Vinod Sawhny resigns as Reliance Communications CEO ahead of Aircel merger looms

Reliance Communications said its CEO Vinod Sawhny resigned  with immediate effect for personal reasons. “We wish to inform you that the Company has accepted request of Mr. Vinod Sawhny to step down as Chief Executive Officer of the Company with effect from September 30, 2016 to enable him and his family to relocate to New […]

Ahead of spectrum auction, industry group warns of rising telecom debt

Even as the telecom industry finds itself in a tariff war with entry of a major player, an ASSOCHAM-KPMG paper has pointed towards the operators grappling with a huge debt burden of Rs 3.80 lakh crore, reinforcing a case for rationalisation of taxes and other levies along with spectrum charges. The telecom operators have an […]

TRAI to summon CEOs of Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, Vodafone and Reliance Jio on interconnection imbroglio

TRAI Chairman R S Sharma said the authority will soon call a meeting of the CEOs of Vodafone, Idea Cellular, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio to resolve the interconnection problems. When asked as to why the industry finds itself in this position, and whether it was due to lack of proper regulation or licensing issues, […]

Reliance Jio refutes Bharti Airtel’s statement about its ‘unpreparedness’

Reliance Jio Infocomm refuted Bharti Airtel’s claim that the current call drop situation was the result of underpreparedness by the new telecom operator, and alleged that it is the result of anti-competitive strategies by the incumbent operator. “RJIL denies that there has been any delay at its end in operationalising the E1s. On the contrary, […]

“We stand together” – Anil Ambani on brother Mukesh

Anil Ambani, chairman of Reliance Communications, said his company has “virtually merged” with Reliance Jio, promoted by his brother Mukesh Ambani, and said the two brothers are working together. “Our spectrum is shared, our network is shared, our fiber is shared, our towers are shared, our voice is shared.. every effort to be capital light has […]

BONANZA – Idea Cellular slashes 4G data rate to Rs 51 per GB to compete with Airtel, Reliance Jio

Days after Bharti Airtel slashed its data price to Rs 51 per GB under a special scheme to compete against Reliance Jio, Idea Cellular has chosen to imitate its larger peer. It has started informing users of a special scheme under which users can get 6 GB of 3G or 4G data for just Rs […]

WATCH LIVE: Anil Ambani speaks at Reliance Communications AGM

Days after elder brother Mukesh Ambani caused an earthquake in India’s telecom space with his speech at his company’s annual general meeting, younger brother Anil is all set to address his shareholders in a few moments. Reliance Communications is holding its annual shareholder meeting in Mumbai today. Ambani’s speech is to be preceded by an […]

Reliance Jio brings high-speed fiber Internet to Chennai under the Gigafiber brand

Reliance Jio, the latest telecom company to enter the market, has started its fiber to home operations in Chennai — making the southern city only the third telecom zone to experience the service, after Mumbai and Gujarat. Though the tariff details are not available, a Facebook user has shared the photos of Jio’s invitation letter […]

AIRTEL gives in, offers FREE 4G data for 90 days to counter Reliance Jio

After crying wolf over Reliance Jio’s free offerings, rival Bharti Airtel has decided that if you can’t beat it, it’s better to join in. The company said it has decided to offer free 4G data to all its 4G customers for 90 days if they subscribe to its ‘rate cutter’ pack for data, starting from […]

AIRTEL gives in, offers FREE 4G data for 90 days to beat Reliance Jio

After crying wolf over Reliance Jio’s free offerings, rival Bharti Airtel has decided that if you can’t beat it, it’s better to join in. The company said it has decided to offer free 4G data to all its 4G customers for 90 days if they subscribe to its ‘rate cutter’ pack for 4G data, starting […]

SPECTRUM AUCTION: Vodafone gets Rs 47,700 cr from UK parent to take on Reliance Jio

In the biggest ever foreign direct investment into India, global telecom operator Vodafone has invested Rs 47,700 crore (about $7.11 bln) into its Indian arm. The investment has come days ahead of the biggest ever spectrum auction that India has seen. Vodafone has submitted earnest money of around 2,750 cr to participate in the auction. […]

Andaman & Nicobar islands to get fiber link to Chennai at a cost of Rs 1,100 cr

The Union Cabinet has given approval for provision of a direct communication link through a dedicated submarine optical fibre cable between mainland India and Port Blair & five other islands in Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The estimated cost of the fiber, which will originate in Chennai, is Rs. 1102.38 crore including operational expenses for 5 […]

Vodafone wins contract from Uttarakhand Govt. to connect ASHA workers

Vodafone India, one of India’s largest telecommunications service providers, said it got a contract from the Govt. of Uttarakhand to keep ASHA workers in the state connected. Through this partnership, Vodafone’s network will keep Uttarakhand’s ASHA workers connected to the hilly regions and rural hinterlands, helping them being accessible to address any query and timely […]

Is Vodafone Flex really cheaper than Reliance Jio’s tariffs?

Whenever companies in a protected market become complacent, disruption is not far off in the form of a revolutionary newcomer. India’s telecom biggies — lulled into complacency with copy-cat products and tariffs — are now undergoing a mega disruption in the form of Reliance Jio’s entry. While Bharti Airtel has responded by cutting its data price […]

India’s wireless data capacity set to triple this year – Idea Cellular

Idea Cellular, the telecom arm of the Aditya Birla Group, is in the process of adding 35,000 3G and 4G towers in the ongoing financial year, when total industry capacity for high-speed wireless data is set to triple. As of March this year, Idea had about 64,700 3G and 4G cell sites, out of which […]

Reliance Communications sees sharp fall in active users after 4G upgrade

Reliance Communications Ltd, the telecom arm of the Anil Ambani group, has reported a sharp fall in its active user base (VLR) for the April-June quarter. BEFORE UPGRADE RCom had 93.24 mln active users — going by the company’s visitor location register — for the January-March quarter, before the 4G upgrade began. The total subscriber […]

Free Wifi at Mumbai Local stations extended to Andheri, Borivali and Kurla

Indian Railways, along with Google and Railwire, has expanded its free Wifi service in Mumbai to three more stations — Andheri, Borivali and Kurla, taking the total to 16 in all. Railwire Wi – Fi will be available to any user who has a working mobile connection on a smartphone. The project was kicked off […]