DoCoMo to bring Mobile TV to Indian market

According to a report by Nikkei, ‘Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo Inc plans to transfer television broadcast technology for cellular phones to Indian partner Tata Teleservices with an eye to launching mobile phone TV service in the South Asian country in 2014.’

Once commercial service begins, DoCoMo will charge commissions to local TV broadcasters and Japanese content providers for use of the technology.

The new service will likely help Tata Teleservices sign up more subscribers.

DoCoMo expanded into the high-growth Indian mobile phone market in March 2009 by investing roughly 260 billion yen in Tata Teleservices. Unlike in the stagnant Japanese market, mobile phone users in India expand by more than 15 million a month and are currently at roughly 700 million, Nikkei said.

Tata Teleservices had about 80 million subscribers at the end of October - 40 percent more than DoCoMo has in Japan.

The Indian partner is considering issuing shares to raise funds for setting up base stations for its 3G mobile phone service.

DoCoMo will likely buy 10-20 billion yen in new Tata Teleservices shares to maintain the 26 percent stake it currently owns in the company.

If the service takes root in India, it will likely help Japanese manufacturers boost exports of their high-performance handsets, Nikkei reported.

Indian Farmers to use Mobile Phones to Control Irrigation

Mobile Operator Tata Teleservices is testing technology that allows farmers to use their mobile phones to remotely monitor and switch on irrigation pump sets in far flung locations.

The technology, called Nano Ganesh, is being tested in two villages in the Indian state of Gujarat.

In India, where the electricity supply is erratic, farmers often walk several kilometers to where their irrigation pumps are located, only to find that there is no electricity available, Lloyd Mathias, chief marketing officer of Tata Teleservices, said.

By dialing a code number from his mobile phone to a wireless device attached to the pump, farmers can now remotely monitor the electricity supply, and also switch the pump on and off, Mathias said.

The technology for this application was developed and is manufactured by Ossian Agro Automation in Pune in western India. To use the service, the farmer pays Tata Teleservices 2,700 rupees (US$56) for the device attached to the starter on the pump and another 2,000 rupees for the mobile phone, as well as monthly service charges. The mobile phone can be used by the farmer for other communications as well.

Voice communications and SMS on mobile phones are getting commoditized, and as in urban markets, customers are looking for value-added services. By introducing technology and services appropriate to rural markets, Tata Teleservices plans to differentiate itself in these markets, and increase customer "stickiness".

The company already uses mobile phones to deliver education content, and agricultural information relevant to rural communities. It has tied up with specialist organizations to provide the content.

Mobile Phone Users in Rural India Cross 100 Million

According to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the country had 109.7 million rural mobile subscribers at the end of the first quarter, which is up by 18 percent from 93.2 million users in the fourth quarter of last year.

The country's 282 million urban wireless subscribers accounted for 72 percent of all mobile users at the end of the first quarter.

Indian mobile services companies and handset vendors have identified the rural market as a new growth opportunity, as urban markets are getting saturated.

For example, Nokia has launched its Life Tools service in June, after a pilot project in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The service offers agriculture information, education, and entertainment targeted at people in both rural areas and small towns.

The number of mobile subscribers in the country is on the upswing with demand both from rural and urban markets.

According to TRAI data, the number of subscribers for mobile services across the country has increased to 391.76 million in the quarter ended March this year, up by 50 percent from 261 million in the same quarter last year.

However competition and tariff cuts have brought down the average revenue per user. Indian mobile service providers are focusing on value added services, including applications to boost revenue.

A number of foreign mobile service providers have invested in joint ventures in India, including Vodafone and NTT DoCoMo.

Tata Teleservices, which has NTT DoCoMo as an investor, has begun rolling out services across India under the Tata DoCoMo brand. NTT DoCoMo said it plans to progressively bring to India new services such as its i-mode wireless Internet service, location-based services, and mobile payment.