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Tag: Anil Ambani

  • Reliance Info intl business president Garg to head Flag Telecom

    Reliance Info intl business president Garg to head Flag Telecom

    MUMBAI: Reliance Infocomm Ltd international business president Punit Garg has moved to Flag Telecom as its new head.

    Flag Telecom, which owns and manages an extensive optical fibre network connecting key business markets in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the US, was acquired by the Reliance Group and became a Reliance Infocomm company on 12 January 2004. Flag offers a focused range of global products, including global bandwidth, IP, internet, ethernet and co-location services.

    Garg will be replacing Patrick Gallaghar. Punit will also continue to be a member of the parent’s senior management team, while Patrick will move on to become the Flag Telecom non-executive vice chairman.

    Garg’s appointment is expected to hasten the process of assimilation for the global carrier with its parent company under the new management and put it on a faster growth trajectory.

    “Punit’s long stint at Reliance Infocomm and his understanding of its objectives and approach will be extremely beneficial for Flag Telecom, Reliance Infocomm and, our customers. The change will help us in charting out a new growth path for the global carrier,” said Flag Telecom chairman Anil Ambani.

    An engineer by training, Garg joined Reliance Infocomm in January 2001 and went on to hold a number of key leadership positions in the company. Planning and launch of fixed call fixed wireless phones, public calls office and broadband are some of the initiatives he spearheaded in Reliance Infocomm.

    Prior to joining Reliance Infocomm, Garg was Lockheed Martin Global Telecom managing director, responsible for joint ventures and business management for South Asia. He has also held senior executive positions in leading global organisations such as Comsat and Equant.

  • Adlabs to buy out Mukta stake in JV, pump in Rs 2 billion in twin-screen theatres

    Adlabs to buy out Mukta stake in JV, pump in Rs 2 billion in twin-screen theatres

    MUMBAI: Anil Ambani-controlled Adlabs Films Ltd is buying out Mukta Arts’ 50 per cent stake in the joint venture company, Mukta Adlabs Digital Exhibition.

    As a step up in the plan, Adlabs is earmarking an investment of Rs two billion towards acquisition of 50 old cinema theatres for conversion into “twin screens.” Part of this investment will include the installation of digital projectors in these theatres.

    “We are acquiring the entire stake of Mukta Arts. We will be investing Rs two billion to upgrade 50 cinema theatres and install digital delivery systems in them,” Adlabs Films chairman and managing director Manmohan Shetty tells Indiantelevision.com.

    Adlabs and Subhash Ghai-promoted Mukta Arts had floated a joint venture company in 2003 for digital delivery of movies. Mukta Adlabs Digital Exhibition had invested around Rs 100 million but the company had been unable to make much headway with its technology which required a server and projectors to be installed in the theatres.

    For buying out the stake, Adlabs has not paid any premium. “We have paid a little less than Rs 50 million which is the actual investments made by Mukta Arts. We didn’t want any partners as we were planning to integrate the twin-screen converted cinema threatres with the installation of digital projectors. We plan to have the 50 twin screen theatres in B-class stations over 3-4 years,” says Shetty.

    Mukta Arts, however, is not abandoning the digital delivery of movies project. “We decided to part ways with Adlabs as our plans were different. Digital distribution of movies will be very much part of our plans as we are committed to technologies of the future,” says Mukta Arts CEO Ravi Gupta.

    The new technology of digital projection through hard discs avoids the use of film prints, which costs between Rs 50,000 and Rs 60,000 to the distributor. It also enables audiences of “B” and “C” class centres to watch their favourite films on the first day itself, thereby making simultaneous worldwide release a possibility. The technology also combats against piracy.

    Anil Ambani has big plans to deliver movies to cinema theatres through Reliance Infocomm’s fibre optic network. Having designs on launching a direct-to-home (DTH) service, he may also take the satellite delivery route for distribution of movies. “Even if the current delivery sytems are changed, digital projectors will be required in the fibre or the satellite system. Our plan is to aggressively install these projectors in the theatres which we are taking up for converting into twin screens,” says Shetty.

  • Isro schedules Insat 4C launch for July

    Isro schedules Insat 4C launch for July

    MUMBAI: All indications point to the second half of the year being when we will see some fresh action on the direct-to-home (DTH) television services front. Even as the timeline for the Tata Sky DTH service looks to be June-July, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is all set to launch Insat 4C, the latest in the Insat series, in July.

    Kalanithi Maran’s Sun Group, which has booked space on Insat 4C, is negotiating with Isro for eight Ku-band transponders. Earlier Sun had indicated that it would start its Sun Direct DTH service with five transponders which it would ramp up to nine.

    “Sun now wants to start with eight transponders. The company is in discussions with Isro,” an industry source says.

    Though Insat 4C has a capacity of 12 Ku-band transponders, the problem with Isro is that it has got demand from other operators as well. The government requires four transponders for village telephony over a period of time. Even National Informatics Centre (NIC) has asked for four transponders to start with. “We have committed to giving them one transponder each. We may give some transponders to NIC on Insat 4B, which is slated for launch in the first quarter of 2007 as we have to coordinate with the launch vehicle (Arianespace’s commercial launcher Ariane 5),” says Isro contract management and legal services director SB Iyer.

    Isro will also be handing over two Ku-band transponders to media companies for digital satellite news gathering (DSNG) activities. “DSNG is a fast-growing segment. We are providing two transponders for DSNG operators,” Iyer says.

    With one-to-two transponders reserved for spare capacity, Sun may have to finally settle for less than what it wants. But Isro will allocate transponders to customers who are ready to take them first.

    Meanwhile, Anil Ambani’s Reliance has also booked space for its own DTH plans. As things stand now, there may be no room even on Insat 4B as the space on Insat 4B is reserved for Doordarshan which wants six Ku-band transponders at the minimum.

    Subhash Chandra’s Dish TV, which is on NSS satellite, has not yet indicated to Isro whether it wants space on the Insat series. BPCL, the other player which is waiting to launch, has also not applied to Isro for transponder space.

    Insat 4C will be put into orbit in July by the Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-5 (GSLV), to be launched from Isro’s Sriharikota facility.

    With 12 high power Ku-band transponders, Insat 4C is the first Indian satellite to exclusively offer DTH playout facilities. The satellite will have the capacity to beam about 150 television channels in all.

    The other two satellites of the Insat 4 series — 4A and 4B — have both Ku-band and C-band capacity, carrying 12 transponders of each. Insat 4A launched last December.

    Isro has already allocated all the 12 transponders on Insat 4A for Tata Sky, the 80:20 joint venture between the Tatas and Star Group.

  • ADAE to create radio division named Adlabs Radio Pvt Ltd

    ADAE to create radio division named Adlabs Radio Pvt Ltd

    MUMBAI: Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Enterprises (ADAE) has finally created a radio division for its FM radio foray and has sought government clearance for the same.

    The radio division of Adlabs Films, which bagged FM radio licences in several cities of India and is one of the bigger players in the arena, will be called Adlabs Radio Pvt Ltd.

    However, a brand name under which Adlabs Radio will run the FM radio services has not been decided yet.

    According to sources in the information and broadcasting ministry, the proposal is “under routine examination”.

    Adlabs Radio Pvt Ltd is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) created by ADAE for its radio business, while the corporate entity and the official licencee continues to be Adlabs Films Ltd.

    The SPV has been created for a focussed approach on the radio business as Adlabs Films concentrates more on the business of running multiplexes and post-production film facilities.

    Under the licencing agreement, licences are not transferable after being formally awarded to a company.

    In the recently-concluded bidding process for FM licences, the government has allowed foreign investment up to 20 per cent in radio ventures, but such deals had to be concluded before the bids were opened in the first week of February.

    Moreover, no change in shareholding pattern is allowed, under the guidelines, for the first five years of the 10-year licence period.

    The Anil Ambani controlled Adlabs Films has won 57 frequencies across the country, but had to surrender 12 stations to adhere to another norm, which mandates no single company can own more than 15 per cent of the total number of frequencies put up for sale throughout the country.

    Adlabs Films’ scrip opened on Wednesday at Rs 403 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and touched a high of Rs 409 and a low of Rs 395 during the trading day.