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^^^ My dear Soumendra, their is no need to post multiple threads on the same topic. One thread is sufficient. Regards.

My dear friends, this seems to be a marketing tactics used by different operators at different times. Every now and then they change their tariffs / offers and fool innocent subscribers. Regards.

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Unbundled BlackBerrys on store shelves soon Economic Times l 14 Oct l Mumbai Canada-based Research In Motion (RIM), the maker of BlackBerry devices, is planning to sell unbundled handsets through retail chains and some exclusive stores in India, the world’s fastest-growing wireless market. “The company is on fast track to roll out a few own outlets and sell its devices through other mobile stores. This is in addition to the operators with whom it has tied up in India,” sources said. They added that the company is in talks with RPG Cellucom, HotSpot, Mobile Store and Mobile Kingdom for retail tie-up. In response to a questionnaire by ET, RIM India VP Frenny Bawa said, “RIM has not made an announcement on this front and does not typically comment on rumours or speculation about its future plans, but as always we listen to our customers and market needs. We have an exciting roadmap of innovative products and initiatives planned and will continue to drive the evolution of the mobile market in India. We will be happy to discuss further updates when formal announcements are made.” India is adding around 9 million subscribers every month. While the creamy layer of subscribers is with Airtel and Vodafone, a huge market remains uncovered. Launching retail operations will give BlackBerry access to a bigger customer base. This is in sharp contrast to RIM’s practices world-wide, where it sells the smart phone through select operators in each country. The phone is locked to operators’ networks and users have to sign up with the specified service providers. In India, RIM has partnerships with Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar, BPL Mobile, Tata Communications and Reliance Communications. These operators sell the smart phone through their own outlets. The exceptions are the US, Canada and Australia, where the demand for BlackBerry is huge. In these three countries, RIM retails devices on-line. In Canada, which is the home for RIM, the handsets are also available through Rogers stores, which sell communications products. Sources said RIM is already hiring people for its India retail operations. “India is an important market for RIM. We have several offices in India and we expect to continue growing and to continue supporting our network of partners,” said Ms Bawa. BlackBerry offers two kinds of services in India, for enterprise customers and internet services, which are for individual users. Majority of its over 1,25,000 customers in India are from the enterprise segment. Ms Bawa said India is an important and strategic market for RIM and the company is committed to growing its business in India, working together with its partner network of carriers and independent software vendors. “RIM has adopted an indirect business model to launch the BlackBerry solution in different marketplaces. This model leverages mobile operators’ expertise and network in their local markets, while RIM focuses on supporting carriers and developing leading products and services. We have experienced strong successes in our partnerships with Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance, BPL and recently extended our reach to CDMA customers in India with Tata Indicom,” she added.

My dear friends, although it is not confirmed, but I think Nokia 8208 CDMA could be available only in the first quarter of 2009. Regards.

Reliance launch festive offers Business Line l 13 Oct Reliance Communication has launched its Diwali offer. On payment of Rs 1,200, a subscriber will get LG colour handset with lifetime validity and Rs 1,200 local talk time free. To tap the rural markets, Reliance has launched its wireless landline phone ‘Hello’ at Rs 999, there are no rental on these instruments and offers lifetime validity. The top-ups start from Rs 25 onwards. The company release said that for a new postpaid subscriber Reliance Netconnect USB data modem will be offered at Rs 2,820 with free two months Internet usage worth Rs 3,371. For a new prepaid subscriber the Reliance Netconnect data modem is available at Rs 2,490 and free one month internet usage worth Rs 999. It will also include free lifetime validity worth Rs 299 and free activation charge of Rs 99.

^^^ My dear Sitansu, these details are not known right now. As soon as we get them, we will update here. Regards.

Groom

My dear friends, we can't expect much price drops on this kind of handset which has a tag of PRADA with it. Regards.

My dear Santhosh, actually Coolpad and Spice, both are reputed manufacturers. So their is no problems to purchase these handsets. They come with proper IMEI numbers, etc. Regards.

Hmmm. No fresh investment in Cdma by Tata and Reliance. Thats not good at all. Now, we can imagine the future of TATA and Reliance CDMA in India. Regards.

MY dear Chandan, find a Virgin shop in Goregaon itself. You will definetely get one in Goregaon. Regards.

Congrats my dear Ani.

^^^ My dear Ketan, if thats the case then Nokia 6275 could be the best for you. As Nokia 6275 has all the features which you are expecting. Also you will get Rs. 1000 off with exchange offer on Diwali. And you can consider Mr. Dhiraj's view also. As he personally using Palm and satisfied with the same. In all, its your choice. We have provided the options, now its you to decide my dear friend. Regards.

Mobile Phone Revolution in Rural India Witnesses a phenomenal growth Everyone has a mobile phone, at least in the cities, nowadays. Gone are the days when spotting a rickshaw-wallah chatting away on his mobile phone surprised us. TRAI's (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) latest report shows that rural India is soon catching up on this "mobile connectivity for all" phenomenon and have figures to prove this. According to TRAI, "Of the 25 million customers added in the April-June quarter, 8 million are from rural areas." In fact, rural India now accounts for as much as 30-percent of new mobile phone users in India. With over 70-percent of the Indian population living in the hinterlands, it is not only the state-owned telecom operator BSNL reaching out to them; but private operators are now very much involved in this untapped lucrative sector. Slack in the growth rate in the metros has instigated private players to dig this goldmine. Some facts: - 70 million mobile users in villages (out of a total 300 million) compared with 40 million in September 2007 (out of 209 million) - Nearly 75 per cent of mobile users in villages are now owned by private operators - Mobile handsets costing less than $50 account for 62 per cent of all imported units (according to Yankee group) However, with this surge, there has been a decline in the average revenue per user (ARPU). GSM operators ARPU per month has declined 9.3 per cent from Rs. 264 in March 2008 to Rs. 239 in June. For the CDMA segment, ARPU was at Rs. 139 in June compared to Rs. 159 in March. Courtesy : Techtree

1.5 mn Android G1 Pre-Ordered Already 'iPhone killer' proves to be a hit with the masses Google and HTC's first Android OS mobile phone G1 is already creating records of sorts even before hitting the retail stores. According to Motley Fool, the first shipment (50,000 units) of the T-Mobile G1 sold out at pre-orders to the T-Mobile subscribers. So, the company had tripled its next shipment order to HTC which sold out as well. Thus, it is estimated that about 1.5 million of G1 phones have been sold on pre-ordered basis. For now, T-Mobile is fulfilling the pre-order requests and it's likely that G1 will take a while to reach retail markets in the rest of the world. The other touchscreen counterparts like iPhone 3G, BlackBerry Storm and Nokia 5800 XpressMusic are yet to achieve any such numbers at pre-order sales. Each phone caters to a specific audience and of course with new Android SDK more applications would be added to the Android Market. It would be sensible if HTC adds that missing 3.5mm port for hooking headphones to G1 so it can easily give other touchscreens run for their money. Courtesy : Techtree

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Comes to India Priced at around Rs. 20k -- the touchscreen phone debuts in Nov While most of the countries will not be able to get Nokia 5800 XpressMusic by this year end, India is amongst the lucky seven to have this phone by November. The phone is expected to start retailing from third week of November at around Rs. 20,000. "What iPhone did was to bring the touch element to a multi-media converged device. Since we are already the leader in converged devices in India, Nokia 5800 will be a revolutionary launch from our stable. Our touchscreen bet will have the latest features and will be packed with music." said Nokia India's MD, D Shivakumar. The price is competitive and plays a crucial part for Nokia to gain a foothold in the touchscreen market as most high end phones like iPhone, Samsung Omnia are priced above 30k. For the uninitiated, 5800 XpressMusic is Nokia's first offering to run on Symbian S60 5th Edition OS and has 8GB memory, stereo loudspeakers, 3.2 megapixel camera, motion sensor and GPS. Courtesy : Techtree

LG Announces Prada II Another feature-rich mobile phone hits the market After the leaked photos and specifications reported in August, LG has announced the Prada II mobile phone and will be releasing it end of the year. As reported previous, the full touchscreen Prada II will feature QWERTY keyboard, 3G with video call support, HSDPA (7.2 mbps speed), 5 megapixel camera with Schneider-Kreuznach certified lens and wi-fi. The LG Prada II will be available in Italy, UK, France, Germany, Spain and Netherlands for about 600 Euros (Rs. 40000 approximately) in the fourth quarter this year. For those willing to buy a feature rich full touchscreen phone should wait till the end of 2009's first quarter. As all the leading handset manufacturers are expected to roll out their phones but we still have our eyes on the prices. Hopefully, this touchscreen mobile war will bring down the prices. Let's wait and watch. Courtesy : Techtree

LG Officially Launches Second 8MP Cameraphone LG’s second 8 megapixel camera phone – the KC780 - has been officially launched. This 13.9mm thick slider with its 2.4-inch widescreen LCD display comes with a Schneider-Kreuznach certified lens. "We found that most of the time people use the cameras on their mobile phones to take pictures of themselves, their families, friends and significant others," said Dr. Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. "With this in mind, LG developed the LG-KC780 with a number of face-enhancing features to augment its high quality 8 megapixel camera." The LG-KC780’s camera incorporates features like Face Detection and Smile Detection technology, which can recognize the angle of people’s mouths and adjust focus on faces. With Smile Shot enabled the camera automatically triggers the shutter when it determines that the subject is smiling. And with Beauty Mode users can remove spots and imperfections on people’s faces, making sure the faces appear bright and clear in photos. It also has adjustable light sensitivity up to ISO 1600. If an image is too bright, however, LG’s SmartLight setting automatically fixes it. The KC780’s camera also comes with a built-in Image Stabilizer. The LG-KC780’s D1 Video recording captures DVD-resolution video. Other features include Smart Bluetooth, which opens up a number of new options when the phone is connected to a personal computer, for example, the phone’s camera can be used as a webcam in online conversations and moves with the user, as long as the phone stays within Bluetooth range. This feature is a world’s first. In addition, Smart Bluetooth makes it easier to send and read text messages, allowing them to be typed and viewed on the computer. The LG-KC780 also has Motion Sensor Games for interactivity. It supports microSD cards for external memory, supports DivX video playback, has a music player and an FM radio and is EDGE/GPRS enabled. It lacks GPS which could prove to be a downside, but on the other hand it could also keep the price down. LG-KC780 will go on sale in November 2008, in Europe, later expanding to CIS and Asia, including India, Thailand, Hong Kong and China. There’s no pricing attached yet. Courtesy : Tech2

Business Line l 13 Oct l Chennai Mr Sangeet Nigam, Circle Operating Officer, Tamil Nadu, Tata Teleservices Ltd, with a model at the launch of ‘Go for Gold’ offer, in Chennai on Monday Tata Indicom has launched a festive offer called ‘Samsung Raaga - Go for Gold’. On payment of Rs 1,899, a subscriber will get colour Samsung Raaga handset along with lifetime validity worth Rs 299. The offer will include 1,200 local SMS for 12 months, local calls from Tata to Tata at 0.25 paise a minute and calls to other network will be charged at 0.75 paise a minute. All STD calls will be charged at Rs 1.50 a minute. This festive offer is valid in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgargh circles. Addressing a press conference Mr Sangeet Nigam, Circle Operating Officer – Tamil Nadu, Tata Teleservices Ltd said that the company plans to ramp its subscriber to two million customers in the state by the end of the current financial year. Currently the subscriber base is at 1.1 million customers.

Fixed line user base down 12 lakh/year Economic Times l 14 Oct l New Delhi NEW DELHI: Despite countless efforts and new offers by state-owned BSNL to ramp up wireline penetration in India, fixedlines in India have hit a new low. According to latest figures from telecom regulator TRAI, the fixedline segment has fallen by about five lakh users during the last three months. This comes even as private telecom operators such as Airtel, Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications have been recording positive growth and jointly adding tens of thousands of fixedline subscribers. Over the last 12 months, the fixedline subscribers have declined by close to 12 lakh. As per TRAI’s latest performance indicator data, the country’s fixedline base has fallen to 39.92 million for the quarter-ended June 2008 against 40.09 million for the corresponding period last year. In fact, it is not just the urban population that is giving up on landlines. Rural India too prefers mobile phones over landlines. TRAI data shows that rural fixedline numbers fell by over 3 lakh for the quarter-ended June 2008. Put simply, the rural wireline subscriber base declined 2.7% to touch 11.33 million in the quarter ended June when compared to from 11.64 million in the previous quarter (March) of the same year. On the other hand, mobile phones in rural India grew 13.72% to reach 70.83 million in the quarter-ending June. State-owned telcos BSNL and MTNL have been primarily responsible for the fall in landlines. For instance, BSNL lost close to 7 lakh landline customers during the June quarter while MTNL’s fixedline base fell by about 50,000 during the same period. On the other hand, private telcos, who currently command about 15% of the fixedline space, showed improved performance-Bharti added over one lakh landline customers, while the Tatas and Reliance Communications increased their bases by 50,000 and 78,000, respectively. While landlines may be down, the number of Village Public Telephones (VPT) and Public Call Offices have shown a marginal increase. Besides, the fixedlines users who use this facility to connect to the Net also increased by 5.09% to reach 11.66 million during this period compared to 11.09 million in the quarter-ended March, 2008. The fall in wireline numbers comes even as the government has come up with several initiatives to help BSNL on this front. The DoT will provide BSNL with over Rs 2,000 crore annually from the Universal Service Obligation fund to sustain its fixedline operations in rural India. The DoT had decided to extend this support as TRAI did away with the access deficit levy (ADC) from September 1, 2008. So far, all telcos paid a certain per cent of their annual revenues towards ADC. Besides, all incoming overseas calls were also subject to this levy. The DoT had also done away with licence fee for telcos providing landlines services in rural India, a move that was aimed at benefiting only BSNL. The PSU on its part had reduced rentals on the Gramin Telecom plan from Rs 110 to Rs 75 and for the Sulabh plan, the rentals were slashed to Rs 99 from Rs 120 to encourage fixedline adoption in rural areas.

Aircel signs $400mn deal with Chinese infrastructure vendor 13 Oct, 2008, 2035 hrs IST, IANS NEW DELHI: Chennai-based telecom operator Aircel, owned by Malaysian operator Maxis, has signed a deal with Chinese infrastructure vendor ZTE worth $400 mn for expansion of its GSM coverage, the Chinese firm said on Monday. Malaysia's largest telecom operator Maxis has a majority stake in Aircel, which has an estimated 13.6 mn subscribers. "It is a great opportunity for us to be selected by Maxis to help enhance the GSM network of its subsidiary in India, one of the fastest growing telecom markets in East Asia," ZTE said in a statement. Aircel has 10 operational networks running in India, with another 11 planned. ZTE's GSM equipment is now deployed by over 60 operators in more than 50 countries worldwide, resulting in the installation of mobile capacity exceeding 150 mn lines

Govt sets up panel to look into 2G, 3G revenue split 14 Oct, 2008, 0000 hrs IST, Et NEW DELHI: The government on Monday said that it had set up a committee to examine if telcos can split their 2G and 3G revenues and declare them separately even as both GSM and CDMA operators have taken opposite views on the issue. “The sub-committee formed by the department (for 2G and 3G revenue segregation) will come up with its report very soon,” Communications and IT Minister A Raja told reporters on the sidelines of the South Asian Telecommunication Regulators’ Council (SARTC) conference. The industry is heavily divided on the issue. CDMA-based operators, the finance ministry and telecom regulator Trai have all told the DoT that it would not be possible to declare revenues from 2G and 3G streams separately while GSM operators insist it can be achieved. The Cellular Operators Association of India, the body representing all GSM players, on Monday also offered their formula to the Government for separating their 3G revenues from 2G services for the purpose of calculating the annual spectrum charges. COAI cited Hong Kong as a case in point to have separated the 2G and 3G revenues of telcos. Director general of COAI T V Ramachandran also pointed out the case of United Kingdom, where segregation of 2G and 3G calls had been implemented on account of different termination rates for 2G and 3G. The issue of revenue separation has shot into prominence because, the DoT, in its 3G policy, had said that will pay 1% of their gross revenues from 3G services spectrum usage charges. Besides, it said this 1% fee would only be applicable from the second year of 3G operations. The Ministry of Finance felt the DoT proposal to split 2G and 3G revenues would lead to loss of revenue to the government as it would lead to operators camouflaging 2G revenue to avoid paying the revenue share. The COAI, however, refuses to budge. Its director general T V Ramachandran also pointed that since the 2G base stations and the 3G base stations were clearly different and distinctly identifiable in the network, the segregation could be done either on the basis of the traffic generated by the 2G and 3G base stations respectively. He also added that the traffic based approach would correctly capture and reflect the 2G and 3G usage by a subscriber and in fact, every time a 3G subscriber used the 2G network, that usage would be accounted and paid for at applicable rates prescribed for 2G.