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Resumen
Este ar'tículo presenta
una visión general de la presentación dada por el Sr. Bill McCrum en
el taller Conjunto UIT/CITEL
sobre “INTERCONEXIÓN DE REDES DE PROXIMA
GENERACIÓN: CONSIDERANDO LOS DESAFÍOS REGULATORIOS”
que tuvo lugar en Buenos Aires, del 11 de septiembre de 2006.
La Economía de Red
Las Tecnologías de la
Información y la Comunicación (TIC) son el sistema nervioso central de
la economía del siglo XXI. La información se ha convertido en el
producto más valioso de esta nueva economía, y la economía de redes se
está aplicando prácticamente a todos los productos y servicios de
información. La información puede ser utilizada por más de una
persona. Más importante aún es el hecho de que cuantas más personas
comparten la información, más incrementa el valor social total de la
misma. El valor de los productos que utilizan los usuarios de
computadoras y aplicaciones de software, aparatos inalámbricos, faxes,
televisión y servicios de Internet aumenta a medida que incrementa el
uso de estos productos por otras personas. Tanto si lo denominamos la
“sociedad de la información”, la “era de las redes” o la "economía del
conocimiento," las repercusiones son las mismas. La economía de redes
representa una parte cada vez mayor de la economía y es la fuerza
motriz que impulsa gran parte de la innovación y los cambios
tecnológicos que estamos observando.
Nota:
Documento completo sólo disponible en inglés
Abstract
This article provides an
overview of the talk given by Mr. Bill McCrum at the ITU/CITEL
Workshop on “Interconnection and Next Generation Networks: Addressing
the Regulatory Challenges” in Buenos Aires, on September 11, 2006.
The Network Economy
Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs) are the central nervous system of the Twenty-First
Century economy. The most valuable commodity in this economy has
become information, and the economics of networks applies to almost
all information products and services. Information can be consumed by
more than one person. Most importantly, the total social value of
information increases as it is shared with more consumers. Consumers
of computers and software applications, wireless devices, faxes, TV,
and Internet services all have more valuable products as the use of
the products by others increases. Whether we call this an "information
society", the “network age”, or a "knowledge economy," the implication
is the same. Network economics accounts for an increasingly larger
share of the economy and is the driving force behind much of the
innovation and technological change.
The Next Generation
Network
Telecommunications have
undergone unprecedented changes at tremendous speed in recent years
driven by major technology shifts, business opportunities, new user
demands and government promotion.
With the Internet now deeply rooted
in all aspects of life, broadband penetration steadily increasing, and
the widespread use of wireless devices, the telecommunications
industry is definitely on its way to convergence, as a multitude of
different network platforms begin to carry essentially similar
applications and services (e.g., voice, video and data), and the
functionalities of consumer devices such as phones, PDAs, computers
and televisions become homogenized.
In the face of these
changes the concept of a converged multimedia, multi-service network
that operates in a multi-vendor environment has emerged and has been
labelled next-generation network (NGN).
NGN is the
ultimate transformative instrument of the new Network Economy – the
baseline requirement for the new way of doing things.
It is clear that convergence of all
of these technologies, will lead to new opportunities for business to
advance. This will allow products to be rolled out more easily, faster
and more efficiently, therefore helping the economy at large. Network
convergence and the new service environment also mean that new
standardization and interoperability requirements emerge – mainly in
relation to interfaces between networks and services.
Policy and Regulatory Challenges
In addition to the impact on business
and standards, convergence in the industry is beginning to have policy
implications, and this will only increase. Challenges in Canada and
around the world include, among others, regulation of IP networks and
the provision of voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP), the availability
of spectrum for advanced services, network security and critical
infrastructure protection, consumer issues (connectivity, privacy,
security), and intellectual property rights or digital rights
management.
VoIP
Voice over Internet Protocol, a
technology that allows voice to be transmitted over the Internet via a
customer-owned gateway device had been in test mode in Canada as far
back as 2001. It was not until 2003 that the technology was considered
sufficiently sound for mass-market consumption and only in 2004 did
service come to Canada. A major factor that has led Canada to a
heightened level of competition is the entry by the cable companies
into the local telecom market. All of the major Canadian cable
companies had launched by mid-2005, with an emphasis on bundling TV,
Internet and, the last piece of the triple play puzzle, local phone
service. Some cable companies also compete on a fourth flank –
wireless services and yet others provide security as a fifth service
into the household.
As VoIP continues to capture the
residential telephone market, ILEC market share is expected to
decrease. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications
Commission (CRTC) has recently ruled
that VoIP services by ILECs should be
governed by the same regulations as traditional services.
The VoIP ruling has sparked controversy because it limits what the
ILECs can charge for the leading-edge Internet technology, while their
rivals are free to levy whatever price they see fit. It is expected
that the Canadian government will pronounce on this matter shortly.
Telecom Policy Review Panel
Recognizing that the
telecommunications policy framework needed to reflect the age we live
in and that periodic fine tuning will be necessary, the Canadian
government appointed an independent panel of experts to the
Telecommunications Policy Review Panel in 2005. The Panel issued its
recommendation (127) in March 2006. One of its main recommendations is
that the industry should be governed by market forces to the "maximum
extent feasible." More information can be found at
www.telecomreview.ca
Spectrum Management
Spectrum policy is rapidly evolving
today. Canada, as many other countries, has increasingly emphasized
spectrum management based on market principles, using models akin to
property rights, in lieu of traditional “command and control” systems.
In parallel with this evolution is an increased interest in improving
the effectiveness of spectrum utilization. The emergence of software
defined radio (SDR) offers the promise of greatly enhanced real time
optimization of spectrum resources.
Currently, Canada is going through a
spectrum policy review and the opening of new bands. In addition,
public discussion on new technologies such as Radiofrequency IDs (RFID),
Ultra Wide Band (UWB), and Broadband over Power Line (BPL) and the
opportunities and challenges they bring is an ongoing activity within
the Canadian government.
Consumer Issues (Accessibility,
Content, Privacy and Security)
Maintaining the trust
and confidence in our networks is critical. Confidence will be lost if
networks cannot be protected from attacks, services from abuses or if
the quality of communications services cannot be assured or
communication sessions are insecure and private information is
compromised.
Technology is a double-edged sword.
For most people, technology makes things easier - for persons with
disabilities, it can make things possible. When improperly implemented,
however, technology can raise barriers to the productive potential of
citizens with disabilities and severely curtail their opportunities.
Fifteen percent of Canadians have disabilities and 32% of Canadians
between age 64 and 75 have disabilities. Industry Canada has developed
the Web-4-All smart card technology which enables a wide range of
people, including seniors, people with visual impairment and those
with learning disabilities, to access services and information on the
Internet.
Content challenges are increasing
rapidly. Advancing technology is threatening cultural policy as new
developments such as IPTV, P2P networks, satellite TV and satellite
radio become widespread. Although the goals of promoting Canadian
cultural products and services may remain unchanged, Canada must now
consider whether the tools designed to achieve those goals -- many of
which were created in a far different technological environment --
remain appropriate. Offensive and illegal content, such as child
pornography, online luring, child prostitution, child sex tourism and
other activities are of growing concern for the Canadian government.
The Canadian strategy to promote safe, wise
and responsible use of the Internet considers a multi-stakeholder
partnership (ISPs, users and government) for confronting illegal and
offensive content.
Privacy and Security
Despite the fact that a significant
number of Canadians are increasingly going online to carry out their
banking, and shopping transactions, it seems that concerns about
privacy and security are becoming more, not less pervasive.
In order to build consumer trust and
confidence in conducting e-business in Canada the Government of Canada
is committed to establishing clear rules to protect the privacy of
personal information in the new 'virtual' marketplace. This is being
done through the implementation of federal privacy legislation, and
through development of a national policy on unsolicited consumer
e-mail, otherwise know as SPAM.
Challenges
Ahead
Recent worldwide telecommunication
development and technological progress have been truly dramatic, a
trend certain to continue and even accelerate in coming years. The
telecom industry is rapidly moving toward a fundamental change -
seamless communications - which will be ushered in by network
convergence. NGN represents a significant step towards the evolution
of the world’s information and communications technologies (ICT)
networks.
NGN also represents a potentially
significant departure from the current policy and regulatory
environment. Indeed, in the current environment where, in most
countries, voice and data networks significantly differ from the
policy and regulatory standpoint, it is difficult to believe in a
successful evolution to NGN without significant policy and regulatory
changes. In the new environment where the distinction between voice,
data and video only becomes apparent at the subscriber terminal, new
and innovative thinking on the part of policy makers and regulators
will be required to ensure a graceful evolution from dedicated
networks to the NGN solution.
Today, much progress has been made in
defining and developing the overall framework of the NGN concept, but
there still remain several important issues that need to be addressed
such as timeliness to meet new technology needs, solving the
interoperability problems, inclusion of the user (security, protection
and privacy) and needs of the disabled.
The NGN has been defined by open
standards and although it is clear that these standards are converging;
there is still a need for harmonization of different approaches and
perspectives to NGN architecture. It is expected that SDOs across the
world will continue to collaborate on new standards to shape the NGN.
In addition, it is necessary to develop IPR policies for SDOs that
inhibit IPR ambushing.
William McCrum and
Oscar Avellaneda, Industry Canada
NOTES:
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Información adicional:
William (Bill) McCrum (mccrum.william@ic.gc.ca)
is Deputy Director General, Spectrum Engineering, in the Canadian
Department of Industry. His responsibilities include
telecommunications regulation, network vulnerability analysis, and
implementation of various Trade Agreements including the telecom
chapter of the North American Free Trade Agreement. He is
Executive Secretary of the ICT Standards Advisory Council of
Canada (ISACC), and is chair of a number of national standards
committees. Bill has published a wide range of technical papers
and authored a technical book on network interconnection issues.
Oscar Avellaneda (avellaneda.oscar@ic.gc.ca)
is presently Manager, NGN Architecture in the Spectrum Engineering
Directorate of the Canadian Department of Industry. His
responsibilities focus on the studies of emerging services and
technologies. He has been an active participant in several
standards development organizations including ATIS, ITU-T and
CITEL PCC.I. Oscar has published a wide range of technical papers
on telecommunications issues.
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