Tag Archive for 2008

| July 9, 2008
Comments Off on Only 3% of Mobile Phones Recycled

Only 3% of Mobile Phones Recycled

Only 3% of Mobile Phones RecycledA survey released by Finland based mobile phone maker Nokia has that one of the main reasons why so few people recycle their mobile phones. Most people simply don’t know that it is possible to recycle mobile phones. Even if they were aware that a mobile could be recycled, did not know how to go about doing this.

  • Two thirds said they did not know how to recycle an unwanted mobile device
  • A majority (71%) were unaware of where to recycle an unwanted mobile device.
  • Globally, half of those surveyed didn’t know phones could be recycled, with awareness lowest in India at 17% and Indonesia at 29%, and highest in the UK at 80% and 66% in Finland and Sweden.

Nokia also found some other interesting factoids about our mobile phones recycling habits.

  • On average consumers have owned around five phones.
  • Only 3% of people recycle their mobile phones.
  • Three out of every four people indicated that they don’t even think about recycling their devices
  • Nearly half of the respondents were unaware that it is even possible to recycle their mobile phones.
  • The majority of retired phones, 44%, are kept at homes never used again.
  • One quarter of users are passing on their old phones to friends or family
  • Sixteen percent of people are selling their used devices particularly in emerging markets.
  • Remarkably only 4%, of retired mobile devices are being thrown into landfill.

Markus Terho, Director of Environmental Affairs, Markets, at Nokia said, “If each of the three billion people globally owning mobiles brought back just one unused device we could save 240,000 tons of raw materials and reduce greenhouse gases to the same effect as taking 4 million cars off the road.”

Up to 80% of any Nokia device is recyclable and precious materials within it can be reused to help make new products. Mr. Terho said, “Using the best recycling technology nothing is wasted. Between 65 – 80 per cent of a Nokia device can be recycled. Plastics that can’t be recycled are burnt to provide energy for the recycling process, and other materials are ground up into chips and used as construction materials or for building roads. In this way nothing has to go to landfill.”

Nokia has collection points for unwanted mobile devices in 85 countries around the world, the largest voluntary scheme in the mobile industry. People can drop off their old devices at Nokia stores and almost 5,000 Nokia Care Centers. To find their nearest take back point people can visit ecoATM.

Related articles

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him at LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , ,
| July 5, 2008
Comments Off on Converting from Centrex to a PBX

Converting from Centrex to a PBX

Converting from Centrex to a PBXSomething to be aware of as you plan a migration from Centrex to PBX or VoIP. There is a potential that if the customer does not use the phone system that the LEC sells, the LEC may charge the customer for the in-house wiring.  There have been cases where the LEC was seeking over $100,000 for the wiring after the customer switched.

Cable plant

In some areas, regulators have allowed the LEC to carry some OSP (Outside Plant Cables) on the regulated side of the books so some projected accounting value minus the depreciation would need to be recovered by the LEC if the customer were to leave the LEC. OSP has a life expectancy of 25 years or more, especially in environmentally protected locations such as equipment rooms.

A general rule of thumb is if the cable is black jacketed it is OSP. If the cable is gray or beige it is Inside Wire or cable such as riser. In some states, at the time of the ATT break up and thereafter black jacketed cable is still carried on the LEC’s books while the gray jacket is expensed. However, the customer should talk to the LEC OSPE (Outside Plant Engineer) as soon as possible to determine your specific situation.

The OSPE may want the customer to buy the risers and black jacket, which may include a 50-year-old black jacket, a mixture of Paper & Lead (a method of insulating conductors using paper pulp and covering in a lead jacket) as well as more current PIC (Plastic Insulated Cable).

An option would be to rebuild the complex. This option could be less expensive and easier than negotiating with the OSPE to take over 50 years of infrastructure.  Infrastructure which will never support any modern high-speed services.

Rebuilding the infrastructure also provides an opportunity to turn the tables on the LEC. With their own infrastructure, it is possible for the Owner to tell the LEC to vacate the building since they no longer provide service beyond the MDF. Maybe this is your opportunity to link the buildings with fiber and replace older copper while it is in good shape (having been inside most of its life).

Another tactic would be to convince the Telco into certifying that they had “abandoned the cable in place.” If the LEC has installed the infrastructure, and if they want to claim ownership of the cable then they would be responsible for removing the cable as is required by state/local building codes. In many areas, if a cable is not terminated on both ends then it is considered to be abandoned and must be removed. Removing cable is almost as expensive as installing it.

PBX Circuit sales

Another advantage Owners may have is that the LEC is the Centrex provider. A PBX deployment still represents an opportunity for DS-1, DS-3, and trunks sale. Another lever would be to keep a small Centrex as a backup, as part of a business continuity plan as well as ISDN services to remote locations.

One consideration is that when taking over the cable plant the LEC will have to deal with the fact that there may be customers within the facilities that were not part of the enterprise and which were customers of the LEC. We ended up having to sign a “Shared Sheath” or condominium agreement with the owner. The condominium agreement will let the LEC support their customers on the Owners riser system. The Owner will have to provide a technician to help the LEC in mapping out cable pathways for their customers.

Related articles

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , ,
| July 1, 2008
Comments Off on RIP Windows XP

RIP Windows XP

Updated – 08-08-08 Business PC buyers are still overwhelmingly opting for Microsoft’s (MSFT) Windows XP according to HP (HPQ). Rob Kingston, Group Manager of Commercial Product Marketing for HP said in an article in APC, “Looking into the crystal ball, I don’t think businesses will see much value in upgrading to Vista until late next year, and even so, Microsoft will probably have come out with something else by then.”

RIP Windows XPToday 06-30-08 was the last day Windows XP was officially available for purchase from retail outlets, major resellers, and OEM hardware manufacturers. That of course does not mean XP is completely gone. There is still a handful of ways to get your mitts on XP.

  • Users that have Vista Ultimate and Vista Business licenses can choose to downgrade to Windows XP if they wish. Dell (DELL) is offering the downgrade option through January 31, 2009, and HP will offer the XP downgrade option on most of its business desktops and notebooks through at least July 30, 2009.
  • Smaller software resellers will be able to sell Windows XP until January 2009, they just can’t buy any more copies.
  • Another place to look would be eBay, as always, Caveat emptor.
  • Microsoft will continue to sell XP for ultraportable laptops or Nettops such as the ASUS (2357) Eee.

Microsoft says it will continue to offer tech support for Windows XP until the end of 2009 and offer limited support in some form until 2014 by then, Microsoft should have released Windows 7, the next version of its desktop OS.

Related articles

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
| June 29, 2008
Comments Off on 1 Billion PCs

1 Billion PCs

1 Billion PCsCNet News ran a blurb from Gartner. The infobit suggests that the number of personal computers in use around the world has exceeded 1 billion. This report counted installed PCs and not machines sold.

PC growth

The firm also predicts that this number will double by 2014. They say most of this growth will occur in developing markets. Gartner analysts suggest that the emerging markets will account for 70 percent of the next billion PCs to come online. They named dropping prices and improved Internet access as factors driving that trend.

eWaste concerns

According to Gartner, in 2008, some 180 million computers, or 16 percent of those now in use globally, will be retired. “We estimate a fifth of these, or some 35 million PCs, will be dumped into landfill with little or no regard for their toxic content,” Meike Escherich, principal research analyst at Gartner, said in a statement. The challenge of disposing safely of electronics waste will also expand in developing markets in the coming years, she added.

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , ,
| June 9, 2008
Comments Off on City First in Mich for Broadband Over Powerlines

City First in Mich for Broadband Over Powerlines

City First in Mich for Broadband Over PowerlinesFrom Hometownlife.com Grand Ledge Michigan is the first city first in the state to get broadband over powerlines. A New York company is opening an office in the city to be the first in Michigan to offer broadband access to the Internet over power lines.  The high-speed system will be available to the city’s businesses and residents in early to late spring.

The service will be offered by David Shpigler, president of the Shpigler Group, a consulting firm that specializes in advising utility companies. The company is changing directions and is becoming more of a service supplier. The launch of the technology is one of many similar business ventures around the country.  Grand Ledge was selected to be the first place to deploy broadband over powerlines technology because it is centrally located and because it is served by Consumers Energy. “This is a commercial venture. We are also considering expanding to St. Johns and then evaluating it before launching the service in the rest of the state,” Shpigler said.

“We are working with vendors to be able to have the latest and greatest technology and be able to offer the fastest speeds,” Shpigler said. BPL technology allows a broadband signal to travel on a power line and connect computers to the Internet. A customer connects to the service using a special modem inserted in an electrical outlet instead of to a telephone line or to a cable wire. The company will have a local office at 203 S. Bridge St. in downtown Grand Ledge.

The cost to residential customers is expected to be $29.99 monthly, Shpigler said. Higher speeds and additional services will also be made available to local businesses on a “built-to-suit” basis, Shpigler said. Shpigler said a name for the service has not yet been selected.

He is partnering with Consumers Energy and will play an active role in promoting Broadband Over Powerlines in Michigan. Several similar systems are in operation across the country. BPL technology is widely used in Europe.

Shpigler, who is a well-known speaker on telecommunications issues around the country. He first introduced the service last November to the Grand Ledge Area Chamber of Commerce. He said future applications of BPL may include telephones, home security, medical alert, and Web hosting.

Related articles

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , ,
« Older Entries   Recent Entries »