Technology

Lanka records good ICT growth

by Surekha Galagoda

Sri Lanka has recorded a good growth in Information and communication technology during the past 3-4 years due to more investment coming to Sri Lanka in this sphere, said Regional Manager for Intel in Sri Lanka Indika De Zoysa.

In addition the initiatives taken by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank (WB), Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) and the Ministry of Education have helped to increase computer literacy to 12% in the country according to a survey.

He said that the awareness has also helped people in rural areas to become tech savvy that they even upload information using the internet and even farmers check the prices of their produce on the net.

De Zoysa said on the education front children are the most important resource we have as they are the future of any country. In Sri Lanka we have a student population of four million and 200,000 teachers.

Thirty percent of the teachers are aware of IT and are using IT but according to WB statistics we are a little behind compared to the other countries in the region.

The Ministry of Education is investing much funds to increase the IT literacy of teachers.

They have launched a program to install 20 PCs per laboratory and have already completed 1,800 laboratories with ADB funds.

De Zoysa said the Intel Teach programme - the most successful professional development program of its kind was launched over a decade ago and is designed to help teachers around the world integrate technology into classrooms.

To date, under the program more than four-million teachers have been trained in more than 40 countries, including Sri Lanka.

In January 2006, Intel Chairman Craig Barrett unveiled plans to expand Intel Teach to an additional 10 million teachers by 2011, said De Zoysa.

According to the Intel Chairman computers aren't magic but teachers are.

In Sri Lanka we have trained 5,000 teachers and plan to train a similar number next year to make this program a success and we get much support from the Ministry of Education, he said.

We started with the Western Province and have moved to the Central and Uva Provinces now.

At Intel, we believe that technology, despite being a valuable tool, is only as valuable as society's ability to harness it.

This is why helping students develop and strengthen the skills to help them succeed in the global economy lies at the heart of Intel's global commitment to education. One teacher can reach generations of students, training teachers is an important way and Intel fulfils this commitment," said De Zoysa.

He said that they are also planning to hold the first award ceremony for teachers in December to recognise the excellence of IT in teachers.

Last year Sri Lanka got affiliated to the International Science and Engineering Foundation which is sponsored by Intel and 50 countries participate in it where 20% of the projects got patent rights last year.

In Sri Lanka Intel partnered with the Ministry of Education (MoE), National Science Foundation (NSF), and Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka (IESL) to select the local winners from among the student population. After the selection process they will undergo a training program and then take wing to USA.

The prizes are US$ 4- mln worth of scholarships. We are planning to send 4-5 students from Sri lanka.

The aims of ISEF are supporting the development of a scientific inclination in students and inculcate an orientation in students at an early age towards research, innovation and creativity. At present the local contests are being held, he said.

surekha@sundayobserver.lk

Pervasive Connectivity with WiMAX

Mobile WiMAX changes the way people experience communications and enables new freedom in mobile information, interaction, user-generated content and social networking.

It offers the possibility of having the Internet, e-mail, online multimedia, live video conferencing, mobile TV, music downloads-practically any data-intensive application-delivered "on the go." Breaking news: WiMAX gets global nod As the first new technology to be added to the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000 also known as 3G) set of standards in nearly a decade, WiMAX is about to revolutionise and mobilise the way we connect around the globe.

Enabling greater flexibility and roaming capabilities, WiMAX now has greater opportunity for deployment in developed and emerging countries.

What is WiMAX?

WiMAX is an open, worldwide standard that covers fixed and mobile deployments. The only broadband wireless standard built specifically to deliver data, Mobile WiMAX's multi-megabit data rates can lay the foundation for innovative multimedia services and support multimedia content.

All-IP network architecture plus full compatibility with standard existing networking infrastructure will make it easier and more cost-effective than current technologies to deploy and operate.

All roads lead to OFDMA and MIMO. Mobile WiMAX is already there. Mobile WiMAX is also the first global standard to bring an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) solution to the mobile world, combined with Multiple Input/Multiple Output (MIMO) smart antenna technology. As a result, Mobile WiMAX has the ability to carry more data traffic than current networks, which are running out of capacity to meet increasing demands for mobile data.

Not only has Mobile WiMAX been designed to deliver superior data rates and scalability, lower costs, and reduced complexity, but it also offers greater flexibility compared to existing mobile solutions. The 802.16 standard will continue to evolve with a focus on maintaining a competitive lead and offering core advantages for future network development and deployment.

Intel WiMAX leadership

With the substantial cost, performance, and capacity improvements expected from WiMAX technology, service providers will create the mass-market appeal and tap the full potential of the true mobile Internet.

Intel is bringing to market standards-based, low-cost, highly integrated silicon solutions that are expected to facilitate global delivery of notebooks, Ultra Mobile Devices, and a wide array of consumer devices with the Wi-Fi/WiMAX dual-mode module (codenamed "Echo Peak").

Add-in cards will be available in 2007 and embedded modules in 2008. The integration of Wi-Fi and WiMAX promises convenient and affordable broadband connectivity in the home, at the office, as well as on the go, enabling users to enjoy a common experience on either network and to gain access to real-time, high-value information wherever they are.

Global connectivity

Developed markets - More choices about where you work or play Mobile WiMAX can facilitate real-time sharing of information and consumers and businesses alike can stay connected while on the move outside the home or workplace.

The integration of Mobile WiMAX and Wi-Fi provide a transparent, "always best connected" experience for "on the go" personal broadband anytime, anywhere.

Developing/Emerging markets -Bridging the digital divide

Mobile WiMAX offers fixed, portable, and mobile wireless broadband connectivity. Because it is optimised for fixed and mobile environments and does not rely on direct line-of-sight connectivity, Mobile WiMAX brings high-speed broadband Internet access (with modest investment risk for service providers) to areas that previously had no access.

This would be particularly effective, for example, to enable online education and remote medicine. It is especially important in emerging/rural markets where little wired infrastructure exists and is not likely to be built.

Promoting connections to the world

Information and communications technology (ICT) is continuing to see major growth in cities around the world. Yet a majority of small communities and remote villages don't have access to electricity, let alone broadband Internet.

With the onslaught of wireless broadband communication technologies like WiMAX, Wi-Fi, and 3G Wireless WAN, Intel in collaboration with local governments is connecting more people in more places than ever before - no matter how remote.

Intel is helping developing countries establish wireless infrastructure so that all people can benefit from the Internet. In Egypt, Intel donated equipment to install a state-of-the-art WiMAX network connecting two public schools, a health care centre, and government offices. We also established the first public WiMAX networks in India and in the rural Amazon.

Lanka's software industry makes global strides

hSenid's success story...:

Sri Lanka's software industry has achieved significant milestones globally. Sri Lankan companies that use the talents of our young IT professionals have supported world leading companies to compete strongly with their competitors and win.

The credit is attributed to the Sri Lankan companies and the country. This report in the Wireless World magazine published in Singapore is one such success story of hSenid, a leading Sri Lankan software company.

TelcoBlues

Rewards have always been the best way of enticing the rat to its doom, but in some cases, it actually does benefit.

Four years ago, Mobile One (M1) was introduced to hSenid software International by Lucent Technologies, who at the time was M1's vendor for its prepaid technologies. hSenid successfully completed a couple of other projects for MI prior to RewardPlus.

RewardPlus was the first Loyalty and Promotion System for MI and at the time, this operator was not using any other alternative system prior to RewardsPlus.

In February, hSenid, developed an application for MI. The Loyalty system for MI prepaid customer was developed using the open source database MySQL in combination with Red Hat Enterprises Linux operating system, an approach that has resulted in significant cost savings for MI according to hSenid.

The application, hSenid RewardsPlus, allows a network operator to set up a wide variety of promotion, loyalty and tenure programs and reward their subscribers bonuses or prizes based on usage patterns and a wide range of mobile subscriber activities such as SMS, Voice mail, voice call and multimedia message services (MMS) and WAP.

It enables the operator to build comparative advantage while generating revenue and building customer loyalty.

The features of the system include credit expiry management, comparison reports on promotion efficiency, configurable SMS messages to subscribers and up-to-date subscriber event monitoring. Ease of management is assured through compatibility with Telco' Intelligent Networks (IN) system through web based administration capabilities.

As competition intensifies in Singapore's mobile services market, MI has had to stay ahead of the curve by anticipating subscriber trends and responding with innovative new applications and services.

In rolling out these new services, however, it was important for it to rein in cost to deliver its offerings at a meaningful price point to customers.

In April, MI said its YoY operating revenue increased by 2.9% to S$196.4m due to service revenue growth and higher handset sales (three months ended March 31, 2007).

Q1 also saw increase of 41,000 new customers to bring MI's total customer base to 1.378m as at March 31, 2007. Non-Voice services contribution to blended average revenue per user (ARPU) increased to 22.2% in Q1 2007, compared to 20.8% an year ago arising from increased usage of MI Broadband and data services.

Customer growth in the first quarter in the prepaid and postpaid segments were driven by competitive prepaid plans and the MI Broadband services. Data revenue growth is encouraging and with faster network speed and important devices, this growth is likely to continue. Based on the current outlook, MI expects its operation to remain stable for the year' said CEO of MI, Neil Montefiore.

For MI, the key achieving deliverance of its offerings at a meaningful price point to customers was to take the open source route. For its rewards program, this was done in partnership with hSenid.

The plan was for the new prepaid loyalty system to keep track of customers topping up their prepaid cards, and allow them to redeem rewards based on pre-defined business rules. The system was thus transaction intensive,' said CEO, hSenid, Dinesh Saparamadu.

'It had to process millions of records, capturing charging information for the prepaid system and making real-time decisions based on the charging records."

When it went live, users did not even realise that the underlying platform had been changed." There were minimal glitches, 'said GM of core network planning at MI, Tan Tiong Heng, "It was a real time system, and the response was very quick.

"The system was also very resilient. We tried to kill it during testing but the fallover and recovery was very fast and their was no loss in data, so we are quite pleased with it," Tan said.

hSenid also developed a fully automated test suite that is run against the cord whenever a change is made. This ensures that the systems do not break when there are changes.

Though not completely confirmed at print time, it was said that the loyalty program was subsequently extended to roaming customers of MI's prepaid SMS services, when hSenid found a way to enable real-time charging for subscribers who were overseas.

Additionally, hSenid's Telco Reporting is used to mine demographic data about MI's prepaid subscribers.

This business intelligence system supports marketing and customer management with application specific reporting on SMS, MMS content, and voice and GPRS data. The Telco Reporting Platform can integrate to multiple Telco Intelligent Networks at multiple locations, to track and monitor all types and formats of CDR (Call detail record) information.

The Wireless World (WW)interview with Dinesh Saparamadu(DS).

WW: Are there greater details of the said cost savings today?

DS: The investment involved in rolling out new service comprises two components: a fixed infrastructure cost which includes licence for Databases and third party software and the cost of developing the application itself.

hSenid was able to drive down fixed infrastructure costs and develop the application quickly on the open source platform, without sacrificing quality and performance. This enabled MI to reduce costs greatly.

WW: Are there similar successes for hSenid?

DS: hSenid has many success stories with industry giants such as DST Brunei through Lucent Brunei, Todo 1 USA through Valista, Santander Mexico and KMEFIC (Kuwait and Middle East Financial Investment Company) Kuwait.

hSenid provided the famous RewardsPlus middleware, which provides a compelling way to attract new prepaid users and to sustain existing users, It allowed DST Brunei to set up a wide variety of promotion/loyalty/tenure programs and reward bonuses/prizes to their subscribers based on usage, event and duration patterns.

In the case of Todo 1 USA, success was in the form of SMS banking. SMS banking is a secure mobile application that enables subscribers to access their banking details and perform financial transactions through their mobile devices.

The application Banco enables subscribers to perform their usual bank account operations from anywhere and at anytime. The main features of Banco application are: account balance inquiries, account statement requests, fund transfers, and alerts: using a mobile phone - via-SMS, The mobile banking solution is currently connected to multiple banks from multiple countries and with multiple Telco to provide features.

The same mobile banking solution was implemented at Santander Bank Mexico.(For KMEFIC Kuwait, it was mStock Trading.) This system provides the facility to perform related functions using J2ME Supported mobiles phones.

KMEFIC customers can use their mobile phones to get stock information, trade their shares, manage their placed orders and view portfolios.

Courtesy Wireless World

ValueFirst launches mobile data services

by Lalin Fernandopulle

ValueFirst, a leading Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) in India launched its mobile data services to empower customers to communicate between varied IT back-end systems and mobilephones using SMS services.

Co-founder ValueFirst Vijay Shukla said with the growing competition and decreasing sales margins, enterprises need to be more competitive, increase efficiency and provide better services.

Sri Lanka is ranked among the top in per capita mobile phone penetration in the South Asian region and is among the first countries to launch 3G services.

ValueFirst plans to introduce its mobile data services to government departments, banks, insurance companies, stock brokers, IT and media companies in the first year of operation in Sri Lanka. The company plans to invest around US$ one million during the next 15 months.

"We intend to gain a larger market share within the first year of operations in the country", Shukla said. "Mobile phone is used not only to make or receive a call but over the years with the advancement of technology it has also made great changes in society improving the standard of living and bridging the digital divide", he said.

CEO ValueFirst Srinand Sridharan said with over seven million mobile phone users and a 25 percent growth rate the MVNO market will grow with more opportunities for expansion.

With operations in India, Pakistan, Middle East, Nigeria, Lebanon, Romania, Russia and UK ValueFirst focuses on B2B mobile applications and SMS services to enterprises. The global market size for mobile phones and data services is over US$ 1 billion.

While it took 10 years for the mobile phone market to reach the 50 million subscriber mark, newspapers took 162 years, radios 38 years and televisions 28 years.

lalin@sundayobserver.lk