Kerala tops the list of Indian state in broadband speed
January 28, 2010

Kerala has topped the list of India states with high-speed internet connection facilities. As per the ‘State of the Internet’ report by Akamai Technologies for the October-December quarter, Kerala rose from its third position in the trailing quarter of 2009 with an average speed of 1,386 Kbps and has pushed down Haryana (the second quarter’s topper) to the second spot (with 1,105 Kbps) and Karnataka to the third position (1,041 kbps).

While internet speed in the country continue to grow, India’s global rank for average connection speed stands only at 97 (of 226 countries) at 895 kbps, according to the latest Akamai report. Globally, the average connection speed increased 18 per cent to 1.7 Mbps — a level consistent with the April-June quarter of 2009.

Telecom Subscription Data as on 31st December 2009
27th January 2010

The number of telephone subscribers in India has increased to 562.21 Million at the end of December-09 from 543.20 Million in November-09, thereby registering a growth rate of 3.50%. With this, the overall Tele-density in India reaches 47.89.

In the Wireless Segment, the subscriber base increased from 506.04 Million in November-09 to 525.15 Million at the end of December-09 at a monthly growth rate of 3.78%.

On the other hand, the Wireline subscriber base declined from 37.16 Million in November-09 to 37.06 Million at the end of December-09. BSNL/MTNL, two PSU operators hold 85.22% of the Wireline market share.

Total Broadband subscriber base has increased from 7.57 million in November-09 to 7.83 million in December-09, there by showing a growth of 3.56%.

Virgin mobile vFlash set to revive the internet experience
January 11, 2010

Virgin Mobile announces the launch of its stylish Hi-speed USB modem device – vFlash, which will rejuvenate India’s Wireless Internet experience. It’s a new, hip and portable, plug and play device that offers the convenience, portability and super fast internet services along with the surfing speed of up to 3.1 Mbps and generous storage slot of up to 8GB.

It also provides faster access to e-mails, large file transfers, games and superior experience of audio and video streaming and download. The vFlash comes bundled with various features such as vFlash TV, and On-demand download services.

The Hi-speed USB Modem vFlash is priced at only Rs. 3499/-. The service is launching with attractive tariff options ranging from Rs.250- Rs.1100/- per month.

On the occasion, Mr. M.A. Madhusudan, Chief Executive Officer, Virgin Mobile India said, “Today, the youth wants to stay connected 24/7 and with the launch of vFlash, we aim to put the surfing experience at their fingertips. At Virgin Mobile, we understand the distinct needs of our users; hence we are confident of satisfying high speed internet connectivity demands of our customers.”

Tata Comm eyes media space; plans to invest US$50 m in new media division
January 29, 2010

Tata Communications announced the forming of a new division, Global Media and Entertainment Solutions, as a sequel to the takeover of the Mosaic platform from BT Group plc. It will invest US$ 50 million over the next two years in the new service, a cloud-computing media management system.

Through this unit, the Mumbai-based company aims to provide end-to-end management, distribution and delivery of content over its lifecycle, from production to distribution. The company said that the new business could bring in US$ 200-300 million annually over the next three to five years.

Mr. Claude Sassoulas, managing director of the company’s Global Data Solutions-Europe, said the new lot of services will be targeted at emerging markets in India, China and South Africa, even as the company expands its reach in established markets in North America, Europe and Australia.

Srei Infrastructure and Quippo to merge
January 29, 2010

Srei Infrastructure Finance Ltd, a non-banking finance company (NBFC), is merging itself with Quippo Infrastructure Equipment Ltd, an unlisted firm founded by it in 2002, which is now one of India’s biggest infrastructure equipment rental firms.

The merger is expected to result in the promoters’ ownership in Srei going up from 30% to 46%, and create treasury stocks that can be sold later. After the merger, about 9.5% of Srei’s equity capital will be held by a trust as treasury stocks, or shares owned by a firm in itself.

Srei, which has a consolidated asset base of around Rs12,100 crore, said that after the merger it would allot four bonus shares for every five held.

Srei, Chairman and Managing Director, Mr. Hemant Kanoria said, “With the unprecedented growth that we are witnessing in the infrastructure sector, we feel that this step to integrate the businesses of Srei and Quippo would enable us to grow faster,”

Quippo was founded by Srei jointly with international lenders such as International Finance Corp. and FMO of the Netherlands, which together held 40% initially.

IKF Technologies plans to employ 1000 employees this quarter
January 28, 2010

IKF Technologies, a leading technology solutions company headquartered out of Kolkata and setup at Delhi, Noida & Mumbai has said that the company has entered into strategic alliance with leading corporate entities in Middle East in the Enterprise Resource Planning segment and other related applications.

The company also entered into an alliance in South Africa to offer computer training programs in that country. The company plan to increase its current head count by a 1000 employees this quarter.

IKF Technologies’ Managing Director, Mr. C S Jalan said, “Despite adverse market conditions, the company has posted a healthy order intake. Product innovation and venturing into new market and areas contributed significantly to the growth and we are confident of sustaining the growth over the forthcoming quarters.”

IMImobile announce the launch of DaVinci Social
January 27, 2010

IMImobile, the global service creation partner for operators, media providers and enterprises announced the launch of DaVinci Social, a white-labeled service that will enable people to easily manage their mobile digital social-life.

Users will have immediate access to all of their communications, social networks and communities and ensure their content and contacts are safe, all from one place on their mobile. DaVinci Social will enable operators to offer a competitive social service, and rapidly launch their own service without the associated high operational costs.

Ms. Anu Shah, head of IMImobile Europe said, “DaVinci Social fulfills some of the most fundamental needs of consumers today; to be able to easily stay in touch with everyone they want to and protect personal contacts and valuable digital content in the event they loose or change their handset.”

DaVinci Social is part of the DaVinci services and products portfolio that brings together music, social networking, mobile advertising, mobile marketing, voice and messaging services.

Minglebox.com now powers Sify.com's education channel
January 25, 2010

Minglebox.com, India's one of the largest campus and education network, announced that Sify.com, the popular consumer portal from Sify Technologies Limited, has launched its online Education channel powered by Minglebox.com, the education website.

Visitors to Sify.com's education channel will now be able to research and compare different options for their career and educational needs. Minglebox.com has powered all the content on this channel with information on educational institutes, courses offered, campus photos and reviews posted by students and alumni.

Mr. Venkata Rao Mallineni, Head-Portals & Consumer Marketing, Sify Technologies Limited, said, "With the number of students seeking admissions increasing every year, students and parents are moving to the Internet for information on colleges, institutes, courses available and entrance tests. As a site popular with young users, we have felt the need to cater to this demand in a meaningful way. We are happy to have Minglebox.com as a partner, for they have a deep understanding of the educational requirements in India, and an enviable track record of delivering best-in-class solutions."

Talking about the tie up, Kavita Iyer, CEO & Co-Founder, Minglebox.com said, "We are very pleased to be associated with Sify.com, one of India's popular consumer portals. I believe this association adds to the reputation of Minglebox.com as the best education site in India. It is in keeping with our objective of helping more and more Indian students make the right choices about their education and career."