News from India the most happening mobile market
In a major technical achievement, the Calcutta State Transport Corporation has launched mobile phone facility in buses in collaboration with…
In a major technical achievement, the Calcutta State Transport Corporation has launched mobile phone facility in buses in collaboration with India s telecom service provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), according to the Hindustan Times.
"Through this facility, first of its kind in India, commuters can now make local calls within the city range while travelling."
Bharti Televentures on Monday said it will invest one billion dollars on the rollout of third generation (3G) mobile phone networks across India. “We have committed one billion dollars for roll out of 3G networks across the country,” Bharti Televentures Managing Director Akhil Gupta said at a seminar on 3G technology.
NEW DELHI: Bharti Televentures on Monday said it will invest one billion dollars on the rollout of third generation (3G) mobile phone networks across India. "We have committed one billion dollars for roll out of 3G networks across the country," Bharti Televentures Managing Director Akhil Gupta said at a seminar on 3G technology. The company is already running tests of 3G technology at some places. "We have to ensure that 3G does not remain a niche technology. It must not be confined to a particular section or geography," he said adding it should be rolled out in each and every state so that it makes commercial sense. Gupta said when the frequency is allotted to operators for 3G services, they should come with stringent rollout obligations.
SOURCE PTI
India’s GSM mobile user base is expected to touch 200 million customers by 2007 as firms ramp up networks in rural areas and slash rates to woo customers in the hotly competitive market, a leading industry body said on Tuesday
With more than 52 million users, India’s fast maturing mobile services sector is already the world’s fastest growing wireless market as cut-rate tariffs are pulling in some 1.7 million new customers each month.
“The Indian GSM cellular industry has matured with most GSM networks making profits and are well positioned to reach the 200-million mark by 2007,” a joint statement by the Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI) and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers said.
NEW DELHI – India’s GSM mobile user base is expected to touch 200 million customers by 2007 as firms ramp up networks in rural areas and slash rates to woo customers in the hotly competitive market, a leading industry body said on Tuesday
With more than 52 million users, India’s fast maturing mobile services sector is already the world’s fastest growing wireless market as cut-rate tariffs are pulling in some 1.7 million new customers each month.
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BHARTI Tele-Ventures is set to begin trial runs of 3G mobile services by April-end. The company has sought spectrum from the Department of Telecom (DoT) to conduct the trial runs.
The company has told the DoT that it has set in place the equipment and the network required to conduct trial runs but is awaiting the release of spectrum in the 1900 Mhz, which has been earmarked for 3G services.
New Delhi: Bharti Tele-Ventures is set to begin trial runs of 3G mobile services by April-end. The company has sought spectrum from the Department of Telecom (DoT) to conduct the trial runs.
The company has told the DoT that it has set in place the equipment and the network required to conduct trial runs but is awaiting the release of spectrum in the 1900 Mhz, which has been earmarked for 3G services.
In a letter to the DoT Secretary, Brijesh Kumar, the company has said, “Bharti Cellular has planned actively to start the trials of 3G networks in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad. It is also relevant to mention that the vendors have also been identified for trials and had many rounds of detailed discussions to carry out the trails by April-end, 2005.”
The company had earlier said that it was lining up investments of $1 billion for rolling out 3G mobile services across the country.
HUTCH, the cellular service provider, has flagged off the first in the series of three `Mobile Hutch Shops’ here on Monday.
Addressing a press conference after launching the mobile shop, Mr Samuel Selvakumar, Operations Director of Hutchison Essar South, said customers would get access to all the Hutch services, available at the regular shops, at the mobile units.
HUTCH, the cellular service provider, has flagged off the first in the series of three `Mobile Hutch Shops’ here on Monday.
Addressing a press conference after launching the mobile shop, Mr Samuel Selvakumar, Operations Director of Hutchison Essar South, said customers would get access to all the Hutch services, available at the regular shops, at the mobile units.
Based in Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam, the three vans would reach 150 towns covering a length of 100-200 km and two towns a day.
Customers in the respective areas would get an SMS, giving details of the scheduled arrival and stay of the van.
The company believed that the service provided the customers with flexibility to access the Hutch services.
These vans would have pre-determined geographical areas and routes to cover.
These were equipped with Global Packet Radio Service to provide online connectivity to facilitate billing services.
Mr Hamir Bakshi, Chief Operating Officer (AP), said the company had a subscriber base of four lakh in Andhra Pradesh.
The total market size was about 28 lakh.
SOURCE:thehindubusinessline.com
The Communication and IT Minister, Mr Dayanidhi Maran, on Tuesday said the roaming charges of private cellular operators are ‘very high’ and the industry must look into it to bring them down.
NEW DELHI: The Communication and IT Minister, Mr Dayanidhi Maran, on Tuesday said the roaming charges of private cellular operators are ‘very high’ and the industry must look into it to bring them down.
“Mobile charges for roaming are very, very high… I think they should be much lower than the existing rates. BSNL does not charge roaming, why can’t the private operators also take this initiative to bring them down,” Mr Maran said at the cellular summ it organised by Cellular Operators Association of India.
The Government, on its part, will do everything to remove all the hurdles coming in the way of growth of telecommunication, the Minister said adding ‘but the operators also must reciprocate from their side.’
Replying to industry’s demand that the Government should reduce the licence fee and allow BSNL to share the infrastructure especially for the rural areas, Mr Maran said, “Don’t waste your time in Delhi making rounds to the ministry… Go to the rural are as and connect India. We, on our part, will do everything to see that all hurdles are removed one by one.”
Maran also launched low price cellular handset of Motorola costing about Rs 1,500. – PTI
India’s privately owned BPL Mobile Communications Ltd. is negotiating to sell up to 40 percent stake to a strategic partner to help boost its business in the world’s fastest growing cellular market, the company said, reports Reuters. India’s mobile services industry, with more than 50 million users and growing rapidly helped by rock-bottom call rates of about 2 U.S. cents a minute, has attracted investors from funds to large global service providers. “We have identified a few partners with whom we are in dialogue,” Chief Executive Officer Sandip Basu told a news conference. “The deal can happen any time.” BPL, which aims to invest $143 million on expansion this year, was in talks with at least three possible partners, including a foreign company, another official said.
India’s privately owned BPL Mobile Communications Ltd. is negotiating to sell up to 40 percent stake to a strategic partner to help boost its business in the world’s fastest growing cellular market, the company said, reports Reuters. India’s mobile services industry, with more than 50 million users and growing rapidly helped by rock-bottom call rates of about 2 U.S. cents a minute, has attracted investors from funds to large global service providers. “We have identified a few partners with whom we are in dialogue,” Chief Executive Officer Sandip Basu told a news conference. “The deal can happen any time.” BPL, which aims to invest $143 million on expansion this year, was in talks with at least three possible partners, including a foreign company, another official said. Basu said the strategic partner can buy a stake in BPL Cellular Holdings, the founder, or in BPL Mobile Communications that provides cellular services in Bombay, or in BPL Mobile Cellular Ltd., which operates in three other telecoms circles.
“Ideally the strategic partner could pick up stake in the holding company, but it could be in the operating companies as well,” Basu said. Indian founders own 60 percent of the holding company, with the remaining 40 percent held by funds such as Commonwealth Development Corp. and American International Group.
SOURCE:Telecompaper
The phone has a stand by battery time of two weeks, in case you have forgotten to recharge it. And you can buy it at a store near you or from your mobile service company at the low price of under Rs 2,000 a piece, making it one of the cheapest mobile phones ever to hit the Indian market…
The phone has a stand by battery time of two weeks, in case you have forgotten to recharge it. And you can buy it at a store near you or from your mobile service company at the low price of under Rs 2,000 a piece, making it one of the cheapest mobile phones ever to hit the Indian market.
The sub-$40 (Rs 1,657, at last week’s exchange rate) phones will be unveiled in emerging markets across the globe in April. Motorola’s big stop will be India. With three entry level models (C 115, 116 and 117), the GSMA expects the US telecom company to hawk 2 million to 3 million sets in India in the first six months of the launch.
Says Percy Batlivala, general manager, east south Asia, at Motorola’s personal communications business: “Over 70 per cent of global system for mobile customers use phones which cost below $65 (Rs 2,732). The low cost phone will help to open a new market.”
The demand for the phone here has been overwhelming — and not enough handsets may be rolled out at Motorola’s plant in China.
The company is interested in expanding into India’s film, publishing and online markets after a foray into the mobile gaming arena.
BOMBAY: China-focused media firm Tom Group Ltd. is interested in expanding into India’s film, publishing and online markets after a foray into mobile gaming, its chief executive said.
Tom, backed by Hong Kong’s richest businessman Li Ka-Shing, hopes to leverage off its Chinese experience to pursue a range of possible businesses in its southern neighbor from Internet portals to publishing magazines.
“Everyone talks about India and China across industries, and firms from both countries have set up operations in each other’s markets, but we haven’t had such ventures in media,” Sing Wang, Tom’s chief executive officer, said in a interview.
He said cultural and language differences, as well as the regulatory framework in both countries may be hurdles, but were not insurmountable.
The firm is eyeing India’s fast-growing online market.
“I think we’re at the tip of a very large potential market,” added Wang, who was in Bombay for an entertainment conference.
“India’s online market is still very small, with only 30 million registered Internet users — China has twice as many users — and I know mobile phones are taking off very quickly in India,” he said.
The firm, which owns 65 magazine titles, will also look at the publishing market in India, he said.
Film was another area with potential, he said, despite China only permitting 20 foreign films to be imported every year.
“I understand kung fu movies are very popular in India, and I believe Indian films can be popular in China, too,” said Wang.
Tom Group recently acquired a stake in a private Chinese film maker, one of a string of investments the firm has made in Chinese firms after the government introduced new rules to open up China’s growing media business.
“While China has some of the best hardware, it lags behind in software, or content, which is not as sophisticated as India’s”, he added.
Tom’s gaming partner Indiagames, founded in 1999, is the market leader in mobile gaming and provides content for all major Indian mobile operators as well as several global brands. It derives more than 80 percent of its revenues from exports.
“It is a small company, but it is profitable and it’s growing, and we’re very happy with our investment,” said Wang.
Tom Online Games, a subsidiary of Tom Online Inc., is due to complete buying an 80.6 percent stake in Bombay-based Indiagames for US$17.7 million by the end of April.
Tom Online Inc. is a unit of the Tom Group.
Tom Group, a former Internet startup and an associate of Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., posted a net profit of HK$860 million (US$110 million) last year. It is targeting a doubling of revenue by 2007, largely on the back of China’s fast-growing media market.
� Reuters
The company estimates revenue of Rs 25 crore per month from the service which went paid on April 1.
MUMBAI: Reliance Infocomm earned Rs one crore within two days of making its R World service paid. According to the company, the first Indo-Pak one-day match at Kochi contributed much of the Rs one crore revenue. The company estimates revenue of Rs 25 crore per month from R World.
According to the company, the popularity of R World remained high even after it was made paid service on April 1. The Java and Brew-based R World suite offers over 150 applications, including railway ticket booking and exam results, and the charges range from Rs two to Rs 25.
The company will be investing around $150 million in the production unit which is expected to begin in the first half of 2006 and eventually employ 2000 people.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
BANGALORE: Nokia has announced that it will set up a manufacturing facility for mobile devices at Chennai in India. The manufacturing unit in Chennai will be Nokia’s tenth mobile device production facility globally. Nokia anticipates investing an estimated $100-150 million in the India production plant.
“Establishing a new factory in India is an important step in the continuous development of our global manufacturing network. We selected Chennai to be the location for the factory thanks to the availability of skilled labor, friendly business environment, support from the state government, good logistics connections and overall cost-efficiency,” said Pekka Ala-Pietil�, President, Nokia.
The construction work at the site of the manufacturing unit will start in April and production is expected to begin in the first half of 2006. Nokia foresees ramping up the factory gradually and the work force reaching approximately 2,000 employees when production is full scale.
Mobile penetration in Asia Pacific is expected to be a major contributor to the global mobile subscriber base surpassing the two billion mark by the end of 2005. A statement issued by the company said that India, being at the heart of the region where mobile communications is growing rapidly, was a natural location of choice for the new production facility.
In India, Nokia is the market leader in mobile devices. Nokia maintains sales, marketing, customer care, and research and development sites in the country.
