While consumer electronics, technology, mobile phones, auto and sports-wear categories dominate the top 20, FMCG has only one entry in the list
Unlike the race to buy airwaves by telecom companies, airports by infrastructure companies and city gas networks by energy companies, the race to develop super apps by consumer-facing companies in India has not brushed up against any regulatory issues. Officials at the ministry of electronics and information technology and at other regulators are happy they do not have to meddle in who among the Tata group, Reliance Industries Ltd, Flipkart or Paytm will manage to build an app that sweeps in customers. Unlike separate apps a customer uses on her mobile to order groceries, buy food or airline tickets or just make payments, a super app can perform all these functions.
Spectrum trading will happen in 9 circles.
India's largest-ever spectrum auction kicked off on Saturday with major telecom operators placing bids worth Rs 53,531 crore across bands, even as the premium 700 Mhz and 900 Mhz frequencies did not find any buyer.
Pointing out to the 133-acre Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City on the outskirts of the financial capital, he said there is huge realty play opportunity that RCom's erstwhile corporate headquarters possesses, and pegged the potential value creation at the site at Rs 25,000 crore.
The transaction - the second one in less than a year - is seen as an effort to restore investor faith in the company following a dismal performance by its UK subsidiary, Jaguar Land Rover Automotive.
Regulators will need to allow the model to evolve to allow profits to flow, says Una Gulani.
Modelled loosely around the National Highway System of the US, he in 2001 launched the Golden Quadrilateral and the North-South & East-West Corridor projects to build 4/6 lane highways between four top metropolitan cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata as well as from Srinagar to Kanyakumari and Porbandar to Silchar.
Programmes offers pared-down web services on mobile phones along with Facebook' s own social network and messaging services cost free
To make the scheme attractive, the government has announced a rate structure wherein the operators may take the optical fibre on lease and provide broadband connectivity to customers.
Asserting that the self reliant India programme will help revive the global economy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday told global business community that his government aims to transform the country through access, inclusion and empowerment while also ensuring complete data security. Addressing the World Economic Forum's online Davos Agenda Summit, where he also interacted with global business leaders, Modi also said India offers a predictable and friendly environment from tax regime to FDI norms. He said Aatmanirbhar Bharat movement is committed to global good and global supply chain while the country's digital profile has been completely transformed.
Reliance Infocomm on Friday launched a 'lifetime rental free' plan for its postpaid subscribers, close on the heels of its lifetime incoming free for prepaid.
Tamil Nadu Election Candidates, TN 2016, Deepika Election Live, Thanjavur Election are some of the apps keeping people hooked to their handsets.
Reliance Communications (RCom) has served legal notice to the government on allocation of additional spectrum to existing GSM operators.
Analysts expect RIL to report consolidated revenue of Rs 1.40 trillion and 10 analysts expect RIL's net income to be Rs 9,629 crore
The company recently received permission to launch GSM services within its existing license and is awaiting allocation of spectrum, the radio frequency that enables wireless communications, from the government. CDMA and GSM services cannot be operated on the same spectrum.
With telecom disruptor Reliance Jio not raising tariffs, incumbents Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea are focusing on the minimum monthly recharge and higher first recharge offers to ensure they retain only loyal and revenue-incremental subscribers, reports Romita Majumdar.
RCom is set to launch a lifetime connection for Rs 199, the lowest from any service provider in the country.
Celebrating the first anniversary of the launch of Reliance India Mobile pre-paid cards, Reliance Infocomm has launched a 'Double Talk Time' bonus offer, providing a 100 per cent extra talk time for calls made to RIM phones.
The liquidity-fuelled rally will continue for some time, however, fundamentals are getting stretched.
According to analysts, most of the growth in the smartphone space will come from existing users, who will be lured to upgrade their handsets as new features and technologies turn existing features redundant, says Arnab Dutta.
Reliance Industries Ltd is expected to invest Rs 30,000 crore (Rs 300 billion), of the total Rs 70,000 crore (Rs 700 billion) announced, in its telecom arm Reliance Jio Infocomm over the next two years, credit rating firm Moody's said on Monday. The investment in the telecom business is a credit negative for RIL because RJio will not generate any EBITDA (an indicator of cash flows) for at least next 12 months, it said. Moody's added however that RJio will be a formidable competitor in the sector making it a credit negative for top telecom operators already in the field. "Based on RIL's March 2014 annual report, we estimate that it has already invested about Rs 400 billion (Rs 40,000 crore) in Reliance Jio, and we expect RIL to invest the next Rs 300 billion in Reliance Jio over the next two years," Moody's Investors Service said in a statement. RIL recently announced that it will launch commercial 4G telecom service of RJio in 2015 entailing investment of Rs 70,000 crore. RIL has said that RJio will initially cover about 5,000 towns and cities accounting for over 90 per cent of urban India, as well as over 215,000 villages in India and the target is to expand this to over 600,000 villages. Moody's said RJio will be a "formidable competitor in India's telecom sector" as it will enter the business with financial muscle. RJio's entry into highly competitive telecom sector is also credit negative for incumbent mobile operators and market leaders Bharti Airtel and Vodafone India because "it will undoubtedly result in intensified competition that will lead to declines in average revenue per user and margins". But, it also said that strong spectrum holding of incumbents; existing large subscriber-bases and well- established brand equity; offering 2G and 3G services (apart from 4G services being launched) as well as marketing and distribution architecture mitigate much of the near-term competitive threat from Reliance Jio for them. "Furthermore, given issues of language and literacy, large parts of rural India remain a substantially voice-based market where near-term demand for 4G services may be muted," Moody's said.
Ericsson to manage day-to-day ops across wireline and wireless network.
Indian mobile operators led by Reliance Communications, BSNL and MTNL on Friday announced a bonanza for their users who are frequent travellers by waiving or nearly eliminating roaming charges.
Thomas Ninad's bank account was defrauded of Rs 14 lakh under mysterious circumstances.
Average data usage on Airtel India network grew about three fold to 2611 megabyte (about 2.5 GB) per customer from 904 MB on YoY basis. But the average revenue from the data services per customer declined by 22.7 per cent during the period.
The Department of Telecommunication and mobile service providers, including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Reliance Communications failed to reach a consensus on the spectrum issue during a meeting held on Wednesday. According to sources, Reliance Communications Chairman Anil Ambani raised the issue of extra spectrum being held by GSM operators. He asked how over 6.2 MHz of radio waves have been given to GSM players beyond their contractual agreement.
Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications said on Tuesday the government's move to introduce mobile number portability would help GSM players Aircel, Idea and Spice as they enter new circles. The government had on Monday announced that the mobile number portability, under which users would be able to switch operators while retaining their existing cell phone numbers, would be allowed by next year.
For Q4CY20, PC shipments grew by 27 per cent year-on-year, said data from the IDC.
Idea Cellular will have to furnish an undertaking that it will entertain all the liabilities whenever a final decision is taken by the courts
Making its foray into mobile content outsourcing, the CDMA major, Reliance Communications, has signed its first contract with a Singapore-based GSM service provider.
Attempts to access the website opened up a page with the message: This site has been blocked as per instructions from the Department of Telecommunications
Fixed-line Internet is consistent and translates into a better experience for users.
Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Authority had on December 12 refused to stay the government's process of awarding new licences and allocating airwaves to mobile firms, a decision which existing GSM players say would hurt them Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular are the major GSM players in Cellular Operators Association of India, but it is learnt that there is no consensus within the lobby group over moving the high court.
American technology giant Apple's chief executive Tim Cook on Wednesday met ICICI Bank's top brass at the country's largest private sector lender's corporate headquarters in Mumbai.
Are the big five using their dominance to shut out rivals? That is the key question, says Prosenjit Datta.