Virgin mobile launches GSM service in Maharashtra (India)

On 02.19.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Virgin mobile famous for targeting youths in its promotions has launched its GSM service in the Maharashtra and Mumbai circles. 20 paise per minute for Virgin-to-Virgin calls across any circles will be charged to the subscribers across Maharashtra and Mumbai. The rates would be 40 paise per minute for local and 50 paise per minute for STD calls for other networks.
T

he consumers can also opt for another plan that provides all local and STD calls at 1 paise per second with a recharge of Rs. 12 and with a talk time of Rs. 10.88, valid for 365 days.

Tata DoCoMo has tied up with Virgin Mobile to offer its GSM services in the country and Virgin has tied up with Tata Indicom for its CDMA network. 10% of the market of Virgin mobile comprises of the urban youth segment.

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Maharashtra to receive BSNL’s 3G service next month

On 01.12.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The BSNL subscribers in Pune, Goa and around 50 other cities can enjoy 3G services within a month as the state-owned mobile network operator set to introduce the circles in Maharashtra circle.

According to BSNL’s chief general manager for the Maharashtra circle, Aloke Kaul, BSNL will start providing 3G services in Pune in February and later in Goa and other cities in Maharashtra circle after which all the BSNL’s customers can enjoy better and advanced telecom services.

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GSM service soon to be launched in India by Virgin Mobile

On 12.10.09, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: With the goal of expanding its reach among the people and especially youths, Tata Teleservices youth brand, Virgin Mobile is planning to launch its GSM services.

Virgin Mobile GSM may use TATA DOCOMO’s network and will be first introduced in Chennai and Tamil Nadu Circle and Mumbai & Maharashtra circle.

TATA DOCOMO’s service is yet to roll out all over India while Virgin Mobile will also take time to establish its mark among the masses. Currently, Virgin Mobile is using TATA Indicom’s network to operate.

Highest no. of subscriber during the past 3 months has been recorded by TTSL and  TATA DOCOMO is considered to be the major factor behind this growth.

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TATA india to offer SIM cards on its CDMA network

On 10.07.09, In Mobile, By Editor

Oberthur Technologies the world’s second largest provider of Smart Card based solutions today announced the commercialization of its OMHTM (Open Market Handsets) SIM cards for CDMA (Code Development Multiple Access) networks. OMH SIM cards contain subscriber, network and service configuration data that allow subscribers the freedom to easily change and upgrade their handset, but maintain their network configuration.

Oberthur Technologies collaborated with Tata Teleservices Limited, one of India’s fastest growing private telecom service providers, and Qualcomm Incorporated, a leader in developing and delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services based on CDMA and other advanced technologies, to introduce OMHTM SIM cards into the India market.

Olivier Leroux, Head of the Mobile Product Line for the Card Systems Division at Oberthur Technologies said, “Oberthur Technologies is the first to commercially launch OMHTM SIM cards. We are pleased to partner with industry leaders such as Tata Teleservices and Qualcomm who are enhancing the subscriber experience for Indian consumers.”

The OMHTM SIM card, referred to as a removable user identity module (R-UIM), is a state of the art smartcard that stores operator and subscriber specific configuration parameters, separate from the handset memory. By having this configuration parameters located on the OMHTM SIM card rather than the device, subscribers can more easily switch or upgrade their handsets. These cards allow CDMA network operators to increase the selection of devices and services while lowering distribution and inventory costs.

“These are exciting times in the Indian telecom space where innovation, research and development are the key to success and remain competitive in the business. In our constant effort to redefine the telecom space keeping customers at the central point, Tata Teleservices decided to partner with Qualcomm and Oberthur Technologies to further develop the Open Market Handset initiative and offer more choice to customers”, said Lloyd Mathias, Chief Marketing Officer, Tata Teleservices Limited.

“Qualcomm is pleased to work with Oberthur Technologies for its leadership as one of the first companies to develop OMH SIM cards,” said Nakul Duggal, Senior Director and OMH Project Lead, Qualcomm Corporate Engineering Services. “The OMH initiative is focused on increasing device variety by offering new channels and distribution options within the CDMA ecosystem to provide greater subscriber flexibility.”

About Oberthur Technologies

With sales of 882 million Euros in 2008, Oberthur Technologies is a world leader in the field of secure technologies. Innovation and high quality services ensure Oberthur Technologies’ strong positioning in its main target markets:

– Card Systems: The world’s second largest provider of security and identification based on smart card technology and associated services for mobile, payment, transport, digital TV and convergence markets. – Identity: Leading international supplier for the manufacture and personalization of secure identity documents such as passport, identity card, driving license or health care card – traditional and electronic – and associated services for both governmental and corporate markets. – Security printing: World’s third largest private security printer specialized in high security for the production of banknotes, checks and other fiduciary documents in more than fifty countries. – Cash protection: World leader in the emerging market of intelligent systems to secure cash-in-transit and ATM.

Close to its customers, Oberthur Technologies benefits from an industrial and commercial presence across all five continents.

Oberthur Technologies S.A. is a limited liability company (societe anonyme) registered in France with its registered office at 50 quai Michelet 92 532 Levallois Perret, France. Oberthur Technologies S.A.’s corporate registration number is 340 709 534 R.C.S. Paris.

Website: http://www.oberthur.com

About Tata Teleservices Limited

Tata Teleservices Limited is one of India’s leading private telecom service providers, having a pan-India presence across all of India’s 22 telecom Circles. The company offers integrated telecom solutions to its customers under the Tata Indicom, Tata DOCOMO, Photon and Walky brands, and uses both the CDMA and GSM technology platform(s) for its wireless networks. Tata Teleservices Limited, along with Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited, operates in more than 325,000 towns and villages across the country. In November 2008, Tata Teleservices entered into an agreement with Japanese telecom major NTT DOCOMO, and this transaction marks a key step in the strategic evolution of Tata Teleservices Limited. Tata DOCOMO has so far launched GSM services in eight telecom Circles, and the remaining part of the country is also expected to be covered shortly. In December 2008, Tata Teleservices announced a unique reverse equity swap strategic agreement between its fully-owned telecom tower subsidiary-Wireless TT Info-Services Limited-and Quippo Telecom Infrastructure Limited, thereby becoming the largest independent entity in this space. Tata Teleservices’ bouquet of telephony services includes mobile services, wireless desktop phones, public booth telephony and Wireline services.

For details, visit http://www.tatateleservices.com, http://www.tatadocomo.com or http://www.tataindicom.com.

About Qualcomm

Qualcomm is a registered trademark of Qualcomm Incorporated. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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TATA and BSNL enter Network Sharing deal (India)

On 10.02.09, In Mobile, By Editor

Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL), India’s fastest-growing pan India telecom service provider, today announced the signing of a landmark ‘Master Services Agreement for Passive Infrastructure Sharing’ with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).

Becoming the first Indian private telecom operator to enter into an agreement of this nature. The agreement which is valid for 15 years will be applicable to both Tata Teleservices Limited and Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited in all of India’s 22 telecom Circles.

“This is a moment of pride for us, as we have become the first private telecom operator to enter into such a strategically important agreement with BSNL, one that will allow us to expand our telecom footprint across the country much more quickly,” Mr Madhav Joshi, President, Legal and Regulatory Affairs, Tata Teleservices Limited, said.

The agreement comes at a very strategic time for Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL) and Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited (TTML), as both companies have been aggressively expanding their network presence on the CDMA side with Tata Indicom, while also rolling out GSM services under the TATA DOCOMO brand name. “In the short space of just three months, we have already rolled out our GSM services in nine Circles—Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Orissa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Mumbai, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh and Haryana,” Mr AG Rao, Chief Technology Officer, Tata Teleservices Limited, said. “This agreement has the potential to not just speed up our network expansion and rollout process, but would also have a substantial impact in terms of reduced costs,” he added.

Under the terms of the agreement, TTSL and TTML will have access to thousands of BSNL towers all across the country.

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Microsoft’s Ballmer Dismisses iPhone

On 05.15.07, In Mobile, By Editor

Microsoft  CEO Steve Ballmer, in declaring recently that “there is no chance” that Apple’s iPhone will get much market share, indicates that the battle of the smartphones might just be the battle of the operating systems, part II.
For the last two decades, Microsoft has mightily overpowered the Mac operating system and others, and has maintained a dominating lead in the sale of operating systems for personal computers. However, Apple, for its part, has been equally dominant (if not more so) in the sale of personal music players, since introducing its phenomenally popular iPod nearly six years ago.

With Apple’s new iPhone slated for release this summer, it will be interesting to see whether Apple, the king of personal media players, can grab a significant share of the smartphone market. Ballmer might say no… but Apple begs to differ.

Apple has repeatedly said that it plans to sell 10 million iPhones, which run an optimized version of the Mac OS X operating system, before the end of 2008. As various analysts have pointed out though, Apple may have a hard time hitting its target because of its decision to work with just one carrier (Cingular/AT&T) and because of the unit’s projected cost: $499 for a 4GB model and $599 for 8GB.

1.Sounds Like Fightin’ Words

During an interview last week with USA Today’s David Lieberman, Ballmer acknowledged Apple’s success with the iPod, but dismissed the iPhone as irrelevant. Irrelevant? Yes, indeed… irrelevant.

“There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share,” Ballmer said. “No chance. It’s a $500 subsidized item. They may make a lot of money. But if you actually take a look at the 1.3 billion phones that get sold, I’d prefer to have our [Windows Mobile] software in 60 percent or 70 percent or 80 percent of them, than I would to have 2 percent or 3 percent, which is what Apple might get.”

An estimated 5 million handsets are already powered by earlier versions of Microsoft’s Windows Mobile and Windows CE. And, in February, Microsoft announced the release of Windows Mobile 6 (WM6), the latest version of its mobile operating system. Over the coming months, a variety of phones powered by WM6 will be released, including handsets from the Orange network in Europe, Softbank Mobile Corp. in Japan, and T-Mobile in the United States.

2.A Tipping Point

At their Mobile and Embedded DevCon in Las Vegas this week, Microsoft Entertainment and Devices Division President Robbie Bach said that Microsoft’s mobile business has reached a tipping point. He told reporters that, given the momentum behind WM6, he expects Windows Mobile handset sales to total between 10 and 11 million in 2007, and twice that in 2008.

“Today, there’s almost 150 devices that run Windows Mobile for mobile phones, it’s offered by 125 operators, and also 50 handset manufacturers,” Bach told the audience of developers. “This is a rich, vibrant ecosystem. And it doesn’t matter whether you want a keypad, whether you want a touchpad, whether you want a slider phone, you want a candy bar, you want a flip phone, we have, on the Windows Mobile platform, whatever phone you want.”

Will Ballmer’s dismissal of the iPhone as a high-tech irrelevance be correct? Or will Apple’s uncanny ability to transform form and function into “cool” bring us iCalls, iBusy, and iHang Up? One thing’s for sure: It’s going to be an interesting year in the phone biz, as the battle of the operating systems rages on.

   

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