Raj Machhan

The Death of the Voice Call?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 16:08:00 +0000

Now this is something interesting. A popular technology magazine from the US reports a steady decline in the average number of phone calls in the country over the last three years. As per a Nielsen report, the number of phone calls per user hit a peak in 2007. Since then, subscribers seem to have given a thumbs down the voice medium. And what is more worrying is the fact that average minutes of usage per call too has shown a noticeable decline. From three minutes in 2005, it has dropped to 1.5 mins in 2010.

What lies behind this cultural transition? The availability of alternate, more light weight mediums of communication, which include text messaging, chatting and social networking!! Everyone is in constant touch with each other in one way or the other.

Ironically, as these services are being made available by the telecom operators on the mobile, users are getting to prefer texting over the voice call while away from their PCs !

But why this shift? The voice call is seen as more intrusive – an encroachment on the personal space of an individual. Unlike a call, IMs and other texting mediums depict a user’s status, whether one is busy or available for interaction. Users get more time to think about what they want to say in the text mode. So where does the voice call go from here? The study predicts that while the users will make fewer phone calls, the duration of calls is bound to increase as users will reserve the medium exclusively for the deep discussion that it does best.

Of Manpreet Badal and His Brand of Politics

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 11:47:00 +0000

Manpreet Badal soars above others around him - not only on account of his official status (as the Punjab Finance Minister) but literally as well (he is around 6' 4" tall) . As we walked out from his residence office one fine Monday morning, I almost ended up asking, "Howz the weather up there sir?". But then I checked myself, because the Hon'ble minister was on his way to meet up with a gathering of people, almost three scores strong, and drawn from different parts of Punjab. I sensed, the minister was pre-occupied with their problems and in no mood for humor. What we did discuss was his style of functioning, which is open, transparent, and has a mark of humility about it. Badal has a strong physical presence and a kind face beset with a pair of eyes that seem to reach out to you.

It was a unique experience, to see upclose for myself, the manner in which the third senior most minister in the Punjab Government connects with the citizens. As I sat behind a table next to the minister (couldnt have found a better place to get a hang of things), I found Badal is a natural when it comes to reaching out to people.The visitors were drawn from different segments and geographies - government employees, teachers, a departmental group looking out for a photo op, and most of all farmers coming straight from the Punjab hinterlands. Each one was cordially invited - haanji hun tusin aa jao - and was given a patient hearing. Badal appeared earnest in trying to find a solution to every issue, often consulting his personal assistant for a quick background. Despite his elite educational background (he attended the Doon school and completed his higher education from the US) he was very much in his element switching between hardcore Punjabi and flawless English, wherever required. One could make out, he wanted people to feel at ease, and was trying his best to talk to them at their level. He engaged everyone, counselled a few, advised others, and guided those whose issues did not fall within his perview. I heard him admonishing a doctor over the phone - you must work diligently for the government. In another instance he told a youngster who wanted him to pitch in for a government job - I cant do much in this. The selection has to be based on merit. You work hard and give your best.I am sure you will get it.
Overall, I could see people were satisfied and generally pleased after their interaction.

Now I am not much of an admirer of the way political parties function in our democracy. And politics do not interest me much. My closest brush with politics was during my University days when I contested a minor election, just for a lark, and somehow got elected unopposed. But I am very much interested in individuals in the political set up. Because it is these few well-meaning people, individuals with a vision and the conviction to back it up, who make a difference irrespective of the party he or she comes from. I had read about Manpreet Badal in the media. And I was curious to meet the person who did not flinch from stating the truth, irrespective of the political fallout. Let me tell you, the young minister left me impressed. It is said, the fortunes of a state, or for that matter an organization are directly linked to its quality of leadership. Manpreet Badal is one such leader to watch out for in the Punjab context.

As the proceedings drew to a close in the lawns of the Badal residence, he turned to me whether I wanted to talk about something specifc. I wanted to apprise him of the tremendous scope that existed for public - private partnership to overcome the information gap that is a bane of the weaker sections of the society and the way technology can be harnessed to empower the weakest among the weak. But I decided to leave it for some other time and other setting.

In the end, Manpreet Badal just got up from his chair without a fuss, simply said his good byes, and went off in an old Toyota Qualis . I was left searching for the all too familiar 'security' paraphernalia - vehicles full of security personnel with sirens blaring - warning the lesser mortals to stay away. But to my surprise, there was none of it be seen. The old Qualis simply went by - with Badal behind the wheel and his personal assistant by his side. A true "Jatt Soorma", I would say!!

VAS ASIA: A Ringside View - 2

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:35:00 +0000

That Mobile VAS as a business space is headed for vibrant times, was also indicated by the presence of a number of overseas companies at the event. I happened to talk to Walter Toffle, the owner of a mid-level VAS outfit in Slovakia (the same country that drubbed the Germans at the World Cup). Walter has a distinct appearance - a square face with a mop of long greyish hair done up in the sixties style. I mean you just couldn’t miss him. And he mistook me for a foreigner as well!

Walter runs a highly profitable lottery service on the mobile network back home at Bratislava, and he was keen to understand the dynamics of the Indian VAS market. He was genuinely surprised on hearing about the revenue sharing model in India. In Europe it is totally skewed in favor of the VAS providers to the extent of 90:10. He expressed interest in partnering an Indian VAS player to kick start his company operations in India. "But I would like to be in total control of my offering, it has to be distinctly branded, I would like to promote it my way." Well, Good luck Walter! We would like to see your story unfold.

I was pretty surprised to find a BBC business correspondent covering the event. To find the ‘big beeb’ interested in Mobile VAS (BBC is generally very-2 choosy about the business stories it covers) I guess, is a direct indicator of the kind of excitement that is being generated by this technology-intensive sector. The correspondent was well versed with VAS and was looking for a sound bite. We went around trying to locate senior people from my organization, but it was not to be. Well Shyamoli, there’s always a next time!

Later in the evening, I happened to catch up with a bright and earnest VAS executive, employed with a prominent telecom operator based out of the NCR. Abhishek is in charge of Entertainment VAS in his company and he sounded quite passionate about the growth potential presented by the Entertainment vertical. Keeping P2P sms aside (it’s more of a commodity anyways), entertainment VAS, comprising services such as CRBT, music, games, contests, songs and graphic download has been the traditional money spinner in MVAS. Today it accounts for as much as 60 per cent of the total VAS revenue (Information/ utility VAS accounts for roughly around 35 pc and mCommerce takes the rest of it). We had a good humored talk on the potential partnership areas (I was impressed when he said that he believed in partnerships, rather than a vendor – client relationship. Here is an individual who is true to his objective, I thought). From the operator perspective, Abhishek underlined two important aspects of a service: the service construct needs to be intelligent and simple, if complexity is to be involved - it ought to be at the back-end to render the service intuitive and easy for the end user. Secondly, the service should have the intrinsic value to gain traction quickly. He showed tremendous respect for new ideas and innovation (I think that was the common ground that made us comfortable discussing this and that)."An established operator can have anything between 1000 to 5000 services on its network and a plethora of VAS providers. So if you want someone to pay attention to your offering, it has to be special or at least, it should meet the basic parameters of a good service." We exchanged a few thoughts, agreed on a few issues, and agreed to disagree on others.

Abhishek left me with a poser: “The operators have limited promotional bandwidth available, and it is literally impossible to promote 5000 services. So next time we sit down to discuss a service concept, you need to justify why should I divert the bandwidth to promote the service you have in view?” Well, that indeed is a very-2 pertinent question and Abhishek hits the core by putting it upfront. Well, buddy, thank you very much for your insight. I will just emphasize one thing: more than the technology and the mobile platform, we are in the business of ideas and innovation. And we work hard at it. So, the next time we get to touch base, the answer to creating a win-2 for all: the operator, the end user, and us, will be more than ready. Everyone's got to be a winner….:)…!!

PS: Special thanks to my old friend, Balwinder Sawhney, Director, Trade Fairs, FICCI. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have got the opportunity to be a part of VAS ASIA. Thanks Balli, you rock…!

(The names of individuals have been approximated to protect privacy. The views expressed here are my own and in no way represent any organization - business or non-business)

VAS ASIA: A Ringside View

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 05:25:00 +0000

A few days back I happened to visit VAS Asia, a one-day exposition on Mobile VAS, organised at a prominent hotel located in the heart of the capital. It was an interesting event and it was my first time at a prominent VAS show (of course, during my stint with the Confederation of Indian Industry, I had been involved in organizing exhibitions much - 2 bigger, the Auto Expo for example. And I must say, putting up a good show is an exacting job and a logistical nightmare at times). Except for a few minor things here and there, VAS ASIA was a well organized event.
I was at the event more as an observer, with no particular intent but to feel the pulse of the industry. And I came back with the impression that Mobile VAS is now moving at top speed. The competition is getting intense by the hour, businesses have big plans up their sleeve, the entry barriers both in terms of technology and capital is getting lower and lower, new players are rushing in, and those operating in niche areas are scaling up their businesses to offer the entire range of services across bearers and markets.

MVAS is increasingly turning into an ideas game, and the writing is on the wall for all to see - organisations need, more than ever before, to adopt concepts like lateral thinking as their credo, perhaps take a leaf out of the work culture at companies such as Google (ranked as the world's best place to work, the company is a shining example of how best to empower your team to generate ideas). Businesses need to adopt and increase their spending on processes that are required to turn a company into an idea machine. And, above all, companies need to attract and empower people who have the ability to think out of the box (again the entrance texam administered by Google is a good example to test the ideation quotient of an individual). In short, VAS Asia was a direct reminder of the interesting times that lie ahead for each one of us who form a part of this very happening domain.

I was particularly impressed by the kind of talent the the industry is now attracting. As I gallivanted around the exhibition, having a dekko at the stalls put up by different companies, trying to seek information about things that interested me, I noticed this smallish stall put up by a relatively obscure (I remembered having seen its website though) VAS company. Two things that made it stand out: despite its small size, it was very well done up - it smelled quality, and it had a bevy of company executives, all smartly turned out in a distinct uniform, and eager in their approach. The telecom correspeondent (I had been a Business and Telecom correspondent with The Financial Express and The Times of India before my decision to be a part of the domain that I had been writing about) in me got curious to know more about the company. But before I could utter a single sentence, I was accosted by this young lady, looking very pretty in her company dress, and with intelligence written all over face. And the way she went about telling me about the company was nothing short of remarkable. All my questions were answered instantly, and it was not just pretty talk - the replies had that depth of knowledge that comes from spending long hours doing your home work (though I had to tell her more than once to reduce the speed at which she was rolling off words) .

As it turned out, Ikshita Sahu, had recently passed out, summa cum laude, from IIM (K) and this was her first job. Ipsita says that MVAS is an in-thing on the IIM campuses, 'coz the graduates view it as the next big thing after the Web ( I can vouch for this, because I personally have answered queries from at least five IIM students doing research work in this field). Her mind was buzzing with ideas and she knew what was happening where (for example, I just had to tell her my name and to my surprise she told me what I was doing in my organization!). And she had one idea too many. I came back impressed from this meeting. And I was happy to note is the fact that MVAS is attracting such talent. Great going Ikshita, the industry is richer with people like you...and more of your kind...

(The names of people have been approximated to protect privacy. We will continue with the topic in my next post).

Telecom Infrastructure: Towards Further Consolidation

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 05:36:00 +0000

Leo Tolstoy has tried to address a very probing question in one of his stories titled: "How much land does a man need"? In this story, the main character runs all over the place, from dawn to dusk, full of greed, to claim as much land as he possibly can (he could claim the land that he covers in his run from sunrisr to sunset). But at the end of the day, his strength totally sapped and his life force on the edge, he is barely able to complete his run. As the sun goes down, he collapses on the spot: dead. Moral: A man actually needs no more than seven feet by two feet of space.
Guess I got a bit carried away while narrating this one (a very touching narrative, it is a poignant reminder of human frailities. It remains one of my favorite stories), but the question that we are actually trying to address here is: How much land does a base station needs as we move forward into the third and fourth generation technology in the telecom sector? Little, very - very little in fact. Take the case of a LTE macro base station developed by Kyocera: It weighs only 18 kgs with a volume of 20 litres and uses only 211 watts of power (compared to over 4000 watts of a 2G BTS). The company's micro base station goes a step further: it weighs only 12 kgs with a volume of 12 litres, using 8 watts of power. Similar is the case with the 3G base stations from Nokia Siemens and Huawei.
Moving forward, with the onset of 3G networks, ownership of a network of BTS or the soaring cell towers, presently the most prominent (and the most costly) manifestation of a telecom network, does not hold much competitive advantage for the telecom operators. As the technology stands today, the modern GSM distributed base stations enables co-existence of GSM and UMTS protocols, in that they can share the same platform, support co-existence of 2G and 3G networks and has scope for further evolution and scalability.
This is effect means that as we move along, taking a time horizon of three to seven years, as the 3G technology becomes universal, the advanced, more compact base stations are set to become ubiquitous (the big towers are very much needed as long as the 2G users are around). Operators can also opt for very small indoor base stations known as Femto Cells or 3G Home Base Stations, designed specifically to deliver carrier grade voice and data services at a fraction of the cost of outdoor macro stations, to cater to a limited number of users.
Reliance Communications seems to have an eye on the future while hiving off its cell tower arm. The company has not only unlocked substantial value but has also delivered a clear signal in terms of further consolidation of the Telecom infrastructure business. The ushering of 3G networks is set to further strengthen the trend for usage of 'shared networks' and emergence of independent entities like GTL , which deal exclusively with the management of telecom infrastructure.
We might as well be in for more such deals in the future.

Not Really Blowing the Trumpet

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 05:35:00 +0000

Let me place this in the right context for you. As I write this, I am not seeking to blow our own trumpet as a group (or should I say vuvuzela, looking at the decibel levels it has been producing all over South Africa) in any way. The only objective of this post is to try and find the answer to one question: Is this group worthy of the collective faith of its members? Are we really capturing the growth agenda? Should you be spending time reading the posts that we put up here? How good are we as analysts? Can we capture that one meaningful line from the hundreds that pass in front of our eyes during an average day? And then again how good is our grip on technology? Can we spot the trends? Are we able to tap the right sources to draw relevant information, synthesize and interpret it, and place it in the larger context to tell in no uncertain terms about the shape of things to come? I will leave the answer to you.

But let me draw your attention to two developments in the recent past, which gives me tremedous encouragement and impetus to carry on with our quest for staying one step ahead of the developments in the mobile world:

1. Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) chooses Broadband Wireless Access technology for its entry into the telecom arena: Well, we talked about this way back, on March 27, in a post titled "Is this the death of the Cell Tower?" (not in the context of RIL, but on the way these technologies are coming up in the cellular space. if you missed it earlier, you can read the post below). We were wrong about the timings though: did not expect an entity as significant as RIL making it a reality just three months down the line! But RIL entry through BWA is significant. So significant that it may lead to operators reworking their business cases in the future (RIL has scale at the core of its business model in whichever field it has a presence).

2. Unprecedented revenue collections in the auction of 3G spectrum: Once again, we saw it coming, very-2 clearly. We predicted it through a post titled "Watch Out for the Mother of All Auctions: 3G Licenses Set for New Revenue High" (again you can read it below in case you missed it). We saw the auctions breaching the Rs Cr 50K mark and it ended with a whopping Rs Cr 67K. Well, it was no mumbo-jumbo to call this one. All we needed to see was the tremendous paucity of bandwidth in India, and the prices of spectrum in the more developed markets (Indian players have still got it cheaper).

We have predicted, and we have watched the trends unfold. We will continue to do so. But it would not have been possible without your active participation in terms of feedback and your opinions and views on various issues. I have made it a point to answer each and every one of the e-mails (except for a few that have remained pending during the past three weeks. I am sorry for that and I will respond to each of these on the first opportunity). As an analyst, I am always ready, in fact keen and eager, to hear from you and discuss with you any issue centered around technology in the cellular domain. You can write at: mvas.india@gmail.com.

Its Apple on Top

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 28 May 2010 03:56:00 +0000

I have been a bit pre-occupied of late to write anything, but this is one development that simply demands to be included here. 1, Cupertino, California technology giant Apple on Thursday surged ahead to become the number one technology company in terms of market valuation. With a valuation of USD 222 billion, Apple shot past long-time rival Microsoft Corporation to finally take the numero uno position. The development is significant as Apple had for long been overshadowed by Microsoft when it came to the market stakes. The development is powered mainly by the success of Apple's iPod and iPhone.

However, what makes it truly noticeable is the fact that Apple CEO Steve Jobs, the innovator known to stick to his conviction against all odds, has finally got the long overdue recognition from the stock market fat cats. Right from the time of the company's launch, Jobs has constantly innovated and perfected his ideal of simple, top-quality, easy-to-use products, which remain the hallmark of Apple's product development approach even today. The company had built a dedicated user base over the years and its customers swear by the top-quality Apple design standards such as the aqua GUI design of its software, but it was never into consideration for the number one slot. However, the runaway success of iPod (I use one) and iPhone has changed all that. Steve Jobs has been steadfast when it came to sticking to his beliefs and convictions , often preferring to walk alone than to give in. Jobs was made to leave Apple in 1985, after dismal sales of his favored Macintosh PC. He returned in 1996 to the company that he had launched to once again infuse it with vision, and the rest as they say is history.

Though Apple doesnt have much of a presence in India, but Steve Jobs has a strong India connection as he often frequented the country during his so called "hippe years". Jobs is presently known to be suffering from cancer.

Here's wishing a long life to a true innovator, a legend, and a leader par excellence.

(We will resume with 3G in the next post).

3G Services: Mobile Platform to Empower the Downtrodden and the Neglected - I

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 25 May 2010 13:54:00 +0000

There is something about moving wheels that lends wings to your imagination. Maybe its got something to do with movement, the touch and go of a journey, or even the strong dynamics of motion. I am writing this aboard Shatabdi on my way back to Chandigarh. Multiple thoughts cross the mind, but the one that I would like to build upon and share with you is related to the exciting new opportunities coming our way as telecom operators get set to unleash the new wave of value added services with the roll out of 3G spectrum, in another six months time. And it is not just about video calls, live streaming, online gaming or other such entertainment apps, it is also about bridging the information gap that has proven to be the nemesis of weaker sections of our society so far.
The topic came up for discussion recently in Chandigarh while I was out for a haircut and happened to meet up with Ajay Mahajan, an old colleague from my first job with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Ajay had subsequently moved on to the telecom sector (Airtel) and is presently posted as the Regional Business Head (North). It was great to see that Ajay is still his old self - full of beans about the new and exciting. We got down to discussing the scenario in the telecom sector in the 3G era, and he was particularly impressed with the opportunities presented by 3G services towards empowerment of the weaker or neglected sections of the society. Rajiv Gandhi, our later prime minister, once pointed out that out of every one rupee spent on the weaker sections of the society, only 10 paise reached the intended recepients. Ajay strongly felt that it was time we did something about the remaining 90. Mobile Applications deployed on the 3G platform present a tremendous opportunity in this regard.
For example, Airtel has recently provided SIM cards for an application developed for pensioners. Now, pilferage of pension funds is an old lacuna in government delivery apparatus that has remained intact despite the noises made by the higher ups from time to time. The reason: Lack of a delivery mechanism that could ensure that the entire amount was being delivered to the right person. The app has two modules - one a biometric device that is used for taking the thumb impression of the recipient, and second a phone, empowerd by the Airtel SIM, that uploads this information on to the server of the pension organization at the other end. The information is delivered to the server in real time (due to limited bandwidth it was a major bottleneck in the 2G era. But the 3G platform is bound to change all that), the in-built logic compares the thumb image with the one already stored in the system and approves the transaction if it is an exact match . The application is convenient-to-use and can be taken to the remotest corners of the country, provided the place has a cellular network.
I guess I will have to keep the rest of the post for some other time, as Ravinder Sharma, my colleage with whom I am travelling wants me to focus on something else. Its over to you Ravinder........!!

The Management Guru Who Saw the Bottom of the Pyramid - II

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 21 May 2010 04:03:00 +0000

Coimbatore K Prahlad was one among the nine children born in a academic family (his father was a Sanskrit scholar and a judge) in Coimbatore in 1941. He started his career with Union Carbide (yes, the same as in Bhopal Gas tragedy) at 19 after completing his BSc in Physics from Loyola College, Chennai. After a four year stint with Union Carbide he subsequently earned a Masters in management from IIM, Ahmedabad. He went on to do his doctorate at Harvard Business School where he wrote a doctoral thesis on multinational management in just two and a half years. After a brief stint as a teacher and a professor at IIM (A), he returned to the US to join Harvard as a professor for Business Strategy.
If I were to highlight Prahlad's singular achievement in shaping up the basic canons of business strategy, it was his emphasis on the need for involving the employees at the lower rungs in ideation and innovation. Prahalad was able to quantify the benefits of such an approach by taking up case studies of successful large businesses who had thrived by harnessing the brain power of their employees across the hierarchies. He was able to establish the advantages of a flat hierarchy, especially in the knowledge sector. Prahalad later extended this all inclusive approach (under co-creation) to include business partners (vendors) and customers as well.
Prahalad believed that a firm successfully operating in a particular market needs to further strengthen itself by leveraging its presence and understanding of the market to develop competencies at the micro-level, which cannot be easily copied by later entrants. Firms could then set upon transforming their business environments by setting ambitious paradigm-changing goals and use these goals to motivate their employees.
I have not seen much mention of this anywhere, but it is apparent that in his thought process on business strategy, Prahalad continuously focussed on the base of a system, and how it could be effectively deployed to transform the entire structure. And he was able to time and again prove the effectiveness of this approach despite views to the contrary from all quarters. His phenomenal work in this field resulted in his popular book, "The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty through Profits", published in 2004. In this book, Prahalad has effectively demonstrated the economic power of people living at the bottom of the pyramid, generally referred to as "Poor". He was able to showcase the huge, largely untapped market potential of this segment through a series of case studies on businesses successfully operating in this market. Through this book, Prahalad not only put the spotlight on the world's poor, but also took on the corporate titans who believed that business advantage only lies in catering to the interests of High Networth Individuals. The book also negates the largely held view that profit is a dirty word when it came to upliftment of the world's poor. It is a highly readable book and in my opinion a must read for all.
Though Prahalad lived in opulent houses in Michigan and California, he was always attached to his native India, where he frequently returned to work and to consult. He remained a strong votary of innovation as the answer to business problems. Interestingly, in his above book, Prahalad has included a case study on Mobile VAS as the most effective tool to bridge the information gap in agriculture sector in India!

PS: Thank you all for your feedback and appreciation. Raman, Ateek, Vyas....I am sorry I won't be able to write more about Aman. I personally feel that anything that needs to be hidden cannot be pure and true. But we live in a society where this guiding rule can only be applied keeping the boundaries set by societal norms and individual sensibilities, involved in sharing such information, in view. And certainly, I would like to keep away from twisting the truth. Though he appeared a bit apprehensive and uncertain, the last time I talked to him about it, Aman ended all talk with two words: "Closed Chapter." But at the same time I do believe in happy endings, and I sincerely wish and pray that it goes well for all.....and now, I've seriously got to run, lest I end up late....!!

C K Prahlad: The Management Guru who saw the Bottom of the Pyramid - I

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 May 2010 04:00:00 +0000

Sometimes, we get so caught up with our small little comedies that we just forget the bigger picture. The passing away of CK Prahlad on April 16 was one such event, which this blog almost failed to register. The end of Prahlad's remarkable innings marks the end of an era, and had it not been for Amit, a discerning friend, this blog would have been poorer by failing to record it. Thanks Amit - you were right!

But Why Prahlad? Did he make any contribution to the Telecom arena? Is he related to Mobile VAS in any way? Well, Prahlad is one of those rare individuals whose life work has an impact on every area of business - whether it is Telecom, infrastructure, big corporations or small business. The impact of Prahlad's work on business strategy and economic development, cuts across buisness areas and has had a deep impact on the way large businesses view individuals at the bottom of the pyramid. In a way, Prahlad was one of the rare management gurus, who straddled the rarefied world of big business boardrooms and watched out for the interests of those comprising the BOP.

My earliest memories of CK Prahlad are from my business school days. It was post - liberalization India, and the world had just begun to take note of Indian management thinkers. Prahlad and Jagish Bhagwati were the foremost among these names, and in a field dominated by western thinkers, Prahlad stood out with his originality and radical approach. I still remember reading his article on "Core Competence" in that Bible of management thinkers -The Harvard Business Review. At a time, when Indian businesses were going all out for diversification, Prahlad's advocacy of core competence was revolutionary. And, how apt it was. Over the last decade and a half, we have indeed witnessed scores of businesses going down the tube, simply because they failed to recognize and strengthen their core competence and ventured into areas that appeared promising as business prospect, but were far removed from their area of strength.

(To be contd....)

Note

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 10 May 2010 06:12:00 +0000

The last three posts on the top are now available under May 2009 in the Archives. This has been done to ensure continuity in as we move forward with the Technology series.

Its Raining Apps - V

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 20:17:00 +0000

A couple of days back, Maktoom N Wahid from Indonesia sent me a question: How come mobile applications have gained so much traction of late?
Taking up Mr Wahid's question against the backdrop of Occam's razor (one ought to

remember the difference between simple and simplistic though). Among the multiple answers that would account for the sharp increase in traction for mobile apps, to my mind, the simplest and most effective is: the launch of Apple's iPhone. As has been the case with Apple's other landmark products, the iPhone has set the benchmark in terms of user friendly design for all other cell phone makers. And in turn it has delivered a booster dose to the acceptance of mobile applications, especially in the developed economies. The first of the iPhone line of multi-media and Web-enabled phones were shipped out in June 2007, and since that point in time we have seen a mushroom growth in the number of mobile apps and other data services. In fact, prior to the appearance of iPhone on the scene, the 3G service had received very poor response in the developed countries and was almost on the verge of being declared a dead duck. This game-changing device has since given a leg up to the overall acceptability of 3G services!
And what is it that makes iPhone so special? After all, feature for feature, smart phones from other companies, which have been in the market since the time when Apple had not even planned a cell phone, do appear more advanced than the iPhone. Well, the iPhone's single most important attribute is its supreme usability. Every aspect of its design, right from the large mobile screen to the distinct icons, speak the user language. The phone promotes user-friendliness even if it has to drop a few features in the process. Perhaps, a lesson for everyone involved in designing a service or a product?

Of Technology, Trust, Humility, and Keeping the Ball in Play

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 15:39:00 +0000

Today I am not directly touching upon any topic on technology. Indirectly yes, but otherwise I'll talk a bit about things in general and I'l try and share with you something of whatever little I have learnt in my limited innings.

Technology respects Humility: Over the past couple of years, I have particularly come to value and respect a few things in life in general. The first and the foremost, among these I guess would be Humility. Let me tell you, it takes a lot of courage to remain humble. And I guess the higher in life one rises, the greater is the need for this courage. Or let me put it this way: only those leaders are etch their names among the greats, who retain their humility. I firmly believe that technology respects people who are humble. Technology is something boundless. You've got to dive deep, as a worshiper, as a seeker, and never as a master. As is the case with any other aspect of our life, the day one starts getting the feeling of having attained the status of a master, no matter how much one knows, one just stops learning and from there on it is all downhill. And it happens double quick in the technical sphere.

Keep the ball in play: No matter what, it always pays to keep the ball in action. While in play, things are bound to heat up sometime, and one may feel like chucking it off to fight another day, but believe me its not the done thing. Mobile VAS thrives on ideas. And workable ideas are not easy to come by. For every one idea that clicked, there are at least 100 that failed. Everyone of your ideas are not going to succeed. Not even one in two. Its going to be probably one in 15. If someone is going to let go after just two or three or five that didnt click in any one sphere, you are never going to get anywhere near that million dollar idea. So I guess the solution lies in keep juggling the ball as much as you can: you drop it once, twice, thrice...give it a go...again..and again and again. You are sure to become a good juggler, and a player down the line. And the more you keep on at it, better is the probability of your succeeding in the getting that killer idea early on.

Technology demands Trust and Honesty: You've got to trust yourself (and in turn others around you). You've got to be honest in your approach. There is no other way out. In the long run, technology is not for those who would play it short, or try to pull a fast one every time. Technology is pure, absolute truth. You cannot handle truth with distrust and dishonesty. It is something similiar to the way it goes in our lives too: If you want something badly, or you've made a mistake: you've got to trust yourself that somewhere down the line you will get it or you will be able to correct it , if you work at it honestly and sincerely. And let me tell you, if you are honest enough in your approach, you will get it - No Matter What!

Its Raining Apps - IV

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 04:09:00 +0000

Just a day before, I was having a casual chat with my friend Amrit. Amrit is a developer - a good one at that, and has an innovative approach towards finding solutions. Most of the time he has his hands full, interested as he is in staying at the top-edge of technology. Trust him to work on the latest services, software, or solution at any point in time. So whenever I need to do a quick reality check, I generally talk to him and invariably come back with some interesting insight.

On this particular occasion, talking to me, he brimmed over with excitement. The reason: he had hit upon a unique idea for a mobile application. Now, Amrit is a typical developer and likes to have things under control while working on any software. And applications for the mobile is one such area that is right up his street. It is nifty, unlike those large software projects, has very few dependencies on any other person, and if you are able to marry the right idea with sound basic logic, you wont have any issues getting it right.

Ask any developer, and you will find the same reply: they just love to work on mobile apps. And the good thing is applications are the in thing, the new growth drivers of MVAS the world over. For example, e-bay has reported a robust uptake in sales volumes for the first three weeks of the present fiscal, simply riding the application wave. The company's ubiquitous money app, Paypal has been downloaded over a million times during this period. App aggregators such as Apple and GetJar too have witnessed a huge upturn in application off take. One of the reasons behind this phenomenon is that mobile users the world over are now much more confident and comfortable trusting the smart phone to execute a variety of tasks. The mobile phone as a product has reached that stage of its product life cycle, where the product becomes relatively stable in terms of functionality and systems. No more surprises in store on account of the software failure.

But if you think, it is easy to milk the opportunity (yes, we do have plenty of app code of all sorts available on the Net to be copied and pasted) just by being a part of the bandwagon, you are sadly mistaken. Because the fact remains that out of the all the applications that are developed, a whopping 92 per cent are total failures - an absolute no go when it comes to market launch.

So, I would suggest, if you are among those looking at taking the plunge - buy yourself a top quality thinking hat.... and wear it , till it wears out! I am sure you will get the idea.

Its Raining Apps - III

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 22:46:00 +0000

The next big choice that seems to be emerging in the mobile VAS eco-system is clearly between the Mobile Applications and Mobile Websites (or mobile browsers by extension). Will mobile apps gain precedence over mobile browsers or will the latter emerge as the favored medium for launching mobile applications? Before we join this debate, lets first get our fundamentals about mobile apps and mobile websites absolutely clear.
Technically mobile apps are designed for a specific OS native to a smart phone, just like MS Word is designed to run on Windows OS. The mobile OS (J2ME, Symbian, Android, Windows Mobile, Blackberry, Pre, Palm) is light and come packed with "libraries", which contains the code for common app items like buttons and fields. The libraries enable the programmer to focus on developing the functionality unique to the app instead of having to start from scratch.

Mobile websites on the other hand are hosted remotely and need a mobile browser for launch. The Web browser of a smart phone is more advanced than that of a cellphone. A mobile app, once installed, integrates into the mobile phone system and can fully harness all features such as maps and GPS location system. Mobile apps function seamlessly just like any other feature of the phone. Another advantage, in terms of accessibility, lies in that once installed, the mobile app gets instant exposure upfront - in the form of an icon, on your phone. This generally is not the case with the website. Compared to mobile websites, apps are much more secure when it comes to executing transactions with any other component of your system, for example your corporate database, and video files.
The key advantage of a mobile website is that you do not need to install it, which is a necessity for a mobile app. So if you are totally dependent on a mobile app to provide access to your content, the user will remain oblivious of your offering untill she installs the particular mobile app. A mobile app, therefore, requires heavy branding and promotion, or else its has to be so unique as to qualify for word of mouth promotion. On the other hand, you can access the mobile website just by typing in the URL - something as easy as pie. Further, the mobile app burdens the system, specifically the processor, that can slow down your smart phone.

Its Raining Apps - II

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 03:17:00 +0000

A couple of weeks back, I was lazing around my place on a Sunday, bored stiff, with nothing better to do than surf the channels. Star Movies was showing a Hong Kong flick, titled Silver Hawk, and starring Michelle Yeoh (Yes, the actor who also starred in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) among others.) Now, Silver Hawk is your regular Hong Kong movie fare: flashy dresses, super fast bikes, glass buildings, some unique martial arts stunts (I am still to figure out how many styles does King Fu actually have. Every time I see a martial arts movie, these guys come up with a new style).
I wouldn't have thought twice before flipping it over, but what made it interesting was an advanced 4G mobile phone, with a blue tooth ear-piece that was drawn across the side to form a sleek microphone. The main body of the phone was in the form of a wrist watch that enabled the user to make video calls, store large amounts of data, project an image onto the nearest surface, and perform all kinds of tasks that one would possibly need to execute during the course of his daily routine. (I can't say with surety, but I think NTTDoCoMo had exhibited this kind of a concept phone design some time back.)
However, the mobile phone in the movie did not stop just at that. It came with an embedded killer app that monitored, tracked, and stored every single thing related to the user. For example, the phone could be programmed to store the user medical records, and just in case the person was engaged in a strenuous activity that lead him to overshoot his normal metabolism (say an increased BP), the phone would project an animated character telling the user to slow down. If the user had one drink too many above the level permitted medically, and couldnt care less for the phone and its warnings, the devise would automatically do the next best thing: call up his wife and give her all the details about what the individual had been up to. And of course, the devise acted as the perfect personal assistant. The application was an extreme example of Artificial Intelligence at work.

As if this was not advanced enough, the movie had another piece of technology, in the form of a chip, which if integrated into the ear piece, would help the villain control the entire world. Now, I could not understand fully whether this kind of a thing is actually feasible in real life, but this chip, acting in tandem with the phone's AI - based application, would first track the user characteristics, how one acts and all. Subsequently, after two weeks, it would connect with the human brain, and ultimately control all actions of the individual wearing that head-piece. The villain, of course, does not succeed in his evil designs, and the movie was a B-Grade affair, but throughout the movie I was totally fascinated by the smart phone.It was absolutely a top-class concept.
The way technology is moving, I wont be surprised if we see this kind of an AI-based application (minus the evil chip of course) packed into the mobile phones.
I think it is just a matter of time before we got there.
PS: Much as I would have liked to put up an image of the mobile phone, I couldn't find one online. Michelle Yeoh was the next best option :). We will continue out talk on applications.

It's Raining Apps - I

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 01:52:00 +0000

Consider this: Music is a critical part of your personality and you like to keep urself updated with the latest releases, both Hindi, regional, and International. Till date you have been depending on multiple media for music information: the Web, print publications, word-of-mouth, and your nearest music store. It took quite a bit of your time.

The IPod and your top-end smart phone are your favored music players. The sound quality of your mobile phone is as good or even better than other music players and over the last two months, it has turned into your favorite music device simply because it is the most convenient. How you wish there was something that would automatically keep track of the latest releases, sample and recommend music that you would want to buy, suggest the best online stores for that, track your favorite artists/ musical groups/ music genres, maintain your playlists, provide the kind of music that you prefer to listen during a particular time of the day, keep track of like-minded people who prefer to listen to your kind of music, suggest songs that you can exchange with others, and so on. You are a busy person, and you are looking for the one-stop answer for all your music needs. You scour the Web for such software programs, but various software has one or two of these functionalities, and downloading all of them would be a pain.

And then, one fine day, you discover that the solution to all your needs is available right there on your mobile phone. It is a J2ME/ Symbian application and provides comprehensive functionality, almolst everything that you ever wanted and then some. All you need to do is download the 1.5 MB application from your operator's application store, configure it to automatically access the Web at different times of the day, and voila! its done. Just forget about the tasks that you needed to perform every other day to plug into the best Jazz ensemles that you enjoy listening .

The above is very much a real-life app, and a good example of how utility mobile applications can really make life easier for you. Applications, in fact, are the new rage in the mobile eco-system. Just remember the time when Websites first made an appearance (first Website was developed by Tim Berner's Lee at CERN, put online on August 6, 1991) and within no time turned into a compelling rage. So much of it that perfectly sane individuals - bankers, businessmen, brilliant professionals, politicians, lawyers, even rogues, conspirators, pretenders, and turncoats, across sexes, ended up committing millions of dollars to develop and publicize these in the hope of getting richer - quicker and easier. It was a hype like no other, and despite the lack of credible revenue models, we saw people spending money like anything, just to join the bandwagon. No wonder, it turned out as the now infamous "Dot Com Bust" of 2000 - 01, a disaster that made the best of brains look idiotic.

Why I am recounting this here is because I realize that the development of mobile apps too has almost entered the same dangerous stage, when people get taken in by the mass hysteria surrounding a specific thing. Actually its Apple's app store that ignited the apps boom (it alone accounts for over 70,000 applications and have touched a whopping 1.5 billion downloads. )Worldover, the number of apps are expected to increase to 1.2 lakh by the end of 2010. Apple is making money, but what about the others? Will they too make money, just by joining the bandwagon?

Even if History is not as good a teacher as we would like it to be, the answer to this one is pretty obvious.

(We will talk more about mobile apps in the coming posts).

Pace Change for IPL Video Streaming in 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 22:06:00 +0000

(Before going through the report please refer to the Notice given below in red italics for background to this report)

For the first time, this blogs brings you exclusive information on an event that showcases the fast-paced developments in the digital domain, thus further indicating the ever-growing trend towards consolidation of the mobile phone as the centerpiece of convergence. Companies have already begun to put big money for the relatively small real estate of the mobile, and this trend is expected to further gain prominence over the next five years. The below report is the latest indicator of events in the offing. Zenga Entertainment India, a digital marketing and mobile technology solutions company, which through its worldwide association with the Singapore-based TMT Investments Pte Ltd, has the exclusive rights for the paradigm - defining Indian Premier League (IPL) content for delivery on the mobile platform, has further allocated the live streaming rights of the event to another player having a huge presence in the digital domain (Needs verification from official sources). The kind of money involved for this five year arrangement ranges between $ 20 to 25 million, the source said. TMT Investments is the holding company of Netlink blue, the firm that has signed the exclusive association arrangement, and is working with Zenga to operationalize the deal.

Under the arrangement, Zenga had been offering ZengaTV, a service designed to deliver live video streaming on the mobile handsets, to the users. At the time of the launch service - providers had claimed that the technology behind the offering worked equally well on 2G networks (as per IEEE standards, video live streaming is a 3G function). Despite the claim, the subscribers had to deal with a latency of 5 seconds while using the service, which lead to the service being relegated to the sidelines of the IPL bonanza. Mobile streaming is set to be a major money spinner in IPL-2011 as Indian telecom sector rolls out 3G networks across the country.

According to the Zenga website, the company also has the exclusive rights for transmitting live audio, video highlights and clips, as well as official games, photographs and footage, contests, wallpapers, ringtones, screensavers, press releases, player interviews, schedules, statistics and newsletters. According to sources, Zenga has also sub-licensed these services to other specialized technology companies in the market. The source says that these properties have been bagged by Indiatimes and VRock and would be accessible on 58888. The Zenga website states that the organization is managing the official WAP portal of www.iplt20.com which could be accessed from a mobile handset.The Dubai-based Netlinkblue had committed $50 million to acquire the 10 year rights for live streaming on the Internet and mobiles in 2009.

IMPORTANT: The writer is not a professional blogger. This is not a news blog, and as such we do not break stories or report on developments in real-time. What we excel at is analyzing these developments and arrive at scenarios that are likely to develop as consequence. Regarding this particular piece of news, I am putting it here, 'coz I just happened to get the information from one of the top honchos - a big believer of openness and transparency - associated with an organization involved in the play. However, I could not corrobrate it (in fact I didnt have the time) from a secondary source. Therefore, kindly treat this item as a Mock/ Dry run exercise for providing exclusive news content on the blog. This is as per our endeavor to respect the significance and sanctity, and the responsibility that comes with reporting any type of news items.

Copyright: rajmachhan, 2010

A Valuable Resource

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 02:52:00 +0000

My first interface with the telecom world was way back in year 2000, as a rookie journalist with The Financial Express. Those were heady days, and I had plunged into journalism "to make a difference". I did manage a few successes. Later, I covered the same area for The Times of India as the paper's Business Correspondent. As a journalist, I was totally idealistic and took the role of a watchdog to the society very-2 seriously. This required serious knowledge of the subject areas that I chose to write on (Of course, later I myself got into telecom. Part of the reason for this move lay in my familiarity to this field.). All along this journey, I often felt an acute need for detailed information on the technicalities of this field. Fortunately, I happened to have access to some of the finest telecom brains of the time who readily addressed my queries.

Along the way, I chanced upon what I have always considered as a valuable resource for any telecom professional: Ericsson's Understanding Telecommunications - a comprehensive book covering all major areas of this sector.

I have heard many a wise men articulate the opinion that all good things in life come for free. They are right. And, this book is no different.

Watch Out for the Mother of All Auctions: 3G Licenses Set for New Revenue High

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 19:35:00 +0000

The auction process for 3G licenses, scheduled to kick-off on Friday, is likely to generate an unprecedented Rs 35,000 crore to Rs 50,000 crore in revenue for the Government, media sources report. This would surpass all earlier revenue figures garnered by the GOI in any type of auction.
For the subscriber, the high license price would mean that the 3G services will come in a high price band, at least in the initial years of service launch (something similar to Rs 17 per minute outgoing call tariff charged by operators in the early days of cellular telephony. A good example of what competitive forces can do to market: the tariffs have been reduced to the present sub - one paisa/ second regime within a decade or less! ). The pricing strategy, in fact, could be the most interesting aspect of the 3G service roll out by operators, as these services are likely to be positioned as the true differentiator by cellular players across the board. However, in a price-sensitive market like India, whether highly priced 3G services will be able to attract enough customers will remain a question foremost in the minds of all telecom strategists (looking at the experience of BSNL and MTNL, who have been providing 3G services since the past one year, a high - price strategy is unlikely to curry much favor with an average Indian subscriber.(For a detailed view on 3G services in the developed markets, refer to Tomi T Ahonen's M-Profits: Making Money from 3G Services).

The operators will also be required to deal with the fact that the majority of cellphones, estimated to be around 80 per cent, in the hands of Indian users are Ultra Low-cost Handsets (ULCH).
As per media reports, the auctions are likely to be dominated by big players such as Vodafone (tipped to bag 16 circles), Airtel, Aircell, Idea, Tata and Reliance Communications. The smaller players in all likelihood would give the auctions a miss (though it will interesting to see the position taken by Uninor, Etisalat, and MTS).
3G services would usher high data speeds (a minimum data rate of 2Mbit/s for stationary or walking users, and 348 kbits/sec in a moving vehicle. For a common user, used to watching You Tube videos, the most visible difference 3G would make is the elimination of the time spent in 'buffering' as it shows on the mobile screen). Compared to 2G, 3G allows simultaneous use of speech and data services and would lead to proliferation of data-centric VAS such as high-speed wireless Internet connections, multi-player mobile gaming, TV on mobile, Video calls, and full movie downloads.
Of course, for those mobile VAS companies, who have invested time and resources in building up 3G expertise, the time to reap the gains is finally here!
Ads are all not boring, some can give you real information to make your choice.

More Power to the Mobile

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 18:34:00 +0000

In my last post, I had mentioned the launch of another service that I thought was significant in its own way. This one has been developed by Airtel DTH, and is designed to facilitate the subscribers of the Airtel DTH.
First, let me place this in perspective for you. In one of my earlier posts, around this time in 2009, we had taken a definite view on the way convergence was shaping up across different mediums of delivery. Needless to say, I had put my money on the ubiquitous mobile phone to emerge as the center-piece of convergence.

The latest value-add from Airtel DTH just reinforces this belief. If you are a subscriber and you like to record your favorite programs for viewing during your leisure hours, this functionality would certainly add value to your routine (especially for a forgetful bloke like me). Lets say you are on your way from Gurgaon to Delhi, its the peak evening hours, and for some reason (say a guy behind the wheel just lost it) the traffic is messier than usual. You are hopelessly stuck and there is no way you can make it in time for the movie that you had planned to watch. With the latest functionality from Airtel DTH, you simply need to press a key on your mobile and the recording function of your TV system automatically kicks-in (the prerequisite is that your set top box is already switched on). You can record your programs, no matter where you are and whatever is the time. The magic button is always on hand.

On a broader level, value additions like this one are a direct pointer to one fact: As far as the scope of mobile VAS goes, we have only skimmed the surface till now. There is a lot more waiting to happen. For example, taking the above functionality further: by syncing it with a mobile app that tracks the timings of your favorite TV programs ( I am sure, of the 70,000 odd apps out there, there ought to be one created specifically for this purpose), you need not bother about recording your favorite TV shows. Simply integrate this remote recording function with the TV program app and keep watching your favorite shows.!

Pretones: Excellent Innovation; Short on Practicality

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 05:17:00 +0000

Some days back, I think it was on Fool's day, I learnt about the launch of two new services in the mobile VAS arena.

Pretones

The first one of these offerings has been packaged as 'Pretones'. The Pretone service plays short clips of content in the interim between dialing of a number and connecting of the call. Its looks like a good, ambitious idea, essentially amounting to replacing the widely available CRBT (a de facto commodity which is even available in packages like 50 Ringtones Vol. 1 - 50 Top Ring Tones For Your Mobile Phone) with non-music content pieces such as cricket scores, astrology, jokes, and movie reviews among others.

From the face of it, Pretones looks like a good innovation, which will allow the user to listen to content that they prefer, during the riniging period (if the call is patched mid-way, the joke or astro prediction will be dropped and the subscriber will need to dial a short-code at the end of the call to listen to the rest of the piece). It is an intelligent application and captures user preference/ dislike for different types of content (also known as content profiling). Based on this data, the system then pushes only those content items that are favored by the user. So far so good.

Pretones is an advanced service: you can choose different pre-tones for different people, share favorite content piece with other callers (a tool for social networking), and even skip the 'pretone' if you are not in the mood to listen to anything except for the called party's voice.

But I remain unconvinced on a couple of points. The first one relates to the basic premise that lies at the foundation of this application. It assumes that people want to listen to something, either a joke, news, or some other sound clip in the five to ten seconds between dialing and connecting of a call. I asked myself - Is it essentially so? Do I really want to listen to a news clip, a joke or a prediction while I am waiting for the other person to pick up the phone. People make calls because they have something to say to the other person. What they want to say and how they want to put it across remains at the top of user mind during the ring in period. For example, when I make a call, no sooner does the ring tone comes on, I generally try to remove myself from my immediate environment so that I can focus on the call.Now, what a Pretone does is it puts this 'distraction' right into the phone itself for Rs 30 per month.It almost amounts to something like putting the cart before the horse.

Second, we could reason that a Pretone is simply a replacement for CRBT. If CRBT is so popular, then Pretone should be doubly so, because it allows the user to choose what he or she wants to listen during a call. Sounds good on paper. However, we need to take a closer look at the factors that make CRBT so popular. I would say it is largely so because CRBT provides the subscriber an excellent platform for self-expression. It allows us to convey something about ourselves through the music piece that we choose to play for our caller. For example, for one full year during my college days, I had the Pink Floyd number, "Another Brick in the Wall" as my ringtone. Why did I choose that number? At that time I had no specific answer to this. If anyone asked, I would simply say that I liked the song and that was all (I remember a whole lot of students with whom I interacted also adopted this number as their ring tone). But now when I look back on those years, I realize there was a very plausible reason behind this choice. During those days, we were going through an age when romanticism of youth placed a high premium on being a rebel. There was hardly any room in our hostel that did not have a Che Guevera poster (along side that of popular Hollywood heroines of the time). The more serious among us even took to reading books like THE DIARY OF CHE GUEVERA the Secret Papers of a Revolutonary. To be a rebel was cool, and this particular ringtone gave me the perfect platform to showcase my rebelliousness (don't ask me what was it that we were rebelling against. As far as I remember, we had nothing but a vague notion that the 'system' was rotten and it was something that needed to be rebelled against!).

Another reason for the popularity of ringtones is that it is a music-based service. We all know, when it comes to mobile VAS, nothing sells like music. Now you just cannot equate the impact of music with that of any other items, even if it is a funny joke (in a lighter vein, the users may altogether like to avoid the very funny ones, lest the call gets patched and you are still not through with the laughs. The ramifications of this could be many - it could result in the impression that you have gone soft in the head, or you have developed a new hobby of calling up people and then laughing at them, and other such reasoning.)

On the other hand, a CRBT doesn't distract, it doesnt demand any attention. Quite opposite to this, it adds a nice flavor to the calling experience and remains one of the simplest services from the usability point point of view. I maybe wrong, but my personal opinion is that it is a real tough ask to replace a CRBT with non-music content, no matter how interesting it is.

So what does the future hold for an ambitious service like Pretones? In terms of innovation, I would give it a score of hundred out of hundred. Though it does not deploy any new technologies, the service construct is very new. The service also gets full marks in terms of the functionality it offers. And then again it scores high when it comes to the novelty of the concept.

However, it fails on a very critical aspect - it does not take into account the mindset and the user behavior of an average subscriber. Whether a professional calling up his colleague (an average professional ends up making the maximum number of calls to his office numbers) wants to listen to news, jokes or such other items at a time when he is looking at conveying his poor collection status, is something that remains to be seen.

In my personal opinion, this service will have its takers, but it will fall way short of attaining the universal appeal of a CRBT or the Music services. At Rs 30 per month subscription, the pricing is bold and will help the service provider break fresh ground. But that alone may not be enough. In addition to the attractive pricing,the service provider would do well to add songs and maybe other musical content, to ensure that the service achieves some degree of success.

PS: About the other service, we will take it up in my next post. The views expressed here are my individual views based on my perception of the MVAS, and the kind of services that will succeed in a particular market.

I look forward to your observations and comments on the above.

Creating Synergy Though Partnerships: The Telecom Reality

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 21:28:00 +0000

Why should an operator pay attention to the scores of small MVAS players, who still exist in the unregulated (thank God for small mercies. Regulation can beat the living daylights out of an innovation-centric growth model) sector and whose combined turnover accounts for only 8 to 10 percent of operator topline on an average? One can have multiple answers to that. But the most plausible one, I believe, lies in the speed with which competitive forces are being unleashed in the mobile eco-system. New players, starting from Tata DoCoMo have driven the prices to a level that a further reduction could very well result in some of the new companies going under. Price as a differentiator is definitely out, and so is the quality of infrastructure; what with multiple operators – who slug it out for every inch of market space - finding it more economical to use the same networks to transmit their signals.

MVAS have the potential to spruce up operator revenues (For FY 2009-10, the Indian telecom sector is expected to achieve a turnover of $ 43 billion, with MVAS revenues peaking at $3.7. billion), drive further growth, and emerge as the most effective tool for usage enhancement and subscriber retention (these areas are critical, keeping in view the looming MNP regime). The contribution of MVAS to the total telecom pie is expected to grow three times its present value before it stablizes, as has happened in some of the more developed telecom markets across the globe.

From a purely technical perspective, MVAS holds tremendous possibilities for people who can think differently and have enough conviction to follow it through. The domain is not capital intensive. It is still to be compartmentalized and restricted by the technology majors, who spend billions of dollars just to push their in-house technologies as the standards for the Web.

Promising as it may sound, MVAS does have a very critical requirement of its own- It demands people carrying an intelligent head on their shoulders. MVAS feeds on ideas, innovation, and the urge to do things in a smarter way, to sustain itself. In fact, the employee brain - power of a MVAS company are its only true assets that would decide its future. And, given the knowledge - intensive nature of the industry, telecom operators stand to make huge gains by choosing the right partner (this is the toughest step) and working in tandem to turn a possibility into reality.
One need not go far to see the gains that can be accrued by establishing a healthy operator - vendor relationship. The auto sector, right in the backyard of Delhi, is a very good example. The big manufacturers have nurtured their vendors over the years, and now the system is so effective as if it is one seamless workflow across the value chain. On their part, the vendors, who started small have grown many fold and are able to meet the most stringent quality requirement for any world market. This one is a perfect example of a close partnership - the operator saves on costs, and the vendor by staying in sync with the auto company posts a growth pattern, which was not possible otherwise.

A good VAS professional is more of a consultant, and needs to be recognized like that. On an average he would tend to agree with whatever the client/ operator has to say. But operator VAS teams need to fully involve the individual, for him to share his ideas, which inherently has the merit to add value to the task at hands. Keeping this in view, the smartest among operators are now forming close-knit teams, comprised of professionals from its own staff and the talent from the VAS partner, for better understanding and co-ordination.

A VAS professional two to three years into the job gets enough opportunities to work with major carriers, which helps him develop a deep insight into the working of the telecom eco-system. Secondly, again owing to the industry exposure, a VAS guy has a fairly good idea of the kind of services, pricing, packaging that would sell in a particular market. A partnership between the two entities, based purely on merit and shorn of all unnecessary side shows, has the potential to evolve into a unique synergistic relationship, creating a win-win for the operator, the VAS company, and the subscribers. However, for the synergy to take root, we must first create a totally transparent and open environment which has the ingredients to bring out the best in the individuals.

Of course, individual fear (fear to lose a job, fear of failure,….) can also drive people to deliver. It is the fear of losing an account that makes many a VAS professionals put up with some of the demands. But fear can work only to a point. To excel at anything, one needs a certain degree of motivation that has to come from within. A healthy partnership is the first step towards that.
Also, it is ingrained in the nature of us humans that we tend to gravitate towards people who treat us as friends. We are living in an age when the 'Third Wave' will soon be reaching its zenith. The present and the future belong to people with vibrant gray cells, the muscular hulks are slated to be a mere side - show to the main act.

Toffler would have been pleased!

On Deck vs Off Deck Services: Differentiation

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 00:02:00 +0000

On-deck services: Services that are directly accessible from your mobile screen. These service are developed, implemented, operated, and maintained by white label VAS providers but this is not known to the subscriber as the service carries the operator brand. For On-deck services, the operator usually indicates a keyword to enable subscribers access the service from the mobile screen. For example, Ringtones, Mobile Radio, Entertainment, and Rural Portal.

Off-deck services: These services are carry the brand name of the service developer. Usually, these do not have a presence on the Mobile screen and are marketed directly by the third-party service provider. Examples of these services are portals offered by providers such as Indiatimes, Television channels, newspapers, and magazines. The service provider uses only operator infrastructure and billing mechanism.

Bharti Airtel bags Zain's Africa Operations

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 23:05:00 +0000

With its acquisition of Zain operations, Bharti Airtel has finally managed to plant its flag on the African continent - a development that has catapulted the group into the front line of global telecom biggies (Bharti Airtel is now the sixth biggest telecom operator in the world). Indian telecom expertise is already a known force in Africa and other upcoming markets, and the way Bharti goes about running its African operations will be something that will be watched closely by the telecom world.

The present development is the most significant step till date towards realizing Mr Sunil Mittal's vision of turning the group into the world's formost telecom entity. At the same time this could be the toughest challenge faced by Bharti so far. Africa is a tough continent and managing the business environement and markets in each of the countries where Bharti will now have a presence, will need the best of Bharti's management talent. How Bharti tackles this one will be interesting to see, however, for the present, the development has the telecom fraternity in cheers.

For we know, Mr Mittal has made it happen in the past. And, this one wont be much different either!!