Reliance Communications launches 3G services in Jharkhand (India)
Reliance Communications has launched the first 3G network in Jharkhand. In the first phase, the services will be available in 6 towns of Jharkhand including Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Bokaro, Hazaribagh and Jharia. Recently, Reliance Communications had launched 3G services in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chandigarh.
The network is capable of offering peak speeds up to 28 Mbps.
Reliance Communications will be launching Reliance 3G services across all 13 telecom circles, where it holds 3G licenses, by end of Fiscal 2010-11. The company is aiming to offer national 3G coverage through associations with other 3G licensees in the balance 9 telecom circles during the course of next year.
Reliance Communications holds 3G licenses in the telecom circles of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, North East, Jammu & Kashmir, Orissa and Assam.
DoT allows mobile towers near the border (India)
The Department of Telecom (DoT) has made a decision to permit mobile towers within 500 metres of international borders.
The department has modified its norms according to which installation of towers within 10 km of the international border was not allowed. The move is seen as an attempt to counter incoming signals from neighboring Pakistan and Bangladesh.
According to Minister of state for communications and IT, Sachin Pilot, they have changed the norms as they observed that signal from other countries are entering their border areas in North-East, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Now, towers can be placed within 500 metres of the border on Sunday. He added that the move will improve signal strength in the border areas which is important for security.
According to reports, Pilot stated the department was vigilant about the reports of Pakistani mobile network being used near border areas. They have taken action against a few and also Ministry of Home. Defence and DoT are working together to counter such activities.
Pilot added that the department will distribute satellite phones to villagers and security personnel where there was no mobile network and signal was a problem. They intend to ensure network availability to each person in the country.
As the supply of electricity is less in the sparsely-located areas on the borders, a few upcoming mobile towers will be run by solar plants.
The minister launched a scheme called ‘Rakshak’ on Sunday. The scheme offers facility to paramilitary personnel to stay connected with their families in any part of the country without spending on call charges. By paying a nominal sum of US$6.62 monthly, soldiers will get two SIM cards, one of which they can give to their family. The calls made between the two SIM cards will be free.
RCom launches 3G in Kashmir (India)
Reliance Communications (RCom) has launched 3G services in Kashmir.
According to the company, last year, in December, RCom launched 3G services in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Punjab, Jammu and Rajasthan.
According to RCom’s J&K Circle Head – Wireless Business, Ataul Haque, launching of 3G capabilities in Kashmir is an integral part of their Vision 2015 of creating a “Wirefree India” built upon the affordable 3G-for-all platform. In May, 2010, RCom bagged 13 key telecom circles during the 3G auction, including the key metros of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.
The company also holds 3G licences in the telecom circles of Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, North East, Jammu & Kashmir, Orissa and Assam.
Reliance Communications to launch 3G services in Rajasthan (India)
Reliance Communications has announced that it will be launching 3G services in 12 cities of Rajasthan, including Jaipur within a month.
According to Vinay Chandok, Hub Head– Gujarat and Rajasthan, Reliance, Communications, demonstration of 3G capabilities at Jaipur is an integral part of their vision 2015 of creating a Wirefree India, built upon the affordable 3G for all platforms.
He added that the 3G services will be launched within a month in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Bikaner, Ajmer, Udaipur, Sri Ganganagar, Bhiwadi, Alwar, Pilani, Pali and Bhilwara. The range of services to be offered includes video calling, mobile TV, video streaming.
All the applications will be accessed at superfast speeds ubiquitously on a variety of mobile and personal computing devices, for which the company will make available different customized plans for different users.
Vodafone to launch M-PESA in India
Vodafone and HDFC Bank have teamed up to offer mobile banking service to the rural masses. The pilot for these services has been started in ten villages in the Sikar district of Rajasthan.
As per Mr. Rahul N Bhagat, country head of retail liabilities, marketing and direct banking channels, HDFC, the company has launched a pilot mobile money transfer service called M-PESA in ten villages of Rajasthan. The service will allow subscribers to make payments, money transfers, deposits and withdrawals. As of now, HDFC has appointed 54 business correspondents (BCs) in these villages, leveraging manpower on Vodafone’s retail network.
BCs are retail agents of banks and provide services in remote areas, where setting up a branch is not cost-effective. These retailers are authorized to collect small-value deposits, give small loans and offer products such as micro-insurance and mutual funds to the elderly, poor, disabled, and those with poor access to a bank.
M-PESA is already a successful service in Kenya, and is now also available in Tanzania, Afghanistan and South Africa. It is a branch-less banking service designed to enable users to do basic banking transactions without the need for a bank branch. The service is being run by IBM Global Services on behalf of Vodafone in all these countries.
Through the M-PESA, customers can deposit and withdraw money from a network of BCs, including retail outlets, kirana stores etc which act as banking agents.
According to Bhagat, BC route is all about faith and goodwill that people have on BC’s therefore company’s entire reputation is at risk, as this network is difficult to administer. If anything goes wrong, the bank will be held liable.
As per the new RBI guidelines, it has allowed profit companies to become BCs for banks. Bhagat believes that this is a positive move and will help increase the reach of banks into the remotest areas of the country.
RBI has allowed companies that have a large retail presence, excluding non-banking financial companies, to act as BCs. Till now, only non-profit companies and individuals could work as BCs.
TCIL’s 30% Hexacom stake to cost Bharti over $40 millions (India)
Bharti Airtel, India’s largest telco, may have to pay more than $40 million to buy out Telecom Consultants of India’s (TCIL) 30% stake in its subsidiary Bharti Hexacom, which offers mobile services in six northeastern states (excluding Assam) and Rajasthan.
According to the reports, at present, state-owned TCIL owns 30% in Hexacom. The consultants appointed by TCIL to oversee its exit from Bharti Hexacom have said the reserve price for its stake is set a shade over US$40 milion.
This values Hexcaom, which has a customer base of around 13 million, at about US$136.27 million. Bharti has the right of first refusal to TCIL’s stake in Hexacom.
The communication ministry has now approached the empowered group of ministers to finalize the reserve price based on the consultants’ report. The EGoM, headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, will also consider a report by a committee of directors appointed by TCIL to process its disinvestment, who had said that the stake could have a reserve price of up to US$34 million.
TCIL maintains that it is due to get dividend payment from 2004 onwards when Hexacom began making profits. Second, TCIL had sought the listing of Bharti Hexacom, which too was turned down, on the grounds that the flagship company (Bharti Airtel) is already listed and as such their policy does not permit subsidiaries to be listed. Besides, as per the shareholders agreement, TCIL cannot insist on listing or getting dividend.
TCIL will have to follow a two-stage bidding process, where it would have to first evaluate the technical bids and only those who clear this stage will be considered for the financial bids. TCIL will then have to finalize the stake sale in consultations with both the communications ministry and the department of economic affairs.
Man killed when cell phone exploded on his face
Gopal Gujjar, 23, was found dead with burns to his left ear, neck and shoulders, near a farm in Bandha village close to the city of Kota of Rajasthan.
According to reports police believe that the young man was killed when his Nokia handset exploded whilst he was talking on it. There were no witnesses to the incident.
Police found pieces of the Nokia 1209 handset, a basic model released in August 2008, scattered nearby.
Earlier this year, a 27 year-old woman from Andhra Pradesh was killed while using a Chinese-made mobile while it was on charging.
Deaths caused by exploding mobile phones have been reported not only in India but in countries like China, Nepal and Ghana. One of China’s higher profile incidents occurred in 2007, when a mobile phone’s battery exploded in an iron plant worker’s shirt pocket, allegedly as a result of over-exposure to extreme summer heat. The explosion caused one of the man’s ribs to pierce his heart and was marked dead leading arrival at the hospital.
Considering the billions of Handsets constantly in use the probability of being involved in such an accident are very feeble for any individual. In fact analysts estimate that an individual stand more chance of suffering a natural disaster like lightning strike, earthquake etc. & man made like a stabbing, car/plane/train crash and nonetheless a terror attack or nuclear warfare.
Etisalat DB to enter Indian market as Cheers Mobile
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: GSM service of Etisalat DB will be soon launched in India under the brand Cheers Mobile Service. The website of the company has already gone live providing information on various tariff and customer care numbers. Etisalat DB is one of the pre-qualified bidders for 3G spectrum in India, the auction if which is expected to begin on April 9, 2010
The GSM Mobile Network of Telecom Talk has already gone live in Tamil Nadu and Kerala but it is still to come to Delhi. The commercial service of the operators is also expected soon in Mumbai, Andhra Pradesh and other circles. On launching its service in April, the operator will become the fourth telco to launch GSM services in the last 5 months and second this year.
Etisalat DB is a joint venture between Etisalat and Dynamix Balwas Group after Etisalat bought 45 percent share for $900 million in Swan Telecom.
UASL license has been granted to Etisalat DB to operate 2G services in 15 circles including Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu (including Chennai), Uttar Pradesh (East), Uttar Pradesh (West), Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.
