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VSNL slashes international bandwidth tariffs by 45 per cent
Mumbai: VSNL on Monday slashed international bandwidth prices by up to 45 per cent, a move that will provide relief to massive bandwidth users like BPOs, call centres and IT companies.

With the slash in tariff, the sixth in the last four years, prices of half circuit international private lines (IPLC) have come down from Rs40 lakh in 2001 to Rs11lakh for E1 (2mbps), from Rs725 lakh to Rs114 lakh for DS3 (45mbps) and from Rs21 crore to Rs.3.30 crore for STM-1 (155mbps). These prices are for restorable capacities between India and the US on the Tata Indicom cable, VSNL said in a statement.

The company claimed that this latest drop in international bandwidth prices, marks a whopping 84 per cent reduction in four years.

VSNL's recent initiatives of building the Tata Indicom Cable and completing the TGN acquisition have provided it with greater control on international bandwidth cost components. VSNL had already reduced prices by about 48 per cent on the Tata Indicom Cable in the six months since the cable was put into service.

Over the last ten years, VSNL has participated in the construction of several undersea cable networks into India. In late 2003, VSNL embarked upon its first undersea cable between India and Singapore, which was completed in a record time of ten months.

Further in July 2005, VSNL completed the acquisition of TGN, the world's most advanced submarine cable system. The Tata Indicom Cable and the TGN acquisition have enabled VSNL to make aggressive tariff offerings, it said.

VSNL operates nearly 340 GBPS of undersea cable capacities landing in India. The total undersea cable network of VSNL spans over 60,000 km across four continents and is amongst the largest cable networks in the world.
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HAL to build Russian AL-55 jet engines to power its trainer aircraft
Zhukovsky, Russia: Russian defence export agency Rosoboronoexport has signed a contract Tuesday with the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), that allows HAL to build up to 1,000 Russian AL-55 engines for Indian Air Force's jet trainers.

The signing took place in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin at the MAKS 2005 air show outside Moscow.

"The signing with India has great importance for the development of bilateral military-technical cooperation," Rosoboronoexport said in a statement.

The Russian firm beat off European competition to provide plans for the engines, which are to be installed in HJT-36 training jets and new HJT-39 fighter and training aircraft.

Initially, the HAL plans to build 250 of the engines, which are designed by the Russian firm Salut.
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BPO identity theft scam: Nasscom concerned at entrapment operations
New Delhi: The National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) said on Tuesday that the Indian IT and BPO industries match worldwide standards in security and as strong upholders of data security the sectors would work with the legal authorities in Australia and India to ensure that those responsible for any criminal breach, as reported in the Australian media, face maximum penalty.

Reacting to reports in the Australian media alleging illegal sale of customer data by an Indian BPO in Gurgaon, Nasscom said that it is seeking further details on the matter.

"Nasscom is concerned that such reports emanate from `entrapment operations' and no person has reported any harm yet; in the absence of a formal complaint, even the enforcement officials cannot launch formal investigations and apprehend the criminals.

"Nasscom urges media organisations concerned to provide details resulting from their `entrapment operations' and knowledge of alleged criminal activities to the appropriate enforcement officials. Nasscom is also engaged with enforcement authorities in India to evaluate the options open to them," said a statement issued by the apex industry body for IT and IT-enabled services.

Nasscom said that the problem is not unique to any single nation.

"It is one that affects us all - and each of us has a responsibility to take on the criminals. This problem, unfortunately, is unlikely to diminish - as the world becomes increasingly interconnected and warped, criminal minds are likely to outpace technological solutions. "We believe that any case of theft or a breach of a customer's confidentiality must be treated extremely seriously. It does not matter if the crime is `traditional' in its nature or whether it is what is known as a `cyber crime.' "
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ONGC's Bokaro block to begin coal bed methane production in 2008
Kolkata: Coal bed methane (CBM) from ONGC's Bokaro block, which it holds jointly with Indian Oil (20 per cent), will begin to flow in 2008-09.

The two major beneficiaries of the find are expected to be SAIL's Bokaro Steel Plant and the Damodar Valley Corporation. Several private players are also interested in the linkage.

Although 45.03 billion cubic metre reserve potential has been ascertained, spread over 95 sq km, the recoverable reserve and production capacities would be confirmed over time.

According to sources, the company has drilled two exploratory wells, BK1 and BK2, in Bokaro using its own rig. Coal seams have been identified in BK1. In BK2, seven gas-bearing coal seams were found at a depth of 1,067 metres. The wells are currently being tested, following which the company will drill pilot production wells to ascertain the capacity.

Meanwhile, ONGC is awarding contracts for exploratory and development drilling in four blocks in Jharkhand. ONGC will produce a minimum of three lakh cubic metre CBM a day for three years. The first CBM-flow is expected at the Parbatpur block in 2006-07. The director general of hydrocarbons (DGH) has estimated a production of 25 million standard cubic metre of CBM in the next five years.

ONGC is also set to declare some big news from the Krishna-Godavari basin as well. According to sources, the discovery is in the final stages and may well prove to be the "biggest" this year, comparable to the claims of Reliance and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd (GSPCL).

Reliance and GSPCL declared 14 and 20 trillion cubic ft gas reserves respectively in the KG basin. ONGC has already struck small and medium gas reserves at a number of blocks in the same basin.

ONGC has added 400 million tonnes of oil and oil equivalent gas reserve during the year.
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ITC to set up a greenfield ECF paper plant
New Delhi: ITC Ltd plans to invest Rs2,500 crore during the next two-three years towards putting up a greenfield Elemental Chlorine-Free (ECF) pulp and paper plant which would increase its annual paper and paperboard manufacturing capacity to 5.5 lakh tonne, a top company official said today.

Company officials said that they were in the final stages of the ECF project and were looking for a site location for the plant in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The final decision regarding the two-lakh tonne ECF plant location would be taken in a month's time, they indicated.

The ECF plant would be developed as an integrated pulp and paper mill with an investment of Rs2,500 crore over the next two-three years. ITC has invested about Rs750 crore in the PSP division till now.

ITC's paper division had a turnover of Rs1,500 crore with profit margin of Rs250 crore in the last fiscal. The division has four production units across the country that produces a range of paper, paperboards and ECF materials. At present, the division has a production capacity of 3.5 lakh tonne for paper and about 1 lakh tonne for ECF paper materials.

Meanwhile, ITC also announced that Bikanervala Foods has become the first sweetmeat brand to switch over to ITC's ECF packaging material in the country. The company is focussing on FMCG, foods, pharma and textile industries as fast growing segments for its ECF range of value-added products.
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VSNL signs shareholder agreement for second fixed line telephony operator in South Africa
Mumbai: After a long-drawn process, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) on Monday signed a shareholder's agreement with its partners for establishing a second fixed line telephony operator (SNO) in South Africa, according to a news release from VSNL.

The Tata-VSNL consortium from India will be the controlling stakeholder in the strategic equity partner company (SEPCO), which, in turn, will have a 51 per cent stake in the SNO.

The SNO will hold a public switched telecommunication service licence, which will allow it to offer a range of services equivalent in scope to the incumbent carrier. This will include voice, data and limited mobility access.

The business launch of the SNO is expected to take place within six to nine months from the award of the licence.
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AT&T to set up IP-VPN for TCS offices worldwide
Mumbai: AT&T will set up an Internet Protocol-Virtual Private Network for Tata Consultancy Services linking more than 130 TCS locations across the globe. VSNL will provide the network links within and from India.

Steve Lowe, Vice-President of AT&T Asia-Pacific, described the deal as a major achievement in one of the world's most dynamic markets. "India has become one of the most exciting and important markets in the world for the telecommunications and technology industries," he said.

None of the parties were willing to discuss the financial details of the contract.

"This network knits the global TCS community on one platform and enables a single view of the enterprise from any part of the world," said K. Ananth Krishnan, Vice-President, Tata Consultancy Services. Also included in the network will be 10 global delivery centres of TCS.

The Asia Pacific portion of the network includes Singapore, Melbourne and Sydney in Australia, Hangzhou in China, Yokohama in Japan and Mumbai and Chennai in India.

The first phase of deployment covers 27 sites and the second phase another 100 TCS locations across the globe.
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O&M, India and Interflow, Pakistan, tie up for outdoor media solutions
Mumbai: Ogilvy & Mather India (OMI) has signed an agreement with Interflow Communications, a Pakistani advertising group, under which OMI will offer out-of-home (OOH) solutions to Interflow. Under the agreement, Interflow Communications will offer its clients in Pakistan the expertise of Ogilvy Landscapes.

Taher Khan, chairman & CEO, Interflow Communications, and John Goodman, CEO, India & South Asia, Ogilvy & Mather, finalised the agreement, which marks the beginning of a new era in the field of outdoor media for Pakistan.

With Ogilvy Landscapes, Interflow can offer local marketers communication solutions through a comprehensive system based on OSCAR (Outdoor Site Classification and Research) and other such outdoor media planning, buying and creative tools.

With the proliferation of traditional media, marketers need to complement their electronic and print media campaigns with OOH media to ensure target audiences receive the communication at relevant points of contact. It is in this context that the need for an OOH specialist becomes critical, a need that will be met by Ogilvy Landscapes.
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