MNP postponed for the fourth time
Number portability has got another extension date as the Indian telecom operators are expected to miss the October 31 deadline. The deadline for the implementation of mobile number portability has been postponed from October 31 to December 20.
This is the fourth tine in less than a year. Mobile number portability was first expected to outset on December 31, 2009 in the metros and category-A circles, and on April 1, 2010 in the rest of the country.
The statement for the delay in the services was similar to the earlier statements. The service operators are not ready, though several of them are working overtime to launch 3G services by Diwali. The investment proposal of the overseas partner of one of the two companies mandated to implement portability has not yet been cleared by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).
Mobile number portability (MNP) enables mobile telephone users to retain their mobile telephone numbers when changing from one mobile network operator to another.
TTSL to launch 3G services on Diwali (India)
Tata Teleservices has announced to launch 3G services on Diwali day next month in all the nine circles. With this move the company will become first private sector Telcom Company to launch 3G services. State-owned BSNL and MTNL already provide 3G services.
TTSL is one of those companies who operate both on CDMA and GSM technologies to offer telecom services throughout the country. The company has over 70 million subscribers.
Tata Tele’s 3G services would be in partnership with Japan’s NTT DoCoMo which has 26% stake in the company and was the first company to have created 3G network in the world.
The company had recently awarded the equipment deal to Nokia Siemens and Huawei to roll out 3G services.
According to company officials, NTT DoCoMo has provided technical inputs to make TTSL’s 3G network world-class. The various 3G services provided elsewhere by the company like i-mode, location-based services and mobile payments will all be provided in India.
3G services enables subscribers to download full length movies, make video calls and watch live television programs.
BSNL to Slash Monthly Rental Rates
The state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) is reportedly announcing today that it will slash the monthly rental for its OneIndia landline plan from Rs.225 to Rs.180 a month effective from Nov. 1.
According to BSNL officials, subscribers who pay Rs.180 rental charges would be automatically shifted to OneIndia Plan. Besides, the number of free calls will also go up from 25 a month to 50 a month.
With the rate cut in the OneIndia plan, base plan users will need to pay only Re.1 per minute for inter-circle STD calls, as against the Rs.2.40 per minute paid currently. However, local calls (up to 50 kms) will become more expensive, going up from Rs.1.20 for three minutes to Re.1 a minute.
The company also says that this move will bring in over 11 million new subscribers to the plan, apart from the 300,000 existing subscribers. Moreover, these rates will be similar to BSNL’s base plan, which accounts for one-third of its total landline user-base of 40 million.
Meanwhile, the offer will come into effect from November 1 this year and BSNL will make a formal announcement as part of its Diwali Bonanza offer.
The OneIndia plan, launched in March this year, has so far drawn in about 3 lakh consumers. However, with the latest initiative, BSNL will bring under the plan about 1.15 crore users who pay Rs.180 rental charges per month.
The scheme is expected to reduce the number of subscribers who switch to other telecom service providers.
Source- http://www.techtree.com
