042706: New Yahoo! Philippine portal eyes Filipino mobile users

This story was taken from www.inq7.net

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http://news.inq7.net/infotech/index.php?index=1&story_id=73819

 

First posted 08:54pm (Mla time) April 27, 2006
By Erwin Lemuel Oliva
INQ7.net

AIMING to provide more local content and services to Filipinos, Yahoo! Southeast Asia has unveiled its mobile phone service called Yahoo! Go that intends to ride on the popularity of mobile phones and text messaging in the country. One of the key services provided through Yahoo! Go includes a "free" service for syncing of mobile phone contacts with Yahoo! Go and for sending photos from mobile phones directly to a Yahoo! Go Photos account, according to Larry Jordan, director of product management of Yahoo! Southeast Asia. "It is Yahoo! on your mobile device," added Jordan, noting that the service is free for Yahoo! users but it is still subject to fees charged by Philippine network operators. Reza Behnam, managing director of Yahoo! Southeast Asia, said that Yahoo! Go Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, the first countries in Asia Pacific to have the mobile phone service. It will soon be launched in Indonesia, the executive added. "Our mission is to provide the most relevant service. Initially, we’re focused on providing the most relevant information. Later, we’re going to look into ways to monetize traffic," added Behnam. Yahoo! sees the Philippine market as one of the biggest communities in the region in using its communities and messaging services. "Filipinos like the community-like services. But apart from focusing on providing services to them, we’re also looking at the mobile services," Behnam added. Yahoo! Go allows users to access the portal’s services, such as e-mail, messaging, address book and calendar applications. The portal said it has partnered with Nokia to enable users in the Southeast region to take advantage of this application. Nokia users can download the Yahoo! Go application from http://asia.go.yahoo.com, Yahoo! Southeast Asia executives said. Behnam said that 60 percent of 60 million Internet users in Southeast Asia now use Yahoo! services. It has been launching regional portals, with the Philippine portal unveiled on March 22. "Every market is unique. So we intend to offer locally-relevant content and services. For the Philippines, it is the mobile services," the Yahoo! Southeast Asia executive added. Asked if Yahoo! Southeast Asia intends to open an office soon, Behnam said this plan is being considered. "We need to have people on the ground to know what this market wants," he said, adding that local research is currently being conducted to study the Philippine market.

 

042906: Solution provider mulls RP reg'l hub

 

 

By BERNIE CAHILES–MAGKILAT Paypal Asia Services Ltd., a global leader in online payment solutions provider with over 86.6 million users worldwide, is set to establish its regional operating headquarters in the country. Special Trade Representative (STR) Ma. Roseni Mendoza-Alvero of the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Silicon Valley (PTIC-Silicon Valley) said that Paypal, an eBay company, is banking on the Philippines’ competitive edge in rendering information and communication technology-enabled services to international companies. Alvero said that Paypal has proposed to manage its own general administration and planning, business planning and coordination, data processing and development and customer service to include call center operations. At present this work is being done in the Philippines by some 600 Filipino workers through Paypal’ s registered outsource providers. The company is now finalizing registration procedures with the Board of Investments. Paypal will initially invest 0,000 for its project at the start of its operations. Paypal’s investment in the Philippines was one of the successful fruits of President Arroyo’s visit to the United States in 18 November 2004. The President, through a meeting organized by PTIC-Silicon Valley, discussed with eBay President/CEO Meg Whitman the competitive advantages of the Philippines as an outsourcing destination. "More than just operating an auction site in the Philippines, the President encouraged eBay and its affiliated companies, including Paypal, to consider the Philippines as an e-services, logistics and distribution hub for its Southeast Asian operations," Trade and Industry Secretary Peter B. Favila said. An eBay company, Paypal is available in 56 countries and regions and is widely used by buyers and sellers on eBay to securely send and receive payments online, built on a system of existing infrastructures of financial institutions. Paypal is joining the growing number of multinational companies that has been attracted to invest in the Philippines. It is estimated that 112,000 people are now working in call centers in the Philippines, bringing in .12 billion in revenues this year. This is a sharp increase from 2000 when call centers employed just 2,400 people and earned million. The Philippines boasts cost-competitive, highlyskilled, readily-available labor with low overhead and a strategic location, easily accessible to major Asian cities and the US West Coast. Another advantage, which the Philippines also offers superior skills in English and its closer affinity to Western culture. The Philippines hopes to capture about five percent of business process outsourcing globally by 2010, amounting to as infrastructure and boost the quality of the labor supply particularly in the area of English language. To remedy this, Manila has improved the quality of English instruction and in 2003, launched a program where colleges will integrate special English courses "for international business," in their curricula. The Philippine’s new thrust is to expand BPO operations to other major cities in the country such as Cebu City and Davao City where salaries and costs are lower and where unemployment is more serious. To encourage this trend, the government is also making sure that prospective host cities can meet the requirements in regard to sufficient power supplies, telecommunications infrastructure and fiber optic facilities. They are also expanding the industry to higher-level information technology sectors like software development, engineering design, computer graphics and animation. (BCM)

 

http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS2006042962644.html

042806: Yahoo! Philippines seeking local content providers

This story was taken from www.inq7.net

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http://news.inq7.net/infotech/index.php?index=1&story_id=73925

Yahoo! Philippines seeking local content providers
First posted 11:23pm (Mla time) April 28, 2006
By Erwin Lemuel Oliva
INQ7.net

YAHOO! say it is looking for Philippine content providers to help beef up its Philippine web portal, which was formally unveiled this week. Reza Behnam, managing director of Yahoo! Southeast Asia, said that the portal is "actively looking" for content provider partners who will provide news, sports, and entertainment content. "Every market is unique. So we will offer locally relevant content," added Behnam who was in Manila to launch the local portal. Google and MSN have gone ahead offering local flavors of their portal to the Philippines. Yahoo! believes that the Southeast Asia offers a vibrant market, with at least 60 percent of 60 million Internet users in this region using Yahoo services. Filipinos are known to make use of Yahoo!'s community and communications services, such as its popular e-mail newsgroup system Yahoogroups , as well Yahoo! Mail, and Yahoo! Messenger for instant messaging. In fact, local Internet users can send text messages to some Yahoo Messenger subscribers who have activated the application's mobile service. Behnam said that the biggest source of revenue is currently advertising. But they hope to change this soon, as it pushes its mobile services in the Southeast region with Philippines included. Yahoo!'strategy these days is to develop portals that are not "one-size fits all." "Instead of adopting a 'one-site' or 'one service' fits all approach, Yahoo provides the necessary local relevance that can encourage Internet access and adoption for users in Southeast Asia," the Yahoo! Southeast Asia executive added. Yahoo! has around 3.4 billion page views per day on average and more than 429 million unique users worldwide, he said. Yahoo! was founded in 1994 by two Stanford PhD students David Filo and Jerry Yang. They incorporated their company in 1995, with corporate headquarters in Sunnyvale, California. Yahoo! has about 9,800 full-time employees worldwide, and has 5.2 billion dollars in revenues as of December 2005, with annual growth at 47 percent.

 

 

http://news.inq7.net/infotech/index.php?index=1&story_id=73925

042806: IT, BPO firms to train on European management systems

Friday-Saturday April 28-29, 2006 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES

News

 

The European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) said in a statement yesterday that it has chosen six small- and medium-scale information technology (IT) and business process outsourcing (BPO) firms to undergo training on the European market.

ECCP said it has chosen @ASP, BPO International, Leverage Systems Technologies, Pointwest Technologies, Stratpoint Technologies and Summersault to train on European management systems under its P43-million Common Quality Language Project.

The same statement quoted ECCP executive vice-president Henry Schumacher as saying that these firms could project at least a 30% hike in revenues from their tie-up with European firms.

Spain’s telecommunication cluster association, GAIA, has been tapped to conduct quality and information security management training for the six firms.

http://www.itmatters.com.ph/news.php?id=042806b

042606: World's digital divide is narrowing--study

 

April 26, 2006
Updated 12:12pm (Mla time)
Lucas van Grinsven
Reuters

BERLIN -- The digital divide is narrowing as citizens in emerging markets get online via computers and mobile phones, with some regions now on a par with developed nations, a ranking of Web-savvy nations showed on Wednesday.

"Encouraging is the apparent narrowing of the digital divide," said the annual study published by US computer company IBM and the intelligence unit of British magazine The Economist.

"This is particularly evident in basic connectivity: emerging markets are providing the vast majority of the world's new phone and Internet connections," the study found.

Within China and India, regions such as Shanghai and Bangalore have almost the same level of Internet and mobile phone connections as developed nations, said Peter Korsten, European director at IBM's Institute for Business Value.

"This is the first time we see a level playing field between developed and developing nations in terms of connectivity. It's up to governments to take advantage with education and other initiatives," he said. The survey looks beyond basic connections and also studies how the Internet is being used to improve productivity and reduce costs, including online access to public services.

"Virtually all countries have improved their scores over the past year. The improvement is greater in the lower tiers of the rankings than at the top. As a result, the distance separating the best from the rest has declined," the study said.

Huge difference The difference between the world's Web-savviest nation Denmark and the least "e-ready" country Azerbaijan remains nevertheless huge, with respective scores of 9.0 and 2.9 out of a possible 10.

India and China, including their less developed provinces, scored 4.25 and 4.02, ranking No. 53 and 57 respectively.

Switzerland entered the top three, replacing Sweden which dropped to fourth place, while the United States held on to its No. 2 spot.

Denmark remained No. 1 in taking advantage of the Internet, both connecting citizens securely over broadband and wireless networks as well as using its near ubiquitous hook-ups for Internet banking and government services such as tax returns.

"E-procurement (for public services) is saving Danish businesses 50 million euros ($62.1 million) and taxpayers as much as 150 million euros per year. The rest of Europe is expected to follow Denmark's lead," the study said.

Six nations in the top 10 are European, taking advantage of cheaply available broadband offerings and good education. The US, Australia, Canada and Hong Kong complete the top 10.

In central and eastern Europe, the new European Union member states formed an upper tier while other nations lag far behind. Mobile phone penetration is ubiquitous, but fixed line Internet connections are not widely available, while the business and legal environment is weak.

Overall, the region remains well behind the EU, North America and developed markets in Asia Pacific.

 

http://news.inq7.net/express/html_output/20060426-73796.xml.html

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Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. PC-to-Phone calls for ridiculously low rates.

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042606: Microsoft releases new beta version of Explorer

 

REDMOND, Washington—Microsoft Corp. is releasing a new test version of Internet Explorer, the market-leading Web browser that is facing competition from smaller players.
       The new beta, available Tuesday for free download to English-languages customers, includes fixes for problems that were causing Internet Explorer 7 to stop working, said Dean Hachamovitch, general manager in charge of Internet Explorer development.
       With the previous test version, Hachamovitch said the most common problems reported involved banking and news sites, in part because of security changes.
       Improving security can be tricky since any changes can cause legitimate Web sites to stop working, frustrating users.
       Microsoft also added more guidance to help people using IE’s new browser tab functions, which let a user view more than one Web site from within one window, using multiple “tabs.”
       This is Microsoft’s third beta of Internet Explorer 7 made available to the general public, and Hachamovitch said there are plans for one more. The new version comes amid growing competition from browsers such as Firefox, which has long offered functions such as tabbed browsing. Some also consider other browsers to be more secure, since IE, with its market dominance, is a popular target for attacks.
       The final version of Internet Explorer 7 is expected to be released in the second half of this year, around the time a version of Microsoft’s new Windows operating system is expected to be available for business users.
       Microsoft is releasing the new Windows, called Vista, to consumers in early 2007. AP

 

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/0426/comp05.php

042606: Yahoo! woos RP mobile phone users to access Web

Yahoo! woos RP mobile phone users to access Web
By Rizal Raoul Reyes
Correspondent

MAJOR global Internet company Yahoo! Inc on Tuesday unveiled the “Yahoo Go for Mobile in the Philippines,” a new service that enables users to access Internet content and services on their mobile phones, and at the same time geared to build a one-stop internet shop in Southeast Asia.
       Reza Benham, managing director of Yahoo! Southeast Asia, said the company decided to open up a mobile component in the country because of the heavy usage of mobile phones here. “Many Internet users are now using the mobile to access the Web,” said Benham at a news briefing on Tuesday.
       He said Yahoo! Inc is bullish in pushing the mobile service in the Philippines and the rest of the Southeast Asian region owing to the huge volume of users, particularly those in the 35-and-below age group. He noted this group is Internet-savvy and are potential users of Yahoo’s latest service.  
       “The mobile phones are going to drive Yahoo’s growth in the future not only in America but Asia as well,” he said.
       “Yahoo is delivering the Internet experience on the mobile device,” he added.
       Larry Jordan, director of product management of Yahoo! Southeast Asia, said the company at present is looking for partners to give the site a richer and more relevant content.
       He said the Philippines is one of the countries that can provide the requirements. “For improved localized content, we are looking at different partners in the Philippines because they are quite capable,” he said.
       Jordan said a richer localized content can make the recently launched Front Page more relevant and substantial.
       “Yahoo! local Front Pages provide a great starting point for users to find anything and everything they want on the Internet,” said Jordan.
       “Yahoo’s involvement in developing localized services aims to make the Internet more relevant for the 60 million Internet users in Southeast Asia, as well as the millions of new Internet users that come on-line each year in the region,” said Benham.
       Instead of adopting a “one-site” or “one-service-fits-all” approach, Yahoo! provides the necessary “local relevance that can encourage Internet access and adoption for all users in Southeast Asia,” he added.
       In a related development, Yahoo announced it has formed a partnership with Finnish phone maker Nokia for its Go for Mobile program in the Philippines.  Buyers of select N70, 6680, 6681, 6630, 7610, 6670 and 6600 will receive Yahoo! Go for Mobile preinstalled.  They can download the Yahoo! Go for Mobile application directly onto these devices from http://asia.go.yahoo.com//.
       Jordan said Yahoo! has formed a global deal with Motorola for possible installation of the program in all the Motorola phones.
       Key features of Yahoo! Go for Mobile include Yahoo Messenger, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Search, Yahoo Photos, Yahoo Address Book and Yahoo Calendar.

 

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/0426/front02.php

042506: IT exec Ramon Sales appointed CICT chief

IT exec Ramon Sales appointed CICT chief

April 25, 2006
Updated 04:13pm (Mla time)
Erwin Lemuel Oliva eoliva@inq7.net
INQ7.net

FORMER IT executive Ramon Sales has been appointed chairman of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), replacing outgoing chairman Virgilio Peña. In a telephone interview, Peña confirmed his successor's appointment and said that Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita is scheduled to "officially" announce the appointment at a press conference on Wednesday. In an e-mail, Sales also confirmed that he has been appointed CICT chairman. "You are right that I have been appointed as next CICT chief," he told INQ7.net. Sales is former senior vice president and management information system head of the Bank of the Philippine Islands. The new CICT chief was behind major information technology projects at the Ayala-owned bank. Peña resigned last month as chairman of the CICT. Citing "personal reasons."

http://news.inq7.net/express/html_output/20060425-73696.xml.html

042206: Mobile phones gain on PCs for Internet

This story was taken from www.inq7.net

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http://news.inq7.net/breaking/index.php?index=7&story_id=73358

Mobile phones gain on PCs for Internet
First posted 04:02am (Mla time) April 22, 2006
By
Agence France-Presse

WASHINGTON--Mobile phones may soon challenge personal computers as the dominant platform for accessing the Internet, a recent survey suggests. A survey released this week by research firm Ipsos Insight showed that 28 percent of mobile phone owners worldwide have browsed the Internet on a wireless handset, up from 25 percent at the end 2004. This increase is due largely to participation by users above age 35, which analysts say suggests that the technology has gone mainstream. Japan is leading the growth, with 92 percent of mobile phone users having browsed the Internet or downloaded e-mail at least once a month on their phone in 2005. About four out of 10 Japanese adults went online using their mobile phones this year, up 50 percent from 2003. Next was Britain, where 29 percent used mobile phones for Internet, followed by the United States and South Korea, each with 26 percent. However, the study reported that US and Canadian markets for online mobile phone technology are flattening out, and pointed to the popularity of notebook PCs using wireless technology as the main out-of-home Internet platforms. The study predicts that the appeal of greater convenience and faster connection speeds could lead to changes in PC and mobile phone Internet use. "In the long term, many of today's PC-centric online activities could be complemented through the mobile phone or migrate to the mobile phone altogether," said Brian Cruikshanks of Ipsos. The study also noted that most wireless device activities increased, including financial transactions, downloading entertainment, and sending or receiving text messages, e-mails, and digital pictures. "Accessing the Internet on a wireless handheld device is no longer a novelty for consumers in the major global economies. It's becoming a common, everyday occurrence for many people," said Cruikshanks.

 

042306: Smart unveils new brand for broadband service

Smart unveils new brand for broadband service
By Mary Ann Ll. Reyes
The Philippine Star 04/23/2006

Leading wireless services provider Smart Communications unveiled 'Smart Bro', the new brand for its wireless broadband offering, marking a move from its earlier Smart WiFi brand.

Parent firm Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) will also be reselling Smart Bro in place of myDSL-W, its similar wireless broadband service brand. Starting April 23, customers who avail of the Smart Bro service will enjoy new promotional bundles.

Sales and customer service processes are also being upgraded to improve the customer experience. Officials said the launch of Smart Bro underscores the strategy of the PLDT group to provide its customers with the widest range of broadband connectivity solutions and establish its leadership in the broadband market nationwide.

"We've combined the latest wireless broadband technology with the extensive network infrastructure of PLDT and Smart. Together with our fixed broadband offerings through PLDT's DSL service and our mobile broadband service with Smart 3G, Smart Bro will hasten the time when broadband becomes a basic communications service," Smart and PLDT president and CEO Napoleon Nazareno said.

Since it was introduced nationwide in September last year, wireless broadband has provided a welcome boost for Internet usage in the Philippines where Internet penetration is only 5.3 percent.

"The uptake in the service is most apparent in rural areas where information and communications technology infrastructure has been lacking," Nazareno observed.

Numbering over 25,000 by yearend 2005, wireless broadband subscribers accounted for 22 percent of the total number of broadband subscribers of PLDT and Smart. Broadband capacity and subscribers have been doubling every year since 2002 and by end-2005, the number of broadband users of the PLDT Group more than doubled to 114,000 from 48,000 as of end-2004.

To further raise service quality levels, Smart is currently improving network facilities by deploying advanced radio base stations and terminal equipment and installing upgraded routers. It is also expanding the wireless broadband network's core transmission backbone capacity up to 10 gigabytes per second (Gbps) and its regional backbone capacity to one Gbps.

International transmission capacity has also been increased significantly to further improve access to servers overseas. Smart also announced that it is improving the customer service systems and processes that handle queries regarding the wireless broadband service.

The number of call center seats dedicated to broadband customers has been increased to 370. Smart has been able to rapidly roll out the service even in far-flung areas because it integrated many portions of the wireless broadband network with its existing GSM cellular network.

Smart Bro is a "fixed wireless solution" to provide broadband Internet access. It rides on the nationwide cellular network of Smart to wirelessly deliver broadband Internet service to a subscriber's personal computer, eliminating the need for a physical cable or phone line. The "wireless" connection is established from a wireless broadband radio base station at the nearest Smart cell site to the subscriber's home via a Smart Bro antenna.

Cables connect the antenna to the subscriber's PC. To enjoy the strongest possible high speed Internet connection, the subscriber's antenna must have a clear "line-of-sight" alignment and be within a 1.5-km. radius from a Smart cell site.

"The service brings broadband Internet to places that in the past were beyond the reach of the world wide web. Hopefully, broadband will open up new opportunities for businesses, education, and e-government all over the country," Nazareno said.

Initially, Smart Bro is available at one package at P999 monthly, VAT inclusive. Subscribers will need a PC with Pentium II or higher, 128 MB RAM or higher (preferable 256 MB RAM), Ethernet/ LAN Card, at least 10GB of hard disk space and operating system of Windows 98, 2000, XP, Linux or Macintosh OS.

 

http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200604230704.htm