8 NEWS & VIEWS
8 December 2016
Race for S ’ pore ’ s fourth telco narrowed to two
SINGAPORE – Internet service provider ( ISP ) MyRepublic and Australian telco TPG Telecom have advanced into the next round of Singapore ’ s New Entrant Spectrum Auction ( NESA ), where the winner will emerge as the nation ’ s fourth mobile network operator ( MNO ).
According to the Info-communications Media Development Authority of Singapore ( IMDA ), both MyRepublic and TPG met the NESA pre-qualification criteria , including having the managament skills , competencies and operational experience to deploy and operate a public telecommunication network .
In a statement , MyRepublic said : “ We remain committed to bringing Singapore a truly fixed-mobile converged offering , including generous data , seamless coverage and support for the massive potential of the Internet of Things ( IoT ).”
MyRepublic currently serves more than 50,000 homes and businesses in Singapore .
Currently serving over 1.8 million broadband subscribers and 460,000 mobile subscribers in Australia , a TPG spokesperson explained the decision to participate in NESA : “ Singapore ’ s telecommunications industry is undoubtedly a competitive one with three strong competitors for mobile services and a high quality fixed-
ATF aims to serve as ‘ quality platform ’ for entertainment content
1 8
Furthermore , Winston Damarillo , CSO of PLDT Group , and Prashant Gokarn , chief new business and innovation officer at Indosat , are also leading a discussion on their over-the-top ( OTT ) offerings .
Be it acquiring regional or international content , finding content distributors , seeking financiers or identifying new co-production partners , ATF 2016 aims to serve as a “ quality platform ” for the entertainment content ecosystem in Asia , according to the show organiser
Particularly in Vietnam , home to a population of 91 million people , local broadcasters have been leveraging foreign and local content . In an interview with ATF Insights , an ATF in-house publication , Tran Van Uy , CEO of Vietnam ’ s SCTV , said that the collaboration with foreign players is a “ big boost ” to Vietnam ’ s content industry .
He explained : “ The drama Tuoi thanh xuân , a joint effort between line broadband network .
“ However , we believe that mobile telephony and broadband are going to be an increasing importance for consumers and businesses in the future , and we definitely want to be a supplier in that future .”
The NESA is the first two-stage process to auction spectrum for International Mobile Telecommunications ( IMT ) and IMT-Advanced services in Singapore . MyRepublic and TPG will be bidding for 60MHz of spectrum in the 900MHz and 2.3GHz bands
If successful , the new MNO will be required to achieve nationwide outdoor service coverage by October 2018 , while complying with IMDA ’ s relevant regulatory frameworks and requirements , including quality of service ( QoS ) and service resiliency standards .
IMDA maintains that the success of the fourth MNO will depend on how the new entrant innovates and competes in the market , and how it invests to keep pace with new technologies in a fast evolving market . It plans to complete the NESA by the end of this year , before proceeding to the General Spectrum Auction ( GSA ).
Open to the new MNO , as well as existing incumbents M1 , Singtel and StarHub , the GSA is expected to commence in Q1 2017 .
VTV and CJ Entertainment of South Korea , staring both Vietnamese and South Korean movie stars , has caused quite a buzz .
“ In fact , SCTV has also signed contracts with Hong Kong ’ s TVB , South Korea ’ s SBS and other content providers to produce our own movies .”
Although analogue TV is still dominant in Vietnam , Tran is positive that the business model of offering both foreign and local content “ will continue to be highly lucrative ” as viewers can now access content via the Internet , thanks to the rapid advancement of the telecommunication infrastructure throughout the country .
While Vietnamese broadcasters are leveraging foreign and local content to attract audiences , broadcasters in Cambodia faces a different challenge posed by the local government . As an attempt to bolster the local entertainment industry , Cambodia ’ s Ministry of Information has ordered TV sta-
APB and partners bringing ‘ IP Inter-Op Lab ’ to life at BroadcastAsia2017
topic is very important within ABU
1 8 members .”
While he believes that the Alliance for IP Media Solutions ( AIMS ) study of cyber security a priority ,
The ABU-TC is also making the represents the “ strongest opportunity ” for the broadcast industry to cast industry seeks to learn from
Masakazu informed , as the broad- adopt a common standard to promote equipment interoperability , the telecom / IT industry .
the experiences and knowledge of
the presence of competing IP video In the interim , SDI broadcast systems and technologies from the systems should be kept ticking likes of Evertz and NewTek presents along as a gradual transition to its own set of challenges . “ The big IP takes shape . After all , SDI has task ahead will be to corral these served the broadcast industry well diverging products , manufacturers for over two decades , with many and ecosystems into a common , products created from years of interoperable roadmap .”
R & D still available in the market .
Aside from standards , one key Ideal Systems ’ Mc Kiernan hurdle to moving broadcast facilities fully to IP is cost , although even get the equivalent depth and range
noted : “ It will take some time to
this is diminishing . As with any of IP-based products that currently technology wave , costs will eventually come down and with more then again , this will happen fast as
exist in the baseband world . But
affordable IP solutions available , a our boutique global business piggybacks on the much larger , global level playing field can be created for even the smallest broadcasters , IT industry .” up against large media operators , With SDI , there may be a tendency for broadcasters to hold
Mc Kiernan explained . The cost of IP equipment will on to the technology , simply because it has performed and served eventually be cheaper than SDI equipment , concurred Masakazu broadcasters well over a sustained Iwaki , head of Human Interface period of time . While this may be Research Division , Science and Technology Research Laboratories , NHK . mous opportunities and benefits ”,
understandable , IP offers “ enor-
Part of the Embracing IP for according to Dr Amal Punchihewa , Media Production panel and also director , technology and innovation , ABU . chairman of the ABU Technical Committee ( TC ), Masakazu said : These benefits include , but are “ In an IP era , programme production equipment will increasingly be cost savings , scalability , operational
not restricted to , agility , flexibility ,
connected to IP . Budget planning efficiency , and the ability to work when it comes to maintaining with software-defined networks . broadcast equipment will change Furthermore , issues such as and information exchange on this latency , loss due to transcoding
PHOTO : CAMBODIAN TELEVISION NETWORK
Tim Scott , VP , creative and development , Cambodian Television Network , is speaking at the Market Focus : Selling to Indochina conference during ATF 2016 .
tions to broadcast only Cambodian-produced content during the prime-time hours of 7pm-9pm , Tim Scott , VP , creative and development , Cambodian Television Network ( CTN ), told ATF .
This , he said , has encouraged CTN to partner production companies who have been commissioned to produce Khmer drama series , and brought about the establishment of an in-house drama department that is capable of producing
Khmer drama series .
Although prime-time hours are restricted for the broadcast of local productions , foreign content is still very popular . Cambodians , Scott observed , have grown accustomed to watching shows that have been voice-dubbed into the Khmer language .
Another challenge for CTN is gaining a foothold in a congested field of 16 TV stations in Cambodia , Scott revealed . “ In a market this size , having so many TV stations drastically splinters the advertising dollars , leaving us with smaller budgets ,” he elaborated .
“ This is happening at a time when the industry trend is moving towards bigger and more expensive formats . So we ’ ve been very careful with our budgets and our programming decisions to keep the network on top and profitable .”
Scott is speaking at the Market Focus : Selling to Indochina conference track on Thursday , Dec 8 .
For more information on ATF 2016 , visit www . asiatvforum . com . in media transports , vulnerability to cyber-attacks , lower life span of IT equipment and difficulties in managing redundancy and / or backup services , are being “ slowly , but surely addressed ”, said Dr Amal .
Are these benefits and developments , then , compelling enough to encourage broadcasters in Asia-Pacific to embrace IP ? What more can be done to convince the broadcast fraternity , even those non-IT engineers by training , that IP can work as efficiently as , if not better , than existing SDI systems ?
Perhaps , a hands-on IP workflow experience will tick the right boxes for many . At Broadcast- Asia2017 , which will be held from May 23-25 at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre , APB , in collaboration with show organiser Singapore Exhibition Services and Ideal Systems , will be setting up a Live IP Inter-Op Lab .
The IP interoperability lab will showcase what is working in IP today and highlight interoperability between different manufacturers .
The lab will also include a live broadcast studio , content editing and distribution to over-the-top ( OTT ) platforms , all in real-time IP .
Andrew Yeo , publisher of APB , explained : “ We firmly believe that the best way to convince Asian broadcasters and production houses to embrace IP is to provide them with first-hand experience of working on an all-IP ecosystem .
“ This APB initiative , with support from some major equipment manufacturers , is to help media professionals take a deep dive to experience IP and the main aim is , of course , to show that interoperability between different manufacturers is no longer an insurmountable obstacle .”
With each edition of BroadcastAsia , it is the goal of Singapore Exhibition Services to deliver the most relevant showcase , with the lastest innovations that will help attendees navigate the rapidly changing broadcast landscape .
With IP expected to top the discourse on broadcast technology next year , and as it edges closer to the deployment stage , the IP Inter- Op Lab is a timely addition to Asia ’ s premier broadcast trade show .
Calvin Koh , assistance director ( Communication Events ), Singapore Exhibition Services , said : “ We are glad to work in collaboration with APB and Ideal Systems to bring to life the IP Inter-Op Lab at BroadcastAsia2017 .
“ As the migration to IP continues to gain momentum in the region , the IP Inter-Op Lab will be a great addition to the event as it will create the opportunity for broadcast professionals to gain hands-on working experience on an all IP-based system .”