ONGC, satellite operators worried about upcoming 5G spectrum auction in India

ONGC and satellite operators in India have raised objections to the upcoming 5G spectrum auctions. An umbrella body of several satellite infrastructure organizations suggested that existing facilities that fall in the bands scheduled for the ‘5G auction’ should be allowed to operate. Telecom services have encroached on higher and higher frequencies of radio spectrum with […]

Reliance Jio arrests trend of declining net additions; user activity increases

Reliance Jio, India’s newest operator, added 5.94 mln subscribers in September, breaking a declining trend in net additions and taking the total subscriber number to 138.62 mln (13.86 cr). Even as the company increased its subscriber numbers, it was also able to reduce the proportion of inactive or switched-off users on the network. SEPTEMBER BLUES […]

As Jio reality sinks, Idea abandons ‘limited aggression’ strategy

Idea Cellular has abandoned its earlier strategy of ‘limited aggression’ in dealing with the threat from Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, and will be more visible in its counter strikes from now, said CEO Himanshu Kapania. “From end October, Idea has shifted its earlier stand of limited aggression, which was limited to offering unlimited plans […]

Idea sees half of India remain 2G-only in 2022, to refarm 900 MHz for 4G

About 600-650 mln telecom customers in India will remain ‘pure 2G’ users even in the year 2022, while 4G users would swell from 175 mln to 750 mln, said Himanshu Kapania, CEO of India’s fourth largest telecom operator Idea Cellular. At present, India has around 1.05 bln active telecom users, out of which around 70% […]

Post Bharti Airtel deal, Tata DoCoMo reaches out to worried subscribers

Tata DoCoMo has started reaching out to customers to prevent them from leaving the network in droves, ahead of a takeover of the mobile operations by Bharti Airtel. Subscribers of Tata DoCoMo, a brand operated by Tata Teleservices, had started porting out last month soon after newspaper reports claimed that it would shut down 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 […]

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 […]

Idea, Airtel offer 84 GB 4g data for Rs 400 to target users

Idea Cellular and Bharti Airtel are offering 1 GB of 3G or 4G data per day for 84 days at a price of around Rs 400 in select circles, including voice benefits, matching Jio’s lowest tariff. The offer is available only for targeted users. For example, for someone who has already activated a similar pack […]

To arrest subscriber decline, Idea offers 84 GB, on-net calls for 230 rupees

Idea Cellular, the third largest telecom operator in India by revenue, has started offering new customers 84 GB and free on-net calls for 84 days for just Rs 230 in the Kerala circle. Similar schemes are likely to have been launched in other circles as well. It also offers a 451 rupees first recharge coupon […]

DOKLAM 2: Why India is not sending troops to stop Chinese construction

Doklam is in the news again, 40 days after the Chinese pulled back their construction equipment on the border plateau in deference to Indian sensitivities. With two weeks to go for the crucial National Congress of the Communist Party of China, India’s northern neighbor has again started construction activity near Doklam. Apart from some verbal […]

Andhra Bank, Syndicate Bank customers lose lakhs to Aadhaar fraud

Five customer accounts belonging to Andhra Bank and Syndicate Bank were subjected to fraudulent withdrawals using the customer’s Aadhaar data, government data indicated. Four of the five Aadhaar fraud cases took place in Andhra Bank, while the remaining one took place in Syndicate bank. The four account holders of Andhra Bank lost a total of […]

JIO IMPACT: India mobile data usage up 500%, price down 97% in 1 year

The average data consumed by wireless users in India has increased five fold in the last year one year, even as prices crashed by 97% due to the launch of Reliance Jio. For India as a whole, the total consumption of wireless data touched 4.3 bln GB in the three months from April to June […]

Reliance Jio, Vodafone & Airtel conducting pre-5G trials – ZTE

All three of India’s top mobile networks — Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Reliance Jio — are currently conducting trials of a key 5G technology that makes use of a very high number of antennas to increase the capacity of the network, David An, the technology head of ZTE said today. “Today we are very glad […]

Indian satellite broadband could become cheap next year as capacity doubles

India is likely to see a massive increase in the amount of satellite broadband connectivity, including that for hand-held devices, over the coming months with the operationalization of three new satellites, AS Kiran Kumar, secretary to the department of space said. At present, almost all the bandwidth on India’s 15 satellites are presently in the […]