Digital India is an umbrella initiative comprising of several programs which the government believes should help transform India into a connected economy. Many of these programs have been in existence for several years now but have not been able to make much headway. This is evident from that fact that of the Rs1.13tn (US$18bn) capital outlay for Digital India. That said, what’s different now is that the isolated programs have now been brought on a common platform. This should help create both synergies and a greater sense of purpose. Moreover, under the Digital India flag, the Narendra Modi led BJP Government has articulated a clear vision for the digital future of the country. In our view, having the right vision, effective marketing strategy and
Month: February 2015
What is Reliance Communications 3G / EVDO Mobile Data Strategy ?
Reliance Communications has divided all the telecom circles in 3 categories – 3G metro, 3G circles and 3G dark circles (where RCom does not have 3G spectrum). RCom plans to use a combination of 3G and CDMA to penetrate the data users in 3G metros and circles according to the requirement of subscribers (for example dongle users will stay on CDMA, while smart-phone users will rather use 3G H+ Network).
The company intends to use CDMA in 3G dark circles, where RCom has not
Why Airtel / Vodafone / Idea Won’t Overbid in 2015 Mega Spectrum Auction ?
8 operators have submitted applications to participate in the bidding for the 2015 Mega Telecom Spectrum Auction. Reliance Jio is the surprise entrant with highest earnest money deposit (EMD) thus creating the fears of aggressive bidding. Idea cellular will be the most vulnerable if Reliance focuses on winning the 900MHz band Idea doesn’t have enough fire power to bid up if the process turns aggressive as the capability is limited by the EMD paid and may have to take an alternative path to the 2100 Mhz spectrum.
Why will Airtel / Vodafone and Idea Cellular Avoid Overbidding ?
I will renew my 900 MHz renewal spectrum at any cost
Free Municipal / City Wi-Fi Network Hype in India
In coming months, we will likely see efforts being made to provide free WiFi hotspots by State/Central governments and R-Jio across key cities in India. For instance, 1) The newly elected Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi is looking to offer free WiFi in public places across Delhi, as per its Manifesto; 2) Telecom Minister recently inaugurated BSNL’s free WiFi in Varanasi.
What is Offered in the Free Wi-Fi Package in varanasi ?
- Free Wi-Fi limited to 30 minutes per day ; multiple sessions allowed
- Recharge options of
FabFurnish – Bringing Home Decor on Desktop & Ship to Doorstep
FabFurnish is the first Large Scale online Furniture & Home Decor retailer in India. The overall furniture market in India is over US$20bn and growing 15-20% p.a. as per FabFurnish. More than 95% of the market is unorganized, and within organized market, large retailers are limited and have presence mostly in top 10 cities. Given high rental costs, prices in offline stores (for large retailers) are also very high, creating opportunity for the online model to disrupt existing traditional distribution channels.
Online & Offline Business Model
FabFurnish follwos a hybrid Online & Offline Model known as Omni Channel Retailing.. It has 4 offline showrooms (mostly in tier 1 cities) through franchisees. This is primarily meant to draw attention and get more visitors and convert them into
Peek Into Mobile / Internet Business of Times Group
Times Internet has over 20 businesses across various categories News, Sports, Lifestyle, Classifieds, Entertainment platforms, commerce, etc. Cumulatively Times properties get 120 monthly visits with 6 billion page views per month. Half of the traffic comes from mobile. News and Classifieds account for large portion of revenues for the group. Key focus areas remain a) magicbricks.com, b) Gaana.com, c) Cricbuzz and d) Coupondunia.
Magicbricks the REal Estate venture was started in 2006 by the group. Revenues in FY15 were at Rs771m and have grown at over 58% CAGR over the last few years. Total paid clients were at over 24k in FY15 and total listings were at 630k as of Dec-14. Current run rate of monthly collections implies annual collections of US$20m as per management. The company is investing in verified listings (204k verified listings as of Jan15), and building improved user interface.
Gaana is an online
Reliance Jio Opts for Mega Triple Play (VoLTE, TV, Broadband) Launch
Reliance Jio Infocomm will likely have a triple play [Voice, TV and Boadband Data] focusing on full data wallet of subscribers – the launch will likely be in quick, successive phases commencing in 2H2015 [Launch, Bit Delayed]. Reliance insiders tell us that RJio will likely simultaneously launch all its three services – wireless services, wireline fiber-to-home offerings (along with TV market) and wireline services to corporate clients. We think that RJio is being seen laying fiber in most of the large towns currently – for e.g. visible to us in Mumbai – causing the impression that RJio will likely go with fiber-to-home offering initially. However, we believe the fiber is laid out to connect towers so that large amount of data can be routed through fiber across towers for the desired quality.The company will also provide fiber-to-home i.e. the last
Reliance Jio VoLTE Pilot Test reveal Superior Voice Quality to 2G/3G
Reliance Jio Infocomm has lighted its 4G/LTE Network and we gather that the results from Voice over LTE – VoLTE trials are to management’s satisfaction so far. The quality of voice services on VoLTE is apparently superior compared to 2G/3G voice services. Unlike 2G/3G, VoLTE is a data-based voice service where voice packets can be prioritized over the network; hence, the continuity in communication is ensured. Also, VoLTE allows video-calling, which many subs could view as desirable. Since RJio is planning to launch in 900 cities, it will cover a large proportion of mobile-using population. One key concern has been that VoLTE-using subscribers might not be able to connect with a 2G/3G subscriber on other networks limiting adoption. However, our channel checks suggest that this is not a limiting factor. In such a scenario, the quality of conversation/call will be limited by the inferior technology (2G/3G), but the communication should still work.
What is the Reliance Jio MiFi Device ?
The Mi-Fi device allows the subscribers to
Mobile Technologies a $3 Trillion Market in 2014
Mobile Technologies are a critical driver of the world economy, generating global revenue of almost $3 trillion. The mobile revolution has accelerated innovation worldwide, boosting global GDP and creating new jobs across a vast array of industries. Mobile is directly responsible for 11 million jobs worldwide, and the indirect impact far exceeds this number. More than two-thirds of mobile industry jobs are high-value, knowledge-economy jobs, such as innovation research, component and device design, and app development.