75% of passenger transport is via public transport and of that 93% by bus and 7% by train. Roughly 5500 SLCTB and 18000 private buses. The fare is regulated by National Transport Commission (NTC). They also have timetables which are n0t implemented.

Shortest distance (~2KM) LKR 6:00.

Longest distance 260 KM – LKR 655.00.

Most of the BOP uses bus transport. 36% of the BOP use mobile and fixed phones.

SLTB buses use both ticket books and manual ticket machines to issue tickets to commuters

Private buses primarily use digital ticketing machines that prints out tickets. Can store data, process memory. Can even tell you how may people have to get off at the next bus stop.  The one in use now is also lighter in weight.

These are mainly used in the Western Province and on a few inter provincial buses.  Manual ticket machines are used in other areas.

Issues with the current ticketting system:

Money lost in Transit. Bus conductors and Drivers take the money, or tickets are not issued, or passengers do not buy the tickets. CTB estimates a 15% loss of revenue and private bus owners 25%.

Chanuka: How is the estimates done?

RS: through Load share.

HdS: Bus owners want to reduce leakage.  They wold like to issue a e-bus tickets. So the solution is either a card system or a mobile. So from the suply side there is a need but what about the demand side?

A  simple survey was done at the Fort railway station. Not a Sample survey but to get an idea. 2/3: 1/3 male: female. There maybe selection bias as it is a starting point.

What is the real cost of a ticket? Do the passengers receive the balance after getting a ticket? only 5% said that they always get there balance. Most people carry exact change. And only 50% of the people receive a bus ticket. Ticket checkers are used both in public and private sector. Some private companies have their own people to check for tickets.

So because of these issues, there is a need.

Possible benefits of e-tickets:

For Bus operators

• reduce leakage
• Offer loyalty plans etc.

For Commuters

• Cost only actual fare
• Can better schedule travel; save on transport expenditure

State [local government]

• Tax collection
• Target subsidies

What are the options?

Contactless smart cards: Oyster, ez link. Delhi is running a pilot, minimum reload INR 25.

Mobile phones: either through SMS or Near field Communication (NFC) merging mobile phones with a contactless smart card (Innovation).

NFC mobile phones: Nokia introduced the first in 2005 (3220). Break through innovation is instead of a NFC  phone, what about an NFC SIM. China Telecom has come p with a NON NFC standard RF SIM.  Nokia 6216: First NFC standard SIM compatible. Operator can load application.

Japan is leader with NTT DoComo Osaifu-Keitai e-wallet phones. Spain, Netherlands, France and Germany, mobile bus and rail ticket system are being piloted.  China has started.  UK to start by 2015 and fully switch to NFC by 2020.

With hard times at our doorsteps, all we can say is a remittance mechanism that employs mobile communications would be an excellent idea. By the way, that is one area our research on Mobile2.0@BoP will focus.

The survey, conducted by the Oxford Said Business School in London and the Universidad de Oviedo in Spain and released Friday, found that Canada is below the global broadband quality threshold, which measures the proliferation of high-speed internet in a country, as well as the speeds available and the reliability of connections.

While Japan was the only country to meet the study’s standards for future readiness, broadband networks in countries such as Latvia, Romania and Bulgaria scored better than Canada, which ranked 27th out of the 42 nations covered. The United States ranked 16th.

Researchers calculated a broadband quality score, or BQS, by testing download and upload speeds in each country, as well as latency, a factor that measures how instantaneously information travels over a broadband network. They found that in order to meet the demands of today’s internet traffic, broadband networks need to be able to deliver steady download speeds of 3.75 megabits per second and uploads of one mbps with a latency no greater than 95 milliseconds.

Read the full report in CBCNews here.

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 critics.

Read the full story in BBC News

The Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded project aims to create the open source platform for initial release in October 2007. The operating system will be developed by members of the Ubuntu community, along with staff from chip giant Intel. Its development was prompted by the growth of power hungry portable devices that place new demands on software.

“It is clear that new types of device – small, handheld, graphical tablets which are Internet-enabled – are going to change the way we communicate and collaborate,” said Ubuntu CTO Matt Zimmerman.

“These devices place new demands on open-source software and require innovative graphical interfaces, improved power management and better responsiveness.”

Mobile firms such as Nokia are already using open source technologies in some of its products. Ubuntu is already a popular choice of operating system on desktop and laptop computers. In contrast to offerings from companies such as Microsoft that earn money by licensing and charging for use of their products, Linux code is freely available.

That means anyone can modify it or develop applications for it. As a result, there are many different types, or distributions, of Linux operating systems.

The driving force behind the Ubuntu project is Mark Shuttleworth, one of the world’s first space tourists.

The self-made millionaire from South Africa founded the firm Canonical in 2004 to promote and support open source software projects.

The firm’s partnership with Intel to develop the mobile operating system is just the latest deal with some of the powerhouses of the technology world.

In April this year, Ubuntu announced a deal with Dell, the world’s second largest manufacturer of PCs, to offer certain computers with the operating system preinstalled.

“We are delighted to be working with Intel on this version of Ubuntu,” said Mr Zimmerman. “Intel is making significant contributions of technology, people and expertise to the project.”

The chip-maker has already shown off a device running a prototype of the Ubuntu mobile platform.

At a recent meeting Intel CEO Paul Otellini held up a prototype device, like a large cell phone, running the system, although he said it was also capable of running versions of Microsoft’s Windows.

Intel is keen to grab a slice of the fast growing market for net-enabled phones and devices.

It has already endorsed another open source project to develop applications for mobile devices known as the Gnome Mobile & Embedded Initiative (GMAE).

The firm also recently unveiled plans for a tiny low-energy chip designed specifically for mobiles and portable computers.

Codenamed Silverthorn, the chips will be one-seventh the size of conventional processors and consume just 10% of the power, Intel said.

Hardware developments such as this are important to maximise battery life for portable devices that are required to run increasingly sophisticated software and deliver relatively power-hungry applications like the web.

The new Ubuntu platform will also aim to maximise energy efficiency whilst offering a graphical interface designed specifically for the small screen.

More details of the new operating system will be announced at the Ubuntu Developer Summit being held in Seville, Spain from 06 to 11 May.

An initial version will be released in October this year.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6634195.stm

The Race for Numero Uno in Latin Wireless (Businessweek November 27, 2006):

More than 80% of Brazil’s mobile-telephone customers use prepaid service—buying cards to recharge their phones—rather than signing monthly contracts. América Móvil’s average client uses just 71 minutes of airtime each month, spending around $12.50. Although such revenue can add up, signing up all those customers has an impact on profits as well. “The two big operators have had to become more competitive in pricing to win customers,” he says. “They’re trying to build economies of scale to decrease their costs, but even as they’re doing that, their revenue per subscriber is decreasing.”

As América Móvil and Telefónica battle it out, the big winners are Latin American consumers, who have seen the cost of handsets and airtime drop significantly over the past five years. Wireless technology has made it possible for consumers to skip waiting lists for fixed-line installation and go directly to mobile or fixed-wireless phones. “Mobile telephones were considered a luxury, but today, the ice cream salesman on the street has his own cellular phone,” says Telefónica’s Zaldivar.