Airtel Kenya appoints Shivan Bhargava as MD (Africa)
Leading telecom operator Bharti Airtel, with opertaions across Asia and Africa, has appointed Shivan Bhargava as MD for its Kenyan Operations.
According to the reports, Jayant Khosla, CEO (Airtel Africa Anglophone Region), said that Kenya has always been a key market with great potential for growth within the region. Their leadership and management team in Kenya is made up of exceptionally talented, experienced, passionate and committed individuals. Shivan’s experience and qualifications will add value to the team and Airtel’s future plans to deliver innovative and best-in-class mobile services. Khosla concluded by wishing him success in his new assignment.
Bhargava has been a part of Bharti Airtel since 2003 and has significantly contributed to growth of the business.
Bharti Airtel in talks with Chinese OEMs for ‘mifi’ services (Asia)
Bharti Airtel, India’s leading telecom operator, is said to be in talks with OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) from China to bring ‘mifi’ devices that will help people in India to access fourth generation services from their 3G smartphones on the move, according to a report by ET.
The report reveals that mifi seems to be the best option to offer customers, considering that there is still time for the rollout of 4G services and smartphones. The mifi will be offered in a tiny, battery-operated, wireless device about half the size of a cellphone, making it easy to carry and access the 4G network on its 3G phone via wifi.
According to the report, since a mifi device can also provide 4G connectivity from a tablet, it is likely to be positioned as a mass-market tool by Bharti to prise open the relatively underpenetrated tablet market, which can complement its small-screen 3G offerings.
A company official told ET that they have tested some Chinese mifi devices at the last Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona and are talking to several OEMs to work out a bulk procurement deal. These portable devices can facilitate mobile access from either a 3G phone or a tablet while on the move.
Bharti Airtel inks 5 year deal with Avaya (India)
Leading telecom operator Bharti Airtel has signed a five year contract with telecom equipment maker Avaya, to build call centres across Asia and Africa. According to reports, Ed Nalbandian, head of Avaya’s managed services and contact centre solutions, said that it is the largest deal they have ever done. He added that the deal was signed in March.
Nalbandian said that getting into Africa is a big deal for them and they want to differentiate themselves there. He added that Avaya’s technology will support over a billion calls a year and include video and social media capabilities in the call centers.
Airtel pays $15.5 million for Rwandatel’s GSM Masts (Rwanda)
Mobile operator Bharti Airtel has paid a sum of $15.5 million to acquire Rwandatel’s GSM Masts, as told by Rwandatel’s administrator, Richard Mugisha, to Business Times. As per the report, the operator was granted the operating licence in September last year and has committed to invest US$100 million in three years.
Mugisha has said that other assets are still up for sale and they are still looking for potential buyers. The remaining assets include data and internet services infrastructure and fixed telephony infrastructure.
Bharti Airtel’s business future: strong or weak (India)
My history is that I have constantly been proving people wrong, says Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman and managing director of the Bharti Group, to his partners. The man has successfully led Airtel to become a leading telecom operator not only in India, but in its oversees operations as well.
The company established itself as the most preferred mobile operator in India and entered the African market in 2010, thereby expanding its presence across borders. As reported by Wireless Federation earlier, Airtel became the first operator to launch 4G/LTE services in India in one telecom circle, with another launch to follow in the coming month.
While Bharti Airtel continues to stand amongst the bigger players in the market, the situation recently has been changing. The operator has consistently reported a decline in its quarterly profit over the two past years, causing industry analysts to speculate about its future position in the market. The operator has been suffering declines in its business operations both in India and abroad. Further, Airtel had invested around $ 14 billion for its African operations and is yet to earn spectacular returns on its investment.
Analysts believe that while the operator is at the forefront of many other services, it still needs to focus on its data services to improve revenues. Airtel needs to identify and implement creative data services that can engage customers and improve revenues.
However, while the industry may be abuzz with rumours that the declining profit margins could lead to the downfall of the telecom company, industry analysts believe that the fundamentals of the company are still very strong and that this is just another phase for the company which can be tackled well through a different strategic focus.
Airtel may seek to acquire Qualcomm’s 4G spectrum (India)
Following the news that Qualcomm is looking to sell its 4G spectrum, it is being said that Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel may be planning to acquire the same. Airtel just launched the nation’s first 4G service in Kolkata recently.
Bharti Airtel is negotiating to pay $1.16 billion for Qualcomm’s BWA spectrum, according to a report by ET. The report reveals that the deal is likely to be closed by June, and could involve an accompanying technology sharing agreement.
As per the report, Bharti Airtel holds BWA licenses in four different circles, having paid $ 643 million in the auction. In the event that the deal succeeds, it would enable Airtel to expand its prospective 4G service area, which could crucially allow it to better compete with Reliance Industries, which own 4G spectrum in all circles and plans to deploy a pan-India TD-LTE network.
Airtel reveals 4G price plans (India)
Telecom operator Bharti Airtel launched 4G services in India yesterday, offering users in Kolkata the chance to surf the net at a speed ten times faster than 3G. According to reports, Sanjay Kapoor, CEO of Bharti Airtel India and south Asia, said at the launch that they expect 4G to deliver speeds of 10-15 Mbps, 10 times higher than those of 3G, which are 1.5-2 Mbps on average.
Kapoor also said that the speed will be the killer application. There is pent-up demand for such high-speed data services and they want to be an end-to-end broadband provider. He added that while 4G networks could theoretically offer download speeds as high as 100 Mbps, the actual delivered speed would always depend on the number of consumers and the kind of applications used at a time.
Group Chairman Sunil Mittal revealed that after Kolkata, the 4G service will be launched in Bengaluru next. He said that there should be more auctions coming soon and they are not going to be confined to four circles. The minister said that there will be more auctions coming through in BWA and broadband, they will be in one way or the other looking to expand their presence.
Airtel offer three price plans at a speed of 128 Kbps – the Breakfree plan priced at $ 20 with 6 GB free usage; the Breakfree max priced at $ 27 with 9 GB free usage and the Breakfree Ultra plan priced at $ 37 with 18 GB free usage.
Nokia emerges as top brand for multi-SIM handsets (India)
A recent study by Nielson reveals that Nokia is the most preferred multi-SIM handset brand while Airtel is the top service provider, in India.
As per the report, in India almost one-third of 71 million subscribers are using Nokia”s dual-SIM phones with multiple-SIM cards. Further, India’s leading operator Bharti Airtel has come across as the most preferred operator among multiple-SIM users.
In the multi-SIM handset category, Nokia accounts for 30 percent of the market and is followed by Samsung at 17 percent and Micromax at 12 percent. In terms of service providers, Bharti Airtel emerged victorious with 25 percent and was followed by Idea Cellular at 15 percent.
Airtel to roll-out 4G services today (India)
Leading mobile operator in India, Bharti Airtel, will launch its 4G service in Kolkata today. As reported by Wireless Federation earlier, the operator will be the first to launch 4G services in India, which is expected to offer users download speeds of around 100 MB per second on the move and can go up to 1 Gigabits per second at a fixed location.
The operator has partnered with ZTE Corporation to plan, design, supply and deploy its 4G network in Kolkata, which will allow its subscribers to experience high-speed wireless internet access.
Sanjay Kapoor, Bharti Airtel CEO (India and South Asia), said that acccording to industry estimates, by 2016, six percent of all mobile connections will have 4G connection, which would create 36 percent of the total mobile data traffic, thus paving way for the ensuing data revolution. Further, the impending launch of 4G in the country will provide ultra high speed data access, driving fundamental changes in society at large.
As per sources, the operator has requested union telecom minister Kapil Sibal to inaugurate the 4G network.
Bharti Airtel’s Q4 results to rise 3.5 percent at $3.73 billion (India)
According to estimates from research firms, leading telecom operator Bharti Airtel is expected to see a 3.5 per cent increase in its Q4 results, reaching $3.73 billion, as reported by Moneycontrol. The report reveals that the company’s net profit is expected to rise up to 28.1 per cent at $252 million, QoQ.
As per the report, Bharti is expected to report 3.5 per cent qoq revenue growth. Indian mobile revenue is expected to growth 3.7 per cent, while ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) is expected to be at $ 3.7. The revenue from its African operations is expected to bring in revenues of $ 1.07 billion.
The key things the operator plans to focus on include increasing its subscriber base owing to the roll-out of the 3G network. Also, improved network management and data traffic will remain a key point for the operator.
