TOPIC- Problems of Specific Industry.

Conduct a secondary
study on the given industry. Analyse and compile the results
At 110.01 million connections ' Indian Telecom Industry' is the fifth largest and fastest growing in the world. The
subscriber base has grown by 40% in 2005 and is expected to reach 250 million in 2007.

Over the last 3 years, two out of every three new telephone connections were wireless. Consequently, wireless now
accounts for 54.6% of the total telephone subscriber base, as compared to only 40% in 2003. Wireless subscriber
growth is expected to grow at 2.5 million new subscribers every month in 2007. The wireless subscriber base
skyrocketed from 33.69 million in 2004 to 62.57 million in FY 2004 -2005. The wireless technologies currently in use
' Indian Telecom Industry ' are Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple
Access (CDMA). There are primarily 9 GSM and 5 CDMA operators providing mobile services in 19
telecommunication circles and 4 metro cities, covering more than 2000 towns across the country. And the numbers
are still growing for 'Indian Telecom Industry '. ' Telecom Industry in India ' is regulated by 'Telecom Regulatory
Authority of India' (TRAI). It has earned good reputation for transparency and competence. Three types of players
exists in ' Telecom Industry India ' community -

 State owned companies like - BSNL and MTNL.

 Private Indian owned companies like - Reliance Infocomm and Tata Teleservices.
 Foreign invested companies like - Hutchison-Essar, Bharti Tele-Ventures, Escotel, Idea Cellular, BPL
Mobile, Spice Communications etc.

The ' Indian Telecom Industry ' services is not confined to basic telephone but it also extends to internet, broadband
(both wireless and fixed), cable TV, SMS, IPTV, soft switches etc. The bottlenecks for ' Indian Telecom Industry '
are:

 Slow reform process.

 Low penetration. Service providers bears huge initial cost to make inroads and achieving break-even is
difficult.
 Huge initial investments.
 Limited spectrum availability and interconnection charges between the private and state operators.

The Government Broadband Policy 2004, aims at 9 million broadband connections and 18 million internet
connections in 2007. ' Indian Telecom Industry ' is currently expected to contribute nearly 1% to India's GDP which
is heartening and estimated to grow further and brighten the ' Scenario of Indian Telecom Industry '.

Telecom firms' woes are not over yet

New Delhi, Feb. 20 -- The December quarter results of telecom companies show that operating metrics of
incumbent companies such as Bharti Airtel Ltd, Vodafone Essar Ltd and Idea Cellular Ltd continue to
improve. While these companies were affected substantially with the onslaught of new competition soon
after the launches by new operators, the impact has visibly come down. This is evident from the relatively
low drop in average tariffs realized by incumbent operators. In Bharti's case, average revenue per minute
of traffic fell by just 0.6% last quarter sequentially, on the back of a 0.9% drop in the September quarter.
In the preceding two quarters, revenue per minute had fallen by 4.6% and 9.1%, respectively. In Idea's
case, average revenue per minute fell 2% last quarter, much better than the drop of 3.4%, 6% and 9.3%
in the preceding three quarters. Vodafone Essar doesn't share details of revenue per minute, but the
trend in its average revenue per user (Arpu) indicates a similar trend. Its Arpu fell by a mere 0.9% last
quarter, compared with an average decline of 7% in the preceding six quarters. But the results also show
that while the pressure on tariffs has abated, the cost of acquiring customers is inching up. Margins,
therefore, continue to be under pressure. Also, the trend in volumes hasn't been uniform. The total
minutes carried on Idea's mobile platform rose by over 10% sequentially last quarter; but for Vodafone it
was lower at 5.5%, and even lower for Bharti at 4.4%. In fact, despite the overall reduction in competitive
intensity, the performance of Bharti's India mobile business came as a disappointment, primarily on
account of subdued volume growth. The reported growth should be seen in the context that the
December quarter is seasonally strong, while the September quarter represents a low base because it is
a seasonally weak quarter.

What's more, on the margins front, things should continue to be under pressure owing to the
implementation of mobile number portability and the launch of 3G. The sector also faces regulatory risks
such as the pending policy on the pricing of 2G spectrum. So while competitive intensity has reduced
substantially, things are far from rosy for incumbent operators.

VIETNAMESE TELECOMS HOOK INTO GLOBAL MARKET

HANOI, Feb 21 Asia Pulse - Vietnam's military-owned telecom operator Viettel has said investment in
foreign markets is a vital task.

"It will help the company become a multi-national as well as create a big enough market for the
equipment we make," a senior company official told Dau Tu (Vietnam Investment Review) newspaper.

Last month the company received a licence to operate in Peru, its fifth foreign markets after Cambodia,
Laos, Haiti and Mozambique.

Viettel plans to invest US$400 million in 10 years in the South American country and hopes to become
one of the top three service providers there in two to four years.

This year it will set up more than 4,000 transceiver stations outside Vietnam to serve its 100 million
foreign customers. Viettel's revenues from its overseas operations are expected to be two or three times
that of its local revenues by 2020.

The Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Corporation (VNPT), which operates the MobiFone and
Vinaphone networks, has also invested abroad, focusing on mobile phone and broadband services.

It has signed a contract with Myanmar's Yatanarpon Teleport to provide telecom services, build a factory
to manufacture telecom equipment, and distribute telecom products in that country.

The VNPT will also increase its investment in Venezuela for manufacturing telecom devices and set up a
Post Office Protocol (POP) to provide voice, data transmission and other value-added services in
Cambodia and Germany.

The Vietnam Television Corporation has gone international by supplying digital content. In 2009 it
established companies in Cambodia, Indonesia, South Korea and Laos.

It has also opened branches in China, Japan, Malaysia, Russia, Thailand and the US and hopes to
double its turnover to $10 million from foreign markets this year.
Local phone carrier rips bill

Feb. 18--Local telecommunications providers are protesting a proposal that would cut intrastate access
fees collected from long-distance carriers that connect to their networks, a move they say would increase
costs for rural customers.

Known as the "Uniform Access, Competition, and Consumer Fairness Act of 2011," the legislation is
backed by a broad group of telecommunications providers including AT&T, which called the bill a
"compromise" that would "modernize telecommunications policy and keep Tennessee moving forward."

TDS Telecommunications Corp. calls the act an unfair effort that could "turn rural customers into second-
class citizens in the advancing world of broadband and the telecommunication giants like AT&T walk
away with millions."

"Don't let the name fool you; there is nothing uniform or fair about this legislation and its impact on
Tennesseans," Bruce Mottern, state government affairs manager for TDS, said in a statement.

The fees, which have been compared to road tolls, are an important revenue component for local phone
carriers like TDS, which could lose $12 million to $15 million per year. TDS said it has 395,000 customers
nationwide, including 55,000 customers in Tennessee.

Providers like TDS point to heavy investments made in installing and maintaining their networks over
large areas with fewer residents per square mile, making it difficult to match urban providers and their
huge population base.

Chris Walker, public affairs manager for AT&T Tennessee, said in a statement that AT&T serves more
rural customers in Tennessee than anyone else.

"Arcane, government-mandated hidden subsidies add unnecessary costs in a competitive marketplace

and therefore they hinder jobs and investment in our state. Competition and technology have brought
Tennessee more choices in television, Internet, wireless, and more," he said.

State Rep. Joe Armstrong, D-Knoxville, who is a co-sponsor of the legislation, said the bill is aimed at
leveling the playing field.

"The rates my constituents pay compared to those in rural areas is more expensive. We're subsidizing
their service. This would be a more balanced approach," Armstrong said.

Armstrong said companies like AT&T have been paying such fees for 60 years. At the time the fees were
introduced, there was a motivation to get companies to develop in rural areas. That's not the case
anymore with so much competition.

Armstrong said 20 states already have passed similar legislation. Tennessee's bill would not go into effect
until four years from now and could result in increased service or rate reductions.

TDS owns four rural telephone companies, including Knoxville-based Concord Telephone Exchange,
Humphreys County Telephone Co., Tellico Telephone Company and Tennessee Telephone Co. in
Lebanon.

"Our goal has always been to give our customers the same benefits of those people living in larger urban
areas," Mottern said. "This bill threatens to take money from our employees, our company and our
customers and send it directly to AT&T stockholders. No part of this bill is in the best interest of
Tennessee or Tennesseans."

Telecom: regulatory risk rears its head

Mint. New Delhi: Feb 10, 2011.

New Delhi, Feb. 10 -- Shares of telecom companies have underperformed for the past few years because
of the regulatory overhang in the sector. Incumbent operators such as Bharti Airtel Ltd and Idea Cellular
Ltd have been hit owing to the policymaker's stance of encouraging competition. Since end-August 2007,
when the telecom regulator issued recommendations to increase competition, shares of Bharti have
underperformed the Nifty index by 39% and those of Idea have underperformed by 54%.

On Wednesday, investors were reminded once again that regulatory risk in the sector hasn't subsided.
The telecom regulator has recommended charging higher prices for spectrum from telecom operators.
The companies that will be most affected are incumbents such as Bharti, Idea and Vodafone Essar Ltd,
because of a differential pricing mechanism for spectrum assigned to firms beyond the start-up level of
6.2 megahertz. If the recommendations are implemented, Bharti would have to bear a tab of around
Rs4,000 crore and Idea roughly Rs1,500 crore.

Relatively new telecom operators do not hold spectrum above the start-up level, and so the impact on
them would be minimal. Of course, as and when they expand operations, they, too, would have to bear a
similar cost for additional spectrum.

Shares of Bharti and Idea fell sharply on Thursday, though they recovered a large part of the losses by
the end of the day's trading session. Based on their closing prices on the National Stock Exchange
(NSE), they lost Rs3,600 crore and Rs500 crore, respectively, in market cap.

Some analysts fear that the impact of the new spectrum pricing norms won't be limited to the above
figures. The concern is that as and when wireless licences start coming up for renewal, there will be a
large fee even for the start-up spectrum. Of course, the recommendations aren't explicit about this, but
given the regulatory twists and turns the sector has faced, there's a possibility of a charge being imposed
for licence renewals.

Given these regulatory uncertainties, it's no surprise that telecom shares were under pressure on
Thursday. Though the decline doesn't seem much based on end-of-day prices, a majority of the
transactions happened at much lower prices. Based on the weighted average price of all transactions on
NSE, Idea and Bharti shares fell 6.1% and 3.4%, respectively.

BRIEFING - ASIA TELECOMMUNICATIONS - FEB 9, 2011

An executive briefing on the telecommunications industry for Feb 9, 2011, prepared by Asia Pulse
(http://www.asiapulse.com), the real-time, asia-based wire with exclusive news, commercial intelligence
and business opportunities. ANALYSIS - VIETNAM AND INVESTMENT IN OTHER MARKETS HANOI -
In early 2010, Vietnam's military telecom group Viettel announced that it had bought a 60 per cent stake
in the Haiti telecom company, Natcom, and jointly with other foreign investors won a US$29 million
contract to provide mobile phone services in Mozambique.

The company expected the two projects to help promote the image of Viettel as well as other Vietnamese
businesses in the local markets. INDONESIAN TELCO INDOSAT TO REFINANCE DEBTS IN 2011 AND
2012 JAKARTA - Indonesia's second largest telecommunication company PT Indosat (JSX:ISAT) said it
plans to refinance debts in 2011 and 2012 using remaining fund it raised from bond sales.
Indosat still has US$420 million left from the bond sales worth US$650 million last year, its finance
director Peter Wladyslaw Kuncewics said. YOUNGER USERS PUSH UP MOBILE PHONE
CONSUMPTION IN INDONESIA JAKARTA - Younger and less affluent users have pushed mobile phone
penetration in Indonesia to almost triple what it was five years ago, according to a Nielsen survey.

Out of 15,000 respondents from nine large cities, 54 per cent said they owned a mobile phone, a 34 per
cent increase from a similar survey in 2005. In contrast, only 11 per cent of respondents said they owned
a landline phone, down from 25 per cent in 2005. JAPAN'S CELL PHONE SHIPMENTS RISE FOR 1ST
YEAR SINCE 2008 TOKYO - Domestic shipments of cellular phones and PHS (personal handyphone
system) handsets in Japan grew 6.3 per cent to 33.27 million units in 2010, the first uptick in three years.

Shipments are still off 36 per cent from the 2003 peak, according to Japan Electronics and Information
Technology Industries Association data released Tuesday. But the downward trend in cell phone
shipments, ongoing since 2008, has come to a halt. A key factor behind this is surging demand for
smartphones. GOOGLE'S NEXUS S PHONE TO BE RELEASED IN 24 NATIONS VIA VODAFONE
SEOUL - The Nexus S phone, the latest generation of Google Inc's Nexus series made by South Korea's
Samsung Electronics Co. (KSE:005930), will soon be released in 24 countries via Vodafone Group Plc,
the mobile carrier said Wednesday.

Google and Samsung unveiled the latest smartphone in the Nexus series in December. The Nexus S
phone was the first Android phone to be powered by "Gingerbread," the latest version of Google's mobile
platform. INDIA'S BHARTI JOINS SAVVIS TO AUGMENT MANAGED SVCS OFFERINGS NEW DELHI -
Indian Telecom major Bharti airtel (BSE:532454) Tuesday said it has partnered with Savvis to strengthen
its managed services offerings to enterprises in India.

The partnership with Savvis will further strengthen Bharti's managed services portfolio and will offer
innovative solutions to enterprises operating in or expanding into India, Bharti airtel said in a statement.
SEOUL CALLS FOR REVAMP OF REFINERY, COMMUNICATIONS SECTORS SEOUL - South Korea
needs to revamp its refinery and communications industries to boost fair competition and stave off unjust
price hikes by monopolistic players, the top economic policymaker said Wednesday.

"It is necessary to actively consider market revamping measures aimed at boosting competition for such
industries as refinery and communications which are being driven by monopolistic players," Finance
Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun said at a meeting with key economic policymakers. INTER-ISLAND
CONNECTIVITY CRUCIAL FOR INDONESIAN DEV'T: VP JAKARTA - Inter-island connectivity has a
significant impact on Indonesian efforts to step up economic development, Vice President Boediono said
on Tuesday.

Since Indonesia is made up of more than 17,000 islands, the Vice President said, inter-island connectivity
was of great importance in equitable distribution of economic development.. FOXTEL INKS
DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT WITH AUSTRALIA'S TELSTRA SYDNEY - Foxtel has secured another
distribution channel for its content after the pay-tv provider reached agreement with Telstra Corporation
Ltd (ASX:TLS) over the telco's T-Box.

Telecommunications Companies in the U.S. Condemn the Lack of

Action of the Mexican Government Against the Telmex Monopoly
in Mexico; [1]
Karachi, Feb. 07 -- As part of its yearly tasks, COMPTEL, the association representing the
telecommunications industry in the U.

S., collects information supplied by the Trade Representative (USTR) office, about the development and
opportunities in the telecommunications industry worldwide. Derived from this information, COMPTEL
recently evaluated the issues currently faced by two distinct countries for the industry and the American
market: Germany and Mexico.

These countries are known to offer the most active markets for telecom operators and consumers in the
U.

S.; however, according to COMPTEL, they are also plagued by setbacks and barriers.

In the case of Mexico, COMPTEL states that even after constant requests and complaints from
competitors, the Mexican government has not taken precise measures to restrain both subsidiaries of
America Movil: Telmex, currently supplying 80% of fixed telephony services, and Telcel, currently
supplying 70% of mobile telephony in Mexico; these two companies earned their huge market share not
necessarily because of the authentic consumer choice, but more by using business practices considered
to be monopolistic.

According to COMPTEL, the actions issued by the Federal Telecommunication Commission (COFETEL)
to sanction Telmex, have not been implemented by the Secretariat of Communications and
Transportation (SCT)(1), hindering the development of competition in Mexico.

Furthermore, COMPTEL highlights the following main anti-competitive activities that Telmex, have been
perpetuating since 1991, the year that telephony was privatized in Mexico:

1. Blocking the majority of competitive traffic into the rural half of Mexico.

2. Illegally inserting lengthy recorded messages into calls carried into Mexico by certain competitive
carriers, telling U.

S. and Mexican customers that future calls may be not completed if they use that carrier.

3. Refusing to allow competitors to install local or long haul facilities that would provide competitive
termination for U.

S. carriers.

4. Maintaining differential and discriminatory pricing structures for interconnection and termination
services.

5. Refusing to provide carriers with interconnection in Non-Equal Access (NEA) calling areas that would
represent more competition and better rates for the public.

6. Providing interconnection at a degraded quality level.

7. Failing to consolidate local area codes as ordered by COFETEL so that the calls between two areas
would be considered as a local call and not a long distance call, which would result in huge savings for
the public and the carriers.

These practices and abuses are already well known by competitors and users, but continue to go
unpunished for lack of authority and real regulation by the Mexican government.

COMPTEL acknowledges the constant complaints presented by the various competing companies to
COFETEL, emphasizing the one presented by Marcatel in November 2008 about deficiencies and
interconnection practices, and which so far remains unanswered by the SCT.
Also, describes the recordings that in May 2010, when Telmex inserted into calls made through Marcatel
from the U.

S. to Mexico stating that, "the long distance carrier was not paying the contracted rate to the local
operator (Telmex) and, if that continues, then the local operator will no longer complete calls," causing
confusion and distrust among users.

Telmex then inserted a second recording to a specific operator in Mexico saying that the long distance
operator lost a court decision and allegedly was forced to pay an unspecified amount to the local
operator, as a condition to continue providing the service. "This recording affects calls into the three main
cities in Mexico and heavily impacts international traffic, particularly calling card traffic from the U.

S."

The analysis developed by COMPTEL was published as a direct appeal to the SCT, the authority
responsible for not having resolved these conflicts, all of which, from experience in other countries, have
been resolved in a timely manner, making the disposition of the authority prevail.

COMPTEL requests to facilitate the interconnection for Mexican competitors, to fix prices for call
termination and an immediate response to complaints submitted by the competing companies to
COFETEL, especially the sanctions issued by COFETEL against Telmex in April 2010, which remain
unanswered by the SCT.

COFETEL must be independent

For COMPTEL, "the lack of independence of COFETEL from government interference is worrisome,"
because it indicates that the SCT is unable to act to resolve the conflicts that have been dragging Mexico
and argues that "although the SCT has no direct financial interest in Telmex, it is tied politically to the
company."

"The continued brazen behavior of Telmex demonstrates that the SCT is not an independent regulator
with the ability to control the behavior or a major supplier to the detriment of U.

S. consumers and companies." "This behavior demonstrates that SCT is an independent regulator with
the ability to control the behavior of the leading supplier to the detriment of consumers and businesses in
the United States."

In the perspective of Comtel, "it is highly unlikely that SCT will agree to revoke Telmex's license." SCT's
track record has been "to ignore COFETEL's recommendations," and considers as mistake its lack of
action and independence from the COFETEL.

The document also states that one of Mexico's WTO commitments was to require its major supplier to
provide interconnection to its network on non-discriminatory terms and conditions, in a timely fashion and
upon request. "SCT's failure to implement COFETEL's recommendations, with respect to interconnection,
and to resolve Telmex's disputes with competitive carriers is a violation of Article 2 of the referenced
Paper."

COMPTEL ends the analysis by urging the Office of the USTR to "work aggressively" and to "take
appropriate actions to ensure fair and non-discriminatory market conditions in accordance with the
respective trade commitments."

About Marcatel
A company of Grupo Marcatel, a Mexican corporation and a key player within the telecommunications
industry in America, Africa, Europe and Asia, with outstanding presence in Canada, United States,
Venezuela, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Great Britain, Spain, South Africa and Mexico, thanks to its
high capacity fiber optics network and solid infrastructure. Grupo Marcatel's solutions' portfolio includes
voice and data services, prepaid cards, video transmission, internet connections and call center solutions,
among others.

VIETNAM SOFTWARE CO FPT TO BUY 49 PCT STAKE IN EVN

TELECOM
HANOI, Jan 31 Asia Pulse - Software giant FPT and its subsidiary FPT Telecom have received approval
from the Vietnamese Government to buy a 49-per-cent stake in State-owned EVN Telecom, an affiliate of
Electricity of Viet Nam, in what may be the beginning of a wave of mergers or consolidations among
smaller mobile service providers.

EVN Telecom will negotiate the price directly with FPT and FPT Telecom.

After the deal is consumated, the State will continue to own a controlling interest of 50.6 per cent of EVN
Telecom. EVN Telecom executives will be able to purchase shares representing 0.4 per cent of equity in
the firm,at a price equal to 60 per cent of the price paid by FPT Telecom.

EVN Telecom has a charter capital of 2.96 trillion VND (US$141 million)and offers internet and mobile
phone services.

However, it has failed to perform strongly in the nation's rather crowded telecommunications market. Last
year, it earned less than 2.9 trillion VND (US$137.14 million), just 61 per cent of its target of 4.73 trillion
VND (US$225.23 million) for the year.

"EVN Telecom needs to hasten equitisation as the firm is facing some financial constraints," said a senior
official of the company who asked to remain anonymous. "But we haven't only targeted investors but also
strategic partners with leadership in technology and the ability to rescue EVN Telecom with GSM
technology,the lack of which has kept the company from being a player in the market." EVN Telecom had
earlier planned to sell at least a 20-per-cent interest to a foreign strategic partner, but foreign-invested
telecoms like Hong Kong-invested Vietnamobile, S-Fone of the Republic, and Russian-invested Beeline
have struggled to make a dent in the market share of major domestic rivals Viettel, MobiFone and
Vinaphone. These three State-owned giants consistently dominate the market.

Research and Markets: Latvia - Telecoms, Mobile, Broadband and

Forecasts

Abstract (Summary)
Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager, press@researchandmarkets.com U.S. Fax: 646-
607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: http://www.researchandmarkets.com Research and
Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/863780/latvia_telecoms) has announced the
addition of the "Latvia - Telecoms, Mobile, Broadband and Forecasts" report to their offering. Since
independence Latvia embraced market reform and joined the European Union (EU) along with
neighbouring Estonia and Lithuania.
Fitch warns of 'bloodbath' in local telecom sector

Jan. 31--A FIGHT for market share would lead to a bloodbath in the Philippine telecom industry as the
country's two largest mobile phone providers are facing intense competition with small players and
shrinking margins, a London-based rating agency warned.

In its 2011 Outlook: Asia-Pacific Telcos, Fitch Ratings said the Philippines' telecom market, which has
been largely a duopoly, is "facing increasing competitive intensity."

Fitch said the third-largest player Sun Cellular had snatched a market share at the expense of Globe
Telecom, while Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) was largely unaffected.

The credit rating agency said Sun Cellular made some headway by increasing its subscriber market share
from 12 percent at end-2008 to 16 percent at end-September last year.

Sun Cellular claimed that it had more than 16 million subscribers and over one million postpaid users.

Fitch said the competition would intensify in the medium-term given the planned entry of San Miguel
Corp. (SMC) in partnership with Qatar Telecom.

Adding to the gloomy prospects of PLDT and Globe is the high adoption of fixed-line and wireless
broadband services that cannibalize wireless data, mainly short messaging services (SMS) or text
messaging, as well as national long distance and international long distance service revenues.

"Compared with their Asia-Pacific peers, the impact is significantly pronounced for the Philippine telcos
since SMS revenues represent almost 50 percent of total wireless revenues," Fitch said.

Fitch added that the increasing adoption of smartphones with both wireless and wireless fixed (WiFi)
access is likely to compound the problem.

PLDT's text messaging-related services, which accounted for 94 percent of its total cellular data revenues
were down by 13 percent to P29.15 billion in the first nine months last year compared with P33.61 billion
in the same period in 2009.

Mobile service revenues of Globe went down by 8 percent to P36.8 billion in the first nine months of last
year.

Fitch projected that both PLDT and Globe are expected to record flat-to-low-single-digit revenue growth
this year because of the increasing competitive pressures in a maturing wireless market.

Fitch said that future revenue growth is expected to come mainly from data services.

PLDT's mobile unit, Smart Communications has announced that it would offer mobile Internet in sachets,
targeting the low-income market to boost revenues.

For its part, Globe plans to expand its wireless landline service, the Duo, to eight more provinces outside
Metro Manila.