Archive for the ‘wireless communication’ Category

Competing in Telecommunications Market with Network Quality Sunday, December 19th, 2010

Few things have caught the fancy of the general public as cell phones have. The ability to communicate on the go, and be available for communication wherever you are, has indeed affected a lot of things. It has improved the ability to earn income and people’s lifestyles.

The popularity has naturally attracted sellers of everything connected with cell phones, including technology developers. As competition increases, sellers try to differentiate themselves through improved quality of their networks. Advancing technology raises user’s expectations and these expectations are often not met.

Terms like 2G and 3G can be seen as referring to network technologies that attempt to meet user expectations increasingly better. GSM is considered a 2G technology, GPRS a 2.5G one, and 3G uses Broadband Wireless network technologies. Each technology improved the speed of data download, i.e. you could get more things to your mobile device within acceptable times.

Phones were devices that enabled you to talk with someone who is beyond a few minutes of walking distance. Now they are devices that enable you to browse the Internet and download music files without having to wait for ever.

Advancing technologies also improved the range of communications. Telephones can now reach even the remotest corners at acceptable costs.

We are presently in the 3G era which has speeds of up to 2 megabytes per second (2Mbps). 4G is visualized as technologies that can reach 100 Mbps.

And 5G is expected to lead to a truly wireless world, connecting the whole world into a borderless community. Using the potentials of nanotechnolgy, cloud computing and network protocols, a new Next Generation Network promises great things.

The 5G NanoCore is a technology and market report that delves into 5G technology of telecommunications.

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Mobile Phones and Poverty Saturday, October 23rd, 2010

In a village in Kerala, India, when mobile phones arrived on the scene, a few three-wheeler taxi drivers began to use it. And when the word spread among taxi users, they began to call the taxi drivers on the phone for trips. The result was that those drivers who had bought mobile phones saw a jump in their business.

Earlier, prospective customers had to go to taxi stands and hire any available taxi. Now, they could phone a particular taxi driver whenever they wanted to go on a trip. Result: the mobile phone owner got more business compared to the random hires at the taxi stand.

These days, almost all drivers have a mobile phone, and have specific customers who almost always call them.

Mobile phones benefit the poorer sections in other ways too. It enables farmers and others in remote areas to get connected with markets. It gives rise to new businesses, such as selling SIM cards on commission and servicing handsets. These businesses do not need big investments or a high level of skill.

However, such an impact can come about only if mobile phone use is widespread in rural as well as urban areas. And that means the handsets and usage costs are affordable to the people in the country. India has achieved this goal and mobile phone use is widespread even in rural areas.

Read the Information Economy Report 2010 on ICTs, Enterprises and Poverty Alleviation published by the UN agency UNCTAD.

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WiMax Forum Gears up to Meet Intensifying Demand for Wireless Access Thursday, April 15th, 2010

WiMAX or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access is a telecommunications technology that provides up to 40 MB per second wireless access to last mile users. It is based on the Broadband Wireless Access standard IEEE 802.16. The WiMAX Forum was created in 2001 to promote conformity and interoperability of the standard.

WiMAX is similar to Wi-Fi that refers to Wireless LAN standard (IEEE 802.11) ratified by the Wi-Fi Alliance. The WiMAX Forum certifies equipment made by different vendors and the certification is an indicator that the equipment will be compatible with other certified equipment of similar profile.

WiMAX is a preferred solution for providing (i) portable mobile connectivity across cities and countries, (ii) wireless alternative to cable and DSL for last mile broadband access, (iii) data, Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) services (iv) busines-continuity support by providing an alternative in case the fixed connectivity goes down and (v) a network for machine to machine communications

WiMAX can be deployed in areas such as rural regions where other technologies are difficult to implement. It is considered suitable for providing connectivity in poorer countries.

The WiMAX Forum is accelerating its efforts to provide advanced features that enhance the performance of its current Release 1 technology. A 50 percent improvement is expected from the initiative and it can cater to the intensifying demand for 4G WiMAX networks and services. Products that conform to the enhanced standard are expected by late 2010.

At the same time, the Forum is fast-tracking activities to get WiMAX Release 2 certification ready by 2011. Going by current trends, network overload is a real possibility and the Forum is seeking to provide more advanced technologies that will support continued expansion of connectivity services. Faster networks with greater capacity and efficiency are what the enhancements seek to deliver.

Read the detailed story at YourStory.in.

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Cell Phones of Tomorrow Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

Miniature laser projectors have become possible with nanotechnology developments. These can lead to phones with mini projectors to project the phone screen on a wall. LG’s Expo projector is an example of a mini projector attached to a phone. Probably, you can load a selected presentation from your corporate intranet and present it to your prospects with nothing more than a phone.

Charging a phone is a hassle especially if you travel internationally with differing standards for electrical plugs. A phone that can be charged with sunlight, using solar panels on the phone, will be a boon (provided you don’t travel to one of the poles during their long nights).

Watch phones are not the normal cell phones with a watch on the screen, but normal-looking watches that are also phones. Some of them even have GPS guiding you to your destination.

And a voice-to-text phone can save you typing your SMSes using the tiny keypads of phones. Instead, just speak your message to the phone and send the SMS. Your speech would have been converted into text which the SMS then sends.

Read about these and other phones at SiliconValleyNano.com.

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A Focus on Antennas Monday, March 15th, 2010

Antennas transmit information without the need for a wire. Wireless communication devices have improved in the matters of energy use, speed and miniaturization. However, antennas have not kept pace with the devices in these areas.

Small antennas use less power but larger antennas are faster. Currently, the optimum is 150 millimeter length and a frequency of 1 GHz. Researchers are hoping to achieve that speed with an antenna just 1 millimeter in length.

Small antennas can be used in many contexts, such as transmitting diagnostic or environmental information fast to help in better healthcare.

Researchers are looking at metamaterials, materials not created naturally. Working at nanoscales, they hope to engineer suitable materials and integrate them into the devices, also made of such materials.

Tiny devices with equally tiny antennas that can transmit data fast over any distance is the aim of the antenna researchers.

Read the story at AzoNano.

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