Indian Mobile services provider Mahindra Comviva has outlined its vision for 2017 – and the benefits of its recently launched payment solution that is set to ‘digitalize’ rural India. The company supports the government’s strategic vision and initiative called ‘Digital India’ which aims to get vast parts of the Indian population digitized. Mahindra Comviva has recently launched an application specifically designed for consumers based in rural parts of India where internet penetration is extremely low. At Mobile World Congress, Telecom Review spoke to Mahindra Comviva’s Vice President, of its Mobile Financial Solutions, Vamsi Madhav, to explore what impact the application will have on rural regions in India and find out the complex challenges facing the organization in its attempts to ensure the innovative project is a successful one.
Service News
Indian 4G operator announces extension to Samsung partnership
India's 4G telecommunications operator Reliance Jio have agreed to extend its partnership with South Korean colossus Samsung. The announcement between the two organizations was made at Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona. It was disclosed that the pair plan to collaborate in order to enhance the operator's LTE network in rural parts of India. Both parties are confident that if they can successfully implement this project it will take coverage to 90% of the Indian population by the end of 2017.
MCT submarine cable launch promises bright future for Cambodian and regional telcos
Telcotech, a subsidiary of EZECOM, and partners - Malaysia Telekom, Malaysia Berhad and Symphony Communication of Thailand - celebrated the momentous launch of the Malaysia-Cambodia-Thailand (MCT) Submarine Cable System and Landing Station in Cambodia. Huawei Marine, a global submarine network solution provider, was contracted to design and deploy the system.
Lenovo to deliver enterprise cloud solution for SAP customers in China
SAP and Lenovo announced a partnership under which Lenovo will deliver a new enterprise cloud solution created exclusively for customers holding licenses for the SAP HANA platform in China. The solution will be named “Lenovo Enterprise Cloud designed for SAP HANA” and is intended to open a simple and powerful migration path for China customers seeking to leverage their investments in SAP HANA offsite in a cloud environment.
ZTE’s Summer Chen confident the vendor will be first to deploy 5G technologies
Telecom Review secured an exclusive interview with ZTE Director of Wireless Innovation Solutions, Summer Chen, in order to find out where the company stood in relation to implementing 5G technologies and establish what projects it's currently working on to ensure the transition from 4G to 5G.
China’s Ant Financial moves into South Korea with $200m investment
China’s No.1 mobile wallet app, Ant Financial, which is an affiliate of Alibaba Group, has made its move to penetrate the South Korean payment platform market with a $200m investment. However, it’s just the latest in a number of significant overseas investments the Chinese company has made in recent months.
Alibaba challenges Amazon after $177m investment in Indian e-commerce platform
Chinese internet colossus Alibaba Group is getting ready to challenge Amazon in the Indian market following an investment of $177m into an e-commerce platform in the country. Its stake in India's Paytm e-commerce grants it control over the newly launched Paytm Mall site and application. It's just the latest in a series of investments by Jack Ma's Alibaba as they continue to expand operations globally.
Indian operator agrees deal with Uber over its new app
Reliance Jio, India’s newest telecommunications operator has reached an agreement with US global ride-sharing platform Uber - which will enable passengers to pay for services by utilizing the operator’s new application. The Indian 4G newcomer have recently launched an application called JioMoney which is a digital wallet.
Thaicom and Intersat partner to offer managed satellite services in Africa
Thaicom Public Company Limited, a leading Asian satellite operator, and Intersat Limited, a VSAT provider of cost-effective, end-to-end satellite communications solutions, announced the launch of Managed Satellite Network Services for Intersat and Thaicom enterprise and government customers over the iDirect satellite hub platform. The companies recently signed a multi-year deal for capacity on the THAICOM 6/AFRICOM 1 satellite.
SEA-US subsea cable connecting US to Indonesia gets FCC approval
The Federal Communication Commission has approved the landing license for the state-of-the-art Southeast Asia - U.S. (SEA-US) fiber cable system. This key milestone enables the connection between the United States and Indonesia.