As India speeds through the information highway and speed- dials its miraculous growth story, the time to put more gear into the growth wheels has presented itself. If we want to sustain our momentum and to discover new vistas in the technological field then leveraging our expertise in IT and Telephoney and other related fields through a heady intermixture of technology to prepare unique products and solutions to hitherto unearthed problems should be the prime mission. VARIndia presents an understanding of this peculiar chance-collocation of strange-bedfellows.
Convergence in technology is the multidisciplinary integration of inhomogeneous methods, systems, views, knowledge areas and other disciplines of technology with the aim to reach an added value.
It is the synergistic combination of voice (and telephony features), data (and productivity applications) and video onto a single network. These previously separate technologies are now able to share resources and interact with each other creating new efficiencies
Technological Convergence, to simply put, is the phenomena of a group of technologies developed for one use being utilized in many different contexts. This has happened mostly in the field of military technology as well as most types of machine tools and now silicon chips. The machine tool industry was developed for use in armories, and then formed the basis of the American Industrial Revolution. The machines that Colt used to manufacture the first machine guns were also used to make the first sewing machines.
Media Convergence fine-tuning the convergence extravaganza Convergence Technology, as we understand it today, hinges principally on Convergence of media. Convergence of media occurs when multiple products come together to form one product with the advantages of all of them. PlayStation 2 is not only a games console, but also a CD player, DVD player and Internet connector. Mobile phones are another good example, in that they increasingly incorporate digital cameras, MP3 players, camcorders, voice recorders, and other devices.
While for the consumer it means more features in less space, for the media conglomerates it means remaining competitive in the struggle for market dominance. The announcement of a new cell phone that incorporates iTunes music songs is a small model of media convergence in consumer electronics.
However, convergence can have its downside. As single devices address a wide spectrum of consumer needs, breakdowns and problems become more likely, and more disruptive to the consumer. The greater the degree of convergence in a device, the more vulnerable consumers are to the failure of that device and face more complex user-interfaces.
Regardless, an ever-wider range of technologies are being converged into single multipurpose devices.
Since technology has evolved in the past ten years or so, companies are beginning to converge technologies to create demand for new products. This would include phone companies integrating 3G on their phones. Television itself is a technology which has been around for a long time, now being converged with the mobile phone industry. Phone calls are also being made with the use of personal computers. Converging technologies seems to be squashing many types of demanded technologies into one. Mobile phones are becoming manufactured to not only carry out phone calls, text messages, but also hold images, videos, music, television, camera, and multimedia of all types. A notable example of technological convergences is the iPhone.
‘Multi-play’ powering the bandwagon…
Multi-play is the provision of different telecommunication services, such as Broadband Internet access, television, telephone, and mobile phone service, by organisations that traditionally offered one or two of these services. A dual play is the high-speed Internet (ADSL) and telephone service over a single broadband connection in the case of phone companies, or high-speed Internet (cablemodem) and TV service over a single broadband connection in the case of cable TV companies.
The technological hotchpotch also concerns the underlying communication infrastructure. An example of this is a triple play service, where communication services are packaged allowing consumers to purchase TV, internet and telephony in one subscription. A quadruple play service combines the triple play service of broadband Internet access, television and telephone with wireless service provisions .
Given advancements in WiMAX and other leading edge technologies, it has become feasible to transfer information over a wireless link at combinations of speeds, distances and non line of sight conditions is rapidly improving. The days are not far off when one need not be connected by a wire to anything, even while at home.
One most interesting aspect of the quadruple play is not only the long awaited broadband convergence but also the players involved. Starting from the largest global service providers to whom we connect today via wires and cables to the smallest of startup service providers are interested. The opportunities it presents for the big three telecom services - telephony, cable television and wireless –are immense.It could combine the size of their respective industries.
The next level of service might be the integration of RFID into the quadruple play which will add the capability for home equipment to communicate to the outside world and schedule maintenance on its own. The recent merger of NTL and Virgin Mobile will result in a company offering a quadruple play of Cable Television, Broadband Internet, Home Telephone and Mobile Telephones.
Fixed Mobile Convergence the talk of the town
The latest trend in this fusion drama is the fixed and mobile telephony convergence (FMC). The aim is to provide both services with a single phone, which could switch between networks ad hoc. One example of this convergence is Nokia handset offered by Bharati Telecom via a Bluetooth connection. Other examples are provided in France with Wi-Fi connectivity around the base station, by the Beautiful Phone from Neuf Cegetel by the means of a QTek 8300 or Home Zone from Wanadoo with a Nokia handset.
The Generic Access Network is a standard roaming system between WLANs and WWANs. Among the first handsets capable of this switching are the Nokia E series.Six companies, British Telecom, NTT, Rogers Wireless, Brasil Telecom, Korea Telecom and Swisscom have formed the Fixed-Mobile Convergence Alliance with the purpose to encourage the seamless integration of mobile and fixed-line telephone services.
India converged
India is fast becoming an attractive destination for global R&D Investments, due to the large pool of qualified scientists and engineers and the excellent educational and R&D infrastructure, coupled with regulated patent regime. Currently over 150 MNC’s have captive R&D centres in India, besides a host of government and privately funded R&D organizations. The status of convergence technology in India in terms of applications and technologies applicable for the convergence adoption such as VOIP, Video and Web conferencing in Industries, education, research activities, patents filed in the country, major industry forums, profiles of major R&D centers & Investments, is fast picking up. The government policies which have a direct or indirect bearing on the individual technologies also seem to be encouraging. And the annual Convergence India summits are a welcome step in that direction.
Convergence India 2007
The 15th convergence 2007, held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, showcased the rich promises of technology convergence. Leading companies and latest technologies were assembled here from around the world. The conference created a forum where industry leaders, technocrats, investors, Gover
nment officials could discuss issues of relevance on a common platform. It offers unmatched opportunities to the delegates to be a part of the global forum and share insights and case studies of the industry Major players like Huawei telecommunications India Co.Pvt.Ltd, UTStarcom, Lucent Technologies, Prima Telecom Limited, DiviNet Access Technologies Ltd. profiled in the event
Apart from inviting major international players who deal with converged technology products, services and innovative technological themes, the technological fair discusses significant themes like: “Broadband Revolution & Rural Connectivity… The ICT Era”, “Next Gen Telecom etc.”
The year 2007 is touted to be the year of ICT - rural connectivity, broadband, 3G, enterprise and entertainment bulge, mobile content, e-governance, increase in PC penetration, Information Security and telemedicine etc. It would be the year when Indian telephone density would go up to 25 per cent from 12 per cent now - adding 150 million telephones between March 2006 and December 2007. It is also the year when the central government expects its e-governance set up to be on the road to completion. In this context, also Convergence India 2007 holds added significance.
Through the vendor’s lense
A cursory look at the above statistics reveals that as the convergence fever sweeps over India, it simultaneously unfolds a treasure of opportunity for the vendors. The much awaited IP-TV, the feature loaded handheld tiny wonders-the mobile phones and scores of hybrid products and conglomerated themes are lurking on the multi-billion dollar Indian market landscape. Considering the market size and the purse rich great Indian middleclass and its hunger for feature rich, value-added devices it seems the spin-offs of the convergence potentials would send major players like Huawei Telecommunications India Co. Pvt. Ltd, UTStarcom, Lucent Technologies, Prima Telecom Limited, DiviNet Access Technologies Ltd, Infenion etc. over the hedge.
To conclude, Technology Convergence presents a unique chance for the vendors and the govt. to apply the balm of technology to better life all around.
Convergence: Next Big Thing of Tomorrow’s India :By- hakil Ahmed (centre) Minister of State for Communications & IT, Dept. of IT, Govt. of India, inaugurating Convergence India’07 in New Delhi
