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• BSNL Bharat Fibre Broadband Plan that Offers 6.5GB of Data
• Cheapest Daily Data Prepaid Plans from Jio, Airtel, Vi
• Fastrack Reflex Vox Smartwatch Launched in India, Offers 100+ Watch Faces, Built-in Alexa and More
• Redmi Note 11S Could be Rebranded as POCO M4 Pro for Multiple Markets
• Bharti Airtel Deal With Google to Allow Telco to Bring Better Smartphone Offers
• 5Gi Merging into 3GPP 5G Standards as Stakeholders Across the Globe Come to Agreement
• Global Smartphone Market Witnesses First Time Growth Since 2017 Shipping 1.39 billion Units
• Bharti Airtel Subsidiaries Alone Add 5 Unicorns in India: Gopal Vittal
• Android 12: Redmi 9, Redmi Note 9 and Poco M2 Slated to Receive the Update
• Jio Recharge Plan 2022: Which is the Best 84 Days Plan?
• Vodafone Idea, Airtel Shares Look to End Week Strongly
• iPhone 12 Available at Rs 52,000 With Free Gaana Plus Subscription
• DIPA, COAI Happy With Tamil Nadu Govt Aligning to Centre’s Telecom RoW Rules
• TSDSI Asked TEC Under DoT to Stop 5Gi Adoption
• Best Five Wi-Fi 6 Routers to Buy for Your Home
• Airtel to Get $1 Billion Investment from Google to Work on 5G and More
• Airtel Payments Bank Benefits from RBI’s Decision, Customer Deposit Surges to Rs 1000 Crore
• Excitel vs Jio 100 Mbps and 300 Mbps Plans, Which Company Gets the Lead

BSNL Bharat Fibre Broadband Plan that Offers 6.5GB of Data Posted: 28 Jan 2022 07:00 PM PST Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) offers a broadband plan to the customers that comes with 6.5TB of monthly fair usage-policy (FUP) data. Not just that, this plan also offers users high-speed internet with 300 Mbps uniform uploading and downloading speed. To add to this, there's a free fixed-line voice calling connection as well for no additional cost. This plan from the company is not new and has been on offer since early 2021. BSNL Bharat Fibre offers this plan (Fibre Ruby) to customers for Rs 4499 per month. The additional cost is because of the huge amounts of data offered with the plan. This might come as a disappointment to everyone interested, but there's no over-the-top (OTT) benefit offered with this plan. Post consumption of FUP data, the speed will drop to 40 Mbps. It is hard to imagine why would someone spend more than Rs 4,000 on a 300 Mbps plan with ample amounts of data when they can get a 1 Gbps speed plan from either Airtel or Jio for a lesser price with OTT benefits combined. However, there are a few more broadband plans from the company that offer users 300 Mbps speed. BSNL Other Two Broadband Plans That Offer 300 Mbps Speed BSNL offers a Rs 1499 and Rs 2499 broadband plan to its customers. Both these plans come with 300 Mbps speed. The Rs 1499 plan comes with 4TB of data, while the Rs 2499 plan comes with 5TB of data. Post consumption of FUP data, the Rs 1499 plan will offer internet at 4 Mbps speed while the Rs 2499 plan will offer 30 Mbps speed to the users. There's a fixed-line voice calling connection offered with both the plans. The Rs 2499 broadband plan doesn't come with any OTT benefits, while the Rs 1499 plan comes with a free one-year subscription to the Disney+ Hotstar Premium and a 90% discount of up to Rs 500 on the first month's bill. The Rs 1499 plan here is the best option for the users to go with.

Cheapest Daily Data Prepaid Plans from Jio, Airtel, Vi Posted: 28 Jan 2022 05:41 PM PST The three private telecom operators of India – Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel provide a ton of prepaid plans for their subscriber base. The most popular prepaid plan, however, remains the daily data packs offered by the telcos. The daily data packs have a wide range from high data expensive plans to low data-offering affordable plans. Mentioned below are the cheapest daily data packs offered by – Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel along with the pack details. Reliance Jio Reliance Jio is one of the most prominent service providers in the country and always has an edge over its other two competitors when it comes to the prices and benefits of the service. Jio offers a few 1GB/day and 2GB/day prepaid plans that are all for short validity periods and are very affordable. The first plan comes at the cost of Rs 149 and offers 1GB data per day for a validity period of 20 days. Users also get access to unlimited voice calls and 100 SMS per day. For a price tag of Rs 179 users can get another pack offering 1GB/day for a validity period of 24 days and the plan also comes with unlimited voice calls and 100 SMS per day. The last plan on the list is the Rs 209 plan that offers 1GB data per day for a total validity period of 28 days along with unlimited voice calls and 100 SMS per day. Just under Rs 300, the telco offers two 2GB/day packs as well. The first plan comes at the cost of Rs 249 and offers 2GB data per day for a validity period of 23 days. On the other hand, at a price tag of Rs 299, the telco offers 2GB/day for 28 days validity period with unlimited voice calls and 100 SMS per day. Users also get access to unlimited voice calls and 100 SMS per day. It is to be noted that with all these plans users also get access to a few Jio applications such as Jio Cinema, Jio TV and a few more. Vodafone Idea Vodafone Idea or Vi has been growing as well and has been significantly growing its 4G services across the country to better its user experience. Vi offers a few 1GB/day data packs in the affordable segment as well. The first plan offered by Vi comes at a price of Rs 199 for a validity period of 18 days offering 1GB data per day along with unlimited voice calls and 100 SMS per day. The next pack is a Rs 219 plan that offers 1GB/day for a total validity period of 21 days along with unlimited voice calls and 100 SMS per day. The third 1GB daily data plan offered by Vi comes at a price tag of Rs 239 and offers 1GB per day for a validity period of 24 days. The plan comes with unlimited voice calls and 100 SMS per day. Last on the list is the Rs 269 plan that offers 1GB data per day for a total validity period of 28 days along with unlimited voice calls and 100 SMS per day. The telco offers access to Vi movies and TV along with its Rs 199, Rs 219 and Rs 269 plans. Bharti Airtel Bharti Airtel also offers similar plans as Vi for its users with some added benefits. The first plan on the list comes at a price tag of Rs 209 and offers 1GB data per day for a validity period of 21 days. The plan comes with unlimited voice calls and 100 SMS per day. The next pack is a Rs 239 plan that offers 1GB/day for a total validity period of 24 days along with unlimited voice calls and 100 SMS per day. The last plan on the list comes at a price tag of Rs 265 and offers 1GB data per day for a validity period of 28 days along with unlimited voice calls and 100 SMS per day. All the mentioned plans come with a free trial to mobile edition Amazon Prime Video along with access to Wynk Music.

Fastrack Reflex Vox Smartwatch Launched in India, Offers 100+ Watch Faces, Built-in Alexa and More Posted: 28 Jan 2022 08:16 AM PST The Indian fashion accessory brand Fastrack has launched its smartwatch in India – Fastrack Reflex Vox smartwatch on Friday. The newly launched wearable comes with exciting features such as a built-in Alexa, 1.69-inch HD screen, health and fitness trackers and more. The device already has a landing page on the company's website and users can even register to get notified as soon as it becomes available for purchase. Mentioned below are the known price and feature details of the latest Fastrack Reflex Vox smartwatch. Features of Fastrack Reflex Vox smartwatch The newly launched smartwatch from Fastrack comes with a rectangular 1.69-inch HD screen. The company hasn't yet revealed all the details of the device but the website shows that the wearable will have in-built support for Amazon Alexa. The device will also feature more than 100 watch faces and multi-sports mode. As far as health and fitness trackers are considered Fastrack Reflex Vox will have a heart rate monitor, SpO2 monitor, sleep tracker, activity tracker, stress monitor, and a menstrual tracker. Other additional usual features of the smartwatch include music playback control, camera control, hydration alerts, and notifications alerts. Moreover, the company has claimed that the device will offer more than 10 days of battery life on a single charge. Pricing and Availability The retail price of the new Fastrack Reflex Vox smartwatch has been set at Rs 6,995; however, the device will be available for purchase at an introductory offer of Rs 4,995. The device will be available for purchase in four distinct colour options Carbon Black, Blazing Blue, Champagne Pink, and Flaming Red. Moreover, the wearable offers the option to interchange the soft silicone bands the way the user wants. Furthermore, a press release from the company informs that the wearable will be available for purchase at Fastrack stores, World of Titan, authorised Titan dealer outlets, Shoppers Stop, and Lifestyle retail stores. Fastrack Reflex Vox can also be purchased via the company's official website along with the e-commerce platform Amazon starting from January 29.

Redmi Note 11S Could be Rebranded as POCO M4 Pro for Multiple Markets Posted: 28 Jan 2022 07:02 AM PST Redmi the subsidiary company of the Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi on Wednesday launched its latest Redmi Note 11 Series. The lineup consisted of the Redmi Note 11, the Redmi Note 11S, Redmi Note 11 Pro, and the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G smartphones. The devices are expected to arrive for the Indian markets as well. It is very well known that the other sub-brand of Xiaomi – POCO usually launches the rebranded version of the Redmi devices. According to XDA Developers, the Redmi Note 11S which was a part of the Note 11 series will be rebranded as POCO M4 Pro in multiple markets around the globe. It is to be noted that a POCO M4 Pro 5G is already available in a few markets around the globe which hints towards the fact that the rebranded version of the Note 11S could just be a 4G enabled model. Moreover, POCO M4 Pro 5G is itself the rebranded version of the Redmi Note 11. It is anticipated that the device will feature the same specifications as Redmi Note 11S, however, a few tweaks on the exterior of the POCO M4 Pro can be made to make it distinct. Redmi Note 11S Specifications and Price The Redmi Note 11S also comes with a 6.4-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate with a punch-hole design. The display of the device also has a Corning Gorilla Glass for protection along with Eye-care mode, 1000nits peak brightness, and a punch-hole camera. The device is powered by a MediaTek Helio G96 chipset coupled with up to 6GB RAM and 128GB storage expandable via a microSD card. Talking about the camera module of the device, the handset features a quad-camera setup on the rear headlined by a 108MP primary sensor, 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens, and a couple of 2MP sensors for portrait and macro shots. On the front, it features a 16MP selfie shooter. The device also operates on Android 11-based MIUI 13 custom skins out of the box and is backed by a 5000mAh battery with support for 33W fast charge technology. As far as pricing is considered, Redmi Note 11S was launched with three storage variants – 6GB + 128GB priced at $279 which is about Rs 20,900, 8GB + 128GB priced at $299 which amounts to Rs 22,400 and a 4GB + 64GB storage variant available at $249 which is roughly around Rs 18,700. POCO M4 Pro could arrive with similar pricing as well.

Bharti Airtel Deal With Google to Allow Telco to Bring Better Smartphone Offers Posted: 28 Jan 2022 06:17 AM PST Tech-giant Google partners with Indian telecommunications behemoth Bharti Airtel for creating new and innovative business models that would help grow the Android ecosystem in India. The partnership is a part of Google's initiative 'Google for India Digitization Fund' announced in 2020. Under the partnership, Google plans to invest $1 billion, which includes an investment of $700 million to acquire 1.28% ownership in Airtel (an equity investment) and up to $300 million towards implementing commercial agreements. The tenure of the partnership is around five years. In plain hindsight, the Google-Airtel partnership will focus on enabling affordable access to smartphones across a wide price range. They would also explore the potential to co-create India-specific network domains and build a use case for 5G, and help accelerate the cloud ecosystem for businesses across the digitally-growing country. Why Google Is Investing in Airtel According to an ET Telecom report, Under Google-Airtel commercial agreement, there are exciting possibilities, one of which is to allow Airtel to come up with budget smartphone offers, bundled with new customised software and services that can lure feature phone users to smartphones. The agreement demands Airtel to depend on Google's hardware partners to enable overall device affordability. Airtel will benefit from Google's tailored-for-India software solutions. Airtel and Google would also co-create India-specific network domain use cases for 5G and other standards, with cutting-edge implementations. Airtel is currently using Google's 5G-ready evolved packet core and software-defined network platforms. The telecom service provider also plans to explore the expansion of Google's network virtualisation solutions, which would result in delivering a superior network experience to their customers. There will also be several other offerings aimed at accelerating access and digital inclusion across India's digital ecosystem. The fundamental mission is to make the internet more accessible and helpful for Indians. In a blog post, Google also informed that it would work with the Delhi-based telecom company to improve the market situation in India. India's feature phone installed base is around 300 million. Converting these many bases to smartphones is aspirational for all telecom players, and Airtel currently has an edge with its partnership with Google. Google-Airtel deal is currently awaiting regulatory approvals. The deal would be a milestone in the duo's digital transformation journey.

5Gi Merging into 3GPP 5G Standards as Stakeholders Across the Globe Come to Agreement Posted: 28 Jan 2022 05:16 AM PST As we move closer towards the rollout of 5G services, in a crucial development, during the RAN plenary meeting of global standards development body 3GPP held last week, stakeholders across the globe have agreed to take actions to merge 5Gi into 5G. For those unaware, 5Gi is the local connectivity standard designed to cater to the demands of the rural network coverage requirement in India. 5Gi is under discussion with the industry ecosystem in India consultative process of Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC) and TSDSI, India's Telecom Standards Development Organisation. The Benefits of a Merger During the RAN plenary meeting, the notion to merge 5Gi into 5G received huge support from many TSDSI member companies, as well as global cellular vendors and multiple operators. The key requirements and the next steps needed to be taken to unify 5Gi with 5G was advocated as part of the 3GPP 5G standards in the deliberations of 5G Release 17. The chairman of TSDSI, N.G. Subramaniam said in a statement that this is a big step being taken towards India's objective of offering enhanced coverage across rural, remote, and urban areas. He said that the amalgamation of 5Gi into 3GPP 5G standards not only enables a single common specification going forward but also creates a single radio access solution for 5G deployments in India and globally. He stated that the idea of merging 5Gi into 3GPP 5G standards received a positive response from the global stakeholders. He added that TSDSI and 3GPP will continue to work together to bring this to fruition. In addition to this, the key features of 5Gi were advocated by the global stakeholders solidifying the possibility of it becoming a part of 3GPP 5G standards. Indian stakeholders acknowledged this appreciation for the collective support and efforts by the global stakeholders. The fulfilment of the merging of 5Gi into 3GPP 5G standards is a big breakthrough in bringing together the stakeholders from across the globe to work together in partnership with India, which will ultimately result in affordable 5G services in rural and remote settings promoting SDGs and Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.

Global Smartphone Market Witnesses First Time Growth Since 2017 Shipping 1.39 billion Units Posted: 28 Jan 2022 04:21 AM PST The latest research has revealed that the global smartphone market witnessed growth for the first time since the year 2017 as it reached the shipment of 1.39 billion units in 2021. The report was shared by Counterpoint Research which also informed that the global shipment of the smartphone increased by 4% year-on-year basis; however, it also had a decline on a yearly basis in the fourth quarter resulting in the shipment of 371 million units. The Market Share According to the Counterpoint Research firm, even though there was a 4% surge annually in the global shipment of smartphones, the shipment number still remained lower than that of pre-pandemic levels. The reason behind this can be credited to the impacts of Covid-19 along with the issue of component shortage. Talking about the smartphone manufacturers, South Korea based tech giant Samsung witnessed a 6% rise in the shipment figures and led the market by shipping 271 million units. The manufacturer saw significant growth on the back of the increased demand for its A and M series smartphones. The Cupertino-based smartphone manufacturer Apple had remarkable growth as well. The shipment figures of the company grew 18% year-on-year to reach 237.6 million units. Apple's iPhone 12 was one of the best performing smartphones in terms of sales, and the company also witnessed significant growth in the countries of Europe, the US, China and India. Next on the list is the Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi which grew 31% year-on-year to reach 190 million units. The main regions of growth for the company remained India, China, South-East Asia and Europe. Oppo followed suit as it witnessed a 28% year-on-year growth reaching 143.2 million units shipped. For the first half of the year, the brand performed remarkably in China, whereas for the latter half, it saw a boom in the regions of Europe, the Middle East, South-East Asia and Africa. Vivo as well grew 21% year-on-year reaching 131.3 million units shipped in 2021; however, in the fourth quarter, the shipment numbers declined by 9% as the company's market share was taken over by Apple in China. Huawei and LG, on the other hand, witnessed an exit from the list of the top smartphone manufacturers.

Bharti Airtel Subsidiaries Alone Add 5 Unicorns in India: Gopal Vittal Posted: 28 Jan 2022 03:37 AM PST Bharti Airtel has multiple subsidiary companies in India operating different businesses. What's great for the company is that its multiple subsidiaries are valued above $1 billion. Gopal Vittal, Chief Executive, Airtel, said, "As stand-alone businesses, Airtel Payments bank, Nxtra, Wynk, Airtel Ads and Airtel IQ would comfortably add five more Unicorns to India's tally of 83." Wynk Music is Airtel's own music application available for both Android as well iOS users. Vittal said that Wynk has over 2.8 billion monthly streams. This makes it the largest music streaming service in the country. Airtel Payments Bank the Only Profitable Fintech Player in India "We are also the only profitable and growing Fintech player in the payments space with Airtel Payments Bank," Vittal added. Airtel Payments Bank (APB) recorded a 75% gain in deposits from customers in 2021. The company also turned profitable by the end of the September quarter in 2021. APB saw over Rs 1,000 crore worth of deposits coming its way during the previous year. Airtel Ads is an Ad-tech platform that already has hundreds of customers and is continuously growing. With Airtel Ads, Bharti Airtel became one of the first telecom companies to launch an Ad-tech platform. In the data centre business, Nxtra by Airtel is India's largest player. Nxtra is already India's number IoT player, said Vittal. Then, with Airtel IQ, Airtel is the number one C-Pass player by EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation). More and more enterprise customers are adopting Airtel IQ in India. Bharti Airtel is running a successful telecom business as well with the industry-leading average revenue per user (ARPU) figure. The company also has a renowned Direct-to-Home (DTH) and fibre broadband business with Airtel Digital TV and Airtel Xstream Fiber. The telco recently announced a partnership with Google where it will get up to $1 billion from the search-engine giant and give up a small part of equity against the $700 million.

Android 12: Redmi 9, Redmi Note 9 and Poco M2 Slated to Receive the Update Posted: 28 Jan 2022 02:42 AM PST The Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi has a reputation for providing at least two Android updates and three MIUI updates to its devices. That being said, Xiaomi smartphones powered by MediaTek chipsets receive fewer updates than those equipped with Qualcomm chipsets. Despite that, three devices launched in the year 2020 with MediaTek chipsets are now scheduled to receive the latest Android 12 update breaking the pattern. Let's find out more. Last Major Update for the Devices According to a report from Xiaomiui, the three devices launched in the year 2020 – Redmi 9, Redmi Note 9 and POCO M2 are scheduled to receive the Android 12 update along with the MIUI 13 update as well. The report suggests that all three devices have already received the internal updates based on the latest version of Android. It has been an ongoing trend that Xiaomi offers only a single or no Android update at all to the smartphones with MediaTek chipsets. However, the company makes sure to provide at least one MIUI update. Hence, it is quite surprising as all the mentioned devices have already received the Android 11 update and the upcoming Android 12 update will be the second for the trio of handsets. In addition to this, all three devices – Redmi 9, Redmi Note 9 and POCO M2 were launched with MIUI 11 and the MIUI 13 will be the second major update to be rolled out on these smartphones. All three devices were earlier upgraded to MIUI 12. It can also be concluded that the upcoming Android 12 and MIUI 13 will be the last major update for Redmi 9, Redmi Note 9 and POCO M2. Also, it is to be noted that Redmi 9 is sold as Redmi 9 Prime and Redmi Note 9 is sold as Redmi 10X in India and China. Earlier it was reported that Xiaomi has already commenced the testing of the MIUI 13 update for global versions of the devices.

Jio Recharge Plan 2022: Which is the Best 84 Days Plan? Posted: 28 Jan 2022 01:04 AM PST Reliance Jio offers a plethora of options to customers who want a prepaid plan for medium-term use. To add to that, the number one telco also offers 20% JioMart Maha cashback with its prepaid plans that cost more than Rs 200. If you are looking for a medium-term plan from the telco, the 84 days plans make for the best choice as 56 days plans aren't that economical. With 56 days plans, you need to spend more, and that's not even a very long-time. Let's take a look at the best 84 days Jio recharge plan 2022. Jio Recharge Plan 2022 With Best Value and 84 Days of Validity The Rs 666 prepaid plan from Jio is the best in value in 2022 if you are looking for an 84 days prepaid plan. Jio offers multiple prepaid plans with 84 days validity, and they come with different amounts of daily data caps, including 1.5GB, 2GB, and 3GB. If you are looking for a plan with the best value, the Rs 666 plan makes for the best option. This plan offers 1.5GB of daily data along with unlimited voice calling, 100 SMS/day, and additional benefits of Jio applications, including JioTV, JioCinema, JioSecurity, and JioCloud. The 2GB daily data and 3GB daily data prepaid plans with 84 days validity come for Rs 719 and Rs 1199, respectively. These plans go under the very expensive range, and with the 2GB daily data plan, users are only getting 500MB of additional data in comparison to the 1.5GB daily data plan. With the Rs 666 plan from Reliance Jio, users are spending Rs 7.93 per day for unlimited voice calling, 1.5GB of daily data, and 100 SMS/day. The cost rises to Rs 8.56 and Rs 14.27 with the 2GB daily data and 3GB daily data prepaid plans, which, as mentioned above, cost Rs 719 and Rs 1199, respectively. So the best-prepaid plan from Reliance Jio in value for 84 days validity is the Rs 666 plan offering 1.5GB of daily data.

Vodafone Idea, Airtel Shares Look to End Week Strongly Posted: 28 Jan 2022 01:01 AM PST Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel share are up in the noon trading session on Friday. Just an hour away from the closing of the market, both the telecom companies might end the day and the week on a positive note. After having a nightmare Thursday, Vodafone Idea investors would be happy to see the stock getting back in the 'greens’ on Friday. At the time of writing, Vodafone Idea is trading at Rs 10.85 which is 1.88% up from the previous closing price of Rs 10.65. Further, Airtel is trading at Rs 715, up by 1.10% from its previous closing price of Rs 707.90. Vodafone Idea shares went up to touch a high of Rs 11.30 on Friday. Bharti Airtel Shares Up Because of Google Investment On Friday morning, Airtel and Google announced a partnership where Google is going to invest up to $1 billion into the telco. It is a strategic partnership to digitise India faster. Airtel would also give up an equity stake of 1.28% to Google for $700 million. Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), the parent company of Reliance Jio is trading at Rs 2340.15, up 0.09% from its previous closing price of Rs 2338.10.

iPhone 12 Available at Rs 52,000 With Free Gaana Plus Subscription Posted: 28 Jan 2022 12:22 AM PST Apple's iPhone 12 is available at a massive discount. The smartphone is also bundling with a free six months subscription to Gaana Plus. The offer is available for the customers going to buy the device from Flipkart. The iPhone 12 is available in three storage options starting with 64GB, followed by 128GB and 256GB. The base variant of 64GB is available for Rs 52,999 on Flipkart. If you have a Citi Bank credit or debit card, there will be an additional discount of Rs 1,000 which would make the cost drop down to Rs 51,999. Further, if you have an old functioning and eligible device that you want to exchange against it, you can get a discount of up to Rs 15,850, which would make the final price of the device Rs 36,149. The same offers are available for the 128GB and 256GB variants which are listed for Rs 64,999 and Rs 74,999 on Flipkart. Along with a free Gaana Plus subscription for six months, you will also get cash back on the first trade with ZebPay wallet. Flipkart also offers the iPhone 12 with the option for Open Box Delivery, wherein the box will be opened in front of the customer to ensure that they are getting what they asked for. iPhone 12 Is Still a Good Buy in 2022 iPhone 12 is still a very good buy in 2022. Especially because of the price at which it is available. The A14 Bionic that powers the smartphone is still one of the most powerful chipsets in the market despite its launch in 2020. There's a marginal difference in the design of the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 12 series devices. The iPhone 12 can be comfortably used for up to three to four years at a minimum. If you plan to purchase it from the official website of Apple India, you will have to shell out extra money. The same might be the case with different authorised Apple resellers in the country.

DIPA, COAI Happy With Tamil Nadu Govt Aligning to Centre’s Telecom RoW Rules Posted: 27 Jan 2022 11:28 PM PST The Digital Infrastructure Providers Association (DIPA) as well as the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) are very happy with the Tamil Nadu government's recent decision for adopting the central government's Right of Way (RoW) Rules 2016. With this, Tamil Nadu has become the 32nd state amongst the 36 states and union territories (UTs) in India to issue RoW rules for easing telecom infrastructure rollout. According to the notification released by the Tamil Nadu government, the state government has fixed Rs 10,000 as a one-time fee for the cost of meeting administrative expenses for the installation of the telecom tower. Further, for rolling out optical fibre cable (OFC), be it overhead or underground, the telecom operators will be charged Rs 1,000 per kilometre. Tamil Nadu Government Encouraging Faster Digitisation of the State With this policy, the government is encouraging a faster and easier deployment of new mobile towers, cell on wheel, OFC, small cell, microsites, in-building solutions etc., which are vital for improving the digital connectivity across urban municipal corporations as well as other areas of Tamil Nadu. More importantly, the new policy will play a major role when it comes to the rollout of 5G networks and services in the state. According to the rules, neither District Nodal Officer nor any appropriate authority can't charge track rent from the companies for the grant of any permission. Lt. General Dr S P Kochhar, DG, COAI, thanked the Tamil Nadu government for updating the state's telecom RoW policy which will ease the deployment of new mobile towers and ease the rollout of OFC. Kochhar said this would facilitate the speedy roll-out of telecom infrastructure. Mr T R Dua, DG, DIPA, also expressed gratefulness towards the Tamil Nadu government for releasing the long-awaited Tamil Nadu telecom RoW policy. With these new rules, digitisation in Tamil Nadu will be able to fast-track and will contribute to the efficient rollout of 5G in the near future.

TSDSI Asked TEC Under DoT to Stop 5Gi Adoption Posted: 27 Jan 2022 10:29 PM PST The Telecommunications Standards Development Society of India (TSDSI) has asked the Telecommunication Engineering Center (TEC) to not go ahead with the 5Gi (India's indigenous 5G standard) adoption as the national standard 5G technology. TEC is the department that operates under the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). Private companies, as well as telecom bodies, were against the adoption of the 5Gi standard in India. According to an ET Telecom report, TSDSI has said that it will follow the 5G standard developed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). TSDSI Doesn't Intend to Update 5Gi Specifications Further For the unaware, back in December 2021, 3GPP had approved the merger of 5Gi with its 5G standard. TSDSI has committed that it doesn't intend to update the 5Gi specifications further, and they will be merged with 3GPP's 5G, and the same will be implemented in India for the rollout of 5G networks. This is in line with what the telcos and industry bodies were asking from the government. Every ecosystem player, including the chipset vendors, were worried about the rising cost and the isolation of India when it came to 5G networks with 5Gi. The industry had asked for the merger of 5Gi with 3GPP's 5G, which is what will happen now. It will help everyone involved in the telecom and communications industry, including device manufacturers to service providers, in reducing costs to come out with new products and offerings. 3GPP's 5G standard is being implemented by nations around the globe, and thus it gives the device manufacturers a comfort for producing gadgets and electronics such as chipsets, smartphones, tablets with 5G support on a massive scale for multiple countries. Had India gone ahead with the 5Gi standard, the manufacturers would have to product specially for the Indian market by making tweaks in their production line so that the smartphones and other products could support 5Gi connectivity. It would have further meant that the Indian customers wouldn't have been able to connect with the 5G network of a foreign nation as it would be running on 3GPP's 5G standard.

Best Five Wi-Fi 6 Routers to Buy for Your Home Posted: 27 Jan 2022 09:15 PM PST Faster internet is constantly in demand with people consuming bandwidth-demanding videos, games, apps and gadgets. An investment in a good Wi-Fi router is thus a need for the year. Among the routers, Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6e are the latest additions. Wi-Fi 6 isn't just a speed boost but also comes with technologies that help mitigate the issues that come with connecting multiple devices on a single network. Wi-Fi 6e started making rounds in April 2020 when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) opened a plot of the spectrum (1200MHz of the spectrum) in the 6 GHz band for unlicensed use. This resulted in more open waves that routers can broadcast Wi-Fi signals from. It means a lot more bandwidth and a lot less interference. This solves the spectrum congestion problem to a great extent. When you are experiencing a bad network, the chances are high that many devices are trying to connect in the same band frequencies. 6 GHz Wi-Fi will offer airwaves for routers to use that does not require overlapping signals. Now, to get Wi-Fi 6 or 6e, you will need to buy a new version Wi-Fi router. If your Wi-Fi does not support Wi-Fi 6, you cannot avail the benefits, even if you bring Wi-Fi 6 devices home. Both Wi-Fi 6 and 6e are part of the 802.11ax protocol. We saw a new range of Wi-Fi 6 and 6e routers at CES 2022. The current consumer devices support only regular Wi-Fi 6, so more routers are coming out that do not do 6e. Here we collate a list of a few Wi-Fi 6 and 6e routers. TP-Link Archer AX11000 Next-Gen Tri-Band Gaming Router TP-Link Archer AX11000 comes with a game-centric UI, numerous ports and anti-malware tools. It delivers 12-streams Wi-Fi Speeds over 10 Gbps – 4804 Mbps (5 GHz Gaming) + 4804 Mbps (5 GHz) + 1148 Mbps (2.4 GHz). It can detect and optimize gaming streams, has enhanced security powered by Trend Micro and offers real-time latency. For connectivity, it comes with a 2.5 Gbps WAN port, eight Gigabit LAN ports, two USB 3.0 in Type A and Type C. Under the hood, it has a 1.8 GHz Quad-Core CPU and 3 coprocessors. It features OFDMA technology that allows one transmission to deliver data to multiple devices simultaneously, reducing lag. Asus ZenWiFi AX (XT8) Tri-band Router Asus ZenWiFi XT8 comes with a tri-band mesh Wi-Fi system, which means strong Wi-Fi to every corner of your home, delivering a total wireless speed of 6600 Mbps. With OFDMA and MU-MIMO, ZenWiFi AX enables faster transmission even with multiple devices. Similar to TP-Link Archer AX11000, Asus ZenWiFi AX also comes with lifetime free network security powered by Trend Micro. It offers a good range of I/O ports and parental control tools. Netgear Nighthawk Tri-Band RAXE500 Wi-Fi 6E Router Netgear Nighthawk Tri-Band RAXE500 is powered by a 1.8GHz AX optimized CPU designed to handle 8K video streaming. Its tri-band design can achieve a speed of up to 1.2 Gbps on the 2.4 GHz band, up to 4.8 Gbps on the 5GHz band, and up to 4.8 Gbps on the 6 GHz band. It also supports the latest 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) technologies, 1024 QAM, WPA3 encryption, OFDMA, MU-MIMO simultaneous data streaming, and direct-to-client signal transmissions. Its security solution is powered by Bitdefender, which comes with a 30-day free trial. Parental controls are also limited. Linksys Dual-Band Mesh MR9600 Wi-Fi 6 Router Linksys Dual-Band Mesh MR9600 Wi-Fi 6 Router can cover up to 3,000 sq. ft, handles 40+ devices, and speed up to 6.0 Gbps. This simultaneous dual-band router is powered by Linksys's Intelligent Mesh Technology, offering good speed to every corner of the home, and can isolate your network to eliminate interference. Under the hood, it comes with a 1.8 GHz Quad-Core Processor. It has 1x Gigabit WAN, 4x Gigabit LAN, and two USB 3.0 ports for connectivity. There are some intelligent security systems with automatic updates, parental controls and guest mode. TP-Link Archer AX90 AX6600 Tri-Band Wi-Fi 6 Router TP-Link Archer AX90 AX6600 comes with a good selection of I/O ports, including 1× 2.5 Gbps WAN/LAN port + 1× 1 Gbps WAN/LAN port + 3× Gigabit LAN ports and two USB ports. Its eight high-gain antennas equipped with beamforming will ensure extensive coverage. It comes with TP-Link HomeShield security, Wi-Fi encryption and robust parental controls. A 1.5 GHz quad-core processor powers the equipment. It can reach maximum data speeds of 574 Mbps on the 2.4GHz band, 1201 Mbps on one of the 5 GHz bands, and 4804 Mbps on the secondary 5 GHz band.

Airtel to Get $1 Billion Investment from Google to Work on 5G and More Posted: 27 Jan 2022 08:25 PM PST Google is going to invest over $1 billion in Bharti Airtel as part of its Google for India Digitisation Fund. It is a long-term and multi-year deal where Airtel and Google will work together to explore and co-create India specific use-cases of 5G along with other standards and also work towards the acceleration of cloud ecosystem for businesses across India. Bharti Airtel is also going to give an equity stake to Google against the investment. Google to Get Equity in Airtel for the First $700 Million The companies, in a joint statement, announced that Google would get an equity stake of 1.28% in Airtel for an investment of $700 million, and the remaining $300 million will go towards potential multi-year agreements. The multi-year agreements will include things such as the range of devices that are offered to the customers and more to accelerate India's digital ecosystem. Note that the deal is subject to regulatory approvals. The companies said that as part of the first commercial agreement, they would work together on Airtel's extensive offerings, which include a range of Android-enabled devices to consumers via innovative affordability programs. From the impressions and statements of the deal, Google and Airtel will work together to bring down barriers to owning a smartphone for users across a range of price points in partnership with several device manufacturers. Thus, unlike Jio, Airtel and Google might not be working on developing a smartphone together, or are they? Google is already invested in Jio, and with investing in Airtel, the search-engine giant will have equity in two top private telecom companies in India. Google and Airtel partnership will be focused on bringing best-in-class end-to-end products for improving and service customer needs and accelerating the goal of digital India. As mentioned above, the regulatory approvals are yet to arrive. It will be interesting to see how Airtel and Google actually work together and what changes this deal could bring for the companies and the consumers.

Airtel Payments Bank Benefits from RBI’s Decision, Customer Deposit Surges to Rs 1000 Crore Posted: 27 Jan 2022 07:09 PM PST Airtel Payments Bank (APB), an online banking subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, the second-largest telecom operator in the country, had a great performance in 2021. APB benefitted a lot from the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) decision of increasing the day-end savings limit to Rs 2 lakh last year. Earlier, the limit was Rs 1 lakh. As customers or users could save more money in their APB online savings account, the customer deposits went up to Rs 1,000 crore in 2021. This was a 75% gain compared to the previous year's Rs 570 crore, reports PTI. Airtel Payments Bank Crossed 10 Crore Customer Mark in 2021 APB also added 35 lakh or 3.5 million new customers during the year, which took its total user base to 10 crores, and it was a big milestone for the company. Anubrata Biswas, Managing Director, Airtel Payments Bank said, the growth in deposits shows the kind of trust people have in APB. It is worth noting that Airtel Payments Bank was the first online banking platform that implemented the new rule of RBI allowing customers to deposit up to Rs 2 lakh in their savings account. For the same, APB started offering customers an attractive interest on savings of up to 6% for deposits above Rs 1 lakh. In the same year, Airtel Payments Bank also turned profitable during the September quarter. APB has been able to achieve an annual revenue run rate of Rs 1,000 crore. Biswas said that APB is the fastest growing bank in the country with over 11.5 crore users across the country now and a merchant base of over 80 million or 8 Airtel Payments Bank (APB), an online banking subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, the second-largest telecom operator in the country had a great performance in 2021. crore. Airtel Payments Bank is focused on making savings and transacting small amounts of money on a regular basis very easy for the users. The platform is adding new features continuously to offer more and more to its customers.

Excitel vs Jio 100 Mbps and 300 Mbps Plans, Which Company Gets the Lead Posted: 27 Jan 2022 05:31 PM PST With the rising demand for connectivity, the number of broadband connection options have also increased. There are a number of internet service providers (ISPs) in the country that may offer the same broadband plan with different benefits, putting the users in the dilemma of choosing. In this article, however, we are particularly going to talk about the 100 Mbps and 300 Mbps plan offered by the most prominent ISP in the country – Reliance Jio and one of the rising ISP – Excitel. Mentioned below are the details of the 100 and 300 Mbps plans offered by these telcos and to everyone's surprise, Excitel is some aspects that might be better than Jio. Let's have a look. 100 Mbps Plans from Jio and Excitel JioFiber offers a 100 Mbps internet speed data plan at the price of Rs 699 for a validity period of 30 days. Using the 100 Mbps plan from JioFiber, customers can get access to smooth and seamless internet across multiple devices. Jio begins its offers for OTT platforms from plans starting with 150 Mbps and hence this plan doesn't come with any added benefits but does offer 100 Mbps speed with symmetrical download and upload speeds at all times. The plan has a FUP limit of 3300GB or 3.3TB and mentioned prices are exclusive of GST. The 100 Mbps plan from Excitel comes at different price tags and durations so as to cater to user convenience. The Fiber First from Excitel provides users with 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. 300 Mbps Plans from Jio and Excitel JioFiber offers an appealing 300 Mbps plan that comes with amazing additional benefits. The plan offered by JioFiber comes at a price tag of Rs 1,499 per month and provides 300 Mbps of internet speed with a FUP data limit of 3.3TB or 3300GB. In addition to this Jio offers a ton of OTT subscriptions which include access to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar and thirteen others. The Amazon Prime Video that comes bundled with this plan has a validity period of one year. It is to be noted that the price of the plan is excluding GST and it will be charged as applicable. Excitel provides broadband connectivity only with 100 Mbps, 200 Mbps or 300 Mbps of internet speed. Thus, the 300 Mbps plan is the most premium plan offered by the company. The 300 Mbps plan from Excitel comes at different price tags as well. Excitel provides users with a 300 Mbps plan for a month at Rs 899. Users can also get the plan for 3 months, 4 months, 6 months, 9 months and 12 months for Rs 752, Rs 636, Rs 600, Rs 533 and Rs 499 respectively. The plans from Excitel are truly unlimited and no FUP data limit is levied upon. The Final Verdict Talking about the 100 Mbps plan, both the ISPs offer their respective plans at the same price tag. However, if users are looking to invest in a long-term plan, the plans from Excitel are seemingly cheaper than that of Jio's quarterly, half-yearly or annually plans. While on the other hand, when it comes to 300 Mbps plans, if users are looking for data-oriented options, Excitel offers much cheaper plans. However, the OTT benefits included by Jio far outweigh the plans from Excitel and is perfect for customers who want a complete package while choosing a broadband plan. That being said, even though Excitel offers a bit cheaper and truly unlimited plans, the ISP is available in only select cities in India even though it is continuously expanding and on the contrary, it is needless to mention that the services provided by Jio cover pan-India making it a dependable choice.

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