We wish all our readers Merry Christmas and a prosperous new year. The telecom sector has been buzzing with developments but we haven’t been able to report them because of other interesting things happening in our life. But the good news is that Tele Gyaan will be back soon with a lot of fresh content, exclusives, features and much more to make you happy. So stay tuned! 2009 is going to be an exciting year.

PS: If you wish to see something specific in Tele Gyaan, let us know in the comments.

November witnessed 7.62 million new subscribers getting on to the GSM bandwagon. The addition though enormous, falls short of last months figure of 7.67 million. This has taken the GSM subscriber base from 241 million to 249 million, thus clocking a healthy 3.32% increase. Here’s how the players contributed to the final figure:

• Airtel: 2.72 million
• Vodafone Essar: 2.06 million
• Idea Cellular: 1.2 million
• Spice Communications: 68,765
• BSNL: 0.67 million

From the geographic perspective, J&K, which experienced launch of services from new players saw the highest additions at 6.31% closely followed by Bihar at 5.12%. Not surprisingly, the smaller towns are adding a lot more subscribers to the revolution as compared to the metros, which are on the verge of getting exhausted.

In a move to lure new users, Airtel launched some new initiatives in the Delhi NCR circle. The prepaid packs are aimed at bringing in affordability, by offering reduced call rates for both local and STD. Here are the details:

Plan 1: STD @ Re.1: For STD calling

• STD Calling at Re.1
• Rs.90 voucher for 3 months validity
• Rs.40 voucher for 1 month validity

Plan 2: Local calling @ 60paise: For local calling

• Calls to Airtel numbers at 50 paise
• Calls to other networks at 60 paise
• Rs.124 voucher for a 3 month validity
• Rs.49 voucher for a month’s validity.

Plan 3: Local and STD: A combo of the above plans

• STD Calling @ Re.1
• Calls to Airtel numbers at 50paise
• Calls to other networks at 60paise
• Rs.201 for a 3 month validity
• Rs.77 for a month’s validity

We Say: The prepaid packs look quite lucrative and the multiple price points at which they are being offered, helps it to be more attractive for users. We feel that all the three are good value for money, especially the last one.

MTNL has introduced a limited period offer for its Trump users. Now with every top-up recharge of Rs 300 and Rs 500, it is providing more talk-time then was initially offered.

Against a top-up of Rs 300, it is providing a talk value of Rs 300 which is 12% more than the previous value of Rs 267. Similarly for a top-up of Rs 500, users now get a talk value of Rs 525 which is 18% more than the previous value of Rs 445. Moreover, during this limited period, MTNL is also providing Trump subscribers a chance to win upto 250 gms of gold if they recharge with Rs 300 or more.

It’s been about a year since TRAI, the telecom regulator, has asked operators to reduce SMS charges. However, with the Telcos not doing much about it, the regulator is all set to take some action, if the operators turn a deaf ear this time around. Apart from this, TRAI is of the view that the Indian user is being exploited on the ‘calling’ front. Users have been complaining of calls getting cut due to network problems and thus having to pay for a whole minute even if the call lasted for 10 seconds.

The regulator is all set to put pressure on the Telcos, which eventually lead to SMS charges witnessing a decrease and operators taking necessary steps to strengthen their connectivity. If this is not possible we might see some operators reducing pulse rate, which currently stands at 60 seconds. This has been done by players like BPL, who had a one second pulse rate i.e. you are only charged for the number of seconds you spoke. On the whole, the future looks bright and cheap for the Indian users.

The stage is all set for Indian Telcos to fight it out in one of the fiercest battles for 3G spectrum. The day – 16th of January. Yes, the Indian Govt. has officially declared the details of the much awaited 3G auction. Here’s how the timeline looks like:

• 23rd Dec: Pre-Bid Conference
• 5th Jan: All applications to be submitted by this day
• 9th Jan: Declaration of the eligible Telcos
• 12-13th Jan – Mock Auction
• 16th Jan – The Day

From a capacity standpoint, reports of inadequate room for all players holds true, with space for only about 2-4 players available in each circle. Given below is the availability in some circles:

• Delhi: 2 players
• Mumbai: 4 players or more
• Himachal: 3 players
• Gujarat: 3 players
• UP: 2 players
• West Bengal: 1 player

Clearing the air of speculations, the ministry also clarified the criteria for foreign players to bid for spectrum. Companies can bid as 100% entities, but will have to partner with an Indian company to the extent of 26% – Indian cos. share, before it launches its services.

MTNL has launched another good plan under its prepaid arm – Trump. It’s a group plan wherein a Trump user can register a maximum of 9 Dolphin/Trump subscribers and enjoy the benefits of this group plan amongst the registered numbers. The details of the plan are:

• Service charge for the main number – Rs 30/month
• One time charge for registering a group member – Rs 10/number
• Call and SMS charges within group – 10p/min and 10p/SMS

We say

On the whole, this plan looks great and quite pocket friendly. So, if you have a bunch of friends who use Trump/Dolphin, tell them about this group plan and save some money.

In these turbulent times, where biggies like Vodafone are crying foul over delaying the bidding process, given the liquidity crunch, funding assistance is a much welcomed move. This comes at a stage where operators are in urgent need of funds to get themselves an edge over competitors in their bid for 3G spectrum. The Finance ministry has permitted IIFCL – India Infrastructure Finance Company to lend funds to the telcos who are all set to enter the 3G auction, due soon.

This move will help fund the process of bidding for the much awaited 3G spectrum. However, it is much appreciated, given the timing of the move, where companies didn’t have much access to funds to such a large extent. The funding is to the tune of Rs.10,000 crore, which the Company would raise through tax-free bonds from the public and local financial institutions.

MTNL is all set to launch the much awaited 3G service on the 11th of December i.e. tomorrow. Mr. Manmohan Singh would do the honors, with the service being launched first in the capital which will then be followed by Mumbai. The service comes a month prior to the auction, in which private players would face off for the spectrum allocation.

Users will be able to experience speeds of upto 2Mbps, much higher than those currently being offered – upto 140kbps. Next service operator expected to follow suit will be BSNL.

As for the prices, it is being expected that there will be no charges for the first couple of months except the data transfers. Data transfer is expected to be charged at 2 paise per KB. However, the pricing report is unconfirmed so it would be better if we leave this thing for tomorrow.

Another important point to note here is that the launch will be a pilot test for private players, who would be planning to bid for the same. A good base for the private players to know how the market will react to the service at a particular price point.

Unitech Wireless, a part of real estate giant Unitech has received initial spectrum for its services in 16 circles of the existing 22. Considering the specifics of the allocation, the operator has been allocated 4.4 MHz of spectrum in the 1,800 MHz GSM band, which has chalked out plans to launch services by mid-09. The company is currently arranging finances to start up operations in full swing.