In the 21st century, affordable broadband is becoming as vital to social and economic development as networks such as transport, water and power. Broadband access and the next generation broadband network that underpins it is a key enabler for economic and social growth, paving the way not just for new applications such as voice over IP and IPTV, but also for the more efficient delivery of essential services in education, e-commerce and government.

Mr Zhao: Regulators have to encourage multiple approaches to realising broadband connectivity and encourage infrastructure sharing rather than duplication.

Speaking at the Next Generation Broadband Forum at imbX 2009, Mr Zhao Houlin Deputy Secretary-General, International Telecommunications Union, described broadband as a “disruptive technology” that will change the way services are provided and accelerate the adoption of next generation services like triple play voice data and video.

He called on governments to create a regulatory environment that will help facilitate market competition and the fair development of broadband technologies. Regulators have to encourage multiple approaches to realising broadband connectivity and encourage infrastructure sharing rather than duplication, he said.

Elaborating on the role of regulators in the broadband space, Mr Jonathan Dharmapalan, Managing Partner, Global Telecommunications Centre, Global Emerging Markets, Ernst & Young, noted that in the next generation broadband world, they will have to keep pace with the environment that they have created – a large monopoly underpinning with multiple competitors battling it out in the marketplace. Within this context, regulators will have to think about differentiated regulation, depending on which level the players are operating at.

Mr Dharmapalan: Incumbents have started to realise that latent assets such as conduits, poles and access facilities are now exciting and even valuable.

There may also be a need for converged regulation. For example, the regulation of information and content may have to be considered because broadband places massive power in the hands of people who will be able to re-organise data and information. With issues of privacy and security becoming part of the regulatory debate, regulatory silos will have to disappear, he said.

Another key group of players in the broadband space are the incumbents, who will have to deal with greater competition. Their business models will have to change, and they will not always be able to define the products and services that customers will eventually buy.

However, there are also interesting opportunities for these players, said Mr Dharmapalan.”Incumbents have started to realise that latent assets are now exciting and even valuable. The debate has moved from fibre to conduits, poles and access facilities. They are now thinking of ways to re-capitalise and re-monetise these sleeping assets.”

The third group of players will be the new entrants, who may range from access specialists to muti-players providing integrated bundles of access and premium services. But most interesting will be the telco facilitators among them, who will provide pure value-added customer services – “the Googles and Skypes who have the hearts and souls of the consumers”.

Finding our more about the challenges and opportunities of next generation broadband.

With the creation of consumer communities, specialised services will become important, said Mr Dharmapalan. An example is a healthcare community with consumers in their 60s, who may require specialised services such as home telemedicine that can be delivered over a next generation broadband network.

It is the telco facilitators – or the retail service providers (RSPs) in Singapore’s model for the Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network (Next Gen NBN) – who, together with the consumer community, will reinvent the broadband market, he said.

Mindful of this, Singapore’s approach to the Next Gen NBN is aimed at creating an environment where the RSPs can flourish. This will be achieved by ensuring that the Network Company (NetCo) which operates the passive layer of the network and the Operating Company (OpCo) which operates the active infrastructure, provide clear, unambiguous and regulated service offerings to all operators and service providers on a non-discriminatory basis.

Presenting on Business Opportunities in the Next Gen NBN, Mr Khoong Hock Yun, Assistant Chief Executive Officer, Infrastructure and Services Development Group, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, said with Singapore’s Effective Open Access model, operators and service providers will have access to a clear list of prices and terms and conditions from the Netco and the Opco.

“The most important thing about the Next Gen NBN is to create a clear framework for downstream operators to innovate and create next generation services,” he said. “At the end of the day, we want greater competition. But that is not the end in itself. We need to provide an environment where services can flourish and take root more easily.”