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• Vivo Pad and Vivo Watch Reportedly Under Testing in India – Here’s What We Know
• Vodafone Idea Appoints Siddhartha Jain as Cluster Business Head for Karnataka & AP
• WhatsApp is Introducing a Ton of New Updates to its Voice Messages and Voice Recording Features
• Motorola Planning to Introduce 19 More Smartphones in 2022 Including More Edge 30 Models
• D2h Launches Two New Channel Packs for Inactive Subscribers
• BSNL Might See More Active Users After 4G Launch
• Realme C31 Launched in India, Starts at Rs 8999, Check Specifications
• Reliance Jio Aggressively Pushing Active Subscriber Percentage Up
• 5G Spectrum Auctions Can Hurt Satcom’s Future in India: SIA India
• Vodafone Idea, Airtel to Get BGs Back from Govt

Vivo Pad and Vivo Watch Reportedly Under Testing in India – Here’s What We Know Posted: 31 Mar 2022 06:03 AM PDT The Chinese smartphone manufacturer Vivo is gearing up to launch its first-ever tablet in China called the Vivo Pad. The device is all set to arrive on April 11. Vivo has also recently shared the teaser images for the tablet revealing key features of the device. The company will be announcing more details on the device on April 11 at the launch. The upcoming Vivo Pad is also expected to arrive in India, and a tipster has provided intel on the Indian launch of the tablet. Let's find out more. Vivo Pad and Vivo Watch Arriving in India According to know tipster Yogesh Brar, Vivo is testing its first Android tablet in India ahead of its launch in China. Not only this, but the company is also testing a new smartwatch alongside the tablet. The report suggests that the first-ever Android tablet from Vivo and the new smartwatch could arrive in India with the Vivo X80 series of smartphones. It is likely that the devices could be launched in the second or third quarter of 2022. As far as the Vivo smartwatch is considered, nothing is known about the device or which watch the company will be launching in India. Currently, Vivo has two smartwatches in the Chinese market – the original Vivo Watch with a 1.39-inch AMOLED display and a 478mAh battery and Vivo Watch 2 with a 1.43-inch AMOLED panel, a 510mAh battery, and e-SIM support. Vivo Pad Specs Vivo Pad is speculated to feature an 11-inch display with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels with a 120Hz refresh rate. However, it is yet to be determined whether the company will use an AMOLED or an LCD display for its tablet. It is being speculated that the tablet will be backed by Snapdragon 870 SoC which will be coupled with Adreno 650 GPU. The mentioned processor, if true, will make the tablet apt for gaming or any other intense activity like video editing. Vivo Pad will be backed by an 8040mAh battery and will support 44W fast charge technology. Moreover, the Vivo Pad is also said to support Vivo Pencil. The device will also feature a dual rear camera setup headlined by a 13MP camera along with an 8MP secondary lens. The front of the device will also feature an 8MP camera. The rumours suggest that the tablet will not have a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, which means that the device could feature an AI face unlock for security. The tipster also suggests that Vivo Pad could operate on 11-based Origin OS out of the box.

Vodafone Idea Appoints Siddhartha Jain as Cluster Business Head for Karnataka & AP Posted: 31 Mar 2022 05:31 AM PDT Vodafone Idea (Vi) has appointed Siddhartha Jain as the Cluster Business Head for the Karnataka and the Andhra Pradesh region. Jain has joined Vi from Perfetti Van Melle India, where he was working as the Associate Director – Sales (North Region), the company said in a LinkedIn post. In Perfetti Van Mella India, Jain had worked for seven years and had changed multiple positions. Jain has also worked in companies such as ITC Limited, Aditya Birla Retail Ltd and Mondelez International. He is an alumnus of several prestigious institutions including the Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi and the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Lucknow. Siddhartha Jain has been working in the corporate world for nearly two decades now and comes with a lot of experience in hand.

WhatsApp is Introducing a Ton of New Updates to its Voice Messages and Voice Recording Features Posted: 31 Mar 2022 04:22 AM PDT The social media messaging platform WhatsApp is known for bringing in updates and features that enhance the user experience on the app. WhatsApp has now added multiple new features to its voice message feature. These features are being introduced in both Android and iOS devices and will allow users to pause and resume voice messages, draft voice message recordings before sending them, and even play them outside of the chat. The app will also allow users to play the messages at 1.5x or 2x speed. The Meta-owned platform has announced that the new update will be arriving in the coming weeks to all users. The Upcoming Features Out of the upcoming features, the one that will make the process easier for the users on the platform is the ability to play voice messages while reading and replying to other chats. In many cases, there are long voice messages that immediately stop when you go back to reply to another chat and then to listen to it again you have to start from the beginning. It seems that WhatsApp has finally decided to come up with a solution by introducing out of chat playback. However, the voice messages will still stop playing as soon as you close WhatsApp or switch apps. WhatsApp is also introducing two new features that will improve the voice recording experience. The platform will now allow users to pause and resume recording. This will enable users to avoid silent gaps in the recording when they are thinking about what to say. WhatsApp began testing this feature on iPhone back in January and later rolled it out to beta versions of the Android and desktop apps. The second feature is probably most needed as WhatsApp will now enable users to preview the recording before sending it to check for any mistakes or include something that might have been left out. In addition to this, the next update will also change how voice messages look on WhatsApp. Voice messages will now appear in a waveform of the message, eradicating the dot travelling along a single line. Moreover, you can also resume playing back from where you left the voice message and don't have to play it from the beginning every time. Another feature that WhatsApp is adding is the playback speeds. Now users can listen to the voice message by playing it faster at 1.5X and 2X speeds. WhatsApp began testing playback speeds for audio recordings back in November last year.

Motorola Planning to Introduce 19 More Smartphones in 2022 Including More Edge 30 Models Posted: 31 Mar 2022 03:28 AM PDT The Lenovo backed smartphone manufacturer Motorola has been introducing various devices in different price segments around the globe and seemingly has no plans to stop. A recent report reveals that the brand is planning to introduce as many as 19 smartphones in 2022. These would include the introduction of some of the Edge 30 models from the company. Some intel on these Edge 30 models has been provided in the report, however, not much is known about the other devices, the brand is planning to launch. The Upcoming Smartphones The report comes in from the known publication 91mobiles which informs us about Motorola's roadmap for the year 2022. The brand had unveiled its Motorola Edge X30 in China back in December 2021, which has already been introduced in the global markets as Motorola Edge 30 Pro. The company has also launched Moto G Stylus 2022 and Moto G22 mid-range smartphones in some of the markets around the globe. The report suggests that a 5G model of the Moto G Stylus is in the works. It is also expected that Motorola will launch a number of devices as a part of its Edge 30 lineup just as the last year when it introduced Edge 20, Edge 20 Lite, Edge 20 Fusion, and Edge 20 Pro smartphones. Rumours suggest that Frontier, Dubai, Miami, and Dubai+ could be the codenames for the upcoming Edge 30 series of devices from Motorola. The Motorola phone codenamed Dubai is expected to debut as the vanilla Motorola Edge 30 in global markets and could possibly arrive next month. The smartphone with codename Miami could be launched as Motorola Edge 30 Lite whereas no information is available on the name of the device with Dubai+ codename. The Motorola Frontier Out of this, Motorola Frontier is one of the most talked-about devices as it may be the first smartphone to arrive with Snapdragon 8 Gen1+ chipset. It is possible that the brand may launch the device with Motorola Edge 30 Ultra moniker whereas in China it could arrive as Edge X30 Pro. The device is anticipated to be launched in the third quarter of 2022. On the camera front, Motorola Frontier is expected to have a triple rear camera setup which renders suggest will be headlined by a 194MP primary lens. The other cameras will include a 50MP wide-angle lens and a 12MP telephoto shooter. The front of the device will have a 60MP selfie snapper. Motorola Frontier is tipped to pack a 4,500mAh battery that supports 125W wired charging, and 50W wireless charging.

D2h Launches Two New Channel Packs for Inactive Subscribers Posted: 31 Mar 2022 02:32 AM PDT D2h, a major Direct-to-Home (DTH) service provider in the country, has launched two new channels packs for inactive users in the country. These channel packs will be available starting April 1, 2022, for those customers who were declared inactive as of February 28, 2022. D2h will avail these packs to people in all states except Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. The SES8 customers and D2h customers declared inactive will both get one channel pack priced at Rs 99 only. The D2h customers will be eligible to get the 'Value Combo Lite' pack from the company, while the SES8 subscribers will get the 'Value Combo Lite' channel pack. Note that the price of each of these channel packs is Rs 99 (including GST). Customers who are eligible to get their hands on these channel packs will get an SMS from the company, or the users can also call the customer care of D2h to enquire if they are eligible for the offer and how to recharge for the same. The company said that upgrade and downgrade from the pack is not allowed if the user has taken the six or twelve months plan from the company (UPP399 & UPP599). These packages are not available for Multi-Room subscribers. The one, six and twelve months plans would cost users Rs 99, Rs 399, and Rs 599. If you want to know further details about the channel packs, check the table below. D2h New Channel Packs for Inactive Subscribers Details 4 GEC Channels Will Not be Available for Free on DD Free Dish Starting April 1, 2022 From April 1, 2022, DD Free Dish customers won't get these 4 GEC channels for free anymore — Star Utsav, Sony Pal, Colors Rishtey, and Zee Anmol. These are all now paid channels, and D2h is banking on lost regaining lost customers to DD Free Dish because of this. These are pretty good offers for inactive subscribers to keep their TVs going.

BSNL Might See More Active Users After 4G Launch Posted: 31 Mar 2022 01:39 AM PDT Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) lost 377,520 or 0.37 million wireless subscribers in January 2022. As per data shared by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the telco's total wireless user base declined to 113.98 million. To worsen the figure further, only 51.44% (58.64 million) users of BSNL were active in January 2022. This is because BSNL still doesn't have a PAN-India 4G coverage. But very soon, it might! Regardless of how late BSNL is, the telco still has a chance to capitalise on the 4G mobile network demand. Both Nokia and Ericsson have said that 4G is going to stay relevant in India for the coming few years. But the thing is, BSNL will have to ensure that it is offering users a quality experience. It isn't too hard for the 4G networks to get congested in India. But with BSNL foraying into the 4G scene, it will become much easier for every telco in the country to handle network loads. BSNL, on the other hand, will have to ramp up work both effectively and efficiently so that it can manage an influx of new users and possibly more than 100+ million users on its 4G networks. BSNL 4G Prepaid Plans to Make a Big Difference There are expectations overall that BSNL won't price its 4G plans the way private operators are doing. This may result in many customers choosing BSNL as their secondary SIM. BSNL's prepaid plans are currently way more affordable compared to what the private operators are offering. However, it can change too with 4G. Because 4G requires a lot of capex and continuous cash expenses for expansion across India, BSNL might increase tariffs too for increasing average revenue per user (ARPU) and become self-sufficient. BSNL 4G Launch in India BSNL is expected to launch its 4G networks in India in 2022 itself. The fixed date for launch is expected to be August 15, 2022. But nothing can be said since it is BSNL, and delays are always there in its plans. Regardless, the state-run telco will go ahead with the 4G launch and is also planning to launch 5G soon. C-DoT said that BSNL would launch its 4G on 5G NSA (non-standalone) network, and thus with a few tweaks, the government-owned telco can switch to 5G. This is great news for every BSNL fan and is also good for India in the long run. IT and Telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had earlier said that BSNL would make its 4G equipment order in April 2022.

Realme C31 Launched in India, Starts at Rs 8999, Check Specifications Posted: 31 Mar 2022 01:00 AM PDT Realme recently launched the Realme C31, a budget 4G smartphone for the Indian market. This smartphone will start at Rs 8999 in India and will be available in a total of two memory variants. The device is powered by a Unisoc processor and will run on Android 11 out of the box. The highlight is that it sports a triple-camera system at the rear. Check the full specifications and price of the device below. Realme C31 Specifications in India The Realme C31 comes with a 6.5-inch HD+ LCD display. The device will run on Realme UI R Edition based on Android 11 out of the box. It is powered by the 12nm Unisoc T612 processor coupled with up to 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. There's a triple-camera system at the rear with a 13MP primary camera, a 2MP macro camera, and an unspecified monochrome sensor. For selfies, there's a 5MP camera at the front. The Realme C31's internal storage can be expanded up to 1TB with a microSD card. It is a 4G LTE support smartphone with future support for 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network and Bluetooth v5. There's a USB Type-C port on this device along with a 3.5mm audio jack. The Realme C31 packs a 5000mAh battery, and the company claims that it can deliver a standby time of up to 45 days. Let's check out the price of the smartphone. Realme C31 Price in India The Realme C31 has launched in India in two memory variants — a) 3GB+32GB for Rs 8,999 and b) 4GB+64GB for Rs 9,999. It will be available in Light Silver, and Dark Green colour options. The device will go on the first sale on April 6 at 12 PM via Realme's online store, Flipkart, and other offline retail channels. The Realme C31 is targeted at people who want to purchase an affordable 4G smartphone for voice calling and basic use purposes.

Reliance Jio Aggressively Pushing Active Subscriber Percentage Up Posted: 30 Mar 2022 11:51 PM PDT Reliance Jio had 364.34 million active users at the end of December 31, 2021. According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data, that number went up to 368.53 million at the end of January 31, 2022. Further, the telco's total subscriber pool went down from 415.72 million to 406.39 million. So it is pretty evident that the company is removing inactive subscribers from its total count and adding new active users. Because of this, Jio's VLR subscriber or active subscriber percentage has come up to 90.68%, which is better than Vodafone Idea's (Vi) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited's (BSNL) 86.30% and 51.44% score. Bharti Airtel still holds the first position in having the best VLR subscribers percentage, with 98.18% of its users active during January. However, in total numbers, Airtel has a few million fewer active users compared to Jio. Jio Made Huge Leaps in Three Months In November 2021, Jio's VLR subscriber percentage was 83.90% which jumped to 87.64% in December and then 90.68% in January 2022. After the tariff hikes, Jio is focusing on removing inactive subscribers from its total users’ pool. This will help the telco in improving the VLR subscriber percentage as well as the average revenue per user (ARPU) figure. It is worth noting that Jio doesn't have legacy network users, while all the other telecom operators have 2G/3G users. This puts Jio in a very good position to earn more than its competitors. From the top, it looks like Jio lost 9.3 million subscribers in January 2022. But in reality, the telco was only clearing its subscriber base with inactive users. Bharti Airtel added 0.71 million new users in the same month, while all the other telcos lost subscribers. Vodafone Idea's subscriber churn rate doesn't seem to stall or narrow, which is a worrying sign. However, in the wireline segment, Jio outperformed its competitors. The telco added 0.30 million new wireline users and is now very near surpassing the market share that Bharti Airtel has in the wireline segment.

5G Spectrum Auctions Can Hurt Satcom’s Future in India: SIA India Posted: 30 Mar 2022 10:17 PM PDT If the government goes ahead with the auction route for 5G airwaves, it will hurt the satcom industry’s future in India. Indian citizens would be deprived of satellite broadband services if the airwaves are auctioned for satellite communications (satcom) companies which will be a big loss to India's GDP, said Satcom Industry Association (SIA) in a white paper released on Wednesday. Looking at the global practices, the satcom industry wants the Indian government to go with the administrative allocation of airwaves to satcom players. According to a PTI report, the white paper from SIA India said that if the government offers excessive resources for 5G auctions, it will result in Indian citizens being deprived of the benefits of advanced satellite broadband services, which would lead to a loss of up to USD $184.6 billion to India's GDP. SIA India Demands for Administrative Allocation of Spectrum Instead of going with the auction route, SIA India has suggested that the government should allocate spectrum to the satcom players administratively. This is what happens globally, as well as the satcom companies use the same spectrum on a shared basis. But with the auctions, the spectrum is given exclusively to the company bidding the highest price. Since spectrum is a limited and scarce resource, giving excessive of it to the telcos for 5G is not a good idea for the future of the satcom industry. The satcom industry has requested the Indian government to follow international practices. However, the same views are not shared by the telecom operators — Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea (Vi). Both these telcos want the government to go ahead and award spectrum via auction only. In contrast, Airtel is batting for the spectrum to be allocated administratively for satcom services. To do this, the government would have to reserve some frequencies for satcom players and not put it to auction for the telcos to bid for rolling out 5G services in the future.

Vodafone Idea, Airtel to Get BGs Back from Govt Posted: 30 Mar 2022 09:36 PM PDT Vodafone Idea (Vi) and Bharti Airtel will be getting back bank guarantees worth Rs 23,000 crore from the government. Out of this, Vi will get back Rs 15,000 crore of BGs while Airtel will get up to Rs 7,000 or Rs 8,000 crore worth of BGs. Minister of state for communications, Devusinh Chauhan, said the government has decided to return the bank guarantees to the telcos. The telecom operators will only have to refurnish bank guarantees for their next instalment payment 13 months before its due date. According to an ET Telecom report, Chauhan told the Lok Sabha that since both Vi and Airtel have opted for moratorium relief, they don't have any instalment due in the next 13 months for a long-time. Thus the government is planning to return the bank guarantees to the telecom operators for the dues pertaining to the 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2016 spectrum auctions. The telcos have already opted for a moratorium for payment on the dues related to these auctions. Vodafone Idea Would be Able to Invest in 4G Networks Vodafone Idea (Vi) will immediately be in a much better position if it gets Rs 15,000 crore back from the government. The cash-strapped telco is also trying to raise another Rs 15,000 crore from the promoters and external investors. With all this capital, the telco will be able to increase its capex level or 4G and 5G (later) to match what Jio and Airtel are spending on their networks. It will further give Vi more flexibility during the 5G spectrum auctions. Talking about Airtel, there's no doubt that the telco is already in a great position to make fresh acquisitions and raise funds from the market without any problems. The telco is cash-flow positive, and with the return of BGs worth up to Rs 8,000 crore, it will be able to participate in the 5G spectrum auctions with a more freehand.

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