Friday 23 December 2011

No more roaming in 3G services

Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular have suffered a severe setback with the department of telecommunications (DoT) ordering them to immediately stop 3G services in telecom circles where they don’t have spectrum. The three operators have roaming pacts and offer pan-India 3G mobile services without having spectrum in several circles. 
“We have come to a conclusion that 3G roaming deals are in violation of the terms and conditions of the licence and will ask operators to stop their services through such arrangements with immediate effect,” DoT Secretary R Chandrashekhar said. 

Wednesday 21 December 2011

Government to Provide Countrywide Optical Fibre Broadband Network: Milind Deora

Government has decided to own and operate a countrywide broadband network with an optical fibre base through which different operators could provide a range of services, Union Minister of State for Communications and IT, Milind Deora announced today while inaugurating 8th Broadband Tech India Conference organised by Bharat Exhibitions.
“Keeping future users of this network in mind this will to be a non-discriminatory access to all types of information and services” Mr. Deora told. “This network would be the way governance will be delivered to the whole nation” reaching out to the last village, he added. The Minister recalled how several countries were supporting optical fibre and wireless broadband networks to reach out to everyone. The Minister termed this project as “unprecedented” in its reach and its vision.

Tuesday 20 December 2011

Hungama brings Shah Rukh Khan exclusive

The digital entertainment company Hungama.com is offering exclusive content related to Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, ahead of the release of his movie Don 2. The SRK special is called Super Khan - Shah Rukh Unlimited. 
Hungama.com provides access to exclusive SRK songs, videos, wallpapers, ringtones and movies. Furthermore, SRK games like Don 2 - Prison Break and Don 2 - The Chase are available on mobile. 

Digitisation bill signals growth opportunity for DTH companies

With the Parliament approving the Digitisation Bill recently, cable, especially, multi-specialty operators and Direct to Home, or DTH, companies are expected to grab a higher market share from local cable operators, who are reported to declare lower subscriber numbers and in turn revenues.
Companies such as Den Networks, Hathway Cable and Datacom, Wire & Wireless India, and Dish TV India are among the companies that may see potential revenue improvement over the next year or two.

Friday 16 December 2011

Sibal says no to censorship, wants social media support

Telecom and IT Minister Kapil Sibal on 15 December 2011 said the government had no plans to censor the contents on social networking websites. After a meeting with Internet firms like Google, Facebook and Twitter, the minister said the government was trying to find ways to use these social media platforms effectively to reach out to the masses. 
The discussion came a few days after Sibal asked Internet firms to ensure that no defamatory and incendiary material are uploaded in their platforms. 

TDSAT declines to hear Media Pro in Dish TV, ESPN dispute

Broadcast tribunal TDSAT has dismissed the plea of Media Pro to hear it as a party in the dispute between DTH operator Dish TV and the global sports broadcaster ESPN on their subscription agreement.
Media Pro Enterprise is a 50:50 joint venture between the Star Den and Zee Turner. Star Den is channel distributing arm of media giant Star, while Zee Turner is for the Zee group and global media leader Turner International.

Saturday 10 December 2011

Trai issues consultation paper for FM Radio

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has sought the opinion of stakeholders whether it would be acceptable if the minimum channel spacing within a license service area can reduced from the current level of 800 KHz. 
In a consultation paper on "Issues related to prescribing minimum Channel spacing, within a license service area, in FM Radio sector in India", Trai has asked stakeholders to consider the implications of reducing/not-reducing the minimum channel spacing within a license service area. Furthermore, should the reduction of minimum channel spacing be confined to A+ and A category cities or should it be reduced across the country, and how should funding for the modification of transmitting setups be funded. 

Sun TV to launch 4 HD channels

Sun TV Network will launch four new High Definition channels in Tamil and Telugu languages on 11 December 2011.
The launch of these HD channels is in line with that tradition and reinforces the company's competitive positioning in the South Indian broadcast media space.

Thursday 8 December 2011

DTH subscriber base crosses 41 Million

Pay direct-to-home (DTH) television platforms have a registered subscriber base of 41,044,463 as in September this year, showing a steady increase over the past four years.
The registered subscriber base for pay DTH was 11,104,997 in December 2008, 19,148,848 in December 2009 and 32,054,073 in December 2010.

Wednesday 7 December 2011

Zensar Tech to offer Google Apps to APAC

Zensar Technologies, a technology and business process company announced that it will provide Google Apps solutions in APAC region, and to large retail and manufacturing customers in India. 
The company also said that it is adopting Google Apps on a company-wide basis for enhanced communication, collaboration and efficiency. 

Tuesday 6 December 2011

Tata Sky and Ericsson bring on-demand pay TV to Indian satellite subscribers

Satellite operator Tata Sky takes first mover advantage ahead of major cable players to capture Indian Video on Demand make it. The company announced on 5 December 2011 that it had added VOD and catch up TV on DTH platform using Ericsson technology.
Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) has supplied Tata Sky, a leading Indian direct-to-home (DTH) operator, with an advanced TV on-demand system that enables its 8 million satellite subscribers to enjoy the flexibility and enhanced choice of unlimited movies on-demand and catch-up TV. The deployment is one of the first in the world to be based on Ericsson’s Media Delivery Network (MDN), a media-centric solution for the distribution, delivery and content management of linear and non-linear TV. It further builds on the relationship between Ericsson and Tata Sky, following the provision of an Ericsson headend system for the launch of high definition (HD) services this year.

Monday 5 December 2011

INSAT 2E life ends, broadcasters left in the lurch

INSAT 2E going out of space has put many broadcasters in panic. With its 12-year life having ended four days ago, broadcasters including Doordarshan are running around to find a new satellite space for themselves. INSAT 2E was launched in April 1999.
Sources said ISRO has asked all such private broadcasters to find their own satellites and shift. Normally, all broadcasters and their teleport operators have to go through ISRO when moving to a foreign satellite.

Saturday 3 December 2011

Google in talks with retailers, plans to take on Amazon

GoogleInternet search titan Google is in talks to create a service that would let consumers pay a low fee to receive goods from online orders within a day -- in a potential challenge to Amazon. 
"The web-search giant is in talks with major retailers and shippers about creating a service that would let consumers shop for goods online and receive their orders within a day for a low fee," the Wall Street Journal reported citing a person familiar with the matter. 

Trai seeks info from operators on tariff hike

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has written a letter to various telecom operators seeking information about reasons for the recent tariff hike and measures adopted for communicating the increase to consumers, among other issues. 
Trai has written a letter to various operators seeking their responses on issue related to recent upward tariff hike, Minister of State for Communications and IT Milind Deora informed Rajya Sabha. 

Trai seeks info from operators on tariff hike

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has written a letter to various telecom operators seeking information about reasons for the recent tariff hike and measures adopted for communicating the increase to consumers, among other issues. 
Trai has written a letter to various operators seeking their responses on issue related to recent upward tariff hike, Minister of State for Communications and IT Milind Deora informed Rajya Sabha. 

Friday 2 December 2011

moneycontrol.com offers new iPad app

moneycontrol.com has launched a new application for iPad. The free application provides real-time information about the Indian and global stock markets, and also allows users to watch CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz and popular videos featuring top business news, market analysis, and management interviews. 
Commenting on the launch, Joyson Thomas, chief operating officer, Web18, says, "As an increasing number of users are now consuming content and services through tablets and smartphones, it made sense to tap into this fast-growing segment of savvy users. The launch is part of an endeavour to stay in tune with changing user preferences. Looking at the overwhelming response to the moneycontrol.com app across all other platforms, and considering the feedback that iPad has received from the market, we are positive that the combination will take this product to a new level." 

Video-on-demand service & Catch-up TV on Tata Sky soon

Direct-to-home satellite television service provider Tata Sky is set to launch two services that none of its competitors is offering in the country, allowing its subscribers to watch content on demand and to download TV shows after they have been broadcast.
Tata Sky aims to double its private recorder base over the next two years following this initiative, says chief executive officer Harit Nagpal.

Thursday 1 December 2011

Trai extends date for comments on priority call routing

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has extended the last date for receiving comments on priority call routing in mobile networks for persons engaged in response and recovery work. 
The Trai had on November 8 sought comments from stakeholders on pre-consultation paper on priority call routing during emergencies like natural calamities and terror attacks. 

Wednesday 30 November 2011

Airtel Digital Launches iRadio With 21 Radio Channels

Airtel digital TV, the direct-to-home (DTH) service by telecom major Bharti Airtel, has launched iRadio – a 24/7 entertainment application that has 21 radio channels available to all its customers, at no additional cost.
The 21 audio channels on iRadio include FM Gold, FM Gold Mumbai, FM Rainbow, FM Rainbow Bangalore, FM Rainbow Chennai, Radio Kashmir, Gyanvani Radio, AIR Hindi, AIR Punjabi, AIR Tamil, AIR Telugu, AIR Bangla, AIR Gujarati, AIR Urdu, AIR Marathi, AIR Kannada, AIR Oriya, AIR Malayalam, AIR Assamese, AIR Ragam, and AIR North-East.

Tuesday 29 November 2011

History channel now available on mobile TV

History channel which debuted in India on 9 October, 2011 and claims to have reached out to 45 million viewers within a month of its launch is now available on the mobile platform. 
The broadcaster will be available on both platforms - live streaming as well as video on demand on GPRS enabled mobile phones. To access the application, the user will have to send the keyword "History" as an SMS to 51818. The user can chose to either view the channel or key episodes from a particular show. 

Dish TV: dilution fears seem overdone

Dish TV India Ltd’s stock rose 4.3% on 28 November 2011 to Rs. 65 on news reports that the company has got clearance from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to increase overseas equity to around Rs. 980 crore.
According to media reports, the amount has only been approved, the company has not yet decided on how much to raise and when to raise. But the approval is to cover the expense on digitalisation and introducing new satellite services.

Monday 28 November 2011

Financial Times launches FT India app for iPad and iPhone

The Financial Times (FT) has launched a new web application FT India app for iPad and iPhone. The app allows the user to access all stories on the home page for free through a web browser at app.ft.com/india. 
The FT India app showcases tailored Financial Times content, which covers the latest developments in India and international business circuits. The app also highlights news from beyondbrics blog, business education reports, and Luxury 360, Financial Times' new online hub for creative and commercial coverage of the luxury goods industry, among others. 

3G roaming issue: Sibal to take to telecos

Communications Minister Kapil Sibal will meet all stakeholders to diffuse the growing controversy over the issue of three leading incumbent operators, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular, offering 3G services without having spectrum in the circles, thus violating licence conditions. 
Sibal’s ultimate is of one nation, one licence. He, however, dismissed the request made by the three operators, to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh through a letter that in case they are not allowed roaming services, the government should refund their spectrum auction payment with interest along with compensation for all the capital investments made by them to build the network. 

Delhi HC stays Rs 1.1 mn penalty on Yahoo

The Delhi High Court has stayed the imposition of Rs 1.1 million fine levied by the Union Home Ministry on the Internet portal Yahoo for not imparting information about nearly a dozen yahoo IDs and IP addresses who are suspected to be Islamic Terrorists and Maoists.
On a petition by the portal challenging the government's decision, the Court also issued a notice to the Central Government.

Dish TV gets FIPB nod to raise Rs 9.8 bn

FIPB the Government has permitted Dish TV India to increase foreign equity to the extent of Rs 1000 crores. The leading direct-to-home company had sought permission to raise funds to produce telecommunication equipment and provide management and marketing of 'agrani' services in the area of Mobile Satellite Communications.
Meanwhile, NDTV Lifestyle Ltd has been permitted to increase in foreign equity up to 100 per cent. The company is engaged in the media industry for up-linking, producing, distributing and broadcasting non-news and non- current affairs TV channels. This will not involve any additional FDI.

DTH: Madras HC stay on levy of entertainment tax

Tamil Nadu state government's decision of imposing a 30 per cent entertainment tax on the DTH services in the State has been stayed by Madras High Court, while hearing the petition of Dish TV challenging the state government move.
The Tamil Nadu Government had passed a Bill in September, this year, to levy 30 per cent entertainment tax effective 27 September. However, the leading DTH operator Dish TV had filed a petition in the High Court contesting the decision.

Friday 25 November 2011

Next Mediaworks launches subscription-based app for iPad and iPhone

Next Mediaworks, the owners of Radio One, in association with digital customer engagement specialist 2ergo.com, has launched 'IndiaONE - The sounds of India', an application specially designed for iPad and iPhone platforms. The application streams high quality audio and covers a wide range of genres, including Indian film music and non-film music such as ghazals, religious, folk, and Indipop, and news in three languages. 
The karaokeONE feature of the app is also available separately, and allows one to sing Bollywood songs with synchronised lyrics and high-quality back up music and support vocals. 

Ketchum Sampark forays into digital media

Ketchum Sampark, the Indian affiliate of global communications network Ketchum today announced the launch of its digital media business Ketchum Sampark Digital. Aimed at garnering market share in the emerging digital media business, Ketchum Sampark Digital will offer full-service interactive strategy, web design, video production and multimedia development to help companies tell their stories and build engagement with their audiences on digital media (internet and mobile).

Idea launches smartphones to boost 3G services

Idea has launched a range of affordable smartphones to promote 3G services in India. Priced between Rs 2,609 and Rs 4,751, the phones are expected to lead to increased 3G usage, especially in semi-urban areas, which are Idea’s traditional strongholds.

Delhi High Court issues notice to Star India on copyright infringement

The Delhi High Court has issued notice to Star India, producers Babble Fish, and sponsors Bacardi on a petition by the company Open Mind and music and writer musician Manish Kumar alleging that Star India Pvt Ltd has infringed its copyright by telecasting the programme 'The Dewarists' on Star World'.
Justice Manmohan Singh today asked the defendants to reply within 10 days and posted the matter to 19 December. The Court said that the order to stay the telecast will be subject to the outcome of the suit.

Thursday 24 November 2011

Airtel launches Mediphone for North subscribers

In order to provide timely medical advice to people living in rural, semi urban and even urban areas in Northern region, Bharti Airtel has joined hands with Healthfore (a division of Religare Technologies Ltd), with Fortis Hospitals as knowledge partner -- to launch Mediphone. 
The unique 24X7 health service, would allow Airtel mobile customers to avail of quality health advice through their mobile phones -- anytime and anywhere. 

Wednesday 23 November 2011

Yahoo! India launches online video platform

With the aim to tap into the swelling number of online users, Yahoo! India has launched Yahoo! Video, a site that will offer original videos in multiple genres such as news, entertainment, lifestyle and movies. The free online video platform promises a secure and trusted environment for publishers and content providers. 

Top telcos protest to PM on 3G roaming

After writing to minister Kapil Sibal to return their third-generation spectrum licence fees if intra-circle roaming pacts are to be now considered illegal, top telecom operators have sent a joint letter to the Prime Minister with the same demand. 

Tata Sky adds three new channels

Direct-to-Home service provider Tata Sky has announced the addition of three new channels to its line-up of channels for its subscriber base of over 8 million connections.

Tuesday 22 November 2011

DoT panel accepts TRAI formula for pricing 2G spectrum

Much against the wishes of the GSM mobile operators the Department of Telecom's internal committee has accepted the formula suggested by the telecom regulator for pricing 2G spectrum. 
The committee has, however, rejected other proposals including those related to changing the roll out obligation norms, reducing licence fee to 6 per cent and relaxing mergers and acquisition norms. The committee's views have been sent to the Telecom Commission which is expected to meet on November 28 to discuss this. 

Saturday 19 November 2011

TDSAT asks Vodafone to deposit half penalty by DoT

TDSAT on 18 November directed Vodafone to deposit half of the Rs 50 crore penalty imposed on it by the Telecom Department (DoT) regarding a case of issuing bulk SIM cards without proper verification.
In an interim order, the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) asked Vodafone to deposit Rs 25 crore within two weeks observing that company has "prima facie" violated the licence condition when it issued bulk SIM cards to Matrix Cellular Services.

Friday 18 November 2011

Vuclip launch India's first mobile movie

California-based mobile video service provider Vuclip on 18 November 2011 launched India’s first independent mobile movie portal — Starlight Cinema. This would offer users the option of watching shortened feature films, movie clips, songs, reviews and trailers. Movies can be downloaded on low-end feature phones as well, without the need to download any application. 
Offering 9,000 movie clips in 13 Indian languages, including Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Punjabi, Oriya, Rajasthani, Kashmiri, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, the launch comes at a time when brand strategists are trying to find new and compelling advertising alternatives in the wake of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India issuing strict guidelines on SMS-based marketing, a release said. 

Andhra HC asks Censor Board to clarify stand on The Dirty Picture

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has directed the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to come out with its stand regarding stalling the release of Ekta Kapoor's The Dirty Picture.
Vadlapatla Naga Prasad, the younger brother of the late actress, has asked the censor board not to clear the Vidya Balan-starrer for release. Prasad has claimed Smitha's character, played by Vidya, portrays her as a woman of loose morals through indiscriminate sex scenes.

Thursday 17 November 2011

BSNL winds up its IPTV business

The IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) service offered by BSNL is being wound up following poor subscriber offtake. 
BSNL was providing IPTV services under a partnership with MyWay, a digital entertainment enterprise owned by Smart TV Group. 

Wednesday 16 November 2011

MTS partners with UTV Indiagames to launch GoD

MTS' MBlaze users will now have unlimited access to world class gaming content at prices starting as low as Rs 49 per month. 
After the recent success of Games on Demand (GoD) service on the wired broadband platform, UTV Indiagames has joined hands with Sistema Shyam Teleservices Limited (SSTL), which operates its telecom services under the MTS brand nationally, to offer its GoD service to all its MBlaze customers. GoD is an online gaming subscription service provided via broadband. 

Khabar Bharti a Hindi news channel to go on air on November 17

Madhya Pradesh-based Sai Prakash Group (SPG) is all set to launch its 24-hour channel Khabar Bharti, which will initially be available in three states – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Commenting on the development, Pushpendra Singh Beghal, Founder and Owner, Sai Prakash Group, said, “We have always strived for establishment and sustenance of an environment of trust and service for our valuable customers. We are venturing into the media industry with this same underlying philosophy.”

Huawei brings cloud-based phones, data service to India

China's Huawei Devices will now have its own cloud services and cloud-based mobile phones in India. With a starting price of Rs 9,000, the two new handsets - Huawei Sonic and IDEOS X3 - can download and enable content sharing, while backing up information on the cloud.
After unveiling the first GSM handset in June, the company has sold over 100,000 such handsets.

Tuesday 15 November 2011

Supreme Court rejects Times Now plea

The Supreme Court has declined to interfere with a Bombay High Court order that asked Times Global Broadcasting Company Ltd, owner of the Times Now TV channel, to deposit Rs20 crore in cash along with a bank guarantee of Rs80 crore before its appeal against a Pune trial court ruling awarding Rs100 crore in damages for defaming a former apex court judge PB Sawant could be heard.
PB Sawant’s photograph was telecast by mistake during the reportage of the infamous provident fund scam in September, 2008. Though several district judges, some high court judges and a Supreme Court judge had been under the CBI scanner, Justice Sawant had nothing to do with the scandal exposed by a treasury officer Ashthana, who however died while in Ghaziabad jail.

Monday 14 November 2011

Sun Direct launches pack for kids

Leading DTH service provider Sun Direct is offering a free preview of Kid’s channel this month, available on its Kids Mega pack on the occasion of Children’s day, from the 12th to 19th of November.
The Kids Mega Pack groups Cartoon Network, Pogo, Disney and Disney XD.

Thursday 10 November 2011

DOT extends time for feedback on national telecom policy

In order to accord adequate time for wider consultation, the date for receipt of feedback on the draft New Telecom Policy has been extended to 9 December. 
The Policy announced by the Government will aim to ‘address and enable the coordinated action to respond to the dynamic needs resulting from confluence of telecom, broadcasting and IT sectors.’ 

Wednesday 9 November 2011

DTH adds 1.6 mn subs in the month of October

According to a media report, Direct-to-home (DTH) operators have mopped up 1.6 million subscribers in the month of October, the highest monthly mobilisation this fiscal.
DTH added 2.85 million subscribers during the three-month period ended June. There was a marginal slowdown as the sector collected 2.5 million in the second quarter.

Tuesday 8 November 2011

FremantleMedia launches Pets & Animals Channel on YouTube

Television format and creator FremantleMedia is ready to bring a new channel to online video social network YouTube as part of the social online network's new original channels' initiative. 
The original Pets and Animals channel (title TBA) is scheduled to launch next year.

YouTube & Disney in $15-million video deal

Disney and Google have joined hands so that Disney would create original video content to be broadcasted on YouTube and its own website. 
Disney Interactive Media and YouTube, a division of Google, will spend a combined $10 million to $15 million on original video series; those shorts will be produced by Disney and distributed on a co-branded channel on Disney.com and YouTube. 

Monday 7 November 2011

Hearst Magazines to launch two new YouTube channels

Hearst Magazines of the US is bringing two new channels to YouTube as part of the online video social network's new original channel's initiative. 

ITV Granada to launch on Airtel Digital TV

TV Studios Global Entertainment has announced new carriage deals for its entertainment channel ITV Granada, with pay TV platforms in India. It has done a deal with Bharti Airtel's DTH platform Airtel Digital TV and will join it later this year.
ITV Granada is home to entertainment, drama, comedy, reality and talk shows from the UK. Content includes 'Coronation Street', drama 'Emmerdale' and entertainment shows such as 'I'm A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!', 'Popstar to Operastar' and 'Dancing on Ice'.

Saturday 5 November 2011

WSJ adds new distribution channels for WSG Live

US business newspaper The Wall Street Journal has announced several new distribution channels for WSJ Live, the interactive video service for iPad, Internet-connected televisions and set-top boxes that launched in September. 
The WSJ Live app is now available via Apple TV, Google TV and Roku, adding significant reach across a variety of platforms for live and on-demand programming from The Wall Street Journal Digital Network. On-demand video from WSJ Live is also now available on Daily Motion. 

AT&T and DirecTV extend co-branding agreement

DirecTV and AT&T have signed a three-year extension to their commercial agreement and will continue to offer a co-branded version of DirecTV‘s satellite television service across the 22 states where AT&T offers residential broadband and voice service.
This agreement, which has been extended through March 2015, will enable both companies to provide customers with access to an exclusive quadruple-play bundle of AT&T and DirecTV services.

Friday 4 November 2011

Amazon launches digital book library service

Online retailer Amazon.com said Kindle owners with an Amazon Prime membership will now get access to the company's new digital book library service. 
Kindle owners with the Prime membership can choose from thousands of books to borrow for free on a Kindle device, including more than 100 current and former New York Times bestsellers, as frequently as a book a month, the company said. 

TRAI Regulate M&A in telecom industry

Operators with 35% combined market or revenue share can merge, case-wise approval possible if joint share up to 60%; new ground rules on spectrum. 
Mergers of telecom operators with a combined market share or adjusted gross revenue of less than 35 per cent in a circle should be permitted, according to new recommendations by sector regulator Trai. If the combined market share is 35-60 per cent, the government could consider allowing a merger on a case-by-case basis. 

Thursday 3 November 2011

Petition against ESPN dismissed by the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has dismissed the interim application filed by Asianet Satellite Communications (Asianet) against ESPN Software India.
Asianet was seeking an early hearing of their appeal against the Tdsat order denying the company discounted services from ESPN.

Wednesday 2 November 2011

Shemaroo to release Super K online

Shemaroo Entertainment is set to release Super K, a 95-minute animation film, on Yahoo!'s online movie channel, Movieplex, on November 11. Viewers can log on and watch the movie for free. 
Smita Maroo, head (animation division), Shemaroo Entertainment, says, "The film was not originally conceptualised to be released on the web. But our internal researches pointed to the fact that animation films don't do well in India because they don't get decent show timings in multiplexes." Since multiplexes are interested only in films with big weekend collections, Maroo says a small-budget animation film is sure to be sidelined. 

TRAI suggests zero termination charge in 3 yrs

The TRAI has suggested that the levy proposed for terminating a mobile call on a network to be done away with effect from 2014.The proposal comes as part of its affidavit filed before the Supreme Court. 
The affidavit comes in response to the Supreme Court's direction asking the regulator to submit various models for calculating the termination charge. The regulator had approached the apex court after the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate (TDSAT) set aside its IUC regulations of November 2009 as a host of operators had opposed them. 

TRAI raises SMS limit to 200

Trai has increased the limit of 100 SMSes per day per SIm to 200 SMSes. The authority has considered the representation of the service providers and consumer and decided to increase the limit of 100 SMSes per day per SIM. 
The new cap of 200 SMSes per SIM per day will be effective from Tuesday. 48th ABU General Assembly to commence from 2 November.

Neo Sports to broadcast World Series Hockey in India

Neo Sports will broadcast the World Series Hockey in the Indian Sub-Continent. According to industry sources, “Neo has bagged the broadcasting rights of the inaugural edition of the WSH for approximately Rs 70 crore.
The inaugural edition of the league will be held from next month on Saturday, 17th December to Sunday, 22nd January and will feature 8 teams, 37 days of nonstop action and 61 prime time matches that will be broadcast live.

Tuesday 1 November 2011

Airtel digital TV expands total channel count with 4 new HD channels

Airtel digital TV-the DTH service from Bharti Airtel, announced that it has added 15 more channels over the last 3 months taking its Total Channel Count to 262.
With this, Airtel digital TV now offers 240 channels in Standard Definition (SD) and 11 High Definition (HD) channels. The 4 new HD channels added include UTV Stars HD, History TV 18 HD, Colors HD, and CNBC TV 18 Prime HD taking its True HD channel count to 11.

Monday 31 October 2011

CW network inks a 5-year deal with Hulu to offer new TV episodes

CW television network has entered into a five year deal with Hulu to offer online streams of new episodes. The Hulu owned by media giants News Corp., NBCUniversal and the Walt Disney Co., will have the exclusive right to stream episodes of such new CW shows as "Ringer" and "Hart of Dixie" as well as returning series. 
This shift in CW’s strategy comes, which earlier delayed the online availability of its episodes and tightly held the digital rights to its shows, as the network is looking out for other revenue streams. 

Videocon d2h adds Colors HD to its bouquet of HD channels

Videocon d2h strengthens its niche position in the HD space even further. It now unveils HD feed of the Hindi entertainment channel Colors. This addition will not only enhance customer viewing experience but also go hand in hand with the company mantra of ‘delighting the customer always’.

Saturday 29 October 2011

Zeebox application now available on iPad

Social TV service Zeebox, is now live on iPad where it is the “App of the Week.”Zeebox shows users information, apps and further downloads about shows they are watching, creates live links to the material discussed in shows and lets users follow show-based social network chat and see what their friends are watching. 

Google introduces revamped 2.0 version of Google TV

The Internet search engine, Google Inc, unveiled a revamped version of its Google TV service on October 29, bringing new features aimed at making the product easier-to-use and more appealing to consumers. 

Friday 28 October 2011

Supreme Court’s notice to Trai

The Supreme Court has issued a notice in order to seek a reply from Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on ESPN’s plea seeking vacation of its earlier order that raised the channel distribution rates paid by cable operators from 35% to 42%.
ESPN is seeking vacation of the apex court’s April 18 order that stayed the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) order and raised the distribution rates to 42%.

Wednesday 19 October 2011

DIPP suggests FDI hike in cable, DTH sector

An affirmative nod has been given by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion in order to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) in broadcast carriage services sector, including cable TV and direct-to-home.
The DIPP has circulated a draft cabinet note which also includes raising overseas investments limits according to suggestions given by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

Friday 7 October 2011

D2 Communication funds Affle

Mobile media startup, Affle, has secured over Rs 500 million in its second round of funding from D2 Communications Inc, a joint venture between Japanese telco NTT DoCoMo Inc. and ad agency Dentsu. 
The two companies had entered into strategic alliance, backed with a 'token investment' from D2C in February. This is a follow-up investment. 

Wednesday 5 October 2011

The DTH provider Dish TV to offer 19 regional channels

Direct-to-home (DTH) services provider, Dish TV India Limited, will be offering 19 regional channels, across news, entertainment, movies and music genres, in Andhra Pradesh from October 4, said Ravi Chandra Mochrela, deputy vice-president (south-II zone).

yourfamily will be available on Deutsche Telekom's IPTV platform Entertain

The yourfamily pay-TV channel, an arm of Your Family Entertainment (YFE), will be a part of Deutsche Telekom's IPTV platform Entertain. yourfamily will be part of the pay-TV packages Kinder and BIG TV.

Tuesday 4 October 2011

A social game based on Ra.One launched by UTV Indiagames in partnership with SRK’s Red Chillies

Ahead of the release of the much awaited movie, Ra.One, Shahrukh has launched a social game based on the movie, in association with UTV Indiagames as part of the promotional activity. The game is being seen as an attempt to woo the youth audiences.

Monday 3 October 2011

New spectrum bands allocated for telecom services

The Communication and IT Ministry on 30 October, 2011 allocated at least five new frequency bands, including the 700 Mhz band, for telecom services. Small chunks of spectrum for developing indigenous technologies have also been reserved under the National Frequency Allocation Plan (NFAP) 2011. The new Plan, which gives the broad direction for future spectrum allocation, will come into effect from October 1. The Plan looks forward to earmark the entire 700 Mhz band for mobile broadband services. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had also set its sight on this band for Mobile TV services but NFAP has pushed the broadcasting services to another band. 
The S-band, currently being used exclusively by INSAT systems for satellite based services including meteorological data dissemination has been opened up for broadband services now. 

Govt response on Prasar Bharati Union de-recognition petition sought by CAT

On the issue of de-recognition of emloyees’ associations in Prasar Bharti, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has sought the Government's response on the petition filed by employees’ associations challenging the decision of the pubcaster.
A bench comprising Member Judicial Meera Chhibber and Member Administration Dr A K Misra directed the government to reply by 17 October on the plea of the employees for de-recognising their unions. The three petitioners - Association of Radio and TV Engineering Employees (ARTEE), AIR and DD Technical Employees Association, and the Programme Staff Association had earlier approached Delhi High Court challenging the office order of 8 September de-recognising all associations.

High Court upholds I&B Ministry's notice on TV reality show

The Delhi High Court on September 30 upheld the show cause notice issued by the information and broadcasting ministry to Star Plus channel for the telecast of two episodes of the controversial TV reality show 'Sach Ka Saamna' in 2009.
The court gave its order dismissing Star India Private Ltd (SIPL) plea against the I&B Ministry’s July 2009 notice and the November 2009 warning to adhere to the programme code.

Aadhaar leak: EPFO discontinues services provided through Common Service Centre

Following fear of Aadhaar data leak, the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on May 2 said it has discontinued services provided t...