BPN1433: New York: here is the WSYA! (4)

On Tuesday it was back to the City for a meeting with the ad agency Wundermann. The meeting had been arranged by Anya, the Russian representative in the network of Wundermann. She arranged it in her capacity as representative on the board of World Summit Award. And she had done a good job in instructing her colleagues. Besides a well filled breakfast table, the WSYA delegation found that her colleagues had prepared themselves very well.
The idea was to present 6 WSYA projects and have them reviewed by three experts of Wundermann. They started out with the observation, that times were changing. The change from analog to digital covered the period of 1960 to 1995, but now they saw something new coming, something they could not give a name. Yet they felt something new coming up: the post-digital period. And the examples delivered by the WSYA winners, gave them a glance of the future. Of course this was a great compliment for all the six presenters. After each presentation a review by the three experts were given and they also gave hints about expansion or improvement. Some WSYA winners got advice where large companies would pay for dearly.

The session at Wundermann’s offices made me realise that this year’s group of winners were special and of a very professional level. It was not only enthusiasm that was driving them, but they had skills and a professional level of approach. They knew quite clearly what they were doing and what they wanted. They will also be heard in social media in the future.

It was also clear that this type of sessions with committed experts are going to help the WSYA winners. Besides experts from an ad agency they should also be brought into contact with venture capital/seed people. This combination should give them new inspiration for their projects.

BPN 1431

BPN 1432: New York: Here is the WSYA (4)

For many of the winners the Monday was the focal point of their trip to New York: the award ceremony. The ceremony was held in the center of New York. And it looked like NYC was prepared for it, for there was police on every corner around the Roger Smith Hotel. But with so many government heads around such as the Iranian Ahmadinijad, New York had another traffic infarct. But the Roger Smith Hotel is a fountain of inspiration among this crazy city. Outside and inside there are statues.
The ceremony itself was attended by a number of dignitaries. There was the minister of Information Society in Macedonia. From the mobile world there was the president of Mobile Communication. From Bahrain was there the CEO of Alnadeem Information Technology. A long-time supporter of the WSYA is ISOC. Also present was the representative of the Knight Foundation, a sponsor for the WSYA. New in the group of sponsors and friends of WSYA was Telfree from South Africa. And it was a pleasure to see Ramon Alberto Garza Garcia, the president and CEO Indigo Brainmedia in Monterrey (Mexico), a winner of World Summit Award in 2007 and the host of the WSA Gala in Monterrey in 2009.

The award consisted of a certificate, a statue of liberty and a pin of the WSA. There is no prize money as there is a lack of prize money. In this competition money is not the objective. It is recognition of the efforts made by the winners. Part of the recognition is the publication of all winning projects in a brochure and on online.

In the afternoon the WSYA winners were treated to a visit to Bloomberg, the financial data and news company. The visit started with a registration at the entrance desk. Identifications were copied and checked and photographs taken for the tag. Then the tour through the Bloomburg started. It is a very open building with glass. In this way you could see the radio and television stations and a lot of desks, where people collect financial data and aggregate news from several countries. Bloomberg has come up fast since 1981 pushing old organisations such as Reuters aside. Bloomberg uses all media possible like a cloud: radio, tv, mobile and internet. Having bought Business Week it is now also a print publisher.

BPN 1432

BPN 1431: New York: here is the WSYA (3)

This Sunday many of the teams will get their first dive into New York. For many team members it is the first time that they are in the big Apple. And as the world leaders gather at the United nations for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Review Summit in New York, people will stand up and ask attention for the goals. In New York this happens at Lincoln Center.

The members of the winning team start working on placards and T shirts to make known the MDG they ask attention for. And then they go up to Lincoln Center: metro in and metro out, through Central Park. After taking photographs the winner team members start to look around and listen to the speakers. There is an information market with some 20 booth. A music band plays in between speakers who stand up. There are some ten TV crews. However the public attention is very disappointing.

Being in New York for the first time and then immediately standing up and speaking out for your MDG, requests some courage. But some of the WSYA winners do. A winner from Pakistan was standing and listening to people talking about Pakistan. He concluded that those people had good intention, but had never been in Pakistan and experience the poverty, increased by the floods, and social situations. So he got up the stage and took the microphone to tell from daily experience.

In the evening the WSYA winners went to the Hard Rock Café on Times Square for dinner, offered by one of the sponsors. Before getting food the winner would have to tell about their project. It had an estranging effect to talk about poverty in the environment of abundance of the artefacts donated by popstars such as beautiful guitars. After the meal, the group had to find its way back to the hotel in Long Island City.

BPN: 1431

BPN 1430: New York: here is the WSYA (2)

This year the following projects were selected:

Category 1: Fight Poverty, Hunger & Disease!

Winner ANTI HIVIRUS
Leung Chun San (28), China
http://www.vir.us/

Winner The Smallholders Farmers Rural Radio
Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu (28), Nigeria
http://www.smallholdersfoundation.org/


Winner Nahrani.com - Improve your vocabulary and provide food
to people in need
Nikolay Staney (27), Bulgaria
http://www.nahrani.com/

Runners-Up:
Village Home Tourism, Ashis Himali (26), Nepal
Donativa, Ilyas Bakouch (22), Morocco


Category 2: Education for all!

Winner Youth Ki Awaaz: Mouthpiece for the Youth
Anshul Tewari (19), India
http://www.youthkiawaaz.com/

Winner Clo’s Ship (La nave di Clo)
Silvia Carbotti (30), Italy
http://www.navediclo.it/

Winner KSNA (Knowledge & Science News Agency) Scientific
magazine - Founder of OpenScience in IRAN & Middle East
Mohammad Rashidi-Kochi (22), Iran
http://www.ksna.ir/

Runners-Up
SME-Challenge, Santiago Peyré (27), Argentina
Sexual Maturation and menstrual hygiene management practices associated with school girls in Ghana,
Philip Kwesi Agyei (28), Ghana


Category 3: Power 2 Women!

Winner Women’s Forum
Corobco Natalia (26), Azerbaijan
http://www.women-forum.net/

Winner We are all Laila
Eman Abd El-Rahman (25), Egypt
www.kolenalaila.com/en

Winner We are not inferior to anybody
Samina Khushi (28), Pakistan
http://www.owopakistan.org/

Runners-Up
Effemine Blog - For Making Change, Petra Gönczi (19), Hungary
Mother Nature, Dotun Adewunmi (28), Nigeria

Category 4: Create Your Culture!

Winner artur.org.hu - online guide on contemporary architecture
Daniel Kovacs (27), Hungary
http://www.artur.org/.

Winner WupY “What’s up Youth”
Abdullah Mosaad (22), Egypt
http://www.wupy.org/

Winner Afrique in Visu
Jeanne Mercier (27), France
http://www.afriqueinvisu.org/

Runners-Up
Nuok, Alice Avallone (25), Italy
Lemon24.com, Suny Md. Ashraf Khan (27), Bangladesh


Category 5: Go Green!

Winner VERDEate.com, Challenge your Green Side!
Sebastián Bustamante (27), Spain
http://www.verdaete.com/

Winner Colour Me Green Campaign
Liew Yao Ren (18), Malaysia
http://www.colourmegreencampaign.com/

Winner Climate Change Virtual school for Youths
Verengai Mabika (30), Zimbabwe
http://www.driafrica.org/virtualschool.html

Runners-Up
Eco Options Egypt, Omnia Abbas (22), Egypt
Green Brigade, Tewari Chitranshu (18), India


Category 6: Pursue Truth!

Winner Social MDGs
Baxter Stapleton (19), USA
http://www.socialmdgs.com/

Winner Forgotten Diaries
Biffi Selene (27), Italy
http://www.forgottendiaries.org/

Winner JOIN Informed Youngsters.
Juan Rafael Rivera-Sanchez (22), Mexico
http://join.org.mx/

Runners-Up
Urban Journeys, Salman Siddiqui (27), Pakistan
Pamir Times, Noor Muhammad (26), Pakistan

BPN: 1430

BPN 1429: New York: here is the WSYA (1)

New York was the destination on Saturday for the award ceremony of the World Summit Youth Awards 2010, it is the second sibling on the World Summit Award (WSA).

The World Summit Youth Awards concentrate on content with the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in mind. Young people are asked to use internet and mobile media to act themselves, but also get action on the eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals:
- Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme hunger and poverty;
- Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education;
- Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
- Goal 4: Reduce child mortality;
- Goal 5: Improve maternal health;
- Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases;
- Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability;
- Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development.
The year of review has been set on 2015, when the eladers of countries will gather again in order to discuss the progress.

These goals have been translated in six categories:
- Category 1: Fight poverty, hunger and disease;
- Category 2: Education for all;
- Category 3: Power 2 Women;
- Category 4: Create your own culture;
- Category 5: Go green;
- Category 6: Pursue truth!

The WSYA are not just the result of projects picked ad random, but they are the result of a global competition. National experts have put forward projects, produced by young people under thirty. The projects are considered as representative for the MDGs and of content and technology excellence. They should demonstrate the consequence of inter-action and counter-action. The projects are evaluated by a jury of 17 young experts in two rounds.

WSYA does two things;
- showcasing the contribution of the young designers, technologists and digital content creators;
- contributing to addressing poverty, protecting the environment, sharing knowledge and empowering young people.
The WSYA is promoted in the UN member states through the networks of the World Summit Award (WSA), the UN Global Alliance for ICT, the Internet Society and its local chapters, participating UN organisations and agencies, governments and NGOs as well as youth organisations.

The winning WSYA projects have been selected from 630 applicants coming from 102 UN member states. Of these 630 applicants 245 completed the online registration, of which 142 products were evaluated in the end. Many applicants make known that they will enter a project. But by the time of the official online registration, many are not ready or simply did not register. It is interesting to see where the evaluated projects come from:
- Africa: 27;
- Arab countries & Middle East: 30;
- Asia: 40;
- Europe: 29;
- Latin America and Caribbean: 8;
- North America and Oceania: 8;
Interesting is to see the variance between the number of entries from the various regions. North America and Oceania only sent in 8 projects. You almost would question whether the MDGs are there alive. No looks to be the answer. Asia is the top region with 40 projects entered. Africa, the Arab Countries and the Middle East as well as Europe are following.

What do the 40 winners and runners-up aged 18 to 30 years from 21 countries get out of being an award winner. They get offered, thanks to the sponsorship of the Knight Foundation, a long weekend with an interesting program in New York.

The World Summit Youth Award is part of the World Summit Award, a multimedia competition, started at the occassion of the UN World Summit on the Information Society in 2003. From 2008 the World Summit Youth Award was started. The latest member of the WSA family is the World Summit Award Mobile Media (WSA mm), which kicks off next month with an international jury in Abu DHabi and a gala also in Abu Dhabi in December 2010.

BPN 1428 Four million domain names with nl-extension

This month the 4 millionth Dutch country domain name has been registered. On the list of country domains The Netherlands ranks fourth behind Germany, UK and China. SIDN, the bureau responsible for the registration of the nl-domain, receives daily 2800 registrations a day.

Worldwide there are 250 country domains. The Netherlands is ranking fourth on the list of domain registrations behind Germany (13,7 million domain names), UK (8,6 million domain names) and China (6,8 million domain names). Combined with demographic data of 16 million Dutch people every fourth Dutchman has a domain name, giving the Netherlands the highest domain density in the world. In the Netherlands 93 per cent of the Dutch population has access to internet.

With such a high number of domain names inventiveness is essential in designing new unique domain names. The length of domain names is 63 characters long. Part of the number of domain names is just being used for personal e-mail addresses. Part of the raise of the number of domain names, 25 per cent, can be ascribed to this phenomenon.

Registrations are being made by SIDN and almost 2000 registrars. SIDN will celebrate its 15th year jubilee next year. In the same year the 25th year of the nl-domain will be celebrated.

Facts & figures
• In totally 5,1 million unique domain names with nl-extension have been registered.
• Of the 5,1 million domain names with nl-extension 1,1 million have been discontinued.
• The nl-domain name has a markets hare of 72 per cent, followed by .the com-extension with 14 per cent and eu-extension with 8 per cent.
• 38 households of the 100 Dutch households have a broadband connection, which makes Holland the worldwide frontrunner
• Most of the domain names with a nl-extension are located in Amsterdam; also in large university cities there are many domain holders.
• The average length of a domain name counts 13 characters, while most domains have a length of 11 characters.

BPN 1428

Tags: domain name

BPN 1427 Dutch fiber connections doubled

No less than 1,2 million glass fiber connections will linked in The Netherlands by 2012. In the past year the connections already doubled, but the execution of future plans is delayed. In 20 years time every household will have a fiber connection. Those are the conclusions of Stratix Consulting in their annual inventory and analysis of glass fiber in The Netherlands.

On 1 April 2009 218.000 households were linked up to the glass fiber network. One year later there were 451.000 link ups, a raise of 108 per cent. The statistics indicate the availability of glass fiber to the house holds. It does not mean that all house holds have subscribed. In the Netherlands the glass fiber link is laid up to the meter cupboard, but only connected when an application for a subscription has been made. In 2009 there were 139.000 subscribers and in 2010 only 217.000; only a raise of 56 percent.

Differences show up geographically. The roll out of glass fiber networks takes place under the free market system and makes the networks primarily available in strong social-economic areas. Money of market parties is invested mainly outside the big cities and in municipalities with a strong social cohesion, growth municipalities and new communities.

Top of the list is the province Flevoland, where almost half of the households (50,7 per cent) have a glass fiber link in their meter cupboard. The province of Brabant where the first commercial glass fiber network was introduced, has the highest number of subscribers.

Despite the raise of glass fiber house holds, Stratix notice a delay in the fiber plans, especially in Amsterdam. There the explosive growth has slowed down to a more gradual execution. In Amsterdam 47.000 households have glass fiber to the door; 15.000 households have been linked to the meter cupboard. Only 8676 households have taken out a subscription for fast internet, telecom and television.

In Almere almost 80 pct of the households have been provided with glass fiber to the door. But sofar only 7500 households have taken out subscription. In Almere KPN has technical and administrative problems, delaying the subscription conversion.

Recently the Australian research bureau Budde Comm critisized the Dutch incumbent telco KPN for the slow implementation of glass fiber. In Almere almost 80 pct of the households have been provided with glass fiber to the door. But sofar only 7500 households have taken out subscription. In Almere KPN has technical and administrative problems, delaying the subscription conversion. And people start noticing it and getting less enthusiastic to take out a subscription. Last year, March 2009, fiber was laid in Almere’s neighbourhood Tussen de Vaarten. Only in June 2010 the glass fiber was in the meter cupboards of the people. So the hunt for subscriptions started, but not for the apartment buildings. The households still have to wait for the fiber to be operational, before a subscription can be entertained. With the glass fiber already in the ground for more than a year, the investment is not turned into subscriptions yet.

BPN 1427

BPN 1426 iREX compacts to IRX

The bankrupt e-reader manufacturer iRex, a spin-off of Philips electronics, based in Eindhoven (The Netherlands) will restructure and be operational again from September 1. From September 1 the company will continue as IRX Innovations.
Besides a new name the company will have a smaller scope. It will forego the consumer market and concentrate on the business market. Geographically the company will serve the European market. The company will also sell licenses to its technological solutions.

iRex Technologies went bankrupt after an adventure on the US market. The company attempted to conquer the consumer market in association with Barnes & Noble, but it could not deliver the electronic reading tablets in time. Besides the tablets were too expensive.

Part of the 10 million euro debt has been paid off. Mr Brons will remain the CEO and the 24 employees will be re-employed. Parts of the company will sold, most likely to an Asian company. IRX Innovations will take over the goods of iRex Technologies and will use the existing e-reader modls and technology to kick start the marketing in Europe.

In a radio interview Mr. Brons indicated that the European business market will be interesting and cost less than attempting to serve the US and EU and business and consumer markets all at once.

BPN 1426

BPN 1425 KPN responds to poor FTTH uptake

KPN is one of the few incumbents to pursue FttH, though the decision to go full-steam for FttH rather than the cheaper solution of upgrading its copper network (FttC with VDSL2 in the last mile) took some time. The company initially considered that VDSL could compete effectively with DOCSIS3.0, and its latest data release shows that it still believes that copper at least in the medium term is still sufficient for most customers.


Nevertheless, at the end of 2009 the company announced that FttH was indubitably the superior technology, and that it would invest some €1.3 billion to expand the number of FttH-connected homes, essentially concentrating on FttH instead of expanding FttC. Despite this appropriate emphasis on FttH, the company is still struggling to convince most customers to sign up.

This is partly due to poor marketing, but also – and ironically – due to the success of its VDSL roll-out. VDSL serves the last mile, and large-scale roll-outs began in earnest from January 2008. The VDSL network is capable of providing up to 30Mb/s, and delivers IPTV to 80% of households and HDTV to 70%. The company plans to expand the VDSL footprint to ‘outer suburbs’ (completing this job by the end of 2011) and so increase IPTV coverage to 88% of households, but otherwise there will be no further roll-out of FttC.

In poorly marketing FttH, KPN targeted what it refers to as ‘sub-optima’ customers in its roll-out areas, or a demographic less interested in services delivered or less able to afford them. The pricing for bundled packages was also set too high, which has dissuaded many consumers from switching from their existing DSL service (considered by many to be acceptable for their needs). In reality, only about 9% of customers capable of receiving FttH sign up for the service, though this is an improvement on the 2.7% sign-up of the first quarter of 2009.

To address these poor figures, KPN has set in train a number of measures to reduce its pricing and improve the way it targets and sells to customers. It aims to reach a 60% sign-up rate of activated homes and at least 250,000 customers by 2012. Prices for its FttH tiers (from this month) have fallen by €10 per month. Yet the difference between VDSL and FttH offers, if anything, is less pronounced than before. In the pre-July pricing structure there was a €5 difference between a 20Mb/s Premium VDSL offer and a 50Mb/s Silver FttH offer. There is still a €5 difference between these two in the new pricing structure, but VDSL has been ramped up to 40Mb/s. The inclusion with FttH of an additional TV receiver, HD recording capability and more IPTV channels may be enough to tempt some customers, but KPN’s experience thus far is that the majority of customers, if they are happy enough with their service, will not switch. To address this, the company aims to improve it fibre delivery mechanism, shortening delivery times and improving its ‘first time right’ ratio. The company at least needs to convince customers that switching from copper to fibre is seamless, that there are real benefits for households’ use of IP-delivered services, and that it will not cost them more.

http://www.budde.com.au/

BPN 1424

BPN 1424 Netherlands - Telecoms, IP Networks and Digital Media

BuddeComm’s annual publication, Netherlands - Telecoms, IP Networks and Digital Media, provides a comprehensive overview of the trends and developments in the telecommunications and digital media sectors in this leading market.


The Dutch telecom market has one of the most developed infrastructures in Europe, providing a solid foundation for emerging bundled services offerings. The vast majority of the population uses the Internet, while broadband uptake – among the highest in the world – has benefited from government support as well as competing cable and DSL platforms. FttH networks are also a significant feature of the country’s broadband landscape, with an effective collaboration between national, regional and municipal governments working with industry and academic institutions to ensure that the country maintains its broadband lead into the fibre age. Although the majority of fibred homes lie in a small number of major towns, the sector has been stimulated by consumer demand for fast Internet connections as well as the recognition that such infrastructure is paramount for socio-economic prosperity and development. As such, dozens of smaller networks as expected to be developed by the end of the decade.

The government has hitherto maintained that the market is primarily responsible for the development of broadband infrastructure, though it has focussed on stimulating competition and new service development as well as on public/private partnerships. While the regulator favours an infrastructure facilities-based regulatory regime between telcos and cablecos to stimulate competition, this will need adjustment in relation to the development of FttH infrastructure since there remains insufficient economic viability for multiple fibre networks outside the major cities. As such FttH penetration has not progressed beyond about 15%, since most consumers do not perceive the extra value of higher-cost fibre against the existing excellent cable and upgraded DSL offerings. Stimulating fibre infrastructure is thus a continuing concern as the country moves forward.

Mobile penetration stood at about 130% in early 2010. The success in this sector in coming years will largely rest on strong competition among the network operators and the range of MVNOs which has kept consumer prices low. Operators have shifted their focus on migrating prepaid subscribers to contract plans, and while SMS is the most popular mobile data service the main players have invested in software upgrades to stimulate high-end data services.

The auction of 2.6GHz spectrum licences in mid-2010 saw the introduction of a new player in the mobile market – Ziggo 4 – which will allow the main cablecos Ziggo and UPC to deploy and run telecom and broadcast networks and so complement their existing bundled services (based on fixed-line access) with mobile voice and broadband offers. This is a welcome re-entry for the cablecos in the Dutch mobile market, for both of them had operated MVNO services until scrapping them due to low customer take-up.

Netherlands – key telecom parameters – 2009, 2011

Sector 2009/2011 (e)
Broadband
Fixed broadband subscribers (million) 6.01/6.84
Fixed broadband penetration rate 37%/47%
Subscribers to telecoms services
Fixed-line telephony (million) 7.27/7.55
SIM cards in service (million) 20.5/23.8
SIM penetration (population) 123%/133%
(Source: BuddeComm)

Market highlights

- The excellent cross-platform infrastructure in the Netherlands has helped to propel the country to the top of the international league tables for broadband penetration. KPN’s DSL network reaches 99% of all homes while cable networks reach 95%. DSL commands about 56% of broadband connections and cable 40%. The DSL base is set to fall in coming years, as the numerous municipal fibre networks increase their geographic reach, and lead to increased customer churn.
- Fibre infrastructure is the country’s strong card, acting as a foundation and stimulus for the country’s budding transactor developments and serving as a model for strategies in other European countries. The regulator was among the first in the world to institute an effective wholesale regime, guaranteeing other telcos with non-discriminatory access to the incumbent’s network at fixed rates. Similar regulation which opened the cable networks to access to third parties will further stimulate competition in coming years.
- Mobile data revenues are comparatively low in the Netherlands, representing only about 5% of total mobile revenue. About half the subscriber bases spend next to nothing on mobile data services, usually because of the cost involved. To address this reticence among consumers mobile operators have introduced flat-fee offers. Stimulated by the plethora of paid applications made available through competing mobile operating platforms, operators expect mobile data to breach 30% of total revenue by the end of 2011.
- Mobile TV was launched in late 2009 by MTVNL, competing directly with KPN’s Mobiel TV service which uses the DVB-H standard. The Netherlands remains one of the few countries where DMB and DVB-H compete with each other. National coverage should be reached by 2015. Although the uptake has been slow, events such as the football world cup and the 2012 Olympics may stimulate mobile TV use and push it as a mainstream rather than frivolous activity.

More info: http://www.budde.com.au/

BPN 1424

BPN 1423 Our company EMR celebrates 20 years of existence

Today it is 20 years ago that Electronic Media Reporting, often shortened to EMR, was registered in the Chambers of Commerce database as a company. Having worked for publishing companies like VNU and Kluwer, I had joined a Dutch software group MID, a spin-off of the VNU computer department. This company was going to be a leader in publishing software, introducing the make-up language SGML (Standard Generalised Mark-up language), a precursor of HTML and producing CD-ROMs with textual databases. However the publishing arm of the company failed and in 1990 people were asked to leave the company. So was I.


As I had been building up a trade in writing articles and had been a consultant in electronic publishing, I saw opportunities to start a business with my partner. So I had to find a name and make a profile. Eventually the name Electronic Media Reporting was selected, indicating the core business of the company: reporting about electronic media in consultancy and in publications (these days electronic media reporting is used in the US in order to indicate the process of reporting data electronically). A profile was written, but it projected basically the most ideal business. However over the years the business grew into four areas:
a. strategic advice: positioning content firms, development of content strategies;
b. studies: market studies, forecasting and scenario studies;
c. evaluation and auditing: evaluating proposals and auditing projects on maters of technology, organisation and finances;
d. publicity: editing newsletters, setting up conferences, writing books, blogs.

Over the years the services of Electronic Media Reporting have been requested by:
- The Dutch magazine publisher Broadcast Press Hilversum to be editor in chief of a biweekly newsletter on new media;
- Dutch the news agency ANP and a Dutch consortium of newspaper publishers to advise on the business plan for a selective news service, VNU and Wolters Kluwer for developing CD-ROMs and training for Internet;
- GOC for marketing research into the multimedia industry in The Netherlands;
- TNO to assist in the European Commission’s Midas program;
- The Dutch newspaper publisher Wegener to set up digital archives;
- The Dutch branch organisation of graphical entrepreneurs KVGO to assist with a strategic study;
- Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs for a report on the online business;
- European Commission for a monitor report on CD-media and several project reviews;
- Partner in several EU sponsored projects such as Docdel, INFORM, ACTEN, X-Melina, INYOP and lately Scienar.
- Secretariat for the European Academy of Digital Media (EADiM).

Presently also activities in the Middle East in the field of e-government are undertaken, e.g. Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Dubai.

The company has had its ups and downs. But it has three networks; one in the Netherlands, one in Europe and one worldwide. Through these networks the company has been in touch and co-operating with very interesting people over the years.
With the blog Buziaulane, the company has been reporting on electronic media for over 5 years now. Lately the blog has been underused, as a book is being produced about the pre-internet period in the polder, electronic media in The Netherlands from 1967-1997. The book is planned for publication in October 2010. After the publication the reporting on electronic media on the blog will be taken up again. Besides Buziaulane there are specialised blogs:
- Of ebooks and digital papers;
-Weblog museum;
- Fiber to my Almere home (FTMH);
- World Summit Award (WSA).

As for today, we will raise a glass with bubbles and start working on the next 5 years.

BPN 1422 iRex Technologies bancrupt

Earlier this month the Dutch e-reader developer and manufacturer iRex Technologies requested for protection under chapter 11. Since 29 June the company has gone in receivership with a debt of 10 million euro. Martijn Kemps, the lawyer treating the bancruptcyexpectes that iRex will be able to make a new start as many parties have shown interest in the IPR and operational knowledge of the company.

iRex Technologies has been a pioneer in the digital page display technology. It started out as a Philips company which brought the e-Ink display technology from the laboratory to the factory. While e-Ink had debvveloped the principle of the digital page technology, iRex Technologies used the substrate technology of Philips to make a workable ereader. iRex Technology was also the first company to bring a usuable ereader to market, the Iliad.

iRex Technology nested itself in the top of the market, striving after quality and pricing its ereaders high. Competition by manufacturers of cheaper ereaders and marketing setbacks made it not easy for iRex Technologies to conquer a fair market share. Amazon.com talked to iRex Technologies about the production of the Kindle, but did not get to an agreement in the end. Last year iRex Technologies missed the Christmas season sales for which it had teamed up with Barnes & Noble.

Last month the company went into chapter 11 and looked for 2 million euro to bridge the financial gap. However when a regional development banker and the Deutsche Bank broke off talks, the bancruptcy was inevitable.

Tags: ereader, ebook

BPN 1558 WSA Mobile on the fast track (3)

This a is the list of the winners of the World Summit Mobile

Category: m-Business and Commerce
EKO
Mobile vending
Railnavigator
Consumer Reports Mobile Shopper
Mark & Spencers mobile commerce

Category: m-Government and Participation
German Government/ Deutsche Bundestag
Boston Connect
M-Post
e-Gov Mobile Portal
Many to One SMS

m-Learning ad Education
Grace
Drona
BBC Jalana
Tickle Taps App
Hesabi (My Maths)

m-Entertainment and Lifestyle
Angry Birds
Hidden Park
Sekai Camera
African Digital
Omlet.ru

m-Tourism and Culture
Wikitude – Mobilizy
WI-BIKE
Ligo Ligo
Hungarian Tourism
Smartmuseum

m-Media ad News
You are Reporter
m.guardian.co.uk and the Guardian iPhone App
ABC iPhone/iPad application
Need4Feed
Apontador Traffic/Apontador Transito

m-Environment and Health
Welldoc Diabetes Manager System
mGovernance
excellent mobile medical application – E.M.M.A
Mobile Te-Tol/Mobilne portal Te-Tol
Medica

m-Inclusion and Empowerment
Emergency Chain for Guatamala/ CADENA DE EMERGENCIA de Guatamala
Dialog Tradenet
Mobile Voices/Voz Mob
Mobile Link Services
My Handicap

BPN 1558

BPN 1421 Digital paper pioneer iRex in chapter 11

The Eindhoven (The Netherlands) based ereader manufacturer iRex Technologies has gone into a comparable situation as chapter 11 last Tuesday. The company has cash problems as US sales have been delayed.

Last year iRex Technologies announced a deal with the bookstore chain Barnes & Noble and the online shop Best Buy. The ereader DR800SG customised for the US market with 3G functionality and a touch screen was supposed to reach the stores by the Christmas season. However, the Federal an inspection Communications Commission (FCC) took more time for inspection of the device than hoped for and iRex Technologies missed the season sales. As a replacement Barnes & Noble launched the Nook at the end of October 2009. In the end also the Best Buy deal did not work out as foreseen.

The CEO of iREX Technologies, a Philips spin-off, incorporated in Luxembourg, claims that the position of the company is not hopeless. The company has a problem with cash flow and banks are not really accommodating. However, the CEO Mr Brons still hopes that the situation will be solved.

iRex Technologies was the first manufacturer to appear on the market with an ereader based on the e-Ink display technology in 2006. The US has been the target market for iRex Technologies from the beginning. In comparison to the multilingual Europe, the US is a homogeneous market with many nationals reading the languages English and Spanish. However, the company was unable to sell its ereader with the Mobypocket reader to Amazon and had to settle for Barnes & Noble.

In Europe iRex Technologies has not made many inroads. In its home country The Netherlands, the company was unable to organise a marketing action with the book and newspaper publishers. It has had sporadic projects. The national quality paper NRC Handelsblad started cooperation, but no other paper followed due to the high price and technical problems. A project with the bookstore chain Selexyz was not a success; having been selling more brands of ereaders, Selexyz now has signed with Samsung for the E60 ereader. The company missed the Dutch market completely when the Dutch bookpublishers adopted the EPUB standard instead of Amazon’s Mobypocket and Sony with a cheaper ereader made a deal with the online bookstore Bol.com.

Tags: ereader, ebook

BPN 1420 eBook becomes political item

At last, the issue of Value Added Tax on eBooks is taken serious. Throughout Europe there is a difference between the VAT on printed books and eBooks. The printed books have the low tariff and buyers pay the high tariff for eBooks. Recently in Spain the discussion was started up; now Dutch EU parliamentarians Sophie in 't Veld and Marietje Schaake request the EC to take action, as is clear from their written questions.

On 16 December Spain’s culture ministry announced plans to slash VAT on electronic books to the same low level as traditional paper editions. In a statement the ministry said to lower the tax from 16 percent to 4 percent on the electronic devices. The move was initiated by the publishing industry.

Now also the Dutch EU parliamentarians thinks it unexplainable that for a printed version in The Netherlands 6 percent VAT has to be paid, while for an electronic book 19 percent. This also defeats the EU objective to promote innovation and sustainability. The move would also stimulate the European eBook industry and subsequently the hardware industry such as iRex Technologies, Bookeen and Plastic Logic.

Besides the VAT the fixed book price is also being discussed for electronic books. The Dutch ministry of Culuture is reviewing the fixed book price law, which has been in effect for 5 years now. In the review a fixed price will be considered for eBooks. Presently the price of eBooks can be set by the publisher. So far eBooks have been cheaper 20 procent cheaper than printed books. A working party of the Dutch booksellers association with members as Bol.com has already recommended to the association to have a fixed price for ebooks.

Blog Posting Number: 1420

Tags: ebook, eReader

BPN 1419 Eat your heart out, Roger Fidler

The presentation of the Apple iPAD is a milestone for the newspaper publishers, regardless of the actual gadget. For it is years ago – to be exact from 1991 – that the newspaper company Knight Ridder sponsored a new media lab to develop the newspaper of the future. Head of the New Media Lab was Roger Fidler.

One of the outcomes of the lab activities was the Electronic Tablet. The Electronic Tablet never came further than a not working prototype (see illustration) and a very realistic promotion movie. The lab was suspended in 1995 and Roger Fidler started a tour around the world and also landed in Amsterdam, where he showed the promotion movie (still not available on YouTube; I have a digital copy which I transferred from the video tape). If you replace the Electronic Tablet in the movie with the iPAD, you see that Roger Fiddler was on the right track, but that the necessary technology was not available yet. So eat your heart out, Roger.

Digital newspapers developers should really look at the movie. It tells what the iPAD can do for an electronic newspaper. It goes further than the static digital paper e-reader copy, which basically present the newspaper in pdf. E-readers have become the representative of the static black and white books and newspapers by the introduction of the iPAD. Now the dynamic digital newspaper can be shown with the newspaper as is, but also with a movie behind the photograph. Welcome to the new gadget which gives colour to the world and opens up a completely new avenue for publishers: the mobile entertainment centre. It will carry information in multimedia and link in friends of the social network.

But having looked at the strategic implications of the iPAD, the gadget warrants a closer look. For what has Apple iPAD to offer? First impression is a larger screen than that of the iPhone and for the rest much of the same. And some gurus already question the quality and use of the movies, the typing on the iPAD. Reading a book will be tiresome on the LCD-screen. So do we have to be happy with the iPAD? I think that we should as it is a break-through of a mobile entertainment centre, which is going to be of strategic value for newspaper and magazine publishers.

BTW Have a look at the funny take-off on the iPAD.

I finally found the video of Knight Ridder with Roger Fidler.


Blog Posting Number: 1419

Tags: newspaper

BPN 1418 Holy tweet, wireles communication with heaven

A smile came to my face, when I read the news item that the Roman Catholic pope Benedict XVI had been admonishing priests to start using internet, start writing blogs and start twittering. So far this pope has not really stimulated the nouveautees, but he seems to be serious now. As I studied theology/philosophy at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans (La.) years ago from 1966 till 1970, I have of course an opinion about priests and new media. I think that priests should have been in this business already a long time. After all communication is their core business and especially wireless communication or communication with heaven.

And there have been role models of priests busy with internet, blogs and podcast. In 2006 I attended a presentation of Roderick Vonhögen, a Dutch priest podcasting to a worldwide flock. He started out comparing operating systems to beliefs. In hardware you belief in PCs and Macs an in software in Windows or OS X and in Western religious circles you believe in Catholicism and Protestantism. One of his statements was stunning: the world is my parish. And of course his iPod is the virtual pulpit. With his podcasts he attracts thousands of listeners, which is much more than the parishioners he sees during the week.

Vonhögen runs the podcast Catholic Insider, a podcast on the Roman Catholic Church. It started all with death of Pope John Paul last year April and the election of pope Benedict. While many broadcast companies were sending their reports from Saint Peter’s Square in Rome, Vonhögen was reporting events on the burial and election of the new pope, explaining procedures and interviewing people.

His philosophy is rather simple. The Roman Catholic Church is a global community. Using an IPod he can reach many members of this community, in fact more than his usual parishioners. He shares his personal experience and does not have to worry about time and place. In the meantime he has started a daily breakfast show The Daily Breafast, a light program about Roman Catholicism, culture, books, movies and mythology.

Blog Post Number: 1418

Tags: podcast, twitter

BPN 1417 Grilling an old hand

This afternoon Ms Neelie Kroes, the EU commissioner designate for the Digital Agenda, will be grilled by the European Parliament, said the headline. This sounded alarming, but does she have to fear anything? First of all it is not het first grilling session. When she was appointed to be the EU Commissioner for Competition, she was grilled for the first time. Critical questions were fired at her on her favouring particular companies in the past. She was able to refute the charges. The grilling sessions have a strict format: every member of the parliamentary committee will be able to ask questions. The representatives have a minute to pose their question and the EU Commissioner to be has two minutes to answer.

Questions for Neelie Kroes will centre on her relationship with Microsoft. During the period as EU Commissioner for Competition she really took on the monopolist. Other questions will be on open software and broadband networks. Will Ms Neelie Kroes stimulate open software and open content, especially in government? Another issue will be copyright. So real critical questions on which she can slip can hardly be posed.

Besides her portfolio is Digital Agenda. This is not a field she does not know anything about. In her first turn as EU Commissioner she had to deal with the economic aspects of computing issues. She wanted Microsoft to unbundle Windows and Internet Explorer. Finally Microsoft bowed, but a browser company like Netscape lost the fight with Microsoft and the open-source browser Mozilla gains only followers, now that the unbundling is official.

But also before her turn as EU Commissioner she was involved with Digital Agenda issues. As the rector of a business school, she invited Bill Gates to Holland in 1996 to bestow an honorary doctorate on him.

(c) NBBI/EMR, 1980

But even before that, she dealt with Digital Agenda issues. In fact she was early involved in online services. From 1977 till 1981 she was Deputy Minister of Traffic in the Netherlands and dealt with new media. In 1980 she opened the Dutch node of the Euronet-Diane network, a datanetwork set up by the European Community (see illustration above). At the accompanying exhibition, the Euronet Diane network was demonstrated by the EC official Franco Mastroddi (see illustration left).

(c) NBBI/EMR, 1980


At that time online networks and services got introduced. In 1978 videotex was shown at a consumer electronics fair Firato. In 1980 Viditel, the first Dutch public online service based on videotext and run by the PTT, the state mail and telephone company, was opened. The launch had been planned in the summer, so that the service could scale up easily. Ms Kroes was at that time on holiday in the Dutch lake district of Friesland. And to give the launch a touch of innovation, she was going to launch the service from a yacht. Officials and journalists were gathered in The Hague for the launch ceremony and looking at a televised transmission. Just before the moment supreme, the television cameras started to snore and the lights to glow. And then everything went dark, when she pushed. It was a real omen for the future of the service.

It will be hard to grill Ms Neelie Kroes on the subject of Digital Agenda; she is an old hand.

Update 15/1/2010: The hearing session of Ms Neelie Kroes by a commission of EU parlementarians had a surprising end: Ms Kroes will be invited for a resit. Not all of her answers had been strong, it was said. However, this seems to be a political excuse used by christian democrats and socialists parliamentarians as some of thier candidates for other European Commission positions are being criticised.  This is unbelievable: many of her interogators were still wearing pampers, when Ms Kroes started to use new media! To be continued next week.

Blog Posting Number: 1417

Tags: content, copyright, open software, open content

BPN 1416 Colour screen and video on ereader

It is coming, the colour screen and video on an ereader. So far ereader have black/white screens and are slow in internet representation. The Eindhoven based company Liquavista, a Philips Research spin-off, is now showing a colour screen and video at CES in Las Vegas thanks to the technology of electrowetting.

Electrowetting looks like the e-Ink technology. They both work without backlightning and have low energy consumption. E-Ink technology is fully implemented now for ereaders in the meantime. Electrowetting will change the reader from reading to entertaining and yield a complete new range of interactive colour devices for consumers. Now ereaders based on the principle of e-Ink technology are used as text iPods in black and white and audio iPods. Devices based on electrowetting will become content devices, offering ebooks and epapers in colour, audio, but also high-fidelity video as well as internet. The greatest advantage will be the low energy consumption.

Electrowetting is now shown as a laboratory development, which will be in operation by the end of the year or the beginning of next year. The production is rather simple as 90 percent of the existing LCD production equipment and processes are being used.

Plastic Logic Unveils QUE E-book Reader. At CES the digital paper manufacturer Plastic Logic on Thursday introduced its QUE e-book reader device, which features a 10.7-inch touch-screen display, is about one-third of an inch thick, and will sell for $649 (4GB + Wi-Fi) and $799 (8GB + Wi-Fi + AT&T 3G). Pre-orders for the device are now available from the QUE Store and will ship in mid-April. Later this year, the QUE will also go on sale at Barnes & Noble stores nationwide, and from the bookseller's website.

Samsung Ebook Readers with Stylus Pen. On Thursday at CES Samsung debuted its first two e-book reader devices, the $399 E6, which features a six-inch screen, and the $699 E10, which sports a ten-inch screen. Both devices feature non-back-lit displays, which come with a built-in electromagnetic resonance stylus pen that can be used to write annotations or create to-do lists directly on the device's screen. The devices, set to ship in early 2010, will also feature Wi-Fi capability and Bluetooth, which allows sharing of certain content with other devices.

Plastic Logic and Samsung are creating a new top of the range. Kindle DX and iRex Digital Reader 1000 series were already leading the pack, but they will now get company of Plastic Logic and Samsung. They will be sitting together uneasily as the prices are same range and a choice of preference will made on facilities and services such as news online and telephone services.

While this ‘traditional’ fight will go on in the market place for the year to come, Electrowetting will get introduced by the beginning of next year with colourful devices and have competition awaiting from Apple, from new LCD manufacturers like Pixel Qi and to a less extent from HP, Asus and others. And these new players will not just be in the market for flogging books and newspapers. They will do text, audio and video on the content container. And a complete new game with ebooks, epapers, emagazines, music and video will start.

Blog Posting Number: 1416

Tags: ebook, ereader

BPN 1415 Content, community and commerce

It is CES-time. The Consumer Electronics Show has opened in Las Vegas. So it is time for the announcements. Google tried to steal the thunder with its smart phone from Apple, which is rumoured to announce the iSlate, a multimedia tablet, functioning as movie screen, iPOD and as ereader. And the ereaders will be obvious in the stream of press releases.

Amazon came with a press release for the international market. It introduced a new version of its larger-screen Kindle e-book reader, the Kindle DX with Global Wireless, which features wireless Internet connectivity in 100 countries. The company has said that the 9.7-inch display on the Kindle DX, first released last May, is more suited to reading newspapers, magazines and textbooks. The move will also make AT&T the company's global partner for 3G Kindle connectivity, replacing previous partner Sprint in the US. The $489 global Kindle DX is available for pre-order today, and will begin shipping on January 19, 2010. As said before I wonder whether the Kindle DX and the Kindle 6 inches are going to sell in Europe at all, given the Mobipocket format and the unknown AT&T network.

Also Microsoft had a product announcement. It finally showed its tablet. Not the rumoured Courier with two pages to be closed like a book, but the HP tablet, a derivative of the HP tablet PC, with a colour screen of 11 inch, but with touch screen technology. And more tablets of this type are to follow, coming from Asus and Archos. A real disappointment. Nothing special, nothing new. But this was not the only disappointment in the product announcement. Microsoft would associate its tablet with the Amazon.com online shop. A cheap choice as the Blio platform had been expected to be the online shop. All together is the Microsoft announcement already the most disappointing product announcement. The tablet was termed to be a Slate PC by Steve Ballmer. It exactly indicates that he does not understand the world of content and text iPODs.

Surprising was the press release of DMC Worldwide. The company announced a new platform dealing with content, community and commerce: The COPIA platform is a hybrid solution for consumers of all ages to experience a completely new way to discover, enjoy, share and purchase books, newspapers, magazines and a wide variety of digital content. At the same time, it integrates a software application engine for OEM brands looking to deliver content across their digital devices including e-readers, notebooks, netbooks, tablets and smartphones. The press release also includes an announcement about its own series of six ereaders: Ocean and Tidal. Every eReader powered by Copia comes standard with 2GB internal storage enough space for about 1500 eBooks. The top of the line Copia Ocean eReader features a 9-inch ePaper capacitive touchscreen, 768 x 1024 pixels resolution, 4-directional tilt-sensor, 3G connectivity (optional), WiFi (802.11b/g), Linux 2.6.21, 2GB internal memory, stereo speaker and 3.5mm stereo jack. The series of ereaders looks like a collection of OEM ereaders already on the market. Copia will be on trial from this month onwards and start selling by April, 2010. At first glance the DMC company seems to combine content, community and commerce for the first time. The question will be whether content is the same community commodity as music.

Blog Posting Number: 1415

Tags: content, community, commerce, ereader, netbook