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Indian GSM operators add 5.75 mln users in October (India)

  • November 15th, 2007
  • 2:59 pm

The Indian GSM industry added 5.75 million new subscribers in October, versus 5.6 million new customers in September. The total mobile user base reached 159.7 million, according to figures released by the Cellular Operators Association of India. Bharti Airtel maintained the top position with a market share of 31.88 percent although its net subscriber additions during the month declined marginally at 2.03 million, against 2.06 million in September. The company has a total subscriber base of 50.90 million across India. Vodafone Essar added 1.52 million new users, with an overall subscriber base of 37.1 million. After reporting a dip in subscriber additions for the last few months, state-owned operator BSNL added 720,000 users in October, up from 590,000 in September. Idea Cellular attained a total subscriber base of 19.42 million, regional operator Aircel reported a user-base of 8.52 million, while Spice had 3.57 million subscribers. MTNL, which provides mobile services in Delhi and Mumbai only, had a total user-base of 2.82 million at the end of October.

   

MTNL sees bright future in Suntel, despite legal issue (Sri Lanka)

  • October 1st, 2007
  • 9:39 am

Indian state-run telco Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) has submitted a formal bid to acquire Sri Lankan fixed-wireless operator Suntel, in the range of USD100 million to USD120 million, factoring out liability costs related to an ongoing legal case involving a Suntel customer, according to Indian media reports. MTNL plans to form a partnership with a local company to launch services if its bid is successful, according to local sources. Companies lining up rival bids for Suntel are Indian international telecoms carrier VSNL, Telekom Malaysia and a consortium led by Sri Lanka’s John Keells Holdings. The result of the tender is expected in the next fortnight. Suntel posted a net profit of LKR311 million (USD2.74 million) for the first half ending June 2007, whilst revenues rose to LKR3.6 billion, up from LKR3.3 billion in the first half of 2006. Suntel offers fixed line services based on CDMA WiLL technology, and claimed around 300,000 WiLL lines in service at the end of March 2007. Nordic telco TeliaSonera is Suntel’s top shareholder with a 55% stake via holding vehicle Overseas Telecom. The remaining shares are held by Sri Lanka’s Metrocorp, the National Development Bank of Sri Lanka, Townsend Ltd of Hong Kong and International Finance Corporation.

   

 

 

DoT refuses additional spectrum to MTNL (India)

  • September 10th, 2007
  • 11:52 am

The department of telecommunications (DoT) has turned down Mahanagar Telephone Nigam’s (MTNL) application for additional GSM spectrum in Delhi and Mumbai citing saturation of airwaves in the two metros, reports the Economic Times. MTNL chairman and managing director RSP Sinha had requested DoT to grant additional frequency slots in the 900 MHz band for GSM services in the two circles as the company is facing a capacity crunch. However, the wireless planning commission (WPC), the DoT wing responsible for spectrum management, said not only was no spectrum capacity available in the two metros, but MTNL had already been allocated position in the 1,800 MHz band on a trial basis. The WPC stated that as soon as some spectrum is released (by defence forces) or becomes available, the request of MTNL will be considered.

   

BSNL/MTNL restructuring ‘on hold’ (India)

  • September 10th, 2007
  • 6:29 am

The Indian government has decided to put proposals for the merger of BSNL and MTNL on hold. The government has been considering the restructuring of the two telcos with the aim of achieving higher synergies in their operations. It had appointed a consortium of consultants to seek suggestions.

   

 

 

MTNL chases Telkom stake (Kenya)

  • August 16th, 2007
  • 7:38 am

MTNL of India has joined the race to win a 51% stake in Kenya’s incumbent wireline operator Telkom. There are now at least eight firms which have expressed an interest in the government sale, with the other prospective bidders including France Telecom, BT, Telkom South Africa, Reliance, Tata/VSNL, Bharti Airtel and Alcazaar. The deadline for bids is 30 October, with the winner expected to be unveiled early next year. The new investor must commit to reducing its interest to 40% by selling off an 11% stake via an initial public offering (IPO). At the same time the government will offer another 19% interest to the public, leaving the state with 30%.

   

 

MTNL close to buying Suntel

  • July 16th, 2007
  • 3:22 pm

Indian telco Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) is close to completing a purchase of Sri Lankan fixed-wireless operator Suntel, according to regional press reports. The NYSE-listed state-run operator has sent a high-level delegation to conduct due diligence on the company, which is a prerequisite to formalise the deal, company sources said. MTNL is believed to have emerged as the highest bidder for Suntel with a bid of between USD160 million and USD180 million. Colombo-based Suntel offers fixed line services based on CDMA WiLL technology, and claimed around 300,000 WiLL lines in service at the end of March 2007. All its key shareholders want to exit, sources said. Nordic telco TeliaSonera is Suntel’s top shareholder with a 55% stake via holding vehicle Overseas Telecom. The remaining shares are held by Sri Lanka’s Metrocorp, the National Development Bank of Sri Lanka, Townsend Ltd of Hong Kong and International Finance Corporation. MTNL’s only existing overseas telecoms venture is in Mauritius, where it offers fixed line and mobile services as Mahanagar Telephone (Mauritius). Three other bidders were previously reported to be in the final stage of the bidding process for Suntel: Malaysia Telekom, Sri Lankan blue chip conglomerate John Keells Holdings and another Indian telco, VSNL.

   

Wireless subscribers at 165m, 4 times wireline users

  • July 7th, 2007
  • 7:47 am

India’s total subscriber base (wireline and wireless) crossed the 200 million mark in March.

Total number of subscribers increased to 205.86 million in the quarter ending March 2007 from 189.92 million in the quarter ending December 2006, an increase of 8.39%. Overall growth for the year (March 2006 to March 2007) was 46.71%. Tele-density reached 18.23 (17.16).

The subscriber base for wireless services has increased to 165.11 million (149.62 million) and that of Wireline service to 40.75 million (40.30 million).

The number of Public Call Offices (PCO) in the country increased to 5.55 million (5.30 million), a growth of 4.72%.

The rural wireline subscriber base increased to 12.56 million (12.48 million), a growth of 0.64%. The rural wireless subscriber base is 33.14 million.

The number of Village Public Telephones (VPT) in the country has increased to 5.64 lakh (5.57 lakh) a growth of 1.26%. An unusual trend in Arpus has also emerged, with Arpus in GSM falling and CDMA rising.

The all-India blended ARPU (Average Revenue Per User per month) for GSM services declined by 5.69% to Rs 298 (Rs 316).

ARPUs for GSM postpaid services declined by 3% to Rs 613 (Rs 632), while ARPUs for GSM prepaid declined by 4.58% to Rs 250 (Rs 262).

The All-India blended ARPU (per month) for CDMA services is Rs 202 (Rs 196), a growth of 3.06%.

Monthly ARPU for CDMA Postpaid segment declined to Rs 447 (Rs 456) and for prepaid segment increased to Rs 168 (Rs 159). The internet subscriber base was 9.27 million (8.58 million), an increase of 8.03%. There are 31.30 million Internet subscribers accessing Internet through mobile handset (GSM/ CDMA). BSNL continued to hold its top position with a market share of 45.21% followed by MTNL with 19.01%.

The number of Broadband subscribers (with a download speed of 256 Kbps or more) was 2.34 million with a growth rate of 13.88%. The ARPU for dial-up Internet subscribers was Rs 200, while minutes of usage (MoU) for dial-up access per subscriber/month was 180 minutes.

 

 

   

Hutch becomes third largest operator

  • June 14th, 2007
  • 2:09 pm

GSM operators added 50 lakh (5 million) subscribers in May, taking the all-India GSM subscriber base to 13.06 crore (130 million).

Bharti Airtel = 18.51 lakh new, 4.07 crore total
BSNL = 2.38 lakh new, 2.79 crore total
Hutch-Essar = 15.06 lakh new, 2.92 crore total
Idea = 7.03 lakh new, 1.52 crore total
Aircel = 64.08 lakh total
Spice = 1.92 lakh new, 30 lakh total
MTNL = 64,098 new, 25.47 lakh total
Hutch-Essar (Vodafone) has become the second largest GSM player in the country, displacing BSNL.

Hutchison Essar MD, Asim Ghosh sounds like a Bollywood actress denying she is in the race to be No. 1.

“We don’t watch subscribers — we just watch revenues. We have been No. 2 in revenues for a long time now”.

   
 

MTC amongst frontrunners for second Qatar mobile licence

  • June 4th, 2007
  • 2:31 pm

Kuwait’s Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC Group) may bid for Qatar’s second mobile network operator licence, according to a report by Reuters. The licence tender launched in April has attracted interest from more than 20 regional and international companies, according to the Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology (ictQATAR), which reported last month that companies from Europe, Asia and the Middle East had expressed an interest. Indian telcos Reliance Communications, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) and Bharti Airtel are reportedly amongst those likely to bid. Pre-qualified companies will be invited to submit technical and commercial offers by July, and the licence is expected to be awarded in November, ending the monopoly of Qatar Telecom.

   

VSNL Launches WiMax Services In Bangalore; Others Prepare For Policy Changes

  • June 2nd, 2007
  • 9:00 am

What’s holding back WiMax in India: As per this story in the Mint, the spectrum policy imposes a recurring charge on ISPs for base stations, thus making it viable to target only volume users. Expecting a change in policy to a revenue-share model, operators are setting up wireless infrastructure:

– Reliance Communications plans to have 3000 base stations in 25 cities by end 2007, and plans to launch services in Pune and Bangalore in July. Expected expenditure is around $50 million.
– VSNL is setting up 1300 broadband towers in five cities. According to CIOL, VSNL has launched today, WiMax services for enterprises in Bangalore.
– Sify has plans to put up wireless transmitters on top of its retail outlets.

Now all of this, when no single standard for WiMax has been decided? Also, it’s the telco’s who do not have the last mile access, unlike BSNL and MTNL, who are adopting these new technologies - would they invest in wireless infrastructure if they did have last mile access? I’m not sure of how much to read into some of these announcements. If you remember, CP in Delhi was supposed to be WiFi’ed, with free Internet access, by this January. Nothing so far.