OLPC Project is very jealous of this news post. Hail the INDIAN team work !!!

I will write about my experience in using it…when I get a chance.

Disruption to businesses due to an outage caused by Airtel Infrastructure today (8th April 2010) is just an example how much we depend on Internet Service. Fortunately, this service problem was only for Chennai, Tamil Nadu area. I just became a victim of it, since it pushed a scheduled demo with one of my overseas client.

http://beta.thehindu.com/business/article391966.ece
http://www.fonearena.com/blog/2010/04/08/airtel-broadband-internet-down.html

Telephony/Internet Services Provider market in INDIA is very lucrative and has attracted too many players (literally creating a dump of foreign direct investment to secure INDIA business). Business Continuity is a key for sustenance, with Number Portability in the radar, glitches like these would define customer loyalty.

Mobile Number Portability regulation has been approved. It will be in effect from 31st December 2009 (31/12/2009).

Now, moving from one Telecom Operator to the other would cost only INR 19.00. The only constraint in this regulation is that the mobile user (the consumer) has to use services from the Telecom Operator for ninety (90) days.

Pros

With MNP scheduled:

• Telecom Operators would be forced to think different to retain customers.
• Some of the unreasonable charges that are forced on us today must be reduced, if not removed completely.
• Telecom Operators are already looking for some other ways to get some out of our wallet. I am sure one of you reading this already would have Ringtones set, for your mobile phone number, and pay them some money, as if they are a music store.
• New service providers in the mobile area are coming-up to bust the mythical situation of “Telecom Operator should get paid for this”

Cons

We have already opened-up our country for OUTSIDERS TO RUN THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF OUR COUNTRY. Added to that regulations allow Overseas Corporate Bodies and Elements to own up to 72% of an INDIAN Telecom Company. Being a PRO-INDIAN paranoid of new “East India Companies” getting created, I am very much concerned.

In USA, it became a diplomatic issue some time back and due to the nature of the ownership take over transaction, National Security related agencies forced the government to get control over the situation. At last an USA based organization AIG made the real transaction, for an undisclosed amount (Ref.: Dubai Ports World controversy).

Our INDIAN Government has already allowed/floated way too many Foreign elements into the country in the name of Telecommunication Infrastructure Support. In one way, this law has given all the capabilities to Foreign elements to lure the current Mobile using citizens into their network.

Its only a matter of  time when we all get to a situation, where all the money collected in the name of Infrastructure goes as a profit for someone PAYING TAXES to an FOREIGN Government.

Finally

Some food for thought:

• Are you ready for the changing your operator (Backup your contacts, messages, photos, music, etc.,)?
• In case you have subscribed for Value Added Services (VAS) with your current operator, will the next operator give you the same/something similar ?
• As a patriotic Citizen sitting in INDIA, do you like the basic utility payments get outside of INDIA to enrich some other FOREIGN Government?
• Shouldn’t the repatriation clauses, for these non-INDIAN share holders, be revisited?
• Do you think External Affairs wing of our country has to do a little more to secure our national interests?
• Do you think someone outside the country could be watching us, because of the nature of FOREIGN stakes in these Telecom Operators?
• We have operators and other entities all over the world trying to take a piece of INDIA (business). Do you think we are seeing some more East India Company scenarios?

I have been working on this “INDIAN Telecom Infrastructure and East India Company” analogy for a while. I think I will post article on the same next month.

There were many Key Note sessions occupying the first half of the day, while speakers tried to engage everyone during the panel discussions. I liked the the Cool Applications Sessions after the lunch break. Around fourteen (14) exhibitors presented their applications along with some demonstrations using real devices.

I appreciate the leaders from Forum Nokia for the information and insights from Nokia’s prespective. Thanks for Forum Nokia and Sun Startup Essentials for sponsporing this conference. It goes without saying that SiliconIndia has done a very good job of pulling all of us together and orchestrating nicely.

VAS related discussions were very usefull. The discussions around direction/competition/approach by vendors and telcos to get/extract a share of what the the mobile application developer can earn was very interesting.

Big thanks to Nokia for leading the effort of bringing the Telcos together to solve some of the App Store issues we are facing today in INDIA. Prakash Sayini and Forum Nokia team were very helpful and gave us some good tips on INDIA scenario.

The conference was very usefull and I will visit again next year (as an exhibitor).

Pay a visit when you get a chance; its worth it. May be, in a short time, I can find a Mac User Group in Chennai; anyone interested?

I am a firm believer of science and support scientific research. But why ayurvedic medicines? Modifying the medicinal plants like Brahmi, Jivanti, Aswaganda and Nilavembu are now being modified and are about to be released for open air field trial in the name of experiments.

Under various known circumstances, these open air trail are not conducted in quarantined areas. This can cause affect the current ecosystem in INDIA and chaos in new formulations can have severe ramifications.

Please raise your voice to STOP GENETICALLY MODIFYING MEDICINAL HERBS AND POLLUTING ANCIENT INDIAN MEDICINE SYSTEM.

Successful launch of our 316 tonne PLSV-C11 into the space (around 3, 86,000 km from earth) has raised the bar of INDIAN outlook within the global space. In the progress, INDIA is looking forward to reach some great findings, including but not limited to Helium-3. Chandrayaan-1 is a great mission.

The Hindu: An international mission with India as captain.
The Times of India: Moon, here we come.

I bow to all those great scientist and fellow INDIANs instrumental in making this happen. Jai Hind.