| Technology |
| MONDAY, 20 JULY 2009 17:36 |
| INTEL Corp., readying a new version of its Atom chip, is taking a second crack at getting customers in developing countries to buy more personal computers (PCs). The first crop of Atom-based computers, released last year, were designed to win over customers in places such as rural China and India. Instead, consumers in the US and Western Europe snapped them up to use as extra PCs, said Sean Maloney, Intel’s head of sales. The company now wants Atom to achieve its original goal: appealing to people who don’t already own computers, he said. Intel is building a new version of the chip that uses less power and helps PCs survive more severe conditions in the developing world. The company, the world’s largest chipmaker, also is counting on wireless carriers to subsidize the cost of the PCs. “As yet, they’ve not been a huge success in emerging markets,” Maloney, 53, said in an interview. Atom sells for a fraction of the price of Intel’s other processors. That allows PC makers such as Asustek Computer Inc., Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. to offer PCs for a few hundred dollars. Broadening sales of Atom-based computers would help Intel offset a slump in the overall PC market, which accounts for more than 90 percent of its sales. Laptops run by Atom chips—known as netbooks—have mainly served as an accessory for existing PC owners, said Patrick Wang, a Los Angeles-based analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities. “It’s become basically that fashion statement, that secondary toy,” he said. Buyers in the developing world have spurned low-end computers over concerns about durability, says Santa Clara, California-based Intel. Unlike in the US, many shoppers in those regions can only afford one computer, so it has to be rugged enough to last. Intel’s challenge is creating something that doesn’t cannibalize sales of its more expensive products. The company says that won’t happen because netbooks only have 10-inch screens and limited computing functions. That means they don’t compete with more expensive laptops, Maloney said. Google is developing a new computer operating system, based on its Chrome Web browser, that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Netbooks were the PC industry’s only source of growth last year, bringing in more than $500 million in sales for Intel. The netbook market will rise to 126 million units in 2015 from 12.5 million in 2008, Piper Jaffray & Co. estimates. In total, about 302 million PCs sold last year, according to Gartner Inc., a research firm in Stamford, Connecticut. Intel also is trying to spur sales of netbooks’ desktop counterparts: machines called nettops. So far, low-cost desktop computers haven’t met the needs of people in places like India, said Noury Al-Khaledy, the general manager of Intel’s netbook and nettop business. Current products can’t stand up to dusty working conditions, he said. “Dust is a huge problem,” Al-Khaledy said. “If you spend $299 on something that doesn’t work, and you’re not making that much, that’s a whole lot of money.” A lower-power version of Atom will help with dust. If the processor uses less power, it generates less heat, eliminating the need to put a fan in the computer. That means the PC chassis can be sealed, keeping the electronics safe from the elements. Forging deals with more wireless carriers will be key to the growth of netbooks and nettops in developing countries, Al-Khaledy said. Wireless companies are seeking ways to bolster revenue as the mobile phone market grows saturated. Carriers could subsidize some of the cost of a computer—or even make it free—in return for an internet service contract. AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless already offer those kinds of deals for netbooks in the US. Mobile phone companies worldwide are in talks with computer makers about contracts that could involve millions of units, said Intel’s Maloney. In developed countries, children of netbook owners may be another big market, Maloney said. The company is working with computer makers to create netbooks aimed at eight- to 14-year-olds. “The industry really just hasn’t prioritized it,” he said. “There are a series of PC makers who are now firmly targeting that younger group, and we’ll see what happens in the holiday season this year.” Bloomberg |
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
072009: Intel takes on developing world with dust-proof PCs
072709: CICT, Intel launch enhanced Nettop
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For less than the cost of a mid-range mobile phone, the Nettop ng Bayan 2.0 has an Intel Atom processor, 1GB RAM, 80GB hard disk, and LCD monitor.
MANILA, Philippines – A low-cost desktop PC which retails for only P10,800 in its basic configuration without an operating system and optical media drive or any software has been re-introduced to the local market recently.
For less than the cost of a mid-range mobile phone, the PC called the Nettop ng Bayan 2.0 has an Intel Atom processor, 1GB RAM, 80GB hard disk, and LCD monitor.
First introduced in June last year by the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) and Intel, the affordable PC has undergone a slight makeover.
When it was first introduced last year, the Nettop had an Intel Celeron 1.2 GHz processor, 512MB RAM, 80GB hard disk drive, and CRT monitor and was sold for slightly less at P10,000 but also without an operating system or software.
The shift to the Intel Atom processor, which is specifically made for mobile devices, is one of the key technology changes in the new Nettop as it was purposely built for low-power consumption.
Intel Philippines country manager Ricardo Banaag says they are more than happy with the results of last year’s campaign for the low-cost computer that they decided to re-launch it this year with more updated configurations. There are also more participating dealers for the Nettop now to make the product available in more areas nationwide.
“We feel that it is a very important step in increasing the rate of PC adoption in the Philippines,” Banaag says.
The program proponents, however, did not disclose details on how many units were sold for the first version of the Nettop and how many units they expect to sell this year.
Banaag simply says they see the Nettop being useful to first-time buyers for education purposes — mainly for Web browsing, e-mail and research of students, and for small offices and households which have yet to be connected to the Internet. However, even mature buyers may see it as an option as a second PC at home.
The Intel chief, however, says that for the best multimedia experience and if one needs a device for content creation such as photo editing, Web design and video editing, it is still best to get a mainstream desktop PC.
“But if you are basically looking for a device that can provide an enjoyable Internet experience and is more on what we would term as content consumption such as downloading, viewing videos, research and visiting social networking sites, then an Atom-powered Nettop would be the best type for that usage,” he says.
There is a purpose served for the CICT and Intel’s Nettop, which is to make the personal computer more affordable to more people who need them.
“The mobile phone is the runaway success story in the Philippines with 68 million subscribers out of a population of 90 million at the end of 2008,” says CICT Secretary Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua III. “However, in the area of computing and Internet penetration we are among the lowest in the Asia-Pacific region.”
“The first version last year brought down the price of the PC to almost like a cellphone,” says Chua. “We want to make PCs affordable to whoever wants to be connected to the Internet.”
The Nettop ng Bayan 2.0 being offered by 26 dealers across the country now doesn’t have a single form factor but rather it is up to the dealers to develop a package and to offer value add-ons such as an operating system and software but the basic configuration remains for all Nettops.
The CICT and Intel also leave it to the dealers to bundle the Nettop with an Internet connection with a telecom provider available in their specific areas nationwide.
“Our goal is to get the PC at an affordable price, that is why we allow the procurement process to drive the price down. We don’t want to favor particular platforms so we let the market compete and offer the most cost-effective model,” says Chua.
Promoting the Nettop ng Bayan 2.0 is also part of CICT’s Convergence 2009 roadshow nationwide, which kicked off in Sta. Rosa, Laguna last July 10-11 and will end on Nov. 27-28 in Iloilo City. Other areas to be covered by roadshow include the cities of Davao, Lipa, Cebu, Bacolod, Malolos and Cagayan de Oro, and Clark in Pampanga.
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=490351&publicationSubCategoryId=71
070909: Advocate urges alternative to WiMAX technology
| Technology |
| Written by Rizal Raoul Reyes / Correspondent |
| THURSDAY, 09 JULY 2009 02:51 |
| AN information and communications technology (ICT) advocate in the government called for the adoption of long-term evolution (LTE) technology in the country because it will be more beneficial for the country to adopt in the future In an interview with the BusinessMirror, George Kintanar, cochairman of the membership committee of the Chief Information Officers Forum Inc., said it is more practical for the Philippines to use LTE instead of the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX). “In terms of spectrum efficiency, LTE is more efficient in terms of deployment,” said Kintanar. He added that LTE requires 20 megahertz (MHz) for deployment, while WiMAX requires 30 MHz. “It’s a fact that spectrum is a scarce resource. Being a rare commodity, the government should definitely think wisely in deploying a more efficient technology so the country can maximize its use,” he said. Since the Philippines is a developing country, Kintanar said many Filipino companies will find it hard to acquire a higher bandwidth because of the limiting cost. With LTE requiring a smaller capacity, Kintanar said more companies will be in a better position to deploy this technology. “More Filipinos will benefit if the government adopts LTE as the standard technology,” he said. Spectrum is an electronic bandwidth that is allotted to various purposes, such as analog TV broadcasts, FM and AM radio transmission and mobile-phone services.
With the growth of wireless communication, allocation for the available spectrum to each technology becomes more complicated. Each user community demands higher bandwidth to be able to sell and service more units. For any given bandwidth slot, there is a limited amount of data that can be shared. Vendors want more bandwidth so they can handle more devices in a given area. Experts said LTE is a set of enhancements to the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) which will be introduced in the Third- Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) According to reports in the technology sector overseas, many believe 3GPP Release 8 will focus on adopting fourth-generation (4G) mobile communications technology, including an all-Internet protocol (IP) flat networking architecture. LTE supports flexible carrier bandwidths, from 1.4 MHz up to 20 MHz, as well as both Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD). LTE aims to enhance spectral efficiency, lowering costs, improving services, making use of new spectrum and reformed spectrum opportunities and better integration with other open standards. The main advantages of LTE are high throughput, low latency, plug and play, FDD and TDD in the same platform, improved end-user experience and simple architecture resulting in low operating expenditures. LTE will also support seamless connection to existing networks such as global system for mobile communication, code division multiple access (CDMA), wideband CDMA and CDMA 2000. WiMAX provides wireless transmission of data using a variety of transmission modes, from point-to-multipoint links to portable and fully mobile Internet access. Recently Intel Corp. and Globe Telecom introduced commercial WiMAX services in the country through Globe Broadband. The service is available in southern Luzon, the Visayas, Cagayan de Oro and selected areas in Metro Manila. Advocates of LTE said the only advantage of WiMAX is that it is now available. LTE is scheduled to be rolled out in 2012. |
071509: Smart begins WiMAX rollout
| Technology |
| WEDNESDAY, 15 JULY 2009 21:17 |
| SMART Communications Inc. has taken its first steps to massively deploying WiMAX technology across the country. The country’s leading wireless services provider has undertaken tests of the powerful wireless broadband platform with equipment manufacturer Motorola, paving the way for rapid rollout of the new network. Motorola is the principal contractor for Clearwire Communications, the leading provider of mobile WiMAX service worldwide. WiMAX, or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a telecommunications technology that provides wireless broadband access to a wide area spanning several kilometers. Smart’s WiMAX deployment, through its subsidiary Smart Broadband Inc., is part of the company’s efforts to replicate the success it achieved in cellular phones in the field of wireless broadband Internet. “It has been our vision to provide Internet for all Filipinos—no matter where they are or what device they’re using,” said Orlando Vea, Smart chief wireless advisor, in a statement. He added that Smart is set to build one of the most extensive WiMAX networks in Southeast Asia for fixed wireless broadband applications. Smart’s WiMAX network will complement its high-speed packet access (HSPA) network, which is based on the most advanced mobile broadband technology. Smart is one of the only 20 mobile carriers in the world and the only in the region to have deployed HSPA running on 850 MHz. “With our HSPA, WiMAX and Canopy networks blanketing the whole country, Smart will have a unique and, by far, superior combination of wireless broadband networks,” Vea said. Smart’s WiMAX network will be a key component of its Internet For All initiative, including its schools connectivity program. Under the Smart Schools program, the company has connected 250 public elementary and high schools to date. In partnership with the Commission on Information and Communications Technology, Smart has connected an initial batch of 50 public high schools and is now working with the Department of Education in a program to provide connectivity to about 6,600 public high schools across the country. WiMAX uses the 802.16 standard developed by the WiMAX Forum. It provides a maximum bandwidth speed of up to 70 megabits per second, which is apt for data-hungry applications like streaming video. Since WiMAX covers a wider distance and serves more users at any given time while allowing high- speed data access, it can reach to ”blackout areas“ that currently have no broadband Internet access. It can enable Internet penetration even to the most remote barrios and barangays. “We will make sure no Filipino family is left behind in terms of Internet access. We have done it with the mobile phone, we will do it again with the Internet,” Vea said. To date, the company has about 8,700 cell sites across the country, housing various network equipment, including antennae for GSM, HSPA and Canopy. Very soon, these same towers will play host to Smart’s extensive WiMAX network. For the trial, Smart and Motorola installed the latter’s WAP 450 WiMAX Access Points equipment to a number of cell-site towers across the country. The WAP 450 utilizes tower top power amplifiers that can be housed in a small cabinet, allowing for a compact cell-site configuration. |
071509: Taiwan launches e-learning digital center
| |
| WEDNESDAY, 15 JULY 2009 21:18 |
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Personalities who witnessed the turnover ceremonies were Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez, Manila Economic and Cultural Office Ambassador Antonio Basilio, Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office Ambassador Donald Lee, Parañaque City Mayor Florencio Bernabe Jr., ADOC deputy director Wen-Chuan Hung, commissioner Angelo Timoteo Diaz de Vera of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology, Asus Foundation director Wen-Ling Lee and principal Thelma Montiel. The ADOC was initiated by Taipei in the 2003 meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) in Bangkok to meet the goal of bridging digital divide among member-economies. It has collaborated with seven Apec economies, namely, Chile, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines, since its inception. Six ADOC centers have been set up in the Philippines in the past four years: the National Computer Center in Quezon City, Tele-Center at the Smokey Mountain, e-Care Center to visually impaired persons in Quezon City, e-learning centers at the University of the Philippines for Women's Studies and at the ZOTO (Zone One Tondo Organization). IN PHOTO --STUDENTS of the Arcadio Santos National High School try the new computers donated to the school by the Asus Foundation under the ADOC 2.0 Project. Photo shows (from left) Antonio Basilio of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office, Ambassador Donald C.T. Lee of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office and Rep. Roilo Golez during the turnover ceremonies. |
071609: Young kids getting online faster-study
| |
| THURSDAY, 16 JULY 2009 21:20 |
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A new study from Nielsen Online found that nearly 16 million US children ages 2 to 11 were online in May. They made up about 9.5 percent of Internet users. The youngest of the set-two, three, and four-year-olds—probably aren’t yet updating their Twitter accounts with 140-character messages, or posting quiz results to Facebook. Rather, they are sitting in a parent’s lap in front of a computer, being exposed to the Internet that way, said Peter Grunwald, president of Grunwald Associates Llc., which specializes in researching kids and technology. In the past five years, Nielsen said, the number of kids online has grown by 18 percent, compared with just a 10-percent growth among all Internet users. And this growth comes as the total number of US kids under 14 is declining. In all, the time children spend online grew 63 percent in the past five years, from nearly 7 hours in May 2004 to more than 11 hours online this past May. Nielsen also found that boys spent 7 percent more time online than girls, but girls viewed 9 percent more Web pages than boys did in May 2009. Grunwald said kids are also beginning to produce their own content rather than use the Web as a passive viewer. |
072009: Intel takes on developing world with dust-proof PCs
| Technology |
| MONDAY, 20 JULY 2009 17:36 |
| INTEL Corp., readying a new version of its Atom chip, is taking a second crack at getting customers in developing countries to buy more personal computers (PCs). The first crop of Atom-based computers, released last year, were designed to win over customers in places such as rural China and India. Instead, consumers in the US and Western Europe snapped them up to use as extra PCs, said Sean Maloney, Intel’s head of sales. The company now wants Atom to achieve its original goal: appealing to people who don’t already own computers, he said. Intel is building a new version of the chip that uses less power and helps PCs survive more severe conditions in the developing world. The company, the world’s largest chipmaker, also is counting on wireless carriers to subsidize the cost of the PCs. “As yet, they’ve not been a huge success in emerging markets,” Maloney, 53, said in an interview. Atom sells for a fraction of the price of Intel’s other processors. That allows PC makers such as Asustek Computer Inc., Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. to offer PCs for a few hundred dollars. Broadening sales of Atom-based computers would help Intel offset a slump in the overall PC market, which accounts for more than 90 percent of its sales. Laptops run by Atom chips—known as netbooks—have mainly served as an accessory for existing PC owners, said Patrick Wang, a Los Angeles-based analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities. “It’s become basically that fashion statement, that secondary toy,” he said. Buyers in the developing world have spurned low-end computers over concerns about durability, says Santa Clara, California-based Intel. Unlike in the US, many shoppers in those regions can only afford one computer, so it has to be rugged enough to last. Intel’s challenge is creating something that doesn’t cannibalize sales of its more expensive products. The company says that won’t happen because netbooks only have 10-inch screens and limited computing functions. That means they don’t compete with more expensive laptops, Maloney said. Google is developing a new computer operating system, based on its Chrome Web browser, that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Netbooks were the PC industry’s only source of growth last year, bringing in more than $500 million in sales for Intel. The netbook market will rise to 126 million units in 2015 from 12.5 million in 2008, Piper Jaffray & Co. estimates. In total, about 302 million PCs sold last year, according to Gartner Inc., a research firm in Stamford, Connecticut. Intel also is trying to spur sales of netbooks’ desktop counterparts: machines called nettops. So far, low-cost desktop computers haven’t met the needs of people in places like India, said Noury Al-Khaledy, the general manager of Intel’s netbook and nettop business. Current products can’t stand up to dusty working conditions, he said. “Dust is a huge problem,” Al-Khaledy said. “If you spend $299 on something that doesn’t work, and you’re not making that much, that’s a whole lot of money.” A lower-power version of Atom will help with dust. If the processor uses less power, it generates less heat, eliminating the need to put a fan in the computer. That means the PC chassis can be sealed, keeping the electronics safe from the elements. Forging deals with more wireless carriers will be key to the growth of netbooks and nettops in developing countries, Al-Khaledy said. Wireless companies are seeking ways to bolster revenue as the mobile phone market grows saturated. Carriers could subsidize some of the cost of a computer—or even make it free—in return for an internet service contract. AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless already offer those kinds of deals for netbooks in the US. Mobile phone companies worldwide are in talks with computer makers about contracts that could involve millions of units, said Intel’s Maloney. In developed countries, children of netbook owners may be another big market, Maloney said. The company is working with computer makers to create netbooks aimed at eight- to 14-year-olds. “The industry really just hasn’t prioritized it,” he said. “There are a series of PC makers who are now firmly targeting that younger group, and we’ll see what happens in the holiday season this year.” Bloomberg |
Monday, July 27, 2009
080709: Google goes after Windows with launch of Chrome OS
July 7th, 2009
Posted by Sam Diaz @ 11:42 pm Google said late Tuesday that it will launch the Google Chrome operating system, a computer operating system that initially will target netbook computers by offering a faster, better and more secure way for users to access Web-based applications.The Chrome operating system should not be confused with the Android operating system that the company launched for mobile devices. While there will be some overlap between the two systems, Android was designed to work across a number of devices, such as phones, set-top boxes and netbooks. The Chrome OS is being designed to power computers that range from small netbooks to full-size desktop machines.
The Chrome OS is a direct attack against Microsoft’s lucrative - albeit vulnerable - Windows operating system. By now, it’s no secret that Windows Vista was a nightmare and that Microsoft is eager to launch its Windows 7 operating system, which is scheduled for release in the fall. From the official blog post announcing Google Chrome OS:
We hear a lot from our users and their message is clear — computers need to get better. People want to get to their email instantly, without wasting time waiting for their computers to boot and browsers to start up. They want their computers to always run as fast as when they first bought them. They want their data to be accessible to them wherever they are and not have to worry about losing their computer or forgetting to back up files. Even more importantly, they don’t want to spend hours configuring their computers to work with every new piece of hardware, or have to worry about constant software updates. And any time our users have a better computing experience, Google benefits as well by having happier users who are more likely to spend time on the Internet.
Google, which has long been singing the praises of cloud-based applications, is stepping up its game to bring the cloud to the mainstream. The operating system - a lightweight open source system that will run on both x86 as well ARM chips - is deigned to start up and have the user on the Web within seconds, as opposed to the long startup time on Windows. In addition, the company said that it’s “going back to basics” - just as it did with the Chrome browser - to redesign the underlying security architecture “so that users don’t have to worry about viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.”
For developers, the platform is the Web. All Web-based applications will automatically work on the Chrome OS and new applications can be written using any web technology, which means they will work on any standards based browser running on Windows, Mac or Linux.
Earlier in the day, Google ripped the Beta labels off of its Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Talk and Google Docs applications, presumably to make them more attractive to business customers who might have thought of them as unfinished, untested or unreliable because they still carried the Beta label.
Those apps also go directly at another of Microsoft’s sweet spots, its software suite. Gmail and Google Calendar, for example, provide an alternative to Microsoft’s Outlook while Google Docs is intended to challenge popular productivity tools such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
Later this year, the company plans to open-source its Chrome OS code and is already talking to partners about having the first round of netbooks available to consumers by the second half of 2010.
070409: Smart begins nationwide WiMAX roll-out
Smart Communications Inc. (SMART) has taken its first steps to massively deploy WiMAX technology across the country.
The country's leading wireless services provider has undertaken tests of the powerful wireless broadband platform with equipment manufacturer Motorola, paving the way for rapid rollout of the new network. Motorola is the principal contractor for Clearwire Communications, the leading provider of mobile WiMAX service worldwide.
WiMAX or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access is a telecommunications technology that provides wireless broadband access to a wide area spanning several kilometers.
Smart's WiMAX deployment, through its subsidiary Smart Broadband, Inc (SBI), is part of the company's efforts to replicate the success it achieved in cellular phones in the field of wireless broadband Internet.
"It has been our vision to provide Internet for all Filipinos – no matter where they are or what device they're using," said Orlando Vea, Smart's chief wireless advisor.
He added that Smart is set to build one of the most extensive WiMAX networks in South East Asia for fixed wireless broadband applications.
Smart's WiMAX network will complement its high speed packet access (HSPA) network, which is based on the most advanced mobile broadband technology. Smart is one of the only 20 mobile carriers in the world and the only in the region to have deployed HSPA running on 850 MHz.
"With our HSPA, WiMAX, and Canopy networks blanketing the whole country, Smart will have a unique and by far superior combination of wireless broadband networks," Vea said.
Smart's WiMAX network will be a key component of its Internet For All initiative including its schools connectivity program. Under the Smart Schools program, the company has connected 250 public elementary and high schools to date.
In partnership with the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), Smart has connected an initial batch of 50 public high schools and is now working with the Department of Education in a program to provide connectivity to about 6,600 public high schools across the country. WiMAX uses the 802.16 standard developed by the WiMAX Forum. It provides a maximum bandwidth speed of up to 70 megabits per second, which is apt for data hungry applications like streaming video.
Since WiMAX covers a wider distance and serves more users at any given time while allowing high speed data access, it can reach to 'blackout areas' that currently have no broadband Internet access. It can enable Internet penetration even to the most remote barrios and barangays.
"We will make sure no Filipino family is left behind in terms of Internet access. We have done it with the mobile phone, we will do it again with the Internet," Vea said.
To date, the company has about 8,700 cell sites across the country, housing various network equipment, including antennae for GSM, HSPA and Canopy. Very soon, these same towers will play host to Smart's extensive WiMAX network.
For the trial, Smart and Motorola installed the latter's WAP 450 WiMAX Access Points equipment to a number of cell site towers across the country. The WAP 450 utilizes tower top power amplifiers that can be housed in a small cabinet, allowing for a compact cell site configuration.
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/209236/smart-begins-nationwide-wimax-rollout
070409: Solon: Eliminate ‘load’ expiration
MANILA, Philippines--Doing away with expiration dates for prepaid cellular phone "loads" might have been the better option than extending the cards' shelf life, a party-list lawmaker has said.
Kabataan Rep. Raymond Palatino said in a statement Saturday that although the extension guidelines issued by the National Telecommunications Commission the other day provided some measure of relief to consumers, the agency should have compelled telecommunication companies not to put a deadline on cell phone credits.
"Increasing the shelf life of pre-paid loads is not enough to address the concerns of millions of subscribers," he said. "The rationale behind prepaid expiration dates is that telcos (telecommunication firms) are dictating how consumers should use their load in order for them to rake in more profits. The loads should not have expiration dates in the first place."
Palatino said service providers impose a time limit on loads so that consumers would have to use them up faster and then buy more of the same. They should have the discretion to use up their prepaid minutes when they want to since they paid for this, he said.
"It is the consumers' prerogative to choose to conserve their load and make them last. This is not like food or medicine that would spoil if they are not used at once," he said.
The NTC on Friday issued guidelines extending the life of cell phone loads, with the expiration dates dependent on how much was bought.
The order came amid pressure from the Senate, which is investigating the practices of cell phone service providers after consumers complained that their prepaid credits were disappearing without their having been used.
Even Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile complained that he was a victim of what many refer to as "the vanishing load."
Speaker Prospero Nograles on Saturday called on telecommunication firms to focus on offering more affordable cost-effective services to their customers.
"Affordable text messages and voice calls are great social equalizers, and I'm glad that one of our telecommunication firms is taking great strides to make it happen," he said in a statement.
Nograles cited as an example the new "Call All Landline" service being offered by Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company which now gives its customers an affordable option in making voice calls.
Under the new service, an existing PLDT landline subscriber may have a second SIM-based line which could be used with any open line handset. The second line could be taken outside the customer's local service area (or home zone) and used to make calls to PLDT customers within the same local service area at no extra cost.
"This is welcome news, especially now that Filipino consumers are usually hard pressed to get more value for their hard-earned money. That's why Congress is continuously trying to find ways to make basic necessities – such as telecommunications – more affordable for consumers," Nograles said.
©2009 www.inquirer.net all rights reserved
http://services.inquirer.net/mobile/09/07/05/html_output/xmlhtml/20090704-213850-xml.html
070409: Telcos caught off-guard by new rules
Saturday, July 4, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
Corporate News
Telecommunication firms were caught off-guard by new rules extending the validity of prepaid credits released by regulators, reserving the right to question the order in court.
Spokesmen for major telcos said on Friday they have yet to determine the impact of the new regulations on their businesses, and complained there were not enough consultations.
Memorandum Circular 03-07-2009 issued by the National Telecommunications Commission Friday extended the validity of subscribers' load or prepaid credits as follows:
- P10 or lower - three days
- more than P10 to P50 - 15 days
- more than P50 to P100 - 30 days
- more than P100 to P150 - 45 days
- more than P150 to P250 - 60 days
- more than P250 to P300 - 75 days
- more than P300 - 120 days
Moreover, the mechanism to check credit balance and expiry must be free of charge. The order will take effect 15 days after publication in newspapers.
Smart Communications, Inc. spokesman Ramon R. Isberto said: "We are still studying the [memorandum circular], its impact on our business and our ability to provide the service in compliance with the new rules."
He pointed out that Smart has yet to submit a position paper on new telco rules, as regulators set the submission on Monday.
Globe Telecom, Inc.'s head of corporate and regulatory affairs Caridad D. Gonzales said her company had opposed extending the validity of prepaid credits. "We indicated [in our position paper] that [extending] load validity is not the solution to the current issue. Customers are only loading [credits] that are based on what they need. So, expiration period is not really an issue," she added.
Globe Telecom has yet to study the technical implications of the new guidelines and is keeping the option of going to court for an injunction, she added.
Digital Telecommunications Phils., Inc. (Digitel) senior vice-president for legal affairs William Pamintuan said there had been public hearings conducted by regulators but these were in connection with other draft circulars, and did not tackle some provisions in the new rules approved Friday.
Like Smart and Globe, Digitel is also studying the technical implications of the new regulations and will seek clarification on some of the new provisions, citing system modifications that would have to be implemented. — J.F. de Guzman
070209: Rules on longer shelf life for load credits out
| Top News |
| Written by Lenie Lectura / Reporter |
| THURSDAY, 02 JULY 2009 23:49 |
| PREPAID mobile-phone subscribers have reason to rejoice nowadays. The new rules on extension of prepaid load purchased by consumers will be signed by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) today. “At 10 a.m. Friday, we will sign the memorandum circular [MC] on prepaid-load guidelines. The signing of the three other draft MCs that we are working on will be deferred pending the submission of position papers by the telcos on Monday,†said NTC Commissioner Ruel Canobas in a phone interview on Thursday. The validity of a P10-or-less load credit is valid for up to three days; up to seven days for P10-20 load; up to 10 days for P20-30 load; up to 14 days for P30-40 load; up to 17 days for P40-P50 load; 20 days for P50-60 load; up to 24 days for P60-70 load; up to 21 days for P70-80 load; up to 30 days for P80-90 load; up to 45 days for P100-150 load; up to 60 days for P150-200 load; up to 90 days for P200-300 load; up to 150 days for P300-600 load; and up to 180 days for P600 to P1,000 load. The validity period starts upon receipt of confirmation of the prepaid load purchased. The NTC requires all mobile-phone operators to provide their subscribers call-data records upon request free of charge. Likewise, access to balance-inquiry service through text messages shall be free of charge. “Pursuant to Republic Act 7925, Executive Order 546 series of 1979, and in order to protect and promote the interest of subscribers/end-users of prepaid services, the NTC promulgates the following guidelines,†the new MC reads. Canobas said “it’s about time†the validity period of prepaid credits was extended. It is one of several major grievances that subscribers have raised against telcos the past several months, highlighted by the recent complaint by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile about the “vanishing load†on his mobile phone. That gripe led to a Senate inquiry, and sped up the process by which key reforms as demanded were embodied in draft circulars. The three other circulars that the NTC is working on involves the shift of the unit of billing for cellular calls from per-minute to three-second per pulse, grouping of bucket pricing promotions and prohibitng spam messages. “We still have a dialogue with the content providers in relation to the other MCs. So, the MC on extension of prepaid load is what will be signed first,†added the NTC chief. Also, phone firms were ordered on Thursday to strictly observe the new rules issued by the commission on dropped calls. Under NTC Memorandum Order 03-06-2009, or the Service Performance Standards for the Cellular Mobile Telephone Service (CMTS), the regulators are only allowing a drop-call rate (DCR) of 2 percent for every 100 calls. DCR is the ratio of calls that are irregularly terminated as against the total number of call attempts. A dropped call is not the same as a blocked call. The NTC defines blocked calls as failed-attempt calls since there are no traffic channels that can be located in the first place. However, both dropped and blocked calls are normally caused by network congestion or hardware problems. The latest order also spells out a new Grade of Service (GOS) of 4 percent, or four lost calls for every 100 call attempts. Previously, the CMTS firms were encouraged to improve the GOS by 1 percent and DCR by 1 percent every two years until the GOS is 4 percent and the DCR is 2 percent. “Since six years have already elapsed from the promulgation of Memorandum Circular 07-06-2002, the GOS and DCR should have improved by 3 percent each,†the circular stated. Canobas said the NTC will randomly conduct monitoring tests to check if the companies are compliant with the updated standards on network quality. “It will be announced,†he said. Globe tops benchmarking study Smart Communications Inc. recently complained that the latest benchmarking study conducted by the NTC on the cellular firms’ network performance was “inaccurate†and “faulty.†Results of the monitoring tests showed that Globe Telecom bested Smart and Sun Cellular in the benchmarking drive test in Metro Manila from the period September 17 to October 13, 2008. In terms of service quality, the results of the test showed that Globe beat the two other mobile-phone firms. Smart had said data released by the NTC should be considered “inaccurate†and that the conclusions gathered during the said drive test were based on such data as “incoherent and faulty.†According to the benchmarking study, Globe recorded the lowest incidence of dropped and blocked calls. Out of 2,475 calls made by the NTC’s National Capital Region (NCR) regional office, Globe recorded only 49 blocked calls or 1.99 percent and 35 dropped calls or 1.42 percent. Smart recorded 93 (3.79 percent) and 35 (1.42 percent) blocked and dropped calls, respectively. Sun Cellular recorded the most number of blocked calls at 779 (17.05 percent) and dropped calls at 48 (1.95 percent). The NTC explained in its recent study that the ranking was generated based on the total percentage of blocked and dropped calls from a total of 2,475 calls to measure the quality of service these CMTS operators render to their subscribers. “Lower percentage of blocked call and dropped call is desirable to ensure higher quality of service and therefore the operator with lower percentage of dropped call and blocked calls was given higher ranking,†it said. “As reflected in the results, the three cellular networks are ranked as follows: 1. Globe [3.41 percent] 2. Smart [5.21 percent] 3. Sun (19 percent),†the NTC said in its report. Besides monitoring blocked and dropped calls, the NTC also conducted separate tests on the network operators’ quality of service indicators, parameters affecting network performance and subscribers’ satisfaction. Based on network accessibility through their circuit switches, all three mobile-phone firms garnered 100 percent, but in terms of service accessibility Globe was first with 97.98 percent; Smart, 96.24 percent; and  Sun, 83.02 percent. In terms of call completion rate circuit switch-telephony, both Smart and Globe got 98.55 percent; Sun, 97.65 percent. On signal reception, Smart got 91.81 percent; Globe, 86.58 percent; and Sun, 84.48 percent. For signal quality performance, Globe ranked highest with 93.79 percent; Smart, 93 percent; and Sun, 84.47 percent. Smart’s handover success rate stood at 99.03 percent, or 3,074 out of 3,104 calls handed over, as against Globe’s 98.27 percent or 2,609 out of 2,655 calls handed over. Sun’s success rate stood at 96.72 percent with 2,539 out of 2,625 calls handed over. In terms of call setup time based on 2,475 calls, Globe topped at 97.29 percent, followed by Smart at 95.76 percent and Sun, at 80.12 percent. |