Arun

DoT gets 575 applications for mobile licences 11 Oct 2007, 0030 hrs IST - Times News Network NEW DELHI: At the final count, 46 companies have managed to log in a staggering 575 applications for UAS (mobile) licences with the DoT. This translates into an average of 26 applications for each of the 22 telecom service areas. The frenzy for licences is fuelled by the fact that spectrum — a precious and scarce national resource for telecom services — comes along with the licence at a throwaway price of Rs 1,660 crore. The excitement only grew after Trai's August 28 recommendations on licence reforms and spectrum allocation ruled out auctions for 2G spectrum in the 800, 900 and 1800 bands. Almost 80% of the total applications received by DoT (30 companies with 461 applications) came in after this. Unable to stem the tide, the DoT finally, on September 24, said its doors would close for UASL applications on October 1. However, roughly 20 companies still managed to place applications in the four working days following the announcement. According to the DoT's final list, 15 companies have applied for pan-India licences, while four have applied for between 20 and 21 licences. The UP (West) circle leads the tally with 29 applications, followed by Orissa and Rajasthan with 28 each and Tamil Nadu, North East, J&K, Haryana, Gujarat and Assam with 27 each. Even Himachal Pradesh and Bihar both C category circles have received 23 and 24 applications respectively. Himachal Pradesh with 23 is the least in demand. The numbers are perplexing, considering each pan-India green field operation requires a minimum investment of Rs 25,000 crore within the first three years to mount any credible competition for entrenched players. Surprisingly, despite the obvious opportunism on display, Trai and now even telecom minister, A Raja, are reluctant to nudge the industry towards paying the real value of spectrum. The Rs 1,660 crore offer is a price linked to an auction for the 4th mobile licence held in mid-2001 when India's subscriber base was four million and the overall target less than 100 million. The stakes are far higher today, with 200 million subscribers and a subscriber target of 500 million by 2011, followed by a slowdown that will peak at nearly 750 million subscribers by 2017. Strangely, Trai has shied away from prescribing auctions despite admitting in its August 28, 2007 (section 2.73) recommendations that the current entry fee is linked to a 2001 transaction and recognizing the need to rediscover its present value. The ball is now squarely in the Department of Telecom's court. If sanity does not rule, three companies are set to strike gold by getting spectrum worth Rs 15,000 crore or more for a song. AT&T has partnered Mahindra, India’s largest utility vehicle maker while Verizon, it is learned, has tied up with India’s largest consumer durables maker Videocon. AT&T was the first foreign player to get permission to offer domestic and international long distance licence last year. India has become a hot property among telecom companies as it not just a fast growing market but also a market that offers immense potential. In contrast China has been adding only five million new connections each month while it has almost reached a point of saturation. For European and American telecom companies, India promises a great reason to expand as places are also saturated. Among the list of companies that have entered the sector are DLF, Parshvnath, IndiaBulls, Omaxe, Unitech and Jaypee Group that are the largest real estate firms in the country. Among the retailer, it is the Future Griup, currently the largest retailer in India. What’s even more exciting is the fact for Rs. 1,700 crore (USD 650 million), applicants will get free 2G spectrum with a pan-India mobile licence — 4.4 MHz in the case of GSM players and 2.5 MHz in the case of CDMA operators. There are already over 60 firms waiting in the pipeline to get permission to launch all India services. Some of them are regional players such as Spice, HFCL, Shyam Telecom, BPL Mobile. India is divided into 22 circles (each state and four metro cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Calcutta, classify as a circle or zone.) Each circle in India currently has seven operators-four GSM and three CDMA. Due to such heavy competition, mobile prices in India are the lowest in the world. According to DoT (Department of Telecom) officials, permission will be given to the applicants based on first come first serve basis and after screening the antecedents of all applicants.

Panel allows GSM, CDMA within same licence Business Standard / New Delhi October 11, 2007 In a move which paves the way for Reliance Communications to become a pan-India GSM player, the Telecom Commission is learnt to have cleared the recommendation of the telecom regulator permitting existing licensees to use alternative technology by allocating them dual spectrum. In simple terms, it means a CDMA players like Reliance can also operate GSM services and get the required spectrum from the government within the same licence. Earlier, they were allowed spectrum either for CDMA or for GSM within the licence. However, now they have to pay an amount equal to the entry fee of a UASL licence (over Rs 1,680 crore for a pan-India licence) to get the spectrum as recommended by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). The Commission’s decision, however, has to be cleared by Communications Minister A Raja. Reliance, which is a pan-India CDMA player, had made a request to the government in February 2006 asking for GSM spectrum in over 15 circles across the country under its existing licence on the 1800 MHz band. The company already operates GSM services in eight circles, including Orissa, Bihar, Kolkata, Karnataka, West Bengal, North-East and Assam, with a subscriber base of over 5 million. Following its spat with technology provider Qualcomm on high royalty payments for the proprietary technology, the company had announced it preference for the GSM mode. The Reliance Dhirubhai Ambani Group has also applied for a fresh pan-India UASL licence through two companies — Swan Telecom and Cheetah, in which it has less than 10 per cent equity stake. It is amongst the 30 companies which recently put in their applications. Analysts say the move was made primarily as an alternative plan in case the government decided to disallow allocation of dual spectrum. It is also learnt that the Telecom Commission has rejected a proposal which entails that the issue of reservation of spectrum for expansion of networks of existing operators, should be referred to the Trai. The law ministry is believed to have suggested the matter be referred to the Trai for its opinion. On a proposal to hike the revenue share percentage steeply beyond 6.2 MHz, the Commission decided that a final decision would be taken only after the Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC) gave a final report on changes in the subscriber criterion for allocation of additional spectrum. Trai had recommended the subscriber criterion be changed substantially for allocation of additional spectrum, a move which has been opposed by GSM operators. The government has referred the regulator’s recommendation in this regard to the TEC. The Commission has also cleared Trai’s recommendation to segregate subscriber base and annual gross revenue (AGR) into wireline, GSM and CDMA. This has been done so that telcos using dual spectrum can determine the revenue share to be paid by them (as spectrum charges) which varies according to the circle area.

DoT dithers, operators, applicants on the edge 11 Oct 2007, 0017 hrs IST Times News Network A meeting of the Telecom Commission (TC) in the DoT on Wednesday ended with reluctance amongst members to sign off on a clear decision on how to allocate spectrum. The TC's initial view goes against auctions, preferring to continue with the reservation of spectrum for expansion of operator networks before allocation to new licensees. But, according to official documents with ToI, it then goes on to say a final decision will be taken only after it examines the recommendation of the TEC (Technical Evaluation Committee). The TEC is conducting a probe into whether the spectrum already allocated to GSM operators is being efficiently utilised. The panel also says the matter will not be referred back to Trai. This is the inconclusive outcome of discussions over the last four days to finalise its views on Trai's recommendations on spectrum auction and review of licence terms and conditions. Meanwhile, DoT has also called an industry meeting to discuss spectrum valuation based on a questionnaire that it had circulated a few weeks ago. The TC has agreed with Trai on allowing dual technology and with its recommendations on AGR, though it might consider changing others. While there is very little clarity emerging at this time, one thing is clear, that having sought and received recommendations from Trai on review of licence terms and conditions it will be impossible for government to either change or modify the recommendations without referring the matter back to the regulator. The Trai Act compels government to refer back to the Trai in case it refuses to accept its recommendations. This process of back and forth could lead to another two to four weeks of delay and any attempt to circumvent the process promises serious legal hurdles. The TC is proceeding with great speed in a climate of tremendous uncertainty and relative secrecy, which is making operators extremely nervous about what lies ahead. Looks like they have no problem with Dual technology recommendation !

Well that might spoil the party, as usual.

Looks like someone from Senegal. I've suspended the member and blocked the IP range as well.

Welcome abroad and to the league of ripped souls of Mantraway ! Thats why Googling about the company name before you do business with them is recommended always. A search for Mantraway in Google would have shown you this topic link in the top 3 search results. Time to revive this topic I guess !

VSNL plans Rs 1,000 cr spend for WiMAX Business Standard / Ahmedabad October 03, 2007 The telephony, mobile and broadband player Videsh Sanchar Nigam (VSNL) has set aside a capex of Rs 1,000 crore for its WiMAX services to be rolled out in several cities. The investment in WiMAX is a part of the total capex budget of Rs 2,500 crore set aside by the company for the next financial year. VSNL, part of the Tata Group, already runs a WiMAX service for enterprises in Bangalore and has been allocated spectrum for another 50-60 cities. According to Srinivasa Addepalli, senior vice president - corporate strategy, the company hopes to roll out the services in at least 100 cities before March 2008. VSNL has roped in the US-based equipment manufacturer Telsima for the supply of customer premise equipment (CPEs) and other equipment. However, Addepalli said that the company is also in talks with other players and is looking for alternate vendors for better equipment. “Although we are satisfied with Telsima, we are also looking for alternate vendors. The problem in finding the right vendor is the frequency bandwidth allotted by the government. Unlike other countries where the universal bandwidth is around 2.5 giga hertz (GH), the frequency bandwidth allotted to internet service providers (ISP) in India is 3.3 GH. This makes it difficult to find equipment compatible with 3.3 GH,” said Addepalli. The market is quite unsure of the spectrum allocation for WiMAX services as well, according to Addepalli. While the spectrum allocated to ISPs in other countries ranges between 50 and 90 mega hertz (MH), the government of India has allotted spectrum of just 5 MH. Nevertheless, VSNL hopes to tap around one million subscribers soon after it rolls out its WiMAX services across the country. The company believes that this forms a major chunk of the probable subscribers in the market. To begin with, VSNL would be offering subscriptions for enterprises in cities and would later move on to individual subscribers. Offering a speed of at least one mega byte per second (MBPS), VSNL would also be focusing on developing content and a platform for users, added Addepalli. “We are doing a lot in video streaming and educational modules content and would be focusing on this aspect in our business as well,” Addepalli added.

Reliance Communications launches Colour Handset for Rs 999 Hindu Business Line October 03, 2007 "Reliance Mobile's Classic range of handsets bears testimony to our commitment to offer the best deals to the Indian mobile user. A feature rich Classic 732 colour handset at Rs 999 will become the entry level handset for every new mobile user in the country", said Mr. S P Shukla - President, Personal Business- of the Company. "This special price of Rs 999 also comes at a time as we celebrate the joy of reaching 10M Classic handsets sales - a first for any Indian operator". Mr. Shukla added. The redefining price point from Reliance Mobile is a "No Conditions" attached transparent total handset price, available across all pre & post-paid plans. Reliance customers are free to choose from a range of attractive tariff & validity propositions best suited to their needs. The attractively priced Classic 732 scores highly on Look, feel and form factor. The Classic 732 has a Large phonebook (500 x 3), SMS on call reject, speakerphone and a host of other features that are rarely found in most entry level colour phones.

Thats not all... other companies interested in a new telecom license are Infrastructure major Jaypee Group, Kishore Biyani-promoted Future Group and Hinduja TMT is discussing about it as well. Jaypee Group, Future join the telecom rush 29 Sep, 2007, 0251 hrs IST, Times News Network New Delhi The telecom gold-rush has attracted two new names from the sunrise retail and realty sectors. Infrastructure major Jaypee Group is learnt to have become the latest company to join the rush for mobile licenses across the country. ET has also learnt that Kishore Biyani-promoted Future Group is also planning to apply for nation-wide telecom licenses though the company is yet to take a final call on the issue. When contacted, Kishore Biyani said that the company did not have any plans to foray into the telecom business. Jaypee Group’s decision to get into telecom comes close on the heels of a host of realty firms venturing into this sector. As reported first by ET, four realty firms have applied for telecom licences in the last couple of weeks — Parsvnath Developers which applied in August was the first, followed by Unitech last week, while Indiabulls and DLF are learnt to have submitted their applications earlier this week. The Jaypee Group's application comes just days ahead of the October 1 deadline set by the Department of Telecom (DoT) to accept new licenses. Its decision to venture into full-fledged telecom services could stem from the fact that India, which is the world’s fastest growing telecom market, is setting global records every month in terms of subscriber additions. For instance, GSM and CDMA operators combined together added over 8 million new mobile connections last month. And industry analysts estimate there is further scope for growth as the number of monthly additions is likely to touch the 10 million mark soon. Over the last couple of weeks close to 200 applications have come in for new universal access service licences (UASL) and many more are expected to be filed before the October 1 deadline expires. A nation-wide application will cost a company just about Rs 1,700 crore. More importantly, a pan-India license, if awarded, comes with free 2G spectrum – 4.4 MHz in the case of GSM players and 2.5 MHz in the case of CDMA operators. A licence with the initial spectrum is worth several multiples over the Rs 1,700 crore entry fees. As companies make a beeline for new cellular licenses, the (DoT) is learnt to have constituted an agency consisting of members from different departments of the government to establish the actual identities of the promoters and the shareholders behind the new applications for telecom services.

and so is Videocon... Videocon Seeks Indian Phone License, Plans Stake Sale - Bloomberg September 27, 2007 Videocon, the Indian company with interests in consumer electronics and oil exploration, applied for a license to sell telecommunications services in the world's fastest-growing major wireless market. The group will partner with a U.S.-based telecom company to offer mobile-phone services nationwide, Chairman Venugopal Dhoot said in a telephone interview today. The overseas partner will own 26 percent of the planned venture, he said, declining to identify the company. It is rumoured that the partner company could be AT&T or SingTel.

I notice 1 mistake there... it should be 1.5 GB for Freedom Plus plan. Did I miss something else ?

YEAHHHHHHHHHHHH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Business Standard New Delhi July 15, 2007 Reliance Communications has grabbed the rights to be one of the global sponsors for World Cup cricket. The telecom major has paid over US$ 103 million to get the rights for eight years, which include two World Cups, the 20-20 World Cup and the Championship Trophy. When contacted, a Reliance Communications spokesperson declined comment. Hutch, LG, Pepsi and Hero Honda were the global sponsors for the 2007 World Cup. The deal includes an array of rights, exclusive ground signage, free use of the World Cup logo, use of the company's name in the background during press conferences and award ceremonies among others. Industry experts said the sponsor also got the first right of refusal for buying air time in the category it operated from the broadcaster, who has the rights over the Cup. But the most important one is that no competitor can use any cricketer for advertising. For instance, Hutch won't be able to use Rahul Dravid (if he plays in the World Cup) for advertising its mobile services, but Reliance will have freedom to use Mahendra Singh Dhoni. There also cannot be another global sponsor from the same category (like Reliance in telecom). Says a senior executive of a telecom company: "If you have a clear cricket strategy in place, you can wipe out competitors for those 30-45 days and make an impact on the audiences." What Reliance Communications can leverage are over 18 ICC tournaments with two ICC Cricket World Cups, in Asia (2011) and Australasia (2015), and a minimum of three ICC Champions Trophy tournaments. Also included are the first two ICC Twenty20 World Championships, in South Africa (2007) and England (2009), the latter taking place in the ICC's centenary year.

Reliance Communications happy with 20xTwenty World Cup United New of India (UNI) Mumbai, Sep 23 : With the 20xTwenty World Cup tournament almost reaching its climax, official sponsor Reliance Communications should be laughing its way to the bank. The success of the tournament has been unprecedented, with its entertaining format -- fast-paced, with cheerleaders and has attracted huge viewership. Since India is in the final, the popularity is even more better. ''It has been a good association for the brand,'' said Sanjay Behl, Head (Branding and Marketing) of Reliance Communications. According to Mr Behl, Reliance Communications is planning to invest more in sporting arena, especially in cricket, hockey and adventure sports, and the upcoming India vs Australia and India vs Pakistan cricket tours.

5.1 will be good to have if your main purpose is watching DVDs, but since you mainly use it for listening to MP3, I would recommended you to go for the Altec Lansing ATP3 2.1 Enhanced Slim Speaker System which comes at around Rs.3000

yes, the banner in mobile has been changed as well, though it has been changing between Hutch and Vodafone for the past few hours. The website's front page has been updated as well: http://www.hutch.in

uh, JCB ? what for ? See: http://www.askvg.com/about/

uh, JCB ? what for ?

Mid-Day, Mumbai August 29, 2007 Mumbai police will have access to new software connected to 500 cyber cafes in the city that will send them logs The Mumbai police will soon have khabris deployed (not physically) at over 500 cyber cafes in the city. A new software will allows cops to swoop down on terrorists the moment a keystroke is pressed at any cyber café across the city. Investigations into the recent Hyderabad and Mumbai blasts have revealed that the planning was done using the Internet especially, chat rooms. In fact, it is a well-known fact that terrorists all over the world do not use paper and pen or the phone to communicate. Everywhere, all over the world, it’s the net. Vijay Mukhi, President of the Foundation for Information Security and Technology says, “The terrorists know that if they use machines at home, they can be caught. Cybercafes therefore give them anonymity.” “The police needs to install programs that will capture every key stroke at regular interval screen shots, which will be sent back to a server that will log all the data. The police can then keep track of all communication between terrorists no matter, which part of the world they operate from.This is the only way to patrol the net and this is how the police informer is going to look in the e-age,” added Mukhi. The Mumbai police are in dialogue with M/s Micro Technologies for procuring a software called CARMS (Cyber Access Remote Monitoring System), a powerful monitoring tool that seeks to curb cyber crime. CARMS monitors web browsing, file transfers, news, chats, messaging and e-mail, including all encoded attachments. In a sensitive environment, CARMS can also be used to restrict user or group access to only approved external and internal sites, explained a company official. All cyber cafes in the city will now need a police license to keep their business going. All cafes need to register at the police headquarters and provide details on the number of computers installed, type of computers and technical details like the IP address of each machine. Privacy breach ? A senior ATS official confirming the move said that those cyber cafes who do not meet the norms will be fined under the Bombay Police Act and the police also reserve the rights to take stringent action for violation of norms. “The question we need to ask ourselves is whether a breach of privacy is more important or the security of the nation. I do not think the above question needs an answer,” said Mukhi. “ As long as personal computers are not being monitored. If monitoring is restricted to public computers, it is in the interest of security,” said National Vice President, People Union for Civil Liberty. What next ? install video cameras inside hotel rooms ?

Reliance Blackberry website: www.blackberry.reliancemobile.com

Reliance has officially launched the Blackberry models. Please continue discussions in this topic. Thank you !

Happy Birthday Tanveer and others !!!

Thats right, its 4.2.2.1 or 4.2.2.2 Yes, you can use any domain name or IP to ping.

I don't think it is available for prepaid users with detault NetConnect plan. It is available for Freedom/Freedom Plus and Platinum plan users. This is the registration form link for Reliance Mail: http://rworld.wdsep.ricinfo.com:8890/custo...qPage=acctRgFrm Login can be found at www.ricmail.com

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