Virgin Mobile Is Here For The Youth, Courtesy Tata

[commonman 228]

Question is, since both TATA and Virgin share the same system and are technically two brands of the same company (thats what they are claiming, right), would calls from a TATA phone with free on-net facility also be free to a Virgin number and the Virgin NO. get 10p on that?

Edited March 5, 2008 by commonman

[@ksh@T 20]

Govt open to Mobile Virtual Network Operators: Telecom Secretary

NEW DELHI: Amid controversy over the Tatas' deal with British company Virgin for offering value-added telecom services, the government today said it was open to the idea of allowing Mobile Virtual Network Operators.

"We are open to this... Indian telecom market is maturing and this can be allowed," Telecom Secretary Siddartha Behura told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.

Under Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO), companies buy airtime from mobile players and sell it in their own brand name. GSM operators have been opposing the move, saying this is not allowed as per the existing licencing conditions.

The government has sought clarifications from the Tatas about their deal with Virgin, Behura said, while dismissing reports that the Department of Telecom has put the deal on hold.

Tatas have said it was only a franchise agreement between the two companies and no clause of the telecom licence has been violated as alleged by the GSM operators' lobby Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).

"Some of the operators have sought clarifications about the Mobile Virtual Network Operators and we are looking into it," Behura said.

The COAI has written two letters to Behura saying Tatas' joint venture with Virgin is a blatant violation of the license and has caused a loss of Rs 1,651 crore to the exchequer as Virgin would become a virtual operator without acquiring a licence.

Tatas have also launched a counter attack on the GSM players and questioned the outsourcing of complete infrastructure to foreign companies by some of the mobile players such as Bharti and Vodafone.

[@ksh@T 20]

Govt seeks details of Tata Tele, Virgin tie up

NEW DELHI: The government has sought details from Tata Teleservices on its recent tie up with the UK's Virgin Mobile, a senior telecoms official said on Wednesday, but added the two firms had not been barred from rolling out services.

Virgin Mobile, a unit of British communications group Virgin Media, on Sunday announced the launch of a youth-focused service in India through Tata Teleservices.

"We have asked them for information ... to see if it is consistent with licencing conditions," Telecoms Secretary Siddhartha Behura told reporters at a business conference.

Asked if Tata was barred from rolling out services in partnership with Virgin, he said: "Absolutely not".

[Arun 795]

DoT seal on Tata-Virgin deal

The Telegraph

March 5, 2008

The department of telecommunications (DoT) has given the Tata Teleservices-Virgin mobile deal a clean chit, while the GSM lobby is crying foul over the deal.

DoT secretary Siddharth Behura said today: “We’d asked Tata Teleservices to provide the details of their agreement with Virgin Mobile, which they are expected to provide soon.”

An arm of the DoT — the wireless planning and co-ordination wing — will submit a report on the deal within 10 days.

Officials of the DoT said a greater clarity on the alliance would be obtained once the department gets the report.

Asked whether Virgin Mobile’s entry required clearances from the DoT and the Foreign Investment Promotion Board, Behura said: “Virgin hasn’t come as a foreign investor, it is only a franchisee. Whatever royalty that will have to be paid for this is an internal matter between Tata and Virgin. It doesn’t require approvals from the DoT.”

Finance ministry officials said laws allowed foreign telecom companies to set up shop as a franchisee. However, “they would require approval if they were to repatriate royalty fees from an Indian company for the use of a foreign brand name”.

Earlier this week, the GSM lobby Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) had written to the DoT, asking it to look into the agreement and clarify whether the Tata-Virgin deal was really a franchisee agreement.

The COAI has sought to know in what capacity Virgin Mobile is entering the Indian market and the terms and conditions of the agreement with the Tatas.

“The DoT hasn’t conveyed anything to us so far. Usually, in a franchise agreement, the franchisee company uses the name of the parent company and pays for it. In this case, it’s Tata Teleservices which is paying Virgin for the use of its brandname. We find this arrangement very peculiar,” said COAI director-general T.V. Ramachandran.

CDMA player Reliance Communications has also alleged that Virgin was trying to disguise its entry as an MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) in India with Branson’s attention seeking tactics.

Under the MVNO model, telecom operators buy talk time on wholesale rates from existing mobile operators and then sell it to subscribers under their own brand.

The government has been thinking of opening up this sector but has not done so.

Ramachandran said under the deal with the Tatas, Virgin was providing incentives on airtime to customers. “How is that possible without Virgin buying bulk airtime from the Tatas, which amounts to the deal being an MVNO.”

However, Tata Teleservices and Virgin Mobile are seeing the deal in terms of brand extension.

[sougatadc 358]

That's really a good news, Arun.

[hritik123 4]

yes tata - virgin deal is on, how many of u guys will shift to virgin??????????

[hritik123 4]

yes tata - virgin deal is on, how many of u guys will shift to virgin??????????

[HetalDP 947]

As Mobile Number Portability is not there We Just cant think to Switch, unless going for fresh service

[ra_ra6_ra 0]

Hello, I want to know that Can I use the Virgin Handsets specifically on Tata Indicom's or some other CDMA Mobile service.Please reply it.Thank You.

[shashank 8]

You can use it!

[commonman 228]

You can use it!

Based on the FAQ in Virgin mobile website, I doubt that. Phones expect to come locked. So,

TATA normal service - should be possible since same network.

Other Service - Don't think so.

[kshah 452]

why shoule one shift to virgin? For locked phones?

[vishalkumar 0]

Guys will Virgin be offering CDMA services or GSM services or both? I am assuming it will be CDMA, since then it can sell locked handsets. But if it is GSM services and they are selling locked handsets, then there will be a problem for the GSM users, as they will be locked in with the same provider with the phone and not able to use it with any GSM network of their choice.

What do you guys say?

[shashank 8]

When i called Virgin,they said we have to buy Handset from them but if we insist on using our existing CDMA(Purchased from Tata OR open mkts) then they will program it for you.

Virgin will also provide GSM service when Tata starts its GSM service!

[kesav 127]

Here is the official press release.

http://www.tataindicom.com/pressroom/pr_do...rence_final.pdf

Get paid to receive calls – Virgin Mobile

customers will get 10 paise credit for every

in-coming minute they receive from any

network.

Easy Handset upgrades: Virgin Mobile is

India’s first CDMA service where all

customers will be on RUIM (SIM)-based

phones, thereby giving them the

convenience of upgrading their phones

without having to change their number or

re-enter their address book.

True Care: All Virgin Mobile customers will

be called back by the same call center

agent to address their query

Call more for less – After the 1st 2 mins of

calls each day (which will be charged at

Re1) all Virgin Mobile customers nationwide

will automatically be able to call any

local network at any time of day for only 50

paise per minute with no commitment or

extra charge

One Touch access to V-Bytes: 100% of

Virgin Mobile-branded handsets will have a

simple one-touch access button that takes

customers directly to our unique VBytes

portal.

Safe Secrets: All Virgin Mobile RUIM (SIM)

cards will have a secret folder where SMSs

can be stored and password-locked to

keep them safe from prying eyes.

‘100% colour, 100% FM’ handsets: Virgin

Mobile is the only CDMA mobile service

brand to offer its customers a handset

range that is both 100% colour and 100%

FM-radio enabled.

100% Bling: Virgin Mobile offers India’s first

mirror finished clam shell phone with dual

screens for less than Rs. 2500.

Unlimited access to V-Bytes for a simple

daily charge: Virgin Mobile customers can

enjoy unlimited access to our unique

VBytes data portal, including free Virginselected

content, for a simple daily charge

of only Rs.5.

TGI weekend Bolt-on: Virgin Mobile

customers can enjoy a weekend of extreme

calling and texting by paying only Re18 to

get 100 local SMS and all local mobile calls

at 30 paise from Friday to Sunday.

[vishalkumar 0]

Virgin will also provide GSM service when Tata starts its GSM service!

I thought Idea was part of Tata. Is that not so?

[vishalkumar 0]

Here is the official press release.

http://www.tataindicom.com/pressroom/pr_do...rence_final.pdf

Guys, I also noticed that there is no mention of using the phone as a modem (like in case of RCom). Is that a feature which is not present or they will be announcing it later???

[shashank 8]

@Vishal

Tata had a stake(i think 49% not sure) in idea which they sold few years back.

[ra_ra6_ra 0]

Thank You very much for all the replies.Again I ask Can I use TATA INDICOM's Service on Virgin Mobile Phones?Please answer it.Thank You.RA.

[sougatadc 358]

Excellent new concepts from Virgin for wooing the subscribers. R u watching, Mr Ambani?

[Honest 836]

^^^

@Kesav

Thanks for the info my dear friend.

@Sougata

Yes my dear friend, the concept of Virgin is really marvelous. VIRGIN is going to be a big success in the near futue in India.

Regards.

[siva1983in 1]

I bought a virgin mobile yesterday night..for 2500.. clamshell.. looks nice. Starter pack comes in a CD pouch like.. Similiar to TATA, they provide u a SIM.. That virgin mobile sim can be used in any open market handset.. I used it on my spice d-88 dual gsm/cdma. Worked fine. But i was unable to use my TATA sim on the virgin mobile handset. It said invalid sim.

So if u can get Virgin SIM alone, it can be used in any open market CDMA handset. But if u buy a handset from virgin, u can use only virgin sim in that..

For incoming calls(other than from customer care) u wil be credited Rs.10p for 60 seconds or if ur call is only for 30 seconds then 5 paise or even 3 paise depending on the duration of ur incoming call.. Prorata basis. The total incoming amount for the day will be credited on the next day morning. U will also receive an sms on how much amount is credited for the day.

Edited March 9, 2008 by siva1983in

[sougatadc 358]

I bought a virgin mobile yesterday night..for 2500.. clamshell.. looks nice. Starter pack comes in a CD pouch like.. Similiar to TATA, they provide u a SIM.. That virgin mobile sim can be used in any open market handset.. I used it on my spice d-88 dual gsm/cdma. Worked fine. But i was unable to use my TATA sim on the virgin mobile handset. It said invalid sim.

So if u can get Virgin SIM alone, it can be used in any open market CDMA handset. But if u buy a handset from virgin, u can use only virgin sim in that..

For incoming calls(other than from customer care) u wil be credited Rs.10p for 60 seconds or if ur call is only for 30 seconds then 5 paise or even 3 paise depending on the duration of ur incoming call.. Prorata basis. The total incoming amount for the day will be credited on the next day morning. U will also receive an sms on how much amount is credited for the day.

Let us welcome the first member user of Virgin mobile on this forum. The pro-rata idea of crediting is great. But lack of openness with Tata uim is condemnable. Tata should look into the matter early and get rid of the problem. Their own product should not have such problems.

[Honest 836]

^^^

My dear friends, I think Tata has to upgrade their sims to make them compatible with Virgin mobiles.

And if it is possible, then TATA should provide a free sim replacement to the customers who want to use virgin mobile handsets.

Regards.

[sougatadc 358]

Yes, a free uim replacement is required. Let us also wait and watch what happens when GSM service is launched. Whether the existing CDMA subscribers are offered with options to migrate into GSM service with their number retained or not.