Six telecom companies 'disconnect' 5.25 lakh inactive subscribers in Gujarat
Daily News & Analysis

Just a month after achieving the milestone of 5 crore mobile connections in state in October, six telecom companies in Gujarat saw net losses of 5.25 lakh connections in their customer base in November, 2011. The telecom companies have started disconnecting those numbers which were inactive, since these connections were not adding to the companies' revenues. According to the subscription figures of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) and Association of United Telecom Service Providers of India (AUSPI), the six telecom companies are: Tata Teleservices, RCom, Idea Cellular, Videocon, Aircel, and Bharti Airtel.

DoT seeks law ministry's opinion on spectrum pricing
Economic Times

The Department of Telecom (DoT) has sought the Law Ministry's opinion on implementing a raft of new policy decisions related to pricing of airwaves, as it braces for possible litigation from mobile operators. This will delay the unveiling of the new Telecom Policy to the second half of 2012. The Telecom Commission had recently approved several policy changes related to airwaves pricing, including slapping a one-time fee on incumbents holding 'excess' spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz, a move which has been challenged by the country's top telcos. A total of 11 issues, related to spectrum pricing, have been sent to the Law Ministry, many of which form part of the comprehensive Telecom Policy.

2G spectrum case: Asheervatham Achary denies being a "tailor-made" witness
Economic Times

Asheervatham Achary, ex-aide of former Telecom Minister A Raja and a key witness in 2G spectrum case, on Wednesday denied in a Delhi court that his statement to CBI was "tailor-made" and that he was being used as a "willing tool" to falsely implicate Unitech MD, Sanjay Chandra. "It is wrong to suggest that I made the statement before the magistrate as being tutored by CBI. It is wrong to suggest that I had deposed in the court as per the dictation of the investigating agency," he said. During his cross-examination, he said he was not aware that between January, 2005, and May, 2007, during Raja's tenure as the Minister of Environment and Forests, 1,666 environmental clearances were given and out of this Unitech applied and got only seven.

Exclusive communication network for government use soon
The Hindu

India's vulnerability to spying activities by unfriendly nations in the Internet era has forced the government to chalk out a Rs 450-crore plan to develop and deploy a pan-India secure network and network-based services such as email and Internet-telephony, thus providing a foolproof infrastructure for telecom and Internet communication exclusively for government use. The government wants all official communication on the Internet to be routed through the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI).

DoT mulls creation of Rs 1k cr SPV to implement rural schemes
Economic Times

The Telecom Ministry is likely to create a special purpose vehicle with an authorised capital of Rs 1,000 crore and Rs 100 crore as paid-up capital, for implementing schemes relating to the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), including the National Optical Fibre Network. The USOF was created to implement various schemes in rural and remote areas, the cost of which is reimbursed from the fund. Cabinet had also approved the investment of Rs 20,000 crore in the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) scheme and the target is to complete it in two years. Initially, the broadband project will be executed by state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and other institutions like RailTel.

HDFC Securities launches mobile trading apps
Moneylife Personal Finance site and magazine

Taking a giant step forward, India's premium brokerage house, HDFC Securities Ltd., a subsidiary of HDFC Bank, has come up with a one-of-its-kind trading engine for mobile phones. The range of Mobile Trading Apps will open up trading opportunities for millions of people on the move and to those who don't have access to trading portals. The apps will facilitate clients to trade, transact and receive market information anytime, anywhere. The mobile trading apps are available on Android, BlackBerry, and Microsoft Window-based phones as well as on tablets.

Ex-aide fails to recall Raja's discussion with Pranab, Chidambaram: 2G case
The Hindu

Mr. Raja's former Additional Private Secretary and key witness in the 2G spectrum case Aseervatham Achary, on Wednesday failed to recall in a Delhi court whether the former Telecom Minister had discussions on telecom issues with his erstwhile senior Cabinet colleagues Pranab Mukherjee and P. Chidambaram before sending the letters to the Prime Minister in November and December of 2007 regarding spectrum auctioning.Mr. Raja had written letters to the Prime Minister on November 2, 2007, regarding the cut-off date for applications for the 2G licences. He had also written to Dr. Singh on December 26, 2007, detailing procedures to be adopted for distribution of Letters of Intent (LoIs) on the first-come-first serve (FCFS) basis.

Beware of missed calls from international numbers: Vodafone
Economic Times

If you have been receiving missed calls from international numbers, think twice before calling back, cautions telecom operator Vodafone. The operator has been witnessing cases wherein people get missed calls from international numbers and when the user calls back they are charged a huge sum for the call. A Vodafone representative said people in Uttar Pradesh got such calls on January 3, and on January 4 people in Tamil Nadu received these unsolicited calls on their mobile phones. Vodafone said it was investigating the matter.

Loop challenges CBI court's order, moves Delhi HC
Times of India

Loop Telecom, which has been facing charges in the 2G scam, moved the Delhi High Court on Wednesday, challenging the CBI special court that it has not been booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The plea is likely to come up for hearing on Thursday before a division bench, comprising Justice B D Ahmed and Justice V K Jain. The CBI, in its chargesheet filed on December 12, has accused Loop promoters of conspiring to cheat the Department of Telecommunication (DoT), but has not found evidence to prosecute them under the PCA.

Charge your phone with water; there is an accessory for that
BGR

Fuel cells for consumer electronics are now a reality. A Swedish fuel cell company is launching a portable fuel cell charger that can power up cell phones and other mobile devices by converting hydrogen into electricity. myFC has created what is said to be world's first portable fuel cell charger called PowerTrekk. The fuel cell also doubles up as a portable battery pack which can be operated on its own as a ready source of power or storage buffer for the fuel cell. The fuel cell enables instant charging from a depleted battery state without ever needing a wall charge. Users simply insert a fuel pack and add water.

Idea unveils country's first-ever music release on mobile
Economic Times

Idea Cellular, India's third largest mobile operator, on January 4, unveiled what it claimed is the country's first-ever music release of the Kannada film 'Namma Anna Don' on mobile phones. Idea subscribers can download popular songs of the movie on their mobile phones for the next 5 days, said Idea Cellular Chief Operating Officer (Karnataka) Siva Ganapathi.

Samsung Galaxy M serves up Super AMOLED for a midrange price
CNet

Samsung, has just pulled the tarp off of another slick-looking device, the Galaxy M. The Galaxy M which sports a big 4-inch Super AMOLED display, and has the Android 2.3 Gingerbread, among other specs, is sure to turn heads with its ultrathin size (0.39 inch) and eye-catching colors.

Apple iPhone 4S to launch on January 13th
BGR

Apple's iPhone 4S is set to launch in China and 21 more markets, on January 13th. The popular smartphone was previously rumored to be scheduled for release in the region on January 23rd, but Apple announced on Tuesday that the launch of its latest smartphone will occur 10 days sooner. With the launch iPhone 4S will be available in over 90 countries making this our fastest iPhone rollout ever.

Choosing a Mobile Device Management Vendor
42Gears MobilitySystems Pvt. Ltd.
One wise decision can save you from multitude of problems in future. A thorough understanding of application needs, network capabilities and security concerns allows you to select your Mobile Device Management (MDM) Software on the basis of the feature set it provides. This paper presents some important tips to consider about while making this important decision.