Five technologies that may become a big hit in 2008

LONDON: Technology enthusiasts may get to see five major developments this year, according to a forecast made on the BBC News website.

The website says that 2008 will see the emergence of more tools like Google Gears, Adobe Air, and Microsoft Silverlight that have the ability to take rich web content, and make some of it available offline.

Another big development, according to the forecast, will be the rise in the popularity of sub-notebook-sized Ultra Mobile PCs. Though the first devices were launched in 2006, they have not gone mass market as yet, partly because of a combination of high prices and poor battery life.

Taiwanese manufacturer Asus has now predicted that it will sell five million of the tiny machines in 2008.

Apple is also rumoured to be launching ultra-thin Macbooks using flash in 2008.

Next in list of possible major developments is the rise in internet protocol television (IPTV) services.

Though BT vision and Virgin Media are already providing such services in the UK, more operators are expected to emerge this year.

WIMAX, a wireless technology that can deliver high speed broadband over long distances, also has a mention on the list.

Mike Roberts of research firm Informa Media and Telecoms believes that the technology, which is already a big hit in the US, may make way to the yet-untouched Europe.

Wrapping up the list is Mobile VoIP, a technology that allows users to make cheap phone calls over the internet.

It is believed that this technology may huge rise in 2008.

Five technologies that may become big in 2008:

1. The web to go
2. Ultra mobile PCs
3. IPTV
4. Wimax
5. Mobile VoIP

Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

WiMAX invades upper Normandy

PARIS (WiMAX Day). Le Conseil Général de Seine Maritime announced the wireless invasion of the upper region of Normandy. By next month nearly all of the inhabitants of Seine Maritime will have access to the Internet. Seine Maritime is the administrative department for the region.

While ADSL services have been available in major cities such as Rouen, Dieppe and Le Havre, the region has had many “white zones” where no broadband access was available.

To rectify this problem, the department deployed a wireless network comprised of 35 WiMAX base stations that will provide broadband access throughout the region to some 14,000 homes. The network is also complemented with 73 WiFi antennas that extend access to municipal buildings.

The network will be operated by HDRR using its 3.5 GHz WiMAX spectrum license. HDRR is a subsidiary of TDF Group, a French company that is one of the leading terrestrial broadcast service operators in Europe.

HDRR will operate the network for Seine Maritime in partnership with Axione and LD Collectivités. Axione is a subsidiary of Bouygues Construction group, and LD Collectivités is a subsidiary of Neuf Cegetel. Both company’s specialise in the design, construction and operation of broadband and telecommunications infrastructure on behalf of local authorities in France.

The marketing and commercialisation of the new WiMAX service will be put to tender later this month, but most likely will be awarded to Nordnet and Infosat, two local ISPs.

In a press release, the Conseil Général said that the commercial service will offer up to 1 Mbps of service with an attractive price scheme. The Conseil Général admit that 1 Mbps is “far from luxurious, but the network will offer comfortable access where before it was impossible.” Increased speeds may be available for the general public in the future, and the Conseil Général said that more bandwidth will soon be proposed for business users.

Customers who subscribe to the service will be required to purchase an access modem (CPE) for roughly €127 EUR, of which up to 85% will be subsidised by the ISPs that market the service.

The impact on the local population now living outside the boundary of traditional boradband services should be substantial, especially for businesses. Camille Rotunno, a spokeswoman for the Conseil Général, said the network “answers a real and immediate need expressed by companies based in rural areas, irrespective of their size, business or their market sector…. the goal of the Conseil Général de Seine Maritime is to provide the local economy with the tools that are necessary and fundamental to its operation and development.”

This is good news for Alice de Scudéry, a horse breeder in the rolling hills outside the town of Yvetot. “Broadband access will allow me to keep contact with my clients and know where the market is moving. I can’t do that now.”

Agriculture, which powers the local economy, is expected to be a major beneficiary of the WiMAX services. “For example, for the farming community, companies could enjoy specific services enabling them to improve their quality and productivity,” said Rotunno.

The coastline of upper Normandy is also scattered with many small businesses from aquaculture and ship-building, to lace and porcelain manufacturing. Guillaume Delavigne makes traditional wooden yachts near to the port city of Le Havre. His atelier and workshop lies some 500 metres from the closest ADSL connection. “I’ve tried many times to get Internet. All my neighbors have it, but not me, because I’m at the end of the line. I hope this WiMAX comes soon. It can help me a lot in marketing my business.”

Even the small village of Ry, fictionalised by the French writer Gustave Flaubert in the 19th century, will enjoy improved broadband Internet access. If only Madame Bovary lived in the present day, she might have found happiness in the benefits of crossing the digital divide, with its myriad divertissements.
Source: wimaxday.net

D-Link foresees strong revenues

D-Link foresees strong revenues growth in Australia, Japan, South Korea and emerging markets in 2008

D-Link expects revenues from its international business unit, which covers markets in Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, Russia, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, will grow 30-40% in 2008 from the US$400 million projected for 2007, according to Tony Tsao, president of D-Link's international unit.

Demand for application services related to ADSL, 3G, WLAN, WiMAX, VoIP and IPTV have continued to emerge from the aforementioned markets due to the implementation of infrastructure for various networks, Tsao explained.

In addition, the ratio of revenues generated by the international division to D-Link's total revenues is expected to climb to 50% in 2008, up from 48% estimated for this year, Tsao added.

By market segment, D-Link Japan revenues are likely to hit one billion yen (US$8.95 million) in 2008 from 250 million yen in 2007. D-Link has established business relationships with 10 telecom service operators in Russia, with Russia revenues to see a 50% on-year growth in 2007, Tsao said.

D-Link has three additional marketing units covering its business in the US, Europe and the Greater China area, respectively.
Source: digitimes.com

New consumers want it - now

At the recent Digital Future Summit, Darryn Melrose, the chief executive of digital and direct marketing agency AIM Proximity, urged businesses to wake up to the opportunities provided by a global digital marketplace. Here is a summary of that address:
The accelerating pace of technological change enables consumers to engage with brands and services at the location and time of their convenience. With consumers increasingly in control, the fundamental model of communication has been transformed from interruption to invitation.
Consequently, a new consumer has emerged. Empowered, he or she actively seeks fast, simple, relevant and tailored channels of communication.
Hallmarks of the new consumer
Today, the new consumer is always on, with ADSL, Wi-Fi and 3G making markets available anytime. Time shifting, in the form of personal digital video recorders, allows content to be consumed at the most convenient time; commercials can be skipped, live TV paused and programmes emailed.
Portable media has created place shifting. The mobile phone, and more recently the PDA, provide access to all media, anywhere. And virtual living has also influenced behaviour. Sites like Second Life, with more than 11 million residents, are global markets in their own right, worthy of separate marketing strategies. Self-expression has transformed media consumers into media producers. Advocates and antagonists, the new consumers advertise products and services, as well as judging them.
The five core skills marketers need for online success
AIM Proximity recently took part in a worldwide study by the Proximity group, which involved exploring and gathering a lot of data from consumers' online behaviour. From this, five core skill sets emerged which provide a roadmap for success in the global digital marketplace.
* The consumer is already in control; tailor your content accordingly
Digital technology has turned these consumers into radio station DJs, TV programming directors, editors and even film directors. Media consumption has moved from passive to active - content consumers select and mould to taste.
With so many choices and demands on time, consumers will only have space for those companies that understand them and provide relevant content. Rather than being about "you", your website now needs to be about "me".
* Personalise it
Our research during the past 12 months has indicated a growing confidence in self-expression. With all this media choice, the consumer expects to personalise and adapt experiences, products and services to their own tastes. Amazon has long been one of the leaders; customers are individually welcomed to the site with customised recommendations. At Nike iD, you can now design a pair of boots with your own personal colour combination. Involving customers like this is more likely to create a deeper affinity with your products and services.
* Fulfil the 'now' expectation
Patience has become unfashionable. The consequence of "always on" technology is an "always on consumer". Answers to queries are expected here and now. This has big implications for the way traditional organisations provide service or ensure that their customers can always find them. It also impacts on how they sell. Mobiles are an overlooked medium and I believe that mobile-based customer relationship management is a big area where companies can provide an improved experience.
* Listen to your customers
Organisations that have meaningful online communication with customers are likely to thrive in the future. By seeking customer input into product design and services, as well as providing easy access for feedback, these businesses will gain a competitive edge. Today, few organisations are awake to this opportunity and fewer attempt it.
* Embrace self-expression
Twenty years ago, personal diaries tended to be private, locked in a drawer and read only by the author. Today's equivalent, the blog, is shared with millions on the internet (90 per cent of South Koreans in their 20s now blog). And increasingly, consumers are turning to this unmediated content as a source of news, views and entertainment.
The rise of social networks shows how important self-expression is to consumers. Many companies use firewalls to block social networking sites when they should be embracing the phenomenon. If they are not listening and observing, then they will be cut off from one of the best catalysts for change: their own staff.
How is your new company doing?
The rise of the new digital consumer is fast and, in comparison, few companies in New Zealand have adapted the way they operate. In fact, most of the key consumer expectations and attitudes above are difficult for companies to adapt to.
But you don't have a choice really - meet the need or, ultimately, you will disappear. The key point of this article is that hundreds if not thousands of companies in your sector globally will provide for this consumer need. Make sure you are one of them.
Source: nzherald.co.nz

Nokia Siemens Networks Press Releases

Network traffic will grow 100-fold by 2015, driven by bandwidth-hungry services like peer-to-peer file sharing, video and high-definition TV (HDTV). This presents intriguing opportunities – but significant scaling challenges as well.
Nokia Siemens Networks has a rich portfolio of highly efficient and flexible fixed and mobile broadband solutions to meet these challenges, and it will demonstrate them at the Broadband World Forum Americas 2007 in São Paulo, Brazil (booth 305). Nokia Siemens Networks will present solutions that help operators leverage their bandwidth investments and migrate to an all IP/Ethernet network, along with its leading broadband technology and related management and service offerings.
Building out bandwidth with fiberNokia Siemens Networks will show how its customers can flexibly adapt their networks to meet rising bandwidth demand with the help of its industry-leading copper and fiber solutions, which provide support for all access technologies and fiber architectures: fiber to the curb, building, or home. Deployment is optimized with hybrid Multi Service Access Nodes (MSAN), which can transport both optical and electric copper signals. As a result they support ADSL2+, VDSL2, SHDSL, GPON, Ethernet, TDM and POTS/VoIP over the H.248 protocol and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and CATV connections.
Melding fixed network and IP servicesTo bring quality of experience to the consumers, Nokia Siemens Networks is bringing two worlds together: the telecommunication and IT world. Convergence between the various network domains is achieved with the aid of network abstraction, enabling converged applications. Therefore the company provides the framework for leading-edge Service Delivery Platforms to consolidate the application platform landscape to reduce OPEX and to build a flexible creation and execution environment for new applications to generate new revenues with the fastest time-to-market. Nokia Siemens Networks provides comprehensive consulting and integration services, an extensive portfolio of architectural components, a broad ecosystem, and has a great track record with jointly more than 30 business-led service delivery projects implemented.
Extending broadband with the mobile WiMAX solutionNokia Siemens Networks’ end-to-end mobile WiMAX solution extends broadband services to areas where fixed broadband is not cost-efficient. This solution delivers a unified stream of voice, data and video over wide distances with wide bandwidth. The mobile WiMAX solution enables reliable connectivity to broadband services for consumers on the go, adding mobility to their user experience. For operators, mobile WiMAX minimizes network deployment and operational costs – thus enabling easier implementation and more efficient rollout – while at the same time offering new ways to enhance both customer satisfaction and profitability.
Leveraging the simplicity of EthernetProvider Backbone Bridging Traffic Engineering (PBB-TE) is the new connection-oriented technology for Carrier Ethernet networks. PBB-TE lets carriers get the full benefits of their deployment of residential (triple play), enterprise VPNs and mobile backhauling services in their telecommunications networks. Carrier Ethernet ensures carrier-grade reliability, manageability, security, and scalability. Carrier Ethernet is rated as particularly cost-effective, significantly reducing equipment prices and network complexity.
Optimizing TV with complementing technologiesIn Sao Paulo, Nokia Siemens Networks will show how to capitalize on TV opportunities through its mobile TV broadcasting solution, which offers transmission of a great number of channels with enhanced video quality, while at the same time reducing operational expenses. Nokia Siemens Networks also demonstrates its preeminent IPTV end-to-end solution, which provides a unique bundling of entertainment and communication via an interactive multimedia platform for highly flexible use.
Adding value with a cutting-edge VoIP offerNokia Siemens Networks will also be demonstrating its VoIP solution for consumers and business customers, integrating business groups across the mobile and fixed domains. The demonstration will incorporate the Nokia E90 and E61 handsets as well as plain POTS phones connected via an IP DSLAM from Nokia Siemens Networks. The VoIP solution enables operators to offer an advanced hosted VoIP solution to any customer no matter what kind of in-house infrastructure the customer is currently using.
Source: techwhack.com

VoIP over 3G mobile networks will eclipse voice over WiFi, says Disruptive Analysis

The evolution of mobile VoIP will rapidly eclipse voice over WiFi and become a mainstream form of communication, according to a study by Disruptive Analysis. The analyst firm predicts that the number of VoIPo3G users could grow from virtually zero in 2007 to over 250 million by the end of 2012. This is comfortably in excess of the expected number of FMC users with dual-mode VoWLAN/cellular phones.
The report demonstrates that it will be the operators themselves which will be mainly responsible for the push towards VoIP being carried over cellular networks. Carriers will become increasingly attracted to VoIPo3G because it will enable them to fit more phone calls into their scarce spectrum allocations, reduce operating expenses by combining fixed and mobile core networks, and launch new services like push-to-talk and voice-integrated “mashups”.
VoIPo3G also fits well with the move towards femtocells. Future generations of wireless technology -- 3GPP LTE (Long Term Evolution), 3GPP2 UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), WiMAX -- are “all-IP”, so unless mobile operators continue to run separate voice networks in parallel, they will inevitably transition to VoIP at some point.
However, because these new radio technologies are three to five years away from mainstream deployment -- what happens in the meantime will provide the major disruption to operator business models. Some independent VoIP players are already exploiting the fact that today’s 3G networks can already support VoIP, putting dedicated software on smartphones, exploiting open operating systems, flat-rate data plans and features like “naked SIP” and built-in VoIP capability. These are linked to competitive ‘over the top’ phone or IM services via a mobile Internet connection.
At the same time, there is an increasing trend of carriers marketing 3G modems for PCs -- not just for mobile computing, but also to compete with home DSL/cable broadband offerings. Laptop users expect to be able to use their normal broadband applications over 3G, including voice-based ones like Skype. Some operators are even offering their own VoIP software for PCs with wireless broadband.
The end-result of the push towards VoIPo3G is that by 2012, most VoIPo3G users will be using mobile carriers’ own standards-based VoIP capabilities, over the new, advanced 3G+ networks. However, a significant minority of about 60m will be using independent or Internet-based solutions -- many actually operated in partnership with carriers or retailers.
Dean Bubley, author of the report and founder of Disruptive Analysis, comments: “3G networks are increasingly capable of supporting VoIP, for both traditional mobile operators and independent Internet-based VoIP challengers. But while CDMA operators will benefit from VoIP being ‘designed-in’ to their newest networks, 3GPP / HSPA operators will have to wait for several years -- a window of opportunity which will be exploited by the ‘over the top’ players. Rather than competing head-on, partnership models have the potential to create win-win propositions.”
Source: telecom.tekrati.com

NetCracker Announces New Capabilities for Service Providers

NetCracker Technology today announced capabilities that will allow service providers to provision and fulfill high bandwidth and high definition services over VDSL2/2+, WiMAX and Metro Ethernet infrastructures.

These new capabilities actually build on its recently announced solutions that manage content-rich, high definition services from a single platform that spans Network and IT domains.According to the company, these capabilities can combine with the company’s telephone number and IP management products to provide a foundation for delivering Web 2.0 services in a unified, single package.NetCracker now provides out-of-the-box models for multivendor VDSL2, VDSL2+, xPON and Metro Ethernet devices. NetCracker adds WiMAX to its current portfolio of WiFi and EDGE high bandwidth capabilities, for wireless high-definition connectivity.NetCracker’s new solution supports the migration to IPv6 by allowing service providers to manage IPv4 and IPv6 address pools in parallel, in addition to the transition from IPv4 to IPv6 by including assignments among subscribers and network elements. It also allows service providers to anage fixed, mobile, and VoIP telephone number assignments for rapid delivery of complex next generation networks, services, and service bundles.
Source: tmcnet.com

Making the world a giant Internet hotspot

Despite the potential of this new technology, many carriers are staying on the sidelines
Technology has so far managed to take the Internet into the wireless world, but if consumers really want to take advantage of it away from their home or office they are stuck seeking out hot spots. WiMAX could change all that, delivering a new technology that promises to do what the cellphone did for phone calls.
Anyone frustrated with having to wait minutes to load a web page or navigate a website on a mobile device such as a BlackBerry or cellphone will be quick to recognize the potential of the new technology.
Unfortunately, to date Canada's major telecom carriers have been slow to get on the WiMAX bandwagon. But elsewhere, the technology is starting to get some prominent endorsements.
Yesterday, Cisco Systems Inc. said it is snapping up privately held WiMAX equipment maker Navini Networks Inc. for $330-million (U.S.), a move analysts said provided the latest validation for the new wireless network technology
Companies betting on WiMAX, including Canadian telecom equipment maker Nortel Networks Corp., insist there is pent-up demand for a speedy wireless Internet service.
They point to the popularity of social networking sites such as MySpace and YouTube and their limitations on cellphones today. YouTube, for example, may only offer 50 instead of thousands of clips for viewing.
"I believe this really is the promise of bringing mobility to broadband," Richard Lowe, Nortel's president of carrier networks, said in an interview.
With their cameras and video players, cellphones are advanced consumer electronic devices. Yet the networks they run on haven't kept pace with the speed, bandwidth and low prices available on land line Internet connections.
The fastest cellular networks offer speeds of around one megabit per second (Mbps). WiMAX promises to be up to five times faster, comparable to connections at home.
Soon, consumers could be constantly connected to the Web whether at home or out with friends, just as they don't hesitate to reach for their cellphones to make calls today.
WiMAX "will make the Web truly a part of our everyday life, like electricity," said Michael Rogers, the Futurist-in-Residence for The New York Times.
But the technology hit a roadblock recently when the chief executive of its most prominent promoter, Sprint Nextel Corp., left amid concerns that his vision for mobile services was flawed. Some have speculated that could delay or deal a serious blow to WiMAX before it takes off, though Sprint says it remains committed to rolling out the network in the second quarter of 2008.
Source: theglobeandmail.com

Business Online Connection Options Expand with WiMax Technology

The world, especially the business world, is rapidly embracing a new connectivity technology called Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, or WiMax, to satisfy their data access needs. This is because many businesses have been looking for high-speed data research as they are mobile by way of wireless phones and other WiMax-enabled devices.The key difference between the WiMax technology and the Wi-Fi wireless technology is that WiMax can cover several miles or more, whereas Wi-Fi is limited to small hot spots. Advocates for the WiMax technology, such as Sprint and Motorola, assert that this new breakthrough could turn the entire country into one large hot spot.The primary reason for all this excitement surrounding this new technology is the ever growing demand among consumers for broadband, no matter where they are. In addition, the Federal Communications Commission is pushing businesses to implement the WiMax technology to broaden mobile broadband options for consumers.Originally, this new technology was developed for mobile data transmission, but it was soon discovered that is was a perfect fit for Internet phone service. This is why most analysts believe that WiMax will compete and actually threaten the traditional wireless carriers. This is one of the big reasons why Sprint is working hard with WiMax companies to build a national WiMax network.Certainly the WiMax technology will have huge market implications. By enabling consumers to surf the Internet anytime, any location, on virtually any device will create a whole new ballgame in a variety of markets. One thing to keep in mind as this evolves is that Wi-Fi is unlicensed whereas the more robust WiMax utilizes airwaves that require a government license, which is the same as cellphone service.
WiMax can support lots of high-bandwidth customers with ease, which means faster broadband at cheaper prices. This means that consumers will more than likely be big winners as WiMax’s efficiency will generate much better prices than currently being offered with today’s cell-based wireless broadband. Experts project that down the road WiMax will deliver Internet speeds up to 100 megabits per second on the down-link path and 10 megabits on the uplink.
In the meantime, companies like Sprint and Clearwire are combining to create a real network with bona fide customers. The first goal is to install mobile WiMax equipment at more than 60,000 cellphone sites across the United States. Sprint alone will be investing about 5 billion into the effort. The first markets will be Chicago and Washington D.C. and it is anticipated they will be going online in the spring of 2008.The new WiMax-based rollout will provide their customers with the capability to use virtually any WiMax device or software. This represents a huge leap from typical cell-phone businesses, which burden their customers with strict limitations on devices and software. Look for big changes to come shortly for the WiMax technology as other companies like Alvarion, which supplies service providers with the WiMax standard, start to get involved as well.
Jeff Neal Senior Writer, Options Strategist & Profit Strategies Radio Show Market CorrespondentVisit Jeff’s Forum