A Review of PTC'07

Trisha Tsui-Chuan Lin, Doctoral Candidate, Communication and Information Sciences, University of Hawaii at Manoa.

There is no other conference like PTC that brings a good mixture between leading industrial dialogues in business buzz and advanced technologies, as well as concerns in global ICT community in less developed countries.  PTC’07, “Beyond Telecom” explored cutting-edge technologies, such as NGN, 4G, and mobile TV, as well as business models and strategies. The conference also provided networking opportunities for enthusiastic participants from nearly 60 countries around the world.

At the PTC’07 conference, “consumer power” was regarded as one of the critical forces that is shaping the changing, convergent telecom landscape.

Industrial leaders called for the focus on people and their lives, not the technology or devices. For instance, Paul Excell, Chief of Operations in BT, stressed the importance to learn from customers and develop innovative services/platforms based on their needs. Larry Keeley, the President of Doblin Inc., suggested human-centered platforms, such as YouTube, which let people do whatever they desire, are the future technological battleground. Mark S. Fedor, the CTO of SunRocket, forecasted the evolution of next generation network (NGN) that will be driven by consumers, not business. Apparently, the exuberance of self-generated content on the Internet is a strong demonstration of influential consumer power.

“Mobility” is another salient theme that develops several important topics, including the emerging Mobile TV market and the road to 4G. Mobile TV was a new hot topic in PTC’07. Now 3G has reached critical consumer mass in Asia’s leading mobile markets, like South Korea, Japan, Singapore, etc. More than 30 types of handsets can access dozens of mobile TV, video, and audio channels broadcast via satellite. TU Media in South Korea with its first and so far the only successful business model in this new arena, shared its market experience and challenges in delivering quality, coverage, content, terminals, and price. From its lessons, content and cost drive the success of mobile TV, not technology.  China has also set its own unique standard, S-Timi, and is expected to shape the mobile TV market in 2008 Olympics. Already four out of seven mobile TV operators are in Asia. It is predicted that the growth of mobile TV will be driven by the Asia-Pacific region.

4G (i.e. anywhere internet, mobile broadband), a new direction for interconnection and communication, brings a new dimension for competition in high-bandwidth mobile services. Experts believed that the strong demand for personal broadband and ubiquitous connectivity will push the development of 4G forward. Presenters from India and South Korea supported WiMAX as likely to be the last mile wireless technology that delivers broadband access at affordable prices. For instance, Samsung offers a total solution for WiMAX and its business model now includes collaboration with Sprint, Nokia, and others, in order to provide a better ecosystem for development. They think the age of 4G will come soon.

On the one hand, video content demand will be the driving force for developing NGN and FTTH. On the other hand, the success of webcast video services, like IPTV, also depends on the advancement of the last mile technology. Gary Kim, Editor in Chief of VoIP Business, argued that IPTV will not replace the core “voice” business of telcos.   He also indicated that systems that only provide IPTV services will have difficulties making revenue. Predicting that Asia will be the No. 1 region to drive IPTV adoption, Brian Skimmons, Vice President Network Services, Loral Skynet, believed that satellite operators that are familiar with pay TV services will outpace telcos in this market. Although presenters had more positive tones in IPTV’s potential this year, IPTV’s regulatory problems remained unsolved, despite the improvement in content, services, demand, and technologies. 

“Beyond Telecom” will be an age of digital, convergent, mobile lifestyles. It brings new opportunities, challenges, and uncertainty. As the Shin Cho, Senior VP of SK Telecom, South Korea, warned, “If we cannot take command of change and innovation, there will be no future of telecom.” At the turning point, attending PTC is an excellent way to seize the trends in the telecommunication industry, to keep abreast of other competitors, as well as to find new directions for tomorrow’s development.

Many thanks to the PTC-Hawaii Foundation for sponsoring the author and other students from the University of Hawaii at Manoa to attend PTC’07.