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Affordable access: The first step to mass internet use in emerging markets
Contents
3 Executive Summary: A wider internet is emerging The lure of the internet Access part of the affordability challenge Voice to data, urban to rural Access to data, from shared to personal Solving the affordability versus profitability conundrum The affordability challenge in rural regions Deploying and running mobile infrastructure Tower reducing the number of sites required Power efficiency is the key Backhaul the importance of technology selection The emergence of network sharing Adopting innovative business models Innovation in marketing to rural customers The dual-market urban strategy
4 4 5 6 7 9 9 10 10 10 12 13 15 15
16 Mobile internet access provides ultimate affordability 17 Shaping the individual communications experience 18 Conclusion: The internet without restrictions 19 References
Affordable access: The first step to mass internet use in emerging markets
Affordable access: The first step to mass internet use in emerging markets
Affordable access: The first step to mass internet use in emerging markets
In this white paper we explore how internet access can be brought to the mass population in emerging markets. Access is one part of the jigsaw. Affordability, motivation and competence are the other key issues as shown in figure 1. Together these elements make up the key challenges to consider when offering internet services once the access barrier has been addressed. Another Nokia Siemens Networks paper6) discusses the four key elements that need to be considered when launching sustainable services in emerging markets, while a third7) looks in detail at competence and motivation.
Affordability
Access
Competence
Motivation
Figure 1. The four key challenges to widespread internet use in facing emerging markets are affordability, access, competence and motivation. Source: Marja-Liisa Viher 1999 (adapted).
Getting in ahead of competitors by providing affordable internet access is vital for CSPs, enabling them to learn from consumer behavior and translate this knowledge into new and profitable service offerings that will grow market share and revenue. Being early also helps to build brand reputation, strengthening presence in the business segment and opening up opportunities to provide managed services and other innovations to enterprises.
Indeed, it is these business users, as well as higher income consumers, that traditionally spearhead the roll out of internet access and broadband connectivity. To make the most of the opportunity, CSPs may adopt a dual market strategy. This entails providing high-speed, high-value access in urban areas for higher income users, while at the same time deploying more affordable access in both urban and rural areas to permeate access to lower income users, thus capturing the high volume market.
Affordable access: The first step to mass internet use in emerging markets
Productivity increase
ta da
ice Vo
Time Figure 2. Rapid growth will be achieved when users switch from shared to personal internet access.
By the end of 2008, South Africa had 1.35 million internet subscribers. 794,000 of these were wireless internet subscribers and 588,000 were ADSL subscribers. there are more mobile internet subscribers than fixed. Source: Balancing Act11)
Affordable access: The first step to mass internet use in emerging markets
90%
84%
42% 58% Monopoly Competitive Figure 3. Percentage of markets open to competition, mobile and fixed, worldwide, 2008. Source: ITU, World Telecommunication Regulatory Database; based on World Bank classification of economies. 87%
Affordable access: The first step to mass internet use in emerging markets
In urban areas too, although many fixed lines are in place, it is the ease and cost-effectiveness of mobile coverage brings that makes it attractive to CSPs looking to offer services to more people. Existing fixed infrastructure can be developed to provide more advanced data services to corporate customers and high end consumers. Consequently, there exists a fast growing base of users who are familiar with mobile devices. CSPs that have bought into mobile infrastructure over the years are best placed to re-use much of their investment by adopting 3G technologies as the means of offering internet access to their customers. Currently, about 100 million 3G subscribers (21 percent of global 3G subscriptions) come from emerging markets. In 2013 Nokia Siemens Networks expects this to rise tenfold to about 1 billion emerging market 3G subscribers (48 percent of the global number). However, in the context of population levels, with emerging markets having 70 to 80 percent of the world population, 3G penetration of emerging markets will remain far lower than in mature markets. (Figure 4)
2000
1500
1000
500
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Figure 4. WCDMA subscriptions are predicted to show the fastest growth rates in emerging markets.12)
Deploying 3G services using UMTS900 may create 70 percent CAPEX and OPEX savings for mobile operators, says a recent case study on the experience of Elisa Corporation of Finland, released by the Global Mobile Suppliers Association. Widely used by GSM systems throughout Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and Europe, the use of the 900 MHz band lowers the number of cell sites needed to cover rural and suburban areas. Source: LIRNEasia13)
UMTS2100
UMTS900
Figure 5. Significant cost savings can be achieved by using the 900 MHz band compared to using the 2100 MHz band.
Affordable access: The first step to mass internet use in emerging markets
Through our ICT Policy, the government seeks to build an ICT-driven nation revolving around the idea of a knowledge-based society. I firmly believe that the ICT Policy will allow the development of ICT infrastructure hence improving citizens access to information. Kemal Stamboel, Vice Chairman, Executive Team, Indonesian National ICT Council
In India, the government is keen to remove the digital divide (rural India has almost 75 percent of the countrys total population), and to achieve this end, it is giving high priority consideration to broadband penetration in the rural areas to extend services such as Tele-education, Tele-medicine, and e-governance.
IT 3.0%
Dealer commissions 16.9% Networks 31.6% Bad debt 0.5% Customer service 7.5%
Antenna equipment 9% Power Coaxial supply 6% cable 8% Figure 7. Breakdown of site capital costs in mature markets. Source: Powerwave
Affordable access: The first step to mass internet use in emerging markets
Network impact Tower: Cost of construction Fewer sites through intelligent network planning
Site impact Backhaul technology can have a huge impact on the site construction cost. For example, using point to multipoint IP based backhauling allows sites to be built on a pole or a house in a village Outdoor and self-cooling cabinets help to avoid shelters and air conditioning Latest generation base station equipment reduces power consumption substantially Reducing or eliminating of air conditioning reduces the power consumption per site Innovative business models such as Power as a Service reduce CAPEX and provide fixed monthly OPEX that is independent of fluctuating energy prices Research shows that most voice traffic is generated within villages. Most internet traffic is likely to be between the internet gateway and the village. Therefore, local voice routing frees up backhaul capacity for data traffic Proxy servers can improve the customer experience by caching functionality In general, IP backhauling provides the best efficiency for remote sites.
Fewer sites reduces the number of hubs required, improving backhaul efficiency
Table 1. Tower, power, backhaul how innovation reduces the total cost of ownership for CSPs. Source: Nokia Siemens Networks, 2009.
Tower reducing the number of sites required In rural areas, base stations need to cover huge areas and often there is no existing site development that can be built on. The difficulties of acquiring suitable sites can be eased by accurate network planning and the latest base station technology that together can reduce the number of required sites by 2530 percent. This can cut the CSPs capital and operational costs (CAPEX and OPEX) significantly. Equipment also needs to be robust to withstand often harsh environmental conditions to avoid unnecessary maintenance costs, particularly important when a maintenance engineer needs to travel for days in difficult terrain just to reach a site.
Power efficiency is the key With many sites built off-grid, beyond the reach of the national electricity grid, it is vital that base station equipment is as energy efficient as possible. The GSM Association estimates that 75,000 new off-grid sites will be deployed yearly from 2009 to 2012 as CSPs move increasingly into rural areas. Sub-Saharan Africa alone is expected to see year-on-year growth of 17 percent in base stations, with 70 percent being off-grid. Innovative equipment designs can reduce base station site energy consumption by as much as 70 percent. We estimate that 86 percent of a CSPs overall energy bill is accounted for by the network, with 65 percent being consumed by base station sites. Extreme energy efficiency at the site level, coupled with fewer overall sites, can therefore reduce the CSPs direct energy costs enormously. Furthermore, because many sites are powered by diesel generator sets, less frequent refueling can reduce site support costs dramatically.
Backhaul the importance of technology selection Backhaul is the third significant cost. Rural areas will not have copper transmission lines available and rely on microwave radios for the backhaul. Creating an effective mobile backhaul requires a deep understanding of both the radio and transport layers and how they interact, particularly with regard to optimizing the use of IP and Ethernet technologies across the backhaul layers. Multilayer optimization enables services to be transported in the most efficient layer, helping to reduce network complexity and cutting capital and operational costs. Such optimization requires cross-functional skills and experience spanning all technologies, which realistically can only be achieved by vendors that offer a full portfolio of access and aggregation technologies, including microwave radio, fiber and copper in the access network; as well as Carrier Ethernet and IP/MPLS in the aggregation and core networks.
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Affordable access: The first step to mass internet use in emerging markets
Affordable access: The first step to mass internet use in emerging markets
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Sharing is key to promoting ICT access at affordable prices in rural areas. Operators will automatically receive subsidies for the deployment and management of towers as long as operators share the towers with three other operators or service providers. Nirpendra Misra, Chairman of the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRAI), India
The emergence of network sharing Network sharing, in which CSPs come to a commercial agreement to share physical network resources, is becoming an increasingly important way of reducing costs. Sharing can be passive, in which only the site is shared, or active, in which base station and backhaul equipment are also shared. Both passive and active sharing are seen by regulators as a fruitful way of fostering investment and growth in the ICT sector by offering incentives, including financial subsidies, for service providers who share infrastructure. The potential cost savings are enormous. There are estimates that CSPs in the Middle East & Africa region could save USD 8 billion over the next five years, by sharing their towers.15)
Infrastructure sharing is a concept that is being encouraged by several authorities around the world. In 2008, the Indian authorities relaxed their restrictions on infrastructure sharing, allowing the sharing of active and passive infrastructure except spectrum. The guidelines are aimed to reducing the input costs on telecom access providers (and to aid) reduced tariff and increased tele-density in rural areas, the telecoms ministry said in a statement.16) In China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission issued a joint policy statement on infrastructure sharing, which became effective on 1st October 2008. The regulations mainly apply to 3G network construction rather than 2G network sharing. According to one report,
the move could lead to a reduction of about 15 percent in the 3G CAPEX of Chinas three operators: China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom.17) Consequently, sharing deals in emerging markets are appearing. For example, in April 2009 Zain Kenya and Essar Telecom Kenya agreed to share 300 base stations over 15 years in Kenya.18) In Ghana, CSPs are working jointly to enable more than one network to share cell sites. Co-location is very close to our hearts and we are getting on very well with the other operators in reaching co-location deals to enable us to provide better services to our teaming customers, said Brett Goshen, CEO of MTN, Ghana.19)
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Affordable access: The first step to mass internet use in emerging markets
Building relationships with local entrepreneurs also brings down the CSPs total costs by effectively outsourcing the management of elements of the business to local communities. Two prominent initiatives in recent years that demonstrate the possibilities are The Grameen Foundations Village Phone project20) and the Nokia Siemens Networks Village Connection solution. A further option lies in innovative funding options, which create a new category of payment model, overhauling conventional CAPEX and OPEX structures. Nokia Siemens Networks, for example, has been exploring a leasing concept for renewable energy solutions. The aim is to help CSPs adopt renewable energy solutions despite their high upfront cost. The concept of Power as a Service entails a vendor financing and installing a renewable energy solution at sites and then offering power for a fixed monthly fee from the CSP. The CSP can enjoy a CAPEX-free installation and monthly fees (OPEX) that are lower than the monthly cost of diesel consumption. The model also means that the renewable energy assets do not appear in the CSPs financial records, enabling it to retain its financial flexibility to invest in its core business, which is connectivity.
Affordable access: The first step to mass internet use in emerging markets
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Affordable access: The first step to mass internet use in emerging markets
The deployment of a rural distribution network comprising town-based distributors supplying village shops or local distributors will also help to overcome physical distribution challenges. A recent Nokia Siemens Networks pilot scheme in China rolled out eCommerce to local entrepreneurs, enabling them to expand their businesses, which are often limited due to their shop size and storage opportunities. The pilot scheme showed that during a fivemonth period business owners generated online transactions equal to the revenue they have raised from traditional business.21)
In emerging markets, providing data access to this huge urban population will take a different approach than that for rural regions. A dual market strategy is needed, with investment in higher speed and higher quality access to cater for the demand for advanced services from enterprises and high-end consumers, accompanied by providing affordable access for the lower income urban population. Shared access is already a wellproven and popular business with widespread internet cafs catering for the needs of millions of users. These establishments succeed because they sell access in affordable chunks of time. The move towards personal access to the internet via the mobile phone will be underpinned by this same charging model. Instant provisioning solutions will enable users to buy flat rate internet access on their phones for short, affordable periods of 30 minutes or one hour or longer, with the cost being deducted from a prepaid account bought from an entrepreneurial-run distributorship.
Affordable access: The first step to mass internet use in emerging markets
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The mobile handset is becoming the most important means of accessing the internet in Egypt. Abdul Razzak, Chief Technology Officer, Etisalat, Egypt
There has been an explosion in the use of mobile internet access [in Mexico]. Mobility plus data is what customers want and we are seeing very good results with 3G. The internet is a necessity in the 21st century, not a luxury. Marco Quatorze, Director of Value Added Services for Amrica Mvil
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Affordable access: The first step to mass internet use in emerging markets
Affordable access: The first step to mass internet use in emerging markets
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Affordable access: The first step to mass internet use in emerging markets
References
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http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK: 22231347~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html, July 3, 2009 Chilean Mobile Telephony association (Atelmo 2008) South China Morning Post, April 2009 Pyramid Research, April 2009 ITNewsAfrica, October 27th, 2008. http://www.itnewsafrica.com How the internet can enhance the lives of the next billion consumers, Nokia Siemens Networks, 2008 Information changes lives making the internet relevant in emerging markets, Nokia Siemens Networks, 2009 Chinas Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), 2008 Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, January 2009 Colombian Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (CRT), 2009 Balancing Act, May 2009, www.balancingact-africa.com Nokia Siemens Networks 2009, based on multiple analyst resources Reports: 2G frequencies can make big savings on 3G deployment, LIRNEasia, Sept 25, 2008 Nokia Siemens Networks operational efficiency reference benchmark 2009, 1st update, i.e. not based on published reports Tower Sharing in the Middle East and Africa: Collaborating in competition, Delta Partners, April 2009 LIRNEasia, April 2008 Informa Intelligence Centre, 16/10/2008 Telecoms.com, http://www.telecoms.com Zain-essar-network-sharing-deal-isa-paradigm-shift-for-emerging-market-players, April 16, 2009 Balancing Act Africa, issue 447, March 2009 Grameenphone, http://www.grameenphone.com/index.php?id=79 Nokia Siemens Networks Corporate Responsibility Report 2008 Opening Doors to the Next Billion People the Markets and Economics of Connectivity White Paper, Nokia Siemens Networks 2009 3G for all. How 3G is set to transform communications across emerging markets, Nokia Siemens Networks, 2009 Parks Associates, http://newsroom.parksassociates.com/article_display. cfm?article_id=5128, January 20, 2009 Acquisition and Retention Study, Nokia Siemens Networks, 2009
Affordable access: The first step to mass internet use in emerging markets
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