Telecom Operators Eye Internet Data for Big Bucks

As it inches closer to the 100-crore subscriber base milestone, telecom industry identified mobile Internet data as the next big thing for revenue generation even as consumers were burdened with up to 100 percent rise in charges for such services in 2014.

From a subscriber base of nearly 91.5 crores at the end of last year, the industry was hoping to reach the 100-crores mark by the end of 2014, while various players were seen devising new ways to expand their revenue base and caught on to the growing interest among consumers for mobile Internet as a big opportunity.

Towards the end of the year, Airtel announced plans to charge extra for Internet calls through VOIP applications like Skype and Viber, but had to abandon the idea after a public outrage.

As more telecom players firm up plans for charging on such services, the sectoral regulator Trai, which has power to control tariffs, may soon come out with regulations for messaging and calling applications.

During 2014, telecom operators gained heavily from rise in mobile Internet usage which was driven by applications like WhatsApp, Facebook, Skype and consumer adopted them as these applications reduced their phone bill.

"In year 2014, operators saw a healthy increase in subscriber revenue on back of nearly 100 percent growth in data revenues and very favourable take-up of OTT (over-the-top) applications like WhatsApp, Facebook etc," PwC Leader Telecom Arpita P Agarwal said.

Airtel in July-September 2014 period reported 94.6 percent increase in mobile data traffic over previous year accounting for 11.1 percent of its total revenue. Idea Cellular reported over 125 percent jump in mobile data in same period.

Vodafone reported data revenue of Rs. 2,552.5 crores in the first half of 2014-15 and it now contributes 13.5 percent to the company's service revenue.

"Data will continue to drive growth in revenue and we expect to stay focused on our data penetration. As and when the market matures, we will make necessary investments to stay relevant to mass market customer's needs," Uninor CEO Vivek Sood said.

Uninor's 20 percent customers have subscribed to its mobile Internet services.

GlobalWebIndex (GWI), in survey of the Asia Pacific region including India, found that 45 percent users of such applications use them because messaging is free on them.

Top mobile messaging apps in India include WhatsApp, WeChat and Facebook Messenger, GWI survey said.


"In 2014, we saw an increase in adoption of rich media based services amongst our subscriber base, which is also a strong indicator of evolution of data users. As we step into the new year, we believe that video consumption on mobile will get even more popular amongst the youth," Aircel Chief Marketing Officer Anupam Vasudev said.

Experts feel that launch of new 4G network specially Reliance Jio Infocomm and new entrants may bring some respite to consumers.

July 2015 is the deadline for 4G spectrum holder companies to provide 90 percent coverage in metro area, if they have spectrum there, and 50 percent of rural area within five years. If a company fails to meet roll-out conditions, spectrum will be taken back.

Industry body Cellular Operators Association of India has sought extension of this deadline indicating that companies are not ready with 4G network to start service.

For seeking extension COAI has cited delay in development of technologies for it and public interference in installing mobile towers due to apprehension of health hazard from radiation emitted from it.

Latest data from Telecom Regulatory Authority of India shows that the telecom subscriber base in the country increased by 6.4 percent to 96.26 crores in October, from about 91.5 crores at the end of 2013.

As per industry estimates, the total subscriber base was earlier expected to grow to 100 crores by end of 2014.

Wireless connections dominated market which grew by about 7 percent to 93.53 crores in October 2014.

As per Trai data, there were about 26 crores Internet users in the country till June which included over 24 crores consumers using Internet over their mobile or through dongles.

Internet penetration in the country increased by about 30 percent, courtesy smartphone and dongles.

The incumbent telecom operator Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular continue to dominate market in terms of both market share and revenues. The companies are now posting increase in profits as the competition has reduced in most of the service areas where they operate.

Even as the profitability of telecom operators is improving, COAI is of the view that it is still below the level witnessed 3-5 years ago.

"While the profitability of the industry is improving, it is much below the level that the sector was witnessing 3-5 years ago. The revenue growth has reduced to 8.5 percent during 2013 from 15.4 percent in 2011," COAI Director General Rajan S Mathews said.

Sistema Shyam Teleservices (SSTL), which offers services under MTS brand name, said the though sector in India continues to be under huge debt, the revenues for the sector have started to improve.

"However, the health of the telecom sector can improve a lot faster if regulatory policies which ensure a level playing field," MTS India Head of Strategy Ranjan Banerjee said.

The total revenue of industry or gross revenue of telecom service providers increased by about 10 percent to Rs. 62,919.19 crores in quarter ended June 2014, from Rs. 57,260.98 crores a year ago.

The adjusted gross revenue, which operators count as revenue earned from selling telecom services, grew even at higher rate of 13.49 percent in April-June 2014 quarter to Rs. 43,851.85 crores from Rs. 38,640.3 crores registered in same quarter a year ago.

New players Videocon Telecom, Uninor, SSTL have seen growth but are yet to achieve dominating position in the market as they operate only in select service area.

Uninor posted highest revenue growth among all other telecom units of its Norway based parent firm Telenor in quarter ended September.

Videocon, which operates in four service areas, shared that its revenue jumped by 160 percent to Rs. 182 crores in the second quarter ended September 2015 with Strong growth in data revenue.

COAI said that in the last 2-3 years, the industry has been under huge financial stress due to high regulatory costs such as one-time license fee, spectrum usage charges and higher capex requirement resulting from spectrum auctions.

Telecom operators have attributed rising rates of services to inflation, building of new infrastructure to add more capacity specially through spectrum purchase as reason for rise in mobile Internet rates.

This year the industry also jointly made bids of about Rs. 62,162 crores for buying spectrum - which act like pipe for sending data on mobile.

The industry is gearing for another auction for three sets of spectrum- 800MHz (CDMA), 900MHz and 1800MHz (currently used for GSM services). Auction of these airwaves is planned for February 2015 from which government expects to collect minimum of Rs. 9,533 crores in current fiscal.

Most of the spectrum proposed to be auctioned are currently held by leading operators namely Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications through their licence expiring in 2015-16.

Non-availability of additional spectrum will make auction tough for these incumbents.

The other issue before dominating telecom operators is presence of 11 telecom operators which makes it a competitive and good for consumers. However, the sector players have demanding government to frame rules that could help sector to consolidate. Many players in the sector are bleeding and only less than half of them are posting profits.

Government framed mergers and acquisition rules in February but it did not help industry players in making any move. Guidelines like spectrum sharing and trading which would have supplemented it are yet to be announced.

Airtel attempted to buy business of Loop Mobile but failed to crystallise it in the absence of permission from the DoT.

In 2015, new players that hold broadband wireless access spectrum, mainly Reliance Jio Infocomm, are expected to make entry and make market more competitive.

Source: NDTV

Digital India initiative: Government to connect 55,000 villages with phones by December 2016

The telecom department plans to take mobile network by December 2016 to nearly 10 per cent of Indian villages that are still unconnected, to make the government's ambitious Digital India programme more pervasive. Of the 6,00,000 villages in the country, about 55,000 are still awaiting mobile connectivity.

These villages fall primarily under the red corridor — a vast swathe affected by left-wing extremism — and in the Northeast. "In sync with PM Narendra Modi's vision, it has become imperative to offer digital services on mobile platform," telecom secretary Rakesh Garg said, speaking at the 'Good Governance Day' programme hosted by the Ministry of Communications and IT.

Under the Rs 1.13 lakh crore mega Digital India initiative, the government aims to connect every nook and corner of the country with broadband Internet, and deliver services electronically through mobile phones. The Trai had earlier in a study revealed major network gaps in the northeast region. Arunachal Pradesh had the highest coverage gap at nearly 56 per cent, followed by Meghalaya with 38 per cent, Mizoram with 32 per cent and Manipur 24 per cent.

In September this year, the Cabinet had approved spending of Rs 5,300 crore to install 6,673 telecom towers across 8,621 villages, primarily boosting telecom network along national highways in the Northeast.

"The department is setting up telecom towers in Northeast with a pecuniary budget of Rs 5,300 crore and additionally deploying 2,199 towers in left wing extremism affected areas," Garg said. Setting up mobile phone network in the Naxal-affected regions is one of the long-pending demands of the home ministry, which has recently asked the telecom department to fasttrack deployment. Garg said the work would be completed by the end of September 2015.

Source: ET

Google fibre services in India soon

Internet giant Google is in talks with the IT Ministry to roll out optical fibre-based broadband services as part of the Digital India programme. Google plans to roll out a fibre network in a small area as a showcase project.

According to top officials in the IT Ministry, the discussions are at an initial stage. “We are keen to partner a company like Google in furthering the Digital India plan. Modalities have to be worked out,” the official said. One of the issues being discussed is whether Google can be allowed to do the project without having to acquire a telecom licence.

Google has launched a similar programme in the US called Google Fiber where it provides broadband internet and television to a small area. The service was first introduced in Kansas City. In February 2014, Google announced that it had chosen another 34 cities as candidates for expansion.

When contacted, Google India spokesperson said that the company continuously engages with the Centre on various programmes. The spokesperson did not comment specifically on the fibre project. However, IT Ministry officials said that some experts from Google’s US operation are expected in India to evaluate the project.

In a 2012 blog post, Google had said that Google Fiber will offer a different experience from other internet and TV providers.

“Our internet is 100 times faster. Our TV has hundreds of channels in crystal clear HD. And we’re offering quality service plans that are affordable,” Google had said while launching in Kansas.

For players like Google, internet proliferation is key if it wants to reach the next billion consumers.

However the big challenge is that telecom companies are cash strapped to quickly roll out infrastructure that supports data services. In India, for example, most of the telecom operators are struggling under huge debt and high spectrum costs.

Therefore players such as Google and Facebook have been experimenting with balloons and solar-powered drones to address the need for cost-effective connectivity. The more people are connected on the Internet the more money can be made by selling advertisement space on websites and mobile portals.

This strategy fits in very well with the Indian Government’s agenda of taking internet and digital technologies to the masses.

Source: HBL

Reliance Jio gets security nod for 4G services, but with riders

Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd has received security clearance to start 4G technology-based broadband services in six circles, but with riders.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT), while giving its approval, has asked the company to plug gaps in the lawful monitoring requirements and interception of data services, including Yahoo and Gmail.

The security go-ahead is the last major clearance before company can start services.

The DoT has granted RJio permission to start data services in Kolkata, Karnataka, Bihar, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. The operator’s demonstration of Lawful Intercept and Monitoring (LIM) system in these circles was found to be adequate, though there were some concerns, sources close to the development told BusinessLine.

For example, the security agencies were unable to read, view or listen to data flowing through encrypted services and proprietary protocols such as Yahoo Mail and Gmail. Before commercial launch, the DoT wants RJio to facilitate pushing of legally intercepted traffic to security agencies in readable, printable and audible formats (depending on the type of data). Further, it has asked the company to set up servers on its premises.

In addition, the company has been told to install systems that would enable security agencies to intercept e-mails, track chat IDs, IP (Internet protocol) addresses and voice over Internet protocol calling of specific users.

The DoT also wants to carry out certain tests after the launch to ensure the proper interception and delivery capacity of the monitoring system, according to the sources.

Earlier, the DoT had assigned signalling point codes to RJio, a move that would enable the company provide international and national long-distance services.

Mumbai-based RJio had won spectrum in the 1800 MHz spectrum across 14 circles in the last round of auctions. It also has airwaves in the 2300 MHz in 22 circles.

The company had taken licence in 2010 and has to complete the rollout obligation by 2015.

Source: HBL

India to have around 15m 4G subscribers by 2015: PwC

India is expected to have 10-15 million 4G LTE subscribers next year, driven by competitive pricing, superior network experience and affordable smartphones.

As PwC India today shared top trends and wishlist for Indian telecom industry in 2015, it said next year will witness multiple Indian players launching 4G on a more efficient 1,800 MHz spectrum and subscribers will adopt 4G whole-heartedly to satiate their need for mobile data. Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Jio Infocomm is gearing up to launch its 4G services on both TD-LTE and FD-LTE technologies early next year.

“We expect 4G LTE subscribers to reach 10-15 million by December 2015 driven by competitive pricing, superior network experience and affordable smartphones,” said Arpita Pal Agrawal, leader — Telecom, PwC India.

Bharti Airtel is slowly expanding its 4G presence in select cities using TD-LTE technology. Airtel is also likely to launch 4G on FD-LTE next year. Currently, Airtel and Malaysia’s Maxis-joint venture Aircel have limited 4G presence. Though Aircel has announced the launch of 4G services, its website does not have any tariff details or other related data.

Yesterday, Uninor, a subsidiary of Telenor, said it would start trials on narrow-band LTE due to limited availability of spectrum.

The report said Public Wi-Fi will become a reality. India will see a significant spurt in Wi-Fi hotspots driven by both Government “Smart Cities” and “Digital India” and private sector initiatives.
In the wearable space, Indian consumers have shown most interest in buying fitness monitors (80%), smart watches (76%) and internet-enabled eyeglasses (74%).

In this sector, the price points are expected to go down with Chinese and local manufacturing increasing and the increasing penetration of smartphones and their ability to carry confidential subscriber data will be a significant driver for traction in security applications for smartphones.
Given the steadily increasing divergence between data revenues and cost, a trend that will likely sharpen in 2015 is that the mobile companies will start looking at unconventional monetisation options.

Source: Tribune India

India's 4G subscriber base to reach 10-15 million in 2015

PwC India today shared top trends and wish-list for Indian telecom industry in 2015 and said India will have 10-15 million 4G LTE subscribers next year.

Incidentally, Reliance Jio Infocomm, the Mukesh Ambani-promoted telecom venture of Reliance Industries (RIL) are gearing up to launch its 4G on both TD-LTE and FD-LTE technologies early next year.

“We expect 4G LTE subscribers to reach 10-15 million by December 2015 driven by competitive pricing, superior network experience and affordable smartphones,” said Arpita Pal Agrawal, leader – Telecom, PwC India, in a statement.

This apart, Bharti Airtel, the Sunil Mittal-promoted telecom operator, is slowly expanding its 4G presence in select cities using TD-LTE technology. Airtel will also likely to launch 4G on FD-LTE next year.

Currently, Bharti Airtel and Malaysia’s Maxis-joint venture Aircel have limited 4G presence. Though Aircel officially announced the launch of 4G services, its website does not have any tariff details or other related data.

On Thursday, Uninor, a subsidiary of Telenor, said it would start trials on narrow-band LTE due to limited availability of spectrum, one of the main demands of Indian telecom operators.

With limited spectrum and lack of eagerness to invest in advanced technologies such as 3G and 4G, Indian telecom operators are unable to increase their ARPU. For instance, Indian operators’ ARPU stands at nearly $3 against Verizon’s ARPU of $47. The huge difference is because of income levels and investment in network technologies that can improve customer experience.

At a telecom event organized by mobile network vendor Ericsson and COAI, participants urged Indian telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to release additional spectrum to ensure better services and coverage.

One of the demands of Ericsson India head Chris Houghton was investment by telecom operators in advanced networks and availability of spectrum.

The following is the wish list of PwC India

# In 2015, Indian players will be launching 4G on a more efficient 1800 MHz spectrum and Indians subscribers will adopt 4G wholeheartedly to satiate their need for mobile data

# Public Wi-Fi will be a bigger phenomenon; while wired broadband will remain work-in-progress. India will see  a significant spurt in Wi-Fi  hotspots driven by both Government Smart Cities and Digital India and private sector initiatives. Wired broadband for retails consumers is likely to remain work in progress by end of 2015.

# In the wearables space, Indian consumers have shown most interest in buying fitness monitors (80 percent), smart watches (76 percent) and internet-enabled eyeglasses (74 percent). Price points are expected to go down with Chinese / local manufacturing.  Increasing penetration of smartphones and their ability to carry confidential subscriber data will be a significant driver  for traction in security applications for smartphones.

# Given the steadily increasing  divergence between data revenues and cost, a trend  that will likely sharpen in 2015, mobile companies will start looking at unconventional monetization options. These would span strengthening of internal capabilities to offer differentiated network experience (Smart Pipes), as well as harnessing the extended ecosystem including OTT plays.

# Current M&A guidelines have not been able to stimulate any consolidation in the sector despite all policy makers having expressed the need for it. With new network launches expected in 2015, rapidly growing data market will witness intense price competition and will rekindle memories of 2010 voice led price wars.

Source: Telecom Lead

Signalling Point Codes allotted to Reliance Jio in Mumbai, Delhi, Karnataka and Kolkata

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has assigned signalling point codes to Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd for launching its national long distance (NLD) and international long distance (ILD) services. The codes have been allotted in Mumbai, Delhi, Karnataka and Kolkata. Signalling Point Codes are required to establish interconnection between two networks.

The codes have to be used within six months, or they would be withdrawn, according to the regulations under which they were issued. Reliance Jio has pan-India 20 MHz broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum in the 2,300MHz frequency band in 22 telecom circles and 5-7MHz spectrum in the 1,800 MHz band in 14 circles which it plans to use for offering high-speed 4G services in 2015.

Reliance Jio was the only operator to acquire pan-India 4G spectrum during the $8 billion BWA auction in 2010. The operator has since signed infrastructure sharing deals with a number of major players, including Indus Towers, Reliance Communications and Bharti Airtel’s infrastructure arm Bharti Infratel.

Earlier, the company had also sought regulatory approvals to merge its two subsidiaries, Infotel Telecom Ltd and Rancore Technologies, with itself. Reliance Jio holds a unified licence, Infotel Telecom has licences for long-distance telephony licences and Rancore is an R&D unit.

Source: http://telecomtalk.info/

Reliance Jio to roll out services in 800 cities

In what could be one of the largest launches in the telecom services space, Reliance Jio Infocomm is set to roll out its 4G LTE services in 800 Indian cities between April and June next year.

According to sources, the company will in the initial stage offer 4G dongles, as well as 'mi-fi devices'. The 'mi-fi' devices will allow users to access 4G on any 'wi-fi'-enabled phone - even the feature phones priced at around Rs 2,500 - thereby obliterating the need to buy expensive 4G handsets. Besides, each mi-fi device could connect up to 10 handsets simultaneously.

Apart from leasing out towers from various companies, the company has built over 30,000 towers of its own to fill in the gaps in the rollout.

Bharti Airtel, the only company offering 4G services at present, does so in around 15 cities, including Bengaluru, Pune and Mohali. The company, present in 5,121 census cities and towns and over 462,000 non-census towns and villages across India with services like 2G and 3G, covers about 86 per cent of the country's total population.

When contacted on the mega plans, a spokesperson for Reliance Jio said: "We are currently in the process of conducting our service field trials across multiple towns and cities, as well as in-house. During this period, we are introducing our services to small groups of people who will offer us feedback, so that we develop a robust service platform and then scale up our services."

Sources say Reliance Jio is looking to offer on its dongles average speeds of 16-18 mbps - about thrice as much as 3G dongles - though the technology could offer a speed of up to 50 mbps.

In the second phase of the launch, the company will also offer fibres to homes or offices which could offer a speed of up to 100 mbps and even run television programming. It is laying a pan-Indian inter-city fibre-optic network and putting up intra-city fibre optics in some key cities.

A late comer in the telecom business, Reliance Jio had bought pan-Indian spectrum in the 2,300-MHz band in August 2010. This year, it also decided to buy 1,800-MHz spectrum in 14 circles, as there were growing concerns over 2,300-MHz spectrum's limitations in penetrating offices and homes, where the bulk of the bandwidth was expected to be used. This was done even as the company got over the problem by putting in more towers (its own or leased) across the country.

According to sources, the 4G services will be launched with 2,300-MHz spectrum, while the 1,800-MHz band will be used for both data (it is the preferred band in many countries), as well as voice.

Source: B.S

DoT workng on a website to show realtime mobile tower radiation

The Department of Telecom is working on a website that will show real-time data of radiation being emitted from each mobile tower in the country and its exposure to people, a senior official said here.“We are working on a web portal so that a person can see how much radiation he is exposed to,” DoT Member (Technology) A K Bhargava said while speaking at an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) event. Bhargava said the Department has started working with industry body Cellular Operators Association of India to develop the portal. ”It is in early stage. We are yet to see proof of concept for this project. Idea is that a person should be able see in real-time how much radiation a mobile tower in his proximity is emitting,” Bhargava said.

UN body ITU also launched its first mobile application on cellular radiation to answer all queries and concerns of people. ”I am pleased to report that today we are launching a new product in this area, a mobile application providing an ‘EMF Guide’. ”It offers an introduction to EMFs and their relationship with health, as well as various internationally agreed guidelines and standards designed to ensure safety in the use of mobile phones and other wireless technologies,” ITU Director for Telecommunications Standardization Bureau, Malcolm Johnson said.

Bhargava said the government has an ambitious target to spread broadband and mobile telephony and for this it is important to address concerns among public about mobile radiation. India allows only 10 percent of radiation level to be emitted from mobile towers as compared to international norms preferred in most of the countries. Bhargava said DoT has decided to conduct an awareness campaign to remove perception of health hazard from mobile tower radiation as there is no scientific evidence to prove any ill-effect on health at levels permitted globally. A World Health Organization study in 2011 had pointed out that there are possible health risks associated with electromagnetic fields which need to be properly considered and reported during the roll-out of mobile-wireless technologies if the electromagnetic radiations are beyond certain limits.

Following protest from civil groups, India has reduced permissible level of radiation from mobile towers by 90 percent as compared to radiation norms released by global body The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).

Source: ET

DoT for campaign to allay radiation fears about telecom towers

The Department of Telecom (DoT) has asked its monitoring wing TERM to carry out a media campaign to allay "undue apprehensions" about possible health effects of radiation from telecom towers.

In a letter to Telecom Enforcement Resource and Monitoring (TERM) Cells, the DoT said the Gujarat High Court has directed, through a judgement, that necessary steps be taken regarding awareness of general public to mitigate their general fear and apprehension about radiation from towers.

TERM, which is made up of 34 Cells in India's 24 telecom circles and 10 large telecom districts, is responsible for vigilance, monitoring and security of the network.

"TERM units are requested to take necessary action to spread public awareness so as to allay undue apprehensions in respect of possible health effects from EMF radiations," the DoT wrote last month.

It cited the judgement which said the Court deemed it necessary to mention that the concerned authorities should, by way, of communication through TV, radio etc bring it to the notice of the people at large that there is no reason for them to fear the erection of the BTS.

The DoT said TERM, Ahmedabad has already taken various steps like coordinating workshop, interacting with print and electronic media etc.

The judgement of the Gujarat High Court came in response to a petition filed by Mukti Park Cooperative Society praying for removal of tower erected outside the premises of petitioners on the ground that it would cause health hazard due to radiations. The petition was rejected by the Court.

Earlier, a panel set up by the DoT had also said there is "no conclusive evidence" about the dangers of radiation from mobile towers.

The 13-member panel consisted government officials, IIT professors from Kharagpur, Kanpur and Roorkee, a medical consultant from AIIMS and scientists.

There have been fears among people that radiation from mobile towers causes cancer and has other effects on health. This led some people objecting to installation of mobile towers near their homes. This has created a hurdle for companies eyeing expansion in network coverage.

Mobile phones emit low levels of radio-frequency energy.

According to the US Food and Drug Administration website, the radio-frequency exposure that people experience from base stations is typically much lower than from cellphones because the antennas are mounted on towers or other building structures and are substantially away from public.

Source: ET

Indians Most Addicted to Smartphones Globally: Survey

Nearly 57 percent of Indians cannot live without their smartphones, which makes them the most addicted group of respondents globally, finds a new survey.

One in three Indians would give up their TV for a week before their smartphone, revealed the findings from the survey conducted by San Francisco-based B2X Care Solutions, the leading provider of customer care for smartphones worldwide.

It polled more than 2,500 smartphone and tablet users from the top five smartphone regions globally, including India, the United States, Germany, Brazil and China. There were 518 respondents from the United States, 535 from Germany, 507 from India, 515 from China and 503 from Brazil.

"In America and China, most consumers wait less than 24 hours to have their smartphone repaired while in India, Brazil and Germany, it takes almost eight days for the same repair," it pointed out.

Americans tend to be the most satisfied with their repair process while Brazilians are the least satisfied.In the US, 98 percent of Americans between the age of 16 to 29 sleep with their smartphones and 13 percent would not give up their smartphone for a week even if they were paid $500, the findings showed.

The Chinese spend the most money on smartphones. "In fact, more than 75 percent spend more than $250 when purchasing a device and 80 percent own two or more smartphones, which they tend to replace after less than a year," the survey added.

Even though Germans are the least addicted to their smartphones, 58 percent still keep their phones on their body or within reach at all times during the day. Nearly 63 percent of Brazilians spend at least three hours on their smartphones a day, making them the most extensive device users.

The survey found that across all regions, customer care and after sales service are the most important factors for buying a new smartphone.

Source: NDTV

Entry of Reliance Jio a threat for existing telcos:DolatCap

Telecom is one of the fastest-growing industries in India. Today, India stands as the secondlargest telecommunications market in the world. The mobile phone industry in India, which is estimated to contribute $400 billion in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) of the country in 2014, is expected to generate about 4.1 million additional jobs by 2020. The sheer rate at which the telecom industry is growing, is due to the government's efforts to increase rural penetration along with the growth in the smart-phone numbers and internet usage.

Telecom has also been crucial in attracting large amount of FDI in India. The sector alone is responsible for more than 7% FDI flows in the country. As per the figures put out by DIPP, the cumulative FDI inflow during April 2000 to September 2014 has been $16, 628 million. Over the past decade the telecom sector has experienced rapid growth owing to regulatory liberalization, however the sector has been in turbulent phase for nearly two to three years, marked by legality of 3G roaming agreements, one-time spectrum cost, reframing of allotted spectrum in the 900 MHz band. Nevertheless, the tide has turned in the favour of the telecom industry as growth and profitability has accelerated in recent times.

However, new battles are being fought in the country's booming data segment along with existing voice segment, which continued to be dominated by three major private players-Bharti, Reliance and Vodafone - with a formidable 57% share of the market between them. State-owned enterprises -BSNL and MTNL -have also been making their presence felt with a combined market share of more than 10%.

Outlook: "Outlook for India's telecom industry is positive as the sector is in transformational phase, which would see it leap from a chronic spectrum crunch to an abundance of the airwaves, which though will add to the debt burden of these mobile phone companies, but will also offer them opportunities to follow global business models and offer data services across radio frequency bands." "However, the entry of Reliance Jio Infocomm in the telecom space, could pose a threat for the existing players as this would intensify competition and might bring data tariffs down by at least 20%, which in turn could weigh on profitability of the industry, which had just started improving on the back of recovering pricing power in the mature voice telephony segment combined with strong growth potential in the emerging data business, widely seen as harbinger of a good period ahead for the industry", says Indira Securities research report.

Source: Moneycontrol

Are we near the end of 3G services in India?

The telecom sector is likely to face tough times with Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) expected to announce base rates for spectrum auction. More importantly, the sector also faces the imminent launch of Reliance Jio in early 2015.

Reliance Jio is expected to launch its 4G services in March 2015, but the sector is already nervous. Bharti Airtel said that it will offer 4G services at or below 3G rates. Within 24 hours of this announcement, Reliance Communications announced an Rs 999 monthly rental plan with unlimited downloads. Bharti Airtel offers 10 GB of data on 4G at Rs 999 which is 33% cheaper than its 10 GB data variant on 3G which is priced at Rs 1,499.

Broking firm Credit Suisse (CS) terms this development as a significant event in the lifecycle of 3G in India. CS says that they foresee a situation where 3G networks will be competing against newer networks of far superior capability (on speed, coverage and cost). This, CS feels, is a good reason to be worried about the fate of 3G investments/ profitability in India. What’s more, the CS conclusion does not take into account the added threat from Reliance Jio.

So what impact does 3G have on the performance of telecom companies that has CS worried?

According to CS, for Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular 60% and 40% of increase in mobile EBITDA over the last two years was driven by 3G data growth. Indian telcos currently enjoy a high EBITDA margin of about 70% on their 3G data business (on an incremental costing basis).

Over the past few quarters, contribution from data services to the topline as well as EBITDA have been increasing. CS has retained a negative stance on the sector on account of aggressive pricing in data segment even before Reliance Jio has entered the market.

Meanwhile, Reliance Jio is gearing up to launch its 4G services across the country. The company has approached Department of Telecom for a network test to be conducted along with security agencies. In the first phase of the launch, 5,000 towns and cities accounting for over 90% of urban India, and 215,000 villages will be covered. In the second phase, 600,000 villages are likely to be covered. The company has already entered into agreements with telecom tower companies for leasing their assets.

Rating agency Fitch had in a report on the telecom sector said that Reliance Jio’s entry would intensify competition in the data segment and may cause data tariffs to decline by 20%. CS points out that data/3G growth remains the only major positive factor that one can build a bull case on for Indian telcos.

CS says that 3G on 2100 MHz is inferior to 4G on 1800 MHz in almost all aspects (less efficient technology on a higher spectrum band)—except probably in terms of device price point, a factor that will likely fade with time. There may not be any market for 3G on 2100 MHz left in India unless operators price 3G on 2100 MHz at a significant discount to 4G on 1800 MHz.

In order for 3G service to survive, they will have to beat Reliance Jio at its own game. But whether they have the room to bear the financial cost of competing on Reliance Jio’s pricing is something only time will tell.

Source: B.S

Exclusive First look at Reliance Jio Mags: Jio’s answer to Google’s Play Newsstand

As promised by us, our exclusive app hands on series continues as we bring to you the very first sneak peeks into the Jio’s suit of apps and services. Today we bring to you ‘Jio Mags’ which is Reliance Jio’s own app for reading digital copies of magazines. As we know that Google has recently updated its Play Newsstand app for the android platform to now offer magazines on monthly and yearly subscription basis, ‘’ aims at directly competing with the newsstand by offering magazines ranging across a wide array of genres.

The interface has two sections, the first is the ‘My library’ section where the subscriber’s downloaded copies of magazines are stored and the second is ‘Explore’ section where all available magazines are enlisted by subject and category. Upon selecting a particular subject, all available magazines under that category are displayed with a beautiful cover flow effect which has a very smooth side to side scrolling.

Upon selecting the magazine, there is a small description of the magazine displayed along with two options to either preview or to download the magazine. If you click on the preview button you get to see 6 pages of the magazine which gives you a rough idea of the contents of the magazine and if you find it interesting you can click on the download button and save a copy of the magazine in your ‘My library’ section for offline reading.

To check on the progress of the download status of the magazine you need to pull down on the Jio tab from the top right hand corner of the screen and click on ‘Usage’ you can also queue multiple magazines for download simultaneously. Usage info will show you history of all the magazines you have downloaded in the past. Deleting a downloaded magazine from one device does not delete it from other devices that have the Jio mags app installed and are logged in with the same ID, they need to be deleted from all devices individually and also erased from the usage info manually.

It is not clear at this point whether there is a monthly subscription charge for downloading individual magazines on Jio Mags or whether there will be an umbrella charge for accessing the entire Jio app suite under a common Jio ID.

Source: Telecom Talk

LTE subscriber base reaches 373 million in September

The number of LTE connections has reached 373 million in September 2014, said telecom industry body 4G Americas. North America is leading the global LTE 4G market with 39 percent share. LTE connections in North America increased to 145 million subscriptions. LTE represents 36 percent of 398 million total mobile subscriptions in North America.

Chris Pearson, president of 4G Americas, said: “More than 65 million LTE connections added in the past twelve months.”

HSPA and HSPA+ now hold a 27 percent market share. The combined market share for LTE and HSPA mobile broadband in the region was 63 percent.The number of commercial LTE networks deployed in U.S. and Canada reached 66.

In Latin America, the combined LTE and HSPA mobile broadband market share rose to 35 percent with 251 million connections of the total 717 million mobile connections. Latin America gained 77 million new HSPA and HSPA+ connections year-over-year.

LTE represents 18 percent of all HSPA and LTE subscriptions worldwide as of September 2014 against 10 percent a year ago. Kristin Paulin, senior analyst at Ovum, said: “LTE accounts for 5 percent of all mobile subscriptions worldwide as of September 2014 after having added 167 million new LTE subscriptions year-to-date.”

LTE connections are forecast to reach 2.3 billion by 2019. There are 31 LTE-Advanced commercial networks (Dec 4, 2014) in 22 countries.

Source: Telecom Lead

Is telecom’s ordeal over?

With the defence ministry finally accepting the telecom ministry’s proposal to swap 15MHz of spectrum in the critical 2100MHz frequency band, as FE reported on Thursday, the decks are finally cleared for a big-bang auction in February.

Given the severe spectrum shortage, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has been batting for this for months. For some reason, however, the telecom ministry was comfortable with the idea of two auctions, one for 2G spectrum (900/1800MHz spectrum frequency bands) in February and another for 3G spectrum (2100MHz spectrum frequency band) in May. Given incumbent operators with licences expiring in the 900MHz frequency band have no option but to win them back, this would have increased the auction price dramatically. These operators have 184MHz of spectrum between them in 18 circles, so that’s around 10MHz in each circle. So with just one more bidder, say a Reliance Jio, the bids will skyrocket.

A good way to understand this is to look at the results of the last few auctions. In the auctions in 2010, firms were scrambling for spectrum, so in the 2100MHz spectrum frequency band, they paid 4.8 times the base price in the auction. In the auctions held earlier this year, however, with enough 1800MHz spectrum as a back-up in case firms didn’t win back their 900MHz spectrum, they paid 1.2 times the base price for the 900MHz spectrum and 1.28 times for the 1800MHz spectrum frequency band. With the defence ministry now agreeing to the swap of 15MHz in the 2100MHz frequency band, this means there will be 270MHz—15MHz into 18 circles—of additional spectrum in the next auction. With enough spectrum, there will be no mad rush for spectrum this time around and firms will bid only at economically viable levels.

But, the argument may still be, what if the defence doesn’t actually vacate the 2100MHz spectrum on time, what if this is a few months late? The budget needs the money desperately, so the government cannot possibly take a chance and must have a two-stage auction. While that sounds logical, there are two problems with it. One, if bids get to astronomical levels, telcos will simply jack up tariff levels and hapless consumers will have no option but to bear with this. Two, there is nothing which says the government has to have the spectrum at the time of the auctions.

In the 700MHz spectrum frequency band auctions in the US in 2008, the spectrum was given to telcos only towards the end of 2009; and in the current AWS spectrum auctions in the US, telcos know they will not get the spectrum for another 1-2 years. Indeed, in the 2010 auctions of 2100MHz spectrum in India, the government’s bid document itself said the spectrum would be released only after a few months.

And in the case of the February 2014 auctions, the government has still not completely released the spectrum won by the firms. In the same manner, the February 2015 auctions can bid out 2100MHz spectrum even without the telecom ministry actually having the spectrum in hand—in any case, firms bidding to win back their 900MHz licences don’t need the 2100MHz spectrum till October next year which is when the first batch of licences start expiring. There is really no excuse for not conducting a big-bang spectrum auction.

Source: FE

First look at Reliance Jio Play : Next gen TV services, 100+ Live TV and HD Channels being offered

Reliance Jio launch is around the corner and we will come with a host of services apart from 4G internet. One of the service is Jio Play, the next generation TV service. Today we bring you first look at Jio Play .

Jio Play gives you access to Live TV channels with capability to watch any program from the last 7 days. All programs are stored on Jio Play servers and you can pause and rewind a Live Channel without the need of recording on your device. App has an interface with channel list on the left side menu with program list on the content plane and date on top. You can also view program details for future dates right on the app and bookmark it.

Jio Play is not just about Live TV alone, it has got Movies, Music Videos and TV shows. You can get movies on rental like on Google Play/Netflix movies service in US. It is more like Netflix + Live TV on the go your mobile device.

We were able to find 100+ Live TV channels including HD channels and movies section was filled with Indian movies. Regional channels for all languages are available. You also get option to transfer your live TV watching on your device to your TV with Jio STB in just one click.

Subscription cost are yet to be revealed, but has option for monthly pack or 7 day trial.

Source: Telecom Talk

Ex-Vodafone India, Reliance Jio executives team up for app to save mobile bills

The days of trawling through websites of telcos or calling customer cares to figure out the best rate plan for you is over. And information on which operator has the best connectivity in the area that you are in is also on your fingertip. Billbachao, a web-cum-mobile application-based service, aims to provide such services which are arguably the most sought after by cellphone users.

Two former top executives of Vodafone India and Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio infocomm have teamed up to launch the new a new app that helps mobile users by notifying them about the best tariff plans and the best network they should be on basis on their personalized profiles.

Jonathan Bill, who worked for Vodafone India and is the managing director and co-founder of Billbachao, told ET that the app can help users to save up to 25% on their tariffs - whether it's prepaid or postpaid - with the same operator. "The app also has recommendations for the most optimum network based on where you live, work and travel."

"Mobile services in India is a very large Rs 180,000 crores/year consumer spend category which pits the consumer against a maze of complex, opaque, ever changing tariff plans and network service quality. It is a perfect opportunity to use the power of smartphones and software algorithms to empower consumers in making the right choice and spending their money wisely," said co-founder Arvind Rao.

The Mumbai-based start-up uses data available with all the Indian telecom operators in each of their circles and updates it on a daily basis. In addition, the company uses data from its Android application about the usage of calls. "We take the usage and tariff data and run quite complex algorithm for the recommendation," Bill, also the CEO, said.

For network quality recommendations, the app uses crowdsourced network information, which also comes from Android app users. Bill said the app fetches out network signal quality of from the phone, which later on analysed at the backend for the network recommendation. "We have got 200000 pieces of network data, which is growing by 50,000 data points every 12 hours."

With 800 million telecoms users, the company expects to be a mass market application in the country. The application is presently available on the Android platform, while an iOS version will be rolled out soon.

Bill has been in India for last four years and has worked in emerging market for over a decade through his stint with Vodafone Group. Rao, on the other hand, is a serial entrepreneur in the mobile internet and telecom VAS space, and last served 4G operator Reliance Jio Infocomm as innovation head.

The application can also help Indian telecom service providers optimise their consumer acquisition spend and network capex deployment spend by giving the relevant data, Bill said.

He added that in a few months, once the application achieves scale, the company will start discussions with Indian telecom service providers to monetise the Billbachao service.

Additionally, the company wants to take this service to other emerging telecom markets such as East Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

In addition to the tariff and network recommendations, the Billbachao service has a very useful section on Time saving tips and Money saving tips which capture best practices on issues like international roaming, activation-deactivation of VAS services, activating Do Not Disturb, finding out your current prepaid balance, and several other consumer pain points.

The company is also working with a not-for-profit Business process outsourcing (BPO) based out of Rishikesh and an outsourced user interface (UI) team.

Presently, the start-up has 12 people working out of Mumbai.

Source: ET

Why India Will Be the World’s Second Biggest Smartphone Market

India's mobile use is high, but smartphone ownership remains low

When it comes to the computing products I study — TVs, smartphones, tablets and PCs — I tend to talk primarily about what’s happening in China and the West. That’s mostly because China and the U.S. are the largest markets by population for consumer tech.

And while there’s a great deal of competition in these two markets, they’re quickly becoming replacement-focused — that is, most consumers aren’t buying entirely new products, but replacing older models. That’s sending growth rates for things like smartphones, tablets, and even PCs plummeting.

India, however, is a completely different story.

India will be the world’s second largest smartphone market. With a population of just over 1.2 billion, India has nearly as many people as China. Yet, unlike China, India’s smartphone penetration is still extremely low. More than 900 million Indians have a mobile subscription, but only about 110-120 million have a smartphone, according to most estimates.

What does that mean? India represents the next big growth opportunity for smartphone makers — yet it will also come with many challenges for global players looking to compete in the region.

As I’ve studied China, the U.S., and India, it became clear each of these populous regions are very different when it comes to consumer tech. Each country’s unique culture plays a role in how local consumers view, purchase and use technology. This explains why local hardware companies are gaining an edge over foreign ones.

As I pointed out in this analysis of regional smartphone market trends, India is still anyone’s game from a hardware standpoint.



This model predicts that Micromax, an Indian brand, is poised to overtake Samsung as the number one smartphone vendor by quarter within the next six months.

Watching local brands rise to power in China and now in India is truly fascinating. While China is a relatively price-sensitive region, India may be even more so. That’s not entirely due to economics, but largely because Indian consumers have what is called a “value for the money” mentality. They tend not to pay more for something when a lower-priced product gives them more value for their cash.

But Indian consumers, like many consumers, don’t want cheap products — their focus is on finding good specs at a good price. This will be a key metric as smartphone vendors look to convert India’s large feature phone userbase to smartphones. Android One, Google’s developing-world focused smartphone software, will play a role in driving feature phone to smartphone conversion. Google is aggressively looking to gain a foothold in India, and Android One serves a key role in that strategy. Currently, Android One has a number of hardware restrictions in order to keep the price down. I believe this will change over time as Google continues to keep Android One hardware both price- and spec-competitive.

Still, it will be tremendously difficult for any company to make money on hardware in India. Instead, companies will have to look to monetize services more than hardware. This is why Google could be well positioned to compete, but also perhaps China’s Xiaomi. Given the green field that is India, Xiaomi’s services model, which is many ways competes directly with Google, has as good of a chance as any to gain a foothold.

Apple, meanwhile, will find its current India model challenged. There are likely less than 10 million iPhones in use in India, based on my estimate model. Older generation iPhones seem to be perceived as higher value for the money than current generation iPhones, and accordingly appear to move in more volume than current generation iPhones. While Apple may not find great success with current generation products in India, it seems their older products could be an angle to grow in the region.

Outside of Xiaomi and Apple, Motorola is the other foreign brand that I’m keeping an eye on. Motorola has been catering strongly to the value for the money mentality and seeing steady growth in sales from India.

Ultimately, this is exciting for both the country and the technology industry. As we saw with China, as smartphones have gained in popularity, a tech boom has emerged. We’ll soon see even more interesting innovations, particularly in software and services, come from India.

Source: Time

Reliance Jio SIM card and broadband plans spotted online ahead of launch

It has been four years since Reliance Jio first got its 4G LTE license, but there are still some discrepancies regarding when the company will launch its services in India. In the meantime however the first few details have started surfacing online, including the broadband plans as well as an alleged photo of a SIM card.

The photo of the SIM card was spotted on Twitter, and was posted by Akshay Gaonkar. The SIM card in the photo has a tagline “Share your Jio experience #hellojio.” Lending more credibility to the photo is Gaonkar’s Linkedin profile. He is currently the national head — prepaid acquisition at Idea Cellular, and is a former Product Manager – Postpaid at Reliance Communications.

In addition to the SIM card photo, the first broadband plans for Jio were spotted on a preview portal by TelecomTalk. Jio is long believed to have been planning on offering ultra-affordable broadband plans, and the preview portal lends weight to them. Jio will be offering high-speed Internet plans with speeds up to 100Mbps, at recharge plans starting as low as Re 1.

These plans include the FIP Alpha, which will offer a Fiber to the Home (FTTH) connection with speeds up to 100Mbps and usage limit of 100GB per month. This plan has a recharge value of Re 1. Other plans include FIP Alpha with Wi-Fi and JioDrive worth Rs 4, which is essentially the above plan but with cloud storage, and a Wi-Fi hotspot device, Jio Wi-Fi Start-up plan worth Rs 51, which will offer 1GB data via Wi-Fi, Jio Mobility Bundle (NTMore) worth Rs 3,010, which includes a Jio MiFi device and a Rs 500 recharge will offer 10GB of data. Lastly, there is also the Jio MiFi Product (NTMore) worth Rs 2,610, which again offers a MiFi device and a Rs 100 Jio MiFi Start-up Plan will offer 1GB data along with Digital services.

These plans were on display on Jio’s preview website, which at the time of filing the story is not accessible. We should also remind you that RCom could change the plans by the time it finally launches the service in India.

Reliance Industries has invested Rs 70,000 crore in 4G LTE high-Internet-speed services, including Rs 24,000 crore on airwaves. It currently owns spectrums in the 2300MHz band in all 22 circles for providing telecom services and 1800MHz band in 14 circles. They have recently been on a hiring spree, and have roped in former Google executives including Neeraj Bansal and Nikhil Rungta, as well as Rainer Deutschmann from Deutsche Telekom to head major product and service innovations. The company is also said to have hired nearly 3,000 people for retail and distribution operations.

Source: BGR

750,000km of cable to connect villages with broadband: Ravi Shankar Prasad

Minister for Communications and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad has said that 750,000km of cable is proposed to be laid over next three and a half years to provide broadband in every village of the country, the ministry said in a statement Sunday.

“This project aims at digital empowerment of people and will be a game changer,” Prasad, said at the first MyGov Samvaad programme in New Delhi on Saturday evening, interacting with contributors of ideas for the Digital India project.

MyGov is an Internet-based platform for citizen engagement launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 26.

The minister also felicitated 20 of the best contributors for their ideas and responses from out of over 40,000 responses, the statement added.

Prasad told the contributors that there is a need to sensitise people about the power of technology.

India now has about 300 million Internet users, which figure is crossing the number of Internet users in the US, that is second on this count after China, the minister added.

He pointed out that while in urban India mobile connectivity is 146 percent, it is only about 46 percent in rural areas.

Prasad said electronic manufacturing is also being promoted in the country in a big way.

Source: First Post