Opening Keynote: Broadband Wireless Technology to Bridge the Digital Divide in Asia Pacific
Mr. Worapat Tiewthanom, Deputy Permanent Secretary-Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, Thailand

Mr. Worapat Tiewthanom will address how broadband wireless technology can help emerging countries to bridge the digital divide. Spectrum allocation and policy around wireless broadband will also be addressed during this keynote presentation.

Yankee Group will share its most recent WiMAX market outlook for the Asia Pacific region. A forecast of WiMAX subscriber base and equipment CAPEX will be presented. Wireless broadband and mobile Internet related consumer and SMB survey information will also be shared with the audience. Particularly, Dr. Marshall will discuss service providers' mobile Internet and WiMAX Strategy.

Mature Asian markets such as South Korea, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan have been leading 3G mobile Internet markets. The availability of mobile WiMAX technology has created a new opportunity in personal broadband markets. This keynote will assess the technology reality when deploying WiMAX for launching mobile Internet services.

Mature Asian markets such as South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan have been leading 3G Mobile Internet markets. WiMAX represents a new kind of always-on, ubiquitous personal broadband opportunity for service providers in these mature markets. In this session, Dr. Kim will present Korea Telecom experience with WiBRO and recent WiMAX licensees from Japan and Taiwan will discuss their mobile Internet and WiMAX strategy for mature Asian markets.

In this session, Dr. Kim will present Korea Telecom’s experience with the development and marketing of WiBRO services, and Dr. Luo will discuss Chungwha Telecom’s strategy for mobile Internet and WiMAX in Taiwan.

Several Indian operators have chosen WiMAX to provide broadband connectivity, and VSNL is already offering enterprise WiMAX services in Bangalore. Like many emerging markets, India is very cost sensitive and adopting Mobile WiMAX technology is very important to drive down the TCO of wireless broadband services. However, the deployment of Mobile WiMAX in another 50-60 cities in India must be compatible with the current spectrum allocation of 5 Mhz at 3.3 Ghz. In this keynote, the head of wireless engineering and implementation for VSNL, a leading Indian operator, will share its Mobile WiMAX strategy with the WiMAX World Asia audience.

Broadband adoption has been limited due to a lack of fixed broadband infrastructure in the emerging Asian markets. Wireless broadband technology such as WiMAX has great potential in providing broadband connectivity in the emerging market. A leading WiMAX vendor will share its experiences in helping service providers in this market.

The availability of suitable licensed spectrum is critical for WiMAX deployments. This regulatory roundtable gathers regulators from Asia Pacific markets to discuss WiMAX policy for digital inclusion and economic development.

Buzz Broadband is using the first WiMAX Forum Certified™ solution to offer high-speed broadband and VoIP connectivity to nearly 150,000 customers across a 30,000 square kilometer region of Queensland, Australia. The OPEL joint venture received a $958 million grant from the Australian Government under the Australia Connected program to build, manage and promote a rural and regional broadband network that will enable wholesale providers and retail ISPs to serve the current and future needs of rural and regional consumers and businesses in Australia. Speaking on behalf of the joint venture between Optus and Elders, Mr. Horley will describe OPEL's plans for WiMAX broadband network infrastructure across all states as well as Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory to be built by 30 June 2009.

REDtone International was recently awarded the 2.3GHz WiMax spectrum to operate in Sabah and Sarawak, and is set to further expand its broadband market following a network partnership that will provide the company access to the 2.5GHz and 3.5GHz frequency bands in Peninsular Malaysia. PacketOne Networks has also recently been granted a license and will soon be rolling out a WiMAX network soon for Malaysia. These wireless broadband regional operators will share their WiMAX deployment experiences and plans for economic development and ROI via providing real world business cases.

Serving Two Masters Successfully: Macro Economic Growth and Operator Profitability
Nick Bromhead, Senior Consultant, Wireless Broadband, Nortel

Various international studies show that broadband will be a key economic enabler in the 21st century. As a key broadband access technology, Mobile WiMAX has a clear role to play particularly in Asia. This presentation examines how macro economic growth is best served by striking the right balance between competition and profitable operators in the Mobile WiMAX sector.

This roundtable of leading WiMAX technology suppliers will discuss the evolution of the ecosystem, and the following topics:

Good user experiences are essential for WiMAX to be successful. This panel will discuss in the real world how WiMAX can deliver on its promise. Particularly, the panel will discuss how WiMAX can provide faster, DSL-like data speed in comparison to existing 3G services with a good cost/performance ratio and a wide array of reasonably priced mobile devices.