Sunday, November 14, 2010

Telecom - The coming times..

Wireless Communications touches the lives of more than two-thirds of the world population. It is an ever evolving field and has been one of the fastest growing technology sectors from a consumer, business and research perspective. In this article, I have tried to put together a few trends that could define the direction of the wireless world in the next few years.
Long Term Evolution (LTE) – LTE is the next generation wireless broadband technology, also referred to as 4G. It is seen as an evolution of the current GSM and WCDMA networks. Salient features of the standards based on LTE include increased download and upload rates, use of MIMO (Multiple Input and Multiple Output) as antenna technology, OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) as the modulation technique, improved spectral efficiency and quality of service, better integration with existing standards, embedded security and an all ‘IP’ network. The world’s first LTE network has been launched in Sweden. In most parts of the world, including US, LTE is still in testing stages and is expected to be launched commercially by 2011-2012.
WiMAX – Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access is the name given to the IEEE 802.16 standard. It would be used to provide last mile mobile boradband as well as backhaul or network access applications. It is projected to provide 10s of mbits/sec of speed to a stationary or mobile client many kilometers away. WiMax is especially considered a viable solution for developing countries to provide coverage in the rural areas. One of the biggest debates in the telecom industry is which technology will be more widely adopted 5 years from now – WiMax or LTE? In my opinion both can logically and technically coexist.
Femtocells – Femtocell is a small base station or an access point for providing cellular service in a residential or office environment where signal penetration is weak and limited. They connect to the service provider’s core network through an existing wired broadband connection. Femtocells are considered a good solution for subscribers who live in remote areas where the service providers’ coverage is limited and thus they can help in providing coverage and quality of service as good as the wireline phones. They are not standard specific and can be used with GSM, CDMA, and 3G.
Location based services – Location based services or maps on cell phones have gained importance in the past few years in both commercial and emergency situations. Many different GPS techniques have been used for determining the geographic location of a caller or the phone, but the nearest accuracy possible with current technology is about 100 meters. While tracking people through their cell phones may raise privacy concerns, a precise location determination can be very helpful in times of crisis or a calamity. In the US, E911 services are available, though many companies are working on increasing the precision and accuracy of such services.
Social Networking – From updating status about current location to viewing photos of loved ones, social networking has become a part of our daily lives. The need to be socially desired and connected 24/7/365 with a group of friends and relatives has made social networking sites some of the most visited sites from cell phones. Some latest applications include spreading social awareness and exchanging ideas. On the business side, the ability to access them from anywhere and anytime has opened a new revenue stream for these sites as well as the service providers.
Open Access – Globally most service providers keep their network open, but there are networks in certain countries which are locked and the user does not enjoy the ability to utilize the network for his own applications. The ability to use the mobile phone on any network and for any application has been gaining voice among the consumers especially in America. Recognizing this demand and to keep up with competition, most service providers have planned to open their networks in the future. Some companies are designing open source mobile platforms, whose code can be modified and developed to suit certain applications. This has the potential to give birth to new services. Similarly, unlocked phones and pre-paid cellular service which give more flexibility to the consumer, are gaining traction in the US.
Cognitive and Software defined radios – The efficiency of a wireless network to some extent depends on the radios it is using. Cognitive radios are designed to understand their environment and location and modify their own parameters like frequency, power, and modulation in such a way so as to utilize the unused spectrum dynamically in order to maximize spectral efficiency and minimize interference. Software defined radios are the ones in which the otherwise hardware components like amplifiers, receivers, modulators etc. are implemented using a software. Thus they can be used to run on different radio protocols just by modifying the software. A lot of academic research has been done on these two radio technologies and they are expected to be deployed soon commercially.
Spectral Efficiency – Achieving a higher spectral efficiency is one of the primary goals for any radio technology. Simply defined, it is the amount of useful information that can be communicated across a fixed bandwidth network. It is generally measured in Bits/second/hertz. Minimizing interference and increasing throughput are the best ways to increase the spectral efficiency. With each new technology, the spectral efficiency generally goes up. With the spectrum becoming more and more crowded, a better spectral efficiency is in the interests of both providers and handset manufacturers on one side and the consumer on the other.

Monday, November 30, 2009

TATA DoCoMo comes up with its innovation of Japan

DoCoMo is about to recreate history with its major innovation that stirred up the Japanese Market in the late 90's. This time around DoCoMo is coming up with the same technology but is using a differnet name. It was called the i-Mode in Japan and now it is called i-channel in India.
What is it?
TATA wants to capture even the data market using this service. With its earleir plans of per second billing it has already acquired a sizable amount of the cellular marke share. Now with Rs. 30/- per month rental you can use unlimited data on your handset.
This is something also tried by Aircel wherein they showcased a lot of data usage from their ads featuring Dhoni. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6EPOX81ueA. But has Aircel been able to pick up from there. I doubt?
Comparing the same strategy to TATA, it would be successful reason being they(TATA DoCoMo) are going to use a better compressed technology that will help them use their spectrum effectively which is finally the raw material for them.
DoCoMo is getting some really tried and tested methods to enter in the indain market. And they are bound to be successful.
Regarding the rental that they are going the charge, Rs. 30/- month, it seems a very reasonable amount for unlimited data usage, people especially youth would be very keen on taking it.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

FW: Volswagon innovation in advertising

Volswagan has come up with excellent billboard ad on mahim causeway, one of the most busiest roads in mumbai. This ad shows a big logo of volswagan. Just the logo is more than enough for such a big brand.
Something that was eye catching was that there is a small car that is moving on the lines of the logo. The moving car lets you look at the ad again and again.
Similar to the ad i had seen one ad of shahrukh khans ads where he is playing the violin and his legs are moving. Again a very eyecatching way to intice the people seeing the ad.
Volswagon not only does its billboard ad but had recently come up with its holistic marketing communication platform. This also included ads on multiple papers of The Times of India showcasing the various mind blowing features of Volswagon.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

No Network indoors.......i have a solution!!!!

Do you face problems of network coverage at your home or at your office or the mall of the restaurant. And how often have you just neglected it or how often have you got so frustrated that you banged the phone.

Whats the problem, is it with the phone? or the infrastructure you are in? or the tower is too far.
What ever the cause of the problem may be, i have a solution.

Build a network inside the premises. i.e. a Cellular network that will take care of all your wireless needs inside your premises. Is'nt amazing!!!!!

Ya thats what i am dealing in now a days. IN BUILDING SOLUTION. I build you networks inside the premises so that there are no more dropped calls in your premises, quality of service increases and satisfied customer (employee, guest, visitor). This solution can be put in any infrastructure i.e. Hotels, Malls, commercial building and residential areas.

The infrastructure supports all the the current celluar technologies like GSM and CDMA and would would also support future upcoming technologies like WiMax and WiBro. i.e. all Wireless signal in the range of 0 to 4.5GHz can be supported in the same infrastructure. And whats truely more impresive is that we do it free of cost for you.

If are a victim of this wireless incapability call me at 9820661151 or write to me at aliasgaryn@gmail.com and i will fix up the problem for you.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Management of Technology and Acquisition - Femtocells

Femtocells is a boon to the telecom industry. It is a technology by which inside a close premises where Mobile signals are weak, the mobile operates on the internet as a backbone. Hence customers can use the mobile phones and the telecom operators can earn good revenue.

Do check out the presentation that was prepared for one of the subjects of Technology Management.(click on the title)

The presentation takes you through the variuos methods in which mobile communication can take place, what is femtocells and the key technology related issues that this technology faces with respect to India.

Do feel free to contact me in case of any suggestion and queries.

A Research in the field of Mobile Phones and the defects that occur in them with repect to the Indian Context

This a research study that i had done along with one of my colleagues to find out the relationship between the number of defects that occur in a cell phone with respect to the overall number of handsets in the market.

You can see the complete research in the form of presentation at the above link.

Or write to me for the complete study at aliasgaryn@gmail.com or jai.awatramani@gmail.com

Friday, February 6, 2009

Hi Technology Marketing Part 1

What is a high-tech product?

The term “high technology” is a catchall category that includes any product manufactured with some type of an advanced technology, from razor blades or athletic shoes, to sports cars, to long-range missiles. Furthermore, high technology can also apply to many categories of services. In any case, technology is not the only characteristic and discriminating feature of these products. When asked about the main characteristics of high-tech products, marketing managers are mostly concerned with some distinctive characteristics that pertain specifically to high-tech products.

When we talk of high technology in telecommunications we are not only talking about the products but also about the services offered by the technology providers. Viz. Relaince may provide a data card to access the internet but what is the use if the customers are unable to access the internet i.e. they are deprived of the basic service that the data card is meant for.

Hence high technology services are also very essential for telecom companies becasue

They are intangible.

Their ownership is not transferred at the time of the purchasing.

Customers are associated with them.

They are location independent but time dependent.

They are relatively homogeneous so they can quality controlled.

They cannot be easily demonstrated before purchasing.

A cell phone is a high technology product because it contains different parts:

A tiny microphone

A speaker

An LCD or plasma display

A keyboard

An antenna

A battery

A circuit board

The circuit board itself—the central part of the system—includes various components:

The analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog conversion chips.

The Digital Signal Processor (DSP)—a highly customized processor— which handles all the signal compression and decompression at about 40 MIPS (millions of instructions per second).

The microprocessor (Ericsson phones use an ASIC version of the Z-80) and memory handle all of the housekeeping chores for the keyboard and display, deal with command and control signaling with the base station, and also coordinate the rest of the functions on the board.

The radio frequency (RF) amplifiers handle signals in and out of the antenna.

The RF and power section handles power management and recharging, and also deals with the hundreds of FM channels.

Thirty years ago, all of that technology would have filled the entire floor of an office building. Today it fits into a compact device that fits in the palm of the person using it. That’s the power of technology in the telecommunication sector.

Moore’s Law does not seem to apply exactly to telecommunication technology, since speeds are doubling on optical fibers every 12 months, and are now approaching 1 terabyte per second

One of the characteristic of a high-tech product is its innovative quality. It should bring a (usually) radical change to a market where one new product will drive away others. E.g. IPTV and Satellite TV is changing the way TV was being viewed by the people through the cable operators. This was possible because the radical innovation in the evolution of the technology for television over the internet protocol and the interactivity controlled features in Satellite Television.