Indian Supreme Court revokes 122 2G licences (India)

On 02.03.12, In Mobile, By Editor

The Supreme Court in India has decided to revoke all the 122 2G licences awarded in 2008 in an unprecedented stance against corruption. According to reports, the ruling applies telecom operators inclusive of Uninor, Loop, Etisalat DB, Idea and Swan Telecom among others, over questions arising on the credibility of the auction.

Sources claim that the licences will be kept till June, post which new licences for the 2G spectrum will need to be issued. Telenor, which controls 22 licences under Uninor, has reportedly hinted at exiting the country if the Government or the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) does not intervene.

Industry analysts believe that while this move is aims to remove corruption in the telecom industry, it may also impact foreign investment in the same.

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Telecom Ministry classifies 3G roaming pacts as illegal (India)

On 12.23.11, In Mobile, By Editor

The Indian Telecom Ministry has asked mobile operators who have entered into the 3G roaming pacts to discontinue their agreements as they are illegal. As reported by Wireless Federation earlier, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea had provided each other with access to their networks in an attempt to provide their customers with 3G services in circles where they did not win the licence.

Industry analysts have reportedly said that this decision could have a negative impact on the mobile operators’ revenue, which altogether have paid around US$ 4.42 for the licences. The three telecom operators had jointly written to the Prime Minister claiming that in the event that the Government would not allow the roaming pacts, they would like a refund for the amount invested by them in acquiring the licences.

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Bharti Airtel reports highest earnings of $ 2.03 billion in the first quarter (India)

On 11.10.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), revealed the earnings for the Indian tele-companies during the first quarter of 2011-12, with Bharti airtel leading the way by accounting for 22 percent of the total revenues of US$ 9.321 billion.

As per TRAI’s India Telecom Services Performance Indicator Report, Airtel had the highest gross revenue at $ 2.03 billion, followed by Vodafone at $ 1.37 billion, Idea Cellular at $ 914.59 million and BSNL at $ 880 million.

The revenues for Reliance Communication, MTNL, Videcon and Quadrant Televentures, showed a decline and were at $ 599.3 million, $ 149.2 million, $ 32.24 million and $ 10.22 million respectively. Further, other telecom operators such as Tata Teleservices reported earnings of $ 569.6 million, followed by Aircel at $ 306.3 million, Unitech at $ 107.1 million, S Tel at $ 7.657 million, Loop telecom at $ 36.98 million and Shyam Sistema at $ 55.47 million.

As per sources, the report also showed that the gross revenue had gone up by 3 per cent from the previous quarter and 13 per cent compared to $ 8.228 billion earned in the same period last year. Further, the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) on which the government charges the license fee grew by 3.56 per cent in the first quarter. As per reports, telecom operators are charges a licence fee based on the category they fall in, such as  10 per cent of AGR in the metros and category ‘A’ areas, 8 per cent in in category ‘B’ areas and, 6 per cent category ‘C’ areas.

 

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Idea, BSNL, Etisalat face maximum call drop (India)

On 03.17.11, In Mobile, By Editor

The Indian government has announced that Idea Cellular, Etisalat and state-owned BSNL subscribers are facing frequent call drop problems and they are not meeting the TRAI prescribed benchmark .

According to the parameters laid down the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), a telecom network is considered as worst affected  if more than 3% of phone calls are not complete.

The network of these three companies fall under the worst affected cells category.

 

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Idea Cellular to empower the rural segment of Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, UP West & AP

On 03.15.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Idea, the pan-India telecom operator and handygo, India’s leading provider of VAS solutions, have announced the launch of ‘Behtar Zindagi ‘, latest bouquet of VAS offerings for customers in rural areas of Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, UP West and Andhra Pradesh. This innovative product is specially designed to provide day-to-day information to Idea’s rural subscribers. The subscribers can get exhaustive and up to the mark information regarding health, education, finance, weather updates, mandi rates, livestocks, agriculture and fisheries.

To use this service Idea subscribers need to dial 556780 (tollfree) and avail the subscription pack at a minimal charge of Rs 30, 15, 7 and 2 for 30, 15, 7 and 1 day, respectively. The service is available in all the respective states regional languages along with Hindi and English.

This unique IVR based rural solution by handygo provides credible and authentic information to the rural subscribers. For latest and reliable updates handygo has partnered with various organizations such as Care India, Aviva Life Insurance, Indian Metrological Department, INCOIS, Hariyali Kisan Bazaar, Network for Fish Quality Management and Sustainable Fishing, Transparency International India, Sonalika, EKO India Financial Services and plethora of other organizations.

On this tie-up, Mr. Praveen Rajpal, CEO, handygo said, “We are contented to partner with one of India’s leading mobile operator -Idea Cellular. We envisage great potential in the untapped rural market and are bullish about the stupendous feedback from the end consumers. We have partnered with various large associations for ensuring the latest and authentic information to the mobile subscribers using the service. Our IVR based rural product is available in all the regional languages along with Hindi and English.”

Announcing the launch of these services, Mr. Rajendra Chourasia, Chief Operating Officer – Maharashtra & Goa, Idea Cellular said, “With over 1.2 crore subscribers, Idea is the largest mobile network and has the highest penetration in rural parts of Maharashtra & Goa. We are happy to partner with handygo to offer relevant and affordable services to our rural subscribers in the circle.”

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DoT issues notice to Idea, Etisalat DB for cancelling licenses (India)

On 03.14.11, In Mobile, By Editor

The Indian government has issued notices to Aditya Birla group company Idea cellular for Punjab circle and new operator Etisalat DB for Delhi and Mumbai for cancelling their 2G licences for missing roll-out obligations respectively.

According to DoT Secretary R Chandrashekhar, a notice has been issued to Idea Cellular for Punjab circle.

Earlier, a similar notice had been issued to Etisalat DB  for cancellation of its licence in Delhi and Mumbai circles.

In Idea’s case, the notice has been issued for not meeting launched obligations and for other violations of licence conditions.

DoT  issued Letters of Intent (LoIs) to Idea Cellular for providing Unified Access Services in nine service areas– Kolkata, West Bengal, Assam, Karnataka, Orissa, North East, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab and Tamil Nadu (including Chennai) on January 10,2008.

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Trai recommendations on 2G arbitrary: India’s Idea Cellular

On 02.15.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Aditya Birla Group Company, Idea Cellular said the TRAI recommendations on 2G spectrum pricing were flawed and adopting them would be like “slaughtering the goose laying golden eggs of progress”.

“We are dismayed by the continual flip-flops in policy formulation in the telecom sector. In the same breath, the principles of transparency and auction-based spectrum pricing are touted, whereas arbitrary and unreal administered numbers are sought to be portrayed as ‘market based’,” Idea said in a statement Friday.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended fixing the price for 6.2 Mhz of pan-India start-up 2G spectrum at Rs 10,972.45 crore (US$2.4 billion), more than six times the present cost of Rs 1,658 crore.

TRAI has also said every Mhz of additional spectrum (on an all-India basis) beyond the contracted limit of 6.2 Mhz would cost a massive Rs 4,571.87 crore.

Most of the telecom firms, including Bharti (BSE:532454), Vodafone, Idea and state – owned companies like BSNL and MTNL, hold extra spectrum beyond 6.2 Mhz and the new norms would put a huge financial burden on these telcos.

“Even more curious is how total spectrum holdings are sought to be aggregated for some operators, but disaggregated for select others, never mind the loss to the exchequer or basic level playing field considerations,” Idea said.

Other leading telcos like Bharti airtel and Vodafone have also criticised the recommendations calling them “flawed, illogical and discriminatory”.

“Our sector has seen many absurdities already. The goose that laid the golden egg of progress, is being led to slaughter. We can only hope that reason will prevail and a market driven mechanism will be allowed,” Idea added.

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Sanjeev Aga to resign as Idea CEO (India)

On 12.28.10, In Mobile, By Editor

Sanjeev Aga head of Aditya Birla group’s telco, Idea Cellular, has decided to resign as chief executive, ahead of his scheduled retirement in 2013.

According to the company’s spokesperson, Aga will be replaced by Idea Director Himanshu Kapania on April 1. According to Aditya Birla group, Aga was stepping down due to personal reasons. Aga will continue to serve in a non-executive position after he retires.

The Idea CEO oversaw a successful IPO in 2007, executed several projects, including building cellular phone networks in western and southern India.

According to Chairman – Kumar Mangalam Birla, under Aga, Idea grew from being a fledgling two-circle operation to a pan-India player, including obtaining licences for 3G operations in several circles.

Aga spent 12 years with the Aditya Birla group, of which the last four years were with Idea Cellular. He had earlier served as head of Aditya Birla Nuvo, a diversified Birla group subsidiary.

The organizational reshuffle in Idea will see Himanshu Kapania being elevated as deputy managing director till March 31. The 50-year graduate from BITS Ranchi and IIM Bangalore will become CEO of Idea Cellular from April 1. He will be succeeded by Amrish Jain as deputy managing director.

Aga’s tenure at Idea was marked by changing regulations, the chaotic and controversial induction of a set of new telecom operators under the aegis of former telecom minister A Raja and the bidding for 3G bandwidth or airwaves. The Idea CEO was among the few to be open about the impact of 3G.

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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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Idea to Launch MNP (India)

On 11.22.10, In Mobile, By Editor

The Department of Telecom (DoT) had ordered the mobile operators to launch MNP by November 25. The Idea has taken lead by releasing its ‘Switch to Idea’ commercials debuting on TV channels.

MNP enables a subscriber switch from his cellular operator to any other operator, and retain his mobile number. It is being rolled out on 25 November in Haryana circle where subscribers can switch in between any of the operators. The Haryana has eight cellular operators Airtel, Idea, BSNL, Aircel, Loop, Vodafone, Etisalat DB, and Videocon.

According to figures from Cellular Operators Association of India, the circle has 11.68 million subscribers as on Oct 31, 2010. India’s total cellular subscriber base stands at around 700 million.

According to Rajat Mukharjee, the official spokesperson for Idea Cellular, implementation of MNP in India will definitely come as a boon for the established players as they have the better service capability and the networks in comparison to the small operators who are yet to offer better service and networks.

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