Businessman: corruption stops in Estonia, helps in Ukraine

There is bureaucracy and corruption in Ukraine, but differently from Estonia, this is helpful, not stopping, businessman Urmas Sõõrumaa told Eesti Ekspress.

“When you do something in Estonia, you’re in everyone’s way. And if you do (something – edit) there, you can stay in the background. There is corruption and bureaucracy in Ukraine, but that gets things moving, not stopping, like here. Business culture there is much more defined than in Estonia,” Sõõrumaa said.

His energy company BEN Energy that operates combined heat and power supply plant in Väo, plans to invest into such plants in Ukraine, Russia, Belorussia and Georgia.

“There are much hydraulic resources, it’s possible to buy an old hydro terminal and bring it up to date,” he noted.

BEN Energy projects are small in Ukrainian means. With EEK 1 bln there’s not much to do in Ukraine, Sõõrumaa said. International funds are ready to co-finance the energy plants.

Source http://balticbusinessnews.com/default2.aspx

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Estonian government opens doors to an eager public

Estonia prides itself on its open governance, frequently scoring well in international surveys for its low levels of corruption and high transparency of information. But on Wednesday, designated "Citizens' Day," it took things one step further by inviting the general public through the hallowed portals of government. All state ministries, plus the president's chancellery, were opened so that visitors could listen to lectures, view exhibitions, meet ministers and participate in debates.

The open house day was devised to mark the fact that 90 years ago many Estonian state institutions were first established. At the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, visitors heard a debate between three ministers on the future of the Estonian economy, plus lectures on energy, economic development, the domestic market and transport.

At the Ministry of Defence, a lecture covered defence policy, and a photo exhibition on the Russian-Georgian war was on display. Other ministries covered topics including e-health, pensions, euro adoption and the environment.

Riina Soobik, a spokesperson with the state chancellery told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa the response from the public had been excellent, with several hundred participants at each of the larger ministries. It seems that interest in visiting the chancellery is very big - almost all available places have been filled," she said.

Source http://topnews.in/estonian-government-opens-doors-eager-publ~

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Estonian startup launches microwave radio modem technology

Tallinn-based startup Modesat Communications has launched its first microwave radio modem products and is planning to open a Silicon Valley office, Eetimes.eu/LETA reported.

Modesat develops FPGA-based DSP cores for microwave radio, cable, fixed line and mobile satellite OEMs.

CEO Peep Poldsamm said the advent of 4G before deployment of 3G networks created a situation where mobile operators will need to quickly multiply the capacity and transmission of their backhaul networks.

"In 80% of cases this will be done by using high-capacity microwave links," Poldsamm said. "We believe that we are in the right place at the right time with our technology."

Current modem technology by comparison is expensive, complex and unreliable, he said.

Modesat's solution uses proprietary technology called PilotSync that has a higher rate of modulation, which is directly related to speed of data that is transmitted over the network. The hardware is up to five times less expensive and has higher reliability than existing solutions, he said.

The initial sales target is telecom manufacturers such as Ericsson, NEC, Lucent and HuaWei. In 2009, the company expects to launch broadband satellite products and will target manufacturers of satellite communications.

"We are in talks with every one of the big telecom manufacturers," Poldsamm said.

In line with the product launch, the company expects to open a Sunnyvale, CA office this month.

Modesat was founded in 2006 based on technology developed in Belarus.

"Belarus scientists had the idea but with no way to develop it and take it to market," Poldsamm said.

The Estonian side complemented the R&D work and the financing came from venture capital firm Ambient Sound Investments, which was founded by the engineering team that developed Skype.

Source http://baltic-course.com/eng/technology/

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