India Department of Telecom will complete 3G spectrum allocation on September 1

Indian government on August 27, 2010, said that it would allocate radiowaves to the companies who bid for them on September 1, 2010. During an Assocham event, Sachin Pilot, Union Minister of State for Communications and IT, said, "After September 1, 2010, allocation will take place and services will be rolled out."

Department of Telecom set September 1, 2010 as the deadline for allocating radiowaves as per schedule. The government procured Rs.67,000 crore through selling 3G spectrum. It raised over Rs.1.06 lakh crore from selling spectrum for 3G and broadband wireless.

However, the defense forces did not abandon spectrum in several areas as the government could not provide alternate network for them. Hence, many industry experts are not sure whether the government would be able to provide spectrum within said timeline.

Major operators like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Tata Teleservices, Reliance Communications and others acquired 3G spectrum in selected zones and they are also confident over getting the spectrum by September. If everything goes according to plan then 3G services would be rolled out early next year.

Reliance Communication and Bharti Airtel said that their necessary network infrastructure is already in place and they are just waiting for the government to release the spectrum.

Reliance is looking for potential buyer to sell minority stakes

AT&T, the largest telecom operator in the U.S., is having informal discussions with Reliance Communications over acquiring minority stakes. Reliance is also in talks with Etisalat, the Abu Dhabi based mobile operator.

Wall Street Journal reported that Reliance is going to sale 26% stake which would enable the company to collect $1.8 billion at its current market value.

The decision of stake sales came after Anil Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Communications, and his brother, Mukesh Ambani, ended an agreement that forbade them from competing in each other’s business sectors.

Valued at $7.7 billion, Reliance Communications is currently the second largest mobile phone operator in India. It has a subscriber base of 105 million and it is the only operator without any strategic foreign investor in India. The company is now looking forward to move towards 3G network and it is now looking for potential investors.

AT&T is currently, the second largest mobile phone operator in the U.S with a subscriber base of 87 million. The company is now looking to expand its business.

Though India is one of the fastest growing mobile phone markets with mobile operators adding 17 million subscribers per month, its profitability is eroding quickly as the market is overcrowded. To keep up the growth rate is going to be a bigger challenge for the operators.

Bharti Airtel, the largest mobile phone operator in India is now looking into untapped markets outside India. The company is now finalizing a deal with Zain Telecom.

Reliance Weekend Masti gives you the chance to make unlimited calls for free

Are you a Reliance Mobile subscriber? Then there is a good news for you. Reliance has launched a new offer called “Weekend Masti” for its GSM and CDMA subscribers all over India. Under this new offer, a subscriber can make unlimited local calls to any other Reliance mobile throughout one weekend. However, the subscriber first would have to charge his/her phone with Rs.33. The offer will be valid for one weekend (00:01 hrs of Saturday to 23:59 hrs of Sunday). The offer has also been made available to subscribers on e-recharge. Tech Whack reports:

Weekend Masti Pack MRP. Rs. 33.00

Pack Benefit Unlimited calls to any Local Reliance Mobile – CDMA or GSM

Pack Availability 00:01 hrs of Saturday to 23:59 hrs of Sunday

Charges for all other call types will be applicable as the prevailing tariff of the customer.

Reliance Communications is the flagship company of Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. It is the second largest mobile operator in India in terms of number of subscribers. Previously, it was known as Reliance Infocom. Anil Dhirbhai Ambani is the chairman and managing director of the company and controls 66.77% of the company which accounts for more than 1.36 billion shares. The operator uses CDMA 2000X1 technology for its CDMA mobile services and GSM-900/GSM-1800 technology for its existing and newly launched GSM services. It also possesses the largest optical fiber communication backbone in India as well.

Tata Teleservices Ltd. is going to launch its GSM service from July

Tata Group will venture into GSM telephone industry. Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL), the telecommunications arm of Tata Group is going to start new GSM service. Currently, TTSL is one of the major CDMA network operators in India but limited allocation of CDMA spectrum forced the company to start GSM service. Tata Teleservices will remain committed to its CDMA network but for the future of its business, the company is foraying into the GSM sector. In 2007, TTSL and Reliance mobile applied for “dual technology licenses.” While TTSL focused on CDMA, Reliance already established its GSM network around the country.

Tata Teleservices Managing director, Anil Sardana said that the company would operate on double network for its survival. TTSL is going to launch its GSM service next month and by the end of 2009, the company will also start its MNP service. TTSL pioneered the CDMA network in India. It introduced CDMA 3G1x technology and built its first CDMA network with Motorola, Ericsson and Lucent. In early 2009, the company received license from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to launch its GSM service. Currently, TTSL has 12,500 towers around the country.

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