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.
Programmes offers pared-down web services on mobile phones along with Facebook' s own social network and messaging services cost free
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.
Tamil Nadu Election Candidates, TN 2016, Deepika Election Live, Thanjavur Election are some of the apps keeping people hooked to their handsets.
Are the big five using their dominance to shut out rivals? That is the key question, says Prosenjit Datta.
Highlighting the role of MSMEs in enhancing exports and helping the country achieve self reliance, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday said India does not need to import from China. "Already in automobile sector, in many sectors now, in agriculture, automobiles, everywhere, we have already found the solutions. Now we don't need to import from China," said the minister. He observed that India was exporting a lot of items instead of importing them.
Reliance Communications (RCom) has served legal notice to the government on allocation of additional spectrum to existing GSM operators.
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.
Thomas Ninad's bank account was defrauded of Rs 14 lakh under mysterious circumstances.
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.
Idea Cellular will have to furnish an undertaking that it will entertain all the liabilities whenever a final decision is taken by the courts
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.
RCom is set to launch a lifetime connection for Rs 199, the lowest from any service provider in the country.
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.
Experts say, these leave many matters to the discretionary powers of bureaucrats, rather than providing them explicitly in the rules.
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.
Fixed-line Internet is consistent and translates into a better experience for users.
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.
Some BCCI officials are of the view that unless VIVO backs out on its own in prevailing circumstances, the board should honour the remainder of the contract, which ends in 2022.
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.
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
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.
Making its foray into mobile content outsourcing, the CDMA major, Reliance Communications, has signed its first contract with a Singapore-based GSM service provider.
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.
RJio's LYF, Videocon and other smartphone makers to also get notices
If IOC is not allowed to run its own affairs, then we can see it close down in the next 10 to 15 years, warns Sudhir Bisht.
Nokia launches Nokia 7 Plus, 8 Sirocco series in India; relaunches Nokia 6 with new features.
India's booming mobile services market will see investments of over Rs 100,000 crore (around $24 billion) by 2010, the fastest investment ramp-up seen in any telecom market globally even as analysts predict a bruising battle that will see tariffs fall sharply.
Having lost the battle for Hutchison Essar, Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Communications is drawing up plans to invest up to $2.5 billion.
Bharti Airtel announced on Tuesday it would hive off its mobile tower and infrastructure business into a 100 per cent subsidiary.
Mukesh Ambani said the Digital India initiative has the potential to transform the lives of 1.2 billion Indians using the power of digital technology.
The Reliance decision was challenged by various GSM-mobile phone firms and there is an attempt to create a split in their ranks -- Maxis Aircel has already withdrawn from the court case, and it is likely another one or two firms will follow as they've been made to believe this improves their chances of getting spectrum.
US-based Qualcomm, the dominant supplier of the chips that drive code division multiple access mobile phones, and Reliance Communications have agreed to expand the use of the technology in India.
Telecom service provider Reliance Communications on Monday introduced two new Classic colour phones with FM radio, aiming to tap a higher market share in this segment.
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