Posted by Bharatbook on December 2, 2008 at 2:52am
Annual publication 2008 Europe - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband in Balkans (East) profiles the region’s three largest countries: Greece, Bulgaria and Romania.Impacting on the telecom markets of these three countries is EU-mandated competition, decreasing prices and leading to the introduction of new services by both competing operators and incumbents alike. This report offers an informative insight into the Balkans (East) region, covering regulatory developments, major players in the fixed-line, broadband, convergence and mobile markets, the development of new product offerings for the aforementioned markets, as well as presenting a wide variety of industry-related statistics in addition to broadband penetration forecasts to the year 2018.Key highlights:• Customer churn levels and the level of competition is expected to increase in Romania in 2009 following the introduction of number portability for both the fixed and mobile markets in October 2008. For the country overview, see chapter 3, page 55.• Competition in Bulgaria and Romania will improve in the future as each country’s respective regulator completes market analyses during 2009/10 and imposes obligations on SMP operators (ie, incumbents) to improve competition, particularly in fixed-line markets.• Healthy infrastructure-based competition exists in the broadband markets of Bulgaria and Romania due to well established cable TV providers as well as a large number of informal LANs.• Within Greece the actions of the regulator has improved the wholesale market, with wholesale accounting for over 40% of total DSL connections, the overarching technology platform for broadband access in Greece. For the country overview, see chapter 2, page 26.• The state of the wholesale DSL market in Bulgaria and Romania is expected to pick up once regulators complete market analyses during 2009/10 and oblige incumbents to offer network access.• IPTV take up is on the rise in all three countries, as incumbents and telecom operators acquire additional content and improve service offerings. In Bulgaria and Romania cable operators are fighting back by launching triple play offerings.• Mobile operators have once again focused on mobile data, leveraging now widely-available EDGE/WCDMA/HSDPA networks to launch aggressively priced mobile broadband access with prepaid data bundles.• With mobile voice markets at saturation, the underdeveloped mobile broadband market is the new revenue growth opportunity and hence competitive battleground for mobile operators, with competition expected to put downward pressure on tariffs in 2009 and beyond. This in turn will negatively impact other wireless broadband providers, particularly the WiMAX service providers, given the market power of the mobile operators and the reach of their networks.Balkans (East) – mobile subscribers and penetration rate – March 2008Country Subscribers PenetrationBulgaria 10,000,000 137%Greece 15,400,000 138%Romania 24,600,000 110%(Source: Based on ITU and Global Mobile data)This report Subjects include:Market and industry analyses, trends and developmentsFacts, figures, statistics and broadband forecasts to 2017Industry and regulatory issuesResearch, Marketing, BenchmarkingMajor Players, Revenues, Subscribers, Network deploymentsVoIP, ADSL, ADSL2+, FttH, LAN, WiFi, WiMAX, IPTV, VoD, triple play, digital TV, DTTV, 3G, i-mode and HSDPAFor more information please visit: http://www.bharatbook.com/productdetail.asp?id=84342Bharat Book Bureau207, Hermes Atrium, CBD Belapur, Navi Mumbai - 400 614, India.Phone : +91 22 2757 8668 / 2757 9438Fax : +91 22 2757 9131E-mail : info@bharatbook.comWebsite : www.bharatbook.com
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Posted by Bharatbook on November 26, 2008 at 1:59am
Cyber attacks have for some time been no longer in the realm of fiction or film, but a cause for concern in the real world. Although annoying acts such as website defacements and virus spread have become fairly common, the cyber attacks in the Baltic state of Estonia in early 2007 managed to disrupt that country's financial system for a few weeks. There were concerns that this could be just the tip of the iceberg in computer network attacks; certainly, it was an event that showed how effective attacks on IT networks and systems could be, even at national level. Certainly, the consequences would be much more significant if those attacks had occurred on a greater scale, attacking central computers in government, policing and defence, in a nation or group of nations. It has been suggested that those attacks were a foretaste of what dedicated hackers belonging to terrorist groups or hostile powers could do, constituting a new form of warfare - cyberwarfare. Such threats would be far more serious than those of amateur hackers, despite the inconvenience these have caused. Furthermore, professional hacking groups or cells are likely to be far harder to repel, locate, close down, capture and convict.The cyberwarfare market is already large and growing, with most of the spending at present devoted to cyber defence.Expects the market to grow consistently from 2008 onwards. Rumours of developing cyber offensive capabilities and actions will further induce nations to do more to protect their vital networks, as well as stimulate the development of cyberwarfare capabilities as a natural progression in defence. The interest is strong among many nations to develop or improve their abilities to deal with cyberwarfare, providing significant opportunities for companies involved in computer protection and IT systems hardware, software and services in general.There is now a realisation among many governments and militaries that "cyberspace" has become a new battleground, possibly on par with other recognised battle spaces in conventional warfare and defensive operations.This new report - Cyberwarfare, 2008-2018 - describes the present and potential market for defence cybersecurity and related defensive operations, with relevant data and informed opinion. This information is equally valuable to both defence procurement operations and to relevant technology providers.This report provides a market outlook for cyberwarfare, focusing on the following aspects:• Overview of the threats from cyber attacks as well as key tools and solutions.• A survey of cyber attack incidents and resulting programmes in key countries in Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific.• A discussion of factors that influence the development of the cyberwarfare market.• Key companies involved in the cyberwarfare market, including government and military cybersecurity.• Forecasts for the 12 leading national markets.• Experts’ views on the issues and outlook for cyberwarfare, including 5 full transcriptions of interviews with leading authorities.Believes that the cyberwarfare market has the capability to expand steadily from the present onwards throughout the foreseeable future. Governments and private organisations are preparing for the real threats of attacks at innumerable potential locations in their vast information systems networks. The increasing sophistication of, and growing reliance, on computer systems and networks by the military, government agencies and critical infrastructure makes security there imperative. Potentially, hostile forces could cause more disruption by those means than by conventional military and terrorist attacks, especially with heightened physical security after the September 11 attacks in the US and later bombings in Madrid and London.Believes that cybersecurity is among the key areas in which militaries and governments will invest significantly, despite the global economic downturn in 2008. Conventional thinking in governments and militaries is that prevention is far better than dealing with the consequences of breached information systems, whether the purpose is spying, disruption or destruction. The risks are simply too great, with IT security companies benefiting from this growing and potentially vast market. Furthermore, IT security is a fast-developing industry, where technological developments in hardware and software, combined with the development of hacking and virus-spreading techniques, demands constant development and updating, with large potential for long-term repeat sales of products and services.For more information please visit: http://www.bharatbook.com/detail.asp?id=84451OrContact us at:Bharat Book Bureau207, Hermes Atrium, CBD Belapur, Navi Mumbai - 400 614, India.Phone : +91 22 2757 8668 / 2757 9438Fax : +91 22 2757 9131E-mail : info@bharatbook.comWebsite : www.bharatbook.com
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Posted by Erik Keith on September 11, 2008 at 6:15pm
First Affirmative Financial Network and the Social Investment Forum, hosts of the 19th annual SRI in the Rockies Conference, have designed their 2008 event to be a “green meeting.” This year’s conference is expected to draw a record 700 sustainable and responsible investment (SRI) industry practitioners and professionals to Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, October 26–28, 2008.According to the Convention Industry Council's definition, a green meeting is “a meeting or event that incorporates environmental considerations to minimize its negative impact on the environment.”George Gay, CEO of First Affirmative, is planning for the 2008 SRI in the Rockies Conference to be a model of social responsibility, and not only with regard to the environment. “It's easy to feel overwhelmed by the changes necessary to create a genuinely ‘green’ meeting,” says Gay. “But whatever we do now—even simply asking questions of hotels—contributes to the momentum that will move green meetings to the mainstream.”As part of First Affirmative’s conference planning process, hotels are asked to complete a request for proposal (RFP) that includes the Best Practices Survey developed by the Green Hotel Initiative (GHI). Hotels that fail to address the RFP's sustainability questions or to complete the GHI survey are eliminated from consideration.The SRI in the Rockies request for proposal also includes extensive questions regarding a hotel's sustainability efforts, such as whether or not the property has evaluated its carbon footprint, is LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), uses locally grown and/or organic food, has a recycling program, and exhibits a commitment to energy efficiency in its operation.“It's an evolutionary, rather than a revolutionary, process,” says First Affirmative President, Steve Schueth. “As we continue to raise the bar on this event each year, we encourage more green events and conventions across the spectrum.”Greening SRI in the Rockies includes working with hotel staff onsite to create awareness as well as lowering energy usage. For example, rather than daily room delivery of newspapers, they are distributed by request. At meals, pitchers of water and other beverages are made available with empty glasses rather than all glasses being pre-filled; bottled water is not available. When attendees enter their rooms, they will find that the television is off, as is all superfluous lighting. Rather than housekeeping replacing bed linens and towels daily, they are instructed to replace them only upon request. The Conference has a Recycling Sponsor, and a Carbon Offset Sponsor. For additional information, please go to http://www.sriintherockies.com/d/SRIR08_Sustainability.pdf.This year’s conference venue, the Fairmont Chateau Whistler, has been awarded a 4 Green Key Rating in the Green Key Eco-Rating Program. For more information, please go to http://www.hotelassociation.ca/site/programs/green_key.htm.A new study, “The Green Event Imperative” by the Event Marketing Institute, found that investment in green event marketing could double over the next 18 months. But the study also found that companies claiming to be active in green initiatives have a significant gap between their participation and their level of commitment.ABOUT FIRST AFFIRMATIVEFirst Affirmative Financial Network, LLC (www.FirstAffirmative.com) is an independent fee-only Registered Investment Advisor (SEC File #801-5687). The company, which manages about $700 million in client portfolios, offers consulting and asset management services through a nationwide network of investment professionals who specialize in serving socially conscious investors. First Affirmative produces the annual SRI in the Rockies Conference (www.SRIintheRockies.com), the premier conference for the sustainable and responsible investment industry in North America.ABOUT THE SOCIAL INVESTMENT FORUMThe Social Investment Forum (SIF) is the U.S. membership association dedicated to advancing the concept, practice, and growth of socially and environmentally responsible investing. SIF members integrate economic, environmental, social, and governance factors into their investment decisions. SIF membership includes more than 500 social investment practitioners and institutions, including financial professionals, analysts, portfolio managers, banks, mutual funds, researchers, foundations, community development organizations, and public educators. More information about the Forum, including the 2007 Report on Socially Responsible Investing Trends in the United States, is available at www.socialinvest.org.REGISTRATION AND SPONSORSHIPSTo register to attend the conference, go to www.sriintherockies.com/register.jsp. For assistance with registration and sponsorships, please contact Krystala Kalil at 303-442-4463 / krystala@SRIintheRockies.com.MEDIA QUESTIONSMo Shafroth for First Affirmative and SRI in the Rockies: 720-470-3653 / mshafroth@csg-pr.comPatrick Mitchell for the Social Investment Forum: 703-276-3266 / pmitchell@hastingsgroup.com
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