${latestitem Title}

---

• WhatsApp May Release Message Reaction Feature for Desktop App
• Intel Has Been Planning to Rival Apple M1 Series Chips, What to Know
• Find X5 and Find X5 Pro Flagship Smartphones Are Here – Snapdragon Chipsets, Triple Cameras and More
• OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite New Renders Reveals Design Details
• Alliance Broadband 150 Mbps Plan Is Pretty Good
• Realme 9 5G Colour and Storage Options Revealed Before the Launch
• Realme Narzo 50 Launched in India with MediaTek Helio G96, Triple Cameras and More
• ZTE to Announce AX11000 Wi-Fi 6E XGS-PON ONT at MWC 2022
• Nokia Still India’s Leader in Optical Network Market
• Airtel Gets Strategic Stake in Aqilliz, a Blockchain Startup
• Vi Partners With A5G Networks to Enhance 4G, 5G Networks
• BSNL 4G Prepaid Plans Suitable for Work from Home
• Bharti Airtel CEO Has Demands from Govt to Make 5G Successful in India
• Vodafone Idea Might Get Capital from Promoters Soon
• Most Premium Broadband Plans From Airtel, Tata Play, Jio and More
• Realme Pad Mini Renders and Specifications Leaked, Might Feature Unisoc T616 Chipset
• Redmi K50 Price in India Tipped Along With Major Specs and Design Details
• Poco M4 Pro 4G All Set to Launch on February 28, Specifications Tipped
• Excitel vs Jio: Whose 100 Mbps Broadband Plan Should You Take
• Vodafone Idea Individual Postpaid Plans Under Rs 500

WhatsApp May Release Message Reaction Feature for Desktop App Posted: 24 Feb 2022 08:13 AM PST The users may soon get WhatsApp message reactions on the app's desktop variant. WhatsApp message reactions are familiar to the users as they are already available on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. It will allow users to assign an emoji as a 'reaction' to a message. The application's features tracker website WABetaInfo first released the details of beta-WhatsApp message reactions for WhatsApp desktop. According to the platform, the Meta-owned application is working on the feature, which is not available for beta testers as it is still under development. A similar update came out in August 2021, citing that WhatsApp has been reportedly developing the feature for Android and iOS for months, and glimpses of the feature were also surfaced online. The screenshot released by WABetaInfo shows the message reaction button next to a message in a chat, using an emoji icon on WhatsApp Desktop beta. The button may be revealed only when moving the cursor over a message. On clicking, it will display a row of six emoji, which can be selected to react to the message. The screenshot shows a thumbs up, red heart, face with tears of joy, shocked face, crying face, and folded hands emoji as reaction icons. WhatsApp May Provide Option to Edit Status Update Audience In another development, WhatsApp seems to be working on a provision to edit the recipients of status updates. The feature would enable the users to specify the audience for each status update. Earlier, WhatsApp was seen working on an update to the caption bar to allow users to choose alternative recipients for a picture or video while in a WhatsApp chat or publish it as a status update. According to the feature tracker, the messaging service is presently working on upgrading the ability to share an image as a status with a new privacy shortcut. Users who click a picture and then press the status button in a WhatsApp conversation can see and pick the audience for that status before posting it. The recipients are categorized as 'My contacts', 'My contacts except', and 'Only share with'. The users have to wait for the beta release of both features to know more. WhatsApp hasn't officially hinted at their arrivals.

Intel Has Been Planning to Rival Apple M1 Series Chips, What to Know Posted: 24 Feb 2022 07:45 AM PST A roadmap for the America-based world's largest producer of PC microprocessors – Intel has been leaked revealing interesting information of the company's forthcoming chipset lineup. According to the revelations, the company is working on a chip technology that will rival Apple's ARM-based M1 processors. Moreover, to compete with the chipmaker giant Apple, the company is looking to partner up with another industry giant. Let's find out more. Intel Plans to Introduce Arrow Lake Chipsets According to a report from Adored TV via the known publication 9toMac, there is a leaked roadmap for Intel's upcoming chipsets which suggests that the company is apparently working on a 15th Gen CPUs that will reportedly be called "Arrow Lake". The roadmap also displays the plan which Intel intends to work on to take over the Cupertino based tech giant. Intel aims at driving its focus towards its upcoming mobile processor lineup instead of its more powerful desktop chips. This will not only help in putting emphasis on energy efficiency but will also enhance performance. As mentioned above, to achieve this feat, Intel is looking to partner up with the world's largest contract chipmaker TSMC. The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company or TSMC offers a unique 3nm process node technology that Intel will look forward to combining with its own set of resources. It is to be noted, that TSMC is the same manufacturing company that provides chips for Apple and its custom Silicon. In addition to this, the speculated Arrow Lake processor from Intel will arrive with multiple cores providing improved performance and ensuring efficiency. To put this simply, just as the way mobile chips work, the upcoming notebooks might be able to perform lighter tasks with a lower power draw. Intel being the giant as it is still sees Apple as a competitor and seemingly is behind a little when it comes to chip performance and efficiency. While the roadmap suggests a 2023 launch for the new chip from Intel, Apple already has three variants for its M1 processors in the market. Moreover, the company is already working on its next generation of chipsets. Not much is known, however, when it comes to the upcoming Apple Silicon's M2 chipset. Speculations suggest that the M2 chipset will be a tad bit faster than its predecessor. The chipset might actually arrive with the same eight-core architecture but it is likely that it will receive a graphics core increment from seven or either to nine or 10.

Find X5 and Find X5 Pro Flagship Smartphones Are Here – Snapdragon Chipsets, Triple Cameras and More Posted: 24 Feb 2022 07:25 AM PST The Chinese smartphone manufacturer Oppo has just launched its new flagship Find X5 series of smartphones globally. The much-awaited Find X5 lineup series consists of Find X5 and Find X5 Pro devices. The devices have been launched with LTPO technology along and the premium model of the lineup comes with Qualcomm's flagship chipset. Mentioned below are the major specifications and price details of the newly launched Find X5 series of smartphones. Specifications for Find X5 Series Talking about the display of the devices, the vanilla model of the series comes with a 6.55-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display along with a 120Hz refresh rate. While on the other hand, the pro model of the series has been launched with a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED curved display with a QHD+ resolution. The panel of the premium model has an LTPO 2.0 display with 120Hz refresh rate support. As far as the predecessor of the device is considered, Find X5 comes with a Snapdragon 888 chipset coupled with up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of onboard storage. The pro model, on the other hand, gets powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC and has 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. For the camera front, Find X5 comes with a triple rear camera setup featuring two 50MP sensors along with a 13MP secondary lens. The device features a 32MP selfie sensor at the front. The Find X5 Pro, on the other hand, has a 50MP Sony IMX766 main camera sensor along with a 50MP Sony IMX766 ultrawide camera with a 110-degree field of view and a 13MP telephoto shooter. The pro model as well features a 32MP sensor at the front. The vanilla model of the device features a 4800mAh battery backup with an 80W SuperVOOC fast charge support. The Find X5 Pro, on the other hand, comes with a 5000mAh battery with 80W SuperVOOC fast charging and 50W AirVOOC wireless charging. Both phones run Android 12-based ColorOS 12.1 out of the box. Price of Find X5 Series Oppo has launched the Find X5 series globally and might as well launch it in India in the latter half of 2022. Oppo Find X5 Pro, the premium model comes with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage and is priced at EUR 1,299 which is roughly Rs 1,10,000. The vanilla Find X5, on the other hand, is priced at EUR 999 which is about Rs 84,500 for the sole 8GB + 256GB storage option. Both devices come in Ceramic White and Glaze Black colour options.

OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite New Renders Reveals Design Details Posted: 24 Feb 2022 05:05 AM PST The Chinese smartphone manufacturer OnePlus just last week launched its OnePlus Nord CE 2 smartphone. For those unaware, the company is also working on a OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite model which will be made available as an affordable option to the recently launched model. While there have been a few reports in the past related to the device, a new report provides intel on the design and specifications of the soon-to-be-launched OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite. The report comes in from Pricebaba which in collaboration with the known tipster Yogesh Brar have shared renders of the smartphone. The leaked image suggests that the device will feature a rectangular camera module at the back housing a triple camera setup along with an LED flash. The device apparently has rounded corners and the power button is placed on the right side. The lite version as well lacks the alert slider just as the main model. Specification Details for OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite The specification details for OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite surfaced recently over the web, according to which, the handset will come with a 6.59-inch Full HD+ fluid display with a 90Hz refresh rate. The speculations suggest that the handset could feature an LCD display which would make it the first device in the Nord series to feature an LCD display in India, however, it is yet not confirmed. OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite is expected to feature an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 SoC under the hood. This confirms the fact that the device will have 5G support. The device is expected to arrive with two storage variants – 6GB + 128GB and 8GB + 256GB RAM and internal storage. The handset might be backed by a 5000mAh battery and support 33W fast charge technology. As far as the camera module of the device is considered, the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite is expected to come with a triple rear camera setup headlined by a 64MP Omnivision sensor. The device will also feature two secondary cameras – a 2MP macro and a 2MP mono sensor. The front of the device is expected to feature a 16MP Sony IMX471 sensor. Moreover, the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite might come under the Rs 20,000 price segment.

Alliance Broadband 150 Mbps Plan Is Pretty Good Posted: 24 Feb 2022 04:12 AM PST When it comes to internet service providers in India, the market is hugely dominated by some of the major players such as Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, BSNL and more. Amidst this highly competitive scenario, there are also service providers who provide connectivity solutions to select cities of the country. One such ISP in India is Alliance Broadband. While the services of the company may be limited to a few cities, Alliance Broadband offers truly unlimited data packages at reasonable price tags and has a strong focus on consumer service. In this article, we are going to take a look at the 150 Mbps plan offered by Alliance Broadband along with the plan details in comparison to that offered by some of the major telcos. The 150 Mbps Plan from Alliance Alliance provides a 150 Mbps broadband plan called 'Cruise'. Users can get the 'Cruise pack' that offers 150 Mbps speed at a price tag of Rs 1,000 per month. The ISP offers truly unlimited broadband plans and no data limit is levied upon. However, with the 150 Mbps plan users have to pay the charges for six months upfront. Moreover, the 150 Mbps plan from Alliance Broadband comes with access to three-month Amazon Prime along with other OTT platforms such as Eros Now, Zee5 Premium, Sony LIV and more. What Major Telcos Offer In comparison to the other major service providers, the plan from Alliance is actually pretty good as it also offers high-speed seamless connectivity. Alliance is also currently available in limited cities and hence provides top-notch customer service. The leading service provider Jio offers a 150 Mbps internet speed data plan at the price of Rs 999 for a validity period of 30 days. The FUP limit set on this plan is 3300Gb or 3.3TB. The plan from Jio comes with a subscription to 15 OTT platforms including yearlong access to Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar, Eros Now and more. The state-owned telco, BSNL via its Bharat Fibre connection as well offers a plan that comes with OTT benefits and provides 150 Mbps speed. SuperStar Premium Plus pack from BSNL offers 150 Mbps of speed at a monthly cost of Rs 999. The plan offers a 2000GB data limit beyond which the speed reduces to 10 Mbps. SuperStar Premium Plus pack from the telco comes with multiple OTT subscriptions which include Disney+ Hotstar, Lions Gate, Sony LIV and more. This clearly shows that the 150 Mbps plan from Alliance is not far behind and while the major telcos may offer better OTT subscriptions, the former offers truly unlimited data and amazing customer service.

Realme 9 5G Colour and Storage Options Revealed Before the Launch Posted: 24 Feb 2022 02:51 AM PST Realme is expected to launch its Realme 9 5G smartphone in the coming days in India as a part of the Realme 9 series of devices. The company had recently launched its Realme 9 Pro series which consisted of Realme 9 Pro and 9 Pro+. Multiple rumours have been surfacing in the past few weeks regarding the upcoming Realme 9 5G and in a new development, a recent report has revealed the colour and storage options on the device. According to a report from Pricebaba, the Realme 9 5G handset is going to be launched in India with two storage options – 4GB RAM + 64GB internal storage and 6GB RAM + 128GB internal storage. The report also informs that the smartphone will be launched in Stargaze White, Supersonic Blue, Supersonic Black, and Meteor Black colour options. The Realme 9 5G will come as a successor to Realme 8 5G which was launched in India with three storage options as a mid-range smartphone. While the device is expected to arrive pretty soon in the Indian as well as global markets, nothing as of now has been confirmed by the brand. Moreover, a few leaks have also provided intel on specification details of the handset. Specification for Realme 9 5G The smartphone is speculated to feature a 6.5-inch Full HD+ display with a 90Hz refresh rate. The handset will have an octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 810 processor under the hood, which is built based on a 6nm process and will also feature an integrated Mali G57 GPU. Realme has already used this processor in its multiple mid-range devices. For the camera part, Realme 9 5G will come with a triple rear setup headlined by a 48MP primary camera. The high-resolution primary sensor will be accompanied by two 2MP depth and macro sensors. The front of the device will feature a 16MP selfie snapper. The device is said to be backed by a 5000mAh battery and will come with support for 18W fast charging. The handset is expected to come with the usual Android 12 out-of-the-box but could feature Realme UI 3.0 skin on top.

Realme Narzo 50 Launched in India with MediaTek Helio G96, Triple Cameras and More Posted: 24 Feb 2022 01:57 AM PST The Chinese smartphone manufacturer Realme has finally launched its long-awaited Realme Narzo 50. Realme recently launched its Realme Narzo 50A and Narzo 50i in India and the new Narzo 50 is the latest addition to the series. The smartphone has been launched with a MediaTek chipset, a powerful battery, 120Hz refresh rate and more. Mentioned below are the price and specification details of the newly launched Realme Narzo 50 smartphone. Realme Narzo 50 Specifications The all-new Realme Narzo 50 comes with a 6.6-inch full-HD+ (1,080×2,400pixels) IPS LCD with a 120Hz refresh rate. The smartphone features a MediaTek Helio G96 chipset under the hood, coupled with up to 6GB of RAM. The onboard storage on the device includes 128GB which is expandable via a microSD card up to 256GB. Moreover, the RAM on the device can be expanded up to 11GB by utilising free or unused storage as virtual memory. Talking about the camera module on the device, Realme Narzo 50 comes with a triple rear camera setup headlined by a 50MP primary sensor along with a 2MP portrait lens and a 2MP macro shooter. The front of the device features a 16MP selfie camera. The new smartphone from Realme comes with a dual nano-SIM slot and operates on Android 11 with the company’s Realme UI 2.0 running on top. The smartphone is backed by a 5000mAh battery and supports 33W SuperDart fast charging. Connectivity options on the device include 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. Realme Narzo 50 Price Details Realme Narzo 50 has been launched in two storage variants – the base 4GB RAM + 64GB storage model comes at a price tag of Rs 12,999 and the 6GB RAM + 128GB model has been priced at Rs 15,499. The smartphone will be available in Speed Black and Speed Blue colour options. The handset will be available for purchase via Amazon as well as the company's website as well as offline stores. The sale of the device will begin on March 3 at 12 noon.

ZTE to Announce AX11000 Wi-Fi 6E XGS-PON ONT at MWC 2022 Posted: 24 Feb 2022 01:07 AM PST In a matter of a few days, the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2022 will kick off, and ZTE, a Chinese electronics and telecom giant, is all set to announce a Wi-Fi product at the event. A release said that ZTE would announce AX11000 Wi-Fi 6E 10-Gigabit-capable Symmetric Passive Optical Network (XGS-PON) Optical Network Terminal (ONT) at MWC 2022. The event will start on February 28, 2022, and is being hosted in Barcelona. The XGS-PON ONT can deliver up to 10 Gbps speed in both wired and Wi-Fi access rates and supports the EasyMesh standard for allowing multiple devices to connect with the network rapidly. ZTE Says Users Won't Face Any Speed Reduction With Its New ONT Product at Their Homes In a statement, ZTE said that users with ONT in their homes wouldn't face any speed reductions anymore, and video stalling would also no longer be there. The ONT is said to easily handle 4K/8K and Virtual Reality (VR) video, which needs very low-latency, high bandwidth with high stability. This ONT is bound to change the way people consume the internet at their homes or offices. The new XGS-PON ONT has high-bandwidth and smart mesh networking. The ONT is capable of delivering 10 Gbps speed in both downstream and upstream. A 10-GE port is placed at the use side, and with Wi-Fi 6 (allowing tri-band and MIMO to work together), a maximum physical rate of 11 Gbps is possible. Wi-Fi 6E supports three bands of 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz. Here, one band at all times is capable of working with Access Points (APs) for conducting mesh backhaul, while the other two bands are used to enhance Wi-Fi signal coverage. These features make this new Wi-Fi product from ZTE a really good option for live-streaming, gaming, and e-learning. The price of the product should be announced during the MWC 2022.

Nokia Still India’s Leader in Optical Network Market Posted: 24 Feb 2022 12:01 AM PST Nokia has maintained its lead in India's optical network market for four continuous quarters starting from Q4 2020 to Q3 2021. Omdia, a leading independent global research firm, reported the data. Nokia says that its extensive range of optical products are designed to address the problems faced by the Indian enterprises and service providers. This company believes that this is the key reason why it has been able to keep its lead in the Indian market. Nokia First Vendor to Introduce Optical Line Systems Over C and L Bands It is worth noting that Nokia was the first vendor to bring optical line systems over C and L bands of the optical fiber spectrum, which has double capacity over the optical lines which only operate in C bands. To add to this, Nokia's optical transport system also supports a wide range of restoration and protection capabilities. Nokia's optical solutions are implemented in both national long-distance as well as metro networks which ensure that the quickest network restoration can take place even during the scenarios of multiple fiber cuts. It helps Indian service providers in addressing the problem of multiple fiber cutes all at the same time. As the data consumption grows further, Indian network service providers are looking for solutions, and ways to increase network capacity. Nokia's 5th generation Photonic Service Engines (PSE-V) supports the transport of 400G wavelengths over most routes in addition up to 600G over the metro and regional spans which help with enhancing the network capacity. But at the same time, Nokia's solutions ensure that the lowest cost per bit has to be paid by the service providers. Jatinder Pal Singh, Head of IP and Optical Networks India RBC, Nokia, said the company is thrilled to be ranked the number one optical network player in India for more than two years now. Singh said that Nokia is looking forward to introducing new products and services for the Indian service providers in the near future.

Airtel Gets Strategic Stake in Aqilliz, a Blockchain Startup Posted: 23 Feb 2022 11:28 PM PST Bharti Airtel has just announced that it has acquired a strategic stake in Aqilliz, a Blockchain as a Service Company, under the Airtel Startup Accelerator Program. The investment is subject to statutory approvals. Aqilliz is a Singapore based company that has developed a patented hybrid blockchain platform – Atom. Atom integrates differential privacy and federated learning on a distributed digital ledger. This allows the brands to create content-based and secure solutions for engaging with the customers in a rapidly evolving digital economy that is very fast becoming decentralised. Airtel to Deploy Aqilliz Blockchain Technologies Across Subsidiaries and Products Bharti Airtel, in a statement, said that it would be deploying Aqilliz's advanced blockchain technologies at scale across its fast-growing subsidiaries, including Airtel Ads (Ad Tech) and different products and areas such as Digital Marketplace (Airtel Thanks) and Digital Entertainment (Wynk Music and Airtel Xstream). Adarsh Nair, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Airtel Digital, said the telco is looking and deeply researching for new technologies to drive the digital future of India. Nair added that blockchain technologies are maturing, and the company sees its application across different areas such as Adtech, Loyalty Programs, and Creator Economy. Gowthaman Ragothaman, Founding CEO, Aqilliz, said that they are very excited to be a part of Airtel's digital innovation play and bring this first of a kind blockchain technology to India. The future of ad tech and other technologies is based on decentralisation, and mostly the existing tech is meant for centralised databases. Thus, this partnership between Airtel and Aqilliz is going to be a game-changer for both companies. For the unaware, Airtel Startup Accelerator Program is an initiative from the company which finds and invests in early-stage start-ups which are working on technologies that are adjacent to the offerings of Airtel Business. This allows the telco to get a deeper reach in the technology it is offering to customers and be one step ahead of the competition.

Vi Partners With A5G Networks to Enhance 4G, 5G Networks Posted: 23 Feb 2022 10:27 PM PST Vodafone Idea (Vi) has just announced a partnership with A5G Networks. Both the companies will work together to enable Industry 4.0 and smart mobile edge computing in the country. A5G Networks and Vi have together set up a pilot private network in Mumbai using the existing 4G spectrum available to the telco. Vi will leverage A5G's unique and differentiated Wi-Fi, 4G and 5G autonomous software for distributed networks to realise its commitment to build a digital India. A5G Networks offers software that is fully cloud-native containerised for multi-cloud and hybrid-cloud infrastructure. Vi Has Set Up an End-to-End Private Network With A5G Network's Help According to a release from the company, Vi has set up an end-to-end private network with A5G Network's autonomous core software, and white box RAN elements in Mumbai. The telco has been able to showcase enterprise applications, automation use cases, and low latency scenarios with the pilot network set up with A5G Networks. Jagbir Singh, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL), said the telco is happy to partner with A5G Networks for bringing new services enabling industry 4.0 and smart cities in the digital era. Rajesh Mishra, Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), A5G Networks, said Vi is committed to delivering the best-in-class services to their subscribers, and the success of the telco depends on a highly secure, reliable, flexible, and resilient network infrastructure. This is yet another partnership that has been announced by the telco for enhancing India's digital journey and empowering the enterprises to scale business and grow with the help of Vi's networks. The telco is already testing and setting up digital networks for enabling low latency applications, smart cities, private networks, and connected cars. In other news, Vodafone Idea might get a fresh investment from Vodafone Group Plc (currently the largest promoter of the telco) as the Vodafone Group is looking to sell its stake in Indus Towers and use the proceeds to boost the balance sheet of Vi.

BSNL 4G Prepaid Plans Suitable for Work from Home Posted: 23 Feb 2022 09:07 PM PST Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) offers a ton of 4G prepaid plans to users without a 4G network. Today, we are going to look at some of its plans which are suitable for users who are working from their homes. In any work from a home plan, users are looking for considerable validity and a ton of data. Thus, the plans we are going to list from BSNL will come with such benefits, and it is worth noting that BSNL had even launched a work from home prepaid plan for the users. So we will look at that plan as well. BSNL Work From Home Plan for Rs 599 BSNL's Rs 599 plan is a work from home plan that comes with a validity of 84 days. With this plan, users get 5GB of daily data for the entire validity. There's no such prepaid plan offered by any of the telecom operators in the country. After consumption of 5GB of data, the internet speed for the user drops to 80 Kbps. Users also get 100 SMS/day along with a free subscription to Zing. Further, there is also unlimited free high-speed data offered by the telco between 12 AM and 5 AM to the users, which doesn't affect their FUP data for the day. BSNL STV_299 If you want to go for something lesser in denomination, the STV_299 makes a lot of sense. It comes with a validity of 30 days offers 3GB of daily data to the users (speed reduces to 80 Kbps after FUP data consumption) and 100 SMS/day with unlimited voice calling. BSNL STV_247 To make things more affordable, BSNL also offers a Rs 247 voucher that comes with 30 days of validity and 50GB of high-speed lump-sum data that can be used all in one go. Further, users get BSNL Tunes, unlimited voice calling, and 100 SMS/day with an over-the-top (OTT) benefit of Eros Now Entertainment Services.

Bharti Airtel CEO Has Demands from Govt to Make 5G Successful in India Posted: 23 Feb 2022 08:16 PM PST The 5G spectrum auctions are not far from here. The industry has been making recommendations on what is required and what the government and the sector regulator should do to make 5G successful in India. Along the same lines, Gopal Vittal, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Bharti Airtel said the government must give out E-band spectrum for backhaul with the 5G airwaves during the spectrum auctions. Vittal said that not doing so would put the 5G game in serious jeopardy. Airtel CEO Also Requested for Solutions in RoW Issues and More According to a PTI report, Airtel CEO also asked the government to address the Right of Way (RoW) issues along with problems in the Service Level Agreement (SLA) of BharatNet and more. Vittal stressed about the E-band spectrum getting wasted with the government as it has never been allocated or given out to the telcos. However, with 5G, the E-band spectrum would play a major role for backhaul. India currently struggles with backhaul be it fibre or wireless. However, the E-band spectrum should solve a lot of those problems. With the E-band spectrum, large amounts of backhaul can be enabled from the mobile tower to carry broadband traffic. Vittal said that if the E-band spectrum is not given out for backhaul, it might mean that 5G won't be successful in India. These are strong words and claims from an industry executive which needs to be taken into consideration by the government. With 5G, the amount of data following through the backhaul would increase and thus E-band spectrum would make a lot of sense. Vittal noted that getting approvals from different state governments is a complex process and a lot of subsidies are also stuck with the Indian government despite the telco making the investments. These are some of the problems that Bharti Airtel CEO talked about at a post Budget webinar session titled 'Road and Infoway connectivity to all rural habitations'.

Vodafone Idea Might Get Capital from Promoters Soon Posted: 23 Feb 2022 06:58 PM PST The promoters of Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL), the third-largest telco in the country, might get fresh capital from its promoters, including Vodafone Group Plc and the Aditya Birla Group (ABG). Both the promoters are committed to supporting Vodafone Idea (Vi) in strengthening its balance sheet, said Vodafone Group in a stock exchange filing on Wednesday. Vodafone Group further said that both the promoters intend to contribute towards an issue of equity shares by Vi once the board of the telco decides the terms of such a capital raise. Vodafone Group Looking to Sell Stake in Indus Towers Vodafone Group is looking to sell its stake in the Indus Towers and use the proceeds to invest further in Vodafone Idea. The Vodafone Group said that it plans to sell 2.4% of its stake in the Indus Towers via a block deal on Thursday. Further, the company is also planning to sell a 4.7% more stake in the company to one of its biggest shareholders. The company added that the terms of such a sale are currently being discussed, and there's no certainty that it will happen. But shall it happen, then Vodafone Group's shareholding in Indus Towers would come down to 21% from the current 28.12%. The Vodafone Group and Indus Towers have made changes to the security arrangement so that the proceeds from the sale can be directed towards Vi. Vi hasn't been able to raise capital for years now. Shall the sale really happen, the telco would get a chance to see some relief in its books. It would also strengthen its position for the upcoming 5G spectrum auctions. There's no word from the Aditya Birla Group for now. But if Vodafone Group is investing in the telco, surely, the Aditya Birla Group might also have some plans for providing capital to the company. All of it should clear within a few weeks from now.

Most Premium Broadband Plans From Airtel, Tata Play, Jio and More Posted: 23 Feb 2022 05:40 PM PST The Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offer a variety of broadband plans for their users according to their suitability with different price tags and speeds. However, each operator has a high-end broadband plan that offers super high-speed connectivity along with other benefits. These plans are great for connecting multiple devices seamlessly and simultaneously and offer a ton of other benefits as well. Mentioned below are the most premium broadband plans provided by some of the major operators such as Airtel, Tata Play, Jio and more along with the pack details. Airtel Xstream 1 Gbps Plan Airtel offers a 1 Gbps unlimited data plan which is called the Infinity plan. Users can get the Airtel Xstream Fiber connection to access the 'Infinity' plan which comes with a subscription to some of the major OTT platforms in India such as Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ Hotstar along with access to Wynk Music. The plan offers 1 Gbps of high-speed internet data at a cost of Rs 3,999 for a month. The FUP data for all unlimited plans is 3500GB or 3.5TB. The price of the plan is excluding GST and it may be charged as applicable. It is to be kept in mind that this plan is for the city of Delhi and plans may slightly vary across various cities. The FTTH technology of Airtel is capable of connecting up to 60 devices at once and provides high-speed downloads. Tata Play Fiber 500 Mbps Plan Tata Sky recently changed their moniker to Tata Play Fiber, the plans, however, remained the same. The high-end unlimited 1 Gbps plan from Tata Play Fiber comes at a monthly cost of Rs 3,600. Users can get this plan for the long term too, as the company offers the 1 Gbps plan for different validity periods. For a period of three months, users can get the plan for Rs 10,800, for a validity period of six months the plan costs Rs 19,800 on which users actually save Rs 1,800 and lastly for a period of one year the plan costs Rs 36,000 saving Rs 7,200 for the users. Tata Play Fiber uses a 100% fibre network to ensure end-to-end connectivity with fibre optics directly running from the service provider to users' homes. This results in a seamless and consistent internet experience with high-speed connectivity. Users receive 3300GB or 3.3TB of Fair Usage Policy (FUP) data along with this broadband plan after which the speed is reduced to 3 Mbps. JioFiber 1 Gbps Plan Talking about the high-end plans, the leading telco Jio provides two 1 Gbps plans with different data limits. The first plan offered by JioFiber comes at a price tag of Rs 3,999 per month and offers 1 Gbps of internet speed with a FUP data limit of 3.3TB or 3300GB. The other 1 Gbps plan from JioFiber comes at a cost of Rs 8,499 for a validity period of 30 days and offers 6600GB of total data. Both of these plans offer unlimited calling and an equal upload and download speed set at 1 Gbps. 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. Excitel's Most Premium Plan 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 and also comes just under Rs 900. The 300 Mbps plan from Excitel comes at different price tags for different durations 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 a monthly cost of 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.

Realme Pad Mini Renders and Specifications Leaked, Might Feature Unisoc T616 Chipset Posted: 23 Feb 2022 08:09 AM PST Realme Pad Mini is expected to arrive soon and few reports have emerged in the past providing some detail on the device. The company hasn't shared the exact launch date of the device as of now, however, a new report has surfaced with some renders of the device providing intel on the design and key specifications of the Realme Pad Mini. The report comes in from known tipster OnLeaks collaborating with Smartprix in which he has leaked the press renders and specifications of the upcoming Realme Pad Mini. The device is visible in a silver colour option in the renders with a Realme branding at the back. The device features a single camera sensor at the back on the upper left top corner. The volume controls and the power button are placed on the left side of the tablet. Realme Pad Mini Expected Specs According to the reports, the Realme Pad Mini might arrive with an 8.7-inch display. The Realme Pad Mini is expected to be powered by a Unisoc T616 SoC coupled with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. As far as camera specifications are considered, the device features an 8MP camera at the back and a 5MP selfie snapper at the front. The tablet is expected to be backed by a 6,400mAh battery with 18W fast charging support. This report falls in line with the earlier spotting of the device. According to the Geekbench listing of the Realme Pad Mini tablet, the device will come featuring a Unisoc processor that includes six CPU cores running at 1.82 GHz and the other two CPU cores operating at 1.95 GHz. The processor is also expected to be paired with Mali-G57 GPU. The Unisoc chipset being used in the device could potentially be the Unisoc T616 chipset as it was also spotted at Geekbench recently with the identical CPU and GPU. Moreover, the EEC listing suggested that the rumoured Realme Pad Mini could come with an 8MP rear camera with f/1.78 aperture and 27.9mm focal length. The device is also said to feature a 5MP selfie camera with an f/1.8 aperture lens that has a 27.7mm focal length.

Redmi K50 Price in India Tipped Along With Major Specs and Design Details Posted: 23 Feb 2022 07:13 AM PST Redmi K50 series has been the point of discussion for quite some time now as new rumours related to the device keep emerging. The Redmi K50 series will feature the vanilla Redmi K50, Redmi K50 Pro, Redmi K50 Pro+, and Redmi K50 Gaming Edition smartphones. The K50 Gaming Edition has already been launched in China. Now in a new development, price details of the Redmi K50 smartphone for India has been tipped along with the major specs and design intel based on a new render. Let's find out more. Pricing and Design Detail for Redmi K50 in India The report comes in from the known publication Bestopedia in collaboration with the tipster Steve Hemmerstoffer which suggests that the vanilla Redmi K50 is expected to be priced somewhere between Rs 25,000 and Rs 30,000. The handset from Redmi is anticipated to be launched in March or April. Moreover, the tipster speculates that the device could be available in three distinct colour options. In addition to this, a few Computer-Aided Design (CAD) renders of the Redmi K50 has also been shared by the tipster. The renders suggest that the device will feature a triple rear camera setup at the back embedded in a rectangular camera module. The front of the device features a centrally-placed hole-punch cut out to house the selfie camera. The power button of the device as well as volume controls is placed on the right spine of the handset. A 3.5mm headphone jack and a speaker grille are also visible at the bottom of the handset. Expected Specifications for Redmi K50 The report doesn't provide a lot of intel on the specifications of the upcoming Redmi K50 in India. However, it states that the device will be powered by Qualcomm's latest and most powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen1 chipset paired up with either 6GB or 8GB of RAM. The device is expected to have 64GB or 128GB of internal storage and the display screen of the device might be 6.6-inch. Talking about the camera, according to the report, the triple camera setup at the back will be headlined by a 64MP primary sensor along with 8MP and 5MP secondary lenses. No details have been mentioned regarding the front camera of the device. Redmi K50 is expected to operate on Android 12-based MIUI skin on top. Moreover, the handset will be backed by a 5,000mAh battery with 120W fast charging support.

Poco M4 Pro 4G All Set to Launch on February 28, Specifications Tipped Posted: 23 Feb 2022 05:13 AM PST The Chinese smartphone manufacturer Poco has confirmed the arrival of the Poco M4 Pro 4G smartphone in India. The company on Wednesday has announced that the device will be launched in India on February 28. This announcement has been made by the company just a week after it released the Poco M4 Pro 5G as a rebranded version of the Redmi Note 11 5G. Poco M4 Pro 4G specifications have also been tipped and the device could come with a MediaTek processor. Poco India on Wednesday, took over its Twitter account to share the launch date of the Poco M4 Pro 4G in India. The smartphone will be launched on February 28 at 7 pm IST. Some specifications regarding the details of the handset are available, however, the company hasn't revealed any details related to the pricing of the devices. Poco M4 Pro 4G Expected Specs Renowned tipster Yogesh Brar has revealed some of the key specifications for the global variant of the upcoming Poco M4 Pro 4G. He suggests that the device could operate on Android 11 based MIUI 12.5 or MIUI 13 out-of-the-box. Poco M4 Pro 4G is expected to come with a display featuring a 6.4-inch full-HD+ AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 90Hz. In addition to this, speculations suggest that the device might feature MediaTek Helio G96 chipset under the hood paired up with up to 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and up to 128GB of UFS2.2 storage. The tipster has also suggested that the device might come with two storage options which will be 6GB RAM + 64GB internal storage and 8GB RAM + 128GB onboard storage. As far as the camera specs of the device are considered, Poco M4 Pro 4G is expected to come with a triple rear camera setup headlined by a 64MP primary lens along with an 8MP ultra-wide sensor and a 2MP macro shooter. For selfies and video calls, the upcoming Poco M4 Pro 4G is tipped to sport a 16MP selfie camera sensor. The device will be backed by a 5,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging support.

Excitel vs Jio: Whose 100 Mbps Broadband Plan Should You Take Posted: 23 Feb 2022 04:19 AM PST With a steep demand for connectivity, the number of broadband plans from providers has increased. There are several options for subscribers to choose from, differing in speed, benefits, and costs. Here we consider the broadband plans of two telecom providers – Jio and Excitel. Both providers offer an impressive set of fibre broadband plans providing Wi-Fi to subscribers at various speeds. Here we check out 100 Mbps plans from Excitel and Jio and check out which telecom service provider offers the best benefits to subscribers. Excitel broadband plans come with validities of one month, three months, four months, six months, nine months and one year, ranging from Rs 699 to Rs 399 (per month charges). Excitel broadband plan at Rs 699 offers broadband at 100 Mbps speed for a validity period of 30 days. There are no installation charges, but the users have to make a security deposit of Rs 2000 for the ONU device taken additionally. Excitel's 100 Mbps plan costs Rs 565/month for quarterly, Rs 508/month for four months, Rs 490/month for semi-annual (six months), Rs 424/month for nine months and Rs 399/month for 12 months (annual). Among the range, the nine-month 100 Mbps plan is available only for new subscribers. Similar to Excitel, JioFiber monthly broadband plan offering 100 Mbps upload and download speed costs Rs 699. The plan comes with free voice calls. JioFiber quarterly plan offering Wi-Fi at 100 Mbps speed comes at Rs 2097. JioFiber semi-annual plan offering 100 Mbps speed comes at Rs 4194, with unlimited voice and an additional 15 days validity (besides 180 days). The annual Jio 100Mbps plan costs Rs 8388, offering an additional one-month validity and free voice. Jio offers streaming benefits only for plans from 150Mbps and above. Hence, there are none for 100Mbps JioFiber plans. Excitel vs Jio 100 Mbps Plan Considering the monthly plan, Jio and Excitel offer the 100 Mbps plan for Rs 699. One notable factor of Excitel broadband plans is that the monthly expenditure reduces if the user subscribes to higher validity prepaid plans. For one-year validity, Excitel offers unlimited data with 100 Mbps speed at Rs 399 a month, which comes to Rs 4788 for a year. For Jio, the annual plan costs Rs 8388. One drawback for Excitel is its availability. You may need to check if the provider offers service in your region. Jio, on the other hand, is a pan-India provider.

Vodafone Idea Individual Postpaid Plans Under Rs 500 Posted: 23 Feb 2022 02:50 AM PST Vodafone Idea (Vi) offers multiple affordable options to its users looking for a postpaid mobile connection. If you are an individual who is looking for a postpaid mobile connection under Rs 500, you get two options from Vodafone Idea. The first entry-level plan comes for Rs 399, and the other one comes for Rs 499. Let's check out the benefits of both these plans individually. Vodafone Idea Rs 399 Postpaid Plan Vodafone Idea offers its Rs 399 postpaid plan with 40GB of monthly data and a data rollover limit of 200GB. This plan doesn't bring much when it comes to the over-the-top (OTT) subscriptions and SMS benefits. Users get a single OTT subscription of Vi Movies & TV along with 100 SMS/month and unlimited voice calling. It is a very basic plan and is suitable for people who don't have very heavy data and SMS needs from their mobile connections. Vodafone Idea Rs 499 Postpaid Plan The Rs 499 postpaid plan from Vodafone Idea comes with 75GB of data per month and has the same rollover limit of 200GB. But with this plan, there are multiple OTT benefits included. Users get a free subscription to Amazon Prime for one year, which is worth Rs 1499, along with a free Disney+ Hotstar Mobile and Vi Movies & TV subscription. But even this plan offers only 100 SMS per month along with unlimited voice calling. It is strange to think that Vodafone Idea (Vi) is offering only 100 SMS/month with its postpaid plans when there are cheaper 28 days plans which come with 100 SMS/day. Surely, the telco should pack more SMS benefits with its plans. If you are not already a postpaid customer of Vodafone Idea, you can get a new postpaid SIM from the telco's website or through any of its retail stores across India. There are also family postpaid plans offered by the company.

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