Airtel joins tariff war; introduces pay-per-second plan

NEW DELHI, Oct 30: Joining the tariff war, India's largest mobile operator Bharti Airtel on Friday introduced a "pay per second" plan across the country.

In this plan, called Freedom Plan, Airtel customers will be charged one paise per second for all Local and STD calls to Airtel numbers and 1.20 paise per second for local and STD calls to other networks.

Some of the new operators, however, are offering pay per second tariff plan across networks.

The plan will be available initially only to pre-paid subscribers of Airtel, an Airtel statement said.

This will be one of the tariff plans besides others already existing.

"As the undisputed leader in the Indian telecom industry, we are committed to delighting our customers through superior network, great customer service and best value for money.

Today, our network covers 110 million customers, has 100,000 sites and is available across 4.25 lakh towns and villages in 1.5 million outlets," Atul Bindal, President, Mobile Services, Bharti Airtel, said.

Reliance Mobile offers personalized call manager service on GSM network

MUMBAI, Oct 21: Reliance Mobile has introduced the call manager service on its GSM network on supporting handsets. This unique service enables Reliance mobile subscribers a wide range of call completion service. Offered through a server-less client protocol, the Call Manager service enables allows customers to respond to incoming calls with pre-recorded voice messages. The Call Manager also features SMS based chatting and voice mail on mobile.

It allows one to respond to answer phone calls without any need to talk or type, using an intuitive user interface.

The Voice Message feature enables caller to leave a message once a call is left unanswered. The recorded messages are deposited in the mobile phone's Inbox folder, and can be played, forwarded, replied to or removed. The Voice Message feature can be activated either manually by selecting it from the ringing menu. Reliance allows use to customize its greeting message or the duration after which the voicemail automatically answers a call through the application's settings.

Sometimes, when dialling a number, the call may ring without an answer. In such cases where the called party might not notice the call, or may not be able to answer at the moment, the application provides options like Call another number. This will offer you to dial the other available numbers of the same contact. This way, if someone is not available at work, you can try reaching them at home with just a click away. It also enables the caller to start chatting. The Chatting option allows user to start an instant messaging UI-like chat session and communicate conveniently using text messaging.

Reliance Mobile is offering the Call Manager service through a subscription module. It will not charge the user for downloading the application. Moreover, post the installation of the service, the customers can avail a free 7-day offer. The subscription for the service will be activated post the expiry of this free-trial period. Reliance Mobile will charge Rs 15/month as subscription fee.

Government has no plans to regulate TV News content

NEW DELHI, Sept 19: Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting Ambika Soni today said that the government had no plans to impose restrictions on the content of television channels. She also said that the UPA government was against any such step.

Interacting with the Broadcast Editors' Association (BEA), the Minister said that there should be a self regulated boundary line for the media and that any effort to evolve a self-regulated mechanism should be welcomed.

However, Soni said that there was a need to strike a balance between the 'Freedom of Press' and 'Sensitivities of Civil Society'.

Appreciating the initiative of the Broadcast Editors' Association (BEA), the Minister termed it as 'Milestone' and said that the concerns of all the stakeholders would be kept in mind in formulating the policy on media industry.

Ambika Soni urged the media to look into the interests and concerns of the marginalized section of the society as well.

The Broadcast Editors' Association (BEA) is an initiative by the Editors of television news channels. It has been formed by the Editors to improve the content and to raise the bar of journalism.

BEA president Shazi Zaman assured all the stakeholders that the association would fulfill its social responsibility and responsive to aspirations of the people. However, he said, the forum will also raise its voice against any attempt to curbing freedom of the press.

Association General Secretary N K Singh emphasized the BEA plans to evolve a two way feedback mechanism so as so to make broadcast media a tool for social uplift.

Rajdeep louded the efforts of the BEA terming it an approach in the right direction.

The BEA came into existence on August 22, 2009 with a view to maintain and improve the news content and guard the freedom of media. It also plans to interact with various stakeholders

The broadcast editors who participated in the interaction are: Rajdeep Sardesai ( President Editors’ Guild of India), Pankaj Pachauri (NDTV), N K Singh (ETV) , Sudhir Chaudhary (Live India), Ashutosh and Prabal Pratap (IBN-7), Ajit Anjum and Supriya Prasad (News-24), Satish K Singh (Zee News), Vinay Tewari (CNN IBN), Deepak Chaurasia, Milind Khandekar and Vijay Vidrohi(Star News), Vinod Kapri and Prashant Tandon (India TV), Raju Santhanam (Veteran TV editor) and Pranjal Sharma (UTV). BEA president Shazi Zaman (Star News) conducted the proceedings.

And one more thing, the new iPod Nano records videos

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 9: With its video recording capability and slashed pricing, the new iPod Nano, introduced to a select audience by Apple CEO Steve Jobs at a conference at San Francisco on 09/09/09, seems set to take on the popular Flip camera.

Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs returned Wednesday to the showman role that has helped define his company leadership, taking the stage for the first time since his medical leave to announce such new products as an iPod Nano that records video.

Jobs, who had a liver transplant this spring from a young adult who died in a car accident, got a vigorous standing ovation from many in the audience.

Looking thin and speaking quietly and with a scratchy voice, the 54-year-old CEO urged everyone to become organ donors.

“I wouldn’t be here without such generosity,” Jobs said.

Jobs had not appeared at such a product launch event since last October. He bowed out of his usual keynote at the year’s largest Mac trade show in January and went on leave shortly thereafter for nearly six months.

Jobs boosts Apple shares

At an event for journalists, bloggers and software partners, Jobs announced updates to Apple’s iTunes and iPhone software and unveiled a new iPod Nano with a built-in video camera.

Phil Schiller, Apple’s top marketing executive, also took the stage to announce price cuts and storage boosts to existing iPod Touch models.

Few chief executives are considered as critical to their companies’ success as Jobs has been to Apple’s since 1997, when he returned to the company after a 12-year hiatus, and Apple’s stock has soared and plunged on news and rumours of his health.

Shares in Apple reached a 52-week high of $174.47 in Wednesday trading, then fell to close at $171.14, or $1.79 below Tuesday’s closing.

Jobs, whose medical problems began more than five years ago and included treatment for a rare form of pancreatic cancer, seemed happy to be back in the spotlight, saying, “I’m vertical, I’m back at Apple and loving every day of it.”

As was expected, Apple’s announcements were mainly tied to music players and the iTunes software, though Jobs spoke briefly about the iPhone and said 30 million of the devices had been sold so far.

Apple compared the new video-camera Nano to Cisco Systems Inc.’s Flip Mino, a tiny, simple video recorder that sells for $149, just like the basic, eight-gigabyte version of the overhauled Nano (The 16 GB Nano costs $179). The Nano -- the smallest iPod that has a screen -- also has a microphone, a pedometer, a 2.2-inch display and an FM radio tuner.

iTunes 9 offers more freedom

Meanwhile, the new version of iTunes, known as iTunes 9, gives people more control over what content gets loaded on to iPods and iPhones. It lets five computers on the same home network share -- by streaming or copying -- music, video and other content, a departure from the strict copy protection Apple insisted on in the past.

Michael Gartenberg, a technology analyst with the Interpret market-research firm, said Apple met “reasonable expectations” with its Wednesday announcements.

“If you were expecting an Apple jetpack or an Apple hovercraft, or even an Apple tablet, you didn’t get that,” Gartenberg said, referring to speculation that Apple was producing a “tablet“-style device resembling a giant iPod Touch.

At the close of the event, Jobs stepped from the stage and lingered for a few moments, chatting with Apple executives and a few fans who surrounded him.

“People see he’s alive and well,” Gartenberg said. “Had he not shown up, he would have been the elephant that wasn’t in the room.”

Two new touch phones from Nokia

NEW DELHI, Aug 25: Nokia on Tuesday announced the launch of two new touch-screen mobile devices — Nokia 5230 and Nokia 5530 XpressMusic — which are aimed at consumers who appreciate easy usage with the ‘touch’ interface and music lovers.

Nokia 5230, which features an easy to use music player with 33 hours of playback time, is priced at Rs. 10,500. It features a ‘Media Bar’ with quick access to your favourite media and applications, such as music, photos and YouTube or Ovi Share. It also comes with 2.0 megapixel camera and 3.2 inch wide screen.

On the other hand, Nokia 5530 XpressMusic, priced at Rs.13,999, is a music and entertainment device with a complete touch interface. It has a 3.2-megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, while the home screen features one touch shortcuts to content and popular social networks, like Facebook and MySpace. It is an excellent music player with 27 hours of playback time, excellent audio quality and a 4 GB memory card for storing music and other media. Both handsets would be available in early 2010.

Nokia India Director Marketing Vineet Taneja said: “As the market leader, Nokia’s value proposition is to offer products that combine aesthetics, technology and ease of use. Through new devises we aim to give our consumers phones that look great, provide enhanced touch and music experience and, at the same time, are competitively priced.”

Nokia Chief meets Manmohan Singh

NEW DELHI, Aug 21: Nokia Corp president and Chief Executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday and discussed government policies and steps taken by the company to ensure affordable connectivity in India.

Kallasvuo also discussed the need for re-energizing the telecom industry and how Nokia could participate in increasing telecom mobile penetration in the country.

The Nokia chief is in India on a three-day visit and has met key government officials and industry players.

Meanwhile, Nokia has pledged to strike back at Apple and produce mobile phones that will compete effectively with the US technology company's iPhone.

Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, chief executive of Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone maker, said that it was aiming to be "even more competitive" following criticism that it had failed to come up with a handset to match the iPhone.

Mr Kallasvuo also insisted that Nokia would succeed with its strategy of transforming itself from a mobile maker into a supplier of services on handsets, such as maps and music.

Nokia is the world's largest maker of smartphones - which double as mini PCs - but it is losing share to rivals led by Apple and Research In Motion, the Canadian maker of the BlackBerry.

This week, Nokia will boost its smartphone strategy with the release of a device featuring a Linux operating system.

Nokia is also expected to unveil plans to sell netbooks, or small, mobile computers.

Mr Kallasvuo defended Nokia's N97 smartphone, the company's main answer to the iPhone, following criticism by some analysts that it is a poor alternative to Apple's handset.

Apple's rapidly growing strength as a mobile phone maker is underlined by its securing the second-largest share of the industry's profits in the second quarter.

In the three months to June 30, Apple took 23 per cent of the leading handset makers' operating profits, compared with 2 per cent in the same period last year, say Bernstein analysts.

Nokia secured 28 per cent of the top handset makers' operating profits in the second quarter, down from 59 per cent.

Indian Govt bans import of mobile phones without IMEI number

NEW DELHI, June 17: India on Wednesday banned import of mobile phones that lack unique IMEI identification number, which helps authorities track users, IMEI is a 15-digit code which appears on the operator's network whenever a call is made.

"Import of 'Mobile Handsets' without International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number or with all Zeroes IMEI is prohibited with immediate effect," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification.

Mobiles phones without IMEI number are considered a grave security threat and concerns had been raised over their usage after terrorist attacks like the one in Mumbai in November last year.

GSM service providers have already said that they would deny connectivity to cellphones without IMEI number.

Concerned over the national security, the Department of Telecommunications had earlier asked operators to disconnect services to handset that does not have an IMEI number.

Samsung launches solar-powered phone

NOIDA, June 11: Leading mobile handset manufacturer Samsung launched a low-cost solar-powered mobile phone, and said it was planning to introduce about 20 more models by year-end.

The new handset, launched under its low-cost line of products -- "Guru" -- at a price of Rs 2,799, has a solar panel on the back, which can be used to charge the battery anywhere the sun is shining.

"We have developed this phone keeping in minds the needs of the consumers, especially for people in areas where the electric supply is unstable," said J S Shin, president and chief executive of Samsung, Southwest Asia.

The phone, christened the "Guru E1107", can provide around 5-10 minutes of talk-time with one-hour of solar charging when the handset is turned off and sunlight has adequate intensity.

"Solar charging can give you enough time to make few important calls when there is no electricity or you are not close to a plug point," said Sunil Dutt, country head of Samsung India. The battery will attain full power with about 40 hours of solar charging.

"But that is really not the intention behind the launch of this phone. It is to enable customers to make a call when there is no electricity," said Dutt.

The handset, the 11th model in the Guru series, will be in shops by month-end. The first few batches of Guru E1107 will be imported from South Korea. Samsung has already launched about 20 models this year and plans to take this number to about 40 across categories.

Asked whether the company would consider introducing solar charging features in high-end phones, Dutt said, "We would definitely consider doing so."

Samsung, which has invested about $44 million in developing its mobile manufacturing facility in Noida, also has ambitious plans for the huge Indian mobile market.

"Our market share is in the early double digits currently. We plan to increase it by about 5-6 per cent this year," said a company official.

The company is also planning to introduce in India its solar-powered touchscreen mobile handset, Blue Earth - unveiled at a technology conference in Barcelona, Spain early this year.

Reliance Offers BlackBerry Rs. 299 Plan

NEW DELHI, June 10: After a rather late revision of tariff, Reliance Mobile has introduced the affordable 'Reliance E-Lite' plan for BlackBerry" smartphone users in India.

With the 'Reliance E-Lite' plan, users can have unlimited access to email and instant messaging (IM) on their BlackBerry smartphones for just Rs. 299 per month.

Airtel and Vodafone already offer similar plans which costs subscribers Rs. 299 per month.

The Reliance E-Lite service plan offers unlimited access to the widely used email and instant messaging features, allowing Reliance customers to access up to 10 supported POP3/IMAP email accounts (including most popular ISP email accounts such as Yahoo! Mail and Google Mail).

The service plan is offered with all BlackBerry smartphones available from Reliance Mobile, such as BlackBerry 8703e, BlackBerry 8830, BlackBerry Curve 8300, BlackBerry Curve 8900, BlackBerry Pearl 8110 and BlackBerry Pearl 8130.

Mr. Vrajesh Shelat, Head- Wireless Data Business, Reliance Communications said, “It has been our constant endeavour to bring greater value to the Indian consumer. Through ‘Reliance E-Lite’ we will extend our reach to a wider market by providing an affordable and high quality of service to consumers who wish to primarily stay connected through email and instant messaging on their smartphones while on the move.”

Ms. Frenny Bawa, Vice President India, Research In Motion said, “RIM welcomes this attractive new service plan for Reliance Communications customers in India. We continue to see strong interest from a broad range of customers in India and this new service plan will help further expand the reach the BlackBerry solution in India.”

BIG TV expands channel bouquet with 10 new channels

MUMBAI, May 29: Reliance BIG TV, the DTH service of Reliance ADA Group, is expanding its channel bouquet with the addition of 10 new channels. The 10 channels will be available on the BIG TV platform from June 1.

The 10 new channels include Korea’s KBS (international offering) and WB the latest, English entertainment channel from the broadcasting major, Turner International India Pvt. Ltd. in association with their sister company Warner Bros. The rest of the 8 channels include leading regional channels in India; DD Podhigai (Tamil), NE TV (Telugu), India Vision (Malayalam), Star Jalsa (Bangla), Star Pravah (Marathi), Mahua (Bhojpuri), DD Kashmir (Urdu / Kashmiri), & TV99 (Rajasthani).

BIG TV will be offering these channels across various subscription packs. Customers wishing to avail of these channels can log their request at the call-centre by asking for the new subscription pack. The customer can select the free regional pack as part of the new subscription / recharge. BIG TV’s subscription packs are available from Rs.115 (plus taxes) onwards.

Commenting on the introduction of the new channels in Reliance BIG TV bouquet, Mr. Mahesh Prasad, President, Reliance Communications said, “Our new offers are part of BIG TV’s continuous endeavor to offer increased value to customers with great savings in mind. Besides reducing prices on some of the existing packages, we’ve also added to the regional channel count in 13 regional packs. We make sure Reliance Big TV caters to all kind of viewers in entertainment category. This goes to show Reliance BIG TV stands for the benefit of its customers at all times.”

The introduction of new channels is part of Reliance BIG TV’s overall strategy to increase its channel bouquet to 400 channels over the next one year. Reliance BIG TV plans to offer a choice of Indian and global channels to its subscribers.

BSNL targets 7.5 million broadband subscribers in FY'10

NEW DELHI, May 16: State-run telecom services provider BSNL today said it is targeting to have 7.5 million broadband subscribers in the current fiscal, banking on the demand opportunities from the small towns and cities.

"We are targeting (to have) 7.5 million broadband subscribers. Though the growth will come mainly from class A cities but B and C class cities are also catching up fast," BSNL General Manager (Broadband) Anil Jain said.

BSNL currently has 3.7 million customers.

"We are already offering broadband services in the rural areas at subsidised rates. Going ahead, we are also talking to vendors for offering bundled subscription at nominal rates," Jain added.

All the integrated private telecom operators like Bharti, Reliance are targeting high as well as mass market broadband subscribers to shore up their non-telephony revenues.

BSNL operates all over the country, except in Delhi and Mumbai.

MTNL launches 3G mobile service in Mumbai

MUMBAI, May 16: State-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) became the first operator to launch third generation (3G) mobile service in the city expecting to rope in one lakh customers by March next year.

"Our total investment for the 3G launch in Mumbai is Rs 250 crore and we hope to rope in one lakh customers by March next year. Connections will be available in about a month's time," MTNL's Chairman and Managing Director R S P Sinha told reporters in Mumbai.

Sinha said that the company has built-up capcity to extend the service to 7.5 lakh subscribers, but due to

unavailability of the required specturm, only four lakh customers could be served.

"We will launch the service in South and Central Mumbai currently. This will soon be expanded to other parts of the city, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan and Dombivali," Sinha said, adding that ITI/Alcatel-Lucent India was puting in place the necessary infrastructure.

The 3G service would enable customers to make video calls, view LIVE TV channels on their mobiles, download data from internet at speeds upto 2 mbps and songs among many otehr applications involving high-speed data downloads, he said.

MTNL has associated with Nokia which would provide 3G handset plus connection package.

3G services require a 3G-enabled handset and a 3G U-SIM. Customers already having 3G enabled handsets would need to take MTNL 3G connection.

Aircel to expand network, to cover 23 circles

NEW DELHI, March 24: With the launch of operations in Delhi, Aircel, a joint venture between Malaysia's Maxis Communications and Apollo Hospital Enterprise, has decided to expand its network, and will cover 23 circles in the next two years.

In addition, Aircel is expected to offer a gamut of personalized value-added services to its subscriber base. Gurdeep Singh, COO, Aircel, said, "There's an emerging need for personalization, which is driven by youth, although economical and environmental challenges exist."

Aircel is expected to launch a bouquet of value-added services with localized content, and a WAP portal in Hindi for GPRS devices. "The company will be initiating Doctor's Speak as well as an integrated helpline soon," said Gurdeep Singh.

According to Singh, "Web 2.0, 3G, networking, convergence, and cloud has led to the change in preferences. Now mobiles have become an essential part, and we can do banking, shopping and entertainment, as well as book tickets and pay bills."

Moreover, the company will also participate in the 3G auction as it has already rolled out this service in Malaysia and Sri Lanka.

BlackBerry Goes 3G with BSNL

NEW DELHI, March 23: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) and Research In Motion (RIM) have launched the BlackBerry solution for enterprise and individual BlackBerry customers across India.

BSNL will support the following BlackBerry handsets: BlackBerry Curve 8310, BlackBerry Bold, and BlackBerry 8700g.

Users will finally be able to explore 3G capabilities of the BlackBerry Bold as it would be the first BlackBerry to run on BSNL's tri-band HSDPA high-speed networks.

The earlier plan was to launch BSNL-BlackBerry services was in April.

MTNL sees profits from 3G earliest in two years

MUMBAI, March 19: Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), the state-owned telecom utility, says profitability on its third generation (3G) mobile services will depend on the 3G auction price. The company is readying to launch 3G services in Mumbai in May after the February roll-out in Delhi.

The auction of the 3G spectrum has been deferred till after elections.

J Gopal, executive director, MTNL, said "Our profitability depends very much on the 3G spectrum auction price. If the reserve price for 3G is close to the auction price, we will surely turn profitable in two years. If it is twice or thrice, it will take very long to turn profitable on 3G." 3G is an advanced mobile telecommunications technology that enables faster transfer of audio and video data.

Gopal did not elaborate on the investments being made to launch 3G services in Mumbai. In February, MTNL launched Jadoo, its 3G mobile service, in Delhi at an investment of Rs 400 crore. RSP Sinha, the chairman and managing director of MTNL, had said then that the company was looking for tie-ups with manufacturers of 3G handsets.

In January, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had proposed a reserve price of Rs 3,540 crore for GSM operators and Rs 885 crore for CDMA operators. The finance ministry wants to mop up about Rs 40,000 crore through 3G spectrum auction. For the Mumbai launch, MTNL has deployed 30 advanced base transreceiver stations (BTS) and plans to add more than 100 BTS in the coming months.

For its 3G services, MTNL has sourced network technologies from Alcatel Lucent.

Even though mobile penetration in both Delhi and Mumbai, the two metros that MTNL covers, is nearing 100%, the firm is looking at tapping new segments of users to drive revenues. "We earn an average revenue per user (ARPU) of Rs 200 on our mobile services.

Though the markets in Delhi and Mumbai are reaching saturation, we still have avenues to grow. We are targeting school-going children, students and professionals who come to these cities temporarily with greater value added services (VAS) such as video ringtones, visual talking experiences, visual chats, etc," said Gopal.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), the other telecom PSU, has launched 3G services in 11 cities already. BSNL and MTNL were given 3G spectrum in 2008, ahead of the auction for private players.

India adds 13.45 mn mobile users in Feb: TRAI

NEW DELHI, March 19: The Indian telecom scene continues to record a robust growth with the operators adding over 13 million customers in February, higher thanthe average additions of 10 million in past few months. However, the total addition in February is a notch lower than the January additions of over 15 million subscribers. Telecos attribute the marginal dip to being a shorter month by two days.

The number of phone connections in the country — mobile and landline — has reached 413 million as of February-end compared to 400 million in January, telecom regulator Trai said on Thursday. Mobile phone users now account for close to 91% of the country’s telephone base with 375.74 million mobile connections. The robust growth has also helped push the country’s teledensity to 35.62%, an increase of 1.12% when compared to January. This means, there are about 36 phone connections for every 100 people in India.

The growth in the telecom sector has come in the backdrop of increased competition in the market leading to cheap call rates, which are among the lowest in the world. Reliance Communications (RCOM) took the lead once again by adding over 3 million in new users in February, GSM and CDMA combined. Last month, the company added close to 5 million new users. The company now has a subscriber base of 69.6 million compared to 66.2 million in January. RCOM launched GSM services in January. Bharti Airtel and Vodafone, the two largest GSM operators in the country added 2.7 million and 2.5 million new subscribers respectively in the month of February, while Tata Teleservices, a CDMA operator added about 1 million new users.

India, the world’s fastest growing mobile market, is expected to sustain the current growth rates as telcos expand their offerings to rural India. Currently, rural India accounts for only 27% of the country’s cellular base even though it represents about 70% of India’s population.

Despite enjoying the lowest tariffs in the world, call rates are set to fall further as operators are set to ignite several rounds of price wars as they expand their offerings.

For instance, Aircel, which launched GSM services in Delhi on Wednesday unveiled tariffs as low as 40 paise/minute while also introducing special packages for students and migrants.

Aircel is set to expand to several new circles over the next two months.

Ditto with Sistema-Shayam, which is set to launch services in the southern circles beginging Chennai and Tamil Nadu later this month. Tata Teleservices too is expected to launch pan-Indian GSM services soon. Several other players such as Unitech-Telenor, Swan, Loop and Datacom are also set to launch mobile services over the next few months. According to Trai, in the wireline segment, the subscriber base decreased to 37.73 million in the month of February against 37.75 million subscribers in January 2009 registering a drop of 0.02 million. However, the drop in wireline segment is lower than last month’s drop of 0.15 million.

BSNL’s wireline subscriber base dipped by 0.06 million to reach 29.22 million in February compared to 29.29 million in January. MTNL too registered a drop of close to 9,200 customers to take its total subscriber base to 3.51 million in the wireline space. However, private telecom operators providing landline services like Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices recorded positive growth, except Sistema-Shyam Teleservices, which recorded a dip of about 1,500 wireline customers.

The broadband sector also recorded a positive growth. The country added 0.2 million new users in February, taking the total customers using high-speed Internet services to 5.85 million. However, this is well below the target of 9 million users by 2007, laid out in the broadband policy.

Aircel starts GSM services in Delhi, tariff may dip

NEW DELHI, March 18: Aircel launched its GSM services in Delhi on Wednesday to become the 7th operator to fight for market share in a city that boasts of both the highest per capita income in India after Chandigarh and Goa as well as a teledensity touching 90 per cent.

Its entry promises to create some excitement for customers with attractive tariff plans that will be valid for a year and a claim to a superior network. With new entrants pouring into the market, Delhi's other six mobile operators Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, MTNL, Tatas and Reliance may also be forced to improve their tariff plans in days ahead.

For starters, Aircel is rewarding usage by offering a lifetime validity scheme for prepaid mobile customers that allows users to make local calls at Rs 1 for the first minute, 60 paise for the second minute and just 40 paise from the third minute onwards.

Aircel is targeting potential customers from all the major segments - business, corporate, youth/students and migrant population from North-East, Bengal, Bihar and UP.

Aircel's business users can call and message local Aircel numbers for free while the STD Aircel to Aircel tariff will be just 50 paise.

According to Sandip Das, director Aircel, the company has already spent/committed $5 billion for nation-wide capex rollouts through 2009 while a total of $10 billion will be invested by 2011.

"We have raised $1.8 billion through debt and the balance will be raised through a mix of debt and equity", he said.

Delhi is Aircel's 14th circle with the launch of 4 more circles to conclude by April. "The entire 23-circle rollout should be possible in 2 years. However, if we dont rollout all the networks ourselves", it could be sooner, said Das.

Aircel, a joint venture between Maxis Communications Berhad (Malaysia) and Apollo Hospital Enterprise Ltd, with Maxis holding 74 per cent stake, has also expressed interest in listing the firm.

"We may look at a public offer once the economy looks up," Das said.

Despite the adverse economic and financial climate, Das said Aircel still has the appetite to bid for 3G spectrum at a base price of Rs 2,020 crore.

The company, which has 17 million subscribers hopes to touch 30 million subscribers by the end of 2009.

MTNL to divert realty, towers into new arm

NEW DELHI, March 17: State-run telecom company MTNL, which runs fixed-line and mobile networks in India’s top two telecom markets of Mumbai and Delhi, and is examingplans to hive off its real estate and mobile towers worth more than Rs 6,000 crore to fund its expansion into new areas, according to a company official and a consultant familiar with the firm’s thinking.

MTNL is facing challenges to grow revenues now, as the mobile market is saturated in the two metro markets and the company is also seeing a fall in landline connections. The plan to separate the towers and real estate assets into a new entity, which can be sold or listed separately on the market, will help it raise much-needed funds for diversifcation, said the consultant, who has held discussions with the company on the issue.

A top MTNL executive confirmed the hive off plans, but said a final decision on this issue would be taken by the company’s board. The executive, who asked not to be named, refused to divulge when MTNL’s board would take up this proposal.

MTNL, together with larger state-run peer BSNL, plans to build and operate undersea links to connect India to West Asia and Singapore at an estimated cost of about Rs 1,800 crore. It also requires funds to expand and acquire telecom operations outside India, which it has been keen to do as it cannot operate anywhere else in India under a government mandate that restricts it to just Mumbai and Delhi.

BSNL Plans Broadband Services for Rural Users

NEW DELHI, March 16: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. plans to offer broadband connectivity to users of its wired-line telecom services in India's rural areas in a bid to retain and attract more such subscribers, an official of the state-run company said.

India had 362.30 million mobile phone users at the end of January, the second largest in the world. But the number of wired-line users in the country has been falling due to the cheaper calling rates and convenience of mobile phones.

"We are sitting on a goldmine of 40 million copper lines, and we want to reverse the trend in the next (financial) year," according to Anil Jain, deputy director-general of broadband services at BSNL.

BSNL is India's largest wired-line operator, but the number of its landline subscribers fell to 29.29 million at the end of January, from 29.5 million at the end of December.

The total number of wired-line users in the country has also seen a sharp drop to 37.75 million in January from 39.25 million a year earlier, and from 37.90 million at the end of December.

The company plans to reduce its broadband tariff charges for rural areas. "Modems will be given free of charge to rural consumers," Jain said.

BSNL is also in talks with computer manufacturers and vendors to offer personal computers bundled with a broadband connection, with each computer to be sold at an 4,500 rupees ($87.4) discount compared with the market price, he added.

By the end of March, BSNL is planning to provide broadband capability to 28,000 telephone exchanges, Jain said. "Each of the exchange will cover at least 10 villages. Hence we will be covering almost 50% of the rural population."

BSNL expects to gain 1 million new wired-line and broadband subscribers in rural India by the financial year ending March 31, 2012, Mr. Jain said. He didn't elaborate on the number of wired-line users in rural areas.

It competes with private players Bharti Airtel Ltd., Reliance Communications Ltd. and unlisted Tata Teleservices Ltd., in providing wired-line phone services across India.

BSNL also provides television services on the Internet to attract more urban customers, Mr. Jain said.

BSNL, which had rolled out television services on the Internet early last year, has around 7,000 subscribers in the 25 cities where it offers Internet protocol TV services, Mr. Jain said.

"We have tested the service in another 40 cities, where it will be launched within this fiscal (financial year ending March 31)," he said.

The company will also launch an Internet entertainment portal and charge users to download audio and video clippings, he said.

TRAI backs 3-year lock-in on stake sale

NEW DELHI, March 13: Telecom regulator TRAI has endorsed the communications ministry’s proposal to impose a three-year lock-in on stake sale by owners ofcompanies that acquired telecom licences in early 2008.

TRAI chairman Nripendra Misra said the lock-in will also apply to new licences that Vodafone Essar, Idea Cellular and Aircel were given last year. These players were given additional licences for new circles last year, enabling them to become pan-India operators.

Last year, the Department of Telecom (DoT) had suggested that existing telecom licensing norms be amended and a 3-5 year lock-in be imposed on the sale of promoters’ equity in new entrants, including Swan, Shyam, Unitech, Loop Telecom, S Tel and Datacom. The DoT had referred this proposal to TRAI.

Justifying its decision to recommend a lockin , TRAI said the main objective was ‘to block the unearned gains arising from transaction in stakes of promoters particularly when the value of spectrum is not getting correctly reflected in the entry fee’ .

The government has faced severe criticism over telecom minister A Raja’s decision to award pan-India licences for Rs 1,651 crore (about $400 million), a price fixed in 2001. Critics point out that valuations commanded by the new players that offloaded stakes to foreign entities proved that the government had given these licences at throwaway prices. The Central Vigilance Commission is also probing DoT’s move to allot pan-India licences for Rs 1,651 crore.

The regulator has said the lock-in will not apply if these telecom companies were to issue fresh share capital to investors and foreign telcos . This implies that the lock-in will not impact the deals which have already been entered into by companies such as Swan and Unitech. While Swan offloaded 45% stake to UAE’s Etisalat for $900 million, Unitech divested up to 60% stake in its telecom venture to Norway’s Telenor for $1.1 billion. These companies have maintained that they did not offload stakes but only issued fresh equity to the foreign partners.

During a stake sale, the proceeds go to the owners, but when fresh equity is issued , the revenues come into the company. For instance, the $1.1 billion that Telenor is paying for a 60% stake will reflect in the books of Unitech’s telecom arm and will not go to the owners.

At the same time, the regulator has also said that telcos may be allowed to sell stakes during the 3-year period with written approval from the government and on fulfilment of their roll-out obligations. But TRAI has added a slew of additional riders, saying 50% of the profits from the stake sale must be shared with the government and the remaining 50% must compulsorily be invested in the telco’s network expansion.

TRAI has also said that DoT, in consultation with the law and finance ministries, should explore the possibility of imposing the 3-year lock-in on sale transactions that have already taken place. Additionally, TRAI has also added that promoters cannot pledge their shares during the lock-in period without obtaining prior approval from the government.
Several industry watchers ET spoke to said that the government won’t be able to impose these norms as the model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha elections was already in place. DoT sources said they would seek clarity on this issue from the Centre.

TRAI has also decided to seek an explanation from the government over its M&A norms announced last year.

Aircel launches GSM mobile services in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD, March 12: Aircel on Thursday rolled out its GSM mobile services in Hyderabad, marking its presence all over the southern India with the roll out.

"With a subscriber base of over 17 million, Aircel, the fifth largest service provider in the country, has rolled out its 13th circle with Hyderabad completing its footprint in southern India," Aircel Chief Operating Officer Gurdeep Singh told reporters here.

The Hyderabad launch augments the next phase of our pan India roll-out, Singh said.

To address the need of a high migrant population from various parts of the country including a large number of students, we are offering free incoming on Aircel to Aircel roaming in the southern corridor and STD at Rs one per minute from Aircel in Hyderabad to all metros, he added.

"While the mobile penetration in Hyderabad is approximately 80 per cent, there are a lot of segment-based needs that an operator can fulfill for better consumer satisfaction," Singh said.

Aircel plans to invest Rs 1,000 crore in two phases for its expansion. In the first phase, the telecom operator will invest Rs 500 crore in infrastructure, data centres, offices. And in the second phase, the end of the year, an additional Rs 500 crore more will be invested.

By mid-June 2010, almost the entire India would be covered, Singh said.

Mobile call rates set to come down by up to 20%

NEW DELHI, March 9: STD and local calls tariffs for mobile users are set to come down by up to 20% from April 1 onwards. Telecom regulator TRAI on Mondaydirected that termination charges be slashed by upto 33% to 20 paise per minute.

Termination fee is the charges paid by one operator to another for enabling the calls to move between the networks. For instance, if a Bharti Airtel customer makes call to Vodafone subscriber, Airtel will pay 30 paise per minute to Vodafone as termination charges. Any reduction in termination charges will result in a direct reduction in mobile tariffs.

Overseas calls to India will also become more expensive from Arpil 1. TRAI has allowed Indian telcos such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar, Reliance Communications, Idea Cellular and Aircel to charge foreign telcos more for terminating overseas calls in India.

Indian telcos can charge foreign operators 33% more for all incoming calls that terminate in India. So far, Indian regulations did not allow telcos to charge more than 30 paise per minute for bringing calls into India, but TRAI has now increased it to 40 paise per minute.

"Termination charge for incoming international calls would be 40 paise per minute against the existing charge of 30 paise per minute. The Authority expects that the service providers would pass on this benefit in the form of lower tariff for outgoing international calls," TRAI said in a statement.

India gets 3 minutes of overseas calls for every minute of ISD traffic it sends out. Telcos say the high ratio of incoming calls from other countries should be utilised to earn foreign exchange.

Leading telcos say that increasing termination rates for international telcos will not impact domestic consumers. They have also said that they would use these additional revenues to lower ISD tariffs for domestic consumers in India.

BSNL cuts local and STD rates by 50%

NEW DELHI: State-owned telecom service provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) today said it has slashed its local and STD rates by 50 per cent allowing rural users to make calls at 40 paise per minute.

BSNL wireline customers would be able to call anywhere in the country through fixed telephone at Rs 0.40 to Rs 0.60 per minute, BSNL said in a statement.

"Rural customers who are paying 80 paise per minute can now call anywhere in India at 40 paise per minute and customers who are paying Rs 1.20 per minutes can now call anywhere in India at 60 paise per minute.

Moreover, all BSNL wireline customers would be given STD facility without any additional security deposit.

The new tariff had already been implemented throughout the Country from March 1, 2009.

Last year in the month of June, 2008 BSNL had reduced the call rates for intra circles calls to its fixed line network by 50 per cent and accordingly all intra circle calls to BSNL fixed/WLL could be made for duration of 120 second per pulse.

Calls to India Could Become Costlier

NEW DELHI, March 4: If you have loved ones living abroad who call you incessantly, things might just change (for good or for worse). In the near future, your friends and family living abroad may have to start paying more than they currently do (per minute) to call you in India.

Here's Why.

Telecom service providers Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar, Idea Cellular, and Aircel have suggested Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to charge foreign telecom operators more than they already do to carry out calls to India, according to a report in The Times of India.

When a call is carried out from India to a foreign country, the Indian telecom operator is charged Rs. 3 on an average. While according to Indian regulations, foreign telecom operators cannot be charged anything above 30 paisa per minute to conclude calls made to an Indian subscriber.

State-owned telecom operator BSNL too had proposed the government to charge foreign telecom players 10 times from what they are currently being charged for incoming calls to India.

The purpose of Indian telcom operators proposing the hike is to simply bring them at par with foreign operators. Also, the Indian telecom operators recommend that that the high ratio of incoming calls from foreign countries could be utilized to earn foreign exchange.

The crux of the matter: Monetarily, if this proposal does go through, you wouldn't lose any money. However, do expect those frequent calls from your aunt in London to lessen.

Aircel to invest Rs. 500 crore

KOCHI, Feb 11: Aircel, a telecom operator, is all set to invest Rs.500 crore in the State as part of its first-phase operations by setting up 1,200 base stations.

The investment would be doubled in one year when the services become fully operational, company chief operating officer Gurdeep Singh said here on Tuesday.

Aircel announced the launch of its GSM mobile services in the State with actor Prithviraj doing the honours at a colourful launch ceremony here recently.

Aircel has a subscriber base of over 16 million.

At a media interaction, Singh said the company will expand its operations in the southern telecom corridor by improving presence in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in the coming months. The Kerala launch augments the next phase of the pan-India rollout of the company, he said.

Aircel is a late entrant to the State. But with mobile penetration in the State staying at 42 per cent, there is still a huge opportunity to grow, he said. In the State, Aircel would offer a bouquet of services with localised content including a WAP portal page in the local language. The company is also offering a low Gulf call rate of Rs.5.99 per minute.

Sony unveils pocket-sized Vaio

LAS VEGAS: Japanese electronics giant Sony debuted a powerful, fashionable notebook computer small enough to fit in a purse or suit jacket.

The Vaio P Series “lifestyle” personal computer is the size of a standard business envelope for mail and weighs a mere 1.4 pounds.

"It easily fits in a purse and I know for a fact it fits in a jacket pocket," Stan Glasgow, head of Sony's operations in the United States, said as he unveiled a garnet-coloured P Series Vaio in Las Vegas on the eve of the Consumer Electronics Show. "Aside from its design, it is a serious piece of technology."

The mini-notebook has built-in Bluetooth and wireless Internet connection hardware along with global positioning satellite (GPS) technology.

"You can be connected where ever there is a cell phone signal," Glasgow said.

The stylishly small Vaio has a high-resolution 8-inch LCD screen. It is priced at $900 and will be available in stores late this month, according to Sony.

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