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Category: DTH Operator

  • MagnaQuest bags billing contract for Hyperia’s IPTV in Nigeria

    MagnaQuest bags billing contract for Hyperia’s IPTV in Nigeria

    MUMBAI:Hyderabad-based MagnaQuest has bagged a contract to manage the broadband and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) billing services of Hyperia Ltd, Nigeria’s leading internet service provider.

    Hyperia has selected MagnaQuest’s convergent customer management and billing solution, MQSubscribe, for its triple play services. This will help support Hyperia’s increasing subscriber growth and value added offerings.

    MQSubscribe integration with network elements, mail server for provisioning and mediation of services will form part of the implementation. Hyperia offers a wide range of services like internet access, email, web hosting, wireless internet access and value added services.

    Says MagnaQuest managing director Vijay Debbad, “As we continue to increase our customer base across the world, and specifically in Africa, the choice of MQSubscribe by Hyperia is a testimony to the unique value proposition delivered by MagnaQuest. Hyperia is a premier name in the ISP services industry and we are proud to offer our CM&B solution to smoothen their operations.

    Adds Hyperia Ltd executive director Sandeep Jayaswal, “Rating and billing of multiple services involves a number of challenges. MagnaQuest’s experience in providing such sophisticated solution to similar business models will enable us to handle these challenges. These strengths of MagnaQuest have convinced us that they can provide a cost-effective and customized solution that will suite our existing and future business model.

    MagnaQuest Technologies provides customer care and billing solution for the video, data and content service providers. The company has a global presence with over 30 customer installations worldwide spanning Europe, Africa, South East Asia, Middle East and India.

  • Rajshri launches broadband entertainment portal, to release ‘Vivah’ for viewers at $9.90

    Rajshri launches broadband entertainment portal, to release ‘Vivah’ for viewers at $9.90

    NEW DELHI: Rajshri Group, one of the oldest production and distribution houses in the country, has launched a broadband entertainment portal, www.rajshri.com, that will offer streaming and downloading of various forms of content including movies, music videos, concerts, and documentaries.

    Rajshri’s latest movie, Vivah, will be premiered on the portal simultaneously along with its theatrical release on Friday. This is the first time in India that a film is being made available on the internet at the day of its release.

    The downloading of Vivah will be at a payment of $9.9 through an international credit card, said Rajshri Media (P) Ltd managing director Rajjat Barjatya. The copies do not run the risk of being pirated because of a special software that has been used, he added.

    Rajshri Media (P) Ltd will be the group’s digital media initiatives arm. This will cover streaming services which users don’t have to pay for. Among the broad gamut of content available is the historic midnight speech of late Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru on 15 August 1947. “We are also soon going to add humor, management-related content and spiritualism to our site,” said Barjatya.

    Describing the new initiative as an “historic moment,” Barjatya said the company had been working on this project for the past two years. The aim seems to be converting the ‘non-consumers into consumers’ while attempting to break the stranglehold of piracy.

    Barjatya is also targeting about 25 million Indians abroad, NRIs and Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) put together, who are “extremely keen to stay in touch with their roots and will pay for rich and origial Indian content as against the pirated one.”

    About 51 per cent Indians abroad spent time daily on the net, he revealed. Besides, Indian content was also becoming extremely popular among non-Indians across the world.

    So how will the box office takings of Vivah, for instance, be a hit because of online viewing? “We are getting into a four screen scenario, instead of a two-screen one. Cinema theatres were always there, and then came TV, the big screen and the small screen. Now there is the internet and the mobile,” said Barjatya.

    “Each of these screens are a different experience and one cannot replace any of the other. It is one thing to see a film on the Net alone, and quite another doing so with the family on a TV set, or watching it in a dark hall with a lot of people, so there is no cutting into turfs,” he added.

    The delivery of movies through the internet could also cut down piracy. “If there is a viewer in say Finland, I can now get to him before the pirates can,” Barjatya said.

    A key feature of the site is that the movies can’t be pirated. “We have used a software which ‘wraps around the programme’ and while it is being streamed, it cannot be copied, nor downloaded. Even while it is ‘sitting’ on the hard disk for 72 hours, it cannot be made into a CD or DVD,” he said.

    The portal is also aimed at the tech-savvy younger audience. “The site has a lot of features. You can actually saute the film, slice and dice it, rate it, send a link to a friend and read what others have to comment about it,” Barjatya said.

  • Qualcomm announces finalists for its wireless reach Brew application funding programme

    Qualcomm announces finalists for its wireless reach Brew application funding programme

    MUMBAI: Qualcomm a developer and innovator of code division multiple access (CDMA) and other advanced wireless technologies, has announced the selection of finalists for the company’s wireless reach Brew application funding programme.

    As part of Qualcomm’s wireless reach initiative, the USD $ one million fund is designed to increase the availability of useful wireless applications in countries around the world.

    Qualcomm’s wireless reach Brew application funding program has challenged companies to create the most innovative Brew public service application in one of five areas: healthcare; education; public safety; governance; and the environment.

    Qualcomm will award five grants in varying amounts for up to a total of USD $500,000 for the most innovative proposals for Brew applications. The remaining amount will be used to put one or more of the winning proposals into action through new or existing wireless reach projects.

    Finalists were selected based on a careful review of all applications and include 21 developers from 19 organisations in six countries (in alphabetical order):

    – Activepackets – Copiague , New York, U.S.A
    – Agrocom software technologies pvt.ltd IIT Bombay – Mumbai , India

    – Astute systems technology pvt ltd – Indore , India
    – Bandung institute of technology – Bandung , Indonesia
    – Beijing InfoQuick SinoVoice speech techology Corp. – Beijing
    – Beijing Justel technologies Co., ltd. – Beijing
    – BeWell mobile technology, Inc. – Walnut Creek , California, U.S.A
    – BookBox India pvt. ltd. – Pondicherry , India
    – Digital Ignite – Vienna , Va. , U.S.A
    – dotPhoto, Inc./DBA exclaim – West Trenton , New Jersey, U.S.A
    – MOBSYS informatica ltda – Sao Paolo, Brazil
    – MyFoodPhone – Quebec , Canada
    – Spiral Jungle, LLC – Carlsbad , California, U.S.A
    – SquareLoop, Inc. – Reston , Va. , U.S.A
    – Tata consultancy services – Thane , India
    – Tata consultancy services – Mumbai , India
    – UC Berkeley – Berkeley , California, U.S.A
    – UC Berkeley – Berkeley , California, U.S.A
    – UCLA center for international emergency medicine/project HOPE/Konami digital entertainment – Los Angeles
    – Zaxis technologies – San Diego
    – ZMQ software systems – New Delhi

    Qualcomm chief executive officer Paul E Jacobs said, “Qualcomm is proud to recognize these finalists on their dedication to creating Brew applications that will have a positive impact on people’s lives.”

    “We are committed to helping increase the availability of useful Brew applications worldwide and we’re pleased to note that the applications we received are creative, inspiring and show a true consideration for the challenges that underserved communities face today. Our goal is to have wireless reach Brew applications from one or more of the grant recipients in action by the summer of 2007,” he added.

    The 21 finalists have been contacted individually to submit a more in depth proposal by December 31 2006. From these proposals, Qualcomm will announce the recipients of the five individual grants by mid-February 2007.

    Qualcomm’s wireless reach initiative seeks to connect communities that have limited or no telecommunications access through the use of 3G technologies.

    Brew operators and their subscribers benefit from several offerings, which include: uiOne for fast access to high revenue services on wireless devices; deliveryOne for differentiated operator-managed support and delivery of advanced wireless data content and services; and marketOne for a quick-to-market, hosted, scalable content delivery service that includes media titles, flexible management and monetisation, content provider settlement and business intelligence services.

  • Microsoft’s XBox to digitally deliver TV shows, movies to gamers

    Microsoft’s XBox to digitally deliver TV shows, movies to gamers

    MUMBAI: Software major Microsoft has announced agreements with US broadcasters CBS, MTV, film studio Paramount Pictures, Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

    The aim is to to bring an initial lineup of over 1,000 hours of hit TV shows and movies to Xbox 360 gamers in the US by the end of the year.

    Microsoft says that Xbox 360 will be the first gaming console to bring standard and high-definition TV shows and movies via digital distribution over the Internet directly to the American consumer. From 22 November 2006, which marks its first anniversary, Xbox 360 will be the first gaming console in history to provide high-definition TV shows and movies directly to gamers in their living rooms. Xbox 360 gamers will have access to the full-length TV shows as downloads to own and movies to rent via download from the Xbox Live® network, the worldwide leader in online distribution of high-definition gaming and entertainment content. This announcement also brings with it several additional ‘firsts’:

    • For the first time, consumers will get an integrated gaming and entertainment experience on a gaming console that includes downloadable high-definition TV shows and movies. This new full-length content adds to the ever-expanding number of choices gamers have on their Xbox 360, whether they want to play games or play a movie on a disc or as a download in high definition or standard definition.

    • CBS will deliver high-definition download-to-own TV shows including CSI, Jericho, Numb3rs and remastered Star Trek episodes. Gamers can buy them and watch them repeatedly.

    • For the first time on any platform, Nascar.com will deliver download-to-own condensed versions of select Nascar Nextel Cup Series races from Race Rewind.

    • The Ultimate Fighting Championship will make 50 of its most intense fights available for download as well as select episodes from the original season of The Ultimate Fighter reality series.

    Microsoft corporate VP interactive entertainment business Peter Moore says, “This groundbreaking announcement is a win for everyone. It connects our partners with one of the most coveted audiences in entertainment today, and provides even greater value to our Xbox Live community, allowing them to enjoy the games and entertainment they want, when they want it.”

  • ‘Kansai’ wins 2006 ABU CASBAA Unicef child rights award

    ‘Kansai’ wins 2006 ABU CASBAA Unicef child rights award

    MUMBAI: Kansai telecasting corporation of Japan has been named as the winner of the ABU CASBAA Unicef child rights award 2006 for its documentary entitled Conquering the Darkness – The fight against memories of abuse.

    The child rights award , is given each year in recognition of the best television programming on a child rights issue produced in the Asia-Pacific region.

    The documentary follows Aya, a 33-year-old mother, who suffered abuse as a child and subsequently abused her own children. It is the tale of a parent’s personal struggle to end the cycle of child abuse in the family.

    “We are often quick to point the finger at parents who abuse their children, but patterns of abuse so often begin in childhood, creating a chain that can continue over generations, ” said documentray producer Shinichi Sugimoto.

    This year, the child rights award received a total of 40 entries from countries such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Japan, Mongolia, Philippines, Republic of Korea and Singapore.

    Broadcasting union secretary-general Asia-Pacific David Astley said, “The child rights award is a significant platform that allows broadcasters in the Asia- Pacific to demonstrate their ability to produce quality programming on children’s issues. The ABU wants to encourage broadcasters to continue to invest in such programmes in the future.”

    CASBAA CEO Simon Twiston Davies said, “The continued participation of regional broadcasters in the child rights award is welcome and clearly underlines their resolve towards producing educational and entertaining programmes for and about children.”

    The panel of jurors included, Amar Keshar Simha, an independent producer from Pakistan; producer China central television (CCTV) Wang Yan; Mongolian radio and television director of Children’s Programme Ariunjargal Luvsantseren; Infocus Asia executive producer Francis Smith; Australia Network chief executive Ian Carroll and Discovery Networks Asia vice president programming James Gibbons.

    The top ten finalists in 2006 are:

    Winner

    – Conquering the Darkness – The Fight Against Memories of Abuse (Japan)

    Finalists

    – Dark Street Kids (Malaysia)- This documentary chronicles the hardship, as well as the stigma and discrimination of children who are born and live in dark alleys or brothels of Malaysia.

    – Korean Children – I am All Alone (Korea)- This documentary is about Minho is an 11-year-old boy neglected by his parents. His only friend is a TV set. A stark portrayal of how a child is deeply affected by the problems and negligence of his parents.

    – Tuesday Report: Pocket Money (Hong Kong) – This programme documents the life of three children who live in cramped flats and have to sell scrap paper and scrap metal for their pocket money.

    – Young People on Wheels (Bhutan) – The documentary follows a group of unemployed youths who are creating awareness of a campaign on HIV and AIDS in Bhutan.

    – The Orphans, Childless and Predators (Singapore) – The documentary looks at on how orphaned children coped with the devastating experienceof Tsunami. It also features a child trafficker who agreed to tell his side of story and tries to justify his actions.

    – Get Real Child Sex Tourism – Sold for Sex (Singapore) – The programme investigates the plight of child sex workers on the Indonesian Island of Batam.

    – Emergency – Junior Boxer (Philippines) – Residents of general santos city are very fond of boxing even children undergo intensive training to become professional boxers during which many sustain grave injuries that sometimes even result in death.

    – We Shall Overcome (Bangladesh) – This documentary chronicles the life of an eight-year-old girl who is deaf and mute and believes she can succeed in her dream to become a fine arts teacher.

    – School of the Highlands (Philippines) – The importance placed on education by indigenous communities in the Philippines is recounted in this documentary which looks at the challenges families face in schooling their children and promoting their rights.

  • Indiagames launches Games on Demand cyber cafe partnership program

    Indiagames launches Games on Demand cyber cafe partnership program

    MUMBAI: Indiagames has announced the launch of its Games on Demand partnership program for Cyber Cafes. This initiative from Indiagames will help over 100,000 private internet cafes in India compete with organised players in the market.

    Says Indiagames founder & CEO Vishal Gondal, “Besides broadband subscribers and home PC users, there is a large percentage of people in India who access the internet through internet cafes. With the launch of the Games on Demand Cyber Café Program, we hope to take a world class gaming experience to the masses.”

    When it comes to gaming in India, there are a host of issues like software piracy and the high prices of gaming software. Games on Demand is a unique offering that aims to successfully address all these issues. In addition to access to licensed original games, the Games on Demand service will prove to be a new source of income, as well as a great customer retention and loyalty tool for internet cafes, states an official release.

    Games-on-Demand is a unique service which enables a user to choose and play from a catalogue of over 300 games without ever needing to purchase or install them on the local PC. Games on Demand features popular international games like Age of Empires II, Brian Lara’s Cricket, IGI 2 Covert Strike and Toca Race Driver 2 amongst others. New games will be added every month thus offering consumers something to look forward to, the release adds.

    Games on Demand is currently available to home internet users via Indiagames’ partnership with leading broadband service providers like Airtel, MTNL, Tata VSNL, and You Telecom. The service will also be soon launched on BSNL which has India’s largest broadband subscriber base.

    The Games on Demand retail initiative from Indiagames will be supported by a host of advertising and publicity initiatives as well as on-ground events. The company is in the process of starting an online advertising campaign to support the initiative. Currently, the service has over 100 games on offer at just Rs 225 per month. These games will cost almost Rs100,000 at retail prices for legal software. Indiagames has tied up with leading publishers like Microsoft, Codemasters, Playfirst, Atari and Activision amongst others for this service, the release further adds.

  • Conexant’s satellite set-top box solution wins ‘leading product award’

    Conexant’s satellite set-top box solution wins ‘leading product award’

    MUMBAI: Conexant Systems Inc., a supplier of semiconductor solutions for broadband communications and the digital home, has announced that its CX2430X family of MPEG decoders for free-to-air satellite set-top boxes (STBs) has received the leading product award in the consumer electronics category in the EDN China innovation award 2006 competition.

    The system-on-chip (SoC) decoders were developed in Conexant’s Shanghai design center, which is focused on developing STB chips for worldwide applications.

    The award was presented to Conexant at a ceremony in Shenzhen. The 131 entries in the competition were judged by a panel of specialists that included representatives from academic and research institutions, universities, and Chinese original equipment manufacturers.

    Conexant’s broadband media processing business, executive vice president and general manager Lewis Brewster said, “We are honoured that our CX2430X MPEG decoders were chosen for this important award by a group of esteemed industry experts. We remain focused on delivering innovative solutions that will help Chinese manufacturers design and develop products for domestic and international markets.”

    The CX2430X family can be used for applications ranging from basic STB functionality to advanced STB applications. The devices include an integrated high-speed data port that easily interfaces to a variety of broadband front-ends, allowing the decoders to serve as a common back-end platform for satellite, terrestrial, and cable platforms, asserts an official release.

    In addition, the decoders can be used with our satellite tuners to form a complete front- and back-end system solution. This flexibility, along with the robust feature set, provides manufacturers with economies of scale as they can leverage a single device across multiple product offerings.

  • Napster mobile launches ‘Over-The-Air’ music service in Japan

    Napster mobile launches ‘Over-The-Air’ music service in Japan

    MUMBAI: Napster , the digital music pioneer, has announced the launch of Napster Mobile on iMode, NTT DoCoMo’s mobile internet platform currently used by over 40 million of its over 52 million mobile subscribers across Japan.

    DoCoMo customers can use Napster Mobile to access full-length songs and ringtones that can be delivered Over-The-Air (OTA), directly to their mobile handsets including the N902iX, the SH903i, the F903i, the D903i and other soon to be released models in the 903i series for immediate listening and downloading, asserts an official release.

    Napster Mobile subscribers in Japan pay a monthly access fee of approximately $3 per month, and can acquire individual songs and ringtones for mobile delivery and download using a credit-based system. Subscribers receive 300 credits per month to procure individual songs and ringtones, and they can purchase additional credits at any time.

    Using a compatible DoCoMo handset gives Napster Japan’s Napster To Go portable subscription customers the power to transfer their favorite music from their PC directly to their mobile phone.

    Napster chairman and CEO Chris Gorog said, “With analysts projecting that mobile music will become a multi-billion dollar business in Japan over the next few years, we are very pleased and excited by Napster Japan’s deep partnership with DoCoMo, Japan’s number one wireless carrier. DoCoMo’s aggressive promotion of our offerings in Japan both the PC subscription service and the over-the-air mobile service will enable Napster to deliver on our commitment to helping music fans everywhere enjoy the best digital music experience possible.”

    iMode customers can subscribe to Napster Mobile for unlimited access to Napster Mobile’s music programming features, including personalized recommendations, featured artists and new releases, exclusive music and chart information, and to browse Napster Mobile’s vast catalog of full-length songs and ringtones, adds the release.

  • Harris Broadcast Communications to provide end-to-end broadcast system to Tata Sky

    Harris Broadcast Communications to provide end-to-end broadcast system to Tata Sky

    MUMBAI:The battle for supremacy between Dish TV and Tata Sky has gone up by one more level with Harris collaborating with Tata Sky Ltd., to deliver its satellite television service via an end-to-end system that converts, processes, synchronizes and distributes digital program content.

    Tata Sky is the satellite television service for the Tata Group and Star Network in India.

    Designed to support 120 channels, Tata Sky’s facility uses Harris’ Integrator router for station routing, asserts an official release.

    “At Tata Sky, we continuously invest in state-of-the-art infrastructure to provide Indian audiences with a world-class satellite television service, offering unparalleled entertainment with pristine picture quality and sound,” said Tata Sky Ltd managing director and CEO Vikram Kaushik. “The Harris broadcast equipment will help us boost the quality of our digital transmission, enabling us to deliver top-of-the-line services to our customers.”

    According to the release, Tata Sky’s facility houses Harris NEXIO servers, for use in their test center; integrator router for station routing; a panacea router for clean switching; 6800+ and NEO modular interface products for video processing; the NEO MTG-3901 master timing generator system; the IconLogo modular branding solution; an IconStation master control graphics and channel presentation system; Videotek test and measurement products; the NEO SuiteView multi-source display processor; and the CCS Navigator software application and NUCLEUS user-configurable network control panel for control and monitoring.

    Harris Broadcast Communications division president Tim Thorsteinson said, “Tata Sky promises to revolutionise home entertainment in India, and we are extremely pleased to work with them in this venture.”

  • AIR staffer wins ABU 2006 Broadcast Engineering Excellence Award

    AIR staffer wins ABU 2006 Broadcast Engineering Excellence Award

    MUMBAI: The winners of the annual ABU Broadcast Engineering Excellence Awards were announced yesterday at the ABU Technical Committee Meetings in Beijing.

    The recipient of the ABU Broadcast Engineering Excellence Award is All India Radio engineer-in-chief Ansu Sekhar Guin, in recognition of his contributions of an outstanding nature in broadcasting engineering and related disciplines at All India Radio and Doordarshan.

    Guin is the technical head of All India Radio (AIR), responsible for the management and operational aspects of AIR’s network, according to an official release. He holds the position of president of the Broadcast Engineering Society of India.

    In his illustrious career at All India Radio, he has been responsible in the implementation of many new services such as digital radio studio automation, digital video archives, digitalisation of the satellite based networking system and digital audio broadcasting.

    The ABU Engineering Industry Excellence Award is conferred on Dr Osamu Yamada for the most outstanding engineering contribution made by an individual to the broadcasting industry in the Asia-Pacific region.

    Dr Yamada was NHK Science director general and Technical Research Laboratories in his previous posting and is now senior managing director of Pioneer Corporation.

    He played a pioneering role in the setting up of error correction codes in developing a new decoding algorithm for different applications for various broadcasting systems.
    He also developed digital transmission systems. He engaged in the development and standardisation of new broadcasting systems such as teletext, FM multiplex broadcasting system (DARC), digital satellite and terrestrial broadcasting systems (ISDB). He also contributed to the work of the ITU-R Study Groups from 1992 to 1997.

    “The awards are conferred in appreciation of their dedication and endeavours in the promotion of technical developments in the broadcasting industry. The ABU congratulates Mr Guin and Dr Yamada,” said ABU secretary-general David Astley.

    Both awards will be presented at the ABU Prizes awards ceremony on 7 November. Each award comprises a commemorative trophy, a citation and a lifetime ‘distinguished observer’ status at ABU Technical Committee meetings, informs the statement.