The company has enhanced validity and talk-time of its already launched GSM tariff plans. Under the new offer, subscribers would be able to make local calls at 50 paise per minute (Re 1 earlier) and STD calls at 75 paise per minute (Rs 1.50 earlier). It had also extended validity for lifetime (licence period of the company).
DoT still working on final AGR dues due to varying accounting practices. Telecom operators have been submitting two separate audited details of deduction towards interconnection usage charges and roaming fee to the DoT.
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has received permission to offer CDMA services across the country (except Delhi and Mumbai) under the crossover technology policy. Under the policy, existing GSM operators are allowed to offer CDMA service and vice versa within the same licence after paying a fee.BSNL is the third company after Reliance Communications (which is in CDMA and wanted to operate GSM service) and Tata Teleservices (similar to Reliance) which has been given licences
Reliance Big TV, a subsidiary of Reliance Communications, will offer 202 channels initially and increase the bouque to 330-350 over a period of time, company CEO Arun Kapoor said in Mumbai on Tuesday.
However, operators said the chief beneficiary would be the state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd, which have already been given the spectrum for 3G services, as well as Reliance Communications, which is still to roll out its 2G GSM network.
The Department of Telecommunications has received 21 bids from telecom operators and infrastructure service providers for the Rs 2,395 crore (Rs 23.95 billion) rural telephony project.
Reliance Communications, India's second-largest wireless operator, will launch phone services in Uganda by year-end, marking its first foray into international mobile phone markets.
RComm has reportedly acquired an African firm for $500 million to offer telecom access services in Uganda.
Flag Telecom, a subsidiary of Reliance Communications, has signed a $100 million
Firming up its plans to rollout direct-to-home (DTH) television services, telecom firm Reliance Communications (RCom) has booked capacity on Malaysian satellite system, MEASAT-3. The deal size could not be confirmed, while it is understood that the deal is signed for around 15-20 years. RCom has booked four transponders, with an option to add four transponders after a year on MEASAT-3.
"We will start our GSM services soon. We have got spectrum in 13 circles in one or two months. We expect to get spectrum in all the circles barring one or two," TTSL managing director Anil Sardana said. RCom has launched GSM services in 11,000 towns, which would be extended to 22,000 towns in the next few months.
Anil Ambani's Reliance Communication on Sunday launched GSM services in Mumbai and offered free talk-time worth Rs 900 spread over three months. "New subscribers would get Rs 10 talk-time every day for the first 90 days and we have offered tariffs of Re 1 a minute for local calls. STD would cost Rs 1.50 per minute on any network," Dinesh Gulati, the head of Western region, said. After consuming Rs 10 during the day, the subscribers can use top up cards.
The technology's spectrum efficiency, low cost and simple installation make it the next big thing in the telecom world.
The technology's spectrum efficiency, low cost and simple installation make it the next big thing in the telecom world.
Making its foray into mobile content outsourcing, the CDMA major, Reliance Communications, has signed its first contract with a Singapore-based GSM service provider.
Falcon, which is owned by Flag Telecom, has been damaged in the Middle East but it is unlikely to affect Net operations across India.
RComm has decided to raise the retirement age of its employees from 58 to 65 years. This move is seen as part of its expansion plan and difficulty of recruiting sufficient staff.
To be the first firm to take advantage of new RBI ruling.
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has invited Reliance Communications for "mutual conciliation prior to arbitration" on the dispute over the latter's bid to sew up a merger deal with MTN.
A deal between MTN and RCom could be announced this weekend despite threats of legal action to block the deal, the Wall Street Journal said in a report in its online edition on Thursday, quoting two unnamed people familiar with the situation. The report added that the two companies are "getting very close to announcing the deal. If there are no last-minute disagreements, the announcement may come as early as Sunday or sometime next week."
Delhi HC has refused to stay the process of spectrum allotment to RCom, giving a major setback to GSM operators.
Anil Ambani severely criticised the attitude of GSM operators and raised the issue of returning the extra spectrum again.
The company has also entered into alliances with laptop manufacturers to bundle Reliance NetConnect Data Cards, its President (Personal Business) S P Shukla told a press conference in Bangalore.
Passing an interim order, Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal also directed BSNL to restore RCom's inter- connection within 48 hours of such payment. TDSAT Chairman Justice Arun Kumar said: "I am of a view that the petitioner (Rcom) should deposit an amount of 65 per cent of disputed claim in one week and respondent should restore the connection with 48 hours of the deposit."
BPO and IT services across India remained largely unaffected.
Spectrum auction ends, brings Rs 1.09 tln to govt kitty.
A high-profile team from MTN is also expected to meet Reliance Industries Ltd next week to take stock of the situation. RCom had informed the bourses on May 26 that it has entered into exclusive negotiations with MTN for 45 days soon after the South African giant aborted its talks with the Sunil Mittal-controlled Bharti group. The deadline will end on July 8.
The government struck a cordial note with the GSM mobile lobby by agreeing on the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (Trai's) norms for spectrum allocation, a move described by rival CDMA player Reliance Communications (RCom) as "succumbing to pressure".
With Bharti Airtel making it to the list of top-ten advertisers of the year, cellular phone service providers as a category have overthrown fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) products such as toilet soaps and shampoos to emerge as the top advertising category on television in 2007.
At present, Reliance is in exclusive talks with MTN with respect to a potential combination of their businesses. The exclusivity talks period of 45 days started on May 26. The due diligence is currently in the final stages and is likely to be concluded anytime. Industry sources said MTN top brass, including Azmi Mikati, chief executive of the investment unit that is MTN's second-largest shareholder and Phuthuma Nhelko, chief executive of MTN are positively inclined to it.
The debt resolution involves RCom exiting the SDR framework with no conversion of debt into equity and zero write-off by lenders, Anil Ambani said, adding that he expects full closure by March 2018.
Anil Ambani has won Lebanon-based M1 Chief Executive Officer Azmi Mikati's approval for a possible merger of Reliance Communications and South Africa's MTN Group following a meeting between the two.
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.
Telcos may have begun their WiMAX rollouts, but the results are yet to show. Consider this. Tata Teleservices which deployed its first WiMAX network in Bangalore in March, and is expecting to gather a subcsriber base of about 2 lakh by the end of the year, has enrolled just about 7,000 customers in the city.
As is common practice of key parties associated with high-profile M&A deals being referred to by code names, this time around, Reliance has reportedly become 'Rome', MTN is 'Madrid' and Ambani is 'Apollo'.
Banking on the recent cable landing station regulations, Reliance Communications is planning to launch global video transmission services on its new international long distance network.
Rahul has singled out Anil Ambani several times for winning the Rafale defence contract from the Narendra Modi government, alleging favouritism and corruption.
In his third letter in the last one month to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Reliance Communications chairman Anil Ambani has lambasted GSM operators.
Flag Telecom was looking at divesting up to 20 per cent of its equity stake through an international convertible bond issue and raise over $200 million.
Bangalore-based Healthcare Magic, a first-of-its-kind, real-time, medical consultation portal, will soon tie up with Reliance Communications, the country's second-largest mobile service provider, to launch a Doc On Call service by December this year. Any call made to Healthcare Magic will be attended by a doctor on duty at the the company's Bangalore office.
