New Approaches To Make Data Profitable

Mobile network operators (MNOs) need to develop a smarter approach to managing their network and charging for data usage to allow them to drive profits, manage costs and secure customer loyalty, according to Ovum.

In a new report* the independent telecoms analyst finds that MNOs need to use customer data held in the business support system with network policy management and control, if they are to manage soaring traffic loads, drive profits, personalise the customer experience and increase their agility and response times.

Clare McCarthy, Ovum principal analyst and author of the report, said: "The phenomenal growth in 3G-enabled devices and smartphones has seen mobile broadband data volumes soar, and penetration is only set to increase. This is putting intense pressure on limited network capacity and spectrum, and profits are not keeping pace with traffic volumes".

"By expanding policy management and controls, operators can develop smarter charging plans that will provide them with a sustainable revenue stream, improved customer service and the ability to shape traffic on their mobile broadband networks."

According to forecasts by Ovum, mobile broadband users are set to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 28 per cent over five years to 2015, globally. While growth will continue to be robust in the developed markets of Western Europe and North America, the strongest growth is forecast to occur in the emerging markets of Asia-Pacific and the Middle East & Africa, with CAGRs in these regions exceeding 35%. In Asia-Pacific alone, Ovum forecasts that mobile broadband connections will rise from 332.9 million in 2010 to 1.5 billion by end-2015.

3G dongles and smartphones will drive demand for broadband data applications, while smartphone and tablet users will increasingly use their devices for video services.

McCarthy continued: "Some MNOs have already adopted plans with options such as discounted evening and weekend use or monthly data caps. However, this approach doesn't go far enough and only addresses one part of the equation. It doesn't maximise revenue potential with high-value customers".

"Segmented data plans are one way of increasing revenues, and they can also help deliver a better customer experience. For example, an enterprise is more likely than a family to pay for guaranteed bandwidth, priority service availability and predefined access controls", added McCarthy.

MNOs can also encourage spend in the consumer sector by promoting 'bite size' access to specific applications, which can work well in emerging markets. If an MNO offers access to social networking services during a defined period at a lower cost, it can make its service more affordable and attractive to users, move traffic to off-peak periods and increase quality of service and customer experience across its operation.

In Asia-Pacific's emerging markets, new innovative mobile broadband billing schemes are emerging where operators charge for social networking services, including Facebook. For example, Philippines operator Globe Telecom charges a daily rate for unlimited Facebook access for big-screen mobile broadband users.

"This is a simple, but effective way, to extract additional ARPU from a customer," said Nicole McCormick, Brisbane-based senior analyst for Ovum, said.

"The problem however for MNOs with mobile social networking services is the extent to which they may cannibalize texting revenue", McCormick added.source

Facebook goes for mobile, buys group messaging service Beluga

Facebook has taken another step towards becoming our first point of internet contact by buying messaging group Beluga.

Beluga is a developer of mobile applications and web systems, enabling users to send instant group messages via SMS. Founded less than a year ago, Beluga's users can share messages and photos within groups, known as "pods". Apps are available for the iPhone and Android phones.

Facebook says little will change at Beluga for now, but chances are the services will be included into the Facebook platform in some way. Mobile has been identified as a core growth area by Facebook (and Google), meaning this deal is likely part of that strategy.

"For now, Beluga will continue to function as it does today. Beluga accounts and data will not be lost," Facebook said in a statement. "We'll be providing more details on future plans for Beluga in the coming weeks."

Mobile Entertainment Revenues to get $54bn by 2015

The continued huge demand for consumer smartphone adoption and the commensurate uptake of consumer-oriented applications are set to continue to make the mobile entertainment market hugely profitable.

According to a new report from Juniper Research, such drivers will work to ensure that the mobile entertainment market will rise from being worth $33 billion by the end of 2010 to $54 billion by 2015 – driven by the continuing escalation in smartphone adoption.

The Mobile Entertainment report observed that the combination of app stores and smartphones had created an unprecedented level of awareness and usage of services, principally social media, games and video. Furthermore, the analyst predicted that the market transition from a walled-garden business model to an open mobile Internet had created greater opportunities for players in niche areas.

The result of the rise in consumer adoption of rich media content had, suggested the analyst, prompted unprecedented interest in mobile channels from major brands, which were allocating increasing proportions of digital budget to mobile. One consequence was that content providers in particular, were benefiting from the additional revenue stream created through in-app advertising.

Commented report author Dr Windsor Holden, “We’ve witnessed a quite dramatic evolution of the mobile entertainment market over the past few years, in terms of type of content, scale of content and how that content is monetised. The challenge for the players across the redefined mobile ecosystem is to recognise how best to leverage their strengths to ensure that their respective revenue streams are optimised.” source

MOBILE EMERGENCY SERVICES ARE BEING IMPROVED

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) released new rules to ensure emergency services will more readily be able to access location information about callers using mobile phones.

The new rules require mobile carriers to provide emergency service organisations with the most precise mobile phone location information available for emergency calls made from mobile phones, in situations where a Triple Zero (emergency hotline) caller is unable to verbally report their location.

The Telecommunications (Emergency Call Service) Amendment Determination 2011 (No. 1) will officially commence on 20 April 2011, giving carriers time to trial their systems before making the enhanced capability available to all emergency service organisations.

The new Determination requires mobile carriers to: • provide the most precise location information they have available on request from an emergency service organisation • resolve emergency call location queries with the highest possible priority • ensure emergency service organisations are provided with a designated contact point and telephone number for location queries, or have a dedicated process for location queries • assist an emergency service organisation to identify the relevant mobile network carrying the emergency call

The new rules were made after consultation with mobile carriers, the Emergency Call Person and emergency services organisations, and have the support of all groups as an important step in improving the delivery of mobile location information to enhance the emergency call service.

In an official statement released by ACMA, Acting Chairman Richard Bean said, “Locating callers quickly and with confidence is clearly a crucial element of the Triple Zero emergency call service.”

“The ACMA’s new rules enable emergency service organisations to access the most precise location information that is currently available on the mobile networks and also to automatically capture the benefits from any future developments in location-based services offered by the mobile carriers.”

Mobile phones now account for around 63 per cent of calls made to Triple Zero. Unlike fixed landline phones, emergency calls from mobile phones do not automatically give emergency service organisations accurate details about a caller’s whereabouts.

In addition, the ACMA is continuing to explore with industry and emergency services organisations the potential automatic provision of enhanced mobile location with every emergency call.source

New Foreign-Exchange Payment Service Gives Mobile Freedom to Business Clients with Smartphones

The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a leader in global payments, today announced the launch of a new foreign-exchange (FX) payment service that will enable small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) business clients to make payments from their smartphones.
The new mobile-friendly payment service is now available in countries where Western Union currently offers online payment and FX services through its Business Solutions division, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France and Australia.
The new mobile service is designed for busy professionals and offers an intuitive interface for customers making international business payments. The service, which offers more than 140 currencies to choose from, allows users to make payments to suppliers in global markets anywhere, anytime, and lock in a currency-exchange rate and fee before transferring funds.
“The sheer demand for innovative mobile services is evident, and our clients want to take advantage of new m-payment options,” said Raj Agrawal, General Manager, Western Union Business Solutions. “This new mobile payment service not only makes it easier to transfer funds globally to foreign suppliers and workers but also offers the ability to take advantage of foreign currencies when making international payments.”
According to an IEMR Global Mobile Payment Market Forecast report, mobile payments will reach 1 billion users and the $1 trillion transaction mark in the next five years. To take advantage of this growing market opportunity, this service will allow Western Union Business Solutions clients and partners the ability to take advantage of diverse foreign-exchange payment solutions that are flexible and easy to use.
About Western Union
The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a leader in global payment services. Together with its Vigo, Orlandi Valuta, Pago Facil and Western Union Business Solutions-branded payment services, Western Union provides consumers and businesses with fast, reliable and convenient ways to send and receive money around the world, to send payments and to purchase money orders. The Western Union, Vigo and Orlandi Valuta-branded services are offered through a combined network of 445,000 agent locations in 200 countries and territories. In 2010, The Western Union Company completed 214 million consumer-to-consumer transactions worldwide, moving $76 billion of principal between consumers, and 405 million business payments. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.source

Dependency Increasing of Operators on VAS

By 2015, prepaid subscribers will make up 98% of Indian mobile phone users, making it harder for mobile operators, especially new players, to survive only on revenue from voice calls.

According to research group Ovum, from about 750 million now, the number of Indian mobile subscribers will grow to 1.3 billion by 2015 and nearly 98% of them would be prepaid customers — up from about 90% now.

“With mobile penetration in India above 60%, the majority of the next 500 million connections are likely to be low-value subscribers,” said Shiv Putcha, principal analyst (emerging markets) at Ovum.

Mobile penetration in the country’s major urban centres has already exceeded 100%, suggesting more than one mobile connection per person.

The dominance of prepaid customers in a market translates to lower average revenue per subscriber, lower minutes of usage and high customer churn between operators.

Such market dynamics call for telecom operators to be “focused on driving greater adoption of data and value added services (VAS),” said Ovum.

Tariffs have already reached such rock-bottom levels that incremental pricing innovation efforts are unlikely to pay off. “Any further tariff reductions will only have a minimal impact in the marketplace. New operators will have to go beyond voice tariffs and tap on improvisation in other areas like network quality, billing efficiency, and their portfolio of VAS to attract customers,” Putcha said.

“Operators need to realise that convincing low-income subscribers (from rural areas) to pay for complex services is a gradual process,” he said.

Timing will be a critical factor when it comes to introducing new VAS. Investing in introducing many new service offerings willforce operators to charge high amountsto ensure adequate returns on their investments, but pre-paid customers typically take longer to accept new offerings.

“The pace of product development is especially critical considering that prepaid subscribers generally prefer to wait to see the benefits of a service before adopting it,” Putcha said.

“New entrants have pulled down the tariff levels to new lows and to be able to run a profitable operation they must have high usage volume to compensate for lower call rates,” said Mritunjay Kapur, managing director at the Indian arm of advisory Protiviti Inc. “Failing that, they need more innovations on the VAS front, especially those that are relevant to rural subscribers.” source

25 tech firms sued for breaching 3G patents

A case started in a Delaware district court by Golden Bridge Technology lists 25 tech firms alleged to breach a number of 3G patents.

The defendants in the case are T-Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, Amazon, Acer, Barnes & Noble, Dell, Garmin, Hewlett Packard, HTC, Exedea, Huawei, Lenovo, LG Electronics, Novatel, Option NV, Palm, Panasonic, Pantech, Research in Motion, Sharp, Sierra Wireless, Sony, Sony Ericsson, UTStarcom and ZTE.

Golden Bridge Technology (GBT) alleges these companies have all breached patents relating to standards for 3G wireless comms, including devices and base stations. The defendants, the filing says, have refused to license the patents. These patents are 6,574,267 B1, and 7,359,427. 


GBT said that it has contributed to the telecommunications standards with the patents related to 3G networks that use UMTS. Together with AT&T, it developed a wireless multimedia service using Code Division Multiple Access (GB-CDMA) and co-chared standardisation committees.

It claims that many of its developments were adopted by 3GPP “as an important and necessary part of the 3G and UMTS standards”.  All of the defendants, in one way or another, use GBT’s technology, it alleges. GBT is seeking damages from each of the defendants’ alleged past and present infringement. In addition, it wants treble damages against T-Mobile, HTC, LG, Palm, RIM and Sony Ericsson, and lawyers’ costs. source

New Silk Route's Ascend Telecom, India Telecom Infra Merge

Action in telecom tower consolidation continues. Private equity major New Silk Route-controlled Ascend Telecom Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. (formerly Aster Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd.) and India Telecom Infra Ltd. have agreed to merge their telecom tower businesses. The combination will create and independent tower company with approximately 4,000 towers, and an average tenancy ratio of over
1.6x, said a statement.

Ascend got its first round of investment from New Silk Route in July 2007.  India Telecom Infra is jointly owned by Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited (IL&FS) and TVS Interconnect Systems, a
part of the TVS Group. Ascend and  India Telecom Infra's customers will include mobile operators including Idea Cellular, BSNL, Vodafone, Tata Teleservices, Aircel, amongst others. The companies will be proceeding to file a scheme of amalgamation with the Honorable High Courts of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to merge ITIL into Ascend after receiving approvals from all their stakeholders.

"Over the last decade, voice telephony in India has grown at a phenomenal pace and we are now at the cusp of another revolution in data usage with tablets, net books and smart phones as the key
enablers. We believe that telecom infrastructure will be the backbone of this growth and are excited to partner with IL&FS and the TVS Group to capitalize on this opportunity,” said  Parag Saxena, Founding
General Partner and CEO of New Silk Route. “The merger of ITIL and Ascend is extremely synergistic and provides

all the stakeholders of both companies’ enormous benefits in terms of an enlarged management team, increased scale, a pan-India footprint, and significant operational efficiencies,” said R Haresh, Chairman of TVSICS.

While there have been several consolidation moves by the larger telecom tower players, the deal between Ascend-India Telecom Infra will be the first instance of smaller players merging to compete in
the market. Earlier reports have said owners of both Ascend and TVS Interconnect tried to sell the firms.

"Telecom tower companies with a relatively large portfolio of towers offer certain clear advantages to telcos, including rapid rollout over a large area, and tenancy driven discounts. Further, large tower
companies can access capital markets better to fund growth. These advantages make it somewhat difficult for the smaller tower companies to grow, thereby paving the path for consolidation in the industry,"
said a recent report on the industry by credit rating agency ICRA, adding that it expects consolidation to continue, with the smaller players either getting acquired or merging with one another to stay
competitive.

Some of the large ticket deals in the telecom tower space include GTL-Aircel and Tata-Quipo, few firms have also scaled by buyingsmaller Indian players. Nasdaq-listed American Tower had acquired
smaller players like Xcel Telecom and Transcend Infrastructure before going ahead with a relatively bigger acquisition of Essar Telecom Infrastructure.source

The Smartphone Wave

Smartphones are no longer a "niche" for the wireless industry - they are its future.  This analysis is a discussion of some of the drivers and overall impact these tiny computers will have on the industry landscape.

There is little doubt that smart phones have buoyed the wireless industry, and in some cases have created even rosy expectations for the future of some companies amidst a bleak macroeconomic climate.

Like any other significant evolutionary layer, however, the industry has been able to get somewhat of a "free ride" from the overwhelmingly profitable economics that typically surround selling to early adopters. Over the past several years the focus for the smart phone market has been the phones themselves, and unless you've lived under a rock, iPhone has blasted its way into becoming the poster child. Integrated hardware, OS and carrier connectivity along with native apps and seamless integration to backend servers provided, for the first time, a smart phone wherein the smart part was in the phone and did not require user to also possess the same prowess. Voice has been regulated to just another broadband app (Google Voice, Vonage) on the tiny handheld computers.

Viable, but less popular devices like BlackBerry, Palm, Symbian and Windows OS.X all failed to deliver the integrated wireless, computer and mobile-based experience that iPhone was the first to create. Now, with the advent of Android and a formidable list of device manufacturers that have stepped up to the plate to take advantage of Google's robust, user-friendly and economically symbiotic operating system, the focus for smartphones has shifted decidedly towards applications, developer communities, network backhaul speed and capacity - overall a tightly integrated echo system that allows subscribers to spend their time using their mobile device rather than being frustrated and with an endless stream of set-up, patched and error messages.

Concurrent with the smart phone explosion most carriers have an absolute need to deploy 4G services, along with its inherently more robust backhaul capabilities. Switching to 4G is both a requisite and challenge for carriers in that the costs involved are both broad and deep. Additional cell sites, base stations, new handsets for subscribers (which require significant purchase subsidies) all blend together to create a complex and long-term investment proposition. At the same time, average revenue per user (ARPU) must and will continue to drop as smart phones continue to rack up deeper penetration rates.

The ROI curve for smart phones will not be unlike that of the original cellular business of the early 80s when the average monthly bill exceeded $100 per month for just voice service. As more and more people used cellular phones the price for voice alone has now dropped to the mid-$30 range. Increasingly spectrum-efficient technologies, enhanced economies of scale for manufacturers and double-digit growth of smart phone users will all combine to create compelling business economics for the industry players that are correctly positioned in this new model. Those that cling to the old model, characterized by rapidly declining traditional revenues will have a difficult task at survival.source

T-Mobile Finally Removes Sidekick Service

RIP, Sidekick. T-Mobile's once-beloved e-mail phone will finally die on May 31, when T-Mobile and Microsoft pull the plug on the specialized data service that delivers Web pages, e-mails, and apps to the Sidekick line.

"It was a joint decision reached by Microsoft and T-Mobile," T-Mobile spokesman Tom Harlin said. "We think it's a natural order for products to be replaced by newer technology, and we've announced there will be a 4G-enabled, Android-powered Sidekick."

But here's the catch: Harlin refused to commit to releasing the new Sidekick before May 31, saying only that "in terms of the next Sidekick, we'll have more information in the coming weeks."

Originally known as the Danger Hiptop, the T-Mobile Sidekick was a huge breakthrough for affordable, easy-to-use messaging phones when it first came out in 2002. Seven more models came out through 2009, and the Sidekick built a reputation as a popular messaging solution for young people with prepaid accounts. T-Mobile stopped selling the Sidekick last July.
In 2008, Sidekick maker Danger was bought by Microsoft. The combined company then brought out the Microsoft KIN, which was widely considered a failure after Verizon required an expensive data plan to make up for the fact that the KIN frequently uploaded huge photos to the Internet. Few KINs sold; then the KIN's special data service was cut off and Verizon now sells the device as a texting phone.

Sidekick users have been some of T-Mobile's most faithful, and company CEO Phillip Humm has said T-Mobile has problems with "churn," or existing customers leaving the service. So how will T-Mobile keep Sidekick users from jumping ship?

"We're trying to be very transparent and really proactive," Harlin said. "We're providing offers for these customers, providing options for them to easily move their data and help get them right-fitted for whatever products they seem to like in our lineup."

T-Mobile currently offers a tool on tmobile.com for Sidekick users to download or sync their personal data and photos onto their own computers or over to other Web-based services. An application is also available in the Sidekick Catalog to make it easy to export personal data to the Sidekick's memory card, the carrier says.

D-Link Continues To Empower Customers With 3G and 4G Innovation at Mobile World Congress 2011

To reinforce its continued commitment to both retail and mobile broadband operators, D-Link showcased its new range of  innovative 3G and 4G products at Mobile World Congress 2011 in Barcelona. This marks the latest leap forward in D-Link's mobility strategy as they continue to broaden their 3G offering and furthermore launch their 4G portfolio.


Harrison Albert, Regional Sales Director at D-Link Middle East & Africa said: "
D-Link
recognizes the challenges facing operators who need to provide value-added services to their subscribers, at the same time as reducing operating costs, planning their 4G roadmap and creating new revenue opportunities. D-Link has furthermore continued to
listen to its customers and from their feedback understands that the need to be constantly connected is becoming essential. Our solutions are developed with flexibility in mind, providing reliable mobile connectivity, practical portability and easy access to the Internet anywhere, at any time. We are increasingly aware of the data demand placed on mobile networks, so we have also created products which enable users to share their 3G mobile connection with other people, or even offload altogether onto a nearby Wi-Fi network."

The maturing 3G market and explosive growth in mobile broadband has been driving demand among consumers and businesses for products which enable them to have ubiquitous Internet access. According to predictions from the UMTS Forum* (January 2011), one billion consumer devices are expected to be connected to the mobile Internet by 2016, and demand for connectivity will outstrip overall growth in the wireless market. Fuelled by this upward trend, mobile data growth has reached the point where a number of operators have recently announced the end of unlimited data tariffs, which will only continue to drive demand for innovative, portable and user-friendly products.


"Ultimately, the ongoing 3G and 4G evolution demands constant innovation from manufacturers to ensure that operators and channel partners can adapt and meet subscriber needs. D-Link is strategically well-positioned to provide industry-leading mobile
solutions to the market as it continues to evolve" states Harrison Albert.source

For Episodes Now Coming The Era Mobisodes and Webisodes

Next time your flight is delayed and you are stuck at the airport - Watch a serial on your mobile phone or listen to your favourite TV show that you missed while travelling. Surprised!! Well, such an era is here already.

Times are changing and so is the way of life in India. Heavy traffic in cities and towns has increased daily commuting hours for Indians. Also, we have been flying more frequently for business as well as leisure. This means that we have to spend considerable time waiting at the airports before boarding our flights. Media companies like Balaji Telefilms foresee an opportunity here. Last year, they had started with a series of mobisodes (mobile episodes) and websisodes (web episodes) for mobile and internet viewers. Some of their well received shows are "Bol Niti Bol"; "Ramayan Stories" and "Pyar ki Baatein". The company also introduced Lord Ganesha stories and aartis especially for iPhones. These have been recorded by professional artistes and Bollywood singers.

Television

Balaji is not the only company to hop onto the new media bandwagon. Last week Star Plus declared that it will now be available to its viewers across all media platforms. Star TV viewers can now listen to their favourite shows by simply dialing a number. One can also listen to old movies on phones, a concept that Star has termed as "audio cinema". Zee's joint venture with a Los Angeles based leading digital media Company is a step to get into the mobile and web entertainment space.

Movies

Our movie industry is not far behind in this new media race. In fact, Rajshri Group had released their movie "Vivah" online at the same time when it was released in cinemas all over. Dabang, the Salman Khan starrer, became the first Indian movie to be released on You Tube. Bollywood is also planning for edited shorter versions of movies for people who do not wish to spend 3 hours at a cinema.

Radio

Radio Mirchi of ENIL (Entertainment Network India Limited) has partnered with Reliance Communications, BSNL and Bharti Airtel for Mirchi Mobile. Under this, the listeners can tune in to special content created by Radio Mirchi for different regions. This is aimed at migrant population who can now listen to radio station of their home town in their native language.

VAS

India has 500 m mobile users and is now the second largest mobile entertainment market after China. With the introduction of 3G services, the mobile VAS (Value Added Services) market will expand and will mainly consist of teenagers and professionals with high disposable incomes. The media companies are very optimistic about this new market's potential and are making products and services aimed at the youth.

The advertising revenue share of new media has been constantly on the rise and this segment grew by nearly 25% last year. India's base of 81 m internet users is the fourth largest in the world. With increased use of mobile internet, this number is likely to grow nearly fivefold by 2015. Also, there will be a huge segment of mobile internet users.

However, there are certain concerns that need to be addressed

Internet penetration will involve infrastructure development which is a major problem in India. India is a diversified country and creating content for such a population will not be an easy task. Mobile networks will have to get better for mobile VAS to be successful. The consumers will have to pay a price to avail of services on new media platforms. Traditionally, Indians are not willing to spend for services that are otherwise freely available through other means.

The new media initiatives are not expensive propositions. The media companies may benefit out of these if they chose the right medium for the right target audience. Intelligent use of new media along with traditional media platforms will help the companies in getting distinct advantage over each other. A lot of experiments wait to happen in new media and the challenge for media companies is to decide which one will boost their earnings and build their brand value. Ultimately, the viewer will decide what works and what does not- Customer is King.source

Telecom Sector Expands Globally : India and China Take The Lead

The telecom industry is taking leaps and bounds with increasing number of subscribers and mobile users across the world, including India. The world’s largest democracy is expected to earn a whopping revenue of $6.55 billion in the coming financial year, starting April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2012. The earnings will be coming from license fees charged from telecom operators, spectrum usage charges and receipts through the auction of bandwidth for wireless broadband services. The details were given in the proposed budget shown in the parliament on Monday.

Moving to the China region, the China Unicom plans to launch its operating system, putting it in competition with Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android. The company will launch “Wophone” after its rival China Mobile Ltd. launched “Ophone” in 2009. Unfortunately, Ophone  failed to attract the users. Wophone OS will be shown on different mobile phones, with participating manufacturers and service providers including China’s ZTE Corp., Huawei Technologies Co. and TCL Corp., as well as South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co., Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. of the U.S. and HTC Corp. of Taiwan.

Wophone’s operating system has a Linux core and is specifically designed for  third generation smartphones and tablet computers. Having a dispute with Chinese government, Google decided to centralize much of its efforts in Hong Kong.  For now, only Symbian is dominating the Chinese market, having 60.1% of total share. It is followed by Microsoft’s 13.1%, Android with 10.7% and iPhone with 5.4% of the market share.

As the telecom industry is progressing, so does the need for mobile security as well. For the Chinese-US market expansion in particular, certain measures need to be taken as more data exchanges ensue.  Chinese Android users are facing a threat from HongTouTou malware. The news was reported by Lookout Mobile Security on its official blog earlier this month. The multiplying number of mobile devices is inviting the cyberthreats and this can be seen all around us. Companies are taking sufficient measures to cope with the situation including Multi-layer authentication, encryption methods, endpoint security and VDI. They are adopting a solid approach to get the mobile advantage in a right way.source

Vodafone 3G available in Delhi

It is no less than Superman, claims Vodafone. The 3G service from Vodafone has begun in Delhi (we just got a call from Vodafone to confirm that), but the damper is it will only be available in south and central Delhi, and Gurgaon, with other regions being covered later. The good thing is that as of now, there are no activation charges (you just need to call the call centre) and that Vodafone is offering 3G speed browsing and Live TV, although the much-hyped popular video calling facility is yet to be made available. The bad is that these come at a staggering cost. The rates are Rs10 paise per 10KB which does not sound like much, but stretch that and it works out to be Rs 10 per MB and Rs 10,000 per GB. So clearly those who use a lot of data on their devices should be ready to shell out about the cost of a new handset every month to enjoy Vodafone’s 3G!

The Vodafone call centre executive we talked to said that there were no other 3G plans as yet. We are hoping some will come around soon, as the current one is frankly unaffordable. Who said Superman was cheap? Do let us know if you have heard of other Vodafone plans in your city – we would love to read about them.source

Infibeam Launches Next-Gen Pi2 E-Book Reader WiFi.

E-commerce venture Infibeam has launched the next version of its e-book reader, the Pi2 or the Pi Square. The reader now features Wifi connectivity, and a touch screen, both of which were absent in the first generation Pi. It also adds a web browser for internet surfing on the device. The Wifi connectivity will enable purchase and download of e-books over the device, without the need to connect to a PC to transfer them.The six inch e-ink based Pi2 is priced at Rs 11,999 and is available at Infibeam’s online store.

Infibeam founder and CEO Vishal Mehta did not reveal to MediaNama, the exact number of Pi devices sold till date, but said that the sales figures were in ‘thousands’, since the device’s launch in March 2010. The company offers a collection of over 5 lakh e-books on its web store and has tie-ups with all major publishers, including McGraw Hill, Penguin, Pearson, among others. It also has a tie-up with 2000 independent authors and manages rights for their books. Unlike Amazon and Barnes & Noble, Infibeam has no plans to launch platform specific applications for retailing ebooks; Mehta feels that the browser is the best medium. He also said that more than 90 percent of Pi owners purchased books from Infibeam’s store and the repeat visits were very encouraging.

Mehta said that the company avoided including a 3G modem (Amazon Kindle has a 3G version) as “users in India do not like to subscribe to multiple data plans; Wifi connectivity will be used to deliver content wirelessly from the internet store, and allow delivering of periodical publications like newspapers and magazines to the device. The company has also started selling the device at physical book stores including Reliance Time Out, as Indian customers like to experience the touch and feel of the device.source

Next Generation 911 Services: Integrating Wireless and Digital Communications

The success of the Next Generation 911 service (NG 911) projects will depend on the effective integration of wireless and digital communications into a NG911 emergency communication system, according to Government Computer News (GCN).

Integration is important to offer text and video services to NG911 users. Currently, the 911 system is based on wireline platform and does not allow text or other data services.

In order to ensure that the planned integration is effective, the Federal Communications Commission has recently, at the closing of 2010 and beginning of 2011, sought ideas from the industry. The FCC (News - Alert) is primarily investigating how to integrate cellular and digital communications into a Next Generation 911 services emergency communications system that would be able to handle video and data, as well as voice.

According to the FCC National Broadband Plan officials, the government is encouraging innovation in the development and deployment of NG 911 networks and emergency alert systems. The commission is currently compiling information from the public on implementing NG 911 services and moving public safety communications beyond traditional voice-centric technologies.

The commission has acknowledged that the telecom industry’s technological innovation including the advanced IP-based devices and applications have enhanced the ability of the consumer to communicate, sending and receiving information.

At the same time, the legacy circuit-switched 911 services system is unable to accommodate the capabilities embedded in many of these advanced technologies, such as the ability to transmit and receive photos, text messages and video, according to FCC.

Texting and sharing photographs and video could be the best way to alert first responders in case of emergency. For instance, in New Zealand, which was devastated by the recent earthquake, one woman sent more than 10 text messages to her family members while she was lying in the rubble. A caller might also prefer texting in situations when there’s a threat of being identified while speaking.

According to Julius Genachowski (News - Alert), chairman of the FCC, shootings at the Virginia Tech Campus is an example of the need for NG911 services. Some students and witnesses tried to text 9-1-1 during that emergency, but those messages never went through; they were never received by local 9-1-1 dispatchers.

The NG911 is gaining momentum. TeleCommunicaiton Systems, a provider of secure-mobile communication technology, announced plans to offer support for the recent introduction of the Next Generation 9-1-1 Preservation Act of 2010.source

How Can Small Cell APIs Help Service Providers Create New Revenue Opportunities?

Service providers looking for a way to boost indoor coverage for wireless networks are increasingly turning to small cell application programming interfaces (APIs), more commonly referred to as femtocells.

A femtocell is best defined as a small, cellular base station that connects to a service provider’s network using broadband. Femtocells are most commonly used in homes or small businesses, and are typically capable of supporting connections for up to 16 active mobile phones.

“A femtocell allows service providers to extend service coverage indoors, especially where access would otherwise be limited or unavailable,” notes Wikipedia. “Although much attention is focused on WCDMA, the concept is applicable to all standards, including GSM, CDMA2000, TD-SCDMA, WiMAX and LTE solutions.”

Femtocells are especially attractive because they don’t use much power and are capable of providing 5-bar signal strength for ‘dead zones’—indoors and out. Dell’Oro Group predicts that shipments of small cell base stations will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 163 percent during the next four years, reaching 61.8 million units by 2014.

Alcatel-Lucent notes that small cells offer improved coverage and additional network capacity for applications like presence and services like location information. For service providers, small cell APIs represent a significant opportunity to grow revenues. The market for this technology is very real: in a recent survey, 72 percent of end users said they would pay for services enabled by femtocells.

In other words, it’s about more than just extending physical coverage.

“To date, industry discussions about small cells have been around fixing poor indoor coverage,” Alcatel-Lucent said in a recent article about femtocells. “However, small cells can also be leveraged to enable the development and delivery of new intelligent applications and services that are valued by end users. This makes small cells a true business platform and an integral part of a complete application enablement strategy.”

Service providers seeking to capitalize on the benefits of femtocell deployments must work with third-party content and application providers to develop advanced services customers are willing to pay for, delivered using small cell base stations.

“Each cell provides unique end-user usage and positioning information such as whether the mobile device is active in a voice or data session,” noted Alcatel-Lucent in its article.  “Access to this information enriches the small cell APIs. This can be combined with network capabilities, such as location, presence, Quality of Service (QoS) and trusted security to enable application development by in-house or external application and content providers.”

Read the full article for more detail about the benefits of femtocells, including examples of how this technology can be used to increase network coverage and deliver revenue-enhancing services.source

India to issue mobile TV regulations, spectrum audit

A regulatory framework for the introduction of mobile TV services by private operators in India is soon to be introduced by The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B).

According to the Times of India, the Ministry is currently laying down the rules of engagement, with a draft mobile TV policy expected to be put before the cabinet within the next three months, the newspaper reports.

“In this context, the recommendations of TRAI [Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India] have been examined and certain issues related to spectrum identification within the recommended band, the determination of service area licenses and the number of providers is under discussion,” said Raghu Menon, I&B secretary.

There is growing demand that some of India’s 700MHz frequency band, which is currently used for defence and broadcasting services, be auctioned for fourth generation (4G) mobile and wireless broadband applications.

The Controller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has, meanwhile, just announced is to undertake a comprehensive audit of the country’s total available spectrum, as well as its strategic and commercial use.

The move, reported by Business Standard, follows the country’s second generation (2G) spectrum auction debacle and a request last year by TRAI for a review of spectrum use, spectrum efficiency and solutions to current problems.

Communications Minister Kapil Sibal has also pledged that a blueprint on spectrum will be issued to operators by the government soon.source

Net-based messaging services may face Ban

After BlackBerry Smartphone, the Indian law enforcement agencies might target Internet-based messaging services, offered by Internet giants like Google and Skype, which are inaccessible to them or allow communication between users in encrypted format.
In a meeting held a few weeks ago, the Department of Telecommunications [DoT] and Union Home Ministry warned various associations of mobile operators and Internet service providers (ISPs) not to allow any communication in any encrypted form, as it may be used by anti-national elements.
 
Now ISPs providing messaging services fear that, after BlackBerry, it might their turn to face the heat. Such services offered by companies like Google and Skype might have to either follow government guidelines or face ban.source

Telemarketers asking customers to unsubscribe DND

Days before rules to curb pesky calls and SMSes take effect, telemarketing firms are sending messages to cellular subscribers to remove their numbers from the 'Do-not-call registry'. 

Telecom regulator Trai released guidelines last year to provide relief to mobile users from unsolicited calls/SMSes, and the rules are to be implemented from March 1. 

Now, mobile customers are receiving messages from telemarketing firms saying, "Your number is in Do Not Call Registry. Your account setting allow us not to call you to provide services. So please send request to your operator for cancelling your number from the Do Not Call Registry." 

Trai proposed that in case of violations, as per the revised guidelines, the telemarketers would have to pay a fine of Rs 25,000 for the first offence. It would go up to Rs 75,000 in case of the second violation, Rs 80,000 for the third, Rs 1.25 lakh for the fourth, Rs 1.50 lakh for the fifth and Rs 2.5 lakh for the sixth offence. 

After that the number will be blocked by all service providers. 

"I am getting a number of messages every day from various telemarketing firms to cancel my number from the Do Not Call Registry," said a customer. 

Under the new rules, subscribers may choose the 'Fully Blocked' category, which is akin to 'Do Not Call Registry', or opt for the 'Partially Blocked' category, in which case they will receive only SMSes for the categories they choose. 

If an unregistered ordinary subscriber makes unsolicited commercial communication, he/she will be warned for committing the offence for the first time. On committing the offence for the second time, his/her telephone will be disconnected. 

Customers already on the 'National Do Not Call Registry' will continue under the 'Fully Blocked' category and need no re-registration. 

DoT, on a suggestion from Trai on January 31, 2011, issued '140' series for this purpose and restricted it for use of mobile phone service of telemarketers.source