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• Will Vodafone Idea Go for Tariff Hike Again?
• Jio, Airtel and Vi Want USOF to be Suspended in the Upcoming Budget
• OnePlus 9RT Will Get OxygenOS 12 or Android 12 Update This Summer
• BSNL 4G Data Only Vouchers Under Rs 100 You Can Buy
• iQOO 9, iQOO 9 Pro Specifications Tipped Ahead of the Official Launch
• Decent Broadband Plans that Cost Less Than Rs 500
• OnePlus 9RT vs OnePlus 9R – Specifications and Pricing Compared
• Vivo Y21e Launched in India as Budget Smartphone With Snapdragon 680 SoC
• OnePlus Buds Z2 TWS Earbuds Launched in India With Active Noise Cancellation and 38-Hour Battery Life
• OnePlus 9RT Arrives in India at Competitive Price With Support for Multiple 5G Bands
• BSNL Prepaid Plan Offer That Will Expire on January 15, Hurry
• Oppo Pad Spotted at Geekbench, Likely to Arrive with Snapdragon 870 SoC
• Xiaomi Unveils PatchWall Replay Report 2021 Highlighting Top Digital Entertainment Trends
• Airtel Business Low-Cost Broadband Plans for Small Enterprises
• Tecno Pova Neo Will Officially Come to India on This Date
• Vodafone Idea Needs Another Tariff Hike, ARPU Needs to Increase 1.9x : Motilal Oswal
• MacBook Air With M1 Chip Still a Great Buy in 2022
• Indian Govt Diving Deep in Telecom, What It Means for the Sector
• Vodafone Idea Might Soon Raise Up to Rs 7400 Crore
• Vodafone Idea Helping Prepaid Users Save Rs 48

Will Vodafone Idea Go for Tariff Hike Again? Posted: 15 Jan 2022 12:03 AM PST Vodafone Idea (Vi) requires money from every end, be it tariff hikes, fundraise, or loans. While the telco's debt has been effectively reduced by converting a significant part of statutory dues into equity for the government, there's still the question of money required for 5G rollout, Rs 1.9 billion debt on the books, and the 4G network expansion. The telco has been losing customers in a bunch every quarter that goes by, and analysts say the primary reason behind that is the incapability of the telco to invest in its networks aggressively. So will Vodafone Idea go for tariff hikes again? It might, and here's what you should know. Vodafone Idea Might Increase Tariffs Soon Vodafone Idea might soon go for tariff hikes, but this time, instead of hiking up the prices for prepaid services, the telco might increase the price of postpaid plans. Analysts believe that the telcos are only hurting their business if they don't move ahead with the postpaid tariff hike. Since there is a very short percentage of the population that uses postpaid services, the postpaid tariff hike might not increase overall revenues by a huge margin; it will still make some difference. Motilal Oswal, through a recent report, has already highlighted that the telco needs to arrest the subscriber churn rate. To do that, the telco needs money to invest in networks. According to Motilal Oswal, Vodafone Idea needs an average revenue per user (ARPU) jump of at least 1.9x to reach a self-sustainable level, and for that, a tariff hike is required. The revenues of the telcos need to jump by at least 3x from now. If this doesn't happen, regardless of all the help, Vodafone Idea might find it very hard to stay afloat in the long term. Even the government will now be looking to tariff hikes to ensure that its equity in the company is worth something at the end of the day.

Jio, Airtel and Vi Want USOF to be Suspended in the Upcoming Budget Posted: 14 Jan 2022 10:54 PM PST Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea (Vi), the top telecom operators in India, want the government to remove the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) from the upcoming budget to reduce the burden on their business. USOF was established to financially support the rollout of telecom services in the rural areas of the country. But the telcos have to shell out a significant sum of money towards the fund at regular intervals, and it is hurting their cash flow. According to a PTI report, the telecom operators also want the input tax credit (ITC) of around Rs 35,000 crore to be returned by the government. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has asked for the refund of unutilised ITC of Rs 35,000 crore that cannot be put to use in the near future. Telcos Request the Government to Waive GST of LF and Reduce Levies To get further ease with their finances, the telcos have asked the government to waive off the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from the license fees and the spectrum usage. Along with this, the telcos have requested a reduction in levies in the upcoming budget. It is worth noting that the government has already removed plenty of charges for the telcos that was included in the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues and also abolished the spectrum usage charges (SUC) for the frequencies that the telcos purchase in future auctions. The current license fee for the telcos is 8% of their AGR. Out of the 8%, the 5% fee is for USOF. COAI wants the USOF fees to be removed from the upcoming budget. The government last year came out with a relief package for the telecom sector, which gave the struggling operators some room to breathe. There's still a long way to go for fixing the reforms in the sector, and the government is working on that with the relevant stakeholders.

OnePlus 9RT Will Get OxygenOS 12 or Android 12 Update This Summer Posted: 14 Jan 2022 09:14 PM PST OnePlus 9RT launched on Friday via a virtual event in India. To many's disappointment, a flagship-level device in 2022 isn't coming with Android 12 out of the box. But it's better for a company to deliver a stable Android 11 than a buggy Android 12 experience to the user when he/she gets a new device. But it won't take long for the Chinese consumer electronics giant to roll out the Android 12 or OxygenOS 12 update for the OnePlus 9RT. OnePlus 9RT Will Get OxygenOS 12 on this Period OnePlus has officially confirmed that it will roll out the OxygenOS 12 in India during March – April 2022 period. It is worth noting that the smartphone launched with OxygenOS 12 in China, but strangely that wasn't the case in India. However, March – April is not far from here. The OnePlus 9RT comes with a 6.62-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with support for 120Hz refresh rate, 600Hz touch-sampling rate, 1300nits of max brightness, Corning Gorilla Glass on top for added protection, HDR10+ certification, and more. The smartphone packs the 2021 flagship chipset, Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC, coupled with up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of RAM. There's a 4500mAh battery inside the device that supports Warp Charge 65T (65W), which can charge the device from 0% to 100% in 29 minutes. OnePlus claims that it is faster than normal 65W fast-charging. There's a triple-camera setup at the rear with a 50MP Sony IMX766 primary sensor with OIS paired with a 16MP ultra-wide-angle sensor and a 2MP macro sensor. For selfies and videos, there's a 16MP sensor at the front. The device will be available in Indian two memory variants — 8GB+128GB and 12GB + 256GB for Rs 42,999 and Rs 46,999. OnePlus 9RT will be available on the official website of OnePlus and Amazon in two colours — Nano Silver and Hacker Black. There are also bank offers that can reduce the price of the smartphone as low as Rs 38,999.

BSNL 4G Data Only Vouchers Under Rs 100 You Can Buy Posted: 14 Jan 2022 08:04 PM PST Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is working on rolling out 4G networks in India. The state-run telco still offers 4G data vouchers to the users. There are many affordable 4G data only vouchers available from BSNL under Rs 100 that you can buy. The private telcos had late last year introduced 20% to 25% prepaid tariff hikes, which had made their 4G data vouchers quite expensive. BSNL was the only telco that didn't go ahead with the prepaid tariff hikes. That is why the state-run telco has some very affordable prepaid 4G data only vouchers in its portfolio; let's check them out. BSNL 4G Data Vouchers Under Rs 100 BSNL is offering six data vouchers to users under Rs 100. These vouchers cost Rs 19, Rs 56, Rs 75, Rs 94, Rs 97, and Rs 98. With the Rs 19 voucher, users get 2GB of data with service validity of 1 day. If you want more data in a lump sum manner, you can go for the Rs 56 data voucher, which offers 10GB of data along with a free Zing subscription for ten days. The Rs 75 voucher comes with service validity of 50 days and offers 2GB of data along with 100 minutes of free voice calling and free PRBT for 50 days. The Rs 94 voucher is very much like the Rs 75 voucher but offers 3GB of data that needs to be consumed within 75 days and 100 minutes of free voice calling along with PRBT for 60 days. With the Rs 97 plan, users get 2GB of data per day along with unlimited voice calling + Lokdhun for 18 days. Lastly, the Rs 98 plan also offers users 2GB of data per day, but there's no unlimited voice calling. This plan comes with a free over-the-top (OTT) subscription of Eros Now for 22 days. These are all the 4G data vouchers that you get with BSNL under Rs 100. Only the Rs 98 plan offers users unlimited voice calling service out of all the vouchers mentioned above.

iQOO 9, iQOO 9 Pro Specifications Tipped Ahead of the Official Launch Posted: 14 Jan 2022 07:18 PM PST The Indian smartphone market has a couple of launches slated for this month, one of which is from Vivo's subsidiary brand iQOO. iQOO 9 series smartphones have already made their debut in China on January 5 and are soon on their way to India. The Indian variants are likely to carry slightly different specifications than their Chinese counterparts. Ahead of the official launch, two tipsters have tipped the iQOO 9 series specifications. There are two smartphones under the series – iQOO 9 and iQOO 9 Pro, both expected to carry Android 12 out of the box. iQOO 9 specifications According to the tweets of a known tipster Utsav Techie, the Indian variant of the iQOO 9 smartphones will come with a 6.56-inch AMOLED 10-bit display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Under the hood, the smartphone would carry a Snapdragon 888+ processor coupled with LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage. For the camera, iQOO 9 will have a 48MP primary sensor. Its triple camera set-up will also comprise a 13MP camera with a 50mm focal length. The tipster provides no information about the front camera of the device. The iQOO handset will be powered with a 120W charging support. iQOO 9 Pro specifications Another tweet from tipster Yogesh Brar mentioned that the higher variant of the iQOO 9 series – the iQOO 9 Pro, will feature a 6.78-inch AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 120Hz. A Snapdragon 8 Gen1 SoC would power the device, along with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of onboard storage. According to the tipster Brar, iQoo 9 Pro smartphone will come in two RAM and storage configurations — 8GB + 128GB and 12GB + 256GB variants. The device is likely to feature LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage. Similar to its non-Pro variant, this iQOO smartphone will comprise of a triple camera set-up with 50MP of a primary sensor, a telephoto sensor and an ultra-wide sensor. For selfies, iQOO Pro could feature a 16MP shooter. The smartphone is expected to pack a 4,700mAh battery with 120W charging support. Considering the Chinese variants, the price tags of iQOO 9 and iQOO 9 Pro handsets are likely to come at an expensive end.

Decent Broadband Plans that Cost Less Than Rs 500 Posted: 14 Jan 2022 05:28 PM PST In today's day and age, the internet has become a necessity and more people rely on it than ever before. The demand for the internet has grown exponentially, particularly in the last couple of years due to unprecedented events that took place with the arrival of Covid-19. As the use of the internet spreads out more and more across India, so does the need for affordable plans. Not all users can afford or need high-speed high-priced internet connectivity. Lucky for them, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in India offer a wide range of plans that suits the need of the users. Mentioned below are the affordable broadband plans offered by major telcos of India such as Jio, Airtel, etc. that cost less than Rs 500. 30 Mbps Plan from Jio The cheapest plan offered by Jio offers a connectivity speed of 30 Mbps. JioFiber provides a 30 Mbps internet speed data plan at the price of Rs 399 per month. The FUP limit set on this plan is 3300Gb or 3.3TB. Using the 30 Mbps plan from JioFiber, customers can get access to smooth and seamless internet across multiple devices. Along with high-speed internet, users also get a symmetrical download and upload speed from the provider. There are no OTT benefits included with the plan but is suitable for users looking for a cheap plan. Affordable Plan from Airtel Airtel is one of the most popular brands when it comes to the list of ISPs in India that offers high-quality connectivity via Airtel Xstream Fibre. The 'Basic' pack from Airtel provides 40 Mbps of internet speed at a monthly cost of Rs 499 exclusive of taxes. Users get 3.3TB or 3300GB of monthly fair-usage-policy (FUP) data with this plan. The plan offers unlimited internet up to the set limit as well as unlimited local and STD calls. Airtel also provides 'Airtel Thanks Benefits' with its broadband plans which in this case includes a subscription to Wynk Music and Shaw Academy. Cheaper Plan from BSNL The government-owned telecommunications company BSNL under Bharat Fibre Broadband provides an affordable broadband plan as well. Users can get access to the 'Fibre Basic' plan from the telco which offers an internet speed of 30 Mbps at a cost of Rs 449. The mentioned price is exclusive of GST and the plan comes with a FUP limit of 3300GB or 3.3TB. Beyond the data limit, users can enjoy an internet speed of 2 Mbps and the 'Fibre Basic' plan also offers a 90% discount of up to Rs 500 on rent on the first bill. The 6-Month Broadband Plan from ACT The Internet Service Provider based in Bengaluru provides a 40 Mbps unlimited data plan called 'ACT Basic.' The plan usually costs Rs 549 for a month, but the ISP is providing a unique offer for its customers, wherein the 'ACT Basic' plan is available for a price of Rs 470 per month for a duration of 6 months. In addition to this, the FUP data limit levied on the broadband plan is 500GB post which the internet works at speed of 512 Kbps. Users can also get free trials to some of the Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms such as Zee5 Premium and various add-ons with the pack. It is to be noted that this plan is for the city of Bengaluru and it may vary across the country. Netplus Broadband Last on the list is Netplus, which is an ISP that offers its services in seven Indian states in the North. Netplus is capable of providing up to 1 Gbps of internet connection. However, the company also provides a truly unlimited plan offering 40 Mbps of internet speed at a price tag of Rs 499 per month which is exclusive of taxes. Users get unlimited data and calling benefits with this plan. Netplus offers only one 40 Mbps plan and OTT subscriptions are available with only higher-priced plans offered by the ISP. Data offered by Netplus is truly unlimited and no FUP limit is levied.

OnePlus 9RT vs OnePlus 9R – Specifications and Pricing Compared Posted: 14 Jan 2022 07:59 AM PST Leading smartphone brand OnePlus has just launched its latest device OnePlus 9RT in India, on January 14 at the company’s Winter Edition Launch event. In March of 2021, the company had also launched OnePlus 9R, which happens to have a similar moniker as the recently launched handset. OnePlus 9R is a mid-premium ranging smartphone that comes with flagship features and specifications and is designed to target gamers. The newly launched OnePlus 9RT offers features quite similar to that of the former. Mentioned below is a comparison between the two handsets from OnePlus, which users need to know before purchasing the device. Specification Difference between OnePlus 9R and OnePlus 9RT Talking about the display, the OnePlus 9R came with a 6.55-inch Full HD+ 120Hz Fluid AMOLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass protection on top, whereas the OnePlus 9RT has been launched with a 6.62-inch FHD+ display that can support up to 120Hz of refresh rate, 600Hz of touch sampling rate and 1300nits of maximum brightness. OnePlus 9R is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 chipset under the hood, paired up with 8GB/12GB of RAM and 128GB/256GB of internal storage. On the other hand, the newly launched OnePlus 9RT comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC coupled with up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 internal storage. Both the devices support 5G connectivity. Coming on the camera specs, the OnePlus 9R offers a quad-camera setup on the back that consists of a 48MP Sony IMX586 primary sensor, 16MP ultra-wide-angle shooter, 5MP macro sensor and 2MP monochrome lens. At the front, the device has a 16MP Sony IMX471 sensor for selfies and video calls. The newly launched OnePlus 9RT, however, comes with a triple rear camera setup featuring a 50MP Sony IMX766 primary sensor along with a 6MP ultra-wide-angle lens and 2MP macro sensor. The front of the OnePlus 9RT features a 16MP Sony IMX471 sensor as well. OnePlus 9R is backed by a 4500mAh battery and supports 65W Warp Charge fast charging technology. The newly launched OnePlus 9RT comes with a similar charging spec as well. The device is also backed by a 4500mAh battery and supports 65W fast-charge technology that is capable of charging the device in just 29 minutes. Price Comparison OnePlus 9R was launched at Rs 39,999 for its 8GB+128GB storage variant in India, whereas the 12GB+256GB variant came at a price tag of Rs 43,999. The latest OnePlus 9RT, on the contrary, has been launched at a price tag of Rs 42,999 for its 8GB+128GB storage variant, and the superior memory variant with 12GB+256GB will be available for Rs 46,999.

Vivo Y21e Launched in India as Budget Smartphone With Snapdragon 680 SoC Posted: 14 Jan 2022 06:17 AM PST The smartphone giant Vivo has launched a new smartphone in India – the Vivo Y21e on January 14, Friday. The newly launched handset is a budget device and will be available in the Indian market in only one storage variant. The company has said that the Vivo handset is aimed at millennials and offers "best-in-class features." The latest handset is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 680 chipset. A notable feature of the smartphone is an Eye Protection Mode to filter out harmful blue light and the handset also features Face Wake to unlock the smartphone. Specifications details of Vivo Y21e Talking about the specs of the handset, Vivo Y21e comes with a display featuring a 6.51-inch HD+ (720×1,600 pixels) LCD Halo Full View Display and as mentioned above an Eye Protection Mode to filter out harmful blue light. The handset features a dual nano-SIM slot and runs on Android 12-based Funtouch OS 12. For the processor, Vivo Y21e comes with a Snapdragon 680 chipset which is combined with 3GB of RAM that can be virtually expanded up to 0.5GB. The onboard storage on the device is 64GB that is also expandable via an external SD card. As far as the camera module of the device is considered, Vivo Y21e comes with a dual rear camera setup that is headlined by a 13MP sensor paired with an f/2.2 lens, and a 2MP macro camera with an f/2.4 lens. The front of the device is equipped with an 8MP camera with an f/1.8 lens for selfies. The cameras in the device offer features such as Personalized Portrait Mode, Super HDR, and Face Beauty mode. In addition to this, Vivo Y21e also features Multi Turbo 5.0 which is claimed to enhance the data connectivity as well as system processor speed and provide power-saving performance. The device is backed by a 5000mAh battery and supports 18W fast charge technology. As mentioned above the device also features a Face Wake feature to unlock the smartphone. All-new Vivo Y21e also comes with an Ultra Game Mode that promises to offer an enhanced gaming experience. Furthermore, the device also supports reverse charge technology and connectivity options on the handset includes 4G LTE, dual-band Wi-Fi, USB Type-C port, and Bluetooth v5. Vivo Y21e features a side-mounted fingerprint scanner and other sensory systems onboard include an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, e-compass, gyroscope, GPS, Beidou, GLONASS, Galileo, and QZSS. Price and Availability The device has been launched in India with a single 3GB + 64GB storage variant and comes at a price tag of Rs 12,990. The device has been launched in two colour options – Diamond Glow and Midnight Blue and is available for purchase via Vivo's online store along with any other brand-partnered retail stores.

OnePlus Buds Z2 TWS Earbuds Launched in India With Active Noise Cancellation and 38-Hour Battery Life Posted: 14 Jan 2022 05:14 AM PST The much-awaited OnePlus Buds Z2 true wireless stereo (TWS) earbuds have finally been launched in India on January 14 at the company’s Winter Edition Launch event. There have been multiple rumours in the past speculating details and specifications of the earbuds. The newly launched OnePlus Buds Z2 has arrived as a successor to OnePlus Buds Z earphones launched back in 2020 by the company. OnePlus Buds Z2 have already been launched in China late last year. The newly launched earbuds from OnePlus come with Active Noise Cancellation and more. Mentioned below are the price and specifications details for OnePlus Buds Z2 TWS earbuds. Specifications Price and Availability for OnePlus Buds Z2 TWS The latest OnePlus Buds Z2 have received an update over the previous OnePlus Buds Z that came equipped with a 10mm driver. The latest earbuds from the brand feature 11mm dynamic drivers. The newly-launched OnePlus Buds Z2 also feature Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) feature up to 40dB. This feature wasn't available in the predecessor model. In addition to this, while the older version of the earbuds offered a latency of 103ms, the latest Buds Z2 offer a latency of 93ms. OnePlus Buds Z2 also feature Bluetooth v5.2 connectivity and have three inbuilt microphones for calling and ANC functionality. The company has also claimed that the latest earbuds also come with a transparency mode allowing users to be aware of their surroundings while using the earbuds. Talking about the ratings, the new Buds Z2 have been rated IP55 for dust and water resistance, while the charging case of the wearable has been rated IPX4 for water resistance. OnePlus Buds Z2 allow users to manage playback and voice calls via a basic touch feature. The new OnePlus Buds Z2 TWS earbuds have been equipped with 40mAh batteries and the company claims that the earbuds offer 7 hours of playback with a single charge. The total battery life of the OnePlus Buds Z2 is massive 38 hours as the charging case features a 520mAh battery. Talking about the size and weight, the charging case of OnePlus Buds Z2 weighs 40.5 grams and is 73.15×36.80×29.07mm in measurement whereas the earbuds themselves weigh 4.5 grams each and measure 33×22.44×21.81mm. The newly launched OnePlus Buds Z2 TWS earbuds have been priced at Rs 4,999 and will be available for purchase via OnePlus India's official website as well e-commerce platform Amazon India. The device will be available in two colour options Black and White.

OnePlus 9RT Arrives in India at Competitive Price With Support for Multiple 5G Bands Posted: 14 Jan 2022 04:24 AM PST OnePlus has just launched its latest smartphone for the Indian market namely the OnePlus 9RT. The much-anticipated device had launched earlier in China and the specs remain the same for India. The display of the device comes with support for 600Hz touch sampling rate which will take the gaming experience of the users to the next level. Let's take a look at the price and the specifications of the smartphone. OnePlus 9RT Specifications in India The OnePlus 9RT has launched with a 6.62-inch FHD+ display that can support up to 120Hz of refresh rate, 600Hz of touch sampling rate and 1300nits of maximum brightness. The device comes with three Wi-Fi antennas (usually smartphones come with two Wi-Fi antennas) for adaptive switching. The OnePlus 9RT is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC coupled with up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 internal storage. The device will feature a 4500mAh battery with support for 65W fast-charging that will finish one complete charge in just 29 minutes. It will run on OxygenOS 11 based on Android 11 out of the box. In the camera department, the primary lens is a 50MP Sony IMX766 image sensor with OIS paired with a 16MP ultra-wide-angle lens with a 123-degree field-of-view and a 2MP macro sensor. There's a 16MP Sony IMX471 camera sensor at the front for video calling and selfies. The OnePlus 9RT comes with support for multiple 5G bands — 5G NR NSA: N1, 3, 5, 8, 40, 41, 78 and 5G SA: N1, 3, 5, 8, 28A(703-733MHz), TDD: N40, 41, 78. OnePlus 9RT Price in India The OnePlus 9RT has launched in two different memory variants in India. The base variant with 8GB+128GB will be available for Rs 42,999 and the superior memory variant with 12GB+256GB will be available for Rs 46,999. It will come in two different colours including — Hacker Black and Nano Silver. The device will also bundle in Rs 7200 worth of Jio benefits. There will also be bank offers that can reduce the price of the smartphone as low as Rs 38,999. The first sale of the OnePlus 9RT will take place from January 17 via Amazon India.

BSNL Prepaid Plan Offer That Will Expire on January 15, Hurry Posted: 14 Jan 2022 03:56 AM PST Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is offering additional validity with its long-term recharge plan. But this offer is only there for a limited time. The offer that we are talking about will only be there till January 15, 2022. This means that users have one day to recharge with the offer because, after that, they will miss out on the additional "90 days" of validity. You heard it right. BSNL is offering 90 days of additional validity with its Rs 2399 prepaid plan. Let's check out the complete benefits of this prepaid plan. BSNL Rs 2399 Prepaid Plan Offering 90 Days of Additional Validity for One More Day If you were going looking for a prepaid recharge plan that gives you long-term validity along with sufficient data, there's no plan better than BSNL's Rs 2399 plan at the moment. The state-run telco offers the Rs 2399 prepaid plan with a normal validity of 365 days. But with the current offer, users will get it for an additional 90 days on top of 365 days for no additional cost. The total validity of the prepaid plan with the ongoing offer will become 455 days. BSNL has said that the last day for the users to recharge with this offer is January 15, 2022. It is the new year offer from the company that is about to end. With the plan, users get 3GB of daily data along with 100 SMS/day and truly unlimited voice calling to any network within India. With 455 days of validity, the total amount of data that this plan will ship with is 1365GB. There's no other plan offered by the private operators that remotely offers what the Rs 2399 plan from BSNL is offering to the customers under the offer. There is a 3GB daily data prepaid plan from Jio for the long-term, but it isn't as affordable and doesn't offer 455 days of validity to the customers.

Oppo Pad Spotted at Geekbench, Likely to Arrive with Snapdragon 870 SoC Posted: 14 Jan 2022 02:53 AM PST There have been rumours surrounding the much-awaited Oppo Pad tablet in the past, and now the spotting of the device on Geekbench has been found. For the unaware, Chinese tech-giant Oppo is all set to enter the competitive tablet market with its first-ever tablet expected to be called Oppo Pad. The device was supposedly spotted on Geekbench with the model number OPD2101. A while ago, the device was also spotted on the 3C listing, and some specifications were revealed. In addition to this, a report from 91mobiles suggests that Oppo Pad could be launched by the company in the first half of 2022. Mentioned below are the details of the device as per the spotting on Geekbench. Geekbench Listing of Oppo Pad The upcoming Oppo Pad was spotted at Geekbench by MySmartPrice, and the listing reveals the device's Geekbench score along with some major specification details. The first-ever tablet from Oppo has received 4582 points in the single-core test and 12259 points in the multi-core test at Geekbench. The listing also reveals that the upcoming Oppo Pad could feature Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 chipset under the hood. The chipset is expected to have up to 3.19GHz frequency paired with Adreno 650 GPU. The listing has also confirmed that the Oppo Tab will have a 6GB RAM variant, and other storage options can be expected too. The device will operate on Android 11 OS out of the box. Expected Oppo Pad Specifications As mentioned above, there have been a few leaks that surfaced online, providing some spec details of Oppo Pad. If rumours are to be believed, OPPO Pad is likely to feature an IPS LCD display with 120Hz support. The tablet has also previously been rumoured to be powered by Snapdragon 870 chipset, which falls in line with the Geekbench listing. Similarly, it was also previously reported that the device could feature Android 11-based ColorOS out of the box. In addition to this, it was revealed via 3C listing that Oppo Pad could feature a 33W fast charging support. Talking about the camera specification of the device, the upcoming tablet from Oppo could feature a 13MP camera at the back along with an 8MP on the front for selfies and video calls. As mentioned before, Oppo Pad is expected to arrive somewhere in the first half of 2022 and could cost roughly around Rs 23,000 in India.

Xiaomi Unveils PatchWall Replay Report 2021 Highlighting Top Digital Entertainment Trends Posted: 14 Jan 2022 02:10 AM PST The demand for digital entertainment has been on a constant rise in India as the wave of digitisation penetrates deep into the country. Revealing information regarding this growth in consumption of digital content in the country, the leading smartphone and Smart TV brand Xiaomi India has unveiled its annual trend report – 'PatchWall Replay Report 2021' which captures content consumption patterns on the 7+ million Xiaomi and Redmi Smart TVs. PatchWall was launched in 2018 with a content-first approach and is a Smart TV platform on all Xiaomi and Redmi Smart TVs that enables content discovery. The platform comes with 30+ international and Indian content partners, IMDB integration, features like Universal Search and Kids Mode customized for India as well as offers content from 15+ languages which completely redefines content consumption on a Smart TV. Digital Content Trends in 2021 While the pandemic continued to impact our lives in 2021, a majority of the population relied on streaming and digital entertainment services while staying at their homes. This resulted in immense growth in the media streaming landscape and in 2021 alone PatchWall witnessed over 2000 crore interactions across different categories such as movies, TV shows, music, kid's entertainment and more. Talking about the release of the report, Mr Eshwar Nilakantan, Category Lead said in a statement that Xiaomi India has transformed the Indian Smart TV market as it offers products and services that are a combination of innovative features and the best specs. He talked about the expansion of the company and how during the times of pandemic, more and more people resorted to PatchWall to discover new and exciting content. According to the PatchWall Replay Report 2021, there was a strong 300% increase in households streaming online with news Channels like Aaj Tak, India TV, Sun News, and Zee News being the most-watched channels. With 2021 being the year of the Olympics, a huge number of users tuned in to stream the event. The report informs that about 18.49 Lakh active TV households watched Neeraj Chopra winning the gold at Olympics. In addition to this, India vs Pakistan match recorded the maximum number of active TV sets at once, with the 22.71 lakhs households tuning in. Apart from sports, there was a huge surge in the number of users tuning in for high-definition content. 4K content was in huge demand in 2021, with 1.38 crore clicks being recorded for 4K content on PatchWall. Additionally, more than 2 lakh users used Universal Search daily to discover movies and newer shows. The demand for digital content in India also diversified in 2021 with 39% of households watching content in a non-native language. PatchWall Replay Report 2021 also shows how the OTT space witnessed a major boom in 2021 with people looking for fresh and rejuvenating content across platforms.

Airtel Business Low-Cost Broadband Plans for Small Enterprises Posted: 14 Jan 2022 01:23 AM PST Bharti Airtel operates a B2B (business to business) service arm called Airtel Business. Through Airtel Business, the telco offers broadband services along with many other products and solutions to all large, medium, and small enterprises. There are a few low-cost broadband plans that Airtel Business offers that could be of great use for small enterprises to conduct their business smartly. Let's take a look at all these broadband plans. Airtel Broadband Plans That Are Low in Cost and Perfect for Small Businesses Airtel offers enterprise broadband plans under the branding "Airtel Office Internet" or AOI. The AOI 499, AOI 799, and AOI 999 plans are the best for enterprises trying to get hold of a low-cost broadband plan. These plans may look very similar to what normal consumers get with the Airtel Xstream Fiber, but there are a few differences that make AOI plans very different from the Airtel Xstream Fiber plans. To start with, the Airtel Thanks benefits or additional benefits bundled with the AOI plans are completely different and suitable for enterprise customers. There are no additional benefits with the AOI 499 plan, which costs Rs 499 per month, but with the AOI 799 (Rs 799/month) and AOI 999 (Rs 999/month), Airtel offers additional benefits. With the AOI 499, enterprises get 40 Mbps speed with unlimited data and a free fixed-line voice calling connection, but as mentioned above, no additional benefits. However, with the AOI 799 plan, enterprises get 100 Mbps speed with unlimited data, free fixed-line voice calling connection and additional benefits, which include DNS Security by Cisco and Free Parallel Ringing Service. Lastly, with the AOI 999 plan, enterprises get 200 Mbps speed with unlimited data, free fixed-line voice calling connection and additional benefits, which include Device Security by Kaspersky Licenses (2), Airtel BlueJeans Licenses (2), DNS Security by Cisco and Free Parallel Ringing Service. There are more plans that enterprises can choose from, but they are not low-cost.

Tecno Pova Neo Will Officially Come to India on This Date Posted: 14 Jan 2022 12:30 AM PST Tecno has confirmed that on January 20, 2022, it will bring yet another affordable smartphone to India. The Tecno Pova Neo's launch date is confirmed for India, and it will be an exciting addition to the budget segment smartphones. It will don a basic MediaTek Helio processor, and since the device has already launched for the international market, we can sort of expect the pricing and specifications of it. Let's take a look at the specifications of the Tecno Pova Neo launched for the Nigerian market. Tecno Pova Neo Specifications (Expected) In India, the specifications of the Tecno Pova Neo might not change a lot. The smartphone might come with a 6.82-inch HD+ LCD display with a 720 x 1640 pixel resolution. There might be a waterdrop notch at the front housing the selfie camera. The smartphone is expected to be powered by the MediaTek Helio G25 SoC, which is the same processor that already powers some of the budget devices, including Infinix Smart 5, Redmi 9A, and Nokia G10. The Tecno Pova Neo might feature a dual-camera setup at the rear with a 13MP primer sensor along with an LED flash. The secondary sensor on the device should be an AI lens, and for selfies and video calling, there might be an 8MP sensor at the front. The device is expected to come with a 6000mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging. For additional security, there might be a fingerprint sensor at the rear along with a 3.5mm audio jack for wired earphone lovers. Users might be able to expand the internal storage with the help of a dedicated microSD card slot. The Tecno Pova Neo is expected to come in a single memory variant of 6GB+128GB in India and might be priced around Rs 10,000, which will make it a very compelling device. There might also be a bundled TWS earphone for free from the company with the smartphone.

Vodafone Idea Needs Another Tariff Hike, ARPU Needs to Increase 1.9x : Motilal Oswal Posted: 13 Jan 2022 11:23 PM PST Vodafone Idea requires another tariff hike, and that too soon, to reach a sustainable level. The telco's average revenue per user (ARPU) figure needs to grow at least 1.9x, for which another tariff hike is desperately required, says Motilal Oswal. The telco has Rs 1,945 billion in debt, for which large-scale capital support will be required. Further, Vodafone Idea would need to invest in the networks to arrest the ongoing market share churn. Vodafone Idea needs higher revenues in the short term. According to a recent report from Motilal Oswal, the telco requires a 3x jump from its current levels. Vodafone Idea Needs to Contain Subscriber Churn Rate Vodafone Idea has been losing customers for consecutive quarters and years. The telco must look at containing the subscriber churn rate. "Containing the rate of churn should be a priority – even 3QFY22 is expected to see a nearly 4–5m subscriber churn. Until VIL has sufficient funds to invest in the network and compete in the market, the subscriber churn may continue to dilute earnings," says Motilal Oswal. The government's considerable stake ownership should not disturb the company's operations. Vodafone Idea is not a business interest for the government, and the centre will play the role of a passive shareholder for now. ARPU Growth for Industry Would Benefit Jio, Airtel a Lot For Vodafone Idea (Vi) to survive, even the government would want another round of prepaid tariff hikes. But this won't just help Vi, but also its arch-rivals, including Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel. "As a VIL shareholder, the government would realize that there is no option but to increase the ARPU (which augurs well for both Bharti AND RJio) if the entity is to survive beyond four years. Thus, there could be repeated tariff increases," Motilal Oswal added. Vodafone Idea has been losing subscriber market share to Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel continuously now. According to the analysts at Motilal Oswal, the government getting a larger piece of the company than the promoters does not bode well for the telco.

MacBook Air With M1 Chip Still a Great Buy in 2022 Posted: 13 Jan 2022 10:45 PM PST In late 2021, Apple came out with new MacBook Pro models (14-inch and 16-inch) powered by its flagship silicon chips – M1 Pro and M1 Max. These laptops are as expensive as a laptop can get. If you are a professional creator and believe that you need a very powerful machine with you wherever you go, the new MacBook Pro 14-inch and 16-inch can be great options. But, if you are a student or are planning to use the MacBook for very average and low power demanding tasks, the MacBook Air M1 is a very good buy. Especially for the price, it is available right now; there aren't any laptops in that range that can compete with it. MacBook Air M1 Price in India Currently MacBook Air M1 is currently available for Rs 83900 in Amazon, Rs 84990 in Reliance Digital, and Rs 83610 in Unicorn Store (an official reseller of Apple in India). If you directly buy the MacBook Air M1 from Apple Online Store, you will get the base model for Rs 92900. It is available in three colours — Space Grey, Gold, and Silver. There's also a 512GB internal storage variant available, but that will approximately cost Rs 20,000 more. What Makes MacBook Air M1 a Great Laptop? First of all, the ease with which you can do almost everything on this laptop is something worth considering. You can even edit videos and render them comfortably because of the power of the chipset. With the base model, you will get 256GB of internal storage, which is not bad, along with 8GB of RAM. The laptop has a Retina display with True Tone support along with the Magic Keyboard, Touch ID, Force Touch Trackpad, and two Thunderbolt/ USB – 4 ports. The laptop brings you the best of Mac experience for a way lesser price than the MacBook Pro laptops. Surely, the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro laptops are way more powerful, but if you have basic use of the laptop, the MacBook Air with M1 chipset is your best buy. It can last for years, give you great value for your money, and do almost everything you want to do on a laptop.

Indian Govt Diving Deep in Telecom, What It Means for the Sector Posted: 13 Jan 2022 09:02 PM PST The Government of India (GoI) has been at the front actively helping out the telecom sector, which was severely stressed due to the low average revenue per user (ARPU) and huge amounts of statutory dues at every turn. One of the biggest effects that all the help from the government will have on the telecom sector is that it will avoid any scenario of duopoly between two of the top private operators. "Direct implication of the government bailing out operators is that it de-stresses the financially burdened telecom sector to a certain extent, saves the market from shrinking down to duopoly and supports India's digital ambitions," Charu Paliwal, an analyst at Counterpoint Research, told TelecomTalk. Government Not Expected to Play Major Role in the Operations of Private Telcos The Indian government, through a FAQ, has already shared its intentions about not getting involved in the operations of private businesses even though it has equity. Ankit Jain, Assistant Vice President & Sector Head, Corporate Ratings, ICRA told TelecomTalk that the government is likely going to monitor the performance closely and take a call on divestment if the situation seems to be improving. "We don't expect the Government to play a major role in the operations of these telcos, however the performance is likely to be monitored more closely and a call on divestment will be taken once situation appears to be improving," said Jain. However, there's no way of understanding how the investors/shareholders are going to perceive the government holding a significant chunk of the companies as of yet. "How investors view this shareholding change and how this impacts the fund-raising exercise remains to be seen," added Jain. For the unaware, recently, Vodafone Idea (Vi), the third-largest telecom operator in the country and Tata Teleservices, a telecommunication solutions company, had exercised the option of converting their statutory debt into equity for the government. This allows the telcos in getting rid of their debt but also allows the government to get a significant stake in the private companies. By accepting the equity conversion, Vodafone Idea will likely have to give up a 35.8% stake in the company which will make GoI the largest shareholder of the telco. Further, Tata Teleservices will also need to give up 9.5% of the company stake to the centre by going with the equity conversion option. The government has already cleared its intentions of not making the private companies public sector units (PSUs). Government Will Have More Pressure by Taking Stake in the Telcos Vodafone Idea's acceptance of giving away equity is a surprise for many in the industry. While the telco's business will continue, it had to pay a big price for it. But it doesn't solve all the problems for Vi. There's still capital required for funding network expansions, investments into the 5G spectrum and related technologies, and more. "The decision is quite surprising especially for Vi as it provides assurance around business continuity but at a big price tag. Now, the government becomes the single largest shareholder with 35.8% stake in the telecom company. The move will certainly offer some cash flow relief but eventually the operator would need more funds to expand the network, enter 5G race and compete with rivals," said Paliwal from Counterpoint Research. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) are already relying on the government for more funding and revival packages. With equity stakes in private telecom companies, the government will face more pressure for capital infusion in the future. "Also, in the backdrop, we have BSNL and MTNL already relying on government relief packages but continuously failing to remain competitive. We can say taking stake in Vi, and Tata Teleservices will further mount pressure on the government for capital infusion in future," Paliwal added. Telecom Industry ARPU Levels to Reach New Heights As for the telecom sector in general, the relief package is going to make a big positive difference. On top of that, the telcos recently implemented prepaid tariff hikes, which will further help with the rise of industry ARPU. Along with the rise in ARPU, the revenues in the coming financial year should also grow. "The industry implemented long-awaited tariff hikes which has the potential to improve the industry ARPU levels to around Rs. 170 by the end of FY2023. ICRA expects the industry revenues to grow by 18-20% in FY2023, followed by a growth of 10-12% in FY2024, which given the high operating leverage, is likely to translate in healthy expansion in operating profits, the same are projected to grow by around 30% in FY2023," said Jain from ICRA.

Vodafone Idea Might Soon Raise Up to Rs 7400 Crore Posted: 13 Jan 2022 08:23 PM PST Troubles for Vodafone Idea (Vi) won't end if the telco can't soon raise money to invest in its networks and arrest subscriber loss. The telco might soon raise between $750 million (Rs 5,550 crore) to $1 billion (Rs 7400 crore) via overseas convertible bonds options. According to ET Telecom, this money would be used to pay off vendors, fund capex plans, and also meet loan repayment obligations. The telco might go ahead with this early in February. Vodafone Idea had recently raised Rs 5000 crore as a short-term loan from the banks. This money is supposed to be used for clearing the upcoming payments to the non-convertible debenture (NCD) holders. Vi reportedly had to pay Rs 4500 crore by February 2022 to the NCD holders. Since it is a short-term loan, the company will pay it back to the banks within one year. Vodafone Idea's Credit Ratio to Become Better Vodafone Idea had recently announced that it would accept the conversion of debt into equity for the government. While the telco had to hand away an equity stake of 35.8% to the government, its debt and liabilities have reduced significantly. This will also help with improving the credit ratio of the company as the government debt is gone. However, there's still a significant amount of debt that the company has to clear in the coming years. The telco needs significant funds to fuel capex plans and also arrest subscriber churn rate. At the speed Vodafone Idea is losing prepaid subscribers every quarter, in a few years, the telco might not have a business to hold equity in for the government. Without additional capital, Vodafone Idea won't be able to expand its network and also invest in 5G spectrum. Post 5G spectrum auctions, the industry debt will again rise as the telcos will have to shell out thousands of crores to acquire necessary airwaves to deliver 5G services at full capacity.

Vodafone Idea Helping Prepaid Users Save Rs 48 Posted: 13 Jan 2022 07:06 PM PST Vodafone Idea (Vi) is helping its prepaid users save Rs 48 every month in recharges. This is because of the 'Data Delights' offer that was announced post prepaid tariff hikes. With the Data Delights offer, customers get 2GB of emergency data every month. This emergency or backup data is free of cost and can be redeemed by the customer in two tranches in the form of 1GB of data per day. Every month, the data will be reset to 2GB. Unused 2GB data won't carry forward to the next month. So how is this saving Rs 48? Vodafone Idea 2GB 4G Data Voucher Costs Rs 48 If you want to purchase the 2GB 4G data voucher from Vodafone Idea, you will have to buy it for Rs 48. For many in the country, it is an expensive amount to pay for just 2GB of data. But with the Data Delights offer, users don't need to pay Rs 48 of data for getting 2GB of data; it is completely free. Note that the Data Delights offer is not applicable to every prepaid plan. Only select prepaid plans offer the benefit. According to Vodafone Idea, all the prepaid plans starting from Rs 299 and above will bundle the 'Vi Hero Unlimited' benefit for the customers. This includes the Weekend Data Rollover offer, Binge All Night offer, and the Data Delights offer. All of these are unique offers that are only offered by the prepaid plans of Vodafone Idea. There's also an over-the-top (OTT) benefit of Vi Movies & TV that prepaid plans from Vodafone Idea bundle. The Data Delights offer is good for people who need to buy a small amount of data in case they have exhausted their daily data limit. It helps them save money and is also very easy to redeem with the mobile application of Vi. The Weekend Data Rollover and Binge All Night offers have become old, but they are still very good.

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