T-Mobile USA said Thursday it’s testing a new Internet telephony service in Dallas and Seattle that will replace consumers’ wireline home phone service.
Subscribers will be able to connect any regular home telephone to a T-Mobile router that will send calls over the Internet much the same way as services like Vonage operate. The service costs $10 a month plus taxes and fees for unlimited domestic local and long distance calls. But customers also have to be signed up for a T-Mobile wireless service costing at least $39.99 a month. The required router, which also provides access to the Internet, costs $50 after rebates. T-Mobile said existing phone numbers can be ported over to its service.
The company had been rumored to be working on a voice over IP wireless router since this summer when it was discovered that the company had filed plans for the device with the Federal Communications Commission.
T-Mobile, which is the fourth largest cell phone operator in the U.S., is upping the ante as it competes against, AT&T and Verizon Wireless, the No. 1 and No. 2 cell phone operators in the U.S. Aside from having more customers and larger network footprints than T-Mobile, these two operators also offer regular landline phone service to consumers. T-Mobile, which is owned by the German operator Deutsche Telekom, does not own landline infrastructure in the U.S. This makes it difficult for T-Mobile to compete against these players when it comes to bundling services and enticing customers to drop their existing phone service for service with T-Mobile.
But the new Talk Forever Home Phone service along with another T-Mobile service called HotSpot AtHome, which was launched last year and enables T-Mobile subscribers to use their home Wi-Fi network to talk on their wireless phones, are designed to entice consumers to abandon their traditional telephone service for T-Mobile’s service.
Both of these services fit into T-Mobile USA’s bigger strategy, which is to expand its network footprint and add capacity to attract more customers. This year the company is expected to upgrade its network and roll out new services using spectrum it acquired in the Advanced Wireless Services spectrum auction run by the Federal Communications Commission in the summer of 2006.
Earlier this week, T-Mobile also announced that it would offer an unlimited voice, data and text-messaging cell phone service for $99.99 a month. This announcement came after competitor Verizon Wireless announced a similar plan. AT&T also announced it would offer unlimited voice and data for the same price.
Friday, May 30, 2008
T-Mobile Germany announced the MDA compact IV Windows Mobile smartphone
T-Mobile Germany announced the MDA compact IV Windows Mobile smartphone at CeBIT. Apparently, the new device is based on a new, yet unknown HTC smartphone which most likely runs Windows Mobile 6.1, and which will start selling from May 2008 for 111 EUR with T-Mobile’s 24 months Relax 100 plan.
Other specs include HSDPA support, 3 megapixel camera with auto-focus, 4GB of internal memory, VGA (640×480) touchscreen, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0. We’re not sure whether the MDA compact IV is further expandable with microSD memory cards nor whether it sports a GPS receiver. Stay tuned for more information
Google Gears heads for Windows Mobile phones
Google is bringing Google Gears to mobile phones so that people on the go can access Web-based applications even when they’re not connected to the mobile Net.
Smartphones and 3G data services are changing the way some people work, allowing them to access documents and applications from anywhere. But when their wireless connection is interrupted or not available at all, they’re cut off.
Google Gears for mobile helps solve this problem so mobile workaholics can even get stuff done on airplanes or when they’re supposed to be on vacation in some far-off destination with no wireless access. (On second thought, maybe having access to work documents and other Web-based applications from anywhere isn’t such a good idea.)
Google Gears is an open-source browser extension that lets developers create Web applications that can run offline. Google has been developing the software for PC users, but now it is extending it for mobile users too. Google Gears is still in its early days. The mobile version right now supports Internet Explorer on Windows Mobile 5 and 6 phones. This means that other smartphone users, such as those using Apple’s iPhone, or people using other popular mobile browsers, such as Opera, won’t be able to use Google Gears.
But Google has said that it plans to expand support to other browsers and cell phone platforms, including its own Android software.
Another issue is that mobile Gears only works with applications that are Gear-enabled. So far, Google Gear applications aren’t widely available, but Google is trying to make it easier for developers to create Gears-enabled mobile Web applications.
Charles Wiles, product manager for Google’s mobile team, posted a blog explaining how Google Gears for mobile would work. He used the example of Zoho, a Web-based productivity application, and Buxfer, a Web-based personal finance application.
Google Gears is integrated into these applications. When users go to the Web site where these applications are located they will be asked to install Google Gears for mobile. Once installed, Gears sits on the phone and people can access their data even when there is no network connection.
Smartphones and 3G data services are changing the way some people work, allowing them to access documents and applications from anywhere. But when their wireless connection is interrupted or not available at all, they’re cut off.
Google Gears for mobile helps solve this problem so mobile workaholics can even get stuff done on airplanes or when they’re supposed to be on vacation in some far-off destination with no wireless access. (On second thought, maybe having access to work documents and other Web-based applications from anywhere isn’t such a good idea.)
Google Gears is an open-source browser extension that lets developers create Web applications that can run offline. Google has been developing the software for PC users, but now it is extending it for mobile users too. Google Gears is still in its early days. The mobile version right now supports Internet Explorer on Windows Mobile 5 and 6 phones. This means that other smartphone users, such as those using Apple’s iPhone, or people using other popular mobile browsers, such as Opera, won’t be able to use Google Gears.
But Google has said that it plans to expand support to other browsers and cell phone platforms, including its own Android software.
Another issue is that mobile Gears only works with applications that are Gear-enabled. So far, Google Gear applications aren’t widely available, but Google is trying to make it easier for developers to create Gears-enabled mobile Web applications.
Charles Wiles, product manager for Google’s mobile team, posted a blog explaining how Google Gears for mobile would work. He used the example of Zoho, a Web-based productivity application, and Buxfer, a Web-based personal finance application.
Google Gears is integrated into these applications. When users go to the Web site where these applications are located they will be asked to install Google Gears for mobile. Once installed, Gears sits on the phone and people can access their data even when there is no network connection.
Apple Expected to Announce Corporate Email Support
Many analysts predict that tomorrow Steve Jobs will unveil the company’s strategy to woo corporations into using iPhone for their employees. This will mean interoperability with corporate email systems such as Microsoft Exchange.
“If [as] part of the enterprise announcements, Apple announces it has licensed the ActiveSync/Exchange protocol from Microsoft, presumably this would mean that the iPhone would at some point sync directly with Exchange,” said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst with JupiterResearch, in a post to his blog last Thursday. “Bottom line if this happens? Big win for Apple.”
Apple is under pressure because its shares are down 35 percent this year to tap into some corporate markets. This means that Apple might come in direct competition with Research In Motion (RIMM), whose BlackBerry devices now dominate the wireless e-mail market.
Apple has had to deal with waves of criticism regarding its policy to close iPhone deals with only a few carriers and still reaching high in terms of sales (10 million projected by the end of the year), but the company refuses to make a compromise and make the unlocked version of the phone available for carriers around the world.
Recently, China Mobile Communications Corporation, also known as China Mobile or CMCC, the largest mobile phone operator in China, expressed interest to start talks with Apple regarding the iPhone distribution. Last year there were rumors that Apple’s officials have tried to nail a deal with China Mobile, but nothing was officially confirmed.
However, in November, China Unicom, the second largest Chinese mobile carrier, said also that they would be open to talks with Apple.
“If [as] part of the enterprise announcements, Apple announces it has licensed the ActiveSync/Exchange protocol from Microsoft, presumably this would mean that the iPhone would at some point sync directly with Exchange,” said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst with JupiterResearch, in a post to his blog last Thursday. “Bottom line if this happens? Big win for Apple.”
Apple is under pressure because its shares are down 35 percent this year to tap into some corporate markets. This means that Apple might come in direct competition with Research In Motion (RIMM), whose BlackBerry devices now dominate the wireless e-mail market.
Apple has had to deal with waves of criticism regarding its policy to close iPhone deals with only a few carriers and still reaching high in terms of sales (10 million projected by the end of the year), but the company refuses to make a compromise and make the unlocked version of the phone available for carriers around the world.
Recently, China Mobile Communications Corporation, also known as China Mobile or CMCC, the largest mobile phone operator in China, expressed interest to start talks with Apple regarding the iPhone distribution. Last year there were rumors that Apple’s officials have tried to nail a deal with China Mobile, but nothing was officially confirmed.
However, in November, China Unicom, the second largest Chinese mobile carrier, said also that they would be open to talks with Apple.
BlackBerry Dominates Enterprise, But iPhone Users Happier
Research In Motion (RIM), maker of the popular BlackBerry smartphone, is the clear leader in business smartphone marketshare, and the Canadian company’s dominance will continue throughout the second quarter of this year, according to a recent report. However, Apple and its iPhone wins the top slot in enterprise user satisfaction.
Seventy-three percent of the 2,013 IT decision makers queried by market research firm ChangeWave said their companies currently employ RIM BlackBerry devices. That percentage is unchanged since ChangeWave’s last survey, in November, 2007, but RIM’s lead over it closest competitor, struggling Treo-maker Palm, grew by a percentage point.
Palm has 18 percent of the market, Motorola has nine percent, Nokia has seven percent, and both Apple and Samsung have five percent, according to ChangeWave. (With the software development kit for the iPhone due this week, which will enable external developers to create business-specific applications, Apple’s is sure to see an increase in the number of companies using its smartphones over the coming months and years, analysts say.)
ChangeWave also predicts that RIM’s enterprise penetration will continue to increase through second quarter 2008, as 77 percent of respondents said they plan to buy RIM devices for future smartphone deployments. Apple will soon take the second place slot in business smartphone ranking, according to ChangeWave, with 11 percent of respondents saying their companies plan to purchase iPhones. Only eight percent of respondents said they plan to purchase Palm devices.
“What we have here is a huge and still growing market share lead for Research In Motion that for the moment appears near invincible,” said ChangeWave Founder Tobin Smith in a release. “However, at the same time, we’ve picked up an unusual eight-point decline in the percentage of corporate customers who say they are ‘Very Satisfied’ with their RIM BlackBerry smartphones, which may mean that there’s a problem brewing for the Canadian manufacturer.”
Though Apple took a small sliver of the business smartphone market pie, its iPhone landed the leading spot in customer satisfaction with nearly 60 percent of respondents saying they are “very satisfied” with their Apple devices. RIM came in second place with 47 percent, which indicates an eight percent drop in user satisfaction since ChangeWave’s November, 2007 survey. Nokia took third place with 40 percent, Samsung was fourth with 30 percent, Motorola took fifth place with 25 percent and Palm came in sixth with a mere 10 percent of users saying they were “very satisfied.”
A related November, 2007 study from J.D. Power and Associates found that BlackBerry users were the most satisfied business customers due to the devices’ ease of operation, operating system (OS), physical design, audio quality, battery life, and utility features.
For the survey, ChangeWave queried 2,013 members of its ChangeWave Alliance who are involved in IT decision making, fielding the research between Feb. 11 and Feb. 15. More information on the report is available on the ChangeWave website.
Seventy-three percent of the 2,013 IT decision makers queried by market research firm ChangeWave said their companies currently employ RIM BlackBerry devices. That percentage is unchanged since ChangeWave’s last survey, in November, 2007, but RIM’s lead over it closest competitor, struggling Treo-maker Palm, grew by a percentage point.
Palm has 18 percent of the market, Motorola has nine percent, Nokia has seven percent, and both Apple and Samsung have five percent, according to ChangeWave. (With the software development kit for the iPhone due this week, which will enable external developers to create business-specific applications, Apple’s is sure to see an increase in the number of companies using its smartphones over the coming months and years, analysts say.)
ChangeWave also predicts that RIM’s enterprise penetration will continue to increase through second quarter 2008, as 77 percent of respondents said they plan to buy RIM devices for future smartphone deployments. Apple will soon take the second place slot in business smartphone ranking, according to ChangeWave, with 11 percent of respondents saying their companies plan to purchase iPhones. Only eight percent of respondents said they plan to purchase Palm devices.
“What we have here is a huge and still growing market share lead for Research In Motion that for the moment appears near invincible,” said ChangeWave Founder Tobin Smith in a release. “However, at the same time, we’ve picked up an unusual eight-point decline in the percentage of corporate customers who say they are ‘Very Satisfied’ with their RIM BlackBerry smartphones, which may mean that there’s a problem brewing for the Canadian manufacturer.”
Though Apple took a small sliver of the business smartphone market pie, its iPhone landed the leading spot in customer satisfaction with nearly 60 percent of respondents saying they are “very satisfied” with their Apple devices. RIM came in second place with 47 percent, which indicates an eight percent drop in user satisfaction since ChangeWave’s November, 2007 survey. Nokia took third place with 40 percent, Samsung was fourth with 30 percent, Motorola took fifth place with 25 percent and Palm came in sixth with a mere 10 percent of users saying they were “very satisfied.”
A related November, 2007 study from J.D. Power and Associates found that BlackBerry users were the most satisfied business customers due to the devices’ ease of operation, operating system (OS), physical design, audio quality, battery life, and utility features.
For the survey, ChangeWave queried 2,013 members of its ChangeWave Alliance who are involved in IT decision making, fielding the research between Feb. 11 and Feb. 15. More information on the report is available on the ChangeWave website.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
AT&T Tilt - Hidden Power
From this head-on view, AT&T’s latest slider phone looks quite ordinary. But the AT&T Tilt (also known as the HTC 8925) angles for a niche spot among Windows Mobile devices. This model features some cosmetic and physical updates over its predecessor, the Cingular 8525, but this phone is less about design than it is about versatility and powerful Windows Mobile-based computing (this model is AT&T’s first Windows Mobile 6 device). It’s a flexible phone, too: The Tilt is a quad-band GSM world phone compatible with EDGE/GPRS and with high-speed 3G UMTS and HSDPA broadband networks. As a result, it’s a great phone for travelers, especially if they can take advantage of high-speed networks. The Tilt costs $400 when purchased along with a two-year contract from AT&T; unlimited data plans are $45 a month.
Mobile phone new cancer fear
Regular mobile phone users are up to 50 PER CENT more likely to develop mouth cancer, boffins claim.
And those using phones in the countryside may be even more at risk – because handsets give off more radiation in areas with poor coverage.
Experts linked mobile use to cancer of the paratoid salivary gland – located close to where a phone is held to the ear.
They studied 500 patients with this kind of tumour then compared their mobile use to that of 1,300 healthy people.
And those using phones in the countryside may be even more at risk – because handsets give off more radiation in areas with poor coverage.
Experts linked mobile use to cancer of the paratoid salivary gland – located close to where a phone is held to the ear.
They studied 500 patients with this kind of tumour then compared their mobile use to that of 1,300 healthy people.
Nokia to Microsoft Silverlight in S60 Phones
Nokia today announced plans to make Microsoft Silverlight available for S60 on Symbian OS as well as for Series 40 devices and Nokia Internet tablets. Adding support for Silverlight will extend opportunities for developers to create rich, interactive applications that run on multiple platforms in a consistent and reliable way.
Microsoft will demonstrate Silverlight on S60 during the opening keyote at Microsoft’s MIX08 conference on March 5 in Las Vegas. Silverlight is intended to be available to S60 developers later this year with initial service delivery anticipated shortly thereafter for all S60 licensees. This will allow S60 application developers to use an even wider range of development environments for S60 on Symbian OS than today.
Microsoft Silverlight availability for Nokia Series 40 devices and Nokia Internet tablets will be confirmed later.
Microsoft will demonstrate Silverlight on S60 during the opening keyote at Microsoft’s MIX08 conference on March 5 in Las Vegas. Silverlight is intended to be available to S60 developers later this year with initial service delivery anticipated shortly thereafter for all S60 licensees. This will allow S60 application developers to use an even wider range of development environments for S60 on Symbian OS than today.
Microsoft Silverlight availability for Nokia Series 40 devices and Nokia Internet tablets will be confirmed later.
GSM/CDMA can be used through the FCC testing HTC Shift
According to media reports, HTC Shift version of the Clio 100 and the United States 200 Clio FCC adopted the test, based on the Clio 100 GSM / HSDPA, for AT & T custom, Clio 200 support CDMA / EVDO, customized for Verizon and Sprint. After the release, HTC Shift from a very wide range of concerns, because it is a Windows Vista has 6 Professional and Windows Mobile operating system handheld devices pairs.
GSM/CDMA can be used through the FCC testing HTC Shift
Photograph shows: FCC test version of the United States HTC Shift
HTC Shift Windows Vista Business will be pre-installed operating system and Windows Mobile 6 Professional operating system, Windows Mobile 6 in the Professional Mode Shift will be opened QualcoMM 400MHz CPU, 64 MB of RAM memory space saving operating power consumption, and in the mode of Vista , Shift will be launched Intel Santa Rosa A110 Processor, and then start a GB DDR2 RAM and 40 G hard drive may be based on the power and flexibility needed.
GSM/CDMA can be used through the FCC testing HTC Shift
Photograph shows: FCC test version of the United States HTC Shift
GSM/CDMA can be used through the FCC testing HTC Shift
Photograph shows: FCC test version of the United States HTC Shift
HTC Shift Windows Vista Business will be pre-installed operating system and Windows Mobile 6 Professional operating system, Windows Mobile 6 in the Professional Mode Shift will be opened QualcoMM 400MHz CPU, 64 MB of RAM memory space saving operating power consumption, and in the mode of Vista , Shift will be launched Intel Santa Rosa A110 Processor, and then start a GB DDR2 RAM and 40 G hard drive may be based on the power and flexibility needed.
GSM/CDMA can be used through the FCC testing HTC Shift
Photograph shows: FCC test version of the United States HTC Shift
The Camera Mobile Phone Timeline
2000: The world's first mobile phones with cameras hit the streets of Japan.
2002: Camera phones find their way to markets in Australia, Europe and the US.
June 8, 2003: Photos of convicted insider trader Rene Rivkin are beamed to Sydney's Sunday Telegraph from within prison.
June 2003: The Royal Life Saving Society advises pools to ban mobile phones with cameras from changing rooms to protect the privacy of bathers.
July 14, 2003: Samsung Electronics, one of the world's biggest players in the camera phone market, bans their use at research facilities in South Korea to prevent corporate espionage. Visitors are asked to stick tape over the handsets' lens.
July 2003: Japan's Magazine Publishers Association launches an ad campaign asking readers not to take pictures of magazines in lieu of buying them.
2002: Camera phones find their way to markets in Australia, Europe and the US.
June 8, 2003: Photos of convicted insider trader Rene Rivkin are beamed to Sydney's Sunday Telegraph from within prison.
June 2003: The Royal Life Saving Society advises pools to ban mobile phones with cameras from changing rooms to protect the privacy of bathers.
July 14, 2003: Samsung Electronics, one of the world's biggest players in the camera phone market, bans their use at research facilities in South Korea to prevent corporate espionage. Visitors are asked to stick tape over the handsets' lens.
July 2003: Japan's Magazine Publishers Association launches an ad campaign asking readers not to take pictures of magazines in lieu of buying them.
Nokia PC Suite 6.82 Released
Nokia has released Nokia PC Suite 6.82 (release 21)
Download the Nokia PC Suite from here:
Download Nokia PC Suite 6.82
Changes:
* Stability fixes for backup and restore
* Improved mobile music experience with Nokia Music Manager
* Update your phone software with Nokia Software Updater
* Added fluency in information exchange between Nokia phones and Microsoft applications (such as Windows Media Player 11) with Windows Portable Device (WPD) driver support
Download the Nokia PC Suite from here:
Download Nokia PC Suite 6.82
Changes:
* Stability fixes for backup and restore
* Improved mobile music experience with Nokia Music Manager
* Update your phone software with Nokia Software Updater
* Added fluency in information exchange between Nokia phones and Microsoft applications (such as Windows Media Player 11) with Windows Portable Device (WPD) driver support
Grameen Phone taking internet to villages
Eight months ago, when Fizaz Ahmed opened an Internet service using a mobile modem in Kapalia Bazar of Jessore, the local people hardly knew what it was as the nearest Internet service was 35 kilometres away. Now the Internet is rapidly changing the lives of the people of about 15 villages around Kapalia Bazar.
Villagers are now buying printouts of documents like passport forms or licenses from Fizaz’s establishment. For Tk 5, a farmer can obtain a listing of prices for any agricultural commodity sold at nearby markets. Students have started exploring admissions in universities and compiling education related information. Mothers and fathers are chatting with their expatriate children or relatives on the Internet where they can see each other through the web-cam.
Fizaz’s Internet service is one of 80 Community Information Centres (CICs) set up with the help of Grameen Phone. Again the Grameen Phone initiative came from a development fund of the GSM Association (GSMA), a trade platform of 12 leading mobile operators of the world. The vision of this scheme is to take internet to remote locations using the GSM technology.
“This is such an educational venture for our community,” says Fizaz, “because people are personally interested to use this technology for various reasons. They come to me for free training on the Internet. I get 25 to 30 customers a day.” The shop generates daily revenue of Tk 350 to Tk 450.
The success story of Fizaz was shared among 6000 participants from 96 countries of the GSMA world congress being held in Singapore from October 15 to 19.
With the help and training from Grameen Phone, Fizaz took micro-credit worth of Tk 50,000 to set up this CIC with a PC, a GSM modem, a scanner, a printer and a web-cam.
Based on the success of this venture, Grameen Phone expects to help roll out 500 such CICs across Bangladesh by the year-end and help spark local entrepreneurship and knowledge dissemination.
“If one per cent of the population can be given Internet access, it will contribute to 4 per cent growth to export,’ said Erik Aas, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Grameen Phone. He added that the CICs are not exactly a business for the Grameen Phone. “From our perspective, we feel that it’s important to give people access to the Internet.”
Addressing a press conference, Erik noted that Bangladesh holds opportunities for the GSM technology. The mobile broadband has remained untapped and GSM will be the main access method for data transfer and internet in the future. Besides, GSM will also be used for money transfer and payments.
“The CIC will be useful for health, education and self-employment,” he added.
Currently Bangladesh has 5.9 lakh fixed Internet users while the government policy targets delivering broadband internet to all villages by 2015.
The country has 2.9 million personal computers, 15 million mobile subscribers and 1.4 million fixed telephones. Of the 15 million mobile subscribers, Grameen alone claims 9.5 million.
Aas noted that Bangladesh has 4 million workers abroad, each of them sending home $100 per month. The expatriates are eager to stay in touch with their families in rural areas, but due to absence of infrastructure, internet communication facilities cannot be offered widely. The CIC is addressing this issue.
The CIC is a business venture, not a charity. It demands investment of only $10,000 to $14,000 each. Each centre can serve 30,000 to 40,000 people of 10 to 15 villages.
Aas pointed out that it is easier to set up the internet access using GSM technology than fixed lines. Therefore in the near future GSM will serve as the main access method for data exchange.
The GSMA Development Fund is also being used for development of other social and environmental initiatives that may or may not be directly linked with mobile phone operation.
According to GSMA Director of Strategic Initiative Ben Soppitt, an environment friendly and cost-efficient bio fuels programme is being implemented under GSMA fund in Nigeria and the same will be implemented soon in India and Bangladesh
Villagers are now buying printouts of documents like passport forms or licenses from Fizaz’s establishment. For Tk 5, a farmer can obtain a listing of prices for any agricultural commodity sold at nearby markets. Students have started exploring admissions in universities and compiling education related information. Mothers and fathers are chatting with their expatriate children or relatives on the Internet where they can see each other through the web-cam.
Fizaz’s Internet service is one of 80 Community Information Centres (CICs) set up with the help of Grameen Phone. Again the Grameen Phone initiative came from a development fund of the GSM Association (GSMA), a trade platform of 12 leading mobile operators of the world. The vision of this scheme is to take internet to remote locations using the GSM technology.
“This is such an educational venture for our community,” says Fizaz, “because people are personally interested to use this technology for various reasons. They come to me for free training on the Internet. I get 25 to 30 customers a day.” The shop generates daily revenue of Tk 350 to Tk 450.
The success story of Fizaz was shared among 6000 participants from 96 countries of the GSMA world congress being held in Singapore from October 15 to 19.
With the help and training from Grameen Phone, Fizaz took micro-credit worth of Tk 50,000 to set up this CIC with a PC, a GSM modem, a scanner, a printer and a web-cam.
Based on the success of this venture, Grameen Phone expects to help roll out 500 such CICs across Bangladesh by the year-end and help spark local entrepreneurship and knowledge dissemination.
“If one per cent of the population can be given Internet access, it will contribute to 4 per cent growth to export,’ said Erik Aas, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Grameen Phone. He added that the CICs are not exactly a business for the Grameen Phone. “From our perspective, we feel that it’s important to give people access to the Internet.”
Addressing a press conference, Erik noted that Bangladesh holds opportunities for the GSM technology. The mobile broadband has remained untapped and GSM will be the main access method for data transfer and internet in the future. Besides, GSM will also be used for money transfer and payments.
“The CIC will be useful for health, education and self-employment,” he added.
Currently Bangladesh has 5.9 lakh fixed Internet users while the government policy targets delivering broadband internet to all villages by 2015.
The country has 2.9 million personal computers, 15 million mobile subscribers and 1.4 million fixed telephones. Of the 15 million mobile subscribers, Grameen alone claims 9.5 million.
Aas noted that Bangladesh has 4 million workers abroad, each of them sending home $100 per month. The expatriates are eager to stay in touch with their families in rural areas, but due to absence of infrastructure, internet communication facilities cannot be offered widely. The CIC is addressing this issue.
The CIC is a business venture, not a charity. It demands investment of only $10,000 to $14,000 each. Each centre can serve 30,000 to 40,000 people of 10 to 15 villages.
Aas pointed out that it is easier to set up the internet access using GSM technology than fixed lines. Therefore in the near future GSM will serve as the main access method for data exchange.
The GSMA Development Fund is also being used for development of other social and environmental initiatives that may or may not be directly linked with mobile phone operation.
According to GSMA Director of Strategic Initiative Ben Soppitt, an environment friendly and cost-efficient bio fuels programme is being implemented under GSMA fund in Nigeria and the same will be implemented soon in India and Bangladesh
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Cell Phone Unlocking - What Purpose Does It Have?
An unlocked phone is a GSM phone that is not tied down to any one carrier. So what does this mean? Unlocking a GSM phone enables you to use your phone with any GSM provider anywhere in the world. You simply insert the SIM card into the phone for easy and instantaneous service.
GSM is one type of digital technology and is not compatible with CDMA, TDMA or iDEN. A SIM card (subscriber information module) is a removable account card and has a serial number unique to it that identifies you to the wireless provider. A GSM phone is not directly linked to anyone. This means that you can put your SIM into any compatible phone and that phone will now act as yours. It identifies to your SIM not your phone. So now you can simply switch providers without switching phones unless the provider has their phones programmed or "locked" to work only with SIM's issued by their company.
In the United States, you can use either a phone with either T-Mobile or AT&T, the only current GSM wireless providers. If you travel abroad, you can swap out your SIM card for a foreign one.
It is a relatively easy process to get service for an unlocked phone. First order and sign up for service either at a T-Mobile or AT&T store or on the carrier's Web site. After you have your SIM card it is relatively simple, just place it in the phone and start making calls.
How can you check if your phone is unlocked or not? It is as easy as placing a SIM card from another phone with an account from a different wireless provider into your phone. If it works and shows the other phones number then the phone is unlocked. If you get an error message or it will not work then the phone is locked.
Please keep in mind, though that in order to browse the web; you will need to make sure your phone is programmed with the Internet settings unique to either AT&T or T-Mobile. The carrier can give you the settings or you also can find them on the carriers' website.
Why would you want to unlock your wireless phone? You want to change your current wireless provider in the US and still keep your phone. You changed your provider and got a new phone but want to use the other as a backup by swapping the SIM if you experience problems.
You are going to travel internationally and you don't want to pay the higher international roaming rates.
How do you unlock your phone? There are basically two ways. Your phone can be unlocked by simply entering a code into it. The code is a unique number for that particular phone.
Some types of phones need their operating software to be rewritten to remove the lock. This means connecting the phone via a data cable to a special programming unit. There are professional unlocking services that will provide this service for a fee.
GSM is one type of digital technology and is not compatible with CDMA, TDMA or iDEN. A SIM card (subscriber information module) is a removable account card and has a serial number unique to it that identifies you to the wireless provider. A GSM phone is not directly linked to anyone. This means that you can put your SIM into any compatible phone and that phone will now act as yours. It identifies to your SIM not your phone. So now you can simply switch providers without switching phones unless the provider has their phones programmed or "locked" to work only with SIM's issued by their company.
In the United States, you can use either a phone with either T-Mobile or AT&T, the only current GSM wireless providers. If you travel abroad, you can swap out your SIM card for a foreign one.
It is a relatively easy process to get service for an unlocked phone. First order and sign up for service either at a T-Mobile or AT&T store or on the carrier's Web site. After you have your SIM card it is relatively simple, just place it in the phone and start making calls.
How can you check if your phone is unlocked or not? It is as easy as placing a SIM card from another phone with an account from a different wireless provider into your phone. If it works and shows the other phones number then the phone is unlocked. If you get an error message or it will not work then the phone is locked.
Please keep in mind, though that in order to browse the web; you will need to make sure your phone is programmed with the Internet settings unique to either AT&T or T-Mobile. The carrier can give you the settings or you also can find them on the carriers' website.
Why would you want to unlock your wireless phone? You want to change your current wireless provider in the US and still keep your phone. You changed your provider and got a new phone but want to use the other as a backup by swapping the SIM if you experience problems.
You are going to travel internationally and you don't want to pay the higher international roaming rates.
How do you unlock your phone? There are basically two ways. Your phone can be unlocked by simply entering a code into it. The code is a unique number for that particular phone.
Some types of phones need their operating software to be rewritten to remove the lock. This means connecting the phone via a data cable to a special programming unit. There are professional unlocking services that will provide this service for a fee.
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