Paul Budde is the Managing Director of Paul Budde Communication (trading as BuddeComm), an independent global telecommunications research and consultancy company, which includes 45 national and international researchers in 15 countries. The company operates from Bucketty, in the Lower Hunter Valley, Australia. 
Asia has been providing serious global leadership in its application of FttH. Not appearing to be constrained by the same desire to protect legacy networks that is found in other parts of the world, a number of Asian markets are already pushing strongly into fibre networks in various forms. With Japan out in front yet again, FttH has quickly emerged as a serious broadband platform in that country. The technology in Japan has jumped from 1.5 million FttH subscribers in mid-2004 to around 10 million in mid-2007.
In 2006 and 2007 the market is seeing significant increases in carrier portal services; however they are coming from a rather low level and are still well below the PSMS market. Traditional Premium SMS (PSMS) also showed growth, but that market is set to remain static, due to the impact of the Vodafone prepaid caps restricting access to PSMS.
The future directions for the digital media is becoming clearer. The traditional media are moving into more innovative directions. The mobile and fixed telcos still keep posturing but have failed the lead they had in the market for the last 5 years.
After two years of turmoil the government has at last made a decision on how to proceed with broadband in Australia.
The stakes have been raised since bipartisan political approval has been given for spending billions of dollars on new broadband infrastructure. Some $5 billion, at least, is at issue and international interest in these developments is evident.
BuddeComm's latest Latin America Annual Publication, 2007 Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband in Latin America - Overview, profiles Mexico, the Caribbean, and the countries of Central and South America. The Latin American region has been making giant strides in the field of telecommunications since it recovered from the 1999-2003 economic recession.
Central America is a tropical isthmus that connects North and South America, and separates the Caribbean from the Pacific. It comprises the seven republics of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. The region is relatively small, extending for about 524,000km2. The land is fertile and rugged, and dominated by a string of volcanic mountain ranges.
Many utilities around the world are recognising the natural competitive advantage they have in telecommunications, via Power Line Communications, and its upgraded technology Broadband Powerline (BPL).
In recent years, Malaysia has been quietly working away at positioning itself as a technologically progressive economy. To this end it has built one of the more advanced telecom networks in the developing world. Whilst still in the process of expanding, the country's telecom sector has undergone a period of consolidation with telecom companies doing battle in an increasingly competitive and changing market. Despite the slowdown that followed the economic crisis of the late 1990s, the last decade has seen positive growth in the Malaysia's telecom sector.
Around the world, a large number of Broadband Powerline (BPL) trials have been underway for five years and longer, and BPL is performing well, when compared with most other technologies. The next step is to make the transition from the current trial status to the commercial arena, and this will require the establishment of an appropriate regulatory framework to support the technological developments that are occurring. General speaking, positive developments on that level are taking place around the globe.
