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MTN to call back as RCOM, Bharti rival Economic Times l 10 Oct, 2008 l New Delhi Africa’s largest telecom player MTN, which had been a prime acquisition target for both Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications earlier this year, may challenge these Indian telcos in their own backyard. ET has learnt that MTN is looking to enter India by partnering with a full-fledged existing operator, but there is no fixed time for its entry. Industry sources close to the development said MTN is not keen on picking up stake in any of the new companies which bagged telecom licences recently. If MTN strikes a deal to enter the world's fastest growing mobile market, the South African telco, with its resources and its vast experience in emerging markets will be a formidable competitor for the biggies here. MTN offers services in 21 countries across Africa and Asia and is amongst the top 10 telcos on the world. While its latest subscriber figures are not available, the company had 74.1 million subscribers as of June-end. The South African telco is known for its acquisition policy — last week MTN bought out Arobase Telecom and Afnet in Cote d’Ivore. Just days prior to that MTN said it had completed the acquisition of ‘Verizon Business South Africa’ which provides internet services in Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia. MTN has also announced that it would spend $3 billion for acquisitions and infrastructure development this year. Replying to a detailed query from ET, the South African telco’s spokesperson Nozipho January-Bardill said: “In line with its vision to be the leading provider of telecommunications in emerging markets, the MTN Group continues to actively seek value-enhancing investment opportunities in emerging markets. MTN cannot comment on market speculation about specific corporate activity.” Since an alliance with RCom and Bharti Airtel is ruled out, MTN may have limited options. The South African telco cannot pick up stakes in the other two leading operators — Vodafone Essar and state-owned BSNL — either. India’s fifth-largest telco Idea Cellular already has Telekom Malaysia as its partner while Russia’s Systema has picked up a 74% stake in Shyam. Tata Teleservices too may not be a feasible option on account of two factors the CDMA-based operator will only sell a minority stake and the company is already in advanced discussions with Japan’s NTT DoCoMo for this. Industry sources say it would be logical for MTN to eye a stake in Aircel. A senior industry source said MTN is actively considering approaching Aircel and its Malaysia-based owner Maxis for discussing a possible stake acquisition. Aircel has been an acquisition target for foreign telcos for some time now as Maxis is learnt to be interested in selling out. It has been reported that AT&T had been in talks with Maxis to buy out its 74% stake in Aricel for about $6 billion. The US telco could not clinch the deal as Chennai industrialist Sivasankaran who had sold Aircel to Maxis took the Malaysian company to the courts. While Maxis and Mr Sivasankaran have taken their dispute to the arbitrators, media reports say both parties may go in for an out of court settlement. For MTN, an entry into India would see it challenge the very companies that had come close to acquiring it. In July, RCom and MTN called off merger talks. Both companies had said that they were ‘unable to conclude a transaction owing to certain legal and regulatory issues’. RCom was also the second Indian telco in as many months to fail to pull off a deal with the African telecom behemoth. Bharti Airtel and MTN were close to a merger in May but the Indian telco called off talks after the two failed to agree on the corporate structure of the combined entity. Currently, Aircel has a little over 13 million customers and offers mobile services in 10 of the 22 telecom circles. What makes Aircel attractive is that the company has got start-up spectrum in all the remaining circles. Aircel, which has over 6,000 base stations and aims to have revenues to the tune of $1-billion club this year, is expected to be a pan-India player by mid-2009.

Kapil Dev

Yes my dear friends, no doubt that LG RD3500 is the most reasonably priced handset. Also the battery life of this handset is really great. And if it could work as modem for rconnect, then that will be really a WOW effect for it. Yaani, Sone Pe Suhaaga. Regards.

Low 3G usage charge annoys MoF 9 Oct, 2008, 0028 hrs IST,ET NEW DELHI: The finance ministry has slammed the department of telecom (DoT) for its policy to charge telcos 1% of their annual revenues as usage char ges for 3G spectrum against higher charges for 2G radio frequencies. At present, all telecom services in the country operate on 2G radio frequencies and service providers pay 2-6% of their gross revenues to the government as spectrum usage charges depending on the area of operation. The DoT recently amended its 3G policy and said telcos 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 department of economic affairs (DEA) has now told DoT that it is not possible to differentiate between 2G and 3G revenues. DEA secretary Ashok Chawla, in his communication to department of telecom secretary Siddhartha Behura, has also said that telcos would ‘artificially suppress their 2G revenues’ and pass it on as 3G as the latter enjoyed a lower spectrum fee. “The amendments wherein spectrum usage charges for 3G services are proposed to be levied at the rate of 1% of the incremental 3G revenues after a moratorium of one year is likely to create practical problems relating to segregation of revenue streams from 2G and 3G services and may also encourage creative accounting wherein 2G revenues are artificially suppressed,” Mr Chawla said. Mr Chawla has also demanded that the communications ministry constitute a body with representatives from the DEA to look into the issue. “The group may expeditiously examine options in this regard and evolve a mutually agreeable and implementable solution which satisfies the requirements of all stake holders,” Mr Chawla’s communication added. Additionally, the finance ministry has demanded that the 3G auctions not be delayed and be completed by December 08. The finmin’s views have been endorsed by CDMA players, who have demanded that the 3G auction be put on hold until this issue is settled. GSM players say that the policy should continue in its current format. They also claim to have a formula to differentiate between 2G and 3G revenues. Trai had earlier warned the DoT that it won’t be possible for operators to break-up their revenues for 2G and 3G services while adding that this would result in operators not disclosing their actual revenues. The regulator had also added that the 3G policy under its current format would enable telcos to manipulate revenues. “Both the services are capable of providing triple play services. There will be many common control equipment for 2G and 3G and apportioning the cost to these two services will be a very complex and cumbersome exercise. There is also an apprehension that such bifurcation of revenues may lead to wrong booing of revenues by some of the service providers and lower spectrum charges,” Trai had told the DoT.

COAI wants licence fee cut for all telcos 6 Oct, 2008, 0121 hrs IST, ET NEW DELHI: Telcos are set to approach the department of telecom (DoT) demanding that the 20-33% cut in licence fee be applicable to all players and not just to those operators whose services extend to over 95% residential areas in a state. They also want this cut to apply to the metros. As first reported by ET, the government last week had announced a cut in telcos contribution to the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) which in turn will result in up to 33% reduction in the licence fee. The USOF is used to fund rural telephony. Telcos say that since the unutilised sum in the USOF kitty has already crossed the Rs 20,000 crore figure, any reduction in this levy should to be applicable to all players. Besides, they also argue that by inserting a rider of 95% coverage, the DoT was favoring state-owned BSNL. “India’s telecom sector has been demanding a lower tax burden for several years now especially since the cellular industry here is confronted with one of the highest taxes in the world. The new announcement will not help any of the private telcos significantly,” explained an executive with a GSM player. The executive also pointed out that data compiled by the telecom regulator Trai show that telcos pay up to 30% of their gross revenues towards different levies, as compared with 5-7% paid by the counterparts in other Asian countries. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the body representing all GSM players, is set to ask the DoT to rework the coverage clause. “Rather then a blanket 95% coverage, we want a graded system. Telcos should enjoy licence fee cuts in a gradual manner–for instance, they can avail a certain per cent reduction when their coverage reaches 60% of a specified area, followed by subsequent reductions when their networks are available in 70%, 80% and 90% of the residential areas,” said a COAI executive. “The new policy is tailored to help only BSNL,” he added. Currently, all operators pay 5% of revenues in all circles towards the USOF. The DoT had announced that the USOFcontribution has been reduced to a flat 3% for those players whose services are available inover 95% of the residential areas from April, 2009.

2G licence fee cut up to 33%, biggies to benefit 4 Oct, 2008, ET NEW DELHI: Large telcos such as Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and BSNL will save significant amounts as the government has just slashed licence fees by 20-33% for players whose services cover over 95% of the residential areas in a state. Currently, all telcos pay a certain percentage of their gross revenues to the government (depending on the area of operation) as licence fee. The department of telecom’s (DoT) move implies telcos will have to share considerably lower revenues with the government if they have a comprehensive presence in any state. The new rates will be applicable from April, 2009. However, the licence fee cuts will not be applicable in the four metros. This means all operators will continue to pay 10% of their gross revenues to the government irrespective of the areas they cover within these metros. At present, telcos pay 10% of their revenues to the government as licence fee in category A circles (Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra among others) 8% in category B zones (Kerala, Punjab and Haryana among others) and 6% for category C (Himachal Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa among others). However, if their services cover over 95% of the residential areas, the licence fee will be down to 8%, 6% and 4% for category A, B and C circles, respectively. Large operators such as BSNL, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications will be the biggest beneficiaries. Industry experts feel the telcos will collectively save between Rs 1,000 crore and Rs 2,000 crore annually from 2009-10 onwards. This is because in several states, these operators have extended their services to cover all census towns and all large villages. The DoT has also clarified that a telco only has to have “identifiable physical infrastructure” in a given area to be considered as having a presence there. “Verification of coverage of each development block shall be based on verification of installation of identifiable physical infrastructure of the licensee for providing telecom access services,” said the DoT communication to all telcos. The reduction in licence fee is due to a reduction in the telcos’ contribution to the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) which is used to fund rural telephony. Currently, all operators pay a flat 5% of their total revenues in all circles towards the USOF. The USOF contribution has been reduced to a flat 3% for those players whose services are available in over 95% of the residential areas. Data compiled by Trai reveal that the unutilised amount in the USOF has crossed Rs 15,000 crore in 2007-end. At present, the unused amount in the USOF is likely to be well over Rs 20,000 crore.

Extra 2G spectrum to come with rider 4 Oct, 2008, ET NEW DELHI: Second generation (2G) spectrum allotments to GSM operators such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular among others will now come with a rider: Be ready to pay a one-time fee for these radio frequencies with retrospective effect. Currently, all telecom services in the country, whether it is on the GSM or CDMA platform, operate on second generation radio frequencies. So far, these radio frequencies were allotted free to telcos in tranches provided they meet pre-defined subscriber norms. This means, every time a telco’s subscriber reaches a figure prescribed by the DoT, they get additional spectrum. Under the current spectrum allocation policy, GSM operators are entitled to a maximum of 15 MHz and CDMA operators 7.5 MHz in a circle. While the current and future spectrum allotments will continue to be based on subscriber norms, telcos will however have to pay a one time fee for the radio frequencies. This fee will be specified by the DoT at a later date in consultations with the finance ministry. The one-time fee will be applicable only for those telcos who hold radio frequencies beyond the 6.2 MHz mark in any circle. This will therefore impact only GSM players such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar, Idea Cellular and BPL since no CDMA operator holds radio frequencies beyond the 6.2 MHz. These GSM operators have up to 10 MHz of 2G spectrum in several circles. The DoT’s move to include this rider when handing out radio frequencies implies that the government, which has been debating this issue for years, has finally decided to impose this fee. The DoT’s move to impose a one-time fee move will bring CDMA players who have been continuously demanding that GSM players be charged for all ‘extra’ spectrum above 6.2 MHz . CDMA players also claim that the Indian telecom licence does not entitle GSM players to get radio frequencies beyond this limit. As reported earlier by ET, the DoT plans to impose a one-time fee of Rs 266 crore per MHz of spectrum for all the second generation radio frequencies that telcos hold over the 6.2-MHz mark. Industry sources say that as per this methodology, all GSM players combined would be forced to shell out over Rs 2,000 crore for radio frequencies they hold beyond the 6.2 MHz mark. The DoT has arrived at this figure as follows: The entry fee of Rs 1,651 crore for a pan-India mobile licence divided by 6.2 along with prime lending rate to take care of time value of money. However, it must be pointed out that the DoT has not taken a final call on the Rs 266 crore figure. This is because, the finance ministry wants GSM players to pay a higher one-time fee.

2G-3G revenue split issue threatens to delay auction process 3 Oct, 2008, 1756 hrs IST, PTI NEW DELHI: The auction process for spectrum allocation may get delayed as differences have cropped up over the government's decision to segregate of 2G and 3G revenues. A senior Department of Telecom official said, as part of the industry and the regulator are seeking clarification on some of the recent changes in the 3G guidelines, it could delay the auction process. DoT cannot go-ahead with the process without clarifying the queries as it would amount to compromise on transparency, which is the purpose behind the e-auction, he said. Telecom Minister A Raja had earlier said the auction for 3G spectrum allotment would begin by October-end, and services would roll out this year. Also, government is likely to appoint Rothschild as the agency to supervise the e-auction. TRAI Chairman Nripendra Misra told PTI if revenues between 3G and 2G (voice telephony) were separated then that could give an opportunity to operators to adjust revenues which would cause losses to the government and not be in national interest. DoT has set up a committee which could possibly address the loopholes in this regard, so it could be a happy situation for all, he added. Siding with Trai CDMA operators association AUSPI in a letter to DoT sought clarity on this issue. It said "No annual spectrum charge shall be payable for 3G telecom services in the first year from the date of allotment of spectrum and the licensee shall pay annual spectrum charge of 1 per cent on the incremental revenue due to 3G services after a period of 1 year. The method of calculation shall be notified separately. ...this contentious point has to be clarified considering that it is not possible to separate 3G services from 2G services which is fool proof and the method of calculation should establish integrated spectrum charge for the licensee for the 2G and 3G services."

My dear friends, one of my friend, purchased HTC P3000 some time back. Within 2 days problems started with the handset (as we all know that HTC P3000 is not at all a good handset). But as he contacted the service centre, they consider his case as Dead On Arrival and my friend got a brand new handset, yes brand new, from HTC in replacement. Regards.

^^^ My dear friend, thats not possible at all. You can't use multiple modems at a time. Regards.

^^^ My dear Santhosh, although their are some doubts about the genuinity of the above message, but at the same time its the matter of someone's precious life so can't take a chance. Regards.

Audi TT

^^^ Dear Mr. Menon you are 100% right. Plastic carry bags below 30 microns should not be allowed at all. People throw them on the streets and they stuck-up in the water, etc. Their are many negative points for this. In all we should keep our city neat and clean to avoid any kind of diseases. Regards.

City

^^^ Thanks for the appreciations my dear Ashok Bhai. But, infact I've learnt all this from senior members like you only. So, infact I SALUTE you. Regards.

Talegaon

^^^ MY dear Ani, I don't think that you will get the warranty after you brick the handset. Regards.