Free National Roaming By October 2013: Sibal

Free National Roaming By October 2013: Sibal

Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal has reiterated that free national mobile roaming is not only on the cards, but he went further to state that this will happen by October this year. As reported by NDTV, Sibal was speaking on the sidelines of the launch of the National Internet Registry (NIR), which will be India's very own agency to manage IP address allocation with the aim of reducing cost, as the country moves from IPv4 to IPv6. The National Telecom Policy (NTP) 2012 had announced last year that it plans to make roaming free across the country.

Sibal said, "TRAI has floated a consultation paper on it (national free roaming). So when TRAI 's recommendations come and after that, we will try to start free roaming before October". Currently, subscribers have to pay significant roaming charges for calls and SMSes. While the minister did not specifically state it, as a result of this move, subscribers will be able to retain their mobile numbers even after moving to another circle.

Mobile operators are not too happy about this though, as the move will require major changes in infrastructure and policy, but only benefit 10% of the total subscriber base that actually uses national roaming. Already reeling under the aftermath of the 2G spectrum scam and the looming prospect of a licence re-auction, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) had expressed its displeasure, stating "...you are making the industry go through a churn for something that benefits only 10% of customers".

Another thorny issue in the implementation is the matter of inter-connect charges, which is the amount paid by one operator when its subscriber uses another operator's infrastructure while roaming, for circles where the former does not have sufficient coverage. Since mobile providers stand to lose on both roaming and inter-connect charges with the new policy, they might feel the need to hike call rates to make up for lost revenue.

Incidentally, 3G roaming is still illegal, according to a diktat of the Department of Telecommunications (DOT),and we can probably expect the decision to be upheld in the next NTP. The overall effect of the decision to allow free roaming will benefit a small minority, while the overwhelming majority that doesn't roam may now need to brace for a price hike if telecom operators decide to increase overall tariff to offset its revenue loss. Do you think that free roaming will be implemented by October 2013? Let us know in the comments.

Now Fundraising App For Girls' Education

Now Fundraising App For Girls' Education

On International Women's Day, Plan India, an NGO that works towards the upliftment of under-privileged children, will launch a web-based application to raise funds for the education of girls in the country, an official said here Thursday. The app based on the micro site www.educateagirl.org is being supported by women achievers like Indra Nooyi, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Anu Aga, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Kirthiga Reddy, and Shobhaa De. To be launched under the aegis of "Because I am a Girl" campaign, the application projects a happy child, in mosaic, made of blocks.

Each block is worth a donation of Rs.500 and when a donor makes a contribution, his or her picture gets embedded in that block, providing the instant satisfaction of 'standing behind the girl child'. "There is no greater wish a woman can have on Women's Day than to have her own identity, economic self reliance and live a life of dignity. Only education makes that possible," said Bhagyashri Dengle, executive director, Plan India. "It is our collective responsibility to ensure that our girls go to school, graduate from college, join the workforce and change the world," said Kiran Mazumdar Shaw.

Plan India's primary objective under this campaign is to enable girls to enrol and complete quality primary and secondary education in a safe and supportive community environment. Through the fundraiser, Plan India aims to raise at least Rs.12 million to educate 2,000 girls in our country for one year. Plan India's 'Because I am a Girl' campaign aims to ensure over 3,40,000 girls remain in school and access quality education, 1,00,000 girls complete secondary school through various school improvement programs and 50,000 girls receive vocational training by the year 2015.

HP Launches 10.1" ElitePad 900 Starting At Rs 43,500

HP Launches 10.1" ElitePad 900 Starting At Rs 43,500

As users wait for Microsoft to bring their Surface tablets to India, other OEMs including Dell, Acer, and Samsung have already started to retail tablets running Windows 8 in the country. HP has now joined ranks as it launched the HP ElitePad 900, a business tablet. How people will get work done on a tablet has always been beyond my comprehension, but the tablet's spec sheet is impressive for home users looking to buy a Windows 8 tab too.

The 10.1" slate has been priced at Rs 43,500, and comes with optional accessories or "SmartJackets" that offer more connectivity options, additional battery life, and a docking station and an add-on keyboard that can be separately purchased. Here are the specs as listed on the official product page:

• Windows 8 Pro (thus compatible with x86 legacy Windows apps)
• 1.8 GHz dual-core Intel Atom Z2760 CPU.
• 10.1" multi-touch display with pixel dimensions of 1280x800, protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 2.
• 8.0 Megapixel rear camera, 1080p (thus 2MP) front-facing camera.
• SRS Audio, digital dual-array microphones.
• 64 GB eMMC SSD hard drive; Optional HP External Optical Drive; micro SD card support.
• Wi-Fi Hotspot, HP ePrint.
• 8 hours of battery life; 11-hour additional battery reserve.
• Additional Accessories: HP Slim Bluetooth Keyboard, HP Executive Tablet Pen, HP ElitePad Productivity Jacket, HP ElitePad Docking Station, HP ElitePad Expansion Jacket.