VNL

APAC’s Green Power Play: June 23, 2009 25 Jun, 2009

It’s a long way from the sexy end of the mobile market, but the supply and management of power for mobile base stations was one of the hottest topics at CommunicAsia last week.

Operators and vendors revealed the different ways they are working to lower the cost of power, which, according to Rajiv Mehotra, chairman of Indian telecom equipment vendor Vihaan Networks Ltd. (VNL), accounts for 32 percent of an operator’s operating costs.

Read the Entire Article at the Light Reading Asia Web Site »

Telecoms.com: “Tough Market Conditions Force African Operators to Innovate”

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The telecoms market in West and Central Africa remains vibrant, but the message from last week’s West & Central Africa Com conference, organized in Abuja, Nigeria, by Informa Telecoms & Media, is that business is getting tougher for operators as a consequence of slowing growth rates, increasing competition and falling ARPUs, and the global economic slowdown.

According to Christian de Faria, vice president for West & Central Africa at MTN Group, the slowdown in the subregion “is still not too acute,” and the Nigerian market is still growing very fast. But there is nevertheless some evidence of a slowdown: Minutes of use, rather than subscription numbers, are falling, with airtime consumption in some countries down 10-15% year-on-year, according to de Faria. In some cases, it is also more difficult to obtain finance.

Read the complete article on the Telecoms.com Website »

Rajiv Mehrotra Interview with CNBC 22 Jun, 2009

News from CommunicAsia:

Rajiv Mehrotra speaks on advantages of solar-powered GSM base stations for rural networks.

Watch the Complete Interview on the CNBC Web Site »

The Kamla Show: “Serving The Next Billion Mobile Users” 23 Aug, 2008

Hear VNL’s CEO Anil Raj’s conversation with Kamla Bhatt about VNL’s mission - to help mobile operators serve rural markets profitably.

The contents of the podcast, in the words of Kamla, centers around the rural market opportunity, VNL’s solar powered GSM system WorldGSM™ and microtelecom:

“How do you serve the next billion is the the central focus of conversation in many telecom companies. How do you address the bottom of the pyramid in emerging and developing economies? I caught up with Anil Raj of VNL, an Indian-Swedish telecom company that recently introduced a new product: solar based GSM -system that appears to clearly address the needs and challenges in rolling out mobile infrastructure into rural areas. VNL uses the term microtelecom to address the needs of the bottom of the pyramid.”

Anil also expands on mobile market trends such as the mobile phone becoming increasingly important in many areas of life - from a portable telephone to a remote control for life, and from “how are you?” to “where are you?”.

Listening options

• Listen to the podcast at Kamla Bhatt’s blog »
• Download the podcast (MP3) »