Archive for April, 2012
Aircel 3G – Pocket Internet Smart Plans go Unlimited – Lowest Pricing
Aircel which revolutionized Pocket Internet Plans in India is back with another disruptive offer but favorable to consumer – All Aircel 3G Pocket Internet Smart Plans come with UNLIMITED Usage, of-course there is a Fair Usage Policy – FUP, but still compared to other 3G Plans in India, Aircel will be the cheapest.
Aircel is in pact with Tata DoCoMo to offer its consumers 3G Data in circles where it has not Won the spectrum. Thus subscribers of Aircel will have seamless coverage of 3G Internet and at places where the same is not available, you will definitely have 2G GPRS Connectivity.
Why Should Consumers opt for Aircel 3G ?
Currently with 3G/2G packs, customer has to keep switching between the networks of 2G / 3G on his phone so that he doesn’t end up using his expensive 3G data in 2G network. With the plans from Aircel, he no longer needs to do this.
Most Operators Offer 3G Plans in Limited Data Usage Capacities. However, with Aircel 3G you have no headache of Billing Shocks or anything as the speed automatically drops to 128 Kbps after exhausting the limit under the plan you have chosen.
Aircel 3G USB Dongle Plans start as low as Rs 198 / Month with 1 GB Data Usage and also their is no restrictions on type of device. You can use Aircel Card on your existing Micromax/ Huawei/ etc. dongles and benefit from these new plans
Even the Lowest Plan of Rs 7 comes with Full 3.6 Mbps Speed without any rider. Here is a summary of the Plans Offered by Aircel 3G, Read the rest of this entry »
Mobile QoS – Airtel Gains Steeply – Idea Falls to Worst – RCom Struggles with Customers
TRAI conducts independent ground survey and research on QoS of Mobile Service Providers. Here is the outcome of the latest Research across all the Telecom Circles in India.
Airtel:Bharti Airtel has been has been able to significantly arrest the issue of weak QoS scores, mainly on account of lower-than benchmark performance on the customer support quality matrix. Airtel managed to improve score from 2 (second worst) to score 5 (best). We would also like to highlight that Airtel’s performance is below the benchmark in only 3 instances across 22 circles and 16 parameters. Airtel appears to have sorted out its back-end chastened by recurring market share losses to Idea and Vodafone.
Idea Falls to Worst Idea has now fallen to the worst position. The main parameter driving its scores down is below-benchmark performance in customer support quality in 12 circles, forming a part of 16 circles from metro, category ‘A” and ‘B’ circles. Inability to operationally keep up with above-average subscriber additions over the last six months could have led to Idea’s deterioration customer support quality.
Vodafone India Vodafone’s QoS scores have shown improvement. It increased from score 3 in June 2011 to score 5 (best) in September and score 4 (second best) in December 2011. Over the period, Vodafone has improved its billing and customer support Read the rest of this entry »
Mobile Spectrum Allocation – Auction Only + Defends Recommendations – Tells Data is the Way to Go
Mr. J. S. Sarma, Chairman of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India [TRAI] addressed Investors across the World just a while ago on the Recommendations of TRAI on Telecom Spectrum Auction in India. Here are the key points on which Dr. Sharma touched upon,
- As regards the issue of post-January 2008 licencees not getting spectrum owing to the possibility of being outbid by financially stronger operators, Mr Sharma said this is the result of any auction, as the principle of the highest bidder winning applies.
- On the issue of whether reserve prices for various spectrum bands were too high, Mr Sarma said the auction process would eventually decide this
- Mr Sarma said the proper price of spectrum must be discovered and all interested stakeholders may not necessarily agree with TRAI’s price.
- Mr. Sharma was posed with the Question – What if their are No Bidders due to High reserve Prices ? Mr Sarma said this is hypothetical and the bridge will be crossed once they get to it.
- TRAI followed a detailed and proper process before it came out with its recommendations, including Read the rest of this entry »
1800MHz 2G Spectrum Auction Pricing Likely at $300 Mn – TRAI
We have already covered the proceedings of the TRAI Open House in Delhi on the issue of 700Mhz Spectrum auction and 900Mhz Spectrum Refarming. Today we’d like to share the most awaited piece of information the Reserve Price for 1800 MHz 2G Telecom Spectrum which is keenly awaited by new Operators and Incumbents.
2G Spectrum in 1800MHz Availability: It varies from 3.2MHz in Rajasthan to 47.4MHz in Tamil Nadu with an average of 24MHz per circle. If auction is restricted to new players and those holding only 4.4MHz, at best only 16MHz would find takers.
Led by Airtel, incumbents strongly argued for eligibility for bidding 1800MHz to facilitate true
market price discovery. Reduction in equipment count / increase in effective capacity is a key motivation. TRAI has also considered flat spectrum usage charges as opposed to the current escalating rev share (most telcos supported this idea, naturally).
Uninor and MTS Sistema are in favour of two-stage Read the rest of this entry »
700 MHz No Consesnsus + 900MHz re-farming complicated – TRAI Open House
TRAI Held an Open House on the Spectrum issues plaguing the Indian Telecom Sector. Here is a summary of the day long discussion on 700 MHz and 900 Mhz Spectrum Bands.
700MHz was discussed too briefly to provide a basis for TRAI to recommend modalities decisively in this round. Airtel, which had asked for a minimum of two slots of 700MHz per bidder in its response, did a volte-face and suddenly agreed with Idea on the ecosystem not being mature. Reliance Infotel Broadband was largely silent on this subject and on its mysterious $11bn (for 2x10MHz reserve price suggestion). Vodafone and Reliance supported a sub-1GHz limit for all types of spectrum.
As far as the 700 MHz Spectrum is concerned, it was impossible for TRAI to build consensus around 700MHz auctions and hold them in FY13. Having said that, we estimate six blocks of 5MHz to fetch ~US$12-15bn for the government, but this would be in FY14.
900 MHz Refarming – Voice of Operators
In the TRAI Open House Discussions, Reliance Communications argued for Read the rest of this entry »
Rural Mobile Telephony Saturating in India
Analysts met head of rural communication agency who holds over a decade of marketing experience across India. He is of the view that going forward it will be challenging for the Telecom companies to push services in rural areas mainly because
- penetration of voice services into rural buying power is already high,
- growth in disposable rural income is expected to taper over next 12-months, and
- monetization of data opportunities could take ~3-5 years to become meaningful
As per TRAI data, wireless tele-density in rural India is ~35% versus ~159% in urban India. However, the agency’s feedback indicates that 60-90% of the “buying power” in rural India has already been tapped in terms of mobile ownership. You are also aware that the behavior of rural consumer is towards seeking deals and this will continue to keep voice-ARPUs low. Revenue upside will also be capped by expected tapering of rural income growth over next 12-months due to likely lower farm prices and recent rise in input costs for farm services. Read the rest of this entry »
Mobile Advertising / Monetization on Ringtones – RingAd Android App
This morning I bumped into RingAd a ringtone based advertisement on the Android Platform. This is currently a small opportunity like the reCaptcha Display Brand Building Ad Network but very innovative idea in the Mobile Advertising Space where both the consumers and brand owners benefit.
What is RingAd Android Advertising App ?
To being with you will need to goto the Android AppStore, search for RingAd Free ReCharge download and install RingAd App on your Android SmartPhone. From now on, ringAd will takeover your Ringtones.
RingAd will download some Ads to your phone using GPRS or 3G Data Connection, whichever you have. So every time you receive a call a new RingAd Ad will play as Ringtone and you get compensated for the same by means of points being accumulated in your account which can be exchanged for free ReCharge currently, but in future they may tie up with other vendors to redeem your points. Read the rest of this entry »
Google Cuts Android Deal in India with Reliance – Free RCom Connection + 1 GB of 3G Data
In the past Airtel, Aircel and Vodafone have chosen Apple Inc’s iPhone one of them most expensive pieces of consumer durables in India and a Pathetic Business Strategy by these companies, I’d say. The real need for India is an affordable yet SmartPhone which is only possible by the Android Eco-System where Google leads the initiative and has commoditized the manufacturing of Smart-Phone as most of the features of Android are innovated and engineered by Google 
Google Inc the creators of Android Mobile Platform have cut a deal with India’s Second Largest [in Subscriber Numbers] Wireless Carrier Reliance Communications where every Android SmartPhone sold in India will come with a Reliance 3G Connection as well as Free 3G data of 1GB for 1 month from the date of activation. Google and RCom have signed the deal which will be valid for 24 Months and is valid across all the Android Device Manufacturers HTC, Samsung, Motorola, LG etc.
Does this Mean Customers are locked to Reliance 3G Network ?
Well, the Indian Government under Dr. Singh may have failed in Governance, but an institution called Competition Commission of India [CCI] Read the rest of this entry »
