As I am now coming back from my summer hiatus, I thought I would get back into the swing of things with all of the features of the WiFiJedi.com site, including the “Super Tuesday” poll.

Related Posts:

• Super Tuesday – Wireless IDS/IPS Question#2
• Super Tuesday – Wireless IDS/IPS Question
• Super Tuesday – 802.11n Benefits Poll
• Super Tuesday – Voice over WiFi Poll
• 802.11n Frequency Band Poll
• Replacing Desktop Ethernet With Wireless

I’ve recently been wondering about upgrading my Broadband connection. I currently surf using an O2 mobile broadband dongle that hangs from the side of my laptop. Sometimes it’s my friend; it streams video, downloads at a comfortable speed. Other times, I find myself attaching the extendable chord and trying to position the dongle at whatever awkward angle it will pick up reception. I’ve had discussions around work about it, and fellow mobile broadband owners suffer similar problems. I was in the middle of considering switching to NTL, going on recommendations from my colleagues. But then I was confronted with the recent launch of Wimax, from Imagine Ireland.

I’ve been waiting for months/ years for this to happen. The rusty laptop I work on, and bought 5 years ago, came with an airport card. Its use has been minimal, since I rarely carry it with me to bars and restaurants.

The campaign reads:

Wimax

“Google it”

Firstly the creative on this reads wrong to me…surely Wimax is the word that should be in quotation marks, while “Google it” is the call to action. On their own facebook page in response to some annoyed customers wanting clarification about pricing Wimax replied.
“…our current outdoor poster campaign (hope you have seen it) – is a clear call to action as to what is ‘WiMax’ (Google It)”
They correct the grammar error themselves.

Secondly, googling Wimax returns a disappointing amount of information about the service. I’m not the only person getting frustrated with this lack of information, a quick look at Facebook show’s a rather irate public (See below).

When directed to the Wimax webpage, hosted by Imagine, you are provided with vague information with how much faster and cheaper the new service will be. However exact pricing and plans is not available. According to an Imagine spokesperson they “will announce in the next coming days, both our product packages and our pricing – and of course this will be accompanied by our full terms and conditions. To be 100% clear, we have nothing to hide, we just want to get the right products and packages to suit consumer demand.” This statement was to calm the stream of comments from Facebook fans to replace the vague information with actual costs.

The Media launch screams of prematurity! In the excitement to cause some PR pre Wimax release, they may have caused more damage. While the campaign has caused a lot of interest, the public feedback has been negative because of the lack of information accompanying it. Paul Diskin commented on their facebook homepage that:

“If the advertisement of this service with full media coverage was delayed until the finer points with regard to products , speed and pricing were agreed, don’t you think that there would be more people accepting the service.”

Their campaign was to act as a teaser, get people excited about what’s to come. Instead it acted as a catalyst, to launch complaints, from an extremely price sensitive public. Competition in the broadband sector, and a service like the one Imagine are ‘proposing’ to offer is badly needed in this country, but from a media buyers perspective their campaign launch seemed like a warning to all marketers of the dangers of playing with the public.

Philippa.

Regarding telecommunications brazilian market, this is a interessant news. From WiMAX Forum press release, October 15:

“The WiMAX Forum presented this week its contribution to the public consultation open by ANATEL, calling for neutral and flexible spectrum licensing. The industry organization reinforced that Brazil has multiple broadband needs, and as such has proposed a moderate modification to the consultation proposals which would allow for greater flexibility in the use of the spectrum. Additionally, WiMAX Forum called for a minimum of 60 MHZ of viable spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band in order to guarantee competition in the band between carriers and quality of services, taking into consideration that a robust WiMAX network in an urban area requires a minimum of 30MHz of contiguous, viable spectrum to be successful.

The WiMAX Forum notes that operators who have already deployed networks are finding the demand for broadband traffic and the continuous innovation of services means that at least, if not more than 30MHz will be required at an early stage. As such, the WiMAX Forum calls for regulators to factor this into their policy decisions, noting that the Internet is no longer just a service or application, but truly the means of providing all sorts of services and entertainment via a wide variety of networks, wired or wireless.

The WiMAX Forum maintains that broadband will help solve the digital divide in Brazil by making the Internet available throughout urban and rural Brazil and to all socio-economic classes. Each month of delay in the deployment of wireless broadband translates into a real economic loss to Brazil as improvements in the economy and quality of life are delayed. “It is crucial not to lose the perspective that any investment requires a fair and reasonable return to be sustainable. Spectrum limitations should be used carefully because they run the risks of imposing suboptimal use of spectrum and of generating unsustainable businesses. With Brazil falling behind the world’s leading nations on broadband deployment, it is imperative for Brazil to utilize its spectrum assets with available technologies such as WiMAX to drive broadband availability and adoption today”, stated Dr. Mo Shakouri, vice president of WiMAX Forum.

Another topic pointed out by WiMAX Forum is its concerns with the spectrum cap proposed in the Public Consultation. “We are concerned that such a regulatory asymmetry could create an uneven playing field for the service providers that will operate in these bands. In this sense, we would recommend ANATEL to adopt a single consistent criteria, which must be technologically neutral”, reinforced Dr. Shakouri.

The WiMAX Forum recommends that public policies facilitate new wireless broadband deployments and avoid pre-determining technologies. The organization points out that the more flexible the opportunities for innovative service offerings, the more conducive to investments the spectrum will be. “With greater flexibility, carriers and investors can evaluate their business plans taking into consideration a wider set of products and services that the market demands. This is particularly important when considering the long period of time normally required for infrastructure investments to mature and achieve profitability. Companies investing now need to consider their businesses over a horizon of 10 to 20 years” analyzed Dr. Shakouri.“

Source: WiMAX Forum

Google anuncia novas ferramentas de refinamento das buscas

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As I wrote about here, I attended an Intel Alumni event last week where Andy Grove spoke about clean technologies.   This was actually the first time I’d attended a formal Intel alumni event since I left the company in 2005 after 5 years of employment there.   Meeting former Intel colleagues and listening to Grove has led me to reflect on my years at Intel.   What really stands out about Intel is discipline and process excellence, training, its role in the technology ecosystem, investing in R&D during recessionary periods, and the overall Intel way.

• Discipline and Process Excellence- Intel is clearly a role model company when it comes to discipline and process excellence.  A focus on effective meetings, very structured strategic and financial planning processes, and an ability to institutionalize processes across divisions and locations.   Intel embraced the copy exact philosophy when it came to fab production facilities around the world and equally applied that philosophy to internal processes.   I’ve often used the analogy that Intel is an adult when it comes to process and internal infrastructure in contrast to, for example, Yahoo!, (where I spent the next couple years after Intel) who would be considered an adolescent .

• Training- The breadth and diversity of the training program at Intel is world class.   Being part of the Finance organization, there must have been 50 courses available to finance professionals.  Additionally, employees were encouraged and had the development opportunity to be an instructor, improving their own public speaking, leadership, and expertise in a particular area.   Intel university was one of the real assets within Intel and again a model for other mature companies to follow.

• Role in Technology Ecosystem- As a first time employee in the hi-tech industry after graduate school, it was great to see first hand what Intel’s influence in the computing and technology’s ecosystem allows Intel to do in new markets.  I participated first hand in two new initiatives, one that ultimately failed and one that is still going strong today and of high strategic importance to Intel.   In the early 2000’s, I worked in the Intel Online Services (IOS) group, a web hosting division that was going to take advantage of the web server hardware and software requirements during the heyday of the dotcom era.  While that endeavor failed and was shut down in a couple of years, it was a wild ride that clearly demonstrated Intel’s ability to try something new, use its reputation to gain partners and customers in a new space, and use its ample capital resources to quickly fund expansion.   Later, I worked with the Wi-Max team as Intel heavily championed the Wi-max alternative to 3G and 4G technology, which is gaining traction and momentum still today.   Again, once Intel committed to a strategic goal such as Wi-max, it had every opportunity to try and make it succeed—of course, as was the case with IOS, the business had to prove itself in a reasonable time frame to remain funded.

• Investing in R&D during recessionary periods- During the period of the dotcom crash and the recessionary period that followed, CEO Craig Barrett often stressed that in recessionary periods, leading companies have to invest more in R&D.   Be the company to have the leading edge new products, the innovative products, out in the market before the competition.   The best way to do that is not to retrench during the slow periods on the R&D side, but to be aggressive with R&D and look elsewhere for cutbacks.

• The Intel Way- Ultimately there is was an unmistakable Intel way characterized with terms such as ARs (Action required), foils (powerpoint slides), SLRP and PLBP (Strategic Long Range Planning Process and Product Line Business Planning), constructive confrontation, analytical, data and engineering based decision making, the characteristics such as discipline and process excellence already described above, and a core set of Intel values that every employee wore with their company IDs.   While the Intel way had both good and bad aspects to it, the Intel way became a way of life for many—I often said that after 5+ years, one starts to become Intelized and it would be much harder to work at other companies which would not many of the high standards that working at Intel created for many.

“The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades“.  “Il futuro è così luminoso, devo mettermi gli occhiali da sole“. Così recitava una vecchia canzone (*), che esprime più o meno la sensazione che ho provato leggendo la “Direttiva generale per l’attività amministrativa e la gestione – MISE 2009“, pubblicata sul sito del Ministero.

Riporto un illuminante brano, tanto per capire di che cosa stiamo parlando:

“La scelta strategica è quella di impostare i lavori secondo la logica e il metodo della “rete”.
Si dovrà, in particolare, puntare su una rete (rete di reti) di “alleanze” finalizzate al perseguimento degli obiettivi e in grado di esponenzializzare i risultati dell’azione del Ministero mediante la valorizzazione sinergica di funzioni presenti a livello policentrico.
Il primo passo sarà quello di lavorare con questo metodo all’interno del Ministero.”

Confesso che sono seriamente preoccupato. Riuscirò a guarire dal policentrismo e a esponenzializzarmi sinergicamente?  Lo scoprirò solo vivendo (se non mi cacciano dopo questo post).

La concentrazione di espressioni più o meno alla moda, tipiche del project management e della gestione aziendale,  è impressionante, ma non è nemmeno questo il punto. E’ il quadro che emerge da questa direttiva a stridere un pochino con la realtà, perlomeno con la nostra di ex Ministero delle comunicazioni. Qui sembra di stare su un altro pianeta: obiettivi da raggiungere, risultati da acquisire, tempi da rispettare, dirigenti responsabili… ma che film è?

Ovviamente non posso esprimermi sulla realtà degli altri due Ministeri che si sono accorpati con il nostro (o siamo noi che ci siamo accorpati con i loro? Mah…), magari qualcun altro  potrà farlo se vorrà. Intanto noto che gli altri si sono accorti che i dipendenti hanno cambiato ordinamento professionale (Area III, F5, ecc.) mentre i nostri parlano ancora di C1s, B3, A1 e così via.

Ma facciamo due conti e sommiamo le cifre stanziate per i vari progetti nei dipartimenti. Risultato:

Sviluppo e coesione economica     6.257.243.077
Impresa e internazionalizzazione    3.031.084.966
Energia                     221.735.863
Comunicazioni                 218.337.417

Chissà perchè siamo sempre ultimi. Comunque sono sempre cifre rispettabili, se si considera il “peso” dei vari dipartimenti rispetto alle attività che contano (vedi ad esempio la gestione degli incentivi alle imprese per il Dipartimento dello sviluppo…).

Se si va nel dettaglio, si scopre che la gran parte dei fondi stanziati al nostro Dipartimento se ne va agli obiettivi “Promozione e valorizzazione del digitale” (terrestre, ovviamente) e “Espletamento di gare per la fornitura di servizi di comunicazione elettronica e  successiva attività amministrativa per il rilascio di titoli abilitativi e verifica degli impegni presi”.  Se per la prima voce scopriamo che i famosi fondi stanziati nella finanziaria voleranno come previsto verso altri lidi (Poste, FUB, ecc.), per la seconda andando  ancora più a fondo (ma molto a fondo…) arrivano anche gli Ispettorati, coinvolti nell’attività operativa di verifica della copertura delle reti Wi-Max.

Particolare curioso: l’attività comincia a gennaio 2009 e finisce  a dicembre dello stesso anno. Domanda: siamo a settembre, qualcuno ha sentito parlare di verifiche sul Wi-Max? Altre domande:  qualcuno ha pensato a fare formazione su questo standard di comunicazione? Con quali competenze ci dovremmo apprestare a fare le misure? E con quali strumenti? O si pensa che basti fare una misura di campo con un analizzatore (quando c’è?) E ci pagheranno le missioni o ci chiederanno ancora di fare volontariato? E via domandando…

Lo so, non sono abbastanza sinergico e anche abbastanza rompic… Comunque  speriamo che la direttiva per il 2010 arrivi un po’ prima, per capire cosa dobbiamo fare prima di (non) averlo già fatto… Buon lavoro a tutti.

(*) Timbuk 3, 1986

New WiBro-enabled Navigation device has been announced by EASYCAR during World IT show 2009 in Korean market. It has adopted “TocToc” navigation software from Point-I that allows users to enjoy the experience of Wi-Fi/WoBro access and e-mail. Moreover, you can download many multimedia contents. This device has the ability to display the real-time traffic information and CCTV video information.

Click to know about Pocket GPS Navigator for car

This device is powered by Telechips TCC7901 Dual Core CPU at 498×498MHz. The other major features of this device are, SkyTrag GPS chipset, 800 x 480 resolution LCD screen and a rear camera. This device is expected to be available for 329,000 KRW from this month.

[ More ]

“Why people eat less food and send more SMS”, this was the statement by Mr. Shaukat Tareen, Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance in the post budget speech to justify his act of imposing tax on every SMS.

“Only 20 paisa tax has been imposed on SMS. You know, people today spend extensively on SMS – even more than that they spend on eating. This is a minimal increase as the government already has provided relief to the telecom industry,” he said.

From his speech it was very much sure that he had done a great deal of home work and calculation in order to earn huge revenue from the SMS activity Pakistanis do.

Mr. Tareen said, “Government has provided a relief to the cellular industry by allowing operators to earn some 2% more on every call by reducing the GST to 19% from 21%, similarly, SIM activation charges has been reduced to Rs. 200 from Rs. 500 earlier”.

For sure, any reduced tax will benefit the industry and the consumers but how a tax on SMS will benefit the government. From a customer base of 90 million, more than half of the subscribers do not use this facility owing to certain reasons including lack of knowledge and awareness. Generally speaking, voice revenue dominates the total revenue figure leaving behind some 5-6 % for the SMS only.

Though SMS is not a big source of revenue but it has proven successful to create new customers. During the last couple of months, operators have used this tool quite well and apart from Mobilink which offered bulk SMS few months back and discontinued it later, all the service providers have been offering number of bundle offers and it has brought more customers for them depending upon the customer usage pattern.

For example, if Telenor was offering 5000 SMS for Rs. 86, it won’t find it feasible to continue with it. If 5% revenue is coming from SMS then after a 20% tax on each SMS, we can expect a further decline in this revenue, similarly a very short income for the government.

From government’s point of view, in my opinion, two things are possible;

• Increased tax on SMS will push people to go for the voice and it will increase the operator’s revenue hence the tax income.
• Secondly, expensive SMS will discourage people from exchanging too much information for which the government has been on the receiving end since it has come to the power. Few months back, the interior ministry even threatened to block this facility.

In both the cases government is not going to get the desired results. From operators point of view, four of the operators have gone against this decision of government because and they have expressed their reservations.

We have seen the similar behavior from the operators in Bangladesh. “Our prayer to the prime minister is to kindly waive the SIM tax completely for the interest of a developed and Digital Bangladesh,” said the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators Bangladesh (AMTOB) in a combine presentation at a press meet yesterday as quoted by Daily Star.

In Bangladesh, except Grameenphone no other operators are in profit, which compelled all the operators not to subsidize SIM tax. Grameenphone is a market leader in Bangladesh and three of the operators are same as in Pakistan, even their demand is almost the same as ours, can we say operators in Pakistan are also the victim of favoritism the way it is in Bangladesh?

In the last budget operators demanded to remove the SIM activation tax completely as it would help increase the customer base manifold and reduce the burden on service providers. As a result, GST was increased to 21% which was more than any other industry of Pakistan.

These unfavorable taxes never created a positive scene. According to the latest economic survey of Pakistan, “The years of swift telecom sector development seems to be a tale of the past now. Industry subscriber growth had declined for FY08 and it is expected to drop even more for FY09. Cellular subscriber addition is clearly staggering. Intense competition from the cellular segment has eroded fixed line market share over the years and subscriber attrition still continues. With VSS out of the way, an earnings turnaround is imminent”.

The survey further says, “The telecom sector has probably reached saturation level and imports in the sector witnessed negative growth of 54.8 percent and its share declined to 3.0 percent in total imports during July-April 2008-09.In absolute terms the import in telecom sector witnessed a decline of $ 1040.3 million on the back of decline in imports of mobile phones and other apparatus to the extent of 77.1 percent and 43.5 percent, respectively”.

I think, if government really knows the issues then it should come up with real solution otherwise budget like these will always make it a laughing point.

Recently in a discussion with PTCL official, I got this impression that PTCL may start Wi-Max services in the near future. To a question, how PTCL will compete in the wireless domain, the answer was, PTCL is working on Wi-Max and it is in the planning phase. Though the company is focusing on DSL more than anything now but Wi-Max can’t be ruled out. Another source at PTCL confirmed that the company has finalized many things in this direction and they are just waiting for right time.

Being an incumbent, PTCL’s involvement in Wi-Max can really spur Wi-Max growth, but as of today, PTCL has not made any significant movement on the Wi-Max front. It would be interesting to see multiple wireless products in shape being run by a single operator. The parent company Etisalat has already tested the Wi-Max operations back in UAE in 2007 in partnership with Samsung.

Relation between the education level in any given country and the percentage of internet usage is very important. Internet usage is better where education level is higher. In Pakistan, first of all, the literacy rate is very low and the current technologies are not even fully utilized as yet. How can we make plans for another higher end technology?

Broadband growth in Pakistan

Indian MTNL launched its 3G services on May 15 in Mumbai after launching it in Delhi few months back. The two companies, MTNL and BSNL, are into 3G fight and following each others moves very closely.

In Pakistan, the debate is not new. Few weeks back on one of the forums I heard PTA Chairman saying that they are waiting for the cabinets decision to go ahead with 3G licensing. Once approved, it will be offered to operators for the bidding. But contrary to the intentions of PTA, it is being heard quite loudly that no operator is in favor of 3G operations except for the Telenor, which was the first one to have announced future policy in favor of 3G in Pakistan. I met several telecom people during the last one month and there was just unanimous decision from them on individual level that 3G is not feasible for Pakistan yet.

At a telecom conference in Lahore, I happened to talk to couple of Telecom dignitaries. There was a strong reasoning on the issue of 3G in Pakistan. Chairman PTA Dr. Muhammad Yasin representing the authority was assertive enough to implement the 3G once an approval is given from the federal cabinet.

Mr. Rizwan Tiwana, CTO, Wateen

Rizwan Tiwana, CTO, Wateen was the first to talk on this. According to him “Is Pakistan ready for 3G deployment? Does user have the requirement to use 3G? Are operators technically ready or do they have technical support to start 3G? Is there any business viability for the 3G operation in Pakistan? The answer lies in the question itself depending upon how you put forward the question to the individual or particular stake holder of the industry to answer that”. Does he mean that 3G is acceptable to few of the decision makers?

In my opinion, these questions require comprehensive answers. 3G is generally used for Distance learning, Video communication, Rich content on the go, Location based services, Online banking, Online procurement, Distance meeting, Internet access, Gaming, Surveillance etc. From its features we can simply translate into “Mobile Broadband” connectivity. We will need to see do we have enough users who are interested in this list to make it viable for the operator to do the investment?

Advocating further, Mr. Tiwana said, “Relation between the education level in any given country and the percentage of internet usage is very important. Internet usage is better where education level is higher. In Pakistan, first of all, the literacy rate is very low and the current technologies are not even fully utilized as yet. How can we make plans for another higher end technology?”

Though we have the examples like people are using blackberry and iPhone using 2.7G but the point to see is what the percentage is? There are approximately 3% users availing the blackberry services out of a customer base of over 90 million. On the technology side, few of the five operators are able to upgrade their network but rest of them can just not because they are not simply technologically advanced. So for them, their will be a complete new investment activity provided the license are available and there is a business feasibility.

Dr. Tanveer ul Haq, Regional CTO, Zong

Dr. Tanveer ul Haq, Regional CTO, Zong was even more outspoken and statistically impressive. He said, “We have a population of 160 million, young people are 50% of the population, matriculates are 27 million, graduates are 7 million, cell phone users 90 million, GPRS users 5 million, PCs are 5 million approximately and 80% of them are being used in educational institutions, broadband users are around 290,000 and dial up connection are approximately 4 million”.
3G is not about technology only; it is about providing services both broadband and multimedia. According to ministry of IT, a broadband connection is an always-on internet connection with a 128K download speed. According to a past estimate of Mr. Noor u din Baqai, Ex Minister for IT, by 2010, industry will be targeting some 2 to 2.5 million customers.

And the possible number of users that we can achieve for DSL is 5 million. For the broadband connection, user needs to have previous knowledge of internet which is currently not very promising, that is the reason we have very low number of broadband user in Pakistan. In 2006 we had some 45000 user and now have just less than 300000 in 2009.
One of the barriers to the expansion of broadband is the price of PC and the CPE. According to the study of Ministry of IT (MoIT), if the price of broadband/internet is Rs. 350 at an average, it will be acceptable for the masses to adopt it. We have all the availability of technologies like DSL, HFC, WiMax etc but the education level of user is not up to the mark. Therefore, the adoption is not there at a massive pace. Last year prices of PCs increased by 20% as the duty on PCs increased to 16% causing the PC market growth rate to decrease.

If we bring 3G as a broadband alone there are barriers as the addressable market is very small, prices of PCs and 3G enabled phones are high, internet knowledge of masses is not there, package prices will be high and above all the local content is not available.

If 3G is implemented for the multimedia then it can target a bigger market of cell phone users where penetration level is already near 56% and for multimedia services there is not prior knowledge of internet required and here literacy become a non-issue. We have seen operators provided VAS is already very popular in 2G and there are 5 million GPRS users in Pakistan.
According to a survey done by Nokia Siemens, the most popular applications on mobile phone are Music, Sports, Games, News, Education, Email and Job/Career related services. We can see the most of the services are multimedia related where as the usage of email is much lesser.
“On the brighter side if 3G has to be successful in Pakistan the killer applications will be multimedia related services. Creativity in the content is required. Other very important ingredient is cheap license; different packages need to be created in a manner that it could create a difference between current 2G services as the current ones are very cheap” added Dr. Tanveer.

Mustafa Paracha, Vice President, Mobilink-Infinity is of the view that “there are some 2.5 to 3 million houses in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi and these are the cities where some 70% of the broadband users are expected from. Buying a CPE for these 3million houses should not be a difficult task and that is what we are targeting. We launched WiMax operations in Karachi under the umbrella of Mobilink-Infinity and chose this city as a test bed. Fortunately we received a very good response and our sales figure proven to be fastest than our older and bigger competitors. It was much easier for us to control a new technology in a small area” he added.

“Currently DSL is still the leader in Pakistan it has some 2/3 of the market. Other technologies are WiMax, EvDO. For home users cable internet is the cheapest and most popular in Pakistan. These all technologies are contributing in the penetration of broadband in Pakistan. As far as 3G is concerned I do not see it a competitor for next 3 years at least not in the fixed broadband domain”, he added.

There were just 20000 broadband users in 2005 and 2006 and that number has grown to almost 0.3 million in just few years time. Same was the case with GSM, there were just few thousands connections initially which grown to multi-million with in next couple of years due to a race among operators to grab the customers and still that is going on.
Since the start, operators are busy handling irrelevant 2G issues. A series of problems could have avoided at a very early stage. For the deployment of a single cell site, companies still have to deal with dozens of government departments like Wapda, Environment, City Government etc. These cumbersome activities create hurdles in the way of rapid roll out of networks. PTA and the concerned ministry could have easily solved these problems by creating just one window operations hence making the expansion much easier. An undue price war could have been avoided as well had the PTA intervened at a proper time with acceptable regulations.

GSM and Broadband operators started the price tool at a very early stage to gather more market share. If same happens to the 3G it will prove to be a disaster for the technology.

The article was initially published on www.apnatime.com by Mudassar Mufti

LTE - Long Term Evolution

The future of 4G is uncert yet. Two new standards will fight to be the “one”: Mobile WiMAX and LTE (Long Term Evolution).

WiMAX and LTE are both based on OFDM (Ortogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing), and both will be revolutionary regarding 3G technologies. WiMAX has already cheaper chipsets and 3 years ahead, although it’s a more expensive technology. On the other hand, LTE is regarded as the natural progression for the 3GPP and 3GPP2 line (GSM, EDGE, W-CDMA, HSPA, CDMA 1x, EV-DO) and his technology can support the old ones; and that’s really necessary in the first years of the implementation of the networks, of course, because no one would buy something that only work in the downtown of big cities.

Now, Finland (Nokia’s home) has already reserved a spectrum for LTE, for when it’s ready can entry in a short time period.  In Sweden, Telenor and Tele2 will build a LTE-based network in the 2nd semester of 2009, and plan to reach 99% of the swedish population by 2013, with a speed range between 80Mbps to 150Mbps. With other great mobile operators as China Mobile and Vodafone running LTE trials, LTE seems to be the choice for a next generation for the big mobile operators. So, where’s the place for WiMAX, already some steps ahead?

WiMAX

M-WiMAX has clearly his space in PDA’s and Smartphones, always on the front in technology. WiMAX has already 20 suppliers for equipment and chipsets which cost will drop dramatically until the end of 2009. LTE is yet on research although big companies are running fast to put it on market. WiMAX Forum predicts that by 2012 will be around 130 million subscribers, in both mobile and fixed networks, another good thing. Yet, LTE and M-WiMAX are not totally compatible in their technology, which excludes the total merge between phoning and internet in only one techonology.

My guess is that LTE and WiMAX will walk side-by-side in the next years, LTE attending cellphones and smartphones using a network already built for 3G, and with his “new gadgets” being expanded at time mainly on developed countries (as Germany, UK and Japan) which already has his fixed broadband internet built. WiMAX will have his place mainly on developing countries (Brazil, China and Russia) which as larger countries they are will bet high on WiMAX to supply broadband internet by wireless transmission because that’s cheaper than install kilometers and kilometers of cable, so in this countries WiMAX will get a higher penetration than in Europe, i.e.

Há poucos minutos, li um artigo com título “The Trouble with Wires”, onde um problema causado pelo corte de fios e fibras óticas causou inúmeros problemas de acessos a redes de dados, Internet, etc.

Ontem mesmo, em meu escritório, um cliente me falou que, devido a uma obra na rua, sua empresa ( e todas em seu prédio) ficaram sem conexão. Um cabo foi cortado indevidamente.

A era da conexão por fio, no meu ponto de vista, está chegando ao fim, por exemplo, a cada dia mais e mais pessoas optam pelo uso de celulares e não pelos telefones convencionais.

A tecnologia de conexão Internet por redes sem fio de longo alcance já é realizada, só faltando, a nível Brasil, ela estar disponibilizada para todos, quer sejam usuários domésticos, quer sejam empresas.

As redes sem fio, telefones sem fio (celulares) e outras tecnologias passam a ter maior confiabilidade, diminuindo em muito o problema de falta de conexão devido a defeitos em cabos e outros problemas deste tipo.

Aos interessados, o artigo que comentei está disponível no link abaixo:
http://www.wimax360.com/profiles/blogs/the-trouble-with-wires

(Assine nossos blogs e os receba por e-mail)
……………………………………………………………….
Arnaldo Mefano
Computer Solutions
Prof. Universidade Estácio de Sá 

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My internet experience from past few days is literally forcing me to write this, I use an internet connection provided by Beam Cable Systems which they promise to have a speed of 2 MBps. This speed is something which you can never imagine to get if you are with beam.

The speed of my internet connection is pissing me off from last 3-4 days. I think beam cable is the worst ISP in Hyderabad and I’ve reasons to justify my claim. When I applied for the internet connection with them, they promised that we’ll give you the connection in a week’s time (I had to wait coz there were no other suitable ISPs who were offering services in that area). A week passed so as two, three and four…. I made several complaints using every medium which they use to hear complaints. Several visits to their office were also insufficient to make any difference as I had to deal with the fucking assholes there. And when I’ve finally got the connection then started the flip flops of the service, they are not bothered at all if the customer has made any complaint.

I am writing this post hoping that some moron of the company happens to read this post and realize how pissed off are the customers with his company otherwise suicide is the best thing that can happen to him.

I am also creating a poll to testify my claim if the beam cable is topping the charts or there are other serious players also in the fray to be labeled as the worst ISP of Hyderabad. Please do vote and spit out your frustration in the comments section.

Evento, em São Paulo, reunirá especialistas do mercado para falarem sobre:

Como equilibrar as vantagens e desvantagens deste novo e inevitável cenário:
O estrago causado pela turbulência econômica atinge em cheio o setor de Telecom, a crise afeta
drasticamente receita global de serviços,
mas área de dados mostra vigor

As tecnologias móveis continuaram como as principais
tendências do mercado para 2009  

Redes – A evolução das redes 3G para 4G e as experiências com
Wi-Max no Brasil até a adoção de sistemas híbridos de energia e a expansão da banda larga no país.

As novas gerações em Smartphones – Terminais sensíveis ao movimento ,
aplicações em touch-screen, games – Com a chegada das telas táteis reforça
esta tendência, quase todos os fabricantes serão obrigados a se aprumam.

Impactos e oportunidades da Portabilidade Numérica -
O Consumidor no comando.

Mobile marketing & Advertising/Branding – Identificando Possibilidades
e Planejando ações na Nova Plataforma  

A Integração entre Celular & Rede Social.

A Estratégia do Crescimento do Mercado de
SVA no Brasil & Novas às Convergências.

Atualmente, mais de 3 milhões de pessoas já usam a tecnologia 3G na América Latina, sendo 57% deste montante, brasileiros, contudo, os aparelhos foram obrigados se convergir. Em conseqüência disso, o mercado de celulares tiveram um crescimento significativo na América Latina em 2008, particularmente após a chegada do iPhone da Apple. Recursos avançados, como câmera, música (MP3 e rádio), bluetooth e vídeo, são os mais solicitados. 

Mais informações, acesse o site do evento.

வை-மெக்ஸ் தொழிற்படும் விதத்தை மிகவும் எளிதாகச் சொல்ல வேண்டுமானால், ஏறக்குறைய Wi-Fi தொழிற்படும் முறைமையைப் போன்றது. இரண்டிக்குமிடையிலான வித்தியாசத்தை நோக்குவோமானால் Wi-Max அதிக வேகத்துடனும் அதிக தூரத்திலும் இணைப்பை ஏற்படுத்திக் கொள்ளும் வசதியினை வழங்குகிறது. மேலும் அதிக எண்ணிக்கையிலான உபயோகிப்பாளர்களை கொண்டிருக்கும் இணைப்பாக வை-மேக்ஸ் உள்ளது. இன்றைய சூழ்நிலையில் கிராமப்புறங்களில் கேபிள் வசதி, தொலைபேசி இணைப்புகளும் இல்லாத இடங்களில் இந்த வை-மெக்ஸ் பெரியளவில் உதவுகிறது.

இந்த வை-மேக்ஸ் உபகரணங்களாவன:

1. Wi-Max டவர்: நாம் சாதாரணமாக பயன்படுத்தும் செல்போன் இணைப்பை ஏற்படுத்த உதவும் கோபுர முறைமைகளை போன்றதாகும். இந்த டவர்களை கட்டிடத்தின் மாடியிலோ அல்லது பொதுவான ஒரு இடத்திலோ அமைத்துக் கொள்ளலாம்.

2. Wi-Max ரிசீவர்: ரிசீவர் முறையில் தகவல்களை பெற்றுக் கொள்ளும் கருவியாக அன்ரனா (Antenna) பயன்படுத்தப்படுகிறது. இந்த வகை அன்ரனாவானது சாதாரண ரீவி அன்ரனா போல் அல்லாது ஒரு சிறிய பெடடியாக அதனுள் PCMCIA என்ற காட் வசதி கொண்டதாக இருக்கிறது. இதன் மூலம் ல்ப்ரொப் அல்லது கணனிக்கு வரும் தகவல்களை பெற்றுக் கொள்ளலாம்.

இதுபோன்று அமைக்கப்பட்டுள்ள Wi-Max டவர்கள் மூலம் இன்டர்நெட் இணைப்பை அகன்ற அலைவரிசை முறையில் வயர்லெஸ் ஆக பெற்றுக் கொள்ளலாம். இந்த வை-மேக்ஸ் டவர்கள் ஒன்றுடன் மற்றொன்று இணைக்கவும் பயன்படுகிறது. ஒரு Wi-Max டவர் ஆனது 3000 சதுர மைல்கள் பரப்பளவிற்கு தகவல்களை அனுப்பவும், பெற்றுக் கொள்ளவும் உதவுகின்றது.

இந்த வை-மேக்ஸ்’ வழங்கும் இரண்டு விதமான வயர்லெஸ் சேவைகள்.

1. நேரடி பாதையில்லாத ஒளிபரப்பு : ( NON LINE & RIGHT)
இந்த முறையானது ஒரு Wi-Fi போன்ற சேவையினை வழங்கும் விதத்தில் அமைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. இந்த முறையில் ஒரு சிறிய அன்டனா கம்ப்யூட்டரில் இணைக்கப்பட்டு, அதனை Wi-Max டவர் உடன் தொடர்பு கொள்ளச் செய்து தகவல்கள் அனுப்பப்படுகின்றது என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது. இந்த முறை மூலம் Wi-Max குறைந்த அலைவரிசைகளைப் பயன்படுத்தி (2GHZ முதல் 11GHZ வரை) தகவல் அனுப்பும் வேகத்தை அமைத்துக்கொள்கின்றது. இந்த குறைந்த அலைவரிசை தகவல் அனுப்புதல் மூலம் இயற்கையான தடங்களில் இருந்து காப்பாற்றிக் கொள்ள முடிகின்றது.

2. நேரடிப் பாதையிலான ஒளிபரப்பு: (LINE OF RIGHT)
இந்த முறையின் மூலம் ஒரு நிரந்தரமான டிஷ் அன்ரனா ஒன்றை வீட்டின் அல்லது அலுவலத்தில் உள்ள கூரையின் மேல் அமைத்துக் கொள்ள வேண்டும். இந்த அன்டனா Wi-Max டவரை நோக்கிய வண்ணம் இருக்க வேண்டும். இவ்வாறு அமைப்பதால் தகவல்களை வீட்டின் மாடியில் உள்ள அன்ரனா எளிதான Wi-Max டவரில் இருந்து பெற முடிகின்றது. இது போன்ற Wi-Max இணைப்பானது மிகவும் வலிமையானது மற்றும் நிரந்தரமானது.

இந்த முறையில் தொடர்பு கொள்வதால் அதிக அளவிலான தகவல்களையும் பெரிய அளவிலான தடங்கல்கள் இன்றி எளிதாக அனுப்ப முடியும். மேலும் இதன் மூலம் அதிக வேகமாக அதாவது 66GHZ என்ற அலைவரிசை வேகத்தில் தகவல்களை அனுப்ப முடியும் என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

Wi-Max தொழில்நுட்பத்தின் வளர்ச்சி

தற்போதைய நிலைவரப்படி இன்ரெல் (Intel) நிறுவனம் தயாரித்து வரும் Centrino என்று அழைக்கப்படும் புரசசர்களைக் கொண்டு தயாரிக்கும் லப்ரொப் கம்பியூட்டர்களில் இது போன்ற Wi-Max என்ற தொழில் நுட்பத்தை ஏற்கனவே அமைத்து விற்பனை செய்து வருகின்றனர். இன்னும் இரண்டு அல்லது மூன்று ஆண்டுகளில் இன்ரெல் வழங்கும் அனைத்து லப்ரொப் கம்பியூட்டர்களிலும் இந்த வை-மேக்ஸ் பொருத்தப்பட்டிருக்கும் என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது. இவ்வாறு தயாரிக்கப்பட்டுள்ள லப்ரொப் கம்பியூட்டர்களை உபயோகிக்கத் தொடங்கினால் Wi-Max base Station எனப்படும் அடிப்படைக்கட்டுப்பாட்டு அறைகளை அமைப்பது சுலபம்.

மேலும் இந்த இன்டல் (Intel) நிறுவனமானது கிளியர்வயர் (ClearWire) என்ற நிறுவனத்துடன் இணைந்து Wi-Max என்ற தொழில் நுட்பத்தை புதிய முறையில் அறிமுகப்படுத்த திட்டமிட்டு செயல்பட்டு வருகின்றது.

இந்த கிளியர்வயர் நிறுவனமானது Wi-Max base Station-ல் இருந்து ஒரு சிறிய வயர்லஸ் மோடம் என்ற பெட்டிக்கு தகவல்களை அனுப்பும் வண்ணம் வடிவமைத்து வருகின்றது. இவ்வாறு செய்வதால்இ நமது கம்ப்ïட்டரில் இந்த சிறிய மோடம் மட்டும் அமைக்கப்பட்டு இருந்தால் நமது கம்ப்ïட்டரில் இருந்து மற்றொரு கம்ப்ïட்டருக்கு Wi-Max தொழில் நுட்பத்தின் மூலம் தகவல்களை அனுப்ப முடியும் என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

இது போன்று ஒரு கம்பியூட்டரில் இருந்து மற்றொரு கம்ப்ïட்டருக்கு தகவல்களை அனுப்பும் போது encryption எனப்படும் முறையைப் பயன்படுத்தி அனுப்பப்படுகின்றது. ஆகையினால் அனுமதியில்லாமல் எந்த ஒரு நபரும் நமது தகவல்களை படிக்கவோ, பார்க்கவோ முடியாது. இந்த encryption என்ற முறையின் மூலம் தகவல்களை ஒரு நிலையிலிருந்து மற்றொரு நிலைக்கு மாற்றி அனுப்புகின்றது. மேலும் Wi-Max தகவல் அனுப்பும் வேலையினை மிகவேகமாகவும் செய்கின்றது என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது. உதாரணமாக Wi-Fi என்ற முறை மூலம் ஒரு நொடிக்கு 54 மெகாபிட்ஸ் என்ற வேகத்தில் தகவல்களை அனுப்ப முடியும். ஆனால் Wi-Max என்ற முறை மூலம் ஒரு நொடிக்கு 70 மெகாபிட்ஸ் என்ற வேகத்தில் தகவல்களை அனுப்ப முடியும்.
ஆனால் Wi-Max உடைய சிறப்பு அதன் வேகம் (Speed) அல்ல. மாறாக அது செயல்படும் தூரம் (distance) என்பதே சிறந்ததாகக் கருதப்படுகின்றது.

Wi-Max செயல்படும் விதம்

நமது கம்பியூட்டரில் Wi-Max பொருத்தப்பட்டிருக்கும் பட்சத்தில் இன்டர்நெட் இணைப்பு அமைப்பது என்பது மிகவும் சுலபம். உதாரணமாக இன்டர்நெட் இணைப்பு வழங்குபவர்கள் (ISP) Wi-Max base Station என்ற அமைப்பை நிறுவுவர். இந்த base Station நமது வீட்டிலிருந்து அல்லது அலுவலகத்திலிருந்து 10 மைல் தொலைவில் இருப்பதாக வைத்துக் கொள்வோம். இப்பொழுது நமது கம்பியூட்டரில் Wi-Max இருந்தாலோஇ அல்லது நமது பழைய கம்ப்ïட்டரில் Wi-Max நிறுவிக் கொள்ள வேண்டும்.
இப்போது நமது கம்பியூட்டர் Wi-Max base Station இடம் இருந்து encryption Code எனப்படும் தகவலைக் கொடுக்கும். இந்த encryption Code எனப்படும் Key-யை வைத்துதான் Wi-Max base Station நமது கம்பியூட்டருக்கு தகவல்களைக் கொடுக்கின்றது. இது போன்ற முறையில் இன்டர் நெட் உபயோகிப்பதற்கு நாம் மாத வாடகை கொடுத்தால் போதுமானது, இந்த மாத சந்தாவானது சாதாரண Dialup இன்டர் நெட் இணைப்புக்கு கொடுக்கும் தொகையை விட குறைவானதாகும்.

சாதாரணமாக நமது அலுவலகத்தில் உள்ள கம்பியூட்டர்களில் இன்டர்நெட் இணைப்பு அமைப்பதற்கு Wi-Fi முறையிலே ஏற்பாடு செய்து கொள்வது சிறந்தது. ஏனென்றால், நமது அலு வலகங்களில் உள்ள கம்ப்ïட்டர்கள் LAN என்ற Local Areas NetWork முறையில் உள்ளது.

அதற்கு Wi-Fi இணைப்பே போதுமானது. ஆனால், அதைவிட பெரிய அளவில் அல்லது நகரங்களுக்குள் உள்ள கம்பியூட்டர்களில் இணைப்பை ஏற்படுத்த வேண்டுமானால் அதற்கு Wi-Max முக்கியமானது என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது. மேலும் ஒரு முக்கிய விடயம் என்னவென்றால், இந்த Wi-Fi இணைக்கப்பட்டுள்ள LAN கம்பியூட்டர்களும் Wi-Max மூலம் இணைக்கப்பட்டுள்ள MAn அல்லது Wan கம்பியூட்டர்களும் தொடர்பு கொள்ள ரூட்டர்கள் (Router) போதுமானது.

இதன் மற்றொரு சிறப்பம்சம் என்னவென்றால் இதன் மூலம் லோக்கல் தொலைபேசி STD தொலைபேசி மற்றும் வெளிநாட்டு தொடர்பு கொள்ளும் வசதிகளை Voice over IP (VIOP) எனப்படும் முறை மூலம் உருவாக்கிக் கொள்ளலாம். நமது லப்ரொப் கம்பியூட்டர் மூலம் வயர்லஸ் முறையில் எங்கு வேண்டுமானாலும் பேசிக் கொள்ளலாம் என்பது சிறப்பான வசதியல்லவா!

சும்மா இருந்தா கொஞ்சம் கிளிக் பண்ணுங்கள்