October 2012 - Teletimes

Etisalat:Innovation and DeterminationOctober 2012www.teletimesinternational.com

In this editionSpecial Reports09154919394356212728335355575961GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK 201214 - 18 October - DubaiEtisalat:Innovation and Determination12th ITCN Asia 2012The best place to source all the IT & Telecom products, servicesand technologiesResearch & AnalysesWCIT 2012 - What is it all about?Naveed KianiCloud Computing vs Network NeutralityNaveed KianiDigitization and Prosperitybooz&co.Using ICT to create cohesive, sustainable citiesDiana LindReports & NewsEtisalat Group finalizes sale of 9.1% stake in PT XL Axiata TbkVerscom Solutions enhances ODINE Suite with Introduction of VOSS,integrated B/OSS applicationsAfrica’s IT enterprise industry set for transformation through mobilityin the cloudShaunei MeintjesDCA thankful for STC’s contribution of more than 1 million riyalsDoes Freedom of Expression has any boundary – Time to ThinkKhalid AtharNEC provides Traffic Control System for the Shin-Tomei ExpresswayEliza LimTechaccess partners with IXLAConflict arises between the Incumbentand Internet Service ProvidersAslam MumtazPakistan is a big market for Googleand much more ....152723October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com05

Letter to readersKhalid AtharChief EditorDear Reader,Welcome to the October edition ofTeletimes International.This month stages some very importantregional and International eventsfeaturing imperative discussions ontelecommunications. ITU Telecom World2012 and GITEX Technology Week arescheduled to be held collectively from 14-18October at Dubai International Conventionand Exhibition Centre. The events willhost five days of constructive dialogueand debate leadership and innovation,cybersecurity, smart applications and thefuture shape of communications featuringpanel discussion, roundtables, technologysolutions, keynotes speeches and interactiveworkshops. Teletimes International will bepresent at the event as media partner. Wewill be presenting detail post-event reportsin our next edition. This edition also presentsPre-event report of GITEX Technology week.The month of October will also featureTelecoms World Middle East 2012, The LTEShow and Small Cells, MENA, all in theDubai, UAE. We would also be attendingthese events as media partner.The recent incident of a scorn, anti-Islamicmovie ‘Innocence of Muslims’ incited awave of serious protests across the Muslimworld; so many people have died so farin unrest connected to the film in over 20countries including the U.S ambassador inLibya. The videos were first made availableon YouTube, a video sharing website andsubsidiary of Google Inc. Despite growingInternational unrest stemming in part fromthe anti-Islamic film Google has not removedthe video while also denying a WhiteHouse’s request to remove the film from itssearches. YouTube stating that the companyhas said that the film does not violate thecompany’s terms of service and communityguidelines.Internet companies and platforms such asGoogle, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter basedin the United States, have now becameglobal arbiters of freedom of speech,moderating complex issues that traditionallycome under prefecture of Courts,Governments and International treaty. Needof the hour is to think that “Is Freedom ofexpression online is a right or a privilege?”and “Is there any boundary for such abusiveFreedom of expression”. Probably, it is thetime to place some legislations and definingInternational rules and laws to unprotectefforts to abuse the freedom of expressionrather upholding it.This month we are bringing an exclusiveinterview of Mr. Keiichi Jay Miyahara, ChiefEngineer Network Platform Operations UnitNEC Corporation. Mr. Miyahara shares theoperations and details of NEC Corporationalong with latest technological aspects ofmobile communication. The edition alsofeatures the interviews of Mr. Samer HalawiCEO, Thuraya and Mr. Arshad Mahmood,CEO, Unicom Africa Limited.We are also presenting articles and reportstitled ‘Cloud computing vs NetworkNeutrality’, ‘Conflict arises between theincumbent and Internet service providers’,‘WCIT 2012 – What is it all about’ and‘Digitization and prosperity’ by Booz & Co.This month’s online survey inquired therespondents to tell us about their viewson the revision of ITRs, majority of therespondents (50%) said that it should berevised. Readers will also enjoy latestnews and reports from Etisalat, Verscom,STC, Nokia, Omantel and Techaccess. Asa regular feature, the edition also present“Teletoons” and upcoming events calendarfor Global ICT and Telecom events.We would look forward to receive yourcomments and suggestions to assistus in bringing more value to TeletimesInternational.Enjoy your reading.06 October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com

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Neil JaquesBring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend is ICT industry’shottest talking point at GITEX Technology WeekThe Middle East is bracingitself for new securitychallenges as the Bring YourOwn Device (BYOD) trend – abusiness practice of employeesbringing personally owneddevices to their place of work– grows exponentially in theregion with no sign of abating.The practice of allowing accessto personal devices in theregion is among the highest inthe world.GITEX Technology Week, whichruns from October 14–18, 2012at Dubai World Trade Centre, isset to rigorously examine boththe potential and issues associatedwith the BYOD phenomenonat the Consumerisation ofIT Forum.Featuring prominent expertssuch as Dave Brook, GeneralManager Middle East, Dell, andTodd Thibodeaux, Presidentand CEO of the ComputingTechnology Industry Association(CompTIA), the hot topicsup for discussion include challengesfaced by today’s ChiefInformation Officers (CIOs),how to benefit from BYOD’scost saving potential andmethods of establishing robustpolicy frameworks to reducelegal and liability risks. FayyazAlam, Vice President - IT ProductionServices, Emirates Groupwill also deliver an in-depthcase study on striking a balancebetween end-user demandsand enterprise informationsecurity requirements, touchingon everything for coping withworkforce needs and expectationsto the complexities ofmanaging the impact of BYOD.The Middle East’s receptivity forBYOD was vividly illustrated bya recent study by networkingvendor Aruba Networks, whichnoted that 80% of companies inthe region allowed some formof access to personal devices –the highest in the world.Against a backdrop ofdiscerning, youthful and techsavvypopulations, industryexperts believe that the abilityto use the latest smartphonesand tablets in the workplacehas shifted from negotiableluxury to a specific demand; astudy by Fortinet found thatOctober 2012www.teletimesinternational.com09

56% of respondents in theMiddle East considered usingtheir own device as a rightrather than a privilege.According to ABI Research,2.4 billion employees will beusing smartphones in theoffice worldwide – a growthrate of nearly 17%. Looking atthe big picture, a report byMarketsandMarkets predictsthat the BYOD and enterprisemobility market will reachUSD181.39 billion by 2017,increasing by 15.17% each year.With Google’s annual MobilePlanet smartphone studyclaiming that the UAE alone hasa smartphone penetration rateof 62% and Ericsson’s secondTraffic and Market Reportrevealing that the Middle Eastas a whole enjoys a mobilepenetration rate of 96%, thereis enormous potential forBYOD uptake and accelerationacross the region. And forgood reason - analysis by globalmanagement consulting firmA.T. Kearney suggests thatBYOD can deliver savings ofup to 22%, taking into accountsoftware depreciation andmaintenance costs. A globalpilot study by a software firm,for example, reduced devicemanagement costs by 20% andthe budget for maintenanceand upgrade tasks by 80%.Aruba Networks’s findingschime with the notionof notable performanceenhancements, indicating that35% of organisations in EMEAexpect to improve coverageand capacity of their wirelessnetwork to support BYODinitiatives. Furthermore, 53%of organisations indicatedthey anticipate an increasein wireless investment in thecoming year.Nevertheless, the BYOD boomis not without its pitfalls. Astudy by Forrester Consultingfound that 86% of surveyedIT decision-makers in the UK,US and Germany pegged datasecurity as the number oneconcern, while almost half(47%) of enterprises allowingemployee-owned devicesto connect to a company’snetwork reported experienceof a data breach.Elsewhere, KnowBe4 andInformation TechnologyIntelligence Consulting flags upthe worrying observation that71% of businesses that allowBYOD have no specific policiesand procedures in place tosupport deployment and ensuresecurity. Common BYOD risksoften stem from the lack ofcompany-wide protection afteremployees download malwarehidden within legitimate apps,click on a malicious links oropen dubious attachments.“With an increasingly techsavvyworkforce and employeesfocused on productivity,companies in the MiddleEast have everything to gainfrom fully embracing theconsumerisation of IT trend andthe desire to be increasinglymobile,” said Dave Brook,GM Middle East, Dell, whichis a strategic sponsor of theConsumerisation of IT Forum.“The improved ability towork anywhere appears to bedriving higher productivity foremployers, with employeeslooking to be evaluated on theoutput of their work versusthe number of hours spent.These factors are redefiningthe workplace, and we feelthat, at Dell, we are providingthe products and solutionscompanies and employees arelooking for as they navigate thisnew environment.”André Scheffknecht, RegionalVice President NEEMEA atBritish IT security companySophos, said: “The MiddleEast is one of the world’smost tech hungry regionsand BYOD is understandablyset to grow exponentially.To this end, a degree ofpragmatism is needed in thebusiness community, as wellas a measured approach toadaptation that avoids securityrisks and cost-intensivemishaps. By being aware ofthe risks and collaboratingwith companies like Sophos,significant benefits can beunlocked to drive everythingfrom overall efficiency toinnovation and creativityamong the workforce.”Trixee Loh, Senior VicePresident at Dubai World TradeCentre, organiser of GITEX,added: “BYOD is one of themost significant developmentsin the ICT sector and we aredelighted to draw attention toits dramatic influence at ourConsumerisation of IT Forum.Bringing together some of theworld’s top experts on thesubject our goal is, as ever, toinform, educate and facilitatethe connections that can helpbusinesses become moreempowered. GITEX TechnologyWeek is proud to be at theforefront of understandingthis crucial trend and helpingdecision-makers across theregion manage its manybenefits.”Now in its 32nd year, GITEXTechnology Week connectsmore than 138,000 ICTprofessionals from 144countries and over 3,500suppliers from 77 countriesacross five continents, making itone of the world’s top three ICTexhibitions. This year’s GITEXTechnology Week is themed“Where Technology MeansBusiness”.10 October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com

Cisco has announced itsparticipation at GITEXTechnology Week, being heldfrom the 14th – 18th October2012 at the Dubai InternationalConvention and ExhibitionCentre.This year, Cisco will showcaseits innovations under thetheme of ‘Intelligent NetworksTransform Your Business’that will examine howorganizations can harness thepower of intelligent networksto simplify and speed up thedeployment of both currentand future technologies todrive business transformation.In an increasingly connectedworld where informationdissemination andconsumption is growing, theneed for an intelligent andreliable network has neverbeen more apparent.Cisco, in collaborationwith its sponsor partnersEmircom (Data Center andVirtualization partner) andB-Smart, will showcase itsvarious solutions under thetheme ‘Intelligent NetworksTransform Your Business’,across an unprecedented 8exclusive demo areas eachdedicated towards Cisco’sCisco brings Intelligent Networksto GITEX 2012solutions across its portfoliowhich include Data Centers/Virtualization, BorderlessNetwork and Collaborationsolutions:●●Networked Healthcare: TheMobile Doctors Healthcaredemo will showcase a clinicalassistant and video contactcenter to demonstrate howCisco’s Networked Healthcareprovides the industry-specificframework that is requiredto meet healthcare’s uniqueneeds for interoperability,security, availability,productivity and flexibility.●●Networked Classroom:Cisco’s comprehensivesolution portfolio ofintelligent, networkcentricsolutions, includingvideo, collaboration, andvirtualization will show howstudents and educators canhave access to the toolsthat enhance the learningexperience.●●Networked Banking andRetail: The Branch of theFuture area demo willshowcase how intelligentnetworks can transforma bank or a retail outletby connecting customers,increasing employeecollaboration and reducingoperating expenses to drivebusiness growth.●●Collaboration in a box -showcasing Cisco’s webconferencing solutionsincluding Webex, Jabber,Ex90 and Video.●●Defense (Army Tent, Tacticalunits) and how connectivitycan greatly impact thedefense sector.●●Contact Centre – which willshowcase customer caremobile apps, video IVR andsocial miner….●●Cisco Capital: This year willalso see an exclusive zonehosting Cisco Capital, Cisco’svery own financing arm thathelps customers get easieraccess to our next generationnetwork solutions throughflexible financing options.●●Home Networking BusinessUnit (HNBU): to learn moreabout our new solutionsand network devices tocreate a seamless networkenvironment for your home.“2012 has been an exciting yearfor all of us here at Cisco. Cisco’scommitment to this regionis underlined by our continuedfocus on innovating and bringingbest-in-class solutions thatRiad SandakliRabih Dabboussiwill deliver the transformationand the results that businessesacross the Middle East regionseek. Technology events in theregion provide us with greatplatforms to come together,showcase our new capabilitiesand most importantly meetand network with our potentialcustomers. Amongst themany important events, GITEXremains the largest and mostanticipated platform everyyear. It is an opportunity for usto connect with key businessdecision makers and continueto build relationships with ourcustomers and partners.” saidRabih Dabboussi, General Manager,Cisco UAE.October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com11

GITEX gives green light to SME ZoneFollowing last year’s well-receivedtrial GITEX TechnologyWeek is officially launching itsSymantec-sponsored SME Zone,which is intended to serve as afocal point for MEA ICT firms toreach out to potential investors.In 2011, C-level executives atGITEX represented a combinedICT budget of $50bn, and theaverage order stood at $1.2m.The SME Zone will also stageseminars from experts atthe International Lounge,including Christian Illmer,senior director application& solution enterprise, ADVAOptical Networking (Germany);Klaus Mochalski, CEO, AdytonSystems AG (Germany); JungJi Bum, team leader (nextgeneration industry team),NIPA(Korea’s National ITIndustry Promotion Agency);Mohamed Chakib, generalmanager of DATAPLUS andpresident of APEBI’s exportcommittee (Morocco); andThulani Mpetsheni , director,electro-technical sector,The Department of Trade &Industry (South Africa).In addition to the SME ZONE,GITEX Technology Week willalso put a high-profile spotlighton a range of solutions suitedto SME enhancement via itsGITEX Consumer Tech, GITEXMobile Apps & Content World,GITEX Card Technology and GI-TEX Digital Marketing sectors.“At Symantec, we are veryaware that small businesses aredriving our global economiesand we are proud to lend oursupport to GITEX’s SME Zone,”said Prajit Arakkal, director ofSMB and distribution sales foremerging markets, Symantec.“As SMBs don’t typicallyhave dedicated IT personnelfocusing on the informationprotection they need tokeep them out of harm’sway, making them moresusceptible to risks thanenterprises, Symantec deliversproducts and services tailoredspecifically to SMBs to ensurethey are protected so they canfocus on what they do best -accelerate their businesses.Symantec understands theSMB environment and thechallenges they face. TheSymantec SMB team worksaround the clock to protectthe information that fuels thelivelihood of this importantcommunity in the MENA regionand around the world.”SMEs across the MEA regionare set to increase ICT spendfrom 2011’s $16.7bn to $24.5bnby 2015, according to marketanalysts IDC. Most 2011 actvitywas split between Saudi Arabia(11%), the United Arab Emirates(9%), Turkey (12%) and SouthAfrica (26%), and this pattern isexpected to continue.Because of their scale, SMEsare powerful enablers for aneconomy, acting as catalystsfor job creation and GDPgrowth. An estimated 200,000operate in the UAE withgreater than 80% of privatesector companies being inthe small to medium class,according to the Ministry ofForeign Trade. And Ministry ofEconomy figures reveal that in2011 60% of UAE GDP was dueto SMEs.Dhiraj Daryani, ResearchManager, IDC MEA, said, “IT isenabling SMEs to operate likebig companies, and acquirethe wherewithal to competeand win business on a greaterscale than ever before, and weare witnessing encouragingreceptivity for the latesttechnology across the MEAregion.R&M to demo data centre and FTTH at GITEXSwiss cabler investing heavily in regionSwiss cabling provider, Reichle& De-Massari (R&M), announcedit will be participatingat GITEX 2012, at Hall 2, standB2-35. The company said itsfocus will be on its data centreand fibre-to-the-home (FTTH)solutions.“MEA represents a high growthmarket for R&M with hugebusiness potential,” says R&M’snewly appointed CEO, MichelRiva, who will be travelling toMichel RivaDubai to attend the event.“We are investing heavily in theregion to ensure that productdelivery speed, quality, and reliabilityR&M is renowned for iscarried through. I am excited tovisit the market in my new roleas CEO and engage in meaningfulbusiness discussions withcurrent and potential customersand partners.”R&M will exhibit its Cat 6A andClass EA copper cabling solutionsas well as the distributedframe HD cable managementcabinet as part of its data centreofferings. The company will alsohighlight its ‘high density panel’and ‘raised floor’ solutions,designed as space-saving fordata centres.In addition, R&M willdemonstrate its range of FTTHsolutions. These include streetcabinet, splice closure singlecircuitmanagement (SCM)and optical distribution framesolutions which are used toorganise fibre-optic cableconnections.12 October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com

Rose ManaogJacky’s Electronics unveils its first-evertablet-based e-raffle at Gitex Shopper 2012Retail Company provides consumer-friendly and better product experience at the showJacky’s Electronics, the UAE’sleading multi-brand consumerelectronics retailer, is againleading the industry in promotinggo-green activities with theintroduction of its first-evertablet-based e-raffle, the largestelectronic raffle draw takingplace at Gitex Shopper 2012 tobe held at Sheikh Saeed Halls inDubai World Trade Centre from29th September to 6th October2012.Always at the forefront ofpromoting green initiatives withits Jacky’s Eco-Exchange programme,the company is gearingtowards a more environmentfriendlyraffle at the show.Jacky’s Electronics is movingfrom paper-based draw allowingcustomers to easily enter theraffle electronically throughthe use of an App developedby Jacky’s allowing a singleinput on a tablet instead of thehassle of filling numerous papercoupons. With this new e-raffle,customers shopping at Jacky’soutlets are also automaticallyentered in the draw immediatelyafter their purchase. This gives abetter raffle method as Jacky’sis no longer transporting the enteredcoupons from the outletsto Gitex Shopper during draws.In addition, Jacky’s is also providinga more consumer-friendlyand better product experiencevia a new set-up of the productstands that will providequick turnaround and smoothflow of customers. The sizeand number of walkways havebeen increased this year withinthe stands keeping in mindthe increased visitor numbersexpected at the venue this year.Dedicated cashier and deliverypoints are expected to make thebuying process smoother thisyear. The company has also increasedits retail space to 1,490square metres becoming thelargest retailer in terms of floorspace at the exhibition.“As a member of the society, wehave always thought of ways toprotect and improve the state ofour environment.Comguard, a Dubai basedleading value addeddistributor for IT security andnetworking products and partof the Spectrum group continuedits successful associationwith GITEX has announced itsparticipation in GITEX TechnologyWeek 2012 to showcase itsgrowing portfolio of productsand solutions. With the continuoussupport from its vendorpartners, Comguard expects domore business this year thanprevious outings at GITEX 2012.It also intends to launch new setof technology products and solutionsduring GITEX. Comguardplans to attract more partnersand end-users from all acrossthe Middle East and North Africaregion. It will also provide a platformto several of its key vendorpartners. Kaspersky, WinMagic,BeyondTrust, SafeNet, WildPackets,Cyberoam, Airlive, Entuity,Ajay Singh ChauhanPing Identity, Array Networks,Elham AlizadehComguard to unveil newer technology solutions at GITEX 2012and Altai are the key names thatwill be to displaying their productsand solutions at Comguardbooth during GITEX.Expressing his happiness on theparticipation in Gitex, Ajay SinghChauhan, CEO, Comguard andSpectrum group said, “GITEXis one of the biggest ICT showsin the world and over the yearsof our participation at GITEX,we have been able to fulfill ourobjectives.October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com13

EXHIBITIONS INDIA GROUP25 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE1987-2012

Etisalat:Innovation and DeterminationThe telecommunicationsindustry has been througha decade of enormous change.What was once a high marginvoice and, later, a text basedindustry has transformed intoone that connects peopleand business, giving themthe tools, the networks, thedevices and the content tointeract seamlessly whereverand whenever they want.Recently recognized by GSMAwith world most prestigioustelecom awards, EtisalatGroup continue to drive thetelecommunication evolutionin the region. Over the pastthree decades, Etisalat hascontributed continuously inproviding innovation to thecommunities it serves and extendingits customers reach in16 countries around the world.October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com15

“Telecommunicationsconnects the unconnected,gives banking facilities tothe un-banked, offers accessto education and provideshealthcare provision to eventhe most remote, rural areas.In short, telecommunicationsis a growth engine andnowhere is that impact feltmore sharply than in thedeveloping markets of Africaand Asia where the multipliereffect on GDP is significant.”Said Ahmad Julfar, EtisalatGroup CEO Indeed, EtisalatGroup recently launched theWorld’s most comprehensivemobile commerce in Nigeria.This is the first time in theworld when customers canaccess a Mobile Commerceservice of multiple schemesand banks through theintuitive user interfaceinstalled directly on consumerSIM cards. The user interfaceis accessible in English, Hausa,Igbo and Yoruba languageson any type of mobile phone,from the low-end basic phoneto the most sophisticatedmobile device.Ahmad Abdulkarim Julfarwas appointed Group ChiefExecutive Officer of Etisalatin 2011. Today as he leads theGroup operations drivingEtisalat’s Group strategyacross the footprint andrealizing the full potential ofthe company’s operations.Under his leadership theGlobal Telecom Industry iswitnessing the evolution ofEtisalat into a world classtelecommunications operatorthat is meeting the challengesof delivering innovativeservices in emerging markets .Just this year, we have seenEtisalat achieve severalmilestones, including thelaunch of 3G services inAfghanistan, which was thefirst operator to do so, aswell as in Pakistan. It is alsoimpressive to see EtisalatGroup still continues to deliverinnovative solutions across itsmature and emerging markets,such as LTE and FTTH in theUAE and KSA, in addition tomHealth and mCommercecustomized services percountry requirements acrossits global markets.Etisalat Group during thelast 12 months have seen thesuccessful implementationof its consolidation anddiversification strategy,focusing on consolidationthrough maximising its valueof the assets that the groupenjoys while diversifying bybuilding partnerships anddelivering innovative solutionsthat utilize their networkinvestments to deliver highspeed data.In the past five years, theclimate surrounding Gulfoperator-fuelled expansionhas altered immensely,between adding scale inits territories, to a chesslikereview of what nextmove makes strategic senseand how it should be bestexecuted. Etisalat has beenalso focusing on rationalizingand optimizing its costs torealise economies of scaleby driving down operationalcosts and CAPEX.During our last meeting withMr. Julfar we asked him abouthis views on Etisalat’ s currentperformance and futurebusiness outlook.Julfar said :” Etisalat isexperiencing growth and thefuture outlook is positive. Overthe first half of this year, wehave a growth of AED 3.67bn.Our key growth markets havebeen the UAE, KSA, Nigeria,Pakistan, Egypt, while themajority of the growth hasbeen from calls and data. Datagrowth is positive in the UAE,Egypt and KSA and we expectthis to continue to increasewith the increased importanceof data, including eLife andmobile.”Recognized by GSMA with world mostprestigious telecom awards, Etisalat Groupcontinue to drive the telecommunicationevolution in the region.“This is an era of consolidationand diversification.” He addedTo consolidate effectivelyEtisalat is also focusing onrationalizing and optimizingcosts to realise economiesof scale by driving downoperational costs and CAPEX.Etisalat’s focus will remain onmarkets that can drive growthvia data connectivity, LTE andFTTH, while allowing us tohelp these countries deliverinnovative services to driveeconomic growth and socialdevelopment.It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. Ifthe communities, businesses,governments and people inthe countries in which weoperate are successful, we aresuccessful, too. By providingthem with the tools to dothings better, more efficientlyand more quickly, anddelivering services that helpimprove health, education,finance and trade, we are ableto do have a positive impact.Mobile broadbandconnectivity is a catalyst foreconomic growth and socialdevelopment. Nowhere is theeffect more powerful thanin emerging markets wherethe lack of legacy hardwireconnectivity infrastructuremeans that nations likePakistan can leapfrogtechnologies.The number of peopleconnected to mobilebroadband is forecast torise tenfold by 2015 and itis smartphones and mobilebroadband connectivity thatare the Internet enablerswhich create the physicalenvironment for economiesto grow.We look to the future with acombination of confidenceand determination and expectthe future to throw up manychallenges,” says Julfar, recognisingthat telco’s today areoperating in an environmentthat is significantly altered totraditional telecom sector ofold. “Change in the world oftelecommunications is a constantfactor with new businessmodels, and we are leadingthis change.”Etisalat’s meteoric risecontinues to show investorsand customers that it isa leading global player.With groundbreaking newtechnologies and steadyoperations across the world,Etisalat looks forward to avery promising future.16 October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com

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WCIT 2012 - What is it all about?Telecommunications with anamazing wealth of enhancingproductivity, contributing tosocial development and openingup new economical horizonshave been evolving since theircommercial inception in early20th century. In recent years,convergence of the telecommunications,media and informationtechnology sectors is infull pace especially with theemergence of the Internet andwith the increasing capacity ofexisting networks to carry bothtelecommunications and broadcastingservices. Developmentsin digital technologies andsoftware are creating large innovativetechnological potentialfor the production, distributionand consumption of informationservices. The big wigglequestion is how to differentiatebetween Telecommunicationsand the Internet? Probablyanswer would be:‘The digital future of economieslead by telecommunications isbeing drafted by Internet Protocoland services. The Internet isthe prime driver of convergenceby displacing isolated computernetworks and providingan alternative mean for offeringtelecommunication services.Internet is a telecommunicationsnetwork of telecommunicationsnetworks whereas each networkis physically located within astate boundary explicitly ownedby someone. At an elementarylevel, the Internet is a harmonybetween networks over apacked-switching mechanismto exchange data in a certainstandard way, where each of thenetworks they interconnect issubject to some legal authorityor ownership.’As the Internet continues toevolve, it will bring many moretechnological innovations andenabling capabilities such aspayment platforms. From theobscure network of researchersand technology experts twodecades ago, the Internet hasnow became a day-to-day realityfor near 2.2 Billion (32%) of theworld population. These 2 Billionconnected individuals sharealmost USD 8 trillion each yearthrough Internet commerce.Across a range of large anddeveloped nations, the Internetexerts a strong power on economicaltransformation. Globalresearches show that if Internetconsumption and expenditureswere a sector, its weight inGDP would be bigger than theenergy or agriculture industry.The Internet’s total contributionto global GDP is bigger than theGDP of Spain or Canada, growingfaster than the GDP of Brazil.Current projections show thatthe number of Internet usersworldwide will increase from2.2 billion today to 3.5 billion in2020.Underpinning another labyrinthof who controls the Internet?Probable answer would be:‘No individual, company or governmentcontrols the Internet ona whole. Internet is a global networkscattered over land, sea,air, and space with its underlyingcontent and communicationscrossing nations and regions.The technical resources of theInternet i.e. Internet Protocoladdresses and Internet DomainName System are being coordinatedby Internet Corporation ofAssigned Names and Numbersoriginally performed underU.S. Government contract bythe Internet Assigned NumbersAuthority (IANA). ICANN nowperforms the IANA function.’With respect to global Telecommunications,ITU (InternationalTelecommunication Union)is the United Nations specializedagency for informationand communication technologies– ICTs. ITU allocates globalradio spectrum and satelliteorbits, develop the technicalstandards that ensure networksand technologies interconnectseamlessly. ITU also preparesthe International Regulationsfor Telecommunications; a legalbind on all the ITU’s MemberStates.If you want to witness oneof the most heated debateof this decade, just Google‘World Conference on InternationalTelecommunications’. Theevent has kicked Internationaldeliberations over Future of theInternet. The debate featuresGovernments, Internet Companiesand Civil Society whereone can observe an undercovermatter of gripping the most richinformation and communicationinnovation of all times.World Conference on InternationalTelecommunications(WCIT) is scheduled to be heldin Dubai, United Arab Emirates,from 3-14 December 2012. Thisconference is will review thecurrent International TelecommunicationsRegulations (ITRs),which serve as the bindingglobal treaty outlining theprinciples which govern theway international voice, dataand video traffic is handled. TheITRs were last negotiated inNaveed KianiMelbourne, Australia in 1988, 24years ago, quite before the radicallydifferent information andcommunication technology (ICT)landscape of present.The present established ITRstreaty defined in 1988 is widelycredited for liberalizing the internationaltelecom market, andenabling the amazing growth ofTelecommunications. However,the 1988’s ITRs do not addressthe Internet. It is a 27 pagesdocument with a total numberof 10 definitions given in Article2 with no word ‘Internet’ in it. Bythe way Internet and 1988 don’trepresent a strong friendship asfar usage and availability of theInternet in general is concerned.Probably, the inclusion of word‘Internet’ in the draft future ITRsis the key reason behind theseglobal talks and outcry. If we seethe present draft of the futureITRs to be renegotiated by 193members’ states at WCIT, theword ‘Internet’ is part of thedefinitions (Article 2).The proposed revised definitionof ‘International telecommunicationservice / ICT states“International telecommunicationservice/ICTs: The offering ofa telecommunication capabilityincluding, but not limited to:offering of a telecommunicationcapability in roaming,international public telegramservice, telex, traffic terminationservices (including Internettraffic termination), any kind ofcircuit provision services, otherservices integral to provision ofinternational telecommunicationservices between telecommunicationoffices or stations of anynature that are in or belong todifferent countries.”October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com19

Free For OperatorsRegister & Pay OnlineArab Advisors Group2 nd Smart Handheld Summit 2012“Smartphones and Handheld DevicesEcosystem in the Arab World”The Address Dubai Marina Hotel - UAENovember 26 & 27 2012Why Register ?● Network with the industry leaders and decision makers.● Interact with the summit's impressive array of speakers.● Join over 300 delegates from the telecoms and mediaindustry from around the world.● Receive credit towards your choice of Arab Advisors'research reports when you register.Contact us to receive more information on:● Speaking Opportunities● Attending Opportunities● Sponsorship Opportunities● Copy of the 2011 Smart Handheld Summit EvaluationMedia Partners:Event Partners:Conference HighlightsAddressed by over 25 visionaryexecutives and industry leadersOver 300 telecoms and mediaindustry delegates expectedReceive Arab Advisors reportsof your choice when you registerFor Registration Please Contact Us:Tel. +962 6 5828849Fax +962 6 5828809muna@arabadvisors.comhttp://www.arabadvisors.com/SmartHandheld/schedule.htmTo register online please visit: http://www.arabadvisors.com/SmartHandheld/registeronline.htmArab.Advisors.Group @ArabAdvisors shaishbaish.com ArabAdvisors

“We will continue to expand our CarrierInfrastructure business in all areas ofAsia, Africa and the Middle East”Interview: Khalid AtharKeiichi Jay MiyaharaChief EngineerNetwork Platform Operations Unit,NEC CorporationOctober 2012www.teletimesinternational.com23

equipment (PASOLINK productline) as well as securitysolutions, such as ePassport,fingerprint recognition/identification solutions, LCDDisplay solutions, etc. We willcontinue to expand our CarrierInfrastructure business in allareas of Asia, Africa and MiddleEast.TT: What edge does NEC’senjoys as a leading high qualitysmart phone manufacturer atthe same time being a mobilenetwork solution provider?KM: NEC is one of the uniquecompanies in the worldwho has both substantial ITServices business (includingsmart phone, PCs, ISP businessand various business) andenterprise IT solutions, aswell as Carrier NetworkInfrastructure business. Thisallows us to provide cloudbased services catered forcarriers to take advantageof their assets to offerdifferentiated services.TT: What role can WiFiplay to supplement 3G / 4Gtechnologies for mobilebroadband?KM: In order to accommodateexpected growth of mobiledata traffic, LTE access networkThe obvious advantage ofservices which can be realizedby M2M communication is itsability to collect various real timesensor data which can be usedfor control and management.capacity alone may not beenough. Utilizing existing WiFiaccess network to relieve trafficcongestion for 3G networkis widely used today and weexpect that this will continueeven after LTE deployment.This is mainly because of thespectrum availability constraintas well as relieving unnecessarybottleneck at the backhaulnetwork and/or packet corenetwork.Other offloading schemeutilizing whitespace may alsobe used in addition to theexisting WiFi.TT: What are the key technicalaspects to be considered whilerolling out a reliable and fastmobile broadband network?KM: When deploying SmallCells (or HetNet) in LTE,following technical issuesmust be properly addressedand have suitable solutions toachieve the desired capacityand Quality of Service:Mobility managementWithout proper mobilitymanagement scheme in place,fast moving device may attachto a small cell and generatefrequent and unnecessaryhandover. Such device shouldutilize Macro cells for betterQoS.Interference mitigationIn addition to the usualInterference mitigation foradjacent cells, interferencewith Macro cell must also beconsidered and dealt with.Load balancingIn order to maximize networkcapacity, proper load balancingbetween Macro cell and smallcells must be maintained.Self Organizing Network (SON)to automate resolving abovementioned issues are specifiedin 3GPP Specifications. 3GPP,however, does not specify algorithmof these functionality.The performance, therefore,is implementation dependent.NEC has focused ourR&D activities to develop highperformance SON algorithmsincluding Small Cell/HetNetenvironment to provide highperformance radio access networkefficiently, quickly, andeconomically.In addition to the above, multivendorinteroperability (betweenMacro cell vendor andSmall Cell vendor) must also beassured to maximize flexibilityfor the Operators.October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com25

The Annual Meeting Place for the Iraq Telecoms IndustrySupported by12-14 November 2012 | Ceylan Intercontinental | Istanbul | TurkeyDistinguished Key Speakers IncludeH.E. Mohammed Tawfik AllawiMinister of CommunicationsIraqi GovernmentDr Jowan F MasumCommunications Advisor for thePrime Minister of IraqIraqi GovernmentEmad MakiyaChief Executive Offi cerZain IraqGhada GebaraChief Executive Offi cerKorek IraqDr Safaa Al-DinnActing Chairman, Head ofCommissionersIraqi Communication & MediaCommissionErik KruseStrategic MarketingManagerEricsson-Middle East &North East Africa RegionBaris OzkokMarketing Director forMiddle East, Saudi Arabia,Turkey & AzerbaijanAlcatel-LucentEmil SamarahRegional Director-MENAYahsatGOLD SPONSORSSILVER SPONSORASSOCIATE SPONSORSFor further information contact Tyler Forbes,+44 20 7978 0061, tforbes@thecwcgroup.com or visit www.iraqtelecoms.com8279 IT Advert.indd 1 03/08/2012 11:37

Mr. Arshad MahmoodCEO - UniCom Africa Ltd.Speaks to TeletimesKhalid AtharUnicom provides business developmentin internetworking and ICT in AfricaTeletimes: Please tell us abouthistory and operations detailfor UniCom.Arshad Mahmood: UnicomGroup has its existence since2004 mainly in Telecom Sectorbut with the passage of timeas the business grew and theexpertise developed UnicomGroup extended its servicesfrom Telecom Sector to Oil andGas Sector.Unicom is a Group ofcompanies under this umbrella,including Unicom Pakistan(Pvt) Limited in Pakistan,Unicom Africa Limited withits Offices in Uganda, Angolaand now in Kenya also,Uniserv Gulf in Saudi Arabia,Unidrill Services (Pvt) Limitedin Pakistan, Unidrill ServicesLimited in Uganda.Unicom Africa Limited hasbeen established in Ugandato provide services includingConsultancy, Survey, Planning,Designing, Fiber Optic NetworkLaying on turnkey basis, Supplyand Installation of Plant items.Realizing the significance of therising demand for better andmodern telecommunicationservices and sensing potentialopportunities Unicom AfricaLimited has offered varietyof support services togovernment, commercial andother users at very reasonableprices and efficiency. The mainobjective of the Company is toprovide services that help inrapid growth of our customer’sbusiness.Furthermore, we are qualityconscious people and nevercompromise on quality. Ourmain goal is to earn goodwillas we believe, if money is lost,nothing is lost and if good willis lost, all is lost.Operations:Unicom Africa Limitedhas been operating intelecommunication sectorsince its establishment andhas accomplished as well ascarrying out the following listof projects successfully with itsteam of professionals:October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com29

Provision of Technical AuditTeams for the execution ofOptical Fiber E-GOVT Projectof Rwanda for HuaweiTechnologies.Provision of Technical AuditTeams for the execution ofOptical Fiber UTel Projectof Angola for HuaweiTechnologies.Provision of Technical AuditTeams for the execution ofOptical Fiber E-GOVT Phase IIProject of Uganda for HuaweiTechnologies.Provision of Technical AuditTeams for the execution ofOptical Fiber MTN Projectof Uganda for HuaweiTechnologies.ODF Termination, Splicingand Testing of MTN Projectof Uganda for HuaweiTechnologies.Material Supply for MTNProject of Uganda for HuaweiTechnologies.Technical Audit Servicesincluded verificationof Engineering Survey,Design Plans and BOQs,standardization of checklists,test proformas, verificationand calibration of testing andsplicing tools and equipment.TT: As a solutionprovider, please sharethe market dynamics fortelecommunication in Africa?AM: Phones have become abasic need in life as one hasto make calls and remain intouch with people in orderfor to live a good life, closebusiness deals, get informedabout the surroundings, andsolve problems without onephysically being in a place.This is an era that has sweptthrough the whole world,Uganda inclusive.Uganda has severaltelecommunication companiesthat stepped in the late 1990s.These include MTN, Airtel,Orange, Warid, Smile, UgandaTelecom, etc. For the record,Uganda has a reasonablyefficient telephone system thatcovers the largest part of thecountry.The recent introduction ofGPRS will enable the mobileoperators to play a larger rolein Internet service provision,and a fourth license for ThirdGeneration (3G) mobiletechnology is being considered.TT: Wireless NetworkInfrastructure is becomingpopular and replacing fixedone. What solutions areprovided by UniCom in thisregard?AM: Unicom provides businessdevelopment, projectmanagement and consultancyin the areas of internetworkingand connectivity, and generaltelecoms and ICT in the Africancontinent.Unicom’s Telecom strategy isrealized through the followingkey business units:Connectivity Solutions –Provision of network solutionsfor general internetworking,broadband, WiMax/Wifi, etc.Marketing & Consulting –Professional consultancyin Marketing Strategy; IT &Telecoms strategy and projectmanagement.Hardware – Supply of OpticalFiber Cable, Equipment andaccessoriesManaged services – Operationand Maintenance Managedservices for Optical FiberConnectivity.Specialties - businessdevelopment, projectmanagement and consultancyTT: Africa is gainingmomentum forTelecommunication services inrecent times. How would younarrate this change in view ofyour presence in the region?AM: The development of thetelecommunications marketsin Africa and the MiddleEast is gaining momentum.Privatization and liberalizationare being introduced acrossthe region. Cost effectivecommunication technologiesare now becoming availableto meet the needs of thesediverse group of countries.These new technologiesinclude fixed wireless access,mobile telephony, fiber opticsand satellite.The continent as a wholehas proven that it is ready toembrace mobile technology,given the astronomical uptakeof mobile technology and utilityin numerous industries, rangingfrom agriculture, to educationand health. Specifically, Nigeria,DRC and Ethiopia due to thesize of those markets. Sudanand Malawi, though smaller,also offer great opportunities.Mobile money is the pioneeringtechnology in this industrywhich has expanded intomobile health, and todaywe find that mobile lifelineservices have expanded toother sectors to such an extentthat all the stakeholders arerequired to be together underone roof for its successfulness.That means banks, mobilenetwork operators, third partyoperators, NGOs, social mediaand online retailers as well aspayment solution providers.Telecom services, mobileservices and broadbandinternet services providersneed to provide high quality ofservice to customers. The costof keeping customers satisfiedis increasing as a result of therising cost of service delivery, inparticular with the increase in3G and multi-media services.TT: What are the details ofyour E-government fiber opticbackbone project at Uganda?AM: One of Uganda’s strategiesis to utilise Information and30 October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com

Asif MehmoodChief Executive OfficerUnicom Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd.Masud KamalDirector OperationsUnicom Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd.Arif KamalDirector Finance & ProjectsUnicom Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd.Deeba GilaniCompany SecretaryUnicom Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd.Communication Technologies(ICTs) to create an efficientGovernment aimed atsimplifying procedures,bringing transparency,accountability and makingtimely information available toall citizens.To achieve the above, theMinistry of ICT, identifiedtwo enabling priority actions;namely: the establishmentof the E-GovernmentInfrastructure (EGI) and theestablishment of the NationalData Transmission BackboneInfrastructure (NBI).Subsequently, a CommercialContract was signed betweenthe Ministry of Information andCommunications Technology(ICT), Uganda and HuaweiTechnologies Co. Ltd of thePeoples Republic of China. TheContract Works for the overallproposed project included allequipment, imported plant &materials, civil works and allservices.Phase 1 of the project whichstarted in May 2007 wascompleted by the end ofApril 2008. In Phase 2 workshave been completed whiletesting and commissioning is inprogress.Objectives of the project:The main objectives of theproject are to.Establish a National backboneand connect all Ministries ina single Wide area network.In this regards, videoconferencing services rolledout in all Ministries. Kampala,Entebbe, Bombo. Mukonoand Jinja connected tonational backbone.183 Km ofoptical fibre cable laid and 20Districts connected to nationalbackbone.TT: How can GIS based systemassist in Disaster management,Health and Telecommunicationservices? What are itsprospects and applications inAfrican States?AM: Earth Observation System(EOS) used for Remote Sensingin conjunction with GeographicInformation System (GIS) areamong many tools availableto disaster managementpractitioners. Satellite imagesenable disaster managersto have a broad overview ofthe environmental situationacross a wide area. The scaleof view from space rangesfrom entire continents todetail of a few meters. Thus,many types of disasters, suchas floods, droughts, cyclones,volcanic eruptions, etc. willhave certain precursorsthat satellite can detect.Remote sensing also allowsmonitoring the event duringthe time of occurrence. Thevantage position of satellitemakes it ideal for obtaininga big picture of the disasterthereby facilitating effectivemonitoring of the event GISis a system that captures,stores, analyzes, manages, andpresents data that are linkedto geographical locations.In the simplest terms, GIS isthe merging of cartography,statistical analysis, anddatabase technology. Thus, GISis a necessary complement toRemote Sensing and it is usefulat every phase of disastermanagement.Over the years, naturaldisasters have remained anenormous challenge to mostcountries in Africa. Incidentssuch as drought, famine,floods, oil spillage and wildfiresoften plague various countriesacross the continent. Thesedisasters, particularly thoserelated to meteorological, hydrologicaland climatic hazardsare increasing across the continent.The situation is worsenedby unplanned and unregulatedland use, weak environmentalcontrols, poor enforcement ofbuilding standards, urbanization,and other developmentlinkedfactors that increasethe vulnerability of people,property, and infrastructure.Africa has been receiving globalattention in various aspectsof disaster control. There areseveral notable internationalorganizations taking advantageof space systems in managingdisasters in the continent.Although GIS was initiallydeveloped for physicalgeographic application, it canbe used for the managementand analysis of healthand health-care data. GIS,combined with participatorymethodology, has facilitatedthe analysis of access to healthfacilities and disease risk indifferent populations and inplanning for health and socialcare. Hightower show that itis feasible to use GeographicalPositioning Systems (GPS) toproduce highly accurate mapsof communities illustratingaltitude of houses, positionsof health-care centres andmosquito breeding sites as wellas other geographical variablesof interest in their longitudinalstudy of malaria in Kenya.Many current applications ofGIS in the telecommunicationsindustry began asdepartmental tools thatworked within a well-definedOctober 2012www.teletimesinternational.com31

scope. These GIS-based toolshave helped automate businessprocesses and increase theefficiency of operations.Performing sophisticatedGIS analysis on optimizedgeographic data can reduceplanning and design costs.In some cases, effective useof geographic resources hasmade the difference betweensuccess or failure for atelecommunications company.Preliminary analysis with GISuses customer, terrain, andlandownership informationand provides planners withpotential antenna sites.The investmenttelecommunications companiesmake in geospatial data andtechnology will yield benefits inbusiness process automation,improved decision support, andvalue-added services for yearsto come.Africa has a small but growingcommunity of data providers,data processors and analysts,trainers, technicians, data andinformation users (decisionmakersat many levels), andadvocates. The community isbecoming increasingly coordinated,and consists of Africansand international partners fromnon-governmental organizations,universities, privatecompanies, and foreign governmentsincluding the space andaid agencies that currently area major source of geographicdata, information, training, andsupport.TT: What challenges are beingfaced by people of Africa withregards to accessibility andusage of ICT services?AM: Over the last fifteen years,Africa has undergone a quietrevolution in information andcommunication technologies.Despite the explosive growthof ICT services in Sub-SaharanAfrica, many challenges remain.Prices remain high, effectivelyexcluding many people. Althoughcompetition betweenoperators is bringing downprices in some countries, cutsare necessary to make connectionsaffordable for everybody.Further, advanced services,such as broadband Internet,are not widely available andare prohibitively expensivewhere they are. Improving thebroadband infrastructure anddelivering affordable advancedICT services to all will thereforebe the next major challenge inthe ICT sector in Africa. Achievingthis will complete the ICTrevolution that has alreadybegun.There is a great deal of variancein ICT policies amongthe African countries. SouthAfrica clearly is unique in termsof being able to move its ICTagenda forward. Several of thecountries of North Africa thathave both resources and highbandwidth connectivity withEurope have also been ableto make excellent progressimplementing their ICT plans.Those countries that aresteadily moving to sustainableeconomies (Mauritius, Ghana,and Botswana, for example)constitute another group makingremarkable progress.TT: Would Fiber optic beable to replace copper atthe access side within next 5years especially in developingcountries?AM: In the foreseeablefuture the subscribers inall sectors: government,residence, business, educationand military will demandmore and more enhancedservices. Demand for anintegrated voice, video anddata services is building upand very soon customersare not going to be satisfiedeven with the bandwidth thenarrow band ISDN offers.The present network suffersfrom several limitations thatmake it inadequate to offerthe customers all moderntelecommunication services.Some of the significantlimitations include:It offers limited bandwidth andthere are problems in overcomingthis limitation. Cannothandle BISDN, CATV, VOD andhigh speed dataIn the coming years the telephonecompanies will increasinglyhave to offer services likevideo on demand, broad banddata, interactive video. Thisdemand for higher bandwidthwith the requirement of rapidprovisioning of wide variety ofservices the above drawbacksof the traditional networkbecome more glaring.There are more than 800million lines worldwide builtup with copper pairs. Thisamounts to a large investmenton the part of the existingoperators and administrations.It would make good economicsense to be able to make use ofthis existing network to deliverenough bandwidth to supportthe services required. Fibreto every home is of coursethe ultimate dream, but whenare we going to accomplishthis? Not in the near future!It is therefore imperativefor administrations to givea serious look to the digitaltechnologies that promiseto deliver amazingly higherbandwidth on copper.TT: What new areas beingexplored by UniCom in Africaregion?AM: As mentioned previously,Unicom is not only providingconsultancy services in Telecomsector but has also extendedits expertise in the field of Oiland Gas with its establishmentas Unidrill Services Limited andhas crept into the Oil and GasSector with expertise in Oil andGas Well Services, InstallationTesting and MaintenanceServices of High PressureTesting Equipment, ChemicalInjection Systems, Hydraulic &Fluid Handling Equipment.TT: South Africa is leading itsway in ICT services. What areyour thoughts on this?AM: South Africa’s ICT and electronicssectors are expectedto continue showing stronggrowth in the future, due tokey competitive advantagesspecific to the country and thecontinent.Testing and piloting systemsand applications are growingbusinesses in South Africa,with the diversity of the localmarket, first world know-howin business and a developingcountry environment makingit an ideal test lab for new innovations.South Africa has alsoestablished itself as aquality, low-cost call centredestination. The country ishost to call centres for AOL, UKretailer Asda, Virgin Mobile UK,Samsung’s European digitalcamera division and others.South Africa’s ICT productsand services industry is alsopenetrating the fast-growingAfrican market. South Africancompanies and locally basedsubsidiaries of internationalcompanies have supplied mostof the new fixed and wirelesstelecoms networks that havebeen established across thecontinent in recent years.TT: Your thoughts aboutTeletimes International.AM: Teletimes International isone of the leading magazinesmainly focusing Telecom & ICTsectors of the Middle East, Asiaand Africa. It provides insightinto Telco related products,services and solution providingorganizations. It keeps abreastof technological innovationsmainly in Telecom Industry inthe three regions.32 October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com

DCA thankful for STC’s contributionof more than 1 million riyalsPrince Sultan bin Salmanbin Abdulaziz, Chairman ofthe Board of Directors at theDisabled Children’s Association(DCA), has sent a letter ofacknowledgement to STC,cherishing and commendingthe company for donating SR1,294,167 through a charityauction it held recently for thebenefit of the association.Prince Faisal bin Salmanexpressed his appreciationto STC for its generousinitiative and support to theassociation’s program andits charitable mission. Theinitiative brings to light STC’scommitment to its corporatesocial responsibility and itsdedication to communityservice, through its continuoussupport and sponsorshipof many similar events,aspiring to support childrenwith disabilities, developtheir talents, facilitatetheir integration into thecommunity, and to encouragefinancial support andPrince Sultan bin Salmanbin Abdulazizdonations for expenditure onthe association’s activities andservices.In this regard, STC GroupCEO Dr. Khaled bin AbdulazizAl Ghoneim expressed hisgratitude to His ExcellencyPrince Sultan bin Salman binAbdulaziz, for commendingSTC’s initiatives and hiscontinuous efforts inencouraging and developingsocial work, and for hiscontinuous support to theassociation’s activities andbringing attention to thoseprecious children.STC links the Ministry of Justice with Business AVLIn a record-breaking time, STCcompleted the first phase ofthe Ministry of Justice “SaheefatAl-Dawa” project. As part ofthe project, STC developedand installed the Business AVLservice on the Ministry’s vehiclesassociated with retrieving partiesto court.The Ministry of Justice hadrequested STC’s expertise toprovide technical solutionsto the Business AVL service,which is one of the servicesand solutions that employG.P.S technology, and whichwas developed specificallyto provide the Ministry ofJustice with the ability totrack its vehicles at all times,to ensure that these vehiclesare performing the tasksthey’ve been assigned with.The service has many featuresincluding the ability to identifylocations and safety zones, anda speed limit warning system.In this regard, the Director ofTelecommunication and IT atthe Ministry of Justice, Engr.Majed Al-Adwan, stated thatSTC’s Business AVL servicehas given the Ministry a lotof features and enables itto confirm and track themovements of employeesresponsible with retrievingparties to court. He addedthat the service enables theMinistry to identify locationsof its vehicles at all times,and is a viable addition tothe “Saheefat Al-Dawa”program. Al-Adwan addedthat technology and featureswere not the only valuableadditions to the program, butthat the after-sale technicaland customer support is whatis most attractive about STC’scontribution.It is worth mentioning thatthe Business AVL service,which is offered by theEnterprise sector at STC togovernmental entities andsecurity institutions, hasreceived praise and positivereview from its customers.The service was welcomed asa great feature that enablesthese organizations to trackand identify vehicle positionsat all times, enhancing theperformance and improvingthe workflow of theseorganizations to the higheststandards of proficiency.Dr. Ziad Al-Otaibi resigns from STCSTC Group, Saudi Arabia’sincumbent telco, hasaccepted the resignation of Dr.Ziad Al-Otaibi, group CEO fortechnical operations.The resignation follows closelyfrom the resignation of Dr.Saad bin Dhafer Al-Qahtani,group CEO for strategic affairs,and Ghassan Hasbani, CEOinternational.“The board expressed greatappreciation for Dr. Al-Otaibi’soutstanding efforts throughouthis career with STC, whichhad a clear impact on thegroup’s journey,” STC said in astatement.Dr. Al-Otaibi held severalleadership positions at STCsince joining the companyin 1985. He had supervisedthe establishment anddevelopment of variousnetworks, landline andmobile services, in addition tobroadband and fibre-optics.He participated in themanagement and operation ofmobile networks in the Group’ssubsidiaries in Kuwait, Bahrain,Indonesia and Malaysia.October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com33

The incredible growth of the Asian LTE MarketAsia-Pacific will increase its subscriber share from 26% in 2011to 41% to reach 375 million LTE subscriptions in 2016The DigiWorld Institute byIDATE regularly publishesmarket insights, data & forecastsfor the World LTE Market.On the occasion of the LTE Asia2012 conference in Singaporeon 18-19 September, theInstitute shares the results ofa recent research on the AsianLTE market.Asia-Pacific – recent LTE industrymoves● Japan: NTT DOCOMO plansto provide LTE services to50% of the population by 2014using 20,000 base stations.Earlier this year, their competitorseMobile and Softbanklaunched LTE services.● South Korea: the two leadingoperators in South Korea, SKTelecom and LG U+, launchedLTE in 2011. Their peer, KT,was barred by a class actionrelated to the switch-off of its2G network in the 1800 MHzband. We have adjusted ourend-2012 forecasts upwards,with rollout and take-up ofLTE services being quickerthan expected.● India: The first TD-LTE servicewas launched by Bharti Airtelin April 2012. The auction ofthe 700 MHz band, however,has not yet been confirmedby the Department of Telecommunications(DoT).Administrative issues linkedto spectrum and availabilityof TDLTE devices will be keyto the take-up of LTE technologyin India.● China: whilst there is a likelihoodthat the Governmentmight award LTE licenses in2014, the same deep cloud ofuncertainty lingers above itsgreen light for TD-LTE deployment.The Government isstill obliging China Mobileto continue its TD-SCDMAdeployment; the operator isheavily committed to TDLTEand building its TD-SCDMAnetwork so that cell sitesand other network elementsmay be re-used for the LTEnetwork.● Hong Kong: CSL launchedits dual-band LTE network(1800 MHz/2.6 GHz) in March2011, with dongles providedby ZTE. Take-up has been inline with expectations withNokia expands Asha Touch rangeNokia recently unveiled theNokia Asha 308 and NokiaAsha 309, the latest additionsto the Asha Touch family ofmobile devices. The dual SIMNokia Asha 308 and single SIMNokia Asha 309 give consumersfast web access at low cost.To create this smarter Internetexperience, Nokia released a60,000 subscribers by theend of Q3 2011. China Mobilelaunched its LTE service inHong Kong in April 2012 usingFDD spectrum in the 2.6 GHzband.The DigiWorld Institute byIDATE predicts 375 million LTEsubscriptions at the end of 2016in Asia-Pacific.Founded in 1977, the DigiWorldInstitute by IDATE has gained areputation as a leader in trackingtelecom, internet and mediamarkets, thanks to the skills ofour teams of specialized analysts.Now, with the support ofclose to 40 member companies– who include many of the digitaleconomy’s most influentialplayers – the newly rebrandedDigiWorld Institute has enteredinto a new stage of its development,structured around threemain areas of activity:●●IDATE Research – An independentobservatory whosetask is to keep a close andnew version of Nokia XpressBrowser, which enables upto 90% more efficient mobilebrowsing and faster accessto rich web applicationscompared to conventionalbrowsers.The new devices offer a fluid‘swipe’ user interface and anopen environment for thirdpartyapplication development,characteristics that haveearned the complete AshaTouch range full smartphoneclassification from global marketresearch companies andanalysts such as GfK and IDC.“Our innovative Asha Touchfamily of devices is designedfor people who want a greatcontinual watch on digitalworld industries, collectrelevant data and providebenchmark analyses onmarket developments andinnovations in the telecom,internet and media sectors– through its comprehensivecollection of market reportsand market watch services.●●IDATE Consulting, time-testedanalysis and consultancysolutions. Our teams of economistsand engineers haveestablished their credibilityand independence throughthe hundreds of researchand consulting assignmentsthey perform every year, onbehalf of top industry playersand public authorities.●●DigiWorld Institute – AEuropean forum open onthe world. The DigiworldInstitute will take existingIDATE initiatives, suchas DigiWorld Summit, andthe monthly clubs in Paris,London and Brussels, to thenext level. Members have theopportunity to participatein think tanks on the coreissues that will shape theindustry’s future, drawingon the knowledge of outsideexperts and the Institute’sown teams.smartphone experience withlower running costs,” said TimoToikkanen, executive vice president,Mobile Phones, Nokia.“By introducing the NokiaAsha 308 and Nokia Asha 309,we’re expanding our affordablesmartphone lineup and bringingnew mobile experiences tomore people.”34 October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com

Khalid AtharThuraya Satellite NetworkCovers 2/3 of the world across 140 CountriesSamer Halawi, CEO - Thuraya speaks to TeletimesTeletimes - Please tell us aboutThuraya and its products.Samer Halawi - Thuraya TelecommunicationsCompany offersinnovative data, maritime, voice,fleet management and aeroservices to a consumer base ofvertical markets consisting ofdefense, government, energy,broadcast media, NGOs andlarge corporates. Our satellitenetwork covers two-thirds ofthe world’s geographical areaacross 140 countries. We have along track record of introducingindustry firsts. Thuraya recentlylaunched the Thuraya XT-DUAL,the world’s only dual modesatellite and GSM phone. TheXT-DUAL makes us the only satelliteoperator to offer seamlesscommunications, as it providesour customers the flexibility andfreedom to alternate betweenGSM and satellite modes for optimumcoverage and connectivity.This device is an extension of theever-successful Thuraya XT, alsoknown as ‘the world’s toughestsatellite phone.’In addition to voice handsets,Thuraya provides the ThurayaIP, the world’s smallest satellitebroadband solution. Deliveringspeeds of up to 444 Kbps,the A5-sized Thuraya IP is easilydeployable and can be easilyslipped into a rucksack, yet isrugged enough to withstandthe most extreme conditions. Itis the only satellite broadbandsolution with the ‘AsymmetricStreaming’ capability, wherebyusers can adjust upload anddownload speeds, paying onlyfor the bandwidth they use. Thisresults in highly significant costsavings. The IP’s popular “Plugand Play” system ensures instantconnectivity without additionalsoftware. Complementing thesefeatures are Thuraya’s exclusiveunlimited usage plans, which areextremely beneficial for customerslooking to ensure budgetpredictability.Thuraya also offers a series ofL-band products tailored for themaritime market. Our latest offeringis the SF2500 voice terminalwith a GPS tracking feature. TheSF2500 is specially designed forsmall and medium-sized fishingvessels, leisure and surveillanceboats operating in harshenvironments. The ‘IndonesianFisherman Association’ is an earlyadopter of this voice terminal.Another maritime solution thatcaters to low-end mobile satelliteusers is the Seagull 5000i. Itoffers voice, SMS, fax and dataOctober 2012www.teletimesinternational.com35

services through the Thurayasatellite network. Wealso provide a rangeof flexible usageplans, which whencoupled withthe quality andreliability of theL-band network;provide an unbeatableproposition formaritime users.Thuraya is the only mobilesatellite operator in the worldto offer GSM roaming services,allowing GSM SIMs to work outsidenormal terrestrial coverageareas. Our unique High Gain SpotBeams and Dynamic Resource Allocation(DRA) offer continuous,clear and uninterrupted coverageand are designed to respondto surges in traffic demand byallocating resources to areas ofhigh traffic. Thuraya is a diverseand reliable service provider. Weemploy more than 200 highlyqualified people of different nationalitiesthroughout our globallocations and continue to delivera wide variety of cutting-edgesolutions to our entire customerbase.TT - How many countries arepresently covered underThuraya Satellite communicationnetwork? Whatis your future expansionplan?SH - Thuraya’s globalreach extends to morethan 140 countries acrossEurope, the MiddleEast, Africa, Asia Pacificand Australia. At present,our assets in space meet therequirements of our businessplans. Our prime focus continuesto be Asia, key vertical marketsand data services. We are alsocommitted to continued marketleadership in mobile satellitehandhelds and to simplifyingsatellite communications throughdelivering innovative productsThe XT-DUAL makes Thurayathe only satellite operator to offerseamless communications, as it providesour customers the flexibility and freedomto alternate between GSM and satellitemodes for optimum coverage andconnectivity.andsolutions which empowerhumanity with the means to communicateclearly and efficiently.TT - You recently have set upa regional office in Singapore.How do you foresee the regionin terms of Satellite communication?SH - Asia is a fantastic marketfor satellite communications,given its size, population andrising financial clout. Our growthpromoters in this region are themaritime industry, the increasingdemand for networks capable ofdelivering emergency communicationsin troubled times, pluscoverage in remote areas outsideterrestrial GSM networks.We enhancedour IP services in Asia recentlyby establishing a ‘Point OfPresence’ (POP) and‘Meet Me Point’ (MMP)in Singapore. ThePOP provides our IPcustomers faster andaffordable streamingservices frompractically anywhereto newsrooms and datacenters across Asia.TT - What are the latest updateswith respect to satellite communicationtechnologies anddevices?SH - Today, the satellite industryis seeing a surge of opportunitiesin broadband IP services, defenseand military applications andassociated sectors. This growthis fuelled by TV broadcasting,satellite internet and military use.New satellites and technologiesare being developed to ensuregreater transmission power tosupport these applications.Initially, C-band was predominantlyused for satellite communicationsin the FSS world. Now,there is rapid growth in Ku-bandusage because of availability ofhigher bandwidth at cheaperprices. The latest addition is Ka.However, industry experts haveconflicting views on the capabilitiesand hence the viability andsuccess of Ka-band services.In the MSS world, the need forhigher throughput with moremobile and reliable terminals ison the rise. This is driving theadoption of technologies, includingthe latest compressiontechniques,phased arrayantennas, betterIP standards andnew waveforms,which can enablethese.While satellitesareincorporatingbetter technologiesto ensure greater transmitpower, user devices are becomingmore compact. Most of thenew handsets from Thuraya andother MSS operators are gettingsmaller, smarter and more rugged.The Thuraya XT is the bestand the most successful handsetcurrently available in the market.Concomitantly, broadband devicesfor land and maritime marketsare improving by the day on thebandwidth capabilities and becomingmore IP-centric. ThurayaIP is the best example of a highlycompact satellite IP terminal withthe highest bandwidth availablein the market.TT - BBC recently published a storyon hacker’s interference intoUS satellite network in between2007 & 2008. Are satellites opento hacking attacks?SH - Such occurrences are highlyunlikely in the satellite industry,because of the high risk that thehacker might face in controllingthe satellite in orbit. However,36 October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com

we believe some people mightattempt to do just that, if enoughsecurity measures are not put inplace to thwart them.In Thuraya, we have appliedstringent security measuresacross our network to preventany attack. Our satellite controlnetwork is physically isolatedfrom the external world toprevent access by external parties.Furthermore, we have putprocesses in place to monitor anyattempt of an attack.TT - Disaster management andrelief activities in remote areasrequire critical communicationservices. How does Thuraya fit insuch situations and please sharesome recent implementations byThuraya.SH - As previously noted,Thuraya’s satellites cover morethan 140 countries in Europe,Africa, the Middle East, Asia andAustralia. This also includes theworld’s major disaster zones.Ours is a robust network that dynamicallyallocates resources. Inother words, if there is a disruptionin terrestrial GSM networksThuraya serves as the most viableand appropriate communicationsnetwork. Moreover, we offercompact and rapidly deployablesolutions. Consequently, reliefand disaster management agenciescan instantly set up satellitecommunication hubs in the aftermathof natural disasters.Again, in remote areas outsideterrestrial coverage, customersmay need to communicate withmultiple organizations to facilitateoperations. To assist them,Thuraya offers an extremelyreliable, cost effectivesolution based on ThurayaIP. It works by integratingdifferent communicationstechnologies into a single,closed user group. This servicemerges Thuraya IP, Thurayasatellite phones, public switchtelephone networks, GSM andradio systems to provide NGOswith a comprehensive communicationsplatform for emergencycommunications. With this solution,consumers can communicatewithAsia isa fantastic marketfor satellite communications,given its size, population andrising financial clout.various technologies reliably forsmooth operations.Thuraya’s satellite phones haveGPRS, voice and GPS capabilitiesthat relay the exact location andextent of disasters, coordinatingmedical attention and relief efforts.We also provide extremelyaffordable solutions that makeuse of GPS to pinpoint userlocation and notify the nearestemergency outpost andpre-configured contacts.Our data solutions give reliefand surveillance partiesquick access to high-speedmobile satellite broadband tobrowse for weather and mappingservices, which are critical inrescue and relief efforts. Thurayacollaborated with the InternationalTelecommunications Union(ITU) to deploy emergency communicationsin Japan, followingthe earthquake and tsunami lastyear. We have provided our solutionsfor the setup of disastersurveillance centers in Uganda,Philippines and Turkey. We havealso contributed to save lives inSamoa, Malawi, Pakistan, andIndonesia when these countrieswere hit by terrible naturaldisasters.TT - What is the global growthrate for mobile satellite communicationsand how do youforesee the future of it withOctober 2012www.teletimesinternational.com37

espect to data services?SH - Overall, there is stronggrowth across all market segmentsand the MobileSatellite ServicesEmpower yourdigital oilfieldwehave appliedstringent securitymeasures across ournetwork to preventany attack.(MSS) environmentremainsvery competitive.The MSSwholesalerevenues arepoised to growroughly between7-8% over the comingyears, due to increaseddemand for broadband as well asother MSS services in key regionsand verticals. Trends are more favorablewithin maritime, energy,media sectors and Non-GovernmentalOrganizations (NGOs).They also remain positive in theMiddle East and Asia.One of the major drivers ofthe MSS industry is data, witha major shift from a legacy ofvoice services towards more datatraffic-high-speed broadbandapplications, low-speed assettracking and messaging. Thishighlights the general shift in thenature of MSS traffic as well asthe importance of data transmissionsand services in shapinggrowth in the MSS sector. Plus,considering the advancements intechnology and newer generationsof terminals and satellites,we envision higher data transmissionrates, increased capabilities,and enhanced interfaces toaddress the increasing demandand communicationrequirements ofprofessionalend-users.TT - Whatare yourthoughtsaboutIP-based communicationoversatellites?SH - ‘Data’ is not justanother buzz word; it has transformedinto a global businessphenomenon that is escalatinginto multi-billion dollarrevenues for the communicationsindustry.The most reliable andconvenient choice forhigh-speed data servicesin remote areas is satellitecommunications. Satellitesprovide broadband servicepractically anywhere and createremote office capabilitiessimilar to setups with the latestcommunication tools. IP-basedcommunication over satellites isthe major driver for the mobilesatellite services industry in thecoming years. As the wholeworld moves towards data, sodoes the satellite industry.Several market sectors such asenergy, NGO, government, defense,broadcast media and maritimedepend heavily on IP-basedcommunications over satellitesfor operational efficiency. Customersare sending and receivingmore information across in realtime for business purposes, pushingthe need for IP-based satellitecommunications upward. Usersin remote areas, needing remoteoffice setups with facilities suchas high-speed data service, email,browsing, video-conferencingand streaming can achieve thisonly through satellite broadbandsolutions. It is an industry thatwill continue to grow. Customerswill demandmore compact solutions withhigher bandwidth throughputfor higher quality of service.Thuraya is already taking the leadwith Thuraya IP and associatedsolutions.TT - How does “convergence ofservices” relate to satellite communications?SH - As with terrestrial telecomoperators who use technologiessuch as GSM and LTE, satelliteoperators are also looking intopossible ways to combine serviceofferings on different operator’snetworks, in order to assembleattractive bundles for customers.For example, many oil and gascustomers need a combinationof some mobile satellite servicesand some VSAT services. This isalso true for maritime customers.By combining the offeringsof different operators, customersget the bandwidth they need atattractive prices while still enjoyingfull mobility when needed.Another area where Thuraya isactive is convergence of satelliteand terrestrial. Thuraya is theonly MSS operator offering adual-mode satellite and GSMhandset, the Thuraya XT-Dual.Customers can be assured oftotal access with this handsetin the most remote as well asthe most urban areas. Thurayamaintains roaming agreementswith over 350 GSM operatorsspanning the globe. In July thisyear, we launched our roamingservices in USA in partnershipwith the American mobile operator,T-Mobile.Thuraya is also looking activelyinto ways to expandits capacity and presencethrough resale or otherarrangements with othersatellite and terrestrialoperators. Our goalis to offer reliable,affordable communicationservices by fullyutilizing all the best networksavailable, regardless of technology.We believe that this is whatcustomers want.By working in collaboration withother satellite operators, or byconverging satellite with terrestrial,Thuraya is embracing theinterworking technologies’ trendwhich is currently driving moderntelecoms networks.TT - Your thoughts about TeletimesInternational magazine.SH - Teletimes Internationalprovides timely and insightfulanalyses of ICT and telecommunicationdevelopments across theworld, particularly in the MiddleEast, Africa and Asia, which areimportant markets to Thuraya interms of growth and potential.The magazine’s meticulouslyresearched articles and featureson vertical markets and thecorporate sector help us developa better understanding of endcustomerrequirements andexpectations.38 October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com

Cloud Computingvs Network NeutralityCloud computing has beena major debate aroundthe globe since the conceptemerged around a decade ago.In most simplest of definitions,Cloud Computing is the centralizationof computing resources,data, services and applicationsin virtual locations where a usercan access, modify, store andretrieve data from anywherein the world. Cloud computingattempts to create giant hubsof processors, databanks andapplication stores so that costof equipment, software andservices is considerably loweredand information processingenhanced.‘Network Neutrality’ is aterm used to advocate thefree for all, openness anduser-independent delivery ofinternet services to everyonein the world. Net Neutrality hasbeen a burning issue, mainlyin the US, where big telecommunicationcarriers like AT &T, Verizon, Comcast and TimeWarner Cable are trying toprovide internet services basedon the content, usage and userrequirements.Cloud computing in the contextof Net Neutrality solidifies thefact that Net Neutrality is actuallya negation of Cloud Computingand the propagationof Net Neutrality concept willeventually halt the progress ofCloud Computing in the world.The State of AffairsCloud Computing is yetanother paradigm of numerousInternet revolutions thatwe have seen in the past twodecades. It significantly lowersthe cost of entry by eliminatingthe processor, hard diskand other costs associatedwith buying IT equipment andshifting the high CAPEX costsinto OPEX costs. Apart fromGovernments, the concepthas tremendous support frombig companies like IBM, Intel,Google, Yahoo, HP etc andbillions of dollars are beinginvested to create Cloud Computingcenters. Some of thebig Cloud Computing ServiceProviders are Amazon Web Services,3Tera, Force.com etc.Cloud ComputingVs Net NeutralitySince the introduction of bitsand bytes, all of the technologicaldevelopments in the fieldof Internet/ICT etc have beenconcentrated on achieving thebest possible cost-effectivemodel capable of catering tothe ever growing demandsof the users; basically movingforward. With the introductionof Net Neutrality, we areactually moving backwards byrestricting innovation, dentingbusiness models of ISPs, andincreasing cost of service tothe users. Cloud Computingis based on the principle thatprocessing should be sharedand centralization of critical resourcesis achieved by preservingcomputing power, minimizingcost of entry and provideuniversal access to data.However, if Cloud Computingbecomes a phenomenon thenthere is one downside to allof these magnificent features;increased traffic on networks.We all agree that bandwidth isa critical resource and probablythe most important one as wellbecause without a medium, noform of communication canoccur. When everything willbecome online, as per Cloud“With the introduction of Net Neutrality,we are actually moving backwards byrestricting innovation, denting businessmodels of ISPs, and increasing cost ofservice to the users.”Computing concept, trafficon networks will be increasedmanifold. Increasing bandwidthand raising infrastructureby ISPs always lags behindin terms of meeting userdemands, therefore, in a likelyscenario, we could well beheading into a dark alley whereall of our processing power,data, applications and serviceswill lie in the cloud and ourmeans to access that cloud willbe choked. There are two wayswhich could be used to avoidthis scenario, Prioritization andload balancing, both of whichare strongly opposed by NetNeutrality proponents.If we take a realistic lookaround us, everything has acertain ‘priority level’ attachedto it. We have different securityprotocols for VIPs, differentclass of comfort in the planes,different levels of access todata and so on. Even in theNaveed Kianitechnology, prioritization andload balancing are commonlyused to achieve betterefficiency, like preemptivemultitasking by processors,over riding functions etc.However, when the sameconcept is applied to betterutilize the bandwidth bysegregating it according tothe demands of the user, netneutrality spoils the party.Let us consider a scenariowhere user A is working onCoralDraw, MS-Word, usingFacebook, listening to onlinemusic and downloadingsoftware while user B isjust searching Google anddrafting an article. It is mostobvious that user A has ahigher bandwidth requirementthan user B, so he shouldbe provided with higherbandwidth, may be at higherrate than User B and viceversa. Net Neutrality says thatthere should be equal accessto bandwidth for both of theusers even if it slows down theefficiency of User A and doesnot affect User B in any way.Apply the same scenario tomillions of users and you willfind total chaos in the world ofCloud Computing.ConclusionCloud Computing is a majorstep towards sharing ofresources, cheap access tolicensed services, mitigationof copyright breaching andlow CAPEX. It is imperativefor the propagation of CloudComputing that prioritizationand load balancing should beensured so that users can enjoybetter use of services in thecloud.October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com39

Unique initiative to nurture talents andengage with employeesOmantel launches “Omantel Talents”Omantel has announcedlast week the launch of“Omantel Talents” initiativewith an aim to identify andnurture the talents amongOmantel employees and theirfamilies on the personal andcareer levels. The company willalso help the gifted personnelshowcase their talents tosociety and represent theSultanate on the national andforeign events. The initiativecomes within the efforts madeby the Company as part of itswider ‘Employee Engagement’program which was launchedearlier by the Company.Commenting on this newinitiative, Mr. Yaqoub MubarakHuge response to Omantel‘Friday Film Festival’Customers can attend their favorite films freeOmantel, the pioneerintegrated telecomservices provider in theSultanate has announced thelaunch of a new offer thatenable Indian film fans to availfree tickets for the films ondisplay at City Cinema in Ruwivia a simple SMS message.Commenting on the offer,Mohammed Hassan Al Lawatia,Manager of Events at Omantelsaid ‘Indian movies are ofhigh popularity in our regionand we are introducing thisunique offer to pay a tributeto our customers from theAsian countries who are fansal Kiyumi, General Managerof Employees Services atthe HR Unit and head of theorganizing committee forthe initiative said ‘Omantelbelieves that its employeesare the most valuable assetand the main driver behind itssuccess therefore it does itsbest to provide them with anenvironment that is supportiveof creativity and innovation”.“Omantel is one of the biggestcompanies in the country andis manned by more than 2700employees. This initiative aimsat unlocking the potential oftalents within Omantel teamand their families through aseries of competitions that willof these films. We believe thisis a fabulous opportunity forthem to unwind and enjoythemselves as we are givingaway 800 free tickets in everyFriday show of blockbusterHindi movies with freepopcorns and beveragesstarting from September untilNovember 2012.’“Seats are provided on firstcome first serve basis. We arepleased with the responsefrom our customers in the firsttwo weeks and the opportunityis still there for people whowere not able to make it in thepast events to attend showsbe managed by external juriesfrom people recognized asleaders in their areas”.‘While designing thecompetition, we have beenvery keen to ensure thatit covers as many areas ofinterest as possible. Thecompetitions will includeQuran recitation , poetry ,drawing , general ideas , thebest traffic safety idea , thebest scientific innovation , thebest marketing idea , the bestidea for social responsibility,the best idea for humanresources , the best idea forenvironment protection , thebest talent with disability, the best idea to simplifyuntil November 16th”.“Omantel customers can booktheir favorite film throughSMS therefore saving time andefforts spent in the long Qsto get the ticket through thesale outlets or the internet.Customers wishing to attendneed only to respond to thebulk SMS sent to them bysending the word “book” to91220. A confirmation messagewill follow containing the nameof the movie, date of show andticket number which shall beshown at the cinema in orderto collect their tickets”. AlLawatia added.procedures or save costswithout prejudice to quality ofwork and the best application”Al Kiyumi concluded.Omantel HR Unit disembarkedon a number of initiatives thathas been well received byemployees and qualified theCompany to be the winner ofBest Employer Brand amongall Asian countries this year inan event held in Singapore lastJuly.Moreover, Omantel CEO wonthe HR focused CEO awardearlier this year in recognitionof his support to HR Unitand the initiatives that werelaunched by the Companyunder his leadership.Omantel is the pioneerprovider of leading edgetelecommunications servicesin the Sultanate of Omanconnecting individuals,enterprises and governmentacross the country through astate-of-the-art network. Byoffering unmatched range ofinnovative products and aftersalesservice, Omantel is themarket leader. We serve ourcustomers nationwide throughonline channels, shops anddistributors. Omantel is listedon the Muscat Stock Marketand trades under the nameOTL.OM.40 October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com

Laura W. GellerLessons from the E-Commerce WarsAs budgets tighten, manyexecutives face questionsabout how to grow theirbusiness? In the boomingworld of e-commerce, suchquestions are coupled witha need to stand out fromthe crowd. Entrepreneur JimMcCarthy has been on thefront lines of these decisionsfor 15 years. He cut his teethin tech startups, learningfrom both failures (onlinecalendaring venture Kiko Inc.)and successes (GeoCities, soldto Yahoo in 1999). Today, ascofounder and CEO of GoldstarEvents Inc., a privately heldhalf-price ticketing website,he’s found answers by forginga strong connection with thesite’s members. Getting toknow his customers — whatthey like, what they dislike, andwhat they might like — is keyto Goldstar’s business model,and drives its innovationprocess.When the startup launchedin 2002, the economy was inrecession and e-commercewas still reeling from the dotcombust. Today, Goldstar hasmore than 2 million registeredusers and has establishedpartnerships with thousandsof venues around the country.Although relatively small— the company sold aboutUS$50 million in tickets in2011 — it is growing rapidly,Entrepreneur - Jim McCarthy onwhy online innovations succeed — or failand forecasts that its saleswill grow by more than 50percent this year. Jim McCarthytalked to strategy+business inFebruary 2012, Goldstar’s 10thanniversary.Q: You’ve worked ine-commerce for 15 years, andhave seen highs and lows.What are some of the keylessons you’ve learned?A: One of the things that I’vecome to believe strongly isthat many people claim tohave expertise in a lot of areas,but the entrepreneur is in thebest position to evaluate whatworks or doesn’t work for hisor her company. Great peoplecan be very helpful to you, butthey can’t replace you as theentrepreneur when it comes tothe big decisions.You also can’t be taken in bythings just because everybodyis doing them. Otherwise, yourisk pouring huge amounts ofmoney into efforts that won’twork.I’ll give you an example, basedon something we learnedabout Twitter. Our firstimplementation of Twitterwas traditional; followerscould interact with us, andwe would editorialize. Thataccount is still active, and it’sfine. But we figured out thatmany heavy Twitter users justwant information. We createdautomated feeds for differentcities, such as @GoldstarLA.Nobody here touches them,we just take the data as anew event or new dates forevents come onto the site,and it automatically goes intothe feed for each city. Userscan sign up for a feed for theircity, and every time there’s anupdate on our site, they geta tweet with a link. Those aregreat links for generating ticketsales, and it’s very easy. Werealized that we didn’t haveto hire a team of people tofill @Goldstar with crazy, funcontent.I think the bigger point is,it’s possible that not usingTwitter would work for a givencompany. That’s not to saythat you shouldn’t try things ortest things or explore things,but entrepreneurs shouldhave the courage of theirconvictions about what they’velearned. It’s hard to do that inthe face of pressure, and if youhave investors, they can putpressure on you, too. You haveto resist it and do the thingsthat are best for the companyand for its customers andemployees. You can constantlychase whatever’s shiny, butentrepreneurs only have somuch mental bandwidth, soyou have to use it in the rightplaces.Q: What drives your decisionsabout innovation and growth?Jim McCarthyA: Innovation is really onlyinnovation if it serves a needthat customers have or givesthem something they want.Our job is not to find buyersfor our tickets, it’s to findtickets for our buyers. Ourinnovation process revolvesaround evaluating what we’redoing for our members andthen figuring out what we’renot doing as well as we couldbe. Sometimes those kinds ofinnovations are really simpleand other times they’re moretechnical. But they always startwith the customer.For example, early in ourbusiness, we started sendingout an e-mail to buyers afterthe event they purchasedtickets for had happened, tosee how it went. We were thefirst company I know of to dothis. We wanted to make surethat people were having aOctober 2012www.teletimesinternational.com41

good experience, and if therewere problems, we wanted toget that feedback. It was a verysimple innovation, but it wasnew and it helped us add valuefor the customer.We have more complicatedinnovations, like our “Sit withFriends” feature. One of theissues people encounter whenthey want to go to an eventwith friends is that one personneeds to buy all the tickets sothe group can sit together.Otherwise there are noguarantees. We built “Sit withFriends” to solve that problem.If you buy a ticket from us, weprovide a link at the end of theprocess that you can then sendto friends. When those peoplebuy tickets through that link,your seats are automaticallygrouped together. That wasan innovation that came outof talking to our customersabout their frustrations. Forus, innovation is a constantprocess of saying, What arewe doing to help improve themember experience?Q: You serve a diversecustomer base. How do youget to know your members?A: User reviews are one of themost important things thatpeople do on our site. We dida study a couple of years backthat basically asked, Wouldyou trust user reviews on awebsite that you like, or themost well-known critic in thebiggest newspaper in your city?And which source would youtrust if they had a differenceof opinion about a show? Theresult was something like 30to 1 valued the reviews on awebsite they liked over thecritic. Because you need to buya ticket to write a review, usersshouldn’t have to wonder,“Who’s writing this review?What’s their agenda?” We’reporing over the data on a dailybasis, asking ourselves, What’sworking, what’s not working,what are people experiencingthat we can address? Everynow and then I’ll go work inour customer service queue toconnect with our customersdirectly.We know that people like togo to live entertainment morethan they actually go to liveentertainment. The “science”behind what we do is figuringout why, and then trying tobreak down those barriers.One of the mistakes that manyof our potential competitorsmake is thinking that priceis the single barrier, when inreality it’s one of several (andnot the most important). Weuse algorithmic solutions totake into account what eventsour members have looked at,what they’ve attended, andwhat they have said aboutthese events. We analyze howthey respond to e-mail, whatkinds of offers work for them,what kind of informationthey are searching for. Theirbehavior begins to tell us moreabout them, and hopefullywe’re adjusting with each newinsight. People don’t alwaysknow what they like until theysee it. There are some thingsthey know they want, butthere are other things they’reopen to the discovery of.That’s what we try to find out.There’s a meeting I have withevery new employee that wecall Goldstar 101. One of thethings that I do is show thema picture of a Sony Xperia —a really sleek smartphone.And then I show them a Sonytransistor radio from 1957,which looks crude and oldtimey.The point I make is thatSony had a goal back then,which was to improve people’slives through technology. Andeven though these devicesare really different, they’reboth still designed to achievethat same exact goal. If Sonytried to achieve that goal in2012 with a transistor radio,it would be impossible. Beingconsistent with a strategy overa long period of time meansthe tactics have to constantlychange to match where theworld is.Q: That’s a great segue.When you launched in 2002,the economic climate waschallenging at best. Whatimpact did that have?A: It was a tough economy,and it was just after 9/11, whichadded uncertainty. It was alsoa time that tech investorsstill refer to as the “nuclearwinter”: After the dot-comboom had gone bust, theexuberance and enthusiasmvanished.Goldstar’s cofounders, RobertGraff and Rich Webster,and I had been working ine-commerce for several years.We believed that whetherthere were going to be crazyIPOs or frothy valuations frominvestors or not, the onlydirection that actual Internetusage could go was up, and upfast. We had this idea that theticketing business was perfectfor e-commerce. There wasexpiring inventory, but withthe Internet and e-mail and theability to customize, we knewthat we could reach a lot ofpeople.On the one hand, the easymoney wasn’t there. It wouldhave been really difficult toraise money for a consumerconcept at that time. On theother hand, the recessioncleared the field for us, in away. Because there wasn’t aRecessions create a lot of disruption, and they kill off some weakerbusinesses that are doing things in an outmoded way — and thatcreates all kinds of opportunities.ton of competition. It gaveus a couple of years to buildmomentum.In a time like that, if you say,“I’m going to start a business,”a lot of people around you willreply, “Wouldn’t it make moresense to just play it safe, geta job in a big company, andwait this out?” From my pointof view, however, a recessionis often the perfect time tostart a business, depending onwhat you have in mind. It was adisadvantage in that generallyeverybody was a little morepessimistic, but recessionsalso create a lot of disruption,and they kill off some weakerbusinesses that are doingthings in an outmoded way —and that creates all kinds ofopportunities.42 October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com

DigitizationBahjat El-Darwiche, Milind Singh,and Sandeep Ganediwallaand ProsperityThe economic growth of nations is linkedto one factor: Adoption of information andcommunications technologyPolicymakers todayface an environmenttransformed by information andcommunications technology(ICT). More people today haveaccess to a mobile phone thanto electricity; the amountof data generated globallyis expanding exponentially.In every country, leaders ofgovernment and businessare deciding — throughtheir policies and strategiesfor ICT, Internet access,communications media, anddigital applications — how topromote and structure thedigitization of their economies.These choices have enormousconsequences. Countries thathave achieved advanced levelsof digitization, defined as themass adoption of connecteddigital technologies and ICTapplications by consumers,enterprises, and governments,have realized significanteconomic, social, and politicalbenefits. For them, digitizationis a pathway to prosperity.Other countries are fallingdisproportionately behind.The difference among countrieswas a core finding of a recentstudy conducted by Booz &Company, “Maximizing theImpact of Digitization.” Otherstudies on ICT and prosperityhave focused primarily onInternet access: whether peopleare able to connect to wirelessand broadband technologies.But by looking more closelyat the ways people use digitaltechnologies and applications,we found that the greatestsocial and economic benefitsdepend on factors related toadoption and usage: such aspricing, reliability, speed, andease of use. In any geography,these factors determine thelevel of digitization, whichin turn has a proven impacton reducing unemployment,improving quality of life, andboosting citizens’ access topublic services. Digitizationallows governments to operatewith greater transparency andefficiency, and it has a dramaticeffect on economic growth,but not all at once. Countriesat the most advanced stage ofdigitization derive 20 percentmore in economic benefits thando those that are just beginning.Policymakers have an importantrole to play in moving theircountries toward advancedlevels of digitization. In theirapproach to technology,October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com43

they need to shift focus fromaccess, toward adoption andusage. That means elevatingdigitization on the nationalagenda; tracking progresssystematically; developing abetter governance model forthe telecom and informationtechnology sectors; adopting anecosystem perspective; enablingcompetition; and stimulatingdemand.Measuring DigitizationIn 1990, there were 100 millionpersonal computers worldwide,10 million mobile phone users,and less than 3 million people(about the population of Berlin)on the Internet. Most of themused dial-up modems. By 2010,there were 1.4 billion PCs, 5billion mobile phone users,and an Internet populationof 2 billion, about the size ofIndia and China combined.Nearly all were connectedwith broadband or a handheldbrowser, and they weregeographically and economicallydispersed; more than half abillion people today connectonline from Africa.During most of the ICTsector’s development, itsimpact was measured interms of connection: thenumber of people reachedby telecommunications linesand thus with access to theInternet. But in a world of nearuniversalaccess, a new form ofassessment is needed.The extent of a country’s digitizationcan be measured acrosssix key attributes: ubiquity (thelevel of access to digital servicesand applications), affordability(pricing), reliability (the qualityof connection), speed (the rateof data throughput), usability(the ease with which people canget online and use applicationsavailable there), and skill (theability of users to incorporatedigital services into their livesand businesses). (See Exhibit 1.)In studying the impact ofdigitization on prosperity, wehave found measurable proxyindicators for all six of theseattributes. Thus, the level ofdigitization can be scored forany country. The scores showthat the progression of digitizationproceeds in four similarstages in all geographies. (SeeExhibit 2.)● Constrained economies(those with a digitizationscore below 25) have barelybegun to develop affordableInternet connections, oftenbecause they are held backby political factors or laggingeconomic development.Internet services remainexpensive and limited inreach.● Emerging economies (thosewith a score between 25and 29.9) have achievedsignificant progress inproviding affordable andwidespread access. However,the reliability of servicesremains below par, capacity islimited, and usage is low.● Transitional economies (thosewith a digitization scorebetween 30 and 39.9) providecitizens with ubiquitous,affordable, and reasonablyreliable services, and usage isexpanding at a relatively rapidpace.● Advanced economies (thosewith a score of 40 and higher)are in the most maturestage of digitization. Thesecountries have a talent basethat can take advantage ofdigital services.For the world as a whole, theprogression of digitizationthrough these stages isaccelerating. Developedcountries such as Germany,the United Kingdom, and theUnited States took nearly fouryears on average to move fromthe emerging to the transitionalstage; now, countries suchas the United Arab Emirates,Kuwait, and Estonia are makingthat same move in less than twoyears. Between 2004 and 2007,countries registered 39 stageleaps; between 2007 and 2010,there were 65 stage leaps. From2004 to 2007, countries moved,on average, seven points upthe scale (of a total 100 points).From 2007 to 2010, the averagejump was 10 points.This acceleration stems from anumber of factors. Emergingcountries are following a paththat developed nations havealready blazed, learning fromtheir successes and mistakes.Young economies can also takeadvantage of more maturetechnologies and markets,along with the correspondingprice reductions. When skills aretransferred to more countriesand better governancestructures are put in place, theimplementation and usage ofnew technologies generallyaccelerate. Some emergingcountries, like those in theGulf Cooperation Council inthe Middle East, are bypassingintermediate phases andjumping directly to higher levelsof digitization.Economic and Social ImpactThe effect of digitization on acountry’s economy is highlyvisible. In the 150 countrieswe studied, an increase indigitization of 10 percentagepoints triggered a 0.50 to 0.62percent gain in per capita GDP.(See Exhibit 3.) By contrast,access (as measured in studiesof broadband penetration)44 October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com

contributes a gain in per capitaGDP of just 0.16 percent —approximately half as muchimpact. The more advanced thecountry, the greater the impactof digitization appears to be,which establishes a virtuousfeedback cycle: A countryreinforces and acceleratesits own progress as it movesalong the line. On the basis ofdata from 2009 and 2010, weestimate that the total globaleconomic impact of digitization,in terms of added GDP, wasUS$395 billion per year. (It has, ifanything, increased since then.)Digitization also has asignificant impact on jobcreation:A 10 percent increase indigitization reduces a nation’sunemployment rate by 0.84percent. From 2009 to 2010,digitization added an estimated19 million jobs to the globaleconomy, up 5 percent fromthe estimated 18 million jobsadded from 2007 to 2008.This is an especially criticalfinding for emerging markets,which will need to createhundreds of millions of jobs inthe coming decade to ensurethat a booming population ofyoung people can contributeto their national economy.Finally, a 10-point increase indigitization has, on average,led to a six-point increase in thecountry’s score on the INSEADGlobal Innovation Index, whichranks countries according toinnovation potential. In otherwords, as a country progressesin its digitization development,it appears to become moreinnovative.Assessing the social impact ofdigitization is more complicatedbecause no metrics apply to allgeographies in the same way.Many studies have trackedincome disparity as a proxyfor social inequality, using theGini coefficient (a measure ofstatistical dispersion), but inemerging economies that are inthe process of elevating millionsof people out of poverty, therelationship between economicgrowth and inequality iscomplex. Therefore, we focusedour study of the social impact ofdigitization on two measures:quality of life and equality ofaccess to basic services. Weused the widely publishedGallup Wellbeing Index andthe Organisation for EconomicCo-operation and Development(OECD) Better Life Index tomeasure the former, and theUnited Nations DevelopmentProgramme’s (UNDP’s) HumanDevelopment Index to measurethe latter.In developed economies,increasing digitizationsignificantly boosts qualityof life: OECD countries gainan average of 1.3 points onthe Better Life Index forevery 10-point increase in thedigitization score. However,in countries with lower levelsof economic development,the impact of digitizationis less pronounced, mostlikely because quality-of-lifefactors beyond digitization— food, housing, clothing,water, energy, health, andtransportation — are in shortersupply and thus more critical.In other words, digitizationimproves a country’s quality oflife only when the basic needs ofits population have been met.Yet when we examine accessto basic services, we see theopposite effect. Digitization’simpact is greatest in constrainedand emerging economies.A 10-point increase in thedigitization score leads to anincrease of approximately0.13 points in the HumanDevelopment Index. In moredeveloped economies wherebasic human needs are moreeasily met, digitization playsa less pronounced role inexpanding access to education,sanitation, water, andhealthcare.To assess governmenteffectiveness, we used threemetrics: the 2010 CorruptionPerceptions Index publishedby Transparency International;the e-government developmentindex created by the UnitedNations Public AdministrationNetwork to gauge theprovision of electronicservices by governments;and the Inequality-AdjustedEducation Index, measured bythe UNDP to show the extentof public education, a keygovernment service. We foundthat greater digitization ledto improvement on all threecounts. Digitization enables asociety to be more transparent,increasing public participationand the government’s abilityto disseminate informationeffectively: A 10-point increasein digitization increases theTransparency Internationalindex by approximately 1.2points. Digitization raisese-government effectiveness byapproximately 0.1 points (andkick-starts another virtuouscycle, as greater e-governmenteffectiveness acceleratesdigitization). And digitizationgives the population moreinsight into government policiesand functions, which might,in turn, lead to more activepolitical participation andsupport the development ofhuman rights.Finally, digitization supportsbetter delivery of publiceducation and othergovernment services. Hereagain, digitization’s impact ismore pronounced in the case ofdeveloping countries, where aThe more advanced the country, the greater the impactof digitization, which establishes a virtuous cycle: Acountry reinforces and accelerates its own progress as itmoves along the line.10-point increase in digitizationresults in an average 0.17-pointincrease in the Inequality-Adjusted Education Index.This trend has less effect indeveloped countries becausethey already have greater accessto universal basic education.What can governments do?The digitization index can bean invaluable tool for countriesseeking to advance their placein the world. Investment inbroadband infrastructure hashelped ensure widespread highspeedaccess to the Internet andcommunications services. Butthis investment is not enough.Nor is the next step to simplyinvest more money — even ifthe money is available. Instead,policymakers can play a pivotalrole by focusing on five keyimperatives.1. Elevating digitization on thenational agenda.To realize the wide-rangingbenefits that digitizationoffers, countries need supportOctober 2012www.teletimesinternational.com45

Internet to 100 million morehomes, providing leadership inmobile innovation, developinga more robust broadband network,ensuring more affordablebroadband service, establishingnationwide wireless access forfirst responders, and enabling aclean energy economy.2. Developing a bettergovernance model.Governments play four complementaryroles in fosteringdigitization. They set policy,regulate companies and activity,invest in developing the sector,and “e-enable” public services(bring them online, along withappropriate links to private-sectorservices). Each role is distinctbut must be coordinated withthe others. To ensure synergiesand efficiencies, most countriesplace all four functions withina single organization, as theUnited Kingdom and Qatar havedone.The most effective governancestructures involve open and appropriatecollaboration amongprivate companies and agencyofficials, through industryforums and policy consultations.The frameworks forpublic–private partnerships thatcan manage investments thatare less immediately attractiveshould be clear. For example,governments may decide tofund broadband deploymentin remote regions, but let theprivate sector target the urbanareas.Most developed countries haveseen direct benefits from strongsector governance. Singapore,for example, executed itsdigitization plan in 2006, andits ICT sector had grown by 13.6percent by 2008, due in part tothe country’s robust governance.Developing countriescan accelerate development oftheir ICT sectors by establishinga policymaking functionand investing early in a sectordevelopmentarm. Saudi Arabia,for instance, advanced rapidlythrough the stages of digitizationby ensuring fulfillment of allregulatory and oversight rolesat the national level.3. Adopting an ecosystemphilosophy. It’s not possible tostop the convergence of thetelecommunications, media,In 2007, Qatar reduced the royalties paid by thetelecom sector to the government. The ICTsector’s contribution to Qatar’s GDP has grown byapproximately 16 percent in the five years since?and technology industries, orthe integration of the valuechain, including infrastructure,applications, and usage. Evenin relatively small countries,like Qatar, Singapore, and theNetherlands, ICT companies arelooking beyond their local marketsto expand their business.These changes in the technologyand media ecosystem willmean abandoning or changingmany established governmentpractices.For example, emergingeconomies have often abettedinvestment in telecommunicationsinfrastructure, and as aresult this sector is fairly welldeveloped. In many of thesecountries, however, other kindsof information technology stilllag. For instance, in the UnitedArab Emirates, non-telecommunicationsspending accounts for21 percent of total ICT spending,compared with 37 percentin developed markets such asFinland; this means that the untappedICT opportunity beyondtelecommunications in emergingeconomies (for servicessuch as enterprise computing) issignificant.Policymakers also need to fosterlocal capabilities in creatingcontent and applications. InEstonia, for example, innovativesoftware and hardware companieshave been in place sincethe 1990s; they contributedmore than €500 million (US$473million) in annual revenues by2001, and have created morethan 400,000 jobs overall. Theirsuccess encouraged Estoniato launch a development fundin 2007 to further develop itsknowledge economy, investingin resources such as ICT parksand innovation centers, andsetting up particular exportorientedprojects, such as an“Estonia–India foresight project”with a concentration oncybersecurity.National investment in ICT-relatedinnovation capabilities canhave lasting economic effect. Inthe mid-2000s, Egypt introducedICT into its education system,developed e-content, createdtechnology parks, encouragedthe creation of small andmidsized enterprises focusedon ICT via developing technologyincubators, and establishedthe ICT Trust Fund, which usesdigital technology to promoteand enhance the performanceof these enterprises. As a result,Egypt became one of the largestICT exporters in the Middle Eastand North Africa region, with27 percent yearly growth in ICTOctober 2012www.teletimesinternational.com47

service exports from 2005 to2009. Even during the country’spolitical upheaval, the numberof ICT companies continued togrow, from about 4,000 in 2010to 4,600 in 2012.4. Enabling competition.Although telecommunicationswas a monopolistic business formost of the 20th century, theindustry has learned the valueof competition since the mid-1980s. Competitive provisionof broadband and softwareinfrastructure fosters innovationand drives adoption, two factorscritical to enabling countriesto progress in their digitizationefforts.In most emerging economies,market liberalization — throughICT license auctions, privatizationof state-owned telecomand media companies, andderegulation of barriers to entry— has been a key mechanismin driving competition. In SaudiArabia, for example, marketliberalization began in the early2000s, as state-owned SaudiTelecom prepared to competeopenly in its home market forthe first time, and to enter othermarkets. This liberalization ledto a 9 percent annual growthrate in digitization between2000 and 2004. The 2005 entryof another phone company, Etisalat,spurred heavy investmentin fixed and mobile broadband,which, in turn, fueled 17 percentannual growth in digitizationbetween 2005 and 2010.In some cases, competition canbackfire. In India, for example,excessive liberalization triggeredaggressive competitionand unsustainable returns forshareholders. To correct such asituation, policymakers shouldencourage consolidation thatwill restore balance to thesector. For example, in severalcountries, when competitioninhibited investment in Internetinfrastructure, policymakers creatednew “natural monopolies”to fill this role: regulated companieslike OpenNet in Singapore,QNBN in Qatar, and NationalBroadband Network in Australia.In cases like these, regulatorsneed to ensure that themonopolistic entity is well regulatedand that there is significantservice-level competition tospur innovation. Singapore, forexample, created a regulatoryframework that effectively gaveOpenNet a monopoly in buildingand operating the country’spassive networks. This frameworkallows regulated returnson investment in infrastructurewhile ensuring competition inservices. Similarly, in the UnitedKingdom, policymakers are encouragingconsolidation of theinfrastructure — as evidencedby the merger of Orange andT-Mobile — while maintaininga competitive environment inservices.5. Stimulating demand.Countries can progress rapidly indigitization by encouraging theadoption of new applicationsby individuals, businesses, andtheir own agencies. One way tostimulate demand is to ensurethat citizens can perform allgovernment-related tasks —such as paying taxes, renewingdrivers’ licenses, and enrollingin school — using broadbandnetworks.Beyond that, demand for ICTservices depends on technologicalliteracy and skilled humancapital. Policymakers can investin digitization by providing trainingprograms and incentivesfor education. They can alsoboost usage by promoting highspeedbroadband services andensuring that these networksare both widely available andaffordable.A number of countries in theadvanced stage of digitizationhave learned how to raise demand.For instance, France hasincreased ICT spending at a yearlyrate of 5 percent since 2003through a number of initiatives.Among these are the creationof the Villes Internet association,which works with localauthorities to develop Internetliteratecitizens; and the ComitéInterministériel pour la Sociétéde l’Information, which wascreated to encourage Internetusage, improve public servicesvia technological innovation,and strengthen the competitivenessof French companies.The Digitization ImperativeFor some policymakers, thestatistics on digitization will bea wake-up call. The metrics willreveal gaps in a country’s capabilities— and ways in whichit is not equipped to competewith other countries. Otherpolicymakers will be pleased tosee that they are relatively wellprepared — but for how long?The results also confirm a feelingthat many policymakersshare: that digitization can catalyzedramatic economic, social,and political improvements.Anecdotal evidence abounds:Water utilities have installedsensors that reduce leakage,saving water and money;healthcare organizations sendtext messages to pregnantwomen with advice on prenatalcare, creating a healthier newgeneration even before it isborn; fleets of delivery trucksuse GPS devices to find shorterroutes, cutting down on theirgreenhouse gas emissions. Butuntil the impact is quantified,nobody quite knows how muchto emphasize digitization, orhow its impact compares to thatof other factors. We hope thisanalysis can help demonstratethe high leverage that can accruefrom investment in digitizationbeyond simple broadbandaccess.In his book The Shield of Achilles:War, Peace and the Courseof History (Knopf, 2002), constitutionalhistorian Philip Bobbittargued that the world was goingthrough a fundamental shiftin the prevailing view of thepurpose of government, fromthe 20th-century nation-state,which derived its legitimacy byguaranteeing the welfare of thenation’s people, to the 21st-century“market state,” which willfocus on expanding opportunitiesfor its citizens.In several countries, when competition inhibitedinvestment in Internet infrastructure, policymakerscreated new “natural monopolies” to fill this role.The embrace of digitizationis, perhaps, an example ofthat shift. Indeed, nowhereare the benefits of the marketstate more evident than in ICT.National governments havelearned that there are limits totheir role as welfare guarantors.They cannot protect theircitizens indefinitely againstthe vicissitudes of the globaleconomy. But by advancingthe cause of digitization, theycan become market makers,building their own capabilities— and those of their citizensand businesses — to raise thelevel of opportunity for theirentire population.48 October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com

Glimpses from 12th ITCN Asia held at Karachi Expo Centre50 October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com

●●ICT implementations indifferent verticals i.e.Textile, Oil & Gas, Banking &Finance, Manufacturing andLogistics .ITCN Asia Int’l Exhibition &Conferences is organizedannually by EcommerceGateway Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd.with the support of Ministry ofIT & Telecom, Govt. of Pakistan;Information Department,Government of Sindh; PakistanTelecommunication Authority(PTA) and Pakistan SoftwareExport Board (PSEB) at KarachiExpo Centre.Inauguration of the event12th ITCN Asia 2012 Int'l Exhibition& Conferences was inaugurated byProvincial Minister for Youth AffairsSindh, Syed Faisal Ali Subzwari at KarachiExpo Centre, Pakistan. Secretary InformationTechnology Sindh, Muhammad Sualeh AhmedFaruqui; DG Information Technology Sindh,Mohammad Yousuf; Director IT PTA, Dr.Khawar Siddiq Khokhar; President, ClickSat(Pvt.) Ltd, Jehangir Khan (former SquashChampion); FAO Representative UN Dr. KevinGallagher, Director IT Aurangzeb Aziz andPresident Ecommerce Gateway, Dr. KhursheedNizam were also present at the occasion.The Chief Guest and Guests of Honor thenvisited the stalls; met domestic & foreignexhibitors and witnessed the productsthat are catered to various ages, needs &requirements. Participants from more than15 countries including Bangladesh, China,India, Ireland, Korea, Lebanon, Middle East,Nepal, Singapore, Sweden, UK, USA etc. weregathered at the 12th ITCN Asia. The 3-dayEvent was organized by Ecommerce GatewayPakistan; the only UFI (Paris) Approved EventOrganizer of Pakistan.October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com51

Transworld Enterprise Services ShowcasesInternet and Data Products at 12th ITCN AsiaTransworld Enterprise Servicesand its exhibited productswere positively receivedby conference delegates at theITCN Asia exhibition, held fromSeptember 18th to 20th, 2012 atthe Karachi International ExpoCenter. At the event, TES showcasedits Premium IPT, MPLS/IPLC and Datacenter portfoliosand did a soft launch for itsManaged Cloud Services. Theseservices leverage the infrastructureof its parent company,Transworld Associates PrivateMr. Javair Waheed, Head of Sales TES, briefing the IT Minister,Mr. Raza Haroon about the exhibited products at their stall inITCN Asia 2012 at Karachi Expo CentreTeletiems ReportTES also signed a contractwith Credit Market Solutionsfor providing them premiumInternet bandwidth.TES, a wholly owned subsidiaryof Transworld, is providingconnectivity based services tomajor enterprise customersof Pakistan. These servicesare designed to achieveoptimum results for enterpriserequirements like broadbandconnectivity, data transmission,application hosting, anddisaster recovery. PremiumMr. Adil Mir, Head of Marketing - Transworld with his teamLimited, which is Pakistan’s firstprivately owned Tier 1 submarinecable operator with localand international peering.“Such events have turnedout to be quite successfulin providing a single venuewhere one can converse withmany current and potentialcustomers”, commentedMr. Zulfiqar Qazilbash,Vice President CommercialOperations, Transworld. “TESexpects to significantly increasevisibility through networkingand collaboration opportunitiesavailable at ITCN Asia”, hementioned. At this occasionTES stall at ITCN Asiaproducts of TES include MPLS,Premium Internet bandwidthfor businesses (IP Transit),Collocation in Landing StationData Center & Managed CloudServices.(Left) Teletimes is being presenting to Mr. Raza Haroon, IT Minister of Sindh by Sheraz Khan at ITCN Asia. Secretary IT Sindh, Mr. SualehAhmed Faruqui and Dr. Khursheed Nizam, President Ecommerce Gatway are also seen (Right) A view of Teletimes’ stand in ITCN Asia52 October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com

Khalid AtharDoes Freedom of Expression has any boundary –Time to ThinkThe growth anddevelopmentof Information andCommunication Technologies(ICTs) today has led to theirwide diffusion and application,thus escalating their economicand social impact in anycountry. The forms and extentof the absorption of the ICTsare viewed as a barometer fora nation’s level of freedomand democracy, its commercialenergy, its desire to becomepart of the increasinglyinterconnected new worldorder and its empowermenttherein, and its vulnerabilities.The Internet is classified asone of the most promisinginnovation broughtin by Information andCommunication Technologies.Internet has become anessential part of the globalinformation society, enablingoverall economic growth,creating new jobs, encouragingmodernism and improvingnational competitiveness.The Internet today is oftendescribed as the last frontier forfree speech and expression, ananarchic and chaotic space forirrepressible political, religious,and personal expression.Freedom of speech andexpression in real life is fairlydelicate but while online, thereis a severe lack of regulationand moderation.Fraudulent anonymousmessages, personal bullying,hate speech or similar isexceedingly easy to do. One cansign up, enter in false detailsand write hated comments orupload similar type of contentwith nobody to ask for. On analarming side, the abusive useof freedom of expression andits existence over the Internetis causing incidents leading toglobal unrest and protest.Internet companies andplatforms such as Google,Facebook, YouTube, Twitterbased in the United States,have now became globalarbiters of freedom of speech,moderating complex issuesthat traditionally comeunder prefecture of Courts,Governments and Internationaltreaty. “Notice that Googlehas more power over this thaneither the Egyptian or the U.S.government,” said Tim Wu,a Columbia University lawprofessor. “Most free speechtoday has nothing to do withgovernments and everything todo with companies.”Recently, YouTube (www.youtube.com), a video sharingwebsite and subsidiary ofGoogle Inc. came into globalheadlines as video clips of amockery, anti-Islamic movie‘Innocence of Muslims’ wereuploaded on it. The low-budgetfilm incited a wave of seriousprotest across the Muslimworld; many people have diedso far in unrest connected tothe film in over 20 countriesincluding the U.S ambassador inLibya. It may also be noted thatdespite growing Internationalunrest stemming in part fromthe anti-Islamic film Google,YouTube’s parent company, hasdenied a White House’s requestto remove the film from itssearches and the YouTubestating that the company hassaid that the film does notviolate the company’s termsof service and communityguidelines. According toits spokesmen, YouTube’sCommunity Guidelines“encourage free speech” and“defend everyone’s right toexpress unpopular points ofview.”In response to directions madeby respective Governments,Google has blocked the anti-Islamic video in Malaysia,India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia,Bahrain and Yemen whereas itrestricted viewers in Egypt andLibya from the video by itselfmaking special circumstancesin the country as the reasonbehind. Afghanistan, Pakistanand Bangladesh have alsoblocked complete access toYouTube after the video-sharingwebsite failed to take down theinitially obscure film.This recent shameless andtargeted happening is surelyinviting International debates.Need of the hour is to thinkthat “Is Freedom of expressiononline is a right or a privilege?”and “Is there any boundary forsuch abusive Freedom of expression”.It is the time to placesome legislations and definingInternational rules and law tounprotect efforts to abuse thefreedom of expression ratherupholding it.Teletimes Online Survey ReportDo you think ITRs(International Telecommunication Regulations)should be revised?Our latest online survey asked the participants to tell their views on the upcomingrevision of International Telecommunication Regulations in December. ITRsrevision is one of most debated issue on the global scene these days while bothproponents and opponents are having their say. The results show that majority (50%)of the respondents were in favor of the revision while 33% were not aware of the ITRsrevision. The following chart presents the detail of survey results.October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com53

New ITU ‘Sustainability Toolkit’ for the ICT sectorGreen standards highlighted as tools toachieve greener corporationsITU has published a new guideto aid the shift towards amore sustainable ICT industry.The “Toolkit on EnvironmentalSustainability for the ICT Sector”provides detailed help onbuilding sustainability into themanagement and operationsof ICT companies through theapplication of international standardsand best practices.The toolkit provides a standardizedmethod to report on sustainabilityperformance, whichis increasingly required bycustomers, investors, governmentsand other stakeholders.It will also enable companies tomanage and improve their ownsustainability performance.The toolkit was producedin partnership with over 50ICT companies, UN agencies,environmental organizations,and research institutes. It waslaunched during ITU GreenStandards Week in Paris, 17-21September, an event advocatingthe creation and applicationof ‘green ICT’ standardsfor boosting environmentalefficiency across all industrysectors.ITU Secretary-General HamadounI. Touré said, “Internationalstandards are globally agreedbest practices or benchmarksin development. Standards willhowever only deliver promisedbenefits if implementedeffectively, and this Toolkit isan essential companion to theenvironmental sustainabilitystandards developed by ITU-T,ITU’s Standardization Sector.”The toolkit provides a set ofsustainability requirements forICT companies to allow moreobjective reporting in the followingareas:1. Sustainable ICT in corporateorganizations, looking primarilyat four ICT areas: datacentres, desktop infrastructure,broadcasting servicesand telecommunicationsnetworks.2. Sustainable products,through the use of environmentallyconscious design,development and manufacturingprinciples, from aproduct’s birth to its end-oflifetreatment.3. Sustainable buildings, focusingon minimizing the footprintof buildings throughthe integration of sustainabilityconsiderations withinthe design, construction,use and de-commissioningphases; considering that ICTcompanies operate facilitiesdemanding large volumesof energy at all life-cyclestages.4. End-of-life management,covering the various endof-lifestages and theiraccompanying legislation,and providing companieswith guidance on theenvironmentally-consciousmanagement of end-of-lifeICT equipment.5. General specifications andkey performance indicators(KPIs), matching environmentalKPIs to an organization’sstrategic targets, andexploring the developmentof standardized processes toensure KPI data is presentedin a form most useful tomanagement.6. Assessment frameworkfor environmental impacts,explores how various standardsand guidelines canform part of sustainabilityframeworks tailored to eachorganization’s objectivesand desired sustainabilityperformance.Tadiran Telecom Unveils Aeonix -A new software based unified communications andcollaboration solutionTadiran Telecom, a leader incommunications solutions,announced the launch of Aeonix,a new Unified Communicationsand Collaboration Solutionthat consolidates disparatebusiness applications into asingle communications platformand is designed to grow andadapt intelligently to changingcustomer needs. Aeonix utilizesthe latest server based softswitchtechnologies and it featuresrobust fault tolerance, anopen architecture, and a simpleintuitive management interface.Aeonix can be deployed in aprivate cloud environment or asEldad Barakan on-premise solution.“Aeonix was designed to intuitivelyaddress current and futurechallenges in enterprise communications,”said Eldad Barak,President and CEO of TadiranTelecom.New CEO at CE On-DemandCE On-Demand, the leadingregional cloud enableris pleased to announce thenomination of Tamás Soós asnew Chief Executive Officer(CEO), based on the company’sSupervisory Board Meeting lastweek. Mr. Soós has 15 years’ ofexperience in small and mediumsized businesses delivering ITservices for large corporatecustomers. As the new CEO hereplaces William Szentágotay,who remains Senior ExecutiveMember of the Board at CEOn-Demand. “I am pleased andproud to have this opportunityto lead CE On-Demand and workwith the management team todeliver the company’s missionTamas Soosof creating cloud providers.According to our strategy, weare dedicated to enhance thecompany’s existing partnerchannel management and todrive operational excellencewith major focus on geographicalmarket expansion.54 October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com

NEC provides Traffic Control Systemfor the Shin-Tomei ExpresswayBig data processed at 5 times the frequency,traffic information provided in real timeNEC Corporation (NEC; TSE:6701) is providing theCentral Nippon ExpresswayCompany Limited (NEXCOCentral) with traffic controlsystems for the Shin-TomeiExpressway that opened in April2012.NEC’s traffic control systemscontribute to the safety,security and comfort ofdrivers by providing them withroadway information fromsources that include sensorsand emergency telephonesand keeping them connectedto important instructions fromthe Expressway Control Center.This new system, installed atNEXCO Central’s Tokyo controlcenter, provides real timetraffic information by rapidlyprocessing large volumesof data (big data) collectedfrom roadway sensors atapproximately 1 minuteintervals, roughly 5 timesthe frequency processed byexisting systems. Moreover, IPnetworks efficiently transmitinformation from roadwaysensors to the control center,where traffic conditions canbe easily observed from largescale screens. Furthermore,this system is connected withthe Tomei Expressway andChuo Expressway systems,which enables effectiveresponses to large scaleemergencies.Key features of this systeminclude the following:1) High speed processing of bigdata enables up to the minuteinformation and imagesThe provision of real timetraffic information is enabledby the system’s improvedserver performance. Theservers support high speeddata processing of roadwayinformation from sensors,which arrives approximatelyevery minute, roughly 5 timesthe volume of informationprocessed by existing systems.In addition, the roadwaycontrol center features largescale displays of 46 x 64 inchesand 32 x 28 inches that allowthe observation of presentroadway conditions and enablestaff to share and confirmtraffic information with oneanother.Moreover, servers for the newsystem occupy approximately90% less space than those forexisting systems, which resultsin a significant reduction inpower consumption.2) Highly reliable, high speedcommunications networkAll 744 roadside accesspoints, featuring emergencytelephones and sensors, areconstructed with networkequipment. These accesspoints support the transitionfrom existing metal lines toIP’s high speed optical lines,which connect networks toaccess point sensors andemergency telephones. As aresult, emergency telephonecalls and big data receivedfrom roadside sensors, such astraffic counting devices, can berapidly processed.Ethernet ring protocol(*)enables local networks thatconnect between access networksto maintain high speedswitching (within approximately0.5 seconds) even when theoptical fiber fails.Furthermore, a wide areabackup configuration utilizingtrunk networks ensures thata highly reliable broadbandnetworks remain, regardlessof road damage or other suchbarriers.3) Emergency backup systemsThe backup sites for the trafficmanagement systems ofthe Shin-Tomei Expressway,Tomei Expressway andthe Chuo Expressway arein remote locations. Inthe event of a large scaleEliza Limemergency, this enablescommunications betweenbackup sites and roadsideequipment to continue, even ifcommunications from the mainsite have been disabled.These backup systems notonly allow business operationsto continue, they can alsocontribute as an emergencycommunications networkduring major emergencies.NEC is Japan’s top vendorof traffic control systems forexpressway operators. Thecompany began introducingthese systems in 1984 andhas since provided themfor roadways that includethe Meishin Expressway,Hokuriku Expressway, JobanExpressway, Shin-TomeiExpressway and the ChuoExpressway.NEC aims to capitalize on thisknow-how and technologyto provide advanced trafficcontrol systems to countriesthroughout the worldfeaturing the sophisticateddevelopment, construction andoperations it has gained fromnearly 30 years in the field.October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com55

Using ICT to create cohesive, sustainable citiesThe Worldwatch Institute details how information and communicationtechnology (ICT) is promoting sustainable and inclusive citiesMore than half of theworld’s population lives inurban areas, and countries suchas India and China are in need ofhundreds of additional cities toaccommodate growing populations.People in many cities sufferfrom inadequate transportation,sub-standard buildings, lackof sanitation, and poor publicsafety, highlighting the need forDiana Lindsustainable and livable urbanplanning. Information and communicationtechnology (ICT) canbe a useful tool in helping citiesimprove their safety, cleanliness,and sustainability, according toDiana Lind, contributing authorto Worldwatch Institute’s Stateof the World 2012: Moving TowardSustainable Prosperity.ICT not only contributes to sustainableurban initiatives, butalso encourages more environmentallyconscious consumerchoices. In Singapore, forexample, commuters can usemobile phones to avoid hoursin traffic by accessing data mappingtools that display trafficand provide alternate travelroutes. Commuters can alsoplan trips on public transportationand be notified of delays orchanges in service.“As cities try to become moresustainable, some municipalgovernments are finding outjust how useful ICT can be,”said Michael Renner, WorldwatchSenior Researcher andState of the World 2012 projectco-director. “Cities can be runmore intelligently with the helpof digital infrastructure, such asmotion-sensor street lamps andenergy chips in transit passesthat allow people to enter asubway or bus with the simpleswipe of a card.”In many cases, cities are partneringdirectly with businessesto boost urban sustainability.The Dutch city of Rotterdam,for example, is working withGeneral Electric (GE) in aneffort to reach the city’s goalof reducing carbon dioxideemissions by 50 percent comparedwith 1990 levels. GE willuse data visualizations, smartmeters, and other technologiesto optimize energy efficiencyand improve water management.The use of these ICTs willgreatly reduce greenhouse gasemissions in Rotterdam, whichemits as much carbon dioxideas New York City, while beingonly a tenth of its size.“ICT can be an excellent tool,but it is not the silver bulletsolution to greening cities,”said Lind, Executive Directorand Editor in Chief of NextAmerican City, a nonprofitthat promotes socially andenvironmentally sustainableeconomic growth in citiesin the United States. “To beeffective, ICT must be usednot only in mapping problemsencountered across cities,but also to find sustainablesolutions to those problems.”In Lind’s State of the World2012 chapter, “Information andCommunications TechnologiesCreating Livable, Equitable,and Sustainable Cities,” shehighlights three ways that communitiescan effectively use ICTto promote sustainability:Open access to data. Improvingdata access is critical to creatingsustainable cities. By sharinginformation, it is possibleto make connections amongseemingly disparate variables.The Spatial Information DesignLab at Columbia University inNew York used data to establishthe connection betweencrime and poor housing,education, and health care. Byanalyzing data from the criminaljustice system, researchersfound that a disproportionatenumber of felons were fromspecific neighborhoods in largeU.S. cities. Similar research mayhelp officials target policiesaround education and povertyreduction in these areas, whichcould help in preventing crime.Community mapping: Mappingall neighborhoods and regionsof a city is vital to ensuringeffective and sustainable urbanplanning. Kibera, the largestslum in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi,is home to approximately 1million people. Yet Kibera hasbeen excluded from city maps,discounting its thousands ofresidents. Recently, an independentteam of researcherspartnered with Kibera youthto create an interactive map ofthe slums. In 2009, the teamsucceeded in placing Kiberaon official Nairobi maps, whichresulted in a new project, Voiceof Kibera, which helps citizensreport the location of robberiesor fires, and hold discussions bytext message.Community watch: ICTscan enhance communityinvolvement and helpauthorities respond tolocal concerns. The PublicLaboratory for OpenTechnology and Science, agrassroots-mapping communitybased in Cambridge,Massachusetts, uses low-techmaterials, including heliumballoons and digital cameras,to take aerial photos of areasthat may endanger publichealth or be of environmentalconcern. These tools helpedidentify contaminated areasin the Gulf of Mexico after amajor oil spill and an illegaldumping site in Brooklyn, NewYork. In addition, FixMyStreetin the United Kingdom orSeeClickFix in the United Statesare websites where peoplecan report concerns, suchas a burned out street light.Each problem is logged on thesite, making it easier for localgovernments to respond toissues of importance to thecommunity.Using ICT helps cities achievesustainability efficiently whileconnecting with local communities,to ensure that diverseperspectives are included in thecity’s plans.Worldwatch’s State of theWorld 2012, focuses on thethemes of inclusive sustainabledevelopment discussed atRio+20, the 20-year follow-upto the historic Earth Summitof 1992, also held in Rio deJaneiro. The report presents aselection of innovative ideasand practices to achieve globalenvironmental sustainabilitywhile meeting human needsand providing jobs and ensuringdignity for all.56 October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com

Techaccess partners with IXLAIdentity Card Personalizationand secure documents arecritical for access controland ensuring security wherelapses are often catastrophic.Secure documents are thougha tangible means of verificationbut also can be the weakestlink.In a significant development,Techaccess Pakistan exclusivelypartnered with IXLA SA ina formal signing ceremonyheld at Techaccess HeadOffice in Islamabad. IXLA SAis a Swiss incorporated OEMmanufacturer of Laser engravedcard personalization productshaving successfully deployedand supported solutionswith various European andfar eastern governments.Techaccess was representedby CEO and President SyedIqtidar Zaidi and Vice PresidentSales Mr. Amir Rauf withrepresentatives of IXLAincluding Director Mr. RenzoMoving Minds, Learning More!MovingMinds (SMC-PVT)ltd, a Training Arm ofTechaccess Pakistan, wasfounded with the vision of“improving lives” by bringingexpertise of international reputeand standards in InformationTechnology, Management Consultancyand Training Servicesto the Region. With the abilityto understand the consultingand learning needs of the leaders,MovingMinds has a poolof qualified and experiencedconsultants & trainers who areadept in leading Best Practicesand are globally recognizedInternational frame-works.Focus areas are:Eterno and Dr. MuhammadMuddassir Gualini. IXLA’sspecialty in Laser Technologyand in-house manufacturing ofLaser Diode modules backed byextensive expertise in Industrialproduct design results in aparticularly resilient and flexible●●Management Consultancy●●Management Trainings●●Soft Skillsclient centric products range.This significant developmentunderlies Techaccess’ entryinto secure documents andcard personalization markethaving merged robust Systemsintegration and Supportinfrastructure with best inHassan Shabirindustry technology. IXLA’sResearch and innovationcapacity activates Techaccessto enable and support the mostdemanding security printingneeds and help clients evolveand sail through constantlyaggressive challenges.●●Technical TrainingsTheir consultants have extensiveand invaluable hands-on experienceof working under variousroles and capacities at variousindustries.October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com57

IT MovesCelebration is an experience,or an expression thatculminates when expertise areskillfully deployed to tackle challenges.Techaccess Pakistan andWarid celebrated an achievementin a festive ceremony inrealization of their combinedefforts to move Warid’s productionDataCenter in Lahore,in remarkable 48 hours. Thismission was originally slottedto be completed divided inphases spanning a month howevergiven the critical impacton operations Techaccess wasrequested to complete thetransfer in 4 days that eventuallywas accomplished in just twodays. 25 engineers from TechaccessPakistan closely coordinatedunder senior managementmade sure that the exercise wasIs your Data Protected?Information Explosion andthe increasing complexity ofthe Threat landscape demanda comprehensive review of thekey IT trends that will drive yourIT infrastructure of tomorrow.Symantec’s vision for ResilientCloud adoption, adoption ofVirtualization in mission criticalenvironments, and effectivelymanaging the opportunity inConsumerization of IT.The specters of informationbreach and meeting Backupwindows have always giveninformation managerssleepless nights. TranslatingIT policies into realistic goalswhen securing weakest pointsbecome increasingly dauntingwhen better technologies areenabling exponential growth involumes of data making bothmanagement of security andrecovery constantly evolvingchallenges.Techaccess Pakistan inpartnership with Symantecbattles these challenges everyday and has successfully helpedits enterprise clients create,realize and enforce their ITgoals. The seminar (Is Your DataProtected?) held in Islamabadwas hosted as part of a seriesof efforts to equip clientswith actionable informationto secure their current andfuture prospects. Symantec isan industry leader in Backupand disaster recovery solutionsin addition to establishedreputation for securing Businessinformation and Mr. Fady,Osama ilbezi and Abdul Samadexhaustively explained whyand how Symantec retains thisleadership. Granular recoveryof backups plus a very intuitiveseamless and the major transferthat included migration ofProduction to disaster recoverysite, decommissioning, packing,transporting, unpacking andVray extension to Netbackupproduct allows logical insightinto how data is structuredin effect De-duplication andintelligently managing trafficto meet backup windows.Additionally the NetBackupAppliances were introduced,which as an additional optionfor customers to simplifydeployment and maintenance ofmarketing-leading NetBackup.The NetBackup appliances areideal for customers lookingfor turnkey solutions for theirorganization. The appliancesre-commissioning of the entireheterogeneous Server farms,Storages , SAN Environments,Libraries, etc with challengesof their own which would notcause undesirable downtimeon Warid’s operations. TechaccessPakistan and Warid alreadyenjoy a long standing relationshipbuilt on professional trustand dependability due to WaridPakistan end to end deploymentwith over 7 years of support andmaintenance services along withsuccessfully commissioning andoperational Management oftwo datacenters in Congo andUganda.enable efficient, storageoptimizeddata protection forthe data center, remote officeand virtual environments.●●Simple–Easy to install,configure, and use.●●Scalable–Modular capacitydepending on data centerneeds.●●Flexible–Source or targetdeduplication, a solutionfor the data center, remoteoffice/branch office andvirtual machine backups.●●Reliable–enterprise-classhardware and software.58 October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com

Conflict arises between the Incumbentand Internet Service ProvidersThe Internet market ofPakistan is staging yetanother issue of conflictbetween the PTCL, theincumbent operator and theInternet Service Providers.Before going into the detailsof the present contention, let’sexplore the historic preview.Broadband Internet made itsentry in Pakistan in 2000 whena private operator launchedHFC based broadband servicein Karachi. This was followedby launch of the county’s firstever xDSL service in 2002.In 2004, a comprehensivenational broadband policy wasannounced by the Ministryof IT setting targets for fiveyears. The same very year, theregulator carried out marketde-regulation where a numberof operators acquired wirelessbroadband spectrum throughopen auction.Interestingly, PTCL, theincumbent operator madea quite late entry into theBroadband services startingfrom the launch of its xDSLservices 2007. This longawaited entry by the PTCLdid brought several attractiveoffers for the subscriberssuch as increase in broadbandcoverage, massive reductionin broadband prices andimproved competition.The country observed anotherBroadband jump when wirelessbroadband services were madeavailable in the last quarter of2008 primarily over WiMAXtechnology. Here again, theincumbent operator awaitedfor observing some marketmaturity and launched adifferent wireless broadbandtechnology, EvDO (Evolution-Data Optimized) in May, 2009.This introduction gave a furtherboost to broadband marketshowing a rapid adoption rateover the past 4 years or so.PTCL with its position asincumbent operator holdingthe primary position fornetwork infrastructure ispresently holding the SMP(Significant Market Power)status for Broadband serviceswith 827,000 xDSL and 435,000EvDO subscribers, a total sumof around 1,250,000 broadbandcustomers in a total countrymarket of around 2,100,000subscribers.Soon after the introductionof ist xDSL service, PTCL waspointed out for showinganti-competitive behavior anddenying the rights of privateInternet Service Providers(ISPs) to install broadband DSLconnections to their customersover PTCL’s copper linenetwork.In response to this Industrycomplaint, the regulatorreleased a mutually finalizedStandard Operating Procedure(SOP) for broadband servicesand Service Level Agreement(SLA) for Broadbandbandwidth provision in August2007. However, the InternetService Provider Association(ISPAK) continued to complaintover their rights stating thatPTCL while operating its ownretail broadband DSL servicesis creating intended delays inBroadband connections of itscompetitor ISPs.The present contentionbetween the industry and theincumbent appeared in 2011revealed by ISPAK that PTCLis illegally using the scare3G spectrum for its wirelessbroadband services advertisedas Evo Nitro by occupying40 percent extra band ofspectrum, not originallyallocated to it by the regulator.“This anti-competative and illegal commecialpractice by the incumbent operator is consideredas slashing the investment made by privateoperators. The operators are of the view that inthe long run PTCL will make their survival moredifficult by pushing the market back into a stateof monopoly.”In response to the complaint,Frequency AllocationBoard (FAB), the nationalbody for enforcing use ofwireless spectrum verifiedillegal use of spectrumby PTCL. SubsequentlyPakistan TelecommunicationAuthority after conductinga series of hearings issueda determination againstPTCL stating that PTCL wasallocated frequency band of1975-1980 MHz and 1895-1900Aslam MumtazMHz for use of its CDMA/WLLservices. However, PTCL wasusing 1975-1981.875 and 1895-1901.875 MHz thus occupyingextra 3.75 MHz of band notoriginally allocated to them.A sum amount of PKR 82.496million was imposed as a fineon company by PTA for allegeduse of extra radio frequencyspectrum for its Evo Nitroservice.The determinations waschallenged by PTCL obtaintinga temporary stay order inNovember 2011. Accordingto PTCL, it has been usingfrequency spectrum in the450MHz, 3.5GHz and 1900 MHzbandwidth allocated to it in2004 through open auctionprocess. The spectrum is legallyowned by PTCL and all theservices the company providesare within that frame work.This anti-competative and illegalcommecial practice by theincumbent operator is consideredas slashing the investmentmade by private operators. Theoperators are of the view thatin the long run PTCL will maketheir survival more difficult bypushing the market back into astate of monopoly.The matter may also bereferred and intervened byCompetition Commission ofPakistan to stop the anticompetitivepractices ofPTCL and impose penaltiesfor violating the CompetitionOrdinance, 2009. Theseconflicts between the industryand incumbent operator is alsocausing a state of fright amongthe broadband subscribers ofPakistan.October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com59

Public & Private Organizations Join handsto form Pakistan Telecentre Network (PTN)In light of the rapidly evolvingtechnologies that supporttelecentres and in light of theincreased penetration of mobiletechnologies, the telecentremodel needs to continuouslyevolve in order to remain relevantand to continue to addressthe changing needs of the communitiesthey serve. As mobilecommunication technologiesbecome more pervasive aroundthe world, including in ruralareas, the telecentres may nolonger need to provide phoneservices or traditional computertrainings, yet they may still bevery relevant in terms of accessto web-enabled e-governmentservices, e-Learning, and basicInternet communication needs(email and web browsing). Economicempowerment projectsstakeholders, Franchises andother approaches to linkingand networking telecentres areproving to be popular. Wirelessconnectivity technologies,beyond VSAT (known to beexpensive) are being exploredin many communities aroundthe world. These technologiesprovide new opportunitiesfor connecting communitiesthrough telecentres and eventuallyat the individual householdlevel even I rural areas Thetypes of services that telecentrescan and should provide isalso rapidly evolving. As thefields of eGovernment, eHealth,e-Learning, eCommerce areevolving and maturing in manycountries, telecentres need totake advantage of opportunitiesto extend the benefitsinformation through electronicchannels.Identifying leaders among thecommunity who championthe concept of shared servicesthrough telecentre mode,play a crucial role as a bridgebetween the telecentreoperator and hesitant villagers.Indeed, There is a maturingperiod during which communityleaders have to invest constantefforts to drive changes ofbehavior in the adoption ofinnovations.World is changing fast andproviding excellent opportunityto Pakistan to make up the Gapin our development sector inuse of latest technologies fordevelopment. We neednot only to align with thischange rapid but also need toAmmar JaffriPublic & private sector organizationsdo not sit together on atable and decide to supplementeach other in developmentefforts in rural areas. To achievethis target Pakisan TelecentreNetwork ( PTN ) has beenestablished by a team of ICTprofessionals having nationaland International experienceunder E-village project.In the First meeting of foundingmembers of PTN on 12thSeptember in CIT Plaza F-10Markaz Islamabad a largenumber of participants fromrelevant Public & Privatesector organizations haveparticipated. After introductionof concept by Mr Ammar Jaffrithe participants appreciatedthe objectives of PTN and gaveuseful suggestions which wouldthrough low-tech Internet jobsare also being managed in ruralareas.Local demand for informationand communication servicesis evolving, the telecentremodels need to evolve as well.Networking between relevantto the community at large,through their public access.Some governments are pursuingthe deployment of telecentresprecisely as a means ofensuring that larger segmentsof the population are able to accessgovernment services andadopt pro-active approach tomake a real progress throughICT4D. This is the proven key tosuccess in most of the developingcountries around PakistanWe can never achieve our targetsin development sector unlessall relevant stakeholders inbe incorporated in the finalCharter of PTN. With a inclusiveapproach this was decided toextend the concept to otherstakeholders also for a broadbased formation of PTN andalso invite them to join theformation process of PTN.60 October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com

Pakistan is a big market for GooglePakistan is the big marketfor Google Inc. because ofits growing online populationwhich is more than the overallpopulation of Singapore andmore than the internet users ofMalaysia.The number of internet usersis on the rise in Pakistan, crossing22 million mark as if nowthough they need engagementbeing a significant internetpopulation that will come withdifferent ways.Google can be used for infiniteways the users that people canexploit for different purposesincluding economic growth andsociety prosperity and particularlythe interaction of internationalcommunity so as foreigncompanies will think about safepolitical set up of the countryand to be attracted to exploreopportunities in Pakistan.We have decided to empowerpeople of Pakistan particularlyPakistan Joins Asia Pacific TelecentreNetwork (APTN)The World Summit on InformationSociety (2003 and2005) and the World Summitfor Sustainable Development(2002) recognized the importanceof the Information andCommunication Technology(ICT) in narrowing the digitaldivide and attaining sustainabledevelopment, respectively.In view of the above, manycountries established communityaccess points with theintention of providing commonaccess to ICT related servicesto rural communities. However,it has now been realizedthat community access pointsestablished to narrow thethe thought and innovationleaders, bloggers, entrepreneursand students throughregional summits and trainingsessions.Jana Levene, Emerging MarketDevelopment, Southeast Asiahas said at a meet-up “Hangoutwith Google”.More than 8 million queriesare searched on daily basis onGoogle search engine (www.google.com.pk) by Pakistaniin which 25 percent searchescome from mobile phone users,Mac Warburton, who is partof the Emerging Market SalesTeam said.Different people with differentquestions used Google insearch of their desire resultsas Google is numbers one inPakistan which is used by 97percent by its internet population,he said.Among them, the queries madeby telecom users constitutesdigital divide has not been ableto capture the fragmentedand underutilized knowledgeof the poor and the disadvantagedcommunities. Whilemany reasons could be attributedto this situation someJana Levenethe lion share with 386,000question as a matter of factthe phone users are huge innumbers, he explained. Theseusers want to know about callingand SMS packages, prices ofhandsets and etc.Badar Khushnood, CountryConsultant, Google Pakistandelivered the welcome address.Anand Tilak, Regional ManagerAgency Relations & Sales Development,Google South EastAsia talked about “OpportunitiesBeyond Search”. The lastof the important causes are;inadequate exchange of experiencerelated to ICT, weaklinkages with stakeholders andlow capacity of disadvantagecommunities in accessing andutilization of knowledge.Badar Khushnoodsession for the marketers wasa Google Panel Talk comprisingof Badar Khushnood, JanaLevene, Anand Tilak and MarcWarburton.The technical session beganwith a welcome note by ImtiazN. Muhammad, GBG Manager,Karachi. This was followed bysessions by Aileen Apolo, Headof Outreach, Southeast Asia,Niken Sasmaya, Online PartnershipGroup, Google SoutheastAsia and Andy Warner, AccessManager.The Asia-Pacific TelecentreNetwork (APTN) was officiallylaunched at the United NationsConference Center in Bangkokon 19 November 2008, duringan event attended by highlevel officials from 16 countriesof the Asia-Pacific region,representatives from severalUnited Nations bodies andother organisations. It was acollaborative initiative of UN-ESCAP together with 18 foundingmembers from 10 countriesin the region and support ofpartners such as the InternationalDevelopment ResearchCentre (IDRC) and telecentre.org.October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com61

October 2012Global Telecom events 2012-13Telecoms World Middle East 201202 - 03 Oct - Dubai, UAEThe LTE Show02 - 03 Oct - Dubai, UAE3rd Annual Self Organising Networks03 - 4 Oct - London, United KingdomTCA Region 9 Meeting07 - 09 Oct - Big Sky, MTCOMPTEL Plus Fall07 - 10 Oct - Dallas, TXNECA Expo 201207 - 11 Oct - Bellevue, WASmall Cells World Congress09 - 10 Oct - Berlin, GermanyConnected TV - The Future of TV Starts Now09 - 10 Oct - Istanbul, TurkeyMidwest Telecom Expo09 - 11 Oct - Fort Wayne, INWebit Congress 2012 Istanbul10 - 11 Oct - Istanbul, TurkeyGITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK 201214 - 18 Oct - Dubai, UAEITU Telecom World 201214 - 18 Oct - Dubai, UAECenter for Managment Technology16 Oct - YangonMVNOs Industry Summit Asia 201216 - 17 Oct - Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaCloud Computing World Forum India 201216 - 17 Oct - Mumbai, IndiaICT 201216 - 18 Oct - KrasnodarBroadband World Forum16 - 18 Oct - Amsterdam, The Netherlands5th Annual FTTx MEGNA Summit29 - 30 Oct - Dubai, UAEDigital TV Middle East 201230 - 31 Oct - Jumeirah Beach Hotel, DubaiSmall Cells Global Congress30 - 31 Oct - Berlin, GermanyNovember 20125th Annual Rich Communication06 - 7 Nov - Munich, GermanyOTT TV World Summit06 - 08 Nov - London, UKBakuTel 201206 - 09 Nov - Baku, AzerbaijanIraq Telecom 201212 - 14 Nov - Istanbul, TurkeyMobile Roaming World Summit 201213 - 15 Nov - London, UKAfrica Com14 - 15 Nov - Cape Town, South AfricaLTE North America 201214 - 15 Nov - Dallas, USA4G Latin America Conference & Expo 201214 - 15 Nov - Bogota, ColombiaService Delivery Platforms (SDP) Global Summit15 Nov - Berlin, Germany3G World Congress15 - 19 Nov - Hong Kong, ChinaConnected World Forum19 - 22 Nov - Dubai, UAEMobile Health Global 201219 - 22 Nov - Atlantis The Palm DubaiArab Advisors Group - 2nd Smart Handheld Summit 201226 - 27 Nov - Dubai Marina Hotel, UAETelecoms Fraud & Revenue Assurance Forum26 - 27 Nov - Dubai, UAE62 October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com

December 2012Telecoms Cost Allocation and Profitability03 - 06 Dec - London, UKWCIT 201203 - 14 Dec - Dubai, UAECloud Middle East04 - 05 Dec - Dubai, UAEMiddle East Com04 - 05 Dec - Marriot Magquis Hotel, DubaiDigital TV Summit 201204 - 05 Dec - London, UKMVNO Industry Summit Middle East04 - 05 Dec - Dubai, UAE4th edition of FTTH Council MENA annual conference12 - 13 Dec - Doha, QatarIndia Telecom 201213 – 15 Dec – New Delhi, IndiaJanuary 2013OPASTCO’s 50th Annual Winter Convention01 - 09 Jan - Kauai, HIConvergence India 201316 - 18 Jan - New Delhi, IndiaCustomer Experience Management in Telecoms21 – 24 Jan - London, UKBig Data Monetisation in Telecoms22 – 24 Jan - Venue to be confirmed, UKAlaska Telephone Association Winter Conference27 - 30 Jan - Ka’anapali, HIWDM Asia 201328 - 30 Jan - Singapore, AsiaRoaming MENA 201329 - 30 Jan - Dubai, UAEFebruary 2013World Summit Award 201303 - 05 Feb - Abu DhabiNTCA Annual Meeting & EXPO03 - 06 Feb - Lake Buena Vista, FLApril 2013Western Telecom Alliance Spring Meeting07 - 10 Apr - Las Vegas, NV4th Telco Cloud Summit15 - 17 Apr - London, UKTelecom Cloud Services Summit 201315 - 17 Apr - London, UKBig Data in Telecoms 201315-17 Apr - LondonFTTx Summit Europe 201323 – 26 Apr - TBC, London, UKTelecom CEM World Congress 201323 - 24 Apr - TBC, EuropeTelecoms Regulation Forum 201323 - 24 Apr - Venue TBCTransport Networks for Mobile Operators 201323 - 25 Apr - TBC, EuropeOctober 2012www.teletimesinternational.com63

Teletoons64 October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com