Mobile phone radiation affects you: What's the govt doing?

Rediff Business / Opinion July 11th 2012

(G Krishna Kumar, Vice President, Symphony Teleca. Views are personal)

While we laud the dramatic rise in India’s Tele-density thanks to the mobile phone penetration, it is concerning to see most subscribers, including the educated class, unaware of the possible health hazards due to radiation from mobile phones and mobile towers.

 

WHO states that mobile phone radiation can possibly cause cancer. Studies are ongoing to fully assess potential long-term effects of mobile phone use and WHO will conduct a formal risk assessment of all studied health outcomes from radio frequency field exposure by 2012.

 

A recent news report suggests that FCC, the US regulator plans to revise the radiation levels as they were set in 1990s when the mobile usage was very different. In fact, India’s National Telecom Policy (NTP- 2012) too recognizes the need for periodic review radiation standards.

 

An inter-ministerial committee recommendation approved late last year talks about some stringent measures to curb radiation.  But the big question is about effective execution. The recommendations include educating the phone users on reducing the radiation effect, reduction in acceptable radiation levels, more commonly known as SAR – Specific Absorption rate, SAR level to be displayed on Mobile phones. SAR indicates the rate at which human body absorbs electromagnetic power radiated from mobile phones.

 

While it is expected that the Mobile phones sold in India will start carrying SAR details by September 2012, what would happen to the existing phones being used? For the high end mobile users, there is some hope. There are downloadable applications that warn users when the radiation level increases.  Also, for most of the branded mobile phones, SAR info is available on the internet. What happens to the unbranded low cost phones?

 

Government should mandate all the mobile phone makers (Over 100 of them) to provide the radiation details for all phone models online and to be available all the retail outlets.  As of now there are no Government approved facilities in India for checking SAR value of a mobile phone. This is because the SAR testing equipment is expensive. Obviously, that cannot be a reason considering that we are dealing with public health and more over, India is the 2nd largest mobile market in the world. DOT should support in establishing test labs in India, maybe through a PPP model at least in all the major cities.

It is important to note that the SAR value by itself does not guarantee that the phone is safe to be used continuously for hours like most people do.  In a research report on Mobile phone radiation, Prof Girish Kumar of IIT Mumbai clarifies that a SAR value of 1.6 W/kg means that the phone can safely be used for about 18 minutes of continuous talking ( with phone held against the ear) in a day.  It is imperative that the Government and the regulator educate the subscribers on this specific aspect.

 

Now let us turn our attention towards the impact of radiation from the mobile towers. The data is even more shocking and research reports indicate that the effect of radiation due to Mobile towers is far higher as it is a 24x7 phenomenon and affects everyone residing near the tower and not limited to mobile subscribers.

As per government directive based on the Inter-ministerial report , Radiation level from Mobile towers should be brought to 10% of the existing limits  by September 2012. Reports suggest, even this reduced limit is way above international norms.  Sample this - India currently allows 9.2W/m2 ( watt per square meter), come Sep 2012, the number would be 0.92W/m2, while many countries follow anywhere between 0.025 to 0.1W/m2. Higher the power emitted by the towers, better would be coverage to the subscribers and this would cost lesser for the Telcos.

 

What is the solution? Should the towers be removed? No. Power level from the towers should be reduced and this means more towers and additional expenditure. However, the cost can be reduced through infrastructure sharing among telcos, some Government subsidy and marginal increase in tariff.

The Telcos have been mandated to provide self-certification of radiation levels from mobile towers. DOT’s TERM department is expected to conduct random test covering 10% of the towers. This may be grossly insufficient considering that there are lakhs of towers installed across the country.  There is a need for a framework that would allow periodic collection of data through designated third parties. Should the Pollution control boards in the states become a key stakeholder in monitoring radiation?

 

In most of the developed countries, Telcos have started deploying Distributed Antennae System (DAS) to overcome the coverage problems. This reduces the number of towers needed and more importantly helps in reducing radiation. Globally, examples abound on DAS implementation in Airports, Malls, Hospitals, educational institutions and resorts.

 

In fact an Instat research report predicts significant growth in DAS implementation in the APAC region by 2015. In Building Solution (IBS) and DAS have been identified as key drivers in a TRAI report and also in the NTP 2012. However, question remains if and when will it be implemented?

There is an urgent need for simple hand-held devices for measuring radiation and available at affordable prices. In fact, such devices must be mandated in educational institutes, Hospitals, Malls, public places and even residential areas.

 

Although mobile has become an integral part of our lives, there are increasing evidences indicating health hazards due to Mobile radiation from Mobile phones and towers. It is imperative that the Government persuades all the stake holders to impart awareness among the Indian subscribers. Considering that public health is most important, Government’s resolve to address the issue through stringent measures, along with a clear implementation plan holds the key! Let’s hope to see some real action from this September.

Mobile handset industry: Is change the name of the game?

February 1, 2012 14:55 IST, Rediff Business - Technology

Mobile Handset Industry: Is change the name of the game?

(G Krishna Kumar is a wireless Telecom professional based in Bangalore.  Blog: http://bloggerkrishnak.blogspot.com, krishnak.krishnak@gmail.com  Views expressed are personal)

Who could have predicted the rise of newcomers Google or Apple in the mobile arena and fall of the traditional market leaders, a few years back? In fact, the Top 5 ranked Smartphone vendors have changed dramatically over the last 5 years. 

Changing Market dynamics

The Mobile industry’s structure has witnessed unprecedented and tumultuous changes over the past two decades as the trendsetters and leaders have rapidly changed. Up until a few years back, the mobile Industry was controlled by the handset manufacturers or OEMs such as Nokia, Sony Ericsson etc on one hand and the Mobile operators on the other hand.

Japan, long considered as a top technology innovator and a pioneer in the mobile Industry has suddenly seen its leadership position eroding.  Although Japan has quite a few firsts to its credit like the concept of App store and mobile money,  the Japanese mobile industry of late has been struggling to keep pace with the Apple-Google effect.

The sheer size of the mobile phone market drives every other hardware or software vendor to believe that they have a high chance of being successful. This has led to creation of many software phone platforms, by companies with deep Mobile Industry expertise and through consortium. However, a few met with limited success and rest simply vanished. Google’s Android, the open source software platform is perhaps the most successful thus far.

In general, why is the Smartphone market important for OEMs and operators? While Smartphones offer maximum margin to OEMs, it also helps in increased data revenue for Operators. Content providers also enjoy direct benefits due to higher consumption of services and applications by Smartphone users.

Apple-Google double impact

The launch of Apple’s iphone and Google’s Android has created an unprecedented double-impact on the mobile Industry - iphone is still the undisputed reference for a Smartphone and has created an “Aspirational value” among business users and consumers alike. In contrast, Google’s Android has ensured availability of hundred of phones at affordable prices.

Apple’s user experience was a game changer, considering that many OEMs over the past 15 years failed in creating a compelling touch driven user experience. Android has played a key role in drastically reducing Smartphone prices to less than Rs5000. Android has significantly reduced engineering and R&D cost, thus lowering the entry barriers in the OEM space. No wonder the Indian OEMs like Micromax, Lava etc provide tough competition to established players in the Indian market. The Semiconductor companies have also enabled this change as they seek to win market share and also be competitive in offering comprehensive solutions to OEMs. Reduction in Hardware and semiconductor costs have also helped in bringing down the phone cost.

Apple is credited for being vertically integrated - offering Applications and content to its users through the App store and the recently launched iCloud service. Google’s App store too experienced tremendous success. This has resulted in a huge disruption in the market allowing users to personalize their phones from lakhs of Applications in the App store. Earlier, users had to depend exclusively on their operator to download Apps/content and this was working nicely for the operators’ walled-garden approach. Large global operators on their part, continue to believe in providing quality apps to its subscribers, but with limited success.

Traditionally, a phone’s life-cycle from concept to realization has taken roughly 18 to 20 months. Over the past couple of years, the cycle has shrunk by more than half.  Newer models hit the market every few months. The drastic reduction in the phone creation cycle has naturally reduced the number of differentiating features among phones. Increasingly product differentiation among the various mobile phones is reducing by the day and the Mobile market is looking more like TV and other consumer electronics market.

More Challenges/ opportunities and more changes!

With most OEMs under severe margin pressure, such a hyper competitive environment is certain to witness more consolidation, allowing only the strong and truly innovative ones to survive. Traditional hardware manufacturers can certainly cause disruption, but the challenging times are here to stay in the OEM space. Operators, on the other hand may eventually have to remain contented being a data-pipe provider (aka landline broadband providers).

As the role of mobile devices becomes ever more important in people’s lives, the platform powering the devices will play a critical role. Hence, more platforms like Android will emerge, however it is unlikely that Android will be displaced in the near future. RIM (creator of Blackberry) is expected to push its platform aggressively. However, Microsoft’s mobile platform may emerge as a dark horse, especially as Nokia has been able to move faster than before.

Another challenge that has come to the fore is Patents. Patent and royalties have always been part of the mobile Industry, but only recently has the patent war been so public. In the past most patent disputes have been relatively low key affairs resolved issues behind closed doors.  In order to strengthen their position, over the last few quarters companies have made significant investment in acquiring available patents from Nortel and IBM, Google buying Motorola etc.  With the on-going cases around the Android platform, and Apple's recent successful patent lawsuit against HTC, it's clear that the patent war is not going to subside anytime soon.

It is proven beyond doubt that in such a market, Innovative companies with strong IP portfolio have a distinct edge. Interacting with the mobile through gestures or tracking eye movement may re-define the market. Will Google’s future technology – Wearable computers bring about the ultimate disruption in the market. 

Apple has tried to maintain the stickiness quotient with its customers and there-by retaining its loyal customer base, however, will Apple be able surprise its users with innovative offerings every year?  Will Apple become a network service provider (MVNO), thereby creating an even tighter vertical integration and provide everything from handsets, network access, content to storage for its users?

The current social networking wave would continue, however, the next wave could well be Mobile-money or mobile wallet. Will other countries be able to repeat Japan’s success in Mobile Money?

Summing-up, the power equation in the Mobile Industry has shifted away from Operators/ OEMs to platform providers. Android and iphone, considered outsiders from a mobile industry perspective were able to revolutionize the mobile Industry and have created immense positive network externalities. Due to the dynamic nature of this industry, anyone within or outside the mobile ecosystem now have an equal chance of changing the mobile Industry. Amidst all the changes and challenges faced by the Industry, for the average mobile phone user, the good times are here to stay!