All posts tagged: Airtel

Google looks to tackle longstanding RCS spam in India — but not alone

Google looks to tackle longstanding RCS spam in India — but not alone

Published by skeptic

As persistent spam complaints have clouded Google’s Rich Communication Services (RCS) push in India, the company is turning to deeper carrier integration to bolster protections on the platform. On Sunday, Bharti Airtel, India’s second-largest telecom operator with over 463 million subscribers, said it had partnered with Google to integrate the carrier’s network-level spam filtering into the RCS ecosystem in the country. The move is aimed at strengthening protections against unwanted messages and fraud on the platform, the companies said. India has emerged as a particularly challenging market for spam and fraud across messaging channels, driven by the country’s vast mobile user base, rapid growth in digital payments, and aggressive enterprise marketing practices. In 2022, complaints about unsolicited ads on Google’s RCS — delivered primarily through the Google Messages app — were significant enough to prompt the company to temporarily pause business promotions on the platform in India. However, some users continue to report frustration with spam messages on Google Messages, suggesting the issue has not fully abated. Airtel said it had been cautious about deeper …

India disrupts access to popular developer platform Supabase with blocking order

India disrupts access to popular developer platform Supabase with blocking order

Published by skeptic

Supabase, a popular developer database platform, is facing disruptions in India — one of its key markets — has been blocked in India, TechCrunch has learned. New Delhi ordered internet providers to block its website, resulting in patchy access across networks. The blocking order was issued on February 24 under Section 69A of India’s Information Technology Act, according to a source familiar with the matter. The provision empowers the government to restrict public access to online content. The Indian government did not publicly cite a reason for the move, and it was not immediately clear whether the action was linked to a cybersecurity concern, copyright complaint, or another issue. It was also unclear how long the restrictions would remain in place. Access to Supabase has been inconsistent in India over the past several days, with the San Francisco-based company acknowledging the issue in posts on social media starting Wednesday. While the restrictions were first reported by Supabase on Reliance Industries’ JioFiber network, users have since flagged similar problems across multiple internet providers and telecom networks. …

Indian telecom firm Bharti Airtel to invest .2 billion to expand digital lending

Indian telecom firm Bharti Airtel to invest $2.2 billion to expand digital lending

Published by Sam Flores

Feb 23 : Bharti Airtel will invest 200 billion rupees ($2.2 billion) in its financial arm over the next few years, India’s second-largest mobile carrier by number of users said on Monday, as it steps up its push into digital lending. The capital will be infused into its subsidiary, Airtel Money, which received a non-banking financial company (NBFC) license from the Reserve Bank of India on February 13. Airtel’s expansion comes as competition intensifies in India’s non-bank lending sector, where conglomerates such as Jio Financial Services and established players like Bajaj Finance are scaling up retail credit operations. The move strengthens Airtel’s financial services business as it diversifies beyond telecom into areas such as data centres, cloud and enterprise services. The telecom major will contribute 70 per cent of the 200 billion rupees capital, with key shareholder Bharti Enterprises providing the remaining, Airtel said in a press release. The move “will leverage the large Airtel customer base to build the next growth engine for the company and further diversify its portfolio,” it added. ($1 = …