Internet in South East Asia

Bangkok, 21 23 November 2001

Internet Policy
in South East Asia
Michael.Minges@itu.int
The views expressed are those of the
author and may not reflect the opinions of
the ITU or its members

Myth and Reality

Internet market is
unregulated
Competition is good

Leave Internet to
private sector

Every country
restricts market in
one way or another
Generally yes BUT
incumbent operators
may be able to
provide lower price
Internet access
Fine if you only want
the elite to use it

Topics

Who is in charge?
What can an ISP do?
What about content?
How much does it cost?
To VoIP or not to VoIP
Dot names
Access for the masses
Quality of service
What is the market?
Promoting the Internet

Who should [Why]

be responsible for Internet
regulation?
Who:
Has generally fallen to
telecom regulator to issue
ISP licenses and resolve
disputes
Broadcasting & other
ministries are also
sometimes involved in
issues such as content,
security & digital laws

Why:
Public interest
Market referee
ICT access (Digital Divide)

Perceived problems
concerning the Internet
Speed

40%

Expenses

32%

Network
Reliability

26%

Pornography

26%

Hacking

16%

Junk mail

16%

Source: NECTEC, Internet User Profile of Thailand 2000

ISP Market Issues

Free entry? In Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, no
new ISPs were licensed for several years. In
Thailand, market entry has been frozen. In other
countries, difference between licensed and
operational ISPs.
License fees? In Cambodia share revenue with
government. In Thailand, share income with
international operator.
Infrastructure? In Singapore, different class of
license. In Philippines must go through licensed
telecom operators. In other countries, ISPs often
constrained.

Who are the ISPs?

Country

How Registry
many
*

ISP
associatio
n

Thailand

18/18 www.thnic.net

ISP Club

Indonesi
a

150/6 www.iix.net.id/iix.html
0

APJII

Singapor
e
Philippin
es

44/?

www.ida.gov.sg/license/Licensees
.nsf/SBO-IND-PIAS?OpenView

150/5 http://www.piso.org.ph/membersf
0
rame.htm

No
PISO

Vietnam

5/4

No

Cambodi
a

3/3

No

No

Laos
Malaysia

18/?

http://www.cmc.gov.my/licensing-n No
ew/class_license/class_asp2.htm

* Licensed / In operation.

What can an ISP do?

Cable
TV

?
Wireless Access

Dial-up

ADSL?

T
E
L
E
P
H
O
N
E

International
connectivity

E
X
C
H
A
N
G
E

?
ISP
?

Leased line

ISP
POP

International Gateway
Should ISPs operate
own international
gateway?
Pros: Heart of their
business,
redundancy, quality
of service
Cons: Higher costs,
content evasion,
incentive to
exchange traffic

Price per 64 kbps of

international bandwidth,
US$
Vietnam

$320

Philippines

$384

Laos

$388

Thailand

$397

Cambodia

$2'500
Source: ITU Case Studies

Internet Exchange
Keep local Internet
traffic within country
to cut down on
international
bandwidth costs
What is mix of traffic?
Private peering
Internet exchanges:
Singapore (2),
Malaysia, Indonesia,
Thailand (2),
Philippines (4)

Content
No content control: Indonesia,
Cambodia, Thailand, Philippines
Content control: Singapore (firewall
to pornographic sites, registration of
content providers), Vietnam
(firewall, registration of content
providers), Laos
Malaysia

Pricing
Nationwide at local call
One number: Malaysia,
Singapore, Indonesia,
Vietnam, Thailand
Internet on demand
Prepaid cards
Telephone charges
Usage: Singapore,
Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia
No charge: Philippines
Lower rate: Malaysia,
Indonesia
Flat rate: Thailand

Internet pricing
South East Asia
Cambodia
Laos

Million $ question:
Is the market small
because prices are high
or are prices high
because the market is
small?

Vietnam
MEDIAN
Philippines
Indonesia
Thailand

ISP charge
Telephone usage
Telephone rental

Malaysia
Singapore
$0

$10

$20

$30

$40

$50

30 hours of Internet access, US$, October 2001

Source: ITU adapted from ISPs / PTOs.

Internet Telephony
Policies on Voice over Internet
Protocol (VoIP) vary across region
Singapore & Malaysia provide for VoIP
licenses
Vietnam special case
In Thailand, telecom operators provide
In Cambodia and Laos, technically
illegal but widely available

Quality of Service
Only Singapore publishes clear
QOS results
Philippines ask for QOS but does
not enforce
Thailand has informal user surveys

Internet Quality of Service

Singapore Definitions
1.

System accessibility measures the ease with which the

subscribers are able to access the Internet network.
1.
2.

2.

Service activation time refers to the elapsed time between the

receipt of the customer application and the activation of the
service.
1.
2.

3.

Dial-up users must be able to be connected more than 95% of the

time.
Leased line users must be able to be connected more than 99% of
the time.

For dial-up, all service applications are to be activated <= 3

working days.
For leased line, all service applications are to be activated <= 7
working days (excludes installation time).

Number of complaints per 1000 subscribers refers to the total

number of complaints received from the subscribers to the
Internet operator per 1000 subscribers in a month.

Source: IDA.

Domain name

Universal access

Market information

Promotion
Broadband
Content development
Industry collaboration

Conclusions
Internet requires some degree of
regulation & policy to function
effectively
Telecom regulators are best placed to
monitor market
Consumer concerns need to be acted on
Internet requires promotion in
developing nations