One would be tempted to think that visual radio is an oxymoron. Only, it's not. It's an application available on mobile phones that enables users to receive fm radio along with text and images on their handset screens. And it's coming to India in June. Developed by Nokia and marketed and integrated by Hewlett-Packard, visual radio combines images and text with the regular audio to make the radio experience more interactive.

Visual radio is already quite popular in Finland, Sweden, the US, the UK, Singapore, Thailand and Germany. It will be launched in India by Radio Mirchi in a tie-up with cellular service providers. Says Pankaj Mathur, Country Manager (Network Service Provider Business), hp India Sales: "The pilots will be conducted in mid-May and we hope to launch visual radio sometime in June. Though Radio Mirchi will be the first to do so, we expect all the other radio stations to get quickly involved in providing the new feature to users." Radio City, another popular fm channel, is evaluating the technical, creative and other modalities required for launching this service, says Prasad Panicker, Brand Manager of the company.

To provide the visual radio service, cellular operators will have to tie up with radio stations, which will have to create visual content to go with their fm broadcasts. So, the regular breakfast show, heard on the cellphone radio, can have pictures of the RJS, text messages with details about the song playing, trivia about the artiste and even audience polls on related issues.

The feature will be rolled out first in either Delhi or Mumbai and then in other cities. The exact table of charges is currently being worked out. Elsewhere, it is a combination of subscription and bulk rates. In Singapore, for example, visual radio is available at about S$5 (Rs 140) a month plus a variable amount for downloads. At the moment, visual radio is an integrated application (it cannot be downloaded on to older handsets) available on about 10 Nokia handsets. The company, however, says it will make the feature available to other handset manufacturers as well.

The mobile music industry in India, currently worth about Rs 500 crore per annum, is expected to overtake the Rs 700-crore conventional music industry by the end of this fiscal. And visual radio is expected to provide a fillip to this trend.

-Shivani Lath

Dirty Tricks In The Sky
Allegations of arm-twisting do the rounds.

Maran (left) and Tata: Stars of the latest soap opera

It may be an election-related dirty tricks job; or it may be for real. But it is definitely bizarre. Media reports suggest that DMK chief M. Karunanidhi's great nephew Kalanithi Maran, who owns Sun TV, apparently called up Ratan Tata and asked for a one-third stake in the group's direct-to-home (DTH) project, T-Sky (the Tatas own 80 per cent and Rupert Murdoch's Star TV network the rest). Maran allegedly wanted the stake at par value-that is, below market price-and demanded management control as well. Tata reportedly turned down the demand.

Coincidentally, Maran's younger brother Dayanidhi is the Union Telecom Minister. The reports suggest that the Tatas have been told that their telecom plans could be jeopardised if they refuse to play ball. Tata officials refused to comment on the issue and Sun TV officials were not available for comment. However, these same reports have quoted Kalanithi as having denied these allegations, on the ground that he already has a DTH licence, and so, does not need to ride piggyback on anyone else. For the record, Dayanidhi Maran has also rubbished the allegations. Incidentally, setting up DTH infrastructure is very expensive and costs about Rs 300 crore plus about Rs 6,000 per home.

Sun TV, which has channels across the South in various languages, also has a virtual stranglehold on the cable distribution business in Tamil Nadu through its company, Sumangali Cable Vision (SCV). In January, the AIADMK government introduced a legislation to take over SCV and Hathaway, the two cable distribution companies in the state. The Bill has only been introduced and if the AIADMK comes back to power, it will definitely be passed. Sun's crucial distribution network will, therefore, pass into the hands of Karunanidhi's arch rival. Hence, Sun's urgent interest in the DTH segment.

Quite clearly, the issue will snowball and has come at a terrible time for the DMK, which is looking to regain power in Tamil Nadu. The road ahead could just have got a little trickier.

-Krishna Gopalan

Q&A
"We Teach Companies How To Change"

Mark Goyder, chairman of the London-based consultancy firm Tomorrow's Company, was in Mumbai recently to ask some of India's top industrialists about the challenges they face in a session coordinated by KPMG. He took some time off to speak with BT's Kushan Mitra.

What exactly does Tomorrow's Company do?

Companies have to change to survive, and they need to ask pointed questions. The problem was companies did not know what questions to ask. We are a not-for-profit consultancy that was set up specifically to ask the right questions of the companies. We formulate the answers into research papers, which we hope will lead to real changes in the way companies function.

Do you think Indian companies will face big challenges as more foreign customers and employees join them?

Many Indian companies are global by design; some like Infosys and Ranbaxy have built global teams because they conduct a majority of their business abroad. Make no mistake; these are global firms.

Do Indian firms need to adapt further-maybe assimilate more foreign staff into their ranks?

That depends on which industry they're in and how decentralised they are. It also depends on the role of the top manager-does he have a mainly ceremonial role? Ideally, the #1 and #2 positions should be filled by people who are familiar with the market they're operating in. And I see many firms doing that.

What are the other challenges facing companies today?

CEOs have to address issues concerning the role of business in society. How can business engage its critics? Just because these people-such as the critics of globalisation-don't have an alternative solution does not mean the problem they're highlighting does not exist. Businesses should go out there and should show that they care.