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SEPTEMBER'11 News

Vodafone says it expanded 3G services as per roaming agreements

Leading telecom operator Vodafone has defended its roaming agreements with other players for 3G mobile services in circles where it did not have licence, saying this was as per the licence. Recently, the Department of Telecom and the industry regulator TRAI had raised doubts over 3G roaming pacts of companies, which are not having 3G services on pan-India basis. The pacts help them reduce cost. "The UAS Licence expressly allows to enter into roaming agreements with other Licensees and to provide national and international roaming services to their customers," Vodafone said in a written reply to DoT seeking clarification on the issue. Further, the letter added, "Inter-circle was permitted by DoT through an amendment to the Unified Access Service Licence (UASL) and the Cellular Mobile Telephone services (CMTS) licence on June 12, 2008. "This amendment thus is a part of the UASL/CMTS licence terms and permits operators to enter into mutual commercial agreements of intra-service areas roaming facilities, with other service providers." The industry (telecom operators) had specifically asked DoT whether intra-circle roaming for offering of services to customers would also be applicable for 3G in case some operators are not able to acquire spectrum in all circles, the letter said. In response to the above query, the DOT had clearly stated that "the roaming policy is applicable to the licences and not to specific spectrum bands. Hence roaming will be permitted," Vodafone''s letter said. In July this year, in an effort to reduce cost and offer pan-India 3G services, Vodafone, Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular had entered into an agreement to provide 3G's seamless service to their customers on pan-India basis. These companies had entered into a bilateral roaming agreement, both inter and intra circle, to provide 3G services to customers in the circles where they can not build their own 3G network as they do not have the licence, in order to bring a pan-India experience of 3G services to their users. Airtel, Aircel and Reliance Communications each owns 3G spectrum licences in 13 of the 22 telecom circles, while Vodafone has it in 10 circles and, Idea and the Tatas in nine circles each. Source.

Huawei launches Honor Smartphone with 3 Days Battery

SChinese mobile phone manufacturer Huawei announced a new Android smartphone that the company says has a battery life of up to three days on a single charge. It has a 4-inch FWVGA (480×854 pixel) capacitive touchscreen. The Honor runs on a 1.4GHz single-core processor and 512MB of RAM. The Honor seems to have a great battery life on account of its 1,900 mAh battery. Huawei promises 3 days of battery life. However, it’s not the highest-capacity battery since the Atrix 4G has 1930 mAh.The phone is relatively light (140g) and thin at only 10.9 mm. It features an 8MP autofocus camera that is supposedly capable of HDR photography. It also has a 2MP front-facing camera. It comes with 4GB of storage space built-in, which is expandable up to 32GB via microSD. The price for Huawei Honor is not known as yet. However there are speculations that it will give tough competition to mid-range Android devices when it launches sometime in Q4 2011, in Asia Pacific, China, Russia and the Middle East. Source.

BSNL Broadband gets Better, Faster with 100 Mbps Speed

State-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) introduces 'fibre to the home' (FTTH) service. With the new FTTH service, subscribers can expect Internet speed up to whopping 100Mbps. The BSNL has initially launched the service in Pune, where few successful pilot tests were conducted few weeks ago. The telecom operator plans to expand the reach of its FTTH service to nearly 1,000 customers in the next three months. While launching the new FTTH service, BSNL's senior official V K Mahendra says, "A couple of connections were activated in the city in the last few months on a pilot basis. After studying its performance, the BSNL has decided to float the services on a commercial basis.” The FTTH service will be provided via optical fibre cables, using the 'gigabit-capable passive optical network' (GPON). According to the BSNL, the GPON will push the Internet speed and give subscribers extra speed in addition to the existing broadband. VK Mahendra adds that the BSNL has now set its sights on high end customers, who need high speed connectivity. Moreover, subscribers can access services such as VoIP, IPTV, cable TV, video on demand, gaming etc via the FTTH. The monthly charges for the FTTH service range from Rs. 2,999 to Rs. 83,999. Source.

Airtel 3G USB Stick Plan

Airtel has launched an exciting range of airtel 3G USB modems with speed upto 7.2 Mbps – E1731 and it is also available in airtel 3G USB modem 3.6 Mbps speed. Airtel 3G Data Card Price:
Airtel 3.6Mbps 3G USB Stick Price – Rs.2,099 (Huawei E153)
Airtel 7.2Mbps 3G USB Stick Price – Rs.2,499 (Huawei E173)
Airtel 3G Tariff Plans
Rs.8 for 10 MB, validity 1 day
Rs.63 for 65 MB, validity 3 days
Rs.100 for 100 MB, validity 30 days
Rs.200 for 250 MB, validity 30 days
Rs.450 for 600 MB, validity 30 days
Rs.750 for 2 GB, validity 30 days

Reliance 3G USB Stick

Faster speeds. Enhanced experiences. Richer life Superfast internet upto 21 Mbps and network superiority Brand new multimedia services – video calling, video on demand, gaming, exclusive 3G content Thousands of killer apps Existing mobile broadband and mobile TV in a new super-exciting avatar Ease of use, enhanced security, and personalized customer service Reliance 3G USB Stick Price:
Reliance 3G 7.2 Mbps USB Stick Price: Rs.2,000
Reliance 3G 21.6 Mbps USB Stick Price: Rs.4,499
Reliance 3G USB Stick Tariff: (Post Paid Volume Plans)

Plan	MRP (Rs)	Free Quota	Overage charges	Validity
3G Plan 100 MB	Rs. 100	100 MB	2p / 10KB	30 days
3G Plan 250 MB	Rs. 199	250 MB	2p / 10KB	30 days
3G Plan 500 MB	Rs. 399	500 MB	2p / 10KB	30 days
3G Plan 1 GB	Rs. 649	1 GB	1p / 10KB	30 days
3G Plan 2 GB	Rs. 749	2 GB	1p / 10KB	30 days
3G Plan 3 GB	Rs. 899	3 GB	1p / 10KB	30 days
3G Plan 5 GB	Rs. 1,199	5 GB	1p / 10KB	30 days
3G Plan 10 GB	Rs. 1,499	10 GB	1p / 10KB	30 days
3G Plan 15 GB	Rs. 1,799	15 GB	1p / 10KB	30 days
3G Plan 21 GB	Rs. 2,100	21 GB	1p / 10KB	30 days

Post the usage of free benefits following charges will be applicable. Voice: 50ps/min, SMS 50ps/sms, Data: 10ps/10kb upto 50 MB and 1ps/10Kb beyond 50Mb Video Calls: Default/ Base tariff plan. Video Calls offer are promotional till 27- Sep- 2011 with validity of 3 months only.

Oracle launches app store 'warehouse' for telcos

Oracle Communications on Friday launched a white-label app store platform designed to help telecoms operators manage the content they offer and better segment their customers. The Digital Store allows operators to set up their own applications stores and better manage the way they present content to end users. It assists with the management of content submission, testing, and customer purchases, and essentially provides a framework that service providers can use to build stores similar to Apple's App Store or Android's Marketplace.Furthermore, "if operator A gives us an idea on how to make the service better then operator B, who wasn't bright enough to think of it themselves, will gain the benefit," King said. King described the Digital Store as a "warehouse prebuilt with shelves." Oracle leases the "warehouse" to the operator, and "sells space on the shelves" to third-party developers, becoming their distribution platform. Each service provider has a unique catalogue stored in its warehouse, consisting of its own and third-party applications. It is then possible for the operator to offer different store fronts dependant on its target audience, appealing to age, gender, or language. "We do think there's a great deal of interest in this type of capability," King mentioned. Oracle stated on Tuesday that its Digital Store will help maximise the revenue service providers receive from premium downloads, but declined to give specifics. The company also declined to comment on the cost of the platform to service providers. Source.

BSNL offers Free 3G data card from 27 Sept - 26 Oct 2011

State Run PSU and Pan India 3G Service provide Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has announced the launch of FREE 3G Data card under special festival offers this Navratra and Dipawali Season with advance Rental Plans and 20% Discount on sale price of 7.2MBPS and 14.4 MBPS USB Data card during the period from 26th September, 2011 to 26th October, 2011. The customer has to take any of the existing 3G postpaid Data plan or recharge with any prepaid Data RCV/STV with MRP Rs. 400 or more. So Enjoy festival with 3G data card with FREE Roaming and attractive tariffs. For more details Please contact Nearby CSC(Customer care center) in your area/City. Source.

Airtel faces fine of Rs 50 crore for masking calls

The telecom department is likely to haul up Bharti Airtel for allegedly camouflaging its calling-line identification (CLI) mechanism while making promotional business calls to non-Airtel customers. So much so, it plans to slap a Rs 50-crore penalty on the company since tinkering with the CLI mechanism tantamouts to a breach of licence conditions, an official with direct knowledge of the matter told ET. In an internal note reviewed by ET, the department claims it has received complaints about "Bharti Airtel camouflaging its CLI mechanism in Madhya Pradesh circle for making business promotion calls to non-Airtel mobile customers". Investigations are underway to detect similar violations in other circles. Under Clause 41.19 (iv) of universal service access licence norms, a mobile operator cannot tamper with its CLI mechanism since this is required for security purposes, and any violation amounts to a security breach. "If a third party provides any CLI, then without making any changes, we forward it to the subscriber, which happened in our case," said Bharti Airtel in an internal communication to the telecom department. But following investigations into the case by its vigilance wing, the telecom department found Bharti Airtel's rationale "did not hold good since the call centre in question was not a third party". Source.

Telenor to invest up to Rs 15,500 cr in India operations

ncertainty in the telecom sector nothwithstanding, Norwegian telecom giant Telenor on Thursday said it will invest up to Rs 15,500 crore in Indian operations in joint venture with Unitech Wireless. Group CEO Fredrik Baksaas said "peak funding" will remain within Rs 15,500 crore, while addressing an event 'Capital Markets Day, 2011' in Norway. Telenor, which has a mobile services joint venture in India with Unitech Wireless and operates under the brand of Uninor, had said last year that it plans to invest Rs 15,500 in 10 years in India operations. The company expects to generate a four-fold growth in its revenue target to Rs 2,500 crore from its Indian arm for the fiscal 2011-12 as compared to Rs 600 crore registered in last fiscal, Uninor Managing director Sigve Brekke said. Besides, he said that the company projects to slash its capital expenditure by Rs 400 crore in 2011-12 from Rs 1,200 crore posted in 2010-11. Telenor holds 67.25 per cent stake in Uninor, the rest is with real estate firm Unitech. The company had received licence to roll out services in 21 of the 22 circles in India. Although it has launched its services in only 13 circles and has a mobile subscriptions of 23 million users. The company is the second largest foreign operator in Asia. It has operations in the Nordics, Eastern Europe and across Asia. It has controlling stake investments in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Thailand and Malaysia. Source.

World Communication Awards 2011 - Short List details

The World Communication Awards recognise the companies and individuals responsible for the innovations, achievements and great new services that are helping to build tomorrows industry. The Awards are open to all communications providers, whether they are a traditional carrier, service provider, multimedia content provider or another organisation providing a communication service. The World Communication Awards maintain their fiercely protected independence and focus on the big issues, while encouraging more entries from communications providers across the globe, both large and small, to ensure the awards can truly claim ’world’ status. The 2011 Technology Foresight Award is dedicated to Dr Alireza Mahmoodshahi.

Smart Phone Sales Still Rocketing

Worldwide sales of mobile devices to end users totalled 428.7 million units in the second quarter, a 16.5% increase from the second quarter of 2010, says Gartner. Sales of smartphones were up 74% year-on-year and accounted for 25% of device sales, up from 17% in the second quarter of 2010. Nokia continued to lose market share but held onto its lead in the smartphone market, largely due to channel partners reducing the volume of Symbian-based smartphones in their invento- ries. The combined smartphone operating system share of iOS and Android doubled to nearly 62%, up from just over 31% in the second quarter of 2010. In a separate report Gartner forecasts there will be 5.6 billion mobile connections worldwide by the end of this year, up from 5 billion in 2010.

Verizon CEO closely watching AT&T, T-Mobile deal

Verizon Communications Inc.'s chief executive said he's closely watching the Justice Department's deliberations into AT&T Inc.'s proposed takeover of T-Mobile USA, with the decision potentially impacting Verizon and the rest of the sector and hurting the ability for companies to gain spectrum. "We need to be very thoughtful on what the impacts would be to the overall industry if this is a way to regulate the industry without actually passing regulation," said Lowell McAdam during a Goldman Sachs investor conference, according to a FactSet transcript. McAdam added that the AT&T tie-up with T-Mobile "was kind of like gravity." It needed to happen because T-Mobile had spectrum but didn't have the capital to build it out, while AT&T needed the spectrum, he said. "So in my discussions with the [Federal Communications Commission] and folks on the Hill, if we want to stop or if the government wants to stop a merger like that, they need to then step up and say, this is how we are going to get spectrum in the hands of people that can use it to serve our customers and to create jobs in the country," he said. McAdam said that can be done through secondary auctions, incentive options or freeing up additional spectrum. He said the wireless industry needs more spectrum, and the FCC will be "very focused on delivering that." Verizon rival AT&T earlier this year made a $39 billion bid to buy T-Mobile from Deutsche Telekom AG, seeking to gain access to its spectrum and become the largest carrier in the U.S. The deal has since faced some setbacks, including a bid by the Justice Department to block the merger. The government has said the combination of the second- and fourth-largest cellphone companies in the U.S. would harm competition and likely raise prices for consumers Source.

GSM subscriber base shows downward trend for the fourth month

Slowdown in the telecom sector continued last month, with GSM operators adding just about 5.33 million subscribers in August, compared to 7.65 million in the earlier month. The GSM subscriber base, thus, stood at 611.75 million at the end of last month. For the fourth month in a row, subscriber additions continued to decline. In May, for the first time since October 2009, the subscriber additions was below the 10-million mark when 9.53 million GSM users were added. In June, the numbers dipped further and only 8.58 million GSM users were added. The GSM subscriber base stood at 598.77 million at the end of June, and in July 7.64 million subscribers were added to take the total 606.41 million. Bharti Airtel, the largest GSM player, added 1.15 million users in August, taking its total subscriber base to 171.84 million, data released by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) showed. It had 28.09 per cent market share at the end of August. Rival Vodafone Essar, with a 23.56 per cent market share, notched up 1.13 million new subscribers during the month. Its subscriber base reached 144.14 million in August. Source.

Orange aims to rollout Europe-wide NFC ecosystem by 2012

Orange detailed plans this week to work with other mobile operators in a bid to establish a commercial NFC ecosystem that will span Europe by 2012.Orange plans in the long term to drive the rollout of international NFC services, where a U.K. citizen could pay for a French tram ticket using just their phone, for instance. Orange's NFC chief Vincent Barnaud said the rollout will be gradual as more NFC devices are added to the operator's portfolio.he operator has three pillars to its NFC "acceleration strategy". Firstly, it intends to "seed" the market with NFC-compatible SIMs and devices. Secondly, it aims to build each country's ecosystem in order to establish the technology; and thirdly, it plans to "form a worldwide alliance" charged with growing the NFC market. In Nice, Orange has worked with rival operators Bouygues and SFR, as well as MVNO NRJ, to launch the Cityzi service, which gives service providers access to a standardised platform to distribute NFC services, such as payment and loyalty card replacement, ticketing, and mobile promotions in the form of NFC tags. Over 150,000 Cityzi-enabled devices have been sold so far. "It's not a product, it's an ecosystem," Gurrola reiterated, adding that to make NFC a success requires cooperation between tier one service providers, governments, and standards bodies. Source.

Chetan Bhagat becomes Huawei Devices brand associate

Huawei Devices, a subsidiary of Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd on Wednesday signed the renowned author Chetan Bhagat as its brand associate to attract youth. By signing Chetan Bhagat who is also seen as a youth icon, Huawei Devices establishes a strong connect with the youth for its Smartphones and Tablets category. Chetan Bhagat known for his youth oriented novels Five Point Someone (2004), One Night @ the Call Center (2005), The 3 Mistakes of life (2008) and 2 states-the story of my marriage (2009) has also inspired a multiple Bollywood films like 3 Idiots and Hello. Under his association with Huawei, Chetan will support the launch of Huawei’s products ranging from Smartphones to Tablets and will also be a part of all digital, ATL & BTL activities. Confirming the news, Mr. Anand Narang, Director, Marketing and Solutions, Huawei Devices said , “We are pleased to get Chetan Bhagat on board as our Brand Associate. Huawei’s latest range of Smartphones and tablets cater to the youth and we are positive that our association with Chetan Bhagat will help us engage youth in meaningful ways. Speaking about the association Chetan Bhagat said, “It feels great to be associated with Huawei - a technology brand. As an engineer from IIT, I have always been very interested in technology and its applications. Telecom has been one of the fastest growing sectors in India and Huawei has played a big part in this growth.” Source.

BSNL''s loss touches Rs 6,000 cr during 2010-11

State-run BSNL''s losses have more than tripled to about Rs 6,000 crore during 2010-11 mainly due to hefty outgo for employees' salary and expenses borne by the PSU for procuring 3G and BWA spectrum.The company had registered a net loss of Rs 1,823 crore during 2009-10.According to the unaudited results of the company, the loss for 2010-11 is Rs 5,997 crore."The reason for widening of the losses is mainly on account of payment made to the Government to procure 3G and BWA licenses. The company had paid a total of Rs 18,500 crore for both," a senior BSNL official said.This resulted in loss of other income of close to Rs 4,000 crore during the year gone by. BSNL had demanded refund of this money but denied by the Finance Ministry.The total revenues of the company also declined to Rs 28,876 crore during the year, down nearly 10 per cent from Rs 32,072 crore in the previous financial year."More than 47 per cent of the total income of the company goes for the payment made to the BSNL's employees," the official said indicating the PSU may resort to voluntary retirement scheme to trip its workforce in line with recommendations made expert committee. Source.

Alcatel OT 209 the Cheapest Phone at Rs. 71

Charles Dunstone, founder and chairperson of Carphone Warehouse announced the launch of this world's cheapest mobile phone before Christmas this year which is Alcatel OT-209 worldwide at just Rs. 71 or $1.60 approx. Though it is just a basic mobile phone but still it has featured like FM radio, alarm clock and fake incoming call function. Alcatel OT-209 gives upto 400 hours of standby time and 4 hours of talk time on a single charge. It allows messages to be sent to upto 10 numbers. A user can have handsfree conference calls with upto four other numbers. The Alcatel OT-209 is a simple, lightweight phone that makes it easy to stay in touch. It weighs only 65g so can be slipped into any pocket. It has large, separated buttons and a clear, bright display. With a built-in FM radio and mobile games, this handy phone will keep you entertained on the morning commute. Customers, who are not tied to an expensive contract, will be connected to the Virgin network, the Daily Mail reported. The only catch is they will have to buy 10 pounds of credit to make calls. There are no more fees other than the cost of making calls and text messages. Alcatel OT-209 Specification and Price: * Calendar * An electronic diary. * Speakerphone * SMS * Alarm Clock. * USB * Games * FM Radio * Polyphonic Tones Source.

India’s mobile market to touch $1 billion by 2015

"With 100 "million active mobile internet users projected over the next 5 years, India’s rapidly evolving enterprise mobility (EMM) market is likely to be $1 billion by mid-2015. The EMM, excluding devices, in India currently stands at $244 million, according to ‘The Enterprise Mobility Study — Indian Market Analysis’ by management consulting company Zinnov. A combination of factors, including innovation, entrepreneurial and start-up activity, better devices penetration and increased acceptance of majority of mobile platforms, will drive the growth. India already has 840+ million mobile phone subscriber base with 15% smart phone penetration, and the tablet PC market in India sells about 1 lakh tablets per annum. All these point to a good devices penetration that is further fuelling the growth of enterprise mobility.

Trai will cap SMS to 100 per day from Sept 27

Make sure that you draw up the list of who you want to wish this Dussehra very carefully since the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has decided to cap the number of text messages that you can send every day at 100. The new set of rules has ostensibly been framed to check telemarketers from bombarding you with unwanted messages from sauna belts to real estate deals but it will end up putting curbs on how many SMSes you send from your phone. Source.

Vodafone’s 5% stake buy in India JV gets govt nod

The plea of UKbased telecom operator Vodafone to buy 5.48% stake in the joint venture — Vodafone-Essar — from two Mauritius-based entities has been approved, the government said. "Since the transaction is between non-resident (firms) to non-resident, there is no foreign equity inflow," the finance ministry said in a statement. The transaction is for transfer of shares of Vodafone Essar from Mauritius-based Essar Communications and Essar Com Ltd to Euro Pacific Securities — an indirect Mauritius-based subsidiary of Vodafone International Holdings BV. The transaction is worth Rs 2,700 crore. The FIPB cleared the transaction based on information provided by the company and inputs from a committee headed by a senior government official, the statement said. Source.

Telecom Ministry proposes new body to manage spectrum

The Ministry of Communication and IT has proposed to set up a new entity to manage and regulate spectrum allocation.To be called the Spectrum Management Commission, the new body will be set up through the proposed Spectrum Act. The Commission will subsume Wireless Planning Coordination wing of the Department of Telecom and will get wider powers including dispute settlement, pricing and regulations related to spectrum.bThe Telecom Ministry has taken this move in a bid to separate the licensing and spectrum allocating agencies. While the DoT will continue to be the licensor, all issues pertaining to spectrum allocation will be brought under the new agency.The Commission will formulate policy for allocating spectrum in a non-discriminatory manner and also determine fees and charges associated with air waves. It will also maintain a public data base for spectrum availability and draw a feedback for future allocation.The agency will also get dispute settlement powers on any issue related to spectrum allocation. At present, the Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal is the sole adjudicating body. The Commission can ask the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's recommendations but it will not be binding Source.

2G scam - Pranab questioned Chidambaram's role

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had questioned the role of home minister P Chidambaram in the 2G spectrum allocation issue in March, 2011. A letter sent by the finance ministry suggested that if Chidambaram had insisted, 2G spectrum could have been auctioned instead of being sold at throwaway prices on a first-come-first-serve basis. Chidamabaram, who was the finance minister during the 2G spectrum allocation in 2008, could have over-ruled the then telecom minister A Raja to bring transparency in the process. The note was produced on Wednesday by Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy before the Supreme Court bench of Justice GS Singhvi and Justice AK Ganguly hearing his plea for a CBI probe into Chidambaram's role in the scam.Source TOI Source.

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