Thursday, September 27, 2007
Tata Indicom launches mobile web browser
| Tata Teleservices Ltd launched the country’s first Mobile Web Browser in association with Samsung Telecommunications India. The CDMA player’s services have been integrated with a sleek handset ‘Samsung Explore’ priced at Rs 5,499, which is fully optimised for mobile Internet. |
| According to Suneel Bandhu, circle operating officer, Tata Teleservices Ltd, Gujarat, the browser which is equipped with Qualcomm Single Chip, is designed to provide mobile users Internet facility at speed 3-4 times faster than GPRS, with access to all websites “anytime on the move”. |
| A mobile browser or micro browser is a web browser designed for use on mobile phone. Micro browsers are optimised to display Internet content are most effectively for small screens on portable devices. They work with small application files that enable a bandwidth efficiency and fast delivery on wireless handheld devices. |
| “This innovation is an important step in extending the power of the Internet on to mobile devices, making it accessible to the large and growing mass of mobile Internet users. As an introductory offer, we have priced the Internet services at Rs 10 for one day, Rs 30 for a week and Rs 99 for a month, with unlimited Internet access,” said Bandhu. |
| Bandhu added that Samsung Explore comes with a ‘Go Active’ connection that offers incoming facility for a year and free 1,000 - minutes Tata-to-Tata calls at no extra cost. |
| “Additionally, Tata Indicom customers also have the option to select their own tariff plan from various tariff options,” he said. |
| The Samsung Explore phone comes with a 65K Color TFT Screen, digital camera, FM Radio, expandable memory card slot upto 1GB, MP3 player, speaker phone and other features. |
Labels: CDMA New Technology
Friday, August 31, 2007
CDMA Subscribers Surpass 50mn
The CDMA Development Group (CDG) has reportedly announced that India's CDMA2000 subscriber base has surpassed 50 million fixed- and mobile- device users.
Significantly, the milestone has been achieved within just 4 years of introduction of the technology. While it has taken GSM over 10 years to reach the same figures, CDG claims.
As per CDG, in June 2007, there have been up to 2.01 million net subscriber additions, with CDMA2000 having grown at 5 percent vis-a-vis GSM at 4.1 percent. CDMA2000 devices have seen nearly 50 percent year-on-year growth since 2003.
CDG says the factors that have contributed to the phenomenal growth in CDMA2000 subscriber base are: economic delivery of differentiated value-added services, network expansion into rural areas of the country, and growing availability of very low end (VLE) devices.
Rapid expansion of CDMA2000 networks in rural areas of the country is a prime factor with India leading in introduction of affordable fixed- and mobile- broadband access to under-served markets.
Reliance has embarked on one of the largest CDMA2000 network expansions -- with plans to reach over 20,000 towns and 300,000 villages.
Besides, most CDMA2000 operators are preparing to adopt the next level of broadband technology, i.e. EV-DO Rev A. BSNL has already announced tariff plans for 1X and EV-DO broadband data services, supported by PC cards and USB thumb-drive modems; Tata too has introduced 1X USB thumb-drive modem to support its Plug2Surf wireless Internet services; and so on.
Another factor that has attributed to CDMA growth is India's global leadership in selection and availability of very low-end (VLE) handsets. Currently, there are 45 VLE CDMA2000 devices available from 14 suppliers -- all in the price bracket of below $50. And the number is expected to increase hereon thanks to increasing availability of single-chipset devices that are capable of reducing prices associated with current multi-chipset VLE devices by nearly 50 percent.
Last but not the least, CDMA2000's record breaking growth is being attributed to an extensive selection of over 1 million new and differentiated value-added services. These include: mobile television, Internet radio, daily news in local languages, Bollywood ring tones, music- and movie- clip downloads, daily prayers, cricket score updates, high-speed Internet search, instant messaging, location-based services, push-to-talk, distance learning, et al.
Labels: CDMA New Technology
QUALCOMM, Dialog Telekom and USAID Partner to Bring High-Speed Wireless Data Services to Rural Communities, Leveraging 3G HSDPA Technology
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Aug. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- QUALCOMM Incorporated , a leading developer and innovator of advanced wireless technologies and data solutions, today announced the launch of its Wireless Reach(TM) initiative in Sri Lanka through the opening of a Last Mile Initiative (LMI) Center in Wennappuwa. The center, known as Easy Seva, is one of 15 that will be launched in the country with support from QUALCOMM, Dialog Telekom, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the National Development Bank (NDB) and Synergy Strategies Group (SSG), which, through a bulk purchase package of equipment, software, content and services, have created a new, market-driven approach to establish rural community-based centers. The centers will carry the name of this unique Easy Seva brand and are expected to provide unprecedented quality of service to the communities they serve.
The goal of the Easy Seva centers is to develop entrepreneurs in the Information Communications Technology (ICT) sector in Sri Lanka by deploying 3G mobile broadband Internet service at the village level and enabling them to offer access to affordable ICT-enabled services and content. The centers are enabled with 3G mobile broadband connectivity based on Dialog's HSDPA network. They will employ an innovative franchise approach, which will aim to create a profitable and sustainable business model for extending ICT services and connectivity to rural consumers.
"We are very pleased to be partnering with Dialog Telekom and USAID on our Wireless Reach initiative to empower rural communities in Sri Lanka," said Kanwalinder Singh, president of QUALCOMM India and SAARC. "We congratulate Dialog Telekom for being the first operator in the SAARC region to launch HSDPA for rural applications. It reaffirms that 3G HSDPA has the versatility to deliver next-generation services to all consumers, rural and urban, while offering a compelling business opportunity for operators and rural entrepreneurs."
The Easy Seva centers also will help rural residents to acquire employment skills through online training, explore new job opportunities, receive micro-loans and other banking services, as well as to call relatives and friends overseas at low rates. The centers use a unique private sector model to facilitate financial sustainability with an innovative, highly-standardized package of equipment, services, training and market support for the franchisees called the "Easy Seva Franchise in a Box." By standardizing these offerings, the franchise model will reduce barriers to entry while simultaneously reducing operating costs for the franchisees.
Labels: CDMA New Technology
Tata Indicom’s gameshow
The show’s curtainraiser will be telecast on Saturday, 1 September, on Zee TV at 7.30 p.m. while the first game show episode will be shown the next day. Tata Indicom ~ Fun on the Run will follow the teams as they as they squabble, scramble and navigate their way across India and face a new challenge every day. All they have to help themselves on this journey is a series of clues sent through their Tata Indicom devices.
At the launch, Mr Abdul Khan, vice-president, marketing, Tata Teleservices Ltd, said: “Tata Indicom connects to its consumers in a unique and exciting way via this show. We have showcased the power of our network across India alongwith a range of value added services such as multimedia messaging service, video downloads and voice portals among others.”
Mr Tarun Mehra, head of marketing, Zee TV, said: “We at Zee TV are known for our differentiated content on weekends and we are sure that it will appeal to our audiences. We have tasted success with similar innovative programming before and we are sure that our second attempt would be equally successful.” The entire show will be encapsulated in a 13-episode series, to be aired on Zee TV every Saturday at 7.30 p.m. beginning 1 September.
Labels: CDMA New Technology
Monday, August 27, 2007
CDMA service providers in India support favor number portability
It might come as a surprise but the CDMA mobile service providers in the country have shown their interest in implementing number portability.
In comparison, GSM operators are not in favor of the implementation of this system in the country.
Number portability enables the consumer to change the telecom service provider while keeping the same number.
The implementation of the system is seen by the experts as the best way to enhance competition in the market as the companies could no longer blackmail customers who have been using their number since ages.
If a customer feels that his current service provider is not giving him the best deal, he can move on to a rival provider while keeping the same number!
CDMA players are in fact in favor of number portability across both fixed line and mobile networks.
Labels: CDMA New Technology
Reliance NetConnect Data Card for Free
Netconnect - Reliance Infocomm’s CDMA based data card offers wireless internet access on your laptop computer sans a Wifi connection.
As long as the Reliance mobile network is present in some city, town or village, you can use the NetConnect data card to surf the internet as well as make and receive calls and SMS messages from your laptop.
To promote mobile internet access in India, Reliance has offered a new mobile internet data card that will allow Reliance NetConnect customers to virtually get a free Data Card.
The Freedom plan offers free usage of 1 gigabyte every month while the Swift 40 plan offers 40 hours of free usage every month. New customers can purchase the data card for Rs. 2,850 (USB modem data card) and Rs. 2,990 for the PCMCIA data card that slips in your notebook.
Labels: CDMA New Technology
BSNL Internet Data Access Card (CDMA EVDO)
Like Airtel, Reliance and Hutch, BSNL will soon launch an Internet access data card for laptops and desktops.
The data card or GSM modem will be available in two options - network interface card or EVDO card. BSNL has promised to provide Internet speed upto 2.4mbps with CDMA interface in PCMCIA based cards.
The EVDO card will cost INR 6k with an activation fee of INR 250. BSNL also has plans to bundle EDGE/GPRS PC Data Card with its cellular mobile connections.
Labels: CDMA New Technology
Dual SIM Card Mobile Phone for GSM, CDMA with International Roaming
Tata Teleservices have launched a new dual SIM card phone in India called the Samsung Duo. The phone has two slots for inserting SIM cards unlike the regular mobile phone which are limited to one SIM card.
You can also use a GSM and CDMA number with Samsung Duo or 2 GSM numbers or 2 CDMA numbers - pretty useful stuff.
Samsung Duo costs ~ INR 12k with global roaming and has a 1.3MP camera, Bluetooth and an MP3 player.
Reliance Infocom is also expected to introduce dual SIM phones that will run on GSM and CDMA platform simultaneously.
Labels: CDMA New Technology
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