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Internet preparing to go into outer space |
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After expanding across
Earth, the internet is now set to spread into outer space to reach parts no
network has gone before, one of its co-creators predicted Wednesday. Vinton Cerf
said the proposed “interplanetary” internet would allow people an ability “to access information and to control
experiments taking place far away” from Earth. Expanding into the solar
system would bring new rules and regulations too, he told an annual “Finally, the internet can
take us where no network has gone before,” said Cerf,
who is Google’s vice president and chief internet
evangelist, He said he and a team of
engineers at the California-based Jet Propulsion Laboratory would complete a
key part of the project, establishing standards for space communications like
those for internet, in three years. Cerf told a separate news conference that new standards
were needed because of the huge distances and time delays involved in
communication across space. He went on: “This effort is
now bearing fruit and is on track to be space qualified and standardized in
the 2010 time frame. “Eventually we will accumulate
an interplanetary backbone to assist robotic and manned missions with robust
communication.” Cerf, seen as a founding father of the internet with
Robert Kahn, marveled at its explosive growth in the last decade, saying it
was a trend that would continue. The number of internet
users has grown 20-fold in the past decade to about 1.2 billion people this
year, with the number of computer servers rising from 22.5 million to 489
million, he said. “Eventually,” he added,
“the entire world will have access to the services that are available on the
internet.” One of the outstanding
changes was the internet’s huge growth in “That there are so many
users in Technological changes were
occurring to keep pace with the expansion, with one of the key challenges
being a shortage of internet addresses. The internet currently
allows only 4.3 billion unique addresses -- plenty back in the 1970s but not
enough, said Cerf, who also chairs the board of the
internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). He said ICANN, which
manages domain names and addresses, was preparing to launch a new format
accommodating 340 trillion trillion trillion addresses. Cerf said ICANN would meet later this month to discuss
expanding the number of characters used for internationalised
domain names (IDNs) such as .com or .net, which now
only adopt Latin and Roman ones. “Sometime in the first half
of 2008, I expect, there will be opportunities to register IDNs using different languages other than Latin,” he
said. He said he expects
“billions of internet-enabled devices” to emerge, with items to cover nearly
all home appliances such as televisions, radios, kitchen equipment, fax
machines and printers, refrigerators and bathroom scales. |
‘Spectrum meet did not take place’
The proposed meeting between the
Communications and IT Minister, Mr A. Raja, and
National Security Advisor, Mr Narayanan, did not take
place on Wednesday. The meeting was called to discuss the issue of spectrum
vacation by the defence forces. When contacted, the
Minister’s office confirmed that the meeting did not happen though they did not
assign any specific reason. Mr Raja on Tuesday said
that he would be meeting the security advisor.
— Our Bureau
Source:
The Business Line
BSNL launches third party recharge
Staff Reporter
A release from the BSNL
said that, anyone who wishes to recharge/top up the 9443 or 9442 level prepaid
numbers have to follow the procedure. Dial 94430 00123/94420 00123 respective
from the landline or from BSNL mobile. On getting the Interactive Voice Response
System (IVRS) prompt, pleas enter the prepaid mobile number to whom the
recharge/top up to be done 91 followed by mobile number. Then the IVR would
repeat the entered mobile number and request to confirm by dialling
one or otherwise dial two to change the mobile number (account number) and
re-enter.
After this the IVR would
prompt to enter the secret code.
Then, the IVR would ask
to confirm the secret code by dialling O or to
re-enter the secret code dial one. On getting the confirmation the recharge/top
up would be made with the message that your recharge was successful.
For details, contact the
nearest mobile care centre or 95-422-2454545, 2456006/230660.
Source:
the hindu
Vrishti Beniwal
Poted online:
New Delhi, Oct 17 The mobile subscriber base in India may have swollen to over 200 million on the back of affordable handsets, but the overall satisfaction score of mobile users has declined for the first time in three years due to lack of good entertainment features in entry-level phones.
According to a study by research firm IDC, though mobile phones have become easier to use with better voice clarity and longer battery life, internal memory and entertainment features are the two parameters on which satisfaction has come down significantly.
“Mobile handsets with higher memory and good entertainment features are still priced quite high. The entry-level phones are relatively poor on these parameters contributing to decline in satisfaction scores,” said Kapil Dev Singh, country manager, IDC India.
Sony-Ericsson, which ranked highest in overall satisfaction by mobile handset users for second year consecutively, also saw a drop in satisfaction levels. Motorola, the ‘most improved’ brand on satisfaction over last three years, grabbed the second spot, displacing Nokia to the third place. All other brands fared below the industry average.
The study pointed out since features such as integrated digital camera, music player and FM radio drive users to upgrade their handsets, companies need to review the premium charged for high-end mobiles. MMS in low-cost phones has failed to catch the fancy of masses due to high cost, but speakerphone can be the most ‘cost effective differentiator’.
“The ‘incremental spend’ for the next hand has grown to Rs 3,200 indicating that the experienced users are willing to spend higher amount for purchase of their next handset,” said Shailendra Gupta, senior manager, consumer research, IDC India.
The study also found that a mobile handset is used for 56 minutes a day on an average, showing an improvement of 5 minutes over 51 minutes per day a year ago. Usage of SMS, the second most commonly used service, has also increased. An average SMS user sends eight messages in day, while the number of messages received is 10 per day.
“The overall increased usage of SMS can be attributed to reasonable tariff charges, widespread usage of SMS by TV shows, and public opinion polls,” Gupta added.
Source:
The Financial Express
Sanjay Anand, Rishi Raj
Posted online:
Ostensibly, the telecom sector is headed towards another big mess, which could tarnish the shine it has gained over the past few years. Telecom experts say litigations look inevitable. Of course, perspective on the latest round of controversy depends on the stakeholders one is talking to.
Despite being one of the most visible success stories in the post-reform period, the telecom sector has often run into some controversy or the other. Going by the history, the issues of the present conflict may not sound new—whom to award spectrum and at what price, at what point should additional spectrum be given to existing cellular operators, who to award new licences to, and whether the spectrum and the licence should come bundled.
Going by the past, there’s every reason to believe that the government and the industry would tide over the storm. However, the timing could not have been worse. The new set of controversies have erupted at a time when it seemed that the sector had bid goodbye to the teething troubles and was running full steam towards a big communications revolution.
Simply put, at the heart of the present controversy are two major issues:
allocation (and efficient use of spectrum) to the existing telecom operators
and possible entry of new companies in the telecom arena. These issues have
arisen in view of the massive telecom growth that has happened in the past few
years, making
To make things even more lucrative, despite declining Arpus
(average revenue per subscriber), the existing telecom companies are gathering
mouth-watering valuations as was seen in the Vodafone’s buyout of Hutch to
enter
Effectively,
All these developments have raised crucial questions such as: should only the existing players be allowed to corner the entire cellular market and hence increase their wealth indefinitely? Or should new entrants be allowed to participate in the country’s growth, while keeping strong competitive pressures in the market for the good of the consumer? Should the existing players keep getting additional spectrum (radio waves on which mobile phones work, the real estate for cellular operators) on the basis of subscriber base, as envisaged in the current policy?
The present chaos occurred when the government sought telecom regulator Trai’s opinion on these issues. Trai recommended a few things. First, there should be no cap on the number of operators (which was effectively the current policy as well). Secondly, after allotting 10 MHz of spectrum to the existing operators, the legacy system should be modified and they should be given more spectrum on payment. More importantly, Trai raised the number of subscribers 2-5 times for eligibility for additional spectrum, which raised questions about the efficient use of spectrum by the existing GSM players and infuriated them. Trai also suggested changes in the M&A norms.
All put together, there was a big gold rush post the recommendations. About 46 companies applied for 575 licences (each telecom circle, roughly equal the area of a state in most cases, is a separate licence). It also led to calls for auctioning of spectrum (instead of giving it away to existing operators), although Trai ruled that out for 2G services.
In the din of points and counter points of all hues, the government has said that it would announce new terms and conditions for the sector within a week and has indicated that there may not be any major changes to the existing policy.
Actually, after starting the entire process, the government itself is finding it hard to answer questions with much consistency and clarity. It has discovered that the issues are not easy to address. For instance, if one were to argue that only those companies that have experience in telecom should be given fresh licences, there would be an immediate response that most of the present successful players in telecom came without any prior experience. Or, what if one major company sets up a front company, or is an investor in two new licence aspirants and ends up hoarding specturm? Even communications and IT minister A Raja is finding it difficult to answer such questions. Flooded with a spate of new applications for telecom licences, Raja suddenly put on hold the process declaring that no fresh applications would be accepted after October 1. He then said that his department would come out with fresh guidelines to award new licences. Later he backtracked stating that how could he change guidelines mid-way and would stick to the present ones albeit with minor changes.
Against this backdrop is the fundamental problem. There is not much spectrum available for commercial cellular services in this country, say the experts. The defence is set to vacate 20 MHz of spectrum in the 1800 MHz frequency for 2G services. And it is not coming in before another few months. In fact, private operators are fuming that their networks are choked and they have not been allotted more spectrum in the past 18 months or so.
As one telecom expert put it succinctly: “If you give spectrum to the existing service providers, which you may have to, on the basis of existing subscriber norms; and if you give first preference to those licensees who are waiting for spectrum for more than a year, the likely balance won’t be more than 7-8 MHz on average in 1800 MHz frequency. It effectively means that there can’t be more than one new player in the telecom sector.’’
Well, that could be either the end of all arguments or the beginning of a long spate of controversy and yet another round of litigations.
Not that there are no solutions around. Licences can still be awarded bundled with spectrum, but subject to its availability in which case new applicants will have to wait for years to start rolling out services, if they get lucky. There are companies at present who have been awarded licences and not granted spectrum for some eight months. Else, new applicants can be encouraged to go for newer technologies like WiMAX and be given a host of incentives to offer broadband services. Remember, it was the entry of new players like state-owned firms BSNL and MTNL as well as private companies like Reliance and Tatas on CDMA technology, and entry of Bharti into long distance (STD/ISD) services that repeatedly led to fall in tariffs, spreading the telecom boom.
At the same time, since the incumbents have contributed to the telecom growth and are mid-way their roll outs, putting breaks on their growth would be harmful for the sector as well as the country’s image. Operators like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Reliance have already announced plans to invest over $8 billion on cellular infrastructure this fiscal itself. Certain amount of spectrum should be reserved for them.
Sure, entry of new players and greater competition would be an important
achievement but so would be a smooth functioning of this crucial infrastructure
sector that has done much good to
Source: The Financial Express
Rishi Raj
Posted online:
Officials told FE that the concerns were communicated to DoT by the ministry and department after they met with irate CEOs, displeased by the freeze. The CEOs said the sudden announcement of a cut-off date on September 24 only accentuated the rush for new applications, which touched more than 500.
While expressing their displeasure at the DoT’s move, the finance ministry and DIPP have said that the telecom policy in place today was finalised by an inter-ministerial group and approved by the Cabinet. Therefore, DoT should not have unilaterally decided a cut-off date, even if it was temporary. Officials said such a move, apart from creating policy uncertainty, also tarnished the country’s investment image.
Officials further said that in the event DoT made any significant changes to the guidelines for awarding new licences, it would have to be approved by the Cabinet. In its defence, officials said DoT had no choice but to impose a temporary freeze as it had not expected the spate of applications.
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Trai seeks liberalisation
of telecom infra policy |
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Rajesh S Kurup / Mumbai |
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The Telecom Regulatory
Authority of India (TRAI) is seeking further liberalisation
of the Standing Advisory Committee on Radio Frequency Allocation (SACFA)
policy to enhance tele-density. |
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Trai wants operators to begin operating cell sites
immediately after the submitting of applications. It also wants the
government to accord clearance for new infrastructure in two months time. |
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In case, no communication
is received within this stipulated timeframe, Trai
needs permission to treat the application as “approved”. |
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Currently, SCAFA policy
clearance takes months to come and this is hampering the infrastructure
rollout of telecom companies in the country, a source close to the
development said. |
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The simplification of the
policy is also expected to help operators double their existing
infrastructure in the next 12-18 months. |
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The mobile operators are
also looking at growing infrastructure in line with the government’s
intention of offering 500 million connections in the next three years from
the present around 200 million. |
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Currently, there are around
120,000 towers in the country and this is expected to rise to 300,000 by the
end of 2010. |
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This proposal is expected
to benefit the expansion of network and operations in rural segments as most
of the telecom companies are looking at tapping the potential of these
regions. |
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Currently, the wireless tele-density in the country stands at around 17.3 per
cent, with that in rural below 5 per cent. |
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Seeking the Department of
Telecommunications (DoT) intervention to make the
necessary changes in the present policy, Trai has
also assured that an operator will shut down a site in case SACFA raises
objections in the applications. |
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Earlier in June 2006, the DoT had simplified SCAFA procedures with over 60 per cent
application cleared online resulting in an improvement of tele-density
and increase in quality of services. Trai needs an
additional simplification to further improve the telecom penetration. |
Source: Business Standard
Telecom News dated