The Latest News from CDMA & GSM Mobile Technology. Mobile GPRS, Internet, Tips & Tricks.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Tatas aim for sky in DTH war, plan Rs 2,000 cr spend
Tata Sky on Wednesday marked its one millionth subscriber in a direct-to-home (DTH) television broadcast war with early mover Dish TV of the Zee group by eyeing a possible investment of about Rs. 2,000 crore in the medium term to boost value-added services.
The company is aiming for eight million subscribers by 2012, which would mean a more than 50 per cent market share in the pay segment on current reckoning. But that would be a tough call as players like Bharti Airtel, Reliance ADAG and Sun TV launch their own DTH offerings.
“More new features will be added in interactive television. We will also cater to regions and pockets in a focused manner,” Vikram Kaushik, Tata Sky’s chief executive officer, told a news conference.
The company also intends to improve the distribution network of recharge vouchers for monthly packages and introduce monthly instalment schemes to make the Rs. 4,000 crore installation cost more affordable
Only about 4 million of India’s 117 million television subscribers now fall under the DTH niche.
According to market analyst Media Partners Asia, the penetration of pay TV, which includes CAS (conditional access system) and DTH, was estimated to be 46 per cent in March, and is expected to increase to 90 per cent by 2015. Kotak Institutional Equities estimates the DTH subscriber base to increase to 15 million by 2012.
DTH viewing is expected to become more interactive at a lower cost with a larger range to choose from. Tata Sky now offers 120 channels and plans to increase that to 150. Dish TV already offers 170 and also recently launched a set-top box for computers to woo PC-based subscribers.
Nokia has warned that some of its BL-5C batteries could suffer a short circuit while charging, causing the unit to overheat and bulge.
The handset giant has several suppliers which have collectively produced more than 300 million BL-5C batteries.
However, the problem applies only to the 46 million batteries supplied by Japanese manufacturer Matsushita Battery Industrial between December 2005 and November 2006. The batteries are used in around 46 Nokia handsets.
There have been about 100 incidents of overheating reported globally, and no serious injuries or property damage have been reported by Nokia.
The overheating can cause affected batteries to bulge and possibly dislodge the phone's battery cover.
Mark Squires, communications director at Nokia, told vnunet.com that the problem has surfaced now because it requires over 200 charging cycles before the issue manifests itself.
Squires added that the rate of incidence is low and that the problem does not damage users' phones.
Nokia has set up a Product Advisory website for customers concerned that they may be using one of the potentially faulty batteries.
Affected customers can fill in an online form to have a replacement battery sent to them and return the old battery for recycling.
Nokia Japan Explains Accidents Caused by Mobile Phone Rechargeable Battery
Nokia Japan, the Japanese unit of Finland's Nokia Corp., held an emergency press conference Aug. 24, 2007, regarding the incidents of fires caused by battery packs used in its products (Figs. 1 and 2).
The defective component is the BL-5C lithium-ion rechargeable battery pack used in some of Nokia's mobile phones. The company announced the incident Aug. 14 and started to offer free replacement for BL-5C.
Tyler McGee, president of Nokia Japan, said at the meeting that the company submitted a report on this battery pack to Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (MITI) on that day. He also explained the background of two incidents in Japan, from the occurrence to the announcement of the voluntary recall.
President McGee said that the first failure occurred July 28 in Osaka and was reported to Nokia Japan from a communications operator July 30. Nokia Japan informed its regional front offices of the problem and set up an investigation team July 31. The company was reported Aug. 6 that the first failure was recognized as a fire incident.
The second defect occurred Aug. 7 in Shizuoka. It was reported from a communications operator to Nokia Japan Aug. 8. The company notified its regional front offices of the second incident on the same day and obtained the battery pack and handset affected by the second failure.
Matsushita Battery Industrial Co. Ltd. started to investigate the causes of first and second incidents respectively Aug. 13 and 9. Nokia announced "Product Advisory" on Aug. 14 concerning free replacement of the battery pack in question.
Cause of incidents under investigation
"According to the initial investigation, the battery pack could potentially experience short-circuiting or overheating while charging due to the defects rarely produced during the production process," Nokia Japan said in the report regarding the incident submitted to MITI. "Such short-circuiting only occurs after the battery has been recharged at least 200 times."
Regarding the problem in the production process, McGee said, "We have obtained the record of production process from Matsushita Battery. We cannot announce the cause because we are currently investigating the problem."
"The incidents occurred only in battery packs supplied by Matsushita Battery," McGee said, emphasizing this point. "Packs from other manufacturers don't have the problems."
Hutch launches ‘Apne Minutes’ Bonus Cards in Haryana
Chandigarh, Chandigarh, India, Monday, August 6, 2007 (InfoMailers.com)::
Hutch, one of India’s leading cellular service providers has introduced ‘Apne Minutes’ for its Haryana prepaid customers. Through this offer, a Hutch prepaid customer can purchase Bonus Cards of Rs.10/- to get a talk time of 100 minutes and on a bonus card of Rs.24/- a subscriber can get a talk time worth 250 minutes. While most bonus cards offer talk time, validity or tariff benefits for a stipulated period, “Apne Minutes” offers predefined minutes – for local Hutch-to-Hutch calls.
The ‘Apne Minutes’ recharge cards do not have a specific validity period. Therefore, a Hutch prepaid customer can now accumulate talk time on his ‘Apne Minute’ plan along with the regular recharge. The accumulated talk time can be used to call local Hutch numbers across Haryana between . For instance, if a subscriber has purchased a Rs. 10/- “Apne Minutes” coupon, he is entitled to 100 minutes of talk time. During the same period, if he recharges his regular prepaid card, he can avail of his regular recharge talk time and the 100 minutes talk time simultaneously.
Speaking on the offer, Bhuwan Kulshreshtha, CEO, Hutch, Haryana said, “This service initiative by Hutch is yet another way to bring value to our subscribers. Today, when mobile communication is all pervasive, an offer like the Apne Minutes Bonus Card is an additional benefit to users. It will facilitate greater connectivity as well affordability.”
Here's an overview of the technology now available, the product options, and how well and far the devices can travel.
Work doesn't stop just because you've left the office. If anything, you just multitask more. So it's critical to get a mobile phone that can work as hard as you do. Today's business handsets have made a massive evolutionary leap from the simple pocket talkers of yore, offering surprisingly effective solutions for managing your calendar, your contacts, and even your business data, no matter where you are. There is no single greatest handset for all users, but with a little bit of forethought, you can easily choose the best phone and service plan for your own business needs.
Smart Phones
Built explicitly for business users, these intelligent mobiles make quick work of e-mail, Web surfing, and business data.
BlackBerry The standard bearers of business phones, RIM BlackBerry handsets are defined by their intuitive keypads and smart, stable software. Because of their wide adoption among large corporations, BlackBerrys integrate easily into business networks of all sizes. Every major cellular provider offers at least a few BlackBerry options, complete with e-mail and data services that let you easily synchronize the handset with PCs and servers back at the office. Traditional BlackBerrys, such as the 8700 series, sport spacious QWERTY keypads for quick thumb typing, while the smaller Pearl models use a technology called SureType to allow fast typing with multiple letters assigned to each key.
Windows Mobile Rapidly gaining ground among business users, Windows Mobile devices such as the Motorola Q are designed to offer a familiar Windows-style appearance for business users, along with simple data syncing with Microsoft Outlook. Like BlackBerry, Windows Mobile offers a variety of network-side connectivity options so a small company with just a few handsets can grow into a large company with a fleet of handsets without having to throw away all the phones in the process.
PalmPalm Treo smart phones maintain a prominent place among business handsets, thanks in large part to their simple interface. In recent years, Palm has extended its offerings to include Windows Mobile as an option, and also offers BlackBerry Connect service, which makes it a viable choice for larger business networks.
Symbian Less known in North America than in Europe, Symbian is the primary operating system used on Nokia smart phones. It is powerful and versatile, with a variety of options for integration with business networks, although North American small business users will find it more challenging to implement than either BlackBerry or Windows Mobile, because it simply enjoys a smaller market share here--and therefore, fewer support options--than its competitors.
iPhone In June, Apple made its first foray into the world of mobile phones with the iPhone, a svelte smart phone that integrates e-mail, a Web browser, and an iPod into one device. It remains to be seen whether the entertainment-centric iPhone will make the jump into the business world, but it's certainly a promising platform.
Linux The open source Linux operating system is enjoying rapid growth on cell phones, although it has yet to break into the world of business smart phones. Currently a number of initiatives are in the works to create phones as powerful and versatile as the BlackBerry, but they have yet to materialize in the marketplace. It will, however, be interesting to watch as companies like Motorola apply more effort to Linux development on phones.
A Note About Camera Phones Nearly every cell phone on the market today includes a small camera, usually of fairly low quality, built into its chassis. This can spell trouble for businesses that place a premium on protecting their trade secrets, and it's worth considering this problem if you're planning to hand smart phones to your workforce. Fortunately, many of the premium handsets mentioned above are available in both camera-equipped and cameraless models.
Technologies
Your phone's performance in the field will depend largely on the technology it uses to connect. Here's a look at the leading technologies.
GSM/EDGE/UMTS The Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) is the leading cellular technology worldwide. In North America, it is used by AT&T and T-Mobile. GSM phones use small data cards, called SIM cards, to store information about the user's account, which makes it easy to upgrade to a new phone. Just pop your SIM card out of your old phone and into your new phone, and you can start talking right away. For high-speed data services, GSM phones commonly use a technology called EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution). EDGE phones typically offer a maximum data rate of around 236Kbps, which is slow by 3G (third-generation) cellular standards. For this reason, EDGE is not generally considered a 3G technology.
In addition to EDGE, GSM networks also sometimes use a faster technology called UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) for genuine 3G data rates of up to 3.6Mbps, which is quite fast. To reach the higher UMTS data rates, you must have a newer device that uses the HDSPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) protocol. Unfortunately, UMTS deployment has been slow in many parts of North America, so it's still not available in all areas.
CDMA/EV-DO The other major cellular technology is Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), which is used by Sprint and Verizon Wireless. Unlike GSM phones, CDMA handsets are hard-coded with a unique ID number that is recognized by the network to allow connections, so there is no SIM card. The 3G data technology for CDMA phones in North America is called Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO). EV-DO offers data rates of up to 3.1Mbps. Unlike UMTS, EV-DO data service is nearly ubiquitous throughout all major American metro areas.
Carriers
Choosing the right cellular carrier will is critical to ensure quality connectivity for your business travels. Here's what you can expect from the major U.S. carriers.
AT&T Formerly known as Cingular, AT&T is one of the two largest carriers in the U.S. Its GSM-based network uses predominantly EDGE data service, which is generally slower than the EV-DO service offered by Sprint and Verizon Wireless. However, the company has been rolling out a faster UMTS for a couple of years now. Only two AT&T phones feature the faster UMTS data service. In general, AT&T's EDGE data plans tend to cost significantly more than the EV-DO plans offered by Verizon Wireless and Sprint. International roaming agreements make it easy to take your AT&T GSM phone abroad without missing important calls.
Verizon Wireless Matching AT&T in size and coverage, the Verizon Wireless network is based on CDMA and EV-DO technology. Verizon's EV-DO handset selection is impressive, and includes about ten offerings for BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Palm OS. Because CDMA is less broadly adopted in Europe and Asia than in the U.S., traveling abroad can be more problematic with Verizon handsets, although the company does offer some handsets that work on both CDMA and GSM networks.
Sprint Following its merger with Nextel, Sprint has arisen as a major force in the cellular world, and now offers a large 3G EV-DO data network with about nine smart phone offerings for BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Palm users. Like Verizon, Sprint's phones can pose problems for international travelers, but the company does offer special phone loans for overseas trips. Of the three leading companies, Sprint has the most confusing billing plans, although service costs for voice and data are roughly comparable to Verizon.
T-Mobile More focused on home users than businesses, T-Mobile's GSM offers EDGE data services over roughly 75 percent of the company's service area. While T-Mobile does boast a few good business smart phones, including BlackBerry and Windows Mobile handsets, it remains less focused on the needs of business users than its three major competitors. The company does not offer any true 3G data service.
Mobile E-Mail
Whether you have five employees or 50,000, you have several options for getting your e-mail on your mobile phone.
POP3 The most common type of mail server is the POP3 server. If your small business hosts its Internet services through a third-party provider, chances are this is the type of server you use. All true smart phones feature a POP3 mail client, which you can easily configure by entering the address of your server, your username, and your password. POP3 clients connect to the server at regular intervals (or manually, when you tap the Send/Receive button) to check for new mail and send out your messages.
Exchange Medium-size to large businesses often use Microsoft Exchange to manage e-mail and calendars together. This powerful server application makes it easy for workers to share calendars, automatically schedule appointments, and manage shared company resources such as conference rooms. Many smart phones support Exchange servers, which lets them automatically sync all of your calendar, contact, and mail data through one connection. As you might expect, Exchange support tends to be particularly good on Windows Mobile devices.
BlackBerry Known for innovating "push" technology, BlackBerry e-mail uses a specialized server (either on the Internet or on your business network) to push incoming e-mail straight to your handset when it comes in, rather than make you wait until your phone syncs up with the server. BlackBerry Internet Service is most commonly managed through your wireless carrier, although some larger companies manage their own BlackBerry enterprise servers.
Proprietary Sync Systems In addition to the technologies described above, some wireless carriers also offer their own services to sync e-mail and other data to your mobile device. Verizon Wireless offers Wireless Sync, AT&T offers XPress Mail, and various other options are also available. These services often involve installing an application on your desktop PC, which then relays information over the Internet to your handset, keeping your Outlook schedule, contacts, and e-mail in sync between the PC and the phone.
Data Services
Business handsets offer a variety of data connections to keep you in touch with the Internet and your office.
Internet All phones today, from the most feature-laden smart phones on down to the simplest slim handsets, offer Internet access for the Web and messaging. The quality of that Internet experience will depend entirely on the size and resolution of the screen, the quality of the keypad and controls, and the speed of the data connection. If you select a handset with a fast UMTS/HDSPA or EV-DO connection, your mobile Web surfing will likely be just as fast as what you're accustomed to at the office.
VPN If you have a Virtual Private Network (VPN) set up at your office, you can access it through a smart phone. Many devices come with a VPN client application pre-installed, making it easy to configure your device for secure access to your network's servers. This is particularly useful when you need to grab an important file while you're away from the office, and you don't have time to boot a laptop.
Wi-Fi Increasingly, mobile handsets are beginning to offer Wi-Fi connections for data services. This lets you surf at high speed without having to go through your cellular carrier's network. It also means you can access any servers on your network as if you were at your desk.
Nokia 500 Auto Navigation: Just Don't Call it a Phone
Nokia really doesn't like people calling it's devices "phones" The trouble is, the alternatives are pretty clunky. The new 500 Auto Navigation, Nokia's first stand-alone navigator, gets the tongue-twisting moniker handsfree dedicated personal navigation device. Catchy.
The GPS unit doubles as a Bluetooth handsfree set, and the regionally-tuned mapping software can offer up contact details of points along the way, which means a quick click-to-call without looking up numbers for, say, hotels and restaurants.
A built in MP3 player will beam tunes to your car radio via FM, and there are photo slideshow and video functions for times when the split screen traffic info service fails to bail you out of gridlock. Due in Europe this fall for €300 ($410), with a Worldwide rollout soon after.
CDMA service providers in India support favor number portability
It might come as a surprise but the CDMA mobile service providers in the country have shown their interest in implementing number portability.
In comparison, GSM operators are not in favor of the implementation of this system in the country.
Number portability enables the consumer to change the telecom service provider while keeping the same number.
The implementation of the system is seen by the experts as the best way to enhance competition in the market as the companies could no longer blackmail customers who have been using their number since ages.
If a customer feels that his current service provider is not giving him the best deal, he can move on to a rival provider while keeping the same number!
CDMA players are in fact in favor of number portability across both fixed line and mobile networks.
Bharti Airtel aims to double tower capacity by the end of current fiscal
India’s largest mobile phone service provider Bharti Airtel has said that they are aiming to double their tower capacity by the end of this fiscal.
The company aims to have 80,000 towers by the end of this fiscal.
Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman and managing director of Bharti Airtel said in a statement: “Last year, we doubled the number of towers to 40,000. We are now planning to double it to 80,000 to increase our coverage. These towers will be set up everywhere, especially in the rural areas.”
The company has already revealed their plans to spend $3.5 billion in 2007-08 to upgrade and expand its network to compete more effectively against rivals including Reliance Communications, Idea Cellular and Hutch.
They are also planning to join rival Reliance Communications in selling shares in the tower subsidiary to investors.
In cellular service there are two main competing network technologies: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). Cellular carriers including Sprint PCS, Cingular Wireless, Verizon and T-Mobile use one or the other. Understanding the difference between GSM and CDMA will allow you to choose a carrier that uses the preferable network technology for your needs.
The GSM Association is an international organization founded in 1987, dedicated to providing, developing, and overseeing the worldwide wireless standard of GSM. CDMA, a proprietary standard designed by Qualcomm in the United States, has been the dominant network standard for North America and parts of Asia. However, GSM networks continue to make inroads in the United States, as CDMA networks make progress in other parts of the world. There are camps on both sides that firmly believe either GSM or CDMA architecture is superior to the other. That said, to the non-invested consumer who simply wants bottom line information to make a choice, the following considerations may be helpful.
Coverage: The most important factor is getting service in the areas you will be using your phone. Upon viewing competitors' coverage maps you may discover that only GSM or CDMA carriers offer cellular service in your area. If so, there is no decision to be made, but most people will find that they do have a choice.
Data Transfer Speed: With the advent of cellular phones doing double and triple duty as streaming video devices, podcast receivers and email devices, speed is important to those who use the phone for more than making calls. CDMA has been traditionally faster than GSM, though both technologies continue to rapidly leapfrog along this path. Both boast "3G" standards, or 3rd generation technologies.
EVDO, also known as CDMA2000, is CDMA's answer to the need for speed with a downstream rate of about 2 megabits per second, though some reports suggest real world speeds are closer to 300-700 kilobits per second (kbps). This is comparable to basic DSL. As of fall 2005, EVDO is in the process of being deployed. It is not available everywhere and requires a phone that is CDMA2000 ready.
GSM's answer is EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution), which boasts data rates of up to 384 kbps with real world speeds reported closer to 70-140 kbps. With added technologies still in the works that include UMTS (Universal Mobile Telephone Standard) and HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), speeds reportedly increase to about 275—380 kbps. This technology is also known as W-CDMA, but is incompatible with CDMA networks. An EDGE-ready phone is required.
In the case of EVDO, theoretical high traffic can degrade speed and performance, while the EDGE network is more susceptible to interference. Both require being within close range of a cell to get the best speeds, while performance decreases with distance.
Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards: In the United States only GSM phones use SIM cards. The removable SIM card allows phones to be instantly activated, interchanged, swapped out and upgraded, all without carrier intervention. The SIM itself is tied to the network, rather than the actual phone. Phones that are card-enabled can be used with any GSM carrier.
The CDMA equivalent, a R-UIM card, is only available in parts of Asia but remains on the horizon for the U.S. market. CDMA carriers in the U.S. require proprietary handsets that are linked to one carrier only and are not card-enabled. To upgrade a CDMA phone, the carrier must deactivate the old phone then activate the new one. The old phone becomes useless.
Roaming: For the most part, both networks have fairly concentrated coverage in major cities and along major highways. GSM carriers, however, have roaming contracts with other GSM carriers, allowing wider coverage of more rural areas, generally speaking, often without roaming charges to the customer. CDMA networks may not cover rural areas as well as GSM carriers, and though they may contract with GSM cells for roaming in more rural areas, the charge to the customer will generally be significantly higher.
International Roaming: If you need to make calls to other countries, a GSM carrier can offer international roaming, as GSM networks dominate the world market. If you travel to other countries you can even use your GSM cell phone abroad, providing it is a quad-band phone (850/900/1800/1900 MHz). By purchasing a SIM card with minutes and a local number in the country you are visiting, you can make calls against the card to save yourself international roaming charges from your carrier back home. CDMA phones that are not card-enabled do not have this capability, however there are several countries that use CDMA networks. Check with your CDMA provider for your specific requirements.
According CDG.org, CDMA networks support over 270 million subscribers worldwide, while GSM.org tallies up their score at over 1 billion. As CDMA phones become R-UIM enabled and roaming contracts between networks improve, integration of the standards might eventually make differences all but transparent to the consumer.
The chief GSM carriers in the United States are Cingular Wireless, recently merged with AT&T Wireless, and T-Mobile USA. Major CDMA carriers are Sprint PCS, Verizon and Virgin Mobile. There are also several smaller cellular companies on both networks.
Netconnect - Reliance Infocomm’s CDMA based data card offers wireless internet access on your laptop computer sans a Wifi connection.
As long as the Reliance mobile network is present in some city, town or village, you can use the NetConnect data card to surf the internet as well as make and receive calls and SMS messages from your laptop.
To promote mobile internet access in India, Reliance has offered a new mobile internet data card that will allow Reliance NetConnect customers to virtually get a free Data Card.
The Freedom plan offers free usage of 1 gigabyte every month while the Swift 40 plan offers 40 hours of free usage every month. New customers can purchase the data card for Rs. 2,850 (USB modem data card) and Rs. 2,990 for the PCMCIA data card that slips in your notebook.
Like Airtel, Reliance and Hutch, BSNL will soon launch an Internet access data card for laptops and desktops.
The data card or GSM modem will be available in two options - network interface card or EVDO card. BSNL has promised to provide Internet speed upto 2.4mbps with CDMA interface in PCMCIA based cards.
The EVDO card will cost INR 6k with an activation fee of INR 250. BSNL also has plans to bundle EDGE/GPRS PC Data Card with its cellular mobile connections.
Dual SIM Card Mobile Phone for GSM, CDMA with International Roaming
Mobile Phones with dual SIM cards provide two different numbers on the same phone - one could be for private friends and family while the other number could be for everyone else.
Tata Teleservices have launched a new dual SIM card phone in India called the Samsung Duo. The phone has two slots for inserting SIM cards unlike the regular mobile phone which are limited to one SIM card.
You can also use a GSM and CDMA number with Samsung Duo or 2 GSM numbers or 2 CDMA numbers - pretty useful stuff.
Samsung Duo costs ~ INR 12k with global roaming and has a 1.3MP camera, Bluetooth and an MP3 player.
Reliance Infocom is also expected to introduce dual SIM phones that will run on GSM and CDMA platform simultaneously.
