Zatni Arbi, Contributor, Jakarta
The telecommunication industry -- both fixed and mobile -- has never been as lively as it is today. New technologies are challenging existing ones. For those with a lot of money and eyes on this industry, the question would be how difficult it is to offer telecom services today.
Certainly, it will still require a lot of investment from a newcomer. As we all know, anyone aspiring to be a telecom operator has to pay the regulator a heap of cash -- amounting to hundreds of billion rupiahs -- for the license to use the scarce radio-frequency band. In most cases, the licenses are awarded to the highest bidders through a tender.
The good news is that for new operators, at least now, the challenge has shifted from technical areas to marketing, from physical network planning to business planning.
Who was responsible for the shift? The leading telecom infrastructure providers.
Companies such as Ericsson, Motorola and Nokia have been offering what is known in the industry as Managed Services.
"The idea of Managed Services is not entirely new," said Peter Froitzheim, country director of Managed Services and Consulting & Integration at Nokia Networks Indonesia, in an interview some time ago.
"The old Telkom's KSO, or Joint Operating Scheme, was a good example," he added. "Vendors built, operated and then transferred ownership to Telkom after a certain period of time. It was essentially how the Managed Services operation works."
Today, a Managed Services provider such as Nokia can do virtually everything for the operator. It can plan the network, install the hardware, integrate it with existing networks, optimize it, operate it for a specified period, and maintain it.
Managed Services providers take over the technical burden from operators, so that the latter can focus on creating new deals to attract new customers.
Managed services may also include the necessary training, so when the contract is over the operator will have the capability to do everything on their own.
"The range of services offered varies from one contract to another, depending on what each individual operator needs," Stephen Niwa, engagement director of Managed Services Networks, APAC at Nokia, commented during the interview.
What about the networks that have been in existence for many years? Do the operators still need the help of Managed Services providers? The answer is most likely yes, even if they have deployed infrastructure from different vendors.
By the way, the industry term for infrastructure that incorporates technologies and products from different suppliers is typically called a "multivendor environment". Of course, it requires a lot of resources to make these components talk seamlessly with one another.
XL, the third largest mobile operator in Indonesia, is a good example of a multivendor environment. It uses technologies and infrastructure products from companies such as Ericsson, Huawei and Siemens. To be able to provide managed services for such a complex environment, companies like Nokia must have resources with know-how and skills in the products of other companies.
There are various reasons an operator will choose a mix-and-match approach to building their nationwide network. One of them is to avoid dependence on a single infrastructure vendor. By opting for a mixed environment, an operator can protect itself from being dictated by a single supplier.
Another reason for using the multivendor approach is the fact that vendors usually have different pricing structures, while operators are more interested in keeping their capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operational expenditure (OPEX) at a minimum.
Network fine-tuning is an example of how challenging the work of a Managed Services provider can be.
If your operator's newly launched 3G services are not giving you the level of service that you expected, that is usually because the base transceiver stations (BTS) may need to be tweaked further. The direction of the antenna may need to be adjusted, or the transmission power may have to be lowered.
It is like cooking a gourmet dish. You need the right amount of salt, pepper and coriander to make it taste great.
"Managed services allow operators to concentrate on their business rather than technical issues," Peter added. "We have seen how operators now compete by offering innovative packages instead of boasting their technical superiority. Time to market is getting shorter and shorter."
The influx of 3G services -- and their High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) brother -- across the world has opened up more opportunities to Managed Services providers.
For example, Indosat recently signed a Managed Services contract with Nokia. Nokia is providing Indosat with turnkey services including civil works, network planning, implementation and integration of a WCDMA 3G/HSPA network. As part of the Managed Services agreement, the Finnish company will build, operate and transfer (BOT) optimized 3G network for Indosat.
However, the services are not limited only to network deployment and optimization. It can also include Intelligent Network (IN) and push-to-talk hosting. Managed Services companies can also provide business consulting services that will help individual operators understand what business strategies will work and what will not. Again, the portfolio of services vary from one provider to another.
Worldwide, Managed Services is indeed gaining momentum, as operators are under increasingly competitive pressure. Nokia started its Managed Services in 2005. Last year, it announced that Managed Services already accounted for 30 percent of its network business. Today, the company runs its Managed Services from Chennai, India, but its clients include Vodafone in Australia and New Zealand, China Mobile in China, TIM in Italy, and Excelcomindo, Indosat and Telkomsel in Indonesia.
Last June, Nokia and Siemens merged their network businesses toward a 50-50 company called Nokia Siemens Networks. Nokia's strength lies mainly in the mobile phone network while Siemens has a sizable footprint in the fixed network. The combined power will result in their increased market share in the booming global telecom industry.
Along with the increased network business, it is easy to expect that the Managed Services will flourish further.
-- source--jkt post
The telecommunication industry -- both fixed and mobile -- has never been as lively as it is today. New technologies are challenging existing ones. For those with a lot of money and eyes on this industry, the question would be how difficult it is to offer telecom services today.
Certainly, it will still require a lot of investment from a newcomer. As we all know, anyone aspiring to be a telecom operator has to pay the regulator a heap of cash -- amounting to hundreds of billion rupiahs -- for the license to use the scarce radio-frequency band. In most cases, the licenses are awarded to the highest bidders through a tender.
The good news is that for new operators, at least now, the challenge has shifted from technical areas to marketing, from physical network planning to business planning.
Who was responsible for the shift? The leading telecom infrastructure providers.
Companies such as Ericsson, Motorola and Nokia have been offering what is known in the industry as Managed Services.
"The idea of Managed Services is not entirely new," said Peter Froitzheim, country director of Managed Services and Consulting & Integration at Nokia Networks Indonesia, in an interview some time ago.
"The old Telkom's KSO, or Joint Operating Scheme, was a good example," he added. "Vendors built, operated and then transferred ownership to Telkom after a certain period of time. It was essentially how the Managed Services operation works."
Today, a Managed Services provider such as Nokia can do virtually everything for the operator. It can plan the network, install the hardware, integrate it with existing networks, optimize it, operate it for a specified period, and maintain it.
Managed Services providers take over the technical burden from operators, so that the latter can focus on creating new deals to attract new customers.
Managed services may also include the necessary training, so when the contract is over the operator will have the capability to do everything on their own.
"The range of services offered varies from one contract to another, depending on what each individual operator needs," Stephen Niwa, engagement director of Managed Services Networks, APAC at Nokia, commented during the interview.
What about the networks that have been in existence for many years? Do the operators still need the help of Managed Services providers? The answer is most likely yes, even if they have deployed infrastructure from different vendors.
By the way, the industry term for infrastructure that incorporates technologies and products from different suppliers is typically called a "multivendor environment". Of course, it requires a lot of resources to make these components talk seamlessly with one another.
XL, the third largest mobile operator in Indonesia, is a good example of a multivendor environment. It uses technologies and infrastructure products from companies such as Ericsson, Huawei and Siemens. To be able to provide managed services for such a complex environment, companies like Nokia must have resources with know-how and skills in the products of other companies.
There are various reasons an operator will choose a mix-and-match approach to building their nationwide network. One of them is to avoid dependence on a single infrastructure vendor. By opting for a mixed environment, an operator can protect itself from being dictated by a single supplier.
Another reason for using the multivendor approach is the fact that vendors usually have different pricing structures, while operators are more interested in keeping their capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operational expenditure (OPEX) at a minimum.
Network fine-tuning is an example of how challenging the work of a Managed Services provider can be.
If your operator's newly launched 3G services are not giving you the level of service that you expected, that is usually because the base transceiver stations (BTS) may need to be tweaked further. The direction of the antenna may need to be adjusted, or the transmission power may have to be lowered.
It is like cooking a gourmet dish. You need the right amount of salt, pepper and coriander to make it taste great.
"Managed services allow operators to concentrate on their business rather than technical issues," Peter added. "We have seen how operators now compete by offering innovative packages instead of boasting their technical superiority. Time to market is getting shorter and shorter."
The influx of 3G services -- and their High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) brother -- across the world has opened up more opportunities to Managed Services providers.
For example, Indosat recently signed a Managed Services contract with Nokia. Nokia is providing Indosat with turnkey services including civil works, network planning, implementation and integration of a WCDMA 3G/HSPA network. As part of the Managed Services agreement, the Finnish company will build, operate and transfer (BOT) optimized 3G network for Indosat.
However, the services are not limited only to network deployment and optimization. It can also include Intelligent Network (IN) and push-to-talk hosting. Managed Services companies can also provide business consulting services that will help individual operators understand what business strategies will work and what will not. Again, the portfolio of services vary from one provider to another.
Worldwide, Managed Services is indeed gaining momentum, as operators are under increasingly competitive pressure. Nokia started its Managed Services in 2005. Last year, it announced that Managed Services already accounted for 30 percent of its network business. Today, the company runs its Managed Services from Chennai, India, but its clients include Vodafone in Australia and New Zealand, China Mobile in China, TIM in Italy, and Excelcomindo, Indosat and Telkomsel in Indonesia.
Last June, Nokia and Siemens merged their network businesses toward a 50-50 company called Nokia Siemens Networks. Nokia's strength lies mainly in the mobile phone network while Siemens has a sizable footprint in the fixed network. The combined power will result in their increased market share in the booming global telecom industry.
Along with the increased network business, it is easy to expect that the Managed Services will flourish further.
-- source--jkt post
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