Honest

^^^ @Amit Jain My dear friend, we are not talking here for other outlets. But talking about the outlet in which you are employed. So please post the facts only about your outlet. And my dear friend, you yourself mentioned in your signatures : ^^^ Then why you have mentioned WWE (Web World Express) here ? So you have to mention WEB WORLD EXPRESS or RELIANCE MOBILE STORE in all your posts, not WEB WORLD. As you didn't edited your post yourself, so I have to do it now for you. And please remember to mention WEB WORLD EXPRESS or RELINACE MOBILE STORE only in your post from now instead of mentioning WEB WORLD. Regards.

SE Launches C902 Cyber-Shot in India Sony Ericsson has launched its newest Cyber-shot handset - the C902 - in the Indian market. This handset employs a slide-out lens cover that also automatically switches the 5 megapixel auto focus camera (with flash) on. "There is a change in the trend of more and more people replacing the camera with the camera phones. The Cyber-shot C902 is a perfect combination of style with superb camera features. Its unique camera features lets you capture your beautiful moments with the perfect shot," said Sudhin Mathur, General Manager, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, India. The slim C902 Cyber-shot 5MP camera comes with features that include Face Detection, Image Stabilization and BestPic that records 9 images consecutively and allows users to choose which one is the best. It also uses illuminated touch sensitive keys located around the 2-inch display for accessing certain key features and settings. It also comes with X-Pict story that allows users to add music and transitions to a slide show of all the images captured. The C902 comes with 160MB built-in memory and supports Memory Stick Micro (M2) cards for external memory. Other than that the C902 also supports 3G (HSDPA), EDGE / GPRS, Bluetooth with an A2DP profile and includes Sony Ericsson applications like TrackID and PlayNow. It also comes pre-loaded with an image and video editor, MusicDJ and Sony’s Bluetooth Remote for the PC. Available in two stylish color options- Swift Black or Luscious Red - the C902 will be available at a price of Rs. 20,995 at all leading mobile retail outlets and Sony Ericsson Experience Stores. Courtesy : Tech2

Idea acquires 28 cr shares of Spice in block deal on BSE 7 Jul, 2008, 2102 hrs IST, PTI MUMBAI: Aditya Birla group firm Idea Cellular on Monday acquired as many as 28.15 crore shares of Spice Communications at Rs 77.30 each aggregating to Rs 2,175.91 crore in a block deal on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Idea Cellular bought 28,14,89,313 shares at a traded price of Rs 77.30 of Spice Communications, as per data available on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Earlier on June 25, Idea Cellular, the fifth-largest mobile operator in terms of subscribers, said it would acquire 40.8 per cent stake in B K Modi-owned Spice group for Rs 2,716 crore. The Aditya Birla group firm has also made an open offer to the shareholders of Spice Communications for acquiring additional 20 per cent stake in the telecom services provider for about Rs 1,066.63 crore. The open offer would start on August 22, and would close on September 11. The Idea-Spice deal would catapult Idea Cellular's market share to 11.1 per cent and more importantly would get the crucial spectrum on 900 Mhz band. The long-drawn acquisition would give Idea straightaway two existing circles of Punjab and Karnataka with a subscriber base of 4.4 million. Idea shares closed at Rs 88.40, up 0.06 per cent, while Spice Communication was quoted up 0.48 per cent at Rs 73.30.

^^^ And to include in the above handsets specifications, I have to add into, that the above handset is EVDO enabled also. Regards.

^^^ HA HA HA Very correct my dear Ajay. You are 100% right. Our govt. is definetely following the same formula. Regards.

Samsung Launches Consumer Offer Samsung Telecommunications India (STI), has launched a consumer offer - called Samsung Mobile 'Scene Change' - on its entire range of mobile phones starting today. The offer, valid till August 15, 2008, entitles a buyer to an assured gift of a 24 carat gold plated coin and a Vodafone prepaid sim card (in the Vodafone circles) along with a scratch card that could win a customer gifts ranging from the latest Honda Accord cars, Hyundai i10 cars to Samsung consumer electronics products. Sunil Dutt, Country Head, Samsung Telecommunications India, said, "True to our brand philosophy of 'Next is What?' this consumer promotion is not only exciting in terms of the quantum of gifts to be won by consumers but also in terms of the quality and the value of gifts to be won ." Samsung Telecommunications India has mobile phones that target consumers across the multimedia (Imaging and Music), business, lifestyle and popular segments. Samsung handsets are priced in the range between Rs. 1696 and Rs 27599/-.

^^^ @Amit My dear friend, I don't think that the above offer is available for Cdma handsets. As it is not mentioned anywhere. But still I'm not 100% confirm. Regards.

JuiceCaster Coming to India by March Those troubled with the ban on usage of social networking sites during working hours will soon have an option to network via mobile phones, thus infusing immediacy into social networking. Anyone having a camera and a Windows-enabled phone will be able to capture videos and immediately upload and share them from the phone itself, eliminating the need for a PC. California-based Juice Wireless is all set to offer Indians this flexibility of publishing multimedia content from their phone to any person, group, Web site, or desktop with the help of "JuiceCaster". Presently available only in the US, "JuiceCaster" is a mobile phone-based social networking site that allows users to capture, share, and publish content instantly, and maintain rich social networking connections including profiles, friends lists, and personal status, all of this right from their mobile phones. "JuiceCaster" also works as a platform that integrates various other social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and Orkut, and offers cross-platform content access. It can automatically connect a mobile phone user's pictures and videos with these Web sites, and help him/her share content with peer groups on those sites. Thus, users needn't wait to get access to a PC to upload self-generated videos. They can do it sitting in their office, a park, or a movie hall. Users can also import contacts from several top sites and desktop contact management systems such as Microsoft Outlook. On the security front, there is an automated system which has a list of over 1,800 words on the banned list. According to Nick Desai, chief executive officer of "JuiceCaster", "Every video posted by a user goes live on the site only after going through an automated as well as a manual check for abusive content. It takes about 3 minutes on an average for the content to go live from the posted time." The site also offers an interesting feature called Mobile Video Search (MVS) that enables users to search videos by texting keywords to a short code. The search tool then immediately sends a reply with links to the requested content. All of these features within "JuiceCaster" will be available to Indian users in March. Presently, the company is in talks with various Indian operators through whom the service will be made available. The company is also planning to add Hindi language to "JuiceCaster", which is expected to happen only in the third quarter of 2008.

^^^ Thats a great news my dear friend. So all TATA users should enjoy this service now, atleast upto 31st July. Cheers !

^^^ @Amit Jain My dear friend, you must mention WEB WORLD EXPRESS or RELIANCE MOBILE STORE instead of only mentioning WEB WORLD in your posts. As you must be knowing that WEB WORLD is only used for company owned outlets. So, please edit your post. Regards.

BSNL to announce infrastructure sharing policy in a month 7 Jul, 2008, 1547 hrs IST, PTI NEW DELHI: Country's largest telephone company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd will come out with its new infrastructure sharing policy, which will help the operator garner more revenues, in a month's time, sources said. The company is in the final stages of drawing the guidelines on the policy and will announce it in a month, a highly-placed source in the company said. The policy would spell out the number of towers to be shared, the business model, tower-tenant ratio and the time-frame for the towers would be shared, the source added. The tower business would help the PSU recover from its falling revenues as it is at an advantageous position of having the maximum reach in the country. The company has more number of towers in 'B' category circles and villages where private operators have small footprint. It is also argued that other operators would rather use BSNL's towers than erecting new towers to cut cost. The state-run telecom firm has 50,000 mobile towers, the maximum in the country. The company is also planning to carve out a new entity for its tower business in a few months. BSNL would look after the maintenance of the towers in the new entity while rest of the things will be outsourced to a third party, said the source. The PSU is also learnt to be in talks with some major players which are purely into the tower business for this purpose, he added. Except, BSNL, all other major operators like Bharti, Vodafone, Idea and Reliance have already entered into the business of tower sharing.

Samsung to launch smart phone through MobileStore 7 Jul, 2008, 1945 hrs IST, PTI NEW DELHI: Mobile phone manufacturer Samsung on Monday announced that it will premier its business phone SGH-i780 at Essar group-promoted MobileStore. Samsung will launch its smart phone SGH-i780, which is a business phone, first in retail outlets of Mobilestore and then the product will be made available at the handset manufacturer's own distribution channels and Samsung Mobile Privilege Partner (SMPP) network, said a company release. It would be available at selected outlets of The Mobilestore across ten cities in the country for two weeks starting today, added the release. "The exclusive premier of the i780 through the widespread network of The Mobilestore coupled with the touch-and-feel consumer experience provided at the stores, I'm confident, will create a very positive initial buzz for this business phone," said Samsung Telecommunication India's Country Head, Sunil Dutt. The 120 gram handset is equipped with features like optical mouse, touch screen and QWERTY keyboard, said the release.

RCOM spurns RIL's conciliation offer; seeks clarificatory meet 7 Jul, 2008, 1924 hrs IST, PTI MUMBAI: Spurning a bid by Mukesh Ambani-led RIL to open conciliation talks on Monday, younger sibling Anil's RCOM instead proposed a 'clarificatory' meeting next week as the estranged brothers continued their acrimony over the South African telecom giant MTN. Following upon its offer to open talks for conciliation of their differences over RCOM's right to amalgamate MTN, an RIL team of financial and legal brass landed up at a five-star hotel here this morning. After sipping coffee during a hour- long wait for RCOM counterparts, the officials left. RCOM officials explained the rebuff by saying, on condition of anonymity, that the company did not see any dispute that required conciliation. Having made this legal tackle, RCOM thereafter proposed a meeting next week purely for the purpose of clarifications that RIL, which has claimed the first right of refusal on majority stake in RCOM, may seek. The meeting would not constitute any conciliation or "dispute resolution" mechanism, RCOM officials said. In its offer, which follows RIL last week invoking arbitration clause under the non-compete agreement and asking RCOM to start conciliation as part of the process, RCOM proposed to meet "RIL in week of 14th July to clarify any doubts". Debunking RIL's claim of right of first refusal as "legally and factually untenable and misconceived, RCOM, whose exclusivity agreement with MTN for talks, is coming to end tomorrow, said the "meeting is not part of conciliation or dispute resolution mechanism". RCOM sources said that neither there was any dispute nor occasion for conciliation process and said that communication to RIL makes it clear that the company reserved the rights to take all actions as legally advised.

3G guidelines still sometime away 7 Jul, 2008, 2003 hrs IST, PTI NEW DELHI: The much-delayed 3G policy, which is understood to have got the Prime Minister's approval last week, may yet take some more days to see the light of day as the procedure of PMO returning the guidelines to DoT could be time-consuming. Moreover, the guidelines have to approved by the Telecom Commission. But its Chairman Siddharth Behura is out of the country and the norms can only be notified after he signs them with the approval of the Commission. Sources said it it is unlikely that the 3G guidelines would come out before July 15. Telecom Minister Raja had on Friday met Singh in the presence of Finance Minister P Chidamabaram and apprised him of the 3G norms according to which foreign players could participate in spectrum auction. The issue of pricing for 2G (second generation) spectrum was also discussed at the meeting. Both the ministries carry different views on 2G spectrum pricing, which revolves around two points a one-time levy for the already allocated spectrum to telecom companies beyond the contracted value and increasing the annual revenue-share as formulated DoT . The Finance Ministry, however, wants to auction 2G spectrum for better realisation. According to sources, the Prime Minister gave the approval for one-time pricing beyond 6.2 MHz of spectrum (radio frequency) in terms of enhancing the spectrum fee by 1 per cent more of Adjusted Gross Revenue. Few months ago, the PM had said spectrum is a scarce resource and that it needs to be priced appropriately. A 3G licence would allow operators to offer high speed Intertnet, broadband and video as well as real-time interaction to customers.

RCom may meet RIL over MTN deal 7 Jul, 2008, 1711 hrs IST MUMBAI: Reliance Communications has offered to meet Reliance Industries, which has staked a right of first refusal on its shares, a source close to the development said a day before a deadline for its exclusive talks with South Africa's MTN Group ends. The source said Reliance Communications maintained that Reliance Industries' claims were untenable, but said India's No. 2 mobile firm was prepared to meet with Reliance Industries in the week of July 14 "to clarify any doubts". The meeting was not part of "conciliation" or "dispute resolution", the source said. Reliance Communications, India's No. 2 mobile operator, began exclusive talks with MTN, sub-Saharan Africa's top mobile operator, in end-May. A deal would create a top-10 global telecoms firm with operations in about two dozen countries. In June, Mukesh Ambani, who runs Reliance Industries and is the estranged older brother of Reliance Communications chairman Anil Ambani, had claimed a right of first refusal on Reliance Communications shares. Shares in Reliance Communications ended Monday down 4.2 percent at Rs 419.80 in BSE that rose 0.5 percent.

BlackBerry Goes Totally Verbal With Vlingo Vlingo Corporation has debuted a new application for BlackBerry smartphones, offering the industry’s first complete voice-powered interface based entirely on Vlingo’s speech recognition technology. Available free-of-charge, Vlingo’s BlackBerry application lets users send emails and text messages, search the Web, open applications (BlackBerry Calendar, BlackBerry Maps, etc.), dial numbers from their phones, look up contacts and even send notes to themselves – all with the power of voice. "Just a few months ago, Vlingo was selected to voice-enable Yahoo! oneSearch, which showed the world just how quick and easy mobile Web search can be with the power of voice," said Dave Grannan, CEO of Vlingo. "Vlingo takes this technology beyond Web search into everyday applications that are now instantly more usable and easier to find because you only need to think about one button and a few spoken words. Vlingo believes that we can immediately improve the way every person interacts with their wireless device and the BlackBerry platform is the perfect place to start our aggressive expansion strategy here in the U.S. and abroad." BlackBerry smartphone users can simply press the side “convenience” key on their handset, which will let them speak commands into the phone. Available as of now, Vlingo gives BlackBerry smartphone users voice control over the most commonly used applications, including: • Voice Dial - Initiate calls to anyone in your address book. • Text Message - Send text messages without typing. • Email - Simply speak “Email John Smith” to start an email on-the-go, and you can speak the body of the message as well. • Applications - Open calendar, maps, etc. • Address Book - Search for contacts without typing. • Web Search - Look up anything online in one step. Just say, “Web search: concert tickets in Boston,” and the results are displayed. • Note2Self - Send yourself a reminder in the form of an email, task or text message. Vlingo gives BlackBerry smartphone users control over mobile information and tasks with the power of their voice. Users do not need to change how they speak or memorize a list of commands. They can say what they want, how they want, and Vlingo captures the results. Vlingo’s voice-enabling technology provides users with a simple way to access almost anything on their handset. It will give users the ability to freely mix typing and talking with no limits on what they can say. Vlingo is currently supported on the BlackBerry Pearl, BlackBerry Curve and BlackBerry 8800 series smartphones. Vlingo will be adding additional devices and operating systems in the third and fourth quarters of 2008. A demo video of the new Vlingo BlackBerry application is available at here. Courtesty : Tech2

^^^ My dear friend, this topic has already been posted in the below mentioned thread. http://www.rimweb.in/forums/index.php?show...mp;#entry115121 Please search the forum before posting a new thread. Regards.

^^^ My dear friend, this topic has already been posted in the below mentioned thread. http://www.rimweb.in/forums/index.php?show...&start=195# Please search the forum before posting a new thread. Regards.

Reliance Communications, MTN may extend talks 7 Jul, 2008, 0757 hrs IST PHILADELPHIA: South African mobile phone operator MTN Group Ltd and Reliance Communications Ltd may continue their tie-up talks beyond Tuesday's deadline, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. MTN and Reliance agreed in May to 45 days of exclusive negotiations to create a global 10 telecoms company, which end on Tuesday. The companies may extend the talks by a few more weeks, the newspaper said in its website edition. An extension would give Reliance Communications' chairman Anil Ambani some time to try to resolve a claim of right of first refusal on the telecom's shares by his estranged brother Mukesh, who runs Reliance Industries, India's largest company. MTN, sub-Saharan Africa's top mobile operator, is nervous about entering a deal with a legal cloud over it and has looked at ways to restructure a transaction, the newspaper said. The discussions had initially focused on a takeover of Reliance by MTN, but now the companies are weighing the reverse -- a takeover of MTN by Reliance, the newspaper said. MTN and Reliance could not be immediately reached for comment.

Indians junk SMS, rediscover love for calling as rates fall 7 Jul, 2008, 0037 hrs IST NEW DELHI: The Indian telecom customer has become wise. With telecom tariffs on a downward spiral, mobile customers are resorting to making a direct call rather then send a text message, also called SMS. Even as the average minutes of mobile phone usage is showing an upward trend, this has had a direct impact on operators’ revenues from SMSes. Latest figures released by sector regulator TRAI reveal that customers preference for texting in India has hit an all time low. From accounting for 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, the average number of SMSes that customers sent has fallen by 7% for GSM and 6% for CDMA operators during the last quarter. An average GSM user sent about 26 SMSes a month in the quarter ended March 08, compared to 28 SMSes a month in the previous quarter (Oct-Dec 07), 32 a month in the July-Sept quarter, 35 in the April-June quarter, 39 in the Jan-March quarter and 48 in Oct-Dec 06 quarter, TRAI said. Ditto on the CDMA front — the number of outgoing SMSes by customers using this technology platform fell to 16 per month after remaining flat at 17 per month for nearly half year prior to that, at 20 per month in Apr-June and 24 in Jan-March 07). Telcos however, see no reasons for concern. They share the view that “any fall in SMS revenues will be more than compensated by increase in the average talk time and revenues” from their customers. “For instance, while the average number of SMSes have been falling for several consecutive quarters now, the average revenue per user (ARPU) for GSM operators has stabilised and even shown a marginal increase for the first time,” said an executive with a GSM player. In fact, the regulator’s figures correlate with GSM players argument: For the first time in the recent past, the ARPUs of GSM players have shown an increase – despite most of the new additions coming from rural India. The ARPUs have moved to Rs 264 in March 08 compared to Rs 261 in Dec-07. “ARPUs for postpaid and prepaid services have shown an increase of 1.59% and 2.3% to touch Rs 638 and Rs 224 in March 08,” TRAI said. ARPUs in India are among the lowest in the world. The regulator said the usage of GSM subscribers has increased to 493 minutes per month per customer in Jan- March 08 quarter, against a constant 463 minutes for about six months prior to that. “Both, outgoing and incoming minutes of usage have grown by 7.04% and 5.49%, respectively, TRAI said. However, the picture is not so bright on the CDMA front: Their ARPUs and minutes witnessed major declines during the last quarter. While ARPU for the quarter ending March 2008 fell to Rs 159 compared to Rs 176 in December 07, the minutes of usage declined to 364 against 375 for the quarter ended December 2007 and 413 for the July-September quarter.

Apple's iPhone could find Asia tough to crack 6 Jul, 2008, 0952 hrs IST HONG KONG: Mancy Li wants to get her hands on Apple's newest version of the iPhone, but she won't bother to queue up in Hong Kong when it is released in Asia this week. "I want to get one because it is trendy. It has a touch screen, it looks pretty and it's made by Apple," the 22-year-old visual arts student says. But she's prepared to wait and see what happens to the price of running the new version of the phone, which Apple hopes will become as big a global hit as its iconic iPod music player. The iPhone 3G, which Apple is billing as twice as fast and half as expensive as the debut model, will roll out in cities from Tokyo to Sydney on Friday, but it could face challenges in Asia it will not have elsewhere. The company is betting the new phone's third generation (3G) capabilities, such as faster Internet access and file transfer, will make the phone a hit. Like the first version, the new model also has an iPod built in. Many analysts are upbeat about its prospects, seeing Apple as a brand with a strong cachet in tech-savvy Asia. "It is going to do well," Aloysius Choong, of Singapore-based industry research group IDC, told media. "Apple is a strong brand in Asia and this is their maiden mobile phone offering in Asia. Just the Apple aura or the Apple halo means that there will be non-Apple users who will look at the product." But in a region where having the latest gadget is almost an obsession, black market debut-version iPhones are already widely available, serviced by countless shops that "unlock" the software to allow them to operate. With the phone already in circulation, the novelty factor will be less, which could emphasise the importance of pricing for the new model. And that could prove to be an obstacle. Like elsewhere, Apple is only allowing the iPhone for sale through a limited number of operators, whose pricing plans are not always particularly inexpensive. Hong Kong users could pay the equivalent of up to 65 US dollars a month under a two-year contract, a steep price in a market where monthly mobile packages often cost one-fifth of that. In Australia, Telstra says customers who sign up for packages around 30 dollars a month will be able to buy the cheapest iPhone 3G for around 270 dollars. Pricing has not been announced in New Zealand by Vodafone, the country's largest mobile communications carrier, but is likely to be crucial in deciding the iPhone's success. "If Vodafone can get close to Telstra's pricing in Australia, I think they will be on to a winner," says Scott Bartley, reviews editor of PC World New Zealand. The iPhone could also face an uphill battle in Japan, where handsets allow users to watch television and pay for goods like a credit card, neither of which the Apple phone can do. "I can foresee the iPhone storming the rest of Asia but not Japan," said Yusuke Tsunoda, a telecom analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Centre. "Compared with Japanese cellphones, it is not technologically superior." In the Philippines, meanwhile, where text-messaging is now a routine way to communicate, the phone's on-screen keyboard, instead of the regular buttons of a traditional cell phone, may be a turn-off. "This could limit its appeal to the Filipinos, who love to text," said tech journalist Kendrick Go of the Manila Times. He said pricing could also be a factor in the Philippines, where much of the population lives on two dollars a day or less. "The iPhone's popularity in the Philippines will likely be confined to the high-end market," Go said. "It is just too expensive for the average consumer." Finally, some consumers could be turned off if the iPhone becomes too much of a success -- and loses its cachet as a status symbol. "Apple wants to make a big impact but it does not want to make too big an impact in the sense you want to create an image of scarcity and exclusivity," said the IDC's Choong. Mancy Li, in Hong Kong, says the iPhone would lose its appeal for her if everyone had one. "I won't get one if I see too many people using it," Li says. "It won't be special anymore."

Aryty brings overseas prepaid phone credit service to India 6 Jul, 2008, 1447 hrs IST, PTI NEW DELHI: Prepaid mobile is a blessing in that it lets you decide the monthly spend on calls and a bane when credit runs out when you least expect, but US firm Aryty has designed a cure that will instantly top-up your talk time. Aryty, a subsidiary of long distance telephony operator Gorilla Mobile, is all set to launch its overseas prepaid phone credit service in India that would allow anyone living in the US or Canada to remit mobile minutes to their kin back home. "Currently the service is available in the US and Canada to send load or minutes credit to any phone in Philippines. The service is now being extended to India," Aryty Vice President (India & Middle East) Harbinder S Narula told PTI. The company is in talks with Indian telecom operators to start the service on a pan-India scale. "We are in talks with all the Indian operators. They liked our business model. We hope to start the service in the near future," he added. Aryty, which is a slang for 'all righty' or 'no worries,' hopes to tap the huge Indian diaspora in the US and Canada for the success of the service. There are over 2.7 mn Indian in the US and under a million in Canada. Narula said expatriates can send mobile minutes to their family members in India either through the company's website Aryty.com or directly from their mobile phone using text messaging (SMS). There will not be any cap on the denominations as well. "Keeping in view the large number of Indian diaspora and the social mindset of Indians for whom family ties and being in contact with loved ones is important, this service becomes very attractive," Narula added. Aryty will not be charging any amount or commission from its end. The charges would be subject to taxes and levies by the operator. "We are working on a revenue sharing model with the Indian operators. We will not be charging anything from the consumer, Narula added. The company is also eyeing to enter the Value-Added Service segment in the country as it would offer ring tones, music, and other mobile gift through it website for the Indian customer. Narula further said, "If you pay for their (family members in India) mobile phone, then they can use their funds for other expenses. This is a simple and easy way to support the folks at home." India has the lowest telecom tariffs in the world and with most mobile companies in India vying to increase the Average Revenue Per User, this service comes handy as the recharge for an Indian mobile phone can be facilitated from abroad, which would add to revenues of Indian operators, he added. The company is also exploring the Middle East market where around eight mn Indians are estimated to reside

DoT to charge fixed amount for spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz 6 Jul, 2008, 1351 hrs IST, PTI NEW DELHI: Government's proposal to allow existing GSM operators keep extra spectrum lying with them after levying a one-time fee may actually cause a revenue loss of Rs 10,000 crore annually to the exchequer, say industry sources. According to sources, the Department of Telecom is considering to charge a fixed amount for spectrum beyond the prescribed 6.2 MHz held by some of the leading mobile operators. Communications and IT Minister A Raja, who met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week, is understood to have briefed him about the proposal. According to sources, the government gave the approval for one-time pricing beyond 6.2 MHz of spectrum (radio frequency) in terms of enhancing the spectrum fee by 1 per cent more of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) of a cellular operator. Cellular operators having beyond 8MHz of spectrum will be required to pay two per cent more of the AGR, sources said. These proposals would now be discussed by the Telecom Commission, a decision making body of the DoT, before being implemented. When contacted, some of the new mobile operators and a few CDMA players criticised the proposal saying if implemented, this would leave no room for them to expand their services in future in view of scarcity of spectrum. A CDMA operator had earlier demanded that the extra spectrum held by mobile operators beyond 6.2 MHz should be returned immediately or it should be priced appropriately. As per a DoT policy, the start-up spectrum has to be given in a tranche of 4.4 MHz, but in many cases it has allotted 6.2 MHz. Most of the existing GSM players have been allotted 10 MHz or even higher in some of the circles based on the number of subscribers, as decided earlier. CDMA operators had earlier raised the matter with the DoT over what they call an in discriminatory approach of allotting extra frequency to GSM players. However, with sharp differences between the various players on how extra spectrum should be priced and allocated, the government has a tough task at hand in reaching a solution.

Telecom companies waiting to launch Wi-max facilities in India 6 Jul, 2008, 1500 hrs IST, PTI NEW DELHI: With the government set to announce guidelines for new broadband services, including Wi-Max, the industry has said that market friendly tariffs and a clear spectrum policy should form the bedrock of this much awaited technology to obtain its full benefit. Once the government rolls out the framework on Wi-Max, this standard-based technology will enable delivery of last mile wireless broadband access as an alternate to cable and DSL and also augment the country's flagship programmes of telemedicine, e-governance and e-education in rural areas. "India has tremendous potential for Wi-Max. Improved spectrum options, low cost end user devices and market friendly tariffs can make Wi-Max a success", says Tata Communications VP, (Planning - Broadband and Retail Business) Prateek Pashine. The company has already launched Wi-Max facility in various Indian cities and intends to enter another 115 enterprise and 15 retail cities by March 2009. "We are looking forward to hear from the government," Pashine added. "The key reason for Wi-Max not taking off in the country is the absence of a policy decision on spectrum for operating. A clarity on this issue will help us to address the growth opportunity offered by the rural areas of the country", T V Sriram, VP-Technology, Bharti Airtel says. The permission for mobility in the Wi-Max service will also play a role in determining the future of Wi-MAX services in the country, Sriram noted. Explaining the service providers' woes, Manesh Patel, Partner, Telecom Industry Practice, Ernst and Young says, "The companies that are building Wi-Max networks are doing so within narrow frequency bands- much less than what is recommended by the Wi-Max forum." At present, these service providers are dependent on the incumbent operators for giving them the last-mile connectivity, he adds. Analysts, however, say that although the Wi-Max was traditionally focused on connecting computers to the internet, high cost of customer premise equipment also needs to be addressed. The Wi-MAX has a communication range of up to 30 miles and sometimes it is enough to cover an entire city, Patel says. Wi-MAX also offers data speed that is around 10-30 times faster than 3G. One of the equipment manufacturers for Wi-MAX technology, Motorola has recently said that it is planning to bid for BSNL's urban Wi-MAX project. With its 1.2 billion people, India is filled with opportunities and challenges for tech companies. Consumers are eager to stay connected, snapping up 8 million mobile phones per month, Pashine says stressing for an intrusive Wi-Max connectivity in the country.

^^^ Yes my dear friends, as soon as Idea starts its operations in Mumbai, the subscribers are sure to get better offers from their respective operators due to tough competition. In the end, the customer will leach the booty. Regards.