Bharti Airtel offers one more 4G phone for Rs 1,349 effective price

After Karbonn, Bharti Airtel has now tied up with Celkon to offer a full touchscreen 4G smartphone at an effective price of Rs 1,349 and an upfront cost of Rs 2,849. The partnership is part of Airtel’s ‘Mera Pehla Smartphone’ initiative. It had announced a similar offer in association with Karbonn two weeks ago. The […]

Reliance Jio impact could be ‘painful’ for banks, but good for industry – Ind-Ra

Credit rating agency India Ratings has warned that the ongoing consolidation in the telecom industry caused by the entry of Reliance Jio will be painful for lenders and banks, but was good for the industry as whole. It said it had become difficult for smaller players to survive in the market after the entry of […]

Post GSM shutdown, RCom may build own 4G network separate from Jio’s

Reliance Communications today said that it was ‘optimizing’ its 2G and 3G networks in the light of its decision to focus on 4G, but also dropped a hint it may use the towers and infrastructure to later launch its own, fully-owned 4G network. At present, it depends on Reliance Jio for delivering 4G services and […]

After DTH, RCom to shut down GSM operations

Reliance Communications, the telecom arm of the Anil Ambani Group, has got moving on its announced strategy of becoming a 4G-only operator by shedding its GSM and 3G operations. According to industry sources, the company has been re-allocating its staff to the 4G division and gradually switching off GSM cell sites. The GSM network could […]

Reliance Communications says MTS merger to be closed in 2 weeks, gets DoT nod

Reliance Communication Ltd said it received the approval of Department of Telecommunication (DoT) for its merger with Sistema Shyam Teleservices Limited or SSTL, which runs MTS branded services in India. With this, the Anil Ambani Group company has received all the major regulatory approvals for the merger. The closure of the transaction is expected by […]

BSNL gives ‘free broadband for 1 month’ via FB, Twitter

State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd said it would offer one month of its wired services — DSL, landline or fiber — free if the booking is made via Twitter or Facebook. The user will have to pay security deposits and installation charges, if any. However, he or she will get a month’s worth of services […]

RCom likely to shut down Reliance Digital TV next month

Reliance Digital TV, the DTH arm of the Anil Ambani Group, is scheduled to shut down next month, according to the photo of an advertisement that allegedly appeared in a regional newspaper. The DTH service has around 5 mln (50 lakh) subscribers. “This is a notice to all subscribers of Reliance Digital TV,” the advertisement […]

Why Reliance JIO’s new tariff plan is BAD for Bharti Airtel, Idea & Vodafone

The stock of Bharti Airtel is at a two-year high, not far from its life-highs of late 2007, but going by the latest tariffs unveiled by Reliance Jio, investors will do well to hold off on the bubbly for a while longer. Airtel closed at Rs 461.30 on Tuesday, buoyed by two factors — the […]

JIO Wallet Offers: Paytm, Amazon, PhonePe give cashback on 399 recharge

Wallet players like Paytm, Mobikwik, PhonePe and AmazonPay have come up with cash back offers for Reliance Jio users who want to take advantage of the Rs 399 recharge scheme valid till today midnight. Last week, India’s largest wireless Internet provider said anyone recharging with Rs 399 to get 84 days of ‘free’ usage, will […]

The Economics of Bharti Airtel’s 7777 offer on the iPhone 8

Bharti Airtel announced that it will sell high-end smartphones online with instant financing. The phones, including the iPhone 8, will be available at low downpayment and bundled monthly packages, which will make them more or less free of charge. The model was first tried by Reliance Communications several years ago. The company had, at the […]

Bharti Airtel merges Ghana arm with Tigo of Millicom

Bharti Airtel said it is merging its operations in the African nation of Ghana with the local unit of Millicom International Cellular. “Under the joint agreement, Airtel and Millicom will have equal ownership (50:50) and governance rights in the combined entity, which will have revenues of approximately USD 300 million,” the companies said. Both Airtel […]

Reliance Jio’s New 4G Plans: No More Tariff Increases?

Reliance Jio has unveiled a set of new plans that will come into effect from tomorrow, effecting a price increase of about 15% to existing tariff. The phrasing of the new plans also suggests that these are ‘regular’ plans, and not promotional offers that will disappear after three months. 15% ON AVERAGE Most scheme has […]

Reliance Jio to withdraw Rs 399 plan next week

Most customers of Reliance Jio, the country’s largest telecom operator by volumes, will not be able to get the 84GB-for-399 plan starting next month, the company’s deputy chief financial officer V Srikant said on Friday. Asked how the company’s average revenue per user (billing rate) is likely to move going forward, Srikant said it was difficult […]

Surprisingly, Reliance Jio is already profitable at PAT level

Reliance Jio has reported revenue of Rs 7,213 cr, including GST, and an operating profit of Rs 261 cr for the second quarter of the financial year. However, after deducting costs related to the wear and tear of its machines, Reliance Jio reported a pretax loss of 414 cr. This means that on the bottom […]

Reliance Jio breaks even on opg level, 9.62 GB avg consumption per month

Reliance Jio has reported revenue of Rs 7,213 cr and an operating profit of Rs 261 cr for the second quarter of the financial year. Per capita data consumption was 9.62 GB per user per month. Average voice consumption was 626 minutes per month during the period, it added. This is the first quarter of […]

Tata Tele acquisition good for Bharti Airtel – Fitch

Bharti Airtel Limited’s (BBB-/Stable) announcement that it plans to acquire the consumer mobile operations of Tata Teleservices and Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Ltd (Tata Telecom business) is positive for the deal participants as well as the industry, Fitch Ratings said. Bharti’s credit profile will improve slightly as it is paying no consideration for the operations, which […]

Reliance Jio quarterly numbers to be announced today; new tariff plans eyed

Reliance Industries, the parent of telecom operator Jio, will announce its quarterly performance numbers at around 5 pm today. Besides its core oil and gas business, the company will give an update on the operations of its telecom unit. Some in the market even expect it to reveal the new set of tariffs that will […]

Tata Teleservices to merge mobile business with Bharti Airtel

Bharti Airtel Limited, India’s largest telecommunications services provider and Tata, India’s leading conglomerate, today announced that they have entered into an understanding to merge Consumer Mobile Businesses (CMB) of TTSL and TTML into Bharti Airtel. The move is likely to give Airtel access to sub-GHz spectrum for expanding its 4G network, while preventing Tata Teleservices […]