High on the News update list is that my Laptop konked again....3 months after getting my first problem on my laptop (where wifi n display were not working) fixed http://twohomes.wordpress.com/2008/02/13/post-warranty-problems-compaq-presario-v3000/ i get a repeat performance with just the display, I immediatly thought of this as an excuse to upgrade to a new laptop.. No worries though ..this time around when i walked into the HP service station the guys knew exactly wat the problem was without even having to talk bout stupid stuff like reinstalling my OS. I wonder how many Incidents of Compaq v3000 display problems they have faced in the last few months? This time around it also became more obvious that the problem was overheating related since area near the power button went very hot.  Anyway.. they are in the process of fixing it or rather - replacing the motherboard.

As a paying customer, I fork out a regular monthly amount to get a service I should be getting with no worries and no fuss.

Unfortunately, it seems that even satisfactory customer service is too much to ask for these days. So let me share to you my story on how terribly disappointed I am with Globe, and how my Globelines internet sucks right now.

My Problematic Globe Broadband Connection

Now here's how this story goes: I fly in from Los Angeles earlier this month and come home to an internet-less apartment. As far as I'm concerned, my payments have been current, but my girlfriend- kickass that she is- had already taken the initiative of calling up Globelines- my current broadband internet service provider- to figure out what's going down with my connection, and why I supposedly have problems with my Globelines landline and internet.

Looking back, I've had problems and connection issues with Globe before, and I'll admit that Globe had been fairly reliable and prompt in dealing with my phone/internet issues.

Until now.

These past several days, it's been a stressful cycle of getting assurances from Globe, calling up the 919.8888 customer service hotline, waiting for some miracle to happen, filing yet another complaint at the Globelines payment center, getting yet more false assurances- this crap has been going on long enough.

What do I have to show for it so far? The contact center Globe has employed to run their customer service/tech support hotline (Alorica, I believe, is one of two) have nothing to give but generic, pre-fabricated spiels- I don't think most of these agents even get the urgency of the situation.

Even their stories don't match: the customer service reps in the Globelines Center in Greenbelt were already beseiged by a number of irate clients hurling invectives and cursing Globe to high heavens for various reasons. This was what I observed when I came over to file yet another complaint- my third one- last 06 July 2008.

I was curious to know why there was this sudden influx of more-than-dissatisfied customers, so in between tirades, I managed to ask a Customer Service Rep why this was all happening.

There was a shortage in service personnel, was what they said. Ever since the last typhoon that hit, Globe technical and customer services had already been spread thin.

Understandable, I suppose. But I also noticed that the customer service desks also have to call their own Customer Service hotline- 919.8888- to facilitate customer concerns. They were also waiting for several minutes, and given the same song-and-dance- a service I could subject myself to from the comfort of my own home, if I wanted it.

To the CSR's credit, they got my number and apologized (the contact center's personnel were on lunch break), and assured me that I would be getting a call from them for an update. Which, again to their credit, I got later that afternoon. Aura of Globelines Greenbelt informed me that I was on their priority list (like it really means anything), and that some crewperson would be checking out my connections- something the call center relayed through them, no doubt.

Completely inefficient, aren't they? So reflective of Philippine bureaucracy. And you wonder why we can't have anything done in this country?

Once More Into The Fray

Fast forward to one week later: It's been 12 days that I've gone without internet at home- 12 fracking days! Now how the frack am I supposed to get any work done?

Another call goes to the Globelines 919.8888 hotline: navigating through the irritatingly artificial voiceprompts, I finally get through to a customer service rep after 15 minutes of being on hold.

Angel was this CSR's name. I was given the same song-and-dance on how there was "ongoing network restoration" and crap. What a spiel-monkey.

I was already pissed off by this time, and insisted on speaking with a supervisor. No, it was not OK to wait- but I really have no choice, do I? Seems like you couldn't do anything done around here if you don't speak to a supervisor or a manager. Useless, inutile spiel-monkeys, all of them.

I was waiting for said supervisor while blogging this very post- and the idiot Angel didn't even put me on hold (with the cheesy repetitive crappy music), so I could hear the call center chatter from my end. The bitch totally left me hanging, didn't she? And you can hear her fellow CSRs' horseplay- how typical of Philippine contact centers at their lowest.

An hour goes by. Seriously, an hour. Are Globelines supervisors and managers really in the habit of making paying customers wait for an hour? I know I was relatively calm and composed- you can just imagine how many more angry customers there are out there.

Special shout-out to Globelines CSR Angel: Look, I know how underpaid and terribly 'overworked' you are. But if you couldn't do your job right- i.e. putting the phone on hold properly so your managers can clean up the messes you make- then by all means resign, and let somebody else take that monthly salary of yours and put it into better use. You give Philippine customer reps a bad name.

I give the Globelines 919.8888 number another call. This time, Jeff picks up after 5 minutes of waiting. Once again, I give my obligatory subscriber information. I ask him to find out who the supervisor/manager on board is.
He comes back after a few minutes and begins to rattle off some pre-prepared spiel on how busy they all were. I cut him off to tell him that all I want, really, is the name of the supervisor-on-board.

Jeff tells me "Marami sila (There are many)". I asked him exactly how many supervisors there really are.

Jeff reveals the staggering number: Three.

Three supervisors. So what are their names? Surely he could easily tell me three names.

Jeff then informs me that I couldn't get the name of all 3 supervisors. And why not, I wonder? What seems to be wrong with that? Jeff adds that the supervisor will identify himself when he takes my call. You could've told me that in the first place, Jeff. Tsk tsk.

Fair enough. But before I chew on a supervisor's head, I just had to ask poor hapless Jeff a few more questions.

I asked him how many agents they have on the floor right now. 40 CSRs, is what he answered. I asked another question: how busy are they all right now? Very busy, was what he answered this time (of course they were!).

While Jeff had been relatively polite and calm, I realized this conversation was going nowhere, so I asked him to patch me through to his supervisor now. Which he did.

After three minutes, someone named Lindsey Dizon identified himself as the supervisor. He was apologetic and sounded rather sincere- he went on to give me a quick review of what had been going on, based on my connection logs and incident reports. He also proceeded to tell me what steps they'd be taking with all this information, etc.

Do I really need a supervisor to get anything done around here?

With some more questioning, he told me that my case was an isolated one, meaning most other connections originating from the same Globe cabinet have reported no trouble- just mine.

He also assures me that he'd be personally updating me with what's going on until my issues get resolved.

We'll see about that.

It's been Day 14 so far. The inconvenience of going to free wi-fi places and hooking up from friend's places can be tiresome real quickly.

Curse you, Globe. You give me another reason to hate this country, and want to move to another.

The Lesser of Two Evils.

Inept as Globe customer service is, PLDT is so much worse. My girlfriend often complains of intermittent connections, and sometimes, days without any internet signals at all. On top of a customer service system that truly sucks.

So if you're thinking of switching to PLDT, keep in mind that you might be just digging yourself out of one hellhole into another- vexingly more hellish- hole.

It's the story of the Philippines, really. Both broadband/DSL providers- Globe and PLDT- suck. They suck, that's the bottom line. Unfortunately for us paying consumers- all we can do is choose the one that sucks less.

Seems that once companies like Globe and PLDT have our money, and sucked us into their flawed systems, it's all that really matters to them. Customer service? Fuck that. Technical support? Screw you. We have your money- we'll work on your problems when we feel like it.

Exactly the kind of culture that not only makes the rich richer, but also the kind that drives this country down.

Now that's truly, truly sad.

We thank the County Council of the Solsonès, Navès town and the rest of public institutions for their efforts in implementing the access to broadband Internet in the Vall d'Ora, the Solsonès county and the rest counties. We hope that the implementation will soon be made to 100% of the territory.

Social

• Chennai based Equitas will secure $12.5 million in funding from two private equity firms over the next few months. The organization intends to use the money to expand its branch office footprint in Southern India.
• Building upon the increasing interest by both domestic and foreign capital in top tier MFIs, the Ford Foundation and Intellecap have created “Making My MFI Investment Worthy” that will identify and handhold 10 MFIs over the next 2 years to scale them up to where they are attractive to commercial investors.
• While this story is a little unrelated, Citi -- the major US bank -- has committed $1.5 million to the Indian School of Business to promote financial inclusion for small investors and enterprise.

Traditional

• The Indian government is investing a $2 billion fund for expanding broadband internet to rural India. $1.5 billion should come from the private sector.
• Intel Capital has invested $2.5 million in a new online education company titled Vriti Infocom.

***

Sen. Gail Schwartz's SB08-215 would direct Colorado's Chief Information Officer to identify broadband telecommunications service areas within Colorado and develop a map of those areas. That map would later be used to plan the deployment of broadband service to unserved areas of the state. As Sen. Schwartz noted, rural access to broadband has fallen way behind access in the Front Range.

Which is interesting, because the telecom corporations were given billions of welfare dollars as long as they deployed high-speed broadband to everybody within the U.S. Hasn't happened has it? Neither broadband nor high-speed is really all that available. The U.S. ranks 25th in the world in broadband penetration. Japan's broadband delivers data at an average rate of 14176 kb/s, nearly twice as much as the second place country, Sweden. The U.S. doesn't appear in the top 10. We do however, place high on the list of cost for access. We pay the most for slow service.

***

Sen. Dan Gibbs HB08-1269, which would provide incentives for products that use timber killed by the mountain pine beetle infestation, passed the CO Senate unanimously. Good: wildfire is nonpartisan.

***

Gov. Ritter did sign HB08-1270, which extended the types of energy efficiency items HOAs must allow in Colorado. Now, wind generators, awnings, shutters, attich fans, swamp coolers and retractable clothes lines will be permitted.

***

More good energy news: HB08-1164 was sent to Gov. Ritter. This bill asks the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to consider purchasing utility-scale solar energy when it's feasible to do so, and to take into account the future cost of carbon-based energy sources and the impace of greenhouse gases when purchasing energy. The local energy market will be opened to large scale solar energy production. To put "large" into perspective: one large scale solar plant could generate 250 new high-skilled jobs and $2 billion in private investment.

Unlike other forms of high speed Internet access, Verizon DSL offers a steady download speed no matter when you go online and is available nearly everywhere. Not only is this form of Internet access always on- meaning that you don't have to wait to log onto the Internet every time you want to go online- but it's also delivered over existing phone lines. This automatically makes it much more likely that you'll be able to get Verizon DSL in your own home than either municipal WiFi (which is only available in a few areas) or broad band digital cable high speed Internet! Better still, since DSL provides you with a portal directly from the Internet to your own home, you'll be able to get much more consistent download speeds than with either of those other two forms of high speed Internet access.

Verizon DSL is also a great value. In most cases, it's very comparable in price to broad band digital cable high speed Internet access- despite its superior connection properties. Verizon DSL is much cheaper than a satellite Internet connection, without the massive initial cost of equipment and with only about half the monthly subscription fee.

Verizon makes its DSL service an even better deal with all of the features that it offers. In addition to your very own three megabyte per second download speeds, you'll get to enjoy the benefits of twenty four hour a day, seven day a week technical support to keep your new Internet connection up and running. In addition, you'll have access to nine email addresses that your family can use, or that you can dedicate to different types of online business. Verizon will also provide you with a generous ten megabytes of online storage that can serve as web hosting for a website of your making! You'll also have access to a lot of free online content from premiere websites for lots of entertainment, and have the option of taking advantage of a discount from the normal subscription fees of a number of other great websites.

If you want even better features to go with your high speed Internet access, Verizon DSL can provide those as well for a small extra fee. For example, you'll have the option of subscribing to an Internet security suite that can go a long way toward keeping your computer and your family safe from hackers and their malicious software creations. Enhanced tech support can help you maintain your own home network and provide help if any of viruses or other nasties do happen to find their way onto your computer. Verizon also gives you the option of securely backing up your most valuable files online where they'll be safe from hackers as well as any accidents that might befall your computers and other backups.

With all of the great features that you can get from Verizon DSL Deals, the World Wide Web will be wide open to your family!

Half of the European Union countries could match the United States in broadband use by 2010, Ms. Reding said, if regulators take a tough stance to pry markets open. European Union broadband rates vary from 35.6 percent in Denmark to 7.6 percent in Bulgaria. The United States level was 22.1 percent as of July 2007, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Ms. Reding emphasized her determination to encourage greater competition in the market and to give regulators the power to force “functional separation” — obliging the owners of telecommunications networks to free the networks from their operating divisions.

In seven member states, more than 60 percent of the broadband market is in the hands of incumbents, she said.

Ms. Reding adds, “The dynamic market force is new entrants”. 

Improving rates of broadband usage indicate many things, but as the article shows, it is increasingly a mark of how well-suited a country is as an investment destination.  Definitely something for policy makers to take note of in Fiji.  Higher levels of broadband internet usage are signs of an educated population with a sophisticated understanding of technology--very important to drawing overseas investment capital in today's global economy.

The second article is also from the New York Times and deals with the setbacks cities in the US have faced in trying to set up free and/or subsidized municpal wifi networks.  The failure to get these networks up is an indicator of how it is important to have a clear business plan mapped out before deploying such networks.  Yet again, it is a call for business leaders and policy makers to sit down and really think about what deregulation and broadening access to technology means for Fiji.  It is also important to note that these efforts precluded use of WiMAX technology--something that gives Fiji a considerable advantage.

Currently, FINTEL is acting very much in the manner of the European monopolies.  Widening access to the internet, especially how it has been described on this blog means that policymakers will to pull themselves together and challenge the way things are being done.

What these articles have in common is growing acceptance of the idea that high levels of internet usage are good for a society.  Improved education levels, quality of life gains, increased suitability as an investment destination, and improved emergency communications are just some of the benefits of wider broadband internet usage by a population.

This adds a lot of value for your book and also makes it a reference point to other written works. I was particularly impressed by the classics, since these tomes contain invaluable wisdom that has consistently stood the test of time. It is still relevant today as it was in those ages. Am currently reading Thinking and Deciding (Third Edition) by Jonathan Baron. Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter is next.

This got me thinking about the more reason we need high-speed Internet access for all, since the we can travel to many places in the world and experience a richer life. I am still waiting patiently for the day I shall do high-speed surfing from my balcony, barefoot (which has a nice view of a forested area in my new neighbourhood).

Pendidikan yang baik memang memerlukan dana yang besar, dan kami pribadi tidak menentang kenyataan ini. Tetapi komersialisasi Pendidikan tanpa adanya alternatif lain untuk mengimbanginya akan menyebabkan orang berlomba2 untuk memperoleh pendidikan di Universitas atau Sekolah yang terkenal, baik di DN maupun di LN. Ujung-ujungnya bagi kelompok kaya, ada yang mencari jalan pintas agar dapat gelar S2 dan S3 dari Universitas/Sekolah begengsi dengan mengucurkan dana yang besar agar mendapatkan kemudahan-kemudahan.

Oleh karena itu, kita semua sebagai warga Negara Republik Indonesia yang mencintai negeri ini agar bisa mencapai cita-cita yang kita inginkan sesuai piagam pendirian Republik ini perlu mencari jalan alternatif pendidikan lain yang terjangkau masyarakat Indonesia yang kurang mampu.

Mengingat saat ini Indonesia telah berhasil mengembangkan jaringan Akses Internet Berpita Lebar (Broadband Internet Network) yang cukup luas jangkauannya, maka kami ingin mengusulkan agar Pemerintah/Masyarakat/Swasta untuk mengembangkan suatu alternatif pendidikan melalui jaringan ini, yang biasa disebut sebagai e-Learning/e-Education, Pendidikan secara Online.

Materi untuk pendidiak atau Kontent untuk pendidikan ini sudah banyak tersedia dari berbagai sumber Universitas-universitas besar di LN, seperti dari Massachusets Institute of Technology (MIT) Open Course Ware yang sudah tersedia secara gratis sebanyak 1800 subyek pendidikan, dan dari yang lainnya. Dari Indonesia juga sudah ada tersedia antara lain di Web http://ilmukomputer.com, dan lainnya lagi, seperti dari Perpustakaan Online Dr. Onno W. Purbo.

Agar hal ini dapat terjadi, maka perlu ada kesepakatan bersama diantara kita, dan yang lebih penting adanya Akreditasi dari DEPDIKNAS, bahwa pendidikan online ini, asalkan diselenggarakan secara baik dan teratur sesuai persyaratan yang ditentukan DEPDIKNAS, maka para lulusannya berhak menyandang gelar pendidikan yang setara dengan Pendidikan yang Komersiil tersebut diatas. Bila perlu, ujian kenaikan kelas atau tingkat dan ujian akhir dilakukan bersamaan dengan ujian di berbagai Sekolah2 atau Universitas2 yang begengsi, untuk menghindari tuduhan bahwa produk Sekolah/Universitas Online ini tidak bermutu. Para siswa/mahasiswa sekolah/Universitas Online ini dipersaingkan dengan para Siswa/Mahasiswa sekolah/univesitas komersiil bergengsi tersebut.

Lalu bagaimanakah para siswa/mahasiswa sekolah/universtas Online itu? Ada berbagai cara:

1. Di tempat-tempat umum yang dibangun khusus untuk Akses Gratis Internet untuk siswa/mahasiswa oleh Pemerinah (Depdiknas), Swasta, atau Lembaga Non-Profit, seperti di Perpustakaan Umum, Hot Spots WiFi di Mall, Cafe, Warnet, Taman, dsb. Untuk yang akses gratisan, maka di layar PC atau Laptop diperbolehkan dipasang iklan produk atau jasa sebagai imbalannya.

2. Bila siswa/mahasiswa sudah memiliki PC atau Laptop, baik milik sendiri atau fasilitas perusahaan tempatnya bekerja, maka mereka dapat melakukan akses ke materi-materi atau kuliah pendidikan yang dipilihnya, gratis atau berbayar murah.

3. Untuk materi pendidikan atau kuliah, dibuat di DN atau dari terjemahan dari Open Course Ware (OCW) produk berbagai Univesitas atau sekolah di LN, dan agar didapat secara gratis.

4. Pemerintah melaui DEPDIKNAS agar memberikan subsidi kepada Penyelenggara Pendidikan Online ini dari sebagian dana APBN untuk pendidikan yang Rp 49 Trilyun tersebut. Subsidi atau Kontribusi dana ini dapat pula diberikan oleh perusahaan-perusahaan Swasta, Operator-operator Telekomunikasi, dll, sebagai kewajiban Community Social Responsibility (CSR).

5. Untuk menghemat biaya Akses Internet, di lokasi-lokasi Pendidikan tersebut diatas juga disediakan Akses Offline, dengan menyimpan data-data Course Ware tertentu yang sangat populer, di Harddisk PC/Laptop, atau Pusat Server Jaringan LAN.

6. Diadakan kerjasama khusus antara Organisasi Warnet dengan Organisasi Penyelenggara Online Education/Learning ini.

e-Education/e-Learning vs Pendidikan Komersiil ini analogi-nya adalah Open Source Software/Free OSS vs Software Proprietary, dimana keduanya tetap exist untuk menjadi pilihan masyarakat.

Mohon kiranya dapat diberikan tanggapan, saran atau kritik, sehingga dapat dibuat sebuah kesimpulan untuk dilaksanakan bersama.
Semoga bemanfaat bagi kemajuan bangsa dan negara.

Wassalam,
S Roestam
---------------------

Komersialisasi Pendidikan: Widodo Dwi Putro

[kompas] SEJUMLAH perguruan tinggi negeri (PTN) besar berlomba membuka
"jalur khusus" penerimaan mahasiswa baru dengan memasang tarif Rp 15
juta sampai Rp 150 juta. Berbagai langkah PTN itu ditempuh menyusul
kebijakan dijadikannya kampus sebagai Badan Hukum Milik Negara, yang
tidak lagi mendapat subsidi melainkan diharuskan mencari dana sendiri
(Kompas, 16 Juni 2003).

KETIKA komersialisasi pendidikan itu mendapat kritik, Mendiknas Abdul
Malik Fadjar menanggapi sebagai berikut, "Yang penting itu terbuka,
transparan, dan akuntabilitasnya terjamin. Itu saja" (Kompas, 17
Juni2003). Hanya atas alasan demikiankah lalu bisnis pendidikan
seolah-olah menjadi suatu yang rasional, produktif, efisien, wajar,
dan manusiawi. Apa benar boleh dijalankan, asal dilakukan secara
transparan?

Dalam ideologi mana pun, liberal atau sosialis, negara diharuskan
menyediakan pendidikan untuk rakyatnya. Dalam sistem sosialis, rakyat
memperoleh pendidikan tanpa biaya. Kendati demikian, dalam sistem
sosialis (terutama yang totaliter) negara sering mendapat kritik
karena ia (negara) selalu campur tangan dalam banyak hal, yakni mulai
dari kurikulum hingga buku yang boleh dibaca atau tidak.

Sedangkan dalam sistem liberal, peran pemerintah sangat kecil dan
pendidikan dikelola secara profesional oleh swasta. Implikasinya,
pendidikan menjadi komoditas bisnis sehingga hanya anak orang kaya
saja yang dapat mereguk pendidikan yang berkualitas. Lalu pendidikan
Indonesia berada dalam sistem yang mana?

Orangtua siswa yang hidup pada zaman Orde Lama akan teringat bagaimana
ketika bersekolah dulu tanpa biaya. Bahkan mereka diberi alat tulis
menulis gratis. Pada masa Orde Baru keadaan mulai berubah. Negara
memang tetap menyubsidi pendidikan, tetapi biaya untuk sekolah mulai
mahal terutama sekolah-sekolah swasta.

Meskipun demikian, sulit untuk mengatakan bahwa pada masa Orde Baru
sistem pendidikan telah bergeser ke liberal. Walaupun pendidikan sudah
menjadi komoditas, tetapi negara kerap kali turut campur mulai dari
indoktrinasi (misalnya, penataran P4), kurikulum hingga pelarangan
mempelajari ilmu pengetahuan yang dianggap membahayakan stabilitas.

Pada masa sekarang, negara meningkatkan subsidi pendidikan hingga 20
persen dari APBN. Namun setelah Indonesia memasuki pusaran neoliberal,
subsidi sebesar itu tidak signifikan, apalagi diperparah oleh korupsi
yang terbendung. Pada fase neoliberal, peran negara mulai dilucuti dan
digantikan dengan kedaulatan pasar.

Termasuk dalam sektor pendidikan, negara melakukan deregulasi atau
lebih dikenal dengan nama otonomi pendidikan. Kebijakan otonomi
pendidikan ini menyebabkan sejumlah perguruan tinggi harus mencari
dana sendiri, terutama dengan jalan bisnis atau istilahnya World Trade
Organization (WTO) sebagai commercial service.

KONSEKUENSI memilih sistem neoliberal adalah pendidikan menjadi ajang
bisnis. Dapat kita saksikan bagaimana belalai komersialisasi
pendidikan tidak hanya meluas pada perguruan tinggi, tetapi sudah
membelit hingga sekolah dasar dan menengah. Ada sekolah, mulai SD
hingga SMU di Jakarta, Semarang, dan Yogyakarta, yang uang sekolahnya
mencapai Rp 3 juta per bulan.

Sekolah-sekolah super elite itu ber-AC dan menawarkan berbagai program
memikat di antaranya pelajaran ekstra kurikuler out born, belajar
berkuda, dan belajar tata pergaulan internasional. Banyak orangtua
kaya yang memasukkan anak mereka ke sekolah mewah ini karena berharap
masa depan anaknya gemilang.

Barangkali kita bisa menyimak pendapat seorang pengusaha yang
menjadikan Jakarta, Singapura, Hongkong, Taiwan, Eropa, dan AS sebagai
lahan bisnisnya ketika berbicara tentang pendidikan anaknya sebagai
berikut, "Cuma anak tertua, perempuan, yang saya sekolahkan sampai
universitas terkenal di Indonesia.

Sesudah itu saya sekolahkan MBA ke Amerika. Dua adiknya, begitu tamat
SD langsung saya kirim ke Selandia Baru dan Australia untuk SMP dan
SMA-nya. Kini keduanya juga di Amerika. Mengapa begitu? Mereka akan
mewarisi bisnis saya. Memang basis bisnis mereka adalah Indonesia.
Tetapi di abad ke-21 ini bergerak begitu cepat, banyak hal yang harus
dipelajari" (Kompas, 24 Juni 2002).

Argumentasi dalam kliping itu memang tidak dapat mewakili responden
atau informan yang lain. Tetapi paling tidak, kita dapat mengetahui
secuil motif mengapa para orangtua rela mengeluarkan uangnya untuk
biaya pendidikan yang begitu mahal? Melalui pendidikan yang mahal dan
berkualitas, mereka ingin melestarikan posisi kelasnya hingga pada
keturunan berikutnya.

Dengan kata lain, bisnis pendidikan semacam ini adalah sarana
pelestarian kelas, sekaligus mengubur impian mobilitas vertikal kelas
bawah untuk memperbaiki status kelasnya. Analisis ini kedengarannya
radikal, tetapi kita tidak bisa menghindari karena pembacaan
realitasnya memang demikian. Bahwa dapat dipastikan hanya strata
sosial tertentu yang dapat menikmati sekolah atau universitas yang
bermutu. Sedangkan anak-anak orang miskin tetap dalam posisi
tertinggal dan masuk dalam lingkaran calon pengangguran, atau kalaupun
bekerja melanjutkan profesi orangtuanya sebagai penjual bakso, tukang
becak, buruh, petani gurem, dan sebagainya.

Pierre Bourdieu dalam The State Nobility dan Homo Academicus
mempersoalkan hal yang kurang lebih sama. Menurut Bourdieu,
orang-orang tidak hanya menginvestasikan uangnya dalam bentuk saham,
tetapi juga dalam bentuk symbolic capital (kapital yang bersifat
simbolik). Penelitian Bourdieu pada suku barbar di Aljazair dan
masyarakat modern Perancis dapat menjelaskan tentang symbolic capital.

Di Aljazair, masyarakat barbar tidak mempunyai modal produksi, maka
jumlah ternak menjadi ukuran status dalam hubungan-hubungan sosial.
Namun sebaliknya di Perancis, symbolic capital lebih penting, sehingga
kenapa para aristokrat di sana mengarahkan secara ketat anaknya harus
sekolah di tempat yang bermutu dan ternama, serta mendapat gelar dari
sekolah tersebut. Tentu, investasi berupa symbolic capital itu untuk
melanggengkan aristokrasi yang sangat penting dalam relasi sosial.

Dari hasil temuan filsuf Perancis ini kita dapat memahami mengapa ada
orang harus menginvestasikan uangnya dalam jumlah begitu besar hanya
sekadar mendapat gelar akademis. Mereka sadar akan pentingnya gelar S2
atau doktor, apalagi dari universitas terkenal. Selain gelar
pendidikan itu mendudukkan orang-orang pada posisi terhormat, juga
mempermudah laju masa depannya.

Komersialisasi pendidikan memang bermata ganda, di samping
mereproduksi pelestarian kelas dominan, juga mencampakkan ilmu
pengetahuan sebagai alat memanusiakan manusia ke lembah "pelacuran
intelektual" (istilahnya, J Benda). Bukankah pendidikan yang lebih
terkonsentrasi pada laba adalah getting things done daripada mengatasi
penderitaan manusia dan menolong sesama?

KENDATI komersialisasi pendidikan mempunyai basis pendukung yang luas,
bukan berarti ia hadir tanpa perlawanan. Ivan Illich, misalnya,
menyerukan kepada masyarakat dunia untuk melakukan deschooling
society. Demikian pula, Romo Mangunwijaya semasa hidupnya pernah
membuat pendidikan alternatif.

Dan hingga sekarang, di kota kecil Pekalongan pun tumbuh pendidikan
alternatif dengan nama "Sekolah Sadar Sosial". Walau pada akhirnya,
suara alternatif itu tenggelam ditelan oleh hingar-bingarnya
komersialisasi pendidikan yang menjanjikan masa depan. "Kunang- kunang
tetap berkedip walau malam semakin larut," hibur seorang ideolog muda
dari Yogyakarta.

Widodo Dwi PutroPeneliti LP3ES Jakarta

Pendidikan yang baik memang memerlukan dana yang besar, dan kami pribadi tidak menentang kenyataan ini. Tetapi komersialisasi Pendidikan tanpa adanya alternatif lain untuk mengimbanginya akan menyebabkan orang berlomba2 untuk memperoleh pendidikan di Universitas atau Sekolah yang terkenal, baik di DN maupun di LN. Ujung-ujungnya bagi kelompok kaya, ada yang mencari jalan pintas agar dapat gelar S2 dan S3 dari Universitas/Sekolah begengsi dengan mengucurkan dana yang besar agar mendapatkan kemudahan-kemudahan.

Oleh karena itu, kita semua sebagai warga Negara Republik Indonesia yang mencintai negeri ini agar bisa mencapai cita-cita yang kita inginkan sesuai piagam pendirian Republik ini perlu mencari jalan alternatif pendidikan lain yang terjangkau masyarakat Indonesia yang kurang mampu.

Mengingat saat ini Indonesia telah berhasil mengembangkan jaringan Akses Internet Berpita Lebar (Broadband Internet Network) yang cukup luas jangkauannya, maka kami ingin mengusulkan agar Pemerintah/Masyarakat/Swasta untuk mengembangkan suatu alternatif pendidikan melalui jaringan ini, yang biasa disebut sebagai e-Learning/e-Education, Pendidikan secara Online.

Materi untuk pendidiak atau Kontent untuk pendidikan ini sudah banyak tersedia dari berbagai sumber Universitas-universitas besar di LN, seperti dari Massachusets Institute of Technology (MIT) Open Course Ware yang sudah tersedia secara gratis sebanyak 1800 subyek pendidikan, dan dari yang lainnya. Dari Indonesia juga sudah ada tersedia antara lain di Web http://ilmukomputer.com, dan lainnya lagi, seperti dari Perpustakaan Online Dr. Onno W. Purbo.

Agar hal ini dapat terjadi, maka perlu ada kesepakatan bersama diantara kita, dan yang lebih penting adanya Akreditasi dari DEPDIKNAS, bahwa pendidikan online ini, asalkan diselenggarakan secara baik dan teratur sesuai persyaratan yang ditentukan DEPDIKNAS, maka para lulusannya berhak menyandang gelar pendidikan yang setara dengan Pendidikan yang Komersiil tersebut diatas. Bila perlu, ujian kenaikan kelas atau tingkat dan ujian akhir dilakukan bersamaan dengan ujian di berbagai Sekolah2 atau Universitas2 yang begengsi, untuk menghindari tuduhan bahwa produk Sekolah/Universitas Online ini tidak bermutu. Para siswa/mahasiswa sekolah/Universitas Online ini dipersaingkan dengan para Siswa/Mahasiswa sekolah/univesitas komersiil bergengsi tersebut.

Lalu bagaimanakah para siswa/mahasiswa sekolah/universtas Online itu? Ada berbagai cara:

1. Di tempat-tempat umum yang dibangun khusus untuk Akses Gratis Internet untuk siswa/mahasiswa oleh Pemerinah (Depdiknas), Swasta, atau Lembaga Non-Profit, seperti di Perpustakaan Umum, Hot Spots WiFi di Mall, Cafe, Warnet, Taman, dsb. Untuk yang akses gratisan, maka di layar PC atau Laptop diperbolehkan dipasang iklan produk atau jasa sebagai imbalannya.

2. Bila siswa/mahasiswa sudah memiliki PC atau Laptop, baik milik sendiri atau fasilitas perusahaan tempatnya bekerja, maka mereka dapat melakukan akses ke materi-materi atau kuliah pendidikan yang dipilihnya, gratis atau berbayar murah.

3. Untuk materi pendidikan atau kuliah, dibuat di DN atau dari terjemahan dari Open Course Ware (OCW) produk berbagai Univesitas atau sekolah di LN, dan agar didapat secara gratis.

4. Pemerintah melaui DEPDIKNAS agar memberikan subsidi kepada Penyelenggara Pendidikan Online ini dari sebagian dana APBN untuk pendidikan yang Rp 49 Trilyun tersebut. Subsidi atau Kontribusi dana ini dapat pula diberikan oleh perusahaan-perusahaan Swasta, Operator-operator Telekomunikasi, dll, sebagai kewajiban Community Social Responsibility (CSR).

5. Untuk menghemat biaya Akses Internet, di lokasi-lokasi Pendidikan tersebut diatas juga disediakan Akses Offline, dengan menyimpan data-data Course Ware tertentu yang sangat populer, di Harddisk PC/Laptop, atau Pusat Server Jaringan LAN.

6. Diadakan kerjasama khusus antara Organisasi Warnet dengan Organisasi Penyelenggara Online Education/Learning ini.

e-Education/e-Learning vs Pendidikan Komersiil ini analogi-nya adalah Open Source Software/Free OSS vs Software Proprietary, dimana keduanya tetap exist untuk menjadi pilihan masyarakat.

Mohon kiranya dapat diberikan tanggapan, saran atau kritik, sehingga dapat dibuat sebuah kesimpulan untuk dilaksanakan bersama.
Semoga bemanfaat bagi kemajuan bangsa dan negara.

Wassalam,
S Roestam
---------------------

Komersialisasi Pendidikan: Widodo Dwi Putro

[kompas] SEJUMLAH perguruan tinggi negeri (PTN) besar berlomba membuka
"jalur khusus" penerimaan mahasiswa baru dengan memasang tarif Rp 15
juta sampai Rp 150 juta. Berbagai langkah PTN itu ditempuh menyusul
kebijakan dijadikannya kampus sebagai Badan Hukum Milik Negara, yang
tidak lagi mendapat subsidi melainkan diharuskan mencari dana sendiri
(Kompas, 16 Juni 2003).

KETIKA komersialisasi pendidikan itu mendapat kritik, Mendiknas Abdul
Malik Fadjar menanggapi sebagai berikut, "Yang penting itu terbuka,
transparan, dan akuntabilitasnya terjamin. Itu saja" (Kompas, 17
Juni2003). Hanya atas alasan demikiankah lalu bisnis pendidikan
seolah-olah menjadi suatu yang rasional, produktif, efisien, wajar,
dan manusiawi. Apa benar boleh dijalankan, asal dilakukan secara
transparan?

Dalam ideologi mana pun, liberal atau sosialis, negara diharuskan
menyediakan pendidikan untuk rakyatnya. Dalam sistem sosialis, rakyat
memperoleh pendidikan tanpa biaya. Kendati demikian, dalam sistem
sosialis (terutama yang totaliter) negara sering mendapat kritik
karena ia (negara) selalu campur tangan dalam banyak hal, yakni mulai
dari kurikulum hingga buku yang boleh dibaca atau tidak.

Sedangkan dalam sistem liberal, peran pemerintah sangat kecil dan
pendidikan dikelola secara profesional oleh swasta. Implikasinya,
pendidikan menjadi komoditas bisnis sehingga hanya anak orang kaya
saja yang dapat mereguk pendidikan yang berkualitas. Lalu pendidikan
Indonesia berada dalam sistem yang mana?

Orangtua siswa yang hidup pada zaman Orde Lama akan teringat bagaimana
ketika bersekolah dulu tanpa biaya. Bahkan mereka diberi alat tulis
menulis gratis. Pada masa Orde Baru keadaan mulai berubah. Negara
memang tetap menyubsidi pendidikan, tetapi biaya untuk sekolah mulai
mahal terutama sekolah-sekolah swasta.

Meskipun demikian, sulit untuk mengatakan bahwa pada masa Orde Baru
sistem pendidikan telah bergeser ke liberal. Walaupun pendidikan sudah
menjadi komoditas, tetapi negara kerap kali turut campur mulai dari
indoktrinasi (misalnya, penataran P4), kurikulum hingga pelarangan
mempelajari ilmu pengetahuan yang dianggap membahayakan stabilitas.

Pada masa sekarang, negara meningkatkan subsidi pendidikan hingga 20
persen dari APBN. Namun setelah Indonesia memasuki pusaran neoliberal,
subsidi sebesar itu tidak signifikan, apalagi diperparah oleh korupsi
yang terbendung. Pada fase neoliberal, peran negara mulai dilucuti dan
digantikan dengan kedaulatan pasar.

Termasuk dalam sektor pendidikan, negara melakukan deregulasi atau
lebih dikenal dengan nama otonomi pendidikan. Kebijakan otonomi
pendidikan ini menyebabkan sejumlah perguruan tinggi harus mencari
dana sendiri, terutama dengan jalan bisnis atau istilahnya World Trade
Organization (WTO) sebagai commercial service.

KONSEKUENSI memilih sistem neoliberal adalah pendidikan menjadi ajang
bisnis. Dapat kita saksikan bagaimana belalai komersialisasi
pendidikan tidak hanya meluas pada perguruan tinggi, tetapi sudah
membelit hingga sekolah dasar dan menengah. Ada sekolah, mulai SD
hingga SMU di Jakarta, Semarang, dan Yogyakarta, yang uang sekolahnya
mencapai Rp 3 juta per bulan.

Sekolah-sekolah super elite itu ber-AC dan menawarkan berbagai program
memikat di antaranya pelajaran ekstra kurikuler out born, belajar
berkuda, dan belajar tata pergaulan internasional. Banyak orangtua
kaya yang memasukkan anak mereka ke sekolah mewah ini karena berharap
masa depan anaknya gemilang.

Barangkali kita bisa menyimak pendapat seorang pengusaha yang
menjadikan Jakarta, Singapura, Hongkong, Taiwan, Eropa, dan AS sebagai
lahan bisnisnya ketika berbicara tentang pendidikan anaknya sebagai
berikut, "Cuma anak tertua, perempuan, yang saya sekolahkan sampai
universitas terkenal di Indonesia.

Sesudah itu saya sekolahkan MBA ke Amerika. Dua adiknya, begitu tamat
SD langsung saya kirim ke Selandia Baru dan Australia untuk SMP dan
SMA-nya. Kini keduanya juga di Amerika. Mengapa begitu? Mereka akan
mewarisi bisnis saya. Memang basis bisnis mereka adalah Indonesia.
Tetapi di abad ke-21 ini bergerak begitu cepat, banyak hal yang harus
dipelajari" (Kompas, 24 Juni 2002).

Argumentasi dalam kliping itu memang tidak dapat mewakili responden
atau informan yang lain. Tetapi paling tidak, kita dapat mengetahui
secuil motif mengapa para orangtua rela mengeluarkan uangnya untuk
biaya pendidikan yang begitu mahal? Melalui pendidikan yang mahal dan
berkualitas, mereka ingin melestarikan posisi kelasnya hingga pada
keturunan berikutnya.

Dengan kata lain, bisnis pendidikan semacam ini adalah sarana
pelestarian kelas, sekaligus mengubur impian mobilitas vertikal kelas
bawah untuk memperbaiki status kelasnya. Analisis ini kedengarannya
radikal, tetapi kita tidak bisa menghindari karena pembacaan
realitasnya memang demikian. Bahwa dapat dipastikan hanya strata
sosial tertentu yang dapat menikmati sekolah atau universitas yang
bermutu. Sedangkan anak-anak orang miskin tetap dalam posisi
tertinggal dan masuk dalam lingkaran calon pengangguran, atau kalaupun
bekerja melanjutkan profesi orangtuanya sebagai penjual bakso, tukang
becak, buruh, petani gurem, dan sebagainya.

Pierre Bourdieu dalam The State Nobility dan Homo Academicus
mempersoalkan hal yang kurang lebih sama. Menurut Bourdieu,
orang-orang tidak hanya menginvestasikan uangnya dalam bentuk saham,
tetapi juga dalam bentuk symbolic capital (kapital yang bersifat
simbolik). Penelitian Bourdieu pada suku barbar di Aljazair dan
masyarakat modern Perancis dapat menjelaskan tentang symbolic capital.

Di Aljazair, masyarakat barbar tidak mempunyai modal produksi, maka
jumlah ternak menjadi ukuran status dalam hubungan-hubungan sosial.
Namun sebaliknya di Perancis, symbolic capital lebih penting, sehingga
kenapa para aristokrat di sana mengarahkan secara ketat anaknya harus
sekolah di tempat yang bermutu dan ternama, serta mendapat gelar dari
sekolah tersebut. Tentu, investasi berupa symbolic capital itu untuk
melanggengkan aristokrasi yang sangat penting dalam relasi sosial.

Dari hasil temuan filsuf Perancis ini kita dapat memahami mengapa ada
orang harus menginvestasikan uangnya dalam jumlah begitu besar hanya
sekadar mendapat gelar akademis. Mereka sadar akan pentingnya gelar S2
atau doktor, apalagi dari universitas terkenal. Selain gelar
pendidikan itu mendudukkan orang-orang pada posisi terhormat, juga
mempermudah laju masa depannya.

Komersialisasi pendidikan memang bermata ganda, di samping
mereproduksi pelestarian kelas dominan, juga mencampakkan ilmu
pengetahuan sebagai alat memanusiakan manusia ke lembah "pelacuran
intelektual" (istilahnya, J Benda). Bukankah pendidikan yang lebih
terkonsentrasi pada laba adalah getting things done daripada mengatasi
penderitaan manusia dan menolong sesama?

KENDATI komersialisasi pendidikan mempunyai basis pendukung yang luas,
bukan berarti ia hadir tanpa perlawanan. Ivan Illich, misalnya,
menyerukan kepada masyarakat dunia untuk melakukan deschooling
society. Demikian pula, Romo Mangunwijaya semasa hidupnya pernah
membuat pendidikan alternatif.

Dan hingga sekarang, di kota kecil Pekalongan pun tumbuh pendidikan
alternatif dengan nama "Sekolah Sadar Sosial". Walau pada akhirnya,
suara alternatif itu tenggelam ditelan oleh hingar-bingarnya
komersialisasi pendidikan yang menjanjikan masa depan. "Kunang- kunang
tetap berkedip walau malam semakin larut," hibur seorang ideolog muda
dari Yogyakarta.

Widodo Dwi PutroPeneliti LP3ES Jakarta

About 2.5 billion euro will be spent to create a fiberoptic network that will give at least 2 million Greek homes access to broadband services, according to an e-mailed transcript of a speech yesterday by Transport and Communications Minister Costis Hatzidakis.

“New communications technologies mean innovation, competitiveness, growth, quality of life,” Hatzidakis said. “Greece has been a laggard in the use of new technologies. It is now in our grasp to move forward.”

Greece has consistently trailed behind its European Union partners in broadband usage, hobbling foreign investment and competitiveness. Greek broadband penetration rose from 0.1 percent in 2003 to 7.1 percent in 2007, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. That still lags the average of 18.8 percent for OECD countries, and places Greece behind new European Union member states such as Poland and Hungary.

The Greek broadband gap has been blamed on high prices for personal computers and Web connections and the lack of Internet and PC education in schools. Successive governments have also failed to make Internet usage relevant to the wider public. In May 2006, European Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding said Greece trailed Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Croatia and Egypt in providing government services over the Internet.

Financing for the plans will come from the Greek budget, European Union resources and the private sector, Hatzidakis said, without providing details. Building the new infrastructure will aid Greece’s ambitions to be an international communications hub, he said.

Greece’s geographic position may enable it to be a data transport point between Europe and the Middle East and Asia.

Chances are that you just found this page on my blog by doing a search on "When is Verizon FIOS going to be available in my area?", or "How long do I have to wait for FiOS?" or "When can I get Verizon FiOS?" or "I'm still waiting for Verizon FiOS" or "Can I get Verizon Fiber Optic Internet Service At My Address?" or something similar.

FiOS is still not available where I live. With all the buzz about Internet2 and Web 2.0, I sure wish they would get moving, so I don't miss out on all the fun. Even the squirrels around here are waiting for FiOS (see why).

FiOS is still not available to the majority of Verizon customers. Fiber-optic service can provide very high-speed, broadband Internet connectivity, traditional voice phone service and television programming, all over the same cable.

While Verizon won't be offering anything close to the maximum possible speeds over their FiOS network (especially to residential customers), I've wondered what the theoretical maximum speed might be. Fiber-optic Wide Area Networks (WANs) are currently capable of speeds measured in Gigabits per second (1 Gigabit = 1 Billion bits). I believe the fastest service Verizon currently offers to residential FiOS customers is a paltry asymmetrical rate of 30 Megabits per second downstream, and 5 Megabits per second upstream (1 Megabit = 1 Million bits). Of course, how much can you actually eat? How much is too much?

The fastest optical circuits currently deployed commercially are SONET OC-768 circuits that can carry almost 40 Gigabits/sec. There is a SONET OC-3072 standard, not currently implemented, which would provide almost 160 Gigabits/sec of bandwidth !!! At those speeds, I think the telephone poles may ignite.

For readers unfamiliar with Verizon, it is a huge telecommunications company in the United States that provides land-line and wireless phone, Internet and "cable" television service. The silly name Verizon rhymes with "horizon", rather than being pronounced something like "Very-Zone". I've always thought it was a real big mistake for such a large  organization (made up of the former "Baby Bells" or RBOCs (Regional Bell Operating Companies) and other regional phone companies, that have been around as long as they have, to choose a nonsense name that many people did not even know how to pronounce properly. Alexander Graham Bell must be spinning in his grave.  Verizon Communications includes the former Bell Atlantic companies (New Jersey Bell, Bell Telephone of Pennsylvania, Diamond State Telephone and the four Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Companies (C&P (District of Columbia), C&P Maryland, C&P Virginia, C&P West Virginia), as well as the former NYNEX (New York & New England Telephone), GTE and MCI companies. How's that for corporate mergers! Verizon operates in much of the United States and has more than a quarter-million employees. You'd think a company with that much money could come up with a more innovative corporate logo than this...

Reminds me of an old riddle... What's black and white and red all over? (No, it's not a sunburned penguin.) As bad as Verizon's logo is, it doesn't hold a candle to the logo of the former Lucent Technologies, known widely in IT and telecom circles as "The Flaming *******" (Sorry, this is a family blog. You'll have to use your imagination). I wonder if the same person designed both of these logos. Maybe Alcatel bought Lucent just so they could get rid of this horrific logo...

But I digress.

If you are still served by Verizon's old copper "POTS" phone lines (they're so 20th century), and you're trying to find out when FiOS service will be available in your area, good luck. It's easier to get the private phone number of the President of the United States, than it is to pry that information out of Verizon. Then again, perhaps even Verizon doesn't know the answer.

So, I had an idea... Are you a Verizon customer that already has FiOS service available in your neighborhood (regardless of whether you personally subscribe to it) , or have you learned that it's coming by a particular date? If so, post your information as a comment here, and I'll organize the comments into a searchable file.

Please provide the following information; Your state, your city or town, your area code + the first three digits of your phone number, and the date FiOS became available or will be available, plus any pertinent comments, such as "My entire town now has FiOS service", or "Only the South end of town currently has FiOS", or "It's only currently available in the downtown area".

If enough people submit info, I might even create a website with the information.

Seriously. If there is cable access at Maple Lake I'm there this summer for a minimum of six weeks. But I need to be able to work and communicate with people I know online, even if it is a drive by posting and a few photos taken that day somewhere really cool in the Haliburton Highlands including at/on our Lake.

We bought our first boat this summer past and I cannot waitto use it this summer '08. It's a red canoe that spouse say is the kind that tips (easily). He tells me this after he's gone to a number of Canadian Tire Stores and it is a solid trip to do some shopping from Maple Lake to any Canadian Tire. After he and my son bought it they carted it home on our sedan--wish I had gotten a photo, I think I was in the water when they came in and I didn't really see them. At $600 it was marked down from $800, I believe. I was astounded at how much a person could spend on a good canoe but  some of them are lush, glorious wooden beauties and they look totally worth it. Since ours is Coleman, it isn't lush but it is ours which counts more.  

Haliburton County - Haliburton Connect Community Broadband Network
October 10, 2007 W3 Connex Completes Haliburton Connect Fiber Optic Broadband Network

W3 Connex Inc. (W3) is pleased to announce the completion of the last phase of the broadband fiber optics network build into Haliburton County utilizing the abandoned railway corridor from Lindsay to Haliburton. The company is now providing high speed/high bandwidth services to all of the public sector partners in the Haliburton Connects consortium including Haliburton County, Haliburton Highlands Health services, Trillium Lakelands District School board and Sir Sandford Fleming College. The completed fiber network also provides a high capacity feed into the W3 wireless network where the first phase was completed earlier this year providing service to a number of municipal community locations in the County as well as to a few residential and commercial customers.

Morning Haze Lifting, Head Lake, Haliburton

Photo by my spouse (who "thinks" that is what this^^^ lake is. ) He has a lovely mid- morning time of day for the setting.  The fog is just about burned off and the sun is peeking out. I like it lots. Almost all the contemporary shots of Maple Lake are taken by me but if I use a shot of my spouse's, I'll credit it.

Here's what he had to say:  Broadband: What’s All the Fuss About?  http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/BroadBand%20Fuss.pdf

Contact: Joy van Helvert

At a related ITU workshop on this topic on Rauno Granath, Nokia’s Director of New Growth Markets and Networks, predicted that the worldwide number of subscribers to mobile telephony will reach 4 billion by 2010, and about 80 per cent the growth will come from lower income, emerging markets.

How will the Evolution of business models evolve to reach low-income consumers? This huge rowth in worldwide mobile subscribers means new business models must be created to meet the needs of low-income subscribers in emerging markets. The illustration below is an interesting way to look at it.

Source: "Voice services in new growth markets," presentation by Rauno Granath, Nokia.

The paper also has a good number of illustrations, tables and data.

Here's a (story) which tells about the internal struggles in India about WiMAX standards. However the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the body representing all GSM operators, has cited compatibility / interference issues and wants more time before agreeing to the proposed standards.

The global WiMax Forum has sought the Indian government's support in its endeavour towards getting the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to include WiMax as part of International Mobile Communications - 2000 (IMT-2000) standards.

The forum has asked the Department of Telecom (DoT) and the Wireless and Planning Wing to support its cause in the upcoming ITU meet in Kyoto, Japan. Indian cellular operators have, however, opposed the move and said that the DoT must not support the forum's proposal until further details such as compatibility and interference issues with regard to WiMax are available.

IMT-2000 is the global standard for third generation (3G) wireless communications as defined by the International Telecommunication Union. It has defined five standards which are followed globally for 3G services. In January 2007, a proposed sixth standard (WiMax) was submitted into ITU by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and supported by the WiMax Forum.

Despite opposition from many global telecom and network majors, it is anticipated that WiMax will be approved as an IMT-2000 technology by 2007-end. The forum has been pushing for the inclusion of WiMax services under the IMT-2000 and has said that this would 'offer significant benefits' to the mobile community by assuring the global delivery of Wireless Broadband Internet services at the lowest cost.

"There is a solid basis therefore, to support the argument that mobile WiMax should be included within the IMT family of radio interface technologies. Embracing this approach will ensure that operators have access to the wireless technologies necessary to meet their long-term capacity and business plan requirements," the global WiMax Forum said.

Another reason cited by the Forum for inclusion of WiMax in the IMT-2000 family is that operators in developing countries are also interested in deploying broadband solutions based upon mobile WiMax. The Forum has added that the move will offer operators, especially in developing countries, an additional migration path to consider as they strive to add network capabilities to support a larger suite of value-added broadband services.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the body representing all GSM operators has told the DoT that "before any such proposal for the inclusion of WiMAX as a member of IMT-2000 family can be taken up, it is imperative that the compatibility/interference issues are extensively studied…"

In fact, COAI has also submitted a detailed 10-point technical analysis on why the DoT must wait before supporting the WiMAX forum's proposal. The COAI has also accused the Forum of not following the ITU established process and providing the necessary details to conduct studies.

"In the absence of specific details and values on important technological parameters, it will not be possible to conduct compatibility and interference studies necessary for equipment and handset designs by international standardisation organisations and vendors," the COAI added.

The Orange SPV M3100resemble much of VarioII in an aesthetic sense. It consists of a unique curved C-shaped border and has a silver colour at the back. The gadget is a little bulky when compared to other standard mobiles, but this also imparts a robust and sturdy feel to the Orange SPV M3100. The two sides of the handset when held in hand and used in portrait mode, falls flat neatly in the hands.

The scroll wheel makes navigation easy and the Menu is selected with the help of a touch sensitive screen. To operate the screen, a stylish stylus is provided with the handset of Orange SPV M3100. To make office work easy, the handset also comes with a small QWERTY keypad to help emails, sms, or inputs in the Microsoft word document.

The keypad of this gadget is pretty large and does not pose a problem while typing. The keys are so responsive that a slight touch is also effective. When the screen of Orange SPV M3100flipped into landscape mode, the mobile suits itself to emails and web devices.

The handset is 3G enabled. Thus, it offers the possibility of video calls and broadband-speed internet access via 3G's HSDPA. Further, it also offers SKYPE calls. The Orange SPV M3100is empowered with Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0. Outlook.

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And it does not stop there. DISH Network recently announced its plans of providing mobile satellite television programming or MobileDISH system. The new service will allow subscribers to enjoy DISH Network at the comfort of their vehicles, by simply attaching a mobile DISH Network antenna on the vehicle's roof. Families who enjoy being on the road have another reason to do so. They could now access almost 100 channels without any interruption. Not only that but even at high speed, the channels remained clear and uninterrupted. You can now enjoy long drives even with passengers who get bored easily. Just turn on your DISH Network television and watch your passengers settle down immediately.

Aside from the new MobileDISH Network service, the company also hopes to provide its millions of customers with bundled services. With its solid reputation of providing excellent digital services, DISH Network has entered into a partnership with one of the leading provider of internet service, WildBlue. This new internet-bundled service will provide subscribers high speed access to the internet and still enjoy amazing television programming. Residents living in rural areas will now have a chance to enjoy broadband internet access from their satellite television programming service provider.

The WildBlue-bundled plan will be available by March 2007 and would feature three levels of connection speeds ranging from 128kbps to 256kbps. Subscribers can now easily download their favorite music and videos as well as communicate with their friends and families via internet. Aside from the high connection speed, subscribers will also be given several email addresses they can use as well as protection from spam and computer virus. Information will be more readily available, now at a simple click of the mouse.

The best thing about the new internet service is its affordability. Since the service is bundled with your regular satellite subscription plan, you will only have to pay a very low additional amount. You will not need to remember separate account numbers, due dates and hotline numbers with DISH Network. From installation to maintenance, all services would be done by professionals and subscribers are assured of 100% customer satisfaction.

The future of DISH Network holds many more surprises. Subscribers can expect further developments which would be easily integrated into the present features being offered. DISH Network's plans to diversify and enter into more partnerships with trusted names are already in motion. Its one goal of meeting all the consumers' future demands and needs is just within reach.

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Written by David Johnson. Find the latest information on Satellite Dish TV

The capacity contract will allow Telenor to use fibre-optic cable pairs and associated co-location facilities along Multinet Pakistan's national long haul transmission network, known locally as Project Ittehad. The service contract entails maintenance and associated services from Multinet for the duration of 20 years. Project Ittehad is a 4,100 km fibre-optic backbone connecting 107 cities across Pakistan, the first backbone project to be launched after the state-owned carrier Pakistan Telecommunication Co Ltd's long haul network was completed in 1996. More on this here.

Telekom Malaysia has faced sluggish growth in its domestic market due to fixed-mobile substitution and VoIP offerings. However Telekom has finally become successful at the international front. In 2006 its Asian investments brought solid revenue and earnings contributions to its financials.

Telekom Malaysia had spent much of the late 1990s saddled with unprofitable investments in Africa but by 2004, it decided to switch its focus to Asia by acquiring a stake in Indonesian mobile operator, Excelcom. Having acquired a 49% stake in Spice, Telekom re-established itself in the Indian market at an opportune moment. It is doing business in many additional Asian countries: Indonesia (Excel), Bangladesh (Aktel), Cambodia (Casacom), SriLanka (Dialog), Singoapore (MobileOne). Telekom had announced creation of a separate group management team to overseas business development projects.

It is one of the companies to watch for as its current projects can position it for long-term success.

The paper addresses legal issues, policy issues and issues related to licensing and regulation of the service. Even though comments are inivited on this paper I doubt that anyone at PTA is eagerly waiting for the comments.  But even if the fate of our input is unclear this is no reason to not participate in the process. This may be the best time to provide your input and feedback to VOIP policy. I suggest that all bloggers aggregate their reader comments on this topic and send to PTA - perhaps on paper, just in case PTA has difficulty using the complex technologies of e-mail or Internet.

Here are a few excerpts from the paper. The idea is to give you the flavor of what points are raised and options presented. One has to go through the paper to make sense of some of the points below.

There are four options to deal with the situation.
1. Liberalized option – all forms of IP Telephony service are legal with minimal regulation.
2. Incremental option – some forms of IP Telephony service are legal with significant conditions placed upon IP Telephony entrants.
3. Consultation (largely “wait and see”) – a public consultation is underway to seek opinions before definitive rules on IP Telephony are issued;
4. Prohibition – IP Telephony is illegal except for use in the core network i.e. long distance and international networks which almost all LDI operators have deployed but it does not touch the customer.

Comments are invited on
i) Conclusion that option3 and option 4 are not viable anymore
ii) Conclusion that VoB will catalyze the growth of Broadband.

Comments are invited on
i) Conclusion that telecom sector in Pakistan has already started migration from circuit switching to packet switching
ii) Conclusion that the boundary between VOIP and gray traffic is not clearly defined
iii) Conclusion that regulation of IP Telephony will not push the prices further down

Comments are invited on
i) Conclusion that Incremental Approach is the right way to go.
ii) Proposal that IP Telephony offerings are placed under three categories
iii) Proposal that category 2 offerings are split into two types i.e. “IP IN” and “IP OUT”.
iv) Proposed recommendations for IP Telephony authorization.
v) Proposed amendment in Broadband/Internet Licenses