December 24, 2015 - From Internet.org to Free Basics: TRAI asks RCOM to put Facebook's Free Basics service on hold; FB in turn starts massive campaign to gather public support

View online   Advertise              Unsubscribe from TradeBriefs Daily

Blog Sree Vijaykumar From the Editor's Desk A couple of things have emerged clearly from the ongoing debate on net neutrality vs free basics. One, this is an extremely important initiative for Facebook the business. The amount of lobbying being done (including money being spent on full page newspaper ads) by Mark Zuckerberg surely indicates the big bet he believes this is for Facebook shareholders. Sure, the next billion will get 'free' internet, but there is of course the expectation that these users will become regular Facebook users at some point and can then be monetized. User growth numbers are slowing down, as most online users are already on Facebook. The next big leap will come from those who are not yet online - so let's give them a version of 'free' internet that can be pushed. It is this 'Facebook internet' (Facebook plus a bunch of sites it believes poor Indians need) that is precisely the problem. It harks back to the AOL era, where many people confused AOL to be the internet. And India has led the way in 'exposing' Facebook on this. Apparently the costs of giving actual free internet are prohibitive, but that hasn't prevented Google from proceeding with its Loon project or free WiFi in various locations. Come on, Facebook, you want more users? Give the real internet for free to as many users as you can! - Comment Digital From Internet.org to Free Basics: TRAI asks RCOM to put Facebook's Free Basics service on hold; FB in turn starts massive campaign to gather public support Social media giant Facebooks has started an aggressive campaign in India to gather public support for its free Internet platform 'Free Basics'. Have a penchant for good content? Coming Soon This time it’s not personal!   Advt: Get qualified leads for your business TradeBriefs introduces automated mobile number verification, progressive qualification and other API-based verification. Save time and money! Digital Good tech startup Holachef to raise $12 million for consolidation Holachef, a food-tech portal that works with masterchefs to deliver in Digital Bangalore-based mobile gaming startup Mech Mocha gets $1 million from Blume Ventures, Flipkart Mobile gaming company Mech Mocha Game Studios Pvt Ltd has raised $1 million in seed funding, the Bangalore-based startup’s co-founder and CEO told VCCircle on Wednesday. Digital Tech Mahindra enters mobile payment space, launches contact-less wallet MoboMoney The firm had earlier got RBI's nod to set up a payments bank. Digital B2B marketplace Shotang raises Rs 33 crore led by Exfinity Venture, Unitus Impact Founded in May 2013 by Anter Virk and Anish Basu Roy, Shotang, an online business-to-business ( B2B) marketplace, has raised around $5 … Retail Delhi's favourite leather product maker Nappa Dori scouts for space in Mumbai Nappa Dori, which means leather and thread, currently has four stores in New Delhi and is looking for space in Mumbai and Gurgaon. Retail Digital revolution: When banks became kirana shops Axis Banks mobile banking base has increased by 68% in the last year with transaction growth of 118% in the first six months of the fiscal. Retail Retailers revamp outlets to improve in-store shopping experience as they take on ecommerce head-on According to industry experts, these steps are a result of the boom in ecommerce, which is still tiny in Indias retail space, but is expanding fast. Retail Govt opening up e-commerce sector for FDI in a calibrated way Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that an entity is permitted to undertake retail trading through e-commerce under certain circumstances. Telecom Why The Three-Way Merger Between RCom, Aircel And MTS Is Unlikely To Work Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications (RCom) on Tuesday said it is in talks to merge its wireless business with smaller rival Aircel, a month after it agreed to buy AFK Sistema’s Indian wireless un   Telecom Hello GST! Here's how it will impact telecom sector CNBC-TV18's Menaka Doshi decodes the Goods and Services Tax (GST) for the Indian telecom sector with the help of Jigar Doshi, Partner – Indirect Taxation, SKP Business Consulting.   Telecom Put FB's Free Basics service on hold, TRAI tells Reliance Communications Regulators halted the program over net neutrality concerns.   Telecom Call drops to 4G: Full spectrum of bad, good for telecom The 4G launches have led to a battle of billionaires — with a combination of Mukesh and Anil Ambani taking on the likes of Sunil Mittal and Kumar Birla. Finance Helion Venture Partners sees more exits; Rahul Chowdhri, Ritesh Banglani and Alok Goyal leave "The split is primarily due to difference in investment styles," a top executive in the firm said on the condition of anonymity. Finance Govt Plans Panel for Rural Mobile Banking BHUBANESWAR:  The State Government on Wednesday directed the Finance Department to constitute a committee comprising members from Reserve Bank of India (RBI), N... Finance Lenders drive M&As at debt-laden companies High debt has been a result of expensive acquisitions as well as huge investments made towards expansion of capacities and networks. Finance World Bank might support India Post's payments bank India needs 20 million point-of-sale terminals as against 1.2 million currently. Software Wipro plans another acquisition for $130 million : Will acquire US-based back-office outsourcing firm Viteos Group Wipro is betting that the Viteos acquisition will help it make further inroads in the crucial banking and financial services industry. Software Why Google is working on AI powered new smart messaging app? Google, part of Alphabet Inc, is building a new mobile messaging application to better compete with rival services such as those offered by Facebook Software TRAI puts Facebook's Free Basics service on hold : Asks Reliance Communications to wait On December 7, RCom replied that it hasnt yet commercially launched the services, but the person said Wednesday that the mobile phone operator was yet to submit the details. Software Make in India generates $32.87 billion in FDI : Maximum share of IT hardware and software and services Construction, telecom, tourism, mining, pharmaceuticals, power and non-conventional energy also got sizeable investments. Ecommerce Alibaba appoints Matthew Bassiur as head global IP enforcement to oversee the company's anti-counterfeiting and IP rights protection efforts The appointment of Matthew Bassiur comes days after the Chinese e-commerce giant avoided being named on a US blacklist for sites hosting the sale of f.. Ecommerce Flipkart ropes in designers like Pitti Imagine and Timzy Batra to help sellers create world-class products Apart from sharing trends on the seller portal, Flipkart is also organising offline workshops every season to handhold these sellers through their nex.. Ecommerce Rubique appoints ex-Myntra employee Anadi Mishra as the new CTO and ex-Reliance Jio Manish Aggarwal as the new business head Rubique appoints ex-Myntra employee Anadi Mishra as new CTO and ex-Reliance Jio Manish Aggarwal as new business head. Ecommerce Snapdeal would like to take a crack at maintaining the Reserve Bank of India's proposed Bharat Bill Payments Systems through its FreeCharge unit The RBI asked companies engaged in bill payments to apply to join the BBPS as Bharat Bill Payment System Operating Units (BBPOUs) on October 20. HR Pfizer India hires Monsanto's Alind Sharma as HR head Pfizer India has hired Alind Sharma from Monsanto to head the human resources department at the drug maker as its senior director. HR Kerala's Vijnana Bharati to launch India's first innovation portal for youth Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA) will soon launch India's first portal that would motivate young students to dabble in innovations & take science as a career option. HR Government's New Education Policy will transform India It uses a fruitful combination of online portals supported by on-site focus discussions. HR Teachers gherao ministers' houses over job regularization Agitating gana sikshyaks (a category of teachers) on Tuesday gheraoed the residences of several ministers demanding regularization of their jobs and salary hikes. Logistics RBI: GST must to enable India to move towards potential growth; GST model law to be ready by Jan Quick introduction of the Goods and Services Tax is key to enabling India to achieve its potential growth rate, said the Financial Stability Report released by Logistics Malaysia: World's first Sharia-compliant airline revealed by Bangladeshi businessman where the funding, food and alcohol will be more compliant, also plan more upscale luxury cabins Kuala Lumpur, December 23: An ethnic Indian Hindu couple has launched Malaysia’s first Islamic airline – offering Shariah compliant services including prayers before take-off, no on-flight serving of alcohol or meals with pork and a strict dress code for female flight attendants. Rayani Air founders Ravi Alagendrran and his wife Karthiyani Govindan – who used… Logistics Indian Airlines to See Better Earnings Outlook in 2016, revenue passanger growth topped at 19% yoy this december : Fitch However, the rating agency said the operating environment will be challenging as there is strong competition and capacity expansion.. Logistics Aviation Best of 2015: Indian aviation sees 3 new airlines, top safety ranking, Rs 3000 IPO and others; looking ahead to 2016 for soaring higher Best of 2015: Indian aviation sees 3 new airlines, top safety ranking, Rs 3,000-crore IPO - Fliers might have to shell out more from next year with the government proposing 2% levy on all tickets to fund regional connectivity plans even as the draft policy promises various tax sops for the sector. Construction DLF sells stake to GIC for Rs 1,992 crore in 2 projects DLF has received Rs 1,992 crore from Singapores sovereign wealth fund GIC after the completion of its deal to sell 50% stake in two of its new projects. Construction Hyderabad most affordable for buying and renting a house: Report Even as inventory levels are rising across the top cities in India, real estate prices are continuing to increase Construction 10 SEZ developers, units seek more time to implement projects G P Realtors has approached the board seeking further extension of the validity period of formal approval, granted for setting up of IT/ITES SEZ in Gu.. Marketing All zero rating services are terrible : A look at T-Mobile’s plans and parallels in India   This week, the Wall Street Journal reported that YouTube has taken serious objections to T-Mobile's zero rating platform Binge On for videos. T-Mobile, a mobile operator in the US, had been reducing video quality on YouTube to 480p in order to reduce data usage on its networks. Marketing TV grows despite strides in digital spends : Report TV penetration, especially in states with poor literacy rates, is quite high Marketing E-commerce space may see a shakeout : Mohandas Pai V. Mohandas Pai, Chairman of Manipal Global Education, said huge discounts and cash back offers from e-commerce players were ‘subsidies,’ and the industry may see a shakeout in the next two years, or Marketing Facebook initiates blitzkrieg ad campaign for Free Basics in India : ahead of DEc 31 deadline Facebook has started campaigning for its Free Basics platform in India in a big way, even as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has asked its sole telecom partner Relianc... Politics A frosty Winter Session: Lack of debate in Parliament makes the most populous democracy the worst This Winter session witnessed the lowest number of bills being passed since the Winter Session of 2010. Politics Interesting Things About Narendra Modi's Life As PM Revealed Under The RTI Act Since he joined Twitter in January 2009, Narendra Modi has tweeted over 10 thousand times. His lightning fast messages on his social media sites, which includes Facebook, are all his own doing, a rece Politics No cause for alarm in Ayodhya: It’s only politicians trying to revive the issue for electoral gains In their eagerness to outperform their adversaries in the ensuing elections in five states, it’s only politicians, regardless of their party affiliations, who stand to gain by keeping the otherwise dormant issue alive. Politics Ayodhya's Ram Temple Rocks Parliament On Final Day Of Winter Session NEW DELHI -- Instead of a last ditch effort by the Modi government to push its critical Goods And Services Tax Bill, the final day of the Winter Session was monopolised by the arrival of the latest ba Sports Australia captain Steve Smith sweeps ICC Awards Steve Smith bagged ICC Cricketer of the year while AB de Villiers was named ODI player of the year. Sports After three knockout wins, Vijender Singh prepares for eight-round bout Considering how he's blitzed through his competition, Vijender Singh may seem to be a man in a hurry and in many ways its true. Sports Dilip Tirkey raises voice in Parliament for recruitment under sports quota Former India hockey skipper Tirkey says the government departments and PSUs aren't filling their quota of sportspersons' recruitment which is affecting their careers badly. Sports I was taken aback by Sunil Gavaskar’s comments: Axar Patel Criticism from former India captain Sunil Gavaskar came as an eye opener for young Axar Patel. Entertainment Matt Damon is ‘halfway through’ ‘Bourne 5’ Actor Matt Damon is through with half of the work on his film "Bourne 5". Entertainment Tom Hanks owns over 50 typewriters Tom Hanks has over 50 typewriters, which were made in the 1940s, and he loves using them to write his letters. Entertainment Frank Marshall congratulates ‘Star Wars’ on beating ‘Jurassic World’ Frank Marshall has aken to Twitter to congratulate to the team of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" for dethroning his blockbuster "Jurassic World". Entertainment ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ sequel not happening, says Kabir Khan Kabir Khan says there are no plans to work on the second installment of this year's superhit film "Bajrangi Bhaijaan". TradeBriefs Publications are read by over 10,00,000 Industry Executives About Us  |  Advertise Privacy Policy    Unsubscribe You are receiving this mail because of your subscription with TradeBriefs. Our mailing address is GF 25/39, West Patel Nagar, New Delhi 110008, India