Tag Archive for ‘Germany’ at LIRNEasia

Tag Archive for 'Germany'

LIRNEasia’s Mobile Benchmarks (South Asia and Southeast Asia) and Broadband Benchmarks Report for October 2008 has been released. Click HERE for more information.

What is the cheapest remittance mechanism of them all?

Chanuka Wattegama

on November 3, 2008

Last year as many as 190m migrant workers sent cash home, according to the World Bank. These remittances amounted to US$337 billion, of which US$251 billion went to developing countries. But the cost of sending hard-earned cash depends on both the source and destination. On average, sending US$500 from Spain to Brazil will incur a modest charge of US$7.68, or a 1.5% fee. Sending the same sum from the Netherlands to Indonesia costs a whopping US$86.41, a 17.3% charge. The Netherlands, Germany and Japan tend to be the priciest places to send money from. Costs are generally lowest in Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Singapore, America and Britain. (economist.com)

With hard times at our doorsteps, all we can say is a remittance mechanism that employs mobile communications…

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Tags: America, Brazil, Britain, Germany, Indonesia, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Japan, mobile communications, remittance mechanism, remittances, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, The Netherlands, USD.

Natasha at UN workshop to link Disaster Management to Space Technology

Chanuka Wattegama

on October 18, 2008

From 13-15 October, 2008, The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) with support from the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction – Platform for the Promotion of Early Warning (UNISDR-PPEW) and the United Nations University – Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) organized the Second United Nations International UN-SPIDER Workshop on “Disaster Management and Space Technology – Bridging the Gap” in Bonn, Germany. LIRNEasia researcher, Natasha Udu-gama was one of 134 participants representing 49 countries.

The 3-day UN-SPIDER workshop was notable in that it featured a number of German and international presentations on the themes of Session 1: “Space technology in support of risk and disaster management”, Session 2: “Vulnerability and Risk Assessment”, Session 3: “Contributions of space-based technologies…

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Tags: Bangladesh, Bonn, Early Warning, early warning systems, German Aerospace Center, Germany, Indonesia, Institute for Environment and Human Security, last-mile systems, Mile Hazard, Natasha Udu, Natasha Udu-gama, remote sensing, space-based technologies, telemedicine, United Nations, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, United Nations University.

LIRNEasia at 2nd UN-SPIDER workshop, 13 - 15 October, Bonn, Germany

Nirmali Sivapragasam

on September 28, 2008

Natasha Udu-gama has been invited to represent LIRNEasia at the Second International United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER) Bonn Workshop: “Disaster Management and Space Technology - Bridging the Gap” in Bonn, Germany, from the 13th to 15th October 2008.

Natasha will make a presentation on, ‘Last Mile Hazard Information Dissemination’ at a session entitled, ‘Contribution of space-based technologies to existing and proposed Early Warning Systems’. This session will examine how public-private partnerships (PPP) centered on space-based technologies can enable the development, establishment and embedding of early warning systems.

The event is organized by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), with the aim of providing a platform for brainstorming and in-depth discussion among decision-makers and…

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Tags: Addressable Satellite Radio, Bonn, early warning systems, German Aerospace Center, Germany, HazInfo, Natasha Udu-gama, space technology, United Nations, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, WorldSpace Global Data Solutions.

Japan, Netherlands, Sweden Lead in Broadband Quality, reveals study

Chanuka Wattegama

on September 15, 2008

A recently released survey indicates Japan has the best quality broadband Internet services, with Sweden and the Netherlands completing the top three. Researchers used download/upload speeds, and internet latency when compiling numbers from eight million tests completed in May 2008.

Sweden and the Netherlands were able to be the top European broadband nations because of their efforts in “increasing investments in fiber and cable network upgrades, coupled with competition diversity, and supported by strong government vision and policy.”

Even though it’s difficult to define quality internet, regardless of how questions were reworded, Oxford University Said Business School researchers found Japan remained on top of 41 other nations in the “Broadband Quality Score.” Latvia, Korea, Switzerland, Lithuania, Denmark, Germany and Slovenia are the nations that round out the…

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Tags: Broadband, broadband Internet services, Cisco Systems, consumer internet prices, Denmark, Germany, internet latency, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Oviedo University, Oxford University, Oxford University Said Business School, quality internet, Slovenia, Speedtest.net, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands.

LIRNEasia Executive Director at ITU Asia 2008

Ayesha Zainudeen

on August 26, 2008

Executive Director, Rohan Samarajiva will participate at the ITU Asia 2008 conference taking place in Bangkok, Thailand, from 2-5 September 2008. He will talk about universal service at the opening plenary with the Indian Minister at the Telecom Development Symposium on 4th September. He will also give the keynote talk at the Business and Finance Session of the ITU Asia Youth Forum on 2nd September, chaired by Bosco Eduagive a rdo Fernandes, Vice President (BU & IM Industry Relationship), Nokia Siemens Networks GmbH & Co. KG (Germany).

ITU TELECOM ASIA 2008 is a key networking platform for Asia’s top ICT names to come together and focus on core issues relating to ICT expansion across the region.

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Tags: Asia, Bangkok, Germany, key networking platform, Nokia Siemens Networks GmbH & Co. KG, Rohan Samarajiva, Thailand.

This is how a technology dies: Telex phases out

Rohan Samarajiva

on February 1, 2008

Telex | A faint ping | Economist.com

In March Britain’s BT will be the latest big company to cease offering telex services. “All good things come to an end,” says a spokesman. Britain will then join around 30 countries including Austria, Germany and Russia that no longer provide telex through their national telecoms operators.But that clears the way for nimble, low-cost competitors. These have turned round the technology. As well as maintaining the old-fashioned service involving terminals and dedicated lines, they provide telex services both over phone lines and over the internet—in effect, making it a secure and ultra-reliable variant of e-mail. One, SwissTelex, is a spin-off from the Swiss national telecoms operator that offers international telex services and has taken over BT’s network. Another is…

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Tags: America, Austria, Britain, Germany, internet—in effect, Russia, technology dies, telecoms operator, telex services.

EU sets out new strategy for a single European telecom market

Chanuka Wattegama

on November 14, 2007

A single European Union-wide telecoms market could be in place from 2010 after the European Commission set out plans to increase competition. Under the new plans, a regional watchdog would be created and former monopolies could be forced to split up their network and services operations.

The planned changes are designed to offer consumers cheaper broadband services and phone calls from fixed line and mobile handsets, the Commission also argues. It claims that consumers are currently losing out because in many member countries, including Poland, Italy and Germany, the former state telecoms monopolies still dominate, particularly in the broadband market.

The proposals will now be debated in the European Parliament.

However, analysts said there is likely to be opposition to the changes with Germany and Spain seen as…

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Tags: BBC, Broadband, cheaper broadband services, European Commission, European Parliament, European Union, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain.

Nordic countries, Germany, Netherland top in IT skills in Europe

Chanuka Wattegama

on October 16, 2007

THE distribution of computing skills across Europe shows a clear pattern according to a recent report from the European Union. The inhabitants of southern and eastern Europe are the least adept at using computers and the internet. Computer whizzes are more likely to be found in a wedge running from Germany up to the Nordic countries. Bulgarians seem a little baffled by the online revolution. But IT skills correlate closely with long-standing access to computers, broadband penetration and the like. As these improve, countries that now lag may encourage a new wave of nerds to emerge. The index was compiled looking both at users’ abilities and at their use of the internet to interact with government and business.

Full Story

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Tags: Broadband, eastern Europe, Europe, European Union, Germany, Netherland, Nordic countries, online revolution.

VoIP is a four-letter word in USA

Abu Saeed Khan

on July 10, 2007

A new report from the North American research house, Instat, reveals that the US is way behind its European cousins in consumer Voice over IP (VoIP) adoption – and this despite the fact that 2006 was a particularly good year for the technology globally with the wordwide total of VoIP subscribers increasing by 34 million.

The leading European VoIP adopters over the course of 2006 were France, Germany, and the
Netherlands. According to Instat analyst, Keith Nissen, “The EU market increased by over 14 million subscribers last year largely due to local loop unbundling, the introduction of cable telephony and triple-play service bundles as well as operator consolidation.”

By contrast the US added a mere four million new VoIP subscribers over the same period. Keith Nissen says US…

2 Comments
Tags: cable telephony, European Union, France, Germany, Instat, Keith Nissen, The Netherlands, United States, voice-over-IP, VOIP.

Indonesia tsunami system ‘not ready’

Chanuka Wattegama

on July 19, 2006

By Laura Smith-Spark
BBC News
Eighteen months after the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami, hundreds have died after a giant wave struck the Indonesian island of Java.
Their deaths have raised questions about the failure of a promised Indian Ocean tsunami early warning system to sound an adequate alert.
More than 300 people died and about 140 were reported missing after the tsunami struck Java’s southern coast on Monday.
Witnesses have said people had little or no warning to flee the 2m-high wave triggered by an undersea earthquake.

5 Comments
Tags: ACEH, Bali, Batukaras, BBC, Charles McCreary, China, communications network, Elan Jayalani, Geophysics, Germany, Hawaii, Indian Ocean, Indonesia, Indonesia\'s Bureau of Meteorology and Geophysics, island of Java, Jakarta, Japan, Java, Java\'s coast, Laura Smith-Spark, mobile phones, Nias island, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, public communication systems, SMS, United Nations.

Standardizing Sinhala for IT

Indi Samarajiva

on May 30, 2006

PLEASE CONTINUE DISCUSSION ON STANDARDIZING SINHALA FOR IT APPLICATIONS IN THIS THREAD. CREATING ICT MYTHS THREAD HAS BEEN ARCHIVED. EXCERPT FROM PREVIOUS DISCUSSION BELOW:

204 Comments
Tags: Colombo, Dharma, Donald Gaminitillake, Donald Gamnitillake, Font Designer, Germany, India, Lanka, Microsoft, Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka government, Typography Student, Unicode Inc..

USO fund may finance rural mobile telephony

Payal Malik

on April 18, 2005

NEW DELHI, APRIL 13: The government is in the process of amending the Indian Telegraph Act to extend the Universal Service Obligation (USO) fund support to cellular mobile services (both GSM and CDMA).
As of today, the government is giving USO fund support to only the fixed line operators offering services in the rural areas.

“We are looking at amending the Telegraph Act to accommodate the cellular services and CDMA-based services to reach the rural areas. We are looking at sharing of the passive infrastructure with the cellular service providers,” communications and information technology (C&IT) minister Dayanidhi Maran told reporters.

Besides covering the villages, the minister is of the opinion that the wireless services should also provide connectivity to the Railways and highways especially in rural areas. When…

1 Comment
Tags: ADC, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, CDMA, Cellular Operators Association of India, cellular services, China, Dayanidhi Maran, fixed line services, Germany, GSM, India, information technology, Japan, mobile telephony, New Delhi, passive infrastructure, Rs, rural telephony, telephony, United States, WIRELESS SERVICES.

Big picture of telecom reforms

Rohan Samarajiva

on November 7, 2004

Yesterday, I spoke to a large and restive crowd (made so by lack of air conditioning and a delayed start) in Matara (main city in the South of Sri Lanka) at the launch of the Pathfinder Foundation’s first book, a Sinhala translation of Janos Kornai’s Toward a free economy. I was asked to talk about globalization and the relevance of Kornai’s ideas for facing the challenges posed by globalization. In this talk that I pieced together thanks to time zone differences that caused me to wake up at 3 in the morning while in the US, I illustrated the issues referring to Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), a broad area of service exports for which efficient, flexible and low-cost telecom is a pre-condition.

I think the talk provides…

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Tags: adequate infrastructure, agricultural products, air services, America, American Midwest, Apollo Hospital, Asia, Austria, bank, banking, BPO, Broadband, broadband networks, chemicals, Chennai Apollo Hospital, China, Colombo, Communist government, computer-based information systems, electricity, fiber optic, Germany, hotel services, house-maid services, housemaid services, HSBC, html, Hungary, India, infrastructure, infrastructure services, intricate web, Ireland, Kandy, Kenya, kitchen equipment, LKR, low food prices, low-value-addition services, Maldives, microwave, Middle East, Milinda Moragoda, New York, niche applications, Northwestern, Pakistan, Parliament Road, Pathfinder Foundation, people wearing telephone headsets, Port of Colombo, Pramod Mahajan, Ranil Wickremesinghe, regional resource center, rubber, Sabaragamuva, Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Telecom, subsidized electricity, telecom services, telecommunications, telecommunications facilities, telecommunications supply, the Philippines, transport systems, ultra reliable telecommunications, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam, VSNL Lanka, West Bengal, Wickremesinghe government.

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