Idea special Diwali Offer with Calling, SMS and GPRS benefits

IDEA Cellular, the pan-India mobile operator, with over 60 lakh subscribers in Gujarat, has launched a Festival benefits pack for new customers offering special tariff and additional benefits of SMS and GPRS usage. This Festival benefits pack is available across all retail outlets in Gujarat.

Mobile consumers who choose to connect with the Idea network this festive season will get to enjoy the Festival benefits pack which has in-built tariff advantage of all local Idea to Idea calls at the most affordable rate of 1 paisa per 2 seconds. The pack also offers SMS benefit of a whopping 73,000 Free SMS for a period of one year and 200 MB of GPRS usage absolutely free for 7 days.

MTS Crosses 5 lakh Customer Milestone in Bihar and Jharkhand

MTS, the mobile telephony services brand of Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd (SSTL), today announced it’s achievement of crossing the 5 lakh customer milestone in Bihar & Jharkhand. MTS has added over 4.9 lakh voice and over 15,000 data customers injust 16 months.

The company is on track with its investment plans of USD 180 million, earmarked to develop telecom infrastructure and services in Bihar and Jharkhand. Additionally MTS is also credited for establishing a network of 25000 retailers across 282 towns in the 2 states.

New Tata Photon Plus Device with music features like MP3, Radio

Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL) has introduced the evolved Tata Photon Plus MP3 Device which offers a host of music features like MP3, Radio and recording along with Internet Surfing. The new device combines the benefit of wireless internet connectivity and music. Customers will also get a free 2GB micro-SD card for data storage. The benefits are 2 fold: one that it gives uninterrupted internet connectivity, secondly the new device can also be used as MP3 or users can access FM radio while it is unplugged.

Tata Photon Plus mobile broadband service allows customers to be connected, not only for mails, but also for downloads, large files uploads, photo sharing, etc. It also allows users to send and receive SMS and is compatible with both laptops and desktop PCs. With Tata Photon Plus, customers can avail the benefit of multiple services such as access to rich text and images, Web browsing, blogging, social networking and bookings for travel, e-commerce, jobs, entertainment and more.

AIRCEL ISD Calling Cards with per minute tariff In UP West

Aircel, the Pan India telecom operator has launched 3 new ISD calling cards in Uttar Pradesh (West) telecom circle for both prepaid and postpaid subscribers. This calling cards are available in 3 options according to need of individuals i.e. Rs 50, Rs 100 and Rs 200with the validity of 30, 60 and 90 days resp. With this calling card which are offering per minute tariffs one can save up-to 85% on ISD calls.

By using this calling cards,  Aircel subscribers can make cheapest ISD calls to to US / Canada at 99 paisa per minute , Rs. 2.49 to china, Rs.2.99 to Singapore and malaysia, Rs. 3.49 to Vietnam and Austraila ( fixed line ), Australia mobile at

Free Mobile Phone SIM with BSNL Landline connection

The user base of BSNL landline connection is decreasing day by day and in order to improve the condition, the state run telecom operator has recently made an announcement about its latest scheme called “Pyari Jodi” under which free mobile phone SIM will be offered with each wired connection.

This latest scheme will be initially launched in Mumbai and will then spread to the rest of the Maharashtra and Goa. It is being expected by BSNL that this scheme will also help them to boost up the sales of their mobile business through their database of landline users.

The “ Pyari Jodi” scheme will not only provide free SIM cards and connection but the calls made from this SIM card to the BSNL landline number from which it is offered will also be free. The performance of this scheme in Maharashtra will decide that whether it will be launched in other states or not.

MTS launches attractive offers in West Bengal and Kolkata

In order to celebrate festive season with its customers MTS has recently made an announcement about the launch of its attractive offers for Kolkata and West Bengal subscribers. Under these new offers, the telecom operator is offering full talktime and even more than full talk time on the recharge of Rs.60, Rs.75 and Rs. 150.

The recharge of Rs.60 and Rs.150 will enable the user to enjoy Rs.70 and Rs.200 as the promo balance respectively with a validity of 30 days. With the recharge of Rs.75, the subscribers will be able to enjoy full talktime which includes Rs.68 as the main balance and Rs. 7 as the promo balance which has a validity of 30 days from the day of recharge. The promo balance in this offer can be used for making local as well as STD calls.

These latest offers are available for the customers till 31^st of October, this year.

Saina Nehwal will endorse Airtel

With its gold medal win in the recent Commonwealth Games in Delhi, Saina Nehwal has become one of the most popular celebrities in the country and with this she has also become a popular consideration for the brand endorsements. In the same row Airtel has also signed Saina as their brand ambassador recently. With this latest tie up, it is being expected that the endorsement value of Saina has reached a mark of Rs. 1 crore per deal.

Deccan Chargers Sporting Ventures who handle the account of Saina stated that various companies wants to get associated with her and her demand has increased a lot. According to Saina she is happy that besides cricket there is other sportsperson as well who is in demand. The commercial for the Airtel will be shot by the company after Saina will come back from the Asian Games which are to be organised in China from 12^th of November this year.

11 Telecom Circles to have MNP by 1st of November this year

Union Minister for Communications, A Raja has recently stated that much awaited mobile number portability will be launched from 1^st of November, this year. As per A Raja, the official announcement for the launch of the services will be made on 1^st of November and initially it will be rolled out in 11 telecom circles of north and west of India.

The services of MNP will be inaugurated in Haryana and apart from it the other circles where it will be launched in the month of November will include Himachal, UP East, J&K, Punjab, Uttaranchal Delhi, UP West, Gujarat, Mumbai, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.

The first phase of MNP will be implemented by Syniverse Technologies and it will be completed by 20^th of December this year.  The launch of the services in the remaining 11 circles will be only decided after the decision on Telecordia is taken by home ministry. Telecordia is responsible for launching the MNP services in the remaining 11 telecom circles.

SMS based mobile conferencing services launched by Reliance

As an extension to its “Group Talk Facility” Reliance Communications has recently made an announcement about the launch of its SMS based mobile conferencing services.  This latest service will help the users to break the handset support barrier and will prove to be very useful.

With this latest service, the users will be able to make a conference call among group of 10 members including the initiator by just sending an SMS to them. The Reliance customers having basic handsets can also form a group and enjoy this service.

The service has been launched with the help of US based Kodiak Networks which are known to be the leader in group communication solutions. The subscription for Group Talk Service is offered by the operator at Rs.40 per month and this latest service will be available to the Reliance GSM as well as CDMA subscribers.

In order to create a group the user will have to type the letter “C” along with phone number with STD code in case of landline number and 91 in case of mobile number and send the SMS to 51234323.

Bharti Airtel to launch 3G services before the end of this year

Bharti Airtel which is the largest telecom company by users in the country has recently stated that the company will launch its 3G services before the end of this year, 2010. With this announcement, Airtel has become the 3^rd private operator to make an announcement about its plan to launch the 3G services as Tata Teleservices and Vodafone Essar has already done so.

During the auction of the 3G services, Bharti Airtel was successful in winning the bid for 13 circles out of total of 22 and these included Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. These metros accounts for21% of the total traffic of the data in the country.

High speed HSPA networks will be deployed by Bharti and these network services will be provided by Nokia Siemens, Ericsson and Huawei.  The 3G services will enable the users to enjoy multimedia capabilities on the mobile network. Bharti Airtel also stated that the service area of 3G will contribute 68% of the revenue to the company.

Uninor Aaj Ka Panch Daily packs in Rs 5

After the Initiative of Daily packs from Airtel, Idea and other major operator now Uninor has also launched exciting new daily packs that costs only Rs. 5 and can be used in 6 different ways during the day. Each pack comes with the validity of 24 hours and customers have the freedom to order a new plan everyday or even repeat the same plan the next day.

In just Rs. 5, you can send 500 local Uninor-to-Uninor SMSes, or get 50 local Uninor to Uninor minutes, choose to surf 30 MB of data or get 12 minutes talktime for calls to all mobile and landline numbers. You can also choose to use it for 100 local Uninor-to-Uninor night calling minutes. Simply select how you want to use the Rs. 5 pack by SMSing the product ID to a shortcode number and start using it.

Tata Indicom Number Pe Bumper Contest takes you to Thailand

Tata Indicom, the CDMA brand of Tata Teleservices Limited has announced its pan India ‘Number Pe Bumper Contest’ to kick start the festive celebrations. The contest aims at providing Tata Indicom loyal customers, a chance to win a wide range of prizes like – a bumper prize of ‘Trip to Thailand’, stylish phones, gold coins (weekly) and silver coins (daily). The contest is applicable till 18th November 2010 for both pre-paid and post-paid customers.

“It is time to enjoy festivals and keep your spirits high!” Exclaimed Mr.Sanjeev Khera, Chief Operating Officer – Karnataka & Regional Head – South of Tata Teleservices Limited. “We are delighted to be a part of our customers’ joy and festivities this Diwali and through this offer, we hope to spread a little more joy and color in their lives. Through this contest, our customers get a chance to win exciting prizes like Trip to Thailand, Silver and Gold Coins and Stylish Phones. We hope to further cement ourbond with our customers as we celebrate this festival together.” he added.

3G services may lead to further loss of indian telcos

Indian telecom industry is already experiencing a throat cut competition and profits are mitigating day by day. Increased competition from new telco’s who are initially only looking to poach subscribers and the expenditure incurred on 3G spectrum and on purchase of equipment will be an add-on to ongoing deficit of Indiantelecom operators.

All telcos have already paid exorbitant amount for 3G auction and equipments. Bharti spent Rs 12,295 crore to get the 3G licence in 13 circles whereas RCom spent over Rs 11,000 crore and same is paid by Vodafone to acquire a licence in 10 circles. Vodafone also spent about $450 million to procure necessary 3G equipment.

After the launch of 3G services by private operators, sooner or lator competition will surely happen and it may lead to a wrost ever situation in Indian telecom industry. With 143 million users, Bharti Airtel is expected to post 19 per cent drop in profit for the second quarter of 2010. RCom is expected to report 45 per cent drop in profit. Moreover situation may not improve even in the next year as internet penetration very low in the country and still there is a huge need for affordable 3G enable devices which may kick start usage of 3G services in masses

Rcom is first pvt operator to show 3G capabilities in India

Reliance Communications (RCom) India’s second largest telecom operator owned by Anil Ambani has showed its3G network capabilities to the public and becomes the first private operator of India who done this . Rcom achieved this by streaming a private news channel broadcast live on a mobile phone and shown it to shareholders on a big screen at the company’s annual general meeting (AMG) .

“We are the first private operator to show our 3G network to the world,” RCOM’s President-Wireless, Syed Safawi, told shareholders as he requested a company executive to operate the mobile phone.

Tata DOCOMO Festive Season with Diwali Bumper Contest

Tata DOCOMO, the GSM brand of Tata Teleservices Limited, has launched ‘Diwali Bumper Contest’ both for its Pre-Pay and Post-Pay subscribers, providing them with an opportunity to win a wide range of prizes.

A bumper prize of Rs. 4,00,000 will be awarded to the participant collecting the maximum number of points through the offer period. Moreover, there are various other exciting prizes like gold coin worth Rs. 20,000 daily, or a Tata Nano Car (or a cash prize of an equal amount) every week. The first and second runners-up will win cash prize of Rs. 3,00,000 and Rs. 1,00,000 respectively. Participants have to score a minimum of 10,000, 5,000 and 2,000 points to be eligible for the Grand Prize, and the First Runner-Up and the Second Runner-Up prizes, respectively.

Vodafone becomes first private telecom to make 3G video call

Vodafone Essar Ltd., India’s second largesttelecom service provider, today demonstrated its 3G services for its customers in India. Marten Pieters, Managing Director of Vodafone Essar Ltd., made the first 3G video call from Mumbai to Delhi.  Vodafone Essar is the first private telecom company in the country to showcase a  3G video call. Recently Tata Docomo an Airtel announced to launch their 3G services in coming month but Vodafone Essar will launch 3G services in the first quarter of 2011.

Vodafone acquired 3G spectrum in 10 circles – Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (E) and West Bengal and is exploring opportunities to tie up with other operators to provide high quality 3G services in other circles as well. 
3G services will give customers an all-new experience with faster internet access and speedy data download on their finger-tips. Through the roll out of this latest technology, Vodafone customers can experience video calling, high speed internet, live mobile TV, better gaming experience and much more.

Fly Dubai with Uninor double bonanza Diwali contest

Uninor has rolled out exciting offers to celebrate this festive occasion with their customers in Andhra Pradesh. The operator has announced ‘Fly with Uninor’ – a special double bonanza Diwali offering an opportunity to win to & fro Air tickets to Dubai or to any destination in India.

Customers just have to recharge with the Special Tariff Voucher (Gulf Pack STV 31) to stand a chance to win a trip to Dubai / orrecharge with the Special Tariff Voucher (STD Pack STV 41) to enter the contest for a trip to any destination in India. This special festive offer is on till November 8, 2010.

The ‘Fly with Uninor’ offer will hold two lucky draws. One draw entitles the winner to a round trip ticket to Dubai and the other gives out a round trip ticket to fly to any destination in India.

Tata DOCOMO 3GLife platform packs you to Japan

This Diwali, Tata DOCOMO subscribers are going to have something new to DO as Tata DOCOMO is going to launch its 3G services giving its users access to richer and better communication, information and entertainment services.

Tata DOCOMO has unveiled a massive platform www.3glife.com. This 3G website has everything for 3G enthusiast consumers to know life post 3G. The home page features a global 3G Live stream that captures anything anyone is saying around 3G in the online space. Integrated across Twitter, Facebook, thousands of blogs, forums and news sites it provides a real time conversation cloud of everything anyone is saying about 3G.

BSNL Video Calls and DATA Facilities now for 2G Customers

BSNL, The state own telecom operator extends its video calling facility to 2G Prepaid customers in Tamilnadu Region enabling them to experience the next generation 3G mobile services on 2G network. All existing 2G prepaid plans are allowed to use this 3G services but customershould have 3G enabled handset. 3G Tariff for Video call / Data will be applicable.

The difference between 2G and 3G services are (1) video call facility and (2) Data speed. i.e. The default Data speed for any 2G customer is upto128kbps where as 3G customer can avail upto 3.6Mbps

S Tel Passport packs with one hour ISD talk time in Rs 99

S Tel, a joint venture between the Siva Group and Bahrain Telecommunications Co (Batelco) has launched a series of new ISD plans for its subscribers across  Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar & Jharkhand and Assam. The new  ‘Passport Pack ’, allow S Tel subscribers to connect to their favourite international destination through a comprehensive per second flexible plan. Starting from as low as Rs. 18 to Rs. 99, these ISD packs gives one of the most affordable international calling experience.

Commenting on the product offerings, Mr. Rajkumar, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, S Tel said, “S Tel’s newly launched Passport Packs are customized to our subscribers’ communication needs. Subscribers choosing these packs can avail amazing benefits of up to 80% cost reduction and enjoy 1 hour of international talktime in less than Rs.100.”

Tata Indicom Comedy Junction with Raju Srivastav Bhagwat Mann

Tata Indicom, the CDMA brand of Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL), has launched another interesting value added service ‘Comedy Junction’ through its voice portal, for all the existing and potential prepaid and postpaid subscribers across India.

It’s a unique service wherein, users can listen to renowned stand-up comedians like Raju Srivastava, Ehsaan Qureshi, Ranvir Shorey, Bhagwat Mann, Suresh Albela and many more by simply dialing the interactive voice portal 12903 . Customers can avail a trial period of 5 minutes absolutely free of cost to experience the service before subscribing for it. This service aims at providing a one stop super market for fun and entertainment to Tata Indicom users. It is available at amonthly subscription of Rs 30/- with toll free browsing of up to 60 minutes.

Bharti Airtel signs MOU with India Post for Document verification

Bharti Airtel, one of the Asia’s emerging telco signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with India Post to speed up the ongoing process of document collection andverification mandated by department of Telecom (DoT). As a part of this initiative all Airtel prepaid customers in Gujarat circle will have the convenience of submitting their documents at any one of the 8971 post offices in Gujarat.

Mr. Shivan Bhargava, COO, Bharti Airtel – Gujarat Circle said, “We are delighted to partner with India Post in this innovative and novel project to form a powerful network across Gujarat, supporting DoT’s initiative of streamlining the documentation process. This association will enable the Airtel Customers to submit their form and relevant documents at a convenient near-by location. Bharti Airtel is joining hands with India Post with a view to provide convenience to its customers.”

MTS India partners with Opera Software

Opera Software and MTS, the mobile telephony services brand of SSTL, have signed an agreement that would enable MTS customers to download Opera Mini directly on a range of mobile phone models from leading handset manufacturers such as Samsung, ZTE, Haier, Huawei, Micromax and Hisense by browsing through MY MTS Zone on their handsets.  The access path being MY MTS > Mobile Shop > Opera Mini Browser

Opera Mini is the world’s most popular browser used by more than 71 million people on more than 3000 mobile phone models. Opera mini offers many of the features from the Opera desktop browser, empowering users with a desktop-like web-browsing experience from their mobile phones. Server-side compression technology reduces data consumption by up to 90 percent and provides Opera Mini users with significantly faster page loading.

Indian gov planning to merge all telecom circles into single area

The government of India is considering to merge all 22 telecom circles of the country into either a single service area or four separate zones to enable subscribers to roam freely across states without paying extra charges for roaming.

Roaming services allow cellphone users to continuously make and receive calls while travelling outside the geographical constraints of their home network by using a visited network but currently operators are charging extra for Telecom services outside Home Region.

As per the recommendations of a core team of the Telecom Ministry, “There could be either one service area covering the entire country, or there could be four zones each covering a particular region.” The core team was constituted by the Department of Telecom to give recommendations on strategic issues related to licensing matters. They recommended that “there should be an option to merge certain service areas.”