Asia Pacific telecom operators account for 25 percent (or 9) of the 36 active network sharing deals against Europe’s 61 percent (or 22), said Analysys Mason.

The report noted that sharing network coverage has allowed operators in Europe to cost-effectively expand into new market segments including 3G and LTE. Some of the European telecom operators focus on competing by differentiating their services rather than their coverage.

Many APAC operators compete on network coverage and do not engage in active network sharing. This will result into lack of monetization.

Markets such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand do not have any active network sharing agreements. Active network sharing refers to sharing of active electronic infrastructure and radio spectrum. Shared equipment includes: antennas, feeder cables, radio access networks (RANs), base transceiver stations (BTSs)/Node Bs, BSC/RNC, backhaul (transmission) and microwave radio equipment.

Reluctance to share network coverage is one of the key reasons behind this trend. These players have not implemented pooling of established network infrastructure. Operators in Europe have opted for the consolidation model in nine arrangements including merging their networks.

Telecoms employ active infrastructure sharing for use cases such as rural coverage expansion, cost-effective deployment of 3G or LTE, accelerated nationwide coverage expansion, optimum utilization of established network resources, increased revenue (through wholesale arrangements), better spectrum bandwidth (through spectrum pooling) and reduced spectrum cost (as a result of joint bidding).

Some of these use cases – such as rural coverage – are key challenges for operators. Effective and creative application of active network sharing has not only allowed operators to overcome these challenges but also to benefit from them, said Analysys Mason.

TelecomLead News Team