RailTel to tie up with MSOs to expand internet base in rural Tamil Nadu

RailTel Corporation of India (RailTel), the telecommunications arm of the Railways, is expanding its project to take high-speed internet to rural homes in Tamil Nadu by linking its optic fibre network to existing cable TV connections.

RailTel has entered into revenue-sharing partnerships that allow multi-system operators (MSOs) and local cable operators (LCOs) to draw from its optic fibre cable (OFC) points of presence (PoP) established along railway lines across the State to provide last-mile connectivity to rural households.

Goa to host annual Asian Film Festival from next year

The Entertainment Society of Goa is all set to organize the Annual Asian Film Festival here from 2014, according to Chairman, Vishnu Surya Wagh.

Wagh announced the news during an open forum session held on the sidelines of the 44th International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

Intelligence Bureau Chief wants Twitter, Facebook brought under Indian laws

A recommendation was made to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday that foreign content providers, such as Facebook and Twitter, be brought under Indian laws.

This was conveyed by Intelligence Bureau Director Asif Ibrahim in his address to welcome the prime minister on the concluding day of the annual conference of directors general and inspectors general of police.

DoT to again approach Trai to fix auction price

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will once again ask the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to recommend a base price for auction of 800-MHz CDMA spectrum.

“We will write to Trai soon after minutes of the (EGoM) meeting are approved. Hopefully, early in the coming week,” Telecom Secretary M F Farooqui said.  

Technicolor sets aggressive STB target

Technicolor is bullish about its TV set-top box business for next year, and expects to outstrip growth in the market in Europe, Asia and North America, its chief executive Frederic Rose.

Rose told an investor conference that 2014 looked “quite good” for the Paris-listed company’s connected-home business, which generated revenue of €361 million in the third quarter, up 12.6 per cent, out of total revenue for the group of €881 million.

James Murdoch returns to BSkyB board

James Murdoch, the son of Rupert Murdoch and the deputy COO of 21st Century Fox, has returned as director of BSkyB, gaining support from 96% of shareholders. 

James had stepped down as chairman in April 2012 amid allegations of phone hacking when he was heading News International. 

Comcast and Charter Communications eye Time Warner Cable

The U.S. cable TV market could be heading for a mega consolidation as Time Warner Cable could be a takeover target for Comcast and Charter Communications Inc. 

Time Warner Cable, the second-largest publicly traded cable operator, could be divided between Comcast and Charter Communications. According to media reports, Comcast could get part of Time Warner Cable lying in its adjacent areas. A similar kind of parceling out could happen in case of Charter Communications, 27% of which is held by John Malone’s Liberty Media.