OnMobile bets on 3G boom for VAS push in India

While caller tunes, which contribute about 70% to our overall revenues, are primary focus, we are now in the process of rolling out other services in the areas of music and sports as well. For example, we acquired Livewire, which offers high quality, personalised service at low cost, in the US in July. We also recently won a large deal with MTN, the largest operator in Middle East and Africa, with 200 million users, and we have a contract to roll out services in 22 countries where MTN is present. Latin America and Africa contributes 26% to revenues, and , in the last 1-1.5 years, besides emerging markets, we are also focusing on rolling out VAS services in Europe and North America.

Out of 120 million users globally, we have 45 million in India. While in the last 1-1.5 years, OnMobile has witnessed a de-growth of 20-22% in India, due to regulatory intervention for promotional services and the downturn in the telecom and VAS industry, this does not reflect the opportunities that lie ahead. With 800 million mobile users in the country, a lot of them first time mobile internet users, we are seeing a lot of demand for VAS services on the mobile in local languages. There are also enough developers who want to provide services to these customers.

The ecosystem being developed for anybody who wants to provide these services. In the next 2-3 years, we will see a lot more services on mobile.

source: www.dnaindia.com

BT to provide communications network to kinross gold corporation

BT  announced that it has signed a three-year deal with Kinross Gold Corporation, a Canadian-based gold mining company, to provide a communications network connecting sites in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Chile and Spain.

Since 1993, Kinross has grown through the merger and acquisition of a number of smaller, specialized gold mining interests. This created a challenge in developing and managing a centralized network infrastructure that can grow and house common applications. Kinross chose BT Connect, a suite of network services, to bring together and manage the communications network.

David Cefai, CIO Vice President Information Technology, Kinross Gold Corporation, stated "Centralized management of IT infrastructure and consolidation of applications for easier management is key to our strategy. BT presented a solid plan to us that creates robust, flexible, scalable infrastructure that will give us the platform for all our communication applications."

BT Connect services can be delivered in 198 countries and territories, and are constantly improved in terms of coverage, bandwidth and cost effectiveness. Those services are available in locations from towns and cities to the remotest of locations using a range of technologies from Ethernet over fibre to satellite and 3G. Such network capabilities are of particular interest to companies active in industry sectors such as global mining, oil and gas.

Bas Burger, president, U.S. and Canada, BT Global Services said, "Understanding a company's strategy and helping them create a global network that positions them for growth is what BT does best. Our experience working with global customers, especially in the mining, oil and gas industry, enables us to bring the best solutions to Kinross."

BT provides customers active in the global mining, oil and gas sector with a diverse range of services, from IP VPN connectivity to corporate and remote mining sites to bespoke solutions for oil platforms and exploration vessels. BT's solutions address the whole ecosystem of the sector, serving customers upstream and downstream, ranging from companies involved in the exploration, extraction and processing of natural resources to utilities, manufacturers and other large consumers of natural resources.