
• xDSL on non-voice band on PSTN networks besides voice
• GPRS/EDGE on GSM networks besides voice
– Optimized for audiovisual content
• Broadband data on coaxial Cable-TV besides TVR services
• Data on DVB-T networks besides TV services
What Rules for IP-Enabled NGNs?, March 23-24 2006, Geneva Page 11
Convergence of networks
…as a prerequisite…
• Service-neutral networks
– Fast broadband data networks …
• eg., Data networks on FTTx, WiMAX, Satellite, etc.
– … characterized as
• Efficient in terms of bandwidth
• Designed for multiple services provision while increase of number of
services is easy
• Easily managed
• High resilient
• Well scalable
• Different access capabilities to essentially the same networks
What Rules for IP-Enabled NGNs?, March 23-24 2006, Geneva Page 12
Implications of network convergence
What Rules for IP-Enabled NGNs?, March 23-24 2006, Geneva Page 13
Implications of network convergence
Services and
applications
New radio
interface
Wire-based
Digital Packet based xDSL, PLC,etc
broadcast
Core network WLAN
Cellular type
2nd gen 3G
Short range
connectivity
NGN's architecture
allows decoupling the network's
transport and service layers.
This means that whenever a
provider wants to enable a new
service, they can do so by
defining it directly at the service
layer without considering the
transport layer - i.e. services
are independent of transport
details.
What Rules for IP-Enabled NGNs?, March 23-24 2006, Geneva Page 16
Network – Application relationship
What Rules for IP-Enabled NGNs?, March 23-24 2006, Geneva Page 17
Business models in converged environment
What Rules for IP-Enabled NGNs?, March 23-24 2006, Geneva Page 18
Business models in converged environment
What Rules for IP-Enabled NGNs?, March 23-24 2006, Geneva Page 19
Business models in converged environment
What Rules for IP-Enabled NGNs?, March 23-24 2006, Geneva Page 20
Business models in converged environment
What Rules for IP-Enabled NGNs?, March 23-24 2006, Geneva Page 22
Impact of convergence
Impact on markets…
• Convergence brings intermodal competition that I characterize as:
– Various networks, devices and services compete in horizontal direction as
successfully as in vertical one
– Strong potential to leverage end-user (“last mile”) control in access
services to provision of new services in the mean time
• therefore initial market position is important…
– PSTN (xDSL) and CableTV operators have the strongest position
• … but cooperation among transport and content industries is essential in order to employ the
best expertise
– The “last mile” control will become less relevant, as technologies develop
and users acquire more skills
• … and they are to receive services from different providers onto the same device
• …so, more space is unclosing for Independent Service (content) providers and start-ups
– Specialization, expertise & innovation are vitally important (Skype – $4,1billion total value)
• … but the “first mover advantage” does not disappear (or the position gained at the initial stage
of market cycle is important due to inertia of consumers)
– Competition of content providers increases
• Content, incl. audiovisual, could be provided by different networks
What Rules for IP-Enabled NGNs?, March 23-24 2006, Geneva Page 23
Impact of convergence
What Rules for IP-Enabled NGNs?, March 23-24 2006, Geneva Page 25
Convergence & regulation: revision needed?
What Rules for IP-Enabled NGNs?, March 23-24 2006, Geneva Page 26
Convergence & regulation: revision needed?
EU level review
• Convergence of devices
– Radio and telecommunications terminal equipment
directive (99/5/EC) should be reviewed
• Coherent market entry conditions to be applicable to all e-comm.
devices
What Rules for IP-Enabled NGNs?, March 23-24 2006, Geneva Page 27
Convergence & regulation: revision needed?
EU level review
• Convergence of networks and services
– Started review of E-communications regulatory framework in 2006
– Technologically neutral harmonisation of spectrum rights and
coordinated introduction of flexibility in spectrum management and use
(two EC Communicates)
• Emphasis on technologically & service neutral radio spectrum management
• Remove of artificial restrictions in spectrum allocation (mobile, broadcasting)
• “Pooling” frequencies together
– Evolving concept of universal services
• Emphasis on access capable for delivery of certain services rather than
services themselves
• Directory services
– Telephone numbers only?
• Emergency services in new environments
– Empowering costumer with an informed right to choose
• Reinforcing transparency of usage conditions
What Rules for IP-Enabled NGNs?, March 23-24 2006, Geneva Page 28
Convergence & regulation: revision needed?
EU level review
• Convergence of markets
– Reconsidering market definitions
• Short-run and long-run implications should be taken into account
– Reconsidering inclusion of services markets into regulated markets
• These should be periodically reassessed - to reflect realistic but perspective
view on the present status of convergence and its’ impact on markets
– Reinforcing prevention of negative effects of vertical integration
• Prevention of leveraging of market power into new markets (e.g., content)
• Wider effect of remedies applied to undertakings with significant market
power
• Fair balance of “walled gardens” and open business models
What Rules for IP-Enabled NGNs?, March 23-24 2006, Geneva Page 29
Convergence & regulation: revision needed?
National level review
• Improvements in management of radio spectrum in order to allow for
more flexibility in use of spectrum
– More flexible allocation of radio spectrum
– More flexible rules and permits on use of radio spectrum
– “Spectrum trading”
• Review of licensing system
– Right to broadcast should not be tied to specific broadcasting media but rather to
specific content that could be transmitted over any electronic network
– Review of rigid licensing rules for audiovisual media
• General authorisation could be considered
– Generally use of individual licenses if it is really necessary; otherwise application of
general authorization principle and activities’ monitoring approach
• Institutional regulatory systems should reflect converged environment
• Information Society and Media Directorate (EC)
• OfCom, Ficora, RTR, AGCOM, MTC, etc.
What Rules for IP-Enabled NGNs?, March 23-24 2006, Geneva Page 30
Conclusions
1. Convergence brings intermodal competition where different networks and
devices are able to compete for being the provider of the whole variety of
services. Regulator’s role should encompass extension of core network.
2. Despite “last mile” control remains important in a short-run, access operators
should not overestimate their abilities to retain user control. Widening and
innovating the package of services’ offerings is their chance to stay competitive.
Modernisation of access network could be supervised by regulators.
3. Impact of competition will increase over time with technological development
and improved user skills. However, we should stay realistic about users – skills
are not build in one night time.
4. Technological development and its outcome on markets’ shifts require
adaptation of regulatory system on global, regional as well as national levels so
as resulting:
- regulatory framework to be even more technologically neutral, transparent,
predictable, flexible and capable to integrate ongoing developments of the
markets,
- institutional system to incorporate the tremendous variety of changing
electronic reality in non-discriminate manner and with high profile expertise.
5. Despite changes in regulatory regimes required, some basic regulatory
principles will remain valid and should be reinforced.
What Rules for IP-Enabled NGNs?, March 23-24 2006, Geneva Page 31
Questions?
What Rules for IP-Enabled NGNs?, March 23-24 2006, Geneva Page 32
Tomas Lamanauskas
What Rules for IP-Enabled NGNs?, March 23-24 2006, Geneva Page 33