London BBG Communications…

I was recently in London to take a peak at some research work.  London’s research team undertakes a very comprehensive amount of investigative and analytical work with its resources. Most major projects are commissioned from internal resources.  While the larger part of this work develops from the team’s own research agenda, London is always interested in hearing from researchers who feel they can make a contribution to the research programme or from other agencies seeking support for research falling within its broad remit.

 

HIGH SPEED BROADBAND COVERAGE FOR ALL AMERICANS

Two major telecom business groups have urged that CWA’s proposition for increasing high-speed broadband coverage to reach all Americans be a chief ingredient of any economic plan being designed by the succeeding Obama government to rekindle economic growth and overhaul America’s communications systems.

The Fiber-to-Home Council and the Telecommunications Industry Association suggested that Congress adopt CWA’s proposition as a “baseline for the economic recovery package.” The groups are comprised of more than 24 firms as well a non-profit organizations. President-elect Obama has long supported CWA’s campaign to make high-speed Internet accessible to every American.

TheWashington Post published an article on growing advocacies by corporate and public interest groups to establish high-speed networks and improve Internet services in underserviced rural and urban areas.  The article delved into companies’ call for tax break incentives to stimulate Internet infrastructure building which it regards as “the global economic engine for the 21st century”, a significant element of CWA’s proposition.

The CWA’s proposition also include government financing of national broadband mapping required by current legislation, grants for venturing in expensive but underserviced rural areas, and financial assistance for low-wage homes to acquire computers and community-based digital literacy programs.

“We need to aim high with this and public policy needs to catch up with the realities of the global economy,” the Post quoted CWA leader Larry Cohen as saying. Every $5 billion put in broadband expansion would directly translate to 97,500 additional jobs and indirectly produce some 2.5 million more jobs throughout the country, according to estimates by the CWA.

The Post also said that the United States has slid down to 15th place worldwide in terms of broadband connectivity, citing CWA’s research contained in two important reports on the state of America’s Internet infrastructure entitled “Speed Matters”.

The Fiber-to-the-Home Council, which gives public instruction on the prospects and advantages of fiber-to-the-home products, speak for diverse sectors of the broadband industry, including telecommunications, computing, networking, system integration, engineering, and content-provider companies, besides traditional telecommunications service providers. The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) is the business association of the communications and IT industry.

Broadband Infrastructure and BBG Communications

The financial crisis has badly hit telecom, wireless and cable companies as families spend less on Internet services.  But the government plan to funnel money into rebuilding Internet infrastructure in rural areas as well as cities which are underserved is expected not only to make jobs available to hundreds of thousands Americans but to provide a windfall to phone, cable and Internet companies.

Aggressive telecom lobbyists, often in contention are united in praising Obama’s plans to increase nationwide network coverage, saying this would enhance economic performance by providing labor-intensive jobs needed to lay down fiber lines as well as engineering jobs required for designing complicated systems. However, the different lobby groups disagree on how that goal should be reached, fomenting what one lobbyist christened a “telecom takefest.”

The Telecommunications Industry Association calls for tax breaks and grants for those companies which will build broadband infrastructure in far-flung areas. The trade association wrote House Speaker  Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) last week saying tax breaks as well as a $25 billion grants package should be prioritized.

An ultra-fast fiber-optic technology supplier Corning wants grants to companies to depend on whether these companies will provide higher speed and better quality services. This means companies will have to employ faster fiber optics.

A public interest group called Free Press advocates supervision of the plan committed to an agency with experience in technology policy such as the Federal Communications Commission or the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the White House’s telecom office. Free Press also wants Internet service to be cheap.  The group urges government to give financial assistance to low-wage families with school-age children so they can acquire laptop computers and have the cost of home Internet access deducted from their taxes.

Ben Scott, Free Press’ policy director cautioned against a corporate bias in crafting the plan.  “The worst-case scenario would be to write a billion-dollar check in tax breaks and funnel money directly to prop up a stock price,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Communications Workers of America supports tax breaks in the form of tax deductions, which they claim will permit companies to spend budgets for broadband deployment more quickly, resulting in more jobs sooner. The CWA estimates that for every $5 billion spent on improving the broadband systems, close to 100,000 jobs are generated.

BBG Communications: Internet Providers Move to Shape Broadband Push

Cable and phone company lobbyists are scrambling to have the biggest say on the plan to upgrade America’s broadband infrastructure that President-elect Barack Obama called for recently.

The plan is envisioned by lawmakers in Congress not only to generate jobs over the short term but also to improve the availability and quality of high-speed internet access in the country in the long term.  In a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United States is ranked 15^th in broadband penetration, sliding down from 4^th place since 2001. Proponents of the plan say broadband connectivity critically affects the economic competitiveness of the U.S.

Congress will discuss, among many issues, what speed should be defined as broadband, and whether government should spend only on areas in the country that have no broadband access, or if it should also give subsidies to improve networks that are already in place.

Legislative aides and lobbyists in the know say proposals being seriously considered are the granting of tax credits to corporations which will build new wireless or landline infrastructure, and the issuance of government-backed broadband “bonds” and grants to companies or local governments. Many legislators also agree on the need to encourage low-income consumers to get broadband connection through such means as giving them vouchers to buy computers or discounts on service charges.

Members of the Senate’s Committees on Finance and Commerce are preparing a handful of alternatives, as are House members such as California Rep. Anna Eshoo and Massachusetts Rep. Ed Markey, chairman of the telecommunications subcommittee. On the part of the administration, the point person for the Obama transition team is former Federal Communications Commission chief of staff Blair Levin.

Rep. Eschoo says “there aren’t any quarrels about the need for more broadband,” adding that “It’s a matter of how we’re going to do it and the actual language.” She submitted a memo to the House leadership in October wherein she sketched a series of options for the broadband improvement plan.

BBG Communications – Mobile VOIP in Europe

During the early 2000s, Hewlett-Packard, Symbol Technologies, to name a few, are the acknowledged innovators in Wi-Fi-based handheld devices, such as personal digital assistants or handheld computers used for warehousing and other applications.

With successive generations of these devices gaining in processing power and battery life, their potential use as a platform for mobile VoIP became practical. So much so that in the summer of 2005 companies delivered practical client software to run on these class of Wi-Fi only, Windows-based PDAs using Microsoft Windows CE operating systems.

Exactly the next summer, in 2006, a SIP stack and a VoIP client in Nokia E-series dual-mode Wi-Fi handsets were launched in the market. The SIP stack and client have since been introduced in many more E and N-series dual-mode Wi-Fi handsets, most notably the Nokia N95 which gained popular following particularly in Europe. Various services use these handsets, including WiFiMobile and Truphone. Of late, Nokia introduced a built in VoIP client to the mass market device (Nokia 6300i) running Series 40 operating system.

But both Nokia N96 and Nokia N78 which were introduced in September 2008 as replacements for the N95 were not designed with built-in VoIP. Some quarters suggest that this was due to the pressures that Nokia has to deal with from Mobile Network Operators. But a plausible explanation is that VoIP has never been a major selling feature on the N-series, perhaps because software maintenance in this area is not commercially attractive or profitable. It is expected, though, that mobile VoIP operators will launch proprietary VoIP applications for the N96, as Fring has already done.

From a Wi-Fi network point of view, there are several innovations embedded in the most current vendor Wi-Fi networking equipment that makes them particularly powerful in a mobile VoIP context. Strong encryption making the conversation in a Wi-Fi context quite private, support for Quality of Service for real-time services such as mobile VoIP and in some cases support for wireless access point to access point call handoff, are some of these innovations.

VoIP server vendors who make it possible for VoIP service providers to create the service, have announced support for integrating mobile handsets into VoIP infrastructures, either natively using SS7 interfaces into the mobile network, or via software based clients running on the mobile handset. One such vendor is BroadSoft who is known for its Broadworks platform which enables mobile integration using either strategy. Meanwhile, enterprise IP PBX vendors have developed, tested and announced capabilities for mobile VoIP users interacting with their business IP-based phone systems.

One implementation of fixed mobile convergence allows for seamless roaming between WIFI and GSM or CDMA networks. As early as December 2005, standards and alliances have started being developed and technologies being demonstrated. For instance, Cisco and FirstHand Technologies demonstrated a Wi-Fi to GSM handoff in San Jose, December 5, 2005.

To date, there are some issues, if not resistance, on this WIFI-GSM/CDMA handoff. For example, in 2007 T-Mobile blocked their subscribers’ access to purely mobile VoIP numbers, issued by Truphone. The issue was widely discussed in the press and although Truphone won an injunction, the case is still in the courts while T-Mobile pays only a nominal termination fee. In another example, Aircell continues to battle with some companies allowing VoIP calls on flights which shows a growing conflict of interest between incumbent operators and new VoIP operators.

Chinese Telecommunications – Ministry of Radio and Television

In 1982, the Ministry of Radio and Television was formed by carving out of the Ministry as a separate entity, and mandated to administer and upgrade the status of television and radio broadcasting. Subordinate to this ministry were the Central People’s Broadcasting Station, China Central Television and Radio Beijing. Organizations that were in charge with broadcasting training, talent-search, research, publishing, and manufacturing organizations were also brought under the umbrella of the Ministry of Radio and Television. Renamed Ministry of Radio, Cinema, and Television, it also took over in 1986 the responsibility for the movie industry, from the Ministry of Culture.

By 1987 the quality of communications services in mainland China had seen considerable improvements than in earlier years. Also, foreign technology entered in droves in the country while domestic production capacity jumped.

Primarily, the form of telecommunications in the 1980s was local and long-distance telephone service administered by six regional bureaus: Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an, Chengdu, Wuhan , and Shenyang. These regional offices also functioned as switching centers for provincial-level subsystems. By 1986 China had nearly 3 million telephone exchange lines, including 34,000 long-distance exchange lines with direct, automatic service to 24 cities. As the end of 1986 was approaching, fiber optic communications technology gradually replaced existing telephone circuits.

Beijing and Shanghai served as overseas exchanges for international services. While Guangdong Province also served as an important gateway with its coaxial cable and microwave lines linking it to Hong Kong and Macau.

The large satellite ground stations originally installed in 1972 to provide live coverage of the visits to China by U.S. president Richard M. Richard Nixon and Japanese PM Kakuei Tanaka was upgraded continuously and acted as the base for China’s international satellite communications network until the mid-80s. By 1977 China had joined Intelsat and, using ground stations in Beijing and Shanghai the country linked to satellites over the Indian and Pacific oceans.

According to BBG Communications, in April 1984, an experimental communications satellite for trial transmission of broadcasts, telegrams, telephone calls, and facsimile, to remote areas of the country was launched. Following this, China launched in February 1986 its first fully operational telecommunications and broadcast satellite. The quality and communications capacity of the second satellite was praised as much better than the first. In the mid-1987 both satellites were still functioning. Taking advantage of these satellite systems in place, China’s domestic satellite communication network went into operation, facilitating television and radio transmissions and providing direct-dial long distance telephone, telegraph, and facsimile service. The network boasts of ground stations in Beijing, Urumqi, Hohhot, Lhasa, and Guangzhou, which were all tapped to an Intelsat satellite over the Indian Ocean.

While the telephone network surged, telegraph development was of second priority mainly due to the difficulties involved in transmitting the written Chinese language. But this technical difficulty of how to put in writing the Chinese language properly, was improved dramatically by computer technology. By 1983 China had nearly 10,000 telegraph cables and telex lines transmitting over 170 million messages annually. Most telegrams were transmitted by cables or by shortwave radio.

When was the UK phone industry privatised?

Until 1982, the main civil UK communications system was a state monopoly known as Post Office Telecommunications. Broadcasting of radio and TV was the concentrated in the hands of two – BBC and Independent Broadcasting Authority. These two companies controlled all broadcast services, and directly owned and operated the broadcast transmitter sites. Speaking of telecommunications systems at that time did not yet include mobile phone and Internet services. But the civil telecoms monopoly halted with the entry of Mercury Communications in 1983. The Post Office system evolved into British Telecom and was privatised in 1984.In the 90’s, Broadcast Transmitters, which ahd previously belonged to the BBC and IBA, were privatised. They are currently owned by  National Grid Wireless, VT Communications and Arqiva. Communications policies and regulations have gone through various modifications during the same period, and most of the bodies have been merged into Ofcom. Ofcom is the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries.

The UK is a focal point for many of the world’s submarine communications cables, which are mostly digital optical fiber cables.Many satellite links remain operational, but these provide a smaller part of the international bandwidth. Most commercial broadcasting companies lease transmission facilities from 1 or more of the transmission organisations. But smaller local radio stations are generally self-providing for cost-efficiency reasons. British Telecom remains as a provider of fixed phone lines and it still has a universal service obligation.  Next to it is Virgin Media, the second biggest player in the residential telephone line market. While other companies provide fixed telephone lines too, their market is mostly large companies in the major cities. There are plenty of other providers who sell fixed phone services that are carried over BT lines but they generally have no network infrastructure of their own.
3rd Generation System in Japan

The 3rd generation system is a product of technological improvements, essentially an improvement of the available bandwidth.  This makes it possible for new service offerings to telecommunications subscribers. Such services include streaming of live radio or video, video calls and live TV. The four 2G companies all won 3G licences in a competitive auction, as did a new entrant known as 3. As revealed by BBG Communications, the four 3G providers have already rolled out their networks.

The telecoms provider 3 has the biggest 3G coverage as they first rolled out their network coverage in March 2003, way before the others did theirs. But Vodafone and Orange rival 3 in terms of its reach.  T-Mobile and o2 has fairly good coverage but both generally get concentrate  in major cities and less so in smaller towns.  However T-Mobile and 3 recently entered into a deal whereby they can use each others 3g coverage.  But in this deal, 3’s 3G customers don’t have access to T-Mobile 2G coverage. An additional agreement has also been struck by 3 with Orange until 2010, under the terms that Orange’s 2G coverage is available to 3 subscribers where no 3G signal exists. This arrangement however, is deemed to become less significant as 3 and T-Mobile roll-out their shared 3G networks. Subscribers of 3 to have the best coverage of any United Kingdom network.

History of the Media in Japan by BBG Communications

The earliest of  Japanese history in media can be traced to newspapers in the Meiji period, the first being the Nagasaki Shipping List and Advertiser. It was founded in 1861 in Nagasaki. The telegraph and telephone following suit. And was followed by the broadcast industry which has been dominated by the Japan Broadcasting Corporation since its founding in 1925. In the postwar period, NHK’s budget and operations were under the administration of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.This was changed with the Broadcasting Law of 1950, which provides for independent management and programming by NHK.

TV broadcasting then began in 1953, with color televisions introduced in 1960. From free channels, cable television was introduced in 1969. In 1978 an experimental satellite with 2 color television channels was launched. Subsequently, operational satellites for television use were launched between 1984 and 1990. TV viewing has become a part of daily life that by 1987, 99 percent of Japan’s households had color TV sets and the average family reportedly had its set on, for at least 5 hours per day. Starting in 1987, NHK began full-scale experimental broadcasting on two channels using satellite-to-audience signals. With this, TV service was made available in remote and mountainous areas of the country that earlier could only get poor reception. The new system also provided round-the-clock, nonstop service. In the late 80s, NHK operated 2 public television and 3 radio networks, producing about 1,700 programs every week. Its education programs were broadcast through more than 6 thousand TV stations and nearly 300 AM and more than 500 FM radio transmitting stations. Comprehensive service in twenty-one languages was made available throughout the world.

Rapid improvements, innovations, and diversification in communications technology, including the introduction of optical fiber cables, communications satellites, and fax machines, led to the rapid growth of the communications industry in the 1980s. Government owned NTTC had dominated the communications industry until April 1985, when new common carriers were permitted to enter the field. Also NTT Worldwide Telecommunications Corp lost its monopoly hold on international communications activities in 1989, when Nihon Kokusai Tsushin and other private overseas communications firms began its operations.

Japan has been the world leader in telecommunications in the 1980s, but this position that has been challenged by the United States’ dot-com industry in the 1990s and the emerging tiger states in Asia. While the United States is leading in digital content, South Korea is leading in broadband access, India is leading in software, and Taiwan is leading in research and development.

What is the percentage of homes with a telephone

The telephone is a telecommunications tool that, as mentioned in the BBG communications, is used to transmit and receive sound. It is one of the most prevalent home gadgets in the world. The typical telephone by and large operates through transmission of electric signals over a complex system of telephones which effectively allows nearly any telephone customer to speak with almost any other person in the world. A traditional landline telephone system commonly handles both signaling and audio information on the same pair of insulated wires. Although originally designed for voice communication, the system has been adapted for data communication such as Fax, Telex and Internet communication.

The signaling equipment consists of a bell, beeper, light or other device to alert the user to incoming calls, and number buttons or a rotary dial to enter a telephone number for outgoing calls. A twisted pair line is preferred as it is more effective at rejecting electromagnetic interference and crosstalk than an untwisted pair. An individual wishing to talk to another person will pick up the telephone handset, which puts the telephone into an active state by connecting the transmitter, receiver and related audio components to the required line. This circuitry has a low resistance which causes DC current from the telephone exchange to flow through the line. The exchange detects this DC current, attaches a digit receiver circuit to the line, and sends a dial tone to indicate readiness. On a modern telephone, the calling party then presses the number buttons in a sequence corresponding to the telephone number of the called party.

The buttons are connected to a tone generator that produces DTMF tones which are sent to the exchange. A rotary dial telephone employs pulse dialing, sending electrical pulses corresponding to the telephone number to the exchange. If the called party’s line is not already active, the phone exchange will try and send intermittent ringing signals to alert the called party of an incoming call. If the called party’s line is active, the exchange sends a busy signal to the calling party. However, if the called party’s line is active but has call waiting installed, the exchange sends an intermittent audible tone to the called party to indicate an incoming call. When a landline phone is on the hook its notification instrument is connected across the line through a capacitor, which prevents any of the DC current from traveling through the line. The circuitry at the telephone exchange detects the absence of DC current flow and thus that the phone is on hook with only the alerting device electrically connected to the line. When a party initiates a call to this line, the ringing signal transmitted by the telephone exchange activates the alerting device on the line. When the called party picks up the handset, the switchhook disconnects the alerting device and connects the audio circuitry to the line. The resulting low resistance now causes DC current to flow through this line, confirming that the called phone is now active. Both phones being active and connected through the exchange, the parties may now converse as long as both phones remain off hook. When a person places the handset back on the cradle, Direct Current ceases to flow in that phone line, telling the exchange to disconnect the call. Calls to individuals beyond the local exchange are passed over trunk lines, which establish connections between exchanges. In today’s phone networks, digital technology and fiber-optic cable are often used in such connections. Satellite technology may be used for communication over very long distances.

In almost all telephones the receiver and transmitter are positioned in the handset. However, in a speakerphone these mechanisms may be located in the base or in a separate enclosure. Powered by the line, the transmitter produces an electric current whose voltage varies in response to the sound waves arriving at its diaphragm. The resulting current is transmitted along the telephone line to the local exchange then on to the other phone, where it passes through the coil of the receiver. The varying voltage in the coil produces a corresponding movement of the receiver’s diaphragm, reproducing the sound waves present at the transmitter.

BBG Communications – SV Communication Systems

The European Commission has reserved part of the radio spectrum for smart vehicle communication systems. The new systems will allow cars to communication with each other wirelessly. Within the next six months, the 300MHz of the spectrum in the 5.9GHz frequency band will be allocated by the national authorities.

The intent of the new plan is to curb road accidents and alleviate traffic jams. Smart vehicle communication systems have the potential to make safer and ease the lives of Europe’s drivers. In 2006, more than 42,000 people died in road accidents in the European Union and more than 1.6 million people were injured. The European Commission also has plans to encourage investment in smart vehicle communication systems by the private sector.

Another great article on this topic can be found at http://thefutureofthings.com/news/1280/cars-that-talk.html.  The article appears to be quite old, but very informative.