TRPC Digital Bytes April 2020

TRPC Digital Bytes April 2020

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  TRPC Digital Bytes April2020
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  COVID-19 UPDATES • COAIexpects Q1 revenues to take a major hit due to weak subscriber growth and interrupted 4G expansion plans. • COAI had initially called on DoT to urgently release additional spectrum on a temporary basis after data traffic spiked by 15-20% following the announcement of the nationwide lockdown. • OTT video providers, such as Amazon, Zee, TikTok, Netflix, as well as Google and Facebook have agreed to adopt measures to reduce bit rates on cellular networks. India • NBN Co has set up a working group comprising of the five largest telcos to a coordinate responses to the surge in network demand due to Australians working from home during the COVID-19 crisis. Australia TRPC – Digital Bytes April 2020
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  COVID-19 UPDATES • DICTdirected the NTC to monitor the compliance of mobile network operators and ISPs in providing ample bandwidth allocation and availability of service and signal in light of the COVID-19 crisis. • The Better Broadband Alliance (BBA) has asked the IATF-EID in charge of the COVID-19 response to craft an action plan to address connectivity issues in the Philippines, which have become increasingly urgent in light of the pandemic. Philippines • The Indonesian Internet Service Providers Association (APJII) has asked Kominfo to provide relief for their Telecommunications Rights Fee (BHP) payments and Universal Service Obligation (USO) contributions which are due in late April. • Kominfo has instructed mobile operators to improve their services by adding capacity and deploying additional base stations in high-traffic areas to support the government’s policy to study and work from home Indonesia TRPC – Digital Bytes April 2020
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  COVID-19 UPDATES • TheNBTC is giving individuals 10 GB of free mobile data to support e-learning and teleworking. • In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, DTAC has announced an acceleration of its network upgrade of Massive MIMO to triple network capacity. • True Group has announced the tripling of its network bandwidth capacity to ensure its fibre, internet broadband, cable TV, and mobile services can tolerate usage spikes arising from the COVID-19 crisis. Thailand South Korea • The three major telcos are providing free access for teachers, students and parents when viewing educational content with online classes starting at elementary through high schools as schools have been closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. TRPC – Digital Bytes April 2020
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  5G UPDATES • ChinaMobile, Hutchison 3, HKT launched commercial 5G services on 1 Apr. Hong Kong • NEC ships first 5G radio unit for 2.7GHz massive MIMO, under partnership with Rakuten Mobile. • NTT DOCOMO, KDDI, SoftBank all launch 5G services in last week of Mar. Rakuten Mobile to launch in Jun. Japan • True Move H Universal Communication (TUC) has announced the launch of its commercial 5G services on the 2600MHz spectrum range. Thailand China • MIIT has instructed telcos to expedite their procurement of 5G equipment and will support telcos in ramping up standalone (SA) 5G network coverage and capacity. • All 3 telcos have brought forward their NSA deployment targets from end-2020 to Q3. TRPC – Digital Bytes April 2020
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  TDD ADOPTION Myanmar PTD releaseda document outlining steps to adopt Time Division Duplexing (TDD) across the entire 2.6GHz spectrum. Vietnam MIC released draft plans for the 2300-2400MHz bands and 2500- 2690MHz bands proposing two distinct TDD-based technical approaches. TRPC – Digital Bytes April 2020
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  INTERNET GOVERNANCE TRPC –Digital Bytes April 2020 • The Ministry of Transport and Communications issued a directive compelling all telcos operating in the country to block 221 websites under section 77 of the Telecommunications Law, which allows the govt to instruct that sites be blocked during emergency situations. Myanmar • Indonesia opens a public consultation on proposed changes to regulations on telecommunication services, including: • Opening use of Universal Service Obligation infrastructure to Telecommunication Service Providers • Increasing flexibility of use cases for spectrum allocations based on class permits, for IoT related services. Indonesia
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  Liked our ‘byte-sized’updates? For more on what TRPC does, please visit us at www.trpc.biz or connect with us via social media. 8 TRPC is a boutique consulting firm which specialises in telecommunications and information technology, particularly the policy and regulatory issues associated with national information infrastructure development, with an emphasis on the Asia-Pacific region. We offer specialised advisory, research, and training services, with a focus on economics, regulatory and strategic business issues, and possess an extensive network of industry experts and professionals throughout the region.