Telecom

The show must go on - even after the Cebit...

3GSM in Barcelona and Cebit in Hannover have passed by - an extremely dynamic and hot time for all in charge of new media. Now it’s time to transform all the visions gained into tomorrow’s reality. Let’s have a closer look on what comes next then:

Convergence is what makes the world go round – it seems. xDSL, FTTx, HSxPA and WiMAX are the magic words to be discussed. Is coexistence or competition dominating telco’s future? FTTx may grant the operators independence from the ancient monopolists. But what about costs? Is this investment really worth the run for the customer? WiMAX as backhaul technology for WiFi - But is there a need for WiMAX side by side with HSxPA?

Next generation IP services are the promise to increased revenue. Mobile TV - the next hype followed by a frantic need to rollout at speed. Analysts forecast the delivery of a minimum of 164 million TV capable handsets being shipped by 2011, with the potential to reach double this figure depending on how operators and broadcasters respond. This is a market where China, the US and Europe will each run neck and neck in terms of service numbers and consumer acceptance, with each one a vastly different landscape. Besides the very fabric of the global advertiser eco-system will be at stake, with global advertising revenues shared over too many, unsustainable business models.

Do you have any news you feel worth mentioning? Any start-ups in this field? Any new business models and roll-outs? Keep us informed! We are longing to know more about what’s next!

Apple iPhone

The iPhone is a multimedia and Internet-enabled quad-band GSM EDGE-supported mobile phone designed and sold by Apple Inc. The iPhone's functions include those of a camera phone and a multimedia player, in addition to text messaging and visual voicemail. It also offers Internet services including e-mail, web browsing, and local Wi-Fi connectivity. User input is accomplished via a multi-touch screen with virtual keyboard and buttons.

The iPhone has been available since June 29, 2007 in the United States from Apple Retail Stores, the Apple Online Store, and from AT&T Mobility, formerly Cingular Wireless, for a contracted price of US$499 for the 4 GB model and US$599 for the 8 GB model.

Contents [hide]
1 Features
1.1 Touch screen
1.2 Other inputs
1.3 Phone
1.4 Camera
1.5 Multimedia
1.6 Web connectivity
1.7 E-mail
1.8 OS X
1.9 Applications
1.10 Battery
1.11 Other
1.12 Absent features
1.13 Platform support
1.14 Software updates
2 Pricing and availability
3 Specifications
4 History
4.1 Development
4.2 Advertising
4.3 Release
4.4 Sales
4.5 Domain name
4.6 Activation bypassed
4.7 Exploits
5 Disputes
5.1 Patents
5.2 Trademark
6 See also
7 References
8 External links



Features
Apple has released a video explaining many of iPhone's features through a series of demonstrations.

Basic Element

Each telecommunication system consists of three basic elements:
a transmitter that takes information and converts it to a signal;
a transmission medium over which the signal is transmitted;
a receiver that receives the signal and converts it back into usable information.
For example, consider a radio broadcast: In this case the broadcast tower is the transmitter, the radio is the receiver and the transmission medium is free space. Often telecommunication systems are two-way and a single device acts as both a transmitter and receiver, or transceiver. For example, a mobile phone is a transceiver.[3]
Telecommunication over a phone line is called point-to-point communication because it is between one transmitter and one receiver. Telecommunication through radio broadcasts is called broadcast communication because it is between one powerful transmitter and numerous receivers.[3]

[edit] Analogue or digital
Signals can either be analogue or digital. In an analogue signal, the signal is varied continuously with respect to the information. In a digital signal, the information is encoded as a set of discrete values (e.g. 1's and 0's). During transmission, the information contained in analogue signals will be degraded by noise. Conversely, unless the noise exceeds a certain threshold, the information contained in digital signals will remain intact. This represents a key advantage of digital signals over analogue signals.[4]

[edit] Networks
A collection of transmitters, receivers or transceivers that communicate with each other is known as a network. Digital networks may consist of one or more routers that route data to the correct user. An analogue network may consist of one or more switches that establish a connection between two or more users. For both types of network, repeaters may be necessary to amplify or recreate the signal when it is being transmitted over long distances. This is to combat attenuation that can render the signal indistinguishable from noise.[5]

[edit] Channels
A channel is a division in a transmission medium so that it can be used to send multiple streams of information. For example, a radio station may broadcast at 96 MHz while another radio station may broadcast at 94.5 MHz. In this case, the medium has been divided by frequency and each channel received a separate frequency to broadcast on. Alternatively, one could allocate each channel a recurring segment of time over which to broadcast — this is known as time-division multiplexing and is sometimes used in digital communication.[5]

[edit] Modulation
The shaping of a signal to convey information is known as modulation. Modulation can be used to represent a digital message as an analogue waveform. This is known as keying and several keying techniques exist (these include phase-shift keying, frequency-shift keying and amplitude-shift keying). Bluetooth, for example, uses phase-shift keying to exchange information between devices.[6] [7]
Modulation can also be used to transmit the information of analogue signals at higher frequencies. This is helpful because low-frequency analogue signals cannot be effectively transmitted over free space. Hence the information from a low-frequency analogue signal must be superimposed on a higher-frequency signal (known as a carrier wave) before transmission. There are several different modulation schemes available to achieve this (two of the most basic being amplitude modulation and frequency modulation). An example of this process in action is a DJ's voice being superimposed on a 96 MHz carrier wave using frequency modulation (the voice would then be received on a radio as the channel “96 FM”).[8]

[edit] Society and telecommunication
Telecommunication is an important part of modern society. In 2006, estimates placed the telecommunication industry's revenue at $1.2 trillion or just under 3% of the gross world product.[9]
On the microeconomic scale, companies have used telecommunication to help build global empires, this is self-evident in the case of online retailer Amazon.com but, according to academic Edward Lenert, even the conventional retailer Wal-Mart has benefited from better telecommunication infrastructure compared to its competitors.[10] In cities throughout the world, home owners use their telephones to organize many home services ranging from pizza deliveries to electricians. Even relatively poor communities have been noted to use telecommunication to their advantage. In Bangladesh's Narshingdi district, isolated villagers use cell phones to speak directly to wholesalers and arrange a better price for their goods. In Cote d'Ivoire, coffee growers share mobile phones to follow hourly variations in coffee prices and sell at the best price.[11] On the macroeconomic scale, Lars-Hendrik Röller and Leonard Waverman suggested a causal link between good telecommunication infrastructure and economic growth.[12] Few dispute the existence of a correlation although some argue it is wrong to view the relationship as causal.[13]
Due to the economic benefits of good telecommunication infrastructure, there is increasing worry about the digital divide. This is because the world's population does not have equal access to telecommunication systems. A 2003 survey by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) revealed that roughly one-third of countries have less than 1 mobile subscription for every 20 people and one-third of countries have less than 1 fixed line subscription for every 20 people. In terms of Internet access, roughly half of all countries have less than 1 in 20 people with Internet access. From this information, as well as educational data, the ITU was able to compile a Digital Access Index that measures the overall ability of citizens to access and use information and communication technologies. Using this measure, countries such as Sweden, Denmark and Iceland received the highest ranking while African countries such as Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali received the lowest.[14]

Telecom

Telecommunications is the transmission of data and information between computers using a communications link such as a standard telephone line. Typically, a basic telecommunications system would consist of a computer or terminal on each end, communication equipment for sending and receiving data, and a communication channel connecting the two users. Appropriate communications software is also necessary to manage the transmission of data between computers. Some applications that rely on this communications technology include the following: 1. Electronic mail (e-mail) is a message transmitted from one person to another through computerized channels. Both the sender and receiver must have access to on-line services if they are not connected to the same network. E-mail is now one of the most frequently used types of telecommunication. 2. Facsimile (fax) equipment transmits a digitized exact image of a document over telephone lines. At the receiving end, the fax machine converts the digitized data back into its original form. 3. Voice mail is similar to an answering machine in that it permits a caller to leave a voice message in a voice mailbox. Messages are digitized so the caller's message can be stored on a disk. 4. Videoconferencing involves the use of computers, television cameras, and communications software and equipment. This equipment makes it possible to conduct electronic meetings while the participants are at different locations. 5. The Internet is a continuously evolving global network of computer networks that facilitates access to information on thousands of topics. The Internet is utilized by millions of people daily. Actually, telecommunications is not a new concept. It began in the mid-1800s with the telegraph, whereby sounds were translated manually into words; then the telephone, developed in 1876, transmitted voices; and then the teletypewriter, developed in the early 1900s, was able to transmit the written word. Since the 1960s, telecommunications development has been rapid and wide reaching. The development of dial modem technology accelerated the rate during the 1980s. Facsimile transmission also enjoyed rapid growth during this time. The 1990s have seen the greatest advancement in telecommunications. It is predicted that computing performance will double every eighteen months. In addition, it has been estimated that the power of the computer has doubled thirty-two times since World War II (With row, 1997). The rate of advancement in computer technology shows no signs of slowing. To illustrate the computer's rapid growth, Ronald Brown, former U.S. secretary of commerce, reported that only fifty thousand computers existed in the world in 1975, whereas, by 1995, it was estimated that more than fifty thousand computers were sold every ten hours (U.S. Department of Commerce, 1995). Deregulation and new technology have created increased competition and widened the range of network services available throughout the world. This increase in telecommunication capabilities allows businesses to benefit from the information revolution in numerous ways, such as streamlining their inventories, increasing productivity, and identifying new markets. In the following sections, the technology of modern telecommunications will be discussed. Communications Networks When computers were first invented, they were designed as stand-alone systems. As computers became more widespread, practical, useful, and indispensable, network systems were developed that allowed communication between computers. The term "network" describes computers that are connected for the purpose of sharing data, software, and hardware. The two types of networks include local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs). As the name suggests, LANs cover a limited geographic area, usually a square mile or less. This limited area can be confined to a room, a building, or a group of buildings. Although a LAN can include one central computer connected to terminals, more commonly it connects a group of personal computers. A WAN covers a much larger geographic area by means of telephone cables and/or other communications channels. WANs are often used to connect a company's branch offices in different cities. Some familiar public wide area networks include AT&T, Sprint, and MCI. Internet, Intranet, and Extranet "Internet work" is the term used to describe two or more networks that are joined together. The term "Internet" describes the collection of connected networks. The Internet has been made accessible by use of the World Wide Web. The Web allows users to navigate the millions of sites found on the Internet using software applications called Web browsers. People make use of the Internet in numerous ways for both personal and business applications. For instance, an investor is able to access a company directly and set up an investment account; a student is able to research an assigned topic for a class report; a shopper can obtain information on new and used cars. The Internet concept of global access to information transferred to a private corporate network creates an intranet. In conjunction with corporate Internet access, many companies are finding that it is highly practical to have an internal intranet. Because of the increased need for fast and accurate information, an efficient and seamless communications line enabling all members to access a wealth of relevant information instantaneously is vital. A company intranet in conjunction with the Internet can provide various types of information for internal and/or external use