Take the call and catch the news on move on mobile

Gangtok Oct. 12: So you're missing the 9 o'clock news on your favourite television news channel because you're on the move. Don't fret. If you have a BSNL GSM mobile handset that is GPRS enabled, simply tune in and catch the news (nearly) live on it. That too, for the first month, the service will be free. BSNL today launched its service called mimobi.tv in the eastern region (i.e., in West Bengal, Sikkim, Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand, A&N, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Manipur, Aizawl, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland). In its tie up with video content provider, Apalya Technologies, BSNL's GSM mobile phone users will be able to access 12 channels, initially. Apalya Technologies has tied up with NDTV, AajTak, CNBC, Cartoon Netwrok, Times Now, Zoom, Bindass, ETV, TV9, MaaTV, India TV and CNN to stream their on mobile phone handsets. “The programmes will come to your phone almost live ~ that is, there will be a time lapse of four to five minutes,” said Mr Vamshi Reddy, director, Apalya Technologies. The service, however, will for the time being, be available only on some designated handsets ~ such as certain Nokia Series 60 devices and Sony Ericsson J2ME devices. Mr Reddy said they were in talks with Motorola and Samsung so that the service could be made available to these handsets as well. “In six to eight months, the service will be available on all platforms,” he said. For a month, mimobi.tv will be free to subscribers, said Mr Rakesh Agarwal, chief general manager, BSNL West Bengal Telecom Circle. Later, you will have to pay either Rs 10 per day to watch one channels for 24 hours, Rs 50 per month to watch one channel for 30 days, or Rs 150 per month to watch all channels for 30 days. He added that there are currently 50,000 subscribers to BSNL’s GPRS service. “We expect it to go up to one lakh after the launch of this service,” Mr Agarwal said. For the new service, BSNL plans to add 800 to 900 BTS to its current 1,170 BTS in Bengal (excluding Calcutta Telephones), Mr Agarwal said. The 12 channels would be increased to 35 within this year, and is expected to go even higher in the future.

'Long-term cell users risk brain tumour'

Gangtok,Oct 10: Chances of developing a brain tumour doubles for those who are hooked to their mobile phones. This has been found in a study conducted by Swedish scientists, which indicates that an hour a day on a mobile phone for a decade is enough to increase the risk. According to Professor Lennart Hardell of the University Hospital in Orebro and Professor Kjell Hansson Mild of Umea University, long-term mobile users had double the chance of getting a tumour on the side of the brain where they held the handset for over 10 years. The team called for special caution regarding children. They said children should be discouraged from using mobiles because their thinner skulls and developing nervous systems made them especially vulnerable. This finding could come as news for the Indian health ministry which has just embarked on the nation's first long-term government study looking at what excessive mobile phone use can do to people's health. Cell phone use is India has rocketed in the past few years. India is now home to over 200 million mobile phone users with six million being added each month. Cell phone usage has been suspect for some time for the health hazards it poses. While studies have shown that people who use cell phones for long periods face the risk of developing malignant brain tumours, others said it could lead to hearing impairment and sleep disorders. The latest Swedish study analysed the results of 11 previous studies carried out around the world. It examined long-term users because cancer can take more than a decade to develop. The researchers said almost all studies in the past had discovered an increased risk of cancer. The study, published in the latest issue of the journal 'Occupational Environmental Medicine', said that those who used their phones for at least a decade were 20% more likely to contract acoustic neuromas (a type of brain tumour) and 30% more likely to get malignant gliomas (a common brain tumour). "Long-term users were twice as likely to get the gliomas and two-and-a-half times more likely to get the acoustic neuromas than other people," the study said. The Indian study is expected to show results in the next five months. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is conducting the study in five centres including PGI, Chandigarh. Individual trials are being conducted to look at how mobile phones can cause sleep disorders, memory lapses and hearing impairment. National Media had recently reported about what psychiatrists call ringxiety — a phenomenon in which users imagine their phone ringing or feel it vibrate when it actually doesn't

MOBILE TOWER IS NOT HARMFUL: WHO

New Delhi, September 26: Recent apprehension about likely - safety and health hazards for human beings due to electro magnetic radiation from mobile phone towers is not based on substantive evidence informs a letter from the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Government of India to the State Government. It has been stated that several studies conducted in different countries, under the aegis of World Health Organisation (WHO) proves that none of these emissions from the mobile phone towers cause harmful effects on human beings.The letter further informs that a committee, under the Chairmanship of the Director General, ICMR was constituted to study the issue,and the committee, based on their initial study have opined that overall, there is not enough evidence to show direct health hazard due to RF exposure from Mobile Base Stations. The letter further reads that mobile phone towers radiate a power of about 20 watts as compared to the high power radiation from the installations like sound and T.V. broadcast transmitters etc., which transmit power of the order of several kilo watts. Further, these high power installations have been in existence for decades and people have lived close by without any noticeable harmful effect. It further states that radiation from the towers is well controlled as these equipment are manufactured under stringent norms as per international requirements. Hence, the apprehension about the likely safety and health hazard for human beings, due to electromagnetic radiation from mobile phone towers is not based on substantive evidence.

MOBILE TOWER HAZARDS ISSUE IN THE SIKKIM ASSEMBLY

GANGTOK, September 07: The threats posed by mobile tower radiation on human health featured both two days of the Assembly session here.
Aita Singh Baraily, MLA Rateypani raised the questions on the supposed health hazards of mobile towers that have mushroomed all over the Capital and other small towns in the State during both the days of the Assembly which began here yesterday.
In a question to DD Bhutia, Minister, Urban Development and Housing Department, Mr. Baraily asked what steps are being taken by the concerned Department to control the mushrooming of the mobile towers in Gangtok.
Replying to the query, Mr. Bhutia said that the UD&H Department is the nodal Department and sole authority for regulation and sanction for permits to mobile towers. However, the Department has taken up the matter seriously after several complaints from the people of Sikkim, he said.
The Minister also said that the Department is forming a special committee with the technical experts to look into the supposed health hazards poised by the mobile towers.
In another question to the Health Minister, Hissey Lachungpa, Mr. Barasily wanted to know whether the Health Department was aware of the health hazards of these towers and was taking the matter seriously.
Mr. Lachungpa, in his reply said that there is no solid basis to say that these mobile towers cause health problems. He said that since the UD&H department is the nodal Department, the responsibility to regulate and monitor these mobile towers

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Airtel scheme
Airtel has launched Easy Recharge 2007 with a 365-day validity for customers in Calcutta, Bengal, Sikkim and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The offer includes a talktime worth Rs 1,786.