One of the leading telecom service providers, Bharti Airtel in collaboration with Sweden-based Wayfinder Systems AB today launched GPS based navigation application on mobile handsets.
The application turns the compatible mobile phone into a complete GPS-based navigation system with detailed maps and points-of-interest of a number of cities in the country.
The system will provide all users with continuously updated, real-time content and geographical data via the wireless network using EDGE/GPRS, the company said in a statement.
To start with, the application shall be available on BlackBerry 8800. The Airtel users can avail map information and area coverage details of the cities - Delhi and NCR, Bangalore, Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chandigarh.
‘’We are now introducing in India, a state-of-the-art GPS based navigation system that will largely benefit all frequent travelers using compatible mobile handsets like BlackBerry 8800,'’ Bharti Airtel Chief Marketing Officer (Mobile Services) Sanjay Gupta said in the statement.
Bharti Airtel is offering a six months free trial for all its Airtel BlackBerry 8800 users. As per the offer, the customer will not have to pay any subscription charges on the application during this period. However, data download charges will apply as per the subscriber’s BlackBerry plan.
To download the application, Airtel BlackBerry 8800 users need to send ‘NAV’ as an SMS to shortcode ‘3636′.
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Indias’ Reliance Communications is embarking on USD 740 million plan to add 17 million new lines to its existing GSM networks in eight telecom circles. Over the next nine months, RCOM proposes to beef up the total capacity of its eight GSM networks in Kolkata, West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, North-East, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh to 20 million lines from a little over 3 million now. The company’s cost per line for adding 17 million GSM lines at a capex of USD 740 million works out roughly at USD 43. If this GSM expansion project goes per plan, by March 2008, RCOM’s GSM coverage is slated to extend across 9,000 towns and 30,000 villages. For its USD 740 million plan, RCOM is in talks to source GSM equipment from three vendors: Alcatel-Lucent, Huawei and ZTE. A large-scale network expansion is underway in the eight existing GSM circles, which on completion would multiply the existing network capacity, a spokesperson from RCOM said. A spokesperson also said that the company will not share specifics on the precise outlay or the vendors. RCOM had initially planned to launch GSM services on a pan-India level during the current fiscal year. The company had applied for GSM spectrum in fifteen circles over a year ago but has so far not been allocated spectrum. RCOM’s existing GSM networks will be EDGE-enabled and 3G-ready, said company sources.
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Bharti Airtel and Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) have signed an MoU for a USD900 million expansion contract across Airtel’s mobile, fixed and intelligent network (IN) platforms. In the first multi-platform network contract of its kind to be awarded in India, NSN will expand Airtel’s GSM network in eight circles; its national long distance and international long distance network with 1.8 million NGN ports, and its international calling card prepaid service capacity by 4.5 million new users. The GSM and NGN expansions are planned to take place over two years and the calling cards expansion over three years.
The two year GSM expansion will cover the eight circles of Mumbai, Maharashtra & Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh & Chattisgarh, Bihar & Jharkhand, Orissa, Kolkata and West Bengal, where NSN already provides equipment and managed services. The expansion will enable Airtel to rapidly expand its geographical footprint to rural India and increase its overall network capacity. The contract includes network planning, implementation and project management, handling of local logistics and materials as well as system integration for the base station sites.
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Nokia Siemens Networks said it has won its first contract from the operator Maxis Group, operating under brand name of Aircel, to build and operate a GSM network in Kolkata, India.
In a statement, Nokia Siemens said the deal runs for two years and is valued at some 55 million euros ($74 million).
The contract includes supply of GSM/EDGE equipment, implementation, project management and managed services, such as operating and maintaining the network infrastructure.
Nokia Siemens will deploy Flexi base stations, mini-ultra base stations, a 3GPP-based mobile soft-switching solution including MSC Servers and Media Gateways PDH and SDH.
The network will be ready for commercial operations by December 2007.
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Airtel launches GPS navigation on mobile handsets
