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Internet Policy in South East Asia

Internet in South East Asia Bangkok, 21 – 23 November 2001. Internet Policy in South East Asia. Michael.Minges@itu.int. The views expressed are those of the author and may not reflect the opinions of the ITU or its members. Internet market is unregulated Competition is good

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Internet Policy in South East Asia

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  1. Internet in South East Asia Bangkok, 21 – 23 November 2001 Internet Policy in South East Asia Michael.Minges@itu.int The views expressed are those of the author and may not reflect the opinions of the ITU or its members

  2. Internet market is unregulated Competition is good Leave Internet to private sector Every country restricts market in one way or another Generally yes BUT incumbent operators may be able to provide lower price Internet access Fine if you only want the elite to use it Myth and Reality

  3. Topics • Who is in charge? • What can an ISP do? • What about content? • How much does it cost? • To VoIP or not to VoIP • Dot names • Access for the masses • Quality of service • What is the market? • Promoting the Internet

  4. Who should [Why]be responsible for Internet regulation? • Who: • Has generally fallen to telecom regulator to issue ISP licenses and resolve disputes • Broadcasting & other ministries are also sometimes involved in issues such as content, security & digital laws • Why: • Public interest • Market referee • ICT access (Digital Divide) Perceived problems concerning the Internet Source: NECTEC, Internet User Profile of Thailand 2000

  5. ISP Market Issues • Free entry? In Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, no new ISPs were licensed for several years. In Thailand, market entry has been frozen. In other countries, difference between licensed and operational ISPs. • License fees? In Cambodia share revenue with government. In Thailand, share income with international operator. • Infrastructure? In Singapore, different class of license. In Philippines must go through licensed telecom operators. In other countries, ISPs often constrained.

  6. Who are the ISPs? * Licensed / In operation.

  7. What can an ISP do? Cable TV Wireless Access International connectivity ISP Dial-up T E L E P H O N E E X C H A N G E Leased line ISP POP ? ? ? ? ADSL? ? ? ?

  8. International Gateway Price per 64 kbps of international bandwidth, US$ • Should ISPs operate own international gateway? • Pros: Heart of their business, redundancy, quality of service • Cons: Higher costs, content evasion, incentive to exchange traffic Source: ITU Case Studies

  9. Internet Exchange • Keep local Internet traffic within country to cut down on international bandwidth costs • What is mix of traffic? • Private peering • Internet exchanges: Singapore (2), Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand (2), Philippines (4)

  10. Content • No content control: Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, Philippines • Content control: Singapore (firewall to pornographic sites, registration of content providers), Vietnam (firewall, registration of content providers), Laos • Malaysia

  11. Pricing • Nationwide at local call • One number: Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand • Internet on demand • Prepaid cards • Telephone charges • Usage: Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia • No charge: Philippines • Lower rate: Malaysia, Indonesia • Flat rate: Thailand

  12. Internet pricing South East Asia Million $ question: Is the market small because prices are high or are prices high because the market is small? 30 hours of Internet access, US$, October 2001 Source: ITU adapted from ISPs / PTOs.

  13. Internet Telephony • Policies on Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) vary across region • Singapore & Malaysia provide for VoIP licenses • Vietnam special case • In Thailand, telecom operators provide • In Cambodia and Laos, technically illegal but widely available

  14. Quality of Service • Only Singapore publishes clear QOS results • Philippines ask for QOS but does not enforce • Thailand has informal user surveys

  15. Internet Quality of ServiceSingapore Definitions • System accessibility measures the ease with which the subscribers are able to access the Internet network. • Dial-up users must be able to be connected more than 95% of the time. • Leased line users must be able to be connected more than 99% of the time. • Service activation time refers to the elapsed time between the receipt of the customer application and the activation of the service. • For dial-up, all service applications are to be activated <= 3 working days. • For leased line, all service applications are to be activated <= 7 working days (excludes installation time). • Number of complaints per 1000 subscribers refers to the total number of complaints received from the subscribers to the Internet operator per 1000 subscribers in a month. Source: IDA.

  16. Domain name

  17. Universal access

  18. Market information

  19. Promotion • Broadband • Content development • Industry collaboration

  20. Conclusions • Internet requires some degree of regulation & policy to function effectively • Telecom regulators are best placed to monitor market • Consumer concerns need to be acted on • Internet requires promotion in developing nations

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