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SOUTH KOREA: Taejon Mayor Reelected as
President of WTA
Taejon Mayor Yum Hong-chul was reelected as
the president of the World Technopolis Association (WTA) in its 4th general
assembly held in Sweden on Friday. The WTA, an inter city cooperative
organization established by Taejon City in June, 1997, voted to reelect the
major Yum Hong-chul as the president in the general assembly held under the
theme of regional development strategies built on cooperation between
business, science and society at the University of Uppsala, Sweden. Brisbane,
Australia was also chosen as the host city for the 5th WTA general assembly,
which will be held in 2006. As Nanching city, China and Hanbat National
University located in Taejon were approved as the new members, the WTA
currently has a membership of 46, including both cities and universities from
17 countries. A total of 10 cities, including Heidelberg, Germany, are
considering joining the organization. (by Lee Jin-woo)
From The Korea Times 09/05/2004
TOP↑
AZERBAIJAN: Public Television to Be
Established on Base of Aztv-2
Ali Hasanov, the chief of public and
political department of the president administration says Azerbaijan
considered all recommendations of the Council of Europe about establishment
of Public television on base of AZTV -2" state channel. In his interview
with Turan news agency, he said the final version of the bill on public TV
and radio will be again discussed with experts of the Council of Europe
within next few days, and then the document will be submitted for
consideration to the parliament. As for the fate of the State television,
Hasanov mentioned the issue about liquidation of this structure is out of
competence of the Council of Europe or Azeri parliament. "The issue on
preservation or non-preservation of State TV is under authority of the
president," Hasanov said. Along with this Hasanov presumed presently
Azerbaijan needs State television. "Practically, all states members of
CE possess state television," said Hasanov.
From http://www.bakutoday.net/ 09/15/2004
TOP↑
CHINA: 600,000 Online Gaming
Technicians Needed
What kind of technicians are most needed in
China? A survey by the Ministry of Information Industry shows that online
gaming technicians are most needed. Specialized online gaming technicians
including artist editors are less than 3,000 in China whilst the market has a
demand of 600,000 of them. The main reason behind this shortage of online
gaming technicians is the fast development of online gaming industry. If the
IT industries is said to be the fastest burgeoning industry, online gaming
industry is the fastest growing area in the IT industries. On the basis of
2.3 online game players for each online game user China has had more than 30
million online game players. On the one hand there are 30 million online game
players and on the other there are less than 3,000 online gaming technicians.
The sharp contrast is the current situation that China's online gaming
industry is facing. The direct result of this situation is that few excellent
online games with independent intellectual property rights are owned by
China. South Korean and Japanese online games are dominating China's online
gaming industry.
From People’s Daily 08/20/2004
TOP↑
Chinese Site
to Link Up with eBay
Eachnet, the Chinese unit of US auction site
eBay, says it expects the number of professional online sellers to surge in
China once it introduces a platform allowing users to begin trading directly
with eBay members. The new platform, which will link Eachnet's nearly 7
million users with eBay's 105 million users, could be established as early as
this autumn. This would not only be a big benefit for Chinese users, who will
have access to a world market, but will also give global internet auctioneers
access to China, where the number of internet shoppers is expected to triple
next year. The e-commerce industry is estimated to be worth 200 million US
dollars in China. But insiders think that the service will encounter initial
payment, language and customs difficulties. People in China who can speak
English and overseas ethnic Chinese who can speak Chinese will probably be
the first to take up this chance of cross-border trade.
From CRI 09/01/2004
TOP↑
E-ticket
Unveiled in Great Wall
Holland-based electronics giant Philips
announces that it has installed a newly developed e-ticket system in the
Great Wall at Badaling and tourists can enjoy this new service as from the
National Holidays starting on October 1st. The new ticket is a renewable
smart card that allows admission into the tourist site upon presenting it in
front of a special device at the entrance. The e-ticket system is compatible
with the existing traffic smart card in Beijing, so holders of these cards
will be also able to tour the Great Wall without cash payment. The new
e-ticket will greatly enhance service and management efficiency, as well as
help coordinate the use of related facilities, such as hotels and highways,
near Badaling. Every year, over four million travelers from home and abroad
visit the Great Wall.
From CRI.com 09/06/2004
TOP↑
Development Gateway China Program
Opens
The Development Gateway China Program began
on September 13 with a videoconference attended by participants in Beijing
and Washington representing the Ministry of Finance, State Council
Informatization Office, Development Gateway Foundation and World Bank, as
well as local donors including China Gateway, Gansu Information Center,
Shanghai Internet Economic Consulting Center under the Shanghai
Informatization Committee, and China Economic Information Center under the
State Information Center. The Development Gateway Foundation -- an
independent, nonprofit organization initiated by the World Bank and
headquartered in Washington DC -- promotes the use of information and
communication technologies for poverty reduction and sustainable development.
The Development Gateway's global portal of development knowledge and services
has become a center of information-sharing for the world development
community. Online communities of specialists have been formed around such key
development issues as e-government and foreign direct investment. On the
foundation's global public procurement platform called dgMarket, users can
access 30,000 open bids from 150 countries on any given day. China joined the
foundation as a founding member in May 2002. The China Gateway portal
attracts about 50,000 visitors each month. In April 2004, China signed an
agreement to contribute US$1 million in cash and US$4 million in kind to the
foundation. The non-cash contribution consists of the operation of the China
Development Gateway; establishment and operation of a Research and Training
Center in Gansu; establishment and operation of a Research Center in
Shanghai; and organization of an Information and Communication Technologies
Asia Forum. The launch of the Development Gateway China Program shows the
country's shifting role from a mere recipient to a contributor of financial
and technical resources to the international community. Through the program,
China aims to contribute to the global and country's efforts to reduce
reduction, bridge the digital divide and promote growth with equity.
From China.org.cn 09/13/2004
TOP↑
Internet 'Codewords' Widen Digital Gap
Do you know what the following numbers mean:
"7456," "246" and "995"? Or can you tell the
meaning of these English letters such as "GG," "GF" and
"PLMM"? A man surfs the Internet at an Internet cafe. The
popularity of the Internet has also generated many new vocabularies among
young people. Stay calm and do not lose your self-confidence if you are
confused by the questions. They are actually not a test of your intelligence
and wisdom but kind of quiz of your know-how about so-called Internet
language. In fact, even experienced Chinese linguists and long-standing
Chinese teachers are getting puzzled by the new language, commonly used in
online Chinese-language chat rooms. The language is becoming more and more
popular among the country's more than 87 million Internet users, especially
young Internet surfers. It consists of Chinese characters mingled with
English letters and words, images, symbols and numbers. Over the past few
years, the use of Internet language has become so common that some netizens
have compiled a special dictionary consisting of more than 1,000
newly-designed cyber words. These cyber words are roughly classified into
four categories - the number, Chinese character, letter and signal parts. The
number part includes words consisting of a series of numbers which have
similar pronunciations of some Chinese characters. For instance, 7456 is
pronounced as qisi wole (I'm extremely angry), 246 as esile (I'm very hungry)
and 995 as jiujiuwo (Save me). Included in the letter part are different
letter combinations either derived from English abbreviations or pinyin
(sounds forming syllables). For example, "GG" means gege (elder
brother) while "GF" means girl friend. PLMM is spelled out as
piaoliang meimei, meaning beautiful girl. In the Chinese character part are
Chinese words composed of Chinese characters that are given newly-defined
meaning by Internet users. For instance, konglong (dinosaur) and qingwa
(frog) refer to ugly people and cainiao (literally meaning vegetable bird)
refer to a green horn. In the symbol part are various combinations of symbols
such as punctuations and alphabets, aimed at expressing different
expressions. For instance, :-) means a smiling face while (:-...... refers to
a broken heart. Lin Yunfu, an associate professor with the Xi'an-based
Northwest University, says Internet language is characterized with
conciseness, better visualization and strong humour. The language fully
reflects the creativity and personality of young people, he notes. The
associate professor suggests the public hold a tolerant attitude towards the
use of Internet language. "Since it is used in a very limited scope,
Internet language has little negative impact on the Chinese language as a
whole," he says. Other proponents go further to say that the emergence
of Internet language is a normal phenomenon and a necessary stage in the
development of Chinese. Some new words from Internet language may finally be
accepted by the public to enrich the Chinese vocabulary, they say. Opponents,
however, blast the toleration of Internet language as
"inappropriate" and "irresponsible." "Some linguists
have adopted incorrect attitudes towards the disordered Internet language by
calling for toleration and non-interference of the non-standard use of
language," says Liu Bin, former minister of education. "Any
responsible linguist should criticize and help rectify the disorder." He
stresses that the abusive use of Internet language will finally undermine
standard use of Chinese and even jeopardize its purity. Educators share the
view and warn that young people, especially primary and middle school
students, may fall victim to Internet language. "Frequent use of
Internet language, though in a small scope, among primary and middle school
students will affect their learning of standard Chinese ," says
Professor Li Shengmei of Nanchang University in Jiangxi Province. "In
the long run, they may not be able to use Chinese correctly and suffer
troubles in communication with others." Indeed, her worry has already
been testified by media reports that Internet language has been creeping into
primary school students' spoken Chinese and even their school work. A teacher
in a middle school in Changsha, capital city of Central China's Hunan
Province, recently was surprised to see scores of strange words such as
"200" and "PMP" in a Chinese composition written by one
of her students. The Dongfang Xinbao newspaper reported that the teacher had
to ask the student to translate these words into standard Chinese. The
student explained that in Internet language, "200" means dongwuyuan
(zoo) and "PMP" means paimapi (bootlicker). Meanwhile, more parents
reportedly express deep worry about the "digital gap" between them
and their teenage children, who prefer to use Internet language to show off
their personality. "Is it normal that we cannot even understand what my
son says?" a perplexed father was quoted as asking Xinhua News Agency.
(by Zhi Gang)
From http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/ 09/13/2004
TOP↑
Tianjin Vows to Make World-class IT
Products
Tianjin, a port city in north China, pledged
to develop its information technology (IT) industry into a top-grade IT base
and manufacture world-class IT products, said Tianjin Mayor Dai Xianglong.
Tianjin will explore various favorable policies of finance, taxation,
talents, and science and technology to promote the development of IT
industry, said Dai, to the ongoing four-day Mid-Year Seminar and Exhibition
of Pacific Telecommunication Council (PTC). He said the IT sector will
generate 300 billion yuan (US$36.2 billion) in industrial output value a year
in five-year's development. In the first six months of 2004, Tianjin's IT
output value roseby 47 percent from last year, reaching 66.6 billion yuan
(US$8.04 billion). Tianjin has nearly 1,000 IT companies. Of them, 584 are
overseas-funded businesses, including Motorola, Samsung, LG. and IBM. Dai
Said the PTC is an influential organization and its annual mid-year seminar
is playing a vital role in development of the IT industry worldwide. The
ongoing PTC mid-year seminar has arranged 11 forums including China's policy
of telecom, investment environment of telecom, e-government and development
trend of software.
From Xinhua News Agency 09/17/2004
TOP↑
Powerful System Cracks
Password-Protected Files
Crime fighter: Standing next to the
"Password Cracking Cluster", Senior Superintendent Kenneth Li says
the Force has already built up its capability in tackling technology crimes.
The Commercial Crime Bureau's Technology Crime Division, in co-operation with
the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, has developed a
high-powered system to crack password-protected files. The system, known as a
"Password Cracking Cluster", consists of 25 high-powered computers.
Acting Chief Inspector Collins Leung, who is responsible for the project,
said the system's speed of operation "is 30 to 50 times faster than any
single computer." "It might take about 3,000 days to crack a
password with eight characters in length with an ordinary computer, but the
new system using a clustering technology can reduce the time to two or three
days," he said. The software has been specially designed to run on this
cluster for its durability and prolonged operational needs, he said. He said
its performance was found to be satisfactory after months of testing. It has
been designed with its extensibility and future development in mind, he
added. "To further increase its computation power, what we need to do is
to add more computers into the cluster." Senior Superintendent Kenneth
Li pointed out that the Force has already built up its capability in tackling
technology crimes and the result was "obvious". "As technology
crimes know no boundary, we've offered assistance to other law-enforcement
agencies in cracking the crimes," Mr Li added. Mr Li reiterated that it
is important to obtain support from senior management in terms of resources
as well as leadership. As such, a Technology Crime Steering Committee chaired
by the Director of Crime & Security meets regularly to make and review
long-term objectives and strategies in combating technology crimes. "The
purpose of this is to provide a secure online environment in Hong Kong to
facilitate the development of e-business," he noted. The Force first
established the Computer Crime Section in 1993 to develop its professional
capability in combating technology crimes. It was expanded in 2001 to form
the Technology Crimes Division.
From http://www3.news.gov.hk/ 09/21/2004
TOP↑
Digital Tech Maps Great Wall for
Protection
China's best-known symbol will be digitally
mapped in a bid to protect it better, the Beijing Youth Daily has reported.
The Great Wall of China will be examined using air remote sensing technology,
which will determine which part falls under which province's jurisdiction,
and how much there is of it. Under the unified arrangement of the State
Administration of Cultural Heritage, the wall will be measured kilometer by
kilometer and divided into sections. Milestones or monuments will be
installed at each section, recording the mileage and protection measures in
place for that section. The government will collect funds and employ volunteers
to protect the Great Wall section by section. Dong Yaohui, vice-president of
the Great Wall Society, said the monuments will help local people and
tourists appreciate their responsibility for the protection of the wall. All
the data acquired in the survey and other historical information will be
included in a brand new database for the Great Wall. The database will be
updated in time to provide accountable information for protection, study or
educational activities. The man-made wonder is known to some tourists for
only some comparatively complete and restored sections, such as Badaling and
Juyongguan. But many of the truly ancient parts are scattered among the
mountains, awaiting discovery and recording by scientists.
From China Daily 10/05/2004
TOP↑
Shanghai: E-Commerce Hits Rough Patch
Creaky banking and postal systems are
conspiring against Chinese shoppers snapping up books and cosmetics over the
Internet, holding back a market that has lured the likes of eBay and Amazon. When
Shanghai native Lin Ying sold a stuffed bear via an Internet auction, the
buyer insisted on completing the deal at the city's bustling People's Square.
"It was a gigantic Winnie the Pooh. Bidders jacked the price up to 350
yuan (US$42), so of course the winner had to see if it was the real
thing," said the 28-year-old accountant. With fraud cases grabbing
headlines and postal deliveries often problematic, such "offline"
transactions are a necessary inconvenience in China's budding e-commerce
sector, industry executives and analysts say. But unless those problems are
resolved, executives fret, China's Internet shopping sector may never fulfil
its potential. Its online shopping market was worth 4.2 billion yuan ($507.5
million) last year, and is expected to double this year, according to market
research firm Shanghai iResearch. Its longer-term potential is considered
huge - if its problems are resolved. Drawn in by such numbers, global
Internet giants including eBay Inc, Yahoo Inc and Amazon.com Inc have all
taken the China plunge in the last year, paying a combined US$375 million to
acquire domestic start-ups. But only 10 per cent of China's estimated 90
million-plus Web surfers buy things on the Internet, compared with 38 per
cent in the United States, according to industry executives. "Chinese do
want to buy things online, but many are afraid to take the first step,"
said Toto Sun, general manager of China's second-largest online auction site
Taobao, a unit of unlisted firm Alibaba.com. "They have many worries. Is
it safe to wire money? Will the product I buy be defective, or worse,
fake?" he said. Such problems are deterring Baidu.com Inc, China's
largest search engine, from broadening its focus, at least until the problems
are ironed out, said Chief Financial Officer Shawn Wang. "E-commerce is
definitely something we would consider very seriously. We're keeping our eyes
on it," Wang said. About a quarter of online auction transactions in
China are completed in person, and just 30 per cent of all Web shopping
payments are handled over the Internet, in a society where cash is still
king, analysts say. The nation's credit card holders now number a scant two
million, a fraction of its 1.3 billion people. Hoping to increase that
penetration, online travel agent Ctrip.com has announced the launch of a
travel credit card with China Merchants Bank Co Ltd. The lack of credible
payment systems is a major reason behind the low level of online sales in
China, said Shao Yibo, chief executive of eBay's China venture, eBay EachNet,
whose second-quarter transactions amounted to US$63 million. EBay's Paypal
online payment unit has hired consultants in Beijing to advise it on how to
enter China's murky payment market, currently dominated by State banks and
mobile operators. Online shopping in China also faces the speed bump of a
sometimes unreliable and highly regulated distribution system dominated by
State-owned China Post. As sales to rural regions rise, officials in some
areas are known to occasionally, and illegally, levy taxes on goods arriving
from other provinces. "(China Post's) customer service is considered
poor and its costs for transferring money are unreasonably high," Eric
Wen of Morgan Stanley wrote in a research report. But China Post will soon
face stiff competition from the likes of DHL, owned by Germany's Deutsche
Post, United Parcel Service Inc and FedEx Corp as China opens up its courier
sector. Online retailers such as Dangdang.com and Joyo.com, bought by Amazon
in August for US$75 million, have opted to strike out on their own, starting
delivery fleets staffed by young men on bicycles who accept payment and wire
back the money. "We want to take advantage of China's cheap
labour," said Peggy Yu, co-founder of Dangdang, which State media said
had rebuffed Amazon's US$150 million acquisition offer.
From Business Weekly 10/13/2004
TOP↑
Beijing Telephone Subscribers Exceed
20 Million
The Chinese Ministry of Information Industry
says the number of Beijing's telephone subscriber exceeded 20 million at the
end of August, leading the country in the number of telephone users.
Subscribers of fixed phone in the capital city reach about 7.7 million and
nearly 13 million people now have access to mobile phone. Five telecommunication
companies have entered the market providing new services for users. The
municipal government has called on public management to improve the
industries infrastructure.
From http://www.ebeijing.gov.cn/ 10/14/2004
TOP↑
China to Develop Domestic Online Games
China will invest 1 to 2 billion yuan
(US$120.5 to US$241 million) in a program to develop some 100 high quality
Chinese-developed online games from 2004 to 2008, according to sources with
the Press and Publication Administration of China. The investment is an
attempt to combat the dominance of imported online games, for Chinese games
account for only 10 percent of the online computer games in the country. Yu
Yongzhan, deputy director of the administration, said that nearly 50
businesses are involved in the program, and projects listed in the program
will be given preferential policies in terms of taxation and financing.
China's online game publications took in 1.32 billion yuan (US$159 million)
in 2003, up nearly 50 percent from a year earlier, as online games emerged as
a kind of mainstream gaming product, according to Yu. Chen Tianqiao,
president with the Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd, China's largest
online game company, said that "holding the intellectual property rights
of relevant game software is the core for vying for the future gaming
market." By the end of this year, 30 online games are expected to hit
the market. They include several games adapted from classical Chinese
literary works, such as Pilgrimage to the West, Canonization of the Gods, and
Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
From Xinhua News Agency 10/18/2004
TOP↑
Guangzhou Schools Get Connected
Schools in Guangzhou took a step into the
information age on Friday, with the launch of project using the Web to aid
youngsters' study. The e-era project, backed by the city's Education
Department and local government, will combine the information technology
educational resources in the city's schools, sources with Guangzhou Bureau of
Education said. Guangzhou's Vice-Mayor Li Zhoubing pointed out that
"Internet use has become one of the most effective study methods."
But he warned that the unhealthy material available on the Web not only harms
childrens' mental and physical health, but also negatively affects their
studies. "This project aims to provide a healthy study environment for
students in the city," said Li. The project will provide all of the
city's schools with a virtual platform on which to share educational
resources. Several educational websites, including the Guangzhou Education
and Research Network, will be established in the next few years, according to
sources with the bureau. The websites will provide with information ranging
from teaching instructions, students' psychological consultation, English
Internet exchange to extracurricular information for students in the city,
said sources with the city's education bureau. Li said the aim of providing
such information was to improve students' overall educational level. Hua
Tongxu, director of the Guangzhou Bureau of Education, said the ambitious
project would be introduced over the next three years in order to promote
improved use of IT educational resources in schools. The trial phase of the
network, with an investment of nearly 10 million yuan (US$1.2 million), was
completed in June this year.
From China Daily 10/23/2004
TOP↑
IRAN: Information Technology Reaches
Rural Areas
A rural IT project has been launched in Iran
as part of a joint effort by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
and the government of Iran. The centre, which is the first of 100 planned
centres, has been set up in a school in Maranak, a small village in the
foothills of the Damavand mountain range in northern Iran. The project
includes classes on IT programmes, such as learning to use the Internet and
the use of IT facilities. The classes are open to different age groups, from
children in elementary class to adolescents. Demand for the new scheme has
been high with 300 people registering so far. Reflecting the country's trend
of a higher number of women in education, twice as many girls have signed up
than boys. It is hoped the project will replicate an IT centre which has been
commissioned in the village of Tees, in the southeastern province of
Sistan-Baluchestan. The centre in Tees is a community-based development
project that uses micro-credit techniques to achieve socio-economic goals.
"This would support the development of information linkages with other
communities and micro-credit institutions. It will also enhance the
effectiveness and efficiency of micro-credit based employment generation and
poverty reduction, by combining them with information technology services
support," Tooraj Akbarlou, UNDP spokesperson, told IRIN in the Iranian
capital, Tehran. The IT centres are also seen as a means of improving local
governance, promoting transparency and encouraging local participation by giving
local communities access to information on public services, regulations and
policies and acting as a feedback forum. The latest information on relevant
local rural issues, such as market prices for agricultural goods and medical
information, will also be available to local families. "This initiative
can help create self-reliance in communities, and can ultimately support
poverty alleviation programmes in the country," said UNDP Resident
Representative Frederick Lyons. 揑t also shows that tiny investments can
leverage larger effects to improve the life of communities," he added.
The project aims to contribute to sustainable human development efforts in
the country by building institutional capacity for development through
information technology in selected rural and urban areas. Implemented by
Iran's Management and Planning Organization (MPO), it will also play an
active part in providing input and make recommendations for the national IT
plan. Iran's ambitious national IT plan promotes the use of IT as an
effective means to enable sustainable human development and reduce the
inequality gap between developed and underdeveloped regions. It also seeks to
reduce the divide between rural and urban areas, men and women, and rich and
poor. Iran's MPO announced that the government, with help from UNDP, plans to
open another 100 rural IT centres across the country by next year. It is
hoped the centres will not only teach IT skills, but will also provide
essential information tailored to rural needs, including local information
and news, employment, social services, health, environmental and food, issues
and advice on legal rights and local laws. "The project is also unique
in a sense that it demonstrates a spirit of multilateral participatory
collaboration between central and provincial authorities and local
communities in all phases of project implementation, commissioning and
operation," said Dr Seddigh, head of the MPO's research bureau.
From http://www.irinnews.org/ 08/17/2004
TOP↑
Reformist
Websites Blocked
TEHRAN - Three websites with links to Iran's
reformist parties have been blocked by conservative hardliners and several
contributers have been arrested amid increasing crackdowns in Iran. The
Paris-based press freedom organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
released a statement saying the move was, "A new step in the cowing of
the Iranian media." RSF said this move furthers censorship of online
Internet activity. Some six people were arrested by the Tehran prosecutor's
office for working for Internet service providers (ISPs) or as webmasters for
the targeted sites.Mohammad Reza Khatami, the secretary-general of the
Islamic Iran Participation Front - the main reformist party to which the
websites are linked - has complained to the deputy head of the judicial
affairs section of Iran's prosecutor's office. He has said that the ISPs are
under pressure by morality police to block websites they find unacceptable.
By law, ISPs must block websites deemed anti-Islamic or anti-regime, although
many analysts say this latest measure has overstepped the mark. The blocking
of the websites are part of increasing social restrictions being imposed by
the conservative dominated parliament, who won February's controversial
elections after thousands of reformist candidates were barred from standing.
Some analysts believe that the crackdown is a political move by the
conservatives and does not herald a new, stricter era. "It's simply the
conservatives flexing their muscles and letting the reformists know that
their days are numbered," one Tehran-based analyst told IRIN. But RSF
fears that the latest restrictions on the Internet will badly affect press
freedom. The Internet in Iran is regarded by many as the only forum where
Iranians have access to uncensored information and the move to block
increasing numbers of websites has been met by dismay by human rights groups
and Internet users alike. In February, the newspaper 'Iran' published a draft
of a proposed law on "the punishment of crimes linked to the Internet."
It said that anyone found disseminating information that 'poses a threat for
the country's internal or external security' should receive a prison sentence
of one to three years and up to 15 years if the information is passed to
'foreign states or foreign organisations'. Hefty fines and prison sentences
are also proposed for connections to sites of a sexual nature. The bill
states that ISP and cybercafe owners should be responsible for monitoring all
content to which they offer access and owners who do not comply risk five
years in prison and losing their business. RSF said the law would create
"a legislative framework that would severely restrict free expression
online." A host of reformist papers have been shut down in 2004,
including dailies Nassim Sabah and Vaghayeh Etefaghieh. The daily reformist
'Jomhouriat' has announced it will cease publication after its managing
editor was summonsed to appear in court. Three cybercafes in the southern
city of Bushehr have also been shut down, a move strongly denounced by RSF.
From http://www.irinnews.org/ 08/30/2004
TOP↑
Nano-Technology Center Opens
Isfahan provincial management center for
nano-technology was established with the aim of employing the new technology
in the province. In a meeting, Isfahan Governor General Mahmood Hosseini on
Monday emphasized on need to access the new technology. He underlined the
necessity of membership of Isfahan and Kashan universities in the center and
said the potentials of the province should be explored to materialize
technological programs. Nano-technology is a great development in technology
to control the particles and to use them in manufacturing micro instruments
and tools. According to scientists, by using such instruments man can take
fundamental steps in different sciences including treating incurable
diseases.
http://www.iran-daily.com/ 09/08/2004
TOP↑
JAPAN: Broadband Services Are World's
Cheapest: White Paper
TOKYO -- Japan's broadband subscribers at
the end of March 2004 reached 14.95 million, and the monthly fees are much
cheaper than those in other nations, according to a recent government report.
The Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications
released the "Current Report on Information Communication" of year
2004 (white paper) on July 6. According to the white paper, Japan's broadband
services "reached the world's top level." The white paper compared
broadband services in several countries in terms of fees and communications
speeds. As of October 2003, "Yahoo! BB 12M," asymmetrical digital
subscriber line (ADSL) services by Softbank BB Corp offered the cheapest
service in the category with the maximum speed of 10Mbps to 100Mbps. Second
inexpensive are fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) services by KDDI Corp and Yusen
Broad Networks Inc. Among the top 10 inexpensive broadband services, a
Canadian wireless service company and a Swedish FTTH service provider were
listed as the only non-Japanese competitors. Price comparisons show that the
monthly fee of US$0.09 per 100kbps offered in Japan was also the least
expensive among all. On the other hand, the current status of Japan's digital
divide in broadband services also was reported. Some 16.7% of Japan's towns
and villages are not provided with broadband services as of March 2004.
Penetration rates are especially low in depopulated areas in Japan -- about
40% of such areas were not able to subscribe to any of the broadband Internet
services.
From http://neasia.nikkeibp.com/ 07/30/2004
TOP↑
Japan's Broadband Users Exceed 16
Million: Ministry
TOKYO -- The Ministry of Public Management,
Home affairs, Posts and Telecommunications (MPHPT) issued on July 30, 2004 a
report on the trend of the number of Internet users in Japan. According to
the report, the total number of broadband users as of the end of June 2004
reached 16,188,201, including xDSL (digital subscriber line) service,
fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) service and CATV Internet users in Japan. This
number represents an increase of 380,249 from the end of May. The total
number of FTTH service users was 1,417,483. This represents a monthly
increase of 89,708 from the end of May, which is larger than the monthly
incremental number of 86,840 for May. The overall trend shows a steady
monthly increase of more than 80,000 since the beginning of 2004. The total
number of xDSL service users as of the end of June reached 12,068,718. This
shows an increase of 249,541 since the end of May. The number of CATV
Internet users as of the end of June was 2,702,000, an increase of 41,000
since the end of May.
From http://neasia.nikkeibp.com/ 08/06/2004
TOP↑
Cell Phone-Based System to Track Farm
Products
TOKYO — The Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries will begin a project in fiscal 2005 to create a
tracing system enabling consumers to know the "history" of farm
products by means of mobile phones, ministry officials said Wednesday. In the
planned system, small integrated circuit tags will be attached to
agricultural products and information stored on them, such as data on
agricultural chemicals used, will be able to be read by mobile phone
handsets.
From http://www.japantoday.com/ 08/19/2004
TOP↑
Japan's DSL Subscribers Exceed 12.32
Million at the End of July: Gov't Report
TOKYO -- The Ministry of Public Management,
Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications announced on Aug 10 preliminary
figures for the number of digital subscriber lines (xDSL) as of the end of
July. There are 12,325,694 lines, which increased by 256,976 from 12,068,718
as of the end of June. The increase for a single month slightly exceeded that
of the previous month at 249,541. By service providers, new subscribers to
Softbank BB Corp declined, followed by the slow trend seen in June. The
company acquired 73,000 DSL lines in June, showing a decrease by 22,000
compared to 95,000 in May. The leakage of transmission records of its IP
phone service "BB Phone," which had been discovered in June, might
still have a negative impact on the winning of new subscribers in July. The
company's total DSL subscribers as of the end of July is 4,350,000, pushing
its market share down slightly by 0.2 points to 35.3% compared to the
previous month. "FLET's ADSL" provided by NTT East Corp and NTT
West Corp increased subscribers by 108,213 to 4,555,264 lines. NTT East has
2,530,060 and NTT West 2,025,204. The market share combined of NTT East and
NTT West is 37%, a 0.2 point increase since June.
From http://neasia.nikkeibp.com/ 08/20/2004
TOP↑
Medical License Card with IC Chip May
Be Introduced
TOKYO — The health ministry is considering
introducing a medical license card with a built-in integrated circuit chip to
enhance the safety and effectiveness of medical services, ministry officials
said Sunday. The officials said the card would help prevent medical accidents
by providing information on a doctor's specialization and work record,
including whether the doctor has been suspended from practice.
From http://www.japantoday.com/ 08/23/2004
TOP↑
Japan's IC Cards Seen Hitting 340
Million in Fiscal 2010
TOKYO -- Yano Research Institute Ltd said in
its latest survey that the number of IC cards, including bank cards, credit
cards and commuter passes, should swell to 340 million in fiscal 2010. The
findings also showed that the Japanese IC card market increased 46.9% from a
year ago to 51.18 million in terms of IC cards, and is expected to increase
34.2% in fiscal 2004 to 68.70 million. The market will continue to grow,
surpassing 100 million in around fiscal 2006 and eventually rising to 340
million in fiscal 2010, Yano reported. By category, bank cards and credit
cards won a lion's share of 58.6%, or about 30 million, in fiscal 2003 and
are predicted to continue increasing to 58.8%, or some 200 million, in fiscal
2010. Elsewhere, IC cards will increase their presence in local governments
and public transportation systems including bus, train and automobiles'
electronic toll collection (ETC) system. Specifically, it is forecast that in
fiscal 2010 there may be some 40 million IC cards in service in the
transportation arena, accounting for 11.8% in the overall market, and some 43
million cards, or a 12.6% share, may be used for a resident's ledger system
at government offices nationwide. The survey was conducted between May and
July by interviewing 42 corporations and institutions, including IC
card/reader/writer vendors, system integrators and IC card-oriented
businesses, which focused questions on fact findings and forecasts.
From http://neasia.nikkeibp.com/ 08/27/2004
TOP↑
Terrestrial Digital Broadcasts Begin
Outside Big Cities
TOKYO — Terrestrial digital broadcasting
began Friday in Toyama and Ibaraki prefectures, the first time for such
broadcasting services to become available outside Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya.
The public broadcaster Japan Broadcasting Corp, better known as NHK, and Kita
Nihon Broadcasting Co began terrestrial digital services in Toyama with live
broadcasting of their joint ceremony, while NHK, the sole provider in
Ibaraki, started three days of special local programs in the prefecture.
From Kyodo News 10/01/2004
TOP↑
Satellite Digital Broadcasting for
Mobile Terminals to Begin Oct 20
TOKYO — Mobile Broadcasting Corp said Monday
it will begin digital broadcasting services via satellite for mobile
terminals on Oct 20 for the first time in the world. The service will start
with seven channels for footage, 30 audio channels and several other channels
for data information, the company said.
From Kyodo News 10/05/2004
TOP↑
Focus Falls on Role of Websites in Suicide Pacts
TOKYO — The Japanese are growing concerned
about so-called suicide websites after nine people were found dead Tuesday in
two cars separately in Saitama and Kanagawa prefectures in what police
believe to be suicides resulting from relationships formed through the
Internet. While these websites may help people kill themselves by putting
them in touch with other suicidal people, some argue that they serve as a
tool for preventing suicides because they provide a forum for people to
discuss their problems.
From http://www.japantoday.com/ 10/14/2004
TOP↑
Fixed-Line Number Portability Starts
in Seoul
Starting August 1, Seoul residents can
switch their carriers without having to change their current landline
numbers. The so-called fixed-line number portability will go into effect
across the nation from Sunday, with the system finally being applied to the
remaining area in Seoul. The cross-carrier system kicked off halfway through
last year in four small cities and enlarged its effective zone to provincial
cities like Inchon and Taegu in March, and Pusan from last month. The
full-fledged implementation of number portability is expected to give
momentum to Hanaro Telecom’s competition with telecom giant KT. From June
2003, more than 70,000 KT users swapped over to Hanaro and about 80,000 more
have applied to move to Hanaro, while KT attracted less than 1,000 Hanaro
clients. With the policy’s expansion to Seoul, Hanaro guns for further spoils
in the two-way telecom war by enhancing its share to 6 percent by the end of
this year. As of the end of June, KT accounts for about 95 percent of the
nation’s 22.84 million fixed-line subscribers with Hanaro carving out the
rest. In addition, Hanaro expanded its business horizon from last month by
embarking on its own overseas and long-distance call services on top of its
existing local call offerings. The anguish of KT is that it cannot draw
Hanaro users by slashing fixed-line fees because price changes are subject to
strict control by the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC). The
MIC is reluctant to give the nod to KT’s fixed-line fee cuts for fear the
former state monopoly will extend its dominance over small fry Hanaro. ``We
do face unfair competition when it comes to the number portability system, as
we have practically no power to change prices when our rival undermines our
subscriber pool with a low price,’’ a KT spokesman said.
From The Korea Times 07/30/2004
TOP↑
Korea's Online Population Tops 30 Million
The number of Koreans who regularly use the
Internet surpassed the 30 million milestone last month, 10 years after the
Internet was commercially launched here. The Ministry of Information and
Communication (MIC) said Tuesday the nation had 30.67 million Web surfers at
the end of June, up from 29.22 million six months ago. The figure was
estimated through a biannual survey of 17,347 residents from 7,030 households
across the country, conducted by the MIC and the National Internet
Development Agency in June. Korea became only the fifth country in the world
to join the 30 million club, following the United States, China, Japan and
Germany. After Korea brought commercial Web services to the public for the
first time in Asia in 1994, the number of Internet users skyrocketed, topping
10 million in 1999 and 20 million in 2001. Internet users, which officials
define as those who access the Internet for one hour or more a month,
accounted for 68.2 percent of the nation’s 45 million people aged 6 or older.
The rate marks a 2.7-percentage-point increase from last December and a
4.1-percentage-point hike from the corresponding period last year. Korea’s
Internet success has spawned a digital divide between ages, sexes and
regions. More than 95 percent of those aged between 6 and 29 periodically go
online, compared to 86.4 percent for those in their 30s, 58.3 percent for
people in their 40s and just 27.6 percent for those in their 50s. The survey
also showed that Internet usage stands at 74.4 percent for men compared to
women at 62 percent. Around 70 percent of urban area inhabitants use the
Internet, while only 46.2 percent of people who live in rural areas go
online. Korean Internet users spend an average of 11.5 hours a week on the Web,
an hour less from six months ago, mainly to search for information, enjoy
online games and send or check e-mail. More than 45 percent of respondents
said they are a member of at least one Internet community while 37.1 percent
of them utilize instant messaging services. (by Kim Tae-gyu)
From The Korea Times 08/10/2004
TOP↑
Data Broadcasting Services to Become
Available This Year
While watching K-League matches on
television, viewers are often tempted to check out the profile of a surprise
standout that may be unfamiliar. However, almost all of them hate muddling
through the hassle of turning on their computers and looking for details of
the player in the middle of a match. The full-fledged arrival of data
broadcasting, which has appeared on the horizon this year, would put an end
to such troubles by providing every K-Leaguer's profile in tandem with the
football hook-up. A government official said Monday that the Korean
Broadcasting Commission (KBC) would streamline related regulations regarding
the data broadcasting next month. In accordance with the government
initiative, Korea's commercial TV stations vow to deploy complete data
broadcasting this year. The traditional system sends just audio and video
signals, but data broadcasting adds a large volume of data to the digital
stream, providing a range of compelling services. Data broadcasting would
allow viewers to check the prices of products shown on TV programs or the
hearing-impaired to switch on subtitles. The advent of the new-concept
broadcasting is heavily indebted to the transition to digital TV because a
large volume of data cannot be sent under the current analogue system. The
move to digital TV has recently been accelerated with the end of the row over
transmission format, which has brightened the future of data broadcasting.
Earlier in July, the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) agreed
with the broadcasting industry to adopt the U.S. format as a single national
standard, ending years of protracted dispute. Experts predict data
broadcasting will catch on nationwide after the coverage of the digital
broadcasting service is expanded across the country by the end of 2005 under
the MIC roadmap. Significantly, data broadcasting would usher in the era of
the much-anticipated two-way broadcasting based on point-to-point
communication. Unlike the point-to-multipoint system, interactive
broadcasting builds up a return path via telephone lines or broadband
Internet, allowing viewers to express their preferences by snapping up
products displayed on the screen or joining TV opinion polls. Some describe
data broadcasting as a stepping stone from one-way broadcasting to an
interactive system as various functions become possible with the provision of
various data. Interactive broadcasting is important since it is thought to
hold a key to profitability for digital TV operators, at least in the
canvassing stage of implementation. (by Kim Tae-gyu)
From The Korea Times 08/16/2004
TOP↑
Government Starts
‘E-Science’ Pilot Project at a Cost of 1.5 Billion Won
The government is promoting an “e-science”
project, which will allow the use of experiment and practice equipment at a
distance, beginning next year. For example, a person located far from an astronomical
telescope will be able to use it through an Internet program on the
information superhighway network without visiting the observatory. The
Ministry of Planning and Budget has decided to provide 1.5 billion won for
the pilot project next year, aimed at developing software and application
programs for joint use. The “e-science” project refers to a new concept for
scientific and research study activities that makes it possible to use
supercomputers, up-to-date experiment equipment, DB and document information
that are dispersed in different areas through a superhighway research network
and the Web, at anytime from anywhere. If and when the environment for
e-science is established, designing an aircraft, which currently takes
several months, will likely be achieved in a day, drastically improving the
productivity of existing research and development activities. In addition,
e-science will make research and experimentation possible anywhere in the
country 24 hours a day, and the dispersed location of large-scale research
facilities is expected to greatly contribute to balanced regional
development. Currently, foreign countries, including the United States and
Japan, are actively pushing to establish an e-science network for the
development of science and technology and improving national competitiveness.
The U.S. federal government and research institutions, including scientific
foundations, are promoting the “cyber infrastructure program” to renovate
scientific research through the use of next-generation IT. In Japan, the
Ministry of Education and Science has been promoting an “e-science
realization project” since 2001. Britain has been engaged in different
research projects following the opening of a “National e-science center” in
2002, while the European Union is operating a program to integrate the
technological advances of member nations and facilitate the exchange of
similar activities.
From http://www.korea.net/ 08/22/2004
TOP↑
Seoul Plans IT Complex
The government plans to construct a software
center in Seoul to help lure foreign investment in Korea`s high-tech
industry, the Ministry of Information and Communication said yesterday. The
Ministry of Planning and Budget approved a 430 billion won ($372 million)
proposal to build the research center at the Seoul Digital Media City complex
in the western part of the capital. The planned 20-story building with a
gross office space of 19,140 square meters will be integrated with facilities
designed for comprehensive support on research activities, product
development, performance testing and marketing. The research center will also
provide software developers with a joint manufacturing facility that is
designed to cut down the companies` spending on equipment. Construction is to
be completed in 2007. "By building a cutting-edge information-technology
complex that provides efficient methods for product development, we hope to
enhance the competitiveness of local companies while attracting foreign
investment as well," said an official from the Communication Ministry`s
Knowledge-based Industry Division. "The location of the DMC provides an
efficient transportation route to overseas markets, as it is close to
Incheon, and also provides access to Seoul`s large consumer market and deep high-tech
talent pool," he said. The project is among the latest developments in
the government`s effort to make the Seoul-Incheon corridor a regional center
for the high-tech technology industry in Asia. The government launched the
Seoul Digital Media City project in 2002. Its goal is to transform a landfill
site near the World Cup Stadium by 2010 into a research and development hub
for the information-technology industry. The government is also seeking to
establish an international software center in the coastal city of Incheon,
called New Songdo City. It is currently attempting to gather foreign
high-tech investments in hopes of turning the area into the country`s next
boomtown.
From The Korea Herald 08/25/2004
TOP↑
Major IT
Companies to Invest in Inchon Free Economic Zone
SEOUL -- A slew of major IT companies, both
domestic and abroad, are flocking to Inchon to pursue untapped opportunities
there. The Ministry of Finance and Economy (MOFE) announced on Aug 26 that
seven IT firms, including Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, LG Electronics Inc,
Korea Telecom Corp (KT), Microsoft Corp, and HP, signed a letter of intent to
establish a consortium to build up an Entertainment cluster in the Inchon
Free Economic Zone. The MOFE added that the IT firms would jointly invest a
total of US$1 billion in the port city to set up communication data centers
(CDC) and facility management centers (FMC), essential IT infrastructures to
companies that are going to be located in the Inchon FEZ later. "It is a
pleasant surprise at a time when the buzzword in the government corridor is
foreign investment and, the establishment of entertainment cluster in Inchon
would put Korea on a better position on the global race to host major IT
companies," according to a MOFE official.
From Maeil
Business Newspaper 08/30/2004
TOP↑
SOUTH KOREA: Internet to Be 50 Times
Faster by 2010
Korean people will be able to enjoy the
Internet at the speed of up to 100 Mbps by 2010, around 50 times faster than
now, thanks to the up-and-coming Broadband convergence Network (BcN). The
Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) on Tuesday said it selected
three consortiums for trial operations of the BcN services, or the Korean
equivalent to the next-generation network. The BcN will integrate
traditionally separated telecom, Internet and broadcasting lines into a
single network while seamlessly switching over wired and wireless connection.
Hand-in-hand with such top-line network infrastructure, an array of
futuristic features are expected to arrive including voice over Internet
protocol, T-commerce, IP-TV and video on demands at reasonable prices. The
integrated network has been regarded as a minimum must in enabling a future
mega trend of digital convergence, which breaks barriers between differing
businesses up until now. The nation's telecom juggernauts have dogged the
all-out efforts to jump onto the lucrative BcN bandwagon and a total of four
consortiums applied for the licenses for trial operations last month. Among
them, three headed each by KT, SK Telecom and Dacom were officially entitled
to set up backbone and subscriber networks for the BcN from next year. As
soon as the networks are established, the companies plan to sign up
subscribers possibly starting midway through next year. The government plans
to shell out 1.2 trillion won for the full-gear take-off of the BcN by 2010
while encouraging an 800 billion won investment from the private sector
during the cited period. The MIC expects the BcN would attract 2 million
subscribers next year alone and the figure would surpass 8 million in 2007
and 20 million in 2010. ``The BcN would induce 67 trillion won of related
investment along with 111 trillion won-worth equipment production and exports
of up to $50.8 billion by 2010,'' an MIC official said. The official added
the nation will be able to maintain its competitive edge in the global race
for ultra-fast connectivity with the world-first commercial deployment of the
BcN. Korea boasts of the world's best broadband penetration rates with more
than 11 million households hooked to the always-on, high-speed Internet. (by
Kim Tae-gyu)
From The Korea Times 08/31/2004
TOP↑
Seoul City to Build
Namdaemun Square
People will be able to walk around
Sungnyemun, better known as Namdaemun, in central Seoul, this year as Seoul
City implements plans to build a public square around the national treasure,
which is currently isolated by heavy traffic, noise and air pollution. Seoul
City yesterday said works will begin as early as October for the construction
of a square connecting Namdaemun, the country’s National Treasure No. 1, to
Seoul Station as part of its plans to build squares and parks in the downtown
area to improve living conditions in Seoul. Public access has been denied to
Sungnyemun because traffic lanes surround the giant gate, which was built in
1394 and renovated in 1497. The city government said it is discussing the
construction with police and the Cultural Properties Administration. Heavy
traffic congestions are likely to occur during the construction as several
roads pass the area and high-rise buildings are located there, according to
city officials. ``The project requires careful deliberations, as it involves
a national treasure and the square will be located where the city’s main
roads are connected,’’ a city official said. The envisaged square will cover
an area of 2,500 pyong (8,250 square meters) between Sungnyemun and a
residence block across from Seoul Station. In May, Seoul City opened a public
square in front of City Hall in central Seoul. A fountain and a ``photo
island,’’ where people will be able to take pictures of Sungnyemun with
modern buildings as a backdrop, will be established at the square. Also,
three-meter-wide sidewalks will be built around Sungnyemun to enable citizens
to walk around the gate, the officials said. ``The square, if built, is
expected to boost nearby businesses, such as Namdaemun Market, as the square will
provide easy access for people to reach the market,’’ the official said. (by
Kim Rahn)
From The Korea Times 09/05/2004
TOP↑
Koreans Rank Fourth in Asia in Mobile
Phone Spending
SEOUL -- Korea ranks fourth in the Asia Pacific
region in terms of mobile spending. The ITU Telecom Asia Conference reported
on Sept 8 that Korea is the fourth-largest spender on mobile phone services
on a monthly basis, after Japan, Australia and Singapore. The ITU added that
Korean mobile phone holders spend an average of US$40.50 per month. Japanese
mobile phone users topped the rating with US$66.60 per month, followed by
Australians with US$45.2 and by Singaporeans with US$43.6.
From http://neasia.nikkeibp.com/ 09/10/2004
TOP↑
Delinquent Phone Bills Hit 5 Mil.
With the flagging economy showing no signs
of picking up, more and more Koreans are failing to pay basic fees for
telephone services, electricity and tap water. According to data reported to
Rep. Kim Suk-joon of the opposition Grand National Party, as many as 4.9
million fixed-line phone bills were overdue during the first six months of
the year. The half-year figure, compiled by the Ministry of Information and
Communication, is higher than the 4.4 million for all of 2003 and almost
twice the 2.8 million of 2002. By company, foremost landline operator KT saw
overdue bills explode from 1.3 million for 2003 to 1.4 million for the
January-June period of this year, while for overseas call operator Onse
Telecom, the 910,000 of last year has increased to 980,000 for the first six
months of this year. Things are little different for mobile carriers, which
are facing a rising number of customers in arrears, chipping away at their
bottom line. The nation`s top mobile carrier SK Telecom said the overdue
payments of its clients had more than doubled to 383 billion won at the end
of June from 170 billion won last year. The number of customers who have
failed to pay electricity bills has also been on the rise of late, according
to the Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) The former state monopoly said
while about 790,000 households failed to pay a combined 22.9 billion won in
electricity charges last year, the numbers came in at 890,000 households and
31.2 billion won as of June this year. ``Currently, almost seven in 100
subscribers are not paying fees, which is almost 1.5 times more than in 1998
in the wake of the Asian financial crisis,`` an official from the utility
said. As a result, electricity disconnection rates have jumped for those who
fail to pay electricity bills for longer than three months. A total of 1,680
households had their electricity cut off by KEPCO as of the end of 2001, but
the tally snowballed to 3,500 last year and 3,200 for the first half of this
year. Overdue payments for tap water supplies also almost doubled this year
over last year, the Korea Water Resources Corp. said. Experts point out the
protracted economic slump combined with soaring prices had reduced the
purchasing power of consumers, which has resulted in unpaid utility bills.
Last month, consumer prices jumped 4.8 percent over the corresponding period
last year, the highest increase in 37 months since July 2001, amply
demonstrating the difficulties arising from inflation pressure. Increases in commodity
prices related directly to people`s daily lives were at 6.7 percent during
the cited period.
From The Korea Times 09/20/2004
TOP↑
Districts in Seoul Turning to CCTVs to
Prevent Crime
Seoul City and its district offices plan to
set up closed-circuit TVs all over the metropolitan area to prevent crimes,
despite concerns over possible violations of human rights and privacy. Seoul
City officials said the city government has set aside some 12 billion won to
help each district office set up the small-sized unmanned cameras in back
streets and in front of banks, schools and other public buildings. Police and
a majority of residents are welcoming the idea, while human rights groups
claim the cameras can be misused anytime and violate the privacy of
residents. The measure came after Kangnam-gu, one of the most affluent areas
in Seoul, installed 272 cameras in a bid to counter a surge in crimes in the
district. Kangnam-gu officials said although the district office spent some
9.3 billion won in purchasing and setting up the cameras, it is worth such an
investment since the cameras have proved very useful in preventing crimes.
``Kidnapping and murder cases often occur in Kangnam-gu because many wealthy
families live here. Security conditions have been improved since the cameras
were set up throughout the residential area,’’ said Cho Young-chul, a
Kangnam-gu official who is in charge of the installment of the cameras.
``Kangnam Police Station manages the operation of the cameras, 24 hours a day
and keep a special watch on places where crimes have occurred. Residents say
they are feel safer.’’ The use of cameras as an anti-crime method drew
attention from other districts in Seoul as the number of crimes have reduced
in Kangnam-gu since the cameras were set in motion. Kangnam Police Station
said it had no concrete data comparing crime rates of before and after the
installation of the CCTVs, but said they made the district one of the safest
places to live in Seoul. ``Crime rates here were normally higher than other
areas, but now the situation is very different. The role the cameras are
playing in preventing crimes is quite crucial,’’ a police officer from
Kangnam Police Station said. ``Residents have generally been in favor of the
installation of cameras in their neighborhoods. Most of them say they feel
safer than before. Most of them don’t think the cameras are violating their
privacy.’’ According to Seoul City, other district offices have agreed to
follow in the footsteps of Kangnam-gu and install CCTVs in parks, apartments
and alleys, where residents can easily fall victim to crimes. Seoul City said
they will give financial support to district offices when they purchase the
CCTVs for anti-crime use. Earlier this year, Kangnam-gu head Kwon Moon-yong
reported the effectiveness of the cameras in preventing crimes to President
Roh Moo-hyun during a meeting and recommended other district offices adopt
the similar system. The idea of setting up CCTVs has drawn a positive
response from wealthy district areas. Still, some district offices have been
opposed to the idea due to concerns over possible human rights violations.
``Police can watch who is where through the CCTVs and can record it. That can
cause serious privacy problems,’’ said Lee Jung-hwi, an official of the
Citizen’s Coalition of Human Rights. ``In the past, state organizations
enforced measures to watch citizens with an excuse to protect them. No one
can be feel comfortable if there is a `big brother’ who is watching where you
are and who you are with.’’ (by Na Jeong-ju)
From The Korea Times 09/20/2004
TOP↑
School Online System in Full Swing by
2006
The education ministry and teachers’ union
on Thursday agreed to implement three controversial parts of a new online
school information system by early 2006, paving the way for the government to
collect and use student-related information from all schools nationwide for
education purposes. The agreement followed a dispute between teachers and
education authorities over the National Education Information System (NEIS),
which teachers argued may violate the privacy of students because it contains
sensitive information such as student transcripts and health records. The
Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development and the Korean Teachers
and Educational Workers Union agreed to establish three separate systems for
the sensitive information from the NEIS by September 2005, and make enough
test operations until they fully adopts the systems in March 2006. The information
is a central part of the NEIS, but will be separately managed by education
offices with greater care from other information to prevent possible
violations of privacy of students, the ministry said. Ministry officials said
they will set up some 2,700 computer servers to support the costly online
system, which will help manage student-related information more efficiently
and reduce paperwork for teachers. The ministry said some 52 billion won has
been put into building the system, and as much may be spent further to
complete the project. In April 2003, the ministry adopted part of the online
system for some 10,000 schools and education offices nationwide to share
education-related information, sparking anger from teachers’ union. The union
claimed the NEIS may violate the rights of students, because the system
enables teachers and education officials to access sensitive information.
Last year, more than 15,000 teachers from the union took collective leave
from schools to protest the implementation of the online data system.
Thousands of union members also participated in protest rallies and
criticized the government. Amid the deepening dispute over the NEIS, Yoon
Deok-hong, then-Deputy Premier and Education Minister, submitted his
resignation on Dec. 17 of last year. (by Na Jeong-ju)
From The Korea Times 09/23/2004
TOP↑
Digital Entertainment Cluster Due in
Inchon
Global leading information technology (IT)
companies will jointly invest $1 billion in the Incheon Free Economic Zone to
establish a digital entertainment cluster by 2006. The Incheon Free Economic
Zone Authority (IFEZA) on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU)
with a consortium of six global and local IT giants, including Microsoft,
Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems, KT and LG CNS, to initiate a detailed
feasibility study for the development of the Songdo Digital Entertainment
Cluster. Upon signing the MOU at the Songdo Getpearl Tower, the ``Grand
Consortium’’ will launch the study in early November, aiming to finish by the
end of 2006. ``This is the first time for these internationally recognized
companies to join forces together to co-develop an IT cluster in Korea,’’ the
IFEZA said in a statement. ``This remarkable project will not only catalyze
the inflow of foreign investments into the Incheon Free Economic Zone but
will also aid the local IT companies in the area.’’ According to the MOU,
Yuong Woo & Associates, a member of the consortium and a U.S.-based IT specialized
real estate developer, will induce $1 billion from overseas to purchase land
for the project and establish communication facilities. The remaining five
companies will prepare a blueprint to build an environment for Ubiquitous
telecommunications within six months. ``The consortium plans to first
construct a communication & data center and facility management center,
equipped with an intelligent building system on 32.7 acres located next to
the International Business Center, currently being developed by Gale
International,’’ the IFEZA said. The consortium will lease the high-tech
facilities with the concept of ``Home Away From Home’’ to digital
entertainment-related companies from across the world, the authority said.
``Once the project is complete, Songdo new city, with its high-end Ubiquitous
telecommunication system, is expected to emerge as a hub of the digital
entertainment business in Northeast Asia,’’ an IFEZA official said. The Grand
Consortium held a ceremony to congratulate its foundation in late August and
submitted a letter of intent to participate in the feasibility study, which
will decide the role and the size of investments for the project. (by Bae
Keun-min)
From The Korea Times 10/14/2004
TOP↑
Internet Enables
E-Mail from Grave
A local company has launched a new service
that allows people to send a will or messages to their loved ones by e-mail
in the event of sudden death. Digital Media, Korea’s peripheral computer
equipment vendor, said Monday it had started the posthumous e-mail services
in June at www.goodbyemail.com. The offering is being provided in both Korean
and English for 24,000 won for two years, while a Chinese version will also
be launched from December. Subscribers can leave their last words together
with documents or image files, and can rewrite or edit them at any time
through the Internet. To check whether a customer is alive, Digital Media
sends e-mail twice a month that must be answered within 30 days. If a
customer fails to send a reply for one month, the firm will then ask a
pre-specified trustee about the client’s status. When a trustee confirms the
death of a customer, the parting messages will be delivered to the pre-chosen
receivers, be they family members, relatives or friends, through the Internet
or by post. Until now, a total of 43 individuals have signed up for the
services, most being in their 30’s. All are currently alive, according to
Digital Media president Kim Sung-dae. ``The goodbye-mail service ensures that
our clients’ wills are delivered to the right people at the right time. We
also promise 100-percent security. Even we cannot look at them,’’ Kim said.
He added the messages are encrypted before being stored on a secure server,
thus making it impossible to steal a glance at the information and any
potentially explosive secrets. ``Even when hackers crack our servers and
steal the messages, what they will eventually get is meaningless numbers,
which they cannot decrypt,’’ the chief executive said. Digital Media has
acquired a patent for the new offering and is looking to apply for
international patents soon. (by Kim Tae-gyu)
From The Korea Times 10/18/2004
TOP↑
MONGOLIA: 2,086 Units Provided with
Communications
Ulaanbaatar /OANA-MONTSAME/. A range of aid,
which is being granted by the Japanese Government, has been extending. The
first phase of the aid was directed towards livestock and herders, and the
next part was directed toward providing local areas with communications and
electric generators. Within the framework of Japanese aid, a total of 2,086
units or 1,127 bags (the smallest administration unit) and 340 soums special
commissions, 298 hospitals, 321 post offices in 21 aimags were provided with
communications. (by G. Sainbayar)
From http://www.montsame.mn/ 10/20/2004
TOP↑
TURKMENISTAN: TV-4 Turkmenistan New TV
Channel Is Broadcasting in Turkmenia
The new TV network was established on
President Saparmurat Niyazov's initiative to "become an important source
of unbiased and helpful information on Turkmenistan for the millions
worldwide", to quote TDN news agency. The network will operate round the
clock in Turkmen and six foreign languages: English, Arab, Chinese, Russian,
French, and Farsi. In fact, broadcasting was scheduled to begin long ago but
postponed several times. Preparations took several months. Most charming
youths and girls were selected for announcers and anchors. The casting was
not easy. Candidates had to possess attractive looks and speak the necessary
foreign languages. Graduates from the Turkmen National Institute of World
Languages (Azadi Institute) were canvassed. Difficulties were a legion: after
all, educational establishments spent the last two years teaching the
Turkmenbashi's Rukhnama. It does not facilitate knowledge of foreign
languages. All the same, everything fell in line. The team prepared dozens of
programs about "The Golden Age of Turkmenistan" that began
(needless to say) with Niyazov's ascension to presidency. One such program
describes the "great project" initiated by the Turkmenbashi -
Turkmen Lake in the Kara-Kum sands. The program has not been broadcast yet,
but there can be no doubts already that it will never say a word about the
damage this "project of the century" promises to all countries of
the Amudarja basin. Some reports indicate that the new channel is working on
a program about fashionable medical centers that appear throughout the
country. Even this program, however, will not say a word about who can and
who cannot afford medical treatment there. The TV network "for
export" will probably advertise the decision to up pensions,
scholarships, and salaries proclaimed by official Ashkhabad - and never
mention the 20% inflation, coupon system, or lines for meat. Neither can we
expect any mention of the problems with ethnic minorities, situation in
education, unemployment, new rules of entrance at universities and colleges
that are now out of reach for whoever has not had a job before... There are
lots of problems in Turkmenistan, but "trifles" like that are
unlikely to hold much interest for Niyazov's new TV network. (by Nezavisimaya
Gazeta, Viktoria Panfilova)
From http://enews.ferghana.ru/ 10/08/2004
TOP↑
UZBEKISTAN: Uzbektelecom Launches WLL Network
Uzbek national communications operator
Uzbektelecom has launched a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) network in Khorezm and
Bukhara regions and in Karakalpak autonomous district in the republic at a
cost of $10 million, company General Director Khakim Mukhitdinov said at a
press conference.The network has been set up using CDMA-450 technology and
consists of 30 base stations with a capacity for 40,000 numbers. The U.S.
company Lucent Technologies supplied the equipment and Japan's Marubeni
Corporation was the subcontractor for the project. The WLL network will allow
Uzbektelecom to provide communications services, including voice and
high-speed data transmission, in remote regions of the republic "where
even access to basic communications services was difficult," Mukhitdinov
said.
From http://www.interfax.com/ 09/21/2004
TOP↑
Malaysia's FTEC Plans to Assembly
Computers in Uzbekistan
Tashkent. (Interfax) - Malaysia's FTEC
Resources Bhd. plans to set up a personal computer assembly production in
Uzbekistan, the Uzbek Communications and Information Agency told Interfax.
The agency said that FTEC Resources Bhd, the Uzbek Communications and
Information Agency, AO Koinot (formerly Uzbekkosmos and part of the Uzbek
Communications and Information Agency) and Uzbekistan's World Studio Co.
signed a memorandum to set up a joint venture. According to preliminary
information, the joint venture will be set up on a parity basis, be located
at the Koinot site and will assembly computers with components supplied from
Malaysia. Production capacity in the first stage will be some 20,000
computers a year.
From http://www.interfax.com/ 09/23/2004
TOP↑
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MALAYSIA: Digital Imaging Gets
Creative
As the saying goes, the early bird gets the
worm, so those who missed last year’s digital imaging and audio workshop
organised by The Star should sign up now for this year’s workshop. Entitled
“Creative Digital Imaging: Beyond the Basics,” the workshop caters to those
seeking to spice up their multimedia presentation with background music and
attractive typography. “We had to turn away many applicants for last year’s
workshop as our equipment was limited,” said The One Academy of Communication
Design marketing and business development manager Tan Chin Wee. Last year's
workshop taught participants basic functions found in their video and digital
cameras while this year’s will focus on the creative side – taking digital
photographs and creating a multimedia presentation. “It will be an eye-opener
for those who have never dabbled in digital media creation,” said Tan. The
participants, he added, would be divided into four groups, with a lecturer
from the academy and four assistants attending to each group. “This will
ensure participants have the opportunity to learn directly from the
instructor or his assistants if they face difficulties during the workshop,”
he said. Tan said there were 100 places for the workshop and the number would
not be increased as Sony was lending the organiser only 50 digital cameras
and 50 video cameras for the training. “Participants will not have to share
as I feel that they could learn more in a day if they each have a piece of
equipment.” “A personal computer will also be provided for each participant
to facilitate the movie-editing process,” he said. Tan said the academy’s
team spent four months developing the modules for the workshop to ensure that
participants received the latest information. The fee for the workshop at The
One Academy in Bandar Sunway on Aug 21 is RM350, inclusive of lunch, two tea
breaks and a certificate of participation. Registration is on a first come,
first served basis. For enquiries, call The Star’s marketing services
department at 03-7967 1388 ext 1121/1432 during office hours. The workshop is
organised by The Star with the co-operation of The One Academy. Now into its
fifth year, The Star Learning Skills programme was introduced to help
Malaysians gain new and invaluable skills for personal development, lifestyle
enhancement and career growth.
From http://thestar.com.my/ 08/04/2004
TOP↑
MCA Helping to Narrow Digital Divide
The MCA is coming up with a programme to
narrow the digital divide among schools, especially those in the rural areas,
to help them keep up in the information technology era. Party national
education bureau chairman Tan Sri Dr Ting Chew Peh said 20 schools in rural
areas would be selected as the first batch to undergo the programme. “This
programme will also be getting help from organisations which are supportive
of our effort. “Besides bridging the digital divide, we aim to help students
to improve their academic performance,” he told reporters after chairing the
bureau meeting at the party headquarters here yesterday. Dr Ting said the
Education Ministry’s student integration programme for unity was also
discussed at the meeting. He said the programme would group schools of
different mediums and organise joint events like sports, cultural performance
and debates for them. There were 23 groups so far, he added. Dr Ting said the
MCA fully supported this programme and its state liaison committees would
help to identify more schools for it.
From http://thestar.com.my/ 08/04/2004
TOP↑
MCA Plans to Set Up IT Business Center
The MCA plans to set up a one-stop
information technology (IT) awareness and resource centre for small and
medium enterprises (SMEs) and industries (SMIs), said party president Datuk
Seri Ong Ka Ting. He said these companies could use the centre for advice on
technology procurement, business process improvements, software and hardware
system integration and IT consultancy. The centre could also provide
assistance in the form of venture capital sourcing, matching investors to IT
companies, matching local technopreneurs with foreign counterparts and
provide information on local and foreign projects. The initiatives tailored
to assist the young generation of Malaysian SMEs would not seek to reinvent
the wheel, but rather to work closely with the many entrepreneurial initiates
already launched by the Government, he said when opening the SMEs in
Malaysia: Pivot Points for Change seminar organised by the party at Wisma MCA
here yesterday. Ong, who is Housing and Local Government Minister, said
assistance for well-educated and IT-savvy entrepreneurs required a different
framework from traditional entrepreneurs. He also said the MCA could
facilitate opportunities for the young generation of SMEs to realise their
ideas, including providing seed funding. The party would also play a more
hands on role to help traditional small and medium enterprises (SMEs) survive
and adapt to new global environment, he added. He said the state MCA exco
members could help solve problems related to land conversion, funding,
factors hindering development and expansion, and provision of advisory
services faced by the enterprises. Task force could be formed to formulate
concrete steps to assist traditional SMEs to make the transition to the new
global environment, he added.
From http://thestar.com.my/ 08/18/2004
TOP↑
MAS Offers Online Booking for
Travellers
Those keen to hunt for bargains offered by
Malaysia Airlines (MAS) but are unable to visit the 18th Matta International
Travel Fair at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) can do so online. Just
logon to http://www.bookonline-malaysiaairlines.com.my, check the online
schedule for the destination of your choice, fill in the online form and pay
through a credit card. MAS online channel manager Azlan A. Tanjung said the
service would enable travellers from other states to get discounted air
tickets offered during the three-day fair, which ends today. He said the
airline is not issuing tickets at the travel fair this year and visitors have
to do their bookings online through one of the 10 computers set up in Hall 1
at the PWTC. “We have seven personnel on standby to help those having problem
with online bookings,” said Azlan. Once they had made their online purchases,
customers can collect their tickets at any of the pickup points in the city
of departure, he said. For domestic flights, customers would be given a
reference number to be presented with their identification during check-in,
he added.
From http://thestar.com.my 09/19/2004
TOP↑
E-Insurance to
Wipe Out Cover Note Fraud
The long-standing problem of forged cover
notes will be resolved now that the e-insurance application has come into
operation, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said. In
acknowledging that the problem is quite serious, Chan said the Road Transport
Department (JPJ) and Bank Negara Malaysia had been receiving several
complaints of insurance frauds every week. “The system, which will start
today, will wipe out unlicensed agents who issue forged insurance cover notes
to deceive the public,” he said after launching the application at the state
JPJ headquarters here yesterday. He added that it was not necessary to
produce a cover note to renew licences at JPJ counters as the information
would be available online. JPJ director-general Datuk Emran Kadir, who was
also present at the launching, said the department had been testing the
application since July 2001 and some 300,000 transactions were conducted
without any hitches. He said the department had decided to honour cover notes
until the end of the year to prevent any unforeseen circumstances or in case
of a system failure. He also urged the people to be wary of unlicensed agents
offering them discounted insurance during the transitional period. Chan noted
that the e-insurance application would also help to address the problem of
long queues and that it would not burden the people with additional cost.
Three firms – Reward-Link. Com Sdn Bhd, PDX.Com Sdn Bhd and Financial Link
Sdn Bhd – have been appointed as the service provider to channel information
from 40 insurance firms to JPJ.
From http://thestar.com.my/ 10/06/2004
TOP↑
Malaysia to Use Smart Card in Place of
Border Pass
Malaysia will implement the use of the smart
card in place of the border pass for those travelling between this country
and Thailand, Singapore and Brunei. Home Affairs Minister Datuk Azmi Khalid
said the implementation of the system was to monitor the movement of
Malaysians in and out of the country as well as nationals of neighbouring
countries who entered and left the country daily and weekly. Under the
system, we can monitor those coming into and leaving the country, we will
know their location and this will facilitate those working in this country
and returning to their own country after office hours,he said after breaking
fast with the media and children from the Darul Kifayah orphanage, here last
night. He said Malaysia was now discussing with the three countries concerned
and Thailand had given its agreement earlier on implementing the system with
this country. Thailand would use the same identification system as the MyKad
used in this country and this would facilitate the implementation of the
smart card system, he said. On the implementation of the smart card by Singapore,
he said discussions were still going on while Brunei had agreed in principle
on the implementation of the smart card system.
From http://thestar.com.my 10/19/2004
TOP↑
Mobile Phone
Coupon Service Allows Shoppers to Download Discounts
Instead of carrying all those discount
coupons on your shopping trip, bargain-hunting Malaysians now have a
hassle-free alternative of storing them in their mobile phones. A new service
called “mobile coupons,” enables the downloading of coupons offered by
different outlets onto the phones for use later. The customer is given a
product code and each download costs RM2. A serial number is also given for
each coupon as a security feature to ensure that the coupon cannot be reused
or transferred. The service is available for multimedia messaging service
(MMS) mobile telephone users. “It is convenient. You carry your mobile phone
with you everywhere. So, it is hassle-free,” said service developer Cerulean
Ventures (M) Sdn Bhd’s managing director Anna Chew. Besides discounts at food
outlets, one can also get discounts for activities like white-water rafting.
A list of merchants subscribing to the service can be accessed at
www.moomobile.com. Once you have selected the product or service, SMS it to
32300. “It is great for the consumers because they do not have to walk around
with thick wallets or booklets when they want to use the discount vouchers.
“It is targeted towards the working professional and those who are
tech-savvy,” said Chew. Chew said the list of merchants was being expanded
and the service would be promoted via web portals, banks and telco-related
companies. “In future, it can even be used as an invitation card to events.
We can also do m-ticketing using this process. “You just download it and
flash it. And you do not risk losing the coupon,” she said. “Charity
organisations can also use this service for donations to be channelled to
them,” she added.
From http://thestar.com.my 10/21/2004
TOP↑
E-Surveillance to Help Police Fight
Crime
Police are tightening security measures in
the state by introducing the e-surveillance system, an information technology
system to reduce incidences of snatch theft, illegal racing and other
criminal activities. “We are hoping to reduce crime in the state by using
technology,” said state police chief SAC I Datuk Christopher Wan after
receiving one unit of e-surveillance system camera donated by the Real Estate
Housing Developers Association (Rehda) yesterday, The unit, costing some RM
26,000, is a set of PTZ camera complete with network rider system using
wireless transmission, would be fixed at a crime prone area to help police
monitor movements. He received the unit from Rehda chairman Datuk Peter Lim
Cheow Seng at a press conference at the Dragon Bowl Restaurant in Batu
Berendam on Wednesday. “This is a giant step taken by a non-governmental
organisation (NGO) to support crime prevention,” said SAC Wan. “The system
will be linked to the police headquarters and signs of trouble will be picked
up and responded to by a quick respond team,” he said.
From http://thestar.com.my 10/22/2004
TOP↑
Singapore Airlines Introduces Text Messaging Check-In
Passengers on Singapore Airlines will be
able to check in for flights by sending a text message on their mobile
phones, the carrier announced Tuesday. The short message service (SMS)
function is the latest use of technology that Singapore Airlines has
introduced to make checking in easier and quicker, adding to Internet, mobile
phone and fax facilities. "This enables our customers to check in in the
manner that is most convenient and saves time for passengers," the airline's
senior vice president of products and services, Yap Kim Wah, said in a
statement. After checking in remotely, passengers need to pick up their
boarding passes and check in their luggage on the day of departure from a
dedicated counter, rather than wait in regular queues. The SMS service will
initially apply to flights departing from Singapore, Auckland, Bandar Seri
Begawan, Bangkok, Chennai, Christchurch, Dhaka, Hanoi, Kuala Lumpur, Manila,
Penang and Taipei. Passengers have to first register on the airline's website
to use the service.
From http://www.channelnewsasia.com/ 08/03/2004
TOP↑
New Cashcard System for Utilities by
Next May to Help Needy Families
A new pay-as-you-use scheme for utilities
will be put in place by May next year. Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng
Kiang said this in parliament on Wednesday. The scheme is meant to help
families which have run into financial trouble and are unable to keep up
payments on their utility bills. The families will use pre-paid cashcards on
special electricity meters. These new special meters will be installed at
homes which have had their electricity supply cut off because they are in
arrears. The scheme was first mentioned by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
during the National Day Rally. It is hoped the scheme will help these
families manage their power use and prevent their unpaid bills from piling
up.
From http://www.channelnewsasia.com 09/01/2004
TOP↑
IDA Connecting Community Through IT in
S$8m Trial
Very soon, your doctor can be immediately
alerted and respond if someone in your family has a sudden change in heart
rate. It is part of an S$8 million trial by the Infocomm Development
Authority that will make science fiction, fact. A total of 2,500 people will
get to try out the programme from February next year. The first tell tale
sign of a dengue outbreak in your neighbourhood could come too late for you.
And if you would prefer to find out about a spate of lift robberies
immediately after they are reported, the Infocomm Development Authority says
it has come up with the solution. The "Connecting the Community"
trial will allow you to use your mobile phone, PDA, home computer or screens
to find out the latest local happenings. "We hope to link up all the residents
in Bishan East -- be it news on crime, news on Town Council, news on
activities, entertainment organised by the grassroots or even the
retailers," said Caroline Ee-Lee, chief executive of the Cyber Business
Network. Residents will, while waiting for a lift, be able to check with the
police on the latest crime reports in the area. Beyond information sharing,
other applications include health monitoring. "It has several services
suitable for the older people, including retirees. Those services include
bio-medical alert, online shopping booking for golf, travel and even looking
for a job," said NTUC Income's chief executive Tan Kin Lian. For
example, just strapping a mobile device will link you to a nearby hospital if
it detects problems with your heart rate; and doctors can check on you
through online video conferencing. Residents will be able to check their
blood pressure, heart rate and other vital signs on mobile units, which will
be available at various community events. But what is so special is that the
results will be uploaded in a database that can be accessed by the resident's
family or doctor. Non-IT savvy residents won't be left out. Telephones, radio
and television will also be linked to the project. And some of the solutions
may be made commercial in a year, the way some projects from an earlier S$17
million trial called "Connecting the Home" have already hit the
market.
From http://www.channelnewsasia.com/ 09/08/2004
TOP↑
Singapore Airlines to Outsource Some
IT Functions to Trim Costs
Singapore Airlines (SIA) said on Tuesday it
will outsource some functions performed by its information technology (IT)
infrastructure department in a bid to trim costs. "Singapore Airlines
operates in a highly competitive industry where costs can be a major
differential between us and our competitors," the airline said in a
statement. "As an airline, we must work to bring our costs down to be
competitive. In turn, this means, as an airline, we need to search for
efficiencies in the way we do business, including using new technology."
Management is reviewing the proposed outsourcing plans, to be implemented
later this year, and it was too early to determine how the exercise will
affect staff, the airline said. "We are still going through the process
to determine how this will occur and how it will impact on staff and it would
be premature to make assumptions at this point," SIA said. "The
staff of the IT Infrastructure Department have been kept apprised of our
plans and the status of the project. "We shall not be making any public
statement on how many staff are involved, what options are being considered
in relation to staff ... until the staff themselves have been informed,"
it added. SIA, one the world's premier carriers, has said over the past year
it needs to lower operating costs in an increasingly competitive industry,
especially with the rise of low-cost rivals. The carrier's last retrenchment
exercise was conducted in June and July last year when the travel industry
was hit by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic.
From http://www.channelnewsasia.com 09/14/2004
TOP↑
Students Learn Lessons the Wireless
Way
Six hundred students from 15 schools have
gone on a wireless journey and along the way they learnt some valuable
lessons, among them the value of money. Wireless technology is already
commonly used in schools, but now students are also using handheld
applications for lessons outside the classroom. The primary 5 students had to
complete three tasks. One of them was to stockpile essential items for an
emergency while keeping within a set budget. Another task was to use wireless
technology to download information from the Internet. Students also had to
find the cheapest mobile phone plan, balancing it off with a plan to save for
their university education. "It's kind of teaching us to budget our
money and to save it up for further studies," said Indumathi Jeyara, a
student at North Spring Primary. "I learned that I need to save money
and not to anyhow spend money as money is hard to earn," said Edgefield
Primary student Angelina Bok. The wireless project, supported by five
industry partners, involved 15 schools in the northern part of the island.
From http://www.channelnewsasia.com 09/14/2004
TOP↑
DBS Launches New Online Banking
Platform
DBS says it will nearly double the number of
customers it serves online by the end of next year, after it launched its new
online banking platform. DBS says its new Internet banking platform will
serve over 800,000 customers by the end next year, up from just over half a
million now. The new technology replaces a seven-year-old system and will
help regional integration of the bank's online services. "What it does
is enable us to introduce new capabilities to our Internet banking platform
on a very regular and very rapid basis. What we have done now, if you like,
is build the foundation. We now have the capability that can grow us to 2008
and beyond, not just in Singapore, but across the increasingly broad regional
footprint of DBS," Steve Ingram, chief information officer of DBS Bank.
DBS also launched two new services for its customers -- a real estate portal
to help customers buy and sell properties, and an SMS payment service that
DBS says is a first of its kind. While Internet banking is not new, DBS says
its new platform -- to be rolled out over a two-year period -- will allow it
to add functionality on an ongoing basis. DBS was the first Singapore bank to
offer online services back in 1997.
From http://www.channelnewsasia.com 09/15/2004
TOP↑
THAILAND: Signs Online
Ratchasuda College at Mahidol University
will introduce a Sign Language Relay Service (SLRS) over the Internet that
can provide real-time sign language translations for parents and others to
communicate with deaf students.College director Dr Jitprapa Sri-on said the
service had been in testing for almost six months at three locations _ a
dormitory at the college, Siriraj Hospital and Rajavithi Hospital."We
have three sign language translators to help students communicate 24-hours a
day," she said, adding that during the pilot test period the SLRS
service was used by doctors who needed to communicate with deaf
patients."We always have a sign language translator with our students
when they see a doctor. This e-service will increase efficiency as well as
allow parents to do video conferencing with their children instead of talking
on a phone through the help of a translator," she noted. In August the
college will launch the service via a web site at
http://www.rs.mahidol.ac.th.
From http://www.bangkokpost.com/ 08/18/2004
TOP↑
Local Firms Value Thai Solutions
When it comes to IT services, companies here
are most comfortable with a Thai solution backed up by proven skills,
according to the CEO of Stream IT Consulting, Kanokvipa Viriyaprapaikit. She
also described how her IT services company, established for six years now but
with a management team that has been together since the 1990s, operates with
a web of partners, sometimes as the "prime" contractor, but very
often in conjunction and in partnership with another IT services company.
Sometimes these relationships can be several tiers deep, Ms Kanokvipa
explained in a recent interview, citing one example where DBS Bank had
contracted to Siebel, which had in turn called on IBM Services, which had
sub-contracted the work to Stream IT Consulting. Offshore contracts are not
popular with Thai companies for several reasons, with a fundamental problem
being that of communicating changes during implementation when the services
provider was overseas. A personal advocate of knowledge management within her
company, Ms Kanokvipa said that she had found that the most successful
approach when her staff undertook consulting work or provided IT services was
to adopt the role of a "professor" transferring knowledge.With a permanent
staff of 100 and augmented by sub-contractors, Stream IT focusses on its
three core competencies, which Ms Kanokvipa said were enterprise
infrastructure solutions, enterprise system management and business
consulting services. Most of its customers are in the banking and finance
sector.Its revenues are growing by some 20% a year and Stream IT Consulting
had a stable cash flow with "strong annuities" around smaller, more
regular projects that contributed to a balanced revenue structure for
projects-based companies.Asked about the potential for services to the
government sector, Ms Kanokvipa said that this would be a big market over the
next two years, and that Stream IT would be able to take on some of these,
but that it would "not be in the front line" and was talking with
its partners. Business process outsourcing was just starting here now, she
said, with businesses increasingly recognising the need to stick to their
core business. She noted that for vertical markets it was first being seen in
cheque processing and credit card processing, while from a horizontal
standpoint, human resources and facilities management were going the BPO
route.
From http://www.bangkokpost.com/ 09/01/2004
TOP↑
Phuket Pilots E-Project
The Software Industry Promotion Agency
(Sipa) will work with government agencies to provide an e-government services
pilot project in Phuket.The so-called "ePhuket One Stop Service"
aims to integrate information and services from different government
departments to provide a one-stop service to the public, according to Sipa
president Manoo Ordeedolchest."Phuket is a place where many business
travellers and expats spend their weekend and vacations. We want to
facilitate them as well as our own people by taking advantage of the Internet,
a service-oriented architecture and web services technology," he
noted.In the pilot test period, Sipa plans to work with the provincial CEO
governor to launch a web site that will provide driving licence application
forms, licence renewals, car registration and bill paying services for
utilities.The agencies involved include the Department of Land Transport, the
Police Department, the Immigration Department, utility service operators and
banks.To ensure security, Sipa will use a Certification Authority (CA) called
THAiPass to certify and issue identification numbers for each user to access
the service.The information will remain with the relevant government agency.
Only the services will be stored on a central server while work will be
processed via back-end systems. Sipa plans to add some 20 services in the
next 12 months and will also introduce the one-stop e-services concept to
other cities in the future.
From http://www.bangkokpost.com 09/01/2004
TOP↑
On-Schedule Takeoff
‘Still Possible’
The smooth integration of all computerised
systems and successful test runs are crucial if Bangkok's new international
airport is to open on Sept 29 next year as planned, the chairman of the New
Bangkok International Airport Co (NBIA), Srisook Chandrangsu, said. Even so,
he is still confident everything will go as planned. Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra and his cabinet members plan to spend today and tonight at the
site and hold a cabinet meeting there tomorrow.``The prime minister will be
able to see for himself what has been done,'' said Mr Srisook, the outgoing
transport permanent secretary. ``His overnight stay at the site will be a
morale booster.''The NBIA chairman and Transport Minister Suriya
Jungrungreangkit were both upbeat about the airport's progress, emphasising
that work was only slightly behind schedule. All main construction work is
due for completion in March.The minister directed Mr Srisook to spend his
time at the airport instead of at the ministry, to sort out problems between
contractors working against the clock.``The problem now is coordination,'' Mr
Srisook said.But some subcontractors at the airport, and even some officials,
are not convinced passengers will be passing through the terminal next
September, given the amount of work that still has to be done. Their
scepticism is shared by the International Air Transport Association, the
organisation representing the airline industry, which expects a delay in
completion of the 86-billion-baht project. Mr Srisook shrugged off their
arguments and said key indicators in deciding the readiness of the airport
would be success in integrating all information technology systems after the
installation of computers and completion of trials. Basic testing is due to
start in July, building up to more advanced tests prior to the planned
opening, with up to 2,000 acting as passengers.Suvarnabhumi covers 20,000 rai
in Samut Prakan's Bang Phli district, about 25km from Bangkok _ about 10
times bigger than Don Muang airport. With a capacity of handling 45 million
passengers a year and 3.3 million tonnes of cargo in the first phase, it
intends to cement Thailand's position as a regional aviation hub in the face
of competition from Singapore's Changi airport and Kuala Lumpur International
Airport in Malaysia. Mr Suriya said the government would probably decide in
January if the airport can open in September. Thailand had already shown that
big projects could be finished at the last minute, he said.However, one
project that will definitely miss the deadline is the 28km rail link from
Phaya Thai to the airport. Construction is not due to begin until next year,
with completion set for mid-2007. Mr Srisook said the government has a
fallback plan. If the airport is not ready then, aircraft will just continue
flying in and out of Don Muang.Don Muang, now serving 25 million passengers
and 80 airlines, still had the potential to ensure Bangkok remains an
aviation centre, the NBIA chairman said.``We will not lose face [if the
opening is postponed] because we already have Don Muang,'' Mr Srisook said.
``We won't rush to open the new airport if it would damage the country's
reputation.''
From http://www.bangkokpost.com 09/27/2004
TOP↑
VIETNAM: Viettel
to Open Mobile Phone Network
After an extensive testing period, Viet
Nam’s Military Electronics and Telecommunications Company (Viettel) scheduled
to officially launch its mobile phone network on Friday, becoming the fifth
cell phone operator on the market. Viettel’s GSM (global system for mobile
communications) network has been operating on a trial basis in Ha Noi, HCM
City and the central city of Da Nang since October last year. However, the
network will not be Viettel’s first entry into the telecom market. Since late
2000, it has been offering reduced rate international calls through a
fixed-line service, and in November last year, it became an Internet service
provider. The military has interests in over 100 businesses across a diverse
range of industries, but the cell phone market could prove the most
competitive. With a monthly subscription fee of VND69,000 (US$4.3) and charge
calculated under a six-second block, Viettel is the cheapest operator in Viet
Nam. New subscribers will be given 100 calling minutes free of charge. The
four cell phone operators currently operating in Viet Nam are Vinaphone,
MobiFone and Cityphone, which belong to the Viet Nam Post and
Telecommunications Corporation (VNPT), and the Korean invested S-phone
network, which broke the State-owned monopoly of VNPT last July. Vinaphone is
leading the market with over 2.3 million users, while MobiFone has over 1.5
million. Vinaphone and MobiFone use GSM technology, while S-Fone, which
welcomed its 100,000th subscriber this week, runs on CDMA (code division
multiple access) technology. With around 4 million cell phone users out of a
population of 81 million, Viet Nam’s mobile market remains very promising for
service providers.
From http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn 10/14/2004
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BANGLADESH: Govt to Install 0.5m More
Phones in City
Post and Telecommunications Minister Aminul
Haque said Monday steps are being taken to install 0.5 million (five lakh)
more telephone lines in the capital, reports BSS. "Simultaneously, the
work for installing 0.2 million phones in district towns has been progressing
fast for the expansion of telecommunication network across the country",
he said in an exclusive interview with the news agency on the occasion of
three years of the alliance government. Listing different successes achieved
in Telegraph and Telephone (T and T) sector, Haque said the present
government after coming to power reduced the connection fee of T and T land
phone to Tk 10,000 from Tk 18,500 for Dhaka and Chittagong and Tk 8,000 for
district towns and Tk 5,000 for upazila headquarters. "At the same time,
it (government) has reduced NWD and international call charges
significantly", he said. The call charge for 10 other countries was
fixed at Tk 7.00 only, the minister added. The countries are Australia,
Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Malaysia, Singapore, the USA and
the UK. The call charges for India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Sri
Lanka, EAU, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and Indonesia have
also been reduced for the benefit of the subscribers. Replying to a question,
he said the people of the country will get T and T mobile phones by December
next. The minister said the number of telephones in the country was only
1.001 million when the present government took over on October 10, 2001. Of
the total, 0.565 million were fixed phones and the rest 0.436 million were
the mobile phones of different private companies. At present, the ministers
said the total number of telephones stood at 3.43 million including 2.6
million mobile phones in the private sector. "Apart from this, 21 more
districts and 111 upazilas were brought under digital telecommunication
network during the last three years of the present government," he said.
Departmental actions were taken against at least 50 different categories of
employees for their alleged involvement in irregularities, he added.
From http://www.bangladesh-web.com/ 10/12/2004
TOP↑
Oracle Debuts E-Business Suite Special
Edition for Bangladesh
FOR the first time, Oracle Corp, the world's
largest enterprise software company announced the availability of the Oracle
E-Business Suite Special Edition, a pre-configured, pre-installed package of
ERP applications in Bangladesh. This was announced at a launching ceremony
held on October 5 at Hotel Sheraton. The system will be sold in Bangladesh
exclusively through IBCS-Primax, an Oracle software development and system
integration house. The package comprises the financial accounting, sales
order management, inventory management, purchasing and manufacturing modules
of the Oracle E-Business Suite and is configured to deliver affordability and
speedy implementation, which meets the needs of smaller organisations. The
Oracle E-Business Suite Special Edition comes installed and configured on a
hardware server, and is ready for the customer to use upon its arrival.
Danish Yaqub, business manager, Oracle SAGE (South Asian Growth Eleconomy),
introduced the Oracle E-Business Suite after a welcome note from IBCS-Primax..
"In E-Business Suite Special Edition, we have provided for the
Bangladesh market a fixed scope, fixed price application suite that has been
localised and tested. Installation is easy and controlled, reducing
risk," said Danish. Oracle E-Business Suite Special Edition has been
designed specifically for companies that have 50 to 1,000 employees. The
solution is bundled with a rapid implementation methodology to deliver key
business and affordable pricing packages and enables mid-market companies to
achieve critical business control and decision-making quickly and cost
effectively. The solution provides a lower total cost of ownership (TCO)
through implementation of a complete bundle encompassing installation,
software licences, maintenance, hardware and education. A lower TCO can be
achieved through reduced complexity in the solution implementation,
eliminating the need for extra administration and support resources, and
lower entry pricing so that investments can scale with business growth. The
features and benefits of financial management solution of the E-Business
Suite was presented by Amitava Sain, an Oracle financial management expert of
Pricewaterhouse Coopers Pvt. Ltd. Oracle confirms the solution can be
completely implemented to achieve 'go live' status in 10 to 40 days
delivering a system within a very short and predictable timeframe, enabling
them to achieve faster return on their IT investments.
From http://www.bangladesh-web.com/ 10/13/2004
TOP↑
First Local Made Insurance
Software Launched
Delta Information Technology Ltd (DITL), a
subsidiary of Delta Life Insurance Company Ltd, launched the first-ever
locally developed insurance information system yesterday in Dhaka. Commerce
Minister Altaf Hossain Choudhury and Science and Information &
Communication Technology Minister Abdul Moyeen Khan jointly launched the
software. The software, labelled as 'Insurance Information System' and
developed for Delta Life, automates the entire range of operations for
insurance businesses. At present, Delta's 32 business centres are using the
system. Data collected from over 1400 regional centres, where more than 14
lakh policyholders are being provided with insurance services, are manually
fed into the main system through the hubs. The entire system is divided into
nine modules in accordance with Delta's insurance policies. Individual
operation and accounting software for Ordinary Life and Gono Grameen along
with separate accounting software for health and group insurance provide
various functionalities such as chart of accounts, trial balance,
revenue/expenditure, payroll, general ledger, cash/bank voucher entries and
financial statements. Nine IT experts took one and a half years to develop
this client-server system. The system, built with Visual Basic, runs on a SQL
2000 database under Windows 2000 operating system. "I am impressed by
the multi-functionalities of the system," said Moyeen Khan. "It is
now DITL's responsibility to focus on marketing the product at home and
abroad," he added. "I believe this system will help Delta provide
better services to its customers and inspire other insurance companies,"
the commerce minister said while speaking at the ceremony. DITL Managing
Director Aziz Ahmed gave a brief presentation on the software and showed its
various features. "We could have spent crores of taka to buy a foreign
software, but instead, we planned to set up an IT company and develop the
system with local technical expertise," said Manzurur Rahman, chairman
of Delta Life Insurance. DITL has already approached other insurance
companies for the system and it plans to come up with more financial and
industrial business applications in future.
From http://www.bangladesh-web.com/ 10/15/2004
TOP↑
BHUTAN: Telephone
Lines Increased in Haa
A junior high school, a renewable natural
resource office, shopkeepers and about five nearby villages will benefit from
a 64-line Digital Radio Multiple Access Subscriber System (DRMASS) unit that
was recently set up in Jengkhana, Haa, by Bhutan Telecom. Until last month,
the Jengkhana depended on two cordless telephone handsets operated from the
main substation at Bengina. The Damthang substation has also been upgraded to
provide 128 telephone lines from the existing 64-lines. About 31 lines have
already been given to subscribers. All this was possible after Bhutan Telecom
replaced the DRMASS unit at the Bengina exchange base with a new Remote Line
Unit with a capacity of 532 lines. Installed at a cost of Nu. 9.8 million,
the new exchange can be equipped to host 1,000 lines and allows customers to
access internet at 56 kbps compared to 28 kbps. The new exchange can also
meet demands for leased line requirements of some customers. At the moment,
the Bengina exchange base has 382 subscribers, a jump from last year’s 252
subscribers according to exchange in-charge, Dago Tshering. According to
Bhutan Telecom, all installation, testing and relocation work was done
without any outside assistance saving the corporation about Nu. 2 million.
From http://www.kuenselonline.com/ 09/03/2004
TOP↑
Bhutanese Shopping Online
With the first international credit card,
the Gold Visa, making inroads into Bhutan prospective card holders are all
abuzz about internet shopping, which has so far not been possible for most
Bhutanese. Baby clothes, books, hi tech gadgets, cheap computer deals,
airline tickets - the possibility of a better deal will now be wide open say
prospective card holders. But shopping online comes with some risks such as
card swapping and tapping, cautions deputy managing director of the Bhutan
National Bank, Karma, which is launching the Visa International in Bhutan.
“Shopping online is a risk that credit card holders across the world bear,”
he said. “Therefore the reliability of such offer should be suspected and
people should look for goods and services that are established,” he added. As
a security measure the bank will provide cardholders with an email account
through which they can view their accounts by sending a mail to the bank.
However, this online facility is restricted to viewing only and not for
online banking. Buying of prohibited items, arms, pornographic materials and
drugs onine is illegal according to regulations put up by the Royal Monetary Authority
and the Reserve Bank of India according to bank. Card holders will have to
comply by the regulations. “If items recognised as illegal by the government
are purchased using the credit card then the card-holder will be debarred
from holding the card and may be liable to prosecution by the court,” said
Karma. But he agreed that it would be hard to tell even if card holders did
not comply by the rules. Meanwhile, ticket agents in the capital do not feel
that the introduction of the Visa International will affect the business.
While it was true that airline ticket online was much cheaper than through
agents, a Thimphu based agent like Tsenden travels and Atlas travels said
their business would not be affected as bulk of their bookings came from the
government.
From http://www.kuenselonline.com/ 09/29/2004
TOP↑
7,000 Citizens Get New ID Cards
Thimphu: Almost 7,000 individuals from about
1,123 households in Thimphu town including the extended municipal area of
Chang and Kawang have been issued the new citizenship identity cards
according to the department of immigration and census, Ministry of Home and
Cultural Affairs. About 1,751 individuals from the areas covered did not
report for the new ID cards according to immigration officials. “We realise
that in many cases they are students who are away studying abroad or in other
dzongkhags,” said the joint-director of the department of census division,
Sithey Dorji. The joint-director said that those who were unable to report
for their new ID cards could do so later. “This system will continue now and
the people can come to the headquarters in Tashichhodzong for the new cards,”
he said. The department began issuing the new ID cards for people registered
in the Thimphu town area from August 25 and will begin issuing ID cards in
the other geogs in the Thimphu dzongkhag by next week. Immigration officials
said that most common problems faced in the last month were with the data of
individuals, mostly to do with the change in name, spelling and change in
date of birth. Realising the importance of correct information, the
department had introduced a citizen verification and authentication process
in 1999 in which people were called forward to come and make necessary
corrections. But the response had been very poor, according to immigration
officials. For the new cards, citizens are charged Nu. 100. A lost ID card
will cost Nu. 400 and a damaged card or change of information will cost Nu.
300. The new FORTAS cards, produced by a company based in the United Kingdom,
was chosen because of its varied security features and durability and
convenience compared to the old ID cards. But despite its convenience, the
immigration officials at the Bhutan Olympic Hall in Changlimithang where the
new cards are being issued told Kuensel that some people had already lost
their new ID cards. Individuals who have lost their ID cards will have to pay
a nominal sum of Nu. 400 for a new one. It might take another two months to
issue the new ID cards to all the people registered in Thimphu dzongkhag said
census officials. With the issue of the ID cards centralised in Thimphu, each
dzongkhag will collect photographs and fingerprints of Bhutanese citizens
which will be brought to Thimphu for printing the new ID cards. “We are
looking into training our staff and getting computers and cameras to continue
the work simultaneously in all the dzongkhags,” said the joint director.
Trashigang dzongkhag, the most populous dzongkhag is next in line to be
issued the new ID cards.
From http://www.kuenselonline.com/ 10/01/2004
TOP↑
Five Years of Cable Television
In June 1999 Bhutan switched on the TV, the
last country in the world to do so. Today, most Bhutanese are riding the
signals - excited, exhilarated, confused, and often depressed. And it is
rapidly changing Bhutanese society, according to a media impact study done in
2003. To begin with, the study conducted by a private Bhutanese consultancy
firm, Mediacom Consultancy, states that television was introduced in Bhutan
with minimal preparation. Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS) television was
still in its infancy when cable or satellite television was let in with a
digital roar three months after BBS TV went on air. BBS TV, after five years
of its launch, is making moves to expand coverage beyond Thimphu and improve
content. What resulted was a wave of channels with indiscriminate foreign
content, so Bhutanese youth became the vulnerable target of global culture.
“With the introduction of global television Bhutanese found themselves with a
choice of up to 45 channels,” says Siok Sian Pek, who led the 2003 media
impact study. “This chaotic and unregulated introduction of cable TV is not
unlike the experience in South Asia and other developing countries but the
impact will be far greater in Bhutan, a small and vulnerable society with
limited resources and difficult terrain.” The study found out that impact was
already perceptible in all sections of the society, while it was strongest in
the urban segment. The study of a Kuenselonline poll in 2000 and 2003 showed
that TV had drastically changed a third of the respondents’ lives. About 31.5
percent of the respondents to the poll said that their life style had
completely changed after the introduction of cable TV, up from 2000 poll
figure of 22.16 percent. Families were also experiencing internal tensions
because of differing interests which led to some families installing more
than one TV set so that family members could watch the programmes of their
choice. More and more families were spending less time together with men
often complaining that their wives were so hooked on Indian serials that they
started neglecting their household chores.
From http://www.kuenselonline.com/ 10/19/2004
TOP↑
Samdrup Jongkhar Town Goes Cellular
Samdrup Jongkhar is on the B-mobile cellular
service network. Launched on October 15, less than a month after it reached
Gelephu, the service saw about 30 excited subscribers - businessmen,
government employees and teachers - soon after the launch. Quite a few called
friends and relatives in Thimphu and Phuentsholing to pass on their new eight
digit numbers. Four businessmen took up the post paid service. “We sold three
Nokias and two Sony Ericsson cellular phones,” said the Bhutan Telecom area
manager in Samdrup Jongkhar, Tenzin Dorji. “Many had already bought mobile
‘phones from elsewhere.” Aum Sonam Choden, a mobile ‘phone retailer in
Samdrup Jongkhar town said that she sold 10 mobile ‘phones, 17 sim cards and
25 recharge vouchers on the day the service was launched. “Most people look
for Nokia,” said Aum Sonam Choden. “They heard from friends in Thimphu that
Nokia was affordable, easy to use and durable.” Young women in town hang
their cells around their necks while men hook them on their trouser belts or
kera constantly fiddling with their new accessory at every given opportunity.
“I was looking forward to using a cell which I had bought from a friend in
Thimphu when I heard it was going to launched here,” said Karma, a young
corporate employee who first called her friend in Thimphu the moment she got
her number. “I gave him my number and to all my friends,” she said. Bhutan
Telecom expects the subscriber base to increase to about 300 within the
following months. “People here have only seen and heard about cell,” said
area manager, Tenzin Dorji, “It will take a couple of months before we find
more subscribers.” Tenzin Dorji said that Trashigang will join the cellular
network next year. For the moment, the mobile service facilities in Samdrup
Jongkhar will operate only within the proper town or within six kilometres
reach. Many businessmen and government and corporate employees who were
interested and excited to use the mobile facilities had inquired from the
Bhutan telecom as to when they would launch the services.
From http://www.kuenselonline.com/ 10/20/2004
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MALDIVES: Internet and SMS Service
Restored
MALE -- Internet and Short Messaging Service
(SMS) have been restored as of 12:30pm Sunday, the Telecommunications
Authority of Maldives said Sunday. Internet and SMS services were
discontinued following Thursday and Friday’s demonstrations at the Republic
Square in Male and the resulting measures the government took to restore law
and order, TAM said in a Special Announcement. TAM thanked people for their
cooperation and patience for the inconveniences caused due to the
interruption to Internet and SMS service.
From http://www.haveeru.com.mv/ 08/15/2004
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NEPAL: Nepal Telecom to Issue 58,000
Pre-paid Mobile Lines in Kathmandu
In a bid to meet the increasing demands of
mobile lines in Kathmandu, the state-owned telecommunications service
provider - Nepal Telecom (NT)- has decided to issue an additional 58,000
pre-paid mobile lines before Nepal’s national festival, Dashain, reports
said. According to the Kantipur daily, NT will also cut the charges for the
post-paid mobile services. NT had issued 41,500 pre-paid mobile phones in the
beginning of July. The state-owned telecommunications service provider has
issued around 1,20,000 pre-paid lines and around 75,000 post-paid lines in
major cities of the country.
From http://www.nepalnews.com.np/ 09/10/2004
TOP↑
Tele-clock Service
Launched with Indian Assistance
Tele-clock Service – based on digital time
recording technology—has been launched for the first time in Nepal on the
occasion of the 35th World Standards Day Thursday. Under the service-- that
will establish Nepal Standard Time (NST)—a digital time data service will be
available via telephone to all the users who require the accurate time in
Nepal. The service has been designed and installed by The National Physical
Laboratory, (NPL) India under the grant assistance from the Indian
government. Addressing a function organised at the Nepal Bureau of Standard
and Metrology (NBSM), Indian ambassador, Shiv Shankar Mukherjee, said that
the tele-clock service was yet another landmark in the ongoing economic
cooperation between India and Nepal. Dr A.K. Suri, Scientist, NPL stressed
the importance of accurate time as a benchmark for scientific and everyday
applications. The Tele-clock project has manifold applications especially in
cutting-edge technology such as Space Sciences & Information Technology.
This technology will prove vital to forthcoming India-Nepal cooperation
projects including the setting up of an INSAT Ground Receiving Centre and
Super Computing Facility, said the Indian embassy in a press statement.
Minister of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, Ishwor Pokhrel, thanked the
Indian government for its continued cooperation. Director General at the
NBSM, Shree Krishna Shrestha, said the Bureau would now provide the NST to
the state-owned Nepal Television and Radio Nepal. He said that telephones of
these media and the Bureau will be connected and they will air the NST on the
basis of the time that is displayed in their own telephone sets. This will
help clear confusion regarding the Nepal Standard Time, he added.
From http://www.nepalnews.com.np/ 10/14/2004
TOP↑
PAKISTAN: US Opens Internet Chat Club
on Consular Services
ISLAMABAD - The first ever "internet
Chat Club on Consular Services" is being introduced here by the US
embassy for Pakistanis seeking a variety of visas or explanations about them.
To begin with, the Chat Club will be available at a special website between 4
to 5 pm on the first Wednesday of each month. It will open on Wednesday by
fielding questions on US visa applications and procedural matters. Judging
from the number of visa applications that the courier services handle, its
frequency may increase later. The participants will have to log on to
http://chat.Islamabad.usembassy.gov and type your questions to a faceless
consular official. Announcing a procedure that is new to Pakistan, the US
Information Service though did not say it, it will be appropriate for the
logger to introduce him or herself. Students, visitors, tourists,
job-seekers, people needing medical treatment and those with temporary or
permanent status of stay in the US will find prompt and official answers to
their questions through this live on-line interaction. If you have the
software to print the material, you may use that to record your conversation.
From http://www.brecorder.com/ 08/04/2004
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First Digital Library Launched at UNIC
ISLAMABAD: The first digital library was
launched at the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) on Wednesday,
offering access to the UN general documents, reports, publications and
newsletters. UN Resident Co-ordinator Onder Yucer and UNIC Director Tetsuo
Ohno have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU). The UN digital library
is an online repository of the full-text digital documents produced by the
various UN agencies, programmes and funds active in Pakistan. The collection
comprises reports, publications, newsletters, press releases and other public
information items, which can be referred to anyone at anytime. This
repository is a centralised information resource of the UN information about
Pakistan. It would be very helpful to policy makers, students, and media
professionals. The historical documents produced in print format would also
be digitalised and added to the library soon, giving depth and richness to
the online collection. The digital library also offers browsing and searching
facility, which allows for efficient retrieval of information on a vast array
of subjects ranging from poverty, governance, environment, population, health
and education. With a simple and user-friendly interface, the library enables
easy access to information from anywhere. Any online document in the
collection may be printed and downloaded, enabling users to save and store
important data on a specific issue. For the UN agencies in Pakistan, this
facility provides a centralised opportunity to display, share and preserve
their digital documents as well as to disseminate them in much faster, easier
and more varied ways.
From http://www.brecorder.com/ 09/17/2004
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A-Pac Security Market to Grow 150pc
THE internet security market in the Asia
Pacific is expected to grow more than 150 percent to $US4.9 billion ($6.7
billion) by 2008 as more serious threats emerge, an industry research firm
saidThe value of the regional market, excluding Japan, in 2003 was $US1.9
billion, researcher IDC said in a statement. "As internet usage matures,
along with the growing adoption of e-commerce in the Asia-Pacific region,
internet and network security has risen to become the number one priority
both in terms of strategic initiative and investment for the corporate
enterprise," IDC said. "Regardless of market segments,
organisations are increasingly deploying proper security solutions and
policies and employing best practices to upkeep business continuity and protect
valuable corporate assets." Unlike in the past, internet security
solutions now in the market "provide layers of protection to guard
against the recent appearances of vicious, blended and hybrid threats,"
it said.
From http://australianit.news.com.au/ 10/15/2004
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AUSTRALIA: Our Broadband Two Years
Behind
AUSTRALIA is two years behind comparable
developed countries in broadband services despite an accelerated uptake that
doubled subscribers in the past year.
The advent of less expensive entry-level products drove demand, says the
annual broadband survey of consulting giant AT Kearney. However, the uptake
of broadband services still lags countries such as the US, Canada and Sweden
by a wide margin, it says. The report says about 10 per cent of Australian
households and 30 per cent of small to medium enterprises have broadband
access. The number of broadband subscribers passed one million in June, and
the AT Kearney report says that by the end of 2004, Australia will be in the
same position the US was two years ago. AT Kearney's local broadband
specialist, Michael Lee, says broadband residential penetration is expected
to grow to 14 per cent by the end of the year, and to 20 per cent by the end
of 2005. Despite this, Australia is likely to lag countries such as the US
and Canada by a two-year margin at the end of 2005 as rapid adoption
continues in those countries. AT Kearney expects the number of broadband
subscribers to grow by about 500,000 a year for the next two to three years.
That growth depends on service providers continuing to offer faster speeds at
existing entry-level prices, Lee says. "As subscribers grow, the need
for more speed will also grow. "Leading countries now provide many
options above 1Mbps whereas Australia's standard plan is still 256Kbps – a
quarter of the speed," Lee says. "In Australia, we have no
infrastructure that would allow faster than 1Mbps to the mass market,"
he says. "Major investments would have to be made. "It would cost
more than $15 billion to roll out advanced broadband infrastructure (such as
fibre, Ethernet, high-speed wireless) to six million homes." Governments
need to play an active role in encouraging the adoption of broadband, Lee
says. The payback will come in the form of productivity improvements and the
introduction of new services. Government intervention could take the form of
directly subsidising networks, offering tax concessions, providing broadband
access or directly funding infrastructure roll-outs. Governments could
stimulate broadband activity by removing disincentives, such as "legacy
obligations", including the Universal Service Obligation, from broadband
services. "Beyond the next two years of growth, Australia definitely
requires the extra stimulus of strong government support to drive broadband
uptake," Lee says. "The current environment of government support –
including $131.5 million funding for regional Australia and $2.9 million for
the National Broadband group – are positive, but will not be enough to
stimulate further broadband rollout," he says. Australia lags many of
its OECD peers in direct government support, Lee says. "In government
input, Australia doesn't come out that strong. "Other countries say
uptake will have a big impact on productivity, and have been more prepared to
be directly involved." The US provides tax incentives to access
providers building infrastructure, Lee says. Canada and the Netherlands fund
network build-outs to the point of broadband-enabling areas similar in population
to whole Australian states. The big driver for demand next year will be the
"quiet revolution", created by voice over IP applications and
entertainment on demand. (by James Riley)
From http://australianit.news.com.au/ 08/31/2004
TOP↑
Info Management System Supports Child
Protection Commission
Queensland's Commission for Children and
Young People and Child Guardian has launched a new community visitor
information system (CVIS), considered to be at the cutting edge of
information management in child protection. Consulting services for the
project –which Microsoft and Data 3 created - was provided by the Australian
Technology Centre, with a joint $9 million investment between Microsoft and
the Queensland government. Acting Commissioner Barry Salmon said that for the
first time, the commission will be able to visit Queensland children in
foster care, ensuring they receive the support and entitlements they have a
right to. “The Community Visitors have spent the past week undergoing training
to prepare them for their new roles, including learning how to use an
innovative new information management system designed specifically for them,”
Salmon said. “The CVIS has been tailored for the program to ensure
information about vulnerable children is timely, accurate and secure.” Salmon
said that, without the new system, the commission would have been overwhelmed
with the volume of information coming in from the new Community Visitors.
“This new system is pivotal in making the program operate smoothly and
efficiently, by streamlining the way in which reports on children are sent
and stored,” Salmon said. Response times to children’s issues will be faster
and there will be a greater capacity to share information with other key
stakeholders, such as the Department of Child Safety and non-government
service providers, he said. Data 3 chief executive officer John Grant said
building the CVIS system has been one of the most exciting application
projects in recent times for the company. “To build a prototype solution of
this complexity within three months was a substantial challenge for the
team,” Grant said. Microsoft Australia director public sector Kevin Ackhurst
agrees, saying Microsoft shared the commission’s goal to develop a cutting
edge system that would meet project goals within time and budget. “Our
partnership enables the delivery of a superior service to Queenslanders and
demonstrates how public and private sector partnerships can be effective. We
provided the additional skills and investment to achieve a quick and
successful turn around,” Ackhurst said. (by Siobhan McBride)
From http://www.computerworld.com.au/ 09/03/2004
TOP↑
Shake-up at Which Bank
THE Commonwealth Bank has started a
technology services group with 600 staff under chief information officer Bob
McKinnon. It is the bank's biggest information technology shake-up since its
landmark $6 billion outsourcing deal with EDS seven years ago. The move is
the first part of a comprehensive corporate IT review as the Commonwealth
nears the end of its 10-year EDS contract and its $150 million a year
communications services deal with Telecom New Zealand, which expires within a
year. Staff for the new group have been drawn from the two largest divisions:
retail banking and premium banking services. A range of IT functions
involving 500 more staff will remain outside the central group. Mr McKinnon
said the project's aim was to strike a balance "between efficiency and
effectiveness". "We'll have a smaller number of larger groups of
people. "There is real change in technology and the way it can support
the business." In banking, efficiency comes from exploiting scale and
"making sure that we source and operate technology on the basis of
consistent management processes", he said. "Effectiveness means
that we stay as close to the business as we can. We're trying for a trade-off
between doing things efficiently and making sure we don't get too far away
from the customer. About half sit within the business units and the other
half sit where they currently sit." The changes will strengthen Mr
McKinnon's role as CIO. A number of autonomous IT groups will remain. In some
areas nothing was to be gained from centralisation, Mr McKinnon said.
"That's particularly so in the non-banking area of PBS, global markets
areas." Areas located outside Australia will remain under the control of
PBS chief information officer Ciaran McMullan. Retail bank CIO Quentin Boyd
will continue to have operational responsibility over divisional IT functions.
Tony Clasquin is CIO of the bank's wealth management arm, IIS, which will
remain autonomous. Mr McKinnon said the restructure would "enable the
bank to consolidate its position with our suppliers". "It will
enable us to make sure we get consistency in delivery from them," Mr
McKinnon said. "It's important that the services we get from EDS and
Telecom New Zealand are relevant," he said. "It is good business
practice at this stage of those relationships that we be talking to them
about making sure their services are relevant, and looking at the options for
both of them." Since the deals were signed, "a lot has changed, our
organisation has changed, the market has changed, Telecom New Zealand and EDS
have changed". Some of the bank's planning was still in flux, he said.
The merger with Colonial in 2000 "brought a lot more in-house
capability" and the Commonwealth had built on that, he said. The first
signs the EDS arrangements were likely to change came earlier this year when
the bank said it would build its own customer relationship management system
– CommSee. The $100 million project is being done in-house, using Microsoft's
.NET web services platform. CommSee has been used in a Tasmanian pilot since
August 1. It was proceeding on schedule, a spokesman said. "Integration
of CommSee with bank systems is continuing, and the national roll-out of
CommSee is scheduled to begin next April." Mr McKinnon has no oversight
of CommSee, which sits with PBS chief Mike Katz. "CommSee continues to
report to John Beggs," the spokesman said. "That has so much
momentum we didn't see any point making management changes." A
complication of the EDS deal is that CBA owns 35 per cent of EDS Australia.
However, a precedent for unwinding such equity partnerships was set last year
with the demise of IBM Global Services Australia, a joint venture between
IBM, Telstra and Lend Lease. In New Zealand, EDS has pulled apart a similarly
structured equity alliance with Telecom New Zealand while hanging on to most
of its business. There have also been signs that the bank will break up its
telecommunications whole-of-business contract with Telecom New Zealand. Last
month Optus won a $50 million deal to supply eftpos services to the
Commonwealth. (by Michael Sainsbury)
From http://australianit.news.com.au/ 09/07/2004
TOP↑
Australian Racing Campaigns Against
Online Betting Service
MELBOURNE - Australia's horse racing
industry has called for a ban on a new style of online betting, saying it
encourages fraud, in a move intended to thwart a bid for a gaming licence by
British internet betting firm Betfair. Privately-owned Betfair already
accepts Australian bets through its online betting exchange. However, its
plans to put the business into a 50-50 joint venture with local media tycoon
Kerry Packer's Publishing and Broadcasting depend on it winning a gaming
licence. Without one, it also has no rights to advertise its service.
Racing's industry body and Australia's biggest betting company, Tabcorp Holdings,
said Betfair's system, where punters can set their own odds, act as
bookmaker, and back a horse to lose, encouraged race fixing. "The racing
industry will leave no stone unturned to make it obvious to everyone,
including state and federal governments, that betting exchanges are
unacceptable in a healthy Australian racing industry," Australian Racing
Board Chief Executive Andrew Harding said. Australia conducts about 23,000
horse races a year, the third highest national count in the world, with betting
turnover of A$14 billion ($14.98b), the fifth highest. The big betting
chains, totalisator groups like Tabcorp and UNiTAB Ltd., keep about A$3
billion after paying prize money and expenses. They also fund racing and pay
taxes to state governments. Betfair has said it would contribute too if it
won a licence. UBS analyst Anthony Aboud said Betfair's alliance with PBL,
set to invest about A$30 million in the venture, had boosted the UK group's
chance for an Australian licence. "If the joint venture with PBL
succeeds in obtaining a licence to operate in any Australian state or
territory, we view the national market opportunities as significant,"
said Citigroup research. Australia's national government has left the
decision on whether to allow betting exchanges to individual states. Betfair,
set up by a JP Morgan debt trader in 2000, only needs to win a licence in one
state or territory. Analysts say the Northern Territory, which has already
licensed online sports betting, and the Australian Capital Territory around
Canberra, are its best prospects. The Northern Territory government said it
was not considering a licence for Betfair, while several state governments
have argued strongly that online betting exchanges threaten funding for the
industry. Mark Davies, Betfair's chief in Australia, said corruption in races
and sport events existed well before Betfair. "There is a lot of
rhetoric flying around that does not support the facts," Davies said,
adding that Betfair, which has a UK licence, was confident about getting an
Australian licence. Betfair said this month it played a key role in a UK
police probe into alleged race-fixing that scrutinised online betting
records. A source close to PBL said the company remains supportive of its
deal with Betfair. PBL declined to comment.
From http://www.nzherald.co.nz/ 09/20/2004
TOP↑
Sydney Gets Broadband Upgrade
SYDNEY'S two remaining outdated exchanges
will be upgraded to broadband standards this financial year under a $35
million NSW-wide broadband roll-out, Telstra said. More than 500 exchanges on
the Telstra network would be upgraded this financial year as part of the
bandwidth roll-out, including Horsley Park and Kenthurst North, on the west
and north-western outskirts of Sydney. The upgrade of these two exchanges
will complete the broadband upgrade for the entire Sydney metropolitan area.
Telstra Country Wide regional managing director NSW Roger Bamber said the
state-wide roll-out would be Telstra's most ambitious project to date. "Telstra's
fibre optic network is extensive," Mr Bamber said. "It reaches
almost every corner of the state and consists of nearly 40,000 kilometres of
fibre optic cable, stretching from Bourke to Bondi and Tweed Heads to
Tarcutta." Four hundred sites across NSW are already broadband-ready, Mr
Bamber said, and will allow residents across NSW access to faster download
speeds and simultaneous use of telephone and internet. In addition to the
broadband upgrade, 30 more exchanges will be business digital subscriber line
(BDSL) enabled and a further 450 exchanges will be upgraded with Telstra's
government wideband internet protocol (GWIP) service. Mr Bamber said Telstra
had brought forward plans to upgrade 435 regional exchanges with GWIP to meet
the NSW government's demand for city-equivalent broadband services across its
regional agencies. Telstra will also work on expanding the number of
broadband ports available in exchanges in high-demand areas of Sydney, Mr
Bamber said. (by Amy Coopes)
From http://australianit.news.com.au/ 10/15/2004
TOP↑
Telstra Upgrades Broadband Network
More than 500 exchanges on the Telstra
network will be upgraded this financial year as part of a broadband rollout
across NSW. Sydney will soon be completely broadband-friendly, with the two
remaining outdated exchanges to be upgraded this financial year under a $35
million NSW broadband plan. The upgrade of these two exchanges will complete
the broadband upgrade for the entire Sydney metropolitan area. Telstra
Country Wide regional managing director NSW Roger Bamber said the state-wide
rollout would be Telstra's most ambitious project to date. "Telstra's
fibre optic network is extensive," Bamber said. "It reaches almost
every corner of the state and consists of nearly 40,000 kilometres of fibre
optic cable, stretching from Bourke to Bondi and Tweed Heads to
Tarcutta." Across NSW 400 sites are already broadband-ready, Bamber
said. In addition to the broadband upgrade, 30 more exchanges will be
business digital subscriber line (BDSL)- enabled and a further 450 exchanges
will be upgraded with Telstra's government wideband Internet protocol (GWIP)
service. Bamber said Telstra had brought forward plans to upgrade 435
regional exchanges with GWIP to meet the NSW government's demand for
city-equivalent broadband services across its regional agencies.
From http://www.computerworld.com.au/ 10/15/2004
TOP↑
NEW ZEALAND: Telecom Considers Wider
Local Zones
Telecom has given the first hint that it may
look to broaden its free local calling areas, allowing phone users to make
calls over greater distances without being charged a toll rate. Telecom's
chief executive, Theresa Gattung, said she was in the "early days"
of looking at changes to Telecom's free-calling policy. "What I've
challenged my team to do is to look at the potential options involving
working with regional communities to promote broadband growth and bring down
calling costs," Gattung told the Herald. That points to Telecom
rewarding parts of the country that take up its high-speed internet services
with larger free-calling zones. Telecom splits the country into dozens of
local calling areas. Greater Auckland is divided into six calling regions -
Auckland, Great Barrier Island, Helensville, Hibiscus Coast, Pukekohe and
Warkworth. "We understand that for some customers, local call boundaries
are an issue," said Gattung. She said it was possible that regions that
had backed Telecom as a provider in the Government's Project Probe broadband
initiative could be offered larger free-calling zones as they bought more
Telecom services. But Telecom also appears to be moving to counter
competition from emerging wireless broadband providers who have talked about
launching telephone services with large free-calling areas. Opening up
free-calling areas would have to be done in a "neutrally beneficial
way", said Gattung. In other words, Telecom will embark on this route
only if it is sure greater uptake of high-speed internet services will
counter loss in revenue from offering more free calls. (by Peter Griffin)
From http://www.nzherald.co.nz/ 08/12/2004
TOP↑
Telstraclear Pushes Quietly on Towards
Its Own Cell Network
TelstraClear is quietly going about its
business in the race to build a third generation mobile network, organising
cell sites in Auckland and Wellington. TelstraClear has never operated its
own cellular network in New Zealand, instead acting as a reseller for
Vodafone. Now it is planning to move beyond that relationship by building its
own network. TelstraClear has not yet chosen a technology partner, but has
shortlisted three companies, Nokia, Ericsson and Siemens. It has not said how
many cell sites it wants to build or how much it will spend on the project.
TelstraClear spokesman Mathew Bolland said the company was working on two
paths in its development of a cellular network. "Since Christmas we've
been looking at sites in Wellington and Auckland, and our short-listed
partners are helping with that. "We're also looking at the regulatory
issues." These included number portability, landline to mobile call
termination charges and roaming, and are as important as the network itself.
Mandated roaming would allow TelstraClear to gain access to Vodafone or
Telecom's network on a wholesale basis by demonstrating its commitment to
building its own network. TelstraClear has indicated it will be using a
wideband CDMA technology, something only Vodafone is looking at currently.
Telecom's 3G solution uses a different technology, EV-DO. The Commerce
Commission is investigating the price the telcos charge each other for mobile
call termination rates. The Telecommunications Users Association asked the
commission to investigate, saying the present New Zealand system was costly
compared with overseas' call termination rates. (by Paul Brislen)
From http://www.nzherald.co.nz/ 09/21/2004
TOP↑
Regional Newspapers Unveil Online
Editions
Seven regional New Zealand newspapers - from
Whangarei to Christchurch - launched websites this morning, promising to
deliver daily updates of local news and sport. The papers are all owned by
APN News & Media, which also owns the New Zealand Herald. Three of the
newspapers - the Northern Advocate, the Daily Post and the Wanganui Chronicle
- are presenting their news online for the first time. The other four papers
have upgraded existing websites. Stories of national interest from all of the
papers will continue to be carried on nzherald.co.nz APN has also launched 17
regional newspaper websites in Australia over the past two months.
From http://www.nzherald.co.nz/ 09/22/2004
TOP↑
Online Banking Fraud Soars as Fake
Emails Trick Customers
Hundreds of thousands of online bankers are
leaving themselves open to fraud, with 4.5m pounds ($12m) stolen from 2,000
people in the UK in the past nine months. The number of victims of scams that
steal online banking details soared in the nine months to June, up from 100
in 2003. The banking group Apacs, which acts for the clearing banks, said
they were the hapless targets of "phishing" emails. These are
crafted to appear as though they have come from a high street bank, and lead
people to websites that mimic those of the bank. The amount of money lost by
each person on average is comparable to that lost through card fraud but
there is less chance of the police catching the perpetrators, who may be
based in other countries. In May, British police arrested 12 people on
suspicion of acting as conduits for overseas criminals in such scams.
Research commissioned by Apacs also suggests that4 per cent of 585 online
users surveyed in the UK, equivalent to half a million people, said they
would respond to an email that appeared to be from their bank and click on a
link that asked them to re-entersecurity details. Andrea, from Teesside, was
caught out in April this year.An email that appeared to be from Barclays Bank
asked her to confirm her account details "for security purposes".
She said: "This [email] had 'ibank' in the subject line and seemed to
come from Barclays. I was slightly suspicious: I opened up my browser and
logged on to my bank website to compare it. They were identical." The
boxes where Andrea entered her details went to the scammers. "A few days
later I went to a cash machine and was surprised to find ?,000 extra in my
account. The next thing I knew was a phone call from Barclays who grilled me
about who I was and then said, 'Do you know ?,000 has come out of your
account?' No, I did not. I went into shock." The criminals moved the
money in ?,000 tranches from her savings accounts to her current account, and
then to intermediary accounts. The unusual pattern of transactions triggered
fraud alarms. Her money was refunded after checks. "If I had been mugged
I could have done nothing," she said. Apacs said the next wave of
attacks would use "spyware" programs to invisibly detect when a
computer is logging in to a bank site. Apacs has launched a website, which
tells people how to use online banking safely. (by Charles Arthur)
From http://www.nzherald.co.nz/ 10/03/2004
TOP↑
High-Tech Happiness Down on the Farm
It might provide some small comfort to
vegetarians that agricultural science increasingly focuses on ensuring
animals live happy lives. However, the reason behind it might not be quite so
palatable - stress-free animals have the most tender meat. This drive to
provide a pleasant life in the paddock is generating ground-breaking
scientific work at the AgResearch centre at Ruakura, near Hamilton. Dr
Lindsay Matthews and PhD student Mairi Stewart are at the forefront,
pioneering a new infrared scanning technique that will let vets and farmers
give animals a full check-up without even touching them. Matthews calls the
technique "non-invasive stress measurement", and it uses a
scaled-down version of the infrared cameras United States special forces and
New Zealand police are using to hunt human targets. The cameras break an
animal's image down to a multicoloured spectrum of varying temperatures. The
trick, says Matthews, is to develop a code for interpreting that data. By
applying knowledge about the various ailments farm animals suffer it will be
possible to give animals a thorough check-up without adding to their stress
with blood tests and internal probes, he says. In theory, farmers could
install cameras in the milking shed that would scan cows for warning signs of
disease and injury as they walked past. As farms get bigger and farmers have
less contact with each animal, the value of this kind of technology will
grow, says Matthews. The project, based around Stewart's PhD, has only just
started. Camera prices range from $10,000 to $100,000 depending on the
quality, but as it is likely to be several years before software is ready for
commercial use, there will at least be some time for the price to fall
Matthews and the team at AgResearch see animal welfare as an important focus
for the future. "There are almost certainly production and health
benefits to be derived from good welfare," Matthews says. Regardless of
the scientific basis to those concerns over welfare, perception is everything
when it comes to securing European business. Meat companies already do
on-farm audits to ensure their supplies meet required standards, but another
new technology AgResearch is developing will tell exporters how an animal has
been treated, based on the state of its carcass. Work that originally focused
on tenderising carcasses through electric shock treatment has led to a new
understanding of how meat conditioning relates to animal welfare. Problems
are caused by the tentacle-like nerve endings, or ganglia, which are attached
to the spinal cord. The spinal cord is pulled out of the carcass in
processing but minute portions of ganglia can be left behind to contaminate
meat, such as that used in hamburgers. Work is under way to find a new way to
eliminate this hazard. It is hardly a sexy topic for research, but the same
goes for many other AgResearch breakthroughs that are now saving the New
Zealand industry millions of dollars every year. If the organisation's new
chief executive, Andy West, achieves his ambitious goals then farmers can
expect plenty more such innovations to help make life on the farm even more
pleasant within the next few years. Winning ideas AgResearch already has a
long list of successful innovations. Some of the most significant include: *
Test-tube cows: In the 90s AgResearch developed technology to produce IVF
cattle embryos - colloquially known as test-tube baby technology. Eggs from
elite donor cows are fertilised in the lab and the embryos are then
transplanted into surrogate cows. This allows 35 to 50 calves to be born from
one elite cow each year. * White clover: White clover, which produces
nitrogen to increase pasture growth and animal productivity, is estimated to
be worth more than $3 billion a year to New Zealand's economy. White clover
cultivars bred by AgResearch are estimated to account for 50 of the world's
white clover sales. * Pest Control: Small parasitic wasps that control the pasture
pest Argentine stem weevil save the agriculture sector more than $100 million
a year by reducing pasture damage. * SMARTShot: Developed to deliver
slow-release vitamin B12. Time Capsules: These provide an optimal daily dose
of zinc for four to six weeks, protecting sheep and cattle from facial
eczema, which in the worst cases causes death. In bad years - such as
1998-1999 - the disease has been estimated to cost the industry up to $75
million. * AgVAx: AgResearch and Otago University have produced vaccines for
a range of animal health problems. AgVax's vaccines have added more than $330
million in value to the New Zealand economy. (by Liam Dann)
From http://www.nzherald.co.nz/ 10/11/2004
TOP↑
Global Travel Website to Launch in NZ
The battle of the online travel booking
websites has begun, with the arrival of global internet site Zuji in New
Zealand. Zuji - Mandarin for footprint - has been running for nearly a week
but will launch its website with an advertising and marketing push next
month. Zuji is owned by 15 world airlines and the US company Sabre, which
owns an airline global distribution system (GDS) and sells computing systems
to airlines. While not calling it a franchise, local travel conglomerate
Gullivers Pacific is running Zuji for the New Zealand market. Gullivers,
which includes the Holiday Shoppe and United Travel franchises, is planning a
$100 million-plus float on the stock exchange. Zuji is competing with an
online booking site launched by the House of Travel chain of agents last
month. The new websites do not claim to provide the cheapest tickets, since
they charge a margin on each one. But they do claim travellers get the best
deals - which could mean flying one segment of a trip on an airline that
flies a particular route only a couple of times a week. Zuji NZ acting
manager Alex Snead said despite airlines owning the site, it gave no special
priority to those carriers. Only Freedom and Origin Pacific flights will be
unavailable through the site. House of Travel claims its site is better than
Zuji, since it is backed by the House of Travel chain across New Zealand. The
House of Travel site also "scrapes" airline websites and merges the
information from the global distribution system. Airlines such as Freedom
that do not use the GDS will feature on House of Travel but not Zuji. But
Zuji says the power of its global network allows for better international
packages and deals, along with its GDS-driven fares. The House of Travel site
is currently only able to book domestic, Tasman and Pacific Islands flights.
Tony Moffatt, commercial director of the House of Travel, said the company
had been very happy with the success of its website. While not giving
numbers, he said usage had "exceeded expectations". Sites such as
Zuji and House of Travel are expected to prove a boon for lesser-known
airlines, particularly those flying the Tasman.
From http://www.stuff.co.nz/ 10/18/2004
TOP↑
Inrease in Home-Based Businesses
Home-based businesses are proliferating as
New Zealanders turn to a more flexible and innovative lifestyle. While the
failure rate remains high, many prosper against the big corporate model.
Kristina Greene looks at successful examples. There is a market for portable,
illuminated dance floors. And for cake-shaped floral arrangements,
"visual business communication" consulting, and spa sessions in
strangers' homes. You would be surprised what ideas home-based businesses
thrive on – sparked by Kiwis' proverbial ingenuity, preference for
self-determination and laid-back lifestyle. New Zealand has more than 230,000
home-based enterprises, which represent two-thirds of the country's small
businesses. Most are in the service sector – plumbers siding with lawyers,
accountants, Web designers, photographers, artists and copy writers. And
while not all have the potential of a Kiwi Bill Gates, these micro-firms are
the country's economic backbone. "Home-based businesses are becoming
prevalent in New Zealand. The trend is fuelled by increasingly accessible
technology, the desire for a change in lifestyle, and a growing
credibility," says Heather Douglas, managing director of Home Business
New Zealand. Small businesses and home businesses have never been easier to
start. Low cost computers, access to the Internet, widespread availability of
advice and credit cards with big overdraft allowances all make start-ups
easier. While these micro-firms often faced prejudice in the past, they are
now gaining acceptance. Not only are the numbers growing, many of them have
also turned into trusted enterprises as the years passed. Peter Maire, one of
New Zealand's most successful technology entrepreneurs, started his digital
navigation equipment firm Navman in the family basement. "This has sped
up the process incredibly. If we don't know the answer to something, someone
else does. Everyone wants to help," Ms Rebbeck says. The sisters have
also opted for a gradual growth process, which allows them to build up
credibility and contacts as they progress to new distribution channels. The
business has been able to avoid many of the problems typically faced by
home-based entrepreneurs – such as lack of a social environment, or low
motivation and credibility. "Larger rivals paint you unfairly as `the
cottage industry'," says public relations and marketing consultant John
Shattock. "In most sectors there are negative perceptions about people
who work from home. And they are likely to impact on the number of business
inquiries you receive, the ratio at which they convert to sales, and the
price you can charge for your product or services." Available data shows
that one out of two home-based businesses fails before its first birthday.
Failure to get professional advice, not knowing who clients are and arbitrary
advertisement strategies are the main reasons micro-firms close. Other causes
are disorderly administration, having the wrong staff and overly negative
expectations from the start. She set up Synthesis Marketing in her home – and
the distance from Wellington, which at first seemed a disadvantage, soon
turned out to be one of her main assets. "Clients are removed from their
stressful corporate environment, there aren't any secretaries running in or
phones ringing. It's like a retreat with ample thinking space, which is conducive
to creativity." The remote location also discourages foot traffic and
ensures clients are focused and committed. Extensive networking and an
all-round professional exterior have allowed her to double her turnover every
year and employ four staff. About 95 per cent of her business comes from
referrals. She can choose her clients – and will soon have to expand.
"Having a home office does not mean we are going to remain small."
Ms Down's position is typical of the new generation of home-based entrepreneurs.
Though previous generations of garage businesses were often established out
of necessity, most of today's home managers have chosen a new lifestyle even
though vacant positions are plentiful. New Zealanders are not alone in this
trend. The number of fulltime, home-based American businesses has risen 3.1
per cent during the past five years to 9.9 million this year. More than
250,000 Australian women are running home-based businesses. Government
figures issued in May estimate that they contribute billions of dollars to
the economy each year and that the rise of home-based businesses is acting as
a multiplier for other sectors of the economy. A Massey University team doing
exploratory research into the home-based business phenomenon has found
individuals starting up home businesses are often motivated by the wish to
return something to the community. "Many are driven by ambition and seek
individual development as well," says Nanette Monin, Home-based
entrepreneurs were often able to start out as a discretionary business with a
primary source of income supplementing the household. "They are in a
position to take risks and be innovative. The sense of adventure and love of
risk are important factors," she says. "As they reflect a choice of
lifestyle, there is a strong indication that the number of home-based
businesses will continue to grow."
From http://www.stuff.co.nz/ 10/18/2004
TOP↑
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MALAYSIA: We Need to Build a More
Flexible Workforce
Malaysia has been advised to take advantage
of the improving quality of the local ICT workforce for future development of
the MSC. This advice was given by the MSC International Advisory Panel (IAP)
after a two-day meeting, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi.“Multinational companies such as Motorola, Intel, Microsoft and Dell
are doing high-tech R&D and are pleased with the quality of our
workforce, (therefore) the MSC should build on this,” Abdullah told a press
conference at the end of the IAP’s two-day main session yesterday. Efforts to
enhance local ICT capabilities and expertise would dovetail with the aim of
making the MSC the preferred location for shared services and outsourcing
activities, he said.“The panel felt that the MSC must secure its position as
a top offshore destination,” he said, adding that Malaysia should focus on
its talent development to build competitiveness. IAP members also pointed out
that there were lessons to be learnt from the ongoing labour dislocations in
the West, Abdullah said, and therefore a need for Malaysia to use ICT and
lifelong learning to build a more flexible workforce. MAIN SESSION: Delegates
listening Abdullah delivering his message on the big screen during th IAP
meeting in Putrajaya on Friday. Other recommendations on improving workforce
quality included enhancing partnerships between companies, universities and
government, as well as starting early in building ICT skills, he added.“ICT
skills development should start at the primary and secondary schools level,”
he said. In the biotechnology field, IAP members noted that Malaysia could
become a competitive global player in areas such as healthcare, agriculture
and biodiversity, said Abdullah. Malaysia was also poised to take greater
advantage of opportunities in areas such as creative multimedia and mobile
applications, he added. “Going forward, Malaysia should be a leader in
broadband access and mobile penetration to facilitate innovation and
knowledge diffussion.” Speaking later at the press conference, long-time IAP
member Prof William Miller of Stanford University said Malaysia’s current
ranking as the third best location for shared services and outsourcing was
“an external validation of the work going on in the MSC.” The experience of
foreign companies operating in Malaysia provided strong evidence of “the
competence of the people here,” he added. Despite the glowing testimonies,
the MSC was still suffering from lingering negative perceptions, Deputy Prime
Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak told the press conference.“There still
exists a gap between reality and perception,” he said, adding: “We need to
address this and do more to improve the situation.” On improving the capacity
of MSC companies to compete globally, IAP members suggested that business
support and assistance be provided to enable the companies to spread their
wings overseas, he added.“MSC companies can also link up with multinational
companies in collaborative ventures,” said Najib. Earlier in the morning,
Najib presented the IAP recommendations to the Prime Minister for further
deliberation. Abdullah then met with IAP members and representatives in
one-on-one sessions in the afternoon. These meetings will continue today.
From http://thestar.com.my 09/04/2004
TOP↑
Special Bonus for TM Net Customers
TM Net Sdn Bhd broadband customers are in
for a bonus. Come Nov 1, the Internet service provider will upgrade all
Streamyx broadband users on its 512Kbps (kilobits per second) package to
faster 1Mbps (megabit per second) connections, at no extra cost. Streamyx
384Kbps users are also being upgraded to 512Kbps connections. Upgrading works
are currently in progress in high traffic areas, with the rollout to all
areas scheduled for completion by the end of the month, according to TM Net
chief executive officer Datuk Baharum Salleh. “We’re committed to enhancing
the affordability of our services so that more Malaysians would be able to
enjoy high speed Internet access,” he said. Subscribers of TM Net’s Streamyx
512Kbps package currently pay RM88 a month for the service, while the 384Kbps
package costs RM66 a month. Existing TM Net customers who subscribe to
faster, more expensive enterprise and corporate packages will also enjoy
similar upgrades in the coming months, Baharum said at the launch of TM Net’s
special edition prepaid ONE CD featuring a tribute to former Prime Minister
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. The CD contains multimedia content and applications
on Dr Mahathir’s achievements, life and times. TM Net is the country’s
largest ISP, with nearly 1.8 million dial-up subscribers and over 170,000
broadband customers.
From http://thestar.com.my 10/13/2004
TOP↑
Singapore Wins Bid to Host World Cyber
Games Finals in 2005
Singapore has been chosen to host next
year's World Cyber Games finals. This year the event, which is the equivalent
of the Olympics in e-sports, is being held in San Francisco. Many Singaporean
gamers have been taking part in the World Cyber Games ever since they began 3
years ago. It is estimated there are about 1 million - casual and hardcore -
gamers here. So it is no surprise that the Government went all out to win the
bid to host next year's international e-games competition. Some 800 cyber
warriors from more than 70 countries will descend on Singapore for the
finals. Hosting the Games next year will boost Singapore's efforts to
position itself as the Asia-Pacific hub of the rapidly growing games
industry. The games industry worldwide is valued at some US$350 billion.
IL-Hyung Chang, President, WCG Committee, said: "The city is not only an
Asian hub of international business and IT industry. Plus it is also a city
of great culture and education and trade with great venues like the Suntec
Convention Centre." For now, local gamers are busy practising for the
national heats in September. The best among them will be chosen to represent
Singapore at this year's World Cyber Games in San Francisco in October. But
this year - it won't be all shooting and killing. Hank Jeong, CEO and
President, World Cyber Games, said: "The parents are worried that too
much time spent on gaming, not only that, too much sexual explicit, violence,
too much addictive side. We try to eliminate those type of factors that is
why we incorporate a lot of sports-related games titles and lot of strategic
thinking games itself." In the lead up to next year's World Cyber Games,
organisers plan to talent scout potential champions and help groom them. But
it's not just the gamers who are warming up. Several creative minds are also
training with top companies in America and Japan - studying computer game
design and animation. Quek Swee Kuan, Director, Infocomms and Media Cluster,
EDB, said: "Singapore is starting from an infant stage right now for
game development. So since we are starting zero base or very low base, it's
expected that the growth will be quite significant. But it may be a couple of
years before the real game development efforts can be translated into
value-added. "For Singapore, this is much more than just a game.
From http://www.channelnewsasia.com/ 07/29/2004
TOP↑
Phone Companies Given Greater Access
to Singtel's Network
SingTel will now have to give rivals
offering international calls greater access to its stations where undersea
cables carry such traffic, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
has said. With this new decision the rivals can carry traffic not only from
that cable but also traffic from all cables that land at SingTel's submarine
cable landing stations. IDA is asking SingTel to propose amendments to its
offers to rival telcos, in order to comply with these latest changes by end
of this month. And the authority hopes the changes can kick in by end of the
year. IDA's move is another step towards levelling the playing field for
telecom operators here. It has now made it easier for international telecom
service providers to gain greater access to submarine cables landing at
SingTel's stations. "The whole market for submarine cable is changing.
There are new players coming into the market, new private cables," said
Leong Keng Thai, deputy CEO and director general (telecoms) at IDA. "We
need to constantly review our policies on access to submarine cable landing
stations so that they continue to be not only up-to-date, but to ensure that
any unnecessary restrictions to the competitive market should be removed to
allow freer market to compete." StarHub hails IDA's latest move as a
milestone, while Reach, a joint venture between Hong Kong's PCCW and
Australia's Telstra, welcomes it as also allowing competitive licensees to
provide alternative facilities. But SingTel says that since 2001, other
operators have been able to access its submarine cable landing stations and
connect to the cable systems. It says that it views IDA's intervention as
unnecessary and inconsistent with promoting facilities-based competition. And
it does not believe that IDA's latest decision will have any significant
effect on competition.
From http://www.channelnewsasia.com/ 09/10/2004
TOP↑
MOM's Move to Outsource IT Services is
a Win-Win Situation
Labour chief Lim Boon Heng has described the
Manpower Ministry's move to outsource its IT services earlier this month as a
win-win situation. He explained this is because the staff will be working for
a bigger company that will offer them the possibility to upgrade their skills
while the Manpower Ministry will spend on what is required. Mr Lim, who is
Secretary-General of NTUC, said: "If you have a small ministry like the
Ministry of Manpower, if you employ staff then staff are not used
optimally...sometimes there's a lot of work but sometimes there's not enough
to occupy them." He also noted that the IT staff will not be provided
with sufficient professional stimulation and the MOM will also face a problem
of recruiting and retaining good quality IT staff. "As far as the
Ministry is concerned, it will spend what's required for the services they
need and they don't have the hassle of having staff resign because they don't
find the work challenging enough," Mr Lim added.
From http://www.channelnewsasia.com 09/25/2004
TOP↑
THAILAND: IT Forum Calls for ICT
Indicators
The 17 Asian member countries at a meeting of the Asian Forum for Information
Technology (AFIT) have agreed that they urgently need to develop and make use
of ICT indicators for national ICT development. The third AFIT meeting was
recently held in Thailand and focussed on ICT measurement to promote
collaboration on the issue within the region.AFIT chairman Prof Yoshiki
Mikami noted that at present there are already several ICT indicators such as
the ITU's Digital Access Index , an e-government readiness and
e-participation index from UNPAN, an e-readiness index of EIU, as well as
others from research institutes and consulting firms. However, he said these
were only available for selected tangible aspects, mostly in infrastructure,
such as computer adoption and usage.The AFIT members are focussed on
measurements that are widely used today and need uniform indicators that
could be applied across member countries. The chairman noted that missing are
items such as the leading economic contributors and exports sector for ICT
and a country's state of development and dependence on ICT.Dr Mikami told
Database that Asian countries play a major role in ICT industrial
development, noting examples such as Taiwan and India. He said that Thailand
had high potential in areas such as software development and human resources,
adding that areas such as software localisation and online dictionaries could
boost the ranking of Thailand."Most of the Asian countries have not
realised the ICT talents that they have, so it's important to encourage them
and publicise their ICT potential," the chairman said.Missing indicators
such as ICT industry statistics for service or software output, exports,
employment, ICT expertise potential including expatriates, as well as
language and cultural localisation would be created by the AFIT members. The
meeting noted that the progress of ICT technology is so fast that member
countries have to find ways of keeping up, which would include exchanging
information about the status of ICT plans with each other and being aware of
new ICT initiatives. National Science and Technology Development Agency
(NSTDA) director Dr Sakarindr Bhumiratana said that IT measurement in
Thailand was an ongoing process, and the need for it was part of the first
National ICT Master Plan 2002-2006.National Electronics and Computer
Technology Centre (Nectec) director Dr Thaweesak Koanantakool noted that the
master plan aimed to position Thailand as a regional centre of ICT
development and business, particularly in software. "Thailand is now at
an advanced stage of local language software development, and we have been
recognised as the model for other countries," he said, adding that with
the success of the Thai version of Linux, Thailand could transfer and share
its experience with other countries. There are already plans for researchers
from other nations to come and work with Nectec's Linux developer team.
From http://www.bangkokpost.com 10/20/2004
TOP↑
VIETNAM: IT Sector Faces Crunch Time
in HCMC
A lack of qualified IT engineers is
restraining the growth of software companies in HCM City, reported experts at
a seminar on manpower solutions for software firms held recently in the city.
They cited the shortage as one of the main reasons for the industry’s failure
to reach its target of US$500 million in software exports by 2005. By the end
of 2002, some 77.1 per cent of software firms were reportedly worried about
the market. Nguyen Duc Nghia, deputy director of HCM City National
University, said the city has about 600 IT firms, accounting for half of the
country’s IT market. The city provides the domestic IT sector with 20,000
workers per year. However, the number of trained IT workers with proper
qualifications was still small, he added. Quang Trung Software Park, the
country’s largest IT centre, reported that graduates often lack experience,
professional skills and proficiency in foreign languages. They also lacked
confidence in their abilities, Nghia said. According to a survey conducted by
the city’s software firms, 77 per cent of recruits had to undergo retraining
for one to three months. Chu Tien Dung, director of Quang Trung Software
City, said businesses were in dire need of experts, such as project managers
and administrators, market researchers, analysts and designers. The city’s
Department of Science and Technology said training programmes did not ensure
the quality of IT engineers and did not meet the demand of exporting software
firms. IT firm co-ordination Dung said software firms needed to co-ordinate
with universities and colleges to establish closer links between businesses
and prospective employees. IT professionals should be trained for specific
markets, such as the European Union and Japan, and should learn the
countries’ languages and about their cultures. Viet Nam aims to send 20,000
software developers to the Japanese market, with an expected total export
revenue of $350 million. Suresh Subramaniam, training director of Informatic
Singapore, agreed that a close connection between schools and businesses was
essential. He said employers should raise their voices to influence and
develop training programmes. Nghia added that IT businesses did not actively
contribute to training programmes. He said they were also reluctant to
receive interns. Nguyen Ngoc Thinh, director of Pyramid Software Development,
said HCM City’s government needed to devise solutions to the IT labour
shortage. Schools and businesses could not address the problems themselves,
he added. Nguyen Thien Nhan, the municipal People’s Committee’s deputy
chairman, said HCM City authorities would work together with businesses and
schools to generate qualified workers for software firms. In addition, the
State would work out policies to support businesses, schools and clients by
fostering co-operation. Aside from encouraging students with scholarships,
the city would initiate a fund to help students, businesses and schools.
Every six months, the HCM City People’s Committee would meet with businesses
and schools to discuss the implementation of the IT training programmes, Nhan
said.
From http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/ 08/20/2004
TOP↑
Volunteers Quench Farmers’ IT Thirst
A batch of IT graduates from Ha Noi were
farmed out to rural areas to provide residents with basic computer skills.
Khanh Chi tracks their success.Her face shining with joy, 16-year-old Nguyen
Thi Tham said she is now able to study math on the internet, something she
had previously only dreamt about. "I just recently used a computer for
the first time," said Tham, a 10th grader from the Ha Tay Province’s
Chuong My Senior Secondary School."Miraculously, I can now use the
internet to study math and to read on-line newspapers, things I had only seen
done on TV," she said. Tham is among 67 people in Chuong My District’s
Phu Nghia Commune benefiting from a pilot programme called Khoi Dong Suc Tre
Thanh Giong* (Spurring Thanh Giong Youth Energy), which was initiated by the
Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and is being carried out this summer.Under
the programme, volunteers from the universities of Foreign Trade and
Technology, Ha Noi National University, Ha Noi Industry College, and the
Corporation for Financing and Promoting Technology (FTP)’s Centre for
Talented Youth stay close to home in Ha Noi and the provinces of Ha Tay, Thai
Binh and Bac Ninh to teach information technology (IT) skills to local
farmers. Chairman of Phu Nghia’s People’s Committee Tran Ba Kham hands
certificates and flowers to the volunteers from Ha Noi Industry College. "With
our five available computers, each day we organised four two-hour classes
that were not only for students but also for the local authorities and even
enterprises’ personnel," said Nguyen Xuan Son, who studies IT at the
college.Son and his schoolmates had more than a month to prepare a curriculum
– which had to be basic enough for beginners – before they embarked on their
lectures in mid-July. "We live on location here to make sure the
programme runs according to plan," Son said, pointing to four one-story,
tile-roofed houses for the students inside the communal People’s Committee’s
headquarters. Next to their temporary homes sat a 50sq.m room used for
classes.On August 22, a ceremony was held to mark the conclusion of the
programme."I know you all stayed up last night to prepare for today’s
ceremony. That’s just one more sleepless night since you arrived here!"
joked FTP Chief Executive Officer Truong Gia Binh in an address at the
ceremony."You have performed your duties well to bring knowledge to the
locals and improve their socio-economic development. You have worked hard to
help the locals gain access to computers and the internet," Binh said.
Son said they conducted class during the day and spent their evenings
creating a web site, www.hic.edu.vn/phunghia/trangchu.htm, to help the
commune promote its 300-year-old tradition of making bamboo and rattan
handicrafts. "At this point, it’s hard to assess the quality of the web
site, but you can feel good about spreading the word about Phu Nghia across
the globe," said Binh. "It’s highly valuable because it will open
up new markets for the commune’s products."Getting ITsavvyVuong Van Can,
director of the Song Ha Production and Trade Company, which specialises in
exporting bamboo and fine art products, said, "I used to have to ask
employees to send my e-mail to customers in Italy, Japan and Poland, which
was time-consuming and inconvenient. Now I can do it myself.""I’ve
also learned how to download photos from my digital camera and send
attachments to customers. I no longer need to send them samples by air
mail," said Can, 45, who contributed photos of bamboo products for the
web site. Can said the programme has been useful not only for business people
but also for communal cadres. As head of the communal police, Can said he
would now be able to file official documents by computer instead of filing
them in wooden cabinets like he used to.Son said the programme was of
particular significance because access to IT facilities is especially scarce
in rural areas. "If we had not come here, we would never have known the
extent of farmers’ thirst for IT," Son said. "Their enthusiastic
and frequent attendance is indicative of how helpful these classes will be in
their work and lives. "Son said the communal authorities who attended
the night classes often worked until 11pm or midnight each evening to
practise their new-found skills. To satisfy their ambition, Son and his
schoolmates rotated to ensure that the classes were run as scheduled, even
though four of them had to return to their university studies as early as
August 1.The programme is part of a project – called Informatics Popularity,
Knowledge Connecting for Vietnamese Youth – that the Ho Chi Minh Communist
Youth Union soon plans to submit for approval to Prime Minister Phan Van
Khai.The move is aimed at mobilising young volunteers to spread IT knowledge
to the 20 million youth who live in rural areas across the country, which
Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem urged the country to do at last year’s
ASOCIO ICT Summit in Ha Noi. The Youth Union expects to pour around US$1
billion into the project in 2006, which is aimed at popularising IT around
the country. Cheap PCsAnother facet of the project is providing affordable
hardware to potential users, something the Thanh Giong Computers programme
has been created to accomplish. Co-organised by the youth union and local
computer producers, the programme wants to sell two million computers at a
cost of no more than VND4 million ($255) to rural people. "If the
computers are sold for around VND1-2 million, I think many farmers will be
able to afford them," said Do Sy Dien, a farmer in Phu Nghia Commune.
"For some of us, though, such an amount of money is never
available." The 61-year-old man, who is said to be one of the most
dedicated students in his computer class, said he hoped to buy a computer
next year so he could find information useful for his work as an herbalist.
This would also allow his 11th-grade son to continue learning about IT. Dien
suggested that the State and business sector sell used computers to those who
can’t afford new ones. "In case we miss information on the Ban Nha Nong
(Farmers’ Friend) show on television, I think we would be able to track it
down on the internet," Dien said. "Businesses are always updating their
hardware, so there’s no reason why they shouldn’t pass along their used
equipment to those who need it." According to the business manager of
Intel Viet Nam, Trinh Thanh Lam, a proposed union between Intel and FTP-CMS
would provide 1,000 computers worth VND4 billion to residents in the northern
province of Bac Ninh. The union and the provincial authorities have also
installed an internet cable to help local farmers gain access to the
internet. "Furthermore, we will boost our training efforts so that each
commune will have at least one person who is able to operate a computer and
use the internet," said Lam. "If all of the country’s provinces
achieve what Bac Ninh has, I think we can meet the target of putting 50,000
computers into operation by the end of the year." Authorities have
called for a nation-wide movement to gather used computers to provide for
farmers, which appears to be in line with efforts by domestic producers to
lower computer prices.
From http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/ 09/04/2004
TOP↑
Students Take Medals at IT Competition
in Greece
Viet Nam notched one silver and three bronze
medals at the 16th International Informatics Olympiad held in Greece last
week. The silver medalist was 11th-grader Pham Xuan Hoa from the Le Quy Don
School for Talents in the central city of Da Nang. The bronze medal winners
were 12th-grader Le Manh Ha from the Natural Sciences College of the Ha Noi
National University, Pham Huu Thanh from the School for Talents at Ho Chi
Minh City National University, and Nguyen Duy Khuong from the Tran Phu School
for Talents in northern Hai Phong City. At the 15th International Informatics
Olympiad in the US, all four Vietnamese students secured medals, winning one
gold, one silver and two bronzes.
From http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn 09/22/2004
TOP↑
VN Promotes Tech-Com Industry with
Expo
A twin exhibition set for Ha Noi in
mid-November should give domestic and international telecommunications and
electronics firms a forum to display the latest technology, said organisers.
The 10th Viet Nam Telecom and Viet Nam Electronics 2004 on November 9-13 will
be the largest of its kind in the country, according to an official from
State-run Viet Nam Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (VNPT). "We
hope the convergence of telecommunications and electronics will paint a vivid
picture of Viet Nam’s rapidly growing IT and media sector," said
director of VNPT’s Information Centre, Bui Quoc Viet. Viet said the success
of the 2002 event had seen high corporate interest in this year’s show,
particularly from international firms who were hoping to get a foothold in
the local market. This year’s exhibition should also reflect a more robust
local market. "The outlook for this market is very good but local firms
will have to be very competitive to stay viable," said Deputy Minister
of Posts and Telematics Mai Liem Truc. Industry giants like Nokia, Motorola,
Ericsson, UTStarcom, Cisco Systems, Alcatel and Samsung will dominate the
show with 80 per cent of exhibits. Viet Nam has allowed more competition in
the telecommunications market, and mobile telecommunications were the first
area eyed by overseas multinationals. Event organisers said companies this
year will focus on mobile communications, networking products and solutions,
and introducing third-generation (3G) mobile communications to Viet Nam.
Motorola, Ericsson, Siemens, UTStarcom and VNPT’s Mobifone have signalled
plans to launch their latest 3G products in the country soon. "Viet
Nam’s telecommunications market has made obvious advances and its switch to
digital technologies since the 1990s has enabled ever more diverse
services," said Nguyen Minh Duc, UTStarcom’s representative in Viet Nam.
From http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/ 10/22/2004
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BANGLADESH: GP to Adopt New Solutions
to Boost Billing Capacity
The country's leading cellphone operator
GrameenPhone (GP) Limited yesterday said the company will deploy high
performance information storage solutions aiming at strengthening its billing
system. The cellular phone company has signed a deal with EMC Corporation, a
global player in information storage and management, for adopting the
solutions. This will enable GrameenPhone to meet its consolidated billing and
business continuity needs, company officials said. The EMC solutions will
replace the previous storage solutions that GP procured from Hewlett and
Packard (HP). GP will now be able to operate its billing system for all its
post-paid subscribers continuously with zero back-up and offline window and
run management information system (MIS) and reports simultaneously. "At
GrameenPhone, we look at technology as a strategic tool to ensure
cost-effective business operations and to provide value for our
subscribers," GP's Managing Director Ola Ree said in a statement.
"We are reassured that our information is protected and available at all
times. This will enable us to respond our subscribers needs faster," Ree
added. Commenting on the deployment, Manoj Chugh, country manager of EMC India
and Saarc, said, "We are extremely pleased that GrameenPhone has
selected EMC to meet its critical information needs." "Only EMC is
server-agnostic and 100 percent focused on information storage and this
deployment at GrameenPhone is our first significant customer win in
Bangladesh," Chugh said. Talking to journalists Stein Naevdal, director
Information Technology of GP, said "We need a scalable solution to keep
pace with rising number of subscribers." About 95 percent of global
telecoms companies use EMC technology, he said. Currently, GP has over 1.97
million subscribers covering 40 percent of the country's geographical area.
From http://www.thedailystar.net/ 09/06/2004
TOP↑
Bangladeshi ICT Cos to Take Part in
Tokyo Fair
A seminar was held in city recently as part
of the JETRO initiative to support the potential software development
companies of Bangladesh to participate in the JETRO Outsourcing Fair for IT
Software (JOFIS) to be held in Tokyo from January 25-27. The seminar on
"How to Penetrate into Japanese IT Market" was jointly organised by
Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) and Bangladesh Association of
Software and Information Services (BASIS). Yukio Nishiyama, expert at IT
Engineering Software, Consultant-JETRO, was the keynote speaker of the
seminar. Nishiyama, who is also the president of Genesys Corporation-Japan,
is a consultant in the IT sector. The seminar discussed the issues related to
data source, ICT market in Japan, utilisation of overseas IT resources,
issues for business development, effective business development method,
business development tools and useful data source. President, Japan
Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JBCCI) President Matiur Rahman
said the Japanese IT market is full of scopes and opportunities for
Bangladeshi IT companies. Sarwar Alam, President, Bangladesh Association of
Software Information and Services (BASIS), lauded the role of JETRO for
arranging such a seminar and also for arranging participation of 12 Bangladeshi
ICT companies in the JOFIS. Sotaro Nishikawa, Representative, JETRO Dhaka,
said in 2003 only one company from Bangladesh participated in the JOFIS and
the number of participant companies increased to four in the following year.
JETRO has taken an initiative to ensure participation of more companies from
Bangladesh in the JOFIS next year. Around 70 participants from BASIS member
companies attended the seminar. Among others, Dr. AKM Moazzaem Hossain,
Secretary General, JBCCI, was also present in the seminar. TIM Nurul Kabir,
Vice President, BASIS, concluded the seminar with a vote of thanks.
From http://www.bangladesh-web.com/ 10/13/2004
TOP↑
BHUTAN: Students Interact Through
Tele-video Conference
A live interaction was held between the
students of Lungten Zampa Middle Higher Secondary School and Yashiro Junior
High School, Yawathama, Japan on August 7 to celebrate the 50th anniversary
of Japan government’s extension of international cooperation activities.
Coordinated by the JICA, Bhutan Telecom and NTTA-IT, the live tele-video
conference enabled the students of Class VII and VIII from the two countries
to share information of their countries, culture, tradition, school life and
other activities. According to the organizers, the tele-video conference was
a means to create awareness of the two countries among the students and hence
bolster friendly ties. Ravilal Pokheral from Bhutan Telecom said that the
conference was a good opportunity for the students to know about the development
of digital technology and IT in Bhutan. "I got up early today as I was
very excited to communicate with the Japanese students through the tele-video
conference," said a student from the Lungtenzampa Middle Higher
Secondary School. Another student said the whole process was educative and
she came to know a lot about Japan through the interaction. Before the
tele-video conference, videos on Japanese culture, society and cuisine were
screened to the Bhutanese students and guests while back in Japan the participants
were treated with a similar visual on Bhutan and its culture, society and
cuisine. Apart from students and teachers of the Lungtenzampa Middle Higher
Secondary School, the conference was attended by the Managing Director of
Bhutan Telecom, Sangey Tenzing, JICA Resident Representative, Mr. Yusuke Kubo
and other JICA and government officials. This is the second tele-video
conference in the country since the August, 2003 tele-video conference
between the members of the Japan and Bhutan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
From http://www.kuenselonline.com/ 08/09/2004
TOP↑
Indian Govt to Hold National E-Govt
Meeting in 2005
The Federal Department of Information Technology is planning to hold a
national e-governance conference next year to create awareness about
significance of e-government. The patchy deployment of e-government
applications around the country is forcing the hand of India's federal
government. "We want every state to be aware of the significance of e-governance.
Also, our national e-governance policy's idea is to have a unified, standard
platform where we can have a centralised database. For this, we will have a
conference next year to get the approval of all states," said Dayanidhi
Maran, Union IT Minister. Maran said e-government had created a "islands
of success" in a few states like Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, however
other states had failed to realise any benefits.
From http://www.pstm.net/ 08/16/2004
TOP↑
INDIA: India's Pharma
Sector to Match Software Success
MUMBAI: India's pharmaceuticals industry is
set for rapid growth in the medium term and should eventually match the
success of its booming software sector, the chief investment officer of the
country's largest mutual fund said. "Pharma as a whole is a long-term
story," UTI Mutual Fund's A.K. Sridhar said on the sidelines of a news
conference on Tuesday. "In fact, pharmaceuticals is at the stage that
information technology was in 1999. You have great upside potential in the
next three to four years," he said, adding that UTI would be launching a
new pharma fund soon. The Bombay pharmaceuticals sector index is up 3 percent
since January, outdoing a 1.5 percent drop in the main index. According to
fund tracker Value Research, Indian pharma funds returned 37 percent in the
past year, second only to tech funds. Analysts say the fortunes of Indian
drug firms are set to improve over the next few years as they tap the export
markets in the United States and Europe, where drugs worth tens of billions
of dollars are set to go off-patent, making way for generics. Opportunities
in contract manufacturing of drugs and contract research are also opening up
for these firms, thanks to India's advantages of low costs and the
availability of skilled labour. Cement, metals, and core industries like
power equipment and engineering were other sectors favoured by the
44-year-old Sridhar, a chartered accountant who oversees more than 200
billion rupees along with a team of nine fund managers. Sectors like cement,
steel and engineering have been big gainers, thanks to the government's focus
on infrastructure. "We do not see any great downside risk to the market,
but there could be some correction as we go along, so we expect it to be
ranged till about January-February," he said. "Cement should do
well from a post-monsoon pick-up in activity," he said, referring to
India's main rainy season, which runs from June to September and slows down
construction activity. Cement makers like Gujarat Ambuja Cement, Grasim
Industries and Associated Cement Companies have all reported healthy growth
in monthly shipments recently. Sridhar said the downside risks were mainly
political in nature, and markets had proven resilient to political risks.
"Oil and inflation are high and there is some uncertainty over interest
rates. But markets seem to be taking them in their stride," he said.
"I suspect oil prices will settle down after the U.S. elections."
Foreign funds have pumped close to $4.9 billion into Indian equities in 2004,
including some $1.5 billion since August. This follows record net foreign
investment of $6.7 billion in 2003. "There is plenty of liquidity in
markets and that is one factor driving them," he said, though the
influence of foreign funds had diminished. "Domestic investments used to
be 10-15 pct of the total a few years ago. It is now one third of the
total." Also boosting equities was a rise in incomes of India's
300-million-strong middle class in a rapidly expanding economy. Economic
reforms and, more recently, an outsourcing boom in India had put more money
in the hands of India's youth, Sridhar said. "The salaries of a graduate
now are much greater from when I came out of college. There is more
investable money in the hands of people in their late 20s, when they have
greater risk appetite, and that is positive for equities," he said.
From http://financialexpress.com/ 10/19/2004
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SRI LANKA: Stretching Mobile
Technology Frontiers
The University of Moratuwa on Wednesday entered
into an agreement with Dialog GSM to set up the country's first Research
Laboratory for Mobile Technology. The initiative the most significant
cooperation between the University and the Technology sector to date is
expected to mark a new era for telecommunications research and development in
the country. The agreement was signed by Vice Chancellor, University of
Moratuwa Prof. Dayantha Wijesekera and CEO Dialog GSM Dr.Hans Wijayasuriya.
The research centre will be known as the Dialog-University of Moratuwa Mobile
communications Research Laboratory. The research centre will focus on
stretching the frontiers of applied mobile technologies through research and
development, pertaining to initiatives of national and regional significance.
Full time research personnel will be recruited into the centre with many of
the projects being linked to the postgraduate research programs of the
university. The laboratory will be housed at the department of Electronics
and Telecommunication Engineering at the University of Moratuwa and will be
managed by a Board of Management consisting of persons from the University of
Moratuwa and Dialog GSM. In addition to facilitating applied research and
product development, the Dialog UoM will have technology transfer arrangements
with international bodies. The proposed laboratory will form a framework for
research and development and knowledge sharing while also seeking
collaboration with international industrial organisations, funding agencies
and academia. The research laboratory will also offer an opportunity for the
students to experiment and innovate with the most modern information and
communications technologies before they venture into the employment market.
(by Chamitha Kuruppu)
From http://www.sundayobserver.lk/ 08/15/2004
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NEPAL: Nepal Telecom Resumes
Distribution of Prepaid SIM Cards
Nepal Telecom resumed the distribution of
prepaid mobile phone SIM cards in the Kathmandu Valley from Saturday. Clients
stayed in long queues for hours at Telecom counters from early morning to get
prepaid cards. Cards were distributed from Telecom’s counters at
Tripureshwor, Chauni, Jawalakhel, Gongabu, Chabahil, Kirtipur and Bhaktapur.
Nepal Telecom that aims to distribute 50,000 prepaid SIM cards this time has
already distributed 115,000 prepaid cards in different phases across the
country. Including prepaid users, the number of cell phone users in Nepal has
reached 200,000.
From http://www.nepalnews.com.np/ 10/02/2004
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Nepal Telecom to Distribute Telephones
Using WLL
Nepal Telecom (NT) has said it is preparing
to provide one million additional telephone lines to customers within the
country using the Wireless Local Loop (WLL) technology. The NT signed an
agreement with ZTE Corporation, a Chinese company, on Monday to import
required equipment. As per the agreement, the Chinese company will provide NT
telecom equipment based on 'Code Division Multiple Access' (CDMA 2000 IX)
technology. Cellular mobile services can also be launched within certain
territory using this technology. The Reliance Group of India is also
operating cellular mobile services using this technology, reports said.
United Telecom Ltd., a private sector company, is already providing telephone
services using the WLL technology for the last one year. Officials with the
NT said they have plans to complete the ambitious project in five phases. NT
is going to invest Rs three billion in this venture. Net profit of Nepal
Telecom at present is around Rs two billion per annum, reports said. Managing
director of Nepal Telecom, Sugat Ratna Kansakar, said NT would launch new
services in hill areas with dense population and also in all terai towns. He
said that the NT would be in a position to meet the demands all over the
country once this project is completed. He said the NT hoped to expand its
services based on WLL technology within this fiscal year. The state-owned
Nepal Telecommunications Corporation (NTC) had been transformed into Nepal
Telecom Company recently.
From http://www.nepalnews.com.np/ 10/19/2004
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PAKISTAN: Another Free IT Centre to
Open
KARACHI - The second free Information
Technology (IT) awareness centre will be inaugurated at Eidgah Ground at Pak
Colony here on Sunday, August 8. An announcement to this effect was
officially made here on Thursday. It said that the Sindh Minister for
Information Technology, Syed Mustafa Kamal would be the Chief Guest on the
occasion. The announcement further said that such centres were being set up
by the Sindh IT Department in collaboration with the private sector, equipped
with internet facility. The first information technology awareness centre was
inaugurated at North Karachi on July 20 also inaugurated. (by Syed Mustafa Kamal)
From http://www.brecorder.com/ 08/06/2004
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Educational Research Network Launched
ISLAMABAD - Minister in charge for Science
and Technology and Chairman Higher Education Commission, Dr Attaur Rahman
launched PERN-Pakistan Educational Research Network-which would be of immense
benefit for researchers, PhDs and students. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Atta
said at present 56 universities have been connected to fibre-link technology
and by the end of this year all the universities will be linked to it. Most
important achievement of PERN is the digital Library through which students
and researchers can benefit from 12,000 journals, he said. The HEC chairman
stressed that the PhDs and researchers must take benefit from digital library.
He advised the HEC-trained officials to train their faculty members. PERN
website has a tremendous scope regarding information of all public and
private sector universities and degree awarding Institutes. PERN website is a
dedicated 'Educational Network' for 56 public and private sector chartered
universities and degree-awarding Institutes registered with the Higher
Education Commission, Government of Pakistan. The interconnectivity of all
these universities and institutes will provide integration of data banks,
collaboration for research and development activities and up-gradation of
teaching and learning skills. PERN is part of the overall vision and
objectives of IT Action Plan that was launched by Dr Attaur Rehman. The
project is financed by the Government of Pakistan in co-operation with PTCL
(Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited). The network is designed,
operated and maintained by NTC (National Tele-communication (Corporation).
The project is aimed to be an integral part of the overall education system
of the country so that the students, researchers, PhDs and scholars benefit
from the upcoming revolution of Information Technology. M. Kamran, A senior
official of Higher Education Commission, who is working on digital library,
informed that through these IT services universities would be linked to
American Scientific Society and through High Wire medical students can
benefit from 95 journals. New era is associated with Information Technology
revolution, he added. The NTC chairman Shahid Farooq appreciated these
efforts and said that this success is the result and fruit of dedicated
students of universities. PERN has woven a web of NTC, HEC and the
universities, he concluded. Later, Dr Attaur Rehman awarded shields to
Professor Dr Arshad Ali, DG NIIT, Sqn Ldr. Tahir Ahmed, Director NTC,
Mohammad Fahad, from NIIT, Shahida Younus, QAU, and Nadeem Nadir Ali Ismaili,
to pay tribute to their contributions.
From http://www.brecorder.com/ 08/08/2004
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Computer Lab Inaugurated
at Custom Public School
LAHORE: The Microsoft Corporation
inaugurated its first computer training lab, under the "partners in
learning' initiative, at Custom Public School here on Sunday. The Member
Customs, Central Board of Revenue (CBR), Mohammad Ramzan Bhatti, was the
chief guest on the occasion. Collector Customs Shahid Rahim Shaikh, senior
officials of the departments, and Microsoft Country Manager Jawwad Rehman
were also present. The Microsoft had signed an MoU with the federal education
ministry in January last to embark on building several similar computer labs
across the country and invest in teaching training ICT. Resources from
partners learning include networked computer lab with latest hardware,
software and training materials in ICT for the school to enable it to evolve
into a Microsoft IT Academy Center for teachers training. The IT Academy
Center will also be used to provide hands-on ICT education to secondary
school students of Customs Public School in collaboration with the Provincial
Institute for Teachers Education (PITE) in Lahore. In addition, this lab will
serve as a supplemental location for teachers education and will offer them
opportunity to increase their awareness of ICT for effective teaching.
"WE are pleased that the Microsoft selected Custom Public School to
build such a computer lab", said Ramzan Bhatti, Member Customs, CBR.
Welcoming the Microsoft initiative, he said it will set the trend for other
players in the private sector, and will prove to be a huge benefit for providing
access to computers and latest technologies for teachers as well as for
students. Bhatti also said that branches of Custom Public School will also be
open in other cities of the country, adding a modern university will also be
established in Lahore, and the customs department has already received a
donation of 8 kanal land from a philanthropist for this purpose. Jawwad
Rehman while speaking on plans to reduce the digital divide in Pakistan,
said" "Microsoft is very committed to working with the education
ministry under the `partners in learning' initiative to take computer
literacy to common man across Pakistan."
From http://www.brecorder.com/ 08/23/2004
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Pakistan to Share Telecom Experiences
with South Asia
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information
Technology Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari on Tuesday called for sharing of
experiences and expertise between Pakistan and other South Asian countries in
the telecom sector. "Pakistan is willing to share its experiences and
expertise in the telecom sector with the authorities concerned and bodies in
the South Asian region," Leghari said while addressing the inaugural
session of the sixth meeting of the South Asian Telecommunication Regulators
Council (SATRC). He called for capacity building of the regulatory bodies
within the South Asian region to be updated with the newest technologies
being adopted by the telecom operators. The meeting, hosted by Pakistan
Telecommunication Authority (PTA), is being attended by delegates from Afghanistan,
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Referring to the role played by PTA, he said what it has achieved over the
last one year in ensuring an absolutely transparent and open auctioning of
licences in the mobile and fixed-line sectors and the allocation of frequency
spectrum is quite remarkable. He said it was necessary to keep the regulatory
bodies out of government control to help them to be able to take care of the
interests of consumers and business community and in Pakistan the decision to
take PTA out of the government control was taken to keep a balance between
the formulation and implementation of policies in the sector. He said
regulatory bodies had an important role to play in the promotion of information
communication technologies which had gained importance all over the world of
being the most crucial sector contributing towards socio-economic
development. The minister said the government was aggressively encouraging
the private sector to participate in the growth of telecom sector and the
idea behind granting licences to two more mobile phone operators and dozens
of LDI and WLL operators was to bring some measure of pressure on the
incumbent which had failed to penetrate the market in accordance with the
demand. Leghari said that the entire landscape of telecommunication sector in
the country would change within the next two years with the creation of
40,000 to 50,000 jobs and investment of $4 to $5 billion that would bring
about economic stability and make telecommunication facility accessible to
people living in every nook and corner of the country. He welcomed the
initiatives and deliberations of the South Asian Telecommunication Regulatory
Council and called for more frequent interaction between the member states to
learn from each other experiences and resources.
From http://www.jang.com.pk/ 09/22/2004
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