Home 
Regions and Countries Regional Cooperation Regional Cooperation Initiatives Greater Mekong Subregion Publications Proceedings of Ministerial, Forum, and Working Group Meetings Steering Committee Meeting for the Regional Technical Assistance on the Establishment of the Backbone Telecommunications Project for the Greater Mekong Subregion - Phase 1 (RETA 5915)
Steering Committee Meeting for the Regional Technical Assistance on the Establishment of the Backbone Telecommunications Project for the Greater Mekong Subregion - Phase 1 (RETA 5915)IntroductionThe Steering Committee Meeting (the "Meeting") for the Regional Technical Assistance ("RETA 5915") on the Establishment of the Backbone Telecommunications Project for the Greater Mekong Subregion - Phase 1 ("Phase I telecoms backbone project") was held in Bangkok, Thailand on 18 December 2000. The Meeting was hosted by the Royal Thai Government, with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion ("GMS") and the ADB expressed their appreciation to the Royal Thai Government, in particular, the Post and Telegraph Department ("PTD"), the Communications Authority of Thailand, and the Telephone Organization of Thailand for the hospitality, organization, and assistance provided to the Meeting. The Meeting was convened to: (i) review the preliminary draft final report of RETA 5915; (ii) and discuss the future work program of subregional cooperation in the telecommunications sector, including the agenda for the Fifth Meeting of the Subregional Telecommunications Forum. The Meeting Agenda is attached as Appendix 1. The participants of the Meeting included delegations from the Kingdom of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Union of Myanmar, Kingdom of Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. Representatives from ADB also attended. The list of participants is attached as Appendix 2. The Meeting was chaired by Mr. Noppanat Hutacharoen, Vice President, International Telecommunications Department, The Telephone Organization of Thailand. Mr. Toru Tatara, Head, GMS Unit, ADB, co-chaired the Meeting. Opening SessionMs. Auraphan Suwanrat, Deputy Director General, The Post and Telegraph Department of Thailand ("PTD") welcomed the participants of the Meeting . She stated that modern telecommunications infrastructure helps promote economic expansion, strengthens social institutions, and promotes closer cooperation among participating countries. Ms. Auraphan enjoined the participants to thank ADB for the contribution and support extended to the GMS Program, particularly in the establishment of the backbone telecommunications project. Mr. Toru Tatara, in his Opening Statement, thanked PTD for the excellent organizations and arrangements made for the Meeting. He noted the importance to the GMS countries of the backbone telecommunications project and the associated policy and regulatory reforms, and capacity building efforts. Mr. Tatara cited the high correlation between telecommunications development and poverty reduction due to the proliferation of the Internet. In this context, the strategic thrust of the telecommunications sector under the GMS Program over the next three to four years is to expedite the development of backbone transmission lines with a view to maximizing the development impact of these networks. Complementary to this, efforts will be made to promote a secure and stable policy environment that would mobilize private sector investment and foster the growth of the telecommunications sector. Mr. Tatara informed the Meeting that the telecommunications backbone project, together with policy sector study and capacity building assistance, have been classified as high-priority "flagship" initiatives of ADB's assistance to the GMS Program. Mr. Dong-Soo, Pyo, ADB, provided an overview of RETA 5915. Mr. Pyo summarized the components of the Phase I and II backbone telecoms projects, before and after revision. The Savannakhet-Dong Ha connection was moved from Phase II to Phase I, while the portion of TC10 from Tachilek to Thai border was moved from Phase I to Phase II. Another change was the extension of the Phnom Penh-Kampong Chaam-Siem Reap line to the Thai border to complete the loop. He thanked the cooperating agencies of the GMS countries, who are represented at the Meeting, for the assistance they have extended to the consultant of RETA 5915, DETECON of Germany. He also thanked PTD for providing a home base for the consultant Draft Final Report of RETA 5915Messrs. Werner Grubler, and Norbert Grimm, and Gerd Johnen, Consultants under RETA 5915 ("Consultants"), presented the preliminary draft final report ("Report"). The Consultants covered the following major areas of the study: (i) traffic forecasts; (ii) network design and project components; (iii) operations, administration, and maintenance organization after network expansion; (iv) financial analysis and financing options; and (v) environmental and social impact. Traffic forecasts were obtained based on the real values from 1995 to 1997 and on live measurement values from 1998 to 1999. These values are considered sufficient to surmise a trend, and calculate forecasts up to the year 2011. Since the completion of the feasibility study of the East Loop, all the necessary minimum required facilities to establish an East Loop are expected to be completed by the beginning of 2001. The only bottleneck is the limited capacity in Cambodia. The Report recommended that Phase I be implemented in four stages, namely: (i) Stage 1: Completion of the East Loop; (ii) Stage 2: Optimization of the East Loop which will establish the E1 connections with path protection on the existing network to be capable of carrying the expected traffic between and among the four countries up to 2003 with minimum investment; (iii) Stage 3: Upgrade of the East Loop which involves upgrades of the SDH-Network necessary in Cambodia, Thailand, and Viet Nam; and (iv) Stage 4: Additional Routes which will set up five additional fiber routes in order to improve the availability and quality of service and open the East Loop to Yunnan Province of the People's Republic of China ("PRC"). Stage 4 represents the biggest part in the Phase I project. The Report also detailed the requirements for a modern approach to Telecommunications Network Management ("TMN"), and made recommendations for the implementation and structure of such TMN. In line with the establishment of the telecommunications backbone network, some Mission Critical Tasks were recommended to be executed prior to or at least in parallel to the implementation of the network itself. These are: (i) Policy and Tariff Study; (ii) Accounting and Billing Study; (iii) Call Event Recording Study; (iv) Numbering Study; (v) Telecommunications Management Network Study; (vi) Synchronization Study; and (vii) Signalling No. 7 Study. The financial results show clearly that the telecommunications backbone network project is viable under economic conditions. The total costs of the telecommunications network project were estimated at $77.8 million, which is six percent higher than the estimate given in the feasibility study. Environmental impact implications of the project are negligible, and the social impact is considered favorable. The following views, comments, and suggestions were given by the Meeting to the draft final report, which will be incorporated by the Consultants in the final report: (i) the detailed work program, outcome, and benefits of Stages 2 and 3 of the implementation of the telecommunications backbone project should be reflected in the report, particularly in the list of project tasks; (ii) there is a need to elaborate in the report the methods, variables, and assumptions used in generating the traffic forecasts, including annual growth rate of traffic by routes; (iii) in view of the financing constraint facing the project, there is a need to emphasize in the report the prioritization of the various project components, especially from a loop design perspective; (iv) traffic and teledensity data would be verified when input data are given by the cooperating agencies; (v) there is a need to tackle issues related to cross-border interconnection agreements in a subsequent study since these issues are not included in the terms of reference of RETA 5915; (vi) TA studies should not form part of the borrowing program since these are usually provided to the countries in the form of grant aid; (vii) the report should make explicit that regulatory reform is clearly a prerequisite to project financing, particularly from private investors; (viii) there is a need for an explicit breakdown of the project's benefits by country, specifically, the project's internal rate of return ("IRR") based on respective traffic forecast; (ix) the composite project IRR of about 55 percent would make it difficult for the project to secure financing from concessional sources, and, as such, the policy reform content of the project and the impact on poverty reduction should be given more emphasis; (x) the inclusion of three TA studies in Phase I, namely, CCS No. 7 Signalling System and Implementation, Subregional Network Synchronization and Implementation Study, and Telecommunications Management Network Study, is crucial for the successful implementation of the investment project; (xi) there is a need to present in the report a sequencing of the TA studies and the investment project; (xii) detailed discussion of policy and regulatory issues in each country should be presented in the report; (xiii) there is no need to include the Hanoi-Vinh route in Stage 4 of the implementation schedule as financing for this component has already been secured by the Vietnamese Government; and (xiv) while the Vietnamese section of the Savannakhet-Dong Ha route is part of the telecommunications development plan of Viet Nam, financing for this component has yet to be secured, and, thus, should remain part of Stage 4. The Meeting agreed to review the Draft Final Report carefully and to submit their comments to Mr. Pyo, ADB, on or before 15 January 2000. Mr. Pyo will, in turn, forward the comments to the Consultants. The basis of the comments should be the Draft Final Report circulated during the Meeting, including the comments made thereto during the Meeting. In response to the inquiry made by Mr. Tatara as to whether the individual components of the telecommunications backbone project is part of the borrowing program of the concerned governments, namely, Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Viet Nam, the respective country delegations confirmed that the project is indeed a priority investment project. However, financing for the project has yet to be secured. The country delegations provided an update of their respective telecommunications sector, including both the physical infrastructure as well as policy and regulatory aspects. Agenda of the Fifth Meeting of the Subregional Telecommunications Forum and Future Work ProgramMr. Dong-Soo Pyo, ADB, presented the proposed draft agenda for the Fifth Meeting of the Subregional Telecommunications Forum ("STCF-5"). In addition to the usual agenda items that include country presentations on ongoing telecommunications development activities and the status of the STCF workplan, the draft agenda will include the following: (i) deregulation and liberalization of the telecommunications sector in the GMS, with examples of experience of Singapore and Sri Lanka; (ii) the relationship between information and communication technology ("ICT") and the Internet, and poverty reduction; and (iii) options and modalities for financing telecommunications infrastructure projects, including from the private sector. The Meeting agreed to the agenda items, and gave the following suggestions: (i) the expertise of the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity ("APT") and the International Telecommunications Union ("ITU") may be tapped in the session on ICT and poverty reduction; (ii) the experience of Singapore in liberalizing the telecommunications sector is most welcome; and (iii) the results of the recent meeting of the G8 countries in Okinawa, which discussed the issue of "digital divide", should be considered. The Meeting agreed that the STCF-5 will be held in late February 2001. The venue will be in Thailand. ADB and PTD will coordinate to determine the exact venue of the Meeting. Mr. Toru Tatara, ADB, presented the future work program of the GMS telecommunications sector. He explained that ADB is currently considering two project proposals for grant financing, namely the Telecommunications Sector Policy Study ("TSPS") and the Capacity Building Assistance for $1.4 million and $1 million, respectively. The projected duration of implementation of TSPS is about 18 months beginning January 2001 and that for the Capacity Building Assistance about 18 months beginning June 2001. The TSPS is considered an integral part of the proposed investment package for the telecommunications backbone project, which should form part of policy dialogue with concerned governments. This should also precede any investment project. The Capacity Building Assistance has two parts, namely, design of training program and conduct of training program. The Meeting agreed, in general, to the proposed work program of the GMS telecommunications sector, and gave the following suggestions: (i) implementation of TSPS should be made in close coordination with other agencies involved in this area, such as KfW, which is assisting Cambodia and Lao PDR in preparing a telecommunications sector policy statement; (ii) in response to (i), TSPS will look at current policy and regulatory reforms at the subregional level, i.e., issues that are common to the GMS countries, and make recommendations that could be considered by the countries; (iii) ICT and the internet should be included in the project scope of TSPS, including the capacity building requirements necessary to establish the required legal framework for their development; and (iv) there is a need to expedite the implementation of the two technical assistance studies as they will determine the timing for possible investment in the telecommunications backbone project. Other MattersA suggestion was made to put the studies concerning the GMS telecommunications sector on a website. Mr. Tatara, ADB, informed the Meeting that the GMS Program has a dedicated website, and the telecommunications sector is part of this website. The studies and other important information on the GMS telecommunications sector will be posted on the website. Mr. Pyo, ADB, suggested that the STCF create an internet-based e-group through which studies, comments, and other communications could be shared among the GMS telecommunications agencies and ADB. The Meeting welcomed the suggestion. AcknowledgementsThe GMS countries and the ADB expressed their sincere thanks and appreciation to the Royal Thai Government, in particular, the Post and Telegraph Department, for the wonderful hospitality, excellent arrangements, and tremendous assistance provided to the Meeting.
|
© 2008 Asian Development Bank Privacy | Terms of Use |
 Top of page |
Back