Monthly Archives: August, 2009
CPRafrica 2012/CPRsouth7: call for abstracts and young scholar applications. Click here for details.
Mobiles key to Internet in Africa: Tata
Mobile phones will be the key driver of Internet connectivity in Africa in coming years as there are more people with handsets than computers. “Mobile phones essentially have the ability to deliver the Internet into everybody’s hand. It is therefore going to be a huge driving factor for the demand for IP connectivity,” said Steven [...]
Computing contribution of computers to global warming
We have written about this endless loop of reasoning before. But I guess someone thinks this perpetual motion exercise does some good. AVIATION has long been blamed for its share of anthropogenic global warming. Indeed, some travellers now ask themselves whether their flight is strictly necessary and, if they decide it is, salve their consciences [...]
LIRNEasia CEO among top three contenders for Bastiat Prize for Online Journalism
Rohan Samarajiva is among three finalists for the the first Bastiat Prize for Online Journalism. samarajiva was nominated for his Lanka Business Online column “Choices” The Bastiat Prize is awarded by the International Policy Network, a London-based think tank that seeks to improve public understanding of the role of the institutions of the free society. [...]
Parental-control phones
In the context of the debates about banning mobiles for school children, the issue of phones that constrain use has become relevant. The NYT has done a full survey of the options available to parents in the US, an excerpt of which is given below. Why doesn’t someone do a similar survey for India, Sri [...]
North Korea mobile is on the move
Orascom’s North Korean subsidiary koryolink’s subscriber base stood at 47,850 by the end of Q2. The operator has introduced further reduction in connection fees as well as free SMS for the first time to boost its growth. Additionally, the mix of free minutes was revised to satisfy customer requirements. Over the second-quarter, while minutes of [...]
Invisible government vs. invisible gown
Xavier Damman is CEO and founder of Internet company Tweetag. He believes the best thing governments can do to support entrepreneurship is step aside and become “invisible”. Xavier explains: A government is like the operating system of your computer. It is a necessary piece of software and overhead to make all the different components work [...]
Nokia enters mobile money market
Nokia said it would launch a mobile financial service next year targeting consumers, mainly in emerging markets, with a phone but no banking account. Its Nokia Money service was based on the mobile payment platform of Obopay, a privately-owned firm that Nokia invested in earlier this year, and it is now building up a network [...]
More on anonymity on the web
Few years back we had trouble on this blog because of anonymous posts attacking the late Professor V.K Samaranayaka. He complained to our funders and partners. But we held to the principles of allowing anonymous posts and non-moderation. Here is a another discussion about anonymity: Pseudonyms have a noble history. Revolutionaries in France, founding fathers [...]
India’s broadband Juggernaut halts
The usage-based pricing model, which is used widely for billing retail customers, is hampering the growth of local content and services in India. “In contrast, a flat-rate pricing model would spur demand for broadband services and enable content providers to target the local and emerging market,” argues Ashwin Gumaste, James R. Isaac Chair at Computer [...]
Microsoft to assist move to mobile more-than-voice
The US technology giant will debut OneApp in South Africa and hopes to swiftly roll it out in India, China and other countries where millions of people use feature phones instead of powerful smartphones. “We designed OneApp from the ground up on feature phones with very limited memory and processing capabilities,” said Amit Mital, corporate [...]
Will Singapore’s NBN stay fair?
Singapore has devised what looks like a level playing field for its national broadband rollout – complete with competing players in different tiers. But as the first homes are connected questions are being asked about just how competitive the market will be. Alfred Siew reports in telecomTV. Robert Clark of Telecom Asia has recently also questioned IDA’s [...]
Recent Comments