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• Vodafone Idea Wins Claim Over Rs 408 Crore in Taxes
• Airtel to Better Compete With JioPhone Next in Coming Quarters: ICICI Securities
• BSNL 4G PoC Might Complete Today, Date for Equipment Order Revealed
• Broadband Plans Which Are Not Only Affordable, But Offer Ton of Data
• Telecom Industry Can Benefit from Omni-Channel Contact Centre Solutions: Amit Kumar Gandhi
• Vodafone Idea Adds Wi-Fi Calling Support for Single Vivo Smartphone
• BSNL Launches Rs 2999, Rs 299 Prepaid Plans and Rationalises PV2399
• Nxtra by Airtel Looks at 2022 as Build Year to Add Data Centre Capacity: Rajesh Tapadia
• Jio vs Airtel vs BSNL vs ACT: Who Offers Better Affordable Broadband Option to Users
• Prepaid Plans From Jio Over Rs 400 for Medium Term Users
• Fiberisation and Densification of Towers Important to Increase Internet Reach: COAI
• OnePlus Has Beat Google in Its Home
• BSNL Two 4G Prepaid Plans Under Rs 300 That Offer OTT Benefits
• Vodafone Idea Broadband Plans for Work from Home
• Airtel CEO Denies Any Conflict of Interest in Google Deal
• WhatsApp Working on Separate App for iPad, Might Launch Soon
• Second-Hand Smartphone Market Might Grow to $4.6 billion in Three Years
• FAA Consents AT&T and Verizon for Further Activation of 5G Towers
• Things You Can Do to Stabilise Your Broadband Wi-Fi Connection

Vodafone Idea Wins Claim Over Rs 408 Crore in Taxes Posted: 30 Jan 2022 09:05 PM PST Vodafone Idea (Vi) has got another relief of Rs 408 crore. The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal's (ITAT) Mumbai bench has allowed the telco's claim for depreciation on the spectrum fee it paid during FY15, reports ET Telecom. Vodafone India, before it merged with Idea Cellular, had declared a total income of more than Rs 4,350 crore for the assessment year 2015-16 and claimed depreciation of Rs 1,628.48 crore at 25% on the spectrum fee it had paid. Under Section 32 of the Income Tax Act, Vodafone India had treated the spectrum as an 'intangible asset'. Vodafone Idea Needs Funding as Fast as Possible Vodafone Idea (Vi) needs funding as fast as possible. The third-largest telco in the country isn't making a lot of difference for the customers when it comes to offering network coverage. A lot of help from the government has already come, and the telco's liabilities have also been reduced, with a large part of the dues converting into equity for the government. The individual promoter holdings are less than that of the government now. The Government of India (GoI) has declared that it doesn't want to convert Vi into a public sector unit (PSU) and is only looking for things to stabilise so that it can sell its stake in the company. Airtel recently received funding from Google, which would make Vodafone Idea feel more unsettling. To meet the capex levels of Jio and Airtel, Vi needs funding, without which the telco will fail to improve its 4G networks aggressively. If that happens, more 4G users will port out to other telcos. Vi also requires another prepaid tariff hike which is expected to come either in 2022 or 2023. Again, with steeply rising prices, the telco would need to invest in its 4G networks to justify the amount of money that customers are paying for its services. The promoters really need to dig in here and offer monetary support to the telco.

Airtel to Better Compete With JioPhone Next in Coming Quarters: ICICI Securities Posted: 30 Jan 2022 08:07 PM PST Even though Google has invested much lesser in Bharti Airtel as compared to Reliance Jio, the former will be able to give a strong competition to Reliance Jio's affordable 4G device namely 'JioPhoneNext', said ICICI Securities in a note. The purpose of Google's investment in both Jio and Airtel is different. With Airtel, the partnership with the search engine giant will focus on these key areas: 1) making the 4G devices more affordable through subsidies and not manufacturing own devices like Jio; 2) network use-cases with a heavy focus on 5G, and 3) Cloud infrastructure and services. It is not just Airtel that's going to benefit, but even Google will be able to penetrate the telco's strong mobile subscriber base along with SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises), believes ICICI Securities. Huge Opportunity for Telcos in the SME Segment The analyst said that there's a huge untapped opportunity in the SME segment as more businesses shift to digital platforms. Bharti Airtel already has multiple offerings for SMEs. It is worth noting that the telco already offers G-Suite, a product bundle from Google for professionals and small businesses. Since now Google has an equity stake of 1.28% in the company, the search-engine giant will help Airtel in aggressively pushing its products, said ICICI Securities. Google will also benefit from the growing data centre business of Bharti Airtel. For the unaware, Airtel operates its data centre business under the brand 'Nxtra by Airtel.' The partnership will directly affect the Indians as both the companies will look to make 4G smartphones more affordable for the customers and increase digital adoption in the country. During the previous week, Google announced that it will be investing over a USD billion into Bharti Airtel and will acquire a 1.28% stake in the company for $700 million while the remaining $300 million will be utilised for forming multi-year deals that will focus on developing the above-mentioned things.

BSNL 4G PoC Might Complete Today, Date for Equipment Order Revealed Posted: 30 Jan 2022 07:08 PM PST Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is expected to complete the Proof of Concept (PoC) for 4G with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) today, i.e., on January 31, 2022. It should have been completed within 2021, but due to TCS not honouring the Expression of Interest (EoI) terms and conditions, delays happened. The state-run telco is on track to complete the PoC on time and also launch commercial 4G networks by September 2022, said Devusinh Chauhan, reports ET Telecom. As per the publication's report, Chauhan confirmed that BSNL is likely to place an order for 4G equipment in April 2022. BSNL Needs Money from the Government to Help With Speedy 4G Rollout BSNL doesn't have the kind of money required to meet the capex expectations for rolling out, maintaining, and operating 4G networks throughout India. Thus, the state-run telco had sought another relief package from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). BSNL is looking to upgrade 90,000 sites in the country in two phases. The first phase will include 50,000 sites in the urban and semi-urban areas of India. For the same, BSNL had asked for Rs 37,005 crore from the centre, out of which the telco is going to use Rs 17,500 crore for capex and the remaining 19,605 crore for meeting debt liabilities until FY24. Due to the lack of 4G networks, BSNL has been losing subscriber market share for years now. Competitors such as Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea have been providing 4G services for almost six years PAN-India. BSNL hasn't been able to capitalise on the 4G network front yet, and thus its revenues are also flailing. But with the rollout of 4G networks and strong coverage, the telco would be able to add capacity and provide a better quality network experience to the consumers. There are already millions of 4G phone users in India, and with lower tariffs, BSNL has a lot to offer to the people of India.

Broadband Plans Which Are Not Only Affordable, But Offer Ton of Data Posted: 30 Jan 2022 05:32 PM PST Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the country not only high-speed high-end broadband plans but also offer affordable plans for its users which also provides good connectivity speed. The majority of users need connectivity for home use, online learning or are individual users, therefore, they do not really require high-speed broadband plans. Moreover, the increasing number of ISPs in the country means a wider range of options to choose from. Mentioned below are the affordable broadband plans offered by some of the major ISPs in India – ACT, Reliance Jio, Tata Play, BSNL, Airtel, Connect and Excitel along with the plan details. ACT's Affordable Offer 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 plans is 500GB post which the internet works at speed of 512 Kbps. JioFiber Budget Plan 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. It is to be noted that the price of the plan is exclusive of GST. BSNL’s Affordable Plan The most affordable Fibre Basic plan from BSNL comes at a price tag of Rs 449 per month and offers 30 Mbps of internet speed. The FUP limit set on the plan is 3300GB, beyond which users can access unlimited internet at 2 Mbps. The plan also provides unlimited local and STD calls. BSNL offers a special benefit for the users as they can receive a 90% discount of up to Rs 500 on the first-month rent. Tata Play Fibre Tata Play Fiber, formerly known as Tata Sky Broadband also provides an affordable plan that offers 50 Mbps of speed at a three-month price of Rs 2,097. This plan unlike other broadband plans offered by the provider doesn't come for a monthly cycle. However, users looking to get the plan for a longer period can get access to the plan for six months at Rs 3,300 and for a year at Rs 6,000. The FUP limit on this plan is 3300GB or 3.3TB. Connect Broadband Connect Broadband is a popular company that provides FTH connections in a few of the northern states of India such as Punjab, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir. The company provides a budget plan with ample internet speed and the most basic 40 Mbps plan from the ISP comes with a price tag of Rs 499 per month and offers fully unlimited data along with completely unlimited Local and STD calls. Airtel Broadband Airtel with its Xstream Fiber connection offers one of the fastest broadband connections and users can get access to the 'Basic' pack which 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. Airtel also provides 'Airtel Thanks Benefits' with its broadband plans which in this case includes a subscription to Wynk Music and Shaw Academy. Excitel Broadband Excitel provides broadband connectivity only with 100 Mbps, 200 Mbps or 300 Mbps of internet speed. Therefore, the 100 Mbps plan offered by the telco is its most affordable plan. The Fiber First from Excitel provides a 100 Mbps plan for a month at Rs 699. Users can also get the plan for 3 months, 4 months, 6 months, 9 months and 12 months for Rs 565, Rs 508, Rs 490, Rs 424 and Rs 399 per month respectively. However, the 9-month plan is available for only new subscribers to the service. Moreover, the plans from Excitel are truly unlimited and no FUP data limit is levied upon.

Telecom Industry Can Benefit from Omni-Channel Contact Centre Solutions: Amit Kumar Gandhi Posted: 30 Jan 2022 06:47 AM PST Contact centre solutions are built to overcome challenges on multiple fronts by offering solutions like personalised experience, quicker resolutions, consistency and 365x24x7 support, says Amit Kumar Gandhi, founder, NovelVox. Q1 – Please Tell Us About Your Current Offerings. How Are You Planning to Further Boost the Offerings in the Near Future? Our offerings are focused on revolutionising customer and agent experience. Our products are aligned for multiple Automatic call distributors (ACD) like Cisco, Avaya, Genesys, and Amazon Connect, which includes: Agent Accelerator – It is a unified and integrated agent desktop that merges data from all applications and core systems to display it on a single screen. It allows the agents complete access to customer and product information. Smart CTI connector – It is a tool engineered to enable personalised and exceptional customer service. An integrated solution for personalised CX, the CTI Connector embeds within an application, offering call controls and key caller information, thus providing a single interface for faster resolution. iVision wallboards – This tool is meant for interactive digital experiences that would optimise agent performance. iVision Plus Wallboards help reduce AHT and enhances FCR to drive on-the-job learning, making agents handle the calls better and giving customers faster resolution to queries. While agents get better data with KPIs and metrics, their engagement is enhanced through gamification techniques. CXInfinity – It is an AI-driven omni-channel engagement platform designed to enhance customer experience. With its integration, businesses and customers can reach out to each other through different channels at any point in time. Infibot – It's a Conversational AI-enabled smart bot that helps businesses with pre-built bots engineered as per their specific needs. All the aforementioned offerings in totality give any business or enterprise, irrespective of industry or sector, to eye scalability while ushering in an impactful digital presence. Q2 – Which All Sectors Are You Catering to as of Now? Which One Among All Has a Huge Demand for Your Solutions? We have customisable solutions for all business sizes and industries, including banking, healthcare, retail, telecom, travel and more. Any business which has the need to respond to queries from its target audience in bulk needs our solutions. Given the current scenario, the healthcare and banking sectors are utilising our solutions more than any other sector. It is quite evident that COVID has put pressure on the healthcare system, and to manage the query load; contact solutions were needed the most. Similarly, to keep the economy smooth, the banking sector had to adopt solutions. Q3 – What Are the Challenges the Telecom Industry Is Facing and How Does Contact Centre Technology Solve Them? Contact centre solutions are built to overcome challenges on multiple fronts by offering solutions like personalised experience, quicker resolutions, consistency and 365x24x7 support. With integrated contact centre solutions, we are able to provide a personalised experience to the customer with a quicker call resolution by helping agents to get a unified view of caller history and information so that the conversation can move in the right direction without delay and repetitiveness. With integrated omni-channel solutions, we are able to maintain the consistency of queries and solutions for quicker turnaround, and past the working hours, we have AI-enabled bots for query resolution, which can help to compile a list of solutions and callers to be called at the beginning of the day. Q4 – How Does Contact Centre Technology Provide Seamless Communication on Chatbots and on Call? Contact centre technology can be understood as a unified and integrated solution that allows agents to handle conversation across channels and voices from a single screen. The consumer with any query from any department can avail the information within seconds and can go about their business. Wherein, a chatbot can seamlessly handle level 1 queries and transfer the complex ones to the apt agent with intelligent routing in place. So, if the chatbot is unable to provide resolution, then the call is scheduled for the caller for query resolution, and with a unified solution, the query gets resolved. Q5 – How Do You Reach Your Potential Customers? What Business Model Do You Follow to Grow Your Customer Base? We are currently working on two approaches to reach our potential customers; firstly, we are constantly running awareness programs for our product using various marketing tools like mailers, newsletters, social media, PR, to name a few. Secondly, we are always on the lookout for strategic partners in the market, which can help us to increase our reach with the right prospective target audience. Our business model is that of a service provider, wherein we deploy our solutions at the customer end, connecting with the right prospects, delivering the Proof of Concept (POC), collecting feedback and then ensuring a custom solution, followed by recurrent follow-ups. Once everything is in place, we have a subscription-based model for providing and maintaining our solution. Q6 – How Is AI and ML Technology for the Company’s Benefit or Growth? AI and ML are the core of our business as we intend to automate most of the solutions, minimising human interference. AI-Chatbot is for contextual conversation that predicts customers' intent and handles level 1 queries instantly. Where in Voicebot is an NLP-based engine to understand customer intent even if it is in their own mother tongue. Similarly, there are text-based translators which helps the call centre agent or the bot to understand the client query for quicker resolution. Then there are email assistants who help deliver a quick response to any query by the consumer, thus cutting down the time and human interference. Q7 – How Would You Figure the Scene of AI/ML Will Develop in India With Respect to Your Area? Artificial Intelligence currently holds the potential to add US $90 billion to the Indian economy by 2025. Almost all sectors are adopting AI today, especially with respect to our domain. For instance, the healthcare sector is adopting AI-powered contact centre solutions to benefit patients, doctors, nursing staff, clerical or front office staff, eventually benefitting the whole ecosystem. The patients do not need to wait in queues for long hours, and staffers do not have to cope with an influx of unmanageable crowd for different purposes like admission, appointments, insurance clearance or even clinical assessment. In the retail sector, on the other hand, virtual dressing rooms are also among the factors through which AI and ML are helping retail contact centres to be more efficient and provide a wholesome shopping experience. The live experience of products can be enabled, thereby cutting down on the hassles of going to market for buying any product. The selected item is overlayed on the customer's live video feed, giving a near-exact idea of fit, size and style. This helps make a smart buying decision and also the outlets or brands by bridging the gap with the customers. When it comes to our industry, the next logical and obvious direction will be upgrading the capabilities of the bots which currently handle Level 1 queries. In future, the bots will be able to analyse the complex queries and provide resolutions, and it will also push the learning curve of the agents and their salaries as it will need agents with in-depth knowledge about the product as well as service.

Vodafone Idea Adds Wi-Fi Calling Support for Single Vivo Smartphone Posted: 30 Jan 2022 04:02 AM PST Vodafone Idea offers support for Wi-Fi calling on select smartphones from select brands. The third-largest telecom operator in the country has now added Wi-Fi calling support for a Vivo smartphone. Multiple devices from brands such as Xiaomi, Samsung, Apple, OnePlus, Oppo, and Realme support Vi VoWi-Fi calling, but for Vivo, the support has only been extended for one device. The Vivo device being talked about here is the 'X60 Pro+'. It is a flagship smartphone from the company and certainly a device not many consumers would be owning. But it can be seen as a start for Vivo smartphones as many more models can be expected to receive the support for Vi VoWi-Fi calling in the near future. With Vivo in the mix, iQoo devices might get the support soon as well. If you want details about which smartphones support Wi-Fi calling with Vodafone Idea's network, kindly visit the company's website. Regions Where Vodafone Idea VoWi-Fi Calling Is Available Vi VoWi-Fi calling is available in 12 regions of the country, including Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Kolkata, Rajasthan, UP West, Punjab, UP East, Delhi, Rest of Bengal, Haryana, and Mumbai. The company is working towards adding support of Wi-Fi calling in more regions of India as we write this. The benefit for Vi with providing Wi-Fi calling support is that it can mitigate the effects of lower network coverage in multiple regions of the country. If indoor network coverage is an issue at your home, Wi-Fi calling can make a huge difference in how you consume voice calling services from your telecom operator. The best thing is, there are no additional charges involved for making Wi-Fi calls. If you want more details into how you can activate Wi-Fi calling on your device with a Vi SIM card, kindly go to the telco's website. Other telecom operators, including Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, also offer Wi-Fi calling services to consumers.

BSNL Launches Rs 2999, Rs 299 Prepaid Plans and Rationalises PV2399 Posted: 30 Jan 2022 12:55 AM PST Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has launched two new prepaid plans for Rs 2999 and Rs 299. Both these plans will be available for customers of the state-run telco across the country and will come into effect from February 1, 2022. The PV2999 which will cost Rs 2999 will come with a validity of 365 days + 90 days (promotional offer applicable till March 31, 2022) and offer users 3GB of daily data, 100 SMS/day, and unlimited voice calling. Post the consumption of fair-usage-policy (FUP) data, the internet speed for the customers will reduce to 80 Kbps. With the promotional offer, users will get a total validity of 455 days. The PV299 which will cost Rs 299 will come with a short validity of 30 days and will offer the same benefits as the Rs 2999 plan. These two new plans would make for great options for users who are looking for a heavy data prepaid plan for the long-term which costs lesser than what the private operators are currently offering. BSNL has also announced that it is rationalising the Rs 2399 prepaid plan for the customers. It is yet another long-term option that users can look at if they are comfortable using the services of the state-run telco's legacy 3G network. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) Has Also Rationalised PV2399, a Long-Term Prepaid Plan BSNL has rationalised PV2399 for customers across India. This plan comes with a total validity of 365 days. But because of an ongoing promotional offer until March 31, 2022, this plan will bundle 60 days of additional validity which will make the total validity offered by the plan 425 days. The Rs 2399 plan brings customers 2GB of daily data along with 100 SMS/day and unlimited voice calling. There's also a free Eros Now service bundled with the plan for 365 days. Once the 4G networks of the telco come alive, these plans would become more valuable for the customers.

Nxtra by Airtel Looks at 2022 as Build Year to Add Data Centre Capacity: Rajesh Tapadia Posted: 29 Jan 2022 10:20 PM PST 2022 is going to be the 'year of build' for us as we continue to accelerate our capacity augmentations with data centre capacity expansion across Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, NCR & Kolkata. We will also add new capacities in our edge sites to enable 5G, edge, and security services – Rajesh Tapadia, Director and CEO, Nxtra by Airtel, told TelecomTalk. Q1 – What Are the Predictions for the Data Centre Market in India? The Indian data centre market is set to double from approximately 450 MW capacity at present to 1074 MW by 2023. A fast-growing digital economy is seeing enterprises move to cloud-based applications resulting in demand for data centres. 5G, Industry 4.0 and Local data storage requirements will further accelerate this growth trend. This is already playing out with large investments being announced by global hyper scalers and homegrown players like Nxtra by Airtel. Given India's strategic location, availability of submarine cable landing infrastructure, land supply, and skilled manpower, the country has the potential to become a regional data centre hub. Overall, we are very bullish on the outlook for the industry. Q2 – How Is Nxtra by Airtel Helping Enterprises With Their Digital Journey? Nxtra by Airtel offers the largest network of data centres with 11 large and 120 edge data centres across the country. This provides our customers with a reach and scalable infrastructure that is unmatched. Coupled with Airtel's world-class domestic and global network infrastructure, we enable our customers (global OTTs, Cloud, Large Global and Indian enterprises, Government and SMEs) to get closer to their audiences for seamless connectivity. Our facilities are fully equipped to provide digitised and borderless IT infrastructure to meet the evolving demands of customers during their digital transformation journey. Q3 – Nxtra by Airtel Is Saying That It Will Invest Over Rs 5,000 Crore for Building New Hyperscale and Edge Data Centres in Metro Cities, How Will It Help India in Achieving Its Digital Goals? Nxtra by Airtel has built the largest data centre network in India, and we are now doubling down on this business to scale up our network that will be at the core of 5G and Digital India. Our experience of operating secure data centres, deep brand trust in the enterprise segment and the ability to deliver end-to-end digital transformation solutions positions us well to serve the emerging requirements of India's connected economy. Q4 – What Are the Growth Plans of Nxtra by Airtel for the Next 12 Months? 2022 is going to be the 'year of build' for us as we continue to accelerate our capacity augmentations with data centre capacity expansion across Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, NCR & Kolkata.  We will also add new capacities in our edge sites to enable 5G, edge, and security services. Also, Oracle will enhance its West India (Mumbai) area cloud capacity with Nxtra by Airtel in 2022, which is a huge endorsement of our association with hyper scalers. Sustainability will continue to be a big focus given the huge energy requirements of data centres. We are aggressively scaling up the use of green energy in our data centres and aim to reach 50% of the power requirements of these centres through renewable sources in the next 12 months. We have already commissioned three captive solar power units across Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra with an installed capacity of 49 MW. Q5 – There Are Rival Companies Coming Into the Data Centre Business; What Does Nxtra by Airtel Has That Will Help It Keep the Edge Over Them? Firstly, India is a very large market and emerging as a potential USD 1 trillion digital economy in the next few years thanks to the Government's Digital India vision. Nxtra by Airtel brings its unmatched network reach with a combination of large and edge data centres. In fact, our edge network is what gives us the market edge as we scale up our large data centres. Q6 – Nxtra by Airtel Had Recently Announced a Partnership With Oracle, Can You Throw Some Light on It? Oracle will expand its India West (Mumbai) region capacity with Nxtra by Airtel to support the increasing demand for cloud services in India. The expanded Oracle Cloud Mumbai Region will be available in 2022. The partnership aims to support the growth of India's digital economy by bringing a range of industry-leading cloud solutions to more than 1 million enterprise customers. It will also set up a Cloud Centre of Excellence in Gurgaon with a dedicated team of specialists from both organisations. Q7 – What Are the Challenges in the Data Centre Business and What Is Airtel Doing to Address Them? Land acquisition and related permissions are big challenges as it impacts the speed of execution. What the industry requires is sound infrastructure support an enabling policy like a single-window clearance mechanism to get more investments. Overall, the Central and State Governments are now very supportive of their policies, and we continue to engage with them. To say the least, the investment climate has improved a lot. Q8 – Is Nxtra by Airtel Actively Looking to Invest in Green Power Companies? Data Centres are big energy guzzlers, and in line with Airtel's ESG agenda, green energy is a priority at Nxtra by Airtel. We have implemented various initiatives across our operations to minimise environmental impact. We are reducing the use of energy from fossil fuels in our data centres and increasingly adopting green energy. In addition, we are actively collaborating with multiple green power companies across India as we further step up our efforts towards fulfilling our commitment to source 50% power requirements for our data centres through renewable energy sources in the next 12 months. We have already invested in more than six companies to develop renewable power plants across various states in India to source more than 170,000 MWh of green energy. Q9 – What Has Nxtra by Airtel Already Done to Act as a Responsible Corporate by Increasing Green Power Consumption? We are implementing several strategies to improve our energy usage patterns and increase the share of renewable energy in the mix to enhance efficiencies. In fact, in the past five years, we have reduced carbon emission by 49% per rack in our data centres. We are also focused on achieving 50% of power through renewable energy sources as part of Airtel's overall GHG emission reduction targets. Nxtra by Airtel is committed to fostering the growth of data centres powered by green energy. Thus, we plan to realise the same through multiple practices like – accelerated green energy adoption, energy-efficient infrastructure, as well as implementing sustainable business practices at its workplaces.

Jio vs Airtel vs BSNL vs ACT: Who Offers Better Affordable Broadband Option to Users Posted: 29 Jan 2022 05:23 PM PST The demand for affordable broadband plans has been soaring as the internet is reaching every corner of the country. Even though the internet service providers (ISPs) offer high-speed plans, which also come at an expensive price tag, it is the affordable options from the telcos that are more common among the general mass. Different ISPs offer different budget broadband plans, and it is crucial to know the details before choosing one. Mentioned below are the affordable broadband plans offered by the four telcos – Jio, Airtel, ACT and BSNL with detailed comparison for users to choose according to their convenience. Affordable Plan from Jio Jio is known for having the edge over its competitors when it comes to the pricing of the plans. JioFiber provides the most affordable 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 a 30 Mbps plan from JioFiber, customers can get access to smooth and seamless internet across multiple devices. This is one of the best budget plans as users also get a symmetrical download and upload speed. It is to be noted that the price of the plan is exclusive of GST. Airtel Broadband Airtel is one of the most popular brands when it comes to the list of ISPs in India. Airtel, with its Xstream Fiber connection, offers one of the fastest broadband connections, and users can get access to the 'Basic' pack, which 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. Airtel also provides 'Airtel Thanks Benefits' with its broadband plans which in this case includes a subscription to Wynk Music and Shaw Academy. BSNL – Budget Broadband Plan The state-owned telco BSNL offers some of the cheapest broadband plans in the country as well under its Bharat Fibre connection. The most affordable offering from the company is called the 'Fibre Basic' plan. Fibre Basic plan from BSNL comes at a price tag of Rs 449 per month and offers 30 Mbps of internet speed. The FUP limit set on the plan is 3300GB, beyond which users can access unlimited internet at 2 Mbps. The plan also provides unlimited local and STD calls. BSNL offers a special benefit for the users as they can receive a 90% discount of up to Rs 500 on the first-month rent. ACT's Affordable Offer The Internet Service Provider 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 plans is 500GB post which the internet works at a speed of 512 Kbps. This is apt for students who are looking for affordable plans and are ready to go for a long-term plan. Verdict It is quite clear that Jio, among all the mentioned telcos, has the cheapest broadband plan as it costs Rs 150, Rs 100 and Rs 50 less than the plans from ACT, Airtel and BSNL. However, when it comes to the users who are in search of budget plans with a little higher internet speed, Airtel seems to be the option to choose as it offers 40 Mbps of speed in comparison to Jio, which offers 30 Mbps. However, users have to pay a little extra for the plan from Airtel. As far as ACT is concerned, even though the monthly charges for 40 Mbps plans are higher than Airtel, users who are willing to invest in a long-term plan can actually get the plan for cheaper than Airtel with the same speed. In conclusion, it really depends on the priority of the consumers, whether its pricing or the connectivity speed.

Prepaid Plans From Jio Over Rs 400 for Medium Term Users Posted: 29 Jan 2022 08:03 AM PST India's largest telecom company Reliance Jio recently declared its financial results for the quarter ended in December 2021, showing a strong momentum of growth, around 18%, in its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) between October and December 2021. Reliance Jio raised its tariffs after its rivals Airtel and Vodafone Idea announced price hikes, but ensured that its tariffs remain the cheapest among the three. In its quarter result, the Mukesh Ambani-led telecom company reported a total customer base of 421 million subscribers. Besides low tariffs, a reason for Jio's success is the availability of a wide range of plans for its subscribers. Medium-term users, who are looking for a validity of 56 days or 84 days, have quite a handful of choices in Jio prepaid plans. This article checks out Jio prepaid plans above Rs 400 with 84 days and 56 days validity. Reliance Jio Prepaid Plans Over Rs 400 for Medium-Term Jio prepaid subscribers looking for 1.5GB/day data have two plans over Rs 400 with 84 days and 56 days validity. Jio prepaid plan at Rs 479 offers 1.5GB/day data (84GB data in total), unlimited calls and 100 SMS/day for 56 days. For streaming services, the plan comes with JioTV and JioCinema. Another plan at Rs 666 comes with the same offerings for 84 days, except that the total data limit is 126GB, where users get 1.5GB of daily data and unlimited voice calling and 100 SMS/day. For subscribers looking for slightly higher data – 2GB/day – Jio offers four prepaid plans at Rs 533, Rs 799, Rs 719 and Rs 1066. Jio prepaid plans at Rs 533 and Rs 799 come with a 2GB/day offering for 56 days, along with unlimited calls and 100 text messages per day. The difference between both plans is the availability of the Disney+ Hotstar subscription. The plan at Rs 799 offers a one-year mobile subscription worth Rs 499. The subscribers looking for 84 days validity for the 2GB/day benefit have two plans at Rs 719 and Rs 1066. Rs 1066 plan comes with additional data of 5GB and a one-year mobile subscription to Disney+ Hotstar. All plans provide access to Jio's own suite of applications too. For heavy data users, Jio offers prepaid plans with 3GB of data per day. Medium-term users have one option, at Rs 1199, that comes with 84 days validity. The plan comes with 3GB of data per day (252 GB in total), free unlimited calls and 100 SMS/day. The streaming service benefit is limited to JioTV and JioCinema.

Fiberisation and Densification of Towers Important to Increase Internet Reach: COAI Posted: 29 Jan 2022 07:23 AM PST While India boasts of offering data to people at one of the cheapest averages in the world, the country is far from achieving the government's vision of a truly digital nation. This is not just because of the unavailability of low-cost smartphones but also because, for being an excellent digital nation, the internet must first reach every home and person in the country. Lt. General, Dr S P Kochhar, Director General, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), told TelecomTalk that for the internet to reach everywhere, there's a need for fiberisation along with the densification of mobile towers. According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data, in the month of November, the overall tele-density in India was 86.90% (wireless and wireline included). The Indian government and the telcos are working together to break the digital divide that exists in the country, and for the same, the centre had launched the "National Broadband Mission". However, making the internet rich everywhere in the country isn't enough. It also needs to be affordable. Fiberisation and More Mobile Towers a Real Need in India Fiberisation is a real need in India. The same was echoed by P Balaji, Chief Regulatory and Corporate Affairs Officer, Vodafone Idea, during the India Mobile Congress 2021. Balaji had said that efforts need to be made to fiberise 85% of the mobile towers in the next 24 months in India. Currently, only 35% of the mobile towers are fiberised in the country. With 5G, the need for additional capacity and better backhaul support would be required, which fibre can help a ton with. The densification of mobile towers would further mean that there is better coverage for the users, which will also be required with 5G. The telecom operators would need to incur more costs to lay fibre and deploy mobile towers for which the states and union governments must align their right of way (RoW) policy with the Indian Telegraphy RoW Rules 2016.

OnePlus Has Beat Google in Its Home Posted: 29 Jan 2022 06:33 AM PST OnePlus had a great Q4 2021 in the United States (U.S.) market. While the U.S. remains a market heavily dominated by Apple in the smartphone category, companies such as OnePlus have been making huge strides. Fans of OnePlus have been mostly disappointed by the company's move of steeply rising prices, having a lot of bugs in the OxygenOS and then replacing it with ColorOS, followed by the Hasselblad partnership. Regardless, the company had witnessed strong growth during Q4 2021. According to a Counterpoint report, OnePlus saw an astonishing growth of 524% in the U.S. market. With this, the company left behind Google in terms of market share during the quarter. OnePlus Nord Series Likely Driving the Growth for the Company The affordable Nord smartphone series from OnePlus is likely driving the growth of the company in the United States. T-Mobile has played a huge role in the success of the OnePlus Nord series in the country. OnePlus had a 2% market share in the U.S. during the quarter which was more than Google's share of 1%. At the same time, Apple is sort of in a different league as the Cupertino tech giant had a market share of 57% during the quarter. Followed by Apple, Samsung stood at the second position with 24% of the market share and Motorola in the third position with 9% market share. Samsung couldn't really bank on the heavy demand for smartphones during Q4 2021 because of the component shortages, which resulted in a slow shipment of the S21 series and also the delayed launch of the Galaxy S21 FE was a bummer for the South Korean giant. This is something that OnePlus will be very proud of, and despite coming out with the Pixel 6 series, Google couldn't really leave a dent in the market. However, Google's sales grew by 56% YoY, which is actually not bad.

BSNL Two 4G Prepaid Plans Under Rs 300 That Offer OTT Benefits Posted: 29 Jan 2022 05:37 AM PST If you are looking for a budget prepaid plan under Rs 300 that comes with over-the-top (OTT) benefits bundled, you should check out the Rs 247 and the Rs 298 prepaid plans from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). BSNL offers the Rs 247 prepaid plan for 30 days only. While the cost might look high, it is not a regular unlimited data plan. With the Rs 247 prepaid plan, users get lump-sum data from the state-run telco. Here's what you should know about both these plans from BSNL. BSNL Rs 247 Prepaid Plan BSNL offers its Rs 247 prepaid plan for 30 days. With this plan, users get 50GB of lump-sum data. If a user wants, he/she can use this data in a single day or can use it comfortably over the 30 days. There's no fixed daily limit on data consumption. Further, this plan ships with unlimited voice calling and 100 SMS/day for the users. Note that after consuming 50GB of data, the internet speed for the users would drop to 80 Kbps. The OTT benefit bundled with this plan is Eros Now and users also get free BSNL Tunes. BSNL Rs 298 Prepaid Plan BSNL offers a Rs 298 prepaid plan to the users as well. This plan comes with total service validity of 56 days and offers users 1GB of daily data along with truly unlimited voice calling and 100 SMS/day. The internet speed reduces to 40 Kbps post the consumption of FUP data and an OTT benefit of Eros Now is bundled with this plan. There's no BSNL Tunes offered with the Rs 298 prepaid plan. These are the two BSNL 4G prepaid plans under Rs 300 that offer consumers OTT benefits. There are more OTT bundled prepaid plans offered by the telco, but they cost more. You can check these plans out by going to the official website of BSNL or the BSNL Selfcare mobile application.

Vodafone Idea Broadband Plans for Work from Home Posted: 29 Jan 2022 04:17 AM PST If you are working from home today, you realise the importance of a good Wi-Fi connection. Mobile networks in India haven't been able to give consistent speeds to the users and aren't even reliable if you are doing some important work video conferencing or something else that requires a steady internet connection. Thus, a fiber broadband connection is the best way to go if you want a good work from home experience. Vodafone Idea (Vi) offers fiber broadband plans through its subsidiary called You Broadband. If you are looking for broadband plans from You Broadband that can suit your requirements of work from home, there are two good options you can choose from. Vodafone Idea (You Broadband 100 Mbps and 200 Mbps Plans There are cities where You Broadband also offers up to 350 Mbps internet speed plans. But the 100 Mbps and 200 Mbps plans are mostly sufficient if you are working from home. With these high-speed internet plans, even if multiple devices are connected to your home's Wi-Fi network, you can peacefully work without any disturbance. The plans that we are mentioning here are available for users living in Ahmedabad and a few other cities. Note that the offerings of You Broadband differs from city to city. The 100 Mbps plan comes for Rs 826 per month, while the 200 Mbps plan comes for Rs 1062 per month. The price of the plans here include GST; thus, they are quite affordable and at par with what the other major internet service providers (ISPs) in India are offering. Both these plans are also available for users if they want to go for a long-term option. The data offered by both the plans is 3.5TB per month, and if users want the router and modem from the company, they will have to pay a one-time security deposit of Rs 1999 which is completely refundable. There are more plans offered by the company that you can check out by going to its website.

Airtel CEO Denies Any Conflict of Interest in Google Deal Posted: 29 Jan 2022 01:37 AM PST On Friday, Google and Airtel said in a joint statement that the former is going to invest up to $1 billion in the latter. Against the first $700 million, Google will get an equity stake of 1.28% in the telco, subject to regulatory approvals. A quick thought must have popped into the minds of everyone aware about the Google and Jio deal that this partnership with Airtel might bring conflict of interest into play. But Gopal Vittal, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Bharti Airtel, has cleared the air by confirming that there's no conflict of interest in this deal with Google. Airtel Not Interested in Manufacturing Low-Cost Smartphones Like Jio The deal between Jio and Google is sort of different from that of between Google and Airtel. Vittal said that Airtel is looking to make handsets available in the market more affordable for the masses and isn't interested in manufacturing its own low-cost device. Airtel is rather interested in offering subsidies with smartphones to make its cost lower for the end-user. Vittal also said that there's no element of "exclusivity" in the deal, reports ET Telecom. The Airtel CEO said that this partnership between both the companies has come alive on the basis of common shared objectives and vision. Google will give Bharti Airtel $300 million and form multi-year commercial agreements with the telco. Airtel has also signed a cloud services deal with Google. It is worth noting that Airtel has already partnered with multiple smartphone manufacturers and is offering subsidies on more than a hundred 4G smartphones. Both Airtel and Jio have been trying to push users to upgrade from feature phones to 4G devices. While Jio came out with a low-cost smartphone called JioPhone with Google, Airtel is only looking to partner with the smartphone manufacturers and bring the cost of the devices down by offering subsidies to the consumers.

WhatsApp Working on Separate App for iPad, Might Launch Soon Posted: 28 Jan 2022 11:35 PM PST Social media messaging platform WhatsApp is known to bring changes and updates and new features for its uses and even expand into new platforms. A recent report reveals that there might be good news for the WhatsApp users on iPad as they may finally get a native app on their devices. It was confirmed by the head of WhatsApp, Will Cathcart, during an interview that the messaging app is finally looking to launch a native app for the iPad. It has been quite a while since the users have been demanding an app for iPad, and several rumours and leaks have emerged in the past suggesting the ongoing trials of WhatsApp on iPad. The Expansion to Multiple Devices Talking about WhatsApp on iPad, will Cathcart said in the interview to The Verge that people have wanted an iPad for a long time, and the company is happy to do it. He further informed that users could expect the iPad app in the foreseeable future as the base technology required for the app has already been manufactured by the company. He informed that the company has spent a lot of time developing a technology to support multiple devices. Talking about the multi-device feature, he said that the website and desktop apps now have it and the feature allows users to operate WhatsApp via multiple devices if the primary smartphone is lost or turned off. The same technology is expected to be used in the tablet app. The multi-device features enable users to have a seamless shift to different devices without even having an internet connection. For example, WhatsApp now allows users to access the app on their desktop as well as the smartphone at the same time without any active internet connection. For those unaware, earlier, it wasn't possible to log on to the PC without having the smartphone near the device. Currently, users can log on to up to four devices with a single WhatsApp account. Separately, the messaging platform was also spotted testing a feature that will allow the transfer of chats from Android to iOS devices.

Second-Hand Smartphone Market Might Grow to $4.6 billion in Three Years Posted: 28 Jan 2022 10:25 PM PST According to the latest research report, the second-hand smartphone market in India is on its way to almost double in the coming three years by reaching USD 4.6 billion by the end of 2025. The report comes in jointly from mobile devices industry body ICEA and the research firm IDC. The reports suggest that the consumers traded about 25 million smartphone units in the second-hand market in India, which resulted in revenue generation of more than USD 2.3 billion. The average exchange price of the smartphone was $94 per device, which is about Rs 6,900. The Statistics of the Second-hand Smartphone Market The Chairman of India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), Pankaj Mohindroo, during the release of the report, stated that India should be the global of remanufacturing and re-commerce by leveraging its channel of labour cost. He added that substantial growth of re-commerce will help in the reduction of the digital divide as it will facilitate the shift to smartphones from feature phones. He also added that the growth of the second-hand smartphone market would also ensure that there is a noteworthy decline in e-waste as recycling will become the new norm, reports ET Telecom. It is to be noted that more than 95% of the second-hand smartphones in India are sold "as it is", whereas the other 5% of the smartphones go through the process of repair or refurbishment. The report informs that when it comes to consumer electronics products, smartphones currently dominate the second-hand market with more than 90% of the market share. Other devices such as laptops, smartwatches, gaming consoles and cameras are also following the suit – slow and steady. The report also provides intel on different income groups of people who are dealing with second-hand smartphones. It suggests that around 78% of the consumers buying a second-hand smartphone in India have a monthly income of less than Rs 30,000, whereas about 18% have a monthly income in-between Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000. Thus, it can be concluded from this data that the affordable price range is a major factor in the second-hand smartphone market.

FAA Consents AT&T and Verizon for Further Activation of 5G Towers Posted: 28 Jan 2022 09:31 PM PST In the latest unfolding of the events regarding the deployment of the 5G towers near the airports, the federal safety regulator has apparently allowed AT&T and Verizon to activate more towers for new 5G services without causing radio interferences with the aeroplanes. The Federal Aviation Administration announced (FAA)on Friday that the decision was made after it received intel from the telecommunications company regarding the exact location of wireless transmitters. This will bring an end to the ongoing issue of installation of 5G towers and telecom operators will now be able to power up 5G towers close to the airport without affecting the aeroplanes' landing during the poor weather. What Has Been the Issue? The US airlines and FAA have already talked about the safety concerns with the deployment of 5G services and how it could hinder radio altimeter readings needed for bad-weather landings on some jets. Previously, the 3.7 GHz – 3.8 GHz frequency bands were acquired by AT&T and Verizon after bidding tens of billions of dollars in the month of February of 2021. However, companies had postponed the deployment earlier in November when FAA issued a bulletin warning against the potential threat of 5G wireless service. Following this, there was another delay on the activation of 5G towers as AT&T and Verizon came to the terms to postpone the deployment of 5G wireless services due to the lurking fears of 5G services causing hindrance to flight safety equipment and voluntarily agreed to a two weeks delay on the deployment of their C-Band 5G services until January 19. However, until now FAA has given clearance to more than 90% of the flights of the US fleet to fly near the 5G signals stating that their radio altimeters were safe from any harm. As reported earlier, a big number of flights from Asia, the Middle East, and Europe to the United States remained cancelled or switched planes at the zero-hour last week as well as a few domestic flights. Moreover, the clearance allowed by the FAA excludes some of the smaller aeroplanes including a few Embraer regional jets. The president of the Regional Airline Association, Faye Malarkey Black said in a statement that the issue is not entirely fixed as the regional airlines which operate under contract with major airlines have faced a lot of restrictions on their flights during the poor weather.

Things You Can Do to Stabilise Your Broadband Wi-Fi Connection Posted: 28 Jan 2022 08:16 PM PST With our lives entwined with the internet every day, there is nothing more frustrating than an unstable Wi-Fi connection. Slow internet can affect practically every aspect of our lives, from entertainment to work. Mostly, people resort to blaming the internet service providers for the lag in connection. Although this can be the case, it is significant to check if every device in your network is in a position to utilise every byte of the bandwidth. Poorly configured Wi-Fi can become a significant hurdle. Here are some ways to fix a slow Wi-Fi connection. Popular Reasons Why Wi-Fi Connection Fluctuates Before we begin, let's examine some common reasons why Wi-Fi fluctuates. One of the most common causes of poor Wi-Fi is that you may get good speed while relaxing on the couch, but the speed drastically reduces when you move to the balcony. The farther you move away from the Wi-Fi router, the more your speed degrades. Another reason is obstructions, such as thick concrete walls made of non-porous materials, timber walls, metal blinds, etc., which can diminish the speed. Not to forget interferences, as the Wi-Fi signals are transmitted over the same frequency bands as most devices. Conflicting frequencies are usually seen in crowded residential areas and commercial spaces with many routers across nearby buildings. Your neighbours' Wi-Fi can meddle with it. Similarly, the unshielded USB 3.0 cables and devices without a protective layer cannot stop wireless interference from external sources. An old Wi-Fi router, featuring some last generation technology, could also be a reason for your slow internet speed. Wear and tear on the coaxial cable or fibre line coming to your home and excess bandwidth consumption can also be the problems. Ways to Stabilise Wi-Fi Fluctuations One most common way to fix your Wi-Fi speed is by rebooting your router. Although this cannot be an everyday affair, you may reboot the router when experiencing terribly low internet. To solve the problem of unstable access in different corners of the house, it is advisable to place the Wi-Fi router in a central location, where every Wi-Fi device can access the router equally. Trying to place it in an open space without much wall interferences can help to an extent. You may also expand the Wi-Fi range using an extender. They are signal boosters. It is wiser to connect wireless devices like laptops to Wi-Fi and use wired connections for stationary devices such as desktop PCs and televisions to reduce stress on your Wi-Fi. In most cases, we may have unwanted devices accessing Wi-Fi. To say, you may have an additional tablet lying in the corner or an old phone kept switched on just for calls. Such devices can be unloaded from your network. One easy way is to visit your Wi-Fi's admin set-up and check the list of devices connected to your Wi-Fi. If you no longer use or recognise any devices, remove them from the list. If your router has an inbuilt traffic analyser, it can show you the devices that consume more data. While accessing administrator settings, remember to update your router's firmware to improve its performance.

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