Inspirational and thought provoking article ... very good.. On Fri, Jan 23, 2009 at 7:31 AM, ekam ber <[email protected]> wrote:
> *3G: Unique IDs for a billion-plus Indians * > > ** > > ** > > ** > > ** > > ** > * > ------------------------------ > ** > > ** > ------------------------------ > * > > ** > > ** > — Ramesh Sharma > > *3G technology* can revolutionise education. > > *Vivek Mohan * > > I had earlier shared my thoughts on how 3G technology can facilitate > business in India. However, for India to gain the global leadership in this > domain, we need to create an ecosystem of operators, vendors and regulators > who work in tandem to usher in the next wave of revolution in the telecom > industry. We need to take leadership for "Bottom of Pyramid" customers, to > define and satisfy the needs of the emerging markets instead of looking to > the developed world for cues. > > Telecom vendors are of three kinds: > > *Infrastructure providers:* Typically, global-scale MNCs provide the > electronics (active infrastructure). While global and local players share > the market for passive infrastructure (towers, shelters etc), the vendors > compete on features, price and speed of execution. In most cases, the > products are similar to those used elsewhere. There is little or zero > adaptation for Indian market. > > *Applications and content providers:* These are typically small Indian > companies active in services such as SMS and ring-tones, leveraging the film > industry for content. Currently very little India-specific content is > available. However, there have been recent attempts to provide unique > content such as devotional videos, weather, crop reports and so on. > > *Devices:* These are typically global companies with global products that > compete on factors such as looks and features. There have been recent > efforts to adapt these products to Indian conditions. For example, phones > that double as radios or flashlights are designed for India or other > emerging markets and they have proved popular. > > My view is that we are late to the infrastructure game. However, given our > strengths in software as well as dynamic device services, we can shape a > whole new ecosystem for India and the developing market. > > Let's explore a few ways in which 3G mobile telephony can transform lives — > these applications offer pan-India coverage, fast and reliable data > connection, and video streaming. > National Id Number > > For the first time in our history, we have nearly 400 million unique > numbers for our citizens, namely mobile phone numbers. We can easily > leverage this to fulfil a longstanding need, namely national ID numbers for > citizens. We need a few forward-thinking vendors to create massive, > scalable, secure applications that allow pooling of numbers across all > vendors in a nationwide database that can be tracked and updated as needed. > This would also function as a security net that covers all people across > time and location. > > In the West, these applications were created before the advent of mobile > numbers; hence, there are two separate entities for these. In India, as well > as other emerging markets, we could perhaps use only one as this will be > more cost-effective. We could even have a public-private partnership do > this. > > My guess is mobile numbers today greatly surpass PAN cards or even Voter's > ID cards. With the steady addition of nearly 9-10 million subscribers every > month, it is projected that within the next two years each family will have > one phone or a unique number! > > Hence, mobile numbers can actually become India's social security or > national ID numbers. It can be used to track and database information, > including details such as a person's spending habits, credit history and so > on. > > In my view, this market alone has a whopping financial potential. > Universal Education > > Over 45 per cent of the Indian population is uneducated, with the > majority living in rural areas that lack proper schools or teachers and have > very limited government investment. > > The 3G mobile telephony can revolutionise education by providing universal > access to world-quality teachers. It can help set up primary education with > flexi-timings; this would allow people to study at timings suited to their > convenience. It's heartening that existing telecom operators have already > begun to push this idea in recent TV commercials. > > This is a major area where individual entrepreneurs can set up the > infrastructure in different villages and sectors. This would also call for > the creation of specific devices such as thin client TV screens powered by > solar or other viable alternative energy source. > Banking and M-Commerce > > Mobile commerce is a reality today with online bill payments and > shopping. With enhanced video features through 3G, M-commerce can flourish > by reaching out to specific audience groups based on gender, area and even > location. Mobile advertising can be optimised using specified demography or > location — for example, targeted promotions at a shopping mall leading to > click-through sales. > > In rural communities and other places with no banking infrastructure, > mobile money transfers can prove a boon. > > Even in urban areas, land phones are increasingly likely to be replaced by > mobile phones. Philippines, for instance, already has a thriving money > transfers business between its diaspora and the local population. > > M-banking, if popularised, can easily turn into a $2-5 billion market both > among the urban and rural population. Such applications not only generate > additional revenue but also job opportunities and entrepreneurial ventures. > > M-commerce for the rural/Bottom of Pyramid population can do the same. > Brazil already has internet-enabled locations where people gather and view > pictures, order stuff and pick it up later, sometimes even after a few days. > > > This would ensure that the rural population has access to the same quality > products as those in urban areas, and with lower pricing! The reverse works > too: real-time auction of produce — instead of farmers driving to mandis > they could display their produce online and use special devices for > capturing essential quality parameters of their merchandise. > Traffic Monitoring > > Another key infrastructure that is in disarray in a rapidly developing > India are the highways and city roads that carry voluminous traffic. With > the entry of low-price and fuel-efficient cars, the situation is expected to > worsen in the coming years. > > The 3G mobile technology promises help. Emerging technologies, such as > those at Bell Labs, use cell phones, near-field radio and 3G access to > inexpensively detect congestion points as well as travel times. > > This information can reach users via Web sites, SMS and other 3G-enabled > mobile applications to help decide on the best travel routes and thereby > evenly distribute the city traffic. > > I believe that 3G technology can do for India what highways did for the US > economy and the Internet did for the world as a whole by providing > ubiquitous access to information and social networks over the phone. > > The reason is simple. India as a whole has much better mobile (GSM/CDMA) > penetration than computers. And 3G can power the mobile phones with > high-speed internet access. > > Hence, a 3G phone is likely the place where many people will for the first > time access Internet in its full multimedia glory. > (The author is Country Head, Alcatel-Lucent India. The views are personal. > [email protected]) > > *(This is the second of a four-part series on 3G. The first part appeared > on January 16.)* > http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/01/23/stories/2009012350400900.htm > ekamber > > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""GLOBAL SPECULATORS"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/globalspeculators?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
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