Technology

Telecom market:

Both service provider and customer gaining

T he competition in the telecommunication market in Sri Lanka is healthy, the industry is profitable and both the service providers as well as the customers are gaining, said the Director General of the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC) Priyantha Kariyapperuma.

There is a price competition and companies are slashing rates.

However, the competition is also in quality of the service, technology, customer care and many other aspects. Some telecom companies have recorded losses but it is not because the industry is becoming unprofitable, he said. Kariyapperuma said that the industry will grow further and will be attractive for investors because still there is a vast untapped market in the country. As there is a healthy competition, the rates, services and new technologies have become affordable for all segments of the people.

Standardisation forum

Kariyapperuma said that the Sri Lankan telecommunication industry has steadily grown and as a result the world has recognised Sri Lanka as a ICT technology hub in the region and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and Commonwealth Telecommunication Organisation (CTO) have selected Sri Lanka to hold international forum, Next Generation Networks Standardisation Forum in Colombo. The forum will open on next Tuesday (April 7).Sri Lanka can become a R&D centre in the ICT industry and the country has the technology and the people for that. We acquire space technology as well and will have our own communication satellite very soon. According to a survey conducted by NOKIA last year among 80 countries the telecommunication rates are the lowest in Sri Lanka. Connectivity is the key for development and today Sri Lanka is connected internally and to the world, he said.

Topics

The objectives of the Forum are to discuss the current trends, status and future evolution of Next Generation Network technology and standardisation, as being addressed by the ITU-T and share the experiences of NGN architecture, design, development and deployment.In particular, topics to be addressed are NGN management and control, technologies, NGN migration, number portability, security, policy, authentication and regulatory issues, interconnection and interoperability, testing and conformity, multimedia in NGN, Quality of Service (QoS) requirements, NGN access networks, IPTV and relevance of IPV6 for NGN transportation.

Evolution

The evolution from 3G to 4G will be driven by services that offer better quality e.g. multimedia, video and sound thanks to greater bandwidth, more sophistication in the association of a large quantity of information, and improved personalization.

Convergence with other network (enterprise, fixed) services will come about through the high session data rate.

It will require an always-on connection and a revenue model based on a fixed monthly fee.

The impact on network capacity is expected to be significant.

Machine-to-machine transmission will involve two basic equipment types: sensors (which measure parameters) and tags (which are generally read/write equipment).GW

Teknos select IFS to modernise process

Raimo Anjala

Teknos, one of leading paint manufacturers in the Nordic region, has chosen IFS Applications to increase visibility, integration and collaboration between companies and countries within the group. The solution will be implemented in Teknos' operations in Finland, Scandinavia, Germany, the United Kingdom, Poland, Slovenia and Russia.

IFS Applications will replace several ERP systems, reducing IT cost as a result of economies of scale by supporting all of Teknos' operations and processes in a single modern ERP solution. Operations will also benefit from the standardisation of data structures and processes throughout the group. Teknos will use IFS Applications components for financials, supply chain, manufacturing, sales and marketing, service and maintenance, document management, quality management, e-invoice and business analytics, as well as an interface to Atrion Intelligent Authoring, to handle regulatory requirements and product compliance specific to the chemical industries.

IFS was chosen based on its strong functionality, references, and knowledge of the paint manufacturing industry: "We evaluated several solutions and vendors in our industry, but no one came close to the experience and successful implementations that IFS could demonstrate," said Raimo Anjala, CeO of Teknos. "IFS Applications offers deep functionality for the specific processes of the paint industry. By using a standard application with a large customer base in the industry, we will get the benefit of ongoing development of new industry-specific functionality and technologies in the future."

Gigabyte and Redington join forces with Sri Lanka

Gigabyte Technology, a leading manufacturer of motherboards and Redington, today announced a new Sri Lanka distribution agreement set to take effect immediately. The deal comes at an exciting time as Gigabyte is ready to launch the next generation ultra durable 3 series motherboard in Sri Lanka.

The partnership will assign Redington as an official distributor for the entire range of Gigabyte motherboards products. Redington's far-reaching reseller network will strenthen the reach of Gigabyte products across Sri Lanka market. The deal also significantly enhances Redington's product offerings, empowering customers with competitive solutions featuring the renowned Gigabyte reputation for the best quality and ultra durable PC hardware.

"The alignment and partnership with Gigabyte will further enhance Redington's ability to provide a one-stop shop to our customers in Sri Lanka" commented Raja Sekaran, Country Manager of Redington. "We really could not have chosen a better time to partner up as Gigabyte readies their ultra Durable 3 series motherboards for release in the Sri Lanka market."

"We are very pleased to partner with Redington whose local services will enable us to service our customers better not only in sales, but also in marketing, warranty and delivery support. Sri Lanka is a high rapid growth market, Gigabyte's market share was 16 per cent in 2008. We expect to reach 25 per cent after Redington join forces with Gigabyte," said Alan Szu, Sales Manager of Gigabyte Sri Lanka. "With the strength of the Gigabyte brand combined with Redington's extensive customer base, we look forward to a prosperous longterm relationship."

JWT develops robust digital offer

Two years ago, JWT Colombo mandated that it was essential that its entire staff be compliant and up to date with the digital revolution that was sweeping the globe. The company is making significant annual investments in training staff to be ready when Sri Lanka wakes up to the realisation of the power of digital communication. Ahmed Irfan, Group Account Director, JWT Colombo recently attended an intensive program in Singapore organised by JWT, Asia Pacific, titled "Digital Acceleration". Irfan says that "JWT Colombo has continuously been at the forefront of industry firsts and is forging ahead in developing a robust digital offer for its clients''