Posts filed under 'Telecommunication'
New Delhi : The state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) on Friday launched identical “Roaming Freedom” plans, cutting national roaming charges and offering 300 minutes of free incoming calls. Private operator Reliance Communications also introduced two plans offering limited free incoming calls while roaming.
As per the new post-paid plans of BSNL and MTNL that will become operational from June 3, a subscriber will have to make an initial payment of Rs. 1,250, which includes monthly fixed charges of Rs. 550. He will get 300 minutes of free incoming calls while roaming, after which Re. 1 per minute will be charged. Similarly, Re. 1 will be charged for outgoing calls and sending SMS.
Local calls to BSNL mobiles will cost only 40 paise per minute, and calls to other networks will cost Re. 1 per minute. A similar amount will be charged for STD calls.
Speaking to mediapersons, Union Communications and IT Minister A. Raja said the BSNL and MTNL plans would be launched on June 3 to mark the birthday of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M. Karunanidhi. Asked why he was not abolishing roaming charges as announced by his predecessor Dayanidhi Maran, he said he had no clue about such a plan; neither was any exercise or study conducted by the Telecom Ministry in this regard. “It is a first step towards zero roaming, and one day it will become reality.” He hoped that private operators would also offer free roaming soon.
Reliance Communications, which recently slashed roaming charges by 70 per cent, also launched two plans. Under its “India Roam Free Plan 990,” a subscriber will get 900 incoming minutes and 400 calls free after paying a monthly rental of Rs. 990. Under the “India Roam Free 390″ plan, on a monthly rental of Rs. 390, a subscriber will get 200 minutes of free incoming roaming.
Under both the plans, Re. 1 will be charged for incoming calls after the free calls are exhausted. A similar charge will be applicable on inter-circle outgoing calls. In case of intra-circle calls in the same network, 40 paise per minute will be charged for outgoing calls under the Rs. 390 plan and 50 paise under the Rs. 990 plan.
Source : Hindu.com
June 2nd, 2007
Sprint Nextel won approval yesterday to compete on a government contract worth $20 billion over the next 10 years, two months after it was excluded from participating in a much larger telecommunications contract.
The “Networx” contract would update the government’s technology infrastructure, adding wireless Internet and stronger security measures across 135 agencies in 24,000 buildings in 200 countries. In March, Sprint was shut out of the more significant part of the contract, known as Networx Universal, which is worth up to $48 billion and is the largest government telecommunications project in history. The winners of that round — Verizon, AT&T and Qwest — were also chosen for the $20 billion portion, called Networx Enterprise. Level 3 Communications of Colorado also won a slot on that contract.
Analysts said yesterday’s award was Sprint’s last chance to keep the federal government as a customer. But the Reston company is not guaranteed that business, particularly after losing out on the larger deal.
“This is considered a consolation prize,” said Patrick Comack, an analyst with Zachary Investment Research in Miami. “It doesn’t change the fact that they missed the big one. This [part of the contract] is a minnow compared to the whale.”
Competition was less rigorous for the smaller portion of the contract, said John C. Johnson of the General Services Administration, which oversees Networx. Companies are required to offer a reduced number of services in fewer geographic areas, meant to give smaller companies a chance to bid for government work.
Sprint, whose federal government contracts total about $1 billion annually, has also been losing ground to rivals in the wireless business, and its stock has suffered.
“After losing the Universal award, Sprint had a real attitude adjustment and went after it aggressively,” said Warren Suss of Suss Consulting, a Pennsylvania telecom research firm.
Sprint, which manages Internet and phone networks for about 120 agencies under a previous contract, hopes to hang on to that business, said Tony D’Agata, vice president of the company’s federal government division. Sprint offered more competitive prices to entice its current agency customers to stay, he said. The company also plans to offer a new high-speed wireless technology, WiMax, starting next year.
Analysts, however, expect that most agencies will buy most of their telecommunications services from the Universal contract winners because those offerings will be more powerful and wider-ranging. Agencies, which can each select which provider to purchase from, can mix services as they see fit.
“Agencies are getting into a very long-term contract, and they’ll want the widest range of services available and widest number of locations,” Suss said. “In that case, Sprint will still be left out of the game.”
Source : Washingtonpost.com
June 1st, 2007
Idea Cellular, an Aditya Birla Group company, signed a $500 million network expansion deal with Nokia Siemens Networks. The pact will enable the GSM service provider to expand its network in the country.
The two-year contract, which includes supply and services of GSM and intelligent network equipment, also includes deployment of towers and media gateways.
Under the contract, Nokia Siemens Network will set up GSM, general packet radio service (GPRS) and Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) networks for Idea. This will help the company expand its coverage across six circles of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (East), Uttar Pradesh (West), Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.
Nokia Siemens Networks will deploy infrastructure for flexi BTS, mini-ultra base stations and connectivity servers, among others.
According to Idea Cellular Managing Director Sanjeev Aga, “This expansion is a part of our larger growth strategy to take our services to more consumers by penetrating deeper in the circles we operate. This will allow us to more than double our existing capacity and reach out to thousands of new population centres in these circles.”
Nokia Siemens Networks is a joint venture between Nokia’s Networks Business Group and the carrier-related businesses of Siemens Communications.
Source : business-standard.com
May 19th, 2007
LONDON/BEIJING: UK’s Vodafone has paid a discounted
price of $10.9 billion in cash for Indian mobile firm Hutch
Essar to complete a deal that gives it access to one of the
fastest growing mobile markets to counter saturation in
European markets.
The final price represents a reduction of $180 million from the originally agreed price of $11.08 billion, which reflects retention and closing adjustments as agreed with seller Hutchison Telecom.
The adjustments include provisions for a previously announced settlement pact with Indian partner Essar.
“I am delighted that, having secured all the necessary regulatory approvals, we are now able to complete this important transaction and move onto the process of integration,” Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin said. The transaction was completed on May 8, Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd (HTIL), which sold its entire stake in the company, said in a release.
The stage is now set for Vodafone to start its operations in India, which is witnessing an addition of five million new mobile subscribers every month. Hutch-Essar will become Vodafone-Essar over a period of time.
The estimated pre-tax gain from the sale is expected to be approximately $9 billion to HTIL. The adjustments also include $352 million retention by Vodafone towards cost and expenses associated with the transactions. The net cash inflow to HTIL before payment of the settlement amount is about $10.83 billion.
HTIL is expected to declare a special dividend of HK $6.75 per share following the completion of the necessary formalities. Commenting on the transaction, Hutchison Telecom chairman Canning Fok said: “Today marks the conclusion of an outstandingly successful venture for Hutchison Telecom.”
“We exit the Indian market as one of the best capitalised telecom companies in the region which will enable us to react swiftly to new opportunities and to accelerate growth in our existing markets,” he said.
Earlier, the deal was cleared by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board, which looked into allegations of breach of FDI norms in the company. India allows a maximum FDI of 74% in the telecom sector. Vodafone acquired 52% direct stake of HTIL in Hutch-Essar, while Indian partner Essar holds 33% and three minority shareholders the remaining 15%.
Source: times of india
May 10th, 2007
