Microsoft unveils prog for telcos

By siliconindia   |   Friday, 08 December 2006, 18:30 IST
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Bangalore: Global software giant Microsoft has unveiled a new program for telecom service providers across the world, including India, to offer developer tools to produce web-based applications for mobile phones. The program 'Connected Services Sandbox' would combine APIs (application programming interfaces) from different sources with telecom services and enable companies to develop and test web services combined with traditional telecom offerings such as voice, video and data services. India's IT solutions and service provider company Tech Mahindra has already signed up for the program along with Nortel, BT and Bell Canada, Microsoft Communications sector Senior Product Manager Smeeta Hirani told reporters on the sidelines of ITU summit here. "We are in talks with 12 other companies across the world including India," she said, but declined to reveal the name of the companies. "It is aimed at independent software vendors, developers, system integrators, network equipment providers and telecom service providers and will be operational in January 2007," she said. The program would also help in generating new sources of revenue for operators. It has been designed to support the creation of 'managed network mash-ups' in which web and telecom services are offered through a software-as-a-service model and delivered across any type of network or device, she added.