Communication Networks

UMTS Network Interfaces and Protocol Stack

2009-03-10T04:32:00.000-07:00

UMTS network follows the typical communication model in telecom which defines a set of horizontal and vertical layers. The horizontal layers are physical, network, transport and application layers – as defined in the OSI model. The vertical layers are functional areas, namely control plane, user plane and data plane. Control planes are used to control a link or a connection; user planes are used to transparently transmit user data from the higher layers. The UMTS network interfaces and protocol stacks follow the same communication model. Standard transmission issues, which are independent of UTRAN requirements, are applied in the horizontal transport network layer. The UTRAN requirements are addressed in the horizontal radio network layer across different types of control and user planes. The UMTS network introduces four new key interfaces and protocol stacks: Uu, Iub, Iur, and Iu.

Iu: Radio Access Network Application Part (RANAP) [3G TS 25.413]. This interface provides UTRAN–specific signaling and control over the Iu. The following is some typical RANAP functions:

Overall radio access bearer (RAB) management, which includes the RAB’s setup, maintenance, and release
Management of Iu connections
Transport of nonaccess stratum (NAS) information between the UE and the CN; for example, NAS contains the mobility management signaling and broadcast information.
Exchanging UE location information between the RNC and CN
Paging requests from the CN to the UE
Overload and general error situation handling

Iur: Radio Network Sublayer Application Part (RNSAP) [3G TS 25.423]. This interface provides UTRAN–specific signaling and control for the following sample functions:

Management of radio links, physical links, and common transport channel resources
Paging
SRNC relocation
Measurements of dedicated resources

Iub: Node B Application Part (NBAP) [3G TS 25.433]. This interface provides UTRAN specific signaling and control for the following sample areas:

Management of common channels, common resources, and radio links
Configuration management, such as cell configuration management
Measurement handling and control
Synchronization (TDD)
Reporting of error situations

Uu: Radio Resource Control (RRC) [3G TS 25.331]. This interface handles the control plane signaling over the Uu between the UE and the UTRAN. Some of the functions offered by the RRC

include the following areas:

Broadcasting information
Management of connections between the UE and the UTRAN, which include their establishment, maintenance, and release
Management of the radio bearers, which include their establishment, maintenance, release, and the corresponding connection mobility
Ciphering control
Outer loop power control
Message integrity protection
Timing advance in the TDD mode
UE measurement report evaluation
Paging and notifying

UTRAN Iu, Iub, Iur, Interfaces protocol stacks:

UTRAN Iu, Iub, Iur, Interfaces protocol stacks

Circuit Domain Mc, Nb, Nc interfaces protocol stacks:

Circuit Domain Mc, Nb, Nc interfaces protocol stacks

GSM Abis, A, C, D, E, F, H interfaces protocol stacks:

GSM Abis, A, C, D, E, F, H interfaces protocol stacks

GPRS Gb, Gn, Gp, Gs Interfaces protocol stacks:

GPRS Gb, Gn, Gp, Gs Interfaces protocol stacks

Location service La, Lb, Lp, Um, Uu interfaces protocol stacks:

Location service La, Lb, Lp, Um, Uu interfaces protocol stacks

A Look Back at A Year in the Life of the Clash of the Titans

2009-02-28T04:26:00.000-08:00

2008 started out as the launch year for mass mobile WiMAX deployments that would capitalize on WiMAX’s prior meteoric rise in ecosystem development. During the year the rapid pace of component, device and systems developments and certifications continued to accelerate, but commercial deployments – particularly that expected from Clearwire – were delayed, slowing overall momentum at the onset of a worsening economic climate for greenfield and alternative operators. Meanwhile, the LTE effort gained momentum and ratcheted up the level of hype preceding finalization of the 3GPP standard and commercial deployments.

The theme of open source development and IP access clearly took hold of consumer markets The industry witnessed mind and market share gains of Apple’s iPhone, Google’s Android, and Yahoo! Go/Direct, which reshaped the mobile device services and Internet portal landscape. Mobile industry giants including Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola, Samsung and LG did not stand still: new rich software interface-based devices came to market that mimic iPhone’s salient features, while adding a few unique twists. It seems that every major player among mobile and web companies has now joined the gambit to become the next unified services provider.

We look back at a listing of 2008’s major events:

700 MHz auction ends, incumbent wireless operators are the biggest winners: 700 MHz to be LTE heavy - AT&T Mobility, VZW announce LTE plans for the ‘beach front property’ spectrum
Sprint-Nextel reels from subscriber defections and resulting losses, stalling rollout momentum of Xohm WiMAX service.
Nokia and Qualcomm reach an IPR settlement: parties enter into IPR cross-licensing that extends to LTE and Qualcomm-Nokia chip and device collaboration.
Qualcomm drops UMB to focus on LTE, solidifies 3GPP and 3GPP2 efforts going forward.
China reorganized its telecommunications industry to consolidate and leverage TC-SCDMA efforts to support TDD-LTE, the TDD version of LTE-Advanced. Datang and Huawei are primary developers; China Mobile expected to see deployment in 2009-10.
The U.S. and world economy stumbled headlong into a deep recession precipitated by an unprecedented collapse in major financial institutions.
Packaged 3G data services and flat rate plans presage introduction of Clearwire.
WiMAX ICs and device development crosses the threshold of opportunity for mobile network adoption. Low power needed for mobile devices exceed market cycle expectations.
The formation of ‘New Clearwire’: joins efforts of Clearwire, Sprint, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Brighthouse Networks, Google, and Intel Capital.
The LTE Licensing framework is formed to help orchestrate a licensing regimen for patents essential to LTE.
The Open Patent Alliance is formed to establish form a pool for patents essential to WIMAX.
Lawsuits by Intel and Adaptix over WiMAX IPR are initiated to test the orchestration of IPR licensing in next generation wireless.
Sprint Xohm WiMAX is officially launched in Philadelphia and additional cities are planned. Reviewers agree that performance exceeds but coverage lags.

HSPA and EVDO data subscriber growth surged. What’s more, bandwidth usage outpaced earlier expectations, particularly on the uplink side, pressuring network capacity including backhaul.
With the standard recently locked down and publication expected in the first quarter, Verizon eagerly announced its intent to deploy 3G-LTE during 2009.
LG announced demonstration of the first LTE handset modem IC, but does not expect production to start expected until 2010. Qualcomm had previously announced plans to have LTE plus HSPA and EVDO multi-mode chips by mid-2009.
President-elect Obama’s technology policy team indicates broadband access to be part of the expected economic stimulus and technology development program.
The IEEE announces collaboration with VIA Licensing Inc. to facilitate patents pools for all standards.
The FCC announces that the White Spaces spectrum decision will be punted to the next administration. Decisions on AWS-3 also are unlikely until next year.
Sprint announced availability of the U-300 WiMAX and EVDO modem in the Baltimore area, with broader availability to coincide with the launch of WiMAX. The 3G/4G connection plan is priced at $80 million.
Femtocell gains momentum among major operators: this extension of 3G may blunt the need for migration to LTE.
IPR and leading commercial developments show that 4G networks will be ‘smart’, self-configuring and highly granular.
Forecasts for communications sector growth are cut as credit tightens and consumer spending declines.
Patent applications and standards development activity appears unaffected by the turbulent economy; particularly, the pace of smart antenna and advanced wireless network segments continues to accelerate.

Upon reflection, we see that the past year has resulted in several watershed events and groundbreaking developments. Much has been afoot that foretells industry transformation that lies ahead. 2008 has neither been the year of WiMAX nor of LTE, but it has witnessed a chain of events that prepare the way for widespread adoption of next generation network evolution to 4G alongside existing mobile networks. Although the appetite of consumers may be partly hedged by economic doldrums, trends toward open services, and flat and flexible rate plans indicates room for growth of more efficient NG networks.

The delay of Sprint’s Xohm WiMAX has allowed development of devices to proceed closer to the sweet spot of low power and lower cost needed for embedded and mobile devices. The software and services community has also had more time to unfold environments suitable for the open mobile device and network business model. Perhaps if Xohm had rolled out aggressively during 2008 it would have met with startup problems that would have been open to ridicule.

Tier 1 suppliers and most incumbent operators have rallied around the LTE flag even as the ship remains in dry dock. Mobile operators have moved swiftly to migrate core networks to IP and host more open services and devices. This helps to prepare the way for the coming age of unified communications that melds IT/Networking and consumer electronics business models in a more compelling and disruptive manner than mere convergence within standards and technologies. On this front, we have seen confirmation of the forecast convergence of 802.16 and LTE, particularly for the ITU-Advanced version, which more fully aspires to be called 4G.

Acer bowls into handset market with eight new devices

2009-02-24T04:19:00.000-08:00

PC vendor Acer waded into the smartphone market yesterday when it unveiled eight new mobile devices.

The smartphones will target a range of consumers, with top-end devices to more basic handsets. Talks between Acer and operators in the Middle East are taking place, but it is unclear which of the handsets will be sold in the region.

At a press conference at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Acer said that its aim was to “establish Acer as the world’s leading mobile solutions company,” with the goal of becoming “one of the top five in the smartphone market in the next five years”.

“We’re not coming into this market and hoping for a home run; one size doesn’t fit all so we have addressed the market with multiple form factors,” said Aymar de Lencquesaing, president of Acer’s Smart Handheld Business group.

At the top end of the range, the M900 has a 3.8 inch touchscreen with a slide out keyboard, a five megapixel and a fingerprint sensor. Some of the devices also feature a “widget based” interface, which will allow users to customise their devices, while Acer claims that the DX900 is the first dual Sim smartphone.

There are also lower specification devices for the price conscious consumer and emerging markets. “We want to encourage migration from feature phones to smartphones,” de Lencquesaing said. “We won’t force 100% of the devices on a market, but we will offer them.”

Yohan Bibay, marketing VP for Acer’s Smart Handheld Business group, said that Acer is speaking to carriers in the Middle East. “We are in the early stage of the engagement with them, and definitely there is tremendous interest.”

The first eight devices feature Windows 6.1, while a further undisclosed number of handsets will be launched in the second half of the year with Windows 6.5 operating system.

Huawei Technologies: Huawei Introduces i-Mo the Smallest and Lightest Wireless Modem Ever at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona

2009-02-24T04:13:00.000-08:00

Shenzhen, China — Huawei, a leader in providing next generation telecommunications network solutions for operators around the world, will make business people’s dream for high-speed Internet surfing anytime, anywhere a reality with i-Mo, its new wireless modem. The smallest wireless modem in the world, i-Mo will debut at the 2009 World Mobile Congress in Barcelona on 16 February.
Huawei’s latest innovation in broadband terminals, i-Mo provides a new level of convenience to its users. With i-Mo, you no longer need to carry a bulky Internet cable. The size of a small key chain, it fits in your pocket or wallet. You simply turn on the Wi-Fi switch and enjoy immediate access to a high speed HSPA network. i-Mo can automatically create group Internet Access and individual Wi-Fi hot points for network digital equipment such as laptops, mobile phones, cameras, games consoles, and MP4 devices
But that’s not all. i-Mo supports plug-and-play and data transmission speeds up to 7.2 Mbps (downlink) and 5.76 Mbps (uplink). Music and videos can be uploaded or downloaded in seconds. With its built-in Micro SD card slot, i-Mo can also serve as a USB disk. All these features have been integrated into the smallest wireless modem in the world.
“i-Mo is our biggest release since the E220, an innovative USB modem we delivered to the market in 2006. The E220 sold a record-breaking 9 million units and was dubbed ‘the most influential communication terminal in 2007′ by Dean Bubley, the Founder of Disruptive Analysis,” said Director of Huawei Terminal Marketing Department. “Our unmatched R&D capabilities allow us to offer operators continuous innovation and profitable growth opportunities in mobile broadband services. i-Mo will be one of Huawei’s most important strategies in 2009 for maintaining its leadership in the mobile broadband market. We believe it will be the next E220 bringing transformational changes to the mobile broadband market.”
Huawei, ranked number one in mobile broadband sales, has shipped over 25 million worldwide. With a reputation for innovation, Huawei has enjoyed numerous successes in the mobile broadband market and continued to expand its market share.
i-Mo will be available to customers in Q2 2009.
i-Mo offers convenient wireless Internet access
i-Mo has an elegant, elliptical profile that distinguishes it from competitive products. Unlike other, traditional product designs for electronic products, i-Mo introduces a new aesthetic with its ornamental design and will change the way people think about their modems going forward.
About Huawei Technologies
Huawei Technologies is a leader in providing next generation telecommunications networks, and now serves 35 of the world’s top 50 operators, along with over one billion users worldwide. The company is committed to providing innovative and customized products, services and solutions to create long-term value and growth potential for its customers.

KeyBoard ShortCuts

2009-02-20T04:23:00.000-08:00

General keyboard shortcuts

CTRL+C (Copy)
CTRL+X (Cut)
CTRL+V (Paste)
CTRL+Z (Undo)
DELETE (Delete)
SHIFT+DELETE (Delete the selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin)
CTRL while dragging an item (Copy the selected item)
CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an item (Create a shortcut to the selected item)
F2 key (Rename the selected item)
CTRL+RIGHT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word)
CTRL+LEFT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word)
CTRL+DOWN ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph)
CTRL+UP ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph)
CTRL+SHIFT with any of the arrow keys (Highlight a block of text)
SHIFT with any of the arrow keys (Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text in a document)
CTRL+A (Select all)
F3 key (Search for a file or a folder)
ALT+ENTER (View the properties for the selected item)
ALT+F4 (Close the active item, or quit the active program)
ALT+ENTER (Display the properties of the selected object)
ALT+SPACEBAR (Open the shortcut menu for the active window)
CTRL+F4 (Close the active document in programs that enable you to have multiple documents open simultaneously)
ALT+TAB (Switch between the open items)
ALT+ESC (Cycle through items in the order that they had been opened)
F6 key (Cycle through the screen elements in a window or on the desktop)
F4 key (Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer)
SHIFT+F10 (Display the shortcut menu for the selected item)
ALT+SPACEBAR (Display the System menu for the active window)
CTRL+ESC (Display the Start menu)
ALT+Underlined letter in a menu name (Display the corresponding menu)
Underlined letter in a command name on an open menu (Perform the corresponding command)
F10 key (Activate the menu bar in the active program)
RIGHT ARROW (Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu)
LEFT ARROW (Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu)
F5 key (Update the active window)
BACKSPACE (View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer)
ESC (Cancel the current task)
SHIFT when you insert a CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive (Prevent the CD-ROM from automatically playing)
CTRL+SHIFT+ESC (Open Task Manager)

Dialog box keyboard shortcuts

If you press SHIFT+F8 in extended selection list boxes, you enable extended selection mode. In this mode, you can use an arrow key to move a cursor without changing the selection. You can press CTRL+SPACEBAR or SHIFT+SPACEBAR to adjust the selection. To cancel extended selection mode, press SHIFT+F8 again. Extended selection mode cancels itself when you move the focus to another control.

CTRL+TAB (Move forward through the tabs)
CTRL+SHIFT+TAB (Move backward through the tabs)
TAB (Move forward through the options)
SHIFT+TAB (Move backward through the options)
ALT+Underlined letter (Perform the corresponding command or select the corresponding option)
ENTER (Perform the command for the active option or button)
SPACEBAR (Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box)
Arrow keys (Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons)
F1 key (Display Help)
F4 key (Display the items in the active list)
BACKSPACE (Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box)

Microsoft natural keyboard shortcuts

Windows Logo (Display or hide the Start menu)
Windows Logo+BREAK (Display the System Properties dialog box)
Windows Logo+D (Display the desktop)
Windows Logo+M (Minimize all of the windows)
Windows Logo+SHIFT+M (Restore the minimized windows)
Windows Logo+E (Open My Computer)
Windows Logo+F (Search for a file or a folder)
CTRL+Windows Logo+F (Search for computers)
Windows Logo+F1 (Display Windows Help)
Windows Logo+ L (Lock the keyboard)
Windows Logo+R (Open the Run dialog box)
Windows Logo+U (Open Utility Manager)

Accessibility keyboard shortcuts

Right SHIFT for eight seconds (Switch FilterKeys either on or off)
Left ALT+left SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN (Switch High Contrast either on or off)
Left ALT+left SHIFT+NUM LOCK (Switch the MouseKeys either on or off)
SHIFT five times (Switch the StickyKeys either on or off)
NUM LOCK for five seconds (Switch the ToggleKeys either on or off)
Windows Logo +U (Open Utility Manager)

Windows Explorer keyboard shortcuts

END (Display the bottom of the active window)
HOME (Display the top of the active window)
NUM LOCK+Asterisk sign (*) (Display all of the subfolders that are under the selected folder)
NUM LOCK+Plus sign (+) (Display the contents of the selected folder)
NUM LOCK+Minus sign (-) (Collapse the selected folder)
LEFT ARROW (Collapse the current selection if it is expanded, or select the parent folder)
RIGHT ARROW (Display the current selection if it is collapsed, or select the first subfolder)

Shortcut keys for Character Map

After you double-click a character on the grid of characters, you can move through the grid by using the keyboard shortcuts:

RIGHT ARROW (Move to the right or to the beginning of the next line)
LEFT ARROW (Move to the left or to the end of the previous line)
UP ARROW (Move up one row)
DOWN ARROW (Move down one row)
PAGE UP (Move up one screen at a time)
PAGE DOWN (Move down one screen at a time)
HOME (Move to the beginning of the line)
END (Move to the end of the line)
CTRL+HOME (Move to the first character)
CTRL+END (Move to the last character)
SPACEBAR (Switch between Enlarged and Normal mode when a character is selected)

Microsoft Management Console (MMC) main window keyboard shortcuts

CTRL+O (Open a saved console)
CTRL+N (Open a new console)
CTRL+S (Save the open console)
CTRL+M (Add or remove a console item)
CTRL+W (Open a new window)
F5 key (Update the content of all console windows)
ALT+SPACEBAR (Display the MMC window menu)
ALT+F4 (Close the console)
ALT+A (Display the Action menu)
ALT+V (Display the View menu)
ALT+F (Display the File menu)
ALT+O (Display the Favorites menu)

MMC console window keyboard shortcuts

CTRL+P (Print the current page or active pane)
ALT+Minus sign (-) (Display the window menu for the active console window)
SHIFT+F10 (Display the Action shortcut menu for the selected item)
F1 key (Open the Help topic, if any, for the selected item)
F5 key (Update the content of all console windows)
CTRL+F10 (Maximize the active console window)
CTRL+F5 (Restore the active console window)
ALT+ENTER (Display the Properties dialog box, if any, for the selected item)
F2 key (Rename the selected item)
CTRL+F4 (Close the active console window. When a console has only one console window, this shortcut closes the console)

Remote desktop connection navigation

CTRL+ALT+END (Open the Microsoft Windows NT Security dialog box)
ALT+PAGE UP (Switch between programs from left to right)
ALT+PAGE DOWN (Switch between programs from right to left)
ALT+INSERT (Cycle through the programs in most recently used order)
ALT+HOME (Display the Start menu)
CTRL+ALT+BREAK (Switch the client computer between a window and a full screen)
ALT+DELETE (Display the Windows menu)
CTRL+ALT+Minus sign (-) (Place a snapshot of the entire client window area on the Terminal server clipboard and provide the same functionality as pressing ALT+PRINT SCREEN on a local computer.)
CTRL+ALT+Plus sign (+) (Place a snapshot of the active window in the client on the Terminal server clipboard and provide the same functionality as pressing PRINT SCREEN on a local computer.)

Microsoft Internet Explorer navigation

CTRL+B (Open the Organize Favorites dialog box)
CTRL+E (Open the Search bar)
CTRL+F (Start the Find utility)
CTRL+H (Open the History bar)
CTRL+I (Open the Favorites bar)
CTRL+L (Open the Open dialog box)
CTRL+N (Start another instance of the browser with the same Web address)
CTRL+O (Open the Open dialog box, the same as CTRL+L)
CTRL+P (Open the Print dialog box)
CTRL+R (Update the current Web page)
CTRL+W (Close the current window)

Warid wins the Brand of the Year Award in 2008 for 'The Best Cellular Company in Pakistan'

2009-02-20T04:07:00.000-08:00

Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani presenting Brand of Year Award 2008 for the Best Cellular Company in Pakistan to Warid's Acting Chief Executive Office – Faisal Ejaz Khan Warid Telecom has won 'Brand of the Year Award' again in 2008, in the category of 'The Best Cellular Company in Pakistan'. This is the second time in Warid's three and half years of successful operations in Pakistan that Brand of the Year Award has been granted to the company. In 2007 Warid was the winner of 'Brand of the Year Award' in the category of GSM operators and service providers.

Brand of the Year Award is a joint initiative of public and private sectors to identify and promote the brand excellence in Pakistan and the ever largest public private partnership project. Its international recognition and endorsement by the Brands Bureau International Limited London-UK makes it the most authentic and acclaimed Brands Award activity. This activity helps in promoting the Brand Development Culture in Pakistan, and to encourage Pakistani Brands.

The Pakistani brands holding remarkable name and reputation on national and international level are selected for the Brand of the Year Award as per criteria based on three elements; company profile, current year brand market standing and nationwide consumer survey. Nominations are forwarded to the Brands University for Focus Group Study & Survey. The Brands University in collaboration with the Brands Bureau International - London conducts a nationwide consumer survey to determine the current market standing of the Brands and their popularity among the consumers. The organization obtaining the highest marks in a total of all three sectors is entitled for Brand of the Year Award 2008.

Warid's Acting Chief Executive Officer Faisal Ejaz Khan said, "We are honored to achieve the Brand of the Year Award for the category, 'Best Cellular Company of Pakistan'. This award makes Warid recognized as the most demanded and credible cellular phone company of Pakistan. We are thankful for our subscribers for their continuous loyalty and support. This award would never have been possible without the trust they have put in us" Thomas Yeo – Chief Commercial Officer Warid said, "Brand of the Year Award for the best cellular company in Pakistan means a lot for us. It proves that we are running an operation that is highly demanded and the most credible Brand in the cellular industry of Pakistan. We will continue our efforts to maintain an even higher level of quality for our valued subscribers."

Location-Based Service

2009-01-13T02:16:00.000-08:00

A location-based service (LBS) is a mobile device service through the mobile network and utilizing the ability to make use of the geographical position of the mobile device. LBS services include parcel tracking and vehicle tracking services.

Several categories of methods can be used to find the location of the subscriber. The simple and standard solution is GPS-based LBS. It is used to maintain knowledge of the exact location, however can be expensive for the end-user, as they would have to invest in a GPS-equipped handset. GPS is based on the concept of trilateration, a basic geometric principle that allows finding one location if one knows its distance from other, already known locations.

GSM localization is the second option. Finding the location of a mobile device in relation to its cell site is another way to find out the location of an object or a person. It relies on various means of multilateration of the signal from cell sites serving a mobile phone. The geographical position of the device is found out through various techniques like time difference of arrival (TDOA) or Enhanced Observed Time Difference (E-OTD).

Another example is Near LBS (NLBS), in which local-range technologies such as Bluetooth, WLAN, infrared and/or RFID technologies are used to match devices to nearby services. This application allows a person to access information based on their surroundings; especially suitable for using inside closed premises, restricted/ regional areas.

Another alternative is an operator- and GPS-independent location service based on access into the deep level telecoms network (SS7). This solution enables accurate and quick determination of geographical coordinates of mobile phone numbers by providing operator-independen t location data and works also for handsets that are not GPS-enabled.

Cisco unveils media products at CES

2009-01-11T01:30:00.000-08:00

Cisco Systems took its first big steps as a corporation into consumer digital media markets at the Consumer Electronics Show, claiming it would help ease the pain in managing home networks and Web services.

The company launched a home audio system and a media server from its expanded Linksys team. It also released business software from a new division that aims to simplify creating and running digital media services on the Web.

In many ways, the hardware products are similar to others from companies including Hewlett-Packard, NetGear, Sling Media, Sonus and others. Cisco execs claimed the products, available now, are significantly easier to install and use.

What's clear is Cisco's commitment to a corporate consumer thrust, leveraging a handful of acquisitions in the field including gateway maker Linksys.

"If you take away one thing from this event, know that we are really committed to the consumer market and we're putting the whole weight of the company behind it," said Cisco chief executive John Chambers at a CES press conference where the products were released.

In the process, Cisco has been beefing up the engineering ranks of its Linksys group, especially in software. The group now has design teams in Denmark, Switzerland, Irvine and San Jose.

"Linksys had an ODM model, but now a lot of the engineering has been brought in house particularly for the user experience," said Ned Hooper, senior vice president of corporate business development for Cisco who also acts as general manger of the company's new consumer group.

"I think it's less about the hardware than the software," said William Diehl, senior director of product management, research and UI design for the consumer group. "It's easy to do products, but it's hard to do easy products," said Diehl who joined Cisco two years ago when it was just starting to put together a team to design the products.

Specifically, Cisco rolled out a media storage hub that can hold two 2.5-inch drives of up to a terabyte each. The hub can automatically index and tag any media content on a home network.. It also lets users access their content remotely from the Web.

Microsoft has released software to drive similar systems linked to Windows. HP was the first to release a product based on the code about a year ago.

"We didn't want to pay the Microsoft tax," said one Cisco engineer.

Separately, the company released three products to play and distribute music around the home. A $299 player links a traditional stereo amplifier to a home net, a $499 director can act as a bookshelf stereo that sits on a home net and a $349 handheld controller manages the devices.

The Linux-based systems are available as a package today for $999. They use a Ralink 802.11g/n chip set and can link to any wired Ethernet link.

The devices use a distributed computing model for synchronizing content on systems on a home network, claiming it can handle such operations with a five microsecond latency to preserve audio fidelity.

The company plans to roll out a similar set of devices later this year for distributing video around the home over 802.11n. In addition, Cisco said it will license to other OEMs its Home Network Administration Protocol used by its new devices.

In tandem with the new hardware, Cisco's new media solutions group rolled out EOS, a software platform to manage how companies create and run online media and social networking services. The business software has no immediate links with the home products.

"There's no connection now but the goal is to make one," said Dan Scheinman, general manager of the group.

"Our ambition is wide for EOS," he added. "It should be the platform of record for media companies, enabling new media experiences and solving problems for media companies and consumers."

Top 15 Highest Paying Certifications in the Technology Industry

2009-01-11T01:26:00.000-08:00

According to recent salary surveys by ZDNET's Tech Republic organization, the following are the highest paying certifications to have in the technology industry.

Following each certification is the average annual salary being paid to individual responders that hold the certification. I have also listed training resources to learn more information about how to acquire each of the highest paying certifications.

1. PMI Project Management Professional (PMP)

With an average annual salary of $101,695, the PMP certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI) organization tops the list of highest paying certifications for the current year.

2. PMI Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)

Next highest on the list of highest paying certifications is PMI's Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM). The average annual salary for CAPM holders that were surveyed is $101,103.

3. ITIL v2 - Foundations

With an annual average salary of $95,415 the ITIL v2 Foundations certification came up third on the list of highest paying certifications. ITIL stands for the IT Infrastructure Library. The ITIL certification is designed to show expertise in ITIL service support and service delivery.

4. Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)

Coming in at a close 4th on the list of highest paying certifications is the Certified Information Systems Security Professional or CISSP certification from (ISC)2. The average annual reported salary was $94,018.

5. Cisco CCIE Routing and Switching

At $93,500 per year average annual salary, the Cisco CCIE Routing and Switching certification came in 5th on the list of highest paying certifications in the technology industry.

6. Cisco CCVP - Certified Voice Professional

Number six on the list of the highest paying certifications is the Cisco CCVP or Cisco Certified Voice Professional. The average annual salary of CCVP respondents was $88,824.

7. ITIL v3 - ITIL Master

The ITIL v3 certification - the ITIL Master - came in 7th on the list of the highest paying technical certifications. The average annual salary for ITIL Master certification holders was $86,600.

8. MCSD - Microsoft Certified Solution Developer

The MCSD or Microsoft Certified Solution Developer certification pays an average of $84,522. This puts the MCSD certification at number 8 on the list of highest paying certifications in technology.

9. Cisco CCNP - Cisco Certified Network Professional

Cisco Certified Network professional or CCNP certification is number 9 on the list of highest paying technical certifications. The average annual salary reported by CCNP holders is $84,161.

10. Red Hat Certified Engineer

The Red Hat Certified Engineer (RGCE) came in at number 10 on the list of highest paying certifications. The average annual salary reported by Red Hat Certified Engineers is $83,692.

11. MCITP - Microsoft Certified IT Professional (Enterpeise)

The MCIPT certification (Enterprise) , or Microsoft Certified IT Professional - Enterprise Support comes in at number 11 on the list of highest paying technical certifications. (The MCITP Database is number 14, see below). The average MCITP Enterprise salary reported was $82,941.

12. Cisco CCSP - Cisco Certified Security Professional

Coming in at number 12 on the list of the highest paying technical certifications is the Cisco CCSP or Cisco Certified Security Professional. The average annual salary reported by CCSP holders is $80,000.

13. MCAD - Microsoft Certified Applications Developer

With an average annual salary of $79,444, the MCAD certification, or Microsoft Certified Application Developer certification, is number 13 on the list of highest paying certifications in technology.

14. MCITP - Microsoft Certified IT Professional (Database)

The MCIPT certification (Database), or Microsoft Certified IT Professional - Database comes in at number 14 on the list of highest paying technical certifications. (The MCITP Enterprise Support is number 11, above). The average MCITP Database salary reported was $77,000.

15. MCDBA - Microsoft Certified Database Administrator

The Microsoft Certified Database Administrator, or MCDBA, comes in at number 15 on the list of highest paying technical certifications. The average annual salary reported by MCDBA respondents is $76,960.

Telecom equipment providers fully prepared for 3G

2009-01-09T01:20:00.000-08:00

The issuing of long-awaited 3G licenses in China has sparked competition among telecom equipment providers. Both domestic and overseas competitors are fully prepared for this lucrative market.

Sweden-based Ericsson has been working on the development of WCDMA technology, one of the three standards for 3G technology. Three years ago, the company tapped into Chinese homegrown TD-SCDMA technology. It established an R&D center in order to better gain a market share.

Feng Yingduo, VP of Ericsson (Greater China), "hundreds of engineers at our company are well prepared to serve the three mobile operators who have gained 3G licenses. We are now bidding for contracts."

Telecom equipment providers have all invested heavily in the development of 3G technologies. Now that 3G licenses have been granted, they hope to get a return for that investment. Many domestic providers have been forced to focus on overseas markets. But now they are able to start with favorable resources at home.

Liu Peng, VP of ZTE, says, "our construction of all the three standards of 3G technology in the Chinese market will help us a lot in exploring global markets. We will compete in those markets with our hi-tech and high value added products."

The Chinese government sees the development of 3G networks as an important step in boosting domestic demand and optimizing telecom market competition.

In the next two years it's estimated direct investment in construction of 3G mobile networks will reach 280 billion yuan. And the network investment will lead to 2-trillion yuan in private-sector investment in two or three years.

Mobilink Anti-Spam SMS Filter: Is It Effective?

2008-12-27T03:19:00.000-08:00

Messages Minus the Mess! While PTA tries to figure out what to do with all the unwanted SMS psam, here’s Mobilink’s solution to SMS spam. Readers, please let me know if you have used it, if its good or is it just not worth trying?
Say good bye to annoying and fraudulent SMS as a thing of the past! Welcome to the new world!
Mobilink has always been the first to bring the best and most innovative services for our valued customers. Keeping in line with our main focus on customer convenience as a socially responsible organization Mobilink introduces Anti-Spam SMS Filter for the first time in Pakistan to protect our valued customers from fraudulent spam messages. This solution will cover all inter-operator promotional and spoof messages and will be provided to the entire customer base for free!
How will the Filter Work?
The anti-spam filter will act like a firewall, which will prevent intrusive SMS from reaching our valuable customers. Once the engine detects any spam message from any other network it will be blocked there and then.
SMS is all about fun and Mobilink makes sure that it stays that way. So enjoy SMS like you should because only Mobilink looks out for you!

VoIP Future

2008-12-23T03:50:00.000-08:00

VoIP is far from done in terms of its market impact. While it has gained substantial awareness recently, by most accounts, VoIP's market share can only be measured in single digits. However, its underlying impact on the overall landscape has been much greater, and VoIP is now recognized as the de facto standard for where telecom is going.

The vast majority of new telephony systems and network investments are VoIP-based, and over the next few years, as the installed base of legacy telephony turns over, the market share for VoIP will rapidly increase. For business users, VoIP will continue to gain ground in 2009, and you will start to see it used in new ways.

For most of us, business VoIP means IP telephony, which is easy to tell by the growing presence of IP phones popping up on desktops these days. However, in 2009, you can expect to see VoIP being used more often in other areas as well. Three examples come to mind right away. First is web-based calling, which can take many forms. Making a voice call on Skype is one, and that's a form of VoIP. Another would be click-to-call applications embedded in web sites or your Outlook directory. A second example – related to this – is the use of softphones. This is a desktop application developed specifically to make VoIP calls from your computer, and will work wherever you have a broadband connection. The third example is mobility. While the market is not quite ready for mobile VoIP, business users are increasingly discovering ways of making these calls over WiFi with their smartphones. These devices are becoming much more popular – and affordable – now, and with that, you can expect to see a lot more mobile calling over WiFi in 2009.

Courtesy:

ARP, RARP A Quick Review

2008-12-21T03:33:00.000-08:00

ARP

Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is used to map a known IP Address to a unkown data-link identifier (for example MAC Address). The ARP Request will contain:

Source IPv4 Address;
Source data-link identifier address (MAC Address for example);
Destination IPv4 Address;
Destination data-link identifier (MAC Address in our example) will be set to 00:00:00:00: 00:00.

Check this ARP Request capture:

Ethernet II, Src: 00:30:b8:83: cb:40, Dst: ff:ff:ff:ff: ff:ff
Destination: ff:ff:ff:ff: ff:ff (Broadcast)
Source: 00:30:b8:83: cb:40 (00:30:b8:83: cb:40 )
Type: ARP (0x0806)
Trailer: FFE0002000200030358 00000FFE00010003 0 Address Resolution Protocol (request)
Hardware type: Ethernet (0x0001)
Protocol type: IP (0x0800)
Hardware size: 6
Protocol size: 4
Opcode: request (0x0001)
Sender MAC address: 00:30:b8:83: cb:40 (00:30:b8:83: cb:40)
Sender IP address: 201..6.115.1 (201.6.115.1)
Target MAC address: 00:00:00_00: 00:00 (00:00:00:00: 00:00)
Target IP address: 201.6.115.254 (201.6.115.254)

By default Cisco Routers holds the ARP entries for 4 hours. You can change this value per interface basis with the command: arp timeout . Example:

interface fastethernet 0/0
arp timeout 3600

RARP

RARP is the opposite of ARP, it maps an IPv4 Address to a know MAC Address, for example, old workstations (dumb terminals) could have it´s firmware programmed to send a RARP request as soon as it was powered up, and a RARP Server would answer this RARP request with the workstation´s IP Address (Airline Companies used it ALOT in the past). Hmmm.. looks like DHCP right?! Yeah.. it looks, but it ISN´T ok?! ;)

RARP Request will contain:

Source and Destination data-link identifier (MAC Address in this example) will be the local host MAC Address;
Source and Destination IP Address will be set to 0.0.0.0.

Check this example capture of a RARP Traffic:

Ethernet II, Src: Marquett_12: dd:88, Dst: ff:ff:ff:ff: ff:ff
Destination: ff:ff:ff:ff: ff:ff (Broadcast)
Source: Marquett_12: dd:88 (00:00:a1:12: dd:88)
Type: ARP (0x0806)
Trailer: FFE0002000200030358 00000FFE00010003 0 Address Resolution Protocol (reverse request)
Hardware type: Ethernet (0x0001)
Protocol type: IP (0x0800)
Hardware size: 6
Protocol size: 4
Opcode: reverse request (0x0003)
Sender MAC address: Marquett_12: dd:88 (00:00:a1:12: dd:88)
Sender IP address: 0.0.0.0 (0.0.0.0)
Target MAC address: Marquett_12: dd:88 (00:00:a1:12: dd:88)
Target IP address: 0.0.0.0 (0.0.0.0)

---> EXAMPLE TOOK FROM Wireshark Wiki <---

Proxy ARP

A Proxy ARP enabled Router answers ARP requests intended for another machine, it does that by making the local host believe that the Router is the "owner" of that IP Address, local host will forward the traffic to the Router and the Router will be responsible to "route" the packets to the real destination.

For example, a Host in Subnet A wants to send traffic to Host in Subnet B, Host A and Host B are in the same subnet, but in different broadcast domains. Host A will send an ARP Request with Host B IP Address, the Router connected to both subnets will answer to Host A request using it´s own MAC Address instead of Host B MAC Address.

Now when Host A wants to transmit traffic to Host B, it´ll send to the Router MAC Address and the Router will just forward the traffic to Host B. That´s why "Proxy ARP".

It´s used on networks where the hosts are not configured with a default-gateway.

Oh yeah... it´s enabled by default in the Cisco IOS, and you can disable it on a per-interface basis with the command: no ip proxy- arp

Gratuitous ARP

In some circunstances a Host (Router, Switch, Computer, etc) might send an ARP Request with it´s own address as the target address... But, to his own address?! Why a host would do that!?

Well... there are some reasons... for example:

It´s use to update other devices ARP Table (when a device receives an ARP Request with an IP that it´s already in it´s cache, the cache will be updated with the new information;
HSRP Routers that takes over the control will send Gratuitous ARP out the network to update the cache table of other devices ;
To check for duplicate addresses (if the host receives a response, it´ll know that somebody is using the same IP Address).

You can check this Gratuitous ARP traffic captured with Wireshark (the best opensource sniffer out there):

Ethernet II, Src: 02:02:02:02: 02:02, Dst: ff:ff:ff:ff: ff:ff
Destination: ff:ff:ff:ff: ff:ff (Broadcast)
Source: 02:02:02:02: 02:02 (02:02:02:02: 02:02)
Type: ARP (0x0806)
Trailer: 0000000000000000000 0000000000000000 0
Address Resolution Protocol (request/gratuitous ARP)
Hardware type: Ethernet (0x0001)
Protocol type: IP (0x0800)
Hardware size: 6
Protocol size: 4
Opcode: request (0x0001)
Sender MAC address: 02:02:02:02: 02:02 (02:02:02:02: 02:02)
Sender IP address: 192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1)
Target MAC address: ff:ff:ff:ff: ff:ff (Broadcast)
Target IP address: 192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1)

---> EXAMPLE TOOK FROM Wireshark Wiki <---

IP Redirect:

IP Redirect is used by routers to notify hosts of another router on the data link that should be used for a particular destination.

For example, Router A and Router B are connected to the same Ethernet Segment, so as Host C. Host C has Router A set as default-gateway, Host C will send the packets to Router A, and Router A sees that the destination address of the packet is reachable via Router B, so Router A must forward the packets out the same interface it has received to Router B. Router A does that, and also, sends an ICMP Redirect to Host C informing to use Router B to reach this particular destination next time.

IP Redirect is enable by default in IOS Routers and can be disabled on a per interface basis with the command: no ip redirects.

Pak-India Joining Hands for Telecom Growth in Region

2008-12-20T03:54:00.000-08:00

Pakistan has come a long way in the development and growth of international communications technology (ITC) and the telecom industry, but must now concentrate on following policies that address infrastructure development, creating a skilled IT workforce, and allow private enterprise to be in the driver’s seat for future growth, according to a recent study.

The study done by Pakistan-born IT specialist Imran Chaudhry, now at the George Mason University here, draws a comparison between Pakistan and India and how they have fared in the ITC sector. India, he finds, has made major strides in ICT and telecom and now must take steps to build on its past successes. Common issues of both countries involve allowing their rural populations to become interconnected with their urban centres. Much like the railway and canal systems function to allow the conduct of trade and commerce, telecom can be used to join together far-flung, rural and economically neglected areas of both nations, he argues.

The two countries, he writes, “simply have to learn to get along. The stakes for each are too high to further allow tensions to fester among them. ICT and telecom can function as a bridge for improving bilateral relations and both would benefit greatly from this. In other words, the two neighbours must leverage their common history to build a bright and prosperous future.”

In Pakistan, competition in value-added services began in 1994, when the government awarded 15 domestic data communications licences with international access through Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL). The Pakistan Telecom Authority was established in 1997 to oversee the transfer of telecom services to the private sector. Throughout India, phone services were provided by three government-owned companies. India adopted a policy after 1994 to expand and improve its telecom infrastructure by encouraging private sector participation in telecom services. A new telecom policy took effect in 1999 under which existing basic and cellular licensees can continue under their existing contracts, while new licensees are to be charged a one-time entry fee and subjected to a revenue-sharing arrangement. Pakistan has a 50 percent greater outgoing traffic per subscriber, while India has almost 50 percent more telephone mainlines per 1,000 people. Waiting time in Pakistan for a connection is a year longer than in India. In India there are four mobile phones per 1,000 people, compared to two in Pakistan.

Chaudhry’s study finds the lack of ICT expenditure data in Pakistan is an “area of concern,” indicating that compiling such data is simply not a priority or that the figures are so low that it is considered better to let them go unreported. “The results of telecom-related public policy decisions will be difficult to gauge if the data is either incomplete or unreported,” he points out.

Pakistan’s telecom market is presently grappling with the transition from a regulated state-owned monopoly to a deregulated competitive structure. The government has a target to increase national teledensity to 7 percent (around 10 million lines) by 2010. To achieve this target, about 750,000 additional lines need to be installed every year. The planned privatisation of the state-owned telecommunications monopoly, PTCL, is an essential feature of the changing marketplace.

The prospects for strong development will continue to be low, unless rigid regulatory policies are removed and serious restructuring takes place, he argues.

According to Chaudhry, the wireless market in India is closing in on the 35 million-subscriber mark. Pakistan by contrast, has just over 3.5 million users. Pakistan appears to be headed in the same direction with the PTA taking steps to open up the wireless market. Pakistan believes that it can sustain six wireless players into the long term, pointing out that it had a wireless penetration rate of 2.46 percent at the end of 2003, short of the country’s wire-line teledensity of 2.79 percent. The PTA has sought to dispel fears about the country’s frequent change of policies in regard to wireless telephony, claiming that there will be no more changes for at least five years.

Chaudhry writes that the overall scores of each nation dropped between 2002 and 2003. India’s ranking in terms of telecommunications advancement slipped from 43 to 46 while Pakistan remained at 57 during this period. An examination of individual category scores highlights areas of contrast. The connectivity environment figures (India 1.7, Pakistan 1.1) highlight how overall technology penetration is greater in India. A new report by Telegeography forecasts that India’s international submarine cable capacity will have grown 17-fold in just three years, reflecting the results of the government policy over the past decade of easing telecom controls.

Consumer and business adoption figures (India 3.0. Pakistan 1.8) reflect concerns, including the sluggish investment by the Pakistani government in IT. It also highlights a disparity in the use of the Internet in the conduct of E-commerce. It appears that this is the next area which India will have to address if it is to gain the full domestic benefits of the telecom revolution. Pakistan will be able to realise such potential only once its IT infrastructure and public policy evolution has matured, according to the study.

Chaudhry finds that both foreign and domestic investors are jittery to take on risks in both countries where there might be perceived uncertainty. Pakistan faces challenges in this regard if it is to attract continued outside capital. A necessary step is the smooth transition from one elected government to another. India on the other hand, will have ensure that its ICT and telecom policies do not become unnecessarily bogged down by industry challenges in the courts. Both countries face challenges, each of their own nature. India has an advantage because of a 15 percent higher literacy rate than Pakistan.

“Education policies in Pakistan will have to keep pace with ICT and telecom policy development if the country is to position itself in the global IT marketplace, while India will have to pay closer attention to its rural population if its general population is to reap the benefits of the Internet age,” according to the study. The Indian government has followed a general policy of privatisation, and continues to fine-tune it as market conditions change, he writes, adding, “Pakistan will be well served in closely heeding this evolution so that when its time comes, it is able to similarly develop policies that serve the public good, and enact legislation that serves to level the ever-changing ICT and telecom playing field.”

Chaudhry finds that Pakistan is not in the same position as India presently in terms of a global IT presence. Rather than falling further behind, an aggressive policy of information exchange through the Internet, research and development entities and ICT think tanks should be adopted, he recommends. Although India is currently the default choice as offshore supplier for the communications industry, many other countries are fast emerging as challengers. The second-tier challengers include Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Mexico, Northern Ireland, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, and South Africa. In addition, many countries in the third and fourth tiers are aggressively vying for offshore business. With global competition heating up among offshore destinations, India finds itself in the position of protecting its turf, which it cannot afford to have threatened by unstable relations with its neighbour. He writes that Pakistan realises how the Internet is now an instrument of power. The challenge lies in adopting policies that allow the general population to be able realise its full potential, the good and the bad.

Courtesy: www.dailytime.pk

Pakistan Ranked 4th in BroadBand Internet Growth

2008-12-17T04:30:00.000-08:00

Pakistan is ranked fourth in terms of broadband Internet growth in the world, as the subscriber base of broadband Internet has been increasing rapidly with the total base crossing 170,000 in the country.

The rankings are released by Point Topic Global broadband analysis, a global research centre. According to the statistics, there are around 382. 4 million broadband subscribers worldwide by the end of August 2008 as compared with 317 million in August 2007, showing 17 percent growth.

Regional Broadband trend revealed that Western Europe has the largest share of broadband users with 26 percent followed by North America at 22 percent. South and East Asia regional is in the third place with 22 percent share.

In Pakistan operators are offering wide range of technologies like DSL, Cable, FTTH and WiMax. They have added 25,500 new broadband connections in the financial year 2007-08, which is around 150 percent increase compared to the previous financial year, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) statistics reported.

The Internet Protocol (IP) traffic through high-speed access link has become the success factor that have made rapid the transfer of online information and communication services, data, voice and video footage. The easy way of communication owing to highly competitive market of service providers has been penetrating in the country with modest acceleration in the metropolis.

At present Digital Subscriber Link (DSL) is the leading broadband service in the county with 65 percent of the market share. Major DSL providers in Pakistan are Micronet, LinkDotNet, CyberNet, MultiNet and PTCL.

Hybrid Fibre-Coaxial (HFC) is the second largest broadband technology in terms of the market share. Approximately 25 percent of the total broadband subscribers are using HFC technology. WorldCall (Pvt) Ltd is the larget provider of Cable Modem Broadband in Pakistan through its widespread HFC network in Karachi and Lahore. Wateen Telecom is another service provider which is providing HFC service in the country.

Global broadband market analysis has shown that subscribers base for FTTH technologies is increasing sharply with the emergence of innovative applications and services such as IPTV. These new services require very high access connectivity that can only be provided through FTTX technologies.

According to the PTA annual report 2008, operators have started offering FTTH and WiMax services in metropolitan cities. At present there are approximately 2,800 FTTH and 2,000 WiMax subscribers.

A significant reduction in subscription and services charges has been witnessed in the country. The DSL subscription rate has declined to $15 (nearly Rs1200) per month from $55 (above Rs 4,000) per month for 512Kbs connection.

Subsequent to the introduction of high-speed broadband access in early 2000, telecommunication companies have started offering a whole new variety of services.

Courtesy: www.dailytimes.pk

Zong Take One

2008-12-17T03:25:00.000-08:00

A new and interesting service by Zong to share media with others (for pre-paid and post-paid). You will need a GPRS enabled phone and GPRS activated for your mobile number.

TakeOne is a service by Zong which enables mobile users to share their photos and videos by:
Sending to any mobile in the world
Sending to various online destinations – Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Picasa
Sending to any email address

Take One is the answer to the PicShare service by Telenor. Nokia has also introduced the Ovi service.
This is a direct competition for the popular sharing and social network services.The trend is fast moving from PCs to phones and operators like Zong want to be the service provider.
The service is supposed to be easy — you take a picture and you get a prompt on whether you want to send / share that. However depending on the user this kind of prompt may be a convenience or annoyance. Overall the usability of the application will be a major factor in its success.
Subscription charges are Rs.25+tax per month and you can share unlimited photos and videos. Data (GPRS) charges are applicable to this service.
Click below to get details on how to subscribe.
User sends TAKEONE to 343 [ Rs2+tax]
User receives SMS with WAP link to download application
User clicks on the WAP Link
If user’s phone is supported he is shown the download link
After the installer is downloaded, the installation starts
Once the installation is complete, the application starts
When the application starts – it sends ACTIVATION SMS to 223 [Rs. 25+tax]
When system receives ACTIVATION SMS, the user is activated at the backend and he can start sharing his photos and videos – he is also sent a Welcome SMS.

Orascom’s Mobilink commercially launches “Mobilink Infinity” mobile WiMAX service in Pakistan

2008-12-08T11:11:00.000-08:00

Mobilink, Pakistan’s cellular market leader, and Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) today announced the commercial launch of Mobilink Infinity, a wireless broadband and telephony service for residential and enterprise consumers based on the mobile WiMAX standard, 802.16e-2005 (Rev-e).

Mobilink Infinity went live on October 22 in Karachi, Pakistan’s financial capital and major business center. In its very first week, the service attracted several thousands of subscribers. Mobilink, a member of the Orascom Telecom group, estimates that the service will attract 50,000 subscribers by year-end.

“When choosing a partner for the Karachi commercial launch, time-to-market and product readiness were key decision-making criteria,” noted Zouhair A Khaliq, the President and CEO of Mobilink, adding, “We saw Alcatel-Lucent as one of the most advanced WiMAX players. The maturity of their technology and the quality of their support have been excellent throughout the project.”

Commenting on the initiative, Naeem Y. Zamindar, Vice President & Head of Broadband Business Division at Mobilink, said, “Mobilink Infinity is all about making high speed internet and telephony over WiMax as accessible through our plug and play, affordable, customer friendly service. We’re offering our subscribers high-quality and reliable connectivity that has the potential to revolutionize their lives.”

Because Mobilink Infinity is built upon Alcatel-Lucent’s innovative and state-of-the-art mobile WiMAX Rev-e technology, Mobilink Infinity subscribers benefit from easy, affordable and always-on connectivity to the Internet, with fast downloads and smooth audio and video streaming; they can also enjoy high quality voice calls. Calls can be made using a regular phone or PC interface.

Alcatel-Lucent has supplied a comprehensive WiMAX Rev-e solution including both fixed and nomadic terminal devices from various CPE partners, thanks to its Open CPE program, which is designed to ensure service provider customers have the widest possible range of interoperable end-user devices. The Alcatel-Lucent WiMAX network leverages existing sites and equipment in Mobilink’s GSM network, helping to optimize deployment economics.

“With voice telephony seeing tough competition, WiMAX presents an excellent way to generate additional revenue, all while providing a level of service that subscribers truly appreciate,” noted Vincenzo Nesci, president of Alcatel-Lucent’s activities in the Middle East and Africa, “We have a long relationship with Mobilink and Orascom, and we are pleased to have helped them launch this service in Karachi.”

Mobilink and Alcatel-Lucent will provide further details on how this advanced service was deployed and how it is being received by the first subscribers with a live media web cast during the upcoming WiMAX Forum Congress Latin America 2008 December 2-4.

About Mobilink:
Mobilink, a subsidiary of the Orascom Telecom Group is Pakistan’s leading cellular service and market leader with an unmatched customer base of over 30 million subscribers.

The company has successfully achieved a record subscriber growth of 40 % in 2007 and with over 7,500 cell sites, has coverage in over 10,000 cities, towns, and villages, through out Pakistan. International roaming is available in over 130 countries with more than 300 partner operators, and the company’s investment to date, is over US $2.5 billion. It directly employs over 5,000 people, and facilitated through an integrated technology infrastructure, has the largest distribution network of over 200,000 retail outlets across Pakistan. The company is a carrier-class nationwide connecting service with its 6,500 kilometers fiber optic backbone, and is leading the Mobile Commerce revolution with its first lifestyle application, “Genie” which enables customers to pay utility, telephone bills and top-up prepaid credit through their mobile phones.

Through The Mobilink Foundation, the company’s corporate social responsibility program contributes significantly in the areas of health and education. The company is also the official cellular service of the Pakistan Cricket Board and the leading BlackBerry communication services provider in Pakistan.

About Orascom Telecom

Orascom Telecom is a leading international telecommunications company operating GSM networks in seven high growth markets in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, having a total population under license of approximately 460 million with an average mobile telephony penetration of approximately 33% as at 30th June 2007. Orascom Telecom operates GSM networks in Algeria ("OTA"), Pakistan ("Mobilink"), Egypt ("Mobinil"), Tunisia ("Tunisiana"), Iraq ("Iraqna"), Bangladesh ("Banglalink"), and Zimbabwe ("Telecel Zimbabwe"). In Pakistan, Mobilink has 30 million subscribers.

Orascom Telecom had over 61 million subscribers as at June 2007. Orascom Telecom owns 19.3% of Hutchison Telecommunications International Limited, a leading telecommunication services provider operating in seven countries. Orascom Telecom is traded on the Cairo &Alexandria Stock Exchange under the symbol (ORTE.CA, ORAT EY), and on the London Stock Exchange its GDR is traded under the symbol (ORTEq.L, OTLD LI).

About Alcatel-Lucent’s position in WiMAX
With 34 commercial contracts and more than 70 trials around the world, Alcatel-Lucent is the undisputed leader in the WiMAX infrastructure market, benefiting from end to end integration and implementation capabilities. This market leadership uniquely positions Alcatel-Lucent to help customers launch end-user services effectively and in a record time.

As a result of its strong market position, Alcatel-Lucent also has established itself as a key driver of the development of the WiMAX ecosystem, with its Open Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) Program becoming one of the industry’s premiere showcases and test-beds for WiMAX terminals from many of the world’s leading WiMAX device vendors. Thanks to Alcatel-Lucent’s Open CPE Program, the company’s radio access infrastructure supports a wide range of attractively priced terminals in all form factors and from various equipment partners.

About Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) is the trusted partner of service providers, enterprises and governments worldwide, providing solutions that deliver voice, data and video communication services to end-users. A leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP technologies, applications and services, Alcatel-Lucent leverages the unrivalled technical and scientific expertise of Bell Labs, one of the largest innovation powerhouses in the communications industry. With operations in more than 130 countries and the most experienced global services organization in the industry, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with a global reach. Alcatel-Lucent achieved revenues of Euro 17.8 billion in 2007 and is incorporated in France, with executive offices located in Paris.

Courtesy: Alcatel-Lucent http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

IMS

2008-11-24T06:48:00.000-08:00

IMS defines a complete architecture and framework that enables the convergence of voice, video, data and mobile network technology over an IP-based infrastructure. It is a set of specifications that describes the Next Generation Networking (NGN) architecture for implementing IP based telephony and multimedia services (using SIP)

It fills the gap between the two most successful communication paradigms, cellular and Internet technology.

The benefit of IMS is that it provides and architecture that is access independent i.e. it provides Convergence. Now each access type is enabled to work with an IMS core be it WLAN,GPRS, DSL, or any emerging technology like WiMax. Users can have uniform access to services regardless of type of access network used.

Although IMS was initially intended to enable third-generation packet-switched mobile networks to access IP-based applications and services through Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), marketing hype has driven IMS to an overarching umbrella architecture for offering IP-based services regardless of the user's access technology.

Regardless of the hype, IMS represents one of the most important telecom technology developments of this decade, enabling the transmission of any type of media (i.e., voice, video or data) using any type of access method. In this telebriefing Yankee Group will discuss the IMS reference architecture and it's importance to the future development of WiMAX n other 4G technologies.

Listen to a Telebriefing: http://www.trendsme dia1.com/ telebriefings/ audio/telebriefi ng_07_24_ 08.mp3

Glimpse on MPLS

2008-11-24T01:14:00.000-08:00

MPLS added SHIM header of 32bits...which includes 20bits label, 3 bits for CoS, 1 bit for Bottom of Stack & 8 bits for TTL.

This overhead will sometimes creates the issue...b/c in different MPLS application. ..different numbers of labels are attached..sometimes 2 or even 3...causing 4B x 3 = 12B overhead...so if framesize increase 1500B than it will cause fragmentation. ..and if application mark the TCP segment as Dont Fragment.... so it will simply drop the packet.

To overcome this issue.....Service Provider used to increase MTU size at Core Interfaces to min of 1532 to carry....1500B information from the Core. But if the core interface is Trunk....than further overhead b added...so we used to implement 1550B Core interface MTU over Trunk ethernet interfaces.

EDGE

2008-11-23T01:10:00.000-08:00

EDGE is an improvement to the GPRS air interface that enables higher user bit-rates and greater system capacity by enhancing the physical layer. The higher bit-rates place extra demands on parts of the GPRS network.

The core GPRS nodes, SGSN and GGSN, are more or less independent of user bit-rates and no new hardware is required. In the radio network, base station transceivers need to be EDGE-capable, and base station and BSC/PCU software needs to be updated.

One fundamental characteristic of cellular systems is that different users experience different channel quality, as a result of differences in the distance to the serving base station, fading and interference. Radio network planning ensures that only a fraction of users ever experience low channel quality, but also means that many users have ‘excessive’ channel quality.
EDGE improves the situation by employing a new modulation method and link quality control. 8-PSK (as illustrated in Figure 9) is a high level linear modulation method that carries three times more information through an extended signal constellation. GMSK modulation, as defined in GSM/GPRS, is also part of EDGE.
Nine modulation and coding schemes are defined in EDGE. Link quality control dynamically selects the modulation and coding scheme for transmission of data over the air interface. The protection of the data is adapted to the channel quality to obtain optimal bit-rate. Standard GPRS bit-rate saturates at relatively low channel quality, whereas EDGE user bit-rates increase with better channel quality. Link quality control in EDGE uses both link adaptation and incremental redundancy where the initial coding is selected based on measurement of radio quality and additional redundanc y is sent if decoding fails.
EDGE Evolution makes substantial improvements in latency and perceived delay through reduced Transmission Time Interval (TTI) and additional protocol
enhancements. Radio blocks are currently transmitted over four consecutive bursts on one timeslot using a TTI of 20 ms. Reducing the TTI to 10 ms improves latency substantiall y, to below 100 ms. The four bursts are then transmitted on more than one timeslot (parallel timeslots on two carriers or dual timeslots on one carrier).

The most obvious improvement to peak bit-rates is through the introduction of dual carriers in the downlink, increasing the carrier bandwidth available above 200 kHz. EDGE terminals already use multiple timeslots for transmission and reception. Today’ s terminals receive on up to five timeslots. The introduction of dual carriers doubles the available bandwidth (to 400 kHz) as well as the practical peak bit-rate. Using dual carriers and five timeslots on each carrier provides bit-rates of almost 600 kbit/s, with no other changes to EDGE.

Higher average and peak bit-rates and improved spectrum efficiency are achieved through more advanced modulation, more efficient channel coding and an increased symbol rate (in practice, increasing the carrier bandwidth). Using 16QAM instead of 8-PSK modulation for some of the current Modulation and

Coding Schemes (MCS) improves robustness against interference and, as a result, increases the average bit-rates. In this case, the higher number of bits per symbol (see figure 9), is used to increase the channel coding. Using so called ‘turbo codes’, which handle error correction more efficiently than current convolutional codes, improves average bit rates even further. With twelve MCSs – three more than with regular EDGE – enabled by higher-order

modulations (16QAM and 32QAM in addition to GMSK and 8-PSK), the peak bit rate is boosted to 100 kbit/s per timeslot, equating to user bit-rates of 1 Mbit/s if dual carriers are used. The higher symbol rate enables higher bit-rates in the uplink, since dual carriers are only standardized for the downlink.

Dual-antenna terminals enable efficient interference rejection techniques, similar to those used in base station receivers. By combining signals from the two antennas, a large proportion of the interference can be cancelled out, significantly improving average bit-rates and spectrum efficiency. Dual antenna terminals can also improve service coverage. With two antennas and efficient combination methods, weaker signal transmissions can be captured. Around 3 dB less (roughly 50 per cent) signal power is needed to provide service, enabling larger cells or lower output power.

EDGE is delivering high bit-rates and spectrum efficiency for GSM operators around the world, and is becoming a standard capability of GSM and WCDMA phones. In effect, EDGE enables 3G applications over current GSM networks, and provides seamless services with 3G. Today, EDGE enables user bit-rates of 250 kbit/s and a latency of 150 ms. This means it can handle four times as much traffic as standard GPRS, increasing the usability of mobile data services, enhancing customer satisfaction and boosting data revenues.

EDGE Evolution, currently being standardized in 3GPP, will improve performance and coverage even further, with bit-rates of up to 1 Mbit/s and latency below 100 ms. For GSM operators around the world, this makes the business case for EDGE even stronger than it is today – whether or not they have access to 3G spectrum.

Harmonic Filters Smooth out Extreme System Reactions

2008-10-23T10:27:00.000-07:00

In many power distribution networks, it is vital that the network remains ‘clean’, in other words, that no quality faults occur.

However, these types of problems not only occur along the route from the energy supplier to the customer, but also ‘behind the meter’, for example, on the industrial site or in a production environment.

Electronic devices are now used more often in industrial areas, and so an increase in non-linear effects occurs in the mains networks. This means it is no longer possible to work without some sort of harmonic filter module.

Suppliers of harmonic filters such as Block visit customer sites to accurately measure the current and voltage curve, diagnose deviations from the ideal sinusoidal wave form, and hence identify faults that may initially not have appeared all that serious. A minor fault in the company’s network, for example, which causes flickering of a desktop monitor, may not be tolerated in a production environment. These barely-noticeable faults in the mains network can affect the reliability and quality of production. Faults in sensitive electronic devices also need to be avoided, regardless of whether they are used in commerce and industry or in a home environment.

"The problems in mains networks have intensified with the increasing use of converters," says Andreas Lauer, Head of Development for Network Quality and Special Inductive Components at Block. This increased use of converters is actually a welcome development, as converters can save energy due to the demand-based supply of the drives. However, the converters have become increasingly powerful, resulting in stronger reactions in the network."

Rather than achieving the ideal ‘sinusoidal’ waveform, the connection of a measuring device results in a ‘McDonald's curve’. This curve is so-called because of its similarity to the large ‘M’ logo of the famous burger chain.

"The real problem is the harmonics," adds Lauer. “While third harmonics do not occur in three-phase networks, they can cause problems in single-phase networks, as a result of commonly-used energy-saving lamps, televisions and PCs. The increased use of electronics is having negative consequences. Virtually every electronic load now causes harmonics.” According to Lauer, the consequences are not just faults, but “avoidable costs”.

Energy supply companies are ultimately responsible for ensuring that their networks remain clean. Indeed, Block is often called out by an energy supplier, after a network operator has identified that a customer's system reactions are causing problems with the network quality. "It can even get to the stage where the energy supplier threatens to shut down the customer's network," states Lauer.

Clearly, electricity customers should do everything they can to avoid such situations. If the current and voltage in the network are not operating in common mode, the effective output (ie, the proportion of the product of current and voltage with which actual work can be performed) drops. In this ‘dynamic’ mode, which is the equivalent of negative power, a substantial part of the high-grade energy source ends up as heat, which is waste energy the customer still has to pay for.

Also, transporting just the required amount of effective power in the cables without an unwanted proportion of harmonics, means that a smaller cross-section of cable would be sufficient to supply devices and systems – an interesting potential saving in light of current copper prices. Alternatively, more consumers could be connected to already-installed cabling if the amount of waste energy moving back and forth was reduced.

Harmonics are just as problematic in energy suppliers' distribution networks as they are in commerce and industry. The last major blackout in New York was caused by harmonics and resulted in the creation of a series of standards and guidelines designed to guarantee network quality, even in the star-shaped networks commonly used in the US (due to the large distances to be bridged).

The example is therefore not a like-for-like comparison with Europe, where shorter distances enable ring topology, which has greater redundancy in the event of a fault. But the cables used here in Europe also deteriorate. This is a slow process, but one which can lead to failures if several error sources take effect at the same time. It is a well-known fact that harmonics accelerate cable corrosion.

In the case of production, the consequences are not quite as spectacular as a blackout, but they are just as undesirable. There is a risk of higher losses in machines and systems, cables and devices can overheat, measuring instruments and relays show errors. Devices and complete production lines can deteriorate faster as a result of the undesired stress, capacitors can even be destroyed, while computers and telecommunications equipment may experience faults.

Block's solution is a passive filter technology. Harmonic Filter Modules (HFMs) guarantee high network quality. As passive components, they are not only reliable and cost effective, but can also be easily connected in parallel for increased power. The effect is not only improved voltage stability and fewer electrical faults, but also reduced losses. "Energy savings of up to 30 per cent are not uncommon," says Lauer. “And because thermal loads are minimised, you will see increased service lives of devices and systems.”

Converter manufacturers are already aware of these problems. Block supplies a large number of its HFMs directly to converter manufacturers. However, the source of faults not only lie with converters, but also rectifier stations. These are often used in combination with rectifier motors.

There is no general consensus as to whether using several small modules or central compensation is the best solution. Space is often the deciding factor in terms of which model is used. In the event of retrofitting, however, distributed HFMs are generally used.

Courtesy/Credits: www.engineerlive.com

Cisco Selects Winner of Global I-Prize Innovation Contest

2008-10-18T06:59:00.000-07:00

SAN JOSE, Calif., October 14, 2008 - Cisco today announced the winner of the Cisco® I-Prize innovation contest, a global competition to help identify a major new business opportunity for Cisco. The winning team, based in Germany and Russia, presented Cisco with a business plan that improves energy efficiency by taking advantage of Cisco's leadership in Internet Protocol (IP) technology. Based in two countries, the team relied on Cisco's collaboration portfolio of Cisco TelePresence, Cisco Unified Communications and the new Cisco WebEx® Connect application platform, to brainstorm their initial idea, collaborate on the business plan, and virtually present their idea to Cisco.

The Cisco I-Prize contest was launched during the opening of Cisco's Globalization Center in Bangalore, India, in October 2007. The contest invited entrepreneurs from all over the world to join a collaborative online forum where they could brainstorm and comment on innovative business and technology ideas, form teams, and draft business plans for a chance to join Cisco and help develop their new business idea. Within the first three months of its introduction, the contest attracted more than 2,500 entrepreneurs from 104 countries.

The winning team was led by Anna Gossen, a computer science student at the Karlsruhe University in Germany. With the help of Niels Gossen, a computer science student at the University of Applied Sciences in Germany, and Sergey Bessonnitsyn, a systems engineer from Russia, the team is eligible to receive US$250,000 in cash to be equally shared among the team members. The team may also be considered for opportunities to join Cisco.

"The Cisco I-Prize contest gave us a platform to build out our idea, develop an executable business and technology plan, and receive valuable feedback from respected innovators and industry leaders. The experience has been invaluable," said Anna Gossen. "We're excited to continue working with Cisco to evolve our idea into a real business opportunity for the company and help develop a new wave of technology leadership in improving energy efficiencies. "

The winning team proposed an approach to using the network as the platform for visibility, manageability and, ultimately, optimized control of energy-consuming systems. The winning business plan was notable for its combination of technology and business model innovation.

"One of the missions of the Cisco I-Prize was to harness innovation and talent on a global scale by using collaborative tools to help brainstorm new ideas and move them from initial concept to a viable business opportunity, " said Marthin De Beer, senior vice president of Cisco's Emerging Technologies Group. "Collaboration is transforming the way we innovate. The Cisco I-Prize is a real-world example of how new technologies are breaking down the traditional barriers of innovation and creating a world forum for exchanging new ideas."

Entries were evaluated in much the same way that Cisco assesses internal business ideas for its Emerging Technologies Group, which is home to ventures such as Cisco TelePresence, Cisco Digital Signage and Cisco Physical Security. Judges considered both the technological innovation as well as the business opportunity, hoping to identify an idea that has the potential to achieve at least US$1 billion revenue to Cisco over a five- to seven-year period.

About Cisco Systems

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco. com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom. cisco.com.

# # #

Cisco, the Cisco logo, Cisco Systems CCDE, CCIE and CCNA are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partnership does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. This document is Cisco Public Information.

Layers

2008-10-03T04:48:00.000-07:00

In todays growing world of networks, there is a need for Remote Mangament.All the devices today come with all the 7 layers of OSI that help the network administrator to remotely mange the sites.

Although switch works on layer 2, but it has to be assigned an IP address. But switches do not natively support layer 3 address. For that there is a logical layer 3 interface SVI (Switch virtual interface) on switch that provide layer 3 IP connectivity to the switch. So a managemnt IP address must be configured on the SVI and default IP gateway for remote management.

Now SVI might be a new name for most of us. I want to elaborate more abt it, what i learnt while googling it.

Well,SVI's make the switch understand the layer 3 addresses. SVI's are generally configured for VLANs and they help the VLANs to communicate with each other. As we know that there are no physical interfaces for VLANs. While doing the VLAN configuration we have to create vlans on every switch and assign vlan memberships to the ports. By this we are creating a one to one mapping between the VLANs and the SVI's (What i understood is that there will be as many SVI's as the VLANs we have created..Fahad bhai plz corerct me if iam wrong).

By default, there is only VLAN1 enabled on the switch ports hence in default settings, a SVI is created for a default VLAN 1 and if assign a managemnt ip to a switch port, it can be surely manged remotely because of SVI.

Another thing i learnt mean while was related to Multi layer switch. If we want to upgrade the layer 2 switch to LAyer 3 switch i.e. multilayer switch then there is a software image called SMI (Standard Multi layer Image) and its enhanced version is Enhanced multilayer image. (EMI)

so to add layer 2+ functionalities in a switch, the Switch IOS must be upgraded with these images.

So according to my understanding, if u have to ip configure ur layer 2 switch, then SVI is there to make the switch understand it. On the other hand if you want to make ur layer 2 switch a multilayer switch that can perform the layer 3 functionalties (access
control lists (ACLs), quality of service (QoS), static routing, and the
and the Routing Information Protocol (RIP) etc) you have to upgrade the IOS with the SMI and EMI images.

Subnetting & difference between DNS & DHCP

2008-10-03T04:46:00.000-07:00

Subnetting originally came to solve the problem of lack of IP addresses on the Internet. As you know thats, IP address is of 32 bits. It means that you can have 2^32 unique IP addresses. Also IP adressing was divided into Classes A,B and C to manage the big, medium and small sized networks.

In the early times, this address space was enough. But in 1979, the IP communication started to evolve and the concept came that IP communication should be global, they should be for everyone.

At that time maximum organizations were USA based and they bought Class A and Class B addresses even if their hosts requirement was small. So most of the address space was utilized in 5 years. To solve this problem, NAT (Network Address Translation) arrived. That solved the problem to some extent but still there was huge wastage of addresses.

A question arises that are there only 3 kinds of networks? Is the requirement of hosts in every network is same as specified in the Classes? No. Say you own a small company in which there is requirement of only 10 hosts and it is just enough for your company. And for that if u acquire a Class C address of 256 hosts, it will be a huge wastage.

Here Subnetting plays its role. It breaks one network into many smaller networks according to your requirement.

In the case of 10 hosts, you acquire a network address of /28 form your service provider. You can have 16 sub networks with 14 hosts each. So this way you are not exhausting your IP address space and also there is a possibilty to grow you network in future.

Another advantage is that it keeps the size of routing tables small through Summarization.

You purchase an address from you service provider and can break that into as many networks as per your requirement but always send the traffic back to your provider through the summarized network (i.e the one you have purchased). There is no need to send all the subnetted addresses since router just looks at the network number to route traffic. The route from the Internet to any subnet of a network is the same, no matter which subnet the destination host is on.

So better traffic ontrol.

Now, difference between DNS and DHCP?

DNS is an application that translates Fully qualified Domain Name(FQDN) say www.yahoo.com to IP address. Its an internet directory database. Their a large number of DNS servers arranged in an hierarchical fashion and distributed around the world

While DHCP dynamically assigns Ip address to the hosts on the LAN. When a user in a LAN is up, it sends a broadcast to know its IP address.The DHCP server responds the client with the ip address. It also creates a MAC table to avoid IP address conflict.

Huawei And Warid Partner To Deploy Solar Powered Base Station In Pakistan

2008-10-03T04:32:00.000-07:00

Warid Telecom, has deployed a solar powered BTS site using Huawei’s Solar Powered Macro Base Station (BTS). It is claimed that this is the first solar powered BTS in Pakistan. See Huawei site for the full press release. This is a welcome step for Pakistan telecom industry. A while ago we had written about Telenor’s efforts for alternative and renewable energy options. It is good to see that other operators are investing in clean technology options. In a way, the energy crisis has forced many companies in Pakistan to do this. It also makes sense to use technology from the Chinese infrastructure giant Huawei as Chinese companies are at the forefront of solar technology development. It would be interesting to get more information about the financial details of what it takes to deploy and run the solar powered BTS and what is the payback on the investment.
Here’s more background about the Warid-Huawei solar powered BTS.

Huawei’s Solar Powered Macro BTS allows the operator to extend its network reach into remote areas of the country where there is limited access to the electricity grid.
With the continued growth of mobile phone subscribers in Pakistan, operators are expanding network coverage especially in small and medium sized cities, suburban areas, countryside, as well as in mountainous areas with poor transportation links. Many of these remote areas have limited access to the electricity grid, and operators have traditionally used Diesel Generator Solutions to power their network sites.
Warid Telecom chose to use Huawei’s Solar Powered BTS due to several factors. The non-hybrid site is 100% powered on solar energy, thereby reducing carbon dioxide emissions and noise pollution, both of which is harmful to the local environment. The solution also reduces pressure on Pakistan’s overall energy supply which further benefits the environment.

Lexar 2GB Wi-Fi Memory Card

2008-09-27T02:50:00.000-07:00

Really a great initiative.. .Love to see its Market success. As i used to say....all the devices soon be part of Internet World..to communicate directly (not via any computer)... Surely soon IPv6 enabled WiFi Memory cards will be available.

I find the following pic from Lexar website:

Lexar is giving digital photo enthusiasts the opportunity to “cut the cord” with the introduction of its Shoot-n-Sync Wi-Fi memory card - a convenient wireless solution for uploading digital photos to computers as well as sharing them via social networking and photo-sharing websites.

The 2GB memory card, compatible with SD-compatible digital cameras, records and stores digital photos in a camera just like a standard memory card, but adds the time-saving convenience and simplicity of wireless uploading from camera to computer - and directly to the Internet.
With its advanced Wi-Fi connectivity, the Lexar Shoot-n-Sync Wi-Fi memory card is a great product for a wide range of photographers from bloggers, web surfers, and social-networkers to busy parents, traveling executives, and students. The Lexar Shoot-n-Sync Wi-Fi memory card provides a simple and convenient solution for managing all their digital photos. Instead of removing the memory card from a camera, transferring it to a reader, connecting the reader, and then dragging each individual photo onto the computer, the Lexar Shoot-n-Sync Wi-Fi memory card offers users a much simpler solution.
As an Eye-Fi Connected product, the Lexar Shoot-n-Sync Wi-Fi memory card features Eye-Fi technology and connects to Eye-Fi’s web service to wirelessly and automatically upload photos from a digital camera to the web and to a computer. Eye-Fi is dedicated to building products and services that help consumers navigate, nurture and share their digital memories. After the brief initial installation of Eye-Fi Manager software on your PC, the card is ready to wirelessly download copies of any photos stored on it, automatically to your computer, as soon as it comes within range of your home computer’s wireless network. Without removing the card from the camera, users can back up photos to a computer or transfer them to photo-sharing, social networking, or blog sites. After the digital photo copies are sent, all a user has to do is approve the transfers and they can be instantly shared with the world.
“Lexar is committed to delivering innovative products that enhance people’s enjoyment of digital photography. The Lexar Shoot-n-Sync Wi-Fi memory card not only provides our customers the reliability and quality of Lexar memory, but the opportunity to enjoy a new level of wireless convenience - free from the hassles of cables and greatly simplifies transferring photos from camera to PC,” said Manisha Sharma, Lexar director of product marketing.
Compatible with both Windows and Mac operating systems, the 2GB Lexar Shoot-n-Sync Wi-Fi memory card will ship in October.

MPLS & Relevance in WiMax

2008-09-25T03:45:00.000-07:00

WiMAX is not dependent on MPLS but the IP base infrastructure. ...but as this technology need to lead in the market & compete with its rival technologies. ...& offer Multiplay services...that hasnt been offer before...The Technology developers.. .combine all the best of the Technologies to built the Converged/Unified Network.

Aim of WiMAX is to offer,

Broadband Wireless Access (Huge amount of bandwidth per user) .. so that every user can enjoy the Voice/Video/ Data Services over the same Last mile by spending minimum possible $$$.
More Strong Coverage: To target Metropolitan areas, so that single BS can cover more n more business area.

For offering good services...with the above mentioned aim..it is necessary to have all three segments of networks with the huge capacity to handle VAS like Voice, Video, Data. These segments are,

Access: WiMAX RF interface offer good bandwidth using OFDMA & its varients.

Distribution/ Aggregation: WiMAX recommend Metro Ethernet for backhualing WimAX users traffic to ASN Gw....but u can also us Ethernet Microwave, E0SDH or Existing TDM/ATM network.

Core: Currently available Core network technologies are TDM, IP, FR/ATM, MPLS. MPLS is the most powerfull & most widely adopted technology in the World. Currently worldwide oeprators are already using MPLS in their existing 2G or 3G core...along with TDM by some operator..So WiMAX chooses best of the best methodologies to compete in the market.

Now the second question can be What is MPLS & What it can do for any network (including WiMAX)? Check the following detail list of MPLS related documents present at Xpedient Portal Files Section.

Also Check Juniper Networks document i.e. Juniper Networks Mobile Packet Core Solution

http://www.juniper. net/solutions/ literature/ brochures/ 150047.pdf

Visitors

2008-06-18T23:16:00.001-07:00