Abstract The information contained in this Article refers mainly to the convergence of the media through the same network and communication medium "The Triple Play".
We can say that technological development, focusing on Triple Play, has managed to integrate, or converge Voice, Video and Data through the communication protocols of IP networks and some other auxiliary protocols.
With the digitization of the aforementioned media, it has been possible to transmit the signal through the same channel, and, when we speak of digitization, we are referring to the fact that Voice, Video and Data are converted into packages that can be easily identified by the transmission and reception equipment (modems), in which each packet has the priority and quality of transmission service that the signal requires, avoiding partial or total loss of it.
The progress currently being made in Mexico on this issue is already encouraging, at this time it is already operating in 4 cities of the Republic (Tijuana, Guadalajara, Querétaro and Toluca), and in all cases they have been made through alliances, and expects that by the middle of this year Telmex, the largest telecommunications provider in Mexico, will enter into Operation.
It is contemplated that shortly the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) will also enter the Triple Play fight, which can only be a supplier to the Carriers, that is, it will lease its infrastructure to the Operators that want to offer the service, but do not have with a network through which they can reach the end user.
Development
A few years ago it was only considered a dream to be able to manage telephony, Internet and pay television through a single communication medium (the Media Convergence), although these services already exist, in the vast majority of countries they are still managed by separate, but today this integration is already a reality, the so-called Triple Play, but it certainly has its complications.
With the digitization of telephone calls, digital technology is integrated into the world of telecommunications, the voice is captured by a converter that transforms it into a signal of zeros and ones (data) that travel through the cable, so that later the other end to be converted back into the voice that originally originated it, for this the only thing that is required to understand is that through the cables, instead of traveling electrical impulses subject to the conditions of the environment, now zeros and ones travel, which by the speed at which they do it and are interpreted, is something instantaneous that, after all, offers us a better quality of service, the ease of transmitting it through a wide variety of media and having a greater coverage.
As an example of this digital technology, we can mention the new high definition television which handles the same concept of zeros and ones, in order to receive an image without problems and free of errors.
On the other hand, IPTV uses a packet network to be transported, so we could consider IPTV an application layer service in the OSI model. The broadcasting of TV content on IP networks makes use of multicast techniques that today can be implemented on IP networks.
Communications trend
Internet connections, since they were made with rudimentary analog modems (a device that converted data between computers) to the most modern broadband links, share their binary processing, that is, the sending of data. This has been followed by cellular telephony, satellite television and recently also cable television service.
This trend of Integration is the future of Networks, where:
1. The voice Integra:
to. Basic call processing
i. connection, disconnection, call transfer, call waiting, caller ID, etc.
b. Messages Applications.
i. Voicemail
c. Advanced call processing applications
i. Automatic redial
ii. Directories
iii. Presence
iv. Automatic reception
v. IVR
vi. Privacy
vii. Contact centers
2. The video Integra:
to. Video on demand
b. Cable television
c. Videoconferences
d. Interactive Multimedia
3. The data comprise:
to. Internet service
b. Hosting of pages
c. Transactions
d. Any computing operation in a distributed way
The trend of the providers of this technology is oriented to offer increasingly reliable and economically attractive services, which would have a great benefit for the end consumer, and, in turn, these providers would obtain:
- Increase market penetration Improve customer retention Increase your revenue per user And finally increase the profitability of your companies.
Global evolution of networks
In the following figure we can see the evolution that has taken place in the world of Networks, here we can see how the IP communication Protocol prevails as the protocol that can make transmission possible in the New Generation Networks.
Early 90's: Everything was handled separately
Mid 90's: The IP protocol is more effective than TDM
There is a significant growth in IP applications
Massive Voice, Data and Video Transmission
Beginning of 00's: MPLS benefits are
in. DWDM-based transport networks begin
It's the outbreak of the Internet.
Today: It is the stage of convergence of Networks, technologies and Global Applications Mobile / Fixed Services
“The use of MPLS (Multi Protocol Level Switching) protocols, together with the large capacity supported by optical networks based on DWDM (Dense Wavelength Dvision Multiplexing), is shown as an ideal combination to face the challenge of future converged networks. This combination is reflected in what has been called MPλS (Multi-Protocol Lambda Switching), or more commonly, GMPLS (Generalized Multi-Protocol Level Switching) ”.
In short, GMPLS is an evolution of MPLS, which is intended to be used not only by packet switching devices. GMPLS can therefore be seen as an integrator of optical and data architectures, and as such, its development requires improvements to the signaling and IP routing protocols currently in place to extend them to the optical environment.
Preview of the triple play in Mexico
Triple Play in Mexico is already a reality, currently there is this Service in four cities of the Republic, which are, Tijuana (Cablemas in alliance with Axtel offer this service), in Querétaro (Provided by Maxcom in alliance with Megacable), Toluca (Maxcom in alliance with Cablenet) and in Guadalajara (Megacable in alliance with Bestel) and it is expected that this year the expansion will reach other cities including Mexico City, where it only remains for the Convergence Agreement to enter into force. which is the legal and technical regulatory framework for this modality.
Both cable and telephony operators are betting heavily on this market, trying to provide the service as soon as possible and grab the largest number of End Users.
But it is also true that clients will obtain savings of up to 25%, depending on the number of contracted services, the places in which it is already operating, 15% of their clients have Triple Play, and 32% have Double Play. Play 8 Either Telephone and Internet, or Telephone and Television.
Comparative diagram of the services offered by the Same Medium Vs Current Service
A very important player that will soon enter the fight is the CFE (Federal Electricity Commission), which is already in testing to be able to deliver Triple Play services through its infrastructure. Many of the cable or telephone companies that want to offer their Triple Play services will no longer have to depend on the facilities of Telefonos de México (TELMEX) to reach their customers.
The CFE will not be able to directly offer Triple Play services, it will only be limited to leasing its installed capacity to any operator with which an agreement is established.
The Federal Telecommunications Commission (COFETEL) has already authorized a concession so that the CFE can transmit signals through its electrical network to the entire Republic, it is only waiting for the SCT to deliver the concession.
Let us not lose sight of the fact that the CFE has an electrical network of 46,668 Kilometers and serves 22.8 Million Customers and a coverage of 98% of Mexican homes, with this it would become the largest telecommunications provider in the Country, as mentioned previously, it does not pretend to be the Internet provider for end users, it would only be the “Carrier of Carriers” a company that rents its existing infrastructure.
One of the big monopolies that is still in Mexico is TELMEX, which until now is the largest telecommunications operator in the country, would be seriously affected by the entry of the CFE to the Triple Play fight, it would not be a blow deadly but very painful.
The tests that the CFE is carrying out are being carried out with Power Line Communication (PLC) technology, where these systems allow the transmission of Voice, Video and Data through the Electric lines. Thus, a user to be able to access the Internet, Video or Voice would have to connect or plug into an electrical outlet with the help of a Special Modem.
Potential market and with electricity
Telmex is expected to enter into operation with Triple Play in the middle of this year, and with CFE the delay will be a little longer, it already has successful tests carried out in Morelia, State of Mexico and Monterrey in a closed circuit, mainly in localities where employees of the electricity company are located.
In the legal field, a battle is also being waged in which the Federal Telecommunications Law has not been able to prevent anti-competitive behavior, at the same time that the Federal Competition Commission (CFC) has played an ineffective role in protecting unfair competition in some telephone operators, and finally the so-called Televisa Law, which is the new Radio and Television Law that has been highly criticized for the following:
“Radio and television channels use a space in the radioelectric spectrum to be able to transmit. This space is limited and is concessioned by the government for its use and commercialization. With the emergence of new technologies such as high definition television and others, spaces that currently occupy TV channels will be freed up, that is, it will not require as much space or bandwidth to transmit, leaving free space for other channels and other services such as telephony and Internet "
In other countries such as the United States, this resource that was left free has been retaken by the government to sell it again, this has benefits for the country because it is an additional income, and for the consumer because more and new telecommunications services will be created.
In Mexico this will not happen like this. Our deputies and senators approved a law that, instead of retaking this new space, will literally give it away to Televisa, TV Azteca and anyone who has a TV channel, promoting the creation of Monopolies and ignoring the recommendations of the CFC.
Conclusions
This New Generation of Networks also called Triple Play is something that little by little is going to involve us, obtaining with this the advantages that this technology will bring, since considerable savings can be obtained by hiring any of the services it handles (Video, Telephony or broadband Internet).
Triple Play technology is something that is already in operation in several countries around the world, and even in several states of the Mexican Republic.
As part of the technological advance, and in particular the advancement of networks under the IP communication Protocol, great advances have been made to the point where almost any type of communication can be delivered (Pay TV, Radio, Telephony and Internet), converging on the same transmission medium "EL TRIPLE PLAY".
The waiting time for the benefits of Triple Play to reach us all is practically over. Speaking in particular of Mexico, it has already begun its foray into this technology, and very soon it is expected to have one of the most advanced technologies for the delivery of this service through the electrical infrastructure, something that in other advanced countries in the management of the Triple Play could not be achieved.
This shows us that in the world of Technology there is always something new that we can take advantage of, the limit is only in our imagination.
Premise
"There is always a better method, it's just a matter of looking for it"
Bibliography
1. América Economía Magazine. Mexico Edition. Oct 20 - Nov 9, 2006. Pages 26 - 28
2. Millennium Weekly Business Magazine. June 2006. Pages 34 - 36
3. Official Website of the National Chamber of the Cable Telecommunications Industry (CANITEC)
4. Diario de Yucatán. www.yucatan.com.mx. Economy Section. Issue of January 17, 2007
5. The Universal. www.eluniversal.com.mx. Finance Section. Issue of September 25, 2006. Issue of October 3, 2006
6. Official Website of the Federal Electricity Commission.
