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
