tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34566312Mon, 01 Dec 2008 07:39:04 +0000The Pioneers of Indian Telecomhttp://telecom.broadbandindia.com/noreply@blogger.com (Webmaster)Blogger148125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34566312.post-1710181263217995990Wed, 26 Nov 2008 20:46:00 +00002008-11-27T02:32:31.982+05:30Indus Towers, a company jointly promoted by Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular is all set to be the World's Largest Telecom Tower company some time in 2009. They already have 73,000 towers up and running and the number is likely to cross 100,000 mark sometime in Mid-2009. Indus 42% owned by each Bharti and Vodafone and 16% by Idea is forming a commercial agreement which will offer http://telecom.broadbandindia.com/2008/11/indus-worlds-largest-tower-company.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Webmaster)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34566312.post-1890411875360843273Tue, 25 Nov 2008 08:09:00 +00002008-11-25T13:48:41.672+05:30The DoT has announced the time line for auction of WiMax Broadband Spectrum [20 MHz for 3 Operators, tentative] and 3G Spectrum. Meet potential bidders on Dec-11 and Dec-133G + WiMax Spectrum pre-bid conference on Dec-19thLast date for submitting applications to participate in the bidding - Dec-31stPre-qualification of bidders by Jan-05First Phase of Auction on Jan-16Second Phase of Auction on http://telecom.broadbandindia.com/2008/11/timeline-for-wimax-3g-spectrum.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Webmaster)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34566312.post-2012768285937798694Tue, 18 Nov 2008 07:21:00 +00002008-11-18T13:05:58.788+05:30At a time when GSM subscribers in India set a new record by adding highest ever subscribers in October-2008, Reliance Communications struggled to managed to stay flat M/M in subscriber additions. RCom added 1.76 m new subscribers with 1.38m for CDMA and 377k for the GSM. Total RCOM CDMA subscribers now stand at 48.2m and 9.5m GSM subscribers taking its total Wireless subscriber base tally to http://telecom.broadbandindia.com/2008/11/reliance-communications-flat-growth-oct.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Webmaster)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34566312.post-7510197680421604325Wed, 12 Nov 2008 06:41:00 +00002008-11-12T12:14:40.146+05:30The Finance Ministry wants 3G auctioning in all zones of the country as opposed to DoT's suggestion of conducting it only in 13 circles. 3G spectrum is unavailable in 9 circles as defense forces are yet to vacate spectrum. The timing of the 3G auction remains uncertain as the possible high cost for a 3G license could deter several new operators and some of the incumbents from making a http://telecom.broadbandindia.com/2008/11/3g-auction-dot-and-finance-minsister.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Webmaster)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34566312.post-5136650386372780956Mon, 10 Nov 2008 11:07:00 +00002008-11-10T16:53:39.909+05:30In the recently hosted JP Morgan Conference, Reliance Communications has said that there is no slowdown and Subscriber addition momentum has remained unaffected and the company expects usage to increase as Indian companies trim travel and ask employees to use more mobile communication. GSM roll-out plan on track with possible introduction of free minutes to gain market share. This will definitelyhttp://telecom.broadbandindia.com/2008/11/reliance-communications-gsm-launch.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Webmaster)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34566312.post-2244004701437074209Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:16:00 +00002008-10-29T20:52:41.895+05:30Telenor is investing Rs61.2bn in Unitech Wireless for a 60% stake, valuing it at Rs102bn (U$2bn). Unitech has a pan-India telecom license with spectrum allotted in 13 of the 22 circles till date. It plans to launch services during 1H09 and incur US$3bn capex over the next 3 years (equal to Bharti Airtel's 1 year capex). Telnor gets management control from day-1 and 4 of the 7 board http://telecom.broadbandindia.com/2008/10/unitech-telnor-for-2g-wireless.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Webmaster)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34566312.post-5196878803902043135Sun, 26 Oct 2008 08:11:00 +00002008-10-27T13:56:23.846+05:30We are presenting to you the latest number of Telecom subscribers [Mobile + LandLine + WLL ] in India, in this post. All figures are for Month Ending Sept-2008. We have already reported individual statistics - GSM Operators had a mobile subscriber base of 233.67 mn. CDMA operators have a net subscriber base of 81.63 mn. The following Data suggests India's Largest Integrated Telecom Companies http://telecom.broadbandindia.com/2008/10/latest-mobile-landline-subscriber-base.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Webmaster)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34566312.post-4887627955767135176Wed, 08 Oct 2008 03:55:00 +00002008-10-08T09:33:10.431+05:30Bharti Airtel Ltd said on Tuesday it would launch direct-to-home (DTH) satellite television services from Oct. 9, initially in 62 cities. Mr. Manoj Kohli said, The penetration of the market is just about 3 percent. We have just seven million DTH customers in the country. This is a right time for Airtel to enter.Further, Bharti Airtel announced that its IT Vendor IBM is implementing Unified http://telecom.broadbandindia.com/2008/10/airtel-unified-billing-dth-bsnl-madurai.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Webmaster)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34566312.post-8197442925787885932Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:15:00 +00002008-10-07T22:52:26.828+05:30The Government of India (DoT) has issued an amendment to the license terms with access (wireless and/or wireline) service providers wherein an operator's annual contribution to the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), currently pegged at 5% of adjusted gross revenues (AGR), will be lowered by 200 bps in each non-metro service area if the operator covers >95% of the "development blocks" in http://telecom.broadbandindia.com/2008/10/lower-uso-reliance-bharti-airtel-bsnl.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Webmaster)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34566312.post-6658781717931018271Mon, 29 Sep 2008 04:30:00 +00002008-09-29T10:04:48.952+05:30Reliance Communications, which had earmarked around Rs 6,000 crore for GSM operations, has commenced soft launch of its GSM services across major cities in the country. The company is slated to officially launch the services in the next eight to 10 weeks, starting with Mumbai and Delhi circles. Already under attack for distributing spectrum at throwaway price to new operators, the government mayhttp://telecom.broadbandindia.com/2008/09/rcom-gsm-soft-launch-spectrum-fees.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Webmaster)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34566312.post-2267409060103190954Fri, 26 Sep 2008 02:51:00 +00002008-09-26T08:28:14.368+05:30Bharti Airtel on Thursday said it has tied up with mobile maker i-mate to offer its customers the latest smart phone JAMA 101. Suggested Retail Price is Rs12,900, the model will be available at all i-mate retail outlets and subscribers of Airtel will also get additional benefits for data download of 50 MB per month, the company said in a statement. Shyam Telelink will be the first among the new http://telecom.broadbandindia.com/2008/09/airtel-i-mate-jama-101-shyam-telelink.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Webmaster)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34566312.post-8569758085290874781Thu, 25 Sep 2008 02:57:00 +00002008-09-25T08:30:56.049+05:30In a bid to increase availability of bandwidth for the fast-growing small and medium enterprises segment, the Department of Telecommunications today permitted the resale of International Private Leased Circuits (IPLC). To boost competition and affordability in the IPLC segment, the DoT has created a new category of licence called "Resale of IPLC Service" that will be permitted to enter into http://telecom.broadbandindia.com/2008/09/resale-of-iplc-no-auction-of-2g.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Webmaster)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34566312.post-6207195289121571004Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:17:00 +00002008-09-24T19:05:23.054+05:30Emirates Telecom's - Etisalat US$900 mn investment into Swan Telecom as an important development for the Indian wireless sector in a variety of ways. the equity infusion will enable Swan to raise debt and fund its initial roll-out ambition in the 13 circles where it has licensesthe deal will likely provide a benchmark and accelerate further investments in some of the new licenseesincreased http://telecom.broadbandindia.com/2008/09/can-etisalat-clear-fipb-hurdle.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Webmaster)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34566312.post-1764033687443104357Fri, 19 Sep 2008 06:24:00 +00002008-09-19T11:58:07.768+05:30Government today said it will allow foreign telcos to bid on their own without a domestic partner for the 3G spectrum but they have to find a local player before starting services. As per the Indian laws, foreign companies can own up to 74 per cent stake and thus they would be required to form a joint venture with an Indian company before starting the services, Telecom Secretary Siddharth Behura http://telecom.broadbandindia.com/2008/09/foreign-telcos-can-bid-for-3g-without.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Webmaster)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34566312.post-5989284559124614232Mon, 15 Sep 2008 15:22:00 +00002008-09-15T20:59:01.604+05:30GSM Operators excluding Reliance Communications added 6.31 mn subscribers in August-08. Bharti Airtel's subscriber additions were flat 2.7 mn [m-o-m basis], 43% of the net adds.. Vodafone's and BSNL's improved steadily, while Idea's additions declined marginally. Aircel recorded its highest ever adds, rising 18% m-o-m to 0.65m. The key highlight in Aug was the launch of operations by Idea in http://telecom.broadbandindia.com/2008/09/bharti-leads-in-august-wireless.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Webmaster)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34566312.post-8553481513057644175Thu, 11 Sep 2008 05:49:00 +00002008-09-11T11:21:43.576+05:30Ahead of the 3G auction, struggling incumbents like Tata Teleservices and BPL Mobile are supposedly in talks for stake sale. Even new operators are desperately looking to divest their stake and are in a hunt world wide to even small countries like Norway. BPL Mobile sold 17% stake to fund Loop Telecom business. Buyer is a Mauritius based company [Safe Tax heaven for investments in India] Unitech http://telecom.broadbandindia.com/2008/09/equity-stake-changing-hands.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Webmaster)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34566312.post-584306528174950510Wed, 10 Sep 2008 06:57:00 +00002008-09-10T12:34:46.559+05:30The following chart shows historical data on Wireless Subscribers in Rural and Urban India since 1996, the beginning of Mobile phone revolution in India. Currently Rural India has an abysmal 6.4% penetration and will become the major thrust area, going forward. While Urban India enjoys a whopping 57% mobile phone penetration. Source: TRAIhttp://telecom.broadbandindia.com/2008/09/historical-rural-mobile-penetration.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Webmaster)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34566312.post-7483569383294549096Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:25:00 +00002008-09-04T18:19:07.296+05:30In a conference hosted by Citigroup at London, RCom has said that the incremental GSM capex @15% of a greenfield rollout as it will be riding on its existing passive infra, backhaul, distribution, billing and CRM systems. RCom management believes that tariffs have already come down and may not be a sustainable strategy for new entrants. On a question on How RCom will try to gain the market sharehttp://telecom.broadbandindia.com/2008/09/reliance-communications-gsm-capex.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Webmaster)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34566312.post-8751803928600457022Tue, 02 Sep 2008 08:11:00 +00002008-09-02T13:43:21.042+05:30IOL-Netcom-MTNL-DealTRAI asks wireless operators to waive processing charge on top-up cards - Prepaid mobile subscribers now have more reasons to cheer as TRAI today asked the telecom operators to waive the processing charge on the top-up cards, resulting full talk time on such recharges. Users will now have to pay just an administrative fee not exceeding Rs 2 per recharge and other applicable taxes. Following in http://telecom.broadbandindia.com/2008/09/waive-top-up-cards-charges-trai.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Webmaster)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34566312.post-1079476229668119376Fri, 29 Aug 2008 07:47:00 +00002008-08-29T13:18:31.539+05:30The telecom players across the country have expressed their plans to raise external commercial borrowing (ECB) route for funding the 3G bid to the finance ministry.The fund raising through domestic financial institutions at this time would mean a higher interest to be paid, which would eventually affect the financial and economic viability of the project. The current guidelines on ECBs issued byhttp://telecom.broadbandindia.com/2008/08/operators-seeking-automatic-ecb-to-fund.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Webmaster)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34566312.post-2581944815715273398Tue, 26 Aug 2008 06:35:00 +00002008-08-26T12:10:30.834+05:30Indian mobile telecoms firms added 9.2 million users in July-08, taking subscribers in the world's fastest growing wireless market to nearly 300 million, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India said on Monday. Leading mobile firm Bharti Airtel signed up 2.7 million customers, enough for it to overtake state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd as India's largest telecom firm by total subscribers, http://telecom.broadbandindia.com/2008/08/subscriber-numbers-airtel-rcom-networks.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Webmaster)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34566312.post-4422794737629341216Fri, 22 Aug 2008 09:00:00 +00002008-08-22T14:39:50.975+05:30Idea Cellular launched GSM wireless services in Mumbai yesterday. We are impressed by the initial scale of network and promotional tariff plans, but we do think the Mumbai project will not add incremental value, even in optimistic scenarios. Idea is starting with 1,000 cell sites and plans to have 1,500 sites (1.5 MM sub capacity) by Mar-09, of which we expect 40-45% to be leased from Indus http://telecom.broadbandindia.com/2008/08/idea-mumbai-no-value-creation.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Webmaster)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34566312.post-4848539415445730394Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:54:00 +00002008-08-21T10:25:47.358+05:30The Indian telecom regulator TRAI will be holding a meeting with GSM Telecom companies to discuss the issue of connectivity with Reliance Communications (RCom). All GSM players as well as Reliance will be present at the meeting. GSM companies have been saying no to connect to RCom's GSM network protesting that since the later has not paid license fee like GSM players, RComshould not be allowed http://telecom.broadbandindia.com/2008/08/trai-meeting-gsm-cos-over-rcom.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Webmaster)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34566312.post-8470520822589776291Mon, 18 Aug 2008 07:22:00 +00002008-08-18T13:54:24.725+05:30GSM operators led by Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular have been demanding that Reliance Communications should enter into separate interconnectivity agreement for its GSM services. Telecom regulator TRAI has issued two directives to GSM players asking them to sort out connectivity issues with Reliance Communication’s GSM network by August 21. The regulator will write to the Department ofhttp://telecom.broadbandindia.com/2008/08/trai-whips-gsm-lobby-for-not-connecting.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Webmaster)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34566312.post-1209981650758737374Wed, 13 Aug 2008 06:01:00 +00002008-08-13T11:36:53.545+05:30It has been just few days since the government announced 3G policy and its weaknesses are already coming out. Telecom regulator TRAI has expressed its displeasure over the 3G spectrum allocation plans to CDMA players. TRAI wants that CDMA players should also compete for the spectrum through auction rather than being allocated by subscriber base criteria. As per the new policy, the CDMA players http://telecom.broadbandindia.com/2008/08/trai-unhappy-with-3g-policy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Webmaster)0