LIVE COVERAGE: MUKESH AMBANI speech on RELIANCE JIO welcome offer

Starting at 1:30 PM today, Mukesh Ambani will give a speech on the future plans of Reliance Jio at which he’s widely expected to unveil new tariff plans for the 4G operator. The new plans will come in the context of the successful resolution of the interconnect dispute between the operator and its incumbent rivals […]

Jio has five times as many 4G subscribers as Airtel — report

Reliance Jio has crossed the 5 cr subscriber mark, which gives it a market share of around 10% among cellphone users in the country. Though India has a total of around 80 cr subscribers on paper, due to multiple and dormant connections, the actual cellphone users is estimated to be around the 50 cr or […]

Reliance Jio WELCOME OFFER will NOT be EXTENDED to March

Reliance Jio’s free Welcome Offer will not be extended beyond Dec 31, despite widespread media reports saying that it will be. “There is practically zero chance of it getting extended,” said a marketing official working for the company in Kerala. “If there were to be any such thing, we would have got to know by […]

BSNL offers yearly data plan: 80 GB @ Rs 4500, 60 GB @ 4000

To take on competitors like Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, state-owned BSNL has come up with a one-year 3G data plan that offers 80 GB of 3G data for Rs 4,498. That translates to roughly Rs 56 per GB with a one-year validity. In comparison, others like Idea and Bharti Airtel also offer similar scheme, […]

Vodafone says no India IPO this year, revenue up 5.9%

Keeping the volatile market conditions in mind, said Vodafone, there would be no initial public offering of its Indian units’ shares this year. Vodafone said it intends to proceed with an IPO of Vodafone India as soon as market conditions allow. “We do not expect this to take place during the current financial year,” it […]

Reliance Communications unveils ‘Unlimit’ Internet of Things offering

Reliance Group on Tuesday launched its Internet-of-Things offering Unlimit. IoT is jargon for a connected world in which appliances and equipment are connected to the Internet and managed remotely. Reliance Communications had announced an IoT partnership Jasper Technologies, later taken over by Cisco Systems Inc, last year. Separately, the company said it will soon add […]

EXCLUSIVE: Reliance Jio resolves interconnect dispute with Bharti Airtel, Idea & Vodafone

The interconnection dispute between Reliance Jio and incumbent operators like Idea Cellular, Vodafone and Bharti Airtel has been “largely resolved,” an official with one of the incumbent operators said. “We have provided enough points to avoid any congestion-related problems in the foreseeable future,” said an official with one of the three incumbents. According to the […]

Reliance Jio interconnect dispute with Airtel, Idea to end this month

The dispute over providing interconnection facility is set to end in the next two weeks, with Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Vodafone giving in to the demands of new operator Reliance Jio and the regulator. The decision to comply comes in the wake of a recommendation for a fine of Rs 3,050 cr to be […]

Jio accounted for 91% of 4G speed tests on TRAI app, Airtel only 3%

Even as the average speed of Bharti Airtel remain high, the total number of people who conducted 4G speed tests from Airtel’s network is only 3% of total number of people who were conducting similar tests from Jio. In fact, Jio users accounted for 91% of the total 4G speedtests conducted using TRAI’s ‘My Speed’ […]

Following Jio, Airtel, Vodafone & Idea could make VoLTE ‘free’

Hit by competition from Reliance Jio, rivals Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular are exploring the possibility of making voice calls ‘totally free’ under their upcoming VoLTE service, according to industry sources. VoLTE calls can only be made by phones that support 4G voice facility, and an estimated 99% of existing telecom subscribers do not […]

JIO EFFECT: Idea Cellular offers ultra-cheap rates to MNP code generators

Idea Cellular has started offering ultra-low call rates in its biggest market, Kerala, for those who generate a unique porting code under mobile number portability. While companies typically do make calls to find out the reason why a subscriber is porting out, it is rare for Idea — which has close to 43% revenue market […]

SPECTRUM AUCTION 2016- Vodafone’s novel solution to beat 4G spectrum crunch

Though Vodafone has not revealed exactly which bands it has bought spectrum in, some analysts have already published charts which purportedly show the company’s spectrum purchases. According to the chart, out of the Rs 20,000 or so that Vodafone spent, about 9,221 cr has been on 2.5 GHz band, about 7,315 cr on 2.1 GHz […]

SPECTRUM AUCTION 2016- Vodafone’s novel solution to beat 4G spectrum crunch

Though Vodafone has not revealed exactly which bands it has bought spectrum in, some analysts have already published charts which purportedly show the company’s spectrum purchases. According to the chart, out of the Rs 20,000 or so that Vodafone spent, about 9,221 cr has been on 2.5 GHz band, about 7,315 cr on 2.1 GHz […]

Is this the 4G spectrum scenario in India in 2016?

Vodafone India has not yet revealed their purchase details. They are expected to release it by about 11 am today. The earlier story was based on premature information. Please await the final confirmation from the company. Meanwhile, below, you can find the possible scenario of spectrum purchase by all operators in in the 2016 auctions, […]

SPECTRUM AUCTION 2016: Vodafone emerges the biggest buyer in final results

Vodafone is estimated to have bought pan-India 4G spectrum worth around Rs 21,000 cr in the just-concluded spectrum auction — the largest India has seen. The number also makes Vodafone the biggest spender at the 2016 slug-fest. The runner up is Bharti Airtel at a distant Rs 14,200 cr. Though the final numbers and details […]

SPECTRUM AUCTION 2016: Idea Cellular surprises with mega buys in final results

In a surprise development, Idea Cellular made its entry into the world of TDD LTE with its first ever acquisition of unpaired spectrum in the 2016 auctions. The company had so far confined itself to just one band — paired 1800 MHz. Unlike paired band (half of upload and half for download), unpaired spectrum delivers […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]