WALK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN

The sun had set and day 18 of the resilient protests was coming to a close at Cairo's Tahrir 'Liberation' Square when a stone faced Egyptian Vice President, Omar Suleiman made an announcement in the public domain. The 20 second statement released on February 11, 2011, translates to:

'Taking into consideration the difficult circumstances the country is going through, President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak has decided to leave the post of president of the republic and has tasked the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to manage the state's affairs.'

Over a million protesters were in prostration offering prayer at Tahrir Square and Alexandria's Central Square when news of an end to the Mubarak regime broke. The statement triggered off an overwhelming sense of euphoria as the countless protesters rose to face the heavens. A deafening roar followed as the people of Egypt broke into celebration to vent their sense of relief, anger, anguish, joy and long overdue, freedom.

Although, we must not forget the tiny country of Tunisia, situated on the northernmost tip of Africa, that sparked off these revolutionary demonstrations inspiring the people of Egypt to create history a few weeks later. On December 17, 2010, demonstrations against the corrupt autocrat Ben Ali led to wide spread protests and violence across the country. Referred to as the 'Jasmine Revolution', the movement precipitated by corruption, inflation, unemployment, lack of freedom and poor living conditions eventually led to the ouster of president Ben Ali on January 14, 2011. The Tunisian protests ending Ali's 23 year regime have inspired similar uprisings in Yemen, Algeria, Bahrain, Ethiopia and Jordan.

The US has been tracking every development in the Middle East with a keen eye as the recent protests are posing a dilemma to its wide spread imperialism in the region. The Obama administration has been working overtime to debate the course of action to maintain their strategic, political and economic interests in the region. In light of the sprouting demonstrations, it will be interesting to observe the strategy adopted by the US to back their puppets in these countries in order to withstand an unrest of such magnitude and intensity, thereby maintaining dominance over their middle eastern allies.

We have already witnessed the build up to a historic triumph of the people of Egypt, although this may just be the tip of the iceberg. As political uprisings are evidently snowballing, a revolution seems to be unfolding with the middle east undergoing an unpredictable phase of transitioning governments.

THE WORLD IN YOUR PALM

A peek into the telecom industry and how it has come a long way, transforming lives of the millions privy to its services.

Announcing its arrival in Indian markets sometime in 1995, this industry has not only witnessed astronomical growth but also instigated healthy albeit cutthroat competition along the way. India is sensing major advancements in this sector and a string of new players coming into the picture have set the pulses racing for an intense battle. At present India is host to nearly 20 telecom service providers in 23 circles across the nation and houses close to a staggering 90 mobile handset manufacturers as per 2010 reports.

Among the fastest growing sectors of India incorporated, the $30 billion dollar telecom sector over the next few years is expected to bring in heavy domestic and foreign investments. As per BCG reports, the Indian telecom sector will witness an estimated influx of over $50 billion in investments and the market is projected to cross the $100 billion mark by 2015. The industry is touted to enjoy a steady and continuous annual growth at over 12%.

Telecom networks in India grew by more than 40% taking the total wireless subscriber base past 700 million in October, 2010. The 100 million subscriber base landmark was breached by top players with Bharti Airtel doing it in 2009, followed by Vodafone and Reliance Communications in 2010. Teledensity has surged from 52% in March, 2010 to 62% in October, 2010 indicating rapid penetration of telecom in the country.

Beyond these figures, the larger picture here is how this technology has become an integral part of our daily lives and how our increasing dependency on the mobile phone has made it a means to our survival in the modern day and age. From the time we wake up to blaring alarms set on our phones to the time we tuck ourselves in at night with the phone to our ears till sleep kicks in. Technology has literally brought the world to our fingertips. At the push of a button we can stay in touch, access the internet, track our bank account, prepare notes/presentations for office meetings, capture memorable moments, access audio/visual media and more. The mobile phone is perceived as a full fledged personal assistant rather than just another mode of communication. With talks of the 'Mobile Wallet' gathering momentum in India, phones will essentially replace the contents of our wallet eg. cash, credit/debit cards, keys, metro/bus pass. People will be able to carry out transactions, say payment, via a mobile phone carrying an integrated chip that will be scanned by a card reader to debit the requisite amount electronically. This technology developed in late 2005 by NTT DoCoMo, Japan goes by the name Osaifu-Keitai, literally meaning 'Wallet Mobile' has already revolutionised the lives of its users and is now grabbing eyeballs among Indian telecom players.(see video)

At present, the telecom ministry is going through turbulent times with the unearthing of the 2G spectrum scam, but on the technology front India is anxiety struck with 3G technology yet to hit subscribers in full swing along with the recently launched Mobile Number Portability service which has finally entered Indian markets after a deference of three years.

Speculations that Anil Ambani led Reliance Communication may see elder brother Mukesh enter the telecom space is bound to set off fireworks in the already action packed sector. Exciting days lie ahead with telecom players striving to deliver cutting edge technology coupled with world class services and further incentivising users to ensure loyalty and augment subscriber base in the race for market cap.