From ptownson Wed Sep 22 00:57:13 1999 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.9.1/8.9.1) id AAA05059 for \ptownson; Wed, 22 Sep 1999 00:57:12 -0400 (EDT) Received: from ivan.iecc.com (IDENT:123@ivan.iecc.com [208.31.42.33]) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id AAA05050 for ; Wed, 22 Sep 1999 00:57:09 -0400 (EDT) Received: (qmail 3684 invoked by uid 100); 22 Sep 1999 00:57:09 -0400 Delivered-To: virtual-telecom-editor@telecom-digest.org Received: (qmail 3682 invoked from network); 22 Sep 1999 00:56:58 -0400 Received: from giasdl01.vsnl.net.in (202.54.15.1) by mail.iecc.com with SMTP; 22 Sep 1999 00:56:58 -0400 Received: from SEEMA ([203.197.196.186]) by giasdl01.vsnl.net.in (8.9.2/8.9.2) with SMTP id KAA28530 for ; Wed, 22 Sep 1999 10:28:09 +0500 (GMT+0500) Received: by SEEMA with Microsoft Mail id <01BF04E4.B62B2A40@SEEMA>; Wed, 22 Sep 1999 10:24:54 +0530 Message-ID: <01BF04E4.B62B2A40@SEEMA> From: Seema Dhawan To: "'editor@telecom-digest.org'" Subject: Telcomine Summary September 1999 Date: Wed, 22 Sep 1999 10:24:52 +0530 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="---- =_NextPart_000_01BF04E4.B62B2A40" Status: RO ------ =_NextPart_000_01BF04E4.B62B2A40 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi Pat, Please find enclosed the summary for the September 1999 issue of Telcomine. I have also enclosed the full issue for the archives. Best Regards Seema Dhawan Infozech -- Software for Telecom Service Providers D-30 Press Enclave, Saket, New Delhi, India Fax: 91-11- 6287117, Tel: 91-11-6234664, 91-11-6283113 in US Contact: 408-490-2840, 2090 Hillsdale Circle, Boulder, CO-80303 Microsoft Certified Solution Provider Visit us at http://www.infozech.com **************************** Telcomine: A Telecom & Technology Newsletter http://www.infozech.com/telcomine.html ------ =_NextPart_000_01BF04E4.B62B2A40 Content-Type: text/plain; name="sept summary.txt" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit ************************************************** Telcomine brings to you the latest trends and developments in frontline IT Technologies. (http://www.infozech.com/telcomine.html) To subscribe mail to: nl@infozech.com To advertise mail to:telcomine@infozech.com *************************************************** *****TELCOMINE************************************* Wealth of Information about Telecommunications Volume 2, No 9, September 1999 IN THIS ISSUE Spotlight on Europe (This is a special issue on the fast 'IT' developments in Europe) 1.EUROPE PREPARES TO FACE AMERICAN IT THREAT WITH UK LEADING All eyes are turned to Europe as it wakes up to shake off the American Yoke in Information technology: SERVICES AND SOFTWARE: Europeans in millions are switching to new native Internet services replacing both the American services and software. EUROPEAN INFORMATION HIGHWAY: This is backed by huge plans to modernize the European information highway network with quantum leaps in bandwidth capacity. FIBER OPTIC CABLE NETWORK: For high bandwidth capacity the fiber optic cable network, now largely "dark", is to be enlarged and 'lit up' in parts. THE UPCOMING PHOTON REVOLUTION: It is now realized that the burgeoning bandwidth requirement can only be met by a fully 'lit'fiber optic global network, which offers infinite capacities. Today Europe has just about four million Km optical (dark) fiber lines against 80 million in north America. MOBILE-VIDEO-PHONE-COMPUTERS: Mobile-video- phone-computers are already growing faster in Europe than in America. SECURITY: European concerns about security of critical strategic and commercial information from American Internet controllers have spurred the rush for an independent European communications network. FINANCE: Finance is being poured into IT industries at an unprecedented rate. TALENT: Talent is being encouraged to take up IT as never before. Venture capital is available for the asking. RESTARTING FAILED COMPANIES: Failed companies are being encouraged to make a fresh start. Money is being readily provided to them even to those who have failed many times before. UK IN THE LEAD: Half the European venture capital investment is going into Britain with new Internet companies popping up at a pace second to the United States. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept199.shtml 2. EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT REPORT ACCUSES USA OF WIDESPREAD SPYING A European Parliament report published some time ago says that the United States National Security Agency has been spying on European citizens and companies for nearly a decade. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept299.shtml 3. EUROPE HEADING FOR STRONG FIBER-OPTIC NETWORK: BRITISH STUDY A prestigious British study, priced 4,300 Pounds (Approx. $7,000) is predicting a "dark" (optical) fiber revolution in Europe. Today Europe has about four million-fiber kilometers of optical fiber lines against nearly 80 million km in America. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept399.shtml 4. OPTICAL NETWORK OPTIONS FOR HIGH BANDWIDTH Knowing that there is no alternative to purchasing or leasing dark fiber, the vendor's next preference is to obtain point-to-point-managed bandwidth at STM1, STM4 or STM16, to supply high bandwidth connectivity, says the Philips Tarifica Study. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept499.shtml 5. OPTICAL FIBER REVOLUTION WILL SWEEP AWAY PRESENT TELECOM SYSTEMS Soon the demand for unlimited bandwidth, will be too overwhelming to be met by any electronic (or electron driven) channels. Photons, or light waves running in optical fiber with their unlimited capacity will provide the only answer. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept599.shtml 6. UK's FREESERVE JOLTS YAHOO, AOL, IN INTERNET MARKET Europe's Internet market never had it better.Lubricated by a huge new wave of venture capital, Europe's youngest and brightest professionals are leaving their American counterparts like Yahoo, AOL and Amazon.com behind in the race to win a stake in the European market. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept699.shtml 7 .BRITISH TELECOM TO COMPETE WITH USA's AMERITECH IN HUNGARY, CZECH The decision of British Telecom (BT) to embark on a major "investment push" into central Europe this year would bring it in direct competition to Ameritech of the USA and Deutsche Telekom of Germany for a stake in the Central European marketplace. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept799.shtml 8. EUROPE OPTS FOR CELL PHONES THAT CAN BROWSE INTERNET IN COLOR European carriers are planning to offer a technology called general packet radio service, or GPRS, which will allow people with newly equipped wireless phones to receive data fast enough to browse the Internet in full color. Apart from speed, the new services are designed to let customers stay connected all day long.Many companies plan to charge only for the data customers send or receive and not for each minute they are connected. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept899.shtml 9. INTERNET ROAD SHOWS ATTRACT VENTURE CAPITAL IN EUROPE L'Atelier, a technology research unit of French Bank, Paribas, has started Internet Road Shows - outings for small companies to connect with investors, business partners and the media to attract venture capital investment - through Net Economy Workshop (NEW) to raise money for many a cash starved start-up company in the fragmented European market. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept999.shtml 10. VENTURE CAPITALISTS FAVOR UK TELECOM FIRMS Venture Capitalists have put their strength behind United Kingdom, making it the hottest favorite amongst the European Nations for investment and second only to the USA in world importance. Clearly investors are playing favorites in Europe, though real opportunity also exists in European nations like Italy, France and Germany. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept1099.shtml 11. BRAIN DRAIN IN 'IT' SKILLS THREATENS LONDON'S PRE-EMINENCE AS A FINANCIAL CENTER In spite of a world class telecom infrastructure and leading edge IT skills brain drain to Europe is threatening to snatch away London's position as the main financial center, reports a new study published by the corporation of London. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept1199.shtml 12. DEUTSCHE TELEKOM TO SELL WORLD'S SECOND LARGEST CABLE NETWORK FOR RUNNING BROADBAND SERVICES In what is being called as one of the biggest events ever in the European cable industry, Deutsche Telekom is selling chunks its cable television network, the second largest in the world having more than 15 million cable subscribers, in the hope of converting it into a network capable of running broadband services like telecom calls, email and banking. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept1299.shtml 13. UNIVERSITY IN SCOTLAND CRACKS DOWN ON STUDENTS OVER INTERNET CHEATING In one of the biggest inquiries of its kind in Scotland, the Edinburg University has withheld the exam results of 90 computer science students who have been allegedly charged with using the Internet to cheat in examinations. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept1399.shtml 14. Y2K BUG WILL SERIOUSLY DAMAGE TELECOM BILLING: 'BILLING WORLD' The Y2K bug may seriously damage telecom billing, warns Rebecca Diamond in the prestigious magazine Billing World. With uneven preparedness for Y2K in the world, experts are finding it very difficult to predict how international settlements will be reconciled. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept1499.shtml 15. GLOBAL E-COMMERCE SAVINGS TO EQUAL FRENCH GDP- $1.25 TRILLION Latest study predicts that corporations in industrial nations will save up to $1.25 trillion- close to France's entire gross domestic product- doing business over the Internet. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept1599.shtml 16. INFOZECH'S E-COMMERCE TARGETED NEXT GENERATION EBILL 2:0 SOON Infozech, a premier telecom billing solutions and service provider, is soon coming out with eBill 2.0, it's next generation telecom billing product that will appreciably reduce the user's costs. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept1699.shtml 17.MAILBOX Give us more on cell phone Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept1799.shtml *********************************************** Executive Editor: Seema Dhawan Technical Editor : Pragya Singh E-mail: Telcomine@infozech.com Internet: http://www.infozech.com/telcomine.html Fax: 408-490-2840; Voice Mail: 408-490-2842 Please visit us at http://www.infozech.com *********************************************** ------ =_NextPart_000_01BF04E4.B62B2A40 Content-Type: text/plain; name="september99.txt" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit ************************************************** Telcomine brings to you the latest trends and developments in frontline IT Technologies. (http://www.infozech.com/telcomine.html) To subscribe mail to: nl@infozech.com To advertise mail to:telcomine@infozech.com *************************************************** *****TELCOMINE************************************* Wealth of Information about Telecommunications Volume 2, No 9, September 1999 IN THIS ISSUE Spotlight on Europe (This is a special issue on the fast 'IT' developments in Europe) 1.EUROPE PREPARES TO FACE AMERICAN IT THREAT WITH UK LEADING All eyes are turned to Europe as it wakes up to shake off the American Yoke in Information technology: SERVICES AND SOFTWARE: Europeans in millions are switching to new native Internet services replacing both the American services and software. EUROPEAN INFORMATION HIGHWAY: This is backed by huge plans to modernize the European information highway network with quantum leaps in bandwidth capacity. FIBER OPTIC CABLE NETWORK: For high bandwidth capacity the fiber optic cable network, now largely "dark", is to be enlarged and 'lit up' in parts. THE UPCOMING PHOTON REVOLUTION: It is now realized that the burgeoning bandwidth requirement can only be met by a fully 'lit' fiber optic global network, which offers infinite capacities. Today Europe has just about four million Km optical (dark) fiber lines against 80 million in north America. MOBILE-VIDEO-PHONE-COMPUTERS: Mobile-video- phone-computers are already growing faster in Europe than in America. SECURITY: European concerns about security of critical strategic and commercial information from American Internet controllers have spurred the rush for an independent European communications network. FINANCE: Finance is being poured into IT industries at an unprecedented rate. TALENT: Talent is being encouraged to take up IT as never before. Venture capital is available for the asking. RESTARTING FAILED COMPANIES: Failed companies are being encouraged to make a fresh start. Money is being readily provided to them even to those who have failed many times before. UK IN THE LEAD: Half the European venture capital investment is going into Britain with new Internet companies popping up at a pace second to the United States. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept199.shtml 2. EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT REPORT ACCUSES USA OF WIDESPREAD SPYING A European Parliament report published some time ago says that the United States National Security Agency has been spying on European citizens and companies for nearly a decade. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept299.shtml 3. EUROPE HEADING FOR STRONG FIBER-OPTIC NETWORK: BRITISH STUDY A prestigious British study, priced 4,300 Pounds (Approx. $7,000) is predicting a "dark" (optical) fiber revolution in Europe. Today Europe has about four million-fiber kilometers of optical fiber lines against nearly 80 million km in America. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept399.shtml 4. OPTICAL NETWORK OPTIONS FOR HIGH BANDWIDTH Knowing that there is no alternative to purchasing or leasing dark fiber, the vendor's next preference is to obtain point-to-point-managed bandwidth at STM1, STM4 or STM16, to supply high bandwidth connectivity, says the Philips Tarifica Study. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept499.shtml 5. OPTICAL FIBER REVOLUTION WILL SWEEP AWAY PRESENT TELECOM SYSTEMS Soon the demand for unlimited bandwidth, will be too overwhelming to be met by any electronic (or electron driven) channels. Photons, or light waves running in optical fiber with their unlimited capacity will provide the only answer. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept599.shtml 6. UK's FREESERVE JOLTS YAHOO, AOL, IN INTERNET MARKET Europe's Internet market never had it better.Lubricated by a huge new wave of venture capital, Europe's youngest and brightest professionals are leaving their American counterparts like Yahoo, AOL and Amazon.com behind in the race to win a stake in the European market. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept699.shtml 7 .BRITISH TELECOM TO COMPETE WITH USA's AMERITECH IN HUNGARY, CZECH The decision of British Telecom (BT) to embark on a major "investment push" into central Europe this year would bring it in direct competition to Ameritech of the USA and Deutsche Telekom of Germany for stake in the Central European marketplace. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept799.shtml 8. EUROPE OPTS FOR CELL PHONES THAT CAN BROWSE INTERNET IN COLOR European carriers are planning to offer a technology called general packet radio service, or GPRS, which will allow people with newly equipped wireless phones to receive data fast enough to browse the Internet in full color. Apart from speed, the new services are designed to let customers stay connected all day long.Many companies plan to charge only for the data customers send or receive and not for each minute they are connected. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept899.shtml 9. INTERNET ROAD SHOWS ATTRACT VENTURE CAPITAL IN EUROPE L'Atelier, a technology research unit of French Bank, Paribas, has started Internet Road Shows - outings for small companies to connect with investors, business partners and the media to attract venture capital investment - through Net Economy Workshop (NEW) to raise money for many a cash starved start-up company in the fragmented European market. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept999.shtml 10. VENTURE CAPITALISTS FAVOR UK TELECOM FIRMS Venture Capitalists have put their strength behind United Kingdom, making it the hottest favorite amongst the European Nations for investment and second only to the USA in world importance. Clearly investors are playing favorites in Europe, though real opportunity also exists in European nations like Italy, France and Germany. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept1099.shtml 11. BRAIN DRAIN IN 'IT' SKILLS THREATENS LONDON'S PRE-EMINENCE AS A FINANCIAL CENTER In spite of a world class telecom infrastructure and leading edge IT skills brain drain to Europe is threatening to snatch away London's position as the main financial center, reports a new study published by the corporation of London. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept1199.shtml 12. DEUTSCHE TELEKOM TO SELL WORLD'S SECOND LARGEST CABLE NETWORK FOR RUNNING BROADBAND SERVICES In what is being called as one of the biggest events ever in the European cable industry, Deutsche Telekom is selling chunks its cable television network, the second largest in the world having more than 15 million cable subscribers, in the hope of converting it into a network capable of running broadband services like telecom calls, email and banking. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept1299.shtml 13. UNIVERSITY IN SCOTLAND CRACKS DOWN ON STUDENTS OVER INTERNET CHEATING In one of the biggest inquiries of its kind in Scotland, the Edinburg University has withheld the exam results of 90 computer science students who have been allegedly charged with using the Internet to cheat in examinations. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept1399.shtml 14. Y2K BUG WILL SERIOUSLY DAMAGE TELECOM BILLING: 'BILLING WORLD' The Y2K bug may seriously damage telecom billing, warns Rebecca Diamond in the prestigious magazine Billing World. With uneven preparedness for Y2K in the world, experts are finding it very difficult to predict how international settlements will be reconciled. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept1499.shtml 15. GLOBAL E-COMMERCE SAVINGS TO EQUAL FRENCH GDP- $1.25 TRILLION Latest study predicts that corporations in industrial nations will save up to $1.25 trillion- close to France's entire gross domestic product- doing business over the Internet. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept1599.shtml 16. INFOZECH'S E-COMMERCE TARGETED NEXT GENERATION EBILL 2:0 SOON Infozech, a premier telecom billing solutions and service provider, is soon coming out with eBill 2.0, it's next generation telecom billing product that will appreciably reduce the user's costs. Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept1699.shtml 17.MAILBOX Give us more on cell phone Details at http://www.infozech.com/articles/sept1799.shtml *********************************************** Executive Editor: Seema Dhawan Technical Editor : Pragya Singh E-mail: Telcomine@infozech.com Internet: http://www.infozech.com/telcomine.html Fax: 408-490-2840; Voice Mail: 408-490-2842 Please visit us at http://www.infozech.com ****************************************************** ************************************************************* Europe prepares to face American IT threat with UK leading ************************************************************* All eyes are turned to Europe as it wakes up to shake off the American Yoke in Information technology: SERVICES AND SOFTWARE: Europeans in millions are switching to new native Internet services replacing both the American services and software. EUROPEAN INFORMATION HIGHWAY: This is backed by huge plans to modernize the European information highway network with quantum leaps in bandwidth capacity. FIBER OPTIC CABLE NETWORK: For high bandwidth capacity the fiber optic cable network, now largely "dark", is to be enlarged and 'lit up' in parts. THE UPCOMING PHOTON REVOLUTION: It is now realized that the burgeoning bandwidth requirement can only be met by a fully 'lit' fiber optic global network, which offers infinite capacities. Today Europe has just about four million Km optical (dark) fiber lines against 80 million in north America. MOBILE-VIDEO-PHONE-COMPUTERS: Mobile-video- phone-computers are already growing fasterin Europe than in America. SECURITY: European concerns about security of critical strategic and commercial information from American Internet controllers have spurred the rush for an independent European communications network. FINANCE: Finance is being poured into IT industries at an unprecedented rate. TALENT: Talent is being encouraged to take up IT as never before. Venture capital is available for the asking. RESTARTING FAILED COMPANIES: Failed companies are being encouraged to make a fresh start. Money is being readily provided to them even to those who have failed many times before. UK IN THE LEAD: Half the European venture capital investment is going into Britain with new Internet companies popping up at a pace second to the United States. European companies take on American Counterparts: Having knowledge of the local conditions and an added advantage of being behind the Americans in the Internet growth curve, the Europeans have become wise to what works and what does not- thereby increasing the chances of beating the Americans at their own game. ****************************************************************************** European Parliament Report Accuses USA of Widespread Spying ****************************************************************************** A European Parliament report published some time ago says that the United States National Security Agency has been spying on European citizens and companies for nearly a decade. The report describes a sophisticated program called ECHELON, which the NSA established in conjunction with British intelligence agencies. The program includes a listening post in Menwith Hill, in Yorkshire, whose satellite dishes soak up the satellite and microwave transmissions carrying Europe's telephone conversations, faxes and e-mail.This, the report warns could pose as "a powerful threat to civil liberties in Europe" at a time when most communication - and commerce - is conducted electronically. A preliminary version of the report when circulated overseas touched off heated debate with front-page stories in Italy, France, Scotland, England, Belgium and even Russia. Besides this report, for some years European nations have been voicing their concern about Americans owning and controlling most of their e-mail and Internet traffic and thus having freeaccess to its contents. ************************************************************************* Europe Heading for Strong Fiber-Optic Network: British Study ************************************************************************* A prestigious British study, priced 4,300 Pounds (Approx. $7,000) is predicting a "dark" (optical) fiber revolution in Europe. Today Europe has about four million-fiber kilometers of optical fiber lines against nearly 80 million km in America. Studded with voluminous data and intricate calculations the study titled - " European Dark Fiber" has been prepared by Tarifica of the Phillips Group. It analyses the European demand for optical fiber in the coming decades in New World order in which 'dark fiber" will no longer be 'dark' but will be activated by several hundred times more capacious light beams. This dark and dumb fiber -- an optical fiber cable network that is currently in place but isnot being used - is going to be the choice of telecom companies in future if they want to emerge as a competitive force in telecommunications. Countries in the Fiber Race in Europe Today the market for Dark Fiber is driven by the demands of carriers who are establishing themselves in Europe. The Philips Tarifica Report marks UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain and Italy as the nodes where significant Dark fiber resources will become available. With unlimited capacity and an added advantage of low incremental cost, dark fiber has become a preferred choice of next generation Telcos. According to the report, dark fiber network in Europe is projected to rise from the current 3712050 Km to 7250100 fiber kilometer by 2002. Next generation telcos are raising billions of dollars in public financial markets to fund thelaying of DWDM-based optical fiber. Level 3 for example, has raised over US$ 3.8 billion and is rumored to be seeking as much as a further US$12 billion. Their competitors; Espirit, Qwest, Viatel, WorldCom,Carrier 2 and Star Telecom have specific plans for Europe and are building on an unprecedented scale. ************************************************** Optical Network Options for High Bandwidth ************************************************** Knowing there is no alternative to purchasing or leasing dark fiber, the vendor's next preference is to obtain point-to-point-managed bandwidth at STM1, STM4 or STM16, to supply high bandwidth, says the Philips Tarifica study. The cost justification for building fiber networks varies considerably between operators. A generic study benchmarked on an STM1 lease entry level, suggests the following costs: 1. Purchase of one Dark Fiber pair in an existing installed cable and equipping with one 2.5 Gbits/s line system and 16 channel DWDM costs $US 9.94 megabit per annum. 2. Term leasing of one STM1 circuit from a third party vendor (based on 3 yr. term) costs $ US 17,634.40 megabit per annum. 3. The self-build 'Multi Fiber Cable' with 16 channel DWDM costs US$ 10.77 megabit per second. 4. The Hybrid buy/ build 'Multi Fiber Cable' with 16 Channel DWDM costs US$ 10.51 megabit per annum. ******************************************************************* Optical Fiber Revolution Will Sweep Away Present Telecom Systems ******************************************************************* Soon the demand for unlimited bandwidth, will be too overwhelming to be met by any electronic (or electron driven) channels. Photons, or light waves running in optical fiber with their infinite capacity will provide the only answer. Future trends indicate that the dumb dark fiber- an optical fiber cable network that is currently in place but is not being used- is going to be the choice of telcos in future if they want to emerge as a competitive force in telecommunications. According to George Gilder, contributing editor of the Forbes ASAP magazine, "in all eras,companies tend to prevail by maximizing the use of the cheapest resource. In the age of the fibersphere they will use the huge intrinsic bandwidth of fiber, all 25,000 Giga Hertz or more, to simplify everything else. This means replacing nearly all the hundreds of billion dollars worth of switches, bridges, routers, converters, compressors error correctors and other devices, together with the trillions of lines of software code, that pervade the intelligent switching fabric of both telephone and computer networks." POWER OF PHOTONS "The intrinsic capacity of a fiber thread, as thin as a human hair, is at least one thousand times the capacity of what we call the 'air'. One fiber thread could carry 25 times more bits than last year's average traffic load of all the world's communications network put together", says Gilder. The greatest impact of this all-optical technology will likely come in consumer markets. A move towards massively parallel communications analogous to the move to parallel computers, all- optical networks promise nearly boundless bandwidth in fiber. The new paradigm will reduce the cost of transport by a factor of 10. Photons are immune to lightning strikes, electromagnetic pulses, or electrical power surges that destroy electronic equipment. Virtually noiseless and mass less pulses of radiation, they move as fast and silently as light. Within 10 years, the optical network will be thousands of times more cost-effective than electronic networks and thus the photons will rule the waves of communications. ************************************************************** UK's Freeserve Jolts Yahoo, AOL, in Internet Market *************************************************************** Europe's Internet market never had it better. Lubricated by a huge new wave of venture capital, Europe's youngest and the brightest professionals are leaving their American counterparts like Yahoo, AOL and Amazon.com behind in the race to win a stake in the European market. Though the Internet is essentially of American origin, it is the Americans who are finding the going a bit rough. The Europeans have a feel of the local conditions and are behind American growth curve. This has given them a decided advantage to observe what works and what does not. America's AOL was leading the Internet field in Britain until an upstart named 'Freeserve' came along and started offering free access to the Web. This was a big jolt to the paid service of America Online (AOL). A year ago AOL was leading UK's Internet access market, with 350,000 subscribers and competition nowhere in sight. As against this, Freeserve, launched late last September by Dixons, Britain's leading electronics retailer, today boasts of 1.3 million active customers and a market capital of more than $3 billion. AOL is not the only titan to hit trouble in Europe, Yahoo, Excite, MSN, and Lycos are all finding the region a much tougher market to unlock than any of them ever expected. The reason for this lies in the vast difference in the pricing structure of the European and the American markets. In U.S. local calls are generally charged at a flat monthly rate; in Europe you pay as you go. That drastically inhibits Internet use, because the longer you surf, the more it costs. This, however, has not inhibited enterprising upstarts who understand local conditions. They are supported in this by dozens of traditional multinational venture capital firms, such as Atlas, Apax, Global Retail partners and 3i, all pouring more and more money into high tech start-ups. CONSUMER E-COMMERCE THE FAVORITE Consumer e-commerce companies are the favorites of the European Internet. But there is plenty of money to be found in business to business applications as well that help make existing companies more efficient. IBM, for example, which supports most of them, says that the support side of its European e-commerce business will quadruple by the end of the year. ******************************************************************** British Telecom to Compete with USA's Ameritech in Hungary, Czech ******************************************************************** The decision of British Telecom (BT) to embark on a major "investment push" into central Europe this year would bring it in direct competition to Ameritech of the USA and Deutsche Telekom of Germany for a stake in the Central European marketplace. With the opening of the BT campaign in Hungary and the Czech Republic, it is feared that a head to head battle might culminate between BT on the one side, Ameritech, and Deutsche Telekom on the other. Both Ameritech and Deutsche Telekom, together own a majority of Matav, Hungray's dominant telecoms group, and KPN of the Netherlands and Swisscom, which control SPT Telecom, the Czech operator. The company is moving ahead with its investment strategy by filing a joint tender for the Czech Republic's third GSM mobile telephone license with a local company, Telekomunikacni Montaze Phra, a Prague based IT company which commands a 15 percent share of the Czech digital transmission system. BT will have 51 percent of the joint venture.It intends to move into the Czech Internet and multi-media sectors, and then move into fixed line services following liberalization. The company will pursue a similar strategy in Hungary where it will open an office in Budapest in preparation for bringing all their international products and services into Hungary ahead of Telecom's deregulation in 2001. In Poland too, Central Europe's least developed but potentially biggest telecoms market, BT plans to establish a presence. Although, BT, with major joint ventures in France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and the Netherlands, has a home market in Europe, it has "let Deutsche Telecom and others into Central Europe", concedes Mr. Pat Gallagher, president of BT Europe. But, he believes that BT is well equipped to penetrate what he describes as the three "Emerging European Countries." *************************************************************** Europe Opts For Cell Phones That Can Browse Internet in Color ************************************************************** European carriers are planning to offer a technology called general packet radio service, or GPRS, which will allow people with newly equipped wireless phones to receive data fast enough to browse the Internet in full color.Apart from speed, the new services are designed to let customers stay connected all day long. Many companies plan to charge only for the data customers send or receive and not for each minute they are connected. To cash in on the craze of cell phones in Finland, singer Mato Valtonen, is planning to start a "wireless Internet site". The site will be based on a slimmed-down text only Web format and will offer bus schedules, restaurant listings, stores and games. Started by transmitting jokes and horoscopes at 30 cents apiece, the phenomenal response made him add a half-dozen other quirky services, like a dictionary that translates words into 10 different languages and wireless chat rooms. According to the available statistics, mobile penetration in Europe is higher than in U.S.Some. countries such as Finland have a penetration rate of over 60%. Europe has a much bigger base of digital users and has one harmonious technology. Particular countries are doing more to market new services. "There is a huge pent-up demand for data over wireless phones, but the barriers have always been reliability, speed and cost", says Anders Thulin, a consultant at McKinsey & Company in Stockholm. ******************************************************************** Internet Road Shows Attract Venture Capital in Europe ******************************************************************* L'Atelier, the technology research unit of French Bank, Paribas, has started Internet Road Shows - outings for small companies to connect with investors, business partners and the media to attract venture capital investment - through Net Economy Workshops(NEW) to raise money for many a cash starved start-up company in the fragmented European market. Through NEW, L'Atelier aims to build bridges for innovative people, companies, technologies and finance to connect with each other and to foster a continental network. Says Laurent Edel, coordinator of the program, "Investors tend to look at opportunities in their country or directly in the U.S., but often ignore the neighboring markets, and so do the media when covering the new economy." Companies have greatly benefited by these road shows. Audiosoft, a Swiss company working on a secure distribution of music files online, refined its international strategy and secured a third round of financing after participating in such a show. In addition, World Online Quotes and Trading System got enough feedback from different markets to understand that in order to expand outside Belgium it needed a more explicit brand. Every two months, L'Atelier and its partners select a group of start-up companies with a common focus like e-commerce or European content, and put them on stage in London, Berlin, Brussels,Paris, Geneva, Milan and Barcelona. Every participating executive gets 15 minutes to present his company's business plan and then takes questions from the audience. Once it is over, everybody takes to the next city. ******************************************************** Venture Capitalists Favor UK Telecom Firms ******************************************************** Venture Capitalists have put their strength behind United Kingdom, making it the hottest favorite amongst the European Nations for investment and second only to the USA in world importance. Clearly, investors are playing favorites in Europe, though real opportunity also exists in European nations like Italy, France and Germany. In places like Britain, Germany and Scandinavia, new companies are popping up at a pace like that in the United States making it boom time for venture capital. According to the British Venture Capital Association, the UK industry is the largest and the most developed in Europe accounting for nearly 50% of total annual European capital investment. Start-up and high technology companies ranging from computer, electronics, medical, biotechnology and communications have been receiving more venture capital to back businesses than any other industry grouping. Over 707 million pounds was invested in 351 companies in 1998 alone. All time record levels of capital investment have been reported in the South East (up 38% on 1997), Southwest (+ 53%), East Anglia (+96%), East Midlands( +14%), Northwest ( + 22%) and Scotland ( +40%). However, investors have not spread their money equally across the continent, and some countries have lagged behind. "They're all looking north, but there are real opportunities in Italy, France or Switzerland, where everything remains to be done,"says Marc Piquemal, general manager of the iBazar group, which owns several sites. ************************************************************ Brain Drain in 'IT' Skills Threatens London's Pre-eminence as a Financial Center ************************************************************ In spite of a world class telecom infrastructure and leading edge IT skills brain drain to Europeis threatening to snatch away London's position as the main financial center, reports a new study published by the corporation of London. The report was based on more than 30 personal interviews with ICT (Information and Communication Technology) companies and related service providers,including BT, enabling the researchers to develope what they claim to be "a well-rounded view of the City as a center of ICT markets and use." London has one of the heaviest concentrations of financial expertise and support services in Europe. It is also the preferred cultural center of American and Japanese firms. But this pre-eminencemay soon be lost if instances of local IT talent moving outwards towards Europe is not stemmed. The report has revealed that European banks have begun to recruit London's homegrown IT talent in large numbers. 50 percent of all IT people working for German Banks in Frankfurt are British. A note of warning: The city's lack of investment in IT training and its general short-term "contract working" culture could lead to severe skills shortage in the future. The report adds that those firms that fail to make use of Internet technology will find themselves under threat not just from more innovative US and German banks, but also from Internet companies seeking to capture some of the financial transactions market. ******************************************************************* Deutsche Telekom to Sell World's Second Largest Cable Network for Running Broadband Services ******************************************************************* In what is being called as one of the biggest events ever in the European cable industry, Deutsche Telekom is selling chunks of its cable television network, the second largest in the world which has more than 15 million cable subscribers. The company hopes to convert it into a network capable of running broadband services - essentially telecom calls, email and banking. It is expected that this sale will turn into a major battleground for some of the world's biggest names in technology, telecom's and media. Telekom insists that the sale is a necessity as it feels a need for partners which can, first help shoulder the cost of upgrading its cable, and second, provide the sort of content that will boost their value. Huge investment, as much as DM 30 billion or DM 1,700 per subscriber is needed so that the network can handle two-way traffic essential for telephone calls, e-mail and online banking. Telekom has talked to over 80 investors including international cable firms such as the UPC, MediaOne, financial cable firms such as Deutsche Bank and GE Capital; Mannesmann and Viag, two German telephone operators and a German Media Group. For Mannesmann, Telekom's main domestic rival, it offers the chance to win control of the link to the customers house without having to piggyback on Telekom's phone lines. Bidders, however, are a little uncertain about the nature of Telekom's involvement in future. The network is being sold not whole,but in nine regional bits. Telekom has said that it may sell complete regional networks if the price is right, but is likely to keep 25.1% in each. They are skeptical that this would give it the power to veto any effort that is made to offer services that threaten its existing business. . ************************************************************************* University in Scotland cracks down on students over 'internet cheating' ************************************************************************* In one of the biggest inquiries of its kind in Scotland, the Edinburg University has withheld the exam results of 90 computer science students who have been allegedly charged with using the Internet to cheat in examinations. The grades of the first-year computer science students were frozen after markers noticed similarities in papers based on practical work and work written without supervision. Several of the papers were said to be nearly identical, and it is thought the students may have accessed the material by e-mail using he university's website. According to Sir Stewart Sutherland, the university principal, "At the first indication of copying, detection software was used to uncover the extent of the problem." Created by the Forensic Lingusitics Research Group in Birmingham University's English department, the program can pick out similarities in the use of vocabulary, phraseology and sentence structure. Inaccurate quotes, mistakes with punctuation and other errors made by a student while trying to copy can also be highlighted. The incident has lead to a growing fear that students might be using the Internet to receive degrees without having to do much studying in the past. In fact, at present, there are hundreds of such sites on the Internet, which have been set up specifically to help with exams and homework. Some even offer to sell academic material. Specific requests can also be submitted for customized essays that will be prepared in less than a day and sent out by fax or e-mail. ************************************************************** Y2K Bug Will Seriously Damage Telecom Billing: 'Billing World' ************************************************************** The Y2K bug may seriously damage telecom billing, warns Rebecca Diamond in the prestigious magazine Billing World. With uneven preparedness for Y2K in the world, experts are finding it difficult to predict how international settlements will be reconciled. The situation is precarious. In telecom billing everything is so date-sensitive, a Y2K date glitch could potentially cause systems to start computing peak times on weekend rates or vice-versa.In an article titled "The second Y2K hurdle: What happens When it is time to bill", to the Billing World Magazine, Rebecca Diamond reveals the uncertain fate of international billing. According to her "the fate of international billing and settlements is really a huge unknown. Till this time testing of individual carriers as well as interoperability has been minimal.Experts are unable to predict how international settlements will be reconciled if carriers have Y2K-related problems." This problem is further worsened by a lack of preparedness for Y2K in many countries. According to Michael Harden, President and CEO of Century Technology Services, "many countries are at least two years behind the United States in Y2K readiness, and some have not even assessed the situation." Forecasts from an international risk assessment by the Network Reliability and Interoperability Council (NRIC) predict that Central and South America, India and the subcontinent pose the greatest risk here. A June report by the European Commission has also highlighted the difficulties which might arise due to possible interoperability problems between various EU sectors. Though efforts are being made to take full precautionary measures,there is a likelihood that all EU countries will not be ready in time. Billing systems are custom made to suit each carriers requirements and have to be tested internally. Large carriers with resources at their disposal have conducted testing and taken necessary precautions. But what happens to those without any resources at their disposal. Mike Cook of Nortel,who chairs the Network Reliability and Interoperability Council (NRIC) Contingency Planning Sub-Committee, predicts long-lasting effects on these smaller businesses.According to him companies that shut down might never reopen their doors again. **************************************************************** Global E-Commerce Savings to Equal French GDP - $1.25 Trillion **************************************************************** Latest study predicts that corporations in industrial nations will save up to $1.25 trillion- close to France's entire gross domestic product- doing business over the Internet. The savings provided by e-commerce are starting to add up. Cisco Systems has saved over $250 million last year distributing software to its business customers over the Internet and $ 8 million by recruiting and accepting job applications online. US banks saved $18 billion with online transactions. The study was conducted by the Giga Information Group. According to Andrew Bartel, Vice President, Giga Information Group, "Revenue earned through e-commerce sales is just the tip of the economic iceberg. It is predicted that the total economic impact from other types of Internet interactions, such as Web-based marketing, customer service procurement and other operational improvements will be an even greater source of profitability for companies." ****************************************************************** Infozech's E-commerce Targeted Next Generation eBill 2.0 Soon ******************************************************************* Infozech, a premier telecom billing solutions and service provider, is soon coming out with eBill 2.0, it's next generation e-commerce enabled telecom billing product that will appreciably reduce the user's costs. The Internet is more than just a new way to sell products and services. It is a way to efficiently run a business resulting in significant cost savings that add to an organization's bottomline.To facilitate this, Infozech is all set to come out with eBill 2.0, the latest version of it's telecom billing product. Armed with powerful and flexible features, the product is aimed at enabling a telecom service provider to rapidly adapt himself to changing market forces. Some of its features include limitless multi-level marketing, convergent billing, parallel switch operability and just in time creation of new services such as Long Distance, Calling Card. It will also enable a corporate customer to assign a line or multiple lines to it's departments to be shared by one or more projects. This would enable the customer to track department wise expenditure. Its browser-based character would allow agents and sub-agents to manage their customers through the web, irrespective of international boundaries.The customers, on the other hand, will be able to log in and view their account information online. This marks a major initiative within Infozech, to embrace leading edge technologies and emerging trends in the global telecom business. According to Mr. Anant Ahuja, Leader of Development - eBill 2.0, "Infozech is not just building a product, it is also building a new implementation and support strategy. The product is designed to have a minimal deployment cycle. Also, with it is'what you need is what you get' strategy, clients will only pay for the features they need, with the option to expand when their business requires." eBill, Infozech's flagship product, is a customer care and billing solution for Voice Over IP, fax over IP, Local and Long distance Telephony and other enhanced platform services. The solution is targeted at small and medium sized telephone companies.Details on eBill can be found at http://www.infozech.com/solution.html ************************ Mailbox ************************ "GIVE US MORE ON CELL PHONES" 1. I would like to have more information on your article "Cell phone users resent billing before talk begins", Is it possible in any way to recover these costs for no ring answer or negotiate contracts to offset these charges? - Guy I. Snouffer Kindly contact the source mentioned in our report; Arizona Central (www.azcentral.com) - Editor 2. We are a company of cellular operators and we would like more information on your article "Web-Wireless Enables E-commerce Transactions over Cell Phones" - Sundeep Saksena Please contact XyPoint Corp and Wireless Services Corp for further information - Editor 3. I received Telcomine. It is really a good source of information. Could you tell me more about it? Is it a newsletter, magazine or discussion forum? - Suneil Stanly, Clover Technologies. It is intended to be a newsletter of the latest trends in the telecom world. It is up to readers to make it a discussion forum. However,a telecom discussion forum is already active at the following address (http://www.infozech.com/forum.html).- Editor. 4. I was forwarded information regarding your newsletter. The original introduction came from one of our representatives in the Philippines and was passed internally to those who may be interested in subscribing. - Frances Diaz, Philippines ******************************************************************************** If you have found Telcomine useful, please consider telling somebody else about it. Executive Editor: Seema Dhawan Technical Editor : Pragya Singh E-mail: Telcomine@infozech.com Internet: http://www.infozech.com/telcomine.html Fax: 408-490-2840; Voice Mail: 408-490-2842 Please visit us at http://www.infozech.com If you have received this issue in error, please contact - sales@infozech.com. ************************************************************************************ ------ =_NextPart_000_01BF04E4.B62B2A40--