ravi_patent

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/01/14/stories/2010011450730400.htm The Foreign Investment Promotion Board has asked the Department of Telecom to address the issues raised by the Ministry of Home Affairs regarding ownership of MNP Interconnection Telecom, one of the companies which had been given the licence for setting up mobile number portability system in the country. MNP Interconnection is 74 per cent owned by US-based Telcordia Technologies and 26 per cent is held by Deepak Talwar Consultants. The Home Ministry had raised concerns that Deepak Talwar Consultants did not have any expertise in the telecom sector and therefore the US company will have complete control over the management of MNP Interconnection. The Home Ministry had also referred to Telcordia's operations in Pakistan, which could be a security issue and therefore wanted the permission given to MNP Interconnection revoked. The FIPB has now directed the DoT to consider the apprehensions of the Ministry from a technical point of view and advise the Board accordingly. The FIPB may also give the company an opportunity to present its case before taking a decision on the issue. Mobile number portability was supposed to be implemented from January 1 but it has been deferred till April 1 after the operators said that they were not ready with the network. Mobile number portability allows mobile users to change their operator without having to change their phone number. Apart from Telcordia-backed MNP Interconnection, DoT had granted licence to Syniverse to act as the number portability service provider in the country. The objections from the Home Ministry could result in further delays especially if the FIPB revokes its approval. If that happens DoT will have to invite fresh bids for appointing a new mobile number portability service provider or Telcordia may have to re-apply with a fresh Indian partner. Market analysts, however, pointed out that this was not the first time a foreign player has partnered a non-telecom Indian player. In the case of Unitech Wireless, Norway-based Telenor partnered with real estate giant Unitech to start mobile services. Telenor also has operations in Pakistan. But Government officials said that the Home Ministry is extra cautious on number portability service provider because the company will have all the data related to mobile calls which could be exploited.

well said ramesh...moreover as a listed company in norway ,telenor cannot afford to show fake connections..btw uninor's numbers will cause real worry to vodafone and airtel..which might be blessing in disguise for consumers.. also see http://www.livemint.com/2010/01/13220233/Uninor8217s-success-spells.html Uninor, the brand under which the joint venture between Unitech Wireless Ltd and Telenor ASA launched cellular operations in India, has done rather well, adding 1.2 million subscribers in December, its first month of operations. And that too with operations in just eight circles, one of which was launched towards the end of December. According to a report by Anand Rathi Research, this implies a share of 13% of total net adds in the eight circles it operates in. This is based on the entire industry’s net adds in November, since complete numbers for December are still not available. One of the factors for the relatively high share in net adds in its very first month of operations is the company’s extensive marketing and distribution reach in the eight circles. The other major factor, according to an analyst, is that the company’s local call rate of 29p/minute may have been misleading for some subscribers. While the call rate seems very attractive at first because it is far cheaper than the market average of around 50p/minute, there is, say analysts, a hidden cost with Uninor’s plans. Depending on the plan subscribers are in, there’s either a call set-up charge of 39p or a daily rental of Rs2. While these plans will suit frequent callers as well as those who make long calls, there is an element of cost which is not readily apparent. Having said that, Uninor’s launch has further increased capacity in the telecom space and the worry for incumbents has far from abated. With Uninor and TataDoCoMo still to complete their nation-wide rollouts and Etisalat still to launch services, the decline can be expected to continue. Number portability is expected to worsen matters, as a far higher degree of subscribers will be willing to switch service providers. HSBC Research in a recent report points out that it expects another round of tariff cuts once number portability is implemented. Meanwhile, shares of Bharti Airtel Ltd have moved around 16% higher compared with its lows of Rs275 in end-November. As HSBC’s analysts point out, the recent strength in telecom shares is likely to be short-lived. After all, the full extent of the downside in tariffs is yet to be seen.

u r correct himanshu..normally whatever is done by reliance is dependable but rgsm is a blot on their entrprenuer skills .a friend of mine working in adag group says that anil acts like an investor instaed of longterm vision.just imagine how different the cdma scenario in india would have been if only rcdma would have been run with a vision ..

praful is absolutely correct..mts has been taking money(by means of msavers) on 1 or other pretext .i remeber that they had 150 rs recharge in aigust for 50p std to any network..now this..considering that they dont have coverage reliance cdma, this amount seems to be high..1 shud nt forget that in mar 09 ,they launched services here in chennai with tariffs almost par with incumbents

there is another risk..assume virgin and docomo to ask more rolyalty for use of the brands..tata may be in trouble..i cant really figure out y tata docomo with major tata share holding is promoting " Docomo" brand undermining their own brand..do they fear that Tata brand has become synonimous with cheap, 3rd rate network in public minds

@ kanagadeepan wht do they gain by faking now that spectrum allotment on numbers is withheld..rather i believe that by hook or crook(by hiding condtions) they might have more or less achieved the number

^^ lil off topic...proposing releif but not the much needed autonomy to bsnl

biz strategy will be buy in bigbazaar and get free talktime!

^^ very difficult ..considering that omh is not known to even web world guys ..then wht abt ordinary ones..was there any info campaign abt OMH 's? no. common folks will still be under the impression that cdma handsets are locked..

Congratulations to one and all

ani meher hatsoff to the sense of humour

so are u batting for coai (jus kidding)..let the mnp be implemented only then the picture emerges.

Himanshu ! it will be great if you can share ur experience about MTS after some usage

@saket hope this helps http://www.mouthshut.com/product/productoverview.php?cid=925104525

i think this handset supports all cdma networks.checkout with http://www.samsungcdma.in/

^ 2400 seems to be typo

i never felt any network issue since 7 years in chennai with rcdma.

atlat BSNL Cuts Roaming Rates by 70 per cent, Roam at 1Paisa http://telecomtalk.info/bsnl-cuts-roaming-rates-by-70-per-cent-roam-at-1paisa/14018/

^ blame it on raja, who was/is stopping gear procurement

Trai releases quality reports abt telcos available here.if not usefull atleast we can laugh for sure http://www.trai.gov.in/AuditSurvey.asp

i cud nt wait already moved to rel cdma surprised to the result bcoz no one else is being favoured other than reliance

uninor is not for cheap calling. only above 250 min's calling the effective rate will be cheaper than 50p/min.see p5 of their presentation http://www.telenor.com/en/resources/images/uninor-launch-in-india_tcm28-51392.pdf clever tariff structure..even conservative hindubusinessline calls the tariff lowest! http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/12/04/stories/2009120451800202.htm meanwhile airtel cries foul over predatory pricing http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/telecom/Bharti-now-wants-TRAI-to-look-into-predatory-pricing/articleshow/5298033.cms

yes..jus found explained in telenor pakistan website faq's section http://www.telenor.com.pk/prepaid/faqA1.php

tariff 29 p/min local and 49 p/min std call setup fee 39 p on every 1st min of the call or daily rental of 2 is charged beside the tariff http://www.medianama.com/2009/12/223-live-uninor-launches-in-7-circles-price-war-rs-029/

@kanagadeepan u r underestimating telenor