Mayawati in the Forbes list
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Mayawati, the chief minister of India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh is now in the forbes list. Yes thats true, Mayawati have made it to the Forbes list of 100 Most Powerful Women, she is currently ranked at 59.
Apart from Mayawati its Sonia Gandhi (the chairperson of ruling United Progressive Alliance) and Indra Nooyi (the chief executive officer of PepsiCo) are in the list.
In 1995, at 39, she was the youngest politician elected to the post and was also the first Dalit (India's lowest, "untouchable" caste) to head a state government.
Other famous names that appear on the list include that Condoleezza Rice, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Oprah Winfrey and Laura Bush.
The complete Forbes list is available here
Labels: Exclusive
posted by Rishil Babu @ 8:21 AM,
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Internet telephony the next big thing in India
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Telecom regulator TRAI on Monday allowed ISPs to offer unrestricted internet telephony services. it also recommended that calls made over the Internet be allowed to be received on traditional telephones rather than just computers, a move that would increase competition in the fast growing telecom market across the country.
As per the TRAI recommendations, the STD service providers would be connected to ISPs
through public internet for the purpose and the two service providers would have mutual agreement for the same. Currently, a voice call can travel between two computers but not from a mobile or a fixed phone. This is expected to open huge channels of revenues for Internet Service Providers (ISPs).However, existing players have expressed concern over the TRAI’s recommendations. T V Ramachandran, Director-General, COAI, stated that TRAI recommendations are against the very basic principle of level playing field since ISPs have been allowed to offer Net telephony at no additional cost.
“The existing operators have obtained access licence after paying a huge entry fee which is as high as Rs 1,650 crore for all India. Against this backdrop, it is very
unfair to allow unfettered access to ISPs. Hence, in order to maintain the level playing field, it is imperative that ISPs should be required to migrate to UASL licence and should be subject to the same entry fee,” COAI said.The Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC), a technical arm of Department of Telecom, will work out the number plan for the ISPs to enable them to offer telephone services.
Under the regulator's plan, international call rates via the Internet could drop to one-two rupees (two-five cents) a minute from the average seven, while national long-distance rates could fall to less than half a rupee.
Local calls could be virtually free. But experts say it would take a long time for broadband subscribers to pose a threat to fixed-line and mobile licence holders, given India's low Internet penetration.
India has just 4.38 million broadband subscribers, while there are 287 million mobile users and 38.9 million landline subscribers.
Download TRAI’s recommendation here
posted by Rishil Babu @ 7:07 AM,
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Reliance's DTH service could be a game changer in Indian markets
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Reliance Big TV, a subsidiary of the Anil Ambani owned Reliance Communication is all set to set the Indian DTH market on fire. To compliment its DTH service the Reliance ADAG is set to launch 20 new TV channels. Big TV is already making a splash with 32
movie channels of which one third each will be in regional languages, Bollywood and Hollywood. They will offer a total of 202 channels initially at a cost of Rs 1,490 with complementary subscription of three months.The bouquet size will be increased to 330 to 350 channels over a period of time. 'Big TV’ has the most advanced MPEG4 technology that would ensure its customers to provide
best quality sound and superior clarity pictures. The press statement also informed that it has set up a call centre with customer handling capacity of over 50,000 calls daily in 11 Indian languages, including English, across two locations to enable speedy response to customer queries. It has a staff capable of installing over 15,000 connections daily within 48-72 hours.Marketing efforts are set to make it big..Big TV has taken 15,000 spots which will air on television channels over three weeks. Big TV has also taken 700 sponsorship spots including the Champions Trophy. There will be 70,000 radio spots over three weeks. There will also be a contest.
In print, there will be full-page ads. There will be more than 500 inserts over 14 days. Cinema halls will be used. In addition to the ad being screened, there will also be a demonstration zone. On the Internet an innovation done is called My Big TV application. Here one can create a video of how one consumes TV and then transmit it across social sites like Orkut. It will also use 10,000 outdoor sites and 80,000 retail signages
With this launch Reliance ADAG is stepping up its expansion in the media and entertainment segment. Besides Big TV, Rcom is also planning to launch Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) soon.
Labels: Entertainment
posted by Rishil Babu @ 10:37 AM,
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Apple's iphone now in India - the inside details
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Apple's iPhone is all set to hit the Indian market this August, although i am not a very big iPhone fan but still i am exited with the fact that the Indian mobile market would have some exiting times ahead. This would be also the best time for consumers buying new phones. Here are some details i thought of sharing...
iPhone would be officially available in India through private telecom operators Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar from August 22. As India does not have apple stores as yet the handsets would be gradually available on mobile stores starting from the metros.IPhone is embedded with 3G features and is faster than the existing mobile phones. The phone also has in-built GPS system, that facilitates as a navigation and positioning tool. The price of the handset is still a hush hush, however as Indian operators may not subsidies the handset, which is a case in US as operators the iPhone could be priced somewhere around $499 or Rs 20,000 initially.
Ok, now to answer some obvious questions on iphone
How do i get a iPhone ?
Vodaphone has a pre-booking option on its website and so does Airtel on its website. Check it out as they may have some exclusive introductory offers for Indian consumers.
How can i get a legal unlocked iPhone in India ?
Well Apple has tied up with Orange to market its iPhone in France and Orange France is forced by French law to unlock any mobile handsets they sell. So once the unlocked iPhone hits the shelves of France, you may see it making its way to India via FedEx and DHL
Indian dealers would also updating themselves to learn methods of unlocking the iPhone, as its only a matter to time.
Would i buy a iPhone in August? Well a nope.. not yet because of three factors.
a)The competions is preparing itself to handle the Indian iphone mania. Nokia is all set to launch a number of new model and at very competative prices.
b)Tough competions would mean the prices of the iPhone has to come down drastically if not immediately.
c)3G is yet to happen in India, till that happens an upgraded version might be in the market
Well, if you are an iPhone fan go ahead and take the plunge and give me your feedback
Sources: Labnol and Phonesreview
An update as of 14th August : The Indian iphone pricing issued by news sources are as follows :
Apple iPhone 8Gb - 31000Rs
Apple iPhone 16Gb - 37000-38000Rs
Now this pricing seems to be really high when compared to the iPhones sold in US because it just costs 200$ for a 8Gb iPhone and in India it comes to around 720 USD.
posted by Rishil Babu @ 9:36 PM,
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