|
"The next generation technologies and open operator and/or OEM application platforms will allow for the 3G revolution to flourish"
Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) is an approved 3G standard that uses 5 MHz channels for both voice and data, offering excellent voice capacity and a peak data rate of 384 kbps.
--- Shekar,
GM,
Prairiecomm Technologies (I) Pvt Ltd
|
|
"ILM technologies enable organizations to dynamically and seamlessly manage corporate information according to its changing value over time"
Storage Area Networks (SANs) have the ability to save company money, hasten backups and help consolidate the data center.
--- N Ramachandran,
GM- Storage Industry Group,
Mindtree Consulting Pvt Ltd.
|
|
“Having an optimal Design Flow is a key requirement of a design company or group”
The future for Electronic Design Automation (EDA) firms has seldom looked so bright.
--- Nachiket Urdhwareshe,
CEO,
SoftJin Infotech Private Limited |
|
“One has to accept that the world of work is changing”
The furore over outsourcing has gathered steam over the last couple of months.
--- Mark Hillary,
Technology manager and
Independent outsourcing consultant |
|
“Our technology companies need to focus on marketing”
Networking bridges those distances. Though I entered with no expectation, maybe that is why it has been a pleasant experience.
--- Mahesh Murthy, Entrepreneur
Passionfund |
| |
|
"Internationally, India is going to be dead in the water unless it begins to show innovation"
Indian brains need to be applied to the conception and development of innovative products and services, and quickly.
--- Atul Chitnis, Partner
Exocore Consulting, Bangalore |
| |
|
"Our
intent is to address the security market through whatever it
takes"
The market for security-related hardware,
software, and services is expected to swell to $45 billion in
revenue by 2006, according to IDC..
--- Mr. Rakesh Singh, GM
NetScaler, Asia
Operations |
| |
|
Start-up Watch
"Young
company with a mature mind"
Three years earlier, like-minded industry
veterans from leading technology companies came together to fill gap
found in IT services space, a good blend of consulting capabilities
and process oriented execution under one leadership.
--- Mr. Vinod P. Deshmukh
Sr. Vice President and
CTO, MindTree Consulting |
| |
|
"In
today's market, pure product play is very risky"
Telesoft is a product start-up with a high
passion quotient. In 1998-99 the company built a softswitch which
pipped giants such as Fujitsu, Nortel and NTT DoCoMo in the
marketplace.
--- Mr. Vinod Chandran
Chief Operating Office,
Telesoft |
| |
|
"Few
Indian companies offer total ownership in chip design"
2002 has been the worst ever year for the global
chip sector hammered by the slowdown and lowered IT spends.
Undeterred by the shrunken market and fast-disappearing prospects,
Avedis Microsystem made its debut in May, making it one of the few
hot technology start-ups of this year.
--- Mr. Sunil Kalarickal
CEO Avedis Microsystems
|
| |
|
"There
is a misconception that BPO means easy money"
Indian BPO players are on a high. Recent joint
projections by Nasscom- McKinsey indicate that the IT-Enabled
Services segment will generate Rs. 81,000 crore (US$ 17 billion) in
revenue and employ over 1 million people by 2008.
--- Rajdeep S. Puri
Vice President
Operations
First Ring |
| |
|
"Software
exports will touch Rs. 13,000 crore"
For the IT industry struggling to survive, the
last one year has been irredeemably bleak with growth rates crashing
from quarter to quarter.
--- Mr. B. V. Naidu
Director, STPI |
| |
|
Growth
and Profitability in tough times
In 2000, caught in the worst ever business
crisis, Firestone was forced to recall 6.5 million failure-prone
tires. Later research proved that the Firestone problem was as early
as August 1998 and the company could have prevented the damage had
it known that people were already beginning to talk about its tires
on the Net.
---Dr K. R. V. Subramanian
CEO,
AnswerPal |
| |
|
"Bluetooth
is not a wishful market"
By 2005, analysts such as Vision Gain predict
that all new multimedia mobile devices will be manufactured with
Bluetooth as the standard. A rip-off from science fantasy fiction,
Bluetooth promises communication between a gamuts of devices.
--- Mr. Basker Subramanian,
CTO and founder
Impulsesoft |
| |
|
"Musharraf
is serious about disciplining jehadis"
High -level visits from US and UK to the
sub-continent followed by President Musharraf's promise to
permanently clamp down on terrorists have brought India and Pakistan
back from the brink.
--- Dr Sreedhar,
Institute of Defence
Studies |
| |
|
"We
need to take the lid off the entire bureaucracy called
education"
India's garugantan education machinery churns out
scores of graduates every year. Yet apart from a few institutions
such as IITs and IIMs, Central universities and now the III-Ts,
India's educational sector is chronically sick.
--- Prof Sadagopan,
Director III-T, |
| |
|
"HR
is drawn to outsourcing for reasons other than cost
reduction"
Responding to the increasing business imperatives
of the new economy, the traditional HR department has been subject
to a drastic image makeover - from a cost-consuming, administrative
backstage functionary to a strategic business partner contributing
directly and significantly to the company's bottomline.
--- Mr. Leo Fernandez,
India Life Hewitt
|
| |
|
"We
wanted to make sure we did not miss being in Asia's Silicon
Valley"
The latest US company on the block to shift base
to India to leverage its cost effectiveness is New-Jersey-based
content and IP rating billing and settlement solutions provider,
Apogee Networks.
--- Mr. Balaji Pitchaikani
Apogee Networks
|
| |
|
"The
industry's problem is that we are trying to copy the Americans too
much"
Formed in 1986, Sonata Software is India's oldest
medium enterprise. At a corporate level, the SEICMM Level 5
certified company forms a fairly decent story to tell.
--- Mr. Srikar Reddy
Sonata Software |
| |
|
"There
is no such thing as an ethical hacker"
In 2001, computer users faced a seemingly endless
onslaught of viruses. Code Red Nimda and Scrim pinpointed the
vulnerability of networks and our helplessness to tackle them.
--- Mr. Subramanya Rao
Proland Software
|
| |
|
"Even
a slowdown can be advantageous if you want to take advantage of
it"
Challenge is a way of life for Ishoni Networks.
Two-and-a- half-years back, Ishoni's India office decided that it
was not going to be a mere service company and play second fiddle to
its US counterpart.
--- Dr Vivek Mansingh
Ishoni Networks |
| |
|
"HR
cannot afford to get divorced from business realities"
In a span of less than five years, Aztec Software
from being a little known start-up became the darling of the markets
when it went public last year. A fortnight back, rocked by
uncertainties in the market, the company was forced to lay off 35
employees. True to the Aztec work ethic, the company did not mask
the layoffs behind a flurry of excuses as most other Indian
companies have.
--- T. K. Anand
Aztec Software |
| |
|
"Things
are going from bad to worse"
Last year flush with VC funds, internet companies
in a battle for visibility blared out their existence from gigantic
billboards dotting the urban landscape. Recruitment ads shed their
stodgy image and became brand statements in their own right.
--- Mr. Vikram Satyanath
Enterprise Nexus
|
| |
|
"Failure
is not a dirty word in VC lexicon"
Nasdaq's downward spiral has triggered a
bloodbath in the tech sector. As start-up corpses begin to litter
the tech field, VCs are surprisingly stoic.
--- Mr. Vijay Angadi
ICF ventures |
| |
|
"New
paradigm of work"
"I feel every company in the future will have
distributed people. Why have a work force at all," he questions
passionately. No, this is not the stuff dreams are made of or what
we all though we would do when we were 14-year olds before we got
trapped in a cubicled existence."
--- Vinai Kashyap
Kelsar Technologies |
| |
|
"Being
laid-off is akin to standing at the edge of a precipice with nothing
in front of you"
Less than a year ago, HR managers of India
Software Inc. raged reckless battles to lure techies to their fold.
Indian techies never had it better - inflated salaries, stock
options, signing bonuses, paid vacations and relocation expenses
were deemed an integral part of the pay package.
--- Dr. Gideon Arulmani
The Promise Foundation
|
| |
|
Short Take
"HIPAA
is a big opportunity but not for every player in the market"
Healthcare informatics space in the US has been
relatively recession proof and is expected to touch $60 billion by
2004.
--- --- Dr.Saji Salam,
Consulting Manager, HL7
Inc |
| |
|
"Hyderabad
has an international face but reputational build-up will take
time"
In the last five years, Hyderabad has transformed
itself from the once somnolent city of Nawabs to an aggressive
player in the technology industry.
--- --- Colonel M. Vijay Kumar, Director, STPI,
Hyderabad |
| |
|
"The
next 18 months will separate the good from the 'once-upon-a-time'
companies"
Established in 1997, Mistral Software has emerged
as a leading provider of end-to-end services for embedded product
design and development.
--- Anees Ahmed
President, Mistral
Software |
| |
|
Company Watch
"Gunning
for 50 per cent growth"
Founded in 1997 CoreObjects is a product
development engine for robust, scalable software. The mid-sized
company has carefully crafted a differentiated strategy from its
contemporaries as a product-centric rather than a project-centric
company.
--- Sanjay Bhaduri
President
CoreObjects |
| |
|
"The
overwhelming evidence is in favour of good HR practices in
IT"
Since Nasdaq first hit the skids last April and
fortunes of IT companies, riding on the dotcom boom, nosedived, the
IT industry that had earlier waged wars too woo and retain talent
responded by slashing salaries, issuing pink slips, withdrawing
offers to freshers and freezing recruitment.
--- Prof. J. Phillip
Director XIME |
| |
|
Company Watch
"We
are optimistic about the next three quarters"
LG Soft India (LGSI) is a part of the US $80
billion LG Group. Despite the LG brand name, the company has had a
chequered history, first hit by the Korean crisis then by the US
downturn.
--- Mr. Shubho Kundu
General Manager
LG Soft
India |
| |
|
Invest Kerala
Hip,
Hep & Happening Kerala
The latest State to jump on the Indian IT
badwagon is Kerala, God's own country. Shrugging its somnolent
backwater, non-happening imageand armed with a brand new IT policy
and a more than supportive government, the State is pulling all
plugs to attract IT investments in the State.
--- Mr. Rajiv Vasudevan
CEO,
Technopark |
| |
|
"Future
of animation in India is brilliant"
"Kinetic Art is the first new category of art
since prehistory. It took until this century to discover the art
that moves. Had we taken the aesthetic qualities of sound as much
for granted as we have taken those of motion, we would not now have
music.
--- Bill Dennis
CEO, Toonz Animation
India |
| |
|
Start-up Track
"Organisations
need to understand what is happening tomorrow"
In an intensely competitive globalised economy,
strategy-generation and accurate decision- making have become
increasingly complex and an imperative for businesses to
succeed.
--- Subhash Gupta
Founder and Chief
Scientist
Zelante Solutions |
| |
|
"It's
a good time for VCs to invest, as no one else is"
VCs may still be hurting from their matri-money
with upstarts in the 'got an idea get a million era' but are not
calling it quits.
--- Sumir Chadha
Founder IVCA |
| |
|
Company
Watch
"Domestic markets hold poor lure for VCs"
In a country where PC penetration is as low as
five per 1,000 people, Inabling Technologies stormed the domestic
technology market in August 2001 with its indigenously produced
revolutionary e-mail device for the rural market, the I-station.
--- Mr. Narsimha Prabhu
Chief Technology
Officer
Inabling Technologies |
| |
|
"If
Hyderabad has 10 jobs, Bangalore has close to 100"
In the late Nineties, a 400-year old city closely
identified with its laid-back Nawabi culture discovered the power of
Silicon and made a pitch to transform itself from Hyderabad to
Cyberabad.
--- Mr A. K. Menon
CEO Options |
| |
|
"There
is nothing demeaning about working in a call centre"
The IT-enabled services opportunity in India is
expected to cross $20 billion by 2008, according to a recent Nasscom
report. The sunrise sector with a humongous potential to offer
employment to collegiates has also become the victim of many
misconceptions.
--- Mr. G. V. Giridhar
General Manager -
HR
ITES |
| |
|
"India
is not merely a low cost production centre"
Realising India's immense potential in IT and BT,
UK is trying hard to lure Indian investors by pitching itself as an
attractive and preferred hi-tech investment gateway to Europe.
--- Mr. Stephen Metti
Head of India and
Australia
Team of Invest UK. |
| |
|
HR
Focus
"It's the little things that make a vital
difference at Subex"
In February 2002, Subex Systems bagged the award
for Organisation with Innovative HR practices at the All India HRD
Congress.
--- Mr J. M. Prasad,
Subex Systems, |
| |
|
"Our intent is to address the security market through whatever it takes"
The market for security-related hardware, software, and services is expected to swell to $45 billion in revenue by 2006, according to IDC..
--- Mr. Rakesh Singh, GM
NetScaler, Asia Operations |
| |
|
Start-up Watch
"Young company with a mature mind"
Three years earlier, like-minded industry veterans from leading technology companies came together to fill gap found in IT services space, a good blend of consulting capabilities and process oriented execution under one leadership.
--- Mr. Vinod P. Deshmukh
Sr. Vice President and CTO, MindTree Consulting |
| |
|
"In today's market, pure product play is very risky"
Telesoft is a product start-up with a high passion quotient. In 1998-99 the company built a softswitch which pipped giants such as Fujitsu, Nortel and NTT DoCoMo in the marketplace.
--- Mr. Vinod Chandran
Chief Operating Office, Telesoft |
| |
|
"Few Indian companies offer total ownership in chip design"
2002 has been the worst ever year for the global chip sector hammered by the slowdown and lowered IT spends. Undeterred by the shrunken market and fast-disappearing prospects, Avedis Microsystem made its debut in May, making it one of the few hot technology start-ups of this year.
--- Mr. Sunil Kalarickal
CEO Avedis Microsystems
|
| |
|
"There is a misconception that BPO means easy money"
Indian BPO players are on a high. Recent joint projections by Nasscom- McKinsey indicate that the IT-Enabled Services segment will generate Rs. 81,000 crore (US$ 17 billion) in revenue and employ over 1 million people by 2008.
--- Rajdeep S. Puri
Vice President
Operations First Ring
|
| |
|
"Software exports will touch Rs. 13,000 crore"
For the IT industry struggling to survive, the last one year has been irredeemably bleak with growth rates crashing from quarter to quarter.
--- Mr. B. V. Naidu
Director, STPI |
| |
|
Growth and Profitability in tough times
In 2000, caught in the worst ever business crisis, Firestone was forced to recall 6.5 million failure-prone tires. Later research proved that the Firestone problem was as early as August 1998 and the company could have prevented the damage had it known that people were already beginning to talk about its tires on the Net.
---Dr K. R. V. Subramanian
CEO, AnswerPal |
| |
|
"Bluetooth is not a wishful market"
By 2005, analysts such as Vision Gain predict that all new multimedia mobile devices will be manufactured with Bluetooth as the standard. A rip-off from science fantasy fiction, Bluetooth promises communication between a gamuts of devices.
--- Mr. Basker Subramanian,
CTO and founder Impulsesoft |
| |
|
"Musharraf is serious about disciplining jehadis"
High -level visits from US and UK to the sub-continent followed by President Musharraf's promise to permanently clamp down on terrorists have brought India and Pakistan back from the brink.
--- Dr Sreedhar,
Institute of Defence Studies |
| |
|
"We need to take the lid off the entire bureaucracy called education"
India's garugantan education machinery churns out scores of graduates every year. Yet apart from a few institutions such as IITs and IIMs, Central universities and now the III-Ts, India's educational sector is chronically sick.
--- Prof Sadagopan,
Director III-T,
|
| |
|
"HR is drawn to outsourcing for reasons other than cost reduction"
Responding to the increasing business imperatives of the new economy, the traditional HR department has been subject to a drastic image makeover - from a cost-consuming, administrative backstage functionary to a strategic business partner contributing directly and significantly to the company's bottomline.
--- Mr. Leo Fernandez,
India Life Hewitt
|
| |
|
"We wanted to make sure we did not miss being in Asia's Silicon Valley"
The latest US company on the block to shift base to India to leverage its cost effectiveness is New-Jersey-based content and IP rating billing and settlement solutions provider, Apogee Networks.
--- Mr. Balaji Pitchaikani
Apogee Networks
|
| |
|
"The industry's problem is that we are trying to copy the Americans too much"
Formed in 1986, Sonata Software is India's oldest medium enterprise. At a corporate level, the SEICMM Level 5 certified company forms a fairly decent story to tell.
--- Mr. Srikar Reddy
Sonata Software
|
| |
|
"There is no such thing as an ethical hacker"
In 2001, computer users faced a seemingly endless onslaught of viruses. Code Red Nimda and Scrim pinpointed the vulnerability of networks and our helplessness to tackle them.
--- Mr. Subramanya Rao
Proland Software
|
| |
|
"Even a slowdown can be advantageous if you want to take advantage of it"
Challenge is a way of life for Ishoni Networks. Two-and-a- half-years back, Ishoni's India office decided that it was not going to be a mere service company and play second fiddle to its US counterpart.
--- Dr Vivek Mansingh
Ishoni Networks
|
| |
|
"HR cannot afford to get divorced from business realities"
In a span of less than five years, Aztec Software from being a little known start-up became the darling of the markets when it went public last year. A fortnight back, rocked by uncertainties in the market, the company was forced to lay off 35 employees. True to the Aztec work ethic, the company did not mask the layoffs behind a flurry of excuses as most other Indian companies have.
--- T. K. Anand
Aztec Software
|
| |
|
"Things are going from bad to worse"
Last year flush with VC funds, internet companies in a battle for visibility blared out their existence from gigantic billboards dotting the urban landscape. Recruitment ads shed their stodgy image and became brand statements in their own right.
--- Mr. Vikram Satyanath
Enterprise Nexus
|
| |
|
"Failure is not a dirty word in VC lexicon"
Nasdaq's downward spiral has triggered a bloodbath in the tech sector. As start-up corpses begin to litter the tech field, VCs are surprisingly stoic.
--- Mr. Vijay Angadi
ICF ventures
|
| |
|
"New paradigm of work"
"I feel every company in the future will have distributed people. Why have a work force at all," he questions passionately. No, this is not the stuff dreams are made of or what we all though we would do when we were 14-year olds before we got trapped in a cubicled existence."
--- Vinai Kashyap
Kelsar Technologies
|
| |
|
"Being laid-off is akin to standing at the edge of a precipice with nothing in front of you"
Less than a year ago, HR managers of India Software Inc. raged reckless battles to lure techies to their fold. Indian techies never had it better - inflated salaries, stock options, signing bonuses, paid vacations and relocation expenses were deemed an integral part of the pay package.
--- Dr. Gideon Arulmani
The Promise Foundation
|
| |
|
Short Take
"HIPAA is a big opportunity but not for every player in the market"
Healthcare informatics space in the US has been relatively recession proof and is expected to touch $60 billion by 2004.
--- --- Dr.Saji Salam,
Consulting Manager, HL7 Inc |
| |
|
"Hyderabad has an international face but reputational build-up will take time"
In the last five years, Hyderabad has transformed itself from the once somnolent city of Nawabs to an aggressive player in the technology industry.
--- --- Colonel M. Vijay Kumar, Director, STPI, Hyderabad |
| |
|
"The next 18 months will separate the good from the 'once-upon-a-time' companies"
Established in 1997, Mistral Software has emerged as a leading provider of end-to-end services for embedded product design and development.
--- Anees Ahmed
President, Mistral Software |
| |
|
Company Watch
"Gunning for 50 per cent growth"
Founded in 1997 CoreObjects is a product development engine for robust, scalable software. The mid-sized company has carefully crafted a differentiated strategy from its contemporaries as a product-centric rather than a project-centric company.
--- Sanjay Bhaduri
President CoreObjects |
| |
|
"The overwhelming evidence is in favour of good HR practices in IT"
Since Nasdaq first hit the skids last April and fortunes of IT companies, riding on the dotcom boom, nosedived, the IT industry that had earlier waged wars too woo and retain talent responded by slashing salaries, issuing pink slips, withdrawing offers to freshers and freezing recruitment.
--- Prof. J. Phillip
Director XIME |
| |
|
Company Watch
"We are optimistic about the next three quarters"
LG Soft India (LGSI) is a part of the US $80 billion LG Group. Despite the LG brand name, the company has had a chequered history, first hit by the Korean crisis then by the US downturn.
--- Mr. Shubho Kundu
General Manager
LG Soft India |
| |
|
Invest Kerala
Hip, Hep & Happening Kerala
The latest State to jump on the Indian IT badwagon is Kerala, God's own country. Shrugging its somnolent backwater, non-happening imageand armed with a brand new IT policy and a more than supportive government, the State is pulling all plugs to attract IT investments in the State.
--- Mr. Rajiv Vasudevan
CEO, Technopark |
| |
|
"Future of animation in India is brilliant"
"Kinetic Art is the first new category of art since prehistory. It took until this century to discover the art that moves. Had we taken the aesthetic qualities of sound as much for granted as we have taken those of motion, we would not now have music.
--- Bill Dennis
CEO, Toonz Animation India |
| |
|
Start-up Track
"Organisations need to understand what is happening tomorrow"
In an intensely competitive globalised economy, strategy-generation and accurate decision- making have become increasingly complex and an imperative for businesses to succeed.
--- Subhash Gupta
Founder and Chief Scientist
Zelante Solutions
|
| |
|
"It's a good time for VCs to invest, as no one else is"
VCs may still be hurting from their matri-money with upstarts in the 'got an idea get a million era' but are not calling it quits.
--- Sumir Chadha
Founder IVCA
|
| |
|
Company Watch
"Domestic markets hold poor lure for VCs"
In a country where PC penetration is as low as five per 1,000 people, Inabling Technologies stormed the domestic technology market in August 2001 with its indigenously produced revolutionary e-mail device for the rural market, the I-station.
--- Mr. Narsimha Prabhu
Chief Technology Officer
Inabling Technologies
|
| |
|
"If Hyderabad has 10 jobs, Bangalore has close to 100"
In the late Nineties, a 400-year old city closely identified with its laid-back Nawabi culture discovered the power of Silicon and made a pitch to transform itself from Hyderabad to Cyberabad.
--- Mr A. K. Menon
CEO Options |
| |
|
"There is nothing demeaning about working in a call centre"
The IT-enabled services opportunity in India is expected to cross $20 billion by 2008, according to a recent Nasscom report. The sunrise sector with a humongous potential to offer employment to collegiates has also become the victim of many misconceptions.
--- Mr. G. V. Giridhar
General Manager - HR
ITES
|
| |
|
"India is not merely a low cost production centre"
Realising India's immense potential in IT and BT, UK is trying hard to lure Indian investors by pitching itself as an attractive and preferred hi-tech investment gateway to Europe.
--- Mr. Stephen Metti
Head of India and Australia
Team of Invest UK.
|
| |
|
HR Focus
"It's the little things that make a vital difference at Subex"
In February 2002, Subex Systems bagged the award for Organisation with Innovative HR practices at the All India HRD Congress.
--- Mr J. M. Prasad,
Subex Systems,
|
| |
|
"The next generation technologies and open operator and/or OEM application platforms will allow for the 3G revolution to flourish"
 |
Shekar,
GM - Prairiecomm Technologies (I) Pvt Ltd. |
Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) is an approved 3G standard that uses 5 MHz channels for both voice and data, offering excellent voice capacity and a peak data rate of 384 kbps. WCDMA (UMTS) is also the 3G technology of choice for many GSM/GPRS operators.
In this month's interview,GM of Prairiecomm Technologies (I) Pvt Ltd, Shekar, shares his views on future of UMTS wireless technology.
 What differentiates 2.5 and 3G networks from their predecessors?
UMTS 3G networks will be the first wireless standard that offers users real-time, high-speed, ubiquitous networks optimized to provide both voice and data-rich content in all major markets worldwide. This single standard has the potential of servicing 80% of the subscribers by the end of this decade. The voice service offers significant voice capacity increases over 2G networks and is backwards compatible with GSM networks around the world. This will allow operators to provide affordable, unlimited voice service offerings to their customers. The packet-based networks offer always-on, DSL-like bandwidth over expansive urban and suburban environments providing a platform for new services yet to realized.
Why 3G?
The leading network operators & service providers in China, Europe, Japan, and the United States are embracing the UMTS global 3G wireless standard in order to cater to emerging user demands and to offer new services to their customers. The UMTS wireless technology represents a shift from voice-centric services to application and multimedia-oriented services that will change the landscape of telecommunications and beyond. UMTS also has the ability to unify existing cellular standards and provide a single standard for users worldwide.
Benefits of adopting W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) radio access technology
2G architectures such as GSM systems were designed to provide voice traffic and rely on circuit switched architecture. To handle the volume of data and the variety of features required, the UMTS 3G architecture is more analogous to that found on the Internet. The benefits of the open architecture and independence between the Radio Access and Core Network are as follows:
- Faster, larger bandwidth: UMTS has a wide bandwidth with the ability to support DSL-like circuit and packet data rates that will allow higher call volumes and will support multimedia data applications.
- Worldwide standard: Common standard implemented in every market will be international roaming and volume scale unmatched by any other consumer electronics product category.
- Always available: UMTS allows you to be connected "always on" which will limit the setup and overhead of communications making service "instantaneous".
- Billing flexibility: The UMTS network has flexibility to enable prioritizing services and customizing billing.
These capabilities of 3G UMTS will expedite convergence between telecommunications, IT, media, and content industries. Much like the Internet did for the PC world, 3G will enable a revolution that provides low-cost, high-capacity mobile communications with global roaming capabilities. The benefits that UMTS creates can be exploited in a number of different ways and will enable a new platform for applications and services.
What are the WCDMA trials so far and the key lessons learnt?
Packet-based wireless networks were first introduced in the market at the beginning of this decade. These networks provided lessons to modem developers and an initial platform for service providers to understand the technical and consumer lessons of providing non-voice services. The rollout of WCDMA in Japan and Europe has provided key lessons concerning users expectations of a ubiquitous, reliable network. Users expect full capability and no degradation of service. The WCDMA system has been proven to be effective and reliable. The challenges ahead are optimizing the networks, reducing the handsets cost, and introducing new services to take advantage of the WCDMA network.
What really is the killer application for 3G?
Killer applications are rarely something planned - rather they are something innovated and found. The reality of 3G is that it is a platform that will enable innovation, much like the Internet. Email, gaming, messaging, music/video streaming, m-commerce, and location-based services are all categories in which innovation and investment is being funneled. In summary, the old phrase of "The easiest way to predict the future is to invent it" will apply here…and 3G provides the network, the user platforms, and the service and billing flexibility to enable innovation to take root!
What services, who is using them & what '3G' are delivering today?
UMTS Forum has identified several lifestyle and method attributes for mobile multimedia applications. Here is a list from UMTS Forum of current and future type of services that will be available in 3G networks:
Lifestyle Attributes
Fun : WWW, video, post card, snapshots, text, picture and multimedia messaging, data cast, personalization applications (ring tone, screen saver, desk top), jukebox, virtual companion / pet...
Work : Rich call with image and data stream, IP telephony, B2B ordering and logistics, information exchange, personal information manager, dairy, scheduler, note pad, 2-way video conferencing, directory services, travel assistance, work group, tele-presence, FTP, instant voicemail, color fax...
Media: Push newspaper and magazines, advertising, classified...
Shopping : E-commerce, e-cash, e-wallet, credit card, tele-banking, automatic transaction, auction, micro billing shopping...
Entertainment : News, stock market, sports, games, lottery, gambling, music, video, concerts, adult content...
Education : Online libraries, search engines, remote attendance, field research ...
Peace of Mind : Remote surveillance, location tracking, emergency use...
Health : Telemedicine, remote diagnose and heath monitoring...
Automation : Home automation, traffic telematics, machine-machine communication (telemetry)...
Travel : location sensitive information and guidance, e-tour, location awareness, timetables, e-ticketing...
Add-on : TV, radio, PC, access to remote computer, MP3 player, camera, video camera, watch, pager, GPS, remote control unit...
Method Attributes
Conversational applications : (which provide means for bi-directional communication with real-time end-to-end information transfer), such as video conferencing, groupware (collaborative work), voice using data bearer (voice over IP).
Information retrieval applications : (which provide the means to retrieve information stored in information centers provided for public and private use), such as video on demand, road traffic assistance systems, travel assistance and entertainment systems.
Messaging applications : (which offer user-to-user or user-to-user group communication via storage units), such as messaging of photographs and video, electronic postcard, event driven messaging.
Information distribution applications : such as distribution of business information, news and weather, advertising, emergency call.
Remote control applications : such as mobile process control terminals, remote application execution.
Multiparty games and entertainment
Electronic commerce : such as mobile shopping, mobile banking, online payment for value added services.
What are the challenges for the next entrants to the 3G market?
The 3G specifications have significant challenges in the modem technology by itself. Entrants into the 3G markets with limited code-based cellular experience will encounter many challenges transitioning from the 2G time-based cellular systems. After entrants complete and provide commercial systems enabling basic high-speed data and voice 3G solutions, they will have to quickly shift to many of the additional challenges being introduced into the market. This includes supplying next generation 3G solutions such as HSDPA. In addition, it includes integrating other wireless systems such as GPS, Bluetooth, WLAN, etc. Furthermore, entrants must consider, supply, and optimize their systems to enable multimedia, application, and gaming services. These challenges must be met and supplied to OEMs and ODMs in a platform to allow customers to bring powerful, cost-effective 3G products to the market in a timely fashion.
What do we expect these powerful I/P platforms to provide in the future?
The convergence of telecommunications, media, IT, and content will ensure one thing…IP on everything! Nobody originally thought the Internet would make the PSTN obsolete, but they did seek to avoid the inflexibility of the PSTN vertical integration. The people shaping the Internet viewed themselves as users and platform suppliers - not service providers. The 3G networks will expand the revolution of the IP network…providing cost-effective, powerful, mobile devices at every corner of the world. The lifestyle and methods of services to be provided by these IP platforms were listed previously. The platform will enable the innovation and investment that will allow for the 'new' killer applications to be discovered.
What is coming and how will 3G develop into an even more compelling service?
The compelling services of 3G are barely in their infancy today. The delivery of reliable 3G service, integrated location capabilities, higher resolution displays, and revolutionary battery technology enables the 3G services to grow and develop. 3G services today are in the development phase equivalent to the Internet when it provided static, text web pages. The next generation technologies and open operator and/or OEM application platforms will allow for the 3G revolution to flourish. In the meantime, additional services and content including HSDPA, multimedia content platforms, location services, etc. are being developed to provide for a more powerful network and device platform…. to enable the services envisioned above.
What are the main challenges ahead and future plans of PrairieComm?
PrairieComm has been a leader in the development of 3G UMTS technology. Our revolutionary FronTier platform will enable cost-effective 3G products to be introduced into the market in the next year. A cost-effective 3G platform is critical in order to bring "3G to the masses." Commercialization is the opportunity to compete in the worldwide marketplace and requires significant investment to develop next generation products, to cost-reduce the platform, and to incorporate additional features into our chipset and platform. PrairieComm intends not only to participate, but to lead the 3G market by offering an innovative chipset roadmap that are incorporated into PCI's FronTier 3G platforms across all tiers of products.
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