India Telecom Thread II

[IU]

Mobile user base up by 8 million in October

Over eight million mobile subscribers were added by the mobile operators in the month of October as against the addition of 7.80 million mobile users in Septmber taking the teledensity in the country to 22.52 per cent as opposed to 21.85 per cent in the month of Septmeber.

According to the latest update in the telecom subscriber figures released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), the fixed line subscriber base decreased marginally to 39.41 million in October as against 39.58 in September.

For the month of October, the total number of both wireless and landline users stood at 256.55 million with 217.14 million mobile users while the rest being fixed-line users, Trai report said.

The total broadband subscribers also increased marginally to reach 2.69 million in October against 2.67 million at the end of September 2007.

[IU]

Vodafone, Bharti, Idea agree India tower deal

LONDON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Mobile services firms Vodafone, Bharti and Idea Cellular have formed an independent company to share 70,000 tower units in India, to help operators save costs and capital.

Vodafone said in a statement on Saturday the new company, Indus Towers, will prove passive infrastructure services to all operators on a non-discriminatory basis.

The companies will merge existing assets, leaving Vodafone Essar and Bharti each owning 42 percent of the new company and Idea owning the remaining 16 percent.

"Indus Towers will enable optimisation of future tower rollout and enhanced operational efficiency leading to opex (operational expenses) and capex (capital expenses) savings for its customers," it said in a statement.

Indian customers will benefit from improved network reach and quality, more choice and greater access to mobile services across the country.

Telecoms operators in India, the world's fastest-growing mobile market, are looking to share infrastructure to keep costs down amid fierce competition and a surge in low-income subscribers from rural areas.

India added 8.1 million wireless users in October, taking the subscriber base to over 217 million. Over 52 million wireless users were added between April and October.

[IU]

India telecom cos add 8.3 mln wireless users in Nov

MUMBAI, Dec 25 (Reuters) - India added a record 8.3 million wireless users in November, taking the total subscriber base to 225.5 million, the telecoms regulator said.

In October, new wireless subscribers numbered 8.05 million.

Fixed-line user base continued to dwindle as more and more users shift to mobile phones. In November, the total user base fell to 39.31 million, from 39.41 million in October.

India, which added 60.35 million new wireless users in April-November, is the world's fastest growing mobile services market.

Including fixed-line users, total telephone subscriber base grew to 264.8 million by November, 8.2 million more than the previous month, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India said in a statement late on Monday.

The regulator expects India's total telephone user base to top 500 million by 2010.

____________

Indian cellphone base to overtake USA's in 4 months

[Paddington]

I think the glory days of India's cellphone business may be coming to an end.

They've run up against spectrum problems, with the power now in the hands of the government. Everything I've read suggests that they're either a) determined to screw things up as much as possible or b) extort a heavy series of penalties to maximize take for the babus.

Either way, it's bad for growth.

[bangalore]

Originally Posted by Paddington

I think the glory days of India's cellphone business may be coming to an end.

They've run up against spectrum problems, with the power now in the hands of the government. Everything I've read suggests that they're either a) determined to screw things up as much as possible or b) extort a heavy series of penalties to maximize take for the babus.

Either way, it's bad for growth.

there used to be a time when cynics were proven right more often than not, about many things Indian.. however their numbers have dwindled and days are almost over.. Don't count your chickens yet, India's telecom will continue to grow spectacularly for a long time to come. Yes, there are steps to be taken by the government - now and in future - to facilitate that growth, those would have to be done, there are no other options. I don’t think anyone will or can scuttle this industry so naively.

[india]

Trai targets 2 Mbps broadband speed

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is planning to raise the minimum speed for a broadband connection to 2 Mbps from the present 256 Kbps, always-on access.

“Recently, some expressions have been made for raising the minimum speed for broadband connection from its present level of 256 Kbps so as to bring it at par with the international Standards. There is some impression that large number of countries are having minimum broadband connection speed of more than or equal to 2 Mbps,” the telecom regulator said in its status paper on broadband speed in the country.

The status paper has been rolled out seeking comments from the industry, before making it into a regulation.

The broadband policy of 2004 defines a broadband connection as an always-on internet access with a minimum speed of 256 Kbps from the point-of-presence (POP) of service provider to the customer premises equipment (CPE).

However, considering high-speed Internet availability in countries like Japan and South Korea, the regulator is of the view that present broadband speed definition in India is “too conservative” and needs an “upward revision”.

The service providers are using words like “up to” to define broadband speed without indicating minimum committed speed. In certain cases packages of Intenet speed less than 256 Kbps have also been marketed as broadband connections, Trai said.

The regulator is taking efforts to ensure a minimum 256 Kbps speed for broadband connections, while some players have suggested raising the minimum speed of broadband connections.

“The authority is of the view that there is a need to highlight the status of the speed of the broadband,” it added.

The bandwidth required to support applications like e-mail to high definition video ranges from 64 Kbps to 8 Mbps.

Moreover, increasing of the minimum speed for broadband will help in increasing the broadband penetration in the country.

At present, the broadband subscriber base in the country stands at a meagre 2.67 million, compared with the government’s target of 9 million subscribers by the end of the calendar year 2007.

Related:

‘Let minimum broadband speed be kept at 256 Kbps’

Trai to redefine `broadband`

State exact Net speed: Trai fiat

[Bombay Boy]

the biggest problem with broadband is not the min speed but the fact that there is a maximum download limit of 512 mb or 1 gb

ffs! 1 gb on broadband is ridiculous. we must be the only country with a download limit on broadband, absolutely pointless

[Paddington]

Here in America, I've noticed for the past few years that if you buy a calling card or sign up for any sort of calling plan, it costs about 1-2 cents now to call anywhere in the world. Europe has been this cheap for many years, but now also most places in Africa, South America, as well as China cost only 1-2 cents to call.

The most expensive country? India, at about 9-15 cents. Despite all the talk about a telecommunications revolution in India and outsourcing due to allegedly cheap international dialing, India is one of, if not the most, expensive countries in the world to call! That's kind of sad that India is so lacking in international phone capacity. The difference is so huge, it's no wonder outsourcing is slowing down now.

[Bombay Boy]

i dont know if its a problem of capacity or monopoly (vsnl). are there any other ild operators? std rates crashed once the bsnl/mtnl monopoly was broken

[kronik]

Originally Posted by Paddington

Here in America, I've noticed for the past few years that if you buy a calling card or sign up for any sort of calling plan, it costs about 1-2 cents now to call anywhere in the world. Europe has been this cheap for many years, but now also most places in Africa, South America, as well as China cost only 1-2 cents to call.

The most expensive country? India, at about 9-15 cents. Despite all the talk about a telecommunications revolution in India and outsourcing due to allegedly cheap international dialing, India is one of, if not the most, expensive countries in the world to call! That's kind of sad that India is so lacking in international phone capacity. The difference is so huge, it's no wonder outsourcing is slowing down now.

try looking up the rates for business networks. Huge lines have been laid across oceans, but all of them carry mainly business data and voice, and thats a lot cheaper than individual voice services.

Its not for nothing that I hear of so many of friends in the services industries having video-conferences with their partners in the US almost everyday. In fact, one was telling me that the line from his office to the US works as a local line (and he instructed me to never call on that!)

[ajay_ijn]

RCom gets GSM spectrum for 14 circles
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...ow/2693886.cms
NEW DELHI: In a major boost to Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Communications (RCom), the government on Friday cleared the allocation of GSM spectrum to the company in 14 circles.

Sources told ET that RCOM has been allotted 4.4 MHz of start-up spectrum in these 14 circles. Reliance, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Reliance Telecom, already offers GSM services in the remaining eight circles. This implies that RCom’s plans of offering both GSM and CDMA services on a pan-India basis has finally be translated into a reality.

Simultaneously, existing GSM operators, Idea Cellular and Vodafone Essar, have also been allotted start-up spectrum of 4.4 Mhz in the circles where they already hold licences. Idea holds licences in two circles, Vodafone in 7 and Aircel in 13.

This implies that Idea, which already has operations in 11 telecom circles in the country, can immediately expand its footprint to 13 circles while Vodafone Essar, which has operations in 16 circles and Aircel, which currently offers services in 9 circles, will now be able to expand their footprint on a pan-India basis.
Reliance plans largest order for GSM mobile lines
http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited...fx4525711.html
MUMBAI (Thomson Financial) - India's Reliance Communications (RComm) is planning an order for 80-100 mln lines for GSM mobile services, the country's largest order for telecom equipment and one of the world's biggest, the Business Standard reported without naming sources.

The largest telecom order placed in India was for 45.5 mln GSM lines by state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL). However the contract ran into controversy, as a result of which it was halved to 22.75 mln lines at a cost of 2.2 bln usd.

[ajay_ijn]

BSNL plans to launch CDMA services to all major cities by mid 2008
http://www.techtree.com/India/News/B...85887-613.html
State-owned BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) has announced plans to offer CDMA-based mobile services, in addition to their GSM services in the country.
The telecom operator plans to introduce CDMA services in all major cities and towns by mid-2008, once their application for a full-fledged CDMA mobility license is approved. The initial investment for this project will be approximately $500 million, said BSNL CMD, Kuldeep Goyal.

Already, BSNL has about 70 million customers. With the introduction of CDMA services, they aim to hog 20 percent stake in the market within the next 12 months.

BSNL considering IPO to sell 10% stake to raise 10 billion USD
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssT...L2759720080114
NEW DELHI, Jan 14 (Reuters) - India may sell about 10 percent of fully state-owned telecoms provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, the telecoms minister and a company official said on Monday, in what could be one of India's largest ever IPOs.

BSNL is India's top ranked telecoms firm by subscriber numbers, but in mobile services lags Bharti Airtel Ltd (BRTI.BO: Quote, Profile, Research), Reliance Communications Ltd (RLCM.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) and Vodafone-controlled (VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research) Vodafone Essar.

"It is being considered. We have to discuss that in the department," Minister Andimuthu Raja told reporters when asked about when any offer might be launched.

BSNL's director of finance said the company could sell 10 percent of the government's holding for $10 billion.

"We value the company at $100 billion," S.D. Saxena said, adding the proposed issue could be hit the market in about a year's time.

BSNL extends broadband services to 64 exchanges
http://www.sahilonline.org/english/c...5&sid=44348677
MANGALORE: Dakshina Kannada Telecom District of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited has extended the reach of “Dataone” broadband services to 64 of the 250 exchanges in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts. The company, which covered urban exchanges in the initial phase, has shifted its concentration to semi-urban and rural areas, including Hebri, Neermarga, Muniyal, Mijar, Polali, Shirva, Mallur, and Ujire.

The combo plan for broadband and telephone, Home 500 C and Home 500 C+, too had evoked good response, he said. There was no fixed monthly charge for telephone in these schemes, he said. “The monthly broadband charge is Rs. 500 and Rs. 600, with 175 and 50 free calls respectively,” he said.

“ We have introduced broadband service with speeds of up to eight mega bytes per second (mbps), compared to 1.5 to two mbps for domestic users. “Business-2000” plan is for single user, Business 4000 and Business 15000 are for multi-user clientele. Customers have the option of choosing between monthly and annual payment for these schemes with incentives for annual payment.

[phaedrus]

BSNL LINES UP BIG-BANG IPO

STATE-OWNED telco BSNL on Monday said it plans to launch the country’s biggest IPO to raise about Rs 40,000 crore (over $10 billion).
“The company is valued at well over $100 billion. We are looking at offloading up to 10% stake, subject to government approval,” BSNL’s directorfinance SK Saxena told reporters. Asked about the development, telecom minister A Raja said: “The government is considering it (an IPO). The department of telecom (DoT) will discuss the issue and take a final decision soon.”
BSNL has an equity base of Rs 5,000 crore, which translates to a shareholding structure of 500 crore shares at a face value of Rs 10 each. BSNL executives said this would not be a disinvestment, but a dilution of stake by the government through the issue of fresh shares. This is because the company’s authorised capital is less than that of its subscribed capital, officials explained.
The Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Power has announced the largest public offer to raise funds from the Indian capital market till today, which is hitting the market this week. The company has said it would raise over Rs 11,000 crore from the market. BSNL is India’s largest telco by revenues and subscriber numbers. The PSU, which has over 75 million customers (fixedline and mobile), had revenues of Rs 39,750 crore in 2006-07, with net profit of Rs 7,805 crore. BSNL plans Rs 15k-cr expansion
BSNL has also announced that it will invest about Rs 15,000 crore this fiscal to expand its mobile and broadband networks across the country. BSNL is also committed to investing about Rs 60,000 crore by 2010 to expand its telecom infrastructure and operations.
If BSNL manages to raise Rs 40,000 crore by selling a 10% stake, it would value the company at an amazing Rs 4,00,000 crore (more than $100 billion). The market valuation of India’s largest private telecom operator — Bharti Airtel — is about $46 billion, followed by Reliance Communications which is valued at about $41 billion. Telecom stocks enjoy record valuations in India as the country, which offers the lowest cellular tariffs in the world, also boasts of the fastest-growing mobile market. India has registered average monthly adds of over 7.5 million for the last eight months even as analysts say this figure could touch the 10 million mark from Q2, 2008. From a little over 260 million telephone connections at present, it is projected that the country will have over 500 million telephone connections by 2010.
According to Mr Saxena, BSNL had ‘more than enough’ resources to fund its current expansion plans, which would be met through internal accruals. “An IPO will help increase our network across the country, especially in the rural areas where private operators have so far shied away from launching operations. A 10% dilution is good to test the markets,” he said. He, however, refused to give a time-frame for the listing of the company. He also confirmed that the DoT had already sought BSNL’s opinion on the matter. BSNL has not yet started the process of appointing investment bankers for the issue, but plans to do so soon, officials said.
Several analysts contacted by ETrefused to put a figure to BSNL’s valuation. Some, however, said in addition to its subscriber base, the PSU possessed large-scale passive infrastructure, including optic fibre cable networks across the country and also prime commercial real estate in all major towns, which would go a long way in jacking up its valuation.
This is not the first time that BSNL has said it’s planning an IPO. Its earlier requests for listing have all been turned down by the government. BSNL had put its IPO plans on the back burner after former communications minister Dayanidhi Maran had rejected a proposal last year.
Meanwhile, the PSU on Monday also announced free personal accidental insurance coverage of up to Rs 50,000 for its fixedline customers and post-paid mobile customers. The scheme is expected to benefit a large number of BSNL customers, especially those in rural India, who do not subscribe to any insurance policy.

source economictimes

[Luckystreak]

Originally Posted by Paddington

Here in America, I've noticed for the past few years that if you buy a calling card or sign up for any sort of calling plan, it costs about 1-2 cents now to call anywhere in the world. Europe has been this cheap for many years, but now also most places in Africa, South America, as well as China cost only 1-2 cents to call.

The most expensive country? India, at about 9-15 cents. Despite all the talk about a telecommunications revolution in India and outsourcing due to allegedly cheap international dialing, India is one of, if not the most, expensive countries in the world to call! That's kind of sad that India is so lacking in international phone capacity. The difference is so huge, it's no wonder outsourcing is slowing down now.

FYI..calls to India as cheap as 2 cents/minute can be made now.

[india]

SOMA Networks Chosen by BSNL for Industry's Largest Mobile WiMAX Deployment

SAN FRANCISCO & NEW DELHI — SOMA Networks Inc, a leading provider of Mobile WiMAX systems, announced today that it has been chosen by Bharat Sanchar Nigam, Ltd (BSNL), India's state-owned and largest telecommunications company, to deploy the industry's largest Mobile WiMAX network across three of India's fastest-growing telecom circles: Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa, and Andhra Pradesh. This new SOMA-based infrastructure will provide broadband data and voice services to a service area reaching more than 200 million people, and represents a major step forward in realizing the Indian government's "Vision 2010" mandate to make broadband services ubiquitous and turn India into a global information technology force.

BSNL selected SOMA Networks after extensive field trials in urban, suburban and rural areas. SOMA's solution was the Mobile WiMAX technology found suitable for all subscriber environments. Based on the 802.16e-2005 standard, SOMA's Mobile WiMAX solution provides extended range and supports high subscriber density per sector.

"India has an immense need for connectivity across a varied and wide-ranging demographic population," said Mr. Kuldeep Goyal, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of BSNL. "After testing, we found SOMA Networks' solution qualified to meet the requirements of our Vision 2010 mandate."

With a rapidly growing middle class and highly educated population, India currently has an enormous unmet demand for broadband services. By deploying SOMA Networks' end-to-end Mobile WiMAX solution, BSNL will bring a full range of multimedia services to an area serving more than 200 million people over the next three years.

"Our partnership with BSNL validates SOMA's strategy of providing broadband voice and data services to bridge the digital divide, a strategy we have been successfully executing for the past nine years," said Yatish Pathak, founder and CEO of SOMA Networks. "It is a great honor for SOMA to be selected by BSNL, which we believe is the direct result of our focused commitment to make world-class service providers successful."

[india]

India adds 8 million mobile subscribers in December

India now has 234 million mobile subscribers; service providers begin targeting rural markets to boost revenue.

India added 8.2 million mobile subscribers in December, taking the number of mobile connections in the country to 234 million by the end of the month.

Fixed telephone connections, however, dropped to 39.25 million in December from 39.3 million a month earlier. Fixed-line connections have been falling as customers increasingly prefer mobile connections, particularly in areas where the infrastructure for providing fixed-line connections is not developed.

The number of telephones, both fixed and wireless, per 100 people went up to 23.89 percent from 23.2 percent in November, according to data released Tuesday by the telecom regulator, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, in Delhi.

To boost revenue, a number of mobile service providers are now targeting rural markets and less lucrative urban markets with a variety of strategies including by planning to share back-end infrastructure. Some service providers have also introduced low-cost phones for this market.

The emerging category of ultra-low-cost handset is seen as a key component in attracting the next billion mobile phone subscribers into the Indian market, according to research firm In-Stat. Ultra-low-cost handsets are expected to be stripped-down cell phones offering only the most basic communication experience of voice and text messaging. However, these may not be attractive to some urban users of low-cost handsets who want phones with features, In-Stat said.

Vendors may have to also look at lowering costs of their featured phones by offering refurbished phones, the research firm said.

[phaedrus]

BSNL, US co in tie-up for largest WiMAX deal

State-run telecom operator BSNL has tied up with US-based WiMAX solutions firm Soma Networks for the largest WiMAX deployment in the country covering four states in three circles. The proposed infrastructure would provide services to about 20 crore people in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Goa.
Soma Networks was selected after field trials in urban, suburban and rural areas. In the first phase under the tie-up, WiMAX would be deployed in Ahmedabad which would be up and running by June-July this year. The complete deployment will take three years. The alliance between the country’s largest telecom operator and the WiMAX solutions firm is on a revenue-share basis. “BSNL has awarded the contract to Soma for complete deployment in these states. It’s difficult to put a value to the contract since it’s on a revenueshare basis,” BSNL CMD Kuldeep Goyal told ET.
“We would ride on BSNL’s infrastructure and provide our solutions based on the 802.16e-2005 standard, which ensures greater subscriber density,” Soma Networks MD Jatinder Ahuja said. The states, he said, were chosen on the basis of their high industrial growth.
BSNL had earlier received some spectrum in the 2.5 GHz frequency band. It plans to roll out WiMax services in 70 cities across the country by mid-2008 and set up 50,000 Common Service Centres (CSCs) — ICT-enabled kiosks — across the country using WiMAX. The government has set itself a target of 20 million broadband lines in service by 2010.
Soma Networks is a leading provider of mobile WiMAX solutions. It’s a principal member of the WiMAX Forum. Its solutions are currently deployed in five continents. Headquartered in San Francisco, it has offices in Toronto, Ottawa, Gurgaon, and Singapore.
While WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) is still an evolving technology, it is still considered a threat to third generation mobile services. As per global industry experience, WiMax offers data speeds that are 10-30 times faster than 3G.
To put this in perspective, the data speeds of 3G networks are over five times faster than those offered by 2G cellular networks that telcos in India currently use.

source economictimes epaper

[india]

India all set to overtake US to claim No.2 rank in Mobile Subscriber Base

Last year saw India marching ahead of Russia to attain number three position. This year the country is set to witness another milestone when it is estimated that around May it will overtake USA to emerge as the number 2 market in terms of subscriber base across the globe.

The country added 83 million subscribers in one year, the highest among all the markets in the world. China managed 76 million additions.

India’s total mobile subscriber base now stands at 237 million in comparison with China''s 534 million, US's 257 million and Russia's 172 million.

US added 20 million subscribers while Pakistan added 26 million.

[IU]

Indian mobile firms add 6.2 mln GSM users in Jan

NEW DELHI, Feb 11 (Reuters) - India's leading GSM-based mobile operators added 6.2 million new subscribers in January, an industry body said on Monday, maintaining rapid expansion in the world's fastest-growing wireless market.

# of new CDMA users will be out on Monday

[Euromast]

NEW DELHI: The fast just got furious. India, the world’s fastest-growing mobile market, added a record 8.77 million mobile phone connections in January 2008, according to data released by telecom regulator Trai on Friday. Industry sources said the additions in January could be the highest-ever recorded globally.


India added a total of 8.77 million mobilephone connections during January, against 8.11 million connections in December 2007. However, wireline connections registered a decline of 0.03 million subscribers to 39.22 million in January. The total number of telephone connections reached 281.62 million at the end of January, against 272.88 million in December 2007. Tele-density increased to 24.63% at the end of January

source