Tag Archives: telecom

CATALYST TELECOM EXPANDS INTO CANADA

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Through this expansion, resellers in Canada will have access to the industry-leading value-added services and support that Catalyst Telecom offers, including online, in-person and self-paced training covering manufacturers, products and business acumen; pre- and post-sale technical support; VoIP and wireless network assessments; solution design support; and customized financial services support. In addition, resellers will be supported by a sales and business development team that brings years of experience and knowledge on Avaya solutions and is familiar with Canadian business processes. What’s more, Catalyst Telecom will continue to add resources to support the channel and enhance its offering in Canada.

“Expanding our Avaya business into Canada will provide real growth opportunities for Canadian resellers looking to offer voice and data solutions to their end-user customers, as well as for U.S. resellers who are looking to create partnerships with Canadian solution providers,” said John Black, president, Catalyst Telecom. “Our POS and Barcoding business in Canada has been successful, and we will certainly leverage that experience through Catalyst Telecom Canada. In addition, we will utilize the ScanSource POS & Barcoding sales offices in Vancouver and Toronto for additional expansion opportunities.”

Catalyst Telecom is a valuable partner for Avaya in the U.S. and we look forward to working with them more closely in the Canadian market, said Mary Whittle, channel director, Avaya Canada. As Avaya continues to move towards a channel-centric model, it is important to have great partners on board to serve our customers better. Catalyst Telecom has a proven track record and solid knowledge of Avaya’s solutions that will help it effectively support our growing Canadian customer base.”

For additional information on Catalyst Telecom, please visit www.catalysttelecom.com.

About ScanSource, Inc.
ScanSource, Inc. ( NASDAQ: SCSC ) is a leading international distributor of specialty technology products, consisting of seven sales units in North America, Latin America and Europe.

ScanSource POS & Barcoding in North America, Latin America and Europe delivers AIDC and POS solutions; Catalyst Telecom in the US, and ScanSource Communications in North America and Europe, provide voice, video and converged communications equipment; and ScanSource Security in North America offers physical security solutions. Founded in 1992, the company ranks #854 on the Fortune 1000. For more information, call the toll-free sales telephone number at 800.944.2432 or visit www.scansourceinc.com.

Source: Media Newswire

Comverse and IBM Unveil Center of Excellence

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Comverse and IBM (NYSE: IBM) have launched a joint Center of Excellence (CoE) in France to help global telecom operators speed time to market for new services, boost subscriber acquisition, and reduce both churn and overall network operating costs.

Established within the IBM Telecom Solutions Lab in France, the CoE uses software components from IBM and Comverse to create a BSS/OSS (Business Support System/Operational Support System) and Service-Delivery environment that provides a dynamic setting.

“To sustain growth in today’s economy, Communication Service Providers are seeking ways to offer subscribers a more positive and differentiated experience while taking complexity and cost out of their businesses,” said Chris Pearson, global telco industry leader for IBM Global Business Services, which also announced three additional telecom development centers today.

This joint approach allows telecom clients to test proofs of concept with new capabilities in simulated environments, enhance innovation, and reduce implementation time and risk. The Service Provider Delivery Environment (SPDE) framework, which is based on a service oriented architecture (SOA) approach, combines with IBM server and storage hardware, such as Power Systems and BladeCenter, to provide the dynamic infrastructure for the CoE.

“Comverse and IBM understand how critical it is to offer systems and processes that support the new business models that operators must deliver to stay competitive,” said Dror Bin, President of Global Sales at Comverse. “We believe that the Comverse-IBM relationship backed by the Center of Excellence will allow our joint customers to have more efficient operations and generate new revenues.”

The emergence of new business models – and the potential for even more new models with the view to next-generation networks – requires a converged approach to BSS that is demonstrated at the center. Comverse® ONE™ Billing and Active Customer Management is a single BSS system that allows operators to manage all subscribers consistently, regardless of payment or service type, resulting in increased loyalty and new service adoption.

The telecom industry has benefited from IBM’s globally-integrated network of capabilities, partnerships and assets that have supported telecom deployments in major and emerging markets since 2000.

“3G, rural penetration to catalyse PE investments in Telecom”

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Mobile VAS, Mobile Broadband and Telecom Software companies, as well as companies providing services to telcos, are among the favourite sectors of PE & VC investors within the industry, a survey by research firm Venture Intelligence reveals.

November 25, 2009 /India PRwire/ — Almost 70% of the Private Equity and Venture Capital investors surveyed by Venture Intelligence, a leading research firm focused on Private Equity and M&A deal activity, felt that Indian telecom operators would be able to find and profitably serve the next 100 million mobile consumers from rural areas. A majority of investors are also willing to bet that the introduction of 3G services can be a game changer for various players in Indian telecom, the survey of fund managers from over 50 PE & VC firms reveals.

While the appetite for investments into mobile operators is still high, PE & VC investors who have invested over $5 billion in telecom services and related companies over the past five years, are also actively scanning for “downstream” opportunities including Mobile VAS, Telecom Software and other service providers to telcos. Investors are also bullish on the expansion of Indian telecom operators into other developing markets. Their experience in the highly competitive Indian market, combined with their low costs and ability to continuously innovate, will stand Indian operators in good stead while expanding into markets like Africa, the investors feel.

The survey results are published in the in the newly released report from Venture Intelligence titled “Private Equity Pulse on Telecom”. “In recent months, intense and rising competition levels, declining ARPUs, high costs of 3G licenses and the impending introduction of Number Portability, have placed significant challenges before the industry,” said Arun Natarajan, CEO of Venture Intelligence. “At the same time, as the report reveals, investors feel the introduction of 3G and the increased emphasis by mobile operators on locally-relevant applications to enhance their ARPUs, will present investors with several interesting opportunities,” he added.

In a special article for the report, an expert from KPMG points out the various opportunities and challenges ahead for PE investments across various segments within Telecom. While the industry will continue to provide attractive returns that PE investors seek, the landscape is likely to remain dynamic and somewhat uncertain over the foreseeable future from market, regulatory and industry perspective, KPMG feels.

Experts from Deloitte insist in their article that 3G has great potential to alter the dynamics of the Indian telecom market. Besides the expected adoption in the metros, the poor infrastructure on the fixed line side means that an increasing number of consumers are going to rely on their mobile phones for data driven services, leading to a massive uptake as and when the infrastructure becomes available.

Mobile Value Added Services (VAS) companies, which have thus far been struggling in the shadows of the largely voice-focused mobile operators, are looking forward keenly to the advent of 3G which promises an opportunity to enhance their revenues including via new types of services. In this context, the article by TC Meenakshisundaram of IDG Ventures India analyses the emerging scenario in which, he predicts, VAS will get its rightful priority in the operators’ focus to maintain or increase their ARPU and profitability.

The Venture Intelligence investor poll reveals that a majority of investors, given the unorganized nature of cable TV distribution in the country, believe that several opportunities still exist in this space. In his article, Nithin Kaimal of Private Equity firm New Silk Route Advisors (NSR), highlights how the battle over the “last mile” in cable TV networks is hotting up with the entry of Direct to Home (DTH) services. He feels the success of the cable model over DTH in other markets as well as the performance of organized cable players like Asianet and Ortel provides ample evidence of the economic attractiveness of this model.

Telecom-focused consulting firm BDA weighs in with a meaty analysis of the various technology options and investment scenarios for the cable TV sector.

In an article on the legal and regulatory challenges facing the telecom industry, leading corporate law firm ARA Law outlines the regulatory framework, rules relating to foreign investments, M&A-related issues as well as recent developments like spectrum allocation an d 3G licensing.

For the convenience of entrepreneurs, the report provides a listing of PE/VC investors who have a special focus on telecom as well as advisory firms who provide value-added intermediation services.

The report can be downloaded from http://www.ventureintelligence.in/pepulse_tele.htm

Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire

Notes to Editor

About Venture Intelligence

Venture Intelligence, a division of Chennai, India-based TSJ Media Pvt. Ltd., is the leading source of data and analysis on Private Equity, Venture Capital and M&A deals in India. Our products include Databases, Newsletters and Reports – all focused on tracking deal activity in India. Our subscribers include top executives at Private Equity and Venture Capital Firms, Investment Banks, Limited Partners, Law Firms, HR Services Firms and Consulting Firms in India, USA, and the Asia-Pacific. For more information, visit http://www.ventureintelligence.in

For more information, please contact:
Arun Natarajan (CEO) (L) +91-44-45534303

Spectrum Sale must benefit Government and Consumers

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New Delhi, Delhi, November 18, 2009 /India PRwire/ — Given the past issues and misgivings about the loss to the Exchequer due to the first come, first served criteria during the previous Spectrum sale, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) needs to be careful this time around to prevent a repeat, cautions Rajeev Chandrasekhar, independent Member of Parliament and Member of the Standing Committee on Finance.

Companies were previously allocated spectrum and telecom licenses by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) at 2001 rates, but later sold these for anywhere between Rs 4,000 and Rs 9,000 crores, said Mr. Chandrasekhar. This happened despite assurances from the DoT that a lock-in period meant the promoters couldnt sell the licenses but were obliged to rollout and build their business in the next few years.

The telecom regulators must make certain there is no repeat of the colossal loss to the Exchequer. It should also be ensured that the companies being awarded spectrum are not allowed to get around the lock-in period and other restrictions under the guise of consolidation through mergers and acquisitions. Spectrum sale must lead to affordability and further competition among telecom operators to benefit consumers. Every effort must be made to protect consumer interest as well as the Governments interest by preventing tariff cartelization.

Even if consolidations are permitted at a later date, the telecom regulators must ensure there are at least 10 operators per market. Given the size of the Indian market (800 million to 1 billion by 2015), each of the 10 operators will have significant size and scale of almost 100 million each, putting all the 10 amongst the largest in the world.

To prevent a repeat of the previous telecom license misuse via early sale, I recommend that in the event any of the new licensees sells their stake, the profits must be taxed at a special windfall tax rate, ensuring most of the profits from the premature sale benefit the Exchequer, not private companies or individuals, said Mr. Chandrasekhar.

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Source: India PR Wire

3G Roll out in Mahrashtra in Six months

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BSNL and MTNL have been given 3G spectrum ahead of the auction of the radio waves for 3G services but they would have to pay the same charges for the spectrum as would be determined by the auctions expected in December this year.

November 2, 2009 /India PRwire/ — Starting with Pune in December, 50 other cities in Maharashtra would get Third Generation mobile phone services that BSNL plans to roll out, Mr. Aloke Kaul, the Chief General Manger, Maharashtra, of the public sector telecom service provider announced at 5th 3G India 2009 Conference, held in Mumbai today.

BSNL and MTNL have been given 3G spectrum ahead of the auction of the radio waves for 3G services but they would have to pay the same charges for the spectrum as would be determined by the auctions expected in December this year.

Mr. J. Gopal, MTNL Executive Director, Mumbai, said, “the customers in the metropolitan area should make use of this opportunity as the PSU has offered a very competitive rate for the high frequency 3G services that enables video and other streaming download on their mobiles including films, music, video games, and several other facilities. The greatest benefit to customers of 3G services would be mobile TV and mobile Internet. “3G is not luxury but a necessity” Mr. Gopal said. Mr. Kaul and Mr. Gopal and other telecom industry leaders and experts were addressing the “3G India 2009-5th international conference” here today.

Across different city types, there was high interest for Mobile broadband that 3G enables on your handset, said P. Balaji, Vice President, Marketing and Strategy, Ericsson India, leading global manufacturer of telecom equipment. Quoting studies on customer responses and expectations on 3G, Mr. Balaji said that two out of five Internet users in India were interested in mobile broadband. As over 35 per cent of fixed Internet users were experiencing problems with their current net connectivity, wireless Internet that 3G promises has raised great expectations among the networking community, especially the young.

With the telecom service industry going tough competition and falling monthly ARPU(average revenue per user), for the operators the ability to provide 3G services once the spectrum was allocated, would help boost their revenue and also retain high end consumers, Mr. Balaji pointed out. The customers would also be glad to have a one stop solution for a variety of their communication needs. By bundling mobile broadband package with end devices such as netbooks, the operators would gain a competitive edge, added Mr. Balaji.

Quoting from the Gramjyoti experiment that Ericsson conducted in south India with BSNL, Mr. Balaji listed the benefits even the rural users obtained from 3G. the variety of benefits included job creation, socio-economic development, security systems, improved healthcare, positive impact on environment, increased efficiencies, improved education and entertainment. Over 1700 devices were already available for 3G end users and many devices had embedded facility to operate with 3G. Some applications were already available but 3G was expected to create surge in new applications, especially customised applications, Mr. Balaji pointed out.

The problem in the telecom industry was the sharp rise in mobile customer base but precipitate fall in revenue per customer. While the customer base had gone up above 400 million, the average revenue per month per user had gone down from 1.6 cents to 1.3 cents over the last seven quarters, pointed out Abhay Savargaonkar, Senior Vice President, 3G and network quality, Bharti Airtel, in his presentation. Broadband connections were still far behind the 20 million by 2010 projected by the government. Quoting from international experience in 3G usage, the Mr. Savargaonkar said 3G data revenue was growing upto 240 per cent in two years in countries like Brazil. For 2G operators facing falling ARPU, 3G offered great hope of providing richer services and better revenues. World 3G subscriber revenues were growing by 30 per cent CAGR, he said. He also quoted from various global studies to explain how 3G handset and data card prices were falling making the service affordable and accessible to lower strata of customers.

Third Generation mobile services would create a ‘revolution within the mobile industry” predicted Mallikarjuna Rao, Chief, Network & Engineering Operations, Aircel Ltd. The experience the world over was that with 3G mobile search users went up by 50 times, music listeners by 12 times and mobile TV watchers by7 times. However, spectrum and its cost of acquiring held the key to the success of the 3G exercise. He advocated a common highway approach in setting up the backhaul, create multi-lingual local content and provide affordable end ser handheld and USB modems. Cautioning over the continued delay in introducing the service he said this was the right time to get the service on line as the eco system for its implementation was already maturing. To intending 3G wireless operators, Mr. Rao advised that they should offer “compelling, differentiated applications”.

Anil Tandan, Chief Technology Officer, Idea Cellular Ltd., also cautioned that delayed 3G might even put India back by a whole technology backward step as new technologies in wireless broadband like 4G and LTE were emerging. These offered bandwidth as high as 140 Mbps and even more.

Bharat Exhibitions Managing Director Shashi Dharan, the organizer of 5th 3G India 2009, appealed to the operators to provide a single digit helpline for mobile users to meet emergencies like kidnapping, medical emergency, car hold ups, etc so that mobile users could within a second convey their situation to the authorities and obtain help. The one day conference organised by Bharat Exhibitions had an array of telecom experts exploring benefits of 3G and problems of its implementation.

Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire

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