The Asia-Pacific Broadband Divide” or “A Broadband Opportunity Index”.
Malaysia The MyICMS 886 (Malaysian Information,Communications and Multimedia Services 886) Strategy identifies eight (8) service areas which have been targeted to propel Malaysia in the delivery of advanced information, communications and multimedia services towards improving the quality of life of Malaysians and at boosting Malaysia’s global competitiveness. India A Broadband Policy was adopted in 2004 where broadband was defined as: “ An ‘always-on' data connection that is able to support interactive services including Internet access and has the capability of the minimum download speed of 256 kilo bits per second (kbps) to an individual subscriber...” Although the policy recognized the importance of broadband for social and economic development, it did not propose many specific actions for accelerating growth other than liberalizing license and spectrum regulations. The policy specifically stated that copper line was not a "bottleneck facility" so did not mandate local loop unbundling. Nor did it require cable television networks to provide access to their networks. The policy also noted that various government agencies, both national and local, were important for accelerating broadband growth but did not specify specific programs. The policy did call on the government to work with equipment manufacturers to develop inexpensive broadband equipment. It also called on the government to work out plans for making the cost of broadband service affordable, again without providing details. The government proclaimed 2007 the "Year of Broadband" in India. [1] However at year end, targets for broadband subscriptions established in the 2004 Broadband Policy had not been met. In 2007, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued a set of recommendations for promoting broadband development based on an earlier consultation. [1] http://www.dmaran.nic.in/prdisplay.php?id=265
BSNL and MTNL should be encouraged to appoint franchisees for providing broadband services to supplement their efforts. Any procedural restrictions/ limitations to be addressed immediately. • TEC should undertake certification of different CPEs model for interoperability for provisioning of the broadband. All CPEs conforming to specifications for interoperability should be displayed on TEC website for the information of customers. • Incumbents may declare future plans for providing broadband using DSL technology to encourage manufacturing of CPEs within country . • Government should expedite decision on TRAI’s recommendations regarding mechanism and pricing of Spectrum for 3G & Broadband Wireless Access.
