If you thought that 3G was something meant for city slickers to download music and videos only, think again. Sweden-based Ericsson has launched the Gramjyoti Rural Broadband project in 18 villages and 15 towns near Chennai. Under the project, Ericsson is using the existing 2G network of operators like Bharti Airtel, BSNL and Aircel to provide a slew of services to rural folk.
The pilot project uses HSPA (high speed packet access) to provide e-education, tele-medicine, e-governance, entertainment and video conferencing facilities in the region. More than being a corporate social responsibility (CSR) project, this demonstrates to the people and the government how to provide people centric facilities.
Though this project is on for just three months, government support could ensure that rural folk across the country can benefit from the latest technology. Plus the cost implications are not too high. Apollo Hospitals claims that if each family of four pays just Rs 2 a day (Rs 60 a month), it can provide medical facilities in the villages. Ericsson's partners in the venture apart from Apollo include Hand in Hand - an NGO, Edurite, One97, CNN and Cartoon Network.While it has tied up with CNN,
The other plus is getting government documentation (birth, death certificates), land records etc sitting in the village. Currently, this is a showcase project. Once this is replicated across the country only will the benefits begin to flow.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Heading for court?
The recommendations by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on the review of licence terms has put the cat among the pigeons. At first glance the biggest gainer is Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications.
That's because Trai has at one go sought to tighten the norms for allocating additional spectrum to existing operators. Under the old norms, an operator in a C circle would get 15 MHz of spectrum with 1.2 million subscribers. The new norms mean that the same operator would get only 8 Mhz. To get 15 Mhz, the operator needs to have 8 milllion subscribers.
What it does is simply ensure that all those operators who had sought additional spectrum will not get any till they reach a much higher subscriber base. However, it cleans the way for new operators. After all, Trai has removed the cap on operators in a circle. So, logically there can be any number of operators, provided there is spectrum.
So operators like Aircel, Spice and Reliance will be in a better position to get spectrum. The big question is will all these operators set up the networks? Seems unlikely. What is likely to emerge is a set of operators who will hawk off the licences and the spectrum to existing operators.
Of the players in the running, this is a great opportunity for Reliance to roll-out a nationwide GSM network. The fun has just begun.
As things stand, lawyers will rake it in till such time as this debate is settled.
That's because Trai has at one go sought to tighten the norms for allocating additional spectrum to existing operators. Under the old norms, an operator in a C circle would get 15 MHz of spectrum with 1.2 million subscribers. The new norms mean that the same operator would get only 8 Mhz. To get 15 Mhz, the operator needs to have 8 milllion subscribers.
What it does is simply ensure that all those operators who had sought additional spectrum will not get any till they reach a much higher subscriber base. However, it cleans the way for new operators. After all, Trai has removed the cap on operators in a circle. So, logically there can be any number of operators, provided there is spectrum.
So operators like Aircel, Spice and Reliance will be in a better position to get spectrum. The big question is will all these operators set up the networks? Seems unlikely. What is likely to emerge is a set of operators who will hawk off the licences and the spectrum to existing operators.
Of the players in the running, this is a great opportunity for Reliance to roll-out a nationwide GSM network. The fun has just begun.
As things stand, lawyers will rake it in till such time as this debate is settled.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Exploding batteries
Global mobile giant Nokia is in a bit of a quandary in India. While Nokia CEO Olli Pekka Kallasvuo announced in New Delhi that India is the second largest market for Nokia after China, Nokia has been hit by the battery. Ever since Nokia came up with an advisory on the BL-4C battery, television channels have been focussing on exploding batteries.
In the process, TV channels claim that 10-12 handsets have exploded over the last couple of weeks. Surprisingly, in no other country do we have exploding batteries. While Nokia India's Shivkumar has taken pains to point out that the exploding batteries are fake, the pressure is immense. After all, it is the largest multinational in India. It is estimated that 85 million out of India's 192 million mobile users are using Nokia.
Though the advisory was for a certain 46 million phones that were sold all over the world, people queued outside outlets in India to replace their batteries. Shivkumar points out that 25% of the people who had the problematic battery have got a replacement. The balance will get it in the next fortnight.
While everyone has debunked the conspiracy theory, one thing is sure: demand for phones of rival vendors seem to have gone up.
So where does that leave Nokia? It is not really hit simply because this is for the first time ever that any corporation is replacing any part in its products in such large volumes in India. The next few months will show the impact of the battery advisory.
In the process, TV channels claim that 10-12 handsets have exploded over the last couple of weeks. Surprisingly, in no other country do we have exploding batteries. While Nokia India's Shivkumar has taken pains to point out that the exploding batteries are fake, the pressure is immense. After all, it is the largest multinational in India. It is estimated that 85 million out of India's 192 million mobile users are using Nokia.
Though the advisory was for a certain 46 million phones that were sold all over the world, people queued outside outlets in India to replace their batteries. Shivkumar points out that 25% of the people who had the problematic battery have got a replacement. The balance will get it in the next fortnight.
While everyone has debunked the conspiracy theory, one thing is sure: demand for phones of rival vendors seem to have gone up.
So where does that leave Nokia? It is not really hit simply because this is for the first time ever that any corporation is replacing any part in its products in such large volumes in India. The next few months will show the impact of the battery advisory.
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