Virgin Mobile Is Here For The Youth, Courtesy Tata

[Honest 836]

DoT again says yes to Virgin

27 Aug, 2008, 0026 hrs IST, ET

NEW DELHI: After studying Virgin Mobile’s operations in India over the last couple of months, the department of telecom (DoT) has given the company a clean chit yet again and said that its services here were not that of a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). This is the second instance of DoT clearing Virgin Mobile.

Earlier this year (March), both the DoT and sector regulator Trai had studied Virgin’s business model and endorsed the company’s claims that it was only a franchisee of Tata Teleservices.

The latest clearance comes after a section of the DoT had studied Virgin Mobile’s advertisements, SIM card, tariffs and services on August 20. Richard Branson’s Virgin Mobile had launched services in India in March 2008 in partnership with Tata Teleservices.

However, GSM operators led by their industry lobby—The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI)—alleged that the UK-based telco was offering full-range mobile services like a licence holder in violation of existing regulations while also adding that its services here were similar to those offered by Virgin as an MVNO in other countries like the UK and Australia.

The Tatas have always maintained that the tie-up for Virgin Mobile-branded services was above board and completely in compliance with the laws and regulations of the country. They also added that since there was no selling of bulk airtime, the partnership cannot be classified as an MVNO. The DoT in an internal note dated August 21 has said that an MVNO would involve purchase of minutes from facility-based mobile network, freedom to prescribe tariff, customer ownership and separate licence, but the Tata-Virgin JV did not involve any of these factors.

[@ksh@T 20]

Virgin Mobile goes online

NEW DELHI: Richard Branson promoted Virgin Mobile today made all its services including handsets, plans and recharge coupons available online so that customers can get the services without visiting company's sales stores.

The company which has a franchisee tie-up with Tata Teleservices mainly targets Indian youth. The new initiative aims at reaching them who spend a significant chunk of their time online, a company statement said.

"With 44 per cent of the total internet population in India within the age group of 19 to 24 years, it is logical for us to extend our presence to the online space and offer our customers the convenience and comfort of buying Virgin Mobile connection at the click of a button," said Virgin Mobile India's CEO M A Madhusudan.

The company has tied up with Blue Dart to home deliver the phones at the customer's door step. It has also tied up with BillDesk for payment authorisation. The company also plans to come out with product bundled offers, facility of gifting a phone to friend/family and an option to recharge/top-up online.

src: et

[commonman 228]

Virgin Mobile goes online

NEW DELHI: Richard Branson promoted Virgin Mobile today made all its services including handsets, plans and recharge coupons available online so that customers can get the services without visiting company's sales stores.

The company which has a franchisee tie-up with Tata Teleservices mainly targets Indian youth. The new initiative aims at reaching them who spend a significant chunk of their time online, a company statement said.

"With 44 per cent of the total internet population in India within the age group of 19 to 24 years, it is logical for us to extend our presence to the online space and offer our customers the convenience and comfort of buying Virgin Mobile connection at the click of a button," said Virgin Mobile India's CEO M A Madhusudan.

The company has tied up with Blue Dart to home deliver the phones at the customer's door step. It has also tied up with BillDesk for payment authorisation. The company also plans to come out with product bundled offers, facility of gifting a phone to friend/family and an option to recharge/top-up online.

src: et

The online store does not seem to work at present

[vkiran_kumar1980 0]

4. Nowadays,,,,,,,,, Internet r Free ( Mobile Browser & Computer Browser with Full Download No Any One Charge) Bcozed ,, No Any Browsing Rate decide ( Customer Care Reply) but u don't use in mobile browser in V- Bytes services it is chargeable 5 Rs per day.

I am also use internet in mobile or pc both working Good with no any charge.

Is internet still free?

Yes my Dear,

Yesterday I am checking both browser ( Computer & mobile browser) and some download file also.No any cost deducted on my accounts.

Hi sandeep

i am kiran kumar from AP

I have some doubts

on which handset that u surfed the internet & how u r able to connect to internet through PC, Is there any accessories r required to connect to internet through PC if yes where did u got them.

Presently i am using v-Swing model.

Please reply.

[ravi_patent 28]

virgin mobile increased the minutes which will be charged at 50p to 60 mins a day(earlier it was 30mins/day)..

http://www.virginmobile.in/plan_special_offers_news.html

"STD calls @ less than 1p/sec based on 50p/min are subject to a maximum of 60 mins per day"

Edited September 11, 2009 by ravi_patent

[Karthik R 246]

Virgin Group to exit joint venture with Tata Teleservices

After riding with the Tatas for three years, the Richard Branson-promoted Virgin Group has exited from the joint venture company, Virgin Mobile India.

Virgin's partner in the venture, Tata Teleservices (TTSL), has agreed to buy out the 50 per cent stake held by the UK-based company for an undisclosed amount, sources close to the development told Business Line.

It may be recalled that the Virgin Group had signed two business agreements with the Tatas in 2008. One was a 50:50 joint venture for marketing mobile connections on a revenue-share basis, and the other was a branding arrangement that allowed TTSL to use the Virgin brand against payment of royalty.

It is reliably learned that while the joint venture is being dismantled, the two parties will continue with the branding arrangement at least for the foreseeable future. This means that TTSL will continue to pay a royalty fee to Virgin for three years, the sources said.

A PR representative for Tata Teleservices said the company will not comment on this development. Mr M. A. Madhusudan, Chief Executive Officer of Virgin India, did not respond to a questionnaire that sought to get an official confirmation from the company. But sources said the move was expected considering that Tata Tele was integrating all its telecom-specific businesses under one umbrella.

The process had started with integrating Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) and the next step could be to bring other business units under TTSL. This will enable the company to merge its sales, marketing and distribution teams and achieve cost synergies by reducing redundancies, sources said.

Virgin India had initially launched its services on the Tata Teleservices CDMA platform. The Virgin brand quickly became a marketing hit thanks to its catchy advertisement campaigns that were targeted at the youth. However, it could not sustain the initial demand and slowly began to slide on the market share front. Last year, after Tata Tele got dual-technology permission, Virgin moved into the GSM space as well.

Industry analysts feel that the Tatas' focus in the joint venture had diluted after it entered into an equity partnership with DoCoMo Corporation of Japan, subsequent to which it launched the Tata DoCoMo brand. In fact, Virgin India has seen an exodus of senior management professionals of late. Sources say the company has wound up some of its key offices in several parts of the country.

Via : Business Standard

[hritik123 4]

I like the Virgin adverts a lot , smart and witty

[Himanshu Singh 19]

So the first one bites the dust.