Indian telecom market has been growing at a CAGR of approximately 30% since 1995 and still growing strong. With additions of more than 14 million subscribers per month in the pas years, the wireless subscriber base has grown to 635.51 million in present year, second only to China.However, the recently concluded 3G spectrum and BWA auction saw intense competition among the bidders resulting in a revenue inflow of Rs.1.06 trillion for the government, surpassing most estimates.
In this context, the report examines the potential for Mobile Broadband Services, its impact on the telecom industry and other allied sectors in India.
“The transformative power of mobile broadband lies in its ability to enable greater access to the internet in India. Everyone from telecom industry, Government to other industries will be able to leverage a ubiquitous platform to reach out to a wide range of customers and provide diverse products and services more effectively.”
Key highlights of the report:
1. Mobile Services: Positive Outlook- The mobile subscriber base is projected to cross 1 billion in 2014 driven by high subscriber additions in mostly rural areas.
2. More than one hundred million 3G/HSPA broadband subscribers by 2015 and growing: Given the context of non-scalable wire line infrastructure, broadband in India is expected to be delivered on a wireless platform. Mobile broadband using technologies in the BWA spectrum band, such as TDD LTE, are expected to address enterprises and high net worth individuals; while broadband volumes are likely to be driven on the mobile platform leveraging 3G and HSPA technology.
3G subscriber numbers are projected to cross 107 Mn by 2015. Initially, the uptake of mobile broadband services will almost exclusively be in urban India; however by 2015 rural subscribers are likely to comprise 24 percent of overall 3G subscriber base in 2015.
Introduction of new innovative applications, enhanced user experience, decreasing prices of 3G/HSPA enabled handsets would be key driver for mobile broadband in India.
3 Mobile broadband will be a catalyst for changing business dynamics: In terms of service offerings, currently content is largely restricted to film based entertainment and cricket. High speed access will enable content developers and aggregators to generate additional revenue by offering diverse interactive content including local language content.
Content owners will move beyond operator portals and onto direct services via internet. This will also see advertising driven models, offering benefits to the users, with advertisers partly footing the bill. This will also reflect in increased bargaining power of content developers and aggregators vis-à-vis operators.
New partnerships will emerge; handset vendors will be partnering with content owners and aggregators to embed various applications in their devices to create product differentiation. In addition, mobile operators will be using content /application brands to launch new services.
4 Cascading impact of mobile broadband services: Mobile broadband services will generate incremental revenue of Rs.940 Ban in 2015 Ban for telecom industry as a whole.
5 Financial Services, Media & Entertainment, Agriculture and other allied sectors to benefit from mobile broadband: Financial services sector could effectively leverage the platform to reach out to a large base of unbanked customers across India.
In agriculture, mobile broadband would play a role in integrating rural India with rest of the country and help widen markets, create better information flows, lower transaction costs.
Monday, September 27, 2010
India will have over hundred million 3G broadband subscribers by 2015
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Novel X-ray machine is unveiled
Scientists have demonstrated a refined X-ray technique which can spot tiny variations in bone structures.
The technique uses X-rays delivered by powerful light sources and complex computer algorithms to resolve structural variations as small as 100 nanome
tres across.
Using the technique, the researchers have mapped in detail a bone fragment narrower than a human hair.
Synchrotron scale
Hospital X-ray machines work by passing an X-ray pulse through a body onto radiographic film.
The X-rays pass through softer tissue but are mostly absorbed by hard bone - leaving an image in which the skeleton and tissue are clearly distinguishable.
In recent years, scientists have been scaling up the power of the X-ray, using massive particle accelerators or synchrotrons to deliver much larger radiation doses.
While these cannot be used on humans for obvious reasons, they can be used in research work to reveal details in materials which are too thick for use in electron microscopes.
But X-ray imaging has its own problems, with X-rays difficult to focus or manipulate even with corrective lenses.
What Martin Dierolf and a team of scientists based in Germany and Switzerland have done is to refine these X-ray techniques.
Instead of relying on how X-rays are absorbed by different materials, they have instead focused on how they are diverted or refracted as they pass through different substances. This "phase contrast" signal gives much clearer and detailed results.
They also abandoned using any corrective lenses, firing the X-ray pulse through a pinhole and then collecting the diffracted rays after they pass through the sample.
They then used a powerful computer programme to rebuild a 3D image of the object scanned by rewinding the passage of the X-rays.
"It's like reconstructing a broken cup by playing the movie backwards and by doing that you bring all the X-rays into the sample to see how they've reacted," says Professor Henry Chapman of the University if Hamburg, who reviewed the study.
The sample is scanned with an X-ray beam and a 3D image is constructed by computer
The prototype was tested at the Swiss Light Source synchrotron near Zurich, using a mouse femur fragment narrower than a human hair.
The images obtained show detail down to the cavities in which osteocytes or bone cells reside, and the interconnective channels which are only some 100 nanometers in diameter.
A nanometre is a billionth of a metre.
Pierre Thibault of the Technical University of Munich, who is a member of the research team, says the likely applications are in medical research.
"Our method doesn't scale easily to hospitals and I'm not sure that's what we're aiming at anyway.
"It would be more for pre-clinical studies that are looking for instance at the onset of osteoporosis at the nano scale to see what happens at the scale of the bone cells. That's something we're going to look at in the next few months."
He says there could also be applications in engineering.
"You can look at alloys, how at this scale two different metals combine together because you have such a good sensitivity to different densities you can differentiate the two metals that are in the alloy, or maybe look at fractures inside the materials and see at this scale what's happening."
Friday, September 24, 2010
India Bans Bulk SMS For 3 Days
Update: According to the Hindu, “For individuals, bulk SMS would be above 10 per day, while for companies it could be 100 or more.”
We’re not sure if this information is correct. I was able to send 11 SMS earlier today. We now have a copy of the DoT notification to telecom operators – download it here (pdf). There’s no mention of peer-to-peer (P2P) SMS being restricted.
Earlier: The Indian government has issued a ban on Bulk SMS and MMS services for the next 72 hours; it’s not about providing relief from SMS Spam, but about preventing a widespread panic and mob uprising given the impending verdict on the Babri Masjid land issue in Ayodhya, from the Allahabad High Court. There is fear that, given the unregulated nature of SMS and the widespread use of mobile phones in India, panic could be spread.
However, they haven’t taken into account two factors:
– SMS’ can be viral: messages have, in the past, spread from person to person across the country. It isn’t necessary that such SMS are always sent out as Bulk SMS from telecom service provider (which, incidentally, would make it easier to identify the source of the messages).
– Modem Farms: you might have noticed that at times, you get SPAM SMS’ from specific mobile numbers; for example, on 21st of September, I got a message from +918087674039, for 3 Star Hotels in Goa. At times, then the throughput requirement is not very high, or if the cost of peer-to-peer SMS is lower than Bulk SMS, modem farms are set up, wherein you just buy SIM cards, put them in modems, and fire away, paying regular SMS charges.
Banning Bulk SMS can contain mass messaging (the alternatives above cost more, have lower throughput), but can’t stop it.
Press Release from the Indian Government
Bulk SMS & MMS Messages Banned for Next 72 Hours
Ministry of Communications & Information Technology has today issued orders in consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs to all Mobile Telecom Services Providers in the country for banning all bulk SMS & all bulk MMS Messages in all service areas with immediate effect for next 72 hours.
Drugs 'could target asthma genes'
A large international study has revealed several genetic variants which are linked to people with asthma.
In all, more than 500,000 tests were performed on the genes of 10,000 children and adults with the condition, and 16,000 non-asthmatics.
The Imperial College-led research, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, could point to new targets for drugs.
Experts said gene testing could not predict who would get the condition.
One in seven children in the UK suffers from asthma, which causes the airways to become irritated and narrow, making it harder for them to breathe.
The reasons why people develop the disease are not yet fully clear, although scientists suspect a roughly equal mixture of genetic susceptibility and environmental factors.
The latest genetic variants discovered by the international research appeared in more than a third of children with asthma.
However, the gene with the strongest impact on children did not affect people who developed asthma in adulthood, suggesting that the two versions of asthma may differ biologically.
Some of the genes identified are involved in the body's system for telling the immune system about damage to the lining of the airways, while others appear to control how quickly the airways heal.
Professor William Cookson, from Imperial College London, who co-ordinated the research, said: "Asthma is a complex disease in which many different parts of the immune system can become activated.
"Our study now highlights targets for effective asthma therapies and suggests that therapies against these targets will be of use to large numbers of asthmatics in the population."
However, parents have been warned that although genes make a contribution to asthma development, there is no way to use a genetic test to predict the condition.
Leanne Metcalf, from Asthma UK, said: "This unique study helps us to understand in much more detail how the genetic side of things works.
"Importantly, it has also shown that genetic testing does not help to predict who is susceptible to developing asthma, meaning that early diagnosis and intervention, and effective treatment for everyone who is affected by asthma, are even more vital.
"However the most exciting part is that these results will now help to ensure that scientists are able to focus their research on the most influential targets for asthma, with the important long-term aim of preventing a condition which is responsible for the deaths of three people every day."
Saturday, September 18, 2010
OpEn SoUrCe :: A Tech. Update.
Open source code is typically created as a collaborative effort in which programmers improve upon the code and share the changes within the community.
- The author or holder of the license of the source code cannot collect royalties on the distribution of the program.
- The distributed program must make the source code accessible to the user.
- The author must allow modifications and derivations of the work under the program's original name.
- No person, group or field of endeavor can be denied access to the program.
- The rights attached to the program must not depend on the program's being part of a particular software distribution.
- The licensed software cannot place restrictions on other software that is distributed with it.
The Open Source Definition, as provided by the Open Source Initiative is as follows:
Introduction
Open source doesn't just mean access to the source code. The distribution terms of open-source software must comply with the following criteria:
1. Free RedistributionThe license shall not restrict any party from selling or giving away the software as a component of an aggregate software distribution containing programs from several different sources. The license shall not require a royalty or other fee for such sale.
2. Source Code
The program must include source code, and must allow distribution in source code as well as compiled form. Where some form of a product is not distributed with source code, there must be a well-publicized means of obtaining the source code for no more than a reasonable reproduction cost preferably, downloading via the Internet without charge. The source code must be the preferred form in which a programmer would modify the program. Deliberately obfuscated source code is not allowed. Intermediate forms such as the output of a preprocessor or translator are not allowed.
3. Derived Works The license must allow modifications and derived works, and must allow them to be distributed under the same terms as the license of the original software.
4. Integrity of The Author's Source CodeThe license may restrict source-code from being distributed in modified form only if the license allows the distribution of "patch files" with the source code for the purpose of modifying the program at build time. The license must explicitly permit distribution of software built from modified source code. The license may require derived works to carry a different name or version number from the original software.
5. No Discrimination Against Persons or GroupsThe license must not discriminate against any person or group of persons.
6. No Discrimination Against Fields of EndeavorThe license must not restrict anyone from making use of the program in a specific field of endeavor. For example, it may not restrict the program from being used in a business, or from being used for genetic research.
7. Distribution of License
The rights attached to the program must apply to all to whom the program is redistributed without the need for execution of an additional license by those parties.
8. License Must Not Be Specific to a Product
The rights attached to the program must not depend on the program's being part of a particular software distribution. If the program is extracted from that distribution and used or distributed within the terms of the program's license, all parties to whom the program is redistributed should have the same rights as those that are granted in conjunction with the original software distribution.
9. License Must Not Restrict Other SoftwareThe license must not place restrictions on other software that is distributed along with the licensed software. For example, the license must not insist that all other programs distributed on the same medium must be open-source software.
10. License Must Be Technology-NeutralNo provision of the license may be predicated on any individual technology or style of interface.
The Open Source Initiative approves open source licenses after they have successfully gone through the approval process and comply with the Open Source Definition (above). There is currently well over fifty licenses that have been approved by the OSI.
Affero GNU Public License
Adaptive Public License
Apache Software License
Apache License, 2.0
Apple Public Source License
Artistic license
Artistic license 2.0
Attribution Assurance Licenses
New and Simplified BSD licenses
Boost Software License (BSL1.0)
Computer Associates Trusted Open Source License 1.1
Common Development and Distribution License
Common Public Attribution License 1.0 (CPAL)
Common Public License 1.0
CUA Office Public License Version 1.0
EU DataGrid Software License
Eclipse Public License
Educational Community License, Version 2.0
Eiffel Forum License
Eiffel Forum License V2.0
Entessa Public License
Fair License
Frameworx License
GNU General Public License (GPL)
GNU General Public License version 3.0 (GPLv3)
GNU Library or "Lesser" General Public License (LGPL)
GNU Library or "Lesser" General Public License version 3.0 (LGPLv3)
Historical Permission Notice and Disclaimer
IBM Public License
Intel Open Source License
ISC License
Jabber Open Source License
Lucent Public License (Plan9)
Lucent Public License Version 1.02
Microsoft Public License (Ms-PL) Microsoft Reciprocal License (Ms-RL)
MIT license
MITRE Collaborative Virtual Workspace License (CVW License)
Motosoto License
Mozilla Public License 1.0 (MPL)
Mozilla Public License 1.1 (MPL)
Multics License
NASA Open Source Agreement 1.3
NTP License
Naumen Public License
Nethack General Public License
Nokia Open Source License
Non-Profit Open Software License 3.0 (Non-Profit OSL 3.0)
OCLC Research Public License 2.0
Open Group Test Suite License
Open Software License 3.0 (OSL 3.0)
PHP License
Python license (CNRI Python License)
Python Software Foundation License
Qt Public License (QPL)
RealNetworks Public Source License V1.0
Reciprocal Public License
Reciprocal Public License 1.5 (RPL1.5)
Ricoh Source Code Public License
Simple Public License 2.0
Sleepycat License
Sun Industry Standards Source License (SISSL)
Sun Public License
Sybase Open Watcom Public License 1.0
University of Illinois/NCSA Open Source License
Vovida Software License v. 1.0
W3C License
wxWindows Library License
X.Net License
Zope Public License
zlib/libpng license
Sendmail is an open source mail transfer agent (MTA) used for routing and delivery e-mail. The original version of Sendmail was written by Eric Allman in the early 1980s. It is estimated that Sendmail is installed on 60 to 80 percent of the Internet's mail-server computers.
Apache Web server
Often referred to as simply Apache, a public-domain open source Web server developed by a loosely knit group of programmers. The first version of Apache, based on the NCSA httpd Web server, was developed in 1995. Core development of the Apache Web server is performed by a group of about 20 volunteer programmers, called the Apache Group. However, because the source code is freely available, anyone can adapt the server for specific needs, and there is a large public library of Apache add-ons.
Linux
(Pronounced lee-nucks or lih-nucks). A freely distributable open source operating system that runs on a number of hardware platforms. The Linux kernel was developed mainly by Linus Torvalds. Because it's free, and because it runs on many platforms, including PCs and Macintoshes, Linux has become an extremely popular alternative to proprietary operating systems.
GNOME
Acronym for GNU Network Object Model Environment. (Pronounced guh-nome) GNOME is part of the GNU project and part of the free software, or open source, movement. GNOME is a Windows-like desktop system that works on UNIX and UNIX-like systems and is not dependent on any one window manager. The current version runs on Linux, FreeBSD, IRIX and Solaris. The main objective of GNOME is to provide a user-friendly suite of applications and an easy-to-use desktop.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Different Types of Computer Operating System(s)
GUI -
Apple System 7
Apple Mac OS.
Unix
Windows 2000
An operating system capable of supporting and utilizing more than one computer processor. Below are some examples of multiprocessing operating systems.
Unix
Windows 2000
An operating system that is capable of allowing multiple software processes to run at the same time. Below are some examples of multitasking operating systems.
Windows 2000
Operating systems that allow different parts of a software program to run concurrently. Operating systems that would fall into this category are:
Unix
Windows 2000
| Operating system | Date first released | Platform | Developer |
| AIX / AIXL | Unix / Linux. | Various | IBM |
| AmigaOS | Currently no AmigaOS operating system history. | Amiga | Commodore |
| BSD | Unix / Linux. | Various | BSD |
| Caldera Linux | Unix / Linux. | Various | SCO |
| Corel Linux | Unix / Linux. | Various | Corel |
| Debian Linux | Unix / Linux. | Various | GNU |
| DUnix | Unix / Linux. | Various | Digital |
| DYNIX/ptx | Unix / Linux. | Various | IBM |
| HP-UX | Unix / Linux. | Various | Hewlett Packard |
| IRIX | Unix / Linux. | Various | SGI |
| Kondara Linux | Unix / Linux. | Various | Kondara |
| Linux | Unix / Linux. | Various | Linus Torvalds |
| MAC OS 8 | Apple operating system. | Apple Macintosh | Apple |
| MAC OS 9 | Apple operating system. | Apple Macintosh | Apple |
| MAC OS 10 | Apple operating system | Apple Macintosh | Apple |
| MAC OS X | Apple operating system | Apple Macintosh | Apple |
| Mandrake Linux | Unix / Linux. | Various | Mandrake |
| MINIX | Unix / Linux. | Various | MINIX |
| MS-DOS 1.x | MS-DOS. | IBM / PC | Microsoft |
| MS-DOS 2.x | MS-DOS. | IBM / PC | Microsoft |
| MS-DOS 3.x | MS-DOS. | IBM / PC | Microsoft |
| MS-DOS 4.x | MS-DOS. | IBM / PC | Microsoft |
| MS-DOS 5.x | MS-DOS. | IBM / PC | Microsoft |
| MS-DOS 6.x | MS-DOS. | IBM / PC | Microsoft |
| NEXTSTEP | Apple operating system | Various | Apple |
| OSF/1 | Unix / Linux. | Various | OSF |
| QNX | Unix / Linux. | Various | QNX |
| Red Hat Linux | Unix / Linux. | Various | Red Hat |
| SCO | Unix / Linux. | Various | SCO |
| Slackware Linux | Unix / Linux. | Various | Slackware |
| Sun Solaris | Unix / Linux. | Various | Sun |
| SuSE Linux | Unix / Linux. | Various | SuSE |
| System 1 | Apple operating system | Apple Macintosh | Apple |
| System 2 | Apple operating system | Apple Macintosh | Apple |
| System 3 | Apple operating system | Apple Macintosh | Apple |
| System 4 | Apple operating system | Apple Macintosh | Apple |
| System 6 | Apple operating system | Apple Macintosh | Apple |
| System 7 | Apple operating | Apple Macintosh | Apple |
| System V | Unix / Linux | Various | System V |
| Tru64 Unix | Unix / Linux | Various | Digital |
| Turbolinux | Unix / Linux | Various | Turbolinux |
| Ultrix | Unix / Linux | Various | Ultrix |
| Unisys | Unix / Linux | Various | Unisys |
| Unix | Unix / Linux | Various | Bell labs |
| UnixWare | Unix / Linux | Various | UnixWare |
| VectorLinux | Unix / Linux | Various | VectorLinux |
| Windows 2000 | Windows. | IBM / PC | Microsoft |
| Windows 2003 | Windows. | IBM / PC | Microsoft |
| Windows 3.X | Windows. | IBM / PC | Microsoft |
| Windows 7 | Windows. | IBM / PC | Microsoft |
| Windows 95 | Windows. | IBM / PC | Microsoft |
| Windows 98 | Windows. | IBM / PC | Microsoft |
| Windows CE | Windows. | PDA | Microsoft |
| Windows ME | Windows. | IBM / PC | Microsoft |
| Windows NT | Windows. | IBM / PC | Microsoft |
| Windows Vista | Windows. | IBM / PC | Microsoft |
| Windows XP | Windows. | IBM / PC | Microsoft |
| Xenix | Unix / Linux | Various | Microsoft |