tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19649274.post311462757938457275..comments2024-03-19T12:52:03.531+05:30Comments on The Leap Blog: Measurement of quality of service of electricity distributionAjay Shahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03835842741008200034noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19649274.post-10311813398205101472011-04-07T11:59:41.325+05:302011-04-07T11:59:41.325+05:30Did PRAYAS or any other agency set up Electrical S...Did PRAYAS or any other agency set up Electrical Supply Monitoring System after their pune Success?<br /><br />Does Rural India by now has any such monitoring system? As I believe electrical and ground water nexus remain largely in rural india and quest for better quality is always there...<br /><br />Now its 2011 I hope there may be many installations even in Rural India...or did this thing did not work? if so why? Please answerUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468594854776289256noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19649274.post-33878394134527205762007-11-07T23:12:00.000+05:302007-11-07T23:12:00.000+05:30Dear Mr. Shah,I am studying the case of various IP...Dear Mr. Shah,<BR/>I am studying the case of various IPPs in some states of India. Are you in anyway dealing with the Indian Power Sector? Can I talk to you in this regards?<BR/>I surfed through your blog and website and hence wanted to contact you. Very thought provoking blog.<BR/>Best regards,<BR/>IpsIpshita Basu Guhahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05369113385587077519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19649274.post-35274667908714775552007-10-16T17:30:00.000+05:302007-10-16T17:30:00.000+05:30Well said! That's a perfect test case. We just hav...Well said! That's a perfect test case. We just have to wait and watch if someone shapes the idea into a service!<BR/><BR/>Here's something similar already functional in the more mature US DSL markets: <BR/><BR/>http://www.dslreports.com/<BR/><BR/>Perhaps there are more; the point is :Is there something inherently different in the cost/incentive structure of the US vs India or DSL vs Power sectors that makes such ideas thrive in one and not others? <BR/><BR/><BR/>But the point you make about rouge users ("freeloaders") is very valid. I can't think of any easy scheme to outwit those but I suspect the key will again lie in devising an incentive structure that makes such a move unprofitable(to wit: Sites like Amazon and Ebay allow people to review sellers or books; this opens the field for malicious entries; but allowing other viewers to rate the reviews themselves makes reviewers less likely to commit such fraud; Of course, it implies that there IS and easy way to catch malicious reviews! not so easy for a DSL report or a Power QoS)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19649274.post-82506798464093422192007-10-16T11:12:00.000+05:302007-10-16T11:12:00.000+05:30Yes, the `open source' approach can work. But the ...Yes, the `open source' approach can work. But the checks and balances are harder than meets the eye. Example: Suppose individuals are to buy a data logger, upload information, and earn some small money from advertising. What's to prevent a person from not buying the data logger and uploading fake information?<BR/><BR/>Here's a concrete challenge. We know that MTNL or other broadband vendors are at a pricepoint like Rs.0.5 per meg. Can a distributed QOS system be made to work, where users volunteer to install a small piece of software, which consumes no more than 1 megabit of traffic a day (i.e. just a cost of Rs.0.5 per day) and produce QOS data about broadband connections? This is an easier challenge because it doesn't require buying a data logger. But it does require that the volunteer burns Rs.0.5 a day, and that the volunteer installs some software.Ajay Shahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03835842741008200034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19649274.post-46583017536491409192007-10-16T05:06:00.000+05:302007-10-16T05:06:00.000+05:30Ajay,I see your point. The trick for the success o...Ajay,<BR/><BR/>I see your point. The trick for the success of a large scale "free" operation would lie in setting up a good incentive structure for individuals to buy equipment and post data. Ad revenues could be one option. Perhaps some venture capital might initially need to be injected to get to a critical mass of reports to make it attractive for people to visit such a site. In the long run one would hopefully be self-sustaining. <BR/><BR/>Rather than individuals, I can forsee larger stakeholders jumping in. One only needs to provide a forum. Let's say X is a retailer in "Pune". For him the cumulative lost sales due to a power-outage are definately large enough to justify the 1000 Rs(say) investment for such a device if he could widely document this and hopefully precipitate a change. One could make similar arguments for small-industrial units, housing-societies etc.<BR/><BR/>A key factor, of course, would be how expensive such data loggers could be produced for. A subsidy structure there might help.{not govt. subsidies but stuff similar to where cell companies subsidize handsets to sell more lines etc.; eg. I could forsee a new entrant to power who can provide better quality advertizing these devices to demonstrate the superiority of his network; may not work so well due to the inherent monopolies in power-distribution)<BR/><BR/>Finally, web-users typically could be expected to contribute for an incentive far less than what one would rationally expect for the time spent. Wikipedia, wikimapea and other apps have shown that users seem to get some sort of satisfaction in "authoring" content that compensates for the time/resorces spent. Most such examples do not get the user any direct benefits.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19649274.post-88952830358758116802007-10-14T22:24:00.000+05:302007-10-14T22:24:00.000+05:30Rahul,What Prayas has done is surely not rocket sc...Rahul,<BR/><BR/>What Prayas has done is surely not rocket science. It's exactly as you are suggesting: setup some data logging device which feeds up to a computer which feeds up to the net. The question is: Who's going to do this on a large scale? Large scale is required on this problem because of the geographical nature of the data. Distribution conditions can fluctuate every few kilometres.<BR/><BR/>Why is it rational for an individual to buy such a device and serve the larger community? Ad revenues?Ajay Shahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03835842741008200034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19649274.post-72340462022565082182007-10-14T22:17:00.000+05:302007-10-14T22:17:00.000+05:30Ajay,Another viable option that comes to mind is s...Ajay,<BR/><BR/>Another viable option that comes to mind is something like this: The QoS parameters (voltage fluctuations etc.) are not too difficult to measure and log. An enterprising company could easily make an inexpensive PC-interfaced device that does that. <BR/>After that all we need is a central site + a oogle maps hashup where people upload data. Presto, the QoS is there for all to see. In the US weather reporting networks, cell coverage maps and even DSL internet QoS sites operating on this principle are thriving. <BR/><BR/>just a thought!<BR/><BR/>RahulAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19649274.post-61898007354302851142007-10-14T20:17:00.000+05:302007-10-14T20:17:00.000+05:30Aadisht,Thanks! I will go to the TRAI website and ...Aadisht,<BR/><BR/>Thanks! I will go to the TRAI website and modify my blog entry accordingly.Ajay Shahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03835842741008200034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19649274.post-47198843140596819812007-10-14T20:04:00.000+05:302007-10-14T20:04:00.000+05:30Dr. Shah,TRAI publishes a quarterly report called ...Dr. Shah,<BR/><BR/>TRAI publishes a quarterly report called Quality of Service and Performance Indicators. In addition to releasing data on subscribers and ARPU, it also contains Quality of Service metrics including congestion and drop rates.<BR/><BR/>I am not sure of the accuracy of these data, but TRAI definitely has the framework for QoS monitoring in place.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19649274.post-20074446371310496692007-10-14T18:59:00.000+05:302007-10-14T18:59:00.000+05:30Okay, I did that. But I'm not very keen on these n...Okay, I did that. But I'm not very keen on these new names :-) I generally say Bombay and not Mumbai.Ajay Shahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03835842741008200034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19649274.post-45371408860052384512007-10-14T18:49:00.000+05:302007-10-14T18:49:00.000+05:30Ajay,I love your blog and read every post top to b...Ajay,<BR/><BR/>I love your blog and read every post top to bottom and enrich myself with your ideas...BUT I am a die hard Puneite and so the name should be PUNE not POONA...pls pls correct it...<BR/><BR/>regdsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com