Idea Cellular cuts 3G tariffs by 70 percent (India)
Indian telecom operator Idea Cellular seems to be following Bharti Airtel’s footsteps by announcing a reduction of 70 percent in its 3G tariff plans. As per a company statement, Idea decided to cut 3G tariffs to widen the new-age offering by making it accessible to one and all.
The company said that under the new plan, Idea’s pre-paid and post-paid customers will pay $0.0005 for 10 kb of data, a reduction of 70 per cent from the earlier levels of $0.0018. Further, Idea said that 3G services are offered in 3,207 towns across the country and it has 2.7 million active users with an average usage of 330 MB per month.
Idea also said that it has introduced various packs such as sachet packs, regular packs and unlimited packs, priced in a way to accommodate users from different segments. The lowest of the sachets will be sold for $0.18 and offer 30 minutes of high speed internet surfing on 3G enabled handsets.
Augere Wireless plans to end business operations in India (India)
Augere Wireless, a company backed by France Telecom and private equity funds, is set to sell its 4G spectrum in two states and quit India, as regulatory uncertainty has forced its investors to hang up on the country, according to a report by ET.
As per the report, two company executives said Augere was shutting down its India operations and had asked its employees in the country to resign. Augere is the second 4G spectrum holder that is close to exiting the wireless broadband space.
As reported earlier, Qualcomm is said to be in advanced talks with leading operator Bharti Airtel to sell its 4G licences. Airtel is the only operator in India to have launched 4G services.
Augere Wireless CEO Lars Henrick Stork said the company had stopped all operational activities in India and had asked employees to go on leave as it was reassessing its plans here. He blamed the regulatory uncertainties surrounding India’s telecoms sector and said it had resulted in the company being unable to raise funds from both national and international investors.
In a conversation with ET, Stork said that there is a lot of uncertainty hanging over the telecoms sector in India. The cancellation of licences by the Supreme Court, Trai’s rules for re-auction and the exorbitantly high reserve price, as well as lack of clarity on the new telecoms policy, which was supposed to be unveiled by mid-last year and has not happened yet; all these factors have resulted in their investors stopping funding for their activities here.
Augere’s investors include former Orange CEO Sanjiv Ahuja, Harbinger Capital, France Telecom, New Silk Route and Vedanta Opportunity Fund. The company also offers its services in Asia and Africa under the Qubee brand.
Airtel cuts 3G data prices by 70 percent (India)
In a revolutionary move in mobile data price plans, leading telecom operator Bharti Airtel has reduced the price for 3G data plans by 70 percent. As per a company statement, volume based browsing rate on 3G is down from $0.0018 per 10kb to $0.0005 per 10kb. This will be applicable for 3G non-pack users with effect from May 17, 2012.
The company revealed that the new data plan for pre-paid customers would start at $0.18 for 30 minutes of usage over a one-day validity, $0.82 for 150 MB data valid for 7 days and will go till $27.3 for 10 GB data valid for 30 days. On the other hand, for post-paid customers, the plans start at $1.8 with a 300 MB data and 30 days validity, and goes till $27.3 for 10 GB data valid for 30 days.
Airtel also said that with Airtel 3G Smartbytes, post-paid mobile customers will have uninterrupted access to high speed browsing on their mobile devices even after exhausting their monthly data limits. The Smartbytes additional data usage packs will be available in a range of pre-determined price options that allow Airtel 3G customers to choose a plan that suits their needs.
Airtel partners with Axis Bank for mobile banking services (India)
India’s leading telecom operator, Bharti Airtel, has entered into a partnership with Axis Bank, enabling customers to carry out basic transactions such as transfer money as well as deposit and withdraw cash via Airtel Money.
As per reports, Bharti Airtel chief executive, India and South Asia, Sanjay Kapoor said that following the recent pan-India launch of Airtel money, they are today excited to collaborate with Axis Bank to further strengthen their m-commerce proposition for customers.
He added that the services will first be offered in Delhi and Mumbai on the sending side, and Bihar and East Uttar Pradesh on the receiving side. Thereafter, these services may be extended to other remittance corridors in the country.
Kapoor also said that according to estimates, nearly 43 per cent of the country’s population does not have bank accounts-the ‘Airtel money Super Account powered by Axis Bank’ acts as a no-frills bank account that comes with remittance capabilities.
Axis Bank MD and CEO Shikha Sharma said that their alliance with Airtel will help the bank to reach out to excluded segments of their population, both in rural and urban centres, with reasonably priced banking and financial services.
ED probes money laundering case against Bharti Airtel (India)
The Indian Minister of State for Finance S S Palanimanickam informed the Rajya Sabha that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is probing money laundering cases against leading telecom operator Bharti Airtel, according to a report by ET.
As per the report, he said that the Directorate of Enforcement is investigating cases under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, and Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, involving M/s Bharti Airtel Ltd.
The minister, however, did not provide additional information, saying that it may not be in the interest of the ongoing investigations to provide any further details. The report reveals that in August last year, Airtel was under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate for alleged violations of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
The company had responded at the time, saying that Bharti Airtel adheres to the highest standards of corporate governance and always complies with all the rules and regulations laid down by various agencies and the licensor namely DoT. They will provide all relevant details to the concerned authorities as and when required and will offer full assistance to clarify any concern.
Airtel brings the 4G revolution to Bengaluru (India)
Bharti Airtel, a leading global telecom services provider with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, today launched its 4G services in India’s IT hub – Bengaluru. Following the recent inaugural launch of Airtel 4G services in Kolkata, customers in Bengaluru have now become the second in India to have access to cutting-edge 4G LTE technology that delivers the most advanced wireless broadband experience available across the globe. As a first for the telecom industry worldwide, Airtel has also introduced ‘Smartbytes’ for 4G – thus allowing customers to buy these add on packs and continue enjoying the 4G experience even after exhausting their monthly data limits.
At the launch, Sanjay Kapoor, CEO – India & South Asia, Bharti Airtel said that as seen the world over, the total data usage is exploding and is doubling each year to grow to nearly 3.6 hexabytes by 2014. With the launch of 4G, India will move from being a follower in technology to matching the world in this domain. Leading from the front, Airtel is now the only operator that gives citizens of the Information Technology capital of Bengaluru, access to entire spectrum of broadband services including 2G, 3G and now 4G – thereby giving the customers never seen before data experience. Besides offering rich content, Airtel 4G will allow superfast access to High Definition (HD) video streaming, multiple chatting, instant uploading of photos and much more.
As part of an exciting introductory offer by Airtel, customers subscribing to 4G services will now be given a cashback for the CPE / dongle – thus bringing device cost to customers zero and paving way for mass adoption of 4G services. Airtel 4G is now also available in an all new 30GB pack priced at $57.
Customers on Airtel 4G can already choose from a catalogue of over 35 high quality Bollywood movie titles and leverage the power of 4G to enjoy an unmatched video streaming experience. While 10 movie titles will be available free of cost for customers during the first month, movie buffs can pay a monthly subscription of INR 149 and watch unlimited movies. Airtel will be further adding to this list of movies in the catalogue in weeks to come.
In 2010, Airtel had successfully bid for BWA license spectrum in Kolkata, Karnataka, Punjab and Maharashtra (excluding Mumbai) circles. The company has launched its 4G LTE services in Kolkata and Bengaluru and is currently working towards rolling out state-of-the-art networks in remaining licence circles.
Airtel to increase Africa revenues in 2013 (Africa, India)
Telecom operator Bharti Airtel announced its Q4 results yesterday, revealing a net decline in its profit for the ninth consecutive quarter. According to the company, increased expenses such as of 3G licence fee amortisation, 3G interest costs, forex losses and tax provisions, were the prime cause for the decline, but said that it will be looking at increasing revenues from its African operations next year.
Bharti Airtel CEO (International) and Joint Managing Director Manoj Kohli, said that the restructuring for Africa is over and thus FY 13 will be a normal year. Therefore, the revenue goal of USD 5 billion definitely remains their target.
He added that all changes they wanted to bring in the network, IT, organisation design are successfully completed and he believes this will be a year of stability, operational consolidation and therefore they are confidant of leading a growth in these markets. He also said that the company aims at achieving 40 per cent EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) from its African operations.
Kohli claimed that cost efficiencies gained from the new business model in Africa has been completed and now they will see efficiencies moving in steadily.
Airtel selects Huawei for 4G network contract in Karnataka (India)
Indian telecom operator Bharti Airtel has awarded Huawei a contract to plan, design, supply and deploy LTE network to offer fourth-generation (4G) mobile broadband services in Karnataka. According to reports, Huawei will deliver LTE network infrastructure and devices which offers high-speed internet access on the go.
Sanjay Kapoor, chief executive officer for India & South Asia, Bharti Airtel, said that with the pioneering launch of 4G LTE, Airtel has paved the way for data revolution in the country by being at the forefront of India’s telecom revolution once again. Further, mobile data traffic in the country will increase nearly 100-fold by 2015 and consumers will stream nearly 600 hours of video content.
This is the third region where Airtel has launched 4G services in India, following Kolkata and Maharashtra. Airtel is also the first operator to offer 4G services in India.
