All articles by : Tony BrownRSS

After China’s golden Olympics, 3G looms large

China was awarded the Olympic Games by the International Olympic Committee in July 2001, and after seven years of meticulous planning and exhaustive preparation, the hosts produced a pitch-perfect Games in August, showcasing modern China to the world.

KCC’s voice-over-WiBro plans doomed to fail

South Korea’s Communications Commission (KCC) came into being in late February to streamline the regulatory process in the convergence era and end the years of stalemate caused by bickering between the broadcast and telecoms regulators.

WiMAX could still play a role in global broadband market

The WiMAX-vs.-LTE debate has been contested furiously by backers of the technologies for years, and the weight of industry opinion has appeared to swing in recent months firmly behind LTE as the dominant technology-migration path – largely because of the lethargic pace of global WiMAX deployment.

Mobile TV’s Holy Grail remains as elusive as ever

With mobile TV services in the flagship market of South Korea floundering and with few signs that operators anywhere else have found a successful formula for launching such services, most operator and vendor delegates at the recent CommunicAsia Summit in Singapore struggled to find enthusiasm for the fledgling industry.

PCCW arrives too late at the M&A table

PCCW Chairman Richard Li must have been out of the business pages for at least six months, so it was only a matter of time before he came back to dominate the headlines once again.

Chinese restructuring announced at last, but tricky 3G choices remain

China’s government has finally announced details of its restructuring of the local telecoms market, bringing to an end years of speculation, rumors and theorizing about its content.

Thai operators facing tough choices on 3G plans

Along with giants China and India, Thailand is one of the few major mobile markets in the region that has yet to launch 3G services. But after years of gridlock in the licensing process, Thailand’s 3G market might finally be on the move, albeit at a potentially heavy price to operators.

China restructuring must not kill golden goose

The long-awaited restructuring of China’s telecoms market finally seems to be on the horizon, after the ruling State Council agreed last month to split up second-ranked mobile operator China Unicom and create three new integrated telecoms firms.