Telecom major, Bharti Airtel, announced the launch of data services in Thailand and Malaysian markets.

The move by the New Delhi-headquartered company, which already has operations in 19 countries in Asia and Africa, is aimed at strengthening its global data portfolio, a release issued here said.

The service offerings launched in the two south-east Asian nations include IPL, managed MPLS and ethernet, it added.

In Thailand, Bharti has partnered with True International Gateway while in Malaysia, it has tied-up with Telecom Malaysia for the launch, the release said.

“The launch…enables us to cater to two of the fastest-growing international bandwidth markets,” Bharti Airtel’s Chief Executive Officer for global data business, Ajay Chitkara, said.

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NEW DELHI: Mobile phone major Nokia said it would activate its Indian server for routing data for messenger services from Nov 5, adding its services have been cleared by security agencies.

“Our server for the messenger services will be active in the country by November 5,” said D Shiva Kumar, vice president, Nokia India, on the sidelines of a mobile phone launch event here.

The company tried to allay any fears that its messenger services could meet the same fate as BlackBerry and come under the security agencies’ scanner.

“We had met home ministry officials about a month ago. Our services are safe,” said Kumar.

The BlackBerry controversy seemed to have helped Nokia. Industry sources say sales of the Finnish firm’s smart phones have risen due to the fear that BlackBerry users may not be able to send messages on its encrypted network anymore following a crackdown by Indian security agencies.

The company launched two new phones targeting the rural market. The Dual-SIM mobile phones C1-00 and C2-00 have call divert facility. The sale of C1-00 priced at Rs.1,999 will start from September.

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NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Indian companies are mulling options that include leaving Research in Motion (RIM) for other smartphone makers as they face a threatened ban on BlackBerry services that could disrupt business. RIM’s rivals Apple Inc and Nokia would be among the biggest gainers if India blocks BlackBerry services.

Both firms are waiting to gain share in a market that has been mostly dependent on BlackBerry. BlackBerry, once a synonym for safe corporate communication, faces an Aug 31 deadline for giving Indian security agencies access to its corporate email and messenger services, failing which the services would be blocked, the government has said.

General Electric’s Indian unit, which has about $2.6 billion in revenue in the country, has already started discussing options to switch to other services, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. The person said options included Apple’s iPhone services, though a final decision would be made only after the government makes a decision.

Infosys Technologies Ltd, India’s No. 2 IT software services exporter, would look at using alternate services for communications to ensure that its business was not affected if some BlackBerry services were banned. “We hope that this issue will be resolved soon,” said an Infosys spokeswoman. “If the need arises, we will use alternate services to help our staff remotely access mails.”

An official with one of the leading European banks in India said the bank could look at using other smartphones if BlackBerry services were blocked in the world’s fastest-growing wireless market. “The plans are very preliminary at this stage, but we will have to look at some alternate arrangements if the BlackBerry service is blocked in the country,” said the official with the bank, declining to be named as the discussions were confidential.

“Obviously, if there is uncertainty, consumers will definitely” switch to other service providers, said Pankaj Mohindroo, president of Indian Cellular Association, a trade organization for mobile phone manufacturers. He said customers were “feeling extremely uncertain” as they depend on their communication devices. India has about a million BlackBerry users, according to industry estimates. RIM does not give country-specific user numbers.

RIM has said singling out BlackBerry would be counter-productive for India, as it would limit the efficiency and productivity of local firms.

CALLS TO RIVALS

An official with one of RIM’s rival companies confirmed they had started getting queries from wary corporate BlackBerry users asking if they could be a substitute for BlackBerry. Nine mobile operators offer BlackBerry services in India, of which Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar are estimated to have the maximum number of BlackBerry users in India. “There is a chance that we could receive further orders from the government requiring us to shut down certain services available on the BlackBerry platform for an undetermined length of time,” Vodafone Essar told its corporate customers in an email.

“We will be in a clearer position after September 1 to advise on the likely outcomes and whether it is necessary to engage in any detailed contingency planning,” India’s third-largest mobile operator, controlled by Vodafone, said in the note.

India might extend an Aug 31 deadline in its standoff with RIM if the Canadian firm says it has a solution and asks for more time, a government source said on Friday. India says it wants to track and read BlackBerry’s secure email and instant messaging services that officials fear could be misused by militants trying to create instability. India is one of a number of countries putting pressure on RIM, which has built its reputation around confidentiality.

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Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is said to have been signed up as the brand ambassador of Danone products, a report said.

Danone is a France-based company which deals in dairy products. They have launched with a joint venture with Yakult in India, for which Kajol is the brand ambassador.

The report said that Danone is also in plans to venture the Indian market with an individual project, for which it has signed Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

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