iWorld
BSNL launches FMT & Ditto TV; 4G planned this year
MUMBAI: State-run BSNL is now making diligent changes to their services. The service provider has gone beyond its limits and adapting to the dynamic changes in the Indian telecom scene.
BSNL also announced mobile TV service ‘Ditto TV’ and limited fixed mobile telephony, an app that virtually turns mobiles into cordless phone working in sync with landlines within home. Ditto TV is a mobile TV service wherein subscribers can view live TV for over 80 channels.
The reports of cheaper plans came in after BSNL CMD Anupam Shrivastava hinted the same in a tweet. He also revealed that BSNL plans to launch their 4G services, most likely this year.
BSNL is prepared to re-introduce a ‘truly unlimited’ 3G data plan priced at Rs 498, along with many other new plans. These cheaper plans may be launched on 26 January — the Republic Day. The earlier plan offered users unlimited 3G data for 14 days. However, the plan was discontinued as BSNL noticed users violating the free data usage policy.
Besides, BSNL still offers a plan offering unlimited data and free BSNL to BSNL calls at Rs 1099 per month. The BSNL announcement comes soon after Jio offered ‘Happy New Year Offer‘.
A BSNL statement said that the “smartphone needs to download the app and with connectivity with BSNL broadband modem (say on Wi-Fi), customer can receive and also be able to make outgoing calls…on smartphone handsets. This service is in no way linked with mobile operator service or customer SIM in mobile handset,” the statement clarified.
On the mobile TV offering, BSNL mobile users need to download Ditto TV app from the play store, install it on mobile, register and then start using the service, at Rs 20 per month and is also bundled with Data Special Tariff Voucher for recharge of Rs 223.
Gaming
MTG gaming chief Benninghoff joins NODWIN board as esports firm primes for IPO
The Gurugram-based esports firm is pursuing a public listing, has returned to profitability and is growing revenues by 42 per cent
GURUGRAM: NODWIN Gaming is moving fast. The Gurugram-based gaming and esports company has launched a pre-IPO fundraising round, appointed UBS as lead adviser for both the round and a subsequent public listing, and landed a heavyweight board director, all in one go.
The new board member is Arnd Benninghoff, executive vice president of gaming at Stockholm-listed Modern Times Group (MTG), who has overseen the group’s strategic investments and portfolio growth since 2014. He is no stranger to building things: Benninghoff has founded and built fifteen companies, served as chief digital officer at ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, managing director of SevenVentures, and chief executive of Holtzbrinck eLAB. He began his career as a journalist at Deutsche Presse Agentur and various TV networks, holds a Diplom-Kaufmann in business and administration from the University of Münster, and previously sat on the board of Edgeware AB.
The numbers back the ambition
NODWIN is not pitching a story without substance. The company has returned to EBITDA profitability and posted a 42 per cent year-on-year revenue surge, reaching $58.5m in the first nine months of FY2026. The pre-IPO round will combine a primary issuance to fund global expansion through organic growth and acquisitions, alongside a secondary sale to give existing shareholders some liquidity.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming, said Benninghoff understands “the entire lifecycle of the gaming and media ecosystem, from the boots-on-the-ground reality of building startups to the strategic complexity of managing multi-billion dollar global portfolios.”
Benninghoff, for his part, said the company “sits at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and technology, making it one of the most exciting players in the global gaming landscape today.”
A portfolio built for the global south
Founded in 2014 by Rathee and Gautam Virk, NODWIN has quietly assembled one of the more compelling esports portfolios outside the Western hemisphere. Its properties include DreamHack India and Comic Con India, and it recently acquired StarLadder, the Ukraine-based tournament organiser behind premier events in CS:GO and Dota 2. The company also serves as a long-term strategic marketing partner for the Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the world’s most prominent fighting game tournament, helping push it into new geographies.
Its geographic focus spans South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Backers include Nazara Technologies, KRAFTON, Sony Group Corporation, JetSynthesys, and the founders’ investment vehicle Good Game Investments.
What comes next
With UBS running the books, a board freshly reinforced with European media and gaming expertise, and revenue heading in the right direction, NODWIN is laying the groundwork deliberately. The esports industry has burned investors before with big promises and thin margins. NODWIN’s return to profitability, combined with a real portfolio of owned intellectual properties across gaming, music and youth culture, gives it a more credible runway than most. The IPO clock is now ticking.
