Oslo, Norway and New Delhi, India – November 22, 2007
Opera Software, the only company that puts the Web on any device, today announced its initiative with Tata Teleservices Ltd to provide Opera Mini on its upcoming BREW-enabled handsets. The revolutionary browser will be made available first on the Huawei C2900i, a mass market BREW-enabled handset.
Tata Teleservices Ltd is India’s newest and fastest-growing telecom provider with a user base in excess of 20 million.
This is a milestone achievement for Opera and Tata Teleservices Ltd. It is the first delivery of Opera Mini on a BREW-enabled handset and marks Opera’s entry into the vibrant Indian market. Tata Teleservices Ltd has empowered the mass market customer in India to access Internet in local languages like Hindi.
Research studies conducted by Gartner have confirmed that India’s mobile phone market is set for a period of rapid growth, with revenue from cellular services expected to jump by more than 18 per cent year on year for the next five years. Indian mobile data revenue is expected to outpace that of voice services and contribute to about a fifth of total revenues by 2011, doubling year on year.
A report by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, the Indian telecom industry watchdog, suggests that the number of Indian consumers connecting to the Internet via mobile handsets has more than doubled in just over a year – to 38 million from 16 million.
Opera Mini, the world’s most popular mobile Web browser, will complement this growth by providing users with access to the full Web, enabling them to surf their favorite websites, enjoy mobile blogging and social networking – all on the go. Opera Mini will also support local language Web sites such as BBC Hindi, Dainik Bhaskar and others. In addition to bringing Web content to everyday mobile phones, Opera Mini includes bookmarks, secure access to e-mail and online banking.
“We are bringing the world’s best mobile Web browsing experience to India and are the first operator to enable this experience for Indian consumers. Mobile Web on affordable mobile devices will open up the power of the Internet to a huge base of consumers, in a language of their choice. Tata Indicom’s superior CDMA capabilities, coupled with Opera Mini’s unique capabilities, will bring a delightful browsing experience to our customers,” says Pankaj Sethi, President, VAS & Enterprise Marketing, Tata Teleservices Ltd.
“India continues to be an important market for Opera and we are excited to partner with Tata Teleservices to offer the full power of the Internet to mobile users in India. Opera’s focus on innovation is what differentiates the company in the market today. The new Opera Mini on BREW solution clearly demonstrates our vision and commitment to providing an outstanding Web browsing experience on mobile phones to customers in India,” says Jon von Tetzchner, Chief Executive Officer, Opera Software.
“Opera Mini gives me the power of contextual search, instantaneously. The best part is that Opera Mini keeps my data rates low and gives me the desktop browser feel. It’s so simple and so fast that it really is the best Internet experience… and I am addicted to it!” says Kiran Menon, an avid Opera Mini user from Bangalore, India.
Opera Mini uses a remote proxy server to pre-process Web pages before sending them to mobile phones. Web content is compressed to reduce the size of data transfers, enabling a faster browsing experience. Bringing the desktop experience to mobile, Opera Mini’s Small Screen Rendering (SSR) reformats the Web page to fit inside the screen width, automatically eliminating the need for horizontal scrolling. Alternatively, a new “Desktop mode” gives users a wider view of the page. Opera Zoom functionality allows users to drive into the page offering dynamic navigation of the page content. Like other Opera browsers, Opera Mini is built for speed and has been clocked at more than double the speed of competing mobile browsers ensuring ultimate Web browsing experience.
About Tata Teleservices Ltd
Tata Teleservices is one of India’s leading private telecom service providers. The company offers integrated telecom solutions to its customers under the Tata Indicom brand, and uses the latest CDMA 3G1X technology for its wireless network. Tata Teleservices operates in 4300 towns across 20 circles i.e Andra Pradesh, Chennai, Gujarat, Karnataka, New Delhi, Maharashtra (including Goa), Mumbai, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Bijar, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh (E), Uttar Pradesh (W), Kolkata, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. The company has a customer base of over 20 million subscribers.