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Govt. in no mood to privatize BSNL (India)

  • August 25th, 2008
  • 12:04 pm

According to a media report, Union Minister of State for Telecom and IT, Jyotiaraditya Scindia said that the Government has no plans to privatize Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. or BSNL and the public sector telecom major is only coming out with an IPO by divesting 10% of its equity only. Proceeds generated from IPO would be utilized to strengthen the BSNL network in far remote areas, minister further said.  He said BSNL should focus on providing high quality service, so that it can attract people and also complete with the private players. With regard to GSM network, he indicated that presently 1,392 towers of the service are established in the state and the number of towers would go up to 4,500 by 2009. He further added that mobile and broadband services would be provided by 2009, where 100 customers are guaranteed and added that the target of the ministry is to provide telecom services up to panchayat level. Presently, there is an increase of 67,000 more landline phones in the state. However BSNL has set the target to install three lakh more connections by the year-end, Scindia added.

China’s top search engine faces infringement lawsuit (China)

  • March 3rd, 2008
  • 2:07 pm

China’s top search engine, Baidu.com, has been sued by a music industry group in China over an alleged copyright violation, the Music Copyright Society of China.

The Associated Press report also quoted Music Copyright Society official Qu Jingming as saying that Baidu.com provided “music listening, broadcasting and downloading services in various forms on its web site without approval, and through unfettered piracy, earning huge advertising revenue on its huge number of hits.”

Baidu is China’s most popular search engine, with 60.1% of the sector’s revenues, according to Analysys International, a Beijing-based research firm. Google’s China arm is in second place with 25.9%, and Yahoo’s China site is third with 9.6%.

The copyright society said its lawsuit, filed in a Beijing court in January, claims Baidu used 50 songs illegally and demands compensation.

The alleged piracy forced legitimate online music providers to shut down, the industry group said.

A publicist for Baidu didn’t immediately respond to a reporter’s email seeking comment, the Associated Press report said. It is the second such lawsuit against Baidu.

The International Federation of Phonographic Industries said early this month that several music publishers have sued Baidu, accusing it of aiding illicit online copying.

   

 

Mobile Advertising Good For Branding Bad For Trust

  • October 11th, 2007
  • 3:24 pm

A global survey of over 26,000 Internet users spanning 47 markets from Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Americas and the Middle East has revealed that Internet users trust recommendations from other consumers the most and text ads on mobile phones least of all.

The good news is that a separate survey of over 500 male consumers aged 18-35 years carried out over a period of 4 weeks found that brand awareness can be increased over 30 per cent through banner ads on mobile web portals.

Nielsen’s global survey found that the vast majority of consumers trusted recommendations from other consumers most all. This was followed by trust in newspaper advertising, consumer opinions posted online, brand websites and television. Text ads on mobile phones were trusted by only 18 per cent of users, ranking it lowest, below online banner ads and search engine ads.

Millward Brown and Aerodeon conducted the brand awareness survey in August. Conducted using mobile phone survey technology, the research measured how much ad awareness and brand consideration was generated for a global male grooming brand by a banner ad creative, produced by Aerodeon, on a UK mobile web portal.

Aerodeon’s research showed that branded ad awareness increased by more than 30 percent. Future purchase consideration also increased by 23 percent among users of the brand and 11% among non users.

While this is a mixed bag of news, one thing is clear: Mobile advertising is currently enjoying a honeymoon period where users are responding to ads at a much higher rate than they do on other media (compare 30% to 7% for regular Internet ads). For advertisers, this means that now might be the best time to start building mobile sites and advertising mobile content.

   
 

 

Kordia announces 31% jump in sales (New Zealand)

  • October 8th, 2007
  • 3:19 pm

The state-owned New Zealand telco Kordia has announced its first set of financial results following its company reorganisation last year. Revenues for the twelve months to the end of June 2007 were up 31% to NZD264.3 million (USD200 million), while net surplus (net profit after interest and tax) increased 21% to NZD11.9 million. The firm, originally part of New Zealand’s TV and radio broadcast networks owner, now has telecoms operations across Australasia and is expanding further into Asia. ‘We have streamlined internal processes to support growth across our broadcast, telecommunications and converged solutions businesses, and are integrating the different parts of the company across Australia and New Zealand into a more unified group,’ says Kordia Chairman Wayne Brown.

   

India becomes second largest market for Nokia (India)

  • August 27th, 2007
  • 1:06 pm

India has become the second largest market for Nokia in terms of sales in the quarter ended June. Nokia has also started exporting to 58 countries from its Sriperumbudur, Chennai manufacturing plant. The factory has reached production volumes of 60 million handsets and is exporting half of its production to 58 countries across Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Also, the Nokia Telecom Park has received an investment of USD 500 million with seven global component manufacturers likely to generate in excess of 30,000 jobs when fully functional. Nokia Siemens Networks has also recently announced its plans to invest USD 100 million in India over the next three years to develop a strong telecommunications environment in India. This investment will include setting up a proposed telecommunication equipment manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu for mobile network equipment, new offices across various cities, additional development of an existing R&D centre and expanding the Global Networks Solution Centre.

   

Vringo receives USD 12 mln in series B funding

  • August 1st, 2007
  • 2:28 pm

Vringo, a specialist in video ringtone sharing, has closed its Series B round of venture capital funding. The company has received USD 12 million in a round led by Warburg Pincus, the global private equity firm. The company will finance for its global expansion as it brings new personalisation and content services to mobile phone markets in the United States, Europe and Asia. The Vringo application, now in public beta, will soon be available on a wide set of mobile handsets including devices made by Nokia, Motorola, SonyEricsson and Samsung. The company will use this investment round to formally launch its product and to expand global partnerships with mobile carriers and content providers. With this funding round, the company has appointed George Allen, a principal at Warburg Pincus, to its board of directors.

   

Avaya net profit up 25 percent

  • July 26th, 2007
  • 3:04 pm

Avaya reported net profit for the fiscal third quarter of USD 55 million, up from USD 44 million a year earlier. Revenues fell 1.6 percent from a year earlier to USD 1.276 billion. Sales of products declined 1.6 percent, rental and managed services revenues fell 7.1 percent, and services revenues were flat. US revenues declined 8 percent, while sales in the EMEA region were relatively flat, with growth outside of Germany offset by declines within Germany. Asia Pacific revenues grew by 33 percent, and revenues in the Americas, excluding the US, grew by 11 percent, driven by performance in Latin America. Operating profit improved to USD 70 million from USD 28 million, driven by lower costs. During the quarter Avaya shipped over 1 million IP lines for the fifth consecutive quarter. IP product sales increased 10 percent from a year earlier and now account for 69 percent of group sales.

   

Avaya net profit up 25 percent

  • July 26th, 2007
  • 3:04 pm

Avaya reported net profit for the fiscal third quarter of USD 55 million, up from USD 44 million a year earlier. Revenues fell 1.6 percent from a year earlier to USD 1.276 billion. Sales of products declined 1.6 percent, rental and managed services revenues fell 7.1 percent, and services revenues were flat. US revenues declined 8 percent, while sales in the EMEA region were relatively flat, with growth outside of Germany offset by declines within Germany. Asia Pacific revenues grew by 33 percent, and revenues in the Americas, excluding the US, grew by 11 percent, driven by performance in Latin America. Operating profit improved to USD 70 million from USD 28 million, driven by lower costs. During the quarter Avaya shipped over 1 million IP lines for the fifth consecutive quarter. IP product sales increased 10 percent from a year earlier and now account for 69 percent of group sales.

   

Motorola posts net loss of USD 28 mln in Q2

  • July 22nd, 2007
  • 6:30 pm

Motorola reported a net loss of USD 28 million for the second quarter, reversing a profit of USD 1.384 billion a year earlier as its mobile phone business plunged into the red. Group sales dropped to USD 8.732 billion from USD 10.320 billion a year ago, while the operating result moved to a loss of USD 158 million from a profit of USD 1.522 billion. In line with the earlier profit warning, the Mobile Devices division posted an operating loss of USD 264 million, excluding one-time items, versus a profit of USD 804 million a year ago. Sales plunged 40 percent to USD 4.3 billion due to weak volumes in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Motorola repeated its outlook for Q3 earnings per share from continuing operations, excluding one-time items, to be flat to slightly higher versus the USD 0.02 reported in Q2. The mobile devices business is expected to remain the red for the full year, but Motorola expects improved results in the second half.

Home and Networks Mobility, which includes the newly combined Connected Home Solutions and Networks businesses, grew sales 9 percent to USD 2.6 billion, while adjusted operating profit dipped to USD 207 million from USD 246 million. Enterprise Mobility Solutions, which includes the company’s two Government and Public Safety and Enterprise Mobility activities, increased sales 42 percent to USD 1.9 billion, and grew operating profit to USD 302 million from USD 252 million a year ago.

   

 

Motorola posts net loss of USD 28 mln in Q2

  • July 22nd, 2007
  • 6:30 pm

Motorola reported a net loss of USD 28 million for the second quarter, reversing a profit of USD 1.384 billion a year earlier as its mobile phone business plunged into the red. Group sales dropped to USD 8.732 billion from USD 10.320 billion a year ago, while the operating result moved to a loss of USD 158 million from a profit of USD 1.522 billion. In line with the earlier profit warning, the Mobile Devices division posted an operating loss of USD 264 million, excluding one-time items, versus a profit of USD 804 million a year ago. Sales plunged 40 percent to USD 4.3 billion due to weak volumes in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Motorola repeated its outlook for Q3 earnings per share from continuing operations, excluding one-time items, to be flat to slightly higher versus the USD 0.02 reported in Q2. The mobile devices business is expected to remain the red for the full year, but Motorola expects improved results in the second half.

Home and Networks Mobility, which includes the newly combined Connected Home Solutions and Networks businesses, grew sales 9 percent to USD 2.6 billion, while adjusted operating profit dipped to USD 207 million from USD 246 million. Enterprise Mobility Solutions, which includes the company’s two Government and Public Safety and Enterprise Mobility activities, increased sales 42 percent to USD 1.9 billion, and grew operating profit to USD 302 million from USD 252 million a year ago.