“At Aircel, we have set ourselves ambitious goals to become not only a strong nationwide service provider, but also the operator of choice for millions of Indian subscribers with our proposition of high-quality services,” Aircel Chief Operating Officer Gurdeep Singh said.

“With Nokia Siemens Networks as our partner, we have launched networks in record time while delivering superior service quality and end-user experience to our customers. We are confident that the company will help us efficiently realise our targets yet again,” he added.

As part of the contract, Nokia Siemens Networks will supply radio, core and microwave network equipment and help in roll out.

Bharti Airtel Ltd

The talks for acquisition are at an enterprise value of $10.7 billion. The company has an exclusivity period till March 25, 2010, for the talks, Bharti Airtel said in a statement.

This potential transaction does not include Zain’s operations in Morocco and Sudan. The transaction remains subject to due diligence, customary regulatory approvals and signing of final transaction documentation.

There can be no assurance that a transaction will be consummated, it said, adding, further announcements will be made in due course.

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Bharti Airtel launches mobile applications store, Airtel App Central

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Airtel, RIM launch BlackBerry Bold 9700 Smartphone in India

Bharti Airtel posts lower net profit of Rs 2,237 crore in Q3

Bharti Airtel offers free talk time on Republic Day

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Bharti Airtel Q3 results on January 22

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Bharti Airtel’s total subscriber base rose to 121.7 million, COAI, GSM operators’ body, said.

Second-rung Vodafone-Essar added 2.74 million users in January, taking its total user base to 94.1 million. Idea Cellular and Spice Communications jointly added 2.27 million, increasing their total user base to 59.88 million.

State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) added 2.2 million new users during the reporting month, taking the total subscriber base to 59.45 million. Aircel added 2 million new users, increasing total subscriber base to 33 million, while Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd added 45,067 new subscribers. MTNL had total number 4.6 million users by the end of the period.

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Synchronica Plc

Available immediately, MessagePhone offers features like push e-mail and synchronization services, mobile instant messaging, HTML web browser and access to social networking sites. The Java-enabled MessagePhone handsets feature a full QWERTY keyboard, large color LCD screen, MP3 and MPEG4 player, camera, SD memory expansion, a personal information manager (PIM), Bluetooth connectivity, and built-in FM radio.

MessagePhone is sold as a turnkey, integrated solution and priced at $99.

MessagePhone is bundled with a suite of infrastructure services providing affordable mobile messaging and Internet experience for users across Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe and South East Asia.

“The MessagePhone solution provides operators in emerging markets with a significant addressable market that can help them to win the battle for identity management. The device-centric solution provides benefits to operators desperate to offset falling voice revenues by increasing the size of revenues generated from data services and to retain existing customers at a time when users are becoming more fickle,” Nick Jotischky, Principal Analyst, Informa, said.

MessagePhone QS200

According to data collected by Informa, monthly churn in Africa averaged to about 4.8 per cent in September 2009, with churn rates in Kenya and Tanzania having reached an astonishing 9.2 per cent and 11.4 per cent respectively.

Carsten Brinkschulte, CEO of Synchronica commented: With MessagePhone, we have created a device and service bundle that provides an answer to key challenges faced by operators and delivers affordable aspiration for customers in emerging markets. For the operators, we have delivered a messaging-centric handset that puts them back in control of their subscriber base – they can brand the product and use the services to reduce churn. For subscribers, MessagePhone can become their first and primary internet device – a great phone with a large screen and full internet access without breaking the bank, potentially replacing the trek to the internet cafe.”

Headquartered in England, Synchronica has a development centre in Germany, in addition to a regional presence in the USA, Hong Kong and Dubai. Synchronica is a public company traded on the AIM list of the London Stock Exchange (SYNC.L).

MessagePhone is available in two versions, the QS150 and the QS200:

MessagePhone QS150
Messaging and browsing device with VGA camera and MP3 player
2.2″ QVGA 262K TFT LCD
2.5G (GPRS) – GSM tri-band, not quad-band
Bundled push email service (users can have up to four email accounts)
Contact list and calendar synchronization
Bolt web browser, IM client, and social networking
Support for Java MIDP 2.0
QWERTY keyboard
10 MB user memory
MicroSD card slot (up to 4 GB)
5.5 hours talk time, 17 days standby

MessagePhone QS200
Messaging and browsing device with camera (1.3 megapixel), MP3 player, Bluetooth, and FM radio
2.2″ QVGA 262K TFT LCD
2.75G (GPRS / EDGE) – GSM quad-band
Bundled push email service (users can have up to five email accounts)
Contact list and calendar synchronization
Bolt web browser, IM client, and social networking
Support for Java MIDP 2.0
QWERTY keyboard
32 MB user memory
MicroSD card slot (up to 4 GB)
5.5 hours talk time, 17 days standby

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Tata Teleservices Ltd (TTSL)

Under the agreement, Future Group will sell T24 through its retail outlets. TTSL will commercially launch operations under T24 brand shortly, starting with the telecom circles in South India, according to a statement issued by the company.

“This is a unique marketing alliance between a retailer and a telecom operator in India, and offers us direct access to millions of Future Group customers through its widespread retail presence across India,” TTSL Managing Director Anil Sardana said.

“T24 stands for Talk 24, and is a natural choice of brand-name for us in this unique partnership, one that it will provide customers with a dual advantage all 24 hours of the day—‘Shop More, Talk More’ and ‘Talk More, Shop More’…,” he added.

“The T24 service is a unique offering which is innovative yet simple and provides customers a powerful value proposition,” Kishore Biyani, Chief Executive Officer of Future Group, said. “Customers will get shopping benefits for talking and talk-time benefits each time they shop. This would also reinforce our presence in the consumption space—in keeping with Future Group’s vision of offering a unique shopping experience to our loyal customers, cutting across product and industry categories,” he added.

(Click on picture for full view)

Picture caption: (From left) Santosh Desai, CEO and MD Future Brands, Anil Sardana, MD TTSL, Kishore Biyani, CEO, Future Group, and Deepak Gulati, President, Tata DoCoMo at a press conference to announce the launch of T24.

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Nokia Siemens Networks

This GSM network expansion will cover the 8 existing circles of Mumbai, Maharashtra and Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh, Bihar and Jharkhand, Orissa, Kolkata and West Bengal, where Nokia Siemens Networks already provides equipment and managed services for Bharti Airtel.

With close to 60 per cent of Airtel’s monthly customers coming from rural regions, this contract will enable the company expand its footprint into rural India, Airtel said in a statement.

“This expansion will not only expand our networks deeper into the rural hinterland but will also allow us to deliver a rich end-user experience, and satisfy the increasing demand for top-quality services,” said Sanjay Kapoor, chief executive officer designate, Bharti Airtel.

“With this upgrade, Bharti Airtel can enhance network efficiency for a better end-user experience and, just as importantly, reduce the overall cost of owning and operating its network,” said Rajeev Suri, chief executive officer, Nokia Siemens Networks.

Nokia Siemens Networks will deploy network solutions, including Flexi multi-radio base stations, packet core platforms and microwave solutions for new and legacy networks. These solutions will help in boosting the performance at a lower total cost of ownership and reduced carbon footprint.

The project will result in improvements to network capacity and spectral efficiency by employing a full range of services comprising network planning, implementation and optimisation. Nokia Siemens Networks will also provide an operations and business management platform for the effective monitoring and management of the network.

In addition, the company will ensure that Bharti Airtel’s core and transport network is 3G-ready in order to reduce time to market and enable the fast rollout of 3G services at a later date.

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Bharti Airtel posts lower net profit of Rs 2,237 crore in Q3

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Nokia Siemens Networks strengthens R&D presence in India

“The fresh equity investment from Telenor is as per the initial plan and will help the company continue to scale up operations,” Unitech Ltd Managing Director Sanjay Chandra said.

In 2009, India’s Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had approved Uninor’s application to hike foreign shareholding up to 74 per cent.

“Telenor Group’s investments into Uninor, as agreed between the shareholders, are now complete. This is an important milestone that also demonstrates the continuing confidence of our shareholders in our operation. As earlier, Uninor will utilise this investment as working capital to strengthen its operations in the 8 circles launched last year and launch operations in new circles in 2010,” Uninor Managing Director Stein-Erik Vellan said.

Uninor aims at achieving EBITDA break-even within 3 years and operating cash flow break-even within 5 years of launch of operations. The company expects to get a market share of 8 per cent by 2018.

“In December 2009, Uninor launched its services in 8 circles across India, covering a footprint of more than 600 million. As per our plans, this injection of equity will provide Uninor with working capital to continue the roll out of services in new circles, and to secure customer growth in the circles where Uninor is already available,” Telenor Group Asian Operations Executive Vice President Sigve Brekke said.

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Reliance Communications

The first version of the applications store is planned to go live on GSM handsets as early as the month end, while an expanded version will be launched for on GSM and CDMA handsets later this quarter.

“It is our constant effort to offer our customers a ‘wow experience’ and with the launch of the Reliance Applications Store, we will be taking a giant leap in that direction. Applications Stores have benchmarked the overall VAS experience of customers globally, and the launch of Reliance Applications Store in India will provide consumers a broad selection of relevant, fun and exciting applications to choose from in the easiest possible way,” RCom President Mahesh Prasad said.

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Bharti Airtel

“As the undisputed leader in the Indian telecom industry, we are committed to constantly delighting our customers and offering innovations to enrich their experience. With the Airtel App Central – India’s first mobile app store- we are offering a one-stop shop open 24×7 to meet all our customer’s personal device needs. We are empowering our mobile customers to transform their phones into smart devices – with the click of a single button,” Bharti Airtel President (Mobile Services) Atul Bindal said.

The charges begin at Rs 5 (depending on the applications) and the cost is added to the customer’s mobile bill or deducted from the available talk-time (in case of pre-paid).

The applications are available on Airtel Live or SMS app to 54321 (toll free) for the website link (URL).

Also Read:-

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Bharti Airtel posts lower net profit of Rs 2,237 crore in Q3

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“With IPL being back in the country, we are confident that this tie up will offer a huge platform to create visibility for brand Idea through on-ground cricket action, and magnify the impact by reaching out to a larger audience through various media platforms,” Idea Cellular Chief Marketing Officer Pradeep Shrivastava said.

During the tournament, all 27 players of Deccan Chargers, coach and support staff will sport Idea logo on their jersey and trousers.

Idea will also launch a range of value added services on voice, SMS and WAP portal, for 60 million subscribers, across the country to bring them closer to the Deccan Chargers. Idea subscribers will get a chance to win tickets for the matches, autographed merchandise, download special player messages and interact with the team.

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