4G aims to provide a wide range of data rates up to ultra-broadband (gigabit-speed) Internet access to mobile as well as stationary users. TRAI Chairman J S Sarma told reporters, "I expect 4G to come in India next year. TRAI will bring out a consultation paper on 4G in the middle of this year." source
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
TRAI braces up for 4G.....
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has said that it will come out with a consultation paper on fourth generation mobile (4G) services by mid-2011.
Rel Comm draws USD 255 m for 3G
Rel Comm) has drawn down USD 255 million (Rs 1155 crore) by way of external commercial borrowing (ECB) to part refinance 3G Spectrum fee payment to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
This loan is funded by a consortium of banks led by Australian and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, DBS Bank Limited and Intesa Sanpaolo.
Rel Comm will benefit from extension of maturity, and substantial savings in interest costs from this facility, says an official release.
Earlier in December, the company had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China Development Bank (CDB) to refinance USD 1.33 billion paid for 3G Spectrum to DOT. The MoU also covers financing of up to USD 600 million towards equipment and services to be procured fromChinese Vendors like ZTE Corporation and Huawei Technologies.
“These facilities will be funded by CDB and other Chinese banks and financial institutions and their approval is expected soon,” the release adds.source
This loan is funded by a consortium of banks led by Australian and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, DBS Bank Limited and Intesa Sanpaolo.
Rel Comm will benefit from extension of maturity, and substantial savings in interest costs from this facility, says an official release.
Earlier in December, the company had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China Development Bank (CDB) to refinance USD 1.33 billion paid for 3G Spectrum to DOT. The MoU also covers financing of up to USD 600 million towards equipment and services to be procured fromChinese Vendors like ZTE Corporation and Huawei Technologies.
“These facilities will be funded by CDB and other Chinese banks and financial institutions and their approval is expected soon,” the release adds.source
India could develop 3G standard in the same vein as China’s TD-SCDMA
India is apparently following in China’s footsteps in the field of network development, as its telecoms department has reportedly detailed swathes of 2G and 3G spectrum to be “exclusively used for developing indigenous telecommunications networks.”
A similar approach taken in China resulted in the development of China Mobile’s TD-SCDMA 3G technology, and India’s telecoms authorities are evidently hoping to recreate this success: the government has stated that the future economic impact of developing new tech will offset the short-term losses incurred by not selling the spectrum.
Ultimately, this strategy is aimed at increasing India’s independence; the development of indigenous network architecture will allow India to reduce not only its reliance on foreign vendors, but also its expenditure on imported telecoms equipment.
Whether India is aiming at directly emulating China’s approach – i.e. developing alternative 3G technology – or if it intends to adapt existing architecture is not yet apparent. Domestic development of new technology would certainly sit well with India’s government, which caused a stir among the international vendor community last year by calling for a crackdown on all imported network equipment.
However, taking an independent approach could stall the spread of 3G; China’s government in fact took action to prevent proven foreign 3G technologies from gaining ground in the country, with the result that 3G subscribers make up only around 5% of China’s total.
Wireless Intelligence figures indicate that China Mobile’s TD-SCDMA network is used by under 4% of its total 585 million subscribers, while China Unicom’s WCDMA network is used by 8% of its customers – somewhat underwhelming figures when compared to international markets.
Home-grown Indian 3G architecture could also face problems due to the greater competition in the Indian market; China Mobile’s significant subscriber numbers have allowed it to procure support for TD-SCDMA from foreign vendors.source
A similar approach taken in China resulted in the development of China Mobile’s TD-SCDMA 3G technology, and India’s telecoms authorities are evidently hoping to recreate this success: the government has stated that the future economic impact of developing new tech will offset the short-term losses incurred by not selling the spectrum.
Ultimately, this strategy is aimed at increasing India’s independence; the development of indigenous network architecture will allow India to reduce not only its reliance on foreign vendors, but also its expenditure on imported telecoms equipment.
Whether India is aiming at directly emulating China’s approach – i.e. developing alternative 3G technology – or if it intends to adapt existing architecture is not yet apparent. Domestic development of new technology would certainly sit well with India’s government, which caused a stir among the international vendor community last year by calling for a crackdown on all imported network equipment.
However, taking an independent approach could stall the spread of 3G; China’s government in fact took action to prevent proven foreign 3G technologies from gaining ground in the country, with the result that 3G subscribers make up only around 5% of China’s total.
Wireless Intelligence figures indicate that China Mobile’s TD-SCDMA network is used by under 4% of its total 585 million subscribers, while China Unicom’s WCDMA network is used by 8% of its customers – somewhat underwhelming figures when compared to international markets.
Home-grown Indian 3G architecture could also face problems due to the greater competition in the Indian market; China Mobile’s significant subscriber numbers have allowed it to procure support for TD-SCDMA from foreign vendors.source
Mobile Banking for Rural India: SBI and Airtel Launch a JV, Vodafone and ICICI Team Up.
Last year, RBI (Reserve Bank of India) approved banks to appoint for-profit companies as BCs (Business Correspondents) and this has closed one of the most heated debates in the telecom space – Should Telco serve as a Bank (and vice versa).
State Bank of India, India’s largest commercial bank, and Bharti Airtel have entered into a joint Venture (JV) agreement to make available banking services to India’s unbanked millions.
The newly formed entity, will harness the power of state bank’s strengths and Airtel’s mobile telephony to add value to the banking and financial services sector and empower millions of financially excluded in the country to enhance their livelihood and quality of life. The Joint Venture will become the BC (i.e. Business Correspondent) of SBI and offer banking products and services at affordable cost to the citizens in unbanked and other areas.
The JV as Business Correspondent will engage Airtel’s retailers as Customer Service Points (CSP) all over India in a phased manner. With this, existing and new airtel mobile customers will be able to visit these outlets and open new SBI bank accounts and avail of other banking products and services available at the CSPs. Additionally, existing SBI customers will also get serviced at these outlets.
The biggest challenge in this business is to bring down one’s transaction cost and Airtel/SBI JV will *hopefully* bring the scale (plus network effect) that can potentially bring down the transaction cost in the long run.
Eko, a pioneer in this space recently raised funding and such JVs/partnerships between telecom operators and banks do validate their business proposition and help them grow the market. The pressure is also on them to keep innovating and grow its network at a rapid pace.source
What’s your take on m-payment VAS services?
source
State Bank of India, India’s largest commercial bank, and Bharti Airtel have entered into a joint Venture (JV) agreement to make available banking services to India’s unbanked millions.
The newly formed entity, will harness the power of state bank’s strengths and Airtel’s mobile telephony to add value to the banking and financial services sector and empower millions of financially excluded in the country to enhance their livelihood and quality of life. The Joint Venture will become the BC (i.e. Business Correspondent) of SBI and offer banking products and services at affordable cost to the citizens in unbanked and other areas.
The JV as Business Correspondent will engage Airtel’s retailers as Customer Service Points (CSP) all over India in a phased manner. With this, existing and new airtel mobile customers will be able to visit these outlets and open new SBI bank accounts and avail of other banking products and services available at the CSPs. Additionally, existing SBI customers will also get serviced at these outlets.
Vodafone and ICICI
Vodafone and ICICI have also teamed up (its not a JV) to offer mobile banking services in the country. Though the details aren’t yet out, this partnership is on the same lines as SBI/Airtel.The biggest challenge in this business is to bring down one’s transaction cost and Airtel/SBI JV will *hopefully* bring the scale (plus network effect) that can potentially bring down the transaction cost in the long run.
Eko, a pioneer in this space recently raised funding and such JVs/partnerships between telecom operators and banks do validate their business proposition and help them grow the market. The pressure is also on them to keep innovating and grow its network at a rapid pace.source
What’s your take on m-payment VAS services?
source
Infologic, Help Service sign MoU for bilingual mobile VAS push email 'Jaamun' for Yemen market
India's global IT and telecom solution provider Infologic Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd (ICSPL) today signed Memorandum of Understanding with Help Consultancy and Telecommunication Service to offer bilingual (Arabic & English) mobile VAS push email "Jaamun" to Yemen market developed by Infologic JV telecom technology partner Omnibytes Technologies.
Through the use of such kind of service, an ordinary phone works as a smart phone and allows the users to access their e-mails, compose, Forward, Reply and besides providing access to alerts from social networking websites (Facebook, Twitter) without the use of mobile internet connection/GPRS.
The goal of this MoU is to introduce mobile value added services (VAS) to Yemen market and Mena region as SMS is expected to contribute the bulk of messaging revenues in the Middle East up to $12.5bn in 2015 and mobile operators in Mena have an opportunity to drive massive growth in average revenue per user (ARPU) and traffic on their networks by offering VAS such as Push e-mail access to their customers as "SMS is the second-most-common mobile communications medium in the world, after voice. It continues to have a significant utility as a universal means of communications and connectivity and as an enabler for the delivery of content and services, for both the consumer and enterprise markets" said Mr. Khan, Director International Business, ICSPL Middle East.
Mr. Khan says that since we launched in Indian market we are greatly buoyed by a significant rise in the push email customer base across India and our expansion plan involves two simple elements: to ensure that our product is one of the best in the industry and to continue to liberate customers and be refreshingly different, by bringing in the best products and services into India and Mena market, and by innovating continuously.
Mr. Khan says that any VAS business can be extremely profitable for a mobile operator since there are no interconnection fees to eat into its revenues. In addition, operators benefit from gaining extra revenues without needing to make large investments in extra new hardware or support and sales staff. For launching the push email service as a VAS, we need to integrate with the mobile operator's SMS account. Subsequent to the integration, "Jaamun" would be responsible for activating and operating service for the end user.
Yemen is the one of the First Middle East country to effectively implement with the bilingual (Arabic & English) Mobile VAS Push Email "Jaamun" and added that under the MoU, ICSPL will provide the Value Added Services to all four local operators with approx. 10 million subscriber base through a local Alliance partner Help Consultancy and Telecommunication Service and the company is dedicated to produce quality products through the continuous technology enhancement and we are also negotiating quite intensely with a few other Mena regional operators to launch bilingual (Arabic & English) Mobile VAS Push Email "Jaamun" by the end of February 2011 Said Mr. Khan.
Mr. Atef, Director, Help Service, said, "It gives us great pleasure to announce the signing of MoU with Infologic Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd since it is aligned with our endeavor of bringing more and more services to common man through local operators." source
Through the use of such kind of service, an ordinary phone works as a smart phone and allows the users to access their e-mails, compose, Forward, Reply and besides providing access to alerts from social networking websites (Facebook, Twitter) without the use of mobile internet connection/GPRS.
The goal of this MoU is to introduce mobile value added services (VAS) to Yemen market and Mena region as SMS is expected to contribute the bulk of messaging revenues in the Middle East up to $12.5bn in 2015 and mobile operators in Mena have an opportunity to drive massive growth in average revenue per user (ARPU) and traffic on their networks by offering VAS such as Push e-mail access to their customers as "SMS is the second-most-common mobile communications medium in the world, after voice. It continues to have a significant utility as a universal means of communications and connectivity and as an enabler for the delivery of content and services, for both the consumer and enterprise markets" said Mr. Khan, Director International Business, ICSPL Middle East.
Mr. Khan says that since we launched in Indian market we are greatly buoyed by a significant rise in the push email customer base across India and our expansion plan involves two simple elements: to ensure that our product is one of the best in the industry and to continue to liberate customers and be refreshingly different, by bringing in the best products and services into India and Mena market, and by innovating continuously.
Mr. Khan says that any VAS business can be extremely profitable for a mobile operator since there are no interconnection fees to eat into its revenues. In addition, operators benefit from gaining extra revenues without needing to make large investments in extra new hardware or support and sales staff. For launching the push email service as a VAS, we need to integrate with the mobile operator's SMS account. Subsequent to the integration, "Jaamun" would be responsible for activating and operating service for the end user.
Yemen is the one of the First Middle East country to effectively implement with the bilingual (Arabic & English) Mobile VAS Push Email "Jaamun" and added that under the MoU, ICSPL will provide the Value Added Services to all four local operators with approx. 10 million subscriber base through a local Alliance partner Help Consultancy and Telecommunication Service and the company is dedicated to produce quality products through the continuous technology enhancement and we are also negotiating quite intensely with a few other Mena regional operators to launch bilingual (Arabic & English) Mobile VAS Push Email "Jaamun" by the end of February 2011 Said Mr. Khan.
Mr. Atef, Director, Help Service, said, "It gives us great pleasure to announce the signing of MoU with Infologic Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd since it is aligned with our endeavor of bringing more and more services to common man through local operators." source
Airtel Bangladesh ties up with Comviva to enhance VAS growth
Seeking to increase low subscriber numbers, Airtel Bangladesh has tied up with Comviva to offer subscribers unique SMS facilities.
In a significant move to leverage VAS for the relatively low-penetration mobile market in Bangladesh, Airtel Bangladesh – a strategic arm of Bharti Airtel India, has tied up with Comviva to provide unique SMS facilities.
The messaging solutions that cover Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), Short Message Service Center (SMSC) and BMG (Bulk Messaging Gateway) portfolio will drastically reduce overall cost around Airtel Bangladesh's operator portal, and will also provide the operator with a single-window web-based environment to access, create, execute and manage services.
According to Chris Tobit, CEO & MD, Airtel Bangladesh, “With SMS traffic enjoying continued strong growth, we needed a proven solution to manage the increased load without making major investment. We selected Comviva's messaging solutions to efficiently route traffic over our existing network infrastructure and deliver an improved level of service to our customers.”
Aimed at increasing SMS usage by Airtel Bangladesh subscribers, the solution will optimally deliver messages with minimal latency during periods of intense continuous traffic. Rich SMS features such as SMS Upload, SMS Storage, SMS Forward, SMS Copy, Auto Reply, Email notification, SMS Signature and Web Portal, are also some of the unique offerings.
Says Manoranjan Mohapatra, CEO, Comviva, “Comviva is working with all the leading mobile operators in Bangladesh to provide them with end-to-end mobile solutions beyond VAS. We see our messaging solution supporting airtel as they extend their service to newer segments across the country.”
Bangladesh, which has a mobile penetration of just over 30%, is expected to reach a 100 mn subscriber mark by 2015.The country has ARPU's as low as $2-3 per month, and there has been a limited uptake on MVAS.
Talking about how such sms services could help in reversing these statistics, Parminder Kaur Saini, Program Manager, ICT Practice, Frost & Sullivan, South Asia & Middle East says, “Launching Value added SMS services in the region could help Airtel increase its subscriber share and generate higher revenues. While the complete bouquet of VAS services would be imperative with the launch of 3G expected early this year, this launch becomes essential and crucial.”
Bharti Airtel, which is the leading operator in India added over 3 mn mobile subscribers in October 2010, according to TRAI. MVAS has been one of the major drivers for its continued growth in this market as well.
In a significant move to leverage VAS for the relatively low-penetration mobile market in Bangladesh, Airtel Bangladesh – a strategic arm of Bharti Airtel India, has tied up with Comviva to provide unique SMS facilities.
The messaging solutions that cover Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), Short Message Service Center (SMSC) and BMG (Bulk Messaging Gateway) portfolio will drastically reduce overall cost around Airtel Bangladesh's operator portal, and will also provide the operator with a single-window web-based environment to access, create, execute and manage services.
According to Chris Tobit, CEO & MD, Airtel Bangladesh, “With SMS traffic enjoying continued strong growth, we needed a proven solution to manage the increased load without making major investment. We selected Comviva's messaging solutions to efficiently route traffic over our existing network infrastructure and deliver an improved level of service to our customers.”
Aimed at increasing SMS usage by Airtel Bangladesh subscribers, the solution will optimally deliver messages with minimal latency during periods of intense continuous traffic. Rich SMS features such as SMS Upload, SMS Storage, SMS Forward, SMS Copy, Auto Reply, Email notification, SMS Signature and Web Portal, are also some of the unique offerings.
Says Manoranjan Mohapatra, CEO, Comviva, “Comviva is working with all the leading mobile operators in Bangladesh to provide them with end-to-end mobile solutions beyond VAS. We see our messaging solution supporting airtel as they extend their service to newer segments across the country.”
Bangladesh, which has a mobile penetration of just over 30%, is expected to reach a 100 mn subscriber mark by 2015.The country has ARPU's as low as $2-3 per month, and there has been a limited uptake on MVAS.
Talking about how such sms services could help in reversing these statistics, Parminder Kaur Saini, Program Manager, ICT Practice, Frost & Sullivan, South Asia & Middle East says, “Launching Value added SMS services in the region could help Airtel increase its subscriber share and generate higher revenues. While the complete bouquet of VAS services would be imperative with the launch of 3G expected early this year, this launch becomes essential and crucial.”
Bharti Airtel, which is the leading operator in India added over 3 mn mobile subscribers in October 2010, according to TRAI. MVAS has been one of the major drivers for its continued growth in this market as well.
The New Rage in Emerging Markets
Voice SMS, a worldwide hit with users, is a huge opportunity that can be tapped with better customization suited to Indian users
SMS has become a part and parcel of our daily communication. A phenomenon which started as just another form of communication and was an alternative to voice call, slowly crept into our lives. It has now become an integral part of the way we keep in touch with our social and professional network. Despite its massive usage, SMS is still 'puzzling' for a vast majority of users, who solely rely on voice as a communication medium. In India, almost 60% of the subscriber base has never sent an SMS.
As the technology evolved, voice SMS or 'an SMS with emotional touch' caught the imagination of the operators and subscribers alike in emerging markets across APAC, Middle East, and Africa. What are the reasons for popularity and the massive growth of voice SMS products in these markets? Why have similar services not seen an uptake in India despite the innovative marketing campaigns designed to attract subscribers to use voice SMS proactively?
Mobile penetration and awareness about the usage of sophisticated phones in emerging markets are low as compared to developed countries. Traditionally, the major chunk of the population resides in the suburban and rural areas, and relies on voice for communication. With limited written skills, they prefer not to type an SMS. The simplicity of a VAS service is the key to its success. Voice SMS is supposed to bridge these gaps, and plays an instrumental role in smooth and easy communication for this segment. Let us look at few of the success stories of voice SMS as a solution in some of the emerging markets. MTN Uganda, the leading African operator, saw a very impressive uptake of its voice SMS solution, and had to upgrade to triple the capacity of the voice SMS system within a few months of its launch. Within 3 months of its launch in November 2009, the service had seen an 11% penetration!
A Pyramid Research report rates voice SMS as the top next generation SMS based application that targets the low income subscribers in the Africa and Middle East region. Etisalat confirmed that out of its 7 mn subscribers in the UAE region, half a million voice SMSes were sent within 6 days of the launch of service. Analysts are of the opinion that the simplicity, cost-effective, and non-intrusive nature of the service will surely help in the uptake of the service with Nigerian operators like Visafone and Glo Mobile. Telenity has worked with operators in the Middle East and African region for making successful voice SMS deployments, and opened new VAS revenue streams.
Within the APAC region, 2008-09 saw various voice SMS deployments with operators across countries like Vietnam, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Tajikistan. The success of the service in Africa and the socio-economic similarity in the regions clearly indicates that this service has a potential to be successful in these countries as well. Also, the operators have been promoting the service effectively by launching special campaigns like free voice SMS usage during festive seasons.
Why would a service like this be a 'good fit' for the Indian market? With English literacy levels low, a huge chunk of population struggles to communicate using SMS as a medium. SMS is complicated for this user segment. Handset manufacturers tried fixing the problem of English language by introducing SMSes in more languages than English, so that the users can send messages in Indian languages like Hindi and Tamil but that is a little complex. In addition, we also have a large chunk of literate users like senior citizens who are not very comfortable in using a mobile handset, and consider a voice call as the most convenient mode of communication.
Since the urban market for mobile phones in India is near saturation, the rural market will provide the next big wave of growth. Voice SMS, though was marketed by operators like Airtel and Vodafone as a product with a huge potential as it could address a need for subscribers in the suburban belts, has not seen the take rates that were expected.
One of the key reasons that voice SMS in India is still not so successful here because India is a price sensitive market. With call rates falling and the introduction of per second bill plans, subscribers would prefer making a call with the cost of a few paisa rather than spending money on SMS. Voice SMS is no different. As of now most of the operators have kept voice SMS at a price point of 75 paisa, and this need to become more competitive so that the operators can effectively exploit the full potential of the service.
The history of VAS application that have been a hit in a market like India shows that the Indian subscriber welcomes products and services that are simple to use and integrated in the call flow of making a regular call. CRBT-the killer VAS application in the last few years-is a case in point. This is the only service in India that has achieved a greater than 20% subscriber penetration across all the operators.
Going by this logic, the success of a high potential service like voice SMS also depends on the simplicity and ease of use from a subscriber perspective. The current voice SMS services being offered by the operators wherein the subscriber needs to dial * and a number and record the message, is still quite complex for the user segments that we are talking about. Telenity's solution, for instance, is based on an integrated technology where a subscriber is given the option to record a message in case a voice call is not completed (a person does not answer a call, is busy or out of coverage area). This integrates the service in a standard call flow of making a voice call and if priced competitively to a voice call as has been done by the operators in Africa, its penetration and usage will see a sharp rise. This also enables a much higher call completion by the operators and a big spike in their revenue.
Currently voice SMS as a service is not widely used in our country but the opportunity is huge. There is a massive suburban, rural subscriber base that uses only voice services. They use the phone only to make calls. This enables them to communicate and get their message across in all conditions. In a hyper competitive market like India with plummeting tariffs, the key question is not if this service will see mass adoption but by when will this happen.
The operators need to apply the learning from other emerging markets and price the service appropriately so that the non-VAS savvy subscriber segment can benefit from this service.
Telenity Voice SMS Solution
The above table showcases the revenue potential for operators through a voice SMS solution wherein a subscriber uses the service in case a call cannot be completed. It is an additional source of revenue for operators in case a voice call is not completed.source
SMS has become a part and parcel of our daily communication. A phenomenon which started as just another form of communication and was an alternative to voice call, slowly crept into our lives. It has now become an integral part of the way we keep in touch with our social and professional network. Despite its massive usage, SMS is still 'puzzling' for a vast majority of users, who solely rely on voice as a communication medium. In India, almost 60% of the subscriber base has never sent an SMS.
As the technology evolved, voice SMS or 'an SMS with emotional touch' caught the imagination of the operators and subscribers alike in emerging markets across APAC, Middle East, and Africa. What are the reasons for popularity and the massive growth of voice SMS products in these markets? Why have similar services not seen an uptake in India despite the innovative marketing campaigns designed to attract subscribers to use voice SMS proactively?
Mobile penetration and awareness about the usage of sophisticated phones in emerging markets are low as compared to developed countries. Traditionally, the major chunk of the population resides in the suburban and rural areas, and relies on voice for communication. With limited written skills, they prefer not to type an SMS. The simplicity of a VAS service is the key to its success. Voice SMS is supposed to bridge these gaps, and plays an instrumental role in smooth and easy communication for this segment. Let us look at few of the success stories of voice SMS as a solution in some of the emerging markets. MTN Uganda, the leading African operator, saw a very impressive uptake of its voice SMS solution, and had to upgrade to triple the capacity of the voice SMS system within a few months of its launch. Within 3 months of its launch in November 2009, the service had seen an 11% penetration!
A Pyramid Research report rates voice SMS as the top next generation SMS based application that targets the low income subscribers in the Africa and Middle East region. Etisalat confirmed that out of its 7 mn subscribers in the UAE region, half a million voice SMSes were sent within 6 days of the launch of service. Analysts are of the opinion that the simplicity, cost-effective, and non-intrusive nature of the service will surely help in the uptake of the service with Nigerian operators like Visafone and Glo Mobile. Telenity has worked with operators in the Middle East and African region for making successful voice SMS deployments, and opened new VAS revenue streams.
Within the APAC region, 2008-09 saw various voice SMS deployments with operators across countries like Vietnam, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Tajikistan. The success of the service in Africa and the socio-economic similarity in the regions clearly indicates that this service has a potential to be successful in these countries as well. Also, the operators have been promoting the service effectively by launching special campaigns like free voice SMS usage during festive seasons.
Why would a service like this be a 'good fit' for the Indian market? With English literacy levels low, a huge chunk of population struggles to communicate using SMS as a medium. SMS is complicated for this user segment. Handset manufacturers tried fixing the problem of English language by introducing SMSes in more languages than English, so that the users can send messages in Indian languages like Hindi and Tamil but that is a little complex. In addition, we also have a large chunk of literate users like senior citizens who are not very comfortable in using a mobile handset, and consider a voice call as the most convenient mode of communication.
Since the urban market for mobile phones in India is near saturation, the rural market will provide the next big wave of growth. Voice SMS, though was marketed by operators like Airtel and Vodafone as a product with a huge potential as it could address a need for subscribers in the suburban belts, has not seen the take rates that were expected.
One of the key reasons that voice SMS in India is still not so successful here because India is a price sensitive market. With call rates falling and the introduction of per second bill plans, subscribers would prefer making a call with the cost of a few paisa rather than spending money on SMS. Voice SMS is no different. As of now most of the operators have kept voice SMS at a price point of 75 paisa, and this need to become more competitive so that the operators can effectively exploit the full potential of the service.
The history of VAS application that have been a hit in a market like India shows that the Indian subscriber welcomes products and services that are simple to use and integrated in the call flow of making a regular call. CRBT-the killer VAS application in the last few years-is a case in point. This is the only service in India that has achieved a greater than 20% subscriber penetration across all the operators.
Going by this logic, the success of a high potential service like voice SMS also depends on the simplicity and ease of use from a subscriber perspective. The current voice SMS services being offered by the operators wherein the subscriber needs to dial * and a number and record the message, is still quite complex for the user segments that we are talking about. Telenity's solution, for instance, is based on an integrated technology where a subscriber is given the option to record a message in case a voice call is not completed (a person does not answer a call, is busy or out of coverage area). This integrates the service in a standard call flow of making a voice call and if priced competitively to a voice call as has been done by the operators in Africa, its penetration and usage will see a sharp rise. This also enables a much higher call completion by the operators and a big spike in their revenue.
Currently voice SMS as a service is not widely used in our country but the opportunity is huge. There is a massive suburban, rural subscriber base that uses only voice services. They use the phone only to make calls. This enables them to communicate and get their message across in all conditions. In a hyper competitive market like India with plummeting tariffs, the key question is not if this service will see mass adoption but by when will this happen.
The operators need to apply the learning from other emerging markets and price the service appropriately so that the non-VAS savvy subscriber segment can benefit from this service.
Telenity Voice SMS Solution
The above table showcases the revenue potential for operators through a voice SMS solution wherein a subscriber uses the service in case a call cannot be completed. It is an additional source of revenue for operators in case a voice call is not completed.source
The Future of Telecom
Mobile phones will be tools for wholesome entertainment as well as commerce in the near future India is a unique market with the largest number of operators in the world, 15, servicing 700 mn mobile phone connections with lowest mobile tariffs globally. With the upcoming 3G services, value added services (VAS) are expected to drive conspicuous consumption. Service providers are relying heavily on VAS such as high speed data applications and mobile entertainment options including 'TV everywhere'.
In the recent years, the Indian telecom industry has witnessed phenomenal growth. The last year, in fact, has been one of the most exciting years for the industry with the 3G auctions and MNP being launched. A conducive business environment, favorable policies, and political stability have spurred the growth of this sector (notwithstanding the telecom ministry woes). The number of people using mobile handsets currently to access the web is 5-10 times more than those using a PC. As the telecom revenues continue to grow aggressively, telecom service providers are now beginning to make all endeavors to enhance their profitability amid dropping ARPUs, low tarrifs and cut-throat competition.
The introduction of 3G and WiMax technologies along with Mobile Number Portability (MNP) will be game changers in the Indian market. As per Trai estimates, India will have 19 mn WiMax subscribers by 2012 and nearly half of current mobile users as 3G subscribers. In the near future, we will see powerful devices backed by huge databases of applications helping consumers (individuals/businesses or both) benefit from mobile broadband that will offer mobile computing experiences beyond imagination.
With the launch of 3G services by the private operators, post the successful conclusion of 3G auctions by the government, incumbent operators are spending huge sums of money to get their networks 3G ready. There are going to be exciting times ahead, though it remains to be seen how 3G will impact both enterprises and retail customers when all the service providers initiate 3G services next year. However, one cannot ignore the power of mass entertainment medium that a mobile is soon going to become.
In the 3G age, the services will be provided under 4 core areas of access, video, applications, and gaming. Mobile phones will become a one-stop-shop for your daily needs. It will be used as a gateway to Internet access, passkey for high security commercial transactions, and an entertainment and information keeper. M-commerce, m-banking, m-trading, m-wallet, location based offers and mobile TV, have become the most talked about trends in the industry today. For enterprises, big or small, smarter devices combined with third generation wireless networks and an increased demand for workforce mobility will make business applications more attractive and popular.
The last few months have seen the market for tablet devices warm up with several vendors launching smarter products to garner market share and mindshare. The market has seen traction since the launch of Apple's revolutionary iPad device. The much sleeker tablet allows surfing the net, sharing documents, reading e-books, exchanging emails and nearly all multimedia functions such as listening to music, watching videos, and making calls. In the future, 1 device (essentially mobile phone and/or tablet) will be taking care of all the daily chores. It will act as a credit card for the daily purchases, cash for online bill payment, and a bank for the banking needs.
With the newer and faster technologies coming on the horizon, the access technologies such as screen size becoming smaller, advanced and more efficient, gone are the days when a large sized screen was needed to access the Internet and download favorite entertainment content. Now customers have a plethora of options to choose from that is, mobile phones, tablet PCs, and netbooks, etc, for accessing the worldwide web and their favorite content (mobile entertainment content such as audio, video, etc).
Mobile entertainment services have come a long way with the operators today delivering huge gamut of services such as streaming audio and video, interesting multi-player games, and the hugely popular mobile gambling across high speed 2.5G networks on advanced handsets. According to a Portio Research report estimates, mobile entertainment services (including mobile music, mobile games, and mobile video services) would generate worldwide revenues of $47.2 bn by end of 2013.
Gartner predicts that more than 4.5 bn apps will be downloaded in 2010 across all platforms, generating $6.8 bn of sales. It estimates that this will increase to 21.6 bn downloads and $29.5 bn of revenues by 2013. However, another interesting trend would be that a quarter of these mobile app revenues will come from advertising in free apps, rather than paid downloads.
Leading Indian operators have launched their own version of app stores in the still nascent app market, just like the global telecom majors such as Nokia and Apple. This enables them to gain a small yet significant share of consumer's wallet. However, in India where the propensity to buy depends on the value addition that the app brings, future will see apps being sold as part of bundled package with handsets, and cost recovered by running ads within it. The mobile ad market in India is already estimated at $25 mn and predicted to be in vicinity of $100 mn in the next 2 years.
Now the next question arises that what kind of app will be most popular in the future? The emergence of mobile TV and mobile commerce applications would be seen as the single most important event in the future of telecom industry.
The broadcast industry is undergoing one of biggest transformations in its history. Over the next few years or may be less, the entire television industry will make the transition from analog broadcast to digital services. This will be a major leap ahead for the entire broadcast industry. Slowly and steadily consumers have started streaming shows, news and movies from the web not just to their television sets and laptops, but also to their smartphones and iPads.
Mobile TV will change the paradigms of mobile entertainment. Television will no longer be limited to households, and each individual will carry his own personal entertainment in his pocket. The day is not far when the mobile TV will become ubiquitous and revenues will be earned through personalized ads, thanks to the personal data (even likes, preferences, and needs) of the consumers available with the service provider. In the next couple of years, India will have more than 200 mn mobile TV users primarily because of anywhere, anytime entertainment capability.
The recently announced tablets with phone capabilities and 5 inch and 4.8 inch screen sizes by Dell and Acer, respectively suddenly mark the reappearance of a large enough personal screen to enjoy TV and video content. Given the propensity of Indian innovators to bring down price points on mobile phone advances, the widespread availability of such devices will be possible really soon.
Bandwidth is the other scarce resource in a mobile environment. With the new 3G networks coming up, this problem will be more or less solved. The only question is how soon the operators will deploy the additional spectrum for data services.
Mobile commerce or m-commerce-the conduct of business transactions over the Internet enabled wireless devices-is the other huge trend slowly becoming a dominant force in the business and society. M-commerce is one of the fastest growing mobile applications in recent history. M-commerce has become such a popular concept that a number of sub applications have been developed around the concept such as m-banking, m-trading, m-wallet among many. The enabling feature such as anytime, anywhere banking/payment flexibility, and ease of use have made it one of the most downloaded apps across the world.
Like every enabling technology, m-commerce is also not without issues. Information sharing especially in today's cybercriminal world is fraught with risks. Identity thefts are as common as mobiles today. Personal information such as credit card information location, personal details, and location details can easily be misused. Many countries strictly regulate the collection and use of personal data by business entities and government departments.
There is no doubt that m-commerce is the future of banking and all m-commerce applications have a very promising future. However, there are several limitations an m-commerce user faces. Small screens on wireless devices, limited processing power, modest memory, low speed data transmission, non-ubiquitous coverage, unproven security, and scarce bandwidth are some of them. We know by experience that many of these limitations are expected to diminish, if not being eliminated, over time.
With the upcoming 3G networks bestowed with higher security, higher speeds, higher capacity, and intelligent infrastructures, m-commerce applications will be unqualified success. With improved wireless security and privacy through data encryption and user education, m-commerce will become the most dominant method of doing business transactions.
The future of telecom will be to enable the applications and technologies developed by Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) or Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) to vastly improve our standard of living. Telecom will become the springboard to the future creation and expansion for an information society. Telecom will play a huge role in the society and will spur innovation, entrepreneurship, and growth.source
In the recent years, the Indian telecom industry has witnessed phenomenal growth. The last year, in fact, has been one of the most exciting years for the industry with the 3G auctions and MNP being launched. A conducive business environment, favorable policies, and political stability have spurred the growth of this sector (notwithstanding the telecom ministry woes). The number of people using mobile handsets currently to access the web is 5-10 times more than those using a PC. As the telecom revenues continue to grow aggressively, telecom service providers are now beginning to make all endeavors to enhance their profitability amid dropping ARPUs, low tarrifs and cut-throat competition.
The introduction of 3G and WiMax technologies along with Mobile Number Portability (MNP) will be game changers in the Indian market. As per Trai estimates, India will have 19 mn WiMax subscribers by 2012 and nearly half of current mobile users as 3G subscribers. In the near future, we will see powerful devices backed by huge databases of applications helping consumers (individuals/businesses or both) benefit from mobile broadband that will offer mobile computing experiences beyond imagination.
With the launch of 3G services by the private operators, post the successful conclusion of 3G auctions by the government, incumbent operators are spending huge sums of money to get their networks 3G ready. There are going to be exciting times ahead, though it remains to be seen how 3G will impact both enterprises and retail customers when all the service providers initiate 3G services next year. However, one cannot ignore the power of mass entertainment medium that a mobile is soon going to become.
In the 3G age, the services will be provided under 4 core areas of access, video, applications, and gaming. Mobile phones will become a one-stop-shop for your daily needs. It will be used as a gateway to Internet access, passkey for high security commercial transactions, and an entertainment and information keeper. M-commerce, m-banking, m-trading, m-wallet, location based offers and mobile TV, have become the most talked about trends in the industry today. For enterprises, big or small, smarter devices combined with third generation wireless networks and an increased demand for workforce mobility will make business applications more attractive and popular.
The last few months have seen the market for tablet devices warm up with several vendors launching smarter products to garner market share and mindshare. The market has seen traction since the launch of Apple's revolutionary iPad device. The much sleeker tablet allows surfing the net, sharing documents, reading e-books, exchanging emails and nearly all multimedia functions such as listening to music, watching videos, and making calls. In the future, 1 device (essentially mobile phone and/or tablet) will be taking care of all the daily chores. It will act as a credit card for the daily purchases, cash for online bill payment, and a bank for the banking needs.
With the newer and faster technologies coming on the horizon, the access technologies such as screen size becoming smaller, advanced and more efficient, gone are the days when a large sized screen was needed to access the Internet and download favorite entertainment content. Now customers have a plethora of options to choose from that is, mobile phones, tablet PCs, and netbooks, etc, for accessing the worldwide web and their favorite content (mobile entertainment content such as audio, video, etc).
Mobile entertainment services have come a long way with the operators today delivering huge gamut of services such as streaming audio and video, interesting multi-player games, and the hugely popular mobile gambling across high speed 2.5G networks on advanced handsets. According to a Portio Research report estimates, mobile entertainment services (including mobile music, mobile games, and mobile video services) would generate worldwide revenues of $47.2 bn by end of 2013.
Gartner predicts that more than 4.5 bn apps will be downloaded in 2010 across all platforms, generating $6.8 bn of sales. It estimates that this will increase to 21.6 bn downloads and $29.5 bn of revenues by 2013. However, another interesting trend would be that a quarter of these mobile app revenues will come from advertising in free apps, rather than paid downloads.
Leading Indian operators have launched their own version of app stores in the still nascent app market, just like the global telecom majors such as Nokia and Apple. This enables them to gain a small yet significant share of consumer's wallet. However, in India where the propensity to buy depends on the value addition that the app brings, future will see apps being sold as part of bundled package with handsets, and cost recovered by running ads within it. The mobile ad market in India is already estimated at $25 mn and predicted to be in vicinity of $100 mn in the next 2 years.
Now the next question arises that what kind of app will be most popular in the future? The emergence of mobile TV and mobile commerce applications would be seen as the single most important event in the future of telecom industry.
The broadcast industry is undergoing one of biggest transformations in its history. Over the next few years or may be less, the entire television industry will make the transition from analog broadcast to digital services. This will be a major leap ahead for the entire broadcast industry. Slowly and steadily consumers have started streaming shows, news and movies from the web not just to their television sets and laptops, but also to their smartphones and iPads.
Mobile TV will change the paradigms of mobile entertainment. Television will no longer be limited to households, and each individual will carry his own personal entertainment in his pocket. The day is not far when the mobile TV will become ubiquitous and revenues will be earned through personalized ads, thanks to the personal data (even likes, preferences, and needs) of the consumers available with the service provider. In the next couple of years, India will have more than 200 mn mobile TV users primarily because of anywhere, anytime entertainment capability.
The recently announced tablets with phone capabilities and 5 inch and 4.8 inch screen sizes by Dell and Acer, respectively suddenly mark the reappearance of a large enough personal screen to enjoy TV and video content. Given the propensity of Indian innovators to bring down price points on mobile phone advances, the widespread availability of such devices will be possible really soon.
Bandwidth is the other scarce resource in a mobile environment. With the new 3G networks coming up, this problem will be more or less solved. The only question is how soon the operators will deploy the additional spectrum for data services.
Mobile commerce or m-commerce-the conduct of business transactions over the Internet enabled wireless devices-is the other huge trend slowly becoming a dominant force in the business and society. M-commerce is one of the fastest growing mobile applications in recent history. M-commerce has become such a popular concept that a number of sub applications have been developed around the concept such as m-banking, m-trading, m-wallet among many. The enabling feature such as anytime, anywhere banking/payment flexibility, and ease of use have made it one of the most downloaded apps across the world.
Like every enabling technology, m-commerce is also not without issues. Information sharing especially in today's cybercriminal world is fraught with risks. Identity thefts are as common as mobiles today. Personal information such as credit card information location, personal details, and location details can easily be misused. Many countries strictly regulate the collection and use of personal data by business entities and government departments.
There is no doubt that m-commerce is the future of banking and all m-commerce applications have a very promising future. However, there are several limitations an m-commerce user faces. Small screens on wireless devices, limited processing power, modest memory, low speed data transmission, non-ubiquitous coverage, unproven security, and scarce bandwidth are some of them. We know by experience that many of these limitations are expected to diminish, if not being eliminated, over time.
With the upcoming 3G networks bestowed with higher security, higher speeds, higher capacity, and intelligent infrastructures, m-commerce applications will be unqualified success. With improved wireless security and privacy through data encryption and user education, m-commerce will become the most dominant method of doing business transactions.
The future of telecom will be to enable the applications and technologies developed by Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) or Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) to vastly improve our standard of living. Telecom will become the springboard to the future creation and expansion for an information society. Telecom will play a huge role in the society and will spur innovation, entrepreneurship, and growth.source
Monday, January 17, 2011
Idea Cellular Takes The Lead On MNP Launches India Wide Helpline
Idea Cellular,today announced the launch of a Toll Free Number 1800-270-0000 to guide over 700 million mobile subscribers on various aspects and procedures of number portability, prior to the national launch of the service on January 20th, 2011.With this, Idea continues to lead the industry in MNP communication through a series of new advertisements.Idea is now promoting the Toll Free Number and the Date of MNP launch in the series of new ads.
The earlier ads, the first such campaign on MNP in India, showed Idea proposing the idea to unhappy mobile consumers to switch to a network that offers better services, better products & tariffs, and better network, through the message – ‘No Idea, Get Idea’.
Mobile users across all 22 circles can call up the Toll Free Number 1800-270-0000 and register their requests for porting on the Idea network. Idea has also launched a microsite www.getidea.co.in – an information portal for MNP for online users. SOURCE
PERFORMANCE REPORT - INDIAN TELECOM
The Indian telecom sector continues to grow at a breakneck speed. Needless to point out over here, that idle funds always chase growth sectors where the prospects of gaining superior returns are far out-weighed.
This wave of optimism is also being echoed by a Boston Consulting Group report which says that the Indian telecom market will surpass a psychological $100 billion-mark by 2015, despite host of concerning factors such as intense competition on the back of low-tariff structures and ensuing decline in ARPUs in the sector.
Recently, telecom regulator TRAI released a report on “Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicator Report” for the period covering July to September 2010, spanning across key parameters in Wireless and Wire-line telecom, Cable TV and Radio Broadcasting services in India.
The study, compiled from the data furnished by the telecom operators, presents an informative summarized view into the latest trends within the relevant sectors in terms of subscriber growth, preferences and geographical spread for various services.
However, the optimistic subscriber growth figures notched in Q3-2010 does not get reflected on the ARPUs front for GSM services which declined from Rs.122 at the start of June-10 to Rs.110 by Sept-10. The trend is no different on the CDMA front too.
The overall Tele-density in India reached 60.99% as on September 2010. The Urban Tele-density at the end of Sept-10 stood at 137.25, which indicates that every 1 out of 4 urbanites holds multiple mobile connections.
The Rural Tele-density increased from 26.43 to 28.42 during the quarter July-Sept. However, these figures are woefully low when it comes to penetration levels of the operators in the remote rural areas which still remain highly untapped.
What further pinches me is that the rural subscription recorded a decline in rate of growth during the quarter from 9.18% to 7.81% in Sept-10, despite low tariffs.
Even as the wireless subscribers log a smart growth, the wire-line subscriber base declined from 36.18 million at the end of June-10 to 35.57 million as on Sept-10. However, the fixed line network is likely to be sustained, though on a very small footprint going forward.
Incidentally, even the internet subscribers are growing at the almost the same rate as that of telecom subscribers. It surged from 16.72 million in July to 17.90 million in September.
The number of broadband subscribers surged from 9.47 million at the end of June to 10.30 million in Q3 of 2010. As India’s mid-age population turns more affluent, the demand for broadband services has also surged. The share of Broadband subscription in total internet subscription stood at 57.6% at the end of Sept-10.
The increased promotional spending by the Corporate India has spurred more and more new channels launches to grab a pie of the popular TRPs. The number of channels with Ministry of I&B has soared to 526 as on Sept-10 end, an addition of 11 channels from a quarter ago period.
However, the quarter July-Sept saw no change in the status of number of FM Radio stations at 248, which have gained immense traction over the last 5 years.
The age of digitalization of television broadcasting is here which provides advantages of satellite transmission of digital television signal. This has seen the number of Set Top Boxes (STBs) installed in prime metro locations go up to 775,876 until Sept end.
SOURCE
Will the Indian telecom industry be able to sustain its scorching pace of growth?
This wave of optimism is also being echoed by a Boston Consulting Group report which says that the Indian telecom market will surpass a psychological $100 billion-mark by 2015, despite host of concerning factors such as intense competition on the back of low-tariff structures and ensuing decline in ARPUs in the sector.
Recently, telecom regulator TRAI released a report on “Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicator Report” for the period covering July to September 2010, spanning across key parameters in Wireless and Wire-line telecom, Cable TV and Radio Broadcasting services in India.
The study, compiled from the data furnished by the telecom operators, presents an informative summarized view into the latest trends within the relevant sectors in terms of subscriber growth, preferences and geographical spread for various services.
Growth in Telecom Subscriber Trends
The number of telecom subscribers, from July to September last year, grew from 671.69 million to 723.28 million, registering a growth of 7.68%. Now, just compare this burgeoning growth rate with a decade-ago figures which stood at 7.3 million cellular subscribers as on June 2002; it’s a 100 times jump.However, the optimistic subscriber growth figures notched in Q3-2010 does not get reflected on the ARPUs front for GSM services which declined from Rs.122 at the start of June-10 to Rs.110 by Sept-10. The trend is no different on the CDMA front too.
The overall Tele-density in India reached 60.99% as on September 2010. The Urban Tele-density at the end of Sept-10 stood at 137.25, which indicates that every 1 out of 4 urbanites holds multiple mobile connections.
The Rural Tele-density increased from 26.43 to 28.42 during the quarter July-Sept. However, these figures are woefully low when it comes to penetration levels of the operators in the remote rural areas which still remain highly untapped.
What further pinches me is that the rural subscription recorded a decline in rate of growth during the quarter from 9.18% to 7.81% in Sept-10, despite low tariffs.
Even as the wireless subscribers log a smart growth, the wire-line subscriber base declined from 36.18 million at the end of June-10 to 35.57 million as on Sept-10. However, the fixed line network is likely to be sustained, though on a very small footprint going forward.
Growth in Internet Subscriber Trends
Incidentally, even the internet subscribers are growing at the almost the same rate as that of telecom subscribers. It surged from 16.72 million in July to 17.90 million in September.
The number of broadband subscribers surged from 9.47 million at the end of June to 10.30 million in Q3 of 2010. As India’s mid-age population turns more affluent, the demand for broadband services has also surged. The share of Broadband subscription in total internet subscription stood at 57.6% at the end of Sept-10.
Cable TV and Radio Broadcasting Trends
The increased promotional spending by the Corporate India has spurred more and more new channels launches to grab a pie of the popular TRPs. The number of channels with Ministry of I&B has soared to 526 as on Sept-10 end, an addition of 11 channels from a quarter ago period.
However, the quarter July-Sept saw no change in the status of number of FM Radio stations at 248, which have gained immense traction over the last 5 years.
The age of digitalization of television broadcasting is here which provides advantages of satellite transmission of digital television signal. This has seen the number of Set Top Boxes (STBs) installed in prime metro locations go up to 775,876 until Sept end.
Telecom Growth Snapshot
SOURCE
Will the Indian telecom industry be able to sustain its scorching pace of growth?
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Pesky calls: Now more stricter norms for Players
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s decision to enforce stricter norms on unsolicited calls and text messages may well be a boon in disguise, feel organised mobile marketing companies.
The mobile marketing sector currently has innumerable small outfits engaged in the business of sending marketing communication. The new guidelines will make it tough for vendors to stick to the policies. As a result, only serious players will survive. Mobile marketers say culling out selected vendors is not the only good news, but even customers will be more receptive to chosen communication patterns. Targeted communication would reach more willing consumers, bringing in more value to mobile marketing.
“There is a cost of compliance for the new norms, where systems have to be set up to ensure that you are not on the wrong side of the law. Fly-by-night operators who would not be able to do this, might leave the business,” said Shubho Ray, President of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).
Last month, Trai issued a set of new guidelines for both marketers and regulators and warned of penalties ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 2,50,000 for defaulters. According to these, consumers should receive marketing calls and text messages only if on the National Customer Preference Register. Subscribers would have the freedom to choose from specific segments where they would want to get marketing communications.
These rules would require both companies and operators to set up compliance and auditing tools and platforms to classify text messages according to customer preference and segregate these. Operators who have been made responsible by Trai should have firewalls to block unwanted test messages if these do not fulfill the requirements specified by the customer.
“A lot of smaller vendors who do not comply to norms either deliberately or due to lack of ability will be forced out of business. If they have specific value-add, they would be compliant,” said Vishwanath Ramachandran, Chief Technology Officer, SMS Gupshup.
“Once the spam is controlled, it will reduce the irritation factor associated with mobile marketing. Bigger brands, too, will choose this path, since mobile marketing will become much more responsible,” said Rajiv Hiranandani, Directors, Mobile Marketing Association, Asia Pacific.
Experts say the regulations, to be enforced from February, might not reduce the number of subscribers who would eventually receive pesky calls and SMSes. If the number of receivers was reduced, it would be detrimental to this business, which works on large volumes. However, experts say such choice to consumers would not hurt marketers monetarily.
“If you look at the number of people registered on the Do Not Call Registry, they are just around 10 per cent of the total telecom subscribers. So, we expect it to only have only a minuscule impact,” said Ray.source
The mobile marketing sector currently has innumerable small outfits engaged in the business of sending marketing communication. The new guidelines will make it tough for vendors to stick to the policies. As a result, only serious players will survive. Mobile marketers say culling out selected vendors is not the only good news, but even customers will be more receptive to chosen communication patterns. Targeted communication would reach more willing consumers, bringing in more value to mobile marketing.
“There is a cost of compliance for the new norms, where systems have to be set up to ensure that you are not on the wrong side of the law. Fly-by-night operators who would not be able to do this, might leave the business,” said Shubho Ray, President of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).
Last month, Trai issued a set of new guidelines for both marketers and regulators and warned of penalties ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 2,50,000 for defaulters. According to these, consumers should receive marketing calls and text messages only if on the National Customer Preference Register. Subscribers would have the freedom to choose from specific segments where they would want to get marketing communications.
These rules would require both companies and operators to set up compliance and auditing tools and platforms to classify text messages according to customer preference and segregate these. Operators who have been made responsible by Trai should have firewalls to block unwanted test messages if these do not fulfill the requirements specified by the customer.
“A lot of smaller vendors who do not comply to norms either deliberately or due to lack of ability will be forced out of business. If they have specific value-add, they would be compliant,” said Vishwanath Ramachandran, Chief Technology Officer, SMS Gupshup.
“Once the spam is controlled, it will reduce the irritation factor associated with mobile marketing. Bigger brands, too, will choose this path, since mobile marketing will become much more responsible,” said Rajiv Hiranandani, Directors, Mobile Marketing Association, Asia Pacific.
Experts say the regulations, to be enforced from February, might not reduce the number of subscribers who would eventually receive pesky calls and SMSes. If the number of receivers was reduced, it would be detrimental to this business, which works on large volumes. However, experts say such choice to consumers would not hurt marketers monetarily.
“If you look at the number of people registered on the Do Not Call Registry, they are just around 10 per cent of the total telecom subscribers. So, we expect it to only have only a minuscule impact,” said Ray.source
Violations, Timeline in 2G Spectrum Scam
# A Raja becomes Union Minister for Environment and Forests in May 2004 and shifts to Ministry of Communications and IT on May 16, 2007. Raja’s friendly real estate companies want to become telecom operators and he informs his decision to Telecom Secretary DS Mathur for granting new licenses and spectrum to new players. But Mathur objects and argues for transparent auction and competitive pricing (as recommended by TRAI from 2003 onwards). Raja wants to grant licenses as per First-Come-First-Serve method (in a peculiar way – who first pays license fee and not who first applied) and old pricing fixed in 2001. In 2001, there were only four million mobile subscribers and it crossed 350 million in mid 2007. So Manju Madhvan, Member (Finance) of DoT, Finance Ministry also pointed out new competitive prices. But all ignored by Raja and he sent the file to Law Ministry for opinion and started procedures.
# On September 24, 2007 DoT issues a press release (released in the late evening and appeared in next day newspapers), citing the last date of application (cut-off date) fixing to October 1, 2007.
#Without Cabinet approval Raja allots Dual Policy or Cross Technology to Reliance Communications, Tata Teleservices and Shyam Telecom in October 2007 at a rate fixed in 2001. This technology allows CDMA operators to change to much wanted GSM Technology. CDMA operators were in bad shape and Raja’s decision became a boon to them. Here the corruption part is on allowing the much wanted GSM license at a six year old price. This move is Raja’s first major corruption in Telecom, which gave him courage to go ahead with 2G Spectrum allocation to new companies.
# On Nov 1, 2007, the Law Minister HR Bhardwaj rejects Raja’s plan and directs to constitute an Empowered Group of Ministers (eGoM) to form transparent procedures for 2G Spectrum allocation and new licenses.
# Next day on Nov 2, 2007, by 8pm Raja wrote a letter to Prime Minister, objecting on Bhardwaj’s direction. “Law Ministry is out of context,” wrote Raja. This letter was delivered to PM’s residence
# Within an hour (9pm), same day (Nov 2, 2007) – might be alerted by Bhardwaj- PM wrote to Raja to stop all procedures and directs him to get his concurrence in all future actions. This letter was delivered to Raja’s residence. Citing several wrong practices in the past, PM directs Raja to adopt transparent method by auction and new pricing.
# In the mid night, Raja gave an evasive rely to PM, hushing up the directions for auction, competitive pricing. This letter dated Nov 2, 2007 was also delivered to PM’s residence
# A very senior Law Officer (doing all unlawful activities and advisor to all illegal activities) was present in Raja’s residence on Nov 2, 2007 from 7pm to 11:30pm. He drafted all the two letters to Prime Minister by Raja. He was elevated in UPA-2 due to his nexus with all unholy elements in politics and corporate world. How a Law officer can advise against Law Minister’s direction? Rule 8(1)(e) of Law Officers (Conditions of Service) Rules 1972 says : “A Law Officer ( includes AG/SG/ASG or any other law officer) shall not advise any Ministry or Department of Government of India or any statutory organization or any PSU unless the proposal or a reference in this regard is received through Ministry of Law and Justice, Department of Legal Affairs.
# Finance Secretary Mr. D. Subba Rao wrote to Telecom Secretary Mr. DS Mathur on November 22, 2007 – objecting the pricing policy of 2G Spectrum and arguing for auction. In the letter the Finance Secretary objected the dual policy (cross technology) implemented (2\Oct 2007) to help CDMA operators like Reliance and TATA to more revenue earning GSM technology at a cheap rate fixed in 2001, without cabinet approval.
# Regarding this controversial allotment of dual policy (This was Raja’s first big corruption in Telecom Ministry), in the November 2, 2007 late night letter PM said to Raja : “I came thorough the media on the allotment of dual policy or cross technology)
The CAG report says around Rs.36,000 crore lost over this allotment of dual policy which benefited mainly Reliance and TATA. There is a separate headline : “undue influence to Reliance” in the CAG report which figures the total loss to Rs.1.76 Lakh crores, including the loss on the dual technology.
# Strong resistance by Telecom Secretary DS Mathur and Manju Madhavan prevents Raja from moving ahead. For suggesting series of steps for auction, Raja snubs Manju Madhvan, in an internal note dated Dec 4, 2007 who took VRS soon.(she applied well earlier).
# After 50 days, on Dec 26, 2007, Raja wrote a letter to PM, saying that he was “further enlightened” by Pranab Mukherjee (then External Affairs Minister) and G Vahanvati (then Solicitor General) to go ahead with “pre-emptive and pro-active” decision to allot 2G Spectrum and new licenses. In these letters also Raja argues for reversing the cut-off date o limit the players. PM did not reply, but simply gave a routine acknowledgement on Jan 3, 2008.
# On Dec 31, 2007, DS Mathur retires. Raja brings his trusted man Siddarth Behura as new Telecom Secretary, who worked as an Addl. Secretary with him Ministry of Environment and Forests. Within 10 days (Jan 10, 2008) at 2:45pm DoT uploads a press release saying that cut-off date was reversed from October 1, 2007 to September 25, 2007. The press release asked the new players to remit fee (huge money ranging from Rs.1500 cr- Rs.1600 cr) between 3:30pm -4:30pm on same day. It is a mystery that how Nine new companies made and remitted huge fee by demand draft within 45 minutes.
#Here is the conspiracy angle. All the nine company owners/brokers had a meeting with Raja on Jan 9, 2008 at his residence. All were informed by Minister 24 hours before the issue of press release. The cut-off date was reversed to September 25, 2007, because of Raja’s favorite company Unitech applied on Sept 24. Another favourite company Shyam Telelink also applied on Sept 24.
# On Jan 10, 2008, the CEOs Swan and Unitech (most favoured companies of Raja) sit at Private Secretary RK Chandolia’s cabin in Sanchar Bhavan. DDG Access Service (AK Srivastava) directs officials to go Chandolia’s cabin at 3pm. Chandolia asks official o collect application and demand draft from CEOs and directs to give No : 1 status to Swan and No : 2 status to Unitech. Then only counter was opened at eighth floor of Sanachar Bhavan to receive application/ fee from other seven companies. There was a mad rush to become first in the queue and physical fight taken place between rivals. Bouncers were brought. CEOs quarreled with each other while some telecom officers were manhandled.. Though police arrived, no case was registered by instruction of Chandolia.
#TRAI Chairman Mr. Nripendra Misra’s letter to Telecom Secretary Siddharth Behura on January 14, 2008 – objecting the policy, reversal of cut-off date and manipulating his recommendations. Later in the media Misra described DoT had “cherry picked” his recommendations.
#As per the Sec 11(1)(a)(ii) and Sec 11(1)(d) of the TRAI Act, DoT is mandated to get the recommendation of TRAI, if they issue license to new operators. But Raja never sought recommendation of TRAI when he allotted license to new operators like Swan Telecom – changed name to Etisalat DB Telecom, Unitech group companies changed name to Uninor, Loop Telecom (license was granted in the name of Shipping Stop Dotcom India Pvt Ltd!!!!!), Datacom – changed name to Videocon, STel and Allainz Infra (merged/amalgamated with Etisalat later with their license in 2 circles…any smell of corruption or conspiracy?. Let CBI or ED investigate)
#DoT allots spectrum/licenses (including additional spectrum to existing players to settle anger) on March/April 2008. All files were signed by Raja. Unitech applied licenses in different names – Unitech Infrastructure, Unitech Builders and Estates, Aska Projects, Nahan Properties, Hudson Properties, Volga Properties, Adonis Projects and Azare Properties. Later Unitech Group forms eight companies – Unitech Wireless (Tamil Nadu), Unitech Wireless (North), Unitech Wireless (South), Unitech Wireless (Kolkata), Unitech Wireless (Delhi), Unitech Wireless (East), Unitech Wireless (Mumbai), Unitech Wireless (West).
#Dubious order was issued by Siddhart Behura on April 22, 2008 for facilitating merger (leaving the word acquisition). This helped Unitech to merge all their licenses and helped all to waive the mandatory three year lock-in-period in selling of their shares.
# On Sept 13, 2008, Raja forces BSNL CMD Kuldip Goyal to enter into a un-precedented MoU with Swan, known as Intra-Circle Roaming Agreement. This MoU will help Swan to use all infrastructure (Towers, optical network etc) of BSNL. This MoU was executed just a week before, Swan’s Rs.4500 Cr deal (sale of 45 per cent shares) with Etisalat. Swan gives unsolicited application to BSNL. The BSNL management committee demands 52 paise/call from Swan. But this clause was absent in the MoU. Raja also transfers senior officials in WPC (Joint Wireless Adviser RJS Kushwaha and Deputy Wireless Adviser D Jha) for objecting Swan’s proposals to BSNL and DoT.
# In Sept/October 2008 – Swan offloads 45 per cent shares to UAE based Etisalat for Rs.4500 Cr. (Swan got license for Rs.1530Cr). Etisalat invested Swan through its Mauritius unit. Unitech offloads 60 per cent of shares to Norway based Telenor for Rs.6200Cr. (Unitech got license for Rs.1621 cr). Telenor invested through its South-Asia division. Telenor is a major operator in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
# On Nov 4 2008, Swan informs DoT that – it allotted Rs.380Cr worth shares (9.9%) to a Chennai based newly floated company Genex Exim. This is believed to the kick back from Swan to Raja. Genex was incorporated on September 17, 2008, with two directors — Mohammed Hassan (58) and Ahamed Shakir (41). The company was represented by Ahmed Syed Salahuddin (32) on the board of Swan. The three belong to Kilukarai, a small coastal village in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu. The Tamil Nadu link now gets strengthened. Ahmed Syed Salahuddin is the younger son of Syed Mohammed Salahuddin, an NRI business tycoon heading the Dubai-based real estate conglomerate, ETA Ascon Star Group. This was part of the letter to DoT informing the Rs.4500 crore deal with Etisalat.
# ETA Group had several real estate projects cleared (on in Bangalore) during Raja’s stint in Environment Ministry. More over the ETA owner Syed Mohammed Salahuddin is having four decade long association with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.Karunanidhi. Most of the Fly Overs, new Secretariat complex were built by this man, who was also a distributor of Karunanidhi’s films. Star Health Insurance, owned by this man is running the state government’s group health insurance scheme. Sayed Salahuddin was also named in Justice Sarkaria Commission report in 1976. The Commission was instituted by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, after dismissing Karunanidhi for gross corruption.
# On May 29, 2009 (48 hours after Raja sworn in again as Telecom Minister), Delhi High Court (Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Valmiki Mehta) on hearing the PIL against First-Come-First-Serve (FCFS) policy observed: “It is like selling cinema tickets. We find it very strange that public exchequer and valuable resources have been involved and misused in this way. We are completely astounded.”. The Delhi High Court in 1994 termed the FCFS policy as a barbarian and said not a suitable one to a democratic government]
# July 1, 2009 – Justice GS Sistani of Delhi High Court quashed the DoT’s decision to reverse the cut-off date. The case was filed by STel. On Nov 24, 2009 – Delhi HC Chief Justice upheld the Single Bench verdict and rejected the appeal of DoT. Shockingly in these two courts DoT filed an affidavit that Raja got Prime Minister’s concurrence. How Law Ministry and Attorney General GE Vahanvati vetted such an affidavit? The affidavit filed by Telecom Department (mentioned in the Para No : 5 of the verdict given by Delhi HC Chief Justice) only says Raja’s letter to PM on Nov 2, 2007 seeking his consent for reversing the cut off date (last date of application). But the Telecom Department, Minister Raja and the Attorney General Vahanvati cleverly and criminally hushed up PM’s objections and directions to Raja on the same date.
This wrong affidavit was not included in the SLP in the Supreme Court, when The Pioneer reported on misquoting PM in the Delhi High.
# DoT approaches Supreme Court through SLP to quash the HC verdicts. Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy impleads into the case. Sensing danger, Raja wanted the STel to withdraw from the case. On March 5, 2010, Friday evening after office hours, DoT issues an order asking STel to close its operation in three states, citing security reasons. There was no show cause was issued to STel and later Home Ministry revealed that they never raised any sort of security concern. Arm twisted STel surrendered before Raja on March 8, 2010 on Monday and declared that they have no troubles with DoT policy. Vahanvati produced STel’s surrender letter to Supreme Court, which was rejected and directed the company to file an affidavit. Due to Subramanian Swamy’s presence, Raja’s design failed and court said that thy will not interfere into the HC order declaring the change of cut off date as illegal.
# It must be remembered that STel offered to DoT and later to Prime Minister Rs.17,752 crore (mentioned in the Para No : 11 of the verdict of Delhi HC Chief Justice) for pan-Indian license/spectrum. But they got only three circles, due to change of cut-off date. Raja sold out Pan Indian license/spectrum for just Rs.1651 crore, the value fixed in 2001. The figure/rate quoted by STel in letters to DoT, Minister Raja and PM exposes the actual rates of 2G Spectrum in 2007-08 and huge loss to exchequer by Raja’s fraudulent action. This huge offer of STel became one of the basic factor for CAG in assessing the loss happened in 2G Spectrum allocation, including Dual Policy to Reliance and Tata
The figure Rs.17,752 crore offered by STel, mentioned the judgments is typographical error. The actual figure is Rs.13,752 according to CAG, after verifying the DoT papers.
#On October 14, 2009, Central Vigilance Commissioner Pratyush Sinha orders to CBI to probe the spectrum scam under Sec 120B of IPC (criminal conspiracy) and Sec 13d of Prevention of Corruption Act. CBI registers FIR on October 21, 2009. The FIR said the loss was Rs.23,000 crore. Later Enforcement Directorate also registers cases. Nothing happened till the Supreme Court intervened in September 2010 on the PIL filed by Prashant Bhushan, leading to the Supreme Court monitoring of the investigation. How can CBI and ED act, when Raja was kept on power till November 2010?
# By September 2010, the cases filed in Supreme Court by Subramanian Swamy and Prashant Bhushan started in the Bench of Justice GS Sighvi and AK Ganguly. Thankfully the mindset of the courts changed after SH Kapadia became the Chief Justice of India Raja finally submits resignation on November 14, 2010.
# The CAG found that out of the 122 licenses, 85 licenses are illegal according to the DoT guidelines itself, amounting to immediate cancellation at any point of time.
CAG found that the licenses given to Swan (13), Unitech(22), Loop(21), Datacom(21) STel(6) and Allianz Infra (2) are totally illegal according to DoT guidelines itself, apart from violations in Companies Act. The CAG tabled the report in Parliament on November 16, 2010 – finding a presumptive loss up to Rs.1.76 lak crore due to the illegal allotment of 2G spectrum including Dual Policy.source
Centre to launch mobile tech to save mothers
The Union ministry of health and family welfare is planning to adopt a mobile-based technology on the lines of the 108 ambulance services. This would be available in states, which do not have the 108 service.
The project would be implemented in 65 most backward districts in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Jharkhand as a first phase pilot, where maternal mortality rates are higher and no ambulance services are at present.
Sanjay Gupte, ex president, Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI), said, “In rural areas, where the 108 ambulance service is not available, this mobile and SMS technology will be available at the village level by setting up call centres.”
India currently has the highest number of mobile users in the world and through this service they can have access to junior practitioners and doctors in remote areas, he added.
The project is expected to cost Rs 500 crore.
The Cetre’s National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scheme was facing a shortage of skilled persons, right from consultants to practitioners.even after the Rs 33,000-crore Budget allocation for the project.
The maternal mortality rate has come down to 250, from 300 per 100,000 deliveries two years ago, and is expected to further come down to 100 by 2015 to meet the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goal.
According to a UN report, occurrence of a maternal death is 41 times more likely in India than in the US and 10 times more than in China. Every five minutes a pregnant woman dies in India, taking the number to 200 per day. The current pregnancy death risk is one in every 40 cases.
According to him, in Gujarat, two third of the emergencies are related to maternal death. In Sri Lanka, the district medical officer has been given the power to call the Army, helicopter in emergency cases to save the mother.
He said the project plan would be finalised next week when the Union home minister holds a meeting here.source
The project would be implemented in 65 most backward districts in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Jharkhand as a first phase pilot, where maternal mortality rates are higher and no ambulance services are at present.
Sanjay Gupte, ex president, Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI), said, “In rural areas, where the 108 ambulance service is not available, this mobile and SMS technology will be available at the village level by setting up call centres.”
India currently has the highest number of mobile users in the world and through this service they can have access to junior practitioners and doctors in remote areas, he added.
The project is expected to cost Rs 500 crore.
The Cetre’s National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scheme was facing a shortage of skilled persons, right from consultants to practitioners.even after the Rs 33,000-crore Budget allocation for the project.
The maternal mortality rate has come down to 250, from 300 per 100,000 deliveries two years ago, and is expected to further come down to 100 by 2015 to meet the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goal.
According to a UN report, occurrence of a maternal death is 41 times more likely in India than in the US and 10 times more than in China. Every five minutes a pregnant woman dies in India, taking the number to 200 per day. The current pregnancy death risk is one in every 40 cases.
According to him, in Gujarat, two third of the emergencies are related to maternal death. In Sri Lanka, the district medical officer has been given the power to call the Army, helicopter in emergency cases to save the mother.
He said the project plan would be finalised next week when the Union home minister holds a meeting here.source
Speed thrills: 3G breaks music, gaming barriers
Full-track live streaming of songs, videos on a rise
The desire to stay connected with friends on video calls had prompted Atul Akkar to buy a 3G-enabled smartphone with a front camera for Rs 27,000. Despite an initial set back – the government ban on 3G video calls and the realisation that most of his friends do not have 3G-enabled devices – the 22-year-old does not regret his decision.
Now, he enjoys the enhanced internet speed that 3G offers and is hooked onto his handset, instead of his laptop, to chat with friends.
Akkar is one of the many 3G users across the country whose spirits were not dampened with the government diktat asking telecom operators to bar 3G video calls for security reasons.
For instance, ScalArk Inc CEO Varun Singh thinks he has made a smart move with 3G. Singh access the large music database of his computer on his mobile phone using Audio Galaxy – that remotely connects his personal computer to his mobile – without storing any files on the handset. “The same programme works with 2G as well. But it would take five minutes or more to download a song. With 3G, I can stream music live.”
It has been a little over two months since private telecom companies started 3G services with Tata Docomo launching in November and Reliance Communications in December 2010. Experts said they have already observed a trend where full-track downloads of songs and videos have increased.
However, the much-touted explosive growth in video content seems to be taking a while. “We see growth in music services in the early days, followed by snacking video content consumption,” said Albert Almeida, COO of Hungama Mobile, a mobile content and services provider.
The company already has a music player application – MyPlay – which enables consumers to browse over two million tracks and videos and create personalised playlists. The company expects the application to be more popular in the 3G environment as live streaming would be faster. 3G Internet connections offers speeds close to 4-5 mbps.
Gaming is yet another area that has seen a surge and is poised to grow even more as 3G allows high-definition, multi-player gaming. The mobile gaming industry has been growing at 10 per cent month-on-month, but in the last six months the number of games downloaded have increased by 60 per cent. Increase in the number of high-end phones in the 3G season has also contributed to the trend, experts said.
“The advent of 3G will give the same experience of gaming that one gets in a personal computer or a laptop. We expect to see an increase in games downloaded by at least by 100 per cent and as many as 60 3G-enabled games will be launched in the next few months,” said Nitish Mittersain, CEO, Nazara Technologies.
Nazara, which has a tie-up with California-based Electronic Arts (EA), is planning to get EA’s 20 3G games to India within the next three months.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) decision to lift the ban video calls on 3G mobile networks – with a rider that service providers should provide interception capabilities by July 31 – has also set the ball rolling for users to get hooked on to video calls — but that time would say. For now, users’ imagination have caught up with the animated world beyond video services on 3G.source
The desire to stay connected with friends on video calls had prompted Atul Akkar to buy a 3G-enabled smartphone with a front camera for Rs 27,000. Despite an initial set back – the government ban on 3G video calls and the realisation that most of his friends do not have 3G-enabled devices – the 22-year-old does not regret his decision.
Now, he enjoys the enhanced internet speed that 3G offers and is hooked onto his handset, instead of his laptop, to chat with friends.
Akkar is one of the many 3G users across the country whose spirits were not dampened with the government diktat asking telecom operators to bar 3G video calls for security reasons.
For instance, ScalArk Inc CEO Varun Singh thinks he has made a smart move with 3G. Singh access the large music database of his computer on his mobile phone using Audio Galaxy – that remotely connects his personal computer to his mobile – without storing any files on the handset. “The same programme works with 2G as well. But it would take five minutes or more to download a song. With 3G, I can stream music live.”
It has been a little over two months since private telecom companies started 3G services with Tata Docomo launching in November and Reliance Communications in December 2010. Experts said they have already observed a trend where full-track downloads of songs and videos have increased.
However, the much-touted explosive growth in video content seems to be taking a while. “We see growth in music services in the early days, followed by snacking video content consumption,” said Albert Almeida, COO of Hungama Mobile, a mobile content and services provider.
The company already has a music player application – MyPlay – which enables consumers to browse over two million tracks and videos and create personalised playlists. The company expects the application to be more popular in the 3G environment as live streaming would be faster. 3G Internet connections offers speeds close to 4-5 mbps.
Gaming is yet another area that has seen a surge and is poised to grow even more as 3G allows high-definition, multi-player gaming. The mobile gaming industry has been growing at 10 per cent month-on-month, but in the last six months the number of games downloaded have increased by 60 per cent. Increase in the number of high-end phones in the 3G season has also contributed to the trend, experts said.
“The advent of 3G will give the same experience of gaming that one gets in a personal computer or a laptop. We expect to see an increase in games downloaded by at least by 100 per cent and as many as 60 3G-enabled games will be launched in the next few months,” said Nitish Mittersain, CEO, Nazara Technologies.
Nazara, which has a tie-up with California-based Electronic Arts (EA), is planning to get EA’s 20 3G games to India within the next three months.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) decision to lift the ban video calls on 3G mobile networks – with a rider that service providers should provide interception capabilities by July 31 – has also set the ball rolling for users to get hooked on to video calls — but that time would say. For now, users’ imagination have caught up with the animated world beyond video services on 3G.source
Now, shopaholics get to recharge their mobile phones for free
Being a shopaholic may notnecessarily lighten the wallet as various new schemes in theIndian market are providing exclusive free recharging optionsto shoppers.
One of the country''s largest retailers, Future Groupis offering free mobile phone talktime to its customers of BigBazaar and Pantaloons while another start-up portal is givingaway free retail coupons equal to the value of recharge donethrough their website.
Within few months of its launch, the uniqueconvergence of retail and mobile telephone services, two ofthe businesses which have witnessed a boom in India, iscatching up fast among the youth in the metros and the largercities.
The T24 GSM mobile service, launched by the Futuregroup in association with Tata Teleservices in June, now hasaround 350,000 subscribers in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal,Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar and Jharkhand.
Besides the traditional ways of buying a recharge, onecan simply shop at the company''s retail chains like BigBazaar, Food Bazaar, Pantaloons, EZone, Central, Home Town andBrand Factory to get free talktime.
For example, a shopping bill of more than Rs 1000 atBig Bazaar gives a free talktime of Rs 35.
"My ever-increasing shopping bill is now helping mereduce my mobile phone bill," says Meenakshi Naidu, aHyderabad-based young housewife who bought a T24 mobileconnection late last year.
Moreover, under the ''Talk More, Shop More'' scheme, onecan even get discounts on goods bought from Future Groupstores after buying a mobile phone recharge.
"Shopping and talking on our mobile phones are amongthe two favorite activities for all of us in India. With T24,we have been able to develop a unique customer valueproposition that combines these interests of the aspirationalIndians," says Future Group''s CEO (Telecom), Mayur Toshniwal.
On the other hand, at www.freerecharge.in, around 1.5lakh netizens log in to recharge virtually for free from thewebsite as their talktime charges are refunded in the form offree coupons from retailers and hang-out joints likeMcDonalds, Barista and PVR Cinemas. .
"Besides talking to my girlfriend for longer duration, I can also take her out to a multiplex on weekends with thefree coupons I get on recharging my phone. It serves me dualpurpose as recharging is easier on the Internet and is alsoavailable 24x7," says 22-year-old college student RockyAgarwal.
Launched in August last year, the first-of-its-kindbusiness model has already acquired a patent pending status.
"The response has been overwhelming for us as ourmodel is a win-win situation for mobile operators, retailersand users. With a spurt in the growth of the number of mobileand e-commerce subscribers in India, the online prepaidrecharge market will also grow," the website''s founder KunalShah told PTI.
Already having the leading mobile phone operators,retailers and hang-out joints on board, they are now settingup long-term partnerships with restaurants, apparel and evengrocery store chains.
"By the end of this April, we are hoping to have25,000 transactions each day on our website," Saha said addingthat they expect to start making profits by next year.
Similarly, Future Group plans a pan-India rollout ofits T24 mobile services and taking its customer base to onemillion.source
Tata Communications to acquire BitGravity
Tata Communications announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire BitGravity, an award winning content delivery network (CDN). BitGravity’s network and products accelerate the delivery of media assets to end-users and enables scalable, real-time video communications over the Internet. Upon successful completion of the transaction, Tata Communications (Netherlands) B.V. will own 100 percent BitGravity, Inc., which will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Communications. Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.
In 2008, Tata Communications entered into a strategic alliance with BitGravity that included the licensing BitGravity’s CDN technology and the federation of BitGravity’s and Tata Communications’ delivery networks. The company also made a strategic investment of $11.5mn in BitGravity. The alliance enabled Tata Communications’ to enter the market with its own global CDN in 2008 and has resulted in successful traction with high profile media, content and gaming companies in Europe, Asia and India such as NDTV, IAH Games, Quick Heal Technologies and Nimbus Communications.
“Two years ago, we made an investment in BitGravity to provide content delivery services for Tata Communications” said Genius Wong, Senior Vice President, Global Network Services, Tata Communications. “With the success we’ve seen in the marketplace and our ownership of BitGravity, we can now fully invest in the potential that exists around the globe and accelerate the delivery of new features and services to our customers”.
“Tata Communications bet on BitGravity’s vision and people to provide innovative video services. We are ecstatic that this will be a positive outcome for all the stakeholders; we are equally excited about what this means for BitGravity and its products going forward,” said Perry Wu, CEO and co-founder of BitGravity. “As a combined entity, we can propel our position in the market, and the opportunity to accelerate our vision on a significantly larger scale was one we couldn’t pass up.”
BitGravity, a privately held company located in Burlingame, California, was founded in mid-2006 and launched its services in 2008.source
In 2008, Tata Communications entered into a strategic alliance with BitGravity that included the licensing BitGravity’s CDN technology and the federation of BitGravity’s and Tata Communications’ delivery networks. The company also made a strategic investment of $11.5mn in BitGravity. The alliance enabled Tata Communications’ to enter the market with its own global CDN in 2008 and has resulted in successful traction with high profile media, content and gaming companies in Europe, Asia and India such as NDTV, IAH Games, Quick Heal Technologies and Nimbus Communications.
“Two years ago, we made an investment in BitGravity to provide content delivery services for Tata Communications” said Genius Wong, Senior Vice President, Global Network Services, Tata Communications. “With the success we’ve seen in the marketplace and our ownership of BitGravity, we can now fully invest in the potential that exists around the globe and accelerate the delivery of new features and services to our customers”.
“Tata Communications bet on BitGravity’s vision and people to provide innovative video services. We are ecstatic that this will be a positive outcome for all the stakeholders; we are equally excited about what this means for BitGravity and its products going forward,” said Perry Wu, CEO and co-founder of BitGravity. “As a combined entity, we can propel our position in the market, and the opportunity to accelerate our vision on a significantly larger scale was one we couldn’t pass up.”
BitGravity, a privately held company located in Burlingame, California, was founded in mid-2006 and launched its services in 2008.source
Mobile finance: A new way to manage your money
Mobile finance services are gathering steam as mobile banking is the easiest way to do money management.
Stock market digital highlights some key benefits brought by the mobile finance services.
Result-oriented service
Besides being convenient, Mobile finance service is a solution-based service. There will be a very strong organic growth in the mobile finance service segment just because it gets your quicker results with a click of a button.
Advantageous applications
Mobile applications come with excellent benefits. Mobile applications like Money Transfer can assist you in sending money via SMS messages. Mobile Payment is another application that will soon erase the traditional practices of money deployment.
Mobile-Wallet
Since mobile is omnipresent and does not require special arrangements to communicate the way internet does, every Tom, Dick and Harry can use his mobile as a wallet. Plus, the M-wallet will take care of the payment delay issues and will ensure timely delivery of money.
Mobile finance service is not a new phenomenon anymore. Intensive consumer adoption has led the technological innovation and we will see improved ways of managing money through our inseparable, sixth finger – Mobile. source
Result-oriented service
Besides being convenient, Mobile finance service is a solution-based service. There will be a very strong organic growth in the mobile finance service segment just because it gets your quicker results with a click of a button.
Advantageous applications
Mobile applications come with excellent benefits. Mobile applications like Money Transfer can assist you in sending money via SMS messages. Mobile Payment is another application that will soon erase the traditional practices of money deployment.
Mobile-Wallet
Since mobile is omnipresent and does not require special arrangements to communicate the way internet does, every Tom, Dick and Harry can use his mobile as a wallet. Plus, the M-wallet will take care of the payment delay issues and will ensure timely delivery of money.
Mobile finance service is not a new phenomenon anymore. Intensive consumer adoption has led the technological innovation and we will see improved ways of managing money through our inseparable, sixth finger – Mobile. source
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Google: Your new phone carrier?
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- From robot cars to wind farms, Google's expansive ambitions have taken it into some surprising corners of the tech field. Here's another it could tackle: Becoming your telephone company.
Google has assembled all the pieces it needs to be a mobile provider like Verizon, AT&T (T, Fortune 500) or Sprint (S, Fortune 500).
The search company dabbles in selling phones, it licenses the ultra-popular Android smartphone operating system, and it is trying its hand at becoming an Internet service provider.
But its biggest weapon is Google Voice, the hit low-cost calling service that launched in May 2009. Just five months later, the service had 1.4 million users -- almost half of whom were using it every single day.
Google currently relies on the established carriers to sell and support its devices. But if Google has the ability to deal directly with its customers, why not cut out the middleman?"Google's various efforts are clearly focused on being able to reach as many people on the planet as possible, but that is not something they can fully accomplish just by licensing out Android," says Ari Zoldan, CEO of Quantum Networks, which supplies equipment for Sprint's WiMax network. "If Google could find an easy way to transition into the cell space and provide mobile coverage, there would be some very serious advantages to that."
Never afraid to push the envelope, Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) been moving in that direction for years.
Buying the infrastructure: In 2008, Google put in a bid to buy wireless spectrum to provide mobile Internet access -- spectrum that ultimately went to Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500) for its new 4G network. Rumors that Google is buying up "dark fiber," broadband cables that have been laid but are not in use, have been widely circulated, though never confirmed.
Connecting customers: In February, the company announced that it will become an Internet provider of "ultra high-speed broadband" for up to 500,000 customers for a U.S. city. That project is still under development, but Google is about to start testing its service out at Stanford University.
Google already allows people to bypass their mobile carrier's service. Google Voice lets customers send free text messages, and the new version of Android ("Gingerbread") supports VoIP Internet calling, allowing users to make calls over over Wi-Fi networks.Operating system: Google designs and licenses the fastest-selling smartphone operating system on the planet: Every day, about 300,000 new Android devices are activated. Android is free for device manufacturers to license, so it has caught on like wildfire. Google makes money by driving search traffic on Android phones.
Selling phones: Earlier this year, the search giant decided to experiment with selling the Nexus One Android phone directly to consumers online. Though it was hardly successful, Google laid the foundation for a future in retail.
"Google made some noise about trying to open up the carrier space, but it learned the hard way with Nexus One that this is much easier said than done," says Al Hilwa, analyst at IDC. "Though I have no doubt its ambition remains intact."The next steps: So what does it all add up to? Would Google really be willing to give up its strong relationships with the carriers, most notably Verizon -- the largest network -- to go head-to-head with them in the wireless space?
We asked. Google declined to comment.
It's not likely in the immediate future. Google's Android is the hottest item in the mobile market, and the company relies on carriers to adopt its software and drive customers to its search site.
But it's a real possibility down the road. The Federal Communications Commission recently failed to enact strong Net neutrality rules for the wireless community. That leaves open the option for carriers to restrict their subscribers' access to some of Google's offerings.
Google warned of that risk in a recent SEC filing: "Some of these providers have stated that they may take measures that could degrade, disrupt, or increase the cost of user access to certain of our products by restricting or prohibiting the use of their infrastructure."There have already been a few skirmishes. Verizon has made Microsoft's Bing the default search engine in some of its Android phones, depriving Google of that coveted spot, and it took more than a year of fighting to make Google Voice available for iPhone users.
Some experts believe that simply acquiring the pieces to the puzzle helps Google in its negotiations with the carriers. "It's all part of their mentality to push the envelope and keep service providers on their toes," says Michael Grossi, director of consultancy Altman Vilandrie. "It's a way of keeping checks and balances."
As long as Google can get 300,000 new phones a day into customers' hands via the existing carriers, and as long as those devices allow consumers to download anything they want, there's no reason for them to compete, says Forrester Research analyst Jeffrey Hammond.
But as Hank Paulson famously said, if you have a bazooka in your pocket and people know it, you probably won't have to use it.
"While I think Google could become a mobile provider, I'd view it as a nuclear option," Hammond says.Certainly, there would be some hurdles for Google to clear. Google would likely face extensive regulatory scrutiny if it were to become a wireless provider. It has very little customer service or retail experience. And becoming a data provider is an expensive new business that could weigh on its margins.
Still, Google has the funds and the resources to get it done. All that's left is the will to do it."It's a classic Google experiment," Grossi says. "Google loves to push the boundaries to see what's possible." source
Telecom investors: The 21st century's biggest chumps?
Telecom, the old way
And yet over the same decade, the expansion in consumers' communication power was unprecedented. Two major telecom services that were largely used by the wealthy in the 20th century have spread to the masses. Cell phone use tripled between 2000 and 2010; now virtually every adult has one. And the number of high-speed residential Internet connections jumped from 2 million to 74 million. All this happened as the nation's total telecom bill shrank.
How was that possible?
Thank digital technology, fierce competition—and investors willing to build networks at an economic loss. When Craig Moffett of Bernstein Research recently tried to add up the economic value produced between 2000 to 2010 by AT&T (T), Comcast (CMCSA), Verizon (VZ), Echostar (SATS), and the like—the total he came to was horrifying. So far in the 21st century America's telecom networks have destroyed nearly $200 billion. Every single type of network—cable, cellular, satellite, take your pick—has destroyed wealth for its investors.
Why the 21st century has shaped up so differently than the last? To answer that question I tried to find the pithiest explanations from 21st century telecom executives. Here are my nominees for the three best. Together they tell a story sure to delight consumers—and petrify investors.
No. 1: "Internet protocol networks are like Pac Man. Eventually they will eat everything." (Hossein Eslambolchi, AT&T's chief technology officer, 2003)
At the start of the 21st century, the long distance business had never been bigger, taking in a record $109 billion in 2000. The number of local phone lines increased too, as it had every year since the Great Depression. AT&T and the local Bells remained fiercely proud of their intelligent phone network. What threat did the Internet, limited as it was to blindly moving generic data packets from place to place, pose to telecom's titan?
By 2003, after three years of declines, Eslambolchi spit out the hard truth. Ma Bell's top techie was saying that not only did Internet-style networks pose a threat to AT&T's old network, but that networks like the Internet were so superior that they would take over all types of communication.
Though blasphemy at the time, eight years later it's clear that Eslambolchi was dead on. Telecom in the 20th century had been dominated by expensive, custom-built communications networks meant for a single purpose—radio networks to carry radio shows, phone networks to carry phone calls, cable TV networks to carry TV channels and so on. As Eslambolchi predicted, those days are over.
In a digital world, all communications networks need to do only one thing—quickly move digital bits from one place to another. Whether the people using the network reassemble those bits back into phone calls, TV shows, web pages or some brand new app is not something the network needs to concern itself with. (Check out this free MIT lecture, starting at about minute 30, for a great technical explanation.)
Eslambolchi's insight: if the key to running a telecom network is simply moving bits cheaply, then cheap, generic networks like the Internet will always win. Networks designed to cleverly deliver a single digital app—a phone call, a cable TV channel—will eventually lose.
No. 2: "If a customer likes it, then it doesn't matter what it does to your economics -- it's going to happen." (Jack Cassidy, CEO of Cincinnati Bell, 2008)
Cheap, dumb networks spell danger for an entire industry built on charging for access to scarce communications resource, and that further built its pricing models based on charging for applications: one price for phone calls, a different price for text messages, and another price for emails and data.
Back in 2008, the big cell carriers all blocked their customers' phones from accessing Wi-Fi networks, which are almost always cheaper and faster than cellular networks. They did so because Wi-Fi is also free, or if paid, generally not controlled by the carrier, which, from the carrier's standpoint, was a bad thing. The best solution the oligarchy of cell carriers could come up with just to ban the technology. Yet by contrast Jack Cassidy, the CEO of Cincinnati Bell, owned up to the power of Wi-Fi and decided against continuing to fight a long losing battle. He started Wi-Fi phone trials in 2007. The rest of the industry soon caved and followed suit.
In fact, true to Cassidy's "It's going to happen" dictum, today all major smartphones not only speak Wi-Fi but access all sorts of outside "apps" that carriers once also banned, for fear of loosening their grips on consumers.
No. 3: "Anyone who relies on the fact that they own a scarce distribution resource is going to face ten years of turmoil." (Paul Sagan, chief executive of Akamai, 2007)
In so many ways, the beginning of the 21st century neatly marks the dawn of a new age in telecom. The businesses that defined 20th century telecommunications, local and long phone calls, peaked in 2000 and began a long decline. The 20th century, even the late 20th century, was dominated by low capacity analog networks. (Most cell phones in 1999 were still analog.) Naturally, telecom networks in the 21st century are digital.
The 20th century's single-purpose networks have given way to networks able to handle thousands of apps. Networks tightly controlled by their corporate owners have been replaced by networks controlled by their users. And finally there's this: in the 20th century, owning a company that moved information was a great way to make a fortune; in the 21st century it's become a great way to lose one.
Consider the great fortunes of the 20th century: The Hearsts and Pulitzer made their riches on newsprint. John Kluge, who was briefly America's richest man, built his wealth with local TV stations. AT&T became a heavyweight by laying down a long distance network. In all of these cases, it was distribution that was scarce, and therefore valuable.
The point of Sagan's statement is this: All of that is no longer so. In the 21st the communications networks are digital, dirt-cheap and multi-purpose — modern miracles. But they're also ubiquitous and therefore just not very profitable to own, or get rich from. Bad for the billionaires, good for the rest of us.
Indian telecom sector to grow to US$100 bn by 2015
The telecommunications sector and adjacent business opportunities such as digital devices and services for enterprises will represent a $100 billion market by 2015, according to management consultancy firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
The traditional telecom market is currently worth about $32 billion according to BCG. But in its latest report, the consultancy takes a much broader view of market opportunity to include laptops, personal computers, software and applications, television sets, digital advertisements, as well as managed network and connectivity services offered to large enterprises or government. SourceTTL to invest Rs 500 cr for expansion of 3G roll out in Guj
Gandhinagar, Jan 13 (PTI) Tata Teleservices Limited(TTL)has signed an agreement with the Gujarat government to investRs 500 crore for expanding its 3G roll out in the state.
"Powered by superior technology and robust network, TataTeleservices will now further expand and develop the telecominfrastructure in Gujarat," Regional Chief Operating Officer,Enterprise Business, TTL Pradeep Dwivedi said.
"The investment will also help the company expand itsenterprise business wing in Gujarat," he said.
The MoU would facilitate creation of infrastructure foroffering better internet bandwidth connectivity to variousgovernment and private projects, a company statement said.
Tata DOCOMO, the GSM arm of TTL in mid-November last yearannounced the commercial roll out of 3G services in Gujarat.
The company is the first private telecom operator inIndia to have rolled out 3G services in all the nine circles,for which it had bagged the licenses from the government.Source
The MoU was inked between Additional Chief Secretary,Science and Technology Department Ravi Saxena and RegionalChief Operating Officer, Enterprise Business, TTL PradeepDwivedi, during the Vibrant Gujarat Summit-2011.
"Powered by superior technology and robust network, TataTeleservices will now further expand and develop the telecominfrastructure in Gujarat," Regional Chief Operating Officer,Enterprise Business, TTL Pradeep Dwivedi said.
"The investment will also help the company expand itsenterprise business wing in Gujarat," he said.
The MoU would facilitate creation of infrastructure foroffering better internet bandwidth connectivity to variousgovernment and private projects, a company statement said.
Tata DOCOMO, the GSM arm of TTL in mid-November last yearannounced the commercial roll out of 3G services in Gujarat.
The company is the first private telecom operator inIndia to have rolled out 3G services in all the nine circles,for which it had bagged the licenses from the government.Source
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