WCA March 2010

An abrupt shutdown of iPhone sales on the AT&T website revives concerns about the network’s sufficiency Is AT&T, the exclusive US provider of iPhone service, ill-equipped to handle the demands of modern 3G smartphone traffic in some of the largest American cities? Technology writer Arik Hesseldahl considered the question on BusinessWeek.com, after a sudden halt in online sales of the Apple iPhone in the New York area revived concerns that the network with the mighty name is too frail to support US urban smartphone traffic. (“An AT&T Mystery: Abrupt New York iPhone Shutdown,” 28 th December) The facts are as simple as the episode was brief: starting on 27 th December and lasting until afternoon of the following day. Shoppers on AT&T’s website who gave ZIP codes for New York City and suburbs were told that the iPhone was unavailable. Sales of the iPhone through AT&T and Apple retail stores in the New York area, as well as via Apple’s website, were unaffected. “We periodically modify our promotions and distribution channels,” was the explanation offered, via e-mail, by AT&T spokesman Fletcher Cook. But some analysts consulted by Mr Hesseldahl speculated that the suspension of sales, though short-lived, was further confirmation that AT&T’s equipment is too flimsy to handle the heavy data use typically associated with the iPhone. “Clearly AT&T is struggling with quality-of-service concerns,” said Rich Doherty, head of the Envisioneering Group, a research firm. “It’s the first time I’m aware of this happening with any wireless product.” Mr Hesseldahl wrote, “Even AT&T executives have acknowledged the problem publicly. At an investor conference earlier [in December] AT&T Mobility president Ralph de la Vega conceded network deficiencies in New York and San Francisco and said that the company was trying to improve performance. He also said the company was looking for ways to get consumers to throttle back data use.”

NTT Communications Corp (or NTT Com) announced in Tokyo on 25 th December that it had launched a new cable route linking Japan to the Trans-Pacific Express (TPE) cable network, an optical fibre cable system connecting Mainland China, South Korea, Taiwan, the US, and now Japan. The TPE, the first phase of which was commissioned in September 2008, has been built by a consortium of NTT Com, China Telecommunications, and China United Telecommunications; Chunghwa Telecom (Taiwanese); KT Corp of South Korea; and the American companies AT&T and Verizon Business. Ownership of the $500 million cable is divided evenly among the parties. Construction and startup of the Japan-Asia section of the TPE concludes the project. The TPE network now comprises approximately 11,000 miles of cable and is said to have transmission capacity of up to 5.12 terabits per second. The NTT Com unit of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp (NTT) – the world’s second-largest telecommunications company in terms of revenue – has more than 30 companies in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, and the Americas. The new link, says NTT Com, provides it with “redundant cable routes and landing stations for further provision of assured network services within the Asia-Pacific region.” In particular, according to the 25 th December announcement, the new leg will enhance the redundancy and capacity of backbones for NTT Com’s Arcstar™ Global IP-VPN service, as well as the global IP network services provided over the company’s global Tier-1 IP backbone. Writing in Telecom Asia, Dylan Bushell-Embling noted that the Japanese leg was completed ahead of schedule. The construction phase was originally set to end in March of this year. NTT in 2009 purchased trans-Pacific cable owner Pacific Crossing – operator of the PC-1 ring network between the West Coast of the US and Japan – for over $105 million. Again according to Telecom Asia, there had been speculation – idle, it seems – that the purchase might preclude the participation of NTT subsidiary DoCoMo in the TPE. In fact, wireless operator DoCoMo reportedly invested some $80 million in the Japan leg of the cable. (“NTT Links Japan to TPE Cable System,” 29 th December) The extension of the submarine cable link to Japan gives the TPE ✆ system six landing sites: one in Japan, two in mainland China, and one each in Taiwan, South Korea, and the United States. Second phase of the Trans-Pacific Express, coming in ahead of schedule, incorporates Japan into its submarine cable network

A network of this scale can be expected to drive new development in international telecommunications in the Asia-Pacific region.

Notably, it will likely foster e-commerce between China and the US, now a slow business. “The potential of e-commerce between the two countries is huge,” wrote TMCnet.com contributing editor Nahesh, reporting from Thailand. “In 2008 alone, Chinese Internet users spent about $500 million in online advertising and $75 billion in e-commerce.”

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Wire & Cable ASIA – March/April 2010