Airtel launches fixed wireless services
New Delhi: Bharti Airtel has launched the fixed wireless phone (FWP) service, which offers local calls to a mobile subscriber at fixed line telephone charges of 40 paise a minute. Bharti Airtel will use the GSM technology to offer FWP. This completes Bharti's service portfolio as an integrated telecom services provider. Airtel has also launched its tariff plan for the FWP services called `Airtel Mega', which offers local calls to mobiles at 40 paise a minute and Rs1.20 a minute if the call is made to a fixed line telephone. The difference in tariff is due to the fact that operators have to pay higher access charges and termination charges in the case of fixed line telephones. All STD calls will be charged at Rs2.40 per minute. In comparison, Reliance Communications had recently launched a plan, whereby, users can make STD calls to other Reliance users at Rs1.20 for a three-minute call.

Airtel's service is targeted at countering the Reliance Communication and Tata Teleservices' CDMA based fixed wireless telephones offer that have garnered nearly one million subscribers across the country.
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Siemens gets order from BSSL
Mumbai: The Siemens Industrial Solutions and Services (I&S) Group has received an order from Bhushan Steel and Strips (BSSL) to supply all electrical and automation systems for a new wide hot strip rolling mill. The order includes the drives, the entire basic and process automation as well as the visualisation system. Production will start in 2008. BSSL is currently building an integrated steel plant in Orissa to produce up to three million tonnes of steel a year.

The new mill is expected to roll hot strip in thickness of 1.4-25 mm and a maximum width of 1.680 mm. The plant will be designed for an annual production of three million tonnes in the first construction stage. The second construction stage will consist of an upgrade to 4.5 million tonnes a year. Siemens would supply the electrical equipment, the drives, the basic and process automation from the furnace to the coil conveyor, including all technological control systems and process models for strip dimensions and temperatures.
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GE to supply compressors to RPL
New Delhi: GE's oil and gas business would supply compression technology to Reliance Petroleum Ltd (RPL) for the greenfield project in Jamnagar. GE said that it would supply three reciprocating compressors, two screw compressors and spare parts for the project.

The reciprocating compressors would be manufactured at GE's oil and gas facilities in Florence, Italy, while screw compressors would be supplied from its plant in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

The 27 million-tonne Jamnagar export refinery is located in a special economic zone adjacent to an existing refinery owned by Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL). When the new 5,80,000 barrel-a-day refinery project is completed in December 2008, the total capacity for RIL-RPL Jamnagar site would be more than 1.2 million barrels per day.
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PowerGrid gets NLD telecom licence
New Delhi: Power transmission company, Power Grid Corporation of India (PowerGrid), has received the national long distance (NLD) licence by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for its proposed foray into the telecom business. An agreement to this effect was signed between PowerGrid and DoT officials here.

"In the post-NLD period, the company is eyeing more options and opportunities in terms of customer segments, increase in customer base and providing value-added services to the customers directly," PowerGrid said in a statement.

PowerGrid plans to provide services to various corporate and government agencies after receiving the NLD licence. The licence will also enable PowerGrid to address the bandwidth requirement of those corporate customers who could not be served under the present IP-II, IP-I and ISP licences. The new licence is envisaged to result in increased utilisation of PowerGrid's telecom network.
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HCL Tech signs $780m outsourcing pact
Mumbai: HCL Technologies, the country's fourth-largest software services exporter, has entered into a $780-m outsourcing deal with Skandia, the 151-year-old financial services firm owned by Old Mutual. This is the largest outsourcing deal signed by an Indian software services firm till date, dwarfing Tata Consultancy Services' Euro 200m deal signed with ABN Amro last year.
The contract involves all aspects of outsourcing services, from IT and BPO to remote infrastructure management.

Skandia was formed in Sweden in 1855 and was taken over by Old Mutual in '05. It focuses on advising consumers on savings solutions and designing products to meet their requirements.
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Ten Sports looks for equity partner
Mumbai: Dubai-based Abdul Rehman Bukhatir's channel Ten Sports, is now in talks with Super Sport, South Africa's leading sports channel for offloading a 50 per cent stake.

Several companies including Sahara One Media & Entertainment, Zee Telefilms and Sony had looked at picking up a stake in the channel the talks didn't progress due to differences over price. Ten Sports values itself at $135-160m.

Another point of contention has been that while Ten Sports wants to raise funds for future sporting rights it also wants to retain control of the channel.

With Nimbus planning to float three new channels very soon, the race for sporting properties has become a high stake game. The most recent race was for the BCCI global media rights, which Nimbus won for a whopping $612m for the next four years.

Currently, Ten Sports holds the telecast rights for the Tri Series in Sri Lanka coming up in August, with India, Sri Lanka and West Indies as well as the ICC bilateral tournaments between the three countries. Apart from that, the channel also has the US open rights and Pakistan and the World Cup Hockey apart from WWF events.
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