Global - Industry - Wholesale Market Insights

Synopsis

Wholesale Internet (IP Transit) bandwidth prices continue to fall in 2011 due to declining unit costs and rising competition. Despite the economic crisis, bandwidth price declines have not yet sped up – due partly to yearly bandwidth contracts that are still to be renewed. The growing Internet economy will ensure that the increased demand for wholesale IP bandwidth will continue in the longer term, with Internet traffic volumes growing at more than 60% each year. A number of countries around the world now operate successful FttX networks based on wholesale models. This report provides an overview of the wholesale market with a focus on international wholesale. It also includes a brief case study on Australia.

Latest developments: Internet bandwidth prices continue to decline at around 25% a year; discrepencies exist between various markets however, depending how much competition is in play.

Table of Contents

• 1. Synopsis
• 2. International wholesale market overview
  • 2.1 Consolidation continues
• 3. Key wholesale services
  • 3.1 Unconditioned Local Loop Services (ULLS)
  • 3.2 Line sharing or spectrum sharing
  • 3.3 Local Carriage Service (LCS)
  • 3.4 Unbundled BitStream (UBS)
  • 3.5 UBS vs ULL
  • 3.6 Naked DSL
• 4. Unbundling evens the score
• 5. Market analyses
  • 5.1 Starts on the wrong footing
    • 5.1.1 Incumbents should be part of the solution not of the problem
    • 5.1.2 Problems started back in 1865
  • 5.2 Shouldn’t we modernise the regulations?
    • 5.2.1 Some incumbents have seen the light
    • 5.2.2 Bill and Keep is showing the way
    • 5.2.3 Termination fees are hampering growth
    • 5.2.4 Peering instead of arbitrage
  • 5.3 Cooperation brings back trust in the market
    • 5.3.1 Interconnect will always require regulatory oversight
    • 5.3.2 Digital Economy = value add, not commoditisation
• 6. Wholesale customer categories
  • 6.1 Value-add based on IP and broadband
  • 6.2 Mobile wholesale interconnection
    • 6.2.1 Mobile wholesale remains underdeveloped
  • 6.3 The effects of VoIP
• 7. Dark fibre
  • 7.1 Global infrastructure nearing collapse
  • 7.2 Wild growth in local access
  • 7.3 Dark fibre providers setting the scene
  • 7.4 Expect the bust in 2012/2013
• 8. National wholesale markets
  • 8.1 Facilities Based Carriers
  • 8.2 Switch Based Resellers
  • 8.3 Switchless Resellers
• 9. Case studies
  • 9.1 Australia - Open Access Principles
    • 9.1.1 Digital Economy Industry Working Group (DEIWG)
    • 9.1.2 Wholesale Access Principles
• 10. Related reports

• Exhibit 1 – Keeping the Internet up to speed
• Exhibit 2 – Blame it all on Prussia