Telstra excluded from Australia broadband scheme
Telstra, Australia’s dominant telecommunications group, on Monday reacted with fury after the country’s government excluded it from a plan to build a A$10bn ($6.7bn) nationwide high-speed internet network.
The group was disqualified from the national broadband network (NBN) proposal after the government said it had not included a plan on involving small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Telstra’s exclusion strengthens the chances that the Optus-Terria consortium, which includes Singapore Telecommunications’ Australian unit, will win the NBN contract.
Other bidders include Canada-based Axia NetMedia and Acacia, a locally-based consortium that includes Solomon Lew, the fashion chain businessman and former chairman of food retailer Coles.
Donald McGauchie, Telstra chairman, said the group had “fully complied” with the government’s requirements and a “peripheral” issue had been used to exclude it from the process.
“The Commonwealth could hardly have dreamed up a more trivial reason to exclude Telstra from the NBN,” Mr McGauchie said. “This is a process that seemingly excludes bidders on such trivial and legally questionable technicalities but doesn’t take any action on material issues such as financing and having the technical capability to build the network.”
Analysts said the government’s decision was a blow to Telstra although it was possible the telecoms group could re-enter the NBN plan at a later date.
The telecoms group declined to comment on whether it would mount a legal challenge to the government’s decision and rejected suggestions the board and management had disagreed over submitting a bid. Telstra shares dropped 48 cents, or 11.6 per cent, to A$3.65.
Telstra said it had provided an SME plan to the government in early December. The deadline for bids was November 26.
“Telstra is the only company to have submitted a proposal with a real financial commitment of A$5bn. And Telstra is the only company with the existing network, technical know-how, world-leading vendor, skilled workforce, established wholesale systems and proven track record of building world class networks,” Mr McGauchie said.
The government has promised to make available A$4.7bn in funds to assist the winning bidder build the NBN, which is likely to cost A$10bn or more.
Telstra had earlier threatened not to submit a bid unless the government clarified its position on whether it could force a break-up of the former state-owned group’s operations.
However, the government refused to cave into Telstra’s requests.
Stephen Conroy, minister for broadband technology and the digital economy, said Telstra had failed to comply with one of the five mandatory requirements.
“It would be unfair to the other bidders for us to, after the bids had closed, to re-open them to re-admit one of the bidders who had failed to supply all the information, “ Mr Conroy told reporters in Canberra.
Kevin Rudd, the Labour leader who replaced John Howard as prime minister in 2007, campaigned on a promise to deliver a NBN.
TransAct and the Tasmanian government have also made regional bids to take part in the NBN.
Monday, December 22, 2008
France - cancellation of exclusivity of Apple iPhone
French watchdog cancels iPhone contract
France’s competition authority on Wednesday cancelled with immediate effect Orange’s exclusive contract to provide Apple’s latest iPhone to French consumers.
The Competition Council ruling is the first time an exclusive iPhone sales agreement has been struck down in Europe and is bound to raise the prospect of legal challenges in the other countries where Apple has exclusive deals: Germany, the UK and the US.
However, the council said its decision was partly shaped by specific concerns about the French mobile market, which it believes is less competitive than others. These concerns led it to the conclusion that Orange’s five-year monopoly on selling the iPhone 3G was, as one official put it, “way too long”.
All existing and future exclusive sales agreements between Apple and Orange must also expire after a maximum of three months, the council said.
The decision is a blow for Orange, the brand name of France Telecom, the former monopoly operator, which had regarded the iPhone as a valuable asset for conquering a larger slice of the market.
Orange has sold 450,000 iPhone 3G handsets and 150,000 models of an earlier version. Half of these sales were to customers who had switched from rival operators.
Orange said it would appeal against a “serious” ruling that “cast great doubt over the economics of the market”.
The three-month limit on exclusivity would not allow it to justify the investments needed to upgrade the network to support mobile internet.
However, while the council said that exclusive sales agreements could be justified to help finance investments in new product or service launches, Orange could not justify a period as long as five years.
The council estimated that Orange’s sales of the iPhone 3G amounted to €222m ($320m) from its launch on July 18 to the end of September.
But it said that only €16.5m of investments by Orange could be attributed directly to the iPhone’s launch.
The ruling is a victory for Bouygues Telecom, France’s third largest operator, which lodged a complaint in September against the sales agreement between Orange and Apple.
Bouygues had argued that “smartphones” like the iPhone were now driving the growth of the mobile market and that Apple’s deal in France excluded other operators from that growth.
The ruling means that iPhones sold in France can no longer be “locked” to the Orange network.
The Competition Council also concluded that an exclusive sales agreement was against consumer interests because competition between operators was likely to encourage them to provide bigger subsidies for handsets.
Vodafone last year tried and failed to break an exclusive sales agreement in Germany between Apple and T-Mobile, owned by Deutsche Telekom.
France’s competition authority on Wednesday cancelled with immediate effect Orange’s exclusive contract to provide Apple’s latest iPhone to French consumers.
The Competition Council ruling is the first time an exclusive iPhone sales agreement has been struck down in Europe and is bound to raise the prospect of legal challenges in the other countries where Apple has exclusive deals: Germany, the UK and the US.
However, the council said its decision was partly shaped by specific concerns about the French mobile market, which it believes is less competitive than others. These concerns led it to the conclusion that Orange’s five-year monopoly on selling the iPhone 3G was, as one official put it, “way too long”.
All existing and future exclusive sales agreements between Apple and Orange must also expire after a maximum of three months, the council said.
The decision is a blow for Orange, the brand name of France Telecom, the former monopoly operator, which had regarded the iPhone as a valuable asset for conquering a larger slice of the market.
Orange has sold 450,000 iPhone 3G handsets and 150,000 models of an earlier version. Half of these sales were to customers who had switched from rival operators.
Orange said it would appeal against a “serious” ruling that “cast great doubt over the economics of the market”.
The three-month limit on exclusivity would not allow it to justify the investments needed to upgrade the network to support mobile internet.
However, while the council said that exclusive sales agreements could be justified to help finance investments in new product or service launches, Orange could not justify a period as long as five years.
The council estimated that Orange’s sales of the iPhone 3G amounted to €222m ($320m) from its launch on July 18 to the end of September.
But it said that only €16.5m of investments by Orange could be attributed directly to the iPhone’s launch.
The ruling is a victory for Bouygues Telecom, France’s third largest operator, which lodged a complaint in September against the sales agreement between Orange and Apple.
Bouygues had argued that “smartphones” like the iPhone were now driving the growth of the mobile market and that Apple’s deal in France excluded other operators from that growth.
The ruling means that iPhones sold in France can no longer be “locked” to the Orange network.
The Competition Council also concluded that an exclusive sales agreement was against consumer interests because competition between operators was likely to encourage them to provide bigger subsidies for handsets.
Vodafone last year tried and failed to break an exclusive sales agreement in Germany between Apple and T-Mobile, owned by Deutsche Telekom.
Pew Internet - future of the Internet
The Future of the Internet III
A survey of internet leaders, activists and analysts shows they expect major tech advances as the phone becomes a primary device for online access, voice-recognition improves, artificial and virtual reality become more embedded in everyday life, and the architecture of the internet itself improves.
They disagree about whether this will lead to more social tolerance, more forgiving human relations, or better home lives.
Here are the key findings on the survey of experts by the Pew Internet & American Life Project that asked respondents to assess predictions about technology and its roles in the year 2020:
The mobile device will be the primary connection tool to the internet for most people in the world in 2020.
The transparency of people and organizations will increase, but that will not necessarily yield more personal integrity, social tolerance, or forgiveness.
Voice recognition and touch user-interfaces with the internet will be more prevalent and accepted by 2020.
Those working to enforce intellectual property law and copyright protection will remain in a continuing arms race, with the crackers who will find ways to copy and share content without payment.
The divisions between personal time and work time and between physical and virtual reality will be further erased for everyone who is connected, and the results will be mixed in their impact on basic social relations.
Next-generation engineering of the network to improve the current internet architecture is more likely than an effort to rebuild the architecture from scratch
A survey of internet leaders, activists and analysts shows they expect major tech advances as the phone becomes a primary device for online access, voice-recognition improves, artificial and virtual reality become more embedded in everyday life, and the architecture of the internet itself improves.
They disagree about whether this will lead to more social tolerance, more forgiving human relations, or better home lives.
Here are the key findings on the survey of experts by the Pew Internet & American Life Project that asked respondents to assess predictions about technology and its roles in the year 2020:
The mobile device will be the primary connection tool to the internet for most people in the world in 2020.
The transparency of people and organizations will increase, but that will not necessarily yield more personal integrity, social tolerance, or forgiveness.
Voice recognition and touch user-interfaces with the internet will be more prevalent and accepted by 2020.
Those working to enforce intellectual property law and copyright protection will remain in a continuing arms race, with the crackers who will find ways to copy and share content without payment.
The divisions between personal time and work time and between physical and virtual reality will be further erased for everyone who is connected, and the results will be mixed in their impact on basic social relations.
Next-generation engineering of the network to improve the current internet architecture is more likely than an effort to rebuild the architecture from scratch
Telcos - credit crunch
Fears for the future as phone companies run out of credit
Even big phone companies are struggling to raise money, and that means investment in innovation is likely to fall
Nortel Networks, the Canadian telecom equipment company that was once among the darlings of the digital technology world, slipped closer to outright bankruptcy last week, its market capitalisation down from a peak of $250 billion to a puny $250 million. Alcatel-Lucent is also in trouble, and even next-generation equipment companies like Ciena are predicting slow sales.
Some of this simply has to do with a long-standing shift in the telecom business as internet-based technology supplants traditional circuit-switched telephone systems. Nortel made its big mark back in the 1980s when it led the move to digital telephone network switches. But with the growth of landlines stagnant at best and more and more telecom traffic of all kinds flowing over the internet, there simply isn’t any demand for old-style $50 million telco switching systems.
But there is something else going on too, something much more ominous for the telecom and internet industries: the credit crunch is shutting down the borrowing that network operators depend upon to invest in their networks.
During the dot-com bust of 2000-01, telecom was among the last pillars to fall, but it fell hard indeed. In the late 1990s, a rush of investment led to excess capacity in many long-haul fibre networks in particular, and bubble-driven fraud at companies like WorldCom and Qwest didn’t help either.
The end result, though, was a lot of infrastructure, even if the companies that built it never reaped the benefits. Indeed, heavy investment in broadband networks during the dot-com years did much to pave the way for the Web 2.0 internet renaissance; online video, and all manner of always-on services that we’ve come to take for granted, simply didn’t exist in the 1990s because lots of people still relied on dial-up.
Now, though, there is a very real risk that reduced investment in telecom networks will depress demand for new products and services. Here in Missoula, Montana, for example, the AT&T-affiliated network that supports the Apple iPhone has very poor service. Apple won’t be selling many iPhones in Missoula until that issue is fixed, and that will take money.
While DSL and cable modem services are fairly ubiquitous these days, the definition of what constitutes true “broadband” is shifting, and it will take continued investment to keep pace. In both fibre-based broadband services, where phone companies are pushing into on-demand video to compete with cable, and in wireless services, where true broadband is only just emerging, a lot more money still needs to be spent.
Phone companies like Verizon, AT&T and BT traditionally have had no trouble selling bonds to raise money for capital investment; their prodigious cash-flow from subscription services made it some of the safest corporate debt around. But in an era when no loan is considered safe, even the telcos and their rivals face, at a minimum, sky-high interest rates if they want to borrow.
At the very least, a telecom investment drought is likely to reduce the possibility of robust competition in broadband services, which today exists in some places but not in others. Even in the best of times, strategies such as Verizon’s fibre-to-the-home service for video are risky, and if money is too expensive or unavailable those investments will not happen. The same is true on the wireless side.
It remains to be seen how substantially the recession will impact consumer spending on telecom devices and services in the short term; certainly there will be some effects, though at least a basic mobile phone is a necessity these days, and subscriber growth continues in the developing world. Entertainment-oriented services for their part have traditionally been fairly recession-resistant.
If telecom companies reduce infrastructure investment because they anticipate reduced demand, that’s a normal business cycle taking its course. But if some of the world’s largest and most stable companies can’t invest because they can’t borrow, that’s a different kind of problem, and one we can only hope will be fixed in a hurry.
Even big phone companies are struggling to raise money, and that means investment in innovation is likely to fall
Nortel Networks, the Canadian telecom equipment company that was once among the darlings of the digital technology world, slipped closer to outright bankruptcy last week, its market capitalisation down from a peak of $250 billion to a puny $250 million. Alcatel-Lucent is also in trouble, and even next-generation equipment companies like Ciena are predicting slow sales.
Some of this simply has to do with a long-standing shift in the telecom business as internet-based technology supplants traditional circuit-switched telephone systems. Nortel made its big mark back in the 1980s when it led the move to digital telephone network switches. But with the growth of landlines stagnant at best and more and more telecom traffic of all kinds flowing over the internet, there simply isn’t any demand for old-style $50 million telco switching systems.
But there is something else going on too, something much more ominous for the telecom and internet industries: the credit crunch is shutting down the borrowing that network operators depend upon to invest in their networks.
During the dot-com bust of 2000-01, telecom was among the last pillars to fall, but it fell hard indeed. In the late 1990s, a rush of investment led to excess capacity in many long-haul fibre networks in particular, and bubble-driven fraud at companies like WorldCom and Qwest didn’t help either.
The end result, though, was a lot of infrastructure, even if the companies that built it never reaped the benefits. Indeed, heavy investment in broadband networks during the dot-com years did much to pave the way for the Web 2.0 internet renaissance; online video, and all manner of always-on services that we’ve come to take for granted, simply didn’t exist in the 1990s because lots of people still relied on dial-up.
Now, though, there is a very real risk that reduced investment in telecom networks will depress demand for new products and services. Here in Missoula, Montana, for example, the AT&T-affiliated network that supports the Apple iPhone has very poor service. Apple won’t be selling many iPhones in Missoula until that issue is fixed, and that will take money.
While DSL and cable modem services are fairly ubiquitous these days, the definition of what constitutes true “broadband” is shifting, and it will take continued investment to keep pace. In both fibre-based broadband services, where phone companies are pushing into on-demand video to compete with cable, and in wireless services, where true broadband is only just emerging, a lot more money still needs to be spent.
Phone companies like Verizon, AT&T and BT traditionally have had no trouble selling bonds to raise money for capital investment; their prodigious cash-flow from subscription services made it some of the safest corporate debt around. But in an era when no loan is considered safe, even the telcos and their rivals face, at a minimum, sky-high interest rates if they want to borrow.
At the very least, a telecom investment drought is likely to reduce the possibility of robust competition in broadband services, which today exists in some places but not in others. Even in the best of times, strategies such as Verizon’s fibre-to-the-home service for video are risky, and if money is too expensive or unavailable those investments will not happen. The same is true on the wireless side.
It remains to be seen how substantially the recession will impact consumer spending on telecom devices and services in the short term; certainly there will be some effects, though at least a basic mobile phone is a necessity these days, and subscriber growth continues in the developing world. Entertainment-oriented services for their part have traditionally been fairly recession-resistant.
If telecom companies reduce infrastructure investment because they anticipate reduced demand, that’s a normal business cycle taking its course. But if some of the world’s largest and most stable companies can’t invest because they can’t borrow, that’s a different kind of problem, and one we can only hope will be fixed in a hurry.
UK - Sky abdons plan to buy Tiscali
Sky Abandons Plans To Buy Tiscali
Sky has apparently abandonned plans to purchase its Italian rival Tiscali for around £450 million as it plans to close the gap between itself and the other two ISPs ahead of it, Virgin Media and BT.
The Guardian reported that Tiscali has been asking for £600 million for its UK business and is not prepared to hold out discussions for less.
Sky had been expecting to go ahead with the acquisition to reach around 3.6 million subscribers and compete with the two other broadband giants, Virgin Media and BT.
Tiscali has been on sale since May 2008 and Carphone Warehouse, BSkyB and Vodafone were amongst the potential suitors for the business although only BSkyB was left in the race.
Some might say that Tiscali is exhibiting clear signs of greediness - the Pound Sterling dropped 15 percent against the Euros in the last six months alone (Tiscali is based in Italy) and the company, initially valued at £1.3 billion, is now thought to be only worth a third of that figure.
Tiscali hasn't been doing too well having lost 37,000 customers from June to September and any potential bidder will have to solve the complex issue of integrating the various acquisitions that Tiscali completed over the years (Pipex, Freedom2surf, Homechoice).
Sky has apparently abandonned plans to purchase its Italian rival Tiscali for around £450 million as it plans to close the gap between itself and the other two ISPs ahead of it, Virgin Media and BT.
The Guardian reported that Tiscali has been asking for £600 million for its UK business and is not prepared to hold out discussions for less.
Sky had been expecting to go ahead with the acquisition to reach around 3.6 million subscribers and compete with the two other broadband giants, Virgin Media and BT.
Tiscali has been on sale since May 2008 and Carphone Warehouse, BSkyB and Vodafone were amongst the potential suitors for the business although only BSkyB was left in the race.
Some might say that Tiscali is exhibiting clear signs of greediness - the Pound Sterling dropped 15 percent against the Euros in the last six months alone (Tiscali is based in Italy) and the company, initially valued at £1.3 billion, is now thought to be only worth a third of that figure.
Tiscali hasn't been doing too well having lost 37,000 customers from June to September and any potential bidder will have to solve the complex issue of integrating the various acquisitions that Tiscali completed over the years (Pipex, Freedom2surf, Homechoice).
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
UK - the slow growth of the Internet
Internet connectivity
Nearly nineteen out of twenty connections to the Internet are via broadband.
In September 2008, broadband connections accounted for 94.1 per cent of all Internet connections, up from 92.8 per cent in June 2008. This is according to the latest update from the survey of Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Despite continuing increases in broadband connections, an 18.6 per cent decrease in dial-up resulted in a 0.4 per cent fall in the index of all connections between June and September 2008, to 118.4.
Nearly nineteen out of twenty connections to the Internet are via broadband.
In September 2008, broadband connections accounted for 94.1 per cent of all Internet connections, up from 92.8 per cent in June 2008. This is according to the latest update from the survey of Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Despite continuing increases in broadband connections, an 18.6 per cent decrease in dial-up resulted in a 0.4 per cent fall in the index of all connections between June and September 2008, to 118.4.
Mobile - carrier ENUM
GSMA delivers industry first in Carrier ENUM Initiative
Pilot programme achieves successful traffic exchange PathFinder™ brand name announced First certified vendors appointed
November 17th 2008, Macau: The GSM Association (GSMA), the global trade association for the mobile industry, and NeuStar (NYSE: NSR) a provider of clearinghouse and directory services to the global communications and Internet industry, today announced the successful completion of the pilot of their Carrier ENUM service. The service, recently branded ‘PathFinder’™, is now generally available to mobile and fixed network operators, carriers and related service providers.
Supported by Bharti, Lleida.net, mobilkom austria, SMART, Telekom Austria, Telecom Italia and Telenor, the PathFinder service pilot achieved an industry first by successfully exchanging international packet voice and MMS traffic enabled via a global, fully-interoperable deployment of Carrier ENUM, validating ENUM as an effective solution to IP-based routing and interconnection. The service automatically translates a phone number into an IP-based address, making it simple and transparent for users to initiate a wide range of IP-based communications via their existing phone numbers and handset address books.
"We found this trial tremendously useful in familiarising ourselves with the practicalities involved in using ENUM. Cooperation between operators is crucial in establishing how to make the telephone number a universal means to link up with IP-based applications. A simple, standardised process will benefit everyone," said Napoleon L. Nazareno, President and CEO of Smart Communications, Inc. (SMART) and GSMA board member.
By providing mobile and fixed-line operators with a single routing mechanism, PathFinder simplifies and reduces the cost of delivery of a wide range of IP-based services to end-users. It will serve as a central ‘directory’ for all operators, and enables them to rapidly launch new IP services including packet voice, Instant Messaging (IM), MMS, email, and video, by facilitating the linking of an IP address to a phone number for mobile devices, fixed-line phones and IP devices.
"The successful testing of ENUM on Telekom Austria’s next generation environment demonstrates yet again that the infrastructure is ready for commercial customer pilots. With the ongoing improvement in capabilities of our global GRX/IPX platform, recently enhanced by the Carrier ENUM functionality, we are able to provide best-in-class interworking solutions for mobile network operators," commented Boris Nemsic, CEO of Telekom Austria Group and GSMA board member.
Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology Officer of the GSMA added: "PathFinder will accelerate the rollout of innovative IP-based services that will be the key to ensuring profitability in tomorrow’s industry. PathFinder provides a one-stop solution for operators to overcome the complexity of delivering IP-based services to communications devices. Furthermore, it helps mobile operators to cut costs and leverage their greatest asset: subscriber phone numbers."
GSMA and NeuStar also announced that Acme Packet and iXLink, a business unit of Telarix, have become the first vendors to successfully complete the PathFinder vendor certification programme, launched as part of the GSMA Industry Partner Programme earlier this year. The Partner Programme initiative is designed to foster working relationships with companies offering products and services complimentary to the PathFinder service, and provides certification of technology vendors, ensuring that PathFinder interoperability testing is available industry-wide.
Pilot programme achieves successful traffic exchange PathFinder™ brand name announced First certified vendors appointed
November 17th 2008, Macau: The GSM Association (GSMA), the global trade association for the mobile industry, and NeuStar (NYSE: NSR) a provider of clearinghouse and directory services to the global communications and Internet industry, today announced the successful completion of the pilot of their Carrier ENUM service. The service, recently branded ‘PathFinder’™, is now generally available to mobile and fixed network operators, carriers and related service providers.
Supported by Bharti, Lleida.net, mobilkom austria, SMART, Telekom Austria, Telecom Italia and Telenor, the PathFinder service pilot achieved an industry first by successfully exchanging international packet voice and MMS traffic enabled via a global, fully-interoperable deployment of Carrier ENUM, validating ENUM as an effective solution to IP-based routing and interconnection. The service automatically translates a phone number into an IP-based address, making it simple and transparent for users to initiate a wide range of IP-based communications via their existing phone numbers and handset address books.
"We found this trial tremendously useful in familiarising ourselves with the practicalities involved in using ENUM. Cooperation between operators is crucial in establishing how to make the telephone number a universal means to link up with IP-based applications. A simple, standardised process will benefit everyone," said Napoleon L. Nazareno, President and CEO of Smart Communications, Inc. (SMART) and GSMA board member.
By providing mobile and fixed-line operators with a single routing mechanism, PathFinder simplifies and reduces the cost of delivery of a wide range of IP-based services to end-users. It will serve as a central ‘directory’ for all operators, and enables them to rapidly launch new IP services including packet voice, Instant Messaging (IM), MMS, email, and video, by facilitating the linking of an IP address to a phone number for mobile devices, fixed-line phones and IP devices.
"The successful testing of ENUM on Telekom Austria’s next generation environment demonstrates yet again that the infrastructure is ready for commercial customer pilots. With the ongoing improvement in capabilities of our global GRX/IPX platform, recently enhanced by the Carrier ENUM functionality, we are able to provide best-in-class interworking solutions for mobile network operators," commented Boris Nemsic, CEO of Telekom Austria Group and GSMA board member.
Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology Officer of the GSMA added: "PathFinder will accelerate the rollout of innovative IP-based services that will be the key to ensuring profitability in tomorrow’s industry. PathFinder provides a one-stop solution for operators to overcome the complexity of delivering IP-based services to communications devices. Furthermore, it helps mobile operators to cut costs and leverage their greatest asset: subscriber phone numbers."
GSMA and NeuStar also announced that Acme Packet and iXLink, a business unit of Telarix, have become the first vendors to successfully complete the PathFinder vendor certification programme, launched as part of the GSMA Industry Partner Programme earlier this year. The Partner Programme initiative is designed to foster working relationships with companies offering products and services complimentary to the PathFinder service, and provides certification of technology vendors, ensuring that PathFinder interoperability testing is available industry-wide.
Mobile - growth in the Persian Gulf
Middle East mobile subscription rates set to hit 15 percent growth in 2009
The Middle East region represents one of the world’s fastest growing mobile subscription markets with a 47% year-over-year increase in 2008, even as the world economy struggles and slows, according to figures from Informa Telecoms & Media at this year’s GSM 3G Middle East Conference in Dubai.
Globally, subscription growth of 11.7% is still expected for 2009, driven by increasingly mobile and growing populations, but the economies of Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East will be the engine for this growth, with a regional forecast of more than 15% subscription growth for the next year. In contrast, growth of just below 5% is expected in Western Europe and 5.6% in North America in 2009.
Mobile penetration in Arab countries reached 56% at end of the second half of 2008, although this figure is much higher across GCC markets, with the more mature markets expected to see a surge in wireless broadband usage as operators look to develop their networks and drive an increase in data traffic levels in 2009. Some of the most dynamic economies in the Gulf are already seeing a surge in the use of Wi-max and broadband technology.
The new data was unveiled by Abdulaziz Fakhroo, chairman of GSM Arab World, the regional representative body of the wireless industry representing mobile operators in 22 Arab countries and 199 million customers, as part of his welcoming address entitled “GSM/3G Status and Future Opportunities in Arab Countries.”
“The region is still seeing growth rates in mobile subscriber numbers that are higher than the economies of Europe and the Americas, and this lead seems set to widen in 2009. With each new generation of broadband technology, the nations of the Arab world are enjoying an increasing range of social and economic benefits that are enabling people to benefit from the good times and be resilient in the more challenging ones,” said Engineer Fakhroo.
Fakhroo, who is Divisional Manager, Wireless Networks, at Qtel, commented on the current status of 3G technology and the future opportunities to be found in Arab countries. Key trends emerging in the market include a shift from voice to increased data usage; increases in customer-driven content, products and services; and a striking decrease in the “digital divide” in the Arab world.
In particular, he noted that – in spite of the slowing economies – mobile broadband technologies are likely to increase in importance in 2009, because of the benefits delivered for the knowledge economies of nations, which are becoming more valuable as commodity prices fall.
Fakhroo noted that regionally, Arab countries have been able to realize significant value by supporting the growth of their knowledge economies.
Now in its 13th year, the GSM 3G Middle East Conference is the Middle East's leading communications conference and exhibition. The conference brings together 2,500 telecom decision makers from across the whole communications value chain - mobile and fixed line operators, internet service providers, regulators, investors, telecoms solution vendors, content providers and more, 160 exhibitors and 65 expert speakers for agenda setting and strategic debate.
Fakhroo concluded: “I am delighted to represent Qtel at this prestigious and important conference, especially since Qtel was the first telecom operator to bring 2G services to the Middle East in 1994. This year's theme, “Towards a Broadband World” is highly appropriate. The conference’s appeal is now truly global as the telecom companies of the Middle East expand beyond the region and into new emerging markets.”
The Middle East region represents one of the world’s fastest growing mobile subscription markets with a 47% year-over-year increase in 2008, even as the world economy struggles and slows, according to figures from Informa Telecoms & Media at this year’s GSM 3G Middle East Conference in Dubai.
Globally, subscription growth of 11.7% is still expected for 2009, driven by increasingly mobile and growing populations, but the economies of Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East will be the engine for this growth, with a regional forecast of more than 15% subscription growth for the next year. In contrast, growth of just below 5% is expected in Western Europe and 5.6% in North America in 2009.
Mobile penetration in Arab countries reached 56% at end of the second half of 2008, although this figure is much higher across GCC markets, with the more mature markets expected to see a surge in wireless broadband usage as operators look to develop their networks and drive an increase in data traffic levels in 2009. Some of the most dynamic economies in the Gulf are already seeing a surge in the use of Wi-max and broadband technology.
The new data was unveiled by Abdulaziz Fakhroo, chairman of GSM Arab World, the regional representative body of the wireless industry representing mobile operators in 22 Arab countries and 199 million customers, as part of his welcoming address entitled “GSM/3G Status and Future Opportunities in Arab Countries.”
“The region is still seeing growth rates in mobile subscriber numbers that are higher than the economies of Europe and the Americas, and this lead seems set to widen in 2009. With each new generation of broadband technology, the nations of the Arab world are enjoying an increasing range of social and economic benefits that are enabling people to benefit from the good times and be resilient in the more challenging ones,” said Engineer Fakhroo.
Fakhroo, who is Divisional Manager, Wireless Networks, at Qtel, commented on the current status of 3G technology and the future opportunities to be found in Arab countries. Key trends emerging in the market include a shift from voice to increased data usage; increases in customer-driven content, products and services; and a striking decrease in the “digital divide” in the Arab world.
In particular, he noted that – in spite of the slowing economies – mobile broadband technologies are likely to increase in importance in 2009, because of the benefits delivered for the knowledge economies of nations, which are becoming more valuable as commodity prices fall.
Fakhroo noted that regionally, Arab countries have been able to realize significant value by supporting the growth of their knowledge economies.
Now in its 13th year, the GSM 3G Middle East Conference is the Middle East's leading communications conference and exhibition. The conference brings together 2,500 telecom decision makers from across the whole communications value chain - mobile and fixed line operators, internet service providers, regulators, investors, telecoms solution vendors, content providers and more, 160 exhibitors and 65 expert speakers for agenda setting and strategic debate.
Fakhroo concluded: “I am delighted to represent Qtel at this prestigious and important conference, especially since Qtel was the first telecom operator to bring 2G services to the Middle East in 1994. This year's theme, “Towards a Broadband World” is highly appropriate. The conference’s appeal is now truly global as the telecom companies of the Middle East expand beyond the region and into new emerging markets.”
Mobile broadband - growth
Mobile broadband uptake soars
Even as some operators debate whether to raise mobile broadband prices to boost revenues, a new report has found that attractive service bundles are driving mobile broadband adoption.
One of the bedrocks of the mobile computing revolution, mobile broadband, according to the report by the Tariff Consultancy, is prospering due mainly to the growing number of flat-rate packages and the increasing value of the service offered.
Among the main findings from the survey of users in 33 European countries is the fast that mobile broadband flat rate bundles are now the norm across the continent and are the most common form of price package.
Pricing in 2008 has fallen by an average of 4% across all countries when compared with the previous year even though the average flat rate package bundle provided has doubled over the last 12 months to almost 4GB. Specifically for the UK, average mobile broadband prices have fallen by 35% in the last year.
The most common monthly user allowances on offer across Europe are 5GB and 10GB, closely followed by 1GB and 500MB allowances. Additionally, there are at least 20 mobile operators across all countries which are now offering an “unlimited” user allowance for their Mobile Broadband service
Four-fifths of mobile broadband operators in Europe charge on a per mega byte out of monthly allowance – for national traffic - with charges ranging up to 3.27 Euro per MB although typical rates are between 10 and 20 Euro cents.
Commenting on the research findings, Tariff Consultancy Ltd Managing Director Margrit Sessions said, “Although mobile broadband pricing has continued to decline overall, the most striking feature has been the continued increase in monthly user allowances which have more than doubled in the course of a year.”
Tariff Consultancy predicts that with more mobile operators deploying HSDPA networks, theoretically supporting download speeds of up to 7.2 mbs [Mbps], the increase in flat rate packages is likely to continue. Yet this will only take place if operators take steps to ensure that mobile computing users enjoy both value and quality services.
“Mobile operators have to ensure that they provision the network capacity to meet the demand that flat rate pricing will create and also safeguard against over-selling their service,” Sessions added.
Even as some operators debate whether to raise mobile broadband prices to boost revenues, a new report has found that attractive service bundles are driving mobile broadband adoption.
One of the bedrocks of the mobile computing revolution, mobile broadband, according to the report by the Tariff Consultancy, is prospering due mainly to the growing number of flat-rate packages and the increasing value of the service offered.
Among the main findings from the survey of users in 33 European countries is the fast that mobile broadband flat rate bundles are now the norm across the continent and are the most common form of price package.
Pricing in 2008 has fallen by an average of 4% across all countries when compared with the previous year even though the average flat rate package bundle provided has doubled over the last 12 months to almost 4GB. Specifically for the UK, average mobile broadband prices have fallen by 35% in the last year.
The most common monthly user allowances on offer across Europe are 5GB and 10GB, closely followed by 1GB and 500MB allowances. Additionally, there are at least 20 mobile operators across all countries which are now offering an “unlimited” user allowance for their Mobile Broadband service
Four-fifths of mobile broadband operators in Europe charge on a per mega byte out of monthly allowance – for national traffic - with charges ranging up to 3.27 Euro per MB although typical rates are between 10 and 20 Euro cents.
Commenting on the research findings, Tariff Consultancy Ltd Managing Director Margrit Sessions said, “Although mobile broadband pricing has continued to decline overall, the most striking feature has been the continued increase in monthly user allowances which have more than doubled in the course of a year.”
Tariff Consultancy predicts that with more mobile operators deploying HSDPA networks, theoretically supporting download speeds of up to 7.2 mbs [Mbps], the increase in flat rate packages is likely to continue. Yet this will only take place if operators take steps to ensure that mobile computing users enjoy both value and quality services.
“Mobile operators have to ensure that they provision the network capacity to meet the demand that flat rate pricing will create and also safeguard against over-selling their service,” Sessions added.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Citrix on Apple iPhone
Citrix to extend desktop virtualization to the iPhone
Citrix plans to deliver desktop virtualization to the iPhone and other mobile devices next year, a company official said Wednesday.
Users of both PCs and Macs will be able to access the same desktop session on their iPhones as they would on their desktop computers, and move seamlessly between the two, says John Humphreys, senior director of product marketing for Citrix.
The capability will be part of Citrix App Receiver and become available in 2009, he said. The product is a software client that would be installed on both a user's computer and mobile phone, and work in conjunction either with Citrix's desktop virtualization software or its XenApp Windows application delivery system. IPhone users would log on to a central server in order to access their desktops and applications.
Humphreys referenced Gartner research that says half of business travelers will not take traditional laptops on the road with them by the end of 2010.
While desktop virtualization has been around several years, Humphreys says Citrix believes it is ready to gain widespread adoption.
"The industry has talked about it for years," Humphreys said. "The question is what's different this time around."
Advances in the software are now allowing delivery of full-featured, customizable desktop images at lower prices than regular PCs, and with equivalent performance, he said.
Citrix plans to deliver desktop virtualization to the iPhone and other mobile devices next year, a company official said Wednesday.
Users of both PCs and Macs will be able to access the same desktop session on their iPhones as they would on their desktop computers, and move seamlessly between the two, says John Humphreys, senior director of product marketing for Citrix.
The capability will be part of Citrix App Receiver and become available in 2009, he said. The product is a software client that would be installed on both a user's computer and mobile phone, and work in conjunction either with Citrix's desktop virtualization software or its XenApp Windows application delivery system. IPhone users would log on to a central server in order to access their desktops and applications.
Humphreys referenced Gartner research that says half of business travelers will not take traditional laptops on the road with them by the end of 2010.
While desktop virtualization has been around several years, Humphreys says Citrix believes it is ready to gain widespread adoption.
"The industry has talked about it for years," Humphreys said. "The question is what's different this time around."
Advances in the software are now allowing delivery of full-featured, customizable desktop images at lower prices than regular PCs, and with equivalent performance, he said.
South Korea - opening the market for handsets
Korean Cellphone Market Opens Up to Foreign Handsets
Adopting Wireless Internet Platform for Interoperability, which has prevented many foreign cellphone makers from selling their products in the Korean market, will no longer be mandatory, starting April 2009. As a result, global bestsellers, such as Apple's iPhone of the U.S. and RIM's BlackBerry of Canada, and Nokia's budget phones of Finland, will likely hit the Korean market.
WIPI is a Korean mobile device platform for wireless internet content, including games. To advance into the Korean market, foreign cellphone makers are required to support WIPI, whose standard is different from international platforms, in their handsets. They have criticized the requirement, citing the small size of the Korean market and high development costs.
In a session on Wednesday, the Korea Communications Commission decided to lift the requirement, while saying it will no longer be mandatory for domestic mobile phone service providers to adopt WIPI from April 2009.
Since April 2005, the government has made it mandatory to include WIPI, which was set by the Telecommunications Technology Association. The commission said, "When the WIPI requirement was first set, the government intended to protect and foster the domestic software industry related to wireless internet by using WIPI. But the latest global market trend is a universal mobile operating system, focusing on smartphones."
The mobile industry predicts that foreign products will hit the domestic market, which is led by Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, in earnest next spring.
Adopting Wireless Internet Platform for Interoperability, which has prevented many foreign cellphone makers from selling their products in the Korean market, will no longer be mandatory, starting April 2009. As a result, global bestsellers, such as Apple's iPhone of the U.S. and RIM's BlackBerry of Canada, and Nokia's budget phones of Finland, will likely hit the Korean market.
WIPI is a Korean mobile device platform for wireless internet content, including games. To advance into the Korean market, foreign cellphone makers are required to support WIPI, whose standard is different from international platforms, in their handsets. They have criticized the requirement, citing the small size of the Korean market and high development costs.
In a session on Wednesday, the Korea Communications Commission decided to lift the requirement, while saying it will no longer be mandatory for domestic mobile phone service providers to adopt WIPI from April 2009.
Since April 2005, the government has made it mandatory to include WIPI, which was set by the Telecommunications Technology Association. The commission said, "When the WIPI requirement was first set, the government intended to protect and foster the domestic software industry related to wireless internet by using WIPI. But the latest global market trend is a universal mobile operating system, focusing on smartphones."
The mobile industry predicts that foreign products will hit the domestic market, which is led by Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, in earnest next spring.
North Korea - GSM
Orascom to offer mobile services in N. Korea
Orascom Telecom, the biggest mobile-phone company in the Middle East, will begin offering mobile-phone services in North Korea starting next week, becoming the first foreign telecommunications company to invest in the Stalinist state, Bloomberg has reported. The Egyptian phone company estimates it will spend $400m on a cellular license and investment over three years. Orascom won the license Jan 31 and will have exclusive rights in North Korea for four years.
Orascom Telecom, the biggest mobile-phone company in the Middle East, will begin offering mobile-phone services in North Korea starting next week, becoming the first foreign telecommunications company to invest in the Stalinist state, Bloomberg has reported. The Egyptian phone company estimates it will spend $400m on a cellular license and investment over three years. Orascom won the license Jan 31 and will have exclusive rights in North Korea for four years.
Greenpeace - assesses electronics manufacturers
Greenpeace Releases Tenth Guide to Greener Electronics
It’s time once again for the Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics, and the results are sobering. Despite plentiful attempts at greenwashing, most electronics companies are not making the changes necessary to significantly cut carbon emissions.
American companies Motorola, Microsoft, Dell, and Apple are faring the worst, with no plans to cut global warming pollution and no targets or timelines for CO2 reduction.
Of all the companies surveyed, only Fujitsu, Philips, and Sharp support the cuts in pollution levels necessary to reach a 2020 target of cutting emissions by 30 percent in industrial countries. Additionally, only HP and Philips have committed to substantial cuts in their own emissions.
The electronics companies also had low scores in the usage of renewable energy, with only Nokia achieving the 25 percent clean power mark.
So while surveyed companies have made strides in reducing toxic chemicals in their products— all Apple products will be free of PVC and brominated flame retardants by the end of 2008—there is still much progress to be made in the electronics industry.
It’s time once again for the Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics, and the results are sobering. Despite plentiful attempts at greenwashing, most electronics companies are not making the changes necessary to significantly cut carbon emissions.
American companies Motorola, Microsoft, Dell, and Apple are faring the worst, with no plans to cut global warming pollution and no targets or timelines for CO2 reduction.
Of all the companies surveyed, only Fujitsu, Philips, and Sharp support the cuts in pollution levels necessary to reach a 2020 target of cutting emissions by 30 percent in industrial countries. Additionally, only HP and Philips have committed to substantial cuts in their own emissions.
The electronics companies also had low scores in the usage of renewable energy, with only Nokia achieving the 25 percent clean power mark.
So while surveyed companies have made strides in reducing toxic chemicals in their products— all Apple products will be free of PVC and brominated flame retardants by the end of 2008—there is still much progress to be made in the electronics industry.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Europe - mobile television
Commission issues guidelines to get Mobile TV on Europeans' mobile phones
The European Commission has today taken a decisive step towards the promotion of competitive Mobile TV services in the EU. It has published a set of guidelines for the authorisation of Mobile TV to accelerate roll-out of the service across Europe. Mobile TV revenues worldwide are expected to reach more than €7.8 billion in 2013. The commercial services launched before summer 2008 in some European countries show that there is an increasing consumer demand: in the Netherlands alone, 10 000 users had already subscribed to the service at the beginning of autumn. Authorisations from Member States for Mobile TV services are needed before any commercial launches by operators. Along with the addition of the DVB-H standard to the EU list of official standards in March 2008, these guidelines underline the Commission's strong commitment to the promotion of new services for European consumers.
The European Commission has today taken a decisive step towards the promotion of competitive Mobile TV services in the EU. It has published a set of guidelines for the authorisation of Mobile TV to accelerate roll-out of the service across Europe. Mobile TV revenues worldwide are expected to reach more than €7.8 billion in 2013. The commercial services launched before summer 2008 in some European countries show that there is an increasing consumer demand: in the Netherlands alone, 10 000 users had already subscribed to the service at the beginning of autumn. Authorisations from Member States for Mobile TV services are needed before any commercial launches by operators. Along with the addition of the DVB-H standard to the EU list of official standards in March 2008, these guidelines underline the Commission's strong commitment to the promotion of new services for European consumers.
China Telecom To Receive 50% Stake In China Satcom
China Satellite Communications plans to transfer 50.02% of its stake, or 200 million shares, in China Satcom Guomai Communications to China Telecom. An application for the transfer will be submitted to the State Council in the last ten days of December.
Rumors in March said China Satcom's satellite network would be transferred to satellite company China DBSAT and its ground network would go to China Telecom.
China Satellite Communications plans to transfer 50.02% of its stake, or 200 million shares, in China Satcom Guomai Communications to China Telecom. An application for the transfer will be submitted to the State Council in the last ten days of December.
Rumors in March said China Satcom's satellite network would be transferred to satellite company China DBSAT and its ground network would go to China Telecom.
Social advertising - an oxymoron?
Is Social Advertising an Oxymoron?
So, what if social media and advertising just don’t mix? There’s mounting evidence to suggest just that — only this time the backlash isn’t from users, it’s from advertisers themselves.
In a recent online survey of brand managers, more than half of those responding declared themselves not interested in social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook. The poll, conducted in late October by GfK Roper for Epsilon, a leading marketing consultancy, found that only 35 percent of the marketers surveyed had any interest in using such sites. Blogs drew an almost equally tepid response.
Another study, this one by the research firm IDC, suggested their lack of enthusiasm might be well-placed. More and more users are spending more and more time on social networking sites, but the study found they aren't very responsive to ads there: Clickthrough rates were reported to be far lower than at other sites. On the web in general, nearly 80 percent of users clicked on at least one ad in the past year; on social networking sites, fewer than 60 percent did so.
Ted McConnell, head of interactive marketing and innovation at Procter & Gamble, isn't surprised. Speaking at a digital marketing conference in Cincinnati, P&G’s hometown, McConnell asked, “What in heaven's name made you think you could monetize the real estate in which somebody is breaking up with their girlfriend?”
McConnell’s problem is not just with Facebook and its ilk but with the whole idea of tying advertising to consumer-generated content. “Who said this is media?” he demanded. “Consumers weren’t trying to generate media. They were trying to talk to somebody…. We hijack their own conversations, their own thoughts and feelings, and try to monetize it.”
That’s one way of looking at it. Not surprisingly, Tim Kendall, Facebook’s director of monetization — a daunting title, under the circumstances — has another.
So, what if social media and advertising just don’t mix? There’s mounting evidence to suggest just that — only this time the backlash isn’t from users, it’s from advertisers themselves.
In a recent online survey of brand managers, more than half of those responding declared themselves not interested in social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook. The poll, conducted in late October by GfK Roper for Epsilon, a leading marketing consultancy, found that only 35 percent of the marketers surveyed had any interest in using such sites. Blogs drew an almost equally tepid response.
Another study, this one by the research firm IDC, suggested their lack of enthusiasm might be well-placed. More and more users are spending more and more time on social networking sites, but the study found they aren't very responsive to ads there: Clickthrough rates were reported to be far lower than at other sites. On the web in general, nearly 80 percent of users clicked on at least one ad in the past year; on social networking sites, fewer than 60 percent did so.
Ted McConnell, head of interactive marketing and innovation at Procter & Gamble, isn't surprised. Speaking at a digital marketing conference in Cincinnati, P&G’s hometown, McConnell asked, “What in heaven's name made you think you could monetize the real estate in which somebody is breaking up with their girlfriend?”
McConnell’s problem is not just with Facebook and its ilk but with the whole idea of tying advertising to consumer-generated content. “Who said this is media?” he demanded. “Consumers weren’t trying to generate media. They were trying to talk to somebody…. We hijack their own conversations, their own thoughts and feelings, and try to monetize it.”
That’s one way of looking at it. Not surprisingly, Tim Kendall, Facebook’s director of monetization — a daunting title, under the circumstances — has another.
Europe - business use of ICTs
Use of Information and Communication Technologies: Almost two thirds of enterprises in the EU27 had a website in 2008 ; Broadband access increasing
In the EU27, 93% of enterprises of ten or more persons employed had access to the internet in January 2008, the same as in January 2007, and 81% of enterprises had a broadband internet connection, up from 77% in January 2007. On average in the EU27, 64% of enterprises had a website in January 2008, compared with 63% in January 2007. These data come from Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, and form part of the results of a community survey conducted at the beginning of 2008 on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in enterprises in the EU27 Member States, Iceland and Norway. Besides the indicators presented, the survey also covers e-commerce, e-government and e-business indicators.
In the EU27, 93% of enterprises of ten or more persons employed had access to the internet in January 2008, the same as in January 2007, and 81% of enterprises had a broadband internet connection, up from 77% in January 2007. On average in the EU27, 64% of enterprises had a website in January 2008, compared with 63% in January 2007. These data come from Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, and form part of the results of a community survey conducted at the beginning of 2008 on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in enterprises in the EU27 Member States, Iceland and Norway. Besides the indicators presented, the survey also covers e-commerce, e-government and e-business indicators.
Europe - emergency services
European emergency number 112 now works in all EU Member States
People can now reach emergency services from anywhere in the EU, simply by dialling 112, the single European emergency number. Now that 112 can be called from any phone in Bulgaria, it has achieved complete availability just before the Christmas period when thousands of people travel between EU Member States to visit family, hit the slopes or look for winter sun. It also crowns the combined efforts of the European Commission and EU Member States to make 112 fully available everywhere so that Europeans will always have a lifeline in the EU.
People can now reach emergency services from anywhere in the EU, simply by dialling 112, the single European emergency number. Now that 112 can be called from any phone in Bulgaria, it has achieved complete availability just before the Christmas period when thousands of people travel between EU Member States to visit family, hit the slopes or look for winter sun. It also crowns the combined efforts of the European Commission and EU Member States to make 112 fully available everywhere so that Europeans will always have a lifeline in the EU.
Friday, December 12, 2008
EU - cybercrime
EU to search out cyber criminals
Remote searches of suspect computers will form part of an EU plan to tackle hi-tech crime.
The five-year action plan will take steps to combat the growth in cyber theft and the machines used to spread spam and other malicious programs.
It will also encourage better sharing of data among European police forces to track down and prosecute criminals.
Europol will co-ordinate the investigative work and also issue alerts about cyber crime sprees.
Data share
The five-year plan won the backing of the EU ministers at a meeting which also granted 300,000 euros (£250,000) to Europol to create the system to pool crime reports and issue alerts about emerging threats.
The ministerial meeting also backed the anti-cyber crime strategy that will see the creation of cross-border investigation teams and sanction the use of virtual patrols to police some areas of the net.
Other "practical measures" include encouraging better sharing of information between police forces in member nations and private companies on investigative methods and trends.
In particular the strategy aims to tackle the trade in images of children being sexually abused. In a statement outlining the strategy the EU claimed "half of all internet crime involves the production, distribution and sale of child pornography".
Forces will also take part in "remote searches" and patrol online to track down criminals. The EU said controls were in place to ensure that data protection laws were not breached as this information was gathered and shared.
"The strategy encourages the much needed operational cooperation and information exchange between the Member States," said EC vice-president Jacques Barrot in a statement.
"If the strategy is to make the fight against cyber crime more efficient, all stakeholders have to be fully committed to its implementation," he added.
Remote searches of suspect computers will form part of an EU plan to tackle hi-tech crime.
The five-year action plan will take steps to combat the growth in cyber theft and the machines used to spread spam and other malicious programs.
It will also encourage better sharing of data among European police forces to track down and prosecute criminals.
Europol will co-ordinate the investigative work and also issue alerts about cyber crime sprees.
Data share
The five-year plan won the backing of the EU ministers at a meeting which also granted 300,000 euros (£250,000) to Europol to create the system to pool crime reports and issue alerts about emerging threats.
The ministerial meeting also backed the anti-cyber crime strategy that will see the creation of cross-border investigation teams and sanction the use of virtual patrols to police some areas of the net.
Other "practical measures" include encouraging better sharing of information between police forces in member nations and private companies on investigative methods and trends.
In particular the strategy aims to tackle the trade in images of children being sexually abused. In a statement outlining the strategy the EU claimed "half of all internet crime involves the production, distribution and sale of child pornography".
Forces will also take part in "remote searches" and patrol online to track down criminals. The EU said controls were in place to ensure that data protection laws were not breached as this information was gathered and shared.
"The strategy encourages the much needed operational cooperation and information exchange between the Member States," said EC vice-president Jacques Barrot in a statement.
"If the strategy is to make the fight against cyber crime more efficient, all stakeholders have to be fully committed to its implementation," he added.
unequal access to the internet and the information society
Watchdog report tackles the issue of unequal access to the internet and the information society in 2008
see also GISWatch 2008
How do we ensure access to the internet is a human right enjoyed by everyone?
This is one of the critical questions asked by an annual publication that highlights the importance of people’s access to information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure – and where and how countries are getting it right or wrong, and what can be done about it.
Global Information Society Watch 2008, published in print and online by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), the Third World Institute, and Dutch development organisation Hivos, collects the perspectives of ICT academics, analysts, activists and civil society organisations from across the globe in over 50 reports.
“[Access to infrastructure] is beginning to be considered of less importance by some development funders and practitioners, including civil society and communication and information activists,” argue the publishers in the book preface.
“One of the consequences of this is the development of a conventional wisdom that leaves the domain of infrastructure development to the market; to operators and investors that do not always see the broader social value of communications in society, to governments that lack capacity and often clear strategy, and to international institutions that tend to approach it in a limited and ‘technocratic’ way.”
Internet – the petrol of the new global economy
Several thematic reports in GISWatch 2008 tackle burning issues facing access to infrastructure, and related concerns. For instance, analyst Peter Lange lays out the pros and cons in a lucid discussion on net neutrality called “The end of the internet as we know it?” while Sunil Abraham, from the Centre for Internet and Society in Bangalore, makes the bold observation that most computer users today remain “digitally colonised” due to our unquestioning use of proprietary -usually Microsoft-produced- software. Russell Southwood asserts that bandwidth, like oil, is a crucial resource in the 21st Century, in his discussion on accessing content, and Daniel Pimienta, from the Networks and Development Foundation, points out that as the world wide web grows exponentially, search engines are losing their capacity to index it.
Ben Akoh, from the Open Society Initiative of Western Africa, uncomplicates the sometimes tangled issues that lie behind the equitable management of spectrum, in the process observing that:
“[In] the African context the mobile phone capitalises on the innate orality of African culture and society, perhaps explaining its rapid uptake. But, in the modern setting, it is an orality that has turned in on itself, because the cost of communication may have also eaten into the disposable income of the individual.”
How global institutions, such as the United Nations and International Telecommunication Union are treating access issues are laid out by ICT for development analyst David Souter. The publication also offers another take on indicators, where authors Mike Jensen and Amy Mahan confront the fact that global consensus has not been reached on how to measure the information society in a way that results in reasonable comparisons between countries.
Reports from almost forty countries
Thirty-eight country reports have been written by authors from countries as diverse as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mexico, Switzerland and Kazakhstan. At the same time, six regional overviews contextualise the country reports, and cover North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, the countries that constituted the former Soviet Union, South-East Asia and the Pacific.
According to APC, Hivos and ITeM, GISWatch is both a publication and a process: it aims to build networking and advocacy capacity among civil society organisations who work for a just and inclusive information society. This is reflected in the growing number of participating organisations writing country reports – sixteen more than last year, the first year that GISWatch appeared. By doing this they hope GISWatch will impact on policy development processes in countries, regions, and at a global level.
see also GISWatch 2008
How do we ensure access to the internet is a human right enjoyed by everyone?
This is one of the critical questions asked by an annual publication that highlights the importance of people’s access to information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure – and where and how countries are getting it right or wrong, and what can be done about it.
Global Information Society Watch 2008, published in print and online by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), the Third World Institute, and Dutch development organisation Hivos, collects the perspectives of ICT academics, analysts, activists and civil society organisations from across the globe in over 50 reports.
“[Access to infrastructure] is beginning to be considered of less importance by some development funders and practitioners, including civil society and communication and information activists,” argue the publishers in the book preface.
“One of the consequences of this is the development of a conventional wisdom that leaves the domain of infrastructure development to the market; to operators and investors that do not always see the broader social value of communications in society, to governments that lack capacity and often clear strategy, and to international institutions that tend to approach it in a limited and ‘technocratic’ way.”
Internet – the petrol of the new global economy
Several thematic reports in GISWatch 2008 tackle burning issues facing access to infrastructure, and related concerns. For instance, analyst Peter Lange lays out the pros and cons in a lucid discussion on net neutrality called “The end of the internet as we know it?” while Sunil Abraham, from the Centre for Internet and Society in Bangalore, makes the bold observation that most computer users today remain “digitally colonised” due to our unquestioning use of proprietary -usually Microsoft-produced- software. Russell Southwood asserts that bandwidth, like oil, is a crucial resource in the 21st Century, in his discussion on accessing content, and Daniel Pimienta, from the Networks and Development Foundation, points out that as the world wide web grows exponentially, search engines are losing their capacity to index it.
Ben Akoh, from the Open Society Initiative of Western Africa, uncomplicates the sometimes tangled issues that lie behind the equitable management of spectrum, in the process observing that:
“[In] the African context the mobile phone capitalises on the innate orality of African culture and society, perhaps explaining its rapid uptake. But, in the modern setting, it is an orality that has turned in on itself, because the cost of communication may have also eaten into the disposable income of the individual.”
How global institutions, such as the United Nations and International Telecommunication Union are treating access issues are laid out by ICT for development analyst David Souter. The publication also offers another take on indicators, where authors Mike Jensen and Amy Mahan confront the fact that global consensus has not been reached on how to measure the information society in a way that results in reasonable comparisons between countries.
Reports from almost forty countries
Thirty-eight country reports have been written by authors from countries as diverse as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mexico, Switzerland and Kazakhstan. At the same time, six regional overviews contextualise the country reports, and cover North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, the countries that constituted the former Soviet Union, South-East Asia and the Pacific.
According to APC, Hivos and ITeM, GISWatch is both a publication and a process: it aims to build networking and advocacy capacity among civil society organisations who work for a just and inclusive information society. This is reflected in the growing number of participating organisations writing country reports – sixteen more than last year, the first year that GISWatch appeared. By doing this they hope GISWatch will impact on policy development processes in countries, regions, and at a global level.
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