Arun

Dormancy mode is a "feature" which will make your data session "inactive" when you are not using it or idling like when reading web pages. The only benefit is that you will be able to receive incoming calls when it is in "dormant" stage as it will still be billed. Many feel it to be an irritating feature as it often feels like disconnected when trying to open a new page. To avoid the connection from going into dormant mode, you can keep your connection active throughout by running a ping application in the background. Open a Command Prompt window and type: ping 4.2.21 -t press Enter and minimize the window when you are using NetConnect to prevent the connection from entering dormant mode frequently.

Works fine with the latest version. Maybe you have an addon as Kumaar Shah mentioned.

oh, I thought Ajay was referring to Mozilla FireFox.

I guess version 2.0.0.6 is the latest. I have checked using it and it loads fine for me. Do you get the same problem when you access other websites like www.moneycontrol.com ?

Nothing else to be changed in proxy setting for using NetConnect. Just configure NetConnect as mentioned by Sadik Shaikh earlier. I haven't tried Mundu IM, but IM+ works on NetConnect without any issues. Unless Mundu IM connects through any proxy service, I do not see any reason why Mundu IM shouldn't work with NetConnect.

NetConnect wasn't down and I have been using NetConnect for the past few days now. Though it could have been down in your area due to network problems. Since you say that you are able to access orkut.com via FireFox but not via Internet Explorer, then it must be an issue with your IE. Run AdAware and Spybot Search and Destroy, available from lavasoft.de and safer-networking.org respectfully (free). Also, if you have an anti-virus program, make sure that you have the most up to date virus definitions, and run a virus scan. If none of those seem to help, run a HijackThis test (Google it) and then post the log of the scan up here.

1) I haven't tried that 2) Depends on whether they have a PPC version. There is a PPC version available for Skype. For other IMs, check whether there is any PPC version available or use a third party software like IM+ 3) Java is not supported by default, but if you have Midlet Manager installed, you can run .jar files. So the applications/games will run inside the Java manager. Get the latest Hetal's ROM version and it will have the Java manager. 4) Settings > Today > There are also many third party softwares like SPB Mobile shell which can give you better themes. 5) See #3

Does it happen only on FireFox or happens on other browsers like IE, Opera as well ? If it happens on other browsers as well, it could be a connectivity issue, so try doing a traceroute when that happens and post the result here.

LOL !

What are you trying to access when you get the error ?

Are you asking about the Corporate (Sify iway) or Home Broadband service ? Both are different services since corporate connections will have dedicated lines. For the Home broadband service, it will all depend upon your Local Cable Operator as Sify does not directly offer the service. If the LCO guys are not good, then you are going to have some real bad service. Just search in Google and you will find a lot of negative comments about Sify's broadband service. However, in my area (in Bangalore), the service is quite good just because the LCO does a good job. So you should be asking about Sify's feedback from those users in your area, as the performance is LCO dependant.

Downloaded and Installed... it rockz !!!

Added "Outside India" in the drop down for expatriates / NRIs

No, INR is not available with PayPal. You can use US$ and a few other international currencies with PayPal. You can check services like http://www.ccavenue.com or http://www.transecute.com for payment processors in INR. Such services will also allow your customers to pay using their Internet Banking account also.

When you are unable to access the website from multiple browsers, please do a traceroute from your PC (using the command: tracert www.rimweb.in) and PM me the results. In Windows, to do a tracreoute, open Command Prompt (Start > Accessories > Command Prompt) and type: tracert www.rimweb.in Then press enter and wait for a few minutes until it completes. Then copy the result from the Command Prompt window (right click > click Mark > select the text, right click to copy) and send me the result as a PM or paste it here as a reply. Most probably the issue is because MTNL's DNS is not resolving the domain name at all, as Vishal pointed out. One workaround is to use external DNS addresses as GSV13 mentioned. You can use 4.2.2.1 and 4.2.2.2 as the primary and secondary DNS addresses instead. You can configure this from TCP/IP properties of your network card.

Anil Ambani will spend $100m on Bigflicks venture DNAmoney Thursday, August 30, 2007 03:47 IST Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Entertainment Ltd (REL) has added online distribution of entertainment content to its portfolio. It has launched an internet property (IP) under its Big brand, christened www.Bigflicks.com In addition, REL plans to foray into the offline DVD/VCD rental business, launching retail stores using the same brand - Bigflicks. Reliance Entertainment president Rajesh Sawhney said the rental business will be launched in September this year. "The first three outlets under the Bigflicks brand will come up in Hyderabad, Pune and Chandigarh. We are looking at 100 outlets by the end of this financial year and 500 stores in three years," Sawhney said. While the average Bigflicks stores will be spread over 400-500 sq ft area, the flagship stores will be much larger in size and would go up to 1,000 sq ft. The company is looking at a mix of leased and owned stores though it's not clear at the moment if franchising as an option will also be explored at a later stage. Kamal Gianchandani, COO, home entertainment, Reliance Entertainment, said the overall plan is to invest $100 million in both the ventures. "Of the total sum, 75% has been earmarked for the offline venture (DVD/VCD rental business) and the balance will be for online," said Gianchandani. The revenues, according to Gianchandani, will largely come from the online venture and a considerable proportion from the rental business. The management will primarily look at subscriptions to drive revenues for the rental business. With companies like seventymm.com and a few others already operating in the DVD/VCD rental business in the country, will REL also look at inorganic growth for faster penetration in this? "We are open to the idea but I don't think the time is right to make any concrete comments on this subject," said Gianchandani. The venture will be initially funded through internal accruals with possibilities of other funding options at a later stage though nothing has been finalised on that as yet. The company intends to breakeven with their online and offline ventures in two years from launch. Working in tandem with the home entertainment division of major companies like Saregama India Ltd and others, Bigflicks will procure rental rights for the DVD/VCD being distributed by these companies. REL intends to offer over 6,000 titles across movie genres. The movie offerings will be increased to over 17,000 titles available at all the 100 outlets across the country. As far as their online content distribution venture is concerned, the approach is very much on the lines of Rajshri.com and STAR India's Indyaondemand.com. In fact, the target audience and business model are also very similar and offers entertainment content for free online streaming (with advertisements) and for download on rent or to own (without advertisements). The management will include TV serials and music videos besides Hollywood and other international movies. Targeting the 25 million-strong NRI segment in the first year of its operations, the markets being catered to include North America, the UK, Canada, Middle East, South East Asia, Europe and Australia and the movie purchases are priced between $4.49 and $19.99. Kamal Gianchandani, COO, home entertainment, Reliance Entertainment, talks to Business Standard on the company’s game plan. Excerpts: Your company plans to adopt the subscription model for the DVD/VCD rental business. Tell us how the model will work? Customers will have to register to avail of the service. We are in the process of structuring various packages. As of now, we have thought of two plans. In the first plan, customers can rent a DVD for a maximum of 30 days and in the second plan, one can rent two DVDs. The price points can vary from Rs 200 to Rs 275 for the one-DVD plan and between Rs 350 and Rs 425 for the two-DVD plan. The price points are likely to vary from city to city. For instance, in Mumbai, the prices may be high by Rs 20. How long will it take for you to deliver the DVDs from the time one places the order via SMS or by calling up the call centre? In 90 per cent of the cases, it will take four hours, while it will take six to eight hours for the rest. Are you in talks with broadcasters and do they include Zoom and NDTV? Yes, we are talking to all leading broadcasters, including Zoom and NDTV, for them to air their show on the BigFlicks platform. Apart from that, we will create original content via Adlabs Films, Big Entertainment and Adlabs Synergy. Will all stores be operated by Reliance Entertainment or will you consider franchising? Initially, we will operate the stores. We will leverage on our other entertainment entities such as Zapak’s outlets, Reliance WebWorlds, where we will house a separate space adjacent to each other. In the future, we will look at franchising. What percentage of revenues do you expect from the online rentals and stores? Even though BigFlicks has been launched prior to the rental stores, its contribution initially will be 30 per cent, while rentals will contribute 70 per cent. This will change and, going forward, the stores will contribute 40 per cent, while 60 per cent will come from the portal. What is the revenue model for BigFlicks.com? While downloading to own and rent is at a charge, streaming is free of cost. The revenues, in case of the streaming option, will come from advertisements. We are looking at advertisements in two ways — pre-roll and post-roll. In the pre-roll model brands, can advertise before the streaming begins and once the ad is complete, the streaming of the film begins. In post-roll, the ad will be shown in the middle of the film. In a three-hour film, we are looking at selling not more than 2-2.5 minutes of commercial time.

LiveMint, India August 30, 2007 A day after the country’s telecom regulator made recommendations that, on the face of it, were somewhat of a setback to mobile phone companies using the so-called CDMA standard, it appears that one such player, Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom), the country’s second largest wireless telecom firm, may actually be well on its way to enter the fast-growing GSM cellular business. That’s because Swan Telecom Pvt. Ltd, a company in which RCom has invested more than Rs.1,000 crore, mostly through quasi-debt, appears to be one of the leading candidates for the grant of government GSM licences. A firm by the exact same name had applied for GSM spectrum “several months ago”, according to a telecom industry insider who closely tracks regulatory affairs in the sector, and is therefore likely to be awarded licences in the next round of allocation if the government goes along with the recommendations of the regulator, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, or Trai. Anil Ambani-controlled RCom lists Swan Telecom as one of its “long term” investments in the company’s annual report for fiscal 2007. Early Thursday, one RCom official, speaking on the condition that he wouldn’t be named, said the company is indeed close to acquiring GSM spectrum. “We are second or third in all the circles for GSM spectrum,” the official said. Late Thursday evening, a spokesperson for RCom said he couldn’t immediately comment whether both Swan Telecoms were one and the same. Mint couldn’t independently ascertain the identity of Swan Telecom. On Wednesday, Trai had suggested that mobile phone firms be allowed to roll out services using any technology—either CDMA, or code division multiple access, or the popular GSM standard, whose networks have three out of four cellular customers in India—provided they queue up and pay for wireless spectrum. Since there are more than 100 applicants awaiting frequency allocation from the government, it was initially seen as a recommendation that went against CDMA firms, such as RCom and Tata Teleservices Ltd, which were keen to also offer GSM services. If Swan is backed by RCom, that would give the phone company near front-of-the-queue status. A department of telecommunications official said Swan Telecom was indeed in the running, but refused to give details on when it applied for spectrum or ownership of the firm. The official is not permitted to speak to the press. According to RCom’s annual report for 2006-07, the company directly owns shares worth Rs10.79 crore in Swan Telecom and had bought preference shares worth Rs992 crore in the investee firm. The extent of the Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group firm’s shareholding in Swan Telecom or the date of the investments weren’t disclosed. One consultant who tracks the telecom sector said, if true, routing RCom’s licence application through Swan Telecom was “perfectly legal”. Under current rules, a CDMA or GSM operator cannot directly, or through a “subsidiary”, apply for a licence or for spectrum to provide service using the other technology. Already in the “spectrum queue” are operators such as Aircel Cellular Ltd, Vodafone Essar Ltd and Idea Cellular Ltd. The trio was granted licences in December. Since then, only one licence has been granted—to Aircel in Kolkata. Swan Telecom and Spice Communications are among several others still awaiting licences. They have been in the waiting list for several months now because, under the current allocation methodology, most of the expected 20MHz of spectrum to be released by the defence forces will be absorbed by the existing players.

TRAI against cap on telecom operators Press Trust of India August 29, 2007 New Delhi, Aug. 29 (PTI): Refusing to shackle competition in India's booming telecom sector, regulator TRAI today said there should be no limit on number of operators in a service area, while favouring a panel with broad industry-government representation for deciding on spectrum allocation norms. Unveiling its recommendations for reforms in telecom licensing policy, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India said such a committee should have members from DoT, TRAI, wireless planning and coordination wing of the Communications Ministry and operator associations. GSM operators wanted a cap on the number of telcos in a circle, saying unlimited players were a strain on the scarce spectrum, leading to poor services. According to TRAI, the committee for framing of spectrum allocation criteria should have members from DoT, TRAI, the wireless planning and coordination wing of the Communications Ministry and operator associations. The telecom regulator has suggested a one-time fee from operators for allocation of spectrum beyond 10 MHz. At present, a company pays one per cent of its revenue to the Government for additional spectrum, being allocated based on the subscriber base. TRAI has forwarded its recommendations to DoT. TRAI has suggested that the cost of 2 x 5 MHz of spectrum in category ‘A’ circles and Mumbai and Delhi should be Rs. 80 crore, while for category ‘B’ circles and Chennai and Kolkata, it should be Rs. 40 crore and for category ‘C’ circles Rs. 15 crore. For allotment of 1 MHz spectrum, TRAI has suggested a one-time fee of Rs. 16 crore. It has also sought auction for future allocation of spectrum except in the case of allotment to mobile operator on 800, 900 and 1800 MHz band. On M&As, TRAI has said the combined market share of the merged entities should not exceed 40 per cent, either in terms of subscribers or revenue against 67 per cent now. It has proposed that an operator should be allowed to acquire up to 20 per cent equity in the target licensee company in the same circle against the present cap of 10 per cent. On the issue of access providers using a combination of CDMA and GSM technology, the regulator said the existing license may be permitted to be used to provide services through either of the technologies, subject to certain conditions. The recommendations, signed by advisor Sudhir Gupta, have been submitted to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). TRAI's Press Release

Times News Network 28 Aug, 2007 Real estate major Parsvnath Developers has decided to foray into mobile telecommunications market. The company has applied to offer mobile-phone and Internet services across the country, it said in a statement to Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday. The company’s stock price went up by 3.1% to Rs 288 on Monday. The company said, with government following an open policy on spectrum, it seeks to use the opportunity for providing unified access service on a pan-India basis, including rural telephone. The company has expressed the intention to apply for licences in 22 out of 23 telecom circles in the country. It has identified two partners: one domestic investor and other a renowned global telecom giant. Though the company has not yet declared any funding structure, it is likely to hold a minority stake of 26% in the proposed joint venture. CMD Pradip Jain said the company would form a joint venture with foreign partner as per the government norms. At present, foreign investment up to 74% is allowed in telecom sector. He said the group is talking with a number of foreign players for the purpose. India, the world’s fastest growing wireless services market, added a record 8.06 million mobile telephone subscribers in July as carriers such as Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications expanded networks, mainly in rural areas. Jain said that this is a great opportunity for the company to diversify into a new business area, which is continuously growing. Despite increasing number of subscribers, the penetration of mobile telephony in India is still low as compared to developed countries. Jain said as and when number portability is introduced, it would offer immense business opportunity to new entrants. On several counts, Parsvnath’s move is curious. Even if the government releases spectrum, players like Idea Cellular, Vodafone Essar, Spice Communications and Aircel and others are waiting for it. Considering that the spectrum will be given on a first-come first-serve basis, Parsvnath with its JV partners stands last in the queue. Further, its claim to utilise MNP as a revenue driver may be a tall one. It appears to be a tough choice for subscribers to switch from an existing service provider to a totally new operator. Also, the domestic mobile space has become fiercely competitive with Bharti, Reliance Communications and Idea Cellular, which enjoy a pan-India presence. Finding a foothold in such a crowded place will be a daunting task for a new incumbent.

Alright, when that happens again, please do the following command in Command Prompt window and send me the result as a PM. Thanks ! tracert www.rimweb.in

How telecom operators are working towards ensuring a mobile in every pocket? Business standard / Mumbai August 28, 2007 Indians love to talk. And, these days, they can talk to their hearts’ content by paying very little: calls are getting ever cheaper, entry-level mobile handsets sell for under Rs 800, and bundled offers (talk-time and handset) mean you can be connected for next to nothing. Not surprisingly, subscribers are only too happy with this turn of events. But even mobile operators are finding that generosity is its own reward: in a high-volume business like this, where every subscriber counts, they are selling millions of new connections every month. Now for the bad news. Regulatory roadblocks loom ahead, the quality of service is steadily dropping, margins are getting squeezed and competition is becoming increasingly aggressive. How are telecom operators dealing with the rapidly evolving market? the strategist takes a look. Problems in the air Consider the odds telecom operators are up against. For starters, they’ve hit a major regulatory roadblock — the impasse over spectrum allocation, which is imperative to take the growth story further. The lack of spectrum and, in some cases, its inefficient utilisation is taking its toll on the quality of service and call drops are becoming exasperatingly frequent. So much so that in late 2006, a survey by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) revealed that only one of 128 cellular operators meets the overall customer satisfaction benchmark of 95 per cent. “It’s beginning to hurt. The network is being affected due to lack of spectrum,” agrees Rajat Mukherjee, vice president, corporate affairs, Idea Cellular. The Aditya Birla group company’s entry into the lucrative Mumbai circle is one of those affected by the spectrum roadblock. “We want a pan-India presence and hope to get clearances soon to have a nationwide footprint,” Mukerji says. Meanwhile, playing the high volumes game is a threat to operators’ margins. Already, the average revenue per user (Arpu) for GSM services is falling (from Rs 316 in December 2006 to Rs 298 in March 2007) and although CDMA Arpu is increasing (from Rs 196 to Rs 202 over the same period), it is still lower than the GSM figure. It doesn’t help, either, that pre-paid customers comprise over 85 per cent of the total cellular subscriber base and account for an overwhelming 96-97 per cent of all incremental additions. Typically, prepaid customers run up lower bills and are a floating population with high churn levels. “It is like choosing between the devil (having pre-paid subscribers) and the deep sea (not having them at all),” says an analyst. The churn will only increase, as will competition, if (when?) Trai introduces number portability (by which a subscriber can retain his mobile number even if he changes the service provider). Ringing in change How are telecom operators tackling these problems? They are reaching down the pyramid. A June 2007 CII-BDA report estimates that Indian households can spend up to 6.9 per cent of their income on communications services, and most mobile operators are determined to get their share. Of course, it helps that handsets prices have crashed — the sub-Rs 2,000 category accounted for 50 per cent of all handset shipments nationwide last year, states the report. A mature second-hand market for refurbished handsets helps further decrease entry costs. And to ensure that window-shoppers become buyers, operators such as Airtel, Vodafone Essar, Reliance Communications (RCom), Idea and Tata Teleservices are offering lifetime prepaid service plans. About a third of Bharti’s pre-paid subscriber base comprises “lifetime validity” customers with easy on the pocket call rates. Still, it’s not enough. “Tariffs have to go down further,” asserts Manoj Kohli, President & CEO, Bharti Airtel. This, when call rates in India are already the lowest in the world at approximately 2 US cents (around 82 paise) a minute. Compare this with 33 cents in Japan, 11 cents in Brazil, and 24 cents in Australia. The results are visible. According to Trai, Indian telcos (of which four — Bharti, RCom, Vodafone Essar and BSNL — account for nearly 75 per cent market share) have been adding close to 6-7 million every month, taking the current number of wireless subscribers — GSM, CDMA and Wireless in Local Loop (WLL-fixed) — to a little over 185 million by end-June 2007. The government expects telcos to reach the 500-million mark (wireless and fixed) by 2010. By end-July, there were about 232 million telecom subscribers (mobile and landline) across India. Room to grow That still means only one in five Indians has a phone. This teledensity comes from an almost 50 per cent penetration in the urban areas and a mere 2 per cent in rural belts. In developed countries where people typically have more than one telephone connection, urban teledensity is actually beyond 100 per cent — 123.47 per cent in Hong Kong, 124.28 per cent in Italy, 112 per cent in the UK and 100.76 per cent in Singapore, for instance. The potential for expansion in India, then, is immense. That’s precisely what Indian telcos are working on. They are investing billions of dollars — an estimated $20 billion over the next two years — to upgrade their networks, add towers, and build their subscriber base. “Their strategy is simple. Get as many people on the network, try to retain them, and then look at segmentation,” notes Arpita Pal Agrawal, Associate Director, PWC. Bharti, for instance, aims to over 75 per cent of the population by end-fiscal 2008; it currently reaches 62 per cent of the country. To do that, the company is rapidly growing its distribution network (640,000 outlets at present). Bharti’s strategy? No company-owned showrooms. Franchises help keep costs down and also make faster expansion possible. “We merely ensure our customers get the best service,” says Kohli. RCom isn’t far behind. According to Chairman Anil Ambani, the company covers nearly 60 per cent of the population (over 10,000 towns and 300,000 villages), through 500,000 retail outlets and 2,000 distributors. By end-2007, it plans to be in 23,000 towns, all habitations with population of over 1,000, cover the entire railroads and national highways, besides 80 per cent of all state highways. “The focus is very simple — ensure a superior network coverage; make robust investment in network capacity, which prevents call drops and congestion; and offer a package of handset and talk-time as a solution to customers,” says S P Shukla, president and CEO, personal business, RCom. The strategic shift to the GSM platform will also help the company immensely — not only is GSM technology more widely adopted in the country, its Arpu is also higher. Initially, RCom will enter eight cities (around 8,000 towns) across East and Central India. Talk is cheap In Europe, voice revenues have plateaued for 3G operators such as Vodafone, 3 and Telecom Italia Mobile. At present, voice accounts for 90 per cent of the revenue for Indian telecom services, but the country’s turn could come as quickly as 2010. Which is why telcos are turning to value-added services (VAS). According to Frost & Sullivan, total mobile revenue (voice and data) is $11.22 billion (Rs 46,000 crore). VAS revenue accounts for 8.3 per cent of this, that is, $927.1 million (of which non-SMS revenue is $224.4 million). Admittedly, VAS has a way to go before it catches up with voice. For instance, Bharti’s share of revenue from non-voice services is just above 10 per cent, of which SMS accounts for slightly over 6 per cent. But the company recognises the growing importance of the business. Which is why it is offering services that are likely to appeal to a broad range of customers. There’s the partnership with Google, for instance, which allows Airtel mobile users to use Google search. An interactive radio service, downloadable songs and ringtones (available at 100,000 Airtel Music shops) apart, Airtel’s latest feature is “song catcher”, which allows mobile users to download a song by placing their handset close to the music source for 30 seconds. In fact, mobile operators are betting big on music — next to SMS, it is the biggest money spinner under VAS. Caller ring back tones or CRBTs, for instance, have a 15-25 per cent market share, followed by ringtones with around 15-20 per cent, while the remaining can be attributed to full song downloads. The increase in subscriber base and the availability of music compatible handsets are the major reasons for the increase in digital music sales, says BPL Mobile CEO S Subramaniam. Over 40 per cent of a telecom operator’s advertisement budget is being used for promotion of music and handsets that can support them, he adds. Other operators, too, have begun banking on VAS. The state-owned BSNL recently awarded two contracts to Swedish equipment major Ericsson to host a mobile content download portal and a ring-back tone service. And RCom has already launched commodity quotes on mobile phones. It has entered into a tie-up with a TV18 group firm, commoditiescontrol.com, to offer the service. CDMA service provider Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Ltd, on its part, launched its toll free services to enable subscribers to access companies that are listed under 1-800 services, including firms in banking, insurance, airlines, hospitality and other sectors. Mobile data revenues are expected to increase from 7 per cent of the total operator service revenues to approximately 20 per cent by 2009. The introduction of advanced wireless services like 3G will drive the industry further and may, in turn, increase the subscriber base as well. Already, there are about 1 million subscribers who own 3G handsets, constituting a ready “installed base”. According to the CII-BDA report, if operators subsidise handsets, there will be 30 million 3G subscribers by 2010. VAS is just one way mobile operators are seeking to establish a life beyond voice. They are also becoming convergence powerhouses, too, launching Internet-protocol television and planning direct-to-home broadcast as well. MTNL, for instance, already has over 1,000 IPTV subscribers and is aiming at 50,000 in 18 months’ time. BSNL has launched its IPTV service in four cities and Rcom and Bharti are expected to follow suit soon. RCom and Bharti are also planning to launch DTH services this year. “We cater to all three screens — mobile (small), personal computer (medium screen through broadband), and television (large screen through IPTV and DTH),” says Kohli. Towering ambitions Given the accelerated growth in the wireless subscriber base, telcos will require huge capital expenditure to support this growth. And, points out Alok Shende, director, ICT practice, Frost & Sullivan, it will entail massive deployment of towers, especially in the rural areas, highways and remote areas. Besides, the government incentives, new services like 3G, WiMax (when the government finally allocates spectrum) and digital terrestrial transmission will help create new demand drivers for towers. Macquarie Research forecasts the need for 345,000 towers across India, implying an additional 225,000 towers to be built in the next three years. Towers don’t come cheap — at around Rs 35 lakh each, that’s an additional investment of Rs 78,750 crore to be split between the telcos. (Bharti Infratel and RTIL are likely to account for 57 per cent of these towers.) Which is why telcos are now paying serious attention to a potentially win-win strategy: sharing towers. For regional players looking for a pan-Indian presence, this is a way to keep down capital and operating expenses. “Besides, they want to stay asset-light and crunch time-to-market as much as possible,” points out Shende. For the big player, who has already set up the tower, tower sharing becomes an additional revenue stream. While Vodafone has already signed an MoU with Bharti for sharing its passive wireless infrastructure, including roughly 70,000 towers across India, in the future, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices have hived off their tower assets into separate subsidiaries, to better focus on the new business. Company Marketshare (February 2007) Projected marketshare (March 2010) Bharti 22.3 22.3-22.4 Net additions to decline with competition RCom 20.4 21.1 GSM foray will compensate for CDMA fall Vodafone Essar 15.9 15.3 Decline due to increased competition BSNL 16 14 Decline due to increased competition Aircel 3.2 6.1 Pan-India coverage will help Tata Teleservices 9.6 8.4 Decline due to being a pure-CDMA player Source: Macquarie Research (Marketshare in per cent)

3G.co.uk 28th August , 2007 The CDMA Development Group (CDG) feels that if what is being widely reported in the Media becomes the 3G spectrum Policy, the reach of Telephone & Internet Access will be limited without the full assignment of the 450 MHz and the 1900 MHz Frequency bands. Assigning 3G spectrum in the 800 MHz frequency band for the CDMA Operators is welcome but the allocation of just one carrier each of 2 x 1.25 MHz is highly inadequate compared to the 10 MHz allocation in the 2100 MHz band. The CDG feels that not including the 450 MHz and 1900 MHz bands is unfair to the CDMA industry. CDMA2000® equipment is readily available and widely deployed in these frequency bands around the world providing for large economies of scale. 450 MHz: The ITU-R Study Group 8 approved its Report on the feasibility of having IMT-2000 systems share frequencies within and adjacent to the 450-470 MHz band – an important step towards having the World Radio Conference (WRC-07) identify the 450 MHz band as an IMT-2000 band for 3G services. By not allocating and assigning the 450 MHz band in India, telecom growth will be limited, especially in the rural areas of India. 1900 MHz: The decision to reject the mixed 1900 MHz band allocation, if true, would have been made without considering the full facts, most specifically testing the feasibility of sharing the spectrum between CDMA2000 and WCDMA systems. The CDG recommends allocating and assigning more carriers in the 800 MHz band to India’s CDMA operators to mitigate the significant disadvantage this decision will create and to compensate for the previous unfair assignment of more 2G spectrum to GSM operators than to CDMA operators. The CDG agrees with the recommended principles of using spectrum efficiently, ensuring technology and service neutrality, and establishing a level playing field through auctioning with a reserve price for allocation of 3G spectrum. These universally accepted principles should be applied to both 2G and 3G spectrum allocations and assignments in India. Particularly, 2G spectrum allocated in excess of the contracted amount of 4.4 MHz & 6.2 MHz to GSM players must be made chargeable and all further allocation of 2G Spectrum should be auctioned considering the fact that demand far outstrips availability. Subscriber-linked criteria must be done away with. “CDMA has played an important role in the expansion of telephony and Internet penetration in India. We urge the Indian government to continue to stimulate innovation, competition and further investments by bringing balance and fairness to the allocation of its scarce national resources,” said Perry LaForge, executive director, CDG. The CDG urges the DoT and Indian government to address imbalances within the 2G spectrum bands to increase fair competition. By allocating 2G spectrum on an incremental basis based on an operator’s reported subscriber numbers and dated spectrum efficiency analysis, the government has constrained CDMA2000 operators to only half of the amount of spectrum available to GSM operators. The CDG recommends that this unfair policy be rectified and made consistent with the proposed 3G spectrum policy which places all players on a level playing field. This will ensure India’s valuable spectrum is used more efficiently and that all technologies and services are treated equally. India’s businesses and consumers will be the ultimate benefactors of a fair and prudent policy.

Introduce number portability: Government 27 Aug, 2007, 0153 hrs IST, Times News Network Nearly 18 months after the telecom regulator TRAI mooted the idea, the government now says it is ‘actively considering’ number portability, which means that the subscriber retains his mobile number even if he switches to another service provider. We would urge the government to roll in number portability and restrict the duration of the ‘active consideration’ on how the system-wide costs should be shared. Undoubtedly, the Indian telecom market is extremely competitive with 5-8 players in each service area (circle). And the low average revenue per user (ARPU) is evidence that the market has worked well so far. But thanks to certain peculiarities of the market, there’s no guarantee this would continue. Once a consumer opts for a particular operator, he effectively becomes its captive subscriber. The option of switching to a competing service provider is not practical because of the inconvenience and costs associated with taking a new number and making that known to others. This limits the competition in the telecom space. Secondly, because there is no national market — the country is split into telecom circles — telecom companies can have differential pricing. This exposes circles that have relatively high telecom penetration to risks of collusion. The recent tariff hikes by GSM operators underscores the risks. Number portability adds another dimension to competition in telecom sector. It allows a subscriber, not happy with tariffs or service quality, to switch operators. Of course, price collusion is still not ruled out, but TRAI should be able to address that. The only issue is operationalising number portability; the upfront cost estimate for which varies from Rs 900 crore to Rs 3,000 crore. Whatever be the cost, it is appropriate that industry foots the bill, as recommended by TRAI, depending on how many subscribers they have. The industry majors have EBITDA margins in the range of 30-40% and return on capital of over 25% and can, therefore, easily share the costs. Besides, making industry bear the cost would ensure they are kept down to the bare minimum. If the government decides to price spectrum, which it should, it could allow companies a deduction for costs incurred for providing number portability.

: TRAI's Press Release

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