Shortly after Airtel announced its Rs 1,399 4G phone in partnership with Karbonn, the Vodafone-Idea Cellular combine is also contemplating a similar device. Reports suggest that the two incumbents may be approaching domestic budget-phone makers like Lava and Karbonn to manufacture a sub-1,500 4G-enabled device. All this, in response to Reliance’s JioPhone that was announced in August, and recorded six million bookings in the first round.

The top four telcos — Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular and Reliance Jio — are now gunning for the absolute lower-end of the market, which consists of 400-500 million users who are still on feature phones. Many of them could even be on 2G networks. While the ‘effectively free’ JioPhone offers Jio’s content services along with 4G functionalities, the Karbonn A40 Indian which is being significantly subsidized by Airtel under its ‘Mera Pehla 4G Smartphone’ initiative is a smartphone running on Android Nougat. That is a delicious proposition at that low a price point. 

The specifications of the rumored Vodafone-Idea feature phone, however, are not clear yet. Though analysts reckon that it could be a series of low-cost models instead of just one device. And unlike Airtel, which chose to extend its partnership to an already existing device, Vodafone and Idea are working with manufacturers for fresh handsets. ”We’re in discussions with all three telcos but plans have not been finalized,” Gaurav Nigam, product head at Lava, reportedly said. 

Meanwhile, Vodafone India also has a contract with Chinese player itel for feature phones, but right now 4G-enabled sub-1,500 segment seems to be the focus for telcos. Finnish manufacturer Nokia too is closely following the developments in the space. At present, Nokia has four feature phone models in the Indian market, one of which is the revamped version of the iconic 3310. But none of these devices have 4G capabilities. “We are watching how this materializes. If we see a viable business proposition, we will definitely consider it [4G feature phone] and participate,” Ajey Mehta, India VP for HMD Global, recently said.

Reliance Jio has topped TRAI’s 4G download speed test for the eighth consecutive month. According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India‘s speed data, Jio recorded average speed of 18.433 Mbps for the month of August. It was followed by Vodafone (8.999 Mbps), Idea Cellular (8.746 Mbps), and Bharti Airtel (8.550 Mbps).

While Reliance Jio has topped the download speed, Idea Cellular has achieved the highest 4G upload speed in September citing data compiled by telecom regulator TRAI’s MySpeed app. In comparison to Reliance Jio, Idea Cellular 4G upload speed for September stands at 6.307 Mbps. According to TRAI, Idea Cellular was followed by Vodafone, Reliance Jio and Airtel.

It is the eighth consecutive month when Reliance Jio has topped the TRAI speed chart compared to incumbent players Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular. Last month, Reliance Jio clocked an average download speed of 18.331 Mbps, compared to Airtel at 9.266 Mbps, Idea Cellular at 8.833 Mbps, and Vodafone India at 9.325 Mbps. 

According to the latest report from OpenSignal, Reliance Jio is the most widely available 4G LTE network in India. Apart from that, the report also revealed that Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, Vodafone, BSNL Mobile and Reliance Communications are the top six telcos. While the first three operators run both 3G and 4G networks the other two operate 3G-networks only.

Idea Cellular said it achieved the highest 4G upload speed in September citing data compiled by telecom regulator TRAI’s MySpeed app.

Idea Cellular topped the chart in terms of average 4G upload speed for September at 6.307 mbps, the private telecom player said in a statement reeling off the TRAI data. It reported an average download speed of 8.74 mbps (megabits per second) during the same month. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI ) MySpeed app tabulates mobile data speed of various operators.

The regulator last week had said it plans to strengthen the MySpeed app and would also make its evaluation method more transparent after consultation with operators.

TRAI hopes to come out with a white paper soon on underlying methodology and algorithms used by the said app for calculating data speeds of various service providers. According to the data available on the TRAI site, Idea took the pole position in 4G upload speed, followed by Vodafone, Reliance Jio and Airtel. In terms of 4G download speed, Idea ranked third, after Jio and Vodafone, the TRAI data showed. 

An Idea Cellular statement said it has rapidly expanded the network to 2.60 lakh sites across the country, with 50 percent dedicated to mobile broadband services. The company also said it added nearly 50,000 broadband sites over the last 12 months to August, growing its broadband footprint to cover 5,888 census towns and close to 1.05 lakh villages and reaching out to 45 percent population of the country.

Vodafone India and Idea Cellular merger deal is expected to be completed by March next year, as all regulatory approvals are likely to be obtained by that time, a source privy to the deal said. ”There are only two permissions left in the amalgamation scheme of the Idea and Vodafone. It should be completed by end of the current financial year,” an industry source, who did not wish to be named, told PTI.

Emails sent to Vodafone and Idea did not elicit any response. Both the companies are before National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for seeking its nod after which they will need final approval from the Department of Telecom. Idea Cellular will hold a meeting of shareholders and creditors on October 12 to seek their approval for the amalgamation of Vodafone India’s business with itself. The meeting of equity shareholders secured creditors and unsecured creditors will be held in Gandhinagar. It is being convened following directions of the NCLT bench at Ahmedabad.

Reliance Communications on Sunday announced the termination of the mobile business merger deal with Aircel due to “Legal and regulatory uncertainties, and various interventions by vested interests” leading to “inordinate delays in receipt of relevant approvals for the proposed transaction”.

Earlier this year, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular had agreed to merge their operations to create the country’s largest telecom operator worth of more than USD 23 billion with a 35 percent market share. The combined entity of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, which are currently India’s number two and three, respectively, would dislodge Bharti Airtel to counter the fierce price war in the world’s second-largest telecom market. 

The deal gives Vodafone India an implied enterprise value of Rs 82,800 crore and Idea Rs 72,200 crore. Post the transaction, the British firm will own 45.1 percent stake in the merged entity, while the Aditya Birla group, Ideas parent, will have 26 percent after paying Rs 3,874 crore cash for a 4.9 percent stake. The remaining 28.9 percent will be held by other shareholders.

{BGR}

India will host its very-own mobile congress between September 27 and 29 at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. In its first edition, the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2017 will feature a three-day exhibition where prominent mobile manufacturers, internet solution providers, and telecom operators will showcase their technologies and products. With as many as 300 exhibitors lined up for the IMC, here’s a look at the top expected things.

Akin to Mobile World Congress in Barcelona edition, the India Mobile Congress is also expected to see Nokia as one of the key exhibitors. At the preview conference, Nokia’s Head of Marketing and Communication (CMO) Amit Marwah said that there will be up to 20 technology demonstrations at the event. This will also include the company’s OZO 360-degree virtual reality camera. In addition to the tech demos, all of Nokia’s latest phones will be on display. While Marwah did not explicitly mention, but we can expect the Nokia 8 to make its presence felt, along with the Nokia 5, Nokia 6, and Nokia 3.

Nokia won’t be the only brand at IMC 2017. A range of other manufacturers – local and foreign – will also be present at the event. These include Micromax, Lava, and LG among others. 

India is rapidly pacing towards the adoption of 4G services, and now the time befits to start the chatter around the next-gen 5G services. IMC is said to be the platform facilitating talks, and showcasing of 5G solutions for consumers and enterprises. Recently, Airtel partnered South Korea’s SK Telecom to build 5G network for India. As Airtel is also one of the exhibitors at the event, we might see how the alliance is shaping up.

In line with Make in India, ISRO’s indigenous navigation satellite is under development. At IMC, the space agency will showcase the technology and detail the working of NavIC. The ‘desi’ navigation system is poised to compete with other navigation systems, including GPS (Global Positioning System), which is built by the US.

Among telecom operators, the PSU telecom operator will showcase its network services at the event. BSNL is also likely to detail its plans for 5G deployment in the country. VK Sharma at the preview conference said that by end of 2018, BSNL will also provide 5G services in the country. Idea Cellular, on the other hand, will be showcasing enterprise solutions that are built for India. 

Other than Nokia’s OZO, Qualcomm will also focus on the emerging virtual reality technology. The chipmaker, one of the key exhibitors at IMC, is likely to showcase technology or solutions built to accelerate the development, and adoption of VR in the consumer space.

Artificial intelligence, another technology which is fast expanding, will be demonstrated by IBM. The company is expected to detail its work in the field, and demo solutions for consumers and enterprises.

As COAI Chairman Rajan Mathews pointed during the media briefing, IoT is one of the immediate technological needs for India. At IMC, Internet of Things or IoT is said to hog plenty of limelight driven by the need and interest in the Indian context. From industry automation to consumer space, we might be able to witness companies showcasing their internet connected products and services. Some of these solutions will be targeted at the agricultural space in the country, and how to better it.

{BGR}