Articles published in 1999
Articles published in 1999
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Internet phone and Call Back threatens Nepali Telecom
By Rajib Subba.
Publication date 13 January 1999. Cyber Post, The Kathmandu Post.
Nearly 60% of NTC's (Nepal Telecommunications Corporation) revenue comes from ISTD
services. In fiscal year 2054/55, NTC earned nearly 15 million US dollars from
international circuits. The arrangement with foreign telecom companies is that, if a
person makes a call, say, to the US from Nepal, NTC charges 120 rupees per minute and pays
US 1 dollar per minute to AT&T. Similarly AT&T also pays US 1 dollar per minute if
the call originates in the US and bound for Nepal. In the international calls the
arrangement is made such that all the parties, involved to make possible to get the call
through, share the phone charge.
The call difference between out going calls and incoming calls from the international
gateway of NTC is worth noting. Excluding out going calls to India, the ratio between out
going calls and incoming calls is about 1:3. If this trend continues then NTC will be in
big trouble.
Telephone business across the Internet will take 36 percent of the international call
market by 2003 AD, according to a report by Analysys, a British telecommunications
strategy consultancy. By 2000 AD, Internet telephone traffic will overtake fixed network
traffic. Core revenues and profits of telephone operators are getting vulnerable and are
at risk.
The threat has taken telecom operators to the wall. Big operators such as AT&T,
Deutsche Telekom, British Telecommunications, and France Telecom are not standing idly by
as their traditional markets are attacked. The first reaction of big operators in the
United States was to seek to ban on Net phone but the Federal Communications Commission
refused. Now many of them are already in it which shows no one can stop technology.
What is Internet phone? Internet phone, like a standard telephone, lets you send your
voice anywhere in the world. The telephone network carries your voice as an analog signal
over copper wires whereas your voice is transformed into packets of digital data when you
use a Net phone. Then the packets are sent over any Internet Protocol (IP) network, such
as the public Internet. On the other end the packets are reassembled into one voice
stream.
Traditional phone networks guarantee dedicated connection between calling and called
parties with high-quality sound. But Net phones, on the other hand, send their digital
packets over the same network which is also used to transmit lots of other data, such as
email.
Codecs, compression/decompression algorithms, is used in data communication to convert
data into smallest possible form so that it could travel faster but contributes to the
poor sound quality of Net calls as packets lose data during compression and decompression
making voices sound weak.
Till two years back Net phones made by different companies could not talk to one another
due to lack of common standard. Seeing this the International Telecommunication Union
created the H.323 standard in 1996, a specification that can make a Net phone work with
any other H.323-compliant applications.
You just need a PC (with all the necessary stuffs like Internet connection, modem, mic,
speaker etc) and software. Internet telephony makes a personal computer to transmit phone
calls to other personal computers. Now Internet telephone providers can offer service to
people who don't even own personal computers.
The Net phone companies are targeting the markets where ISTD calls are expensive. Some of
the companies offer a prepaid calling cards to the subscriber. The user then can dial the
company to enter a code. The call is dialed from a regular telephone, which connects to a
local Internet service provider using Internet telephony. The service provider converts
the voice into digital data packets, which are sent across the world to the nearest
Internet service provider in the destination city. The digital data is then converted back
to analog voice and is delivered by the local phone network.
This can mean significant cost savings. The standard cost of a call from the United States
to Nepal costs $1, but this is slashed to between 10 cents and 40 cents by the Internet
phone. Till now, as the Internet in Nepal is pretty expensive the Net phone seems to be a
lesser threat than call back system.
A call to the US via call back service provider will cost you not more than 35 cents per
minute. That means it will cost you about Rs. 25 per minute. The reason is that, in call
back system most of the incoming calls come through cheaper circuits.
What is call back system? Call back is actually call-reorigination (CR), that means the
call you are making originates not at your line but some where else. A subscriber of this
service gets a private telephone number to call the service provider, basically in the US.
The user is expected to provide a telephone number at his disposal which he uses for
international calls. This number is called trigger number.
When the user wants to make a international call, first he makes a international call to
the number of the CR service provider and lets the ring goes for couple of times and hangs
up. The most interesting part of this calling and hanging after few rings is that no ISTD
charge is paid to the PSTN service provider like NTC. Because the call by the user to the
telephone number at the US is never answered by anyone. The machine knows which trigger
number to call when a particular line begins to ring. So the caller who is called from a
trigger number will get a call from the machine immediately. After picking the phone the
user gets a dial tone, then the user can make a call anywhere in the world.
Both of the system being simple services no one wants to talk about it as concerned
authorities may not approve. It is of course an excellent way to cut down the
communication costs while it's use "illegally" may be debatable. There is not
legal provision for or against the system in Nepal. But while using services like call
back, call goes through the wires of NTC making it's circuit in-efficient. And how far is
it right to use others' property without paying a single paisa?
It is suggested that different systems like prepaid calling card, home country direct etc
should be introduced. But the most effective way to do so is to lower the international
tariff.
IT in '98: Not a bad year after all.
By Rajib Subba
Publication date 21 January 1999. Cyber Post, The Kathmandu Post
Another year gone by. More than two decades have passed since first computer entered
Nepal. Since then Nepal is not an out-caste among the IT community. Though the rise of IT
(in Nepal) may have been as difficult as ballooning around the globe, life in Nepal is not
same sine Internet was introduced five years back. There may be ups and downs all these
years but lets see what transpired in 1998.
Foreign Investment: Last year was the best year in terms of foreign
investment as two ventures, Pilgrim Software and Geospatial, started to operate in Nepal.
Pilgrim’s corporate headquarters is in Tampa, Florida (USA), out of the Silicon
valley. Nepal office, Pilgrim Asia, is the Asian Headquarters. The total investment, here,
is around a quarter million US dollars. Currently the Kathmandu site is involved with
product design, development, quality assurance and technical writing. Geospatial Systems,
a joint venture of Nepal-Japan, specializes in Geographical Information System (GIS)
related large scale production of digital maps. The major promoter of the company is
Nukanihon Air Services.
The copyrights Act: Although this Act came into effect in the last days
of 1997 but created much hype in the first half of 1998. For the first time in Nepali IT
history software is being considered a creative work and subject to copyrights protection.
This was made possible by amending the copyrights Act 2022 B. S. by the amendment Act 2054
B. S.
Protection of intellectual property like software by the law will certainly help the local
software industry to prosper and will also ensure that Nepali software companies get
competitive in the global market. Budget 1998: “Programs attractive to maximum of
private sector investment will be introduced particularly on those items that have
comparative advantages such as sugar cane, seeds, bee, fish........niger seeds(Jhusetil),
ginger, cardamom, dry ginger and computer software.” Proposed, the then, Finance
Minister Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat in the budget for fiscal year 2055/56.
Computer software has already managed to sneak into national agenda. Undoubtedly, the
announcement to include computer software among the list of goods to get special attention
from the government for the export, is encouraging for IT industry. The proposition to
include computer software as export material is surely a welcome step for the IT sectors.
IT park project got Rs.2.5 million (50% less than previously year) out of which 1.4
million is appropriated for salaries. The budget has provision to cut 5 percent taxes in
computer and spare parts, which has nominal impact.
VAT on IT: Valuse Added Tax has been implimentated in computer Hardware,
Data communication (Internet/Email), IT publication and profit making IT training bodies.
Software development, software sales and distribution and non-profit making training
bodies are exempted from VAT. Later VAT on foreign printed books has been withdrawn.
Software development, sales and distribution including services may have been exempted
from VAT but software languages and development tools aren’t. No further infomation
is available. There is lack of ability to define the term software.
Telco Regulatory body established: Telecommunication Act of 1997 established a regulatory
body namely Nepal Telecommunication Authority, NTA, to promote and regulate
telecommunication services in Nepal. The authority issue licenses to the operators, set
quality standards for the equipment and services, monitor and ensure quality of services
etc.
Telco liberalized: This year’s biggest achievement is the
de-regulation of some of the telecommunation services in Nepal. The government finally
opened up the VSAT, including 11other telecom services, to the private sector. The
de-regularized 12 telecom services are - VSAT (Network Provider and User), Audio
Conferencing, Pay phone, Pre-Paid Calling Card, Local Data Network, Radio Paging Network
and Trunk Mobile Radio, Internet, Email, Audio Text Voice Mail, Video Text, Fax Mail.
High level IT Committee: The National Planning Commission has created a
National IT Development Working Committee to primarily do the status assessment of the
information technology in the country and also the propose a National IT Master Plan to
the government. This committee formed under the chairmanship of Dr. Prithivi Raj Ligal,
Vice Chairman, National Planning Commission, includes members from different sectors of IT
in Nepal. Coming days will be testing time for this committee.
Info-sharing:The trend of using Internet and World Wide Web for
information exchange has been grown tremendously in 1998. Many organizations have started
to have their presence on the Web. ICIMOD & Nepal Net, World Bank, CAN, Minstry of
Home are some of the examples. The British Council became the first fully automated
library in Nepal and also first to use bar-codes for all transactions.
Nepal Net is one of the most prominenet Web based information exchange forum. With the aim
of sharing information on sustainable development in Nepal an electronic network was
established among thirty organizations. The basic medium of information exchange is
Internet.
NCC dissolved: National Computer Centre, one of the oldest IT related
bodies, was dissloved in January last year and again revived after much protest from all
the sectors of IT field but eventually after few months it went down in the Nepali IT
history forever.
The main reason of its extinction, which many of the NCC stalwarts will also agree, was
the lack of vision. Computer education: Few years back computer subject was alien in the
schools. For the first time in 1998, more than 40 computer Engineers were graduated from
the two Universities of Nepal. In addition, the numebr of school children who are studying
computer and people who are getting computer training are increasing but needs more
attention as the percentage of student going for technical education other than science
education is just six in Nepal.
IT publications: 1998 was the year for IT publications in true sense. Two
of the magazines are foreign collaborated; PC World Nepal and PC Quest Nepal.
This year Internet magazine, Cyber Nepal< http://www.nepalonline.net/cybernepal>, is
also started. This magazine covers film industry , entertainment and music.
Attacks on Telco towers/repeaters: The activities of destroying the
telephone towers and repeaters are intesified in 1998. Due to this there is uncountable
economic loss. The distruction have occurred at different parts of the country like Jal
Bhanjyang, Saunepani, Jajarkot, Madanbas etc. These vital installations should be safe
guarded so that development process never stops. The ecomonic development gets hampered if
such links are destroyed.
Recession in IT?: Nepal Rastra Bank data shows that computer hardware
import is low in 1997-98 than previous year. In 1996-97, total import was NRs 485.4
Million where as in 1997-98, it was NRs 413.1 Million. Further, in the first quarter of
current fiscal year 1998-99, the total import is NRs 146.3 Million where as the import was
NRs 172.7 Million for the same period in 1997-98. Which shows there is a recession in the
industry. Of course the recession may be due to the declining of re-exports of computers
to India due to lesser import duty these days.
Software/Hardware/Telco: Though Windows 98 was introduced in the later half of 1998,
Windows 95 is getting popular. Most of the old computers are still happy with Windows 3.1.
In coming days we will be seeing computers with either 3.1 or 98. The popularity gained by
Linux is surprising. The hardware price has gone down but remained stable. The use of
colour monitor and CD ROM has increased among the users. The availability of latest Chips
like Celeron and Xeon in the market shows that in Nepal IT technolgy cann’t stay
late. The usage of Internet/Email has risen up.
After NTC and Civil Aviation, B. P. Koirala Hospital at Dharan became the new VSAT user.
NTC became 100 percent digital. Telemedicine was re-introduced.
Conclusion: The country where computer entered not for research or for
Universities/Schools but for counting the number of heads, today, boost to have the latest
technology at least in IT. Looking back, now, we can say that we have come far away and
1998 was not a bad year after all.
Thanks to them, Nepal is Y2K complaint!
There is a growing concern about the Year 2000 software problem, popularly known as
Y2K, all over the world. The potential threat is extremely disturbing. But somehow Y2k is
a blessing in disguise to Nepal.
Software programmers, in early 60s, were prompted to use only two characters while
representing year due to expensive memory resources. This shortsightedness of software
programmers, since then, forced software applications to be built with two-digit field for
the year dates: that is, the year 1999 has been stored in the computer as 99. Users with a
year date field of only two digits will not be able to operate, when the year date becomes
00 on January 1, 2000.
Over the years, these two-digit fields have been accumulating in software packages all
over the world. We are only about 300 days away from the D-day, when the slow and steady
accumulation of these two-digit data fields will cause the applications containing them to
perish. Unfortunately, this is not a harmless fiction. This is a real world.
It is evident that the Year 2000 problem will affect industrialized nations more severely
than those, which are less dependent upon computers. Countries that would bear maximum
impact of Y2K problem are the United States, Japan, Europe, Canada, Israel, South Korea,
Australia etc.
The scholars of the Hindu scriptures know that without the invention of zero by an ancient
Hindu sage, the civilization we live in would never have been what it is today. The zero,
friendliest number, which can go along with any other number from 1-9, now has become a
potential threat to the whole world! I am neither an agnostic nor a believer but the
thought of the old school seems to work even today.
Most of the IT professionals, including this scribe, always demanded more computerization
and more use of IT in Nepal from time to time. Now I realize why our decision-makers,
since a very long time, were reluctant to do so. They were sceptical as they knew that
science would bring catastrophe some time in the history of mankind. Thanks to them, Nepal
will have lesser impact of Y2K due to their far sightedness! Their love for isolation will
save us if not make us.
We are far from the industrialized nations in every aspect of computerization. This makes
our lives easier when Year 2000 dawns. We don't have to fear of blackouts, as this is a
regular phenomenon since a long time. We are already getting used to load shedding. The
water system is not computerized so no problem. Any way most of us are living with
shortage of water. We are used to bear the highest fault rate of telephone system. They
say when 2000 dawns telco may shutdown, so be it. We are used to it. Airplanes, which fly
over the sky of Nepal, are in turmoil since long time as shown by the crashes every year.
If they can't make trips in 2000, let it be. We have un-computerized buses. Thanks god, we
don't have Shinkansen. Most of our banks are still run by paper and pens not by computers.
There will be not much legal problems arising out of year 2000. At least we have no
nuclear bombs/reactors. So and so forth.
Look around you we have a better chances than all the computerized nations. We will
certainly have a better life once 2000 dawns! It is better to face smaller problems rather
than in the midst of catastrophe. So, be in Nepal and make your life secure. The rising
sun in Nagarkot at the start of the next millennium will, surely, make you happy.
Status of Y2K compliance in Nepal
A lot has been written about "Year 2000" computer software problem or
popularly known as Y2K bug and its effect all over the world. But a lot has been left
unsaid about its status and effects in Nepal. We are far from the industrialized nations
in every aspect of computerization. But the picture is not rosy as it seems. No matter
which way the problem manifests itself, the effects it will have on all the sectors of
Nepal is unimaginable. The threat is hanging over financial institutions, telco, aviation,
medical, power etc. Some of the companies in Nepal are already working on it where as some
companies are not even aware of it. Telco giant is in trouble: Nepal Telecommunications
Corporation, NTC, one of the giants of Nepal will suffer most due to heavy financial loss.
As the telecommunication equipments are very expensive fixing the glitches amounts in
millions leave alone replacing them.
NTC has already tested S12 (ALIC) for Y2K compliance and result were satisfactory but
supplier from Alcatel (Belgium) fears that year 2000 may not be recognized as leap year
and there will be no protection of billing tape against overwrites. The correction cost
will be about BEF 16,450,000.
The another S12 (J-Rack) is not Y2K compliant and incurring cost for fixing is about BEF
4,415,000 per node per termination. The EWSD (SR7.1) manufactured by Siemens is not Y2K
compliant but effects will be minor. Similarly control equipment (OCB 181) of E10B by
Alcatel has to be replaced in their switching system with new version OCB 283 with the
incurring loss of FF 5524000. If this is not done the billing and backup tapes prepared
before year 2000 can not be read after the change of the century.
The effect on C-DOT exchanges (RAX 256) is yet to be conformed but as these exchanges are
not used for the billing of the trunk calls the effect will be minimum. The Telex exchange
(768 lines) of Plessey is Y2K non-compliant due to which NTC is considering to connect all
the telex subscribers to telex exchange of British Telecom. The equipment used in
transmission are Y2K compliant where as assessment of power equipment are yet to come. The
software modules of the billing system like exchange data conversion, file in database,
reports on indexed data and system dates are all Y2K non-compliant. General hardware and
software which are not Y2K compliant are minor replacement for NTC.
Banks at work: All most all the major banks of Nepal have already assessed the impact of
Y2K. The LAN based networks basically have no problems with Y2K compliant hardware and
software. The financial loss of Rs 100 thousand per unit of PC is obvious where as to
change a major banking software may cost upto Rs 50 million. The foreign collaborated
banks are much more equipped to face the situation than the local banks. All of them have
dumped all the old computers and changed the non-compliant banking software. Nepal Bank
Ltd. is using Micro-banker which is used by seven branches of the valley for saving,
current, loans and fixed deposit is not Y2K compliant. The Day Book, which is designed on
COBOL and used in 4 branches in the valley, is also vulnerable due to absence of the
source code as it is not possible to make it Y2K compliant.
Many softwares have been developed by the bank for its requirement. Process is under way
to make softwares Y2K compliant developed in-house. The CITI bank telex is not been
upgraded as the supplier gave no response till date. Reuters and most of the fax are safe.
The BIOS and roll over check have been given due respect. As well as a tool has been used
to check Y2K compatibility. There are total 103 computers in Nepal Bank Ltd out of which
26 are fully compliant and 33 computers are to be replaced where as 44 computers will be
upgraded.
Aviation: One of the highest threat looms over the air of Nepal due to Y2K. Civil Aviation
Authority of Nepal (CAAN), seems to be not doing much work in this regard except sending
letters to vendors, sending few staffs for training and forming committees. The assessment
of Y2K in different fields of civil aviation like communication, navigation, surveillance,
security and rescue are to be done. The VSAT and surveillance systems (radar, control,
voice recorder) are Y2K compliant as reported by the vendor and donor agency. But all
other systems have seen only the inventory.
The national flag carrier, Royal Nepal Airlines, is doing better. As there are 2 Boeing
757, letters have been sent to the company for the conformation. RA is using HolmesCk for
testing and HolmesFX for fixing BIOS in hardwares. Reservation system is already Y2K
compliant as managed by SITA. Most of the travel agencies are already compliant with
Global Distribution Systems.
Power: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is using computers and embedded microchips in
different areas of applications. The malfunctioning of these areas may result in
interruption of supply of power. Power plant like Marsangdi, Kulekhani I/II, Trisuli that
has been modified with latest control system and Multifuel power plant are using latest
microprocessor based control system. They may shut down the power plants due to the Y2K
problem. Direct impact of this will be collapse of the power system and for restoring of
the power system it may have some difficulties due to the clock setting problem.
132KV transmission lines in Eastern sector, Butwal to Mahendranagar, 66KV switch gear
recently installed in Patan, Siuchatar, Chabahil and Bhaktapur may have Y2K problem as
these systems are using the microprocessor based protection system. The pilot scheme for
computerized billing at Kathmandu west branch has a workstation which don’t meet Y2K
compliance.
Going by the lines of concerned higher authorities government believes that Y2K is an
extremely important problem that requires urgent attention. Some guidelines like awareness
raising, understading, assessment, planning, implementation, testing and contingency plan
have been formulated. Some follow up programs are also going on.Although time is short for
completing all these activities but most of the national entities are working on it.
(This article is based on the seminar "National seminar on Y2K", recently organized by National Planning Commission with assistance of Computer Association of Nepal, UNDP and Embassies of UK and US.)
Cell phone helps to alleviate poverty
By Rajib Subba
Publication date 14 April 1999. Cyber Post, The Kathmandu Post.
With the noble effort to uplift the millions of poor people of the rural hinterland,
government of Bangladesh started a unique banking system called Grameen Bank (GB). Defying
the traditional concept of banking or theory of bankable with a collatel system for
credit, at GB, credit is the poverty. It provides credit (to the poor people) based on
mutual trust, accountability, participation and creativity. Now it is serving as a
catalyst for the over all development of socio-economic conditions of the poor.
Grameen Bank operates in 35,000 villages through 1,100 branches and 12,000 workers. Here,
women can borrow money of about $100-200 without collateral so that she could do business
of her own enabling her to make a living and pay off loans. Now GB had rekindled hope of
the poor people allowing the poorest of the poor to stand up on their feet throughout the
rural areas of Bangladesh.
In today’s digital world, country’s growth can only happen with the proper
utilization of information technology. Telecommunication including Internet are the
vehicles to harness the pursuits of the millions of the poor people. In a pursuit to help
the rural and poor people of Bangladesh in the social ladder for respectable life, GB has
many feathers in its cap. Grameen Telecom, Grameen Cybernet, Grameem Communication are
some of the prime examples which shows how information revolution can change the faces of
the poor people in a country.
Grameen Phone: Till today, in most of the developing countries cellular phones are a
luxury. But in Bangladesh, cellular phones are being used also for income generation by
the poor, i.e., a telephone is treated as a “cow” as well. A woman borrows, say,
$300 from the Bank and purchase a handset and sell telephone services to villagers, making
a living and paying off her loan. It is creating a self-employment opportunity in each
village and provide access to telephones to all.
Women with a cellular phone in hand have given ripples in the highly stratified villages
with a great deal of social impact. One of the cause of successes of Grameen Phone may be
huge participation of women. As 94% of the borrowers of GB are women, Grameen Phone are
being retailed by women as well. In Bangladesh most of the men go outside from their
villages to cities or trade or even foreign countries. The women feels comfortable to go
to other women to make phone calls.
Grameen Phone is owned mainly by Grameen Telecom, a non-profit organization solely
established by Grameen Bank to manage the Bank’s interests in telecommunications.
Grameen Telecom is a 35% shareholder of GrameenPhone Ltd., the company that was awarded a
nationwide license for GSM 900 cellular mobile phone on November 11, 1996. Telenor Invest
AS has a 51% stake, Marubeni corporation of Japan has 9.5% and Gonophone, a New Your-based
company, has 4.5% of the shares of GrameenPhone Ltd.
Today Grameen Phone is a commercial operation providing cellular services in both urban
and rural areas and already has 30,000 customers. Grameen Phone is proceeding with an
initial funding of $125 million, including a $50 million loan from International Finance
Corporation, Asian Development Bank and Commonwealth Development Corporation in Britain.
Grameen Telecom selects women to run the Grameen Phone on the basis of her past borrowings
with the Grameen Bank. She is favoured as a right candidate if she has demonstrated clear
skills in learning new things . It would be better if her house is located centrally in
the village. Grameen Telecom also ensures that at least one member of the family knows the
English letters and numbers.
The integration of information technology with Banking system, has created a powerful
economic force for the rural Bangladesh. This system is unleashing the enterpreneurial
energy of the poor thus uplifting themselves. Grameen Phone is certainly an exmple which
shows that how technology can chage the fate of the people that too millions.
"Cell phone is my cattle"
Information Technology and Miss Talent
Understanding GSM cellular telephone
What will you do? When you want to get in touch with your secretary for some
information but you are stuck up in a traffic jam. When you want to get an immediate
medical help from your physician but no one knows his whereabouts. When you want to be in
constant touch with your clients for business purposes. These are not possible by ordinary
phones. As information is vital in every walks of life, mobility is the only solution for
total control over the information. Cellular mobile phone is the best answer if constant
touch with mobility from any where to any where is your cup of tea.
Cellular technology is one of the most prominent digital mobile system which allows both
of the communicating ends in motion ie either in vehicle or plane etc. There are many
different cellular telephone standards developed by different countries, though the most
notable system today is GSM (Groupe Special Module) and was renamed in Global System for
Mobile communication. Under GSM there are two frequency bands: 890-915 MHz for mobile to
base station and 935-960 form base station to mobile.
Cellular Technology: D. H. Ring of Bell Labs proposed, in 1947, the revolutionary
concept called cellular. In this system a service area is divided into regions called
cells with diameter not more than 30 Kms. Each cell is in hexagonal shape and fall under
the cluster of seven. Each cell in a cluster is allocated a particular range of
frequencies which can be reused by the cells in an adjacent cluster of seven cells without
any interference.
Each cell consists of a RBS (Radio Base Station) with a set of assigned channels. The
mobile in a given cell sends its signals to RBS. A number of RBSs are connected to and
controlled by a BSC (Base Station Controller). All the BSCs in the service area are
connected to the MSC (Mobile Switching Centre) which handles major technicalities like
switching, assigning radio channels to every mobile, locating the cell a mobile is in as
soon as it is switched on, as it moves from cell to cell measuring the calls, recording
the charges etc. The MSC is the switch that interconnects the PSTN (Public Switching
Telephone Network) like Nepal Telecommunications Corporation (NTC) and mobile system.
How does cellular phone work? Cellular telephone system uses a remarkable system of
computer controlled transre-ceivers that switch from one channel to another as the
subscriber moves from one cell to another, without interrupting the signal. At the instant
of crossover of mobile from one cell to another say C1 to C2, the mobile switches to
another assigned channel belonging to C2. This is called hands-off or hand-over which is
done so smoothly that the caller doesn't notice it.
A cellular phone user from Bansbari places a call to a Biratnagar telephone number or any
telephone number world wide. The signal from his cellular phone goes to the nearest base
station of the cellular network which then diverts the signal to the NTC switching office
at Khadka Bhadrakali (as this place is near to Bansbari). From NTC switching office the
called number is identified as national (or international) and forwarded accordingly. From
the NTC trunking office the call goes as STD to Biratnagar. From the switching office at
Biratnagar, the called party gets the signal.
Rates of NTC: Nepal Telecommunications Corporation has introduced GSM cellular
mobile telephone service recently in the Kathmandu valley. The NTC's rate of cellular
phone is expensive even in comparison to other countries of this region. Customers have to
pay NRS 25000 for the deposit where as NRS 3000 is subscription charge. NTC plans to
charge NRS 1000 for monthly rent. The phone call charge or tariff is based on timings of
the use. Normal hour is defined as 7 am to 9 pm where as 9 pm to 7 am is off hour. For
local call tariff outgoing call per minute during normal hour and off hour is NRS 6 and
NRS 3 respectively. And for incoming call the rate is half for both the timings.
The result of subscription shows that NTC has not done its homework properly. The picture
would have been different by now if private sector were allowed to bring cellular. They
would have gone in a massive campaign which NTC is not doing to create awareness. The
rates for the calls as well as deposit money is high in a country like Nepal in contrast
to rates offered by cell phone operators in some other countries of South Asia.
Advantages of cell phone:
Cellular offers high quality service without miles of cables. No mountain can stop from
making a call home. A range of supplement services of cellular are call forwarding, call
barring, multi-party service, call divert, call waiting, caller ID, text message service
etc.
1. Mobility: One of the greatest advantage of cellular phone is the mobility for
the subscribers. The caller can call from anywhere and can be called to anywhere as far as
he/she is in the range of the signal from the base station. Further, if you are shifting
your residence from one place to another, then there are no hassles which you have to go
through for the ordinary phone shifting process. The jhanjat of seeking to transfer the
line and seeking a point at the new location is not a problem. Point nai chaina from the
lines men will be a thing of the past.
2. Caller identification: Bluff callers watch out. As the caller identification
signal is released in cellular phone, called party can identify the calling party. If you
feel that the call must be received then have a talk. If not disable the call or switch to
fixed phone or ordinary phone and give a call to the caller to save the bill. Further, the
caller identification number will help to reduce the bluff calls which bother us so much
these days.
3. International Roaming: The biggest advantage of the cellular technology is the
roaming facility. With this, the user becomes a truly international citizen and can call
from his cell phone to any country from any country.
4. Better than cordless: This system is better than a cordless phone system. The
frequency interference, which causes other cordless phones to give disturbances in your
cordless phone is bothersome while talking for a business deal or even paying the bill.
Cellular have no problem as such. And cellular is more secured than cordless phones, so no
free hopping of your frequency by others.
5. Paging facility: As cellular phone have a paging facility you can get or send
short text or alphanumeric messages as well. This will help both the parties whenever
verbal two-way conversation is not possible.
6. Less technical faults: One of the major problems of ordinary phone is the fault at the
cables drawn from exchanges to exchanges as well as exchanges to homes. The data shows
that most of the faults occur in the outside wires. As cellular system is based in
wireless technology the technical faults will be lesser than the ordinary phones. Problem
like cross talk will be absent.
Point of caution: They say the excessive use of cell phone may cook your brain as
it emits deadly radio active waves. And there are ways to minimize that too.
Surya devaya namaha!
More than 17 million Nepalis are living without electricity though Nepal is
endowed with a vast hydropower potential estimated at 83,000 MW whereas installed capacity
is just more than 300 MW!
"Eureka!" wasn't the word of Archimedes, a Greek scientist of third century B.
C., even when he became first person to exploit sun's rays by technical means which he
used to destroy Roman fleets in the war of Syracuse in Sicily. No development took place
till this century. It is only during this century serious efforts have been made towards
harnessing sun as a source of energy. One of the prime reasons of lesser development in
this area is that no one (other than Archimedes) could see its potential use -like a
weapon- in the military.
After the first fire of the civilization, the consumption of energy has accelerated the
destruction of the jungles and other resources of energy like coal, fossil fuel, natural
gas bringing global scale environmental degradation. Solar energy is the most promising as
an alternative source of energy even in Nepal. More than 17 million Nepalis are living
without electricity though Nepal is endowed with a vast hydropower potential estimated at
83,000 MW.
Energy technologists are attracted to the sun due to several reasons. It doesn’t
pollute the environment. Sun is the source of life for all of the living things. Most
important of all is that it’s free. Basically there are three ways to use the solar
energy; the mechanical way like tapping the sun’s rays to heat water, by the use of
photovoltaic cells and lastly, by photosynthesis. The scope of this article will remain
with the photo-voltaic cells.
Photo-voltaic cell: Semiconductor is a material whose resistance lies between conductor
(e.g. metal) and insulator (e.g. rubber). The semiconductor material (e.g. silicon) is the
heart of the digital electronics. The conversion of light to electricity is performed by
high-purity silicon wafers known as photovoltaic cells.
Basically a solar photovoltaic cell is a semi-conductor made from doping high purity
silicon crystals with controlled amount of other chemical elements. The introduction of
controlled impurities to pure silicon gives rise to excess negative or positive charges
which can carry electric currents. Once transformed into solid state semiconductors, cells
are connected in current carrying grids, then encapsulated for environmental protection
and finally assembled into solar modules of designed power output.
When the cells are illuminated by sun’s light (photons) charge particles start to
flow through the circuit to provide power to a load (e.g. Radio).
Cost for home use: At the current price of 50,000 to 80,000 Nepali rupees one can use a
computer (or TV) and light some lamps for 3 hours. This is the combination of DC and AC
system. Only DC system cost less as cost of inverter, which is used to convert DC into AC
to run appliances like computers, are not needed. If one prefers to use 3 light lamps and
a black and white TV by DC system it may cost around 35,000 Nepali rupees.
The price of the solar modules and needed installation materials depends on the power in
Watt needed by the gadgets used per hour defined as Watt-hour. The more Watt-hour the more
cost.
Photovoltaic solar modules offer an attractive solution for increasing number of
applications that demand an economic and reliable power supply. This can be a dependable
source of power supply in the presence of load shedding. Slowly solar modules are finding
space at homes as well. Though the solar industry in terms of poto-voltaic business is not
big in Nepal but the involvemnet of some companies have provided good technical as well as
competitive environment which offers wide range of services as well as prices.
The use of solar modules help the rural electrification as well. The trend of sharing the
solar cells is increasing in the village communities. The day is not far when solar
modules along with the farsi and kankro on the rooftop will become a natural
scene.
Telecom is dead: Long live networking
Secluded Bhutan logs in
Bhutanese business community and
students are in jubilant mood these days. And they have every reason to be so, because
they are now able to log into the information super highway like it’s all other South
Asian brethren. With Druk Net — Bhutan’s first Internet service provider -
Bhutan is no more outcaste in the global IT community. Queen Ashi Dorgi Wangmo Wangchuk,
first among the four queens, hit a keyboard command on 2nd June to open Druk Net amid a
traditional Buddhist ceremony of monks’ chants and auspicious offerings. Druk Net is
a collaboration between Bhutan, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the
Canadian- based International Development Research Center (IDRC). Secondly, now HMG has recognized CAN as a professional organization
In Nepal, people seldom get the privilege to put forward their views to the policy
formulators prior to the policy formulation. But recently a public debate on the proposed
“National IT Policy” to be formulated by National Planning Commission (NPC) was
organized by CAN. The uniqueness of this event was that all the speakers were from the
government sectors to present their side whereas the other side of the debate was fully
represented by the general public present at the event.
Public participation was overwhelmingly high. I was surprised by the participation and
concern shown by the public which defies a notion that nothing will ever happen in this
country. Not only that, the eagerness shown by the speakers who are directly involved in
the policy formulation was amazing and highly receptive.
This type of the arrangement where public have the direct participation on the policy
formulation will eventually pave the way for e-governance. It is indeed a matter of great
satisfaction for IT community that public have been involved for such a national
importance. This is just the beginning. More of such participatory deliberations may
further be needed. Lets hope this will continue!
This testifies to a coming of age of IT in Nepal. It indicates that Nepal has started to
recognize the value and need to start adopting IT into the national mainstream of
activities for the 21st century.
It's no doubt that the decision makers at NPC and else where have helped IT to get in the
top gear but we should not be too euphoric about the promises offere. With more than 60
percent of the population in the country still illiterate and poor, it is too unrealistic
to suggest the possibility of paradigm shift of the mindset in every level of the society.
We should not view IT as an end in itself but as a vehicle for all round development in
the country.
Cellular
phones could cook your brain
By Rajib Subba
Publication date 8 September 1999. Cyber Post, The Kathmandu Post.
Adecade or two ago, getting in touch with anybody, anytime, anywhere would have been a
story straight out of an Asimov fiction. Not anymore. Kathmanduites have gone cellular
since few months. The fever is catching up outside as well. But, if you use a cellular
phone or plan to buy one, be careful. The cellular phone may cook your brain, if not
handled properly.
The potential health hazards posed by cellphones is not new. Since mid nineties world’s
leading newspapers are warning that cellphones may harm your brain. There are some pending
court cases that prove this, even employees of cellular phone companies have lodged cases
against the companies.
Studies in the US have shown that low level acute exposure to microwave radiation can
cause DNA breaks in the brains of animals, like rats, and could act as a cancer causing or
promoting agent. In 1995 Dr Henry Lai and Dr Naresh Singh of the University of Washington,
Seattle, published a paper in Bio-electromagnetics, which reported single strand breaks of
DNA which can lead to Carcinogenicity -cell death and aging. Research shows that when rats
were exposed to continuous waves or pulsed microwaves at 2450MHz there was a significant
increase in double strand DNA breaks in the
brain.
The effect of close proximity of the cellphone antenna to the brain is main controversial
issue. Some researchers believe that brain tissues may be damaged by a phenomenon known as
electromagnetic coupling which increases radiation when the antenna of the cellphone (in
operation) is very close to the head of the user. In contrary the industry claims that the
waves emanating from cellphones gets reflected by the human body.
But researchers at the 17th annual scientific meeting of the North American Society of
Paging and Electro Physiology reported that the waves emanating from an activated
cellphone could disrupt the cardiac pacemaker. This is the most obvious indication that
microwave radiation from a cellular phone can penetrate human body. Now some manufacturers
of cellphones warn that antennae should not touch any part of the body (contrary to the
Ads shown on TVs) when the phone is in operation.
Some Physicists agree that human tissues are highly receptive to microwave radiation and
must be protected against excessive exposure. According to a standard established by
American National Standards Institute, whole body exposure to about 100mw per square
centimeter is safe level for humans even for unlimited time periods under normal exposure
conditions. However to provide an additional margin of safety, Radiation Control for
Health and Safety Act (public law 90-602) in the US, limits leakage to 5mw per square
centimeter.
There are many research groups engaged in the investigating the possible links between
brain tumors and cellphones. The critical question is -does low-level exposure to
microwave emitted specifically at cellphone frequencies for long periods affect human
health? The mystery remains.
Safety instructions: Possible risks can be avoided by not using cellphone for long (the
will save your purse as well) and talking by keeping the set to a comfortable distance.
Some cellphone manufacturing company claim that a special Nickel and steel fiber cellphone
cover can block 90 percent of microwave emissions.
Most of the cellular phones available in the Nepali market comes with a user's guide. The
subscribers who buy cellphone from Nepal Telecommunications Corporations (NTC) are also
provided with user's guide. NTC is currently providing Nortel 922/920. The safety
instructions clearly mentions that antenna's electromagnetic radiation affects medical
equipments, pacemakers, aircrafts, hearing aids, explosive materials or highly flammable
fumes etc. It even warns the users not to touch the antenna while in operation.
The owner's guide provided with Nokia 8810, one of the most expensive cellphones available
in the Nepali market, recommends that the set should only be used in the normal operating
position i.e. held to your ear with the antenna pointing over your shoulder. Persons using
pacemaker should keep the phone atleast 20cm away from the chest. Non has provided the
strength of the radiation.
Apart of this potential threat from the cellphone, traffic accidents may also happen by
using cellphone while driving. It is highly recommended that users should refrain from
using the cellphone while driving.
It may take sometime before any scientific consensus can change the perception of the
consumers. Cell phones will certainly have an impact on the frequency of human interaction
and there will definitely be a change in the attitude of the Nepali society. Rapid
technological changes in the wireless makes life easier but the issues become even more
complex.
Crops, fields, ploughs and computers
By Rajib
Subba
Publication date 13 October 1999. Cyber Post, The Kathmandu Post.
Being an under-developed country Nepal’s economy is heavily dependent on agriculture and allied sectors. Then productivity of this area can be maximized using appropriate technology. The awareness of effect of proper technology in this field is still in it’s infancy. It is felt that efforts on large scale should be made for creating awareness and establishing credibility among the farming community and other users towards the economic utility of Agri-Comtronic Technology ( ACT ).
Relevance of ACT: Over 90 percent of the population of our country depends on agriculture as the prime source of
income, which, however, contribute only 40 percent to GDP. This underscores the crucial role of the farm sector in Nepalese economy.
As Nepal’s population is steadily increasing and the arable land is limited, it is imperative that the use of computerised
technology has to be resorted to at the farm level to increase productivity (both in terms of quality and quantity) so as to meet the ever-growing demand of food.
It is a well known fact that poverty is avoidable through intelligent use of natural resources such as land, water and efficient use of energy and creative harnessing of the native intelligence aids and knowledge-processing machines and hence they are very relevant to social and economic development.
Agriculture technology is a multi-disciplinary area. Some of the technological innovations which have found wide acceptance in agriculture and allied areas are tractors, electric pumpsets, oil engines used for irrigation, manually operated sprayers, bio-gas chullas, gadgets utilising solar energy, improved seeds and fertilizers etc. It needs to be stressed here that utilization of appropriate technology would improve the productivity as well as living standards of the people without causing adverse effects on the farming community or rural employment.
Application areas: Electronic instruments are characteristics such as reliability, accuracy, speed, higher resolution and range, repeatability of meas-urement, portability and ease of operations. The scope of electronic instruments are very vast, but, in our context, it can be confine to such areas like soil, water, plants, fertilizers, harvesting, livestock diseases, dairy, farm-house, fisheries, flood control / warning system, bio-gas tech-niques, animal husbandry, marketing production and seeds.
Computerizing the system of land records will help in reducing corruption which is rampant due to lack of information.
If the land records are digitized, the villagers do not have to suffer the bureaucratic hassles saving their hard earned money going under the table.
Computer can be extensively used in the fields of agriculture also. Far the propose of irrigation it is important to know the status of factors such as, water availability, water quality, soil characteristics, meteorological conditions, and crop requirements. A knowledge of there factors, through use of computerizes database connected to field sensors, helps in effective management of water resources. Whether forecasting is one of the major factors responsible for good field of crops in agriculture. Many mishaps resulting in huge losses in crop prod-uction have occurred due to unreliable weather reports.
Computers play a vital role for the development of the edu-cation sector. Use of Nepali scripts will definitely interests the rural masses.
Our doctors don’t prefect to go to remote villages due to some reasons or the other .Tele- medicine by the use of computer and large databases will definitely plays a role for the development of health-care of rural masses.
Computerised farm management systems in general, and integrated expert systems can be used to process the information required for optimal crop production. Expert systems are some of the first commercial artificial intelligence ( AI ) products. An integrated expert decision- support system can help a grower make decisions that involves several alternative, and can address several and often conflicting factors. These computer programs combine database management, regression models, simulation models.
The challenges (ACT in rural habitat): Contrary to the farmers of advanced countries where the use of computerized electronic instrumentation has revolutionized the farming techniques and increased the farm production, the local counterparts has not yet accepted the use of electronic technology. Any efforts introduce the use of electronics and computers in villages need to be well-integrated in to the rural environment, and should address most of the basic needs of the villagers such as income generation, nutritious foods, shelter, education and entertainment without cash expenditure.
The lack of glamour is found to be major culprit that most of the technocrats don’t want to venture in this field. Agri-engineers agree in one voice that unless we are able to achieve a drastic reduction in the massive abuse of fertilizers, disease and electricity and are able to increase the productive green cover and reduce the poisoning of our rural environment through pesticide consumption and diesel consumption through the use of non-polluting technologies such as electronic then there is no escape from crises of rupees resources crunch and environmental degradation.
It is felt that role of government is the need of the hour. The government should handle projects to develop electric products, applications and computers software having relevance to rural areas. Implementation of some pilot projects at this hour is highly appreciated.
It is hoped these thoughts can contribute by inspiring the creative minds within us think in non-traditional terms and would help unleash the "collective -unconditioned-intelligence" which is mostly lying dormant among our villagers.
They may not be literate of educated but are as wise and resourceful as any other people in using the right technological tools and device: once they are clearly proven.
Pager: Connecting people @ lesser cost
By Rajib Subba
Publication date 27th October 2000. Cyber Post, The Kathmandu Post.
The beginning of the paging system dates back to 1921 when Detroit Police Department, USA
started the one-way information broadcasting. Its growth was further spread during 1930s
in government agencies, police departments and the armed forces in the USA. From a voice-
broadcast service, paging evolved into a digital service and can be addressed to the
specific pagers.
The display pagers what we see today were introduced in 1980s only. Earlier pagers, such
as Motorola’s 1974 model Pageboy, had no display screen nor any message buffering.
Then different paging services, like tone, numeric and alphanumeric evolved. A standard
radio paging code, Post Office Code Standardisation Advisory Group (POCSAG), was developed
in 1976 which paved the way for its growth. Other codes are the GSC, 5/6-tone, FM RDS and
Motorola’s FLEX which is technologically more advanced than existing protocols and
offers paging operators significantly faster messaging speed, greater capacity and
reliability.
In simple terms a radio paging system is a one-way wireless messaging system which allows
continuous accessibility to someone away from the wired communications network. In its
most basic form, the person on-the-move carries a palm-sized device (the pager) which is
given an identification number. The calling party inputs this number, usually through the
public telephone network, to the paging system which then signals the pager to alert the
called party.
The basic system: The pager system is composed of an input source, the existing telephone
network, the encoding and transmitter control equipment and, of course, the pager itself.
When somebody wants to be in touch with somebody, then a message (a page) has to be
entered from a phone (or computer with modem or page-entry device) in automatic system or
through an operator who takes the phone-in message and enters it on your request. Then the
message is sent to the paging terminal for encoding and transmission through the paging
system. The encoder checks the pager number and looks up the directory for the pager
address (called cap code). The cap code is a unique address which enables you to “locate”
the specific pager you want to reach instead of all other active pagers in the paging
system. The encoded signal is then sent to the transmitters (base stations) and broadcast
across the coverage area on the specified frequency.
Pagers: These are essentially FM receivers. A modern pager typically consists of the
following modules: Receiver (Receives and modulates the paging signals), Decoder (Decodes
binary information), Display (Displays message and other information), Controls (Allows
user to set parameters and access information), Battery (Provides the power source).
The pager recognizes the unique code assigned to the pager and reject all other codes.
Alerting is the most basic function of the pager. When the pager recognizes its own code,
it alerts the user by sound (tone), visual (flashing indicator) or silent (vibrating).
There are several types of pagers like tone, numeric, alphanumeric, voice, ideographic but
most popular are numeric and alphanumeric. With a numeric pager you can receive and see
numbers only (like the phone number of the calling party) but no text message can be
received. An alphanumeric pager can receive text as well as numbers. This is more
expensive than the numeric.
Sending a message: There are two ways to send a page; Manual (operator assisted) and
Automatic. In the first one the user calls the operator of the pager company and tells
what to page. Then the operator calles the required page number and gives the message on
your behalf. In automatic system a paging terminal is used which is an automatic page
encoding device that answers a telephone line and allows users to enter pager numbers and
numeric or voice messages from standard telephones. Some terminals also accept text
messages via telephone line connections to text-entry devices like personal computers.
Benefits of using a Pager: Less cost: Constant contact at a less cost is the major
advantage of Pager. The cost involved to utilize a Paging service is less than any other
means of Radio communication.
Improved productivity: A pager is one of the most cost effective tools for productivity
improvement. It reduces travelling costs and saves valuable time.
Freedom/Constant touch: It brings a freedom to move without notice and can be in touch
anytime anywhere.
Increased competitive edge: Pager communication helps to keep ahead of the competition by
being in touch all the time.
Peace of Mind: Pager can be very handy for general people as well. Parents carrying a
pager are always within reach by their children, and vice versa. A pager by the bedside of
a ill person could turn out to be a life saver. This will help to reduce stress as well.
Service providers: Nepal Radio Paging Pvt. Ltd., a joint venture of Chinese and Nepali
investors, is not only the first operating Pager service company but first private Telecom
service provider other than Internet services. It started its service from September 18
this year. The other companies like City Paging, Easy Page etc will hit the wave soon.
The cost involved to use pager service is not much as compared to other Telecom services.
Nepal Radio Paging charges Rs 4300 for registration and maintainance service. The cost of
the Pagers provided ranges from Rs 5700 to 9700 depending upon type and make of Pagers.
The monthly charge is Rs 250. The total cost involved may go down when other Pager
companies will start their services.
Now, thanks to Nepal Telecommunications Authority, we are able to use different kinds of
telecom services in Nepal.And Pager is the best in terms of cost involved.
Summary of Pager types
Tone-only Pager: Pager alerts user; user takes predetermined action, such as calling a
predetermined phone number.
Advantages: Simple to use, very large channel capacity, people can be alerted to act when
they are “on the go”.
Numeric Pager: Pager alerts user and displays numeric message; user calls phone number
displayed.
Advantages: Flexible, user can be instructed to call any phone number, In the silent alert
mode, the incoming message
does not disturb others in quiet environments, works in a noisy environment, message can
be read privately, message
displayed and stored, Less chance of missing or not understanding message, reduces doubt,
error, confusion, message
is saved for future use, large channel capacity.
Alphanumeric Pager: Pager alerts user and displays text message; user can then take
necessary action.
Advantages: Same as numeric display; plus user receives complete, accurate text message,
not just a number,
eliminates doubt, confusion, errors, eliminates need for phone call to get message, and
phone tag, user can screen
messages and make better action decisions.
-By Rajib
Subba
Publication date 29 December 1999. Cyber Post, The Kathmandu Post.
Traditionally Internet was considered to be the bastion of US defense and academic world. Although the Net was originally conceived for its strategic defense potential, it was nurtured for the benefits for academia, it's only recently that the world of commerce has taken interest on it.
Distance learning, once carried out exclusively through mail, has been considered the education system for the poor or who were not able to attend any physical classes due to some reasons. With the growth of Internet all that has changed. Today it has the prospect to be the most cost effective way of getting degrees out of "Virtual Universities." Now adays, it is possible to get diploma through the Net without leaving the terminal.
The Internet is opening new ways of studying. Students from any corner of the world can access the required material through Internet. For many the Net is not only a place for fun and entertainment but a vast repository of information. The Internet not only is the education support system but it is also education delivery system having an element of interactivity. The communicating power of the Net introduces strong responsive interaction which is absent in anyother medium of long distance learning system.
The transformation of information websites of universities to " vitual universities " is a milestone in distance learning. These universities has all the conventional registration procedures , studying , testing then certification like anyother terrestrial universities. Now cyberschooling is so advanced that you can get an MBA degree from reknowned universities around the world with out leaving the terminal.
There are some significant development which made possible of cyber school. Multi User Dimensions (MUD) was the most significant development . These are text based games designed for users to interact with an imaginary world . Inside MUD , all information isavailable in descriptive manner about the virtual environment in which you are "virtually " in . You could issue commands like " Turn Right, " "Close the Door " etc. to surf in this virtual space and manipulate objects around you . This technology has been applied for education paving the way for the establishment of "Virtual Universities ". This has helped students to read books , attend lectures or even bunk classes and sit in canteen. That too virtually .
The next step was the development of Graphical Utility Interface (GUI) and the web . This development gave the much needed visual realism to simulate worlds. Further developments in networks bandwidths and application of "multi-media information system" has made the virtual study a reality.
Nepal may not have to offer in the field of electronics or medicine or management but who else can teach Nepali ( or for that matter other Nepali languages ) and it's culture , music , history, religion, , wild-life, arts etc., better than us. So why don't the government come forward with a project to set up a 'Viswa-Vidhyalaya' on the Net. We may be a small fish but we are the best and proud of what is ours for centuries.
Countries, like Nepal , quality education plays vital role for its development. The decision makers has to realize that the present system of education may not be relevant in next century. Most of the academic experts believes that the legacy of "school factories" left to this part of the world by British has corrupted the fabric of learning which once covered our society. With Internet "Gurukul" the whole system of education will take new dimensions.