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Korea, China, Japan Agree to Tackle
Internet Troubles Korea will team up with China and Japan to
bring Internet problems under control by establishing a joint monitoring
system this year. The Korea Information Security Agency (KISA) said Friday
that the three nations agreed to share information on rampant Internet
problems, such as worms and viruses, on a real-time basis. Toward that end,
the KISA-affiliated Korean Computer Emergency Response Team (KrCERT) will
create an English-language Web site with its counterparts in China and Japan.
The three nations will update real time reports on new viruses or worms at
the envisioned site. ``Up until now, we would ask emergency teams in Japan or
China in person to check on new worms or Internet crimes,’’ KrCERT head Kim
Woo-han said. ``By using the Web site, however, we will be able to monitor
the online nuisances in Japan and China at any time, which will be crucial to
helping us contain them in our country.’’ The Web site will also deal with
other problems such as cyber threats, e-mail spam and phishing. Phishing is the
use of e-mail and Web sites to trick users into giving information that will
be used for identity theft. After successfully making the joint site with its
two partners, KrCERT plans to invite other Asian countries to join the
program in 2006. ``If the three nations can create a model with this site, we
can enlarge the scope of cross-border cooperation against cyber crimes,’’ Kim
said. Korea boasts the world’s highest per capita Internet connection with
about 12 million out of 15.5 million households hooked up to the high-speed
Internet. The combined Internet users of Korea, Japan and China amount to 200
million, accounting for more than 30 percent of the world’s total Web
surfers. Kim added that other countries that may participate in the Web site
include Singapore, Australia, Taiwan, Vietnam and Malaysia. ``Our ultimate
goal is to build up a worldwide network to share information about online
crimes and glitches in real time so that they can be kept at bay,’’ Kim said.
(by Kim Tae-gyu)
ITU Launches New Development
Initiative to Bridge the Digital Divide Geneva — The International Telecommunication
Union today launched a major new development drive designed to bring access
to information and communication technologies (ICTs) to the estimated one
billion people worldwide for whom making a simple telephone call remains out
of reach. Called Connect the World, the initiative is a global
multi-stakeholder effort established within the context of the World Summit
on the Information Society (WSIS) to encourage new projects and partnerships
to bridge the digital divide. By showcasing development efforts now underway
and by identifying areas where needs are the most pressing, Connect the World
will create a critical mass that will generate the momentum needed to connect
all communities by 2015. At present, ITU estimates that around 800’000
villages — or 30% of all villages worldwide — are still without any kind of
connection. Connect the World places strong emphasis on the importance of
partnerships between the public and private sectors, UN agencies and civil
society. It has 22 founding partners, including leading corporate players
such as Alcatel, Huawei, Intel, Microsoft, KDDI, Telefónica, Infosys and
WorldSpace, whose CEOs have all embraced the goals of the initiative.
Partners also include governments and government agencies including Egypt,
France, Senegal and the Korea Agency for Digital Opportunity and Promotion
(KADO), regional and international organizations including UNESCO, the
Universal Postal Union (UPU), the European Commission, the International
Telecommunication Satellite Organization, RASCOM and the United Nations Fund
for International Partnerships (UNFIP), as well as a range of organizations
from civil society including Télécoms Sans Frontières, the M S Swaminathan
Research Foundation and Child Helpline International. The initiative
comprises three key Building Blocks — Enabling Environment, Infrastructure
& Readiness, and Applications & Services — which together constitute
the primary areas that need to be addressed when developing concrete measures
to accelerate ICT development. All Connect the World founding partners have
current development projects in one or more of these areas. They will be
encouraged to develop new partnerships and initiatives, while additional
partners will be actively sought in areas not adequately covered to ensure
underserved communities get what they need where it’s needed most. Speaking
at a press conference to launch the initiative at UN headquarters in Geneva,
ITU Secretary-General Mr Yoshio Utsumi spoke of the urgent need to connect
those still deprived of ready access to ICTs. "It is time to stop
regarding access to ICTs as a privilege available to the rich few within a
country, and the rich few countries in the world," said Utsumi.
"ICTs now underpin just about every aspect of modern life. They are
basic infrastructure, as necessary to economic and social development as
postal services, banks, medical centres and schools." At present, the
942 million people living in the world’s developed economies enjoy five times
better access to fixed and mobile phone services, nine times better access to
Internet services, and own 13 times more PCs than the 85% of the world’s
population living in low and lower-middle income countries. But while figures
do show a clear improvement over the last ten years in bridging the gap
between information "haves" and "have-nots", they
nonetheless fail to paint a true picture for many rural dwellers, whose
communities are still often unserved by any form of ICT. "It is not ICTs
that will solve the problem of the digital divide, it is people and
especially people working in partnership. So while Connect the World is about
harnessing the power of ICTs, it’s also about harnessing the power of people
working together to connect the unconnected," said ITU’s Utsumi. By
providing an international platform to showcase the many innovative and
successful development initiatives already underway, ITU hopes Connect the
World will spur organizations at every level to get actively involved in
development. "Every Connect the World partner is currently working to
make a real difference. I applaud their efforts, and hope the projects they
are showcasing within this initiative will serve to stimulate new
partnerships and inspire others to join us and to launch their own development
activities," said Utsumi.
Public Strategies for Building a
Competitive Software Industry The inaugural Asia Pacific conference (28-29
June 2005, Grand Hyatt Beijing, China) is offering public sector officials
free passes. The event is being jointly organised by the China Software &
Industry Association, Computing Technology Industry Association, Beijing
Software Industry Association and the International Intellectual Property
Institute, and is being endorsed by Public Sector Technology & Management
magazine. Software innovation drives information and communications
technology which is the heart of a knowledge-based economy being pursued by
many Asia Pacific countries. Within the software industry, debate continues
about the roles of open source, free and commercial software. In reality,
there are far more common ties than differences. Both commercial and open
source software offer specific advantages and several development models can
and should coexist in healthy competition. Where differences exist, it is
helpful to have an informed dialogue on what are the implications for
businesses, developers, academia and governments.
New APDIP Publication Online: An
Overview of ICT Policies and e-Strategies of Select Asian Economies An Overview of ICT Policies and e-Strategies
of Select Asian Economies is designed to guide policy makers in incorporating
information and communication technology (ICT) policies and strategies into
their development agendas. An Overview of ICT Policies and e-Strategies of
Select Asian Economies, by Emmanuel C. Lallana, APDIP, 2004, 47p. (UNDP-APDIP
ICT4D Series), ISBN 81-8147-753-7. This publication provides a comparative
study of ICT policies and e-strategies of nine Asian countries – India,
Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka
and Vietnam. It identifies and analyzes the strengths, weaknesses,
similarities and gaps in policy formulation in Asia. It also serves to
highlight how countries have evolved within their respective framework and
environment to support their national ICT agendas. This publication is
divided into three chapters. The first chapter presents the current state of
infrastructure development in the selected countries. The second chapter
reviews the existing ICT policies in the countries. The third chapter
presents a comparison of ICT policies in the countries.
Asian Software Development Policies in
the Spotlight A two-day conference held at the end of June
in Beijing, focused the attention of more than 130 government policy-makers,
academics and IT executives on the role of consumer choice and Intellectual
Property protection in developing local software industries. Featuring an unusually
broad and comprehensive line-up of speakers, the event was characterised by
frank exchanges on the relative progress of the software sector in China,
India, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, Europe and the United States. ‘Strategies
for Building a Competitive Software Industry’ was jointly hosted by the
Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), China Software Industry
Association, Beijing Software Industry Association, the International
Intellectual Property Institute and the China Federation of Information
Technology Promotion. John Venator, President and CEO of CompTIA, chose to
address the human factor in the software industry, by drawing on the example
of a recent partnership with the United States government on the National IT
Apprenticeship System (NITAS): “The most valuable asset of a company in the
21st century is its workers’ knowledge and their productivity. A government
sponsored programme such as NITAS enables company users to track and validate
the skills development of each employee, building a foundation for on-the-job
learning and allowing companies to institutionalise lifelong learning. This
public/private partnership can be an excellent model for IT skills diffusion
and development, and can be cost-effectively replicated throughout the Asian
region.” Other speakers included Professor Zhang Qin, Deputy Comissioner of
the State Intellectual Property Office, who gave an opening address on the
actions the Chinese government was taking to crack down on Intellectual
Property theft, and making a link between increased protection for copyright
and patent holders to the successful development of China’s software
industry. Liu Dongwei, Bureau Chief of Beijing Intellectual Property Bureau
discussed some of the practical challenges the authorities faced in
introducing an effective IP regime.
E-government as Economic Stimulant Countries need to make progress with
e-government in order to improve their business environment and create new
opportunities for the private sector, says a senior executive at IBM.
According to Jeffrey Rhoda, Director of E-Government with IBM, e-government
is not only about providing better citizen services, but enhancing
effectiveness of the partnership between government and the private sector
and creating a policy environment that allows business to thrive. Boosting
efficiency through e-government is a vital part of economic policy these
days, especially in developed countries that are challenged by moderate
economic growth, tight budgets, increasing social costs and growing
competition on a global scale. Rhoda said that increased flexibility is key
to successful e-government: "The government must not only respond better
to social changes but be flexible enough to adapt to the changes in the world
economy and competition among countries."
South Korean Gov't to Expand
‘E-Learning' Project for Developing Countries The Ministry of Education and Human
Resources Development (MEHRD) will increase “e-Learning” aid to developing
countries as part of its strategy to further develop the e-learning industry
and promote international cooperation. The ministry plans to provide 3,400
personal computers of Pentium-III or earlier versions to 14 developing
countries, including 2,000 units to Mongolia. The ministry will also invite
390 teachers from those countries for training on IT. The “e-Learning
education project,” first inaugurated in 2002, has been highly praised abroad
and will be expanded to promote online education in underdeveloped countries.
With the ministry's build-up of cooperation with IT business companies, both
local and foreign, interested companies have provided software worth 3,177
million won, including 1.5 billion won worth of operating systems (OS)
donated by Microsoft Korea, 157 million won worth of word processing programs
by Haansoft and computer aided design (CAD) worth 1.5 billion won by Intel
Korea. Software developed by the Korean Language Study on the Internet
(KOSNET) will be loaded on the computers, given the rising popularity of the
Korean pop culture abroad.
Records Management for Public Sector Building greater structure for public sector
records is of uniform and growing importance globally, says Frank McGovern,
Records Management specialist with FileNet. Interview: James Smith.
"Government is government is government," says Frank McGovern,
Records Management specialist with FileNet. "My experience is that they
all share the same concerns, and although some countries are maybe a little
more advanced in the roll-out of programmes, administrations everywhere
recognise the importance of well codified and structured records."
FileNet are a US-based Enterprise Content Management firm, and McGovern
argues that the rapidly increasing volumes of information that government
agencies are having to contend with, combined with growing information
compliance requirements, is challenging administrations to put this
information to productive ends. "You've got to move away from seeing
email archiving as a storage issue. Government agencies must not start
building digital landfills. Instead they need to treat email archives as
business records; it's a resource that needs to be managed," McGovern
explains. "So before you go out an buy software, government agencies need
to look at their own records management programmes." According to
McGovern, before investing in records management government agencies need to
ask themselves a few questions: Do you have a file plan? What are your
retention and distribution practices? Are these practices current? Are they
sufficiently inclusive? He pushes the ISO 15489 standard as a framework to
evaluate an agency's processes, with a view to getting the house in order
first, before buying into the software. The ISO 15489 standard is divided
into two parts. The first provides a high level framework for recordkeeping
and specifically addresses the benefits of records management, regulatory
considerations affecting its operation and the importance of assigning of
responsibilities for recordkeeping. It also discusses high level records
management requirements, the design of recordkeeping systems and actual
processes involved in records management, such as record capture, retention,
storage, access etc. It concludes with a discussion of records management
audit operations and training requirements for all staff of an organisation.
The second part of the standard provides practical and more detailed guidance
about how to implement the framework outlined in Part 1. For example it
provides specific detail about the development of records management policy
and responsibility statements and outlines the process for developing
recordkeeping systems. "I'm seeing that governments want to standardise
on a platform in order to move collaboration forwards," McGovern adds.
"The face the challenge of multiple systems, and they need to make this
more manageable, reduce the total cost of ownership, reduce their risk, and
increase interoperability. I really see this as the key requirement within
government." "I don't think governments can afford to take a
departmental focus anymore. At the US National Archives & Records Office
they manage more than 17,000 different file types!" he reveals.
"They will need to manage this information for the life of the republic.
I think the public expects government to take a strategic approach to
handling this information. Just as citizens use technology, they now expect
government to leverage their existing investments." Greater autotmation
will not lead to a reduction in headcount, McGovern argues, if only because
government agencies will need to run just to keep up with the growth of
public sector data records. "There is now a recognition of the
importance of records management from public sector CIOs and CFOs, along with
much of the rest of senior management in public agencies," he concludes.
"They are starting to understand what records management is all about.
It has moved from the basement to the boardroom, as they look at the volumes
of information they're capturing. Government executives only need to look
around them to see that organisations are getting into hot water about how
they handle their records. Compliance doesn't just apply to the private
sector, and no agency wants to be responsible for failing on their watch. Ultimately,
the same level of scrutiny that applies to the private sector will apply to
government."
The Importance of Central Direction
for Asian E-Government V. Mathivanan, Chief Executive Officer of
Singapore-based CrimsonLogic, gives an industry perspective on the prospects
for e-government adoption in Asia. Interview: James Smith. "IT should be
viewed as an enabler of public sector productivity, it makes it easier to
automate processes and widen access to services," says V Mathivanan,
Chief Executive Officer of CrimsonLogic. "However this has to be closely
coupled with the willpower to improve the public administration, as well as
the determination to streamline the processes, which is the very best hurdle
to be overcome." Formerly known as Singapore Network Services,
CrimsonLogic was established in 1988 and has delivered a number of successful
e-government solutions both in its home market and overseas. Most recently
CrimsonLogic has contributed to e-government projects in Australia, Thailand,
The Philippines and Ghana. The latter has been cited by the World Bank as an
example of best practice. "E-government efforts in Southeast Asia are
picking up, but there is much more growth in the North Asian economies - such
as Korea, Taiwan and China," Mathivanan says. "Some parts of ASEAN
are seeing rising government spending, notably Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei
and Thailand, but other parts of ASEAN are still in the initial stage of
establishing infrastructure to e-enable their economy." He points to the
importance of a strong, central mandate for effective e-government
implementation - "politics, lack of willpower and poor infrastructure
have been the common challenges for e-government services" - and
believes that the advent of the Chief Information Officer role in the public
sector has been a catalyst for change. "The position of the CIO in the
public sector is relatively new. For example, Canada appointed the first CIO
for the Canadian government only in 1991." notes Mathivanan. "Today
other countries such as the United States, United Kingdom and Australia have
established a CIO or its equivalent who reports to the highest level of
government. In the case of Singapore, the Infocomm Development Authority of
Singapore Government Chief Information Officer plays this role very well,
ensuring that all government agencies are kept abreast of the latest relevant
technologies. More importantly it prevents duplication of IT efforts in the
public sector, just as a private sector CIO would do." "The role of
the IDA is to create guidelines. Although not all information within
government is shared, it’s a well known fact that address information can be
updated centrally in Singapore," Mathivanan continues. "This is the
foresight that comes with central planning. If one agency uses SAP, another
uses Microsoft Excel, the citizen doesn’t care, just so long as the system
works. Focusing on an agency's internal productivity enhances the effectiveness
of customer-facing applications." Mathivanan sees strong central
coordination as a key driver for e-government initiatives, disagreeing with
the idea that agencies should be left to their own devices when establishing
IT infrastructure. And yet, surprisingly, the end objective of this central
coordination is not greater pan-agency collaboration. "Do you opt for
distributed data systems or do you centralise them?" Mathivanan asks
rhetorically. "If you end up chasing after a moving target just to try
and centralise data, what's the point? Governments need to get a bite at the
cherry - they need to be able to have 80 per cent of what is currently
possible. That extra 20 per cent isn't necessary. What matters most is the
impact the service has on the citizen. Whether it comes via a centralised or
decentralised repository, the citizen doesn't care. Different agencies will
be at different rates of progress, so trying to engineer greater
collaboration as a primary goal misses the point." "Agencies need to
buy themselves time by taking action, rather than by chasing after a moving
target," he concludes. "Governments are beginning to understand
that an investment in IT is not the end but the means to an end. The goal is
to demonstrate ROI within the department and through customer service, just
as it is in the private sector. Each government will have its own approach to
e-government, but I think the level of understanding of how to roll-out
e-government has improved."
Launch of Asian Government Technology
Event The publishers of Public Sector Technology
& Management, Asia's only regional e-government print publication, are
launching the 'Government Technology Forum' to provide a venue for senior
government IT policymakers and thought leaders to network and share their
experiences of IT-enabled governance. Supported by the Asia Pacific
Development Information Programme (APDIP) of the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), the event is offering FREE delegate passes to
government/NGO officials above the level of Director.
E-government toolkit for Developing
Countries Released The toolkit, that is available on CD-ROM,
aims to demystify the concepts behind e-government and strengthen the
understanding of all those involved in the planning and execution of
e-government projects. A toolkit to help policy makers and senior executives
in developing countries on how and when to start successfully e-government
projects was recently published by UNESCO and India’s National Informatics
Centre (NIC) as a contribution to promote transparency in public
administrations and democratic processes. The toolkit offers an action
framework involving all stakeholders in developing countries including
parliamentarians, government executives, institutions as well as non
governmental organizations and guide them through various phases in their
e-government initiatives. In addition to a conceptual overview, the toolkit
includes chapters on e-readiness , the preparation of an e-government action
plan, advice on how to build human capacity, develop infrastructure and build
partnerships and discusses the issue of legislation and regulatory
frameworks. Recommendations on the creation of a national portal a single
entry point for e-government elements are also included. Finally the toolkit
includes guidance on how to develop performance indicators for e-government
plan and to assess the usability of government web sites. The toolkit
includes a number of case studies which exemplify successful e-government
initiatives, the challenges faced and the way they were addressed. The
toolkit comes as one of the contributions to the implementation of the Plan
of Action adopted at the World Summit on the Information Society (Geneva,
Switzerland, December 2005) that calls for implementing government strategies
focusing on applications aimed at innovating and promoting transparency in
public administrations and democratic processes, improving efficiency and
strengthening relations with citizens. One of the actions proposed is to
develop national e-government initiatives and services, at all levels,
adapted to the needs of citizens and business, to achieve a more efficient
allocation of resources and public goods.
Building an Effective Information
Society in Asia and the Pacific Genava - The High Level Asia-Pacific
Conference for the World Summit on the Information Society will be held in
Tehran from 31 May to 2 June 2005, jointly organized by United Nations
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), ITU
regional office for Asia and the Pacific, and the Government of the Islamic
Republic of Iran in cooperation with UNDP-APDIP. The Conference is expected
to adopt the Regional Action Plan towards an Information Society for Asia and
the Pacific, and the Tehran Declaration on Building an Information Society
and discuss follow up and implementation strategies/activities. The
Conference will also discuss progress made between the first and second
phases of WSIS, issues of Internet governance, and best practices of
financial mechanisms for ICT for development. It will deliberate on ICT for
knowledge-based disaster management with a view to formulating a regional
framework for disaster management. The outcome of the Conference will be
presented to WSIS PrepCom-3 in Geneva in September 2005.
Telecommunications Ministers Identify
Capacity Building Measures, New Technologies and Broadband Access as Key to
Regional Development APEC Telecommunications Ministers concluded
their sixth meeting by delivering a joint statement covering a broad range of
areas that are crucial for the ongoing economic development and security of
the APEC Region. Meeting in Lima, Peru, on June 1 to 3, Telecommunications
Ministers highlighted the importance of expanding access to the Internet for
all people in the Asia-Pacific as part of capacity building measures required
for the region. Ministers also drew attention to making better use of the
evolving next generation of information technology and increasing broadband
access. These and a range of other issues have now been referred to the APEC
Telecommunications Working Group (APEC TEL) for further action and
implementation. In their joint statement, the Lima Declaration, Ministers
noted the challenge faced by some developing countries as a result of limited
internal telecommunications infrastructure. Having been proactive for several
years in working to expand access to the Internet and other communications
technologies, APEC Telecommunications Ministers commended the rapid growth in
Internet access in the APEC region over the past five years. Since 2000
access to the Internet in the APEC Region has more than doubled, and in
applauding this achievement, Ministers called for continued efforts to
realize the APEC goal of tripling Internet access by the end of 2005. This
measurement will require strengthened statistical gathering capacity in order
to undertake an assessment of progress in early 2006. Ministers also
confirmed the importance of life-long learning in enhancing human capacity
development for all age groups and genders, as well as for people with
disabilities or special needs. Ministers have instructed the APEC
Telecommunications Working Group to explore different approaches to human
resource development, such as a possible e-university to assist e-government
and continue TEL e-Learning initiatives. Ministers also lent their ongoing
support to work on next-generation networks (NGNs) that impact on a number of
areas including security, trade facilitation and capacity building.
Recognizing the challenges and opportunities posed by the rapid technological
advancement and convergence of telecommunications services, Ministers
instructed APEC TEL to explore innovative NGN approaches arising from new
technologies and services. APEC TEL will now undertake a review of the current
APEC 'Principles of Interconnection' in light of issues raised by the
transition to NGN, including the inter-operability of services and networks.
Ministers also called for the APEC TEL to assist with the expansion of
broadband information infrastructure. This includes encouraging Member
Economies to implement the APEC 'Key Principles for Broadband Development' as
each economy gains capabilities and continue to work on policy issues related
to broadband including broadband for small and medium enterprises, emergency
response and disaster mitigation and service industries. In regard to the
importance of ensuring the security and integrity of the APEC region's
communications infrastructure, Ministers instructed APEC TEL to continue its
work on information security aimed at trusted, secure and sustainable online
environment.
X-Internet Will Dominate Next Decade:
Colony A market researcher yesterday projected the
extended Internet, or X-Internet, will be the buzzword of the next decade in
the high-tech world. George Colony, chairman of the U.S.-based consultancy
Forest Researcher, yesterday made the prediction on the sidelines of the
Seoul Digital Forum 2005 and World ICT Summit. ``From 1995 to 2005,
connection was made by every company and every customer via the Web. From
2005 to 2015, connection will be made between every company and every
product,’’ Colony said. He said the ubiquitous linkage between firms and
products can be called the X-Internet, connecting the physical world of
things to the digital world of information. ``As the X-Internet catches on
afterwards, there will be 14 billion devices hooked up to the Internet by
2020 from the current 1 billion,’’ Colony predicted. He added the radio
frequency identification (RFID) tags, the small integrated circuit chips that
are replacing current barcodes, are the first wave of the X-world.
``Companies have started putting radio tags into tires, jet engines and heavy
machines. All these connect those physical devices to the Internet,’’ he
said. Disputes on Future of Cell Phone Colony opposed the widespread belief
that mobile handsets will become the most significant device by contending
that the digital home is much more important. ``Qualcomm believes everything
will happen on cell phones. But we think up to 12 industries will compete for
the digital home (the most promising business) and the handset is not one of
them,’’ Colony said. Instead, he projected the personal computer will have
the best shot at becoming the tool of controlling digital home and three
industries _ cable companies, PC companies and gaming companies _ will
compete to preempt the digital home rivalry. Under such a negative evaluation
on the cell phone’s future, he said the outlooks of the mushrooming
video-on-the-go services like the digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) are
not rosy. ``DMB will have some changes but it will have limited applications
because a cell phone is not a good place to watch a movie (due to its tiny
monitor),’’ Colony foretold. Korea started satellite-based DMB services,
which allow people on the move to enjoy seamless video, theater-quality radio
and data through cell phones, commercially early this year. Irwin Jacobs,
chairman of the U.S. mobile chipmaker Qualcomm, disagreed with Colony in a
separate press conference. ``The cell phone is gaining an ever-increasing
capability and that will continue. The size of the screen, network and
functionality are now issues but cell phones will be providing more computing
power in the future,’’ Jacobs said. The Seoul Digital Forum, the annual
industry conference, and the World ICT Summit, the gathering of global IT
ministers, yesterday opened its curtain at the Shilla Hotel in central Seoul.
Hundreds of government officials, IT experts and businesspeople from across
the world participated the opening ceremony, attended also by president Roh
Moo-hyun. Mindful of the meeting’s theme of ubiquitous, Roh said, ``Korea is
now applying ubiquitous technologies to every field of the society. We hope
such efforts will help us become a model nation in the ubiquitous era.’’ (by
Kim Tae-gyu)
Asian SMEs to Spend More on Computers Asian small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) outside Japan will spend nearly US$10 billion on personal computers
(PCs) and servers this year, a technology research firm said in Singapore
yesterday. Notebook computers are also gaining popularity among such
companies as workforces become more mobile, IDC Asia Pacific said in a press
statement. "The PC market is essentially a more mature market, with
growth arising from SMEs in developing countries like India and China,"
said Lau Tong-Yen, senior analyst at IDC. For developed markets such as
Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan, expenditure on desktops and
notebooks will gradually shrink as more money is devoted to product
replacement, Lau said. IDC predicted that SMEs in the region will spend about
US$9.1 billion on PCs and just over US$800 million on servers this year. It
also expected SMEs to gradually increase their contribution to the region's
overall expenditure on PCs and servers from 28 percent last year to 31
percent in 2008. More firms are also opting for notebook rather than desktop
PCs, with the former's share of total PC spending among SMEs in the region
rising to about 38 percent last year from 29 percent in 2002, IDC said. It
expects the percentage to continue rising due mainly to the increase in
mobile workforces within the region, improvements in the reliability and
functionality of notebooks and declining prices.
Asian Organisations Face Greater
Electronic Document Risk Global research shows businesses in Asia
more exposed to electronic document security and audit risks. A recently
published research report entitled The Risk of Sharing in Asia, shows that
businesses in Asia face high levels of exposure to document related security
and compliance risks, even though the respondents were more comfortable and
dependent on electronically generated documents than their colleagues in
other parts of the world. Commissioned by Workshare, the research was
conducted by independent research consultancy Loudhouse, across Beijing, Hong
Kong and Singapore. This new report on Asia follows a similar study, also
commissioned by Workshare in January 2005 across Australia, United Kingdom
and United States. The objective of both studies was to assess the extent of
organisations' exposure to security and compliance risks in relation to
documents generated and distributed electronically. It also revealed the
scale of awareness levels, and efficiency of processes that impact the integrity
of documents. Collectively, the two research studies provide strong evidence
that document integrity and content security are global business issues.
While some of the findings in Asia echoed those of other regions, there are
some distinct differences that point to a more acute risk amongst businesses
in Asia: The research revealed higher levels of compliance in Asia; an
average of 40 per cent of documents in Asia are subject to regulatory control
against a global average of 24 per cent. 87 per cent of businesses in Asia,
compared to the global average of 51 per cent, place high importance on
document security. However, it is surprising that as much as 51 per cent of
the Asian respondents, compared to the global average of 26 per cent, are of
the opinion that electronic document processes are inconsistent and
subjective. This implies that whilst security is of higher importance in
Asia, processes are less well defined than anywhere else in the world.
Underscoring these findings is the high comfort level business users in Asia
place on working with 'softcopy' documents. As much as 44 per cent of the
respondents revealed that they prefer on screen document amendment and
approval, compared to the global average of 22 per cent. Only one in four of
the Asian respondents was aware of hidden data in documents and the high risk
of inadvertent information disclosure. Metadata is data about data, which is
hidden inside every single document. If harmful metadata or hidden data is
not removed before the document is sent electronically, it could have severe
consequences as the respondent could see confidential information you don't
want them to see. According to Andrew Pearson, General Manager, Asia Pacific
at Workshare, "Most organisations are completely aware of the 'outside-in'
security threats to their organisation but few are aware of the 'inside-out'
threat. Security measures such as anti-spam, and virus protection, are in
place to prevent 'outside-in' threats, but Asian organisations are failing to
realise that the threat from within their organisation is just as great, and
potentially more damaging. This new study shows there is a greater lack of
awareness amongst Asian businesses which is surprising for such risk adverse
organisations." The information in the report suggests that if processes
do not change, businesses in Asia will find themselves under increasing
pressure as the need for greater security and document integrity increases.
"The Risk of Sharing in Asia Report explores the integrity and efficiency
of a process that is pervasive across most areas of business. Any
organisation that creates information, captures it in a document and shares
that information with others in electronic format, should find the research
findings a must-have tool when looking to implement or upgrade their document
integrity and content security processes," Andrew concludes.
Experts Strive to Boost Asia-Pacific
Broadband Access Bangkok — Leading experts from government
and the private sector will meet at Impact Muang Thong Thani in Bangkok,
Thailand from 3 to 5 August 2005 to discuss the challenges of speeding up
broadband availability throughout Asia-Pacific. Hosted by Thailand’s Ministry
of Information and Communications Technology (MICT) and held in conjunction
with the Bangkok International ICT Expo 2005, the third Forum of the Regional
Working Group (RWG) on Private Sector Issues for the Asia and Pacific Region
will examine the policy and regulatory issues hampering faster deployment of
broadband in many parts of the region, and will look at ways of breaking down
the barriers of high costs and lack of enabling frameworks. Competition
policy approaches like low-cost broadband solutions for rural areas, promotion
of WiMax technology, use of wireless broadband in countries with difficult
terrain, and infrastructure sharing are expected to rank high on the agenda.
Participants are also expected to consider access regulation, interconnection
and cross-ownership, as well as interconnection dispute resolution. Case
studies on licence fees and interconnection charges will also be discussed.
Increasingly, broadband is the basic infrastructure of the knowledge economy.
For a growing number of countries, ready access to broadband will be crucial
to achieving their socio-economic goals and development objectives. Broadband
not only offers faster speeds, but its "always-on" nature allows
for richer content and more diverse services while providing for shared connections
across multiple users. From a socio-economic perspective, broadband
connectivity is helping establish an "information society",
encouraging innovation, stimulating economic growth, and attracting foreign
investment. Broadband also holds the promise of new applications and services
that will attract users and help recover infrastructure development costs.
The third in a series of events created by ITU to discuss ICT policy issues
of relevance to the private sector, the Forum expects to attract around one
hundred participants from government, regulatory agencies and the industry.
Almost Half of Asia Pacific Developers
Plan to Increase Use of Open Source, New Evans Data Survey Evans Data's new Spring 2005 Asia Pacific
(APAC) Development Survey has found that 47% of APAC developers are
increasing their adoption of open source in the next year. Only 25% of
developers in North America expect to increase their use of open source next
year. Only 4% of the APAC developers expect to decrease the use of open
source in the next twelve months. APAC developers contribute back to the open
source community more, 44%, than their North American counterparts, 32%.
Additionally, almost 70% of APAC developers believe that Linux can be used in
mission-critical deployments compared to 57% in North America. "There's
a direct correlation between developers who use Java and the use of open
source software modules in development, the greater the use of Java the more
likely the developer utilizes open source," said Steve Fullmer, Evans
Data's APAC and North American analyst. "We've also found this trend in
the enterprise space in North America, greater use of Java corresponds
clearly with a greater acceptance and use of open source resources."
Other findings from the July 2005 survey of more than 400 developers in the
Asia-Pacific region: Six months ago, APAC adoption of 64 bit technology was
flat but Evans Data has found that the number of developers without
intentions to develop to 64-bit technology has dropped by almost 60% from 35%
six months ago to 15% today. Companies with strong security practices have
maintained their security but the number of respondents victimized by
security breaches has slightly increased to 74% along with an increase in the
diversity and form of the attacks. Many of the breaches could be resolved by
applying standard Microsoft patches and upgrades on a regular basis.
ICT in APEC - Excerp from Statement by
Ambassador Choi Seok Young
THigh Level
Asia-Pacific Conference for the World Summit on the Information Society The conference is jointly organized by the
Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, APDIP, UN Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the Pacific, International Telecommunication Union’s
regional office for Asia and the Pacific, and other partners. The High Level
Asia-Pacific Conference for the World Summit on the Information Society takes
place in Tehran from 31 May to 2 June 2005. The conference is jointly
organized by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, APDIP, UN
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, International
Telecommunication Union’s regional office for Asia and the Pacific, and other
partners. The Conference is expected to adopt the Tehran Declaration on
Building the Information Society in Asia and the Pacific and the Regional
Action Plan towards the Information Society for Asia and the Pacific and
discuss follow up and implementation strategies / activities. The Conference
will discuss progress made in between the first and second phases of the
World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), including the issues of
Internet governance and financial mechanisms for ICT for development. It will
also deliberate on the use of ICTs for knowledge-based disaster management
with a view to formulate a regional framework for disaster management. The
outcomes of the Conference will be presented to the WSIS PrepCom 3 in Geneva
in September 2005. A paper entitled: “Voices from Asia-Pacific: Internet
Governance Priorities and Recommendations,” has been developed for the
Conference. This paper captures the results of the Open Regional Dialogue on
Internet Governance (ORDIG) – an APDIP initiative created to understand
governance priorities in the Asia-Pacific region, and provide Asia-Pacific
perspectives to the United Nations Working Group on Internet Governance
(UN_WGIG) and the WSIS. This paper documents findings from an extensive
regional survey, an online discussion forum and a wide range of other
research activities. It also contains an extensive discussion of Asian views
and opinions on Internet Governance. As a supplement to this paper, a policy
brief and executive summary has been developed.
World Mayors Exchange Ideas in Beijing More than 300 local government leaders from
around the world are gathering in Beijing for the World Mayors Forum which opens
today. Top of the agenda are discussions on coping with natural and man-made
disasters and how best to meet the United Nations (UN) Millennium Development
Goals. Speaking to China Daily yesterday, President of the Chinese People's
Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) Chen Haosu said
the forum was a chance for foreign delegates to see China's achievements.
"Through this event we intend to express our hospitality and showcase
our development," he said. "We also want to push for more
international co-operation and discuss different ways of achieving local
government goals through international co-operation. "Most of all, we
want this to be a chance for mayors around the world to gain more
understanding of China," he said. Founded last year, it is the first
time the World Organization of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) has
held its mayors' forum in China. French delegate Georges Morin, deputy mayor
of Gieres and vice-president of Cites Unies France (United Cities of France),
was eager to learn from local government officials from China and around the
world. "It will benefit cities for their mayors and administrators to
sit down for an exchange. It is a great opportunity to be here in Beijing and
to discuss the goal of local government exchanges," he said. Morin added
that the China-France Culture Year has so far been a successful example of
cultural exchange between international cities. The CPAFFC's Chen, who is
also vice-president of UCLG, said more public participation would be
encouraged in local government-to-local government exchange programmes.
"In the China-France Culture Year, women from China have given street
performances in Paris and the giant bell from the Bastille is now on display
in Beijing. This is the first time it has ever left France, and now every
Beijing citizen can go and see it." Chen said the forum is being held in
preparation for the Millennium Summit review in New York in September. At
that meeting, UCLG will be advocating the creation of an officially recognized
advisory role for local governments in the UN. The UN Millennium Development
Goal has pledged development on a wide range of topics including poverty
reduction, gender equality, children's rights, and disaster management. Some
of these points have been listed on the agenda of the Beijing forum.
"Local governments are closer to the people. They have to deal directly
with issues like employment and public welfare. Because they can more easily
pick up on public feeling, they provide a bridge between central governments
and ordinary people," Chen said.
APDIP Presents Internet Governance
Priorities and Recommendations from Asia-Pacific at the Fourth WGIG Meeting
in Geneva Mr. Shahid Akhtar, Chief Technical Advisor
and Programme Coordinator of APDIP presented findings in the Open Regional
Dialogue on Internet Governance (ORDIG) Input Paper and Policy Brief -
"Voices from Asia-Pacific" - at the Fourth Meeting of the Working Group
on Internet Governance (WGIG) in Geneva, Switzerland, 14-17 June 2005. ORDIG
has been a comprehensive assessment of views on Internet Governance in the
Asia-Pacific region. In line with WGIG principles, it was an inclusive
multi-stakeholder partnership from the very beginning, and a concerted effort
was made to involve all affected groups in the production of both the input
paper and policy brief. Both reports were tabled at the High-Level Asia
Pacific Conference for the World Summit on the Information Society in Tehran,
Islamic Republic of Iran, 31 May - 2 June 2005, and referenced in the Tehran
Declaration. The full text of report was also shared with the WGIG
Secretariat. APDIP implemented ORDIG in collaboration with UNESCAP and the
Asia-Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC), and with the support of IDRC
of Canada.
2008 World Congress on Electrical
Equipment Certification Due in Seoul South Korea will host the general assembly
meeting of the Certification Management Committee of the International
Electrotechnical Commission for Conformity Testing and Certification of
Electrical Equipment (IECEE-CMC) for the first time in 2008, the Korean
Agency for Technology and Standards said on Tuesday (July 5). A delegation
composed of public officials and civilians successfully won the right to host
the 11th session of IECEE-CMC, together with an international forum on
certification of electrical equipment, at the close of the 8th two-day
session in Shanghai, China on June 30, said the agency under the Ministry of
Commerce, Industry and Energy. The IECEE operates an international scheme,
known as the CB (Certification Body) Scheme to get rid of obstacles to the
trade of electrical equipment for use both at homes and offices. The CB
Scheme is based on the principle of mutual recognition or reciprocal
acceptance by its member states of test results for obtaining certification
or approval at a national level. The international forum will help the
nation's exporting companies understand world trends in testing and
certificating electrical equipment, serving as a momentum to promote export.
IECEE, set up in 1985 to simplify the certifying procedures and promote
international trade of electrical equipment, consists of 42 member states.
International e-Government Conference Notice and write up on International
Conference on: E-Governance in the Developing World: Best Practices and
Critical Success Factors. (Hyderabad, India, July 29-31, 2005) Organized by
the Administrative Staff College of India and the Commonwealth Centre for
e-Governance, Canada. Co-sponsored by the Commonwealth Secretariat, London,
UK. Full conference details at: www.egov2005.com This 3-day event, which will
explore a diversity of issues regarding the evolution of e-Governance in
developing countries, will be held July 29-31, 2005 in Hyderabad, India. A
call for papers is included in the announcement. (by Thomas Riley)
PSTM Government Technology Forum
Launched PSTM Government Technology Forum 05 (5th
October, The Fullerton, Singapore) will provide a unique opportunity for
senior regional government policy-makers to share their experience of
IT-enabled government before an audience of PSTM readers. The Forum is an
opportunity for senior public sector officials from around the region to meet
face-to-face and discuss the technology issues that challenge them. The
unique format of the event - a day of roundtable discussions held behind
closed doors in front of a Director-level audience of regional officials -
provides an effective platform for a frank exchange of ideas and genuine peer
learning. A series of networking opportunities throughout the day will enable
delegates and speakers to build new relationships of lasting value. Delegates
to Government Technology Forum 05 will benefit from interacting with seven
roundtable discussions. Each roundtable features leading government officials
and opinion-formers from around Asia Pacific – and the day-long programme
will address the following key themes: Architecting next generation government;
Proprietary vs. Open Source Software; Technology & the reform of
governance; Public sector IT governance; Citizen-centric government; Public
Private Partnership; and, Securing government systems.
2005 Government & Health
Technologies Forums The Leading IT Event for Government &
Health Sectors, August 30-31, 2005, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Ottawa, Canada. The
2005 GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGIES FORUM and 2005 HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES FORUM are the
premier learning and networking events for IT professionals from all levels
of government and health services in Canada, including the federal and MASH
(Municipalities, Academic Institutions, Schools and Hospitals) sectors. Both
of these important IT conferences will be hosted simultaneously at the Crowne
Plaza Hotel in downtown Ottawa. Delegates at these events will discuss many
Government and Health initiatives and solutions, including Information
Management, Privacy, Security, Government to Citizen (G2C) Electronic Service
Delivery, e-Health, Government Portals, Health Technologies, IT Outsourcing
and many others. REGISTER NOW using promotion code: PSTM to receive a free
1-Session Conference Pass or to purchase Conference Day passes. For more
information about the 2005 Government & Health Technologies Forums,
please contact (+1) 416 292 0038 ext. 821 or visit: http://e-gov.wowgao.com.
APT Telecom Operations Forum Held The Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT)
Operations Forum (AOF) was held at the Convention and Exhibition Center
(COEX) in southern Seoul July 28-29, co-hosted by the Ministry of Information
and Communication and the APT. Some 200 government officials, telecom service
providers, equipment and device manufacturers and experts from 21 countries
attended the forum. In a congratulatory speech, Vice
Information-Communication Minister Roh Jun-hyong explained the significance
of the forum at a time when Asia is emerging as a mecca for information
technology and as a big market. Vice Minister Roh suggested promoting
exchanges of services and technologies on private level so that Asia can lead
the world's IT market.
5th Annual Forum on City
Informatization in the Asia-Pacific Region (CIAPR V) The Forum took place in Shanghai, China from
30-31 May 2005, and proved to be a full success. More than 900 participants
from 100 cities of 41 countries attended this grand event. It was
co-organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
(UN/DESA) and co-sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), the United Nations Industry Development Organization (UNIDO), the
United Nations Information and Communication Technologies Task Force (UN ICT
TF), the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), the
State Council Informatization Office of China, the Ministry of Science and
Technology of China, the Ministry of Information Industry of China, the
Ministry of Commerce of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the
Shanghai Municipal People's Government. Focusing on the theme of “ICT for
Development,” the Forum was divided into two parts: Plenary session and 10
parallel sessions. A UN Public Service Awards Awarding Ceremony was also
held: Singapore won one of the awards for its open application system on
integrated services (OASIS), while Mr. Yang Xiong, Vice Mayor of Shanghai
Municipal Government, was awarded for his personal contribution to the public
service. The second day's parallel sessions became the heated focus and
feature for the forum event with respectively typical theme as follows: The
Open Consultations on a Global Alliance for ICT for Development (UN ICT Task
Force); Workshop on City Management Decision-making and City Informatization
Indexes (UNIDO); UNDESA Ad Hoc Group of Expert Meeting on Knowledge
Management in Public Administration; The Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting for
Preparation of the II World Summit of Cities and Local Authorities on the
Information Society-Bilbao Summit 2005 (UNITAR); Forum on Informatization
Development; Session for Integration of Efficient Customs & Logistic
Information in the Yangtze River Delta; Session for Science & Education
in e-Age; W2i Digital Cities Convention: The Frontier of Broadband Wireless
Applications; The International Forum on the Construction of Ubiquitous
Digital Society; and, Session for Information Development and Sharing for
e-Governance. For further information, go to: URL:
http://www.apcity.org/en/index.jsp, or http://www.unpan.org/CDROM-CIAPR/fram(1)/fram/fram/EN/fram5-EN.htm
Emergency Communications Asia 2005 Emergency Communications Asia 2005 will be
held in 8 - 10 November 2005, Inter-Continental Pudong, Shanghai, China.
Emergency Communications Asia 2004 was a roaring success. This inaugural
event brought in 230 speakers, delegates and sponsors from 7 to 8 December
2004 in Shanghai, China. The Asia Pacific is undoubtedly the world’s most
exciting region for emergency communications investment and development.
Emergency Communications Asia 2005 now into its 2nd year is the director
level, strategic conference for the Asian emergency communications industry,
with representation from every key country in Asia and from all stakeholders.
The event will feature regional updates on current and future emergency
communications development with key presentations from both the Asia Pacific
region and internationally. Emergency Communications Asia 2005 provides an
unsurpassed platform for senior communications executives from the first
responder community to meet, network and discuss.
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CHINA: Beijing to Adopt
"Electronic Guide" The Tourism Administration of Beijing has
announced that twenty major scenic spots in the capital will be equipped with
electronic guidance facilities before the 2008 Olympics. The new electronic
guidance facilities can provide services such as intelligent tours, automatic
and simultaneous introduction as well as electronic maps. The facilities have
been operating in the Forbidden City for several days, and will be installed
in 19 other scenic spots by 2008. In addition, other tourist facilities such
as travel brochures, bilingual signs, parking lots, ticket offices, snack
shops, and public toilets will be reconstructed in the 20 tourist sites
before the opening of the Olympics.
Long-term Mechanism to Watch over Internet Cafes China's State Councilor Chen Zhili stressed
Friday the establishment of a long-term mechanism to monitor Internet cafes
to ensure teenagers' healthy growth. Although the Internet cafe market order
has been improved since a rectification campaign launched last year,
strengthening management over Internet cafes remains a long-term and arduous
task, she said at a national meeting on the trial establishment of a
long-term Internet cafe management mechanism. In setting up such a mechanism,
efforts should be focused on strict law enforcement, monitoring, social
supervision and industry self-discipline, she said. She also emphasized that
families and schools should shoulder more responsibilities in educating the
young, and parents should be particularly reminded of their foremost
responsibilities as guardians of the kids. Nine cities including Beijing,
Shanghai and Chengdu will take part in the pilot program.
E-Waste Treatment Plant to Debut in
Beijing Supported by state-owned China Huaxing
Group, the e-waste center has been located in Yizhuang, a major manufacturing
base in the southeastern part of Beijing. Experts predict Beijing will
produce 115,200 tons of e-waste in 2006 alone, including 3.576 million units
of wasted TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, air-conditioners and personal
computers and 2.345 million units of cell phones. In 2010, experts say
Beijingers will be throwing away 158,300 tons of e-waste. As illegal e-waste
collection has caused serious pollution to the environment and harmed human's
health, China is expected to enforce regulations governing the treatment of
waste electronic equipment this year.
State Pushes TV Network Digitalization The State Administration of Radio, Film and
TV (SARFT) yesterday made an unusual move, giving the green light for private
capital to be invested in the digitalization of China's TV network. This is
an attempt to push forward the slow transformation from an analog system to a
digital one. SARFT yesterday published a circular on its website that
requires all digital TV trial cities to speed up the transformation from
analog TV programmes to digital TV programmes. The administration said
State-owned TV broadcasting and production organizations can introduce
private capital into the transformation process on condition that the
State-owned organizations take 51 per cent of the joint ventures. TV
broadcasters are also allowed to co-operate, invest, or even acquire
counterparts in other regions to expand their business. This is another major
development as broadcasters and network operators are usually allowed to
conduct businesses only in their own regions. "SARFT is very
dissatisfied with the progress of the deployment of digital TV, so the
circular is just a step to accelerate that process," said Zeng Huiming,
editor of the Radio and TV Information (RTI) magazine, under SARFT. Zhang Haitao,
vice-minister of SARFT, said in March that digitalization is something vital
to the TV and radio industry, which should use it as a tool to speed up their
reforms and increase competitiveness in their competition against telecom
operators and new technologies. In 2003, SARFT planned to have 30 million
digital TV subscribers by the end of 2005, but according to RTI there were
only 1.07 million households watching digital TV programmes by the end of
2004. SARFT, trying to accelerate the pace, decided to launch a total
transformation strategy based on the Qingdao model, in which TV viewers in
one city or residential area are encouraged to adopt digital TV. They get a
free set-top digital box if they promise to pay subscription fees for a
number of years. However, money has become a problem for cable TV operators
because a set-top box usually sells for 500 yuan (US$60). Firms do not have
sufficient capital to buy those boxes first and then wait to get repaid from
subscriptions . The introduction of private capital aims to ease this
situation. At the same time, the SARFT circular also encourages cable TV
operators to apply for loans under an agreement between SARFT and the China
Development Bank to encourage the deployment of digital TV. They can also
apply for an exemption of business tax, which has already been achieved in
Qingdao, a coastal city in East China and a pilot city. SARFT also encourages
operators to talk to their local governments about subscription fees, which
vary from 12 yuan (US$1.4) to 18 yuan (US$2.17) per month. (by Liu Baijia)
Beijing Issues 7 Mln Second-Generation
ID Cards Some 7.09 million
"second-generation" ID cards have been issued to residents in
Chinese capital by June 30, China New Network reported. A total of 5.25
million cards were issued in the first half of this year, fulfilling the
five-million target six months ahead of schedule. All Beijing residents can
have their new ID cards within 30 days of applying. Citizens must show ID
cards when registering for marriage, traveling by air, checking in at hotels
and opening bank accounts. The "second-generation" ID cards, which
have embedded computer-chips, were first launched in Beijing, Shanghai and
Suzhou in March 2004. The nationwide distribution officially started in 2005.
The project to upgrade ID cards for 800 million Chinese adults is scheduled
to be complete by the end of 2008.
Campus Websites Eye Registration The operators of online campus bulletin
boards from 65 universities throughout the country are discussing a
suggestion that they force students to register with their real names before
they can post messages. The suggestion was originally put forward by the
Ministry of Education earlier this year, and is currently being discussed at
a summer camp for the Webmasters of campus chat rooms. While several of the
city's top schools, such as Fudan and Jiao Tong universities, already require
students to register with their real names, many smaller schools allow
students to use nicknames and set up multiple accounts. Some webmaster
complain that students found posting pornography, personal attacks, or other
forbidden content can't be effectively banned if they have registered under
an alias. The suggested rule was applauded by most campus Webmasters
attending the five-day summer camp. A recent survey indicated that 95 percent
of university students frequently visit their campus BBS Websites. Each
student spends at least one hour every day chatting with other students or
reading the articles others have posted. The new regulation would make the
application process more complicated and cause some trouble for BBS users and
Webmasters. Zhong wei, the Webmaster at Harbin Industrial University, said
that he and his staff have had to check thousands of new applications, about
one-third of which are approved.
Govt to Promote Internet Cafe Business The Chinese Ministry of Culture recently set
up a special organ to promote the country's 113,000 Internet parlors, which
have a yearly income of 25.68 billion yuan (about US$3.2 billion). The new
organ, known as the Center for the Promotion of the Internet Cafe Industry,
is subordinate to the Ministry of Culture. China has more than 100 million
Internet surfers. Though many families and offices have internet access,
internet bars receive some 40 million people a day, according to official figures.
A total of 1,056,000 people are hired by Internet parlors with 8.28 million
set of computers, and the industry has brought revenues of 128.2 billion yuan
(about US$18 billion) to auxiliary enterprises.
CHINA: New Rules Set for Online Game
Content China was to release a set of new rules to
vet the content of online games as part of a campaign to combat their harmful
influences on the young, State media said. "The move is part of
governmental efforts to purify the content of online games, prompted by
strong public pleas," the Xinhua news agency reported. Under new rules
drawn up by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Information Industry
to be released soon, game manufacturers were required to revise game rules
that might lead to addiction, it said. The two ministries will also recommend
a number of healthy "premium games" endorsed by the government to
youngsters during the summer vacation. "Players of online games are
mostly people under 35 years old," Zhang Xinjian, an official with the
Ministry of Culture, was quoted as saying. "These people are prone to
the negative influences of sex, violence and other types of unhealthy content
of online games." The report quoted the example of a 13-year-old boy who
leaped to his death from a 24-floor building in a flying posture, after
leaving a note saying he was joining three friends, who were characters of an
online game. The Ministry of Culture has already banned 50 electronic games
earlier this year, including FIFA Soccer 2005 and Microsoft's Age of
Mythology. Xinhua said China now had 23 million online game players, a surge
from 13.8 million in 2003. China's Internet population reached 94 million at
the end of last year and saw sales of online games in 2004 soar 47.9 percent
to 2.47 billion yuan (US$298.44 million).
Digital TV Standards Being Drafted in
China News from the 2005 China Digital TV Forum
which was held on Thursday indicates that numerous standards in the realm of
China's digital TV are being discussed or being drafted. China's television
makers have raised a "standard" counter-offensive in the era of
digital TV. Dr. Zhang Subing, technical director with the China monitoring
center for digital TV standards, revealed that China plans to establish a
total of 85 standards in digital TV, of which six have been approved by the
Ministry of Information Industry (MII), 22 drafts are being studied by MII,
11 drafts have been completed but not yet submitted to MII and the remaining
46 standards are still being worked on. Digital TV standards include basic
standards, product specs and functional standards, product test standards,
connectivity standards, critical parts standards, interface standards etc. Of
these, there are three basic standards and seven connectivity standards to be
implemented by MII. In addition, there are also digital data broadcast and
information standards and some are still being drafted. But the one
attracting the greatest attention is the ground transmission standard. Dr.
Zhang said that at present there are three news being melded and no known
publication time.
IRAN: Gov’t
Coordinated ICT Development Minister of Information Communication and
Technology (ICT) Ahmad Motamedi said here on Thursday that the government is
convinced that ICT development is a must, stressing that the Khatami
administration managed to make the necessary coordination among various state
sections on the key issue. Speaking at the closing ceremony of the Second
Seminar on Customs and Information Technology (IT), the minister said vital
infrastructure for ICT development was created during President Khatami’s
tenure.“Making an ICT-related coordination among various sections of the
ruling establishment was probably one of the most important and complex tasks
the Khatami administration implemented over the past years,“ he said, adding
that several billion rials were invested in ICT projects during the Third
Plan (2000-2005). He praised what he said was the ’crucial role’ of private
companies in developing the IT sector, saying the Internet cafes need greater
support. The ICT minister further noted that the process of accession to the
World Trade Organization (WTO) requires Iran to develop e-commerce, stressing
that modern technologies have to be employed to this effect. He said customs
offices need to do away with traditional systems in order to pave the way for
the development of e-commerce. Some 45 percent of the country’s customs
offices currently use the Automated System for Customs DataDA) software. Iran
is planning to digitalize 100 percent of its customs activities. Earlier, the
head of Iran’s Customs Administration announced that customs services will
soon be fully digitalized, adding that travelers will no longer need to go to
customs offices to obtain clearance, once the digitalization process is
completed. Massoud Karbasian said following efforts to implement ASICUDA in
customs offices nationwide, ’electronic customs’ would be materialized. Some
98 percent of customs activities at points of imports, exports and transit
have already been mechanized.
JAPAN: White Paper 2005 of Information
and Communications The contents of the White Paper 2005 of
Information and Communications in Japan are as follows: I.Use of Ubiquitous
Networks by Individuals and Companies 1. u-Japan 2. People’s Expectations for
Ubiquitous Networks 3. Trend in Corporate Use of Ubiquitous Networks 4.
Example Use of Ubiquitous Networks 5. Japan’s Future Challenges and Solutions
Using Ubiquitous Networks II.ICT Use by Individuals 1. Progress in ICT Use 2.
Changes in People’s Lives 3. Stimulation of Communication 4. Online Shopping
5. Contents III.ICT Use by Companies 1. Enhanced Use of ICT 2. Expansion of
E-Commerce 3. Expansion of New Businesses Using ICT IV.Network Infrastructure
Supporting u-Japan 1. Progress of Broadband 2. Progress of Mobile
Communications 3. Progress of IP Networks 4. Diffusion of Terrestrial Digital
Broadcasting 5. Japan’s Advantage in Information and Communications Equipment
and Technology V.Challenges Toward Achieving u-Japan 1. Safe and Secure ICT
Use 2. Digital Divide 3. Backbone Circuit
Govt, Industry to Convene Panel on TV
Copyright Rules The Internal Affairs and Communications
Ministry and about 30 organizations, including key commercial TV
broadcasters, NHK, Internet service providers and the Japanese Society for
Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers, will establish a joint council in
July to make copyright rules on TV programs. Establishing new rules is
expected to accelerate efforts to have programs distributed via transmissions
on broadband networks, sources said. Copyright issues involving TV programs
and movies are often complicated because of the involvement of many copyright
owners, including the original author, additional scriptwriters, cast
members, music composer, and other rights holders. If TV stations rerun
programs or distribute them online in excess of the contracted number of
broadcasts, they must get approval from all copyright owners. But there are
many cases in which broadcasters cannot contact them or the production
companies holding the rights to programs have gone bankrupt. In South Korea,
copyright owners make contracts that provide for such cases and online
distribution from the beginning, so copyright arrangements are easier. As a
result, many popular Korean TV dramas, such as "Winter Sonata," are
distributed on the Web.
Tokyo Govt Issues Warning Over Sex
Sites The Tokyo metropolitan government has placed
advertisements on the sections of Internet service providers' Web sites
carrying video clips and ads for pornographic and dating service sites
warning that visitors to the sites may be billed at exorbitant rates. The
Tokyo metropolitan government's ad can be seen on the top pages of Nifty
Serve's Gravure Navigator, NEC's Biglobe and NTT Communications' OCN.
According to the metropolitan government, there are no links to malicious
sites on these pages, but it warned that many people had been heavily billed
for visiting sites that basically present a series of similar pages. The ad
uses an animated cartoon character called Kamokamo to alert Internet surfers
to the dangers of accessing porn sites. In the ad, Kamokamo appears and
clicks on a porn site banner labeled free of charge. However, Kamokamo is
billed 50,000 yen for the pleasure, causing the character to drop to its
knees saying, "I've been cheated." When a user clicks on the ad, a
message appears giving the advice that if one quickly informs the sites of
the charge or sends questions about the charge via e-mail, one will become a
victim. After this message, the ad spawns pages of the metropolitan
government and the Metropolitan Police Department that describe past false
claims and the measures taken against them.
Ministry Eyes Relaxation of E-Learning
Rules Home schooling will become a reality and
vocational education institutions likely will be allowed to offer more class
hours in Internet-based education programs known as e-learning, under a
relaxation of e-learning rules by the Education, Science and Technology
Ministry, sources said Monday. Technical colleges and special training
schools are currently restricted from devoting any more than half of total
class hours to e-learning. The ministry likely will relax the rules from
fiscal 2006 after a revision of related regulations this fiscal year. As of
May 2004, about 700,000 students were enrolled at 2,964 technical colleges
nationwide. According to an association for the promotion of vocational
education, demand for accredited Internet-based home study has grown as the number
of schools offering e-learning has increased. The demand is driven by growth
in the number of working people taking night classes at vocational colleges
and university students attempting to improve their employability by
"double schooling"--enrolling in technical education as well as
their normal courses. Currently, up to half of the total class hours--more
than 800 hours a year--can be taken off-campus. The ministry also stipulates
that classes must be held at an educational institution or related facility.
The ministry will relax restrictions on where e-learning may take place
because of the growth in demand from students and schools as well as the
widespread availability of broadband Net connections, which allow students to
study at home. However, the ministry will still impose some limits on class
hours, maintaining a mandatory minimum requirement for some practical
subjects.
SOUTH KOREA: IT-Based Living Standards
Index to Be Developed
Gov’t Certifies 12 Types of Standard
Electronic Tax Bills The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and
Energy Wednesday (June 29) certified a total of 12 standard electronic tax
bill forms filed by 10 corporations, including Korea Credit Guarantee Fund,
Korea Logistics Network Corp. and Dacom Corp. This is the first step of Korea
Institute for Electronic Commerce’s certification project on standardized
electronic tax bills that are issued between corporations. The ministry
expects about 180,000 Korean companies to issue more than 4 million standard
electronic tax bills a year, a ministry official said. More than three
billion non-standard electronic tax bills were issued between companies last
year, leading to cutting more than two trillion won in documentation
spending. The standard electronic tax bills are expected to boost the use of
electronic documents among corporations, the official said.
Spammers to Be Expelled From Internet,
Phone Service The Korean government plans to remove the
e-mail accounts and phone numbers of inveterate spammers starting this month.
The measure is designed to reduce unwanted emails and phone calls. Measures
will also be taken to prevent known spammers from obtaining e-mail accounts
or subscribing to phone services. The Ministry of Information and
Communication (MIC) on Friday (July 1) unveiled its anti-spam policy at the
ministry's strategic seminar that took place in Cheonan, South Chungcheong
Province. “Victims of unsolicited mail or phone calls have complained that
spammers continued to send commercial messages even after accusing them. To
straighten things out, we will suspend their phone numbers or e-mail accounts
for months,” MIC director Bae Seong-jun said. The ministry has already asked
the country's fixed-line telephone service providers and Internet companies
to change their contract provisions to enable the government's anti-spam
measures to be carried out. As soon as the companies modify their contracts,
the MIC plans to keep many malignant spammers at bay by dangling before them
the threat of removing their e-mail accounts or phone numbers. Beginning in
late March, Korea introduced an opt-in formula for those who send commercial
bulk text messages or place promotional calls. The opt-in system urges mobile
marketers to gain explicit permission in advance from potential e-mail
recipients. Violators are subject to a maximum of 30 million won in fines.
However, the mass-mailers and mass-callers are resilient. According to a
survey conducted early this year by Cetizen, an Internet site for cell phone
users, about 19 out of 20 Korean handset users have received spam on their
mobile phones. The poll showed 94.9 percent of 1,840 respondents experienced
spam via handsets. The Korea Information Security Agency also said the number
of e-mail spam reports to the state-backed agency increased from 29,105 in
2002 to 78,983 in 2003 and 314,474 last year. To bring the elusive marketers
under control, the MIC is jockeying to ban confirmed spammers from making
e-mail accounts or signing up for landline phone services for a given period,
possibly for years. “It is a long-term target since we need to establish laws
to phase in such tough regulations that might cause debate over the leakage
of private data,” Bae said. Through the strategic seminar, the MIC also said
that it is deciding whether to launch the controversial system of Internet
real-name law that will require Web surfers to provide their residency
numbers and names before registering any writing on Internet bulletin boards.
Another policy under consideration is to make the mobile caller
identification services, which enable call receivers to know caller's number,
to a basic offering while slashing its prices. Currently, Korean mobile
carriers levy a monthly fee of 1,000 won for the optional service while the
smallest carrier LG Telecom charges 2,000 won.
MONGOLIA: State Initiates Wholesale
Internet Tariff Cut The Mongolian Telecommunications Company
(MTC) has slashed the rate it charges ISPs for dial-up internet access by two
thirds as part of a government initiative to increase internet and PC use across
the country. The programme also includes a scheme to provide low cost PCs to
families, helped by a recent lifting on VAT on the impoort of computer
components. The state wants to 'computerise' all of Mongolia's 600,000
households, of which it estimates 65,000 currently own a computer. So far,
the new internet price cuts have not been passed on to end-users by ISPs.
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MALAYSIA: Broadband Monopoly Set to Be
Removed Wireless broadband users in the country can
expect cheaper and faster access once the Government opens up the market to
more service providers. The public can expect to enjoy rentals possibly as
low as RM45 per month for unlimited broadband access, when more service
providers are allowed to enter the market, which is currently under monopoly,
according to Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng
Yaik. “We are 10 years behind in the information communications technology
(ICT) sector although we introduced the Communications and Multimedia Act
1998 (CMA) which seeks to merge telephone, Internet and broadcast. “We have
not moved since. There is a need to increase the present broadband use of 1%,
which is politically and socially unacceptable,” he said. Lim said only 1% of
five million households had access to broadband currently, which his ministry
plans to push up to at least 30% in three years’ time. “We can’t wait for the
existing telcos to deploy land lines for access. “Forget about land lines,
let’s go wireless, which will benefit the users in the long term.” He said
there was a need to “un-bundle the loop” held by the four companies that
monopolise trunk and last mile lines so as to open up and widen access to
broadband. “They will resist as they hold the monopoly but this will come
eventually. “A blueprint is being prepared by the Malaysian Communications
and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to improve the infrastructure needs, and
also identify services which can cater to new growth areas,” he said, after
witnessing the signing ceremony between Arbital Communications Sdn Bhd and
Retel (from Croatia) to deploy a wireless broadband network in Croatia. The
MCMC, which is chaired by Datuk V. Danapalan, will present the blueprint,
which is expected to concentrate on identifying eight services, eight
infrastructures and six growth areas. “In a few months’ time, we will
announce how we are going to promote ICT in the country. “The MCMC will be
setting up a research and development unit to look into the best ways to
manage the wireless spectrum (bandwidth) being utilised, such as for
television, radio, mobile phones, microwave ovens and broadband,” Lim said.
He said there was a need to build a Malaysian standard to fully utilise, and
at the same time manage, the various spectrums available. On Arbital’s bid to
obtain a licence to provide its wireless broadband facilities commercially,
Lim said the company had been given a bandwidth to try out, and if “it can
convince us it can do what it says it can, we will agree to it.”
MNCC Launches IT Architecture SIG The problem with information technology is
that it is all too often done the wrong way around, according to industry
veteran Simon Seow. He said large and complex information systems are often
constructed without a comprehensive blueprint that lays out what an
information system system is expected to achieve, which business strategies
and processes it is to support, and what standards it supports. And when the
time comes to make modifications, systems administrators find themselves
flying more or less blind, with potentially disastrous results, he added.
They like building a house, Seow said. The first thing a housebuyer does after
taking possession is renovate it making the kitchen bigger, adding a bedroom
and so on, the first step in an ongoing process of adapting the house to its
occupants needs. But there is no good way to go about this process without
the house’s original blueprints, he said, otherwise there is a risk of
causing structural or other damage to the house. And so, Malaysia抯 pre-eminent
association for IT professionals, the Malaysian National Computer
Confederation (www.mncc.com.my), has formally
launched a special interest group (SIG) for IT architecture. The SIG, known
as the Independent Software Architects of Malaysia (www.isac-m.org),
was formed at an inaugural meeting on Dec 23, last year. ISAC-M is also
linked with the International Association of Software Architects (www.iasarchitects.org). According to ISAC-M抯 website, its aims
are to hold discussions among members on IT architecture-related topics; to
advise the IT industry and the public on implementation issues in IT
architecture, governance and policy; to find ways to locally apply the IT
architecture trends now emerging around the world; and to promote the use of
proper system architecture and design guidelines, so as to enhance
integration capability and lower total cost of ownership. ISAC-M has a core
membership of about 50 people, who approached the IT architecture issue from
different points of view such as technology, enterprise and business requirements,
Seow said. Prospective new members must be invited by a current member, and
their membership approved by a vote of the ISAC-M council. Aaron Tan Dani,
architect and platform Strategy advisor at Microsoft Malaysia and another
co-founder of ISAC-M, quoted an IDC estimate that of the 35,000 software
developers in the nation, only 100 to 200 were software architects. He said
ISAC-M aims to raise the number to about 10% of the total software developer
population by formalising software architecture as a profession, using
methodologies such as the Framework for Enterprise Architecture devised by
John Zachman, widely considered the leading light in the field. Seow said
that these efforts might come to include training and certifying enterprise
architecture professionals. But for a start, ISAC-M is trying to raise
awareness of software architecting and working out an agenda for its first
year, he added.
Laws to regulate e-commerce and safeguard
consumers’ interests are being put together to encourage more people to
embrace this new way of doing business. Various agencies are in the midst of
finalising the Electronic Commerce Bill and the Electronic Government
Activities Bill to control and broaden access to e-commerce, according to
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Mohd Shafie Apdal. “These
legislation are important to lay down the do’s and don’ts in e-commerce. This
will cover all parties be they government, private sector or the public,” he
added. He was speaking to reporters after launching the Asean Australia
Development Cooperation Programme: Legal Infrastructure for E-Commerce in
Asean workshop in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. He said the Electronic Commerce
Bill would strengthen the legal framework for transactions carried out
electronically, which would further help create confidence among the public
to conduct transactions this way. “People can just order their groceries
using e-commerce without having to head to hypermarkets. They can order and
have their groceries delivered to the house. “Businesses will also be able to
deal with the government electronically,” he added. Mohd Shafie said that
once these Bills were enacted, they would facilitate business transactions
within the country as well as enhance cross-border trade. He said the total
e-commerce revenue in the local economy continued to grow from RM1.45bil in
2000 to RM35.5bil this year. This dramatic increase was largely due to the
growth in the value of business-to-business e-commerce, he said. “Businesses
must realign their marketing strategies and be ready to meet the new
e-customer demands. “Companies that adopt a proactive and innovative approach
and that enhance productivity and growth through e-commerce will be the
trading champions of the coming decades,” he added. Asked if a fuel price
rise was impending, Mohd Shafie said the Cabinet had made no decision.
Laws to Protect Personal Info Needed Malaysia urgently needs to introduce laws to
protect consumers’ personal data from theft, said an information
communication technology (ICT) law specialist. Associate Professor of
Universiti Malaya Abu Bakar Munir said that currently, Malaysia had no comprehensive
legislation to address this issue. “Existing legislations are specific only
to certain industries; for example, Bank Negara’s minimum guidelines on
Internet banking, which has some provisions for legal protection of banks’
clients. “Another example is the General Consumer Code of Practice drafted
and registered by the Communications and Multimedia Consumer Forum, which
protects the rights of multimedia users,” he added. Prof Abu Bakar, who is a
council member of the Asia-Pacific Privacy Charter and member of the UN ICT
Policy and Internet Governance, said this when asked about The Star’s report
on the sale of confidential personal particulars. He said there was a need to
expedite the process of approving the Personal Data Protection Bill, drafted in
2000, which addressed the issue of data theft. “Research has shown that the
absence of such laws will hamper the adoption of e-commerce. There are also
trade implications as Malaysia’s major trading partners like the EU and Japan
have legislationthat prohibit the transfer of data to countries which do not
have such laws,” he added.
PHILIPPINES: Asian Govts Should
Legalise & Regulate Online Gaming Industry Online gaming takes the spotlight at the
Asian Casinos Expo Thursday. This is one sector that has been growing amid
greater connectivity to the internet. Industry players say Asian governments
should legalise and regulate the online gaming industry in the region, which
is worth between US$50-$60 billion a year. Gaming experts say the demand for
online gaming in the region is huge and will continue to grow, whether it is
legalised or not. "Over the years people have estimate the illegal
market in Asia (in interactive) is worth between US$50 billion to US$60
billion a year, which is a huge number. What I can say is, that number will
continue to grow dramatically over the coming years. I would expect it to
double every year over the next 4 to 5 years within Asia," said Tim
Levene, CEO of Intellilogica. Hong Kong may have instituted a law making
online gaming illegal but for most Asian countries, it is a grey area.
Industry players say Asian governments should look at regulating and
legalising online gaming. Said Levene: "I don't think they have a
choice, the internet has no borders. And if Government feel that by
prohibiting internet gambling, they can restrict it, then they are really not
looking at the true picture. Internet gambling is growing at well over 100% a
year. The number of customers are going to grow considerably over the next 20
to 30 years. The government must recognise this, regulate it and benefit from
these revenues that currently are seeping outside of their borders
everyday." With the growth of internet broadband in Asia, some online
casinos have moved up a gear to a more interactive format. They are now
employing 'live' video streaming with a real dealer in a studio setting.
Peter Kjaer, CEO of Ho Gaming Solutions, Macau said: "As we move
forward, more and more people will adapt the 'live' dealer concept with a
web-cam type of real game. That's because it's comforting for the player to
know that it is a real game, not a machine." Ho Gaming Solutions has
spent millions on its online gaming site and is seen as a complementary but
important part of its overall casino business.
SINGAPORE: Innovation Rules at
Singapore Expo In the future, the world we know might no
longer revolve around the sun, but instead, around the cellular phones that
we carry around in our pockets. That is, of course, if the cutting-edge
technologies that were recently displayed at Asia's largest mobile
communication technology exhibition -- the CommunicAsia 2005 -- get their way
in becoming ubiquitous in our everyday lives. With these technologies, mobile
phones will be the "super gadgets" of tomorrow, as their
ever-increasing embedded functionalities enable us to do almost everything --
from paying for our groceries to watching live broadcasts from across the
world. So essential will they be that our lives may well be cast into a
complete disarray without them. Even today, such a trend has already become
apparent, as more and more people cannot do without their cell phones to keep
in touch with each other, either through voice calls or SMS text messages. At
this year's annual CommunicAsia expo, among the hottest mobile technologies
being showcased was the "FeliCa Mobile Wallet" technology from
Japanese telecommunications company NTT DoCoMo. With FeliCa, one of NTT
DoCoMo's "i-mode" 3G mobile services, we can bid farewell to our
wallets -- with their coins, paper bills, membership cards and credit cards
-- as our cell phones will take over all of these functions. Using a contactless
technology, paying for our groceries will be as simple as swiping our cell
phones over the barcodes of the items that we want to buy -- their prices
being automatically deducted from our online account. The same goes for
paying fares, buying tickets, and checking in on a flight -- all within an
instantly-processed swipe at an online counter, without the hassle of
queuing. In its presentation during the expo, NTT DoCoMo was upbeat that its
"i-mode" services would be tomorrow's norm. Indeed, as of today,
subscribers of the company's 3G service -- which it launched in 1999 --
number 43 million people in Japan alone. NTT DoCoMo plans to spread its
services throughout Asia this year, starting in Singapore, with its recent
signing of a licensing scheme for the service with one of the city-state's
largest telco firms, StarHub, a subsidiary of Singapore Technologies
Telemedia (ST Telemedia). Next generation 3G mobile technology was indeed the
buzz at the expo, with experts agreeing that telco firms will inevitably have
to adopt the technology in the future to provide better services to their
customers. Another technology on the expo's top list was WiMAX (World
Interoperability for Microwave Access), a state-of-the-art wireless
communication technology. Officially called the 802.16 standard, WiMAX is an
extension of the 802.11 Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) Internet connectivity
technology. Speaking at the expo, vice president of WiMax Forum's marketing
working group, Mohammad Shakouri, explained that the WiMax technology would in
Asia focus on complementing fixed-line broadband technology over copper wire
or fiber optic lines, particularly in countries lacking such infrastructure.
"To ensure the spread in the Asia Pacific region, the Forum will soon
establish a certification agency as well," he said. Also noticeable at
the expo was the upcoming trend of "camera-phones" -- the
convergence of mobile phones with digital cameras -- from major mobile phone
makers. Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia, for example, showcased its
Nokia 6111 triband handset, which slides up into a nifty soap-bar-shaped
2-megapixel digital camera. The Nokia 6270 quadband and 6280 3G slider
handsets, meanwhile, are set to appeal to mainstream consumers with its
ease-of-use interface, onboard FM radio, music player, and two onboard
camera's -- one 2-megapixel and one VGA resolution.
Singapore's IDA Launches Common
Criteria Security Programme The Infocomm Development Authority of
Singapore (IDA) today announced that it has established the Common Criteria
(CC) Scheme to provide an infrastructure for ICT companies worldwide to
evaluate and certify their security products against the Common Criteria
standard (ISO 15408) in Singapore. The move will, in parallel, unleash new
business and capability development opportunities for the local infocomm
industry to penetrate the growing global security solutions market. The CC
Scheme is part of IDA's plan to develop internationally compliant security
products in Singapore. Its establishment is also one of the strategic thrusts
under the Infocomm Security Masterplan to build capabilities that can defend
Singapore's critical infrastructure from cyber attacks, and to maintain a
secure infocomm environment for the government, businesses and individuals.
To set up the CC Scheme, IDA has partnered PSB Certification who will take
the role of the Certification Body to validate and certify the evaluation
done by Evaluation Facilities. In addition, IDA has partnered T-Systems to
establish Singapore's first Evaluation Facility to conduct product evaluation
in accordance to Common Criteria. The Common Criteria is an international
standard increasingly adopted by organisations and governments worldwide for
the evaluation and certification of security properties of IT products or
systems. On its appointment as the CC Certification Body, Wu Tek Ming, CEO,
PSB Certification Pte Ltd said, "PSB Certification is pleased to have been
appointed by IDA to set up the Common Criteria certification system in
Singapore. We are confident that, with our experience and knowledge in Common
Criteria, we will help boost the nation's capability in security product
evaluation and certification, and bring us on par with international
standards. "On being the first Evaluation Facility in Singapore, Thomas
Jakob, CEO, T-Systems Singapore said, "T-Systems is pleased to partner
Singapore to build expertise in infocomm security evaluation. With Singapore's
solid infrastructure and trusted business environment, it is the ideal launch
pad to serve the emerging Asia Pacific market for infocomm security services.
"In March 2005, Singapore officially signed the Common Criteria
Recognition Arrangement (CCRA) as a Consuming Participant, with the intention
to become a Certificate Issuing Participant by end 2006. The CCRA is a mutual
recognition agreement with signatories from more than 20 countries that are
responsible for the maintenance of the CC standard. Singapore is the first in
ASEAN to participate in the CCRA. On Singapore's admission into the CCRA, Dr
Frits Taal, Chairman of the Management Committee of the CCRA said, "The
admission of Singapore into the CCRA is a positive development as this will provide
a platform for the IT industry in Singapore to work with an international
standard for security, and enable them to sell their products in other parts
of the world." Noting the growing interest in the Common Criteria in
Asia, Dr Taal added, "With Singapore's admission, it will also be able
to influence the development of the Common Criteria." Commenting on the
significance of this development, Chan Yeng Kit, CEO, IDA Singapore said,
"Singapore will soon join the ranks of leading countries around the
world to offer IT products which have undergone sound security evaluation and
certification under the Common Criteria." Relating on how it strengthens
Singapore’s position as a secured infocomm hub, Mr. Chan added, "With
the key (Common Criteria) ingredients in place, Singapore is now equipped
with the competencies and infrastructure to offer solution providers a cost
competitive, efficient and reliable means to obtain Common Criteria
evaluation and certification. The CC-certified products will in turn gain
worldwide recognition and access to the US$2.3 Billion worldwide market for
CC certified products."
THAILAND: Intel Gives Thumbs Up to
Government's IT Initiatives Good progress with room to improve _ that's
the report card from Intel corporate vice president Anand Chandrasekher on
the government's push to turn Thailand into a knowledge-based economy. Mr
Chandrasekher was in Bangkok to mark Intel's 10th year of operations in
Thailand and noted that the country was "well on its way to becoming a
digital Kingdom. "He labelled the government IT initiatives to date as
"progressive" on a global scale and even suggested that the United
States could benefit from many of the programmes that Thailand has adopted,
particularly in areas such as education. "In terms of the initiatives
that the government has done, they've been progressive, although in terms of
the impact that still remains to be seen," Chandrasekher said in an
exclusive interview with Database. He also said that the government could
still do more, and singled out broadband access as one of the critical areas
that still needs addressing. "The number one thing is to improve the
state of broadband. We think that is a fundamental enabler," he said,
noting that what roads and physical infrastructure were to traditional
economies, broadband access is to the digital economy. As part of its 10th
year celebrations, Intel also introduced 10 university students who had been
selected to do 12-month internships at its Bangalore microprocessor design
plant as part of the government's Thailand Internship Programme. Mr
Chandrasekher said that Bangalore had been chosen because of its proximity to
Thailand but also because it was a state-of-the-art facility. During the
internship the students will receive extensive training on all aspects of the
manufacturing process and gain real-world experience in a working
environment. The Intel vice president said he hoped that the experience would
have a lasting benefit for both the students and also for Intel itself.
"Our hope is that these kids will fall in love with the technology _
that's our ultimate goal _ but the other hope is that they come to work for
Intel," he said, adding that another good outcome would be if they went
on to complete higher degrees. He lamented the low enthusiasm for science and
technology among US students, suggesting that many were turned off because
"it's hard work" and noting that Asian cultures were turning to
engineering and science courses in greater numbers. "Asia is much more
willing to invest in science and technology education. We see it in China,
India and Thailand," he said. Intel has a number of other educational
initiatives in Thailand, including its Mobile Initiative for Learning in Education,
where it aims to accelerate the adoption of mobile computing and wireless
technologies in conjunction with the ICT Ministry. Mr Chandrasekher said that
the wireless project has since become a model for other countries in the
region. "We took the footprint of what we were doing in Thailand and
transferred it across Asia," he pointed out. Another educational
initiative is its Teach to the Future programme, first launched by Intel
chairman Craig Barrett with the Education Ministry here in 2002. So far
around 10,000 teachers have been through the programme and by the end of the
year that number is expected to be around 19,000.Meanwhile, Mr Chandrasekher
said that economies everywhere are going though a digital transformation at
an accelerated rate in sectors such as enterprises, in the home, in
government, healthcare and in industry. "This is not just happening in
established markets, it's happening in emerging markets, sometimes more
rapidly," he noted. He said that if Thailand continues to drive the adoption
of digital technology, it could reap the economic and social benefits of a
"kingdom of digital cities" and claim a leadership role in ASEAN.
He also noted that Intel was working with the government to encourage digital
cities.
VIETNAM: Investors Urge E-Securities
Framework A finance association has called for
discussions over the institution of a legal framework needed for Internet
securities transactions in a bid to boost the domestic stock market and lure
more overseas capital sources. In an official letter sent to the Ministry of
Finance (MoF) and the State Securities Commission (SSC), the Viet Nam
Association of Financial Investors (VAFI) said that e-securities transactions
would bring many benefits such as saving time and fees for investors,
especially for foreign and Vietnamese overseas investors. Recently,
securities transactions via the Internet have been applied by several
securities companies such as Vietcombank Securities Company, however, the
scale of the project was tiny, and as a result the completion of payment was
implemented directly by investors and securities companies, and was not
network based. According to VAFI, companies have been urging the relevant bodies
to create favourable conditions for investors by allowing them to offer
securities trading via the Internet since the stock market commenced
operations in July 2000. VAFI General Secretary Nguyen Hoang Hai said that in
2002, most investors petitioned to be allowed to offer stakes via the
Internet, but their petition was refused because the country had not
promulgated the Law on e-transaction. He said, the National Assembly is
expected to ratify the law on e-transaction by the end of this year, however,
the SSC is not going to set up a legal framework for e-securities
transactions this year. In response, an official of the SSC said transactions
via a network may be mentioned in the Law on Securities. But, e-securities
transactions via a network has not been mentioned clearly in the latest draft
of the Law on Securities. Consequently, if the SSC do not mull a legal
document soon, favourable conditions for investors to offer shares on the
stock market will be lacking, even when the Law on Securities comes into
effect, Hai said. Many other investors and securities companies are waiting
for the appearance of a legal framework for e-securities transactions, hoping
that the SSC will inform them of its plans so that businesses can draw up
future plans.
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BANGLADESH: BASIS Proposes Four-Point
Budgetary Measure for ICT Sector Uplift
New Policy for Fibre-Optic Cable in
BR, RHD Lands The government will formulate a
comprehensive policy for using the lands of the Bangladesh Railway and the
Roads and Highways Department for installation of fibre optic cable to
facilitate modern telecommunication services. A high-powered committee,
headed by additional chief engineer of the Roads and Highways Department, was
formed at a meeting Monday to draft the policy within ten days. The meeting
with the communications minister, Nazmul Huda, in the chair also decided not
to allow any organisation to lay cable on the roads and railway lands before
the formulation of the policy.
BTRC to Frame Tariff Guideline for
Mobile Operators
BTRC Pushes Pvt Land Phone Operators
to Launch Services Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory
Commission (BTRC) has asked private sector Public Switched Telecom Network
(PSTN) operators to launch their services as soon as possible in the wake of
soaring demand for fixed line telephones. The BTRC in a letter has recently
asked 17 PSTN operators, who got licences in 2004 under an open licensing
system, to start functioning considering the country's low tele-density.
Tele-density in Bangladesh is less than two percent, BTRC officials said
quoting a report by International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN
special agency on telecoms. The BTRC had allocated frequency spectrum to 19
PSTN operators one year ago, but only two of them -- RanksTel and Bay Phones
-- have started operation in Chittagong zone. All the operators were
allocated frequencies in August last year, but the delaying by most of them
has irked the commission, the officials said. They said pressure on the PSTN
operators to begin their operation has been intensified after Omar Farooq
took over as the commission chairman. The commission has issued 35 licences
to 19 companies in four out of five zones -- central, southeast, southwest,
northeast and northwest -- to provide PSTN service. The central zone or Dhaka
multi-exchange area has been kept out of the open licensing system due to a
legal dispute with WorldTel, a UK-based company. WorldTel obtained licence in
2001 to provide around three lakh connections in the city on
built-own-operate basis for four years with co-exclusive rights with the
state-run Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB). The PSTN operators
however said most of them are now building their network and expect to
provide services by the yearend or early next year.
NEPAL: Nepal Telecom to Begin Wireless
Telephone Service KATHMANDU - Nepal Telecom, the NT, is to
begin on a trial basis, the wireless telephone service based on the CDMA
technology. Being used for the first time in Nepal, this American technology
will provide a number of facilities including among others local and mobile
telephone, SMS, voice mail, wireless internet/e-mail, pre-paid calling,
credit card calling and universal access number, says the Telecom. A total of
1,000,000 lines including 500,000 lines will be distributed in the first,
second and third phase and additional 500,000 lines in the fourth and fifth
phase, said Sugat Ratna Kansakar, the managing director of the NT. Under the
first phase of extension of wireless telephone lines, 100,000 will be
distributed in Kathmandu, 75,000 in Biratnagar and Bhairahwa. For this, work
is going on to install 207 towers in different parts of the country. “This
technology which has already gained popularity in neighbouring countries will
be gradually expanded to other districts in the country,” Kansakar added.
Though the test transmission will begin on Thursday telephone lines under the
technology will be distributed to the general public only after two or three
months on completion of all essential technical work, it is learnt. The CDMA
technology is said to be more effective than the existing GSM technology
service charge for this type of telephone service will be similar to that of
the current one, according to the NT.
ICT Sector Yearns for ET Regulatory
Body KATHMANDU - Despite promulgation of
Electronic Transaction (ET) Ordinance and its by-laws, country's information
and communication technology (ICT) sector has not been able to reap its
benefits. Although most of the ICT professionals claim that the act and
regulation is comprehensive and has opened new avenues for the ICT sector,
they seem to be waiting for the government to take the first step. Taking to
the Post, General Secretary of Computer Association of Nepal (CAN), Vivek
Rana said that lack of a regulatory body to ensure security and authenticity
of the documents, signature and other information transacted through
electronic means is the major factor that is hindering private sector from
taking a step forward. “As the regulatory body has to be formed by the
government, private sector can do very little unless the government takes the
first step,” he said. “And, as the regulating authority will be the only body
to ensure privacy and confidentiality of the transacted electronic documents
and signatures, and punish those indulged in malpractice, private sector will
not prefer to take the risk by announcing their involvement at this point of
time.” Even ET Ordinance has acknowledged the need of a regulatory body and
has stated that it should comprise a public key infrastructure (PKI), to
enable users of insecure public network, such as the Internet to securely
exchange data and make financial transaction as well. As such transaction
will require the use of public and private keys to encrypt and decrypt
messages and signatures, the ordinance has also stressed on the need to
establish a certificate authority (CA) - to issue and verify digital
certificates - and a registration authority - to verify digital certificates
issued by CA. “However, there has been delay and it may be due to
misconception that formation of this body will only facilitate online
financial transaction. But at a time when electronic data interchange has
been endorsed as a viable alternative to paper processing, formation of this
body will also ease day to day governmental works and contribute to overall
ICT development,” Rana said adding that any more delay could prove to be
disastrous. An official of a leading bank, requesting anonymity, however,
said that if the government does not have intentions of forming the body in
short future and if it thinks the whole process could take some time, it can
appoint internationally recognized organizations, which are already operating
in Nepal. “In this manner the private sector can start the business and in
the meantime the government will also get some extra time for developing
infrastructures required to kick start its own operation,” he said.
Meanwhile, the government has stated that it has no intention of appointing
an agent to do this work and is in the process of hiring an officer to
oversee all the works related to supervision and regulation. “We have already
called interested professionals to apply for the post and the body will be
established under the person soon after his/her appointment,” said
Spokesperson of Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, Purushottam
Ghimire. However, if the body does not take leadership in driving the whole
process and create a conducive environment for private sector to step in,
very little can be reaped from the ordinance and by-laws that have been
enforced, said the General Secretary of CAN.
PAKISTAN: Online Service for Trade
Licence Issuance KARACHI: The City District Government
Karachi (CDGK) has started online computerised service in Gulberg town for
issue of trade licenses. This is the first online service in the country. At
the inaugural occasion, City Nazim Naimatullah Khan issued first computerised
license to Multi National Export Bureau. The Nazim said the service would be
helpful in tackling difficulties to acquire trade license and in reducing
complaints by the people against the department. This system was part of
various development programmes initiated by the CDGK. EDO Mushtaq Rizvi
briefed the Nazim that the CDGK IT Department was working on making database
between e-government and the CDGK. He was told that the database work on land
department and advertisement department was underway and it is hoped that the
online service of advertisement department would commence this week. In
addition, it was stated that the work on payroll of the CDGK's employees and
personnel database has been completed. The CDGK would soon start trade
license service in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Korangi, Landhi, and Saddar. The Nazim
gave directives to concerned officials to also start online service regarding
payment of property tax. Town Nazim Farooq Naimatullah said the service for
issue of online trade license would double revenue generation in the town
department. The revenue received in the past was only Rs700,000, while during
the 2004-05 it had increased to Rs3,500,000.
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AUSTRALIA: Outlaws Using Internet to
Incite Suicide People who use the internet to incite others
to commit suicide or teach them how to kill themselves face fines of up to
A$550,000 ($607,900) under tough new laws passed in Australia yesterday.
Using the internet to counsel or incite others to commit suicide or to
promote and provide instruction on ways to do it has been outlawed but the
new laws were not designed to stifle debate about euthanasia, justice
minister Chris Ellison said. "These offences are designed to protect the
young and the vulnerable, those at greatest risk of suicide, from people who
use the internet with destructive intent to counsel or incite others to kill
themselves," Ellison said in a statement. Individuals convicted of such
offences face a fine of up to A$110,000, while corporations face a fine of up
to A$550,000. Use of the internet to organise suicide pacts emerged as a grim
problem for Japan last year, with dozens of Japanese killing themselves in
internet-linked group suicides. Helping someone to commit suicide is illegal
in Australia but there has been a long-simmering debate about euthanasia.
Philip Nitschke shot to fame in 1997 when he helped four people die in the
Northern Territory, where the practice was briefly legal before the national
government stepped in to overturn local laws.
Another $50m for Rural Broadband
Program The federal government has committed a
further $50 million to help connect broadband in regional Australia,
Communications Minister Helen Coonan said. The money brought federal funding
for the Higher Bandwidth Incentive Scheme (HiBIS) program to about $160
million, Senator Coonan said. There were almost two million broadband
subscriptions in Australia, with almost half in regional areas, she said.
"More than a million households were connected to broadband in the past
12 months alone, and take-up continues to rise," Senator Coonan told the
South Australian Press Club in Adelaide on Thursday. "Broadband take-up
is now at 19 per cent in regional Australia compared to 21 per cent in
metropolitan areas, so quite clearly the digital divide between the country
and its city cousins is closing." Senator Coonan said the Howard
government had invested more than $1 billion in telecommunications services
in regional areas since 1997. "Hitting the $1 billion mark for rural and
regional investment is proof that this government has heeded the cries for
investment in rural and regional services," she said.
RFID adoption is likely to speed up with
standards in Australia for the technology's tags and readers given the green
light. EAN Australia, which this month changed its name to GS1Australia,
confirmed today at its Impetus 2005 conference in Melbourne that it has been
granted a national scientific licence for RFID implementation projects,
outlining the necessary power and frequencies to be used. RFID projects in
Australia can now by deployed against the standard power for RFID readers at
4 watts, using the frequency between 920 - 925 MHz. More importantly, the
Generation 2 UHF standard (allowing for global interoperability and a
converged standard) is close to being ratified by ISO (International
Standards Organization) for global use. The Gen2 standard was initially
released in December, 2004. Chris Adcock, chief executive officer of EPC
Global (Electronic Product Code), said there will be an increase in tags and
readers available for sale in the second half of this year, as a result of
the standard. The driver, according to Adcock, is coming from the consumer
end as opposed to hardware vendors. "EPC develops the global standards
in response to user requirements, and once the Gen2 standard was ratified by
the EPC global board of government it went straight to ISO," Adcock
said. "Because ISO is an organization of nations it is important that it
looks at the standards developed by EPC and endorses those through its own
standards development process; the Gen2 standard, which is called ISO 18000 6
part C, has now passed the first critical stage in ISO and is now well on its
way to becoming a global standard. "It is not until you have
organizations connected in a secure, authenticated and authorized way
according to a set of standards that we can achieve this vision of supply
chain visibility on event-related information and will enable organizations
to improve customer availability and reduce out of stock incidents. Gillette
says it has had a 22 percent improvement of out-of-stock stores since using
RFID." Coles Myer supply chain group general manager Andrew Potter said
RFID, from a commercial point of view, is driven by consumer demand for
immediate ease of choice but what will enable the core of any RFID project,
the data, to work is the use of standards. "An RFID project will not
work without quality data and that is where the common standards apply,"
Potter said. 'You need standard numbering for goods, standard ways of
carrying data in a machine-readable format and standard ways of transmitting
the data between trading partners, which allows retailers and suppliers to
speak a common language. "We [Coles Myer] have 20 stores on roll cages
at the moment, 22 suppliers doing factory gate pricing, plus two UPCs
(Universal Product Code) are already under way and more are going to be
announced - we are moving very fast." (by Michael Crawford)
E-Health Data Standards Close to
Confirmation The federal government is only weeks away
from formalizing data standards for Australia's national electronic health
record system. Putting in place an immediate working model for HealthConnect
is critical to meet Health Minister Tony Abbott's ambitious, 12-month time
frame. InterSystems managing director Denis Tebutt is rolling out a proposed
working model for the electronic health record system this week at the Health
Informatics Conference in Melbourne. However, Tebutt said a clinical document
architecture including the HL7 (messaging) standard, open EHR (electronic
health records) CEN (a European initiative for standards in health care
informatics) is still required to share patient data securely. Dr Ian
Reinecke, CEO of National e-Health Transition Authority (NeHTA), has
confirmed that HL7 standard and the open EHR architecture is currently under
evaluation. HL7 refers to communications at the application level, which
addresses the data about to be exchanged as well as supporting security
checks, participant identification exchange mechanism negotiations and data
exchange structuring. Chairman of HL7 Australia, Klaus Veil, said it is not
about choosing one standard over another. However, Veil said the government
and private sector have already invested hundreds of millions of dollars in
systems that support HL7 Version 2. Since NeHTA was given the job of
evaluating standards more than six months ago, Veil said the decision-making
process had been frozen and the FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) factor is
rife. He said there has been no engagement with existing stakeholders,
experts or vendors involved with the Australian Standards body. "We are
still waiting to be told the exact rules and guidelines for the EHR
system," Veil said. However, NeHTA is expectedto confirm the standards
in coming weeks, Veil said. Using HL7 as the standard for clinical data is
likely as it was supported by the former Minister for Health Michael
Wooldridge and endorsed by the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council
in July 2004. (by Michael Crawford)
Senate Seeks Tougher Rules for Telstra Telstra should be subject to even tougher
regulations, once it is sold off by the Government, to help protect
consumers, a new Senate committee report recommends. Among 35
recommendations, the committee called more powers and funds for the
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to help it better
regulate the telecommunications industry. It also demanded that the Trade
Practices Act be beefed to up help improve competition, access to Telstra's
network and pricing of services. And it called for the Productivity
Commission to carry out a major review into the possible structural
separation of Telstra's wholesale and retail businesses. Committee chairman
Andrew Bartlett said the report's message was that regulations covering the
telco industry were not strong enough. "If the government proceed with
their misguided plan to fully privatise Telstra, it would be reckless if
these recommendations were not put in place before the sale," he said.
"Barnaby Joyce and his National colleagues should treat this report as a
regulatory blueprint for the future development of telecommunications in
Australia." Opposition communications spokesman Stephen Conroy said the
Labor-dominated committee heard a stream of evidence from people in the bush
who claimed services were far from adequate. "The report catalogues
damning evidence of the impact of Australia's dilapidated telecommunications
network on rural and regional communities," Conroy told the Senate.
"Services aren't up to scratch and they are hurting rural businesses and
holding back rural towns. "It was also clear from the evidence heard by
the committee that none of these problems will be solved by the privatisation
of Telstra or the creation of a rural slush fund to finance National party
photo opportunities." Included in the report's recommendations was a
call for Telstra to sell its 50 per cent shareholding in pay TV broadcaster
Foxtel to open the market up to competition. It also demanded the government
improve its broadband internet subsidy scheme and give money to local
councils to help them deliver hi-tech internet services to the bush.
Government members of the committee produced a separate dissenting report,
saying many of the recommendations were already in place. Communications
Minister Helen Coonan accused Labor of squandering taxpayers' money and
parliament's time by carrying out the inquiry. "Most of the
recommendations in Labor's report released today are exactly the same as
recommendations put forward in previous committee reports and Labor has
failed to acknowledge the significant regulatory reforms and more than $1
billion invested by the Government in telecommunications services," she
said. "Senator Conroy continues to push for unnecessary regulatory
burden on Telstra such as structural separation. "This is despite his
predecessor, Lindsay Tanner, publicly stating that structural separation was
inappropriate, too costly and too complex. A Telstra spokesman said the
report reflected the views of industry insiders and Telstra's rivals.
"The changes recommended would suit them, but it is very hard to see how
they improve the lives of the people, businesses and communities served by
Telstra," he said.
WA Government Reviews a Raft of
Internet Laws The Western Australian government is
focusing on new Internet legislation. The government wants uniform Internet
laws relating to child porn and has launched a crackdown on people who post
voyeuristic photographs of children online. The move follows the release of a
discussion paper developed jointly by state and territory governments. WA
Attorney General Jim McGinty said the state parliament would consider a raft
of new legislation, saying laws needed to change to keep up with the times.
"With the advances in technology, it is very easy for people to take
photographs of unwitting subjects then download and distribute them on Web
sites around the world," McGinty said. "People are being
photographed in places like toilets and change rooms without knowing it.
"We need to make sure the law keeps pace with the times to ensure people
are not exploited." McGinty said the issue first came to light after
unauthorized photographs of Melbourne schoolboys competing at sporting events
were posted on a gay Web site. He said attention would also be given to
stopping the practice of "upskirting", where photographs are taken
up a woman's skirt without her knowledge. The attorney general said a
crackdown on the inappropriate use of 'spy' and mobile phone cameras would
also be considered. Submissions on the discussion paper close on October 14.
Meanwhile, the WA government - which inked a $67 million, shared-services
deal with Oracle in June - has begun work on its Shared Corporate Services
Project. It involves consolidating the back-office functions of more than 100
government agencies into three, shared services centres. There are some 21
financial management, and 12 payroll, systems, many of which are
incompatible, in the largest 49 agencies. The three corporate service centres
will enable government departments to pool resources in the areas of
financial management, human resource management and buying. The 10-year deal
with Oracle was inked in June and is expected to be fully operational in
2008.
NEW ZEALAND: High-Wire Act for Economy The unthinkable happened this week as New
Zealand was brought to its knees not by crazed terrorists or an unstoppable
force of nature but by a lowly rat and an errant post digger. Although the
sequence of events that crippled the country's telecommunications systems for
the better part of a day was unlikely - "freakish" and "one in
a million", some said - Monday's events are enough to give pause on the
state of the infrastructure and its owner, Telecom. Early Monday morning,
rats chewed through cables going over a bridge in the Rimutaka Ranges. Telecommunications
services immediately defaulted without disruption to Telecom's main western
pipeline, until a Powerco post digger hit it at 10.48am. With both main pipes
damaged, services went down for the next 4 1/2 hours. The damage was
widespread as mobile phones, internet services and eftpos were knocked out.
Landlines were also jammed with callers wanting to know what was happening.
The biggest outage was in Wellington and Taranaki. Auckland, Palmerston North
and parts of the South Island also saw service disruption. About 100,000
customers nationwide were affected. Virtually every sector was hit. The New
Zealand Stock Exchange was down from 11.01am until 4pm. Air New Zealand staff
had to check in customers manually and flights were delayed. Retailers were
hit as they were unable to process eftpos sales. The online auction site
TradeMe reported between one-third and half of 200,000 members were unable to
buy or sell for most of the day. Despite the damage, though, Telecom wasn't
condemned. Communications Minister David Cunliffe praised the company for
getting service restored quickly and competitors expressed
"empathy" for what they said was a "bizarre chain of
events". Telecom was quick to defend the outage and said the rat
incident was unavoidable. The company buries its cables between 1.2m and 1.5m
underground and shields them with steel pipes at points of exposure, such as
when they cross bridges. "We employ the world's best practices in the
technique of installing the cable," said Steve Fuller, Telecom's general
manager of network delivery. "But rodents being rodents, they gnaw at
those entry points, they burrow underground, they find a way in. They're
notorious for it." The company wasn't so forgiving with the second
incident. Powerco diggers ignored protocol and didn't call its cable-location
service, so Telecom would be seeking compensation, he said. Powerco did not
comment. So what now? The outage may have been freakish, but it put a
spotlight on how reliant today's businesses are on telecommunications. Is New
Zealand's infrastructure up to scratch? What's to prevent similar
occurrences? And what is Telecom - the largest provider by far of
telecommunications services and owner of infrastructure - doing about it? The
company says it is investing enough and that its infrastructure is on a par
with the rest of the developed world. It has spent $1.8 billion on its
networks - which include landlines, mobile phones and internet services -
since 2001 and is in the process of spending even more. Last year, Telecom
spent $416 million and projects total expenditure for this year to hit $535
million and $560 million next year. Fuller said Monday's outage was
unfortunate timing as Telecom was in the process of installing a $30 million
network upgrade. (by Peter Nowak)
Government Announces Technology
Partnership Programme Local companies and researchers will have
greater access to international advice through a technology partnership
programme that will be piloted in New Zealand.The Government today announced
the partnership programme, developed by the Danish Technological Institute,
would be available locally from August. Economic Development Minister Jim
Anderton said the programme would allow New Zealand firms and researchers to
tap into a global network of 20,000 experts across a range of fields for
advice. Through the programme experts would provide advice in response to
questions on product or process development, mostly within 10 days. Companies
could then choose which solutions they pursued. He said the Danish
Technological Institute was an independent, not-for-profit institution, that
established the programme for Denmark in 1995. It had since introduced the
programme to four other countries. The Foundation for Research Science and
Technology will host the programme in New Zealand - recruiting and housing
the project manager and consultants.
Cunliffe Outlines Labour Telecoms Plan Communications Minister David Cunliffe
yesterday outlined how a returned Labour government would improve services in
the telecommunications market "The changes I am announcing today will
make the [Telecommunications] Act more effective, where necessary, in driving
down prices and improving the quality and range of services," he said.
The key change would allow the Commerce Commission to set multilateral terms
and conditions for access to telecommunications networks, rather than terms
that changed deal-by-deal. So if Telecom struck a deal with one company for
access to its networks, it would also apply to others. Cunliffe also wants to
stop companies "contracting out" of a regulated service, accepting
worse conditions for longer-term deals. "Small players [some internet
service providers] don't really have a choice whether or not to accept,"
he said. Other proposals include allowing the minister to accept or reject
parts of a commission recommendation. (by Peter Nowak) |
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AZERBAIJAN: Election Information
Center Set Up An independent analytical information center
has been set up over the parliamentary elections due in November. The key
objective of the Election-2005 center, established by the Association of
Assistance to Civil Society Development in Azerbaijan, is to create a
database on elections for local and foreign experts as well as readers and
assist them in forming unbiased opinions on the conduct of elections, the
Association told AssA-Irada. The Center will start publishing the Monitoring
2005 weekly bulletin in Azeri and English this month. The publication will
focus on the statements issued by political parties, election blocs and
public organizations as well as articles on irregularities observed during
the poll. The bulletin will be available on the Association’s website (www.avciya.org).
CHINA: Hong Kong Companies Registry
Launches E-Search The Companies Registry in Hong Kong has
launched a new electronic search service enabling users to have online access
to current data of registered Hong Kong companies. Last month the Hong Kong
Companies Registry launched a new electronic search service under the first
phase of the roll-out of its ‘Integrated Companies Registry Information
System’. The new e-search services enable customers to have online access to
current data of registered Hong Kong companies and to more than 80 million
pages of image records of documents registered and kept by the registry. The
easy access to corporate data for the public is intended to enhance corporate
transparency and help strengthen overall corporate governance standards. A
range of free and premium search services are offered under the new system.
Free searches include company name search and document index search. Image
record search is charged on a per-document basis. Other premium searches
include directors index search, company particulars search, register of
charges search and register of disqualification orders search. Customers are
able to conduct online searches in English or Chinese. Unregistered users
will be able to pay for each search by credit card or direct debit through an
electronic payment gateway. Registered users will enjoy a discount in search
fees after opening an account. The annual fee for owning an account is HK$500
(US$64). Since its trial launch at the end of February, 800 users have opened
accounts.
China Looks to Italy for Government
Modernisation China has entered into a dialogue with Italy
to overhaul the Asian country's administrative e-infrastructure. Chen Dawei,
Deputy Minister for the Computerisation of the People's Republic of China,
met with Italian Innovation and Technology Minister Lucio Stanca in Italy to
discuss the implementation of a digital administrative code governing data
standards and workflows in government. According to the Italian minister,
Chen was keenly interested in the Italian government's 'Shared Vision'
e-government development model. This is where locally-funded initiatives
adhere to a central government roadmap. Other areas of interest and
collaboration included electronic charters, digital signatures and certified
email. "We will surely reap the benefits of the seeds we have sown
today," said Chen. "While Italy is already half-way there in the
e-government process, China is only at the beginning. But thanks to this
cooperation we hope we can soon reach the Italian level."
Beijing's E-Gov't Project Advances The Information Office of Beijing Municipal
Government says its e-government system is playing an increasingly important
role in infrastructure construction, transport system and public security.
The office adds the government will try to improve its management of the city
and provide better service for residents through the Internet.
Chinese City Invests US$17 Million in
E-Govt Huian City government invests in
e-government infrastructure and services. Huian City Government in China has
chosen China Expert Technology (CXTI) for a US$17 million contract to
implement its e-government services program, ranging from hardware and
e-government training facilities to call centre services. The chief executive
of CXTI, Zhu Xiaoxin, said the company's success in winning a similar project
in Jinjiang City paved the way for the new agreement. In other news,
Beijing's Municipal Office of Informatization has said that around 72 per
cent of tax reports are now submitted through the internet, according to
China Daily. Farmers are also making extensive use of online systems and in
one township 57 per cent of the total peach output in 2004 was sold through
online channels.
Guangzhou Internet Education
Blossoming GUANGZHOU: With the implementation of the
Information Standard of Educational Administration (ISEA), teachers in
Guangzhou have grown used to teaching students by using the Internet's
educational resources. "We have adopted the ISEA's software system in
preparation for teaching and giving instructions to students," said Liu
Weiyong, a middle school teacher in the city's Dongshan District. For
successfully implementing the ISEA system, Dongshan district education bureau
and Guangzhou city were yesterday rewarded by the Ministry of Education. The
ISEA, which aims to provide a virtual platform for students and teachers to
share educational resources, was launched nationally in September 2002. The
Ministry of Education has so far rewarded four cities, including Guangzhou,
for their successful ISEA implementation schemes and subsequent achievements.
In addition to the Web teaching methods, Liu said that almost all of the
administrative work in his school, including filing, is now carried out and
saved on the Web system. Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong
Province, began implementing the ISEA in April 2003. In addition to the ISEA,
the city also launched an "e-era" project aimed at using the Web to
aid youngsters' study in its urban areas. The project, which taps into
educational resources on the Internet, has helped accelerate the ISEA's
development within Guangzhou. By the end of last year, a total of 1,676
digital classrooms and about 400 digital libraries had been established in
the city. A new body, the Guangzhou Education and Research Network, has also
been set up, with 82 organizations given direct access to the network
operation centre and more than 500 schools connected to the Net through a
secondary node. (by Qiu Quanlin)
Investors Focus on E-commerce Sector A new wave of investment in e-commerce is
focusing investors on this still "miniscule" sector of China's
economy. Less than half of one percent of China's population is willing to
buy products online, leaving the door open for enormous growth. Chinese websites
are becoming the most frequented on the Internet. Four of the top 10 sites
listed in Alexa's top 500 list are from China. Yahoo!, Microsoft and Google
take the first, second and third slot but Sina.com, comes in fourth place,
Chinese-language search engine Baidu in sixth, Sohu.com ninth and 163.com
10th. Taobao.com is number 27 on the list while Alibaba.com comes in at 36
place. Alibaba.com links buyers around the world with Chinese manufacturers
and suppliers. It allows access to everything from trousers to car parts.
Alibaba also has a website that could challenge eBay in the
consumer-to-consumer market, Taobao. Despite the growing number of Internet
users, the Internet market in China is still small as a percentage of its
population. There are 103 million Internet users in the country, according to
the China Internet Network Information Centre, up from 97 million in 2004 and
second only to the United States. But that's only 7.9 percent of China's
population. Japan's 78 million users, by comparison, represent 60 percent of
its population. Japan is third in Internet use worldwide. For e-commerce the
China market is still woefully small, with only 0.4 percent of Internet use
devoted to it. "The e-commerce market in China is miniscule when
compared with the United States," said Harry Tsao, co-founder of
Smarter.com, a privately-owned company that operates a search website. It
allows visitors to find products and buy them directly from suppliers. It
charges vendors based on the number of reliable leads the site generates.
Internet users in the United States spend some US$120 billion a year online,
compared to US$1.1 billion in China, said Tsao. Last week, Smarter.com
announced plans to launch an e-shopping platform in China in the fourth
quarter of this year. The potential for growth is enormous as the number of
people willing to purchase items online is growing faster than the number of
Internet users. Last year, 14 million new people went online. Tsao said his
site has proved popular in the United States and now the plan is to launch it
in China. The company has been operating in Shanghai for two years.
Smarter.com expects to get between 5 and 10 million users per month during
its first year in China and plans are for it to grow alongside the e-commerce
market. "People will not advertise on the Internet if there is a very
small market," he said. "When that market grows, the marketing
dollars will be there." Investors have been quick to heed the call of
China's Internet boom. On Friday, shares in Baidu.com almost quadrupled
(jumping up 365 percent) in the first day of trading at NASDAQ.
IRAN: E-Commerce Center Planned Iran's E-Commerce Center will open by late
June, said deputy commerce minister for economic planning and studies. Farhad
Dejpasand told ISNA that the Commerce Ministry has already drawn up the draft
articles of association of the center and submitted it to the Management and
Planning Organization. "The center will be established as per Article 80
of E-Commerce Law, which was ratified in 2003," he said, adding that the
center will help facilitate trading activities at the domestic and
international levels using of modern technologies. He said the center will
also try to develop information communication and technology (ICT), improve
information dissemination systems and raise public awareness of e-commerce.
The center will also be responsible for planning for training ICT experts, he
added. Dejpasand said the E-Commerce Center will operate as a state
institution and its activities will be supervised by the Commerce Ministry.
Earlier, Ministry of Science, Research and Technology announced plans to
establish information communication and technology (ICT) departments in
universities across the nation. The move is part of efforts to develop ICT in
Iran, where there is growing need for specialized workforce in this field.
There are also plans to increase software exports to $100 million a year by
March 2007.The value of software exports doubled in the year to March 2005 to
reach $10.9 million. Last year, Iran exported software products to Germany,
Syria and Zimbabwe.
Credit Cards Needed to Boost
E-Commerce The main obstacle to the development of
e-commerce in Iran is the lack of credit cards, observed a senior e-commerce
industry official here on Tuesday, stressing that credit cards have to be
distributed among the public in the same way as national ID cards. Mohammad
Ali Ahmadi, who heads Iran’s International E-commerce Site, told ILNA that
the progress in the field of information technology remains low, adding that
access to Internet services has to be facilitated, if the national economy
were to promote online business. Ahmadi said the government has not supported
the e-commerce properly, which is why the industry has not yet been
developed. There are 6.5 million subscribers to ATM and POS systems in Iran
as all the country’s banks have access to Automated Teller Machines. ATM
systems, however, do not work properly in Iran, while the number of POS
machines remains low. The people queue in front of ATMs in almost all major
banks in Tehran. Banking official have announced that the number of ATM cards
will increase to 10 million by March 2006. Automated Teller Machine is an
unmanned electronic device that performs basic teller functions, such as
accepting deposits, cash withdrawals and account balance inquiries while
Point-of-Sale (POS) is a term normally used to describe cash register systems
that record transactions or the area of ’checkout’ in a retail store. As
users at home complain about poor ATM services, Bank Saderat announced
earlier it has finalized an agreement with the tiny Persian Gulf state of
Bahrain on greater banking cooperation, including the use of Iranian ATM
cards in that country.
Expats Can Participate in Online
Trading Iranian expatriates will face no obstacles
in purchasing shares on Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE), said the TSE chief here
on Sunday. Hossein Abdeh-Tabrizi said four brokerage firms are currently
trading shares with overseas customers on the Internet, stressing that the
Iranian nationals living abroad would also be able to participate in online
trading. He said the bylaw authorizing the participation of foreign investors
in TSE trading has imposed some restrictions on foreign investment in the
capital market, adding that foreign investors would not be allowed to take
their capital out of the market for at least three years. “Foreign investors
will also not be able to purchase more than 10 percent of the shares offered on
the market,“ he said, adding that such restrictions could protect Iran’s
fledgling capital market against possible problems. Noting that some 100
TSE-listed companies do not report to the stock market authorities, the
official said the TSE will prevent such companies from trading shares. “If
these companies do not rectify their procedures, they will be eliminated from
the stock market after a year,“ he said. The TSE chief blamed the country’s
nuclear issues for the sluggish trading in the stock market, expressing hope
that the capital market will get a new lease on life in coming weeks. He did
not explain how the rapidly tumbling indices could rebound under the
circumstances. Experts say the Khatami administration’s approval of the bylaw
authorizing direct purchase of shares by foreign parties was good news for
the capital market. They argue that while in the first instance the bylaw
might seem to contain restrictive conditions for foreign investment in the
capital market, it could lead to greater participation of foreign companies
in the stock market. The bylaw was drawn up by Stock Market Council and
submitted to the cabinet by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance.
Foreign investors are currently permitted to purchase 50 percent shares of
companies which they run in Iran. However, the new law will help those who do
not want to run a business here and are only interested in buying and selling
shares. The foreign investment bylaw is the first step towards
internationalization of the stock market.
JAPAN: Credit Card Info Breach Reaches
28 Million Yen Damage caused by the illegal use of Japanese
credit card information linked to a huge case of data theft in the United
States has reached nearly 28 million yen, industry officials said Tuesday. It
was the first time a specific damage value has been cited since the U.S. data
breach was announced Friday. Information on some 39,000 MasterCard-linked
credit card holders and at least 27,000 Visa-linked card holders in Japan has
been leaked for possible fraud, industry sources and the Ministry of Economy,
Trade and Industry said. UCS Co., an affiliate of supermarket chain Uny Co.,
said five MasterCard-linked cards it issued were illegally used between
January and March, running up bills of about 400,000 yen, the officials said.
UFJ Card Co. reported 26 cases of abuse totaling 5.2 million yen. Another
credit card firm affiliated with a regional bank reported a single case
involving 190,000 yen. Pocket Card Co. confirmed 1 million yen in damages
from about 10 cases. Other credit card firms are still investigating, but the
damage is likely to rise once Visa International Service reports on its own
probe.
Internet to Become Japan's 3rd-Biggest
Advertising Medium in 2007 - Report TOKYO (AFX) - The Internet will overtake
magazines as soon as 2007 to become the third-largest advertising medium in
Japan by revenue, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported, citing an estimate by
the Dentsu Communication Institute. The Internet overtook radio as an
advertising vehicle in 2004. But television commercials and newspaper ads
look certain to remain the top and second-largest advertising media, respectively,
in the foreseeable future, the business daily said. The institute's parent,
Dentsu Inc, the nation's largest advertising agency, estimates that the
Japanese advertising market was worth a total 5.85 trln yen in 2004, the
report said. Of that amount, online ads accounted for 181.4 bln yen, up 53.3
pct from the previous year, while magazine advertising spending fell 1.6 pct
to 397 bln yen, it said. In 2007, the institute forecasts that the Internet
ad market will grow to 414.2 bln yen, surpassing magazine ad revenue, which
has remained pretty static the past decade, the report said. The institute
projects online ad revenue will more than triple from 2004 to reach 566 bln
yen in 2009.
SOUTH KOREA: E-Promissory Notes to Be
in Full Use in July The use of electronic promissory notes will
be in full swing in July after the country introduced them for the first time
in the world early this year. In a report to President Roh Moo-hyun on
Thursday (April 21), Justice Minister Kim Seung-kew said business laws will
be restructured to match international standards, aimed at advancing the era
of $20,000 per capita income. He said e-promissory notes will be in full use
in the market, starting July. The law for the cyber notes was promulgated in
March 2004 and has been implemented since January this year. However, the
cyber notes are not yet in the market as the government has been preparing a
system to safely run them. The Korea Financial Telecommunications and
Clearings Institute is designing the system. It will be in charge of the
management of settlements by e-promissory notes. “The system will help
achieve better transparency in the transaction of promissory notes,” a
Justice Ministry official said. “Illegal trading of notes is expected to
reduce, while costs to issue, transfer and change the notes will greatly
decrease.” In addition, electronic systems for checks, bills of lading and
voting by shareholders have been under review for implementation, the
official said. The ministry said it will aggressively try to reduce obstacles
working against business activities and provide legal support to
international and inter-Korean trades through reforming related laws. The
ministry will participate in international trade meetings, including free
trade agreement negotiations, to strengthen its legal support. For companies
that plan to launch new business projects, the ministry has adopted a
consulting system to prevent damages from misunderstandings or ignorance
about complex laws. To prevent the leakage of high-end technology abroad, the
ministry will carry out systematic and comprehensive supervision on overall
intellectual properties by working-level officials, including films,
trademarks, books and software. The ministry also unveiled a set of measures
for better human rights during the investigation, including expanding the
number of inquiry rooms solely for children and women at prosecution offices
from the current 17. Voice recording and videotaping facilities will also be
established at an additional 10 public prosecutors' offices to total 30 this
year. The ministry will set up a new department to take care of citizenship
and refugee status, while adjusting related laws to enhance the legal status
of defectors. Convicts will also receive more thorough health checkups. Next
month, 36 percent, or 20,000, convicts will benefit first from the checkups
from medical organizations. Previously, convicts have only received a simple
X-ray test by penitentiaries.
South Korea Makes Bid for Regional
E-Govt Centre South Korea steps up efforts to position
itself as regional hub for e-government best practice. The ASEAN Plus 3
grouping (the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, plus
China, Japan and South Korea) is working to finetune details for a regional
e-government centre ... and South Korea is angling for the centre to be
established in Seoul. According to Oh Young-kyo, South Korea's Government
Administration Minister, Seoul would be happy to host the proposed centre
from next year onwards. "The e-government centre will act as a bridge
among the ASEAN Plus Three countries, paving the way for smooth exchanges in
such fields as human resources, technical support, education and
training," Oh commented. The proposal for an e-government centre was
presented to the "ASEAN Plus Three Senior Officials' Meeting on Creative
Management for Government" held in Seoul on the sidelines of the
UN-sponsored Sixth Global Forum on Reinventing Government, which kicked off
four-day meeting last week. At the meeting ministers and senior officials
from ASEAN Plus Three countries discussed ways of using technology to improve
government operations and were said by officials to have given 'positive
responses' to South Korea's offer to initiate the integrated e-government
centre.
Gov't to Revamp Online Security System The government has decided to revamp the
security system of the nation's online banking services to ease growing
jitters about online transactions following recent hacking incidents. The
system of online security has been questioned after two young Koreans
withdrew money from customer's bank accounts by hacking into the Internet
banking system of a local bank a month ago. The government introduced a set
of measures to prevent hackers from breaking into the Internet banking system
at a meeting of economic ministers chaired by Finance-Economy Minister Han
Duck-soo on Friday (June 10), It will strengthen the personal authentication
process. Under the measures, all the Internet banking services providers _
banks, securities and credit card firms _ are obligated to have their
security systems automatically installed at customers' computers when the
customers first log on the online service. In other words, customers will not
be able to conduct financial transactions online without financial firms'
security programs, which prevent important personal information, including
passwords, from being hacked into. “The latest online banking accident took
place at the Korea Exchange Bank while a victim entered personal information
to download some programs from a hacker,” an official of the Ministry of
Finance and Economy said. “So far, customers are able to choose whether to
set up the security system, but it will be impossible to use the Internet
banking service without installing the security program from now on,” he added.
Also, the government decided to strengthen the procedure for obtaining an
authentication certificate to prevent one's certificate from being reissued
by others. So the government plans to make financial firms give special
passwords for the customers to receive or to introduce a short message
service (SMS) authentication system via cell phones from the latter half of
the year. Furthermore, the government plans to conduct research on the
security system of e-commerce, including Internet banking and online shopping,
and introduce a guideline for safe online trading by the end of July. There
have been growing concerns over the security system of online transactions
here after the two hackers stole 50 million won from other person's account a
month ago. They installed a hacking program at a computer in a PC room to
find out personal identification numbers (PIN) used for Internet banking.
Online banking service users have been soaring for the past few years, due to
convenience and lower transaction fees, according to the central bank. The
subscribers to online banking services numbered 22.57 million as of the end
of March, up from 17.71 million at the end of 2002. The online transactions _
such as account inquiries, money transfers and loan services _ totaled 10.35
million in the first quarter.
FSS Warns E-Commerce Customers of
Cyber Crime The Financial Supervisory Service Tuesday
(July 5) rang the alarm against cyber crime, requesting e-commerce customers
not to open e-mails that purport to be from financial organizations.
"Phishing" scams have begun luring victims here as the first
Korean-language fake Web site designed to trick consumers into revealing
personal financial data was uncovered. AhnLab, the country's top online
vaccine developer, found a bogus Internet site late last week that imitated
that of Kookmin Bank, Korea's biggest lender. The site was scrapped by the
Korea Information Security Agency (KISA) and no victims have been reported
yet, but experts caution against complacency on the newly found online fraud.
“The first phishing site was blocked without big damages but it is highly
likely for similar attempts to sprout up,” said Kang Eun-sung, a senior
researcher at AhnLab. Phishing attempts by foreign hackers have been reported
to the KISA since last year, but this is the first time that phishers created
a Web site posing as a Korean financial entity. Phishing, the term coined in
the 1990s in the United States, refers to the luring of sensitive information
by pretending to be someone trustworthy with a real need for such
information. Phishers reel in unsuspecting victims by sending out numerous
e-mails that pose as messages from financial institutes, asking the
recipients to click the linked site. The online criminals also typically
threaten to close the recipients' accounts unless they make an access to the
links to check security or the accounts. However, those who click on the
links in such spoofed e-mails are actually redirected to fake sites, where
they enter information directly into fraudster's hands. Phishers surfaced as
a social problem across the world of late because they have tried to steal
personal identity data and financial account credentials that are used for
crimes. In other nations such as the United States, the development of
anti-phishing authentication technologies is underway such as the electronic
signature system that confirms senders' identity.
New Online Services on Tax Relief
Procedures The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and
Energy (MOCIE) launched a new online service from July 2005 designed to make
it easier for foreign-invested firms to file for government tax breaks. The
new service will enable foreign-invested firms to check for updates on how
their applications are proceeding online. In the past, companies had to
contact relevant government authorities such as MOCIE and the Ministry of
Finance and Economy (MOFE). But now, regardless of time or place, applicants
need only log onto the MOCIE website to check the status of their
application. When a foreign-invested company files a tax break application to
MOFE, MOFE requests MOCIE to examine the applicant’s eligibility. Following
the examination of a company’s eligibility, MOCIE informs MOFE of the
outcome. Finally, MOFE makes a decision on whether the applicant will be
granted the tax break. The new system allows companies to check on where
their application stands along one of these five steps. Not to mention the
convenience of online access, applicants can be assured of the
confidentiality by logging on the website with individual PIN and password.
MOCIE will also supply mobile text messaging services on status updates.
Currently the online services are provided only in Korean. English-language
services are scheduled to start in October.
Electronic commercial transactions hit an
all-time high of 2.48 trillion won ($2.45 billion) in sales in the second
quarter of the year on increasing transactions in travel and reservation
services for wedding ceremonies and other family events. Commercial
transactions via the Internet were up 35.2 percent from a year earlier and
2.4 percent from the first quarter, the National Statistical Office (NSO)
reported on Sunday (Aug. 7). Of total sales in cyber shopping malls and
online commerce sites, online-only malls accounted for 55.2 percent, or 1.37
trillion won, while enterprises with both online and offline operations took
the remaining 44.8 percent, or 1.11 trillion won The number of cyber shopping
malls, where most business-consumer transactions are made, stood at an
average of 3,759 in the second quarter, up 302, or 8.8 percent, from the same
period in 2004.
MONGOLIA: E-Health Project to Be
Implemented The Mongolian Ministry of Health together
with the World Health Organization will carry out the E-Health Project in
Mongolia for five years--between 2006-2010. The Project aims at improving the
health management system of Mongolia and introducing the info high tech to
the health sector. As a result of the Project, a database of the hospitals of
the UB districts and rural soums will be connected to the electronic network.
Experimental works will be done starting from August 1, 2005 in 24 bags
(smallest rural administrative unit) of five aimags such as Zavkhan, Dornod,
and Ovorkhangai.
E-Ulaanbaatar Program Approved The Ulaanbaatar City Mayor M.Enkhbold has
approved the E-Ulaanbaatar Program. The Program will be carried out in four
stages between 2005-2008--during the term of office of the UB City Mayor. The
first stage of the Program will be implemented from September to December of
2005. As a result, the opportunities will be created for transmitting the
state services to the online form and efficiently providing citizens with
necessary information. Mr. Enkhbold has ordered to create a united website of
the UB City within the framework of the E-Ulaanbaatar Program.
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MALAYSIA: Bond Market Needs Good ICT
Backing There is a need for a comprehensive and
sophisticated information system for the local bond market to expand further,
said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. “Information richness and reach enabled by
today's state-of-the-art information communications technology and
cutting-edge solutions, will be the pillars for raising the level of
disclosure and transparency necessary to ensure market integrity and
fairness. “It is through greater transparency and investor protection that we
can promote greater confidence among institutional and retail investors,
thereby expanding the pool of local and foreign investors,'' he said at the
Rating Agency Malaysia (RAM) League Awards Night yesterday. He added that the
private sector was encouraged to expand the use of electronic databases and
delivery channels to provide accurate, reliable and timely information to
investors on a continuous basis. He said that capital market intermediaries
and institutions must also be attuned to potential opportunities by adopting
new technologies and business strategies that capitalised on such
applications. “Investors will have to contend with increasing sophistication
of markets and products and specific risks associated with each type of
market and product,” said the Deputy Prime Minister. He noted that RAM was
collaborating with Mainstream and Company, a leading financial services
company in South Korea, and that the major bond market players in Malaysia
were preparing a comprehensive and sophisticated bond information system that
would serve not only Malaysia but also the region. He said regulatory
authorities were finalising arrangements for more effective implementation of
mark-to-market practices and introduction of bond pricing agencies.
E-Enforcement System for Traffic
Offences With only 17% to 25% of traffic offenders
being brought to book now, the Transport Ministry is planning to implement an
electronic enforcement system to raise the figures. The ministry aims to get at
least 95% of violators to be on par with global best practices, said Deputy
Transport Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas. “The Government is considering
the possibility of e-enforcement using speed cameras especially for
accident-prone areas. “This is to complement the increasing need for
enforcement officers and patrol cars in tandem with the growth of the road
network and traffic volume,” he said in his speech read out at the launch of
Mokitown, a road safety programme for children. His speech was read out by
Road Safety Department director-general Suret Singh. Douglas also said that
the ministry was thinking of reviewing the Road Transport Act to punish
repeat traffic offenders with heavier penalties. Suret Singh explained that
under the electronic enforcement system, summonses would be automatically
issued to offenders caught on camera. “This is more efficient and may
probably lower the de-ployment of enforcers,” he said. He said under the
plan, which had yet to be finalised, motorists would be monitored via cameras
for traffic offences such as speeding, beating the lights and dangerous
driving. Suret Singh also said the road safety audit programme for
expressways and federal roads would be expanded to state and council roads
under the Ninth Malaysian Plan. Under the programme, dangerous areas are
identified for improvements to be made. “We have identified 353 council roads
and 290 state roads,” he said. Suret Singh said the programme had been
effective, as under the Eighth Malaysia Plan, the number of sites which were
accident-prone had been re-duced from 153 to five.
PM Wants Greater Urgency to Develop
High-Tech Agri Sector Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has called
for a greater sense of urgency among all stakeholders to transform the
agricultural sector into a high-tech industry. "I believe a lot is
(already) on-going, but what I would like to see is a greater sense of
urgency on the part of all concerned to bring these important efforts to
fruition," the Prime Minister said when opening the Malaysia Agro-Bio
Business Conference 2005. The event was held in conjunction with the 6th
Malaysia International Food and Beverage Trade Fair at Putra World Trade
Centre here Thursday. The Prime Minister's speech was read by Agriculture and
Agro-Based Industries Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. Abdullah said it
would be tantamount to "gross neglect" if Malaysia did not fully
utilise its strengths to provide the world with its food and other agro-based
needs. Stressing that Malaysia had only "scratched the surface"
with respect to its potential, he said, "The direction we should take is
clear. The only question we must ask ourselves now is whether we are moving
fast enough in that direction." Abdullah said the 9th Malaysia Plan
period between 2006 and 2010 would be instrumental in changing the course of
the country's agriculture and agro-based industries to a more high-tech and
value-added stage. He said that under the plan, several measures would be
undertaken to bring about such a change. "Foremost among these is the
development of human capital in fields related to the sector. Malaysia will
need to increase the number of scientists, economists, managers and
entrepreneurs in these fields," he said.
New ID Card for Cops With Enhanced
Security Features The police authority card has come of age,
incorporating 21st-century technology in its security features. The launch of
the credit card-size police identification also marked a historic moment for
the force, as the first police authority card was launched 198 years ago.
Federal Police Management director Comm Datuk Kamarudin Ali said the
country’s 97,000 police personnel would be issued the new cards by the end of
this year. The privilege of carrying the card would also be extended to
volunteer and auxiliary police personnel, he said. The cards come in four
colours – blue for officers, yellow for rank-and-file personnel, purple for
police volunteer reserve (PVR), and grey for auxiliary police. “The idea to
change the old card, which did not fit into a wallet properly, came up some
years back. “As science and technology advanced, our old identity card were
replaced with MyKad in 2001, but we still carried our police card which was
the size of the old ICs. “So the time has come for the police force to employ
new technology,” he said yesterday before the new card was launched by
Inspector-General Tan Sri Mohd Bakri Omar. The new police card measures 54mm
by 86mm which fits into a wallet, uses digital printing, and is laminated for
durability. Among the security features are the Guillouche design which uses
a set of patterns in different colours that is difficult to duplicate, 0.2
point microtext that can only be seen under a magnifying device, and a
numismatic image of PDRM.
A new syndicate specialising in making
purchases with credit cards obtained with genuine but stolen personal
particulars has raked in more than RM1mil in “profits” in the past month
alone. Its activities came to light following the arrest of five men in Sungai
Senam, Perak, who had fraudulently purchased airline tickets and electrical
appliances using genuine credit cards issued by local and overseas banks.
Federal police commercial crime department principal assistant director
Senior Asst Comm (II) Ismail Abdullah said the syndicate members would first
apply for cards using stolen personal information, including photocopies of
identity cards. Once the crooks get the cards, they would use them to make
purchases, usually via online to avoid face-to-face transactions. Initially
they would make two to three payments on their credit card bills to gain the
trust of issuing banks. “They pay the bills just to create an impression that
they are genuine. Once they have lulled the banks into a sense of security,
they use up the card’s credit limit before making a dash for it,” he told The
Star. SAC Ismail said the syndicate had applied for the credit cards using
stolen customers’ data. “The data is obtained by people who claim to be
merchant bank agents. Inducing customers with offers of annual fee waivers,
free-for-life offers and other such promotions, they get them to sign up for
a card and submit a photocopy of their IC,” he said. The details in the
application forms would be passed on to the syndicate, he said. SAC Ismail
advised those applying for credit cards or other transactions that require a
copy of their IC to cross it and state the purpose of the photocopy.
SINGAPORE: Survey Finds 57% of Singaporeans Transacting Electronically With Government Government electronic services are gaining
popularity among Singaporeans. A survey conducted by the Infocomm Development
Authority and the Finance Ministry has found more than half or 57 percent of
Singaporeans made transactions electronically with the government. Of this,
nearly 9 in 10 have transacted at least once with the government
electronically in the 12 months before the survey. This is higher than the 7
in 10 garnered in the previous survey. Wu Choy Peng, Deputy Chief Executive,
IDA, said, "The largest increase proportionately is in the age group of
40 and above. However, the age group of 30 to 39 is still the single largest
group of people who transact with government electronically." Eight out
of 10 say they are satisfied with the quality of the services. The public can
tap on about 1,600 government online services - from job matching to
registering for a company. The three most popular services are filing of
income tax, requesting for CPF statements, and encashing or topping up of
economic restructuring shares.
IDA and T-Systems to Collaborate on
Infocomm Security Initiatives Leading ICT Service provider T-Systems
Singapore Pte Ltd and the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA)
today announced a joint collaboration on infocomm security initiatives in the
region. As part of this collaboration, IDA and T-Systems Singapore will
identify thought leadership opportunities, engage in market development and
develop infocomm security capabilities over the next 3 years. The first beach
head of these initiatives include the recently set up Security Evaluation Lab
by T-Systems which targets the rapidly expanding security solutions market in
Asia Pacific projected to cross US$4.9 billion by 2008, according to
IDC1."T-Systems has an established track record in providing
leading-edge infocomm services to customers around the world. We are keen to
share our experience with customers and partners in this region," said
Mr. Thomas Jakob, Chief Executive Officer, T-Systems Singapore Pte Ltd.
"This collaboration with IDA strengthens our commitment to Asia as a
growing market. T-Systems will consolidate and expand our operations in
Singapore with total business spending of up to US$60 million over the next
12 months, and significantly increase our recruitment of ICT professionals to
service our customers in the region."Mr. Jakob added, "Moving
forward, T-Systems will increasingly import security expertise and service
offerings into Asia, including consulting and solutions, business continuity
and disaster recovery services. Combined with a stable infrastructure and
large pool of highly skilled resources, we look forward to contributing
towards Singapore's efforts in building a vibrant infocomm security
hub." "IDA is pleased to work with T-Systems to strengthen
Singapore's infocomm infrastructure and capabilities," said Mr. Khoong
Hock Yun, Assistant Chief Executive Officer, Infocomm Development Authority
of Singapore. "This collaboration will serve to develop new capabilities
in Infocomm Security to meet the growing demand for security solutions and
enhance Singapore's reputation as a trusted infocomm hub.""Security
is a growing concern for governments, organizations and individuals alike.
T-Systems has worked with clients like Lucent Technologies and others to gain
a vast breadth of expertise in security consulting and solutions," said
Dr. Franz-Peter Heider, Executive Vice President, ICT Security, T-Systems
International, who is in Singapore to address an audience of industry
executives on optimizing infocomm security to compete in a global
market.T-Systems recently unveiled its Common Criteria Evaluation Facility in
Singapore, as the first step towards kicking off this wide-reaching
initiative. Common Criteria (CC) certification is an internationally
recognized security standard (ISO15408) for security products. The ICT
service provider will now be able to evaluate products and solutions for
security assurance through this facility, which is the first in Asia.
Products that will be evaluated here include Access Control Devices and
Systems, Boundary Protection Devices and Systems, Databases, Data Protection,
Detection Devices and Systems, ICs, Smart Cards and Smart Card-related
Devices and Systems, Key Management Systems, Network and Network-related
Devices and Systems, Operating Systems and Other Devices and Systems.Solution
providers will now be able to obtain the necessary Common Criteria
certifications for security products in Singapore, and have the certification
recognized and accepted by their customers worldwide. This will also help
developers in the region market their products to countries like Australia,
Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, which mandate the use of
Common Criteria Standards. T-Systems Singapore Pte Ltd is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom's strategic business area for business
customers, T-Systems. With global capabilities in Information and
Communications Technology (ICT), T-Systems Singapore provides a wide range of
IT Services as well as network services through Deutsche Telekom's Telekom
Global Network. In 2003, the company took over the operations of DataOne in
Singapore, a wholly owned subsidiary of Keppel T&T and recently, the IT
operations of the Allianz Group (AGIS) in Singapore.T-Systems Singapore
currently has 120 employees providing support to over 250 customers located
in Singapore and throughout the Asia South region. T-Systems is one of
Europe's leading providers of information and communications technology
(ICT). Within the Deutsche Telekom Group, T-Systems is responsible for
supporting the business customer segment, ranging from medium-sized and large
companies all the way up to multinational corporations and public
institutions. The company has 51,000 employees in over 20 countries worldwide
and posted revenues of nearly ?13 billion in 2004.The company optimizes
processes and cuts costs for its customers, thus providing them additional
flexibility for their core business. It does this by making targeted use of
industry expertise and cutting-edge technology. T-Systems' services encompass
all levels of the information and communications technology value chain,
spanning from ICT infrastructure and ICT solutions, up to, and including,
business process management. For more information about the company and its
services, see www.t-systems.com.
Singapore Police Force: A Learning
Organization According to Kan Siew Ning, [pictured] the
civilian in charge of the Singapore Police Force’s (SPF) Technology
Department, the organization’s IT infrastructure is similar to many in the
public sector, or the private sector for that matter. “We are a typical IT
shop,” he says. “We have our data centres, networks, service level
agreements, outsourcing relationships and R&D partners, just like anyone
else. ”Where SPF does differ is in its active approach to acquiring knowledge
– whether from within, or from beyond the walls of the force. “We do keep out
a constant look out for IT best practices, and work out how we can introduce
them into the SPF,” Kan explains. “We have a range of mission critical and
normal transactional systems, both inward and outward-facing – and as a
result we have to pay careful attention to how we integrate new best
practices within our existing context. ”SPF has relatively little in-house IT
maintenance, having outsourced “about three quarters” of the workload. What
remains are the administration of back-ups, systems recovery, and other
sensitive activities. This division of effort allows the Technology
Department to focus on forward-looking research initiatives, as well as
Specific Operational Requirements. The former tend to be small proof-of-concept
trials that consume limited resources, and the latter tend to focus on
near-term (1-2 years) planned operational requirements. “We have quite a neat
division between ‘technology push’ and ‘operations pull’, and this is the
basis for managing our IT portfolio,” says Kan. Systems and processes “A
learning organization builds upon trust, so to implement Knowledge Management
in SPF has been very easy, because we have such a rich background of building
trust within the context of a Learning Organization. Because of the nature of
policing, we have a work environment that demands facts and truth,” he
continues. Kan is clear sighted about the benefits of a knowledge-driven
workplace, as you would expect from someone who is also the current President
of the Information and Knowledge Management Society. Due to its mature
Learning Organization initiatives, the SPF has proved to be fertile ground
for a number of initiatives designed to boost knowledge acquisition and
sharing. One example has been internalising an After Action Review (AAR)
methodology that was pioneered by the United States Army. After a given
outcome, SPF gets staff to ask four questions: What was supposed to happen?
What actually happened? Why was there a gap? What are the learning points?
“The purpose of AAR is to look for problems to solve, not to look for
internal culprits to blame,” Kan explains. “This is not to say that we are
extremely forgiving of mistakes. We are no different from any other
organization when it comes to mistakes due to negligence and we take those
mistakes very seriously. For other types of mistakes, if you focus on solving
the problem, and not blaming the culprit, it removes the element of fear of
punishment. Ultimately we are here to solve problems, and all of us want to
do better in the future. ”Kan goes on to highlight the role of SPF’s
Discussion Group, which provides a forum for staff to register feedback. All
levels of staff participate, from corporals and sergeants to the Commissioner
of Police. This reinforces a culture of trust, and enables SPF to
collectively learn from the experience of individuals. “For example, if there
is technology that is being used on the ground, the environment provides a
channel for frank feedback to be voiced. Direct factual feedback from the
ground is incredibly valuable in order to maintain alignment between
technology and operations. The hallmark of a learning organization is the
ability to focus on feedback, and not be concerned about where the feedback
comes from. ”Documenting knowledge An organizational culture that supports
knowledge capture and retention also helps SPF keep the initiative in the
day-to-day management of its IT infrastructure. “Avoiding vendor lock-in is
uppermost in my mind. If knowledge of our systems is too tacit then it
becomes very hard to switch IT provider if the need arises,” Kan explains.
“This is why we need to have very skillful project managers to counterbalance
this. They ensure that system and software documentation are provided by the
incumbent service provider.”“ As part of our project management methodology,
we enforce certain standards of documentation, so that before you can cross
certain milestones, there is a certain level of documentation. Of course
there will always be some kind of overhead when you switch vendors, but this
can be managed provided you manage documentation upfront.”
THAILAND: ICT Ministry Bans Websites
Attacking Govt Two websites critical of the government were
banned yesterday, the first to be shut down for political activity rather the
usual reason, pornography. The two websites are run by Ekkayuth Anchanbut and
run by Anchalee Paireerak. They were closed by an order issued by the
Information and Communications Technology Ministry dated June 18.A ministry
inspector said yesterday the websites were closed for two reasons _ no
evidence of who their real owners were and violent content that could trigger
social disorder. The inspector, who asked not to be named, said there was
only evidence of website leases and there had been complaints that the
content encouraged the public to stage demonstrations. They also contained
fierce political accusations. Through internet service providers, officials
concerned demanded contact details from the operators, to no avail. So the
websites were ''suspended'' until they were improved and registered properly.
Miss Anchalee, a host on FM92.25 community radio station, complained that the
ban was tantamount to denying public access to information. If the programmes
of the radio station, which were also broadcast on the website, were not good
enough, there would be no audience, she said. Mr Ekkayuth, a businessman and
vocal critic of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, said his legal staff would
consider action as the constitutional right to give the public information
had been violated. He knew who ordered the closure and believed it stemmed
from three issues presented on his website _ the inappropriateness of a
deputy prime minister running for UN secretary-general, vested interests in
the stock exchange that involve politicians, and problems in the South.
''There are attempts to persecute the owners of the servers that we rent
through business means. But after this closure, I can reopen it. I developed
the website to reveal the truth, not to topple the government as alleged. ''I
have the constitutional right to say that I don't like Mr Thaksin and he
cannot prohibit me from telling the truth. ''He can always say who he does
not like and sometimes he even says that in his Saturday morning radio
programme. Everyone must have an equal right of expression,'' Mr Ekkayuth
said. The prime minister addresses the public on national radio every Saturday
morning. Wuthipong Pongsuwan, adviser to the PM's Office Minister who was
said to be the person who sought the closure from the ICT Ministry, said it
was unnecessary for him to complain to the ministry because anyone, including
more than 300 MPs of the prime ministers's Thai Rak Thai party, could make a
complaint after visiting Mr Ekkayuth's website. As evidence of legal
violations was clear, the closure was as right as that of pornographic and
illegal trade websites, he said. ''Any website that affects security and the
royal institution, causes great damage to individuals and contradicts
morality should be axed. ''Both websites encouraged people to join
demonstrations and support a coup. In fact, they should have been dealt with
long ago,'' Mr Wuthipong said. Chavarong Limpatamapanee who supervises moral
issues for the Thai Webmaster Association said it was the first time a
website in Thailand making critical comments of the government had been
closed. The state had no right to act as censor as it violated freedom of
expression.
Office Automation to Improve
Communications at Ministry The Foreign Ministry will begin to modernise
its central filing system by the end of the year by utilising office
automation to improve communications within the ministry, ambassadors were
told at a seminar yesterday. The ministry will adjust its working culture by
introducing information technology so it can compete with its foreign
counterparts, Tharit Charungvat, an ambassador attached to the ministry, told
an annual gathering of 89 Thai ambassadors and consuls-general in Hua Hin
yesterday. Implementation of the one-year project could start by the end of
this year when electronic submissions would be introduced for
inter-departmental communications, Mr Tharit said. On communications between
different ministries, the Foreign Ministry would scan documents and store
them in a digital format, which would support integration between CEO
ambassadors and major policy makers in Bangkok, Mr Tharit said at the
ambassadorial retreat following an audience with His Majesty the King at
Klaikangwon Palace on Tuesday. The ministry was aiming toward paperless
communications and was embarking on another project called the Global
Intelligence Unit, which would link and analyse in-depth information to
improve decision-making, said Vitavas Srivihok, another ambassador attached
to the ministry. The Thai mission to the European Commission had launched a
website at www.thaieurope.net, which has been linking information from 19
Thai embassies in Europe since July 2004, he said. Some embassies were also
working on a pilot project for budget preparation on a country basis to
integrate work and financial plans with agreed objectives in their countries.
There has been a lot of overtime recently at
Thailand’s Revenue Department. The agency has just concluded personal tax
filings for the year, and it has been busier than ever: the total number of
taxpayers has risen to around 7.4 million, up on the previous year’s total of
6.6 million. Partially as a result of this increase in the number of
taxpayers, Jantima Siriseangtaksin’s 250-strong IT team have been putting in
three shifts a day to provide 24-hour support to the work of the Revenue
Department’s 25,000 staff. But what is putting a bounce in the step of the
most sleep-deprived of her team is the success of the Revenue Department’s electronic
tax filing, or e-filing. Now in its fourth year, e-filing accounts for 54 per
cent of all tax returns. E-filing has come a long way in a short time: back
in 2002 the system rather publicly failed in the last two days before the tax
deadline, and as a result only 69,000 taxpayers managed to file online. The
second year of e-filing saw this rise to 259,000 before it jumped to 2
million in 2004. But not even Siriseangtaksin had predicted that e-filing
would prove to be so popular this year. As Siriseangtaksin explains, the
success of this year’s e-filing is attributable to steady improvements in the
customer experience over the past couple of years. Another powerful
motivating factor was the announcement – a month before the e-filing deadline
– which all those who filed online would receive their refunds within 15
days, down from the standard 30 day refund period. As Siriseangtaksin is
quick to point out, the Director-General of the Revenue Department was very
supportive of the IT team, making sure that they had the manpower and funding
necessary to truncate the refund cycle and integrate it with the e-filing
system in weeks rather than months. As part of this process the Revenue
Department was able to establish a call centre helpdesk to handle the increase
in citizen interactions. All opinions and comments by tax officials will be
keyed in to a single repository of taxpayer information, ensuring greater
transparency and making information retrieval simpler. Following on from the
success of the Revenue Department’s e-filing helpdesk, the Revenue Department
is also looking to establish a call centre. Siriseangtaksin is frank about
the level of technology expertise within the agency – the Revenue Department
has one of the best IT teams in the Thai public sector, having been assembled
with great care by the previous Director-General who is now Permanent
Secretary at the Ministry of Finance.
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BANGLADESH: Optical Fibre Link Project
Goes to Cabinet Body Soon The recommendation of the Bangladesh
Telegraph and Telephone Board on tender of Cox's Bazar -Chittagong optical
fibre link project is likely to be placed in the next meeting of the Cabinet
Committee on government purchase. The Ministry of Post and Telecommunication
on Sunday had sent the file to the Cabinet division recommending a little
known Turkish company Hesfible for laying 165-kilometers of optical fibre
cable. "The technical evaluation committee headed by the chairman of the
Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board Engr Abdul Maleque Akhand has
selected the Hesfible and recommended that the company is qualified for this
work," said an official of Telecommunication Ministry. Meanwhile,
Hesfible the Turkish company was established in 1990 to produce fibre optic
cable. Earlier the Cabinet Committee on purchase canceled the tender due to
massive irregularities by the BTTB officials. Due to immense irregularities
the Cabinet Committee ordered the T&T Board to float a fresh tender. The
board in April last floated fresh tender and opened the seven bids on May 8.
The bidders are Alcatel of France, Hesfible of Turkey, Siemens of Germany,
Samsung of Korea, and Huawei Technologies, ZTE Corporation and China National
Railway Construction of China. Among the seven bidders, the ZTE offered Tk
19.1 crore, Chaina National Railway Tk 21.17 crore, Heisfibel Tk 28.78 crore,
Huawei Tk 31.63 crore, Samsung Tk 36.89 crore, Alcatel Tk 36.94 crore and
Siemens Tk 42 crore. The evaluation committee dropped two of the Chinese companies
the ZTE and the National Railway in the initial stage. After the installation
of fibre optics costing Tk 657 crore, Bangladesh will be connected to the
information super highway with a total of 14 countries including India,
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. The connection with the Information Super Highway
through the SEA-ME-WE 4 Submarine Cable Network from Singapore to Marseilles
in France will open the door of modern communication technologies to
Bangladesh.
BHUTAN: Auditing the Use of ICT in
Ministries Including E-governance
BHUTAN: Census Information Being
Computerised
INDIA: India to Focus on E-govt
Capacity Building
SRI LANKA: e-Sri Lanka - Reengineering
Government
Sri Lanka Opens E-Government Centre
President Authorizes
Loan from South Korea to Fund E-Sri Lanka Project
PAKISTAN: Musharraf Inaugurates
Bab-e-Pakistan for Second Time
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Australian, NZ Tax Offices Link Info New Zealand's Inland Revenue Department
(IRD) and its Australian counterpart have linked pages on their Web sites to
provide tax advice for companies planning to do business on both sides of the
Tasman. The IRD page headed "Doing business in Australia" has a
link to the Australian Tax Office (ATO) Web page on "business between
Australia and New Zealand". This gives an overview of the Australian tax
system and a comparison between the two tax systems. Further advice follows
under the heading "New Zealanders doing business in Australia -- kia
ora" and "Australians doing business in New Zealand", who
apparently do not merit such a friendly greeting. Each heading, when clicked
on, opens out a menu of subheadings dealing with particular circumstances,
each of which links to another page. Situations covered range from selling
goods and services across the Tasman to setting up a permanent place of
business in Australia. The heading "Australians doing business in New
Zealand" naturally links to pertinent material on the NZ IRD site.
Inland Revenue Commissioner David Butler emphasizes that New Zealand
businesses seeking to expand into Australia should seek expert advice on tax
matters and business structures; but the new web-based information is a
useful first step, he says.
AUSTRALIA: Qld Firm to Redesign AGIMO
Site Queensland web design company icemedia has
been chosen to redesign the website of the Australian Government Information
Management Office. AGIMO, part of the Department of Finance and
Administration, manages several websites providing comprehensive access to
federal information services. There is a government entry point, an online
government directory and a publications register. The AGIMO website links to
about 700 Government sites and provides an additional 1680 links to other
sources of information. Its search facility indexes five million pages from
1000 federal and state government websites. The site itself will be developed
in-house by AGIMO. It uses CSIRO's Panoptic search engine.
Queensland Government Appoints CIO A former Gartner analyst has been appointed
CIO for the Queensland government. ICT consultant Peter Grant is the new head
of the Queensland government's Office of Government Information and
Communication Technology. Announcing the appointment, Department of Public
Works director general Mal Grierson said the position requires a wealth of experience
from both the private and public sectors to encourage joint collaboration.
Grant's diverse background includes positions as a university lecturer,
managing director of his own business and director of consulting with
Gartner. He has also held senior IT positions in the public sector. Grierson
said the new CIO will be responsible for formulating partnership arrangements
with the private sector to aid delivery of ICT. "Across the public
sector, he will play a central role in leading multi-agency and whole-of-government
ICT projects," he said. This includes implementation of the Smart
Directions Statement for ICT across the government as well as guiding ICT
investment. Queensland's Office of Government ICT is a division of the
Department of Public Works. (Sandra Rossi)
Technologist Snatches Australia's Top
Bank Job In a cultural watershed at Australia's
largest retail finance institution, the board of the Commonwealth Bank has
replaced card-carrying IT critic David Murray with technology evangelist and
former CIO, Ralph Norris. Currently CEO of Air New Zealand, Norris still has
six months to go on his contract with the airline, with both companies are
still negotiating a commencement date. Yet it is the difference in strategic
vision between the two men that has set tongues wagging in Sydney's
cloistered financial circles. While both Murray and Norris started their
careers as bank tellers, Murray chose the traditional route through the
finance division. Norris reached out and embraced IT while it was still in
its embryonic stages. Having an IT veteran at the helm of Australia's
second-largest bank is likely to have a profound impact on strategy and is in
stark contrast to Murray's take on the technology landscape which became
legendary with his 1999 IT World Congress epiphany that IT
"over-promises and under-delivers." And rather than blaming
financial market mania for the dotcom bubble, Murray's take on it was that
"the IT industry in the US has single handedly wrecked the world
economy." And then there was his warning at a banking IT security
conference that an erosion of trust in a banking sector dependent on
technology could lead to a run on the banks. In contrast, Norris has spent
some 30 years within the information systems division of the now CBA
subsidiary Auckland Savings Bank. After rising to CIO, Norris was promoted to
CEO in 1999 until 2001. In 2002 he moved to Air New Zealand and was lauded
for arresting the airline's terminal decline and steering it back into
profit. While at Air New Zealand, Norris abolished business class and meals
on domestic flights in favour of Express Class, and made Internet sales the
airline's primary ticket outlet. Domestic bookings increased by 23 percent
and Norris quickly achieved a reputation as a business leader who could
harness technology and make it generate a profit for his business rather than
the vendors that supplied it. A senior banking analyst, who declined to be
named, said there is no doubt Norris will reevaluate and bring discipline to
IT supplier contracts when he arrives. "He's probably already scoped it,
but the difference will be that he actually [understands] the IT deliverables
whereas Murray was always suspicious - and understandably so after it
crippled payroll and landed the bank in court over staff transfers to EDS.
Norris is a change agent," the analyst said. Norris' remuneration
package is understood to total $7.6 million a year, a massive rise on the
$NZ1 million he earned in 2004 as CEO of Air New Zealand. CBA spokesperson
Brian Fitzgerald was unable to confirm whether or not current outsourcing
arrangements will be revisited. "When contracts are already in place
there is no chance to change them, but Norris will assess the whole position
for the bank," Fitzgerald said. "I think we will see that he is
tech focused and will look to provide customers with the best levels of
service, through using technology or otherwise. "While at Auckland
Savings Bank, he launched the first Internet banking portal in New Zealand,
but he was only appointed yesterday and is still working at air New
Zealand." Norris is a fellow of the New Zealand Computer Society and
chair of New Zealand Ministry of Economic Development's influential
Information Technology Advisory Group. He is 56, married and has three
children. (by Julian Bajkowski, Michael Crawford)
Australia's use of online government
services has nearly doubled over the last two years, with taxpayers swapping
standing in queues for Web transactions, according to the most comprehensive
study of the subject to date. Compiled by a consortium of Dandolopartners,
Roy Morgan Research and BDO Consulting on behalf of the Australian Government
Information Management Office, the survey of nearly 6000 Australians found
usage of e-government services has jumped from 21 percent in 2002 to 39
percent in 2004. In terms of what Australians liked from their local, state
and federal government online services, it seems the Web has appeal for the
daily necessities of life: community and social services (20 percent),
transport (18 percent), land, property planning and construction (15 percent)
and taxation, business services, finance and economics (11 percent) made up
the top four rankings, followed by health (7 percent). The figures appear to
vindicate a sustained move by both state and federal governments to wean
their citizens off costly call centre, direct mail and face-to-face
communications where Web-based information or transaction services are more
appropriate and convenient. Such services include registering vehicles,
paying council rates, lodging development applications and collecting on the
billions of dollars in election cash giveaways like the federal government's
Family Allowance, Baby Bonus and various childcare subsidies. On the vehicle
registration front, VicRoads CIO John McNally said the survey correlated with
his own experience of "close to 100 percent of licence renewals now done
electronically". As to why Australians prefer the Web to standing in a
line at Centrelink or the local council office 42 percent cited as the
persuader the convenience of being able to do business at a time that suited
them, followed by 37 percent who felt it took less time - especially the
prospect of a two-week turnaround on their tax return. In terms of why people
avoided electronic contact, 37 percent reckoned ("rightly or
wrongly" according to the report) that face-to-face contact was the only
way to get a meaningful dialogue going with those employed by their tax
dollars. Special Minister of State Senator Eric Abetz said the survey
revealed Australians were switching from telephony to browsers as a preferred
means of communication. "Not only are more people using the Internet to
contact government, they're increasingly happy with the results in comparison
with using the telephone. A solid 90 percent of study respondents said they'd
achieved what they set out to do using the Internet," Abetz said. Either
that, or Australians are fed up with paying for the privilege for being put
on hold. (by Julian Bajkowski)
Federal Government Agency Eyes Server
Virtualization The federal Department of Industry, Tourism
and Resources has begun an infrastructure consolidation project one year
after severing ties with its outsourcing provider. Drew Baker, the
department's general manager of ICT services, said the department concluded
an outsourcing agreement last year and began buying its own hardware.
"We were previously in a Telstra Enterprise Services Group Five
outsourcing contract but from July 1 2004 we moved to selective
sourcing," Baker said. The department used to have a mixture of IBM,
Dell, and Sun hardware, but decided to standardize on IBM for support and
contract simplification. With 2000 screens, 80 servers running 10 Web sites
and enterprise applications like Oracle, FinanceOne, and Aurion for HR, Drew
hopes to simplify the infrastructure significantly through consolidation and
virtualization. The department will invest in IBM's new xSeries 366 servers
with the X3 architecture to replace its ageing infrastructure. "For the
application environment there is more interest in X3," Baker said.
"We also have quite an interest in virtualization which is why we looked
at 64-bit, particularly for Web and online for performance, recovery, and
redundancy. We have used VMWare but in this instance we are looking at IBM's
virtualization." Baker said server consolidation is "on the
cards", as "we hope to see a significant reduction in the number of
machines in the hosted environment". "Consolidation savings go
beyond the hardware costs; we will see how we go over the next three months
as we complete the refresh process and we will look further into
consolidation," he said. The department's manager of ICT infrastructure,
Piers Smith, said some software can only run one instance per server so
having a virtualization environment should solve this. Also, developers
already use VMWare on the desktop which saves hardware investments.
"We're already realizing the cost savings by using the 366 for testing
and development of corporate applications as it replaced a multiserver
acquisition," Smith said. "For example, with FinanceOne, eight
servers were required for development and testing." IBM xSeries product
marketing manager, Jay Bretzmann, said virtualization makes reliability and
disaster recovery cheaper. "IBM entered a joint development agreement
with VMWare [as] virtualization is taking off fast," Bretzmann said,
adding that the x86 space is different now that processors have moved to
64-bit. Bretzmann said although Intel-based systems ran enterprise
applications it wasn't a "natural platform". "[During] 2005
more [vendors] will support [Intel's] EM64T (Extended Memory 64 Technology)
and we have one architecture from blades to 32-way," he said. (by Rodney
Gedda)
SA Government Inks Multimillion Dollar
Software Deal The South Australian Department of Further
Education, Employment, Science and Technology is implementing an electronic
document and records management system for its 4000 employees. The department
has signed a contract for software and services worth more than $2 million
with Tower Software. The system, known as Trim Context, is being implemented
to meet the department's obligations under the State Records Act 1997, which
requires agencies to meet document and records management practices outlined
in the State's Adequate Records Management Standard 2002. With a deadline of
June 2006 to comply with the State Records Act the department acquired the
Trim Context solution as the key infrastructure in metting this goal. Elaine
Bensted, the department's executive director of shared business services,
said it will completely replace manual systems as most of the agency's
records are currently paper-based. "Different areas of the department
sometimes create copies so they have easy access to a document," Bensted
said. "This system will mean we do not have to do that any more."
Now the department will scan selected paper documents, and integrate desktop
productivity software and line of business applications so that every
document it creates will be managed as a single Trim database. The software
will initially be deployed in a 300-user pilot due for completion in June
2005, and by June 2006, 4000 users throughout the department will use the
software to store and manage almost every document created. "The goal is
to also increase collaboration by using the workflow tool. It also means when
we process correspondence our staff can e-mail their response internally and
we will know who has the document, whether they have read it and when staff
should reply by," Bensted said. （by Siobhan McBride）
Beattie Creates New IT Portfolio A Queensland government reshuffle has
spawned a new IT policy portfolio reporting directly to Premier Peter Beattie
after a turbulent six months which has seen the state's leader at loggerheads
with the local software industry over comments its wares came second to those
of SAP. Chris Cummins, the former emergency services minister and a qualified
electrician, will fill the new ICT Policy role, while also ministering to the
needs of small business and multicultural affairs. Queensland government
sources told Computerworld Cummins will work closely with Minister for Public
Works and Housing, Rob Schwarten who currently writes the cheques for
Queensland's large ICT projects. Schwarten will remain as the chair of the
state's ICT working group which oversees local industry participation in
Queensland government IT procurement. Schwarten became chair of the
Queensland ICT working group in June after the local software industry gave the
Beattie government a public caning claiming it had been unjustly spurned in
favour of multinational vendors in the awarding of state government
contracts. Local IT observers say the new IT policy portfolio will act as a
circuit breaker between Queensland's 56,000-strong local IT industry, the
premier and Schwarten. Cummins is understood to have organized a meeting with
the ICT working group less than a week after his appointment. Cummins told
Computerworld he is looking to meet with relevant peak bodies and industry
leaders in coming weeks, adding he sees great potential in Queensland's niche
ICT skills, specifically e-security and computer game development. "But
we also need to be able to identify and provide the best possible assistance
to these emerging and existing industry segments," Cummins said.
"That's why, as part of the ICT strategy, we are about to embark on a
study of Queensland's ICT strengths. "Here in Queensland we have high
quality and highly skilled people, strong universities and first-class
infrastructure. I'm keen to see that used to create more Queensland ICT jobs
and businesses." Paul Campbell, chair of ICT industry representative
group Software Queensland, welcomed Cummins' appointment, adding he believed
the premier is "now genuine" about industry concerns after
"whingeing for six months about procurement policy". IT spared in
NSW govt reshuffle, pressure increasesIn a week that has seen the NSW
premier, treasurer and planning minister all quit politics in a few days, Labor's
state factional powerbroker and Commerce Minister John Della Bosca will
retain position and command and control of government IT. However, Della
Bosca is likely to come under increased pressure to give IT vendors supplying
state government a serious financial haircut after it was revealed NSW state
coffers may drift into the red. The state has already issued its first
official guidance on using open source in government, with the release of a
panel of approved penguin-flavoured suppliers for public projects in the
'premier state'. (by Michael Crawford, Julian Bajkowski)
Electoral Commission Eyes Open Source
Voting If bringing total democracy to electronic
voting can only happen via software source code that can be viewed by all,
the Australian Electoral Commission is happy to oblige with its
next-generation election application. The idea of publicly available source
code for any software involved in government elections has been argued by
free-software pundits for years, but as Ken Hunter, chief information officer
of the AEC told Computerworld, the move away from incumbent legacy systems
has made it possible. "There is a push around to make the software open
source and fundamentally we have no problem with that, but we need to
consider the options," Hunter said, adding that while the open source
'push' is recent, most agencies have been using open source software for a
while, mostly on peripheral systems. "We are aware of the Australian
Government Information Management Office's (AGIMO) open source procurement
guide and will consider such options but we are conservative and need to be
certain. It's a serious decision we need to make in terms of support."
For the next three years, the AEC will have its hands full migrating its core
systems from Adabas Natural on a mainframe and Dynix to J2EE on Sun's
Solaris. "The AEC's core systems are different to most enterprises,"
Hunter said. "RMANS (Roll Management System), houses 80 million records
including histories of address changes. The election management system,
dubbed ELMS, is an amalgamation of systems to manage the election
places." Hunter said the legacy systems are robust but they are
"green screen". At election time the ballots are counted at the
polling place, the results are then phoned through to the divisional office
and entered into ELMS. From ELMS the data is fed to the national tally room,
the AEC's Web hosting service and to the media which can take the feed and
put their presentation layers over it. The application, Genesis (general
enrolment election support information system) will be completely redeveloped
from fundamentals and the detailed requirements are now being assessed. All
up, modernizing the AEC's applications could take up to six years to complete
and should save $1 million a year. This will facilitate other advances,
including remote voting. "We are looking at remote voting now and
already have an e-voting infrastructure in place," Hunter said.
"Remote voting has got to come at some time as people are used to doing
things online and technology is not an issue. Identity management is
difficult but [remote e-voting] is no different to a postal vote." Hunter
said that although electronic voting has the potential to produce a
significant ROI for the commonwealth by reducing manual labour, there is a
perception of insecurity that must be overcome. "We will look at
e-voting but until we are tasked to spend resources on it, it won't go
ahead," he said. The commission's director of IT applications, Campbell
Chittenden, said during the move to a J2EE-based application environment the
open source Ingres database will be maintained. "Ingres is used by ELMS
and our staff is already familiar with it [so] we will also be able to
consolidate skill sets," Chittenden said, adding both commercial and
open source components will be considered for the new election application.
For now, the AEC has a limited amount of open source applications like Log
for Net and Samba, which Chittenden said had "proven itself".
"Linux is on our plan to actively look at [but] there are challenges
around a distributed environment like the AEC," he said. "We've
flagged to look at an open source alternative to Lotus Notes." （by Rodney Gedda）
NEW ZEALAND: Healthcare Unit Pushes
for e-Records IBA Health has announced a $NZ2.25 million
three-year support, services and licence contract to integrate a secure
online portal for patient and clinical information for New Zealand's second
largest health provider, the Capital and Coast District Health Board. Chief
executive of the health board, Margot Mains, said the installation of the
core systems is planned for 2005, with the rollout extending through 2006.
The system will eventually enable patient information to go online for use by
clinicians and health professionals to provide better service planning and
monitoring, improved enquiry handling and the ability to conduct clinical
audits. Orion software is providing the auditing software. Mains said
improved patient care and safety is a key goal, but the biggest gains will be
from the improved ability to communicate and share information across health
services and patients. "Our current systems for sharing information and
collaboration are fragmented, with an over reliance on paper-based records; the
nature of paper trails is that they get convoluted and in some cases a
patient can end up having multiple files - none of which contain a complete
record of their health status, their needs and the care they receive,"
Mains said. "Our current software in these areas is also ageing, with
some major items dating back to the pre-Internet era of the mid-1980s, and
much of our software is designed solely to support hospital use.
"Information is the key to effective healthcare, and we need to enable
clinicians, both inside and outside our hospitals to share information and
collaborate effectively. Information systems which do that will help us to
improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare in this district." The
Capital and Coast District Health Board has 21 individual boards throughout
central New Zealand and is responsible for providing health and disability
services, as well as operating three hospitals and providing primary and
secondary health services to more than 250,000 people. Under the contract IBA
will provide the patient management system for outpatient appointment
scheduling and patient management. Orion clinical software cover ordering
pathology, radiology tests and pharmaceuticals, and an electronic discharge
summary tool. (by Michael Crawford)
NZ's Capital DHB Wants an All-IP
Network Wellington's Capital and Coast District
Health Board (DHB) is seeking a converged voice and data network. The DHB has
put out a call for expressions of interest in providing a report on how it
could best implement such a network. According to the document, it is
"seeking quotations from suitably qualified consultants to develop a
telecommunications plan consistent with its business requirements."
Capital and Coast envisages "a single network that carries all traffic
that can be carried using the internet protocol" and says the new
planned Wellington Regional Hospital, which is under construction, will
provide "an opportunity to ensure that [Capital and Coast] minimises its
short and long-term telecommunications costs with either a single or a staged
implementation of new voice and data telecommunications technology." The
document notes that the DHB's telecomms budget for 2004-05 was NZ$2.4 million.
(by David Watson)
Website Raises Auckland Roading Issues A website aimed at making Auckland public
transport and roading networks an election issue was launched yesterday. The
website - set up by the Employers and Manufacturers Association - outlines
the issues and how political parties plan to deal with them. It also allows
people to vent their anger on its road blog at issues such as traffic woes.
"We just want to make sure all political parties know ignoring this
massive issue isn't an option," said EMA chief executive Alasdair
Thompson. He said the situation needed vast improvements or Auckland would
grind to a halt. "Money isn't the problem. The constraints are the Resource
Management Act, the Land Transport Management Act, the capacity of the likes
of Transit NZ to meet its plans ... they're struggling." He said the
site had had more than 500 petition signatures over the first day and EMA
members had yet to be notified. The campaign will be bolstered by billboards
and radio advertising from August 1, he said.
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