Samsung Galaxy Note !!!
Clove, the online retailer website from UK, has revealed that Samsung Galaxy Note — the hybrid of Smartphone cum Tablet — will hit UK in the month of November. The first stock of the Galaxy Note will arrive in late November, and probably will have an official launch at the same time.
So, if you are in UK you will be the first to get your hands on Galaxy Note, while the rest of world drools over it — in excitement or agony.
Price of Galaxy Note is still a mystery, but Clove has been clever to hand out some estimates to allow you to target savings to be made in a matter of 2 months from now. It’s estimated price is £500 (VAT to be added), but that clearly too much even though we nkow that hardware is really too much to ignore.
We do hope the price comes down once it officially hits the stores. In case you have some doubts about buying this monster let us shed some light on the specs.
The Galaxy Note has a massive 5.3-inch Super AMOLED HD display (which will be world’s first perhaps unless Galaxy Tab 7.7 cuts the deal earlier) with resolution of 1280×800 pixels, now that’s some awwwesome display.
It will run on Android Gingerbread and TouchWiz UI 4.0, and will also have a digital pen — which is why it’s called Note, in case you didn’t figure it out already — for a more user friendly experience.
The Note will be powered by Dual-core 1.4GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor, Mali-400MP GPU, Exynos chipset and 1GB RAM. The rear camera of Galaxy Note is 8-megapixel while the front camera is 2-megapixel.
The Galaxy Note will come in two version one with 16GB and the other with 32GB of internal storage, and incase you fall short of memory you can upgrade it even further upto 32GB via the microSD slot.
Time to save, eh!
Via Unwired View Source Clove.co.uk
Hotspot Movie Cards, Cinema goes mobile...
The Indian retail has been constantly innovating new ideas to woo the consumers and tap the potential of the individual & thier purchase capacity, the latest conception is from Hotspot.
Hotspot is selling Bollywood movies for mobile phones in a 1GB SD card, called as Movie Card, this latest offering is available as a SD card slot for mobile phones. Most mobile phones which are available today in the market have basic video playing capabilities.
BK Modi's Spice Televentures company HotSpot has announced the launch of Movie Card, which would enable mobile phone users to watch latest Bollywood flicks on 320x240 pixel screen.
"Given the fact that 30-40 per cent of mobile handsets in the country support various movie formats but there are no options for a legal shareable format for movies, we expect this segment to grow rapidly. This is just the first phase of launch of the product in the Indian market and we soon will introduce more than 50 movies on this medium by December 2009," Hotspot CEO Sanjeed Mahajan added.
With the digital format leading all formats of content consumption, is encouraging the potential to tap all possible content right from Mobi-Books, entertainment, news, mobile blogging etc the industry is expected to be around Rs 850 billion by 2010.
Movie Card phase I construct :
Price is 350 rupees
Memory of 1GB
Resolution (pixels): 320 x 240
SD Card slot
Video formats: MP4 & 3GP
Movies available: Namaste London, Om Shanti Om, Lage Raho Munnabhai, Omkara, Devdas.Games, wallpapers, ringtones will also be available.
This strategy is not new as Nokia N96 was pre-loaded with Om Shanti Om movie, games and wallpapers. The choice of movies offered by Hotspot is limited right now to get any mass adoption. If given a great choice this could set a new revolution.
Domestic & ILD charges may fall
Domestic and International long-distance call charges may dip as the government may accept telecom regulator TRAI's recommendation to allow using calling-cards to provide the subscriber the option to choose his or her operator.
Introducing calling-cards for making STD and ISD calls is the best alternative to the carrier selection code (choice of operators) as this would save cost, which can be spent on upgrading the networks of existing operators. Using calling-cards will increase competition in the long-distance segment and in turn will benefit over 370 million subscribers, telecom analysts said, adding this may bring down international calling-charges by up to 70 per cent.
In its recommendations submitted last year, TRAI had said that considering implementation issues like estimating and sharing network setup/upgrade cost by long-distance operators, implementing Carrier Selection may not be justified in the present scenari o and consumers will be better served if the cost is spent on developing next-generation telecom infrastructure.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) had constituted a committee of senior officials and those from its technical wing Telecom Engineering Consultant (TEC), and has forwarded its report to the Telecom Commission for approval.
The Telecom Commission is meeting here on Monday to consider the report, sources said, adding the committee has recommended introducing long-distance calling-cards for subscribers to select carriers.
Long-distance calls will be allowed from both basic and mobile phones. In India there are 23 domestic long-distance and 18 international long-distance service providers, who will benefit from the move.
Introducing calling-cards for making STD and ISD calls is the best alternative to the carrier selection code (choice of operators) as this would save cost, which can be spent on upgrading the networks of existing operators. Using calling-cards will increase competition in the long-distance segment and in turn will benefit over 370 million subscribers, telecom analysts said, adding this may bring down international calling-charges by up to 70 per cent.
In its recommendations submitted last year, TRAI had said that considering implementation issues like estimating and sharing network setup/upgrade cost by long-distance operators, implementing Carrier Selection may not be justified in the present scenari o and consumers will be better served if the cost is spent on developing next-generation telecom infrastructure.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) had constituted a committee of senior officials and those from its technical wing Telecom Engineering Consultant (TEC), and has forwarded its report to the Telecom Commission for approval.
The Telecom Commission is meeting here on Monday to consider the report, sources said, adding the committee has recommended introducing long-distance calling-cards for subscribers to select carriers.
Long-distance calls will be allowed from both basic and mobile phones. In India there are 23 domestic long-distance and 18 international long-distance service providers, who will benefit from the move.
Nokia & HCL's joint venture for mobile VAS in India
Nokia has tied up with, HCL Infosystems (HCL already distributes Nokia's mobile phones in India), this joint venture is to offer mobile value-added services like navigation, music and other entertainment to Indian consumers. Nokia may also look at other partners to offer the services to consumers.
The services are likely to be offered under the Ovi brand that Nokia uses for its online services, as told by Nokia India spokeswoman on Wednesday.
The company also has a program to offer services and content customized for rural consumers in India. The channels for the services will be different.
India added 10.81 million mobile subscribers in December, taking the total number of mobile subscribers to 347 million, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said on Wednesday. The country added 10.35 million new subscribers in November.
Telecom sustains recession times....
The economic slowdown and the resultant lay offs in sectors such as IT and automobile have not deterred people from spending on mobile phones.
Judging by statistics produced by the Cellular Operators' Association of India, 9.75 lakh new mobile phone connections (GSM) were provided in Chennai and Tamilnadu circles in December 2008 alone. In the last three months of 2008, about 26 lakh new connections were given across the state. While about 1.15 lakh new service connections were provided in Chennai in October, the new additions fell to 56,000 in November. For the corresponding periods in the districts, the figures were 7.7 lakh and 6.5 lakh, respectively. Significantly, for every new connection in Chennai, five new ones were added elsewhere in Tamilnadu.
Though Tamilnadu (4.29% growth in December) is only the third fastest (after Bihar that recorded 5.21% growth and Uttar Pradesh, 4.78%) growing telecom circle in India, in terms of actual numbers (two crore connections) it is the largest circle in the country, ahead of even the two largest metros, Delhi and Mumbai. Although Uttar Pradesh comes a relative close second with 1.77 crore mobile phone connections, Bihar is way behind with only 59 lakh subscribers.
With 23.41 lakh subscribers in Chennai and 71.69 lakh in the TN circle, Aircel is the leading player in the state. The service provider holds 34 per cent of the subscriber base in Chennai and 35 per cent in the districts. In December, Aircel added 87,123 new subscribers in Chennai and 3.98 lakh in the districts. Bharti Airtel, which has the second highest subscriber base, serves 20.5 lakh people in Chennai and 56 lakh elsewhere in the state. Vodafone Essar is third, ahead of state-owned BSNL. In December, while Vodafone added 16,000 new customers in Chennai, only 5,562 plumped for BSNL. In the TN circle, Vodafone, with 1.63 lakh subscribers, had really no competition from BSNL (40,000).
Among metros, Kolkata recorded the highest growth in terms of new subscriber base. With a 3.03% growth, it registered 70 lakh connections in December 2008, up from 68,000 the previous month. Mumbai (2.57%) recorded the second highest growth, followed by Chennai (2.21%) and Delhi (1.68%). In terms of overall numbers, Delhi led with 1.24 crore connections, followed by Mumbai with 1.12 crore.
Judging by statistics produced by the Cellular Operators' Association of India, 9.75 lakh new mobile phone connections (GSM) were provided in Chennai and Tamilnadu circles in December 2008 alone. In the last three months of 2008, about 26 lakh new connections were given across the state. While about 1.15 lakh new service connections were provided in Chennai in October, the new additions fell to 56,000 in November. For the corresponding periods in the districts, the figures were 7.7 lakh and 6.5 lakh, respectively. Significantly, for every new connection in Chennai, five new ones were added elsewhere in Tamilnadu.
Though Tamilnadu (4.29% growth in December) is only the third fastest (after Bihar that recorded 5.21% growth and Uttar Pradesh, 4.78%) growing telecom circle in India, in terms of actual numbers (two crore connections) it is the largest circle in the country, ahead of even the two largest metros, Delhi and Mumbai. Although Uttar Pradesh comes a relative close second with 1.77 crore mobile phone connections, Bihar is way behind with only 59 lakh subscribers.
With 23.41 lakh subscribers in Chennai and 71.69 lakh in the TN circle, Aircel is the leading player in the state. The service provider holds 34 per cent of the subscriber base in Chennai and 35 per cent in the districts. In December, Aircel added 87,123 new subscribers in Chennai and 3.98 lakh in the districts. Bharti Airtel, which has the second highest subscriber base, serves 20.5 lakh people in Chennai and 56 lakh elsewhere in the state. Vodafone Essar is third, ahead of state-owned BSNL. In December, while Vodafone added 16,000 new customers in Chennai, only 5,562 plumped for BSNL. In the TN circle, Vodafone, with 1.63 lakh subscribers, had really no competition from BSNL (40,000).
Among metros, Kolkata recorded the highest growth in terms of new subscriber base. With a 3.03% growth, it registered 70 lakh connections in December 2008, up from 68,000 the previous month. Mumbai (2.57%) recorded the second highest growth, followed by Chennai (2.21%) and Delhi (1.68%). In terms of overall numbers, Delhi led with 1.24 crore connections, followed by Mumbai with 1.12 crore.
Nokia under stress....
Nokia, the global market leader in mobile phones, yesterday posted its Q4 and FY08 earnings showing a massive 69 percent drop in Q4 profits matched mobile device volumes down to 133.1 million units, representing a 15 percent drop year on year.
The main geographic areas hit most were Middle East & Africa (-22.9 percent), Greater China (-36.1 percent), North America (-19.6 percent).
Net profit from October to December 2008 was €576 million, down from €1,835 during the same period the previous year.
“In recent weeks, the macroeconomic environment has deteriorated rapidly, with even weaker consumer confidence, unprecedented currency volatility and credit tightness continuing to impact the mobile communications industry,” said Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo.
Nokia expects industry mobile device volumes in the first quarter of 2009 to decline sequentially to a greater extent. The company estimates its market share for Q4 2008 was 37 percent, compared with 40 percent Q4 2007 and 38 percent in Q3 2008. The average mobile device selling price (ASP) in Q4 2008 has declined drastically to that of Q4 2007.
Nevertheless, the company exhibits a strong confidence & that they will continue to believe that Nokia is best placed to deal with the current market conditions....
Virgin is the new benchmark: Survey
NEW DELHI: Only five telecom operators out of 11 have met the 90 percent quality of service benchmark set by the sector's watchdog, a survey released on Friday said.
Interestingly, the country's largest private operator Airtel is among the firms that failed to meet the benchmark of 90 percent that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has set for quality of service.
"Virgin Mobile topped user satisfaction in 2008 while players like Airtel, BPL, Idea, state-run Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) and Spice fell short of the benchmark set by telecom watchdog TRAI," said the survey conducted by CyberMedia group's flagship communications industry monthly Voice&Data in association with JuxtConsult, an online research firm.
A sample of 1,318 mobile users in India was quizzed on various factors to determine overall user satisfaction.
State-owned operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Vodafone jostled for the second spot with scores of 91.96 percent and 91.97 percent respectively, the survey said.
The two other players to cross the TRAI benchmark of 90 percent are Reliance Communications and Tata Indicom.
Last year's top scorer Aircel slipped from 92.23 percent to 85.44 percent, according to the results released in Voice&Data's January issue.
"A side-effect of the scorching pace of growth of the mobile phones in India is the rapid drop in quality of service. Five major players - Airtel, BPL, Idea, MTNL and Spice - have yet to touch their previous best score achieved in 2005. This is a cause for major concern," CyberMedia's chief editor Prasanto K. Roy said.
The survey conducted during October-November 2008, recorded user satisfaction on five broad parameters - pre-sales and sales, network availability, value-added service (VAS), customer care, and billing.
Expectedly, all service providers exceeded the 90 percent user satisfaction benchmark on the pre-sales and sales parameter with Virgin Mobile topping the list followed by MTNL.
Users participating in the survey found BPL and MTNL's network performance most satisfactory with high scores of 98.2 percent and 97 percent respectively with Airtel and Idea just making the cut above the 90 percent mark.
On the VAS parameter, BSNL topped the charts with only Idea and Aircel performing below the TRAI benchmark, the survey said.
However, in the customer care parameter, none of the 11 players, including the topper Virgin Mobile, could muster enough support from users to get past the 90 percent benchmark.
In terms of billing integrity, the four toppers were Virgin, Vodafone, BSNL and Reliance, the survey said.
The average waiting time to speak to a customer care representative of Airtel and BSNL was 4.8 minutes. Idea and Spice customer have to wait an average of five minutes with a Vodafone customer having to wait for 5.2 minutes.
However, mobile services in metro circles improved in 2008 with all the operators, except Aircel, showing higher customer satisfaction and crossing the benchmark set by TRAI, the survey said.
Interestingly, the country's largest private operator Airtel is among the firms that failed to meet the benchmark of 90 percent that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has set for quality of service.
"Virgin Mobile topped user satisfaction in 2008 while players like Airtel, BPL, Idea, state-run Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) and Spice fell short of the benchmark set by telecom watchdog TRAI," said the survey conducted by CyberMedia group's flagship communications industry monthly Voice&Data in association with JuxtConsult, an online research firm.
A sample of 1,318 mobile users in India was quizzed on various factors to determine overall user satisfaction.
State-owned operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Vodafone jostled for the second spot with scores of 91.96 percent and 91.97 percent respectively, the survey said.
The two other players to cross the TRAI benchmark of 90 percent are Reliance Communications and Tata Indicom.
Last year's top scorer Aircel slipped from 92.23 percent to 85.44 percent, according to the results released in Voice&Data's January issue.
"A side-effect of the scorching pace of growth of the mobile phones in India is the rapid drop in quality of service. Five major players - Airtel, BPL, Idea, MTNL and Spice - have yet to touch their previous best score achieved in 2005. This is a cause for major concern," CyberMedia's chief editor Prasanto K. Roy said.
The survey conducted during October-November 2008, recorded user satisfaction on five broad parameters - pre-sales and sales, network availability, value-added service (VAS), customer care, and billing.
Expectedly, all service providers exceeded the 90 percent user satisfaction benchmark on the pre-sales and sales parameter with Virgin Mobile topping the list followed by MTNL.
Users participating in the survey found BPL and MTNL's network performance most satisfactory with high scores of 98.2 percent and 97 percent respectively with Airtel and Idea just making the cut above the 90 percent mark.
On the VAS parameter, BSNL topped the charts with only Idea and Aircel performing below the TRAI benchmark, the survey said.
However, in the customer care parameter, none of the 11 players, including the topper Virgin Mobile, could muster enough support from users to get past the 90 percent benchmark.
In terms of billing integrity, the four toppers were Virgin, Vodafone, BSNL and Reliance, the survey said.
The average waiting time to speak to a customer care representative of Airtel and BSNL was 4.8 minutes. Idea and Spice customer have to wait an average of five minutes with a Vodafone customer having to wait for 5.2 minutes.
However, mobile services in metro circles improved in 2008 with all the operators, except Aircel, showing higher customer satisfaction and crossing the benchmark set by TRAI, the survey said.
Batelco partners S Tel, Owns 49%
Dubai, Jan 18 (PTI) Bahrain's telecom operator Batelco has agreed to purchase a 49 per cent shareholding in S Tel Limited (S Tel), a recently established Indian mobile operation, for USD 225 million, expanding its footprint in the world's second most populous country. Batelco has partnered with Millennium Private Equity (MPE), a Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) regulated entity to form Batelco Millennium India Company (BMICL) to purchase the shares in S Tel, a company statement released here today said.
Batelco's Chairman Shaikh Hamad bin Abdulla Al-Khalifa said the company will further expand its mobile operations in 2009 by investing in India. S Tel has licenses to operate in Bihar, Orissa, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, North East and Assam and the finalisation of the purchase is subject to preconditions but full completion is expected by end of Q1 2009.
Batelco, the leading integrated telecommunications company in Bahrain, has operations in six markets across the Middle East. S Tel was established to gain entry into the rapidly growing mobile markets of North East and North West India, the company said adding that the population in these areas is approximately 230 million and mobile penetration rate is less than 20 per cent.
Batelco Chief Executive Peter Kaliaropoulos stated that the acquisition of the S Tel shares in partnership with MPE will provide significant growth opportunities for Batelco in the expanding Indian market, the third largest and fastest growing mobile market in the world, where mobile penetration is currently growing at 9 to 10 million subscribers a month.
Batelco's Chairman Shaikh Hamad bin Abdulla Al-Khalifa said the company will further expand its mobile operations in 2009 by investing in India. S Tel has licenses to operate in Bihar, Orissa, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, North East and Assam and the finalisation of the purchase is subject to preconditions but full completion is expected by end of Q1 2009.
Batelco, the leading integrated telecommunications company in Bahrain, has operations in six markets across the Middle East. S Tel was established to gain entry into the rapidly growing mobile markets of North East and North West India, the company said adding that the population in these areas is approximately 230 million and mobile penetration rate is less than 20 per cent.
Batelco Chief Executive Peter Kaliaropoulos stated that the acquisition of the S Tel shares in partnership with MPE will provide significant growth opportunities for Batelco in the expanding Indian market, the third largest and fastest growing mobile market in the world, where mobile penetration is currently growing at 9 to 10 million subscribers a month.
Aircel's Music Wave FM Phone
Aircel, a telecom service provider in India, launched its Music Wave FM Phone in the Rest of Tamil Nadu market (Chennai excluded) for its pre-paid subscribers, on Monday.
The phone is part of the company's effort to make mobile communication more accessible and affordable and targeted at prepaid subscribers, who were looking for affordable mobile handsets, according to Aircel South Operations Director KVP Baskar.
The phones, launched by Tamil film hero and Aircel Brand Ambassador, Surya, are available in two models--G225 and G240--are coloured mobiles with FM Radio and a long standby battery life, prices at Rs 1350 and Rs 1750 respectively.
With 15 million subscribers across India, the company has 90 per cent prepaid customers, Baskar said, adding that it has nine million subscribers in Tamil Nadu.
Stating that the phones come bundled with highly useful and low-cost voice and data services from the service provider's stable, Baskar said services include a lifetime validity, 6000 free SMS and a free talk time of 75 minutes to any mobile within Tamil Nadu, both available per month for the first 12 months.
With its service in 10 circles of the country, Aircel would start its service in the remaining 13 circles by 2010, with six to seven circles being covered during this year, Baskar said.
The phone is part of the company's effort to make mobile communication more accessible and affordable and targeted at prepaid subscribers, who were looking for affordable mobile handsets, according to Aircel South Operations Director KVP Baskar.
The phones, launched by Tamil film hero and Aircel Brand Ambassador, Surya, are available in two models--G225 and G240--are coloured mobiles with FM Radio and a long standby battery life, prices at Rs 1350 and Rs 1750 respectively.
With 15 million subscribers across India, the company has 90 per cent prepaid customers, Baskar said, adding that it has nine million subscribers in Tamil Nadu.
Stating that the phones come bundled with highly useful and low-cost voice and data services from the service provider's stable, Baskar said services include a lifetime validity, 6000 free SMS and a free talk time of 75 minutes to any mobile within Tamil Nadu, both available per month for the first 12 months.
With its service in 10 circles of the country, Aircel would start its service in the remaining 13 circles by 2010, with six to seven circles being covered during this year, Baskar said.
Vodafone pulls in with it's new tariff...
Vodafone Essar on Thursday announced its lowest entry level tariff plan for prepaid customers in the Andhra. The new recharge card of Rs.99 brings you a life time validity and a talk time of Rs.10.
Local calls to all Vodafone numbers, other mobiles and landlines are at Re.1 per minute and all the STD calls are at Rs.1.50 per minute.
Customers can also opt for special tariff rate on STD calls by customising their tariff plans using the Vodafone bonus cards, according to a press release.
Pink transformed to Red
After the successful acquisition of Hutch by Vodafone beating the Reliance and the Hindujas bid they have launched thier sizzling red brand, today in the indian market. This is defnitely a big day in the india telecom and probably the biggest migration happened so far...
Asim Ghosh, Managing Director, Vodafone Essar, said: "We've had a great innings as Hutch in India and today marks a new beginning for us. Not as a departure from the fundamentals that created Hutch, but an acceleration into the future with Vodafone's global expertise."
"It is even larger than our own previous brand transitions as it touches over 35 million customers, across 400,000 shops and thousands of our own and our business associates employees." said Mr. Harit Nagpal, Business and Marketing director.
With the acquisition of Hutch in India, Vodafone has spread its operations in 26th country, covering five continents & 40 partner networks with over 200 million customers worldwide.
Though it costed Vodafone over $11b to bag hutch in India they strongly belive its the right deal and a good strategic move for them & thier brand to enter this emerging market. Vodafone has also got a 10% stake in Bharti Airtel.
To Know more log on to http://www.vodafone.in/
The National Do Not Call Registry NDNC
As per TRAI guidelines the NDNC (National Do Not Call Registry), had finally taken shape and is now operational since Sep 1st' 07. This is started with the purpose to curb all Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC).
The mobile subscribers can get registered to NDNC service, if they do not want to get disturbed by any telemarketing calls or messages via any telecommunication services. Ideally, this directory contains the list of all the mobile subscribers who are not willing to take any calls or receive messages for any sort of marketing & promotional activities. This NDNC registry is maintained and monitored by National Informatics center (NIC),
For registering the request for DND (Do Not Disturb) the subscriber can contact their operator through the customer care / SMS / via online website / in writing.
The regulation had prescribed NIC a three-month time frame to establish the Registry. Once registered, the Telecom operators will verify the same and has to intimate the registry within the next ten days. Finally, post 45days from the date of request no unwanted commercial calls can be made to that number failing which the subscriber can lodge a complaint with their operator with complete details of the call.
An amount of Rs 500/- per UCC has been proposed who violates the guidelines. If the UCC is repeated by the same telemarketer for the second time, his service provider shall charge a higher tariff and also service providers have been directed to disconnect telephones connections of telemarketer if sending of such Unsolicited Commercial Communication is repeated.
For more information please visit http://www.trai.gov.in/ or http://www.ndncregistry.gov.in/
For registering with NDNC Registry, please follow the below links:
Reliance Users: Click here
The mobile subscribers can get registered to NDNC service, if they do not want to get disturbed by any telemarketing calls or messages via any telecommunication services. Ideally, this directory contains the list of all the mobile subscribers who are not willing to take any calls or receive messages for any sort of marketing & promotional activities. This NDNC registry is maintained and monitored by National Informatics center (NIC),
For registering the request for DND (Do Not Disturb) the subscriber can contact their operator through the customer care / SMS / via online website / in writing.
The regulation had prescribed NIC a three-month time frame to establish the Registry. Once registered, the Telecom operators will verify the same and has to intimate the registry within the next ten days. Finally, post 45days from the date of request no unwanted commercial calls can be made to that number failing which the subscriber can lodge a complaint with their operator with complete details of the call.
An amount of Rs 500/- per UCC has been proposed who violates the guidelines. If the UCC is repeated by the same telemarketer for the second time, his service provider shall charge a higher tariff and also service providers have been directed to disconnect telephones connections of telemarketer if sending of such Unsolicited Commercial Communication is repeated.
For more information please visit http://www.trai.gov.in/ or http://www.ndncregistry.gov.in/
For registering with NDNC Registry, please follow the below links:
Reliance Users: Click here
MTNL Delhi: Delhi Users Click here
Idea Cellular: Idea users click here
MTNL Mumbai: Mumbai Users Click here
Spice Users: SMS the keyword "BLOCK" to 363
Idea Cellular: Idea users click here
MTNL Mumbai: Mumbai Users Click here
Spice Users: SMS the keyword "BLOCK" to 363
Hutch Users: SMS "ACT DND" to 111 or Click here
Airtel users: SMS “START DND” to 121 or click here
Airtel users: SMS “START DND” to 121 or click here
BPL Users: SMS "NDNC" to 50800 (for postpaid) or 50505 (for prepaid) Or Click here
Iphone prices slashed!!!
Ever since the iphone has been launched on June 29th this year, the iphone has been the most covetous smart phone, with a million units sold. The unanticipated decision of apple to cut down the prices of iphone by about $100 on both the models, has upset the existing iphone users. The new prices would be $299 for a 4GB iphone & $399 for an 8GB model.
The news of price cut on iphone have deeply hurt & disappointed the existing users and Mr. Steve Jobs has been kind enough to offer a store credit of $100 for all the early birds who made iphone the only choice to go mobile, As he writes in an open letter that “We want to do the right thing for our valued iphone customers. “We apologize for disappointing some of you, and we are doing our best to live up to your high expectations of Apple.”
In spite the store credits which are seldom received well, the existing iphone customers felt it was a core abuse by offering that credit more over for this credit reimbursement they are still supposed to stay tuned.
The news of price cut on iphone have deeply hurt & disappointed the existing users and Mr. Steve Jobs has been kind enough to offer a store credit of $100 for all the early birds who made iphone the only choice to go mobile, As he writes in an open letter that “We want to do the right thing for our valued iphone customers. “We apologize for disappointing some of you, and we are doing our best to live up to your high expectations of Apple.”
In spite the store credits which are seldom received well, the existing iphone customers felt it was a core abuse by offering that credit more over for this credit reimbursement they are still supposed to stay tuned.
Are Idiot boxes getting smarter or the smarter PC’s turning to Idiot boxes????
It sounds a conflict of interest or say a point of debate but with the nascent IPTV services fast penetrating into the India market leaves you behind with this question.
Internet Protocol TV is a method of offering digital television services using the Internet Protocol. Can be defined, as the method of transmitting the television content over broadband infrastructure generally used for computer systems instead of traditional broadcast and cable formats.
IPTV is growing rapidly and major television broadcasters round the globe are already offering their broadcast signals over the internet, It only requires an Internet connection with an Internet enabled device like a computer, HDTV connected to a computer or even a 3G mobile phone to watch the IPTV broadcasts. There are many free IPTV’s available worldwide and this segment is fast growing.
The IPTV offers a tailored television services using the high speed broad band access technology, with high picture quality even on the giant screens, it allows the users to store, replay the content. It also offers Video on demand, music on demand and many other customizable features. This IPTV concept is emerging in India and a firm called Optibase has already celebrated the successful launch of their IPTV services in New Delhi and this company is looking forward for international tie ups so that their can create their footprint across the nation.
Now, with the availability of mobile streaming technology over mobile phone appeals the Telcos to offer the IPTV services which can be broadcasted over the mobiles using the high speed data access. Hence, the Telcos are now eying for it big time, as this will surely shoot up their ARPU’s.
The recent news that the TRAI has approved both the Telcos and the cable operators to offer IPTV services that too much without the need for renewal of existing licenses created fire in the industry, although the entire services no matter offered by Telcos or cable operators will be governed by the Ministry Of Information & Broadcast. But, now the ability of Telcos in India to capitalize on this potential is still a debate, they are required to upgrade their existing networks, having said so they also have deliver a rich experience rather then just access.
Internet Protocol TV is a method of offering digital television services using the Internet Protocol. Can be defined, as the method of transmitting the television content over broadband infrastructure generally used for computer systems instead of traditional broadcast and cable formats.
IPTV is growing rapidly and major television broadcasters round the globe are already offering their broadcast signals over the internet, It only requires an Internet connection with an Internet enabled device like a computer, HDTV connected to a computer or even a 3G mobile phone to watch the IPTV broadcasts. There are many free IPTV’s available worldwide and this segment is fast growing.
The IPTV offers a tailored television services using the high speed broad band access technology, with high picture quality even on the giant screens, it allows the users to store, replay the content. It also offers Video on demand, music on demand and many other customizable features. This IPTV concept is emerging in India and a firm called Optibase has already celebrated the successful launch of their IPTV services in New Delhi and this company is looking forward for international tie ups so that their can create their footprint across the nation.
Now, with the availability of mobile streaming technology over mobile phone appeals the Telcos to offer the IPTV services which can be broadcasted over the mobiles using the high speed data access. Hence, the Telcos are now eying for it big time, as this will surely shoot up their ARPU’s.
The recent news that the TRAI has approved both the Telcos and the cable operators to offer IPTV services that too much without the need for renewal of existing licenses created fire in the industry, although the entire services no matter offered by Telcos or cable operators will be governed by the Ministry Of Information & Broadcast. But, now the ability of Telcos in India to capitalize on this potential is still a debate, they are required to upgrade their existing networks, having said so they also have deliver a rich experience rather then just access.
VASillating Facts…
VAS : The services apart from the basic voice services like OG & IC which allows the user to personalize & add value by enhancing the mobility & can be subscribed by the user based on their requirement can be defined as VAS… the big tool to build ARPU
VAS is mainly segmented based on content to Infotainment, Entertainment & m-Commerce
Infotainment: The info broadcasted which is intended both for entertainment & information
Entertainment: The broadcast information provided with amusement content or content designed purely for entertainment.
m-Commerce: the commercial transactions which can be done wireless (OTA) using mobile technology & mobiles.
Further the Value Added Services can be classified to Text, Voice, Call Management, Data, and USSD Based.
The foremost troops who have a big say in this are, telecom companies, content providers, technology & solution providers, content copyright owners, IT vendors, aggregators, developers, handset manufacturers, mobile internet, portal providers, short code owners, system integrators, smartcard manufacturers, multimedia providers, financial service providers etc…
VAS is mainly segmented based on content to Infotainment, Entertainment & m-Commerce
Infotainment: The info broadcasted which is intended both for entertainment & information
Entertainment: The broadcast information provided with amusement content or content designed purely for entertainment.
m-Commerce: the commercial transactions which can be done wireless (OTA) using mobile technology & mobiles.
Further the Value Added Services can be classified to Text, Voice, Call Management, Data, and USSD Based.
The foremost troops who have a big say in this are, telecom companies, content providers, technology & solution providers, content copyright owners, IT vendors, aggregators, developers, handset manufacturers, mobile internet, portal providers, short code owners, system integrators, smartcard manufacturers, multimedia providers, financial service providers etc…
As per IAMAI the VAS industry in India is now a 4560cr which is just about 2850cr in 2006 and is anticipated to fold 10- 15times by 2010.
The Total Revenues
The maximum revenue shares are from the entertainment services and can be quantifies as below as per IMRB research
P2P ---------------- 40%
P2A & A2P --------- 15%
Game & Data ------- 7%
Ringtone download- 35%
The maximum revenue shares are from the entertainment services and can be quantifies as below as per IMRB research
P2P ---------------- 40%
P2A & A2P --------- 15%
Game & Data ------- 7%
Ringtone download- 35%
Others -------------- 7%
The VAS Revenue sharing
P2A & A2P------------- 15%
Copy right Owner ------ 15%
Aggregator n developer- 25%
Operators -------------- 60%
The VAS Revenue sharing
P2A & A2P------------- 15%
Copy right Owner ------ 15%
Aggregator n developer- 25%
Operators -------------- 60%
(Telcos take major share as the SMS stands in top when it comes to VAS )
Revenue sharing in Enterprise solutions:
Revenue sharing in Enterprise solutions:
Short Code Owner ------- 30%
Operator --------------- 70%
OTA : Over The Air
P2P : Person to Person, P2A : Person to Application
USSD : Unstructured Supplimentary Services Data
P2P : Person to Person, P2A : Person to Application
USSD : Unstructured Supplimentary Services Data
ARPU : Average Revenue Per User per month
OG : Outgoing Calls, IC : Incoming Calls
IAMAI: Internet and Mobile Association of India.
The Accelerating VAS
Though the growing subsciber base was exhilarating & good news to celebrate, the flip side was that the ARPU’s have been descending, leaving only a thin line of profits for operators which is now the momentous concern…
The waning ARPU’s & reducing tariff rates on voice have urged the mobile operators to look for an alternative to push their revenues up the ladder drawing their focus on innovation of mobile VAS which is increasingly a growth area, helping operators to maximise revenues and build healthy ARPU's.
Introducing new concepts of mobile VAS at an affordable price has been an appealing source of revenues and a key differentiator when talking in terms of service provisioning and price war, as the entire products are driven by the subscriber demand, who now wants to be more sophisticated being mobile and demands much of personalization of the luxurious services defnitely at a competitive price.
With voice fast becoming a commodity, it’s no more a differentia and of course many a VAS products will face the same challenge in due course of time.
In the resent past there has been a great demand for data & data related services like EDGE, 3G, HSDPA, IP TV etc but these superior services are band width hungry and can be offered to subscribers only if an operator owns a gargantuan infrastructure and necessary spectrum, though the operators are ready to pump as much funds as required there has been a discrepency in the spectrum allocation by the government. You might have heard a lot about the quantum’s of GSM spectrum, its allocation and pricing in the recent news...
As the game has just begun, all the competitors wants to grab the opportunity to offer the services for the first of its kind to lead ahead in the race thereby winning the customers heart and meeting their expectations by providing superior services at the comfort of mobility. This has led the operators to look forward for the tie ups with content providers though only a little focus is put upon content development…
Note :
The waning ARPU’s & reducing tariff rates on voice have urged the mobile operators to look for an alternative to push their revenues up the ladder drawing their focus on innovation of mobile VAS which is increasingly a growth area, helping operators to maximise revenues and build healthy ARPU's.
Introducing new concepts of mobile VAS at an affordable price has been an appealing source of revenues and a key differentiator when talking in terms of service provisioning and price war, as the entire products are driven by the subscriber demand, who now wants to be more sophisticated being mobile and demands much of personalization of the luxurious services defnitely at a competitive price.
With voice fast becoming a commodity, it’s no more a differentia and of course many a VAS products will face the same challenge in due course of time.
In the resent past there has been a great demand for data & data related services like EDGE, 3G, HSDPA, IP TV etc but these superior services are band width hungry and can be offered to subscribers only if an operator owns a gargantuan infrastructure and necessary spectrum, though the operators are ready to pump as much funds as required there has been a discrepency in the spectrum allocation by the government. You might have heard a lot about the quantum’s of GSM spectrum, its allocation and pricing in the recent news...
As the game has just begun, all the competitors wants to grab the opportunity to offer the services for the first of its kind to lead ahead in the race thereby winning the customers heart and meeting their expectations by providing superior services at the comfort of mobility. This has led the operators to look forward for the tie ups with content providers though only a little focus is put upon content development…
Note :
VAS: Value Added Services
ARPU: Average Revenue Per User per month
HSDPA : High Speed Data Packet Access
EDGE : Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution
The Indian Telecommunications
The Indian telecommunication industry has been growing exponentially and especially the mobile sector in particular has today emerged as the most vibrant & dynamic business ever…
If we have a glance at the numbers, which represent the mobile user growth in India & the rate at which the industry is growing, its just flamboyant and the change is very promising, and will reveal many interesting facts about the mobile revolution India is going through…..
Looking back into the last fiscal, in March’06 the mobile sub base was around 96million which ripened to 120million by Aug06 which shows that the user base is increasing @ 3 - 4 million a month.
Remember? Sometime mid April’06, was when India celebrated 100million mobile users. Though this growth was very enthusiastic it did not leave much excitement within the operators due to various factors out of which, the declining ARPU has been their major concern. Their top priority was to look for alternatives to accelerate the revenues.
A glance at the market share of Post paid & prepaid sub base on an industry average, looks little bumpy and I really wonder how healthy is the business with these numbers... The prepaid base grabs an whooping 80% share in that pie leaving just about 20% for the postpaid.
May be the industry has been digesting this huge variaion in the pie share, due to the fact that the acquisition cost of prepaid stands much lower than post paid although postpaid fetches a promising and higher ARPU largely to that of prepaid and moreover the prepaid loyalties are extremely low and hopeless… This now recoils the fact that it requires the operators to focus more to maintain and retain the sub base from churn which can only be achieved by superior differentiating tools like VAS and after sale support; after all voice has just become a commodity and will surely remain a raw material going forward….
Is this Blog Dead???
The answer is a big NOOOOOOO..... Every fall has its rise. right??
Folks, i know this blog sounds much faded but I have to tolerate the same, as i was held up with too many things; which are though not impressive...
Well, apologies and i shall try my best to bring life back to this blog soon, and make it more lively and atleast polish it to an extent that it is worth having a glance for updates..... the count down begins...
Folks, i know this blog sounds much faded but I have to tolerate the same, as i was held up with too many things; which are though not impressive...
Well, apologies and i shall try my best to bring life back to this blog soon, and make it more lively and atleast polish it to an extent that it is worth having a glance for updates..... the count down begins...
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