Mittal, MTN chief meet Pranab, Khurshid to discuss merger

On 25 Aug 2009, 0720 hrs IST, ET Bureau at
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Mittal-MTN-chief-meet-Pranab-Khurshid-to-discuss-merger/articleshow/4931103.cms

NEW DELHI: Bharti group chairman Sunil Mittal and South African company MTN’s chief executive Phuthuma Nhleko met finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and minister of state for corporate affairs Salman Khurshid on Monday, triggering speculation about the motive for the meeting days after the merger partners extended exclusive talks for their proposed $23-billion deal.

The meeting with the finance minister comes just three days after both the telcos extended their exclusive merger talks by another month to September-end.

Mr Khurshid said the meeting was just a courtesy call by the honchos to appraise the ministry on the merger talks. Terming the proposed deal as a very big opportunity for the country, he said: “They are in touch with the regulators and the finance ministry. Our (ministry of corporate affairs) role comes at a later stage.”

The nature of the discussions with Mr Mukherjee was not disclosed and both Mr Mittal and Mr Nhleko could not be contacted on this issue. Mr Mukherjee was not available for comments. Officials at the ministry, too, declined to disclose the agenda for the meeting.

The largest telcos in India and Africa have been involved in exclusive talks for close to three months to create the world’s third-largest communications firm. The deal’s contours present a complex structure in which both firms would pay cash and equity for stakes in each other. If the deal goes through, Bharti Airtel will get 49% in MTN and the South African telco and its shareholders will get 36% economic interest in Bharti.

Industry analysts say the most probable reason for the highest ranking executives from both the companies meeting the finance minister could be related to the country’s foreign investment cap of 74% in telecom firms. It is also possible that Mr Mittal and Mr Nhleko could have updated the finance minister on the talks between the companies.
The new FDI norms consider a company Indian if Indian promoters hold a majority stake in it and the investments made by such companies in any joint venture or downstream venture will be treated as Indian.

Bharti Airtel, which had close to 70% foreign equity as per the old guidelines, has only about 43% FDI under the new norms. This is because a significant part of the Singapore-based telco SingTel’s 31% holding in the company as well as Vodafone’s entire holdings are routed through majority-owned Indian companies. Even after the deal, the emerging entity will, therefore, have FDI within the prescribed limit.

Despite this, approval from Indian regulators and the government may still turn out to be a tricky issue. RBI has asked the department of economic affairs under the finance ministry to review the new FDI guidelines. Any changes in the FDI norms could force both the companies to restructure the deal. Besides, the foreign investment promotion board, the apex body that clears foreign investments, has not cleared any proposals so far under the new norms due to opposition from the finance ministry.

Analysts, therefore, speculate that the honchos may have sought clarity from Mr Mukherjee regarding the government’s position on the new FDI norms. They feel that the meeting with Mr Khurshid could be related to Bharti’s plans to issue GDRs to MTN shareholders.

The Indian telco’s equity expansion will only be in the form of GDRs that will be listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. This means, MTN’s proposed 36% holding in Bharti Airtel — 25% with the company and the rest with its shareholders — would be in the form of GDRs listed on JSE.

All regulations related to GDRs are governed by the ministry of corporate affairs. Post the deal, both the telcos will have to get a formal approval from markets regulator Sebi, exempting the South African firm from making an open offer for an additional 20% in the Indian company.

Sify targets voice telecom pie via VoIP

On 25 Aug 2009, 1909 hrs IST, Niranjana Ramesh, ET Bureau at
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Sify-targets-voice-telecom-pie-via-VoIP/articleshow/4933615.cms

CHENNAI: Sify Technologies, a pioneer among private internet service providers (ISP) in India with 5.7 lakh subscribers and a 5.8% market share, is now targeting yet another area of telecommunications for a first mover advantage – Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), for the mass consumer market, as and when government regulation permits it within the country.

“It is a foregone conclusion that we would have a tremendous edge in the VoIP space, technically, when such telephony is allowed in India,” said Sify chief architect (CTO) Arvind Mathur. “Sify’s ISP network is spread across India covering all states with 900 points of presence.” A point of presence (POP) in internet protocol is analogous to a base station or a telecom tower in mobile telephony. But, the capacity of a POP is expandable based on the nodes attached to it.

Sify also holds significant spectrum in the 2.4 GHz, 3.3 GHz and 5.8 GHz frequency bands. 2.4 GHz has, recently, been chosen for the purpose of Wimax services in India, and is yet to be auctioned off. “We will comply by whatever regulation that the government stipulates for the usage of such spectrum,” Mr.Mathur said. “But, we hold enough spectrum to be able to effectively provide last mile connectivity as well as POP to POP connectivity through the wireless mode. We have also invested in buying or leasing cable from carriers for long distance connectivity.”

The company has, in the past few years, ramped up its data centre capacity to augment its core competency of internet protocol based communication. It has invested Rs.100 crore in building data centers in different locations with a total capacity of 2 lakh square feet, to process and store all the transactions – voice or text – that goes via Sify’s IP network.

Presently, the company’s revenues are more leveraged from the managed network and ICT services that it provides to its corporate and enterprise customers. The share of corporate services in the company’s revenues has gone up from 55% to 70% over the past three years, while that of retail service has gone down from 39% to 21% in the same period of time.

“But, when triple play (voice, video, data) is allowed using internet protocol, as it is using mobile telephony today, we will have our network and data centers all ready to expand operations in the consumer market,” Mr.Mathur said. The company has been providing VoIP services for international calls as well as the BPO industry. It presently has 150 BPO customers, doing 100 million minutes of voice calls annually. It also provides virtualisation, cloud computing and software as a service (SaaS) applications and solutions to its clients.

NetworkPlay Signs On Airtel For CPM Advertising On DTH; Eyes Mobile, Video

From
http://www.medianama.com/2009/08/223-networkplay-signs-on-airtel-for-cpm-advertising-on-dth-eyes-mobile-video/
 on August 25, 2009

By Nikhil Pahwa

Capital18 funded advertising network NetworkPlay.in has inked a deal with Airtel DTH for advertising on DTH in India. Interestingly enough, NetworkPlay CEO & MD Rammohan Sundaram told MediaNama that the company is going to sell CPM based advertising on DTH. This obviously means that Airtel DTH needs to be able to measure the impressions and relay the data back to the advertiser – there has to be a feedback loop with Airtel DTH. So far, interactivity has been limited on DTH. The company will offer video and image based advertisements on the DTH boot screen, iTravel, iShop, iMatinee, iCity, iNews, iPizza, iAstro and other Airtel DTH services. According to Sundaram, Airtel DTH service has a penetration of over 1.3 Million households and growing at a rate of 16 percent month on month, and reaches a SEC A & B audience in over 4000 towns in India. The total DTH userbase in India is 13 million; Tata Sky (4 million) and Dish TV (5.07 million as of March 31, 2009) are the top operators.

Sundaram says that the tie-up with Airtel is exclusive and they have been working on the deal for 6-7 months now; they are also actively pursuing deals with other DTH operators as well. The company is looking to launch Video and Mobile advertising solutions in the next couple of quarters, but Sundaram declined to comment on further plans.

Of late, we’ve seen a significant amount of collaboration between Internet, Mobile and DTH companies, with multiple services like ticketing, shopping, matrimonial, job classifieds and others being enabled on DTH. The increasing digitization of platforms means that digital services can be enabled across Internet, Mobile, IPTV, DTH etc; it doesn’t have to be about the world wide web alone.

July 2009: 14.38M Mobile Connections Added In India; Landlines Sink; Broadband At 6.8M

From
http://www.medianama.com/2009/08/223-july-2009-1438m-mobile-connections-added-in-india-landlines-sink-broadband-at-68m/
 on August 24, 2009

By Preethi J

News of the reviving economy is reflected in the telecom sector in the month of July, which saw an addition of 14.38 million wireless connections compared to the 12.03 million in June, 2009. The total number of telephone connections in the country was 479.07 million at the end of July 2009.

• Teledensity rose from 39.86% in June to 41.08%.
• Wireless teledensity is up from 36.64% to 37.87%
• Total wireless connections rose 3.6% to 441.66 million
• Broadband connections swelled from 6.62 million in June 2009 to 6.8 million.

BSNL Loses 0.16M Landline Users; Bharti Adds 33,940

This segment continues to see churn with BSNL’s customers choosing the wireless route and disconnecting their landlines – the two oldest landline providers BSNL and MTNL lost a total of 0.17 million subscribers in July after losing 0.19 million in June 2009. MTNL lost 8181 to reach 3.54 million connections. BSNL lost 166,519 landline connections and now has 28.62 million; it accounts for 76.5% of the country’s landline userbase and will continue to be hit by negative growth even as private service providers such as Bharti Airtel and RCOM add users by bundling the landlines with other necessary services such as broadband and IPTV.

• Total landline connections in India – 37.41 million
• Wireline teledensity has reduced marginally to 3.21%

Downloads: TRAI Data (PDF)

Other operators offering landlines and their user base:

• Bharti Airtel – 2.86 million
• Reliance Communications – 1.13 million
• Tata Teleservices (Indicom) – 967,554
• HFCL Infotel – 163,399
• Sistema Shyam (MTS) – 111,069

Deutsche Telekom Eyes Indian ISP Space; Devas Multimedia Looks To Raise Funds

From
http://www.medianama.com/2009/08/223-deutsche-telekom-eyes-indian-isp-space-devas-multimedia-looks-to-raise-funds/
 on August 24, 2009

By Preethi J

German telecom conglomerate Deutsche Telekom, which owns T-Mobile in USA, is planning to join the Internet Service Provider arena in India. According to a MarketWatch report, the telco is planning to set up a high-capacity radio network for quick Internet connections in metropolitan areas of India come next year.

I wonder if we need yet another ISP in India, with already a number of incumbent players – Reliance, Tata Indicom, MTNL, BSNL, Hathaway, Tikona, Sify and Bharti Airtel, and France Telecom, Vodafone and DEN Networks also planning ISPs. With the last mile still closed, wireless is being seen as the way to go; which is where Devas Multimedia comes in.

Devas MultiMedia:Looking To Raise Funds

Deutsche Telekom received permission from India’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) last year to invest Rs. 317.85 crore into Devas Multimedia, a little known Bangalore-based wireless services company, which was working on a long term Mobile TV (DMB) project with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). DT has acquired 17% stake in Devas.

Interestingly enough, Devas is looking to raise funds. The company, which already has Telecom Ventures and Columbia Capital as investors, apart from Deutsche Telekom, has a proposal pending with the FIPB for permission to “induct fresh foreign equity participation with the induction of a new foreign collaborator.”

Devas is a curious case: little is known about it, and it still appears to be in stealth mode:  there’s no website and there is little information on it except of it’s work with ISRO and its backers.

India desperately needs a catalyst to boost Internet penetration: Internet growth in July 2009 in India has actually fallen to 2.7% from 3.4% in June and 6.3% in May 2009. Besides the well known issues of delinking last mile access and ISP licensing which are throttling growth, other issues Deutsche Telekom will need to grapple with are low PC adoption and lack of Indic language content.

Companies Eying ISP Space In India

Earlier this year, France Telecom also entered India through Equant Network Services, its joint venture with Emery Technologies with the intention of launching Internet services;  Vodafone too announced its entry. The latest to announce plans of becoming an Internet service provider is DEN Networks, a cable TV company which is planning to go public to raise funds.

The Wireline Alternative: Broadband Over Power

Research and experiments on Broadband over Power Lines have been on for years – news about it pops up every few months. Indian Express has the latest: about Bengal Engineering and Science University professors and CESC have implemented Broadband over Power in two housing estates in Kolkata. The copper wires that supply electricity to double as broadband connections and installing a customer premise equipment that decodes the signals and brings them to your computer. But if it’s that simple, why is it taking so long to materialise? The government recently deferred an application by Powermax Communications, a provider of power transmission  and distribution management systems and broadband over power services, to increase foreign equity participation.

Bharti’s Chairman Grows More Confident of MTN Deal

From
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125084972837849039.html?mod=rss_india_news
 on August 24, 2009

By COSTAS PARIS

Bharti Airtel Ltd. Chairman and Managing Director Sunil Mittal said the second extension to talks with MTN Group Ltd. of South Africa signals that a deal may be worked out this time around.

“It gives us more confidence, but you never know with these things until the last moment,” Mr. Mittal said in an interview Friday.

Mr. Mittal’s comments came after Bharti and MTN extended their talks until Sept. 30 without giving a reason.

MTN and Bharti, India’s largest mobile-phone operator by subscribers, in May revived talks to create a telecommunications company with annual revenue of at least $20 billion and 200 million subscribers.

People familiar with the situation said Friday that Bharti and MTN have extended their talks to settle differences on pricing and the makeup of the combined entity’s board. The two companies have described their prospective deal as a $23 billion merger.

Mr. Mittal said he wasn’t in a position to confirm or deny whether Bharti would sweeten its offer.

A second person said MTN’s management and some shareholders are asking for an additional $1 billion from Bharti to complete the deal.

The person said there will be more clarity when MTN releases its half-year earnings on Thursday.

The basic terms announced in May would see Bharti accumulate a 49% stake in MTN, buying a stake directly for cash and newly issued global depository receipts, plus receiving MTN shares as part of the swap.

MTN would buy a 25% stake in Bharti for $2.9 billion in cash plus new shares, while stock received by its shareholders would take its stake in Bharti to about 36%.

Nokia to Offer Phone Installments in India

From
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125067421010342617.html?mod=rss_india_news
 on August 19, 2009

By R. JAI KRISHNA

NEW DELHI — Nokia Corp. said it is looking to make handsets more accessible and affordable in India, the world’s fastest-growing and second-largest telecommunications market.

Nokia’s Indian unit plans to sell handsets in some rural areas under a program that allows the purchasers to pay in installments, the Finnish company’s chief executive, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, said Wednesday.

View Full Image

Associated Press

Nokia expects about 500 million cellphone users in India by 2010, up from 427 million now. Above, a girl on her cellphone in Mumbai.

“There is a lot of opportunity here [in India], and we need to make mobility more accessible to all people, including those in rural areas, which is the next frontier to be conquered,” Mr. Kallasvuo said.

The company has more than half the share of India’s mobile handset market, according to analysts. Nokia said it plans to roll out the installment plan to sell its handsets in 12 Indian states after a pilot program covering more than 2,500 villages in the southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

Under the pilot program, a microfinance organization bought handsets from Nokia and sold them to women in rural areas by charging them 100 rupees, or about $2, in weekly installments for as long as 25 weeks.

Nokia expects about 500 million mobile-phone users in India by 2010, up from 427 million now, Mr. Kallasvuo said.

“We believe that much of this growth will take place in non-urban markets and rural penetration in India is still very low at 13%,” Nokia said in a statement.

Indian mobile users to hit 771 mn by 2013: Gartner – The Financial Express

via Indian mobile users to hit 771 mn by 2013: Gartner – The Financial Express on June 18, 2009

Bangalore: Indian mobile users will jump more than 90 per cent to 771 million by 2013 as companies expand networks to rural areas in the world’s fastest growing wireless market, research firm Gartner said.

India had 403.66 million wireless users at the end of April, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India figures showed earlier this month, second only to China that has more than 600 million wireless subscribers.

Cheap call tariffs and handsets are driving demand in India, where operators such as Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications are now building telecom towers and networks to cover smaller towns and villages to hook new users.

Gartner, the world’s biggest technology research firm, sees mobile subscriber base growing at a compound annual growth rate of 14.3 per cent in the four years to 2013, up from an estimated 452 million by the end of 2009.

Revenues of Indian mobile phone companies will exceed $30 billion in 2013, rising at a compound annual growth rate of 12.5 per cent over the same period, it said.

“The Indian mobile industry has now moved out of its hyper growth mode, but it will continue to grow at double-digit rates … as operators focus on rural parts of the country, said Madhusudan Gupta, senior research analyst at Gartner.

Gartner, however, predicted a “significant drop” in average revenue per user (ARPU) — a key gauge of performance — as the bulk of new subscribers from the hinterland usually talk less on phones and some use mobiles just to answer calls.

Bharti, which is in talks with South Africa’s telecoms firm MTN Group to create the world’s No.3 wireless group, saw a drop of 15 per cent in its March quarter ARPU as it won more new users in rural areas. The research firm said voice tariffs would fall substantially in 2009 as new operators join the market.

The telecoms unit of Indian developer Unitech Ltd will launch mobile services with Norway’s Telenor in the December quarter this year, a top company official said on Tuesday.

Bharti’s rivals such as Reliance Communications, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular are also rapidly expanding their services across the country.

Related stories at

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MTS Forays Into New Service Areas Of West Bengal

via MTS Forays Into New Service Areas Of West Bengal on http://www.efytimes.com

Wednesday, June 17, 2009: Sistema Shyam Teleservices Limited (SSTL) has announced the launch of its fifth circle and has expanded the coverage of its service brand MTS to 11 districts of West Bengal. This foray marks the entry of MTS into 250 towns of the state, in addition to Kolkata where services were launched a month ago.

Speaking on the MTS’ expansion strategies, Vsevolod Rozanov, president and CEO, Sistema Shyam TeleServices, said, “We’ve witnessed phenomenal growth in the last six months, with MTS crossing the one million subscriber base mark and expanding its geographical presence to new circles in quick succession. The foray into new service areas of West Bengal is yet another milestone, reflective of the continued growth momentum of MTS in India.”

“The widened coverage in West Bengal, within less than two months of operations in the state, gives us the confidence to build an extensive network and reach out to all the 18 districts of by the end of July. Our inaugural scheme of ‘Minute Millionaires’ and the second lifetime offer received an overwhelming response in Kolkata. We intend to replicate this success in the new service areas with host of special offerings and tariff plans,” added Keshhav Tiwary, COO, SSTL, West Bengal.

MTS has over one million subscribers across cities of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Rajasthan and Kolkata. The company has expanded to 547 towns in Tamil Nadu, 262 towns in Kerala in less than two months of operations in the states.

TTSL achieves 5mn subscribers in Maharashtra – CIOL News Reports

TTSL achieves 5mn subscribers in Maharashtra – CIOL News Reports

From http://www.ciol.com on June 16, 2009

Shared via AddThis

MUMBAI: Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited (TTML), today announced that its Rest of Maharashtra circle has crossed the 5 million subscriber mark.

The increasing subscriber base stands testimony to Tata Indicom’s constant endeavour to innovate and introduce smart products on a network rated No.1 on overall customer satisfaction in independent surveys commissioned by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the release added.

Commenting on the achievement, Rajesh Puri, president – Operations, Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited said, “Rest of Maharashtra is a very important region for us. Our investments in network and consumer care hold us in good stead. We will continue to introduce innovative offerings for both existing and new consumers and be the brand of choice across segments.”

Airtel crosses 5-m user mark in Delhi

From The Hindu Business Line, June 15, 2009

New Delhi, June 15

Bharti Airtel announced that it has crossed the significant milestone of five million customers in the Delhi and National Capital Region circle. Airtel is the first mobile operator to achieve this landmark in a metro circle and added the last million subscribers in only 13 months in a circle that already boasts of a mobile penetration of almost 100 per cent. “The milestone of five million customers amply demonstrates the customers’ faith and reinforces Airtel&# 8217;s leadership position in the Delhi and NCR circle, backed by its seamless network and excellent customer service,” said a press release.

Airtel adds 2.81 mn mobile users in May

From The Financial Express on June 11, 2009

New Delhi: Bharti Airtel, India’s top mobile operator added 2.81 million mobile users in May to have a total of 99.5 million, data from the Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI) showed on Thursday.

Third-ranked Vodafone Essar added 2.54 million mobile users in May to boost its total to 74.1 million, the data showed

GSM base growth slips again in May (adds 8.3 mil)

The Hindu Business Line Bureau on June 11, 2009

 New Delhi, June 11 GSM based mobile subscription growth rate has slipped for the second consecutive month.

GSM operators added 8.3 million users in May, taking the total user base to 306.45 million, according to the Cellular Operators’ Association of India. The operators had added 8.97 million in April and 10.8 million in March. The slump in growth has been attributed mainly to lower additions by state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.

BSNL saw its subscribers additions slow to 4.5 lakh in May, less than half of April’s 1.04 million and less than one-fifth of record additions of 2.50 million in March. In comparison, Bharti Airtel added 2.8 million new subscribers in May while Vodafone got just over 2.5 million in the same month. “Private operators are maintaining the growth rate. If BSNL ramps up its network then the growth rate will be back on track,” said an industry representative. Both Idea Cellular and Aircel have added more than one million new subscribers each in May.

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Excerpt from above:

Meanwhile, the Reliance Communications (RCom) has deactivated over 36,000 connections in Jammu & Kashmir even as the state police continued its probe into the violation of guidelines in issuing SIM (Subscriber Identification Module) cards.

 

“The company has deactivated 36,000 connections and begun an internal probe into issuance of mobile connections on the basis of fake documents,” senior superintendent of police, crime branch-Jammu, J P Singh said. Singh, who is heading the probe, said Reliance had conveyed to the crime branch the deactivation of these numbers and on the progress of its internal probe.

 

CDMA group sees 100 m new subscribers in India

Thomas K Thomas on The Hindu Business Line on June 9, 2009

New Delhi, June 8 Notwithstanding the fact that there are more number of operators moving towards offering GSM-based mobile services, the CDMA Development Group (CDG) has projected that India will have 100 million new CDMA subscribers over the next two years if operators are given adequate spectrum.

Speaking to Business Line, Mr Perry LaForge, Chairman of the CDG, said, “We think the CDMA subscriber base will grow another 100 million in two years. Both Tata Tele Services and Reliance Communications have reiterated their strong commitment to CDMA. They have been clear that the decision to implement GSM was really a matter of necessity because they do not have visibility as to when and what spectrum they will receive for CDMA. This situation needs to be corrected so that these operators can continue to grow wireless communications in this market. CDMA will flourish here in India if spectrum is provided.”

There are 100 million CDMA subscribers currently with Reliance Communications and Tata Tele both of whom are rolling out GSM services as well. Among the new players only Sistema Shyam has chosen to adopt the CDMA technology.

‘Faster growth than GSM’

Mr Laforge said the growth of CDMA has been much faster than GSM. “CDMA started years after GSM launched (GSM started in 1995). After seven years GSM reached 10 million subscribers. CDMA launched in 2003 and by 2004 reached 10 million subscribers and by 2007, 50 million subscribers — the fastest of all technologies to reach 50 million subscribers. We have now reached the 100 million mark just two years later. This is remarkable growth and CDMA operators have achieved 25 per cent of the market with just two operators competing against entrenched operators.”

However, Mr LaForge said, for this growth to continue, operators will need to have spectrum to pursue competition on a level playing field with GSM counterparts.

Mr LaForge said CDMA operators are better positioned to offer broadband services. “With high-speed wireless Internet access now a reality in CDMA with advanced wireless broadband services such as Reliance’s Broadband Netconnect+ and Photon Plus Services offered by Tatas, we see operators continuing to offer more devices, more services while improving their average revenue per subscriber. In many cases, the top wireless broadband operators in the world, in terms of performance, are CDMA operators. Examples include KDDI and Verizon. We believe this will continue to fuel CDMA growth here in India,” said Mr LaForge.

Videocon eyes 1.5 mn subscribers for DTH: Official

Source Reuters on Hindustan Times on June 8, 2009

Videocon Industries Ltd is targetting 1.5 million subscribers for its direct-to-home (DTH) service, riding on its large network of consumer appliance dealers, its top official said.

The company has developed new liquid crystalline design televisions that can directly receive DTH signals and is aiming for a June 20 launch, Chairman Venugopal Dhoot told television channel NDTV Profit on Monday.

“No set-top box is required,” Dhoot said. “We are also giving this (technology) through different models.”

“We have already invested around 500-600 crores (5-6 billion rupees) and further investments will be made as required,” he added.

The electronics and appliance maker also plans to rope in foreign investors once the service acquires a sizeable customer base, he said.

Videocon will be entering a market that already has large competitors including Sun Direct, Tata Sky, Dish TV, majority owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises, and Reliance Communications Ltd’s BIG TV.

At 2.57 pm, shares of the company were down 3.89 per cent at 176.5 rupees in a weak Mumbai market.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose; Editing by Sunil Nair)

Telesoft Increases Media Platform Share In India

From www.efytimes.com

Friday, June 05, 2009:  Telesoft Technologies has won and already delivered an order to supply the OKEFORD Media Platform to a large operator in India. Working closely with a technology partner, the solution was deployed in five months.

The OKEFORD Media Platform provides interactive voice/media services for the mobile prepaid subscriber charging solution in the pan-India network.

India is the world’s fastest growing wireless market with 11.75 million new subscribers added in April bringing the total number of wireless subscribers to 403.66 million, according to the newest available data from the TRAI.

In order to attract and keep these new subscribers, a large proportion of which use prepaid tariffs, service providers install reliable and easy to use automated payment and customer care solutions. These include voice prompt, speech recognition and other media capabilities to aid interaction and improve the customer experience.

Interview — Bharti Airtel hopeful of 200-m user mark in 3 years

On The Hindu Business Line dated 03 June 2009

Thomas K. Thomas

New Delhi, June 2 To keep its leadership position in the fastest growing mobile market, Bharti Airtel is embarking on a multi-pronged strategy, including a comprehensive customer retention programme, partnerships with companies that offer mobile entertainment and commerce services, domestic acquisitions and a thrust on driving growth in the rural areas.

In his first interview after taking over as the President of Bharti’s mobile business, Mr Atul Bindal, told Business Line, “I do not agree with those who say Indian mobile growth story is on the verge of getting over. We will reach the next hundred million subscribers by a combination of reaching out to the huge potential that exists in the rural areas, taking advantage of the untapped opportunity in large urban areas and possibly through the organic route which we will evaluate as when opportunities come by.”

Bharti crossed the 100-million mark in May and is hoping to reach the 200-million mark in another two-three years.

Number portability

Asked on the impact on Bharti of new players and introduction of mobile number portability (MNP), Mr Bindal said the company has put in place a customer life-cycle management system which will enable it to take customer services to the next level.

“At present most operators are looking at a few broad consumer segments to create offering and services around them. We are going to take this to the next level wherein Bharti will target micro segments of subscribers to offer customised services. For example, a subscriber who travels a lot to a particular country would like to get a special international roaming tariff. The system will allow us to target products based on the user’s behaviour rather than launch broad mass offerings,” Mr Bindal said.

He added that MNP is an opportunity for Bharti to acquire customers from other operators.

Mr Bindal reckons that mobile commerce and mobile entertainment are going to be big applications.

“Value added service the way we know today is going to change drastically. We are giving a huge thrust to music, games, movies and sports under mobile entertainment wherein we plan to be an end-to-end service provider. We will also enable application providers to use Bharti’s network as a conduit to reach our subscribers. In m-commerce, we are looking at the unbanked segment and micro-finance in a big way,” he said.

Asked if Bharti was open to tie-ups with companies such as Nokia, which also is launching an entertainment platform, Mr Bindal said that such partnerships were possible.

Acquisition plan

He also did not rule out the possibility of Bharti acquiring small companies offering value-added services or a technology that will add to its business model.

“Bharti has always been in favour of strategic partnerships and alliances as long as it offers a compelling value proposition to our customers,” Mr Bindal said.

MTS Hits 1 Million Subscriber Mark

On http://www.efytimes.com on 02 June, 2009

Tuesday, June 02, 2009: Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd (SSTL) has reached the subscriber base of one million for its service brand MTS. In the last three months, the company expanded its presence from Rajasthan to three more circles including Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Kolkata covering 13 per cent of the population in the country.

Commenting on the performance, Vsevolod Rozanov, president and CEO, SSTL, said, “The first magical number of a million gives us the confidence that the MTS brand is gaining popularity and our customers acknowledge and believe in the brand promise of superior network quality, exceptional customer service and honest and simple tariff plans. As a new telecom operator, our performance in the last six months has surpassed our expectations. I am confident that we will continue to progressively expand our presence with attractive pricing and superior customer care delivery.”

MTS as a pure play CDMA operator has achieved a share of net addition of subscribers in the range of 11-13 per cent per month, of the total mobility market of Rajasthan, since launch on the 1 October 2008. As of today, Rajasthan contributes 87 per cent to the subscriber-base of MTS, while the remaining 12.5 per cent is spread across Tamil Nadu and Kerala where services were launched two months ago. Kolkata is the latest circle to introduce the brand MTS.

MTS provides telephony connections to over 600 towns of Rajasthan, 513 towns of Tamil Nadu and 247 towns of Kerala, in addition to Kolkata where it made a foray in May this year.

Similar story in

• The Hindu Business Line at http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/06/02/stories/2009060251510400.htm
• http://www.ciol.com at http://www.ciol.com/technology/mobility/news-reports/mts-touches-one-million-subscriber-mark/2609120382/0/

MTNL unveils pre-paid 3G service for Rs 300

2 Jun 2009, 1650 hrs IST, PTI on http://www.economictimes.com

NEW DELHI: State-run MTNL today brought 3G services to the masses by introducing a prepaid option for this high-end service at just Rs 300.

Announcing the launch of the pre-paid 3G service, company CMD R S P Sinha said, “MTNL is launching 3G Jadoo Prepaid Services so that customer should be able to avail the latest 3G/3.5G services at an affordable price”.

Since pre-paid is the preferred by customers, the 3G service will be available for only Rs 300 with lifetime validity, whereby a customer can make local video calls at Rs 1.8/minute and data download at Rs 3/MB.

In addition, a subscriber can also choose any of the data coupons to avail free data downloads coupled with free video calling to suit ones individual requirement, Sinha said. Sinha expects the launch of pre-paid 3G services to increase it customer base.

He said the PSU has around 400 subscribers for its recently-launched 3G service and expects 2,00,000 to 3,00,000 users for in the first year of operations.

The company introduced 3G services in Delhi in December and in Mumbai last month.

The state-run telecom operator expects to add new capacity to accommodate 8,00,000 users, he said.

Same story in Financial Express at http://www.financialexpress.com/news/mtnl-unveils-prepaid-3g-service-for-rs-300/470071/

Story from The Hindu Business Line dated 03 Jun 2009

MTNL launches pre-paid card for 3G services

Our Bureau

New Delhi, June 2 To get more users for its third generation mobile services, state-run Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) on Tuesday launched a pre-paid option that will enable customers in Delhi experience high-speed data connectivity at an upfront cost of Rs 300.

MTNL had launched its 3G services in January but has only 400 subscribers till now. The pre-paid option is expected to drive up the demand for the company. Mr R. S. P. Sinha, Chairman and Managing Director, MTNL, said he expected at least two lakh 3G users within the first year of operations.

Initially, the services were launched in NDMC area in New Delhi with 50 base stations.

Extended coverage

Now, MTNL has extended 3G coverage to Trans Yamuna, Central Delhi, South Delhi and NCR of Gurgaon with 225 base stations. The company will soon cover Noida, Dwarka, Karolbagh, North-West and the remaining areas in and around the capital.

The 3G pre-paid services are available at Rs 300 with lifetime validity, and a customer can make local video calls at Rs 1.8 a minute and download data at Rs 3 for each MB.

In addition, a subscriber will have to buy data ranging between Rs 99 and Rs 2,500 coupons. MTNL has bundled free data download of 50 MB with a trial coupon for Rs 99. Heavy users can pay Rs 2,500 a month for unlimited data download.

The PSU will add new capacity to accommodate 8 lakh users. Since 95 per cent of existing mobile users are on pre-paid, MTNL expects more demand for the 3G service.

Mr Sinha said the service has given an advantage to the state-run company over private players.

MTNL and BSNL are the only operators to have got spectrum for offering 3G services.

India’s Mobile Market Is Growing Despite Economic Slowdown

From http://www.pcworld.com on 02 June 2009

By John Ribeiro, IDG News Service/Haarlem Bureau Tuesday, June 02, 2009 2:00 AM PDT

India’s mobile phone market continues to be unaffected by the economic slowdown, with 11.9 million new mobile subscribers in April. That’s a 45 percent greater increase than in the same month last year, according to data released Monday by India’s Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

The mobile market has not been affected so far by the economic slowdown, as Indian consumers see communications as a necessity, said Kapil Dev Singh, country manager at analyst IDC India.

The mobile subscriber additions in April were however lower than the 15.64 million new connections in March, something the telecom regulator regards as a seasonal drop. In India, the monthly data is closely watched for signs of an impact of the economic slowdown on India’s booming mobile market.

The slowdown between March and April is seasonal, and does not reflect an overall slowdown in the mobile business in the country, a TRAI official said Tuesday.

As the Indian fiscal year ends in March, mobile service operators offer deep discounts and are more aggressive in their marketing in March, the official said.

“There have been drops from month-to-month previously, so the drop in April is more likely to be seasonal,” IDC’s Singh said.

The new additions in April this year helped take the total number of mobile subscribers in India to 404 million.

India’s largest mobile operator Bharti Airtel added 2.8 million new mobile subscribers in April, taking its total subscribers to 96.74 million, while state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) added about 1 million new subscribers to have a subscriber base of 53.17 million at the end of the year.

Reliance Communications, India’s second largest mobile operator, added 2 million new customers in April, compared to 3 million additions in March. The company saw high additions in the first quarter as it rolled out its new GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) network in addition to its existing service using CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access).

The number of mobile subscribers in the country is expected to increase as mobile operators target rural towns and villages. The auction of 3G licenses, now rescheduled for the end of this year after a number of postponements, is also expected to give this market a fillip.