Aircel's 3G Buildup

[kesav 127]

AIRCEL Launches The First 3G Experience Zone In Chennai

Aircel becomes the first private telecom service provider to Launch 3G Experience Zone in Chennai for the consumers to get a first hand feel of third generation mobile telephony and its wonders.

There will be four Aircel 3G experience zones spread across Chennai (Atrium2, Spencers Plaza; Fun City, Express Avenue; Atrium Citi Centre & Aircel Store PH road ) for the consumers to access and get to know what 3G is and what it can do for you.

The consumers can walk in and they will be taken through the services available such as the Video Callings, Aircel IVVR (Interactive Video Voice Response) and Aircel 3G PocketInternet portal.

Mr. Gurdeep Singh, Chief Operating Officer, Aircel said, “At Aircel we have always had a clear focus on the future and have diligently been the first to introduce, products and services that address relevant needs of the consumers be it the Aircel Pocket Internet, Aircel Pocket Apps store and the Aircel Apollo Mobile Health Care.

It has been our constant and consistent endeavor to offer our consumers best in class on the Mobile anytime anywhere. The launch of 3G experience zones in Chennai is a step towards the same as it would equip our consumers and provide them first hands on experience on 3G services and open to them a world of possibilities.”

These services address all segments be it the youth, a housewife, a professional or a senior citizen. There is something for all which 3G addresses, with a 3G phone and access to the 3G network at the Aircel experience zone you can make peer to peer video calls; access the vibrant, colorful Aircel 3G PocketInternet portal with easy access to news, sports etc. ; and through the Aircel IVVR watch your favorite movie songs or dialogues of your favorite stars for e.g. Rajinikanth, Suriya, Vijay etc. At Aircel we shrink the world for you with a promise to offer you a world of possibilities anytime, anywhere.

source :: http://telecomtalk.info/aircel-launches-the-first-3g-experience-zone-in-chennai/46450/

Aircel 3G Signal Goes Live

TT readers from Chennai and Hyderabad have started spotting Aircel 3G signal.Aircel has bagged 3G spectrum in 13 circles.

We’d like you to let us know if you have also come across Aircel 3G signal in your area. Just follow the simple steps to find out if there is 3G services awaiting for you.

Get a 3G handset and go to phone settings > set Network Mode to WCDMA/UMTS > then search for Networks Manually > It is expected that u will have Cellone/Dolphin (thats BSNL/MTNL) and Aircel 3G if available.

You can also email us screenshots with your area name and we’d be happy to post them in this post.

In Chennai Aircel 3G signal was spotted

source :: http://telecomtalk.info/aircel-3g-signal-goes-live/46449/#more-46449

[kesav 127]

IMImobile Powers 3G Mobile VAS Experience for Aircel

Leading M-VAS devloers IMImobile today demonstrated its technological strength by successfully powering the mobile VAS experience on India’s first private operator 3G experience zone launched by Aircel.

IMImobile’s DaVinci 3G Services deliver video on demand through streaming, subscription and download to video portal users and enables them to access their favorite video content through an easy to use interface. Further, as the video portals provide visual prompts, service discovery, navigation and catalogue browsing are greatly streamlined enabling end users to discover content and services best suited for them.

The IMImobile DaVinci Video on Demand solution includes an integrated Device Repository that gives detailed information on not only the supported codecs but also the maximum quality of audio/video content supported on a given device. As a result, the solution selects only the best possible content for streaming to the consumer.

The video content is published in different categories and made discoverable through features such as full text search, automatic recommendations, top rated content, and top viewed content along with promotional videos. This ensures that consumes can not only view popular content but also discover the content they are most likely to enjoy.

Vishwanath Alluri, Chairman and CEO of IMImobile, marking the occasion said “We are happy to provide our 3G platform for Aircel who are the first private mobile operator in India to have launched 3G services. Widespread availability of 3G services is going to be an important milestone for telecom services in India and we at IMImobile look forward to once again play our part in this evolution”.

source :: http://telecomtalk.info/imimobile-powers-3g-mobile-vas-experience-for-aircel/46708/

[srk006 21]

Aircel has started 3G testing in Kerala. I got 3G signal of IND 809 in Kochi.

[kesav 127]

Ericsson Bags Aircel’s 3G Network Contract for 6 of 13 circles

AIRCEL, India’s leading mobile operator (part of Maxis Communications, Malaysia), has awarded a contract to Ericsson to rolls out its 3G/HSPA network across six out of its 13 circles or geographic market areas.

The six Aircel circles wherein Ericsson provides 3G technology in are, Tamil Nadu, Bihar -Jharkhand, Orissa, Jammu Kashmir, North East and Assam .These six circles currently serve more than 100 million subscribers and Ericsson will be Aircel’s largest partner for 3G implementation.

Under the agreement with Aircel, Ericsson will provide core, radio and transmission network equipment as well as related services such as network rollout, network technology and consulting, radio network optimization and support services.

The mobile broadband network will include the latest multi-standard radio base station, RBS6000, and the MSC Server Blade Cluster, which will drastically boost the capacity of the network and evolve it into an IP network. The framework contract will be implemented from 2010 to 2012. Deliveries and deployment are underway. Aircel and Ericsson made the first successful 3G call last week in Chennai and Coimbatore .

Gurdeep Singh, COO of Aircel says: “For many people in India connected for the first time, 3G mobile broadband will bring completely new types of services and benefits. We are confident that with this partnership, we will benefit from Ericsson’s global expertise of 3G deployments, and will be able to offer our customers a world-class 3G experience.

Gowton Achaibar, head of Ericsson India , says: “We are extremely excited to partner with Aircel for the implementation of its 3G network. We foresee 3G brings economic advantages and increased social interaction in the country. With the advent of 3G, the mobile phone will not just be about convenience and satisfying a basic need for communication; it will also provide access to services such as healthcare, education and information, supporting people’s livelihoods.”

source :: http://telecomtalk.info/ericsson-bags-aircel-s-3g-network-contract/47804/

It's lovely news for circles concerned.

[kesav 127]

Aircel to launch 3G in early 2011

NEW DELHI: Mobile phone service provider Aircel on Friday said it would launch 3G services in 140 cities across 13 circles in January-February 2011, with an investment of $500 million and would invest another $500 million to expand its 2G network across the country.

"Over a period of one year we will cover at least 50% of the 2G footprint under 3G network," said Aircel chief operating officer Gurdeep Singh while launching a value added service. Aircel would launch 4G or BWA services in a year's time and was evaluating Wimax and TD-LTE platforms for the same, he added.

The company won 3G licences for Delhi (Metro), Mumbai (Metro), Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh , Maharashtra & Goa, Rajasthan , Punjab, UP (West) and UP (East) in an auction earlier this year.

The company would clock 50 million customers by end of this year and was expecting 10% of its customer base to move to 3G in the first year of 3G launch. The company foresees an additional 25% of its customers to shift to 3G by end of 2012. On pricing, Aircel officials said that 3G services would be more expensive compared to 2G tariffs and would be priced so as to commensurate the investments it was making. It may adopt a strategy where consumers will pay more for faster speeds and vice-versa .

The company added that it had not received any notification from Trai with regard to cancellation of 2G licences. Aircel is one of the six companies mentioned by Trai in its recommendations to the Indian government saying that 69 licences to companies including Etisalat DB, Uninor (Unitech), Videocon (Datacom), Loop Telecom and Aircel should be cancelled since they have not complied with their rollout obligations as mentioned in the licence conditions.

"I can only say that we haven't received any notification as yet. till such time we receive (the notification) I can say 'no comments' ," said Mr Singh. Trai has also suggested penal action to be taken against the mobile operators, as they were required to cover at least 10% of each district headquarters in each circle within 12 months of the date of award of the licence.

source :: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/news/telecom/Aircel-to-launch-3G-in-early-2011/articleshow/6959701.cms

[Honest 836]

The earlier they start 3G services, the more competition will be there among all operators. And no doubt the more benefit we, the subscribers will leech.

[Honest 836]

ZTE bags $85 mn contract from Aircel for 3G network

NEW DELHI: Telecom equipment manufacturer ZTE Corporation today said it has received an order worth USD 85 million (about Rs 383 crore) from mobile service provider Aircel to build and deploy its advanced 3G network.

As the long-term partner and supplier of GSM networks for Aircel, ZTE will also be responsible for upgrading its 2G network, implementing the new 3G network and subsequent upgrades, ZTE Corporation said in a statement.

Aircel, is the Indian subsidiary of Malaysia's Maxis Group .

"This contract between ZTE and Aircel is a significant one for ZTE in the Indian market," ZTE India CEO Huang Dabin said.

The deal would allow Aircel to achieve cost-effective networking and improved mobile services. In addition, Aircel will benefit from ZTE's eco-friendly base-station technology, which is already at the forefront of the industry, the company said.

To date, ZTE already has 12 Long Term Evolution (LTE), the latest standard in the mobile network technology, commercial application contracts.

The company had spectrum for 13 new circles across India. These include Delhi (Metro), Mumbai (Metro), Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, Rajasthan, Punjab, UP (West) and UP (East).

Courtesy : The Economic Times

[Karthik R 246]

Remember only Aircel provides us with truly UNLIMITED gprs packs @ Rs.14 and Rs.98 with 3 days and 30 days validity respectively. Everyother like Vodafone, Idea and Airtel have a FUP of 2gb while with Docomo it is 6gb. But how many users make use of the 'unlimited' gprs facility needs to be seen as the speeds obtained is just average and suffer from frequent disconnection.

Maybe. Maybe they will offer the elusive unlimited 3G on phone likewise!

[Honest 836]

AIRCEL Launches 3G Webpage

India’s fifth largest GSM Mobile Service operator AIRCEL today launched a dedicated 3G page on its website that will address subscribers’ queries and concerns regarding the next generation Mobile and Data services.

The Aircel 3G page on its website gives an Overview of what this technology is and what it can do. It also provides information on Aircel 3G Zones established in Chennai, Hyderabad, Cochin, Coimbatore and Bangalore wherein one can explore the upcoming 3G mobile and data services with speed up to 21.1 Mbps.

In 3G Spectrum Auction, AIRCEL emerged as the biggest spender which bagged 3G license for its strong hold areas and covers almost South and East region of the country. It has 3G spectrum in 13 circles – Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,Tamil Nadu (including Chennai) Kerala , Punjab, U.P (East), Kolkata, West Bengal, Bihar & Jharkhand, Orissa, Assam, North East, and Jammu & Kashmir.

As other private 3G service provider’s 3G Web page, Aircel also uploaded the FAQs related to 3G and has a section where subscribers can register for 3G services. The page also enables mobile phone users to check whether their Mobile Phone/Device is compatible with 3G.

Aircel isn’t the first operator to create a 3G web-page, Tata Docomo, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications (RCOM) Idea Cellular and Vodafone Essar had already unveiled the 3G dedicated web-page on their websites.

To get in more analysis on upcoming Aircel 3G, check out this link Aircel 3G Web Page.

Courtesy : Telecom Talk

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Aircel finalises equipment vendors for 3G

Mobile phone services provider Aircel has chosen Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), Huawei and ZTE as equipment partners for rolling out its 3G network.

"We have selected Ericsson, NSN, Huawei and ZTE as equipment vendors for rolling out the network in 13 circles where we have won the 3G spectrum", Gurdeep Singh, chief operating officer, Aircel said to Telecom Yatra.

He added, "Ericsson has been awarded 3G equipment contract for six of Aircel's circles. Huawei and NSN will roll out Aircel's 3G network in three circles each; while ZTE will provide equipment for the remaining circle."

In the past Huawei, NSN and ZTE have also supplied 2G equipment to Aircel.

The company will roll out 3G services by January 2011. It will invest $500 million (Rs 2,266 crore) on 3G in the first year of launch.

The company had planned to invest around $15 billion (more than Rs 63,400 crore) by 2014, of which around $7 billion (nearly Rs 30,000 crore) has already been spent on expansion of 2G network. The remaining amount will be used on 3G and 4G network roll out, said Singh.

Talking about tariffs, Singh said that though they have not yet decided on it, 3G services will be more expensive than 2G.

The circles in which Aircel has won 3G spectrum are Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kolkata, Kerala, Punjab, UP (East), West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Assam, North East, and Jammu and Kashmir.

Talking about 3G roaming , Singh said, "Ideally, we want to be (present) pan India, so we are looking at as many alliances as possible. We are talking to all the operators for service areas where we have not won 3G spectrum."

As for fourth generation wireless technologies, Singh said, "We are currently busy rolling out 3G services and haven't yet chosen either TD-LTE or WiMax. However, the company is assessing the two technologies."

The operator is also looking at technologies such as femtocells that will boost its network in highly congested areas. Aircel will release an RFP (Request For Proposal) for this soon.

Also, the company has recently been in the news because it failed to fulfill its service roll out obligations after acquiring 2G spectrum. For this reason, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has recommended to the Department of Telecommunications that some of Aircel's licences be cancelled. When asked how the company wants to address this issue, Singh said, "We haven't received any official notification as yet so I cannot comment."

source :: http://telecomyatra.afaqs.com/news/index.html?sid=2482_Aircel+finalises+equipment+vendors+for+3G

Ericsson --> 6 Circles

Huawei --> 3 circles

NSN --> 3 circles

ZTE --> 1 circle

[Honest 836]

AIRCEL To Launch 3G Services in 40 Days, 4G – BWA By 2012

AIRCEL the fast growing Pan India telecom operator in the country, announced that it will roll out its commercial 3G/HSPA network in next 45 to 60 days across all 13 telecom circles .The company also said that its also ready for 4G / BWA services too.

Mallikarjuna Rao, CTO, Aircel Ltd quoted “We are planning to launch our 3G Mobile and Data services across 13 telecom circles where we have got the licences and 3G spectrum in another 40 to 60 days. Moreover, Aircel will be one of the first telecom operator in the country to usher into the fourth generation era.”

“We are planning to start 4G /Broadband Wirelss Access (BWA) trials by the first or second quarter of the next financial year i.e. April 2011. The BWA-4G Services will be rolled out by December 2011 or January 2012 in 8 telecom circles, Mr. Rao further added.”

In 3G Spectrum Auction, AIRCEL emerged as the biggest spender which bagged 3G license for its strong hold areas and covers almost South and East region of the country. It has 3G spectrum in 13 circles – Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,Tamil Nadu (including Chennai) Kerala , Punjab, U.P (East), Kolkata, West Bengal, Bihar & Jharkhand, Orissa, Assam, North East, and Jammu & Kashmir.

While On the Broadband Wireless Access (BWA- 4G), Aircel bagged license for 8 telecom circles i.e. Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu (including Chennai), West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Assam, North-East, Jammu & Kashmir.

Courtesy : Telecom Talk

[kesav 127]

Aircel plans 3G roll-out before World Cup

Mobile telephony service provider Aircel is planning to launch 3G (third generation) services in the country before World Cup cricket tournament. The company which has got 3G licences for 13 telecom circles in the country will launch its service in a phased manner across these circles.

Among the other Indian service providers, Tata Docomo, BSNL, MTNL and Airtel have already rolled out their 3G services. “We are planning to launch our 3G services soon, most probably before the World Cup cricket tournament kicks off. We want to democratise the Internet experience in the country. We also want our users to experience the World Cup cricket matches on their hand-held devices,” Gurdeep Singh, chief operating officer, Aircel, said.

It is in talks with couple of other service providers for sharing spectrum for roaming services in the circles were Aircel does not have a presence. “We are in touch with some of the players for roaming services in circles where we don’t have a licence to operate,” he added. Aircel is expected to begin its 3G service in Karnataka specially in Bangalore as the city has got huge number of young techie population.

It also said even though majority of its various internet packages users were from the urban areas, users from smaller towns have also started using its internet packages. Meanwhile, Aircel has also entered a partnership with PC manufacturer Dell to provide its internet packages as bundled offer with Dell’s new smarthphones.

source :: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/aircel-plans-3g-roll-out-before-world-cup/424107/

[rahulmalik_81 1]

Is Aircel also launching wifi service's? Just saw ad on TV

[Karthik R 246]

"We expect 3G presence in all circles where we have bagged spectrum before world cup begins on 19th February," Gurdeep Singh, chief operating officer, Aircel said on Wednesday.

[confused_follower 12]

Isnt Aircel missing one step. They are already advertising wi-fi where is 3G??