Telecos gear up for Independence Day rollouts

Capitalising on the independence day fervour, telecom companies are gearing up to commence operations and roll out new services tomorrow.

To begin with, Datacom Solutions - a joint venture between Venugopal N Dhoot’s Videocon Industries and industrialist Mahendra Nahata’s Jumbo Techno Services - is commencing its network rollout on August 15.

The company had earlier received spectrum and was scheduled to roll out services by December 15, 2008.

D-Link, an IT company foraying into the telecom space, has chosen Independence Day for the launch of its videophone. Even though the company had announced its venture earlier, the official launch is taking place on Friday.

According to D-Link (India) Executive Chairman K R Naik, “the phone is completely made in India and is the result of our focused research on building a product that is completely Indian. The hardware, software and all the major ingredients that go into the making of a videophone are developed in the country”.

“It’s only natural we launch the product on Independence Day, rejoicing with the spirit of freedom,” Naik added.

Billionaire and industrialist BK Modi’s mobile handset-manufacturing unit Spice Corporation is launching its global operations from Singapore on Friday. The company is setting up its global headquarters in Singapore and is gearing up for listing on the global bourses.

Staffing company TeamLease Service is launching a job hotline service in 11 Indian languages on August 15. The company has also announced training programmes for people unable to find jobs.

“An unemployed of unemployable Indian is not a free Indian. This service is our Independence Day offering to India’s many labour market outsiders who have been handicapped in accessing India’s growth,” TeamLease Services chairman, Manish Sabharwal, said.

Marking the 61st Independence Day, online portal Webdunia is rolling out special features on its 9 Indian language sites. These include customised e-greeting cards and painted visuals of historic monuments.

Bharti Airtel, the leading mobile service provider, has launched an ‘Independence Day special offer’ for its pre-paid customers in Delhi and the national capital region. The company has waived off the processing charges and is providing STD services at Re 1 for a month, on recharging with Rs 1947.

“The Rs 1947 voucher, as its name suggests, symbolises freedom and independence for our valued customers. In keeping with that spirit, it gives us great joy to announce this recharge voucher for the Delhi and NCR circle, which offers full talktime with a 1-year validity, Bharti Airtel (Mobile Services), Delhi & NCR Shashi Arora said.

According to an analyst, the companies are looking to catch the patriotic fervour in the country and this is their way of saying “Vande Mataram”.