DoT considers asking Google, Skype for a decryption solution (India)
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is considering to ask voice over internet protocol (VoIP) service providers like Google and Skype to devise a decryption solution of their services.
The move, if implemented, will mean that the government will be able to track emails sent through Gmail as well as intercept voice calls made through Skype.
In an internal meeting with DoT, officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has told the telecom department that Google and Skype need to provide decryption of their services whenever required by the security agencies for lawful interception.
According to the DoT internal note, there was also a need to bring some parity between the Information Technology (IT) Act and the Indian Telegraph Act-1885 to deal with interception and monitoring.
A Google spokesperson stated that they have not been contacted by the government yet on this issue and thereby, they are unable to comment.
During the meeting, DoT stated that such issues may be taken up at international forums such as ITU, WTO and United Nations wherein service providers are mandated to take permission from member countries before launching new services.
The note further stated that the legal protection for business entities may have to be strengthened against consumer protection or any civilian Act, where business secrets are disclosed to government agencies due to security considerations.
Intelligence Bureau (IB) will also prepare a list of issues faced by them while monitoring services and will be jointly addressed by the department of telecom and IT.
The interception/monitoring issue cropped up after security agencies expressed concerns about intercepting highly encrypted services such as BlackBerry amongst others.
Google introduces Gmail-to-SMS in Saudi Arabia
Google has launched Gmail-to-SMS in Saudi Arabia, making it the first PC chat to cell text service in the country.
Google has launched this service in collaboration with Saudi TeleCom (STC). The service allows Gmail users in Saudi Arabia to send a text message from their desktops directly to a mobile phone via SMS. The phone user can then reply to the message which will be sent to the Gmail users interface.
Using the service, users must type the phone number of the person they are trying to contact into the new SMS box in Gmail and press send. Numbers can also be stored in the Gmail address book.
According to Google, the service will support all cellular networks in the country and charges will apply for any communication between a phone and PC, SMS Gmail chat is free from PC to phone.
Google to launch NFC payments’ trials
Google is planning NFC mobile payments’ trials in New York and San Francisco. According to reports, the trial will begin in the next four months and that Google will pay for the installation of thousands†of custom-built NFC-enabled Verifone terminals at merchants across both cities. It is speculated that Google’s Nexus S smartphone the first Android device to ship with built-in NFC functionality will play a key role in the trial.
These rumors follow on the back of Google’s recent launch of NFC-enabled marketing in Las Vegas, Portland and Austin, which allows users to swipe their NFC-enabled smartphones against a merchant-displayed sticker to access tourist/business information or special offers.
The service works in conjunction with the Google Places and Hotpot applications, which allows users to recommend and rate businesses and tourist attractions while allowing businesses to use customized Google kits from the Google Places catalogue to encourage customer participation.
The rumors about the latest trials have given rise to speculation that users will have coupons, gift-and-loyalty cards and subscriptions loaded onto their devices in addition to the usual purchasing information.
Rwanda completes $95m fibre network
Rwanda has reportedly completed construction of a 2,300 kilometre fibre optic network that links the country to undersea cables running along the east African coast.
The project which was commenced in October 2009 at a cost of $95 million, was set up to increase access to broadband services and attracts foreign investment through business process outsourcing.
According to Ignace Gatare, Minister of Information and Communication Technology, the fibre optic project will initially be operated by an independently-managed government entity on an open access model to accommodate infrastructure sharing with the private ICT services providers. The ultimate goal is to progressively transfer the business to a private business.
Rwanda is a land-locked country with Internet penetration of only 12%. However, Minister Gatare states that the ICT sector in the country generated revenues of US$143 million in 2009, rising by 12% in 2010.
The fibre network connects to undersea cable system at Mombasa in Kenya and Dar es Salam in Tanzania.
The Minister added that initiatives to activate the links have been launched and discussions between Rwanda telecommunication operators that include MTN Rwanda, Tigo Rwanda and Rwandatel and regional cable operators are ongoing.
At a Senate meeting, the minister was asked to increase the awareness to the population on the importance of the use of ICT and made several recommendations, including to extend ICT infrastructure, especially in rural areas; to put more effort in the use of ICT in all sectors and services; to sensitize the population on cyber security of individual data; and to emphasize the quality of education in ICT.
Elsewhere, Google has extended its Gmail SMS chat functionality to add three more African countries to its growing coverage list. Mobile users in Uganda, Tanzania and Malawi can now use Google’s email service via SMS texting.
Gmail users can send and receive SMS messages for free using the service. Non-Gmail users can reply via SMS for regular text charging rates. The networks supporting the service are MTN, Uganda Telecom and Orange (Uganda), Vodacom (Tanzania), and Airtel and TNM (Malawi).
Telenor Hungary adds ZTE V9 to product portfolio
Telenor Hungary has expanded its product portfolio by adding ZTE V9 (also knowns as ZTE Light), a tablet designed for tablet newbies.
The tablet runs on Android 2.2 OS, the tablet features a 7-inch screen, Wi-Fi and 3G connection. Weighing 389 grams, it has a battery uptime of 10 hours, is equipped with a 3 Megapixel camera, a separate webcam for video calls, a memory upgrade option to 32 GB and is suitable for making voice calls.
ZTE V9 allows users to synchronise their Google and Facebook accounts and download a large number of applications from the Android Market to expand functionality. ZTE V9 is available packed with an Internet Flexi Plus mobile internet subscription under a cost- and interest-free installment plan with an upfront payment of US$25.51, a two-year loyalty period and a two-year tariff retention. Without an installment plan, its total gross price is US$148.33.
Google plans to trail mobile payments this summer
Google is planning to start the trails of an NFC based mobile payment service in New York and San Francisco by the middle of the year, as moves to support mobile payments gains traction from operators and handset manufacturers.
According to sources, Google will pay for the installation of thousands of special cash-register systems from VeriFone Systems to accept transactions from NFC enabled smartphones.
Google added NFC capabilities to its most recent release of the Andoid OS, although it was reported that Apple might decide to wait until next year before adding NFC capabilities to its iPhone handsets.
Google’s mobile-payment service would face competition from EBay’s PayPal and ISIS, a joint effort of several mobile companies. The ISIS system, backed by AT&T and Verizon Wireless, will rely on Discover Financial Services to handle the payments.
Samsung the top handset manufacturer in US
According to a study of more than 30,000 US mobile subscribers, Samsung is the top handset manufacturer overall with 24.9% market share. The survey also found that the Google Android took the lead among smartphone platforms with 31.2% market share, after two short months in second place.
For the three month average period ending in January, 234 million Americans aged 13 and older used mobile devices. Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 24.9% of U.S. mobile subscribers, 0.7% points higher than the three month period ending in October. LG ranked second with 20.8% share, followed by Motorola (16.5 percent), RIM (8.6 percent) and Apple (7.0 percent).
65.8 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in January 2011, up 8 percent from the preceding three-month period. Google Android captured the first slot ranking among smartphone platforms for the first time in January with 31.2% market share. RIM ranked second with 30.4% market share, followed by Apple with 24.7%t. Microsoft (8.0 percent) and Palm (3.2 percent) rounded out the top five.
In January, 68.1% of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device, while browsers were used by 37.0% of subscribers (up 0.8 percentage points). Subscribers who used downloaded applications comprised 35.3% of the mobile audience, representing an increase of 1.6 percentage points. Accessing of social networking sites or blogs increased 1.1% points, representing 25.3 percent of mobile subscribers. Playing games represented 23.7 percent of the mobile audience, while listening to music represented 16.5 percent (up 1.1 percentage points).
Vodafone Romania to launch Google Nexus S
Vodafone Romania will expand its product portfolio with the addition of Google Nexus S (Samsung GT-I9020T), a smartphone co-developed by Google and Samsung.
The smartphone will be launched in Romanian market on March 9, 2011. Details about its pricing are yet to be released.
Samsung-made Google Nexus S runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and is the first phone to pack a curved screen that fits the profile of your face. Other than that, it’s almost a carbon copy of the Galaxy S, with a touchscreen, 1GHz Hummingbird chip, 16GB SSD and 5MP cam (with second VGA snapper on the front).
