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• Vodafone Idea You Broadband Plans That Are Worth Your Money
• Virgin Media Could Offer Free Broadband, but With a Catch
• ZTE-China Unicom Successfully Complete Trial of Intelligent Radio Network Orchestration
• CRISIL Study Reveals Airtel’s Focus on Improving Engagement, Employee Support
• Telenor Bulgaria 5G Network Is Available in More Than 60 Locations
• AT&T Completes 5G Field Call Testing
• Reliance Jio Announces Prepaid Plans Without FUP Restrictions on Data
• Apple Private Relay Offers Limited Functionality Say VPN Companies
• 5G Jobs Postings Witness Massive Growth in India: Report
• Gionee’s New StylFit Smartwatches Come With Bluetooth Voice Calling Support in India
• Bharti Airtel Gets New MSC Codes for These Regions
• Nokia Helped Broadband Company Subisu Expand Fibre Network
• Opinion: BSNL Should be Privatised or Not, Can 4G Change Things?
• OnePlus 9T Can Be a Game Changer
• Bharti Airtel, Jio Offer This One Plan at Different Rates
• COAI Reappoints Bharti Airtel COO as Chairman
• Broadband Routers Types Based on Usage and Interface
• You Should Try Android 12’s Second Beta, Here’s Why

Vodafone Idea You Broadband Plans That Are Worth Your Money Posted: 11 Jun 2021 06:32 PM PDT Vodafone Idea (Vi) has been working to improve its broadband offerings to retail customers so that it doesn't lose out on the market share completely to Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel. Vi operates its broadband business through its subsidiary company called 'You Broadband'. Until a few days back, You Broadband offered very lacklustre broadband plans. Compared to Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel's offerings, Vodafone Idea offered plans that no customer would ever buy if they had the option of choosing any other internet service provider (ISP). But now, after revamping its offerings, Vodafone Idea's You Broadband plans are worth looking at. Here are all the broadband plans from the company that is worth your money today! Vodafone Idea Broadband Plans You Can Purchase Today Note that Vodafone Idea is currently in the drive to revamp its offerings across multiple circles it provides services in. For now, we are taking plans from Ahmedabad, which are also available in select other circles. The first plan that we want to highlight comes for Rs 400 per month (excluding GST) and offers 30 Mbps speed to the users with unlimited data (3.5TB FUP limit). The company charges extra for the Wi-Fi router/modem that it provides to the users. However, there are no installation charges on the connection. Further, there are no over-the-top (OTT) benefits offered with the plan. The second plan comes for Rs 679 per month, but this plan includes taxes and offers users 50 Mbps speeds with the same FUP data (3.5TB). Again, there are no OTT benefits with the plan, and the rest of the terms and conditions remain the same. The company also offers some high-speed plans, including 100 Mbps and 200 Mbps speed. Note that with all the plans, the internet speed remains symmetrical. Further, all of the plans come with the same amount of FUP data (3.5TB), and the terms and conditions do not change for either of them. The 100 Mbps plan comes for Rs 826 per month, which also includes taxes, and the 200 Mbps plan comes for Rs 1,062 per month, again with taxes included. Neither of the plans comes with OTT benefits. Users can also get voice calling benefits from the company, but there will be extra charges for them. There is also a 75 Mbps plan priced at Rs 738 per month (inclusive of taxes), shall the user wants it. All of these plans are worth the money since they are almost in the same range as that of the plans offered by Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio.

Virgin Media Could Offer Free Broadband, but With a Catch Posted: 11 Jun 2021 08:50 AM PDT In today’s day and age, freebies have become far less common, with most companies and organisations choosing to make more bucks rather than provide more freebies in order to get more customers. However, it seems that Virgin Media customers could soon get the same. As was spotted by a reader of ISPreview, it seems that Virgin is hinting at a new service that offers broadband without users having to pay a penny for the same. Virgin Media currently offers cheaper broadband to its users when adding a phone line, which effectively means that you can get 100Mbps speeds for just £25 on a monthly basis. The reader, in a post, explained that he was surprised to come across an advert this week that was offering a Free Broadband service from Virgin Media. Once he had worked out it wasn’t fraudulent, he decided to placed the order which asked for his name and address. Since then he has received confirmation emails and account details as well as confirmation of delivery for the Hub. What Do We Know About this Service As of now, the service supposedly offers low speeds of around 10Mbps but seeing as to how it’s totally free some might not be worried about sluggish downloads. The offering, which is called “Be Connected Broadband”, was only available to 200 people during the trial but it could be a taste of things in store for the future. As the terms state, the reason for this freebie is that Virgin wants those signing up to accept that they will then be targeted by adverts. If the trial is indeed a success then it might be possible to give more people access to this basic broadband if they are happy to see sponsored adverts. In a statement sent to ISPreview, a Virgin spokesperson stated that we are always working to improve Virgin’s products so we regularly trial new services and offers. We have some really exciting projects underway and our customers have a lot to look forward to. News of this freebie comes just after Virgin Media and O2 confirmed that they are now one joint firm. The new company, which will be called Virgin Media O2, promises some serious investment in its combined infrastructure, with broadband customers being the first to see the changes. As per an update, in order to celebrate the two companies joining their forces, Virgin could deliver these ultra-fast speeds that it has offered, usually of 1GBps or above to more users soon.

ZTE-China Unicom Successfully Complete Trial of Intelligent Radio Network Orchestration Posted: 11 Jun 2021 08:31 AM PDT ZTE has been at the forefront of technological advancements in recent times, after having showcased the first commercially available smartphone to house an in-display camera. Whilst the product did not sell in great volumes, it was an indication of what was to come in the future and how far the tech segment has to go. Today, ZTE Corporation, which is known for being a major provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions on an international basis for the mobile internet, along with China Unicom completed a commercial trial of the industry’s first Intelligent Radio Network Orchestration Solution, featuring both user orchestration and network orchestration, in Dalian, located in China. In the early part of 2021, ZTE had released the first Intelligent Orchestration Radio Network Solution, based on ZTE’s vision and the complete work for 5G network development. The solution is powered by a base station native intelligence and improves user experiences via user orchestration and network orchestration, which in itself allows for the meeting of more diverse requirements of both B2B and B2C services. What Do the Results Indicate The results have showcased that the user orchestration can provide an improvement in both 5G user experiences and 5G camping ratio. The uplink NR low-throughput user ratio is also cut down by 50% whilst the handover delay is reduced by 50% and the 5G camping ratio has been increased by a significant amount. To add to this, when 4G/5G dynamic spectrum sharing is switched on, the network orchestration can adjust the spectrum configurations according to the traffic requirements on an automatic basis. The average 5G user throughput will be increased by 20%-130% adapting to spectrum configuration, with the 4G user number and traffic remaining unaffected. This allows for new possibilities to NR user experience improvement and O&M simplification in 4G and 5G dynamic spectrum sharing scenario. To date, ZTE and China Unicom have been able to make great progress in various innovation pilot fields. In one such instance, ZTE won the ICT China 2020 Annual Excellent Solution Award for the company’s sharing solution that is based on the blockchain technology in the 5G RAN sharing scenario, and was rewarded for the Best Practice Award for 5G Network and Terminal Coordination for the 5G low-altitude private network. In the future, both companies have mentioned that they will be collaborating further with each other in terms of intelligent radio network orchestration from standards, products and services to facilitate research, development and commercial applications, with the aim of building 5G networks using enhanced user experiences and network efficiency.

CRISIL Study Reveals Airtel’s Focus on Improving Engagement, Employee Support Posted: 11 Jun 2021 06:58 AM PDT A CRISIL study on Friday revealed that Bharti Airtel has been proactively focusing on improving employee support and engagement and is planning to moderate its employee attrition rate via career planning initiatives and by consolidating its position in the industry. This comes after a Delhi-based telco had provided proper life insurance and medical reimbursement for its employees owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. The company’s employees have been given access to a panel of doctors, oxygen concentrators and hospital bed wherever they are available via  Covid Care. Additionally, it also rolled out a vaccination program for its employees, their dependents and associates, the study highlighted. According to the rating agency, Bharti Airtel now has over 14,000 employees in India and a customer base of 417 million on a worldwide basis. The Sunil Mittal-owned Telco, as per the rating agency, should focus on improving value creation for its shareholders which has been 'subpar' in the last few years due to competitive disruption, adverse regulatory outcomes, and Capex-intensive nature of the business. A statement from the rating agency reads that over the previous five fiscals all the way up to April 2021, the annualised return to shareholders stood at 11.2% compared with 13.8% for the Nifty index. However, the company outperformed the Nifty index in the past two fiscals by providing investors with an annualised return of 30% compared with 13% for the Nifty index. The company is now restructuring businesses to enhance shareholder value. What Do We Know About the New Structure Under this new corporate structure, Bharti Airtel will intend to hold all the digital assets, whilst the telecom businesses will be moved into a newly created unit that will be called Airtel Limited. Until recently, Bharti Airtel had been housing the Indian telecom business, whilst all of the digital assets had been under Airtel Digital. Bharti Telemedia had been holding international operations including Airtel Africa, payments bank, data centre under Nxtra, Indus Towers and its DTH business. Furthermore, under this new structure, Bharti Airtel will intend to house all of its digital assets, with it becoming a holding company of separate units of the telecom business under Airtel, its Payments Bank, international businesses such as Airtel Africa and the infrastructure business that was part of Nxtra and Indus, as had been reported by ET Telecom. Post the assessment, CRISIL has assigned the ‘GVC Level 1’ to Bharti Airtel Ltd, which indicates corporate governance practices and value creation at the company for all its stakeholders are at their current highest.

Telenor Bulgaria 5G Network Is Available in More Than 60 Locations Posted: 11 Jun 2021 06:30 AM PDT 5G networks are being deployed rapidly worldwide. A few months back, telecom operators were just finishing the 5G trials and waiting for the final deployment. Recently, the largest mobile network and third-largest fixed telecommunications company in Bulgaria, Telenor Bulgaria, has deployed 5G networks in more than 60 locations. Telenor Bulgaria assured its subscribers the previous month and stated that the 5G network would be deployed in June. The telco honoured its commitment and made the capital city Sofia one of the first locations to receive the 5G services. Telenor Bulgaria Delayed 5G Network and Conduced Trials Tracing back to the previous month, while competitors like Viacom and A1 launched 5G services with temporary frequencies, Telenor Bulgaria was only conducting 5G trials. Talking about the 5G spectrum auction that concluded in April, Telenor Bulgaria gained the license of radio frequency band 3.5- 3.6 GHz for 4.1 million levs. On the other side, Vivacom was awarded the 3.7-3.8 GHz band for 4.6 million levs, whereas A1 gained 3.6- 3.7 GHz band for 4.7 million levs. Telenor Bulgaria Launched 5G Focused Campaign While conducting 5G trials the previous month, Telenor Bulgaria launched a 5G focused information and training campaign. The campaign was launched by the operator to provide a detailed account of 5G benefits to end-to-end users and answer their doubts related to the 5G network. Apart from this, the campaign also included a knowledge hub on the operator's website where expert opinions, website materials are published. Further, Telenor Bulgaria is also allowing customers to ask 5G related questions via mail or social media accounts. 5G in Bulgaria Might Not Witness Chinese Vendors Bulgaria will witness the rapid deployment of 5G network in the coming two years. Telenor Bulgaria stated that it is expecting to be the leader in 5G coverage in Bulgaria by mid-2022. Also, it is speculated that 5G rollouts in Bulgaria will not include Huawei and ZTE as the Prime Minister signed a framework with the US to exclude Chinese telecom gear markers from its future networks. In case you are not aware, the US is asking all its allies to ban Chinese gear makers due to privacy concerns.

AT&T Completes 5G Field Call Testing Posted: 11 Jun 2021 06:20 AM PDT The American multinational company AT&T is declaring a C band first, stating that it has deployed and finished 5G field tests calls using devices and a mobile test platform at locations in Texas, Detroit, Michigan and Plano. The C band testing is one of the crucial steps for deploying 5G network. Nearly all the telecom operators are eyeing the C band spectrum. The early adopters of the C band spectrum are Verizon and T-Mobile US. Verizon has also marked that it is working already to deploy 7,000 sites that will be fully functional when the first lot of spectrum will be available in December. AT&T Plans to Provide 5G Network to 200 Million People by 2023 Talking about the C band acquisition, AT&T gained 80 MHz of C band spectrum nationwide. The telco plans to cover nearly 200 million people under the 5G ecosystem by the end of 2023 using the C band spectrum. Tony Seyfried, who is the tech vendor manager at AT&T, stated that the test strategies for the new airwaves are an intriguing project to work on for the benefit of customers and the entire industry. He also noted that the entire team deployed at the test anticipated what we would need to repeat a field test again. AT&T RAN Team Developed the Test Procedures The entire team of AT&T invested extra efforts for the 5G field test. While the RAN teams created the test procedures and Construction and Engineering (C&E) teams worked on getting the sites ready. Apart from this, the management office focused on getting all the necessary approvals required for the 5G project. The teams in Plano and Detroit were part of the joint effort and competed against each other up to some extent to decide on who would take the initial call. In the end, the Plano team made the initial call and completed the first field test on April 22. On the other side, the Detroit team did their field test just after 10 days. Seyfried stated that the speed and agility of the trials were exceptional. The tests will allow the entity to implement the C-band even faster now.

Reliance Jio Announces Prepaid Plans Without FUP Restrictions on Data Posted: 11 Jun 2021 06:02 AM PDT Reliance Jio has just announced five new plans for its users. The speciality of these five plans is that they don't restrict the user with any fair-usage-policy (FUP) limit on the data. Whatever amount of data the user gets with these plans, he/she can use it all in one day or throughout the validity of the plan depending on his/her choice. The new plans start from Rs 127 and range up to Rs 2,397. Jio has ensured that there is one such plan for all short-term, medium-term, and long-term validity plan users. Let's take a look at all of these plans and the benefit they come with. Reliance Jio Five Plans That Come Without FUP Restrictions The first plan from Jio that has recently been introduced is of Rs 127. This plan offers users 12GB of data and comes with a validity of 15 days. Further, there is a Rs 247, Rs 447, Rs 597, and Rs 2,397 plan. The Rs 247 plan comes with 25GB of data for 30 days, Rs 447 plan comes with 50GB of data for 60 days, Rs 597 plan comes with 75GB of data for 90 days, and the Rs 2,397 plan comes with 365GB of data for 365 days. All of the plans come without any FUP restrictions on the data that a user can consume on a given day. There is truly unlimited voice calling benefit included in every plan and users also get a complimentary subscription to multiple Jio apps. Further, each of the plans come with a 100 SMS/day benefit. These new plans would allow users to consume as much data as they require in a day. With fair usage policy (FUP) limits on data, the disadvantage for the user is that he/she would need to spend more by purchasing data vouchers if they need extra data on a given day. But on days they don't need a lot of data, a substantial amount of their FUP data that's not consumed gets wasted. This is why users who have fluctuating data requirements will appreciate this plan from Jio since they will still have the voice calling benefit and SMS benefits but won't have to worry about data.

Apple Private Relay Offers Limited Functionality Say VPN Companies Posted: 11 Jun 2021 05:15 AM PDT Private Relay, a privacy focused service unveiled by Apple will "become the first step towards cybersecurity for many users who wouldn't have considered taking action otherwise," says Daniel Markusson, digital privacy expert at NordVPN. Markusson told TelecomTalk that Apple, despite not providing "full-fledged VPN features" with its Private Relay service, will "boost cybersecurity awareness in general." Crucially, the digital privacy expert at NordVPN said that the Private Relay is a "big win for the whole industry." However, Markusson said that the users "seeking maximum digital privacy will still be looking for solutions from flagmen of the VPN industry." Private Relay Shares Similarities with Traditional VPN Apple, an American company focusing on consumer electronics on Monday at its annual worldwide developers conference (WWDC) unveiled iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS Monterey and WatchOS 8 featuring "powerful new privacy protections." The privacy protections unveiled by Apple on Monday include Private Relay, App Privacy Report along with enhancements to its Mail app enabling users to prevent senders from "knowing when they open an email." The iPhone maker said that Private Relay is "built right into iCloud" with the service enabling users to "connect to and browse the web in a more secure and private way." "When browsing with Safari, Private Relay ensures all traffic leaving a user's device is encrypted, so no one between the user and the website they are visiting can access and read it, not even Apple or the user's network provider," Apple said in a release on Monday. With the Private Relay service, the Cupertino company said that the user requests are "sent through two separate internet relays." Apple highlighted that the first relay assigns the user "an anonymous IP address that maps to their region but not their actual location." Further, the second relay "decrypts the web address they want to visit and forwards them to their destination." Gabriele Racaityte-Racai, communications manager at Surfshark told TelecomTalk that the Private Relay service unveiled by Apple is "not precisely a VPN service." "A conventional VPN service like Surfshark masks IP addresses and lets users decide the location from where they want to connect to the internet," Racai said in an email interview. "So, for example, if users want to access a geo-blocked website that is not allowed in their region, Apple’s Private Relay won’t be of any use in this case." Markusson said that the Private Relay "in addition to being part of a paid package," the service will "only work if you're using Safari." "While it could help prevent bad actors and advertisers from tracking your activities, its implementation is pretty limited," Markusson said in an email interview. "A VPN such as NordVPN creates an encrypted connection between your device and a VPN server, thus securing your online activities and enhancing privacy." The digital privacy expert at NordVPN said the "users can utilize" NordVPN and other traditional VPNs with "whatever browser they're on, keeping" users "safe at all times." "While there are similarities, when you turn on a VPN (Virtual Private Network) on your computer, smartphone, or tablet, it protects your data by putting everything you do online through a tunnel," Markusson said. "And when you do things online using a VPN tunnel, nobody can see what you're doing, which gives you an extra layer of security." Heavily Censored Areas Need VPN The Most: Racai Markusson said that most people on the internet opt for a VPN due to the "location selection feature" with the digital privacy expert at NordVPN highlighting that these users will "continue to use VPNs." Meanwhile, Racai highlighted that the Private Relay service will not be available in China for regulatory reasons." "A conventional VPN, like Surfshark, doesn’t have any geographical limits, as people living in heavily censored areas are the ones who need VPNs the most," Racai said. The communications manager at Surfshark also highlighted that the Private Relay service will not be available in other countries including the Philippines, Belarus, Colombia, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkmenistan and Uganda. "The vast majority of people who use VPNs to bypass the restrictions on the internet in their country won’t be able to do it with Private Relay," Racai said. "As internet disruption or social media shutdowns have become knee-jerk responses to protests or civil unrest, especially surrounding major political shifts such as elections or nullifications of the laws, that’s a downside."

5G Jobs Postings Witness Massive Growth in India: Report Posted: 11 Jun 2021 05:08 AM PDT India is eagerly waiting to witness the multiple benefits of the 5G network. Even though the technology is not deployed, it has already started providing benefits to the market. As per a report by renowned firm GlobalData, job posting with 5G titles has doubled in the fourth quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021. The major reason behind the increase in job postings is the interest of the government in 5G technologies. The government of India has allowed 5G trials and testing to take the next leap of faith in the tech industry. Ericsson has Posted 20% Jobs Since 2020 in India The Swedish multinational entity Ericsson has nearly posted 20% of 5G jobs in India since 2020. Ericsson is eyeing cellular and radio network prospects along with the security aspects of 5G networking by considering the business strategies and requirements. Ajay Thalluri, who is the Business Fundamental Analyst at Global Data, stated that the increased data in job posting indicates the upward curve in demand for expertise in the 5G domain. Some of the prominent and demanded roles include engineers, IP networking, software, firmware and automation. Cisco Systems is Investing $5 Billion to Fund 5G Projects Globally The demand for 5G networks is increasing rapidly worldwide. All the big players in the market are heavily investing in the development of 5G to be the early adopters and provide unique offerings. Among the big entities, Cisco Systems is investing a whopping amount of $5 Billion to fund 5G projects globally. The investment plans by Cisco Systems involve India. The company has posted nearly 30% of 5G jobs in the Indian region since last year. Generally, the job related hiring at Cisco is overpowered by engineers for cloud core and packet core teams to enable virtualised cloud services. Other firms such as Dell and HP, who are indulged in developing 5G-enabled devices, are also hunting down experts in the 5G domain. Dell is developing an R&D team in the Bengaluru region to develop products and services for enterprise customers as well as service providers. On the other side, HP is also providing cloud-native 5G offerings.

Gionee’s New StylFit Smartwatches Come With Bluetooth Voice Calling Support in India Posted: 11 Jun 2021 04:48 AM PDT Gionee, a Chinese technology maker, has just launched three new smartwatches in India, namely Gionee StylFit GSW6, Gionee StylFit GSW7, and Gionee StylFit GSW8. Two of the smartwatches come with support for Bluetooth-based voice calling. Of course, as the case with all other smartwatches, these products from Gionee also come with support for fitness features and heart-rate monitoring. Regardless of whether you are an Android user or an iOS user, you can connect this smartwatch with your smartphone. Let's take a look at the specifications and the price of the smartwatch ahead. Gionee StylFit GSW6 Specifications The Gionee StylFit GSW6 has a square display at the top with curved glass protection. It can support Bluetooth connectivity which will enable control for music playback and voice calling for the user. The smartwatches come with an in-built speaker and a microphone. So users can just connect their Bluetooth earphones/headphones with the smartwatch and attend the call directly from it. It also comes with support for sleep monitoring, SpO2 sensor, heart-rate monitoring and has over 40 cloud-based watch faces. The smartwatch packs a 220mAh battery that can offer battery life of up to 15 days to the user. Gionee StylFit GSW7 Specifications The Gionee StylFit GSW7 comes with a 1.3-inch circular touch display. This model however does not include Bluetooth based voice calling support. Users can also click pictures from their smartphone wirelessly through the dedicated controls present on the smartwatch. The smartwatch comes with a dedicated fitness mode that will track all your fitness activities on a daily. For getting real-time stats from the smartwatch, users can pair it with the G-Buddy application that is available for both Android and iOS devices. It also has an IP67 rating meaning it is dust and water-resistant. The smartwatch runs on a 130mAh battery which is surprisingly smaller than the battery in the GSW6. The Gionee StylFit GSW7 can deliver a performance of up to 4 days only, which is very little. Gionee StylFit GSW8 Specifications The Gionee StylFit GSW8 comes with a circular display on the top much like the GSW7. It has all the features of the GSW7 and more. This smartwatch also comes with support for voice calls using Bluetooth. The Gionee StylFit GSW8 further comes with support for tracking the menstrual cycle for women, a calorie counter, and several other fitness features. One of the best things about the GSW8 smartwatch is its big battery. It packs a 300mAh battery that can deliver users performance for up to 18 days. Gionee StylFit GSW6, Gionee StylFit GSW7, Gionee StylFit GSW8 Price In India The Gionee StylFit GSW6 smartwatch has been priced at Rs 6,999 in India. On the other hand, the Gionee StylFit GSW7 is priced much lower at Rs 3,999, while the Gionee StylFit GSW8 is priced at Rs 8,999. As an introductory offer, the company is giving the Gionee StylFit GSW7 for Rs 2,099 only on Flipkart from June 13, 2021. The other two smartwatches will be available soon.

Bharti Airtel Gets New MSC Codes for These Regions Posted: 11 Jun 2021 03:48 AM PDT Bharti Airtel has been adding new customers at a rapid pace. In fact, the telco outperformed Reliance Jio, India's number one telecom operator, for consecutive months and added more customers. With more customers wanting to be a part of the company's subscribers base, Airtel needs to have more numbering resources. To help Bharti Airtel with the same, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has assigned the telco new Mobile Switching Center (MSC) codes so that the telco can meet the demands of new subscribers. The telco has been assigned new MSC codes in two regions. Bharti Airtel Gets New MSC Codes for Assam and North East Bharti Airtel has received new MSC codes for meeting the increasing demand for mobile services in Assam and the North East. The DoT has assigned separate MSC codes to the telco for both regions. For Assam, Bharti Airtel has received 84530-84539 MSC codes, and for North-East, the telco has received 87980-87989 MSC code. For each region, Airtel will be able to meet the demands of 1 million new customers with the recently allotted MSC codes from the telecom department. This means, with both the circles combined, the telco can meet the demands of 2 million new customers in the regions. For those of you who don't know, the first five digits of your mobile number is called Mobile Switching Center (MSC) code. The DoT allocates MSC codes in a limited quantity each time a telco needs them because it is a scarce resource. As more and more numbers are issued, the MSC code will keep getting exhausted. On top of that, DoT only assigns the new MSC codes on the basis of a region. The telcos have to submit a request for the MSC codes and state the circle they want it for. Upon verifying the request, the telecom department then issues the new MSC code to the telcos. Bharti Airtel doesn't request for MSC codes too often. But its competitor Reliance Jio gets issued new MSC codes at regular intervals. This just shows the popularity of Reliance Jio and the kind of demand that the company gets for its services.

Nokia Helped Broadband Company Subisu Expand Fibre Network Posted: 11 Jun 2021 02:21 AM PDT Subisu is one of the leading internet service providers (ISPs) in Nepal. The company serves both retail as well as enterprise customers. Seeing the demand for growing internet services, the company decided to take the help of Nokia in expanding its fibre network across East and West Nepal. Nokia, in a release, said that it helped Subisu in modernising the 1,500 kilometres long backbone network spread across West and East Nepal. For helping Subisu out, Nokia deployed its single 400G single fibre solution that will give Subisu's enterprise and retail customers ultra-high broadband speed. Subisu Can Enter New Market Segments With Improved Fibre Network Leveraging Nokia's solution, Subisu can now address the growing need for bandwidth and also enter new market segments. The ISP's customers will now be able to use high-capacity applications and witness an overall performance upgrade in the company's services. Nokia deployed the Nokia 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS) platform offering Photonic Service Engine (PSE) enabled 400G single fiber, bidirectional Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) solution across Nepal for helping Subisu. It is worth noting that this was the first of its kind operation that has never taken place anywhere else. Nokia's 400G single fiber solution will help Subisu upgrade the network reach, resilience and also upgrade the capacity of its fibre network while reducing opex and optimising capex. Nokia's solution is so powerful that Subisu will be able to scale the network for providing multi-terabytes of capacity just on the back of a single fiber. CEO at Subisu, Mr Binaya Saud, confirmed that Nokia was selected as the sole vendor by the company to complete this project. Saud further said that Subisu has been working with Nokia for a long time now, and its industry-leading solutions and products have helped the company in providing its customers with best-in-class broadband services. Head of Emerging Markets, Nokia India, Mr Vinish Bawa, said that Nokia's field-proven 1830 PSS solution is helping companies like Subisu expand their network capacity for improving the customer experience. Bawa said that Nokia is very happy that it could complete the project on time and helped Subisu in modernising its optical network.

Opinion: BSNL Should be Privatised or Not, Can 4G Change Things? Posted: 11 Jun 2021 01:21 AM PDT Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has been the talk of the town for quite some time. Some people believe that it is eating away the hard-earned money of taxpayers, and some believe that the telco will be alright once its 4G comes. The arguments of a lot of people who don't believe in the current plans of the telco end up in privatising it. There's no denying that privatising BSNL might make it profitable in the long run. It would bring in more competitive management, and certain unions and bodies that interfere with the telco's business won't have the power to do so anymore. However, a few months back, Sanjay Dhotre, the Minister of State for Communications, said that BSNL wouldn't be privatised given the telco would be able to roll out 4G in the next 18-24 months. BSNL 4G Plans Looking Stale at the Moment BSNL rolling out 4G can indeed turn things around for the company. However, it needs to be fast or else use cases of 4G will diminish by the time BSNL comes out with it. BSNL has already proposed a hybrid 4G tender to fast-track the network rollout process and also not ignore the Indian equipment manufacturers at the same time. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had already provided the state-run telco with PAN-India liberalised spectrum before the spectrum auctions took place in March. At present, BSNL is surviving because of the revival package announced by the government for the telco in 2019. The telco already has 4G airwaves. All it needs to do is ensure that 4G networks are rolled out as fast as possible so that people stop questioning its future. The move to not privatise the telco isn't a wrong one, but there needs to be a plan to ensure that BSNL is on the right track with its 4G and that everything is done on or before the time set by the telco. If there are huge delays like in the past, there would be no point in rolling out 4G networks PAN-India for BSNL. But if the telco can start rolling out 4G networks in the medium-term and complete PAN-India coverage in the next 15 to 18 months, the telco might have a chance of survival.

OnePlus 9T Can Be a Game Changer Posted: 11 Jun 2021 12:28 AM PDT So OnePlus launched the OnePlus Nord CE 5G in India yesterday. The device has some cool features but does it send the OnePlus ideology across the market? That’s debatable. Nonetheless, Twitter doesn't seem to be too happy with the latest launch from the company. Users don't like multiple things about the smartphone, and they are kind of right about it. Like we said earlier, OnePlus hasn't been the company it used to be for quite some time, but look, companies evolve with time, and there are a lot of things that are happening internally that we don't know. But one thing that's quite visible is that the image of OnePlus is deteriorating at a fast pace. This is because of several reasons. But the prime ones are increasing prices of smartphones and decreasing customer experience. That is why OnePlus needs to be very careful with its next flagship launch, which will be the OnePlus 9T, expected to launch in October 2021. OnePlus 9T Might Make or Break the Company's Image OnePlus 9T is a device that the whole market would be looking for. Many users didn't purchase the OnePlus 9 series because of the low number of 5G bands (N41, N78) support. There's one thing that OnePlus needs to understand – India is a price-sensitive market and more so than the other countries. Thus, if consumers spend close to Rs 50,000 or more than that on a smartphone, most of them are looking to use it for the next 3 to 4 years at least. Even though there are no 5G networks in India yet, they will be available down the line. If someone spent Rs 50,000 or more on a OnePlus 9 series device thinking it is a 5G smartphone and couldn't even experience 5G on it, that would break his/her heart. Thus, the first order of business for OnePlus should be to introduce support for more 5G bands in its upcoming smartphones in India. Further, OnePlus should ensure that the OnePlus 9T comes without any bugs out of the box. Every OnePlus device that has launched lately has had bugs, and it tells the market that the company is rushing to release its smartphones. Every company has defined targets and timeline to launch products, and OnePlus is no different. While that's not a bad thing, there's just one thing OnePlus should understand, if it takes a little more time than originally planned to launch the products, its market share in India won't reduce. The loyal OnePlus fans aren't going to leave its products and ignore the convenience and the clean experience of OxygenOS (arguably the best Android OS in the world). OnePlus can change all of its negative perception with the OnePlus 9T. OnePlus can show India and the world that it is a brand that doesn't settle by launching the OnePlus 9T in a fashion people expect from the brand. But if the OnePlus 9T also comes with bugs and other issues out of the box for a very high price, that just might break the solid brand image of OnePlus in India. It would further impact the company's sales of the OnePlus 10 series because of low customer confidence. It will be interesting to see how OnePlus markets the OnePlus 9T and what 'never settling' feature the device will come with.

Bharti Airtel, Jio Offer This One Plan at Different Rates Posted: 10 Jun 2021 11:41 PM PDT Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio compete heavily on providing the best deals and services to their customers so that they can increase their market share. But anyone who is familiar with the nature of both the companies, he/she would know that plans from Bharti Airtel fall slightly more on the expensive end while Reliance Jio's plans are more of value for money. But then people associate with Airtel as a higher quality network service brand, and that is why the company is still going strong. Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio both offer one prepaid plan that comes with the exact same data and voice calling benefits; however, both the companies charge different rates for them. Bharti Airtel Rs 299 Plan Bharti Airtel offers the Rs 299 plan to the users with truly unlimited voice calling and 1.5GB fair usage policy (FUP) data. The company also offers users 100 SMS/day with the plan. The validity of the plan is a mere 28 days, but the users are also eligible for getting other benefits with the plan, including Amazon Prime Video Mobile Edition for 28 days, Airtel Xstream Premium, 1-year subscription to Shaw Academy, Wynk Music, and other Airtel Thanks benefits. Now let's see how much Jio charges its customers for the same plan. Reliance Jio Rs 199 Plan Reliance Jio offers the exact same benefits to its users for Rs 199 (except the additional Airtel Thanks benefits) that Bharti Airtel offers with the Rs 299 plan. There is unlimited voice calling, 1.5GB daily data, and 100 SMS/day for 28 days. Users also get a complimentary subscription to all the Jio apps, including JioTV, JioCinema, JioSecurity, JioCloud, and JioNews. Looking at both the plans and the network coverage that Reliance Jio has, it is hard to ignore the price difference. If the difference had been of Rs 30 or at max Rs 40, it would have made sense since Bharti Airtel wants to show its superior nature and only want to attract quality customers. But a price difference of Rs 100 between the plans that offer the same benefits for such a short time; users would just choose Jio's plan over Airtel's plan any day.

COAI Reappoints Bharti Airtel COO as Chairman Posted: 10 Jun 2021 10:47 PM PDT The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has reappointed Ajay Puri, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Bharti Airtel, as the Chairman of the industry body for the FY2021-22. Further, according to a PTI report, the President of Reliance Jio Infocomm, Pramod Kumar Mittal, has been reappointed as the Vice Chairman of the industry association. For the unaware, COAI is an industry body that represents multiple telecom operators from and outside India, including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea and more. AGR Ruling Increased Challenges for Industry During Pandemic In a note, COAI said that the AGR ruling added to the challenges of the industry during the time of the pandemic. Regardless, the telecom industry stood strong and helped people stay connected during the pandemic and multiple cyclones that hit the country. The association said that it looks at the future in an optimistic manner, given the arrival of 5G will boost things further for the industry. Ajay Puri said that the digital communications industry helped India in staying connected at the hardest of times. Puri assured that the association would keep on working towards the government's goal of digitising India. Pramod Kumar Mittal said that he is pleased to be reappointed and will continue to work with the concerned teams to bring in new and better reforms for uplifting and strengthening the sector. SP Kochhar, Director General of COAI, said that the telecom and digital communications industry acted as the social and economic backbone for the country when the pandemic and other natural calamities struck India. Kochhar said that the industry's future is very bright as it is already gearing up for 5G networks. Kocchar further said that COAI is committed to playing an even bigger role to help the government achieve its Digital India vision. COAI is not a government body; it is an industry trade association formed to look out for the telecom operators and other telecom equipment manufacturers that conduct business in India. The reappointment of the officials is a testament to the fact that the team of the body did a good job last year in ensuring that everyone is connected. COAI not only looks out for the telecom operators but also the end consumers.

Broadband Routers Types Based on Usage and Interface Posted: 10 Jun 2021 09:43 PM PDT Broadband routers play a pivotal role in delivering internet access to our devices. It is a device that helps you create a fully customised wireless network. It further allows a network and the devices connected to the network to access the internet. They are used in both home broadband connections as well as broadband connections in offices. Since different varieties of routers are available in the market, knowing about their features makes it easier for you to make the right choice. A broadband router can provide different functions based on your requirements. There are broadly two classifications of broadband routers that are further divided by types. The broader category of broadband routers includes wired broadband routers and wireless broadband routers. Wired vs Wireless Broadband Routers Wired broadband routers are traditional devices that, as the name suggests, use cables to connect the broadband router with devices like computers, laptops, printers and more. These routers are mainly used in office environments where reliable data transfer speeds are required in a local area network. A wired broadband router establishes a stable connection as cables are involved. Wireless broadband routers are newer technology routers and are popularly known as Wi-Fi broadband Routers. They are equipped with external antennas that help in data transmission in the form of radiofrequency waves. They are useful in environments where multiple devices want to stay connected to a single broadband connection. Under these broader classifications of broadband routers, there are three different types of routers which are Edge Routers, Core Routers and Virtual Routers. Edge Broadband Routers Create Connection Between Networks in A Distance Edge Broadband Routers are placed at the edge of networks which allows an edge router of one network to connect to the edge router of another network. An edge broadband router can create a connection between two or more networks positioned at a distance from each other. This concept is used by virtual office applications to create a vast area network that allows their workforce located in different parts of the world to share files and access data. Core Broadband Routers Lie at The Core of Network Core Broadband Routers are present in the crux of a network. Such routers are used to restrict access and control priorities for various devices. A core broadband router wirelessly connects all the connected devices to the edge router in the network. Virtual Broadband Routers Are Software Routers Without Any Hardware A virtual broadband router has no dedicated hardware involved as these are software routers. Instead of a box-like router, a computer or server is configured to perform the functions of a router that involves routing internet traffic and managing bandwidth distribution. Edge and core broadband routers can be set with the help of virtual broadband routers.

You Should Try Android 12’s Second Beta, Here’s Why Posted: 10 Jun 2021 08:00 PM PDT Recently, Google rolled out the first beta of its latest Android version, Android 12, which itself was unveiled during Google I/O 2021. Prior to the initial rollout, Google had promised and showcased multiple new features that did not make the cut on the first beta. Now, that is set to change. For concerned users, it will be good to know that Google is finally rolling out beta 2 of Android 12, which includes with it key features that were advertised during the I/O event, some of them being Privacy Dashboard feature and certain security tweaks, one of them being quite similar to what Samsung has to offer on its One UI. The much-awaited context-based aesthetic redesign feature is also coming with this beta, which should be fun to use. In terms of installing this beta, you will require the Pixel 3 or 3XL, Pixel 4 or 4XL, Pixel 4a or 4a 5G or the Pixel 5. What are The New Features That Should Grab Your Attention The first of these new updates are in relation to the design of Android 12, as Google announced that it would be offering a new context-based theming system that can work automatically. The feature looks for your wallpaper when it comes to colour inspiration and subsequently changes the colours of buttons, icons and certain other elements. This still seems to be limited, as Google promised that the user would be able to manually change the colour scheme if he or she does not like it, but that seems to be inactive at this point in time. The stable rollout should get this feature working though, so do not fret over it too much. The second feature comes right after Apple has made some major changes to its privacy and security policies when it comes to the iPhone. IN response, Google announced its new Privacy Dashboard. Google provided a decent amount of information related to this at Google I/O. This can now be tested out. As is evident by the name, the Privacy Dashboard in beta 2 provides the user with a view of their privacy situation on the Android phone. Much like Digital Wellbeing, this one tool should help you see if there is anything alarming or something that needs to be changed on the phone to make it better in terms of security. Additionally, Google had shown off features that were related to microphone and camera security at  I/O and they are now being rolled out. In terms of ease of access, the microphone and camera indicators appear in the upper right corner. These will pop up anytime an app is using one of these tools. The operating system will also alert you via a toast notification when an application has access to your clipboard contents. The notification will not be pushed if the clipboard contents are from the same app, but this tool is a good way of checking if sensitive data is being copied by other predators. Finally, the Android 12 beta 2 also offers a new way when it comes to interacting with your network connections. Earlier, in Android 11,  long-pressing the Wi-Fi Quick Tile would take you to the networking section of Android settings. Now, there is a new pop-up with the most-used toggles and links.

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