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Saturday, September 13, 2008

DoT unveils norms to select agency for 3G, WiMax bid

NEW DELHI: The department of telecom (DoT) on Friday issued a revised request for proposal (RFP) to select an e-auction agency that will conduct the online auctions for third generation radio frequencies in India.

All interested firms have been asked to submit their bids by September 25.

All firms bidding to be the agency to conduct the e-auction will also have to declare their shareholding pattern — both Indian and foreign (if any).

Besides, the DoT has said that potential bidders cannot have more than 10% stake in any telecom or internet service provider in India. The guidelines also add that only those companies who have a paid up capital of Rs 2.5 crore and a networth of at least Rs 10 crore and has conducted similar auctions before will be eligible to apply.

The DoT has said that the auctions of third generation radio frequencies for telcos will be held within three months of selecting the agency to conduct the same. This implies, if the agency in selected by October, the auctions must be conducted before January, 2009.

Following the first round of auctions, the agency will also have to conduct subsequent auctions as and when radio frequencies are available, the DoT added. All bidders must also quote their fee for conducting the entire auction process. The fee will be the per cent of the of the total revenues they raise from the auction.

“All applicants that meet the eligibility criteria will have to make a presentation before the evaluation committee demonstrating their experience and capacity to conduct the auction,” DoT said in a communication on its website.

The department of telecom (DoT) has started discussions on allowing telcos to share spectrum, the radio frequencies on which all mobile services operate.

In a meeting with the minister of state for communication and IT, Jyotiraditya Scindia, earlier this week, the DoT officials listed out the pros and cons of becoming the first country in the world to allow spectrum sharing.

In an internal note that was presented to Mr Scindia the DoT said that spectrum sharing would help telcos use radio frequencies in a ‘more economic and efficient manner’.

The note also adds that the sharing of radio frequencies between different operators would ‘boost transparency by revealing the true opportunity cost of the spectrum’ and would also make it ‘possible for companies to expand more quickly’ in addition to ‘making it easier for prospective new market entrants to acquire radio frequencies and launch operations’.

“Spectrum sharing can also be used to correct inefficiencies arising from the allocation of spectrum to different applicants, which can create artificial spectrum scarcity,” the note said.


Source : Economic Times

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Friday, September 12, 2008

DoT amends 3G, WiMax policies

NEW DELHI: The Department of Telecom (DoT) on Thursday amended the 3G policy to allow successful foreign bidders to acquire Indian operators without waiting for the mandatory three years.

Another key change in the policy is that CDMA operators will be allotted 3G spectrum through auction. DoT has also retained an earlier clause that besides the existing licence holders only those telcos with experience in providing 3G services can bid for the spectrum.

DoT also amended the broadband wireless access (which includes WiMax services) policy to double the base price for WiMax spectrum to Rs 1,010 crore and allow successful bidders to offer both data and voice services.

While announcing that the 3G spectrum for CDMA operators in the 450 MHz and 1,900 MHz bands would be allotted through auction, DoT said the reserve price for such frequencies would be notified separately. The department also shied away from specifying the licence renewal fee for existing telcos.

The licences of existing telcos would be extended “in a manner as the government deems fit”, it said. Again, while saying telcos must share 1% of their incremental revenues from 3G services as spectrum usage charges, DoT added that the method of calculating this fee would be spelt out later.

ET had first reported all these major changes across different stories over the last 30 days.

In the case of Wireless broadband (WiMax) spectrum, the DoT has doubled the base price for the auction of frequencies on this platform. This implies that any player that wants to bid for WiMax spectrum will now have to offer a minimum of Rs 1,010 crore for a pan-India licence compared to Rs 505 crore earlier.

Industry sources said that with the doubling of the WiMax spectrum base price, successful bidders, including internet service providers (ISPs), would now be permitted to offer mobile services on this platform. This could not be independently confirmed. But while the old policy said spectrum will be auctioned for “data services”, the amended policy has done away with it.

The new BWA policy also adds that radio frequencies in the 700 MHz and 3.3-3.6 GHz frequency bands would be auctioned for WiMax services as and when they become available. The earlier policy said that radio frequencies would be given only in the 2.5 GHz and 2.3 GHz bands for WiMax services.

DoT in its new 3G policy has said that the existing merger norms will apply only to existing licence holders. This implies that foreign telcos, which are successful in their 3G bids, can now buy an existing licence holder without having to wait for three years, the lock-in period specified earlier.

The larger implication is that foreign telcos who bag 3G licences can now buy out existing operators who hold 2G radio frequencies. They will, therefore, be able to offer both 3G and 2G services. Besides, if a foreign player were to bag 3G spectrum and also buy an existing Indian operator, the telco will not have to pay an additional Rs 1,651 crore for the UASL licence.

The government, in its earlier 3G policy announced in August, had decided to allot 3G spectrum in the 800 MHz to the CDMA player with the highest subscriber base, without taking resort to auction as mandated for GSM players.

This was on the condition that the CDMA player would have to pay the same price that the highest GSM operator was paying in a particular circle. This gave RCOM, which has the largest subscriber base in all circles, except Delhi and Maharashtra, the right of first refusal (RoFR) for offering 3G services in the 800 MHz band.

This band is the most efficient and cost-effective frequency for CDMA players to offer high-end services. The change in the policy implies that other CDMA players such as Tata Teleservices, Shyam, BSNL and MTNL as well as new players now stand a chance to get radio frequencies in the coveted 800 MHz band.

Source : Economics Times

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Thursday, September 11, 2008

Bharti unveils Rs 200 cr fund to promote innovation in telecom

NEW DELHI: Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Thursday launched a Rs 200-crore innovation fund for promoting entrepreneurship in the telecom sector.

The objective of the fund is to provide opportunities to the entrepreneurs to undertake innovation in the field of telecom with regard to content, software and technologies, Bharti Airtel Joint MD and CEO Manoj Kohli told reporters here.

This is the first ever telecom innovation fund in the country, he said.

Bharti Airtel, market leader in the GSM base cellular telephony, has started the fund with an initial corpus of Rs 200 crore.

Source : Economic Times

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Wednesday, September 10, 2008

DoCoMo, France Tele in last lap for Tata Tele pie

MUMBAI: The race to induct a strategic partner in Tata Teleservices (TTSL) seems to have narrowed down to Japan’s NTT DoCoMo and European telecom giant France Telecom. The Tata Group is close to diluting its stake for around Rs 5,000 crore in the country’s sixth-largest telecom operator, industry sources told ET .

“Talks are in the final stage and a deal is expected to be announced in the next two months,” informed sources said. One industry source with knowledge of the matter said NTT DoCoMo might be the front-runner. This, however, could not be independently confirmed. Both companies have put in bids. It’s not clear when a formal announcement would be made.

It is also not clear as to the exact stake which the partner will pick up. The figure of Rs 5,000 crore assumes a stake sale in the region of 12%. However, a number of industry sources following the transaction said the bids were for a 26% holding, involving a pay-out (for the investor) of around Rs 10,000 crore. When contacted, a TTSL spokesperson said: “We are in discussions with several players for off-loading a minority stake in our company and cannot comment any further on speculative queries.”

Talks for a stake sale have been on for over six months now. Others who had been earlier eyeing a piece in the company with around 28 million subscribers included UAE’s Etisalat, Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim-controlled TelCel and Russian telecom major Altimo. While France Telecom is not new to the Indian telecom landscape, it will be the maiden entry for NTT DoCoMo if it manages to clinch the deal.

In December 2006, DoCoMo had inked an agreement with Hutchison Essar (now Vodafone Essar) for its I-mode services, which include online games, videos and access to content. However, this pact was subsequently cancelled due to regulatory changes.

On the other hand, France Telecom was a 26% partner in BPL Mobile before it sold off the stake to a consortium of investors in January 2005. Subsequently, to enter the world’s fastest-growing telecom market, it finalised a joint venture with Moser Baer to offer long-distance services last year. It also acquired the IT services division of GTL last year and a stake in TTSL, if that were to happen, is expected to complete its India telecom story.

It is possible that Chennai-based tycoon C Sivasankaran, who owns 8% in TTSL, may divest a part of his stake to the new investor. However, most of the fund infusion would take place by way of issue of new shares. An unrelated transaction, which is possibly the sale of a 49% stake in TTSL’s tower business, is also in the works. That deal, which may close in a few months, is likely to fetch around Rs 10,000 crore.

TTSL will use the money for expansion in the CDMA and the soon-to-be-launched GSM services. While TTSL is set to roll out CDMA services in Jammu & Kashmir, Assam and North-East circles, it has also received start-up GSM spectrum in Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, and Orissa. It requires funds to launch operations as well as for branding and marketing exercises. TTSL MD Anil Sardana has already announced a capex of $2 billion for the GSM rollout.

Singapore-headquartered Temasek and Mr Sivasankaran currently hold 9.9% and around 8% respectively in TTSL. Mr Sivasankaran bought his TTSL stake for Rs 1,200 crore from Tata Sons in March 2006 while Temasek paid around Rs 1,500 crore for its equity.


Source : Economic Times

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Nokia launches advanced multimedia handset N96

MUMBAI: Nokia, the world leader in mobile communications, on Tuesday launched its most advanced multimedia device-Nokia N96 in India.

The N96 will be available in the market from September 15 and its retail price is Rs 34,999.

The N96 will offer a memory size of 16GB that can be increased to 24GB with an optional microSD card, allowing consumers to store hours of media and entertainment on the go.

"In the Web 2.0 era, the new Nokia N96 places the power to shape in internet in your hands. Nokia N96 offers the most personalised mobile internet experience to date and it defines convergence by blending phone and multimedia options seamlessly," Nokia India Marketing Director Devinder Kishore told reporters here.

The dual-side N96 is a perfect of style and cutting edge technology and represents a whole new chapter in mobile technology and is best optimised for superb web and entertainment.

The N96 can be store upto 18,000 songs, up to 20,000 images at 5 mega pixel, upto 60 hours of video or full length movies. With multifunctional media keys and a 2.8" screen, music, movies and games and will be available at the touch of a button.

"Nokia NSeries has always been at the forefront of innovation and has time and again added new paradigms to mobility and introduced devices that cater to the consumer aspirations," Kishore said.

Source : Economic Times

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Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Unitech mops up Rs 1,200 crore for telecom venture

NEW DELHI : Unitech has raised Rs 1,200 crore for its telecom venture from a syndicate of public sector banks led by Punjab National Bank and Canara Bank. Meanwhile, Norway’s telecom firm Telenor is learnt to have emerged the frontrunner in the race to acquire stake in Unitech Wireless, group’s telecom arm. Unitech is likely to finalise a telecom partner in two weeks.

Unitech MD Sanjay Chandra confirmed that the group has raised debt worth Rs 1,200 crore, but declined a comment on telecom partner. SBI Capital Markets organised the loan from the syndicate, which included Bank of India, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Central Bank of India and Vijaya Bank. PNB and Canara Bank contributed the major chunk of the loan.

Unitech Wireless plans to use the funds to buy telecom equipment for the first phase of its rollout. Unitech Wireless has already initiated the process to procure equipment from global telecom equipment majors ZTE, Huawei, Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia and Ericsson. The company is also looking at sharing infrastructure of the existing telecom players in the country.

Unitech plans to raise a major chunk of initial funds through stake sale. The company is in the process of finalising a European telecom player as its partner. Norway’s Telenor is said to be ahead of its competitors, according to sources close to the development.

Unitech has held talks with a number of international telcos since it began its search for a partner earlier this year. The company shortlisted three players, including Telenor, Telecom Italia and an Asian telco two months ago, and is now veering towards Telenor.

Sources say talks with Telecom Italia fell through after the two parties failed to bridge the gap over valuation. Unitech is expecting a valuation of $3 billion for its start-up, while Telecom Italia was ready for just a billion dollar.

Sources say Unitech is yet to take a final call on Telenor as the two sides are still working on valuation. Another crucial issue, sources say, is the amount of stake being offered to the foreign player.

Unitech has all along insisted that it planned to sell no more than 26% stake in its telecom venture, but potential foreign partners have been asking for a majority stake. A source claimed that Unitech may look at selling even 51% stake, but Unitech denied it.

Unitech, which has pan-India GSM licence and received spectrum to operate in six service areas, had earlier said that it expected to invest Rs 20,000 crore, including debt and equity, in its telecom business over the next three years.

Source : Economic Times

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