Aircel ready for 3G launch in Chennai

Cellular Operater Aircel has unveiled 3G technology in Chennai with the union government asking existing service providers to conduct trials in specific cities.Aircel, in collaboration with Chinese telecom major ZTE Corp., has conducted the trial of this technology for three weeks in the city.ZTE has the capability to mix 2G and 3G technology in one network.

The Chinese telecom giant is also researching R5 and R6 technologies (SoftSwitch-based control system of the commercial next generation core networks), which will comprise the 4G telephone services in future.High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) services such as downloading of large volume of business data and streaming movies online at speeds of 3.3 MB per second have also been tested in India, for both computers and mobile handsets, using ZTE cards.

The services to be made available are Internet access, mobile television, mobile video conferencing, video phone and voice and data services through the same equipment."We will be able to offer 3G mobile services upon necessary government clearance in a couple of months," said Chinmay Mitra, Aircel group's chief technology officer.As of now 3G enabled handsets are expensive—eg. the 3G-enabled Nokia 6680 costs about Rs. 25,000. According to experts once the 3G technology comes in, there will be more demand and handset costs will reduce.

Aircel maintains that the core network and switching is in place to go 3G for its subscribers in a few months.Aircel has also roped in Ericsson to provide its media gateway and servers and is also partner it for other telecom technology.The 3G trials are taking place in Chennai, Guwahati, Coimbatore and Bhubaneswar. Chennai and Coimbatore will complete trial by March 31

Kalanjiyam - India's First Community radio on disaster management

A partnership between local community, Dhan Foundation and tech forum Voices.The United Nations Development Programme is financing the radio station.

Two years after tsunami battered it, Nagapattinam may finally have the solution to empower local communities to cope with disasters.

On Friday, when the country's first community radio on disaster management, Kalanjiyam, is launched from Chennai and starts operating from Vizhundhamavadi village in Nagapattinam, `technology for the grassroots' will no longer remain a slogan. A partnership between the local community, Madurai-based Dhan Foundation and Bangalore-based tech forum Voices, the radio station is financed by the United Nations Development Programme.

The Foundation will build upon its experience in running information kiosks in all tsunami-affected coastal hamlets and services of trained `radio volunteers' from among the local educated youth. "Apart from being a home-grown warning system, the radio station will seek to inform the local community on coping with disasters, seeking and mobilising help and accessing locally available livelihood opportunities. Initially, we will narrowcast up to a two-km radius. Once our application with the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry is cleared, we will switch over to broadcast, covering a 15 to 20 km radius," says a Foundation spokesperson.

A state-of-the-art production studio has already been set up at Vizhundhamavadi. Initially, Kalanjiyam will beam for about half an hour everyday and will shortly increase this to one hour. Once the licence comes, the station will function six hours a day. The total cost of the project, including operation and management, works out to Rs. 13 lakh. In the initial stages, the Foundation will provide the expertise and Voices the tech support. Kalanjiyam is designed to become self-reliant in two years.

Aerospace technology meet from February 1 - 2

Multinationals in aero-based science will also participate.

Chennai: The Department of Aerospace Engineering, IIT Madras, will organise an `Aerospace Technologists Meet' here on February 1 and 2.
The meet aims to bring together project leaders, engineers and scientists from various R&D organisations and the academia. It will feature invited presentations from renowned aerospace scientists, project leaders and academics.

Apart from project leaders of many ongoing national aerospace programmes, multinationals in aero-based science will also participate.

According to T.T. Narendran, Dean, Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research, IIT, the meet is organised in line with the Institute's policy of promoting industry-academia interaction.
Job Kurian, who heads the Department of Aerospace Engineering, said the recent successes achieved by the aerospace community, particularly agencies such as ISRO, DRDO, NAL, AAI and IAF, provided the backdrop for the event.

More details are available on aero.iitm.ernet.in
Source:The Hindu

Encourage production of battery-operated vehicles

Chennai: The Government should encourage entrepreneurs of small and medium units to manufacture battery-operated vehicles, Pattali Makkal Katchi founder S. Ramadoss said here on Monday.

Dr. Ramadoss told journalists that such a move would be of great support to the economy and industry. To promote competition, the Government, as an initial measure, should give permission to 10 persons or firms. He wanted the Government to allot a "bicycle path" on important roads.

Criticising the police for "inaction" on the sale of ganja in the vicinity of some Chennai schools, Dr. Ramadoss asked, "What for have the special units for narcotic drugs been set up? The police cannot be forgiven for its failure to curb the menace."

Reiterating his contention that the Official Languages Act had not yet been implemented in full, he said a recent Government order on the appointment of an officer on special duty for the proposed Chennai metro rail project was issued in English.

Responding to a query on raids conducted by Income Tax Department on the premises of the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam founder Vijayakant, the PMK leader said he did not want to go into the issue though he would term the action belated. But, his emphasis was that such raids should be conducted on the premises of those who ran self-financing colleges and deemed universities.
Source:Hindu