Pan-India mobile number portability from May 3, TRAI amends regulation

The much awaited mobile number portability (MNP) has been amended by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Wednesday which will allow mobile users to use the same number pan India.

“TRAI has today issued sixth amendment to the Telecomminication Mobile Number Portability Regulation, 2009 which will facilitate full MNP (pan India portability) in the country from May 3,” the sector regulator said in a statement.

The latest regulation will make mobile subscribers worriless in terms of retaining the same number wherever they go in India. As of now, it is only allowed in same circle or within a state.

This facility (full MNP) was to be launched by April 2014 but the Department of Telecom got embroiled in technicalities related to implementation.

Apart from facilitating pan-India portability, a few changes have also been made in porting process as well such as in case a postpaid subscriber defaults in the payment which was due to the donor operator (DO), the DO may request the recipient operator (RO) for disconnection of the ported mobile number.

“It is noticed that in many cases, the DO raises disconnection requests (due to non-payment of outstanding bill) long after the subscriber has ported his number. Therefore, there is a need to bring order in this matter so that non-payment disconnection cases are settled in a timely manner by the Donor as well as the RO to avoid any inconvenience to the subscriber at a later date,” TRAI said.

Accordingly, in the Amendment, time period of ’30 days’ from the due date of the outstanding bill has been specified for a DO to raise the non-payment notice to the subscriber who has defaulted in the payment.

It is also stipulated that after completion of ’60 days’ from the due date of payment of the outstanding bill, the DO will not be entitled to raise non-payment disconnection requests to the RO through the MNP service provider.

Source: HBL

RJio to Drive WiFi Rollout in India

Indian upstart Reliance Jio Infocomm is planning to introduce a 4G-enabled free WiFi service across Kolkata, according to local media reports. It could be the first of many.

WiFi is clearly an important part of Reliance Jio's 4G strategy. Because there is a shortage of spectrum in India for use with 3G and 4G services, WiFi could play a critical role in supporting the adoption of high-speed mobile data services. As cellular networks become increasingly congested with data traffic, it could provide a kind of mobile data sluice. Unsurprisingly, most of India's service providers are experimenting with WiFi to some extent.

With affordable connectivity a key feature of the recently launched Digital India initiative, Indian authorities are also looking to WiFi technology. The government has unveiled plans to create free public WiFi hotspots in India's 25 most populous cities by June this year.

Reliance Jio has already made some moves on the WiFi front. Last year, it launched free WiFi hotspots at eight locations in the state of Gujarat as part of the regional government's e-Nagar project, which aims to network five municipalities and develop a mobile app for e-governance. According to various media reports, the operator has also signed a deal with Swedish vendor Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC) to set up 30,000 WiFi hotspots at various public places in the cities of Delhi and Mumbai.

Reliance Jio's investments could provide a major technology spur in a country that is currently thought to have only about 30,000 commercial WiFi hotspots. While commercial deployments are expected to grow at a moderate pace over the next three years, community-backed hotspots are expected to number more than 2 million by 2018, according to recent research from Maravedis Rethink Analytics, an analyst firm, and iPass Inc. (Nasdaq: IPAS), a WiFi connectivity player.

Even so, private sector players are stepping up their WiFi efforts. Aircel Ltd. took an early lead in 2011 and at one point claimed to have around 50,000 hotspots in the country, although it has since closed down operations in a few circles (service areas). Vodafone India started piloting WiFi hotspots at crowded places in metros last year. Tata Teleservices Ltd. is also planning to set up 4,000 WiFi hotspots by next year, while Idea Cellular Ltd. has soft-launched WiFi services in five cities. Meanwhile, companies such as Spectranet, Ozone and Sify have been experimenting with paid WiFi, albeit with limited success.

But Reliance Jio is moving at a much faster pace than incumbent operators when it comes to the installation of WiFi. Partly that is because the operator has no legacy voice business to slow it down. Reliance Jio's 4G ambitions are also fueling its WiFi plans. Besides being the only pan-India owner of 2300MHz spectrum, which it picked up during an auction in 2010, it also owns 1800MHz spectrum in 14 circles. It plans to begin offering 4G services later this year, under some pressure from regulatory authorities. (The terms of the licenses it won in 2010 require it to launch services within five years of receiving spectrum.)

A current dearth of WiFi hotspots and the government's prioritization of WiFi could provide the perfect opportunity for Reliance Jio to take a leading role in India's rollout of WiFi technology.

Source: Light Reading

India's smartphone shipments rose by 68.5% in 2014: Infographic

India's smartphone shipments reached 81 million units in 2014, up 68.5% from 48 million in the previous year, according to Counterpoint Research. Chinese handset makers including Xiaomi and Gionee more than doubled their market to 13%. Samsung and Nokia lost out, but Indian handset makers led by Micromax gained.



Source: ET

Reliance Jio submits the highest Earnest Money Deposit for upcoming spectrum auction

The 8 telecom operators who have submitted applications for participating in the upcoming spectrum auctions charted to begin on 4th March have submitted their earnest money deposit(EMD). EMD translates to points which can be used by the operator to bid for spectrum blocks in the auction. It turns out that Reliance Jio has paid the highest EMD of around Rs.4500 crore, followed by Bharti Airtel which paid Rs.4336 crore, Idea cellular paying Rs.4000 crore, Vodafone paying Rs.3700 crore, Tata teleservices paying Rs.1500 crore, Reliance communications paying Rs. 1175 crores, Telewings (Uninor) paying Rs.725 crores and Aircel paying Rs.500 crore. The total EMD paid is 20,435 crores.

This implies that we will see Jio bidding not just for spectrum in the 1800MHz band in the 8 circles where it does not have spectrum in that band but also in the 900MHz or 2100MHz band. Reliance Jio holds 20MHz of contiguous spectrum in the 2300MHz band in all 22 circles which it will use for TD-LTE. It also has 5 to 7MHz of spectrum in 1800MHz band which it can either use to deploy FD-LTE or to offer 2G voice and Edge data. If Jio bids for the 2100MHz spectrum it can offer 3G services to consumers who do not have 4G compatible smartphones. Also, VoLTE is not a very matured platform for offering voice services on 4G spectrum which is why

Also VoLTE is not a very matured platform for offering voice services on 4G spectrum which is why Jio would either have to come up with a VoIP solution or would need to adopt circuit-switched fallback (CSFB). If they opt for CSFB they will need 2G or 3G fall back spectrum to carry voice which is why they may look to acquire as much 2100MHz spectrum as they can get.

This auction is crucial for Idea cellular, Rcom and Vodafone in some circles where their 900MHz spectrum is expiring and they do not have 1800MHz spectrum to fall back upon. These operators would be forced to shut down operations in these circles if they cannot win back their spectrum. Bharti Airtel is in a relatively safe position since it has fallen back airwaves in all the 6 circles where its licence is coming up for renewal. Uninor may look at acquiring spectrum in new circles to widen its footprint. It is worth noting that Videocon has not submitted an application for the upcoming auction, which could hint at a potential merger or being acquired by a larger telco which may want access to its spectrum resources.

Source: Telecom Talk

Telcos give Rs 20,435 crore as earnest money for spectrum auction

Eight telecom operators have deposited earnest money of about Rs 20,435 crore for spectrum auction starting March 4, with Reliance Jio Infocom submitting the highest guarantee.

"The cumulative EMD (earnest money deposit) submitted by eight telecom operators is about Rs 20,435 crore," an official source told PTI.

Spectrum, or radiowaves, is key part of telecom networks used by companies to provide mobile or wireless services.

The earnest deposit money translate into points that determine the quantum of spectrum blocks a company can bid in the auction process.

RJio has submitted the highest EMD of about Rs 4,500 crore, followed by Bharti Airtel Rs 4,336 crore, Idea Cellular Rs 4,000 crore, Vodafone Rs 3,700 crore, Tata Teleservices Rs 1,500 crore, Reliance Communications Rs 1,175 crore, Telewings (Uninor) Rs 724.95 crore and Aircel Rs 500 crore indicating aggressive bidding in auction rounds, sources said.

These companies, barring Uninor, did not respond to queries sent to them to confirm the amounts.

Uninor in a statement said: "Uninor has filed application expressing its intent to participate in the upcoming spectrum auctions."

The government expects to garner over Rs 80,000 crore from the sale of radiowaves for providing 2G as well as 3G services, going by the reserve price. Proceeds from this year's auction are expected to help the government meet its fiscal deficit target of 4.1 per cent of the GDP.

It has approved the minimum or auction start price for the 2,100 Mega-Hertz band or 3G spectrum, which will garner at least Rs 17,555 crore. The reserve price for auction of 2G spectrum in 800 MHz, 900 Mhz and 1800 MHz bands will fetch the government at least Rs 64,840 crore.

Most of the spectrum being put up for the auction is at present held by Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular and Reliance Telecom. Their licences are expiring in 2015-16.

Idea Cellular's 9 circles, 6 circles of Airtel and 7 circles each of Vodafone and Reliance Telecom are coming up for renewal.

These companies have to compulsorily bid for spectrum to continue offering mobile and other telecom services as their permits are expiring.

Entry of RJio, Tata Teleservices, Uninor and Aircel shows that these companies are in the fray for additional spectrum.

The spectrum in 900 Mhz band frequencies is seen as good for providing telecom services as it gives double the coverage than mobile signal transmitted in 1800 Mhz band and therefore fewer number of mobile towers.

Most of the licences coming up for renewal hold 900 Mhz band spectrum which is also scarce in quantity.

The 3G spectrum is the other frequency for which telecom operators are expected to bid aggressively. The government is auctioning only 5 Mhz of 3G spectrum against industry demand of 20 Mhz.

Source: ET

Reliance Jio Infocomm enters auctions, bids now set to soar

With Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio entering the fray, bids for the auction of spectrum that begins from March 4 are likely to be fiercely competitive. On Monday, Reliance Jio announced its participation in the auction together with four other operators, whose licences are up for renewal: Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications. Tata Teleservices, Aircel and Uninor will also be participating but Russian operator Sistema Shyam has decided to abstain.
Crisil estimates that operators will shell out over Rs 90,000 crore to win spectrum, pointing out that nearly half the R1,20,000 crore of annual revenues is at stake for the large operators. With RJio’s entry, the number could be higher. The telcos face the Herculean task of raising their blended average voice and data revenue per minute (ARPM) by 5 paise to generate additional cash flows needed to service incremental debt.

The increase of 5 paise, which translates into a steep hike of 10% over a year, might be impossible for operators to push through given the market is price sensitive.

While Bharti, Vodafone, Idea and RCom must win back their spectrum to be able to stay in business, others will use the auctions to tank up on their spectrum holdings. RJio could turn out to be the toughest competitor as Aircel, Tata Tele and Uninor are expected to take up spectrum only in some select circles. Having won pan-India spectrum for broadband wireless access in the 2300 MHz band in 2010, Reliance is yet to roll out its services but in the February 2014 auction it bought 1800 MHz spectrum across 14 circles. This reflected a change in the company’s strategy — from being a potential data player it signalled it would provide a combination of data and voice services by using LTE technology which can be deployed on the 1800 MHz band spectrum.

By applying for the March auction, Reliance is taking forward this strategy.

Although the earnest money deposited by the company was not known, it appears Reliance will bid for all bands of spectrum — 800, 900, 1800 and 2100 MHz, focusing more on the 800 MHz band.
This is because the 800 MHz band, traditionally used by CDMA operators, has now been liberalised and thrown open to the GSM operators and can be used to launch voice and data services using the LTE technology. Although the ecosystem for deploying LTE technology in the 800 MHz band is not immediately available, it can be developed. Further, with very little 1800 MHz spectrum as a back-up and only 5 MHz of 3G spectrum being put up for auction across 17 circles, operators are likely to look at 800 MHz as a back-up for their 900 MHz spectrum. That’s where the four large telcos will face the maximum competition from RJio.

The other advantage of the 800 MHz band is that it is available in a contiguous block across five circles. In the case of other circles, operators can form contiguous blocks by switching carriers and later by sharing spectrum or a combination of both.

Theoretically, RJio can also bid for 900 and 2100 MHz bands as these can also be used for deploying LTE technology. The practical difficulty is that the ecosystem doesn’t exist and will develop only over time. Still, the auction is designed such that an operator can enter or exit the rounds at any point of time which means high prices remain a perpetual risk.

With RJio’s entry, the auctions which were in any case going to be a make or break for operators, become a bigger challenge. For perspective, the circles where licences are up for renewal account for 89% of the country’s over 900 million total users. Their revenue contribution to the government, as annual licence fees, is around 84% of the total adjusted gross revenues of Rs 1.50 lakh crore.

Among operators the most precariously placed is Idea Cellular, whose licences in nine circle are up for renewal; these circles contribute around 70% to its overall subscriber base and 79% to its revenue base. Bharti is best placed as only six of its licences are up for renewal and these circles contribute around 32% to its overall subscriber base and 37% to its total revenues. Moreover, Bharti also has sufficient back-up spectrum in the 1800 MHz band that it bought at the February 2014 auctions.

Source: FE

Digital India project will create over 5 cr jobs, says Telecom Minister

Government's Digital India project will create over five crore jobs once it is complete, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said today.

"IT gives employment to about 30 lakh people. Once Digital India becomes reality, we can give jobs to five crore plus people," Prasad said while addressing students at Shri Ram College of Commerce.
Digital India is an umbrella programme of the government comprising various projects worth about Rs 1 lakh crore to transform the country into a knowledge economy.

The programme includes projects that aim to ensure easy access to technology infrastructure and government services are to citizens. He said there is boom in e-commerce sector, which is pushing development of logistics and his ministry is working on scheme to open BPOs in small towns and rural areas.

Besides, government's effort to ramp up electronics manufacturing will create these jobs.
"Once BPOs start opening up in mofussil towns, there will be computer training for which computer centres will come up that too will create jobs. We are running ambitious program of Make In India which will have to be supplemented with skilled India. These all will create jobs," Prasad said.
A student from Datia district in Madhya Pradesh raised issue of absence of power in small towns, absence of teachers in schools and doctors in hospital and asked the scope of Digital India in absence of such basic infrastructure.

"It is true that electricity is not everywhere. Either you keep cribbing that there is no power or fix it. There was no power in Gujarat, Narendra Modi ji promised that I will give power round the clock and today it is there. In your state Madhya Pradesh, CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan is making effort, many villages are getting electricity," Prasad said.

He said that India can't wait for electricity to reach first and stop working.

"It is how you see at things, when you will have Digital India programme running in nearby villages, then there will be pressure on local leaders to get electricity in their village as well," Prasad added.
Responding to a query from another student as to why India has not been able to developed sites like Google or Facebook, Prasad said that there is new wave of start-up IT companies which are developing innovative products.

"We have got 4,000 start-ups in India. Many of them are back from Silicon valley, making their own products and making foreign companies run for money. I see they have potential to become Google or Facebook of India. Even Google and Facebook are becoming Indian by developing content in regional languages," Prasad said.

Source:First Post