BWI: Bharti Airtel Launches World’s First Windows-Based Online Desktop on Airtel Broadband– Powered by Microsoft and Nivio

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Bharti Airtel Limited
Sunday, February 15, 2009 06:25 PM IST (12:55 PM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Economy, Entertainment; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Information technology, Telecommunications; Technology
Release no: 19240
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Bharti Airtel Launches World's First Windows-Based Online Desktop on Airtel Broadband- Powered by Microsoft and Nivio
Partnership to Lead Affordable and Easy Access to Computing in India

New Delhi, Delhi, India, Sunday, February 15, 2009 -- (Business Wire India) --
- Personal, Secure and On-demand - Online Desktop is accessible through any computer with internet access and allows users to rent software per month

- For Rs. 99 per month, customers get 5 GB of online storage space

- At Rs. 199 per month for the Retail Pack, customers get 5 GB of online storage space, free Anti Virus protection, Windows-based operating system, automatic backup -accessible from anywhere in the world

- Specially-tailored Professional and Business Packs at Rs. 399 and Rs. 699 per month respectively that provide a Windows-based Operating System and MS Office

Bharti Airtel today announced the launch of the world's first Windows based Online Desktop-powered by Microsoft and Nivio, giving access to a personal virtual desktop from any computer connected to the internet for Airtel broadband customers. This initiative will pave the way for easy and affordable access to computing and broadband in India. This service will be available to all Airtel broadband customers across 95 cities in the country.

On the occasion, Mr. Atul Bindal, President, Telemedia Services, Bharti Airtel said, "With this initiative, Airtel hopes to increase computer and broadband penetration by making it easy, affordable and with low access barriers. Our Online Desktop platform - powered by Microsoft and Nivio - will be useful in making computing more accessible to SMBs, SMEs and SOHOs as well as individual home customers of Airtel broadband. This is part of our larger commitment to offer an enhanced broadband experience to our customers and to drive the adoption of broadband by innovating and collaborating."

Commenting on the announcement Mr. Rajan Anandan, Managing Director, Microsoft India said, "Microsoft is committed to deliver solutions that help make it easier and more accessible for customers. This partnership with Bharti Airtel and Nivio brings us closer to this vision. We believe that Bharti Airtel's strong reach will be able to deliver the power of computing to users in far flung areas. For the small office segment and home professionals - this is a timely offer that will help them control costs and also increase productivity - so important in the prevailing environment."

The Online Desktop from Airtel brings many firsts for broadband users in India:

- 5 GB space to store documents, photos, music, presentations, software at a central place
- The freedom of accessing your data anywhere, anytime
- Free Anti-Virus protection which makes stored data safe and secure
- Original and latest software on a rental basis - pay as you go
- Reduced IT infrastructure cost with no cost of CPU
- Unified billing with service usage included in monthly Airtel broadband bill

The Online Desktop service is powered by Microsoft and Nivio and backed by 24x7 customer care from Airtel.

Airtel Business Services (ABS) is a separate business unit at Airtel, created to offer tailor-made telecom and IT solutions to Small and Medium Businesses. ABS is forging new partnerships with leading IT and Telecom solutions providers to offer SMBs an exhaustive suite of vertical and IT infrastructure solutions.

About Bharti Airtel Limited:

Bharti Airtel Limited, a group company of Bharti Enterprises, is Asia's leading integrated telecom services provider with operations in India and Sri Lanka with an aggregate of over 91 million customers as of end of January 2009, consisting of 88.38 million mobile customers. Bharti Airtel Limited has been voted as India's most innovative company, in a survey conducted by The Wall Street Journal.

Bharti Airtel is structured into three strategic business units - Mobile services, Telemedia services and Enterprise services. The mobile business offers services in India and Sri Lanka. The Telemedia business provides broadband and telephone services in 95 cities, DTH services and has recently forayed into the IPTV services. The Enterprise business provides end-to-end telecom solutions to corporate customers and national and international long distance services to carriers. All these services are provided under the Airtel brand. Airtel's high-speed optic fibre network currently spans over 90,205 kms covering all the major cities in the country. The company has two international landing stations in Chennai that connects two submarine cable systems - i2i to Singapore and SEA-ME-WE-4 to Europe. For more information, visit www.bhartiairtel.in

About Microsoft India

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software - any time, any place and on any device. Microsoft Corporation India Private Ltd is a subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation USA. It has had a presence in India since 1990 and currently has offices in 16 cities - Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Jamshedpur, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, and Pune.

About Nivio: Always turned on

Nivio is a utility-computing company that makes the complex world of computing as easy as Cable TV for consumers and businesses. Users can now simply enjoy the "use" of computing without the headaches and complexities associated with them (installing applications, constantly upgrading, fighting viruses, data loss etc). In short, Nivio provides a full virtual Windows Desktop that can be accessed through any internet connected computer and soon any internet connected device. For the 5 billion without a computer, Nivio is their first and for the rest, its their last. Online Desktop provides unrestriced storage, unrestricted power, un-tethered by location.




CONTACT DETAILS
For Bharti Airtel, Roopa PN, Comma Consulting, +91 9868276672, roopapn@comma.in
For Bharti Airtel, Kaveri Bhartiya, Comma Consulting, +91 9810006580
For Microsoft India, Vidhya Aravamudhan, Text 100 Public Relations, +91 9910500 220
For Nivio, Mr N Chandramouli, Blue Lotus PR, +91 9820189271
For Nivio, Ms Alka Ojha, Blue Lotus PR, +91 9958443490

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, ECONOMY, ENTERTAINMENT, MARKETING, IT, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, TECHNOLOGY

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