Exchange Rate Mechanism -- Types

What are types/categories of Exchange Rate Mechanism?

Jamoore and Madariwala will help us in understanding Exchange Rate Mechanism.

Jamoore: China is devaluing its currency, and we are worried. What is the story behind it Ustad.

Madariwala: Then listen. Today I am free. It is going to be pastime and fun for me and headache for you. Exchange rate mechanism is a sarkari chaal (Government strategy/policy). Exchange Rate Mechanism can be broadly classified into following catagories:

1. Fixed Exchange Rate Mechanism

2. Freely Floating Exchange Rate Mechanism

3. Managed Float Exchange Rate Mechanism

4. Pegged Exchange Rate Mechanism

Let me first explain 'Pegged Exchange Rate Mechanism'.

Jamoore, are you seeing that beautiful garden of fruits? 

Jamoore:Yes Ustad (Master)

Madariwala: When the garden is laden with fruits of all kind, birds of all hues are there. As the fruits vanish, and greenery fades, birds leave this garden for some other greener pasture. Likewise foreign investors leave the country of current  investment for some better investment opportunities. This may be the consequence of ‘Pegged Exchange Rate Mechanism’.

Now, let us see what is ‘Pegged Exchange Rate Mechanism’. Peg is called ‘khoonta’ in local parlance. This is like tying camel to ‘khoonta’. If a country pegs its currency to some other foreign currency, generally to stable currency like dollar, this arrangement is known as ‘Pegged Exchange Rate Mechanism’. As long as home country’s economy is sound, and political stability is there, this mechanism works. Otherwise we have example of Mexican Peso crisis.   

Jamoore, are you sleeping? Still we have three mechanisms left to explain.

Jamoore: The story is good Ustad. You can carry on.

Madariwala: OK, then I am going to conclude very quickly.

Fixed Exchange Rate Mechanism: Jamoore, bring four samosas from Kachouriwala. Ask him to give Rs. 2 concession per samosa.

Jamoore: What are you talking ustad. He is not going to give discount of a single penny. He is very particular about the price, and his price is fixed. People are confident while purchasing from this shop.

Madariwala: Likewise, in ‘Fixed Exchange Rate Mechanism’, Exchange Rate is held constant. So exporters and importers are not concerned about exchange rate movement.

Freely Floating Exchange Rate Mechanism:  Exchange rate values are determined by market forces without government’s intervention.

Managed Float Exchange Rate Mechanism: Also called ‘dirty float’.  It lies between Freely Floating and Fixed. Exchange rate is allowed to float freely on daily basis, and government intervenes whenever exchange rate crosses too far.

Jamoore, it is just like allowing horse to graze in the field, and as it strays to different field, the horse is again put back in the field by his master.

Subject Verb Agreement-- English Grammar -- Part 1

Subject Verb Agreement:

Agreement of the verb with the subject is tricky. So knowing the rules will help. In exams we always resort to some guesses. It reduces our effectiveness.

Fill in the blanks with the correct alternative:

1. The horse as well as the rider ................  hurt by the fall. (was/were)

2. My partners as well as I .................... ruined. (was/were)

3. He as well as you ................... tired of the whole affair. (is/are)

Rule 1: When two or more Singular Subjects are connected by as well as, the Verb is singular:

In Question No. 1, the two Subjects horse and rider are connected by as well as, and these Subjects are singular. So Verb used will be singular. So, the sentence will be:

The horse as well as the rider was hurt by the fall.



But in Question No. 2 and 3 , Subjects are not singular. So Rule 1 will not be applicable.

Rule 2: When the Subjects connected by as well as differs in Number or Person or both, the Verb takes the Number and Person of the Subject that stands first:

Here Number means Singular or Plural.

In Question No. 2, the first subject My partners and the second subject I differ in Number and person, so Verb will be according to the first Subject My partners. So the sentence will be:

My partners as well as I were ruined.


In Question No. 3, the first Subject is He and the second subject is you. These Subjects differ in Person, so Verb will be according to the first Subject He. So the sentence will be:

He as well as you is tired of the whole affair.


Source: Nesfield's Idiom, Grammar and Synthesis for High Schools, (English Grammar, Book IV)

Exchange Rate Mechanism--Understanding devaluing of currency

Today I am introducing two characters, Madariwala and Jamoore. They will help us in explaining concepts.

Jamoore: Ustad, China says lower Yuan will help exports. I can't understand this?

Madariwala: What is there to understand this? A country takes decision that suits best to him/her. You know some countries are him and some are her. Or they want to be called that way. No gender discrimination in my show. Do you understand?

Jamoore! China is known for exporting its goods/produce. When you export, you get dollar! Everybody loves dollar. If your nation's currency will be weak, your earning will be more. Money is honey, honey is money.

My friends working in other countries are sending dollars to their families in their native country. They become happy whenever Rupees slides in terms of dollar. It doesn't mean they are less patriot!

Jamoore: What is sliding of Rupees in respect of dollar?

Madariwala: Listen. You live in India. Do you remember we imported this magical stick five year ago? How much it cost? We paid Rs. 250 for five dollars i.e. one dollar was equal to Rs. 50.
The price of stick is still five dollar, but today my competitor, idiot new madariwala opposite this lane, paid Rs. 320. i.e.    one dollar is now Rs. 64.

What do you see here? Import of the goods is not favourable when local currency slides. Government encourages export when it allows local currency to slide. Understand?

Jamoore: a little master

Madariwala: Good, even learning a little is better than not trying to learn. Keep it up.

Renewable Energy Sources & Telecom Tower Business in India -- Part-II

Renewable Energy Sources & Telecom Tower Business in India

Mobile Market in India:

As per TRAI, The number of Wireless subscribers as on Jan 2015 was 952.34 million with monthly growth rate of 0.89%. Further this growth in Urban area was 0.51% and Rural Area was 1.41%.

The main service providers to wireless subscribers are:

Airtel (23.11%), Vodafone (18.95%), Idea (16.05%), Reliance (11.19%) and BSNL (8.42%) capturing more than 75% market share.

Market Share of Service Providers is as below:[1]

Telecom Tower companies in India

1.   Operator owned Tower companies (Bharti Infratel, Reliance Infratel)

2.   Operator owned Joint ventures (Indus, VIOM)

3.   Independent Tower companies (GTL Infra, Essar Towers, ATC-Xcel etc.)

Recent position in terms of number of Telecom towers in India is as below:

Operator Owned Tower company:

Tower company	Total no. of Tower	No. of Green Towers
Bharti Infratel	85,892
Reliance Infratel	43,379

Operator Owned Joint ventures:

Indus is a joint venture between Bharti Infratel, Vodafone and Aditya Birla Group.

VIOM is a subsidiary of Tata Teleservices Limited.

Tower company	Total no. of Tower	No. of Green Towers	Tenancy Ratio
Indus[2]	1,16,454	40,000	~ 2
VIOM[3]	42,000		2.15

Independent Tower companies:

Tower company	Total no. of Tower	No. of Green Towers	Tenancy Ratio
GTL Infra[4]	27,839		1.45
ATC India[5]	13,000	450

Types of Tower

1.          Ground-Based Towers (GBT)
2.         Roof Top Towers (RTT)
3.        . Monopoles

 GBT Site can accommodate 3-4 operators whereas RTT site can accommodate 2-3 operators.

Main concern of Telecom Tower companies: Increased carbon Footprint due to DG sets and increased OPEX (Operational Expenditure)

Remedy: Reducing DG set usage and hence carbon footprints

Methods adopted by companies to Reduce Carbon Footprint:[6]

1. Converting Indoor sites to Outdoor sites: leads to reduction in energy consumption by 25%
2. New site Deployment: Outdoor preferred
3. New site deployment as sharer
4. Solar DG Hubrid Model
5. RESCO Model: Renewable Energy Service Company installs small renewable energy based power plant near site catering to local community and sites
6. Li-ion Battery
7. IPMS/PPC—Integrated Power Management Solutions/Plug and Play Cabinets
8. Variable Speed DG sets
9. Free Cooling Units (FCUs) use ambient air to cool the shelter
10. DC DG sets results in 40% savings in operating expenses
11. DG capacity revalidation (high to low)
12. Activating new energy-saving software features – such as          transceivers that switch-off automatically in periods of low traffic
13. Smart Battery solutions for faster charging

  Power availability for Tower sites:

Electricity Board (EB) power availability of less than 12 hours covering mostly rural areas will need Hybrid Power (Renewables+Diesel). Further these Towers should be Outdoor to save energy consumption in Air Conditioning. RESCO Model may be other option where Renewable Energy Service Company may set up very small Power Plant near Telecom tower site and supply energy to cell site as well as neighbouring population.

Semi-urban and small urban towns with EB supply between 12-16 hours can go for hybrid solution. As OPEX of any tower is around 50% in terms of energy consumption. So for the long term it is in the interest of sustainability of business itself apart from environment and climate change. Tower requires nearly Rs. 20-30 lakh expenditure, and added cost to renewable may be further Rs. 5 lakh. Reduced expenditure in OPEX will compensate CAPEX in the long term. Many analysts have come out with payback period calculation that are favourable for investment in renewables for tower business. On an average BTS are powered by 4 kWp (per BTS).

As per TRAI’s directive 75% of Rural Towers and 33% of Urban Towers are to be powered by Hybrid power by 2020. Taking this into consideration very few options are left with tower companies other than using Renewables or incorporating renewables in the power supply setup.

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[1] http://www.trai.gov.in/WriteReadData/WhatsNew/Documents/PR-TSD-120315.pdf

[2] http://www.industowers.com/who_we_are.php

[3] http://www.viomnetworks.com/images/Investors/2.%20Directors%20Report%20VNL_13-14.pdf

[4] http://www.gtlinfra.com/pdf/GIL-AR2014.pdf

[5] http://www.atctower.in/en/solutions/towers/index.htm and http://www.atctower.in/en/articles/green-p ower/index.htm

[6] Various sources

Renewable Energy Sources & Telecom Tower Business in India -- Part-I

Basic Overview of Mobile Technology and Components

Mobile Phone Technology:

There are two basic technologies in the mobile phones. These are GSM and CDMA. GSM stands for Global System for Mobiles while CDMA stands for Code Division Multiple Access. GSM comes from Industry consortium whereas CDMA is owned by chipmaker Qualcomm. CDMA and GSM are both multiple access technologies.  GSM came first, and it is ‘Time Division’ system. CDMA is a ‘Code Division’ system. [1]

Prominent Mobile Service Providers or Operators in India are:

CDMA Operator: Tata Teleservices, Reliance Communications, BSNL, MTNL

GSM Operator: Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular, BSNL, MTNL

 Key Elements of a GSM Network:

Fig: components of GSM Network[2]

A GSM network is a complex system composed by several components. The last mile of this system is the BTS (Base Transceiver Station). The BTS is responsible to transmit and receive the RF (Radio Frequency) signals to the user terminal (cell phone, PDA, modem, etc). The BTS’s are controlled by a BSC (Base Station Controller) that is connected to the MSC/VLR (Mobile Switching Center/Visitor Location Register). Basically, the MSC/VLR is responsible to authenticate the user against the database (HLR - Home Location Register, AuC - Authentication Center).[3]

Cell site: Telecom Tower and BTS

Cell site consists of Mast Telecom Tower and BTS. Physical structure which hosts the antenna equipment needed for broadcasting the operators’ network signal is referred as Mast/Telecom Tower. The equipment cabinet that houses the electronics and system necessary for the transmission and reception of signals between the network and the subscriber is called Base Transceiver Station (BTS).[4]

A cell site has active and passive infrastructure components. Active component includes the antenna, transceivers, feeder cables and microwave radio equipments. Passive components include the land, tower, shelter, air conditioning equipment, diesel electric generator, battery, electrical supply, technical premises and easements etc.[5]

 Fig.: Cell site components

BTS Configuration:

Depending upon number of subscribers and type of BTS, BTS configuration can be 2,2,2 or 4,4,4 or 6,6,6…

Eg 2,2,2 is the two trx cards for each sector, and there are three sectors in BTS.[6]

The antennas on the cell tower are always arranged in a triangle. Each of the three antenna arrays covers a 120^o sector with tower at its focus. By convention these sectors are referred as alpha, beta and gamma.[7]

Microwave Antenna and GSM Antenna

Microwave Antennas are used for link between BTS whereas GSM antennas are directly link with customers.

[1] http://in.pcmag.com/cell-phone-service-providers/42987/news/cdma-vs-gsm-whats-the-difference visited on 31.07.2015

[2]http://www.coai.com/indian-telecom-infocentre/telecom-infrastructurenetworks visited on 31.07.2015 

[3] https://gnuradio.org/redmine/.../139/OpenBTS_Guide_En_v0.1.pdf

[4] http://www.gsma.com/publicpolicy/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Mobile-Infrastructure-sharing.pdf

[5] http://gtlinfra.com/faqs.asp

[6] http://www.allinterview.com/showanswers/165470/understand-bts-different-configurations-power-consumption-peak-current-each-type.html

[7] http://wrongfulconvictionsblog.org/2012/06/01/cell-tower-triangulation-how-it-works/