GSMA Announces Asia Pacific Could Generate US$1 Trillion In GDP Through Spectrum Harmonisation For Mobile Broadband

Informations

• Publié par: gsm-conference-limited
• Nombre de lectures: 43
• Langue: English

Extrait

GSMA Announces Asia Pacific Could Generate

US$1 Trillion In GDP Through Spectrum

Harmonisation For Mobile Broadband

PR Newswire

LONDON, July 9, 2012

- Allocation of the 700MHz 'Digital Dividend' Band to Mobile Services Will Create

New Jobs, Support Business Innovation and Generate Government Revenues

LONDON

,

July 9, 2012

/PRNewswire/ --

Asia Pacific

is on the cusp of a significant

opportunity to unlock

US$1 trillion

in GDP growth by 2020 through the

harmonised adoption of the 700MHz spectrum band for mobile services,

according to new research from the GSMA, in partnership with The Boston

Consulting Group (BCG). As part of this economic growth, there is the potential

to create 2.7 million new jobs, support 1.4 million new businesses[1] and

increase government revenues by

US$171 billion

.

"To realise this immense potential, it is imperative that the region works

together to swiftly implement the harmonised 700MHz band plan for mobile

services," said Chris Perera, Senior Director, Spectrum Policy & Regulatory

Affairs, GSMA. "Rapid adoption and alignment would generate huge cost

efficiencies in both network technology and devices, and ultimately make

mobile services more accessible and affordable for consumers."

Since the plan was implemented in

September 2010

by the Asia Pacific

Telecommunity (APT), a number of countries across the region have either

announced their commitment or have shown confidence including

Australia

,

India

,

Japan

,

New Zealand

and

Thailand

, with

Japan

and

Papua New Guinea

recently awarding licenses. Furthermore, at the 2012 World

Radiocommunications Conference (WRC-12) in

Geneva

, telecoms regulators in

other regions, including

Africa

,

Latin America

and the

Middle East

, have

expressed an interest in the APT band plan.

For

Asia Pacific

to fully realise the

US$1 trillion

opportunity between 2014 and

2020, it is imperative there is no delay in spectrum allocation and deployment.

Even a delay of one year, from 2014 to 2015, could result in a loss of more

than

US$40 billion

of incremental GDP growth across the region, and a delay of

two years from 2014 to 2016 could result in a loss of

US$138 billion

in GDP

growth. A one-year or two-year delay could also result in up to 500,000 or

900,000 fewer jobs being created respectively.

Asia Pacific

countries that do not follow the APT band plan will cause

interference up to 100 kilometres on both sides of their borders, also limiting

their neighbours' ability to utilise their own spectrum to its maximum extent.

Furthermore, this will increase the cost of mobile devices since these will need

to be customised to work across differing spectrum bands.

According to the study, non-compliant countries would experience 5 per cent

less economic gain, 30 per cent less job growth, 30 per cent less new business

and 18 per cent less government revenue. Countries neighbouring non-

compliant countries would also lose up to 3 per cent of GDP growth, up to 10

per cent of job creation, up to 11 per cent of new business growth and up to 12

per cent government revenue.

"The availability of the 700MHz band, as a result of the switchover from

analogue to digital TV services, presents a unique opportunity for spectrum

harmonisation across

Asia Pacific

," said Vaishali Rastogi, partner at BCG. "It

offers the potential to create a coherent ecosystem for LTE and allow

manufacturers to quickly roll out standardised devices in multiple territories.

This would lower prices and enable more people to access the benefits of the

Internet more quickly."

For further information on and a copy of the report please visit:

www.gsma.com/spectrum/spectrum-

resources/BCG_spectrum_fragmentation_AP

Notes to editors

[1] Includes new independent businesses and new departments/units/business

areas within existing firms

About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide. Spanning

more than 220 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world's mobile

operators, as well as more than 200 companies in the broader mobile

ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies, equipment

providers, Internet companies, and media and entertainment organisations.

The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as the Mobile World

Congress and Mobile Asia Expo.

For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at

www.gsma.com or Mobile World Live, the online portal for the mobile

communications industry, at www.mobileworldlive.com