Convergence Plus Journal

POLICY

First EGoM meeting on 3G postponed
July 27, 2009

The first meeting of the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM), that was scheduled to take place on July 31 to discuss the issue of 3G spectrum pricing, has been postponed.

The EGoM was constituted to decide on the reserve price of 3G spectrum, which has been a source of contention between the finance and communications ministries.

The EGoM is headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. The postponement of the meeting implies further delays in the much awaited auctions of 3G spectrum.

Limit no. of telcos: DoT tells TRAI
July 25, 2009

The Department of Telecom (DoT) has communicated to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) that it wishes to limit the total number of telecom operators offering mobile services in the country.

The DoT has asked TRAI to reconsider its earlier recommendations seeking to limit the number of telcos per circle.

Number portability only towards end 2009
July 24, 2009

Mobile number portability (MNP) may be allowed only by the end of the year. MNP was originally supposed to come into being by September this year in the metros.

MNP allows a mobile user to change his telecom service provider while retaining his mobile phone number.

The MNP rollout process is already underway. Licenses have been granted to Telcordia and Syniverse Technologies. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has sought industry views on MNP charges levied on a mobile subscriber.

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Consumer communications mkt. revenue to reach Rs. 240 bn by 2013
July 27, 2009

The Indian consumer communications market revenue is projected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.6 percent from INR 211 billion to reach INR 240 billion by 2013, according to research firm Gartner. The communications market includes consumer voice service revenue, consumer broadband access revenue and total consumer internet access revenue.

Revenue from voice services will continue to dominate the overall fixed line services in India. However, its contribution will go down from 91 percent in 2008 to 77 percent in 2013.

Broadband will continue to grow strongly from 2008 to 2013. Revenue from broadband services will significantly contribute to the overall growth of fixed line services in India, with a CAGR of 25 percent from 2008 to 2013 to reach 16 million subscribers.

8.9 GSM subscribers added in June
July 27, 2009

Indian telecom added 8.9 million GSM mobile subscribers in the month of June 09, as compared to 8.3 million in the previous month. The total GSM subscriber base now stands at 315.7 million as of end June.

This data compiled by the Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI), does not include figures for Reliance Telecom.

Bharti Airtel, led the growth with 2.8 million new subscribers, followed by Vodafone Essar with 2.3 million new subscribers.

Save upto INR 100,000 by refreshing old desktop PCs
July 23, 2009

According to the results of a new study conducted by Wipro Research in India, firms can gain an additional INR 92,935 through increased productivity by refreshing their old desktop PCs with laptops. In addition, firms can realize total power savings of INR 5,442 per year by switching from old desktops to laptops. Overall, by refreshing an old desktop with a laptop the firm gains INR 92,935 + INR 5,442 = INR 98,377 per PC per year.

The study polled 50 firms with 1000+ PCs in India in a two-step data gathering process. It also had the following results:

AirLive, a global brand for networking and communication equipments, has introduced a new 24-ports PoE enabled switch - POE-FSH2442G to its growing PoE line of products.

AirLive POE-FSH2422G is a web-managed 24-ports, 10/100 switch with 4 Gigabit ports and 2 Mini-GBIC slots. It includes PoE support on the 24 Fast Ethernet ports. Each PoE port can support up to 15.4W of power (up to a total of 170W throughout all 24 ports) to power 802.3af compliant devices such as VoIP phones, surveillance cameras and wireless LAN devices. This can eliminate the need to place devices near power outlets or the use of other devices such as injector and adapters and thus help to clean up the installation site.

AirLive POE-FSH2422G also provides many features that are essential to the enterprise such as Tag VLAN, Port Trunking, Priority Queues, Port Mirroring and Broadcast Storm Control. And by being a Web Management Switch, it allows management of the switch through its Web User Interface. The Web UI also provides monitoring and configuration support for the PoE ports such as monitoring the power consumption of switch, control power limitation of port and enable or disable the PoE function of the selected port.

For any devices that are not PoE enabled, AirLive PoE Adapters, POE-48TU can be used together with POE-FSH2422G to provide power to non-compliant devices.

PlaySpanT, a leader in monetization solutions for online games, virtual worlds, and social networks, has announced a new marketplace storefront for Facebook, and coming soon to MySpace, which enables consumers to purchase online game items, virtual goods, and game currencies from many of today's most popular online games and applications.

The news marks the first time that consumers will have the ability to participate in a universal virtual goods commerce marketplace that also enables them to buy, trade, and sell goods within social networks and use the items in their online game environments. The application provides game developers and publishers a massive new social networking based distribution channel to engage consumers within the context of their social graph.

Facebook users can go to the following page to start utilizing the marketplace:
http://apps.facebook.com/sparechange/landing.html

Microsoft India launches 'online services' for Indian businesses
July 20, 2009

Businesses of all sizes, especially small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) can now save upto 50 percent of their IT-related costs with the launch of Microsoft Online Services. Microsoft India has also announced a free trial period of two-months for the range of services, which include e-mail, collaboration, conferencing and productivity capabilities.

Modelled on the 'pay-as-you-go' approach, Online Services provide affordability, enhanced productivity, and freedom from hassles of IT deployment. Online Services will allow businesses to stay in touch with customers, associates and teams across geographic boundaries round the clock and provide instant access to information, thereby enhancing efficiency and reducing costs.

"Over 80 percent of the businesses in India are SMBs that are increasingly looking to use world class IT for better business productivity. With tools such as email and collaboration becoming increasingly a must-have in this segment, the pay-as-you-go affordability and freedom from IT administration, Microsoft Online Services offers the much needed respite from financial and logistical hurdles. We encourage businesses to make the best of the free trial opportunity we are launching - and experience the powerful impact of Microsoft Online Services.' said Mr. Sanjay Manchanda, Director, Microsoft Business Division.

In the coming months, Microsoft Online Services will also provide significant opportunities to a huge ecosystem of partners that will sell, customize and provide consulting, migration and managed services for Microsoft Online Services to Indian small and medium businesses.