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• BSNL to Launch 4G PAN-India by September 2022
• Apple Mulls Over New iPhone SE Launch in Q1 2022
• Xiaomi HyperCharge 11i to Launch with Single Storage Option and Two-Colour Variants
• SpaceX’s Starlink Launches 53 More Satellites From Cape Canaveral
• Reliance Jio Offering Disney+ Hotstar With Only One Prepaid Plan
• Look at the First Smartphones to Feature Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Processor
• Vodafone Idea Might Attract Outside Investors Following Tariff Hikes
• DoT to Reduce Revenues for Sustainability of Telecom Sector
• Tata Sky Brings New Romantic Channel, Check Price
• Airtel and BSNL Broadband Plans Under Rs 700

BSNL to Launch 4G PAN-India by September 2022 Posted: 01 Dec 2021 05:26 AM PST The government-owned telecom company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has announced the rollout of its 4G services across the country by September of next year and it has been informed in the parliament that the state-owned telco will see around Rs 900 crore revenue increment due to the same. Dismissing all the rumors, the Minister of State for Communications, Devusinh Chauhan, has said in a written reply to Lok Sabha that there is no ongoing plan to disinvest the two telcos BSNL and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL). The Plan to Rollout BSNL 4G services and the Challenges for the Telco According to a report from PTI, the minister of state for communications in an inquiry about the 4G rollout by the telco said that BSNL has given a timeline of September 2022 for the pan-India rollout of its 4G services. He further added that the telco's rollout of 4G services across the country will provide incremental revenue of around Rs 900 crore in the first year of the operation according to the estimation. It is to be noted that for Indian companies that were interested in participating in the upcoming 4G tender of BSNL, the telco had invited Expression of Interest for Proof of Concept (PoC). Earlier the government had initiated a revival plan for both the telecom companies – BSNL and MTNL. This revival plan included administrative allotment of spectrum for 4G services. It was decided that budgetary allocation will be used for the funding of this plan. As per the statistics in the audited financial statement, up until September 30, 2021, the assets of BSNL are worth Rs 1,33,952 crore, and MTNL’s are worth Rs 3,556 crore. This value has been derived on a historical cost basis. The financial statement also provides the data on the netblock of property, plant, and equipment and it was Rs 89,878 crore for BSNL and Rs 3,252 crore for MTNL till March 2021. Moreover, until September 30, 2021, BSNL had a total of Rs 85,721 crore in liabilities whereas MTNL had Rs 30,159 crore in liabilities. Earlier, BSNL had received approval from National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) for going ahead with the 4G up-gradation plans, but it was cancelled as government nominees on the board felt that it was unsafe to go with Nokia equipment. Even though there wasn't any prominent risk involved in going with Nokia, the nominees wanted the telco to go with the 4G network completely built in India.

Apple Mulls Over New iPhone SE Launch in Q1 2022 Posted: 01 Dec 2021 04:24 AM PST Tech-giant Apple is reportedly planning to launch its third-generation iPhone SE in the first quarter of 2022, according to TrendForce. The report also stated that the company would release four models under the new series, expected to arrive by year's second half. Apple iPhone SE 2022 specs The new iPhone is rumoured to come with 5G connectivity, Apple's A15 Bionic chip and improved battery life. A15 Bionic is currently Apple's flagship mobile chip with a Hexa-core SoC with two high-performance cores and two efficiency cores. There may not be many changes in its design, and it is expected to carry a similar display as that of the iPhone SE 2020. It could feature a 4.7-inch display with Apple's Touch ID on a physical home button and bezels on the top and bottom, all housed in the familiar aluminium body. There are speculations of Apple working on iPhone models with a larger display and hole-punch design but may have to wait until 2023. Apple iPhone SE 2022 is expected to launch worldwide with the same price tag as that of iPhone SE 2020, i.e., $399. The new iPhone SE 2022 is expected to provide Apple with a strong foothold in the market segment for mid-range 5G smartphones. Apple's production volume for 2022 is estimated to reach 25-30 million units. Apple products to look forward to in 2022 A successor to MacBook Air could make its debut by the middle of 2022. There are speculations of changes in design – thin and light-weight – with white bezels around the display and a revamped keyboard. A new iMac Pro with a 27-inch screen is another expected launch from Apple in 2022. Under the hood, the new 27-inch iMac may feature its latest M1 Pro processor and a mini-LED display with ProMotion capabilities. iPad Pro 2022 is a sure-shot arrival with a new Apple Pencil. Rumours predict a new design language in the device. Apple's performance in 2021 Apple released four new iPhone models under the iPhone 13 series in Q3 2021. The total iPhone production of the company thus registered a quarter-to-quarter increase of 22.6% to 51.5 million units. As such, Apple achieved second place in the global ranking.

Xiaomi HyperCharge 11i to Launch with Single Storage Option and Two-Colour Variants Posted: 01 Dec 2021 03:30 AM PST For quite some time rumours have been going around the launch of the new device by Xiaomi in India. It is being speculated that Xiaomi will launch Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge in Indian markets which will be a rebranded version of Redmi Note 11 Pro+ launched in China previously this year. The smartphone manufacturer is yet to officially make an announcement about the device, however, rumours about the details of the device have been floating around and speculations suggest that we're not very far from the launch of the handset. Details About the Device According to the rumours, upcoming devices from Xiaomi are expected to be launched before the end of the year, if it is to be believed. The two devices that will be launched by the Chinese smartphone giant are expected to be Xiaomi 11i and Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge. It has been informed by a tipster that Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge will come with only one variant when it comes to storage space on the device. It is expected that the company will launch a single 8GB RAM and 128GB internal storage space variant of the said device. It is also anticipated that the device will come in two colour variations namely Camo Green and Stealth Black. The rebranded version of Redmi Note 11 Pro+, Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge will feature a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with a 1080 × 2400 pixel resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. The screen will also have an additional layer of protection using Corning Gorilla Glass Victus. The device will have a punch-hole design on the front to support a 16MP selfie shooter. The rear camera module of the device features a triple camera setup which consists of a 108MP primary camera, an 8MP ultra-wide lens, and a 2MP depth sensor. The device is said to operate on MediaTek Dimensity 920 chipset with LPDDR4x RAM and UFS 3.1 storage. Further information on the device suggests that the device will have JBL dual stereo speakers. Moreover, the device will have a 4500mAh battery backup supported by 120W fast charge technology. Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge is said to operate on MIUI 12.5 based on Android 11.

SpaceX’s Starlink Launches 53 More Satellites From Cape Canaveral Posted: 01 Dec 2021 02:38 AM PST Elon Musk's flagship company SpaceX launched an additional 53 Starlink satellites from Pad 40 of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today at 7.19 am EST. The 230-foot Falcon 9 rocket successfully vaulted off the pad and delivered the satellites to the low-Earth orbit in about 15 minutes. Weather stood favourable for the launch. According to the U.S. Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron, mostly clear sky and mild temperatures were reported. The launch marked the 32nd for SpaceX's Starlink internet constellation. SpaceX already has nearly 1700 operational satellites in orbit. SpaceX is currently providing temporary internet services through the Starlink satellites to consumers who have signed up for its beta testing program. SpaceX recently said that more than 100,000 customers have signed up to avail its user terminals and internet connection packages. The hardware for the connection costs $499 and $99 per month later. SpaceX faces objections from competitors such as Amazon and ViaSat for its application to launch 30,000 more second-generation Starlink spacecraft in the upcoming years. These second-generation satellites would be heavier than the current satellites. These launches are planned with its new interplanetary Starship rocket. In its filing to Federal Communications Commission, SpaceX has said that the Starship rocket would allow more frequent launches and allow better placement of satellites to meet the changing demands of the consumers. There are unconfirmed reports that there exist production problems with Starship's Raptor engine, and the persistence of the issue could lead to the company's bankruptcy. SpaceX has regulatory approval from the Federal Communications Commission for launching nearly 12,000 Starlink satellites. The company plans to launch 4,400 satellites initially on a series of Falcon 9 rocket flights. SpaceX's second-generation launcher, Starship, may be tasked with launching hundreds of Starlink satellites on a single mission. Pre-orders for Starlink internet service stopped in India Meanwhile, the company has stopped pre-orders in India for its satellite-based internet service. Starlink is yet to receive its license to offer services in India. Hence, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) warned citizens to not register for its internet services. "It is hereby informed to the public at large that the said company has not obtained any license/authorisation for rendering satellite-based internet services that are being booked on their website. Given the fact that Starlink is not a licensee, the public is advised not to subscribe to Starlink services being advertised," a notice from the DoT said.

Reliance Jio Offering Disney+ Hotstar With Only One Prepaid Plan Posted: 01 Dec 2021 01:38 AM PST Reliance Jio is offering a subscription to Disney+ Hotstar with only one prepaid plan now. The telco recently moved ahead with prepaid tariff hikes. Due to this, a lot of the plans not only saw their price increase but a few Disney+ Hotstar plans were also removed. Now, only one plan from the telco offers a mobile subscription to the Disney+ Hotstar worth Rs 499 with one year's validity. This plan is available under the 'Cricket' section of the telco and costs Rs 601. Let's take a look at what users get with this plan. Reliance Jio Rs 601 Plan Benefits and Details Reliance Jio offers its Rs 601 plan with a short validity of 28 days. The prime attraction of this plan is the over-the-top (OTT) benefit and the amount of data offered. The Rs 601 plan from the telco offers a free Disney+ Hotstar Mobile subscription to the users for one year. Further, users get 3GB of daily data along with 6GB of bonus data with the plan. This means that the total high speed 4G data offered by the Rs 601 plan from Reliance Jio is 90GB. On top of this, users also get 100 SMS/day and unlimited voice calling. There is also access to a suite of Jio applications including JioTV, JioSecurity, JioCloud, and JioCinema. It is worth noting that due to the tariff hikes, the Disney+ Hotstar plans had become cheaper than the normal data plans. This is the reason why Jio must have discontinued those plans. But there's a strong possibility that Jio might bring a set of brand new plans with the OTT benefit of Disney+ Hotstar in the near future. The telco must be working on what would be the perfect price and structure of the new OTT plans. You can also purchase Disney+ Hotstar plans from Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea.

Look at the First Smartphones to Feature Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Processor Posted: 01 Dec 2021 12:27 AM PST Soon after Qualcomm officially unveiled its next-generation Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, three flagship smartphones — Realme GT 2 Pro, Xiaomi 12, and Moto Edge X30 confirmed to come with the new processor. The launch date of the Realme GT 2 Pro and Xiaomi 12 are not known, but Moto Edge X30 will release on December 9. Moto Edge X30 is rumoured to come with 512GB storage and a 144Hz OLED display. A Lenovo executive teased the snaps of Moto Edge X30 on Weibo recently. According to the executive, the smartphone will come with Corning Gorilla Glass protection on its front and back sides. It will be the first device to run on MyUI 3.0 based on Android. Realme GT 2 Pro promises unparalleled next-level experience in gaming, camera and artificial intelligence. The smartphone is expected to come with a price tag of $799 (nearly Rs 60,000) and may launch in India in the first quarter of 2022. There is not much information available about the specs of Xiaomi 12, but the handset is said to house a 50MP primary sensor. Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Specs Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 unveiled at the annual Snapdragon Tech Summit claims to showcase four times faster artificial intelligence (AI) performance than its predecessor. It will also deliver 30% faster graphics rendering along with 25% better power efficiency. Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 will be equipped with the 7th Gen Qualcomm AI Engine that will possess 2X shared memory and a 2X faster tensor accelerator. In addition, the new chip will also be based on 4nm process technology. Besides Realme, Xiaomi, and Motorola, Qualcomm had announced that the new processor would be used by global players including Black Shark, OnePlus, Honor, Sharp, iQoo, Nubia, Oppo, Sony, Vivo, and ZTE. Several devices from these companies are expected to hit the market in the first quarter of 2022. Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 carries a Qualcomm Hexagon processor to deliver an enhanced artificial intelligence (AI) experience. The chip also has Leica Leitz Look filters for an improved bokeh effect. Its AI-based natural language processing from the machine learning community Hugging Face will enable a personal assistance experience by analysing and prioritising users’ notifications. Qualcomm also partnered with a Massachusetts-based health technology company to integrate the capabilities to analyse users' vocal patterns. For hardcore gamers, Qualcomm offers colour-rich HDR scenes, better responses and Variable Rate Shading Pro features. With its rich capabilities, smartphones with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 may house a gamut of new features for mobile users.

Vodafone Idea Might Attract Outside Investors Following Tariff Hikes Posted: 30 Nov 2021 10:47 PM PST Post the tariff hikes, Vodafone Idea's stock has been soaring. One of the biggest boosts for Vodafone Idea's future was the announcement of tariff hikes from Reliance Jio. With all the operators moving their tariffs up, there will not be that big a worry about subscriber market share to Vodafone Idea. In the last few months, Vodafone Idea's future has changed for the good. The telco firstly benefited from the relief measures announced by the government. Now, there are tariff hikes that will help with boosting average revenue per user (ARPU). On top of all this, the government is also working on the second set of reforms for the telecom sector. Vodafone Idea Needs Cash to Invest in Networks Vodafone Idea needs huge funding to not only pay off the debt but also be able to invest in its networks. Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are ahead of Vodafone Idea because both the operators have better cash resources and the ability to invest in networks more freely. With all that has happened so far and what can happen in the future, there's a big possibility that Vodafone Idea starts getting interest from outside investors. On multiple occasions, the telco has said that it is talking with potential investors. However, there's nothing much has happened yet. To really get the outside investors’ money flowing into the company, the promoters, including the Vodafone Group Plc of the UK and the Aditya Birla Group (ABG), needs to put their own money first. The outside investors will only feel confident in giving their money to the telco when the promoters show they can do the same and believe in the company's future. The telecom sector in India is paved towards the path to recovery. The current tariff hikes bundled with the relief measures will help the telecom sector in seeing faster growth. It will also help the operators in maximising their network investments when the 5G rollout comes near. Kumar Mangalam Birla Expected to Invest $150 Million in Vodafone Idea Kumar Mangalam Birla, who is no longer the Chairman of the Vodafone Idea, might give $150 million to the telco in his individual capacity. A Livemint report suggested that the company might issue fresh convertibles or equities, and Birla is expected to invest in the telco through personal assets. At the same time, Vodafone Group Plc is also expected to raise capital by selling a stake in Indus Towers and use the money received to invest in Vodafone Idea. Note that none of this has been confirmed by the company itself. Thus, there's no way of saying whether this will actually happen or not.

DoT to Reduce Revenues for Sustainability of Telecom Sector Posted: 30 Nov 2021 09:20 PM PST The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is looking to bring balance to the sector. While the spectrum auctions are a great way for the government to earn big revenues, it affects the telecom sector negatively. In the consultation paper released for the 5G spectrum by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), it can be seen that DoT is pushing the regulator towards finding the appropriate base price of spectrum for the upcoming auctions. The DoT wants revenue generation from the spectrum auctions, but not at the cost of long-term growth and sustainability of the telecom sector. TRAI Asks Whether Spectrum be Reserved for Private Networks In its consultation paper, TRAI has asked whether the spectrum should be reserved for private networks separately. If so, the regulator seeks to understand what would be the best way to price the reserved airwaves. In the earlier auctions, when the base price of the spectrum was high, the revenues of the DoT couldn't really make an impact. This is because a large part of the spectrum went unsold. DoT's letter to TRAI states that spectrum lying idle is a waste for the economy. Neither is it helping the operators or the government. Thus, the best way to go forward would be to price the spectrum/airwaves for the 5G auctions in such a manner that almost all of it is sold and both the government as well as the operators are happy. There's also the question of how much amount should the operators pay upfront for the spectrum purchased and how much moratorium should be allowed. One good thing that happened recently was the validity period of the spectrum purchased by the telcos increased. So now, the spectrum purchased through auctions will be valid for the purchaser for 30 years instead of 20 years, meaning an increase in the value of the spectrum. For now, the government allows two years as the moratorium period for upfront spectrum payments.

Tata Sky Brings New Romantic Channel, Check Price Posted: 30 Nov 2021 07:56 PM PST Tata Sky, India's leading Direct-to-Home (DTH) operator, has added a new channel on its platform called 'Tata Sky Romance'. This channel is meant to deliver content from various industries in several languages. Tata Sky Romance is a one-of-a-kind service that will offer users content from Bollywood, Hollywood, and television, all curated for the good old fashioned romantics. To promote the service, Tata Sky has made Sana Makbul and Shaheer Sheikh as the face of the campaign. Tata Sky Romance Channel Price Tata Sky Romance will be available to users for Rs 2 per day. There are no advertisements in this service, and users can watch content on the go with the Tata Sky Mobile app. Tata Sky wanted to give users in India a service through which they can watch romantic content from other countries but in their own language. Tata Sky Romance is here to do just that. Pallavi Puri, Chief Commercial and Content Officer, Tata Sky, said the service offers some of the best titles in the romantic genre across Hollywood and Bollywood in Hindi without any ads. Puri noted that romance is one of the most popular genres in India when it comes to entertainment. Urvi Agrawal, Director, JOP Network, said the company is very happy to partner with Tata Sky for bringing users on the platform a special curation of romantic movies from Bollywood and Hollywood with the Tata Sky Romance. Tata Sky Romance is now available on the platform of the DTH operator. It can be viewed on channel number 113 and is also available on the Tata Sky Mobile application. To include this channel of their subscription pack, Tata Sky subscribers can give a missed call on 080 61999933. Tata Sky Romance will deliver a few of the most popular titles from both Bollywood and Hollywood, such as Jab We Met, The Good Girl, and more to keep the users entertained.

Airtel and BSNL Broadband Plans Under Rs 700 Posted: 30 Nov 2021 05:31 PM PST The demand for data has been increasing consistently and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) across the country have been coming up with exciting offers and plans to attract a wider user base. Especially since the beginning of the pandemic, the demand for home internet usage and broadband connections has been sky-rocketing. So, it becomes important for the ISPs to come up with data plans that are affordable as well as provide adequate internet speed. In this article, we are going to look at the rather affordable plans offered by two of the country's prominent ISPs – Airtel and BSNL under Rs 700 that are suitable for home users, individual users, small creators, etc. Airtel's Basic Plan India’s one of the leading ISP is Airtel which provides various packs through its Airtel Xstream Fiber. With Airtel Xstream Fiber users can get up to 1 Gbps of high-speed internet. The Fiber optic internet connection from Airtel provides high-speed internet to its user which continuously enhances their experience. The FTTH (Fiber to Home) technology provides users with fully-dedicated Fiber optic cable different internet packages, which connect up to 60 devices via a professional-grade Wi-Fi router modem. However, Under Rs 700, Airtel provides a 'Basic Plan' which is priced at Rs 499 a month. This broadband plan from the telco giant provides 40 Mbps of internet speed which is quite suitable for home users or even individual users. The basic plan also includes a subscription to Wynk Music and Shaw Academy as a part of Airtel Thanks Benefit. Users get 3.3TB or 3300GB of monthly fair-usage-policy (FUP) data with this plan. Two Plans Under Rs 700 by BSNL BSNL is one of the largest public sector units in the country and provides a wide range of telecom services. When it comes to broadband plans under Rs 700, BSNL offers two plans, namely Fiber Basic and Fiber Basic Plus. The Fiber Basic plan provides users 30 Mbps of internet speed till 3300GB beyond which speed reduces to 2 Mbps. This provides unlimited download options to its users and costs Rs 449 for a month. On the other hand, the Fiber Basic Plus comes at a cost of Rs 599 per month and provides 60 Mbps of internet speed till 3300 GB and with this plan as well users get 2 Mbps beyond the set limit. It is to be noted that prices for both plans are exclusive of GST.

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