Govt maps out 3G availability; auctions may earn Rs 21,480 cr

The department of telecom (DoT) has finally mapped out the availability of third generation (3G) airwaves that can be put up for the upcoming
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auctions across the country. The plan shows that the government can earn over Rs 21,480 crore if the frequencies are auctioned according to the finance ministry’s formula.

The finance ministry wants all available radio frequencies to be auctioned and the base-price for the airwaves to be doubled. On the other hand, the communications ministry wants to limit the base-price at Rs 2,020 crore per player and restrict the number of players to a maximum of seven.

Spectrum or radio frequencies are airwaves on which telecom signals travel. The availability of 3G spectrum, vital for high-end services, such as video conferencing and high-speed internet on the mobile, varies across different regions of the country, according to an internal note of DoT.

The telecom ministry’s latest assessment reveals that only four private players can be given airwaves for offering these high-end services in Delhi, while in Mumbai, there is enough frequency for eight players. Key circles, such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, have space for 11 private players each. A minimum of six private operators can be given these airwaves in all circles except in Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, North East, West Bengal and Rajasthan. (refer table).

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BSNL drops plan to bid for Tunisia license

NEW DELHI: BSNL has dropped its plans to bid for telecom licence in Tunisia as the PSU finds the returns not enough to enter that market through bidding of licence.
"We did not bid for Tunisia... we did not find returns on our investment," a senior BSNL official said.

Earlier the PSU's CMD Kuldeep Goyal had said BSNL was planning to bid for telecom licence in Tunisia and get a footprint in the African market, which has immense potential.

But not bidding for Tunisia does not mean BSNL has lost sight of the potential of the African region, which it says has growing mobile usage.

BSNL official said the minimum bid price was understood to be $10 million but the Tunisian market is well- penetrated with 80 per cent of the population owing mobile phones leaving not much scope for more penetration.

BSNL has shortlisted eight consultants, including Ernst & Young, McKinsey, KPMG and PriceWaterHouseCoopers, for its plans of mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships and overseas forays.

The state-run firm, which so far concentrated only on the Indian market (except Delhi and Mumbai), has decided to expand overseas. Sources said BSNL has a cash surplus of over $10 billion and would use part of these resources for its overseas foray.

After being denied entry to Delhi and Mumbai, BSNL was finally granted permission by the government to venture outside the country through acquisitions, JVs and licence buys to expand.

BSNL has already set up a separate international business division to explore telecom opportunities abroad.

Last year, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications entered into negotiations with the South Africa-based telecom giant MTN to expand in the African continent, but the talks failed. Bharti again has revived talks with MTN for a cash- cum-stock acquisition.

Earlier this year, Tata Communications announced plans to expand its operations in Africa through acquisitions, joint ventures, and new projects, and in January increased its stake in South African fixed-line operator Neotel to 56 per cent.

BSNL's sister concern MTNL has already forayed into Nepal and Mauritius. Analysts said BSNL may be exploring the possibilities of bidding for mobile licences in Egypt, Rwanda, Malawi, Turkey and Iran. All these countries will open bids for licence auction within the next couple of months.

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BSNL to roll-out 3G in 700 cities by June

MUMBAI: Public sector telecom major, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), is all set to launch its 3G operations in 700 cities across north and
east India by June and in the south by July, a senior company official said.

"We plan to bring 3G to north and east India by June," BSNL Deputy Director General (VAS) S S Sirohi told reporters here today.

The services would be launched in east and west Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Jharkhand and Assam. We plan to cover over 700 cities in the next three months (by June)," Sirohi said.

The company is also targeting its 3G launch in Kolkata next month.

The net outflow towards launching this service in the 700 cities is around Rs 2,700-crore, he said.

BSNL, with a huge presence in the northern and eastern parts of India, has 42-million mobile subscribers presently.

"By March 2010, the number of our 3G subscribers will go up to about 60-million in the country," Sirohi said.

The state-run telecom behemoth would focus on mobile broadband, mobile television, online gaming, video streaming, full track downloading and video telephony, he said.

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BSNL lowers mobile tariffs to 50 paise for local, STD, SMS

CHENNAI: Initiating another round of tariff war, state-run BSNL on Sunday announced a new plan offering local and STD call at just 50 paise a

minute across all the network, while the charges would be 20 and 30 paise for BSNL to BSNL.

BSNL's new tariff plan "India
Golden Fifty", offering local and STD call at just 50 paise would be available from March 1. and the scheme, along with BSNL's 3G mobile services in the state, was launched by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi.

BSNL Chairman Kuldeep Goyal told reporters that the Golden Fifty plan would be available to consumers for a monthly rent of Rs 375 inclusive of taxes.

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India makes it to the global 3G map

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh put the country on the global 3G map on Thursday when he launched the services on state-owned Mahanagar
Telephone Nigam’s (MTNL) networks in Delhi.

The 3G platform will enable telcos to offer high-end services such as high-speed internet, video conferencing on mobiles, interactive gaming, ultra fast downloads of video and music clips amongst other services. The PM also witnessed for sometime a live telecast of the India-England Test match on a mobile handset using 3G services.

MTNL also became the first teleco in India to launch these high-end services which it has christened ‘Jadoo’. But the commercial launch of 3G will happen in January ’09. MTNL executives present in the event said the PM had only kicked off the ‘soft launch’ and that some parts of central Delhi would have free access to these services during the test phase.

MTNL does not want to charge for these services during the soft launch phase as it wants customers to first experience 3G services. “We will also launch 3G in Mumbai by the end-of January,” MTNL CMD RSP Sinha told ET. MTNL offers mobile services
in Delhi and Mumbai. Mr Sinha said that MTNL was yet to take a call on the 3G tariffs. “It depends on the amount of data usage. Our 3G pricing cannot be different from existing prices across the world. The pricing will be affordable, sustainable and likeable to all,” he said. The company will invest Rs 400 crore to set up 3G networks across Delhi and Mumbai and hoping to add 200,000 subscribers on this platform.

State-owned BSNL will do a soft launch of its 3G services by the end of December, its CMD Kuldeep Goyal told ET. All other telecom companies will have to wait a lot longer for launching these high-end services. This is because, auction for the radio frequencies on which 3G services work is slated to take place in early 2009.

“After the auction, the government will have to give us spectrum. We will take six months from the date of allotment of spectrum to launch 3G services. Bharti hopes to launch commercial 3G services by 2009-end,” Manoj Kohli, CEO and Joint MD, Bharti Airtel said. The government had given 3G radio frequencies to both MTNL and BSNL ahead of the auctions.

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Idea Cellular ties up with HTC Corp to launch touch phones

MUMBAI: Idea Cellular, a leading mobile service operator has entered into a tie up with Taiwan's handset manufacturer HTC Corp to offer two touch
phone models in India targetted at the premium segment.

Pradeep Shrivastava , chief marketing officer of Idea Cellular said at a press conference on Tuesday the market for premium segment in the country is estimated to be about 15 per cent of the overall market size.

He also said the ongoing recessionary trend may not affect the demand for these types of phones though customers may tend to be a little cautious before shifting to the new products.

The two Taiwan made models called HTC Touch Pro and HTC Touch Viva based on Windows mobile platform offer elegant touch screen experience .

HTC Touch Pro is priced at Rs 34,900 while HTC Viva will sell at Rs 16,490 at all HTC resellers across the country.

"The tie up between the two companies is not exclusive and there is no financial arrangement between them," Shrivastava said. Customers of other mobile service operator also could opt to buy these models .

"The two models embody our commitment to build a family of touch phones that are powerful, stylish and offer something for everyone", Jack Tong, Vice President, HTC Asia said.

HTC ,one of the fastest growing companies in mobile sector globally , earlier used to make handset for others but started marketing under HTC brand since 2006.

It has many firsts to its credit like being the first to offer microsoft 3g phone, microsoft powered smartphone and last year the touch screen model which allows finger tip navigation.

Source : Economic Times

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Tatas mull mobile handset foray with DoCoMo

MUMBAI: The Tatas, who stopped making fixed telephone instruments under the Tata Fone brand some years ago, plan a re-entry into the business by
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developing mobile handsets. Tatas will consider the feasibility of the project in collaboration with its new Japanese partner NTT DoCoMo, which has strong expertise in handset development besides managing next generation technologies.

DoCoMo has an extensive lineup of lifestyle-focused handsets tailored for varying customer needs and preferences like waterproof models, kids' models with GPS tracking and handsets with wellness applications
to monitor health and fitness.

DoCoMo has struck a strategic alliance with Tata Teleservices, including buying a 26% stake in Tata Tele. The co-operation between the two wireless carriers is being extended across marketing, handset development and technical support services.

" We will leverage DoCo-Mo's handset designing capabilities and work closely to bring out both high- and lowend models for our customers,'' said a Tata Tele executive. NTT DoCoMo president and CEO Ryuji Yamada said, ‘‘ The company is establishing a task force comprising its directors and technology experts to work on different areas with our Indian partner.''

Another Tata Tele official said, ‘‘ Given that the alliance has just been formed the business model would evolve over a period of time.'' Currently Tata group company DriveIndia .com procures and sells CDMA handsets from manufacturers like Samsung, Nokia, Huawei and Haeir. Tata Tele focuses only on providing mobile services, while group firm Tata Business Support Services handles customer queries and interactions for Tata Indicom and Virgin mobile. ‘‘ With DoCo-Mo as partner, the branding architecture could change,'' said the Tata official.

Source : Economic Times

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Govt may bar mobiles without identity code

NEW DELHI: Mobile phones which do not have a unique identity number may soon go out of circulation. The Department of Telecom (DoT) is planning to block cellphones which do not bear the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number.

Many handsets assembled locally or imported from China do not have IMEI numbers. The DoT has also proposed a bar on all mobile phones with IMEI numbers bearing all zeroes or no zeroes. IMEI numbers can be checked by dialing "*#06#" in any keypad.

Investigations into the recent serial blasts revealed that mobile phones used by terrorists did not bear valid IMEI numbers. If they had valid numbers, the phones could have been tracked from their origin to the point of purchase.

It is estimated that there about 1.6 crore handsets in India which do not have valid IMEI numbers, which is a unique 14-digit number used to identify valid devices. If the DoT move goes through, mobile operators will snap services to these phones.

Chinese handsets account for about 13.3%, or Rs 4,000 crore, of India’s total mobile market, which is about Rs 30,000 crore a year.

Every month, about 16.8 lakh Chinese and locally-assembled handsets are sold in India. A GPRS-enabled Chinese handset costs about Rs 3,500, against at least Rs 5,000 for a similar branded phone.


According to Indian Cellular Association (ICA) president Pankaj Mohindroo, at least one crore users will be affected if the calls are barred. Many local dealers circumvent the limitation by offering to change the IMEI number if it is all zeroes, or add a zero if it doesn’t have one. Change of IMEI is not legal in India, unlike in the US and the UK.

Enterprising customers can also change the IMEI number with free software available on the web. The DoT note does not address these issues.

Many sellers of stolen handsets too attempt to change the IMEI numbers. This is done to ensure that a telecom operator is unable to lock the phone and the SIM card once the original owner reports the theft.

Mobile operators usually store IMEI numbers of stolen mobiles in an Equipment Identity Register. Changing the number ensures that the stolen mobile can continue to be in circulation.

Branded mobile phone makers have welcomed the DoT move. Said Nokia’s director for corporate affairs Ambrish Bakaya, “It will definitely have a negative impact on the Chinese phone market. It will encourage people to shift to branded handsets. It’s a very positive step for us and I am sure DoT will take care of the loopholes.” ICA said it is working on a solution that can take care of the loophole and identify fake IMEI numbers.

“From the national security point of view, it is a crucial step and it will also discourage consumers from using handsets with illegal IMEI numbers,” said Samsung Mobile Businesses country head Sunil Dutt. All users would do well to check if they have a valid IMEI number.

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BSNL gears up for global 3G, prepaid and GPRS roaming

NEW DELHI: Ahead of its 3G services launch, state-run BSNL is getting ready to offer international roaming facility to its subscribers for prepaid
, GPRS and 3G services.

Presently, international roaming facility for BSNL subscribers consists of having a triple solution in SIM Cards for postpaid users.

One solution is for the home network, other for international roaming through 'Direct International Roaming Agreements' with foreign operators and the third by piggy- backing on an existing international roaming service provider hub.

A senior BSNL official said, as of now BSNL has signed GSM international roaming agreements for 339 networks in 170 countries, out of which 164 networks in 94 countries have been commercially launched for postpaid customers only.

Connectivity has been established with a leading global GRX service provider for GPRS international roaming services. Testing with each of the operators is required for launching the GPRS international roaming services.

Prepaid and 3G international roaming services are in the process of being launched in the BSNL network and accordingly the testing and launching of these services would also be involved, he said.

The direct agreements of BSNL involves only one set of testing for whole of BSNL with the foreign operators for postpaid services. For GPRS, Prepaid and 3G services testing would involve the four zones of BSNL. All the testing would be carried out from BSNL's Kolkata office.

BSNL has invited proposals from companies for carrying out testing in regard to international roaming service with the foreign GSM mobile operators and subsequent commercial launch of the service.


Source : Economic Times

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Ping launches mobile for Rs 499

CHANDIGARH: HFCL Infotel Limited on Monday announced the launch of colored handsets of its Ping brand of mobile at a rate of Rs 499 in the Punjab
market, aiming to penetrate urban, semi-urban and rural markets.

"Our aim is to make telephony available to people in all walks of life," said G. D. Singh, COO, HFCL Infotel Ltd in a statement issued here on Monday.

The Rs 499 handset comes bundled with a predefined activated mobile number which can be recharged with special tariff packs for Rs. 151, Rs. 201 or Rs. 251. The local call rate of one paisa per second and STD at Rs 1.50 per minute shall be available on these plans. The subscriber can also enjoy the validity of 30 days and STD call rate of rupee one per minute on the minimum recharge coupon of Rs. 33.

Ping, a CDMA mobile service, has achieved a total customer base of 2.5 lakh within a year of launch, he said.
Pings mobile services are available across 270 towns and 2050 villages in Punjab and Chandigarh through a distribution network of 8000 retail outlets.


Source : Economic Times

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BSNL dials BlackBerry, Apple for 3G rollout

NEW DELHI: The much sought-after 3G iPhone and BlackBerry may soon be available in the state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) network.

The country’s largest telecom service provider, BSNL, is in talks with Apple and BlackBerry to launch the services in India in its own network.

According to BSNL executives, talks with BlackBerry are at an advanced stage and this handset is likely to be available to BSNL’s customers by the year-end.

On the other hand, subscribers on the PSU’s networks may have to wait longer for access the 3G iPhone as talks with Apple are still lingering in preliminary stage, BSNL executives added.

If BSNL were to tie-up with Apple, the state owned telco would be the third player after Airtel and Vodafone to offer 3G iPhone in India.

However, BSNL will be the first player in the Indian market to offer 3G service on the iPhone. Airtel and Vodafone will only have 3G spectrum if they bag these radio frequencies in the upcoming auctions.
The government has already granted BSNL 3G radio frequencies and the telco is expected to launch high-end services on its 3G network early next year.

“We are in talks with Apple to launch 3G iPhone in our network since we will be the first ones to launch the 3G services here. We are also awaiting the launch of BlackBerry in our network by end of this year,”said BSNL CMD, Kuldeep Goyal.

Source : Economic Times

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Unitech gets start-up spectrum in Bihar circle

NEW DELHI: Realty major Unitech on Friday said its telecom arm has been alloted start-up radio waves or spectrum for rolling out its services in
Bihar circle.

"The Department of Telecommunications has issued the letter to the company's telecom subsidiary for allotment of 4.4 MHz of spectrum in 1800 MHz GSM band in respect of Bihar Service Area," Unitech said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

With this, the company has been alloted initial spectrum in 13 service areas out of total 22 service areas, it said.

Source : Economic Times

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Sistema to invest over $1.5 bn to expand Shyam Telelink network

JAIPUR: Sistema, one of the largest public diversified corporation in Russia and the CIS, on Tuesday announced that it would invest over $1.5 bn i
n India next year to build a pan-India telecom network on the CDMA platform.

The Russian major, which holds a majority stake in Shyam Telelink, also announced the launch of CDMA services under the brand name Rainbow in Rajasthan.

“We have already invested $1 bn in Shyam and will further invest over $1.5 bn in the company next year.

This marks the beginning of the expansion of Shyam Telelink’s pan-Indian mobile network. The company intends to provide its services to more than 35 mn subscribers by 2012, which represents approximately 7% of the Indian market,” Sistema’s chairman Vladimir Evtushenkov said.

According to him, while Sistema has been focusing on launching pan-India services on the CDMA platform, it is keeping its options open with regard to offering mobile services on GSM.

“We have applied for GSM spectrum. We will take a call on GSM soon. In Russia, we offer mobile services under the MTS brand, and we will decide over the next one month whether to bring this brand to India,” he added.

Shyam Telelink-Sistema is the first among nine new companies that were given licences earlier this year to launch mobile services.

Shyam -Sistema’s entry is also set to see a new round of tariff wars between India’s telecom operators. The company has already announced that it will offer all local calls and SMS for just 50 paise a minute in addition to offering a bundled handset for Rs 999 with lifetime validity.

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You may soon use your mobile phone as credit, debit card

NEW DELHI: In a development that could completely liberalise mobile commerce, the department of telecommunication (DoT) will soon write to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) seeking guidance on linking telephone networks with banking services.

While the RBI recently announced certain guidelines for mobile banking in India, it only provides for a few basic banking services which can be undertaken through mobile phones. The new DoT move will allow consumers to virtually use mobile phone as a debit or credit card.

Sources told SundayET that the ministry would seek RBI's consultation to provide full-fledged mobile banking services to the customers, in line with discussion held between the 13th Finance Commission team and DoT officials on September 18, 2008. According to a senior DoT official, the ministry has so far not taken any initiative on linking telephone networks with banking services, but is keen on it as it will generate revenues, in addition to giving more value to telephone customers. "These services can increase the share of value-added services from the existing 7-8% of total revenues from the sector to almost about 25% which is the case in the developed countries," DoT said to the Commission's team. SundayET has a copy of the discussion paper prepared by DoT.

Explaining how the new initiative would help Indian consumers, Romal Shetty, director at KPMG India, said it would change the entire face of banking in the country. "So far, consumers can make only a few basic transactions through the mobile, but this will mean using your mobile as your credit or debit card. All you have to do is to send a message to make a payment," he said.

Mobile commerce in India has been limited primarily to basic banking transactions, purchase of travel tickets and payment of some utility bills, checking your account balance and last few transactions. Sanjiv Mittal, vice-chairman, Bharti Telesoft, that provides mobile banking facility to the customers in collaboration with Barclays Bank feels that both, banking and telecom industry, will have to come together to make mobile commerce a success in India. "There are certain laws to be considered regarding money remittances. Considering the IT security condition, coming together of both is a good sign," he said.

Vodafone also offers services like querying bank balance, requesting for cheque book, making stop payment etc. These services are available in association with banks such as HDFC Bank, ABN AMRO and Kotak Mahindra Bank. "Mobile banking is necessary to create access to the remotest of areas. Any kind of convergence is good for promoting mobile commerce. There is nothing better than both the systems coming together to provide a framework," said a Vodafone official.

The DoT's interest in the matter is sending positive signals to industry. "If the ministry takes up the matter with the RBI, it will definitely speed up the process. It will not only help the mobile users but will boost banks and even mobile operators to grow further," added Mr Shetty.

The DoT has informed the Finance Commission's team that revenues from auction of spectrum for 3G and BWA services could go up to Rs 30,000 cr. The 13th Finance Commission asked the DoT to give the revenue projection from the telecom sector between 2010 and 2015.

Source : Economic Times

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MNP norms: Swap between CDMA, GSM & retain number

NEW DELHI: The department of telecom (DoT) has made significant changes in the mobile number portability (MNP) norms to allow customers move between GSM and CDMA services provided by the same operator.

As per the earlier norms, customers could move to a different operator and retain their number. But following the amendment, a customer will now be allowed to shift to different technology platform offered by his own operator and still retain his mobile number.

The move is set to benefit Reliance Communications (RCOM), Tata Teleservices, and state-owned players, BSNL and MTNL. RCOM and the Tatas now offer pan-India mobile services on the CDMA platform. They are now all set to launch GSM operations within the next couple of months. BSNL and MTNL, which currently offer GSM services, are rolling out full-fledged services on the CDMA platform.

ET has learnt that telecom minister A Raja had cleared this amendment on September 23. DoT has also inserted a clause mandating that revenues to the government must not be impacted, when a telco moves a customer from its CDMA to GSM network or vice-versa.

In another significant change, DoT has now said if an subscriber is shifting from GSM to CDMA or vice-versa within the same service provider, then the process need not be routed through a centralised agency.

“They can set up their own database and execute the process, bypassing the centralised operator,” said sources close to the development. But as per the MNP guidelines unveiled by Mr Raja in August, all porting must be routed only through two centralised operators who will be chosen by DoT.

The norms add these centralised operators will become mobile number portability clearing house administrators (MCHAs) and will set up the number portability database (NPDB), which will have the mobile numbers of all cellular users. All service providers will have to link their networks with MCHA and NPDB.

Industry sources said dual technology players, operators who offer services on both GSM and CDMA, would be the biggest beneficiaries.

“The DoT plans to allow this facility even before the actual MNP, including all operators, is implemented. This may help CDMA players, provided they rollout their GSM platform before MNP comes into effect. Under the actual MNP, the customer can move to any operator.

However, the dual tech operators can now give their customers the flexibility to move to another technology platform even before MNP kicks off across all operators. Thus, they get to retain their subscribers who want to move to a new technology platform,” said industry sources.

Market surveys have shown that 25-50% of the mobile users in India are unhappy with their operator, and are willing to switch to another service provider if allowed to retain their number.

Source : Economic Times

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Four firms bid for 3G e-auction agency

NEW DELHI: Four information technology firms Thursday submitted bids for selection of an e-auction agency that will conduct online auctions for third generation radio frequencies in India, an official said here.

"Only four companies - mjunction, Rothschild, MSTC Ltd and Sai Information System - have submitted their bids with us today," a Department of Telecom (DoT) official told reporters.

The interested firms were required to submit their bids by Sep 25.

According to DoT guidelines, all the firms bidding to be the agency to conduct the e-auction will have to declare their shareholding pattern - both Indian and foreign firms, if any.

Besides, the DoT has said potential bidders cannot have more than 10 per cent stake in any telecom or Internet service provider in India.

Under the guidelines, only those companies which have a paid-up capital of Rs.25 million, a net worth of at least Rs.100 million, and have conducted similar auctions before will be eligible to apply.

"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 Monday, September 29," DoT official said.

While the covering letter was opened Thursday, the government will declare the eligible bidders Friday. The eligible bidders will make presentations before the DoT evaluation committee Sep 29.

The finalisation and declaration of technical bids will be Oct 1, to be followed by the opening of financial bids Oct 3. The bids are to be finalised by Oct 6.

The DoT had earlier said the auctions of 3G radio frequencies for telecom operators 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.

Souece : Economic Times

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Samsung unveils Omnia to compete iPhone

NEW DELHI: Now, iPhone will have yet another competitor in the market, Samsung’s Omnia (SGH-i900). The company announced the launch of its premium, all-in-one phone in the Indian market on Wednesday.

Powered by Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, the phone, starting at Rs 37,999, comes with MS Office and is 100% touch screen. An optical mouse has also been included for easy navigation, putting it on a par with iPhone and HTC Touch.

“With all the features included in the mobile phone, one can easily make out the difference. It is our flagship model, aimed at users who desire a lot of functionality, style, usability and entertainment in one device. It will help users to be at the forefront of work and play at the same time and stay connected anytime, anywhere,” said Samsung Telecom country head Sunil Dutt. He, however, refused to comment on the competitors.

The handset offers a 3.2-inch WideQVGA display (240 x 400 pixels) and a five megapixel auto focus snapper with a face and smile detection plus auto-panorama shot.

The camera features include geo-tagging as i900 has a built-in GPS receiver. The mobile comes in two versions—with 24 GB memory (internal memory of 8 GB and an extendible memory of 16 GB) and with 32 GB memory (internal memory of 16 GB and an external memory of 16 GB). It is priced at Rs 39,999 for 32 GB and Rs 37,999 for 24 GB phone.

Source : Economic Times

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Google rolls out rival to iPhone

NEW YORK: T-Mobile has rolled out Google's answer to the iPhone as the Web search giant makes its biggest stab yet at leaping from consumers' computers into their pockets with a device cheaper than rival Apple offers.

The widely-anticipated G1 phone, introduced on Tuesday made by HTC Corp, has a touch-sensitive screen, a computer-like keyboard, Wi-Fi connections and uses Google's new Android operating system. Available in three colors, black, white and brown, it includes familiar Google services, such as Google Maps, Gmail and YouTube.

Like the iPhone and other "smartphones" the device is meant to broaden the appeal of Web surfing on the go. "If we see more mobile Web usage we'll be happy," Google co-founder Sergey Brin told media after arriving at the launch on roller-blades.

His company, a powerhouse in Web advertising, would benefit if Android led more cell users to spend time on the Web, no matter which phone they are using. Google is well ahead of rivals Yahoo Inc and Microsoft Corp in Web search on computers, but it wants to use Android to ensure this dominance carries over to the phone when mobile Web surfing becomes more popular.

But while no clear mobile Web winner has emerged so far, Google faces stiff competition from longer established phone players such as Nokia, Research In Motion Ltd's BlackBerry and Microsoft, as well as Apple.

Analysts saw the device as a "good first step" rather than an iPhone killer, but some expect as many as 400,000 to be sold in the United States by year-end. A T-Mobile executive said the estimate was "not incredible."

When it becomes available to US consumers on October 22, the G1 will sell for about $179, slightly cheaper than the entry-level price of $199 for Apple Inc's iPhone, with a two-year contract. The G1 will be launched by T-Mobile's UK unit in November and other European countries such as Germany, Netherlands and the Czech Republic in the first quarter of 2009.

"The G1 doesn't threaten Apple now, but Android has raised the bar for competing mobile platforms. The bigger concern here is for Microsoft and Nokia if Google can win over the hearts and minds of operators and developers," said Geoff Blaber, an analyst with British firm CCS Insight.

Next Google phone may change

Both Google and Apple are wooing developers to create applications for their devices, but unlike Apple, which keeps a tight grip on the iPhone's hardware and operating software, Google's Android is open to be changed by outside developers.

Asked if the user interface of future Google phones would look anything like the first one, Andy Rubin, who developed Android for Google, said: "Its completely replaceable." For example, Leslie Grandy, T-Mobile USA's product development vice president sees the carrier selling a range of Google-powered phones in future, including more basic ones without a touch-screen or full keyboards.

The new phone features Android Market, where customers can find and download free applications to expand and personalize their phones. T-Mobile's Grandy said the marketplace would eventually include applications that are sold for a fee.

"Because the platform is open, we think Android is somewhat future proof," Rubin, Google director of mobile platforms, told the audience at the launch. A similar strategy helped increase the buzz around Apple's second-generation iPhone, which can support more than 3,000 applications available online.

Amazon.com's digital music store will be loaded on the G1, allowing users to search, download, buy and play more than six million songs, pitting it against iPhone's music player. Android also competes with Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system, which has been solidly gaining ground.

HTC Chief Executive Peter Chou told Reuters his company, which has concentrated on Windows phones so far, is already planning more Android and Windows devices. Between the United States and the United Kingdom, Chou said he expects to have sold more than 400,000 G1 by the year end.

Android's biggest competitor is Symbian software, which represents 60 percent of the smartphone market and which Nokia plans to buy out and open to other developers. Nokia, which has about 40 percent of the mobile phone market, has also branched into mobile Web services such as mapping that compete directly with Google.

Speaking at a conference in Chicago on Tuesday, Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said he was not worried by new competition. "The entry of Apple and Google, in fact today in a very concrete way, in mobile communications is the best possible illustration of the fact that there's a lot of possibility here," he said.


Source : Economics Times

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New spectrum charges to be announced by next month: Raja

NEW DELHI: Telecom Minister A Raja today said new spectrum charges, which will be a one-time charge for the radio wave beyond 6.2 MHz, would be announced by the end of October. He said that the telecom ministry is in discussions with finance ministry and GSM operators to work out new charges for additional spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz.

The minister also said his ministry is also talking to finance ministry on the issue of relaxing borrowing norms for aspiring 3G spectrum bidders. COAI and AUSPI have written to the finance ministry for easing ECB norms to enable prospective 3G bidders to access funds, cost effectively.

On the Blackberry issue, Raja said, "While a solution is still being worked out, the services cannot be denied to the customers."

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3G in India: No easy path for foreign telecoms

NEW DELHI: Foreign telecom firms could gain access to India's booming mobile market through a global auction of 3G licences this year, but low call rates and established players mean it could take years to turn a profit.

Foreign telecoms with 3G experience are allowed to bid at the auctions, opening the way for firms such as AT&T, Etisalat, NTT Docomo to gain a foothold in the world's fastest-growing mobile market. But India's 2G operators, including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications, Vodafone Essar and TM International-backed Idea Cellular, are not going to cede their territory easily.

"There will be a mad fight," said Madhusudan Gupta, a Singapore-based analyst with research firm Gartner, which sees Indian mobile users rising to 737 million by 2012 from nearly 300 million now, with 20 per cent of those using 3G.

"You have a long queue of foreigners. The potential is enormous in India." Five 3G licences will be available for most of India's 22 service zones, although limited spectrum means there will be a maximum of three in large cities such as New Delhi and Mumbai. Next-generation high-end 3G services give users a chance to enjoy fast Internet access, games and a host of multimedia content from maps to music on their cellphones, areas where 2G has been handicapped by a slower data transfer capability.

India's mobile user base increased by 25 times between 2002 and 2007, but a winning bid will not be a licence to print money, especially for a new entrant up against India's cheap call rate model. Local call rates are less than 1 U.S. cent a minute, and local operators want to implement the same style of model in 3G.


"In India tariffs have to be where Indian tariffs are," said Sunil Mittal, chairman of top mobile firm Bharti. "The idea in India is to provide telecom services at most affordable rates."

3G IS NOT EASY

The low-cost plans will be a challenge given 3G has been associated with high-tariff structure globally, as new operators have to put up billions of dollars for licences and networks. India has set a base price of 20.20 billion rupees ($435 million) for a national licence. Actual bids are expected to be higher, especially in lucrative centres such as Mumbai and New Delhi, as the government is looking to raise up to $9 billion.

Foreign telecom firms not already in the Indian market will also have to fork out 16.5 billion rupees ($355 million) for a telecoms licence, which the existing operators already have. "It is not going to be a cakewalk. It will be kind of a Catch-22 situation. You will have to spend so much, but you can not pass on in the same proportion," said Gartner's Gupta.


Source : Economic Times

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