BSNL Launches 50% Extra 3G Data Offer

Pan India 3G mobile and Data service provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) launched new 50% Extra Data 3G Data offers for all Postpaid subscribers under any data plan with free usage of 1GB and above including its apple iPAD / Tablet data plans.

Now BSNL postpaid 3G data service users under plan Best Value Plan-750, Plan-369, Plan-649, Plan-549, Plan-1133, Plan-1633, Plan-2039 and apple iPad /Tablet Data Plan-1000 will get increased 50% usage by default at same price.

Earlier the similar offer was launched on Republic Day for some plans as we shared on TelecomTalk, and now the offer is extended to more data plans including Best Value and Tablet Plans. Above limited period 3G Data offer will be available up to 31st March 2012 for all postpaid subscribers on pan India basis.

For more information call 1503 /1800-180-1503 (toll free from BSNL).

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Break Up Time: Telenor Starts Looking For New Indian Partner For Uninor

Telenor Group which operates Mobile service under the brand Uninor in Indian market today issued a notice to its Indian strategic partner Unitech, that it will seek indemnity and compensation following the cancellation of Uninor’s 22 licenses by the Supreme Court of India.

The company cites that it will consider every option available to secure the continued successful development of its mobile services in the country.

It is Telenor Group’s position that the strategic partnership with Unitech Limited does not have a future, and it therefore will start the process of looking for a new Indian partner.

The Supreme Court of India on February 2 passed an order to revoke 122 licenses issued to all operators on and from January 10, 2008. This included all licenses issued to Uninor. The Supreme Court decision refers to actions that happened prior to Telenor Group’s entrance into India.

In the share subscription agreement between the partners, Unitech Ltd. has irrevocably and unconditionally agreed to indemnify and hold harmless the Telenor Group from all damages which may be suffered as a result of breach of any of the agreed warranties.

Now it looks like Telenor is serious about its Indian operations  . Now how do you look at this move do let us know via comments.

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Reliance Launches Single Data Plans For 1X EVDO and CDMA Smartphones

Reliance CDMA will be launching its long awaited CDMA Single Data MobileNet plans which would facilitate mobile data adoption across Reliance CDMA devices (1X and EVDO smart phones) and subscribers.

According to our sources, Reliance will be officially launching the plan on 16th Feb 2012, the new PAYG plan of 2p/10KB would be applicable for all Reliance CDMA Postpaid subscribers only.

In addition to this, below mentioned CDMA MobileNet data plans would be available to opt as data plans for new acquisitions by weekend (Postpaid Only).

Benefits of Reliance CDMA SINGLE DATA PLAN

·Hassle Free Browsing- Single Data Plan would allow Internet access on Mobile/Phone as modem.

·Mobile Data plans can now be offered to 1X/EVDO/Smart phone users without ambiguity.

·Data benefits could be consumed on Mobile &/or Phone as a Modem.

·Data plans could be purchased through SMS, CRM and Rworld channels

·No Dual / Hidden Charges applicable while browsing RWorld / external internet sites on Mobile.

·Uniform browsing charges while browsing internet through Native WAP/HTML or 3rdparty browsers.

Above plans would be available for all Reliance CDMA customers (1X & EVDO handsets) to opt as data plan.

Reliance CDMA MobileNet New Postpaid Plan Details

Plan Benefits

·Default Pay As You Go Charges of 2p/10KB for mobile / phone as modem.

·Overage charges post quota completion as low as 1p/10KB and 1p/20KB for mobile / phone as modem.

·EVDO Smartphone / Android handset users can now purchase affordable Mobile data plans

·Rworld Network Usage Charges of 5p/10KB while browsing RWorld and internet sites on mobile is not applicable

·Default Mobile Internet PAYG charges of 50p/MB while browsing internet sites on mobile is not applicable.

·Network Usage Charges of 5p/10KB applicable while browsing internet sites on mobile is not applicable.

·For 1x handset: Default charges of 60p/min (day) 30p/min (night) while using handset as a modem is not applicable

·For EVDO handset: Default charges of 50p/MB while using handset as a modem is not applicable

All new data packs would be configured on consumer pack framework and extended on SMS, CRM and Rworld channels for subscription and un-subscription by 17th/18th Feb 2012. Currently, there is no change for Prepaid CDMA RIM Subscribers – launch date would be communicated later.

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Nokia Luna NFC Enabled Bluetooth Stereo Headset Now In India

Nokia today announced the launch of NFC enabled Bluetooth Stereo headset Nokia Luna  in India.

Nokia Luna features an eye catching design and variety of bright colours which is compatible with any Bluetooth mobile handset and is priced at Rs. 4530.

Nokia Luna is tiny, weighs only 5 grams and comes with extra battery life, offering up to sixty days of standby and eight hours of talk time.

It also features voice prompts to alert the user of battery life and walk them through pairing with a non-NFC phone.

It can be easily paired with a NFC enabled Nokia smartphone by just tapping the two devices together to share content the advanced multipoint technology in Nokia Luna allows users to pair up to two phones at the same time.

Nokia Luna offers up to 8 hours of extended talk time and up to 2 months of standby time when stored in the holder (2 hour with the headset, 6 hour in the holder).

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Kolaveri Di – The Official Game Now Available on BlackBerry App World

After its huge success in the country ” Why this Kolaveri Di ” the song makes its way to BlackBerry App World!

Yes, the song that got the entire nation to say “Why this Kolaveri Di” is now available on BlackBerry AppWorld as BBM connected  mobile gaming karoke apps.

With this apps, BlackBerry Smartphone usesr can compete with their friends / contacts over BBM with 2 karaoke tracks & also 5 different game modes to record their own vocals right from their BlackBerry smartphone.

Sure you tried humming to the tunes of this track before, now be as good as the singer and share the song in your voice BBM contacts through the ” Kolaveri Di ” karaoke app.

This BBM connected game is now available on App World for FREE. Grab it before you get Kolaveri-ed.

Download Link: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/86030/?lang=en

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Cheers Mobile – Etisalat DB Suggesting Customers To Port Out From Its Network Before 31st March

Cheers Mobile GSM service of Etisalat DB whose mobile service licenses has been canceled by the Supreme Court under 2G verdict, has advised its customers to transfer their mobile number to another operator using MNP prior to the scheduled suspension of Cheers Mobile services on 31st March,2012.

In a statement posted in its official portal Cheers Mobile / Etisalat DB said “Customers are encouraged to ‘port out’ their Cheers mobile number to a network of their choice as soon as possible (till 31st March,2012) by following the process prescribed by India’s telecommunications regulator the TRAI.

Cheers Mobile (Etisalat DB) a joint venture with real estate major DB Group and Dubai (UAE) based Etisalat has Unified Services Access License in 15 circles including Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Mumbai,Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu (including Chennai), Uttar Pradesh (East), Uttar Pradesh (West), Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.

Earlier The company said that the decision to windup its India operations has been taken in order to protect the interests of all stakeholders and to avoid incurring further costs at this time of rapid change and continued uncertainty in the Indian telecommunications sector.

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Micromax Brings MMX 353G Data Card Preloaded with Google Chrome

Though 3G in India is yet to be popular there is high demand for 3G enabled data cards as people are using these with 2G data services which comes cheap.

Apart from Huawei and ZTE, many Indian companies have already launched own-branded unlocked 3G data cards. Micromax, one of the leading indigenous Indian handset companies has launched a new model under its 3G-HSPA data card portfolio.

The new HSPA data card from Micromax is named as 353G, and supports upto 7.2 Mbps HSDPA & upto 5.76 Mbps HSUPA as per 3GPP Release 6 and backwardly compatible with UMTS, EDGE and GPRS i.e. the data card will work on slower 2G networks as well. The data supports network frequency bands of 850/900/1800/1900/2100 MHz.

The new 353G is powered with Qualcomm MSM6290 chipset, and supports setup mode of plug and auto installation with zero CD installation. 353G also includes pre-loaded Google’s fast Chrome browser to offer best browsing experience to its users. It supports USB 2.0 high speed mode and AT Interface of 3GPP TS 27.005/3GPP TS27.007.

Apart from the data functionality with auto APN management 353G offers complete support ofSMS, Contacts/Phonebook, Voice calls and USSD; simultaneous data and sms will work on it.

It also has a microSD slot to be double as maximum 16GB USB drive. This 3G data card supports all versions of Windows while Mac OS support limited to Intet CPU only.Currently it is available at Rs. 2000 as retail price.

Micromax diversifies its operations to South East Asia, Middle East and Latin America.  The new 3G dongle is factory unlocked and supports more frequencies to provide seamless roaming in most of the countries.

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Can Uninor Sustain in India ?

Following the Supreme Court’s verdict to cancel 122 2G mobile licenses, Indian telecom market is going through jeopardy. STel and Cheers already shut down their services and asked their customers to opt for other operators via MNP; while Loop is ready to return the spectrum of 21 licenses. 

And those are partially hit – Idea Cellular and Tata Tele filed a review petition on the ground that they applied a long before; Videocon is continuing its services as they are commercially available in few circles.

But the game is tricky for Uninor and MTS India who already invested a lot in the market and this judgement hit them worse than any operator. Foreign investers of MTS India – Sistema JSFC seeks their right via Bilateral Investment Treaty, which appears to be a strong case favoring Sistema.

In this situation Uninor is in critical condition. They planned to break even within 2013-2014 and this judgement hit them at a crucial time. Telenor, the majority foreign owner of Uninor has its investors agitated. Investors on Telenor do not like to invest more on this scam-striken Indian telecom market.

At this moment Telenor took a different approach, they flied Sigve Brekke, Head of Asian operations to India and started confidence building campaign as many employees are leaving the company. At the same time Uninor employees started campaigning for Uninor over social sites. They also published advertisements on leading dailies with ‘Continue to talk…’ tagline. Uninor is seemed to win the game by sympathy vote.While investors are reluctant to pour money in Indian operations does this strategy work for Telenor? Time will tell that!

But it is obvious basic needs of customers like proper customer care, network expansion areneglected. If you see MTS is on their roadmap and expanding its high speed wireless network over circles. With this campaigning Uninor is spending more to capture a single customer.

Telenor took some strategies (in India) which do not seem attractive in long run.

Uninor has no postpaid option while new players like MTS India, Tata Docomo GSM are offering postpaid plans along with regular prepaid plans. Without postpaid many corporate users will turn down Uninor’s offering. Being prepaid means Uninor is still another connection to a person in this multi-SIM environment.

Uninor continues maintaining its low profile as poor man’s second connection despite of the fact like other new players they are also a part of the gang who brings competition to Indian 2G voice market. Uninor also does not offer Blackberry services or smartphones with bundled data.

It is sure that in mobile voice market is getting saturated, urban market is already saturated with multi sim environment and rural market is following the trend at fast pace. Data is considered to be the future.

In that sceanario Uninor is lazy to think about data strategy. Their official GPRS FAQ says “… maximum speed may reach to 40 kbps in 2.5 G network.” Users also complained that Uninor often caps GPRS speed at 40kbps (=dial up speed).

Telenor did not take part in 3G auction in 2010 which was quite justified considering 3G is yet to take off. But why didn’t they take the risk to provide competition in the next level of mobile communications?

To get back the spectrum lost, Telenor has to put huge money in upcoming 2G auction. Also they have to buy out some shares of JV to keep their stakes at 74%. With investors’ hesitation Telenor’s Indian venture is under financial crisis, and they will not participate in 4G 700 MHz spectrum auction for sure! Future is not so bright for Telenor’s Indian operations!

What do you think looking at the future can competitive Indian telecom market can make Uninor sustain in the long run do share your views or will it be another case of STEL and Cheers Mobile ?

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Now Recharge your MTNL Mobile from ATM

India’s first 3G Mobile and Data Service provider Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) launched a pre-paid mobile recharge service through Bank ATMs for its 2G/3G GSM customers in Mumbai circle.

With the new facility, customers having ATM and Debit card could recharge their MTNL 2G / 3G Trump pre-paid mobile phone airtime anytime, anywhere through the selected bank ATMs.

Presently MTNL Mumbai’s Prepaid Recharge through ATMs facility is available with Barclays Bank, Citibank (kiosk), Corporation Bank, Dena Bank, Deutsche Bank, Development Credit Bank, Greater Bank, IDBI Bank, ING Vysya Bank and Standard Chartered Bank.

The company said in a official statement that some more banks will be added soon. Apart from the ATM recharge option, MTNL Mumbai also providing  online recharge or web recharge facility via net-Banking or Credit/Debit card at its own portal/website (mtnlmumbai.in) as well as with some leading online recharge sites like PayTM and  other.

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