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Industry tuned to CAS; pricing still vexed issue

Published

19 years ago

October 4, 2006

NEW DELHI: From “let there be voluntary CAS” to “if you must mandate CAS stay out of the pricing mechanism”. That could well sum up how the view of the broadcast sector in general to the prospect of the rollout of addressability has changed from the situation that existed back in 2003.

That was a recurring theme during the informed discussions that went on in the post-lunch session of the Indian Broadband Digital Networks Forum organised by Indiantelevision.com and Media Partners Asia in the capital yesterday. The two sessions – The Strategic Imperative: Consolidation & Convergence and Ground Realities: Content Distribution & Technology flowed seamlessly from one to the other taking further the cues that had been provided in the morning‘s keynotes.

Unless pricing was elastic, it was a non-sustainable business model not just for the pay channels but for the cable service providers as well, was the view expressed by Raghav Sahgal, CBO, Converse. Speakiing during the morning keynote, John Malone-controlled Liberty Media board member Shane O‘Neill suggested that a better formula for the government to consider might be that the baseline or lifeline service (basic tier?) be given maximum spread while the rest should be left to the market to determine.

Interestingly, that was the sentiment off the Orissa-based MSO Ortel Communications‘ Jagi Mangat Panda as well. Said Panda, “CAS is important and necessary. But the regulator entering into pricing issues is unviable for long.” Mandate CAS but stay away from pricing, she offered. Panda also spoke of the need for a level playing field on issues like foreign investment similar to what the telcos enjoyed for all players in the broadcasty sector.

ADAPT OR PERISH:

Speaking on the issue of the shift to digital, HSBC Securities‘ Sandeep Pahwa pointed out that “consolidation and building of scale is important but not a necessary recipe for success.” The ability to innovate according to the dynamics as determined by Indian situation was the critical factor, according to Pahwa. “Adapt or perish. The mantra is continual innovation,” Pahwa said.

Another point that came through in the discussions was that in the move towards digital delivery, the real battle in the short to mid term would be between cable and DTH. “IPTV is a real challenge in an emerging market like India,” said Comverse CBO Raghav Sahgal.

According to Pahwa, DTH will compete on reach (cable dark areas in particular) and service. However, where cable service providers have got it right, there is a clear advantage in their favour.

WWIL‘s JS Kohli said, “CAS is the trigger that will actually facilitate the move towards convergence.”

Tata Sky‘s Vikram Kaushik said while in the medium term quality of service would be the key differentiator that DTH offered, going forward, once transponder limitations haad been overcome some element of exclusivity would come into play. 80 per cent of programming will be across platform and 15 per cent will be exclusive, Kaushik said.

Speaking on the content provider‘s side Star India‘s Paritosh Joshi said, “Star‘s content for the mass audiences will remain the primary focus. We will look for opportunities – mobile in particular is something we‘re particularly gung ho about. That‘s something we‘re already actively looking at.”

“A marginal higher value consumer may exist and these we will address,” Joshi said.

Speaking about the impact CAS would have Hathway MSO‘s K Jayaraman said, “CAS is going to be painful in terms of investments required. If the first phase of CAS goes well then the funding is going to be a challenge.”

Incable‘s Ashok Mansukhani offered, “We need to put in a lot of money to upgrade ourselves as well as LCOs. We believe in 100 per cent transparency.”

On the scope for IPTV, Tandberg Television‘s Alan Delaney said, “There is plenty of space in the market for everybody.”

Bharti Televentures‘ Sriram TV was clear that staying out of content creation was the way to go for telcos. Said Sriram, “Focus on what you‘re best at. Bharti has taken its learnings from the experiences of Singtel / Vodafone in the UK as examples of networks that went into too many areas and lived to regret the decision. Network convergence, device convergence and industry convergence is what we are looking at. Bharti has content tie-ups with all the pay channels.”

HFCL‘s Surendra Lunia, however, said, “We will evaluate according to opportunity.”

Another problem for broadband is that technical skill sets need to be sorted out before value added services can be rolled out, said Jayaraman. This statement coming from the head of a cable MSO who has 100,000 registered users reflects on the difficulties that lie ahead for introduction of IPTV in particular.

However, Mansukhani was more optimistic on that front: “It is a dynamic growth oriented business. Broadband adding significantly in the next three years.”

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.