Honest

Portability will keep mobile tariffs low: Sibal The Times Of India l 31st January l New Delhi The government expects market competition and number portability to ensure reasonable tariff for subscribers despite the Centre's new policy of charging operators for additional spectrum and ushering an auction-based pricing. With some operators speaking of telecom services costing more in view of added costs the new policy entails, the government did not rule out a more unfettered play of market forces but felt increase in subscriber costs need not be the obvious impact of new charges being levied on air waves that were previously not charged. "There can be some fluctuations in rates but I think number portability and more open competition will mean rates remain reasonable. The customer will get low tariffs, the telecom sector can make reasonable profit and the government will get its revenues too," telecom minister Kapil Sibal said. The minister said not adopting the auction route had drawn flak and now that the government was saying all spectrum would be charged and new allocations would be auctioned, the question of cost was raised. "You can't have it both ways," he said, pointing out that the policy aimed to make the processes transparent. The government believes charging for additional spectrum allotted to telecom service providers is essential to restore public faith in accountability and regulation of the sector. In the past no operator, either new or an early mover, paid for additional spectrum and this anomaly needed to be addressed. On the demand that new players be allowed 6.2 Mhz as start up spectrum instead of 4.4 Mhz, the view in government is that the terms of trade will even out any perceived advantage to older service providers. Some licences held by those claiming "first mover" benefits will run out in a couple of years. These firms will have pay for licences and spectrum afresh while new licences have more years to run while also paying for air waves beyond 6.2 Mhz. It is also felt that not charging for 1.8 Mhz was an important reason in estimates of loss of revenue in 2G spectrum allocations reaching an astronomical Rs 1.76 lakh crore. This could not be overlooked when the Centre revised policy and looked to shake off the baleful shadow of DMK leader A Raja's tenure. The national auditor's report on losses has played Prime Minister's Office in the line of fire as well for lack of oversight.

Regularisation of 2G licences of defaulters challenged in SC The Economic Times l 30th January l New Delhi The government's decision to regularise licences of the companies which failed to meet the deadline for the roll-out obligation of 2G spectrum, has been challenged in the Supreme Court by an NGO. The application filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation along with other civil societies and individuals, has sought a direction to restrain the Ministry of Telecom from regularising 2G licenses of such companies by imposing penalty. In their joint petition, the civil societies have alleged that these allocations, made by the Department of Telecom (DoT) during the tenure of former Telecom Minister A Raja, were marred by "multiple illegalities, corruption and favouritism" and the government is trying to protect them by charging a small penalty. "It is amply clear that DoT is protecting the interest of the companies which have benefited and even those companies which violated the licence conditions. The stark case of Loop and Swan makes this clear," the petition which is listed for hearing on Tuesday, said. "In the case of Loop, there was a detailed complaint as to how it was a front company for Essar and therefore was ineligible for the licence. In the case of Swan, a detailed complaint was made that it is a front company for Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group ( ADAG )). In both the cases, clean chit was given to both these entities by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs," the petition said. The other petitioners in this case are Telecom Watchdog, Common Cause, former Chief Election Commissioner J M Lyngdoh , T S Krishnamurthy and N Gopalaswami along with former Central Vigilance Commissioner P Shankar. They further submitted that even the sectoral regulator has recommended for cancellation of 69 out of the 122 licences as the licencees have failed to roll out their services as stipulated by the condition on which they were given the licences. "Restrain the Union of India from regularising any telecom license after charging some penalty or compounding any license violation," they pleaded alleging that in the present case, 122 telecom licences along with 2G spectrum were allocated in an arbitrary manner without any competitive process. Referring to CAG report, the petitioners alleged that 85 licensees out of 122 issued to 13 companies have been found to the ineligible for grant of license and 2G spectrum and have acquired it through fraudulent means.

2G scam: India receives replies to LRs The Economic Times l 30th Janl New Delhi Investigative agencies probing the 2G spectrum scam have received replies from about five countries to which Letters Rogatory were issued late last year seeking information about source of funding of certain telecom firms who were awarded the radiowaves. Government sources said more information has been sought based on the replies received. While they did not give the names of the countries that have responded to the Letters Rogatory (LR), as the details will be given to the Supreme Court, sources said they are hopeful of getting more substantial information. The Supreme Court has asked both Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate to submit status reports on their probe to it by February 10, when the 2G spectrum case will come up for hearing. The Enforcement Directorate had late last year send out LRs to 10 countries including Russia, UAE, Isle of Man, Cyprus, Mauritius , Norway, Singapore and Libya. A Letter Rogatory is a formal request issued by a competent court to a foreign court and processed by the ministry of external affairs on behalf of the investigative agencies to obtain information about individuals and entities. Even prior to sending of the LRs, the ED, which is jointly probing the multi-crore-rupee scam with the CBI, had already approached their counterparts in overseas countries having footprints of some telecom companies allotted the spectrum between September 2007 to January 2008 on a semi-formal basis. Sources said ED feels that some entities operating in those countries were connected with the spectrum allocation besides certain others who later bought stakes in Indian companies that had bagged the spectrum. Most of the companies that had bagged the spectrum had their subsidiaries and business partners situated in foreign countries. Untangling the financial transactions web spread across various countries is what the ED is focusing on. Sources said the Directorate has also finished with the second round of questioning of certain telecom firms. Both ED and CBI are working in close cooperation with the case. The CBI had even roped in the Directorate in multi-city raids carried out late last year in connection with the probe. A source said while the CBI is looking at the possible criminal conspiracy angle in allocation of spectrum, ED is focusing on the money trail.

New spectrum policy to create level playing field: TTSL The Economic Times l 30th January l New Delhi Tata group firm Tata Teleservices (TTSL) on Sunday welcomed Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal's announcement of delinking spectrum from licence, saying the move will create a level-playing field for all operators. "We compliment the telecom minister for his announcement, which we are sure is the first of many that will work toward ushering in a level-playing field in the industry," TTSL Executive President (Mobility Business) Deepak Gulati said in a statement. Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal yesterday announced that spectrum would not come bundled with the licence as per the new telecom policy. The contract limit of spectrum has also been reduced to 4.4 Mhz for new operators, while for the old operators, the limit has been retained at 6.2 Mhz. "We are confident that this will now end the delay that occurred earlier in the grant of 6.2 MHz spectrum, as also even start-up spectrum in key Circles like Delhi and many other districts, to players like TTSL," Gulati said. To the decision that henceforth all spectrum, initial as well as additional, would be given at market driven price, Gulati was of the view that operators, who have excess spectrum are charged for the same, preferably retrospectively, to bring all operators to a level-playing-field. He added that consequent to bringing the level-playing field, the spectrum beyond 6.2 Mhz and up to the limits specified by TRAI in May 2010 could be charged by DoT in line with the telecom regulator's recommendations.

RBI Governor to appear before PAC on 2G spectrum allocation The Economic Times l 30th January l New Delhi Continuing with its examination into the 2G spectrum allocation, Parliament's Public Accounts Committee has called RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao on Thursday to record evidence in connection with the matter. The Committee, headed by senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi , is expected to ask Subbarao whether any bank regulations were violated while making the financial transactions related to the 2G spectrum allocation. A Raja had to quit as Telecom Minister following a furore over the alleged irregularities in the 2G spectrum allocations. Subbarao, who was the Finance Secretary when the 2G spectrum allocations were made in January 2008, is also expected to face questions on the issues, including on changes in the entry fee for telecom operators, he had raised with the Communications Ministry. In an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the government had said on the issue of 2G allocation the finance secretary had raised certain queries on November 27, 2007, regarding the entry fee. A reply to this was given by the telecom secretary on November 29, 2007. "Thereafter, no further reference or communication was received and there was no difference of opinion between the two ministries," said the affidavit. The PAC has already questioned D S Mathur, who retired as Telecom Secretary a few days before the 2G spectrum was allocated in January 2008, Manju Madhavan, former member (Finance) in Telecom Commission. Mathur, who retired on December 31, 2007, had claimed that Raja was determined to grant a huge number of licences from the day he joined office. He had alleged that Raja managed to advance the cut-off date for processing the applications for licences in October 2007 itself, even though it was announced only on January 10, 2008, hours before the licences were granted. Madhavan had sent a note recommending revision of rates at which the licences were being granted arguing that the rates be revised as they did not reflect the then market dynamics. Former DoT Secretary Siddharth Behura and former TRAI Chairperson Pradip Baijal have already appeared before the Committee.

Great Review dear Common Man. +1

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RCOM Introduces Enhanced Version Of Missed Call Alerts Service Reliance Communications today launched MCA 2.0 with Notify Me, its new missed call notification service with enhanced features. Reliance Customers will receive missed call alert as at present – which tells a subscriber if they have missed a call due to their phone being either out of coverage area, battery exhaustion, phone is busy or switched off. In addition, ‘Notify Me’ alerts the callers, whose attempt to ring someone have failed, that the called number is now available to receive a call from them. The missed call notification sms will detail the calling party’s mobile number, time & date when the call was made, whereby calling parties will receive a sms saying that the called party is available to receive calls. To subscribe to this service, Reliance customers have to type “M” and send an SMS to 51234 (toll free). Customer will be charged Rs. 15/- for 30 days for unlimited alerts.The offer is also available through Chat and Play e-recharge in all retails outlets serving Reliance GSM, CDMA and 3G customers including the company’s retail outlets of Reliance Mobile Stores and Reliance World outlets across India. Courtesy : Telecom Talk

MTNL Offers FREE Incoming 3G Video Calling Facility While on Roaming Continuing its leverage of bringing best and affordable 3G services, India’s first 3G Mobile service operator Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), announced the launch of FREE Incoming 3G Video Call facility while Roaming in Maharashtra and Goa telecom circle for its postpaid and prepaid 3g subscribers of Mumbai. The new facility will enable MTNL customers from Mumbai to enjoy FREE Incoming Video Calling while Roaming when they visit any destination across Maharashtra and Goa (earlier Incoming voice call was free); there will be no Incoming 3G Video call charges i.e. all Incoming Video calls will be FREE while Roaming in Maharashtra-Goa BSNL 3G Network (approx more than 55 cities). All outgoing calls and SMS will be charged at their existing tariff plan other terms and condition will remain same. So now MTNL Mumbai customers who are frequent travelers in Maharashtra and Goa circle have another reason to rejoice to stay connected with their beloved once by Real time face to face Video callings. Recently MTNL Munbai also kicked off its new 3G Campaign in Print Media, FM Radio as well as Public transport Buses (Best Buses) and Bus Stops for awareness over 3G Video Calling which says ” Get closer to your loved ones—in real time and in video ! Connect better with your family; see what they’re up to and let them see where you’re hanging out! Courtesy : Telecom Talk

+1 to both of you dear Greatest and Rajan Bhai. Magar aapne khud ke credit cards ka photuva nahi daala.....ab mai apke credit cards ko kaise decode karunga ???

Thanks for the very informational thread dear Karthik Brother. +1

Ya, data on Garuda is really bad. Speeds s**ks in Garuda. I think at that price too there will be hardly any takers for this plan.

Hmmmm.....we are trying to get lower tariffs from operators but....yahan toh ulta scene chal raha hai.

Rajan Bhai, kya kaha ? Todna mushkil hota hai ???? Lo abhi todey detey hain ! Arey Rimweb wale bhai log suntey ho ?.....dekho dekho BHAI kya keh rahe hain.......TOD DOH YEH DEEWAR.....! Per yeh dewaar toot-ti kyu nahi hai ? Tootegi kaise......DROPPED CALLS..... LATE DELIVERY OF SMS's aur UNWANTED VAS ACTIVATIONS se joh bani hai.

BJP's Telecom Cell launches campaign against unsolicited text SMSs, voice calls The Economic Times l 28 January l New Delhi The Bharatiya Janata Party’s newly constituted Telecom Consumer Cell has announced the launch of a campaign against the menace of unsolicited text SMSs and automated voice calls . Sanjay Bhalla, the National Convener of the BJP Telecom Consumer Cell submitted BJP’s memorandum of demands related to this issue to Dr JS Sarma, Chairperson of TRAI, today. The memorandum demands the implementation of a system that makes it mandatory for telecom service providers and telemarketer to pay telecom users for unsolicited text SMSs and automated voice calls. In his meeting today with Dr Sarma, Mr Bhalla pointed out that, in the TRAI policy guidelines document for UCC (No 305-17/2010-QoS, dated 1 December 2010, on the setting up and enforcement of rules for Access Providers and Telemarketers with respect to UCCs, clauses pertaining to the penalties merely sp ecify that “....the penalty amounts shall be deducted from the security deposit of the telemarketer and deposited in the account as may be specified by TRAI, from time to time.....” (Schedule 4, Clause 10). “Surprisingly there is no reference on compensating the telecom consumer for the inconvenience caused and the unsolicited use of the resource by the telemarketer. By law, the cell phone is the private property of the telecom user; therefore it is the consumer’s right to be paid for the usage of the private resource by a third party-in this case, the Access Provider/telemarketer,” says Mr Bhalla. The BJP Telecom Consumer Cell has demanded that TRAI should issue a notification directing the Access Providers to directly credit the accounts of telecom users as per below: • For Every Unsolicited Commercial Communication (SMS): 5/- (Rupees Five) per such marketing SMS • For Every Unsolicited Commercial Communication (Voice Call): 10/- ( Rupees Ten) per such marketing call According to Mr Bhalla, the system is technically feasible: “We have discussed this issue with several telecom providers and they do not see much difficulty in implementing this system.” The mission of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Telecom Consumer Cell is to be the voice of the Indian telecom consumer on all service and policy issues relating to telecommunications.

Pay 60% of the DOT penalty within 2 weeks: TDSAT to 4 telcos The Economic Times l 28 January l New Delhi Telcom regulator TDSAT today ordered Uninor, Videcon Teleservices, S Tel and Idea Cellular that secured 2G licences in 2008, to pay 60 percent of the penalty imposed by DOT for their failure to roll out services on time. The four operators were given this direction in an interim order by Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal, which asked them to deposit part of the penalty within two weeks. Directing DoT to file its reply within two weeks, TDSAT has listed the matter for further hearing on February 10. The TDSAT interim order came over a bunch of separate petitions filed by the four operators challenging DoT's demand notice seeking liquidated damages for not rolling out their services within the stipulated period of one year . S Tel, which is jointly owned by C Sivasankaran and Bahrain Telecommunications, had approached TDSAT challenging the penalty imposed by DoT for its failure to timely roll out services in Orissa, Assam, North East, Bihar and, Jammu and Kashmir circles. While it has paid penalty for Assam and Bihar under protest, it is yet to pay for the other three circles. Videocon, which had approached the tribunal for the second time, challenged the penalty demand by DoT for its failure to meet the roll-out obligations in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka circles. Uninor and Idea Cellular had approached TDSAT for one circle each. Uninor had challenged penalty for Punjab while Idea Cellular had challenged it for West Bengal. Earlier in a similar case, TDSAT had directed Uninor to pay 60 per cent of the penalty demanded by the DoT for failing to roll out its services in 18 circles. DoT had sent notices to several firms that got new 2G licenses bundled with start-up spectrum in 2008, but have not started offering services in various circles. As per the conditions of the Unified Access Service License (UASL), the telcos are required to roll out their networks within a year from the date of allocation of spectrum. According to the agreement, in case new licencees fail to roll out services within the stipulated period, DoT shall be entitled to recover liquidation damages.

^^^ Really shocking that even company owned Vodafone Outlets are unable to recharge gprs packs for other circles .

I'm trying to port two of my RCDMA mobiles to MTS and send the sms nearly 15 times.....but received this from Reliance : "Your request could not be processed. Please try after some time." Logged complaints twice and got the sms next day from Reliance that my issue has been resolved.....but still I'm unable to get the porting code.

Today I too received sms from Reliance that you can send only 100 sms per day from 1st Feb 2011 onwards. @KumaarBhai What an IDEA sirji. +1

Dear Mr. Confused, may be Reliance also got confused and treating you as a VIP customer in CONFUSION.

^^^ My dear friend, please mention the source of the news in your post.

RIM Won't Give the Indian Government Enterprise E-mail Access Canadian manufacturers Research in Motion have categorically stated that the Indian Government will not be getting access to their customers' Enterprise e-mails. Though RIM complied with the Government's demands to grant them access to Blackberry Messenger, this seems to be one stance they will not be budging from. According to Reuters, RIM seem to have two reasons for rejecting the possibility. One is the line they have continued to use ever since India asked for access, which is the claim that it is impossible for them to decrypt the information being beamed from the devices to their servers and back because they do not have a Master Key. The other being the fact that any security issue via Corporate e-mail is not exclusive to their Enterprise service, because of the possibility that there could be numerous companies who send encrypted e-mails via their own Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). RIM certainly are no strangers to this situation, with similar demands being issued by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and more. They even had porn filtered for their consumers in Indonesia following strong Government pressure and a threat of closure of their browsing service. However, RIM seem to believe giving the Indian Government access to Blackberry Messenger meets the Government requirements, so corporate e-mail access will not be happening. Courtesy : Tech2

VNL: Solar-power GSM ready to serve remote, rural areas Developing Telecoms, 08 Aug 2008 at 00:00 VNL, an Indian telecom equipment vendor, is claiming to have re-engineered GSM in order to help operators provide affordable mobile telephony to new customers in rural markets. The company is quoting energy requirements of 50W and 120W to operate, compared to 3,000W for a typical GSM base station. Telecom equipment vendor VNL believes it "has finally cracked the problem facing mobile operators in the developing world: how to provide affordable mobile services to rural people - and still turn a profit." Using solar-powered GSM systems, VNL is also stating that it "will change the telecoms market in rural areas across the world." For years, operators and GSM equipment vendors have struggled with the same problem, namely that traditional GSM was not designed for the unique challenges posed by vast rural areas. It costs too much, is too expensive to run, uses too much power and is too difficult to deploy (especially in areas with no electricity, poor roads and no skilled engineers). VNL's further claim is that it has "re-engineered GSM technology to reduce its power requirement and make it suitable for a rural environment where electricity is scarce or unavailable." These are bold claims - and Developing Telecoms is publishing them with appropriate caveats. VNL’s WorldGSM system includes base stations that "only need between 50W and 120W of power to operate, compared to 3,000 W for a typical GSM base station." The WorldGSM base station is entirely powered by solar energy with a 72 hour battery back-up in place (also charged by solar power). It is in turn coupled with a rural-optimised MSC (Mobile Switching Centre), and a compact BSC (Base Station Controller) – making WorldGSM a complete, end-to-end GSM network. Thanks to solar power, WorldGSM "reduces the operating expenses for mobile operators - and contributes to a much lower environmental impact." VNL has estimated that mobile networks in India alone require 2 billion litres of diesel every year to power back-up diesel generators. India-based Luke Thomas, from the research and consulting company Frost & Sullivan, says: “India is the fastest growing telecoms market in the world but some urban areas have already reached saturation point. VNL has opened up a whole new area of subscriber and revenue growth for operators by building a commercial – and profitable – GSM system to service remote low-density rural areas.” Indian infrastructure provider Quippo Telecom Infrastructure Limited (QTIL) will be trialling WorldGSM in rural areas of India in the near future. Following the successful completion of the trial, QTIL expects to roll out a complete commercial network that will be fully integrated with the networks of existing operators. Agreements with several prominent operators have been reached and are in the process of being finalised. VNL CEO, Anil Raj, who founded Hutch India in 1994 and served as its CEO before moving to Ericsson as President of its India operations, comments: “Telecoms operators and equipment manufacturers have traditionally failed to deliver GSM to rural areas for the simple reason that it’s just too difficult and ultimately not sustainable. There’s no power, no engineers, no infrastructure, a difficult terrain, low density – and, most importantly, low subscriber revenues...”

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