Show Daily: What is UTStarcom's view on convergence‾ What solutions are you offering to help operators offer converged services to their customers‾
Hong Lu: We believe service bundling is integral to customer retention. However, bundling doesn't simply mean providing the customer a single bill for multiple services. Our view on convergence as a technology vendor is to provide a common core platform to manage all the network elements for the operator. Our fixed mobile convergence (FMC) solution enables operators to offer their subscribers universal access to their voice and data services, regardless of their location, device, or network-access method, with minimal impact on the existing network. For example, an end user with a dual-mode Wi-Fi/cellular handset can receive a call while at home on their Wi-Fi network, transition seamlessly to the cellular network as they drive to work and then shift back to the Wi-Fi network in their office when they arrive.
What developments in the wireless industry do you see taking shape over the next few years‾
We believe the next phase in communications will be the expansion of affordable wireless communications to regions of the world that were previously thought to be unreachable. Wireless technologies like all-IP CDMA network solutions have become so portable and self-sufficient that they can be deployed in virtually any environment or scenario to provide voice and data service within hours. For example, in the wake of hurricane Katrina, Qualcomm deployed IP CDMA technology on the rooftops of New Orleans to provide communications for emergency first-responders. SeaMobile, a leading provider of advanced at-sea wireless voice communications and data applications, recently announced deployment of IP CDMA technology aboard cruise ships and other nautical vessels to provide voice and data services at sea. American Airlines and Boeing have conducted test flights deploying IP CDMA to enable wireless communications aboard commercial airplanes. Even in the most remote regions of Africa, India or Latin America, where no copper infrastructure exists, local telcos are deploying IP CDMA solutions that connect to the PSTN via satellite backhaul to offer wireless communications services to people who have never had access before.
IPTV is a hot topic in the industry right now. What will be the main obstacle for telcos to get into the TV industry‾
IPTV means new revenue for carriers, but the differentiated services IPTV could provide suggest a huge potential benefit for both carriers and the subscribers they serve. With the coming of virtually infinite video-on-demand and time-shift TV, the industry is poised to witness the first radical advances in television since digital cable.
However, while subscribers are accustomed to occasional service quality issues due to traffic latency for streaming video applications on their computers, they will have limited tolerance for similar issues that affect their long-familiar TV watching experience. Unlike other services like high-speed Internet access, IPTV must compete, in both quality and breadth of service, with a long-entrenched incumbent standard bearer: cable TV. To compete successfully, carriers will have to exceed the current cable offering by overhauling their existing network architectures to enable greater capacity and flexibility. Unlike their cable competitors, whose network equipment investments suggest gradual optimization, carriers have a unique opportunity to leapfrog currently available offerings by delivering a radically improved TV viewing experience to subscribers.
What sets UTStarcom apart from other vendors that it competes with globally‾
When we started UTStarcom back in 1995, we used to say, 'We win when our customers win.' From our inception, UTStarcom was focused on developing solutions that solved our customers' problems and helped them succeed.