WCA September 2017

From the Americas in June, compared to May, and with supplier deliveries and inventories struggling to keep up with the production pace.” Fifteen of the 18 manufacturing industries reported growth in June. Meanwhile, although federal government outlays on construction projects were the highest in over four years, USA construction spending remained flat in May. Cloud focus USA regional fixed operator Consolidated Communications has closed its acquisition of FairPoint, in an all stock transaction valued at $1.3 billion, including debt and based on present equity value. Consolidated said the deal takes its fibre route miles to 36,000 across a 24-state service area, making it the ninth largest fibre provider in the USA. The company added that the merger will create significant operational and financial scale while maintaining strong capital investment strategy. The company now plans to expand its Cloud services product suite to FairPoint markets, and bring about other broadband enhancements. Who needs regulation? Following the recent introduction of ‘roam like at home’ (RLAH) in the EU, a number of consumer groups and politicians are calling for the similar regulation of international call prices. The theory is, if we pay the same to call home from, say, Spain as we would pay at home, then why not pay the same to call Spain from home? It’s a seductive argument. However, Telecompaper is suggesting that the continued perceived discrepancy in charges fulfils a useful purpose. A high rate for a little-used service isolates high costs in a single, clear place (calling abroad). This is a profit generator for operators and helps ensure they don’t raise prices elsewhere. If international prices are regulated, after termination rates and roaming, then other prices – used by many more people – will start to rise. Operators need to maintain their margins. The European Commission speaks against regulating international calls, noting that there are sufficient alternatives, such as Skype, for end-users. In short, concludes Telecompaper , this is an issue better left to the market. Cybersecurity One area where the USA can learn from Singapore With almost daily revelations of security breaches, whether current or retrospective, data security continues to be a major concern, and a financial drain, on business and government worldwide.

A recent survey of data from the 193 member states of the United Nations’ International Telecommunciations Union (ITU), revealed by Telco Transformation , makes interesting reading. As a centre for finance and technology, Singapore’s economy and Smart Nation programme rely on secure systems, so it’s no surprise that Singapore came out top. Equally unsurprising then, that the USA came second. But the rest of the top ten included some small and developing countries: Malaysia, Oman, Estonia, Mauritius, Australia, a tie for eighth place between Georgia and France, with Canada in tenth. Russia was 11 th with China in 34 th . The survey results were largely based on the ‘five pillars’ of the ITU Global Cybersecurity Agenda: legal, technical, organisational, capacity building and international cooperation. While cybersecurity is key to any country’s digital transformations, the survey found an “evident gap between countries in terms of awareness, understanding, knowledge and, finally, capacity to deploy the proper strategies, capabilities and programmes.” In order to be more effective, countries need to create a cybersecurity ecosystem comprising laws, organisations, skills, cooperation and technical implementation. ITU said the first crucial step was countries adopting a national security strategy, adding: “More cooperation should be initiated between developed and developing countries to assist them in cybersecurity development.” The ITU survey can only give a snapshot of cybersecurity today. It cited recent ransomware attacks as a primary driver for better worldwide cooperation, and that, of course, is the big issue. Hackers and malevolent developers are honing their skills all the time: the risk is constantly evolving, and defence against it needs worldwide cooperation. So come on Singapore (and the USA, Malaysia, Oman, Estonia, Mauritius, Australia, Georgia, France and Canada) – share nicely. Speaking of Singapore Local broadband operator MyRepublic has announced plans to launch mobile services in Singapore as early as October, having received its MVNO licence in June. The Straits Times reports that, rather than build its own physical network, MyRepublic will buy airtime in bulk from an existing dominant telecommunications company such as Singtel, StarHub or M1. Last year, MyRepublic missed out on the fourth MVNO licence in Singapore, which was given to Australia-based TPG Telecom. MyRepublic said it received calls from two telcos shortly after TPG won the fourth licence, and that the objective is: “To make it as difficult as possible for TPG to be successful.” MyRepublic’s chief executive officer, Malcolm Rodrigues, said the company will offer “generous mobile data” in Singapore, adding: “We are committed to being disruptive.”

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Wire & Cable ASIA – September/October 2017

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