News Broadcasting
U2opia Mobile Pioneers USSD Gateway on Cloud with Tigo Group
New Delhi, August 6, 2013 – Singapore-based mobile technology start-up, U2opia Mobile, has pioneered the next wave in value added services by extending their USSD platform and hosting a USSD gateway on cloud.
USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) is a session-based technology that enables access to social and content services on mobile without an Internet connection. Among its most popular implementations is Facebook for USSD, which allows users to access Facebook on mobile, without internet. Its other implementations include access to Twitter, Google Talk and a host of content services.
With this innovation, the final barrier is removed for any telecom carrier to implement USSD services on its network, as it removes all dependency on the carrier’s own USSD gateway.
By deploying the USSD gateway on cloud, implementing USSD services becomes a plug-and-play process for any operator, vastly reducing the time and resources required. It successfully removes all hardware dependency from the process, making its implementation, as easy as a single-day process.
The first deployment of USSD gateway on cloud has been with the Tigo Group across El Salvador, Paraguay and Bolivia and the service has already racked up close to 70,000 users in the space of two weeks.
Commenting on the innovation, Sumesh Menon, CEO, U2opia Mobile, said, ‘While services powered through Fonetwish were a runaway success in practically every country we entered, deploying services through the host carrier’s USSD gateway did present a layer of complexity. There would invariably be issues relating to hardware, bandwidth and so on, thereby increasing the time needed for implementation.
By deploying the USSD gateway on cloud, that complexity is removed and the process is practically plug-and-play. It opens up a world of opportunity for every carrier globally, to provide value added services to their non-smartphone user base.’
U2opia Mobile pioneered the implementation of social and content services through their USSD platform Fonetwish in 2010 and now have operations in 25 countries across Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe, catering to millions of users in 6 global languages across 40 telecom carriers.
The mobile technology start-up creates applications catering across the handset spectrum – from basic/feature phones to smartphones. With financial backing from Matrix Partners, they have offices across Singapore, India, Dubai and San Francisco.
News Broadcasting
Network18 Q4 revenue grows 9.7 per cent, EBITDA at Rs 30 crore
PAT improves to Rs 306.6 crore, margins steady amid cost pressures.
MUMBAI: Not all news is breaking, some of it is quietly improving. Network18 Media & Investments Limited appears to be doing just that, tightening losses and stabilising margins even as costs continue to weigh on the business. For FY26, the company reported revenue from operations of Rs 1,955.1 crore, up from Rs 1,896.2 crore in FY25, signalling modest top-line growth in a challenging media environment. Total income stood at Rs 1,978.2 crore, compared to Rs 1,913 crore a year earlier.
Profit after tax came in at Rs 306.6 crore for the year, a sharp turnaround from Rs 3,225.4 crore in FY25, largely reflecting the absence of large exceptional items that had inflated the previous year’s numbers. On a more comparable basis, the company’s operating performance showed signs of gradual stabilisation.
However, the quarterly picture remained under pressure. For the March quarter, Network18 reported a loss of Rs 53.1 crore, narrower than the Rs 98.1 crore loss in the same period last year, but still indicative of ongoing cost challenges.
Expenses continued to track high. Total expenses for FY26 stood at Rs 2,235.7 crore, up from Rs 2,197.8 crore in FY25. Key cost heads included operational expenses of Rs 765.9 crore, employee benefits of Rs 475.9 crore, and marketing, distribution and promotional spends of Rs 427.1 crore, underlining the continued investment required to sustain reach and engagement.
At an operating level, margins remained under strain. Operating margin stood at 2.33 per cent for FY26, marginally higher than 1.77 per cent in FY25, while net profit margin remained negative at -13.02 per cent, though improved from -14.89 per cent.
On the balance sheet, total assets rose to Rs 8,957.6 crore as of 31 March 2026, from Rs 8,317.5 crore a year earlier. Equity strengthened to Rs 4,958.7 crore, while borrowings increased to Rs 3,112.8 crore, reflecting a higher reliance on debt to support operations.
Cash flows told a mixed story. While financing activities generated Rs 83.9 crore, operating cash flow remained negative at Rs -24 crore, highlighting ongoing pressure on core cash generation. Cash and cash equivalents, however, improved to Rs 33.9 crore from Rs 1.8 crore.
The numbers point to a company in transition growing revenues, trimming losses, but still grappling with structural cost pressures. In a sector where scale often comes at a price, Network18 seems to be inching towards balance, one quarter at a time.
