Ericsson took advantage of CommunicAsia to demonstrate its high-capacity broadband and TV solutions. Its portfolio includes solutions for fixed and mobile broadband, transport, core networks and IP Multimedia Subsystem, enabling an efficient network evolution to an all-Internet protocol operation.

Focusing on delivering broadband to anyone, anywhere and on any device, Ericsson’s solutions are suited for operators keen on riding the broadband growth bandwagon.

Ericsson showcasing high-capacity broadband and TV solutions.

In Southeast Asia, Malaysia currently leads broadband adoption with over 1.35 million subscriptions, said Ericsson Malaysia’s regional manager, Consumer Lab Southeast Asia Vishnu Singh.

Still, the potential for growth is high, what more with the total adoption rate for the region at less than five per cent at present, he added.

Ericsson Malaysia’s vice president, strategy Christian Hedelin highlighted that Ericsson’s research through Consumer Lab showed that the main reasons for people not having broadband access were expensive pricing and unavailability.

While technology such as High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) can address the availability issue, the challenge for operators is making their services affordable.

“Our recent survey shows that for US$20 (RM66) per month, less than

20 per cent of users in Bangladesh think it is affordable. For Malaysia, people in smaller cities such as Ipoh, Kuala Terengganu and Johor Baru tend to think similarly,” Hedelin said.

He pointed out that Ericsson helps operators address the pricing issue by bringing down cost

per bit through the use of power-efficient terminals, delivering a wider spectrum, and providing intelligent traffic shaping and priority handling, among others.

To fibre up the region will take many years, so radio is a faster way to deliver broadband to the masses, according to Ericsson Southeast Asia’s president Jan Signell, and that the mobile platform will soon overtake

the fixed platform. Analysts

estimate that HSPA will

connect 70 per cent of mobile broadband subscribers by 2010.

“While voice services will remain a major contributor to operator revenues, the growing demand for data services over broadband, both fixed and wireless, is driving a technology shift towards HSPA, IP and fibre. With the comprehensive solutions in our portfolio, we are able to partner with operators to offer new and advanced services to their customers and manage the increasing demand and usage of mobile data,” Signell said.