TATA Entering to 4G with Reliance Infotel

TATA -RELIANCE
India’s leading telecommunication company Tata Communications is also looking to enter 4G space . Tata Communications took part in the BWA auction but left with no win.

In 2G & 3G space Tata comm is not even in top 3 slots, but India’s iconic business group cannot ignore the potential of 4^th generation wireless broadband services in India and targets an entry into 4G segment.

Reports indicates Tata may enter into a tie up with Reliance Infotel, country’s only pan India 4G spectrum winner.

It should be noted that Tata Communications owns prominent tower company Viom Networks (earlier known as Tata-Quippo). So Tata Communications can offer towers, optical fiber network & international gateway to Reliance Infotel. Similar prospectus also comes from Reliace Communication, owned by Anil Ambani.

Tata Communications is also looking to enter 4G directly by buying Qualcomm’s asset of four circles’ BWA spectrum as hinted by NDTV. But as Qualcomm is messed up with the four companies for four circles and one ISP license the buy-out will be delayed for months.

Qualcomm entered the BWA auction to ensure LTE roll out and also announced that eventually they will leave the Indian ISP market. Industry rumor is Airtel is keen to buy Qualcomm’s wireless broadband business as Qualcomm holds lucrative circles like Delhi & Mumbai.

Mumbai and Maharastra are like den of Tata Communications, where they have great base. It is expected that Tata Comm will try their best to buy out atleast Mumbai’s 4G license from Qualcomm.

Mobile Operators collaborating for nationwide 3G services

A good news for all mobile Subscribers for changing to their own 3G operator where they have no license in that circle...

Your operator didn't secure 3G spectrum in your circle? Dont be sad.. operators are collaborating with each other to ensure that they can mutually have a nationwide presence through network sharing and roaming agreements so as to provide 3G services across the nation.

While there is nothing new with roaming agreement between service providers, it is now being worked out in a way that operators can offer services even if they do not have spectrum in that circle.

Also, since spectrum sharing is not allowed in India, it will be interesting to see how operators manage alliances.

Active infrastructure sharing, on the other hand, is permitted and 3G equipment that operators have deployed also supports it.

Shudeep Majumdar, the spokesperson of Nokia Siemens Networks, said, "Our equipment is ready for network share with little upgrade. If utilised it will reduce capex spend of the operators drastically."

According to various media reports, Tata Docomo and Aircel are already discussing a tie-up arrangement. They are said to be testing network sharing in Punjab.

Public sector operator MTNL has already started the process of offering its spare spectrum to other telcos and will soon announce the successful bidders. Both Tata Docomo and Aircel have applied to be part of MTNL's scheme. The other public sector company BSNL has also announced its intentions to invite similar bids.

Experts feel that for operators to achieve economies of scale it is very important that they establish a national footprint. For users network sharing is the only way to get seamless 3G while roaming.

Operators collaborating for a joint nation wide 3G coverage.

Airtel and BSNL most searched in internet for 3G

BSNL 3G- Most searched word online.With private operators gearing up to launch 3G services, online searches for 'wireless broadband' have doubled over the past three months; whereas and BSNL and Airtel 3G are the most searched service providers for 3G services searched by people browsing the net, according to Experian Hitwise.

Navin Chandani, managing director, Experian Marketing, said,Over 5,300 different variations of the word 3G (example 3G services, 3G handsets, 3G mobiles etc) are being searched by Indians on the internet, which translates to the fact that 3G is on the minds of a lot of people.

He further stated, "BSNL is the most sought after 3G service provider, followed by Airtel, MTNL and Tata Docomo."

Experian Hitwise is a keyword research tool for analysing the long tail of search data. It provides insights on how people have successfully searched for products and services online across all major search engines. The data that Experian Hitwise studies does not include mobile internet searches.

The company tracks 25 million internet users globally. However, in India it is dependent on panel data for reporting internet activity. Although Chandani refused to divulge the exact panel size he assures, "statistically and analytically the panel size and composition is a fair representation of the entire Indian consumer population on the internet."

A recent report by the company revealed that Nokia is the most searched mobile handset manufacturer in India, followed by Samsung. Eight of the ten most searched mobile phone models in India are manufactured by Nokia, with the company's 5233 model claiming the top spot. Samsung, with its Corby and Champ, was the only other manufacturer to have made it to the list.

Interestingly, Micromax took over Apple iPhone to become the third most searched mobile handset manufacturer in India.

Chandani opines, "There may be several factors working in the favour of Micromax. However, I believe that the offline marketing and branding campaigns undertaken by Micromax appear to be working in its favour. Its positioning as an economic and feature rich mobile brand is helping it overtake the iPhone, which is yet an expensive proposition for a majority of the population."

He believes that it may be difficult for iPhone to recover considering that the Indian mobile market is price sensitive.

Thanks to the authors

DOCOMO 3G New Tariff Data Plan-Offer

Docomo Changed Data plan Rate-Docomo 3G New Tariff Details
Due to unlimited critics from all over Indian Docomo users ,TATA DOCOMO makes some changes to their internet data tariff plans using mobile.BSNL and Reliance also introduced 3G with an affordable rate but Docomo made disappointment to the existing and new Docomo users.Now it has made some changes in its 3G Data offerings (only for Data Usage via Mobile Phone) and has come up with some new Special Tariff Vouchers and Sachet Packs for prepaid 3G subscribers.Take a look to the new Tariff plan by clicking on the below image.(Use zoom too)
Now we can also hope that coming days will reduce the 3G Tariff from other competitors...

Development of Rural India by 3G Deployment

Indian Development Phase by 3G Deployment...RURAL 3G Developments
Rural population in India is estimated at seven percent of its 1.1 billion population.

The actual rollout – which will be carried out over a period of three years – is expected to begin in December once the auctions to private operators are over.

3G services to date have been patchy and experimental in India. The state- owned telecommunications company Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd has launched a promotional drive in most of New Delhi, charging 1.80 rupees (3.8 U.S. cents) per minute for a video call within the company’s network. Calls to private internal networks, when available, will cost three rupees (6.4 U.S. cents) per minute.

A specialised group drawn from several departments of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, the TeNeT has been tasked with research and product development for the Indian telecom and networking industry as well as driving information technology policy.

Current TeNeT missions include building 50 million broadband connections over the next five years, helping to double the rural GDP of India, making high-quality distance education possible and driving the next generation of wireless standards.

"At TeNeT we are naturally very excited about the rollout of 3G services because video and pictures can help overcome language barriers. For example, very few farmers speak or understand English, and this limits their access to urban markets using voice alone," Jalihal told IPS in a telephone interview from Chennai.

"The possibilities are endless — 3G will positively impact such areas as health services, education, agriculture and governance," said Jalihal. "There will naturally be an increase in public expectations in these areas, and this can dramatically stimulate social change."

Jalihal believes that the introduction of 3G-enabled mobile services will more than make up for the relatively poor penetration of the personal computer (PC) into India's rural areas.

Mobile 3G services can make Internet services more easily accessible compared to using a PC, which needs steady electricity supplies, maintenance, broadband services and other infrastructure which are missing in large swathes of rural India.

"While we are approaching a figure of 500 million mobile subscribers, PC penetration in India remains poor compared to countries like Russia, Brazil and China," Jalihal said.

Internet penetration in India is still seven percent of its population as against neighbouring China's 25.3 percent of its 1.3 billion people. Within Asia, South Korea has the highest Internet penetration covering 77.3 percent of the population, followed by Japan with 74 percent, Singapore with 66 percent, Malaysia and Taiwan, with 65 percent each, according to Internet World Stats, a data-providing website on world Internet usage.

On the other hand, India is currently adding 10 million new mobile subscribers per month on average. The World Bank estimates that every extra 10 mobile phones per 100 people in a typical developing country can boost GDP growth by 0.8 percentage points.

According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), India added more than 30 million new mobile subscribers in the months of July and August. That contrasts with the pre-liberalised era of the 1980s when telephones were considered a luxury and the waiting list for new connections hovered around 20 million applicants.

Privatisation of telecom and mobile technology changed all that. Second- generation or 2G mobile services rapidly seeped down to the grassroots level. Today it is already common to see domestic workers, cab drivers, carpenters, plumbers, vegetable vendors and farmers using mobile phones.

With the advent of 3G, fishermen can negotiate prices for their catch before heading for shore by sending in pictures of the type of fish they have on board. Similarly, farmers and horticulturalists who have perishable produce can take advantage of 3G services to bargain for the best prices before harvesting, bypassing middlemen.

How to activate 3G on Docomo

This Diwali let the celebrations continue for a week as Tata Docomo becomes the 1st private operator to launch 3G services in India. Tata DOCOMO’s HSPA+ 3G Network, set up with the assistance of NTT DOCOMO, supports high-speed Internet access upto 21.6 Mbps.

Enjoy 100MB free data to try out 3G. Post 100MB your 2G Data Rates will apply (including packs)

How to experience 3G Life ?

Tata DOCOMO subscribers:-
* Your existing 2G SIM cards have already been upgraded to 3G – free of cost!
* Dial 1800-266-0000 from your mobile and you will be guided on getting on to the world of 3G
* You will be told if your area is currently under commercial 3G services
* You can also get a host of information about Tata DOCOMO 3G Life

Non-Tata DOCOMO subscriber:-
* Dial 1800-266-0000 from your Non Tata DOCOMO mobile and you will be guided on getting on to the world of 3G
* You will be told if you can get 3G services in your area, if so its time to get hold of a Tata DOCOMO SIM
* All Tata DOCOMO SIM cards in the market are 3G ready
* Grab a Tata DOCOMO SIM from your nearest retailer, today
* Follow the process above for Tata DOCOMO subscribers

Cities where the offer is available:
Tata Docomo 3G services are getting rapidly rolled out across the 9 telecom Circles.
Services have been launched in – Rajkot, Bharuch, Ambala, Karnal, Panipat, Thanesar, Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula, Jalandhar, Patiala, Bhopal, Udaipur, Kota, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Roorkee, Modinagar, Shirdi & Bangalore.

Only a start – more cities are getting rolled out every day!

Offer period:
Beginning 5th November 2010,12.00 a.m. till 11th November 2010, 11.59 p.m. only

Tata DoCoMo 3G Datacard Plans-Tariff-specifications-Docomo 3G Life

India’s 1st Private 3G service provider Tata Docomo has launched three plug-n-play 3G USB Devices (3G HSDPA/HSUPA/HSPA+ Data Card) and High End 3G devices.

These 3G USB modem starts from Rs.1999. These USB modems are designed to deliver the heaviest of data at different speeds. Tata DOCOMO also claims that there USB Modem is furnished to fit all business consignments of its users! All Data Cards have function to dial & receive calls & SMS/text messages when plugged into your desktop or laptop.

These USB Data Cards will give you instant access to High speed wireless Internet connectivity at anytime, anywhere with up to 3.6 Mbps,7.2 Mbps and 21.6 Mbps (depends on device) of speed for laptops and other computing devices.

Airtel 3G services are offered in four variances of data cards. The following are the four varieties of Airtel 3G data cards.

• Airtel 3G- Airtel 3G devices is offered for Rs 3799 with the features such as Quad band support and UMTS/HSDPA with 3.6 MBPS support. The sms facilities, plug and play option, EDGE/GPRS and International roaming are also very well in support of the Airtel 3G devices. Airtel 3G is mainly offered for the broadband users of Notebook and PC’s. Airtel 3G mobile broadband will be working with PC’s and is compatible with the windows 2000/ windows XP and windows Vista operating systems as well as Mac operating systems.

• Airtel Edge- Airtel Edge devices is offered for Rs 2000 with the features such as Quad band support as well as EDGE support. The sms facilities, plug and play option, EDGE/GPRS and International roaming are also very well in support of the Airtel 3G devices. Airtel 3G is mainly offered for the broadband users of Notebook and PC’s. Airtel 3G mobile broadband will be working with PC’s and is compatible with the windows 2000/ windows XP and windows Vista operating systems as well as Mac operating systems.

• Airtel 300G- Airtel 300G devices is offered for Rs 3499 with the features such as Quad band support as well as UMTS/HSDPA support. The sms facilities, plug and play option, EDGE/GPRS and International roaming are also very well in support of the Airtel 3G devices. Airtel 3G is mainly offered for the broadband users of Notebook and PC’s. Airtel 3G mobile broadband will be working with PC’s and is compatible with the windows 2000/ windows XP and windows Vista operating systems as well as Mac operating systems.

• Airtel 200G- Airtel 300G devices is offered for Rs 2499 with the features such as Tri- band support as well as EDGE support. The sms facilities, plug and play option, GSM/GPRS and International roaming are also very well in support of the Airtel 3G devices. Airtel 3G is mainly offered for the broadband users of Notebook and PC’s. Airtel 3G mobile broadband will be working with PC’s and is compatible with the windows 2000/ windows XP and windows Vista operating systems as well as Mac operating systems.

HSDPA USB Modem

Download speed: Max. 3.6 Mbps
Upload speed: Max. 384 Kbps
Price: Rs. 1999

HSUPA USB Modem

Download speed: Max. 7.2 Mbps
Upload speed: Max. 5.76 Mbps
Price: Rs. 2600

HSPA+ USB Modem

Download speed: Max. 21.6 Mbps
Upload speed: Max. 5.76 Mbps
Price: Rs. 3500

Tata DoCoMo 3G : Docomo 3G Plans-Tariff-Offers-Prepaid-Postpaid

DoCoMo 3G Life Plans-Tariff-Offers-Bandwidth-Data usage plans

click on the image for a better view of plans and rates...

Docomo 3G : Docomo starts 3G Rally in India

The Services that the Indian telecom industry has been waiting for with bated breath are round the corner. News of telecom operators announcing the timeline for launching 3G services has been coming thick and fast over the past few days.

Although the two public sector telecom operators BSNL and MTNL already offer 3G services, they have so far clearly failed to generate interest among their as well as other mobile subscribers. The scenario is expected to change for good when private players enter the 3G arena.

In the 3G auction held this year in May, seven of the nine bidders won spectrum. Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and Aircel each won in 13 of the 22 circles, while other operators such as Vodafone Essar, Idea Cellular and Tata won licences for nine, eleven and nine circles, respectively. A fairly new entrant, Haryana-based S Tel, won the license for three circles while two bidders, Videocon Mobile Services and UAE-based Etisalat went empty handed.

Early launch of 3G services will give service providers an edge over their competitors amidst falling tariffs and the introduction of mobile number portability which might be a reality soon.

TTSL, with its announcement of launching 3G services this Diwali, has yet again taken the lead and will be the first private telecom operator to roll out 3G services on a commercial basis.

The company announced that it will launch next generation mobile services (3G) on the day of Diwali next month in all the nine circles that it has won spectrum in, and will provide the new service to subscribers of Tata Docomo, its GSM network.

Next in line will be Airtel, the largest telecom operator in the country, based on subscriber numbers. The operator had earlier said it would launch the services by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, two of the seven operators, Vodafone and Aircel, will commercially launch their 3G services in the first quarter of 2011.

In fact, Vodafone on Thursday demonstrated its 3G services for customers in India. Marten Pieters, managing director, Vodafone Essar, recently made the company's first 3G video call from Mumbai to Delhi.

Before Vodafone, Reliance Communications showed the world its 3G network at the company's annual general meeting with a private news channel being streamed live to a mobile phone.


Although Reliance has not divulged an exact date, the company has made it clear that itwants to be amongst the early launchers of the service. "We are not going to wait for other operators' launch and then position ourselves.... ours will be among the early launches and it will be very soon," the company's chief executive Akshay Kumar had told reporters earlier.

As far as Idea Cellular is concerned, the company refused to comment on the date of launch. In May, however, media reports suggested that it plans to launch its 3G service in the third quarter of the ongoing fiscal.

The youngest telecom operator to have bagged 3G licenses S Tel too has remained tight lipped about the launch of its service. However, the company has revealed that it plans to invest approximately Rs 360 crores in capital expenditure over the next five years to roll out 3G services in the three circles it has spectrum in, namely Bihar and Jharkhand, Orissa, and Himachal Pradesh