ravi_patent

will tata be having access to mts customer queries? just thoughts

can loyalty related with type? i am skeptical.i know many ppl who were using prepaid since yaers and also happen to be high ARPU contributors(another myth )

ramesh why dont u try with another docomo sim..rgsm is in 1800 mhz just as docomo ..i think

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/0...71451530400.htm With the mobile number portability (MNP) expected to be launched between September 2009 and March 2010, the migration portends a squeeze on margins and dilemma on capex decisions between improving quality of service to retain customers and increasing the subscriber base at a time when the wireless service is on a rapid growth path. Number portability allows subscribers to retain their existing mobile number when they switch their mobile service provider. Coming at a time when TRAI had, in a recent report, made adverse remarks about the quality of service (QoS) by telecom players, and the falling blended ARPU (Average Revenue Per User of pre-paid and post-paid categories), estimated at less than Rs 400 a month, MNP could contribute in putting pressure on margins by allowing frequent migration by users. In an interview to Business Line, Mr S.P. Shukla, President, Reliance Communications, shares his views on the implications of number portability on the cellular operators. Excerpts. The MNP is soon to become a reality. Could you briefly explain the implications of the dynamics of the system and the changes it will bring in the service? Customers will be able to switch between operators for better QoS. Rather than continuing with price wars, service providers will start customer loyalty programmes, focus on renewal incentives, reduce hold times and work to improve network coverage. It is pertinent to say that Reliance Communications is the only telecom operator in India that has the advantage of operating in both GSM and CDMA space. Once MNP is implemented, we will be in the best position to leverage our dual-technology to offer customer the choice to shift from CDMA to GSM network and vice-versa. With so many players in the field, will it alter the business models of the service providers? The first beneficiary of MNP is the customer and subsequently the service provider. Customers are seeking a change of service provider for the sake of better value, better QoS — out of which a section of the customers also want to retain the number. Operators offering better value and better quality of service factors, such as network, billing etc, will stand to gain. Eventually, the market will attain maturity with QoS elements stipulated by TRAI gaining more focus among the service providers. With general perception that MNP would pose a challenge to service providers in retaining customers, how does the sector expect to stem the churn rate, which is already 4 to 5 per cent? The MNP will be a gateway for the Indian telecom industry to progress towards a new level of competitiveness. The current churn trend in the industry is due to lack of value to customers, quality of network, billing and customer hand-holding (Reliance’s churn rate is only 2 per cent). MNP will allow customers the flexibility of choosing service providers with ease, which might lead to an additional churn. However, the same will also entail improving QoS offered by operators, thus lifting any barrier to competition. Once again due to superior quality of Reliance Network on both the technologies — CDMA and GSM, we believe that Reliance Mobile will attract the biggest inflow of customers from other networks. The industry is already contending with falling blended ARPU, with more than 50 per cent belonging to the pre-paid users’ category. How do companies expect to overcome the revenue shrinkage from say high usage post-paid customers? Operators will compete to offer a better quality of service in the event of MNP rollout. Whoever offers better service will stand to gain. Given the spectrum shortage that the key metro service areas face (which has a direct bearing on quality of service), a critical factor for subscriber migration, won’t the companies face a dilemma on capex decision between core technology absorption and service improvement, while customer acquisition and retention cost will be an additional burden. The cost of MNP is in the form of a maintenance fee of the database of numbers to be borne by the service provider and the porting fee that has to be paid by the subscriber who wishes to change the operator. Service providers such as Reliance Communications has already invested in a pan-India 3G-ready network. The other service providers, who wish to match customer expectations, should be ready with a network with suitably similar capabilities. Customer acquisition and retention will be even more competitive with the real qualitative elements coming to the fore. MNP is coming at a time when the growth rate in mobile subscriber base is rapid and when dismal reports of QoS are posing a challenge to operators in retaining customers. What will be the industry’s strategy to overcome the predicament? MNP will lead to healthy competition among the service providers. Do you see increasing ‘bundling’ offer, with even the handset subsidy becoming a norm? Reliance Communications pioneered the concept of bundled handset offers — at a time when the handset prices were still high. Over the last few years, all the other operators have emulated the bundling offers we pioneered.

@saket thanks for the info ,which i am trying to know for long time

srk make the most of now (per sec billing is good now..and as Ramesh has shown earlier it offers good deal of financial advantage as of now ) and if needed let change be the way of life (MNP will take care of number)..

^ thanks for the update saket, however thats better than a.p where IDEA couldnt maintain its leadership despite the being the first to launch sevices

^ yup ur right saket

regarding religion someone who had similar question became to be later known as swami vivekananda..and the question was answered to his satisfaction by ramakrishna paramahamsa

imp thing is MTS doesnt have its NLD network as of now,still willing to offer std @49 p/min

^ i too observed the same

^ though competition is good ,does idea have USP like docomo is a big question.. this link(http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/07/10/stories/2009071051931700.htm) says that idea " As part of the inaugural offer, the company has introduced multiple tariff plans ranging from special tariff vouchers to variable talk time and validity offerings, based on the consumption patterns of the consumer". i believe that they were among the late entrants into kerala but still managed to gain 1st place ..can they pull of here ?

^ airtel's network management including network expansion is outsourced(either nokia or ericsson) to the best of my knowledge ..so upgrade was nt needed till now as competion was not life threatening till now..they will catchup before MNP

the mockery by loop continues

http://www.slideshare.net/gautjain/gautam-...ia-26-june-2009 Transcript Future of CDMA in India 26 June, 2009 26 June 2009 Future of CDMA in India Presentation Plan Evolution of CDMA in India Future Challenges faced by CDMA in India in future Future Growth Drivers for CDMA in India Way Forward for CDMA in India Future of CDMA in India 26 June 2009 Table of Contents Future of CDMA in India 26 June 2009 Evolution of CDMA in India With more than 100 million CDMA subscribers, India becomes the world's second-largest CDMA market From 2003 to 2009, in a short span of 6 years, CDMA has played a big role in bridging the digital divide and increase the Pan India Tele-density Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices are the two major CDMA operators in India and ranks among the top five CDMA operators globally Unlimited and Bucket plans in voice usage, Wireless Broadband and applications of PCO, ATM and FWP were the primary drivers of CDMA in India as of now Key Takeaways CDMA Subscribers in India (Millions) Market Share of CDMA Players (2008) Future Challenges for CDMA in India Future of CDMA in India 26 June 2009 The growth rate of CDMA subscriber base has been slow in the last 1 year as there is a lot of competition has risen in GSM sector In the new policy by Indian Government, there is less allocation of 3G spectrum for the CDMA players which may result their growth in Indian region Key Takeaways Future Growth Drivers for CDMA in India Future of CDMA in India 26 June 2009 Launch of 3G services is expected to be the major driver of CDMA network in India over the next 5 years CDMA players have already planned to invest in 3G mobile broadband services The increase in the uptake of data services through 3G will aid CDMA players to penetrate more in the country Huge expected increase in the mobile subscriber base will provide a great opportunity for CDMA players as well to gain the market share Key Takeaways Growth Drivers Future of CDMA in India 26 June 2009 Way Forward for CDMA in India (1/2) Growth Path of CDMA Players in India Future of CDMA in India 26 June 2009 Way Forward for CDMA in India (2/2) As per the estimations, the growth rate of CDMA subscribers will reduce from year 2009-2011. From 2012 onwards, once the uptake of data services will upsurge the growth rate of CDMA subscribers will also increase at a rapid rate. Key Takeaways CDMA Subscribers in India (Millions) Future of CDMA in India 26 June, 2009 26 June 2009 Future of CDMA in India Presentation Plan Evolution of CDMA in India Future Challenges faced by CDMA in India in future Future Growth Drivers for CDMA in India Way Forward for CDMA in India Future of CDMA in India 26 June 2009 Table of Contents Future of CDMA in India 26 June 2009 Evolution of CDMA in India With more than 100 million CDMA subscribers, India becomes the world's second-largest CDMA market From 2003 to 2009, in a short span of 6 years, CDMA has played a big role in bridging the digital divide and increase the Pan India Tele-density Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices are the two major CDMA operators in India and ranks among the top five CDMA operators globally Unlimited and Bucket plans in voice usage, Wireless Broadband and applications of PCO, ATM and FWP were the primary drivers of CDMA in India as of now Key Takeaways CDMA Subscribers in India (Millions) Market Share of CDMA Players (2008) Future Challenges for CDMA in India Future of CDMA in India 26 June 2009 The growth rate of CDMA subscriber base has been slow in the last 1 year as there is a lot of competition has risen in GSM sector In the new policy by Indian Government, there is less allocation of 3G spectrum for the CDMA players which may result their growth in Indian region Key Takeaways Future Growth Drivers for CDMA in India Future of CDMA in India 26 June 2009 Launch of 3G services is expected to be the major driver of CDMA network in India over the next 5 years CDMA players have already planned to invest in 3G mobile broadband services The increase in the uptake of data services through 3G will aid CDMA players to penetrate more in the country Huge expected increase in the mobile subscriber base will provide a great opportunity for CDMA players as well to gain the market share Key Takeaways Growth Drivers Future of CDMA in India 26 June 2009 Way Forward for CDMA in India (1/2) Growth Path of CDMA Players in India Future of CDMA in India 26 June 2009 Way Forward for CDMA in India (2/2) As per the estimations, the growth rate of CDMA subscribers will reduce from year 2009-2011. From 2012 onwards, once the uptake of data services will upsurge the growth rate of CDMA subscribers will also increase at a rapid rate.

Dear Pai the waiting may be worth waiting for!

@saket thanks a lot for the links

dear bhargav if ur hurt i am very sorry,however i didnt have such intentions in the first place

Dear saket the link i have posted here belongs to the press release section..since then till now i could not open the same..strange indeed .considering the imp of thepolicy documents..ther will be more details in the document

Dear Bhargav and Sonam Both of you had valid points and the same were taken in good spirit,as i could be wrong in my judgement.. nevertheless let me put again what i wrote "i have no qualms about the same " which means no misgivings.. i am ending this matter here ...

@ Dear bhargav i have no doubt that you are a tata docomo employee,though i have no qualms about the same...good strategy by tata docomo

have rcvd reply to mail from TATA DOCOMO abt c138 compqtibility in 6 hrs flat..

^ u will get next 500 min on next 29th of the following month

can anybody pl tell whether MOTOROLA c138 can support the 64k sim of tata docomo

Importance of spectrum — air waves on which the mobile signals ride — for the telecommunications sector has been repeatedly brought out by various columnists and industry leaders. Yet, the Government’s reactions have invariably been delayed and the policy responses mostly knee-jerk and devoid of vision. The usual approach has been to appoint a committee with the mandate to work out at what subscriber base an operator should be given additional spectrum. There are several such reports, but these have hardly been of any help to the industry. Surprisingly, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) too got into the act when it came up with a revised subscriber base criterion last year — some claim without the usual consultation process needed for transparency. The net result has been further confusion on the spectrum policy front with more ad-hoc allocations. Committee recommendations The first genuine attempt by the Government was when it appointed a committee on spectrum with clear and far-reaching terms of reference and with good representation from the academia and comprising experts in the complex field of spectrum management and telecommunication policy. Press reports give some indications of the major recommendations of this committee. It wants to remove the subscriber base criterion and substitute it with auction — a practice followed the world-over. Also, the committee wants the mergers and acquisition (M&A) guidelines to be revised to arrive at the optimal number of operators; the current criterion does not encourage M&A. In addition, it would like the Government to work towards creation of more spectrum for wireless services. Spectrum availability What are the major issues in spectrum policy? The first is: Are the operators working at maximum possible spectral efficiency in terms of spectrum available to them and whether the equipment deployment is optimal? It is well known from telecom traffic theory that for every single MHz increase in spectrum, the traffic handling capability goes up more than in direct proportion (due to trunking efficiency) up to a point; beyond that diminishing results set in. At the same time, for a given spectrum, an optimal level of equipment needs to be deployed to maximise the traffic-handling capability and number of subscribers that can be accommodated, depending on the pattern of user mobility and the type of data being generated (only voice, or voice plus data, etc.). There is a cost associated with both spectrum and network infrastructure. If the spectrum is priced below its value and because of the fact that it is scarce (not enough for all operators), operators tend to obtain as much of it as they can, depriving thereby other genuinely needy operators from getting it. It is claimed that this, along with the archaic and arbitrary subscriber base criterion for spectrum allocation, has prompted operators to falsify their data, claiming more subscribers than they actually possess. If the acquisition cost of spectrum is in line with market demand, hoarding and reckless acquisition cannot occur. But market driven automatic control is possible only in a controlled auction arrangement. It is therefore quite logical for the committee to have recommended departure from the old subscriber base criterion and suggested auction even for the remainder 2G spectrum. When players enter a market at different points of time, the market does not realign itself for the convenience of new operators. The operators have to align themselves to market conditions. The problem arose in the first place when the Government decided that more the number of operators the greater will be the competition and, therefore, the tariffs will be lower. But beyond a certain level, adding more operators will not enhance competition. In the present situation of limited spectrum, such a step can only lead to small allocations to each operator that there are no economies of scale and return on invested capital goes down. A market-based approach would have made even start-up spectrum unattractive to new operators without any harm coming to the users of telecom service. There is, therefore, no other approach but to auction the remainder 2G spectrum and this is what the committee has recommended. Number of operators The second issue that indirectly affects spectrum efficiency is: How many operators should exist for spectrum utilisation to be optimal and without impacting competition? While it is neither possible nor desirable in a liberalised market to define the maximum number of operators, the telecom policy can fix a minimum number, say four or five, to ensure the market is not distorted. Incidentally, the number of mobile operators in well-developed markets is typically four or five. The market forces can best determine the maximum number and, therefore, government policy must incorporate guidelines which help the market operate freely. It is in this context that M&A guidelines should be framed. An important aspect in this regard is the spectrum that should be permitted to be retained by the merged entities to ensure that they are not able to distort the market. If the total available spectrum is known, this limit has to be in the 20-25 per cent range if the minimum number of operators set by the policy is four or five. Tech neutrality The third important aspect is technology neutrality. In the past, the deployed technology was dependent on the availability of equipment. Now 3G equipments (WCDMA and HSPA) are available and have been deployed in several countries in the 900 and 800 MHz bands. As 3G equipment is able to offer 2G services (mainly voice) far more efficiently than 2G equipment, the operators should have the freedom to deploy the former in the 2G bands. It is not known whether the committee has given any recommendations in this regard. Now that the report has been referred to TRAI, a specific proposal on this issue is required. Finally, as broadband demand grows, the currently available spectrum will not suffice (it is already in short supply). There is, therefore, a clear need to identify more spectrum for wireless services. The Government has been pursuing the defence services to release more spectrum with little success. These efforts will have to be strengthened. In addition, if the current analog TV broadcasting is replaced by digital, a substantial chunk of 700 MHz band can be released. This is a very attractive band for creating more spectrum space and is most suitable for non-LOS (line of sight) mobile communications, including mobile TV. Steps should be taken by DOT, in coordination with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, to get this band released, and then allocate certain sub-bands for specific services. On the aspect of creation of more spectrum, a time line should be added. The Government would do well to accept the committee’s recommendations. However, referring the committee’s report to TRAI will only delay the spectrum allocation process. This could only be justified if the Government hands over the spectrum policy and management work to TRAI in line with the practice in most other countries. (The author is a former member of TRAI and ex-chairman of BSNL.)