Emerging ICT Ecosystem Challenges For Operators And Regulators

The recent decade has seen a tremendous change in the communication landscape; a transition from a closed walled garden communication industry to an open vibrant ICT ecosystem. Unlike the conventional closed model PSTN and broadcasting industries, the new ICT ecosystem exhibits an open architecture for converged communication services such as voice, video and data on converged terminals. Liberalization policies unbundling the last mile access and the digitization of information brought a radical change in the communication industry. Liberalization introduced the competition on the application and services layers by sharing the underneath transport and network layers resources. Thus economic efficiency of the transmission resources increased manifolds. The divestiture of the incumbent operators gave boost to open R&D efforts at different layers which brought revolutionary changes for technology development.The breakthrough in Cellular technology led to the mobility of communication with huge commercial success. Easy and quick deployment of cellular networks led to extend the communication network to the underserved areas and huge footprint was created in very short span. Tele-density just with in one decade rose to78%by less than20%a decade ago.Value added services by the third parties created a two sided market in telecommunication industry. Internet emerged as the major disruptive platform as a dial up value added services. The IP technology introduced packet switching as an efficient substitute for the circuit switching technology. The functional separation of layers introduced new innovation business models by Telcos and convergence phenomenon flourished. The radical transformation from PSTN model to NGN opened a gate of value added innovative services by new entrants. Number of new players appeared over internet platform as over the top players and created huge subscribers’base. The innovation at IP platforms introduced converged services with huge data requirement such as IPTV, VoD and so on. The innovation in services and business models at one layer affects the services at the other layers thus these symbiotic relationships among different stakeholders at different layers make it an ecosystem rather than a network.New ICT ecosystem proved to be a disruptor in many ways. It introduced new players with considerable marketing power and posed challenges for the conventional players such as Telecom operators and TV broadcasters. Not only that these new entrants are creating huge traffic on the networks resources but also directly challenged the business models of basic communication services. The equation of the communication has changed from a single dominant player to multiple players now that are creating value to the operator’s networks. The major stake holders of the ICT ecosystem are●Network Operators●Service providers●Application&Content providers●Device manufacturers.ICT is no more a one player dominant industry but a conglomerate of multiple players. The competition at different layers and across the layers creates a symbiotic relationship among the major players. The disruptive development at one layer can create a disruptive impact on overall Ecosystem.This evolving ICT ecosystem is unfolding new socio-economic as well as techno-economic opportunities by collaboration among various stakeholders at different layers. Services such as cloud computing, e-health, smart homes, smart grids etc. are the new services changing the dynamics of communication industry. ICT has evolved as a solution provider rather than the simple connectivity provider. Cloud computing is emerging as the next disruptive phenomenon in ICT ecosystem by providing the integrated computing services on demand and pay per use consumption model. Thus the simultaneous developments in high speed reliable data networks, availability of ubiquitous internet connectivity, smart terminals at edges and the business needs of cost effective scaling up and down of IT resources combine together to introduce services as cloud computing which will further enhance the ICT usage and adoption at affordable rates.As the connectivity, mode of connectivity and services on communication landscape are increasing, the challenges for the ICT ecosystem itself are increasing. The huge data demand on wireless medium requires an efficient and effective use of spectrum to meet the demand. The outdated command and control mechanism for spectrum allocation is no more suitable to meet the growing needs of spectrum for new services. The technology development in wireless industry such as Cognitive radios and SDRs (Software defined radios) mitigates the primitive interference issues and unfolds the benefits of dynamic spectrum allocation and open spectrum pool. This study comprehensively analyses the limitations of the existing spectrum usage mechanism and suggests regulatory framework to effectively harness the economic potential of spectrum resource.Internet emerged as a disruptive communication platform as an open end to end architecture. The internet’s underlying IP technology enabled new entrants to introduce services and applications on the internet platform. The internet companies such as Google, Skype, and YouTube emerged with new business models substituting the basis communication such as voice and data for free and earning through advertisement. A growing number of substitute services and challenging business models such as Skype through IP platforms and staggering revenues of network operators has created a net neutrality dilemma for operators. This conflict addresses the future of the internet as well as future evolution of ICT ecosystem.This research study is an effort to study the evolution of communication from a monopolistic closed model industry to open vibrant ICT ecosystem. The study envisages the factors contributing to this evolution and the characteristics of emerging ICT ecosystem. The study also entails the layered structure, core competencies of the major stakeholders and value creation in this ecosystem. The major focus in on the challenges such as spectrum re-farming and net neutrality and what services and business models can enhance the value of the networks. A case study of China’s ICT landscape and challenges in light of changing dynamics of ICT ecosystem has been made.The study concludes with the following policy recommendations;A revised regulatory framework is required for effective utilization of spectrum through dynamic spectrum allocation and open spectrum pool based on market. Further a vigilant regulatory body should be incorporated to facilitate spectrum trading and mediating the conflicts among users.Net Neutrality laws to be enacted and incorporated under ITU ensuring the regional regulatory bodies to balance the economic and innovative incentives among network operators and service providers.