Indian Telecom: News & Discussions: All Cable COs must become digital by 2013: TRAI

[RPK]

India may have 90 mn 3G users over the next 3 yrs

fullstory

Mumbai, Oct 14 (PTI) India's 3G subscriber base may shoot up to 90 million over the next three years, as companies gauge huge revenue potential in the country's fast-growing value added services (VAS) market, an industry player said.

"India's 3G subscriber base is likely to touch 90 million by 2013. It is estimated that five to seven per cent of mobile handsets would be 3G-enabled by 2010-2011. This is a large opportunity for all participants in the 3G area," Nazara Technologies' Chief Executive Officer Nitish Mittersain, told PTI here.

Nazara Technologies, a mobile content provider that creates games, expects to generate revenues worth Rs 100 crore from mobile games within the first year of 3G's launch.

Applications like caller tunes, ad tunes, live TV, video -viewing, and gaming would be keyed up, he said.

"Making multimedia available will help growth of mobile advertising.

 

[RPK]

The Hindu : Front Page : Spectrum: CBI raids DoT headquarters

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday raided the headquarters of the Department of Telecommunications here to probe alleged irregularities in the award last year of telecom licences, which may have caused the public exchequer a loss of thousands of crores.

CBI sleuths conducted searches in the Wireless Planning Cell and in the office of the Deputy Director-General (Access Services) at the Sanchar Bhavan after it registered a case against unknown DoT officials, private persons and companies under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

“It has been alleged that there had been serious irregularities in the award of Unified Access Services Licences to private companies. As per information received, there was a criminal conspiracy between certain officials of DoT and private persons/companies and others in order to award licences to these companies by putting a cap on the number of applicants against the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and by awarding licences to private companies on a first-come, first-served basis on the rates of 2001 without any competitive bidding,” the CBI said in a statement.

It was in late 2007 that the DoT invited applications and subsequently issued around two dozen new licences in February 2008.

The new licensees got start-up spectrum at Rs.1,651 crore for pan-India operations, at a price fixed in 2001 that was much below international prices, while questions were also raised regarding crossholding patterns in at least two new telecom operators.

All this led to existing players and political parties crying foul over handing over the spectrum to new players and not auctioning it. While some Opposition members alleged a Rs.60,000-crore loss to the government, experts put it at between Rs.20,000 crore and Rs.25,000 crore.

 

[RPK]

Govt bans import of CDMA mobiles without unique number

fullstory

New Delhi, Oct 23 (PTI) The government has banned import of CDMA mobile phones that lack unique electronic serial number and mobile equipment identifier, which help authorities identify and track users.

"Import of CDMA mobile phones without Electronic Serial Number(ESN)/Mobile Equipment Identifier (MEID) or with all Zeroes as ESN / MEID is prohibited with immediate effect," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification.

There are about 100 million CDMA subscribers in India and around 5.8 million users are being added per month, according to the industry.

India imports most of the CDMA phones from China and Thailand.

A CDMA operator said that CDMA phones are bundled with operators which do have all the necessary unique numbers but those available in the open market do not carry any ESN and MEID number. .

 

[Pintu]

Telecom minister denies corruption after raid- Telecom-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times

Telecom minister denies corruption after raid
23 Oct 2009, 1552 hrs IST, AGENCIES

NEW DELHI: Telecom minister on Friday denied any corruption in the awarding of new licences to telecom companies in the country last year after a raid by federal police on his ministry.

India's federal criminal investigation agency raided the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Thursday on suspicion that mobile phone network licences were awarded to companies below the market rate.

Telecom Minister A. Raja denied any "irregularities" during the sale while speaking to reporters in New Delhi on Friday.

"Licences were issued in accordance with the law. I had no external pressure to deviate from the law," he said.

India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered criminal cases against unnamed officials working in the department and company executives for conspiring to keep prices down, CBI spokesperson Harsh Bhal said.

Bhal said investigations had revealed the sale of the licences in 2008 was conducted on a "first come, first served basis" at 2001 prices without competitive bidding or an auction.

The DoT also put a cap on the number of applicants, against the advice of the industry regulator, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, he said.

Raja said their allocation conformed with a long-standing telecom policy.

India is the world's fastest-growing mobile market measured by new subscribers and analysts say the government's target of 500 million mobile phone users by next year could be reached ahead of schedule.

Official data released in June showed India has over 400 million subscribers and is adding about 10 million every month, attracting interest from the world's largest foreign operators and big domestic players.

 

[NSG_Blackcats]

More mobiles ring in the rural areas than urban​

48 million new users in Bharat against 32 m in India in Jan-July 2009.

New Delhi, Oct. 23: Mobile growth in the rural areas has outpaced that in cities for the first time. According to data available with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, 48 million rural consumers took a new mobile connection in the first six months of calendar 2009 compared with just 32 million in the cities. In contrast, only 39 million new mobile users were added from the rural areas for whole of 2008.

Due to the surge in usage, there are now a total of 136 million mobile users residing in villages. While this is not much compared to the 329 million mobile consumers in the urban areas, market watchers predict that the next 500 million mobile subscribers will come mostly from the hinterland.

“The cities and towns are saturated, with the tele-density as high as 95 per cent. However, the tele-density in the rural areas is just 17 per cent which means there is a huge unmet demand in these regions. The rural mobile user base is likely to overtake the urban subscriber base in the next 3-4 years,” said an official from the Department of Telecom.

Big gainers
The biggest gainers from the shift in mobile usage trend are Bharti Airtel, BSNL and Vodafone Essar. While Airtel’s rural subscriber base grew from 15.76 million subscribers in March 2008 to 33.78 million by June 2009, BSNL’s rural base improved from 13.74 million to 29.64 million in the same period. Vodafone almost doubled its rural user base from 13.14 million to 24.83 million.

 

[Pintu]

Differences between DoT, MoD over spectrum continue to persist

Differences between DoT, MoD over spectrum continue to persist
Press Trust of India / New Delhi October 27, 2009, 16:41 IST

After announcing that 3G spectrum would be auctioned on January 14 next year, Telecom Minister A Raja has sought Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's help to resolve persisting differences with the Defence Ministry.

"I would like to point out that the differences between Department of Telecom (DoT) and Ministry of Defence on the 3G spectrum available for auction still persist, and hence, we have not mentioned actual frequencies of the spectrum to be auctioned in the revised Information Memorandum," he informed Mukherjee in a letter, the second in the last 10 days.

The DoT issued the Information Memorandum last week, saying auction would start on January 14 and for this to happen, the blocks of spectrum to be auctioned must be identified latest by the first week of December.

According to Raja's letter, the government would get the revenue, pegged at Rs 25,000 crore, during February next year, provided the auction is held as per schedule.

"I understand that a fast track mechanism is being put in place to sort out the differences between DoT and MoD so that 3G auction can take place in this financial year," the minister said in the letter.

The DoT, which is currently in the eye of a storm over alleged irregularities in 2G spectrum allocation, has allowed foreign entities to participate in the auction process subject to existing FDI rules and guidelines.

 

[RPK]

Intel eyes 4G entry in India

Intel, the world’s largest chipmaker, is understood to be in talks with leading Indian telecom companies like Tata Communications (formerly VSNL), Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications that could bid for broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum to be auctioned by the government in January 2010.

Talks are currently centred on Intel offering Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access or WiMAX (which provides for wireless transmission of data and up to 75 Mb/sec speed) technology — one of the popular BWA technologies — to the operator, and the possibility of taking a minority stake through its venture capital arm, Intel Capital.

A global debate is still on, but most experts consider technologies like WiMAX close to fourth generation (4G) services, offering better speeds than 3G on GSM networks. It is constrained by the fact that it does not provide enough mobility currently and experiments are on in some countries to offer full mobile voice and data service on such networks.

Unlike in countries like Sweden and Bangladesh where Intel has bid for spectrum directly to run WiMAX services (with other partners), the model in India will involve partnerships with current telecom players. Intel has, however, made it clear it isn't interested in becoming a service provider to push WiMAX.

A source close to the development says Intel plans to float a new company for its WiMAX foray in the country. “Spectrum farming is not Intel's idea. Rather, it’s spectrum partnership,” adds the source.

Asked about the talks, an Intel India spokesperson declined to comment, as did Bharti Airtel, RComm and Tata Communications.

Intel also plans to follow a consortium approach in India to roll out WiMAX-based broadband services in India, similar to its approach to the US and other markets, including Japan, where it has partnered with the likes of Google and Sprint.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) recently released the information memorandum to auction spectrum for third generation (3G) and BWA services. Under the memorandum, DoT plans to auction two blocks of BWA spectrum at a base price of Rs 1,750 crore for a pan-India licence. The spectrum, which is the radio frequencies that enable mobile communications, will be given in the 2.3 GHz band. Once the defence services vacate more spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band, this will be open for BWA aspirants.

Currently, the country has just around 6.5 million broadband subscribers, much below the estimated 20 million projected by the government by 2010. About 80 per cent of broadband is offered through digital subscriber line (DSL) technology, another 8 per cent through cable and only 1 per cent through wireless.

THE government hopes that by auctioning BWA spectrum, broadband through wireless technology would spur growth.

However, many mobile operators say that GSM 3G services will provide high speed internet data to the masses and is far superior to WiMAX which is still not “established” and its equipment is very expensive.

Last December, state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, had invited bids from potential franchisees to provide mobile WiMAX to its customers in 16 circles last December.

Around 28 companies, including majors like Intel Technology India, Alacatel-Lucent India, Motorola India, Moser Baer Industrial Infrastructure, Huawei, HCL Infosystems, Larsen & Toubro Infotech and TCIL, figured among those who bought the tender documents.

Intel eyes 4G entry in India

 

[RPK]

No pre-paid mobiles in J&K from November 1, 2009

PIB Press Release

The Ministry of Home Affairs has decided that no pre-paid mobile connections should be issued and existing pre-paid SIM cards should not be renewed in Jammu & Kashmir after November 01, 2009. The Ministry has asked the Department of Telecommunications to take appropriate action in the matter for implementation of the decision. The step comes in the wake of the reports that proper verification is not being done while providing such pre-paid mobile connections by the service providers/vendors. In some cases, a single person had been issued with multiple number of connections. The fake documents/identity numbers are also reportedly being used by the vendors particularly, in the case of pre-paid connections. This situation had given rise to serious security concerns. Hence, the decision

 

[Pintu]

Bharti Airtel: Tough times

Bharti Airtel: Tough times
Shobhana Subramanian / Mumbai October 31, 2009, 1:23 IST

It may not hurt for the operator to be a little more aggressive with its tariffs.

The Indian mobile telephony space is likely to remain intensely competitive for at least another year or so, as new entrants attempt to get a foothold and incumbents scramble to maintain market share. As such, mobile tariffs could drop further, putting pressure on the revenues and operating margins of telecom operators.

So, it’s possible that Bharti Airtel, which saw a sequential dip in revenues of about a per cent in the September 2009 quarter, may find it hard to grow revenues meaningfully for the next few quarters. While the Bharti management is clear that it will not price its services irrationally, perhaps the operator may want to relook its tariffs, because it needs to hold on to its customers and attract new users.

Even if the brand is strong, it may not hurt to be a little more aggressive on pricing in the current environment. The Bharti management, however, believes the market leader needn’t lead the price war.

The telco’s market share of net additions in the September 2009 quarter, at 18.6 per cent, was way below the 23.8 per cent it enjoyed in the June quarter.

Of course, it’s more important to have profitable customers and garner revenue market share and that’s where Bharti has been very successful; its revenue share is an enviable 32.7 per cent. Also, the volume of traffic increased sequentially by 2 per cent during the September quarter but the average rate per minute dropped by about 4 per cent. The weaker top line clearly hurt the operating profit margins for the wireless business, which dipped by about 100 basis points to a shade under 32 per cent.

The good news is that more than a third of the company’s revenues are now earned from non-mobile businesses, which is what has helped the company post an operating profit margin of 42.1 per cent.

What Bharti has going for it is a strong brand and balance sheet with a net debt of less than Rs 1,000 crore, which will help it bid for 3G licences, and puts it in a much stronger position vis-a-vis peers.

However, investors are concerned about the immediate future, which is why the Bharti stock lost just over 6 per cent on Friday and is unlikely to do much in the near term.

 

[Pintu]

Sing Tel boosts its stake in Bharti Airtel , Reuters link :

SingTel boosts stake in Bharti Airtel to 31.95 pct | Industries | Technology, Media & Telecommunications | Reuters

Regards

 

[Pintu]

Bharti Airtel brings pay per-sec plan - India Business - Biz - The Times of India

Bharti Airtel brings pay per-sec plan
TNN 31 October 2009, 01:29am IST

NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel on Friday introduced a 'pay per-second' plan. Known as the 'Freedom Plan', the Airtel customers who will opt for this plan will be charged one paise per-second for all local and STD calls to Airtel numbers and Rs 1.20 paise per second for local and STD calls to other networks.

"We are offering all the options to our customers. Let the customers decide which plans suit them the best. This plan is targeted at a certain segment of our consumer base who perhaps talks short," said Manoj Kohli, CEO, Bharti Airtel.

Regarding tariff war, Kohli added, "New operators have only tariff plans and they don't have a business case; they are already suffering from huge losses and in the long run their plans will be unviable."

 

[sob]

Three Cheers for the Indian Consumers

This round of rate wars started by DOCOMO/Tata Teleservices, is now in full swing with all the telecom operators going all out to outscore the others with more attractive offers. The only person to gain from this is the Indian consumer.

I have already experienced my bill reducing by half due to the new mobile tarrifs being offered. But the moot point remains how long can this continue.

If we look at the background it is the seemingly illogical decision to throw open the field to anybody who had the finances to meet the bid criterion, even when there is a scarcity of the all important spectrum. We all have experienced the quality of mobile coverage in differnt parts of the city/country amongst all operators.

This will lead to a bloodbath of the corporate balance sheets and for the new enterants I do not see them even recovering their investments in the coming decade also. It is going to be similar to the airline industry, there will be lot of Mergers and acquisitions.

IMO each mobile circle will end up having between 3-4 players at the maximum, and then we shall see a very effective cartel amongst the various operators. This is there in Europe, the EU commission is already investigating it.

The Govt. needs to look beyond the immediate benefit to themselves in terms of Liecense fees and low tarrifs for consumers. The job of the Govt. is to ensure a level playing field for all the players and a strong regulatory authority will ensure that the consumers will not be shortcharged and get the best Technology has to offer.

 

[Pintu]

Agreed , sob , BSNL's new power recharge also goes for 1p@sec plan , time for a cheers for the consumers , SMS cost me Re. 1/- previously , now it has gone down to 60p.


Here is link of another news from Business Standard:

SingTel wants bigger slice of Bharti Airtel

Regards

 

[RPK]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/You-can-get-3G-connections-for-Rs-109/articleshow/5189000.cms

MTNL to offer 3G connections for Rs 109 in Mumbai

NEW DELHI: State-run telecom operator Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) on Monday said it will offer new 3G prepaid connections for Rs 109 in its Mumbai circle.

New subscribers can avail new '3G Tariff', with local voice and video call charges at 20 paise per minute on own local network and 50 paise per minute for other local networks across Mumbai telecom circle with lifetime validity, MTNL said in a statement.

Third generation or 3G technology offers high speed internet access and download of contents like songs, movie clips and data.

MTNL, which operates in Delhi and Mumbai, offers 3G service under 'Jadoo' brand.

The new connection comes loaded with 25 minutes of free video call, 25 MB of free data usage as well as talk time of Rs 25, it said.

 

[NSG_Blackcats]

ISPs dial up competition panel on Net telephony​

New Delhi, Nov. 2: With the Department of Telecom showing no signs of allowing unrestricted Internet telephony, the Internet Service Providers have filed a petition with the Competition Commission of India seeking a direction to the Government on this issue. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had recommended opening up the sector for ISPs.

The ISPs have alleged that the DoT was using its dominant position to block out ISPs from a sector that will not only bring additional revenues to them, but also enable cheaper long-distance calls to consumers.

“The Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI) is compelled to knock at the door of the Competition Commission of India. We have been advocating for a long time in favour of Internet telephony as it will bring the cost of telecom services lower,” said Mr Rajesh Chharia, President of the association. The CCI is yet to accept the petition.

Full Story

 

[RPK]

Over 500 million Indians own telephones

fullstory

New Delhi, Nov 4 (PTI) The country's telecom subscriber base has crossed the 500 million-mark and the growth milestone has been achieved 15 months ahead of target.

The country had targeted reaching this number by end of 2010, but actually crossed this mark in September this year.

The number of telephone subscribers in India increased to 509.03 million at the end of September from 494.07 million in August, registering a growth rate of 3.03 per cent. The set target of 500 million telephones by the end of 2010 has been achieved by September 2009, telecom regulator TRAI said today.

This takes the tele-density to 43.50 per cent in the country whose population stands at near 1.20 billion. Wireless Tele-density stands at 40.31. Mobile operators added 15.1 million users in August.

 

[Pintu]

Bharti Airtel not looking for new buys, says Sunil Mittal- Telecom-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times

Bharti Airtel not looking for new buys, says Sunil Mittal
8 Nov 2009, 1948 hrs IST, IANS

NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel chief Sunil Mittal Sunday said his company was not actively looking for new acquisitions after its talks for a mega billion-dollar tie-up with South Africa's MTN group collapsed.

"We are taking a break," Mittal told reporters on the sidelines of the India Economic Summit, where he was queried about whether he was looking for new international telecom companies to include in group portfolio.

He also noted that the effect of the recent tariff competition in the domestic market would play out in the next two quarters.

"We responded (to tariff cuts) as we did not have a choice. We have always said we will never lead the price war, but responding to the needs of the market is something that every sector and industry has to do," Mittal said.

All major telecom companies had to respond to the successful introduction of per second billing by Tata group -- as compared to the prevailing practice of charging per minute for call -- which is likely to hit already narrow margins.

"The question is how long this is going to last. At the end of the day, every economic model will require returns and if there are no returns, you will see consolidation," Mittal said.

He felt that consolidation would also be a feature in the future Indian telecom market. "The world over, consolidation has taken place. Wherever there have been more operators, they have been reduced. There is empirical evidence."

 

[RPK]

India to have 'billion' mobile users soon: Report

Hong Kong: India could have more than one billion mobile phone users by 2015, with the bulk of that growth in rural areas, one of the country's top telecom executives said Wednesday.

Manoj Kohli, chief executive of India's biggest mobile phone group Bharti Airtel, told an industry conference in Hong Kong that his firm is aiming to almost double its customer base to 200 million people in the next few years.

"Achieving a billion plus (Indian mobile users) by 2015 is possible," he told the Mobile Asia Congress, the region's largest telecom industry
gathering.

"The largest growth will happen in the rural market," he said, adding that pricing wars between providers were knocking down rates in the Indian market and making phones affordable to more people.


Competition in India has become even more aggressive as new players unleash deeper price cuts with innovative per-second billing plans that have pushed call costs down to less than a cent a minute.

"There is hyper-competition like no other place in the world," he said.

India is the world's second-biggest cellular market with more than 400 million users, lagging behind only China, which has over 600 million users.

Rural customers are also seen as key to growth in China, said Chang Xiaobing, chairman of China Unicom, one of the nation's three major telecoms operators.

The company aims to tap "vast rural areas" for growth as demand for basic mobile voice services slows in saturated urban markets, he said, with customers now looking for multi-function devices that can send emails or play movies.

"Voice is a mature market in some areas, but we still see some growth potential," Chang told the conference. "Voice will be in continuous demand (in China)."

But Chinese operators must boost their data business to offset falling prices on voice calls, he said.

Chang has said he expects Apple's iconic iPhone, which Unicom distributes, will be China's highest-selling smartphone despite disappointing results after its official launch this month.

Mobile connections in Asia Pacific are expected to cross the two billion mark this year, more than triple the level in 2003, according to statistics released by conference organiser GSMA, a mobile industry trade group.

 

[RPK]

Airtel cuts mobile roaming rates by 60%

Telecom major Bharti Airtel today cut mobile roaming rates by 60 per cent for its 115 million users, opening a new turf in the ongoing tariff war.

Under the new plan 'Airtel Turbo', users will be charged 60 paisa per minute on all incoming calls while roaming. The 60 paise rate will also apply to local and STD calls within its own network.

Despite profitability getting affected with tariffs touching new-lows, companies are eager to catch the volume growth as subscriber numbers are going up.

The local and outgoing calls to another network on roaming will be charged at 80 paise a minute, a statement said.

"These reduced roaming tariffs spells huge benefits of up to 60 per cent for all Airtel users who would enrol under this plan," it said.

"Recent research has shown that customers need benefits while travelling and are not satisfied with just local calling benefits", Bharti Airtel President (Mobile Services) Atul Bindal said in a statement.

Airtel Prepaid mobile customers wishing to avail this benefit will be charged a plan enrolment fee of Rs 98, which will give an incoming validity of one year, while postpaid users can subscribe to a monthly rental plan.

 

[sob]

Auction for 3 G

The much awaited and delayed auction for 3 G telephony in India has got off to a faltering start. A meeting called to discuss the auction had a very poor attendance as most of the major international players staying off. They allege that the rules of the bid favour the incumbent players and are against new enterants.

If this is the case then the GOI can bid goodbye to the huge revenue it was expecting from the auctions. I am apprehensive that the domestic payers are going to gang together and offer ver low bids in mutual consultation, thus depriving the Govt. of revenue.

Grey areas cloud 3G auction prospects - Home - livemint.com

The much awaited (and much delayed) auction of spectrum required for third generation, or 3G, mobile services and WiMax services may not be as succesful as the government wants it to be, if the thin attendance at Monday’s pre-bid conference, held by the department of telecommunication, or DoT, is any indication.

And those who attended were disappointed with the conference failing to explain any procedural issues as well as clarify various policies.

A similar pre-bid conference was held on 23 December last year, where the attendance was at least twice that on Monday. “There was no standing room the last time around and the number of people from other countries was negligible this time around,” an analyst with a global research firm said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

DoT has scheduled auctions of 3G and broadband wireless access, or BWA spectrum, or radio waves, starting on 14 January. The auction is expected to earn the government at least Rs35,000 crore.

“This auction has been designed to favour the incumbent operators and in no way does it help or allow an international telecom operator to come in with any chance of creating a viable business,” the India representative of one of the largest telecom firms in the world said, speaking on condition of anonymity as he is not authorized to speak to the media. “No foreign operator would bid unless they are already present in the country and have a viable business in place already.”

The 3G auction could have been an entry route for international telcos that missed out on India’s telecommunications boom. The auction will also be the first such in the country for spectrum—the primary reason for the pre-bid conference. In the case of spectrum needed to provide second generation (2G) telecommunication services (the one currently available), telcos needed to pay around Rs1,651 crore for a UAS licence (Universal Access Services) and were allocated the spectrum along with the licence depending on availability.

3G spectrum, however, which is required for higher capacity voice calls and faster data access on mobile phones, will be auctioned.

“There are too many grey areas in the policy and other matters concerning the auction. A foreign operator does not want to participate in such a scenario,” added the India representative of the international telecom company.

“There are still too many unknowns, especially coming from Trai (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India), not just on norms on mergers and acquisitions, but also on spectrum trading and sharing,” said a consultant who advises a number of telecom firms and who did not want to be identified given the sensitivity of the issue.