ITV

Tag: WhatsApp

  • TRAI likely to come out with discussion paper on OTT services

    TRAI likely to come out with discussion paper on OTT services

    NEW DELHI: A discussion paper is likely to be issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) relating to Over The Top (OTT) services such as such as WhatsApp and Viber.

     

    However, a TRAI official said that this would not be in the form of a consultation paper since TRAI at present cannot regulate OTT.

     

    The official told indiantelevision.com that the major issue related to security threats and the direction these companies will take in the future. “We would also understand the concerns of telecom operators and consumers,” said the official.

     

    One effect of the TRAI study could be the introduction of payment for the OTT services to save the telecom companies, but this will have to be balanced with the capacity of the customer to pay. If the OTTs do not pay the telcos, the messages will be delivered slower and videos will take longer to download.

     

    The regulator will look into issues faced by telcos regarding usage of their bandwidth by OTT players and other internet companies without any share in revenue earned. Operators also have to spend periodically to upgrade the infrastructure to meet the growing data needs to consumers.

     

    While security agencies can access telecom data such as messages and call records provided there is a court order, there are more problems in accessing internet services.

     

    It is learnt that the government may ask its US counterpart to share the technology it uses to decrypt conversations happening over chat services like WhatsApp and Skype, if the companies do not cooperate.

     

    Value Added Services (VAS) are being affected with certain mobile internet services including ringback tones, voice SMS, job alerts etc. The role of telecom player gets minimised as consumers shift to more web services.

  • BBC using WhatsApp and WeChat at Indian elections

    BBC using WhatsApp and WeChat at Indian elections

    MUMBAI: The BBC is taking to instant messaging to hear what voters across India think as they go to the polls.  ‘BBC News India’ accounts are being launched today, on instant messaging platforms WhatsApp and WeChat giving Indian audiences of BBC World News, bbc.com and BBC World Service unprecedented coverage of the Indian election campaign.

     
    ‘BBC News India’ will receive user generated content directly from Indian voters whilst also distributing the best of BBC coverage of the election including videos, special graphics and interview clips. This will provide people with top analysis of the election and also go behind the headlines to tell the personal stories that reveal what’s really at stake.  

     
    On the launch of ‘BBC News India’ Trushar Barot, Assistant Editor for the Social Media Hub at BBC News, said: “Instant messaging apps have had phenomenal user growth in the past year. We know that hundreds of millions of people are using these platforms to stay connected, but increasingly also to share news stories, pictures and videos. This has been particularly evident with the Indian election campaign, so it’s the perfect news event to pilot our use of these apps. We’ll be using these accounts to encourage Indian voters – and those from around the world with an interest in Indian politics – to share their key issues, questions and experiences of the election campaign. We’ll also be sharing with them the best of our content from inside these platforms”.
     

    The launch of ‘BBC News India’ will complement a host of election dedicated content going out throughout April and May across BBC World News and BBC.com with the focus on providing audiences in India and around the world with top analysis and the latest developments as the campaign progresses. Access to news stories will now be made even easier for Indian audiences with the launch of the India edition of BBC.com on mobile. The edition will also give people access to news headlines from the BBC World Service’s Hindi and Tamil websites, bbchindi.com and bbctamil.com.

     
    And with social media increasing in popularity the BBC Trending team will also be reporting from India on what’s popular and why (@BBCtrending).

     
    Users can connect to the BBC News India WhatsApp account by sending a message to it after adding this number on their phone’s contacts: +919650801273

     
    Users can connect to BBC News India on WeChat by searching for the ID ‘BBCNewsIndia’ inside the app and clicking ‘Follow’.

     

  • Facebook buys WhatsApp for a whopping $19 billion

    Facebook buys WhatsApp for a whopping $19 billion

    MUMBAI: WhatsApp is an application that has seen exponential growth in the five years since its launch and it has become the most popular means of communication through mobile phones. In a deal announced today, popular social media website Facebook has acquired the messaging application for a whopping $19 billion.

     

    As per the terms of the transaction, $4 billion will be paid in cash to WhatsApp shareholders, $12 billion in Facebook shares and $3 billion in restricted stock units that will vest in the owners and employers of WhatsApp over four years after the deal is completed after regulatory approvals. WhatsApp co-founder and CEO Jan Koum will be joining the Facebook board of directors.

     

    After the acquisition, WhatsApp will continue to operate independently and will continue its policy of no advertising. Currently, the application has 450 million users and is adding a million users each day. A release from Facebook says that the acquisition supports Facebook’s and WhatsApp’s shared mission to bring more connectivity and utility to the world by delivering core internet services efficiently and affordably.

     

    “WhatsApp is a company of really hardcore engineers who are obsessing over perfecting messaging, not adding a lot of bloated features into a messaging app. Over time, I think people are going to pay for that,” said Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

     

    Facebook was advised by Allen & Company LLC and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and WhatsApp was advised by Morgan Stanley and Fenwick & West, LLP.

     

    Koum said, “WhatsApp’s extremely high user engagement and rapid growth are driven by the simple, powerful and instantaneous messaging capabilities we provide. We’re excited and honored to partner with Mark and Facebook as we continue to bring our product to more people around the world.”

     

  • Sony LIV releases app update for iOS7 compatibility

    Sony LIV releases app update for iOS7 compatibility

    NEW DELHI: Sony LIV, Multi Screen Media (MSM)’s video-on-demand service, has updated its application to be compatible with the recently launched iOS7. 

    On the all new iOS 7 platform, users can log in via Google + and can also share videos via WhatsApp. The innovative app experience matches the redesigned user interface and enhanced functionality of the new iOS mobile operating system.

    The Sony LIV app also recently featured as the best new application on the iPhone and iOS devices. 

    Sony Entertainment Network executive VP – new media, business development and digitalsyndication Nitesh Kripalani

    Speaking on the revamped version of the app and its success, Sony Entertainment Network executive VP – new media, business development and digital/syndication Nitesh Kripalani said, “This is indeed one more feather in the Sony LIV cap iPhone, undoubtedly is one of the most loved, sophisticated and successful mobile handsets today. The new iOS7 is visually as well as functionally very advanced and we have updated our app to match this high level of sophistication. We want to be available wherever our user is and being compatible with the iOS7 was a natural progression. To now also be featured as the best new application on iOS is undeniably a rewarding and very elating moment for us.”

    The Sony LIV application offers 18 years of rich and exclusive content from Sony Entertainment Television, covering genres including drama, comedy, thriller, reality shows and many more. It offers users their favourite current and archive shows from Sony, through a single log-in, seamless and engaging experience. The application also packs in features like multi-bitrate video streaming which provide users with better quality videos, based on their internet connection speed.

    Apart from being available on Apple iOS, this premier video-on-demand brand is available online, on Google Android, Java, Windows Phone 8, Windows 8 PCs and tablets. It offers an immersive user experience through various innovative features. Users can use the Mood Wheel on Sony LIV to watch their favourite video as per their mood/genre; they can create playlists of their choicest of shows through My Q and be rewarded as a LIV Guru, by consuming Sony LIV content.  In addition to original complete content, Sony LIV also offers short content formats like Catch-up episodes, Quickisodes and Short crunch episodes.

  • Now update Nokia Asha 501 with WhatsApp

    Now update Nokia Asha 501 with WhatsApp

    MUMBAI: It has become the most popular instant messaging (IM) service but Nokia Asha 501 users were not privileged to the WhatsApp service that currently has over 350 million monthly active users. Announced last month, the IM app will officially be available on the Nokia Asha 501 platform from today.

    The current users of the handset can download the IM app following the over-the-air software update. The new software also comes with a smarter camera experience through ‘swipe’ and one-touch social sharing, and a more intuitive and social Fastlane home screen.

    “Asha 501 will be the first device on the Asha Platform to support WhatsApp. The updated software will offer Asha consumers with a more social experience, building on the previous Fastlane experience. The new interface comes with a single swipe camera, single touch share to Facebook and ability to track Facebook comments and likes right from your Fastlane screen,” said Nokia India director marketing Viral Oza.


    Also, now the new Nokia Asha 501 handsets that will hit the stores on 5 December will have the IM app pre-installed.

     

  • Now update Nokia Asha 501 with WhatsApp

    Now update Nokia Asha 501 with WhatsApp

    MUMBAI: It has become the most popular instant messaging (IM) service but Nokia Asha 501 users were not privileged to the WhatsApp service that currently has over 350 million monthly active users. Announced last month, the IM app will officially be available on the Nokia Asha 501 platform from today.

     

    The current users of the handset can download the IM app following the over-the-air software update. The new software also comes with a smarter camera experience through ‘swipe’ and one-touch social sharing, and a more intuitive and social Fastlane home screen.

     

    Asha 501 will be the first device on the Asha Platform to support WhatsApp. The updated software will offer Asha consumers with a more social experience, building on the previous Fastlane experience. The new interface comes with a single swipe camera, single touch share to Facebook and ability to track Facebook comments and likes right from your Fastlane screen,” said Nokia India director marketing Viral Oza.

     

    Also, now the new Nokia Asha 501 handsets that will hit the stores on 5 December will have the IM app pre-installed.

  • Sindh govt bans VOIP services to prevent terrorism activities

    Sindh govt bans VOIP services to prevent terrorism activities

    NEW DELHI: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has said it has no immediate plans of banning aforesaid online services in Sindh.

     

    A PTA spokesperson further clarified that it has not received any request from the Sindh government to ban Skype, Viber and Whatsapp for limited period.

     

    On 4 October, the entire social media world in Pakistan had received a shock when Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon announced a three-month ban on VOIP based services mainly due to stop the terrorist activities in Karachi.

     

    Just two days earlier, when an independent watchdog organisation – Freedom House – ranked Pakistan among the bottom 10 countries on net freedom.

     

    The report stated that various political and social obstacles to net freedom have been put in place by successive governments in the name of fighting terrorism.

     

    Earlier, there was a similar ban in Saudi Arabia, increasing on-net calls via Skype resulting in drop of revenues for Etsilat and other major telecom companies. They used the card of “Religion” stating that these services are spreading profanity in the youth and ultimately got those services banned in the country.