Both mobile communications and mobile money markets in Kenya are dominated by Safaricom, potentially limiting consumer choice and leading to an unbalanced market for other operators. Plum was commissioned to compile a report looking at the potential impacts of increased or lessened competition in the Kenyan market, drawing on existing academic studies to quantify the[…]
On 19 June Ofcom published a document seeking expressions of interest from telecommunications operators to become providers of the UK’s broadband universal service. This Insight paper provides a commentary on the document, discussing the specification of the USO, how it is to be funded and the questions yet to be answered. Plum’s understanding of the[…]
Despite continuing growth in mobile network coverage, there are many areas where enterprise users suffer from no, or poor, connectivity. Manufacturing, agricultural and transport industries in these regions suffer from their remote locations, and they often find that their ability to benefit from Industry 4.0 – the automation through connected machines – is limited. This[…]
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) enacted its Electronic Communications Law in 2011. The law, which came into effect in 2012, created the Information Technologies and Communication Authority, or Bilgi Teknolojileri ve Haberleşme Kurumu (BTHK). This law is largely based upon the European Union regulatory framework for electronic communications. Amongst the other powers and[…]
This study reviews universal service policy in a set of case study countries. It considers the services provided to consumers and the mechanisms for the provision and funding of those services. We find that the scope and definition of universal service varies considerably from one case study country to another. For example, in some EU[…]
Plum was commissioned jointly by UKWISPA[1] and INCA[2] to conduct an independent and updated assessment of the potential benefits of fixed wireless access (FWA) technologies, for provision of broadband services in the UK market. Our focus has been directed towards review of the performance levels available with modern commercially available FWA solutions. Within the study,[…]
Plum was appointed by Ofcom’s Competition Group (Financial and Economic Modelling Division) to carry out an external and independent review to assess the quality of a series of LRIC modelling workbooks and associated documents, in association with the wholesale local access charge control WLACC market review in the UK. Our work included a detailed review[…]
This study for the Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) provided an independent assessment of the impacts on service quality arising from reassignment of 900 MHz and 1800 MHz spectrum in Hong Kong. The assessment model developed by Plum analysed the network infrastructure requirements of mobile network operators under various market, technology evolution and spectrum[…]
In conjunction with TTC, Plum provided the NCC – the Taiwanese regulator – with three reports examining the current market for leased lines in Taiwan, providing input to a consultation on the appropriate regulatory mechanisms, and specifying how a regulatory cost model should be built. The leased line market in Taiwan has historically been regulated[…]
The telecommunications sector is characterised by substantial fixed costs and significant economies of scale. In a macrostate this usually does not matter because the main operators function at a point well above minimum efficient scale. But in a typical island state in the Caribbean the main operators usually operate at a point well below minimum[…]