Re: Skynet Global
(ASX – SKG)
Extracts from
Communications Day …..
Communications
Day 8 January 2004 Page 2
SkyNetGlobal
on target to Wi-Fi Singapore
SkyNetGlobal
announced
yesterday that is on track to complete deployment and testing of its Singapore
Wi-Fi network comprising of 119 McDonald's restaurants, by the end of
January 2004. SkyNetGlobal plans to officially launch its Singapore Wi-Fi
network with 119 wireless hotspots February 2.
Once
completed the SkyNetGlobal Singapore public wireless network will become the
island state's largest branded chain of wireless hotspots with a potential 4.4
million visitors per month. SkyNetGlobal CEO Jonathan Soon claimed that
interest from potential new customers was strong and the operator is currently
in the process of finalising several major contracts. He also forecast that
SkyNetGlobal Singapore is expected to provide positive cash flows and
earnings to the group as early as this financial year ending June
2004.
Natalie
Apostolou
Communications
Day 13 January 2004 Page 3
•
SkyNetGlobal
yesterday
said its W Home Automation subsidiary had made a net profit of $412,971
for the half-year period ending December 31, representing what the company
claimed was a 26% increase on forecast earnings. SkyNetGlobal CEO Jonathan
Soon said, given that W Home Automation had nearly achieved its fullyear
forecast in the first half of the year, it would revise its yearly figure up
accordingly in due course.
Communications
Day 15 January 2004 Page 2
WiMAX
to vastly expand wireless broadband potential
While
everyone from courier companies to coffee shops is busily rolling out Wi-Fi
fixed wireless broadband (FWB) networks for the benefit of on-the-move
businesspeople and savvy consumers, new research from In-Stat/MDR
indicates that these remote networking segments will only represent a
portion of the market potential of FWB technology as new standards
emerge.
Wi-Fi,
based on the IEEE 802.11b standard, has been in development for over 20 years
now and there is no doubt that it fills an important need in the market,
particularly in worker flexibility. However, according to new In-Stat/MDR
postings, the emergence of FWB-specific standards like IEEE 802.16 and IEEE
802.20, those supporting the so-called WiMAX platform, will soon boost the
capabilities of wireless broadband to enter whole new revenue segments,
something In-Stat/MDR analyst Daryl Schoolar says is just over the
horizon.
”The
need for and interest in FWB is already there, with the existence of areas
that have yet to be reached by common wireline broadband technologies and
those that lack basic copper infrastructure. These emerging standards will
merely give this market the extra boost that it has
needed.”
According
to Schoolar, the 802.16 and 802.20 standards will help grow FWB in three main
applications – last mile connectivity, network backhaul and private
networking. As a result, the market will grow from US$558.7 million in 2003 to
over US$1.2 billion by the end of 2007. Growth will come from more than just
low-cost consumer/small business Internet access. Market drivers for emerging
FWB applications, such as cellular backhaul and metro Ethernet, along with
private networking, will all play important roles, Schoolar
says.
With
major backing from heavy-duty vendors like Intel and Alcatel and
Wi-Fi already attracting significant regard among operators and users, there
is little doubt that the first WiMAX gear will generate some serious interest
when it arrives later this year. The technology will vastly increase the range
of wireless hotspots and raise the prospect of copper networks being finally
condemned to the wastebasket of technology’s yesteryear.
Tim
Marshall
Communications
Day 19 January 2004 Page 2
Operators
begin to see WiMAX potential
With
new studies last week predicting that WiMAX will drive massive growth in the
fixed wireless broadband market, the industry body responsible for developing
and commercialising the technology says it has more than doubled its
membership over the past five months and that telecoms operators are starting
to open their eyes to the potential it presents.
While
the first commercial products supporting WiMAX are not expected to hit the
market until later this year, there is already considerable hype surrounding
the technology, essentially a suped-up version of Wi-Fi.
Reflecting
the growing industry-wide confidence and interest in the technology, the
WiMAX Forum claims it has significantly boosted its membership of late,
with operators such as AT&T, Covad and PCCW, as well
as vendors like Siemens and ZTE now on the books. The additions
represent a considerable diversification of the Forum’s member base from firms
concentrating more specifically on WiMAX equipment
design.
”We are
delighted to have the active participation of prominent operators,
infrastructure providers and broadband wireless application innovators that
share the belief that interoperability of standards-compliant systems are
essential to delivering cost-effective broadband services on a global scale,”
WiMAX Forum president Margaret LaBrecque said. The Forum says it now has a
membership of 67, up from 28 since its creation five months
ago.
According
to an In-Stat/MDR study posted last week, WiMAX has the potential to
radically transform the fixed wireless broadband market with its additional
reach over Wi-Fi allowing it to support applications such as cellular backhaul
and metro Ethernet and private networking. As a result, In-Stat/MDR expects
the fixed wireless broadband market to grow from $US558.7 million in 2003 to
over $1.2 billion by the end of 2007. Separate research from Allied Business
Intelligence recently pegged the market for broadband wireless equipment at
around US$1.5 billion in 2008.
Tim
Marshall
See IRG research reports
