vvinayakpai

ALso, calls to any 5 local BSNL numbers at 20ps/min

New telcos, RCOM want lower termination fee, GSM cos oppose 4 Mar 2009, 1922 hrs IST, PTI NEW DELHI: New telecom operators such as Swan, Unitech, Datacom and Loop, and Reliance Communications have asked regulator TRAI to reduce the termination charges, while existing GSM players, led by Bharti, want the 30 paise per minute charge to continue. Deciding on the new mobile termination charge is going to be a tough call for TRAI given these extreme positions and the fact that a lower termination fee in the overall review of interconnection charge will impact the retail tariff. Termination charge is the fee given by an operator, on whose network a call originates, to the operator on whose network the call ends. "The termination charge for new entrants is a cost and not revenue. The charge has a direct bearing on retail tariffs. Higher the termination charge, higher will be the retail tariffs and therefore it is anti-consumer, besides reducing the margins and competitive ability of new entrants to match the tariffs of the established and large operators. The termination charge is around 30-50 per cent of the total retail tariff. The new entrants will have to match or provide lower tariffs than incumbent operators charge", said the new operators in their presentation to TRAI. Reliance Communications, which has both GSM and CDMA operations, said reduction in mobile termination charge (MTC) would lead to substantial drop in retail tariff.

Dear friend, You can avoid a Reliance, but you can never neglect a Reliance. This is because Reliance changes the demographics of the business in which they operate. They set trends and precendents for the markets to follow and lead the way in making products and services more affordable. Take for eg. the telecom sector, the refinery sector, textile, Retail etc. They increase the affordability levels for products by offer real "Value for Money"

Reliance Mobile cuts GSM tariffs for 6 months in Mumbai Press Trust of India / Mumbai February 26, 2009, 15:54 IST Reliance Mobile today said that it has slashed its GSM tariffs for a period of six months in Mumbai. The local call rates have been reduced by 50 per cent from Re 1 per minute to Rs 0.50 per minute while STD charges have been slashed from Rs 1.50 per minute to Re1 per minute, Reliance Mobile said in a statement here. The new tariff is applicable on three special first recharges (FRC) in the denomination of Rs 27, Rs 57 and Rs 107, which the company is currently offering in Mumbai. The special tariffs would be applicable for a period of six-months and after which the subscriber would fall back to the regular base plan.

Check out the following link. It is Tata Indicom's official forum for its customers where customers can post their queries as well as send feedback to the company. I went through a few posts and replies, and I was quite impressed with the replies from the company. Hopefully this does remains as a long time service and does not die down with the passage of time. Time for Reliance to wake up and usher in consumer confidence http://www.tataindicom.com/forums/

I would term this as a RETENTION offer from Reliance. Retention, because this offer is aimed at locking customers on the network ahead of the launch of mobile number portability. I am sure that a person who has invested even in the LIFETIME JAADU pack would think twice before migrating to anyother operator. And a person who has invested Rs. 4444 would think ten times before taking any decision. Nevertheless, I would say it is a good scheme for heavy users. But the only point of concern would be the lumpsome upfront amount.

Thats really good news!!!!!!!!! Hope reliance launches it as soon as possible

Just confirmed from th customer care. This scheme has been launched in Karnataka also.

Monday, Feb 16, 2009 Cross-country phone call for 50 paise a minute? R.K. Radhakrishnan and M. Dinesh Varma ‘India Golden 50’ scheme soon CHENNAI: A cross-country phone call for 50 paise a minute? Yes, state-owned telecom giants are all set to make this a reality from later this month. The scheme, “India Golden 50,” will make Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology A. Raja realise his dream of lowering the call charges to lower levels. The local call rates charged by operators now vary from just under 50 paise (within an operator’s own network) to Re.1, and national call rates from Re.1 to Rs 2.65 a minute. Mr. Raja had often asserted that the tariffs could come down to a level of 20 paise a minute for local calls and 50 paise for STD calls. It was not necessary for a central authority to fix the charges, he had contended. In line with this, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had been following the practice of forbearance. Hence, the tariffs are determined by market forces and not fixed by the regulator. The Minister said here on an earlier occasion that the country needed another 300 million telephone lines and there was scope for the business to reach 750 million connections. The mobile user’s wait to embrace the next level of communication appears to be nearing its end with the Government of India finalising the tentative dates for the national launch of 3G services through Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) from Chennai from February 23. The Chennai Telephones has already set up 23 Base Transceiver stations (BTS) across the city. The management has reserved two BTS to facilitate the formal launch of 3G in the country. These BTSs would be set up in accordance with the convenience of Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, who is now undergoing treatment at the Sri Ramachandra hospital. BSNL officials propose to facilitate the launch either from the hospital, the Chief Minister’s Gopalapuram residence or the Secretariat. The plan is to have Mr. Karunanidhi make the first 3G call to Mr. Raja, who would be at the “Hall of Inspiration” at the BSNL complex on Anna Road. Mr. Raja would be able to see Mr. Karunanidhi and the image would be put on a projector for the benefit of a select gathering of BSNL’s top brass and the media, it is learnt. The 3G launch would add to the list of firsts that the Chennai Telephones has been achieving.

Morgan stanely or such reports and research are all hoax. They are not authority. They just work for some or other wasted interest always. I heard about this 6 months back from very top official of Airtel, he mentioned me on flight that "government wants local calls at 20 paise, STD at 50 paise and ISD less than 1 rupee. Its operators who are objecting." the termination costs for STD calls is a maximum of 65ps per minute. SO that means it is anything between 0 to 65 ps for any operator based on the contract it has entered into with other operators. It works out better for larger players who have National Long DIstance (NLD) networks throughout the legth and breadth of the country like RCOM, AIrtel, IDEA etc. It is the smaller players who suffer because they have to lease NLD networks from these larger operators or other non telecom NLD license holders, thus affecting their margins drastically. If there is a review of local termination rates for which a consultation paper has also been launched by TRAI, I am sure that over a period of time the termination rates for STD and ISD calls will also be reviewed.

DO u mean that it is the same scheme or is it a modified offer? Please give more details It is the same scheme,50 mins std calling@35. Thanks for the info dude! Hope they introduce it in Karnataka soon

DO u mean that it is the same scheme or is it a modified offer? Please give more details

it's TATA GSM In Bangalore there is a new operator 405 34 displayed it's AIRCEL I have observed in the past few days that 405 34 has been replaced by 405 03 in Bangalore

Dear friends, I am currently using a LGRD2650 from 2.5 years and off late the battery back up is deteriorating rapidly. I am looking for a change in the handset. When I enquired with my friends and other Reliance users, I got the opinion that LG handsets are better than Nokia for voice clarity and also usability. I was a little confused because I was under the impression that Nokia is the best, Could you help me out of this confusion? I want a decent CDMA phone with/without camera, but with Netconnect and expandable memory. I dont mind spending a few extra bucks for a good phone which will last long. Budget within 5-10k Awaiting your suggestions!!!!!!!!!

Is treo 755p available in India? Is it network locked by any chance? DO I have to spend additional money on unlocking it?

Thanks for the prompt reply friends. I have a 2-3 year perspective while I am buying this handset. SO i want all the goody good features. Maybe with an internet browser as well so that for the next 2-3 years I dont have to change my handset!!! I am not too inclined towards camera!!!! Sorry for the trouble!!

it's TATA GSM In Bangalore there is a new operator 405 34 displayed

I happened to look through the Tata Indicom website and was amazed to see that for Rs. 99 per month, they offer all Tata to Tata STD calls at Rs. 0.5 per minute and all offnet STD calls at Rs. 1.5 per minute. Also all local tata to tata calls at 10ps/min Local calls to any mobile at 50ps/min and calls to local landlines at Re. 1 per minute But I must say that they do not offer any talktime of Rs. 20 like Reliance. What do u say guys about this???????????

I agree with you 100%. After using almost all the GSM operators in my circle, I have come to the conclusion that the clarity offered by Reliance is unmatched. Even though the tariff offered by Tata is cheaper than Reliance, it is not incentive enough to change the operator.

DOnt go too much with that proposition. That is nothing but a marketing gimmick

CDMA is 6 years Old Grown Up Kid. and GSM is 20 Days Old Newly Born Baby, For Newly Born Baby, More Care is required than Grown Up Child. I reviewed the scheme of RGSM to offer double talk time and I have come to the conclusion that it is actually an eye washer. Let me explain, Cost of Recharge= Rs. 50 Talktime obtained= Rs. 44.5+Rs. 44.5 =Rs. 89 Tariff per minute = Rs. 1 for local call Let us assume that the subscriber uses the entire balance for only making local calls. and for simplification let us assume that he calls only non-reliance phones, wherein interconnect charges will be applicable. The actual cost per minute = Rs. 50/89= 56ps approx. Reliance would have to pay interconnect for calls made to other networks, let us assume reliance pays 30ps/min, which is the maximum a network has to pay for interconnect, Total Minutes= 89 Interconnect per minute= Rs. 0.30 total interconnect payable by reliance = Rs. 89*0.3= Rs. 26.7 The remaining ammount that is Rs. 44.5-Rs. 26.7 = Rs. 17.8 per 50 Rs. voucher is exclusively earned by reliance. The above is an estimate and if the mobile is used to make on-net calls then the margins for reliance are going to improve further. Not a great proposition because CDMA already has good schemes like all local calls at 49ps/min and also more than 100% talktime on certain recharge vouchers. Assuming that for every Rs. 50 spent by the customer, Reliance is earning a minimum of Rs. 17.8, the operating margin works out to be around 35% which is a decent figure for reliance. All the best Reliance!!!!

I am really dissapointed with Reliance. This proves that Reliance has no value for the existing CDMA subscribers . GSM is being given too much of priority, Lifetime @49, Double Talk Time etc. Clearly this indicates the shift of Reliance towards the GSM technology at the expense of the CDMA subscribers...........

DoT appoints Parekh & Co to do special audit of RCom accounts NEW DELHI: The Department of Telecom (DoT) is all set to appoint Mumbai-based auditor Parekh & Co to scrutinise the accounts of Reliance Communications and its subsidiaries under a special audit to ascertain if there is any violation of revenue reporting norms to avoid payment of licence fees. DoT sources said Parekh & Co was selected out of the five shortlisted firms that included Chhajed & Doshi, Nayak & Kishnadwala, Varma & Varma and G D Apte & Co. Meanwhile, RCom has vehemently denied the accusations, saying its payment of Licence Fees and Spectrum Charges is based on the revenue arising from businesses covered by the UAS licence. This is first time that a special audit is being conducted since N ew telecom Policy of 1999. “Parekh & Co has been finalised for the purpose,'' sources said. They added that a special audit is taken up when the Department doubts the figures and statements offered by the company, thus necessitating a verification. Once on job, the firm would examine the Anil Ambani-led company's accounts for 2007-08, as it has been alleged that the firm was showing income from non-voice services under its Internet services licence to avoid paying dues to the Government. RCom is alleged to have reported income from services like R-World, SMS, rural telephones under support from USO fund, and Internet browsing under its Internet services business. The Government levies a lower revenue share on ISP licence. If proved guil ty, DoT can impose a penalty as per the licence conditions. - PTI

Sistema Shyam Teleservices is not a listed company. The company that is listed on the NSE, as SHYAM TELE is a different company. They are equipment manufacturers.

I hope Mukesh Ambani also enters the telecom sector. I am sure we consumers are going to love it!!!! Regarding has plans to enter the telecom sector, I am sure it might be a good and a feasible option. Because when Reliance Industries Ltd forayed into retail, it has also invested in setting up optical fibre cable(ofc) throughout the length and breadth of the country, depending upon the location of their retail stores and corporate offices. This was for internal purposes, hence was not a breach of the non compete clause, which specifically mentions, the commercial competition between the brothers for a period of five years. So now if Mukesh Ambani wants to enter the telecom sector, all he has to get is spectrum. For that, he can pick up any of the new players and strike a deal. There are many players who are stuck without capex for the rollout obligations. So it might be a distress sale. But also, considering the fact that spectrum is a scarce commodity, whoever is selling may not be in a hurry to sell their stake at a cheap rate. If Mukesh Ambani, finally manages a hot deal, he has to arrange for the cash for purchase as well as the rollout and expansio n plans. Because at this point of time, with 3G coming round the corner, it would not make sense in investing only in 2G and neglect 3G. SO that makes a larger investment necessary by the senior Ambani to set his foot into the telecom sector. And this might cause a dent in the balance sheets of RIL which I am sure he would not like, at least in this kind of a market scenario. SO lets keep our fingers crossed!!!!!!!! Let us hope that Mukesh also enters the telecom fray once again and lets get ready for the party, anyways!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ALso, dont expect anything in the near future. Because the non compete clause is for ten years and not for five years as mentioned above. Please click on the below link for more information regarding the non compete clause. http://www.financialexpress.com/old/fe_arc...ntent_id=131647