Page 43 - ITU Kaleidoscope 2016

ICTs for a Sustainable World

3. Mobile phones (cellular technology) and Wireless Act, which has become tougher to
get, post 26/11 terrorist attack in Mumbai (India).
We interacted with the equipment providers, service
operators, users (fishermen) and the regulators to Major challenges with DTH type of communication:
understand the science behind it, ease of use, affordability, - Satellite based DTH Service, could be an
constraints, range it can be relayed to, cost of the equipment alternative, but transmission is only one way and
and the operational costs. Brief analysis is as below: in narrow band – which is costly.
- In Ku Band Antenna position stabilization at sea is
3.1 Wireless set / Ultra or Very High Frequency a big challenge.
(U/VHF) Transceivers
3.3 Mobile phones (cellular technology)
A few big fishermen use the VHF/UHF portable two-way
radio handsets (also called Walkie – Talkie). It is a type of As per Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)
radio communication in VHF frequency band (operating in report in Jan 2015, India has a tele-density of 76%, with the
30 MHz to 300 MHz frequency band). It requires license total subscriber base reaching 957.61 million. About half
from the Ministry of Communication to own and operate the population (580 million Indians) will be online by 2018,
maritime mobile communication and electronic including people from all age groups, women and the rural
navigational equipment on designated Maritime frequencies population.
on board Indian ships or boats. The walkie-talkie, generally
works in a radius of 32-35 km from the communication
towers which relay the signals. Actual distance range Two popular cellular technologies are: Global System for
available is subject to the terrain conditions. The major Mobile communications (GSM) and Code Division
drawback of this technology is: generally one-way Multiple Access (CDMA). GSM is the most common
communication (at a time), need for the license, specific networking standard for mobile phones in the world,
equipment, unlicensed operators, can cause signal whereas CDMA typically has the best sound quality and
interference to licensed stations, mainly voice and limited data service. General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) is an
text and no graphics/image. enhancement to GSM networks and gives data rates
between 30 Kbps and 90 Kbps.
3.2 Satellite based (Satellite phones and Direct To
Home (DTH))
Mobile phone services are matured and multiple telecom
service providers provide the services at an affordable
Satellite phones, are the mobile phone that connects to geo- price. Equipment accessories (mobile handsets) and
stationary satellites 500 to 1,000 miles above the earth. It software (mobile Apps) ecosystem is also well established.
needs a direct line of sight to the satellite. Sat phones are The industry is young and the technology is growing at a
rarely affected by violent storms. The calls originated from very high speed, enabling more computing, performance
the sat phone, route through multiple satellites, before and features at highly reduced price. Hence, this seems to
connecting to the appropriate ground station, which then be the best fit technique to extend the communication link
transfers the call to the public voice network or Internet. in the deep sea. Since it is already available on the land,
Major challenges with satellite phones extending the network to the sea could provide a seamless
- High call cost ($2 to $15 per minute). access. It provides both voice and data network and hence
- License is required under Telegraph Act, IT Act many more services can be developed and offered. This
will also have no learning curve and would also benefit the
existing investment in the people (to support the network,
the customer care, would offer the services at retail/rural
level, service center), the handsets, etc.

This would also mean that all the research and development
activities happening in the mobile arena (such as Android
apps, services like mKRISHI Fisheries, What’s App, etc.)
can also be easily extended.

The major challenges are the high capital expenditure
involved in installing the towers and offer the signal
towards the sea. Telecom operators do not see a business in
“seeing towards the sea” as Return On Investment (ROI) is
challenging,

Though business model was a challenge but the need was
Figure 3. popular modes of the ICT techniques
critical .we approached various telecom (mobile) operators

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