BSNL, RCom bear initial brunt of mobile number portability

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Reliance Communications have emerged the biggest losers as a result of Mobile Number Portability (MNP), introduced a month ago in Haryana. According to initial numbers, BSNL has lost a net of over 20,000 subscribers, while RCom has lost nearly 13,500 subscribers as on January 16.

Idea Cellular, which was the first to start an advertising campaign on MNP, has a net loss of 1,863 subscribers with 15,604 subscribers leaving its network and 13,741 coming in.

Even new players, including Sistema Shyam, Loop Telecom and Datacom (Videocon), have ended up with a net loss in numbers as a result of MNP.

Though these are initial numbers, the trends indicate a strong preference for incumbent GSM players.

Vodafone gained the most with 30,015 subscribers joining its network and only 9,267 leaving. Although Bharti Airtel lost 10,837 of its subscribers, it ended up in the positive as it managed to lure 18,271 subscribers from other operators' networks.

While these numbers are for Haryana, initial trends coming in from other parts of India are on similar lines.

While MNP was introduced in Haryana in November, the system was launched across the country on January 20.

Teething issues

Sources in the Department of Telecom said that there were teething problems in implementing the system, with complaints coming in from various quarters that porting was not being completed in some cases.

The DoT has written to all the operators to implement the scheme according to the rules set out by the TRAI and the Government.

“If a subscriber sends porting request to number 1900, operators have to respond back with the unique porting code. There should not be any exceptions or excuses for this. We have received some complaints of operators who are not processing porting requests. We are investigating these complaints,” said a top DoT official.

A Reliance Communications spokesperson said, “We believe that the customers who may have ported from one service provider to another are likely to port again on completion of the set time frame of three months. Our focus has been to provide a superior customer experience through better network quality, a wide array of applications at affordable tariffs to attract the high ARPU customers to the Reliance Network. We are satisfied with the initial experience and expect a significant shift in the trend on in the next 2-3 months.”

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Bharti Airtel aims 3G in all licensed zones by March

Bharti Airtel aims to launch 3G wireless services across all its 13 telecoms zones in India by March and expects the premium offering to help stabilise its average revenue per user (ARPU).

The No 1 mobile operator in India, which spent USD 2.7 billion last year to buy third-generation (3G) radio airwaves in an auction, on Monday launched the services in southern Karnataka state, whose capital is the technology hub of Bangalore.

The company hopes to cover 40 cities by March, and expand the services to 1,500 cities and towns by a year later, a senior company official said.

3G services facilitate faster Internet on mobile phones and let customers use services such as video calls. The services are expected to boost mobile carriers' data revenue in a market where low-margin voice calls account for close to 90 percent of the total revenue.

Voice call prices plunged in India after a price war in the fiercely competitive Indian mobile market of 15 carriers. Bharti's monthly ARPU in India in the September quarter fell 20% from a year earlier to Rs 202 (USD 4.4).

"We expect the ARPUs to definitely stabilise to a much greater extent than they would have otherwise, for the very simple reason that there would be an explosion in terms of new products and services on the non-voice side," Atul Bindal, Bharti's president for mobile services, told reporters.

No single carrier in India managed to get 3G airwaves in all of India's 22 zones in last year's auction and companies are in talks with rivals to forge alliances to offer the services beyond the zones they got licences for.

Bindal said Bharti's talks with other operators for 3G alliances outside the firm's 13 licensed zones were in "active closure" stage, but declined to name the possible partners.

Its rivals Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices have started 3G services in some telecoms zones, while Vodafone Essar has said it plans to launch the services during the current quarter that ends in March.

Bharti had last year selected Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks and Huawei Technologies as its network equipment partners for 3G services.

Bharti operates mobile services in 19 countries across Asia and Africa and is the world's fifth-largest wireless carrier by subscribers.

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Mobile number portability to come in force from Jan 20: TRAI

After a long wait, the Mobile Number Portability (MNP), which allows a mobile subscriber to change his service provider without changing his number, is all set to come in force all over India from January 20.

According to a notification issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the MNP would come into force all over the country from January 20.

'The authority in exercise of powers conferred by clause(b) of sub regulation(2) of regulation (1) of the Telecommunications Mobile Number Portability Regulations 2009 (08 of 2009) and for ensuring compliance with the terms and conditions of the licence and for protecting the interests of the consumers of the telecom sector hereby directs that regulations 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 of the Telecommunications Mobile Number Portability Regulations 2009 (8 of 2009) shall come into force in all telecom service areas in the country from January 20, 2011,' the notification by TRAI said.

The MNP has already come into force in Haryana on November 25.

The facility allows consumers to retain their mobile numbers while switching operators. Industry experts say that MNP gives rise to genuine competition, leading to an improvement in the quality of services by the service providers.

Telecom consulting firm Analysys Mason's data suggests a reasonably high subscriber churn after the launch of MNP of as much as 17 per cent in the prepaid and 19 per cent in the postpaid segment.

In the high average revenue per user segment, this level rises to 20 per cent, climbing to 22 per cent in the enterprise market and 18 per cent in the business category.

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Smartphones prices halved in 1 year

KOLKATA/NEW DELHI: Smartphone prices have almost halved since the start of the year due to cutthroat competition, relentless introduction of newer and more efficient technologies and ever-increasing demand in a booming Indian economy where rising incomes make more and more consumers go for higher-end products.

Smartphone -- or feature-rich handset that can support multi-tasking, mobile office, mobile internet , push mail and run different kinds of applications -- is the fastest-growing category in the world's fastest-growing mobile phone market.

An entry-level smartphone now costs just about Rs 6,500, down from Rs 12,000 last year. And handset makers such as Nokia, Samsung, LG, Dell, BlackBerry and HTC say the prices will plunge further next year on higher volumes as more people access the internet on mobile and the new third-generation (3G) mobile telephony, which brings high-speed internet and live video streaming to handsets, kicks in.

"Smartphones are set to become the next area of competition as the category is growing at the fastest pace," says D Shivakumar, vice-president and MD of Nokia India, the largest mobile phone maker in the country as well as the world.

Analysts feel the availability of a wide variety of operating systems for smartphones will further bring down prices and help it to become a mass market product, driven by more than 100% teledensity in urban markets, upgradation purchases and the launch of 3G.

"While first-time users are not generally expected to buy smartphones, but with increasing disposable incomes, backed by the market phenomenon of falling price points, smartphone shipments to this segment could see an increase in the coming quarters," says Naveen Mishra, lead analyst (telecom) at research firm IDC India.

Then there is the much-awaited 3G rollout. Earlier this month, on Diwali day, Tata DoCoMo became the first private operator to launch 3G services in the country. While Airtel, the country's largest telco, is expected to enter the market before the end of the year, others are expected to follow suit within months.

According to industry estimates, the penetration of smartphones in India has grown from 1% of the total market in December 2009 to more than 4% now. And this is expected to more than double by end-2011.

A slew of aggressively priced smartphones is entering the market across various platforms. Nokia's 5233 model, which runs on the Symbian operating system, is selling for Rs 6,300, while Taiwanese handset manufacturer HTC recently launched HTC Smart, running on Java-based Brew OS, at Rs 7,000.

India's second-largest mobile phone brand Samsung launched smartphones on its Bada and Google's Android platforms starting at Rs 8,800. The other Korean electronics major, LG, has cut the entry price for its smartphones to Rs 12,000 and plans to bring it down to Rs 7,500 next year.

A fortnight ago, personal computer maker Dell forayed into 3G smartphone market with XCD28 and XCD35. "Given the rapid growth in India's mobile market, we feel there is a tremendous opportunity to grow in the smartphone category," says Mahesh Bhalla, GM (consumer and SMB) at Dell India. And there is more to come.

Nokia's Shivakumar says the world's largest mobile handset maker, which is globally struggling to compete with iPhones, BlackBerrys and Google Android-based phones, is looking to create a wider portfolio of smartphones in the price range $50-500.

Samsung too plans to introduce lower-priced models with the hope of cornering a 40% share in the smartphone market by the year-end -- a rather ambitious target given that as of September it had only 12% s market share in smartphone.

"Brands are looking at the category through new and aggressive launches. More than price drop, there will be introduction of more affordable price points to grow the segment," says Ranjit Yadav , country head (mobile & IT) of Samsung India.

LG, the country's largest consumer durables player, will spend almost one-fourth of its entire marketing budget of Rs 400 crore for next year on smartphones, says Vishal Chopra, business head (mobile communication) at LG India.

"Smartphones will be our imagery drivers and will establish LG mobiles as a premium and aspirational brand," says Chopra. LG will launch about 15 smartphones next year in Android and Windows platforms.

Kunal Bajaj, director and partner at telecom consulting firm Analysys Mason India says, "A large number of consumers -- the $50-100 phones users -- are still to replace or upgrade their phones wherein lies the future potential."

Smartphones contribute maximum margins for mobile phone manufacturers and analysts feel protecting these margins would be the next challenge for handset makers, specially when the entry-to-mid level segment is flooded with more than 100 brands.

The average selling price of smartphones has dropped from Rs 19,000 in Q3 of 2009 to Rs 13,000 in the Q1 of 2010 to around Rs 10,000 now, according to Analysys Mason.

This may have put pressure on the margins of handset makers. But then, to succeed in India they need to get the price point right.

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Samsung launches 4 new smartphones

Korean handset maker Samsung today launched four new smartphones under its 'Wave' and 'Omnia' series, priced between Rs 8,800 and Rs 13,500.

"The new smartphones reinforce Samsung's commitment towards enhancing and democratising the smartphone experience in India," Samsung India Country Head (Mobile and IT) Ranjit Yadav said in a statement.

Samsung's smartphone portfolio consists of eight phones in Android, bada and Windows platform at a price range of Rs 8,800 to Rs 31,500.

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Bharti Airtel crosses 20 crore users, launches new logo

Telecom major Bharti Airtel has announced that it has crossed the significant milestone of 20 crore customers, reinforcing its leadership position in global telecom, reports CNBC-TV18.

It has also launched a new identity in 19 countries in Asia and Africa.

Announcing this, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharti airtel said, “Fifteen years ago Bharti airtel started its journey in India with a promise of delivering world class and affordable services. Today, as we expand on the global stage, this new brand identity gives us the opportunity to present a single, powerful and unified face to our customers, stakeholders and partners around the world. It reinforces our promise to deliver innovative services and a superior brand experience to our 2000 crore customers across Asia and Africa.”

The new face of Airtel is youthful, international, inclusive and dynamic – representing the journey of the first Indian brand to go truly global. The new identity underlines Airtel’s willingness to embrace everything that is new. The red colour, which is an integral part of the brand, continues to represent the energy and dynamism that has made Airtel the success it is today. The new curved addition to the logo is a symbol which will help ensure instant recognition across diverse international markets.

The Airtel signature tune has also been refreshed by A R Rahman making it youthful and dynamic in line with the new visual identity. Like the earlier tune, which has made history as world’s most downloaded mobile music with over 150 million downloads, the maestro has once again delivered a master piece. The new tune retains the essence of the original but uses an inspiring musical style, with a universal appeal, that will be loved by listeners the world over.

The unveiling of the new identity also marks the 200 million customers milestone for airtel. airtel crossed 50 million customers in October 2007 and 100 million in May, 2009. The company added the next 100 million customers in just 18 months. This further cements airtel’s positions as one of world’s leading telecom companies.

For its customers in India, Airtel also announced that it was on course to launch its 3G services by the end of the year.

WATCH AIRTEL NEW TV AD

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Aircel to spend $500 million for the 3G launch by 2011

New Delhi Sep 29 (IANS) Telecom service provider Aircel Wednesday said it would spend over $500 million to roll out its third generation (3G) service in India in the January-March quarter of 2011.

'We will launch the 3G services in the first quarter of the next year,' said Gurdeep Singh, chief operating officer.

The company, which has over 45 million subscribers, expects the number to shoot up to over 75 million customers with the rolling out of the 3G services.

The company has won spectrum for 13 new circles across the country, including Delhi (Metro) and Mumbai (Metro).

Initially, it will launch the 3G service in top 10 cities of each circle and then cover the rest of the territories.

Aircel is a joint venture between Maxis Communications of Malaysia and India's Apollo Hospital Enterprise, in which Maxis holds a majority 74 per cent stake.

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PlayBook Tablet is BlackBerry's Revolution

BlackBerry makers Research in Motion just proved it can innovate with the PlayBook, a major new platform that vaults BlackBerry out of its doldrums and potentially back into the top rank of hot consumer technologies.

The 7-inch PlayBook is a radical break for a company that's been used to evolutionary steps, and some of its specs beat the competing iPad and Samsung's Galaxy Tab easily. The PlayBook's dual-core, 1-Ghz ARM Cortex-A9 processor, for instance, is faster than anything the competition has to offer.


The PlayBook runs a new operating system, which is based on QNX Neutrino, a product RIM bought earlier this year. Neutrino is a modern, UNIX-like operating system that currently runs in many embedded systems, including cars. According to RIM, developers will be able to build apps for the PlayBook based on a range of technologies, including Java, Flash, Adobe Air, OpenGL, and RIM's "WebWorks" HTML widget platform.

The PlayBook has two cameras, 1080p HD video playback, and—as expected, but still shockingly—apparently no modem, at least at the moment I'm writing this. Instead, it may rely on pairing with an existing BlackBerry handheld. It's unclear whether the PlayBook will work for folks who don't already own BlackBerrys.

This is a very dangerous trick. Smartphone "companions" tend not to sell well to consumers. People get confused by "one thing that requires another thing." Even Apple has trouble getting some iPhone owners to sync with their PCs. If the right enterprise apps are available, though, businesses may take to this easily managed, secure solution. And if it connects to Wi-Fi without a BlackBerry, the PlayBook could actually be the first RIM device someone owns - and they might then follow up with a phone.

Almost as importantly as the device itself, the PlayBook shows that RIM isn't boring. The mobile market seems to be dividing into two camps: fast innovators such as Apple and Google, who adapt quickly to market conditions with a dizzying array of new software, and lumbering behemoths such as Nokia and Microsoft who seem to always be a year behind.

When RIM launched the BlackBerry Torch earlier this year, analysts worried that it was too conservative, too worried about its enterprise base, and too comfortable with its number-one position in the U.S. to want to upset its apple cart. The BlackBerry Torch and BlackBerry 6 OS got good reviews (not least from myself), but they were seen as an evolutionary step.

The PlayBook is not evolutionary. It's big, it's exciting, and it's risky. It's an aggressive gamble that could set the agenda and actually cause Apple to chase behind—or it could be an expensive boondoggle that falls flat.

Which way the PlayBook goes depends, in large part, on sales, marketing, and app developers. Like with the Samsung Galaxy Tab, RIM is staying mum on the PlayBook's price. That's worrying. The device also has to have the right apps, and RIM needs to explain to users why they want it and how to use it. Will it be sold through business channels? Through carrier stories? At Best Buy?

RIM is taking a huge set of risks here, but only big bets win big. A successful PlayBook could keep RIM where they want to be, at number one.

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