Not just a pipedream - Broadband will change Asia - Brief Article

Business Asia, August, 2000 by Rene A. Mallari

Broadband technology could change life as we know it in Asia. RENE A. MALLARI reports from Manila

IN ECONOMIC powerhouses such as Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea, there are more mobile phone subscribers than traditional wired customers.

This startling fact makes a joke of claims in the 1990s that wireless phones -- or cell phones as they are called in the region -- would not catch on in Asia.

Now, a new and more revolutionary technology is poised to transform life in cyberworld -- and few people doubt that Asians will be at the head of the queue to sign up for it.

Through broadband technology, a vast array of information and technology will be "piped" into homes -- ranging from videos and games, educational services, music, and newspapers, magazines and libraries.

Welcome to the wonders of convergence -- a world in which one can combine video, data and voice on one platform at super-fast speed. Watch as your computer, TV, telephone and the internet is integrated into a single system.

Broadband is defined as internet access with data transfer rates of not less than two megabits per second (in contrast to the commonly used narrow-band that can deliver only up to 128 kilobits per second). It will make surfing the net less painful. Web pages will appear on computer screens instantly, without the tedious delays that now plague the medium.

More importantly, bandwidth power will give businesses and citizens quick and convenient access to remarkable services such as internet telephony (a phone via a computer), webTV (the internet hooked to a TV), and video conferencing (meeting people from different locations online).

Broadband technology is already being used worldwide, notably in the US and Europe, but Asia stands to gain more than most.

The internet population in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to explode in the next couple of years, According to market research group ACNielsen, user numbers recently broke 10 million.

New Zealand and Singapore, it says, share the highest penetration in the region with market sizes around one million users, while Australia has at least four million current users.

In the growing broadband business, South Korea is taking great strides and by the end of this year more than 20 per cent of Korean households are expected to have high-speed internet access. That's more than three million households.

The business world is also being transformed by the internet -- and stands to gain from faster services.

According to the Gartner Group, business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce in the region should grow at a compound average growth rate of 155 per cent through 2004, causing fundamental changes to the way companies conduct business with the world. The research company says the region's B2B e-commerce market will grow from US$9.2 billion in 1999 to US$995.8 billion in 2004.

By 2004, B2B e-commerce in the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Japan) will represent 13.6 per cent of the expected US$7.3 trillion in overall global B2B e-sales transactions.

The numbers are staggering -- and when one talks about statistics the topic of conversation generally turns to China.

The number of Chinese internet users has climbed from 2.1 million last year to more than 6.7 million this year, based on the recently released report by the Strategis Group, suggesting that China is already the fastest-growing internet market in Asia.

In the next three years, China's internet user base should exceed 33 million, growing at an annual rate of nearly 60 per cent over the next five years.

These developments are driving Asian governments and companies to put in place broadband infrastructure -- and services to cope with the rapidly increasing demand for the transmission of huge volumes of information at high speeds and real-time exchange of multimedia data streams.

Asian companies are preparing for the broadband explosion. In Hong Kong, Pacific Century Cyberworks and Softnet are putting in US$10 million apiece to form a joint venture called Pacific Century Softnet.

By 2003, the alliance expects to sign up about 25 million broadband cable subscribers throughout Asia.

PCCW's cable empire in Asia covers some 30,000 cable operators -- all of whom Softnet plans to eventually provide with the high-speed, satellite-based internet solution.

Last May, UTV Group, the India-based media and entertainment juggernaut, rolled out its Asian portal called Sharkstream.com, which provides video and audio services. In the same manner, Adsale Broadnet, an exhibition and conference organiser in China, and US-based Suite Technology Systems Networks agreed to form a joint venture to provide broadband access for Asian hotels.

In the Philippines, broadband technology provider One Virtual Internet plans to create virtual learning centres throughout the country -- targeting 200 local schools and at least 10,000 homes by next year.

In Japan, US-based @Home Network has forged a partnership with Japan's cable operator, Jupiter Telecommunications, and trading giant Sumitomo Corp. Their new entity, @Home Japan, will develop and market a Japanese, high-speed cable internet service for their combined five million subscribers.