Malaysia slips in global ICT ranking

Malaysia slid several places in the list of the most technologically competitive economies, according to the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Global Competitiveness Report for 2004. The report ranked Malaysia in 27th position on its technology index, down from 20th spot in last year's rankings. 

The United States, Taiwan, Finland, Sweden and Japan maintained their top five position in the technology rankings, with each retaining their positions held in 2003, according to the report. 

Maxis 3G roll out by Q1 2005

KUALA LUMPUR: Mobile phone operator Maxis Communications Bhd is expected to roll out its third generation (3G) technology in the local market by the first quarter of 2005. The company has spent more than RM200 million on the exercise in this year alone.

Kelabit community proud of e-Bario project

BARIO – The Kelabit community in the Bario highlands are proud of the eBario project which won an award at the recent eAsia Week in Taipei. e-Bario is a joint pilot project undertaken by Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) and the local community in Bario.

The research project involves the innovative application of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) with the goal of continually sustaining social and economic programmes in a rural community which does not have basic amenities such as electricity, water and telecommunications.

Delivering broadband to the poor

Verizon Communications’ subsidiary Verizon Avenue today announced its plans to participate in an effort to deliver broadband services to low-income families living in affordable housing. Read Digital Divide Solutions from DailyWireless for more.

Mesh Networking Applications

With all the hype surrounding wireless mesh networking and talk of future growth, a legitimate question to ask is whether there are any viable applications.

Penang Cyber City

Penang has allocated RM34mil for infrastructure development in the Bayan Lepas Industrial Zone or Penang Cyber City.

The Bayan Lepas Industrial Zone had fulfilled 109 of the total 149 criteria to obtain the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) status.
The intiative has partially fulfilled 32 criteria while the remaining eight criteria that had yet to be fulfilled include water and electricity supply and Telekom broadband service.

More rural Internet centres

The Malaysian Government is expected to invest more in setting up Rural Internet Centres (RICs) across the country to help narrow the digital divide further.

According to secretary general to Energy, Water and Communications Ministry Datuk Dr Halim Shafie, plans are in the pipeline to increase the number of RICs in small towns and rural communities by five-fold to at least 200 centres over the next four years, from the existing 42.

Smart Card for Frequent Travellers?

THE impending introduction of a 'smart card' for frequent travellers between Malaysia and Thailand will not only make travelling between both countries hassle-free, it will enable government agencies on both sides of the border to collar undesirable elements.

Tropos Networks joins WiMAX Forum

Tropos Networks, the leading supplier of equipment used to build metro-scale broadband wireless networks, announced today it has become a Principal Member of the WiMAX Forum(TM), a non-profit corporation formed to help promote the IEEE 802.16 standard and certify the compatibility and interoperability of broadband wireless access equipment. Tropos Networks is the first metro-scale Wi-Fi mesh networking systems vendor to join the WiMAX Forum, embracing the emerging 802.16 standard as an important technology for evolving metro-scale wireless broadband networks.

Fujifilm Malaysia's online photo printing service

KUALA LUMPUR – Fuji Photo Film (M) Sdn Bhd (Fujifilm Malaysia) recently launched zy2print an online community allowing consumers to enjoy Print@FUJICOLOR online photo printing service via Fujifilm website at www.fujifilm.com.my from anywhere. Print@FUJICOLOR is the official brand name used worldwide for Fujifilm’s innovative e-printing service. It is the platform through which e-zy2print operates.

Mobif VoIP Adapters

Mobif Bhd has received orders for another 50,000 units of its voice-over-broadband service adapters from its partners in the US, China and Malaysia that would take up most of its production in the first quarter of next year. The orders are expected to generate revenue of RM10 million.

Mobif had earlier received orders for 10,000 adapters from Australia. Phone calls made via the adapter over the broadband network cost only about 15 sen per minute. If both parties have the adapters, the calls will be free of charge.

Mobif is positioning itself as a provider of applications such as voice-over-broadband, Internet surveillance system and video conferencing for Internet service providers.

BCSP Wireless Broadband Road Show held in Sarikei

SARIKEI – The Broadband Connectivity Service Provider (BCSP), introduced by STIDC, SACOFA Sdn Bhd and Danawa Resources Sdn Bhd, allows the public to use the broadband Internet-connectivity network.

The service, he pointed out, was convenient for government offices, statutory bodies, corporations, SMEs, Multi Tenant offices and commercial buildings as well as household users in the coastal areas of Dalat-Tanjong Manis. STIDC Deputy General Manager Haji Rabani Taip, SACOFA Chairman Ir. Abang Jemat Abang Bujang, Danawa Resources Chairman Zainor Rashid were among those present at the ceremony.

Smart Digital seeks Mesdaq listing

Satellite broadband provider Smart Digital Communications Bhd is seeking a listing on the Mesdaq Market by next March, and targets to raise up to RM40 million from the exercise.

Smart Digital offers one-way and two-way broadband satellite service that enables applications such as Internet service, teleconferencing, direct video broadcasting and voice-over-broadband service. The company, which started operation in 1996, has a paid-up capital of RM6.68 million. It had obtained licences for Network Service Provider and Network Facility Provider from the Energy, Water and Communications Ministry.

Smart had also secured a project from the government to provide Internet service to about 2,000 schools, especially in the rural area

WiFi Killed by Lawyers

Wi-Fi Networking News reports that wireless ISPs were hit with demands for hefty royalty payments last week from Acacia Technologies who hopes to exploit a patent it owns for web page redirects.

The patent, number 6,226,677, was acquired by Acacia from LodgeNet. Granted in May 2001, the patent application was originally filed in January 1999, long before the Wi-Fi hotspot business emerged.

The Mobile Phone as Computer

Eric Lin writes:

Emerging applications are proving that the phone is no longer just a communications tool but a computing one. Handset hardware and software will evolve to support this new paradigm.

NEC has announced a new mobile chip with not one, but three ARM-based processors, in addition to a processor dedicated to media and sound all in a single, low-power unit. All these processors, or cores, will allow handsets to accomplish a number of intense tasks simultaneously. Dual-core processors for desktop computers have only recently become available, but this technology is already being applied to mobile processors, indicating how quickly handsets are evolving to match the PCs functionality. The companies that create desktop graphics processors are also developing more powerful chips for handsets, as they take on yet another function of the PC -- gaming.

Jeff Nolan's not buying this for the following reasons 1) the processing power is still limited, and the more processing power they build in the worse the heat problem becomes, 2) crappy displays, it will be solved eventually, maybe with OLEDs, but they still suck today, 3) bandwidth constrained, ironically, 4) specialized programming interfaces and user design limit appeal to developers.

Conference with Dianah Neff, CIO for Philadelphia

Interesting conference call with Dianah Neff, the CIO for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She's a creative, innovative CIO that's always driving her organization to the new cutting edge. And so it's no surprise that she's spearheading a large wireless project for the city of Philadelphia. It is a project that is receiving significant coverage in newspapers, from as far away from Philadelphia as the Sacramento Bee in California.

MNI ready to implement JPJ einsurans

SEREMBAN - Malaysia National Insurance Bhd (MNI) is ready to implement JPJ eInsurans, a paperless system for submitting insurance cover notes for road tax applications at the Road Transport Department (RTD), the company's head of retail insurance business, Peter Hallet, said yesterday.JPJ eInsurans enables insurance firms to register relevant information with the RTD and eliminates the need for vehicle owners to bring insurance cover notes for road tax renewals.

STIDC wireless broadband roadshow

SARIKEI: The Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC) will be launching a Wireless Broadband Roadshow at the Civic Centre here tomorrow at 8.30 am.

The roadshow is held in conjunction with the launching of the Wireless Broadband Network linking government offices, statutory bodies, schools, Small-Medium Enterprises (SME) multi-tenant offices, commercial buildings and household end users on the coastal area of Dalat-Tanjung Manis. The project is a joint venture between STIDC, Sacofa Sdn Bhd and Danwa Resources Sdn Bhd (DARES).

Gov’t flexes muscles on rural ICT services

Internet service providers (ISPs) and telecommunication companies (telcos) were taken to task by Energy, Communications and Multimedia Minister Dr Lim Keng Yaik yesterday for not providing services to rural areas. Lim was speaking to reporters after opening a regional conference on ‘French know-how in telecoms and ICT’ in Kuala Lumpur.

He said ‘many’ licences have been issued to telecommunication companies but that the services provided have not been satisfactory. He revealed that Internet uptake in Malaysia is alarmingly low coupled with the fact that the cellular phone penetration in the country is only at 46 percent.

Understanding Wireless Mesh Networks: Part 2

While wireless mesh might exemplify the epitome of configuration flexibility and fault-tolerance, one significant and glaring challenges is the lack of standards.

The success of WLAN's grew out of the 802.11 standard and the Wi-Fi Alliance. Wireless metropolitan area networks (MAN's) seem to be following the same path with 802.16 and its subsequent amendments. But no IEEE standard has yet formed for mesh networks.

One of the concerns when creating a mesh product is choosing the right meshing algorithm or protocol. Major factors to consider include the number of potential nodes, convergence time, link discovery and route selection, routing overhead, and the amount of mobility between the nodes.

Understanding Wireless Mesh Networks: Part 1

Mobilepipeline.com's Frank Bulk provides the low-down on what mesh networks are and how to use them in the enterprise.

ICT for All

Jiro Suzuki writes:

"RM3,000 for a PC and RM77 per month for 384kbps broadband access is expensive for a significant proportion of the Malaysian public. Cheaper, simpler methods to bring about universal access to information and connectivity should be considered.

If we want to ensure real momentum in the ICT for all campaign, the mobile phone is the best solution. The key advantage of the mobile phone is that it is wireless, already implemented and covers more than 90% of Malaysia's terrain. The current existing 2.5 Generation GSM network is also sufficient to enable a fair number of applications to be deployed and SMS remains a cheap and fairly reliable form of information retrieval and dissemination.

The core idea behind the ICT for all campaign is that information can help improve our quality of life. By having access to information, we can make better decisions, be it in our personal lives or business. Sometimes, all it takes to make a difference is simple information. Information on the weather, wind speeds and atmospheric changes are easy to communicate and basic in their nature but have a great impact on farmers and fishermen, for example.

The goal should be to provide Malaysians outside the urban areas with incremental experiences of ICT and getting them used to the idea of using information to make better decisions in their lives or their business, before we look towards richer digital experiences such as broadband, streaming media, audio and Flash."

Wireless Mesh Sensor Networks

Wireless mesh sensor networking, a new networking technology focused on monitoring sensors and controlling actuators, holds great promise in evaluating and eventually managing difficult building climates.

Wireless mesh sensor networks offer powerful new ways to monitor indoor air quality, and without the costs of major new installations or wire runs that are typically associated with these types of projects.  These new systems can improve the quality of monitoring dramatically while also making entirely new monitoring applications possible.  The benefits, like the sensors, reach far and wide - from improving human health, workforce efficiency, quality of life, and even the bottom line.

Wi-Fi Wireless Mesh and Ad Hoc Networks Tutorials

Wi-Fi Wireless Mesh and Ad Hoc Networks Tutorials from The Wi-Fi Technology Forum. Topics include:

1- Introduction to Wi-Fi Mesh Networks
1a- Makings of a Wi-Fi Mesh Network: Wireless Roaming Cells
1b - Typical WLAN Roaming
1c- WLAN Repeater Roaming
2- History of Wi-Fi Mesh Networks
3- Practical Application of Mesh Networks
4- Wi-Fi Mesh Networks: Advantages
5- Mesh Networks Related Organizations
6- Routing Protocols For Mobile Ad-hoc Networks
7- Mesh Networks Software Tools
8- Mesh Networks References

The Realities of Dealing with Wireless Mesh Networks

Mesh networking is the hot new thing, whether it’s of the wired or wireless type. Mesh-networked wireless sensor systems promise an easy way to deploy nodes in various physical environments, and while this topology does offer operational performance improvements over its counterpart topologies, there are inherent limitations that you should understand before adopting this information delivery method.

The most recent addition to the wireless networking family revolves around an ad hoc distribution of network nodes. This situation, typified by a mesh network shown in Figure 2, imposes an additional requirement on the individual nodes: They must agree to pass on messages from their nearest neighbors.



n some applications information may be completely inside the mesh network (e.g., a light switch activating a light); in other applications, information must be presented to “the outside.” The ZigBee Alliance nomenclature defines a network coordinator that may be the natural choice for presenting this information to the rest of the world, but other devices with a long-haul or broadband network link may fill this role as well. We’ll call this device the “data gateway.” The sources of the information, i.e., the sensors and radio transceivers, are referred to as “end devices.” The routers serve as repeaters. Notice that if each end device communicates directly with the data gateway, the “mesh” reverts to the classic star topology.

In a real-world mesh network, the network provides each node with multiple data transmission paths, forming a mesh. Each node communicates its existence as well as other information with its neighbors, allowing various algorithms to determine the best way to transmit end-device data to the network coordinator. Some networks communicate this information on demand, when a message needs to be sent, while others maintain it actively. In either case, transmission of network information takes up bandwidth, reducing the maximum bandwidth available to the sensor.

Locust meshes it up

Unlike conventional WLAN setups, where every access point (AP) is tethered to a wired connection, mesh networks use the multiple radio links available in 802.11 systems to extend the range of the wireless network. Network data is routed back and forth between the APs – each with a range of a few hundred feet or so, depending on where they are installed – and such networks typically only have one or two wired connections at their termination points.

Locust World uses APs that link to users via 802.11b [11 Mbit/s over 2.4GHz] but communicate machine-to-machine over 802.11a [54 Mbit/s over 5GHz] or 802.11g [54 Mbit/s over 2.4GHz] connections to form the mesh network.

On top of that, the firm has implemented a certificate-based security and encryption system for the network and a management application that allows managers to plot the position of the mesh "nodes" (a.k.a. access points) on a map.

Developing Nations Copyright License from Creative Commons

The Creative Commons group has announced a new license model: the "Developing Nations" license. This allows creators to make their works available for attributed distribution in the developing world, while still retaining all copyright control in high-income countries. Lawrence Lessig, Creative Commons founder, says:

The Developing Nations license allows, for the first time, any copyright holder in the world to participate first-hand in reforming global information policy. The fact is that most of the world's population is simply priced out of developed nations' publishing output. To authors, that means an untapped readership. To economists, it means "deadweight loss." To human rights advocates and educators, it is a tragedy. The Developing Nations license is designed to address all three concerns.

The license was designed by IP expert Jaime Love:

"The new license makes it easier to expand access to knowledge and support development. It is a tool to make the resource-poor information-rich."