Following up on our previous report: When in doubt, extend deadlines and postpone decisions. That’s just what happened. While India’s Finance Minister turned down the telecom department’s ‘We give up’ proposal to cancel the increase in FDI in telecom and averred that, “the decision to … Read More »
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Shailaja Neelakantan
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What does the Indian government really want? First, last year, it hikes the limit of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Indian telecom companies to 74 percent from 49 percent. Then several government agencies bung a spanner — no, make that several spanners — into the works, … Read More »
An excellent article on the status of broadband in India in The Hindu Business Line argues that private broadband players face, and will continue to face, problems because state operators BSNL and MTNL aren’t willing to share their last mile networks. That leaves … Read More »
Indian operators are aiming to roll out 3G even before earlier generation services like GPRS take off. The country’s telecom regulator is already beavering away on issues like the price of 3G licenses, the allocation of spectrum and how much companies can charge for value-added … Read More »
Sunil “Sunny” Gavaskar is a living legend, someone whose preeminence is equal to the likes of Reggie Jackson amongst those who play with flat bat. The man who set many records on the cricket oval, has become a well read columnist, as precise with his pen … Read More »
Our India correspondent is in Chennai, India covering the first Blogcamp, India’s largest unconference of bloggers. She will be filing occasional updates and indepth reports on the event – Om Chennai, India: Atul Chitnis credits blogging for spurring Domino’s to open a branch near his … Read More »
After the dot-com bust and IT slowdown nearly crushed the startup he co-founded, entrepreneur Alok Mittal realized India’s business environment had a major shortcoming. There was no money for early stage companies. He survived–selling the startup he co-founded, jobsahead.com, to Monster.com … Read More »
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A 256 kbps broadband connection can cost upto $40 a month. There are only 1.7 million broadband users, and yet most Indian telecom operators are dreaming about an IPTV future. Talk about Unreality TV! India’s state owned telecom operators BSNL and MTNL have been making a … Read More »
There is a lot of talk about India’s growing dominance in the Indian media these days. The Financial Express says India is, “taking over the world wide web in a big way (and) outpacing the world.” The recent surge in the growth of Internet connections might … Read More »
A 28-year-old Indian woman who last December started www.crorepatipage.com, an advertising billboard on the Internet for Indians alone, has already earned around $5000, not an insignificant sum in India, The Hindu Business Line reports. Sunaina Bansal hopes to emulate the success of Briton Alex Tew’s … Read More »
A mere Web site or a laptop doesn’t empower the underprivileged. Developing countries like India need technology, yes, but what they need more are coherent projects with reliable delivery systems that link technology to the country’s needs. A Reuters story, ‘Indian village uploads itself onto … Read More »
Introducing, Shailaja Neelakantan, our India correspondent. A seasoned journalist, Shailaja is an old friend, and we worked together at Forbes, where she was a staff reporter. She did stints for Fox News and Dow Jones. She will write mostly about start-ups, venture capital, telecom and … Read More »
By Shailaja Neelakantan
Aug. 11, 2006, 2:30pm PT
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Helion Venture Partners that recently debuted its $140 million India fund has made its first investment: $2.2 million in JiGrahak Mobility Solutions, reports Business Standard. NG Pay, the Bangalore-based startup’s product, is a downloadable mobile application that allows users to make payments and buy things using … Read More »
If you plan to visit beautiful Bhutan, do so early next year and you will be able to use the country’s new broadband network, reports kuenselonline.com. India’s ORG Telecom Limited will build, integrate and test the network which is expected to be operational from … Read More »
A few days after in announced plans to set up a R&D Center in China, Google has now decided to invest up to $1 billion on a back office in Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, according to news reports. The proposed center, which the … Read More »
Bangalore, often viewed as the hub of India’s Silicon Valley, is looking to join a growing list of cities with wireless broadband everywhere, according to news reports. The Indian Institute of Information Technology in the southern Indian city has been studying the project for the last … Read More »
The Central Tibetan Administration and Tibetan diaspora have launched Tibet Online, a web television site that will devote most of its coverage to the teachings of the Dalai Lama. However Tibetans inside Tibet may not be able to access the Web television site due … Read More »
Qualcomm is not having a good time in India lately. First there was the whole furor over its talks with Indian CDMA mobile operator Reliance Communications breaking down as it refused to lower royalty charges. Then Reliance Communications, which operates India’s second-largest private mobile service, … Read More »
Intel plans to start WiMax trials in the next few months in several cities across India including in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Pune, the Daily News & Analysis reports. “We are also having a dozen trial discussions for the implementation of WiMax networks in India,” … Read More »
Green Wi-Fi, a non-profit organization that aims to bring Internet access to schools in developing countries via cheap, solar-powered Wi-Fi networks, plans to start its first full-scale pilot project in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh at the end of the summer, reports News.com. … Read More »
Like China, India is becoming a must-invest destination for US venture capital firms. Norwest, Kleiner Perkins, and Sequoia Capital are some of the funds that have invested in India and Indian companies. The latest to join the party is Matrix Partners, which has just closed … Read More »
India’s state-run telecommunications company Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) plans to sign commercial arrangements with broadcasters like STAR TV, Zee TV and Sony Entertainment, among others, for its Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) services, reports The Financial Express newspaper. ‘Tri-Band,’ MTNL’s IPTV service that is currently undergoing … Read More »
The ‘Broadband in the Sky’ concept is finding its way to India. Early next year, passengers aboard planes of several Indian carriers will be able to access the Internet to surf, chat and watch television on a broadband connection, reports The Financial Express. India’s private carriers … Read More »
By Shailaja Neelakantan
Jul. 28, 2006, 8:54am PT
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To cash in on the country’s nascent but growing market for online games, Bharti Airtel Limited, India’s largest private broadband and telephone service provider, has partnered with Indiagames Limited to launch a games-on-demand service on its broadband network. (Indiagames is backed by Cisco Systems and … Read More »
Indians listening to FM radio on their mobile phones can now watch visuals while listening to their favorite Bollywood songs, as Nokia, Hewlett Packard, local station Radio Mirchi and mobile operator Hutch have launched a new service called ‘Visual Radio.’ The service, which will initially launch … Read More »
Qualcomm has denied reports that it is negotiating with Indian CDMA players, including Reliance Communications, on lowering royalty charges or chipset costs, The Hindu reports quoting the Press Trust of India news agency. “Qualcomm is committed to help the industry drive handset prices … Read More »
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