TRAI’s statement on Mobile Number Portability
February 9
After the successful introduction of Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in area of Haryana on November 25, 2010 on pilot basis, the Government has introduced the service all over the country on January 20, 2011.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has reviewed the status of Mobile Number Portability recently. As per the reported data, till 5th February, 2011, about 17.11 lakh subscribers have submitted their requests to different service providers for porting their mobile number. Out of these requests, around 2.29 lakh pertains to Haryana Service area wherein MNP was implemented earlier.
In rest of the country, in Zone-I (Northern & Western Region) maximum number of requests have been received in Gujarat (1.67 lakhs) followed by Rajasthan (1.44 lakhs) whereas in MNP Zone-II (Southern & Eastern Region) maximum number of requests have been received in Karnataka (1.16 lakh) followed by Tamilnadu service area (1.14 lakh).
TRAI is constantly monitoring the implementation of MNP in the country. Based on the complaints and feedback received, TRAI has instructed the service providers to strictly comply with the provisions of MNP Regulations.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India releases paper on “Green Telecommunications”
February 3
TRAI released a consultation paper on “Green Telecommunications” - Change in the world’s climate and the ensuing natural calamities like floods and typhoons are attributed to increase greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) mainly that of Carbon Dioxide, resulting from increased consumption of energy by manufacturing and service sectors.
With more and more subscribers being added to the telecommunication networks, energy consumption and contribution of the telecom sector, to the global greenhouse gas emissions, is increasing. The total carbon footprint of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) industry is about 860 million tonnes or 2% of global emissions and that of telecommunication network and devices about 0.7% of the global emissions. The full text of the Paper is available on TRAI’s website www.trai.gov.in.
China Telecom and Huawei Deploy World's First iODN FOA Site
February 11
Huawei, a leader in providing next-generation telecommunications network solutions for operators around the world, announced that China Telecom and Huawei have established the world’s first intelligent optical distribution network (iODN) first office application (FOA) site in Xuancheng, Anhui Province, China.
Huawei’s iODN solution, which uses innovative eID technology, dramatically improves operations and maintenance efficiency throughout the deployment process.
As a critical and difficult aspect of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) deployment, the ODN strongly impacts the total cost, system performance and reliability of FTTH networks. Traditionally, FTTH deployment and management within the ODN is performed manually, causing frequent errors and system faults. Such manual operations incur high deployment costs and great operations and maintenance pressure for operators, thereby failing to meet the needs of mass FTTH deployments and management.
Huawei’s iODN brings intelligence to the fiber management system while maintaining the passive nature of the ODN network. iODN uses eIDs to automatically identify and manage fiber connections, intelligently indicate fiber connection operations, and intelligently manage optical splitters. With iODN, operators can automatically search out the target optical fiber and appropriately operate it, paving the way for efficient FTTH rollouts and accurate identification of fiber faults.
As of December 2010, Huawei’s ODN offerings had serviced numerous world-leading telecom operators, including BT, Etisalat, Nucleus Connect, Maxis, Saudi Telecom Company and Qatar Telecom.
Nokia Siemens launches Smart WLAN Connectivity Solution
February 9
Nokia Siemens Networks has launched its Smart WLAN Connectivity Solution that enhances mobile broadband through selectively offloading traffic to Wi-Fi without any break in service. This approach can provide faster data connections, ensuring that mobile network capacity is preserved. Smart WLAN Connectivity removes the need to manually switch a device’s data connection between Wi-Fi and cellular broadband, handling the transition without interrupting service.
Smart WLAN Connectivity Solution allows integration of Wi-Fi and mobile networks, thereby, providing increased overall network capacity, supporting both data and voice services.
The solution also allows operators to use the existing services and functionality supported by its packet core network such as authentication, charging, policy control and traffic management for both mobile and Wi-Fi traffic in a unified way. This helps operators to maintain their position in the information value chain coupled with visibility and control over the people’s experiences regarding use of Wi-Fi.
Alcatel-Lucent to develop lightRadio to solve network gridlock and universal high-speed coverage
February 7
The looming global gridlock in mobile communications promises to be averted following the launch of pioneering technology which will remove the bottlenecks constraining mobile networks and help deliver universal broadband coverage.
Alcatel-Lucent, the leading network technology group, has joined forces with industry partners to develop lightRadio™, a new system that signals the end of the mobile industry’s reliance on masts and base stations around the world.
According to Mr. Ben Verwaayen, Chief Executive Officer, Alcatel-Lucent, “Today’s and tomorrow’s demands for coverage and capacity require a breakthrough in mobile communications. lightRadio will signal the end of the basestation and the cell tower as we know it today.”
Governments and regulatory bodies are expected to welcome the technical development, which will help meet targets for universal broadband access by laying the foundation to address the so-called “digital divide.”
MACH appoints new Chief Executive Officer
February 8
MACH, the providers of hub-based mobile communication solutions, announced that the Board of Directors has appointed Morten Brøgger as CEO of MACH effective from April 1st, 2011. Guy Dubois, the current President and CEO, will leave the company on June 30th, 2011 but will continue to serve the company as a non executive Board Director.
Mr. Brøgger, who is currently Chief Commercial Officer at MACH, has had a long and successful career in the telecommunications industry internationally. He has extensive senior executive experience in the sector; his previous roles include Chief Operating Officer at MACH as well as Sunrise and Senior Vice President at TDC. In his current role, he has successfully transformed the MACH Sales Force into a best-in-class global sales team and positioned MACH as a leader in the outsourced mobile operator roaming, interconnect and mobile messaging space.
MACH recorded a strong performance in 2010 and is poised for continued growth in revenue and profit during 2011. More recently, MACH has successfully introduced new services such as RoamHouse and prepaid CDMA roaming and managed to record several new customer wins including Swisscom for Wholesale Roaming, Visafone and Starcomms for Inter-standard Roaming and Microsoft Windows for its Direct Operator Billing solution. Other major blue chip customers include Orange, Telefonica, T-Mobile, Telus and AT&T.
Openwave showcases network-aware congestion control and browser-based application delivery solutions at mobile world congress
February 14
Openwave Systems Inc., a global software innovator delivering mediation and messaging solutions, showcases its latest offerings at the GSMA’s Mobile World Congress 2011 in Barcelona, Spain, February 14 to 17. In addition, Openwave will be announcing recent strategic relationships and trends.
Openwave also showcases live solution demonstrations of the Application Congestion Control, Price Plan Innovation, Amplicity and Analytics solutions.
Moreover, Openwave Systems also announced that Juniper Networks has selected the Company as a strategic partner to integrate its Media Optimizer into Juniper’s Media Flow solution for mobile video optimization. The combined solution is expected to dramatically improve the economics of delivering video over mobile networks while revolutionizing the user viewing experience.
Out There Media spreads the Mobile Advertising Marketplace Model across Europe and Asia
February 10
Out There Media, a mobile advertising company, presented the details of phase one of the global rollout of its Mobile Advertising Marketplace Model. The company was the first to identify the need for a cross-carrier marketplace, in 2007, and to fulfill it in tangible steps, in order for Mobile Advertising to grow and claim its position in the marketing mix globally.
The Out There Media model of the Mobile Advertising Marketplace is based on bridging the gap between mobile carriers and advertisers. In order for this to fully materialize, it is essential that a critical mass comprising more than 60% of a market’s mobile subscribers is aggregated in a single, unified marketplace.
When that is achieved, the mobile telephone becomes a powerful advertising medium in its own right, and advertisers commit serious proportions of their total advertising budgets, in order to tap into their target audiences in the most effective, engaging and targeted manner.
Out There Media completed the first phase of its Mobile Advertising Marketplace rollout through strategic partnerships with leading carriers in key international markets. Phase Two of the company’s Marketplace model rollout is already in progress, with further leading carriers across multiple continents in the process of joining the Out There Media marketplace that already boasts over 500 million subscribers globally.
Optimus and Huawei successfully achieved 150 Mbps over LTE 2.6 GHz
February 4
Huawei, the providers of next-generation telecommunications network solutions for operators around the world, announced a successful trial of LTE (Long Term Evolution) with Optimus. The trial achieved downlink speeds of 150 Mbps per user, and uplink speed of 60 Mbps, demonstrating Huawei’s LTE stability and capability to provide unparalleled mobile broadband experience to end-users.
Optimus has embarked on an ambitious upgrade of its mobile network in order to better meet the challenges of mobile broadband, which is expected to grow sharply in the next few years. For that purpose, in early 2010, Optimus selected Huawei’s cutting-edge SingleRAN solution to modernize its GSM network in Portugal, enabling a fast LTE rollout in the future. Under the contract, Huawei’s mobile base stations will be installed in 33 regions. To date, Huawei has deployed more than 1,000 SingleRAN sites to Optimus.
Huawei’s industry-leading SingleRAN solution and multi-mode base stations will enable Optimus to meet both immediate and future user requirements after the GSM network modernization. The new GSM/EDGE network provides a significant improvement in terms of performance and total cost of ownership, while providing a smooth migration to LTE. This technology leverages site resources and reduces costs of network deployment, upgrade, operation and maintenance.
In addition, the solutions provided by Huawei have been designed for an efficient use of space and energy resources. The green design allows for power consumption savings ranging from 30% to 70% in comparison with previous equipment, which allows the operator to reduce both the carbon footprint and the energy expenditure.
GreenTouch demonstrates First Technology
February 2
The GreenTouch™ Consortium, a global research initiative dedicated to dramatically improving the energy efficiency of information and communications technology (ICT) networks by a factor of 1,000, detailed the accomplishments of its first eight months of operation and demonstrated a Large-Scale Antenna System proof of concept the first of many technologies it is working to deliver. This antenna system offers the potential for tremendous energy savings thanks to its novel wireless transmission techniques.
Presented at a GreenTouch event held here, the Large-Scale Antenna System proof of concept demonstrated that radiated power consumption could be significantly reduced as the number of antenna elements is increased. For example, an antenna array comprising 100 elements would transmit only one percent of the energy transmitted by a single antenna, for the same quality of service.
In addition to this technology demonstration, the event included a series of presentations from industry experts who detailed significant milestones GreenTouch has reached since its launch last year and highlighted some of the more than two dozen research projects that are either already in progress or under consideration.
iBUZZ Mobiles Launches iQ3 QWERTY Phone
February 9
iBUZZ Mobiles announced the launch of its first full QWERTY mobile phone the iQ3 (Chitchat BUZZ). Designed to suit those who want to stay connected on the go, this Slim & stylish dual SIM phone offers unmatched functionality at an affordable price.
The iQ3 (Chitchat BUZZ) has a 12.5mm ultra slim form with a 5.1cm QCIF screen and comes pre loaded with Java applications and support for popular social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Nimbuzz and Ibibo.
Equipped with an 1100mAh battery the device offers a standby time of 14 days and talk time of 4.5 hours. The iQ3 (Chitchat BUZZ) mobile phone can also be used as an Internet modem or webcam and offers an external memory support of upto 8 GB.
For the business executives on the move, the iQ3 (Chitchat BUZZ) offers various features including Bluetooth connectivity, Opera Mini Browser, predictive text input, conference calling, VGA(.3MP) camera with 4X digital zoom, Video Play & Recording, FM recording, USB connectivity, and an e-book reader.
iVdopia wins The Red Herring Global 100 Award 2010
February 8
iVdopia, the largest video and rich media mobile advertising network, announced that it has received the Red Herring Global 100 award. The honor recognizes the leading private companies from North America, Europe and Asia, celebrating these startups’ innovations and technologies across their respective industries.
Red Herring’s Global 100 list has become a mark of distinction for identifying promising new companies and entrepreneurs. Red Herring editors were among the first to recognize that companies such as Google, Skype, Netscape, Salesforce.com, YouTube, eBay and many others would change the way we live and work.
Red Herring’s editorial staff evaluated the companies on both quantitative and qualitative criteria, such as financial performance, technology innovation, management quality, strategy, and market penetration. This assessment of potential is complemented by a review of the track record and standing of startups relative to their sector peers, allowing Red Herring to see past the “buzz” and make the list an invaluable instrument of discovery and advocacy for the greatest business opportunities from around the world.
Tata Docomo announces ‘Name Tunes’
February 7
Tata Docomo, the GSM brand of Tata Teleservices announced the first of its kind service in the telecom VAS space called Name Tunes. Tata Docomo has partnered with mCarbon, a telecom application provider in the VAS domain to offer this service. With the domain expertise of mCarbon, this is for the firs time that such an innovative VAS app is being offered to subscribers.
Name Tunes is a first of its kind service in the country that allows subscriber to greet callers with his/her Name & personalized message of their choice from a set your template messages, instead of listening to a traditional Tring-Tring or musical caller tune.
To activate this service, it’s quick and simple, Tata Docomo subscribers have to simply SMS “First NAME “and send it to 52100 (Toll Free). Subscription charges are Rs. 30/- per month and Name Tune download will be charged for Rs. 15/- for 90 days.
Reliance Communications launches “Job Search on Voice” For Recruiters and Candidates
February 3
Reliance Communications introduces Reliance Job Search on Voice - a first-of-its-kind voice enabled job search services for its customers.
‘Reliance Job Search on Voice’ service is a real-time connection between the recruiter and the candidates and is initiated by playing the phone number of the employer to the job seeker which enables the job seeker to listen to the job announcements and the recruiter can listen to profiles of hundreds of candidates that matches his requirement.
With a simplified process, Job seekers in the Formal Segment can submit their job profile and browse through hundreds of matching jobs (from Naukri, Monster, Click Jobs etc) and select suitable jobs to apply for.
The Reliance Job search on Voice service will then provide Job seekers with details of the selected job via SMS. It will be a big opportunity boost for Informal Segment too (Cook, Maid, Driver, Nanny etc). The job seekers under this segment will also be to fill up their job profiles and can browse through all the listings, which will help them select suitable jobs, for which, the phone number of the employer will be played to the user.
Reliance Mobile customers can avail these services by Dialing 58010 to subscribe. The subscription charges are Rs.30/30 days (auto-renewal) with fallback options of Rs.20/20 days and Rs.10/10 days. There are no browsing charges and acquisition and renewal grace period is 3 days. A Formal Segment Job seeker can also be an Informal Segment Job Poster and vice versa at no additional cost.
iVdopia sets record with 200 million impressions for InWAP™ and PreWAP™ ads in just eight weeks
February 1
Since unveiling its InWAP™ and PreWAP™ video and rich media ads in November 2010, iVdopia the video and media mobile advertising network, has achieved a record 200-million impressions served since its launch eight weeks ago.
As the world’s first HTML5 video and rich media ad formats for the mobile web, iVdopia’s InWAP and PreWAP ads have created multiple user engagement opportunities for advertisers and agencies across the mobile web, going beyond apps to reach consumers on millions of Smartphones and feature phones.
Mobile web users have shown early adoption and strong engagement statistics for iVdopia’s InWAP and PreWAP ads. For brand advertiser campaigns launched in the past few weeks, InWAP rich media and video ads outperformed Pre-App rich media ads by 30-percent in click through rates. Moreover, InWAP rich media and video ads soared past static mobile banner ads by 156-percent and the average viewing time for videos tripled for InWAP ads compared to Pre-App.
Telephone subscriber base reaches to 787.28 million
February 9
Total Telephone subscriber base reaches to 787.28 million in Dec 2010 from 764.76 million in Nov 2010. Wireless subscription reaches to 752.19 million in Dec 2010 from 729.57 million in Nov 2010, whereas Wireline subscription declines to 35.09 million in December 2010 from 35.19 million in Nov 2010.
There are about 22.62 million new additions in wireless, whereas active wireless subscribers in VLR in Dec 2010 are 529.22 million. Overall tele density reaches to 66.16 in Dec 2010 from 64.34 in Nov 2010 with overall urban and rural tele densities being 147.88 & 31.18 respectively.
On the other hand, wireless tele density reaches to 63.22 with urban and rural tele densities being 140.53 & 30.11 respectively. Wireline tele density declines to 2.95 with urban and rural tele densities being 7.35 & 1.07 respectively. Broadband subscription reaches to 10.92 million in Dec 2010 from 10.71 million in Nov 2010.
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