OTT: Competing or Collaborating
OTT in Indonesia Telecommunications Business
Mastel: Sari Pan Pacific Hotel
Jakarta 5th December 2013
Dr John Ure
Executive Director, Asia Internet Coalition
http://www.asiainternetcoalition.org/
Director, TRP, University of Hong Kong,
Director, TRPC, Singapore
OTT services popular due to
 The popularity of smartphones and availability
of free Wi-Fi hotspots which allow users to use
OTT services for free
 Unlimited messages, unlimited VoIP calls
 Photo/video sharing, location sharing, contact
information sharing
 Social networking, games
 Cost of phone calls, pay-per-view
services, DVDs, etc.
Digital Paradigms
Telecoms: from stand-alone
To networked ICT economy
 Old = supply-driven
 New = demand-driven
 PSTN as utility only
offered by telcos
 Dumb pipes
 Few apps or content
 UA poorly served supply
 Little revenue generation
 TVs before phones
 Analogue economy
 Broadband offered by new
entrants
 Smart nets
 Apps/content everywhere
 UA demand 4 Internet
 Rural demand for content
 Digital dividend + OTT
 Digital economy
Digital Economy
Transition from Analogue
Transition to Digital
 Basic metered service
revenues down
 Bundled packages of OTT
as “value-added”
 Substitution of OTT for
voice, SMS, video, IPTV
 Consumer market =
WhatsApp, WeChat, Kakao
Talk, Jego, GSMA’s Joyn,
Fonetwish for access to FB
profiles, etc.
 Enterprise market =
unified comms platforms &
managed networks;
e.g. WebRTC
 Dumb pipe rentals grow
 Drivers include Internet,
IPTV, etc.
 ISP services leveraging
telcos’ market power
Competing or Collaborating
Telco vs. Telco
Telco vs. OTT
OTT vs. OTT
Short-run
Both
Mostly
competitive for
small but fast
growing digital
markets
Noninteroperable
due to IPRs,
competing
standards and
competition for
market share
Long-run
Both
Mostly many
collaborations
= “grow the
digital pie” +
convergence +
business
synergies
Interoperability
as 3rd parties
innovate and
“communities of
interest’
demand
interconnectivity
Regulating Digital
 Quality of
Service
 Danger of
time warp?
 Different approaches
 VoIP and numbering, but GLS is
already one answer
 QoS is a service differentiator =
leave to market
 OTT voice-over-BB is better QoS than
PSTN!
 Protect or Promote?
 Protect operators from disruption?
 Protect/promote consumers’ choice?
 Promote digital economy?
Conclusions
 OTT is here to stay, it’s the most efficient use of
communications resources
 The nature of interconnectivity is to compete and to
collaborate
 OTT service providers can become carriers; carriers can
become OTT service providers
 Commercial viability will always determine the outcomes
– markets and technologies will always be unpredictable
and therefore risky investments
 Promoting the digital economy rather than chilling out
innovations of Internet businesses is the way for society
to maximize the benefits of the digital age.
Please visit
http://www.asiainternetcoalition.org/
www.trpc.biz
Appendices
1. Examples of OTT services offered by
telcos and Internet companies
2. Traffic management and net neutrality
guide
Operator
Flat rate charging or for free
 SingTel & Starhub
WhatsApp and WeChat
 KT
Kakao Talk
 Telkomsel &
Indosat
Facebook by Fonetwish for access to FB
profiles and GSMA’s Joyn
 Digi
Opera free download
 China Mobile
WeChat (Tencent) + “Jego” = offshore users rent
CM phone for unlimited international calls + calls
from the Mainland = $4.99 per month
 Skype
Free WiFi (in US airports)
 Google
“Google Free Zone” in Philippines for feature
phones without data charges
 Facebook
Facebook Zero mobile webpage no data charges
Traffic Management and Net Neutrality:
A Guide for regulators?
Where within the network are the network management tools applied?
Typically management techniques are applied above the transport
layer, if applied in transit between networks in routers below the
transport layer = red flag!
What type of tool is applied: typically for short-term congestion
causing delays < 1 min, network shaping and queuing tools are
used; > 1 minute access control; if access control used to block or
degrade = red flag!
Who decides which tool to apply: at request of the Internet source or
unilateral decision of ISP = red flag!
When and on what basis is the tool applied? To (i) an app; (ii)
source/destination; (iii) service provider; and/or (iv) payments
processor – if basis is (ii) or only to traffic from (iii) = red flag!
Source: Scott Jordan and Arijit Gjosh (2009)
http://www.ics.uci.edu/~sjordan/papers/tprc09.pdf