Today, Reliance Digital stores across the country are seeing long queues of customers waiting to get free SIMs with three months of unlimited data and voice calls. “We are taking about half an hour to complete the process for each person,” said an employee at a Digital store in Kerala. “There are customers waiting. Please be […]
India is getting ready for a digital revolution by auctioning 700 MHz spectrum that has the potential to take high-speed Internet to every village in the country. However, telecom operators — who have to play the role of the enablers — are not popping open the bubbly quite yet. The reason for their misgivings is […]
Tata Consultancy Services launched a solution to enable Voice over LTE services for virtualized networks. Virtualilized networks refer to software-defined networks that lives on top of a large number actual or hardware networks. Many telecom operators are moving to virtualized networks and away from ‘bare metal’ networks to increase resilience and flexibility of the networks. […]
Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Communications Ltd will continue to hold a spectrum edge over Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio in the 800 MHz band even after it sells chunks of 4G spectrum to the latter, according to sources. The Anil Ambani group said yesterday that it would sell unspecified amounts of 4G-capable 800 MHz spectrum to Reliance […]
Reliance Communications Ltd said it will take a final call on whether or not to convert its CDMA spectrum into 4G spectrum after the Department of Telecom informs it of the final amount required to be paid for the same. “DoT has issued the intimation letter for 16 circles and is yet to decide for […]
For years, India’s telecom operators have taken the government repeatedly to task over ‘hoarding’ spectrum, not releasing it on time etc.. However, with recent auctions giving some of them a competitive advantage, many of these operators are now asking the government to postpone the upcoming 700 MHz auctions – slated to be the biggest India will ever see. As part […]
Idea Cellular, the country’s third biggest telecom operator and holder of 4G spectrum, is offering 1 GB of 4G data in 190 cities spread over eight states as part of a ‘pre-book’ offer. The scheme is applicable only to those who have Idea phone numbers. Subscribers will have to also change their SIMs to a […]
Facebook, the world’s biggest social network, is prompting its users to send a submission to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to save its ‘Free Basics’ program, urging them to fight the “small, vocal group” of net neutrality activists. “A small, vocal group of critics are lobbying to have Free Basics banned on the basis […]
Idea Cellular, holder of the biggest amount of 4G spectrum in the 1800 MHz band, has opened registration for its 4G service in over 150 cities across eight of 12 circles where it plans to launch the service. These eight circles are the four southern states, Punjab & Haryana in the north and Orissa and […]
Customers of Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications Ltd may be able to use 4G services from next month thanks to an agreement with Reliance Jio, according to sources. Jio, as we have already reported, is scheduled to launch its services by the end of this month and the company’s subscribers will be eligible to use RCom’s […]
To counter the tremendous threat posed by Reliance Jio, the biggest telecom company in India Bharti Airtel has launched a massive network transformation program called Project Leap. “Aimed at perceptibly improving network quality and delivering the best customer experience, this strategic project will see an investment of Rs. 60,000 crore in the next 3 years,” […]
Vodafone India said it will allow its subscribers, starting with those in the NCR, to choose their own number. At present, subscribers have to choose from a limited set of numbers in stock with the retailer. However, under the new scheme, they can request for any number (except premium numbers such as 981111111). “Customers can […]
Reliance Jio, the telecom arm of Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Industries, is likely to launch its 4G services any time from January to March next year, and will pose a credible challenge to incumbents, driving out weaker operators, Fitch Ratings said. “Jio’s product is likely to gain traction – given the intention to launch an integrated […]
Amid rising concerns of call drops, the TRAI is floating second consultation paper within two weeks time clearly stipulating the factors and compensation that may be paid to the consumer by telecom, said its Chairman Mr R.S. Sharma at an ASSOCHAM event held in New Delhi today. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is […]
The Indian government today implemented perhaps the most awaited reform in the telecom sector in recent years — spectrum trading. Trading will be allowed for all spectrum acquired through auctions or for which ‘market rates’ have been paid. Largely as expected, the norms however have hit MTS — owned by Russia’s Sistema — badly as […]
Reliance Jio is all set to launch its first 4G handset in India — the photography-oriented Lenovo Vibe Shot — at a price of around 19,999. UPDATE: The phone’s price is Rs 23,000 The launch, expected to take place before Sept 10, will mark the entry of the telecom operator into India’s highly competitive smartphone […]
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 – […]
With competition increasing due to the launch of 4G by Bharti Airtel and the impending launch of Reliance Jio, 3G data prices seem to be on a rapid decline. Vodafone today announced that all 3G data packs in Mumbai will now offer double the data than previously, in effect halving the cost of 3G data. […]
Expressing concern over steadily deteriorating situation with regard to call drops in mobile networks, ASSOCHAM today pointed out it is unfair to put the blame on the operators only since many of the critical factors causing the problem are not within the control of the telecom industry. Explaining the technical aspects of the paper, Mr. […]
