Managing ubiquitous eco cities: the role of urban telecommunication infrastructure networks and convergence technologies

A successful urban management system for a Ubiquitous Eco City requires an integrated approach. This integration includes bringing together economic, socio-cultural and urban development with a well orchestrated, transparent and open decision making mechanism and necessary infrastructure and technologies. Rapidly developing information and telecommunication technologies and their platforms in the late 20th Century improves urban management and enhances the quality of life and place. Telecommunication technologies provide an important base for monitoring and managing activities over wired, wireless or fibre-optic networks. Particularly technology convergence creates new ways in which the information and telecommunication technologies are used. The 21st Century is an era where information has converged, in which people are able to access a variety of services, including internet and location based services, through multi-functional devices such as mobile phones and provides opportunities in the management of Ubiquitous Eco Cities. This paper discusses the recent developments in telecommunication networks and trends in convergence technologies and their implications on the management of Ubiquitous Eco Cities and how this technological shift is likely to be beneficial in improving the quality of life and place. The paper also introduces recent approaches on urban management systems, such as intelligent urban management systems, that are suitable for Ubiquitous Eco Cities

Business model requirements and challenges in the mobile telecommunication sector

The telecommunications business is undergoing a critical revolution, driven by innovative technologies, globalization, and deregulation. Cellular networks and telecommunications bring radical changes to the way telecom businesses are conducted. Globalization, on the other hand, is tearing down legacy barriers and forcing monopolistic national carriers to compete internationally. Moreover, the noticeable progress of many countries towards deregulation coupled with liberalization is significantly increasing telecom market power and allowing severe competition. The implications of this transition have changed the business rules of the telecom industry. In addition, entrants into the cellular industry have had severe difficulties due to inexistent or weak Business Models (BMs). Designing a BM for a mobile network operator is complex and requires multiple actors to balance different and often conflicting design requirements. Hence, there is a need to enhance operators’ ability in determining what constitutes the most viable business model to meet their strategic objectives within this turbulent environment. In this paper, the authors identify the main mobile BM dimensions along with their interdependencies and further analysis provides mobile network operators with insights to improve their business models in this new ‘boundary-less’ landscape

A review of personal communications services

This article can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2009 Nova Science Publishers, LtdPCS is an acronym for Personal Communications Service. PCS has two layers of meaning. At the low layer, from the technical perspective, PCS is a 2G mobile communication technology operating at the 1900 MHz frequency range. At the upper layer, PCS is often used as an umbrella term that includes various wireless access and personal mobility services with the ultimate goal of enabling users to freely communicate with anyone at anytime and anywhere according to their demand. Ubiquitous PCS can be implemented by integrating the wireless and wireline systems on the basis of intelligent network (IN), which provides network functions of terminal and personal mobility. In this chapter, we focus on various aspects of PCS except location management. First we describe the motivation and technological evolution for personal communications. Then we introduce three key issues related to PCS: spectrum allocation, mobility, and standardization efforts. Since PCS involves several different communication technologies, we introduce its heterogeneous and distributed system architecture. IN is also described in detail because it plays a critical role in the development of PCS. Finally, we introduce the application of PCS and its deployment status since the mid-term of 1990’s.This work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 60673159 and 70671020; the National High-Tech Research and Development Plan of China under Grant No. 2006AA01Z214, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of UK under Grant EP/E060722/1

Radio frequency optimization of a Global System for Mobile (GSM) network

Includes bibliographical references

Working Paper 36 - Information Technology and the Challenge of Economic Growth in Africa

The recent advances in information technology are becoming central to the process of socio-economic development. Information technology offers new ways of exchanging information, and transacting business, changes the nature of the financial and other service sectors and provides efficient means of using the human and institutional capabilities of countries in both the public and private sectors. The world is rapidly moving towards knowledge-based economic structures and information societies, which comprise networks of individuals, firms and countries that are linked electronically and in interdependent relationships. In an increasingly globalized economy, information technology is one of the key determinants of competitiveness and growth of firms and countries. Firms are becoming more competitive on the basis of their knowledge, rather than on the basis of natural endowments or low labor costs. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the role of traditional sources of comparative advantage (a large labor force and abundant natural resources) in determining international competitiveness is diminishing. The competitive and comparative advantages of countries are gradually being determined by access to information technology and knowledge. The comparative advantage that now counts is man-made, engineered by knowledge through the application of information. Since man-made comparative advantage can only be acquired by knowledge and brainpower, the newly emerging knowledge-based economic structures have far reaching implications with regard to labor markets and the roles of technical education, human capital formation and research and development in the process of economic growth. The evolution of the knowledge-based economy is expected to result in increasing the demand for skilled labor and reducing the employment prospects of unskilled labor. And within economies, enterprises would succeed only to the extent that their employees can access and use information and knowledge effectively. Information technology does not only determine the market share and profitability of individual companies in tomorrow's global economy, but it also has a huge impact on future generations of workers and on a country's economic prospects. What are the implications of information technology for the relative fortunes of nations? Countries that invest in and adopt information technology quickly will move ahead and those that fail to rapidly adopt information technology will be left behind. The views on the possible impact of the information revolution on African countries can be grouped in two opposing schools of thought. The first school predicts that as African countries incur an increasing 'technological deficit' the welfare gap between them and the industrialized world would increase. This school stresses that Africa risks further reduction in its ability to generate the resources necessary to accelerate its growth rate and reverse the trend of increasing poverty. On the other hand, the second school believe that information technology may actually help reduce the income gaps between rich and poor countries. In the words of Negroponte (1998): "the Third World five years from now may not be where you think it is. There have been many theories of leapfrog development, none of which has yet survived the test of time. That's about to change". The basic issue separating the two schools with regard to the impact of information technology on African countries is the question of whether Africa and other developing regions could, in the first place have adequate access to the global information Infrastructure, and hence to the information technology age. The prediction of the first school stems from the notion that, starting from an initial position of poverty, African countries would not be able to finance the investments in information infrastructure and computer hardware and software required to access the information technology age. This would, in turn, mean that they would risk increased marginalization in the global economy with severe competitive disadvantage for their goods and services, and hence for their development prospects. The prediction of the second school is based on the argument that the information technology, itself, would provide the means for countries to turn their disadvantages into advantages; adjust to the new ways of doing business; and, put in place the required infrastructure of telecommunications and information systems. This paper reviews Africa's development challenges in an increasingly information and knowledge-based global economy. It outlines the roles of knowledge and information technology in addressing these challenges and also discusses the strategies and policies that Africa and its development partners particularly the African Development Bank could adopt to accelerate the process of integrating the region into the emerging global information system. The paper is organized in five sections. Following this introduction, the next section examines the major developmental challenges facing Africa and what role information technology could play in overcoming them. Section III outlines the policies that would need to be adopted by African countries to improve their information accessibility and examines the initiatives taken by African countries in this domain. Section IV examines the role that could be played by the African Development Bank Group. The conclusion of the paper is provided in the last section.

An Overview and Examination of the Indian Services Sector

India’s service sector has grown rapidly since the 1990s. Domestic demand for services has increased as incomes have risen, triggering the expansion of industries such as banking, education, and telecommunications. Exports have also increased rapidly, led by information technology and business process outsourcing (IT-BPO). India’s ability to offer low-cost, high-quality IT-BPO services has made it a world leader in this industry. However, employment in services has not grown as quickly as output. The majority of India’s jobseekers are low-skilled, but demand for workers is growing fastest in higher-skill industries. The supply of highly-skilled workers has not kept pace with demand, causing wages to increase faster for these workers than for lower-skilled ones. India’s government has supported the growth of service industries through a mix of deregulation, liberalization, and incentive programs, such as the Software Technology Parks of India. Nevertheless, burdensome regulations, poor infrastructure, and foreign investment restrictions continue to affect service firms’ ability to do business. USITC analysis suggests that additional liberalization would lead to an increase in India’s imports of services