EoW May 2010

EuroWire – May 2010

“Direct-current transmission is also undergoing a modest revival on

land,”Mr Wald wrote. “Over long distances its line losses are smaller

and ows are easier to control. Two recent proposals for a centrally

planned overhaul of the North American electric grid called for

heavy use of direct current.” In this connection he also reported

that new technology o ered by two European engineering rms

(Siemens, of Germany, and ABB Ltd, of Switzerland) has lowered

the cost for some direct-current projects, and shrunk the size of

the terminals in which AC is converted to DC and back – “a crucial

consideration in urban projects.”

Telecom

Reviewing its earthquake-

ravaged communications system, does

Haiti see its future as copper-free?

Except for cellphones, the population of Haiti was largely cut o

from communication after the devastating 12

January earthquake

that destroyed the country’s already inadequate network for phone

and Internet service. But,

Washington Post

sta writer Cecilia Kang

has written, “Out of the rubble, one USA wireless industry pioneer

sees opportunity.” The pioneer is John W Stanton, CEO of Trilogy

International Partners (Bellevue, Washington), who recommends

that Haitians not rebuild their copper wire communications network

but instead go exclusively mobile. In a keynote speech delivered

March in Las Vegas at a CTIA-The Wireless Association trade show,

Mr Stanton called for the Haitian government to create an all-wireless

nation with stronger networks for a population of nearly 10 million.

(“Telecom Companies Seek to Make Haiti a Mobile Nation,” 24

March)

But Mr Stanton’s ambitions for Haiti go further. He said, “We see

Haiti as a model for information and communications services in the

twenty- rst century. Our vision for the rebuilding of Haiti is to leapfrog

older technologies and create a wireless platform that will become

a foundation for a new economic ecosystem. Haiti can be the rst

‘copper-free’ country in the world. Haiti can have a rst-class telecom

infrastructure without landline service.” Ms Kang reported that the

Stanton vision for a Haitian economy built on mobile technology

would require getting Port-au-Prince to release more spectrum to

commercial carriers for promoting business and banking as well as

general-purpose phone use. Mr Stanton pledged that his company

– which also owns wireless communications systems in Bolivia,

New Zealand, and in Haiti’s neighbour the Dominican Republic –

would commit from $80 million to $100 million to expand its network

in Haiti. “Trilogy owns Haiti’s second-largest cellphone company, Voilà,”

Ms Kang wrote. “The three cellphone providers there – Voilà, Digicel

and Haitel – compete vigorously for customers who have come to

rely on cellphones even more after the earthquake. But only about

30 per cent of the population has [a cellphone].” Experts consulted by

the

Post

pointed out the risk for the Haitian government in accepting

the Stanton proposal, because “fat” bre networks would still be

needed to serve hospitals, schools and government buildings. Robert

Atkinson, president of the Information Technology & Innovation

Foundation (ITIF), a Washington-based independent think tank, said,

“This could be a good strategy even for as long as 20 years. I just don’t

see it as an ultimate strategy because at a certain point you need xed

wire for services that require more bandwidth.”

But Ms Kang noted that, as Haiti begins to reconstruct houses,

❈

government buildings and key infrastructure, some experts see

a blank canvas of opportunity – and a more robust cellphone

network as the fastest way to a linked-up populace.