3G Benifits for Indians

New Delhi: YouTube experience on your mobile phone, video chats, internet TV, streaming music and near-instant data transfers -- these are some of the numerous applications Indian consumers can look forward to with third generation (3G) telecom services.

Even though the two state-run firms -- Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd -- have already started 3G services in India, the competition is now set to hot up, following the auction of airways to private players to start such service.

They hope their 3G networks will be up and running over the next six months, adding another feather to the world's second largest mobile phone network, which has some 600 million phone subscribers, adding over 20 million new users every month.

The main enabler is the technology, since both the second and third generation telephony services use airwaves -- also called frequency spectrum -- to carry signals. Only that, airways are better exploited in 3G telephony, making applications several times faster than 2G.

Globally, the first commercial launch of 3G services was by NTT DoCoMo in Japan in October 2001, followed by SK Telecom in South Korea in January 2002 and by KT, also of South Korea, in May the same year.

So the next time you access the Internet with a 3G-enabled phone, the page-view will be near instant, unlike a half-a-minute or so you may take today. For the same reason, you can also watch TV, play online games, download videos and listen to streaming music on your 3G phone.

Of course, the service will come for a cost, especially after the auction has resulted in a licence fee of over $5.5 billion for the government for the 71 slots available in 22 circles into which the country has been geographically divided.

Depending on how much of download you intend to do, measured in mega byte, the service may cost anywhere upward of Rs.1,000 to Rs.4,000 per month, as per initial estimates available with telecom operators.

"The numbers are mind boggling and it is going to be a big challenge for operators to leverage high costs and still be able to offer the service at low cost," said Prasanto K. Roy, chief editor with CyberMedia's, referring to the high fee for spectrum.

"Companies will use part of this spectrum for voice services, but it will also help in the spread of data services throughout the country," Roy told IANS, hoping for service cost to eventually fall, as was the case with 2G services.

The handset for 3G must also be compatible and may set you back by Rs.15,000 or so, though analysts like Sanjit Chatterjee, director with the Singapore-based mobile internet solutions provider REVE Systems, expect prices to drop.

"While all 600 million Indian mobile subscribers don't own handsets that support data services, it is a matter of time when some cheaper 'copycats' will be within every mobile user's reach for one-tenth the average price of a smart phone," Chatterjee said.

Already there is a wide choice of 3G-enabled handsets to choose from, like the Apple iPhone 3GS, Samsung i900 Omnia, Nokia E71, Nokia N96, BlackBerry Bold 9000, Nokia N85, Motorola Q9h, Sony Ericsson C702 and Samsung Corby PRO.

At the same time, China's Huawei is planning to sell its entry-level phones within $80 to $100 (Rs.3,600 to Rs. 4,500), while South Korea's LG intends to priced a few models at $100 a piece.

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Reliance, Bharti, Aircel got bulk of 3G circles

New Delhi: Reliance Communications, Bharti Airtel and Aircel have won the largest number of 13 circles each in the auction of airwaves for third generation (3G) telecom services, and will collectively pay the government Rs.27,379.96 crore ($6.08 billion).

The amount to be paid by the three companies, for which they have a 10-day deadline, is a little over 40 percent of the total amount of Rs.67,718.95 crore ($15 billion) that the government is set to garner from the 3G auction that concluded Wednesday.

Reliance, which won the bids for circles including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Punjab will have to shell out Rs.8,585.04 crore ($1.91 billion).

Bharti, which has won such circles as Delhi, Mumbai, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka will have to pay Rs.12,295.46 crore ($2.73 billion). Aircel on the other hand, which focused largely on south India, will have to pay Rs.6499.46 crore ($1.44 billion).

In all, as many as 71 slots were put on the block for 22 circles across India for 3G services that will facilitate faster connectivity and applications such as Internet TV, video-on-demand, audio-video calls and high-speed data exchange.

Nine companies -- Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications, Vodafone Essar, Idea Cellular, Tata Teleservices, Aircel, Etisalat, S Tel and Videocon Telecommunications -- took part in the online auction that started April 9.

Among them, Etisalat and Videocon could not win a single circle

According to the auction documents issued in February, of the 22 telecom circles, five states -- Punjab, Bihar, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir -- were to have four private players.

Other circles, including the Delhi, Mumbai, Tamil Nadu and Kolkata, were to have three private players.

The Delhi circle attracted the maximum bid amount of Rs.3,316.93 crore ($735 million), followed by Mumbai at Rs.3,247.07 crore ($721 million), Karnataka Rs.1,579.91 crore ($351 million), and Tamil Nadu Rs.1,464.94 crore ($325.5 million).

At the other end of the spectrum, the lowest bid was for Jammu and Kashmir with Rs.30.30 crore ($673,000).

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3G Auction now over Rs.51,000 crore

New Delhi: India Saturday concluded 143 rounds of an auction to award spectrum for third generation (3G) telecom services in the country, with the government's provisional revenue from the sale of airwaves reaching Rs.51,833.46 crore ($11.4 billion), which is well above the amount it expected.

The government had hoped to rake in Rs.55,000 crore ($12 billion) from both the 3G auction and the rolling out of broadband wireless internet services in the country. But with the agressive bidding in few circles, the government is poised to get more than the estimated amount from the 3G auction alone.

At the end of the 25th day of the auction, which began April 9, the provisional winning price for a pan-India 3G licence stood at Rs.12,850.66 crore ($2.82 billion), up around 267 percent from the Rs.3,500 crore reserve price.

Slots for three-four players are available in each of the 22 circles into which the country has been geographically divided for the 3G services, which will facilitate faster connectivity and enable applications such as Internet TV, video-on-demand, audio-video calls and high-speed data exchange.

Nine telecom companies - Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications, Vodafone Essar, Idea Cellular, Tata Teleservices, Aircel, Etisalat, S Tel and Videocon Telecommunications - are participating in the online auction.

The government has already given Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) spectrum for 3G services on the condition that they pay the same licence fee as would be levied on private players after the auction.

Along with the fee that will be eventually paid by the two state-run enterprises for the licences, the government will provisionally get at least Rs.51,833.46 crore ($11.4 billion) from the auction.

According to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the 3G auction will conclude next week.

Data on the DoT's website showed Mumbai continued to attract the highest bid at Rs.2,315.79 crore. The provisional winning price for Delhi stood at Rs.2,208.59 crore, followed by Karnataka at Rs.1,374.51 crore, Tamil Nadu at Rs.1,171.75 crore and Maharashtra at Rs.1,127.47 crore.

While Bihar, Mumbai, Delhi and Karnataka witnessed more players in fray than the number of slots available, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and the northeast still could not attract enough bidders.

This 3G auction is a simultaneous auction for the 22 circles over a secure website. At each round, the price is hiked from between 10-1 percent based on demand.

The auction is being held on all days except Sundays and national holidays. The bid data, including the winning companies' names, will be made public after the auction's completion and approval by the government.

The winning firms will have to deposit the money within 10 days after the auction and the successful bidders would be allowed to offer 3G services on a commercial basis from Sep 1.

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4G not necessary as of now in India

New Delhi: The government does not have any plans as of now to auction 4G spectrum, Communications Minister A. Raja said Thursday.

"The auction of 3G spectrum is going on successfully. The question of the need of 700 MHz (4G) spectrum (for the public) is being studied. It is not necessary as of now," Raja said during question hour in the Rajya Sabha.

"If in the course of time, the need arises, we will decide how much of this should be released for the public," he added.

Noting that spectrum was in various categories, ranging from 1G to 5G, Raja pointed out that the 4G spectrum was currently controlled by the information and broadcasting ministry and was being used by state broadcaster Doordarshan.

In a written statement tabled in the Rajya Sabha, Raja said: "TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) has issued a pre-consultation paper to identify the issues involved in the introduction of 4G services such as allocation and pricing of spectrum for such services and issues related to licensing.

"Various stakeholders have given their views/comments at the pre-consultation stage which are being analysed by TRAI for preparation of a consultation paper," the statement added.

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Mumbai vs Delhi in 3G spectrum auction

New Delhi: India has concluded 76 rounds of spectrum auction for third generation telecom services in the country, with Mumbai giving tough competition to Delhi and attracting bids at around Rs.1,080 crore.

At the end of the 13th day of the auction, which began April 9, the provisional winning price for a nationwide licence stood at Rs.7,900.48 crore, up 125.7 percent from Rs.3,500 crore reserve price fixed by the government.

Though Delhi remained the favourite among bidders, attracting the highest bid at Rs.1,083.27 crore, Mumbai did not lag much in the race, according to data available on the website of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

The country's financial capital received bids at Rs.1,079.93 crore, a jump of nine percent over Rs.989.48 crore bid it attracted Friday. Besides, two additional players were still in the fray for the three available slots in the service area.

As against this, the provisional winning price for Delhi jumped only five percent from Rs.1,030.72 crore it received Friday and only one additional player was in the fray against three slots available.

While Assam, Jammu and Kashmir and Orissa managed to attract players, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh did not receive even a single bid, the data showed.

The 3G services will facilitate much faster connectivity than what is available now and enable applications such as Internet TV, video-on-demand, audio-video calls and high-speed data exchange.

Slots for three-four players are available in each of the 22 circles into which the country has been geographically divided for these services.

The government has already given Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) spectrum for 3G services on the condition that they will pay the same licence fee as would be levied on private players after the auction.

Along with the fee that will be eventually paid by the two state-run enterprises for the licences, the government will provisionally get at least Rs.31,964.84 crore from the auction.

This is on the presumption that every available slot gets filled at the provisionally approved price.

The government hopes to rake in Rs.45,000-50,000 crore from the ongoing auctions to award radio frequency spectrum for 3G telecom services and for rolling out broadband wireless internet services.

Nine telecom companies -- Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications, Vodafone Essar, Idea Cellular, Tata Teleservices, Aircel, Etisalat, S Tel and Videocon Telecommunications -- are participating in the online auction.

This is a simultaneous auction for 22 circles over a secure website. At each round, the price is hiked from between 10-1 percent based on demand.

The auction is being held from 9 a.m. to 7.30 p.m. on all days, except Sundays and national holidays. The process will end only when the demand is equal to the number of slots available in each circle.

According to a senior DoT official, it may take another two weeks for the auction to be completed.

The bid data, including the winning companies' names, will be made public after the auction's completion and approval by the government. The winning firms will have to deposit the money within 10 days after the auction.

The successful bidders would be allowed to offer 3G services on a commercial basis from Sep 1.

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BSNL to launch Wimax in rural areas

New Delhi: Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) has announced its plan to roll out Wimax services (wireless broadband) in rural India by year-end despite the Rs 1,000-crore project hitting initial roadblocks. "We expect to roll out Wimax services in the rural areas by the end of this year. We have already given advance purchase order to three companies (for required equipment)," a BSNL official told PTI.

Four bidders were shortlisted for this project but it hit a road block when BSNL's internal vigilance officer put a stay on passing off the project to any one of the bidders. Chennai-based Gemini Communications, Chinese equipment maker ZTE and the U.S.-based Harris Stratex are the three companies which now need to get a security clearance from the the Department of Telecom. The fourth company, Hyderabad-based Vippalamritha Magnetic Components (VMC), has been put under scanner for alleged evasion of duties by its parent company.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has also issued a show-cause notice to Prithvi Information Solution, the parent company of VMC, for the alleged non-payment of duties. "However, since the investigation in this case is going on, no order has been placed at this juncture with VMC," he said.

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DoT awaiting for 3G nod from Law Ministry

New Delhi: The Department of Telecom has sought legal opinion from the law ministry on the schedule and guidelines for auction of 3G spectrum, reports PTI.

The Law Ministry is likely to take time in examining some of the new clauses proposed by the DoT. According to sources, DoT has put in a clause of compensation for the winning bidders as per which if they don't get the spectrum within the allotted time, they will be entitled for the compensation with interests. This is said to be under the scanner of the Law Ministry.

The lack of a level-playing field is also an issue as there is no auction being planned as of now for the CDMA-based 3G services (EVDO), which the law ministry is believed to be closely looking at. Also, the DoT is awaiting the Law Ministry's approval before issuing Notice Inviting Application (schedule and guidelines) to the telecom players to participate in the auction of spectrum.

The DoT is also learnt to have written to the Finance and Defence Ministries seeking their views on NIA. It has also sought an assurance from defence on release of spectrum. A DoT official said that they were waiting to hear from the Law Ministry as the NIA is a legal document. He, however did not offer any comment on the new clauses added to it.

The issue of the number of slots to be auctioned is still under discussion, as operators, who would win pan-India license, will need an assurance that there would be no dearth of spectrum in any of the circles.

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562 Million Telephone Subscribers in India

New Delhi: The number of telephone subscribers in India recorded a 3.5 percent growth in December 2009 to 562.21 million from 543.20 million in the previous month, according to the telecom authority, reports All Headlines News. Wireless subscriber base increased from 506.04 Million in November 2009 to 525.15 Million in December at a monthly growth rate of 3.78 percent, a Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) press statement said. The country's overall tele-density reaches 47.89 while Wireless tele-density stands at 44.73.

On the other hand, wireline subscriber base declined from 37.16 million in November 2009 to 37.06 million in the previous month.

State-run telecom operators Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL), holding 85.22 percent of the wireline market share, lost 0.12 million subscribers in December, according to the official statistics. Overall wireline tele-density is 3.16 percent. Total broadband subscriber base now grew 3.56 percent to 7.83 million in December over the previous month's figure of 7.57 million, the TRAI added.

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TRAI launched do-call to avoid unnecessary calls

New Delhi: This can be a big relief for more than 500 million mobile subscribers in India, who get unsolicited telemarketing calls and messages every day, from their respective telecom vendor, reports Business Standard.

Two years before, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had introduced Telecom Unsolicited Commercial Communication Regulation, but it did not get success because of the inability of the government to control the large unorganized telemarketing sector, which has managed to circumvent the regulation and reach consumers. This service only got a response with only four percent of the subscriber base (20 million users) registering for do-not-call since its launch in 2007.

Currently, subscribers need DNCR to stop unwanted telemarketing calls and messages. Even the telemarketing companies wishing to provide the service must register with the regulator - a weak link as small and unorganized operators do not register and are difficult to identify and catch.

Only 16,000 telemarketing companies are registered with the regulator. Industry estimates the total number to be over 100,000. As per the new system, telemarketing calls and messages will be allowed only to those subscribers who have registered for the specific calls or messages. It will be assumed that those who don't register are not interested in receiving unsolicited calls and messages.

While countries such as the U.S, the UK, Ireland and Australia have implemented DNCR, there is no country which has opted for the do-call approach. "Do-call Registry is a better idea. Mobile users will make informed choice, while for telemarketers, it will be an incentive, as they will know who their potential subscribers are," Mahesh Uppal, a telecom expert, said. It would make enforcement of regulations easier, he added.

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Telenor to expand its operations in India

Bangalore: Norwegian telecoms group Telenor plans to expand its Indian operation with offering services nationwide this year. Currently, the company has operations in eight of India's 22 telecom zones, reports Reuters.

Sigve Brekke, Head of Telenor Group's Asian operations said, "We are very satisfied with our operations in India because we are going to launch faster and bigger than we thought." The company has even planned to bid for 3G licenses for some parts of India, since it would be very expensive to have a nationwide network.

Telenor has bought into an Indian telecom firm, Unitech Wireless, a unit of property developer Unitech, which started services in December under the Uninor brand. The company holds telecom licenses for all of India and is aiming for eight percent of the Indian mobile market by 2018.

In the first month of its launch only, Uninor managed to get 1.2 million subscribers. The company forecasts of breaking even at the EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) level in three years and operational cash flow level in five years.

Excluding India, where growth will be very high, Telenor expected its operations in four countries in Asia to post average "mid-single-digit" revenue growth this year, led by strong growth in Bangladesh and Pakistan.

"Growth in India will be very high since it started from zero. For the four countries, Bangladesh and Pakistan will grow most, followed by Malaysia and Thailand," he said, adding a better economic outlook should boost growth.

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Google Voice Invitation, Get it Now!

Google Voice (formerly GrandCentral) is a telecommunications service by Google launched on 11 March 2009. The service provides a U.S. phone number, chosen by the user from available numbers in selected area codes, free of charge to each user account. Inbound calls to this number are forwarded to other phone numbers of the subscriber. Outbound calls may be placed to domestic and international destinations by dialing the Google Voice number or from a web-based application. Inbound and outbound calls to US (incl. Alaska and Hawaii) and Canada are free of charge, while international calls are billed according to a schedule posted on the Google Voice website.

The service is configured and maintained by the user in a web-based application, styled after Google's e-mail service, Gmail. Users must have an established U.S. telephone service to activate Google Voice. Users must configure this and optionally, additional phone numbers that ring simultaneously when the Google Voice number receives a call. The user may answer and receive the call on any of the ringing phones. Google Voice provides additional features such as voicemail, call history, conference calling, call screening, blocking of unwanted calls, and voice transcription to text of voicemail messages. Received calls may be moved between configured telephones during a call.

Google Voice is only available for users in the United States. Users may select a single U.S. phone number from various area codes. Incoming calls to the number may ring simultaneously any, all or none of the user's configured phones. Based on the calling number, or contact group (e.g., Family, Friends, Work), or on time of day (e.g., disabling a home phone during business hours and routing calls to mobile or business number), individual numbers may be configured to ring. The service also features centralized voicemail and indexable, automated voicemail transcription, accessible by PC or phone. Google Voice provides automatic blocking of known numbers, e.g., telemarketers, the ability to switch lines in mid-call, differentiated voice mail greetings based on caller, SMS forwarding, and call recording. Additionally, customers of Gizmo5, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) service vendor, may forward calls to their Gizmo service which may be answered using a free computer application (or a web application) or forwarded to any GoogleTalk, Skype or other SIP service.

Similar in concept, free Personal Numbering services have been available in the UK since 1993. It is also similar to the AT&T True Connections 500 service offered in the 1990s. AT&T's service required the direct involvement of AT&T to change the phone number list, while the Google service is user configurable on the web application.

The voice of Google Voice belongs to actress/voiceover artist Laurie Burke. Burke has been the voice of the system from the very beginning, when it was Grand Central, and continues to record for the company as it grows in popularity.

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3G Expectations in India

Bangalore: The 3G auction, which is scheduled to happen this month has been the central topic in all major forums and conferences in India. The telecom industry, which is losing its market saw a 33 percent dip last year, and thus has too many expectations from the 3G spectrum. The Indian government is expecting to earn around Rs. 25,000-35,000 crore from the sale, and with only three spots up for grabs the winning telecom providers will be under lot of pressure to earn quick revenue to fill up the Rs. 3,500 that they will have to invest.

Indian telecom industry has been going through dramatic changes in past few months in terms of new operators and the price wars. The issue was addressed in the Mobile India 2010 at 2nd International Conference on Communication Systems and Networks (COMSNETS), where experts from telecom industry, operators, developers and Value Added Service (VAS) companies came together to share their insights.

In India, telecom operators play a central role in the industry. Experts feel that the current ecosystem is not scalable as developers are still struggling to find their way to customers past the operators. As compared to few other markets, VAS companies have to heavily rely on the operators for the success of their product and company. Keeping this in mind, companies have to really think about a "killer application" which will be readily accepted. "As an operator I am always looking for something that will change customer's life. We (operators) are not interested if an application improves the life of 25-30 thousand people. But we are interested if it affects the life of 2.5 million people," said Sandeep Sawhney, Head of New Products and Innovation, Aircel.

Sawhney said developers have only been able to make applications which make an impact on very small segment which in turn will not bring any sufficient revenue for operators. Another problem that the VAS space has been unable to overcome is to think beyond applications for voice and SMS. "Out of 100 percent revenue six percent is from VAS. Out of this six percent 5.5 percent revenue was made on applications based on Voice and SMS," said Dilip Mehta, from IIM Bangalore.

Speaking on the other major problem faced by VAS companies Mehta says the basic reason a VAS company has to go through the operator is because Indians are a bit reluctant to use their credit cards for payments and various rules and regulations bog down the developers to directly sell their product to the customers, without the help of operators. Mehta firmly believes that for operators, development of VAS companies is the most viable option for earning revenue and expanding the market as the price advantage will soon disappear.

The year 2009, can be easily called the year of smartphones worldwide. But, the situation has not been the same for India, which still does not have majority of the high end smartphones like Motorolla Droid, Apple iPhone 3GS, Blackberry Storm 2 and the latest Google's Nexus One. Alok Goel, Head of Mobile products, Google India believe that 2010 will see the smartphone market flourish in India due to the entry of 3G services. He says Indian telecom industry has gone through four major stages in last 20 years. The PCO stage - to home landline stage - to mobile stage and finally the smartphone stage. "Smartphone will soon become an identity that you will carry all the time," he comments.

Majority of the VAS companies are startups. Experts feel that, these companies have not been keeping the customers in mind. Sanjay Swami, CEO of mCheck, one of the few successful startups in the VAS space, says that developers should be realistic on what they are making. There should be a uniqueness in the product and it should be sustainable. Mehta, who is advisor at NSRCEL in IIMB has been working with lots of startups. He says the basic problem is that majority of the startups have been founded by engineers who don't really focus on the customers. "Customer is never wrong in this business. If you feel a customer is wrong then you are in wrong business," says Vishwanath Alluri, CEO of IMI Mobile.

The 3G auction was scheduled to happen on 14th January. But now it has been postponed (again) to February. There is no doubt that once 3G services is available it will have the cheapest rates in the world. But would a customer need this high speed internet access on mobile, and whether a customer is willing to pay extra for these extra services is still not know. So far, BSNL 3G has been launched in many cities and has receives mild response. The customer can only hope that after the price war on tariffs for voice, there will be price wars on data plans as well. If this happens, then only 3G will be able to make the expected impact in India.

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Airtel is close to acquiring stake in Warid Telecom

Dhaka: Indian telecom firm Bharti Airtel is close to acquiring a majority stake in the Bangladesh operations of Warid Telecom, with officials of both companies meeting key officials to wrap up the deal, a newspaper report said Wednesday.

The Indian company is looking at buying a 70 percent stake in Warid and has received a favourable response from the Bangladeshi firm's promoters -- the Abu Dhabi group -- who are here to thrash out the deal.

"A memorandum of understanding (MoU) could be signed between the companies during the visit," The Daily Star newspaper quoted a Warid Telecom official as saying.

The MoU is the primary step before signing the final deal between the companies to share confidential business strategies.

In a related development, chairman and group chief executive officer of Bharti Enterprises Sunil Bharti Mittal called on Bangladesh telecom minister Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju at his office Tuesday.

Both Bharti Airtel and the Abu Dhabi group, which has diversified business interests in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Uganda, Congo and West Asia, have sought the approval of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), the country's sectoral watchdog.

BTRC has asked for some details from the companies such as Airtel's investment plans in Bangladesh, and the approvals of the two companies' board of directors.

BTRC also asked the two firms to clarify how Warid Telecom would clear its liabilities, including bank loans, after the stake sale.

"BTRC has asked the companies to submit these documents before signing the deal," said The Daily Star quoting the commission chairman Zia Ahmed.

Bharti Airtel has placed a $300-million initial investment plan to BTRC, which will be implemented after signing the deal.

According to The Daily Star, Bangladesh telecom secretary Sunil Kanti Bosh has confirmed that Airtel would invest in Bangladesh.

Bosh said the company wanted to develop the voice market in Bangladesh and planned to provide telecom services between that country and India at affordable rates.

SingTel, Vodafone and Etisalat have also approached Warid to form a partnership in Bangladesh.

Incidentally, another Indian telecom operator, Essar Group, acquired a majority share in Warid's operations in Uganda and Congo for $318 million.

Warid entered Bangladesh as its sixth mobile operator in May 2007 and has 2.79 million subscribers.

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ENUM to stop 11 digit mobile number's migration

New Delhi: Following the path of mobile-rich countries like Malaysia and UK, India is also planning to adopt ENUM (electronic numbering) technology to avoid migration from 10-digit mobile number to an 11-digit mobile number. ENUM technology can be a catalyst for DoT (Department of Telecom) to meet the growing requirement of the mobile industry, reports Deccan Chronicle.

Telephone number mapping is the process through which the telephone network (public-switched telephone network) is unified with the Internet address using the Internet protocol (IP). ENUM technology will be similar to the model available in Internet connectivity whereby each Internet connection has a unique IP address.

A senior DoT official told Financial Chronicle that some countries where there is unprecedented growth in mobile (subscribers) are adopting new technology to meet the number crunch. "We are aware of ENUM or telephone number mapping, but have not taken up the project," added DoT Official. Currently, technology companies such as Telcordia Technologies and Neustar are offering the number mapping.

Government had formulated national numbering plan 2003 to meet the growing mobile subscriber base in the country. The 10-digit numbering pattern was projected to meet the industry growth figures for the next 50 years. However, the 10-digit number series has already got exhausted in six years.

S C Khanna, Secretary General of Association of Unified Service Providers of India (Auspi) said, "There are technologies that could be adopted to meet the growing demand but migration to 11 digit is an easier route. With more than eight to nine operators in a single circle and a couple of new operators likely to launch services, we need to meet the crunch."

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4G Wireless Network Launched

Bangalore: The world's first fourth-generation wireless service was launched yesterday by Sweden's TeliaSonera, as equipment vendors vie for a high-stakes contract for building the next stage of the network, reports Financial Times.

The service will be initially limited to central parts of Stockholm and Oslo, and will offer mobile broadband at up to 10 times the speed of third-generation technology. It will also set the way for other operators, such as Verizon and NTT DoCoMo, which are preparing to unveil 4G networks. According to the Financial Times, this launch will be the testing ground for a battle between equipment vendors to build the next generation of mobile networks. TeliaSonera is planning to choose either Ericsson or Huawei to expand its fledgling 4G service across Sweden and Norway.

The firm split its initial 4G contract between the rival vendors - with Ericsson building the Stockholm network and Huawei taking responsibility for Oslo - making them frontrunners for a bigger contract expected to be awarded in January for the next stage of the rollout.

Huawei this year overtook Alcatel-Lucent, the Franco-American group, to become the world's third-largest network equipment maker after Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Networks. The Chinese company recently won a contract to upgrade the domestic mobile network of Telenor.

Kenneth Karlberg, the Head of mobile services at TeliaSonera, told the Financial Times that the decision would be based solely on grounds of price and quality. "We already use Huawei in Finland, so nationality is not an issue," he said.

As 4G mobile phones have not yet been launched, TeliaSonera's 4G service will initially be accessible only through PCs. The service is based on the Long Term Evolution technology that may become the 4G standard.

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Infosys to empower mobile service providers

Bangalore: Infosys Technologies has announced the launch of an application platform which will empower mobile service providers to provide consumers with ready-to-use experiential applications across the universe of devices.

Worldwide, the mobile applications market is rapidly evolving and emerging markets including India are a hot bed of opportunity and innovation. The emerging digital consumer is driven by convenience, choice and instant gratification.

According to Subhash Dhar, Member Executive Council and Group Head, Sales and Marketing at Infosys, "Smart applications are now making it possible to deliver a personalized and interactive user experience. Mobile service providers are seeing a steady shift in value from providing connectivity to monetizing digital demand. Flypp from Infosys enables this capability for mobile operators through a plug and play model. This is part of our continued thrust to provide platforms and products to help our clients rapidly capitalize on evolving business opportunities."

Flypp from Infosys is a "Ready to Launch" Application platform for mobile operators. This "operator centric" platform enables mobile operators to offer a bouquet of applications, including third party ones to its subscribers with a rich and engaging customer experience. The platform can be easily integrated into operator's current technology environment and can also plug-and-play with their existing on-deck applications.

Flypp also provides independent software vendors (ISVs) a viable and attractive channel to showcase and monetize their proprietary applications across multiple geographies and service providers. The platform also includes an Application Toolbox to test and certify the satisfactory operation of applications on service provider environments.

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Nokia has unveiled two new 3G slider phones

Finland: Nokia has unveiled two new 3G slider phones, the Nokia 6700 slide and Nokia 7230. These phones are available in variety of creative colors, and have great imaging features, and quick access to popular social networking communities.

Nokia 6700 slide is available in six fresh and vivid colors - pink, red, petrol blue, aluminum, lime and purple. The five megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics is perfect for capturing and sharing moments as they happen. Favorite images can be edited on the go and uploaded to the web directly from the camera menu. The device's high speed 3G connectivity ensures your favorite communities are always as close as your Nokia 6700 slide.

Nokia 7230 has 3.2 megapixel camera, large 2.4" display and fast 3G connectivity. With the Nokia 7230 in your pocket, you also have quick access to email, instant messaging and social networks on the go, and the subtle illumination indicates if you have missed calls or messages from your friends.

Both devices are expected to become available in the first quarter of 2010, and the retail prices before taxes and subsidies are anticipated to be around Rs. 11,000 for the Nokia 6700 slide, and Rs. 7,000 for the Nokia 7230.

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BSNL launched its WiMax Service

Jaipur: BSNL has become the first operator in India to launch wireless broadband service. It has launched this service in rural areas with a tariff of Rs. 140 per month, according to PTI.

BSNL wireless broadband services, using WiMAX technology, was launched by Minister of State Sachin Pilot from his constituency Ajmer. The service was launched at a function in Pisangan Telephone Exchange in Ajmer district.

"This unique technology has been deployed for the first time in our country. Through this BSNL will usher in a new era of growth in rural areas. This technology offers broadband speed of 7 Mbps at a distance of 15kms," said Pilot.

The high speed wireless broadband connectivity will offer video conferencing, enabling tele-medicine and tele-education, besides providing other services like payment of utility bills, issue of birth certificates, land records and vehicle registration.

The minister further said that this project will be associated with all the 'common service centres' in rural areas, which are associated with e-Governance projects started by the state governments. In the first phase, BSNL would cover 1000 block headquarters across the country and the remaining block headquarters will be connected through 50,000 common service centres in next phase.

The rural common service centres are part of the Bharat Nirman Programme of the UPA government.

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Uninor GSM Mobile Service in India

Anantapur: Uninor a new GSM mobile service. Uninor started its GSM service in India through 8 states (in more than 2,10,000 centers). Uninor launched its service according to the present youth needs. More than 550 million people can subscribe to Uninor GSM service in India.

ABOUT UNINOR

Uninor is a mobile telephony and network operator in India. The company holds a pan-India UAS lisence to offer telecommunications services in each of India’s 22 circles. It has also received spectrum to roll out these services in 21 of the 22 telecom circles. From November 2009, Uninor will be owned 67,25% by Norwegian telecom giant Telenor, and 32,75% by India's Unitech Group. Uninor is to start mobile services in India by the end of 2009, focusing on the GSM technology.

The company Unitech Wireless was until 2009 a subsidiary of Unitech Group, holding a wireless services license for 21 Indian telecom circles since 2008. In early 2009, Unitech Group and Telenor agreed on a majority take-over by Telenor of Unitech's wireless business, including Unitech Wireless' national-wide mobile licence. By March, May and November, Telenor acquired a 33%, 49% and 60% stake in Unitech Wireless, respectively. In September, the mobile operation changed it's name to Uninor. On October 19 the Indian Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) announced that it has approved Telenor's acquisition of up to 74% in Unitech Wireless, and the shareholder's agreement sets a 67,25% Telenor ownership in Uninor.

UNINOR'S STRATEGY

Uninor is India's eighth nation-wide mobile operator, in a competitive landscape of 13 nation-wide or regional mobile operators. The company is targeting an 8 % pan-Indian market share, and the opening of one million retail points and breaking even on EBITDA within three years. It will provide mobile communication and Value Added Services.

In order to reduce time-to-market, Uninor will outsource infrastructure and back-end services to partner organizations with established core competencies. The operational model is low-cost with a gradual network-build up, infrastructure sharing, GSM equipment at competitive cost, full-scale IT-outsourcing and a long term cost and capex efficiency.

Uninor will organise with headquarters just outside Delhi (Gurgaon), and 11 regional hubs covering one or more of the total of 22 telecom circles. Hub head offices are located in the following cities:

Chennai - Chennai, Tamil Nadu & Kerala Circle
Bangalore - Karnataka Circle
Hyderabad - Andhra Pradesh Circle
Kolkata - Kolkata, West Bengal & Orissa Circle
Delhi / Noida (NCR) - Delhi, Western Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand & Rajasthan Circle
Patna - Bihar & Jharkhand Circle
Mumbai - Mumbai, Maharashtra & Gujarat Circle
Lucknow
Guwahati
Chandigarh
Indore

To quickly launch mobile services only nine months after the foundation of the new company, Uninor has entered into network and base station service agreements with partners. Tower sharing agreements are concluded with Wireless-TT Info Service Limited and Quippo Telecom Infrastructure Limited. Telecommunications, network and radio equipment is to be supplied by Alcatel-Lucent, Huawei Technologies India and Ericsson. The company's IT services and infrastructure is to be shared with Wipro.

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Acquisition plans were still on hold: Bharati Airtel

New Delhi: Telecom giant Bharti Airtel Thursday said its overseas acquisition plans were still on hold. "There is no change in acquisition plans (as of now)," Bharti Airtel Chief Executive Manoj Kohli told reporters here on the sidelines of a telecom summit.

Earlier this year, it had held merger talks with South African telecom major MTN group, but the $23-billion deal did not materialise due to regulatory hurdles. Kohli also said there was not much change in the number of subscribers in November. "We have had very stable growth despite new competition."

Bharti added 2.7 million mobile-phone subscribers in October, while the November figures are yet to be announced. Asked whether there is any scope of further reduction in tariff, Kohli said: "India's affordability is best. It should (only) come free from high tax burden."

He also said sectoral regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), should look at "predatory pricing" - the practice of selling a product or service at a very low price. The telecom sector is witnessing a tariff war as all major operators have cut rates drastically to remain competent in the market.

Recently, leading service providers, including Bharti Airtel, launched per-second billing plan under which subscribers would be allowed to make call for one paisa per minute. State-run telecom major Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd's (BSNL) chairman and managing director Kuldeep Goyal had Wednesday warned that the price war would hit the profitability of the company.

"Of course, some hit on the revenue would be there," he told reporters in New Delhi. However, telecom operators hope that the expected volume growth would make up for any reduction in revenues.

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