Bhart Airtel hopes to launch 4G services in India along with the rest of the world

On 08.31.11, In Mobile Operators, By Editor

Bharti Airtel Ltd., a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 19 countries across Asia and Africa, may launch 4G technology for mobiles in India sooner than expected. Sources claim that Sanjay Kapoor, CEO, India and South Asia, Bharti Airtel, believes that the launch of 4G services in India will happen in close vicinity with the launch in other countries. 4G is expected to take the mobile industry by storm, with every network operator eyeing it as a means of acquiring more customers and increasing their market share.

Airtel is a dominant player in the Indian telecom market with around 170 million subscribers. Reportedly Mr. Kapoor has mentioned the low penetration of 3G devices as an obstacle for mobile operators providing 3G services.  He further adds that the language of the content used in the country is not very conducive.

 

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TCS and HCL Tech look to acquire Comviva as Bharti plans to sell (India)

On 08.30.11, In Mobile, Mobile Banking, Mobile Operators, Mobile services, By Editor

Bharti Enterprises may sell off a majority of its stake in Comviva, a leading company specializing in providing value added services (VAS) for mobile handsets. Sources claim large IT companies such as TCS and HCL Technologies are competing to acquire the same and a deal might be in the pipeline. Reportedly, Bharti aims to receive between $300 and 350 million for sale of its non-core business.

The youth segment provides for a large consumer base demanding quick downloads for music, video clips and sports updates among others, enabling VAS to become a good revenue stream for mobile service providers. With competition causing voice tariffs to be priced at very low rates, mobile operators are increasingly turning to VAS for better revenue generation.

Services such as SMS account for half the VAS revenues, while caller tunes and mobile applications for radio, live score update and mobile gaming downloads are increasingly gaining popularity. For some mobile companies, VAS accounts for as much as 7-10 percent of their revenues.

With mobile players working to provide various new services on their 3G network and innovations like mobile banking on the rise, VAS revenues are expected to rise significantly.

 

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Bharti, Idea Cellular, Vodafone to sign 3G deal (India)

On 03.28.11, In Mobile, By Editor

If the sources are to be believed, Bharti Airtel Ltd., Vodafone Essar Ltd. and Idea Cellular Ltd. are close to signing an agreement to share their 3G radio bandwidth.

According to sources, the agreement is almost in the final stages. Just the details need to be worked out.

Idea Cellular is scheduled to hold a media conference to announce the commercial launch of its 3G telecom services. Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar, the Indian unit of Vodafone Group PLC, have already launched similar services.

Bharti Airtel has licenses and radio bandwidth to offer 3G services in 13 service areas, Idea holds licenses for 11 service areas and Vodafone Essar can offer the services in 9 areas.

The agreement, if signed, will allow the companies to bring down their average cost of radio bandwidth by accessing each other’s networks in areas where they don’t own 3G licenses.

The companies had bought 3G licenses and bandwidth through a contested auction last year. Bharti paid US$2.77 billion for 3G spectrum, Vodafone Essar paid US$2.47 billion and Idea Cellular US$1.30 billion respectively.

The high cost of acquiring 3G bandwidth had led to concerns about the profitability of 3G operations. Telecom operators are expected to charge a premium for 3G services and hope for a boost to their revenue and profitability which have been hit in recent times due to extremely low tariffs for basic phone services amid intense competition.

The three companies had separately stated earlier that they were in talks with other 3G license owners for tie-ups to share networks in areas where they didn’t hold licenses.

The three companies already share their telecom towers and are the joint owners of Indus Towers Ltd., which has about 110,000 towers.

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3G connections to reach 400 mn mark in four years (India)

On 03.09.11, In Mobile, By Editor

A new study has revealed that the number of 3G subscriber connections in India are predicted to reach 400 million mark within four years, representing almost 30% of the country’s total mobile connections.

According to the study, 3G connections are set to grow three-fold between 2011 and 2015 as operators ramp-up launch of new 3G networks.

It added that Indian operators spent a combined $15 billion in acquiring Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) 3G spectrum at an auction last year and are forecast to jointly invest a further $2.5 billion in building the new networks and launching 3G services in 2011. More than 80% of 3G connections would be based on WCDMA in five years, with the remaining 20% on CDMA-based 3G networks. Competition in the Indian 3G space is likely to be intense as most operators have set ambitious targets.

The study notes that India’s Circle A and Circle B service areas would account for 75% of the country’s 3G connections by 2015. Even though initial 3G launches are concentrated in the so-called metro areas (Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata), they will soon be outstripped by fast-growing demand for 3G in more populous regions such as Punjab, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana.

According to the study, by 2015, 3G market shares will more closely resemble the overall national picture: Bharti — India’s largest operator — is forecast to command the largest 3G share (18 per cent), followed by Reliance (15 per cent) and BSNL (13 per cent).

 

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World’s leading mobile operators announce commitment to NFC technology

On 02.22.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Many of the world’s leading operators, including America Movil, Axiata Group Berhad, Bharti, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, KT Corporation, MTS, Orange, Qtel Group, SK Telecom, SOFTBANK MOBILE, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, Telekom Austria Group, Telenor and Vodafone, have voiced their commitment to implementing Near Field Communications (NFC) technology, and intend to launch commercial NFC services in select markets by 2012.

“NFC is perhaps best known for its role in enabling mobile payments, but its applications go far beyond that,” said Franco Bernabe, Chairman, GSMA and CEO, Telecom Italia.  ”NFC represents an important innovation opportunity, and will facilitate a wide range of interesting services and applications for consumers, such as mobile ticketing, mobile couponing, the exchange of information and content, control access to cars, homes, hotels, offices car parks and much more.”

The market potential for NFC is significant  the total payment value for NFC globally will reach more than euro 110 billion in 2015 and momentum behind the technology is growing rapidly.  To address this opportunity and to provide valuable new services to mobile users worldwide, the operator community is focused on driving the standardised deployment of mobile NFC, using the SIM as the secure element to provide authentication, security and portability.

To achieve this, the GSMA will develop the necessary certification and testing standards to ensure global interoperability of NFC services. This interoperability is critical to the widespread adoption of NFC, enabling users to benefit from NFC services around the world, regardless of operator network or device type.

“As we have seen, the adoption of different approaches to NFC will only serve to fragment the market,” continued Bernabe.  ”By uniting around a single standardised approach to mobile NFC and by collaborating across the entire ecosystem, our industry will continue to develop the compelling services that customers demand.”

About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications industry. Spanning 219 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world’s mobile operators, as well as more than 200 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies, equipment providers, Internet companies, and media and entertainment organisations. The GSMA is focused on innovating, incubating and creating new opportunities for its membership, all with the end goal of driving the growth of the mobile communications industry.

For more information, please visit Mobile World Live, the new online portal for the mobile communications industry, at www.mobileworldlive.com or the GSMA corporate website at www.gsmworld.com.

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Mobile Operators plan to make Instant Messaging, Live Video Sharing, and File Transfer as Easy on the Mobile as Calling and Text

On 02.16.11, In Mobile, By Editor

The GSMA is welcoming a new version of Rich Communication Suite (RCS) that will enable mobile phone customers to use instant messaging (IM), live video sharing and file transfer across any device on any network operator.  Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telecom Italia, Telefonica and Vodafone intend to commercially launch RCS across several European markets from late 2011, and additional operators are expected to launch later in 2012.

Once adopted, Rich Communication Suite – e* (RCS-e) will enable customers to use these enhanced communication services across mobile networks in a simpler and more intuitive way. It is based on a specification put forward by Bharti, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Orascom Telecom, SK Telecom, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, Telenor and Vodafone which aims to lower the hurdle and speed up the market introduction and adoption of these services.

With RCS-e, customers will be able to use IM, share live video and share files such as photos simultaneously during calls, regardless of the network or device used. RCS-e will enable users to communicate in a very natural way, much like with GSM voice and text today, and will also offer the simplicity and security customers expect from mobile operator services.

As customers open their address book, they will be able to see which communication services are available to them. They can then choose their preferred communications option.  For example, a customer would see if their contact is in an area with 3G coverage and is able to receive video.

The participating operators will work with handset suppliers to ensure the service is integrated into the address books of devices, so that customers will not have to download any additional software or technically configure their handsets in order to benefit from the enhanced experience.

“Mobile operators are committed to giving their customers greater choice in the way they communicate with one and other,” said Rob Conway, CEO and Member of the Board of the GSMA. “We welcome the pragmatic approach taken by these operators to accelerate the commercialisation of RCS and simplify the experience for mobile customers and we will work to adopt this specification within the RCS initiative.”

The RCS specification is designed to be interoperable between all operators and devices, giving customers greater choice in how they communicate. The new RCS-e is the result of extensive trials and is a subset of the current RCS 2.0 standard with enhancements. It is focused on extending the principles of voice and SMS calls to deliver an advanced set of interoperable data-centric communications services.

Available to all operators through the means of the GSMA, the RCS-e specification is available at www.gsmworld.com/rcs. In addition, visitors to the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona from February 14 to 17 will be able to see live demonstrations of the specification implemented on devices at the RCS exhibit in the App Garage, Stand 7APG, Hall 7.

* RCS-e is a new enhanced version of the RCS specification which is based on the use across networks of IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) technology, an architectural framework for delivering Internet Protocol (IP) multimedia services.

About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications industry. Spanning 219 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world’s mobile operators, as well as more than 200 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies, equipment providers, Internet companies, and media and entertainment organizations. The GSMA is focused on innovating, incubating and creating new opportunities for its membership, all with the end goal of driving the growth of the mobile communications industry.

For more information, please visit Mobile World Live, the new online portal for the mobile communications industry, atwww.mobileworldlive.com or the GSMA corporate website at www.gsmworld.com.

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Bharti to hold 97% stake in Zambia unit

On 12.21.10, In Mobile, By Editor

Data from the Lusaka Stock Exchange shows that Bharti Airtel will expect to hold a 97% stake in its Lusaka-listed Celtel Zambia unit following a mandatory offer to takeover minority shareholders.

It was not immediately clear whether the result of the offer would force the delisting of the unit in Lusaka.

Bharti, which owned just fewer than 79% of the Zambian unit after acquiring the African assets of Kuwait’s Zain this year, made an offer to buy out minority shareholders in the company in November, in accordance with local law.

According to exchange’s statement, the mandatory offer, which closed on December 13, resulted in a total of 908.57 million shares trading on Monday.

Under local rules, companies are usually delisted if a single shareholder owns more than a 95% stake. According to sources, the Lusaka exchange could waive that rule. The company is expected to announce the result of the mandatory offer on Wednesday.

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IMEWE broadband submarine cable begins operations, links the Middle East to India and Europe

On 12.17.10, In Mobile, By Editor

France Telecom-Orange announced that the new India Middle East Western Europe (IMEWE) submarine cable was officially lit on December 10. The submarine cable network serves eight countries: India, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, Italy and France. The link, mapped below, comprises 13,000 km of fiber-optic cable.

France Telecom-Orange group said it brought together several major partners in an international consortium for the project, including Bharti, Etisalat, Ogero, Pakistan Telecom, Saudi Telecom, Telecom Egypt, Telecom Italia Sparkle, and Tata Communications.

Besides providing high-speed connections between Europe, the Middle East, and India, IMEWE offers an alternate route to secure the broadband telecommunications carried by the Sea-Me-We 4 cable linking Southeast Asia to Western Europe.

IMEWE has a potential capacity of 3.84 Tbps. The system was designed to migrate towards new 40-Gbps technology.

The construction of the IMEWE cable represented a total investment of around $480 million, about $60 million of which came from France Telecom-Orange.

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Tech Mahindra to begin Bharti’s African outsourcing services

On 12.15.10, In Mobile, By Editor

India’s Tech Mahindra Ltd. expects to start offering call center services to Bharti Airtel Ltd.’s operations in six African countries from Feb. 1.

Earlier this year, Bharti Airtel had selected Tech Mahindra–along with International Business Machines Corp. and Spanco Ltd.–to provide business process outsourcing (BPO), services to the carrier’s operations in 16 African countries.

According to Sujit Bakshi, President, Corporate Affairs and BPO, under the five-year deal, Tech Mahindra will offer core customer service functions such as call centers and back offices in Zambia, Gabon, Ghana, Malawi, Congo DRC, Congo B. The deal didn’t involve making any upfront payment to account for cost savings that may accrue to Bharti.

Tech Mahindra’s BPO division accounted for 5.8% of the company’s US$990.06 million total revenue in the last fiscal year ended March 31. The segment employed 8,489 people at the end of the September quarter.

Bharti entered the African market through a $9 billion acquisition of Kuwait-based Mobile Telecommunications Co.’s assets in the continent in a bid to expand its business to offset the effects of stiff competition in India. The company has about 45 million subscribers in Africa, where the average telecom penetration is lower than India, and aims to achieve 100 million subscribers by 2012.

According to Bakshi, as part of the deal, Tech Mahindra will take over about 2,000 employees on the rolls of Zain and on contract and hire more staff locally to offer services in the six countries. Zain has about 4,500 employees in the 16 African countries, including sales personnel. Tech Mahindra is also targeting additional revenue streams from the telecom operator as it adds new subscribers and from new lines of services that Zain will offer.

As per the contract, which runs in two phases, Tech Mahindra will operate from Zain’s premises in the first phase and will take over the premises and also operate from its own centers in the second phase.

He added, the company will also invest in new hardware such as desktop computers and take over Zain’s existing hardware at depreciated value, depending on its condition.

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Aircel challenges hike in spectrum usage charge (India)

On 12.08.10, In Mobile, By Editor

A leading telecom operator Aircel has joined with other three service providers — Bharti, Vodafone and Idea — and moved Supreme Court against hike in spectrum usage charge.

According to reports, the bench, headed by Chief Justice SH Kapadia, has now sought a response from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on the matter, and a date of 27 January 2011 has been set for hearing not only Aircel’s case, but also the petitions from the other three aforementioned cellcos.

The development comes after reports last month that the Supreme Court had stayed an order made by the TDSAT which upheld increases in the charges for 2G spectrum usage. The ruling followed an appeal against TDSAT’s decision by the three GSM operators, prompted by the DoT’s February 2010 unveiling of revised spectrum charges for both GSM and CDMA operators; the DoT proposed an increase of up to 50%, with the charge rising to between 3% and 8% of revenue.

Vodafone has to pay US$30.01 million and the two Bharti firms have a joint liability of US$48.92 milion on account of enhanced spectrum usage charges.

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