BSNL offers to surrender BWA spectrum in 17 circles
BSNL has written a letter to Department of Telecom (DoT) offering to return BWA spectrum in 17 circles… (It) wants to retain only Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Haryana service areas,”. BSNL has been facing severe financial pressure as its losses have more than tripled to about Rs. 6,000 crore during 2010-11, mainly due to hefty outgo for employees’ salary and expenses borne by the PSU for procuring 3G and BWA spectrum. The company had registered a net loss of Rs. 1,823 crore during 2009-10.[source]
NIIT Ltd has sold its entire stake in US-based Element K Corporation to SkillSoft Ltd for $110 million.
Element K is into learning products and solutions and its portfolio includes e-learning content, virtual labs, and classroom materials. SkillSoft is a provider of e-learning content, online information resources, learning technologies and support services. “This deal is about moving from competition to collaboration model. Both Element K and SkillSoft were competing in learning products business, although SkillSoft is a larger player in that segment. Now we will collaborate with SkillSoft,”[source].
Katrina Kaif Becomes World’s Most Searched Celebrity in Mobile Videos: Vuclip
Katrina Kaif has become the world’s most searched celebrity in mobile videos, ahead of Britney Spears who ranked second, according to the findings of latest Global Video Insights Report for September, released by Vuclip, mobile video service.The top ten celebrities globally also included India’s Kareena Kapoor (Global Rank: #4) and SonakshiSinha (Global Rank: #6), alongside international stars such as Lindsay Lohan, Beyonce and Shakira.[source]
DoT panel rejects 10-digit proposal for fixed-line phones
A Department of Telecom panel has rejected the telecom regulator’s proposal to introduce 10-digit number series for fixed-line telephones. The committee has said that the fixed-line phone number should continue to be eight digits, but the series should start with digits 2 and 4 only.
Currently, eight-digit fixed-line telephone number series starting with 3 is used by subscribers of Reliance Communications, 6 belongs to Tata Teleservices and 5 has been allocated to HFCL and Sistema Shyam [source].
Reliance Industries readies plans to roll out 4G data services, low cost tablets in 2012
Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries plans to offer high-speed data services on attractively priced tablets by early next year and scale it up to a countrywide network by the middle of 2012.
The company, which made a comeback to telecom last year, plans to offer fourth-generation or 4G-enabled data cards that can be plugged into computers and laptops, apart from providing tablets at a game-changing price of 3,000 or even lower to hook customers [source].
Finance Ministry for white-level ATMs to boost banking access in country
In a bid to increase the penetration of banking services, the Finance Ministry has favoured setting up of white-level ATMs in the country. White-level ATMs are not owned by banks but by private ATM service providers. Customers from any bank can deposit or withdraw money from such ATMs. Besides, it will help sponsored banks to set-up ATMs without incurring capital expenses for owning money dispensing machine, sources said.[source]
