coolrajiv

^^^ I meant that only mate that Iphone's loss(not avlb in india officially) is Samsung's & LG's gain right now

well iphone is the trend setter..so everyone wants a pie of the market which iphone is capturing silently..its another thing that iphone is still not officially avlb in india..the day iphone is avlb here Nokia ke high end handsets ki vaat lagegi..everyone knows how good the design of the iphone is.. so Samsung has released this handset & LG has released Viewty.. Just hoping that when Apple launches the iphone in india officially its 3G enabled coz now 3G is so near

I already posted this info quite a while back on the following link - http://www.rimweb.in/forums/index.php?showtopic=11484 @ Moderator close this topic

Laptops do have half height SLOT IN optical drives so i think this diary sized laptop also should have atleast a DVD-ROM drive i understand the cost concern but if they include the DVD-ROM drive in this particular laptop & sell it at say Rs 16500 than also its seems quite ok.. ofcourse one needs to first see how robust these diary sized laptops are

It has 40 GB hard drive, its wifi ready, Bluetooth enabled but no mention of the optical drive? I hope it has atleast Combo drive or DVD-ROM .. Price of this laptop would be 15600 Rs This diary sized laptop will be launched all over India by May 2008

yeah its expensive if u compare it with "Samsung" "Sony Ericsson" " Nokia" 5 megapixel handsets but i think from design aspect it is paisa vasul its damn sexy in looks

Lower cap spoils spectrum mood Source - http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080112/jsp/...ory_8773370.jsp New Delhi, Jan. 11: Much to the discomfort of existing operators, the government today placed a limit of 7.2MHz on GSM spectrum per circle for a telecom player. The cap will negate the possibility of these firms getting extra spectrum in most telecom circles, meaning huge investments in infrastructure such as towers and boosters, if they want to accommodate more subscribers within existing spectrum space. While notifying subscriber requirements for extra spectrum, the department of telecom (DoT) has imposed the new limit. Under the old norm, the limit was 15MHz. The subscriber requirements had been fixed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. They are tougher than existing requirements. For CDMA players, the government has lowered the cap on spectrum to 5MHz from 7.5MHz. Many GSM operators hold up to 10 MHz of spectrum, but officials said the operators would not be asked to return extra spectrum. According to a telecom analyst, “Spectrum space is shared by cell phone users when they use their mobile phones. Thus the number of mobile users who can use certain spectrum is limited. This limit can be expanded by using technological innovations such as boosters.” GSM operators such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar argued that if older licence norms were taken into account, they were entitled to a maximum of 15 MHz of spectrum. Restricting that amount at this stage was arbitrary and illegal. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which represents interests of GSM operators, today moved Delhi High Court against the new norms. “A 7.2-MHz cap on radio waves (spectrum) would put strain on telecom networks, affecting the quality of service,” a COAI official said. However, DoT officials said the move would bring about a positive change. “This system would not only force telecom operators to effectively utilise available spectrum but would also ensure that the quality of service, which operators argued was deteriorating because of insufficient spectrum, improved,” officials of the DoT said.

Source - http://www.tech2.com/india/news/mobile-pho...n-phone/25881/0 SE Launches W960i Walkman Phone Sony Ericsson has launched the 8 GB touch screen W960i Walkman phone. With room for up to 8,000 songs and finger-touch navigation around playlists, the phone also has a 2.6" display and a 3.2 megapixel camera. It can be hooked up to the Web using the 3G network or via a Wi-Fi access point. The W960i Walkman phone features a 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus within its 16mm frame, and allows picture messaging, email or picture blogging. It incorporates Sony Ericsson's TrackID music recognition software, that lets users record a clip of a song on their phone and find out instantly the name of the artist, track and album. The W960i Walkman phone comes bundled with a stereo portable handsfree, is UMTS 2100-GSM/GPRS 900/1800/1900 and will be available in Vinyl Black for Rs. 28995

Source - http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/N...how/2693914.cms Unitech likely to hive off telecom business NEW DELHI: Real estate major Unitech, which was awarded a pan-India telecom licence on Thursday, plans to hive off its telecom business as a separate profit and loss centre. The company will transfer its existing telecom infrastructure business, where it manufactures towers for various service providers, into a fresh entity. At a later stage, the company would look at listing the business on the bourses in India. Importantly, Unitech in also learnt to be in talks with several international majors and financial investors for technical and strategic partnerships for its telecom foray, although the company has not taken a final decision on this issue. “Unitech sees the potential in the telecom business and believes that investment in this sector would provide immense potential for value addition to the group,” a source close to the development in the company said. Unitech had applied for a pan-India licence through eight subsidiaries — Adonis Projects, Aska Properties, Azare Properties, Hudson Properties, Nahan Properties, Unitech Builders and Estates, Unitech Infrastructure and Volga Properties. Unitech MD Sanjay Chandra was not available for comment. However, a source close to the development said that the company will start the process of structuring its telecom business as soon as its ongoing fund-raising exercise for its real estate business is complete. The company is in the process of raising about $2 billion, of which, $700 million will be raised through an IPO on the Singapore Stock Exchange and $1-1.5 billion through a qualified institutional placement (QIP). The company is looking at providing GSM services in 22 circles, for which, it has obtained Letters of Intent from DoT and has converted it into licence by paying the requisite money. The investment figure that the company is looking at for the telecom venture could not be confirmed. So far, the company has deposited the entry fee of Rs 1,658 crore, financial bank guarantee of Rs 630 crore and performance bank guarantee of Rs 252 crore. The company can begin commercial services after it is allotted start-up spectrum of 4.4 MHz per circle. It is not clear where Unitech stands in the queue for spectrum. First in line for radio frequencies are existing licence holders — Idea (2 circles), Vodafone (6 circles) and Aircel (13 circles) along with existing GSM operators who need additional spectrum to expand their networks in the areas where they currently operate, followed by dual technology licence holders such as Reliance Communications, Tatas, HFCL and Shyam. New entrants such as Unitech come next. Department of Telecom officials say that at present, there is enough radio frequency to accommodate existing operators and dual technology licence holders and added that new entrants will be allotted radio frequency as soon as the defence forces vacate it. For Unitech, the major thrust of the company will be in rural areas. “There is lot of untapped potential in the rural areas. Most of the new players are now entering rural markets for growth and we feel that new entrants will be in a competitive position vis a vis existing players in tapping the rural potential,” the company source close to the development said.

Source - http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/N...how/2692633.cms Videocon to roll out mobile services by end of 2008 NEW DELHI: Consumer electronics major Videocon today said it will roll out its mobile services by the end of this year and is expecting 10 million subscribers in 3-4 years of the launch. Videocon is also planning to rope in a global service provider as the partner at an appropriate time, the company said in a statement here. "The company plans to use its extensive all India dealer network of over 10,000 to reach out to the customers and expects to have 10 million subscribers (on conservative basis) in 3-4 years of launch," it said. Videocon's subsidiary Datacom had yesterday received Letter of Intent from the Department of Telecom for starting GSM-based mobile services on a pan-India basis. Datacom has deposited the Rs 1,507 crore as license fees alongwith bank guarantee of Rs 847 crore to the DoT. With an aim to improve efficiency and profitability of the business model, the company also plans to introduce various innovative services, the statement added. Videocon said a number of local and global banks and financial institutions have expressed interest in providing fund, non-fund and service based support to the project. In another development, realty major Unitech informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that the DoT has issued LoIs to its eight subsidiaries for starting mobile services in 22 circles. The company has paid the required fees of Rs 1658 crore and bank guarantees of Rs 882 crore. Telecom player Idea Cellular also informed BSE that the company has received LoIs for nine circles and it intends to rollout services in these circles as soon as spectrum is made available.

Source - http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/RCom_g...how/2693886.cms Great news finally Reliance gets 3G & pan india license(dual technology) .. now hoping for the launch of dual mode handset in calcutta asap..

Source - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Idea_By...how/2693915.cms Idea, Bycell write to telecom ministry NEW DELHI: The award of letters of intents (LoIs) by DoT on Thursday to a clutch of firms, picked by creating an arbitrary cutoff date for applications, coupled with an unprofessional manner of handling applications, has triggered off protest from companies. Idea Cellular and Bycell have been the first to log in protest. ToI has repeatedly pointed out that the manner and behaviour of the telecom ministry officials in processing LoIs without clear guidance on priority is a ground for manipulation and litigation. Idea and Bycell have shot off letters within 24 hours of LoIs being granted. Several others are expected to follow suit. The lack of clarity is making even those who make payments nervous. The next round of fencing will come into the open as soon as priority for spectrum is decided because in the end, spectrum is all that matters. Sanjeev Aga of Idea has written to DoT secretary, Siddharth Behura, alleging that DoT officials ensured that their company official could not make the payment for licences a moment sooner than he did. Idea points out that this is hardly the company's fault since it has been waiting with financing since mid 2006. It writes: "On December 27, 2007, we asked the government to accept our payments along with guarantees. We were prevented from making payment purely because the government did not accept it. Yesterday, January 10 2008, at about 2:45 PM, the government posted a press release on its web site intimating that the process would commence at 3:30 PM. The process was highly unusual. Our authorized representative has been present at Sanchar Bhavan through all working hours, since January 8, 2008, ready with payments, guarantees and all documents. He was outside the second floor committee room when the press release appeared on the web. He received our nine LoIs as soon as they were given to him." "He sprinted with LoIs to the reception. He deposited payment and documents, as soon as this was accepted from him. During those surreal minutes, all activities were controlled by DoT functionaries. We could not have made payment even a moment earlier than we did," the letter added. Idea has asked DoT, "as per established practice of the government, as per Clause 23 of the unified access service licence guidelines of December 14, 2005, and as per expected conduct of the government in dealing with public property", to ensure that the seniority of its applications of June 26 2006, are not tampered with for issue of licences and spectrum. ByCell sent out a press release alleging that it was refused LoIs on the basis of a forged complaint. According to the DoT letter sent to ByCell on Friday, its applications dated January 31, 2006 for Assam, Orissa, Bihar, North East and West Bengal telecom circles has not been considered due to pending security clearance. ByCell believes this has been due to false complaint related to security issue filed on behalf of a prominent MP to the PMO on October 2007. Later, the MP clarified that the earlier letter was a forged document and he had no complaints against ByCell.

Here's the official pic of this dual mode handset .. looks good to me Image courtesy Reliance link - http://www.rcom.co.in/webapp/Communication...ets_dualsim.jsp

8900 seems to be a very decent price for this kinda of handset .. I hope Reliance introduces this one in Calcutta asap coz it already has presence here in both CDMA as well as GSM segment too

ideally price should be around 11K max

Source - http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=motoro...nveils-new-rokr Motorola unveils new Rokr and Moto Z10 phone LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Motorola Inc <MOT.N>, the world's third biggest mobile phone maker, on Sunday unveiled two new cell phones and a plan to buy Asian digital music service Soundbuzz Pte Ltd. as it looks to stem recent market share losses. Motorola unveiled the Rokr E8 music phone which, when switched on, is controlled by virtual buttons that vibrate when touched. When switched off, it has no visible control keys. The device also highlights and enables different buttons depending on whether the music player, phone or camera is being used. The company also announced the Moto Z10, a video phone with editing capability and enough storage space for 24 hours of footage in an effort to appeal to young consumers who like to share videos with their friends. Motorola has been under pressure to come up with new phone designs as it has been losing mobile phone market share to rivals such as Nokia and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd in the past year. And it has come under criticism for failing to come up with a strong successor to its flagship Razr phone. It also faces competition from Apple Inc which entered the cell phone market with its iPhone in June. Stu Reed, the head of Motorola's cell phone unit, said that the latest phones were part of the company's plan to frequently come out with new products to build a broad phone range. "We want to sell a broad portfolio. We don't want to be dependent on one phone ever again. We're not about one phone," Reed said in an interview at Motorola's product launch event on the sidelines of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Reed took over as mobile phone chief last July as part of a slew of management changes that most recently had Chief Executive Ed Zander stepping down after the company posted losses for two out of three quarters of 2007. Greg Brown, who became CEO on January 1, did not attend the CES launch event, disappointing some analysts. The latest phones are expected to go on sale and "ramp up production" in the first quarter, Reed said. Motorola plans to use the morphing virtual keypad in future phones, he said. "We anticipate we'll use that again," he said without giving details. The Rokr E8 phone does not run on high-speed wireless networks but supports a slower technology standard known as EDGE. Motorola did not reveal pricing. "If this is priced right it could be a huge hit," said Current Analysis analyst Avi Greengart, referring to the Rokr E8. He noted, however, that Nokia already has similar video editing capabilities in some of its advance phones. The Z10 video phone supports high-speed wireless Internet services and is expected to appeal to bloggers or young people who like to create, edit and share videos on the go. "In the past we were just cameramen, now we are producers," said Jeremy Dale a market executive for Motorola. "The Moto Z10 is about filmmaking on the fly." Motorola also said it agreed to buy privately held Soundbuzz, a digital music provider in South East Asia. It sells full tracks and ringtones directly to consumers and via white label services for wireless service providers. Dale said that the acquisition and the new phones were part of Motorola's plan to compete directly with dedicated portable digital music MP3 players in the next year and a half. "We'll show you in the next 12 to 18 months that our music player phones are better MP3 players than MP3 players themselves," he said.

Source - http://www.tech2.com/india/news/mobile-pho...mobiles/25371/0 At CES 2008 Samsung’s booth features 3 of their heavy hitting mobile phones that vary in range from, music to business to simply innovative designs. SGH- i450 The Samsung SGH-i450 may very well be an N95 wannabe with a slide out keypad and a secondary slide out keypad from the top, but in no way is it the same. This phone uses a type of touch sensitive scroll wheel system to navigate the music player and menus. It runs on a Symbian S60 OS and supports Bluetooth (with A2DP) and external memory up to 4Gb with microSD cards. It’s also equipped with a 2 megapixel camera and is 3G enabled with a secondary video call camera in front. What really makes this music phone stand out is the ICEpower amplifier developed by Bang & Olufsen. SGH - G800 Samsung already has the G-600 with a 5 megapixel auto-focus camera so you’d wonder what’s next and the answer is – The G800, which could very well be the world's first 5 megapixel auto-focus camera phone with 3x optical zoom and a Xenon flash. Of course the fact that it’s a slim slider goes without saying. It’s also equipped with the usual features like Bluetooth (with A2DP), 3G with HSDPA, large 2.4 inch display etc. But it’s the camera with face detection; professional video editing functions and a mobile blogging feature that makes this mobile something to look out for. SGH-i620 The Samsung SGH-i620 is a Windows Mobile device running on Windows Mobile 6.0. It has a slide out QWERTY keypad but unfortunately the screen size may not be too agreeable with everyone at just 2.2 inches. Nevertheless the device also offers other options like a 2 megapixel camera, an RSS reader and Podcasting. It also supports Bluetooth with A2DP. SGH-i780 Another Windows mobile device that will be featured is the SGH-i780 that has a 2.5 inch touch screen as well as a full QWERTY keypad. This handset also runs on Windows Mobile 6.0 and comes equipped with GPS, 3G with HSDPA, a 2 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth with A2DP capabilities and Push email. It also has a TV out option and supports external memory with microSD cards like the others in this display. It also has an optical mouse for navigation.

Plan panel moots spectrum management group Source - http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2679275.cms NEW DELHI: The Planning Commission has called for different ministries to work in a coordinated manner to identify the radio frequency requirements of all sectors and has also suggested that a Spectrum Management Group be set up to achieve this. At present, all spectrum planning and allotment is handled by the Wireless Planning and Coordination Wing of the Department of Telecom (DoT). Importantly, with the convergence of telecom, broadcasting and internet networks, the Planning Commission has also proposed that India’s regulatory framework be redesigned and a common communications convergence regulator be set up to address future requirements. “The Information and Broadcasting (I& , private broadcasters and service providers along with department of telecommunications (WPC cell) need to work in a coordinated manner to identify spectrum requirements keeping their rollout plans so that spectrum planning could be proactively made. A Spectrum Management Group could be set up to achieve this,” the report of the Sub-group on ‘going digital’, set up by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said. This Sub-group under the chairmanship of member secretary, Planning Commission, had representatives from telecom ministry, I&B ministry, entertainment sector, electronics manufacturing associations, domain experts and the broadcasting industry. At the same time, the group’s recommendations also address another controversial issue. While TRAI currently handles regulatory issues with regard to telecom, broadcast, internet and convergence, many ministries are mooting for separate regulators, for instance, I&B ministry has been working towards the creation of a broadcast regulator. Besides, with broadcasters challenging key recommendations of TRAI , the Supreme Court stepped in last week and ruled that TRAI had the jurisdiction to regulate the broadcast sectors. In a bid to put an end to turf wars, the Sub-group, in its report said: “Different communication sectors have traditionally been regulated by different acts and also by different institutions. The convergence process and combination of broadcast and traditional telecom networks will require not only adjustment but also rethinking and redesign of the whole regulatory framework, thus the need for setting up a common communications convergence regulator”. The Sub-group’s report comes even as telecom regulator TRAI and DoT and involved in a war of words over spectrum management. TRAI has demanded that this responsibility should be handed over to the regulator, especially considering the WPC’s poor record so far with regard to spectrum management and planning for the future. The DoT while accepting that TRAI’s charge that its (DoT ) wireless planning and coordination wing has ‘not been able to perform its role as spectrum planner to the desired level’, wants to give this task to the Centre for Excellence for Radio Spectrum Engineering and Management (CERSEM), which is in the process of being set up.

Source - http://www.techtree.com/India/News/Airtel_...-85568-613.html Airtel becomes First to Offer SMS2.0 Airtel, along with Affle, a leading mobile media company that currently operates out of India, Singapore, Thailand, UK, and USA, has launched SMS2.0, touted as the world's first upgrade to SMS. With Affle being the inventor of this technology, Airtel claims to be the first in the country to offer this innovative service to its 55 million-odd customers. SMS2.0 enables an interactive and non-intrusive platform on mobile phones that would allow Airtel users discover a host of relevant content services with enhanced messaging features. While riding on the popularity of the familiar SMS application, SMS2.0 is unique in that it converges messaging, content, and contextual advertising into one seamless application that resides as the default SMS application on the customer's mobile handset. SMS2.0 also serves free content to users, contextual to their areas of interest. The content is served in the form of teasers on the Message Compose/Read window and a Full Screen that appears along with the Message Sent/Sending Window. Commenting on the launch of SMS 2.0, Sanjay Gupta, chief marketing officer (Mobile Services) of Airtel, said, "Trends indicate that youth and young professionals are more active users of messaging. SMS2.0 represents a huge opportunity for Airtel to differentiate itself, and further gain both mind-share and market-share in these segments." SMS2.0's message personalization options include additional features like composing and sending messages with a variety of text, background colors, and emoticons. The content experience is driven around leveraging SMS, and delivering user-relevant content such as news, jokes, movie updates, Cricket, Astrology, etc -- all seamlessly integrated into the messaging experience. Available as a 'free upgrade' to the regular SMS application, Airtel subscribers can download SMS2.0 by sending "SMS2" to 543210. There are no charges for downloading the new application or for subsequent content delivery on this platform.

Source - http://www.techtree.com/India/News/Asus_ID...-85660-615.html Asus, IDLDPL Announce P526 PDA Asus India, along with IDLDPL (India Digital Life Style Distributors Private Limited), has launched its P526 PDA phone. At around 110 x 58 x 15.4 mm and weighing about 115 grams, the Silver Gray phone comes with a numeric keypad and T9 predictive text input software, among others. It features Windows Mobile 6 Professional, GPS, and a host of messaging enhancements. By integrating popular Windows Live mobile services, the P526 keeps users connected with communities, helping them find information quickly and without much hassle. The P526 combines unlocked quad band with GPS in a single device, featuring the SiRFstar III chip and a 200MHz TI OMAP850 processor for power efficiency. The PDA phone comes with a 2 mega pixels camera, and support for still- and video- recording. The full screen preview makes it easier to take pictures while an image editor helps edit the pictures with ease. The phone has MPEG4 supporting 30 FPS QCIF video/Windows Media Player 10, and music fans can listen to their favorite songs in various formats including MP3, WMA, AAC, Midi, and WMV. The device accepts Micro-SD external storage in addition to the 64MB of built-in memory. Specifications of the P526 include: EDGE/GPRS/GSM 850/900/1800/1900; 1300 mAh Lithium Ion battery; 150 hours standby time and 4 hours talk time; 2.6-inches TFT with support for 65K colors, 240 x 320 resolution; Microsoft Windows Mobile 6 Professional OS; TI OMAP 850 (200MHz) App Processor and built-in SiRF Star III Chip; support for GPS; SMS/MMS/Email/MSN messaging; 2 mega pixels camera; support for MP3, WMA, AAC, Midi, and WMV music formats; MPEG4 supporting 30 FPS QCIF video/Windows Media Player 10; and support for J2ME, USB version 1.1 / Bluetooth 1.2. While the P526 is priced at Rs 18,990, the MOP is Rs 16,990. It is available pan-India via IDLDPL (011-46096400) and all mobile stores.

Source - http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080102/jsp/...y_8734028.jsp#2 The minimum speed for a broadband connection could soon be increased to 2 Mbps from 256 Kbps to bring it on a par with international standards.

Source - http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080102/jsp/...ory_8712737.jsp Deep divide over mobile TV tech New Delhi, Jan. 1: Differences have emerged over the transmission of television signals on mobile phones. Mobile equipment vendors such as Qualcomm and Nokia Siemens want the terrestrial route, while the department of space (DoS) prefers satellites. According to A. Bhaskaranarayana, director, satellite communications programmes of the DoS, “Satellite-based services have certain unique advantages that other technologies cannot intrinsically match, particularly in India where vast swathes of remote and rural areas cannot be physically connected by other technologies, at least at a reasonable cost.” In response to a consultation paper floated by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, Bhaskaranarayana said: “The wide reach of satellite can provide instant one-shot coverage of the entire country and can reach areas which terrestrial systems cannot reach or will take long time to reach. We strongly believe that for mobile television services, satellite will continue to play a major role.” Globally, the DoS said, satellite technologies were enabling the delivery of multimedia services and broadband to handhelds. Analysts said the differences were actually over equipment as the government’s preference would determine mobile companies’ choice of equipment. Sources in the DoS said the organisation had made significant technological advances in providing similar satellite-based services in the country. They said the DoS was developing a platform for the delivery of multimedia services, including televisions, that are cost-effective. On the other hand, mobile equipment vendors are promoting terrestrial technologies such as MediaFLO and DVB-H (digital video broadcasting – handheld). A Nokia Siemens official said, “DVB-H offers excellent audio and video quality and the quality of the stream can be tailored flexibly to the nature of the content thus enabling optimisation of audio-visual quality.” Qualcomm India president Kanwalinder Singh said satellite transmissions suffered from antenna-size requirements and poor in-building coverage. “For India, with its dense population and multi-storey buildings, any mobile TV service that uses satellite transmission will need to be supplemented by terrestrial transmissions,” he said.

Source - http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080102/jsp/...ory_8732941.jsp Trai jams spectrum return plan New Delhi, Jan. 1: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) says it is not feasible for telecom operators to return excess spectrum as this will inconvenience customers. Officials of Trai were reacting to recent media reports on the possibility of the government demanding the return of spectrum over the limit specified by the regulator. The department of telecom (DoT) has, however, said that it has not taken any decision on this issue. Trai felt its recommendations on spectrum allocation norms should not be applied on a retrospective basis. “It would not be feasible for telecom operators to return spectrum as networks are planned and rolled out to work based on current spectrum allotments,” the officials said. They said it would take over an year for an operator to migrate subscribers to another frequency before it can surrender spectrum. Mobile operators cannot return spectrum without changing the network configuration completely, which could affect the quality of service. The officials also said that the recent recommendations on subscriber-based spectrum allocation criteria “cannot be applied on a retrospective basis as it will not be fair to existing operators”. Last week, the DoT decided to allot additional spectrum based on Trai’s subscriber-linked criteria. The regulator had recommended an increase in the subscriber base of operators by two to six times before they are given additional spectrum. On the basis of these norms, many telecom operators may be holding excess spectrum that is sufficient to accommodate 4-5 new players. However, the regulator contends that these recommendations are for the allocation of spectrum in the future. They should not be used to take away spectrum that has already been granted based on the current allocation policy. Earlier, in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Reliance Communications chairman Anil Ambani had alleged that the three GSM operators — Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular — together held around 54.2 MHz of spectrum in excess of norms. Ambani had proposed that the government should make it mandatory for telecom service providers to surrender additional spectrum. He had also conveyed his willingness to the government on surrendering 1.8 MHz of spectrum. This spectrum is for the Bihar circle and in excess of its requirements. In response to Ambani, Bharti in a release had stated that “GSM operators combined have less than 25 MHz of total spectrum.” Under the current telecom licence agreement, operators of GSM services are entitled to spectrum up to 6.2 Mhz, while CDMA operators have been permitted spectrum up to 5 Mhz.

Source - http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080102/jsp/...ory_8733988.jsp Anil ready to take on tech titans Mumbai, Jan. 1: Infosys, Wipro and TCS had better watch out: Anil Ambani is getting ready to challenge their domination of the infotech industry. Ambani is preparing to take on the technology titans with a cash chest of $2 billion (roughly Rs 8,000 crore) which he plans to invest in an infotech venture that is being tentatively labelled as Tech Reliance. Initially, Tech Reliance will provide IT infrastructure management services to Ambani’s telecom, energy, utilities, financial services and entertainment businesses. Sources say the company hopes to emerge as one of the top five technology firms in the country once it starts offering IT consulting services as well. Telecom service is fast emerging as one of the biggest moneyspinners for technology giants. For instance, the telecom vertical of Infosys earned $258 million in revenues in the six months ended September 30 out of the overall revenues of $1.41 billion — accounting for just over 18 per cent of its revenue pie. It was the second-biggest revenue earner for Infosys after financial services. Reliance ADAG chairman Anil Ambani has been watching the IT space for over a year now and is now ready to make his move. Ambani’s push into IT is part of the group’s drive to unlock value and derive synergies from its various companies. In recent times, telecom companies have started outsourcing their IT operations to trim costs and focus on their core operations. In December, Vodafone outsourced all its IT operations, with the exception of network service platforms, to IBM for five years. Earlier, Bharti Tele-Ventures had outsourced its software, hardware and IT requirements to IBM for about $700 million for a 10-year period. Market observers said Tech Reliance would do well if it remained “domestically oriented”. “As an IT infrastructure management service, they should do very well as they will have an assured market and an anchor customer in Reliance itself. It will help them reduce their costs and be more focused on the IT playfield. As the company gathers experience, it can foray into managing other networks,” said Dipen Shah, IT analyst at Kotak Securities. Tech Reliance will function out of the four to five development centres that are being set up across the country. Two of these will be located in Mumbai and Calcutta. The Calcutta centre will be housed at the proposed 50-acre Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City at Kalyani in Nadia district. According to Anil Ambani’s key aides, the group will give priority to infotech this year. The Tech Reliance initiative is expected to lead the next phase of growth for the group. Ambani has handpicked a team of IT professionals to lead this initiative. Employees working with Reliance ADAG are also part of this team. The core group of 15 members will draw up the road map for Tech Reliance. The group is also headhunting senior management employees from leading IT companies to lead various functions at Tech Reliance. A Reliance spokesperson refused to comment on the development. He, however, said, “The group continuously explores new avenues for growth and we seek to enhance value for our stakeholders”. Group company Reliance Communications recently announced plans to offer high-end remote network management solutions to global telecom players and tied up with the US-based GlassHouse for the purpose. The company also plans to ride on the 65,000km undersea cable link that is managed by group subsidiary FLAG Telecom, a leading provider of international network transport and data services.

Source - http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080101/jsp/...ory_8731084.jsp The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has asked service providers to explain why post-paid mobile phone subscribers should pay for hard copies of their bills. Some telecom players, including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Reliance Communications, have been sending emails and text messages to subscribers asking them to refrain from seeking hard copies of bills and switch to electronic versions. They had also been mulling a charge on hard copies, Trai said in a consultation paper. The telecom regulator said the companies had to continue providing hard copies for free as all subscribers could not be expected to have access to the Internet. The electronic bills are sent through email. “Moreover, a lot of important information in the bill cannot be fitted into an SMS,” said a Trai official. Bharti Airtel said it does not charge any money for monthly cellphone bills. But, “a duplicate bill is provided at an extra cost,” a spokesperson said. “However, we need to study the consultation paper before making a statement,” he added. The bill represents the true extent of service actually provided and also details of the service and conditions available to the subscribers, the regulator said. Trai also noted that service providers in other sectors such as power, gas and water do not charge anything for providing hard copies of bills. “Therefore, after examining the issue in detail and keeping in view the provisions of the Indian Telegraph Rules, 1951, it emerges that no post-paid subscriber is liable to pay for the bill,” an official said. In the consultation paper, Trai has proposed amendments to the telecom tariff order to incorporate a provision making it mandatory for companies to provide hard copies of mobile phone bills free of cost to all post-paid subscribers. The telecom regulator has asked mobile operators and stakeholders to send their replies by January 18.