UK mobile service enters India

UK-based Blyk, a company positioned as a free mobile service network for users between 16 and 24, is preparing to enter the Indian market and is in talks with one or more local telecom operators, says Livemint.

Blyk offers customers some free talktime or free texts in return for accepting targeted advertising on their phones every day.

In India, the ad-funded company is seeking partners to gain access to their spectrum, or airwaves, and subscriber base.

Sources inform Globes that Walt Disney investment arm Shamrock Holdings wants to acquire, or invest in, MIRS Communications, and is in preliminary talks with MIRS' owner, Motorola, to this effect. MIRS is Israel's fourth cellular network operator.

Financially troubled Motorola decided to put MIRS up for sale because it cannot survive without a substantial capital injection.

Motorola is seeking a deal at a company value of $300 million for MIRS, which is considered a high price. Motorola has hired Merrill Lynch to value MIRS for a deal.

The decision of the Maharashtra government to hike VAT on mobile handsets could actually result in a drop in the state's VAT collections, says Indian Cellular Association (ICA), the industry body for handset manufacturers, according to Economic Times.

In the state budget, the government last week proposed to increase VAT to 12.5% from 4% on mobile handsets without making the revenue targets from the move public.

According to ICA, the proposed hike in VAT will result in handset sales falling in the organised retail sector in Maharashtra.