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US restrictions sound death knell for Huawei?
ByRob Bratby 19 August 202019 August 2020

The US has updated its rules to prevent Huawei’s access to commercially available chips that use US technology in a move that could sound the death knell for the Chinese telecoms firm. Under new restrictions, announced on Monday 17 August by the US Commerce Department, companies globally will need to obtain a licence to sell…

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Broadband | China | Commercial activity | Foreign direct investment | Government policy | Mobile | Regulatory action | Telecoms | UK | US

UK excludes Huawei from 5G
ByRob Bratby 14 July 202021 July 2020

UK excludes Huawei from 5G and broadband networks: the UK Government has announced a U-turn on Huawei’s involvement in 5G networks, following a meeting of the National Security Council, that will delay 5G rollout by two to three years and increase costs by up to £2 billion.

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ASEAN | Brexit | China | Cloud computing | Commercial activity | Corporate governance | Court decision | Data protection | EU | Foreign direct investment | Government policy | M&A | Media | Outsourcing | Payment | Regulatory action | Technology | Telecoms | UK | US

Goodbye from Watching the Connectives
ByRob Bratby 30 March 201716 April 2020

To all my readers, thank you and goodbye. This blog is now an ex-blog.

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ASEAN | Commercial activity | Myanmar | Payment | Telecoms

Myanmar mobile banking and payment: where to start?
ByRob Bratby 20 March 2015

Myanmar is currently largely a cash economy. In this post we consider the types of mobile banking and payments solutions we predict will first gain traction in the Myanmar market: remittance services and banking the unbanked. Outside Myanmar, the way people bank and pay has been revolutionised: from the introduction of credit cards, telephone banking and…

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Broadband | China | Commercial activity | Fixed | Mobile | Telecoms | UK

Insight to China, India and Japan’s communications markets from Ofcom report
ByRob Bratby 13 December 2013

Ofcom this week published its most recent report comparing the UK’s communications (telecoms, TV, radio, web and post) market with 16 other countries, including China, India and Japan. Whilst Ofcom’s press releases have focused on the comparatively good performance of the UK (which oddly enough seems to reflect well on the UK regulator – Ofcom),…

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ASEAN | Commercial activity | EU | Hardware | Mobile | Myanmar | Services | Singapore | Software | Technology | Telecoms | UK | US

Why bring your own device (BYOD) is not just an IT issue
ByRob Bratby 8 March 2013

I was fortunate this week to be both a speaker and a panellist at Questex Asia’s ‘BYOD and Mobile Security conference held in Singapore. It turned out I was the only lawyer in a room of 200 plus IT people, which was an interesting experience. Having made my presentation (Olswang_Asia_BYOD_presentation) my conversations with delegates brought home…

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ASEAN | China | Commercial activity | Myanmar | Singapore | Telecoms

The importance of understanding ‘face’ for doing business in Asia
ByRob Bratby 22 January 2013

Whilst the focus of this blog is the intersection of telecoms and technology with law and regulation, it does occasionally stray into ‘softer’ topics. With the first anniversary of our Singapore office coming up after the lunar new year, I was reflecting on what I had learnt in my time here. Just after arrival I had blogged about the importance of…

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ASEAN | China | Commercial activity | Government policy | Media | Myanmar | Singapore | Technology | Telecoms

ADB’s Asia growth forecast highlights importance of services sector
ByRob Bratby 4 October 2012

When I opened my (electronic) Financial Times this morning, the headline ‘China slowdown hits Asian growth hopes’ seemed rather gloomy. As an expat European, I was bracing myself for bad news to follow, so was rather cheered to read the actual growth forecast for the region of 6.1%. Whilst that is a downward revision from the 6.9% forecast earlier in…

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Commercial activity | Court decision | Government policy | Hardware | M&A | Media | Mobile | Satellite | Services | Software | Technology | Telecoms

How serious is India about foreign investment as an engine for growth?
ByRob Bratby 13 April 2012

I will be spending next week in Mumbai and Delhi (with @singarbitration), and in preparation have been contemplating the impact of the recent budget proposals on foreign investment, and in turn the implications for the Indian economy. Before going on any trip, I like to remind myself of some basic economic facts, so my trusty EIU ‘World…

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Commercial activity | Foreign direct investment | Government policy | Media | Mobile | Myanmar | Technology | Telecoms

Is Myanmar the next destination for investment in telecoms, media or technology?
ByRob Bratby 9 April 2012

Following recent political reforms in Myanmar and the recent electoral success of Aung San Suu Kyi‘s National League for Democracy, Myanmar is currently flavour of the month as an investment destination, and could soon see significant investment in telecoms infrastructure. However, whilst there are opportunities Myanmar is starting out on a long journey that could be derailed very…

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ASEAN | Broadband | China | Commercial activity | EU | Fixed | Hardware | M&A | Mobile | Myanmar | Services | Singapore | Software | Technology | Telecoms

Continued growth in Asian technology, media and telecoms sectors in 2012 despite Eurozone troubles
ByRob Bratby 23 February 2012

With the launch party of Olswang Asia happening tonight, I have been musing on the economic outlook for Asia in 2012 and beyond. At a very micro-level I have been very pleasantly surprised by the (extraordinarily high) level of interest in our launch and it looks like the party tonight will be standing room only. I wondered if…

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Commercial activity | Court decision | M&A | Mobile | Telecoms

Indian Supreme Court decision in Vodafone tax case good news for international investors in India
ByRob Bratby 22 January 2012

The judgement of India’s Supreme Court on 20 Jan in the Vodafone tax case, removes (at least for now) some of country-specific risk that has been holding back investment by multi-national companies in India. Reduction in perceived risk is likely to encourage more investment in India by multi-national companies, particularly as Indian growth is driven to a…

Read More Indian Supreme Court decision in Vodafone tax case good news for international investors in India