Urban Optical Network Encounters Promotion Bottleneck

The broadband speed-up campaign of "fiber replacing copper" is spreading nationwide, replacing traditional copper cables with superior optical fiber, which will boost network speeds by tenfold or even dozens of times over current levels. However, telecom operators are encountering numerous issues in advancing fiber broadband network construction.

Zeng Jianqiu, a professor at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, recently stated that broadband has become a key indicator of national core competitiveness, and advancing fiber broadband network construction cannot rely solely on operators. He called for the early introduction of a national broadband strategy.

This Is Not Just a Corporate Matter

Regarding the issues telecom operators face in advancing fiber network construction, Zeng Jianqiu said: "Fiber broadband network construction is a major matter concerning national welfare and people's livelihoods. Although operators are currently leading the push, this should not be viewed purely as a corporate activity of operators. The government should increase its support, and the existing problems will naturally be resolved."

Ji Ti, Director of the Shanghai Communications Engineering Supervision Center, believes that property management companies charging entry fees and obstructing fiber renovation in residential communities are merely surface issues. The root cause lies in the fact that fiber broadband network projects should not be driven by operators alone. "As the infrastructure of 'smart cities,' such a massive project is no less significant than the telecommunications boom of the 1980s and 1990s. Can the government provide strong support in terms of supporting facilities, funding, taxation, and policies, just as it did back then?" Ji Ti said.

In April last year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and six other national ministries jointly issued the "Opinions on Promoting Fiber Broadband Network Construction," which noted that China's fiber broadband network has gradually begun deployment, but difficulties remain in in-community network deployment. Resolving these issues requires policy guidance and support.

Wang Jianhua, a branch manager at an operator, works on the front line of promoting fiber broadband network construction and feels this deeply. "Many people simply view fiber-to-the-home as a corporate activity. For example, some community property management companies say: 'You are doing your own company's business—why should we cooperate with you?'" Faced with the uncooperative attitude of some communities, Wang Jianhua feels helpless.

Government Impetus Is Gradually Strengthening

"With government support, the work becomes much easier," Wang Jianhua said with deep feeling. In March this year, the town government in Wang Jianhua's area organized a meeting of neighborhood committee directors, during which town government officials introduced the urban optical network. "This has greatly helped our work. Some communities that were previously difficult to negotiate with have now changed their attitudes," Wang Jianhua said.

The government is paying increasing attention to fiber broadband network projects. It is understood that the "Several Opinions on Strengthening the Promotion of Fiber-to-the-Home Construction in This Municipality," drafted under the leadership of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, will soon be released. "A few days ago, the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization had already solicited opinions and suggestions from relevant departments, and it should be published before World Telecommunication Day on May 17," Ji Ti said. The opinions fully emphasize leveraging the coordinating, promoting, supervising, and managing roles of district and county governments, extensively mobilizing sub-districts, townships, neighborhood committees, and village committees to guide property management companies in actively supporting fiber-to-the-home policies. Although the opinions have not yet been released, some government departments have already begun taking strong measures to advance fiber broadband networks. Shanghai's Changning District has proposed the goal of building a "smart highland," adding fiber coverage to 100,000 households in 2011, with home broadband access rates reaching above 8M; by 2012, 100M home broadband access capability coverage will reach 100%, with an average home access bandwidth of over 20M. To achieve this goal, Changning District and its sub-districts have established a coordinated promotion body for "urban optical network entering communities," specifically incorporating information infrastructure construction into the district's annual practical project assessment, requiring sub-district leaders to personally implement and advance the work level by level. In Shanghai's Yangpu District, government departments are also intensifying efforts to advance fiber broadband network construction. "The government will make plans, define standards and requirements, and require new buildings to reserve fiber conduits directly during construction. For the difficulties in advancing in older residential communities, government departments at all levels (sub-districts, neighborhood committees, etc.) will assist in communication and resolution," said a relevant person from Yangpu District.

A National Broadband Strategy Is Widely Anticipated

Although fiber broadband network construction is in full swing and local governments have increased their support, Zeng Jianqiu believes that broadband network development must be promoted at the national level, and a national broadband strategy should be introduced as soon as possible.

Zeng Jianqiu stated that fiber broadband network projects will drive GDP growth and promote the transformation of China's economic development model. Research by the World Bank shows that every $1 invested in broadband can generate a $10 return for society as a whole. "The opinions on promoting fiber network construction issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other departments last April do not constitute a national strategy. The national broadband strategy should be introduced as soon as possible—it cannot rely solely on operators to build," he said.

After the outbreak of the international financial crisis in 2008, developed countries in Europe and America all proposed their own broadband strategies, generally setting 100M broadband as the upgrade target. Some countries even proposed development goals of 1Gbps bandwidth, providing support in policies and funding through public capital investment, establishing universal broadband service funds, offering preferential loans, reducing and exempting taxes and fees, and accelerating equipment depreciation. For example, the United States announced it would increase its universal service fund from $8.7 billion in 2010 to $15.5 billion over the next 10 years for broadband penetration.

In fact, industry experts have been calling for the introduction of a national broadband strategy in recent years. At this year's National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference sessions, Tong Guohua, a National People's Congress deputy and President of the Wuhan Research Institute of Posts and Telecommunications, proposed a recommendation calling for the state to formulate a broadband strategy, take the lead in promoting fiber-to-the-home, and genuinely assume the role of promoter and payer of the national broadband strategy by establishing special funds for broadband penetration, tax rebates, and subsidies to increase financial support for enterprises.