Gourt > Business > Telecommunications (260)
Telecommunication is the transmission of signals over a distance for the purpose of communication. Today this process almost always involves the sending of electromagnetic waves by electronic transmitters but in earlier years it may have involved the use of smoke signals, drums or semaphores. Today, telecommunication is widespread and devices that assist the process such as the television, radio and telephone are common in many parts of the world. There is also a vast array of networks that connect these devices, including computer networks, public telephone networks, radio networks and television networks. Computer communication across the Internet, such as e-mail and internet faxing, is just one of many examples of telecommunication.
Technical foundations
| Etymology |
| The word telecommunication was adapted from the French word télécommunication. It is a compound of the Greek prefix tele- (τηλε-), meaning 'far off', and communication, meaning 'exchange of information'.Telecommunication, tele- and communication, New Oxford American Dictionary (2nd edition), 2005. |
Data Communications
Internet Telephony
Communications :: Electrical Engineering
Communications :: Consumer Electronics
The Economist: Telecommunications
Belize and Lord Ashcroft: Crossed lines in the Caribbean
Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:43:08 -0000
Belize’s prime minister is attacking one of Britain’s most powerful political figuresAT THE end of August the prime minister of Belize, Dean Barrow, rushed through the nationalisation of his country’s dominant telecommunications company, Belize Telemedia. The following day a new, state-appointed board was in control of the company. There were few dissenters. Only three of the six opposition members of the 31-seat lower house of parliament voted against. Mr Barrow is no Hugo Chavez. Unlike Venezuela’s president he is a pragmatist, not an ideological firebrand. When the dust settles, he wants to see the company privatised again, but with a more diverse and mainly local shareholding. “It is plain and simple, a special measure for a special case,” he told parliament. ...
Macrofinance in Bangladesh: Call of the market
Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:48:54 -0000
The biggest IPO in the country’s history may be the start of even bigger thingsTHE word grameen means “of the village” in Bengali. But Grameenphone, Bangladesh’s biggest mobile-phone firm with over 21m subscribers, is now the toast of the town. On October 4th it opened the largest initial public offering (IPO) in Bangladesh’s history, aiming to raise 4.86 billion taka ($70m) from Bangladeshis at home and abroad. Non-residents have until October 18th to apply but the offer is already heavily oversubscribed. It has attracted over 1m applications, according to Citigroup, which arranged the offering.Grameenphone is owned by Telenor, a Norwegian telephone company, and Grameen Telecom, a non-profit company founded by Muhammad Yunus, a pioneer of microfinance. His Grameen Bank gave millions of village entrepreneurs somewhere to borrow from. Grameenphone will give almost 350,000 budding Bangladeshi capitalists something to invest in. ...
Finishing the job
Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:53:33 -0000
Mobile-phone access will soon be universal. The next task is to do the same for the internetHOW long will it be before everyone on Earth has a mobile phone? “It looks highly likely that global mobile cellular teledensity will surpass 100% within the next decade, and probably earlier,” says Hamadoun Toure, secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union, a body set up in 1865 to regulate international telecoms. Mobile teledensity (the number of phones per 100 people) went above 100% in western Europe in 2007, and many developing countries have since followed suit. South Africa passed the 100% mark in January, and Ghana reached 98% in the same month. Kenya and Tanzania are expected to get to 100% by 2013.Even 100% teledensity does not mean that everyone has a phone, because many people have several handsets or SIMs. But nor is everyone a potential customer: the under-fives, for instance, still usually manage without. But at current rates of growth it seems likely that within five years, and certainly within ten, everyone in the world who wants a mobile phone will probably have one. 3G networks capable of broadband speeds will be widespread even in developing countries, and even faster 4G networks will be spreading rapidly in some places. Then what? ...
Beyond voice
Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:53:33 -0000
New uses for mobile phones could launch another wave of developmentIN A field just outside the village of Bumwambu in eastern Uganda, surrounded by banana trees and cassava, with chickens running between the mud-brick houses, Frederick Makawa is thinking about tomatoes. It is late June and the rainy season is coming to an end. Tomatoes are a valuable cash crop during the coming dry season and Mr Makawa wants to plant his seedlings as soon as possible. But Uganda’s traditional growing seasons are shifting, so he is worried about droughts or flash floods that could destroy his crop. Michael Gizamba, a local village-phone operator, offers to help using Farmer’s Friend, an agricultural-information service. He sends a text message to ask for a seasonal weather forecast for the region. Before long a reply arrives to say that normal, moderate rainfall is expected during July. Mr Makawa decides to plant his tomatoes.A few miles away in the village of Musita, Michael Malime, another village-phone operator, explains how his customers have been using the same service to get farming tips. Rice farmers who had trouble with aphids texted for advice and received a message telling them how to make a pesticide using soap and paraffin. A farmer with blighted tomato plants learned how to control the problem by spraying the plants with a milk-based mixture. ...
Up, up and Huawei
Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:53:33 -0000
China has made huge strides in network equipmentIN THE 1960s, when Japan emerged as a manufacturing exporter, it soon became a byword for low cost and low quality. Much fun was made of unreliable Japanese watches and cheap Japanese cars. But quality improved and Japan became a powerful force in electronics, carmaking and other industries. Today Toyota is held up as a model of efficient manufacturing, and Japanese firms lead the world in clean technology, carmaking and consumer electronics. China hopes to make a similar transition. For now, foreigners think that its home-grown electronics and cars are cheap and shoddy, as Japan’s were thought to be 40 years ago. But quality is steadily improving and China is being taken increasingly seriously as an innovator. The firm that embodies this new, high-tech China is Huawei, the country’s largest telecoms-equipment company.Founded in 1988, Huawei has risen astonishingly fast. Last year it was the world’s fourth-largest maker of network equipment, ranked by sales (see chart 6), and this year it is expected to move into third place, according to BDA, a consultancy. It is already ranked a close second in optical networking and third in mobile-network gear. Only slightly behind is ZTE, China’s second-largest maker of telecoms equipment, founded in 1985. Last year it was in eighth place, and it is moving up the field—not least because Nortel, the number seven, went bankrupt in January. Both Chinese firms specialise in network infrastructure, but they also make handsets. In a fiercely competitive market, ZTE became the world’s sixth-largest handset-maker last year. Its goal is to be the number three in handsets within five years. ...
The mother of invention
Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:53:33 -0000
Network operators in the poor world are cutting costs and increasing access in innovative waysPROVIDING mobile services in a developing country is very different from doing the same thing in the developed world. For a start, there may not be a reliable electrical grid, or indeed any grid at all, to power the network’s base stations, which may therefore need to run on diesel for some or all of the time. That in turn means they must be regularly resupplied with fuel, which can be tricky in remote areas. Then there is the challenge of running the network profitably. In Europe mobile subscribers typically spend about $36 a month, a figure known in the industry as the average revenue per user (ARPU). In America that figure is $51 and in Japan $57. But in China it is only around $10, in India less than $7 (see table 5) and in some African countries even lower. As mobile phones get cheaper and more poor people can afford them, ARPUs across the developing world are falling.Operators in poor countries have responded by finding new ways to reduce the cost of operating mobile networks and serving customers. The country that has gone furthest down this road is India, so the result is sometimes known as the “Indian model”, even though some of its features originated elsewhere, and some low-cost innovations developed elsewhere have not caught on in India. Despite an ARPU of only $6.50 and call charges of $0.02 per minute, Indian operators have operating margins of around 40%, comparable with leading Western operators, according to a study by Capgemini, a consultancy. “On low-cost, innovative models, this is where the centre of gravity is,” says Prashant Gokarn, head of strategy at Reliance Communications, India’s second-biggest operator. Given India’s size, its combination of poverty and rapid growth and its reputation as a centre of technology and outsourcing, it is hardly surprising that it has emerged as the crucible of business-model innovation. ...
BBC News | Business | World Edition
BA in legal challenge to strike
Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:07:31 -0000
British Airways is to take legal action to try to prevent a 12-day cabin crew strike set to begin on 22 December.
Europe strikes 'banana wars' deal
Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:06:34 -0000
Europe has agreed a deal to cut tariffs on banana imports, signalling the end of the world's longest-running trade dispute.
US producer prices see big rise
Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:28:54 -0000
US producer prices rose more than expected in November, led by a big increase in the cost of petrol, official figures show.
NYT > Business
Abu Dhabi Tightens Its Grip as It Offers Help to Dubai
By LANDON THOMAS Jr. Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:48:10 -0000
Dubai’s credit woes have given Abu Dhabi an opening to assert more control over its reeling neighbor. Abu Dhabi offered Dubai $10 billion lifeline on Monday.
In Exxon Deal, Signs of the New Gusher
By JAD MOUAWAD and CLIFFORD KRAUSS Tue, 15 Dec 2009 06:36:37 -0000
The acquisition of XTO by Exxon is a bet on natural gas, a fossil fuel with reserves that are expanding in hard-to-reach areas.
New Gas Pipeline From Central Asia Feeds China
By ANDREW E. KRAMER Tue, 15 Dec 2009 07:44:22 -0000
The natural gas conduit will provide the first major alternative to exporting gas through Russia.
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Belize and Lord Ashcroft: Crossed lines in the Caribbean
Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:43:08 -0000
Belize’s prime minister is attacking one of Britain’s most powerful political figuresAT THE end of August the prime minister of Belize, Dean Barrow, rushed through the nationalisation of his country’s dominant telecommunications company, Belize Telemedia. The following day a new, state-appointed board was in control of the company. There were few dissenters. Only three of the six opposition members of the 31-seat lower house of parliament voted against. Mr Barrow is no Hugo Chavez. Unlike Venezuela’s president he is a pragmatist, not an ideological firebrand. When the dust settles, he wants to see the company privatised again, but with a more diverse and mainly local shareholding. “It is plain and simple, a special measure for a special case,” he told parliament. ...
Macrofinance in Bangladesh: Call of the market
Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:48:54 -0000
The biggest IPO in the country’s history may be the start of even bigger thingsTHE word grameen means “of the village” in Bengali. But Grameenphone, Bangladesh’s biggest mobile-phone firm with over 21m subscribers, is now the toast of the town. On October 4th it opened the largest initial public offering (IPO) in Bangladesh’s history, aiming to raise 4.86 billion taka ($70m) from Bangladeshis at home and abroad. Non-residents have until October 18th to apply but the offer is already heavily oversubscribed. It has attracted over 1m applications, according to Citigroup, which arranged the offering.Grameenphone is owned by Telenor, a Norwegian telephone company, and Grameen Telecom, a non-profit company founded by Muhammad Yunus, a pioneer of microfinance. His Grameen Bank gave millions of village entrepreneurs somewhere to borrow from. Grameenphone will give almost 350,000 budding Bangladeshi capitalists something to invest in. ...
Finishing the job
Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:53:33 -0000
Mobile-phone access will soon be universal. The next task is to do the same for the internetHOW long will it be before everyone on Earth has a mobile phone? “It looks highly likely that global mobile cellular teledensity will surpass 100% within the next decade, and probably earlier,” says Hamadoun Toure, secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union, a body set up in 1865 to regulate international telecoms. Mobile teledensity (the number of phones per 100 people) went above 100% in western Europe in 2007, and many developing countries have since followed suit. South Africa passed the 100% mark in January, and Ghana reached 98% in the same month. Kenya and Tanzania are expected to get to 100% by 2013.Even 100% teledensity does not mean that everyone has a phone, because many people have several handsets or SIMs. But nor is everyone a potential customer: the under-fives, for instance, still usually manage without. But at current rates of growth it seems likely that within five years, and certainly within ten, everyone in the world who wants a mobile phone will probably have one. 3G networks capable of broadband speeds will be widespread even in developing countries, and even faster 4G networks will be spreading rapidly in some places. Then what? ...
Beyond voice
Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:53:33 -0000
New uses for mobile phones could launch another wave of developmentIN A field just outside the village of Bumwambu in eastern Uganda, surrounded by banana trees and cassava, with chickens running between the mud-brick houses, Frederick Makawa is thinking about tomatoes. It is late June and the rainy season is coming to an end. Tomatoes are a valuable cash crop during the coming dry season and Mr Makawa wants to plant his seedlings as soon as possible. But Uganda’s traditional growing seasons are shifting, so he is worried about droughts or flash floods that could destroy his crop. Michael Gizamba, a local village-phone operator, offers to help using Farmer’s Friend, an agricultural-information service. He sends a text message to ask for a seasonal weather forecast for the region. Before long a reply arrives to say that normal, moderate rainfall is expected during July. Mr Makawa decides to plant his tomatoes.A few miles away in the village of Musita, Michael Malime, another village-phone operator, explains how his customers have been using the same service to get farming tips. Rice farmers who had trouble with aphids texted for advice and received a message telling them how to make a pesticide using soap and paraffin. A farmer with blighted tomato plants learned how to control the problem by spraying the plants with a milk-based mixture. ...
Up, up and Huawei
Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:53:33 -0000
China has made huge strides in network equipmentIN THE 1960s, when Japan emerged as a manufacturing exporter, it soon became a byword for low cost and low quality. Much fun was made of unreliable Japanese watches and cheap Japanese cars. But quality improved and Japan became a powerful force in electronics, carmaking and other industries. Today Toyota is held up as a model of efficient manufacturing, and Japanese firms lead the world in clean technology, carmaking and consumer electronics. China hopes to make a similar transition. For now, foreigners think that its home-grown electronics and cars are cheap and shoddy, as Japan’s were thought to be 40 years ago. But quality is steadily improving and China is being taken increasingly seriously as an innovator. The firm that embodies this new, high-tech China is Huawei, the country’s largest telecoms-equipment company.Founded in 1988, Huawei has risen astonishingly fast. Last year it was the world’s fourth-largest maker of network equipment, ranked by sales (see chart 6), and this year it is expected to move into third place, according to BDA, a consultancy. It is already ranked a close second in optical networking and third in mobile-network gear. Only slightly behind is ZTE, China’s second-largest maker of telecoms equipment, founded in 1985. Last year it was in eighth place, and it is moving up the field—not least because Nortel, the number seven, went bankrupt in January. Both Chinese firms specialise in network infrastructure, but they also make handsets. In a fiercely competitive market, ZTE became the world’s sixth-largest handset-maker last year. Its goal is to be the number three in handsets within five years. ...
The mother of invention
Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:53:33 -0000
Network operators in the poor world are cutting costs and increasing access in innovative waysPROVIDING mobile services in a developing country is very different from doing the same thing in the developed world. For a start, there may not be a reliable electrical grid, or indeed any grid at all, to power the network’s base stations, which may therefore need to run on diesel for some or all of the time. That in turn means they must be regularly resupplied with fuel, which can be tricky in remote areas. Then there is the challenge of running the network profitably. In Europe mobile subscribers typically spend about $36 a month, a figure known in the industry as the average revenue per user (ARPU). In America that figure is $51 and in Japan $57. But in China it is only around $10, in India less than $7 (see table 5) and in some African countries even lower. As mobile phones get cheaper and more poor people can afford them, ARPUs across the developing world are falling.Operators in poor countries have responded by finding new ways to reduce the cost of operating mobile networks and serving customers. The country that has gone furthest down this road is India, so the result is sometimes known as the “Indian model”, even though some of its features originated elsewhere, and some low-cost innovations developed elsewhere have not caught on in India. Despite an ARPU of only $6.50 and call charges of $0.02 per minute, Indian operators have operating margins of around 40%, comparable with leading Western operators, according to a study by Capgemini, a consultancy. “On low-cost, innovative models, this is where the centre of gravity is,” says Prashant Gokarn, head of strategy at Reliance Communications, India’s second-biggest operator. Given India’s size, its combination of poverty and rapid growth and its reputation as a centre of technology and outsourcing, it is hardly surprising that it has emerged as the crucible of business-model innovation. ...
BBC News | Business | World Edition
BA in legal challenge to strike
Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:07:31 -0000
British Airways is to take legal action to try to prevent a 12-day cabin crew strike set to begin on 22 December.
Europe strikes 'banana wars' deal
Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:06:34 -0000
Europe has agreed a deal to cut tariffs on banana imports, signalling the end of the world's longest-running trade dispute.
US producer prices see big rise
Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:28:54 -0000
US producer prices rose more than expected in November, led by a big increase in the cost of petrol, official figures show.
NYT > Business
Abu Dhabi Tightens Its Grip as It Offers Help to Dubai
By LANDON THOMAS Jr. Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:48:10 -0000
Dubai’s credit woes have given Abu Dhabi an opening to assert more control over its reeling neighbor. Abu Dhabi offered Dubai $10 billion lifeline on Monday.
In Exxon Deal, Signs of the New Gusher
By JAD MOUAWAD and CLIFFORD KRAUSS Tue, 15 Dec 2009 06:36:37 -0000
The acquisition of XTO by Exxon is a bet on natural gas, a fossil fuel with reserves that are expanding in hard-to-reach areas.
New Gas Pipeline From Central Asia Feeds China
By ANDREW E. KRAMER Tue, 15 Dec 2009 07:44:22 -0000
The natural gas conduit will provide the first major alternative to exporting gas through Russia.
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A Closer Look At The iPhone: Apple Inc's Phil Schiller shows John Blackstone the many features of the iPhone. Apple's latest product will go on sale this June. |
