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
