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Telecom Commission rejects 3G administrative tax proposal
December 20
The Telecom Commission, the telecom industry’s apex decision making body, has rejected a proposal put forth by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to levy an administrative tax on successful bidders at the 3G spectrum auctions, which are to commence on 16th January 2009.
TRAI had proposed levying a tax of 2% of the highest bid amount on the successful bidders of 3G spectrum as annual administrative charges. However, the Department of Telecom (DoT) had expressed concerns that levying the tax could impair revenue collections from the auction by as much as Rs. 5000 crore.
The Commission’s decision will become a policy after it is endorsed by the communications minister A. Raja. Meanwhile, the Telecom Commission has asked the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) to submit its views on this issue.
No handsets without IMEI code: DoT
December 19
In the wake of recent terrorist attacks, the DoT has asked service providers to disconnect mobile handsets not bearing the international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) code.
IMEI is a unique 15 digit number that appears on the operator’s network whenever a call is made from a particular handset. The DoT has requested service providers to keep tabs on whether calls are made from genuine handsets through setting up an Equipment Identity Register (EIR).
The move is expected to help prevent and identify the use of stolen handsets for making calls.
USOF to be used for improving rural telephony: TRAI
December 17
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has put forth a proposal to provide financial support to those operators who offer telecom services in rural areas. The support is to come from the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) – the telecom development fund, to which all telcos currently pay 5% of their annual revenues.
TRAI has also suggested using the funds to set up a separate facility based operator to provide fiber connectivity. According to the TRAI, the fibre laid should be given free of cost for the next five years to operators providing services in the villages.
FinMin endorses limiting 3G auction to 5 per circle
December 17
The Ministry of Finance has endorsed the communications ministry’s decision to limit the auction of 3G spectrum to five players per circle, since it had felt that the government should hold some spectrum in reserve.
The 3G auction in 22 telecom circles are to commence from 16 January 2009. In nine of these circles, where spectrum is not adequate enough even to accommodate five players, the Department of Telecom (DoT) has decided to proceed with auctions only for the available slots.
Mobile TV policy under consideration
December 17
The Indian government is considering a policy for mobile TV, based on a TRAI recommendation made earlier.
A policy for opening up of terrestrial television broadcasting for operators to offer mobile TV services is being considered.
DoT to probe Swan licence issue
December 17
The Department of Telecom (DoT) has instituted an internal inquiry into the allegations that Swan Telecom was illegally granted a telecom license and spectrum and even roaming pacts with state owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).
BSNL insists that there is no foul play involved, but the allegations have arisen since the state-owned telco does not have an intra-circle roaming pact with any other private operator.
Trai wants interlink norms in broadcasting & cable sector
December 16
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has floated a consultation paper on interconnection norms in the broadcasting sector and cable sector.
Among the issues addressed in the paper, is the need for regulating carriage fees in the sector. The main aim of revising and establishing interconnection norms is to avoid disputes between the broadcasters and the cable operators.
The paper has been released keeping in mind the increase in deployment of distribution platforms like IPTV, digital cable, direct-to-home (DTH) and the upcoming head-end-in-the-sky (HITS).argins of the IT hardware industry, several of the companies had to resort to price increases.
Indian cos. fare better than global ones in info security: Cert-In, FICCI, PwC Survey
December 18
Security is evolving at a rapid pace in Indian organizations, according to the Information Systems Security Survey, 2007-08 titled ‘From strength to strength’, conducted by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). More than 140 organisations from a broad range of industries took part in the survey.
The survey notes that Indian organizations are faring better than their global counterparts. Today, more than 80% of the organisations focus on employee awareness programmes, as compared to 47%, as per global figures. Monitoring of employee use of the Internet and information use is the latest trend, with more than 78% of the organisations focusing on this, as compared to the global figure of 48%. India Inc. is also increasingly hiring specialised security staff. 51% of the organisations in India, as against 32% globally, have employed Chief Information Security Officers.
”It is encouraging to see that Indian organisations have moved faster than their global counterparts in establishing processes for conducting periodic security audits and in having information security strategy in place,” says Sivarama Krishnan, executive director in the information security practice of PwC. “We expect this to continue as majority of the organisations have plans to increase their security spending by double digits”.
DTH a new revenue stream for film-makers
December 16
The growing popularity of the pay-per-view model in Direct-to-Home (DTH) services is compelling filmmakers to identify DTH as a new source of revenue.
UTV Motion Picture’s Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! will be the first Indian film to be telecast on DTH within just three weeks of its release. Dish TV and Tata Sky telecast the film on December 18, priced at Rs. 100 on a pay-per-view basis. The film was available for viewers to download for a period of 24 hours.
New ASUS motherboard to deliver energy efficiency
December 19
The ASUS P6T Deluxe features the ASUS Super Hybrid Engine encompassing the TurboV and EPU technologies that deliver the benefits of overclocking and power efficiency.
TurboV is an advanced overclocking application that enables easy overclocking without the need to exit or reboot the operating system, while the EPU automatically provides users exceptional power efficiency.
The new motherboard is priced at approximately Rs. 20500 plus taxes.
Mobile phone or scanner/copier/fax??
December 16
It is truly the era of technological convergence. A new service called Indifax allows the use of a mobile handset as a scanner, copier and fax machine.
This is how it works – you take a photograph of a document using the camera on your mobile phone, and Indifax converts the photo into a print quality copy (which looks like a scan or Xerox copy of the original). You then store the image, or send it to a fax machine or an email id – straight from your mobile phone.
HCL’s new security solution – the ‘Safe State’
December 15
HCL Security Ltd., has introduced the ‘Safe State’ – an integrated technology solution that helps to secure a state/city, a building, institutions like hotels, hospitals, schools and even transport systems.
According to a press release, the ‘Safe State’ is an architecture that leverages technology to build security frameworks – integrating software and technology with physical security solutions.
Maveric Systems partners with Saudi Arabia’s Wareef United
December 18
Maveric Systems, one of India’s leading dedicated software testing company with a strong presence across UK, USA, Middle East and Indian Market, today announced their partnership with Wareef United, a leading service provider in the banking and insurance verticals in Saudi Arabia, to offer independent software testing services. Through this partnership Maveric Systems expects to rapidly scale up its operations in Saudi Arabia. Maveric Systems is investing in the Saudi market by ramping up a sales team and expects over US$ 1.5 Million in sales from the region over the next 12 months.
“This partnership with Wareef United is a key milestone in Maveric’s growth path in the Middle East region. Wareef brings rich experience and very strong client base in the banking vertical which happens to be one of the strengths of Maveric. I therefore see a very strong synergy in this partnership. Middle East is an integral part of Maveric’s international expansion plans. We expect Middle East to grow from being 20% of our revenues to 30% over the next 18 months” said Mr. Ranga Reddy, Chief Executive Officer, Maveric Systems. Tthrough this partnership, we expect to contract three new clients in the Saudi market over the next 6 months,” he added.
Telesoft opens telecom lab in India
December 18
UK based Telesoft Technologies has opened a telecom laboratory in India for integrating and testing software applications.
Telesoft also aims at enabling application developers and telecom equipment manufacturers to roll out new products and technologies.
Cisco report identifies cyber security threats
December 17
In a recently released security report, Cisco identifies the year’s top security threats and states that Internet-based theft of data from businesses is becoming more sophisticated.
Cisco warns that these attacks on information networks are spreading rapidly and becoming more difficult to detect. The report offers a number of recommendations for protecting networks, stressing on the importance of upgrading software, applications and network equipment.
KPMG on board as Nabard’s IT consultant
December 17
The National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD) has hired KPMG as its IT consultant to study its business and information processes. Based on these KPMG will suggest a feasible integrated IT system.
Spice exclusively ties up with ibibo & Nimbuzz
December 17
Spice Mobiles has announced an exclusive tie up with ibibo and Nimbuzz for VAS offerings on its products. Understanding the growing demand for internet and related products, Spice Mobiles decided to launch these social networking and instant messaging services on its product portfolio and wap portal.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Kunal Ahooja, CEO, Spice Mobiles said, “With soaring mobile usage and penetration, Indian VAS market is witnessing phenomenal growth. As the mobile handset is increasingly becoming the device of choice when it comes to listening to music, connecting to internet, clicking photos and VAS, our innovations and offerings bundled with Spice handsets are in line with our mission to provide our consumers a more engaging and fulfilling experience.”
IDBI, PayMate tie up for m-commerce
December 17
IDBI Bank has tied up with PayMate for mobile commerce. This will allow IDBI’s customers to make payments for bills, tickets and other online purchases via their mobile phones.
Intel, Qualcomm focus on low cost PCs
December 16
Global chipmakers Intel and Qualcomm have announced their plans to bring low-cost PCs to India that work even on 3G and WiMAX technologies.
Intel’s WiMAX ready notebooks will debut in Indian markets by mid-2009, while Qualcomm’s low cost PC alternative known as ‘Kayak’ will be launched in India and work on 3G networks.
With 3G and WiMAX technologies coming to India early next year, the market for enabled devices would provide ample opportunities for device manufacturers across the world.
Polaris partners with Microsoft to launch Insurance Concept Lab
December 16
Polaris Software Lab Limited (POLS.BO), a global leader in specialty application development in the Banking, Financial and Insurance sectors, announced the launch of an Insurance Concept Lab in partnership with Microsoft. Established in Polaris’ campus in Chennai, this Concept Lab is aimed at building innovative solutions for the Insurance industry in cutting-edge Microsoft technologies.
The Insurance Concept Lab at Polaris was inaugurated by S R Ramaswami, Executive Vice President and Head – Insurance and Testing, Polaris Software Lab, and Baskar Venugopalan, Director Developer Platform Evangelism (DPE), Microsoft. The lab is aimed at improving customer acquisition, customer retention, operational excellence and performance monitoring of Insurance organizations that are the key challenges for the Insurance industry.
Airtel to use Broadcom STB to power its DTH services
December 16
Bharti Airtel, India’s leading telecom service provider has chosen Broadcom Corporation’s highly integrated satellite set top box (STB) system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions to power its direct-to-home (DTH) services – Airtel digital TV. This marks Broadcom’s first commercial satellite product launch in India.
“We are very pleased to be working with Broadcom to deliver digital satellite services to India’s TV market,” said N. Arjun, Executive Director, Bharti Telemedia. “With the proliferation and increasing demand for digital media content in India, we are focused on offering advanced technology solutions that provide a better user experience to the Indian digital television market.”
India’s burgeoning pay-TV market potential is expected to include 90 million subscribers by 2012, according to In-Stat market research.
Hungama launches exciting VAS contests
December 16
Hungama, the largest aggregator, developer and publisher of Indian entertainment content globally, unveils a new Voice VAS contest with Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan, for the latest Yash Raj Films release ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’. This voice contest gives consumers across the country, especially women, a unique opportunity to win a special evening with Shahrukh Khan.
Commenting on this unique initiative Saleem Mobhani COO, Hungama Mobile, said, “So far entertainment has been driven by traditional media and basic mobile VAS in India. Voice based VAS is an innovation that simplifies the user experience and enables everyone to interact with the service. Voice reaches out to a wider diaspora, delivering a more interactive user experience. One of the key drivers for the VAS market growth is for content creators and service providers to create suitable content that cuts across barriers of language, mobile handsets, education and region. We are positive that with the new service we will see unprecedented participation from consumers across the country.”
Alcatel-Lucent to hire 1000 in India
December 16
After announcing job cuts of 1000 people worldwide, Alcatel Lucent plans to hire 1000 people by next year for its India operations.
The company had recently announced its plans to reduce the number of managers by 1000 and the number of contractors by 5000.
HCL’s Axon acquisition complete
December 16
HCL Technologies has completed its acquisition of UK based Axon Plc. The deal, worth US$ 440 million, is the largest overseas acquisition by an Indian IT company till date.
Steve Cardell, CEO of Axon Plc, will lead the new entity as president of HCL Axon. The acquisition of the SAP consultancy firm will provide HCL with an edge in the UK market and globally in terms of SAP implementation.
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