KL to be ‘wireless’ city from mid 2008
Kuala Lumpur is going to become a ‘wireless city with free wireless internet coverage for two years. The Wi-Fi facility will make it possible for 80 percent of the federal capital
News
Spain’s eGovernment Portal now offers access to 565 national, regional and local public services
www.060.es is the first portal to give unified electronic access to Spain’s public services. The new version of the portal will now provide 565 services, which can be viewable from the website.
ITU and European Commission to create investment environment for ICT
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has entered into an agreement with the European Commission (EC) for massive investment in ICT enabled applications. EC has allocated Euro 8 million grant from the European Development Fund, while ITU will grant USD 500 000 fund from its own resources.
ADB provides US$ 21 million to develop ICT in South Asia
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is granting &21.2 million for the development of ICT in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal by improving the availability of affordable broadband Internet connections.
Bulgaria lauches national e-Health portal
The Bulgarian Government has launched a national e-Health portal in partnership with “Information Technologies in the Healthcare System”.
UN endorses Nigeria
The electronic governance model of Nigeria has been endorsed by the United Nations (UN). According to UN, electronic version of e-Governance model is a viable option for successful deployment of e-Government services across the world.
Indian Govt. offers traffic alerts via SMS to Delhiites
Soon, citizens of Delhi will get traffic alerts on their mobile phones via SMS. The Delhi Government is planning to install a hi-tech traffic information system (TIS), which will give alerts about traffic jams and help them in avoiding jams.
ADB funds to boost e-governance in Assam (India)
Finally, the Asian Development Bank has approved US $500,000 fund for Indian Government for deploying innovative information and communications technology in order to support e-Governance services in Assam.
Cellphone net access 14 times more than broadband in India
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) reported that the use of Internet through mobile phones is 14 times more than broadband. In India, people are using their mobile phones to log-on to the Internet, which is now increased from 16 million in 2006 to 38 million in 2007.
Department of Telecom (GoI) may not increase spectrum fee
The Department of Telecom may not increase the spectrum fee beyond the prescribed INR 1,651 crore for an all-India licence as it feels mobile tariffs could go up if operators have to pay higher charges. The Government had kept the fee for an all-India license at INR 1,651 crore, which comes bundled with start-up spectrum, so that operators could roll out services faster and at affordable prices. This objective has not been accomplished as most of the rural areas are yet to get connected.
