ITV

Category: Broadband

  • Microsoft and Facebook to build an innovative new subsea cable across the Atlantic Ocean

    Microsoft and Facebook to build an innovative new subsea cable across the Atlantic Ocean

    MENLO PARK, Calif. and REDMOND, Wash., May 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ –Today, Microsoft (NASDAQ “MSFT” @microsoft) and Facebook(NASDAQ:FB) announced an agreement to build a new, state-of-the-art subsea cable across the Atlantic. The new “MAREA” cable will help meet the growing customer demand for high speed, reliable connections for cloud and online services for Microsoft, Facebook and their customers. The parties have cleared conditions to go Contract-In-Force (CIF) with their plans, and construction of the cable will commence in August 2016 with completion expected in October 2017.

    Microsoft and Facebook are collaborating on this system to accelerate the development of the next-generation of Internet infrastructure and support the explosion of data consumption and rapid growth of their respective cloud and online services. MAREA will be the highest-capacity subsea cable to ever cross the Atlantic – eight fiber pairs and an initial estimated design capacity of 160Tbps. The new 6,600 km submarine cable system, to be operated and managed by Telxius, Telefónica’s new telecommunications infrastructure company, will also be the first to connect the United States to southern Europe, from the data hub of Northern Virginia to Bilbao, Spain and then to network hubs in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. This route is south of other transatlantic cable systems, thereby helping ensure more resilient and reliable connections for customers in the United States,Europe, and beyond.

    Microsoft and Facebook designed MAREA to be interoperable with a variety of networking equipment. This new “open” design brings significant benefits for customers: lower costs and easier equipment upgrades which leads to faster growth in bandwidth rates since the system can evolve at the pace of optical technology innovation.

    Microsoft and Facebook are working with Telxius to build upon Telefónica’s longstanding experience in subsea cables on this innovative new system. Telxius will serve as the operator of the system and sell capacity as part of their wholesale infrastructure business.

    “As the world is increasingly moving toward a future based on cloud computing, Microsoft continues to invest in our cloud infrastructure to meet current and future growing global demand for our more than 200 cloud services, including Bing, Office 365, Skype, Xbox Live and the Microsoft Azure platform,” said Christian Belady, General Manager, Datacenter Strategy, Planning & Development, Microsoft Corp. “The MAREA transatlantic cable we’re building with Facebook and Telxius will provide new, low-latency connectivity that will help meet the increasing demand for higher-speed capacity across the Atlantic. By building the cable along this new southern route, we will also increase the resiliency of our global network, helping ensure even greater reliability for our customers.”

    “Facebook wants to make it possible for people to have deep connections and shared experiences with the people who matter to them most — anywhere in the world, and at any time,” said Najam Ahmad, Vice President of Network Engineering at Facebook. “We’re always evaluating new technologies and systems in order to provide the best connectivity possible. By creating a vendor-agnostic design with Microsoft and Telxius, we can choose the hardware and software that best serves the system and ultimately increase the pace of innovation. We want to do more of these projects in this manner — allowing us to move fast with more collaboration. We think this is how most subsea cable systems will be built in the future.”

    “Working with Facebook and Microsoft in this project will reinforce Telxius’ position as a worldwide leading infra company not only expanding on-net capabilities to Spain and the USA but also allowing us to capture market opportunities in Western Europe and new emerging routes in Northern Africa and other regions,” said Rafael Arranz, Chief Operating Officer of Telxius Cable.

  • ACT leads in wired broadband subscriber additions in 2016

    ACT leads in wired broadband subscriber additions in 2016

    BENGALURU: Atria Convergence Technologies Private Limited (ACT, ACT Broadband) leads in net wired broadband subscriber additions in calendar year 2016 (CY-2016) with 80,000 subscribers added during the first quarter of CY-2016 . As per data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), ACT’s broadband subscriber base as on 31 March 2016 (Mar-16) was 9.4 lakh as compared to the 8.6 lakh subscribers as on 31 December 2015 (Dec-15). ACT was closely followed by telecom major Airtel with 70,000 wired broadband subscriber additions until Mar-16 in CY-2016. Airtel’s wired broadband subscriber base in Mar-16 was 17.4 lakh.

    Until 30 October 2015 (Oct-15), ACT Broadband was leading in wireline broadband internet subscriber additions in India during calendar year 2015. Both ACT and Bharti Airtel had added 230,000 subscribers in CY-15 until Nov-15. In December 2015, numbers released by TRAI indicated that as on 31 December 2015 (Dec-15), Bharti Airtel had added 2.6 lakh subscribers (subject to a granularity of 10,000) as compared to the 2.5 lakh subscribers added by ACT in the period between 31 December 2014 (hence 1 January 2015, Dec-14) and Dec-15. In terms of wireline internet subscription numbers, Airtel had 16.7 lakh subscribers while ACT had 8.6 lakh subscribers at the end of CY-2015.

    As per TRAI data, the top five players in India in the wireline broadband internet space in pecking order are the public sector Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel), public sector Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), Atria Convergence Technologies Private Limited (ACT, ACT Broadband) and You Broadband (You BB). Among these 5, only BSNL and Airtel could be termed national players at present. BSNL, Airtel and MTNL also provide wireline and mobile services while Airtel also has a direct to home (DTH) segment. ACT started off as an MSO with operations concentrated in a few major cities and towns located mainly in South India. It started internet services (ACT Broadband) a little later and has grown its broadband internet subscriber base over time, to the extent that it is quite likely the biggest private wireline broadband player in South India. You BB offers broadband operations in a few cities in Maharashtra, Gujarat the NCR region Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

    While the public sector players BSNL and MTNL had been losing subscribers and/or market share until Feb-16, the three private players have been growing on both these parameters as Fig 1 below indicates. In CY-2016, until Mar-16, MTNL had lost 10,000 while BSNL gained 20,000 wired broadband subscribers with the addition of 30,000 in Mar-16 itself. You BB added 20,000 subscribers in CY-2016. BSNL’s wired broadband subscriber base as on 31 March 2016 was 99.4 lakh, while MTNL had 11.1 lakh subscribers. You BB had 5.3 lakh subscribers for Mar-15.

    Note:(1) 100,00,000 = 100 Lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

    (2) TRAI reports indicate data in millions of numbers up to 2 decimal places. Hence it is assumed in this report that a figure of 0.47 million (4.7 lakh) subscribers for You BB for July-2015 would be granular to the nearest 10,000. While percentages have been mentioned up to two decimal places, the accuracy may vary, depending upon the exact number.

    (3) Industry sources say that TRAI numbers in the case of ACT for May-2015 are incorrect at 0.66 million and the correct number would be 0.693 million. This paper considers the number as 6.93 lakh or 0.693 million.

    (4) MSOs’ have a number of subsidiaries and alliances, hence broadband numbers are split as applicable. The consolidated subscription numbers of these entities could be larger. Hathway is a case in point.

    In Mar-16, the largest ever number of wired broadband subscribers have been added – in absolute numbers as well as in month-over-month (m-o-m) percentage terms.  2.3 lakh wired broadband subscribers were added, with m-o-m growth of 1.37 percent in Mar-16. The combined subscription numbers of the top 5 wired broadband players also had the largest ever subscriber additions in terms of absolute numbers at 1 lakh and at 0.71 percent in terms of m-o-m growth. Please refer to Figure 1A below.

    At the same time, the subscriber numbers share of the top five wired broadband players in the country has reduced from 88.45 percent from Dec-14 to 83.98 percent as on Mar-16. During the same period the all India wireline internet subscriber base has grown 10.48 per cent from 153.2 lakh to 169.8 lakh. The combined numbers of the top five players have increased by less than half of that in percentage terms – by 5.24 per cent from 136.3 lakh to 142.6 lakh. The top five players have added 7.1 lakh subscribers during these 15 months, with ACT and Bharti Airtel contributing to the major bulk of the growth.          

    Other wireline broadband players in India

    MSOs’ in India have started providing internet services on the back of their television cable networks using DOCSIS technology. In general, they have started reporting double digit YoY increase in internet subscribers and revenue. The television cable players see broadband services improving their Average Revenue per User (ARPU) numbers. Three of the major MSOs and a regional MSO – Hathway, Siti Cable, Den Networks, Ortel Communications whose results are available in the public domain have been showing steady growth in their broadband segment over the past few quarters. All the four have been reporting growth in average revenue per user (ARPU).

    Ortel president and CEO Bibhu Prasad Rath said, “We are happy to launch a wide array of broadband plans in DOCSIS 2.0 and DOCSIS 3.0 technology platforms keeping in view the current pattern of internet usage by the subscribers. While we have very affordable plans to serve all internet subscribers, we have been continuously upgrading the speeds to cater to the fast changing usage trends of subscribers who have multiple requirements ranging from plain simple browsing, emailing, social media engagement, heavy downloading, video conferencing to the higher end usage of HD live streaming of video content and complex online gaming. Our endeavour is to constantly redefine our consumer experience and we will constantly pursue this objective in our markets to increase our broadband subscriber base.”

    Ortel reported a net addition of 13,963 internet subscribers in FY-2016(year ended 31 March 2016, current year) compared to 4,092 subscribers in FY-2015; Total Broadband RGUs were 72,482. The company expects significant growth in broadband subscribers in FY-2017 on the back of new network rollout, a strong team, solid back-end operations, attractive broadband packages and various other value-added services and initiatives.

    Earlier this month, Ortel introduced a wide range of plans including 100 Mbps mega speed DOCSIS 3.0 broadband internet in the state of Odisha. The new Ortel Broadband plans range from 2 Mbps to 100 Mbps which will cater to the requirements of most of the home broadband users ranging from simple browsing, chatting to using High Definition video content and high level Online Gaming.

    Siti Cable has reported broadband customer base growth to approximately 1.32 lakh by Q4-16 (quarter ended 31 March 2016, current quarter), up 120 percent year-on-year. Results from Hathway and Den Networks for FY-16 and Q4-16 have yet to be published in the public domain.

     

  • ACT leads in wired broadband subscriber additions in 2016

    ACT leads in wired broadband subscriber additions in 2016

    BENGALURU: Atria Convergence Technologies Private Limited (ACT, ACT Broadband) leads in net wired broadband subscriber additions in calendar year 2016 (CY-2016) with 80,000 subscribers added during the first quarter of CY-2016 . As per data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), ACT’s broadband subscriber base as on 31 March 2016 (Mar-16) was 9.4 lakh as compared to the 8.6 lakh subscribers as on 31 December 2015 (Dec-15). ACT was closely followed by telecom major Airtel with 70,000 wired broadband subscriber additions until Mar-16 in CY-2016. Airtel’s wired broadband subscriber base in Mar-16 was 17.4 lakh.

    Until 30 October 2015 (Oct-15), ACT Broadband was leading in wireline broadband internet subscriber additions in India during calendar year 2015. Both ACT and Bharti Airtel had added 230,000 subscribers in CY-15 until Nov-15. In December 2015, numbers released by TRAI indicated that as on 31 December 2015 (Dec-15), Bharti Airtel had added 2.6 lakh subscribers (subject to a granularity of 10,000) as compared to the 2.5 lakh subscribers added by ACT in the period between 31 December 2014 (hence 1 January 2015, Dec-14) and Dec-15. In terms of wireline internet subscription numbers, Airtel had 16.7 lakh subscribers while ACT had 8.6 lakh subscribers at the end of CY-2015.

    As per TRAI data, the top five players in India in the wireline broadband internet space in pecking order are the public sector Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel), public sector Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), Atria Convergence Technologies Private Limited (ACT, ACT Broadband) and You Broadband (You BB). Among these 5, only BSNL and Airtel could be termed national players at present. BSNL, Airtel and MTNL also provide wireline and mobile services while Airtel also has a direct to home (DTH) segment. ACT started off as an MSO with operations concentrated in a few major cities and towns located mainly in South India. It started internet services (ACT Broadband) a little later and has grown its broadband internet subscriber base over time, to the extent that it is quite likely the biggest private wireline broadband player in South India. You BB offers broadband operations in a few cities in Maharashtra, Gujarat the NCR region Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

    While the public sector players BSNL and MTNL had been losing subscribers and/or market share until Feb-16, the three private players have been growing on both these parameters as Fig 1 below indicates. In CY-2016, until Mar-16, MTNL had lost 10,000 while BSNL gained 20,000 wired broadband subscribers with the addition of 30,000 in Mar-16 itself. You BB added 20,000 subscribers in CY-2016. BSNL’s wired broadband subscriber base as on 31 March 2016 was 99.4 lakh, while MTNL had 11.1 lakh subscribers. You BB had 5.3 lakh subscribers for Mar-15.

    Note:(1) 100,00,000 = 100 Lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

    (2) TRAI reports indicate data in millions of numbers up to 2 decimal places. Hence it is assumed in this report that a figure of 0.47 million (4.7 lakh) subscribers for You BB for July-2015 would be granular to the nearest 10,000. While percentages have been mentioned up to two decimal places, the accuracy may vary, depending upon the exact number.

    (3) Industry sources say that TRAI numbers in the case of ACT for May-2015 are incorrect at 0.66 million and the correct number would be 0.693 million. This paper considers the number as 6.93 lakh or 0.693 million.

    (4) MSOs’ have a number of subsidiaries and alliances, hence broadband numbers are split as applicable. The consolidated subscription numbers of these entities could be larger. Hathway is a case in point.

    In Mar-16, the largest ever number of wired broadband subscribers have been added – in absolute numbers as well as in month-over-month (m-o-m) percentage terms.  2.3 lakh wired broadband subscribers were added, with m-o-m growth of 1.37 percent in Mar-16. The combined subscription numbers of the top 5 wired broadband players also had the largest ever subscriber additions in terms of absolute numbers at 1 lakh and at 0.71 percent in terms of m-o-m growth. Please refer to Figure 1A below.

    At the same time, the subscriber numbers share of the top five wired broadband players in the country has reduced from 88.45 percent from Dec-14 to 83.98 percent as on Mar-16. During the same period the all India wireline internet subscriber base has grown 10.48 per cent from 153.2 lakh to 169.8 lakh. The combined numbers of the top five players have increased by less than half of that in percentage terms – by 5.24 per cent from 136.3 lakh to 142.6 lakh. The top five players have added 7.1 lakh subscribers during these 15 months, with ACT and Bharti Airtel contributing to the major bulk of the growth.          

    Other wireline broadband players in India

    MSOs’ in India have started providing internet services on the back of their television cable networks using DOCSIS technology. In general, they have started reporting double digit YoY increase in internet subscribers and revenue. The television cable players see broadband services improving their Average Revenue per User (ARPU) numbers. Three of the major MSOs and a regional MSO – Hathway, Siti Cable, Den Networks, Ortel Communications whose results are available in the public domain have been showing steady growth in their broadband segment over the past few quarters. All the four have been reporting growth in average revenue per user (ARPU).

    Ortel president and CEO Bibhu Prasad Rath said, “We are happy to launch a wide array of broadband plans in DOCSIS 2.0 and DOCSIS 3.0 technology platforms keeping in view the current pattern of internet usage by the subscribers. While we have very affordable plans to serve all internet subscribers, we have been continuously upgrading the speeds to cater to the fast changing usage trends of subscribers who have multiple requirements ranging from plain simple browsing, emailing, social media engagement, heavy downloading, video conferencing to the higher end usage of HD live streaming of video content and complex online gaming. Our endeavour is to constantly redefine our consumer experience and we will constantly pursue this objective in our markets to increase our broadband subscriber base.”

    Ortel reported a net addition of 13,963 internet subscribers in FY-2016(year ended 31 March 2016, current year) compared to 4,092 subscribers in FY-2015; Total Broadband RGUs were 72,482. The company expects significant growth in broadband subscribers in FY-2017 on the back of new network rollout, a strong team, solid back-end operations, attractive broadband packages and various other value-added services and initiatives.

    Earlier this month, Ortel introduced a wide range of plans including 100 Mbps mega speed DOCSIS 3.0 broadband internet in the state of Odisha. The new Ortel Broadband plans range from 2 Mbps to 100 Mbps which will cater to the requirements of most of the home broadband users ranging from simple browsing, chatting to using High Definition video content and high level Online Gaming.

    Siti Cable has reported broadband customer base growth to approximately 1.32 lakh by Q4-16 (quarter ended 31 March 2016, current quarter), up 120 percent year-on-year. Results from Hathway and Den Networks for FY-16 and Q4-16 have yet to be published in the public domain.

     

  • Assembling imported parts not ‘Make in India’ says Broadband Forum

    Assembling imported parts not ‘Make in India’ says Broadband Forum

    NEW DELHI: Observing that assembling in India goes against the very principle of Make in India, the Broadband India Forum has criticized the decision to roll back import duties levied on mobile phone components and said this “is a step not in sync with encouraging manufacture of these items in India.”

    BIF, a dedicated Forum with representation from Telecom Service Providers, Technology Providers, R&D and Chip Design Companies, System Integrator, Project Management, Service & Solution Provide, MSO and DTH, Satellite & VSAT Service Providers, in its appeal to the Communication and Information Technology ministry has requested immediate withdrawal of the import duty rollback on populated PCBs and phone accessories in the interest of ‘Design in India’ as these equipments provide maximum opportunity for design and R&D.        

    In its recent Notification of 5 May 2016, the government decided to roll back import duties levied on components of mobile phones in the Union Budget 2016. The notification brought down the duty on chargers, batteries and headsets from 29 percent to 12.5 percent (at par with that of imported handsets) and lowered the duty on populated PCBs (printed circuit boards) to 0 percent from 2 percent (instead of raising it to 12.5 percent).

    In ia note to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion and the Department of Telecom,  the BIF has highlighted that no entity will design and invest in R&D in India if the PCB continues to be imported from China at 0 percent (zero) duty in fully-manufactured form. Though the increase in duty on imported handsets by 12.5 percent has increased manufacturing intensity of mobile phones in India from 5 million/year (50 lakh/year) to 100 million/year (10 crore/year), the local value addition is hardly 1 to 2 percent. Therefore, increasing duty on populated PCBs is the next logical step.

    BIF president T V Ramachandran remarked, “While the industry was hoping the government moved ahead with its 2015 initiative, this recent announcement has pushed the country back to the days of phone assembly, instead of progressing to a phased-manufacturing regime. This notification goes against the letter and spirit of the stated intent of the government, which is to gradually reduce the electronic imports and achieve ‘Net Zero Imports’ by 2020 under ‘Make in India’, as part of the Digital India action plan. Therefore, we request the government to withdraw this notification immediately.”

    The mere assembly of PCBs in India will immediately increase value addition to 10 percent from the current 1 percent, with scope of increasing it further with investment in ‘Design in India’ and R&D. It will also raise the quality of jobs and prevent these moving to other markets (in case they provide better economic conditions than India), and encourage component manufacturing in India by enabling components to be consumed in India (most components used in mobile phones are housed in PCBs).

    In its request, BIF also highlighted that India faces a unique challenge in terms of compulsion to encourage and initiate indigenous design and manufacturing or ‘Make in India’ with higher local value addition. Accordingly, it is imperative to work towards reduction of the exponentially increasing Import Bill for electronics/telecom equipment and services – an expense expected to surpass the oil import bill by 2020 (estimated at $ 400 billion).

     

  • Assembling imported parts not ‘Make in India’ says Broadband Forum

    Assembling imported parts not ‘Make in India’ says Broadband Forum

    NEW DELHI: Observing that assembling in India goes against the very principle of Make in India, the Broadband India Forum has criticized the decision to roll back import duties levied on mobile phone components and said this “is a step not in sync with encouraging manufacture of these items in India.”

    BIF, a dedicated Forum with representation from Telecom Service Providers, Technology Providers, R&D and Chip Design Companies, System Integrator, Project Management, Service & Solution Provide, MSO and DTH, Satellite & VSAT Service Providers, in its appeal to the Communication and Information Technology ministry has requested immediate withdrawal of the import duty rollback on populated PCBs and phone accessories in the interest of ‘Design in India’ as these equipments provide maximum opportunity for design and R&D.        

    In its recent Notification of 5 May 2016, the government decided to roll back import duties levied on components of mobile phones in the Union Budget 2016. The notification brought down the duty on chargers, batteries and headsets from 29 percent to 12.5 percent (at par with that of imported handsets) and lowered the duty on populated PCBs (printed circuit boards) to 0 percent from 2 percent (instead of raising it to 12.5 percent).

    In ia note to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion and the Department of Telecom,  the BIF has highlighted that no entity will design and invest in R&D in India if the PCB continues to be imported from China at 0 percent (zero) duty in fully-manufactured form. Though the increase in duty on imported handsets by 12.5 percent has increased manufacturing intensity of mobile phones in India from 5 million/year (50 lakh/year) to 100 million/year (10 crore/year), the local value addition is hardly 1 to 2 percent. Therefore, increasing duty on populated PCBs is the next logical step.

    BIF president T V Ramachandran remarked, “While the industry was hoping the government moved ahead with its 2015 initiative, this recent announcement has pushed the country back to the days of phone assembly, instead of progressing to a phased-manufacturing regime. This notification goes against the letter and spirit of the stated intent of the government, which is to gradually reduce the electronic imports and achieve ‘Net Zero Imports’ by 2020 under ‘Make in India’, as part of the Digital India action plan. Therefore, we request the government to withdraw this notification immediately.”

    The mere assembly of PCBs in India will immediately increase value addition to 10 percent from the current 1 percent, with scope of increasing it further with investment in ‘Design in India’ and R&D. It will also raise the quality of jobs and prevent these moving to other markets (in case they provide better economic conditions than India), and encourage component manufacturing in India by enabling components to be consumed in India (most components used in mobile phones are housed in PCBs).

    In its request, BIF also highlighted that India faces a unique challenge in terms of compulsion to encourage and initiate indigenous design and manufacturing or ‘Make in India’ with higher local value addition. Accordingly, it is imperative to work towards reduction of the exponentially increasing Import Bill for electronics/telecom equipment and services – an expense expected to surpass the oil import bill by 2020 (estimated at $ 400 billion).

     

  • Ortel announces launch of 100 Mbps speed on its DOCSIS 3.0 platform

    Ortel announces launch of 100 Mbps speed on its DOCSIS 3.0 platform

    MUMBAI:  Regional cable television and high speed broadband services provider Ortel Communications Limited has introduced a wide range of plans including100 Mbps mega speed DOCSIS 3.0 Broadband Internet in Odisha. Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) has been developed by CableLabs, which is an International Consortium of Cable Operators and MSOs, and approved by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU-T). This technology has been widely used in Europe and USA by leading ISPs says Ortel.

    The new Ortel Broadband plans range from 2Mbps to 100 Mbps which will cater to the requirements of most of the home broadband users ranging from simple browsing, chatting to using High Definition video content and high level Online Gaming.

    Ortel says that it is the first MSO to offer 100 Mbps Broadband in the state of Odisha using the DOCSIS 3.0 technology. It is being initially deployed in the city of Bhubaneswar and will be followed by other markets very soon.

    Commenting on the development Ortel president and CEO Bibhu Prasad Rath said, “We are happy to launch a wide array of Broadband plans in DOCSIS 2.0 and DOCSIS 3.0 technology platforms keeping in view the current pattern of internet usage by the subscribers. While we have very affordable plans to serve all internet subscribers, we have been continuously upgrading the speeds to cater to the fast changing usage trends of subscribers who have multiple requirements ranging from plain simple browsing, emailing, social media engagement, heavy downloading, video conferencing to the higher end usage of HD live streaming of video content and complex online gaming. Our endeavour is to constantly redefine our consumer experience and we will constantly pursue this objective in our markets to increase our broadband subscriber base. The company plans to actively roll out DOCSIS 3.0 plans to deliver exceptional internet surfing experience to its subscribers. Attractive COMBO plans are also made available to the Ortel cable TV subscribers, which is in line with our vision of ‘One Cable, Many Solutions’.”

  • Ortel announces launch of 100 Mbps speed on its DOCSIS 3.0 platform

    Ortel announces launch of 100 Mbps speed on its DOCSIS 3.0 platform

    MUMBAI:  Regional cable television and high speed broadband services provider Ortel Communications Limited has introduced a wide range of plans including100 Mbps mega speed DOCSIS 3.0 Broadband Internet in Odisha. Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) has been developed by CableLabs, which is an International Consortium of Cable Operators and MSOs, and approved by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU-T). This technology has been widely used in Europe and USA by leading ISPs says Ortel.

    The new Ortel Broadband plans range from 2Mbps to 100 Mbps which will cater to the requirements of most of the home broadband users ranging from simple browsing, chatting to using High Definition video content and high level Online Gaming.

    Ortel says that it is the first MSO to offer 100 Mbps Broadband in the state of Odisha using the DOCSIS 3.0 technology. It is being initially deployed in the city of Bhubaneswar and will be followed by other markets very soon.

    Commenting on the development Ortel president and CEO Bibhu Prasad Rath said, “We are happy to launch a wide array of Broadband plans in DOCSIS 2.0 and DOCSIS 3.0 technology platforms keeping in view the current pattern of internet usage by the subscribers. While we have very affordable plans to serve all internet subscribers, we have been continuously upgrading the speeds to cater to the fast changing usage trends of subscribers who have multiple requirements ranging from plain simple browsing, emailing, social media engagement, heavy downloading, video conferencing to the higher end usage of HD live streaming of video content and complex online gaming. Our endeavour is to constantly redefine our consumer experience and we will constantly pursue this objective in our markets to increase our broadband subscriber base. The company plans to actively roll out DOCSIS 3.0 plans to deliver exceptional internet surfing experience to its subscribers. Attractive COMBO plans are also made available to the Ortel cable TV subscribers, which is in line with our vision of ‘One Cable, Many Solutions’.”

  • FICCI’s reaction to IPR Policy

    FICCI’s reaction to IPR Policy

    NEW DELHI: The Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry has said the Intellectual Property Rights Policy correctly identifies IP as a strategic tool for furthering India’s economic goals and therefore recommends for the effective protection of IP rights as an essential element for making optimal use of innovative and creative capabilities of its people.

    Welcoming the much-awaited IPR Policy for India, FICCI President Harshvardhan Neotia said, “”the national policy contains many encouraging recommendations including the need to create awareness on the importance of IPRs through a nation-wide promotional campaign and linking it to other national initiatives like ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’, undertaking a baseline survey across sectors to evaluate the IP potential in specific sectors.”

    “Other significant policy announcements include making the DIPP as the nodal department for all IPR related developments in India, the emphasis to make the Indian Patent Office an increasingly service oriented organization and to improve IP enforcement and the adjudication mechanism, among others, Neotia added.

     

  • FICCI’s reaction to IPR Policy

    FICCI’s reaction to IPR Policy

    NEW DELHI: The Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry has said the Intellectual Property Rights Policy correctly identifies IP as a strategic tool for furthering India’s economic goals and therefore recommends for the effective protection of IP rights as an essential element for making optimal use of innovative and creative capabilities of its people.

    Welcoming the much-awaited IPR Policy for India, FICCI President Harshvardhan Neotia said, “”the national policy contains many encouraging recommendations including the need to create awareness on the importance of IPRs through a nation-wide promotional campaign and linking it to other national initiatives like ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’, undertaking a baseline survey across sectors to evaluate the IP potential in specific sectors.”

    “Other significant policy announcements include making the DIPP as the nodal department for all IPR related developments in India, the emphasis to make the Indian Patent Office an increasingly service oriented organization and to improve IP enforcement and the adjudication mechanism, among others, Neotia added.

     

  • NASSCOM STATEMENT ON NATIONAL IPR POLICY

    NASSCOM STATEMENT ON NATIONAL IPR POLICY

    NASSCOM welcomes the National IPR Policy and applauds it for encompassing the entire value chain spanning across IPR Awareness, Generation, Legislative Framework, Administration, Commercialization, Enforcement and Adjudication, Human Capital, comprehensively covering all aspects of the domain.

    The Policy has reformed the current administration by making Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion the nodal point coordinate and guide future development of IPRs in India while  responsibility for actual implementation of the plans of action will remain with the Ministries/ Departments concerned in their assigned sphere of work. This single umbrella approach will help leverage linkages between various IP offices. The proposed Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) to be constituted under the aegis of DIPP, would be an important connection with the inventors and innovators.

    NASSCOM had in its interaction with the think tank had highlighted  difficulties that companies face in monetizing intangibles like IPR. The Policy has captured the concerns suitably and their proposal to create a ‘simple loan guarantee scheme to encourage start-ups’ based on IPRs as mortgage-able assets; financial support and securitization of IP rights for commercialization by enabling valuation of IP rights as intangible assets through  of appropriate methodologies and guidelines, and enabling legislative, administrative and market framework are in the right direction. Further, specific references to promoting use of OSS, as well as support for IPR generation for ICT technologies, including those relating to cyber security for India are welcome.

    As product life cycles shrink, timeliness of grant of IPR is critical for its relevance. We welcome the Policies focus on modernization of  offices, adoption of service orientation by improving the quality of service, search facilities and information made available to inventors and other stakeholders. Administration and enforcement of IP rights requires time bound processes. The Policy has rightly identified it as a priority area in addition to initiatives outlined for capacity building at various levels including adjudication, enforcement and protection. The IT industry is committed to partner with the DIPP in the modernization efforts. Further, Periodic reviews and updates of  IP related rules, guidelines, procedures will ensure an effective IPR regime and NASSCOM is committed to work closely with the DIPP as the policy is implemented to support an innovation led Industry in India.