FT-IT and FT Telecoms - Complete forward schedule
Updated: March 13 2002

Here are synopses for the next few months, and summaries of later issues of the FT-IT Review and FT Telecoms, with an updated list of contributors and correspondents. Please note: this is the only document we release which gives writers' names, where they have been decided.

The FT-IT Review and the FT Telecoms supplements are published on a regular twice-a-month format, appearing on the first and third Wednesday of each month. FT-IT takes up three of every four slots. FT Telecoms will take up the fourth slot (i.e. the third Wednesday of alternate months).

NB: The inclusion of an article in the synopsis does not necessarily guarantee the article will appear in the newspaper, because of occasional space constraints. The associated web sites, www.ft.com/ftit and www.ft.com/fttelecoms, are published on the same day as the newspaper version and carry the full list.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Background information and suggestions for articles or themes that have not yet been assigned to individual writers should be sent, by e-mail only please, to itsurveys@ft.com where they will be considered by Andrew Baxter, FT-IT editor. Please do not use individual e-mail addresses, fax numbers or post.

Once articles have been assigned, please send information directly to the writers concerned, but PLEASE THINK BEFORE YOU SEND - SPAM IS AN IRRITATION. All the writers are on e-mail, please see list of freelance writers at the end. (FT staff writers are all on firstname.surname@ft.com) Information should arrive six weeks ahead of publication.

PICTURES, ILLUSTRATIONS:
Pictures, illustrations and charts can also be sent to itsurveys@ft.com - as JPEGs, PDFs etc.

FT Telecoms - March 20 2002
Editorial copy date - March 1 2002

1. Broadband access technologies - overview
Despite the many advantages of having a fast, broadband internet connection - especially for those stuck with dial-up modem access - the spread of broadband has been slower than predicted. With the exception of South Korea, the spread of such high-speed access technologies as DSL and cable modems (described in detail in the articles below) has confounded the more sanguine forecasts. Even in North America, only 14 per cent of houses with an internet connection have broadband access, but that is a long way ahead of the overall 3.3 per cent for Europe, according to end-2001 figures from Strategy Analytics. Within Europe, too, there are big variations (9.4 per cent in Sweden, under one per cent in the UK), a situation that is blamed on the unwillingness of incumbent telcos to invest in broadband upgrading and the slow pace of local loop unbundling. In the US, the collapse last year of Excite@Home, the world's largest independent broadband company, has done little to boost confidence. Meanwhile, the almost bewildering range of technologies available has left customers confused and sitting on the fence, while high tariffs in some markets have been another deterrent. Still, many observers believe broadband has the potential to become a significant communications medium by the middle of this decade. The key, maybe, is the development of compelling broadband content that will persuade customers to sign up for high-speed internet access - the "build it and they will come" approach of the broadband pioneers is no longer tenable in the current financial climate. Geoffrey Nairn

2. Digital subscriber line (DSL)
The slow pace of local loop unbundling (at least in Europe), high prices and installation difficulties have all been factors delaying the deployment of ADSL (asymmetric DSL). But things are changing - monthly tariffs are coming down in many countries, self-installation kits are becoming available (removing the need for an engineer to visit each home that wants it) and in some countries usage is taking off. Meanwhile, alternative carriers such as Colt are successfully pushing SDSL (the symmetric variety, i.e. offering equal transmission rates "up" and "down" ) to Europe's business customers because they say it offers a better configuration for the needs of the corporate market. Incumbent operators in Europe have not followed suit, however, as they are scared of cannibalising their leased line businesses. The big technology development in the offing is the next generation VDSL (very high speed DSL), tipped by some to be the best way to deliver top-notch video-on-demand services for the consumer market. But transmission distances are much shorter than either ADSL or SDSL, so it needs to be deployed in a local network along with fibre, raising the cost. Richard Handford

3. Broadband wireless
This three-year old technology, often referred to as broadband fixed wireless access or BFWA, has had a roller-coaster ride. It was overhyped in the early days, and got a bad press in the UK after disastrous spectrum auctions. But promoters claim it is now growing rapidly and providing a valuable method of reaching subscribers that have no other way of getting a broadband connection. In the US - where there have also been failures - these providers tend to be small start-up companies, each operating in a few dozen markets. Broadband wireless has been successful too in broadband-intensive Korea, and there are also prospects in developing countries such as China, where fixed networks are too sparse or old for DSL to be practicable. On the technology side, the most important recent development is the emergence of non-line-of-sight systems, overcoming the chief drawback of this approach to solving the "last mile" problem. Stephen Phillips

4. Cable
Cable modems are the most popular way for consumers to access broadband networks. Already well established in the US, cable modem users outnumber ADSL users in the UK, and their use is growing in Europe. One of the main difficulties, however, given the financial state of the industry, is the cost of upgrading ageing cable networks to install the high-capacity hybrid/fibre coax networks that are necessary to provide broadband services. Also, the technology has, so far, mostly been marketed for home users, often in conjunction with pay TV. Is cable missing its potential for business connections? Stephen Pritchard

5. Satellite
Satellite is another wireless solution to the last mile access problem. A number of services have been launched in recent years, including two-way services such as DirectPC, and recently-introduced higher-frequency Ka-Band systems allow faster transmission rates. (For example, Astra has recently announced its broadband interactive system using the new Ka-Band system. It allows two-way high speed satellite connections which offer a return channel to the satellite at up to 2Mbps with no terrestrial links. It is expensive so will be first a business application but could also be used by operators to extend their networks to areas where there is no other capacity). Also, technologies have been developed to removed the latency caused by computer "handshake routines." But lingering concerns remain over the cost for consumers - especially as rates for competing technologies such as DSL services are coming down - and the efficacy of these systems. Priscilla Awde

6. Ethernet
Another new technology, at least in the context of a last mile solution, is Ethernet-based access. The local area network architecture was originally developed in the 1970s but recently upgraded for faster speeds. Pioneers of the new application include World Wide Packets, which is headed by one of the original Ethernet developers and believes its technology is a better alternative to all the competing, but better established approaches. Another player is Sweden's Bredbandsbolaget (B2), which is targeting the local residential market with Ethernet connections to blocks of flats. B2 is offering subscribers a guaranteed internet connection of 10 mbits/sec for 20 US dollars, against 512kb for 30 dollars offered by ADSL and cable. IP telephony, PC television and streamed television (with set top box) services will follow. B2 has proved that Ethernet to the home works technically and it is winning customer satisfaction surveys. Rod Newing

7. Powerline
This much-hyped technology allows companies to deliver Internet access via the home electrical system, but its history is chequered, with failed projects in Europe (eg Siemens in Germany and NorWeb in the UK) and the US; it is also fraught with technical problems. But it is now coming of age in certain parts of Europe, eg Germany and Austria, and as a home-networking technology in the US (i.e. as a way to link up a computer with a hi-fi with a TV etc). It is also a way round the local loop: providers can use local electrical rather than telecom hubs, although the economic case for this is better in some areas than in others. Ben Schiller

8. Free space optics
The latest technology to attract the attention of broadband providers is free space optics or free space laser, an optical wireless, point-to-point, line-of-sight broadband solution. Originally developed 30 years ago by the US military, free space optics is touted as the best wireless solution where fibre optical cable is not available, high bandwidth is required, and line-of-sight can be obtained to a target within a couple of miles or less. Analysts see a multitude of applications such as metro ring extension and Gigabit ethernet backhaul, that will generate major revenue for the FSO players. However, with the recent bankruptcy of Alúa, which had ambitions to be Europe's first big FSO player, the future of this technology is in doubt. Geoffrey Nairn

9. IP Com conference
Special report from the IP Com conference, in early February. Themes include "Making gold from copper - defining and capitalising on revenue streams via DSL services," and "Broadband IP billing platforms - competitive pricing and billing solutions." Geoffrey Nairn

Second theme - North American mobile markets

11. Overview
It is fashionable to state that Europe leads the way in mobile telephony, and there is some truth in the statement, from a technology standpoint. But the US market has developed in a different way, at a different pace, and operating within a different set of commercial realities. It is more technologically diverse (which brings its own problems), but more competitive - almost half the population or 133m people can choose from among six or more different mobile telephone operators. The financial fallout in the telecoms industry, and other factors such as spectrum allocation policy, have delayed the pace of development towards 2.5G and 3G services, but this is viewed by some as a blessing in disguise. The timing and likely success of 3G telephony remains hard to call. A recent research report from Frost & Sullivan noted that the US mobile communications industry is extremely bullish on the prospects of introducing high-speed wireless data services, but the current "market dysphoria and sudden financial constraints have given the industry a huge wake-up call." The hype and speculation surrounding the launch of 3G has been primarily driven from the supply side of the equation," says Frost & Sullivan. "The core issues for delayed timelines are lack of sufficient spectrum, complexities of network upgrades and uncertainty over timely availability of multi-functional handsets." Richard Waters, FT NY office

12. Prospects for 2.5G and 3G services
In the past year, many US mobile telephone operators made announcements regarding the deployment of 2.5G and 3G networks, but according to a recent state of the industry report from the Federal Communications Commission, many analysts and industry players believe that the widespread deployment of 3G networks and other advanced wireless technologies is still several years away, given the technological and economic obstacles. As for mobile data services, the existing range of services cover paging (more successful in the US than in Europe), e-mail, web access and SMS (less frequently used than in Europe and Japan), on a wider variety of devices than is general in Europe. The new 2.5G and 3G telephony will open the way - eventually - to strong growth in the number of consumers who participate in m-commerce. Paul Taylor, FT NY office

13. Spectrum management
In comparison with Europe, where most countries have long since awarded 3G licences, the allocation of spectrum in the US has been extremely slow. The US has not yet started 3G auctions and this will delay the deployment of 3G services. But after the problems that European operators have experienced after spending a fortune on licences in the latter days of the telecoms boom, US operators and regulators seem happy to take it slowly. There have even be suggestions that the US might wait, and go straight to 4G in ten years time. Meanwhile, the existing licensing process has been suffering from hiccoughs, as illustrated by the recent NextWave saga: The company bought licences, but was unable to build a network and went bankrupt. The licenses were confiscated and auctioned off for $15bn, prompting a legal battle that took months to resolve. The spat is important, because consumers badly need more bandwidth in congested major cities, whilst unused spectrum lies idle. Paul Taylor, FT NY office

14. Standards
The US looks likely to become a battleground between different standards for third-generation, much as it has been for 2G systems. The stage is set for a clash between the US-pioneered CDMA2000 and the W-CDMA standard, which is to be adopted for 3G in Europe. This has major implications for equipment vendors, many of whom are lined up in one particular technology camp. There appears to be a movement towards W-CDMA, leaving just Sprint PCS and Verizon to take CDMA2000 (Verizon is owned by Vodafone of the UK, which wants W-CDMA) Others plan to deploy intermediate GPRS and EDGE technologies before moving to W-CDMA. But the route towards 3G varies from carrier to carrier - AT&T Wireless, for example, plans to offer the Japanese i-mode service this year - and there is a risk of a technologically confusing marketplace developing, with incompatible systems and technologies. Rod Newing

15. View from the Top - Qualcomm's Irwin Jacobs
San Diego-based Qualcomm and its ebullient boss Irwin Jacobs are champions of the CDMA2000 standard for 3G. Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) is a digital wireless technology that was pioneered and commercially developed by Qualcomm. The first commercial CDMA2000 networks were launched in South Korea in early 2001, and are already providing service to more than 1m paying subscribers (as of September 2001), with much larger numbers expected in late 2001 and 2002 as many more North American, Latin American and Japanese carriers plan to roll out CDMA2000 services. The company claims that because CDMA2000 is evolved directly from the previous generation of proven CDMA systems, it provides the fastest, easiest, most cost-effective path to 3G services. But how is it likely to fare against Europe's competing W-CDMA standard? Tom Foremski, FT San Francisco office

16. Emergency and location-based services
In October 2001, new FCC rules came into force requiring wireless carriers to phase in automatic location identification (ALI) for 911 calls to public safety answering points that have requested it - this can be achieved in a variety of way technically (such as handset-based triangulation) and a number of carriers have announced their response. In addition to E911 purposes, ALI could potentially be used for a variety of other location-based services such as driving directions, mobile yellow pages, and the location of retailers, restaurants, or movie theatres etc. Six months on, this article looks at the effects of the new regulations in practice, for both the emergency and other applications. Jonathan Moules

16a. September 11 aftermath
A sidebar article will examine the emergency measures being set up by wireless operators in the wake of September 11. Verizon has won a contract with the US government to supply access lines in times of national emergency & all the providers have been beefing up their security measures. Verizon and others have used COWs, or cell sites on wheels, to provide emergency back-up in times of crisis, such as September 11 and the American Airlines crash on Monday. Jonathan Moules

17. Viewpoint
The head of the global wireless practice at Adventis looks at what US carriers can learn from "saturation markets" in Europe and Asia.

Other articles and regular features

1a. Alan Cane's regular viewpoint column

Extra articles for European readers*

18. Europe e-index
New series of articles on topical IT or e-business themes, based on statistical research compiled by Net Profit. David Bowen

19. Business.eu
Monthly series based on market research among to European CIOs and e-business executives. Steve Mcgee

Extra articles for North American readers*

20. Silicon Valley column
New monthly version of the Silicon Valley column, which currently appears weekly on ft.com only. Tom Foremski

21. Product Watch
New monthly product review column, looking at IT and telecom innovations - software and hardware - of relevance to individual technology users and enthusiasts. Paul Taylor

* All these articles will be carried on the FT Telecoms website of March 20 - www.ft.com/fttelecoms