Bharti Airtel is trying to address a key weakness in the lucrative market of Kerala — the lack of a 3G network — by going aggressively with its 4G roll-out. The biggest cities, Kochi and Calicut, have already got LTE services from the company, while most of the cities in the state will be covered […]
Reliance Communications Ltd reported disappointing results for the June quarter on a steep decline in voice usage, but the company’s voice pricing is now more or less at parity with that of Idea Cellular. However, in the absence of data growth, the company was not able to report impressive numbers for the first quarter. Net […]
Reliance Communications is fast emerging as the biggest beneficiary of the approval of spectrum sharing guidelines, though Vodafone and Bharti Airtel — which obtained 3G spectrum earlier this year — could also benefit big time. According to a report in the Economic Times, Reliance Jio and Reliance Communications will take advantage of the new rules […]
With operators like Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular asking the government to be allowed to block certain web applications that compete with their own offerings, data-centric service provider MTS has declared that it will never block any web traffic on its network. Sistema Shyam TeleServices – which runs its services under the MTS brand – […]
TRAI today issued the “Telecom Consumers Protection (Eighth Amendment) Regulations, 2015” to requiring strict levels of disclosure of billing for mobile data. While prepaid users do get such notifications even now, these rules will extend the benefit to postpaid users in addition. TRAI has been receiving several complaints from consumers regarding non-availability of information relating to […]
Idea Cellular added the highest number of subscribers in June, according to numbers released by Cellular Operators’ Association of India. Idea added 1.62 mln subscribers in June, which more than four times as many as Vodafone added in the same month. The runner up was Bharti Airtel, which added 1.22 mln. Uninor followed as a distant […]
Idea has made a keenly awaited announcement with its quarterly results today – the launch of 4G LTE services. The services will be launched in Kerala, Maharashtra & Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Haryana, North East, Tamil Nadu and Orissa, though not all together. The company, which has been famously saying that […]
If you make a lot of phone calls while on the road, then Vodafone is the best mobile operator for you in Delhi, according to the results of a two-day ‘drive test’ conducted by quality auditing firm TUV SUD on behalf of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. The drive test, which involved making around 450 […]
Idea Cellular reported a decline in both per-minute voice rates as well as per-MB data rates for the first quarter. While the decline in per-minute voice income was because of lower roaming charges and a cut in termination charges, the decline in data prices was because of competition, Idea said. “Due to increased competition, the […]
Idea Cellular said it was “not aware of” any move by Bharti Infratel, a unit of Bharti Airtel, to takeover telecom towers owned by Vodafone and Idea Cellular. The Business Standard yesterday reported that the three companies were in talks over such a possibility. The three companies have already pooled most of their telecom towers […]
The Department of Telecom is unlikely to allow all telecom operators to conduct spectrum swapping, and permit only those players who hold only auctioned spectrum to do so. This move is likely to severely restrict the benefits and applicability of spectrum swapping as ‘subsidized spectrum’ allocated in earlier years is lying co-mingled with newer auctioned […]
ICICI Prudential, India’s fifth biggest mutual fund by equity holdings, increased its cash holdings in May by selling most of its holdings in Bharti Airtel and much of its holdings in ONGC, Crompton Greaves, Cairn India, Hindalco and SJVN, publicly available numbers revealed. Mutual funds typically increase cash holdings when they expect share prices to […]
Reliance Communications, one of India’s largest telecom companies, is offering India’s cheapest call rate – 25 paise per minute – for both STD and local calls for subscribers of its CDMA service. The offer, called ‘Diwali Dhamaka’ is available in most circles. In certain circles, however, the call rate is 30 paise per minute. In […]
Idea Cellular has warned that companies like itself will have to raise data prices to 108-250 paise/MB (Rs 1,105-2,560 per GB) if government imposes net neutrality on wireless providers. This would required as voice call rates will fall to 7.5 paise per minute if net neutrality is allowed in the current situation, Idea Cellular said. […]
A district forum in Karnataka faulted Bharti Airtel Ltd for failing to convert a corporate mobile connection into a personal connection despite the ex-employee producing a no-objection certificate from his ex-employer. The Tumkur forum also dismissed Bharti Airtel’s contention that it represented the ‘Telegraph Authority of India’ and it cannot be subjected to the proceedings […]
Idea Cellular Ltd, India’s third biggest mobile company, has been fined Rs 25,000 for deactivating a SIM. Idea claimed that the connection was deactivated due to disuse, while the consumer, Anand Krishnan of Kasargod in Kerala, claimed that the number was in use regularly. Krishnan produced a call list of his BSNL landline number which […]
Idea has launched two new 3G smartphones in India, a five inch Android 4.2 version priced at a best buy of Rs 8,300 and another 4-inch phone priced at a best price of Rs 5,000. Idea customers will get 1.6 GB of 3G usage per month for three months, and free Idea TV for the […]
The telecom regulator has opened up for discussions two crucial aspects of the upcoming spectrum auctions in the 900 and 1800 MHz band — the minimum bid size and the status of expiring licensees as new or old. While in the last auction, the minimum bid size in the 900 MHz band was kept at […]
A day after TRAI gave its recommendations on the subject, Idea Cellular today said it was unlikely to go in for spectrum sharing in a major way. The telecom operator said practical considerations would make it difficult to go in for spectrum trading even in 3G services, where spectrum sharing is widely expected to take […]
The company may have bought 4G spectrum in 8 states in February, but for the next two-three years, Idea Cellular believes India will not prove to be a successful ground for the launch of 4G services. The biggest problem, said Himanshu Kapania today, would be that of cost. Indians will simply not be able to […]
