9 applications for 3G & 11 for BWA auction received by Indian govt
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Eleven applications for the BWA spectrum auction along with nine applications for the upcoming 3G spectrum auction has been received by the Indian government.
Aircel, Bharti Airtel, Etisalat, Idea Cellular, Reliance Telecom, S Tel, Tata Teleservices, Vodafone Essar, and Videocon Telecommunications are included in the list of the bidders for 3G spectrum.
The list of applicants for BWA spectrum include Aircel, Augere, Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, Infotel Broadband Services, Qualcomm, Reliance WiMax, Spice Internet Service Provider, Tata Communications Internet Services, Tikona Digital Networks, and Vodafone Essar.
April 5 and 6 has been planned as the dates for mock auctions while on April 9, actual bidding process will take place. Two days after the completion of the 3G spectrum auction, auctions for BWA license will be conducted.
Vodafone launches app store in India
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: An application store for the Indian market has been launched by Vodafone’s Indian operation, Vodafone Essar. The operator waited for 10,000 downloads before officially announcing it even though the app store has been running since the middle of last month. This is the third major app store launch in India recently and there’s a fourth one on the way.
These apps provide smartphone features for feature phones and the lineup is also not that fancy when compared to the one on the iPhone or Android app stores. Currently, almost 800 apps available are focused on being useable and cheap.
Between 15% and 25% of the apps on the store are currently free of charge while the rest cost between Rs 5 and Rs 30 to download or roughly $10 to $65 or 8 to 50 euro.
Airtel, which is the biggest rival of Vodafone Essar in India, also launched its apps store a few weeks back. Next month, Reliance will be launching a store as well and prices are again expected to be very low.
Bharti Airtel added 2.85m GSM users; Vodafone adds 2.28 million users
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: 2.85 million GSM subscribers have been added by India’s largest telecom services company by users, Bharti Airtel while 2.74 million users have been added by Vodafone Essar, the country’s third-largest mobile phone operator by subscribers in the month of January.
About 2.28 million subscribers have been added by Idea Cellular while Aircel added 2.01 million users during the month.
Among the state-run telecom companies, 2.23 million users have been added by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. in January while Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. added 45,067 users.
India’s Tata Tele outpaced Airtel, Vodafone in subscribers addition
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar have been outpaced by a smaller rival Tata Teleservices for a sixth straight month in mobile additions. The firm continued to gain share in the world’s fastest-growing but cut-throat mobile market by adding 3 million mobile subscribers in January, taking its total user base to more than 60 million.
Tata Tele which 26 percent owned by Japan’s NTT DoCoMo, would shift from sixth position in the country’s mobile market to the fifth position.
ndia’s number one mobile operator Bharti Airtel added 2.85 million mobile subscribers in January to have a total of 121.7 million. Vodafone Essar, which holds the third- rank gained 2.74 million in January, taking its total to 94.1 million.
Indian telco Bharti Airtel adds 2.85 mln users in Jan
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: 2.85 million mobile subscribers have been added by India’s top mobile operator, Bharti Airtel, in the month of January, thus taking the total subscribers numbers to 121.7 million.
2.74 million mobile users in January have been signed up by third-ranked Vodafone Essar, to boost its total to 94.1 million.
Even the fifth-ranked Idea Cellular gained 2.28 million mobile subscribers, taking its total to 59.9 million.
Indian telco Idea to sell stake in Indus Towers
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: 16% stake in Indus Towers valued at USD 600-800 million might be partially or wholly sold off by Indian telco Idea Cellular.
The stock of the company reached an all day high of Rs 58 and an all day low of Rs 56.60. In late 2007, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular pooled in their resources into an independent firm, Indus Towers which became the world’s largest tower company with 1,25,00 towers.
Before this joint venture, 42% stake was held by Vodafone and Bharti and 16% held by Idea.
Vodafone Essar’s stake to be transferred to overseas investment company
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: 2.63% of the economic interest of the Essar Group will be indirectly transferred to its mobile network operator Vodafone Essar to its overseas investment company. 49% stake in Essar Telecommunications Holding (ETHPL), which has a 10.97% stake in the Essar Group will be transferred to Mauritius-based Essar Telecom India (ETIL) for INR5.3 billion (USD116 million).
Provisions of the relaxed foreign investment norms according to which foreign investment of less than 50% in an Indian investing company will not be treated as foreign direct investment (FDI) as long as Indian citizens have a 50% stake and the right to appoint a majority of directors in the investing company, will be used to switch investment.
Currently, 33.02% stake in Vodafone Essar is held by Essar Group and with 22% of that held through ETIL, which is treated as foreign investment. ETIL will acquire 49% stake in Essar Capital Holdings (India) (ECHL) for INR2.8 billion, and a further 49% stake in Essar Satvision (India) after the proposed transaction. ECHL and Essar Satvision will then subsequently purchase a 49% stake in ETHPL.
Indian govt opposes Vodafone Essar demerger
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The proposed demerger of mobile network operator Vodafone Essar has been opposed by the Indian government as such a move could allow the company to avoid tax payments. Earlier, Vodafone Essar had announced plans to transfer its passive infrastructure to Vodafone Essar Infrastructure.
Vodafone Essar on the other hand has contended that tower operations of its seven units are being gifted to Vodafone Essar Infrastructure. However, the state has argued in the case heard by Delhi High Court that the move is designed to evade capital gains tax.
According to additional solicitor general appearing for the Income Tax Department, companies can only do transactions and not gift assets to each other.
A petition has been filed by Vodafone to seek approval for the reconstruction and amalgamation of the companies. The court will hear the petition on 18 January 2010.
India’s GSM subscribers’ base increased by 11.08m
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The number of people availing the facility of mobile communication is increasing by leaps and bounds in India with an increase of 11.08 million subscribers within a month. According to figures from the industry
association COAI, 366.77 million GSM mobile subscribers by the end of November went up by 355.69 million in October.
With a market share of 31.63 percent and 116 million subscribers, up from 113.2 million GSM subscribers a month earlier, Bharti Airtel remained the market leader. The subscriber base of Vodafone Essar rose to 88.6 million, from 85.82 million in October and its market share was 24.16 percent.
The third place was occupied by BSNL which ended the month with 55.18 million customers, up from 53.96 million, the market share being 15.05 percent. Idea Cellular ended the month with the fourth place with 55.9 million customers and a market share of 15.24 percent. Aircel’s market share was 8 percent and subscriber base of 29.35 million.
Reliance Telecom and MTNL had 14.6 million and 4.5 million customers respectively. Their market share stood at 3.98 percent and 1.23 percent.
Loop Mobile operating only in Mumbai, saw its subscriber base reach 2.59 million and its market share is 0.71 percent.
Vodafone nominees resign; To Sell stake in Bharti Airtel
Vodafone Plc which entered India after buying out Hutch in the Hutch Essar JV has withdrawn its board representation on Bharti Airtel Ltd. Vodafone has also decided to sell 5.61% stake in Bharti Airtel Ltd [PDF] in two tracnhes. Vodafone Plc had bought 10% stake in Bharti Airtel Ltd in two blocks – 5.61% from VC firm Warburg Pincus and 4.39% by way of convertible debentures in Oct-2005. Since then the value of its holding has appreciated by 150%. However, Vodafone is receiving mere $1.6 Billion for its 5.61% stake [at the current Market Price of Bharti Airtel, it is worth $2.2 Billion] in Bharti Airtel Ltd and will continue to hold the remaining 4.39%.
Vodafone had paid around $1.5 Billion for the entire 10% stake in Bharti Airtel Ltd. Vodafone will cash in on this remianing 4.31% stake sometime in the future or maybe at the time when they will buy out the Essar group from the Vodafone Essar JV in India.
