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e-CAPSULES

A TIME FOR TIE-UPS
Computer Associates (CA), the $5.30-billion US-based software major, and Pentafour Software have entered into a 51:49 joint venture to develop and market Web-enabled accounting software packages in India and the SAARC countries.

FREE X 500
Finally, free Net access is available in India. But Calcutta's caltiger.com service is limited to 500 users initially, with another 1,000 to be accommodated in the next round.

CITI & THE NSE
Citicorp Information Technology and NSE.IT, a 100 per cent subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange, have signed an MoU to offer an e-Trading platform to the members of the NSE by the first quarter of the next financial year.

ZEE'S NET PLANS
Zee TV has announced its intention to set up high-bandwidth ISP services and a portal, ZeeNext, which will be launched early next year.

IBM'S INTERFACE
IBM India announced that it will conduct business with its clients through dedicated extranet Websites. Hindustan Lever is the first corporate to plug in.

RURAL THRUST
In a Rs 400-crore project, Reliance Industries, the UK-based WorldTel, and the Electronic Corporation of Tamil Nadu have formed a joint venture for creating a network of Community Internet Centres across Tamil Nadu.

CYBER-ADSHOPS LOG ON

Here come on-line advertising solutions firms. The Mumbai-based Urja Communications (capitalised billings for 1998-99: Rs 12 crore) will soon launch Urja.com, which will offers specific directories and access areas to post ad-briefs, receive and review proposed campaigns, receive on-line account statements, and, as and when e-Commerce becomes legal, even get billed on the site.

Says Ranjit Nambiar, 33, Managing Director, Urja: ''Our core competence is creative. The Net will help us invest in this function and leverage that to service clients wherever they are based.'' Urja already services clients like Creative Technologies of Singapore through its Mumbai office. In that sense, the Net is the next step for it.

While Urja does not have the bandwidth to meet audio-video requirements, it hopes to save time by using the site to interact with clients on routine work. Will its clients-mostly infotech and business-to-business marketers-switch to the click-'n'-advertise system?

-Shailesh Dobhal

A CAPITAL DEAL?

By now, who hasn't heard of Manish Vij, all of 21, and one of India's youngest Netpreneurs? Well, there might be some good news in the offing for the CEO of kabadibazaar.com: BT learns that the world's largest financial services firm has expressed interest in investing in the business which is a meeting ground for buyers and sellers of second-hand goods. Says Vij, an MBA from Devi Ahilya University in Indore: ''We feel kabadibazaar could be the eBay of India.'' Deals like these are the stuff e-millions are made of.

-Hasnain Zaheer

DIAL-UP ON THE MOVE

Convergence has made a beginning in India, with mobile phone companies offering limited Net downloads to subscribers. For instance, by paying a rent of Rs 99 per month and Rs 3 per message, subscribers to Essar Cellphone, one of the 2 cellular providers in Delhi, can download cricket updates, news headlines, and so on from the Net. the question is: which mobile service-provider is going to be the first to offer unbridled access to the Net?

CONNECTIVITY COMBAT

The ISPrice wars are here. Not only are the newer Internet Service Providers (ISPs) charging lower prices to surfers, there's the promise of more good news to come. Dishnet-which recently launched its ISP service, ETH Internet, in Delhi-has shaken up the business by offering services that are priced one-third lower than the market norm. For instance, Dishnet's 500-hour package (Rs 5,750) is substantially cheaper than the Rs 7,250-Rs 8,900 offered by other players, like Videsh Sanchar Nigam, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam, and Satyamonline. Of course, Dishnet is just limited to 3 cities-Delhi, Chennai, and Pune-at the moment. Shrugs Mantraonline's CEO, N. Arjun, 41: ''Dishnet's prices, per se, are unlikely to initiate a major price-war because the hands of the ISP are tied.'' He's referring to VSNL's service-charges for connectivity to satellites. in its recommendations to the GOI on the allocation of international bandwidth, the joint committee of the Departments of Space and Telecommunication has suggested that it be reduced by as much as 50 per cent. Only then will the ISP market really open up.
-Shailesh Dobhal

E-DUCATION, INC.

Going by activity in on-line education on the Net, it's ready to take off. Or is it? On the heels of the recent launch of a number of education portals in Netspace-like ETH from Dishnet and shiksha.com from Mantra-brick-and-mortar computer education company Aptech says that it will start a pilot of a complete education portal in early December, 1999. But Aptech's tie-up with Rediff On The Net stays.

Says R. Krishnan,40, Aptech's Senior Vice-President (On-line services): ''As you grow as an educational institution, the on-line medium gains in importance.'' However, there are problems that on-line educators face: short attention spans on the Net, low bandwidth, and unpredictable access quality. The learning curve is steep.

-Sanjiv Rana

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