BSNL & MTNL not ready for 3G

Public sector telecom companies Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL) should not pursue 3G (third generation) technology as it will be a further strain on their already stretched finances, according to analysts tracking the sector.

The two companies “neither have the quality subscriber base that will opt for 3G nor the ability to churn highend users from competition”. Further, matching the base price of the highest bidder will result in outflow of funds, which will weaken the finances. In the case of MTNL, a listed entity, it will also deprive shareholders of any dividends. “In our view, it makes no business sense for MTNL to match the highest bid for 3G spectrum auctions and incur capex to upgrade its network,” HSBC Securities analyst Rajiv Sharma said in a report.

MTNL is better placed to leverage its fixed line infrastructure for wireline broadband products, it added. Commenting on MTNL’s plans to involve global telcos to run 3G operations, the HSBC report said, “We believe the chances of MTNL benefiting from such a structure will be restricted as the state-owned enterprise culture of the company will get in the way of foreign telcos, restricting their ability to deliver.”

According to Ascentius Consulting principal analyst Alok Shende, the below industry average revenue per user for MTNL and BSNL reflects that the companies have attracted price-sensitive , low-minutes of usage subscribers who do not use VAS services and would find no use for 3G services.

In the six months of its 3G launch, BSNL has roped in just 10,733 subscribers. The figure for MTNL stands at a dismal 902, an average of just 150 per month across Mumbai and Delhi, considered the two most lucrative circles for 3G in India.

The two telcos have got spectrum ahead of private players and will have to match the highest bidder. “MTNL and BSNL are undergoing tremendous financial pressures owing to weakness in their core business. To be burdened by thousand of crores of license fee and setting up a 3G network will severely constrain the accounts for a while,” said Shende. Meanwhile, BSNL reported a steep decline in net profit to Rs 575 crore during FY09 compared to over Rs 3,000 crore in the previous fiscal.

BSNL CMD Kuldeep Goyal, however, denied that the company will face any financial pressure on account of 3G. “We have over Rs 37,000 crore in cash, putting us in a better position to pay the price for spectrum and for launching newer applications,” he told ET. “We already have highend subscribers and the offtake will improve when we complete our pan-India rollout by next year,” he said. BSNL expects to spend Rs 2700 crore in the first phase of deploying 3G in 760 cities, with 111 already having gone live.

TCS, Microsoft in virtualisation deal

IT outsourcing firm Tata Consultancy Services has entered into an alliance with Microsoft India to launch a virtualisation Center of Excellence (CoE) in Chennai.

The Microsoft-TCS virtualisation CoE is a joint initiative by the companies to accelerate the adoption of virtualisation technology in India, TCS said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange today.

"Virtualisation is one of the most disruptive technologies in the world today. Through our partnership...we will address this crucial market need and help customers lend the benefits of virtualisation technology," Microsoft India Managing Director Rajan Anandan said.

Virtualisation is the creation of a virtual (rather than actual) version of something, such as an operating system, a server, a storage device or network resources. This helps companies in cutting costs and optimising resources.

"We are always looking to enhance the services we provide to our customers. The Microsoft-TCS virtualisation CoE is an initiative aimed at enabling our customers rapidly realise the advantages of this technology," TCS Infrastructure Services, Vice President & Global Head PR Krishnan said.

Source : infotech.indiatimes.com

HTC Tattoo Brings Android To All

HTC Corporation today introduced the HTC Tattoo, an Android-based phone that brings broad personalization to the masses. With its distinct design and ability to personalize all aspects of the phone, from its hardware to its applications and content, people are able to express themselves and create their own individual mobile experience.

"Everyone wants their own phone to feel like it was specifically made for them. The Tattoo, with HTC Sense represents an easy way to shape your own distinct mobile experience and really make it your own," said Peter Chou, Chief Executive Officer, HTC Corporation. "The HTC Tattoo ensures that you can create the most engaging and appropriate mobile experience through simple yet powerful personalization."

HTC Tattoo is the second phone to embody HTC Sense, a mobile experience focused on putting people at the centre by making your phone work in a more simple and natural way. Designed by listening and observing how people live and communicate, HTC Sense revolves around three fundamental principles Make it Mine, Stay Close and Discover the Unexpected.

With HTC Tattoo, you stay close to the important people in your life by integrating your communications and applications including voice calls, emails, texts, photos and status updates into one consolidated view, providing innovative and fun phone experiences.

The stylish HTC Tattoo is small and compact, fitting snugly into your hand or pocket. People are able to design and purchase their own unique covers or search and select from popular cover designs, altering the look of the phone to reflect their mood or individual tastes.

HTC Tattoo integrates Google’s innovative mobile services including: Google Maps, search, Google Mail, and Android market where users can download thousands of popular applications and games. It also comes complete with a broad variety of hardware features including a 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera, 3.5mm stereo headset jack and expandable microSD memory.

The HTC Tattoo will be available in Europe first at the beginning of October, and will roll out in markets around the world in the following months.

Acer HX2000 and FHX3200 LCD monitors

Acer released two new monitors, the HX2000, a 20” LCD with a 1600x900 resolution, a 1000:1 contrast Ratio, 300cd/m2 brightness and a 5ms response time… and the FHX2300, a 23” Full HD Monitor, with a 40000:1 contrast ratio, a 300cd/m2 brightness and a 5ms response time as well. the 23” features an HDMI port and will be sold in Japan for around 20,000 Yen (€150).

Opera 10 downloaded 10 million times in first week

Available final since 1 September, the Opera browser 10 would have been downloaded 10 million times these days, a record according to his Norwegian publisher. Today there are 40 million "active users" of the classic version of Opera and more than 20 million mobile users of Opera Mini (February 2009). For comparison the Firefox browser, which displays a market share of ten times greater than that of Opera, recorded 5 million downloads in 24 hours to release Firefox 3.5 in June.



In a statement, Jon von Tetzchner, CEO Opera Software, said: "Although we still increased our download rate at each launch of a new version, Opera 10 has broken all our records. Besides a new graphical interface, Opera 10 Aboard compression technology called Turbo to optimize the loading of web pages for connections at low speed. Ever faster, this is the credo of engineers who claim that the Presto rendering engine, now in version 2.2, would be up to 40% faster than previous versions.

Android-smartphone LG called Etna

At the IFA 2009 the company LG and mobile operator Vodafone has shown Android-smartphone called Etna. The device has a 3-inch touch screen and QWERTY-keyboard, 5 megapixel camera module, Bluetooth, USB.

Thus, LG has shown willingness to release mobile devices not only based on Windows Mobile, but running Android.

Nokia is preparing a 16-gigabyte version of the smartphone X6

The network has information that the February 24, 2010 in the UK will be released cheaper version smartphone Nokia X6 announced last week. The device will have the 16 GB of memory, against the 32 GB from the original model. In addition, there will be a mandatory subscription music service Comes With Music.


Cost of 16-gigabyte version of the Nokia X6 will be about $ 570.