Arun

29 Apr, 2008, 0104 hrs IST Times News Network, Mumbai Mobile tariffs are continuously declining, but telecom operators beat street expectations to post robust numbers every quarter. What keeps the telecom players going and how do they sustain margins in the world’s most competitive telecom market? ET spoke to industry analysts, who agree that there is scope for more cuts. India already has the world’s lowest tariffs at 40 paise per minute for local calls and in some cases, even free intra-network calls. The current round of tariff cuts by operators has been triggered by two factors. One is the abolition of Access Deficit Charge (ADC), paid by private operators to public sector BSNL for providing rural telephony. Private players such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar, Idea Cellular, Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications were paying 0.75% of their annual revenues at ADC. With the abolition, their outgo has reduced and the gains can be diverted to offer more consumer-friendly rates. Secondly, telecom regulator Trai has also halved ADC on international calls to India to 50 paise per minute from April 1 and will phase it out completely by September-end. This will again reduce the burden on private players. Tariff cuts are now a regular feature of the Indian telecom landscape due to the vast economies of scale. “It (price cut) is not hurting telcos at all. It is improving minutes of usage (MOU). India added close to 10m subscribers in March and if that is the acquisition pace, then reducing entry barriers will only help operators expand,” Gartner’s Singapore-based senior research analyst Madhusudan Gupta told ET. On Monday, Bharti Airtel reduced STD rates to Rs 1.50 a minute from Rs 2.65 and also slashed roaming tariffs. “Not many users make STD calls. With this cut, new users will start making STD calls and existing consumers will increase usage. The capex remaining same, revenue will increase,” Mr Gupta said. PricewatehouseCoopers (PwC) associate director & telecom analyst Arpita Pal Agarwal said operators can manage to cut rates due to economies of scale-existing as well as anticipated. “As a country, we are nowhere near saturation. There are still millions of phone subscriptions to be sold,” she said. Operators are spreading fixed cost over an ever-increasing user base. “There is scope for further economies of scale,” she added. Cellular density in India is around 22%, leaving a lot of opportunities to be tapped in nation of 1.1billion people. KPMG director (telecom) Romal Shetty said fixed cost (of setting networks infrastructure) remains constant up to a certain number of subscribers and beyond that too, it is incremental.

Business Standard Mumbai April 28, 2008 Reliance Communications (RCom) is setting up seven international data centres (IDC) in the country spread over 1.4 million square feet with an investment of around Rs 800-1,000 crore. The move will help the company to emerge as one of the top-three third party data centre providers in the world. The investment is also one of the largest as it excludes the real estate cost. The company intends to set up the IDCs on owned as well as leased space. "RCom has finalised the locations to set up the seven IDCs, which are expected to commence operations by the end of this financial year. This will increase the company's total number of data centres to 13 even as additional data centres are being planned," sources close to the development said. The company will build two of the world's largest data centres ? one at the Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge Centre (its headquarters) in Navi Mumbai and another at Whitefield, Bangalore ? spread across 400,000 square feet each. "The other data centres would come up in Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai," he said. "There are expansion plans in the offing. However, we cannot comment on the specifics of the projects," a RCom spokesperson said when contacted. At present, the company has six data centres with over 500,000 square feet of space in India and is the largest data centre provider in India with over 60 per cent market share and around 700 customers. RCom's clientele includes multinational companies like Yahoo!, Google and Deutsche Bank, apart from banking financial sector and insurance (BFSI), media and entertainment, manufacturing and services firms. Tata Communications (formerly Videsh Sanchar Nigam), Bharti group and Sify are the other data centre providers in the country. IBM and Sun are two of the largest data centre providers in the world. According to an industry analyst, the company's recent acquisition of a 90 per cent stake in British WiMax major eWave World and the planned expansion of managed hosting, co-location, system integration and management services for corporates across the world would require additional IDC space. India is emerging as the next hot destination for IDCs, due to cost arbitration, skilled manpower and abundant international bandwidth availability. On completion of the new data centres, RCom expects to serve more than 2,500 corporate customers with revenue realisations of around Rs 1,200 crore within the first year of commercial launch. At present, RCom has over 2.6 lakh square feet capacity spread over 6 locations in the country.

Try Bitpim as posted by "dhenkuu" in the Techinical/Programming forum.

yeah mantra crap lol

LOL!!! You need to read the price correctly! Selling Price : Rs. 4299.00 / USD 107.93 You Save : Rs. 1001.00

it should be editable as it is Windows Mobile 6.0 Don't forget to get the update for Office Mobile as well, so that you can run Office 2007 based formats.

@manit, I would suggest you to cook your own ROM with those softwares that you require so that there won't be much slowness.

April 24, 2008 - New Delhi Reuters India Reliance Communications, India's No. 2 mobile operator, said on Thursday it had acquired eWaves, a UK-based operator of fourth-generation (4G) services, and would launch 4G services globally. It did not disclose financial details, citing silent period ahead of fourth quarter results, but the acquisition made through its Reliance Globalcom unit would be funded through internal accruals, a senior official said. "We have taken a gigantic step in the broadband direction and looked at 4G WiMax to be the next step in our global aspirations," the unit's chief executive, Punit Garg, told reporters in Mumbai. Reliance will invest $500 million over the next two to three years on WiMax, including voice services, in 50 countries with a focus on emerging markets, the company said in a statement. "Fifty percent of the growth (in WiMax) is in the emerging markets," said Jay Metcalfe, founder of eWaves. The UK firm has a joint venture in China, which would enable Reliance Communications to enter the world's largest broadband market, Garg said. (Additional reporting by Hiral Vora in Mumbai)

btw, which network does it show when roaming in USA?

I guess Customer Care can disable it for you from their side if you call them and request.

gpsOne isn't related to NetConnect or WiFi. The writing process probably did not write the other parameters correctly earlier. IE chooses WiFi over NetConnect by default for me. You know where to ask these questions, right? I use SPB Mobile Shell 2 to create shortcuts, its easy to use as well with one hand operation. The PPC switches on in the first bell and starts showing the incoming call message by the second ring for me. The ring tone starts hearing from the third ring though. Ashok was able to do that.

Check the IP Behaviour using QPST or Service code, it may have been reset to Mobile IP. What exactly is the error when you try to connect to NetConnect? How are you enabling WiFi? What is the error shown?

I just tried it on the Mogul, worked fine for me. BTW, I am using Windows Mobile 6.1 No2Chem nueROM 2.0 custom ROM. It is better than the speakerphone volume of UTStarcom PPC 6700

Did it work on the Sprint ROM? Have you changed to Simple IP instead of Mobile IP?

Reliance Plots Global WiMax Rollout LightReading.com April 24, 2008 No one could accuse Reliance Globalcom of lacking ambition. Having announced in 2007 its plans to invest $1.5 billion on new subsea network construction, $500 million on a new integrated network in Uganda, and another $200 million to expand its international Ethernet services capabilities, the Indian operator has now earmarked $500 million to become a global WiMax service provider, with plans to offer 4G services in 50 countries by 2012. And Reliance is adopting a well versed strategy to propel itself into the WiMax world. The Indian operator's subsea and Ethernet service expansion plans were underpinned by the strategic acquisitions of FLAG Telecom Ltd. and Yipes Enterprise Services Inc. Those companies are now part of the recently-formed Reliance Globalcom. Now it's doing the same thing with WiMax, basing its global rollout plans on the acquisition of a controlling stake in eWave World Ltd. (no corporate Website), an 18-month-old startup that has been striking relationships with WiMax license-holders in a number of emerging markets around the world. eWave's chairman Jay Metcalfe, who has experience with emerging markets operations from his time as CEO of international mobile operator Millicom International Cellular, S.A. , says Reliance now holds a 90 percent stake in the startup following a recent rights issue. In return for that stake, Reliance is providing the funds to turn eWave's strategy into reality. Metcalfe says the eWave team of about 15 people, which includes the former CEO of British cable operator NTL (now Virgin Media) and a number of his fellow former Millicom executives, has been seeking out WiMax license owners in emerging markets and striking investment deals. "Our vision is to bring broadband access to the emerging world, where there is very little, and in some cases no, broadband access currently. It's a big opportunity, and WiMax is a technology that can help fill that gap," says Metcalfe. Acquiring WiMax spectrum "We found that a lot of spectrum had been awarded to local entrepreneurs and ISPs who didn't have the experience or the capital to do anything with it," continues Metcalfe, adding that about 20 deals are already in place to acquire or take stakes in those companies, using Reliance's injection of capital. Most of those 20 deals already include allocated spectrum, though a few still need some regulatory approval, notes Metcalfe. He says the licenses include a mix of spectrum bands –- 2.3GHz, 2.5GHz, and the 3.0GHz range -– but "we're agnostic to the band. We are sensitive to the amount of spectrum available," as eWave needs to be sure there is enough for "economically viable mobile networks." Metcalfe says he can't name the parties involved in the proposed deals or identify the specific markets until the acquisition and investment deals are signed and sealed, which will happen in the coming months. He did note, however, that they were spread across Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Asia/Pacific. Reliance, though, already holds a broadband wireless license in India. (See India Looks to WiMax.) As for the technology to be deployed, the chairman says that 802.16e, also known as mobile WiMax, is "our vision, though we may deploy fixed WiMax technology in some markets initially. It depends on the timing. Our long-term vision of WiMax is that it's a mobile technology -- a 4G technology." Metcalfe says eWave has a CTO, another former Millicom man, Joel Hariton, who has been engaging with equipment vendors about the rollout plans. China joint venture eWave has also struck a joint venture agreement in China. Again, Metcalfe says he can't name the Chinese partner at this stage, but says it's a "high-level government institution that has already built a 36,000-kilometer national fiber network." He continues: "We have rights to some strands in that fiber network and will use that fiber as the basis to build a broadband services business in China. We expect to launch broadband services there some time in the next few months. We are also in discussions about a WiMax license for China." Mobile WiMax not without its challenges Heavy Reading senior analyst Gabriel Brown says the decision to use mobile WiMax technology makes sense but isn’t without its challenges. "Even though 3G is shipping in volume, greenfield operators typically want to move directly to next-generation OFDMA [orthogonal frequency-division multiple access] technology," such as WiMax, says the analyst. (See Flat Is Back: Toward the All-IP Mobile Network, WiMax, Wireless Mesh & Muni Networks, Sarin: We Need 4G Convergence, and Nortel's Big WiMax Bet.) "High-growth emerging markets are the biggest opportunity for WiMax, but equipment and terminals will need to be ultra low-cost to make the service provider business viable, and there's not yet enough product volume in the market to get prices where they need to be." In addition, "operational costs also have to come down in areas such as site installation, backhaul, power efficiency, and automation of network management," to make such a plan feasible, Brown says. Reliance and eWave look to have set themselves an ambitious target to offer WiMax services in so many markets with a $500 million budget, but Metcalfe notes that the $500 million investment from Reliance is "a movable feast –- it's more an indication of the level of commitment from Reliance." He adds: "The amount of money required will depend on the number of licenses we have -– the target is to be in 50 countries –- and how quickly we can build the networks, and how big the networks are. It's likely that we will, eventually, need additional capital and that we'll need to tap other sources for that. This is a capital intensive plan, just like building out cellular networks."

Do you mean you are roaming in USA with Reliance service? Which ROM are you using?

4 members are celebrating their birthday today ss_rakesh(29), B R SHIVANANDA(39), Shri239(27), kingking3(28) Happy Birthday Rakesh!!! So you got the Mogul as your birthday gift!

You mentioned 6 kbps in your first post, and you say 6 kBps now. Since you are getting 6 - 7 kBps, that is normal depending upon the present network conditions. Only when there is very less network congestion in your area and if you get better signals, you may get 10 - 15 kBps.

Ashok Karkera has recommended Hetal to be promoted as a recognition for his efforts at RIMweb.in, so there you go... Hetal is our new moderator!

The Unwired Thursday, 20.03.08 HTC Corporation and Reliance Communications, India's largest integrated telecom service provider, today announced a strategic alliance to promote next generation CDMA devices in India. The announcement marks HTC's foray into the fast growing CDMA market in India, and reiterates the strategic focus of Reliance Communications to offer a wider range of world-class PDA devices on the CDMA platform for its high-end data usage customers. In line with this, HTC and Reliance Communications also announced two new Windows Mobile phones - the HTC P3000 Windows Mobile Professional smartphone and the HTC S720 Windows Mobile Standard smartphone. "The alliance with HTC is in line with our strategic intent to provide the latest, top-of-the-line, data enabled high end devices to Reliance customers", said Mr. S.P.Shukla - President, Reliance Communications. "Our partnership with HTC is an important part of our data strategy to empower the customer with email, internet and data applications on the move as well as consolidate our range of PDA devices with entertainment enabled options of HTC devices for the fast growing top end Individual and Business customer segments", he added. Under the alliance, HTC's world-class CDMA handsets will be exclusively provided on Reliance Communication's state-of-the-art wireless network providing high quality voice, data and video communication across 15,000 towns and 6 lakh Indian villages, seamless data connectivity with 100 % data enabled base stations and high speed mobile internet access on CDMA 1X technology. With over a decade of experience designing innovating smart phone solutions, the HTC CMDA product-line in India, starting with the HTC P3000 and HTC S720, will offer a robust line-up of services and applications for high-end mobile users. "The partnership with Reliance Communications further strengthens HTC's commitment to serve the growing demands of Indian consumers. With the introduction of the HTC P3000 and HTC S720, customers will soon have access to these innovative CMDA devices," said Mr. Peter Chou, CEO & President, HTC. "Merging HTC's innovative devices with Reliance's network will enable customers to experience cutting-edge mobile Internet connectivity on the go." Mr. Amajit Gupta Director Communication and Media segment, Microsoft India commented, "HTC has the largest portfolio of Window's Mobile enabled smartphones in India and we are excited about the two new additions to the family - the HTC P3000 and HTC S720. Already, smartphones are being viewed as both mobile consumer Internet devices as well as imperative business productivity tools. We are confident that with the added line up of business applications, the inherent power delivered by Windows Mobile, and the value proposition of the Reliance CDMA network, the devices will bring further maturity into the rapidly growing Smartphone market in India." To promote this first-of-a-kind data-capable CDMA handset devices, Reliance Communications will provide to it customers a choice of two internationally successful HTC handset models - the HTC P3000 and the HTC S720 which will be available by end March, 2008, at all Reliance Mobile World and leading HTC Authorized Resellers across the country at a market-operating price of Rs. 16,500 and Rs. 19,500 respectively.

well, a wireless data card is going to be no match for a broadband connection. I'm not sure the TATA Indicom broadband plan is expensive than Reliance NetConnect when you can get a 128 kbps unlimited connection for Rs.700 per month with TATA Indicom broadband. A speed of 80 kbps is average on a wireless card practically. NetBooster isn't going to increase your speed drastically, you can get more information about it here: www.rimweb.in/forums/index.php?showtopic=9437 Never, those are "theoretical" speeds and the maximum speed supported by the network and the device. Maybe if no one else if using Reliance network in your area and if you get full signals, you may get the maximum speed specified. Practically, you can't even get close depending upon the network conditions. Wireless data cards are good only if broadband is not available in your area and to be used on your laptop when travelling.

Andhra Pradesh (Reliance) http://www.informationmadness.com/cms/inde...0&Itemid=49

As far as I know he couldn't get time to test the GPS

Did you give any request for activation of CLIP? I do not see any CLIP charges in my Reliance NetConnect bill. I'm not sure why they aren't offering CLIP for Free when TRAI has an order for providing free CLIP to postpaid customers. I have enquired this once, but Reliance just said CLIP is chargeable.

icicibank.com won't work. I have checked it using many browsers (like IE for Mobile, Opera for Mobile, etc.)