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...video and digital television are predicted to be the drivers of what has been termed 4G networks

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Evenbasic handsets have a camera and are Internet-ready.

This two-part article describes several key technology trends that will influence the design of mobile phone applications in the coming years.

It is important to understand the proliferation of different kinds of cellular phone standards, handsets and hardware parameters that affect the compatibility of various applications across various demographics. Various applications specifically for the mobile phone market that are gaining ground include the traditional mass markets of mobile banking, gaming and location-based services.

In the year 2002, a set of papers detailing records of the original GSM task force were compiled. In this set, a study by Josef Huber methodically deconstructed the market model, traffic trends and the technology parameters classified by services, and offered predictions of the same between years 2005-2010. This study was carried out primarily to arrive at an appropriate methodology for spectrum allocation. These predictions are shown in the table accompanying story.

Both usage statistics and technology parameters, especially bandwidth (owing to the increased role of packet switched networks) have far exceeded initial expectations and predictions.

Furthermore, the success of such technologies as VoIP has, in effect, validated the push towards 4G networks, with a predominantly IP backbone. In addition to this, the least common denominator when it comes to features, even in low-cost handsets, is pretty exhaustive, thereby enabling various new applications.

Four generations of mobile telephony

The earliest version of mobile phones was the two-way radio, primarily used to communicate on set frequencies, not utilising the telephone network. Between 1910 and 1973, the technology saw several steps in its evolution. In 1973, Motorola demonstrated the DynaTAC prototype, which was probably the first commercial version of what is today smaller and lighter by several orders of magnitude. These were still analog devices and the introduction of the 2G standard, which was the term used for TDMA and CDMA systems, came about in the 1990s, to introduce digital, circuit switched transmission. The phones in this generation still weighed about 200 gm at their lightest and saw the introduction of several commercial services such as the short message service (SMS), downloadable ring tones and roaming.

3G networks saw the introduction of competing standards including WCDMA and CDMA2000. Although these standards had to stay cohesive with the IMT-2000 specification (standards of data-rates around 384 kbits/s outside and 2Mbit/s inside), they introduced a lot of heterogeneity. Intermediate standards such as 2.5G networks were also introduced to buffer the transition between 2G and 3G such that at the end of 2007, the subscriber base for GSM had reached nearly 300 million.

Although the proliferation of mobile phone technology has far exceeded expectations, the data-rates on circuit-switched digital networks have not scaled as well. While the main driver for 2G networks was voice, newer applications such as video and digital television are predicted to be the drivers of what has been termed 4G networks, as the limits of short-range communication evolve.

The proliferation of handsets

While network technology progressed in supporting higher data rates and more features, one of the greatest leaps in subscriber base occurred when the Asian continents started to engage with mobile phones. Given that the population density in this part of the world is unparalleled, two driving factors determined the success of both handsets and network technology, first movers and price.

Even though GSM was adopted early in India and China, the handset prices drove the subscriber base, in the initial years. There were many reviews that brought out the fact that even though 2.5G and 3G services were available to subscribers, the price of the handset forced them to choose 2G phones, thereby rendering a lot of the services redundant. Pricing services based on customer requirements has bridged this gap and instruments are more capable, even at the lowest prices, in the current market.

Features of the handsets include price, memory, image-resolution and ability to connect to the Internet. In profiling these parameters for 42 handsets from the leading brands, based on various price-points, it is observed that the most basic handset still has a camera and is Internet-ready. The price-points and concerns about majority of subscribers in the Asian countries using 2G instruments by reason of price are slowly being bridged. It would be interesting and relevant to perform a fine-grained analysis on how the predictions by the GSM committee and studies on spectrum provisioning translate to the Indian market.

In part two of this article, trends in the application space will be explained in detail, including traditional and emerging applications such as gaming, finance, location-based services (such as Foursquare) and E-911.

This data was obtained from Josef Huber’s paper on Spectrum Aspects in the UMTS Related Work of the European Commission, UMTS Task Force, UMTS Forum and GSM Association.

I was reading a few e-mails flying around in my athletic circles about how another friend decided to "cut back on sport" and "get on with life". This made me think about the other e-mails Id been reading from my non-athletic circles about how another stressed out engineer decided to "cut back on work" and "go live for a bit". I find these parallels very amusing, in my own quest to train like a world champion and feed my intellectual curiosity, that keeps me up, many nights, whether or not I am training.

As an employer, I find that the hardest thing to do is to be fair to my employees, CONSISTENTLY. Overall, my kids at work either stick with me for years or quit quickly. I prefer it that they quit quickly because there is no glamor in working for me, its 9-5, 6 days a week and no excuses. I dont allow people to work from home unless they have been with me for two years. I dont subscribe to "work whenever and however you want" models, unless they are studying part-time, in which case, the rules are different. Additionally, I am very conscious about paying people, ON TIME.
There were times in the last 2 years when I came very close to not being able to do this (pay people on time) but, by the grace of careful spending and unglamorous coffee machines, it didnt come to that.

A lot of people that come through our organization are surprised that we ask for no bond, pay for lunch and encourage healthy activities such as living close to work and walking to work, rather than taking a bus that is a major dent in your daily productivity to begin with.

What I notice however is that to consistently want the best for people, is difficult. Even by the most fair and amazing of bosses and employers. Ive been employed several times myself and its funny how different the equation is, when you are working, for a salary. It is only when I work for someone that I understand how irritating it is to work hard with some uncertainty of when I will get paid, or when the employers make stupid comments and brew up clouds of gray over what could well be a great turnout on a small and focused effort.

One of my favorite quotes is "Do as I say, not as I do", which really goes to show how far away preaching and practice can be, in the real world. Unfortunately, not all businesses can run as single-starrer Bollywood hits and definitely investing in some teams and co-ordination upfront, saves a lot of trouble later. One of the most important ingredients in a team is trust. If you have that, everything, including money is often secondary. However, in a totalitarian world such as ours, speaking plainly is not an accepted practice. So, very often I see my non-athletic, industrial types, wasting a lot of time with office politics, where the stapler went and who spent more on the Xerox-machine and Blackberry subscription than the next guy. Working for yourself takes away some of these headaches as its your Xerox machine and your blackberry to begin with :) However, I still believe in the wisdom of crowds, not just because my dissertation demands it.. but because I truly hope to have the humility to see that one person, alone, can only go so far.

In the meanwhile, I hope that as an employer and as an employee, my least common denominator will be to never expect money for nothing...... Cool Hand Luke mightve well said that "nothing can be be a real cool hand" but, Ill save that for the 30k mark in the Ironman rather than office politics.

The trouble with giving a girl like me free stuff is that I generally get emotionally attached to it and approach its usage like an engineering problem. After four years of wearing hand-me-downs and thrift-store specials from Seattle and mom's old sweaters from the 1940s, I was overwhelmed when I got some awesome gear from my awesome new team TIMEX :) I got three varieties of hats, lots of lycra (yeay) and most importantly awesome watches that I can tap and that make great conversation pieces with the cute trainer in the gym that I am secretly hoping will ask me out someday! There IS a God and his name is Denzel Washington...

Back to the story in hand, I got so attached to my new tap-watch that I have been running like a maniac... tap at the start, tap half-way up our version of heart-break hill, tap when cute kiwi looks over at me, tap again when shoe laces come off, tap once more just to tap and so on..

Speaking of the hats, I decided to stress-test 'em all to see how I looked and give you a gear review on the aerodynamics of hats............ Perhaps I shouldve titled this article "of hats and hicks" :) Anyhoo, back to the point at hand.... The pink bling hat is very cute but makes me look scary so, while I love cute, I say no to the pink bling. The booster juice hat was shaped differently but a bit too purple so, while I am marrying a surfer who lives in a purple house (and is preferably Canadian), I say no to the purple as well... Which brings us to the mother of all non-hats, the VISOR....... This is a headless hat, which makes it instantly appealing as pursuing my doctorate left most of my brain in ethereal ruins anyway, I think most of what was left evaporated and this is the no-pretense hat......... so, I tested this in three positions, the usual route, makes me happy... the side Eminem-look-east-tries-to-ape-the-west look... makes me even MORE happy... the 180 degree turn all the way back makes me the happiest :) Who cares if its aerodynamic or not! Given that I have a new fashion mentor (Daniel Brienza) who has been training his tail off for upcoming races, I have to look good, AT ANY COST.

Back to the lycra, I decided to "suit up" for a 2 hour ride recently, and look like a "REAL ATHLETE" and all.. I didnt know how to wear the leg-warmers so, I sent a panic-mail to Daniel asking about the laws of gravity as applicable to these non-tights in white. He said, I should definitely wear them OVER my bike shorts and make sure I had them on first and then the shorts, so that I didnt spend too much time.. er.. suiting up. And so I did... it took a bit longer than I thought it would but Daniel knows best.............. In this moment of extreme fashion makeover-age, I forgot to eat breakfast and sure enough bonked 40 minutes into my ride and stopped for some coffee and goodies. I asked for the apple strudel with yoghurt and the chocolate brownie with cream and a latte... but on second thought, given that I had to fit into the lycra at least a few more times, I cancelled the brownie and asked for the strudel instead but with the cream, instead of the yoghurt... and oh, switched to plain coffee with *gasp* low-fat milk. This snack improved the quality of my ride by a little more than the matching clothes and I was convinced of my own awesomeness again! Mom's jacket and the thrift-store red-coat and my button-less blue wolly cap added a bit more color to the riding ensemble.. Be BRILLIANT, I say!


So, Im off to buy some MORE matching gear and have no fear, I will give you the review......... The runs are all coming back to me now........... 8 weeks in paradise swimming with big-a$$ paddles, and then Im off on the long brown road to yonder.

Its closer to midnight than I thought it would be.. Ive been listening to Boh Runga for a while, after having ridden my bike today. After a long time, my bike and I are talking to each other again. I missed my bike and I was told the feeling was mutual. As I ponder my next steps, Ive been taking time to rest my tired feet and rejuvenate my mind. I found that music, cooking and training early are the three things that really heighten my senses to the possibilities in a day. Additionally, a job well done also makes me happy, no end. I also like reading but good books are hard to come by. My latest read is "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and it looks very promising so far.

I struggle to reconcile between my life as a quasi-hermit-ess and the need to be around the people I count as my friends. The ones who will listen to me at the end of a long day, commiserate on the state of the world, lift me up when I am down and let me help when they need a hand. Officially speaking, I prefer the quiet places. I need the bustle of my work and the mad schedules every now and then but, 8 months of the year, I am happy working hard, cooking, reading, listening to music, writing and training.

One of my favourite poets is Billy Collins, American poet laureate, that my partner David introduced to me. Of late, the soulful tunes of the Runga sisters (Bic and Boh) and their lyrics more importantly have been very comforting. I know that peace is a fleeting emotion and one wishes to hang on to that feeling for as long as they can but, what if the road not taken involves discovery? I always wondered about people that feel like they are discovering new places, new things or breaking new ground. For example an Amelia Earhart, Ada Lovelace or even our long-distance women runners. Did they miss home? Did they find new horizons measure up to the choice of new environments and playgrounds to discover?

I wonder!

For now, Ill leave you with how I feel, in Boh Runga's words :)

"Follow a trail of thought ‘til
It leads you to your station
And everyone there is on time
No worry or fear will find
Leave your worries and fears behind you"

Im going to uncrowd my life. There is a glimmer of hope!

Polite Conversation often escapes me!

Some of the dumbest questions I get asked when I travel include the ones like:

"Are there really cows on the roads in your country?"

" Did you learn English after you came abroad?"

"Why are you going back to India? Have you not met a nice man?"

"Did you really race your first Ironman in pyjamas?"

Now, Ive been reading a little bit. Actually, quite a bit. What Ive been reading has to do with semantics, with language, expression and clarity. In my last blog-post, I used the word "incredible" at least a dozen times. My writing prowess was never great but, it has been even more diminished in the recent times. Writing takes a lot of effort, to do well.

Questioning also takes a lot of effort, to do well.

So, lets start with the questions. The disclaimer here is that about 99.999999% of the world does not give a crap about triathlon or triathletes :) I am really enthused by this fact and it keeps me sane. Second, the 0.000001% that do ask me profound questions and I feel the need to answer them today.

"Did you really race your first Ironman in pyjamas?"

Let me begin by commenting on the nature of triathlon. This is mostly a top-heavy sport where equipment is valued more than the sport itself :) With running, the most equipment you can buy is a geeky GPS contraption, nice nike/reebok/ clothes and expensive shoes (mostly what we get in Indian markets are outdated models, at least 3 years older than whats available in the other markets, even as close as Singapore). With triathlon, one can go really crazy. In my opinion, this sport breeds a new form of consumerism, thats why its so attractive to pen down such key phrases as "Live the dream" and have people run after this. We all love shopping, dont we? Lets now go shop for a dream, because we are too un-original to have these on our own. "The dream" is mostly to help the millions of quacks make a living, their otherwise pathetic lives would not offer them. Some even go so far as to proposing that one can "excel" on 10 hours of training a week.

The entry fee to most of these races is more than the yearly salary of many poor families in India. No, Im not a tree hugger. No, I have not spent a year working on water-sanitation whitepapers in Nepal. Ive just spent about 25 years living in the country and find no conflict in stating that this sport is just not open to the bottom-tiers. We have confused Americans running to their Asian roots, when it suits their "living the dream" exercise but, other than that, lets not kid ourselves. There is no representation in this sport. Definitely not at the top-most level.

"Why are you going back to India? Have you not met a nice man?"

Ive lived all over the world and the alarming trend to be noted here is that people gravitate towards their roots. My buddies from North Carolina ultimately ended up somewhere close to there, to be nearer to family, and so on and so forth. In the name of progress, my race in particular is very very hard on itself. We move continents to seek out fresh air and I am fully guilty of this myself. We cannot bear the conflicts back home and its easier to be a freedom-fighter, when one is not on the ground :) Thats what I noticed in all the political/activist/ rallies that I attended well before I was 18. Professors from Cambridge, talking about Indian poverty. Intellectuals with permanent addresses in Boston, empathizing with the "state of the common man". I thought it was pretty convinient. Ask them the simple question "what have you done about it? what can we do about it?"........ no answer.

" Did you learn English after you came abroad?"

Of course! In all of 3 days I learned to spell "infundibuliform", backwards...

"Are there really cows on the roads in your country?"

What roads?

Oh, and speaking about "egalitarianism", a word I did not learn in those three days, let me just say that the discourse on caste and money, power and equality are very different things. I think the basic differentiator is how an individual or a group of individuals works out their opportunities and then their finances. This is why it is still possible for the tortoise to outwork the hare. It is possible but, still a lot of work! We tortoises have short feet :)

I am totally amused today! Just fabulously, rib-ticklingly amused.

Posted by It behoofs us at 3:27 PM

Actually, the times I sit down to think about the year that has passed, I get really tired!!!! I believe the first day of the year tells us a lot about the rest of the year. I was telling someone today that on the first day of 2009, I was down with the flu, stuck in a horribly rainy week. I had so much medicine in me, I could barely stay awake. At around 11pm, I woke up and did sit-ups for 10 minutes, in my room. I could barely get out bed to the floor and back in bed and back to sleep. I slept like a rhino, Jan 1st - Jan 2nd :) On Jan 2nd, I told myself, its still Jan 1st in Hawaii, I am going to go for jog. Running those 20 minutes was the HARDEST THING ive done in my life!! I was so sick, it was not funny.

This year has been a very mixed bag. Ive learned a lot. Executed about 60% of what I set out to execute with sport but 150% with other aspects of my life. This is good because hopefully 2010 will see a slightly smaller work-load. Remember the two jobs I have, its now down to just one job and sport. Good news. So, here is my report card for 2009:

Sport

I trained in the heat and at altitude this year. I think altitude is not all that its made out to be.. people just need excuses to be lazy and "Im at altitude" is a great one. I met some crazy roommates, who were no good for me. I have resolved to only ever living with serious athletes in the future. Everyone else that is a lifestyle athlete cannot appreciate the long hours and why I feel compelled to run at midnight after a long day at work (the aleternative kids, is to not run and miss the workout). I lived with a serious athlete who had her act together in most cases and made me appreciate the value of time. I met some incredibly lazy people in the latter half of my summer. I cannot understand the sense of entitlement in sport. Sport is like art, a very esoteric pursuit. Many smart men argue that there is no artist beneath the suit... that that is not possible. I think they just dont understand that sport can be as demanding as any other job, in fact a lot more so. However, it is still very esoteric. One does have to keep their feet firmly planted on the ground. Other athletes Ive met this year have only made me resolve to imitate the all-round successes. I met the incredible Canadians who housed me, took care of me and were just incredible hosts. Id like to be like one of them, Tracy! Just an incredible athlete and a very successful physiotherapist who pays her bills, on time. Yes, she has a few sponsors to help her along but, no illusions about what a lifestyle really is :)

My lifestyle is paying my bills on time, supporting my incredible team at work and wanting the best for them and being able to use all of my talents.

Work

Work has been incredibly satisfying and incredibly frustrating, all in one. However, Im an optimist and given a choice, Id say, work has been incredible! :) I met some great people, I met some not-so-great people but, people are people. I have some amazing projects lined up for 2010 and I cannot WAIT to see them bear fruit 18 months or so down the line. I have also learned to be proud of what we have achieved. If you ever visit my office, its a humble little place in the middle of the bustle and annoyance of the man next door who does bhajan practise every morning, the chowkidaar who is never late, the phone that is constantly ringing and my kids that are running around trying to practise my latest punishment exercise from Wren and Martin :) Added to this, David is an incredibly smart man and Ive learned to start listening to him, more carefully. We contrast each other perfectly at work. He thinks before he talks, I talk before I think. He usually is right about people, I am usually wrong about people. He takes on a pragmatic approach, I take on an artistic approach. But, it all works out because we both have only one true love, our bikes :) Here is to many more years of good work!!

Life

Boy, last year was rough because I lost my best friend to cancer. This year, there was a very dear brother-in-law who passed away and watching my niece and sister go through that with such strength, really took my breath away. My niece is a piece of my heart, and I wish I have half the brain, strength and grace this kid has, someday. Getting through another best-friend's health problems this year was also quite challenging. I have a tiny group of confidantes, so, I am always happy to be of help in any way, even if it just means shutting up and listening.

I also tried to catch up on 4 years of world news in two weekend, BAD IDEA! I came across the same people I had run into as a teenager and then as a young adult. There IS a lot of disparity in the world. There is absolutely no sitting on the fence about this simple fact. While population control and external affairs are not things you and me can directly affect, participation is the key to democracy. So, obviously there is that simple vote. However, what I did realize was why the activists put me off in the first place (as much as the state). We have two sides to the problem and two sets of people arguing in their loudest voices for or against this. There is a lot of criticism meted out to the middle-class... I have something intelligent to say about that.

I am a proud citizen of middle-class India. I dont shun my opportunities, I work very hard for them. I appreciate the modesty with which a lot of my life has been lead and will continue to be lead. I appreciate that no one had it easy where I come from.. and I didnt jump into that privilege and abuse it. I picked bigger challenges BECAUSE I was privileged. There is nothing wrong with this model of life. If your parents walked upto the edge of the village, you are able to walk upto the edge of new york city. Hey, no harm there. However, for activists and the state to consider us dormant door-mats is kinda silly! I have a lot of friends who DO care about the state of the state :) Theirs is a valid vote too. Why do I have a bee buzzing in my head, you ask? Well, it was that catching up on world news over two weekends :) Take this scenario -- I lived with the poorest of farmers for a few years. Of course, in the USA, this still means you have central heating and flush-down toilets and amazing games of scrabble and talk about real world issues. We are what we eat, of this I have no doubt.

Two of my friends from this time went on to start their own farm (http://www.stoneyacresfarm.net/). These kids are my age, mind you. And no, the situation for farmers in the USA is the same as here, but, these are educated people, MAKING THE CHOICE, to grow their own food and then food for others. Now, all of us dont have that easy transition to make but, here is a great data-point for a "middle-class" citizen, choosing the hard path. Farming is very difficult, dont doubt that for a second. My best friend I lost last year went to Swaziland to volunteer for the Peace Corps and has been to about every major fund-raising ride in the greater United States for AIDS. So, Im inundating you with nice examples of mid-western USA, what about Bangalore?? Sure, I have colleagues who have given up their desk jobs to start their own companies. OWNERSHIP is very important and silent form of rebellion too, right? I have friends who all moved home (from that fancy phoren place, USA) to make their lives here... how about that? Two of these clowns were from the best Aeronautical Engineering labs in Purdue (yes, Neil Armstrong went to school here, WE ROCK in this department). Last I checked, they were pretty darned middle-class too... and still live in modest houses and raise their kids with as much discipline as the next guy.

So, I say, yes, there is a lot of disparity in the world. The solution is not to scream harder about it but to make choices. A bigger challenge over a fatter paycheck. A better life where you get to visit dad every other month over being 48 hours flying time, away. Really investing in your team, getting them up to speed, making sure they know that they have opportunities and that they take those opportunities...

As the wiley and more articulate Maya Angelou would say "Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told, 'I'm with you kid. Let's go.'"

LETS GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!