Arun

What woes await Anil at Infocomm Rediff.com Anil Ambani grabbed the headlines in the family split for a variety of reasons. He was the original whistleblower showing just how wrong things were in the Reliance empire (that this was just opportunism, of course, was not evident then) and, from a situation in which his brother virtually cut him off from the empire, he's now walked away with a valuable chunk of it, including the only company brother Mukesh really created from scratch, Reliance Infocomm. Yet, for all his bravado and the one-liners such as the one about how his new company has no back gear, Anil Ambani has his work more than cut out for him. For while Mukesh has the proven cash cows, Anil has the cash guzzlers with an uncertain future --sure, the upside is phenomenal, but so is the risk. While Reliance Energy's future can look bright only after the state governments genuinely open up the power sector through open access and the state electricity boards become viable entities (both will take years), it is Infocomm that is the more serious problem. For one, the ADC-avoidance cases (where Infocomm pocketed the access deficit charge payable to BSNL by disguising international calls as local ones) are still going on and BSNL has slapped new demands on Infocomm last week. This, of course, may not be a worry for Anil Ambani as he's probably used the existing cases, and the possibility of future criminal liability (changing the caller IDs is illegal as it prevents tracing of calls), to lower the value of Infocomm in the settlement he's made. More worrying, from his point of view, is that so far, the company's been more than a bit of a dud. It has roughly the same number of subscribers as Sunil Mittal's Bharti, but earns only around 60 per cent of the revenue. Indeed, according to a recent study by the telecom regulator, Trai, while Infocomm and Tata Teleservices (both use CDMA technology) have an average revenue per user of $5.74 (about Rs 258) per month, that for GSM players (like Bharti, Hutch, Idea, and BPL, among others) is $8.89 (about Rs 400), or around 55 per cent higher -- for companies like Hutch, which have more post-paid subscribers (where the ARPU is $20.34), the blended ARPU is around Rs 750 per month. Even more horrifying is that Infocomm got into such a low-paying-customer rut at a time when it had no shortage of funds (when Mukesh owned it, Reliance Industries poured money into it on demand, apart from Rs 8,100 crore (Rs 81 billion) of preferential capital; it even paid over Rs 3,500 crore (Rs 35 billion) for subsidised handsets during the Monsoon Hangama days) and when the best minds in Reliance worked overtime to ensure the venture was a success. How badly the company has been run is best seen from the serious billing problems it continues to have, when billing is one of the basic things any service company gets right from day one. Not surprisingly, Infocomm's blitzkrieg petered out even while Mukesh was in charge -- the company managed to get 6.2 million subscribers within six months of its operations as its phones/tariffs were virtually free since it did not even pay licence fees as it offered full-blown mobile services without having a licence for that. Once it began paying licence fees and could no longer afford the same level of freebies, it took the company over 18 months to get another 5 million customers. Another factor that helped Infocomm get the additional subscribers, clearly, was the low tariffs and these, to a large extent, were funded by the money the company made in the ADC-avoidance business. None of this is available to Ambani Jr, the Reliance tap has been shut off, and presumably the ADC-avoidance game is over. While the funds problem could be solved through an Infocomm IPO (the pricing will be an issue), the problem of getting higher-value customers is partly constrained by the choice of technology since CDMA phones cannot be used for international roaming as yet (in any case, most countries do not have CDMA networks) -- so, for all practical purposes, people with passports are unlikely to use Reliance phones. Till date, changing handsets (and migrating from one phone company to another, like from Reliance to the Tatas or vice versa) is not possible on CDMA networks, either, and that also keeps away high-paying customers. In which case, what is Anil Ambani to do? Apart from moving quickly to fix billing issues, moving to phones with removable chips, and developing a genuine service organisation (something the Ambanis have never done before), Anil needs to work on fixing the company's image -- given that the company has been found contravening the law twice in two years and has had to shell out around Rs 1,200 crore (Rs 12 billion) in fines alone, this is not going to be easy (clearly having 20-25 senior people dealing with government relations in Delhi, as against 5-6 in other companies, has only harmed Infocomm's operations). Having 2.2 million square feet of office space over 14 buildings in a 140-acre space with lakes is great, but more successful companies like Bharti operate in a fraction of this. The choice of the earthy Sehwag as brand ambassador as opposed to the classier Sachin (Airtel) or Dravid (Hutch) has also ensured the brand's appeal has been to the low-paying customers. While there is talk of Infocomm wanting to get into the GSM business as this is the fastest-growing in the world, this appears unlikely, given the huge costs involved and the fact that there is already a 1-crore- strong user-base on the CDMA platform (it is possible Ambani may toy with having both technologies, though there is no global example of a single user successfully offering both technologies). The choices are tough. As Anil said during the days he was battling brother Mukesh, "the nights are long, and the days will be even longer".

Data based plans for prepaid is not feasible due to system constraints, as mentioned by a Reliance official. They will be introducing R-Connect vouchers for prepaid with reduced prices (per minute) soon.

Other than the FM feature, everything else is avaliable in LG RD 6130 which costs around Rs.6399 now. LG RD 6000 will cost you Rs.9500+ 7230 is out of stock and 7130 just s**ks !

I guess there are data cables available which allow you to charge the handset from the USB port and simutaneously use R-Connect.

i guess dacodecz is busy with his new project, so he may not get time to reply now.

well, just try after some time !

Welcome back dude An updates on the Nokia ringtones !

Just file a complaint with them and they will refund it in the next bill, in such cases.

Reliance WebWorld sets National Record with online Gaming Tourney Massive participation of 14,500 gamers in 104 cities 230 WebWorld stores rev up with action Nail-biting finale at Mumbai, Mumbai dominates DAKC (Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City), Navi Mumbai, June 21, 2005 In the largest ever on-line PC multiplayer gaming event in the country, Reliance Infocomm has recently conducted a pan-India championship which has witnessed the participation of over 14,500 participants from across 104 cities at the Reliance WebWorlds. The battle of wits for the Reliance-Intel Gamebox National Championship has been fought across 230 Reliance WebWorlds in these cities and the grand finale was held in Mumbai. In all 38 contestants from 11 cities made their way to the finals. "This has easily been the largest ever gaming event in the country so far and it demonstrates the fact that online intelligent PC games are is becoming increasingly popular among the next generation. Reliance WebWorld is happy to bring, through its high-speed broadband centres, to the emerging gaming enthusiasts the latest games as they are developed in technologically advanced countries like the US and Korea," said Sarup Chowdhary, CEO, Reliance WebWorld. Nickunj Bansal, a 14-year schoolboy from Chennai, who represented India for Halo championship in the US last year won the WARCRAFT III: FROZEN THRONE whereas and Bangalore-based Ashwin Warrier won the UNREAL TORUNAMENT 2004. The five-member team "Clan MA" comprising Jenil, Rahul, Nikhil, Ranjit and Akshay from Mumbai emerged the winner of CONUTER STRIKE: CONDITION ZERO. Mayuresh Waman and Sat Mayekar from Mumbai won FIFA 2004 and NEED FOR SPEED respectively. All the nine national winners won TVS Victor mobikes thanks to TVS who were the prize sponsors.

New Delhi, May. 21, 2005 - Press Trust of India : In a major benefit to consumers in four States, the Government today made calls between Chennai and the rest of Tamil Nadu, Kolkata and the rest of West Bengal, Mumbai and Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh (East) and Uttar Pradesh (West) local. Till now, calls between the three metro cities and their respective States and the two parts of UP were long distance (STD) ones and the consumers had to pay for roaming. Under the new facility, announced by Communication and IT Minister Dayanidhi Maran, calls from mobile-to-mobile and fixed-to-mobile will now become local. Under the new scheme, there would be no roaming charges between Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra, Chennai and the rest of Tamil Nadu, Kolkata and the rest of West Bengal, UP (East) and UP (West). These changes would be effective from May 25, Maran said adding even the private operators have assured the Government of their support in this regard. "However, the access providers will operate within their existing licensed service areas and shall not be permitted to create infrastructure outside their areas for the purpose of inter-service area connectivity," he said. "They will, however, be allowed to lease lines for such connectivity. The inter-service area connectivity will only be for terminating traffic," Maran added. Mobile customers in these circles would be benefited which would lead to further growth of services in these areas, he said. Today's announcement addresses the differences between the circles. Initially, the mobile service licences were given in four metros of Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata and later granted in telecom circles. Thus, there are separate mobile service licences for Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai and other parts of the respective States. In the case of Uttar Pradesh, the telecom circle was bifurcated in December 1994 for better development and administration of telecom services. ----------- Press Note from The Department of Telecom LONG LIVE DoT !

Excerpts from the media... Even while it was becoming clear that Reliance Infocomm would be headed by Anil Ambani, telecom analysts had felt that little would change with respect to the company's management."They are the most innovative and proactive telecom company in the country, ever on their toes," one of the analysts had said. The opinion was that an outwardly more vocal person such as Anil Ambani (in comparison to his brother) would suit a retail, service industry, such as telecom. Even otherwise, the culture at Reliance has been that very few officials are distinctively high profile in the public realm, felt analysts. However, the market is curious about who will replace Nanavaty, who heads the most well known business of Reliance Infocomm which is wireless operations. The next large project that remains to be announced as operational at Reliance Infocomm is Netway, a retail offer with voice, television and streaming video facilities. Mukesh bids adieu to Reliance Infocomm June 20, 2005 15:06 IST Last Updated: June 20, 2005 15:40 IST After having settled the ownership issue with his brother Anil Ambani, Mukesh on Monday sent an "emotional" farewell message to the employees of Reliance Infocomm, considered his pet project. In an e-mail message to the employees of Infocomm, Mukesh said, "my younger brother Anil is taking over the stewardship of Reliance Infocomm. He has enormous energy and drive and we share a common commitment to take forward the legacy of our father Late Dhirubhai Ambani." Addressing the employees as "Reliance Infocommers", Mukesh said the Infocomm business has grown from Dhirubhai Ambani's dream of making the cost of a phone call cheaper than that of a post card. "I take this opportunity to congratulate you for your contribution in translating that dream into a reality," Mukesh said in the e-mail message. Reliance Infocomm is now in full bloom with nearly 21 per cent of India's mobile market. "It symbolises the next generation communication organisation, connecting hundreds of millions of Indians with each other and the world and engages millions of young Indians working in the field of information technology enabled services, with economic opportunity in the developed world," he said. Working together with dedication and passion "we have created a new milestone in Reliance historic saga of achievements". Sharing a great sense of satisfaction in working with all the employees, Mukesh said, "as the responsibility of caring for Reliance Infocomm and leading it is now being handed over to my younger brother Anil I send my best wishes to the new leadership for greater accomplishments." "Thanks for making Reliance Infocomm... I am sure that you will give your best to Anil and his team," Mukesh said, adding, "I take this opportunity to wish each one of you every success and glory in your chosen carrier as well as for good cheer, health and prosperity." Mukesh said that he had all satisfaction to build this enterprise (Reliance Infocomm) from scratch ever since 2001. "You are one of the over 40,000 bright young men and women from over 1400 geographical locations in India who have nurtured Reliance Infocomm to blossom as a pan-India voice and data service providers," he said.

hmmm, not sure, maybe they have a limit.

They have advertised in 'The Hindu' newspaper (TN and Chennai editions) today that the calls between the two will be local calls and 220/440 recharge vouchers can call for free unlimited.

well, as quoted by Praskash Bajpai in the previous article, it doesn't matter whether it is Anil or Mukesh on the top, but its just a matter of putting the technology in place. Anil Ambani has already unveilied his policies for Reliance Capital & Reliance Energy. Anil unveils '6 Cs' plan for Reliance Cap, Energy NDTV Correspondent Sunday, June 19, 2005 (Mumbai): A day after the Ambani brothers agreed to a split in the company holdings, Anil Ambani addressed the press at Ballard Estate in Mumbai. Anil began by expressing deep gratitude to the guidance of his mother, Kokilaben who made the announcement of the settlement between the two brothers. He named a new group 'Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Enterprises' to control the three companies that came under his fold after the settlement. These include Reliance Capital, Reliance Energy and Reliance Infocomm. Soon after REL re-elected him as its chairman today, the younger Ambani announced massive expansion plans in gas-based, coal-based and hydro and nuclear power generation in the next ten years. He expressed the intention to form private-public partnership for nuclear power generation. REL also has "deep commitment" in non-conventional power -- solar and wind power, he added. Outlining the agenda ------------------------- Elaborating on his business plans, Anil first spoke of Reliance Energy, describing it as the leading and most valuable utility company in India. He announced plans of an investment of Rs 1000 crore in Reliance Energy, which he said was a reflection of strong confidence in the growth prospects of the sector. REL shares will be sold at Rs 573 per share at 8 per cent premium over six months. Moving on to Reliance Capital, Anil outlined an agenda to turn the company into a financial services powerhouse. He said an investment of Rs 2000 crore would be made in Reliance Capital in accordance with SEBI regulations. Investment in Rel Cap would be at Rs. 228 per share at Rs. 40 premium. Potential investors --------------------- Anil Ambani also stressed that his enterprise will concentrate on the six C's, which include customer, customer care, corporate governance, corporate values, creativity, competitiveness. Dispelling fears of cash crunch in carrying out the expansion, he said potential investors have been talking to him for investing in the three companies REL, Reliance Infocomm and Reliance Capital. Moreover, he said the group will list Reliance Infocomm in bourses in due course to mop up additional capital. Demerger plan ----------------- The announcement of the settlement between Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani was made through a letter by their mother Kokilaben on Saturday. Under the agreement, Mukesh will retain flagship company RIL and its petrochemical venture IPCL while Anil will get Reliance Infocomm, Reliance Energy and Reliance Capital. Kokilaben, widow of the Reliance patriarch Dhirubhai Ambani, disclosed the details of the settlement after a marathon family meeting, which lasted all through Friday night. Later, the board of flagship company Reliance Industries Ltd met to approve the demerger plan. Anil Ambani, who resigned as the vice chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, did not attend the board meeting. Family share -------------- As part of the settlement, the elder Ambani sibling Mukesh Ambani will buy out Anil Ambani's stake in Reliance Industries and will control the family's share. The agreement is based on recommendations of ICICI Bank chairman and family friend K V Kamath and Kokilaben. Of the Ambani family's 34 per cent shareholding in RIL, both brothers own 30 per cent each while the mother holds 40 per cent of this stake. In effect, Mukesh will now control 60 per cent of the family's share in Reliance Industries. Telecom business -------------------- On the other hand, Mukesh's personal stake of 55 per cent in Reliance Infocomm will be bought by Anil. According to the demerger plan, Reliance Industries shareholding in Reliance Energy, Reliance Capital and Reliance Infocomm will be demerged. RIL's stake in these three companies will be put into a new holding company and Anil will be handed control of the holding company. Eventually, Mukesh will control RIL and IPCL while Anil will steer Reliance Infocomm, Reliance Energy and Reliance Capital.

I'm not aware of such an issue with Invision Power Board. Can you point me the post where it occured ?

For further Info, contact Anil Ambani TIMES NEWS NETWORK [sUNDAY, JUNE 19, 2005 02:18:16 AM] Adoptions do make headlines. Especially when the baby happens to be the two-year-old of none other than India’s top industrialist, Mukesh Ambani. Reliance Infocomm, Mukesh’s brain child has been handed over to the Anil Ambani group of companies, according to the settlement reached between the two warring brothers. For a two-year old, Reliance Infocomm has hit headlines more often than any other telco and not always for the right reasons. Once again, it is in the eye of the storm, since it is the only Reliance group company that is seeing a change in the top management. While life remains much the same for the other Reliance group companies — after all, Mukesh was the chief of Reliance Industries (RIL) while Reliance Energy (REL) and Reliance Capital (RCL) have been Anil’s babies for some time now — Infocomm is in the hands of a new parent. For Infocomm, the resolution of the ``ownership issues’’ threatens to bring about major changes. For one, it would bring in a new boss, a new management structure and possibly a change in overall direction and focus too. While Mukesh is seen as boss with a technical bent of mind, Anil is seen to be more savvy when it comes to finance and mark With Anil at the helm, industry observers expect Infocomm’s initial public offer (IPO) plans to be fast forwarded. The earlier management team had planned to tap the markets after completion of all the projects such as wireless, and enterprise broadband so as to reap the benefits of full valuation. The other issue for Infocomm is the future of the many projects that Mukesh had started. For instance, the future of ambitious initiatives like the Netway project is in the dark. Industry observers believe that Mukesh’s pet project, Netway, that was expected to revolutionise the way India watches television, movies and accesses the internet, is likely to be most affected by the absence of the senior Ambani. While most of Infocomm’s projects seem to be on schedule, the Netway project has been delayed and is likely to be further delayed by 6 months or more. In the past, Prakash Bajpai, who heads Infocomm’s Enterprise businesses, had denied that the project will in any way be affected by the presence or absence of Mukesh Ambani. ``Its a matter of putting the technology in place. Remember, such a project does not exist anywhere in the world,’’ says Mr Bajpai. It is not the technology, rather whether Anil chooses to continue with Mukesh’s pet project or suggests major or minor changes is cause for speculation. ``The issue is how different is Anil’s vision from that of Mukesh’s,’’ pointed out industry sources. Industry sources also expect Anil to focus on brand building. This is because despite having cleaned up its subscriber base and attracting subscribers who have a minimum average revenues per user (ARPU) of about Rs 400 or more, Infocomm is stuck with the `501’ image. It has still to shed the image of a telco with a large proportion of defaulters and subscribers comprising of taxi drivers, vegetable vendors and other low ARPU yielding subs. The `501’ image is a legacy of the past two years that were tumultuous for Infocomm. From being one of the last entrants in mobile telephony, it edged past other mobile companies to become the country’s largest mobile operator with a subscriber base of about 10 m. But each of Infocomm’s successes were won the hard way, despite the money and the muscle power of the Reliance group. The saving grace for Infocomm is that the final report card does show little more than passing grades on completion of two years of commercial operations. Of course, competitors still scoff at some of Infocomm’s numbers like the subscriber base. The company even has a net profit to show, albeit one propped up by other income. Infocomm’s revenues during its second year, ‘04-05, stood at Rs 5,387 crore with a net profit of Rs 51 crore. Bharti’s revenues during ‘04-05 were about Rs 8,066.67 crore. In its short history of two years, Infocomm has possibly had to fight more fires than any other company. The uncertainty arising out of ``ownership issues’’ has come at a time when the operational issues are more or less streamlined. For Infocomm, the big question today is how the young company copes with the changes likely to be brought about by a new management.

I've inquired with a customer care number in Coimbatore and the price for LG RD 6130 was at Rs.6199 for prepaid and Rs.6799 for post paid. I guess they don't have uniform rates for handsets even in the same state

RIC heads for an Executive revamp Business Standard / New Delhi June 19, 2005 With Reliance Infocomm changing hands from Mukesh to Anil Ambani, the search for a new chief operating officer (COO) for the company has begun. Sources close to the development said the Anil Ambani camp had assigned the task of finding a new COO for its wireless services to international consultant Mckinsey. “The process of identifying a successor to the current COO, Wireless Business, Kamal Nanavathy, is on. The new CEO will have to oversee the second expansion phase, which will involve more innovation, de-centralisation, adaptability and coping with competition, than just network building,” the sources told Business Standard. The list of management heads, who are likely to shift camps include A G Dowda, president, Reliance Engineering, V V Bhatt, group president, management services and HR, Shankar Adwal, vice-president, corporate affairs, and Sanjay Mashruwala, group president, projects. While confirming the exits, sources in RIL said that this was not aimed at “disturbing Infocomm’s top management”. “Management experts who were brought in from RIL to man Infocomm are headed back. As per the agreement, they will leave only after handing over their responsibilities to their successors,” sources said. “Before being brought into Infocomm, they were all with RIL’s Jamnagar project. They are likely to be entrusted with RIL’s biotech or retail business,” sources added. Anil Ambani is, however, set to retain the services of a select set of the brass, including Prakash Bajpai, president, wireline, V B Khurana, group president, Reliance Infocomm, Amit Khanna, president, entertainment wing, and S P Shukla, president, wireless products and services, sources said. When contacted, company executives, while expressing relief that the deal had been inked before the target date of June 6, said they were concerned about the high-level changes in the offing. “The talk in Infocomm has shifted to restructuring in senior management and redistribution of responsibilities,” said a senior executive in Delhi.

Anil gets share of Infocomm troubles Business Standard / Mumbai June 18, 2005 Call re-routing, CBI inquiries and desertion by top executives, the whistle blower now has to face the music. Anil Ambani, the whistle blower, may face a daunting task in managing the group’s telephony and internet business as Reliance Infocomm Ltd (RIC) is plagued with myriad problems, including an impending probe by the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI). Reliance Infocomm was in the eye of the storm after a call re-routing slur cast by state-run public sector units Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL). They had alleged that RIC had re-routed international calls as local calls through the networks of the PSUs, thereby, depriving the state-run companies of their due share of revenues. The department of telecom (DoT) had imposed a penalty of Rs 150 crore on Reliance Infocomm in March 2005, a move that was upheld by Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). Even though, the company has denied any wrong doings, BSNL and MTNL had imposed a penalty of Rs 175 crore and Rs 60 crore, respectively. The issue is currently pending with the Delhi High Court, while the Indian security agencies, led by the CBI, have initiated a probe to check whether the country’s national security was affected by the re-routing of international calls. The agencies are also believed to be probing the e-mails of Reliance Infocomm’s senior executives, including that of whistle-blower Akhil Gupta. He later quit Reliance as chief executive officer, corporate development of RIC to join technology group TCG. Another issue that needs immediate attention will be recruitment of top-level management. The present brass— most of whom had been brought in from RIL—have decided to go back to the parent company (see box). Manoj Modi, a close confidante of Mukesh Ambani, was one of the first to leave Reliance Infocomm. Anil Ambani had lashed out at Manoj Modi saying that he and his wife held 0.7 per cent of Reliance Infocomm shares that were purchased at Re 1 per share. Modi moved over to the parent company. Anil Ambani, who has been critical of the functioning of the group from the very beginning, is slated to bring in his experiences at BSES to RIC. Billing problems at BSES were successfully stemmed by Anil. It is one the moot issues at RIC too. The younger Ambani is also expected to expand the company’s fixed wireless phone (FWP) business and create a ‘hungama’ like the CDMA rollout staged by the elder brother. But RIC officials denied this and said FWP was “already doing well, and there is no need for another Hungama”. A tug-of-war between Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) and RIC also needs to be settled on a war-footing. The company has already complained to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) that the Tata group-managed company was blocking bandwidth at its landing points. RIC had also mentioned that VSNL was preventing sales of international bandwidth at competitive rates to IT-enabled services in the country. VSNL, on the other hand, has, in a letter to Trai, alleged that RIC was selling capacity “that was not available”. An immediate settlement of this issue is required for Reliance’s future internet and broadband plans, with top a Reliance official stating that “they do not wish to lock horns with VSNL anymore ”.

It does give problems while saving ringtones in 2130 sometimes, try resetting/deleting the ringtones and try again later.

That can be done using a mod in IPB. But I feel poll votes should be anonymous, so it isn't a good idea to implement it in the forum.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-evdo.htm

As per the latest Ad in 'The Hindu' newspaper (TN edition), LG RD 5130 -prepaid is available for Rs.3399 with Free Reebok T-Shirt at Reliance Web World Express ! LG RD 6130 is available for Rs.6399 as well.

Yes, the Sierra Wireless Data Card is a damn good product, and its the most recommended one for R-Connect access. You can make calls, SMS, etc. from the PC as well.

I guess the revision of tariff could be only for the Metro-state merger policy.