General — Page 70 of 245 — LIRNEasia


President Obama’s support for surveillance predates his election. I believe that he has assessed the pros and cons of surveillance and concluded that it is necessary. The question then is how it is to be regulated, so that that negative outcomes can be minimized. One possible path is a variation of the FISA oversight solution, but with greater transparency. This may be the path being explored by Senator Markey, perhaps one of the most well informed US legislators on telecom and ICT matters.

China tries to control social media

Posted on September 11, 2013  /  0 Comments

How can a person be responsible for, and have his punishment decided by, what others do? But this seems to be the thinking of the Chinese Communist Party. “They want to sever those relationships and make the relationship on Weibo atomized, just like relations in Chinese society, where everyone is just a solitary atom,” Mr. Hao said. In May, his microblog accounts on Sina and other Chinese services were deleted without any explanation.
Can the telcos work out deals with OTTs about the traffic they carry? Or do they have to be absolutely neutral? These are the questions. The outcome will reverberate across the world. The case, which is expected to be decided late this year or early next year, has attracted enormous interest.
When asked about emerging trends of relevance to those picking research topics at the recent CPRsouth conference, I pointed to the growing importance of the badly named “big data” or its more analytically satisfying subset of transaction generated data (TGD) or information (Thomas McManus coined TGI back in 1991; TGD is more accurate). It’s going to be big data in everything. Even the shift to MOOCs is driven by the need for TGD, according to the NYT. There are potential advantages to this shift. When students are logged on, educators can monitor their work in ways that are otherwise impossible.
The Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) issued a consultation paper on the draft  quality of service (QoS) regulation, that covers both fixed and mobile, voice and data QoS standards. LIRNEasia has been working on Broadband QoS experience (QoSE) since 2007. We use our own web and desktop based software application, the AT Tester, to run diagnostics in multiple around South Asian and Southeast Asian cities. Although Nepal has not been a country subject to LIRNEasia ‘s broadband QoSE research, the methodology adapted and trends from regional research are able to provide informed insights to the NTA. Click here for LIRNEasia’s comments.
Adrenaline didn’t flow in Bangladesh 3G auction today. It could be anything but auction when four bidders show up for four licenses. Bangladesh government has priced US$20 million per Megahertz for 40 MHz of spectrum in 2100 MHz band. It is in addition to 10 MHz spectrum being assigned to state-owned Teletalk. Theoretically, Grameenphone (Telenor), Banglalink (Vimpelcom), Robi (Axiata) and Airtel (Bharti Airtel) could have had at least 10 MHz each.
Duenden Nikomborirak is a highly respected researcher. We have worked closely with her over the years. I was shocked to hear that the Thai regulatory agency had sued her (and the journalist who interviewed her) for libel. The robust debate and discussion essential for effective regulation cannot occur if researchers are sued for expressing their scholarly opinions. I am happy that the NBTC is withdrawing the case, but this is an action that should not have been taken in the first place.
CPRsouth (through LIRNEasia) is offering a unique opportunity to be trained and to work on systematic reviews. The systematic review method is gaining wide traction in the fields of social science and international development. The method is championed by international agencies such the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the World Bank. Considerable funding has been made available to trained reviewers by DFID, AusAid and 3ie over the past three years. A systematic review (SR) synthesizes and summarizes the best available primary research on a specific research question.
The man who introduced the concept of transaction costs, proposed a solution on dealing with problems of externalities and was one of the first to propose applying market solutions to spectrum allocation is no more. I first read his work on spectrum, since one of my teachers, Dallas Smythe, was a vociferous opponent. Then I read his classic piece on “The nature of the Firm.” That impressed me. Looking back I think that reducing transaction costs has become a governing principle of my life.
I never thought I would write those words, but there it is. Just a few years ago, Nokia was lapping its competitors. Now it’s exiting. How evanescent is market leadership in ICTs? Beleaguered Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia will sell its mobile phone unit to US group Microsoft for 5.
The legislature has completed its work and the bill awaits the President’s signature. But the actual legislation with 70 amendments from what potential investors saw is yet to see the light. And most of the detail (“the devil is in the detail”) will be in subsidiary legislation. Another nugget that has emerged is that Ooredoo is planning to invest USD 15 billion while Telenor is planning to invest USD 2 billion. MP Phone Myint Aung said the move would mean “international operators can launch their operations.
Espionage outfits of Singapore, Australia, USA and UK have unlawfully intercepted the voice and data traffic of SEA-ME-WE 3 and SEA-ME-WE 4 submarine cable networks. Philip Dorling, the National Affairs and Defence Correspondent for The Canberra Times, broke this news quoting Edward Snowden’s leaked information. Australia’s all the major newspapers (Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Brisbane Times) have simultaneously published his sensational exclusive report. Australian intelligence expert and Australian National University professor Des Ball said that intelligence collection from fibre optic cables had become “extremely important” since the late 1990s because such communications channels now carry more than 95 per cent of long distance international telecommunications traffic. “Fibre optic cables are much more difficult to intercept than satellite communications,” Professor Ball said.
It is one thing for telecom companies to hand over information about their customers to government under compulsion of law. But quite another when it becomes a lucrative source of revenue. The bulk of the spending, detailed in a multi-volume intelligence budget obtained by The Washington Post, goes to participants in a Corporate Partner Access Project for major U.S. telecommunications providers.
Telecomasia.net quotes the New Light of Myanmar, government publication, to the effect that the law now has only one step more to go: Presidential approval. Myanmar parliament has passed the telecom bill which will allow the nation’s mobile licensees to commence operation. The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (Union Assembly) approved the Communications Bill this week, state-run New Light of Myanmar said on Wednesday. “As the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw approved the Communications Bill, [state-run telco] MPT and international operators can launch their operations,” the paper cites MP U Phone Myint Aung as saying.
Last week, Helani Galpaya and I were in Nay Pyi Taw, the capital of the Union of Myanmar. We were in charge of the first day of a three day program. Here is what we did. Results of reform and rationale for regulation. The introductory unit will be taught by Professor Rohan Samarajiva (RS).
There was a lot of discussion here when Airtel entered the market. So much so that we used to receive phone calls asking for employment! Part of what we said then was they hurt themselves by being slow to enter after the announcement. It appears the damage could not be undone. India’s Economic Times said citing two unnamed sources said Standard Chartered was advising Airtel on the sale and the firm was valued at between 110 to 130 million US dollars.