Convergence

This is the new buzz-word for what is happening to technology right now, and it's affecting the developing world in a big way. Gone are the days of categorizing technologies (and IFC investment projects) according to which segment of ICT they belong to - everything is coming together. And it's happening faster than anyone could have predicted. Even more surprisingly, the developing world is one of the incubators for this technological revolution, but first, what exactly is convergence?

10 years ago, a telecommunications project was exactly that - investing in a company that provided voice phone services over fixed-line networks to last-mile consumers. At the same time, cable networks and alternative technologies (DTH satellite, MMDS) provided video services to consumers. More recently began the laying-out of broadband networks to provide data transmission services. Then, mobile phones happened, and at the same time was born the realization that many of these networks could be used to transmit the types of data that others were exclusively providing. What does this mean?

It means there are no boundaries. Today, a cable network can be used not only to provide video, but also voice and data transmission services. Using VOIP (voice over IP) broadband networks can now offer voice transmission that rivals the quality and beats the price of traditional telecom offerings. Mobile phones now provide video and internet access as well as voice connectivity. Everything is converging. In the ICT industry, there are exciting opportunities for companies that are able to implement a converged platform - this is called a triple or quadruple play. A triple play includes wireline phone service, video and data (internet/broadband). Quadruple would include mobile. There is even talk of the emerging quintuple play, where mobile video is also offered. This technological convergence is revolutionizing the market, changing the stakes of the game and forcing telecom operators, cable providers, mobile companies and internet service providers to offer competitive packages across the board that meet the complete communication needs of every customer.

Obviously, this competition benefits developing nations, where fixed-line incumbents can no longer rest on their laurels and are forced to offer these services to the masses at the lowest possible price. But countries with under-developed ICT networks are poised to take even greater advantage of convergence than their developed counterparts, as they have the opportunity to technologically leapfrog and design networks with converged offerings in mind. It happened with mobile, and is now going to happen with everything else - the first quintuple play is far more likely to happen in Asia than in the US.