Miscalculated the impact of unlimited plans – Idea CEO

Outgoing Idea Cellular CEO Himanshu Kapania admitted today that his company understimated the impact that unlimited plans would have on the company’s finances. Reacting to concerns about Idea Cellular’s failure to keep up with the revenue growth of Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio in the last six months, Kapania identified two factors for the slowdown […]

Vodafone Idea to divert 70% of spectrum to 4G

Idea Cellular CEO Himanshu Kapania said his company has placed the order for radio equipment that will increase the company’s 4G capacity significantly in eight crucial circles as part of a massive network upgrade process for Vodafone Idea. “We have placed the order for TDD in both 2300 and 2500 MHz in eight circles… A large […]

Bharti Airtel to quicken broadband expansion to take on Reliance Jio GigaFiber

Bharti Airtel, India’s largest telecom company be revenue, said it will increase the pace of expansion of its wired broadband service by four times this year as it responds to the launch of GigaFiber, the new pan-India fiber service from rival Reliance Jio. Speaking after announcing Airtel’s quarterly results, company officials said they would bring […]

No more price cuts, says Bharti Airtel

Bharti Airtel said it expects prices in India’s telecom sector to start climbing again in around six months or so, and indicated it has no stomach for further price competition with newcomer Reliance Jio. The comments by company officials come a few months after Reliance Jio slashed its 4G prices citing actions from rivals such […]

Reliance Jio’s Q1 revenue, EBIT up 14% QoQ, PAT up 20%, RIL EBIT up 30%

Reliance Jio, the telecom arm of Reliance Industries, continued to post strong numbers. For the Apr-Jun quarter, Reliance Industries reported a 15% sequential jump in both revenue and EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) for its digital services division, which houses Jio operations. Digital services revenue for Reliance Industries rose to 9,653 cr for the […]

Idea Cellular officially confirms DoT approval for Vodafone merger

Idea Cellular, India’s fourth largest telecom company, officially confirmed the receipt of approval for its mega merger with Vodafone India. “We wish to inform you that the Department of Telecom has approved the merger of Vodafone India ltd and Vodafone Mobile Services Ltd with Idea Cellular Ltd,” the company said in a statement today morning. […]

Indian govt demands greater access from WhatsApp, Facebook & Twitter

India’s Information Technology Department today unveiled a new plan of action to combat fake news that would require foreign social media firms like Facebook, Twitter and Google to establish offices in India and actively help in flagging and tracking down people who post troublesome messages online. Ravi Shankar Prasad also said WhatsApp, in particular, has […]

Airtel Payments Bank: RBI lifts ban on new signups

Bharti Airtel said the Reserve Bank of India has lifted the restriction on signing up new customers imposed on its banking unit Airtel Payments Bank. The restriction was imposed in January after reports that the company was signing up its mobile customers on its payments bank platform without seeking their full consent. Payments Banks are […]

Reliance Industries 10 rupees away from $100 bln market cap, after TCS

Three months after Tata Consultancy Services became the first Indian company to achieve a market capitalization of $100 bln (Rs 6.85 lakh cr), Reliance Industries is close to the $100 bln mark as well. At present, there are only around 100 companies in the world whose shares are worth $100 bln or more, including the […]

REVIEW: Oppo RealMe 1 beats Redmi Note 5 Pro as King of Mid-Range

China-based Xiaomi, India’s No.1 smartphone brand, has been forced to start an aggressive TV campaign after its biggest rival, BBK Electronics, introduced its own no-frills handset RealMe 1. With this, BBK Electronics — which owns brands such as Oppo, Vivo and OnePlus — has successfully used Xiaomi’s own strategy to challenge the No.1 smartphone brand. […]

Does Jio GigaFiber & GigaTV mark the end of Cable & DTH industry?

India’s cable company stocks have fallen by about 15%-25% since Reliance Jio, India’s largest telecom company by volumes, yesterday announced the commencement of its long-awaited fiber broadband and TV service from August 15. It is feared that the company’s entry can lead to widespread shutdowns and losses in the cable and broadband industry, similar to […]

FULL TEXT: Mukesh Ambani announces launch of Reliance Jio GigaFiber in 1,100 cities

Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani today announced that Jio will start giving out connections of its much-awaited broadband service, Jio GigaFiber, starting on August 15. Surprisingly, Ambani said the service will be available in 1,100 cities of India from Day 1, and not 100 cities as was announced two years ago. This means that Jio […]

How WhatsApp can easily fix the Fake News problem

WhatsApp, India’s largest communication platform used by an estimated 65% of the country’s online population, has come under scrutiny for providing a conduit to distribute ‘fake news’ after multiple cases of lynchings came to light. While the company has urged ‘society and companies’ to help tackle the menace, the messaging application has some more to […]

Supreme Court removes immunity of ED official probing Aircel Maxis case

The Supreme Court bench of Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Sanjay Kaul has removed the ‘immunity’ enjoyed by Enforcement Directorate official Rajeshwar Singh and said the government can go ahead with any probe into his conduct, and remove him, if it wants to, from the investigation. Rajeshwar Singh, on his part, claimed that his life […]

Center gives ‘secret letter’ on ED official: Swamy alleges sabotage in Aircel-Maxis case

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has expressed suspicions of an ‘internal sabotage’ of the investigations into the so-called Aircel-Maxis scam, in which the accused include former finance minister P Chidambaram and son Karthi. “BJP government at Centre, judging by today proceedings on Aircel Maxis in SC, is under internal sabotage. Have to find out who is […]

Airtel integrates carrier, enterprise units under new CEO

Bharti Airtel has integrated its enterprise and carrier businesses and appointed Ajay Chitkara, the current CEO of Global Business, to head the combined operation. Airtel said the integration of the global business with its enterprise unit will help it “leverage its global reach and deep relationships” for the benefit of its enterprise customers. “Under Ajay’s […]

Reliance Jio to buy $1 bln worth of goods from Samsung, Ace Tech

Reliance Jio Infocomm, the telecom subsidiary of Reliance Industries, said it will take a loan of $1 bln from Korea Trade Insurance Corporation to purchase goods from Korean companies Samsung and Ace Technologies. “The Facility is K-SURE’s largest deal in India as well as the largest deal supported by K-SURE in the telecom sector globally,” […]

After iPhone, Airtel offers Google Pixel 2 at Rs 2,799 per month

Bharti Airtel has started offering Google’s flagship smartphone, Pixel, on its online store at an EMI of Rs 2,799. Both the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are available, but have different down-payments. The Pixel 2 requires a down-payment of Rs 10,599 for the 64 GB version and Rs 12,599 for the 128 GB version. […]

Kerala tops smartphone penetration in India; Gujarat, Punjab close behind

Kerala has emerged as the state with the highest smartphone penetration in the country, according to data released by CyberMedia Research, a market intelligence firm tracking the technology sector. CMR’s data also reveales that on a pan-India level, about 47% of the mobile phone users in India are on smartphones, with the remaining 53% still […]

Airtel issues letter on Muslim employee controversy

Bharti Airtel has issued a letter on social media explaining its side of the controversy that broke out after an employee with an Arabic name was rejected by a customer on the basis of his possible affiliation to Islam, and the request was subsequently handled by someone with a Sikh name. Explaining the incident, the […]