${latestitem Title}

---

• Broadband Plans Under Rs 800 from Airtel, BSNL, JioFiber, ACT, Excitel, Tata Sky
• Govt Favouring Jio, BSNL Not Able to Start 4G Services: DMK MP
• 5G Network Equipment Only Coming from Trusted Sources
• Prepaid Plans for Moderate Data Users from Vi, Airtel, Jio and BSNL
• Airtel, Jio and Vi Annual Prepaid Plans Show Changes in Streaming Benefits
• World Looks Up to India for 5G and Other Connectivity Solutions: PM Modi
• iPhone 12 mini Available at Under Rs 30000 on Flipkart
• 5G Spectrum Should be Offered to Everyone in the Same Way, Demand Telcos
• AGR Dues Deferment Brought Great Relief for One Operator: Mittal
• Telecom Service Quality a Focus Area: DoT Secretary

Broadband Plans Under Rs 800 from Airtel, BSNL, JioFiber, ACT, Excitel, Tata Sky Posted: 08 Dec 2021 09:11 PM PST With prepaid data tariffs turning expensive and the increasing demand for home broadband, many customers are looking to shift to affordable broadband plans. Below are a few broadband plans under Rs 800 from Airtel, BSNL, JioFiber, ACT, Excitel, and Tata Sky. BSNL Broadband Plans Under Rs 800 The government-owned telecom and internet service provider BSNL has recently discontinued its Rs 499 100GB CUL broadband plan and has launched a new quarterly payment method for its broadband plans. The new scheme enables the customer to avail 15 days of additional services without any charges or rentals by paying the advance rental for three months. Although it cancelled its Rs 499 100GB CUL plan, BSNL still offers a starter broadband plan at Rs 449. Dubbed as Fibre Basic Plan, it offers 30 Mbps speed till 3.3TB speed or 3300GB FUP limit. Post FUP limit, the speed will get reduced to 2Mbps. The users also get unlimited voice calling with this plan. ACT Broadband Plans Under Rs 800 ACT is another ISP that launched a new broadband plan under Rs 800. The service provider launched an 'ACT Welcome' plan for Rs 549, offering unlimited data at 50 Mbps speed. For Coimbatore circle, the provider offers up to 750GB of data at 40Mbps speed. JioFiber Broadband Plan Under Rs 800 JioFiber also has a broadband plan at Rs 399, offering truly unlimited internet at 30 Mbps speed. Although there are no OTT subscriptions for the plan, it offers unlimited voice calling. Airtel Broadband Plans Under Rs 800 Airtel's starter broadband plan costs Rs 499 and offers unlimited data with up to 40 Mbps speed, along with additional benefits including a subscription to Airtel XStream, Wynk Music and Shaw Academy. Excitel Broadband Plans Under Rs 800 Excitel is also an option to consider for the broadband plan at Rs 399 per month if you are willing to subscribe to the plan annually. Excitel offers unlimited data with 100 Mbps speed at Rs 399 per month, which comes to Rs 4788 for one year. The plan at Rs 499 per month provides data at 300 Mbps speed which comes to Rs 5988 annually. There is another Excitel broadband plan at Rs 699 per month to choose from, giving unlimited data with 100 Mbps speed. Tata Sky Broadband Plans Under Rs 800 Tata Sky, the joint venture of Tata Sons and Walt Disney, offers a 50 Mbps broadband plan for three months at a price tag of Rs 2097. On bifurcation, this comes around Rs 699 per month. The user can also avail unlimited landline calls. If to go slightly higher than Rs 800 budget, Tata Sky's plan at Rs 950 per month offers 100 Mbps data and unlimited calling. The same plan gives a subscription for three months, six months and 12 months respectively for Rs 2700, Rs 4500 and Rs 8400, which comes down to Rs 900, Rs 750 and Rs 700 a month.

Govt Favouring Jio, BSNL Not Able to Start 4G Services: DMK MP Posted: 08 Dec 2021 08:25 PM PST Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is struggling to stay on its feet due to not having 4G presence in India. The same was pointed out by the DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran. According to a PTI report, engaging in words with BJP members during the question hour in Lok Sabha, Maran said BSNL's 4G and 5G services are missing and only the government is to blame here. Maran said while the former telecom minister had assured that both BSNL and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) would be able to provide users with 4G and 5G services, why hasn't it happened yet. Maran said that BSNL has been losing customers to Reliance Jio which is supported by the government. The DMK MP even said that PM Modi was the poster boy of the Jio photos advertised. Speaker Om Birla Asked Not to Put Allegations The statements from Maran attracted a chorus of responses from the BJP members sitting in the Lok Sabha. To stop the matter right there, Speaker Om Birla stepped in and asked the members to only ask questions related to their respective states and constituencies or policy matters. Speaker asked the members to avoid putting allegations during the session. While the private telcos are halfway through with their 5G trials, BSNL is still planning to launch 4G network services in India. The state-run telco had said that it would be able to launch PAN-India 4G by September 2022. BSNL will be at least five to six years late for launching 4G. The telco is going ahead with network equipment grown indigenously in India. This will poise it to launch homegrown 5G as well. Since 4G is not going anywhere for a long-time, BSNL can still make its 4G services count backed by strong network coverage and good speeds throughout India. BSNL has also taken over the mobile operations of MTNL.

5G Network Equipment Only Coming from Trusted Sources Posted: 08 Dec 2021 07:03 PM PST Network security is of prime importance for any nation today. Mobile networks carry a ton of data and are susceptible to hacking if proper measures are not taken. This is why almost every nation, including India, has become aware of the security of its mobile networks and are ensuring that network equipment comes from only trusted sources. 5G, the next big revolution in network technology, might be launched in India commercially in 2022. To keep 5G safe, India is going to with equipment from trusted sources only. Only Trusted Sources to Provide Equipment for 5G According to a PTI report, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister for Communications, told Lok Sabha that only trusted sources are providing equipment to the telcos for 5G. A Congress member Manish Tewari wanted to know whether the telcos are still sourcing network equipment from Huawei. Vaishnaw said that the telcos are only going with the trusted sources for the network equipment. The government earlier this year announced that telecom operators could only source their equipment from trusted sources only. Chinese companies, including Huawei and ZTE have not been included in the trusted sources list of India. This is because of the alleged ties between the companies and the Chinese government. Even the United States (U.S.) and many other countries in Europe are avoiding doing business with Huawei because of security reasons. Vaishnaw said that the biggest thing that the telcos are seeing today is the amount of investment that is required for 5G. There's not only spectrum but also network upgradation costs involved. The 5G trials of the telcos are going on where Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi) has partnered with Nokia and Ericsson for the equipment while Reliance Jio has partnered with Samsung. None of the telcos have tested their 5G with the Chinese vendors. This is a clear indication of Huawei's future in India as well as some of the other nations.

Prepaid Plans for Moderate Data Users from Vi, Airtel, Jio and BSNL Posted: 08 Dec 2021 05:32 PM PST The recent price hike in the telecom industry has seen a rise in the cost of all the plans provided by the telco to up to 20%. Prices of all the plans that users were accustomed to, has now been changed and moreover, the plans have become quite expensive. The unlimited plans that offer daily data cost quite more than they did before. In this scenario, daily data plans that offer 1.5GB of data a day or so becomes affordable for the users who are in need of moderate data consumption. Mentioned below are the long-term daily data plans that are offered by the telcos in the country suitable for moderate data consumers. Reliance Jio Prepaid Plans Reliance Jio offers a long term 1.5GB a day data plan. This plan comes at the cost of Rs 666 and provides unlimited voice calls along with 100 SMS per day. The validity period of this plan is 84 days, and beyond the daily set limit of 1.5GB of data, users can enjoy unlimited internet at 64 Kbps of internet speed. The plan also gives access to a few Jio applications such as JioTV, JioCinema, JioSecurity and JioCloud. The plan is also mentioned under "popular plans" on the website. Bharti Airtel Prepaid Plans India's one of the major private telco, Bharti Airtel, provides a long-term, 1.5GB of data a day plan as well. This plan from Airtel comes at a price tag of Rs 719 and is valid for 84 days. Along with daily data benefits, users also get truly unlimited voice calls and 100 SMS per day. Moreover, this plan comes with access to the free trial of the mobile edition of Amazon Prime Video along with a few other benefits such as access to Wynk music and online learning platform Shaw Academy and more. Vodafone Idea (Vi) Prepaid Plans Third on the list is the Rs 719 plan offered by Vi which comes with a validity period of 84 days. The plan provides truly unlimited voice calls and 100 SMS every day along with 1.5GB of data per day. This plan also comes with access to Vi Movies & TV Classic for the validity period of the plan and offers a data backup of 2GB every month. Additional benefits of this plan include the "Binge All Night" feature, which allows users to use unlimited internet from 12 midnight to 6 am. Users can also take over their unused data from Monday to Friday to Saturday and Sunday, which is called the "Weekend Roll Over" benefit. BSNL Prepaid Plans Last on the least is the long-term moderate prepaid plan offered by the government-owned telco – Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL). BSNL offers quite a few affordable plans at a cost lower than that of the private telcos and also has more to offer. Users can get the STV_429 pack from BSNL, which comes with a validity period of 81 days and offers 1GB of data per day along with unlimited voice calls and 100 SMS per day. This plan costing only Rs 429, also offers access to Eros Now entertainment platform. Moreover, Users can also get an STV_499 pack which, at the cost of Rs 499, offers 2GB of data per day for a validity period of 90 days. Along with unlimited voice calls and 100 SMS a day, users also get access to BSNL tunes and Zing. The STV_599 pack, on the other hand, comes at a cost of Rs 599 and offers 5GB of data each day for a validity period of 84 days. Users with this plan as well get unlimited voice calls and 100 SMS a day and furthermore, free night data which means unlimited data during the time period of 12 midnight to 5 am.

Airtel, Jio and Vi Annual Prepaid Plans Show Changes in Streaming Benefits Posted: 08 Dec 2021 08:19 AM PST The significant change that has occurred in the tariff plans of Airtel, Vi and Jio after the recent price hike is the changes in the streaming benefits of their annual prepaid plans. The mobile subscription of Disney + Hotstar for one year is given under Airtel annual prepaid plan of Rs 3359. The same is offered under the Rs 3119 annual prepaid plan of Jio. In the case of Airtel, it provides 30 days trial access to Amazon Prime as well under its plan. On the contrary, Jio offers access to its streaming apps JioTV and JioCinema under the plan. Regarding Vi, the Disney + Hotstar plan is provided in its Rs 3099 annual prepaid plan along with its own Vi Movies & TV streaming services. In terms of data, call, and SMS benefits, Airtel's Rs 3359 prepaid plan provides 2GB of daily data, 100 SMS and unlimited calls per day. Post data quota, the speed will get reduced to 64 Kbps for the users. Similarly, post SMS limits, Airtel will charge Rs 1 per local SMS and Rs 1.50 per STD text message. In the case of Jio, the annual prepaid plan of Rs 3119 provides 2GB of daily data (with an additional 10GB, but total data limited to 740GB), along with unlimited voice calls and 100 SMS per day. The other benefits include JioSecurity and JioCloud. Vi, on the other hand, provides more data benefits among the three. The daily data, calls and SMS limits offered under its Rs 3099 annual prepaid plan are 1.5GB daily data, 100 SMS and unlimited calls. Additionally, the telco provides night data without limits from 12 am to 6 am. The user can also carry over the unused data of the week to the weekend. 2GB of backup data is also provided every month. The same free unlimited night data and weekend data rollover benefits are also offered under Vi's Rs 2899 annual prepaid plan. However, there is no Disney + Hotstar benefit under the said plan. Other Annual Prepaid Plans of Airtel, Jio and Vi Airtel has two more annual prepaid plans that cost Rs 2999 and Rs 1799. The Rs 2999 plan offers 2GB of data per day, unlimited calls and 100 SMS per day. There are no other streaming benefits other than a 30-day free trial to Amazon Prime in the plan. The speed of the data will reduce to 64 Kbps post limit. The text messages above the limit will also be charged at Rs 1 per local text and Rs 1.50 per STD. Airtel prepaid plan of Rs 1799 provides 24GB of data benefit, post which the telecom service provider will charge 50p/MB. Other benefits remain the same as Airtel's Rs 2999 plan. Besides Rs 3119 plan, Jio has three more annual prepaid plans, at Rs 2545, Rs 2879 and Rs 4199. The validity of all three plans is 365 days except that of the Rs 2545 plan, which has only 336 days validity. Rs 2545 Jio prepaid plan offers 1.5GB of daily data (504Gb in total), along with 100 SMS/day, unlimited calls and Jio streaming services JioTV and JioCinema. The plans Rs 2879 and Rs 4119 offer 2GB and 3GB of data per day, respectively. Other benefits remain the same as that of the Rs 2545 plan. Vi has one more annual prepaid plan besides Rs 3099 and Rs 2899 plans, at Rs 1799. Its Rs 1799 plan offers 24GB of data, unlimited calls and 3600 SMS (100 SMS/day), and Vi streaming services Vi movies and TV. This plan has no free night data or weekend data rollover offers.

World Looks Up to India for 5G and Other Connectivity Solutions: PM Modi Posted: 08 Dec 2021 07:18 AM PST The fifth edition of the India Mobile Congress began today with a message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The three-day-long event, India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2021 was inaugurated by Hon'ble Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology and Railway, Ashwini Vaishnaw in the presence of many other key delegates. IMC is the largest telecom, media and technology conference in South Asia and is organized by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI). The Message from Prime Minister The message from the Prime Minister of the country said that a big reason behind the country's development is the role of India's telecom sector and IT industry and is sure to take India into a much prosperous future. The message from the Prime Minister further said that the global market expects India to come up with technology-based solutions that are both affordable and sustainable, whether it is 5G technology or artificial intelligence and technologies such as virtual reality, cloud, Internet of Things and robotics and more. Ashwini Vaishnaw inaugurated the session for IMC and in his address, he said that the Indian telecom industry has been on a constant rise for the last seven years. He said that country has reached around 23 lakhs base stations in the country from just around six and a half lakhs 7 years ago. He said that connecting the mass from all walks of life has been the goal of the current government and the government is intended to equally serve most marginalized sections of the society. He talked about how the recent reforms in telecom regulations have brought about people-oriented procedural changes since the digitization of services has been creating disruptions in the society even though it is also creating new opportunities. He said that the world is moving towards a digital era and it is about time that Indian entrepreneurs, students, scientists, engineers come up with new solutions to serve the country.

iPhone 12 mini Available at Under Rs 30000 on Flipkart Posted: 08 Dec 2021 06:28 AM PST As the end of the year approaches, customers expect all the major online retail stores to offer an end of the season sale. And as anticipated, the online shopping platform Flipkart has already initiated its end of the season sale, which has been called Flipkart Mobile Bonanza. The two-day sale began yesterday that is December 7, and ends tonight. One of the fascinating deals of this sale is the price cut of the iPhone 12 mini. Alongside iPhone 12 mini, users can also find a bunch of offers under the Flipkart Mobile Bonanza sale, which includes smartphones from Realme, Motorola, Oppo, Vivo and many more. The Discount Offer on Flipkart The prices mentioned for iPhone 12 mini under the Flipkart Bonanza sale is quite remarkable. For the 64GB variant of the device, the price tag has been brought down to Rs 44,999 from its original price of Rs 59,999. This is not where the offer ends, as users can further get an exchange offer using which they can get up to an additional Rs 16,050 discount on the purchase of the iPhone 12 mini. This can take the price of the device under Rs 30,000 for the users who would be interested in purchasing it. However, it is to be noted that the applicability of the exchange offer depends entirely on the device and its working condition. There are some additional offers that have been provided for the iPhone 12 mini under the Flipkart Mobile Bonanza, which includes a Bank Offer of Rs 100 off on the first Flipkart Pay Later on the order of Rs 500 or above. Furthermore, the Flipkart Axis Bank Credit cardholders can also receive 5% extra Unlimited Cashback. Users can also get a 20% discount on their first transaction if they use Amex Network Cards from ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, SBI Cards, or Mobikwik. Specifications of the Device To recall the specifications of the iPhone 12 mini for the users who might be interested in buying the smartphone, the device comes with a 5.4-inch HDR display screen and operates on the iOS 14 operating system. The smartphone is powered by the tech giant's own A14 Bionic Chip with Next-Generation Neural Engine. The camera module of the device includes a double rear camera setup which consists of two 12MP lenses, and on the front has another 12MP selfie shooter.

5G Spectrum Should be Offered to Everyone in the Same Way, Demand Telcos Posted: 08 Dec 2021 05:32 AM PST In the recent development of events, the senior executives of India's three private telcos – Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea (Vi) and Bharti Airtel have asked the government for the same action. The telcos have asked for the 5G bands, including those being used for 4G currently, to be put up for sale, reduce levies or extend the moratorium period in regards to the new airwaves. Moreover, Vi and Reliance Jio have also asked for equal opportunities meaning that no OTT or satellite should be preallotted the spectrum and all should bid as the telcos do. The Dispute between Satcom and Telcos Senior Vice President, Public Policy for Vi, Anjali Hans, has said in a statement during the ongoing India Mobile Congress (IMC) that for the entire digital ecosystem to flourish together, it is necessary to have the same service and same rules for all the parties. These comments come in the light of a battle between telcos and satellite firms where the latter has asked for allotment of spectrum for a fee and not through the auction. The telcos, on the other hand, want a level playing field which means that all the airwaves for communication services should go to the highest bidder. Adding to this, Vice President, Head of Strategic Initiatives, Regulatory Policy and Research at Jio, Vishakha Saigal, has said in a statement that the company is all in for exploring the potential of satellite communication services; however, it should not come at the cost of existing terrestrial networks. She added that it should be ensured that there is a parity in policy and regulations. The heavily regulated telcos in the country have also raised their voice against OTTs, which in the absence of any regulation, also provide similar communication services as operators. The sector's regulator, TRAI's secretary V Raghunandan has said that the future of the communication services has to be in coexistence. The representatives of various telcos also mutually pushed for a reduction in levies to ensure seamless enhancement and expansion of the upcoming network. The reduction in levies includes license fees and GST, spectrum prices and much more. Vice President at Airtel, Tarun Chitraka, also said that whether it is lower band, mid or higher band, all the 5G bands should be auctioned so as to meet the requirements for the use cases. Jio further added that any unsystematic allocation of the spectrum would later result in network insufficiencies and ultimately higher costs for 5G.

AGR Dues Deferment Brought Great Relief for One Operator: Mittal Posted: 08 Dec 2021 04:37 AM PST Before the relief measures were announced for the telecom sector, India was scared of a duopoly between Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio. Vodafone Idea had a mountain of debt and was just not getting a break. The telco wasn't adding subscribers, nor had it made any profits for years. The general perception of the market was that Vodafone Idea (vi) was going to go out of business, if not right away, then sometime later. However, with an unprecedented move, the government announced a bailout package for private companies. Telcos were given the option to opt for a moratorium of statutory dues, and both Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel accepted. Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, speaking at the Indian Mobile Congress (IMC) 2021, said the deferment of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues brought great relief for at least one operator. It is not hard to guess that the operator Mittal was referring to here was Vodafone Idea. Players That Remain Will Set the Agenda for Digital India: Mittal Mittal said that the relief package introduced by the government had brought hope for the sector. Further, the Indian business tycoon said that players who remain in the market will now be able to set the agenda for digital India. With the relief package, there's one thing that has been ensured — Vodafone Idea isn't going to go out of the market any time soon. In fact, the government had offered the telcos an option to give away an equity stake against the removal of some part of dues. Neither Vodafone Idea nor Bharti Airtel has confirmed what they will do in this regard. Mittal has also asked the telcos to come together and share tower infrastructure to reduce the overall cost of deploying the network as well as the time taken to roll out new network services. In India, the private telecom operators have largely been undercutting each other to add more users than competitors; while that is right to a certain extent, the telcos must see the bigger picture and help each other out by sharing infra costs.

Telecom Service Quality a Focus Area: DoT Secretary Posted: 08 Dec 2021 02:58 AM PST According to a statement from an eminent official, the government will prioritise the quality of telecoms services in all the rural and urban areas and will continue to keep it the core focus area in order to fulfil the commitment of financial and digital inclusion of 1.38 billion people of India. It is to be noted that the fifth edition of India Mobile Congress (IMC) is currently underway which is organised by the Cellular Operator Association of India (COAI) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The Future of Connectivity Speaking at the Indian Mobile Congress (IMC) 2021 event, Department of Telecommunications (DoT) secretary K Rajaraman said that financial and digital inclusion are the core commitments of the government, and therefore the key focus area of the government will be the quality of services available in rural and urban areas and rural connectivity. He further added that the rollout of 5G, efficient spectrum management and enhancement in products and services are very important to enable India to compete in the global market and mark its presence. He said that innovations in technology could strap up the power of low latency, network slicing and edge computing in 5G communication services. This would allow for more secure, efficient and customised services from the enterprises. Talking about the telecom industry, he said that the industry has been resilient when the circumstances were against them, and the new reforms in the sector brought by the government are the beginning of a new wave of growth in the digital economy. He said that spread of 5G connectivity and services to the remotest of areas is very crucial for India to achieve its digital ambitions. He also talked about how the internet has been a game-changer when it comes to maintaining financial and social services for work, education and health. He said that the effectiveness of connectivity technologies such as 5G is very crucial for the future of ordinary citizens across the globe. Rajaraman added that India could expect broader and faster connectivity pretty soon, which will allow each and every industry to boost productivity and innovations. It is to be noted that 5G services are expected to roll out in India in Q2 of 2022, and many major telcos have already begun testing their 5G networks.

You are subscribed to email updates from TelecomTalk. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States