TELECOM INNOVATION: DEVELOPING WEBSITE TO SHOW REAL-TIME MOBILE TOWER RADIATION

The Department of Telecom is working on a website that will show real-time data of radiation being emitted from each mobile tower in the country and its exposure to people, a senior official said here. 

"We are working on a web portal so that a person can see how much radiation he is exposed to," DoT Member (Technology) A K Bhargava said while speaking at an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) event. 

The Department has started working with industry body Cellular Operators Association of India to develop the portal. 

"It is in early stage and yet to see proof of concept for this project. Idea is that a person should be able see in real-time how much radiation a mobile tower in his proximity is emitting. 

UN body ITU also launched its first mobile application on cellular radiation to answer all queries and concerns of people.  They are launching a new product in this area, a mobile application providing an 'EMF Guide'.

"It offers an introduction to EMFs and their relationship with health, as well as various internationally agreed guidelines and standards designed to ensure safety in the use of mobile phones and other wireless technologies.

The government has an ambitious target to spread broadband and mobile telephony and for this it is important to address concerns among public about mobile radiation. 

India allows only 10 per cent of radiation level to be emitted from mobile towers as compared to international norms preferred in most of the countries. DoT has decided to conduct an awareness campaign to remove perception of health hazard from mobile tower radiation as there is no scientific evidence to prove any ill-effect on health at levels permitted globally. 

A World Health Organization study in 2011 had pointed out that there are possible health risks associated with electromagnetic fields which need to be properly considered and reported during the roll-out of mobile-wireless technologies if the electromagnetic radiations are beyond certain limits. 

Following protest from civil groups, India has reduced permissible level of radiation from mobile towers by 90 per cent as compared to radiation norms released by global body The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). 

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TELECOM TRENDS: GROWING BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES!

Taking advantage of the growing demand for broadband services by small and medium enterprises, financial institutions and defence forces in the underpenetrated areas, it's time to leverage on these opportunities. VSAT(Very Small Aperture Terminal) services are proving to be an important response solution for government agencies in ensuring telecom connectivity in the affected regions, thereby opening up a new area of opportunity.

As more banks and financial institutions expand their reach in underbanked areas in order to achieve their financial inclusion targets, the demand for VSAT services is bound to increase. Another major business driver for the VSAT segment is the educational services industry. Many educational institutes are demanding VSAT services to provide tele-classroom facilities to their students on campus.

Various government agencies are offering or planning to offer e-governance services in the fields of health care, finance and education in rural areas, creating significant demand for VSAT services. Apart from the rise in demand for VSAT services, the fall in VSAT prices by nearly 20 per cent over the past three years has helped the industry grow. Many small enterprises with limited budgets are now considering opting for VSAT services owing to the price reduction. Most of these enterprises are located in areas with poor or limited broadband connectivity. 

Going forward, the BFSI, government and defence sectors are likely to dominate the demand for these services. Leveraging its expertise in providing 24x7 broadband connectivity to financial institutions and government agencies, VSAT can help strengthen the market position.

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UNLEASH INNOVATION WITH OSS / BSS TOOLS

Software Defined Networking (SDN) is currently a widely discussed topic in the telecommunications industry. There are high expectations regarding the technology, including reducing network maintenance costs and unleashing innovation, thus opening the way to new revenue sources and better network monetization. SDN is a concept where the main principle is to separate the control plane from the data plane, and to move the controller function out from today’s routers.

At first this definition does not sound very exciting, but placing the controller function centrally should enable much more “intelligent” network traffic control and, as a result, efficiently deliver new, innovative services for customers. The problem is that for now SDN is still only a concept, and currently the only tangible specification is OpenFlow, but it only defines the protocol between a controller and a switch.

To make the promises of SDN technology come true, there is a need for a platform, enabling a business application that will help opening up telecom networks. The specifications and APIs for this kind of a business application need to be defined to shape the network according to what is required and make it “smarter”. In order for the latter to happen,  a controller needs a comprehensive end-to-end view of the network and all connected services. However, the SDN concept does not define, how to provide such an end-to-end view.

One idea is to leverage the operators’ existing assets like the BSS/OSS ecosystems and prove that SDN won’t make BSS/OSS investments obsolete. IT architecture, where BSS/OSS investments can not only be saved, but even act as a significant enabler for the SDN “revolution”. This means that telecom operators will be able to provide significant added value to the SDN ecosystem.

The Software Defined Networking (SDN) technology is very promising and expected to help operators in reducing costs and boosting service innovation. The cost reduction factor  derives naturally from centralizing the network control functions. Following the Network  Function Virtualization concept, it ensures that the control function can be implemented  on standard equipment (even PCs).

But the real strength of this technology is in its potential to speed up innovation and open up the network. The “smartness” of the SDN controllers comes from the ability to access a complete end-to-end view of the network. Instead of implementing a completely new infrastructure for an SDN controller, the end-to-end view can be delivered by the existing BSS/OSS systems.

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LETS TALK TELECOM..HOW DIFFERENT WILL THE 4G BE AND DOES IT COMMAND A PREMIUM OVER 3G?

The industry has experienced a massive shift from traditional mobile services such as voice and SMS to value-added services such as CRBT, WAP, m-gaming, m-utilities and infotainment, along with data-intensive services such as browsing, social networking, apps and video streaming. Today, what a consumer desires is a seamless, always-on, high-speed data service.

While 3G adoption is still picking up three years after its launch, the focus has now shifted to 4G technologies, especially LTE (Long-Term Evolution). 

But how different will the 4G be and does it command a premium over 3G? Well, 4G is expected to deliver speeds of 10-15 Mbps, 10 times faster than those of 3G, enabling users to download more content than 3G in the same amount of time. This makes data-intensive, on-the-go downloads such as music or HD video streaming a reality. Further, 4G promises faster connection times, assuring an always-on service experience. It offers less round-trip latency, making real-time applications such as VoIP, video calls, online gaming and multimedia content sharing quite practical. While 4G promises an improved user experience, the key question is will 4G be a game-changer and when can operators expect to break-even? And these concerns are amplified due to the various challenges that exist right now.

•      4G ecosystem: Currently there is a lack of affordable 4G-enabled phones in India. The availability of $100 handsets suitable for LTE band 2300 MHz in India—which can help users in voice, data and video—could result in faster adoption of the service.

•        Quality of service: 3G coverage in India is much below the levels needed to provide superior customer experience associated with high speed data technology, as cash-strapped operators face an investment dilemma. Here, 4G is a possible panacea if it delivers seamless and high-speed connectivity.

•        Pricing: In the recent past, competitive 3G tariffs have helped increase its adoption. A key question for operators is how to price 4G services to encourage demand for early adoption while ensuring returns on investment.

•       Product/service offering: Consumer interests and demands are shifting towards video calling, mobile gaming, HD content streaming, multi-tasking and seamless data connectivity.

Additionally, the Quality of Service models and Key Performance Indicators are different in the case of 4G. Operators need to be well prepared for delivering seamless experience backed with robust technology and network coverage of 4G services. Due to shift of consumers towards data-centric applications, 4G operators need to focus not only on Quality of Service but also on Quality of Experience as perceived by the user.

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Lets Hear The Buzz of Telecom - 4G Rollout Is a Tough One for Telecom Operators in India!

Telcos are taking a very cautious approach as fully monetizing network investments involves launching compelling new applications and services while India lacks the ecosystem that include insufficiency of 4G-capable devices.

Network deployment for 4G LTE is a complex and expensive task for telecom operators, especially in emerging economies such as India which have low average-revenue-per user (ARPU).

Deploying LTE networks in India and globally is a hugely complex and expensive task for mobile network operators. Enhanced capabilities and benefits like bandwidth-on-demand require complex go-to-market and customer management strategies.

Emerging competitive threats from Over-the-Top (OTT) applications and services threaten to further reduce already low ARPUs and continue to mount a sustained challenge to the long-term revenue generation potential of 4G services.

Speed advantages are not very useful as a differentiating factor. "Network speeds cannot be guaranteed, and are usually temporary, highly regionalized, and easy for the competition to replicate and outside the operator's control".

The prioritization of 4G-technology rollout would be towards the main metropolitan areas as it would be initially seen as a premium service.

Operators would be mindful of the significant role that pre-existing 2G and 3G technologies, particularly in areas where the limited return on investment opportunities make 4G rollout a less attractive proposition for the network operators.

"The availability of high-speed mobile data communication through 4G-LTE networks and capabilities will continue to be an essential enabler of India's ongoing economic development and growth.

Many of the well-established 4G device providers are targeting lower-cost products specifically towards the Indian market as they seek to consolidate and expand their position within the rapidly developing space.

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In the midst of extraordinary change, a simple frame of reference will enable TELCOS to win...Lets hear some News and Facts happening in Telecom Industry.

According to a white paper named ‘India 2020: Bringing the networked society to life’ released by Ericsson, the overall revenue of Indian telecom operators is expected to grow from $28 billion in 2013 to $46-49 billion by 2020. The mobile broadband subscriber base in India would grow from 100 million in 2013 to 600 million by 2020. Further, around 20 per cent of them would use 4G services by 2020.

CAG has said that despite DoT's technical committee specifying that spectrum up to 6.2 MHz was sufficient to support a subscriber base of 9 lakh in Delhi and Mumbai, the telecom department decided to allot additional 1.8 MHz airwaves to Bharti Airtel and Vodafone India after they clocked 4 lakh subscribers. However, neither the Telecom Commission, the highest decision-making body in DoT, nor the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) were consulted before the department took a final decision.

DoT didn't consider efficiency, effectiveness and scarcity of bandwidth of 900 MHz spectrum in fixing revenue share. These operators, however, charged more from their rivals while allowing roaming on the lower frequency band compared to the 1800 MHz band, the auditor said. Consequently, the government lost close to Rs. 6,000 crore by not charging more for the more efficient frequency band.

The share of data revenues in total revenues of the telecom operators will rise from 10-12 per cent in 2013 to 35-40 per cent in 2020. However, the revenues from SMS and other traditional services would remain stable at $2 billion during 2013-2020. Also, the prices of smartphones will fall by 40-50 per cent over the next three years. As a result, the number of subscribers who are able to afford smartphones and services would increase from 110 million in 2013 to reach over 700 million by 2020.

Ericsson is of the view that to fulfill the Digital India initiative, telecom operators should be able to access more spectrum from the government, and work to build new network capabilities and revenue models.

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Department of Telecommunications plans to restructure USO fund modalities

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is working on a plan to restructure the Universal Service Obligation (USO) Fund’s modalities, under which the share of the revenues of private telecom operators will be reduced from the current 5 per cent. DoT will take the final decision in this regard by end-October 2014.

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INVENTION IS HAPPENING, BUT ACTUALLY QUITE FAST

When things are getting interesting and moving as fast as they are in the communications world, it is easy to get ahead of yourself. Sometimes you seem to go round in circles. It is advisable, if this happens, not to meet yourself coming the other way. 

We are definitely still at the stage of selling ‘data’ but we are beginning to make this cloudy concept clearer. We are selling speed, because speed delivers value to make certain bandwidth hungry applications work properly. And we are selling Voice 2.o in order to fight back against OTT voice players. Confusion is easy to catch amongst the wealth of services now being offered by operators around the world.

A simple ‘Top Ten’ LTE services from operators around the world, it takes us on a concise but interesting journey from speed, through shared plans to sponsored data and beyond. It is interesting to compare what operators in different regions are doing, both within their own region and beyond.

You can sell speed in different ways of course. Once you have customers who have run up to their data limits – a reasonably common occurrence as we know – you can offer to restore their speed and give them more data for a few days, thus selling them a service and solving a problem for the customer.

The majority of operators will be launching Voice over LTE in the next two years. This demands guaranteed quality, and policy management and real time charging can manage this. What it also means, apart from offering customers ‘free’ high quality voice, is that expensive legacy networks and systems can be ‘recycled’ and therefore costs can be cut.

‘Beyond’ sponsored data, some operators are now collaborating with OTT players and this trend will mature and become commonplace in the next two to three years. Offering access to applications such as Facebook and other content partners for free means the partner gets access to the operator’s customers and the operators gets a deal for his. Once hooked, customers trying out this free access can be migrated onto longer term offers.

Whether the offer is a simple speed or data one, or whether it is something more sophisticated, the critical factor is to enable the purchase or acceptance of the deal on the device, as your customer thinks about it. This is a turning point for the communications industry, this acceptance that everything must be responsive in real time.

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Get ready for next generation Digital Commerce

In the last decade the telecom industry has experienced a data explosion thanks to the increase in subscription and voice data records, wireless information, geo-location details, social media and data usage by customers and service providers.

The complicated world of telecommunications analytics is nothing new and telcos have been long term pioneers of big data techniques which began with the building of call detail record (CDR) data warehouses. This data was used to better understand customer usage patterns and make data-driven decisions about how to package subscriptions and packages, cross and upsell add on services and options, and reduce customer churn.

Everyone understands that making sense of big data is the key to winning the battle for customers. Data analytics can deliver powerful insights into what customers want to achieve at every touch-point (channel), make it possible for organisations to maintain traction on customers as they migrate between touch-points, and support the generation of content and promotions that are personalized and highly relevant to customers.

But the big data challenge is set to get even bigger. Catalogs with tens of thousands of product variations are becoming the rule rather than the exception as telcos develop and manage ever more sophisticated and complex service bundles that incorporate devices, voice and data plans alongside subscriptions to gaming, live TV, film, music and video content providers.

What’s more, the proliferation of data sources and types means data no longer fits into neat easy-to- consume structures. Today’s omni-channel telcos enterprises need to be able to handle content, physical data points, processes, inventory, search, streaming data, social, text, mobile, web and more. All of which requires real-time data capture and analysis.

Master data management capabilities are now a ‘must have’ if telcos are to leverage their transactional, operational and customer behavior intelligence to the max. Having data readily accessible so analytics can run in real or near-real time is critical to enabling intelligence-driven merchandising and the delivery of a highly personalized experience that stays relevant as customers move between channels.

Get ready for next generation digital commerce

At the end of the day delivering an enriched customer experience – regardless of channel – is a primary goal and big data, when effectively managed, can power personalization engines to deliver better and more relevant content that helps move customers along the buying cycle to transact and convert.

Understanding and visualizing how customers migrate between touch-points, and what they expect to do (and achieve) at every touch-point makes it possible to give customers ‘what they want, when they want it’. Delivering a unified and enriched customer experience may also include delivering richer and more consistent product information, seamless transaction capabilities across every channel, and options to access the entire product range regardless of channel; for example by providing in-store kiosks that give customers the option of ordering catalogue items currently not available or stocked in store.

Utilising this intelligence, telcos can deliver loyalty offers that reduce the risk of customer churn, stimulate demand – for example, by offering high data consuming subscribers additional value-add services – and minimise the risk of failing to capitalise on opportunities by redirecting customers to the appropriate channel or storefront for their immediate requirements.

Achieving all this depends on next generation digital commerce platforms that make it possible to implement personalisation rules based on an individual’s behaviours and engagement preferences, generating product recommendations and self-care options that are relevant and appropriate to the immediate engagement encounter. All of this will depend on the ability to connect events captured on the network (usage behaviour) with other behaviours, such as topping up a prepaid account or purchasing a new SIM at the individual customer level.

Recognising and responding to these ‘key moments’ is decisive; creating a ‘brand for life’ long tail relationship with subscribers depends on a telcos’ ability to match relevant service bundles and options with consumer profiles at critical break/renew time points. In other words, achieving retention goals will depend on the ability to provide timely and relevant supported selling and appropriate recommendations in real-time.

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Telecom Operators are innovating in one space and disrupting in another space, leveraging the cloud technology."

Indian telecom operators are now aggressively investing in cloud strategy to bring innovative services and products to the market while looking to implement data analytics to get more revenue from subscribers. Mobile Phone Operators have realised that their investment in cloud strategy will be very useful for their overall service portfolio.

For instance, European telcos have started innovative services line 'Gaming on Demand', wherein the gaming structure is on a cloud and a user can play it through a remote control by paying a subscription and are expecting the trend to come to India soon.

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DoT to ask global vendors to declare value-addition levels under a self-certification system

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is planning to introduce stringent norms to ensure that foreign telecom vendors meet local value-addition targets to qualify for government contracts under India's preferential market access (PMA) policy.

As per DoT, the global vendors will have to declare VA (value-addition) levels under a self-certification system that will have built-in penalties in case of false declarations and incentives for compliance.

Declared VA levels will be monitored jointly by the DoT's technical wing, the Telecom Engineering Centre, and the Standardisation Testing & Quality Certification directorate, which is part of the Department of Electronics and Information Technology.

The proposed self-certification system is going to be a key element of PMA policy which calls for minimum 30 per cent local sourcing of security sensitive technology products for government contracts across central ministries, excluding defence.

Currently, the consultations are underway to finalise local VA targets for about 23 security-sensitive technology products.

The VA targets and timeframes will be fixed after a thorough assessment of considerations from the global network vendors as well. The previous government had recommended that global vendors meet 45 per cent and 65 per cent of their local value-addition targets by 2017 and 2020 respectively, a suggestion that was met with protests from leading trade bodies across the US, Europe and Japan

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Wallet Services gaining importance as Telecom Companies Agree On Basic Banking Services through SMSes:

Mobile companies have been persuaded by the Modi government to share a slice of their infrastructure to pave the way for basic banking services through cell phones.

Fund transfer, balance inquiry in savings account, change of PIN, mini statement, cheque book request, etc, will be possible with simple text messages from ordinary handsets and without accessing the Internet.

In the past two months, ten telecom companies have signed pacts with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the payments gateway backed by the government, to facilitate the service. It will operate on Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) channel of the telcos — a simple interactive text messaging system that even allows credit and debit card transactions. However, the current plan is to restrict USSD to basic banking services, including low-value bill payments.

Telecom companies agree on basic banking services through SMSes"The primary reason for the delay in setting up this infrastructure was the apprehension of telcos that their business will be affected if they provide the USSD channel to the banking system. But Trai (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) was justified in indicating that the communication channel should not be restricted...The service is available to anyone having a mobile phone or bank account," AP Hota, MD & CEO of NPCI told ET. Each transaction will cost the user Rs1.50.

The USSD system can widen the scope of mobile banking transactions from "wallet services" provided by telecom firms through a separate entity. While under wallet services, subscribers can carry out transactions like prepaid mobile charges, utility bill payments and money transfers among other things, the USSD enables inter-bank transactions. For instance, a subscriber of telco A with an account in Bank B can transfer money to a subscriber of telco C having an account with bank D. Here, telcos access NPCI's centralised system which is linked to banks.

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Regulatory framework around Over-the-top (OTT) players like WhatsApp, Skype, Viber, WeChat

Regulatory framework around Over-the-top (OTT) players like WhatsApp, Skype, Viber, WeChat etc.

The OTT players facilitate free calls and messaging services, making it affordable for consumers to use them. Telecom subscribers are required to pay only internet charges to their operators for using OTT services.

"Hopefully we will come out with paper on broadband may be by end of next month," TRAI Chairman Rahul Khullar said at a telecom summit organised by industry chamber ASSOCHAM.

Telecom operators have been pushing for a regulatory framework around OTT players as they see applications like Skype, WhatsApp, Viber etc as competitors who are cutting telcos revenues in voice call and messaging segment.

At global level, internet based companies have been opposing any move that can make access to online services expensive or put any restrain on flow of information over the internet.

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