The Knowledge to Decide

In what some have dubbed the Third Industrial Revolution, 3D printing is now allowing consumers to be masters of their own manufactured durable goods. But Asian countries will need to work a lot harder to avoid becoming laggards in this transformative new field. What is 3D printing? 3D printing refers to the process of making a three-dimensional solid object of virtually any shape from a digital model using powder, molten plastic or metals. It first slices a 3D computer model into layers, then builds the object one layer at a time using the 3D printer. The quality of the end-product is dependent on various factors, such as the base material, thinness of the layers, mechanics of the printer as well as the amount of preparation taken into consideration for the 3D computer model. Also known as additive manufacturing, 3D printing seeks to distinguish itself from “subtractive manufacturing”. The latter involves the cutting down and pairing-off materials to attach them together

Malaysian telco edotco’s launch in Bangladesh underlines its seriousness in becoming a regional leader in telecom infrastructure. Spire collaborated on a major Customer Satisfaction Survey which found that edotco Bangladesh was indeed among the top preferred local infrastructure providers. The findings of the survey were also highlighted on TowerXchange’s website. The launch of edotco Bangladesh underline’s edotco’s interest in Bangladesh’s rapidly growing telecommunication market. The launch has involved partnerships with local telecom operators, in line with the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission’s (BTRC) infrastructure sharing agreement. Spire’s survey covered edotco’s customer base which consists of Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Non-MNOs. Consumers’ were questioned on perceptions of the quality of services and network availability, as well as maintenance of non-telecom equipment such as batteries, towers, cooling systems and electricity transmiss

Japan has emerged as an attractive tourist destination. The weaker yen and hassle-free visa application from some countries continue to drive tourism. The country is even on track to surpass its record of 13.4 million tourist arrivals in 2014 this year. Japan aspires to attract 20 million visitors by 2020 as Tokyo plays Olympics host. The rising tourist influx has become a cause for concern due to a hotel crunch. Japan’s answer to this is the conversion of office buildings into hotels to save high construction costs. For instance, B-lot – a 28-year-old office building in Tokyo – has been converted to a hotel called First Cabin. Here a “business-class cabin” with a single bed costs about USD46. The idea is still in its infancy, but the potential lies in major cities where hotel demand is strong. This is evident, as the lowest-ranked business rooms in Tokyo have seen a rise of 11.7% in cost since 2014. Will conversion of offices into hotel rooms help achieve Japan’s 20