Telecommunications
Text messaging world record
July 23, 2005 The Live8 concerts of July 2 will forever mark the beginning of interdependence consciousness and hopefully we will develop a more civilized world based on what was crystalised by the event. More than a million people attended concerts across four continents to demand that the Group of Eight (G8) wealthy nations cancel the debts of poor African countries and boost aid at a summit in Scotland. Many records were set as people across the globe joined in a way we haven’t seen before but one which we feel compelled to acknowledge from a sheer technological viewpoint was that of the London-based Mobile Interactive Group (MIG) which set a new world record and a benchmark for efficiency by enabling the biggest ever text lottery of its kind in history. The lottery received 2,060,285 responses and has been officially recognised by Guinness World Records. At the peak time during the Live 8 lottery, MIG was receiving 611 SMS messages per second through its gateway. Read More
Machine-to-machine communications market grows
July 20, 2005 Machine-to-machine (M2M) is one of the world's fastest growing communication segments, and electronically connecting the world's 50 billion machines has the potential to dwarf everything that has come before it in the communications space and we expect a significant proportion of Gizmag readers will be interested in the developments – so here’s a significant new resource to add to your bookmarks - M2MUpdate.com caters to the rapidly changing landscape of this marketplace with free news, white papers and reports. M2MUpdate is published by telematics conference organizer and publisher of telematics news Telematics Update. Read More
Wireless Alarm Option For Hobo Weather Stations
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July 20, 2005 Primary producers and researchers will jump at the thought of this new innovation – a solar-powered wireless transceiver that can send weather alerts via text or email message. SolarStream works with HOBO Weather Stations for measuring temperature, relative humidity, dew point, rainfall, soil moisture, photosynthetic light (PAR), solar radiation, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, 4-20mA, 0-5VDC, and pulse outputs. So you can now set the alarms you want and be informed immediately a trigger point is reached. And the weather stations can collect data on all of the above for analysis via BoxCar Pro software. Read More
68 million web sites and counting …
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July 4, 2005 There was a time when a dozen radio stations and half a dozen television stations seemed too much choice but things are changing rapidly. The internet is in only its eleventh year of commercial activity, yet it has already had a boom, a crash and now a second coming. What is now very clear is that every business in the world will eventually find its way onto the internet and looking at the latest statistics, that might not take long to happen. Netcraft’s monthly internet hostname survey for the month of June indicates 2.76 million domains were registered, bringing the number of domains on the internet to 67,571,581 sites. The only larger gain was a 3.3 million hostname increase in March 2003, which ended months of stagnation and kicked off 30 consecutive months of positive growth for the Web. Interestingly, the number of people using the internet globally is still less than a billion. Read More
China's Internet users top 100 million
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July 3, 2005 It is often joked that when America sneezes, the world catches a cold. Consider then the severe dependence the world might have on China fifty years from now as the world’s most populous nation begins to flex its economic superpowers. The numbers are difficult to comprehend. The margin for error in calculating the Chinese population is greater than the entire American population. Already there are more English speakers in China than there are in America. The Sleeping Dragon is not only awakening, it is also getting wired and officially as of this week, has more than 100 million internet users. America invented the internet and still uses it more than any other nation with 220 million users. But America’s internet usage has plateaud at around 70% penetration while China’s modest 7.3% penetration will continue to grow rapidly for many years, making it the world’s largest internet population within a decade. Read More
British Telecom launches World's first combined fixed and mobile phone
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June 16, 2005 British Telecom (BT) launched the world's first combined fixed and mobile phone service - the new service is to be call "BT Fusion" and is somewhat of a milestone in the ongoing telecommunications revolution. BT Fusion works just like a mobile phone when you are out and about, but switches automatically and seamlessly onto a BT Broadband line when you get home. That means you get all the convenience and all the features of a mobile phone but with fixed lines prices and quality. BT Fusion will offer savings by allowing calls to UK landline numbers to be charged at BT landline rates of 5.5p for up to an hour for all off-peak calls and 3p a minute at peak times. Read More
Broadband-in-Gas (BiG) technology offers massive bandwidth for little infrastructure investment
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May 15, 2005 Delaware-based communications company Nethercomm Corporation has announced a new broadband technology promising massive bandwidth with minimal additional infrastructure investmentment required. Nethercomm’s Broadband-in-Gas (BiG) carries enormous amounts of data through existing subterranean gas pipes instead of over the air (with constraints and interference), to offer much greater bandwidth and hence access to content and services beyond that which has been available to date.
BiG (note that acronym – you’ll certainly hear more of it) uses Ultra Wideband technology to wirelessly broadcast information in a way that is both safe and reliable by using the private spectrum isolated within natural gas pipelines. Read More
The rise and fall and rise of the Internet
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May 7, 2005 The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) this week released the Internet Advertising Revenue Report including final numbers for Q3, Q4 and full-year 2004. If there was any doubt that the internet was back as a major force in the world of advertising and communications, it was dispelled by the reportThe report states that Search, Classifieds, Display and Rich Media continue to grow at a healthy rate. Overall industry revenues rose nearly 33 percent over 2003 totaling over US$9.6 billion and exceeded the previous revenue record in 2000 by nearly 20 percent. Q4 2004 revenues totaled a record US$2.69 billion, marking the highest quarter ever reported. Read More
Worldwide Carrier VOIP equipment up 36% To US$1.7 billion in 2004
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February 23, 2005--Worldwide telecom s service provider next generation voice product revenue totalled US$1.71 billion in 2004, a healthy 36% gain over 2003, setting a new high, according to Infonetics Research's quarterly market share and forecast service, "Service Provider Next Gen Voice Equipment." Infonetics projects next generation voice product revenue to reach $5.9 billion in 2008, a five-year CAGR of 36%.The report also forecast that North American VOIP subscribers would grow from 1 million in 2004 to 17 million in 2008. Read More
All-in-One Instant Communications Software released - contains Instant Messaging, Blogging, Photo Sharing, File Sharing and Desktop Search
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February 15, 2005 Silicon Valley start-up imeem has introduced some innovative new communications software that might be a forerunner to the Personal Communications suite of the future. The software is a combined secure suite of products for communication on the web and combines instant messaging, blogging, photo sharing, file sharing and desktop search all into one package. The free software will give users new power to find any content they want and new control over whom they share it with over a network that offers the speed and security that rivals many corporate networks. Read More
Wi-Fi VoIP handset market hits US$45M in 2004 with healthy growth projected
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February 10, 2005-Worldwide Wi-Fi VoIP handset revenue totalled US$45 million in 2004, with annual revenue and unit forecasts projected to show dramatic growth in coming years as enterprises take advantage of the opportunity to offer their employees flexible mobile access over different forms of wireless networks. Read More
VoiceWing offers customised broadband phone calls
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November 26, 2004 The transformation of the telephone industry by Voice Activated Internet Protocol (VOIP) continues with Verizon's VoiceWing home broadband phone service now offering customised digital functions that were once restricted to call centres and paging services.
The VoiceWing allows users to make unlimited local and domestic long-distance calls - with far greater call management functionality than available in standard lines - for a set monthly price, using their own phones, an adapter and their DSL or cable modem connections. Read More
Innovative SMS home price guide launched
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November 5, 2004 The trend towards ubiquitous mobile information continues with Australian home buyers and market watchers now able to access home price sales data anywhere, anytime with the launch of LegionONE and Australian Property Monitors' (APM) Home Price Guide 19 SMS HPG service. This promises to better inform buyers of real time market conditions and supply vital property information to home buyers when they need it most - like at auctions and inspecting properties. Read More
Pioneering SMS exam stress relief service launched
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November 5, 2004 The Australian-based Inspire Foundation has successfully piloted an SMS based exam stress service for young people to help them manage their final year exams.
The service delivered 13,500 messages of assistance and information to more than 2,000 final secondary year students around Australia who subscribed to the pioneer study. In Australia these exams determine tertiary education entry scores and are hence very important in determining future prospects. Read More
Analog Adapter updates legacy phones and faxes
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November 3, 2004 Niche IT distributor Logical Connections has announced the availability of a telephone and T.38 compatible fax adapter for connecting regular analog telephones or fax machines to IP networks. The low cost MultiVOIP MVP130-FXS Analog Adapter is a single port device that connects to an IP network via 10/100 Mbps Ethernet and, using an FXS interface, to a phone or fax machine via a standard RJ11 connector. This new device turns legacy analogue telephone and fax apparatus into new IP communication equipment over IP telephony networks. Read More
Artificial Life offers live SMS to TV shows
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October 29, 2004 The 'killer app' to create interactive terrestrial television may have arrived with Hong Kong-based company Artificial Life, signing a license agreement with Swiss-based Black Pencil Entertainment to sell, customise and distribute a TV/SMS interaction technology called "SMS Galaxy". SMS Galaxy allows TV viewers to send SMS messages to live TV shows and interact with the show and its host through the SMS message. Read More
One Million Simultaneous Users on Skype
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October 20, 2004.
Today Skype reached a new milestone and had more than 1 million simultaneous users globally connected to each other at the same time. As of Tuesday, October 19, Skype has served more than 2 billion minutes of free Skype-to-Skype calling.
Skype is the fastest growing, globally av... Read More
Landline free homes increasingly young, upscale
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October 14, 2004 After years of coexistence between cells and landlines, cellphones have recently begun to contribute to the desertion of the landline service according to research from the United States.
According to a new analysis from Mediamark Research Inc. (MRI), 8.1% of U.S. households do not have landline telephones, up sharply from just 4.2% in the spring of 2000. Read More
The Bluetooth shopping centre
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October 12, 2004 A new location-based Bluetooth customer service system will begin operation later this week in Sydney. The bluepulse system enables people within the shopping centre to use their mobile phones to get useful information they want about their surroundings.
Broadway Shopping Centre in central Sydney will become the first Bluetooth-enabled shopping centre on Friday, October 22, allowing retail outlets in the Broadway Centre to communicate with 'bluepulse' subscribers as they walk through the centre by giving consumers access to relevant and valuable information and offers through their mobile phone. Read More
The sale of Telstra in 2006
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October 12, 2004
Respected Telecommunications analyst Paul Budde writes that the sale of Australia's dominant telco Telstra will quickly rise to the top of the list of government priorities now Australian voters have given the Coalition a mandate for another term of government.
The fact that the majority of the Australian people is against the sale might slow down an otherwise speedy process.
Expect another report from the government, before the middle of 2005, which will announce that all telecoms guarantees for regional and rural Australia are in place.
This will allow them to push Senate approval through later on that year.
Read the full story at TechnologyBrief.com Read More
Interactive TV program guide on your mobile phone
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The popularity of the TV Guide has parallelled the growth of television and been part of viewers' lives for many decades. And now, as television goes digital and portable, the humble TV guide is following suit. Telecommunications company 3G has announced unlimited access to the mobile version of the popular yourTV website- for only $1 a month. Think of it as the Google Guide to TV - program data at your wireless fingertips! Read More
India Launches Edusat Satellite.
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On the 21st September, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched a rocket in to space carrying a 1950 kg satellite dedicated to the cause of education, 'Edusat'. The rocket was launched from the country's only spaceport at Sriharikota and placed its payload on a designated orbit, 5000 km away minutes later.
EDUSAT is the first Indian satellite built exclusively for serving the educational sector. It is mainly intended to meet the demand for an interactive satellite based distance education system for the country. It strongly reflects India's commitment to use space technology for national development, especially for the development of the population in remote and rural locations. Read More
Airbus Completes First Mobile Phone Flight Trial.
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On September 15, an Airbus A320 successfully completed the first in-flight trial of GSM mobile telephones aboard an airliner. The test flight, which took place out of Toulouse, is the first milestone in Airbus' plans to offer in-flight mobile telephony services to passengers by 2006.
GSM service, web browsing, email, and virtual private network (VPN) were all flight tested as was Intranet from onboard servers and PDA's for crew use. In addition to this, wireless telemedicine, including a simulated emergency, demonstrated priority communication over other services. Read More
Nokia providing sporting coverage to mobile phones in US
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Nokia has begun delivering live audio broadcasts, real time scoring and streaming video highlights from American National Basketball Association (NBA) and Major League Baseball (MLB) to mobile phones in America. The system requires a Nokia 6600 imaging phone and is the first of its type, offering a glimpse of live sports action in the future. Read More
Asia Pacific experiences International Bandwidth explosion
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The Asia-Pacific region is witnessing an explosion of international Internet bandwidth. Capacity on Internet links connecting Asia-Pacific to the world have skyrocketed more than eightfold over the last two years from 8 to 65 gigabits (Gbit/s) by the end of 2001. International Internet capacity in the region now far exceeds conventional telephone capacity. Internet bandwidth refers to the capacity of the connection and is measured in bits per second (bit/s). Read More
Street communications system promises a connected future
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September 5, 2003 Imagine living in a totally connected city where EVERY person has a high-speed broadband connection and an urban surveillance system provides police and emergency services with wide and immediate coverage. That's the reality of Mervyn Dobbins' NEXiPoster, the winner of the "Best Idea Product Development Stage" category at this week's Yellowpages Business Ideas Grants 2003, and it has far reaching ramifications. NEXiPoster, is part of a system called cityNEX, a new age communication system which automatically provides the city and everyone in it with broadband access and provides public information such as bus timetables and commercial advertising via the large format electronic "NEXiposter" billboards in real-time. Read More
