The document discusses policy recommendations around sharing infrastructure and regulating broadband in Fiji. It recommends learning from past regulatory mistakes, providing clarity around future investment, and deregulating where competition exists to lower consumer prices and spur innovation. Cooperation between companies is needed given Fiji's unique topography. Precedents in New Zealand and the UK involved separating wholesale and retail operations of incumbent telecom operators to increase competition. Trends show telecom operators outsourcing network management and shifting focus to customer service. Sharing engineering knowledge and infrastructure can lower costs while still allowing competition at the retail level. The incumbent operator's cooperation is key to the success of any new broadband policy.

1. Policy Recommendations Sharing of infrastructure and Next-Gen. Broadband Coconut Wireless 7/14/2010

2. Learn from past mistakes The aims of the new regulatory approach Forward-looking regulation to cover transition from PSTN to IP Certainty for the market Clarity for operators / investors about direction of future investment Focused regulation with effective sanctions to ensure delivery; allowing for: Deregulation where regulator is a substitute for market competitiveness; = less, focused, tougher Which supports competition to drive down prices for consumers / businesses And supports innovation and competitive new products / services (eg next generation broadband, IPTV, VOIP) Ensure strong communications sector able to underpin Fiji’s competitiveness

3. The heights to be climbed together unique topography demands cooperation for implementing wide-reaching wireless This slide demonstrates how wireless evolution will rival wireline IP traffic in the US:

4. Cooperating on that climb As Fiji’s usage of broadband is set to explode, are companies showing a willingness to look at expanding reach of service There are savings to be had for everyone, streamlining of processes that are essential for lowering costs and providing more affordable service A call for behavior that goes beyond profit-taking and seeks to reinvest into expanding the infrastructure

5. Precedence for Regulatory Action 2007: New Zealand has put in place a separation of operations between wholesale and retail levels for its incumbent telecom operator. After the process was initiated, company officials are on record saying competition has been increased and usage is up. 2002: UK pioneers this regulatory effort with functional separation of BT Group. Network division, openreach, signs contract for expanding fibre to reach 18 million households 2010: Telstra is poised to face restructuring of telcoms sector. Incumbent resistance key to thwarting govt. plans for NGN

6. Trends in Telco Operations Telecom operators worldwide are increasingly considering outsourcing the management of their networks to companies like Nokia, Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson in order to lower costs, increase capabilities and/or focus on other strategic UK mobile operators discuss active sharing of infrastructure to reduce costs and avoid duplication Operators are increasingly shifting their emphasis from the engineering-centric stuff like running networks to customer-centric stuff like marketing, segmentation and customer service

7. Sharing and Caring Engineering knowledge is being concentrated in companies and divisions, with telcos focused on competing at the retail level. In Fiji’s context, it means following a strict division of wholesale and retail operations. Clear and transparent pricing at these levels, new and innovative services are all at stake Again, companies are asked to look beyond just profit-taking and to a future market with tremendously increased demand for usage

8. Incumbents key to policy success Examples from other small economies indicate liberalisation success is directly related to the continue success and profitablity of the incumbent operator. Similarly, incumbent operators have also been instrumental in blocking national broadband initiatives. Court action involving Telstra and competitor Optus precipitated Govt. action on national broadband and an effort that has led to government buying back infrastructure from Telstra for $11b.