Many people prefer using a mouse rather than a trackpad or the "it's not quite right" system built into their laptop, but using a "normal" mouse means finding a work area that's large enough for it to move around. That generally means no mouse for mobile workers who want to use their laptop on a plane or on train (or even in a car, but probably not a good idea while driving).
Now a New Zealand company called Swiftpoint have come up with a solution, the Swiftpoint Mouse, which is a tiny wireless mouse that works with Apple Macs and Windows PCs. It's about 5cm long and 4cm at it's widest with contoured sides so that your fingers sit comfortably. There's a space to rest your thumb (coloured red) and your index finger sits on the top operating the mouse buttons or scroll wheel and your 3rd finger tucks on to the other side and rests in a little nook.
It's been designed so that it will work on the surface of a laptop next to the touch pad (or even on a touch pad) even on the metalic surface of a Macbook.
Cleverly the mouse detects when your finger is present on the thumb grip and turns off the power when your finger isn't there.
The two buttons on the top of the mouse correspond to left and righ buttons on a standard mouse for Windows or Click and Control-Click for Macs. The scroll-wheel can go back or forwards, but is stepped so you know you're moving it and it's pretty precise.
The mouse also performs some clever tricks, if tilted to the right so the scroll-wheel is then in contact with the surface, moving the mouse will then scroll the window you're in rapidly up or down (in-line with what the mouse is doing), which is useful for rapidly moving though documents. If the front button is pressed and the scroll-wheel moved, then the screen will magnify i.e. zoom in and moving the mouse backwards then zooms-out. Pressing the back button while moving the scroll-wheel will mean a document will move a page at a time.
It's a wireless mouse and it comes with a USB adapter that is just under 3cm long and just over 1cm wide (including the USB connector) so it protrudes about 1 1/2cm out of the socket. Unfortunately that's just wide enough to block other USB devices (at least on a Macbook) unless they're very thin. The adapter has three little metal connectors on it and acts as a mouse charging station with the mouse sitting on the adapter. That also means it will only work on USB ports that are on the side of a laptop (or similar) and not say on the USB ports on a Mac keyboard which are slightly under it. The device is plug-and-play and is recognised by pretty much any version of Windows and MacOS X 10.4+. The USB adapter magnetically attaches to the mouse when not plugged in, so it's harder to lose when not in use.
On MacOS X the operating system initially thought a keyboard has been plugged in, but just exit from the keyboard set-up utility (which automatically pops up) and the mouse just starts working.
The mouse has a 1000dpi (laser tracking) resolution and requires very little movement to move things around on screen, both the buttons and scroll-wheel are easily accessed and though initially fiddly, you rapidly become accustomed to using them and then it's actually very easy to drive the mouse and use all of it's features.
Placing the mouse on the USB (connected) dock for 30s will charge the mouse for around 1 hour's use, while a full 90 minute charge will power the mouse for between 2 to 4 weeks.
It's not that cheap, retailing at £49 in the UK. But if you're the person that prefers a mouse to a laptop trackpad, this could be just the right device for you.
It can be bought on-line from Swiftpoint.
2011/06/09
2011/06/06
Digium release Switchvox version 5
Digium the company that maintains the open source Asterisk IP PBX have released version 5 of Switchvox. Switchbox is based on the core Asterisk product, but with a nice Graphical User Interface (GUI) to configure it.
Switchvox is designed to fit into SME sized companies and v5 adds FMC (fixed mobile convergence) options so that up to 6 devices can be added to an extension which includes mobile (smart) phones.
The system also supports advanced APIs (application programming interfaces) so that external systems such as help desk or CRM applications can be integrated.
A new install will cost $3,195.00 for up to 30 users. Existing Switchvox users can upgrade for no cost.
Switchvox is designed to fit into SME sized companies and v5 adds FMC (fixed mobile convergence) options so that up to 6 devices can be added to an extension which includes mobile (smart) phones.
The system also supports advanced APIs (application programming interfaces) so that external systems such as help desk or CRM applications can be integrated.
A new install will cost $3,195.00 for up to 30 users. Existing Switchvox users can upgrade for no cost.
Ofcom says LTE800 operators have to fix Digital TV
Ofcom will be auctioning the 800MHz band and it's expected that licensees will use the spectrum for LTE (Long YTerm Evolution)/4G services.
Unfortunately there may be interference issues with terrestrial digital TV broadcasts which may affect around 3% of the population which is around 760,000 homes.
Many interference issues will be resolved with the simple fitting of an RF filter between the aerial and the digital TV receiver, however around 0.1% of viewers will still have issues and Ofcom want those effected to have digital satellite receivers installed. It's expected that the LTE licensees will be burdened with the cost of the filters of digital satellite equipment which could cost around £100m on top of any spectrum auction fees.
Ofcom are now going to hold a consultation to see the real extent of the problem.
Unfortunately there may be interference issues with terrestrial digital TV broadcasts which may affect around 3% of the population which is around 760,000 homes.
Many interference issues will be resolved with the simple fitting of an RF filter between the aerial and the digital TV receiver, however around 0.1% of viewers will still have issues and Ofcom want those effected to have digital satellite receivers installed. It's expected that the LTE licensees will be burdened with the cost of the filters of digital satellite equipment which could cost around £100m on top of any spectrum auction fees.
Ofcom are now going to hold a consultation to see the real extent of the problem.
2011/05/31
Techpitch 4.5
On the 25th May 2011 2Pears held a pitching competition at Pinsent Mason LLP (located between Old St and Liverpool St).
The judging panel was chaired by Danvers Baillieu (who happens to work for Pinsent Mason) but is maybe more famous for the illustrious Bootlaw series of workshops that he organises.
Other members of the judging panel were Eric van der Kleij CEO Tech City Investment Organisation, Glenn Shoosmith CEO BookingBug, Megumi Ikeda Comcast Interactive Capital, Amine Laouedj goetzpartners Corporate Finance, Zuzanna Pasierbinska-Wilson Huddle and Silicon Stilettos and Grace Yusuf or Kyubid.com. Some of the panel might have been slightly worse for wear having just returned from the eG8 conference (or should that be party) in Paris.
There were 9 pitches from start-ups: -
Gabriel Ortiz presented Clickslide - a platform allowing both developers and end-users to rapidly produce websites or mobile applications.
Sue Green with Dancetothis - aiming to be the central resource for dance in the UK i.e. linking how to videos, local events etc. Crowded market.
Tom Harrow with Findababysitter.com - pretty much the name says it all.
Ian Pickard with Gigaboxx - a system allowing artists and record companies to directly sell to the fans at a gig or event. Can produce a mobile app (music store) which is customised to the artist.
Dupsy Abiola with Intern Avenue - a site that is trying to get employees to pay interns.
Anil Stockner with Marketinvoice Ltd - A trading (auction) platform for companies to trade their invoices and get paid immediately (so the bidder will offer a price for the invoice and their fee).
Josh Liu with Minutebox - Minutebox is a platform allowing people with skills to sell them to other people using Red5 as a media server. The user sets their price and what skills they have and other users can buy their expertise on a per minute basis.
Matthew Scherba with Plancentric - a new approach to project planning (well enterprise resource planning or ERP).
Simon Phillips with Tools of Directing Ltd - a way for content creators to add meta data to video in the production process.
In terms of presentation Josh Liu's was by far the most succinct as he presented in time and got the all his points across and everyone understood what Minutebox did.
Dupsy Abiola's also stood out as she obviously understood the intern problem and was trying to address things in a positive way.
Anil Stocker's Marketinvoice has the potential to be very large, one to watch.
Some of the other ones were flakey (as in presentation or the business itself), but that's to be expected at a random pitching event.
All in all a great event and the Pinsent Masons auditorium is actually a great space to hold these kinds of events as the speakers can be heard and the presentations seen on the two screen set-up.
There are some pics of the event on Facebook
The judging panel was chaired by Danvers Baillieu (who happens to work for Pinsent Mason) but is maybe more famous for the illustrious Bootlaw series of workshops that he organises.
Other members of the judging panel were Eric van der Kleij CEO Tech City Investment Organisation, Glenn Shoosmith CEO BookingBug, Megumi Ikeda Comcast Interactive Capital, Amine Laouedj goetzpartners Corporate Finance, Zuzanna Pasierbinska-Wilson Huddle and Silicon Stilettos and Grace Yusuf or Kyubid.com. Some of the panel might have been slightly worse for wear having just returned from the eG8 conference (or should that be party) in Paris.
There were 9 pitches from start-ups: -
Gabriel Ortiz presented Clickslide - a platform allowing both developers and end-users to rapidly produce websites or mobile applications.
Sue Green with Dancetothis - aiming to be the central resource for dance in the UK i.e. linking how to videos, local events etc. Crowded market.
Tom Harrow with Findababysitter.com - pretty much the name says it all.
Ian Pickard with Gigaboxx - a system allowing artists and record companies to directly sell to the fans at a gig or event. Can produce a mobile app (music store) which is customised to the artist.
Dupsy Abiola with Intern Avenue - a site that is trying to get employees to pay interns.
Anil Stockner with Marketinvoice Ltd - A trading (auction) platform for companies to trade their invoices and get paid immediately (so the bidder will offer a price for the invoice and their fee).
Josh Liu with Minutebox - Minutebox is a platform allowing people with skills to sell them to other people using Red5 as a media server. The user sets their price and what skills they have and other users can buy their expertise on a per minute basis.
Matthew Scherba with Plancentric - a new approach to project planning (well enterprise resource planning or ERP).
Simon Phillips with Tools of Directing Ltd - a way for content creators to add meta data to video in the production process.
In terms of presentation Josh Liu's was by far the most succinct as he presented in time and got the all his points across and everyone understood what Minutebox did.
Dupsy Abiola's also stood out as she obviously understood the intern problem and was trying to address things in a positive way.
Anil Stocker's Marketinvoice has the potential to be very large, one to watch.
Some of the other ones were flakey (as in presentation or the business itself), but that's to be expected at a random pitching event.
All in all a great event and the Pinsent Masons auditorium is actually a great space to hold these kinds of events as the speakers can be heard and the presentations seen on the two screen set-up.
There are some pics of the event on Facebook
2011/05/26
Ofcom publishes possible 4G capacity gains
Ofcom the super regulator today published its report into what capacity gains that 4G networks could provide compared to existing capacity on 3G networks.
In summary compared to existing HSUPA 3G networks, there will be an increase of 3.3x which will increase to 5.5x by 2020 i.e. 3.3 to 5.5 times as much traffic can be put over the equivalent spectrum which will be opportune as data usage increases.
However network operators will need to manage the topology of their 4G networks more carefully than current 3G networks.
The statement may be found here.
In summary compared to existing HSUPA 3G networks, there will be an increase of 3.3x which will increase to 5.5x by 2020 i.e. 3.3 to 5.5 times as much traffic can be put over the equivalent spectrum which will be opportune as data usage increases.
However network operators will need to manage the topology of their 4G networks more carefully than current 3G networks.
The statement may be found here.
Microsoft-Skype kills Skype for Asterisk
Many will know Asterisk the open source IP PBX (IP telephony system) that is commercially supported by Digium.
At Astricon in 2008 Digium announced a partnership with Skype that would allow an Asterisk system join the Skype network as a Skype client, though commercial (costing $66 per channel i.e. each concurrent call the Skype network requires a channel) many people used this to connect their internal VoIP systems to the outside world taking advantage of free Skype to Skype calls and cheap calls to the normal telephone networks using Skype-out.
Unfortunately the partnership is now dead as Skype (or now Microsoft Skype as Skype is to be known after their acquisition by the software giant) have decided to discontinue the licensing of Skype proprietary code that is included in the Skype for Asterisk product.
Customers can still purchase Skype for Asterisk until 26th July 2011 and Skype will continue to support the product until 2013 (and Skype "at their discretion" may continue support beyond that).
Though Skype for Asterisk only represents a small proportion of the Skype population, is this indicative of the way that Microsoft is taking the company as Asterisk and other open source solutions directly compete with some of Microsoft's offerings? If so it's a shame as it it's likely that only MS products will work with Skype and thus further locking customers into Microsoft's solutions.
Though to be fair, rumour has it that Skype was already looking at ways of ending the relationship with Digium.
At Astricon in 2008 Digium announced a partnership with Skype that would allow an Asterisk system join the Skype network as a Skype client, though commercial (costing $66 per channel i.e. each concurrent call the Skype network requires a channel) many people used this to connect their internal VoIP systems to the outside world taking advantage of free Skype to Skype calls and cheap calls to the normal telephone networks using Skype-out.
Unfortunately the partnership is now dead as Skype (or now Microsoft Skype as Skype is to be known after their acquisition by the software giant) have decided to discontinue the licensing of Skype proprietary code that is included in the Skype for Asterisk product.
Customers can still purchase Skype for Asterisk until 26th July 2011 and Skype will continue to support the product until 2013 (and Skype "at their discretion" may continue support beyond that).
Though Skype for Asterisk only represents a small proportion of the Skype population, is this indicative of the way that Microsoft is taking the company as Asterisk and other open source solutions directly compete with some of Microsoft's offerings? If so it's a shame as it it's likely that only MS products will work with Skype and thus further locking customers into Microsoft's solutions.
Though to be fair, rumour has it that Skype was already looking at ways of ending the relationship with Digium.
Everything Everywhere and BT trial LTE800
BT and Everything Everywhere are trailing LTE (Long Term Evolution or 4G) on the 800MHz band in Cornwall. 100 mobile and 100 fixed users will take place.
800MHz is part of the spectrum that Ofcom are planning to auction this year which will is currently being used by analogue TV, though some areas have already switched over to digital so the frequencies are already clear. The whole of the UK will switch by 2012.
The trial will actually use 2 x 10MHz channels in the upper band (which Ofcom are considering how to license) and though LTE can theoretically speeds of up to 150Mb/s, Everything Everywhere have stated that users should expect between 2 and 40Mb/s.
The 800Mhz band is being auction in conjunction with the 2.6GHz band (with caps depending on what portions are being bid for) and there is expected to be considerable interest from both the existing mobile network operators and broadband providers (some of who will be new entrants).
800MHz is part of the spectrum that Ofcom are planning to auction this year which will is currently being used by analogue TV, though some areas have already switched over to digital so the frequencies are already clear. The whole of the UK will switch by 2012.
The trial will actually use 2 x 10MHz channels in the upper band (which Ofcom are considering how to license) and though LTE can theoretically speeds of up to 150Mb/s, Everything Everywhere have stated that users should expect between 2 and 40Mb/s.
The 800Mhz band is being auction in conjunction with the 2.6GHz band (with caps depending on what portions are being bid for) and there is expected to be considerable interest from both the existing mobile network operators and broadband providers (some of who will be new entrants).
Ofcom makes changes to telecoms law to benefit consumers
Ofcom the Super regulator that has responsibility for media, telecoms, radio and broadcasting has announced changes that telecoms companies will have to adopt in-line with European telecoms law.
Contracts
From May 26th 2011 telecoms operators are limited to providing 24 month contracts for telecoms services. Businesses and consumers must also be offered shorter 12 month contracts.
This will allow consumers to switch providers more easily which will allow users to chose beneficial pricing and services.
Emergency SMS
Ofcom plans to mandate the emergency SMS schmeme in the UK which allows users to text (or use the Short Message Service) to the ermgency services to 999 (or 112 the pan-European emergency services number).
Currently there is a registration scheme in operation with about 14,500 registered users. From May 26th 2011 all mobile operators will be obliged to make the scheme available on a permanent basis for hearing and speech-impaired users.
Porting Phone Numbers
On April 11 2011 Ofcom mandated all mobile operators to port numbers between networks in under 1 (working) day. This only applied to individual consumers. Now the same rules apply to businesses and other customers who may wish to port many numbers at one time.
Fixed numbers should also be ported with 1 day, though other measures have to be completed first to ensure that slamming doesn't occur (where a customer is switched to another provider without their permission).
Providers also have to pay reasonably compensation to customers if the port doesn't happen in 24 hours (or there is an abuse of the porting process).
This is all good news for the consumer and it's nice to see Ofcom mandate these changes.
Contracts
From May 26th 2011 telecoms operators are limited to providing 24 month contracts for telecoms services. Businesses and consumers must also be offered shorter 12 month contracts.
This will allow consumers to switch providers more easily which will allow users to chose beneficial pricing and services.
Emergency SMS
Ofcom plans to mandate the emergency SMS schmeme in the UK which allows users to text (or use the Short Message Service) to the ermgency services to 999 (or 112 the pan-European emergency services number).
Currently there is a registration scheme in operation with about 14,500 registered users. From May 26th 2011 all mobile operators will be obliged to make the scheme available on a permanent basis for hearing and speech-impaired users.
Porting Phone Numbers
On April 11 2011 Ofcom mandated all mobile operators to port numbers between networks in under 1 (working) day. This only applied to individual consumers. Now the same rules apply to businesses and other customers who may wish to port many numbers at one time.
Fixed numbers should also be ported with 1 day, though other measures have to be completed first to ensure that slamming doesn't occur (where a customer is switched to another provider without their permission).
Providers also have to pay reasonably compensation to customers if the port doesn't happen in 24 hours (or there is an abuse of the porting process).
This is all good news for the consumer and it's nice to see Ofcom mandate these changes.
2011/05/09
Calibre an eBook tool
Calibre is available in versions for Windows, MacOS X and Linux, it's an eBook reader and a lot more, really an eBook toolbox that allows conversion of one eBook format to another. It can also manage an eBook library and supports lots of eBooks readers such as the iPad, Nook, Kindle etc.
If you happen to have downloaded an eBook, but the metadata is wrong or missing it's possible to enter the data yourself or get Calibre to search various sources (Google, Amazon, Overdrive) and find matching books, you then get the choice of what data to use and even choose the cover if there are variants.
You can even search for eBook on-line and Calibre will show which are available, their price and whether they have DRM or not. You can click on your choice and be taken directly to the eBook on the source website.
Calibre is an invaluable tool for all eBook owners.
If you happen to have downloaded an eBook, but the metadata is wrong or missing it's possible to enter the data yourself or get Calibre to search various sources (Google, Amazon, Overdrive) and find matching books, you then get the choice of what data to use and even choose the cover if there are variants.
You can even search for eBook on-line and Calibre will show which are available, their price and whether they have DRM or not. You can click on your choice and be taken directly to the eBook on the source website.
Calibre is an invaluable tool for all eBook owners.
2011/03/29
Chop a SIM and fit in an iPad
The new iPad2 (or any old iPad or iPhone) requires what's known as a micro SIM or uSIM. These have the same electrical connections as a normal SIM but are slightly smaller.
There's a problem in ordering uSIMs as the mobile network operators (MNOs) know that it's going to be stuck into an Apple device and therefore they'll want to stick you on a nice long (and expensive) iPhone or iPad contract. It is possible to get a normal SIM on a much more suitable (i.e. cheaper) contract, but the SIM wont fit in the iPad.
When the uSIM first appeared there were lots of "hacks" around which showed how to get a knife and physically cut the SIM into uSIM form (including the now famous John Benson "Meat cleaver" blog) and then a plethora of cutting devices appeared which allows a SIM to be inserted, pressure applied and out pops a uSIM.
This seemed a bit drastic, but there's several companies who offer free SIMs and once snuggly inserted in the SIM cutter, chop and a uSIM pops out. When placed in the iPad it nicely seemed to work too.
There's a problem in ordering uSIMs as the mobile network operators (MNOs) know that it's going to be stuck into an Apple device and therefore they'll want to stick you on a nice long (and expensive) iPhone or iPad contract. It is possible to get a normal SIM on a much more suitable (i.e. cheaper) contract, but the SIM wont fit in the iPad.
When the uSIM first appeared there were lots of "hacks" around which showed how to get a knife and physically cut the SIM into uSIM form (including the now famous John Benson "Meat cleaver" blog) and then a plethora of cutting devices appeared which allows a SIM to be inserted, pressure applied and out pops a uSIM.
This seemed a bit drastic, but there's several companies who offer free SIMs and once snuggly inserted in the SIM cutter, chop and a uSIM pops out. When placed in the iPad it nicely seemed to work too.
2011/03/23
Ofcom announces plans for 800MHz and 2.6GHz spectrum auctions
Ofcom the communications regulator has announced how it intends to auction the 800MHz band (which is currently used to deliver analogue TV signals) and the 2.6GHz band (which was reserved for future 3G use). The amount of spectrum available for auction is 250MHz which is equivalent to 3/4 of all the mobile spectrum available today and 80% more than the spectrum awarded to the 3G licensees.
Though the spectrum will be made available in a technology neutral manner (i.e. the winner of the spectrum can use it for whatever they want - as long as they meet the technical criteria and don't do anything silly), it's expected that it will be used for 4G services such as LTE or WiMAX and deliver mobile broadband services.
800MHz is considered prime spectrum as it has very good propagation characteristics i.e. it can travel long distance and penetrates buildings well (so anyone who can receive analogue TV services could get broadband), Alcatel-Lucent are already trialling LTE-800 (i.e. LTE services on 800MHz) in Wales as reported in a previous article.
2.6GHz can carry more data (and there's more spectrum available) but it's better for localised high bandwidth services as it doesn't carry as far (it's worse then the existing 3G coverage). However a licensee could use the band for 3G services as 3G phones should scan this band when looking for 3G signals.
Ofcom are proposing to put both spectrum caps and spectrum floors when auctioning the spectrum so that the existing 2G operators cant get too much spectrum sub 1GHz (i.e. 1000MHz) - this really only affects O2 and Vodafone, who's 2G network was provisioned on 900MHz (Orange and T-Mobile got 1800MHz or 1.8GHz which again doesn't propagate as well as 900MHz which is slightly worse than 800MHz). The floors are there to ensure there's enough spectrum to run sensible broadband services over. Ofcom plan to offer at least 4 licenses of which some are expected to be new entrants (by capping the amount of spectrum owned in total the existing MNOs are restricted in grabbing all the new spectrum).
There's a slight fly in the ointment as when T-Mobile and Orange combined to form Everything Everywhere, they had to give back some of their 1800Mhz spectrum to comply with EU competition rules and Ofcom have thrown this excess spectrum in the pot too.
The Ofcom consultation closes on 31st May 2011 and stakeholders are invited to comment here.
The spectrum cant be made available prior to the digital switch-over as the 800MHz band will still be used for analogue TV until then and also Ofcom has made the 2.6GHz band available for use by wireless cameras in the forthcoming 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics.
Though the spectrum will be made available in a technology neutral manner (i.e. the winner of the spectrum can use it for whatever they want - as long as they meet the technical criteria and don't do anything silly), it's expected that it will be used for 4G services such as LTE or WiMAX and deliver mobile broadband services.
800MHz is considered prime spectrum as it has very good propagation characteristics i.e. it can travel long distance and penetrates buildings well (so anyone who can receive analogue TV services could get broadband), Alcatel-Lucent are already trialling LTE-800 (i.e. LTE services on 800MHz) in Wales as reported in a previous article.
2.6GHz can carry more data (and there's more spectrum available) but it's better for localised high bandwidth services as it doesn't carry as far (it's worse then the existing 3G coverage). However a licensee could use the band for 3G services as 3G phones should scan this band when looking for 3G signals.
Ofcom are proposing to put both spectrum caps and spectrum floors when auctioning the spectrum so that the existing 2G operators cant get too much spectrum sub 1GHz (i.e. 1000MHz) - this really only affects O2 and Vodafone, who's 2G network was provisioned on 900MHz (Orange and T-Mobile got 1800MHz or 1.8GHz which again doesn't propagate as well as 900MHz which is slightly worse than 800MHz). The floors are there to ensure there's enough spectrum to run sensible broadband services over. Ofcom plan to offer at least 4 licenses of which some are expected to be new entrants (by capping the amount of spectrum owned in total the existing MNOs are restricted in grabbing all the new spectrum).
There's a slight fly in the ointment as when T-Mobile and Orange combined to form Everything Everywhere, they had to give back some of their 1800Mhz spectrum to comply with EU competition rules and Ofcom have thrown this excess spectrum in the pot too.
The Ofcom consultation closes on 31st May 2011 and stakeholders are invited to comment here.
The spectrum cant be made available prior to the digital switch-over as the 800MHz band will still be used for analogue TV until then and also Ofcom has made the 2.6GHz band available for use by wireless cameras in the forthcoming 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics.
2011/03/16
Ofcom forces mobile operators to reduce termination rates
Ofcom published a statement that the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) would have their mobile termination rates reduced from April 1st.
Everything Everywhere, O2 and Vodafone will have their current rate of 4.18p per minute reduced to 2.66p per minute on the 1st of April, while 3 (3UK) will have their rate reduced from 4.48p per minute to the 2.66p per minute rate. Next year the rate for all 4 MNOs will drop to 2.66p per minute then 1.70ppm, 1.08ppm and by 2015 0.69ppm.
This should be reflected in call charges by the MNOs and fixed line operators such as BT.
This doesn't affect data charges which the MNOs can still charge a premium for (though Ofcom will surely cap these too, especially for roaming customers).
This is in-line with European policy as the EU Commission expects mobile termination rates to be between 1.5 and 3c by 2015.
Everything Everywhere, O2 and Vodafone will have their current rate of 4.18p per minute reduced to 2.66p per minute on the 1st of April, while 3 (3UK) will have their rate reduced from 4.48p per minute to the 2.66p per minute rate. Next year the rate for all 4 MNOs will drop to 2.66p per minute then 1.70ppm, 1.08ppm and by 2015 0.69ppm.
This should be reflected in call charges by the MNOs and fixed line operators such as BT.
This doesn't affect data charges which the MNOs can still charge a premium for (though Ofcom will surely cap these too, especially for roaming customers).
This is in-line with European policy as the EU Commission expects mobile termination rates to be between 1.5 and 3c by 2015.
2011/03/02
Shipboard mobiles now license exempt
Ofcom today made the use of handsets on boats license exempt (while connected to a basestation on the the boat).
Mobile handsets are already license exempt when connected to a fixed basestation in the UK (which are run by a mobile operator). Both shipboard and land based basestations are covered under the mobile operators' 2G or 3G licenses.
The full statement can be seen here and is in-line with European directives.
Mobile handsets are already license exempt when connected to a fixed basestation in the UK (which are run by a mobile operator). Both shipboard and land based basestations are covered under the mobile operators' 2G or 3G licenses.
The full statement can be seen here and is in-line with European directives.
2011/03/01
Really sneaky Facebook "bug"
It's not really a bug, but if you go into a Facebook event page and then paste the following: -
"javascript:elms=document.getElementById('friends').getElementsByTagName('li');for(var fid in elms){if(typeof elms[fid] === 'object'){fs.click(elms[fid]);}}"
Without the first and ending double quote into the browser's address bar (i.e. not into Facebook, but the browser viewing Facebook), it should select ALL your Facebook friends and invite them to the event.
Scary ...
"javascript:elms=document.getElementById('friends').getElementsByTagName('li');for(var fid in elms){if(typeof elms[fid] === 'object'){fs.click(elms[fid]);}}"
Without the first and ending double quote into the browser's address bar (i.e. not into Facebook, but the browser viewing Facebook), it should select ALL your Facebook friends and invite them to the event.
Scary ...
2011/02/28
Spotify get's early content
R.E.M's new album "Collapse Into Now" will be available today to Spotify Premium users one week prior to the official album launch. This will be available to premium users in UK, Spain, Sweden, Norway, The Netherlands and Finland.
Spotify are also running a competition to go with the launch where users can win: -
* A Fender Squier Stratocaster guitar, signed by Michael Stipe, Mike Mills and Peter Buck
* A Sonos S5 – a high-performance wireless music system
* A signed photograph of the band
* A special Spotify playlist compiled by the band, which will be automatically added to their Premium account
User can enter here by answering a simple question and entering their details and Spotify account name.
Spotify are also running a competition to go with the launch where users can win: -
* A Fender Squier Stratocaster guitar, signed by Michael Stipe, Mike Mills and Peter Buck
* A Sonos S5 – a high-performance wireless music system
* A signed photograph of the band
* A special Spotify playlist compiled by the band, which will be automatically added to their Premium account
User can enter here by answering a simple question and entering their details and Spotify account name.
2011/02/25
Government gives cash to program makers
The Government has agreed to making grants available to the Programme Making and Special Events (PMSE) sector as they currently use equipment which wireless transmits and the spectrum used is being re-allocated and they have to migrate from channel 69 to channel 38.
66% of PMSE licensed users have registered claims in the scheme and those that haven't need to register with Equiniiti (the administrators of the scheme) as soon as possible.
PMSE users will then have to return equipment using the old frequencies within the timescales they have agreed (though these may extended by agreement with Equiniiti).
66% of PMSE licensed users have registered claims in the scheme and those that haven't need to register with Equiniiti (the administrators of the scheme) as soon as possible.
PMSE users will then have to return equipment using the old frequencies within the timescales they have agreed (though these may extended by agreement with Equiniiti).
2011/02/16
Ofcom will auction 2010 - 2025 MHz band
Ofcom has decided to auction the 2010 - 2025 MHz band instead of using for Programme Making and Special Events (PMSE). The band is currently unused.
This follows a consultation held in May last year after which it was decided that the opportunity cost of reserving the band for PMSE use was higher than expected. Also in Germany the band was auction and only achieved €5.7m. There was also little support for making the band license exempt.
The auction will not take place before Q1 2012 and Ofcom will hold a further consultation.
In the meantime the band can be used for PMSE and will be licensed under standard PMSE regulations from JFMG. The band will also be made available for PMSE during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
This follows a consultation held in May last year after which it was decided that the opportunity cost of reserving the band for PMSE use was higher than expected. Also in Germany the band was auction and only achieved €5.7m. There was also little support for making the band license exempt.
The auction will not take place before Q1 2012 and Ofcom will hold a further consultation.
In the meantime the band can be used for PMSE and will be licensed under standard PMSE regulations from JFMG. The band will also be made available for PMSE during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
2011/02/09
ACS:Law turn themselves off
ACS:Law the legal firm that has become infamous due to their actions of trying to prosecute alleged illegal file sharers (and more infamous due to their exposing files containing lists of said filesharers). MediaCAT (the client of ACS:Law involved in the alleged file sharing cases) has also ceased trading.
In the past ACS:Law had said it had "ceased this type of litigation" as it had suffered a series of unfavourable court hearings.
ACS:Law was under investigation from the Information Commissioner's Office after the company allowed files containing alleged downloaders of pornography and file sharers to be made available on-line (though not deliberately it has to be said).
In the past it is alleged that ACS:Law offered cash to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) for data on their subscribers.
The latest action may be as a result of recent court action where ACS:Law tried to discontinue the case against file sharers. However Judge Birss QC wasn't happy to do so and stated "I want to tell you that I am not happy. I am getting the impression with every twist and turn since I started looking at these cases that there is a desire to avoid any judicial scrutiny". Judge Birss is expected to rule on his finding this Thursday and many suspect that ACS:Law and MediaCAT ceased trading to avoid judicial scrutiny.
In the past ACS:Law had said it had "ceased this type of litigation" as it had suffered a series of unfavourable court hearings.
ACS:Law was under investigation from the Information Commissioner's Office after the company allowed files containing alleged downloaders of pornography and file sharers to be made available on-line (though not deliberately it has to be said).
In the past it is alleged that ACS:Law offered cash to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) for data on their subscribers.
The latest action may be as a result of recent court action where ACS:Law tried to discontinue the case against file sharers. However Judge Birss QC wasn't happy to do so and stated "I want to tell you that I am not happy. I am getting the impression with every twist and turn since I started looking at these cases that there is a desire to avoid any judicial scrutiny". Judge Birss is expected to rule on his finding this Thursday and many suspect that ACS:Law and MediaCAT ceased trading to avoid judicial scrutiny.
2011/02/02
Ofcom wants to allow mobile operators to trade spectrum
Ofcom is holding two related consultations, the first is to allow mobile operators to trade spectrum in the 900MHz, 1800MHz (1.8GHz) and 2100MHz (2.1GHz) bands, the second is to vary the Wireless Telegraphy Act so that the 3G licenses can be changed to support a new coverage obligation, a change to licence duration, a revocation notice period of 5 years (such revocation not to be capable of taking effect before the period for which the licences were auctioned expires), a provision for Ofcom to charge annual licence fees from the end of 2021 (when the period for which the licences were auctioned expires) and a provision relating to spectrum trading.
The are many reasons to allow spectrum trading which benefit the UK as a whole especially financially as spectrum licenses generate around £40bn per annum for the UK (and account for around 3% of the GDP). Spectrum trading has also been directed from Government.
This will also allow Everything Everywhere (the combined Orange and T-Mobile) to effective get rid of 2 x 15MHz pairs of spectrum from their 1800MHz allowance, which was agreed with the EU as part of the merger conditions. Everything Everywhere will be able to trade directly, as part of the digital divide spectrum (800MHz and 2.6GHz) or give it back to Ofcom who can re-award it.
This is likely to have a major impact when the 800MHz and 2.6GHz licenses are awarded as some entities may have a large chunk of additional spectrum (though companies such a 3 are hoping that there will be sub 1GHz spectrum caps) and can therefore free-up existing mobile spectrum.
The spectrum trading consultation may be responded to here and the WTA variance consultation here.
The are many reasons to allow spectrum trading which benefit the UK as a whole especially financially as spectrum licenses generate around £40bn per annum for the UK (and account for around 3% of the GDP). Spectrum trading has also been directed from Government.
This will also allow Everything Everywhere (the combined Orange and T-Mobile) to effective get rid of 2 x 15MHz pairs of spectrum from their 1800MHz allowance, which was agreed with the EU as part of the merger conditions. Everything Everywhere will be able to trade directly, as part of the digital divide spectrum (800MHz and 2.6GHz) or give it back to Ofcom who can re-award it.
This is likely to have a major impact when the 800MHz and 2.6GHz licenses are awarded as some entities may have a large chunk of additional spectrum (though companies such a 3 are hoping that there will be sub 1GHz spectrum caps) and can therefore free-up existing mobile spectrum.
The spectrum trading consultation may be responded to here and the WTA variance consultation here.
2011/01/20
Ofcom proposes WBA charge controls
Ofcom the super regulator is holding a consultation on placing charge controls on BT for their Wholesale Broadband Access (WBA) services in areas where they are still a monopoly.
This should see price reductions to ISPs of between 10.75% and 14.75%. As part of the consultation Ofcom have also proposed changes to the cost of capital estimates for BT.
Stakeholders can respond on-line and the consultation closes on 31 March 2011 and Ofcom want to implement the changes after that.
This should see price reductions to ISPs of between 10.75% and 14.75%. As part of the consultation Ofcom have also proposed changes to the cost of capital estimates for BT.
Stakeholders can respond on-line and the consultation closes on 31 March 2011 and Ofcom want to implement the changes after that.
2011/01/19
Ofcom delegates PMSE to Arqiva
Ofcom (subject to terms) has awarded Arqiva the contract to handle all Program making and special events (PMSE) licensing following a tender process.
Ofcom has not yet set pricing or amended the Wireless Telegraphy Act (WTA) and has deferred the decision as even though the current pricing regime was due to change at the end of 2011.
Ofcom has not yet set pricing or amended the Wireless Telegraphy Act (WTA) and has deferred the decision as even though the current pricing regime was due to change at the end of 2011.
2010/12/17
Ofcom wants numbers to be easier to use
Ofcom the Super Regulator is holding a consultation on non-geiographic numbers and making them easier to understand and fixing the several issues that exist i.e. 0800 numbers not being free from mobiles (companies should also publish 03 numbers which are always local and can be included in call bundles).
The full ranges in question are 03, 05, 070/076, 080, 0845, 0870, 083/4, 0871, 09, 116 and 118.
Ofcom wants charges made clearer and so premium rate numbers would have to state something like "this call will cost £1.50 per minute plus your network operator's charges".
More information is available from the Ofcom site. The consultation closes on 10th March 2011 and stakeholders may respond on-line.
The full ranges in question are 03, 05, 070/076, 080, 0845, 0870, 083/4, 0871, 09, 116 and 118.
Ofcom wants charges made clearer and so premium rate numbers would have to state something like "this call will cost £1.50 per minute plus your network operator's charges".
More information is available from the Ofcom site. The consultation closes on 10th March 2011 and stakeholders may respond on-line.
2010/12/13
Ofcom reservers 2.6GHz for wireless cameras during Olympics
Ofcom the Super Regulator has published a statement on the 2.6GHz (2600MHz) band which is being reserved for use by wireless cameras during the London Olympic Games.
The 2.6GHz band has been contentious as Ofcom initially wanted to auction it in 2007 but were blocked by the mobile operators. The auction has now slipped until late 2012 at the earliest, especially now since the Olympics are taking place from 27 July until 9 September 2012.
There has been some worry about interference to Civil Aviation Authority radars that operate in 2.7GHz from wireless mobile camera, but Ofcom deemed that they only transmit at low power so interference issues are minimal.
The 2.6GHz band has been contentious as Ofcom initially wanted to auction it in 2007 but were blocked by the mobile operators. The auction has now slipped until late 2012 at the earliest, especially now since the Olympics are taking place from 27 July until 9 September 2012.
There has been some worry about interference to Civil Aviation Authority radars that operate in 2.7GHz from wireless mobile camera, but Ofcom deemed that they only transmit at low power so interference issues are minimal.
2010/12/07
Canon's EF lenses can suit everybody
Canon have a wide range of lenses available that can be used to suit every occasion and situation. All the EF lenses will fit every model of Canon EOS cameras and Canon have produced a video to show what's available.
Canon probably produce the widest range of lenses from multipurpose cost-effective ones through extremely expensive dedicated lenses that professional photographers use.
Canon probably produce the widest range of lenses from multipurpose cost-effective ones through extremely expensive dedicated lenses that professional photographers use.
2010/11/25
Ofcom to start charging for number allocation
Ofcom, the super regulator is holding a consultation on the future of number in the UK. There's nothing too exciting about that, except that in certain areas numbers are running out and (there's 680 regional codes in the UK and 58 of those have less than 100 blocks available - numbers are allocated in blocks of 1,000).
Though many other countries have charged for number allocation, the UK has remained the exception. Now Ofcom intends to pilot charging in these number restricted areas and will charge 10p per number per year. That's above the European average of 7p pa (pricing varies from 0.06p to 27p).
Ofcom has seen a large rise in the allocation of number blocks with the likes of VoIP providers and other new entrants who can request numbers directly from Ofcom in-line with the Communications Act which allows anyone to become a Communications Provider.
Unfortunately Ofcom has to allocate 1,000 number blocks as the UK has not migrated to NGN's (next generation networks) as fast as Ofcom had hoped and old equipment can only take these large blocks (Ofcom used to allocate 10,000 number blocks, so there's some improvement).
If everyone had adopted ENUM then numbers could be allocated individually, but that's a long way off and unlikely to ever be adopted by everyone.
Though currently this is only a consultation, it's likely to be implemented and then there's no reason they wont expand this to all areas and even implement retrospective charges for existing number blocks, which could be expensive for providers holding large blocks of numbers.
The consultation is available from here, it ends on 18 February 2011 and it's possible to respond on-line.
Though many other countries have charged for number allocation, the UK has remained the exception. Now Ofcom intends to pilot charging in these number restricted areas and will charge 10p per number per year. That's above the European average of 7p pa (pricing varies from 0.06p to 27p).
Ofcom has seen a large rise in the allocation of number blocks with the likes of VoIP providers and other new entrants who can request numbers directly from Ofcom in-line with the Communications Act which allows anyone to become a Communications Provider.
Unfortunately Ofcom has to allocate 1,000 number blocks as the UK has not migrated to NGN's (next generation networks) as fast as Ofcom had hoped and old equipment can only take these large blocks (Ofcom used to allocate 10,000 number blocks, so there's some improvement).
If everyone had adopted ENUM then numbers could be allocated individually, but that's a long way off and unlikely to ever be adopted by everyone.
Though currently this is only a consultation, it's likely to be implemented and then there's no reason they wont expand this to all areas and even implement retrospective charges for existing number blocks, which could be expensive for providers holding large blocks of numbers.
The consultation is available from here, it ends on 18 February 2011 and it's possible to respond on-line.
2010/11/19
Ofcom wants mobile phone license exempt on boats
Ofcom is holding a consultation to make mobile terminals (phone) license exempt when used on boats.
Generally the boat (like a cruise liner) will have one or more pico cells on-board and then connect back to a base station. Ofcom will license the mobile base-stations and then the phone licenses are part of that. This is in-line with harmonise European legislation on marine communication service on board vessels.
The consultation is available on Ofcom's site and runs from 19/11/10 to 22/12/10.
Stakeholders can respond on-line.
Generally the boat (like a cruise liner) will have one or more pico cells on-board and then connect back to a base station. Ofcom will license the mobile base-stations and then the phone licenses are part of that. This is in-line with harmonise European legislation on marine communication service on board vessels.
The consultation is available on Ofcom's site and runs from 19/11/10 to 22/12/10.
Stakeholders can respond on-line.
2010/11/18
HTC Wildfire fired into the wild
HTC have released their new Wildfire phone running Android 2.1 (Eclair) and HTC Sense with a suite of social networking tools built in (Facebook, Twitter and Flickr) and many more on Android Marketplace.
The CPU isn't brilliant (only 528MHz) and the display is only QVGA (240 x 320) and os 3.2", but it does have a 5MP auto-focus camera with flash, 512MB ROM and 384MB RAM. It supports 3G, EDGE, GPRS and WiFi (b/g), Bluetooth 2.1 and an FM radio.
There's a multitude of sensors, including G-Sensor, digital compass, proximity sensor and ambient light sensor.
Here's a video of what it can do
More info can be found at the HTC site.
The CPU isn't brilliant (only 528MHz) and the display is only QVGA (240 x 320) and os 3.2", but it does have a 5MP auto-focus camera with flash, 512MB ROM and 384MB RAM. It supports 3G, EDGE, GPRS and WiFi (b/g), Bluetooth 2.1 and an FM radio.
There's a multitude of sensors, including G-Sensor, digital compass, proximity sensor and ambient light sensor.
Here's a video of what it can do
More info can be found at the HTC site.
Qualcomm Snapdragons pack more byte for buck
Yesterday Qualcomm announced their new Snapdragon MSM8960™ chipset. Though based on the original (ARM) Snapdragon system, the new chip is dual core with the new micro-architecture that delivers 5 times the performance while using 75% less power.
The processor has a built-in mult-modem support all 3G modes as well as LTE, new graphics that operate at 4 times the speed and built-in support for WLAN, GPS, Bluetooth and FM.
The chip is based on a 28nm process and will be available in early 2011.
Qualcomm's Snapdragon is already used in many high-end smart-phones and tablets and the new chip should really give them a lead in the high end market against rivals such as Samsung and even Apple.
The processor has a built-in mult-modem support all 3G modes as well as LTE, new graphics that operate at 4 times the speed and built-in support for WLAN, GPS, Bluetooth and FM.
The chip is based on a 28nm process and will be available in early 2011.
Qualcomm's Snapdragon is already used in many high-end smart-phones and tablets and the new chip should really give them a lead in the high end market against rivals such as Samsung and even Apple.
2010/11/17
Ofcom consultation on "whitespace" use and Gelocation
There's lots of spectrum around, but it's a crowded space and so much of it is licensed by Ofcom i.e. in order to utilise equipment that transmits or receives data in that spectrum a "use" license is required. This is why a TV license is required. Mobile phones also require a license, but that's paid as part of the license that the mobile network operators have (and have paid for).
Various parts of the spectrum have been made license exempt such as 2.4GHz which is used by WiFi (802.11b/g/n), Bluetooth and other systems like Zigbee. Licenses exempt status means that a user doesn't need to get a specific license if they use the equipment in accordance with the rules that Ofcom have published (i.e. Ofcom publish a "blanket" license and as long as the equipment in use doesn't get used outside the licensing framework, then the use doesn't need to get a license themselves). Any WiFi or Bluetooth systems will comply with Ofcom's licensing regime.
In the past Ofcom has bowed to public pressure and made certain equipment license exempt such as low power FM transmitters than can connect to MP3 and other music devices and transmit a short range to a radio (usually in a car). As they're low power, they wont interfere with the commercial radio stations (at least to other users) who have paid a lot of money for the licenses to transmit in the commercial radio bands.
Another big chunk of spectrum is in the TV bands and some of this is reserved so that interference between bands doesn't happen. The TV bands have much better propagation characteristics than say 2.4GHz which is used by WiFi and Ofcom are looking at ways of using the "dead" space for short-range low power devices which could be used say to transmit video signals between systems in the home. The whitespace could also be used for higher power rural broadband access.
They would work by looking at the bands and finding these dead areas known as whitespace and then those frequencies would be potential candidates for local transmission. However this could rapidly lead to interference between neighbouring systems (say in a neighbours house), so Ofcom wants the systems to consult a geolocation database (hosted by Ofcom) that the system could register with and ensure the whitespace was suitable for use in that area.
There would be a "master" device that would communicate with Ofcom's database and report the power and frequencies it was using and any connected devices (slaves, that wouldn't need to connect to the database themselves). The whitespace devices will be license exempt. Though Ofcom will initially run any database required, they don't evisage running the database in the future as that is best left to commercial organisations and Ofcom would like interested parties to contact them.
Though Ofcom are consulting now (the consultation runs from 09/11/10 to 07/12/10) they don't expect whitespace devices to appear until 2014.
Interested parties can respond to the consultation on-line.
Various parts of the spectrum have been made license exempt such as 2.4GHz which is used by WiFi (802.11b/g/n), Bluetooth and other systems like Zigbee. Licenses exempt status means that a user doesn't need to get a specific license if they use the equipment in accordance with the rules that Ofcom have published (i.e. Ofcom publish a "blanket" license and as long as the equipment in use doesn't get used outside the licensing framework, then the use doesn't need to get a license themselves). Any WiFi or Bluetooth systems will comply with Ofcom's licensing regime.
In the past Ofcom has bowed to public pressure and made certain equipment license exempt such as low power FM transmitters than can connect to MP3 and other music devices and transmit a short range to a radio (usually in a car). As they're low power, they wont interfere with the commercial radio stations (at least to other users) who have paid a lot of money for the licenses to transmit in the commercial radio bands.
Another big chunk of spectrum is in the TV bands and some of this is reserved so that interference between bands doesn't happen. The TV bands have much better propagation characteristics than say 2.4GHz which is used by WiFi and Ofcom are looking at ways of using the "dead" space for short-range low power devices which could be used say to transmit video signals between systems in the home. The whitespace could also be used for higher power rural broadband access.
They would work by looking at the bands and finding these dead areas known as whitespace and then those frequencies would be potential candidates for local transmission. However this could rapidly lead to interference between neighbouring systems (say in a neighbours house), so Ofcom wants the systems to consult a geolocation database (hosted by Ofcom) that the system could register with and ensure the whitespace was suitable for use in that area.
There would be a "master" device that would communicate with Ofcom's database and report the power and frequencies it was using and any connected devices (slaves, that wouldn't need to connect to the database themselves). The whitespace devices will be license exempt. Though Ofcom will initially run any database required, they don't evisage running the database in the future as that is best left to commercial organisations and Ofcom would like interested parties to contact them.
Though Ofcom are consulting now (the consultation runs from 09/11/10 to 07/12/10) they don't expect whitespace devices to appear until 2014.
Interested parties can respond to the consultation on-line.
Ofcom issues new spectrum for Transportable Earth Stations
Due to the demand for extra capacity for Transportable Earth Stations (TES) i.e. mobile satellite systems, Ofcom has made available more spectrum for its use.
The following frequencies may be used for satellite uplinks
C band: 5925 - 7075 MHz
Ka band: 27.5 - 27.8185 GHz, 28.4545 - 28.8265 GHz, 29.4625 - 30 GHz
The pricing for licenses will be equivalent to those in the Ku band (13.78 - 14.5 GHz).
This follows a previous Ofcom consultation and though most responses were favourable, there were some objections from fixed earth station users, though Ofcom felt that opening up the C and Ka bands was more favourable than doing nothing with them.
The full statement may be seen on Ofcom's site
The following frequencies may be used for satellite uplinks
C band: 5925 - 7075 MHz
Ka band: 27.5 - 27.8185 GHz, 28.4545 - 28.8265 GHz, 29.4625 - 30 GHz
The pricing for licenses will be equivalent to those in the Ku band (13.78 - 14.5 GHz).
This follows a previous Ofcom consultation and though most responses were favourable, there were some objections from fixed earth station users, though Ofcom felt that opening up the C and Ka bands was more favourable than doing nothing with them.
The full statement may be seen on Ofcom's site
2010/11/02
Nokia releases MeeGo v1.1
Nokia has released version 1.1 of the MeeGo Operating System (OS) which contains Linux Kernel 2.6.35, X.org server 1.9.0, Web Runtime, Qt 4.7, and Qt Mobility 1.0.2. It's available in several versions optimised for the devices that they run on i.e. MeeGo for Handsets, MeeGo for Netbooks, MeeGo for In-Vehicle Entertainment.
The Netbook version is actually 2 versions, one with the completely open source Google Chromium browser and the other with Google's Chrome browser which requires the suer to agree to Google's EULA.
Though the handset version supports Nokia's N900, they say it works but it's not really for end-users yet and the the user interface (UI) isn't ready for prime-time.
The IVE release supports text-to-speech using the open source Festival speech engine and speech recognition using PocketSphynx (which is based on the open source Sphynx speech-to-text system).
Though Nokia are developing MeeGo (which is the combination of Nokia Maemo OS and Intel's Moblin OS) it may be another dead-end OS as Android is starting to dominate the smart-phone market and Google will release their ChromeOS for Netbooks (though Android is already being used on tablets).
Qt (the cross-platform toolset that Nokia acquired with Trolltech) is the key technology that Nokia want to push (it sits on top of MeeGo and Symbian as well as MacOS and Windows) and MeeGo may just be a way to ensure they have an in-house development platform that's use don live devices, but that cant be a long-term strategy (MeeGo is only officially supported on the N900 and Aava devices in terms of handsets).
MeeGo version 1.2 can be expected in 6 months i.e. April and will include a more polished UI and other new features.
The Netbook version is actually 2 versions, one with the completely open source Google Chromium browser and the other with Google's Chrome browser which requires the suer to agree to Google's EULA.
Though the handset version supports Nokia's N900, they say it works but it's not really for end-users yet and the the user interface (UI) isn't ready for prime-time.
The IVE release supports text-to-speech using the open source Festival speech engine and speech recognition using PocketSphynx (which is based on the open source Sphynx speech-to-text system).
Though Nokia are developing MeeGo (which is the combination of Nokia Maemo OS and Intel's Moblin OS) it may be another dead-end OS as Android is starting to dominate the smart-phone market and Google will release their ChromeOS for Netbooks (though Android is already being used on tablets).
Qt (the cross-platform toolset that Nokia acquired with Trolltech) is the key technology that Nokia want to push (it sits on top of MeeGo and Symbian as well as MacOS and Windows) and MeeGo may just be a way to ensure they have an in-house development platform that's use don live devices, but that cant be a long-term strategy (MeeGo is only officially supported on the N900 and Aava devices in terms of handsets).
MeeGo version 1.2 can be expected in 6 months i.e. April and will include a more polished UI and other new features.
2010/10/28
Ofcom proposes to allow GSM refarming
As expected, Ofcom the super regulator is proposing to allow GSM refarming such that mobile network operators can utilise their GSM/PCN frequencies for 3G (UMTS) use.
This is in-line with European legislation and Ofcom have already written a statement to the Government showing the consumer benefit and thus it is expected that Government will change the Wireless Telegraphy Act to allow the frequencies to be reused.
Ofcom's proposal is available here.
This is still a potential minefield as now Everything Everywhere (the combined entity of T-Mobile and Orange) have excess spectrum according to their licenses and there's still debate as to how much spectrum Vodafone and O2 should have in 900MHz which has much better in-building characteristics than the PCN networks at 1.8GHz (or 1800MHz) and 2.1GHz (2100MHz) of 3G. Once everything settles, it will be better for the consumer as allowing 3G use in both 900MHz and 1800MHz will allow the networks to phase out GSM and replace with 3G services allowing for greater data capacity etc.
This is in-line with European legislation and Ofcom have already written a statement to the Government showing the consumer benefit and thus it is expected that Government will change the Wireless Telegraphy Act to allow the frequencies to be reused.
Ofcom's proposal is available here.
This is still a potential minefield as now Everything Everywhere (the combined entity of T-Mobile and Orange) have excess spectrum according to their licenses and there's still debate as to how much spectrum Vodafone and O2 should have in 900MHz which has much better in-building characteristics than the PCN networks at 1.8GHz (or 1800MHz) and 2.1GHz (2100MHz) of 3G. Once everything settles, it will be better for the consumer as allowing 3G use in both 900MHz and 1800MHz will allow the networks to phase out GSM and replace with 3G services allowing for greater data capacity etc.
2010/10/21
DBVu in line-up for Best Startup 2010
It's the time of year again when TechCrunch Europe host the Europas and DBVu have been nominated for a Best New Startup 2010 so please get voting.
It would be a great honour to get shortlisted.
It would be a great honour to get shortlisted.
2010/10/20
Ofcom liberalises the WTA
Ofcom the super regulator will changes to the Wireless Telegraphy Act to come into force on 1st November 2010 that will allow the following to be used in a license exempt manner: -
* Railway level-crossing radars at 24 GHz.
* Fixed Wireless Services (FWS) at 59.1 to 63.9 GHz.
* 900 and 1800 MHz Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) terminals.
The changes also liberalise the technical specifications for the following: -
* Short Range Devices (SRDs) below 30 MHz when operating underwater.
* High Density Fixed Satellite Services (HDFSS).
* SRDs covered by the Commission Decision of 30 June 2010 amending Decision 2006/771/EC on harmonisation of the radio spectrum for use by short-range devices (the SRD Decision).
Though railway enthusiasts may be happy that railway crossing radars no longer need a license, the interesting ones for the general public are that FWS at 59.1 to 63.9 GHz (60GHz) are now license exempt as are 900 and 1800 MHz UMTS (i.e. 3G) terminals.
FWS at 60GHz will allow for very high-speed short range wireless links which will be suitable for in-room transmissions e.g. video links from a set-top-box to a TV mounted on a wall without using wires. Equipment is also expected for connecting USB equipment over wireless.
The 3G terminals at 900/1800 MHz opens the way for refarming the 2G networks so that they can be used for 3G services. When Ofcom sort this out, it should increase 3G coverage and make life easier for everyone.
The full statement is available from Ofcom.
* Railway level-crossing radars at 24 GHz.
* Fixed Wireless Services (FWS) at 59.1 to 63.9 GHz.
* 900 and 1800 MHz Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) terminals.
The changes also liberalise the technical specifications for the following: -
* Short Range Devices (SRDs) below 30 MHz when operating underwater.
* High Density Fixed Satellite Services (HDFSS).
* SRDs covered by the Commission Decision of 30 June 2010 amending Decision 2006/771/EC on harmonisation of the radio spectrum for use by short-range devices (the SRD Decision).
Though railway enthusiasts may be happy that railway crossing radars no longer need a license, the interesting ones for the general public are that FWS at 59.1 to 63.9 GHz (60GHz) are now license exempt as are 900 and 1800 MHz UMTS (i.e. 3G) terminals.
FWS at 60GHz will allow for very high-speed short range wireless links which will be suitable for in-room transmissions e.g. video links from a set-top-box to a TV mounted on a wall without using wires. Equipment is also expected for connecting USB equipment over wireless.
The 3G terminals at 900/1800 MHz opens the way for refarming the 2G networks so that they can be used for 3G services. When Ofcom sort this out, it should increase 3G coverage and make life easier for everyone.
The full statement is available from Ofcom.
Ofcom reviews Alternative Dispute Resolution Schemes
Anyone offering a communication service is obliged to register with an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Service so that if consumers are not able to resolve a dispute with their provider, they have the option to take it further through an ADR.
Currently there are two approved ADRs who are CISAS and Otelo.
Ofcom is obliged to review how the ADRs on a regular basis, so is consulting on how they doing.
The consultation is available on Ofcom's site.
Currently there are two approved ADRs who are CISAS and Otelo.
Ofcom is obliged to review how the ADRs on a regular basis, so is consulting on how they doing.
The consultation is available on Ofcom's site.
2010/10/19
Competition try to tear Canvas
Project Canvas, the joint venture between the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Five, BT, TalkTalk and Arqiva which will deliver TV channels through a set top box (which is connected to an aerial for receiving DTV and the Internet for IPTV) and is now known as Youview has been given the go-ahead by Ofcom.
Actually Ofcom has decided not to accept complaints from Virgin Media, IP Vision and 11 other parties including BSkyB.
Ofcom's reasons are that the IP TV market is still fledgeling and it's too soon to see if Youview will make a difference in the market, Youview should benefit consumers and if they do harm the competition will the harm outweigh the benefit and the alleged harm may not occur depending on the technical specifications of the system.
Youview has gone through many iterations and current traditional pap-per-view systems like Virgin and Sky have the most to lose if a generic IP TV system can be brought into play that utilises people's broadband to deliver high quality IP TV services. Both BT and TalkTalk are part of the project and will be delivering fibre-to-the-street cabinet/premises (FTTC/FTTP) services which will deliver 40Mb/s - 100Mb/s to the home, which is enough for HDTV, thus negating the need for people to buy satellite TV or cable TV.
The fill press release is available from Ofcom
Actually Ofcom has decided not to accept complaints from Virgin Media, IP Vision and 11 other parties including BSkyB.
Ofcom's reasons are that the IP TV market is still fledgeling and it's too soon to see if Youview will make a difference in the market, Youview should benefit consumers and if they do harm the competition will the harm outweigh the benefit and the alleged harm may not occur depending on the technical specifications of the system.
Youview has gone through many iterations and current traditional pap-per-view systems like Virgin and Sky have the most to lose if a generic IP TV system can be brought into play that utilises people's broadband to deliver high quality IP TV services. Both BT and TalkTalk are part of the project and will be delivering fibre-to-the-street cabinet/premises (FTTC/FTTP) services which will deliver 40Mb/s - 100Mb/s to the home, which is enough for HDTV, thus negating the need for people to buy satellite TV or cable TV.
The fill press release is available from Ofcom
2010/10/18
Ofcom consulting on advertising an "additional services license"
Anyone want a national license to use for carrying data? Well Ofcom are advertising one. It's part of the spectrum allocated to Classic FM and it's currently used by ITIS Holdings PLC to transmit traffic information for use by in-car navigation systems. The license will expire on 31st December 2011.
There are various complexities such as the license can be no longer than 6 years 1 month as it's inextricably linked to the Classic FM license for voice which will expire in Jan 2018.
Ofcom wants to hold an auction with cash bids.
More info can be found on the consultation site.
There are various complexities such as the license can be no longer than 6 years 1 month as it's inextricably linked to the Classic FM license for voice which will expire in Jan 2018.
Ofcom wants to hold an auction with cash bids.
More info can be found on the consultation site.
Ofcom updates Olympic Spectrum Plan
Ofcom the super regulator has updated it's plans for spectrum use for the London Olympic Games in 2012.
The main spectrum use will be for wireless cameras and due to recent negotiations with the Ministry of Defence (MOD), the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) arrangements have been made for access to spectrum in the range 2700-3100 MHz and 3400-3600 MHz.
Private Mobile Radio (PMR), Talkback and Telemetry spectrum will be avilable through the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Ltd (LOCOG) or the Emergency and Public Safety Services (E&PSS) network operated by Airwave Solutions Ltd with 430-478 MHz being conserved for national use (the Torch procession requires spectrum across the UK).
Wireless microphones and in-ear monitors will use UHF Bands IV and V (470-862 MHz, channels 21 to 69) which includes the 800MHz band freed up by the the digital television switchover which should have completed by then.
Satellite News Gathering will have additional spectrum made available for use by Transportable Earth Station (TES) satellite uplinks in the frequency bands 5.925-7.075 GHz (referred to as "C band") and 27.5-27.8185 GHz, 28.4545-28.8265 GHz and 29.4625-30 GHz (collectively referred to as "Ka band").
The 2.6GHz band (2500-2690 MHz) which Ofcom wanted to make available for wireless cameras etc. has still not been decided as there has been arguments against this use that the commercials may not stack up and the spectrum could be used for other services (nationally for wireless broadband etc). That's a big chunk of spectrum that 3G operators would like to get their hands on (it was originally reserved for 3G use).
The Ofcom statement.
The main spectrum use will be for wireless cameras and due to recent negotiations with the Ministry of Defence (MOD), the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) arrangements have been made for access to spectrum in the range 2700-3100 MHz and 3400-3600 MHz.
Private Mobile Radio (PMR), Talkback and Telemetry spectrum will be avilable through the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Ltd (LOCOG) or the Emergency and Public Safety Services (E&PSS) network operated by Airwave Solutions Ltd with 430-478 MHz being conserved for national use (the Torch procession requires spectrum across the UK).
Wireless microphones and in-ear monitors will use UHF Bands IV and V (470-862 MHz, channels 21 to 69) which includes the 800MHz band freed up by the the digital television switchover which should have completed by then.
Satellite News Gathering will have additional spectrum made available for use by Transportable Earth Station (TES) satellite uplinks in the frequency bands 5.925-7.075 GHz (referred to as "C band") and 27.5-27.8185 GHz, 28.4545-28.8265 GHz and 29.4625-30 GHz (collectively referred to as "Ka band").
The 2.6GHz band (2500-2690 MHz) which Ofcom wanted to make available for wireless cameras etc. has still not been decided as there has been arguments against this use that the commercials may not stack up and the spectrum could be used for other services (nationally for wireless broadband etc). That's a big chunk of spectrum that 3G operators would like to get their hands on (it was originally reserved for 3G use).
The Ofcom statement.
2010/10/12
Total Hotspots hits Android
Total Hotspots the WiFi locating application that's been available on iPhone for a while has now been officially released for Android.
The Total Hotspots service is powered by the Rummble API and acquired by Rummble in 2009 now contains over 250,000 WiFi locations.
Total Hotspots gets the WiFi location data from multiple sources including user input, but it's all user rated, so users get a personalised rating that's relevant to them.
More information can be found on Rummble's site.
The Total Hotspots service is powered by the Rummble API and acquired by Rummble in 2009 now contains over 250,000 WiFi locations.
Total Hotspots gets the WiFi location data from multiple sources including user input, but it's all user rated, so users get a personalised rating that's relevant to them.
More information can be found on Rummble's site.
2010/10/08
FLO TV is dead, Long Live FLO Data?
As predicted Qualcomm have killed off their FLO TV service in the US which uses Qualcomm's Media FLO technology (you could buy an adapter for Android and other devices that was a radio receiver and some decode bits that allowed you to watch Media FLO channels on your phone).
What this means for the UK is still uncertain, as Qualcomm paid a considerable fee for a national license to run their Media FLO services.
Now Qualcomm are pushing to utilise the spectrum for data offload from existing mobile networks and this may be a winning strategy, though in Europe there's already spectrum coming available in 2.6GHz (a BUG chunk) as well as the old TV channels etc.
Qualcomm invested heavily in Media FLO technology and buying spectrum, which many believed was a white elephant and has been proved to be so. There's probably going to be a fire-sale of spectrum now.
What this means for the UK is still uncertain, as Qualcomm paid a considerable fee for a national license to run their Media FLO services.
Now Qualcomm are pushing to utilise the spectrum for data offload from existing mobile networks and this may be a winning strategy, though in Europe there's already spectrum coming available in 2.6GHz (a BUG chunk) as well as the old TV channels etc.
Qualcomm invested heavily in Media FLO technology and buying spectrum, which many believed was a white elephant and has been proved to be so. There's probably going to be a fire-sale of spectrum now.
2010/10/07
Stardoll Party
Last night (07/10/10) in the depths of central London (well Jalouse in Hanover Square), Stardoll held a party for with various bands and singers throughout the evening including Kym Mazelle, Robbie McDade and The Kixx.
A jolly good time was had by all and Mr Paul Clarke took some great photos.
Thanks to Joan Lockwood for the invite.
A jolly good time was had by all and Mr Paul Clarke took some great photos.
Thanks to Joan Lockwood for the invite.
2010/10/05
Samsung drops Symbian
Following on from the announcement by SonyEricsson that it would not be producing anymore handsets based on Symbian to concentrate on Android, Samsung has also announced it's dropping Symbian and will be developing new handsets based on Android and Windows Phone 7.
This must be a blow for Nokia who are still pushing Symbian and hoping that Symbian^3, now open sourced, would be a competitor to Google's Android and Apple's iOS and to some degree Microsoft's WP7 though earlier version of Windows Mobile haven't been too successful.
Nokia have a confused approach and are utilising MeeGo (their joint Linux venture with Intel combining the best features of Nokia's Maemo and Intel's Moblin) as their smartphone operating system, though Symbian^3 also offers smartphone features (though can also be cut down as a dumb OS for cheaper phones).
Though Nokia are still dominant in the phone arena, selling 1.4m phones per day, it's a costly exercise to keep development teams for MeeGo and Symbian when no-one apart from Nokia is using them and Android is becoming the default OS for smartphones (apart from Apple's iOS which they are unlikely to license to other phone vendors).
Maybe Nokia should drop MeeGo, move to Android and admit Google have won and just develop Symbian as a 'dumb' OS for the non smartphone market.
This must be a blow for Nokia who are still pushing Symbian and hoping that Symbian^3, now open sourced, would be a competitor to Google's Android and Apple's iOS and to some degree Microsoft's WP7 though earlier version of Windows Mobile haven't been too successful.
Nokia have a confused approach and are utilising MeeGo (their joint Linux venture with Intel combining the best features of Nokia's Maemo and Intel's Moblin) as their smartphone operating system, though Symbian^3 also offers smartphone features (though can also be cut down as a dumb OS for cheaper phones).
Though Nokia are still dominant in the phone arena, selling 1.4m phones per day, it's a costly exercise to keep development teams for MeeGo and Symbian when no-one apart from Nokia is using them and Android is becoming the default OS for smartphones (apart from Apple's iOS which they are unlikely to license to other phone vendors).
Maybe Nokia should drop MeeGo, move to Android and admit Google have won and just develop Symbian as a 'dumb' OS for the non smartphone market.
2010/10/01
Ofcom makes a silent statement on calls
Ofcom the regulator for Communications (and other things) has published a statement on"tackling and handling silent calls".
Now companies are only allowed to make automated calls once per day, unless they are handled by real people. Ofcom has the power to fine any company that abuses this, though it can be difficult to regulate as often silent calls will not have an exposed CLI (caller line identifier) or the call may come from outside the UK.
At least they're making an effort to stop these annoying calls though.
Now companies are only allowed to make automated calls once per day, unless they are handled by real people. Ofcom has the power to fine any company that abuses this, though it can be difficult to regulate as often silent calls will not have an exposed CLI (caller line identifier) or the call may come from outside the UK.
At least they're making an effort to stop these annoying calls though.
2010/09/24
Blackberry Tablet expected soon
RIM's Blackberry Tablet or "blackpad" is due for imminent release. Surprisingly it's based on a version of QNX operating system not the Blackberry OS (RIM purchased QNX a while ago). QNX has produced embedded POSIX operating systems such as Neutrino for a while and now it's rumoured that that in the future RIM will utilise Neutrino (or another OS from QNX) as the basis for all the Blackberry products, bye bye Blackberry OS.
RIM's Blackberry OS though optimised for their handsets, is proprietary and must take a huge amount of resource to keep going. QNX on the other hand has been making real-time embedded operating systems for many years (well before RIM came on the scene), it's been ported to many CPU architectures and 'just works'. As a POSIX OS it's also relatively easy to port from other more common operating systems such as Linux.
As long as all the Blackberry functionality is maintained (i.e. Push Email, BIS/BES support) which are really just applications, they should also work on a QNX OS. This will also allow RIM to support modern processors and rapidly deploy new smartphones as the hardware becomes available.
It might just give them the edge again and RIM can put the Blackberry back into the enterprise market while still keeping the youth market by making their phones sexy too.
RIM's Blackberry OS though optimised for their handsets, is proprietary and must take a huge amount of resource to keep going. QNX on the other hand has been making real-time embedded operating systems for many years (well before RIM came on the scene), it's been ported to many CPU architectures and 'just works'. As a POSIX OS it's also relatively easy to port from other more common operating systems such as Linux.
As long as all the Blackberry functionality is maintained (i.e. Push Email, BIS/BES support) which are really just applications, they should also work on a QNX OS. This will also allow RIM to support modern processors and rapidly deploy new smartphones as the hardware becomes available.
It might just give them the edge again and RIM can put the Blackberry back into the enterprise market while still keeping the youth market by making their phones sexy too.
2010/09/22
It's that FOWA time of year again
Oct 6th sees the Carsonified put on the The Future of Web Apps or FOWA.
As with the FOWD it's taking place in London at The Brewery which is a great venue and if they pull off the same level of professionalism it will be a great conference. They even get the networking right with high speed wireless and wired connections (almost a LAN port to every chair and WiFi for the rest).
Jason Calacanis, Mike McDerment, Cal Henderson and Brad Neuberg are amongst the speakers with the complete line-up here.
The actual conference takes place on Oct 4th and 5th and workshops on the 6th.
There's a 15% discount for anyone using the code 15DISC at the check-out when buying tickets on-line.
As with the FOWD it's taking place in London at The Brewery which is a great venue and if they pull off the same level of professionalism it will be a great conference. They even get the networking right with high speed wireless and wired connections (almost a LAN port to every chair and WiFi for the rest).
Jason Calacanis, Mike McDerment, Cal Henderson and Brad Neuberg are amongst the speakers with the complete line-up here.
The actual conference takes place on Oct 4th and 5th and workshops on the 6th.
There's a 15% discount for anyone using the code 15DISC at the check-out when buying tickets on-line.
2010/09/20
Ofcom passes-on responsibility for VOD editortial
Ofcom the Super regulator that deals with regulation of broadcasters, communications, radio spectrum etc. has today passed on all complaints handling relating to editorial content on UK based Video on demand services to it's co-regulatory partner the Association for Television on Demand ATVOD.
Ofcom designated ATVOD it's co-regulation partner back in March. This has implications for anyone doing VoD type broadcasts on the Internet (though it specifically does not include crowd sourced content) and puts them in the same regulatory bracket as traditional broadcasters - in order to level the playing field.
It does mean some Internet broadcasters will have to look carefully at what they're doing (if they're based in the UK at least) to ensure they re compliant.
Ofcom designated ATVOD it's co-regulation partner back in March. This has implications for anyone doing VoD type broadcasts on the Internet (though it specifically does not include crowd sourced content) and puts them in the same regulatory bracket as traditional broadcasters - in order to level the playing field.
It does mean some Internet broadcasters will have to look carefully at what they're doing (if they're based in the UK at least) to ensure they re compliant.
2010/09/17
Ofcom changes billing rules
Ofcom are holding a consultation that closes on 18th Oct 2010 about changing the rules how Communications Providers or CPs (who earn more than £40m pa) have to have their billing systems independently checked for accuracy.
Currently CPs can use the Oftel Guidelines from 2003 or the Ofcom Guidelines from 2008, now Ofcom are mandating the Ofcom 2008 Guidelines, but with changes to the way some tolerances are measured.
Though important, it only affects the bigger CPs in the UK.
The full consultation is available here and the on-line response form is here.
Currently CPs can use the Oftel Guidelines from 2003 or the Ofcom Guidelines from 2008, now Ofcom are mandating the Ofcom 2008 Guidelines, but with changes to the way some tolerances are measured.
Though important, it only affects the bigger CPs in the UK.
The full consultation is available here and the on-line response form is here.
2010/09/16
Project Canvas becomes Youview
The hotly debated TV service known as Project Canvas has now come out of hiding to be called Youview TV Ltd and known as Youview.
Youview has several main partners, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, BT, TalkTalk and Arquiva with innovation partners from Cisco, Humax and Technicolor.
Youview will be available through a set-top-box which connects to your TV aerial and your broadband connection offering access to standard TV services (which can be watched as they're broadcast or after). The standard services will be free, though PayTV options will also be available giving access to movies and other premium content (like shows).
The obvious company that isn't a partner is BSkyB and they tried to kill Project Canvas off initially as a major threat to their PayTV services.
Youview has also published various technical documents which should allow anyone to develop for the platform, provide content services and even build set-top-boxes. How open they'll actually be is as yet unknown as only the original players are currently content providers.
In the US Apple TV (with it's reduced price of $99 for the box) is seen as a threat to traditional broadcasters and more so with services such as here and it's possible to respond on-line.
Youview has several main partners, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, BT, TalkTalk and Arquiva with innovation partners from Cisco, Humax and Technicolor.
Youview will be available through a set-top-box which connects to your TV aerial and your broadband connection offering access to standard TV services (which can be watched as they're broadcast or after). The standard services will be free, though PayTV options will also be available giving access to movies and other premium content (like shows).
The obvious company that isn't a partner is BSkyB and they tried to kill Project Canvas off initially as a major threat to their PayTV services.
Youview has also published various technical documents which should allow anyone to develop for the platform, provide content services and even build set-top-boxes. How open they'll actually be is as yet unknown as only the original players are currently content providers.
In the US Apple TV (with it's reduced price of $99 for the box) is seen as a threat to traditional broadcasters and more so with services such as here and it's possible to respond on-line.
Ofcom reduces the permitted power for UWB
Ofcom has published a consultation on reducing the permitted power in the 4.2 to 4.8 GHz band for UWB devices. The power is being reduced from -41.3 dBm/MHz EIRP to a maximum mean EIRP density of no greater than -70 dBm/MHz (unless interference mitigation techniques are used, in which case the original power limits can be maintained).
On automotive and railway vehicles the limits are being reduced from -53.3 dBm/MHz to -70 dBm/MHz (unless interference mitigation techniques are used).
This is in-line with harmonised European spectrum regulation.
The full consultation is available here.
It's possible to respond on-line and the consultation closes on 18 October 2010.
UWB (or ultra wide band) is a system whereby signals are spread across multiple parts of the spectrum, so it appears as background noise for non-UWB devices however as a lot of spectrum is used (as in a wide band) a lot of information may be transmitted allowing multi-gigabit/s data to be sent over short-distances. UWB is suitable for in-room transmission of video signals and wire replacement systems.
On automotive and railway vehicles the limits are being reduced from -53.3 dBm/MHz to -70 dBm/MHz (unless interference mitigation techniques are used).
This is in-line with harmonised European spectrum regulation.
The full consultation is available here.
It's possible to respond on-line and the consultation closes on 18 October 2010.
UWB (or ultra wide band) is a system whereby signals are spread across multiple parts of the spectrum, so it appears as background noise for non-UWB devices however as a lot of spectrum is used (as in a wide band) a lot of information may be transmitted allowing multi-gigabit/s data to be sent over short-distances. UWB is suitable for in-room transmission of video signals and wire replacement systems.
2010/09/13
Ofcom wants to increases spectrum for outside broadcast units
Ofcom is holding a consultation on whether to allow increased spectrum for satellite earth stations (or to be specific Transportable Earth Stations or TES).
The current usable band is 13.78 - 14.5 GHz known as the "Ku band" and Ofcom wants to make the 5.925 - 7.075 GHz band (known a "C band") and 27.5 - 27.8185 GHz, 28.4545 - 28.8265 GHz and 29.4625 - 30 GHz collectively known as the "Ka band" available. C band users will mainly be foreign broadcasters reporting on UK events.
The new allocation will approximately triple the available bandwidth available.
The consultation closes on 11 October 2010 and interested stakeholders can apply on-line here.
The current usable band is 13.78 - 14.5 GHz known as the "Ku band" and Ofcom wants to make the 5.925 - 7.075 GHz band (known a "C band") and 27.5 - 27.8185 GHz, 28.4545 - 28.8265 GHz and 29.4625 - 30 GHz collectively known as the "Ka band" available. C band users will mainly be foreign broadcasters reporting on UK events.
The new allocation will approximately triple the available bandwidth available.
The consultation closes on 11 October 2010 and interested stakeholders can apply on-line here.
2010/09/08
Ofcom wants to allow 3G operators to up power levels
Ofcom the super regulator is proposing to up the in-band power lever from 62dBm to 65dBm eirp per carrier in the FDD part of the 3G spectrum (and future 2 GHz MSS/CGC licenses).
Vodafone originally requested a license variance and the other 4 MNOs supported it, Ofcom then proposed to raise the level to 68dBm eirp, but there were objections, so Ofcom are now supporting the 65dBm eirp power levels.
The statement from Ofcom may be found here.
Vodafone originally requested a license variance and the other 4 MNOs supported it, Ofcom then proposed to raise the level to 68dBm eirp, but there were objections, so Ofcom are now supporting the 65dBm eirp power levels.
The statement from Ofcom may be found here.
2010/09/07
Google gets ballsey on the UK homepage
It's Sept 7th 2010 which must be special (for Google anyway) as their UK homepage now has a set of balls (or are they balloons) that swirl around as the mouse goes near them and then they settle back into the semblance of the Google logo.
Google usually modify their homepage on specific anniversaries and it could be the date Google opened their doors in Menlo Park on Sept 7th 1998, which they have celebrated previously so it would make it the 12th anniversary, but why bouncing balls which look more particle physics?
Chris Heilmann who's Yahoo's Developer Network evangelist has published the source code (reverse engineered) to how they've done it based on HTML/Javascript and CSS.
Google do publish a list of their logos but today isn't on there yet.
Google usually modify their homepage on specific anniversaries and it could be the date Google opened their doors in Menlo Park on Sept 7th 1998, which they have celebrated previously so it would make it the 12th anniversary, but why bouncing balls which look more particle physics?
Chris Heilmann who's Yahoo's Developer Network evangelist has published the source code (reverse engineered) to how they've done it based on HTML/Javascript and CSS.
Google do publish a list of their logos but today isn't on there yet.
2010/08/23
Ofcom proposes wireless cameras to use 2.6GHz band for the London Olympics
Ofcom the super regulator is holding a consultation on utilising the 2.6GHz band for use by wireless cameras for the 2012 London Olympics. The full consultation may be seen here.
The band (actually 2500 - 2690 MHz) which offers 190MHz of prime spectrum has been the centre of various legal disputes between Ofcom and the various mobile network operators. Originally reserved for IMT-2000 use (which is the technical name for 3G) Ofcom planned to auction the band in 2007 which would have pu the UK in the lead for putting the spectrum to good use. Unfortunately due to the legal issues the spectrum auction was delayed and the band is not expected to be avilable until 2012 at the earliest. The 190MHz of specrtrum is more than all of the current 3G operators have currently and would be useful for 3G/4G data services
or wireless broadband.
Now Ofcom are proposing to reserve the whole band for use by wireless cameras for use during the London Olympic games which take place between 27th of July and 9th of September 2012.
Ofcom also completely underestimated the bandwith requirement for new services such as 3D TV which will be made available during the Olympics and as such require extra bandwith which is outside Ofcom's original spectrum allocation plans.
Though the auction of this band is expected to generate significant revenues, as well as legal challenges there are physical constraints to a national auction including military radars which are using adjacent spectrum at 2.7GHz which are being upgraded but the program will not finish by 2012.
Ofcom have tried to be a leader in spectrum auctions, with the UK going to be the first country to auction the 2.6GHz band, it now looks like the UK will be at the tail end of European countries to auction it.
Anyone wishing to respond may do so here
The band (actually 2500 - 2690 MHz) which offers 190MHz of prime spectrum has been the centre of various legal disputes between Ofcom and the various mobile network operators. Originally reserved for IMT-2000 use (which is the technical name for 3G) Ofcom planned to auction the band in 2007 which would have pu the UK in the lead for putting the spectrum to good use. Unfortunately due to the legal issues the spectrum auction was delayed and the band is not expected to be avilable until 2012 at the earliest. The 190MHz of specrtrum is more than all of the current 3G operators have currently and would be useful for 3G/4G data services
or wireless broadband.
Now Ofcom are proposing to reserve the whole band for use by wireless cameras for use during the London Olympic games which take place between 27th of July and 9th of September 2012.
Ofcom also completely underestimated the bandwith requirement for new services such as 3D TV which will be made available during the Olympics and as such require extra bandwith which is outside Ofcom's original spectrum allocation plans.
Though the auction of this band is expected to generate significant revenues, as well as legal challenges there are physical constraints to a national auction including military radars which are using adjacent spectrum at 2.7GHz which are being upgraded but the program will not finish by 2012.
Ofcom have tried to be a leader in spectrum auctions, with the UK going to be the first country to auction the 2.6GHz band, it now looks like the UK will be at the tail end of European countries to auction it.
Anyone wishing to respond may do so here
2010/07/29
It's all go for 2.6GHz spectrum auctions (next year)
At least the UK Government and Ofcom have made up their minds (and fought of legal battles) and announced that the 2.6GHz chunk of spectrum (all 190MHz of it) will be auctioned at the end of 2011.
At the same time they'll auction off the old 800MHz spectrum which comes from the digital dividend. It's all prime spectrum as it has extremely good propagation characteristics i.e. it goes through walls well.
Ofcom at the same time will allow refarming of the 900MHz and 1800MHz GSM/PCN spectrum so that it can be used for 3G (or 4G/LTE) services, which is currently not allowed under the GSM laws. The existing 3G licenses (which expire in 2021) will be made indefinite with the licensees paying a yearly fee post 2021 to Ofcom.
BT was expected to bid for the 2.6GHz spectrum when it was originally meant to become available (late 2007/2008) but now it's likely they'll just expand their WiFi and MVNO offerings as the cost of the spectrum is expected to be extremely high and they're already spending a fortune expanding their fibre roll-out to most of the UK.
It's likely the spectrum will be snapped up by the existing Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) who will use it for high speed data services using LTE, though an outsider could come in and use it to offer wireless broadband or even 3G services of their own.
There's still a decision to be made on how the 900MHz spectrum (currently owned by O2/Telefonica and Vodafone) should be re-allocated and also the 1800MHz and 2.1GHz spectrum that Orange and T-Mobile own as they're now a single entity (in regulatory terms anyway) which means they own too much spectrum for a single network as per the 3G license.
So though it's a good move by the Government there's still a few issues to iron out, including the big issue of Ofcom itself as the Government is also trying to reduce spending on the Quangos that are currently in operation, Ofcom being a major one. Though licensing spectrum could be a big earner (especially the 2.6GHz and 800MHz chunks) which could pay for Ofcom for a few years.
At the same time they'll auction off the old 800MHz spectrum which comes from the digital dividend. It's all prime spectrum as it has extremely good propagation characteristics i.e. it goes through walls well.
Ofcom at the same time will allow refarming of the 900MHz and 1800MHz GSM/PCN spectrum so that it can be used for 3G (or 4G/LTE) services, which is currently not allowed under the GSM laws. The existing 3G licenses (which expire in 2021) will be made indefinite with the licensees paying a yearly fee post 2021 to Ofcom.
BT was expected to bid for the 2.6GHz spectrum when it was originally meant to become available (late 2007/2008) but now it's likely they'll just expand their WiFi and MVNO offerings as the cost of the spectrum is expected to be extremely high and they're already spending a fortune expanding their fibre roll-out to most of the UK.
It's likely the spectrum will be snapped up by the existing Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) who will use it for high speed data services using LTE, though an outsider could come in and use it to offer wireless broadband or even 3G services of their own.
There's still a decision to be made on how the 900MHz spectrum (currently owned by O2/Telefonica and Vodafone) should be re-allocated and also the 1800MHz and 2.1GHz spectrum that Orange and T-Mobile own as they're now a single entity (in regulatory terms anyway) which means they own too much spectrum for a single network as per the 3G license.
So though it's a good move by the Government there's still a few issues to iron out, including the big issue of Ofcom itself as the Government is also trying to reduce spending on the Quangos that are currently in operation, Ofcom being a major one. Though licensing spectrum could be a big earner (especially the 2.6GHz and 800MHz chunks) which could pay for Ofcom for a few years.
2010/07/28
New 116 Numbers go live in the UK
Ofcom has announced that it is making two numbers in the 116 range live which are pan-European numbers.
116 006 which is a freephone number for victims of crime. The number will be free unless there is a pre-announcement stating that the number isn't free (which could happen from mobile networks).
116 117 is a freephone number for non-emergency medical help which is always free from any network.
More information can be found from Ofcom though this is another confusing number range where sometimes calls are free and sometimes they're not.
116 006 which is a freephone number for victims of crime. The number will be free unless there is a pre-announcement stating that the number isn't free (which could happen from mobile networks).
116 117 is a freephone number for non-emergency medical help which is always free from any network.
More information can be found from Ofcom though this is another confusing number range where sometimes calls are free and sometimes they're not.
2010/07/26
Don't try and recycle that stolen phone anymore!
In the UK each of the mobile operators maintain a list of stolen phones and that's shared between all the operators and is disseminated within 48 hours of the phone being reported stolen.
That has worked pretty well within the UK and has stopped a lot of stolen phones being reused and caused difficulties for a few people who've had their IMEI blocked by mistake as the only recourse is to complain to their operator as users have no direct access to the block list. However there's been a massive loophole and that's selling phones to a recycling company as they tend to sell them on to operators abroad and up until now, there's been no checks to see whether the phone is on any stolen phone list. It's believed that this has led to around 100,000 stolen phones going abroad a year.
That's now changing and Crime Prevention Minister James Brokenshire has stated "By joining forces with the police, the mobile phone industry is closing a multi-million pound loophole that has been exploited by criminals and the industry should be congratulated. Alongside the impressive work on blocking stolen phones, this code will make mobile phone theft an even less profitable crime."
The Telecommunications Fraud Forum known as TUFF has drawn up a code of practice alongside the Government and Police and TUFF will administer it. So far 20 mobile phone recyclers have joined the scheme which represent 90% of the industry and the others are expected to follow suit.
Now if anyone tries to sell a stolen phone, the phone will will not be accepted and they will be reported to the Police.
Now the Government just needs a way to somehow track gold items and regulate the on-line/postal gold services who will also buy pretty much any gold item and immediately melt it down before anyone can complain.
That has worked pretty well within the UK and has stopped a lot of stolen phones being reused and caused difficulties for a few people who've had their IMEI blocked by mistake as the only recourse is to complain to their operator as users have no direct access to the block list. However there's been a massive loophole and that's selling phones to a recycling company as they tend to sell them on to operators abroad and up until now, there's been no checks to see whether the phone is on any stolen phone list. It's believed that this has led to around 100,000 stolen phones going abroad a year.
That's now changing and Crime Prevention Minister James Brokenshire has stated "By joining forces with the police, the mobile phone industry is closing a multi-million pound loophole that has been exploited by criminals and the industry should be congratulated. Alongside the impressive work on blocking stolen phones, this code will make mobile phone theft an even less profitable crime."
The Telecommunications Fraud Forum known as TUFF has drawn up a code of practice alongside the Government and Police and TUFF will administer it. So far 20 mobile phone recyclers have joined the scheme which represent 90% of the industry and the others are expected to follow suit.
Now if anyone tries to sell a stolen phone, the phone will will not be accepted and they will be reported to the Police.
Now the Government just needs a way to somehow track gold items and regulate the on-line/postal gold services who will also buy pretty much any gold item and immediately melt it down before anyone can complain.
2010/07/22
BT rejects GPRS for meter reading
BT has plans to build a system that will allow companies to wirelessly read meters in tune with government recommendations.
BT is teaming up with Arqiva and consultancy Detica and plans to use US-based Sensus' FlexNet long range wireless solution that operates in the 400MHz band (which has good building penetration characteristics).
Unsurprisingly the UK mobile network operators aren't too pleased as the original plans were to use GPRS connectivity which would have meant at least 26m GPRS systems installed by 2020 which would be a massive boost to one or more of the networks.
BT may not be successful and another consortium may still win the contract.
BT is teaming up with Arqiva and consultancy Detica and plans to use US-based Sensus' FlexNet long range wireless solution that operates in the 400MHz band (which has good building penetration characteristics).
Unsurprisingly the UK mobile network operators aren't too pleased as the original plans were to use GPRS connectivity which would have meant at least 26m GPRS systems installed by 2020 which would be a massive boost to one or more of the networks.
BT may not be successful and another consortium may still win the contract.
2010/07/14
The night of 1000 flowers
Last night was the inaugural Flowery Tweetup organised by Stewart Townsend and Stuart Witts and kindly sponsored by Blaqua (a fine purveyor of floral attire). Music came from the Bikini Beach Band who provided various musical numbers ranging from The Beach Boys to Madness and back through New Order.
For once the event wasn't just the same tech people who normally attend this sort of thing, but a mixture of Londoners who seem to have a passion for things flowery. There's some Facebook pictures of the evening.
For once the event wasn't just the same tech people who normally attend this sort of thing, but a mixture of Londoners who seem to have a passion for things flowery. There's some Facebook pictures of the evening.
2010/07/13
Google makes developing Android apps easy-as-pie
Google has made available App Inventor for Android that allows anyone to develop an Android application with minimal programming (if any) knowledge.
The website has uses visual building blocks which are dragged on to the 'canvas' and these can link to other functions. Access to the lower level Android functions (like GPS location and SMS) are available.
There are basic functions like buttons, canvas, checkboxes, etc and then media, animation, social, sensors and screen arrangement functions allowing complex applications to be constructed. It uses the Open Blocks Java library, which is distributed by MIT's (Massachusetts Institute of Technology's) Scheller Teacher Education Program which was used to develop the Scratch programming language. The compiler that converts the visual framework to a native Android app uses the Kawa language.
App Inventor for Android isn't openly available yet and potential users have to complete a form (using a GMail address) entering information about what App Inventor will be used for.
There are around 60,000+ apps in Android Marketplace, compared to over 200,000 in Apples app store, maybe this could redress the balance.
The website has uses visual building blocks which are dragged on to the 'canvas' and these can link to other functions. Access to the lower level Android functions (like GPS location and SMS) are available.
There are basic functions like buttons, canvas, checkboxes, etc and then media, animation, social, sensors and screen arrangement functions allowing complex applications to be constructed. It uses the Open Blocks Java library, which is distributed by MIT's (Massachusetts Institute of Technology's) Scheller Teacher Education Program which was used to develop the Scratch programming language. The compiler that converts the visual framework to a native Android app uses the Kawa language.
App Inventor for Android isn't openly available yet and potential users have to complete a form (using a GMail address) entering information about what App Inventor will be used for.
There are around 60,000+ apps in Android Marketplace, compared to over 200,000 in Apples app store, maybe this could redress the balance.
2010/07/12
New Storage service to compete with Amazon S3?
A new service has been announced called S4 or Super Simple Storage Service which promises to undercut Amazon S3 and other storage services by magnitudes. It's not clear what back-end S4 are using, but they are providing various interfaces to their system including direct web upload, http get and put methods and a SOAP and REST API for write-only access.
S4 will store as much data as you throw at it and they offer a full money back guarantee, though at only $1 per TB per month even if they do make a few mistakes, it's not as though it's cost you much. Amazon on the other hand would charge around $153 per month for the same storage (but then you do get read access to the data too).
S4 could be the long term storage solution for those long term (and forgotten) back-ups that your company so desperately needs.
S4 will store as much data as you throw at it and they offer a full money back guarantee, though at only $1 per TB per month even if they do make a few mistakes, it's not as though it's cost you much. Amazon on the other hand would charge around $153 per month for the same storage (but then you do get read access to the data too).
S4 could be the long term storage solution for those long term (and forgotten) back-ups that your company so desperately needs.
Palm releases WebOS 1.4.5
Palm has release an update to their WebOS taking it to version 1.4.5 which will run on Palm Pre and Pixi devices. Though only a minor update which mainly fixes bugs, it does add 3D support to the Pixi range (and stabilises 3D for the Pre). It also adds supports for the PDK (plug-in development kit) which Palm released a while back. The update will be available immediately to US users on Sprint and French users of SFR. Palm have not said when O2 other other users will be lucky and get their new versions, but generally updates are quickly (within a few days) sent to all operators.
This is the first release since Palm was acquired by HP for $1.2bn and HP has confirmed that WebOS will be used as a future OS for tablet based computers, though it has not confirmed for which tablets or when. HP was going to produce a tablet (known as the Slate) which was going to run Windows 7, but HP pulled it when Apple announced the iPad. Having WebOS will allow HP to develop their own Operating System suitable for the enterprise market and reduce their reliance on Google (for Android or Chrome OS), Microsoft or even Intel/Nokia for MeeGo.
This is the first release since Palm was acquired by HP for $1.2bn and HP has confirmed that WebOS will be used as a future OS for tablet based computers, though it has not confirmed for which tablets or when. HP was going to produce a tablet (known as the Slate) which was going to run Windows 7, but HP pulled it when Apple announced the iPad. Having WebOS will allow HP to develop their own Operating System suitable for the enterprise market and reduce their reliance on Google (for Android or Chrome OS), Microsoft or even Intel/Nokia for MeeGo.
2010/06/30
Apple still leading the smartphone market
Apple managed to get 1.7m iPhone 4's out the door on launch, that's pretty impressive for any phone let alone one that costs £499 or £599 for the 16GB or 32GB versions respectively (admittedly unlocked versions). It's even more impressive considering it took them 3 days to sell 1m 3GS phones in 2009, while the original iPhone took 72 days to sell 1m units.
Though Google recently made a big song and dance about operators selling 160,000 Android based phones per day and though they did grow in terms of market share to 10.6%, Apple grew to 15.4%.
Whatever pills Apple are taking, they seem to be on the right medication and can still push out a world leading product even if the signal reception drops when holding the phone.
Though Google recently made a big song and dance about operators selling 160,000 Android based phones per day and though they did grow in terms of market share to 10.6%, Apple grew to 15.4%.
Whatever pills Apple are taking, they seem to be on the right medication and can still push out a world leading product even if the signal reception drops when holding the phone.
Product Placement about to hit a TV near you?
Ofcom the regulator which deals with broadcasters amongst its many remits has today (28/06/2010) published a consultation on product placement in television. Currently no product placement is allowed at all, but it's likely this will change.
There are still various type of programming where product placement will be not allowed (such as news programs) and some factual programming, but pretty much any other type will be allowed. The separation between editorial and advertising will become more blurred in line with EU legislation. When a program contains product placement, there will be an audio and visual cue (a neutral logo) to indicate it. Ofcom have not yet decided how they should handle story lines that are written specifically to promote products.
Ofcom recently published a statement on VoD players and this implies that they will subject to the same product placement conditions.
The consultation closes on 17/09/2010 and stakeholders may respond on-line (which doesn't seem to be working) or via Email.
There are still various type of programming where product placement will be not allowed (such as news programs) and some factual programming, but pretty much any other type will be allowed. The separation between editorial and advertising will become more blurred in line with EU legislation. When a program contains product placement, there will be an audio and visual cue (a neutral logo) to indicate it. Ofcom have not yet decided how they should handle story lines that are written specifically to promote products.
Ofcom recently published a statement on VoD players and this implies that they will subject to the same product placement conditions.
The consultation closes on 17/09/2010 and stakeholders may respond on-line (which doesn't seem to be working) or via Email.
2010/06/19
Freedom4 gets sold to UK BroadbandFreedom4 was one of the two operators in the UK with licensed spectrum that were trying to operate a WiMAX network who were sold to the second operator UK Broadband (a subsidiary of PCCW which is owned by Hong Kong Telecom) for £12.5m. The sale came about as Freedom4 was involved in a reverse takeover of Vialtus which later became part of Daisy Telecom, but WiMAX was not part of Daisy's core business.
Freedom4 was one of the two operators in the UK with licensed spectrum that were trying to operate a WiMAX network who were sold to the second operator UK Broadband (a subsidiary of PCCW which is owned by Hong Kong Telecom) for £12.5m. The sale came about as Freedom4 was involved in a reverse takeover of Vialtus which later became part of Daisy Telecom, but WiMAX was not part of Daisy's core business.
Freedom4 used to be what was known as Pipex Wireless, which was separated from the Pipex group when Pipex was sold to Tiscali and became Freedom4 (with some cash from Intel Capital). Freedom4 has two blocks of 84MHz of spectrum in the 3.6GHz t0 4.2GHz bands while UK Broadband has spectrum in the 3.4GHz band.
WiMAX has not faired particularly well in the UK. It was meant to be the saviour in terms of rural broadband but backhaul costs have limited the size of the WiMAX wireless roll-outs (combined with BT installing wired broadband to most parts of the country) so the costs of wireless have tended to be greater than those of wired broadband and the wireless speeds have not been that great.
UK Broadband may be able to leverage the assets of both companies and now use WiMAX for both end-user connections and for wireless backhaul reducing their need for expensive wired connectivity between sites.
The great hope for WiMAX was the auctioning of the 2.6GHz band which was initially meant to take place in 2007 but has been hampered with regulatory issues and is now unlikely to be available before 2011. There was speculation that BT would bid for this spectrum to offer 3G services in urban areas and WiMAX wireless broadband to the rural areas. This is now less likely to be attractive in terms of WiMAX anyway as LTE (a 4G technology) is likely to be prevalent before the spectrum is actually made available.
Freedom4 used to be what was known as Pipex Wireless, which was separated from the Pipex group when Pipex was sold to Tiscali and became Freedom4 (with some cash from Intel Capital). Freedom4 has two blocks of 84MHz of spectrum in the 3.6GHz t0 4.2GHz bands while UK Broadband has spectrum in the 3.4GHz band.
WiMAX has not faired particularly well in the UK. It was meant to be the saviour in terms of rural broadband but backhaul costs have limited the size of the WiMAX wireless roll-outs (combined with BT installing wired broadband to most parts of the country) so the costs of wireless have tended to be greater than those of wired broadband and the wireless speeds have not been that great.
UK Broadband may be able to leverage the assets of both companies and now use WiMAX for both end-user connections and for wireless backhaul reducing their need for expensive wired connectivity between sites.
The great hope for WiMAX was the auctioning of the 2.6GHz band which was initially meant to take place in 2007 but has been hampered with regulatory issues and is now unlikely to be available before 2011. There was speculation that BT would bid for this spectrum to offer 3G services in urban areas and WiMAX wireless broadband to the rural areas. This is now less likely to be attractive in terms of WiMAX anyway as LTE (a 4G technology) is likely to be prevalent before the spectrum is actually made available.
2010/06/02
Open WIFi is already problematic without any DEAct implications
There's been varied article and Twitter coverage of Ofcom warning that people offering free WiFi are going to be classified as 'subscribers" under the Digital Economy Act (DEA) so they will have copyright infringement notices sent to them rather than their users.
Ofcom's code of practice for the DEA says that they will only regard an ISP as someone with more than 400,000 customers i.e. only covering the big players which cover over 90% of the UK's broadband users. ISPs have to deal with sending notices to users and if necessary cutting them off.
Ofcom have chosen the figure of 400,000 as it makes life easier for everyone, however they can reduce that figure to 1 if smaller players are also consistently having users that share copyrighted data.
Therefore people have seen offering WiFi services as a get-out so that they're classified as an ISP rather than a subscriber as by offering a service to a 3rd party, the DEA defines you as an ISP.
Ofcom have obviously seen the whole in the definition, so they are saying WiFi must be offered as part of a service to be classified as an ISP. So say a coffee establishment can offer WiFi as part of their service as they are charging for the coffee (as could a pub or anyone charging for services including those charging for WiFi services).
Charging for WiFi makes life a lot easier as then you generally know who your users are (or at least have a billing relationship with them, which means Ofcom or the Police have somewhere to start if the user does something wrong).
Offering free WiFi was thought to be another way to get out of the DEA, unfortunately Ofcom have chosen to take the opinion that then the WiFi isn't part of a service which means the ISP excuse cant be used and any copyright infringement notices will be sent to the WiFi operator themselves.
The last section is what's causing people to get upset. However it has ALWAYS been an issue. Altruistic WiFi may sound good on paper, but not knowing who your users are has implecations under the law.
Imagine an open WiFi access point and someone uploads child porn to a known site which the Police monitor. Child porn is illegal (rightly so) and the Police take a dim view of it. So they track where the porn was uploaded from and lo and behold it's appeared from the user running the open WiFi access. The user in question denies all knowledge of the offence as they have an open access point. The Police on the other hand don't quite see their point of view, all the know is that child porn was uploaded from the user's network so the confiscate all their computer hardware - EVERYTHING.
Eventually, after it's gone into the queue of a Police forensics lab (many months), the Police may drop the charges as they find no traces of the child porn on the computers and have discovered the access point is configured as open. Of course they may decide there's other content of a suspicious nature and the user must be good at erasing their data as they are technical, so it may go the other way.
As a technical household there may be many computers, media units, servers, hard drives etc. They will ALL be confiscated and the more there are, the longer the case will take.
(The above has actually happened to an acquaintance)
Now that's just part of it, it's not just the process of uploading child porn (though that's a worst case scenario) the Communications Act covers WiFi etc. It's just that using WiFi as an excuse to get around DEA issues isn't going to work and copyright infringement is probably going to happen more than child porn offences and Ofcom are rightly showing that it's an issue.
Going back to the Communications Act, ANYONE offering communications services is classified an Electronic Communications Network or ECN under the Act. An ECN has obligation under the Act (everybody offering communications services has read the Act and knows their obligations of course - ignorance is not an excuse in the eyes of the law).
If the communications services are offered to the public, they are then considered an Public Electronic Communications Network or PECN which has even more obligations than an ECN.
Mostly it doesn't matter, as Ofcom are never going to go around to everyone who is an ECN and ensure that they're compliant. However they could. Currently only big telcos or ISPs pay fees to Ofcom (they have a turn-over greater than some point set by Ofcom), but if WiFi operators become an issue, they can just say that they'll impose a fee on all ECNs or PECNs or those that meet whatever criteria.
So the issues of open WiFi have been understood for a long time, it's just now Ofcom saying "that under this new law we're not exempting open WiFi users and they have to take responsibility for their networks as the law says they should anyway"
Ofcom's code of practice for the DEA says that they will only regard an ISP as someone with more than 400,000 customers i.e. only covering the big players which cover over 90% of the UK's broadband users. ISPs have to deal with sending notices to users and if necessary cutting them off.
Ofcom have chosen the figure of 400,000 as it makes life easier for everyone, however they can reduce that figure to 1 if smaller players are also consistently having users that share copyrighted data.
Therefore people have seen offering WiFi services as a get-out so that they're classified as an ISP rather than a subscriber as by offering a service to a 3rd party, the DEA defines you as an ISP.
Ofcom have obviously seen the whole in the definition, so they are saying WiFi must be offered as part of a service to be classified as an ISP. So say a coffee establishment can offer WiFi as part of their service as they are charging for the coffee (as could a pub or anyone charging for services including those charging for WiFi services).
Charging for WiFi makes life a lot easier as then you generally know who your users are (or at least have a billing relationship with them, which means Ofcom or the Police have somewhere to start if the user does something wrong).
Offering free WiFi was thought to be another way to get out of the DEA, unfortunately Ofcom have chosen to take the opinion that then the WiFi isn't part of a service which means the ISP excuse cant be used and any copyright infringement notices will be sent to the WiFi operator themselves.
The last section is what's causing people to get upset. However it has ALWAYS been an issue. Altruistic WiFi may sound good on paper, but not knowing who your users are has implecations under the law.
Imagine an open WiFi access point and someone uploads child porn to a known site which the Police monitor. Child porn is illegal (rightly so) and the Police take a dim view of it. So they track where the porn was uploaded from and lo and behold it's appeared from the user running the open WiFi access. The user in question denies all knowledge of the offence as they have an open access point. The Police on the other hand don't quite see their point of view, all the know is that child porn was uploaded from the user's network so the confiscate all their computer hardware - EVERYTHING.
Eventually, after it's gone into the queue of a Police forensics lab (many months), the Police may drop the charges as they find no traces of the child porn on the computers and have discovered the access point is configured as open. Of course they may decide there's other content of a suspicious nature and the user must be good at erasing their data as they are technical, so it may go the other way.
As a technical household there may be many computers, media units, servers, hard drives etc. They will ALL be confiscated and the more there are, the longer the case will take.
(The above has actually happened to an acquaintance)
Now that's just part of it, it's not just the process of uploading child porn (though that's a worst case scenario) the Communications Act covers WiFi etc. It's just that using WiFi as an excuse to get around DEA issues isn't going to work and copyright infringement is probably going to happen more than child porn offences and Ofcom are rightly showing that it's an issue.
Going back to the Communications Act, ANYONE offering communications services is classified an Electronic Communications Network or ECN under the Act. An ECN has obligation under the Act (everybody offering communications services has read the Act and knows their obligations of course - ignorance is not an excuse in the eyes of the law).
If the communications services are offered to the public, they are then considered an Public Electronic Communications Network or PECN which has even more obligations than an ECN.
Mostly it doesn't matter, as Ofcom are never going to go around to everyone who is an ECN and ensure that they're compliant. However they could. Currently only big telcos or ISPs pay fees to Ofcom (they have a turn-over greater than some point set by Ofcom), but if WiFi operators become an issue, they can just say that they'll impose a fee on all ECNs or PECNs or those that meet whatever criteria.
So the issues of open WiFi have been understood for a long time, it's just now Ofcom saying "that under this new law we're not exempting open WiFi users and they have to take responsibility for their networks as the law says they should anyway"
2010/06/01
It's all go with MeeGo (for netbooks anyway)
Nokia have announced the availability of MeeGo v1.0 for netbook type devices. MeeGo is the Linux based OS that is the combined efforts of Nokia's Maemo and Intel's MobLin.
The main features are: -
* Visually rich Netbook user experience, building on the latest open source technologies.
* Instant access to your synchronized calendar, tasks, appointments, recently used files and real-time social networking updates through the home screen.
* Aggregation of your social networking content. This allows you to see your social networking activities on one screen, easily interact with your friends, and update your status and site information.
* Easy to use applications for email, calendar and media player.
* Highly optimized for power and performance.
* Languages: Japanese, Korean, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Swedish, Polish, Finnish, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, English, British English
The release comes in two version, one fully open source using Google's Chromium browser and one where the end-user has to agree to Google's EULA for Google Chrome.
The core platform (which is common to all releases) contains: -
* Kernel based on 2.6.33
* DeviceKit and udev for interacting with hardware devices
* Modern 2D / 3D graphics stack including Kernel Mode Setting, non-root X
* Voice and data connectivity with Connman connection manager, Ofono telephony stack and BlueZ Bluetooth
* Qt 4.6
* Universal Plug and Play (gUPnP)
* Media frameworks
* Next generation file system BTRFS, as the default file system
Nokia have also quietly released a version for the N900 smartphone, though Nokia will continue to support Maemo as the "officially" supported N900 OS. It also seems there are ports of MeeGo to the N8x0 units too.
The main features are: -
* Visually rich Netbook user experience, building on the latest open source technologies.
* Instant access to your synchronized calendar, tasks, appointments, recently used files and real-time social networking updates through the home screen.
* Aggregation of your social networking content. This allows you to see your social networking activities on one screen, easily interact with your friends, and update your status and site information.
* Easy to use applications for email, calendar and media player.
* Highly optimized for power and performance.
* Languages: Japanese, Korean, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Swedish, Polish, Finnish, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, English, British English
The release comes in two version, one fully open source using Google's Chromium browser and one where the end-user has to agree to Google's EULA for Google Chrome.
The core platform (which is common to all releases) contains: -
* Kernel based on 2.6.33
* DeviceKit and udev for interacting with hardware devices
* Modern 2D / 3D graphics stack including Kernel Mode Setting, non-root X
* Voice and data connectivity with Connman connection manager, Ofono telephony stack and BlueZ Bluetooth
* Qt 4.6
* Universal Plug and Play (gUPnP)
* Media frameworks
* Next generation file system BTRFS, as the default file system
Nokia have also quietly released a version for the N900 smartphone, though Nokia will continue to support Maemo as the "officially" supported N900 OS. It also seems there are ports of MeeGo to the N8x0 units too.
2010/05/28
Online Infringement of Copyright and the Digital Economy Act 2010 | Ofcom
Online Infringement of Copyright and the Digital Economy Act 2010 | Ofcom
Ofcom has published a consultation about the Draft Initial Obligations Code that Ofcom had to produce under the Digital Economy Act 2010.
Ofcom has had to make various statements as to definitions of what is considered an ISP (i.e. an ISP will only be covered if they have more than 400,000 subscribers) and if a someone offers WiFi access then they are considered the subscriber (even though they should be considered an ISP).
The consultation closes on 30th July 2010 and people should respond (it's possible to respond online here
Ofcom has published a consultation about the Draft Initial Obligations Code that Ofcom had to produce under the Digital Economy Act 2010.
Ofcom has had to make various statements as to definitions of what is considered an ISP (i.e. an ISP will only be covered if they have more than 400,000 subscribers) and if a someone offers WiFi access then they are considered the subscriber (even though they should be considered an ISP).
The consultation closes on 30th July 2010 and people should respond (it's possible to respond online here
2010/05/27
Spoonfed shoots for the Bullseye
Spoonfed who produce listings of events happening in the London area are launching a new product Bullseye.
Bullseye is aimed at events organisers who can target customers via a variety of channels such as Email, SMS etc. and offer them promotions, through an easy to use web based system. Customers responses can be tracked as well as non-deliveries of Email/SMS/etc.
This compliments the existing free Spoonfed service which is aimed at consumers, while Bullseye is a commercial B2B revenue generating system.
Bullseye is aimed at events organisers who can target customers via a variety of channels such as Email, SMS etc. and offer them promotions, through an easy to use web based system. Customers responses can be tracked as well as non-deliveries of Email/SMS/etc.
This compliments the existing free Spoonfed service which is aimed at consumers, while Bullseye is a commercial B2B revenue generating system.
2010/05/21
iPad's are naked without one
A San Francisco company called Dodocase has released what looks to be, THE, case for the iPad and iPad 3G.
It has a leather exterior and bamboo interior that snuggly holds the iPad. With the case open and flipped on its back, it positions the iPad at a good angle to type.
When closed it looks very similar to a traditional Moleskine journal.
At $49.95 they're not even in the silly bracket, every discerning iPad owner needs one now.
It has a leather exterior and bamboo interior that snuggly holds the iPad. With the case open and flipped on its back, it positions the iPad at a good angle to type.
When closed it looks very similar to a traditional Moleskine journal.
At $49.95 they're not even in the silly bracket, every discerning iPad owner needs one now.
Yahoo and Nokia in bed together
Nokia will announce 'Project Nike' on Monday (Nike being the Goddess of Victory rather than anything shoe related). Though it's all rumour, it's expected that Nokia are working on offering services based on Yahoo Mobile.
Microsoft have their mobile OS and that ties into Microsoft's back-end services such as Bing and such like, Google obviously has Android that ties into Google's back-end services (and the phone doesn't really work nicely unless you tie it into Google).
Nokia has err, Nokia which comprises of the Ovi store, Ovi maps and maybe some Ovi email. Yahoo might just give them the back-end mobile services they need to compete in the very competitive smart-phone arena.
Coincidently Gary Gale who was Director of Geo at Yahoo is leaving on Friday and moving on, is it just a coincident, or are the two related?
Microsoft have their mobile OS and that ties into Microsoft's back-end services such as Bing and such like, Google obviously has Android that ties into Google's back-end services (and the phone doesn't really work nicely unless you tie it into Google).
Nokia has err, Nokia which comprises of the Ovi store, Ovi maps and maybe some Ovi email. Yahoo might just give them the back-end mobile services they need to compete in the very competitive smart-phone arena.
Coincidently Gary Gale who was Director of Geo at Yahoo is leaving on Friday and moving on, is it just a coincident, or are the two related?
The Future of Web Design has past
Last week saw the return of FOWD to London (May 17th to 19th). The first day consisted of workshops at Wallace Space (which I didn't attend) then 2 days of conference at the Brewery in Chiswell St.
Compared to last year, well there was no comparison. The venue was great and could easily accommodate the number of attendees (600 plus), even the supplied food was pretty good. Every usable room also had wired or wireless networking that worked throughout the conference, though it slowed a bit at peak times (though being reasonably stable with the number of users was an accomplishment in itself).
There were companies demo'ing their products and all had a hosting/prototyping bent.HammerKit showed their prototyping system which allows a user to rapidly develop a prototype site with working elements, unfortunately you cant take the finished product off their hosting platform, maybe that will come in time. HotGloo have a nice wire-framing on-line system that again allows prototypes to be built on-line to test usability with some sophisticated actions for objects. Adobe were also there with Business Catalyst their on-line web building tool that allows designers to delegate authority to various aspects of the site, so copy writers can add text, but not play with the style etc. Adobe have some sensible pricing plans for the service as they allow an organisation to host their site and their customer sites.
Though there were some excellent talks, some were disappointing such as Paul Boag's which just seemed to be a rant, and not even a rant giving out useful information just a rant with some incorrect information.
Carsonified launched their Think Vitamin Membership service whereby customers subscribe and get access to at least 4 on-line conferences per annum, on-line tutorials and discounts to Carsonified conference such as FOWA/FOWD etc all for $25 per month. Allegedly 1,000 people signed up at FOWD.
Anyway overall definitely recommended even though it's an expensive event, there's always a good glass of speakers and generally a better class of audience where most of the value comes from. Looking forward to next year's event and also FOWA which takes place in the same excellent venue in Oct 2010.
Compared to last year, well there was no comparison. The venue was great and could easily accommodate the number of attendees (600 plus), even the supplied food was pretty good. Every usable room also had wired or wireless networking that worked throughout the conference, though it slowed a bit at peak times (though being reasonably stable with the number of users was an accomplishment in itself).
There were companies demo'ing their products and all had a hosting/prototyping bent.HammerKit showed their prototyping system which allows a user to rapidly develop a prototype site with working elements, unfortunately you cant take the finished product off their hosting platform, maybe that will come in time. HotGloo have a nice wire-framing on-line system that again allows prototypes to be built on-line to test usability with some sophisticated actions for objects. Adobe were also there with Business Catalyst their on-line web building tool that allows designers to delegate authority to various aspects of the site, so copy writers can add text, but not play with the style etc. Adobe have some sensible pricing plans for the service as they allow an organisation to host their site and their customer sites.
Though there were some excellent talks, some were disappointing such as Paul Boag's which just seemed to be a rant, and not even a rant giving out useful information just a rant with some incorrect information.
Carsonified launched their Think Vitamin Membership service whereby customers subscribe and get access to at least 4 on-line conferences per annum, on-line tutorials and discounts to Carsonified conference such as FOWA/FOWD etc all for $25 per month. Allegedly 1,000 people signed up at FOWD.
Anyway overall definitely recommended even though it's an expensive event, there's always a good glass of speakers and generally a better class of audience where most of the value comes from. Looking forward to next year's event and also FOWA which takes place in the same excellent venue in Oct 2010.
2010/05/19
Google buys GIPS, Skype quakes?
Google has acquired GIPS (Global IP Sound) a vendor of high quality voice and video codecs used by many VoIP players (except Skype).
Skype have over 600m users and developed their own HD voice codec known as SILK.
Google bought Grand Central and then based their Google Voice service on top of it. Google already had their Google Talk service which is just their implementation of Jabber (or the XMPP protocol). It was possible to 'talk' to other users on Google Talk with their Jingle extensions (which Google published). Google Voice is their preferred and proper VoIP service. Unfortunately they didn't have a nice front-end for Google Voice so they acquired Gizmo5 the service from Michael Robertson. Gizmo5 had a reasonable user base and it was standards based using SIP as the VoIP protocol, though the back-end was meant to be based on Asterisk and other open source technologies. Google Voice has a very good back-end and so the tie-up with Gizmo5 gave them a nice front-end and Google could drop the Gizmo5 back-end stuff.
Now with the purchase of GIPS giving Google 'free' access to high quality voice codecs, they look to really threaten Skype's dominance of the VoIP market, especially if the launch Google Voice outside of the US.
Skype have over 600m users and developed their own HD voice codec known as SILK.
Google bought Grand Central and then based their Google Voice service on top of it. Google already had their Google Talk service which is just their implementation of Jabber (or the XMPP protocol). It was possible to 'talk' to other users on Google Talk with their Jingle extensions (which Google published). Google Voice is their preferred and proper VoIP service. Unfortunately they didn't have a nice front-end for Google Voice so they acquired Gizmo5 the service from Michael Robertson. Gizmo5 had a reasonable user base and it was standards based using SIP as the VoIP protocol, though the back-end was meant to be based on Asterisk and other open source technologies. Google Voice has a very good back-end and so the tie-up with Gizmo5 gave them a nice front-end and Google could drop the Gizmo5 back-end stuff.
Now with the purchase of GIPS giving Google 'free' access to high quality voice codecs, they look to really threaten Skype's dominance of the VoIP market, especially if the launch Google Voice outside of the US.
Ofcom propsoes to reduce Earth Station regulation
Ofcom is proposing to reduce the regulation on Satellite (Earth Station Network) licenses.
The power limit of a VAST terminal will be increased from 50 to 55dBW EIRP, though limitations still apply within airport boundaries and 2 specific areas (in the UK).
Current applications should be made in the normal way.
The power limit of a VAST terminal will be increased from 50 to 55dBW EIRP, though limitations still apply within airport boundaries and 2 specific areas (in the UK).
Current applications should be made in the normal way.
2010/05/17
Froyo to be released this week?
Google's Android operating system is to get a new upgrade to version 2.2 (from 2.1 codenamed Eclair) on the Google Nexus One in advance of Google upcoming I/O developer conference in San Francisco this week.
Froyo is meant to be up to 4.5 times faster than Eclair in some cases which should help it support video services better. It's also expected to come with both USB and WiFi tethering so turning a Nexus One into a MiFi device.
Google are trying to remain a step ahead of Apple in terms of software, though they've dropped selling devices directly from their site and will go with the existing channel sales model by selling through carriers. Initially Google were going to sell lots of Android devices through Google directly, but sales of the Nexus One have been slow and customers want support which Google seemed to forget (at least initially).
Other devices will have to wait for the carries or handset vendor to release updates.
Froyo is meant to be up to 4.5 times faster than Eclair in some cases which should help it support video services better. It's also expected to come with both USB and WiFi tethering so turning a Nexus One into a MiFi device.
Google are trying to remain a step ahead of Apple in terms of software, though they've dropped selling devices directly from their site and will go with the existing channel sales model by selling through carriers. Initially Google were going to sell lots of Android devices through Google directly, but sales of the Nexus One have been slow and customers want support which Google seemed to forget (at least initially).
Other devices will have to wait for the carries or handset vendor to release updates.
2010/05/13
It's not T-Om it's Everything Everywhere
Orange UK and T-Mobile UK will be officially joined at the hip on July 1st when the networks are combined with UK roaming between networks. The new company name is Everything, Everywhere which CEO Tom Alexander said "is their name, vision and ambition". T-Om (T-Mobile - Orange Mobile sounds better though), both the ORange and T-Mobile brands are being retained.
The combined company will have over 700 retail stores and command 37% of the UK market which equates to over 30m users, O2 come second with 28%, Vodafone with 23%, with 3 having a small percentage.
The networks will be fully integrated, any overlaps combined etc. The reduced management overheads (for the two networks and management teams) is expected to bring savings of around £3.5bn, this on a turn-over of £7.7bn is where it all starts to make financial sense.
If they can combine the best assets of both companies (rather than the worst) they have the potential to keep their combined lead and offer innovative new services in both the mobile and fixed markets (Orange has a reasonably large consumer broadband offering).
The combined company will have over 700 retail stores and command 37% of the UK market which equates to over 30m users, O2 come second with 28%, Vodafone with 23%, with 3 having a small percentage.
The networks will be fully integrated, any overlaps combined etc. The reduced management overheads (for the two networks and management teams) is expected to bring savings of around £3.5bn, this on a turn-over of £7.7bn is where it all starts to make financial sense.
If they can combine the best assets of both companies (rather than the worst) they have the potential to keep their combined lead and offer innovative new services in both the mobile and fixed markets (Orange has a reasonably large consumer broadband offering).
2010/05/10
Twitter borked again
A certain Mike Butcher published a post on Techcrunch about a twitter bug allowing anyone to type "accept @username" and then username would be listed in their followers.
Twitter seem to have noticed the error (maybe after reading the article) and have then tried to fix it. When users attempted to run the command, they got an "internal server error" message. It also seems everyone's followers and who they're following have been wiped (well the counts reset to zero and the lists not available, though tweets still come through.
There's probably a slight panic going on in Twitter HQ.
As an update, Twitter have recognised the "accept @username" bug, are rolling back all accounts who used the bug (which forced the username to follow you) to the state before using accept. Once that's complete the follow/ing/ers counts are being set back to what they should be.
Twitter seem to have noticed the error (maybe after reading the article) and have then tried to fix it. When users attempted to run the command, they got an "internal server error" message. It also seems everyone's followers and who they're following have been wiped (well the counts reset to zero and the lists not available, though tweets still come through.
There's probably a slight panic going on in Twitter HQ.
As an update, Twitter have recognised the "accept @username" bug, are rolling back all accounts who used the bug (which forced the username to follow you) to the state before using accept. Once that's complete the follow/ing/ers counts are being set back to what they should be.
iPad WiFi issues (techie)
The iPad seems to have a few issues with WiFi which have been documented by Princeton University.
Having observed the iPad it seems the problem is more like: -
* Select WiFi network
* iPad joins network and does a DHCP request
* iPad caches DHCP info
You then switch off or do something else, then turn on iPad again.
* iPad re-joins WiFi network
* iPad renews IP data from cached info (which may now be stale)
* Hitting renew (under DHCP) just reloads cached info
If the iPad detects a duplicate IP address (as it's been allocated to another system) it shuts WiFi interface down, unfortunately bringing it up again just reloads stale IP info.
If the network info is cleared, then the iPad should renew it's DHCP info, but all the WiFi parameters will need to be entered again.
Please Apple fix in a 3.3 release.
Having observed the iPad it seems the problem is more like: -
* Select WiFi network
* iPad joins network and does a DHCP request
* iPad caches DHCP info
You then switch off or do something else, then turn on iPad again.
* iPad re-joins WiFi network
* iPad renews IP data from cached info (which may now be stale)
* Hitting renew (under DHCP) just reloads cached info
If the iPad detects a duplicate IP address (as it's been allocated to another system) it shuts WiFi interface down, unfortunately bringing it up again just reloads stale IP info.
If the network info is cleared, then the iPad should renew it's DHCP info, but all the WiFi parameters will need to be entered again.
Please Apple fix in a 3.3 release.
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BSkyB bought Easynet for their unbundled broadband capabilities and now must seriously be thinking about rolling out fibre so they can offer a triple-play of voice/Internet and TV, the ability to broadcast over copper/DSL is severely limited and though BSkyB could just resell BT's fibre service, BT are a Youview partner (and already offer their own IP TV service as BT Vision).<br />
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IPTV is the future of TV, Youview is definitely trying their best to be a major player in the UK.
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<a href='https://eurotechnews.blogspot.com/2010/09/ofcom-consults-on-wtr.html'>Ofcom consults on WTR</a>
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Ofcom is holding a consultation on wholesale termination rates to what where known as OLOs (or other licensed operators) as in everyone apart from BT and Kingston Communications in Hull. BT and Kingston are separately covered as they have SMP (significant market powers), BT for the whole of the UK and Kingston in Hull.<br />
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As every operator controls the termination rates to their numbers for operators connecting to them, they have SMP to those connections and Ofcom wants to ensure those termination rates are fair and reasonable.<br />
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The consultation is available <a href=){kind=link}