Image by bhautikjoshi via Flickr

I have experimented with the tone and tenor of the write ups here. It’s impossible to update on a daily basis although RSS as a delivery mechanism is very powerful in it’s context; it’s easy to set up feeds to keep the blog updated regularly.

However, I personally feel that the sector as a whole has not evolved to a meaningful extent to report on the events. Vodafone has been dragged to the court. Airtel has botched up it’s 3G offerings. 2G scam has caught up with its final actors. However, this is still the “tip of the iceberg”. A lot goes behind the scenes and some unlucky few get caught up in the swirl. Indeed, they are just minor fronts for the systematic loot.

Writing on all this is a chore. It’s pathetic to repeat the same thing ad-nauseum.

Image via Wikipedia

Hence, I prefer to write when I get a sudden burst of “inspiration”. This blog has definitely morphed from it’s rigid confines of Indian Telecom to something more of a “digital narrative”.

I could also write on the operators elsewhere; unrestricted data does not flow uniformly. Yet, in most of the developing countries, scarcity is something that is engineered. It holds no relevance for most of us to know about what AT&T is doing with it’s T- Mobile acquisition. Further, we have distanced ourselves, not only from the advertising, but also from reporting any industry sponsored events. I routinely get invitations (off and on) but they are mostly from clueless PR executives.

Daily updates is beyond the scope. Writing is a passion and needs to be stoked. Yet, there is no point in being pointless either!

Related articles

• Under the hood (broadbandblog.in)
• Broadbandblog: Some cosmetic changes (broadbandblog.in)
• Broadbandblog as Techdirt? (broadbandblog.in)
• New additions (broadbandblog.in)
• Some random site stats (broadbandblog.in)
• Disconnecting Airtel Landline/Broadband? (youmeus.in)
• The changing face of the 2G Scam as investigation progresses (the2gscam.com)
• Mobile Video Search Engine Vuclip Raises $8 Million (techcrunch.com)
• Home page improvements (broadbandblog.in)

Related posts:

1. Broadbandblog as Techdirt? I have been thinking about this; the direction that this...
2. Under the hood I have spent a whole day fine tuning the blog....
3. Some random site stats Although I cannot publish the site stats here, but surprisingly,...
4. New additions I have cleaned up the sidebar; unfortunately, in it’s prior...
5. Home page improvements I have implemented Word Press Cache; the home page should...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Image via CrunchBase

I have argued against excessive reliance on social media; it is a stupid decision to hail Facebook and Twitter as the “next destination”. This is the problem with the marketing executives either from the mobile companies or handset manufacturers. For example, it’s not difficult to miss the blurb that accessing Facebook is “easy” by a “single click button”.

The experience on ground is different. Let’s assume, for a moment that there are over 600 million users. How many of them are active? What is the “engagement matrix” on the web site? What is the actual cost retrieved by

Image via CrunchBase

Facebook from it’s advertisers; i.e. how effective is advertising on the platform? Is social engagement really effective? I mean, it’s stupidity to see links from Facebook friends streaming in Bing (which has implemented the feature and live on to crow that they are up in the pissing game with Google).

If you dissect the issue further, accumulating a number of “likes” on the platform does not mean that it likely to translate into action. I was moved by this interesting blog post and they

Image via CrunchBase

gave explicit reasons why they are moving away from facebook hype: (emphasis mine)

1. The Facebook API changes too often. The plug-ins are buggy, the API changes without notice rather often, and there are too many rules constraining how developers can use the API in building applications. As a platform, it is unstable, period. ……

2. Facebook is overhyped. Personally, even though Facebook actually has 600 million active users, developers still tend to overestimate how many people actually 1) have a Facebook account, 2) use it regularly, and 3) are comfortable using it as a third-party authentication method. Many consumers across different niche markets are simply not familiar with how Facebook works; developing Facebook-only applications marginalizes this segment of users, who may be substantial in number.

3. Facebook is still mainly social for most, and exclusively social for some. We are still not completely convinced that Facebook can be an effective platform for any commercial activity…….Of all the new variants of ecommerce, the one that might actually take off is, in our view, mobile commerce.

More interestingly, Facebook and other industry “leaders” are opposing the proposed bill to protect the user’s privacy. I am not sure how this is going to pan out but this is good enough indication that some sense has dawned to protect the users from advertising onslaught.

California could force Facebook and other social-networking sites to change their privacy protection policies under a first-of-its-kind proposal at the state Capitol that is opposed by much of the Internet industry……social-networking sites would have to allow users to establish their privacy settings…

….like who could view their profile and what information would be public to everyone on the Internet – when they register to join the site instead of after they join. Sites would also have to set defaults to private so that users would choose which information is public

These measures would not apply to India or it’s privacy laws though I heard they have been tightened in recent times; the impact on end users has not been discussed.

There’s one more compelling reason to avoid reliance on Facebook; falling traffic. Countries that were on the path to early adoption is seeing a fall in the traffic (perhaps an indication of slow and waning interest).

The average decline over months has yet to become negative, though. There are other possible factors at work, too, such as bugs in the Facebook ad tool that we get this data from…. in order to identif the long-term directions here is crucial for planning how to capitalize on Facebook’s success, or lack thereof.

It is most likely to be argued that India would perhaps be a “fantastic growth opportunity” but is corporate gibberish. Even if the “dark populations” are lighted up, in absence of aggressive promotion of localized content, it is unlikely to see a massive expansion. It seems that most of the companies keep their “outposts” in India to hire cheap labor for “translation” efforts. It’s not a generalized statement, but thats the reality. Again, there is NO reliable data to break up the traffic specific to the sites or universally agreed metrics to track traffic to popular sites (however, Opera Mobile‘s stats are likely to be more reliable).

Where do we go from here? It is important not to rely completely on the “social aspect” of the net. It is a matter of time before it fades away for perhaps a better “personalized approach” (more so as semantic web matures and we have better ontology) to deal with. That also comes as a rider but there is no “perfect ideal approach”. This is something that the next generation access devices and advertising agencies should keep in mind before they can actually deliver better “value added services”.

Related articles

• 3 Reasons that We are Moving Away from Facebook as a Platform (zuupy.com)
• Social-networking sites face new privacy battle (seattlepi.com)
• Social-networking sites face new privacy battle (sfgate.com)
• Facebook’s Stealth Attack on Google Exposes Its Own Privacy Problem (wired.com)
• Facebook is Passé. Pt. 2 – Here Comes the Mob(ile) and Those that Do no Evil! (trak.in)
• Does Anybody Really Care About Facebook’s P.R. Fumble? (allfacebook.com)
• Why Facebook Smeared Google (insights.chitika.com)
• Naukri and Monster, a no Longer Purple Cow, for Job Hunters in India (digitalgossips.com)

Related posts:

1. Mainstream Media: Unable to grasp digital trends This post, was in part motivated by Shyam’s incisive commentary...
2. Media, Telecom and Fall of Business Standard This post was actually motivated by Tech Crunch write up...
3. Media wants to slow down Broadband? Well, it could be the big news. I have always...
4. RIM Blackberry: Slipping fortunes As per the blurb on Forbes,RIM Looks To Revive Smartphone...
5. Chrome Notebooks: Any business model for developing nations? A lot has been made up for Google Chrome OS...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

This post, was in part motivated by Shyam’s incisive commentary on FirstPost. It is promoted by Network18.

First Post primarily remains an “aggregator” of news; perhaps the underlying motivation is SEO tricks of identifying the trending topics and create topical interest by paying “journalists” to create blogs around it. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like this. Trying to covert the traffic into “unique visitors”, cross promoting it on other media channels and identifying the “trends” to write on issues smacks of Huffington Post‘s tactics.

I personally believe that much of criticism that stems for Huffington Post comes from the mainstream media; possibly they are unable to comprehend the huge gains that this site has made in a short span of time. The owner has been able to do a web alone business, “aggregate” or scrape content, pay out dimes for it’s star bloggers and more important, get the advertising $$$. Hence, it tends to get the ire of the “purists”.

Indians, of course, wish to replicate a proven model. No one, wants to adapt to a new order or invest serious resources in building up a web property that has a lasting value proposition. Top of the mind recall is Techmeme and is my first

Image via CrunchBase

stop everyday in Google Reader to identify the breaking stories as it happens (it utilizes RSS feeds in the background; you could search for it’s leaderboard OPML file on their site to read the stories). A simple implementation (e.g. Webmeme) would have sufficed and promoted it’s journalists to blog independently of the constraints of “mainstream media”.

How is this really concerned with the ethos of the blog? Well, for starters, social internet is all useless hype. Twitter and Facebook are not here to stay; Orkut was a huge failure and Twitter is growing without a service model. It still doesn’t know about advertising nor is

Image via Wikipedia

there any reasonable model to influence it’s evolutiton. Nevertheless, in this internet access challenged country, this is a huge let down.

Perhaps the people behind the product are blissfully unaware of mobile access dominating the landscape (I doubt whether they have a mobile interface optimized) or of the “niche audience” that would be attracted to something like this. However, a cursory glance at the written articles leaves a lot to be desired.

(Highly recommended write up).

Related articles

• Online survey shows Canadians trust mainstream media over all others (thenextweb.com)
• Modern Dance in Mainstream Media? Google Celebrates Martha Graham’s Birthday (socialrhythms.wordpress.com)
• Twitter Does Not Supplant Other Media, It Amplifies It (techcrunch.com)
• Twitter’s different news agenda from mainstream media and blogs (reportr.net)
• How Did You Hear about Osama’s Death? Take the Quiz (marketersstudio.com)
• What to believe about Twitter And its role in the evolving media landscape (impact.webershandwick.com)
• Is Twitter Really “Mainstream”? (markevanstech.com)
• Arianna & Dale, They Can Huff & PuffBut They Won’t Blow Guido’s House Down (order-order.com)
• Mainstream Media are Liars Cowards and Traitors for Shielding Obama- This Poll Proves It (truebluenz.wordpress.com)

Related posts:

1. Media, Telecom and Fall of Business Standard This post was actually motivated by Tech Crunch write up...
2. Media wants to slow down Broadband? Well, it could be the big news. I have always...
3. Bridging the digital divide in India: Inexpensive access devices? I must admit that I haven’t focussed on writing about...
4. RIM Blackberry: Slipping fortunes As per the blurb on Forbes,RIM Looks To Revive Smartphone...
5. Chrome Notebooks: Any business model for developing nations? A lot has been made up for Google Chrome OS...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

A lot has been made up for Google Chrome OS and it’s notebook. It transpires that Samsung and Acer would manufacture laptops for chrome OS.

Is cloud computing inherently better than the “offline model” we have come to rely on? If the recent Amazon outage is any indication, I would prefer not to stick with it. In the same vein, I prefer my data to stay with me.

However, there is a huge business opportunity lurking behind such an initiative. Manufacturers in India (for netbooks/laptops/tablets) are dependent on Microsoft for a tapered down version of it’s utterly useless operating system. They could have easily sponsored a home grown “Indian initiative” for Linux and installed it on a bare bones hardware with Wifi and 3G connectivity. I reckon that using ARM processors, a basic display unit with a keyboard would suffice the price limit of around $200-250. It can be done.

One doesn’t need dual cores to run the fancy software; in any case, I hardly use the computing power at my disposal. But there was no choice in the market. Antix (a derivative of SimplyMepis) or even Arch Linux are good enough alternatives (not to forget Fluxbox and XFCE or E17) as the alternative desktop platforms to power the applications.

The telecom companies could have easily subsidized the model, charging it in their monthly bills. A win win situation. An operating system free of any hassles and companies get to spread the hardware with bundled data plans. I had earlier explored the same option but I guess the fancy CEO’s (who are glorified assholes anyway), are not interested in the blurb.

So you’d find the Vodafone Zoozoo enticing people to try out 3G in a market where computing is still a luxury and smartphones market sorely limited.

Thats stupidity compounded by assholism (of the extreme); because crores are being spent on advertising to milk the few customers who venture to buy out the expensive data plans.

Blah blah blah.

Related articles

• Google announces Chromebooks: Chrome OS powered notebooks (venturebeat.com)
• Google floats monthly subscriptions to Chrome OS notebooks (go.theregister.com)
• Google Chrome OS Notebooks Available June 15 (fakeiitian.com)
• SlashGear 101: Google Chromebook (slashgear.com)
• First Google Chrome OS Notebooks Available June 15 (mashable.com)
• Google Chrome OS “Student package” notebook for $20 tipped imminent (slashgear.com)
• Don’t Expect Google Chrome OS on Tablets Anytime Soon (mashable.com)
• Google Announces Expensive Web-Only ‘Chromebooks’ (techland.time.com)
• More Chromebooks from Google; Chrome OS, Web Store updates too (arstechnica.com)
• Samsung, Acer to Debut Chrome OS Notebooks In June (louisgray.com)

Related posts:

1. Bridging the digital divide in India: Inexpensive access devices? I must admit that I haven’t focussed on writing about...
2. RIM Blackberry: Slipping fortunes As per the blurb on Forbes,RIM Looks To Revive Smartphone...
3. Value added services: VAS in a limbo Of course, there are people who are breathless about India‘s...
4. Media wants to slow down Broadband? Well, it could be the big news. I have always...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Image via Wikipedia

Well, it could be the big news. I have always felt about the lackadaisical coverage in the Indian media about Broadband. If a ‘media watch’ blog is right, this could well explain why media hasn’t run after the Government of the day; chasing it like a mad dog running after a car.

To quote:

Not so long ago, a much-feared Indian publisher who shall go unnamed wanted the broadband expansion in India to be slowed down because, well, it would woo readers away from his newspaper to the world wide web.

However, Times of India has a vested interest to promote Broadband now. In a blatant attempt to publicize it’s web property (a cesspool of stinking crap called as Indiatimes), it has carried a series of “news” mentioning about why “Cricket is fun online”. Of course, it’s juvenile attempt from Times but important nevertheless. Their attempts are going to face an iron wall of crap connectivity on Indian soil.

One word. Assholes.

Related articles

• Mobile Content: Where the f*** it is? (broadbandblog.in)
• 11 million broadband subscribers in India: Nov 2010 (mahesh.com)
• Rural Internet usage on rise in India, will this help language usage? (mahesh.com)
• ‘Fastest’ broadband faces test (lv.com)
• Broadband statistics in India for 2010 (mahesh.com)
• Indian Media & Entertainment Industry crosses USD 14 bn, advertising spends grow by 17%! (trak.in)
• Slow broadband problematic for business insurance holders? (premierlinedirect.co.uk)
• Surprise, Surprise! India among the top 3 in the world in broadband growth! (trak.in)

Related posts:

1. Media, Telecom and Fall of Business Standard This post was actually motivated by Tech Crunch write up...
2. Bridging the digital divide in India: Inexpensive access devices? I must admit that I haven’t focussed on writing about...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Image via CrunchBase

This post was actually motivated by Tech Crunch write up my Arrington (now under AOL) about the biases in Tech Media. In a no holds barred salvo against the tech journalists, he has laid bare the dirty secrets of “journalism”. Of how the mainstream media is subservient to deep pockets.

Arguably, it holds for India too. We have our own Radia hooking up with the journalists to fix up the system. Of course, it cannot be generalized but barring a few who provide some sauce for thought content, most of them are brain dead dodos. More on that later.

Arrington lambastes:

AllThingsD’s Kara Swisher, the chief whiner about our policy, is married to a Google executive. This is disclosed by her, but I certainly don’t see it as any less of a conflict than when I invest in a startup. And yet she whines. One of her writers, Liz Gannes, is married to a Facebook consultant. She covers the company and its competitors regularly. She discloses it as well, but it isn’t clear whether or not her husband has stock in Facebook. That’s something as a reader I’d like to know. And regardless, it’s a huge conflict of interest. I think someone will think twice before slamming a company and then going to sleep next to an employee of that company. Certain adjectives, for example, might be softened in the hopes of marital harmony.

This is not all. He squarely puts it up here:

I have little hope for this industry until the last of the old guard have finally been put down. They do NOT control the news. They do NOT control opinion. They do NOT get to say who gets to write content and who doesn’t. And they do NOT get to rant about their ethics when they constantly fight against simple transparency.

The central issue is about conflict of interest and bias in reporting. We all have biases and opinions about everything. Heck, this blog is full of rants and sometimes useless opinion. However, these biases (in my opinion) are targeted towards a greater common good. Because if companies can swindle away thousands of crores in 2G scam and pay the same amount upfront for the 3G (described euphemistically as “price discovery”), the same could have been easily rolled for laying state of the art fiber to home networks. Or roll out community Wifi’s even on a pilot basis. But it hasn’t been done.

This rant by Arrington does not place him above the pedestal; rather he is little upfront about the investments he has made in the start ups and his staff covering it. Of course, it would be the next big thing whipping up a hysteria on the blogosphere or in the mainstream media. It may not be work always.

Hence, we are talking of a contentious issue that has no easy solution placating everyone, namely the bias. I have spoken out against the Indian media and anyone sane enough can easily pinpoint it’s dumbing down. The statistics are loud and clear. The print media thrives on numbers and reach. Curiously, the Government has allowed massive inflows in the cross holdings which means that a newspaper also runs television networks as well as the radio or any other vehicle to disseminate “information”. It has made them to grow into huge dinosaurs swallowing up any dissenting opinion.

The same goes for their “web properties” as well. With aggressive cookie based targeting of it’s “customers”, this media is slowly building up it’s online profiles of it’s consumers. While this may sound like a paranoid looney, fact remains that my privacy is violated.

Nevertheless, this brings me to the fall of Business Standard. It has done nothing to raise anyone’s heckles about it’s questionable policies. However, again, in my opinion, it seems to have been hijacked by “research firms” and multitude of “analysts” jumping in the fray.

The mainstream media has “cornered” the “news”. They don’t generate the news. But then how do they put a “spin” on the news? How do they “dress” it up ? The more important question: Why do they do what they do?

This (from Dave Weiner) is very apt explanation.

(The image is used without “permission”; in case of copyright claims, please contact me from the form above).

This “circle of trust” from the people who send out selective leaks tends to grow the mainstream media’s stature “organically”.

Insiders get access to execs for interviews and background info. Leaks and gossip. Vendor sports. Early versions of products. Embargoed news. Extra oomph on social networks. Favors that will be curtailed or withdrawn if you get too close to telling truths they don’t want told.

Of course, most of the conferences organized by mainstream media ends up as a jingoistic farce. With awards given for “best coverage or best advertising spin” as well. It helps to scratch their backs and gain “mileage”. Well, unlikely to be mentioned in bold letters that they have a conflict of interest.

This brings me to the last part of the article. I had been in touch with two journalists from Business Standard. I took pains to upload my RTI application, picture them and send them across. I was also told that they would keep me abreast of any developments following the write up on Broadband (I am too lazy to link to the crap). From what I could make out was that it was a juvenile write up from a person who had no fucking clue about what “domain specialization” really is. Nevertheless, most of the mails have gone unanswered; as if in a dark hole, to their email ids.

Does this signal the fall of Business Standard? Nope. Because it would still make money on it’s print circulation. It does not understand the web as a medium and has gross incompetent people to make it stay afloat. But it’s fallen in the trap of the “circle” that has been alluded to above.

A sad day for a brilliant newspaper; because I owe a lot to it.

Related articles

• Is it OK for AOL’s Techcrunch Editors to invest in companies they write about? (zdnet.com)
• World’s last typewriter factory has just 500 left (Business Standard) (seattlepi.com)
• Mobile Number Portability: Some numbers (broadbandblog.in)
• The AOL-TechCrunch Investing Controversy (kara.allthingsd.com)
• The cesium deception: Why the mainstream media is mostly reporting iodine levels, not radioactive cesium (thepearlsofwisdom.wordpress.com)
• Typewriter Myth of the Day (geeks.thedailywh.at)
• The Absolutely Outrageous Partisanship of the Mainstream Media- Liars For Obama (truebluenz.wordpress.com)

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Related posts

• 2010 round up. (0)
• Mainstream Media: Unable to grasp digital trends (0)
• Skype: Microsoft acquistion and disruptive VoIP? (0)
• Paid Media Exposure by So-Called Broadband Giants (0)
• Mobile Content: Where the f*** it is? (5)

In the same vein, broadband has been given a complete miss. In some recent telecom conference, the same issue was raised with assholes patting themselves on their back about “mythical 100 million” users. Telecom is a very dynamic field; it is impossible to nail down the exact number of subscribers unless you have strict defined criteria for what constitutes an active connection and the user who has fallen off the grid. Nil. Nada.

3G has been a monumental waste of resources (indirectly your money, you assholes); for all your crowing about the “world class data services”, these companies are sticking up a sore thumb up your ass. In terms of indirect taxes, huge mark ups on the tariff plans, advertising costs and pathetic end result to consumers (who likes caps on the broadband, you sissies), consumer is the end looser.

The reason why everyone jumped on the “3G bandwagon” was because of spectral efficiencies and not otherwise. No one likes dropped calls; 3G is going to ameliorate that. This also gave the companies a reason to upgrade their ancient infrastructure and opening up the backdoors for “real time snooping”.

Hence, these three issues are the most “rattling issues”, in my opinion. They are unlikely to be addressed in fancy documentations, “think tanks”, myriad “research firms” and others because none of them seem to have a fundamental grasp on the issues. So for all those morons who whimper on the forums about “lack of services”, you are unlikely to see any major change coming this year either.

Related articles

• TRAI proposes Rs.1-lakh cr infrastructure investment (hindu.com)
• India telecom changes proposed (bbc.co.uk)
• India min says M&A norms for telcos need to be liberal (reuters.com)
• India’s former telecom minister officially charged (marketwatch.com)
• Is the telecom party in India over? (trak.in)
• ‘Raja manipulated Telecom Commission’ (hindu.com)
• Mobile Fair-India telecoms gear boom seen surviving scandal (reuters.com)

Related posts:

1. 3G India: Stupidity to extreme An overtly maniacal Government now wants a lawful interception of...
2. Affordable Telecom in India Affordable Telecom in India The most important aspect of affordable...
3. Indian Telecom: No “backdoor” Chinese Equipment This should have been done earlier! Huawei has set up...
4. New Telecom Policy? In what appears to be an “exciting” new phase of...
5. Airtel & Vodafone India: Royally screwed! The incumbents had a cosy oligopoly. Their talk plans were...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Image via Wikipedia

NYT has a “poigant coverage” of Vodafone India. It gets some facts right. Vodafone is embroiled in a legal case stuck in Supreme court regarding tax evasion. I am not aware of the complexities but Vodafone is still awaiting the final decision.

The second fact is about heavy investments in advertising. If you can’t make up for anything else, scale up the bullshit and so goes the Vodafone’s motto.

Now comes how NYT is unable to refine the issues.

It says,

Vodafone has also been trying to get higher-paying customers on board, by offering monthly unlimited service for BlackBerry users, for example, for 899 rupees ($19.98). But all mobile companies compete fiercely for BlackBerry users, and at around a million people, they make up just a sliver of India’s population of 1.2 billion.

Vodafone has the WORST package in terms of data access. Period. If they feel that they can scale up the revenues by trying to milk the “blackberry” users, they are obviously mistaken and have their heads up their asses.

Vittorio Colao, Vodafone’s chief executive, alternates between enthusiasm and frustration when discussing India. The country’s “communicative, talkative society is the ideal ground for a communications company,” he said in a telephone interview.
At the same time, he said, “in the Indian regulatory system sometimes there is a tendency to see the telecom sector as a lemon to be squeezed.”

Fuck you moron. No one asked you to come here to try and lick the regulator’s ass. If you feel frustrated, leave the damned country. I would have nothing do with your screwed up zoozoo (or whatever contraption you have invented).

Oh here comes the veiled threat: (emphasis mine)

Despite their travails, Vodafone executives say they are committed to India. But they hint that they may rethink things if they are still left with a multibillion-dollar tax bill after the Supreme Court decision this summer.
“We like India, it is an important part of Vodafone; but we need to be reassured that it is a business-friendly environment,” Mr. Colao said. “For the time being we continue to invest.”

Hmmm. Business environment is as good as the fact that a company complies with local laws. If Vodafone decides to evade the tax (as per the Indian tax authorities), then the tax people have a good enough reason. Why should vodafone try and evade the taxes and not play along with what’s fair?

I’d be happy to see it rid of the damned pug and the zoozoo.

If Vodafone is so keen to grow “organically or inorganically” (whatever the fuck that means), they need to listen to their customers first. Arguably, not hide behind a customer care unit, bring in transparency and open up the VAS. For example, there is a huge disconnect in the price for Internet access in pre-paid and post paid segment. How come? In any case, the GPRS sucks (as an end user, I’d never touch this with a barge pole), their VAS is pretty useless.

I’d try and focus something on Content issues later; how mobile customers get shortchanged and what is the possible way out. Seriously, their Indian team needs to gird up because giving service is not a cake walk.

If some dingbat from NYT is reading this, first ascertain your facts. There is lot of PR bullshit mentioned in your write ups; before you hold up the mirror for “responsible journalism”. So far, Vodafone has grown taking advantage of lax regulations (by crowing about continued business interests) but customers are being blatantly ripped off.

I would strongly suggest to avoid Vodafone because it’s post paid plans get pretty expensive in the long run if you use the data services because as they mentioned, they like to squeeze their customers like lemons.

Related articles

• Vodafone top gainer in India number portability-trade (reuters.com)
• India court defers Vodafone tax case hearing (reuters.com)
• Vodafone and Essar hire banks to value joint-venture stake (telegraph.co.uk)
• Impressive Marketing, the ‘ZooZoo’ Style (globalthoughtz.com)
• Spat Delaying Vodafone’s India Tower Assets Sale (online.wsj.com)
• Vodafone says OK with Essar IPO of Indian JV stake (reuters.com)
• Will Vodafone discard the Zoozoo? (adpunch.org)
• India court defers hearing on Essar Telecoms merger to April 1 (reuters.com)
• Vodafone says still believes no tax to pay on India deal (reuters.com)

Related posts:

1. Vodafone 3G India: Slick Promos You Tube Video of Vodafone 3G Advertisement This is NOT...
2. Vodafone India: Fined for it’s VAS It sounds too good to be true. Some “vigilant” NGO...
3. Fight against Vodafone India: Sweet victory It was a big long drawn fight against Vodafone Essar...
4. Vodafone India: Sucks I have been with Vodafone for over three years now....
5. Vodafone India: Sucks to the MAX! If there is any survey for dissatisfied customers, HUTCH (and...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Image via Wikipedia

Which is better? iPad 2 or Kindle?

It’s hard to decide on the specifications and my only interest to put up the post here is to mark a shift in the way Internet is being accessed in other countries. US remains a competitive market; partly because the mechanisms of delivery exist there. In India, people expect it for “free”. This is also one reason why I strongly oppose the “limited broadband” because that would affect the way users interact with the medium. However, rest assured that market is not mature enough for the numbers; there is no strong “demand” to question the pathetic supplies as yet and voice calls dominate the Indian market overwhelmingly.

Register has an interesting write up on upcoming Kindle. I remain deeply opposed to concept of “Ecosystem” which tends to track the users over a period of time to target advertising. There are credible alternatives in Open Source and in recent times, there is a huge surge of developer interest in polishing the user interface. ( FYI, everything on my system is Open Source alone barring a few proprietary codecs and Flash- I am still waiting for HTML 5 to mature so that I ditch it for good).

Kindle and iPad are ugly vestiges of ecosystem (as I mentioned above) which hardly merit attention. I think it was Amazon that has pioneered the use of a recommendation engine to it’s visitors. Apple tracks its payments through it’s iTunes interface keeping a lion’s share of the revenues. The content creators have nothing else but to gnash their teeth because iPad owners (and I would say a huge bunch of idiots and suckers) are most likely to loosen their purse strings for paying up the cash.

Hence it becomes imperative to check out what the linked article has to say.

It is not clear why Apple has delayed enforcing the rule – clearly designed to protect its own revenues, but also its position as the primary point of contact for the user’s mobile activity – until 30 June, since it already barred the Sony Reader app from its App Store last month on the basis of the same terms and conditions….Currently, its Kindle for iOS ereader app handles all ebook sales through Amazon’s own Kindle web store, with the revenue divided only between Amazon and the publishers. The more successful Apple’s tablets and apps are, the more difficult it will be for Amazon to walk away from its iOS platform – but it could whip up a dangerous level of consumer, developer and even regulatory opposition to the iPhone maker (though, as the proud owner of a closed ecosystem itself, it would need to tread carefully).

How do they monetise their platforms:

Amazon is rumoured to be planning a scheme where it will give away free Kindle ereaders, for instance, to customers who commit to certain levels of ebook purchasing, newspaper subscriptions or the Amazon Prime service. And of course, Amazon has an established retail platform and experience that commands high levels of awareness and trust, unlike the other tablet makers. It could enhance this with its own tablet because it could take its own 30 per cent cut of in-app purchases.

How is this going to affect the netbook sales:

For every 10 tablets sold, five netbook or notebook sales will be lost in developed markets, it estimates, limiting notebook growth to 8 per cent year-on-year in 2011, and pushing netbooks into a decline of 13 per cent, to 34 million units. Many areas – especially the US, western Europe, China and Indonesia – will suffer from overstocked retail channels for mobile PCs, although the iPad’s impact on emerging markets will remain minimal.

This is going to be a hard pill to swallow though I am sure that the manufacturers have built in supply chain efficiencies and they could foresee such an event. If I had piles of cash, I would enable Linux on all the netbooks and sell them at subsidised prices or give them away for free with a bundled service. Though this unlikely to happen but if anyone from the telecom industry is reading this, this is your last chance to popularize the 3G offering. Get into hardware sales, bundle it with 3G, work out the costs of supplying it to remote areas and you have assured locked in customers for say, 3 years. The specifics could be worked out but a mobile netbook with open source applications is a great “killer option”. If you choose to support Microsoft Tax (like you as assholes are capable of), this would be unviable in the long run and MS wants Windows 7 or whatever number of their crappy operating system you can imagine to run on the “tablets”. I mean who wants to deal with such demented idiots anyway?

Related articles

• Why Android Could Help Amazon and the Kindle Threaten the iPad (ostatic.com)
• Amazon is best hope of a viable alternative to iPad (go.theregister.com)
• Kindle ecosystem – the very best Kindle sites, tools, blogs (ireaderreview.com)
• Can any tablet challenge the iPad? (reviews.cnet.com)
• Can any tablet challenge the iPad? (reviews.cnet.com)
• iOS 4.3 Getting Started Guide, Which iPad 2 to Buy?, iPad 2 Teardown, Android Tablets to Fail, and More, iNews Review (lowendmac.com)
• The Kindle Is An iPad Accessory, And That’s Why It’s Still Going To Be Huge (AMZN, AAPL) (businessinsider.com)
• How can open source survive in a post-PC World? (h-online.com)
• Android makes tablet gains, but iPad to stay strong in 2011, say studies (linuxfordevices.com)
• Amazon hires more Android developers: color Kindle Android tablet in the offing? (teleread.com)
• iPad 2 will keep Apple top of the tablet market, says Gartner (guardian.co.uk)
• Apple iPad 2: Who should buy and who should pass (zdnet.com)

Related posts:

1. Mobile Internet: Opera gets leg space in App store Forget the statistics, the “key words” or even foward looking...
2. Mobile Content: Where the f*** it is? I have explored various other aspects of mobile internet in...
3. Friday Evening Links - Deja vu: Libya Blocks Internet Traffic Internationl Business News What...
4. Opera mobile store: Live now I had previously written about Opera stepping in Mobile store....
5. Nokia Mobile: Selling it’s soul to Microsoft One of the breaking news of the day is that...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Image via Wikipedia

I have explored various other aspects of mobile internet in recent times. It would not be worthwhile to cry myself hoarse about the pathetic mobile access in India (which I have done repeatedly) but lets take a look at how the platforms are evolving based on the Mobile version of “broadband”.

Unfortunately, this write up draws inspiration from the western markets because the traditional mobile industry in India has not matured beyond the typical value added services of ring tones. I find it really hard to swallow if someone points me towards the mobile “games”. Yes, there are enough idiots to crow about the viability of mobile games as a money spinner but we could safely ignore them.Including the myriad “research firms” that pay money to get “quoted” in mainstream Indian press and financial dailies.However, it could be different if we have something like “Indian version” of Angry Birds. (Disclosure: I have that on my Android handset and ABSOLUTELY love it. With their shift towards in-game payment options), they would be justifying the huge surge of interest from venture capitalists.

This brings Indian media into picture. Over the past few weeks, I have been interacting with some people regarding “upgradation” of their web sites. They are badly coded examples of the worst case scenario of “Indian outsourcing”. I have tried, in recent times, to make a shift towards Drupal and understand that it is a sum of all aspects that needs to work in different browsers with cross platform compatibility. Unfortunately, they don’t realize the importance of having a proper mobile access stripped of advertisements.

Hence, a “mature” access device is unlikely to make a dent in India. The success of iPad hinges more from how Jobs has been able to “distort the reality” with his marketing gimmicks and how the whole ecosystem has been designed to keep the customers locked in. However, given the form factor, Jobs has been able to hit the sweet spot; a readable touch screen with mobile access.

There are people who swear by Flipboard but I haven’t really found a good RSS reader with capability of semantic linkages. Zeta has been launched recently with a lot of promise and cluster fuck advertising but since I don’t have an iPad, it is unlikely I would do any kind of a comparison between Zeta and Flipboard. I am stuck to Google Reader because thats unfortunately, the only in-browser app that works (others are plain useless with perhaps a bit of exception to RSS Owl or Blog Bridge).

Murdoch had launched “The Daily” with a lot of hype; but a few weeks later, there are people leaving him away in droves.There has been a lot of explaining behind this because arguably the fundamental reasoning behind iPad apps is flawed. For those who are watching the media space (and betting on Indian version of tablets) are going to be highly disappointed but well, they are unlikely to invest in resources which cannot be monetised (given the huge levels of piracy and nearly absent mechanisms of micropayments in this technology backwaters of the world).

So this effectively boils down to lack of developer interest in creating applications (hey what would you get with a huge army of morons and script kiddies who can’t even code a single line of software), lack of venture capital and inability to sustain a start up. (I strongly suggest that you read Shyam’s write up on the same issue). To quote selectively:

The main problem is that the Indian market for digital goods and services is tiny. In a non-existent market, neither product finesse nor pricing can make much of a difference. There is barely enough size in the digital domain to sustain large profitable companies.

Ironically, mobile companies are the only ones to push for content. However, therein comes the “platform interest”. Would you invest money in something that works across all handsets with rival operators? Or would you invest in something that would be locked up for your own network alone? Either way, the thorny issue does not yield any straight answers.

Hence, I find the obessession with pumping up digital content a tad boring. Not because I don’t want to consume but the options are sorely limited. Eve for 3G access, companies forbid “tethering” (not that no one cares a rats ass fuck about it) but they expect the 3g phones to have gigantic screens that would solve the issue. This would also explain that one reason why the prices are so high. Apart from the sunk costs, most of the operators are well aware that Internet access on mobiles would broadly mirror the broadband access on land lines i.e. a huge mass of zombified idiots would access only Yahoo or Facebook. It cannot be wished away because they would only cater to the mass of idiots without bothering about the “outliers” like us because there is no “real space” created.

No one wants to spend money to “change the habits” for content access. They would rather fill up the channels (and “news”) with “Bollywood flotsam” and fake celebrities prancing around either naked or raved out with hollow sockets floating around in public perception. (Okay well, I am biased since I find most of them really retarded).

Related articles

• Apple iPad 2 official release date in India may be announced in a couple of weeks (thenextweb.com)
• iPad May Be Magical. Apps Aren’t. Here’s Why. (gigaom.com)
• Zite – the best thing since Flipboard (paulacbrannan.wordpress.com)
• Doodle Jump Hits 10M Downloads; Promises iPad Version, Toys & More (mashable.com)
• SXSW 2011: Novelty of iPad news apps fades fast among digital delegates (guardian.co.uk)
• Duran Duran team up with Flipboard for ‘digital concert programme’ (mobile-ent.biz)
• Marketing to Women: Flipboard v. Pulse News Readers (jamiedunham.wordpress.com)
• Doodle Jump scores 10 million mobile downloads for two brothers (venturebeat.com)
• Why Android Tablets Are No Threat To Apple This Year — Our Q&A With Flipboard CEO Mike McCue (AAPL) (businessinsider.com)
• “Zite Personalized Magazine App for iPad” and related posts (ditii.com)
• Flipboard for iPad gets updated with Instagram and social search (mobile-ent.biz)
• Flipboard gains Instagram support, social search, and gets much faster (downloadsquad.switched.com)
• Flipboard Upgrade Boosts Speed, Integrates Social Search and Instagram (fastcompany.com)
• Mobile Gaming + E-commerce = a Win for Brands (adage.com)
• Could the iPad 2 replace traditional video game consoles? (tuaw.com)
• “Angry Birds Developer Suggests Console Games are Dying” and related posts (technobuffalo.com)
• Angry Birds Maker Predicts the Death of Console Gaming (nytimes.com)
• Angry Birds maker predicts the death of console gaming (venturebeat.com)
• EA Mobile teams with GetGlue for mobile game check-ins (mobile-ent.biz)
• Angry Birds boss believes console gaming is “dying” (Angry Birds HD) (gamesradar.com)
• Australian Government Wants To Classify Mobile Games (macstories.net)
• Who’s Playing Mobile Games? (ghdialogue.posterous.com)
• Angry Birds Exec: R.I.P. Console Gaming (pcworld.com)
• One in Three Mobile Phone Owners Is a Regular Mobile Gamer [STUDY] (mashable.com)
• Morbid Attractions (skulladay.blogspot.com)
• India userbase: Internet 100m, Mobile internet 40m (mahesh.com)
• Morbid Philosophy (alpup.blogspot.com)
• In Underground Jail, Symbols of Gadhafi Brutality (newser.com)

Related posts:

1. Content Services Telecom “revolution” needs mobile phone instruments. It appears to be...
2. Mobile Internet: Opera gets leg space in App store Forget the statistics, the “key words” or even foward looking...
3. Broadband: Content would choke Content is the king. Really? I have reasons to doubt...
4. Opera: State of mobile web I am not here to be a party pooper but...
5. Mobile Gaming Rashmi Bansal has an interestiing take on Mobile Gaming on...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Cablevision’s system can even beam different ads to different set tops in the same house watching the same program, depending on what has been watched on each individual set top. correction: Cablevision tells us the furthest down they drill is to the household level for tailored ads. “Addressable advertising is done at the household level and utilizes general characteristics such as household demographics and geography implemented on an anonymous basis,” the company tells us, adding that Cablevision does not use viewership data.

It’s not clear what happens as Cablevision makes their planned shift away from physical set tops to remote DVR storage. While most cable companies are looking at Internet advertising lustfully they’ll probably need to tread carefully, given the fallout that struck companies like NebuAD for their behavioral ad systems. NebuAD’s efforts failed spectacularly because the systems were implemented not only without notifying users, but in potential violation of both privacy and wiretap laws.

Users in this thread in our Cablevision forum note that Cablevision customers can opt out of this service via the privacy portion of Cablevision’s online portal.
read comment(s)

Related posts:

1. Cable cuts The whole Internet access in India had been grounded to...
2. Cable Internet woes Frankly, I have never taken up a cable internet. However,...
3. Cable cuts: again! This is assinine. As the newer developing countries integrate with...
4. Clash of the nuts They clank like skeletons and make an awful noise. Everything...
5. Reliance Infocomm- The next entertainment bigwig? Business Standard has an eulogising report on Anil Ambani: Looking...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The need was sorely felt because I am unable to post as much as I want to. Further, I strongly believe that the news should be updated on a continual basis so that the index remains fresh. This is experimental feature and has nothing to do with any kind of SEO. I strongly feel that DSL Reports is doing a great job of indexing the content across the blogosphere and very much keeping in focus with the aspirations of this blog too.

There is a lot that can be done with the RSS feeds; although I am interested in topical categorization on the main page itself but it amounts to huge amount of link spam which would only mess up the structure here.

The maximum limit is that of “10 feeds” based on a simple cron job (which does the heavy lifting of caching the content here) and to be honest I should have done it earlier. The only downside is the lack of “automatic application” of tags which would generate a lovely tag cloud…but there would be some solution lurking around.

Related articles

• Consumer group calls for end of ‘up to’ broadband advertising (v3.co.uk)
• Average broadband speeds ‘less than half those advertised’, says Ofcom (guardian.co.uk)

Related posts:

1. UK Still Looking To Kill ‘Up To’ Broadband Marketing Lingo – While In U.S. Some ISPs Have Already Done So Voluntarily Every year like clockwork (2009, 2010) European regulator Ofcom issues...
2. Some changes Thanks to Sushubh for this effort. The theme has undergone...
3. Broadband “upto” marketing Everyone is pissed. And so does Tech Dirt claims that...
4. Word Press 2.5: Ahoy! This is one of the best ajaxified interfaces I have...
5. Broadband in India: Press interested Here is the text of the email published in The...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Image via Wikipedia

Everyone is pissed.

And so does Tech Dirt claims that it would take over 10,000 years to change the ‘upto’ marketing hoopla in Broadband access.

The point here is that at least the regulators are talking about it. Here, TRAI is BLISSFULLY unaware of the issues! I wonder what the”consumer organizations” have to say about this.

Read More here.

Related articles

• Ofcom demands ISPs close ‘upto’ gap (go.theregister.com)
• Wired and wireless broadband in India, the next big thing (zdnet.com)
• It May Take Up To 10,000 Years Before We Finally Get Rid Of ‘Up To’ Language In Broadband Marketing (techdirt.com)
• Broadband connections are only half the speed that providers advertise, warns Ofcom (dailymail.co.uk)
• Broadband ads ‘need new rules’ (confused.com)
• Average broadband speeds ‘less than half those advertised’, says Ofcom (guardian.co.uk)

Related posts:

1. UK Still Looking To Kill ‘Up To’ Broadband Marketing Lingo – While In U.S. Some ISPs Have Already Done So Voluntarily Every year like clockwork (2009, 2010) European regulator Ofcom issues...
2. Why TRAI can’t be like Ofcom? Here’s from the BBC News where Ofcom wants the ISP’s...
3. Airtel Broadband: Ineffective marketing? Ever since it has introduced the new 512k unlimited plans...
4. Indian Broadband: Crawling BSNL “Broadband” is slowly slipping in the mediocrity; something that...
5. Broadband in India: Reaction to post on NDTV This is in response to NDTV’s coverage on Broadband and...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

We eargerly look forward to next year’s Ofcom study indicating users get half of what they pay for and that Ofcom is planning to crack down on “up to” marketing. Here in the States the FCC has claimed users also only get a fraction of their advertised speeds. The FCC proposed requiring ISPs to advertise speed tiers based on average connection performance estimates for peak and off peak speeds, though that push appears to have disappeared. Anticipating regulatory action on this front, some ISPs here in the States like Verizon have voluntarily eliminated the “up to” phrase and list possible service speed ranges instead.
read comment(s)

Related posts:

1. Why TRAI can’t be like Ofcom? Here’s from the BBC News where Ofcom wants the ISP’s...
2. Airtel Broadband: Ineffective marketing? Ever since it has introduced the new 512k unlimited plans...
3. Sucky Airtel Broadband I have been on Airtel Broadband ever since I moved...
4. Broadband: Content would choke Content is the king. Really? I have reasons to doubt...
5. Broadband: How much do you really need? I chanced on CNET write up about the “need for...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Image via Wikipedia

Here’s from the BBC News where Ofcom wants the ISP’s to stop misleading news about Broadband.

Currently most ISPs advertise services as ‘up to’ a certain speed – for instance, 20Mbps (megabits per second).

But Ofcom’s latest research finds that very few consumers actually get these headline speeds.

“There is a substantial gap between advertised speeds and the actual speeds people get in their homes,” Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards told the BBC.

“The chances of someone receiving the advertised headline speed are fairly remote,” he said.

“We would like to see clearer information provided to consumers which more accurately reflects the likely speeds they will actually receive,” he added.

For those who are blissfully unaware, Ofcom is British Telecom Regulatory Agency.

Here’s the proposal:

“We have been pushing for ‘typical speeds’ to be made the gold standard for speed measurement since 2007 – in the same way that banks use ‘typical’ APR percentages.”

The Advertising Standards Authority is looking into the issue.

Ofcom is recommending that ISPs use Typical Speed Rates (TSR) to avoid confusing consumers.

Here’s a stinker:

Virgin Media, which fared the best in the speed tests, welcomed the news: “Ofcom’s latest report is yet another damning indictment that consumers continue to be treated like mugs and misled by ISPs that simply cannot deliver on their advertised speed claims,” said Jon James, executive director of broadband at Virgin Media

We in India, are stuck at 256 kbps. What the fuck is TRAI‘s problem? Why can’t we have someone who can actually deliver?

Related articles

• Ofcom demands ISPs close ‘upto’ gap (go.theregister.com)
• Concern at broadband speed claims (bbc.co.uk)
• Broadband providers’ ‘misleading’ ads exposed (independent.co.uk)
• Broadband ‘half advertised speed’ (mirror.co.uk)
• Firms Rapped Over Broadband Speed Ads (news.sky.com)
• Ofcom told to bring down ‘up to’ broadband speeds (go.theregister.com)
• TalkTalk and Tiscali could still face a fine, warns Ofcom (guardian.co.uk)
• Consumer group calls for end of ‘up to’ broadband advertising (v3.co.uk)
• Broadband advertising shake-up could end ‘up to’ packages (telegraph.co.uk)
• Broadband speeds misleading – Ofcom (asounddesign.wordpress.com)
• Ofcom told it must improve (lv.com)

Related posts:

1. Virgn India Mobile: Grey areas Mobile Virtual Network Operator or MVNO is a “backdoor” entry...
2. TRAI: Response to RTI application This was disappointing to say the least. It was expected...
3. TRAI: Appeal against information to appellate authority This gets interesting. Having the useless information from the Public...
4. TRAI: Killing Internet This is an excellent write up on Business Standard (and...
5. Virgin India Mobile: Lots of press Fact is that if Richard Branson tries to sell “anything”,...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Image via Wikipedia

I have always supported Community Wifi Access. This is because mobile broadband is useless for heavy duty applications. 3G access is a passe’.

Aircel has not responded to my queries and neither I am interested to follow them up. I had earlier emailed them about the promotion of mobile apps. It isn’t clear how they were developed and what platform is supported.

But I was genuinely surprised to see their advertisements in main stream media for Wifi access through smart platforms (phones/laptops/tablets). Although the adverts did allude to a “rosy picture”; it is not entirely clear as to how they propose to pull it off with no identified “backend”. More so, it is important that Wifi needs to be scaled up to residential areas so that they enough traction to call the shots as well as have a positive spin off on their recently launched 3G options.

Related posts:

1. Aircel India: False start? This is owned by Maxis Telecom who had bought a...
2. Skype’s Netgear Wifi Phone .flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; } .flickr-yourcomment { }...
3. Going ga ga over Wifi This happens to be my personal opinion; surfing the internet...
4. MTNL to offer WiFi services This is a quickie. MTNL has smelt the oppurtunity somewhere...
5. Wifi ahoy I was never a fan of wireless as compared to...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I am not here to be a party pooper but if you look at the profile of the countries where broadband is a laggard, it speaks for itself. It only reflects a huge pent up demand for a “regular internet” than a crippled version of the mobile internet.

The beauty of Opera is that it’s available for a huge range of handsets; including java based crapware that is lowly bottom of the end stuff. Agreed that most people cannot afford a smartphone (it’s an overkill), still it reflects the pattern of usage.

This is bound to create a lot of interest for advertising which surprisingly Opera has been able to keep it as a free platform. Although I have tried the beta version of their mobile browser on Android, there is nothing to write home about; I invariably fall back on the Mini version. In case I have to tether my useless Docomo GPRS to my laptop, I use an emulator which makes checking email and going through some mobile optimized web site easily.

This also means that the desktop version is going to lag in “love”; something that Opera employees deny strongly. As a company, it has one of the worst outreach towards it’s customers; try getting the contact details of the key people. They seem to have “hired” forum trolls because any word of criticism is hushed up immediately or the forum thread locked up. Their extensions are bare bones (unlike the Chromium API which is fairly stable) and does not allow interaction with the key features of the browser.

This isn’t technical debate about how the browser wars play out in the real web but in my opinion, Chromium (on Linux) is perceptibly fast. Although Firefox Beta has seen a wonderful improvement over it’s previous versions but it’s useless implementation of extensions means that a bare bones browser is as good as useless.

Ironically, this post on Opera is made using Chromium; I use Feedly (intermittently for RSS Feeds), Google Reader with a focussed tab and souped up with wonderful extensions to make my life easier when going through over 500 articles per day. I have (yes, wonderful) Thunderbird for IMAP Access; although a bit of pain to focus on one window to another but Opera has screwed (and fucked) up it’s Mail implementation.

Hope that opera now implements it’s Fastmail acquisition properly. If I can read the tea leaves properly, Opera would want to leverage itself as a “leading brand for mobile applications/other than desktop” category. Primarily reason is that internet access is now moving away (slowly and steadily) from the desktop/laptop combination. With huge profit base in the mobile applications, I see that there is no reason to innovate on the Linux/BSD/alternative platforms over a period of time.

That’s where Chromium is slowly becoming the centre stage; with a slow but steady shift to cloud computing as a platform. Mobile access is one part of the key in this game.

Related posts:

1. Opera Mini Opera is an excellent browser. Period. Though, I fail to...
2. Opera Mini: Growth in India I rarely cover the mobile Internet on this blog. Part...
3. Opera Mini released The fourth beta of Opera Mini has been released.Amazingly, this...
4. Opera 9 Released! Opera is my favourite browser. The beta review appears here...
5. Opera 9.5 A quick message here for all, in case you are...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I don’t see the maturity of the market to choose a handset. Despite so many players in the market, it is difficult to spot trends in a spiked up heterogeneous market. Specially when buying a mobile entails some degree of peer pressure, “looks” and advertising playing a major role in the decision.

I don’t foresee a huge influx of smart phones and it’s apps although if the companies are really interested, they might step up the advertising spend. However, we all know that 3G was required for it’s supposed spectral efficiencies and not for data. Anyone who feels that 3G would revolutionize video calling and data usage is either an asshole or is a danger to society and locked up in a high security mental institution.

Related posts:

1. Mobiles :Your next PC? Rajesh Jain has posted a series of articles on Mobiles...
2. Indian Telecom: Changing fortunes Well, I was right in a way. Indian Telecom firms...
3. Indian Mobiles: Why not unlimited pricing? Verizon has introduced unlimited plans which was matched by rivals...
4. Update on Apple Mobiles Apple Insider reports the imminent launch of Apple iTunes enabled...
5. Mobiles in India: New developments The next battlefield for eyeballs is not your desktop. It’s...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

1) Smart phones and Android taking center stage with Nokia dying a slow death.

2) 2G spectrum scam

3) 3G mess.

There are tonnes of web sites scattered all around to tell you about Android’s home coming. I am not getting in the debate about what is good or bad but Apple (across the lines) remains aspirational because of it’s perceived value.

2G Spectrum scam has also been mentioned extensively with the political fall out affecting Congress and it’s cohorts; again the debate has been frittered away to be of any consequence.

3G Mess is bad. Really bad. Partly because it has been sold on lines of “only Internet access” you’d ever need. As mentioned in these columns (and comments) that none of the devices support advertised speeds of 21Mbps; more so, in absence of clear definition of what 3G speeds are, you would not really see much traction there. The operators have dreamt of fat profits accruing from the sales and perhaps are marketing different plans for mobile handsets and wireless modems. Docomo even explicitly prohibits “tethering” mobiles to laptops citing it as “violation of terms of use”; as it they can “prove it court of law”. Assholes.

4G is on the horizon and as such the media reports were peppered with what technology to choose. There are of course competing issues; I am not qualified enough to explain the merits/demerits of each.

Another highlight of this year was the final recognition of menace of telemarketing calls and sms (with sms rates being usurious and companies raking in huge profits from what is essentially free for them). I have written about it earlier but there are others in space who have written about it more extensively (Rajesh Jain on Telemarketing and SMS Spam[1,2,3,4,5])

Mobile Number Portability (MNP) would be a big issue in 2011. Although it has been launched in Haryana, there are not enough media reports about the impact of MNP on the same. Is it surprising? With telecom companies leading in advertisement spends, they hold enough leverage to influence reporting the issue. Hence I would remain blocked out on the same unless it becomes a major issue. However, they don’t give a shit to the users because there is no REAL choice between the service providers. Most of the new operators have yet not launched their operations (and hence got notices for the same) so it is difficult to comment on the same. I foresee a lot of activity in next year in terms of new players and mobile number portability to affect them. Yet, with the rise of cheap “chinese manufactured- Indian branded” hardware with dual and three SIM card slots, issues like MNP don’t hold much promise. Hence this too would remain a lot of hot air with some speculation towards “power to consumer”.

I have written extensively to TRAI, Department of Telecom and various stake holders in media about why need broadband and what is basic policy flaw in the system. This has also been a subject of my RTI applications being filed with them. At risk of sounding repetitive, we all need a proper system for growth of the nation and that is a foregone conclusion. However, the system is designed not to provide but to deprive the users from opportunities. If public good were at the heart of policy makers (and politicians), we would not have been a kangaroo republic (mistaken for a democracy).

I fail to understand the stupidity of media houses not to push for all inclusive growth in Broadband; since their own very future depends on it. I have briefly toyed with the idea of setting up a NGO; there is no scarcity of ideas that need to be implemented. What is lacking in this space is will to implement those ideas. The whole scenario is lumbering around like a giant iceberg. Yet as monotony in this space grows, Internet access is fuelled by explosive growth in social networking to Facebook’s data servers. Here in lies the rub. Media in India is even lacking in this space and focusing instead to try out experiments in their own walled microdomains expecting the advertisers to come on in hordes and expecting to rake in millions of dollars from advertising click throughs.

However, this dream lies shattered with corpses of media houses dotting the landscape instead. Content is supreme and while we retain the numero uno position for generating mountains of crap in terms of bollywood export, this has not found a “release” except from traditional channels of multiplexes and to some extent, DTH. Instead, we don’t have a Hulu or Netflix like player capitalizing on this aspect of delivery. 3g cannot do it. 4g cannot do it. Wifi perhaps. Broadband on wirelines- definitely.

This blog has also seen some write ups on the need to tone up internet exchanges, need for TRAI to jig up it’s broadband policy and a call for Public Internet cafes. Interestingly, we also saw NDTV’s programme on broadband which we linked on to and perhaps the first in a long long time coming in from mainstream media. TRAI did talk about “fair usage policy” although in context of telecom tariffs. Another highlight was my post on online education and something on cloud computing in respone to Chrome OS.

This, by and large, what I had written with some guest posts. I have already filed in RTI application with BSNL as listed and I am awaiting their response. My only aim to get to root on pricing on Broadband, the mess and perhaps get a better deal on it in the long run. The first step is perhaps to re-define broadband from it’s present definition. I am also planning to involve TRAI in this loop along with perhaps Department of Telecom and see how they differ. Although TRAI is the regulator, the real power lies with DoT. Yet, it is a blame game that they are likely to play. DoT would say that TRAI has to come up with regulations first. TRAI would say that DoT is the real boss and they have to come up with a “circular”. No one wants to work and consumer gets the fuck of his life.

I have seen the Indians from close quarters. They would suffer all the insults with great temerity and humbleness. Perhaps it is the servile attitude that is ingrained in their psyche. Neither we are going to see a good amount of activism to make the public institutions deliver nor are the companies going to make any efforts to tone up their services. It costs real money to keep up with after sales service which actually eats up the profits and hence customer service is perhaps the last of ideas on their minds.

This post by itself is a huge huge post in a long long time! Maybe perhaps, I have written about trends subconsciously which I feel would impact the telecom landscape in some way or the other. The market is not geared towards course correction but is littered with asymmetric information to disadvantage of consumers. Sadly proactive approaches, either at regulator level or mass media or even at consumer level is sorely lacking.

The new year is not going to change this scenario in any manner whatsoever.

Related posts:

1. Round up All in all, the recent announcements maybe a cause for...
2. Broadband Initiative for 2010 There were a spate of articles in lay press regarding...
3. India Broadband and Telecom Update There is a lot of noise in the media without...
4. Broadband in India: Reaction to post on NDTV This is in response to NDTV’s coverage on Broadband and...
5. New developments These are the changing times. For sure. This quarter has...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

16th December 2010

To
The Central Public Information Officer, BSNL,
O/o General Manager Telecom,
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited,

Sub: Information sought under RTI Act 2005 regarding the definition of Broadband, the prices and clarification of “limits” sought.

Dear Sir,

THIS INFORMATION IS SOUGHT IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST, AND THERE IS OVER-RIDING PARAMOUNT LARGER PUBLIC INTEREST TO BE GIVEN THE INFORMATION I HAVE ASKED FOR. This information is sought under the RTI Act 2005, and as the applicant I would retain the right to inspect or ask for certified copies of the relevant documents/records/informations.

Please explain the following:

1)What is the defintion of the term “Broadband”?

2)What is the source of definition? Please provide relevant documents to support your contention.

3)Since when BSNL has been offering Broadband services? Please mention the date and commencement of services in India.

4)What are the various speeds being offered by BSNL?

5)What are the charges for various speeds being offered?

6)How have the charges been arrived at? Please provide AN EXACT BREAK UP of the costs incurred by BSNL to provide the broadband services for RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS. The break up should include the cost of the overheads, the costs involved in keeping the lines functional, the cost of the bandwidth or any other head as mentioned and filed.

7)What is the cost of Fibre To Home Service (referred to as FTTH) being offered by BSNL?

What is the break up of the cost of Fibre to Home Service? How has BSNL arrived at this cost?

9)Who sanctions the use of Optic Fibre for domestic usage? Under what conditions can a residential customer apply for the same?

10)What is the BREAK UP of the cost incurred by BSNL to provide Internet over optic fibre? How has the cost been arrived at? Please give the relevant file notings regarding the same.

11)Who in your organization decides about the pricing of Broadband? Who gives the order for new plans to be introduced? How are the various plans AND the charges are arrived at?

12)What is the email id AND contact details of the concerned person who deals with Internet and Pricing of broadband?

13)Where does BSNL purchase it’s wholesale bandwidth from? What is the break up of the price paid to the company from where BSNL purchases it’s wholesale bandwidth?

14)Who in your organisation decides about purchase of the modems. Under which rules do you certify the modems? Where are the rules listed?

15)As per media reports, a large percentage of your landline subscribers have surrendered their connections. How many landline connections were surrendered in the past one calendar year (2009-2010)? What initiatives have been taken by your company to sell Broadband on land line as a value added service?

16)Kindly provide the details of the advertising spend for promotion of Broadband in India. How much of it was allocated to promotion of broadband over landline?

17)What is the meaning of the term “UNLIMITED Broadband” listed on the web site: (http://www.bsnl.co.in/service/New_BB_postpaid.htm)?

18)If the plans are unlimited, by natural corollary, the speeds should remain the same throughout the monthly billing period. Why are the speeds to be reduced (under the plans labelled as ULD- unlimited with differential speeds) after downloading a fixed limit of data as listed under various heads on this web site link: (http://www.bsnl.co.in/service/new_BB/BB_home_only_unlim.htm)

19)Who decides the “limit” of data to be downloaded in the “unlimited plans” and speed reduction after the same? What is the file noting/information related to it? Who has signed the official sanction for the same? Why has it been done? How has this figure of “unlimited” been arrived at?

20)Under the clause mentioned on the web page (http://www.bsnl.co.in/service/New_BB_postpaid.htm) it has been clearly mentioned that “For Broadband plans where bandwidth is 1Mbps or more, the uplinking will be maximum upto 768 kbps”. Why has it been done so? What is the justification to arrive at such a clause? How has the figure of 768kbps been arrived at?

21)What is the meaning of the term,” UNLIMITED WITH FAIR USAGE” (ULF) as listed on the web page (http://www.bsnl.co.in/service/New_BB_postpaid.htm). Who decides what is FAIR USAGE? Where has the term “FAIR USAGE” come from?

22)Is the term “FAIR USAGE” mandated by the regulator, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (referred to as TRAI)? If yes, under which provision of TRAI’s notification has this term been defined? What is the relevant file noting/ notification/ web site address under which BSNL has defined the term “FAIR USAGE”. If this term has not been defined by TRAI, who has authorized the use of the term “FAIR USAGE”? Kindly provide the details of the file noting/ decision taken to issue the term “FAIR USAGE”.

23) Under the web page (http://www.bsnl.co.in/service/bb_ftth.htm#q1) in section related to FTTH bandwidth “UPTO 1 Mbps” has been listed as Rs. 2999. Under the Broadband prices listed on web page (http://www.bsnl.co.in/service/new_BB/BB_home_only_unlim.htm), the price for 1Mbps (upto 15GB) has been listed as Rs. 1000/- (all tariffs listed are excluding the service tax).

I need to know :
a) What is the meaning of the term “upto 1Mbps” ? Can the speed vary from 128kbps to 1 Mbps? Who has defined the term “upto 1 Mbps”? Is this mandated by TRAI? If yes, where is the relevant file noting/notification/web address of the communication received from TRAI? Where has this been mentioned on their web site?

b) Why is there a price difference between the two services when the speeds i.e. 1 Mbps are same in both the plans? Kindly explain this in detail.

Related posts:

1. TRAI: Filed for RTI application regarding Broadband Here is the text of the email, fax and the...
2. BSNL Broadband: RTI application filed :) Opening up another salvo, I am planning to file another...
3. BSNL Broadband: Mail from BSNL I have decided to post the mail recieved from Mr...
4. Reliance Broadband:Some details I have taken a liberty from self imposed hiatus here...
5. TRAI: Appeal against information to appellate authority This gets interesting. Having the useless information from the Public...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.