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Tag: Hutch
Vodafone India sports the Global Red branding
The Global Mobile Service Providers starts operations in India, the 2nd largest mobile market in the world. The Vodafone logo is synonymous with the Global Red Branding strategy of Vodafone.
As an Indian Mobile user, I have never seen Vodafone as a Mobile brand. I relate it to the Ferrari Formula 1 Team ( Vodafone is a sponsor for the team)
But now all of a sudden, Vodafone is a Mobile Operator in India. Vodafone is known worldwide for its Value Added Services. Will be interesting to see what Vodafone does in India considering the nature of the market.
The Hutch pug in the new Vodafone TV AD
My Vodafone number phone was showing the Hutch operator text till yesterday
but changed to Vodafone suddenly . A really fast re-branding excercise I must say.
Now the hutch website hutch.in points to vodafone.in
Hutch logo will be replaced by Vodafone soon
We had hinted earlier the Hutch might change colors again in What will Vodafone do with Hutch
Looks like Vodafone wants to spread its brand image in India soon. So its going to be the the Battle of the Reds (Vodafone vs Airtel) as Hutch and Airtel are the largest mobile operators in India. Hutch has always been seen as an elite brand in the country as it is present only in a few circles. Vodafone is known for its Premium services around the world. Vodafone cannot use the same global pricing strategy in India for sure due to the nature of the market here. Lets wait and watch Till then it may may bid good bye to the Hutch Pug
Hutchison Essar rechristens as Vodafone Essar
Vodafone Essar will be the new name of the old Hutch venture in India. This move comes after Vodafone’s acquistion of HTIL.
Asim Ghosh, Hutchison Essar’s current chief executive, will be chairman and chief executive officer.
Arun Sarin will be the Vice Chairman.
Ravi Ruia will non-executive chairman
What will Vodafone do with Hutch ?
Hutch has changed colors since it started operations in India.
I remember seeing Hutch first in the Orange. They then changed to pink and blue.
Now after Vodafone has taken over Hutch , will Hutch move to Red synonymous with India’s other largest telecom provider Airtel.
It would be interesting to see what Vodafone does with Hutch.
Hutch India now Vodafone’s Baby
The battle’s finally over ? Atleast IBN Live says so.
The long battle amongst the Telecom biggies for the aquisition of Hutch India might be over.
Vodafone has won the bid for $19 Billion.Essar is happy about the deal and the price. Vodafone is said to have even offered Essar to become a partner firm.
Hutch is expected to announce an official statement tomorrow
via [ibnlive]
The Hutch Saga continues
The rumors have started again. Reports suggest that the Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa group is believed to be considering a sale of its telecom business. The sale might include Hutchison Essar as well. Hutch has postponed its IPO in India so many times.
Vodafone has shown interest in taking over Hutchison Essar. Its willing to offer upto 13.5 Billion Dollars for the deal. Reliance is reported to have teamed up with Blackstone Ventures and is willing to offer upto 15 Billion Dollars.
Its interesting to note that Vodafone has an 10% stake in Bharti Airtel which is valued at close to 1.4 Billion pounds. But there is a no compete attached to this deal.
We still need to wait and see the turn of events.
3G might soon be rolled out in India
The Government has alloted low power 3G spectrum to MTNL, BSNL, Hutch and Bharti for testing.TRAI will finalize pricing and allocation details by end of this month.Sources say that 3G spectrum allocation will be made available for less than a month. Strength of spectrum allocation will be 1,000 times less than the actual 3G spectrum.
TATA Teleservices had sought 3G trial spectrum but was not considered.Reliance had sought the 1900 MHz Band which did not conform to the International CDMA 3G trial norms.
But if Reliance sought the 800 Mhz band for Testing EVDO , it might be considered
The government’s spectrum allocation to telcos is mainly for equipment testing and
interference measurement.
via [ibn-live]
Airtel GPRS plans
I would like to take you through the various plans available from Airtel for GPRS.
Airtel does not advertise supporting EDGE through their Mobile Office service but you
cansee a noticeable difference in the latency if your handset supports EDGE like my Nokia
6630. Airtel has a Data Card service which competes with Reliance CDMA Data Card and
Tata Indicom CDMA Data Card.
Here are the plans for Airtel Postpaid User
Plan 1
Rs.399 per month
100 MB Free Usage
Rs.5 per extra MB
Plan 2
Rs.599 per month
1GB Free Usage
Rs.3 per extra MB
Plan 3
Rs. 799 per month
1.5 GB Free Usage
Rs.3 per extra MB
The tarrifs are taken from Airtel’s site
The above plans not only allow you to connect to the internet from your mobile phone but also allow you to use your Laptop or PC . Its can be be a life saver in a place where you dont have internet access otherwise and cannot find a cyber cafe.
Zero Rental GPRS
Airtel and Hutch are coming up with Zero Rental GPRS service as pointed out by Mobile Pundit.
Airtel Chennai offers a zero-rental GPRS service for its post-paid customers at pay-per-use rate of Re 1 per 100 kilobytes. Which works out to Rs 10 per 1MB.
Hutch is also planning to bring out something similar.
Its great news for those people who wish to try the service but not willing to shell out a monthly rental.
Aircel launches external Phone Book
Aircel Cellular, one of India’s leading mobile service providers, has launched Phone Book, a unique and useful external phone book service which offers subscribers unlimited memory to store their contacts’ addresses. This service will be useful for all subscribers who have lots of addresses to store but the memory in their handsets is a limiting factor, and/or those who tend to lose their cell phones.
Aircel’s Pbook:
- Helps customers store their number permanently and securely;
- Addresses memory constraints and loss;
- Use of SMS (2222) and/or Internet;
- Cost Rs 25 per month.
Aircel subscribers can register for this service by messaging Pbook to 2222. Unlimited phone contacts can be stored in Aircel’s Phone Book. The security of individual phone books is taken care of through the individual user’s password given at the time of registering for the service. The service is available at a nominal fee of Rs 25 per month.
Nokia selected for 5-year Managed Services deal with Hutchison Essar Limited
Nokia has reached a 5-year managed services agreement to run Hutchison Essar’s network operations in 9 circles in India.
Espoo, Finland – Nokia has reached a 5-year managed services agreement to run Hutchison Essar’s network operations in 9 circles in India. Nokia will assume the operation of Hutchison Essar’s networks in Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Chennai, Uttar Pradesh (East and West), Rajasthan, Haryana and West Bengal, thus allowing the operator to better focus on its customers and core activities.
The agreement, for which documentation is being finalized, calls for Nokia to provide an array of solutions from its extensive services portfolio, including network planning, project management, configuration and optimization, network operations and maintenance and the administration of third party vendor contract management. Nokia will also welcome over 600 Hutchison Essar staff into its Services business unit.
“Nokia’s Managed Service know-how, plus its proven track record when it comes to operating and enhancing networks worldwide, were key drivers in helping us make this decision,” says Asim Ghosh, Managing Director, Hutchison Essar Limited. “We are happy to be working with a leader in this area.”
“We are delighted to extend our cooperation with Hutchison Essar to managed services,” says Rajeev Suri, Senior Vice President, Networks, Nokia. “The services business has become increasingly important for Nokia. Our managed services will improve Hutchison Essar’s cost structure and further enhance their service offerings.”
The contract deepens already strong ties between the two companies — Nokia is the supplier of GSM network equipment to nine of Hutchison Essar’s 13 circles, making it the largest network vendor for the operator.
Nokia’s Managed Services business is a key part of its Services business unit, and a core part of the company’s drive to help operators enhance their service offerings and reduce costs. To date Nokia has 36 managed services contracts in 28 countries, and it expects this figure to grow in the coming years.
Nokia’s operations in India include networks and terminals sales divisions, three Research and Development facilities and an upcoming manufacturing facility in Chennai that will produce both terminals and GSM infrastructure equipment.
Jamdat Launches Games on Hutch
Jamdat Mobile announced the launch of its game titles on Indian cellular service provider Hutch.
Mobile users in India can go bowling, wakeboarding or pitfalling wherever they go, whenever they want. Jamdat Mobile announced the launch of its game titles on Indian cellular service provider Hutch.
Jamdat Bowling, Jamdat Pool, Pitfall! and Wakeboarding are available now on Planet Hutch, Hutch’s data services platform.
Players can choose to play a single game or a 3-game series and maneuver their aim, power and pin meter for maximum control. Jamdat Pool gamers can play eight and nine ball on their mobile phones. Pitfall! is the wireless version of the classic title as players guide Pitfall Harry through more than 200 jungle screens. Wakeboarding features Shaun Murray and other top pros.
“India is a growing market for mobile gaming and Hutch is one of the leading cellular service providers in that market,” Minard Hamilton, Jamdat’s executive vice president of sales and marketing, said in a press release. Hutch’s core consumer base is the urban population, which is the ideal target for Jamdat’s titles, he added.
Maxis and Reddys buy out Aircel
Malaysias largest telecom company Maxis Communications, in partnership with Apollo Hospitals promoter Reddys will buy Aircel for 1.08 billion dollars
Malaysia?s largest telecom company Maxis Communications, in partnership with Apollo Hospitals promoter Reddys, will buy Aircel for $1.08 billion. Maxis plans to list Aircel.
Maxis will take a direct 65% stake in Aircel by spending $702m. It will hold the remaining stake indirectly through a joint venture, owned 74% by Apollo and 26% by Maxis.
This implies an enterprise valuation of $800m for Aircel. With Aircel?s mobile subscriber base of over 2.2m, the payment per subscriber will be around $364. Vodafone paid $1,000 per subscriber for Bharti while $570 a subscriber was paid by Hutchison Essar for BPL.
Mr Sivasankaran?s Sterling Infotech has been lucky in its fourth attempt to sell Aircel. It had earlier held discussions with Idea Cellular, AFK Sistema of Russia and Hutch.
via [MobilePundit]
New Hutch shop at Parrys Chennai
Subscribers are to benefit from value-added service offered by Hutch in the wake of a new shop inaugurated at Parry’s recently.
Subscribers are to benefit from value-added service offered by Hutch in the wake of a new shop inaugurated at Parry’s recently. Sankara Narayanan, chief operating officer launched the shop located at Armenian Street. With a subscriber base of over 3 lakh, Hutch’s retail presence in Chennai now covers six exclusive Hutch shops and a mobile shop that reaches customers at their convenience across the city wherever they are. The new colours of Hutch have been successfully incorporated in all elements of the new shop starting with the branding to all client service team uniforms. ‘The Hutch shop is a one-stop shop aimed at addressing all customer needs and providing superior customer service and enhanced user experience at a next door location. Our objective is to offer our customers a bright. friendly and comfortable helpdesk at a convenient location’, said the COO.