Honest

Vodafone unveils $2 bn share buyback 23 Jul, 2008, 1838 hrs IST, ET LONDON: Mobile phone group Vodafone moved quickly to defend its share price on Wednesday, announcing a surprise 1 billion-pound ($2 billion) buyback programme after its stock crashed a day earlier on a weaker-than-expected trading update. Vodafone shares slumped almost 14 percent on Tuesday, wiping nearly 11 billion pounds off its market value, after the group said its full-year revenue would be at the bottom of a previously stated forecast range. The news dented hopes the Britain-based firm would be relatively resilient to an economic downturn and cast a shadow over the whole telecoms sector. "The board of Vodafone Group Plc has considered the market reaction ... and has decided to introduce a 1 billion-pound share repurchase programme with immediate effect," the world's biggest mobile phone group by revenue said in a statement. "This action reflects the board's belief that the share price significantly undervalues Vodafone." Shares in the group were 0.8 percent higher in afternoon trading, in an overall higher market, valuing the company at about 80 billion pounds. Collins Stewart analyst Mark James said he expected a relief rally in the telecoms sector on Wednesday, helped by the Vodafone buyback and positive news from Dutch telecoms group KPN, but he remained concerned about the future. "We believe that the medium-term outlook for telco cash generation is deteriorating," he said in a note to clients. "Spectrum auctions; M&A; increasing competition/regulation and convergent business models may all dent cash generation, and as Vodafone Q1 has shown, not even telcos are immune to an economic slowdown. "We believe underperformance is set to continue." Vodafone lowered its outlook on Tuesday citing economic weakness, particularly in Spain, which was resulting in fewer customers buying and using new handsets. Shareholder support Vodafone said it could start the buyback immediately under authority given at its annual shareholder meeting last July, and would need approval from its meeting on July 29 to complete it. It will pay up to 105 percent of the share's average closing price on the five business days before the buyback. Analysts at Cazenove said despite the "surprising move", it was difficult to see the group's shares staging any immediate and sustained recovery. "This amounts to around 1.5 percent of Vodafone's outstanding share capital or 775 million shares at yesterday's close; as such, the financial implications are not material with sentiment and management's confidence being the more important issues to consider," they wrote. Vodafone shares fell to a 20-month-low on Tuesday after it said it expected revenues to be around the bottom of its previously forecast range of 39.9 billion pounds to 40.7 billion pounds. Norway's Telenor sounded similar concerns on Wednesday when it posted a surprise 1.5 percent fall in second-quarter core earnings and cut its 2008 revenue growth target due to a strong crown and inflation which is crimping spending on telephony.

All additional spectrum allocation as per law: COAI 23 Jul, 2008, 1757 hrs IST, PTI NEW DELHI: The war of words between GSM and CDMA operators continues unabated with GSM operators claiming that spectrum was allocated to them as per the law and accused their rivals of misinterpreting the licence terms. The GSM cellular operators association COAI today lashed out at CDMA operators' body AUSPI saying all the allocation of 2G radio waves to GSM players have been made as per law. COAI Director General T V Ramachandran said, "The licence terms had been acted upon by successive governments and administrations and guidelines had been issued from time-to- time providing for allocation of additional spectrum to GSM operators to meet their growth requirements". These allocations had been made as per the laws of the land through government orders that were notified openly, followed equally for all operators and had worked successfully, he added. He said claims of CDMA operators were anchored on entirely baseless assumptions and willful misinterpretation of licence terms. The licence terms clearly prescribed in a number of places that additional spectrum would be allocated as per guidelines issued by the Department of Telecom (DoT) from time-to-time and that such allocations would be based on the principles of usage, justification and availability. "The CDMA operators were deliberately choosing to misread one phrase in one clause of licence which said that not more than 6.2MHz would be given to a new licensee", COAI said in a release issued here.

Govt to announce 3G policy soon: Raja 23 Jul, 2008, 1405 hrs IST, PTI NEW DELHI: Fresh from winning the confidence vote in Parliament, the UPA government is all set to usher in next generation (3G) mobile services and will soon announce guidelines for the same. "We will be announcing the policy for 3G and WiMax broadband services very soon," Communication and IT Minister A Raja said. He, however, did not give any time frame, but officials said that since changes suggested by sector regulator TRAI had already been incorporated, the policy should be made public within a week or two. TRAI had, on July 11, recommended a minimum price of Rs 60 crore to acquire spectrum through auction for offering 3G and wireless broadband services in metro cities. The regulator had said that besides reserve price, the operator would have to give a performance bank guarantee based on the circle. The Department of Telecom (DoT) sources said that foreign players would be allowed to participate in the auctioning of 3G spectrum and new licenses would be issued to successful foreign players. The government is hoping to garner up to Rs 40,000 crore through auctioning of 3G spectrum (radio frequency) and all the existing telecom players like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone- Essar, Idea Cellular and other new players are expected to participate in auction along with foreign players. According to officials, the financial bids for spectrum would be invited by the end of next month and the process is likely to be completed by October this year enabling the players to start rolling out networks by the end of 2008. Asked how many players are likely to be issued 3G licenses, the officials said that it would depend on the quantum of spectrum available with the government. Senior officials said that DoT was also talking to defence ministry for vacating spectrum and would decide on number of licenses to be issued. TRAI had earlier endorsed DoT's suggestion of revising the reserve price of 3G spectrum upward and the same would be considered in the Telecom Commission in its next meeting, they said.

India telecom cos now focus on the world 23 Jul, 2008, 0030 hrs IST, ET Bureau MUMBAI: If the first 13 years of mobile telephony in India has been about a stupendous growth story, the next 13 could be about telcos having a major global footprint. It’s not as if Indian telcos have not looked at overseas markets in the past. It’s just that Wireless India is now in top gear as far as overseas forays are concerned. Consider some of the big players like Bharti and Reliance. After a period of sustained growth and a healthy increase in the number of new subscribers, they want to move abroad. The Bharti Group already has operations in Seychelles (this was started over a decade ago) and in the Channel Islands in Europe. That will be now followed by Bharti Airtel’s entry into Sri Lanka. “We will be launching our services by the end of this year,” says Bharti Airtel’s president (mobile services) Sanjay Kapoor. The opportunity in Sri Lanka comes from the fact that the penetration levels are just around 35 per cent. Unlike India, users have to pay for incoming calls and the market has around five players now with the largest, Dialog Telekom, accounting for over half the market. “We have the advantage of running a successful business in India which is a competitive and price-sensitive market,” thinks Kapoor. To his mind, Sri Lanka offers the advantage of low tele-density. “That apart, mobile usage is quite constrained,” he adds. Bharti Airtel will launch 2G and 3G services with an initial investment of $200 million. In India, Bharti Airtel has over 66 million subscribers. Reliance Communications is another player which is making the overseas market a key focus area. The company, which had a subsciber base of 50 million at the end of June, will launch mobile services in Uganda by the end of this year. The total investment outlay will be $500 million which, in addition to mobile services, will encompass internet, national and international long distance services. Also, on the anvil, is a foray into Sri Lanka. MTNL too has an international operation following the launch of its services in Mauritius. This will be for basic, mobile and international long distance services. It has also looked at other markets like Rwanda and Kenya for its mobile operations. MTNL also operates a wireless operation in Nepal as a part of a joint venture. According to E&Y India telecom leader Prashant Singhal, Indian telcos are generating healthy cash flows. “Companies like Bharti and Reliance have strong balance sheets. For MTNL, it is more out of compulsion than strategy,” he says. Today, MTNL is restricted to mobile operations in Delhi and Mumbai. Perhaps, the biggest advantage is how they have perfected the low-cost model. “A company like Bharti has an outsourcing advantage (referring to its IT model and network management. They will be able to leverage from a low-cost model like this,” adds Mr Singhal. There is life beyond wireless services and Tata Communications is a case in point. It has been offering services in South Africa for two years now. The overall investment has been $250 million with $150 million of that during the current financial year. “We are more driven by enterprise and data communication . To us, our customers exist in different markets,” says Tata Comm’s head of corporate strategy Srinivasa Addepalli. Apart from South Africa, the company has a presence in Sri Lanka and China as well. “We could look at select markets in Africa and South East Asia like Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand,” he says. The global journey, by the looks of it, is well and truly underway.

Bharti Airtel for global 3G auction 23 Jul, 2008, 0151 hrs IST, ET Bureau MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel, India’s largest cellular operator, is in favour of a global auction of spectrum for 3G (third generation) services. It has called for equity and objectivity in the process that could bring billions of dollars to the government’s kitty. “We are a product of liberalised India. We favour competition. Our only request is that there should be a level-playing field. Finally, a better company and better brand will win,” Bharti Airtel president Manoj Kohli told ET. He said the terms and conditions for 3G spectrum auction should be fair to existing as well as new operators and there should be “equity, objectivity and balance”. The department of telecom (DoT) is formulating guidelines for auctioning spectrum for 3G services, which include video calls, video streaming, high-speed Internet browsing and movie downloads besides others. Allowing foreign players to bid for 3G spectrum is expected to weed out smaller players and generate revenues for the government as global players can bid at higher rates. In 2001, the UK raised over $25 billion though auction of 3G licences, an amount which was the UK government’s half-year income tax revenues then Airtel, which is already offering 3G in Seychelles, has also tested them in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore and is ready for rollout whenever spectrum is allocated. Terming telecom as the “showcase sector”, Mr Kohli said spectrum is the raw material required for growth. “Existing operators should get requisite spectrum, and proactively, so that we can ready network before traffic comes.” Earlier this year, Bharti received additional spectrum in seven out of the 23 circles where it operates. On tariffs, which are already the lowest in the world at 40 paise (2 cents) per minute, Mr Kohli said customers are increasingly becoming tarrif agnostic, even in rural areas. Of Bharti’s monthly new additions, 50% are from rural areas. “They want features, value-added services, good quality of services and good brand.” However, there remains scope for more cuts if the government reduced various levies from the current level of around 30%. “If these come down, the benefit will be passed on to the customers. If the per unit rate goes down, the revenues will also grow (due to increased usage),” he said. The government is targeting 500 million connections by 2010 and Mr Kohli said the actual subscriber base could be 10% over this, helped by reduced tariffs. On the controversy around BlackBerry services in the past few months, he said it had not affected business at all. “People are signing up for BlackBerry. Many statements have come from the government and the customers are assured that there is nothing to worry about. It is a short-term issue and will be resolved soon. We would like to be fully compliant with guidelines,” Mr Kohli added.

BSNL to offer tele-education services 22 Jul, 2008, 2142 hrs IST, ET LUCKNOW: The state-run telecom major Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd will soon offer tele-education service for subscribers availing its Internet broadband services, a top company official said on Tuesday. "The decision to start tele-education service through Internet has been taken recently in Delhi," BSNL's general manager for marketing in the state Rajesh Kumar said. "Under the new service, BSNL will relay educational programmes and provide study material for engineering, management, medical and other competitive exams to its subscribers," he added. The service would be provided at a monthly rent of Rs.250, Kumar said.

The telecom jinx: Deals hit dead end 23 Jul, 2008, 0022 hrs IST, ET Bureau MUMBAI: Reliance Communications’ failure in executing a multi-billion dollar deal with African telecommunications major MTN perhaps best explains the complications inherent to the sector. It is not the first time a deal in telecom has not fructified. In fact, the Indian wireless story has had more than its share of aborted attempts. In mid-2001, the biggest story was the proposed merger of BPL Communications and Birla-Tata-AT&T (the latter would eventually be called Idea Cellular). At an enterprise value of over $2 billion, it was hugely significant. A couple of months later, things went awry and when BPL Communications’ shareholders cried foul over the deal, it was evident that the deal was not to be. Unsurprisingly, it was called off and BPL Communications, a few years later, was sold to the Essar Group. Just a little later, barring the Mumbai circle, the operation was sold to Hutchison-Essar (before it was renamed Vodafone-Essar after it sold out to the British telco major). The case of C Sivasankaran is equally interesting. His company, Aircel, for a long time, was considered to be among the most well-run telco operations in India. In 2004, he inked a deal with Hutchison-Essar to sell Aircel – it had a presence in Chennai and Tamil Nadu. Hutch was already present in Chennai and this deal was meant to be the first one at an intra-circle level. It was stymied by the government and never saw the light of day. Sivasankaran, a while after that, agreed to sell 49 per cent in Aircel to Russian telco, Sistema. That also fell through. It was not until early 2006 that the deal to sell out to Malaysia’s Maxis finally went through. The plus point was that valuations too increased during that period. If the proposed deal with Hutch was at Rs 1,600 crore, the one with Maxis was at over Rs 4,000 crore. “In a large deal, one has to go through many hurdles,” points out KPMG’s executive director (telecom), Romal Shetty. Referring to the Reliance Communications-MTN deal, he thinks there is a need to go global for wireless players given that there are pressures on the margins in India. Without a doubt, this is one sector where a deal is never done till it’s actually done. In late 2004, Singapore Technologies Telemedia (STT) and Telekom Malaysia ™ agreed to acquire a 47.7 per cent stake in Idea Cellular. This was a combination of buying out AT&T Wireless’ holding in Idea apart from infusing fresh equity. The deal, like a lot others, failed to pass muster with the government and eventually, AT&T’s holding was split almost equally between two of Idea’s shareholders – the Tatas and the Birlas. “Today, the situation is very different when compared to then. Look at the growth rates today, for instance,” points out Rajeev Gupta, MD & head of the India Buyout team at Carlyle. Even the government has not had it easy when it concerns telecom. Bharat Sanchar Nigam and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam were proposed to be merged. Various options were suggested and it seemed as if there was some serious activity on that front. Eventually, the proposal was placed on the backburner and nothing came of it. As the story ends for the moment on the Reliance Communications-MTN deal, the scout for telecom assets globally will continue unabated. Issues related to regulation and valuation meanwhile will continue to be equally important. Interesting times ahead for sure.

^^^ Very correct Raccoon, actually it seems that Reliance now a days is making the platform for its forthcoming GSM services. But this kind of tactics from Reliance is no good at all. Regards.

MTN may look at other Indian telcos: Reports 22 Jul, 2008, 1721 hrs IST, PTI JOHANNESBURG: Speculations are rife in the local media about MTN's next move after the failure of talks with two Indian entities RCOM and Bharti Airtel for a possible merger, with some saying that the South African telecom major might now target other telecom operators from India. Besides, MTN might pursue a potential deal with companies from other emerging markets in Latin America and Asian nations like Pakistan and Bangladesh, media reports said here. The door is not yet shut on MTN in India as the country is "a huge market to walk away from," a report in financial daily Business Report said, quoting an analyst from research firm IDC. The analyst added that "India had other small and regional operators that would make suitable targets for MTN." MTN is likely to pursue other operators in India, after its talks with Reliance Communications (RCOM) to create a 70- billion dollar telecoms company were cancelled on Friday, Business Report said. MTN began exclusive talks with billionaire Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications in the last week of May after the South African firm's discussions with another Indian player Bharti Airtel fell apart. However, RCOM and MTN called off their talks citing certain regulatory and legal issues last Friday. Another South African financial daily Business Day quoted an MTN spokesperson as saying that "MTN will always look at what we call value-enhancing opportunities for shareholders and for the company, and that's what we will continue to do." As part of our vision we want to be a leading provider of telecoms services in emerging markets," the spokesperson added.

^^^ @Ananta My dear friend, here is the link for LG RD 2130 USB Driver : http://www.rcom.co.in/Communications/rcom/...rd_2130_usb.zip Regards.

^^^ What about the CLIP charges in the above plan my dear friend ? Regards.

^^^ @Rupa My dear friend, we can understand your problem. You had waited for a long time for your problem to be resolved by Reliance. But Reliance doesn't bother even to give you the resolution. In my opinion you shold file a case in consumer court for the same. We all are with you. Go ahead. Regards.

Thats great my dear Kalpak. Speed of this EVDO Data Card seems to be great. Hope in the near future the problem of speed too will be rectified by BSNL. The tariff of Rs.500/- for unlimited usage with mobility to use ont the way is really awsome. Cheers !

^^^ My dear friends, it might be possible that Anil Ji, might be accessing our beloved Rimweb daily now. @Asit My dear friend, your idea is definetely good, but it seems to be impossible that Reliance could give us the access of their ISO Certified systems. Regards.

^^^ Very true my dear Trilok. After all they have to compete alltogether with forthcoming CDMA operators. Regards.

Apple iPhones Hard to Find in the USA On Sunday, less than 9% of Apple's retail stores in the US had any phones to sell, thus reflecting a drastic drop in the supply of iPhone 3G over the weekend, reports ComputerWorld. According to the company's own inventory tool, only 16 (8.5%) of the 188 total stores had iPhone 3G available for sale. Even one of Apple's most prominent stores, and the only one open around the clock, located on 5th Avenue in New York City, didn't have all the models of iPhone to sell. In fact, none of the 38 stores in California, Apple's home state, had iPhones. The figure has been dropping since Thursday, when 50 stores (27%) indicated the availability of iPhones. Of all the iPhone models, iPhone 3G 16GB model priced at $299 was the hardest to find in the US, being available only in 3 stores, while the 8GB model was available in only 10 stores on Sunday. For a detailed report click here. Early last week, an analyst from Wall Street has predicted that consumers planning to buy iPhone 3G will have to wait at least a month for Apple to boost its orders with suppliers and refill the pipeline. We'll have to wait and watch to see how Apple handles this one. Courtesy : Techtree

^^^ Ha ha ha, very true my dear Ramesh. And you didn't have to wait only for 6-7 years it might be 16-17 years from now. Regards.

^^^ My dear friends, if that's the truth then obviously Airtel YUVA is better then the newly launched campus pack in Delhi by Airtel. Regards.

^^^ My dear friend, we are already discussing about the above in other thread. Please search the forum before posting the new thread. You can continue discussions about the same here : Motorola's Envy, Lg's Pride Regards.

^^^ @Hussain Mohammad MY dear friend, below are the links which could be helpful to you. A Palm Full Of Smart Features, Review on PALM CENTRO Sadik Bhai's Profile Regards.

Motorola's envy, LG's pride 21 Jul, 2008, 1500 hrs IST,Bloomberg NEW DELHI: LG Electronics Inc reported record quarterly profit as mobile-phone sales surged, challenging Motorola Inc as the world's third-largest handset maker. Second-quarter net income climbed 84 percent to 706.9 billion won ($695 million), from 384.6 billion won a year earlier, Seoul-based LG said in a statement. Revenue increased 22.5 per cent to 7.23 trillion won. Mobile-phone shipments advanced 45 per cent as LG's Viewty, Voyager and Secret models helped meet demand for touch-screen handsets spurred by the success of Apple Inc's iPhone. LG, which joins Nokia Oyj in posting phone earnings that beat estimates, forecast growth will slow as global economies weaken. "LG's earnings look good so far mainly because of the progress in its main business," said Kim Young Tae, who helps manage about $400 million at KTB Asset Management Co in Seoul. Still, "slowing global growth will cool demand for mobile phones and other products." LG Electronics rose 4.1 per cent to close at 113,500 won on the Korea Exchange. That extended this year's advance to 13.5 per cent, the biggest gain among shares of the world's four largest mobile phone makers. Net income missed the 826 billion won median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 12 analysts after LG booked 170 billion won in currency-related losses and faced a higher tax rate. Profit was helped by contributions from subsidiary LG Display Co, whose earnings tripled last quarter. Operating income, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, quadrupled to 634.8 billion won, beating the 613 billion won median estimate in the Bloomberg survey. Mobile phone profit Profit at the mobile phone division, which accounted for 38 per cent of revenue last year, doubled to 547.3 billion won, exceeding the median analyst estimate by about 5 percent. LG shipped a record 27.7 million phones during the quarter. Goldman, Sachs & Co estimates LG overtook Motorola in terms of shipments during the second quarter. Nokia, the world's biggest mobile phone maker, last week reported earnings and revenue that exceeded analysts' estimates and forecast industry shipments this year may surpass its previous projection of about 10 per cent growth. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co have cut their price estimates on LG's stock this month, citing concerns that a slowing global economy will undermine demand for mobile phones. LG's profit probably peaked in the second-quarter, James Kim, an analyst at Lehman, wrote in a note last week. LG said profitability at its mobile phone division will decline from the second quarter because of slower demand and rising competition, though margins will remain above 10 per cent. LG's display division, which sells plasma screens and televisions, posted a 117 billion won loss, narrowing from 265 billion won a year earlier, after sales rose 23 per cent. The median estimate from the Bloomberg survey predicted a loss of 79 billion won.

RCom, RIL shares surge; MTN slides 21 Jul 2008, 1901 hrs IST,PTI MUMBAI: In first day of trade after talks for a possible merger between RCom and MTN failed, shares of the Anil Ambani group firm on Monday surged about 3 per cent here, while that of the South African telecom major plunged by over 6 per cent in Johannesburg. Shares of Mukesh Ambani-led RIL also rose by nearly 2 per cent on Monday. Claiming first-right-of-refusal in the sale of a majority RCom stake, RIL had threatened legal action against the Anil Ambani firm and MTN if a potential deal breached its claim. RCom has been, however, contesting such claims. After posting an intra-day gain of close to 5 per cent, RCom shares settled with a gain of 2.62 per cent at Rs 446.60 at the Bombay Stock Exchange. Buying interest was seen in RCom shares as the end of the talks with MTN cleared the uncertainty over a possible deal caused by the threat of legal action from RIL as also the potential impact on the company's balance sheet in the event of a deal, brokers said. About 31.22 lakh RCom shares changed hands on the BSE. However, the shareholders did not seem enthused by the collapse of talks in the South African firm MTN, whose shares dropped sharply by over 6 per cent in the morning trade on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The MTN shares were trading at 123.60 rand down 5.14 per cent in the afternoon Trade at the JSE.

Check inbox: SMS rates may fall 22 Jul, 2008, 0029 hrs IST, ET Bureau NEW DELHI: SMS charges are likely to come down. Last week telecom regulator TRAI summoned all telcos and sought an explanation on why SMS tariffs continue to remain high. Sources in TRAI said that if operators failed to offer ‘satisfactory responses’ within the next couple of days, the regulator will step in to specify lower SMS charges. However, an executive with a telco who was in that meeting said TRAI had not issued any ultimatum to telecom service providers. “The regulator only wanted to know why SMS rates continued to remain at the same level when local and STD tariffs have gone through several rounds of tariff reductions in the last two years. Some operators are likely to announce a reduction in SMS rates,” the executive added. TRAI had decided not to intervene in SMS tariffs in 2006 and had asked operators to reduce the rates in a gradual manner. At the same time TRAI said that it will act ‘in case there were competition issues in the retail market and if consumer interest was adversely affected’. TRAI sources said that it is being forced to intervene now because both these factors are in play and added that despite several warnings, operators have failed to reduce SMS tariffs. ET has also learnt that TRAI is particularly concerned about premium SMSes, whose tariffs range from Rs 2-10. The regulator has listed out three issues on which it wants immediate action. First, the tariffs for premium SMSes cannot be multiple times higher than normal text messages since the nature of services offered in both cases were the same. Second, while the volume of premium SMSes have witnessed a massive increase in the last two years, telcos have cashed in rather than voluntarily reducing the charges. Third, many customers are not fully aware of premium SMS rates as their tariffs are not ‘widely publicised’. An executive with another telco said that the charges for premium SMSes are high because revenues earned through them are often shared with the content provider, broadcaster and other stakeholders. “We will present our case to the TRAI. We will also point out that all operators offer several bundled schemes where SMS rates are very low,” the executive added. With mobile tariffs on a downward spiral, customers are increasingly making a direct call rather then send a text message. Latest figures released by sector regulator TRAI reveal that customer preference for texting in India has hit an all-time low. From close to 8-9% of the operators’ revenues at one point, texting now provides GSM players with 4.3% of their total revenues, while for CDMA operators, it is a mere 1.8%. According to TRAI, an average GSM user sent about 26 SMSes a month in the quarter ended March 2008, compared to 28 SMSes a month in the previous quarter (October-December 2007), 32 a month in the July-Sept quarter, 35 in the April-June quarter, 39 in the Jan-March quarter and 48 in October-December 2006 quarter. Ditto on the CDMA front—the number of outgoing SMSes by customers using this technology platform has fallen to 16 per month after remaining flat at 17 per month for nearly half a year. Prior to that, it was 20 per month in the April-June quarter and 24 in the January-March 2007 quarter.

Fire disrupts Airtel services 18 Jul, 2008, 1438 hrs IST, PTI MUMBAI: Mobile services provided by Airtel were disrupted on Friday in the commercial capital after a building, which housed the service provider's network tower, caught fire in central Mumbai. The fire that broke out at the Peninsula Chambers owned by Tata Power Corporation was due to a short circuit in the power cables, fire officials said. Eight fire engines and seven water tanks were pressed into service to put the fire under control, they said. Several customers in many areas of Mumbai were affected after Airtel's service was snapped. The service will be restored soon, a statement issued by the company said.

Airtel to enhance traffic carrying capacity, connectivity in city 22 Jul, 2008, 0117 hrs IST, ET Bureau MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel is increasing traffic carrying capacity in the Mumbai circle by 10% and deploying more optic fibre and in-building solutions (IBS) to improve connectivity and quality of services in the financial capital. “In the next couple of weeks, the capacity will be 10% higher than what it was before the fire broke out (in the company’s Lower Parel office) on Friday. This will be over and above the peak hours capacity,” Bharti Airtel president & CEO Manoj Kohli told ET. Mr Kohli, who is in Mumbai along with Airtel president-mobile services Sanjay Kapoor, chief technology officer Don Price and other senior officials, said STD, ISD as well as data services were normal by Monday evening. “We are still reviving interconnects with Vodafone Essar, MTNL and Tatas and this takes time logistically. By end of this week, all interconnects will be in good shape,” he said. Bharti officials and partners like Nokia, Ericsson and IBM have been working round-the-clock to restore connectivity to subscribers affected due to the fire in the operator’s office in Central Mumbai on Friday. Bharti’s other two sites are in Malad, north Mumbai, and in Mahape near Mumbai. “The other two sites have taken up traffic very well and redundancy has been fully utilised,” he said. The operator, with over 2.5 million users in Mumbai and over 69.8 million across India, is enhancing the fibre optic coverage in the circle. It currently has 450 km of fibre optic network in Mumbai, which will be increased to 500 km. Across the country, Airtel’s optic fibre network spans over 73,787 kms covering all the major cities. “We have sanctioned more fibre to be deployed. The traffic is growing very well and we will need more capacity. There will be no congestion after capacity is increased,” he said. Bharti is also undertaking re-optimisation of its network. Network re-optimisation allows it to carry more traffic without adding capacity. “As topography changes, we have to fine-tune the network. At this point, we are re-optimising. We started with South Mumbai and by this week, there will be higher quality of services,” Mr Kohli said. Airtel is enhancing the deployment of IBS. IBS provides an alternative to weakly covered areas, distributing radio frequency energy more evenly. It allows disruption-free communications allowing mobile users seamless access to various services. The company will have to make payments to Vodafone Essar for re-routing traffic through its network after the Friday fire. Besides, Bharti is also spending considerable amount of money in re-starting operations at the Lower Parel building that also houses its BlackBerry server, data services and Home Location Register (HLR), which is the database of all mobile subscribers.