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GSMA kicks off ‘3G for all’ program

Published

20 years ago

June 13, 2006

NEW DELHI: GSM Association (GSMA), a global trade association for mobile operators, has approved a “3G for all” program to bring 3G multimedia services and mobile internet access to many more people in both the developed and the developing worlds.

Over the next few months, a group of operator members of the GSMA plan to establish a core set of common requirements for 3G handsets to create the economies of scale that will allow mobile phone suppliers to rapidly bring down the cost of manufacturing these high-tech devices.

This was disclosed today here at a press conference, which was attended by officials of GSMA and its Indian chapter.

“Our 3G handset initiative will allow far more people to take advantage of the video clips, mobile music, Internet access, and many other multimedia services now enjoyed by more affluent users in the developed world,” according to GSMA CEO Rob Conway.

“Our Emerging Market Handset program is a compelling demonstration of how economies of scale can be brought to bear to accelerate falls in the cost of manufacturing mobile phones,” he added.

Under the initiative, which builds on the success of the GSMA‘s Emerging Market Handset program, mobile phone suppliers will compete to design a 3G handset that meets the operators‘ common requirements.

The GSMA will endorse the winning handset, which will be widely deployed by operators participating in the program.

The GSMA‘s Emerging Market Handset (EMH) program, which has hit its goal to reduce the wholesale price of entry-level handsets to less than $30, has catalysed the creation of a new segment of ultra-low cost phones. The availability of such low cost handsets has enabled many millions of people in over 56 countries to begin using telecommunications for the first time.

Motorola, the winning vendor in the EMH program, is driving forward with its vision to connect the unconnected through this program and expects to ship more than 20 million EMH handsets by the end of 2006.

The EMH program has helped bring the wholesale cost of GSM handsets in India down by more than 25 per cent since last year, fuelling the growing use of mobile communications in rural areas.

Despite the fall in handset prices, the GSMA estimates that about a billion people worldwide won‘t be able to afford their own handset for the foreseeable future. Through its Development Fund, the GSMA is looking at how to extend the many benefits of mobile communications to these people.

The Development Fund is financing a series of pilot projects in Africa and Asia that enable local entrepreneurs to set up payphone businesses or ‘Internet cafes‘ where people can access the Internet, email or other data services.

In India, for example, the Development Fund has helped mobile operator Airtel launch a pilot project in the UP West region that equips local entrepreneurs with handsets specially-adapted to function as payphones.

Other Indian mobile operators, such as Idea Cellular, are setting up similar pilot projects with the aid of the Development Fund. The GSMA is also examining how mobile networks can be used to give rural communities in India access to email and the Internet.

MARAN WANTS 3G SPECTRUM TO BE PRICED

Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran today favoured pricing of 3G mobile spectrum, the Press trust of India has reported.

Maran who was speaking to reporters after the GSM Association‘s meet, was quoted by PTI as saying, “Government has to make some money out of it (3G spectrum)… (and) make it very competitive and does not want people to sit over spectrum.”

The minister, however, did not touch upon how 3G should be priced, leaving the matter to the sector regulator Trai. “Government will take a decision after TRAI comes out with its recommendations,” Maran said.

GSM HITS TWO BILLION MILESTONE

This weekend, the mobile phone industry will celebrate a historic milestone as it connects the second billionth GSM mobile phone user in the world, the GSMA announced.

The GSMA said that new users are signing up at the rate of 1,000 per minute (just under 18 per second) to services that include both second generation GSM, as well as third generation 3GSM services – for which there are already more than 72 million users in the world.

“This is the fastest growth of technology ever witnessed,” said GSMA chairman Craig Ehrlich.

“While it took just 12 years for the industry to reach the first billion connections. The second billion has been achieved in just two and a half years boosted by the phenomenal take up of mobile in emerging markets such as China, India, Africa and Latin America, which accounted for 82 per cent of the second billion subscribers.”

Mobile services based on GSM technology were first launched in Finland in 1991. Today, more than 690 mobile networks provide GSM services across 213 countries and GSM represents 82.4 per cent of all global mobile connections.

“We are proud to be a part of this mobile revolution. India has played a vital role in this growth being one of the fastest growing mobile market in the world,” said Bharti Airtel CMD and a board member GSMA Sunil Bharti Mittal.

China is the largest single GSM market in the world today, with more than 370 million users, followed by Russia with 145 million, India with around 80 million and the USA with 78 million users. In India, mobile has even become the fastest selling consumer product – pushing bicycles to the number two spot.

GSMA INNOVATION AWARD FOR 3GSM

The GSM Association today also announced a new mobile innovation competition for young, small and start up companies across Asia that are developing technologies, applications and content for the fast moving mobile space.

Unveiled today following the GSMA‘s board meeting in New Delhi, the Asian Mobile Innovation Awards will include two categories — for Most Innovative Mobile Application or Content and the Most Innovative Technology.

“Asia is a hot bed of innovation for the mobile world, there is an astonishing array of talent dedicated to developing new ideas for the market. However, it‘s a complex market with many players and small players with interesting or astonishing ideas have to fight hard to be heard,” said Conway.

The competition, which is now open for entry, will culminate at Asia‘s premiere mobile communications event, the 3GSM World Congress Asia 2006 (Singapore, 16-20 October), attended by leaders from region-wide mobile operators, manufacturers and leading players from across the mobile value chain.

Applications

Moltbook, the AI-only social network, sparks hype, doubt and fear

Published

1 month ago

February 3, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

CALIFORNIA: Moltbook, a Reddit-style social platform built exclusively for artificial intelligence agents, has emerged as the latest obsession in Silicon Valley, drawing intense attention for its explosive growth and surreal bot-driven interactions.

The platform hosts more than 100 communities where AI agents post, argue and joke about topics ranging from governance theory to esoteric “crayfish debugging” concepts. Within days of launch, Moltbook recorded tens of thousands of posts, nearly 200,000 comments and more than 1 million human visitors observing the activity.

Yet the numbers and the autonomy are under scrutiny, as per media reports. A security researcher has suggested as many as 500,000 accounts may trace back to a single address, raising doubts about Moltbook’s membership claims. Many posts could also be the result of humans instructing their AI tools to publish content, rather than bots acting independently.

The platform runs on agentic AI, powered by an open-source tool called OpenClaw, formerly known as Moltbot. Unlike chatbots such as ChatGPT or Gemini, these agents are designed to perform tasks on users’ devices, from sending messages to managing calendars, with minimal human input. Once authorised, they can interact freely on Moltbook.

Some tech figures have hailed the platform as a glimpse of a post-human internet. Head of crypto custody firm BitGo Bill Lees, called it evidence that “we’re in the singularity”.

Academics are less convinced. Petar Radanliev, an AI and cybersecurity expert at the University of Oxford, said the idea of agents acting independently was “misleading”, describing Moltbook instead as automated coordination within human-set constraints. Columbia Business School assistant professor David Holtz, dismissed the spectacle as “thousands of bots yelling into the void and repeating themselves”.

Beyond hype, security worries loom large. ESET global cybersecurity advisor Jake Moore, warned that granting AI agents access to emails, private messages and files risks prioritising efficiency over privacy. Andrew Rogoyski of the University of Surrey said high-level system access could lead to serious damage, from erased data to compromised company accounts.

Even OpenClaw’s founder Peter Steinberger, has felt the darker side of attention, with scammers hijacking his old social media handles after the platform’s rebrand.

For now, Moltbook remains a strange digital zoo: part experiment, part spectacle, where AI agents banter about philosophy, productivity and, occasionally, their fondness for their human operators.

Applications

Apple appoints Avtar Ram Singh as head of international marketing

Published

1 month ago

February 2, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

CALIFORNIA: Apple has handed a bigger global brief to a long-time insider. Avtar Ram Singh has taken over as head of international marketing for the App Store, Apple Arcade and the Apple Games app, deepening his remit across one of the company’s fastest-growing businesses.

“I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as head of international marketing, App Store, Apple Arcade and Games App at Apple,” Singh said while announcing the move.

The promotion crowns nearly seven years at Apple, where Singh has led services marketing across Southeast Asia and India and previously served as head of marketing for Southeast Asia content and services, business lead for Apple Podcasts in the region and interim marketing lead for the App Store internationally.

His new portfolio spans three pillars of Apple’s services push. The App Store, which Apple positions as a safe and trusted discovery platform, now attracts more than 850 million average weekly users globally. Since 2008, developers have earned over $550 billion on the platform.

Apple Arcade, the company’s gaming subscription service, offers unlimited access to a catalogue ranging from brain teasers to big-name franchises. The recent addition of Sid Meier’s Civilization VII Arcade Edition brings a AAA PC title to iPhone, iPad and Mac from 5 February.

Then there is the Apple Games app, unveiled at WWDC as a unified destination for games from the App Store and Arcade. It aggregates titles in one place, surfaces personalised recommendations, tracks events and achievements, and lets users compete with friends or connect controllers for a console-like experience.

Singh arrives with a hybrid background in strategy, data and creativity. His career spans digital and social media marketing, business intelligence, content, editorial and analytics across culturally diverse markets. He has worked on brands including P&G, Accor, Audi, UBS, Nikon, Samsung, Sony, Pizza Hut, HBO and Singapore Airlines-linked businesses such as Scoot.

Before Apple, Singh led strategy at Falcon Agency, focusing on performance marketing and ROI-driven digital frameworks. He earlier ran the social practice at Publicis Singapore, where he oversaw operations, business development and regional social strategy for multinational clients. His career also includes roles at Ogilvy-linked Circus Social, Rocket Internet ventures Lazada and Zalora, and research firm IDC in Bangkok, where he analysed technology markets and won early awards for collaboration and client retention.

At Apple, he has been close to several service launches and expansions, including Apple Fitness+ in Singapore, Apple Creator Studio, global podcast subscriptions and new App Store marketing tools.

The timing is notable. Apple’s services business has posted record years, and gaming is becoming a sharper battleground as platforms chase engagement and recurring revenue. Singh’s brief sits at the intersection of content, community and commerce.

In a market where attention is scarce and loyalty scarcer, Apple is betting that sharper storytelling and smarter marketing can keep users inside its ecosystem. Singh now holds the megaphone. The real test will be how loudly the world listens.

Applications

Cloud nine in the capital Bharathcloud plugs Delhi into its AI plans

Published

1 month ago

January 30, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Bharathcloud is bringing its cloud closer to power. The Hyderabad-based sovereign AI cloud services provider has opened its Delhi office, marking its formal entry into North India and setting the stage for its next phase of growth.

The expansion comes as India’s digital transformation fuels rising demand for AI-ready cloud infrastructure, driven by wider adoption of artificial intelligence, machine learning, the Internet of Things and data-heavy applications. With the new office, Bharathcloud plans to onboard more than 100 employees in 2026, strengthening its workforce to support customers across government, enterprises, MSMEs and social sectors.

The Delhi presence is expected to sharpen the company’s engagement with organisations seeking secure, scalable and cost-efficient cloud platforms that comply with India’s data sovereignty requirements. It also positions Bharathcloud closer to policy, public sector and enterprise decision-makers in the region.

Founded in Hyderabad, Bharathcloud offers AI-ready cloud infrastructure including Kubernetes-as-a-Service, zero-trust security architecture and multi-level data protection frameworks. Its platform supports AI and ML workloads, blockchain application migration from hyperscalers and distributed data management, with an emphasis on reliability, low latency and operational continuity.

“With the Delhi expansion, we are positioning Bharathcloud to engage more closely with AI-driven enterprises and technology hubs in North India,” said Bharathcloud co-founder Rahul Takallapally. He added that the move would help nurture local cloud and AI talent while accelerating the adoption of secure and resilient AI infrastructure across sectors.

The company currently operates in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow and Chennai, employing over 200 people and serving more than 1,500 clients across manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, IT and media. Aligned with national initiatives such as Digital India and Make in India, Bharathcloud continues to focus on building indigenous AI-cloud infrastructure to support data localisation and the country’s growing appetite for next-generation digital solutions.

With its Delhi office now live, the company is signalling a clear intent: to make sovereign, AI-ready cloud infrastructure not just an alternative, but a mainstream choice for India’s north as well as its tech capitals.