Sebi says no separate approval needed if existing platform used on mobile interface

The mobile phone — your soulmate, secret keeper, data sorter and status symbol — will now be your stock broker, too.

Brokers, big and small, are likely to begin offering trading facility on mobile phones as regulators seemed to have been convinced over the safety of transactions through this medium.

By August this year (2009), the mobile phone users will not have to get through the bothersome routine of updating every person regarding a number change in case they want to switch their service provider.

Mr. A Raja, Union Communications and IT Minister, has announced that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has decided to launch Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in India by August 2009.

Initially, the service will be introduced in the major cities, followed by other cities by the end of this year.

DoT guidelines after clarifications from Trai

If not 3G (third generation) telecom service during the current UPA regime, the government has ensured that at least mobile virtual network operation (MVNO) comes into India soon.

Six months after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) recommended introduction of MVNO service, the government has accepted it.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will now issue the MVNO guidelines —- but only after it receives clarifications from Trai on certain issues.

It is believed that applications from many global MVNOs are with the DoT.

Across the world, there are around 360 planned or operational MVNOs.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), the state-owned telecom firm, is readying to give information technology (IT) firms a run for their money. It will offer client companies all office-related software solutions as well as network connectivity. A formal announcement is expected from BSNL this March, sources said.

BSNL has been a provider of network bandwidth since its inception. About two years ago, it entered into a tie-up with Chennai-based Novatium to provide a personal computer (PC) - NetPC - for less than Rs 5,000. NetPC users can access all software applications by downloading them from the internet.

New York - Telephone equipment giant Nortel Networks Corp on Wednesday announced plans to cut 3,200 jobs worldwide as it struggles to emerge from bankruptcy protection.

The 114-year-old Canadian company filed for bankruptcy protection in January, and received an extension of that until May 1.

Nortel said the job cuts would take place over several months and are in addition to 1,800 workforce reductions already announced. The company also won't pay any bonuses under its incentive plan for last year.

Indian telecom industry has added a record number of customers during the last month (Jan 2009).

The industry said that it added 15.41 million telephone connections during Jan 2009, which is the largest increase in a single month.

In a major announcement, TRAI said that presently it has more than 400 million telecom connections, as against December 2008’s total of 384.76 million.

With this, the overall number of people using mobile phones in India has gone up to 362.30 million, as compared to the 233.63 million during January 2008.