Taipei '06
Hosted by Taipei City Government and
the Wireless Internet Institute (W2i)
• June 28-30, 2006
• Location: Taipei exness International Convention Center, Taipei, Taiwan
• Executive Summary
• Taipei Wireless City Declaration
• Conference Agenda
Hosted by Taipei Mayor Ying-jeou Ma, the W2i Digital Cities Convention is a high-level; 2-day, professional development seminar that will focus on broadband wireless solutions for:
• Ensuring Digital Inclusions
• Stimulating Economic Development
• Improving Government Productivity
• Enhancing Public Safety & Emergency Response
• Servicing High-Density Populations
Objective
• Provide participants the tools for their professional development, presenting a complete update of broadband wireless technologies and applications and how they can be deployed in communities to foster social and economic development
• Understand the business case for ลงทะเบียน exness such networks, identify the financial requirements, and explore the full range of opportunities and roadblocks surrounding the planning of these networks
• To pass the International Cities Motion, which will build up a more institutionalized network among Cities on this important topic.
Who Should Attend
• Local-government elected officials, CIOs, City/County Managers.
• Members of the local government mobile workforce.
• Industry thought leaders, vendors, integrators, providers.
Cultural Tour (Optional): More Information
Asia in the News
Metro Wi-Fi to Boom in Asia, N.A.
In 2005, according to a exness-th.com report published by ABI Research, municipal Wi-Fi networks covered only about 1,500 square miles worldwide. By 2010, it is expected to increase to 126,000 square miles, an area slightly larger than Poland or New Mexico. Most deployments will take place in North America and the Asia-Pacific region. More than one million wireless mesh routers will be shipped in 2010.
• Source: (Unstrung.com, March 15, 2006)
Twenty Million Chinese Enjoy Internet
China has become the world's second most populous internet nation, with 20 million new users going online last year, according to research announced this week. The total number of Chinese surfers reached almost 120 million last year, according to a report from US-based research and consulting firm eTForecasts.
• Source: (China Daily, 1 January 2006)
India Will Tap Universal Service Monies
The Indian government has committed to using its Universal Service Obligation (USO) fund (under which alternative carriers compensate incumbents for providing services in uneconomic locations) to build out rural telecom networks and is looking at inviting bids from operators to build and run wireless base stations. "There may be sharing to some extent between the top three bidders," says Bhagavan at Galileo. "That is going to substantially open things up not just for cellular service, but for WiMax as well."
• Source: (Light Reading, 16 January 2006)
Asia Pacific's Bandwidth Explosion
The Asia-Pacific region is witnessing an explosion of international Internet bandwidth. Capacity on Internet links connecting Asia-Pacific to the world have skyrocketed more than eightfold over the last two years from 8 to 65 gigabits (Gbit/s) by the end of 2001. International Internet capacity in the region now far exceeds conventional telephone capacity. Internet bandwidth refers to the capacity of the connection and is measured in bits per second (bit/s).
• Source: (GizMag, 5 January 2006)
Chinese Mobile Makers Loose Market Share
Domestic Chinese mobile phone makers were by far the biggest losers in last year's telecom industry. While Nokia, Motorola, Sony-Ericsson, Samsung and other foreign firms continued to solidify their positions as market leaders, Chinese handset makers struggled last year to minimize losses, and in some cases just to survive.
• Source: (Interfax, 11 January 2006)
India-Pakistan Go Hand in Hand with Fiber
India will be linked to Pakistan with a cable laid through the Wagah border as part of an international system. Submarine cable SEA-ME-WE-4, which is being built by a consortium of over 15 global telecom majors, with each investing around $40 million, will take the land route to provide telecom connectivity between the two neighbors. This is the fourth in a series of cable systems connecting three continents over a distance of 20,000 km of optical fiber with a capacity of 1.28 terabits per second.
• Source: (Business Standard, 4 January 2006)
India’s Telecom Giant
He may be India's most ambitious telecom entrepreneur. The privileged son of a parliamentarian, Sunil Mittal didn't want to follow in his father's footsteps. So after graduating from Punjab University, he ended up forming his own tiny bicycle business in the 1970s. That company, Bharti Enterprises, has grown up to be one of India's leading private telecom service providers. With sales of $300 million and operating income of $53 million in 2000, Bharti is the largest private fixed-line operator in India.
• Source: (BusinessWeek, 2 July 2001)
Mobile Subscribers Reach 18 M in Pakistan
The number of cellphone subscribers crossed 18 million mark last month leaving behind the authorities’ forecast, which predicted 16 million mobile phone users by December 2005.
The figures compiled by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority suggest that by October 2005 cellular density in the country stood at 11.95 compared with 10.98 registered in September 2005.
• Source: (Daily Times, 15 November 2005)
Telecom Restored in Quake-Hit Pakistan
Efforts to completely repair and rehabilitate telecommunication network in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Northern Areas are in full swing. The devastating earthquake on October 8 that ravaged a large swathe of population also damaged 48 of the 132 telephone exchanges operating in the AJK region. As a consequence, 20,173 of the 104,433 lines installed in the area with 10 microwave stations were damaged. The government launched the repair work immediately after the quake and all the exchanges in the AJK have been repaired, resulting in the restoration of telephone lines. Of the 10 microwave stations, nine have been made operational.
• Source: (Dawn, 30 October 2005)
Just What Is Wi-Bro, Anyway?
South Korean government officials, network equipment companies, and cellular network suppliers have devised Wi-Bro (short for “wireless broadband” and a subset of the WiMAX standard) to accelerate the deployment of a WiMAX-type network. "The Koreans want to move ahead with WiMax deployments and since the standard is not yet fully ratified, they developed their own version of it," noted Lance Wilson, an industry analyst at ABI Research.
• Source: (Tech News World, 25 October 2005)
Asia Mobile Entertainment at $47B by 2010
According to the UMTS Forum, the mobile entertainment industry is expected to generate revenues of up to US$47 billion by 2010 in the Asia-Pacific. This positions mobile entertainment as a key driver for wireless data usage and revenue. In response to this growth, the 3G World Congress and Exhibition will hold a special forum session on "Profiting from mobile Content, gaming and Entertainment Business Over 3G," during the show this November.
• Source: (EET Asia, 25 October 2005)
China Telecom Expands Rural Internet
China Telecom, China's largest telecommunications service provider, selected SkyStream's zBand PUSH video-on-demand (VOD) platform in addition to SkyStream's suite of IP video networking solutions to expand its rural Internet and video-on-demand service to remote areas.
• Source: (Business Wire, 26 October 2005)
India’s BSNL Threatens to Ban Huawei
It's been one problem after another for Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.'s Indian operations. The Chinese equipment vendor has been repeatedly set back by the Indian government's security concerns, and now it could be banned altogether from bidding on contracts issued by state-owned operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL).
• Source: (Light Reading, 26 October 2005)
Wi-Fi Taking Off in India
There were 300 public'hotspots' in India at the end of 2004, of which 80 per cent were in Bangalore. According to some analysts this is set to cross the 1500 mark by the end of this year.
• Source: (Financial Express, India, 27 Sep 2005)
Intel Aids Rapid WiMAX Deployment in Asia
Aiming to accelerate WiMAX wireless broadband deployment in Southeast Asian countries, Intel Corporation announced the Asian Broadband Campaign, an effort that will provide broadband wireless consulting and expertise along with silicon and technical services.
• Source: (Hexus, Sep 22 2005)
Japan May Unify Wireless, Wireline Phones
More and more Japanese have forsaken their landline phone service and are using their mobile handsets even at home, particularly as reception continues to improve and pricing plans grow more competitive. In response to this phenomenon, the Japanese government launched a forum Tuesday to gather information about whether the public would want to see a convergence of landline and mobile phones into an integrated system. The effort is expected to result in a final report by the end of the year, and if all goes well the plan should be adopted by phone-service providers by 2007.
• Source: (UPI, 27 Sep 2005)
Telecom Regulatory Authority in India to Remove License Fees and Spectrum Charges from Rural Telephony
The Telephone Regulatory Authority in India (TRAI) is planning on eliminating the license fees and the spectrum charges from the rural telephony. Currently, operators pay 6-10 per cent of their adjusted gross revenue every year as licence fee and another 2-4 per cent as spectrum charges. The TRAI has asked the operators to submit the revenues product-wise from rural areas. Revenues earned by long-distance operators from calls made from rural areas may also be exempted.
• Source: (Hindu Business Line, Sep 20 2005)
Huawei’s $500m Business in Bangladesh
China's top telecom equipment maker, Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, said it expected its business in Bangladesh to reach $500 ($NZ718.08) million in calendar 2005, up from $300 million in the year ago. "We have made our Bangladesh business target at $500 million this year," Huawei's chief representative in Bangladesh Zhangshengxing told reporters.
• Source: (Stuff New Zealand, 19 Sept 2005)
China Liberalizes Telecom Tariffs
China will allow telecommunications companies to set their own tariff structure beginning in October to boost competition among the nation's carriers. The new regulation will take effect October 1 and the only restriction will be a maximum fee per minute, which will be set by the relevant government agencies.
• Source: (Cellular-News, September 2005)
Wireless in Sri Lanka’s Rebel Territories
Sri Lanka Telecom, the biggest fixed-line telephone operator in the country, said Tuesday that it would install wireless service in former rebel-held areas in the northeast as a cease-fire continues into its fourth year. The Colombo company, partly owned by Nippon Telegraph & Telephone of Japan, plans to expand its network in the northeast, including Jaffna, the northern capital previously held by the rebels, after being given a license Monday to install wireless service, said Mohan Ratnayake, head of investor relations.
• Source: (International Herald Tribune, 24 August 2005)
Saudi Group Commits $1b in Bangladesh
The Middle East giant, Abu Dhabi Group, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Bangladesh Government expressing interest to invest about one billion dollar in the country’s telecommunication, hospitality and pharmaceutical sectors, according to official sources. The group’s offer may reach even reach two billion dollars, an official of the Prime Minister’s Office said referring to the Dhabi chairman, Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan’s, courtesy call on Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.
• Source: (New Kerala, 5 September 2005)
WiMAX, 3G Standoff in Taiwan
Taiwan’s Director General of Telecommunications will open WiMAX wireless service but remove voice from the service in fear of likely protests from 3G operators. WiMAX-service operators will be permitted only run data and video services, in order to make the new service complementary to third-generation (3G) wireless service. DGT officials say many 3G operators at home had feared that WiMAX service would replace 3G service once the two services share the same service contents. The government’s wireless policy leans toward developing the two technologies simultaneously.
• Source: (CENS, 29 Aug 2005)
Middle East Lagging Behind in ICT
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has reported that the Middle East is lagging behind in information and communications technologies (ICT), exacerbating the digital divide between the rest of the world and the Middle East With developed countries forging ahead and the Middle East generally lagging in information and communications technology, there is a danger that the growing "digital divide" could hinder economic development. “The size and scale of the potential benefits foregone through failure to participate in the new 'digital society' are likely to be much greater" even than those missed in previous technological leaps, UNCTAD argues, in trying to help international and state policy-makers focus on the issue.
• Source: (Reuters Alertnet, 29 Aug 2005)
Pre-WiMAX Trials Launch in Malaysia
Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will unveil pre-WiMAX equipment at the launch of "Malaysia ICT Month" in Kepala Batas on September 7. Trials are set for Penang, and providers plan to blanket all of Malaysia with WiMAX connectivity. The effort is a collaboration between Intel, Alcatel, and Telekom Malaysia.
• Source: (B Times, 23 Aug 2005)
Sun Microsystems Invests in India
India Engineering Centre in Bangalore is among four development centers identified by Sun Microsystems for further investments in terms of people and capital in fiscal year 2006. According to Sun Microsystems India Managing Director Bhaskar Pramanik, other countries where similar investment commitments have been envisaged include Beijing in China, St Petersburg in Russia and Prague in Czechoslovakia.
• Source: (Deccan Herald, Aug 2005)
Hong Kong Issuing Broadband Licenses
Following in the footsteps of Singapore, Australia and India, Hong Kong has decided to issue unified broadband licenses to fixed and mobile phone firms, looking to offer broadband wireless. Analysts are of the view that this is a step towards making "anytime, anywhere" Internet access available to everyone. The South China Morning Post reports that the new combined licensing system will put all operations under the same regulations.
• Source: (All Headline News, 25 July 2005)
People’s Daily: Our Telecom Giant
The Chinese telecom industry has speedily secured a firm place as a giant in the telecommunication industry within just a decade. By 2007, foreign capitals will be able to apply for licenses for basic telecom, including business, domestic and international phone service. In 2004, China’s the industry’s revenue rose to RMB 518.76 billion yuan, up 12.6 percent from the previous year. China's telecom authority received a total of 22 applications for foreign investment in the country's telecom sector by the end of April, said an official with the Ministry of Information Industry (MII) in Shanghai on Monday.
• Source: (People’ s Daily China, 17 May 2005)
Guangdong Extends with Alcatel
China’s Guangdong Telecom has selected Alcatel to expand its metropolitan area network and broaden its IP-based data service abilities. The subsidiary of China Telecom will deploy the Alcatel 7750 Service Router in seven major cities in the southern province of Guangdong, which currently has the largest number of broadband subscribers in China. The project is expected to be completed in June 2005 and was secured with Alcatel's flagship Chinese company, Alcatel Shanghai Bell.
• Source: (Forbes, 10 May 2005)
China’s 210-billion Yuan for Telecom
China will invest 210 billion Yuan in its telecom industry this year, reports Sina. Telecom operators will upgrade current networks to use soft switch technology and invest in metropolitan area networks (MAN). China Telecom will integrate its new MAN project with its CN2 project in 2005. China Mobile and China Unicom's mobile networks will also be improved. China Mobile will focus on new services that are low bandwidth but high in value added. China Telecom, China Netcom, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Education and Research Network have jointly built the world's largest IPv6 networkCNGI.
• Source: (Pacific Epoch, 18 March 2005)
India Reduces Broadband Tarriffs
India had 55 million cable-TV homes in 2004, making it the only country with more cable-TV homes than fixed-line telephones (42 million). "If cable TV has grown to this number, it is entirely because of the strength of Indian enterpreneurship," said Mr. Pradip Baijal, Chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. He said that TRAI is considering a reduction in broadband tariff from $4 per 100 Kbps a month to $1. Enterprising entities have been able to provide wireless connections to India's rural areas. "If you are able to connect six villages in this manner, you can have movies released to these villages which are entertainment starved," he said.
• Source: (Business Line, 5 April 2005)
ZTE Bags 12 Contracts in 10 Countries
China’s largest listed telecommunications manufacturer and leading wireless solutions provider announced 12 contract wins in 10 countries in the first quarter. ZTE has made agreements with industry giants France Telecom, Alcatel and Portugal Telecom. In March, it announced that it is to become a global supplier of ADSL equipment to France Telecom, with its 118.6 million customers worldwide. The agreement with Alcatel, announced at February’s 3GSM World Congress, will see ZTE’s CDMA radio access portfolio integrated into Alcatel’s CDMA end-to-end solutions.
• Source: (Light Reading, 8 April 2005)
India Wi-Fi Spots to Top 3500
Industry analysts expect that most airports, hotels, cafes, restaurants, major railway stations and hospitals in India will opt for wireless connectivity. Internet service provider Dishnet has begun work on a $62-million project to set up 6,000 hotspots across 180 cities. Service providers will also launch WiMax, and operators such as Tata, Reliance, Bharti, MTNL and BSNL have begun testing with Motorola’s Canopy-based WiMax platform. Wi-Fi tariffs in the India, which were earlier among the highest in the world, have witnessed a 100 percent fall over the past 12 months.
• Source: (Business Standard, 4 April 2005)
China’s New Telecom Giant
In December, Huawei receive a $10-billion line of credit to power its global expansion to Asia and Europe. Huawei managers say they aren't looking to compete on price alone. The company wants to collaborate with other firms to break into the US market. "If we cut price, and you cut price, who can win? Huawei can win," said Yi "Evan" Bai, FutureWei's vice president for business development. "But we cannot five years later guarantee we would still be the leader. You need to get money back."
• Source: (Reuters, 5/7 April 2005)
Telecom Reform a First Step in Vietnam
Vietnam’s giant state-owned post and telecom corporation will become an economic group, including two units going public to trigger competition in the local market. VPNT will be changed into a post and telecommunications group, the first such economic group in Vietnam, according to Prime Ministerial decision issued March 23. The project will include equitization of two big mobile phone networks under VNPT, MobiFone and Vinaphone, but the state will retain a 50% stake in the companies when they go public. Without support from telecoms services, post services will face difficulties but the charge rate of post service will be remain the same.
• Source: (Thahnien News, 25 March 2005)
$2 Billion Rural Telephony in India
BHARAT Sanchar Nigam Ltd, Reliance Infocomm and Tata Teleservices are joint winners of the government-sponsored project to provide 8 million fixed telephone lines to rural households in India. The project is being supported from India’s Universal Services Obligation Fund. Competitive bids brought down the cost of the project by 60-75%, enabling a rollout of 8 million lines instead of the originally planned 6 million. Moreover, the bids show there is a telephony market in rural India. While the Government had worked out a cost of $425 per line, the operators have quoted between $100-$200.
• Source: (Business Line, 17 March 2005)
China Walks Out Over Protocol
Accusing the International Standardization Organization of favoring the IEEE 802.11i ANSI-certified wireless LAN security scheme, China walked out of a wireless standards meeting in Sulzbach, Germany, this week. China felt that its own Wireless Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure (WAPI) security scheme had been withdrawn and placed on a slower track by the ISO. China had initially agreed not to make WAPI a mandatory security scheme for any equipment used in China, but it later approached the ISO to put WAPI on a fast track for acceptance as an international standard.
• Source: (EE Times, 24 Feb 2005, Patrick Mannion)
Asia-Pacific on Tap for WiMAX
Alcatel Asia-Pacific's V.P. of business development, Michel Levy, says the region’s readiness to embrace new technologies is key to Alcatel’s adoption of WiMAX. Countries such as Malaysia, he said, can benefit from WiMAX technology and will be able to witness some of its promises through field trials planned in the first half of 2006 through a strategic alliance between Alcatel and Intel Corp.
• Source: (Red Nova, 21 Feb 2005)
South Korea Adds to Global Prowess
Well known for its high broadband penetration rates, South Korea’s progressive telecommunications reputation continues to grow. South Korean companies have signed deals with heavy-hitters EarthLink, Nortel, Verizon Wireless, and China Unicom. In December, the government agreed to cooperate with Great Britain in digital broadcasting and mobile gaming, and it has struck similar deals with France and Poland. South Korea wants to help establish 40 corporate R&D centers over eight years in a bid to become Northeast Asia's research hub.
• Source: (Internet News, 4 Feb 2005, Colin C. Haley)
China Telecom Boosts Gateway Kenya
Chinese telecom firm ZTE Communications has donated Sh144 million worth of communication equipment to Telkom Kenya. The offer, the largest that Telkom Kenya has received in two years, is meant to help the company to expand its services countrywide. China has chosen Kenya as the gateway through which it hopes to roll out its telecommunication strategy in East and Central Africa.
• Source: (AllAfrica, 17 Jan 2005, James Anyanzwa)
IT Spending in Asian and European "Tigers"
A new study from the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) shows that emerging economies in Asia and Eastern Europe are expected to rapidly increase or continue to increase their ICT spending in the coming years. Together, those increases indicate both a newly invigorated participation in the global information economy and a robust relationship between investment in ICTs and broader economic growth.
• Source: (The WorldPaper, 17 Jan 2004, Allen Miller)
• Source: (WITSA, Nov 2004)
India Telecoms Eye WiMAX
Reliance Infocomm, the code division multiple access mobile service company, the Tata group's Videsh Sanchar Nigam (VSNL) and the state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) will test launch wireless broadband technology commonly known as WiMAX. These companies are looking into alternative technologies and a pilot project will be launched shortly in Pune, India.
• Source: (Business Standard, 15 Jan 2005, Hemangie Balse)
Taipei to Be Top Hotzone
Some 10,000 wireless access points will go into service, covering a 272-square-kilometer area and reaching 90 percent of Taipei's 2.65 million residents, making it one of the first fully Wi-Fi-connected cities in the world. Aptilo Networks will supply the management platform and Q-Ware will operate the network, which is called "WiFly."
• Source: (Unstrung.com, 16 Dec 2004)
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"I strongly feel that the Digital Cities Convention is vital for opinion leaders, from local government and the private sector, to exchange ideas and information, as well as to build international friendship and share experiences."
Pu-Tsung King, Deputy Mayor, Taipei City, Taiwan
Program Committee
Eva Yueh
• III
Jessica Chou
• RDEC
Gennie Yen
• Veda Int’l
John Jung
• Intelligent Community Forum
Abe Kani
• CIO, City of Atlanta
Richard Lewis
• CIO, City of Houston
Chris Vein
• Director, Telecommmunications San Francisco
Axel Leblois
• President, World Times, Inc.; Co-founder W2i
Dianah Neff
• CIO, City of Philadelphia
Dr. Costis Toregas
• President Emeritus, Public Technology, Inc.
Scott Shamp
• Director, New Media Institute, University of Georgia
Candy Lee
• HP
Mark Whitton
• Nortel
Mohammad Shakouri
• Wimax Forum
James Lin
• IBM
Rick Rotondo
• Director, Marketing, Motorola
Linda Kalcic
• Vice President, Corporate Marketing, SkyPilot Networks
Catherine Wong
• Intel
Sheila Burpee Duncan
• BelAir Networks
Louis Lambert
• RedLine
Lou Waters
• Simdesk
Terry Tsao
• IDC
Phil Marshall
• Yankee group |