Interviews:

14- Winning Hearts Through Quality of Services

24- Dr. Saleh Ahmad Al-Jawarneh
Ambassador of Jordan to Pakistan
44- I am not Hacker but a Security Researcher,
Joanna Rutkowska

Cover Story:
Telecom:
10- PTCL Donates for a Noble Cause
12- Operators Reject QoS Survey Results
13- Telenor’s “Naya Qadam” to Empower Handicaps
14-
16-
Winning Hearts Through Quality of Services
Mobilink Reshaping the Nature
46
17- KHL Earning Excellent Success
18- PTA - Moving with Excellence
20- Challenges for Operators and Developers
26- PTCL Extends Broadband Services to all customers
32- Telenor Shines at GSM Mobile Asia Congress
38- How Telecom Turned India's Economy
69- Motorola Debuts Luxury Edition RAZR2 in ME 14
75- Samsung Launched Metal 5

Cover Story: 10
46- “Pakistan Package” Historic Relief for Customers PTCL Donates for a Noble Cause
Winning Hearts Through
IT:
Quality of Services
22- Pakistan’s IT Industry Thriving yet needs
Improvements 28
30- Software Technology Park, A Milestone
in IT Growth 12
36- Video Conferencing Needs Due Care
37- Urdu Translation Software Launched
70- New Facebook Ad Program Draws Complaints
71- Blogs as Money Machines Operators Reject QoS Survey Results
72- STB Grabbing the world of Media Servers
74- Search Engines Making their way to Business
24
Intelligence
76- YouTube Puts ID on Clips
77- Amazon Debuts Digital Book Reader 13
Events:
80- Telenor Contributes to “World Performing
Arts Festival 2007”
82- Warid Committed to Produce Champions
Telenor’s “Naya Qadam” to Empower Handicaps
Informative:
Brotherly Ties on the Rise
52- Coming Mobiles
54- Current Mobiles
60- Mobile Reviews 16
66- Hot Laptops
Briefs:
40- Short Stories
88- National
95- International
6
 No More Count of Words
Tremendous growth, millions of subscribers, thousands of cities
covered, high penetration, billions of foreign direct investment, lowest
call rates, highly paid employees, remarkable statistical charts, voices
of 3G, non-stop advertising campaigns, high claims and what not?
But… Now the drama is going to be unfolded as network and work
force is being tested by not only the subscribers but also the regula-
tor.
We have been amply shouting of this artificial growth that has been
result of remarkable make-up carried out by the cellular companies
and the government as well. Two chiefs of cellular companies were
blown out, only in one month, as the consequences of this tragedy are
reaching the sea level. Right after these dissect, the terrifying survey
results have further tightened the situation for telecom companies.
Due to market pressures and competition, the war for cutting the
price has led towards a price collapse. Pakistan Package by PTCL,
World Call's free 24 hours NWD (Nation Wide Dialing), late night free
calling packages from cellular companies are causing the ARPU
(Average Revenue Per User) go further down.
Market has started expressing its judgment of at least 30 percent
inactive SIMs. In such a situation, expanding network and in return
increasing operating cost could be the worst for the investors.
PTA has failed to maintain a fairly balance competition amongst the
companies, in fact it is the regulator that has let the situation reach
this worsen level. The hunger for revenues is encouraging companies
to charge subscribers for even switching between their packages.
Over-charging, call disconnection, and various other techniques are
being used to fill the bags.
Current scenario predicts that there is no long term policy defined
to tackle the future. One company has already backed off from field,
other heading towards the limits of user dissatisfaction. Regulatory
authority must have to pull its legs now, or the time will never roll back
again….! It's a plea.

Zubair Ahmed Kasuri Editor-in-Chief Published by Good News PR Network

M. Raza Malik Editor Printed by Akkaz Printers, Lahore
Aamir Attaa Resident Editor Lahore Office: Telephone:+92-42-7221006 - 7222275
M. H. Khalid Special Editor Fax: +92-42-7321920
Yasir Ali Sub Editor Islamabad Office: Phone: + 92-51-2891339,
Usman Yaqoob Marketing Executive (Lhr.)
M. Farooq Malik Marketing Executive (Lhr.) Karachi Office: Phone: +92-21-2275215, Fax: +92-21-2275216

M. Naeem Mughal Designer

E-mail: [email protected]

Khawar Shahzad Finance Manager Price: 250/-

Azhar Javed Production Manager Registration No: PCPB/105 (Vol. 4 Issue: 3)
Kamran Incharge Research Wing

8
 Digital Drop Box
I have been associated with consumer banking for the last five years
and have observed that no doubt it has helped the people a lot and
raised their living standards. Banks are improving their services day by
day, but at the same time we can't deny the complaints and difficulties
faced by the customers. Customers and banks are more concerned and
facing problems regarding the repayments of loans. Sometimes issues
occur due to the customer's negligence and some times due to the
bank's.
No Right to Celebrate Broadband Usually banks encourage receiving the repayments through cheque
via drop boxes. But while dropping the cheque in a drop box, customers
I am a resident of Kahna nau Exchange Ferozpur Road, Lahore, and
as well as banks don't have any proof of deposit of cheque.
trying to reach the Broadband Department of PTCL for the last six After that if someone receives late payment charges due to any rea-
months. On contacting, the staff just replies that the work is in progress in son, customers argue that they have deposited the cheque before the
our area. due date and the bank has delayed while presenting the cheque in
Can any one from the company tell me that what type of work is clearing.
underway which has not been completed all this time and how the com- At the same time, banks claim that they check the drop boxes on a
pany can celebrate its broadband services? daily basis and there could be no delay at the bank end but it is the cus-
Company's first aim should be customer satisfaction but the company tomer who dropped the cheque after the due date and is now trying to
fails to achieve that, as not only me, but thousands of people are not sat- shun the late payment charges. So, I think there should be some proof
isfied from its service. I want to ask the higher authorities of the company of receiving from the bank side. I want to suggest here that banks
to tell me that is your aim just earning by cheating the nation or their sat- should install digital drop boxes at designated branches.
These machines can be easily invented by making minor changes to
isfaction by your service?
photocopy machines. Customers can deposit their cheque through that
I know they can't answer me because they are not in a position to
machine and will get a photo copy of both sides of the cheque with time
answer their disability in their work. and date of deposit. In this way nobody would be able to avoid his/her
responsibility. It will improve the efficiency of the bank staff because cus-
ANIS AHMAD, tomers will prefer the digital drop boxes and it will decrease the rush at
Lahore counters.

MUHAMMAD RASHID ABBAS

Instant Help Islamabad
I was traveling with my family from Chakwal on the motorway when
our car stopped on the way. With great difficulty we were able to reach Dealing with Piracy
the last service area. The first thing that we came to know was that there Protection of intellectual property from theft and piracy is a key glob-
was no CNG on the service station. al issue being discussed on world, regional and national levels.
After barely covering a kilometre or more, our car broke down and we Intellectual property involves patents (including patents on "biological
material" such as seeds) and copyrights on books, music, films and soft-
stopped at a deserted place. It was 10pm and there was complete dark-
ware. There are hundreds of global piracy syndicates that violate these
ness around us. I quickly called the Motorway police from emergency call copyrights and are costing the respective industries billions of dollars as
boxes installed for help. consumers flock to pirated material as compared to purchasing legiti-
My repeated efforts proved futile as a recorded voice message asked mate copies.
to wait for the operator but I could not find anyone on the other side to Pakistan, too, has a problem with piracy. However, we must not look
respond to the voice message. at the problem inside-out. It affects Pakistanis just as much as it affects
artists, engineers and businesses abroad. There is no institution that
In a desperate attempt I called one of my friends to get an emergency
effectively monitors and enforces copyrights and as a result, our several
number of the Motorway police. I called again at the number and within musicians have gone to foreign markets such as India and Europe to
five minutes the Motorway mobile workshop and patrolling car reached produce and market their music, simply because those markets are pro-
the scene and helped us out of the trouble. I thank the Motorway police tected and guarantee returns greater than what they would expect in
for their quick action. Pakistan.
MUHAMMAD AAMIR There is an immediate need to address the situation and enforce
copyrights in Pakistan. This is the only way we will encourage greater
Rawalpindi
and better local efforts not just in the entertainment industry, but also in
publishing and research.
Unregistred SIMs BILAL MUSTAFA
I was heading towards Lahore, when on a stop to take my lunch, I had
Lahore
bought a Paktel (now CMPak) SIM. I was trapped by the hawker, as he
was offering free SIMs that had balance too. And all I had to pay was the
half of the balance it already had.
Callmate Scam
It is shocking to learn that a popular calling card company like
Furthermore, I was told that my balance will double, as soon as I will Callmate has closed down without any prior warning or notice to the mil-
re-load/re-charge my first card. All this looked quite fascinating to me, and lions of users. I was a regular user of this calling card. I had just bought
at one bought a SIM. Not only this, I also bought a Rs. 1000 Card and a new card when I learnt that the company has closed down its opera-
loaded it into my SIM. Amazingly I earned double balance and a free tions overnight. There is no response from 1257 - the number used by
SIM. All this was great until I lost my SIM few days back. the company.
Unfortunately, I had not got my SIM registered, and in return I was There must be millions of users who have been left with the cards.
unable to collect a duplicate SIM. Despite of efforts I had to compromise Similarly, there must be hundreds of thousands of shops throughout
with contact details that I had with that SIM and also lost plenty of credit Pakistan who must be having huge stocks of cards of different denomi-
in the SIM. nations. How can this scam involving billions of rupees go without any
action from the authorities? The ordinary citizens are under the impres-
My request to CMPak is either to stop selling those SIMs at stalls, or
sion that there is no rule of law.
introduce a mechanism, through which I may get my lost SIM without reg-
Can anyone throw light on this latest scam?
istration..
OSMAN A. KARIM
Mohammad Akmal
Rawalpindi Karachi

Send us your letters at [email protected] or at our postal addresses. Flare reserves the right to edit letters for clarity and space. 9
 Telecom Flare Report

PTCL, as a part of its corporate social responsibility, donated Rs. 2.5 mil-
lion to the SOS Children's Villages. Former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz
handed over the donation to SOS children villages Rawalpindi on behalf
of the company. The company has been fulfilling its social responsibili-
ties quite adequately by contributing to various welfare activities

akistan Telecommunication Ltd.

P
PTCL.
(PTCL) donated an amount of
Rs. 2.5 million to the SOS
Children's Villages in the country.
Former Prime Minister Shaukat
Aziz handed over the donation to
SOS children villages Rawalpindi on behalf of

Mr. Shaukat Aziz, who was accompanied

with his wife, visited various sections of the
SOS Village Rawalpindi and said that Islam
encourages its followers to give charity with
abandon and the concept formed a major part
of our faith. He appreciated PTCL's initiative of
choosing SOS villages for the donation, as the
homeless and parentless children need utmost
care and attention of the society. The former
Premier urged other members of the corporate
sector to come forward and donate for such
noble cause.
Walid Irshaid, PTCL's President & CEO,
while speaking on the occasion said that the
best way of expressing out gratitude to Allah is Pakistan's Former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz hands over a donation cheque to the reprentatives of The SOS Children's
to look after orphans and destitute. He said Villages. Mrs. Shaukat Aziz, Walid Irshaid PTCL's president and CEO and Miss Zubaida Jalal,
former federal minister are also present.
that PTCL had always championed the cause
of needy people and would Central African Republican.
continue to do so. He said that PTCL is the largest telecom operator in the The SOS Children's Villages
company was fully aware of its is a private social welfare organ-
corporate social responsibility country and is now managed by Etisalat, a ization that offers orphaned and
and would continue to promote
this cause in the future too. UAE based telecom group. Etisalat has abandoned children a new and
permanent home. The children
He expressed hope that the
humble contribution that PTCL expanded its operations in the Middle East and stay with this organization until
they are able to lead an inde-
had made towards the cause of
SOS Villages will be able to Africa with a vision to become one of the top pendent life.
SOS Children's Village
bring the joy and happiness on
the faces of the children adopt- ten-telecom service providers in the global Association was founded in
Austria and the first SOS
ed by SOS.
PTCL is the largest telecom
market by the year 2010 Children's Village was built in
Imst, Austria, by Hermann
operator in the country and is Gmeiner. SOS Children's Villages of Pakistan
now managed by Etisalat, a was established in 1975. It is an autonomous
UAE based telecom group. organisation and managed by Board of
Etisalat has expanded its Governors. The National Office is situated in
operations in the Middle East Lahore and provincial associations have been
and Africa with a vision to established in Punjab, Sindh, N.W.F.P,
become one of the top ten- Balochistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir.
telecom service providers in The first project was the SOS Children
the global market by the year Village in Lahore in 1977 and this has been fol-
2010. Its current operations lowed by projects in many other cities. The
include UAE, Saudi Arabia, goal is to continue expansion until there are
Egypt, Pakistan, Afghanistan, sufficient facilities to reach children all over the
Sudan, Niger, Ivory Coast, country.

Benin, Togo, Tanzania,
10
Burkina Faso, Baboon and
 Telecom Flare Report

After failing to announce the outcome of previous four sur-

veys, PTA has got a landmark achievement by announcing
the results of its fifth one. Interestingly, three companies have
rejected these findings saying that report is biased and does
not reflect the actual service conditions of cellular companies
ou may have experienced diffi- previous surveys. The current

Y culties with the telecom net-

work of Pakistan in peak activi-
ty days. Pakistan Telecom
Authority is responsible for
keeping a check on the quality
of services provided by the telecommunication
companies and the authority conducts surveys
for this purpose. Regulator has announced the
result of its fifth survey, conducted from 4th
results can be considered as a
landmark achievement in the
history of Pakistan telecom.
Telecom market sources
have alleged PTA for not
announcing earlier results due
to bad results of a cellular com-
pany. Maj. Gen. (R) Shezada
Alam Malik, Chairman, PTA,
September 2007 to 16th November 2007, by never justified the absence of
using the recently procured state of the art previous QoS survey results. It
monitoring equipment. The services of five merits mentioning here that in a
GSM operators i.e. Ufone, Mobilink, Telenor, reply to a question from Flare at
Warid, and CMPak were checked in selected ITCN Asia on August 9, 2007,
major and small cities. The results of the sur- Mr. Malik said that there will be
vey are shown in the tables. no QoS survey again in
Pakistan. At that time he had
Telecom market sources sus- said that mobile number porta-
pect PTA for not announcing bility is the best check on the
services of telecom operators.
earlier results due to bad per- In this regard, the recent survey
may reveal the destruction or
formance of a cellular compa- failure of MNP as well.
ny. The officials of the company Coming back to the current
survey results, three major tele-
never justified the absence of com companies have straight
previous QoS survey results away rejected the results, say-
ing that the result
report is biased
and does not
reflect the actual
service conditions
of cellular compa-
nies.
"These are self
created statistics
and have no con-
cern with the facts"
a telecom company
official told 'Flare'
He further said,
we demand an
inquiry on this
report which aims
to win the sympa-
thies of a big tele-
com operator in the
local industry. The giants of tele- plays a major role in the results of any survey,
com sector ask for inquiry on this is also missing. He further added that PTA
bogus report. should have given its verdict of the services of
We must admit that results of each cellular company, instead of leaving the
a particular survey may not satis- ending note vacant to be filled by the cus-
fy all of the participants, however, tomers.
inquiry of a regulatory body, and Another expert said that the report gives
then the inquest of that inquiry you a good glimpse of current services, and
report may lead us to middle of the miseries of customer. He added that cellu-
nowhere, with numerous un- lar companies will have to re-define their goals
resolved issues. and strategies in order to compete in the
Before discussing the consequences and Telecom analysts, on the other hands, say future. The current step-down of two CEOs of
results of current QoS (Quality of Service) sur- that these survey results are not comprehen- cellular companies allows you to predict the
vey, lets peek into past by looking at previous sive. A senior telecom expert told 'Flare' that management failure with-in the cellular indus-
attempts. It must be kept in mind that PTA was user satisfaction graph is not seen in the try.

12
unable to announce any of the results of all results, while the customers' feedback, which
 Flare Report Telecom

Telenor, the third major cellular operator of the county, takes "Naya Qadam"
to loan out motorcycle shops to physically disabled individuals. These
shops on wheels are specially designed to enable disabled to sell Telenor's
most popular product the 'Easy Load' and other small snack items
elenor Pakistan in col- keys to DWA members to the motor-

T laboration with
Disabled Welfare
Association (DWA),
country's one of the
foremost welfare
organizations for disabled, launched
"Naya Qadam" on the World
Disability Day. With the project that
aims to empower persons with
cycle-cum-shops.
Telenor Pakistan's Executive
Vice President Irfan Wahab Khan
explaining the aim of the project
said, "The objectives of the project
are to give attention to the potential
of our physically challenged commu-
nity, and to provide them with a
decent opportunity to be part of the
physical disabilities by making them booming telecom business. These
partners in retail, Telenor has are talented individuals, and if we
become the country's first mobile can give them their much-needed
operator to do so. mobility and an honest business
As part of the Naya Qadam proj- opportunity, they can take care of
ect, DWA will loan out specially their families with the integrity all of
designed motorcycle-cum-shops, us deserve."
sponsored by Telenor Pakistan, to Commenting on the Naya
Executive Vice President, Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Telenor Pakistan Irfan
physically disabled individuals. Wahab Khan addressing at the launch of Telenor Naya Qadam Qadam project, DWA's President
These shops-on-wheels are Javed Rais said, "We appreciate
designed so that people with dis- Telenor Pakistan's support and the
abilities can easily use them to
Telenor Pakistan, as a responsible corporate fact that they consider us partners
display and sell their sale items organization, has been playing a dynamic role that ask only for equal opportunity.
on the move. In an attempt, yet According to WHO, close to a tenth
unprecedented in the telecommu- in the society by running several community- of Pakistan's population has some
nications sector, Telenor Pakistan
has also arranged for the physi-
support programs to empower the underprivi- disability. So, we hope that the pub-
lic, corporate and social sectors will
cally disabled entrepreneurs to leged people come forward to level the field for
become retailers for its most their disabled fraternity."
popular product, Easy Load, in Disabled Welfare
order to earn a respectable liv- Association (DWA) is a
ing. To boost their income fur- Karachi-based organization
ther, they will also be able to that works to obtain the due
sell small snack items from the rights of persons with disabili-
built-in tuck boxes on the ties. It helps to provide them
motorcycles. economic resources by pro-
Presiding over the event, moting self-employment,
Shujat Ali Baig, Provincial financial support, and loans.
Minister for Education and Telenor Pakistan is the
Literacy Sindh said, "The third biggest cellular network
National Policy for Persons provider of the country in
with Disabilities 2002 and the terms of subscribers. The
National Plan of Action 2006 Telenor Group is an interna-
envision full realization of the tional provider of high quality
potential of persons with dis- telecommunications, data and
abilities through their main- media communications servic-
streaming, guided by the prin- es. Telenor ranks as one of
ciples of constitutional guaran- the biggest GSM service
tees, non-discrimination and providers in the world with
rights-based approach instead Provincial Minister for Education and Literacy Shujat Ali Baig handing over the keys to the dis- over 133 million subscribers.

abled as Executive Vice President, Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Telenor Pakistan Irfan
of welfare driven programs." Wahab Khan and Regional Director South Telenor Pakistan Syed Montzer Mehdi look on.
Adding further Baig said;
"Telenor Pakistan has been playing its role as a sections of society." He congratulated Telenor
responsible corporate organization with vigor Pakistan and DWA on establishing a solid
and enthusiasm, running several community- model of collaboration in the form of the “Naya
support programs to empower the deprived Qadam” project. The Minister also handed out 13
 Interview Flare Lahore Panel

Furqan Qureshi is no stranger to the world of tech-

nology and the challenges it poses to the everyday
life. Having been an active member of the IT indus-
try, worked in the banking industry, specialised in
public sector and manufacturing industry applica-
tions, employed at IBM and servrd as the Senior
Vice President or Corporate Strategy and
Marketing at Si3, you get about 25 years of experi-
ence bundled in this one man. Here we are present-
ing his brief Interview for the readers of FLARE

Flare: Do you think that Wateen's services are are actually active users. PTCL will still rely on not only give people a greater number of rea-
matching the services being provided by other Copper for their broadband so their DSL is as sons to use the services, but also increase the
vendors? good as the copper; Mobilink will eventually size of the market. Wateen has done its share
Furqan Qureshi: Wateen is determined to deliv- launch their WiMax services but Wateen will of research into the demographics based on its
er what so many other ISPs, Media outlets and retain the advantage of launching before them. own surveys and also relying on community
Cellular providers have tried to deliver to the Multinet is in the picture to provide fiber across demographics to figure out where its service
market - a portfolio of reliable services and the country also. Other service providers might priorities are going to be. Even though we are
affordable prices. Of course, it can be done. just try and offer the services that Wateen is presently in the test phase of our networks, we
We are the ones who are doing it. Wateen is providing but they will certainly not be able to are surprised at the intense demand we found
resolute to provide international level services match its back end or infrastructure. We are for our services.
to its customers. rolling out the fiber across the country, and Flare: How the deployment of WiMax across the
Flare: Would you please tell us about the broad- though, we are already the largest deployment country, will impact the end user?
band services? right now, we are still growing. We have got Furqan Qureshi: The platform gives you access
Furqan Qureshi: Have you heard of buzzwords WiMax for the last mile of our broadband. We to Broadband Internet of upto 2Mbps dedicated
such as integration and communication? There have got licenses for all 14 regions of Pakistan speeds. Speed is something that service
is a bigger buzzword out there called conver- to offer Voice Over IP, and we can offer that on providers continue to struggle with. Additionally,
gence. It just means that all kinds of communi- our fiber or WiMax. Not to mention the fact that users also get telephony with endless value-
cation can be integrated and used in conjunc- Wateen's sister concern, Warid Telecom, added features. Our users are very sharp and
tion with each other. This includes voice, data already has an established footprint in the 145 know what they want. Unlike other companies,
and video streaming. You need massive cities of Pakistan, so they are not far behind in we have faith in our users that they will begin
amounts of infrastructure, bandwidth, people, the GSM space. to use the features that we offer to them, and
and content to make something like this. Also Flare: Would you tell us the reason behind your then demand for more.
known as a 'Triple play' approach, since all success? Flare: How do you see the current situation and
services are IP-based (rather than terrestrial), it Furqan Qureshi: It is all about listening to what what is the future of the Pakistani market?
means that everything can be integrated or customers want and matching it with the tech- Furqan Qureshi: The current situation in
plugged into each other. Review a movie you nology that will be best suited for them. At Pakistan is quite good and the future is very
may have missed on television, online, or do a times, they lack the vision to see what the bright Massive growth, an increased size of the
video conference and have a voice and data future holds for their strategies. For us at overall market. By launching our services and
exchange happening simultaneously. It is one Wateen, sky is not the limit - it is just the start- other players, the amount of development work
back end, one platform, all software based so ing point. If you have the ability to think about that will require outsourcing will continue to be
nobody has to physically come to you and something, then there has to be a way to make enpanding and it is imperative that service
upgrade or modify something. This portfolio or that happen. Even in Pakistan, there is no rea- provider companies come together to grow
range of service is no longer about the future. son why the services that our company is plan- their numbers and diversity in expertise to be
It is available right now. ning for our subscribers can not be done. able to manage the work and keep it within
Flare: What makes Wateen that ideal conver- Everything is a possibility. We want them to be Pakistan. IT and Telecom companies will have
gence company? able to be at par with the level and quality of to get a better understanding of one another's
Furqan Qureshi: Wateen is in the telecom indus- service that they will experience elsewhere in dynamics and begin working together.
try because it offers voice and data connectivi- the world. Flare: where do you see Wateen in the future?
ty. The company is in the Media industry Flare: How wide will be Wateen's coverage? Will Furqan Qureshi: This is just the first step for
because of television and radio broadcasting, it include rural areas? Wateen. Wateen is in a very strong position.
and it is in the IT industry because short of Furqan Qureshi: Our plan is to go as far as we We're hiring, we're investing, we're building,
touching the application. Wateen has large can. It has to make business sense, but we are we're focused on our objectives and we're on
data center services. It represents Cisco as a certain that even if one region does not work, track. When we initiate all our services and
large partner. The company will launch some another city or township will be strong enough land on the ground running, people will be able
powerful products regarding video conferenc- to compensate for it. But imagine this scenario to assess our position on their own. A great
ing. All these features differentiate the compa- - If you go and provide all these services in a team, some great products and a series of
ny from other vendors. small region, you will create infrastructure for challenging milestones they are confident of
Flare: What does the telecommunications land- positive economic activity. It has the power to delivering, Wateen Telecom will carry the
scape look like right now? create a massive societal change. Beyond that, Pakistani flag high up on its shoulders. You
Furqan Qureshi: There are close to 70 million Wateen was quick to realize the problem that need vision, a lot of faith and a great deal of
people plugged into one network or the other, the industry has already started facing - the expertise. We happen to have a lot
14
though, it is difficult to tell how many of those size of the consumer pie is so big. You have to of all three.

 Telecom Flare Report

Mobilink, the leading cellular operator of the country, is playing a significant

role in the welfare of various segments of the society. The company is paying a
special concentration to protect the environment and promote the health of the
community. The company is living up to its image of being socially conscious
entity with a strong commitment and more investment in the public sector
ith a population of over oughfares of Karachi. Drinking water facilities with costs that are over Rs15, 000, depending

W 160 million, and experi-

encing high growth every
year, Pakistan faces envi-
ronmental issues like
deforestation and massive
industrial growth, depleting water resources,
climate change, considerable floods and a
weaning wildlife.
With the involvement of organizations on
provided at these shelters are contributing to
the welfare of the commuters. Canopies
installed at main squares of the city are facili-
tating the traffic police officers to make their
working environment more comfortable.
The company is continuously working to
identify new ways of enhancing the environ-
ment and protecting it. Mobilink in an unprece-
dented move has launched a recycling project
on the acuteness of the disease. These are
disposable kits and sometimes patients need
three to four kits at a time which are now pro-
vided free of cost. It is important to mention
here that although there are other donors for
this program too but Mobilink stands as the
major contributor for this treatment. Prior to the
company's funding the hospital was unable to
treat underprivileged, poor patients free of cost.
environment drives, growing consciousness for It is a good trend, initiated by Mobilink that
protecting the environment has been estab- Mobilink has always championed believes in working intimately with the commu-
lished. Some steps forward can be noticed in nity to generate a positive social and economic
our surroundings due to awareness spread the noble causes. The initiatives change, creating the right environment of
among the educated and affluent, however, the
subject of environment always has additional
taken by the company are hoped progress for the people of Pakistan. With a
strong internal CSR policy and focused com-
room for improvement. to set an example for others to munity investment, the company encourages
It is against this backdrop that Mobilink has its employees to take part in volunteer pro-
taken initiatives to protect and enhance the
follow and benefit the community grams and get involved in various welfare pro-
neighborhoods and communities it operates in, at a larger scale grams.
by adopting a pro-environment attitude. This is The company lives up to its image of being
not only a concerted effort to enhance the sur- where they recycle the hoarding skins, making socially conscious entity with a strong commit-
roundings but also a drive to work towards the school bags out of them, which are distributed ment towards the uplift of social essentials
welfare of the people and strengthen the quali- among under privileged children of the commu- through its active investment in the public sec-
ty of life. nity. This not only supports a noble cause, but tor. Such initiatives taken by the company are
Mobilink, as an example, has invested in also protects the environment from exposure to hoped to set an example for others to follow
the environmental uplift of major cities of non- biodegradable materials. and benefit the community at a larger scale.
Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi. One of the In the health sector, the company has It takes strong commitment, conscious
projects includes the uplift of existing flower established an independent two-bed ward in effort, and honest intentions for any private
shops, which were previously make shift stalls the National Institute of Health to facilitate a company to align itself to a task, which is not
with no proper structure to facilitate the busi- rare and complex condition known as profit generating. It demands integrity and
ness. These shops have been reconstructed Myasthenia Gravis and GBS (Guillain-Barre strong principles to execute such non-profit
with a rustic appearance integrated well with Syndrome). Mobilink initiated a special pro- endeavors. The CEO Mobilink Mr. Zouhair
the natural environment. Flower markets in gram dedicated to provide urgent financial A.Khaliq takes personal interest in protecting
Karachi and Lahore Cantt. are also structured assistance for this disease. It collaborated with the natural environment and believes in living
along the lines of the one in Islamabad. the PMWO to help purchase expensive equip- in harmony with nature. He opposes, cutting
Mobilink has taken similar initiatives by ment for the treatment of Myasthenia Gravis & down of trees to erect concrete and metal
perking up intercity neighborhoods through the GBS. The company also extends a helping structures.

16 uplift of existing bus shelters on the main thor- hand by providing large number of plasma kits;
 Khadija Qasmi Telecom

KHL, the Associated Company of the Akbar Associates GROUP, is

focusing to develop its presence in the rapidly expanding and now
deregulated telecommunication, power and infrastructure development
sectors. Due to its deep understanding of latest enhancements in the
operations and maintenance segment of telecom sector, the company is
giving a tough time to its international counterparts to make money
he past few years have registered operated optimally and develops a list of rec- service providers in this area. The company

T a phenomenal amount of growth

in the Pakistani telecommunica-
tions industry, turning it into a
goldmine for service providers all
over the world; consequently
leading to an influx of foreign vendors into the
industry. The foreigners, with their greater pro-
duction scales and higher economies managed
to rein over the industry for several years, until
ommended improvements that support ener-
gy/cost-efficient operation. An O&M system has
to encompass the entire range of management
functionality, such as simultaneous display and
handling of both networks' alarms in a common
alarms list as well as display and handling of
bi-technology network topologies.
As wireless markets continue to mature and
begin to migrate to 3G, several factors will
has well groomed and specialized teams on its
O & M projects all over Pakistan. KHL's O & M
Projects set the record for their in-time delivery,
minimal reaction time and pristine quality of
service. KHL's O & M Managed Services
include both Preventive as well as Corrective
Maintenance of networks under its preservation
on GPS & NMS oriented software tools.
What's more astounding is the fact that KHL
quite recently when emerging local players decrease operators' revenue margins, including is a 100% equity based firm, which accom-
have also made their presence felt and given ever increasing competition and, ultimately, plished all that it did; in collaboration with FWO
their foreign counterparts a run for their money. market saturation. This will direct operators to its joint venture partner, solely on the basis of
Their emergence has accelerated growth in the look more than ever for cost-cutting opportuni- its intrinsic technical and operational strength.
Pakistani telecom industry and fueled the 'tele- ties. O & M is an outstandingly sensitive field in The company's exceptional competence is
com revolution' that we are witnessing current- that respect, as it holds the key to optimal cost exemplified by the fact that it managed to
ly. effectiveness for operators in this market. The deploy the entire long-haul network, and metro
Companies from as far away as Norway rings in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. The
were tempted into entering Pakistan and its The successful deployment of long-haul network of Wateen telecom was a
massive population of 160 million. Since July, project of colossal magnitude, and KHL man-
2003, regulators have handed out more than Wateen's 5500kms Long Haul aged to deploy 5500kms of Long Haul Optic
200 fixed, mobile, and long-distance licenses to Optic Fiber Cable Network, in a Fiber Cable Network in a short period of time.
some 50 companies. Adding to the competition KHL also installed the metro rings for Wateen
is privatized PTCL the state-controlled carrier short period of time, is the undis- in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad in a very
which had a monopoly until 2004; now realizing puted proof of KHL's competence. short time span.
that it is no longer the only big fish in the pond KHL has been short-listed in UAE to under-
has not only cut down its rates substantially, The company is now set to start take projects with the group which include Abu
but has also revamped its customer service its projects abroad Dhabi & Al-Safran and will in eventuality consti-
into a quality that could not even have been tute a huge success for Pakistan and for KHL;
hoped for in the past. Furthermore the compa- consequently increased cost effectiveness and as a local company crossing borders towards
ny has also undertaken the long overdue initia- improved service quality will eventually not only international markets.
tive to rehabilitate its network all over the coun- benefit the operators, but it will also give the The government expects the telecom sector
try so that it comes up to the level which is broader economy a much-needed boost. expansion to create more than 370,000 jobs in
required in the fiercely competitive telecom Konnect Holden (Pvt) Ltd - KHL, the coming year or so as telecom's share of the
industry of Pakistan. Associated Company of the Akbar Associates country's GDP rises. When the transformation
Ideally the real winner out of the war-zone Group, has its tentacles spread all over is over, Pakistan's telecom sector will be firmly
of our telecom industry will be the consumers. Pakistan, China and UAE having offices sup- rooted in the 21st century, which will support
Analysts expect tariffs to come down further porting Group activities & providing value- our nation in its development and growth activi-
and service quality to improve as competition added services to its customers. KHL is prima- ties for the years to come. The fact that local
heats up. Hence, for any operator existing in rily looking after the telecom, power and infra- enterprises & business houses are not only
such a market, the key term to their success is structure support sectors and is the leading announcing their presence in the telecom,
cost effectiveness. This can only be attained by service provider in Optic Fiber Long Haul, power and construction sectors but also giving
having efficient and productive operations and GSM, WLL and LDI network deployments. The their foreign counterparts a serious run for their
maintenance policy. These O & M practices company currently has a specific focus to money; is an extremely heartening develop-
ought to include a review of equipment condi- develop a presence in the rapidly expanding ment, and is an initiative that ought to be
tion, building documentation and service con- and now deregulated telecommunication, embraced by our local operators so that our
tract, spot test of equipment and controls, power and infrastructure development sectors. nation can advance further on its agenda of
trends or data logging of critical data point over KHL has a deep understanding of latest self reliance; and eventually rid itself of
time. The assessment also checks schedules enhancements in the O & M segment of tele- dependence on foreign vendors.

and control strategies to determine if the site is com sector and stands in the top rankings of

17
 Telecom Sohail Raza Qizilbash

PTA, the telecom regulator of the country, is playing its part admirably well. The
proof of its success is the investment of major international telecommunication
companies in establishing their networks in Pakistan and millions of subscribers
countrywide. Not only its achievements have been lauded internationally but it
has also won several awards and certificates for its excellent performance
akistan Telecommunication Shahzada Alam Malik and attended by repre- attended by Chief Executive Officers (CEOs)

P Authority (PTA) is a statutory body

established under the
Telecommunication (Re-
Organization) Act, 1996, with the
mandate to regulate the rapidly
growing telecommunication industry in the
country. It has executed its mandate admirably.
The proof is the investment of major interna-
tional telecommunication companies in estab-
sentatives of all CMTOs and other concerned
agencies. Stressing upon the importance of
the issue, CMTOs were directed to essentially
ensure the following:-

Display of certificate of franchise issued
by the CMTOs to

the satisfaction of the customers.

Filling of Customer Agreement Form,
their
franchisees prominently at their premises for
and senior management of CMTOs. While the
mobile operators briefed the Chairman PTA
regarding the measures taken by them to
implement the instructions of PTA, such as run-
ning ads in the press and sending messages
on SMS to customers to get their connections
transferred in their names, the Chairman
stressed the need to follow the SOPs in letter
and spirit.
lishing their networks in Pakistan and millions which had been made simpler for ease of The promised checks commenced in
of subscribers countrywide. The achievements understanding. August, undertaken by various teams of PTA's
of PTA in this field have not only been lauded
Obtaining the copy of Computerized zonal offices located at Lahore, Karachi,
internationally but it has also won several National Identity Card (CNIC) of the customers. Quetta, Peshawar and Multan. As a result of
awards and certificates for its excellent per-
Seeking verification of the particulars of these checks, in the month of September 2007,
formance. In the process, huge inflow of direct the customers from NADRA. PTA directed various mobile operators to seal
foreign investment in Pakistan is a big achieve- six premises of franchisees and can-
ment. celed their registration immediately.
In order to fulfill its responsibility of regulat-
To ensure the implementation of the After this strict, severe and drastic
ing the telecommunication industry, PTA issued policies and procedures, PTA under- action of the authority, it was expected
policy guidelines, instructions from time to time that matters would improve. However,
and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). takes performance surveys from time in October 2007, similar action was
To ensure the implementation of the policies to time in addition to routine inspec- taken against eleven franchises of vari-
and procedures, effective supervision and ous operators.
monitoring were also undertaken. In this con- tions. The authority also imposes As this process continues, it is
nection, performance surveys were carried out hoped that the situation will improve in
in addition to routine inspections. Heavy fines
heavy fines on those operators the near future and there will soon
were imposed on those Cellular Operators whose performance is found unsatis- come a time when such drastic action
whose performances were found unsatisfacto- will no more be required as all the
ry. factory players will be playing a fair game.
Earlier this year, it was discovered by PTA The public expects that the checks will
that because of booming sale of mobile con-
Computerizing the data of customers. continue even thereafter.
nections, there were certain franchise holders CMTOs were given three months to verify At the end, it is suggested that in order to
who were not adhering to the SOPs regarding the antecedents of the existing customers while expedite the process of verification of data by
the sale of SIMs. It was specially noted with they were clearly told that inspections would be NADRA, a small cell in NADRA should be cre-
concern that SIMs were being issued without carried out of their outlets to check whether the ated and entrusted the exclusive task of verifi-
obtaining the particulars of the customers, or laid down procedures were being followed or cation of data of mobile connection holders.
where the particulars were available, their veri- not. They were warned that a franchise would The measures taken by PTA are, no doubt,
fication/ authentication had not been done be cancelled and its premises would be sealed in the right direction and one should expect
from National Database and Registration if its holder was found not adhering to the poli- that effective policy making and subsequent
Authority (NADRA). In order to rectify this seri- cy and procedures. These checks were to start monitoring of its implementation would continue
ous omission, meetings were held in May and from the month of July 2007. and Pakistan would retain its prominent status
June 2007, in PTA Headquarters, presided by A meeting of all mobile companies was held in telecommunication industry worldwide.

Chairman PTA, Major General (Retd) which was chaired by Chairman PTA and

The EDF tower of French state-owned power giant Electricite de France (EDF), is seen in the La Defense office building complex in Puteaux, west of Paris. Shares of EDF went on sale
18 Monday, as the government seeks to raise around euro 5 billion (US$ 7.38 billion), to fund the France's ailing university system.
 Telecom Umar Akram

The telecom operators and content developers, in the extremely com-

petitive market of the world, are experiencing serious challenges as
their "innovation crazy" subscribers demand more from them. They are
continuously struggling to retain their existing subscribers and create
brand loyalty among them

he revenue generated from voice networks like 3G and mobile applications that A new report issued by market intelligence firm

T is clearly diminishing with every

passing day, forcing the operators
to explore new areas of growth
through continuous innovation in
technologies and services.
Despite the anticipated consolidation by
European operators, the operators need to
focus on services other than the traditional
voice based services so that they can gener-
bring a rich user experience by changing the
way people live, work and play. Similarly
besides few exceptions, many operators in
Asia and other developing countries have still
not been able to implement long term data
services strategy, with the result their mobile
play is still primarily focused on voice.
With the changing trends, operators are
now expecting their revenues to grow, as the
iSuppli1forecasts that the market for premium
mobile content will exceed $44 billion by 2011,
more than doubling the $20 million anticipated
for 2007. The major driving force for the mobile
content developer is to get an easy access to
the information and APIs (application program-
ming interface) which are held confidential by
the OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers)
and OS providers of mobile devices
ate more revenue for themselves. In the fast subscriber's appetite for mobile based content There should be one organization that can
moving competitive market of Europe, opera- has increased. Going beyond a ring tone or a set guidelines and standards for content devel-
tors are not only facing the challenge of com- theme, they are always on a look out for a opment by consulting all the stake holders in
peting with low cost MVNOs (mobile virtual "killer software application" that can easily the value chain. This will facilitate the develop-
network operators) but are also continuously become popular among the subscribers and ers to focus only on the core issue, which is to
struggling to retain their existing subscribers. thus create brand loyalty for them. But from develop applications for the consumers that
On the other side, if we take into considera- the mobile content developer's perspective it is can add value in their lives. This thing is not as
tion the telecom markets in developing coun- not a simple task to come up with such an simple as it seems. Due to various political,
tries, particularly Asia, we notice that besides application. economical and competitive landscape con-
the increased mobile growth in these areas, straints, it's very hard to unite all the stake
they still lag behind in responding to the
changing market opportunities. The fastest
To meet the challenges and gen- holders at one place and develop standards for
the content developers.
developing Asian markets are China, erate revenues for themselves, An upcoming step taken in this direction is
Indonesia, India and Vietnam. With the the new Android platform that unites the play-
increasing passage of time, Pakistani market is
the operators need to focus more ers of mobile ecosystem such as wireless
also gaining vitality due to fierce competition on the demands of the customers operators, handset manufacturers and devel-
by operators, immense growth potential and opers all at one place. Android software stack
encouragement of FDI by government. Based instead of the traditional services will provide developers a complete access to
on PTA (Pakistan Telecommunication handset capabilities and tools that will enable
Authority) stats for October 2007, the total There is different challenge for the mobile them to build more compelling and innovative
number of subscribers was more than 71.5 software developers though. One challenge applications for the mobile consumers. The big
million, a teledensity of 44.5%. In 2007 the highlighted at the Google's Open Source dis- question is how far Android be successful in
average growth rate has been about 2.3 mil- cussion event was the absence of standards combining the concerned parties together and
lion new subscribers each month. In addition for the developers in the industry. Optimizing to what extent they will be able to over come
to this, BMI expects Pakistan to join the small these applications for different OS and broad the unavoidable factors such as fierce compe-
band of countries with more than 100 million range of mobile devices with varying screen tition among each other. But for the present
mobile subscribers during 2008. sizes and versions remains the biggest prob- state, we can rightly say that if the technology
As the ARPU (average revenue per user) lem for the mobile content developers. Even if leaders like Google Inc., T-Mobile, HTC,
on voice continues to decrease, data has the portability issues are resolved, distribution Qualcomm and Motorola can manage to inte-
become the most dominant factor for operators still remains a big challenge for the develop- grate successfully, they will certainly provide
in retaining and attracting the customers. ers. It is the dream of every mobile content consumers with a far better user experience
However, the growth of data services in the developer to get their content distributed than much of what is available on today's
most developed mobile markets such as through an operator. But the unending list of mobile platforms.
(Japan, Korea, Western Europe and to a less- pre requisites on various issues of portability,
er degree Northern America) has only certification and in some cases localization can The writer is a Danish-Pakistani focusing on
increased from 8% in 2002 to 19% in 2007 as turn this dream into a complete night mare. mobile and internet services. He is the Founder and
provided by IDATE NEWS N* 288. The key The fast adoption of advanced phones and Vice President of Mobile Weaver ApS and is cur-
factors which have complemented the growth corresponding explosive growth in mobile soft- rently serving as the member of the board.

of data services in developed countries are the ware has transformed it into the buzzword of
20 increasing capabilities of mobile phones, faster every article, publication and news around us.
 Flare Report Telecom

hief of the Army Staff (COAS) of the world. He told the successful graduates in all fields, specifically in science and technol-

C
5th Postgraduate
General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani
urged stu-
dents to aim
high and
give their
best to achieve success in
life, while addressing the

Convocation of National
that this university had equipped them with ogy, are expanding beyond imagination nd so
are the opportunities for
them to advance, provided
they have the inspiration and
will to do so.
HEC Chairman Dr Attaur
Rehman also addressed the
convocation. He informed
the audience about HEC
University of Science and contribution and its efforts in
Technology (NUST) in formulating educational poli-
Rawalpindi. cies and funding institutions
Higher Education at a national level.
Commission (HEC) Earlier, Rector of
Chairman Dr. Attaur National University of
Rehman, Rector of Science and Technology
National University of (NUST), Lieutenant General
Science and Technology Muhammad Asghar, said that
(NUST), Lieutenant this institute was only 16
General Muhammad years old but it had evolved
Asghar and other distin- and progressed phenome-
guished guests were also nally into a highly respected
present on the occasion. national institution, with an
General Ahsfaq Kiani equally distinct international
said, "Always aim high Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani (C), Chairman Higher Education Commission Atta-ur- image.
and put in your best. Your Rehman (R) and Rector National University of Sciences and Technology Lieutenant General Muhammad About 226 postgraduate
Asghar attend the 5th Postgraduate Convocation of NUST in Rawalpindi
attitude will determine scholars were awarded
your altitude. Be the inspiring ambassadors of sound education and training in their respective Master's degrees by General Ashfaq Parvez
values of objectivity, creativity and innovation fields. It was up to them to constantly build on Kayani in their respective fields and two schol-
that NUST has helped you imbibe." this solid academic foundation and embrace ars were awarded PhD degrees on the occa-
The Chief of Army Staff admired the attain- the best in professional learning and advance- sion.

ment of high standard by NUST and commend- ment.
ed it for being among the top 500 universities Ashfaq Kiani said that frontiers of education

ony Group P
mph LC
Sy U
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.K
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VARIOLINE
KIT .
CHEN TD
S (PVT) L
QU
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Y KITCHE

21
 IT Sobia Kabir

Pakistan, the sixth most populous country

of the world with a population of 160 mil-
lions, has an immense market potential in
Telecom and IT sector. Telecom industry
of the country has gradually transitioned
from a regulated state-owned monopoly
to a comparatively deregulated competi-
tive model

Salman Mahmood, President and Chief Executive Officer

he telecom sector worldwide is transitioned from a

T
Chairman, Board of Directors
growing with an increase in regulated state-
opportunities for telecom service owned monopoly to a comparatively deregulat- Provisus until it has an international reference
providers. New trends are prevail- ed competitive model. At length, Pakistan's of testing.
ing in the market and demand for telecom sector has begun moving and started It is presumed that tax and incentive prob-
new and additional services is entering into a period of exceptional growth. lems are creating hurdles in the growth of ICT
continuing on the rise. The key success factor of countries like industry in Pakistan. The industry's current situ-
Pakistan, the sixth most populous country of China and India is that they are focusing on ation and growth prospects if properly consid-
the world with a population of 160 millions, is developing their local industry and discourage ered can make Pakistan a hub for ITC players.
expected to be the next consolidation hot spot. imports. It is time to develop the local IT and
Pakistan's telecom sector is becoming an ideal As Pakistani products and software achieve Telecom industry of Pakistan by taking advan-
target market for the IT and telecom companies success in local markets, it should lead to addi- tage of new trends. The government and policy
around the globe. tional opportunities to gain access to the inter- makers should concentrate their efforts to
Pakistan is Asia's top market for 2007, ris- national market. achieve better market share in international
ing 23% this quarter and of a rise of 15% in the According to Mr Salman Mahmood, markets. This can be done through local mar-
first three months. keting by providing support and benefits to
This country has an immense market poten- local market.
tial in telecom and IT sector. The popularization This is the high time to develop Pakistan's key policy makers and Telecom
rate of mobile communication is 5% which indi- authorities should assist future development of
cates the growth prospects in Pakistan. The the local IT and Telecom indus- its telecommunication industry. Pakistan is still
mobile subscriber base, after growing by a less saturated market with huge growth
almost 170% in 2005 and 23% in 2006, had try of Pakistan by taking advan- opportunities for services especially in its rural
reached over 48 million (30% penetration) by areas.
early 2007 and was continuing to grow. The tage of new trends. The govern- The government should also increase
government was continuing to work towards its efforts for encouraging telecom operators to
targeted national teledensity of 7% (around 10 ment and policy makers need to work in Pakistan by providing incentives and
million lines) by 2010. To achieve this target, support to local vendors. Local IT companies
more than one million additional lines need to concentrate their efforts more are also developing software products that are
be installed every year. often world class and best of breed but many
The telecom sector has also seen consider- to achieve better market share companies prefer to buy software from the
able foreign investment. Singapore Telecom international market instead of local one. The
has indicated that it plans to acquire 30% stake in international markets reason could be the general perception of
in Warid Telecom, Pakistan's fourth largest using the international software and awareness
mobile phone company. Emirates Telecom of the usage of local software. If the govern-
already owns a stake in Pakistan Telecom President and CEO Averox(Otcbb: Avox),a ment discourages import of such software in
while Orascom Telecom of Egypt owns solution and service provider company for IT, order to encourage local market then Pakistan
Pakistan's largest mobile network, Mobilink. telecom and telecom engineering, IT and tele- IT and Telecom industry can show further
As many countries are near to telecom mar- com companies are facing many challenges progress.
ket saturation, stakeholders are likely to gradu- today. He believes that the government should With the passage of time, more and more
ally look outside of their existing markets for encourage local use by local companies rather companies will enter in the Pakistani market as
growth opportunities. than spending money as well as effort in mar- they discover it to be an attractive investment
The increasing number of opportunities keting Pakistani software for export. opportunity.

should help Pakistan's Telecom sector to gain He gave an example of Provisus, a provi-
substantial investment locally and globally. sioning solution which is in testing phase.
22
Telecom industry of the country has gradually Companies in Pakistan are hesitant to order
 Diplomatic Enclave Islamabad Flare Panel

Dr. Saleh Ahmad Al-Jawarneh is a multidimensional and multilingual per-

son speaks fluently and understands Urdu very well. The ambassador, who
has been here as a student and junior diplomat, declares himself to be a
Pakistani and feels lucky to be here
Flare: Let's start with the brief introduction to you I visited whole of Pakistan when I was a characterize the level of coordination and coop-
your posting in Pakistan? Tell us about your student at Karachi University. I made tours in eration between two states, in view of strong
experiences in assuming the office here? 70s and 80s. I believe Pakistan is one of the diplomatic relations?
Ans: I am not new in Pakistan. I am here most beautiful lands in the world. Ans: The relation between Pakistan and
for the third time. I am lucky that I am in Jordan is very old. It started after the inde-
Pakistan and I choose it myself. There were Flare: Before assuming the office here, where pendence. Jordan was among those countries
options for me to go to other countries as an were you posted? In how many countries you that recognized Pakistan. There is a one year
ambassador but I choose my second home rendered your services? gap between the independence of the two
that is Pakistan. As an ambassador, I came Ans: I have been to five countries repre- countries; we got it in 1946 and Pakistan in
here in July 2007. I retain back the memories sented my country in UAE, Pakistan, Russia, 47. We established our diplomatic relations
which I had before; I was a student at Karachi Sudan, Qatar and again Pakistan. Of course it from that time. Our embassy was in Karachi.
University in 70s. I did my M.A Political is the first time as an ambassador here I was Later on it was shifted to Rawalpindi and then
Science in 1979 from Karachi University and a diplomat, I am a career diplomat from the to Islamabad. I can summarize the relations
B.A (Hons) Political Science from the same beginning since 1982. I joined the Foreign between the two countries as unbreakable
university in 1978. I came back as a diplomat Service and now I am the ambassador to the because we have the same traditions and
from 1987-1992; I was charge de affaires in Islamic Republic of Pakistan. above all we are Muslims. Moreover we have
Jordan embassy in Islamabad. Now, this is strong leadership relations and the blood rela-
the third time but this time as an ambassador. Flare: What about the bilateral cooperation tion between Pakistan and Jordan. What I
24
I am not a stranger here, I love Pakistan. I tell between Pakistan and Jordan? How would you mean from the blood relations? Muslims as
 Diplomatic Enclave
brothers, the maternal relations like our Prince investors come there and they invest and we the territory of Palestine. This treaty is very
Hassan married Pakistani lady Princesses are expecting more foreign investment in this important especially there was a treaty
Sarwat. Many Jordanian students married sector because Jordan is a secure country. If between Egypt and Israel before it. We fol-
Pakistani girls and many Pakistani married some Pakistani wants to come in our telecom lowed that treaty to save our country from the
Jordanian girls. This thing makes the relations sector to invest they are welcome. I want to security point of view because we do not want
between the people stronger. see Jordanian telecom companies to invest in to fight with Israel. Jordan is a small country. It
Pakistan as well and we are proud that the is 98000 square meters and we were having
Flare: Can you tell us about the economic rela- director general of PTCL is a Jordanian. the problem of water; by this treaty we share
tionship between Jordan and Pakistan and what water with Israel. Economically also we have
happened in this area during your tenure? Flare: Jordan and Israel signed a historic peace many projects. Of course everything has not
Ans: In fact I am not happy about the eco- treaty on 26 October 1994, witnessed by been achieved by this treaty which was
nomic relations between the two countries. President Bill Clinton, accompanied by U.S. signed in1994. Still it needs time to get
The brotherly countries like desired results. In general
Jordan and Pakistan should we have been benefited
have a high level of economic from the peace treaty with
and commercial relations. It is Israel and we found it a
only about 40 million dollars door open to talk with
which is not enough, now we Israelis for the benefit of the
are working to improve and we Palestinian. When our
are working on FTA. In fact due Palestinian brothers want us
to some reasons it has been to interfere in this matter
delayed but I hope after few with Israel we can, because
months we will achieve this we have the diplomatic rela-
agreement because it will be tions with Israel. We have
useful for both the countries. In embassy in Tel- Aviv and
these four months I have been Israel embassy is in Jordan.
able to bring a delegation from I think it is good for our
the ministry of agriculture. I tell Palestinian brothers and His
you that there was a ban on Majesty is working day and
some Pakistani mango. Now night to bring back the
we have removed the ban and Palestinian and Israelis to
we tell our nation that it is sit on the table and negoti-
among the best and it will be ate for the peace process.
exported to Jordan. I think it is H.E. Dr. Saleh Ahmad Al-Jawarneh poses during an interview with Flare This is all about the treaty.
a good development.
Secretary, Warren Christopher. The US has Flare: What is the strength and standing of OIC
Flare: During 8th Session of Pak-Jordan Joint participated with Jordan and Israel in trilateral in today's challenging world? How it can be
Ministerial Commission in June 2006 both development discussions in which key issues effective where the foreign policies of Muslim
countries set to initiate the process of negotia- have been water-sharing and security, coopera- countries are different for modern world?
tions for concluding Free Trade Agreement tion on Jordan Rift Valley development, infra- Ans: We are a member of OIC as
(FTA) and Protection and Promotion of structure projects, trade, finance, and banking Pakistan. I believe that something is better
Investment between the two along with cooper- issues. Did you get desire results after inking than nothing. It is an organization of 57
ation in agriculture, science and technology and that treaty? Islamic countries there must be power but it is
other areas, and what has been achieved up till Ans: First I tell you that Jordan give lot not as much practical as it should be. This is
now to strengthen bilateral relations? more to Palestinian cause and it is our duty as an organization made by our leaders and we
Ans: We are very conscious to have expe- brothers for the Palestinian to do whatever we have to respect such organization but we ask
rience of science and technology from the leadership to show us stronger
Pakistan. Always the context is there, stand and more work able attitude
the negotiations there, development of to solve Islamic world's problems. A
this field is there and we are trying to wise council can be established that
do something in this field. can put a platform for solving the
problems.
Flare: In 8th Session of Pak-Jordan Flare: When you are in front of
Joint Ministerial Commission, Jordan press you may be asked anything? It
invited Pakistani investors to look into is understood there's a directive from
the opportunities available in energy the Foreign Office how to respond
and power sector of Jordan? Is there and what to say, is this happen that
any Pakistani company operating there? you take your own initiative to
Ans: In fact negotiations are there respond on any issue?
and we expect the improvement and Ans: Off course it depends on
development between the two coun- the question, if it will not affect the
tries. interest of the country, or it will not
disclose secret I will go beyond.
H.E. Dr. Saleh Ahmad Al-Jawarneh his views with Flare Team
Flare: Jordan initiated reforms in 1994
aimed at improving the overall efficien- Flare: Can you sum up your assess-
cy of telecommunications services in the coun- can to get their own state. After many wars ment of the current state of the relationship
try. These reforms were expected to have econo- with Israel we found that the wars can't be between two countries and outlook for the
my-wide benefits for Jordan, by stimulating applicable and cannot give good result. We future?
new foreign investment, creating new employ- made peace process as our strategy and His Ans: Our relations are unbreakable and
ment opportunities, and generating substantial Majesty Late King Hussain really was agreed strong. I am working to make a Pak-Jordan
government revenues. How much you have and he took this step to ink this treaty with Friendship Society that will be more helpful to
achieved so far and what about the foreign Israel to safe our country from Israeli inva- strengthen our relations.
investment in this sector? sions. For the first time by signing this treaty He concluded by wishing peace and
Ans: Up to 1994 we have only one telecom we knew the border of Israel according to prosperity for Pakistan.
company but now we have many. them their border is from Farat River in Iraq to
Telecommunication companies are very Nile River in Egypt. By this treaty we have
strong in Jordan now and it boosted our econ- stopped their idea. Secondly we stopped the We are thankful to H.E. Dr. Saleh
omy. In Jordan we have Fast Link which has idea of Israeli that Jordan is Palestine Ahmad Al-Jawarneh for giving us
become Zane, because Kuwaitis invest there because the leaders of Israel they were think-
and they change the name, Orange, and ing that to put Palestinian people in Jordan
time.
Express which are the telecom service and they will tell them that this is a Palestine
providers in Jordan. Due to profitability foreign do what ever you like and don't demand for 25
 Telecom Flare Report

PTCL has achieved its broadband

services expansion target of 25,000.
The company is determined to meet
the target of 50,000 till the end of
2007 and has asked its professionals
to enhance their network installa-
tion capacity, after sales and support
services and provide quality service
Group photo of PTCL broadband team with President and CEO Mr. Walid Irshaid

eeping in view the growing household," he emphasised. the customers. He also announced special

K demand, Pakistan
Telecommunication Company
Limited (PTCL) has decided to
extend its broadband services
to all the customers in the
country. In this regard, the PTCL manage-
ment has asked its professionals to
enhance their network installation capaci-
ty, after sales and support services and
Mr. Irshaid specially congratulated the pro-
fessionals of the company who were tasked to
expand the network and broadband services
across the country.

PTCL is the largest telecom operator

in the country and managed by
incentives for the professionals of the company
who would work hard in meeting desired
broadband expansion targets in the country.
He said that PTCL is now the leader in con-
sumer broadband in Pakistan, leading the
country into the 21st century. The service
has been launched initially in Islamabad,
Lahore, Rawalpindi, Karachi, Peshawar,
Hyderabad, Quetta, Faisalabad, Multan,
provide quality service. PTCL is develop- Etisalat, a UAE based telecom group. Gujranwala, Sialkot, Sheikupura and Hub.
ing this product to meet the demand of Etisalat has expanded its operations One year back the company had no rev-
the customers belonging to different sec- enue broadband services, but due to the
tors of the economy. in the Middle East and Africa with a hectic efforts of the PTCL management and
Walid Irshaid, PTCL's President, in a vision to become one of the top ten- professionals some revenue has started
meeting with the professional staff, said flowing in from this source.
"market size is huge which is available to telecom service providers in the It may be mentioned here that since pri-
the company and it's not difficult for us to vatisation the new PTCL management has
net 2.5 million customers by expanding global market by 2010 provided many new services to its cus-
reliable broadband services across the tomers, invested heavily in improving infra-
country in the near future." "Demand for broad- PTCL has already achieved its broadband structure and has brought down local and inter-
band in the country is enormous and the com- services expansion target of 25,000 and the national calling rates.

pany has the ability to meet the growing needs target of 50,000 would be met till the end of
of each sector of the economy as well as each 2007 with the increased confidence shown by

elenor Pakistan has introduce yet service allows unlimited photos and videos

T another inovative service to facili-

tate its valued customers. The
Telenor's PicShare enables users
to automatically upload, preserve
and share their photos and
videos. An announcement to this effect was
made in a statement. It said that
PixSense, a leading provider of mul-
timedia management solutions, has
captured on a mobile phone to be uploaded
automatically, and securely, to a user's web
gallery. Users can add comments and share
them with friends and family directly from the
web and from their phones.
The statement further pointed out that the

PixSense Platform PSP removes pre-

announced that Telenor Pakistan has
vious constraints of sharing memo-
deployed Telenor PicShare, a new ries captured by mobile phones by
service based on PixSense's PSP
(Preserve, Share, Publish) Platform.
providing a next-generation phone-
The statement pointed out that for to-phone and phone-to-web photo
the first time in Pakistan, Telenor's
PicShare service gives users a
sharing service
unique new way of sharing their memories PixSense Platform PSP removes previous con-
online and through their mobile handset. straints of sharing memories captured by
Now, every photo, and video captured by a mobile phones by providing a next-generation
Telenor PicShare user is automatically phone-to-phone and phone-to-web photo shar-
uploaded online to a secure, private account ing service.
and can be shared with other mobile phone With one click, every digital clip taken is PixSense we can easily host services for sub-
and web users, it added. automatically uploaded online, to be shared, scribers that will allow them to take advantage
Telenor Pakistan was looking for a secure blogged, pushed to third party sites or of their multimedia mobile devices, and enjoy
yet economical way for its customers to share archived. Telenor Pakistan Chief Marketing greater freedom and creativity when managing
26
photos and videos on their handsets. PicShare Officer Sigvart Voss Eriksen said that now with and sharing the media they capture.

 Telecom M.H. Khalid

Probably the most important medium for advertising in the 21st century is going
to be the cell phone, not print/electronic media or billboards. Marketers see it
low on cost and high in effectiveness. But in our country there are no hard and
fast rules to advertise through SMS but the trend is gearing up.

et ready for the inbox on your and give discounted SMS rates. While mobile one, especially for advertising purposes. He

G phone to fill up faster. From

fast-food chains to carmakers
to consumer goods manufac-
turers and sports franchises,
more companies are adopting
text messaging as a way to target consumers
on the move in Pakistan.
The practice took off in the past years
and appears to be a trend ready to
companies deny aiding advertisers for this pur-
pose.
Mobile service companies also have
allegedly been making agreements with adver-
tising companies for the SMS ad service
despite their claim of protecting their clients'
said the company was looking for a way to
curb this activity and save its customers from
the trouble.
There is no law to stop spam text mes-
sages. Mobile phones company officials are of
the view that there is no provision in their poli-
cy to share their clients' numbers with such
advertisers who are using SMS as tool of
advertising.
explode. Pakistan Telecommunication Authority
Probably the most important medium (PTA) didn't take any action so far against
for advertising in the 21st century is going such advertisers who are using unregis-
to be the cell phone, not print media, not tered SIMs to advertise and there are no
billboards. It's just a matter of time; there hard and fast rule to block such advertisers.
are just too many of them. The reason is Citizens have expressed mixed feelings
that globally the number of cell phone in this regard. A businessman told Flare that
users recently crossed 2.5 billion, an initially he had sent SMS to 100 people to
increase of a half-billion in just 12 months. check public response. Then he contacted a
It is also a matter of companies going leading mobile company to get their service for
where consumers are. It is understood that the purpose.
SMS advertising is effective and above all it is
inexpensive, timely and draws the attention of
its readers. One can pass away from a bill- Mobile service companies
board, can neglect add on TV and can ignore
the advertisement on print media. But if one
have allegedly been making
gets SMS on his/her mobile makes him bound agreements with advertising
to read it because it directly affects the reader
or receiver.
companies for the SMS ad
This kind of advertising is in its full swing service despite their claim of
around the world and now emerging in
Pakistan. Here are many problems as well protecting their clients' per-
because in our country a large number of
SIMs are unregistered and it is a threat for the
sonal information and that
security. There are chances to spread rumors they do not share their num-
because in SMS advertising there is no con-
cept of gate keeping and every thing can be
bers
send to mobile phones. This is dangerous for
our national interest. Here, the question is from personal information; that they do not share He said the mobile company staff offered
where these advertisers get the mobile num- their numbers. A leading mobile phone compa- him a package according to which he could
bers? Advertisers who use this type of adver- ny's managing director said that the company send one million SMS within every 10 days at
tising say mobile phone companies make is aware of spam SMS on its network, but the a rate of 35 paisas per SMS. He said he
28 agreements to share phone numbers with them company did not share customer data with any- refused to the agreement because he had
 Telecom
heard from someone that it had legal con- was needed for this purpose. are being congratulated that they are the win-
straints. He further told that he had also been An employee of Mundi Bhauddin ners of millions of rupees. On contacting the
receiving messages from traders to reopen this Advertising Agency said that his company had concerned mobile company, they show negli-
SMS service. developed a website and a software to send gence on such scheme. This practice is on the
text messages. He said his company also had rise and the authorities are unaware of this hor-
an agreement with the mobile phone compa- rible practice.
nies in this regard.
Cell phone users have expressed concern
over the misuse of their phone numbers. They

Mobile service companies

have allegedly been making
agreements with advertising
companies for the SMS ad
service despite their claim of
protecting their clients' per-
sonal information and that
they do not share their num-
bers It is understood that cellular companies
share their customer's numbers with these
said they were being disturbed by messages advertisers and they are not using this medium
from anonymous numbers advertising shops of advertising properly. A need of the hour is to
Another person in Faisalabad, reported that and businesses in other cities. stop this type of advertising and the action
he had been providing SMS advertisement Now, SMS has undoubtedly emerged as the should be taken against those cellular compa-
service to his clients for the past four months at new marketing tool in advertising industry. nies whose SIMs are in use for this type of
a rate of 25 paisas per SMS. He said he had Similar to the SMS beeps you might get from a advertising. PTA should make rules for this
been receiving good response from business- restaurateur informing you about a discount advertising and there must be some code of
men. He had prepared software that sent SMS scheme, or a disco declaring its forthcoming ethics for this purpose or these advertisers
to all prepaid and post-paid numbers in a event. Do not get surprised if you receive an should be made registered with PTA. What
series provided by cell phone companies with SMS from such an advertiser. ever such advertisers want to advertise it
which he had agreements. The software was The cell phone users are very much dis- should be in the knowledge of authorities.

being sold for Rs 27,000. There was no law to turbed of getting SMS from different compa-
restrict sending SMS advertisements and no nies. This is a major practice in our society that
registration or permission from any authority cell phone users receive SMS in which they

he Callmate Telips Telecom Ltd, tributors such as Quality Telecom were recog- 160% decline in profits in FY07 versus FY06,

T provider of various telecommuni-

cation services, payphones and
prepaid calling cards in Pakistan,
is seeking to have an urgent capi-
tal injection of worth Rs1 billion in
order to improve its business operations, said
analyst from JS Research. A source from
Callmate management said that CTTL contin-
ued to struggle with a number of serious prob-
nized as revenue against the underlying princi-
ples of International Accounting Standard (IAS)
18 'Revenue Recognition'
He recommended the management to pro-
vide the remaining balance of Rs581mn (EPS:
Rs8.8) in accordance with requirements of IAS
37 'Provisioning of Contingent Liabilities and
Contingent Assets'. The total outstanding
receivables from Quality Telecom as at Jun 30,
running shock waves among investors.
Further cut-throat competition in the LDI
segment mainly from GSM operators forced
the company to reduce tariffs and provide extra
discounts and promotional schemes to retailers
in order to bypass such competition. As a result
of these discounts, the entity was able to limit
damage to gross margins which stood at 20%
in FY07 versus 27% in FY06.
lems, ranging from working capital deficiency to 2007 amounted to Rs931mn, out of which only The significant provisioning was carried out
operational issues such as disconnection of Rs350mn has been provided so far. by new management on account of long over-
service by PTCL, which needed to be resolved The recent wave of bad news surrounding due receivables from major business partners.
on immidiate basis. Farhan Rizvi, analyst of JS CTTL culminated with PTCL discontinuing the This includes bad debt provisioning of
Research, was of the view that some sort of a termination of CTTL's calling cards traffic on Rs350mn (EPS: Rs5.4) from Quality Telecom,
bail out package in consultation with PTCL and account of non payment of dues worth a whop- an international distributor of CTTL, who is now
the bankers was needed to rejuvenate the ping Rs950mn. With the company running on not contactable.
financial fortunes of CTTL. critical working capital situation due to its own In addition, provisioning has also been car-
According to analyst, the company recently precarious receivable situation, it has been ried out on account of advances amounting to
released its detailed accounts and conducted unable to clear outstanding dues to PTCL, Rs104mn (EPS: Rs1.6) provided to related par-
its Annual General Meeting (AGM) which accumulated over the last 12 months. ties of the previous CFO for construction work
revealed that CTTL's top line registered a sub- According to the management, strenuous on designated company sites. No work has
stantial decline of 29%YoY, mainly on the back negotiations are underway with PTCL to arrive been performed to date, nor any money
of correction in revenue recognition methodolo- at a compromise solution, with a waiver of refunded. This provisioning exercise has result-
gy and reduced tariffs on prepaid calling cards some proportion of the outstanding dues and a ed in a steep growth in admin expenses to
and Long Distance and International (LDI) relaxed payment schedule so that CTTL can Rs804mn (FY06 Rs139mn), translating into
operations. According to the management, restart its commercial operations. negative earnings of Rs359mn (loss per share:
errors were noted on revenue recognition According to the company's financial results Rs5.5) versus profits of Rs603mn (EPS: Rs9.2) 29
whereby cards with inactivated pins sold to dis- for FY07, the company reported a massive in FY07.

 IT Azhar Javed

Software Technology Park, situated at

346-B Ferozpur Road, Lahore, has 17
storey building with 475,000 square feet
of office space and is scheduled to be
completed by December 2008. The build-
ing of the park, equipped with all the
modern facilities, will be constructed
with an estimated cost of Rs 3.30 billion
pletely different picture. It will be based on
leading edge technologies to create jobs and
career opportunities, as well as open up
avenues for entrepreneurship for the people
of Punjab and Pakistan.
Former CM Punjab Pervez Elahi in his
message said that the Government of Punjab
is paying special attention to e-governance
and is developing the Information Technology
(IT) sector in the province under a compre-
hensive programme, capable of meeting the
present and future IT requirements of not only
Punjab but the whole of Pakistan over the
short, medium and long term.
The Punjab Information Technology Board
he object of Punjab government realising the objectives for which it was

T
(PITB) has allocated a development budget of
to build Software Technology formed. Rs 7 billion ($115 million) for the next three
Park, a mega project, is to make The ground-breaking ceremony was per- years to create opportunities for more than
Punjab the hub of Information formed by Chief Minister Punjab. The STP is 60,000 highly trained IT professionals in the
Technology (IT) and promote a pioneering project and is of national impor- province. In recent years, there has been sig-
economic growth in the IT sector tance. It is an icon not only for Punjab but nificant growth and progress in Punjab's IT
through the implementation of e-Governance Pakistan as well. It has been dexterously sector. Many multinational organizations have
policies in IT education. designed by Jurong Consultants of Singapore. opened their offices and have made invest-
Software Technology Park, situated at 346- The construction work is being executed by ments of over $100 million.
B Ferozpur Road, Lahore, has 17 storey world-renowned China State Construction PITB has been playing a vital role in
building with 475,000 square feet of office Engineering Company. attracting foreign investors to the IT sector.
space and is scheduled to be completed by Chairman P&D Board Suleman Ghani said Punjab Government's efforts have also come
December 2008. Total estimated cost of the that the planning and development process in to fruition in the form of strategic partnerships
project is Rs 3.30 billion. You can rent the Punjab has entered a new era of technologi- and alliances with multinational companies
office in tower as its rent starts from Rs 60 per cal advancements through the introduction of and investors including the UAE's Bukhatir
square feet while the office space in car park policies that encourage and facilitate efficient Group, Prince Alwaleed of Saudi Arabia,
block starts from Rs 40 per square feet. You governance. British Telecom and Singapore's Jurong
can purchase office in STP with price starting PITB's role is to assist the IT Industry in International, for the implementation of mega
from Rs 40,000 per square feet, car park creating a reliable and sustainable IT infra- development projects.
block from Rs 20,000 per square feet. structure and the development of efficient and The business friendly and sustainable eco-
Park's building is equipped with the facili- competitive human resources. PITB is making nomic policies introduced by President
ties like Modern communication systems rapid progress in putting in place the neces- General Pervez Musharraf and former Prime
including wireless LAN/WAN, WiMax and sary infrastructure for the development of a Minister Shaukat Aziz are laying the ground
VSAT technologies, auditorium, conference thriving IT sector in Punjab and is creating work for long term development of industries
rooms, video conferencing facilities, health benchmarks for the development of similar and technology-based projects in Pakistan.
club and training centers, restaurants, cafes, projects across Pakistan. Over the last few PITB is currently implementing a number
and parking for around 400 cars, 400 bikes, years, several multinationals have invested in of exciting projects including a Software
central heating and cooling, 24-hour surveil- Punjab including Microsoft, IBM, DELL, Intel, Technology Park (STP), Land Record
lance and power backup system. HP, NCR, Cisco and Oracle. Their revenues Management Information System (LRMIS),
A Software Technology Park (STP) is the have grown by 30 per cent to 70 per cent in a Punjab IT Communication Hub and Data
need of the hour as there is a tremendous sector that is expanding by almost 30 per cent Center, Demand Based IT Training (DBT) and
demand for call centers, off-shore software each year. development of IT Labs.
development, Business Process Outsourcing There are several IT investment opportuni- Chief Minister Pervez Elahi said that the
(BPO), IT Outsourcing (ITO), Application ties in Punjab for foreign investors. These Punjab Government will continue to strive for
Maintenance Outsourcing (AMO), and Tele- opportunities include the Software Technology the creation of a vibrant economy based on
Medicine opportunities. Park (Ferozepur Road Lahore), Punjab progressive development policies across all
Punjab Information Technology Board Internet City, Call Centers, Business Process sectors. We are working on creating a wide
(PITB) was set up by the Government of Outsourcing (BPO), Land Records range of projects with efficient IT-enabled sys-
Punjab as an autonomous body with the mis- Management Information System (LRMIS), tems.
sion to "develop IT as a major sphere of eco- Medical and Legal Transcriptions, Satellite He said that the use of IT and Project
nomic activity and promote its use in the pub- HUBS (VSAT) and Geographical Information Management in education, healthcare, irriga-
lic and private sectors for increasing efficiency Systems (GIS). tion, agriculture, law enforcement and other
and competitiveness. PITB has achieved con- In the next three-five years, the IT and government departments are top priorities of
30
siderable success in a short time towards industrial sector of Punjab will present a com- the Punjab Government.

 Telecom Flare Report

elenor, an emerging mobile speakers shared

T heavyweight in Asia, occupied

nine much anticipated speaking
slots at Asia's biggest industry
event, the GSM Association's
Mobile Asia Congress 2007, held
in Macau, China. Senior officials from
Telenor's Asian head office and Telenor's
Asian operations in Pakistan, Thailand and
Bangladesh were invited to share their win-
Telenor's key
successes and
contributions in
the country of
their operations
Irfan Wahab
Khan while
informing the
audience on key
ning business strategy, product innovations, learning on ICT
sustainable development and future vision for for Development
mobile telecommunications in Asia. The con- projects said "The
gress is an established best practice sharing pilot on "apna Telenor Pakistan's Executive Vice President Irfan Wahab Khan, DTAC (Telenor's Thai mobile
platform for telecommunications related part- PCO" and operation) CEO Sigve Brekke and Grameenphone Bangladesh
ners, suppliers, competitors and authorities "Telenor Rabta
across the region. Centers" has shown that people in rural com- including India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka,
Telenor Asia Region Deputy CEO & Head munities have the need and willingness to Bangladesh, Thailand, China, Ukraine and
Arve Johansen, Telenor Pakistan's Executive spend a significant amount of their income on Russia participated in the congress reaffirming
Vice President Irfan Wahab Khan, DTAC telecom services. The pilot's extended phase its regional clout.
(Telenor's Thai mobile operation) CEO Sigve with rural women has provided this highly dis- The Telenor Group is an international
Brekke and Grameenphone Bangladesh advantaged segment of the society with provider of high quality telecommunications,
(Telenor's Bangladeshi mobile operation) CEO decent incremental income for their families." data and media communications services.

Anders Jensen spoke at the occasion. The A total of 78 speakers from Asian countries

eradata Pakistan Pvt. Ltd. inau-

T gurated its Karachi office, its

third in the country. The honors
were performed by Mr. Javed
Jabbar, Former Federal Minister
for Information. Speaking on the
occasion, Javed Jabbar said, "It is indeed
heartening to note that Teradata has started
operations in such a big way, right after its
spin off from NCR.
The investment of the company bears tes-
timony in Teradata's faith in Pakistan's sus-
tained economic growth and the investment-
friendly policies. We hope that Teradata would
Khuram Rahat, Managing Director, Teradata Pakistan presenting a memento to Javed Jabbar, Former Federal Minister for
continue to expand further and add value to Information at the launch of Teradata's operations in Karachi. Also seen in the picture is (L to R) Syed Jawaid Iqbal, President
the corporate and banking sectors through CMC, Tabish Sabah, Regional Sales Manager Teradata and Sameerah Siddiqui, Marketing Manager Teradata
value added IT solutions." make smarter faster decisions. The demand through data warehousing and enterprise ana-
Khuram Rahat, Managing Director, for Teradata's enterprise data warehousing lytics. The company has hundreds of employ-
Teradata Pakistan, said "This is a major mile- and enterprise analytics is strong and grow- ees in Pakistan, serving customers in the
stone for us and follows last month's success- ing." Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)
ful completion of Teradata's spin off from Teradata Corporation is the world's largest region as well as a large number of local cus-
NCR. Throughout the world including company, working in more than 60 countries tomers.

Pakistan, Teradata helps organizations to and solely focused on raising intelligence
added.
"An important factor in the deci-
sion to expand the studio in
Prague was the fact that there is a
large pool of talented young game
developers in the country,"
explained Jiri Rosenkranz, manag-
ing director of Disney's Prague
alt Disney is to make Prague its largest European

W
subsidiary, Disney Mobile Games
site for the development of games played on
Studio.
mobile phones and the Internet, the company
Turnover in the the mobile
announced in statement. An existing games devel-
gaming industry is set to increase fourfold from 2.1 billion dollars (1.42
opment studio in the Czech capital will be expand-
billion euros) last year to 8.4 billion dollars by 2010, Disney said citing
ed and more workers taken on, the company's
industry research.
special division, the Walt Disney Internet Group, added without detail-
"Handsets are increasingly attractive for gamers as larger screens
ing the investment involved in the fast expanding market.
and new generation platforms enable more complex and better quality
32 The move will put Prague alongside Los Angeles, Tokyo and Beijing
game play," it added.

as Walt Disney's leading game development centers worldwide, it
 In Picture

Japan's electronics giant Sony employee Noriko Shoji displays the new digital Taiwanese baseball player Wang Chien-ming (L), starting pitcher for the New York
voice recorder "ICD-UX80" and its color variations, equipped with stereo micro Yankees, displays a notebook computer during a press conference in Taipei,. Wang
phones and built-in 2GB memory enabling it to record up to 581 hours. attended the press conference to promote one of Taiwan's leading computer brand's lat-
est products

The lobby of a Hewlett-Packard call center in Dalian, northeastern China's Liaoning Tokyo University research leader Michitaka Hirose, right, talks about a new marker-based
province is seen. In the last decade, Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM Corp., Britain's BT position tracking system while researcher Katsunori Tanaka crouches down with a Web
Group PLC and some 230 other foreign companies have flocked to Dalian to set up camera on a large mat with specially coded leaf patterns on as if he is peering under a
business software and outsourcing facilities, creating a new center for a multibillion- virtually parked car on a screen during a demonstration at Tokyo University in Tokyo.
dollar global industry.

Keio University Prof. Junichi Ushiba, center, demonstrates his brain-computer inter- A 300 milimeter silicon test wafer made using Intel's 45 nanometer process technology and
face technology with his researcher at his laboratory in Hiyoshi near Tokyo. Ushiba's consisting of rows and rows of memory chips and various test structures is seen in the
research team is working on delivering a virtual experience that reaches even more photo, released. Intel Corp, the world's biggest microchip maker, unveiled fast new proces-
deeply into the user, right into his brain. sors made with the new techniques.

Lalvani, said “India is emerging as a dynamic market for

Voxtel Launches GPS, advanced technology products, especially in the backdrop of
robust growth in the telecom, retail and automobile sector”.

Internet Telephony in India Lalvani also said, “We are looking at India as a strategic
hub to fuel our growth plans in Asia Pacific and Middle East
region. We are in the process of expanding our Bangalore
Global telecom equipment provider and Britain’s leading digital com-
facility to cater to our global requirement of software services
munication products maker, Voxtel, is looking to capture the Indian market
and research work”.
with its latest launch of high performance GPS and India is becoming a
Voxtel has already entered into strategic tie-ups with big
space for enduring success and several companies have been making a
players and retailers like Reliance, Spencer, Hypercity, Cromo
huge contribution to the growth of the telecom industry in the country.
and others. The company has also teamed up with MTNL
With the launch of these services in India, Voxtel, a part of the $500
(Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd), one of the major telecom
million telecom giant BEIL based in UK, is not just taking over end-to-end
Dino Lalvani, Chief Operating Officer, service providers in India.
technology but also getting involved in this ever emerging business.
Announcing the move, Voxtel Telecom chief operating officer, Dino Voxtel,
34
 Internet Ismail Qureshi

Millions of people are taking advantage of video

communications over the Internet. While this
technology opens up many possibilities for keep-
ing in touch with distant loved ones or communi-
cating with key colleagues. Video communication
needs some etiquette rules to be followed by the
communicator while making a video call
f you have a webcam, attached to your them and make the conference less produc- your normal voice. Have them introduce them-

I system, you can talk to anyone, any-

where in the world, just as if they were
sitting in the same room with you.
Millions of people are taking advantage
of video communications over the
Internet. While this technology opens up many
possibilities for keeping in touch with distant
loved ones or communicating with key col-
leagues, video communication presents a per-
tive. No one wants to see you munching
chips. And spit out that gum. Even if you are a
celebrity!

Attention Please!
Try not to look distracted. Don’t constantly
check your watch, recline with your feet up or
doodle on your notepad. If you have to fiddle,
at least pretend that you are interested. Also,
selves so you can be sure that you can hear
them. Check the lighting. To ensure the best
video quality, find a well-lit room and try not to
sit with your back to a window during daylight
hours. Close the curtains of your windows.
Daylight may conflict with the lighting required

Make surroundings presentable

Be aware of your surroundings. Make the
plexing new set of etiquette rules that you don't interrupt or distract others when they are area, where you are conferencing from, pre-
must know before jumping on your video call. talking. Be cautious of body language. sentable. Watch out for inappropriate back-
Conference calls are becoming more and Remember, others can see you. So, eye ground items, such as a dirty shirt draped
more common and everyone not only wants to over a chair, strange artwork or large quanti-
join them but at the same time needs to know Conference calls are becoming ties of office supplies that you took home from
how to handle them. To avoid embarrassing more and more common and work.
“captured on video” moments, here are a few Do not have babies screaming or your dog
tips. everyone not only wants to join barking during a video conference call. It’s not
It is a famous saying that “looks do mat- cute at all! If it is not possible to be away from
ter”. Before joining a video call, comb your them but at the same time needs the noise, mute your phone whenever you are
hair and make sure your clothes are clean. to know how to handle them. It is not speaking. Limit background noise. For the
Some webcams provide such good image best audio results, conduct your video call in a
quality that your friends or colleagues will a famous saying that “looks do quiet environment
know if you haven’t washed your hair lately or
haven’t ironed your clothes.
matter”. So, one should take No interruptions please!
Don’t wear bright or crazy colours or pat- much care to expose himself to Like in a normal meeting, try to avoid side
terns that may make the person on the other conversations. Mute the microphone before
side difficult to focus. Go for muted colours the webcam moving into a meeting. Shuffling of papers in
instead. rolling or snickering in response to even the a conference call can be very annoying. And
Put your best face forward. Check for fly- most asinine comments won’t go unnoticed. of course, turn your phone off (airplane
aways, spinach in your teeth and for ladies -- Avoid tapping your pencil or drumming your mode), not just on silent, to avoid any kind of
sloppy makeup is a complete no-no. Use your fingers on the desk. feedback.
manners, introduce yourself, speak clearly Most important, regardless of whether it’s
and don’t interrupt. Mind those tech failures work-related or catching up with friends treat
Can you hear me now? Ask the people at the experience as though you’re actually in
No Munching the other side if they can hear you. Make sure the same room with your friend or colleague.
Munching is inappropriate in any confer- you’re using a headset or a webcam with an Keep enjoying video calling!.

ence, so in a videoconference where all the integrated microphone. If not, other partici-
participants can look at you. This can irritate pants may not be able to hear you. Speak in

South Korea's electronics giant Samsung Electronics displays a prototype model of Palestinian rap group "Battalion 5" performs at a studio in Beirut. "Battalion 5" might
36 ultra slim 40-inch liquid crystal display (LCD) television in thickness of 10mm at a flat conjure up images of the next big computer game, but in Lebanon, it is a group of
panel display trade show in Yokohama. musicians who express the misery of life in Palestinian refugee camps through rap.
 Flare Report IT

The software will enable the common man to

take advantage of the information available
on the internet in English language by trans-
lating whole web page into Urdu. The "Text to
speech" component that translates Urdu text to
audible speech will be immensely beneficial
to majority of Pakistani population
ederal Minister for Information Technology, Dr. Abdullah

F Riar, inaugurated the 'Urdu Lexicon, Text-to-Speech &

English-to-Urdu Translation Software' funded by the
Ministry of Information Technology under the e-govt.
programme. Dr. Abdullah Riar, while launching the
product, stated that this product would have far reach-
Caretaker Federal Minister for Information Technology Dr. Abdullah Riar attending the launching
of Urdu Lexicon, Text-to-Speech & English-to-Urdu Translation Software in a ceremony held at a

ing effects on delivery of services to citizens electronically and thus help

in bridging the digital divide within the country.
The Minister stressed the fact that importance of this research and
produced software can not be over stated. He said that Internet and
local hotel Islamabad.

been winning laurels internationally both individually and as part of

major corporations.
The English to Urdu Translation component of this released software
that can be used with popular web browsers will enable the common
man to reap the benefits of the wealth of information available on the
number of broadband users in Pakistan is quite low and the introduction internet in English language by translating whole web page into Urdu,
of such softwares will help boost this number in particular and the ICT thereby bringing web's true utility of information dissemination. The "Text
industry in general. to speech" component that translates Urdu text to audible speech will be
The magnitude of benefits, which can ensue with widespread public immensely beneficial to majority of Pakistani population who can under-
use of the software tools will be immense. While bringing the true utility stand but not read Urdu. At the same time this will come in handy for
of internet to the masses, this will also help in boosting the internet and people with visual impairments and disabilities bringing them into main-
information resource use on mass scale. stream of information revolution. The Urdu dictionary, developed as part
Dr. Abdullah Riar further added that the Ministry of Information of same Urdu Processing research initiative funded by the MoIT, puts at
Technology is committed to spread the latest facilities of Information the disposal of the users explanation of some 120,000 Urdu words and
technology in the country. He pointed that the potential of the IT sector phrases with 90,000 carrying detailed description.

is based on the exceptionally talented youth of the country who have

37
 Internet Flare Report

At the time of independence, India had

around 86,000 telephone connections.
Today, the country is adding more than
twice that number every day to its over
250 million strong network

uring the first war of independ- connection in cities,

D ence in 1857, the biggest

advantage the imperialists had
over the revolutionaries was
technology, which helped them
communicate revolutionaries'
moves and pre-plan strategy against them. By
the last leg of freedom struggle, the national-
ists had access to the same communication
system. At the time of independence, India had
with almost zero
connectivity in large
parts of rural areas.
Department of
telecommunications
(DoT) under min-
istry of Post &
Telegraph (P&T)
was the sole tele-
around 86,000 telephone connections. Today, com service
the country is adding more than twice that provider. It is a dif-
number every day to its over 250 million strong ferent landscape
network. today and with six
This connectivity has brought jobs and service providers in metros and category. A cir- the same budget. His third achievement was in
knowledge based exports of services that are cles, operators are chasing subscribers, turn- bringing PCO policy that was responsible for
driving the 9 percent plus growth. India's soft- ing scarcity into abundance, luxury into neces- providing access to telephone to all even in far
sity. flung areas.
History of telecommunications in With the formulation of New Telecom Policy
The formulation of New Telecom India can be broadly divided into two in 1994 (NTP 94), a major step was taken in
Policy in 1994 (NTP 94) played a periods. before liberalisation and post
liberalisation. Contrary to popular
liberalisation of telecom services. The policy
permitted DoT to award licences to private
major role in the development of belief, liberalisation in telecom equip- operators to offer telecom services. Thus, com-
ment took place first and then fol- petition began in a field that was hitherto a
India's Telecom Sector as it permit- lowed liberalisation in services. In the government monopoly. NTP 94 also envisaged
ted DoT to award licenses to private 1980s, Sam Pitroda played an impor-
tant role in the development of tele-
setting up Telecom Regulatory Authority of
India (TRAI), essential to ensure competition.
operators to offer telecom services com network. His first achievement NTP 94 was revised five years later and
was to convince the government was replaced by NTP 99. This further liber-
ware revolution stands on a strong telecom about the significance of communications for alised telecom services and made licences
backbone. In 1991, knowledge based exports socio-economic development of the country. technology-neutral. As a result, India has
stood at $40 million; today, the figure is around His second major contribution was in devel- became one of the most competitive markets
$40 billion. All this suggests that how teleden- oping indigenous switches and passing on the in the world, with one of the lowest telephone
sity of a country is directly related to its eco- low cost (and no air-conditioners required) tariffs in the world and with two telecom com-
nomic development. technology to local manufacturers, which panies, Airtel and Reliance, among the top
Until 15 years ago, it raised no eyebrows to helped bring down prices of switches and five most valued companies of India.

see a 15-20 year wait for a new telephone allow DoT to provide more connections within

Nokia Focuses on Content

to Boost its Products
Nokia, the world's largest cell phone maker, sees content for the wire-
less Internet as key to snapping up more cell phone users, including in
emerging markets, the head of its key unit said in a statement.
Kai Oistamo, who heads Nokia's cell phone division, said that the
biggest barrier in emerging markets to people using the mobile Internet
was lack of interest.
"We are looking as a company as how to facilitate and participate in
creating content that is actually relevant for the consumers in emerging
markets," Oistamo said in a speech at a telecoms forum at Helsinki
University of Technology.
The target market will define what will globally be the next big thing in
cell phones, Oistamo said, but added that location-based services com-
bined with social networks would be one of them.
Nokia's recent acquisitions have supported a content strategy as the
company has made moves to transform itself from being a pure hardware
company into becoming an online services company.
Nokia has already launched a $8.1 billion offer for the U.S. digital map
supplier Navteq, which would be its largest ever acquisition.

38
 Internet

Craze for online gaming is now increasing popularity of broadband connections

and data cards, this fad is becoming wild.
gripping young minds in Indian Online gaming is not just enjoyment but is
Punjab. After a tiring day at school, gradually developing to a profession. There are
many groups abroad who have perfected online
playing on computer is one of the gaming and they participate in national and inter-
coolest relaxing activities for most national championships.
of the school going children. They In India, the online gaming market is gathering
steam with some 40 million broadband connec-
rush to their computers access inter- tions. But, is the trend welcome?
net and play different online games Psychologists say that the children can vent
out their frustrations, their anger and whatever
raze for online gaming is now grip-

C
feelings they have which are not socially acceptable, on net.
ping young minds in Indian Punjab. After a tiring day at In America, one out of five kids is addicted to net. India is in the
school, playing on computer is one of the coolest relaxing same race. China has taken up a very good measure that they have
activities for most of the school going children. They started net D-addiction centers. Soon, India should also take these
access the internet and go online to play cards, sports measures.
and puzzle games. In Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Jalandhar Be it Punjab or any state, the youngsters are exploring newer inno-
and even Amritsar, one finds the young trying their hand at games of vations, technologies and trends. But, the danger lies in the young
skill against unknown masterminds across the globe. minds becoming couch potatoes by becoming addicted to these
Dead or Alive 4, NFS or Need for Speed, Age of Empires and House games.

of Dead are some of the games popular among youngsters. With the

nternet users reveal more personal information online if they Also, researchers

I believe that they can trust the organisation that requests the
information, says a new research. The project, 'Privacy and Self-
Disclosure Online', led by Dr Adam Joinson, found that people
who had previously demonstrated a high level of caution regard-
ing online privacy would accept losses to their privacy if they
trusted the recipient of their personal information.
"Even people who have previously demonstrated a high level of cau-
tion regarding online privacy will accept losses to their privacy if they
trust the recipient of their personal information," Joinson said.
looked at the way the
wording of questions
and the design of
response options fur-
ther influenced levels
of self-disclosure.
For instance, if
the response 'I prefer
not to say' appears at
In the first of its kind study, rigorous methods were used to measure the top of an options
Internet users' actual behaviour. list, users are far less likely to disclose information.
The project has targeted a number of groups who can benefit from Similarly, if given the opportunity to remain vague in their responses,
the findings, including health professionals, higher education profes- like- in choosing how wide the scale that represents their salary is, they
sionals and survey bodies. are more likely to opt for less disclosure.
Out of all the participants studied, 56 per cent of Internet users stat- "One of the most interesting aspects of our findings is that even peo-
ed that they had concerns about privacy when they were online. ple who genuinely have a high level of concern regarding privacy online
When a website is designed to look trustworthy, people are willing to may act in a way that is contrary to their stated attitudes when they
accept privacy violations. But, the same action by an untrustworthy site come across a particular set of conditions," Joinson said.

leads to people behaving in a much more guarded manner.

hose illegally sharing files French web users

T will face the loss of their

net access as a newly
created anti-piracy body
was granted the wide-
ranging powers. The anti-
piracy body comes out of a deal agreed
by France's music and moviemakers
and its net firms. The group who bro-
kered the deal said the measures were
caught pirating movies
or music could soon be
thrown offline.

look
A special committee established to
at the problem of the net and cultur-
intended to curb casual piracy rather al protection drew up the agreement
than tackling large-scale pirate groups. between net firms, record companies,
French President Nicolas Sarkozy filmmakers and government.
said the deal was a "decisive moment The deal was hailed by the
for the future of a civilised internet". International Federation of the
Sarkozy: "A decisive moment for the future of a civilised internet" Phonographic Industry (IFPI), which rep-
Net firms will monitor what their cus-
tomers are doing and pass on informa- resents the global interests of the music
tion about persistent pirates to the new independent body. Those identi- business.
fied will get a warning and then be threatened with either being cut off "This is the single most important initiative to help win the war on
40 or suspended if they do not stop illegal file-sharing. online piracy that we have seen so far," it said in a statement.

 Internet

The six-tonne satellite will deliver high-

bandwidth services, such as mobile internet,
ritish engineers have been asked to build the payload for to Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa. It

B what will become one of the biggest commercial tele-

coms satellites ever launched. London-based Inmarsat
has signed a contract with industrialists to construct the
Alphasat I-XL mission. The six-tonne satellite will deliver
high-bandwidth services, such
as mobile internet, to Europe, Middle East,
Asia and Africa. It will have five times the
capacity of current space platforms.
Inmarsat will use Alphasat I-XL to sup-
will have five times the capacity of current
space platforms
Alphasat I-XL features a 12m aper-
ture antenna reflector. It will have an
electrical power of 12kW and a design
lifetime of 15 years. The Alphabus
model, though, allows for even bigger
port its huge I-4 satellites, which deliver the spacecraft to be made in the future,
company's global broadband network, supporting missions that have a
BGan. launch mass of more than eight
The spacecraft allows people to set up tonnes and 18kW payload power.
virtual offices anywhere around the world - These can use novel systems such
on land or at sea. Users get half-a-megabit as ion engines, which are more effi-
connections through small, laptop-sized ter- cient than chemical thrusters in main-
minals. Customers include business trav- taining the orbit or a spacecraft over
ellers, disaster relief workers, journalists, extended periods. With their new tech-
and people in the petrochemical and mar- nology and greater power, Alphabus-
itime industries. type missions will be able to handle more traffic at higher bandwidths.
The Alphasat I-XL mission has emerged from a technology pro- "We believe that the new satellite will have better beam-forming
gramme overseen by the European and French space agencies (Esa capabilities and therefore, we should be able to put more capacity into
and Cnes). areas; and we should be able to increase speeds," commented
The Alphabus project was set up to develop a next-generation satel- Inmarsat spokesman Chris McLaughlin.
lite that would allow European industry to compete at the top of the Although urbanised centres will always have superior wired commu-
global market - especially with the products coming out of the US aero- nications, satellite-delivered services may be the only solution in more
space industry. The Alphasat I-XL will be the first spacecraft to be lofted remote or temporary locations.
using the Alphabus model. In essence, Inmarsat is the first commercial One of the world's most powerful rockets will be needed to launch a
customer. satellite of I-XL's size - something comparable to a bus or small truck.
The spacecraft will incorporate an advanced new digital signal As a flagship European mission, the task of lofting Alphasat I-XL may
processor developed by EADS Astrium. The payload, or "brains" of the well fall to the European bloc's premier launch vehicle, the Ariane 5
spacecraft, will be made at the company's Stevenage and Portsmouth ECA. A flight is being targeted for 2013.
centres. Inmarsat expects its investment in the satellite - excluding insurance
Manufacture of the spacecraft's chassis and final assembly will take - will be in the region of 260m euros (£190m). The Alphabus project
place at Astrium's other European facilities - and those of its key part- represents an expenditure of 440m euros (£320m) by 16 Esa Member
ner in the project, Thales Alenia Space. States.

icrosoft's Visual Studio 2008 and Web 2.0 Functionality

M .Net Framework 3.5 have been

released to manufacturing and
are now available for MSDN
(Microsoft Developer Network)
subscribers to download, the
company. "Included in Visual Studio 2008 are
enhancements such as visual designers for faster
development with the .Net Framework 3.5, signifi-
cant improvements to Web development tools and
Visual Studio 2008 delivers improved language
and data features, such as Language Integrated
Query (LINQ), that make it easier for individual
programmers to build solutions that analyze and
act on information. It also provides developers with
the ability to build applications that target the .Net
Framework 2.0, 3.0 or 3.5, supporting a wide vari-
ety of projects in the same environment.
New tools speed the creation of connected
language enhancements that speed development applications on the latest platforms including the
with all types of data," Microsoft said. The platform Web, Windows Vista, Office 2007, SQL Server
provides developers with all the tools and framework support required 2008 and Windows Server 2008, while other additions help improve
to create compelling, expressive, Ajax-enabled (Asynchronous collaboration in development teams, including tools that help integrate
JavaScript and XML) Web applications, it added. database professionals and graphic designers into the development
.Net Framework 3.5, meanwhile, builds incrementally on the new process.
features added in .Net Framework 3.0, including feature sets in Together, Visual Studio and the .Net Framework reduce the need for
Windows Workflow Foundation (WF), Windows Communication common plumbing code, reducing development time and enabling
Foundation (WCF), Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and developers to concentrate on solving business problems.
Windows CardSpace. Version 3.5 also contains a number of new fea- Hitting a 'Sore Spot'
tures to avoid breaking changes, Microsoft said. Experts rank the LINQ as the No. 1 new feature in Visual Studio.
250 New Features They say that LINQ makes it easier to write code that queries databas-
Visual Studio 2008 delivers over 250 new features, makes improve- es, and so is a particularly important addition because it "really hits a
ments to existing features including performance work on many areas, sore spot for developers," and Virtually 100 percent of customers will
and significant enhancements have been made to every version of end up using that feature.
Visual Studio 2008, from the Express Editions to Visual Studio Team Life Cycle Management
System. .Net Framework 3.5 will also help visual designers create and man-
Although the products are now available for download, they will not age graphically rich Web 2.0 software. In addition, Visual Studio 2008's
be officially released until February. TFS makes improvements in both performance and version control.
41
 In Picture

Shahid Meha, Shahzad Raoof and Kamran Banday pose for a group photo with the Advisor to Prime Minister, Dr Ashfaq Ahmad poses for a group photo with the partici-
teams of Warid Telecom and combined players of Wateen Telecom and Hauwei pants during a ceremony in connection to World Science Day for Peace and
Technologies at Punjab Stadium Lahore . Development Celebrations in Islamabad.

Lt. Gen. Mohammad Asghar, Rector National University of Science and Technology A lady participant capturing the moments through her camera during the convention of
(NUST) awarding Rector NUST's gold medal for best project in BE (Avionics) to Plt Off scientists on the occasion of World Science Day for Peace and Development (WSDPD)
Nazish Younis during a ceremony held at PAF Academy Risalpur. held at a local hotel in Islamabad.

Vendors selling different kind of electric and electronic stuff to customers at their roadside A view of high voltage electric pole installed in the middle of a house and residential area
setup in Provincial Capital City Lahore. posing serious threat to the residents of Bund Road, waiting for the attention of con-
cerned authorities in Lahore.

China at the Door of IPv6 Networks

China is the first country to build massive IPv6-only networks, Supported by the CERNET, Tsinghua University established the
and proposed real source address identification based on IPv6, first virtual IPv6 test bed in China in 1998, and combined the test
which ensures the construction of a secured CNGI. Chinese scien- bed with 6Bone, which is the test bed of the international IPv6 next
tists first worked out "IPv6overIPv4," which is a transitional techni- generation Internet.
cal solution. In addition, the first large-scale adoption of homemade Some experts have suggested a national plan for the research
IPv6 routers in the national network backbones has provided an of the next generation Internet. They believe it would be of great
environment for testing the homemade products, which is helpful strategic importance to the country's development. The deployment
for the improvement of IPv6 core routers. of IPv6 network should be deemed a national strategy and related
Research on Internet technology began in China in the late measures should be carried out rigorously. In view of such situation,
1970s. Besides learning how to design, establish and operate the these experts suggest that China accelerate its pace of IPv6
Internet, the engineering technicians in China started their initial address application and seize every opportunity to acquire this
research and development in 1994. The Chinese technicians have strategic resource.
overcome key technological problems including IPv4 core routers Presently, there is only a unanimous agreement that the next
and IPv6 core routers as well as key software of the Internet and generation Internet will be larger, faster, safer, more punctual, more
its application. convenient, more manageable, and more profitable.

42
 Interview Sabah ud Din Qazi

I think, I must focus

more on the defense
side now.
Joanna Rutkowska, Polish Security Researcher talks exclusively to Monthly FLARE how and why she is supposed as one of the
Top Five Hackers who have left a mark on the year 2006.
She needs no introduction in the field of computer security as she has been involved in computer security research for several years.
Nevertheless we are presenting a brief of her personality. During an interview with Monthly FLARE, a leading telecom news magazine
of Pakistan, she informed that she has been fascinated by the internals of operating systems when she was in a primary school and start-
ed learning x86 assembler on MS-DOS. Soon after she switched to Linux world, got involved with some systems and kernel program-
ming, focusing on exploit development for both Linux and Windows x86 systems.
A couple of years ago she got interested in stealth technology used by malware and attackers to hide their malicious actions after a
successful break-in. This includes various types of rootkits, network backdoors and covert channels. Now, she focuses on both detecting
this kind of activity and on developing and testing new offensive techniques. Last year, Joanna also pinpointed inherent weaknesses in
anti-virus software; warned that the major operating system vendors are not yet ready for hardware virtualization technology and con-
firmed fears that stealth malware is the operating system's biggest security threat.

Kindly share your professional carrier with our like to call me hacker. I am just a security How did you feel when you came to know that
readers? researcher. I target technology, not particular your name has been included in the Top Five
I am a security researcher focusing on computer systems or networks. I might come hackers who left a mark on the year 2006?
operating systems security. I have been work- up with some "hack" from time to time, against It was very nice, of course, to see my name
ing in this field for about 6 years on both the some specific technology, but I am not involved there, but we should also remember that this
defensive and offensive sides. My offensive in any kind of "hacking activities". was just an expression of a subjective opinion
work includes assessing the security of various As to how I got into computer security - in a of one of the journalists writing about IT securi-
technologies and implementing proof of con- very straightforward and common way - I start- ty, thus I took it with a bit of reserve. After all
cept attacks that proves the weaknesses. I ed programming very early, when I was 11, and there are dozens of super-smart security
have recently started my own company, then over the next couple of years, when learn- researchers out there, for sure much more then
Invisible Things Lab, a consulting company ing e.g. assembler language for x86 architec- just five...
dedicated for cutting edge research into operat- ture, I learnt a lot about the internals of operat-
ing systems' security. We provide our services ing systems, which in turn brought me into the Last year, we had heard in news that Joanna's
to both security vendors, who are interested in security field. 'Blue Pill' Prototype creates 100% undetectable
evaluating the security of their products, as I remember when I once wrote a little pro- Malware. Would you like to provide some details
well as large corporations, who would like to gram in assembler for MS-DOS, whose pur- about it and why you called it 'Blue Pill'?
ensure that the technology is really secure or pose was to bypass the BIOS Anti-Virus pro- It is a reference to the movie "The Matrix",
does provide the promised protection. tection of the boot sector, which was a very which can be thought as of a nice metaphor for
popular feature in BIOSes in mid 90's. I just did the concept of virtual machines in computer
How did you enter in the field of Computer it to convince a friend of mine that this protec- science. In this movie, when you take the Blue
Security and do you remember when was your tion is not really that good as he thought. At Pill, "the story ends, you wake in your bed and
1st hacking activity and how? that time I was probably 14 or 15. you believe whatever you want to believe" - in
44
I really do not know why everybody would other words you are taken back into the Matrix
 Interview

research and demon- I think that I would like to focus more on the
stration? defense side now. In the past two years I have
A few months after worked on several offensive techniques, start-
my presentation at ing from passive, very hard to detect covert
Black Hat, Microsoft channels ("Nushu"), then I presented "Stealth
fixed the design prob- by Design", type II malware, then I showed that
lem that I was exploit- Vista kernel can be subverted despite the new
ing to bypass Vista protection mechanism and also demonstrated
x64 kernel protection. that recent hardware virtualization technology
However, neither can be used to create a new class of stealth
Microsoft nor AMD or malware - something I call type III malware
Intel addressed the (e.g. "Blue Pill").
problem of virtualiza- And just recently I found that hardware
tion based malware, based memory acquisition as used for foren-
as demonstrated by sics, believed to be absolutely reliable,
Blue Pill. The reason because it uses so called "Direct Memory
is that the current Access" to read memory, can be cheated in
technology does not some cases. Unfortunately I have not seen any
Rootkit gurus Joanna Rutkowska and Jamie Butler go over the slides after Rutkowska's
presentation allow us to solve this serious effort in the security world to address
problem today. most of those threats. We still do not have any
"virtual machine" and you can't even realize effective way to combat type II malware.
that it has just happened. Do you see stealth Malware as a
My Blue Pill attack works pretty similar - serious threat to ICT Sector?
once Blue Pill is executed on the target Yes, definitely, after all, this
machine, it creates a hardware virtual machine, is an ideal way to spying on
moves the operating system which runs on the competition! A couple of
native machine into the virtual machine, it months ago, Gartner, a promi-
becomes so called hypervisor, and resumes nent IT research company,
the system inside the virtual machine allowing came out with the prediction,
it to continue its execution, without even realiz- that "by the end of 2007, 75
ing that it is now running inside the virtual percent of enterprises will be
machine, fully controlled by the hypervisor. This infected with undetected,
all happens on the fly and takes less then a financially motivated, targeted
millisecond to complete! malware that evaded their tra-
ditional perimeter and host
As you have demonstrated a working prototype defenses", Sounds a bit scary
for Windows Vista x64 at the SyScan Conference to me…
in Singapore and at the Black Hat Briefings in Las
Vegas. How do you describe your experience Few months ago, Malaysia's
there? Hack In the Box Team has
Joanna Rutkowska having a laugh with one of the conference attendeees
The experiences of presenting at SyScan organized a hacking workshop
in Singapore and Black Hat in Las Vegas were (HITB Security Conference 2007)
dramatically different. The SyScan conference at Dubai in which many international hackers and Network intrusion detection systems and fire-
was very small and also the audience did not security experts participated. What are your com- walls are years behind when it comes to
seem too much involved in my presentation. I ments regarding it? detecting or preventing any more advanced
got only very few questions and comments dur- I was invited to speak twice at the HITB in covert channels. We still do not have any good
ing and after my speech. I presume the talk Malaysia over the past two years and I think solution to prevent or detect hardware virtual-
was a little bit too technical for this conference. that it is a really nice conference. It is one of ization based malware...
On the other hand, the audience I had at the few conferences which brings quality tech- I would like to work more on the defense
Black Hat conference in Las Vegas was just nical, non-marketing, speeches and is also side now. I believe that we should convince OS
great! I could see they understood all the tech- very well organized. It is probably the best IT vendors (and also CPU vendors) to make sys-
nical details. I was talking about and I got lots security conference in Asia. tems verifiable, so that we could come up with
of good questions and comments. *systematic* ways to check whether the system
Finally, please share your future plans with our is infected by any of type I, II or III malware.

What was Microsoft's response about your readers?

Dell's All-in-One PC Hits the Market

Dell Inc. introduced its first all-in- video.
one desktop PC, a system that com- All models come with a 20"
bines a computer and monitor in a display, 2 GB of RAM, and
single chassis. The company pub- Windows Vista Home Premium
licly unveiled the product and now it standard. Naturally this is
is available on their online store. designed to compete with
The aluminum-and-glass PC, which Apple's popular iMac, and the
has a 20-inch display and a televi- more recently introduced Sony
sion tuner, will cost $1,499 in the VAIO LT and Gateway "One."
U.S. Dell is not the first company
The XPS ONE comes in four fla- to come with a space-saving
vors, The Essential One ($1,499), design. Apple Inc.'s all-in-one
The Music One ($1,748), The iMac, its most popular desktop
Performance One ($1,999), and The computer, debuted in 1998.
Entertainment One ($2,399). The Gateway Inc., purchased last
two high end models come with an month by Acer Inc., introduced
Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 CPU and a its first all-in-one computer in
256MB ATI Radeon HD 2400 PRO September.

video card, while the two low end
models come with an Intel Core 2 US computer giant Dell employees introduce the all-in-one desktop PC "XPS One" at
Duo E4500 processor and integrated a global launching in Tokyo. 45
 Cover Story Zubair Ahmed Kasuri

PTCL has hit a home run and thrown

the ball out of field by introducing
Pakistan Package, but a much sensible
game play is required to out class com-
petitive and strong attack from other
telecom companies operating in the
country

46
 Cover Story

akistan Package is first of its kind this package to do good enough for decreasing Some people did not comment on the pack-

P business plan adopted by Pakistan

Telecommunication Company
Limited. Short term and long term
consequences of this package may
not only amplify customers' satis-
faction over the service, but businesses and
general social values are likely to swallow the
positive change as well. However, before going
into further details, let's comprehend the pack-
revenues of the company.
On the fourth day of December 2007, PTCL
officials announced the package in a press
conference, where Dr. Sadiq Al Jadir, Senior
Executive Vice President (SEVP)
(Commercial), PTCL, unveiled that around 8
million calls have been made just in three days
under the new free package of PTCL Long
Distance Nationwide calls introduced from
age, saying that they are not in any position to
give feedback, reasoning the ambiguity. They
said that only the phone bills will decide them
whether to keep this package or to discontinue.
While speaking with them, one could easily
judge their concerns regarding the hike in tele-
phone bills. Another confused PTCL user said
that company has not defined any mechanism
to calculate the used minutes, that is, your limit
age. December 1. of 5000 minutes may end any moment without
The salient features of 'Pakistan Package' are: PTCL officials say that around 95 per cent alarming the customer and hence PTCL will be

Free NWD (PTCL to PTCL and PTCL to subscribers have welcomed the package ask- charging millions of rupees.
Vfone) calling against a fixed charge of ing the company to introduce more and more As per telecom analysts only 20 percent of
services and packages. users contribute in majority of PTCL revenues.
Rs. 199 per month - exclusive of taxes "Only few thousands customers have These 20 percent included small and medium
and the line rent. applied for de-activation of the package, how- businesses, government sector, and others

The package is offered across the ever, the company is trying to communicate the who make long duration long distance calls.
board to all PTCL landline subscribers procedure and benefits of this service," told a Pakistan Package may give a big relief to
with an option to opt out of the package PTCL official during the press conference. these 20 percent subscribers; however remain-
Flare conducted a survey on Pakistan ing 80 percent may have to share the rev-
through IVR or operator by dialing 1236. Package, which showed that most customers enues' burden for adding very little in their out-

Any one opting out of the package appreciated the package especially business going calls.
shall be charged at standard calling rates class. On the other hands, middle and poor A telecom expert told Flare that only
for the NWD calls made during the disliked the package to some extent, as it will 300,000 customers (out of 4.5 million) of PTCL
month. add another burden on their budgets. pay more than Rs.1000 /month. The rest of 4.2
The shopkeepers of mobile phones related million users use it only as a decoration piece

Fair usage policy on their side
applies whereby tables. So now
monthly usage in they will have
excess of 5,000 min- to pay Rs.230
utes will be charged at Extra for that
decoration
normal NWD rates. piece.

Code barring facility An online
to restrict NWD calling blogger has
has been removed challenged the
(only for NWD calling) financial feasi-
bility of the
to facilitate hassle free project.
calling. According to

Green package has him, if you are
also been withdrawn as getting your
a consequence of this eighty percent
of revenues
more attractive NWD from very little
offer. number of con-

Local calls will be sumers, there
charged at same old tar- is no point in
iff. getting your
Senior Executive Vice President Commercial, PTCL, Dr Sadiq al Jadir speaks during a press conference regarding the machinery into
If seen broadly, one Pakistan Package of PTCL. Ali Kadir Gillani is also seen in the picture. a rough state.
can easily term above
He illus-
given package as a revolu-
trates this phenomenon by giv-
tionary step, taken by the landline Pakistan Package will improve social and economi- ing an example of an
telecom giant PTCL, however, con-
exchange named as "ABC",
sidering some serious allying con-
cerns, may lead us to a slightly dif-
cal values, communication opportunities; it is going which generates you Rs. 100
a month but you feel that there
ferent conclusion.
This is a landmark change for the
to change the way people interact with each other in are only 2 users giving you
that revenue. If you decrease
end users, as now businesses, pri-
vate entrepreneurs, students and
coming days. In collaboration with regulator, input the tariff at once, resultantly 4
users will start using it. This
residential users; I mean every one
can stay in constant touch with any- from customers and LDI companies, PTCL can may sound great but you still
get the same Rs.100. Blogger
one, anywhere in the country, as
often as they want, without fearing reach a situation where it can offer services, which thinks that by decreasing the
tariff you just exhausted your
the heights of their bills. Pakistan
Package will defiantly do the won- would be optimal and ideal for its customers and resources by making a strate-
gy for going into loss because
ders with customers.
In current telecom scenario, challenging for its competitors in a fairly manner you just increase your opera-
tional expenses for that
where cellular subscribers are grow-
exchange.
ing at 100 percent rate, along with
businesses fear that this package would affect Another blogger has a different opinion, he
very low tariff, not only this, handset rates are
their businesses as the cellular subscribers says that when you make a decision to reduce
hitting their bottom limits too, PTCL was badly
may return to their landline phone terminals. A tariff, in return you increase percentage of pop-
required to take such a step to get back into
shopkeeper who sells cellular cards told that ulation which may use the facility. This incre-
action.
he may see tough time in coming days, as this ment in numbers will lead to progress for socie-
Current plan's incentives may alter the tele-
package will hit his sale as well. He said that ty. Businesses may enjoy better communica-
com indictors of country when it comes to fixed
long duration calls, which generate almost 80 tion and connectivity services, which will hit
line, which holds only 3 percent tele-density.
percent of cellular traffic, may find alternate positively the economical stats of the country.
PTCL officials must be having high hopes from
options such as PTCL. LDI/WLL/LL companies have involved the
47
 Cover Story

legal elements in the introduction of such a ny. in their own way, following two equation are
package by PTCL and raised hue and cry on it. Private telecom companyies officials met extremely important for them
According to these telecom companies, this PTA Chairman and they showed their concerns
package will directly hit them. on PTCL's package. In their discussion with 5 Million x Rs. 200 x 12 months =
Senior officials of LDI and WLL companies, PTA Chairman Maj. Gen. (R) Shahzada Alam Rs. 12 Billion
while speaking with Flare told that their busi- Malik, the representatives from telecom compa- Long Distance Revenues Dropped from
nesses are on high risk, as the Significant nies said that if this package is not stopped Rs. 10 Billion to 5 Billion
Market Player (SMP) has started taking such then they will have to roll back their setups in
illegal actions. They said that PTCL should the country, and investment in this sector will No doubt that it was a very bold step by
have asked PTA prior to introduction of the be badly affected. Officials of telecom compa- PTCL to facilitate its customers, however, natu-
package. "PTCL could announce the package nies told 'Flare' that PTA chairman assured rally it is impossible to satisfy 10 out of 10 in
only after carrying a positive consensus by all them to take necessary actions and PTCL the line. PTCL could have come up with differ-
LDI and LL companies, PTA is solely responsi- administration would be called by PTA for this ent packages, such as free local call package,
ble for letting PTCL play with our investments issue which is threatening to other telecom free nation wide call package and flat package
in the country", told a president of LDI compa- players. that may charge every call on
PTA issued a statement say- regular basis. Defiantly,
ing that it has directed PTCL to PTCL management would be
PTA says that it has direct- refrain in future from announc- eyeing such opportunities in
ing any pre-activated package coming days. PTCL officials
ed PTCL to refrain in future without customers' consent have already mentioned their
and without prior approval plans of introducing a local
from announcing any pre- of the Authority. call rate of Rs. 3.99 per
Acknowledging hour.
activated package without consumers' com- LDI companies'
customers' consent and with-
out prior approval of the
Authority.
Acknowledging consumers'
complaints, PTA has directed
PTCL not to charge Rs. 199
from those subscribers who
are unable to opt out of the
package and have NWD bill of
less than Rs. 200 per month
in the corresponding months.
PTA has also directed PTCL
to reduce the time period of
subject package to 60 days
plaints, PTA has reservations
with no extension. This deci- directed PTCL make sense too,
not to charge Rs. but similar pack-
sion was taken to ensure 199 from those ages were also
healthy competition and to subscribers who introduced by
are unable to opt World Call, a
safeguard consumers' inter- out of the pack- wireless local
age and have loop company,
est. NWD bill of less which offers 24
than Rs. 200 per hours free on-
The Authority has further month in the cor- net calls to its
said that PTCL is directed to responding customers. From
months. past couple of
refrain from launching / PTA has also directed PTCL to reduce the months, cellular companies have also started
time period of subject package to 60 days with offering late night on-net calls for free or at
announcing any promotion or no extension. This decision was taken to ensure very nominal rates. The ultimate consequences
healthy competition and to safeguard con- of this price war will lead to immense cus-
tariff package without prior sumers' interest. tomers' benefits, however, as far as the busi-
approval of the Authority by The Authority has further said that PTCL is nesses and investments are concerned, PTA
directed to refrain from launching / announcing has badly failed in maintaining a fair balance
submitting complete details any promotion or tariff package without prior amongst small and big investors.
approval of the Authority by submitting complete I will put to an end of this discussion with a
of such package(s) to the details of such package(s) at least ten (10) days note that through Pakistan Package, better
in advance and also to refrain from pre-activat- social and economical values, communication
Authority at least ten (10) ing such packages without customers' prior con- opportunities and the way people interact with
days in advance and also to sent. each other will entirely change in coming days.
PTA's press release includes a note that In collaboration with regulator, input from cus-
refrain from pre-activating Authority has always appreciated innovative tomers and LDI companies, PTCL can reach at
packages from the operators; however, the reg- a position where it can offer services, which
such packages without cus- ulator has to ensure that it should not disturb would be optimal and ideal for its customers
consumers' interest and fair competition. and challenging for its competitors in a fairly
tomers' prior consent. PTCL stakeholders, are eyeing the situation manner.

48
 Informative

Nokia N82 Nokia 8800 Sapphire Arte

Size Size
Dimensions 112 x 50.2 x 17.3 mm, 90 cc, Weight 114g Dimensions 109 x 45.6 x 14.6 mm, 65 cc, Weight 150g
Display Display
Type TFT, 16M colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.4 inches Type OLED, 16M colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, Scratch-resistant glass
Ringtones Sapphire gem stone on D-pad, Living wallpapers, Downloadable wallpapers,
Type Polyphonic, Monophonic, True Tones, MP3 screensavers
Memory Ringtones
Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall, Call Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3, video ringtones
records, Detailed, max 30 days, Card slot microSD, hot swap, 2 GB card Memory
included, 100 MB internal memory Phonebook 1000 entries, Photocall, Call records 20 dialed, 20 received, 20
Data missed calls, 1 GB of user memory
GPRS Class 32, 107 kbps, HSCSD Yes, EDGE Class 32, 296 kbps; Data
DTM Class 11, 177 kbps, 3G HSDPA, WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, UPnP GPRS Class 8 (4+1 slots), 32 - 40 kbps, EDGE Class 8, 236.8 kbps,
technology, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, USB Yes, v2.0 microUSB Bluetooth Yes, USB Yes, microUSB OTG
Features Features
OS Symbian OS 9.2, S60 rel. 3.1, Camera 5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, Camera 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, autofocus, video, Java MIDP 2.0,
Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, video(VGA 30fps), xenon flash; secondary MP3 player, Voice memo, T9, Calendar, Calculator, Built-in handsfree
CIF videocall camera, Built-in GPS receiver, A-GPS function Accelerometer, Turn-to-mute, Durable stainless steel covers
Motion sensor (with UI auto-rotate), Installed Maps application covering Battery
over 100 countries, Java MIDP 2.0, MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/WMA player Stand-by Up to 300h, Talk time Up to 3h
Video player, 3.5 mm audio output jack, TV out, Stereo FM Radio
Organizer, Office document viewer, T9, Push to talk, Voice dial/memo The Nokia 8800 Sapphire Arte is a premium handsets aimed at discern-
Built-in handsfree ing and style-conscious consumers. Featuring a high-end metal and glass
Battery composition, the 8800 Sapphire Arte creates a classic, iconic style. A smooth
Stand-by Up to 225h, Talk time Up to 4 h 20 min slide mechanism - comprised of state-of-the art ball bearings and a unique
With a 5-megapixel camera, Xenon flash and Carl Zeiss optics, the N82 spring mechanism - ensures each handset is a pleasure to touch and behold.
delivers vivid photographs, even in low-light conditions. Fast camera Owners will be able to enjoy an exclusive videotrack and soundtrack com-
activation, autofocus with a dedicated autofocus assist lamp, fast reload- posed by Kruder & Dorfmeister with visuals by Fritz Fitzke - adding an extra
ing between shots and DVD. touch of sophistication and individuality to both handsets.

Nokia 8800 Arte

Size
Dimensions 109 x 45.6 x 14.6 mm, 65 cc, Weight 150g
Display
Type OLED, 16M colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, Scratch-resistant glass
Living wallpapers, Downloadable wallpapers, screensavers
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3, video ringtones
Memory
Phonebook 1000 entries, Photocall, Call records, 20 dialed, 20 received, 20
missed calls, 1 GB of user memory
Data
GPRS Class 8 (4+1 slots), 32 - 40 kbps, EDGE Class 8, 236.8 kbps, 3G
Yes, 384 kbps, Bluetooth Yes, USB Yes, microUSB OTG
Features
Messaging SMS, MMS, Email Browser, WAP 2.0/xHTML, Games Yes +
Downloadable, Colors Black, Camera 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, autofo-
cus, video, Java MIDP 2.0, MP3 player, Voice memo, T9, Calendar,
Calculator, Built-in handsfree, Accelerometer, Durable stainless steel covers
Turn-to-mute
Battery
Stand-by Up to 300h, Talk time Up to 3h

Bringing 3G capabilities to the Nokia 8800 series, the 8800 Arte fea-
tures an elegant and sophisticated design theme that takes inspiration from
nature. On the surface, the metal and glass body gives the 8800 Arte a
sense of style, while under the skin functionality is driven by innovation. By A pedestrian passes by Samsung Mobile phone's advertisement board in Seoul, South
tapping the steel surface below the display, an analogue clock appears. To
add an element of sophistication and security, each handset comes with a Korea. South Korea's National Assembly passed a bill demanding an independent investi-
leather pouch with a linen-lining and a separate matching desk stand. gation into allegations of bribery at the Samsung Group conglomerate.

Nokia 6301 Sony Ericsson Z750

Size Size
Dimensions 106.8 x 43.8 x 13.1 mm, 55.6 cc, Weight 93g Dimensions 97.4 x 49 x 20 mm, Weight 110g
Display Display
Type TFT, 16M colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2 inches Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.2 inches
Ringtones Second external OLED display (36 x 128 pixels), Wallpapers, screensavers
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3 Ringtones
Memory Type Polyphonic (72 channels), MP3
Card slot microSD (TransFlash), 30 MB of user memory Memory
Data Phonebook Yes, Photo call, Call records 20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD Yes, EDGE Class Card slot, Memory Stick Micro (M2), 32 MB shared memory
10, 236.8 kbps, 3G No, WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, UMA technology Data
Bluetooth Yes, v2.0, USB Yes, miniUSB GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps, 3G
Features HSDPA, 1.8 Mbps, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, USB Yes, v2.0
Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video(QCIF), Java MIDP 2.0, FM stereo Features
radio, Push to talk, Macromedia flash lite 2.0, MP3/MP4/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+ Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video(QVGA); secondary video call camera
player, Voice memo, Voice command, T9, Calendar, Calculator, Built-in Java MIDP 2.0, MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+ player, TrackID music recognition
handsfree FM radio with RDS, T9, Image viewer, Picture editor, Organiser, Voice memo
Battery Built-in handsfree
Stand-by Up to 310h, Talk time Up to 3 h30 min Battery
Stand-by Up to 400h, Talk time Up to 9h
The Nokia 6301 offers seamless voice and data mobility across GSM
cellular and WLAN networks. Weighing a mere 93 grams and measuring This mirror-finish clamshell features a 2 megapixel camera, 320x240 pixel
less than 13.1 mm thin, the 6301 is constructed of quality materials. To 262K TFT display, Memory Stick Micro™ removable storage, integrated picture
accompany the UMA technology, the Nokia 6301 also offers consumers a blogging, full HTML browser benefiting from HSDPA broadband speed, live tick-
modern suite of features, including a 2.0-megapixel camera with 8x digital ertape RSS feeds and Exchange ActiveSync for push email, calendar and con-
zoom and full screen viewfinder. tact synchronization.

52
 Informative

Nokia 3110 Evolve Samsung G800

Size Size
Dimensions 108.5 x 45.7 x 15.6 mm, 72 cc, Weight 87g Dimensions 101 x 51.1 x 18.8 mm, Weight 134g
Display Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 128 x 160 pixels, 5-way navigation key Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.4 inches
Downloadable wallpapers, screensavers Ringtones
Ringtones Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3, AAC Memory
Memory Card slot microSD (TransFlash), 160 MB internal memory
Card slot microSD, up to 2 GB supported, 9 MB internal memory Data
Data GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, EDGE Class 10, 236.8
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD Yes, EDGE Class 10, kbps, 3G HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps, Bluetooth Yes v2.0 with A2DP, USB Yes,
236.8 kbps, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 (with A2DP), Infrared port Yes, USB miniUSB v2.0
Features Features
Camera 1.3 MP, 1280x960 pixels, video, Java MIDP 2.0, Stereo FM radio Camera 5 MP, 2592?1944 pixels, autofocus, video, xenon flash, 3x
MP3/MP4/AAC+/3gp/WMA player, Calendar, Calculator, Built-in handsfree optical zoom, Java MIDP 2.0, MP3/AAC/AAC+/e-AAC+/WMA player
Voice memo, Voice command, T9, Built-in handsfree, Push to talk Stereo FM radio, Face Detection, T9, Bluetooth printing, Document
Battery viewer (Word, Excel, Power Point, PDF), Built-in handsfree, Voice
Stand-by Up to 380h, Talk time Up to 3h 30 min memo, TV out

The just-announced 3110 Evolve candybar from Nokia is big on fea- With G800 take an FM radio wherever you go. Enjoy your
tures. A phone that features a 1.3 megapixel camera, FM radio, and a tri- favorite radio shows and round-the-clock music, news, weather and
band GSM radio. Certainly nothing to write home about there, but the traffic reports using auto/manual tuning. Or save your favorite chan-
Evolve's claim to fame is that it's rocking "bio-covers" made with over 50 per- nels, tune less and just sit back. Now you can't take a bad shot. Enjoy
cent renewable materials and comes in a box made of 60 percent recycled a face-oriented auto-focus feature, image and red-eye stabilizers,
stuff. faster auto-focus and panorama/macro/multi-shot modes. ISO options
and WDR optimization guarantee great pictures in any light

Samsung i560
Size
Dimensions 130 x 51 x 16 mm,
Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.4 inches
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic, MP3
Memory
Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall, Call
records, Detailed, max 30 days, Card slot microSD (TransFlash)
150 MB built-in memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, EDGE Yes, 3G HSDPA,
3.6 Mbps, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, USB Yes, v2.0
Features
OS Symbian OS 9.2, Series 60 v3.1 UI, Camera 3.15 MP, 2048x1536
pixels, video, flash; secondary QCIF videocall camera, Built-in GPS
navigation, 3.5 mm audio output jack, FM radio, Java MIDP 2.0
Flash player, WMV/3GP/H.263/MPEG4 player,
WMA/MP3/AAC/AAC+/OGG/ASF player, Organiser, Document viewer
(MS Word, Excel, PPT, PDF), Built-in handsfree

The Samsung SGH-i560 has been announced as an S60 phone.

It appears to have a QVGA screen, HSDPA connectivity, GPS, and
comes in a slim sliding form factor. However, there appears to be very
little information on i560 in the public domain as yet.
Samsung Telecommunications India Managing Director Ryu Hyun Chul, left, and
Bollywood actor Eisha Deol pose with a Samsung Metal 5 mobile phone during its launch
in New Delhi, India.

Sony Ericsson W890 Motorola RIZR Z10

Size Size
Dimensions 104 x 46.5 x 9.9 mm, Weight 78g Dimensions, Weight 100g
Display Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2 inches, Wallpapers, Type TFT, 16M colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.2 inches, Scratch-
screensavers resistant display
Ringtones Ringtones
Type Polyphonic, MP3, AAC Type Polyphonic, MP3
Memory Memory
Card slot Memory Stick Micro (M2), 2 GB card included Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall, Call
26 MB shared memory records, Practically unlimited, Card slot microSD (TransFlash)
Data 77 MB internal memory, TI 2420 multimedia processor
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD Yes, EDGE Data
Class 10, 236.8 kbps, 3G HSDPA, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, EDGE Class 10, 236.8
USB Yes, v2.0 kbps, 3G HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, USB Yes,
Features v2.0 miniUSB
Camera 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, video; secondary videocall cam- Features
era, Java MIDP 2.0, Walkman player, TrackID music recognition OS Symbian OS 9.2, Series 60 v3.1 UI, Camera 3.15 MP, 2048x1536
T9, FM radio with RDS, Image viewer, Picture editor, Organiser pixels, autofocus, video(QVGA 30fps), video(QVGA 30fps), xenon
Built-in handsfree, Voice memo flash; secondary VGA videocall camera, Java MIDP 2.0,
Battery MP3/AAC/AAC+ player, T9, Organizer, Calculator, Built-in handsfree
Stand-by Up to 360h, Talk time Up to 9h 30 min Voice memo
Battery
Latest Walkman phone from Sony Ericslsson, the W890, contin- Stand-by Upto 380h, Talk time Up to 5h
ues their music-focused approach by loading up Walkman Player 3.0,
the newest release of their player software. The W890 has features You're going to be able to get the latest UIQ 3.1 powered device
like FM radio, 3G HSDPA, SensMe tempo and mood detector, Stereo from Motorola that packs a 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, 30
Bluetooth, a 3.2-megapixel camera and quad-band GSM. fps recording at 320×240 and apparently a 2.2 inch 320 x 240 16 mil-
lion color display with touch resistant glass. It has quadband GSM
support, 3G is dual band.

53
 Informative

Nokia 1208 Samsung C140

Rs. 2600 Rs. 2300
Size Size
Dimensions 102 x 44.1 x 17.5 mm, 67cc, Weight 77g Dimensions 104.2 x 44.2 x 16.2 mm, Weight 71g
Display Display
Type CSTN, 65K colors, Size 96 x 68 pixels, 29 x 23 Type UFB, 65K colors, Size 128 x 128 pixels
mm, Themes and wallpapers Ringtones
Ringtones Type Polyphonic (16 channels)
Type Polyphonic (32 channels) Memory
Memory 600 KB shared memory
4 MB user memory Data
Features GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
T9, Calendar, Calculator, Currency converter Features
Built-in handsfree T9, Organiser, To Do list, Calendar, Currency
Battery converter, Voice memo, Built-in handsfree
Stand-by Up to 365h, Talk time Up to 7h Battery
Stand-by Up to 490h, Talk time Up to 5h
Nokia 1208 is designed to meet the unique
needs of a shared mobile device. This new cellphone Web access via WAP 1.2 is a valuable
introduces the industry's first call-time tracking appli- asset, clearly boosting this handset above other
cation and multi-phonebooks to make phone sharing basic models. EMS also provides enhanced mes-
simpler and more efficient. In order to help manage saging, to add extra pop and sparkle to mes-
airtime costs, the call-time tracking feature allows sages. PIM functions such as monthly calendar,
consumers and village phone entrepreneurs to pre- To Do list, and 500-entry phone book organizes
set a time or cost limit on individual calls, automati- your day, while various clocks and alarms, cur-
cally ending the call after the limit has been reached. rency converter and calculator help juggle your
numbers.
Design: 7.4
Features: 7.5 Design: 7.3
Performance: 7.5 Features: 7.6
Performance: 7.7

LG KG270 Sony Ericsson J120

Rs. 2450 Rs. 2800

Size Size
Dimensions 98 x 45 x 12.9 mm, Weight 60g Dimensions 99 x 44 x 17 mm, Weight 75g
Display Display
Type TFT, 65K colors Type STN, 65K colors
Ringtones Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (16 channels) Type Polyphonic (16 channels)
Memory Memory
Phonebook 300 entries Phonebook 200 entries
Features Features
Java, FM radio, T9, Organiser, Calculator, Built-in FM radio with RDS, T9, Calculator, Reminder
handsfree Built-in handsfree
Battery Battery
Stand-by Up to 250h, Talk time Up to3 Stand-by Up to 400h, Talk time Up to 9h

LG KG 270 is another blaster from LG for the Sony Ericsson J120 has easy to use features,
lower end market. It has got everything to meet such as a single-icon menu and one-click access,
basic communication requirements. However, poly- with the added benefit of a built-in FM Radio that
phonic tones and FM are good plus for music allows you to store up to 10 favorite channels plus a
lovers stereo headset that's supplied with the phone. When
it's time to share the radio play-list with a wider audi-
Design: 7.7 ence, the Sony Ericsson J120 features a loudspeak-
Features: 7.6 er through which the radio can be played.
Performance: 7.6
Design: 7.6
Features: 7.7
Performance: 7.7

54

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 Informative

Samsung X820 Sony Ericsson K530

Rs. 10,300 Rs. 12,100
Size Size
Dimensions 113 x 50 x 6.9 mm, Weight 66g Dimensions 102 x 46 x 14 mm, Weight 92g
Display Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 220 x 176 pixels, Type TFT, 256K colors
35 x 28 mm Ringtones
Ringtones Type Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3 Memory
Memory Card slot Memory Stick Micro (M2)
80 MB shared memory, 3.7 MB for messages 16 MB shared memory
Data Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps GPRS Yes, HSCSD Yes, 3G Yes, 384 kbps
EDGE, Class 10, 236.8 kbps, Bluetooth Yes, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, USB Yes, v2.0
v1.2 with A2DP, USB Yes Features
Features Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video; second-
Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video(CIF) ary videocall camera, Java MIDP 2.0,
Java MIDP 2.0, MP3/AAC/AAC+ player MP3/AAC/MPEG4 player, FM radio with RDS
T9, Organiser, Document viewer, TV-output TrackID music recognition, T9, Picture blogging
Built-in handsfree, Voice memo Picture editor, Organiser, Voice memo
Battery Battery
Stand-by Up to 210h, Talk time Up to 2h 30 Stand-by Up to 395h, Talk time Up to 9h
min
The K530 comes with the Access Netfront™
Extremely durability and lightweight, the Web browser pre-installed. Search the Web, make
X820 is manufactured from fiberglass-infused online purchases and much more - you have Web
plastic. Underneath, Samsung's Smart Surface access whenever you want. A 2-megapixel cam-
Mounting Technology (SSMT) compresses fea- era takes pictures to be proud of. Upload to your
tures to pack in maximum functionality. blog or surprise your friends with picture mes-
Capturing specials moments with the built-in sages.
2.0-megapixel camera, the X820 can also give
presentations with an integrated document Design: 7.9
viewer. Features: 7.9
Performance: 8.0
Design: 8.2
Features: 7.8
Performance: 7.9

Nokia 6120 Classic

Rs. 14,100
LG KE770 Shine
Size
Dimensions 105 x 46 x 15 mm, 66 cc, Weight 89g
Rs. 9,400
Display
Type TFT, 16M colors Size
Ringtones Dimensions 105 x 46 x 9.9 mm, Weight 79g
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3, AAC Display
Memory Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 176 x 220 pixels,
Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, 1.77 inches, Mirror effect screen, full metal body
Photocall, Call records, Detailed, max 30 days Ringtones
Card slot, microSD (TransFlash), 35 MB of user Type Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3
memory, 64 MB SDRAM, 128 MB ROM, ARM 11, Memory
369 MHz CPU Phonebook 1000 entries, Photocall, Card slot
Data microSD (TransFlash), 70 MB internal memory
GPRS Class 11, HSCSD Yes, 43.2 kbps, EDGE Data
Class 32, 296 / 177.6 kbits, 3G HSDPA, Bluetooth GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, USB Yes, miniUSB EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps, Bluetooth Yes, v1.2
Features with A2DP, USB Yes
OS Symbian OS v9.2, S60 rel. 3.1, Camera Features
2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video(QVGA), flash; sec- Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video, flash
ondary QVGA videocall camera, Video calling Java MIDP 2.0, MP3/AAC++/3GP/MPEG4 player
Java MIDP 2.0, FM stereo radio, Push to talk T9, Organiser, Voice memo Document viewer
MP3/AAC/MPEG4 player, Office applications Battery
(Excel, PDF, Powerpoint, Word, Zip), Voice memo Stand-by Up to 200h, Talk time Up to 2h 30 min
T9, Calculator, Built-in handsfree
Battery LG KE770 Shine is a full metal candybar-
Stand-by Up to 250h, Talk time Up to 3h style handset at the 3GSM. This stylish new
phone has a stainless steel body with a luminous
The Nokia 6120 Classic features two cam- blue lighting. Very little details have been released
eras - a 2.0-megapixel camera with 4x digital about this amazing new phone. What we do know
zoom, flash and panorama mode for taking high- is that it has a standard full color display, a cam-
quality photographs as well as a second camera in era, integrated music player, and has the ability to
the front that adds a personal touch to calls by view Microsoft Office and PDF files. For the
making use of the video call feature. Users can females out there, turn off the phone and the
personalize the phone with a wide variety of add- screen doubles and a mirror!
on applications, enhancements, content and serv-
ice. S60 also allows users to run several applica- Design: 8.2
tions at the same time enabling them to browse Features: 7.8
the Web while listening to their favourite music. Performance: 7.9

Design: 8.1
Features: 8.2
Performance: 8.2

55

Above prices are subject to change as per market

 Informative

Nokia 2630 Sony Ericsson K510

Rs. 5,900 Rs. 5,900
Size Size
Dimensions 105 x 45 x 9.9 mm, 45 cc, Weight 66g Dimensions 101 x 44 x 17 mm, Weight 82g
Display Display
Type TFT, 65K colors, Screensavers, themes and wallpa- Type TFT, 256K colors
pers Ringtones
Ringtones Type Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3
Type Polyphonic (24 channels), MP3 Memory
Memory 28 MB shared memory
11 MB user memory Data
Data GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, EDGE Yes, Bluetooth Yes, Infrared port Yes, USB Yes
Class 6, 177.6 kbps, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0, USB Yes Features
Features Camera 1.3 MP, 1280 x 1024 pixels, video(QCIF)
Camera VGA, 640x480 pixels, video(128 x 96), FM radio Java MIDP 2.0, MP3/AAC/MPEG4 player, T9, Image
Java MIDP 2.0, T9, Calendar, Calculator, Currency con- viewer, Picture editor, Organiser, Voice memo,
verter, Built-in handsfree Exchangeable Style-Up covers
Battery Battery
Stand-by Up to 310h, Talk time Up to 6h Stand-by Up to 360h, Talk time Up to 6h

A sophisticated, yet easy to use mobile phone with As the smallest 1.3-megapixel phone from Sony
full range of practical mobile features to help you enjoy Ericsson, the K510a delivers high quality pictures with 4x
and share the treasured moments of your life; camera, FM digital zoom. Through the 262K-color TFT display, the
Radio, EDGE, Bluetooth and polyphonic ringtones may K510a easily sorts photos through thumbnails. Before
catch your eyes at first sight. sharing, pictures can be made more captivating with sim-
ple effects such as face warp, sepia colorizing and
Design: 7.7 panorama views.
Features: 7.5
Performance: 7.6 Design: 7.8
Features: 7.7
Performance: 7.7

LG KG195
Motorola SLVR L9 Rs. 5,600
Rs. 10,100
Size
Size Dimensions 100 x 45 x 12.4 mm, Weight 69.9g
Dimensions 113 x 49 x 11.5 mm, 59 cc, Weight Display
96g Type TFT, 256K colors
Display Ringtones
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 176 x 220 pixels, 1.9 inches Type Polyphonic (64 channels)
Ringtones Memory
Type Polyphonic, MP3 Phonebook 500 entries, Card slot microSD,
Memory (TransFlash), 64 MB shared memory
Card slot microSD (TransFlash), 20 MB internal user Data
memory GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
Data Bluetooth Yes, v1.2 with A2DP, USB Yes, v1.1
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps Features
EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with Camera VGA, 640x480 pixels, video, FM radio
A2DP, USB Yes, v1.1 miniUSB Scheduled FM recorder, MPEG4/MP3 player
Features Java MIDP 2.0, T9, Organiser, Voice memo
Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video(CIF) Battery
Java MIDP 2.0, FM radio with RDS, Stand-by Up to 300h, Talk time Up to 2h 30 min
MP3/AAC/AAC+/MPEG4 player, T9, Calendar
Built-in handsfree, Voice command, Voice memo The LG KG 195 has an MP3 player and FM
Battery radio with options such as FM recording and voice
Stand-by Up to 350h, Talk time Up to 4h recording making it a truly musical experience. The
Video player supports MP4 and 3GP formats but only
The Motorola SLVR L9 provides users with an inte- of 174 X 144 resolution. The phone has sophisticated
grated music player, FM radio, and Motorola's new look but the keypad is hard and make the keys are
CrystalTalk technology to hold conversations in noisy uncomfortable to use.
environments. The integrated music player with stereo
Bluetooth wireless technology allows users to freely enjoy Design: 7.9
music wirelessly on the go. Even when traveling, users Features: 7.7
can listen to their music uninterrupted in airplane mode. Performance: 7.8
The Motorola SLVR L9 also offers an FM radio, support-
ing Radio Data System (RDS) for radio station information
- including such details as the song genre, song title, or
radio station name - all on the handset's main screen.

Design: 7.8
Features: 7.6
Performance: 7.7

56

Above prices are subject to change as per market

 Informative

Nokia N95 8GB Sony Ericsson K850

Rs. 42,500 Rs. 33,000
Size Size
Dimensions 99 x 53 x 21 mm, 96 cc, Weight 128g Dimensions 102 x 48 x 17 mm, Weight 118g
Display Display
Type TFT, 16M colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.8 inches Type TFT, 256K colors
Ringtones Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), Monophonic, True Type Polyphonic (72 channels), MP3
Tones, MP3 Customization Composer, download, Vibration
Memory Yes
Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, Memory
Photocall, Call records Detailed, max 30 days Phonebook 1000 x 20 fields, Photo call, Card slot
8 GB internal memory Memory Stick Micro (M2)/microSD , 512 MB card includ-
Data ed, 40 MB internal memory
GPRS Class 32, 107 / 64.2 kbps, HSCSD Yes, Data
EDGE Class 32, 296 kbps; DTM Class 11, 177 kbps GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, EDGE
3G HSDPA, WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, UPnP technology, Yes, 3G HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps (K850i only),
Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port Yes Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, USB Yes, v2.0
USB Yes, v2.0 miniUSB Features
Features Camera 5 MP, 2592?1944 pixels, autofocus,
OS Symbian OS 9.2, S60 rel. 3.1, Camera 5 MP, 2592 x video(QVGA@30fps), xenon flash and 3LED video light;
1944 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, video(VGA auto lens cover, secondary videocall camera, Java MIDP
30fps), flash; secondary CIF videocall camera 2.0, FM radio with RDS, MP3/AAC/MPEG4 player
Built-in GPS receiver, A-GPS function, Installed Maps Motion sensor (with UI auto-rotate), TrackID music
application covering over 100 countries, Dual slide recognition, T9, Image viewer, Picture editor/blogging
design, Java MIDP 2.0, MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/WMA Organiser, Built-in handsfree, Voice memo/dial
player, 3.5 mm audio output jack, TV out, Stereo FM Battery
Radio, Organizer Stand-by Up to 400h, Talk time Up to 9h
Office document viewer, T9, Push to talk, Voice
dial/memo, Built-in handsfree The 5 megapixel camera with auto focus and
Battery Xenon flash produces true digital camera results. Even if
Stand-by Up to 280h, Talk time Up to 6h you are not an expert photographer, the K850 does
everything to help you get the best possible shots on
With up to 8GB of built-in memory, the Nokia N95 your phone. Photo fix automatically improves light bal-
8GB has key features of its predecessor, including a 5.1- ance in one click to make your picture as good as it can
megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, built-in A-GPS, get. When taking a picture of a moving object, for exam-
WLAN, HSDPA and an innovative 2-way slide. The N95 ple at a sports event, you can select BestPic™ and take
8GB also boasts a luminous 2.8-inch (240 x 320 px) nine pictures in one burst. Then simply choose the best
QVGA display, so watching videos, browsing the Internet and delete the rest.
or viewing maps is a pleasure. With its expanded memo-
ry, the N95 8GB offers up to 20 hours of video or up to Design: 8.2
6000 songs. The N95 8GB supports services like Nokia Features: 8.2
Music Store and N-Gage Games. Once N-Gage goes Performance: 8.3
live, users will be able to try games for free before decid-
ing on a purchase.

Samsung U600 Nokia E90

Rs. 16,300 Rs. 53,500
Size
Size
Dimensions 132 x 57 x 20 mm, 140 cc, Weight 210g
Dimensions 103.5 x 49.3 x 10.9 mm, Weight 81g
Display
Display
Type TFT, 16M colors, Size 800 x 352 pixels, 4 inches
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 34 x 44 mm
Second external 16M colors display (240 x 320 pixels), 2
Ringtones
inches, Full QWERTY keyboard
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3
Ringtones
Memory
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3
Card slot microSD (TransFlash), 60 MB embedded memory
Memory
Data
Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields,
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, EDGE Class
Photocall, Call records, Detailed, max 30 days, Card slot
10, 236.8 kbps, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, USB Yes, v2.0
microSD (TransFlash), hotswap, 128 MB shared memory
Features
330 Mhz ARM processor
Camera 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, autofocus, video(CIF),
Data
flash, Java MIDP 2.0, MP3/AAC/eACC/WMA player
GPRS Yes, HSCSD Yes, EDGE Yes, 3G HSDPA, 3.6
FM radio with RDS, T9, Yahoo search, Organizer, Business
Mbps WLAN, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with
card recognition, Document viewer (Word, Excel, PowerPoint,
A2DP, Infrared port Yes, USB Yes, v2.0, miniUSB
PDF), Voice memo, Built-in handsfree, TV out,
Features
Battery
OS Symbian OS v9.2, S60 rel. 3.1, Camera 3.15 MP,
Stand-by Up to 250h, Talk time Up to 3h 30 min
2048x1536 pixels, autofocus, video(VGA 30fps), flash;
secondary QCIF videocall camera, Built-in GPS receiver
The Samsung U600 is part of the premium Ultra Edition
(with preinstalled maps), Push to talk, Video calling
range, at 11.9mm slim the U600 truly is a feat of mobile engi-
Java MIDP 2.0, MP3/M4A/AAC/eAAC+/WMA player
neering. The perfect combination of style and functionality.
FM radio, Voice command/dial, PIM including calendar,
This sleek, inspirational mobile is equipped with a 3.2
to-do list and printing, Document viewer, Photo/video edi-
Megapixel camera, auto focus and an amazingly high quality
tor, Integrated handsfree
262K colour screen. The feature rich U600 plays multiple
Battery
audio formats including MP3, AAC, AAC+, e-AAC+, and
Stand-by Up to 330h, Talk time Up to 5h
WMA. Utilise the U600's Bluetooth capabilities with a wireless
stereo headset, allowing you to remotely control your music
The Nokia E90 Communicator is based on the S60
player, or transfer your music at lightning fast speeds using
platform, making additional mobile applications available
USB 2.0. Either way, it's all music to your ears.
for its users. The E90 also has an integrated GPS and
Nokia Maps application to provide help in finding routes
Design: 8.5
and locating services. For increased personal conven-
Features: 8.3
ience, the E90 is equipped with an FM radio, a music
Performance: 8.3
player, a video player and two cameras - a 3.2-megapixel
auto focus camera with flash and a second camera for
videoconferencing.

Design: 8.2
Features: 8.3
Performance: 8.3

57

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 Informative

Nokia N81 8GB Sony Ericsson W660

Rs. 32,500 Rs. 18,700
Size Size
Dimensions 102 x 50 x 17.9 mm, 86 cc, Weight 140g Dimensions 102 x 46 x 14.5 mm, Weight 93g
Display Display
Type TFT, 16M colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.4 inches Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 176 x 220 pixels, 2 inches
Navi wheel interface Ringtones
Ringtones Type Polyphonic, MP3
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), Monophonic, True Memory
Tones, MP3 Card slot Memory Stick Micro (M2), 512 MB card included
Memory 16 MB shared memory
Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, Data
Photocall, Call records Detailed, max 30 days GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD
8 GB internal flash memory Yes, 3G Yes, 384 kbps, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
Data USB Yes, v2.0
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD Features
Yes, EDGE Yes, 3G Yes, 384 kbps, WLAN Wi-Fi Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video; secondary videocall
02.11b/g with UPnP, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, USB camera, Video telephony, Java MIDP 2.0, Walkman player
Yes, v2.0 microUSB, 2.0, FM radio with RDS, TrackID music recognition, T9
Features Image viewer, Picture editor, Picture blogging, Organiser
OS Symbian OS 9.2, Series 60 v3.1 UI, Camera Built-in handsfree, Voice memo/dial,
2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video(VGA 15fps), flash; sec- Battery
ondary CIF videocall camera, Java MIDP 2.0 Stand-by Up to 360h, Talk time Up to 6h
MP3/AAC/MPEG4 player, Rotating gallery with Navi
wheel, Stereo FM Radio, T9, Push to talk, Voice The W660i can store up to 470 full-length songs (in
dial/memo, PIM including calendar, to-do list eAAC+ format) on the 512 MB Memory Stick Micro (M2)
3.5 mm audio output jack, Built-in handsfree supplied. As collections grow, consumers can expand the
Battery memory as needed and, by way of example, a 1 GB
Stand-by Up to 410h, Talk time Up to 4h Memory Stick Micro (M2) will hold up to 1,000 tracks. W660i
features TrackID. If users ever need to identify a piece of
The Nokia N81 8GB features up to eight gigabytes music that they don't recognise, simply record a few sec-
of built-in memory, used for a true mobile entertainment onds of the track, either via the microphone or by tagging a
experience. Featuring dedicated music and gaming keys, clip straight from the phone's FM Radio, and TrackID will
3.5 mm headphone connector and 3G and WLAN con- send the clip to the Gracenote Mobile MusicID database.
nectivity, the N81 8GB is configured to find, buy, manage This quickly identifies the track, the artist and album and
and play music and games purchased from the Nokia relays the information back to the W660i.
Music Store and N-Gage games service. N81 8GB offers
dedicated music or gaming keys, expanded memory, Design: 7.9
large screens and extended battery performance to pro- Features: 8.0
vide quick and easy access to entertainment content. Performance: 7.9

Design: 7.9
Features: 8.1
Performance: 8.1

Motorola RAZR2 V8
Rs. 22,800 LG KE970 Shine
Rs. 16,700
Size
Dimensions 103 x 53 x 11.9 mm, Weight 117g
Display Size
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.2 inches, Second Dimensions 99.8 x 50.6 x 13.8 mm, Weight 119g
external 256K colors, 2 inches display (240 x 320 pixels) with con- Display
textual touch interaction Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.2 inch-
Ringtones es, Mirror effect screen, full metal body
Type Polyphonic, MP3 Ringtones
Memory Type Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3
Phonebook 1000 entries, Photocall, Call records 30 dialed, 30 Memory
received, 30 missed calls, 420 MB or 2 GB internal user memory Card slot microSD (TransFlash), 50 MB internal memory,
Data 300 text messages
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, EDGE Class 12, Data
Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, USB Yes, v2.0 microUSB GPRS Yes, EDGE Yes, Bluetooth Yes, v1.2 with A2DP,
Features USB Yes
Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video(QCIF), Java MIDP 2.0, Features
MP3/AAC/AAC+ player, T9, Organizer, Calculator, Built-in hands- Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, autofocus,
free video(QCIF), flash, Java MIDP 2.0
Voice memo MP3/AAC++/3GP/MPEG4 player, T9, Organiser
Battery Voice memo, Document viewer (.ppt, .doc, .pdf, .xls, .txt)
Stand-by Up to 330h, Talk time Up to 7h 50 min Battery
Stand-by Up to 280h, Talk time Up to 3h
The Motorola RAZR2 V8 has a completely redesigned User
Interface (UI) so consumers can search contacts even faster. The Encased in a full-metal body, the slider phone
main menu is customizable, so consumers are never more than 2-3 offers users amazing looks and a high technical specifi-
clicks away from favorite applications, and even messaging is easi- cation including expandable memory (microSD card)
er; automatically recognizing what type of message consumers are and an auto-focus camera by Schneider Kreuznach.
sending. The RAZR2 V8 also 'talks' to consumers by speaking the When closed, Shine exudes sophistication with a per-
interactive menu, contact lists, emails and messages aloud - a fea- fectly reflective 2.2-inch screen. Slide open the super-
ture developed for people with visual impairments, but convenient thin brushed metal body and the 'magic mirror' full color
for in-car use. Without opening the phone, RAZR2 users can rely screen comes to life, while Shine's keys are bathed in a
on the large external screen to read messages and reply with pre- cool blue light. Access to Shine's menu system is by an
programmed text messages. easy-to-use multi-function scroll key.
Design: 8.4 Design: 8.4
Features: 8.0 Features: 7.8
Performance: 8.1 Performance: 7.8

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 Informative

i-mate JAMA
If you are looking for a handheld device and want Windows Mobile, then the choice
between Windows Mobile Smartphone and Windows Mobile Pocket PC can be a difficult
one to make.
I-mate has just blurred the dividing line further with the JAMA. It looks like an ordinary
candybar mobile phone with a slider format that keeps the number pad hidden away until
needed. But in fact the relatively small casing (106mm tall, 52.5mm wide and 15.6mm thick)
houses Windows Mobile 5.0 for Pocket PC. This means it doesn't need a hardware-based
number-pad. The dial-pad can go on the screen, which is touch-sensitive.
So is the JAMA the best of both worlds or too much of a compromise?
Of course there is a camera - a 2-megapixel one - and there is around 45MB of free
storage space for applications and data, including photos and music to play through the
JAMA's copy of Windows Media Player, and more. A microSD card slot is on the left edge
of the casing for more memory to be added.
If you are thinking of using the JAMA as a music player then you'll want to know that
when we asked it to play music non-stop from a full battery charge, with its screen forced
on to push the battery hard, we got a little less than six hours of music. That's not bad
The slim, compact design and low weight make the i-mate JAMA a highly portable
device, which will benefit users who plan to use more of the
phone's capabilities. Also, the software bundle is another strong
point of the device. Other than these, there are all the features
specific to Pocket PCs (the touch-screen, productivity tools etc),
even though they do not make the i-mate JAMA stand out from
the crowd.

Nokia 6500 Slide

The 6500 Slide is a sleek 3G slider phone which comes in a silver & black colored casing. The phone
comes with easy to use imaging features which bring a fun & useful element to this smooth opening hand-
set. The phone comes with a 2.2 Inch high color screen which provides the user with a 33.5mm x 44.7mm
active display which can display up to 16 million colors.
The Nokia 6500 Slide is a fashion conscious handset which measures 96.5mm x 46.5mm x 16.4mm
which is a good size for a 3G slider phone. The handset weighs 123 grams which gives the phone a solid
& quality feel when in use & is still light enough for carrying purposes. The Nokia 6500 Slide comes with
an expandable memory option which allows the user to expand the phone memory up to a massive 4
Gbytes using a MicroSD™ memory card. The phone comes with 20 Mbytes of internal memory & with a
256 Mbytes MicroSD™ memory card to get the user started. The 6500 Slide comes with a phone charger,
battery, 256 Mbytes MicroSD™ memory card, stereo headset, TV out cable & USB cable. The 6500 Slide
is from the same family as the Nokia 6500 Classic.
The battery has a 900mAh capacity & provides the user with up to 320 hours of standby time or up to 6
hours of talk time from a fully charged battery. The Nokia 6500 Slide is an imaging focused 3G handset,
which comes with an impressive camera feature complete with Carl Zeiss™ optics. The 3.2 megapixel
camera comes with a Carl Zeiss™ lens & 8 x digital zoom which allows the user to get a close up shot
every time the camera is used. The auto focus feature allows the user to capture a clear shot & the double
LED flash allows the user to capture the perfect lighting for their photo.
You can enjoy MP3, MP4, AAC, eAAC+ & WMA music formats on their Nokia 6500 Slide. Phone sup-
ports polyphonic, MP3 & video ringtones which the use can be change to suit the user's ringtone style.
The user can access the Internet for new music or information using the built in Opera Mini browser which
allows the user to enjoy a mobile Internet experience at any time.

60
 Informative

Nokia N82
How do you follow up a success like the Nokia N95? Well, one way to do it is
to follow the path of the Nokia N95 8GB and give it more memory and a larger
screen. If you wanted to go further, then you'd probably dream up something even
more superlative than the N95 and call it the Nokia N96. So, the Nokia N82 is a
surprise, because it's not really what we would imagine a successor to the N95 to
be like.
The very first thing that strikes you about the Nokia N82 is just how ordinary it
looks. Where the N95 was frankly a bit mad with its two-way slider, the N82 is a
straightforward monoblock design with an uncluttered keypad and large QVGA
display.
Pretty much everything from the original N95 has been directly ported over to
the N82. There's a five megapixel camera with Xenon flash, autofocus and a Carl
Zeiss lens, 3G support with HSDPA, WiFi, microSD expandable memory (with
2GB in the sales package), A-GPS (Assisted GPS), a video calling camera, FM
radio and stereo Bluetooth.
This is a Symbian S60 smartphone, so it comes with a web browser, email
client, document viewer, advanced multimedia player and the N82 also has a set
of personal information management (PIM) applications. Nokia Maps is prein-
stalled for basic GPS use, although expect to pay a fee for more advanced map-
ping functions. Video capture is an impressive 640x480 pixels at 30 frames per
second.
Nokia say that the N82 is available now from selected retailers at an unsubsi-
dized cost of around Rs. 50,000.

Nokia 6120 Classic

Nokia's 6120 Classic is a slim, light, 3G mobile phone that runs a full
Smartphone operating system. The advanced features on offer are hampered a lit-
tle by the phone's small size and shape, but if you are looking for an opportunity to
try an S60 Smartphone yet also want something pocket-friendly, light and unobtru-
sive, it could be ideal.
At 89g and 105 x 46 x 15mm, the 6120 Classic should fit in most pockets, but its
screen is the feature that compromises its ability to function perfectly as a
Smartphone. It delivers 320 x 240 pixels and manages 16 million colours, both of
which are top-notch specifications. But at two inches corner-to-corner it is just too
small to display some information well enough.
The Web browser is one example. Retrieving information at 3G data speeds is
fine, and the browser itself can be switched into widescreen view. Thumbnail views
of Web pages are available and these are marked up with numbers identifying dif-
ferent areas of a page. Hit a number and you go to that area.
There is 35MB of built-in memory and a microSD card slot on the back, left-hand
edge of the casing. The music player delivers well, and there's an FM radio too.
Battery life is good: We got a little less than nine hours of non-stop music from a full
battery charge.
Among the huge number of applications pre-installed are a calendar, to-do list
manager, mobile e-mail, note taker, calculator, clock with alarms, voice control,
voice recorder, unit converter and IM. For e-mail attachments you get the Adobe
PDF reader and QuickOffice for Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint viewing.
The 6120 Classic comes with Nokia's PC Suite software and a cable for con-
necting to your computer, so you can synchronise contacts and diary information at
no extra cost.

61
 Informative

Nokia 3110 Evolve

If you're the sort of person who thinks that not using a plastic bag for your shop-
ping is actually some meaningful way to save the planet, then the Nokia 3110
Evolve is for you.
Based on an unremarkable and fairly inexpensive handset launched earlier this
year, the 3110 Evolve is a basic tri-band GSM phone with a 128 x 160 pixel display,
1.3 megapixel camera, FM stereo radio, microSD expandable memory and an MP3
player, plus Bluetooth and USB connectivity.
It's a pretty lightweight handset at 87 grams, but you can tell by the specification
that the screen is the 3110 Evolve's biggest weakness.
So what makes this different from a standard 3110? Well, Nokia say that there
is "bio-sourced material on the covers", and they also say that the cover material is
50% renewable - so we guess that it uses some sort of plant-based hydrocarbon
compound rather than plastic from fossil fuels. The Nokia 3110 Evolve comes in a
much smaller sales package consisting of 60% recycled content, and there's a new
more efficient phone charger. Nokia say that the charger uses "94% less energy
than the Energy Star requirements" but does not give any figures comparing it to a
standard unit.
In other words, the Nokia 3110 Evolve uses less plastic, is more efficient to
transport and uses less power than a standard 3110.
The Nokia 3110 Evolve should be available during Q1 2008.

LG KE770
LG KE770 Shine is a candy bar version of the stylish LG KE970 Shine. The LG
KE770 is known as the LG KE770 Shine or the LG KE770 Shine Bar. The handset
comes with a high quality & truly inspirational mirror effect screen which has made the
LG Black Label Series Shine phones so popular.
The screen is 1.7 Inch in size & displays up to 262,000 colors on a high resolution
screen. The handset comes with no opening mechanisms due to its bar design which
makes the handset easy to use & comes with a keypad lock to avoid any buttons being
pressed when the handset is being carried. The KE770 Shine Bar comes with a beauti-
fully metal effect keypad which is etched into the handsets casing & is neatly situated
below the phone mirror effect screen. The handset is extremely slim with a total depth
of 10mm & the KE770 weighs only 79 grams includes the fitted battery. The battery
provide up to 200 hours of standby time & approximately 2.5 hours of talk time from a
fully charged battery.

The built in camera provides the user with an easy to use 2 megapixel camera com-
plete with camera or video settings & capabilities. The camera feature is easy to use
as the handset comes with camera keys situated on the side of the phone for ease of
use. The camera comes with a LED flash & digital zoom which will ensure the user
gets the perfect shot each time the camera is used.
The user can enjoy their music on the go with the built in music player which sup-
ports all popular music formats. The music player comes with music settings & storage
which allows the user to access their music & enjoy it at any time of the day or night.

62
 Informative

Samsung U300
The Samsung SGH-U300 forms part of the Ultra Edition II range, and it
can be seen as a slimmer and slightly tweaked version of the Slightly
slimmer that the D830 - the U300 is just 9.6mm thick, the SGH-U300
also has a 3 megapixel digital camera.
However, the U300 does not appear to have expandable memory
(although 70MB is built in), which puts it at a disadvantage over the older
handset.
Despite the limited memory, the overall features on the U300 are still
pretty decent. There's a 2.2" 240x320 pixel main display with a smaller
secondary on the outside. The U300 has a multimedia player that can
play back MP3, AAC, WMA, WMDRM, H.263 and MPEG4 clips
(although the limited memory will be a factor here).
It's a tri-band GSM 800/900/1800 device with GPPS and EDGE. The
SGH-U300 also support Bluetooth and USB 2.0 connections.
If your looking for a clamshell phone and your primary consideration is
how slim it is, then the U300 is an attractive device. And in terms of
looks, the U300 is an elegant and quite understated handset that should
draw some admiring glances.
However, the slim design of the handset has compromised its features
somewhat, both in terms of expandability but also the RAZR-style hand-
set that might become irritating to use after a while.

Trend T 786 Dual Sim GSM

Trend mobiles were the first in introducing the dual SIM mecha-
nism that allowed a person to hold two different SIMs in one mobile
phone at one time in the face of a growing telecom industry and
increasing Trend of multi company market. Entirely a local group,
Trend mobiles is a sub-group of 4B Group, 4B Telecom and 4B
Fertilizer as its main components. Trend is their brand which markets
imported cell phones in the local market. It has now come up with the
simplest and yet the most loaded of the mobile phones. It is called the
T 786, Trend Perfect dual Sim.
The features of T 786 are startling. Its basic edge is that a user
can retain different network operators’ Sims in one cellphone and can
receive calls in both at the same time. It is a complete multimedia
cellphone with 1.3mega pixel camera, which has an audio and video
recorders and players as well.
The USB Data cable allows the user a unique facility of `Plug N
Play`. Attach the cable with your computer and view what you have
recorded. There is no need of any software or driver installment unlike
other cell phones. A riddle free and consumer friendly cellphone. It is
also totally software friendly for the users. No pains but all the gains.
Trend mobiles offers an unmatched Deluxe Package along with the
set which includes a free-of-cost 256 MB memory card, USB port, 2
extra batteries and an In-Car charger and a Trendy pouch to carry
your cell phone in style.
The mobile phone holds another edge to other cell phones in the
market. It is the only cell phone in the market that has a warranty of
thirteen months. It has the style, it has the look and it has all that you
require in a cell phone to begin with.

63
 Informative

LG KU990 / LG Viewty
LG Viewty - a 5.1 megapixel camera phone with a Schneider Kreuznach
lens and advanced imaging capabilities. The front of the LG KU990 has a
large touchscreen, similar to the LG Prada. 5.1 megapixel camera comes with
a flash, electronic image stabilization, photo editing and single-click uploading
to YouTube.
Video capture on the LG Viewty is up to 120 fps (frames per second) - this
is twice the frame rate of an HDTV and frankly why anyone needs this kind of
frame rate is a mystery. We're not sure what the video capture resolution is on
the KU990, but it will need to be at least 640x480 pixels.
Schneider Kreuznach are the people who make lenses for Kodak, so that's
a promising start when it comes to the KU990's optical credentials. Combine
this with the 5.1 megapixel camera, and the KU990 Viewty looks very good
indeed.
The "U" in KU990 should indicate that this is a 3G device, and you can
reasonably expect to see a multimedia player, web browser, email client and
all the usual features. You can safely assume that the KU990 / Viewty will be
competing directly against the N95, where the LG has the advantage of a
touchscreen but is unlikely to have GPS.

Sony Ericsson K850i

On paper the Sony Ericsson K850i looks like a winner - this
Cyber-shot branded handset now has a 5 megapixel camera and
boasts HSDPA 3.5G data plus tri-band UMTS support, plus a host of
other goodies.
First the good stuff - the Sony Ericsson K850i's camera comes
with autofocus, a flash, multishot capabilities, an image stabilizer and
various photo tweaking applications. The display is a 240x320 pixel
panel in 262,000 colours, and the K850i has a multimedia player,
radio, expandable memory (using Memory Stick Micro cards), stereo
Bluetooth, a web browser, email client and RSS news reader.
The K850i is being pitched as a business phone as well as a con-
sumer handset - it supports Microsoft ActiveSync to enable email and
PIM functions to be synchronised with an Exchange server. Tri-band
3G support with HSDPA also means that the K850i can be used on
pretty much any WCDMA 3G network worldwide, although oddly it is
only a tri-band GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz device and not a quad-band
one.
The Sony Ericsson K850i measures 102 x 48 x 17mm and weighs
118 grams. There are two colour variants: "Velvet Blue" and
"Luminous Green", although this colouring extends pretty much only
as far as the controller pad and some piping down the side of the
phone. There is also a K858c variant for China which loses 3G sup-
port and substitutes EDGE data instead.
Really the Sony Ericsson K850i should be considered an evolu-
tionary step up from the excellent K800 and K810i phones.

64
 Informative

LG KE970
The LG KE970 is a beautiful & highly capable mobile phone which is better known as
the LG Shine. The beautiful KE970 Shine is the second Black Label Series mobile hand-
set to be deigned by LG. The highly attractive mobile phone has been given the name LG
Shine due to its stunning appearance & mirror effect casing.
The LG Shine comes in a super slim casing with a tactile slide opening mechanism.
The phone comes with a shiny stainless steel casing & with a large mirror effect screen.
The screen displays a real mirror when the LG Shine is in its closed position, for all to
admire. The handset has a roll bar navigation tool which allows the user to scroll through
menus with ease.
The keypad is etched into the stainless steel surface & the keys have a blue backlight
which is highly effective. The keypad can be accessed when the handset is in its slide
open position. The LG KE970 Shine is an appearance & feature focused mobile phone
which will be admired by all.
The large screen provides a screen resolution of 240 x 320 pixels on a 2.2 Inch high
colour screen. The screen provides the user with a sharp & clear viewing tool which
comes with the stylish mirror effect feature. The user can take photos & record video
footage with ease using the built in imaging features. The user can save, edit, share &
store their photos & video footage. The LG KE970 Shine comes with a photo album &
video gallery which allows the user to store & locate their photos & video easily.
The phone comes with a built in music player which supports all popular music for-
mats including MP3 format & provides high quality sound. The LG KE970 comes with a
built in Internet browser which the user can access from the phones main menu. The
user can access the WAP Internet browser & enjoy a mobile Internet experience on the
their mobile phone.

Motorola Z6c
The Motorola Z6 is a handset available in a few different formats - the
MOTOROKR Z6 is a GSM device for sale in Europe, Asia Pacific and else-
where, and then there's a CDMA version called the MOTOROKR Z6m for
North America, China and Far East Asia. Another version, the MOTORIZR
Z6tv is a CDMA variant for the Verizon network optimized for streaming 3G
TV.
The fourth variant of the Z6 is rather more novel - called the Z6c, this
particular Z6 combines both CDMA and GSM network functions into one
handset, making it an ideal phone for GSM customers who want to use a
GSM device at home, but who also want to travel with the same handset
globally.
This dual CDMA/GSM functionality is very rare, but we have seen it
before - in the Motorola A840, which hit the market about three years ago.
The Z6c represents a welcome addition to this surprisingly small market
niche.
Expect to see a 2" 240x320 pixel display, 2 megapixel camera, microSD
expandable memory and Bluetooth in a device weighing around 105 grams.
To look at, you'd be hard pressed to tell it apart from its siblings, but the
Z6c does come with a "World" logo in the top left hand corner to mark it out
as something special.

65
 Informative

Sony VAIO FZ180 2.0GhZ C2D

Rs. 127,000

Product Specifications

Processor Type Intel Core 2 Duo T7300

Processor Speed Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 / 2 GHz 800Mhz

RAM 2 x 1 GB DDR2,

Hard Drive 200 GB 5400 rpm, Serial ATA

Display 15.4 in TFT active matrix

Graphic Accelerator NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GT

Camera Integrated

Optical Drive DVD Super Multi (Double Layer) Drive

Wired & Wireless Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN , Ethernet,
Communication IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g,
Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11n (draft)

HP Compaq 6710 US
1.8C2D 512MB Rs. 51,500
Product Specifications

CPU Intel Core 2 Duo 1.83Ghz

Memory 512 MB

Memory Max 1GB , 2GB

Hard Disk 120Gb

Modem type Fax / modem

Modem Speed 56kbps

Wireless 802.11b/g

Optical Drive Super Drive

Battery Lithium-Ion

Weight 2kg

O/S Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium

FireWire ports 1 x FireWire 400

USB Ports 4 x USB 2.0

Warranty 1 Year Limited Warranty

Acer Aspire 5720-301G16 Rs. 69,000

Processor Intel® Centrino 2 Duo T7300 2.0 GHz 4MB L2 Cache

Operating System MS VISTA Home Premium

Ram 1024MB (2*512) DDR2

Display 15.4" WXGA Crystal Bright

Graphic Card 128MB GeForce Go 7600

Hard Drive 160GB SATA HDD

Primary CD/DVD DVD Super Multi Double Layer
Drive

Communication 802.11abg Wireless LAN,Bluetooth,Gigabit LAN

Extra Features 6 cell battery, Crystal Eye Camera,Dolby Digital
Sound,Acer Carry Bag,56k Modem

Warranty & One year International Travelers Warranty
e-support

66

Above prices are subject to change as per market

 Informative

Asus W5Fe Rs. 135,000

Product Specifications

Processor & Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T5600
Cache Memory 1.83GHz 667MHz, 4MB L2 cache

Operating System Windows® Vista™ Business,

Chipset Mobile Intel® 945 GM Express Chipset

Main Memory DDR2 533/667MHz SDRAM, 1GB 1 x
SODIMM socket for expansion up to 1536MB
SDRAM

Display Main display: 12.1" WXGA Color-Shine
(Glare-type) and Crystal-Shine (High bright-
ness) LCD, Asus Splendid Video Intelligent
Technology
Auxiliary display: 2.8" QVGA TFT LCD

Video Graphics Embedded Intel® 945GM VGA
& Memory 2.5" 9.5mm 120GB IDE HDD /w Ultra

Hard Drive DMA/100 / S.M.A.R.T. supported
9.5 mm, 5.25"

Optical Drive DVD Super Multi Double Layer: RAM R/W
2X, CD/DVD Read 8X/24X, CD-R 24X, CD-
RW 10X, DVD-R 4X, DVD-RW 2X, DVD+R
4X, DVD+ RW 2.4X.

Toshiba Satellite A200-1CR Rs. 63,500

Product Specifications

Processor Type Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor T2080
1.73 GHz

Processor Speed 1.73 GHz, 533MHz

RAM standard : 1,024 (512 + 512) MB
maximum expandability : 2,048 MB

Hard Drive technology : DDR2 RAM (667 MHz)

Display 120 GB

Graphic 15.4 " Toshiba TruBrite® WXGA TFT display
Accelerator Hybrid Graphics System lets toggle between
NVidia GeForce Go 7400 (up to 335 MB

Optical Drive DVD+/-RW SuperMulti with Double Layer
Fixed

Wireless Compliancy : Wi-Fi®
Communication Network Support : 802.11b/g integrated
Wireless Technology: Wireless LAN

Operating System Windows Vista® Home Basic Edition

Dimensions 362 x 267.8 x 33.5 (front) / 39.3 (rear) mm

Stephanie Endicott and Marcus Smallegan, first-year students at George Brad Garlinghouse, left, senior vice president of Yahoo, demonstrates the
Washington University, use their laptops in Washington. For the Facebook genera- capabilities of a laptop during a media preview flight aboard "BetaBlue," an
tion, love now comes with a drop-down menu. Airbus A320 aircraft equipped with an onboard wireless network. JetBlue will
start offering free online messaging services on one of its planes next week,
67
becoming among the first airlines to offer in-flight Internet access.

Above prices are subject to change as per market

 In Picture

(L-R): Francisco Gonzalez, president of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, Cesar

Alierta, Chairman of Spain's telecom company Telefonica, Jose Ignacio Sanchez
Galan, president of Spanish power company Iberdrola, Antonio Brufau, chairman of
Spanish oil major Repsol YPF and Spanish Stock Exchange president Antonio
The president of National Association of Software and Service Company (NASSCOM) Kiran
Zoido attend the first day of Madrid's Latibex Forum.
Karnik delivers his speech during the IT Conclave organised by the National Association of
Software and Service Company (NASSCOM) in Bangalore.

Iranian chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili speaks with journalists during a news
conference after his trip to Britain in south of Tehran. Iran said, it would safeguard
its right to nuclear technology whatever European Union foreign policy chief Javier
Solana reported about his latest talks with Tehran.

Hamadoun I. Toure, from Mali, Secretary General of the International Telecommunication

Union (ITU), presents the book of Provisional Final Acts of the World Radio Communication
Conference, during a press conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations in
Geneva, Switzerland.

Managing Director of Emerson Process Management India, Sunil Khanna (R) and
President of Rosemount Division of Emerson Process Management USA, Mark
Schumacher (L) pose for a photograph at the press launch of Smart Wireless
Solutions for Process Automation in New Delhi.

Ericsson's Chief Executive Carl-Henric Svanberg arriving for presentation of the third-quarter
result in Stockholm. Ericsson, the world's leading mobile networks maker, allegedly paid more
than a million dollars (euros) to a former Oman government minister in what appears to have
been a bribe for a large contract, Swedish public radio report.

New Linux - Fedora 8

Launched
A new version of the free Linux operating system Fedora is available.
Fedora 8 includes improved security functions as well as a reworked user European Union (EU) Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson (C) Indian Minister for
Commerce and Industry, Kamal Nath (R) President of the Confederation of Indian
interface, reports Red Hat, the company supporting the Linux project. Industry (CII), Chairman and Managing Director, Bharati AirTel Mobil telecommuni-
Fedora 8 can also be started from a USB stick. The software can be down- cations, Sunil Bharti Mittal (L) and Secretary General, Business Europe, Phillppe de
loaded at http://fedoraproject.org. Buck (2L) shake hands during the eighth India-EU Business Summit in New Delhi.
68
 Flare Report Telecom

otorola, Inc.

M announced a special
edition of the new
RAZR2, available in
limited quantities, in
time to celebrate the
holiday season in style. The signature
RAZR2 form factor has been re-imag-
ined and reconfigured in the most luxuri-
ous materials - bathed in gold and
clothed in snake-like skin, and includes
a full suite of features and accessories
for consumers seeking a glamorous
design.
RAZR2 Luxury Edition, equipped
with unique features, is designed for the
Middle Eastern audience keeping the
latest and most desired trends in mind.
The phone has a metallic feel with gold
accents adding to the ultimate finesse of
the device, while the snake skin finish is
sure to entice local and expatriate resi-
dents of the region.
This special edition of RAZR2 comes
complete with a black slate Motorola
H680 Bluetooth headset with 18k gold-
plated accents and also includes in-box.
The New phone comes with up to
approximately eight hours of crisp, clear
talk time and eight days of standby time.
The petite and stylish H680 is the per-
fect companion of style conscious.
A wired stereo headset for music
enjoyment, a matching patent leather
carrying case with mini strap, and a polishing
cloth are also included in box, adding even more
style to a device that delivers the complete mobile
experience. RAZR2 V8 Luxury Edition is avail-
able in Motorola authorised retail outlets across
UAE.

69
 Internet Flare Report

ome users of the online hangout said she had no idea (information would be

S Facebook are complaining that its

two-week-old marketing program
is publicizing their purchases for
friends to see. Those users say
they never noticed a small box
that appears on a corner of their web
browsers following transactions at Fandango,
Overstock and other online retailers. The box
alerts users that information is about to be
shared). She said it invaded her privacy."
Facebook has long prided itself on guarding
its users' privacy, but the walls have gradually
lowered. In 2006, a "news feeds" feature
allowing users to track changes friends make
to profiles backfired when many users
denounced it as stalking and threatened
protests. Facebook quickly apologized and
agreed to let users turn off the feature.
shared with Facebook unless they click on The new program lets companies tap ongoing
"No Thanks." It disappears after about 20 sec- conversations by alerting users about friends'
onds, after which consent is assumed. activities through the feeds. About 40 web
Users are given a second notice the next time sites have decided to embed a free tool from
they log on to Facebook, but they can easily Facebook, known as a Beacon, to enable the
miss it if they quickly click away to visit a marketing feeds.
friend's page or check e-mail. The idea is that if users see a friend buy or do
People should be given much more of a something, they could take that action as an
notice, much more of an alert," said Matthew endorsement for a movie, a band or a soft
Helfgott, 20, a college student who discovered drink. But it also raises privacy concerns.

his girlfriend just bought him black leather Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the social
gloves from Overstock for Hanukkah. "She net's ad plan

ahoo Inc is offering consumers The Yahoo service, which

Y in Latin America's three

largest markets a set of
mobile Internet search servic-
es, paving the way for network
carrier partners to offer Yahoo
services of their own. Yahoo said that con-
sumers in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico can
point their phone web browsers to
m.yahoo.com to download Yahoo's
will start out in public test mode
in Latin America, was first intro-
duced in the United States earli-
er this year. It makes mobile
Web search faster and more
relevant by providing links to
local news, financial data,
weather conditions, Flickr pho-
tos, and other Web sites.
OneSearch mobile Internet software, which These consumer services
features local information in Spanish or are designed to complement
Portuguese languages. Yahoo's push to partner mobile
OneSearch offers Internet search on the operators to feature a set of Yahoo Internet The deal could eventually cover up to 100 mil-
first screen that users call up, in contrast to services on phones they offer their own sub- lion Telefonica phone subscribers.
browsers designed for computer users that scribers. "You can see this as a precursor for our
force phone users to navigate through several Earlier, Yahoo struck a deal to deliver such partners to deploy it on their side," Marco
screens of links to locate the Web information services to customers of Telefonica SA in sev- Boerries, executive vice president of Yahoo's
they desire. eral European and Latin American markets. Connected Life division, said.

ow cost computers for poor chil- if they become G1G1 donors.

L dren worldwide are being mass

produced in China as US non-
profit One Laptop Per Child
strives to deliver on its promise.
The first of the XO laptops being
built at a Quanta Computer facility in
Changshu are destined for Uruguay, marking
a milestone for the charity group founded by
Nicholas Negroponte in Massachusetts two
The world's largest video game maker,
Electronic Arts in Northern California, said this
week they are giving the original "SimCity" to
OLPC to put on laptops for free.
XO laptop operating systems are based on
free open-source software. The machines are
designed to use less than a tenth the power
than standard laptops and come with solar or
hand-crank charging options.
years ago, BBC reported. XO laptops are billed as a "kids machine"
A challenge for the organisation has been designed for rugged environments. The com-
that governments have not backed effusive puters have built in video and still cameras as
words of support with willing flows of cash to well as wireless Internet connectivity.
buy laptops for children inside their borders. By empowering children to educate them-
For every laptop donated for a child, the the initiative in 2005. selves, a new generation will ultimately be
donor gets a laptop. The original price was to Telecom firm T-Mobile USA is offering peo- better prepared to tackle the other serious
be 100 dollars per laptop but nearly doubled ple a year of free access to its nearly 8,500 problems (poverty, malnutrition, disease) fac-
70
as costs climbed after Negroponte launched wireless Internet hotspots in the United States ing their societies.

 Aamir Attaa Internet

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 IT Shahid Zahid

The STB/gateway paradigm has launched a race of sorts as its manufacturers contest to
stuff as much functionality into it as possible. It has also prompted other companies such
as Motorola and Cisco to get into the technology. As a result STBs are increasingly packing
sophisticated technology
elcos making plans for video serv- replace the STB altogether. it is not an issue, but the point is most people

T ices are already aware that there

will be more to Internet Protocol
Television (IPTV) than the TV bit,
as the Set-Top Box (STB) evolves
from an interface for channel-surf-
ing to a gateway for value added services, from
interactive channels and shopping to Digital
Video Recorders (DVRs) and home networking
hubs that can distribute IPTV services any-
The Media Center Revolution
Little wonder, then, that analyst are bullish
on the media server market. According to ana-
lysts, PC media server market alone will grow
from $37 billion this year to $44.8 billion by
2011. With the arrival of faster in-home digital
networking technologies such as Multimedia
over Coax Alliance (MoCA), an industry-
do not have one now and if a home already
has a PC, the owner is not necessarily going to
go out and replace it with a Media Center PC
just to get IPTV.
STB's have a technological edge in that
they boot up faster, consume less power and
generate less heat and they are less noisy. As
PC gateways require at least one in-built fan,
the noise factor when in operation makes them
where in the home. accepted framework for networked digital not very living room friendly and the noise will
The STB/gateway paradigm has already media distribution in Digital Living Network get worse as the gateway ages, particularly in
launched an arms race of sorts as STB manu- Alliance (DLNA), and the increase in both pay- a dusty living room where dirt particles are
facturers contest to stuff as much functionality TV and Internet content moving over in-home prone to stick to the fan blades.
into STBs as possible. It has also prompted networks, the home media server is becoming Even more crucial, however, is the usability
other companies such as Motorola and Cisco a key beachhead in the digital home. factor. The usability of gateways is marginal at
to get into the STB/gateway. As a result STBs PC aftermarket software and embedded best. Not too many subscribers will be able to
are increasingly packing sophisticated technol- media server middleware will also see serious figure out how to work it, or will be willing to try
ogy. STB for IPTV are really PCs in disguise. growth in that time. According to analysts, ven- to figure it out. Media PCs are high-end
From a hardware standpoint, they are almost dors are developing software that lets con- machines bundled with lots of software. It can
the same thing sold as different products. A sumers create their own media servers, while do what the STB does, but with it you have to
really good quality PC can do what a STB DLNA middleware vendors are creating media go through the pain of actually making it all
does. server software for Original Equipment work. Indeed, one perceived weakness of the
Over the last couple of years, the PC hard- Manufacturers (OEMs) across all media server media server market is that it is a DIY proposi-
ware and software sector has been taking that categories. tion that caters to users who want to piece
notion to heart. The rise of so-called media But while this entire means that media together their own home networks or home
servers and multimedia PCs have sought to servers will play a prominent role in home entertainment centers. The trick is that in a
position PCs as the central media boxes in the entertainment centers and home networks, that world where pay-TV comes with more function-
home, serving not only as Digital Video does not necessarily, mean the STB will be ality than ever, there is far more to building a
Recorders (DVRs) but also video distribu- home network than connecting a DVD play-
tion hubs, enabling users to view their TV er and a game console to the TV set.
shows, movies, digital photos or favorite STBs have a technological edge in For example, CableLabs - the organiza-
YouTube videos anywhere in the home that they boot up faster, consume tion that developed the CableCARD stan-
from one source. Since that logically dard - requires the products as well as the
includes the living room, many companies less power and generate less heat implementation to be certified, killing any
are working on ways to converge the two- DIY aspirations the user might have.
foot/lean-forward PC experience and the
and they are less noisy. As PC gate- Another problem is that the average user
ten-foot/lean-back TV experience. ways require at least one in-built fan, needs to be tech-savvy enough to trou-
This is hardly a new idea. The idea of bleshoot their media server if something
multimedia PCs as home entertainment the noise factor when in operation goes wrong.
hub has been around since at least the makes them not very living room It is always possible that five years form
early 90s. But it has not been until recent- now, consumers will be a lot more tech-
ly, with the arrival of larger, cheaper hard friendly and the noise will get worse savvy about media servers than they are
drives, integrated processors, that the now. The STB right now is more about con-
media server business has finally started
as the PC ages trol of the experience than technology.
to gain traction. Microsoft has been touting Service providers are not thrilled at the
its Media Center PC solution as the future of made obsolete in the process. Media servers idea of people turning their PC into an STB
home entertainment systems, while Intel's lat- have come a long way and promise much, but because it adds complexity to their service.
est cause caliber has been Viiv, a solution that there is still doubt as to how ready they are to They want to have their own STB in the home
promises to allow TV viewers to download deliver an integrated PV/TV experience. because they want to provide an integrated
movies, subscribe to TV shows and create service and environment. They can manage
their own self updating video collection - all of The Pain of Do it Yourself (DIY) the STB and control the services offered on it
which is searchable by keyword, and all of More to the point, a number of IPTV ven- and introduce new ones easily. This is particu-
which can be operated using a TV remote dors maintain that STBs carry far more appeal larly important in terms of delivering customer
instead of a mouse. Apple has similar plans for to service providers than media servers. In satisfaction, which relies on the service working
a PC-TV solution. their current form media gateways can be a end to end.
Where does the STB fit in all this? mass product. For a start, they are expensive. A related issue is control of bandwidth
Depending on whom you ask, the STB may not A PC can cost $300 or so and that does not usage. For example, broadband TV services in
exist in five years. A technology called even include the software license. In compari- developed countries dedicate separate band-
CableCARD intends to make media servers son, an STB these days costs less than $ 100. width within the access loop for broadband
cable-ready, eliminating the need for a cable Media server model puts the burden on the Internet and IPTV, which means that super
STB. Meanwhile, software company Verimatrix end-user to buy the Customer Premises heavy downloads will not impact on the IPTV
is reportedly developing a PC app that will not Equipment (CPE), since IPTV service providers video stream.
only allow IPTV subscribers to watch their TV are not likely to subsidize media servers the
72
channels from any broadband connected PC, way they subsidize STBs. Changing Channels
but could also enable a Media Center PC to If a home already has a media PC, perhaps Of course, there is more to control than
 IT
service quality. It is also about competition - not necessarily spell doom for broadcast
not just in terms of which provider has bet-
It is an STB world right now, but video in any format. For one thing, service
ter customer service, but also in the context service providers are looking at what providers are already looking for ways to
of other types of video services for which incorporate the YouTube/P2P trend into
PC-based media servers are well-suited, other services they can offer or their portfolios. It is an STB world right
form video hosting Web sites to peer-to- where the STB handles more than now, but service providers are looking at
peer services. Ever since iTunes showed what other services they can offer or where
there was a market for video downloads, video. Analysts believe that the pay the STB handles more than video.
start-up sites like YouTube and GUBA, as Still the ticket for IPTV to succeed
well as similar video sharing portals run by
TV media server category will be remains value-add. They have to offer
Google and Yahoo, have become hot prop- dominated in the near future by the something that you can not get by another
erties to the point that big-name movie stu- way. In any case the role of the STB
dios and content owners, who have com- medium-term, the STB, while the PC seems secure for now. Researchers say
plained of users posting copyrighted video media server and consumer elec- that while the media server camp will have
clips, are now using these sites to promote plenty of success stories, they are more
new content. tronics categories will flourish as likely for the time being to sit alongside
Fox Entertainment Group is planning to STBs than supplant them. They believe
distribute its videos via sites like MySpace.
personal and Internet content media that the pay TV media server category will
GUBA recently announced deals with major servers be dominated in the near future by the
movie studios Warner and Sony to sell and medium-term, the STB, while the PC
rent premium movies and TV episodes via Telecommunication Private Limited is providing media server and consumer electronics
its website. This trend signifies a shift in think- IPTV using the technique of Fiber To The categories will flourish as personal and Internet
ing by studios seeking new channels like the Home (FTTH). content media servers. Put another way, media
Internet and mobile to distribute content. As If you put the legal issues of certain servic- servers and STBs will remain two different mar-
more and more people begin adapting and es, the popularity of P2P has demonstrated ket segments. The Media Center PC is more
adopting mobile communication and mobile that people's media consumption habits are like an extended arm of the PC for media
entertainment into their everyday lifestyles, changing in favor of distributed on-demand where you will use it for watching DVDs or
more studios and content providers will be video rather than top down model of broadcast, movie downloads. It does not have a big role in
looking to these portals as a means of reaching cable, satellite and even IPTV. P2P is easy to IPTV.
a larger audience, offering premium content, use and you don't have to set your viewing There will always be a need for live TV.
with a very positive economy of scale. schedule to the TV's schedule. It is also Broadcast will still be in demand for things like
Services like GUBA have the advantage of portable and you can download videos onto news, sports events, concerts and so on, but
being established and ready, whereas IPTV your iPod or video device and consume it on the content and the way it's delivered will
services are only just coming online. It will take your own terms on the go. P2P is also a scala- change.

a while before the IPTV technology will be per- ble and cheap way to distribute video.
fected and employed throughout residences The writer is a TV Broadcast & Satellite
and adopted by major telecommunications It is an STB World Communication Engineer with a National
companies and in Pakistan Brain Even so, the rise of video downloads does Broadcaster of Pakistan, ATV

73
 Internet Ahmed Saeed

Search engines are now revamping their business and road maps to adjust to the condi-
tions of the market. Timely data is now as important as gold was a few years back. As a
result, Google and Yahoo are on the verge of a heads on collision regarding human
resources, customer relationship management, data mining processes and an overall
understanding of the international markets
ith a competitive market in understand the real picture at hand. Total cus- Boris Evelson, a Forrester Research

W place kick-starting all

avenues of gathering infor-
mation, search engines
are now revamping their
business and road maps
to adjust to the conditions of the market.
Google and Yahoo are now on the verge of a
heads on collision regarding human resources,
customer relationship management, data min-
tomer base is not now measured by sales
activity alone. Sales forecast is no longer kept
under scrutiny and unpredictable variables
have been almost eliminated. Search engines
are now able to provide a detailed account of
the untapped resources available. For a manu-
facturing plant in Idaho, the owner can now get
a comprehensive analysis of how many cus-
tomers purchase towel all over the world and
Analyst and lead author on the upcoming study
"It's Time to Reinvent Your BI Strategy", elabo-
rates that companies now need to start
indulging into statistics and vision engineering
prior to getting finances into play regarding IT
software applications, human resources and
even operational purchasing.
Search engines are working very hard for
increasing export from China. Thousands of
ing processes and an overall understanding of what is the overall segment that purchases factories that are gathered in all the different
the international markets. Timely data is now them online. The numbers that conclude inter- segmented areas of China now want a more
as important as gold was a few years back. net sales are alarming. It is growing at a rate of comprehensive tool set regarding the cus-
Data alone can become the differentiators in tomers.
the market pricing, value, service, and quality Google has recently launched a With such a blooming economy in place, it
become a close second. is imperative that the manufacturing giants
Google has recently launched a strong
strong campaign hiring gradu- have a comprehensive understanding of the
campaign hiring graduates from all over the ates from all over the world to direct customers. An example of this kind of
world to become a part of the Google family. unique identification is that of the automotive
These young individuals have been globe trot- become a part of the Google fam- industry. Companies are now tapping into the
ting in searching of new avenues and ventures. ily. Microsoft is tracking each customers directly. According to a recent
The title of these young cadets is APM, report, during the electronics show 2006 in
Assistant Product Managers, who have been detail of customers and whipping USA, a good 40 percent of users change their
hired by Google to turn each and every stone radios after purchasing their cars. This alone
to identify exciting and financially savvy ideas.
out ideas that can become trade provides the automotive industry with the cur-
One can hardly go wrong with the best of marks in the evolving customer rent user trends and moving forward can equip
the minds in the world dedicated and equipped cars with the specific music devises that cus-
with all the management and financial decision centric applications tomers are willing to add into their vehicles.
making that a person only acquires after a 40 percent increase on an annual basis. Amazing fact is the number of manufactur-
good ten years in the work field. Astonishing This revolution has become a major study ing units across the world that still does not tap
enough, this kind of indecent management and research intensive segment for the univer- into the search engine database. The entire
style has given birth to an orchestrated plat- sities all over the world. Millions of dollars are fleet of motorcycles was changed in Korea
form of ideas that have surfaced beyond the now being spent in universities that have a which resulted in a revolution in the scooter
imagination of communities. Orkut and Google strong research driven engineering school. industry. The entire fiasco started by simply
maps are just one of the hundreds of exciting University of Utah, USA students are now get- understanding what the Korean market wanted.
and worth taking ideas from these youngsters ting offers from major software companies for It was not through the rigid marketing surveys
that have embarked on a revolution on its own. their research and data mining utilities. or the extensive interviews with the current
Microsoft is not far behind tracking each Industrial and manufacturing units are highly customer base, but by understanding and
detail of customers and whipping out ideas that pleasured with the quality of leaders that are learning from the thousands of search crite-
can become trade marks in the evolving cus- coming forth from these research driven ria's. The search engines indicated a huge cus-
tomer centric applications. It is now a require- schools. Engineers now are equipped with tomer base searching for faster, reliable trans-
ment of all the big companies to have a strong deciphering the current trends in the market port mechanism. The motorcycle industry was
hold of their customer base and a direct link just by searching the online search engine sta- not catering to this demand. The heavy
with the users that have not been touched irre- tistics. University of California has generated engines and big bikes were not what the young
spective of location, size and economic stature. an immense number of start-up entrepreneurs. and female population wanted. Scooters
Millions of dollars are now being spent to It is an evolving revolution in the making. Much became into style as soon as the Korean
endorse the critical elements required to meas- of the business acumen stems from the grow- industry figured out the Morris code in the raw
ure customer expectations and volumes of ing demands of the masses. Intelligent cus- data from the search engines.
untapped resources. tomer centric devices or applications do not In a world where competition means the
Untapped resource is the most horrifying require much of a business case model. Basic elimination of companies thriving to make a dif-
number that all CEO's dread to even dream logical stability in searching the heaps of raw ference, a smarter workflow of inputs will make
74
about. The internet has enabled the masses to data from the internet is more than sufficient. all the difference.

 Flare Report Telecom

amsung Electronics Co. Ltd., a global leader in the

S mobile phone industry with leadership in design and

technology, announced the launch of `The Metal 5` in
India. The latest Metal 5 is also the World's Slimmest 5
Mega Pixel camera phone. A design icon with high per-
formance camera, The Metal 5 is the latest member of
Samsung's successful Metal Series phones. Made to capture quality
pictures of priceless moments this metallic finish slider phone is a
fusion of design, photography and multimedia.
Commenting on the camera phone market in India Mr. H.C.Ryu,
M.D. Samsung Telecommunications India, said, "There is high con-
sumer demand for gadget convergence in Sub Continent.
Consumers opt for camera phones that are much more convenient
for capturing spontaneous shots. As per an independent study, by
2010 almost one billion camera phones will be sold worldwide. In
India we are witnessing phenomenal growth in the imaging segment
where the market is growing at 6%. Currently one-third of mobile
phones sold in India have built-in camera. Samsung has plans to
launch this model in other countries as well"
He further added that,"with sleek design, the Samsung Metal 5
embodies everything that Indian consumers are seeking in high end
camera phone, in terms of unique compact metallic design and flaw-
less function, appealing to young fashion conscious tech-savvy
enthusiasts."
Bollywood actress Esha Deol, the new brand ambassador of
Samsung, was also present at the launch ceremony.
The actress, who made her debut with Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe
and is the daughter of celebrated film couple Hema Malini and
Dharmendra, struck fame with her performance in Dhoom.
The Metal 5 provides complete imaging solutions from image cor-
rection to capturing the widest view with panorama shot. All those
moments can either be viewed on a 2.2" LCD screen with 16 million
colors or played directly on TV with TV Out or wirelessly printed
through Bluetooth printing.
The Metal 5 is also equipped with a host of multimedia features
designed for those on the go. Music lovers will enjoy the embedded
MP3 player and stereo FM radio. The
Bluetooth capabilities in the phone allow
users to enjoy music seamlessly through a
wireless stereo headset. With improved inter-
net browsing, users will also benefit from
NetFront Browser v.3.4, which provides PC-
like browser capabilities on mobile.
The Metal 5 phone is further secured with
revolutionary mobile tracker, emergency SMS
alert and privacy lock that provides peace of
mind to mobile consumer.
Key Features of Samsung Metal 5

Video Player / Recording & Messaging
(H.263 / MPEG4)

Background music animation

FM recording / 3D sound Speakerphone

USB / Bluetooth 2.0 / PictBridge

Bluetooth Stereo Headset supported

Mobile Printing (via Bluetooth)

SMS/ MMS / EMS/ WAP / Group
messaging

Intelligent UI / Expresso GUI

Voice recorder

Netfront browser v 3.4

55MB Internal Memory

Expandable Memory with micro SDT
Flash. Samsung Telecommunications India Managing Director Ryu Hyun Chul, left,
and Bollywood actor Eisha Deol pose with a Samsung Metal 5 mobile phone
75
during its launch in New Delhi.
 Telecom Flare Report

Google has launched new digital "watermarking" technology on YouTube in an

attempt to stop copyrighted movies and TV programmes from appearing on the
popular online video service
alled YouTube Video one and make money from it by using But that only works if someone attempts to

C Identification, the new technolo-

gy has been in development for
months with content partners
including Time Warner and
Disney. Over six hours of video
are uploaded onto YouTube every minute and
since it was bought by Google last year for
$1.65bn (£810m), the site has increasingly
been targeted by media companies who
Google's advertising platform to place adverts
alongside it.
Google maintains that the technology goes
well beyond its legal requirement for dealing
with copy right material on YouTube.
Find your Copy Righted clip
But the new technology will not deal with
the estimated millions of clips of copyrighted
material already on the website. Media com-
upload the same clip. The new technology,
however, watermarks an entire movie or TV
programme so none of its can be put on the
site without its legal owner's knowledge.
Anyone trying to put this type of content on
the site will see a warning message telling
them the content's owner has barred it from
YouTube and telling them they can appeal the
ruling if they feel the content is not subject to
accuse it of aiding people in breaching copy- panies will have to follow the traditional route copyright.
right. "Only the rights owner can know whether
Last March, Viacom, owner of Hollywood their content is available online with their
studios Paramount and DreamWorks, permission or not - no technology can
launched a $1bn lawsuit against YouTube for replace this," admitted a spokesman for
copyright infringement. YouTube. "But what technology can do is
The new technology, launched in "beta make it easier for rights owners to express
test", allows media companies to send their their decisions about how their content is
content to Google so it can be digitally "fin- used online."
gerprinted" or "watermarked", allowing them "This is what we have built - a simpler
to control what happens if anyone tries to put way for rights owners to express their con-
all or part of it on YouTube. tent policies. This means that rights owners
Media companies can prevent clips from who want to use and help us refine our
or an entire watermarked programme or of finding their copyrighted material and video ID system will be providing the neces-
movie from ever being uploaded to YouTube; demanding YouTube remove it. sary information to help us identify their work,
or they can allow this content to be put on the Google already watermarks copyrighted and what they have done when that recogni-
site and track how many times it is watched; clips that media companies want to remove tion happens. We aim to make that process
or allow their content to be uploaded by any- they cannot be uploaded by someone else. as convenient as possible."

The new 256-slice CT machine can

produce 3D body images of
unprecedented clarity while reduc-
ing radiation by as much as 80%. It
seems to be another step beyond
what we were previously able to
do. In the case of cancer, it will help
us see how far it has spread

new scanner has been unveiled which takes large and is also designed to reduce patients' exposure to X-rays and It is so

A numbers of X-ray pictures, and combines them using

computer technology to produce the final detailed
images. It also generates images in a fraction of the
time of other scanners: a full body scan takes less than
a minute. The Philips machine was unveiled at the
Radiological Society of North America. Because the images are 3D
they can be rotated and viewed from different directions - giving doc-
tors the greatest possible help in looking for signs of abnormalities or
disease.
powerful it can capture an image of the entire heart in just two beats "
Steve Rusckowski, chief executive of Philips Medical Systems, said.
The record company EMI was behind the first commercially viable
CT scanner, which was invented by Sir Godfrey Newbold Hounsfield in
Hayes, United Kingdom at the company's laboratories and unveiled in
1972.
At the same time, Allan McLeod Cormack of Tufts University inde-
pendently invented a similar machine, and the two men shared the
1979 Nobel Prize in Medicine.
All images also can be accessed on any computer in a hospital or Experts say that this is a quantum shift from the first CT scanners
by colleagues and researchers remotely, to make it easier for the as it gives a lot more detail. It seems to be another step beyond what
whole team to share information. The scan is much quicker than cur- we were previously able to do. The high resolution enables you to see
rent technology, as the machine's X-ray emitting gantry - the giant ring- smaller things in both the lungs and the airways and then decide
shaped part that surrounds the patient - can rotate four times in a sin- whether there is anything there and how best to get at it. In the case of
gle second - 22% faster than current systems. cancer, it will help us see how far it has spread. It will also help us pick
The cost of the equipment - known as the Brilliance CT - is unclear. up new patterns of abnormality. It promises to be a significant
At present, it is only being used in one hospital: advance.

76
"This scanner allows radiologists to produce high quality images
Informative

77
 Chief of Army Staff and Pro-Chancellor General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani giving away the degrees among the successful students during the 5th
Postgraduate Convocation of National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST).

Visitors play a video game at the India Gaming Summit 2007, in Mumbai, India. Sony Online School children view the exhibits inside the 'Science Express' at the Jammu railway
Entertainment LLC plans to set up a development studio in India for online games that would station in Jammu. The 'Science Express', a unique train exhibition specially designed
have local content and a local partner, a company official said. to arouse the curiosity of youth in the field of science and technology.

A clock at a Siemens AG office building indicates "five minutes after twelve" in Erlangen, Vietnam's Communist Party chief Nong Duc Manh, center, is briefed on a mobile
southern Germany. German telecommunications giant Siemens AG paid about 17.5 million phone by an unidentified LG Electronic Inc.'s employee as LG Electronic Inc. vice
dollars (12 million euros) in bribes to government and industry officials in chairman Nam Yong, right, looks on during Manh's visit to the LG Electronics Inc.
Nigeria, Russia and Libya in a bid to win contracts. factory in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, South Korea.

Two-legged "e-nuvo Walk" Verstion 3 robot kicks a ball during a press preview in Tokyo. Robots for Japan's largest industrial robot maker Yasukawa Electric, beat a drum at
ZMP of Japan began selling the walking robot that runs on Microsoft's new robotics software the International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo. Some 200 companies and more than 50
a product the companies said will make it easier to transfer technology from one robot to organisations from Japan and abroad took part in the 2007 International Robot
78 another. Exhibition in Tokyo, one of the world's largest robot shows.
 Event Flare Report

Telenor Pakistan, in collaboration with Rafi Peer Theater Workshop, present-

ed one of the biggest events of Asia in Lahore. The event provided a fair
amount of fun to the audiences as over 1000 international artists from all
over the world performed during affair

elenor Pakistan and nents (Asia, America, Europe,

T Rafi Peer Theater

Workshop (RPTW)
jointly presented
Asia's biggest festi-
val, 'World
Performing Arts Festival 2007'.
The event was held at Alhamra
Cultural Complex, Lahore from
22nd November to 2nd
Africa, and Australia) participated
in the festival.
Over the years, consistent
efforts and hard work has gone
into making this Festival possible.
Today, it is the largest Festival of
its kind in South East Asia.
Enjoying overwhelming support
from diverse audiences, it is also
December, 2007. Over 1000 one of the leading events of cul-
international artists from different tural and artistic exchange
counties performed in various between the East and the West.
events of music, drama, film, the- This year the festival featured
ater and puppetry. more than 1000 performers hail-
The aim of the festival was to ing from near 50 countries.
promote culture as a fundamental Diverse musical genres such as
dimension of contemporary life at Telenor Pakistan and Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop presented 'World Performing Arts Festival World Music, African, Rock, Pop,
2007' at Alhamra Cultural Complex Lahore. Sigvart Voss Erikssen, Chief Marketing Officer
all levels. The festival highlighted Telenor and Azeem ul Haq, Director Marketing Telenor are watching the performance of artists Folk, Jazz, Sufi Soul, and Fusion
the fundamental role of the arts were presented during the event.
as cultural expression necessary Theatre traditions from various
for human development, the cultural origins were on display.
economy, the creation of new Performances in both classical
educational partners and the cul- and modern dance styles were
tivation of diversity. conducted. Puppeteers from all
The idea for the World over the world entertained and
Performing Arts Festival took root educate the audience with their
in 1992, in the form of a simple skills and creativity. An intensive
puppet festival. Since then it has cinematic experience was deliv-
grown into the largest and most ered to the audience through fea-
exciting cultural event to take ture films, short films and docu-
place each year in Lahore. It mentaries, from different coun-
incorporates every important tries.
mode of creative expression, be it The festival provided a strong
dance, theater, puppetry, music, platform, away from the West, for
or film, and grants each country a artists from all over the world to
space in which to shine. This meet and fight for a better society
80 year the countries from five conti- through diversity of culture. It also
 Event
ater, and dance show-
cases were dominated
by international groups
this year. The puppetry
segment including a
new performance style
called "object theater."
The segment, as a
whole, included 13
performance groups,
of which 11 were inter-
national. The theater
portion of the festival
featured 16 interna-
tional and five local
groups, while the
dance line-up included
six international and
three local groups.
The festival was
screen over 58 films,
ranging from feature
films to documen-
taries, short films, and
telefilms, originating
from 13 countries.
Foreign media guests
included Govind
Nihalani, Sudhir Misra,
and members of Film
Trust India were pres-
ent in the event.
Irfan Wahab Khan,
Executive Vice
President Telenor
Pakistan, while com-
menting on the part-
nership between
Pakistan's largest cre-
ative arts group and
the fastest growing
mobile company, said,
"Telenor Pakistan has
worked with Rafi Peer
Theater Workshop to
further expand the fes-
tival because it offers
so much. We get to
contribute to the inter-
national appreciation
of the richness of our
culture. We create
opportunities for
upcoming Pakistani
talent and experienced
folk performers to
reach out to interna-
tional audiences. We
get to host artists who
will act as cultural ambassadors for
Telenor, Pakistan's third largest Pakistan in their own countries. Such a
creative platform is the need of our soci-
cellular operator with over 12.5 ety and aligns well with Telenor
million subscribers, is fulfilling its Pakistan's aim to promote our culture as
something that binds us together across
social responsibility in a right distances."
CEO Peer Group, Usman Peerzada,
manner by promoting various pleased to continue his partnership with
activities in the country Telenor Pakistan, said, "Over the years,
the World Performing Arts Festival has
experienced tremendous growth along-
gave them a chance to understand this region
side enjoying international media coverage. In
and develop relationships with the artists here.
the year 2007, Rafi Peer Theater Workshop
A natural outcome of this exchange will be a
with Telenor Pakistan, will reach newer heights.
more informed dialogue between cultures and
The festival has traveled a long journey to
the potential for further peaceful collaborations
reach its twenty-sixth edition and become the
between countries.
biggest showcase of performing arts in Asia. It
The festival presented a range of art forms
is the only independent event of such magni-
in over a hundred performances. The music
tude in the region, serving to put Pakistan firm-
showcase featured a different genre of music
ly on the cultural world map, year after year."

each night: World Music, Rock, Pop, Mystic
Soul, Ghazal, and Classical. The puppetry, the- 81
 Event Flare Report

Warid is making seri-

ous efforts to bring
overlooked game and
plzyers in to light. Its
initiatives will per-
suade other companies
to take interest in the
elevation of the low
profile games of the
country The final match of WISPA event in Pakistan Open Squash Championship Governor State Bank Shamshad Akhtar poses for a group photo with the finalists
at Mushaf Squash Complex between Chritina Mak & Donna Urquhart. of WISPA/Pakistan Open Squash Championship at Mushaf Squash Complex.

arid Telecom, a sub- Guest at the men's final. Air Chief Marshal

W sidiary of Abu Dhabi

group and rapidly
growing cellular net-
work of the country,
sponsored Pakistan
Open Squash Championship 2007. The
event, held at the Mushaf Ali Mir Squash
Complex Islamabad, included men's and
women's events. Produce
Tanvir Mehmood Ahmed, President
Pakistan Squash Federation, Mr Farrukh
Hayat GM Sales Warid Telecom, and AVM
Asim Suleiman Senior Vice President,
PSF, were also present on the occasion
and awarded trophies to the winners and
runners up.
Mr. Omer Haider, G.M. Government
and Regulatory Affairs Warid, said "Warid
Male participants of the championship is aiming to promote various sports in the
took part in the qualifying round, while the country as its social responsibility. We
women's event, which was staged for the want to see Pakistan achieve the glory it
first time ever in the history of Pakistan had in the past in the game of squash at Ms. Christina Mak from Hong Kong receiving the winners trophy from Governor
Open, did not include qualifying round due international circuit. We believe our efforts State bank Shamshad Akhter after winning the final of WISPA Pakistan Open
to low number of entries. World number 13 will definitely bring fruits and a clear differ- Squash Championship-2007 played at Mushaf Squash Complex.
Stewart Boswell from Australia was the top ence will be seen in the future."
seed while world number 16 Mohd Azlan Pakistan dominated the squash world
Iskandar from Malaysia occupies second for staggering four decades and the stun-
place of the international showpiece. Five ning exploits of their gifted players like
Pakistanis - Mansoor Zaman, Aamir Atlas Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan had left
Khan, Farhan Mehboob, Shahid Zaman even their opponents marveling in awe at
and Yasir Butt were already in the main the prowess of the country's talent, but
round as Yasir got a wild card entry in the today the story is entirely different. The
championship. Around $ 77,000 prize standard of squash has nose-dived dra-
money was distributed among the men matically and all that is happening despite
and $11,000 among the women players. a perceptible increase in the infrastructure
The championship was little bit discol- for the game.
ored as most of the international players One of the main reasons behind the
refused to play due to the imposition of the debacle of squash is the lack of incentives
emergency in the country. But eventually for the players. Very few companies are General Tariq Majid, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee giving away the
the event reached a safe and secure con- contributing to sponsor the game and play- winning trophy to Aamir Atlas after a final of WISPA Pakistan Open Squash
Championship-2007 played at Mushaf Squash Complex.
clusion. ers. Sponsorship plays a very critical role
Aamir Atlas of Pakistan and Christina in the promotion of a game. They not only
Mak of Hong Kong lifted the men's and bring the foreign investments in the coun-
women's titles respectively. Aamir Atlas try but also contribute to the game by initi-
overcame the more-experienced Mansoor ating different incentives for players.
Zaman in straight games to win the title of Warid telecom is playing a very active
Pakistan Open Squash Championship. role to promote various games in the
Christina thrashed Donna Urquhart of country. The company is making efforts to
Australia 3-1 in the final to win the bring the ignored games into light and
women's crown of the championship. Dr raise Pakistani players to the international
Shamshad Akhtar, Governor State Bank of arena. The company is determined to take
Pakistan was the chief guest and distrib- more measures to bring more games and
uted the prizes and trophies among the players to the light in the future. This initia-
women. tive will persuade other companies to take
Gen. Tariq Majeed, Chairman Joint interest in the elevation of the low profile Aamir Atlas and Mansoor Zaman struggling to get hold on the ball during the final
82 of WISPA Pakistan Open Squash Championship-2007 played at Mushaf Squash
Chiefs of Staff Committee, was the Chief games of the country.
Complex.
 Internet

ndia's fastest-growing telecom provider, Tata bled in just about a year - to 38 million from 16 million.

I Teleservices and Opera Software has announced

that the upcoming BREW-enables handsets will
get access to Opera Mini. This revolutionary
browser is expected to be available first on the
Huawei C2900i, a mass market BREW-enabled
handset. With the Opera Mini, Opera Software marks a
vibrant entry into the Indian market. Tata Teleservices
also provides an access to Internet in local languages
such as Hindi.
"We are bringing the world's best mobile Web brows-
ing experience to India and are the first operator to
enable this experience for Indian consumers. Mobile Web
on affordable mobile devices will open up the power of
the Internet to a huge base of consumers, in a language
of their choice." said Pankaj Sethi, President, VAS &
Enterprise Marketing, Tata Teleservices Ltd.
"India continues to be an important market for Opera
and we are excited to partner with Tata Teleservices to
The world's popular mobile web browser allows offer the full power of the Internet to mobile users in India.
mobile owners to access the entire web and surf their The new Opera Mini on BREW solution clearly demon-
favorite websites, mobile blogging and social networking. It also bun- strates our vision and commitment to provide an outstanding Web
dles bookmarks, secure access to e-mail and online banking to offer browsing experience on mobile phones to customers in India," com-
Web content to everyday mobile phones. mented Jon von Tetzchner, Chief Executive Officer, Opera Software.
The Indian telecom industry watchdog, the Telecom Regulatory Research studies conducted by Gartner explained that India's mobile
Authority of India (TRAI) remarked that the number of Indian customers phone market is expected to reach more than 18 per cent in the next
who connects the Internet through Mobile phones has more than dou- five years.

apanese electronics giant Hitachi unveiled traffic at Hitachi Ltd's research center and

J the company's new humanoid robot

"EMIEW 2" (Excellent Mobility and
Interactive Existence as Workmate)
equipped with the world's first convertible
legs. The new toddler-like robot rolled
around and waved in a demonstration, only to
crash into a desk -- highlighting the hurdles robots
must overcome to become real-life partners.
Never that the 80cm tall, 13kg machine could
smashed into a desk right in the middle of a
demonstration. A demonstrator reached out in the
nick of time to catch the robot by its winglike han-
dles before it toppled over.
Robots now mostly used as industrial machin-
ery and entertainment gadgets. But Hitachi's new
robot is the latest attempt by several Japanese
companies to develop one that can play roles as
assistants in daily life. Engineers are working
scoot on two wheels, get on its knees to move on hard to create robots that run smoothly and safe-
four wheels and even lift its foot 3cm to step over ly so that people are not hurt.
thresholds and bumps. Japan among the world's leaders in robotics,
The red and white robot, designed to work as a and the government is pushing major companies
guide and run errands in offices, was not prepared like Hitachi to develop robots for practical use.

for the jam of lunch-break wireless and Internet

ietnam and US aircraft expands ...to include North

V maker Boeing have

signed deals for twelve
787-8 Dreamliners to help
the state-run carrier mod-
ernise its fleet and meet
surging air travel demand. Vietnam
Airlines agreed to buy four of the large
passenger jets and the newly formed
Vietnam Aircraft Leasing Company
America and new European
and Asian destinations," said
Michael Fleming, Boeing's
senior sales director for the
Asia Pacific region.
Communist-ruled Vietnam
has also agreed to buy 10
Airbus A350-900XWBs and
20 A321s in a deal that is set
(VALC) will buy eight of the twin-aisle air- to be finalised by the end of
crafts to lease out to the airline. this year.
VALC said the eight planes it bought, Air travel is taking off in
to be delivered from 2016 onward, would the country of 84 million --
cost a combined 1.4 billion dollars, put- which has seen tourism and
ting the total price tag for the 12 aircraft at business travel surge amid
about 2.1 billion dollars. over 8 percent annual eco-
Boeing's Vice chairman Stanley Alan Dean (R, sitting) and Vietnam Airlines' Deputy
The first of four 787s ordered under a Director General Pham Ngoc Minh (L, sitting) sign a Boeing 787 aircraft purchase nomic growth last year -- and
previous deal are due to be delivered by agreement as Boeing's Chairman Scott Edward Carson (2nd R, standing) and foreign airlines and budget
late 2009, and Vietnam Airlines plans to Vietnamese Minister for Plan and Investments Vo Hong Phuc (3rd R, standing) look carriers are flocking to
operate a total of 20 Dreamliners by on in Hanoi. Vietnam.
2015, and 28 by 2020, the airline said in The aviation sector is now
a statement. growing at 11.7 percent a year, according to a statement on the govern-
"The 787 Dreamliner will enable Vietnam Airlines to better match air- ment's official website.

84 plane capabilities with market expectations and demands as the airline
 Internet

ost Americans think ing to U.S. Environmental Protection

M they are helping the

earth when they
recycle their old com-
puters, televisions
and cell phones. But
chances are that they contribute to a
global trade in electronic trash that pol-
lutes the environment overseas.
While there are no precise figures,
Agency data. But a growing number of
states are banning such waste from
landfills, which could drive more waste
into the recycling stream and fuel
exports, activists say.
Many brokers claim they are simply
exporting used equipment for reuse in
poor countries. That's what happened
in September, when customs officials in
activists estimate that 50 percent to 80 Hong Kong were tipped off by environ-
percent of the 300,000 to 400,000 tons mentalists and intercepted two freight
of electronics collected for recycling in containers. They cracked the contain-
the United States each year ends up ers open and found hundreds of old
overseas. Workers in countries such as computer monitors and televisions dis-
China, India and Nigeria then use ham- carded by Americans thousands of
mers, gas burners and their bare hands Heaps of electronic waste lie at a dumping site. miles away.
to extract metals, glass and other recyclables. Activists complain that most exporters do not test units to make sure
"It is being recycled, in the most horrific way you can imagine," said they work before sending them overseas.
Jim Puckett of the Basel Action Network, the Seattle-based environ- "Reuse is the new excuse. It's the new passport to export," said.
mental group that tipped off Hong Kong authorities. "We're preserving "Other countries are facing this glut of exported used equipment under
our own environment, but contaminating the rest of the world." the pretext that it is all going to be reused."

The problem could get worse. Most of the 2 million tons of old elec-
tronics discarded annually by Americans goes to U.S. landfills, accord-

ill Gates, chairman of Microsoft a passion to attract more African-American

B Corp., announced that Microsoft

will donate developer software to
all National Society of Black
Engineers (NSBE) educational
chapters in the United States.
The announcement was made during Gates'
keynote speech at the NSBE Region VI Fall
Regional Conference, sponsored by Microsoft.
The software grant provides NSBE educa-
students to enter science, technology, engi-
neering and math fields," said Carl Mack,
executive director of the NSBE. "We are
thrilled that Microsoft will help our students
reach their goals by providing them with the
latest developer software."
Also during his keynote address, Gates
spoke about the opportunities for African-
American students entering U.S. engineer-
tional chapters with a three-year membership ing careers and the importance of diversity
subscription to the Microsoft Developer Network in the technology field. This grant, he said,
Academic Alliance. Through the memberships, is part of Microsoft's overall efforts to pro-
faculty and student NSBE chapter members will vide minorities with the tools necessary to
have access to more than 100 Microsoft soft- be the IT leaders of tomorrow.
ware products. Key software includes develop- NSBE and its members have long rec-
ment and design tools such as Microsoft Visual ognized the company's diversity efforts.
Studio; client and server operating system plat- Microsoft was recently named NSBE's Most
forms such as Microsoft Windows Server and Preferred Employer. NSBE praised
Windows Vista; and platform servers such as Microsoft for its career advancement oppor-
Microsoft SQL Server. tunities, job security, work-life balance,
"Microsoft and the National Society of Black interesting work and availability of intern-
Engineers have many common goals, including ships.

online (61 percent vs. 13 percent).

Chinese knock off And while less than half of the 1,079 American respondents agreed
that "I live some of my life online" (42 percent), a sizable majority of the
1,104 Chinese respondents agreed with the statement (86 percent).

Americans in Digital The two random online surveys polled 16- to 25-year-olds. The "Young
Digital Mavens" study aimed to explore how attitudes toward digital
technology are changing among Chinese and American youth at a time

Self-Expression when people are spending less time with traditional media and more
with interactive technology.
The study found that while a large majority of youth in both countries
illions of young Chinese are embracing the Internet now feels dependent on digital technology, this attitude is especially

M as a discreet space for their thoughts and emotions, pronounced in China. As many as 80 percent of Chinese respondents
according to a survey of Chinese and American agreed that "Digital technology is an essential part of how I live", as
youth released by IAC, which operates businesses compared to 68 percent of Americans.
in sectors being transformed by the Internet, and The Internet is such a vital part of life for Chinese youth that they are
JWT, the fourth largest advertising agency network twice as likely as young Americans to say they would not feel OK going
in the world. The findings show how eagerly young Chinese are taking without Internet access for more than a day (25 percent vs. 12 percent).
to the Internet and its possibilities-for example, almost five times as And more than twice as many Chinese youth admitted they sometimes
many Chinese as American respondents said they have a parallel life feel "addicted" to living online: 42 percent vs. 18 percent of Americans.
85
 Internet

oogle released upgraded mapping displays a map of the area with a blue circle pin-

G software that figures out the gen-

eral vicinity a mobile telephone is
in based on which transmission
tower it is using. The beta or test
version of new Google Maps for
mobile software lets mobile phone users choose
from options including seeing satellite views of
their locales, getting directions and finding nearby
businesses.
pointing the spot.
A search for "cafes" in the area resulted in a list
of coffee houses along with directions on request.
"We have all been there," Chu wrote. "You are
out and about, and you need to figure out where
you are, what is around you, and how to get there."
Google says its location tracking service is
faster than GPS, uses less battery power and is
more reliable indoors where architecture some-
Unlike other mapping devices, Google's new times interferes with satellite signals.
tracking feature can display a phone's location In an effort to pre-empt concerns regarding pri-
without the user entering an address. vacy, Google says it is not gathering "any personal-
"While some people are lucky enough to have ly identifiable information" or data that could reveal
GPS-enabled mobile phones that provide loca- The software is unique as unlike particular users' whereabouts. The My Location
tion information ... the vast majority of us are
not." Google mobile team engineer Mike Chu
other mapping devices this feature can be disabled by users.
My Location software works on most of the
wrote in a posting on the company's website. tracking feature can display a Internet-enabled smart phones including
The revamped mapping software enables phone's location without enter- BlackBerry models, newer Sony Ericsson devices,
mobile telephones linked to the Internet to simu- some Symbian and Motorola phones.
late GPS (global positioning system) tracking, ing an address Google says its mobile mapping software,
which uses orbiting satellites. which debuted in the US in late 2005, is used by
The free Google Maps version 2.0 comes with a "My Location" fea- millions of people in more than 20 countries.

ture that determines which cell tower a mobile telephone is using and

he music business has been in decline for the last seven

T years. CDs are not selling in the numbers they used to,
which is a worry for the record industry as well as retail-
ers. The online revolution took the record industry by sur-
prise and it has been playing catch-up ever since. "I think
the music industry has to accept its fair share of the
blame for not acting quickly enough to digital music," said Adam
Benzine from Music Week magazine.
The recording industry is finally hitting back and mobile phones are
leading the charge. CD sales might be tumbling but digital music sales
are steadily increasing. Unfortunately digital growth only accounts for a
tenth of overall music sales, so they are still not making up for the
shortfall generated by CDs.
There is one territory, which is bucking this trend though. Digital
music sales in Japan are sufficient to offset the loss made by CDs. In The biggest hurdle that mobile music companies currently face is
fact, Japan saw a 1% rise in music sales last year. Industry observers that it is just not easy enough to buy music on the mobile phone.
attribute this rise to mobile music downloads. Globally, various mobile music stores have launched; the UK has seen
Downloading via mobile offers the user the ability to browse a three launch in recent weeks.
store's back catalogue, purchase and download music all via a mobile Generating more hype than the average Hollywood blockbuster,
phone while on the move, cutting out the need to download songs Apple's iPhone downloads songs using wi-fi from its already successful
using a computer. iTunes store.

Microsoft Corp said has that it expects strong growth in Asia's IT Mainland China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America. While the
sector to more than double headcount for its customer service centre in majority of the staff is located at its Shanghai headquarters, the centre
the region in five years time. Wing-Dar Ker, general manager for also has offices in Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Southeast Asia,
Microsoft Customer Service and Support in the Asia-Pacific and Australia and New Zealand.
Greater China region, said that the centre currently has around 850 The centre also offers training to Chinese information technology
staff. "We have huge growth across the board, not only just in China employees, and works with 400 to 500 outsourcing agents in the Asia-
but all across Asia as well," Pacific region. According to research firm Gartner, the information tech-
With rapid growth, of course the need for services will come along. nology services market is set to grow 8.7 per cent globally to more
The centre, founded in 1997, offers technical support to customers in than $730 billion this year.

86
 National

ICT Growing Fast, Chairman PTA tell Worlds Conference

Chairman Pakistan of Center of Excellence (CoE) at
Telecommunication Authority Pakistan and planned courses for
(PTA) Maj. Gen. Shahazada Alam the year 2008.
Malik (Retd) met Dr Hamadoun The Secretary General
Touré, Secretary-General expressed his great confidence on
International Telecommunication telecom development capacities in
Union (ITU) and Houlin Zhao Pakistan and acknowledged these
Deputy Secretary-General, ITU at achievements as remarkable. He
ITU Tower World Radio mentioned that Pakistan can be
Conference 2007 in Geneva, presented as a role model and
Switzerland. The meeting was ITU will plan a case study on the
aimed to apprise the Secretary subject as a part of activities under
General on developments in tele- Telecommunication Development
com sector and international activ- Bureau.
ities of Pakistan especially with Chairman reaffirmed full sup-
reference to ITU, and to seek port of PTA and Government of
assistance of ITU in development Pakistan and its activities particu-
of telecom sector of Pakistan. larly focus on its role in develop-
Chairman PTA briefed Chairman PTA, Maj. Gen (R) Shahzada Alam Malik and Executive President National
ment of the developing countries'
Secretary Gen regarding latest Telecom Regulatory Authority of Egypt Dr. Amr Badavi signing a Memorandum of under- networks. The meeting was
developments in telecom sector standing (MoU) to increase the mutul cooperation between two Authorities. Ambassador of acknowledged beneficial for both
comprising of mobile growth, suc- Pakistan to the United Nation Mr. Masood Khan is also present the parties.
cessful MNP implementation, WLL It is pertinent to mention here
success story, rural PCOs under President Rozgar Scheme, USF fund, that World Radio Conference was held after four years and it dealt with
R&D Fund and issues related to mutual interest. Chairman further Radio Communication and Spectrum issues and was attended by 200
informed regarding capacity developed at PTA in the deregulation member countries. Chairman PTA participated as member Radio
process and consultancy provided by PTA at international level to Regulation Board - an elected body within ITU consisting of 12 mem-
Uganda, Kenya, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Papua New Guinea etc. bers from all parts of the world.

Chairman explained the Secretary Gen. regarding successful operation

Mobilink Launches Lifetime Validity IT Minister Dr. Abdullah Riar

Mobilink has announced the launch of
another innovative feature 'Lifetime Validity' visits NTC
for its entire JAZZ customer base. The The Federal Minister for IT and Telecom, Dr Abdullah Riar
prepaid market has always had the dilem- visited National Telecom Corporation Head Quarters and
ma of scratch card validities with cus- addressed the NTC officers at concluding day of the first ever
tomers worrying about their credit/connec- conference for 1st quarter of performance review 2007-8.
tion expiring. The Minister was apprised about the progress of the corpora-
Now their validity is dependent on tion, its completed and ongoing projects as well as future
usage as opposed to recharge, hence
JAZZ customers will not have to worry
about their connections or scratch cards
expiring. With just one phone call or SMS,
customers can keep their connections
active, providing them with complete free-
dom and convenience.
Akbar Khan, Head of Brands, said,
"Our JAZZ Customers are the backbone of
the company. Their loyalty and determina-
tion get due recognition from Mobilink,
keeping in view their changing lifestyle and
aspirations as the focal point we have launched JAZZ lifetime validity, bringing
A group photograph of Caretaker Federal Minister for Information Technology Dr.
peace of mind to their day to day communication requirements. It is a new Abdullah Riar during the inauguration of video conferencing facility by National
feature in the telecom sector, where customers will now be able to keep their Telecom. Corporation (NTC).
Jazz connections active forever."
schemes. Dr. Abdullah congratulated NTC management and
staff on overall good performance and achievements.
The test launch of the video conferencing project was under-
taken by the IT Minister -one of the recently completed projects
of video conferencing setup for government including 14 VVIPs
sites established in Islamabad and Provincial HQs at Karachi ,
Lahore , Quetta and Peshawar - all interlinked with Islamabad .
The Network has been setup at a cost of Rs.20 Million.
Dr.Abdullah had interactive sessions with Dy. Chairman
Planning Commission Dr. Akram Skeikh and Mr. Hifz-ur-
Rehman, Secretary IT. Dr. Abdullah Riar hailed the project and
urged that it should be extended to other Ministries as well.
The Video Conferencing systems have been installed at the
Presidency, President's Camp Office, Prime Minister's
Secretariat, Planning Commission, Ministry of IT, Governors and
Chief Minister's offices in all the four provinces. Objective of the
project is to provide visual communication means for the VVIPs,
with a view to enhance security and efficient communication.
After presentation on NTC performance, the Minister distrib-
uted Certificates of Excellence among the best performers of the
Corporation and congratulated the newly promoted officers to
BPS-19. Chairman NTC and Member Telecom, MoIT, Mr. Noor-
ud-Din Baqai accompanied the Minister during the visit.

PABBF Secretary Syed Ashraf Ali Shah and Col (R) Naseem Butt Secretary Federation address-
88 ing a press conference for the up coming National Women’s Basket Ball Championship 2007.
 National

Soomro Lauds Progress of Telecom Sector

Caretaker Prime Minister confidence to the people as it
Mohammadmian Soomro has said provides instant connectivity
that as a result of government's across the country and the world.
policies of deregulation, privatiza- CEO PTCL Mr. Walid Irshaid
tion and liberalization, the telecom said that the economic stability
sector has attracted record invest- achieved by Pakistan has created
ments and this sector has become a conducive atmosphere for
a major employer of skilled jobs as investment. He said efforts are
its exponential growth has resulted underway to transform PTCL into
in creation of thousands of jobs. a world-class company and it will
The prime minister said this while bring expansion in areas of fixed
talking to the CEO PTCL Mr. Walid liens, cellular phones, broadband,
Irshaid, who called on him at the domestic and long distance calls.
prime minister's secretariat. PTCL, managed by Etisalat, a
The prime minister said that UAE based telecom group, is the
systematic and sustained imple- largest telecom operator in the
mentation and management efforts CEO, PTCL, Mr. Walid Irshad called on Caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Mian country. Etisalat has expanded its
by the government has totally trans- Somroo at PM secretariat Islamabad operations in the Middle East and
formed and modernised the telecom sector. He added it is not often Africa with a vision to become one of the top ten-telecom service
realised that access to telecom services gives a sense of pride and providers in the global market by the year 2010.

Motorola and Mobilink Sign Accord

Motorola, Inc has announced an agree-
ment with Mobilink to deploy a WiMAX
802.16e-2005-access network in Pakistan.
Under the terms of the agreement,
Motorola will design, plan, deploy and opti-
mize a WiMAX network for Mobilink, deliv-
er integration and support services as well
as indoor and outdoor customer premises equipment (CPE) units to enable
faster adoption of the operator's WiMAX offering.
"As we adopt new technologies to meet evolving customer needs, we
wanted to work with a trusted wireless broadband solutions provider. Motorola
was a natural choice to support us in designing and deploying our 802.16e
WiMAX network in Pakistan to offer our growing customer base next-genera-
tion broadband services," said Mobilink's President and Chief Executive
Officer Zouhair A Khaliq.
"Today's announcement with Mobilink and Orascom Telecom for WiMAX As a continuous policy of warid Telecom encouraging employee's sports activi-
highlights both the long-term viability of this solution and the vibrancy of ties, 2nd Inter-departmental tape ball cricket tournament. GM HR and
Pakistan's communications sector. We are proud to be building on our long Administration is handing over the trophy to the winner of the finals.
relationship with Mobilink in Pakistan with the deployment of WiMAX," said Ali
Amer, Vice President of the Sales, Middle East, Africa and Pakistan, Motorola
Home and Networks Mobility.
IGI Securities Offer SMS
The benefits of the WiMAX network to Mobilink's customer base will
include rapid broadband access in geographic areas where broadband cover- Service to Investors
age was not previously available. WiMAX is anticipated to offer affordable
IGI Securities has announced to introduce an SMS service
broadband as well as a convenient end-user solution with unified pre-paid
that will instantly confirm any trading transactions made by
billing.

investors - anytime and anywhere. Whether they buy or sell,
investors will be able to validate their trade, almost immediately
PSEB Promoting Entrepreneurial after they make their transaction.
Investors can avail of this new SMS service by enrolling their

Culture in IT cell phone numbers on the IGI Securities website, calling the toll
free call centre or by simply giving instructions while opening a
trading account with IGI Securities.
Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) is launching various initiatives to
This new service will provide investors with the peace of mind
facilitate access to venture capital, strengthening the
that their trading transactions have been executed, whether they
equity base of IT companies and promoting world class
are trading through a broker or an online internet trading system
entrepreneurial culture in the IT industry.
like I-Trade. IGI Securities Limited is determined to become the
The projects are aimed at raising the fast track devel-
leading brokerage firm in Pakistan by providing innovative servic-
opment and robust growth of the Pakistan's IT industry.
es. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of IGI Investment
One such Programme, the PSEB's Entrepreneurship
Bank and a part of the IGI Financial Services Group which offer
Project has been initiated to provide consultancy, on due
services including Investment Banking, Insurance, Brokerage
diligence, to selected IT companies with the objective of
and Asset Management.

qualifying them for Initial Public Offering (IPO).
Currently, out of over 1082 IT companies in Pakistan,
only two companies are listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange. 'To get more companies listed, as envisioned under the project, PSEB would sub-
sidise its consultancy by 75 per cent while selected companies would bear the remaining 25 per cent of the consultancy fee', a spokesman of
PSEB said in a statement.
In order to facilitate access to venture capital, PSEB would facilitate entrepreneurs in getting venture capital funding through vetting business
plans and establishing linkages with Angel, VC, Private Equity, Public and Multilateral funding organisations.
PSEB has also launched an Apprenticeship Programme for creating a pool of skilled resources in Pakistan's IT industry matching the
advanced and specialised international technological requirements.
Under this initiative, IT companies would recruit IT graduates on apprenticeships and later hire them for a period of at least one year. This
would allow fresh graduates to follow a career path provided by the participant companies, thus strengthening the pool human capital in the coun-
try. The spokesman also said that a multinational IT company, Bearing Point, has already expressed its willingness to recruit about 100 IT appren-
tices out of which 46 have already been placed.
Another major project, the IT industry Internship Programme, said the official spokesman of PSEB, intends to bridge the gap between the IT
industry and academic institutions, and would help mould fresh graduates into world-class professionals. Some 3100 internees from 205 universi-
ties/institutes were placed in the local IT industry and 235 IT departments of public and private sector organisations.
89
 National

PTCL's VSS Purely

Voluntary: IT Minister
The Government of Pakistan likes to clarify that the separation
scheme offered by PTCL to employees is purely voluntary in
nature and does not force any employee to leave the company.
This was stated by Dr. Abdullah Riar, the Federal Minister of
Information Technology and Telecom while reiterating that the
decision of Cabinet Committee on Privatization and PTCL Board
of Directors is very clear in this regard.
The IT Minister emphasized that the Government of Pakistan
is fully cognizant of PTCL's employees' concerns regarding the
scheme, and the aim of Voluntary Separation Scheme is to offer
an attractive scheme to employees and at the same time, to help
PTCL improve its operational efficiency. He said that the scheme
would offer attractive package to the employees and it would be
ensured that the PTCL management inculcates confidence
amongst the employees regarding the benefits of the scheme
Mustafa Peracha, Vice President Customer Services Mobilink inaugurating the new Mobilink
and its voluntary nature. The Minister further stated that the
Service Center in Jehlum.
employees of PTCL would be guided through workshops on safe
and secure investment opportunities.

Alcatel-Lucent Pakistan Appoints
Olivier Lauras as new CEO
The Board of Directors of
Alcatel-Lucent Pakistan Ltd has
appointed Olivier Lauras as Chief
Executive Officer to succeed
Sidney Taylor who has returned to
USA.
Olivier started his career in
1988 at British Telecom R&D (now
BT) in Colchester, UK, as part of
Kazi A. Muktadir, MD, National Institute of Banking & Finance (NIBAF) address- his scholarship. In the 9O's he held
ing the First SME & Microfinance Conference 2007 held in Karachi recently, while positions in Tendering and Export
Ashraf Kapadia, Managing Director, Systems Limited & President P@SHA & oth- Sales within NEXANS in France
ers attending the conference (formerly Les Câbles de Lyon).
He joined the Alcatel Telecom
in 1993, in charge of Export Sales
Ufone to Add 1000 new in the Asia Pacific Region. He sub-
sequently held several positions in
Destinations to its Network Sales and Operations in Asia, UK,
Mexico and France. He was
appointed Director in Alcatel-
Ufone, one of the leading telecom operators in the country has Lucent Pakistan, in charge of
announced yet another network expansion phase, to be complet- Sales activities in September 2006
ed at a cost of $ 150 Million. The envisaged plan focuses on the and recently Country Senior Officer
expansion of the network in terms of capacity and coverage in for Pakistan and Afghanistan.
existing and new cities besides providing high-speed cellular He is a graduate from Ecole
mobile and wireless data services based on EDGE technology. Superieure d'Ingenieurs en Electronique et Electrotechnique (ESIEE) in Paris
This will add up more than 1000 additional cities towns and high- France, holds an MSc. in telecom engineering from Essex University in the
ways to Ufone's footprint. It is estimated that by the end of June UK and an Executive Master in management from Ecole de Management de
2008, Ufone will be covering more than 4500 cities, towns, vil- Lyon in France.

lages and all major highways in the country.
The project, approved by the Ufone Board of Directors, reflects the commit-
ment of the shareholders to invest in Ufone infrastructure and to provide best
quality services for the better facilitation of Ufone customers. In addition to the
major investment commitment, Etisalat brings its extensive experience of
Telecom Industry to Pakistan to ensure that Ufone possesses unmatched net-
work in the country.
The contract has been awarded to Huawei Technologies which is one of the
world's most rapidly growing telecom vendor and awarding another contract to
Huawei shows Ufone's confidence in their professionalism and state of the art
technology. Huawei is the vendor of choice in latest 3G Telecommunications
Networks, 31 of the world's top 50 operators worldwide are using their technical
infrastructure.
MR Walid Irshaid, President and CEO PTCL, while speaking on the occasion
said that an expansion contract of this magnitude indicates Ufone's aggressive
strategy towards market growth and expansion, in the wake of tremendous
potential of Pakistan's cellular market. He said that the previous Network rollout
phase of US$ 550M was the single largest expansion plan in the history of
PTCL President &CEO Mr. Walid Irshaid and Mr. Yi Xiang CEO of Huawei Pakistan and this region as well. He further stated that the new contract shows
Pakistan, exchange documents after signing the Ufone network expansion Etisalat's commitment to the Pakistan market and hoped that it will also boost
project.
investors' confidence and encourage them to invest in this country.
Mr. Yi Xiang CEO Huawei Pakistan, in his remarks, stated that Huawei is fully committed to Pakistan's telecom industry and would complete the
network expansion process of UFone in a fastest and efficient manner.
He said that by this project, Ufone would be acquiring state-of-the-art network infrastructure based on Release 4 standard for future mobile
communication.

90
 National

Mobilink and AKU join hands for BlackBerry Solutions

Mobilink and Aga Khan University (AKU) announced that they are
collaborating to provide exclusive BlackBerry communication solutions
to AKU's campus life. Mobilink is the country's market leader in innova-
tive mobile solutions, with a growing base of over 29 million customers
and part of the Orascom Telecom group. AKU is Pakistan's first private
international University with 11 teaching sites in 8 countries. Both AKU
and Mobilink will harness specialised campus applications that will give
mobile access to the university's faculty, staff and students.
Speaking at the launchof the service, Zouhair A. Khaliq, President &
CEO Mobilink, said, "We are very pleased to partner with AKU and are
confident that our pioneering efforts in creating mobile enabled educa-
tion systems will give support to the educational sector in the future.
Our commitment to reshaping lives is as steadfast as our resolve to
strengthen the bonds of our corporate social responsibility. Mobilink is
proud to have taken a leap forward to empower the educational sector
at the University level by offering its BlackBerry solution."
Mr Firoz Rasul, President AKU, while appreciating the solution
offered by Mobilink said "Utilization by the AKU family of an integrated
wireless solution will take advantage of other technology advancements Zouhair A. Khaliq, President & CEO, Mobilink alongwith Mr Firoz Rasul, President, Agha
at the university to increase productivity." Khan University at the signing ceremony.
Mobilink launched its BlackBerry services in Pakistan in December
2005 and has achieved a unique distinction in the world of fast and effi- Mobilink is an Orascom Telecom Group company and is Pakistan's
cient communications. The device is a business tool, which improves leading cellular service provider with a subscriber growth of 104% in
an individual's productivity and efficiency, qualifying the handset to be 2006. The company has achieved an unprecedented customer base of
an indispensable asset for every organisation and its human resources. over 29 million.

Dadex selected Wateen for LG Pakistan Wins 'Best Marketing

WiMAX Practices' Award
Dadex Eternit excels in the Pakistan division of LG Mobile
field of engineering in Pakistan. phones has won award for "Best
Alongwith implementing one of the quickest and largest instances Marketing Practices" in Asia and Africa.
of SAP integration in the country, Dadex has selected Wateen for The award ceremony was held in South
its superior WiMAX service for the implementation of data and Korea, where Mr. Zeeshan Pervaiz,
voice communications. CEO, New Allied Electronics, was
This deployment is still in process and the technology and awarded for besting all other countries
financial benefits of the implementation will be realised after the in terms of mobile phone sales.
first quarter ending March, 2008. Initiatives, such as the WiMAX The administration of a Korean company said that in year 2007 LG sold
deployment tend to increase the productivity and efficiency lower- 1.5 million mobile sets only in Pakistan which is a record sale for any compa-
ing overall operational costs. The potential benefits of WiMAX ny in Pakistan. Mr. Zeeshan Pervaiz, told 'Flare' in a special interview, that
include broadband access for rural areas cost reduction of trans- company has plans to further invest in Pakistani market to boost up sales of
mission lines, increased access and mobility along with reliable LG cell phones.
broadband. Zeshan perviz, further said that they sold 100 thousand mobile sets last
Wateen Telecom UAE has been in the process of deploying year but in the running year they sold 1.5 million mobile sets which is a
one of the largest WiMAX networks in Pakistan. The nation wide record sale of the company. He said that this award is the recognition of LG
WiMAX network being concurrently deployed in excess of $60 Pakistan's marketing practices that were carried out through various medi-
million will provide high speed wireless broadband voice and data ums.

networks across the country.

City Nazim Mustafa Kamal addresses during the function on "2nd All Pakistan
Utech 07" organized by UIT computer society held in Karachi. While Karachi
University Vice Chancellor Perzada Qasim and Dr. Manzoor Ahmed are also pres- US Consulate Acting Public Affairs Officer Antone Greubel talking with school students during an
ent on the occadion. exhibition organized by US Consulate at National Museum of Science and Technology in Lahore.

Mubashir to Play as Etisalat's senior Adviser

Ufone President and CEO Mubashir Naqvi has been elevated to the contribute for the group in the
post of Etisalat International Pakistan's senior advisor. days to come. He also wished
In his new role as a senior adviser with Etisalat International him the best in his new and
Pakistan, he will be part of the team looking after the Etisalat opera- expanded role with Etisalat
tions in Pakistan as well as certain other countries. The new president International. Naqvi joined Ufone
and CEO for Ufone will be announced in the due course of time. in 2004 as VP Commercial and
Speaking on the occasion, Abdulrahim Al Nooryani (Chairman of the was elevated to the position of
Board of Directors and Etisalat International Pakistan) lauded the President & CEO in January
efforts of Mubashir Naqvi in Ufone's development during his tenure. 2007.

He said that as part of Etisalat's strategy to utilise local human
resources in their international operations, Mubashir has a lot more to 91
 National

Teradata Calls Nominations for 8th IT Excellence Awards

Teradata Pakistan announced to the individual who has made
the call for nominations for the outstanding contributions to the
Eighth Teradata National IT state of IT in Pakistan.
Excellence Awards. The period of Nominations are open to all
submission of nominations will be companies. Organizations can
from December 6, 2007 to nominate those employees who
January 5, 2008. they feel have made a remarkable
Teradata National IT and outstanding contribution in
Excellence Awards celebrate one of these specific areas.
accomplishments in the IT industry According to information pro-
by bringing recognition to people vided to the press and media, the
who are instrumental in introduc- two new categories are excellence
ing, promoting and implementing in IT business intelligence and
IT in Pakistan. The Teradata excellence in project management.
National IT Excellence Awards are For participating in these awards,
Khuram Rahat, Managing Director Teradata Pakistan addressing a press conference on
considered the country's most the nominees should have com-
the 8th Teradata National IT Excellence Awards' Call for Nominations. Also seen in the
prestigious IT awards and an inte- picture are Chris topher Armitage, Regional Vice President Teradata Corporation , and pleted their achievements during
gral part of the IT industry. The Sameerah Siddiqui, Marketing Manager Teradata Pakistan. the period of January 2006 to
categories span the field from soft- December 2006.
ware development and research to education and business application. Regional vice president Teradata, Christopher Armitage and repre-
Nominees must have completed their achievements during the period of sentative of Partner Ford Rhodes Sidat Hyder, Sharjeel Ahmad were
January 2006 to December 2006. A lifetime achievement award is given also present at the occasion.

Intel Pakistan & IT Department NWFP Sign MoU

The Intel Pakistan Corporation and Department of Information Intel Tech Programme is proven world wide that has been driving
Technology, NWFP signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for systematic changes in teaching and learning. Under this programme
promotion of computer education at school and college levels in the over 135,000 teachers have been trained across the country.
province. The representatives of Intel Pakistan Corporation and the Speaking on the occasion the NWFP Caretaker Minister for
Department of IT NWFP signed the memorandum. Information and Information Technology Syed Imtaiz Hussain Gilani said
Caretaker Provincial Minister for Information, Information Technology that IT and Computer are just tools which could be utilised for the bet-
Syed Imtiaz Gilani and Provincial Minister for Education Iftikharud Din terment and development of the nation.

Chamkani were also present on the occasion.
According to the memorandum the Intel Pakistan Corporation would
provide training to the students and teachers at school and college lev-
els in various subjects to boost their skills imperative for facing the chal-
lenges of 21st century.
The Intel's education initiative is a sustained commitment to prepare
students with the skills required to thrive in the knowledge economy.
Intel collaborates with local governments and educators across the
world to help promote professional development programmes and
resources for elementary and secondary educators.

The sale of mobile phone SIMs have become a nuisance for national
security as criminals behind terrorist threats, bomb hoaxes, kidnap-
ping for ransom, fraudulent prizing schemes, irritating and repetitive
unknown calls and text messages, identity theft, you name the illegal
activity and you will find the use of these unregistered SIMs. A SIM
can be purchased quite easily and cheaply from the hawkers without
Secretary General Revenue Division and Chairman FBR Abdullah Yusuf addressing to ID card. This phenomenon is facilitating criminals while the PTA has
the participants during IT Appreciation Awards 2007 organized by Pakistan Computer
Association held at Islamabad failed to take any action against such sales

Averox Signs Contracts with Oracle and Microsoft

Averox (Pvt) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Averox Inc, nology infrastructures to achieve higher work efficiencies. Oracle has
announced that it has become an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) more than 1100 customers in Pakistan, spanning top organizations in
Partner for Oracle in Pakistan. the public and private sector.
"As an ISV Partner of Oracle, we are very pleased to be able to offer In another announcement Averox said that it has been named a
our customers the best solutions targeted to meet their specific busi- Microsoft reseller for Microsoft Business Solutions. Microsoft Business
ness needs by combining Averox's expertise with Oracle software prod- Solutions status is awarded to those firms whose sales and marketing
ucts," said Mr. Salman Mahmood President and CEO of Averox Inc. achievements rank them in the top echelon of the worldwide network of
He said as certified members of the Oracle Partner Network; we can value added partners reselling Microsoft Business Solutions.
deliver specialized industry applications that rely on the performance, "We are extremely honored and pleased to be recognized as part of
reliability, scalability and security of Oracle software. this prestigious platform of Microsoft Business Solutions resellers," said
Averox Inc. is a publicly held independent provider of solutions and Salman Mahmood, CEO, Averox. "Our excellence in sales and market-
services in the domains of Telecommunication Engineering, ing within the IT and Telecommunications domains is the driving force
Telecommunication OSS and BSS and Information Technology. behind this partnership agreement," he added.
Oracle has been operating in Pakistan since 1997. It helps Pakistani Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions
businesses, government departments, NGOs and education institutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

through its 74+ certified partners, to adopt integrated information tech- 93
 In Picture

Visitors look at computers on display during the annual computer show at the World Trade Model display the handy PC device with sliding key board "Lui PC remote pocket",
Centre in Taipei. A total of 360 computer and peripheral makers from here and abroad dis- equipped with a 4.1-inch sized WVGA display on its palm sized body weighing 250g,
played the latest products of their lines in the nine-day exhibition. which enables to download digital contents such as video, music and datas from a
home server "Lui home server PC" (in the cabinet) during a press preview of the
company's advanced technology fair in Tokyo.

Japanese electronics giant Sony displays their latest products at the CEATEC electronics "Motoman" robots from Japan's largest industrial robot maker Yasukawa Electric,
trade show in Chiba. After a tough first year, sales of the PlayStation 3 are finally gaining perform a demonstration at the International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo. Some 200
momentum while the company's new flat television is reviving its reputation for innovation. companies and more than 50 organisations from Japan and abroad are taking part
in the 2007 International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo, one of the world's largest robot
shows.

Japan's machinery maker Kawasaki Heavy Industries robot "Cube-kun" is seen solving a Chinese staff work in a TCL store at a computer mall in Shanghai. French electron-
3x3x3 Rubik's Cube during a demonstration in Tokyo, while an attendant (L) tries to solve the ics company Legrand SA has agreed to buy a low-voltage electrical unit of strug-
cube. The double armed industrial robot is displayed with advanced technology products. gling Chinese consumer electronics maker TCL Corp for (US$67 million).

Reporters checks Gibson's new product "Robot Guitar" at Gibson Tokyo office. A
US computer giant Dell senior vice president Alex Gruzen introduces all-in-one desktop PC
new electric guitar from Gibson comes with robotics technology that allows the
"XPS One", at a global launching in Tokyo. The "XPS One" is equipped with Intel's Core2
instrument to tune itself in a matter of seconds. The technology, developed in part-
Duo or celeron processor 20-inch WSXGA (1,680 x 1,050-pixel) LCD display and wireless
nership with German company Tronical, allows the guitar to recognize pitch and use
keyboard, mouse on its stylish body.
its processor and six motors on its tuning pegs to tighten the strings accordingly.
94
 International

SKT wins Hanaro stake for $1.18b Culture on the go with

Korea's biggest mobile company, SK
Telecom, has won its battle to acquire Korean Mobiles
broadband operator Hanaro Telecom. Get theatre tickets digitally,
Hanaro, the No. 2 largest broadband download a smart video trailer of
provider, has accepted SK Telecom's offer of how the play was directed, order
KRW 1.087 trillion ($1.18 billion) for 38.89% of the company. The agreement and pay for snacks for the interval
is conditional upon on government approval. and, after a culture-packed night,
Under the agreement, SK Telecom will replace a consortium led by AIG order a taxi home -- all by just
and Newbridge as the largest shareholder in Hanaro, with 43.6% of the stock. swiping a cell phone over smart tags placed on the menus or
The US-led consortium took Hanaro out of bankruptcy in 2003 for $500 mil- around the hall of the theatre.
lion, booking a profit of more than $600 million on the deal. The Oulu City Theatre in northern Finland, 600 kilometers (373
The acquisition was largely welcomed by analysts, who said it gave the miles) north of Helsinki, says it is the world's first cultural institution
mobile operator greater scale and the ability to deliver convergence services. to use the hippest handset technology, expected to turn mobile
It comes a week after the board of Sprint-Nextel rejected a $5 billion offer phones into wallets.
from SKT and private equity firms for a stake in the US operator. "It is often said that theatre is somehow old-fashioned. I'm hop-
"I expect this change to bring new growth opportunities for the Korean IT ing this will build the opposite picture," the head of Oulu City
industry," said SK Telecom CEO Shin Bae Kim. "Building on our strong Theatre, Ahti Ahonen said.
expertise in convergence business, we will strive to create new global busi- NFC (near-field communication) technology is activated by wav-
ness models such as developing wired and wireless integrated service with ing phones over wireless readers, or smart tags, and is widely
Hanaro Telecom" he added.
used in public transport access cards. The cultural world should
also keep abreast with the latest technological developments.
Joke Offended Sikhs Demand The theatre is running a pilot, involving technology from Finnish
mobile phone maker Nokia and telecommunications operator
Apology from Ambani TeliaSonera, until the year-end and will extend its usage more
widely if it proves successful.

People belonging to the Sikh community in
Meerut staged violent protests after taking serious
offence to a joke circulated on a mobile network, and
has demanded apology from the chief of the
Reliance Communications, Anil Ambani.
A joke reportedly originated from a website called
www.santabanta.com, which is based on two humor-
ous Sikh characters, and got circulated by Reliance
Communications that had been giving space to an
advertisement campaign of the website.
Members of the Sikh community launched a mass protest after an 'utterly
derogatory' joke was circulated on the mobile network.
"Since the past few years our community has been the butt of ridicule and
snide jokes. Be it television, plays or movies, we have been targeted. But this
joke by Santa Banta on Reliance is utterly disgusting," said Jagmeet Singh
Meet, President of Gurudwara Shri Guru Singh Sabha.
The community is now demanding withdrawal of the joke. "If he (Anil
Ambani) doesn't apologise, we will launch a worldwide protest and burn all the
Reliance offices," threatened Meet.

David Neeleman, founder and chairman of JetBlue, checks his Blackberry during a
media preview flight aboard "BetaBlue," an Airbus A320 aircraft equipped with an
Vodafone Seeks China Expansion onboard wireless network. JetBlue will start offering free online messaging services
on one of its planes next week, becoming among the first airlines to offer in-flight
Internet access. Passengers can use Yahoo e-mail and instant messaging services
British mobile phone giant Vodafone wants to increase its presence in on laptops equipped with Wi-Fi wireless access. They can also check other personal
China, according to chief executive Arun Sarin. and work e-mail on two BlackBerry models that have wireless capabilities.
Vodafone currently owns about 3.0 percent of China Mobile - which is the
biggest mobile phone group in the world in terms of subscribers, and is the
fourth biggest by stock market capitalisation.
Sarin told the financial ties that the stake, worth about 13 billion dollars
NEC Pioneered Translation
(8.9 billion euros), was a "kitty" that could be used to take advantage of
opportunities in China. He added that only 35 percent of the Chinese popula- Software on Cellphone
tion has a mobile phone. "From our shareholders' point of view, China is 35
percent penetrated, we have a long way to go," Sarin was quoted as saying.
Japanese electronics giant NEC Corp said that it has created a
world's first real-time translator on a cellphone, which can instantly
turn Japanese travellers' words into English.
One second after the phone hears speech in Japanese, the
cellphone with the new technology shows the text on the screen. In
the next second an English ver-
sion appears. NEC said it was
the first time in the world that
automatic translation is available
on a cellphone without external
help. The company made it pos-
sible by making the software,
which includes a voice-recogni-
tion system and translation func-
tions, compact enough to oper-
ate on a small microchip mount-
ed in a cellphone.
The software, which can
recognise some 50,000 Japanese words, is especially designed for
smooth translation of travel phrases such as "Can I have a subway
President and Managing Director, JVC Japan, the world's leading electronic company, Kunihiko route map?". According to NEC spokesman Mitsumasa Fukumoto
Sato (R) and Chairman and Managing Director of the Fedders Lloyd Group, Brij Raj Punj hold it is technically possible to make the English translation vocal but
electronic products in New Delhi. JVC and Fedders Lloyd announced their tie-up to bring JVC
consumer electronic products in India. NEC is not considering the idea at the moment.
95
 International

Computer Security Day Observed

Computer Security Day was observed across the globe to help raise
awareness of computer related security issues. The day is a reminder for the
people to protect their computers and information.
Most people keep the same password for too long and use it for too many
purposes. To mark this day, one must change the password of his personal
computer and vacuum it.
This annual event is held around the world on November 30 although
some organisations choose to have functions on the next business day if it
falls on a weekend.
Computer Security Day is an annual event started in 1998 by the
Association for Computer Security Day. It's an event that reminds us to take
time to tighten our workstation and network operations to prevent unautho-
rised use.

Vietnam's general secretary of the Communist Party Nong Duc Manh (R) talking

UMC Sales Down 10.9% on a video mobile phone with South Korea's SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won
(L) at the central research institute of SK Telecom in Seongnam, south of Seoul.

Taiwan's United Microelectronics Corp (UMC) posted 9.03 billion Taiwan

dollars (280 million US) in November sales, down 10.9 percent from 10.13 bil-
lion dollars in October. However, the November sales were up 3.90 percent
year-on-year, the world's second largest contract microchip maker said. Child-Friendly Internet
Stopping short of directly forecasting sales for the fourth quarter to
December, UMC said at an October 31 investor conference that its wafer
shipments in the period are expected to fall 9.0 percent from the third-quarter
Search Engine Launched
level. The fourth-quarter average selling price in US dollar terms is seen as The German government launched a secure Internet search
falling one percent from the preceding three months, it added.
engine to allow children to surf the Web without any risk of vio-
lence. The site offers a mix of games, information and links to
approve, children-friendly websites and is being promoted as a
Global Technology Spending first in Europe. The site was offering a guide to the Bundestag
lower house of parliament as it went into operation.

Growth to Slow in 2008
Growth in global technology spending will slow next year, hurt by a US
economic downturn that could crimp spending on computer hardware, Lenovo to Open Polish
research firm IDC in a report with predictions for 2008.
IDC estimates worldwide technology spending growth to range between
5.5 percent and 6 percent in 2008, down from about 7 percent this year. US
Computer Plant
spending growth will dip to 3 percent to 4 percent next year from 6.6 percent
in 2007, IDC said. Companies will target faster-growing emerging markets The Chinese information
along with small and medium-sized businesses to offset slower US spending technology group Lenovo
growth, IDC predicted, and in some cases they will need to make acquisitions announced, it would build an
to launch into promising sectors. assembly plant in Poland that
Frank Gens, IDC's senior vice president of research, said Web search would turn out five million per-
leader Google Inc could cement its position in the small and medium-sized sonal computers a year. A new
business market with an acquisition of Salesforce.com or Intuit Inc, two com- plant in the southwestern Polish
panies with strong Web-based business applications. city of Legnica would be up and running by September 2008 and
IDC sees big software makers targeting business application firms in would cost around set 20 million dollars.
emerging markets such as Brazil's Datasul, China's Kingdee and India's 3i It said the plant would eventually employ 1,000 people and
Infotech Ltd. A foothold in those markets will be crucial since IDC sees tech its output would be destined for the European, Middle Eastern
spending in Brazil, Russia, India, China and nine other emerging countries, and African markets.

including Poland and Mexico, growing 16 percent in 2008. IDC also predicts
US mobile phone operators will follow in the footsteps of Verizon Wireless,
which announced last month plans to open its network to any phone or soft-
ware by the end of 2008.

BSNL seeking CDMA
Services Nationwide
India's state-run Bharat Sanchar
Nigam Ltd has applied to launch
nation-wide mobile telecom services on
the CDMA platform, telecom minister
said. India's fourth-largest mobile firm,
operates on the dominant GSM plat-
form across the country, and currently
uses CDMA technology only for limited-
mobility phone services.
Minister did not provide any other details on the application
or on how the government would process it. In November, the
head of BSNL had said the firm was considering to launch
CDMA services nation-wide, after the government permitted tele-
com firms to use alternate platforms.
Government said that BSNL, as an "incumbent player", is
exempt from the license fee private telecoms firms have to pay
to launch alternate technology services.
The government decision permitting dual technology was
A hand out photo shows an employee of South Korea's mobile carrier KTF shows her mobile
phone that can control a robot vacuum cleaner in Seoul. The robot, called Iclebo can detect challenged by a lobby group of telecoms firms using the GSM
96 platform, and the issue is being heard by the telecoms tribunal.

intruders and send an alarm message to its owner, apart from tackling vacuum cleaning chores.
 International

Banglalink Subscribers, Hackers Force Mass Website

Revenue Doubled Closures
Banglalink, the mobile telephone operator in Hundreds of websites have been shut
Bangladesh, more than doubled its subscribers down temporarily by one of the largest web
and revenues in the past year, according to a hosting companies in Britain after the personal
statement released by the company's Egyptian details of customers were stolen by computer
owners Orascom. hackers.
However the company's earnings were hit The hackers managed to access the "mas-
in the third quarter due to the US dollar 18 mil- ter database" of Fasthosts for information,
lion paid to the Bangladesh Telecom including addresses, bank details, e-mails and
Regulatory Commission for its involvement in passwords.
illegal VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) or The action is expected to lose vital business for hundreds of small
call termination business. companies in the run-up to Christmas.
By the end of September, Banglalink had 6.02 million subscribers, up Fasthosts claimed that it had no option other than to perform an
123 percent on the same date a year earlier. This gave it a market share emergency shutdown after it discovered that the hackers had tried to
of 18.9 per cent, according to Orascom. use information gleaned from its servers. New passwords had to be
In the third quarter, Banglalink's revenues rose by 18 percent on the sent out by post rather than e-mail to avoid the information being com-
previous three months to US$ 55.6 million. Year-to-date revenue for promised again.
2007 was US$ 133 million, an increase of 113 percent. Fasthosts was founded by Andrew Michael when he was still at
The company said the substantial growth had been fueled by school in Cheltenham. Mr Michael, 27, sold the business, which sells
enhancing the quality of the network with US$232 million worth of capital domain names and space on computer servers, to a German firm.
expenditure made so far this year. The company discovered a network intrusion in October and recom-
Average revenue per user, (ARPU), remained steady in the third mended that users change their passwords. Staff noticed "unusual
quarter, although at US dollar 3.1, but was down 6 per cent on the same activity" on some of its sites and closed down all those that had not yet
period a year earlier. changed their passwords, as well as some that had.
"While other major players in the market have been experiencing Among the companies affected by the shutdown was EU Reporter, a
stagnant revenues and declining ARPU, Banglalink has been maintain- small, web-based business that makes money from downloads and
ing a healthy upward trend," the company said. web advertising. Chris White, the owner, said that his downloads went
Measured by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amor- from 47,000 a week to nothing and subscribers assumed that he had
tisation, Banglalink made a loss of US$ 21.3 million in the three months gone out of business. This has been a crime turned into a farce and I
to September 31, compared to a loss of US$ 14 million in the previous don't know if we will survive.
quarter.
Barry Wise, who manages 100 sites, said: "This is worse than being
hacked because I now just have to wait for the post. I can't call them
because their phone lines are overwhelmed.This could well be the
biggest internet attack of its kind. The criminals could theoretically have
taken everything on the database."

Toyota Aims to put Robots to

help People
Toyota Motor Corp said
that it aims to put its
humanoid and other
advanced robots to practi-
cal use soon after 2010 to
help people in factories,
hospitals, and homes.
Unveiling two new
robots called the "mobility
South Koreans with mobile phones take pictures of presidential candidate Chung Dong- robot" and the "violin-play-
young of the liberal United New Democratic Pary during his campaign event in Seoul.
ing robot", Japan's top
automaker said it would

China's New SMS Code Starts step up research and devel-

opment in the field, includ-
ing by doubling the number
Journey of engineers to about 200 in
around three years.
China's unified short message code system will make the industry Researchers in Japan,
grow in a healthy way and the regulator will take measures to ensure it including from academia Japanese auto giant Toyota Motor unveils their new
and companies such as violin-playing robot at the company's showroom in
works, the Ministry of Information Industry said in a statement.A new Tokyo.
mobile service provider code prefixed with 106 will be formally initiated rival Honda Motor Co, are
to replace the current four-digit number from each telecom service racing to build robots smart enough to serve the needs of the elderly in
provider in China. a country where 40 percent of the population is expected to be over 65
Carriers including China Mobile, China Unicom, China Netcom and by 2055.
China Telecom will use the new code system for mobile phone and Little President Katsuaki Watanabe said, "Over the next two to three
Smart users, whose user base has reached 600 million. The person-to- years, we will put the robots to the test through trial applications and
person SMS system will not be influenced by the change, but paid serv- see what kind of business possibilities they present".
ices such as ringtone downloads and mobile newspaper subscriptions Under its recently crafted long-term plan dubbed "Global Vision
will come under the new system. 2020", Toyota aims to make the robotics field one of its core businesses
"A service provider can freely choose a cooperator among the four by 2020.
Chinese telecom service providers (under the new system) and bad In a demonstration of the new achievements, Toyota brought out the
behavior can be easily tracked," the ministry said in a statement on its 152 cm (5 ft), two-legged violin-playing robot, which gave a brief per-
Website. MII has established a team to ensure all firms to adopt the new formance -- complete with vibrato sound -- from Elgar's "Pomp and
codes and set up a national hotline 12300 to regulate the new system. Circumstance" Marches, popular at graduation ceremonies in Japan.
According to Shanghai Mobile, the biggest local carrier, from Toyota plans to further advance the robot's dexterity and flexibility to
December 1 to March 1, users' subscription to the old numbers will be enable it to use tools and assist with domestic tasks and nursing and
cancelled and they will be told of the new code prefixed with 106.
medical care.
97
 International

Saudi Firm Wins 26% of Microsoft Trials XP on XO Laptop

new Kuwait mobile Operator announced
Microsoft has
to begin field
Saudi Telecom (STC), the largest tests of Windows XP
Arab telecom firm, has won a 26-per- working on the so-called
cent stake in Kuwait's third mobile com- $100 laptop, or XO, early
pany, expected to start operating next in 2008. It has not com-
year. mitted to offering XP on
STC made the highest bid of 248.7 the XO laptop but hopes
million Kuwaiti Dinars (907.6 million dollars) in a tender for the to release the operating
stake said the authority, which manages the investments of the system in the first half of
oil-rich Gulf state. The deal still has to be approved by the 2008 if the trials succeed.
Kuwaiti government. The work, undertaken
A law to establish the new mobile company set aside 24 per- as part of the firm's plans
cent for state institutions, 50 percent to be sold to citizens in an to widen access to tech-
Initial Public Offering (IPO) planned for February, and the rest to nology, shapes the part of
go to a core investor. The second highest bid for the stake came a project to run Windows
from a consortium led by the emirate's largest Islamic bank, on flash-based machines. The XO does not have a hard drive, and uses a
Kuwait Finance House, which offered 195.1 million Dinars. lightweight flash drive instead.
STC president Saud al-Daweesh said the new company will Microsoft's James Utzschneider, writing on his blog, said: "We are hard
start operations six months after its formal establishment in the at work on the project here. Between Microsoft employees and third party
first quarter of next year and will bring to Kuwait a package of contractors that we have brought into the effort, we have over 40 engineers
new services based on latest technology. working full-time on the port."
Kuwait has two mobile operators - Zain, established in 1983, The XO is the work of the One Laptop Per Child project to boost access
and National Mobile Telecommunications Co (Wataniya), which to technology in the developing world by building a low-cost laptop
started operations in 1999. Together they have 2.5 million clients designed for educational uses.
in a country with 3.2 million people.
It has been pioneered by a not-for-profit group led by Nicholas
Negroponte, the founder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's
Media Lab.
The group has taken its first orders, with 100,00 bought by Uruguay and
40,000 by Peru, with an option for a further 210,000.
The availability of Windows on the XO could boost take-up of the
machine. There have been reports that some countries have been cautious
about signing-up to the project because it does not run Windows, the
world's most popular operating system.
The XO laptop runs Linux, an open source operating system, which
costs nothing for schools around the world to use. If schools and govern-
ments wanted to use XP on an XO machine, they would have to buy a
license.
For Microsoft the challenge in porting XP to the XO machine has been
in re-writing many drivers for the operating system that control functions like
the laptop's webcam and wireless connections.

Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd talks at the Oracle World Conference in San
Francisco. Hewlett-Packard Co., the world's biggest PC seller, is scheduled to
report fourth-quarter financial results after the market closes.

Emergency Rules for Net

Telephony
Watchdog Ofcom has ruled
that firms, which route phone
calls across the net must con-
nect to 999 and 112. till now
net phone firms have not been
Telecom Italia's chief executive Franco Bernabe, left, and chairman Gabriele Galateri pose
required to connect to emer-
prior to the start of the news conference in Milan, Italy. After months of uncertainty, Telecom
gency numbers. This ruling Italia's new shareholders exerted control, voting in a new management team to lead Europe's
applies to those firms that let fifth largest telecommunications company.
customers call normal national phone numbers.
Ofcom says, the stipulation is needed to ensure that during
an emergency people can summon help as quickly as possible.
Research carried out by Ofcom suggests few people know
Manpower Crisis Worrying India
that net phone services, aka voice over IP, do not connect to The world sees India as the hub of Information Technology, but the
999 or 112, the European Union's universal emergency number country is today facing a shortage of skilled manpower in the field, a top
for mobiles and fixed lines. official of software giant Satyam said, stressing on the urgent need to set
In an Ofcom survey 78% of those using net phone services up more technical educational institutions.
which cannot connect to the emergency services thought that Virender Aggarwal, Director and Senior Vice President of Satyam said
such a call was already possible on that network or were that the top four IT companies (Satyam, Infosys, Wipro and TCS) hire most
unaware that there might be a problem. of the talent in the country. There is a serious dearth of skilled manpower
Ofcom fears that having to find a phone that can call the for the other hundreds of IT companies,
emergency services during a crisis might make a serious situa- Despite being the smallest of India's Big Four outsourcers, Satyam's
tion much worse. sales have tripled in the last five years and its workforce has grown too
The ruling does not apply to all net phone firms. Only those with the company planning to hire another 15,000 this year.
that let customers call out to normal national numbers but not The company was named by Forbes Asia as one of Asia's best 50 com-
receive them or let customers make and take calls from normal panies based on its long-term profitability, sales and earnings growth, stock
98 phone numbers are affected.
price appreciation and projected earnings in the region.