DOT Ban’s Nokia’s Pushmail Service Over Security Concerns

Nokia’s Pushmail Service has been banned in India and can only start its service further unless the company agrees to resolve security concerns and place a legal monitoring system.

This ban comes at a time when Blackberry services are under the government’s scanner due to the security related issue for not providing a solution to intercept its Enterprise mail services.

TOI reports nearly 50 per cent of Nokia’s E Series business phones sold in the country get activated for e-mails.These developments came at a time when the home ministry has asked the telecom and IT departments to overhaul existing legal frameworks to broaden the meaning of telecom/internet services.

At present Nokia’s pushmail service supports major email service providers like Hotmail Yahoo and Gmail and various other leading email service providers.

TOI also reports IT ministry have been asked by the home ministry to make necessary changes in Indian Telegraph Act of 1885, the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2007.

Once the changes comes into place it will be necessary for all telecom service providers to have the systems in place to deliver authorised intercepts based on telephone numbers, device identity, email IDs, IP addresses or keywords to the national security agencies on real-time basis.

Kapil Sibal Issues Progress Report on The 100 Days Plan of Action

Kapil Sibal, Union Telecom Minister today issued the Progress Report of the Telecom Ministry in terms of achievements made against ‘100 Days Plan of Action’.

The 100 Day Action Plan was announced in Jan 2011  on various issues such as MNP, Wireless Broadband, 2G Spectrum Allocation, MTNL/BSNL and other PSUs, Mobile Tower Radiation and National Telecom Policy 2011 as earlier we shared on TelecomTalk.

The Point-wise Report Card on Plan of Action for DoT  announced by Telecom Minister,  as follows :

Action Point 1 : We will hold consultations with key stakeholders to evolve a clear and transparent regime covering licensing, spectrum allocation, tariffs/pricing, linkage with roll out performance, flexibility within licenses, spectrum sharing, spectrum trading, MVNOs, unlicensed bands, M&A, etc. in a technology agnostic environment after due consideration of TRAI recommendations in this regard. Interest of the ‘Aam Aadmi’ would be the prime consideration.

Status : The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) received Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recommendations dated 8.2.2011 on spectrum pricing in continuation of the earlier TRAI recommendations dated 11.05.2010 on spectrum management and licensing framework. A Round Table Conference was held on 8.3.2011 by the Minister of Communications & IT with the key stakeholders on issues of licensing and spectrum. After the Round Table Conference, the verbatim of the discussions held was posted on website of DoT. The views expressed by the stakeholders during the Round Table Conference are being examined in DoT by the Internal Committee under the Chairmanship of Member (Technical) of the Telecom Commission.

Action Point 2 : To ensure availability of spectrum for telecom industry, we will initiate a dialogue with Department of Space/Information & Broadcasting/Defence, PSUs on vacation of spectrum and for identification of Defence Band and Defence Interest Zone. National Frequency Allocation Plan 2011 (NFAP) shall be released. Spectrum allocations, availability and status of pending applications for spectrum shall be published on the department’s web site.

Status : NA.

Action Point 3 : Immediate steps will be taken to resolve outstanding security issues. Steps will be taken to enable operators to launch 3G services in their entire plenitude without delay. Security issues regarding telecom equipment procurement, messenger services and subscriber verification will be resolved. Steps will be taken to establish the Central Monitoring System which will facilitate and prevent misuse of lawful interception facility.

Status : 3G Service launched by operators.

Action Point 4 : 11 years have passed since NTP ’99 and many changes have taken place thereafter. Action will be initiated to formulate a comprehensive Telecom Policy 2011 including the recognition of Telecom as infrastructure and as an essential service, encouraging Green Telecom, steps to accelerate migration from IPv4 to IPv6 at the earliest, release of IPv6 standards by Telecom Engineering Centre for implementation in the country, etc.

Status : DoT has already initiated the process to formulate a comprehensive National Telecom Policy (NTP) 2011. This will take into account the changes that have taken place in the industry since NTP 1999. A Committee has been constituted with Additional Secretary (T) and Advisor (T) as the co-chairman and DDGs as Members. Two rounds of the meetings have already taken place since then and eight teams have been constituted to work on specific areas.

Action Point 5 : All possible efforts will be made to fill up Board Level vacancies in PSUs and for greater participation of BSNL/ MTNL and C-DOT in national and socially important programmes, while addressing structural issues, improving internal efficiency and financial performance of BSNL/ MTNL.

Status : Close monitoring and follow up is being done to ensure filling up of board level vacancies in PSUs. Filling up the post of CMDs of BSNL and MTNL has been taken up on priority basis and will be finalised shortly. The post of Director (HR), BSNL and Director (F), ITI have been filled up. The proposal for non-official Directors in BSNL/MTNL/ITI/TCIL have also been drawn up. Both BSNL/MTNL have been given roadmap for improving their internal efficiency.The proposal of Director (F), TCIL and Director (HR), ITI are also in advanced stage.

Action Point 6 : Country-wide launch of Mobile Number Portability (MNP).

Status : The Prime Minister of India launched MNP on Pan India basis on January 20, 2011 in Delhi.

Action Point 7 : Vigorous measures will be taken to address public concerns about health hazards due to the EMF radiation from Mobile towers including laying down relevant standards, supplementing equipment with Telecom Enforcement, Resource and Monitoring (TERM) Cells and ensuring adequate field-testing.

Status :The report of the Inter-Ministerial Group on EMF radiations has been put up on the website of the Ministry for seeking comments. Feedback has been received which is being examined and will be finalised shortly.

Action Pint 8 : Formulation of a package of measures to promote manufacturing of telecom equipment in the country.

Status : TRAI has circulated a consultation paper on promotion of manufacturing of Telecom equipment in the country. After receiving the recommendations of TRAI in this respect, DoT will organise Round Table Conference with key stakeholders to formulate the package of measures for promoting manufacturing of Telecom Equipment. Sectoral Innovation Council has been set up under the Chairmanship of ED, C-DOT with participation from the Industry representatives to give impetus to innovations and R&D in telecom sector within the country.Certain initiatives taken by Department of Information Technology (DIT) in this regard are as follows:

Action Point 9 : Launch of a Wireless Broadband Scheme scheme by USOF to provide wireless broadband coverage to about 5 lakh villages, leveraging the existing passive infrastructure created for mobile telephony in rural and remote areas.

Status : The wireless broadband scheme for providing wireless broadband coverage to about five lakh villages leveraging the existing PSUs infrastructure has already been approved and will be launched shortly.

Action point 10 Concrete steps towards finalization of National Broadband Plan including strategy for implementation and initiation of steps for roll out of Optical Fibre

Status : After receiving the recommendation of TRAI on National Broadband Plan on 08.12.2011 as well as the report of the CII on broadband, the Round Table Conference was held by Hon’ble MOC&IT on 19.01.2011. Thereafter a scheme for creation of National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) for providing broadband connectivity to the panchayats by extending the existing optical fibre network to panchayats utilising the USO fund has been formulated.

This proposed scheme has also been deliberated by Hon’ble MOC&IT along with Shri Sam Pitroda, Adviser to PM on Public Information, Innovation and Infrastructure, on 30.03.2011 with key stakeholders including telecom service providers. Under this scheme it is proposed to set up a High Level Committee to steer and coordinate all the activities related to the creation and implementation of NOFN.

Latest Invention: Camera that Sees Hidden Things

Latest Invention: Camera that Sees Hidden Things

Dr. Reza Zoughi, a Professor of Electrical Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology together with his colleagues managed to develop a patented camera that works similar to body scanners used at airports.

The invention uses microwave and millimeter signals to scan a certain material or structure with picture reproduction at the rate of 30 images per second.

All the signals sent by the camera are received by a laptop that then plays the pictures in real time. The camera features a battery similar to those used in laptops. The battery allows the device to work for hours.

It is worth mentioning that the invention can be used for different purposes, including inspection of aircrafts, thermal insulating materials inside the spacecrafts and also in the medical field where specialists can use it to scan for cancers for example.

In addition, the device can be used in detecting illegal movements of products in airports and other places. 

It would be interesting to note that the camera has been a long term goal for Zoughi, who started thinking about such device back in 1998. He is now working on a number of improvements, one of which would allow the camera to generate 3D/holographic real-time images.

Future Technology: Personal Flying Suit

For the past couple of years the world’s top space program NASA has been working on a future design for the very first personal flying suit. The puffin, as they call it, measures to be approximately 12 feet in length with a 15 foot wingspan. The aircraft module would land vertically, allowing for a person to step directly into it and has blades similar to that of helicopters. The puffin concept would relatively light weight and would use electric motors, allowing for high altitudes as well as being eco-friendly.
Now to another note: is the Puffin concept practical for consumer use? Highly unlikely, or at least not for a long time. First of all, this type of flying suit would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions, so not many people would ever get to use one, as least for quite some time. Secondly, if this flying suit were to take the place of automobiles, modern travel would be extremely chaotic and the number of fatalities would drastically increase. Any type of mechanical failure or collision with another flying suit would be devastating and regulating travel would be nearly impossible. Yes, the idea is magnificent and I think most of us would like to have an experience like this someday, so hopefully this type of future technology will be able to advance, thanks to NASA.

Future Gaming Technology: Project Natal

Microsoft has recently announced an impressive addition to their popular X-Box video game system which will replace the standard controllers. Project Natal, as they call it, is the future gaming technology we have been waiting for and has built in motion sensors that allows users to act out their moves  instead of having to press buttons. So if you are playing a fighting game (such as Street Fighter) you will actually have to do some physical kicks and punches in order to defeat your opponent. Project Natal is like a Nintendo Wii 2.0 – instead of having to swing around your controller you can just use your body, and no more worrying about cracking your new plasma TV. This new technology is also supposed to be equipped with voice and facial recognition software, which I’m assuming is used to distinguish between two players and keep track of player profiles.
Nintendo had better be prepared to answer back when Microsoft releases this future technology, or any hope for more Wii sales will be obliterated (assuming Project Natal turns out to be accurate and practical). The new gaming device is projected to be released near the end of 2010, just in time for the holidays, and has been speculated to cost somewhere around $100. There have also been some rumors going around as to whether 1 or 2 people will be able to use the gaming sensors simultaneously, but most signs point to 2 players. Exciting times for us video gamers!

Future Car: Eco-Friendly Porsche 918 Spyder

Most people wouldn’t expect a car that can go from 0-60 in under 3.2 seconds to be eco-friendly in the least, but the Porsche automakers beg to differ. This future car concept, the 918 Spyder, is supposed to be one of the fastest (if not the fastest) hybrid electric car on the market. This one-of-a-kind ride can teach tops speeds of 200 mph and gets a whopping 78 miles per gallon – double the amount most compact cars achieve on a good day.
This speed demon is charged by a 3.4 liter V8 engine which comes equipped with a lithium ion battery pack that can be charged from almost anywhere, not to mention whenever you hit the brakes as well.  No word yet on the pricing but you can safely assume it will be in the 6 digit field (estimates have been set near the $500,000 mark), and is not expected to be listed for sale on the market for at least another year, probably closer to 2012 or 2013. The bad news is that you probably never will own one of these babies, or anything close to it, but the good news is that future cars will benefit from these technological break-throughs and the overall quality of regular day-to-day cars will be enhanced. Way to go Porsche!

Future Weapons: XM25 Smart Rifle

With all the trending smart phones and smart cars, the military decided that they wanted in on the smart technology and began designing this future weapon with state-of-the-art capabilities. The XM25 rifle, equipped with smart bullets, can do a wide array of tasks without the assistance of other high-tech weapons. Check out the list of different bullets that come equipped with this advanced rifle:

• High explosive burst round
• Armor-piercing round
• Door breaching round
• Anti-personnel round
• Non-lethal (blunt) round
• Non-lethal (burst) round

So now (or at least in the near future) soldiers will be able to better handle tactical situations with a wider array of options. For example, if snipers or marines need to take some prisoners alive, they can easily switch to a non-lethal round to neutralize targets. Or if troops need to take out an enemy sniper that is well protected in a building or behind a hillside, a smart bullet can be fired near the location of the enemy sniper and have it set to explode, removing any nearby threats.
Such future weaponry does not come cheap as initial estimates for the XM25 rifle are set at $25,000. The bullets are quite expensive as well, costing on average $25 each (depending on the type of bullet), which is over 25 times the normal price of typical rifle rounds. As long as this future rifle proves to be effective, I don’ think the military will have too big of a problem with such prices.

Future Technology: 3D TVs

Now that more and more 3D movies have been starting to come out (A Christmas Carol, Avatar, Alice & Wonderland, etc.) is the future technology of home televisions headed the same way? Can we expect to start seeing the next generation gaming consoles to be in 3-D as well? You better believe it and companies like Sony, Samsung, & Nintendo already have some surprises in the works.
By the end of 2010, Sony already plans to begin pushing their new line of 3D TVs to consumers, especially right before the major holidays. Samsung won’t be far behind, as they have taken some major steps in the home theater industry, producing the world’s thinnest LED TV, and also planning to start releasing TV apps (similar to the apps for your iPhone/Palm Pre) come July. The good news for us consumers is that we will have new technology to play around with and prices for regular plasma/LED TVs should go down and become even more affordable. Just make sure to save your 3D glasses the next time you see Avatar, you may just need them for your next TV.

How Students Should Protect their Computers

With a new wave of harmful computer viruses and worms making the rounds, college students should be more vigilant than ever in protecting their computers, especially when they are on a wireless network. Following these simple precautionary measures can help avoid system vulnerabilities and computer failure.
Install Anti-Virus Software – Make sure you have anti-virus software installed and that it is setup to update daily. Most colleges and universities have a license that allows students and faculty to download the software for free on personal and school-owned computers. Contact your school’s IT department to learn more.
Download OS Updates – Microsoft will sometimes issue critical OS updates or security patches for Windows which are designed to make the operating system more secure. Make sure you download and install them when available. If you need help doing so, contact the manufacturer’s technical support.
Use Strong Passwords – Always use strong password (including letters, numbers, and characters) for all your accounts. This can make it more difficult for hackers to access your computer and personal information.
Be Careful what You Download – A good rule of thumb to follow is to only download programs and software from reputable sources and companies, such as your University or computer manufacturer. Free software that can be downloaded from the internet can contain harmful spyware, which you may be downloading without even knowing.
Don’t Open Email from Unknown Users – Before opening email attachments, make sure you know who the sender is; otherwise you may be opening something harmful to your system. Delete all spam and if a message simply looks suspicious, it probably is.
Backup Your Data – Whether you need PC or Mac backup software, make sure you are regularly backing up all important electronic files (such as photos, music files, important text documents, etc.). If your laptop is damaged or stolen, you should be able to easily access the backups and restore the information.
Logout or Shut Down – When you aren’t using your computer, whether in the library or your dorm room, get into the habit of logging out of your account, locking the screen, or shutting down the computer completely. You never know who can gain access to your computer and personal files in just a few short minutes.