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National Telecom Policy 2011: A fresh breather!

by Paul Joseph November 13, 2011 Featured

Just as Finance bills are used as an opportunity for announcing economic policy decision, draft NTP 2011 has more on intent and direction Minister Sibal’s reformist draft policy traverses far beyond telecom services and attempts to encompass manufacturing of IT & ITeS equipment and addressing spectrum challenges for sectors beyond telecom. On first brush, the document is a consultants delight with jargons like mission, standard operating procedures ( SOP), code of practice for sales & marketing, always connected etc. setting out ambitious objectives for of broadband on demand, nationwide – free roaming. Source

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Telecom CEOs call on Sibal, seek clarity on 3G roaming

by Paul Joseph October 28, 2011 Featured

Telecom operators on Friday raised concerns about the numerous cases of penalty being imposed by the Department of Telecom. At a meeting Kapil Sibal, Minister of Communications and IT, the CEOs of all the leading cellular operators sought clarification on DoT’s approach since many of the penalties are for minor technicalities. They said that many of the fine imposed are on issues that are unclear and on which the industry itself has sought clarification from the DoT. Source

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3G roaming agreements illegal, says TRAI

by Paul Joseph October 28, 2011 Featured

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has told the Department of Telecom (DoT) that the 3G roaming agreements signed between various operators were illegal according to the licence conditions. The regulator said that such an arrangement was not only causing loss to the national exchequer but also affecting the quality of 3G services offered to consumers. Source

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India’s telecom story over? Six top executives of mobile companies hunting new jobs

by Paul Joseph October 28, 2011 Featured

Six top executives of mobile phone companies are hunting for new jobs, signalling bad times for a sector that was once touted as the symbol of India’s growth story. Those looking for a career change include the CEO of one of India’s largest telecom operators and the heads of two new entrants. “India’s telecom story is over. Industry revenues have not gone up in two years,” admitted the promoter of one of the largest mobile phone companies. Source

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Centre has final say on telecom

by Paul Joseph October 28, 2011 Featured

Centre has absolute powers to decide the terms and conditions for telecom operators as neither the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) nor the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) can overrule it, the Supreme Court has ruled. The apex court said though TRAI has been conferred with the statutory power to recommend the terms and conditions of the license and the Central Government was bound to seek its recommendations, yet, the same was not binding on it. Source

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Smartphone users in India indulge more in content, says Nielsen report

by Paul Joseph October 9, 2011 Featured

Socializing in India via mobile phones these days has become more entertainment and internet based than texts and phone calls, says a report by Nielsen and Informate Mobile Intelligence. This partnership essentially seeks to integrate the power of mobile insights and analytics for the corporate world involving the telecom industry. The team has disclosed that average smartphone users allot nearly 2.5 hours per day for accessing their handset. Around 72% of the time they engage in gaming, entertainment, apps and internet based content. Notably, only 28% of their time is used in texting someone or making calls. “India’s rapidly growing mobile user base presents marketers and businesses with an opportunity to improve the precision with which they reach out to the new Indian consumer. Today, younger Indians for instance, prefer texting and chat over voice communications and understanding this behavior better can define data consumption and customer acquisition strategies for operators and handset providers,” shared Farshad Family, MD – Media, Nielsen India. The analysts found that young smartphone users gave more than 3 hours to their phone every day and nearly 60% of the time, they indulged in gaming, surfing the internet and multimedia. Around 68% of 15 to 20 year olds utilized a chat app previous month, while almost 42% of people aged 31 and older did the same. Data utility for 3G users was approximately 44% greater than those with 2G.

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Subscriber growth falls to a four-year low for telcos

by Paul Joseph October 9, 2011 Featured

A collusion of factors, including reduction in retailer commission, hike in call tariffs and stringent identity verification requirements, has accelerated the fall in monthly mobile subscriber addition, which hit a four-year low in August. Going by data released by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the GSM industry body, member operators added 5.4 million new subscribers in August. Source

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Telecom sector to ring in the gains as rural India has more to spend

by Paul Joseph September 20, 2011 Featured

Rising disposable income in the hands of consumers living in semi-urban and rural areas is expected to boost domestic consumerism. And the telecom sector is likely to be one of the main beneficiaries of the higher traction in these regions. Most of the leading wireless operators are striving to increase their presence in towns and rural India, which are categorised under B and C telecom circles. Source

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Hyper Local Classifieds

by Paul Joseph September 8, 2011 Featured

[This is an advertisement in Tamil for a clinic that offers surgeries for piles & related medical conditions - a very common site in my place] These kind of posters have been existing from time immemorial (or the time I have been following wall posters). I was wondering why the medium of “mobile” has not reached Dr. AK Biswas at Latha Clinic yet. The real need for a hyper-local classifieds solution might exist there – Not with the top end Smartphone using crowd. Just saying! :-|

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UID Authenticity

by Paul Joseph September 8, 2011 Featured

Sad to see this: Cracks appear in Unique Identification Authority of India’s enrolment process Like I said before , I see quite a few issues in the process. There was some anecdotal evidence too I got recently: A friend of mine who lives in Bangalore managed to get UID in Mysore by showing address proof of his father’s house there. Now, can Passport / SIM be issued to him just based on this? More fearful is the fact that his wife got her UID by just “saying” she was his wife it seems – no documents needed at all. Atrocious! I hope these were just teething issues and things do get resolved. But the hope is reducing by the day. BTW, here is the UID form being given in Pondicherry (picked it up there from my folks). Front Page (click to enlarge) Back page (click to enlarge)

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