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Telecom companies told to show how TRAI could kill

by Paul Joseph May 7, 2012 Featured

With finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, telecom minister Kapil Sibal and telecom secretary R Chandrashekhar all ears, India’s telecom honchos told it like it is: the industry’s survival and profitability are at stake if the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (Trai) recommendations on 2G auction were accepted in their original form. Crib No. 1 of the CEOs of Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, Vodafone and Telenor: the high reserve price recommended by the watchdog, which they believe will push up mobile tariffs by 30-40% and make their business unviable. Source

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DoT invites early bids for selection of spectrum auctioneer

by Paul Joseph May 7, 2012 Featured

The government has invited early proposals for selection of an agency that will conduct e-auction of spectrum in 22 telecom service areas. “The Department of Telecom today issued a Notice for Request For Proposal (RFP) for selection of agency for e-auction of spectrum in 22 telecom service areas in India,” an official statement said. Source

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Mobile tariffs may double: Telcos

by Paul Joseph May 7, 2012 Featured

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has said that the mobile tariffs could go up by a 100 per cent if the government decides to implement the recommendations made by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Contending that TRAI’s proposed base price for 2G licences could be catastrophic for the telecom sector, COAI chief Sanjay Kapoor said that the affordability of telecom services will be substantially impacted. Source

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Mobile banking in India does not need a one-size-fits-all solution

by Paul Joseph May 7, 2012 Featured

Mobile banking is a new generation platform available to customers for conducting balance inquiries, account transactions, utility payments, and other banking activities using a mobile handset. Mobile banking services in India started with SMS banking way back in 2002. With an increasing mobile subscriber base in India, mobile banking has picked up steam in recent years. Today more than half the population in India has a mobile phone. However, less than 1% of that uses mobile phone as a medium for banking. Though mobile banking is synonymous with the word convenience banking, its usage is not anywhere close to its potential. Source

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Telecom major Telenor writes off Rs 3,500 crore India assets

by Paul Joseph May 7, 2012 Featured

Norwegian telecom major Telenor on Monday wrote off its remaining fixed and intangible assets in India worth Norwegian Krone 3.9 billion (over $680 million or Rs 3,500 crore) saying “the uncertainty has increased significantly” following the Supreme Court’s ruling in February to cancel Unitech Wireless’s 22 licences and the recent Trai recommendations on the re-auction of 2G licences and spectrum. The statement from the company came a day after the company’s Asia head Siggve Brekke told TOI that Telenor was considering exiting India if the regulator’s recommendations were accepted by the government in their current form. Source

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India adds 8 mln mobile users in March; Bharti, Idea lead gains

by Paul Joseph May 7, 2012 Featured

India, the world’s second-biggest mobile phone market, saw a 0.88 percent monthly increase in mobile phone subscribers in March, an equivalent of 8 million new users, data released by the country’s telecom regulator showed on Thursday. About 919.17 million people in India had a mobile subscription at the end of March, up from 911.17 million in February. China, the biggest mobile phone market, had 1.013 billion mobile subscribers. The growth was led by country’s largest operator Bharti Airtel, which added 2.50 million new subscribers, taking its mobile phone base in the country to 181.27 million in March. Idea Cellular, which had added the maximum number of users in February, saw the second highest addition at 2.01 million new users in March. Uninor, Reliance Communications, Vodafone and Sistema Shyam Teleservices added 1.29 million, 1.04 million, 1.02 million and 0.42 million new users, respectively. The overall teledensity (telephones per 100 people) in India reached 78.66 percent in March. The increase in subscriptions slowed last year, after rising at a monthly average of 19 million in 2010, the data showed, as companies started disconnecting users who have not used their phones for six months. Subscription in Urban Areas grew from 618.82 million in February, 2012 to 620.53 million at the end of March, 2012. Subscription in Rural Areas increased from 324.68 million to 330.82 million during the same period. The growth of Urban and Rural Subscription is 0.28% and 1.89% respectively.The overall Urban teledensity has increased from 169.37 to 169.55 and Rural teledensity increased from 38.53 to 39.22.

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India’s Mobile Phone Operators Insist It’s Not a Competitive Market

by Paul Joseph May 7, 2012 Featured

Mobile phone bills in India could double if the government agrees to new regulatory proposals for upcoming 2G spectrum auctions, the country’s major operators have warned. The telecoms ministry is currently seeking clarification on some of the proposals from regulator the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), which recommended the new auction prices start at more than ten times the figure carriers paid in 2008. Source

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Mobile Number Portability review in India: Good or bad?

by Paul Joseph May 7, 2012 Featured

For long described as a dud, the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) regime is slowly but surely making a mark in India. There has been a consistent rise observed in portability requests during the last five months beginning October 2011 (until February 2012). At the end of October 2011 pan India MNP requests stood at 2.54 million which mounted to 4.32 million by February end this year. A month on month portability study showed that the numbers grew from 2.54 million in October to 2.67 million subscribers in November. The rise continued unabated in December when the request number touched 3.40 million. Source

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Samsung unveils Samsung Galaxy S-III

by Paul Joseph May 5, 2012 Featured

Samsung unveiled one of the most-waited phones of 2012, Samsung Galaxy Galaxy SIII in London. Some of the key features to look out for in the Samsung Galaxy SIII are – It runs on Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). However, the default user interface of the OS is TouchWiz Nature UX, a custom skin prepared

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Linkedin acquires Slideshare for $119 million

by Paul Joseph May 5, 2012 Featured

In a move which is aimed to deliver more value to millions of its users, Linkedin has announced its acquisition of Slideshare. The deal valued at $119 million,is in a combination of approximately 45 percent cash and approximately 55 percent stock. Since presentations are the core component of how professionals define and brand their identity,

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