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Acme Tele Power MD Manoj Upadhyay: the Technovator of the YearFriday, August 08, 2008 NEW DELHI INDIA: Eminent telecom industry leader Srinath N. was named the Voice&Data Telecom Person of the Year 2008 by Pradeep Gupta, Chairman, CyberMedia, Publishers of Voice&Data here late last evening. Wajahat Habibullah, Chief Information Commissioner, Central Information Commission, presented the award to Srinath at the 9th Annual V&D 100 Awards function. Srinath N., MD and CEO of Tata Communications, was chosen for this honour for transforming erstwhile VSNL from a domestic player to a multinational telecom company. Under his leadership the Tata Communications global network became the worlds largest submarine cable network that connects global citizens to over 200 countries. Tata Communications global footprint now serves customers in 80 cities from 40 countries. Past Winners of Voice&Data Telecom Person of the Year award include Anil Ambani, Dayanidhi Maran, Mukesh Ambani, Ratan Tata and Sunil Bharti Mittal. The Jury Members of this years award were Dr DPS Seth, former member, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, SC Khanna, secretary general, Association of Unified Service Providers of India, NK Goyal, Chairman, Emeritus, Telecom Equipment Manufacturers Association of India, Amitabh Singhal, founder, ISPAI, Rajiv Nayan Jha, Vice President, CMAI, Vikram Tiwathia, Chief Information Officer, CII, Pradeep Gupta, CMD, CyberMedia India and DP Vaidya, president, VSAT Association of India IMImobile: the Emerging Company of the Year IMImobile was awarded the honour of being the Emerging Company of the Year for their significant contribution in the value added services (VAS) space. IMImobile provides carrier grade messaging platforms and gateways, content management systems, and Voice platforms through managed services in 51 countries. The company has established itself as one of the leading providers of cutting edge technology in the mobile space recording phenomenal growth. IMImobile manages VAS, content platforms and aggregates content for over 200 operators and portals such as Yahoo!, Airtel, Jamba, Vodafone Essar and Maxis. Acme Tele Power MD Manoj Upadhyay: the Technovator of the Year Manoj Kumar Upadhyay, Managing Director, Acme Tele Power was conferred the honour of Technovator of the Year for his remarkable contribution in providing innovative, energy efficient and environment friendly products for passive telecom infrastructure. Mr. Upadhyay is the inventor of seven patented product innovations and processes mainly in the energy efficiency area. Acme Tele Power, known for offering cost-effective, energy-efficient integrated passive infrastructure solutions to telecom companies, launched the "Green Shelter", a complete package to fit environment and temperature parameters at telecom sites to do away with backup systems like diesel generators. The Voice&Data awards were instituted in 2000 to honour leading players in the burgeoning telecom sector that posted revenues of over Rs. 225,967 crore in 2007-08. As per the Voice&Data survey 2008 the telecom services sector grew 21.3% to Rs. 130,561 crore on the back of 66.3% increase in telecom subscriber base while the Telecom Equipment sector grew 24% to Rs. 95,407 crore. Touching upon the challenges for the Telecom industry in the current year, Prasanto K. Roy, Chief Editor of Voice&Data said, "The big challenges from the regulatory viewpoint will be the release of spectrum to telcos, and mobile number portability. The roll out of 3G and WiMax during the year will be key to the spread of the Internet given that India will once again miss achieving its broadband penetration targets this year." Eight member jury meet of eminent professionals led Dr. DPS Seth, ex-CMD of BSNL and ex-member of TRAI. The other members of the jury meet included Mr. NK Goyal, Chairman, Emeritus TEMA; Mr. DP Vaidya, President, VSAT Association; Mr. SC Khanna, Secretary General, AUSPI; Mr. Vikram Tiwatia, CIO, CII; Mr. Rajiv Nayan Jha, Vice President, CMAI and Mr. Pradeep Gupta, Chairman MD, CyberMedia selected the companies for awards. For the 2008 Indian Telecom Industry survey, the flagship publication for the telecom industry, Voice&Data covered over 650 equipment and services companies In the handsets category Bharti Teletech, LG Electronics and Nokia were declared the winners in the Fixed Phones, Fixed Wireless Phones and Mobile Phones category respectively. For Telecom Software, Network Integration, Network Storage, Network Management Services the winners were TCS, Wipro Infotech, EMC and HCL Comnet respectively. For overall telecom services and fixed national long distance categories, BSNL was the winner. For cellular and broadband services Bharti Airtel was the winner while the honour for the international long distance dialing went to Tata Communications. In the infrastructure and equipment category the winners were Ericsson (for Wireless Infrastructure), Cisco Systems (for Enterprise Equipment) and Nokia (for Telecom Equipment). Other category winners included: Audio Video Conferencing – Polycom Broadband Infrastructure— UTStarcom Modem—Atrie Technology Router, Switch, WLAN—Cisco Structured Cabling—Tyco Electronics Test & Measurement—Agilent Technologies Telecom Cables—Sterlite Technologies Telecom Turnkey—GTL Limited Transmission—ECI Telecom Voice Solutions—Avaya GlobalConnect VSAT—Hughes Communications Radio Trunking—Arvind Ltd VAS- Onmobile Wimax—Telsima Communications Unitech Gears Up for TelecomUnitech, an Indian real estate firm that was granted nationwide telecom licenses in January, has kick-started the process of creating a telecom unit now that it is receiving wireless spectrum from the government. Unitech has poached Rohit Chandra from regional operator Aircel Ltd. , where he was executive director, and put him in charge of the new business as its CEO. The company said in a statement Monday that Chandra will "be responsible for providing strategic direction and operational focus to Unitech telecom operations," which he will help set up. Ashok Sud, previously president of regulatory and corporate affairs at Tata Teleservices Ltd. , is also coming on board as president of corporate affairs. Unitech licenses were awarded to eight different subsidiaries, but it will pool them into a single telecom business. The company said in May that it is also applied for national and international long distance licenses that will allow it to route long-distance calls over its own network rather than paying other operators like Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) or Bharti Airtel Ltd. (Mumbai: BHARTIARTL - message board) to carry them. The firm also said in a note to the Bombay Stock Exchange Monday that it has been allocated GSM spectrum in the Karnataka circle, or service area, the fifth it is received frequency in since April. (See India Begins Allocating GSM Spectrum .) With GSM spectrum now allocated in five of India 22 license areas, the five companies that were given permission to enter the market are at various stages of setting up new operators. (See Indian Govt Grants Mobile Licenses and A Guide to India Telecom Operators.) Videocon, for example, recently indicated it expects to begin building its network in August. Like Videocon, Unitech is looking to sell a stake in its new operator to help raise cash to finance the network rollout, which is why Chandra tasks in establishing the company will include "a lead role in driving partnerships and strategic alliances." Important factors in spectrum allocationSpectrum issue is hot. Different battles are simultaneously on, be they between the public and the private sector telecom companies, or CDMA (code division multiple access) and GSM (global system for mobile communications) , pitching for “level-playing”. A committee set up to suggest norms for spectrum allocation is to meet on November 26 and 30. “There are at least four factors that have a significant impact with regard to spectrum allocation,” says Ms Sairee Chahal, founder of the New Delhi-based SAITA Consulting. “Infrastructure priority, trickle-down effect of telecom, regulatory transparency, and eye on the future,” she lists, during the course of an e-mail interaction with Business Line. Excerpts from the interview. On infrastructure priority Telecom is an infrastructure sector and spectrum allocation needs to be addressed as a priority. The growth of telecom infrastructure will depend on the availability of spectrum. There has been discussion regarding freeing up the defence-use spectrum for private telecom usage. However, the issue is not so much about the freeing up the existing spectrum but that of creating a sustainable and open eco-system of telecom infrastructure. Commitment to that will automatically lead to deployment of research and policy bandwidth to solve the problem. You have mentioned trickle-down effect. A critical argument? Yes. The trickle-down effect of telecom in India is beyond measure. This is one revolution that has swept the nation in equal measure and granted many under-represented, under-privileged and under-served sections of the society a way to access economic and social independence. Curtailing the growth of telecom infrastructure will adversely impact the reach and response quotient of the masses of India. Is there a rationale for regulatory transparency? Definitely. Regulatory transparency influences the creation of a level-playing field. Also, it conveys the dynamics of the political-economic environment. Lack of regulatory transparency slows down decision-making and curtails enterprise and technological innovation. Spectrum allocation in India has come under the same fire, and this may lead to a slowdown in the sector. So, what should be done? All stakeholders in the telecom space need to be consulted, and their perspectives weighed adequately before a decision is arrived at with regard to the spectrum allocation. While the regulatory and industry bodies are working at it, greater attention needs to be paid to bring public-private decision makers together. Eye on the future - meaning, technologies? Thats right. Most developed telecom markets use 3G and 4G technologies, whereas India is stuck with congested 2.5G networks. Advanced application of telecom and digital technologies ride on the back of robust infrastructure. The entire telecom eco-system depends on the spectrum pipeline. These stakeholders are – telecom operators, mobile value-added service companies, digital companies, equipment manufacturers, ancillaries, vendors and ultimately users. Does India have unique problems as regards telecom? I feel so. India is a unique market, more so in telecom. For, a country that was struggling with basic connectivity a decade ago is now at the helm of wireless connectivity revolution. The leapfrog gamble has paid of and how. The total number of wireless subscribers (GSM and CDMA) has crossed 200 million, as per recent data. Telecom has been one of the vehicles of progress of the Indian economy and growth in the sector is imperative in order to match economic and social growth aspirations of India. What have been the important drivers to telecom growth? In my view, the growth in the telecom markets has come owing to two important factors, viz. price elasticity of demand, and policy interventions. In sum, therefore… The mechanism for telecom regulation and defaults seem adequate; however, institutional support, and political will for implementing them are not. So far, the focus has been on attracting investments. The need of the hour is, therefore, to optimise spectrum usage for greater economic benefits. Why Google GPhone Would not Kill Apple iPhoneGoogle is putting the final touches on a mobile-phone project, but unlike Apple iPhone the so-called GPhone is all about software for mobile carriers and mobile advertisers. Google goal is to extend its dominance in online advertising to the emerging mobile advertising market, which is small today but expected to grow dramatically in the years ahead, according to a news report in the International Herald Tribune. The report says Google is expected to unveil details later this year, and handsets with the software could appear in 2008. But about 30 prototype phones are reported to be "in the wild". Apple iPhone revolutionized user expectations about how mobile handsets should look, feel and behave. (You can find our extensive iPhone coverage by starting on our search page). The iPhone success has sent manufacturers scrambling to not merely match but surpass its features. But Google GPhone is an open source phone operating system. There has been a growing interest and sophistication in Linux-based software and development tools for mobile devices. The Herald Tribune article, citing both unnamed "industry source familiar with the project" and industry executives, outlines two possible directions for Google ambition. One is to develop and deploy a vastly cheaper alternative to Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system. The second is to loosen the grip that carriers have on the software, devices and services that can run on their closed cellular nets. As the report makes clear, either direction -- or even both together -- create powerful rivals for the online search-engine giant. AT&T have spent billions of dollars upgrading their networks, establishing relationships with customers, subsidizing phones and creating their own mobile Internet portals," the Herald Tribune reports. "Now they want to make sure those investments pay off, in part, through mobile advertising, and they see Google and other search engines as competitors." Instead, those carriers are turning to new companies, such as JumpTap and Medio Systems, whose products can be relabeled as the carrier own brand. The GPhone project has ignited intense speculation on the Web. A search on Google own Web site turns up over 2.7 million references to "GPhone." One of them is a Wikipedia entry, which sifts an array of news accounts for details and clues. Google seems to be banking on the growing popularity and appeal of a Linux-based mobile platform. The Linux Phone Standards (LiPS) Forum released its first specification last June. More sophisticated, full-blown mobile Linux operating systems are emerging from new companies, such as a la Mobile. Big handset makers, such as Motorola, are betting heavily on Linux for the future. But the mobile Linux market remains fragmented, and that may give Google the opening it needs to leverage its name-recognition and search-engine expertise in a new, still-forming market. Outcry in India over Nokia phonesNEW DELHI -- The worlds leading mobile phone maker Nokia pleaded for calm in India on Friday as thousands of anxious customers sought free replacements for potentially defective batteries made in Japan. Police laid on extra security at one Nokia customer center and crowds thronged others across India, one of the worlds largest mobile markets, after the Finnish firm on Tuesday warned that some batteries were overheating. "Your Nokia Is Safe To Use," the Finnish firm said in page-one advertisements in Indian newspapers. The company received 165,000 SMS messages of distress following the advisory, said Devinder Kishore, the marketing chief of Nokias Indian arm. "Out of these calls and messages, about 4.5 percent of batteries were found in the batch for which the product advisory has been issued," he told reporters. He said there had been no overheating complaints in India. The batteries were manufactured by Japans Matsushita Battery Industrial Co Ltd. Japans Kyodo news agency reported that the country trade ministry had ordered Nokia Japan unit to report on the troubles within the next week. Nokia said this week that about 46 million batteries supplied by the Japanese firm could overheat. Two phones in oneAs much as eight per cent of Indian mobile users have two phones. No wonder, companies are coming up with phones and services specially for this segment. All of you who lug two phones around can look forward to the dual SIM card phones launched by Spice Mobiles and Samsung. Industry estimates indicate that around eight per cent of existing mobile phone subscribers own (on an average) two numbers, one for work and another for private use. With India mobile subscriber base totaling 185.13 million (as of June 2007) and looking to grow to more than 462 million mobile connections by 2011, the trend of users retaining multiple phone numbers is expected to gain momentum, or so claim mobile vendors. Talking about the flexibility of using two SIM cards in a single mobile, Kunal Ahooja, CEO, Spice Mobiles says, “Be it two GSM or one GSM and another CDMA SIM card, Spice has built in two SIM card slots allowing the user to make or receive calls from any SIM at any time, as well as receive and send SMSes.” The Spice Dual D88 handset supports GSM+CDMA active connections at the same time, while the D80 handset supports two GSM+GSM active connections. The Spice Dual D88 is priced at Rs 9,849, while the D80 will be launched later this year. Samsung, too, has unveiled a touchscreen-based dual SIM phone along with Tata Teleservices. Samsung Duo will cost Rs 11,999, Hyunbai Kim, head, CDMA division, Samsung Telecommunications India informs. Through its partnership with Samsung, Tata Teleservices hopes to lure GSM customers to its CDMA network. Says Vinayak Deshpande, president (enterprise solution), Tata Teleservices, “The handset will support data speeds at the robust speed of 153 kbps on the Tata Indicom network.” Samsung Duo has been priced at Rs 11,999. “A lot of CDMA phones are locked to one operator and that has been a hurdle in growing our technology faster,” says Deshpande. According to optimistic estimates, dual SIM handsets have the potential to capture close to 10 per cent of the present mobile market — anywhere from five to six million sets a year. Ahooja hopes to sell close to a million phones this year, while Kim chooses to “remain optimistic” about the sale of the Samsung dual card phones. Spice Mobiles, which is currently sourcing these phones from China and Taiwan, is yet to chalk out a partnership to bundle its phones with CDMA operators like Reliance and Tata Teleservices. Dual SIM card mobile phones do not rank high on any operator wishlist, as each is reluctant to share his user base with competitors. But CDMA operators could stand to benefit from these GSM-CDMA phones. Deshpande says, “Introduction of these dual handsets will help attract new mobile phone subscribers for us, especially those who are already on GSM networks and would like to subscribe to CDMAs advanced technology for data and multimedia applications without having to change their numbers.” FAQS • Can I make or receive calls, SMSes from two SIM cards at the same time? Both SIM cards can be used at the same time — the phone shows two network bars. Dual card phones show which SIM card is getting an incoming call or SMS, and also allows the user to choose which SIM card he wants to use. At a time, only one call can be received while other incoming calls can be put on wait. But the user can make a call from his CDMA connection, while sending an SMS from his GSM card. Or he can check emails on the CDMA connection while making a call from the GSM line. • How can I switch between the two SIM cards? Each phone comes with a “switch between” option that allows the user to select a slave and master connection. In effect, one could set GSM as the default connection, while CDMA or another GSM connection could be the secondary line. • Can I use data services on one SIM while making calls on the other? Yes. Data services of one connection will not hamper calling facilities on the other. • Can I shut off one SIM card, while continuing to work with another? No. The user will have to manually remove the SIM card to switch it off. • Is it cost effective and who are the target customers? First, it saves the cost and hassle of carrying a separate mobile device. Second, dual SIM card phones are potentially appealing for somebody who travels in two countries or states and has local phone numbers in each place to save on roaming charges. Users can get value-for-money deals from both, CDMA and GSM operators. • Will two SIM cards accelerate battery consumption? Yes. To help users get the best service from dual phones, manufacturers like Spice Mobiles are bundling a spare battery to extend the promised four hours of battery. Hungama Mobile flags off Bollywood ExpressBe it Kajra Re from Bunty Aur Babli or the latest Jhoom Barabar Jhoom video, now all film trailers, songs, and yes, even the entire movie will be available 24 hours on your fingertips. India’s largest VAS company Hungama Mobile has launched the world’s first Bollywood channel for mobile phone. Called Bollywood Express, the channel has already been rolled out in Malaysia last month on Maxis’ mobile network. Sadly, the mobile channel will not be available in India until the government rolls out 3G services. However, Indians across the world will be able to access it. The channel is expected to be rolled out on 2.5G and 3G networks in countries such as Dubai, Maldives, Mauritius, Pakistan, South Africa, UK, Singapore and Oman. Hungama plans to launch the channel with 20 operators worldwide. “We are in talks with operators like Singtel, Telenor, Maxis, Emtel, Nepal Telecom,” said Hungama Mobile COO Saleem Mobhani. By coming September, out of 30 3G operators worldwide, Hungama expects rollout of Bollywood Express in at least 27 of them. For Gulf countries, such as Oman and Dubai, the content may be dubbed in Tamil and Malayalam. “We are excited to take Bollywood content global on our digital distribution network spread across 33 countries and 70 operators across all the three screens be it IPTV/cable, Mobile screen or internet broadband,” Mr Mobhani added. The channel will be on a subscription model, where users can choose between a monthly subscription, weekly subscription and a daily visit. The content will include a mix of music, fashion, gossip and interviews. The channel will also hold live and exclusive events. For instance, Hungama last month showcased IIFA awards 2007 on mobile before the show was aired on TV outside India. The show was aired across 12 countries. Mobile networks like Orange, Telenor and Etisalat carried the content. Bollywood Express will be compatible on all high-end handsets of Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Motorola. The channel will carry Mobisodes (video clips) of duration between two to three minutes. Indian film industry makes over 1,000 movies every year, thus giving a wide variety of content available for marketing. Each movie has on average six songs, which opens a wide window of opportunity. Bollywood is viewed by two billion people across 127 countries and dubbed in about 34 languages. To cater to such a large market, VAS companies like Mobile2Win and Hungama Mobile are spreading the geographical presence. Mobile PCs headed for India, taking on phonesDespite the ability to double up as home and office PC , the "phones" have a power-hungry architecture It’s what computers have become,” says Nokia’s latest advertisement for its N95 “multimedia computer”— the Finnish company’s aspirational description for its high-end phones. Computer makers, such as Samsung, Asus and the Taiwan-based High Tech Computer Corp (HTC), may soon have the same thought about their own computers. Weighing between 500gram and 1kg and with screens one-fourth the size of a normal laptop, the latest computers hitting the market look more like phones than computers. “The idea is to have a PC small enough to function as a phone, Internet and entertainment device while you are on the move, but can be transformed into a full-fledged PC by plugging into a full-size keyboard and monitor after you reach your office or home,” says Timothy Brown, international marketing manager for Taiwan-based PC chip maker Via Technologies Inc. With bigger rivals, such as Intel and AMD, focusing on processing power, Via made a strategic shift three years ago to focus on developing more power-efficient chips. The company and its partners have in the last few months, launched more than half a dozen such models in the US and East Asia with price tags of $850-1,500 (Rs35,000-62,000). However, it is the planned launch of Intel-based mobile-PCs over the next few weeks that is likely to increase the number of such models in the market. “We will be launching our own mobile PC by early July in India,” says Ajay Sharma, head of the Indian operations of HTC, the largest manufacturer of Windows-based mobile phones in the world. The company, which used to do outsourced manufacturing for brands such as i-mate and Dopod, was the first to release the specifications for a complete Intel-based PC phone last month when it announced the launch of its "Shift" model. Samsung, came next when it announced the specifications of its own version, the Q1 ultra, a week ago in Korea. Priced between $800 and $1,500 in Korea, the Q1 is to hit the market in the next few weeks. While Samsung has no plans to officially launch the product in India, HTC’s model is expected to retail at the higher end of the price band, excluding import tariffs. Other manufacturers partnering with Intel to launch such devices are Asus Tek Computers, Fujitsu Microelectronics and the Haier group. Both Intel-based models, like Via-based ones in the market, target the corporate laptop-users with options such as the full Windows Vista, XP and Linux operating systems, on-board miniature keyboard with support for full-size, plug-in keyboards and monitors. But the models may also appeal to the multimedia and entertainment-hungry youth as many of them also have high-speed connectivity with built in 3G and Wimax terminals. However, despite obvious advantages like the ability to double up as your home and office PC after connecting to full-size monitors and keyboards, the ‘phones’ face a major challenge in the form of a power-hungry PC architecture. While both Via and Intel have supplied the manufacturers with what they call low-power chip sets, the products have a battery-life of only three to five hours, partly due to the huge seven-inch LCD displays. Neeraj Gill, Intel India’s director for enterprise solutions, says the original PC hardware and operating system, designed for plugged-in use, has to be modified along the lines of mobile-phones where power requirement is kept a minimum using ‘sleep states.’ “It will take a year for us to come out with a PC small enough for the pocket, but still able to have enough power to last the whole day,” he says. Intel is working with a host of partners, including Microsoft and Linux vendors, to both reduce power usage at the hardware level as well as at the software and operating system level. “Besides the chip set itself, we are looking at reducing power drain by trying to design a system where the multiple radio sets involved, including GSM, 3G or Wimax, Wifi, Blue-tooth etc. can be automatically turned off when not in use,” he added. Colour mobile phones for Rs 777Reliance launches Classic 202 mobile phone for Rs. 777 India is home to some of the cheapest mobile phones in the world already. Coupled with attractive packages, consumers can purchase mobile phones for as little as Rs. 1000 in the market today. Reliance has now gone one step ahead and launched a mobile phone product for just Rs. 777. This comes to around a mere USD 19. The phone is named Classic 202 and it comes with features like FM radio, polyphonic ringtones, address book and others. Reliance said that the phone is being manufactured in China. They have also launched two more low-end models named Classic 204 and Classic 203. These are priced at Rs 844 and Rs 888, respectisamvely. All of these mobile phones are SIM enabled and this would make it easier for the customer to move from one CDMA customer to another. Reliance said that the price offer would last till they have the handsets in stock. Market experts say that the company is subsidizing mobile phones to gain more customers. It’s unlikely that the phone costs the company lower than these prices. "Kids Only" Mobile Social Platform : K2K & T2TDo you know what k2k and t2t is? It is part of our Buzz™ Mobile Social Platform (MSP), and it is - kids talking to kids and teens talking to teens - and is the only available technology that ensures the privacy of peer groups. This is the new social technology of GenMobi Technologies. While social networks allow communication with users of all ages, our users have the pleasure to be surrounded by only their peer groups. We provide the ecosystem, and make it possible for users to thrive without fear of being prey from other users - in ANY way. "We allow people to connect with only other kids in their peer group, and we do it in a positive and enriching way," says GenMobi CEO Michael J. Schultz. Because of our k2kand t2tfeatures, we show mobile operators how they can reach the fastest growing demographic (kids ages 5-17) and first-time mobile users, boost ARPU and turn a cost center into a revenue center. "We want the public to expect great things from our new business model in the only kids-to-kids (k2k), and teens-to-teens (t2t) peer group, and we invite users and mobile operators to join the k2k and t2t mobile social platforms," says Schultz. Michael J. Schultz is an expert in children safety on mobile and the Internet, and the brainchild behind the patent-pending technologies of GenMobi. The ideas all germinated when Mr. Schultz was walking down the streets of Rio de Janeiro in 2004 and wanted to figure out a way to help the street children. Using his over 25 years of experience in wireless, technology, content and entertainment, Mr. Schultz knew he could create a mobile ecosystem that could help lift and expose children in content and entertainment beyond what they see on their streets and/or neighborhoods, and simultaneously protect them in cyberspace from harmful and illegal content, predators and cyber bullies. Hutch FDI row reaches Parliament After coming under the scrutiny of finance, telecom and commerce ministries and the Reserve Bank of India, the complex shareholding of Hutch-Essar (HEL) is now set to create a furore in Parliament. The controversy relates to the byzantine structure for the 12.26%% stake in Hutch Essar held by its MD Asim Ghosh and Max India chairman Analjit Singh. Ironically, the latest salvo was fired by Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who earlier headed BPL Mobile which was later bought over by Hutch-Essar. Mr Chandrasekhar has has demanded that communication & IT minister Dayanidhi Maran explain in the Parliament whether Hutch Essar has violated India’s foreign investment (FDI) norms. Mr Maran is slated to submit the replies on Mr Chandrasekhar’s questions in Parliament on March 15. Mr Maran must also inform Parliament as to “what steps the central government and the Department of Telecom (DoT) have taken to investigate and ascertain the facts of the equity ownership and control of HEL”. Mr Chandrasekhar has also asked Mr Maran to clarify if Hutchison International (HTIL) was the “beneficial owner of a stake in HEL, in violation of the 74% FDI cap in foreign ownership as specified by the telecom policy”. HTIL last month announced the sale of its 67% stake in HEL to UK-based telecom major Vodafone. Soon after the takeover, announcement, Hutchison International had said it would follow a similar equity structure, where Mr Ghosh and Mr Singh would continue to hold their 12.26% stake. And the bone of contention is that HTIL funded stake acquisition by both Mr Ghosh and Mr Singh. While HTIL provided bank guarantee to the tune of $110.4 million (around Rs 490 crore) to Mr Ghosh, it paid $200 million for Mr Singh’s 7.58% stake in HEL. In exchange, HTIL secured the call-and-put option to buy out Mr Ghosh and Mr Singh’s holding in HEL at par at any time in the next ten years beginning March 1, 2006. However, Mr Ghosh and Mr Singh’s stake are considered as Indian holdings. FDI in telecom companies is restricted to 74%, subject to compliance of various conditions. Further, cellular operator licences issued by the Department of Telecom mandate that foreign investment guidelines be complied with (foreign ownership, direct or indirect, should not exceed 49%) and that any change in the cellular operator’s holding structure be approved by the department. This comes even as the finance ministry has sought RBI’s comments on whether Mr Ghosh and Mr Singh’s stake accounted to violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). The finance ministry has also asked RBI and DoT to study the shareholdings based on the filings of both HTIL and Vodafone to the US Securities & Exchange Commission. In a related development a Delhi-based NGO, Telecom Watchdog, has already filed a public interest litigation in the Delhi High Court, alleging that the FDI in Hutchison Essar was more than the permissible 74%. Legal experts with whom ET spoke to agreed that it could be a case of violation of the law. According to Akil Hirani, managing partner of Majmudar & Co, HTIL claims to have a 67% stake in Hutchison Essar. In calculating this stake, it includes the shareholding of the two Indian stakeholders, Mr Ghosh and Mr Singh. “Presumably, although the two Indian companies are wholly owned and managed at the board level by Indians, there seems to be a capitalisation arrangement through which the economic interest and economic control lie with Hutchison Whampoa. So, although the de jure control seems to be in Indian hands, the de facto control seems to be in the hands of HTIL,” Mr Hirani said. Another legal expert added that parking through Mr Ghosh and Mr Singh is a case of violation of the spirit of law. Swipe your mobile 2 shop Forget your credit card or even your wallet. By this time next year, you may be able to shop and pay your restaurant or hotel bills by swiping your mobile phone on a terminal. This is part of a plan by leading Indian telecommunications companies like Hutch, Airtel and Reliance Communications to initiate a global pilot project to offer mobile phones embedded with a credit card chip. Based on radio frequency identification technology, the phone will work like a credit or debit card. It can be swiped through a "near field" communications terminal placed in shops and establishments. Payment statements can then be sent with a common phone bill. NTT DoCoMo has already launched a wireless credit card in Japan with considerable success with terminal technology developed by Sony and Philips. Encouraged by this, the Cellular Operators Association of India has approached the GSM Association � the global body of operators using global systems for mobile communications technology � for a pilot project to enable international transactions on credit cards. Describing the project as a "technology demonstrator", Cellular Operators Association of India secretary general TV Ramachandran said the market might initially be small but the potential to spread the plastic card culture to the masses was huge. He pointed out that mobile phone companies had the potential to leverage large customer networks to lower distribution costs and build critical mass in a business dominated by banks. India has over 140 million mobile customers, but just 54 million credit and debit card holders. Industry studies have shown that more than 90 per cent of subscribers in the pre-paid mobile phone market lack a plastic card. Under current banking regulations, the service will require operators to tie up with credit card companies. Companies like Reliance Communications already have group firms offering co-branded credit cards (through Reliance Capital) and could leverage this for its mobile credit card business. 100-million-yen mobile phone strap
You can say that again slowly. That is 100 million yen. Or US$842,000 whoppers in greenbacks. All that for Japanese jewelry designer Diaddicts diamond-studded strap for mobile handsets. Mind you, this makes the S$28,000 (US$17,813.01) for the Vertu Constellation handset seem like spare change in comparison.
According to blog site Luxist, this one-of-a-kind strap will feature a 6.02-carat yellow diamond, 0.61-carat blue diamond, 0.36-carat pink diamond and 2.1 carats in colorless diamonds. It is currently on display at the Takashimaya department store in Nihombashi, Japan. Any takers? Phone radiation is bad for your sex life
A study of men with low sperm counts has found some correlation with heavy cellphone usage, but no convincing causal relationship has been put forward and sceptics suggest other lifestyle factors likely to be found in heavy cellphone users could be to blame.361 men visiting a fertility clinic had their sperm analysed prior to starting treatment and were asked about their cellphone usage patterns. They were divided into four groups, with 40 never using a mobile, 107 using one for less than two hours a day, 100 for two to four hours daily and 114 for four or more hours a day. The main finding was that on four measures of sperm potency - count, motility, viability and morphology, or appearance - there were significant differences between the groups, and the greater the use of mobile phones, the greater the reduction in each measure. Professor Ashok Agarwal, director of the Reproductive Research Centre at the Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, who led the study and who presented the results at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine annual meeting in New Orleans, said: "This was very clear and very significant. Many in the lowest group for sperm count would be below normal as defined by the World Health Organisation. There was a significant decrease in the most important measures of sperm health with cellphone use and that [decrease] should definitely be reflected in a decrease in fertility." Agarwal was reported suggesting that the damage could be caused directly by electromagnetic radiation from the phone or from the heating effect of the phones radiation. He suggested that mens habit of carrying a phone on their belt could place it in sufficient close proximity to their testicles (however phones on belts are not in use so transmit only very intermittently) and also the habit of some men of sitting with their phones on their lap sending many text messages. Sceptics however suggested the correlation between sperm count/damage and high mobile phone usage was more likely to be due to other behaviours likely to be exhibited by heavy phone users, and known to be detrimental to sperm quantity and quality. Dr Allan Pacey, senior lecturer in andrology at the University of Sheffield, was reported saying: "Maybe people who use a phone for four hours a day spend more time sitting in cars, which could mean theres a heat issue. It could be they are more stressed, or more sedentary and sit about eating junk food getting fat. Those seem to be better explanations than a phone causing the damage at such a great distance." Hutch to Launch BlackBerry in India
Hutch, one of India’s leading mobile service providers, and Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM), a global leader in wireless innovation, today announced plans to launch BlackBerry® on the Hutch GPRS and EDGE networks. With the launch of BlackBerry, Hutch’s customers will be able to enjoy the trusted BlackBerry solution that supports wireless access to email, phone, text messaging, browser, organizer and other mobile applications.Mr. Naveen Chopra, Chief Marketing Officer Hutchison Essar Ltd. said, “BlackBerry is a unique and robust mobile solution that offers a wide range of customers, from individuals to large organisations, the connectivity and productivity benefits of wireless information on the go. We are pleased that we will soon be able to offer BlackBerry to meet the needs of Hutch’s customers’ growing connectivity and communication needs.” According to Norm Lo, Vice President, Asia Pacific at Research In Motion, “India is an important market and we’re pleased to be working with Hutch to expand our presence in the country. Millions of mobile users around the world have chosen the robust, push-based BlackBerry platform to stay connected in their professional and personal lives and we’re very pleased to now extend the benefits of BlackBerry to Hutch’s customers in India.” In addition to BlackBerry handsets, Hutch will offer BlackBerry® Enterprise Server and BlackBerry® Internet Service. For corporate customers, BlackBerry Enterprise Server software tightly integrates with Microsoft® Exchange, IBM Lotus® Domino® and Novell® GroupWise® and works with existing enterprise systems to enable secure, push-based wireless access to email and other corporate data. For individuals and smaller businesses, BlackBerry Internet Service allows users to access up to ten corporate and personal email accounts (including Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino and most popular ISP email accounts) from a single device. Hutch has established a very strong presence within the Corporate segment over the years and the launch of BlackBerry will further reinforce its position in this segment. For more information please contact Hutch at blackberry@hutch.in India overtakes China; adds 5.84 mn mobile subscribersThe frontline telecom stocks have been in the limelight for quite some good reasons and have continued to witness buying scaling new heights on the bourses. When we look at the subscriber base it has risen at a scorching pace overtaking China. In the month of August the mobile subscriber base increased by 5.28% m-o-m to 116.5 million for August 2006 as compared to 110.7 million in July 2006.The net addition of 5.84 million in August 2006 was the largest ever in Indian mobile industry. Joint MD of Bharti Airtel Cellular, Akhil Gupta says that cellular additions are sustainable in the 5-5.5 million range. The GSM subscriber base increased by 5.10% m-o-m from 82.41 million in July06 to 86.62 million in August 2006 with a highest ever, monthly net addition of 4.2 million subscribers during August 2006. The CDMA subscriber base increased by 5.80% m-o-m from 28.28 million July06 to 29.92 million in August 2006. Bharti Airtel recorded the highest share of 22.4% in the net subscriber addition for August’ 06 with an addition of 1.31 million subscribers followed by Reliance Communication (GSM + CDMA), 21.3% share with a net addition of 1.15 million during August 2006. BSNL continued to show improvement in the net additions from the share in net additions rising from 13.9% in July06 to 17.7% in August06. Tata Tele services reported the highest m-o-m growth of 9.9% for the month of August 2006 followed by Idea (6.72%). The total mobile market is expected to touch 200 million by FY07. When we compare this with the quarter ended June’06; the Indian wireless market, net additions for the quarter ended June06 stood at 13.3 million subscribers, which is now up to 80% of the quarterly additions in China. Also in the first 6 months of 2006, the industry has added as many wireless subscribers as it added in the whole of 2005. The wireless subscriber in India has shown a CAGR of 85% and the fixed line subscriber base has shown a CAGR of 15% from March 99 to March 06. Reliance Communication and Bharti Airtel, are now joining hands to combat margin pressures. They are close to signing an infrastructure sharing agreement, which could add as much as 300 crore to their numbers.To beat the margin pressure both the companies will share infrastructure like those cellular telecom towers that dot Indias landscape. Sharing cellsites will cut capex and operating costs by 10 per cent and it could add Rs 200 crore to Rs 300 crore to Airtels and Reliance Communications books each year from next year. Among the other developments in the sector telecom regulators much awaited recommendations on 3G spectrum will be out before the September 30. Earlier, it was also learnt that Bharti Airtel is scouting for an international acquisition. Recently, 22.3 lakh Bharti Airtel shares changed hands in FII segment at Rs 510/share; Bharti deal was at 8% premium to CMP. Reliance Communcation is anticipated to make significant capital expenditure in wireless telecom services, which the company will make next year, a large chunk could go towards building GSM networks. In the non-wireless segment, the company commissioned its FALCON subsea cable in Sep ’06 & positive contribution from the same should fully kick-in during the later part of the year. In the broadband biz, it continues to focus on enterprise services. Rahul Kundnani India Gets Its 1st CDMA Phone ManufacturerIndia will soon have its first home-grown CDMA handset maker following a licensing deal announced Monday with Qualcomm.Himachal Futuristic Communications (HFCL) plans to start manufacturing CDMA phones and other mobile devices in April next year, said S.K. Garg, HFCL’s senior vice president for business development. The Delhi-based company plans to make 4 million units in the first year, of which about 3 million will be mobile phones and the rest fixed wireless phones and CDMA modules, such as PC cards for computers. The products will be aimed initially at the domestic market, but down the line HFCL is looking at exports as well, Garg said on Monday. CDMA technology vendor Qualcomm, of San Diego, California, announced Monday that it has signed a licensing deal with HFCL for use of its CDMA2000 technology, including a patent license to develop, manufacture and sell CDMA2000 products. The deal is the first with an Indian company and provides a shot in the arm for Qualcomm, which was recently criticized by Indian operators for charging too much for its royalty rates and pushing up mobile phone prices in India, a cost sensitive market. HFCL will pay Qualcomm license fees at standard worldwide rates, the companies said. “We don’t expect the royalty to add significantly to the cost of the handsets,” Garg said. HFCL aims to enter the market with mobile phones priced well below US$40. It would be in the interests of Qualcomm and other chip suppliers to lower their prices, so that HFCL can achieve its target of offering low-cost phones in large volumes in India, Garg added. Several mobile phone makers, including Motorola and Nokia, have set up manufacturing facilities in India to tap the country’s booming phone market. Making the handsets locally will help HFCL to bag business from Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL), a large government-owned mobile services provider. BSNL has already indicated that it would give preference to locally manufactured phones. HFCL already assembles imported mobile phone kits for Reliance Communications, one of the country’s large CDMA service providers. Ozura Brings Mobile Games To Indian MarketMobile developer and publisher Ozura Mobile (CTU, 2188 Space Wars) has announced a new distribution deal with Indian wireless publisher Indiagames which will see a number of Ozuras titles be made available to consumers through the Indiagames mobile gaming portal and Indiagames’ carrier channels in India and Sri Lanka.Specifically, the deal calls for current Ozura releases such as Kung Fu Fighters, Battle of Knights, BZ Bee and World Soccer 2006 to be distributed by the India-based company, which publishes games across various platforms such as the internet, mobile phones, PDAs, and handheld gaming devices. The deal marks the second in recent weeks for Ozura Mobile. The company recently also signed a distribution agreement with Info2cell.com, a prominent mobile provider within North Africa and the Middle East, to publish Ozura’s titles within those regions. Said Ozura’s vice president of marketing, H.E. Mah, “Currently, we have a total market reach of more than one billion mobile consumers via our extensive distribution network. We are confident that through this partnership, we can expect an increase of revenue as a result of delving into this 123.44 million mobile phone subscriber market.” Mobile Magic to launch four showrooms in PuneMobile supermarket retail chain Mobile Magic has announced the launch of four showrooms in Pune, taking its total tally of outlets to 40 showrooms across India. The new showrooms will have more than 100 multi-brand handset models on sale with authorised multi-brand repairing facility, accessories and software downloads for all major brands, in addition to prepaid and post-paid SIM cards.Mr Vijay Singh, CEO, Mobile Magic said, "We aim to bring all mobile phone-related services to our customers under one roof and at competitive rates. The launch in Pune is one more step towards achieving our aim of providing complete spectrum of mobile related services across India." The company started operations with focus on tier II & tier III cities and is now moving to the metros with the showrooms to be run on franchisee-owned company operated model. "We already have 21 showrooms in the rest of Maharashtra and will increase this number to 50 by end of this year. As far as metros are concerned, there are huge opportunities in mobile servicing and technology segments, and our strength in these segments is unmatched," he added. Mobile Magic claims to be the only organisation, which also offers download of various applications at a retail level. Customers have the facility to download licensed ringtones, wallpapers, songs, videos and themes. Mobile Magic also provides repair services and spares of almost all mobile phone brands. Star eyes growth via broadbandStar Group-India is eyeing growth opportunities in the areas of broadband and wireless communication and is thinking of introducing more shows on the mobile phone medium. The media powerhouse, which runs brands in the entertainment, movies, music, sports, news and documentaries space, is also keen on expanding its regional reach.According to Peter Mukerjea, chief executive of Star Group-India, wireless will play a bigger role than internet protocol television in India. "Today, we already have The Great Indian Laughter Challenge video clips available on the mobile phone. We are looking at making available more shows on the wireless medium now," he said, without disclosing the specifics. It is, however, learnt that video clips of Star Plus popular serial, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, could be made available on mobile phones next. Currently, in India, for every rupee that a customer spends on viewing television clips on the mobile phone, 30 per cent goes to the channel and 70 per cent to the telecom operator. "Internationally, however, it is the reverse. We are therefore looking at enhancing the revenue share from such feeds to 45-50 per cent for every rupee spent by the customer, as compared to 30 per cent now," Mukerjea said. SAMSUNG is Set to Demonstrate 4th Generation Mobile Technology at Samsung 4G Forum 2006
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. announced its plan to demonstrate 4th Generation (4G) mobile technology at the annual Samsung 4G Forum in Jeju Island, Korea for the first time in the world. Demonstration will take place at the specially designed bus in mobile circumstances reaching 100 Mbps data transmission as well as at the display area inside forum venue to show speeds of 1Gbps of data transmission. The bus demonstration will give participants a first-hand experience of this latest technology. A demonstration bus will be moving at speeds of 60 km/h to show multi-cell Handover Handover: The process of transferring an ongoing call or data session from one channel connected to the core network to another with data speed of 100Mbps. A live broadcast of the Forum, VOD, and internet access will be shown simultaneously in a demonstration bus allowing delegates to experience the stability and speed of 4G connectivity of 100Mbps data speed. 1 Gbps data speed under nomadic circumstances is 50 times faster than current Mobile WiMAX technology. It takes about 2.4 seconds to transfer 100 MP3 files(300MByte), 5.6 seconds to transfer 1 Movie(800MByte) at speeds of 1Gpbs. Samsung will demonstrate 1Gpbs data speed at nomadic circumstances by showing 32HD channel broadcast (20 Mpbs) download, Internet access and video telephony all at the same time. Furthermore, a 3.5 Gbps data transfer demonstration will be shown using 8X8 MIMO(Multi-Input Multi-Output) technology. Samsung’s 4G technology demonstration is a next generation wireless communication service, a step up from last year’s Mobile WiMAX demonstration. Samsung has recently announced its plans to provide Mobile WiMAX systems and handsets to Sprint Nextel and lead the industry in next generation telecommunications technology. Additionally, Samsung has plans to commercialize Mobile WiMAX with nine major operators in seven different countries such as US, Italy, Brazil. Ki Tae Lee, president of Samsungs Telecommunications Network Business, says, “We are proud to demonstrate 4G technology for the first time at Samsung 4G Forum. We hope to drive development and standardization of 4G mobile technology with the successful demonstration and realize our dream to begin the 4G era.” He adds, “We hope to work with associated parties for the successful commercialization of 4G technology.” Samsung hosts an annual 4G Forum to discuss about technology development and standardization of future telecommunication technology. Around 175 high-profile industry representatives from 20 countries meet to discuss the key technologies for 4th generation mobile communications at the 4th Annual Samsung 4G Forum from August 30th to September 1st covering the “Service Requirements & Spectrum for 4G”. ITU defines 4G technology as a future wireless telecommunications technology allowing data transfer rates of 1Gbps at nomadic circumstances and 100Mbps at mobile circumstances. The spectrums for 4G technology will be decided at WRC (World Radiocommunication Conference) in October of 2007. The 4G mobile communications format is expected to become commercially available around 2010. Google sees a mobile future in Asia
Mobile search and services are still in their infancy, but Google hopes to use them to tap into Asian markets
As Google looks to conquer the emerging markets of Asia, Deep Nishar, its head of wireless products, is turning the focus of the company from its PC roots to mobile phones in its bid for global ubiquity - and tackling criticism for censorship along the way. In the search giants established markets its accepted guise is as a mostly white, blank web page with a search bar located at the heart of the PC screen. As it looks to charge headlong into fast growing Asian markets such as China and India, Mr Nishar argued that it could well be the mobile phone, not computers, that becomes the device of choice for accessing information in these countries. His statistics are persuasive. There are more than 2bn mobile phones worldwide and about 1bn PCs. In emerging countries the number of internet-connected PCs are often limited, and certainly not in every household and office, but mobile phones seem to be in everyones hand. China Mobile now claims to be the worlds largest wireless operator by number of subscribers. It has more than 200 million customers, while Vodafone has 186 million customers worldwide despite being a much more global business. Furthermore, there are already in the vicinity of 440m mobile handsets in China - close to the total in the US and Europe combined, according to Mr Nishar. And India has about 100m handsets in a market growing at some 5m a month. "It is fair to assume that accessing the internet or data services could well be primarily done through these devices," he said. "We believe that mobile is the next big opportunity for Google." In countries where there is limited access to media, especially trusted sources, the use of mobile phones to access foreign news is becoming increasingly important. When Google News first launched on mobile in English, the company saw an unexpected surge of access from English-speaking Nigeria. And when it launched a service in French, there was similar spike from some former French colonies such as the Ivory Coast. "Mobile users are looking for trusted sources - they want to find, not browse, as is often the case with PC users," said Mr Nishar. "Mobile queries are often of a more direct, urgent nature." This is something that the BBC has also found with its WAP-based mobile internet service. According to its July figures, Africa - especially Nigeria - dominated international usage, accounting for 61% of traffic outside the UK. Slow, unreliable landlines, making for poor internet connections, is also a factor in the popularity of mobile access outside the US and Europe. Generating revenue - something Google has become extremely adept at via its PC-based search service - from mobile search services is not easy. However, Mr Nishar said Googles services are making money, in test form, from mobile text ads in the Japanese market. For Mr Nishars global Google mobile dream to become a reality, the company needs help. Mobile search and services are still in their infancy and, he argued, investment must come before the grab for profits. "Mobile is still in the investment phase and it requires the major players in the handset business, the mobile network operators and the content providers to continue to invest," he said. An informal Google company motto outlined by founder Sergey Brin at the time of its launch in the 90s was "Dont be evil". Launching a censored version of its website in China would appear to go against that principle, but Google argues that offering some information is better than none at all. "This issue is the same for any device - mobile or PC - and we operate by the standards of the country in which the laws are being set," said a Google spokesman. "The balance is that as mobile search grows in the developing world, access to a wider range of information expands. Is it better to be operating there with limitations, or not providing any access at all?" Pressure has recently been heaped on technology companies operating in China by Human Rights Watch, which claimed that many web firms had become complicit in political repression. The New York-based campaign group called the policies of Yahoo!, Google and Microsoft "arbitrary, opaque and unaccountable" and said users deserved to know more about the way they operated. In a report published earlier this month, the group said that it was "ironic that companies whose existence depends on freedom of information and expression have taken on the role of censor, even in cases where the Chinese government makes no specific demands for them to do so". Pakistan Worried Over Indian Nokia Handset ImportsMobile phone traders in Pakistan have moved to dispel concerns that Indian made Nokia handsets could end up being sold in the country. Pakistan has a limit on the items which can be traded with India, and mobile phones are not on the permitted list.An executive of one of the largest mobile phone distribution companies (authorised distributor of Nokia handsets), who asked not to be named, told the local Dawn newspaper that the government of Pakistan had not allowed the entry of the Indian-made mobile phones and it may not allow it in future. Most distributors in Pakistan order their handsets via Nokia Middle East Africa, importing handsets manufactured in Finland, Hungary, Germany and China. Chief Operating Officer of United Mobile, Azad Lalani said "I do not see future of the Indian-made Nokia phones in Pakistan because the Chinese-made Nokia phones have started arriving," adding that the Indian-made cell phones might be cheaper in terms of lower transportation cost, cheaper raw materials etc but the Pakistani customers had already developed a taste for handsets made elsewhere owing to their quality and reliability. Nokia recently started manufacturing low-end handsets at a facility at Sriperumbudur, India. Due to the ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan, trade between the two countries is heavily restricted. Yahoo Go on Motorola phones
SAN FRANCISCO: Motorola and the Internet major Yahoo have entered into an agreement where in the mobile phone maker will embed Yahoo services on its phones.
As per the multi-year deal, mid-priced and high-end Motorola phones will run an integrated set of services known as Yahoo Go for Mobile that includes Yahoo mail, search and address book in a single place. "We are looking at a broad range of phones," said Bruce Stewart, Vice President, Business Development, Yahoos Connected Lifes business unit, in a telephonic interview. He, however, declined to disclose the names of the specific Motorola models which will feature the service. The deal is Yahoo’s second agreement with a major handset maker. In January, Yahoo had announced a deal with Nokia to begin installing Yahoo Go on millions of Nokia phones worldwide. Introduced some time back, the Yahoo Go platform is a software system which aims to make Yahoo services as easy to use on mobile phones and TVs as they have become on computers. The new deal builds on an existing partnership signed last July between the two companies in which Motorola has installed a version of Yahoo Mail locally on certain Motorola phones, enabling connection to Yahoo e-mail by the press of a button. The Nokia-Yahoo deal covers certain mid-priced and high-end phones in Nokias Series 60 and "N" class multimedia phone categories, a Yahoo spokeswoman said. A single Yahoo Go Nokia model went on sale in the United States through wireless service provider Cingular in February. Five to 10 such Nokia models are available in several European and Asian markets now, Stewart said. As part of the latest deal, Motorola will pre-load Yahoo Go for Mobile on handsets it sells worldwide, starting in the first half of 2007. The new ties between Internet companies and hardware makers promise to give consumers quicker access to personal Internet information than is possible on most current phones. Existing phone models require users to make several clicks and wait for a period of time before the phones can connect to the Web. Yahoo initiated its partnership with Nokia in March 2004 and first signed up Motorola as a partner in July 2005. Yahoo rival Google Inc. is racing to win similar positioning for its Web services through deals with handset makers and mobile carriers.
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