Mobile, Internet, etc

the fair use policy in most european countries according to my knowledge is that they request u 2 download larger stuff at night if u download during…

Google announced its entry into the market for Internet Service Providers. It’s building a network of high-speed fiber in several U.S. cities…

I hope that someone in the Indian Government read it and takes some inspiration to improve our soon to be primitive Indian Broadband connections.
…

A. Raja, the Telecom Minister should be happy. He once again become minister after his alleged involvement in the so called spectrum scandal which…

Hello, my name is Aditya Sadhula and I am working on developing and programming for games, having 2+ years experience. Now I want to learn more about…

do anyone have idea abt wen will broadband prices fall
like a 1mbps unlimted plan for rs.600 to 700:D

Load balancing means taking two internet connections and feeding them into your network to get a double speed connection. This is a more resilient…

There are many disadvantages to the Cellular broadband. It is very unreliable which is the biggest disadvantage of Cellular broadband. If you are…

Internet and communication go hand in hand. If you look at it internet has crossed every ones expectations. Manufactures and engineers are trying…

Internet has introduced us to Ecommerce which is a concept that is used for commercial dealings and any type of business deals. This may involve the…

Internet has been a blessing in disguise to the mankind. Internet offers so much information that it has made life much easier for all of us. Besides…

BSNL is also set to lower its tariff. “New plans are being finalised and we will soon announce them,” said a BSNL official

Source

Bharti sparks…

By the year 2014 in India there will be more Wimax based broadband users than subscribers on any other next generation technology.
According to the…

*Global broadband internet connections will reach 500 million by next year, according to new research from Futuresource Consulting.*

source:…

*_M-Pesa - Africa’s cell phone cash
_*
M-PESA (http://www.safaricom.co.ke/index.php?id=745) (M for mobile, pesa for money) is the product name of a mobile-phone based money transfer service that was developed by Sagentia (http://www.safaricom.co.ke/) for Vodafone.

The initial concept of M-PESA was to create a service which allowed microfinance borrowers to conveniently receive and repay loans using the network of Safaricom airtime resellers. This would enable microfinance institutions (MFIs) to offer more competitive rates to their users as there is a reduced cost of dealing in cash. The users of the service would gain through a being able to track their finances more easily. However, when the service was trialled in Kenya customers adopted the functionality for a variety of alternative uses. Complications also arose with Faulu (http://www.faulukenya.com/), the partnering microfinance institution. M-PESA was re-focused and launched with a different value proposition: sending remittances home across the country and making payments.
* M-Pesa is the name of a mobile-phone based money transfer service that was developed by Sagentia for Vodafone.
* The platform is also operationally run by Sagentia on behalf of Vodafone.
* The development was initially sponsored by the The service enables its users to deposit and withdraw money, transfer money to other users and non-users, pay bills, and purchase airtime.
* M-Pesa is a branchless banking service, meaning that it is designed so that users can conduct basic banking transactions without the need to visit bank branches.
* Instead, M-Pesa users can deposit and withdraw money from a network of agents that includes airtime resellers and retail outlets acting as banking agents.
* M-Pesa is operated by mobile network operators that are not regulated as deposit-taking institutions (such as banks), so M-Pesa may not be advertised as a banking service.

The major success of M-Pesa has been that that it has created a highly popular, affordable payment service with only limited involvement of a bank.

M-Pesa was first launched by Kenyan mobile network operator Safaricom, an affiliate of Vodafone, in March 2007. M-Pesa quickly captured significant market share for cash transfers, and grew astoundingly quickly, capturing 6.5 million subscribers by May 2009 with 2 million daily transactions in Kenya alone.

The growth of the service forced formal banking institutions to take note of the new venture. In December of 2008, a group of banks reportedly lobbied the Kenyan finance minister to audit M-Pesa, in an effort to at least slow the growth of the service. This ploy failed, as the audit found that the service was robust.

M-Pesa has also been launched in Tanzania by Vodacom, a subsidiary of Vodafone, as well as in Afghanistan, where Vodafone is partnering with mobile network operator Roshan to provide M-Paisa, the local brand of the service.

Plans to expand M-Pesa to India, Egypt and South Africa as well as the launch of an international money transfer service for M-Pesa in Kenya are the next steps ahead for M-Pesa as of early 2009.

The user interface technology of M-Pesa differs between Safaricom of Kenya and Vodacom of Tanzania, although the underlying platform is the same. While Safaricom uses SIM toolkit to provide handset menus for accessing the service, Vodacom relies on USSD to provide users with menus.

*_How does mobile money get in and out of a cellphone?_*
Systems vary in detail, but Nairobi resident Mary Wanjiku uses M-PESA, the continent’s first such system set up by Kenyan mobile operator Safaricom, to send money to her mother in the countryside every month.

*Here’s what happens:*
* Mary and her mother go to their nearest M-PESA agents with their official IDs and cellphones to register themselves and their SIM cards on the system.
* Once she has activated her account, Mary charges up her account by giving the agent cash. The transaction and balance are confirmed via an SMS.
* Mary then transfers, via SMS, 3,000 Kenyan shillings ($38.40) to her mother’s mobile phone account. M-PESA charges her a flat fee of 30 shillings.
* Her mother receives the SMS and keeps it on her phone until the local M-PESA agent passes through her village. She then transfers that money to the agent’s phone via SMS, and the agent gives her the cash. Her mother is charged 45 shillings, a fee proportionate to the size of the withdrawal.
* Mary can also send money to friends who have not registered for M-PESA or who use a different phone network. In these cases, the fees at both ends of the transfer are higher.

*Source:* Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-Pesa) & Google (http://www.livemint.com/2009/06/01220046/How-Africa8217s-cellphone-c.html)

We again have our dear Mr. Raja as our union communications minister to screw up our telecom ministry to delay roll out of 3g and wimax and to send us back stone age as other countries go ahead of us in communications.God help us man:35::46:

*Govt gearing up to gag news websites
*
Barely four months after dropping its proposal of forcing TV channels to show only an “authorized” feed during security emergencies,
the government is now seeking to censor news portals and other websites, that too even at normal times.

The controversial draft rules released this month empower a designated Central government officer to block public access to any information on the Net for wide-ranging reasons of security and national interest.

One glaring infirmity in the draft rules prepared by the department of information technology
is that they make no stipulation for a prior hearing to the affected website. This is despite the fact that the web host who does not comply with the direction to remove the offending information is liable to be punished with imprisonment up to seven years.

While the abortive attempt to gag TV channels had been made through a draft notification amending the cable television network rules, the sweeping power to control the content on websites is being fleshed out in the rules drafted under the recent amendments to the information technology (IT) Act.

Though it was passed by Parliament in December and the Presidential assent to it came in February, the IT amendment Act 2008 will not come into effect till the various rules drafted under its provisions, including the one on blocking public access to websites, are finalized.

Under the draft rules framed under section 69A of the IT amendment Act, every state or Central government department will be empowered to decide whether a certain news item, article, blog or advertisement relating to its jurisdiction is safe to remain on the Net.

Once somebody sends a “complaint” against any information displayed on the Net, the department concerned will take a call on whether the matter in question affects any of the six concerns mentioned in section 69A: interest of sovereignty or integrity of India, defence of India, security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order or incitement to commit any cognizable offence relating to the other five reasons.

If it is satisfied about the need to pull the challenged information out of the public domain, the department concerned will send a “request” in the prescribed form to the “designated officer” at the Centre chosen by the secretary of the IT department. An inter-ministerial committee headed by the designated officer will recommend whether the request to censor the web site should be accepted or not.

If the IT secretary approves the committee’s recommendation to take action, the designated officer will direct the intermediary or web host to block the offending information within the stipulated time. In the event of non-compliance, the designated officer can initiate criminal proceedings under section 69A, which imposes a maximum sentence of seven years on the web host.

The only remedy provided by the draft rules to media organizations is that a review committee will meet every two months to check whether the directions to block information have been issued in accordance with the IT Act. Though they empower the review committee to order the “unblocking” of the information concerned, the draft rules are strangely silent on whether the affected website would be allowed to appeal before it and give its defence.

*Source:* Timesofindia (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Govt-gearing-up-to-gag-news-websites/articleshow/4562292.cms)

TRAI has directed the operators to take explicit consent from users who have subscribed value added services (VAS) such as call ring back tone and hello tunes through writing, in order to prevent accidental activation of such services.

TRAI is of the view that there could be chances of accidental activation of VAS through the pressing of a key to express consent method currently employed by most operators. Operators will now have to convey to the customer in writing or through SMS or FAX or e-mail, all the details of the offer of a value added service before activating the same.

According to TRAI, the accidental activation of such VAS through Out-Bound- Dialer (OBD) call could happen without understanding the implications of such offer, leading to unintended subscription to chargeable VAS.

TRAI feels the system of pressing a button to get a service activated is not a sound method as children at home, could have unintentionally pressed a particular key. There may also be possibilities that a customer may not have listened to the announcements fully or did not understand the offer and pressed a particular key unintentionally, thereby activating the service.

for details pl. visit http://www.trai.gov.in/whatnew.asp

—Quote—
There is a recent circular issued by Department of Telecommunications to all Internet service providers.According to this circular, Dot has instructed ISPs that every Individual/Company using Wireless Services have to Compulsorily register their Wi-Fi equipment with their Internet provider; failing their service would be disconnected.

The main points given in circular are:-

*
o Every internet user in country has to register his wireless equipment with his ISP. All ISPs make sure that this rules is duly followed.
o The Subscriber is fully responsible if any kind of illegal/anti social activities made through his Internet connection.
o For Existing Subscribers, ISP would inform them about this directive and give a notice for compliance. if a subscriber does not follow, his connection would be suspended until he registers.
—End Quote—
Read Full:
*Indian Govt makes Registration of Wi-Fi Compulsory for all* (http://www.dot.gov.in/isp/Wi-%20fi%20Direction%20to%20ISP%2023%20Feb%2009.pdf)

Totally stupid move, wonder why we have to pay the price:mad:

*Net connection: The top 10 countries
*
India has been ranked at a dismal 115th among 223 countries in terms of average Internet connection speeds. India has an average Internet connection speed of just 772 Kbps compared with the global average of 1.5 Mbps.

At the end of 2008, approximately 19 per cent Internet connections around the world were at speeds greater than 5 Mbps — a 21 per cent increase over the average global connection speed at the end of 2007.

The number of unique IPs or Internet addresses from India grew 42.91 per cent year-on-year, to 2.63 million. Globally, the number of unique IPs grew 20 per cent. In terms of broadband penetration, India had 0.0001 broadband IPs per capita.

This is according to the State of the Internet report, a quarterly study by Akamai Technologies, the US-based Internet content distribution giant. The State of the Internet report tracks average connection speeds for countries around the world. Check out the top 10 nations in terms of average Internet connection speed. . .

*_1. South Korea_*
South Korea rules supreme when it comes to Internet connection speed and broadband connectivity.

It is the world’s No.1 with average connection speed of *15 Mbps*, ten times the global average!

During 2008, South Korea’s rate of quarterly change appeared to be locked into a cyclical pattern, with quarterly decreases being recorded in the first and third quarters, and increases seen in the second and fourth quarters.

For the whole year, South Korea saw a modest 7 per cent rise in their levels of high broadband adoption. South Korea is also ranked first in terms of high broadband connectivity with 69 per cent connections above 5 Mpbs.

South Korea, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway had more high broadband IP’s per capita than in the prior quarter. This is consistent with what would be expected from the initiatives to bring higher speed connectivity, including fibre to the home (FTTH) efforts, to consumers in these countries.

*_2. Japan_*
Japan ranks 2nd in terms of Internet connection and high broadband connectivity. Japan ranks 2nd in terms of high broadband connectivity. About 54 per cent of the connections in Japan are above *7 Mbps*.

*_3. Hong Kong_*
Hong Kong ranks third with an Internet connection speed of *6.9 Mbps*. The country ranks fifth in terms of high broadband connectivity with 38 per cent of the connection above 5 Mbps.

*_4. Romania_*
Romania is at the fourth position with a Internet connection speed of *5.7 Mbps*.The country ranks third in terms of high broadband connectivity with 45% of the connection above 5 Mbps.

*_5. Sweden_*
Sweden is at the fifth position with a Internet connection speed of *5.6 Mbps*. Sweden ranks fourth in terms of high broadband connectivity with 39 per cent of the connection above 5Mbps.

*_6. Switzerland_*
Switzerland has bagged the sixth position with an Internet connection speed of over *5 Mbps*. The country however does not figure in the top ten list of countries with high broadband connectivity.

*_7. Netherlands_*
Netherlands ranks 7th with an Internet connection speed of *4.9 Mbps*. The country ranks 7th in terms of high broadband connectivity with 28 per cent of the connections above 5 Mbps.

*_8. Belgium_*
Belgium is at the 8th position with an Internet connection speed of *4.7 Mbps*. The country ranks sixth in terms of high broadband connectivity with 31 per cent of the connection above 5 Mbps.

*_9. Slovakia_*
Slovakia bags the ninth position with an Internet connection speed of *4.5 Mbps*.The country does not figure among the top ten in terms of high broadband connectivity.

*_10. Norway_*
Norway ranks tenth with an Internet connection speed of *4.5 Mbps*. The country ranks fifth in terms of high broadband connectivity with 38 per cent of the connection above 5 Mbps

*_United States_*
United States is at the *17th position* with an Internet connection speed of *3.9 Mbps*, up approximately 8 per cent from the average connection speed for the first quarter of 2008.

The country ranks ninth in terms of high broadband connectivity with 25 per cent of the connection above 5 Mbps. The study states that the average speed will continue to grow over time, as new technologies, such as DOCSIS 3.0 enable consumer broadband connections to reach significantly higher speeds.

Most states in the US saw nominal to significant rise in their average broadband speed, with both Nebraska and Kentucky seeing a 33 per cent improvement from the first quarter to the fourth quarter. Several states, including Rhode Island and New Jersey, saw minor decreases over the course of the year.

*_China_*
In terms of Internet connection speed, China is way behind leading economies with an average Internet connection speed of *833 kbps*. The country lags behind in high broadband connectivity with only 0.6 per cent of the connections above 5 Mbps.

*Source:* Rediff (http://specials.rediff.com/money/2009/apr/07slide1-net-connection-the-top-10-countries.htm)