MTS India Hopes to Continue Mobile Services Beyond 18 January, 2013

MTS India the CDMA Mobile service of Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd (SSTL) with over 16 million customers today said that it will not exit the Indian telecom market and trying to continue its services beyond 18th January 2013.

After TRAI’s latest directive to all mobile service providers who’s licences had quashed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court on February 2, 2012 including MTS India, to inform their customers that they would be suspending their GSM and CDMA Mobile services from January 18, 2013.  MTS India said that “MTS wishes to inform millions of its customers that being fully committed to its customers and the investments it has made in India, it intends to continue its operations beyond January 18, 2013 and in this context has taken and is taking all the possible steps.

According to MTS India’s official statement  ”To ensure the continuity of its services beyond January 18, 2013. MTS has already filed a Curative Petition against the Judgment seeking to annul the cancellation of its licenses. MTS believes that it has a very good case in the Curative Petition both in facts and law and is hopeful of a favorable order of restoration of its licenses. MTS is hopeful that the Supreme Court will take up its curative petition before January 18, 2013.”

Exclusive : Vodafone India Launches Online Customer Care Live Chat Support

Vodafone India has introduced a refreshingly new online customer care initiative, ‘Online Live Chat‘ service for all its mobile customers across India.

Happy to Help through Live Chat Service is endeavor in the Indian telecom industry and aims at ensuring customer service as a key differentiator for Vodafone. The service will take care of all postpaid & prepaid queries/ requests & complaints through live Chat option. The new service designed to help customers wherein its customer care executive will chat with website visitors in real time and have their questions answered instantly.

Presently the Live Chat service will be available in Mumbai, Delhi & NCR and Gujarat circles and will be expanded to other circles across India soon. To avail the service, Live Chat, subscribers have to log on to Vodafone India website and select the circle, click on the ‘Chat’ button under the “We’re Happy to Help through live chat now! . Once the customer fills a Pre-Chat Form, he/she automatically gets transferred to a live chat with the company representative.

The representative then resolves/answers queries/requests/complaints and closes the chat accordingly. The service is available only for Vodafone India’s existing prepaid and postpaid customers between 9.00 am to 6.00 pm from Monday to Saturday only.

Airtel Joins Idea Cellular: Blackout Days Extended to Voice Calls Starting 2013

As expected after Idea Cellular, Airtel extends black out days on voice calls along with SMS. It is already shown on Airtel’s website and it says: ‘ On Black Out days all person to person SMS and Voice calls will be charged at normal rates and not at discounted rates’.

On Black out days,No SMS packs benefits will be applicable. Normal SMS rates of Re 1 for local SMS, Rs 1.50 for National SMS and Rs 5 for International SMS and voice call rate of customer tariff plan will apply between 00.00 hrs to 24.00 hr.

Airtel SMS and Voice Black out days 2013

1. 1st January – New year
2. 14th February – Valentine Day
3. 27th March – Holi
4. 3rd November – Diwali
5. 31st December – New year eve

Airtel WiFi to Be Rolled out Soon

It’s been in discussion to offload data to WiFi from cellular network for a time, it seem Airtel is going into that way. Airtel, India’s largest mobile operator is launching WiFi services across India in coming days.

As of now Airtel will start offering WiFi services in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Banglore in inital phase. Airtel is offering secure wireless broadband internet with unlimited usage. All the WiFi plans are session or time based. Rs 20 offer 30 minutes of usage with unlimited downloads. Rs 30 and Rs 50 offers 60 minutes and 120 minutes of usage respectively.

Just find out Airtel Hotspot and select ‘airtel WiFi Zone‘, activate voucher and login to start browsing. For customer support Airtel opens a new helpline on 18001022244.

Airtel also opens up options for WiFi Hangout for an establishment owner and WiFi Partner for the cafe, restaurant owners. Airtel WiFi Partners can start offering service at zero investments and can earn commission on every WiFi session sold.

This move is similar to Aircel’s WiFi offering partnering SpectraNet in selected cities – Agra, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Goa, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Jalandhar, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Mumbai and Pune. Stated in February 2011, Aircel currently offers 3 WiFi plans – Hourly pack Rs 15 offers 50 MB usage at upto 256kbps speed for 1 hour; 24Hrs pack Rs 25 offers 100 MB usage at upto 512kbps speed for241 hour, Monthly plan Rs 249 offers 3GB usage at upto 1Mbps speed for 30 days. The billing was done on Aircel prepaid account or postpaid bill.

On Airtel website we don’t find any speed limitation or fair usage policy details, though we afraid they are very much present. If any of our readers tested Aircel or Airtel’s WiFi, please drop us a comment regarding your experiences with them.

Aircel Partners With Yebhi Offers Free talk time on every purchase

Aircel today announced a unique alliance with Online Fashion Store Yebhi. This alliance brings an exclusive proposition – “KSKT- Keep Shopping Keep Talking,” where Yebhi customers can avail free talk time of Aircel on purchases made from the portal. This association is part of one of the many initiatives Aircel is undertaking to connect with the youth.

Under KSKT, which begins today, customers visiting Yebhi will get a shopping promo code depending upon the product they purchase.

Subsequently, Aircel customers will be directed to its website, wherein with the input of shopping promo code, they will be able to enjoy free talk time. The Free Talk time offer will be different for different users based on purchases made where the offer is live.

For instance, with a shopping of Rs 1000 on Yebhi, a customer can get free Aircel Talk Time worth Rs 200. Under the offer, non-Aircel customers can get free Aircel connection along with purchase made at Yebhi’s website as well, if they so desire.

Idea Cellular Extends Black-out Days to Voice Calls too Starting 2013

Aditya Birla promoted Idea Cellular has informed that now voice call rates will be as per with base tariff (ranging from 1.5p/sec to Rs 2/minute) on the Black out days.

As of now most operators charges SMS at base tariff – Re 1 for local and Rs 1.50 for National SMS on the black out days. But it seems Idea Cellular really crossed the limit and extended this anti-consumer policy on voice calls too.

In 2013 Idea will charge for voice and SMS at per base tariff on 1st January, 14th February, 4th August as Friendship day, Diwali – 2nd November and 31st December.

I must say this is really bad move by Idea Cellular, and expecting Airtel and Vodafone will follow soon. TRAI must take care of this as immediately as possible.

Please note it is only applicable for TN, GUJRAT, Bihar, Delhi,UP Circle.

BSNL Facing Heat from Local Players on Wired Broadband Segment

I know many one who have just begun to reading this article start thinking how ridiculous to compare a Govt. owned nationwide ‘most reliable’ ISP with some crappy, buggy, unreliable ISPs that’s too provided and serviced by local cable operators provided. I know it’s a very natural to think so, even personally I also would think so. But after using one of them so called bogus service I was bound to change my thought. And after digging a bit with help of the experiences of many of my friends I have decided to share this with you people. Here this is.

BSNL is a state owned, country’s largest broadband service provider and no doubt in many places it’s the one and only provider of broadband. As expected monopoly is also there. Still BSNL is continuously facing loss making if we consider the conditions in metropolitan area we can see that there are many ISPs. Some of them are provided by your local cable operators and they are performing very well in terms of price, reliability, performance, service and some other issues.

I am going to explain all of these one by one. Before mentioning anything I should clear that the below mentioned data and information’s are based on my personal and some of them are collected from my friends from many parts of Kolkata. So it may vary from area to area, person to person. I just tried to give an outline rather than a direct comparison.

• Price:

Price is one of the main and important issues. Surprisingly BSNL’s ADSL broadband plans are costlier (and BSNL charges skew high price for FTTx/FTTH that no home user can afford them). Even prices are very much outdated (2007’s price still now) where other state owned ISP MTNL is started providing 512 Kbps combo(BB + LL’s rental) at Rs.500, BSNL’s is still charging Rs.750. Same applicable on local cable provided BB’s plans also. Better look on the below table:

* plans are still not updated in website but available through local cable operator.
** all above plans may vary a bit from operator to operator.

In Kolkata there are some other ISP also, like Get Network, though none in my circle is using it, so can’t able to get the details of them. I also did not take inputs from wireless ISPs like Tikona, Meghbela Wireless or A1 Diginet.

One of the main benefits is all these plans are prepaid. So, pay and use. Next month? Need higher speed? Just ask them to recharge your specific pack; speed will be increased in next second after recharge. This is very handy, unlike submission of application form and other bla bla from Govt Babus at BSNL.

One of the other players of Hyderabad’s Beam Fiber is offering more lucrative plans like below:

FUP Limits:

There plenty of local broadband operators in India. They have also above like plans but as I was able to collect data from Kolkata based ISPs, so can’t able to mentions all of them tariff plans.

• Reliability:

The above mentioned ISPs are operating around 5 years (+/-) in Kolkata. As I have seen they never increase plans costs suddenly or frequently. Rather price list is very much stable. It’s also true that some local operators charges few bucks extra (say Rs.50) as service/maintenance fee. But that’s all.

• Performance:

Let’s come to the connectivity issue. First of all I m mentioning a speed test result. I should mention that all the below mentioned test are taken through speedtest.net and via Reliance Communication, Mumbai server.

Look at the ping. Speed will be as per your opted pack. But BSNL’s ping is too high. This high ping may result in surfing and must not appropriate for online gaming and other stuffs.

Again I m telling this results were taken randomly. In your area BSNL may perform well, but it happens somewhere (BSNL result has been taken from Madhyamgram).

• Service and some other issues:

Personally, I am using one of the local broadband for more than 4 months. Its true problem occurs but rectifies in minimum time unlike BSNL. If your local cablewala dada is very much customer friendly, then you should have fewer problems. Your one phone call may solve your entire problem. If you are opting for long-term package, you may get some discounts like BSNL. Peering (will discuss in another article) also a profitable service you may get along with your local ISPs. Meghbela and Alliance provides extraordinary high speed over torrents via peering.

So, at the end of the story I will just these ISPs are giving high competition to BSNL. Not only on metropolitan area, these ISPs also started offering their service on sub-urban areas in many parts. In rural area BSNL is only one to serve but still miles away to touch its expectations. It’s time for BSNL to improve their service, revising their package values and set up faster problem solving infrastructure. Otherwise who can say broadband monopoly is not going to be erased.

Reliance Global To offer up to 40% discounts on calls to landlines and mobiles in India

Reliance Global will be offering up to 40 per cent discounts on calls to landlines and mobiles in India during this holiday season. The discounts are being offered under a new plan unlimited Calling Pack, during this Christmas and New Year.

This monthly pack offers unlimited calling to India and 25 other countries at no extra cost. It also offers a number of benefits making this pack ideal for students, housewives, business people and families, who frequently make international calls to India, the company said in a statement.

The plan enables users from the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia to call India. The key aspects of the pack include a special plan value of $9.99 for the two months from December 18, to February 19, 2013.

It provides a single account for calling from mobile and landline, provides a dedicated pack for frequent callers and does not have any hidden charges.

Airtel launches data sharing plan to share 3G data with three devices

Airtel has launched a new 3G data plan that allows the subscriber to share one plan with three different devices. The plan can only be shared with other Airtel numbers, irrespective of whether they are prepaid or postpaid. The only condition is they have to be Airtel numbers in the same circle.

The plan starts at Rs 1,000, which is valid for 30 days for 5GB of cumulative data. The subscriber can share it with two other Airtel subscribers or two other devices that use Airtel numbers. Users can visit www.airtel.in/datashare or SMS “DATA SHARE ADD mobile number” to add phone numbers with which they can share their data plan.

We think this is a great initiative by Airtel considering many users have multiple devices (smartphones, tablets) and it would make it easier to pay for just one data plan and use it across devices. There have been times when I have not completely used the data allocated on my iPad’s data plan while my smartphone usage goes beyond the monthly limit and I end up paying extra for the usage over the limit. A plan like this makes complete sense in such situations. Hopefully, other carriers would also introduce similar plans.

Operator watch: Best 3G pre paid data plans in Gujarat

Tata Docomo, Idea Cellular & Vodafone have 3G networks in Gujarat.

In Gujarat circle, apart from government owned BSNL, there are three private operators with 3Glicenses, namely, Tata Docomo, Idea Cellular and Vodafone. All three of them cover the major cities of the state, but Idea Cellular has the widest 3G network there, covering more than 160 towns and cities, while Vodafone covers close to 40 locations and Tata Docomo covers only 14 cities (as per the data provided by the operators on their websites).

While in terms of coverage Idea Cellular is a clear winner, let's find out who wins in terms of data plans for prepaid subscribers.

Idea

Idea Cellular offers 3G data at 3 paise per 10 KB in case the subscriber doesn't opt for a pack. Idea's packs start at Rs 21 for 75 MB of data valid for 3 days, and excess consumption is charged at 3 paise per 10 KB, which is the case with most other packs too. For 150 MB in 7 days you will need to pay Rs 45. You can also buy 1 GB of data for 7 days for Rs 185. The monthly packs start at Rs 105 with 300 MB data. Rs 205 gets you 600 MB and Rs 245 gets you 1 GB of data. Rs 445 and Rs 745 are the charges for 2 GB and 4 GB, respectively. In the monthly packs the excess data rate is lower at 2 paise per 10 KB. You also get unlimited packs with Idea Cellular for Rs 945 and Rs 1,495 with fair usage of 6 GB and 8 GB, respectively, after which the speed will be reduced to GPRS (2G) levels.

Vodafone

Vodafone charges 2 paise per 10 MB for all excess data or data usage without any pack. The packs start at Rs 49 for 150 MB to be used within 7 days. All the other packs are monthly, starting at Rs 97 for 300 MB. 1 GB costs Rs 249, for Rs 375 you get 1.5 GB, 2 GB is available for Rs 449 and 3 GB costs Rs 649. The monthly packs offered by Vodafone bundle much more data compared to other operators' plans, and Vodafone offers up to 12 GB, which costs Rs 2,499. Other packs are priced at Rs 849 for 5 GB, Rs 1,249 for 8 GB, and Rs 1,499 for 10 GB. Vodafone also offers night packs for surfing the internet, which are very attractively priced. For Rs 248 you can get 2 GB of data for 30 days, although you need to use it between 12 to 7 am. Similarly, Rs 448 will get you 4 GB of data (with the same time restriction). Vodafone has quarterly (90 day) plans as well starting from Rs 1,799 offering 9 GB of data. The costliest plan is priced at Rs 3,999 for 30 GB of data. You also have the option of Rs 3,399 for 24 GB and Rs 2,499 for 12 GB. However, Vodafone doesn't offer unlimited plans at all.

Tata Docomo

Tata Docomo offers the costliest unbundled data charges (charges without a pack or excess usage) at 10 paise per 10 KB. However, in terms of packs the operator is very competitive and offers single day packs for only Rs 5, with 50 MB data bundled. Rs 19 will buy you 300 MB for 3 days and for 7 days you will need to pay Rs 39 for the same amount of data. The operator also has a 21 day pack priced at Rs 255 offering 1 GB data, which makes it very expensive. Monthly packs start at Rs 90 for 600 MB and go up to Rs 450 for 2 GB. There is also a Rs 351 for 1.5 GB pack.

Verdict

Not just in terms of coverage, Idea Cellular is a clear winner even in terms of tariffs. It is the only player to offer unlimited tariffs and its other packs are also very comparable in terms of price, and offer maximum choice as well. However, in case you are a heavy user you might feel a little constrained by the options. Vodafone is the second best and for heavy users it does have bigger plans, but the lack of unlimited plans makes it less attractive to most users. Tata Docomo seems to have lost steam. It was the first to launch a 3G network in Gujarat, but it has not added to its network very aggressively, and even in terms of pricing it is the least attractive with very few options, and that too more expensive ones.

India has 7,36,654 Mobile Towers and Only 96,112 BTS’s are 3G Enabled !

Most of mobile operators in India have reduced the prices of their 3G data tariffs in past few months, but in a bid to stimulate the market 3G services are struggling to gain traction in the world’s second-largest mobile market just due to no blanket coverage or non-availability of 3G signals at street level in all circles across India.

According to the data provided by Minister of State for Communications and IT Milind Deora, India has total 7,36,654 base transceiver stations (BTS -2G GSM and CDMA & 3G Mobile Towers) while out of  that only 96,212 BTSs have been installed to provide 3G mobile and data services in the country till the 30 November 2012.

Presently for 3G mobile and data services, Tamil Nadu circle has maximum of 9,350 BTSs, followed by Delhi and NCR with 8,405 BTSs, Maharashtra and Goa (exluding Mumbai) with 8,377 BTSs. Mumbai had 6,622 BTSs for 3G services as on November 30, 2012. Out of 640 districts of India, 610 districts are being covered by 3G services as on November 2012.

As per present 3G service rolls out norms, mobile operators that have won 3G spectrum in 2010, are required to provide street level coverage in at least 90% of service area in Metros within 5 years of the date (till 2015) they were allocated 3G spectrum.

For other than Metro circles, operators are required to cover 50 per cent of district headquarters (DHQs) which should be 90% of the area bounded by municipal or local body (Panchayat – Jila Parishad) limits till the year of 2015.

It seems that uptake of 3G services is also hampered by the fact that no 3G operator covering the entire country or not providing street leval indoor and outdoor 3G coverage in all circles across India.

Number of Mobile Towers (BTSes) for GSM and CDMA Mobile Services (2G and 3G) as on 30 November 2012.

Massive Disconnection of Inactive SIMs – Negative Growth on GSM Subscriber Base in November 2012

India’s GSM operators lost 9.38 million subscribers in November, taking the total subscriber base to 663.78 million, with none of the service providers adding a single user during the month the fall of 1.34 per cent from the October 2012, was attributed to the disconnection by operators.

For the last couple of months, telecom companies have been steadily losing customers following disconnection of inactive subscribers. The companies were disconnecting users who were inactive for more than 60 days from their networks. The top three operators Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular – lost nearly 6.74 million users in November, according to the data released Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).

Airtel lost 2.80 million users, depleting its total to 183.61 million as of November 30, 2012, even though it maintained its leadership position with a 27.66 per cent market share. Vodafone India lost 2.38 million users during the month under review, and posted a total of 150.77 million users, while it maintained its second-rung slot with a 22.71 per cent market share. Idea Cellular, lost 1.56 million users taking its total subscriber base to 114.14 million. The country’s fourth largest operator had a market share of 17.20 per cent.

Aircel lost 1.46 million users, Uninor 4.37 lakh and Videocon 3.8 million users in November. In October, the operators added about 2.40 lakh users, arresting a two-month fall and increasing the total subscriber to 671.91 million.

In October, COAI members added 2.40 lakh subscribers taking the total subscriber base to 671.91 million users.

Vodafone India seeks extension of licenses in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata

odafone India has sought extensions of its licenses in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata which is expiring in November 2014. The incumbent GSM operator had received licences in 1994 with 20-year tenures. It has 24 MHz spectrum in 900 MHz band, which is the best quality spectrum, across these circles.

In its letter to the Telecom Secretary R Chandrashekhar, Vodafone sought the extension under clause 4.1 of the licence agreement. Under the agreement, the government can extend the period of licence by 10 years at one time if the request is made the operator during the 19th year of the licence period.

In addition to other licence conditions remaining same, Vodafone has asked for continuation of existing spectrum too.

“The 19th year of licence has commenced on 29.11.2012 for Mumbai,” Vodafone said in its letter, adding, “We request you to extend the period of our licence …On terms to be mutually agreed”.

Similar letters were sent for the other two circles, which completed the 19th year on November 30, 2012. ”The decision of the licensor shall be final in regard to the grant of extension,” it said.

The government is working on conducting auction of spectrum in 900 MHz band for Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata circles during this financial year, but it is yet to decide on the final date for auction.

TRAI Quality of Service report : Airtel’s Cellular Network is best in Mumbai and Maharashtra

Airtel has delivered on all network quality parameters in Mumbai and Maharashtra circles as per TRAI’s Quality of Service (QoS) report released in the second quarter of 2012.

The report rated Airtel as best on all network quality benchmarks defined by TRAI – For Instance Availability of Network, Ease of originating a Call or a Data Session , Voice Clarity and Ability to successfully complete the Calls and Data Sessions.

As of now Airtel has its network present in 5,115 census towns and 453,148 non-census towns and villages in India, covering approximately 86.3% of the country’s population.

The company offers coverage on approx. 95% of rail routes and has invested in 151,719 RKms of Optic fibre for carrying long distance domestic traffic both captive and for other domestic players. It has ownership in 7 submarine cable systems wholly or through a consortium expanding our global network to over 225,000 RKms, covering 50 countries across 5 continents.

Tata Teleservices and ICICI Bank partner to launch Money Transfer Services

ICICI Bank and MMP Mobi Wallet Payment Systems, a 100% subsidiary of Tata Teleservices has announced a partnership to launch a money transfer service. This would let a customer walk into a retail store of MMP to deposit cash along with details of the account of the payee to transfer money easily.

Once the amount is deposited, this money would be transferred to the bank account of the payee using electronic fund transfer mechanisms such as NEFT, Interbank Mobile Payment Service etc. MMP would also act as a Business Correspondent of ICICI Bank that would allow customers to transfer money for a nominal fee without opening an account.

This is quick and completely secure, where the transactions are provided by the ICICI Bank and the distribution is done by MMP. Airtel launched  a similar money transfer service called Super Account in partnership with Axis bank, earlier this year.

The MMP money transfer service would be launched in Mumbai and Delhi initially and would be gradually rolled out across other parts of India.

Reliance Digital is on Massive Expansion Mode: Infotel 4G’s Official Stores?

In a recent report Reliance Digital, the the retail electronics chain run by Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Group is undergoing massive expansion mode with the target to make total stores to 500 as well as having warehouse in every state in the country by March 2014. Currently Reliance Digital has only 101 stores with only 21 warehouse in the country. Main focus is to have presence in tier 2 and tier 3 cities of the country.

What does it mean ?

Reliance Group’s flagship telecom company Infotel Broadband‘s 4G/LTE services are going to be launched in the country in coming months. To make 4G a grand success Infotel is focusing on tier II and III cities where broadband demand is high and BSNL can not be a match for the choice of the youngsters there.

Reliance Digital can be the answer of this problem, where Infotel kisoks will take care of 4G sale as well as customer care like other operators’ official stores. Not only that people can buy gadgets at Reliance Digital and get rewards in terms of 4G data, voice or video minutes. Infotel’s devices – tablets, WiFi routers, MiFi devices or smartphones is to be made available on R-Digital stores where you can buy them at best price.

Reliance Communications has 241 Reliance World outlets across 105 cities of the country as per its website. Airtel and Vodafone have more than 500 branded stores across the country. RIL’s approach seems to be in the right way.

Reliance Industries can easily integrate its all retail shops with Infotel 4G – like Tata Tele’s Talk24 branding with Future Group. Buy stuffs at Reliance fresh, Reliance Digital, Time out or Trendsand reward points (RelianceOne) can be converted into 4G data – how good the deal is?

TRAI to MTS India, Uninor, Videocon and TTSL : Inform Customers About Closure of Mobile Service from January 18

India’s telecom watchdog Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has today issued directive to Uninor, MTS India (SSTL), Videocon and Tata Teleservices who’s licences had quashed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court on February 2, 2012,  to inform their customers that they would be suspending their GSM and CDMA Mobile services from January 18, 2013.

TRAI gave a 10 days deadline to the these mobile service providers to inform their subscribers about the closer of GSM/ CDMA mobile service in the respective circles and also send text messages or provide this information in writing to all their customers in those circles where they failed to retain spectrum and renew their licences.

Uninor, MTS India, Videocon and Tata Teleservices have a total of 26 million customers in verious circles where they failed to get fresh spectrum or renew their mobile service licence in the recently concluded 2G auctions.

CDMA Operators MTS India (Sistema Shyam Teleservices – Pan India) and Tata Teleservices (in 3 circles) did not participate in the Spectrum auction process.

TRAI’s order will be ‘Big-Blow for Pure CDMA Operator MTS India as it faces the prospect of mass exodus of its CDMA customers even as the oerator is awaiting the fate of its curative petition in the Supreme Court against its licence cancellation.

Uninor / Telenor who already issued public notice to its customers in Kolkata and West Bengal circles to port-out from its network before 18th January is also trying to approach the DoT seeking an extension of its Mumbai mobile licence beyond January 18 as it is likely to get for 2G spectrum there in the next auction scheduled before 31st March, 2013.

Tata Teleservices (Tata Docomo CDMA), which chose not to bid again for the CDMA airwaves it held in the loss-making telecom circles of Assam,  North East and Jammu & Kashmir, already inform and started the MNP process for its customers in these circles.

Uninor shutting Ops in WB; tells users to port out

Supreme Court has ordered license cancellation of Uninor, the operator will have to close down operations in 2 circles

GSM service provider, Uninor is all set to close down its operations in Kolkata and West Bengal circles as it has now told its users to port their numbers to other service providers.

On February 2, 2012, Supreme Court of India had quashed Uninor's licenses as a result of which the teleco will have to stop its operations in the two circles of Kolkata and West Bengal on January 19, 2013.

To avoid inconvenience for its existing customers, Uninor has requested all its customers in Kolkata and West Bengal to exhaust their balance by January 18, 2013, and utilise mobile number portability to port out to any other operator of choice.

But the teleco's operations in the Mumbai circle are continuing as Telenor Group evaluates the possibility of participating in the second auction for spectrum in Mumbai, indicated Indian authorities of the company.

"While we have ensured continuity in six circles, license cancellation and the unavailability of new spectrums in 2013 auctions means we will discontinue operations in Kolkata and West Bengal. We have all been a part of an extraordinary fight back for which I credit our employees and partners and remain grateful to our customers in each of our circles. In Kolkata and West Bengal our focus now is on conducting the process of closure with full transparency and responsibility to minimise the negative impact this outcome has on all those affected by it," said Sigve Brekke, managing director of Uninor.

In the two circles of Kolkata and West Bengal, Uninor has a total subscriber base of 5.6 million of which 57 per cent are active subscribers by TRAI (October 2012). In a move simplify the process of porting Uninor has further strengthened its MNP code generation processes for customers in these circles.

Uninor has also dropped the 90-day lock in to allow customers to port-out even if they have taken up a Uninor subscription less than 90 days ago. Text SMS'es will be sent to all customers in Kolkata and West Bengal, encouraging them to exhaust their balance and port out to an operator of choice. MNP will also be recommended to customers in the two circles through IVRs on all customer service help lines as well.

The company has suspended the supply of any new SIM cards and recharges in Kolkata and West Bengal circles with immediate effect, as per the license guidelines.

Airtel Mobitude 2012 Announced: In-depth Analysis of Mobile Users Preferences

Bharti Airtel has announced the results for the 4th edition of Airtel Mobitude for 2012. Airtel Mobitude, similar to Google’s Zeitgeist is the annual survey of customers preferences to see-through of consumption likes and dislikes of more than 186 million customers.

This year’s analysis highlights a fast increasing customer preference for MobileTV, thus resulting in a whopping 65% jump in traffic experienced by the service over last year. Within the MobileTV category, IPL viewing minutes jumped a record breaking 74% and viewership increased over 46% from numbers witnessed in 2011. Sony TV ranked number 1 among television channels. The traction seen by MobileTV reinforces India’s growing demand for data driven services that help customers get their dose of the best and latest in entertainment.

In 2012, India went the MMS way by crossing the 1 million mark on Diwali and jumped 145% on the festive day for the first time in the country’s MMS traffic history. The Navratri festival topped all events in terms of specialized content download traffic.

On the data side, maximum data consumption on mobile internet is typically seen during the graveyard shift between 10pm – 11pm. The Airtel mobile internet usage pattern indicates growing customer preference for social networking, looking at pictures, downloading applications, playing games, listening to music, reading news and watching videos. Video consumption is reported at its highest during night hours. Specifically, 3 video streaming and download sites fared among ‘Top 10 websites’ in 2012 (compared with only 1 last year) – thus showing growing popularity of the category.

An average of 3 million downloads on Airtel App Central were recorded every month. With 90% downloads in the ‘Free’ category, customers show a preference for the ‘freemium’ model. While 65% of application downloads are games, other popular categories including social networking, video and music players, sports, health and other entertainment.

Videocon to Rollout 4G Services Next Year

Telecom operator Videocon Mobile Services will roll out fourth generation (4G) services across all is newly-won circles next year.

Videcon had received spectrum across six circles – Uttar Pradesh (East), Uttar Pradesh (West), Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat and Haryana – in the recently concluded spectrum auction.

“We will get spectrum in January and we expect to roll out our LTE services in six circles by middle of 2013. We will have spectrum across seven circles (including Punjab) constituting a high population footprint in India. These are also the areas where we enjoy a strong position already and where we see the highest potential for continued growth and profitability,” Videocon Mobile Services Director and Chief Executive Officer Arvind Bali said.

The company, which had launched GSM operations in Punjab two years ago, will invest an additional Rs 800 crore for improving network coverage and deployment of technology over the next three years.

“We intend to cover 45 per cent of India’s population after rolling out services in these circles as these are the areas where we enjoy a strong position already and where we see the highest potential for continued growth and profitability. Our focus will be on youth and high end customers,” he said without divulging detail about investment proposed for this venture.

“The spectrum won by Videocon in the recent auction is paired and liberalised. This spectrum can be used to roll out next generation networks and services by adapting a highly spectrally efficient 4G technology LTE,” he added.

Unlike BWA spectrum winners who are launching LTE-TD on 2300MHz band Videocon has to deploy LTE-FDD on 1800MHz band which has better ecosystem. As per GSA report more than 33% of LTE roll outs are on 1800MHz. Videocon has only 5MHz spectrum – that means they have to use 1.4MHz x 2 for LTE-FDD rollout, and rest is probably for 2G voice services. It is easier for Videocon to offer LTE-FDD handsets with 2G compatibility to reach more people. But from its last performance (’100 cities in 100 days’ promise was not a reality) it is highly doubtable when Videocon will bring LTE-FDD in India.

Exclusive: MTNL Mumbai Launches New Half Yearly and Yearly 3G Data Plans

India’s first 3G Mobile and Data Service provider Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) today announced the launch of 2 new most affordable longer validity 3G Data Plans for its prepaid subscribers in Mumbai telecom circle.

MTNL Mumbai introduces new Half Yearly 3G Data plan for Rs.4500, offers 100 GB 3G Data Usage valid for 180 Days and Yearly 3G Data Plan for Rs.5000 offers 50 GB 3G Data Usage valid for 365 days from the date of recharge or activation.

Both new plans can be use while Home network as well as National Roaming on BSNL across India. The new plans will be available from 5th December via On-line Recharge or E-topup at MTNL Customer Service Centers and retailers across Mumbai circle.

Apart from the launch of above new 3G data plans, MTNL also revised its ‘True Unlimited’ 3G data plan of Rs.1650 and Rs.2500. Now both plans will be available as ‘Limited Plans’ and offers 50 GB and 100 GB 3G data usage respectively.

For more details dial 1503 / 9869012345 (toll free from MTNL).

Supreme Court Restores 200 SMS Cap Limit

India’s Supreme Court on December 4th stayed a telecom tribunal order that quashed limiting of the number of SMSes to 200 per day per user. The SMS quota was originally introduced in 2011 by the regulator, TRAI to stop spamming by telemarketing companies.

In a brief hearing, a bench headed by Justice G S Singhvi stayed the Telecom Disputes and Appellate Tribunal’s (TDSAT) order. The Supreme Court passed the order on an appeal filed by TRAI challenging tribunal’s order.

TDSAT had on July 17 termed the ceiling on SMSes as “arbitrary” and against the right of freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under the Constitution and had set aside the sector regulator TRAI’s circular.

Uddhav Thackeray’s son Aditya had submitted that the restriction on SMSes was just a “non-application of mind” by TRAI and the circular fixing ceiling “has not explained why and how the figure of 100 or 200 SMSes per day was arrived at.”

TRAI had permitted sending only 100 SMSes per day per SIM except on blackout days or days specially notified by it. On November 1, 2011, it had increased the limit to 200 SMSes per day per SIM.

Though Supreme Court orders to remove the cap, it is not sure when the directives from DoT and TRAI will be implemented on operators’ front.

MTS Launches Non-Stop Adda Initiative for customers in Kolkata and West Bengal circle

MTS India today launched an innovative proposition – MTS Non-Stop Adda for its customers in Kolkata & West Bengal circles. Customers availing Non-Stop Adda need to recharge with Rs. 25 to get full talk-time, special tariff of 20p/minute and 50 free SMS (local & national).

According to Keshhav Tiwary, Chief Operating Officer, Kolkata & West Bengal Circles, MTS India – “Adda is an integral part of Bengal’s culture. The MTS Non-Stop Adda Plan is devised keeping in mind the customers’ need to communicate freely using SMSes, lower tariffs and Full Talk Time all under a single low denomination product priced at Rs 25 only. We are confident that customers across Kolkata and West Bengal will enjoy this plan which will offer the best value for their money and a non-stop adda experience.”

The launch of MTS Non-Stop Adda is supported by a robust network of more than 45,000 retailers across Kolkata & West Bengal. The Company would also be rolling out an integrated communication campaign involving Outdoor, Print Media, Radio and On-ground activations to support the launch.

TRAI mandates minimum speed limit for wireless data services

So, if the operator promises 7.2 Mbps download speed then they have to ensure atleast 5.4 Mbps or above.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has mandated minimum quality of service for wireless data services in the country. With this regulation in place, operators will have to offer basic minimum quality of service in each area.

While issuing "The Standards of Quality of Service for Wireless Data Services Regulations, 2012", TRAI has ordered every operator to set up a test base wherever they provide data services to ensure that quality of service guidelines be met.

According to the new regulation, which will come into force from 1st January 2013, provision or activation of data services is to be done within four hours of receiving the request.

It has also asked operators to ensure 80 per cent success in case of download attempt and 75 per cent in case of upload. Also, minimum speed of each plan has to be measured and reported to TRAI. The best part is that it has asked operators to ensure 75 per cent subscribed speed is actually received by the subscriber. So, if the operator promises 7.2 Mbps download speed then they have to ensure atleast 5.4 Mbps or above. Data drop rate also has to be below 5 per cent.

To improve transparency, all the operators have been asked to publish, on their websites, the details of all data services offered, along with their tariff, clearly indicating the cities and towns where such data services and tariff plans are applicable.

The new regulations also bars operators from offering new data services or modify the existing data services or tariff without prior publication on their websites.