Vodafone, ICICI Bank launch M-pesa in West Uttar Pradesh

Verizon to acquire 45% of Vodafone for $130 bnVerizon Wireless, the largest US wireless company, has agreed to acquire 45% of Vodafone for $130 bn. Both the companies have signed a definitive agreement in this regard. Under the agreement, Verizon will pay $58.9 bn to Vodafone in cash and $60.2 bn Verizon stock to Vodafone’s stockholders.

The rest $11 bn from smaller translations like Verizon will issue $5.0 bn in notes payable to Vodafone and Verizon will sell its 23.1% minority stake in Vodafone Omnitel to Vodafone for $3.5 bn. The remaining $2.5 bn of the transaction value will be a combination of other consideration. The deal was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both the companies and is expected to be closed in the first quarter of 2014.

Celkon Mobiles rope in A R Rahman for its smartphone offerings Celkon Mobiles, has roped in music legend AR Rahman for its next series of smartphones. Soon the company is going to launch four smartphones in the same series. Branded as ‘RahmanIshq,’ the smartphones will come in four variants basis their screen size and specifications. Sources in the company said that Celkon made ‘Rahmanishq’ phones will come in 3.5 inch, 4 inch, 4.5 inch, and 5 inch screen size and would be priced in the range of `5,000 to `12,000. The 3.5 inch version will not be a pure smartphone and would come with a 5 megapixel camera. The 4.5 inch and 5 inch variants will run on latest android OS and will have a 8 megapixel camera.

The Rahmanishq labeled phones would coincide with the global tour of Oscar winning Indian music legend AR Rahman that s tar ts in October, and Celkon is planning to launch the Rahmanishq series of phones during the same event. The source also mentioned that AR Rahman is slated to launch the phones in Mumbai in the third week of September.

Microsoft to buy Nokia for $7.2 bnMicrosoft said it would buy Nokia’s mobile phone business for approximately $7.2 bn. Under the terms of the agreement, Microsoft will pay 3.79 bn euros to purchase substantially all of Nokia’s devices and services business, and 1.65 bn euros

t o l i c ense N o k i a ’ s p a t e n t s , for a to ta l transaction cost of 5.44 b n e u r o s i n c a s h . M i c r o s o f t

will draw upon its overseas cash resources to fund the transaction. The transaction is expected to be closed in the first quarter of 2014, subject to approval by Nokia’s shareholders, regulatory approvals, and other closing conditions.

Vodafone, ICICI Bank launch M-pesa in West Uttar PradeshVodafone India and ICICI Bank have launched ‘M-Pesa’—a mobile money transfer and payment service in West Uttar Pradesh. The service will now be available across 137 tehsils

and 49 districts through 2,800 specially trained authorized agents. To register for the service, Vodafone customers need to visit an ‘M-Pesa’ agent outlet, fill up a form, submit identity, address proofs, and deposit a minimum amount along with it to open their ‘M-Pesa’ account.

Apart from West Uttar Pradesh, ‘M-Pesa’ has been rolled out in Kolkata, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Mumbai, and Delhi and NCR and will be made available across the country in a phased manner.

Celkon Mobiles’ aims to double revenue this fiscalCelkon Mobiles, a Hyderabad based mobile phone company, said it has posted revenues of `606 crore in FY13 compared to ̀ 350 crore in the previous fiscal showing an impressive 74% growth. This makes Celkon Mobiles the fifth largest handset player among Indian brands after Micromax, Karbonn, Lava, and Spice, in terms of revenue.

The company is confident about gaining similar growth in the current fiscal and aims at doublig its revenue in FY 2013-14. Since its inception, in just over three years now, the company has been growing at a faster rate than it was expected. The company had clocked revenues of `80 crore in the first year itself.

At present the Celkon Mobiles sells smar tphones, tablets as well as feature phones, though they star ted with feature phones in January 2010.

ANDNEWS

58 | VOICE&DATA | SEPTEMBER 2013 | voicendata.com | A CyberMedia Publication

VIEWS

XOLO launches Q1000S smartphone for `18, 999XOLO has launched its XOLO Q1000S smartphone for Rs 18, 999 in India. The company’s Q1000S device operates on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and is powered by a 1.5 GHz Quad Core processor with 1 GB RAM. XOLO Q1000S comes with key features such as 13 megapixel rear camera, 5 megapixel front camera with BSI sensor, and 5 inch HD IPS screen with OGS display technology. It has a resolution of 1280x720 with 294 PPI for bright display.

The phone is backed by 2500 mAh battery. It has an internal memory of 16 GB. Earlier this month, the company had launched budget smartphone, XOLO A500S for `6, 999 in Indian market.

eMudhra launches Digital Security Center in BangaloreeMudhra Consumer Services has launched first digital security center (DSC) in Bangalore. This center will provide customers with a secure comprehensive solution - Trustfactor for online banking transactions. The company’s digital security center will currently focus to address the need for secured digital signature certificate issues for IDBI corporate customers.

The concept of eMudhra digital security center is to provide a secured process, device and digital signature certificates for online banking in line with Infomration Technology Act and guidelines of Reserve Bank of India. eMudhra digital security centers are operated by eMudhra and will provide customers with the eMudhra Trustfactor which includes a secured verification process, Digital signature cer tificates and Trustfactor USB crypto tokens in a unique form factor.

Molex releases new multi-function fiber optic enclosureMolex Premise Networks announce the release of a multi-function enclosure, a 1U configurable rack mount unit for storing and terminating incoming designed to accommodate a wide variety of termination types, adapter configurations as well as different cassettes. The enclosure is also constructed to allow maximum flexibility in routing fibers.

The heavy duty ball bearing slide mechanism incorporated into the design allows easy access to fibers, and the interchangeable front plate facilitates upgrades as required. The enclosure has an optional front locking kit and an optional front cable management to securely route patch cords.

The introduction of the RFR-00311 multi-function fiber enclosure now provides the ability to mix and match a variety of Molex’s optical fiber platform in a single enclosure, saving your time, money, and effort.

Bharti rejigs Africa top deck, Manoj Kohli back in IndiaIn a top order rejig, Bhar ti air tel said it has appointed Christian de Faria as CEO of its African operations and will take charge from January 1, 2014. A bigger development is Manoj Kohli, the joint MD of Bhar ti is relocating to India star ting next year. However, he will coninue to look after air tel’s international operations.

T h e c o m p a n y s a i d b e s i d e s international operations, Kohli will be providing governance oversight to air tel Africa, air tel Bangladesh, and

airtel, Softbank Mobile join hands for services via satellitesBharti airtel, world’s fourth largest telecom operator on subscriber base, said that it has joined hands with Japan’s Softbank mobile to offer mobile services using satellite communications in its African market. The two companies have successfully developed a practical technology to provide cost-efficient 3G mobile phone services using a communications satellite as a transmission line following a field trial conducted in actual environments in the Republic of Kenya.

“With this trial, Bharti airtel and SoftBank Mobile validated technologies and methods for providing communications services using a communications satellite in rural areas at a low cost.” For areas where it is difficult to build facilities for fixedline telecommunications and mobile communications, the development of communications networks using satellite transmission lines has been considered but expensive usage fees have been the primary barrier,” the statement added.

Though airtel has not mentioned anything whether similar service will be launched in India.

air tel Sri Lanka. “Manoj would also lead strategic issues such as in-market consolidation via M&A, key matters relating to Towerco, global par tnerships, global sourcing from key Par tners and strategic Regulatory aspects,” the statement said.

Christian de Faria will report to Kohli. Additionally, Manoj will be responsible for business development/M&A function for the telecom business and be involved with the group’s strategic matters. Manoj will continue his position on the Boards of Bhar ti air tel International Netherlands and air tel Networks, Nigeria.

A CyberMedia Publication | voicendata.com | SEPTEMBER 2013 | VOICE&DATA | 59

Verizon to acquire 45% of Vodafone for $130 bnVerizon Wireless, the largest US wireless company, has agreed to acquire 45% of Vodafone for $130 bn. Both the companies have signed a definitive agreement in this regard. Under the agreement, Verizon will pay $58.9 bn to Vodafone in cash and $60.2 bn Verizon stock to Vodafone’s stockholders.

The rest $11 bn from smaller translations like Verizon will issue $5.0 bn in notes payable to Vodafone and Verizon will sell its 23.1% minority stake in Vodafone Omnitel to Vodafone for $3.5 bn. The remaining $2.5 bn of the transaction value will be a combination of other consideration. The deal was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both the companies and is expected to be closed in the first quarter of 2014.

Celkon Mobiles rope in A R Rahman for its smartphone offerings Celkon Mobiles, has roped in music legend AR Rahman for its next series of smartphones. Soon the company is going to launch four smartphones in the same series. Branded as ‘RahmanIshq,’ the smartphones will come in four variants basis their screen size and specifications. Sources in the company said that Celkon made ‘Rahmanishq’ phones will come in 3.5 inch, 4 inch, 4.5 inch, and 5 inch screen size and would be priced in the range of `5,000 to `12,000. The 3.5 inch version will not be a pure smartphone and would come with a 5 megapixel camera. The 4.5 inch and 5 inch variants will run on latest android OS and will have a 8 megapixel camera.

The Rahmanishq labeled phones would coincide with the global tour of Oscar winning Indian music legend AR Rahman that s tar ts in October, and Celkon is planning to launch the Rahmanishq series of phones during the same event. The source also mentioned that AR Rahman is slated to launch the phones in Mumbai in the third week of September.

Microsoft to buy Nokia for $7.2 bnMicrosoft said it would buy Nokia’s mobile phone business for approximately $7.2 bn. Under the terms of the agreement, Microsoft will pay 3.79 bn euros to purchase substantially all of Nokia’s devices and services business, and 1.65 bn euros

t o l i c ense N o k i a ’ s p a t e n t s , for a to ta l transaction cost of 5.44 b n e u r o s i n c a s h . M i c r o s o f t

will draw upon its overseas cash resources to fund the transaction. The transaction is expected to be closed in the first quarter of 2014, subject to approval by Nokia’s shareholders, regulatory approvals, and other closing conditions.

Vodafone, ICICI Bank launch M-pesa in West Uttar PradeshVodafone India and ICICI Bank have launched ‘M-Pesa’—a mobile money transfer and payment service in West Uttar Pradesh. The service will now be available across 137 tehsils

and 49 districts through 2,800 specially trained authorized agents. To register for the service, Vodafone customers need to visit an ‘M-Pesa’ agent outlet, fill up a form, submit identity, address proofs, and deposit a minimum amount along with it to open their ‘M-Pesa’ account.

Apart from West Uttar Pradesh, ‘M-Pesa’ has been rolled out in Kolkata, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Mumbai, and Delhi and NCR and will be made available across the country in a phased manner.

Celkon Mobiles’ aims to double revenue this fiscalCelkon Mobiles, a Hyderabad based mobile phone company, said it has posted revenues of `606 crore in FY13 compared to ̀ 350 crore in the previous fiscal showing an impressive 74% growth. This makes Celkon Mobiles the fifth largest handset player among Indian brands after Micromax, Karbonn, Lava, and Spice, in terms of revenue.

The company is confident about gaining similar growth in the current fiscal and aims at doublig its revenue in FY 2013-14. Since its inception, in just over three years now, the company has been growing at a faster rate than it was expected. The company had clocked revenues of `80 crore in the first year itself.

At present the Celkon Mobiles sells smar tphones, tablets as well as feature phones, though they star ted with feature phones in January 2010.

ANDNEWS


VIEWS

XOLO launches Q1000S smartphone for `18, 999XOLO has launched its XOLO Q1000S smartphone for Rs 18, 999 in India. The company’s Q1000S device operates on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and is powered by a 1.5 GHz Quad Core processor with 1 GB RAM. XOLO Q1000S comes with key features such as 13 megapixel rear camera, 5 megapixel front camera with BSI sensor, and 5 inch HD IPS screen with OGS display technology. It has a resolution of 1280x720 with 294 PPI for bright display.

The phone is backed by 2500 mAh battery. It has an internal memory of 16 GB. Earlier this month, the company had launched budget smartphone, XOLO A500S for `6, 999 in Indian market.

eMudhra launches Digital Security Center in BangaloreeMudhra Consumer Services has launched first digital security center (DSC) in Bangalore. This center will provide customers with a secure comprehensive solution - Trustfactor for online banking transactions. The company’s digital security center will currently focus to address the need for secured digital signature certificate issues for IDBI corporate customers.

The concept of eMudhra digital security center is to provide a secured process, device and digital signature certificates for online banking in line with Infomration Technology Act and guidelines of Reserve Bank of India. eMudhra digital security centers are operated by eMudhra and will provide customers with the eMudhra Trustfactor which includes a secured verification process, Digital signature cer tificates and Trustfactor USB crypto tokens in a unique form factor.

Molex releases new multi-function fiber optic enclosureMolex Premise Networks announce the release of a multi-function enclosure, a 1U configurable rack mount unit for storing and terminating incoming designed to accommodate a wide variety of termination types, adapter configurations as well as different cassettes. The enclosure is also constructed to allow maximum flexibility in routing fibers.

The heavy duty ball bearing slide mechanism incorporated into the design allows easy access to fibers, and the interchangeable front plate facilitates upgrades as required. The enclosure has an optional front locking kit and an optional front cable management to securely route patch cords.

The introduction of the RFR-00311 multi-function fiber enclosure now provides the ability to mix and match a variety of Molex’s optical fiber platform in a single enclosure, saving your time, money, and effort.

Bharti rejigs Africa top deck, Manoj Kohli back in IndiaIn a top order rejig, Bhar ti air tel said it has appointed Christian de Faria as CEO of its African operations and will take charge from January 1, 2014. A bigger development is Manoj Kohli, the joint MD of Bhar ti is relocating to India star ting next year. However, he will coninue to look after air tel’s international operations.

T h e c o m p a n y s a i d b e s i d e s international operations, Kohli will be providing governance oversight to air tel Africa, air tel Bangladesh, and

airtel, Softbank Mobile join hands for services via satellitesBharti airtel, world’s fourth largest telecom operator on subscriber base, said that it has joined hands with Japan’s Softbank mobile to offer mobile services using satellite communications in its African market. The two companies have successfully developed a practical technology to provide cost-efficient 3G mobile phone services using a communications satellite as a transmission line following a field trial conducted in actual environments in the Republic of Kenya.

“With this trial, Bharti airtel and SoftBank Mobile validated technologies and methods for providing communications services using a communications satellite in rural areas at a low cost.” For areas where it is difficult to build facilities for fixedline telecommunications and mobile communications, the development of communications networks using satellite transmission lines has been considered but expensive usage fees have been the primary barrier,” the statement added.

Though airtel has not mentioned anything whether similar service will be launched in India.

air tel Sri Lanka. “Manoj would also lead strategic issues such as in-market consolidation via M&A, key matters relating to Towerco, global par tnerships, global sourcing from key Par tners and strategic Regulatory aspects,” the statement said.

Christian de Faria will report to Kohli. Additionally, Manoj will be responsible for business development/M&A function for the telecom business and be involved with the group’s strategic matters. Manoj will continue his position on the Boards of Bhar ti air tel International Netherlands and air tel Networks, Nigeria.


Educomp unveils 231 apps for toddlersTechnology and kids have no paradoxical association today. As the technology is getting pervasive, one of the leading providers of educational content Educomp has introduced 231 apps aimed at toddlers and school children.

The apps, to be available on Educomp’s official website, can be downloaded and would also feature at Android market. Conceived by the Little Millennium App project, the new applications facilitate visual appeal, interactive learning, and skill development. Ranging from phonics, rhymes, and stories to parenting tips—the apps offer unique image, audio, and video based experience to kids. With touchscreen, learners can actively take control of apps and derive creativity with performance card.

Educomp Solutions R&D head Bindu Rana said that leveraging appropriate content at r ight t ime is cr i t ica l for educational needs of children. “Today, technology is viewed as a facilitator that can help in developing skills. Technology is changing the way children learn and bring fun to learning,” she said.

India’s broadband reckoningIndia, though grappling with low-speed internet, is sitting at a cusp of data revolution. The government’s mammoth national optic fiber program envisages robust backbone infrastructure. The project, now delayed, aims to connect 100,000 village panchayats (blocks) by March 31, 2014 with a network that allows high-speed internet with minimal energy needs.

The evolution of optic fiber is not new though. It facilitates high-bandwidth applications. The optic fiber that has been replacing copper wire in core networks, is a modern communications system, currently being deployed in many developed countries. India’s last mile access, however, remains murky while several nations have embarked on fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) initiative.

Australia plans more than 90% fiber reach by June 2021, while China, Japan, and South Korea deploy large FTTH networks. In the US, AT&T and Verizon Communications provide optic fiber to select territories, besides few local providers. India, adopting Singapore model, would allow fiber access to all TSPs and ISPs, and aims at delivering affordable 100 Mbps speed.

UST expands its India presence with telecom CoE in GurgaonUST Global, an information technology solutions and services company for Global 1000 enterprises, announced the opening of its UST Global’s first telecom Center of Excellence (CoE) in Gurgaon (Harayna).

The CoE is also the fifth global delivery center of the company in the country and the first in North India. It will have capabilities in providing consulting, customer service and order management, network management, billing and data warehousing, analytics services, M2M and NOC planning, operations and management.

The company is located at DLF Cyber city, the campus is UST Global’s first telecom Center of Excellence worldwide. The new center is aimed at improving customer experience and operational efficiencies of Communication Service Providers (CSPs) in the country.

Vodafone, ICICI Bank launch M-pesa in MumbaiVodafone India and ICICI Bank have launch ‘M-Pesa’ - a mobile money transfer and payment service in Mumbai. This service will now be available through over 1,400 specially trained authorized agents. To register for the service, Vodafone customers need to visit an ‘M-Pesa’ agent outlet, fill up a form, submit identity, address proofs and deposit a minimum amount along with it, to open their

‘M-Pesa’ account.

Nokia launches Lumia 625, Lumia 925Nokia launched two new smartphones—Lumia 925 and Lumia 625 in the Indian market for ̀ 33,499 and `19,999, respectively. The new Lumia 625 has a large 4.7-inch super-sensitive LCD screen and will come pre-loaded with Your Movies, a movie app that allows users not to just stream but also to download movies on to the device. The new device users will get over 3,000 movies from Hollywood, Bollywood, and other regional titles. The movies will be available in both low and high resolution.

With this smartphone, consumers will get a free entertainment package worth over ` 16,000. This includes movies, eBooks from Flipkart, and access to the Nokia Music Store, among others. While Nokia introduces its largest smartphone screen to date in Lumia 625, the company also introduced metal to the Lumia range.

The company will also provide all Lumia 625 users free access to Ozone Wi-Fi zones across India at more than 800 youth hangout zones that includes Caffe Coffe Day, McDonalds, and Subway among others. Nokia 625 users can download up to 10 GB of content at no extra cost during the first three months of purchasing the device.

ANDNEWS

VIEWS


LSI announces Axxia 5500 communication processorLSI it has started delivering the Axxia 5500 communication processor family to key OEM customers. The Axxia 5500 with 16 ARM cores is designed to meet the performance, integration, cost, and power demands of mobile and fixed networks.

“The delivery of Axxia 5500 means that our customers are now building Axxia processor performance and efficiency into systems that will represent over half of the mobile base station market,” said Jim Anderson, senior vice president and general manager, networking solutions group, LSI.

T h e A x x i a 5 5 0 0 f a m i l y o f communicat ion processors offers a number of benefits to data center operators, enterprise network managers, and ne two rk se r v i ce p rov i de r s , including:

• Outstanding performance efficiency through a flexible combination of general-purpose processors and specialized acceleration engines

• High-capacity ethernet switching to drive significant reductions in power, board space, and bill of material cost

77% phone users have concerns when buying mobile apps: StudySOASTA, the leader in cloud and mobile testing, announced the findings of a series of surveys questioning American adults about their concerns when buying mobile apps, and the issues developers face with testing apps before they are released.

Harris Interactive conducted an online survey on behalf of SOASTA among 3,130 american adults ages 18+ (the consumer study), while uSamp polled 1,309 information technology specialists and mobile app developers (the developer study). Both surveys occurred in July, 2013. The results show that 77% of consumers who purchase mobile apps have concerns that would prevent them from buying a mobile app, while the developer study indicates that developers are not doing enough to ensure a high quality user experience for their apps that reach the market.

Spice Unveils two smartphones—Smart Flo Space, Stellar GlamourS Mobility, India’s leading mobile internet company launched—Smart Flo Space Mi 354, the most affordable dual core jelly bean 2G smar tphone. The Spice Stellar Glamour features a 4-inch WVGA display with 480x800 pixels resolution. The device is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor paired with 512MB RAM. The Spice Stellar Glamour offers dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) connectivity with both the SIMs supporting 3G connectivity. It spor ts a 5-megapixel rear camera accompanied by an LED flash and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. The handset runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.

It also includes 4GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 32GB via microSD card. The new device is backed by a 1400mAh battery. Connectivity features include GPRS, EDGE, 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The Spice Stellar Glamour comes preloaded with NQ Antivirus that comes with a 6 months and a free Back Cover worth `500.

Beside Smart Flo Space Mi - 354, the company also launched 4 inch ‘Stellar Glamour Mi 436 smartphone with a 1.2 GHz Dual Core processor and coupled with a 5 MP front camera with LED flash.

The Spice Flo Space Mi-354 features a 3.5-inch display with a resolution of 320x480 pixels. It packs a 3-megapixel rear camera along with an LED flash and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera.

The new device is runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. The device includes 512MB internal storage that can be expanded up to 32GB through a microSD card. It is backed by a 1450mAh battery. The Spice Flo Space is a dual SIM (GSM+GSM) device with 2G support for both the SIMs.

iBall launches i9018 tablet for `9,990iBall has added a budget tablet in the market, iBall slide i9018 tablet. The device is priced at `9,990. It is powered by Android v4.2 Jelly Bean OS.

The tablet comes with 9 HD screen with a dual core processor. It has a 9inch multi-touch display with HD 1024x600p resolution and tablet is backed by a large 5000mAh Lithium-ion battery.

The tablet has a 1GHz Cor tex A7 dual-core processor with Mali 400 MP2 graphics engine and houses 1GB RAM, inbuilt memory of 8GB (system uses almost 2GB for OS and other applications ). The new device can be expanded up to 32GB through a microSD card.

The company had launched slide 3G-9728 tablet with voice calling support for `15,000 on July this year.


Educomp unveils 231 apps for toddlersTechnology and kids have no paradoxical association today. As the technology is getting pervasive, one of the leading providers of educational content Educomp has introduced 231 apps aimed at toddlers and school children.

The apps, to be available on Educomp’s official website, can be downloaded and would also feature at Android market. Conceived by the Little Millennium App project, the new applications facilitate visual appeal, interactive learning, and skill development. Ranging from phonics, rhymes, and stories to parenting tips—the apps offer unique image, audio, and video based experience to kids. With touchscreen, learners can actively take control of apps and derive creativity with performance card.

Educomp Solutions R&D head Bindu Rana said that leveraging appropriate content at r ight t ime is cr i t ica l for educational needs of children. “Today, technology is viewed as a facilitator that can help in developing skills. Technology is changing the way children learn and bring fun to learning,” she said.

India’s broadband reckoningIndia, though grappling with low-speed internet, is sitting at a cusp of data revolution. The government’s mammoth national optic fiber program envisages robust backbone infrastructure. The project, now delayed, aims to connect 100,000 village panchayats (blocks) by March 31, 2014 with a network that allows high-speed internet with minimal energy needs.

The evolution of optic fiber is not new though. It facilitates high-bandwidth applications. The optic fiber that has been replacing copper wire in core networks, is a modern communications system, currently being deployed in many developed countries. India’s last mile access, however, remains murky while several nations have embarked on fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) initiative.

Australia plans more than 90% fiber reach by June 2021, while China, Japan, and South Korea deploy large FTTH networks. In the US, AT&T and Verizon Communications provide optic fiber to select territories, besides few local providers. India, adopting Singapore model, would allow fiber access to all TSPs and ISPs, and aims at delivering affordable 100 Mbps speed.

UST expands its India presence with telecom CoE in GurgaonUST Global, an information technology solutions and services company for Global 1000 enterprises, announced the opening of its UST Global’s first telecom Center of Excellence (CoE) in Gurgaon (Harayna).

The CoE is also the fifth global delivery center of the company in the country and the first in North India. It will have capabilities in providing consulting, customer service and order management, network management, billing and data warehousing, analytics services, M2M and NOC planning, operations and management.

The company is located at DLF Cyber city, the campus is UST Global’s first telecom Center of Excellence worldwide. The new center is aimed at improving customer experience and operational efficiencies of Communication Service Providers (CSPs) in the country.

Vodafone, ICICI Bank launch M-pesa in MumbaiVodafone India and ICICI Bank have launch ‘M-Pesa’ - a mobile money transfer and payment service in Mumbai. This service will now be available through over 1,400 specially trained authorized agents. To register for the service, Vodafone customers need to visit an ‘M-Pesa’ agent outlet, fill up a form, submit identity, address proofs and deposit a minimum amount along with it, to open their

‘M-Pesa’ account.

Nokia launches Lumia 625, Lumia 925Nokia launched two new smartphones—Lumia 925 and Lumia 625 in the Indian market for ̀ 33,499 and `19,999, respectively. The new Lumia 625 has a large 4.7-inch super-sensitive LCD screen and will come pre-loaded with Your Movies, a movie app that allows users not to just stream but also to download movies on to the device. The new device users will get over 3,000 movies from Hollywood, Bollywood, and other regional titles. The movies will be available in both low and high resolution.

With this smartphone, consumers will get a free entertainment package worth over ` 16,000. This includes movies, eBooks from Flipkart, and access to the Nokia Music Store, among others. While Nokia introduces its largest smartphone screen to date in Lumia 625, the company also introduced metal to the Lumia range.

The company will also provide all Lumia 625 users free access to Ozone Wi-Fi zones across India at more than 800 youth hangout zones that includes Caffe Coffe Day, McDonalds, and Subway among others. Nokia 625 users can download up to 10 GB of content at no extra cost during the first three months of purchasing the device.

ANDNEWS

VIEWS


LSI announces Axxia 5500 communication processorLSI it has started delivering the Axxia 5500 communication processor family to key OEM customers. The Axxia 5500 with 16 ARM cores is designed to meet the performance, integration, cost, and power demands of mobile and fixed networks.

“The delivery of Axxia 5500 means that our customers are now building Axxia processor performance and efficiency into systems that will represent over half of the mobile base station market,” said Jim Anderson, senior vice president and general manager, networking solutions group, LSI.

T h e A x x i a 5 5 0 0 f a m i l y o f communicat ion processors offers a number of benefits to data center operators, enterprise network managers, and ne two rk se r v i ce p rov i de r s , including:

• Outstanding performance efficiency through a flexible combination of general-purpose processors and specialized acceleration engines

• High-capacity ethernet switching to drive significant reductions in power, board space, and bill of material cost

77% phone users have concerns when buying mobile apps: StudySOASTA, the leader in cloud and mobile testing, announced the findings of a series of surveys questioning American adults about their concerns when buying mobile apps, and the issues developers face with testing apps before they are released.

Harris Interactive conducted an online survey on behalf of SOASTA among 3,130 american adults ages 18+ (the consumer study), while uSamp polled 1,309 information technology specialists and mobile app developers (the developer study). Both surveys occurred in July, 2013. The results show that 77% of consumers who purchase mobile apps have concerns that would prevent them from buying a mobile app, while the developer study indicates that developers are not doing enough to ensure a high quality user experience for their apps that reach the market.

Spice Unveils two smartphones—Smart Flo Space, Stellar GlamourS Mobility, India’s leading mobile internet company launched—Smart Flo Space Mi 354, the most affordable dual core jelly bean 2G smar tphone. The Spice Stellar Glamour features a 4-inch WVGA display with 480x800 pixels resolution. The device is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor paired with 512MB RAM. The Spice Stellar Glamour offers dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) connectivity with both the SIMs supporting 3G connectivity. It spor ts a 5-megapixel rear camera accompanied by an LED flash and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. The handset runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.

It also includes 4GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 32GB via microSD card. The new device is backed by a 1400mAh battery. Connectivity features include GPRS, EDGE, 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The Spice Stellar Glamour comes preloaded with NQ Antivirus that comes with a 6 months and a free Back Cover worth `500.

Beside Smart Flo Space Mi - 354, the company also launched 4 inch ‘Stellar Glamour Mi 436 smartphone with a 1.2 GHz Dual Core processor and coupled with a 5 MP front camera with LED flash.

The Spice Flo Space Mi-354 features a 3.5-inch display with a resolution of 320x480 pixels. It packs a 3-megapixel rear camera along with an LED flash and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera.

The new device is runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. The device includes 512MB internal storage that can be expanded up to 32GB through a microSD card. It is backed by a 1450mAh battery. The Spice Flo Space is a dual SIM (GSM+GSM) device with 2G support for both the SIMs.

iBall launches i9018 tablet for `9,990iBall has added a budget tablet in the market, iBall slide i9018 tablet. The device is priced at `9,990. It is powered by Android v4.2 Jelly Bean OS.

The tablet comes with 9 HD screen with a dual core processor. It has a 9inch multi-touch display with HD 1024x600p resolution and tablet is backed by a large 5000mAh Lithium-ion battery.

The tablet has a 1GHz Cor tex A7 dual-core processor with Mali 400 MP2 graphics engine and houses 1GB RAM, inbuilt memory of 8GB (system uses almost 2GB for OS and other applications ). The new device can be expanded up to 32GB through a microSD card.

The company had launched slide 3G-9728 tablet with voice calling support for `15,000 on July this year.


Handset revenue grows 14.7% to touch `35,946 crore in FY13The Indian mobile handset market posted revenues of `35,946 crore in FY13 compared to `31,330 crore in FY12 showing a growth of 14.7%. This was mainly due to the increasing uptake in Smartphones by the Indian consumers.

The 18th annual survey ‘V&D 100’ covered over 30 mobile handset companies doing business in India across categories like feature phones, multimedia phones, enterprise phones and Smartphones. Both multi-national and Indian mobile phone firms were surveyed for this report.

The biggest surprise of the year was Korean electronics maker Samsung dethroned Nokia from the top position. The Finnish handset maker had been holding the fort for over a decade.

Samsung’s rise in the Indian market is attributed to its rich product por tfolio that was able to cater to

customers of all budget categories. Samsung handset prices range from `1,500 to `50,000.Samsung mobile handsets come in varied screen sizes. These two factors helped the

company grabbing customer’s attention, besides the product quality and new features.

Videocon unveils A42 for `7,490Videocon Mobiles has launched its latest Videocon A42 smartphone for `7, 490 in Indian market. The new device A42 runs on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. It is a dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) dev i ce w i t h dual standby.

I t has a 4.5-inch screen with 654x480p resolution and has a 1.2GHz d u a l - c o r e processor. The device is backed by 512MB RAM, and features dual-sim functionality. This device comes with 4GB internal storage and supports microSD cards up to 32GB.

Videocon has used a 5MP rear camera with LED flash on the back and a 1.3MP unit in front. Connectivity options in the phone include 2G, 3.75G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and microUSB. It is powered by a 1,700mAh battery and comes in black and white colours.

The Videocon A42 answers all the smartphone needs of the customer, with innovative features like Dual SIM Dual Standby, a powerful 1.2 GHz Dual Core Processor, 3.75G connectivity, 1700 mAh battery, a 5MP rear camera and 1.3MP front camera, preloaded apps and more.

COAI Welcomes CCRA Status to IndiaThe Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has welcomed common criteria--recognition arrangement (CC-RA) status for India’s STQC (Standardization Testing and Quality Certification).

“This means that India, through STQC has now been authorized to certify independent testing labs in India that wish to cer tify IT equipment for compliance with global “common criteria” standards. This has been achieved after a lot of dedicated work by the STQC and Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY), Government of India, working in close cooperation with COAI members,” the COAI mentioned in its statement.

STQC, an attached office of DeitY, represented India as a member of the CCRA and the Indian CC cer tification scheme (IC3S) being operated by them with a lab at Kolkata. After the completion of the CCRA audit of the Indian Scheme, India has now become an “authorizing” nation from a “consuming” nation. The final result of audit has been approved by the CC management at the ICCC 2013 conference being held at Orlando, Florida.

This will enable India to join the league of a select group of nations that have been accorded the CCRA status of this internationally recognized security regime under the CC program.

Most collaboration apps will be available across multiple devices by 2016Most collaboration applications will be equally available on desktops, mobile phones, tablets and browsers by 2016, according to Gartner, Inc.

Currently, a variety of apps and services for mobile content access, collaboration and productivity enable employees to collaborate in real time and work more effectively, but the fragmentation of options creates complexity and challenges for the IT organization.

“In the past, collaboration on mobile devices meant interaction through wireless messaging and voice calls,” said Monica Basso, research vice president at Gartner. “Today, smartphones and tablets have larger screens, touch-based user interfaces (UIs), location support, broad network connectivity, enhanced cameras and video suppor t, voice over IP (VoIP), and so on. Such features enable a range of applications - both traditional and new - for employees to better communicate, collaborate, socialize, create and consume content.”

Most current mobile collaboration initiatives are tactical and motivated to solve a specific issue, with organizations often using multiple tools - given the relative fragmentation and lack of standardization. This is set to mature over the next three to five years to the point where every business will be using mobile collaboration to empower workers, make them more productive and engage customers in better interactions.

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Karnataka IT, S&T minister assures support for entrepreneursMinister for Planning, Statistics, IT, BT, Science and Technology S R Patil assured the entrepreneurs running macro, small and medium size industries that he would take up among others their core demand that the rate of VAT be reduced to 8 per cent from present 14.5 per cent.

He was addressing entrepreneurs after inaugurating a workshop on “Relevance of Energy Management for MSMEs” jointly organised by Engineering Manufacturers Entrepreneurs Resource Group (eMERG) and Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) at the World Trade Centre, Bangalore.

Earlier eMERG president Rajalakshmi; founder president Uma Reddy; chairperson seminars, Rekha Gopal; former president of FKCCI, J Crasta explained to Patil the difficulties faced by the MSMEs in the state. Due to exorbitant VAT rate MSMEs have become incompetent and not able to compete with those industries in the neighbouring states.

COAI, AUSPI and TAIPA welcome DoT’s mobile tower guidelinesTelecom industry bodies have welcomed the Department of Telecommunications’ (DOT) advisory guidelines to state governments on the issue of installation of mobile towers, stating that these guidelines, compiled by the DoT after receiving inputs from all stakeholders.

It will go a long way in increasing the tele-density (for both voice and data) in the States where the penetration of mobile communications are low and will help stabilize the growth of this vital infrastructure sector in the country.

In a joint statement, the industry bodies, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), Association of unified telecom service providers of India (AUSPI) and tower and infrastructure providers association (TAIPA), said that the new guidelines are welcome

Huawei signs deal with Serbian Rail for digital solutionsHuawei has signed a framework agreement with the Serbian Railways (ZS, Zeleznice Srbije) recently for its digital railway solutions.

Under this agreement, Huawei will provide ZS with digital railway solutions in the next five years to help the railway t r a n s p o r t a t i o n c o m p a n y a c h i e v e infrastructure modernization of the Nis-Sid railway line of the Pan-European Corridor X for efficiency enhancement.

Measuring 444 km in length, Nis-Sid railway line crosses the main axis of the Pan-European Corridor X, making it one of the most important lines of the Serbian railway network.

Based on Serbian Railways’ long-term infrastructure modernization plan, this line will be the nation’s first railway line equipped with modern telecommunication features including GSM-R and optical transmission system and the first to provide Level two of the European Train Control System (ETCS-L2) in Serbia.

LAVA launches two new 3G smartphonesLAVA has launched two new 3G smartphones in the Indian market. Branded as Lava 356 and Lava 402, the new smartphone are targeted towards the budget buyers who want a smartphone yet expect it to be in their budget. The new device 356 is powered by a dual core processor and the latest Android 4.2 (jelly bean) operating system with OTA upgrade.

It has a 3.5-inch capacitive touch screen featuring high-res HVGA Display (480*320) and comes with 1.3MP camera. It also includes a 1,500 mAh capacity and proximity sensor for longer battery life which gives upto 5 hours of talktime and 200 hours of stand-by time.

The 356 includes connectivity options like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPRS, EDGE and 3G. It also includes preloaded apps like LAVA Zone, Twitter, Facebook, Gtalk, Google Maps, Local, MX Player, and YouTube.

Besides the 356 model, the company also launched another 3G model -402- that has a 4 inch capacitive touch screen with high-res WVGA Display (480*800). It runs on latest version of android (jelly bean) 4.2 and fitted with a The new phone has a 3MP camera and is powered by a dual core 1.2 GHz processor and a powerful 1500mAh battery.

Spirent accelerates TDD-LTE testing in mobile devicesSpirent Communications announced TDD-LTE suppor t on the Spirent CS8 Mobile Device Tester. Spirent CS8, a tool for device R&D testing, is now able to perform data throughput, voice quality, location based services and mobility testing for chipsets and mobile devices that support TDD-LTE.

The CS8 Mobile Device Tester is now capable of testing in the key frequency bands for TDD-LTE deployment, in addition to the common FDD-LTE bands. Spirent’s CS8 provides the ability to emulate MIMO-enabled cells for both TDD-LTE and FDD-LTE networks simultaneously within a single instrument.

The CS8’s ease of use enables device development teams to quickly configure TDD-LTE and FDD-LTE cells, creating and executing custom test cases that help get their devices to market faster.

“Extensive R&D testing of both TDD and FDD in LTE devices is critical to the successful deployment of LTE in many major markets, and seamless interoperability between these technologies is essential,” said Brock Butler, mobile device testing architect, at Spirent Communications.

as its implementation will ensure the much needed industry growth required to serve the customers.

DoT had recently issued the new guidelines to all state governments to enable them to develop a “unified approach” on the subject of installation of telecom towers.


Handset revenue grows 14.7% to touch `35,946 crore in FY13The Indian mobile handset market posted revenues of `35,946 crore in FY13 compared to `31,330 crore in FY12 showing a growth of 14.7%. This was mainly due to the increasing uptake in Smartphones by the Indian consumers.

The 18th annual survey ‘V&D 100’ covered over 30 mobile handset companies doing business in India across categories like feature phones, multimedia phones, enterprise phones and Smartphones. Both multi-national and Indian mobile phone firms were surveyed for this report.

The biggest surprise of the year was Korean electronics maker Samsung dethroned Nokia from the top position. The Finnish handset maker had been holding the fort for over a decade.

Samsung’s rise in the Indian market is attributed to its rich product por tfolio that was able to cater to

customers of all budget categories. Samsung handset prices range from `1,500 to `50,000.Samsung mobile handsets come in varied screen sizes. These two factors helped the

company grabbing customer’s attention, besides the product quality and new features.

Videocon unveils A42 for `7,490Videocon Mobiles has launched its latest Videocon A42 smartphone for `7, 490 in Indian market. The new device A42 runs on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. It is a dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) dev i ce w i t h dual standby.

I t has a 4.5-inch screen with 654x480p resolution and has a 1.2GHz d u a l - c o r e processor. The device is backed by 512MB RAM, and features dual-sim functionality. This device comes with 4GB internal storage and supports microSD cards up to 32GB.

Videocon has used a 5MP rear camera with LED flash on the back and a 1.3MP unit in front. Connectivity options in the phone include 2G, 3.75G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and microUSB. It is powered by a 1,700mAh battery and comes in black and white colours.

The Videocon A42 answers all the smartphone needs of the customer, with innovative features like Dual SIM Dual Standby, a powerful 1.2 GHz Dual Core Processor, 3.75G connectivity, 1700 mAh battery, a 5MP rear camera and 1.3MP front camera, preloaded apps and more.

COAI Welcomes CCRA Status to IndiaThe Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has welcomed common criteria--recognition arrangement (CC-RA) status for India’s STQC (Standardization Testing and Quality Certification).

“This means that India, through STQC has now been authorized to certify independent testing labs in India that wish to cer tify IT equipment for compliance with global “common criteria” standards. This has been achieved after a lot of dedicated work by the STQC and Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY), Government of India, working in close cooperation with COAI members,” the COAI mentioned in its statement.

STQC, an attached office of DeitY, represented India as a member of the CCRA and the Indian CC cer tification scheme (IC3S) being operated by them with a lab at Kolkata. After the completion of the CCRA audit of the Indian Scheme, India has now become an “authorizing” nation from a “consuming” nation. The final result of audit has been approved by the CC management at the ICCC 2013 conference being held at Orlando, Florida.

This will enable India to join the league of a select group of nations that have been accorded the CCRA status of this internationally recognized security regime under the CC program.

Most collaboration apps will be available across multiple devices by 2016Most collaboration applications will be equally available on desktops, mobile phones, tablets and browsers by 2016, according to Gartner, Inc.

Currently, a variety of apps and services for mobile content access, collaboration and productivity enable employees to collaborate in real time and work more effectively, but the fragmentation of options creates complexity and challenges for the IT organization.

“In the past, collaboration on mobile devices meant interaction through wireless messaging and voice calls,” said Monica Basso, research vice president at Gartner. “Today, smartphones and tablets have larger screens, touch-based user interfaces (UIs), location support, broad network connectivity, enhanced cameras and video suppor t, voice over IP (VoIP), and so on. Such features enable a range of applications - both traditional and new - for employees to better communicate, collaborate, socialize, create and consume content.”

Most current mobile collaboration initiatives are tactical and motivated to solve a specific issue, with organizations often using multiple tools - given the relative fragmentation and lack of standardization. This is set to mature over the next three to five years to the point where every business will be using mobile collaboration to empower workers, make them more productive and engage customers in better interactions.

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Karnataka IT, S&T minister assures support for entrepreneursMinister for Planning, Statistics, IT, BT, Science and Technology S R Patil assured the entrepreneurs running macro, small and medium size industries that he would take up among others their core demand that the rate of VAT be reduced to 8 per cent from present 14.5 per cent.

He was addressing entrepreneurs after inaugurating a workshop on “Relevance of Energy Management for MSMEs” jointly organised by Engineering Manufacturers Entrepreneurs Resource Group (eMERG) and Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) at the World Trade Centre, Bangalore.

Earlier eMERG president Rajalakshmi; founder president Uma Reddy; chairperson seminars, Rekha Gopal; former president of FKCCI, J Crasta explained to Patil the difficulties faced by the MSMEs in the state. Due to exorbitant VAT rate MSMEs have become incompetent and not able to compete with those industries in the neighbouring states.

COAI, AUSPI and TAIPA welcome DoT’s mobile tower guidelinesTelecom industry bodies have welcomed the Department of Telecommunications’ (DOT) advisory guidelines to state governments on the issue of installation of mobile towers, stating that these guidelines, compiled by the DoT after receiving inputs from all stakeholders.

It will go a long way in increasing the tele-density (for both voice and data) in the States where the penetration of mobile communications are low and will help stabilize the growth of this vital infrastructure sector in the country.

In a joint statement, the industry bodies, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), Association of unified telecom service providers of India (AUSPI) and tower and infrastructure providers association (TAIPA), said that the new guidelines are welcome

Huawei signs deal with Serbian Rail for digital solutionsHuawei has signed a framework agreement with the Serbian Railways (ZS, Zeleznice Srbije) recently for its digital railway solutions.

Under this agreement, Huawei will provide ZS with digital railway solutions in the next five years to help the railway t r a n s p o r t a t i o n c o m p a n y a c h i e v e infrastructure modernization of the Nis-Sid railway line of the Pan-European Corridor X for efficiency enhancement.

Measuring 444 km in length, Nis-Sid railway line crosses the main axis of the Pan-European Corridor X, making it one of the most important lines of the Serbian railway network.

Based on Serbian Railways’ long-term infrastructure modernization plan, this line will be the nation’s first railway line equipped with modern telecommunication features including GSM-R and optical transmission system and the first to provide Level two of the European Train Control System (ETCS-L2) in Serbia.

LAVA launches two new 3G smartphonesLAVA has launched two new 3G smartphones in the Indian market. Branded as Lava 356 and Lava 402, the new smartphone are targeted towards the budget buyers who want a smartphone yet expect it to be in their budget. The new device 356 is powered by a dual core processor and the latest Android 4.2 (jelly bean) operating system with OTA upgrade.

It has a 3.5-inch capacitive touch screen featuring high-res HVGA Display (480*320) and comes with 1.3MP camera. It also includes a 1,500 mAh capacity and proximity sensor for longer battery life which gives upto 5 hours of talktime and 200 hours of stand-by time.

The 356 includes connectivity options like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPRS, EDGE and 3G. It also includes preloaded apps like LAVA Zone, Twitter, Facebook, Gtalk, Google Maps, Local, MX Player, and YouTube.

Besides the 356 model, the company also launched another 3G model -402- that has a 4 inch capacitive touch screen with high-res WVGA Display (480*800). It runs on latest version of android (jelly bean) 4.2 and fitted with a The new phone has a 3MP camera and is powered by a dual core 1.2 GHz processor and a powerful 1500mAh battery.

Spirent accelerates TDD-LTE testing in mobile devicesSpirent Communications announced TDD-LTE suppor t on the Spirent CS8 Mobile Device Tester. Spirent CS8, a tool for device R&D testing, is now able to perform data throughput, voice quality, location based services and mobility testing for chipsets and mobile devices that support TDD-LTE.



“Extensive R&D testing of both TDD and FDD in LTE devices is critical to the successful deployment of LTE in many major markets, and seamless interoperability between these technologies is essential,” said Brock Butler, mobile device testing architect, at Spirent Communications.

as its implementation will ensure the much needed industry growth required to serve the customers.

DoT had recently issued the new guidelines to all state governments to enable them to develop a “unified approach” on the subject of installation of telecom towers.


Huawei and PESIT collaborate to innovate in network optimization for SDNsHuawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider has announced the collaboration between Huawei’s Indian R&D Center and People’s Education Society Institute of Technology, in the areas of cloud-based data center & network optimization for software defined networks (SDN).

“Applications such as cloud computing, video gaming, HD video streaming, live concer ts , remote medica l surger y, etc are offered by data centers. These geographically dispersed data center (cloud balancing) is creating new demands on the network. As more and more organizations move towards cloud, there is a need for communication and joint optimization of network and data centre application IT resources. Cross stratum application/network optimization focuses on the challenges and oppor tunities presented by both data center based applications and carrier networks optimization. Software

Amdocs to acquire Actix for $120 mnAmdocs to acquire privately-held Actix for approximately $120 mn in cash.

The Boards of Directors of Actix and Amdocs have approved the transaction which subject to the satisfaction of the conditions to closing and is expected to be completed by the end of September.

Amdocs will be expanding its CES (Customer Experience Systems) portfolio with geo-located network data that will drive a variety of optimization use cases.

“The acquisition will position Amdocs as the first vendor to offer customer experience-driven network optimization based on a holistic view of the customer experience across all networks, BSS and OSS (business and operational suppor t systems),” the company mention in its statement.

“As a result, service providers will be able to differentiate the customer experience and achieve cost-efficiencies with improved automation and optimization of their existing networks, as well as when rolling out new network technologies, such as LTE and small cells,” the company said in a statement.

HP and VMware enable customers to unify data center networksHP and VMware, Inc have announced plans to collaborate and deliver a federated network solution designed to provide customers unified automation of, and visibility into, their physical and virtual data center networks, enabling business agility and improving business continuity.

As companies embrace cloud and mobility, manual network configuration has proven time and resource intensive, as well as error prone. Network virtualization offers a centralized control plane, but does not automate configuration and provisioning of physical network devices.

The new HP-VMware networking solution will federate the HP Virtual Application Networks SDN Controller with the VMware NSXTM network virtualization platform to provide customers with an integrated approach to automating their physical and virtual network infrastructure. The networking solution will provide a centralized view, unified automation, visibility and control of the complete data center network, improving agility, monitoring and troubleshooting.

Government sets a ground for IT investment in BiharBihar will soon host few of the major IT companies in Global Call Centre Management, Electronics Hardware and Device Manufacturing Units (EHDM) to start their operation told PK Sinha of Bihar IT Association and a core member of the IT Advisory Council created by GOB for promotion of IT investment in the state.

The enormous appreciation received by the IT Core Committee on the IT policy and practice of good governance of Government of Bihar was great to experience coming from industry stalwarts in the hi-tech city Bengaluru.

Specifically the e-governance initiatives taken by the GoB like RTI and RTS was talk of the town in these 4 days. Bihar has been suffering from the ‘Brain drain’ syndrome like many other developing states where IT investment has not taken place to an extent as expected hence government is creating opportunities to retain the brains of its state by creating better policies to excite investment.

defined network (SDN) aims to improve and optimize the network behavior and performance by controlling the network devices using a centralized controller across multiple technologies, thereby simplifying the overall network,” said Nagaraja Upadhya, vice president of Network product line, Huawei.

Huawei and PESIT are closely working in this area to innovate and resolve key problems in data center and network cross optimization by enhancing application layer traffic optimization (ALTO) and path computation element (PCE) as an evolutionary approach to SDN.

Dress your Smartphone in mobile skins from Printvenue.comPrintvenue.com, India’s personalised online marketplace has launched an entire range of mobile skins for your mobile phones—iPhone 4/5, Nokia Lumia 920. Scratch free, colourful, and removable, these skins will splash some colour on your phones, glamming them up for good!

Mobile skins can be customised with Printvenue.com’s ready-to-print template or uploaded as per the customers own designs, text or logo. Access to customized templates is available 24x7.

P r i n t v e n u e . c o m delivers across India, including major cities l i k e D e l h i , N o i d a , Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Bhopal, Jalandhar, Lucknow, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Ahmedabad, Cochin, Kolkata, Mysore, Udaipur, Patna, Surat, and many other parts of India.

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Huawei and PESIT collaborate to innovate in network optimization for SDNsHuawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider has announced the collaboration between Huawei’s Indian R&D Center and People’s Education Society Institute of Technology, in the areas of cloud-based data center & network optimization for software defined networks (SDN).

“Applications such as cloud computing, video gaming, HD video streaming, live concer ts , remote medica l surger y, etc are offered by data centers. These geographically dispersed data center (cloud balancing) is creating new demands on the network. As more and more organizations move towards cloud, there is a need for communication and joint optimization of network and data centre application IT resources. Cross stratum application/network optimization focuses on the challenges and oppor tunities presented by both data center based applications and carrier networks optimization. Software

Amdocs to acquire Actix for $120 mnAmdocs to acquire privately-held Actix for approximately $120 mn in cash.

The Boards of Directors of Actix and Amdocs have approved the transaction which subject to the satisfaction of the conditions to closing and is expected to be completed by the end of September.

Amdocs will be expanding its CES (Customer Experience Systems) portfolio with geo-located network data that will drive a variety of optimization use cases.

“The acquisition will position Amdocs as the first vendor to offer customer experience-driven network optimization based on a holistic view of the customer experience across all networks, BSS and OSS (business and operational suppor t systems),” the company mention in its statement.

“As a result, service providers will be able to differentiate the customer experience and achieve cost-efficiencies with improved automation and optimization of their existing networks, as well as when rolling out new network technologies, such as LTE and small cells,” the company said in a statement.

HP and VMware enable customers to unify data center networksHP and VMware, Inc have announced plans to collaborate and deliver a federated network solution designed to provide customers unified automation of, and visibility into, their physical and virtual data center networks, enabling business agility and improving business continuity.

As companies embrace cloud and mobility, manual network configuration has proven time and resource intensive, as well as error prone. Network virtualization offers a centralized control plane, but does not automate configuration and provisioning of physical network devices.

The new HP-VMware networking solution will federate the HP Virtual Application Networks SDN Controller with the VMware NSXTM network virtualization platform to provide customers with an integrated approach to automating their physical and virtual network infrastructure. The networking solution will provide a centralized view, unified automation, visibility and control of the complete data center network, improving agility, monitoring and troubleshooting.

Government sets a ground for IT investment in BiharBihar will soon host few of the major IT companies in Global Call Centre Management, Electronics Hardware and Device Manufacturing Units (EHDM) to start their operation told PK Sinha of Bihar IT Association and a core member of the IT Advisory Council created by GOB for promotion of IT investment in the state.

The enormous appreciation received by the IT Core Committee on the IT policy and practice of good governance of Government of Bihar was great to experience coming from industry stalwarts in the hi-tech city Bengaluru.

Specifically the e-governance initiatives taken by the GoB like RTI and RTS was talk of the town in these 4 days. Bihar has been suffering from the ‘Brain drain’ syndrome like many other developing states where IT investment has not taken place to an extent as expected hence government is creating opportunities to retain the brains of its state by creating better policies to excite investment.

defined network (SDN) aims to improve and optimize the network behavior and performance by controlling the network devices using a centralized controller across multiple technologies, thereby simplifying the overall network,” said Nagaraja Upadhya, vice president of Network product line, Huawei.

Huawei and PESIT are closely working in this area to innovate and resolve key problems in data center and network cross optimization by enhancing application layer traffic optimization (ALTO) and path computation element (PCE) as an evolutionary approach to SDN.

Dress your Smartphone in mobile skins from Printvenue.comPrintvenue.com, India’s personalised online marketplace has launched an entire range of mobile skins for your mobile phones—iPhone 4/5, Nokia Lumia 920. Scratch free, colourful, and removable, these skins will splash some colour on your phones, glamming them up for good!

Mobile skins can be customised with Printvenue.com’s ready-to-print template or uploaded as per the customers own designs, text or logo. Access to customized templates is available 24x7.

P r i n t v e n u e . c o m delivers across India, including major cities l i k e D e l h i , N o i d a , Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Bhopal, Jalandhar, Lucknow, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Ahmedabad, Cochin, Kolkata, Mysore, Udaipur, Patna, Surat, and many other parts of India.

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TELECOMLEADERSHIPFORUM 2013

21 NOVEMBER 2013NEW DELHI

A CONGRESSIONOF OVER 300 TELECOM CXOs

For queries write to [email protected]

Spirent accelerates TDD-LTE testing in mobile devicesSpirent Communications announced TDD-LTE support on the Spirent CS8 Mobile Device Tester. Spirent CS8, a tool for device R&D testing, is now able to perform data throughput, voice quality, location based services and mobility testing for chipsets and mobile devices that support TDD-LTE.



Google launches `12 crore Google Impact ChallengeGoogle has launched Google Impact Challenge in India, asking Indian non-profits how they would use technology to tackle problems in India and around the world.

The four submissions judged to be the best will each receive `3 crore and technical assistance from Google to help make their project a reality.

“Every year we give away approximately $100 mn in grants, $1 bn in free and discounted apps and ads, and 50,000 employee volunteer hours around the world,” said Google.

Rajan Anandan, VP and MD, Google India said, “It is a great opportunity for Indian non-profits to scale their efforts to help solve some of our toughest problems. India already has a rich tradition of corporate giving and hopefully the challenge will galvanize social entrepreneurship in India.”

Google launched the Global Impact Awards in 2013 to support entrepreneurial non-profits with a tech idea for how to change the world.

TE eyes 4G, optic fiber roll-outsOne of the leaders in connectivity and fiber optic solutions, TE Connectivity, is banking high on ambitious national optic fiber network (NOFN) and Network for Spectrum (NFS) for defense services as well as 4G roll-outs in India.

The company is setting up a new 25-acre facility in Bangalore which will be operational by May, 2014. TE that has 490,000 kilometers of undersea fiber, believes that fiber-based networks would be the future for all connectivity needs.TE Connectivity India & Saarc director KK Shetty feels that infrastructure is a huge challenge in India.

TE Connectivity India & Saarc director KK Shetty feels that infrastructure is a huge challenge in India.

“Managing fiber backbone is not as easy as copper and a right solution is needed for its management,” Shetty said.

The company believes that er ror identification in data center environment remains a key challenge.

Tech Mahindra Joins Hands With Volvo Car CorporationTech Mahindra has signed an agreement with Volvo Car Corporation.

Under the agreement, the IT company will provide the automobile company with a service to maintain and develop a wide range of applications across the business and to develop and implement new applications as part of its

Nokia Launches Urdu Language MobilesNokia has launched its 114 feature phone, a low-cost phone with Urdu language capability in the country, for `2, 579. The Nokia 114 will benefit over 15 crore Urdu speaking people in India.

The new device phone comes with dual-SIM compatibility. The phone has a VGA camera, which is also capable of shooting videos, and offers microSD card slot with up

to 32GB of expandable memory limit.The device will support talk time of up

to 10.5 hours on 2G network, allow internet browsing, FM radio, and video streaming.

The company is the first company to introduce regional language content in 11 Indian languages--Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Gujarati, Bengali, Odiya, Assamese, Punjabi, and Marathi—since 2008.

drive to increase efficiency and reduce costs. Star ting in September 2013, Tech

Mahindra will take care of its application maintenance and development across multiple domains, including manufacturing, product development, marketing, sales and reporting.

“We see this contract as an opportunity to increase our contribution to Volvo cars and further develop our business in the region. Our plans include proactive investment and recruitment from both local universities and the local business domain pool,” said Vikram Nair, head of Europe, Tech Mahindra.

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TCPSL launches 1,000 white label ATMs in Karnataka by 2016Tata Communications Payment Solutions (TCPSL) will set up over 1,000 white label ‘Indicash’ ATMs across Karnataka by 2016. TCPSL will roll out over 15,000 Indicash ATMs across India over the next three years in tier-1 to -6 cities in keeping with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) vision to accelerate growth and improve ATM penetration in India.

At present, the company has already set up 15 Indicash ATM centers in Bengaluru. Bengaluru will have over 90 Indicash centers. The key locations in Bengaluru include Madiwala, Chandra layout, Yeshwanthpura, Indiranagar, Hesarghatta, Kundalahalli, TQ Bengaluru rural, Nahashettyhalli, Chokasandra,

TC Approves Plan to Distribute Free Mobiles, TabletsThe Telecom Commission (TC ) has approved a proposal to distribute free mobiles to families in villages and tablet PCs to students in 11th and 12th classes. Both the projects are expected to be rolled out after 2014 Lok Sabha Election.

The project is expected to cover 2.5 crore individuals in rural households while the free tablet scheme would cover 90 lakh students under a plan that could cost the exchequer nearly Rs 10,000 crore.

Along with free phones, the UPA government is also planning to provide free recharge of Rs 360 for a period of two years to users. Following which users will get talk-time of 30 minutes, 30 SMSes, and 30 MB for possible Internet usage.

Tata Comm Signs Agreement With PCCW GlobalTata Communications and PCCW Global have entered into an agreement to interconnect their IPX (IP-Exchange) communities.

This will enable IP communications services such as HD voice and HD video in various global markets. As 4G adoption continues to gather pace, this agreement fur ther expands the global community of interconnected mobile network operators (MNOs) who will be able to capitalize on the latest technology innovations in mobile broadband.

The agreement wi l l prov ide the broadest global reach in emerging markets while expanding its global community of interconnected mobile operators across Asia and Africa, via the Gateway network. With the growing adoption of 4G, the company will be able to provide excellent service to the MNOs, while enabling them to capitalize on the latest technology innovations in mobile broadband space.

With the deployment of 4G and upgrades of 3G networks, next generation mobile IP communications services such as HD Voice are gaining traction. A recent GSA report noted that the number of mobile operators now providing HD voice service is up 84% in comparison to last year, with 83 mobile networks having launched HD Voice in 61 countries.

Intex Launches Smartphone-Aqua HD for `15,990Domestic mobile manufacturer Intex has launched its another smartphone-- Intex Aqua HD for `15,999 in market.

According to repor ts, the telecom commission will deliberate on some more issues soon and after that it will be sent to the Cabinet for final approval.

The project to be jointly funded by the Department of Telecom and Universal Services Obligations Fund (USOF)--a fund to facilitate telecom services in rural areas.

The scheme is proposed to be implemented through state-run BSNL which will float tenders for sourcing of mobile phones and tablets.

The mobile phone scheme is meant for mainly MGNREGA workers provided they have completed 100 days in 2012. It is estimated to cost the government Rs 4,850 crore and allotment will be completed over a period of six years.

CNhalli, Frazer town, Shivajinagar, Banashakari, Rajajinagar, and Jayanagar.

In phase I, it will roll out over 150 centers across the state by the end of September 2013. Initially, it will start with districts viz Bengaluru, Belgaum, Bellary, Chitradurga, Dakshina Kannada, Mysore, Dharwad, and Tumkur regions.

Having won the ‘B’ scheme licence from the Reserve bank of India (RBI) to set up white label ATMs, TCPSL kick started the process by launching Indicash in Chandrapada village at Thane District in Maharashtra on 27th June 2013, which is a tier 5 village. Under the scheme ‘B’, RBI mandates that for every 1 ATM in tier 1 and 2 cities, 2 ATMs ought to be deployed in tier 3 and 4 cities.

The smartphone is running on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system and has a 11.9-cm (4.7-inch) TFT display which offers 720x1280 pixel high definition resolution.

The new device is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad core MediaTek 6589 processor, 1 GB RAM, and 4 GB built in memory which can be expanded further to 32 GB through a micro SD card. The smartphone has a 13 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash and 5 megapixel front camera.

The dual-SIM smartphone is powered by an 1800mAh battery which delivers up to 5 hours of talktime and 300 hours of standby time. For connectivity, there are Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS/ aGPS, and 3G options.


Spirent accelerates TDD-LTE testing in mobile devicesSpirent Communications announced TDD-LTE support on the Spirent CS8 Mobile Device Tester. Spirent CS8, a tool for device R&D testing, is now able to perform data throughput, voice quality, location based services and mobility testing for chipsets and mobile devices that support TDD-LTE.



Google launches `12 crore Google Impact ChallengeGoogle has launched Google Impact Challenge in India, asking Indian non-profits how they would use technology to tackle problems in India and around the world.

The four submissions judged to be the best will each receive `3 crore and technical assistance from Google to help make their project a reality.

“Every year we give away approximately $100 mn in grants, $1 bn in free and discounted apps and ads, and 50,000 employee volunteer hours around the world,” said Google.

Rajan Anandan, VP and MD, Google India said, “It is a great opportunity for Indian non-profits to scale their efforts to help solve some of our toughest problems. India already has a rich tradition of corporate giving and hopefully the challenge will galvanize social entrepreneurship in India.”

Google launched the Global Impact Awards in 2013 to support entrepreneurial non-profits with a tech idea for how to change the world.

TE eyes 4G, optic fiber roll-outsOne of the leaders in connectivity and fiber optic solutions, TE Connectivity, is banking high on ambitious national optic fiber network (NOFN) and Network for Spectrum (NFS) for defense services as well as 4G roll-outs in India.

The company is setting up a new 25-acre facility in Bangalore which will be operational by May, 2014. TE that has 490,000 kilometers of undersea fiber, believes that fiber-based networks would be the future for all connectivity needs.TE Connectivity India & Saarc director KK Shetty feels that infrastructure is a huge challenge in India.

TE Connectivity India & Saarc director KK Shetty feels that infrastructure is a huge challenge in India.

“Managing fiber backbone is not as easy as copper and a right solution is needed for its management,” Shetty said.

The company believes that er ror identification in data center environment remains a key challenge.

Tech Mahindra Joins Hands With Volvo Car CorporationTech Mahindra has signed an agreement with Volvo Car Corporation.

Under the agreement, the IT company will provide the automobile company with a service to maintain and develop a wide range of applications across the business and to develop and implement new applications as part of its

Nokia Launches Urdu Language MobilesNokia has launched its 114 feature phone, a low-cost phone with Urdu language capability in the country, for `2, 579. The Nokia 114 will benefit over 15 crore Urdu speaking people in India.

The new device phone comes with dual-SIM compatibility. The phone has a VGA camera, which is also capable of shooting videos, and offers microSD card slot with up

to 32GB of expandable memory limit.The device will support talk time of up

to 10.5 hours on 2G network, allow internet browsing, FM radio, and video streaming.

The company is the first company to introduce regional language content in 11 Indian languages--Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Gujarati, Bengali, Odiya, Assamese, Punjabi, and Marathi—since 2008.

drive to increase efficiency and reduce costs. Star ting in September 2013, Tech

Mahindra will take care of its application maintenance and development across multiple domains, including manufacturing, product development, marketing, sales and reporting.

“We see this contract as an opportunity to increase our contribution to Volvo cars and further develop our business in the region. Our plans include proactive investment and recruitment from both local universities and the local business domain pool,” said Vikram Nair, head of Europe, Tech Mahindra.

ANDNEWS

VIEWS


NEWS

VIEWS

TCPSL launches 1,000 white label ATMs in Karnataka by 2016Tata Communications Payment Solutions (TCPSL) will set up over 1,000 white label ‘Indicash’ ATMs across Karnataka by 2016. TCPSL will roll out over 15,000 Indicash ATMs across India over the next three years in tier-1 to -6 cities in keeping with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) vision to accelerate growth and improve ATM penetration in India.

At present, the company has already set up 15 Indicash ATM centers in Bengaluru. Bengaluru will have over 90 Indicash centers. The key locations in Bengaluru include Madiwala, Chandra layout, Yeshwanthpura, Indiranagar, Hesarghatta, Kundalahalli, TQ Bengaluru rural, Nahashettyhalli, Chokasandra,

TC Approves Plan to Distribute Free Mobiles, TabletsThe Telecom Commission (TC ) has approved a proposal to distribute free mobiles to families in villages and tablet PCs to students in 11th and 12th classes. Both the projects are expected to be rolled out after 2014 Lok Sabha Election.

The project is expected to cover 2.5 crore individuals in rural households while the free tablet scheme would cover 90 lakh students under a plan that could cost the exchequer nearly Rs 10,000 crore.

Along with free phones, the UPA government is also planning to provide free recharge of Rs 360 for a period of two years to users. Following which users will get talk-time of 30 minutes, 30 SMSes, and 30 MB for possible Internet usage.

Tata Comm Signs Agreement With PCCW GlobalTata Communications and PCCW Global have entered into an agreement to interconnect their IPX (IP-Exchange) communities.

This will enable IP communications services such as HD voice and HD video in various global markets. As 4G adoption continues to gather pace, this agreement fur ther expands the global community of interconnected mobile network operators (MNOs) who will be able to capitalize on the latest technology innovations in mobile broadband.

The agreement wi l l prov ide the broadest global reach in emerging markets while expanding its global community of interconnected mobile operators across Asia and Africa, via the Gateway network. With the growing adoption of 4G, the company will be able to provide excellent service to the MNOs, while enabling them to capitalize on the latest technology innovations in mobile broadband space.

With the deployment of 4G and upgrades of 3G networks, next generation mobile IP communications services such as HD Voice are gaining traction. A recent GSA report noted that the number of mobile operators now providing HD voice service is up 84% in comparison to last year, with 83 mobile networks having launched HD Voice in 61 countries.

Intex Launches Smartphone-Aqua HD for `15,990Domestic mobile manufacturer Intex has launched its another smartphone-- Intex Aqua HD for `15,999 in market.

According to repor ts, the telecom commission will deliberate on some more issues soon and after that it will be sent to the Cabinet for final approval.

The project to be jointly funded by the Department of Telecom and Universal Services Obligations Fund (USOF)--a fund to facilitate telecom services in rural areas.

The scheme is proposed to be implemented through state-run BSNL which will float tenders for sourcing of mobile phones and tablets.

The mobile phone scheme is meant for mainly MGNREGA workers provided they have completed 100 days in 2012. It is estimated to cost the government Rs 4,850 crore and allotment will be completed over a period of six years.

CNhalli, Frazer town, Shivajinagar, Banashakari, Rajajinagar, and Jayanagar.

In phase I, it will roll out over 150 centers across the state by the end of September 2013. Initially, it will start with districts viz Bengaluru, Belgaum, Bellary, Chitradurga, Dakshina Kannada, Mysore, Dharwad, and Tumkur regions.

Having won the ‘B’ scheme licence from the Reserve bank of India (RBI) to set up white label ATMs, TCPSL kick started the process by launching Indicash in Chandrapada village at Thane District in Maharashtra on 27th June 2013, which is a tier 5 village. Under the scheme ‘B’, RBI mandates that for every 1 ATM in tier 1 and 2 cities, 2 ATMs ought to be deployed in tier 3 and 4 cities.

The smartphone is running on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system and has a 11.9-cm (4.7-inch) TFT display which offers 720x1280 pixel high definition resolution.

The new device is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad core MediaTek 6589 processor, 1 GB RAM, and 4 GB built in memory which can be expanded further to 32 GB through a micro SD card. The smartphone has a 13 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash and 5 megapixel front camera.

The dual-SIM smartphone is powered by an 1800mAh battery which delivers up to 5 hours of talktime and 300 hours of standby time. For connectivity, there are Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS/ aGPS, and 3G options.


iGATE Names Ashok Vemuri as CEOiGATE has named Ashok Vemuri as its president and chief executive officer. He will also join the company’s board of directors.

Vemuri’s appointment will be effective from September 16, 2013. Gerhard Watzinger, who has served as the company’s interim president and CEO following the dismissal of the then CEO Phaneesh Murthy in May 2013, will remain with iGATE in an advisory role temporarily to assist Vemuri’s transition.

Vemuri joins iGATE from Infosys, where he most recently held the roles of member of the board of Infosys, head of Americas and global head of manufacturing and engineering. He also served as the chairman of Infosys China and was on the board of Infosys public services.

He earlier established and ran the financial services and insurance business for nine years, making it the largest business unit within Infosys.

In his role as head of Americas, Vemuri was responsible for Infosys’ business operations in the company’s largest region-with $4.7 bn in revenue and he oversaw all facets of the business, from strategic direction to maintaining and improving financial and operational efficiency.

Tagtual Launches NFC Business CardsBangalore-based Tagtual has launched NFC (Near Field Communication) business cards where one can easily share contact information with just a tap of card on the smartphone.

The benefits in using these cards are customers can carry one card instead of a bunch, every tap made on a mobile device is synchronized with the users phonebook and contact details saved (name, designation, website, Facebook ID, phone number, email, etc). NFC also helps to simplify the task of keeping address book up-to-date. Enhanced product reliability, virtually zero maintenance, and ultimate data security are other advantages.

The company is focused on helping access smart business networking through innovative NFC Business Cards which are cost-effective, easy to carry, eco friendly with zero maintenance.

Continental, IBM to Develop Mobile Vehicle Solutions German automotive supplier Continental has entered into a collaboration agreement with India’s technology giant IBM to develop fully-connected mobile vehicle solutions for car manufacturers around the world.

Central to the agreement is development of a highly scalable cloud platform that will enable automotive manufacturers to deliver a range of new mobile in-car services.

It will enable software updates and vehicle control device functionality to be delivered over the Internet, removing costly and inconvenient workshop visits. Giving automobile manufacturers the opportunity to offer their customers a vast array of new features, this solution may equally prove beneficial in other industries such as public transportation, insurance, and retailing.

In addition, anticipatory driving will be enhanced by Continental and IBM to develop a next generation ‘electronic horizon’ platform, which will ultimately make highly automated driving a reality. Vehicles with embedded sensors will not only receive data, they will also transmit information such as position, speed or deceleration to the cloud where data will be processed, analyzed, and acted upon. The result will be a real-time map that will enable a vehicle to literally ‘look around the corner’.

Amtrak to Launch Tablet For KidsAmtrak Info Systems has announced its soon to be launched tablet PC which will be specifically designed for kids of age 3, 4, and 5 years. It is designed keeping in mind the security and durability needed for a user of that age group.

The educational content provides parents the peace of mind. The upcoming Amtrak product is expected to be encumbered with features like video and audio books, where juniors can listen to fables and stories and can learn nursery rhymes and poems.

“Kids also have an option of engaging in recreational activities like virtual painting or can download intriguing pre-installed interactive games,” the company mentioned in its statement.

Keeping in mind the usability for kids, the tablet will be protected by 3-layer security. It also provides an infinite access to unlimited data space. In case of any technical difficulty, customer care assistance is available on the toll free number: 1800-102-9509.

Winjit Deploys Windows Azure to Manage IT Requirements Winjit Technologies, a premier mobile application development company, has deployed Windows Azure to manage its IT requirements more effectively and has reduced its infrastructure cost by 30%.

Winjit needed to partner with a strategic cloud solutions provider to cater to the explosive growth in the reach of their mobile applications.

By m ig r a t i ng i t s deve l opmen t infrastructure - Team Foundation Server and Exchange Server - to the Windows Azure platform, Winjit’s cost per development seat has also reduced significantly.

Before deciding upon Windows Azure, Winjit had evaluated cloud services from other vendors as well. However, looking at the benefits of Windows Azure such as its ability to scale up to the required demand in a short span, security, pay-as-per-use facility and disaster recovery capabilities, Winjit finally chose Windows Azure which met all its requirements at a price point that provided rapid return-on-investment.

ANDNEWS


VIEWS

Nokia Launches EMI Scheme For Lumia 925Nokia has launched an EMI scheme for its latest smartphone-Nokia Lumia 925 for Rs 33,499 in India. Under the scheme, the Lumia 925 amount can be paid in six equal monthly installments at zero per cent rate of interest and no processing fee.

The scheme will be available across select Nokia priority par tners and multi branded outlets across the country.

For the scheme, Nokia has tied up with Citibank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Standard Chartered, HSBC, ICICI Bank, and SBI Cards for the Easy EMI scheme and the offer will be available to consumers with credit cards (only) from any of these banks.

The banks together have the target consumer base of over 16 mn providing Nokia an opportunity to extend the service to a large consumer base.

“Our insight shows that many customers don’t end up buying their preferred handset model as it tends to be marginally above their pre-decided budget, making upfront payment difficult. Our easy EMI scheme at zero per cent interest addresses that challenge and will allow customers to actually buy the handset they desire,” said Viral Oza, director-marketing, Nokia India.

MTS Launches MTS iDivine For MBlaze CustomersSistema Shyam TeleServices (SSTL), the company provides telecom services under the MTS brand, has launched a devotional service called MTS iDivine for its MBlaze customers.

The company has joined hands with Shemaroo Entertainment for this service. With this, MBlaze customers will have LIVE Darshan from pious shrines, including Shirdi Sai Baba, ISKCON Temple, Haji Ali, Ajmer Sharif, Bangla Sahib, Sheesh Ganj Gurudwara, Infant Jesus Church amongst others popular religious sites.

Sandeep Yadav, head of data and smartphone business, MTS India, said, “I am proud to announce the launch of MTS iDivine---a one touch service to enable MBlaze customers access Live Darshan and record content from more than 500 religious shrines across India”.

Jai Maroo, director, Shemaroo Enter tainment, said, “Our association with MTS will not only cater to this growing demand but is also a step ahead in our vision to provide enter tainment anytime, anywhere, and on any connection.”

For the service, MBlaze customers can log on to www.divineindia.com/mts to access the MTS iDivine by subscribing to daily, monthly, and quarterly packs priced at `10, ` 99, and `199, respectively

iBall Launches Edu-Slide Tablet for IIT AspirantsiBall has launched a special edition of iBall Edu-Slide tablets containing study materials for the IIT-JEE aspirants.

The content is developed upon the Sigrid Notes and provides the students a real-time classroom experience. The revision mode allows students to holistically i n t e rac t w i th t he content. Apar t from the IIT-JEE main and advanced content, the package bundles the foundation content for standard 11th and 12th for Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics as well.

The iBall Edu-Slide features a 10.1-inch IPS HD display with a resolution of 1280x1024 pixels. The iBall Edu-Slide runs

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The tablet comes in two variants--Wi-Fi and 3G.

The Wi-Fi variant of the iBall Edu-Slide tablet runs on a Dual Core 1.5 GHz A9 processor and 1 GB RAM. It comes with 8GB built-in storage, which is expandable up to 32 GB. The tablet sports an 8 MP rear camera and a VGA front-facing camera. Connectivity

options include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, HDMI port, and 3G via USB dongle.

The 3G SIM variant r uns on a Quad Core processor and suppor ts

dual SIM, while other features remain the same as the Wi-Fi variant.

The iBall Edu-Slide Wi-Fi variant is available at a price point of `30,999, while the 3G variant has a slightly higher price tag of `35,999.

Uninor Bags Golden Award For Safety ManagementTelecom operator Uninor has been awarded golden award for outstanding achievements in safety management by Greentech Foundation.

The award was presented by Bhaskar Chatterjee, Director General of Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Corporate Affairs at 12th Annual Greentech Safety Award ceremony held at Goa.

The award recognizes Uninor’s best practices in the areas of health, safety,

security and environment (HSSE).The company remains the only telecom

services company in India to have been selected to receive this prestigious award.

Uninor has received a number of recognitions--both in India and internationally-

-in the area of occupational health and safety. It is also the only telecom company globally to hold the prestigious OHSAS 18001, ISO 14001, PAS 99, and SA 8000 certifications.

“The company won this award after going through a comprehensive and independent assessment conducted by the Greentech Foundation to verify the efficiency, effectiveness, and reliability of the company’s occupational health, safety and environmental management systems,” the company mentioned in a statement.


iGATE Names Ashok Vemuri as CEOiGATE has named Ashok Vemuri as its president and chief executive officer. He will also join the company’s board of directors.

Vemuri’s appointment will be effective from September 16, 2013. Gerhard Watzinger, who has served as the company’s interim president and CEO following the dismissal of the then CEO Phaneesh Murthy in May 2013, will remain with iGATE in an advisory role temporarily to assist Vemuri’s transition.

Vemuri joins iGATE from Infosys, where he most recently held the roles of member of the board of Infosys, head of Americas and global head of manufacturing and engineering. He also served as the chairman of Infosys China and was on the board of Infosys public services.

He earlier established and ran the financial services and insurance business for nine years, making it the largest business unit within Infosys.

In his role as head of Americas, Vemuri was responsible for Infosys’ business operations in the company’s largest region-with $4.7 bn in revenue and he oversaw all facets of the business, from strategic direction to maintaining and improving financial and operational efficiency.

Tagtual Launches NFC Business CardsBangalore-based Tagtual has launched NFC (Near Field Communication) business cards where one can easily share contact information with just a tap of card on the smartphone.

The benefits in using these cards are customers can carry one card instead of a bunch, every tap made on a mobile device is synchronized with the users phonebook and contact details saved (name, designation, website, Facebook ID, phone number, email, etc). NFC also helps to simplify the task of keeping address book up-to-date. Enhanced product reliability, virtually zero maintenance, and ultimate data security are other advantages.

The company is focused on helping access smart business networking through innovative NFC Business Cards which are cost-effective, easy to carry, eco friendly with zero maintenance.

Continental, IBM to Develop Mobile Vehicle Solutions German automotive supplier Continental has entered into a collaboration agreement with India’s technology giant IBM to develop fully-connected mobile vehicle solutions for car manufacturers around the world.

Central to the agreement is development of a highly scalable cloud platform that will enable automotive manufacturers to deliver a range of new mobile in-car services.

It will enable software updates and vehicle control device functionality to be delivered over the Internet, removing costly and inconvenient workshop visits. Giving automobile manufacturers the opportunity to offer their customers a vast array of new features, this solution may equally prove beneficial in other industries such as public transportation, insurance, and retailing.

In addition, anticipatory driving will be enhanced by Continental and IBM to develop a next generation ‘electronic horizon’ platform, which will ultimately make highly automated driving a reality. Vehicles with embedded sensors will not only receive data, they will also transmit information such as position, speed or deceleration to the cloud where data will be processed, analyzed, and acted upon. The result will be a real-time map that will enable a vehicle to literally ‘look around the corner’.

Amtrak to Launch Tablet For KidsAmtrak Info Systems has announced its soon to be launched tablet PC which will be specifically designed for kids of age 3, 4, and 5 years. It is designed keeping in mind the security and durability needed for a user of that age group.

The educational content provides parents the peace of mind. The upcoming Amtrak product is expected to be encumbered with features like video and audio books, where juniors can listen to fables and stories and can learn nursery rhymes and poems.

“Kids also have an option of engaging in recreational activities like virtual painting or can download intriguing pre-installed interactive games,” the company mentioned in its statement.

Keeping in mind the usability for kids, the tablet will be protected by 3-layer security. It also provides an infinite access to unlimited data space. In case of any technical difficulty, customer care assistance is available on the toll free number: 1800-102-9509.

Winjit Deploys Windows Azure to Manage IT Requirements Winjit Technologies, a premier mobile application development company, has deployed Windows Azure to manage its IT requirements more effectively and has reduced its infrastructure cost by 30%.

Winjit needed to partner with a strategic cloud solutions provider to cater to the explosive growth in the reach of their mobile applications.

By m ig r a t i ng i t s deve l opmen t infrastructure - Team Foundation Server and Exchange Server - to the Windows Azure platform, Winjit’s cost per development seat has also reduced significantly.

Before deciding upon Windows Azure, Winjit had evaluated cloud services from other vendors as well. However, looking at the benefits of Windows Azure such as its ability to scale up to the required demand in a short span, security, pay-as-per-use facility and disaster recovery capabilities, Winjit finally chose Windows Azure which met all its requirements at a price point that provided rapid return-on-investment.

ANDNEWS


VIEWS

Nokia Launches EMI Scheme For Lumia 925Nokia has launched an EMI scheme for its latest smartphone-Nokia Lumia 925 for Rs 33,499 in India. Under the scheme, the Lumia 925 amount can be paid in six equal monthly installments at zero per cent rate of interest and no processing fee.

The scheme will be available across select Nokia priority par tners and multi branded outlets across the country.

For the scheme, Nokia has tied up with Citibank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Standard Chartered, HSBC, ICICI Bank, and SBI Cards for the Easy EMI scheme and the offer will be available to consumers with credit cards (only) from any of these banks.

The banks together have the target consumer base of over 16 mn providing Nokia an opportunity to extend the service to a large consumer base.

“Our insight shows that many customers don’t end up buying their preferred handset model as it tends to be marginally above their pre-decided budget, making upfront payment difficult. Our easy EMI scheme at zero per cent interest addresses that challenge and will allow customers to actually buy the handset they desire,” said Viral Oza, director-marketing, Nokia India.

MTS Launches MTS iDivine For MBlaze CustomersSistema Shyam TeleServices (SSTL), the company provides telecom services under the MTS brand, has launched a devotional service called MTS iDivine for its MBlaze customers.

The company has joined hands with Shemaroo Entertainment for this service. With this, MBlaze customers will have LIVE Darshan from pious shrines, including Shirdi Sai Baba, ISKCON Temple, Haji Ali, Ajmer Sharif, Bangla Sahib, Sheesh Ganj Gurudwara, Infant Jesus Church amongst others popular religious sites.

Sandeep Yadav, head of data and smartphone business, MTS India, said, “I am proud to announce the launch of MTS iDivine---a one touch service to enable MBlaze customers access Live Darshan and record content from more than 500 religious shrines across India”.

Jai Maroo, director, Shemaroo Enter tainment, said, “Our association with MTS will not only cater to this growing demand but is also a step ahead in our vision to provide enter tainment anytime, anywhere, and on any connection.”

For the service, MBlaze customers can log on to www.divineindia.com/mts to access the MTS iDivine by subscribing to daily, monthly, and quarterly packs priced at `10, ` 99, and `199, respectively

iBall Launches Edu-Slide Tablet for IIT AspirantsiBall has launched a special edition of iBall Edu-Slide tablets containing study materials for the IIT-JEE aspirants.

The content is developed upon the Sigrid Notes and provides the students a real-time classroom experience. The revision mode allows students to holistically i n t e rac t w i th t he content. Apar t from the IIT-JEE main and advanced content, the package bundles the foundation content for standard 11th and 12th for Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics as well.

The iBall Edu-Slide features a 10.1-inch IPS HD display with a resolution of 1280x1024 pixels. The iBall Edu-Slide runs

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The tablet comes in two variants--Wi-Fi and 3G.

The Wi-Fi variant of the iBall Edu-Slide tablet runs on a Dual Core 1.5 GHz A9 processor and 1 GB RAM. It comes with 8GB built-in storage, which is expandable up to 32 GB. The tablet sports an 8 MP rear camera and a VGA front-facing camera. Connectivity

options include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, HDMI port, and 3G via USB dongle.

The 3G SIM variant r uns on a Quad Core processor and suppor ts

dual SIM, while other features remain the same as the Wi-Fi variant.

The iBall Edu-Slide Wi-Fi variant is available at a price point of `30,999, while the 3G variant has a slightly higher price tag of `35,999.

Uninor Bags Golden Award For Safety ManagementTelecom operator Uninor has been awarded golden award for outstanding achievements in safety management by Greentech Foundation.

The award was presented by Bhaskar Chatterjee, Director General of Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Corporate Affairs at 12th Annual Greentech Safety Award ceremony held at Goa.

The award recognizes Uninor’s best practices in the areas of health, safety,

security and environment (HSSE).The company remains the only telecom

services company in India to have been selected to receive this prestigious award.

Uninor has received a number of recognitions--both in India and internationally-

-in the area of occupational health and safety. It is also the only telecom company globally to hold the prestigious OHSAS 18001, ISO 14001, PAS 99, and SA 8000 certifications.

“The company won this award after going through a comprehensive and independent assessment conducted by the Greentech Foundation to verify the efficiency, effectiveness, and reliability of the company’s occupational health, safety and environmental management systems,” the company mentioned in a statement.


Apple Unveils iPhone 5s, iPhone 5cApple has launched two new models of iPhone--the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c-- in California. The iPhone 5s will come in gold, silver, space gray and will run on A7 chip. It has a 4-inch Retina display and glass inlays.

“iPhone 5s will connect to high-speed networks with suppor t for up to 13 LTE wireless bands, more than any other smartphone in the world. With download speeds up to 100 Mbps, buyers can browse, download, and stream content even faster,” claimed Apple.

The new device includes dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi support for up to 150 Mbps and Bluetooth 4.0. The phone delivers 10 hours of talk time on 3G networks, up to 10 hours of web browsing on Wi-Fi, and LTE networks and up to eight hours on 3G networks, and up to 10 hours of video playback and up to 40 hours of audio playback.

The new phone comes with iOS 7 and has hundreds of new features, including

Control Center, Notification Center, improved Multitasking, AirDrop, enhanced Photos, Safari, Siri and introduces iTunes Radio, a free Internet radio service based on the music you listen to on iTunes. iPhone 5s also introduced Touch ID and 8 megapixel iSight camera with True Tone flash.

The iPhone 5s will be available in the US for $199 (US) for the 16GB model and $299 (US) for the 32GB model and $399 (US) for the 64GB model. Apart from iPhone 5s, the company also launched iPhone 5c that comes with a 4-inch Retina display.

The new phone is running on A6 chip,

has an 8 megapixel iSight camera and is available in blue, green, pink, yellow, and white. The new device comes with more LTE bands, a new FaceTime HD camera, and iOS 7, the most significant iOS update since the original iPhone.

The iPhone 5c includes dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi suppor t for up to 150 Mbps and Bluetooth 4.0. The iPhone 5c delivers 10 hours of talk time on 3G networks, up to 10 hours of web browsing on Wi-Fi, and LTE networks and up to eight hours on 3G networks, and up to 10 hours of video playback and up to 40 hours of audio playback. The iPhone 5c also comes with iOS 7 and has features like control center, notification center, improved multitasking, AirDrop, enhanced Photos, Safari, and Siri.

The company also introduced iTunes Radio, a free Internet radio service based on the music you listen to on iTunes. The new device will be available in the US for $99 (US) for the 16GB model and $199 (US) for the 32GB model.

HERE Partners With Auto Makers, Automotive SuppliersHERE, a Nokia business, has announced ahead of the Frankfurt Motor Show that it has partnered with the Mercedes-Benz division of Daimler and Continental Corporation and Magneti Marelli.

These par tners are building on the HERE connected driving framework to offer individual connected products and services that go beyond navigation to meet their differing needs.

Today, connecting the car to the cloud is one of the biggest opportunities for the automotive industry. The connectivity will allow cars to compute real-time information on demand so that the vehicle can take over more aspects of driving ultimately creating an entirely new class of services.

At the same time, technology is advancing so rapidly that what appears cutting edge today will be commonplace tomorrow. Automakers and system integrators alike need a partner who understands their needs, offers them flexibility and can stay ahead of fast moving technology cycles.

With a long history in supplying maps for the automotive industry, HERE is well positioned to help car makers and in-vehicle technology suppliers create connected cars.

IBM Signs 10-year Deal With MSOIBM has announced a 10-year deal with Manthan Broadband Services, a leading cable multi system operator (MSO) in Eastern India. MSO is serving more than three mn households in the states of West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, and Assam.

IBM will provide a customized subscriber management solution for Manthan, which includes IT infrastructure and subscriber support capabilities in an effort to increase revenue potential and improve the company’s customer experience.

This will also set the foundation for leveraging IBM’s Big Data and analytics capabilities to help Manthan effectively create advertisements based on the digital personalities of subscribers.

Manthan is in the midst of making substantial investments to upgrade its network and set-top boxes to meet new government digitization standards to transform and modernize the media and entertainment industry in India.

This engagement will complement these efforts by allowing Manthan customers to tailor their services by subscribing to cable channels of their choice and only paying for these selections versus limited pre-packaged options.

IBM will build, implement, and manage the solution using a mix of custom technology using IBM technologies and packaged tools. The scope of the project includes integrating data from billing, customer relationship management as well as multiple conditional access and backend systems across the organization.

IBM will also provide the necessary infrastructure technology and support including servers, storage, networks, security, and data center hosting services.

ANDNEWS


VIEWS

ZTE Grand Memo Handset To Be First 4G Smartphone in China Shenzhen-based ZTE said it was the first company to receive regulatory approval in China to sell a 4G handset for fourth-generation network service.

The company’s Grand Memo handset was approved by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to run on the 4G TD-LTE network standard.

The single-SIM, dual stand-by voice solution used by ZTE Grand Memo LTE (Model No: U9815), a quad-band device compatible with the TD-LTE/ FDD/TDS/ GSM bands, means i t is capable of suppor ting simultaneous high-speed data t ransmiss ion and h igh-qua l i ty voice calls.

“The company’s Grand Memo LTE is of fer ing super ior spec i f ica t ions,

Airtel Selects Huawei For 3G Services in Bangladesh Airtel Bangladesh has announced Huawei Technologies Bangladesh as its network partner for the upcoming launch of 3G services in that country.

Airtel has bagged 3G licenses with 5 MHz of spectrum in 2,100 MHz band in the 3G license auction.

Given the enhanced speed and user experience of the 3G technology, the superior quality of the potential offerings will be specifically targeted towards mobile internet.

Huawei will play a catalyst role in enhancing the customer experience and the data usage habits in the country with world class services.

The potential 3G services will spearhead a new era of unique life style enabling products. With 3G in its arsenal, Airtel will introduce a suite of products along with meeting the growing demand of high-speed surfing and wireless Internet entertainment.

Alcatel-Lucent, Tel efónica to Deploy Femtocells Technology Alcatel-Lucent and Telefónica have announced the deployment of femtocell technology in Germany. The new technology to boost 3G mobile broadband access and quality for Telefónica customers.

Femtocell technology deployment will increase the capacity of its wireless 3G network coverage into home-offices, campus areas, shopping malls, and hot-spot areas where the traditional macro cell deployment is limited today.

It is about the size of a typical Wi-Fi base station, and gets linked with a cable to any Internet connection and a power supply.

The small design and powerful wireless capabilities will help Telefónica in Germany to extend its network coverage in areas where buildings’ walls can degrade the quality of a mobile signal, or in areas too far from a traditional macro cell tower.

Business customers of Telefónica will benefit from seamless wireless communications inside offices, where macro cell coverage often is not sufficient.

This agreement builds on the global agreement made in 2012 and will be instrumental in support of the recent external link business offering announced in May 2013.

1.8 MN Data Cards Shipped in India in Q2, 2013 India recorded shipments of 1.83 mn data cards for Q2 (April-June) 2013, according to CMR’s India Data Cards Market Review, AMJ 2013, August 2013 release.

From Q2, 2012, to Q2, 2013, the shipments of CDMA data cards witnessed a significant decline, though quarter-on-quarter there has been a healthy growth.

The top three vendors of the India data cards market--ZTE, Huawei, and Micromax contributed 74% to the total data card shipments in Q2, 2013. In GSM technology, the top three players--Huawei, Micromax, and ZTE-- together made up nearly 65% of shipments in Q2, 2013, while in CDMA technology ZTE and Huawei together contributed 95% of the total shipments during the same period.

Mobility, broadband data services, content consumption to drive market growth, the ever increasing demand to stay connected anytime and anywhere, particularly on the part of business executives, students, and consumers, has opened up new growth avenues for the India data cards market.

including a 5.7- inch high-def in i t ion display with 1280x720 resolut ions, a 1 .5GHz nV id ia Tegra3 quad-core processor, 12-core GPU, and 13 mn pixel camera, suppor t ing 1080P HD video playback and recording,” the company mentioned in its statement.

With an ultra-refined display and packing enter tainment features including “Home Theater,” the ZTE Grand Memo LTE is well-equipped to take advantage of the fast data transmission speeds of 4G networks. The ZTE Grand Memo LTE will be one of the highlights of PT/EXPO COMM CHINA 2013 conference in Beijing this month.


Apple Unveils iPhone 5s, iPhone 5cApple has launched two new models of iPhone--the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c-- in California. The iPhone 5s will come in gold, silver, space gray and will run on A7 chip. It has a 4-inch Retina display and glass inlays.

“iPhone 5s will connect to high-speed networks with suppor t for up to 13 LTE wireless bands, more than any other smartphone in the world. With download speeds up to 100 Mbps, buyers can browse, download, and stream content even faster,” claimed Apple.

The new device includes dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi support for up to 150 Mbps and Bluetooth 4.0. The phone delivers 10 hours of talk time on 3G networks, up to 10 hours of web browsing on Wi-Fi, and LTE networks and up to eight hours on 3G networks, and up to 10 hours of video playback and up to 40 hours of audio playback.

The new phone comes with iOS 7 and has hundreds of new features, including

Control Center, Notification Center, improved Multitasking, AirDrop, enhanced Photos, Safari, Siri and introduces iTunes Radio, a free Internet radio service based on the music you listen to on iTunes. iPhone 5s also introduced Touch ID and 8 megapixel iSight camera with True Tone flash.

The iPhone 5s will be available in the US for $199 (US) for the 16GB model and $299 (US) for the 32GB model and $399 (US) for the 64GB model. Apart from iPhone 5s, the company also launched iPhone 5c that comes with a 4-inch Retina display.

The new phone is running on A6 chip,

has an 8 megapixel iSight camera and is available in blue, green, pink, yellow, and white. The new device comes with more LTE bands, a new FaceTime HD camera, and iOS 7, the most significant iOS update since the original iPhone.

The iPhone 5c includes dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi suppor t for up to 150 Mbps and Bluetooth 4.0. The iPhone 5c delivers 10 hours of talk time on 3G networks, up to 10 hours of web browsing on Wi-Fi, and LTE networks and up to eight hours on 3G networks, and up to 10 hours of video playback and up to 40 hours of audio playback. The iPhone 5c also comes with iOS 7 and has features like control center, notification center, improved multitasking, AirDrop, enhanced Photos, Safari, and Siri.

The company also introduced iTunes Radio, a free Internet radio service based on the music you listen to on iTunes. The new device will be available in the US for $99 (US) for the 16GB model and $199 (US) for the 32GB model.

HERE Partners With Auto Makers, Automotive SuppliersHERE, a Nokia business, has announced ahead of the Frankfurt Motor Show that it has partnered with the Mercedes-Benz division of Daimler and Continental Corporation and Magneti Marelli.

These par tners are building on the HERE connected driving framework to offer individual connected products and services that go beyond navigation to meet their differing needs.

Today, connecting the car to the cloud is one of the biggest opportunities for the automotive industry. The connectivity will allow cars to compute real-time information on demand so that the vehicle can take over more aspects of driving ultimately creating an entirely new class of services.

At the same time, technology is advancing so rapidly that what appears cutting edge today will be commonplace tomorrow. Automakers and system integrators alike need a partner who understands their needs, offers them flexibility and can stay ahead of fast moving technology cycles.

With a long history in supplying maps for the automotive industry, HERE is well positioned to help car makers and in-vehicle technology suppliers create connected cars.

IBM Signs 10-year Deal With MSOIBM has announced a 10-year deal with Manthan Broadband Services, a leading cable multi system operator (MSO) in Eastern India. MSO is serving more than three mn households in the states of West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, and Assam.

IBM will provide a customized subscriber management solution for Manthan, which includes IT infrastructure and subscriber support capabilities in an effort to increase revenue potential and improve the company’s customer experience.

This will also set the foundation for leveraging IBM’s Big Data and analytics capabilities to help Manthan effectively create advertisements based on the digital personalities of subscribers.

Manthan is in the midst of making substantial investments to upgrade its network and set-top boxes to meet new government digitization standards to transform and modernize the media and entertainment industry in India.

This engagement will complement these efforts by allowing Manthan customers to tailor their services by subscribing to cable channels of their choice and only paying for these selections versus limited pre-packaged options.

IBM will build, implement, and manage the solution using a mix of custom technology using IBM technologies and packaged tools. The scope of the project includes integrating data from billing, customer relationship management as well as multiple conditional access and backend systems across the organization.

IBM will also provide the necessary infrastructure technology and support including servers, storage, networks, security, and data center hosting services.

ANDNEWS


VIEWS

ZTE Grand Memo Handset To Be First 4G Smartphone in China Shenzhen-based ZTE said it was the first company to receive regulatory approval in China to sell a 4G handset for fourth-generation network service.

The company’s Grand Memo handset was approved by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to run on the 4G TD-LTE network standard.

The single-SIM, dual stand-by voice solution used by ZTE Grand Memo LTE (Model No: U9815), a quad-band device compatible with the TD-LTE/ FDD/TDS/ GSM bands, means i t is capable of suppor ting simultaneous high-speed data t ransmiss ion and h igh-qua l i ty voice calls.

“The company’s Grand Memo LTE is of fer ing super ior spec i f ica t ions,

Airtel Selects Huawei For 3G Services in Bangladesh Airtel Bangladesh has announced Huawei Technologies Bangladesh as its network partner for the upcoming launch of 3G services in that country.

Airtel has bagged 3G licenses with 5 MHz of spectrum in 2,100 MHz band in the 3G license auction.

Given the enhanced speed and user experience of the 3G technology, the superior quality of the potential offerings will be specifically targeted towards mobile internet.

Huawei will play a catalyst role in enhancing the customer experience and the data usage habits in the country with world class services.

The potential 3G services will spearhead a new era of unique life style enabling products. With 3G in its arsenal, Airtel will introduce a suite of products along with meeting the growing demand of high-speed surfing and wireless Internet entertainment.

Alcatel-Lucent, Tel efónica to Deploy Femtocells Technology Alcatel-Lucent and Telefónica have announced the deployment of femtocell technology in Germany. The new technology to boost 3G mobile broadband access and quality for Telefónica customers.

Femtocell technology deployment will increase the capacity of its wireless 3G network coverage into home-offices, campus areas, shopping malls, and hot-spot areas where the traditional macro cell deployment is limited today.

It is about the size of a typical Wi-Fi base station, and gets linked with a cable to any Internet connection and a power supply.

The small design and powerful wireless capabilities will help Telefónica in Germany to extend its network coverage in areas where buildings’ walls can degrade the quality of a mobile signal, or in areas too far from a traditional macro cell tower.

Business customers of Telefónica will benefit from seamless wireless communications inside offices, where macro cell coverage often is not sufficient.

This agreement builds on the global agreement made in 2012 and will be instrumental in support of the recent external link business offering announced in May 2013.

1.8 MN Data Cards Shipped in India in Q2, 2013 India recorded shipments of 1.83 mn data cards for Q2 (April-June) 2013, according to CMR’s India Data Cards Market Review, AMJ 2013, August 2013 release.

From Q2, 2012, to Q2, 2013, the shipments of CDMA data cards witnessed a significant decline, though quarter-on-quarter there has been a healthy growth.

The top three vendors of the India data cards market--ZTE, Huawei, and Micromax contributed 74% to the total data card shipments in Q2, 2013. In GSM technology, the top three players--Huawei, Micromax, and ZTE-- together made up nearly 65% of shipments in Q2, 2013, while in CDMA technology ZTE and Huawei together contributed 95% of the total shipments during the same period.

Mobility, broadband data services, content consumption to drive market growth, the ever increasing demand to stay connected anytime and anywhere, particularly on the part of business executives, students, and consumers, has opened up new growth avenues for the India data cards market.

including a 5.7- inch high-def in i t ion display with 1280x720 resolut ions, a 1 .5GHz nV id ia Tegra3 quad-core processor, 12-core GPU, and 13 mn pixel camera, suppor t ing 1080P HD video playback and recording,” the company mentioned in its statement.

With an ultra-refined display and packing enter tainment features including “Home Theater,” the ZTE Grand Memo LTE is well-equipped to take advantage of the fast data transmission speeds of 4G networks. The ZTE Grand Memo LTE will be one of the highlights of PT/EXPO COMM CHINA 2013 conference in Beijing this month.


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Vodafone, ICICI Bank launch M-pesa in West Uttar Pradesh