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There are 6 new posts in "WATBlog.com - Web, Advertising and Technology Blog in India" GSM Operators’ Lobby to take TRAI to Court
The Anil Ambani led Reliance Communications (RCOM) secured a license to offer GSM services quite some time back. RCOM has been providing telecommunication services to millions of subscribers in India using the CDMA technology. However, the company also provides services using the GSM technology in a select few circles in the country. According to the company, it was granted license to provide services using both the services at the same time. India’s Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had instructed the other GSM operators in the country - Bharti Airtel, BPL, Vodafone, Idea and state-owned BSNL to provide link to RCOM’s GSM services back in July. The regulator fixed August 21st, 2008 as the last date to provide the inter-link. According to TRAI’s policy, every GSM service provider, who holds a license to provide its services has to provide inter-linking with other operators. Now, although the state-owned BSNL is not voicing its opinion, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, BPL, Idea etc which collectively form the Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI) claim that since Reliance’s GSM services is practically under a new network, it must require re-negotiations of the mutual agreements. The operators claim that the any mutual agreements that exist currently are only for its CDMA networks. TRAI has issued a second ultimatum to COAI, citing August 21st as the last date. Now, the COAI are planning to move sectoral tribunal (TDSAT) on this issue. Officials from COAI told TOI that they were readying the necessary documents required for the move and would be filing the same by tomorrow. Thus, here we have 3 different, each with its own set of views and claims about the issue. RCOM claims that as per the license issued to it, it is allowed to offer both GSM and CDMA services in the country. Although TRAI is mum on RCOM’s claim, it maintains that the COAI is required to provide inter-link, failing which would be against the licensing agreements they agreed upon. COAI on the other hand claims that re-negotiations should take place since RCOM’s GSM services require a new network and hence should be considered a new service. It would be interesting to see who bows down to whose demands and whether TRAI handles the situation well. Related PostsAlso check out Our Jobsite: WATJob Our Video Show: WATShow Our Gaming Blog: WATGame Our Consulting: WATConsult iPhone – At Rs.36,000 The Jesus Phone Costs Heaven. Will Nokia Emerge As The New God?Ever since Preshit wrote about iPhone on WATBlog, everyone at WAT had been speculating about the prices at which Vodafone and Airtel would make iPhone available in India. Out there, there were many who were just waiting to lay their hands on the iPhone as soon it appears in India. Well, a lot of them have lost all hopes after the news of iPhone touching Rs.36k leaked out in media. Blogs, forums, Twitter, everywhere the disappointment is apparent. Rs.36k is just insane. No, I didn’t say that, somebody on Twitter did. The mail from Vodafone, to the ones who showed interest in the iPhone goes like this - Hello A____, Thank you for registering for your Apple iPhone 3GTM with us. We are delighted to announce that the iPhone 3G will be available in India from August 22, 2008 It will be available in 8GB & 16GB models, priced at Rs 31,000 and Rs 36,100 respectively. Be the first to get the iPhone There you go. Just trying doing a Twitter Search for iPhone India and see the conversations flowing. Though people are blaming Vodafone for the pricing, I suspect it’s more of Apple that’s at work here. Apple’s pricing policy is structured such that it has to command a premium. Which is kind of justified too, as the product positioning of the iPhone is a premium one. However, Apple seems to have ignored something here. The fact that they are in India. Scale, when spoken in terms of India gets much bigger. Bigger than the cumulative imagination of Apple’s executives. Think of it, India has 300 mobile phones already. And from what I’ve seen so far, Indians love mobile phones. They love to compare their handsets, exchange ringtones, compare plans and carriers, and keep digging about the latest mobile phones. Just go to any digital retail store and see which section attracts the most audience (crowd) and you will understand. Priced at the right point, iPhone had a chance to become a viral phenomenon in India. Remember, how everyone in your circle used to flaunt a Nokia 6600 at one point ? Same stuff. Though, I agree, the thing with Nokia 6600 started happening only after the drastic price drop. All we can hope for now is Apple will be going with such a price drop. Actually thinking of it now, they will. iPhone 2G had a price cut in the U.S. India is predominantly a price-sensitive market. More than anything else, it’s the discount that works here wonderfully. To understand why mobile are important in India, read this - Tim Berners-Lee, yes the guy who invented the Internet, had tweeted about the impact the mobiles are going to have in India in this post Here are the excerpts The whole country is making mobile a natural priority. Wherever I went, it was obvious, all the way to overcrowded and old Indian trains. My 14 hour overnight train did not have a restaurant car or a bathroom as we know it. But it did have power plugs built in at each air-conditioned seat, with a metal plate next to it. It didn’t say “computer power plug,” or “shaving power plug” (which would have been appropriate for these slow-moving overnight trains), but simply and only: “mobile charging points.” The next revolution coming to India is likely the use of the cell phone for the mobile web. Clearly, a mobile Internet device could have worked wonderfully well not just for the 300 million plus consumers but also for the handset makes and the mobile carrier companies as well. Introduction of iPhone could have been a strong launching pad for a host of innovative, useful web-based services that can be delivered on the phone. Maps is a good example. But then again, the brand image that Apple wants to project is that of a premium. The same thing, that goes with the iPod. Here are better music players than the iPod. But iPod has a different, premium positioning that none of the others have. Apple , perhaps wants to keep its phone placed at the higher spectrum of the market. If that’s the case, the price seems good. It could not have obviously been Rs.8,500 ($199), the price at which the iPhone is offered in the United States. Its possible there 'coz the carrier AT&T highly subsidizes the price there. So, speaking in the Indian context, if you are ready to shell out around Rs.1500-2500 per month and get into a 2-year contract with Airtel for this, you might have an iPhone that costs you Rs.8k ! Well, yes. Exactly what you are thinking. It just doesn’t works that way in India. As I said before, we love to compare and experiment with our plans. So, it was inevitable that iPhone will be priced highly in India. So now, is it the end? Hardly. Nokia, the world leader in mobile devices sales has announced its competitor for the iPhone - the N96. The N96 was announced in India, one month before its worldwide launch in the U.K. and two days before the official launch of iPhone in India. This is a well-thought strategic move to divert attention from Apple iPhone. Nokia is a strong player in the Indian market. The Indian market is known to it. And N96 is a solid competition to the iPhone. At least that’s what the specifications say. 5MP camera, 16GB inbuilt memory, 8GB expandable memory, 2.8 inch screen. The camera that Nokia N96 uses is of far superior quality than in any other such device available today. I interviewed many people online and asked about their preference. Most said they would prefer the N96 over the iPhone. Some had set their mind son it already. But a good number of them made that decision after they heard of the Rs.36k price tag for the iPhone. Though odd at first, the data reveals the underlying sentiment of India as a market - seek for value for money. Bang for the bucks. And the N96 - when compared, beats the iPhone by a pretty good margin. And moreover, knowing India’s reliance on Nokia products, it might just get it right this time. What are your thoughts on this? Would you go for an iPhone, even with a Rs.36,000 price? Do let us know. Related PostsAlso check out Our Jobsite: WATJob Our Video Show: WATShow Our Gaming Blog: WATGame Our Consulting: WATConsult 5 Public Relations Mistakes That Can Kill Your Brand OnlineA lot of talk has happened online on Public Relations and the impact the Internet has had on it. PR agencies have to be commended in adopting the basic nuances of the web like emails and websites. However, it is about time the wide majority that hasn’t yet seen it see that the web extends beyond websites and emails. Okay, maybe that is a crude judgment to pass, maybe most agencies know the existing tools available to manage their client’s image online. Yet knowing a tool and knowing how to use it are two different ball games, and the least is one can do as an agency is to avoid the following 5 mistakes working online: 1. Mass mailing Press ReleasesEver since the PR agent found the power a comma has when it comes to emailing people, there has been no dearth of non personalised, multi-recipient, one way boasts of how their client is changing the world. The comma might still remain but perhaps the mass mailing shouldn’t. Fail. Target the top 3 or 5 websites in the client’s niche, and mail them individually, the other’s will take the story up from them. Exclusivity strengthens a brand, so make even its news pieces exclusive. I suggest this article for further reading on a good PR pitch. 2. Not Building and maintaining relations with influential bloggersWhile blogging has moved on from a daily chart of activities to a highly influential channel for thought leaders, yet the influence it has is often undermined in the mainstream. And the worst thing you can do is send a random press release suddenly to all top bloggers that you know. They can shred your client’s or yours for that matter to pieces. And worse still, the good old search engines will have a merry day picking up and putting that story right on top of searches. Build relations with bloggers. Read their blogs, see what kind of content they cover and what type of products their audience would wants to know about. And pitch relevant news based on this. Bloggers are the hungry kind waiting for breaking news, make that to work to your advantage. Here is another great post from Chris Brogan on pitching to bloggers and how it differs from mainstream media 3. Not take Social Media into considerationSocial Media and Public Relations are intertwined in more ways than one, in fact one can even suggest that social media is the new PR. One even has a Social Media Release Template.. what more can you ask for? Moreover, it gives you so many more options to get the message across. As a PR person it is important to realize that releases are just a channel and not an end in itself, look at the other options the neo web has to provide. This post on Social Media PR can answer a lot of questions on the social media front. Also read, “is your PR is social media savvy?“ 4. Not track client’s reputation onlineIf there is anything that comes close to leaving money on the table as a PR agency it is not tracking your client online. The opportunities that arise for a good PR campaign, the opportunity for crisis management or dispel an existing myth circulating online is huge. PR as a function is evolved and relates to understanding the client’s brand objectives and know the changing environment of their industry. Can you suggest me a better tool than the Internet to execute this idea? Andy Beal’s post on ORM is a good place to start if you are new to this. 5. Not Measuring the Impact of a Campaign OnlineIf you do measure the campaign activity and the impact it has had online, the above four will follow on their own. For you will know what efforts are succeeding and generating enough buzz and prune away the ones that don’t. Measure impact in terms of how many people beyond your circle of reach are talking about your client’s brand or product. Measure impact in terms of how they view the campaign itself. There is no better market research opportunity than this. This list like any other (and all the other that I have written) is not exhaustive. However, these are the least that you can do as a PR agent to give the best client management service and consultation.
Beautiful Image courtesy: artzy.viva Related PostsAlso check out Our Jobsite: WATJob Our Video Show: WATShow Our Gaming Blog: WATGame Our Consulting: WATConsult Komli Launches Technology Channel For Advertisers.. Is Komli Confused?Komli.com the India focussed DFJ backed ad network that recently came out with a report on online users and their demographics has now announced a exclusive channel for technology advertisers. In the same report it had the demographics of users who visit technology sites. Here are some demographic charts from that survey: The most interesting statistic above is the one where it states that only 18% of the respondents who visit tech sites are from the IT Industry. Now thats a startling fact(if it had to be taken seriously given the small data set it represents) to say the least and also expands the targeting of a tech focused site as catering only to IT guys. This only means that tech sites can cater to the tech enthusiast in the non techie as well. Anyways now when you look at the launch of the technology channel in light of the statistics given above one fails to understand how and why would you target only technology advertisers for the channel given that the audience demographics represents a wider audience. As per the release this new technology channel ‘enables brand advertisers to specifically target & focus on audiences like Technology Enthusiasts, Developers, Mobile Enthusiasts and IT Decision Makers.’ Interesting that komli’s own press release states this even after releasing contradicting demographic statistics a few days back. Is Komli confused? Or is it just reacting to competition? Also another noteworthy point is the kind of sites that are included in the publishers list. It includes mostly international focussed sites like Geek.com, Slashgear.com, MSExchange.org, Computing.net, Phonearena.com and Phonescoop.com. Hmm.. Now how does this matter to an Indian advertiser? To me it seems as if Komli has launched this technology vertical to combat competition from the likes of TonicTag of Ishir Digital which is a completely tech centric niche ad network and which from what I hear is pretty aggressive in garnering publisher support. Over time it will be interesting to see if the power of the niche’s works in an already nascent ad network space or whether the channel model by the likes of komli and others like tyroo works in their favour. Related PostsAlso check out Our Jobsite: WATJob Our Video Show: WATShow Our Gaming Blog: WATGame Our Consulting: WATConsult Is Microsoft Getting Naughty With IE8?
The world word is porn or should I say porn mode when it comes to web, users and Microsoft. The reason behind involving Microsoft is that there have been rumors that they may incorporate a private browsing feature, a.k.a “porn mode,” similar to Safari. Firefox too was involved in such speculation but later on the FF3 was released without the porn mode feature.
In case you are still thinking that what does porn mode do then let me explain it to you.
As we expect the launch of IE8 beta 2 very soon I guess MS would certainly be testing out Porn modes utility. On 30th July, Microsoft has filed two trademarks which clearly shows their keen interest in testing out the new feature.
In recent times Firefox has slowly but steadily has been eating away the IE's market share. It is turning out to be a huge threat to IE. Moreover people now prefer FF over IE and I guess the major credit goes to the cool add-ons available in FF. The below table shows the popularity of FF.
I wonder if the porn mode enabling is enough to re-capture their lost audiences. I guess MS needs to a lot more than just a porn mode.
For users: What are your thoughts on this? Related PostsAlso check out Our Jobsite: WATJob Our Video Show: WATShow Our Gaming Blog: WATGame Our Consulting: WATConsult Windows App Launchers: Microsoft Too Joins the Race nowKeyboard App Launchers are amazing little applications. They calmly wait in the background, peacefully keeping an eye on your movements. As soon as you hit the magical global keystroke combination, they reveal themselves and then quickly bring you the application that you intended to use? Awesome, isn’t it? Keyboard App Launchers are those software that let you launch your favorite (or any) programs on your computer without even making use of your mouse or clicking anything. They are a great way to launch any application quickly in the blink of an eye. Application launchers have been around for a long time now, with QuilSilver for Mac leading the race. Almost all other similar programs have inspired highly from QuickSilver. Sure, it is not just a launcher, but at the core of the application is this only feature. Until yesterday, Launchy and Executor for Windows were the most popular application launching softwares available for the widely used Operating System. Apparently, Microsoft has finally woken up and the team from Microsoft Office Labs have now released an early edition of their own application launcher called ‘Speed Launch’. Although it is a great little application from the labs, it still has a long way to go. It is a lot less polished and still lacks many a features. For starters, the software lacks the most important trait of a App Launcher - It fails to loose focus automatically, after you’re done with it. the only way, yet, to close the program is to hit the ‘X’ at the top right. Not at all ideal, since this would obviously require the user to use his mouse. Another most important feature, that this software lacks is the auto-indexing of the programs. One needs to manually drag the application to the ‘target’ for Speed Launch to remember it. Again, not something you’d expect from a App Launcher. Also, even though it doesn’t automatically index, it is a huge resource hogger, eating up upto 30MB of your precious RAM when it is idle. On the positive site, Speed Launch has a few buttons on the bottom that let you do the corresponding action - like searching Wikipedia. Note that this is just an experimental project from the guys at Office Labs. So expect a lot more from them soon. Till then, let’s take a look at the other launchers available for Windows. Executor:This programs wins all the points and all my praises for being the most configurable app launcher available for Windows. Executor lets you launch not just programs, but you can even type out the URL and launch the URL in your default browser. The program remembers the browser history, so instead of going into the browser, manually searching through the history and then launching the URL, you can simply activate Executor, type a few characters and be on your way. One of my favorite feature of Executor, as noted by DS, is its ability to set Global Shortcut Keys for applications or files. Imagine the ability to launch MSPaint (Paintbrush) by just Ctrl+P or launching your favorite mp3 song with your shortcut. There’s a long list of features and a bunch of screenshots available on the developers site. Launchy:Although not as configurable as Executor, this programs takes all the points for being the most popular launcher of the lot. Featuring almost the same feature-set as executor, launchy has been around longer than Executor. It is a free software available at http://www.launchy.net Why use Launchers?Launchers are a great way to cut down on your wasted time and increase your productivity. By auto-indexing your program list, these apps let you launch your application in seconds and let you finish off your work in minutes. Most of the launchers have a small memory footprint and hide calmly in the background, without interfering in your work. Of course, once a user starts using them, he will only become more accustomed to them. What’s your take? Related PostsAlso check out Our Jobsite: WATJob Our Video Show: WATShow Our Gaming Blog: WATGame Our Consulting: WATConsult More Recent Articles
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Apparently, there’s trouble brewing in India’s telecom sector as the leading GSM operators in the country plan to take the country’s telecom regulator TRAI to court. And as it seems, it is only about to get worse.
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