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• After MLA, CAIT Secretary-General Asks for Ban on BGMI India
• Samsung Eyes on European 5G Market to Expand Network Equipment Business
• The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 Won’t Be Discontinued Just Yet
• Leaked OnePlus Memo Has Us Worried for This Reason
• Nokia Becomes Sole 5G RAN Supplier for Telia and Telenor
• Samsung to Skip PLI Investment Scheme
• Google Might Be Working on This AirTags Related Feature
• BSNL Showed Positive Numbers in March FY21 Because of This
• Everything You Should Know About Wi-Fi Extenders
• Vodafone Idea Rs 699 or Jio Rs 599, Which Postpaid Plan Should You Choose?
• iPhone 13 Could Bring Multiple Feature Advancements
• Vodafone Signs New 5G Contracts with Ericsson to Strengthen Core Networks
• Reliance Jio Displayed Phenomenal Subscriber Growth in March 2021: TRAI Report
• Disney+ Hotstar Tailors Offerings to Match Low Bandwidth In India: Disney CEO
• Vodafone Idea Stock Skyrockets 10% Amidst Fund Raising Rumour
• BSNL Might Have Been Attacked by Chinese Sponsored Hackers: Report
• OneWeb UK Might Own Majority Stake in Indian Operations
• HFCL To Develop 5G Products for Global Markets Including India
• Amazon Deploys AWS Wavelength for 5G Technology in the UK
• DishSMRT Kit Can Be a Good Alternative for Android Set-Top Boxes

After MLA, CAIT Secretary-General Asks for Ban on BGMI India Posted: 19 Jun 2021 09:23 AM PDT Ever since Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds or PUBG was banned in India back in 2020, the ardent followers of the game had been lacking a good game that could compete with, or even match what PUBG had to offer. All this recently changed with Krafton announcing plans for Battlegrounds Mobile India, a rebranded version of PUBG with some additions for the Indian market. In regards to the game, the company is yet to release it officially, and an official announcement is also yet to be released. However, if you had signed up for the early access version, you can try your hand at the latest battle royale game. Do note that as of today, the game crossed 5 million downloads on the Play Store within two days of its beta release. However, despite all this, as we approach the date of the supposed launch, the Confederation of All India Traders or CAIT has demanded a ban on the game. In a letter addressed to the Minister of Electronics and Information Technology or MeitY, the CAIT Secretary-General stated that the game was a threat to the security of the country’s citizens. What Do We Know About the Letter of Intent Mr Praveen Khandelwal, who is the Secretary-General of CAIT, wrote a letter on this matter to Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Minister of Law and Communications, Electronics and IT, with the intent of urging him to ban the release of the PUBG Mobile rebrand or alternative. The trader body further claimed that the game would endanger India's national security and, with it, the data and privacy of millions of India’s citizens. Interestingly, this is not the first instance wherein someone has put forth a request to ban the game in India, as, prior to the CAIT, former  Union Minister and current AP MLA, Mr Ninong Erin asked the Prime Minister to ban the game for the same reason. Abhishek Singhvi who is another Parliament member tweeted that the game's release was Tencent's re-entry within the country of India. There have been some changes to the game to make them less gaudy or violent, with changes in terms of the colour of the blood, which is now green from red, the word kill has been replaced with finishes and, alongside this, during matches, players will be prompted to maintain things like correct posture and limited screen time. There are also new laws and criteria for a permanent ban, with players who opt not to follow the code of conduct and community policies being either restricted or banned permanently.

Samsung Eyes on European 5G Market to Expand Network Equipment Business Posted: 19 Jun 2021 08:10 AM PDT The South Korean multinational entity Samsung Electronics is eyeing at Europe to retain growth pace in the network equipment business. Even though Samsung Electronics tops the chart in memory chips and smartphones, it stands behind Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia and ZTE in the 5G network equipment list. As per market research firm Dell'Oro Group, Samsung Electronics had nearly 10-15 per cent market share in the first quarter of 2021. Since Samsung landed Rs 48,000 crore deal with the US telecom entity Verizon and another deal with Japan's NTT Docomo, the impressions have totally changed for the entity. Samsung is Conducting 5G Trials With European Telecom Companies Since the 5G rollout is extending worldwide and telecom gear makers are focusing on their domestic market, Samsung is taking extra steps and expanding its range of 5G trials. Currently, Samsung is conducting 5G trials with European telecom companies such as Deutsche Telekom, Play Communications and other major European vendors. However, Samsung is planning to take the leap and looking to expand in markets such as India, Australia and Southeast Asia. The South Korean giant has revealed that since the 5G networks rolled out in 2019, it has seen multiple new clients for its 5G equipment and systems rise by nearly 35 per cent a year on average. Samsung's network equipment is currently a baby, which generated a revenue of SKW nearly Rs 15,47,400 crores for 2020. US Excluding Huawei From 5G Rolllouts is Creating Ample Opportunities Huawei and other Chinese telecom gear vendors have faced backlash for various privacy reasons. Since the US has excluded Huawei from 5G rollouts, it has provided multiple opportunities to competitors to expand its market share. Samsung is capitalising on its virtualised RAN technology that allows telecom companies to freely use off-the-shelf network equipment in various combinations to connect users to networks. Verizon has already adopted the technology for 5G RAN, whereas, in South Korea, the 5G core networks of operators are totally virtualised. The goal of Samsung at the moment is to make it in the top-three spot in the network equipment business. However, the period to achieve the goal is still in the darkness.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 Won’t Be Discontinued Just Yet Posted: 19 Jun 2021 08:00 AM PDT The flagship market has been quite stagnant in recent months, given how the S21 series that was launched earlier this year was a mere fix on the S20 series of devices and the iPhone 12 brought with it a minor change in the design and no such features that had been yearned for by the company’s fans. In contrast, the foldable market has been buzzing with excitement, with new products and displays being launched or showcased, hinting at what is to come in this untapped market that has immense potential. Amongst these products is the rumour regarding the Galaxy Z Fold 3, which is supposedly going to launch in the month of August. Ahead of this supposed launch, the Z Fold 2 had been suddenly taken off the site, with users being restricted to the Z Flip series if they wished to purchase 2020 foldables from Samsung. Earlier this week, in the wee hours of Saturday morning, it was revealed that if a user wanted to purchase the Z Fold 2 from Samsung’s official site, a landing page displayed the message that the Galaxy Fold is no longer available for purchase from Samsung’s official site. This wording in itself was perky, considering how Samsung has two different foldable products and that the Galaxy Fold was the name of the original Fold that was withdrawn due to display related issues. Is the Z Fold 2 Discontinued? It seems, however, that all that buzz was for nothing since on Saturday it was later revealed by Samsung that the Galaxy Z Fold 2 was not being discontinued and that the phone would now be available to purchase, with a statement revealing that the company was pleased with the excitement in regards to the Galaxy Z Fold2 5G and would now like to encourage customers to visit Samsung.com for the latest updates in relation to availability. The company would also like to clarify that it would not be discontinuing the device. This could have been a mistake but, according to us, it is rather an indication of what is to come, considering as to how the Galaxy Z Fold 3 could be the next biggest thing for Samsung and when it does want its next best device to launch, it would not want potential customers going for the rather outdated Z Fold 2. In terms of what we can expect from the Galaxy Z Fold 3, reports hint at the possibility of the device featuring an under-display camera that might include a 16MP camera module, with another 10MP selfie sensor of the punch-hole variety on the cover display. As of now, it is still confusing as to why Samsung could choose to use a UPC on the flagship model. Certain other features include the possibility of a 6.2-inch external display with an inner display of 7.5-inches, both of which are rumoured to offer 120Hz refresh rates. The inner display could also feature support for the S-Pen; however, there are no plans to remove the Note series of devices.

Leaked OnePlus Memo Has Us Worried for This Reason Posted: 19 Jun 2021 07:28 AM PDT OnePlus’ CEO Pete Lau had earlier this week announced that the company and Oppo would be further integrated with each other, with this being nothing new to most users, considering how both entities are owned by BBK Electronics, which also owns Vivo and Realme, two other competitors for OnePlus. When one considers how the level of integration was already quite confusing, considering how some new products were similar, if not identical to Oppo devices launched in other markets, this new move makes it more confusing since both companies are refraining from revealing all the changes that will occur for the two brands. Now, famed leakster Evan Blass has obtained a copy of the memo that was released by OnePlus, which contains information for its employees to ease them when it comes to the confusion at hand. What Does the Memo State? Towards the beginning of the memo, there is information regarding the coupling and the integration itself. The memo, however, also includes an Important Note that instructs the employees to not respond to any questions in relation to OxygenOS, Color OS or how this integration might affect the two companies. In terms of the exact message, it tells the employees that they should not respond to any OS or Color OS questions that might target the integration announcement. The employees have also been told to use the response: We currently do not have any updates regarding the operating systems. Please stay tuned to our official channels. This note is quite worrying, at least to us, considering as to how it was reported by some publications earlier that the company would not be switching over to Color OS and, if this was the case, why would OnePlus feel the need to talk about the specific response in relation to the argument. We could be overthinking, but in the context of this blurry partnership, a lot of things are possible. Further details in the memo hint that everything will be good and that this partnership is good news for the current OnePlus fans. The other two points worth noting from this memo include the mention of Pete Lau being the founder of OnePlus, which holds true only partially, considering how the organisation was co-founded by Lau and Carl Pei, who left the company and went on to start Nothing, his own tech venture. Another section of the memo reveals a response to the question of whether OnePlus, Oppo, and Realme are building a joint ecosystem across all brands, with a deflected answer in the memo. It seems that OnePlus is looking for various methods to breach into the markets wherein it is lacking and, with this partnership with Oppo, the company can breach into markets where Oppo leads and, for Oppo, it gives the company a chance to take a shot at the US market, one from which it has been missing.

Nokia Becomes Sole 5G RAN Supplier for Telia and Telenor Posted: 19 Jun 2021 06:40 AM PDT When it comes to 5G, few names in the market are all over the place in the development of the next-generation mobile network technology. Nokia is one such vendor that has been actively involved in 5G projects by collaborating and assisting operators across the globe. In a new development, the Finnish vendor Nokia will expand its partnership to cover 5G technology with Telia and Telenor. Nokia will become the sole supplier of 5G RAN for a Telia and Telenor joint network in Denmark. The joint network currently serves 3 million customers. The collaboration effort of upgrading to 5G will first cover Denmark's four largest cities before expanding to most customers in 2022. 5G Spectrum Pulled by Operators Earlier This Year The 5G rollout plans by Telenor and Telia joint network (TNN) comes after the operators picked up a 3.5 GHz spectrum in a multiband auction earlier this year. Nokia will now support the modernisation of TNN under this new 5G deal. Nokia will provide its Airscale 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) portfolio and Massive Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) antennas to upgrade TNN's infrastructure to support 5G networks. Nokia has stated that since TNN's launch in 2012, the vendor has worked with both operators for over a decade. Their most recent project was to trial 5G network technology on a shared network. It is because of their collaboration in this project that resulted in Nokia being selected as the sole 5G RAN supplier. Telenor and Telia Own Equal Share in The Joint Network The joint network between Telenor and Telia operates over 4,300 sites. Both the operators hold 50 per cent ownership in the joint network. Telenor and Telia control separate retail brands in Denmark. They compete against operators like TDC and 3 Denmark. All of these four Denmark operators commenced their 5G services in the country in the second half of 2020. Telenor Denmark's CEO Lars Thomsen has commented on the 5G RAN deal and the nationwide rollout of the 5G network by saying that will the upgrade to the 5G network, people of Denmark will experience higher speeds and better coverage in both urban and pre-urban areas.

Samsung to Skip PLI Investment Scheme Posted: 19 Jun 2021 03:45 AM PDT The South Korean company Samsung has stated that it will not participate in the production linked incentive (PIL) scheme in India for the telecom sector. As per an ET Telecom report, the decision was announced by Samsung India officials to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in a video conferencing meeting on Wednesday. Two of the senior industry executives stated that Samsung does not want to commit new investment in a market where it has just one client. However, the top management of Samsung has told the government that it might tap such opportunities in future. Currently, Samsung is extensively supplying equipment to Reliance Jio's 4G telecom market along with 5G trials supplies. Samsung Does Not Find Business Need to Invest in New Facility Since Samsung is exclusively supplying to Jio, nearly the entire supply is sourced from plants in Vietnam, South Korea and China, which are capable of catering to Jio's requirement. Also, the imports from Korea and Vietnam are at zero duties through the free trade agreement route. One of the executives who are aware of the matter stated that Samsung did not find it suitable in business interest to invest in another new facility in India. The installation of a greenfield plan would require an investment of about Rs 800 to 1,000 crore. PLI Scheme to Make India Global Manufacturing Hub The PLI scheme for telecom equipment was given a green signal back in February for making India a global hub for such manufacturing. The government approved a budget blueprint of nearly Rs 12,195 crore over a period of five years. Not only this, but the government also expects a fresh investment of Rs 3,000 crore through the PLI scheme. Since Samsung has walked out of the room, the government of India is shifting the attention on large companies like Nokia and Ericsson to make a substantial investment under the scheme. Out of the box, Nokia India has already committed that it will participate in the scheme. Also, various reports and news flourishing on the internet suggest that Ericsson and other companies are eager to participate in the PLI scheme. The flagship PLI schemes are aimed at encouraging manufacturing investment, create job opportunities and boost exports of make in India products.

Google Might Be Working on This AirTags Related Feature Posted: 19 Jun 2021 03:02 AM PDT Apple’s Find My Network is a great tool for users who might be prone to losing their precious tech products or tools that might be important to them. The feature usually allows users to track a specific product that they might be unable to find and, with this feature, most users save a lot of time that would go wasted on searching for the specific product or tool. Now, it seems Google could be working on a crowdsourced network that can locate Google’s products or Android products, much like Android’s offering. It seems that the ability will allow users of Android smartphones and Android products to locate their handset in case it is lost or stolen in some instance. This speculation has arisen due to a code that was spotted within the newest version of the company’s Google Play Services. The reports hint that Google could make use of the Google Play Services present on Android devices to create this network and enable it to do the task of location tracking. What Does the Code Mention The code was first spotted by XDA Developers in Google Play Services version 21.24.13 that was rolled out for beta users back on Thursday. It was found to contain strings that had a mention of the name and functionality of the upcoming feature. The strings have the name mentioned as Find My Device network and its description states that it allows your phone to locate your and other people's devices. This capability however will be limited to a particular user account and the associated devices. Do note that with this same idea, the ability will also let users track other smart devices, much like how Apple does via its Find My network for the new AirTags. This is quite good as this could help the Android Ecosystem benefit from tracking and location related privileges in terms a device is either stolen or lost. To add to all of this, it could also hint at the possibility of a smart tag from Google, given as to how Apple and Samsung already have their offerings and OnePlus is tipped to do the same, a Google Smart Tag could be something that we get to see in the upcoming months, if not by next year.

BSNL Showed Positive Numbers in March FY21 Because of This Posted: 18 Jun 2021 11:56 PM PDT Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has been under a lot of scrutinies for its bad performance over the last few years. But the telco has survived somehow, and it has also added subscribers at regular intervals. While the numbers for BSNL that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) report of March 2021 show aren't too big, they are still on the 'green' or 'positive' side. It is the principle of 'growth' that matters more than the numbers. Until the time the telco is adding subscribers, it is a good thing for the nation as well the people working at the company. But there needs to be a reason for why BSNL has added subscribers, and we think it is this. BSNL's Amazing Plans and Wide Coverage The Reason For the unaware, the TRAI report said that BSNL added 1,94,310 (1.94 million) subscribers in March 2021. While these are not big numbers, it was the best month for the state-run telco in the last quarter of FY21. The reason we think BSNL added subscribers was because of the solid plans that the telco offers and impressive coverage in rural areas of the country where there are no other operators for competition. BSNL keeps on launching promotional offers and new plans with better benefits. The promotional offers are really competitive and provide users with benefits that no other telco is giving for the same price. Further, BSNL has been recognised for providing good coverage. It might not offer the strongest network services with the best downloading speeds, but BSNL has got one thing right, and that is providing good coverage. Note that we are not saying that the telco has the best network coverage in the entire country. But there are places where BSNL's networks are ruling because there is no other operator providing services nearby. BSNL also keeps on rolling out offers such as a free SIM card on purchase of select First Recharge Plans (FRCs) to the new users. This helps the telco attract people to its services even though the new 4G SIM card from the company only costs Rs 20. If BSNL can add subscribers when its majority of networks offer 3G services, the telco will certainly get a boost if it can roll out live 4G networks real soon.

Everything You Should Know About Wi-Fi Extenders Posted: 18 Jun 2021 09:30 PM PDT A Wi-Fi router is a device that converts your wired broadband internet connection to a wireless internet connection. It helps you connect multiple devices that can access the internet from a single connection. However, it is often observed that the range of a Wi-Fi router is fairly limited. The Wi-Fi signal weakens as we start moving away from the router, and the connection after that is unstable. Here is where Wi-Fi extenders come into the picture. In simple terms, a Wi-Fi extender extends the range of your Wi-Fi signal. What is Wi-Fi Extender and How Does It Work? A Wi-Fi extender is a device used to extend the coverage of your Wi-Fi network. It attaches to your Wi-Fi router and helps expand your internet signal into areas that the Wi-Fi router is unable to reach due to disruptions in the signal like walls, furniture or general spacing. When you connect your device to your Wi-Fi router, a link is established. A Wi-Fi Extender will grab the original signal and rebroadcast it on a different channel. It acts as a middleman between your Wi-Fi router and your device with the sole purpose of establishing a stable and fast connection. Just like how the location of a Wi-Fi Router is of prime importance as it determines the kind of connection you will receive; similarly, the location for a Wi-Fi extender should also be given due consideration. The ideal location for your Wi-Fi extender is right in the middle of your Wi-Fi Router and the place where you need more powerful Wi-Fi signals. Wi-Fi Extender is Different from Wi-Fi Repeater There are other accessory devices that go along with Wi-Fi routers and provide different features to the end consumers. One such product is a Wi-Fi Repeater. The end purpose of a Wi-Fi Repeater is similar to that of a Wi-Fi Extender, which is to improve and extend the range of a wireless signal. However, the two devices differ in the way they operate. A Wi-Fi Extender operates by capturing and rebroadcasting an existing wireless signal on a different channel. Such a connection has less risk of interference as the device can link to your modem and router via coaxial cable or Ethernet Cord. A Wi-Fi Repeater links wirelessly to your router, which providers only half of the usable bandwidth resulting in high latency. Lastly, Wi-Fi Extenders and Wi-Fi Repeaters both are also referred to as Wi-Fi Boosters.

Vodafone Idea Rs 699 or Jio Rs 599, Which Postpaid Plan Should You Choose? Posted: 18 Jun 2021 06:26 PM PDT Vodafone Idea (Vi) and Reliance Jio both offer postpaid services to their customers. Both the companies have mid-tier postpaid plans which are neither too expensive nor too cheap. So today we are taking one such mid-tier postpaid plan from each company and then comparing them to decide which one is better for you. We have chosen the Rs 699 plan from Vodafone Idea and Rs 599 plan from Reliance Jio to see which one is better. Vodafone Idea Rs 699 Postpaid Plan We have chosen the Rs 699 plan from Vodafone Idea because it is one of the best offerings from the company. It fits in the mid-tier category and offers users benefits for a whole month. Vi users purchasing this plan from the company get truly unlimited data without any fair-usage-policy (FUP) limit. In addition to this, users get truly unlimited voice calling and 100 SMS/month. There are over-the-top (OTT) benefits offered with the plan including Disney+ Hotstar VIP, Amazon Prime Video and Prime Music, Voot Select, SunNXT, and Vi Movies & TV. Reliance Jio Rs 599 Postpaid Plan Reliance Jio Rs 599 postpaid plan comes with 100GB FUP data for the month. Post the consumption of 100GB data, users are charged at Rs 10 for each GB of data they consume. Users can also get an additional SIM card for their family member. There is also a data rollover benefit of up to 200GB. Further, users get 100 SMS/day and truly unlimited voice calling with the plan. There are OTT benefits of Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar VIP, Amazon Prime Video, and other complementary Jio applications. Which Plan is the Winner? There are pretty big differences between the plans. Sure, we could have taken the Rs 799 plan from Jio, but we wouldn't exactly call it a mid-tier postpaid plan. The plan which is the winner here is clearly Vodafone Idea if the user consumes more than 100GB of data almost every month. In terms of OTT benefits, we would like to give Jio the edge because of the inclusion of Netflix. Further, there's an additional SIM card offered with Jio's plan and it is Rs 100 cheaper than Vi's postpaid plan. But again, if a user is consuming more than 100GB of data with Jio, it is most likely that he/she will end up spending more than Rs 699 per month on their postpaid plan which is the price of Vodafone Idea's best mid-tier plan. If you are going to purchase a postpaid plan soon and are thinking of buying either of these two plans, if you need more data, go with Vi’s plan. If you need an extra SIM card and Netflix, go with Jio’s plan.

iPhone 13 Could Bring Multiple Feature Advancements Posted: 18 Jun 2021 08:29 AM PDT Apple’s iPhone has been the product that often trumps other smartphones in most, if not all aspects, resulting in hype whenever the next version of the famous product is in the works. With the iPhone 12 having been introduced back in 2021, the time for the launch of the next version of iPhone, supposedly dubbed iPhone 13 is nearing and, with it, the leaks and rumours have increased exponentially. With this information, it would interest you to know that a concept via a YouTube channel under the name of Concepts iPhone has surfaced, showcasing a mockup trailer for the next-gen product and, with the video, we can’t help but notice how good the iPhone 13 concept looks, making us even more excited for the next iPhone. In terms of the leak, it is worth noting that the handset will retain the design language that was introduced with the iPhone 12, inclusive of the rectangular corners that give the device a slab like feel. The video also hints at a smaller notch, which has been touted to be released for a couple of generations. The notch on the iPhone 13 could be 26.8mm wide in contrast to the iPhone 12’s 34.8mm wide notch. The video also hints at the possibility of the device featuring up to 1TB of storage, which would be nice considering the storage variants on iPhones have been a bit behind in comparison to Android equivalents. What Do We Know About Future iPhones? Further reports via DigiTimes indicate the chances of the iPhone 14 series featuring 3nm A-series processors citing sources with TSMC which has revealed the trajectory of the iPhones and the Apple chips going down the future. As per the report, the iPhone 14 could become the world’s first mainstream device to feature 3nm chips inside, marking a major evolution in chipsets. This generation of processors will be produced starting the end of 2022, meaning that the next to next generation of iPhone will feature this revolutionary chipset advancement. As per the report, TSMC will retain the 5nm fabrication process for the iPhone 13, with the series making use of A15 chips that are expected to use 5nm+ fabrication standards with an improvement in terms of overall efficiency and power. The report also mentions that whilst TSMC is sending out regular warnings to its partners in relation to price hikes in terms of supplies, but, Apple might not be subject to this, as it could be given first preference due to the sheer volume of chipsets that TSMC provides to the Cupertino giant.

Vodafone Signs New 5G Contracts with Ericsson to Strengthen Core Networks Posted: 18 Jun 2021 07:50 AM PDT Vodafone and Ericsson have teamed up multiple times to provide the best services to enterprises and customers. In the latest development, Vodafone has picked Ericsson's cloud-native dual-mode 5G Core technology to power its core networks in Germany and the UK region. The deployment by Vodafone is a crucial step in the 5G ecosystem. Since 5G is the talk of the town, the partnership with Ericsson will allow Vodafone to deliver the full potential of the 5G services. Not only this, but it will also open the doors of future innovation to Vodafone's consumer and enterprise customers in both regions. Ericsson Will be a Key 5G Network Partner for Vodafone in the UK In both Germany and the UK, Ericsson will support Vodafone's entire cloud-native 5G Core Standalone for packet core applications. The move by Ericsson will focus on the critical milestone to offer 5G Standalone connectivity services. 5G Standalone network of Vodafone has various benefits that are bound to elevate the experience of customers and enterprises. The 5G Standalone will power high-end, next-generation use cases and support applications requiring the fastest connectivity, low latency demands, highest data rates and network slicing capabilities. Some of the technologies that will be best facilitated by 5G Standalone are virtual reality, augmented reality, negligible latency and huge-data handling shenanigans. The solutions that the 5G Standalone network offers is a major catalyst towards making the digital economy and Industry 4.0 a reality. Talking about the operations in the UK region, the development will stretch around 5 years, and Ericsson will become a key end-to-end 5G network partner for Vodafone. Vodafone and Ericsson Are Creating a New Digital Area for Customers Andrena Dona, Chief Network Officer at Vodafone UK, stated that the close collaboration with Ericsson has been crucial in taking the next step for 5G innovation. With Ericsson's leading solution, Vodafone is able to address developing enterprises, industry and society transformation business in the UK and Germany. Arun Bansal, who is the President of Europe and Latin America, Ericsson also shared his views and marked that Ericsson has deployed a 5G network across Europe after years of joint innovation with Vodafone. Ericsson's core network portfolio has been entrusted to bring 5G to the next level in Germany and the UK. Ericsson will allow Vodafone to deliver the full potential of the 5G services. Not only this, but it will also open the doors of future innovation to Vodafone's consumer and enterprise customers in both regions.

Reliance Jio Displayed Phenomenal Subscriber Growth in March 2021: TRAI Report Posted: 18 Jun 2021 07:25 AM PDT Reliance Jio, the number one telecom operator of India, has regained its subscriber addition rate as the telco outperformed its major competitor Bharti Airtel in March 2021. The telco added the most number of subscribers and beat Bharti Airtel by a long margin during the month. According to the Monthly report from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Jio added 79,18,129 (close to 8 million) subscribers in March 2021. Compared to this, Bharti Airtel added 40,55,109 (4.05 million) users during the same period. But this wasn't just a good month for Reliance Jio. Vodafone Idea (Vi), after a long-long time, has added subscribers in consecutive months. Vi added 10,88,792 (1.08 million) subscribers in March 2021. Reliance Jio Ends Airtel's Sweet Run of Adding More Subscribers Source: TRAI Reliance Jio got ahead of Airtel in the earlier months itself, but the Mukesh Ambani led telco was ahead of Airtel by a huge margin in March 2021 in adding subscribers. However, one of the best things for the industry this month would be to see Vodafone Idea (Vi) regaining its ground slowly. It seems like people are impressed by Vi's networks. Back in February 2021, Vodafone Idea had added 0.65 million subscribers. Compared to that, the telco has added 1.08 million subscribers in March 2021. That is a significant growth rate for the telco in terms of subscribers addition. As for the state-run telco, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), things went pretty sweet as well. While BSNL had lost 0.35 million subscribers in February 2021, it has added over 0.19 million subscribers in March 2021. Even though BSNL's numbers aren't impressive at all, at least they are not in the red. Kerala Only Major State to Lose Wireless Subscribers Source: TRAI In an interesting turn of events, Kerala was the only state in March 2021 which lost wireless subscribers. Apart from Kerala, all service areas added wireless subscribers. The most came from Mumbai, which showed a growth of 2.39% in terms of wireless subscribers. Source: TRAI Further, the best numbers in terms of active subscribers (VLR subscribers) came from Bharti Airtel, which had an active subscriber base of 97.72% users, which is much more compared to Jio's 78.43%. Even Vodafone Idea's 90.13% subscribers come under the active category. This is still an area that Jio needs to address.

Disney+ Hotstar Tailors Offerings to Match Low Bandwidth In India: Disney CEO Posted: 18 Jun 2021 06:45 AM PDT The Walt Disney Company, a diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise, will "focus down on Hotstar, both from an entertainment standpoint and a sports standpoint," says Bob Chapek, the company's chief executive officer. Chapek on Monday said in the annual Credit Suisse Communications Conference that the choice made by the company to target sports and entertainment for Hotstar is due to its "benefits in those regions." The Walt Disney CEO also said that the company is set to focus on "some local content and really double down" in its international markets. In recent months, the Walt Disney Company has been vocal about the significance of local content and sports especially cricket on its platforms. Disney+ Hotstar Accounts for Third of Total Disney+ User Base Christine McCarthy, the chief financial officer at the Walt Disney Company in the second quarter earnings call in early May said the "Disney+ Hotstar was the strongest contributor" to its net user additions. Further, McCarthy said that the Disney+ Hotstar made up "approximately a third of the total Disney+ subscriber base as of the end of the second quarter." Crucially, McCarthy said that the average revenue per user (ARPU) at Disney+ Hotstar in the second quarter was "down significantly" due to "lower advertising revenue as a result" of the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches timing. "The other thing that’s going to happen here is with the absence of the IPL games in India, that will also have an impact on advertising revenue,” McCarthy said in the second quarter earnings call. “So you could see a decrease in the ARPU and the subs in India, if that plays out." Disney+ Hotstar, the over-the-top (OTT) streaming platform run by Walt Disney owned Star India currently holds the broadcast rights for the domestic and the international cricket matches held in India till 2023. In November 2020, Star India in a release announced that it has bagged the broadcast rights of Cricket South Africa till 2024. Additionally, the company in the release highlighted that it also holds the rights for the International Cricket Council (ICC) events. It also has to be noted that ICC on Tuesday said that the Disney+ Hotstar will stream the inaugural ICC World Test Championship final across multiple countries including India, the US, Canada and Singapore. The World Test Championship final match between India and New Zealand is currently underway with the five day match ending June 22, 2021 is also being telecasted across multiple Star Sports channels in India. In late May, Chapek said in the annual JP Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference that the company understands the "one-size-fits-all strategy" does not "necessarily work everywhere." Chapek said that the company has "different distribution mechanisms across the world" and that Disney+ is "successful" as it is "very sensitive to the local market needs and not doing a one-size-fits-all" strategy. "That said, maybe the most unique market of all would be Southeast Asia and particularly India given the strong affinity towards cricket and the mobile-first, the low bandwidth, all those things that we mentioned and that local language customization is absolutely critical," Chapek said. India An "Unique Market" Says Disney CEO The Walt Disney CEO in the annual JP Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference also said that Hotstar has an "unparallel collection of entertainment and sports" that the company is "really proud of." "[India] really is a unique market, unique because we have particularly what I’ll call mass market pricing and distribution, but it’s a unique market in terms of that distribution because it’s really a mobile first market, which is kind of unusual," Chapek said. Further, Chapek said that India has a "low bandwidth" and that the company has to "tailor" its offerings to "match that low bandwidth" and that the "local languages are particularly important there." "So we have to sort of customize for each of those unique elements, but we think that our premium programming evidenced by the sports I referenced especially things like cricket, and that local content, we have, I think 17,000 hours a year of local content that we create for Hotstar and I think that really drives our local affinity," Chapek said. Meanwhile, Variety, an entertainment publication on Thursday citing a study by Media Partners Asia said that Disney+ user growth in India is "anchored to premium cricket rights." Further, it was highlighted that the streaming platform needs to enhance its local content and that "IPL continues to drive revenues and yields, but inventory utilization on entertainment is low."

Vodafone Idea Stock Skyrockets 10% Amidst Fund Raising Rumour Posted: 18 Jun 2021 06:25 AM PDT Cash-strapped telco Vi or Vodafone Idea’s shares on Friday closed at a 10% high on the BSE amidst speculation, which, as of the time of writing this article remains unconfirmed that the telco might be finally close to concluding part of its fundraising, at least as per market players. On Friday, the stock of the company closed approximately 9.8% higher at Rs 10.36 post scaling an 11% intra-day high, fueled by rumours that the JV between UK-based Vodafone Plc and Aditya Birla Group might be close to a finish post initial funding of around $1 billion, due to potential qualified institutional placements or QIP route. Vi’s shares have jumped over 21% over the course of June, from Rs 8.53 to Rs 10.36 in a span of 18 days. Deven Choksey, the promoter of KRChoksey Wealth Managers stated to ET Telecom that markets these days largely run on expectations and euphoria with any near-term positive perceptions about Vi likely regarding its immediate funding challenges could have resulted in the sharp growth in the company stock price today. Spokespersons for all three companies, namely Aditya Birla Group, Vodafone Plc and Vi did not reply to any queries put forth, with the telco yet to report its Q4 2020 results, which are expected to release at the end of June. What Do We Know About Vodafone Idea’s Fundraising Plans In terms of the concerns regarding the Rs 25,000 crore for the fundraising plans for Vi, they have been steadily rising, primarily due to how the telco is yet to provide any details after talking to global investors which include the likes of an Oak Hill-led consortium, a host of US private equity firms including KKR, and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec as well as Norway's Government Pension Fund Global. Industry executives, fund managers and executives have mentioned that  Vi's leadership is still discussing with US private equity players and that financial due work is underway. Furthermore, the telcos has been unable to effectively increase their tariffs due to increase competition, despite facing big payment obligations which are upwards of Rs 13,500 crore in the current fiscal year. The telco has also stated it is soon starting a Rs 6,000-crore payout towards the redemption of non-convertible debentures or NCDs from December 2021, with the first instalment of the company’s Adjusted Gross Revenue or AGR supposedly being Rs 7,500 crore with a due date of March 31, 2022

BSNL Might Have Been Attacked by Chinese Sponsored Hackers: Report Posted: 18 Jun 2021 05:47 AM PDT Much recently, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), along with defence and aerospace contractors, were attacked by suspected Chinese sponsored hackers. According to a Money Control report, the information on allegation comes from Recorded Future, a company that provides intelligence for enterprise security. Inskit Group, Recorded Future's threat research division, further said that RedFoxtrot, a China-backed hacker group, has aimed at several non-governmental and governmental companies in South Asia and Central Asia for cyber hackings. BSNL, Bengaluru Based Defence Technology Company and More Attacked A Bengaluru based manufacturer and India's defence technology developer, Alpha Design Technologies, along with BSNL, was attacked by the China sponsored hacking group. One of the major details shared by Inskit was the links found between People's Liberation Army (PLA) Unit 69010, RedFoxtrot, and Strategic Support Force (SSF), China's military intelligence backbone. The cyberattack by the Chinese sponsored group was targeted at several sectors, including telecom, defence, aerospace, mining and research organisations, government, and more. The attacks were made in countries including Pakistan, India, Kazakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. For the unaware, the RedFoxtrot group has been active since 2014 now. Post the border tensions between India and China; the Indian Defence Contractors have been under heavy attacks by the Chinese sponsored hacking group. As per Recorded Future, RedEcho, a Chinese group, had attacked 10 Indian power sector assets, which included the Power System Operation Corporation Ltd, NTPC, Indian Railways, and more. But the thing is, RedEcho's attack was focused on only energy sectors, and it was like a prepositioning for making future attacks. But the RedFoxtrot attack isn't just focused on one country and also isn't focused on one sector. The report from Recorded Future suggests that RedFoxtrot maintains a significant amount of operational infrastructure. Further, the group had employed publicly available and bespoke malware that is commonly used by Chinese cyber attacking groups. This is a grave issue for the protection and security of Indian data and the government's secrets. The RedFoxtrot attack can be assumed to be one of the many upcoming attacks from the group that won't stop and limit its focus to just one sector. Thus this is high time that government invests in upgrading its security infrastructure and help the private companies do that as well.

OneWeb UK Might Own Majority Stake in Indian Operations Posted: 18 Jun 2021 05:10 AM PDT Network Access Associates, a UK based organisation that is also part of the OneWeb Group of companies, on Friday announced that it would be acquiring a 74% stake in OneWeb India Communications, given as to how the Indian unit is hearing up to enter the bandwidth leasing business prior to launching speedy satellite-based broadband services in India, starting from 2022. As of now, OneWeb India is completely owned by Nettle Infrastructure Investments, which is a Bharti Airtel owned unit. A person aware of the matter stated to ET Telecom that Network Access Associates, which is a wholly-owned arm of the Bharti Global-backed OneWeb UK, would be acquiring a significant majority of the portion of Nettle Infra's stake in OneWeb India. In case you did not know, Bharti Airtel is itself owned by Bharti group of companies, with Bharti Global being the overseas arm of the enterprises, which is the holding company of Bharti Airtel, India’s second-best telecom operator. UK’s OneWeb stakeholders, inclusive of Bharti Global, the UK government, SoftBank and Hughes Network Systems, are represented in NAA. Eutelsat will also be represented post the French geostationary satellite operator's stated 24% stake purchase in OneWeb-UK achieves closure. OneWeb group, however, did not reply to any queries put forth by ET. What Do We Know About OneWeb’s Future Plans in India OneWeb India Communications, which applied for a GMPCS permit to the Department of Telecommunications or DoT, is supposedly going to lease a chunk of the company’s satellite bandwidth capacity in order to offer cellular connectivity services to the likes of Bharti Airtel and other telcos that are facing challenges when it comes to offering uninterrupted 4G coverage in India's rural and remote areas. OneWeb India could also offer its satellite-based connectivity to private Internet of Things or IoT networks in the country by using its in-country earth station gateways that are currently in the works. The telecom regulator is also going to aid the widening of the scope of GMPCS licences to allow connectivity to IoT devices within a particular area. On a global scale, OneWeb is gearing up for a global constellation of approximately 650 low-earth-orbit satellites that will be used to provide fast internet-from-spaces services over the world. It is also preparing to deliver high-speed, low-latency satellite broadband services in rural areas globally inclusive of India, with the aim to liken its service to SpaceX and Project Kuiper. OneWeb is also supposedly going to roll out satellite internet services in India by the month of June 2022.

HFCL To Develop 5G Products for Global Markets Including India Posted: 18 Jun 2021 03:40 AM PDT 5G in India is one of the biggest opportunities which is expected to change the face of the tech industry. Since India has not been the early adopters of technology, tech companies are relying on the final call by the Indian government to capture the vast 5G market. To reap benefits from the future 5G market of India, the renowned telecom gear manufacturer and systems integration company, HFCL is structuring a portfolio of 5G products, including 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) and 5G Transport equipment for global markets, including India. HFCL Expansion Plans in India Even though pandemic resulted in massive chaos across multiple industries, the tech industry witnessed significant growth resulting in expansion plans by companies. HFCL has also hopped on the bus and earmarked Rs 200 crore for the current year. A major chunk of the funds will be used for the expansion of capacity at its Hyderabad plant and the restructuring of Goa and Chennai facilities. HFCL is eyeing 5G RAN products such as Macro RU, 5G Outdoor and Indoor Small Cell. Not only this but 5G transport such as Cell Site, Fronthaul Gateway and Aggregation Routers will also be included in the development of 5G products. Mahendra Nahata, who is the Managing Director and HFCL Promoter, stated that India is on the verge of a 5G revolution, and commercial rollouts are expected to commence from next year, which will be followed by Spectrum allocation. Nearly Rs 1.5 lakh crore is expected to be the capital investment in India 5G rollout, including spectrum charges. He also stated that the portfolio that will be developed by HFCL would be based on Open Ran standards like O-RAN and security designs. HFCL is Planning to Expand Fibre Capacity Apart from developing 5G products, HFCL is also planning to expand its fibre capacity from 8 million fkm/pa to 10 million fibre km per annum at its Hyderbad plant by the end of this fiscal year. Also, HFCL is increasing the OFC capacity by 22 per cent to 22.5 million fkm/pa by December 2021. The company is also planning to take part in the government's PIL scheme for the telecom sector.

Amazon Deploys AWS Wavelength for 5G Technology in the UK Posted: 18 Jun 2021 03:27 AM PDT The American multinational company Amazon has propelled AWS Wavelength, which is an AWS infrastructure. The new offering by Amazon will enable enterprise and multiple developers to make ultra-low latency applications that will be transported via the Vodafone 5G network in the UK. The AWS Wavelength will provide AWS services to the edge of carrier networks around the globe with availability in South Korea, Tokyo Daejon and 10 other cities across the United States. Amazon commented on the launch of AWS Wavelength and stated that the new offering enables software developers to provide edge computing use cases like IoT, machine learning, video streaming and more. Developers Will Get Direct Access to AWS Cloud Services George Elissaios, general manager of AWS Wavelength and director of product management at AWS said the company is excited to work with Vodafone to provide developers full, direct access to AWS cloud services in any region on the Vodafone 4G/5G network and to push innovation across the UK. He further stated that applications traffic coming from the device would transit straight from the Vodafone network to AWS cloud services. This enables the developers to charge new kinds of smartphone applications that require high bandwidth, low latency and high speeds. Developers Can Deploy Apps to AWS Wavelength Zones The new AWS Wavelength infrastructure will allow developers to deploy apps to AWS Wavelength Zones that embed AWS compute and storage devices under the radar of MNCO's datacentres at the edge of the network. Vatsa Kalyanasundaram, who is the cloud and security director at Vodafone business, stated that working with AWS, Vodafone's business is getting the ability to get real-time insight for quick decision making to deliver next-generation immersive experiences, which have never happened before. If you are not aware, the traditional smartphone architecture requires multiple hops between regional and aggregation sites. However, AWS Wavelength enables developers to take reap benefits from edge computing and limit the number of hops which is effective in lowering the latency. Simon Brewerton, who is the chief technology officer at Aurrigo stated that AWS Wavelength and Vodafone 5G and MEC technologies provide ultra-low latency and expensive bandwidth to their vehicles that let them monitor autonomous vehicles in real-time via secure communications.

DishSMRT Kit Can Be a Good Alternative for Android Set-Top Boxes Posted: 18 Jun 2021 02:13 AM PDT Most people today have moved on from the conventional TV watching experience of just consuming satellite content. There are now Android TV Boxes and Android TV sticks, and other kinds of products to help you stream over-the-top (OTT) content on the go on your TVs. No one wants to watch their favourite series or movies on small screens (smartphones and tablets); thus, DishSMRT Kit can help you stream your favourite OTT content on your TVs without the need of an Android Set-Top Box (STB). DishSMRT Kit Not a New Product Anyone aware of the offerings of Dish TV would know that DishSMRT Kit is not a new offering from the company. But it still makes sense today and can replace the need for Android Set-Top Boxes (STBs) to some extent. The DishSMRT Kit was launched by Dish TV back in 2019. It was a product that was launched somewhat as a competitor of the Tata Sky Binge service. One great thing about DishSMRT Kit is that you can connect it with your existing Dish TV Set-Top Box (STB) without any hassle. The DishSMRT Kit is an upgrade over the DishSMRT Stick. The DishSMRT Kit is a dongle only, but it comes with an Alexa powered remote. Connecting the dongle to your Dish TV STB would allow you to seamlessly switch between OTT and satellite TV content. DishSMRT Kit Price, Features and Offers Since it has Alexa built-in, the DishSMRT Kit can allow you to control other smart-home devices that you have. You can also book tickets, play music of your liking, and do much more. The DishSMRT Kit is priced at Rs 1,199, and it is available on the website of Dish TV. Further, the company is offering users a ZEE5 subscription (6 or 12 months) at a 30% discount. It is a very convenient product if you don't want to spend too much upgrading to a Smart or Android STB from the company or some other Direct-to-Home (DTH) operator. DishSMRT Kit is a good alternative for Dish TV users. However, Tata Sky Binge is a much better service when compared with that of DishSMRT Kit.

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