${latestitem Title}

---

• OnePlus Pad Launch Impending as Trademark Gets Registered and It Goes Under Testing
• Apple Agrees to Pay $15 to iPhone 4s Users Who Faced Reduced Performance on Their Devices
• BSNL Prepaid Plans Above Rs 400 Which Offer Great Deal of Benefits
• iPad Might Feel a Lot More Like a Mac in Near Future: Report
• Vi and Airtel Offer These Daily Data Prepaid Plans With Year long Subscription
• Broadband Plans That Are Not Popular But Provide a Great Deal For Money
• BSNL Offers These Amazing Heavy-Data Long-Term Prepaid Plans
• VPN Service Providers Find Themselves in a Fix With the Latest Order Issued by the Government
• OnePlus Nord 2T Specifications Surface Ahead of the Anticipated Launch
• Reliance Jio ARPU Sky Rockets to Rs 167.6 During Q4 FY22
• boAt’s Smartwatch Shipment Share Falls in Q1 2022
• Reliance Jio Net Profit Jumps to Rs 14,817 Crore for FY22
• OnePlus 9 Pro Available in India Under Rs 50,000 Now
• Airtel, ACT, Connect and Netplus Offer a Very Similar 40 Mbps Broadband Plan
• BSNL’s Prepaid Plan Made for Validity Lovers
• WhatsApp Now Allows File Transfer Up to 2GB in Size
• DoT Central RoW Portal Online Now
• Airtel Payments Bank Appoints New CISO, Check Who
• Indian Govt Collected 19.21% More Licence Fee from Telcos in Q3 FY22: TRAI Data
• Satcom: GSA Asks Indian Govt to Put all Frequencies in 28 GHz for Auction

OnePlus Pad Launch Impending as Trademark Gets Registered and It Goes Under Testing Posted: 07 May 2022 04:54 AM PDT The popular Chinese smartphone manufacturer OnePlus is all set to introduce its first tablet in India – the OnePlus Pad. The name 'OnePlus Pad' has now been completely registered in the country and according to a tipster the device is already in the process of internal testing in India. This means that we can expect the launch of the device sooner than later. Companies like Realme, HMT and Xiaomi have also revealed tablets of their own in 2021 and now OnePlus is apparently joining the party as the details of the launch timeline of the tablet have appeared. Specifications and Other Details According to a reporter from 91mobiles, known tipster Mukul Sharma has informed that the OnePlus Pad will most likely arrive in India before the end of the first half of 2022. Although, the tipster claimed that the device will not be launched alongside any of the OnePlus 10 series devices. The OnePlus Pad moniker was originally filed for a trademark back in July 2021 by the company. The application has been marked for the exam up until now but now has been registered. As far as the testing is considered, OnePlus has a habit of conducting proper tests before announcing the devices officially. Talking about the specifications of the OnePlus Pad, the device is expected to come with a 12.4-inch FHD+ OLED display. Nothing is known about the refresh rate, however, it is most likely going to be 120Hz. The device is possibly going to feature a side-mounted fingerprint scanner for security along with a 3.5mm headphone jack and compatibility with Bluetooth 5.1. The first-ever tablet from the company is going to be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset coupled with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. The device is likely to operate on Android 12L out of the box and will be backed by a 10,090mAh battery with support for 45W fast charging support. The tablet is expected to feature a dual rear camera system headlined by a 13MP primary sensor along with a 5MP secondary lens. The front of the device is going to be equipped with an 8MP selfie camera. The device could be priced somewhere in the range of Rs 35,000 in India.

Apple Agrees to Pay $15 to iPhone 4s Users Who Faced Reduced Performance on Their Devices Posted: 07 May 2022 03:31 AM PDT Back in 2015, Apple had introduced an iOS 9 update after which the users of the company accused it of slowing down the iPhone 4s smartphones with full knowledge of it. A class-action lawsuit was filed against the company and six years down the line, Apple has finally agreed to settle by deciding to pay $ 15 to each iPhone 4s user. The lawsuit was originally filed in December 2015 by a group of iPhone 4s users in New York and New Jersey. All About the Lawsuit The originally filed lawsuit claims that the performance of the iPhone 4s devices was substantially decreased after users downloaded the iOS 9 update on their iPhone 4s handsets. It was claimed that the Cupertino-based tech giant falsely advertised the iPhone 4s' compatibility with the iOS 9 update. The company had advertised the new iOS 9 will be faster and more responsive, however, the plaintiffs disagreed as no changes were spotted on the device. Rather the performance of the smartphone was vitiated after the download of the update. The lawsuit that was filed stated that the plaintiffs collectively filed the operative Complaint in this action alleging that the Class was harmed when consumers downloaded iOS 9 onto their iPhone 4s devices after being exposed to Apple's allegedly false description of the new operating system. It further stated that Apple misrepresented that iOS 9 was compatible with the iPhone 4S and would improve or "enhance performance" for its customers that downloaded the software update. According to a report from MacRumors, Apple has created a reserve of $ 20 million to cover the interests of the iPhone 4s users in New York and New Jersey who complained of the reduced performance of their iPhone 4s users. It is to be noted that the users who believe they are entitled to the settlement will be required to submit a declaration stating that to the best of their knowledge, they downloaded iOS 9, or any version thereof, onto their iPhone 4S and faced a significant decline in the performance as a result and hereby are entitled to $ 15 per applicable device. These users will also be required to provide their name, email, iPhone 4s serial number and email address.

BSNL Prepaid Plans Above Rs 400 Which Offer Great Deal of Benefits Posted: 07 May 2022 02:29 AM PDT Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), the state-run telecom operator offers users multiple prepaid plans above Rs 400. These plans bring users a lot of benefits and will become very strong competition for the plans that private telcos offer once BSNL launches its own 4G networks. Let's take a look at these plans and how they can be a good option for you. BSNL Rs 429, Rs 485, Rs 499, and Rs 599 Prepaid Plans BSNL offers its Rs 429 prepaid plan with 81 days of validity along with unlimited voice calling, 100 SMS/day, and 1GB of daily data with a free over-the-top (OTT) subscription to Eros Now Entertainment service. The Rs 485 plan comes with 1.5GB of daily data, 100 SMS/day, and unlimited voice calling for 90 calendar days. There is no additional benefit offered to the users with this plan. The data speed would fall to 84 Kbps once the fair usage policy (FUP) data is exhausted. The Rs 499 prepaid plan from BSNL is yet another good option for people looking for a medium-term plan. With the Rs 499 plan, users get 90 days of validity along with 2GB of daily data, 100 SMS/day and unlimited voice calling. The Rs 599 plan from BSNL is the most unique prepaid plan in the industry. With this plan, users get 5GB of daily data. Note that none of the private telcos offers any such prepaid plan which offers 5GB of daily data to the users. This plan carries a validity of 84 days and bundles 100 SMS/day along with unlimited voice calling. There's also a free Zing subscription bundled with this plan and BSNL offers free unlimited data between 12 AM and 5 AM to the users. The Rs 599 plan is great for people who are working from their homes as there's ample data offered by this plan. You can also check out other data only plans offered by the state-run telco for more options.

iPad Might Feel a Lot More Like a Mac in Near Future: Report Posted: 07 May 2022 12:06 AM PDT iPad, one of the coolest and most powerful tablets in the world, might give you a Mac-like experience in the near future. The ultimate goal of the iPad was to replace laptops. But that hasn't happened until now. But it looks like Apple is still working on building one such iPad, which brings users close to a Mac. According to a report from the PatentlyApple, the Cupertino tech giant has secured a patent for a next-gen hinged keyboard iPad accessory with multiple modes that can potentially double as a hybrid device. Could We See an M-Series Chip Powered iPad Offering a Mac Experience? Apple has already introduced its M1 chip on iPads. Thus, there's no denying that these iPads are powerful computing machines. It would be safe to say that the M1 powered iPads can compute easier and faster than most high-end laptops. But the thing is, the iPadOS isn't optimised for a Mac experience. It will give you more of an iPhone like feel, but with a larger screen. However, with this new patent and the images from the PatentlyApple, it feels like Apple is working on a hybrid keyboard accessory for an iPad that, when connected with the iPad, can be turned into a Mac. What exactly would this new arrangement would look like is something that can't be said right now, and just how will users be able to switch between an iPad like experience and a Mac-like experience is also in the dark. Is it even possible to offer a device that's both an iPad and a Mac? Maybe! But it's out of the conceptual limits of our imagination how something like that would work for the users. If Apple can pull this off in the near future, it would give users the luxury of owning both an iPad and a Mac without having the need to purchase both separately.

Vi and Airtel Offer These Daily Data Prepaid Plans With Year long Subscription Posted: 06 May 2022 09:59 PM PDT For the users who are looking to commit to a long-term plan, telcos offer a yearlong plan apart from the usual monthly, two-month and three-month packs. The year long plans usually have a validity period of 365 days and mentioned below are some of the annual prepaid plans offered by Vodafone Idea and Airtel along with the pack details. Year long Plans from Vi Vi offers three yearlong prepaid plans to its users with some exciting benefits. The first plan on the list comes at a price tag of Rs 1,799 and offers a total of 24GB of data along with unlimited calls and a total of 3600 SMS. The validity period is for 365 days and the plan comes with access to Vi Movies and TV. The other two plans are daily data plans. The first is priced at Rs 2,899 while the other is priced at Rs 3,099. Both of these plans offer 1.5GB of data a day along with truly unlimited voice calls and 100 SMS a day. The only difference is that the Rs 3,099 plan comes with access to an annual subscription to Disney+ Hotstar. In addition to this, both these plans offer a "Binge All Night" feature which allows users to use unlimited internet from 12 midnight to 6 am. Users can also take over their unused data from Monday to Friday to Saturday and Sunday which is called the "Weekend Roll Over" benefit. In addition to this, users also get 2GB of data backup every month at no extra cost. Bharti Airtel Offers These Plans Bharti Airtel also offers similar yearlong plans as Vi but has slight variations in data benefits and pricing. The first plan is quite identical to Vi as it comes with a price tag of Rs 1,799 and offers a total of 24GB of data along with unlimited calls and a total of 3600 SMS for 365 days. The other two plans are daily data plans. The first is priced at Rs 2,999 while the other is priced at Rs 3,359. Both of these plans offer 2GB of data a day along with truly unlimited voice calls and 100 SMS a day. The only difference is that the Rs 3,599 plan comes with access to an annual subscription to Disney+ Hotstar. Apart from these, all the plans from Bharti Airtel offer a monthly free trial for mobile edition Amazon Prime Video (available once per user) along with access to Wynk Music, Shaw Academy, Free Hellotunes and more.

Broadband Plans That Are Not Popular But Provide a Great Deal For Money Posted: 06 May 2022 08:52 PM PDT While the broadband market is majorly dominated by some of the prominent players such as Jio and Airtel, there are a number of other internet service providers (ISPs) that offer amazing value packs. Most of these ISPs provide their services in select cities of India but offer good connectivity speed and efficient services. Mentioned below are select broadband plans from lesser-known ISPs that offer a great deal for the money. Netplus Broadband Netplus is an ISP that offers its services in seven Indian states in the North. Netplus can provide connectivity with up to 1 Gbps of internet speed. However, the company also provides truly unlimited plans that offer access to the OTT platform. Netplus offers 200 Mbps of internet speed at a price tag of Rs 999 per month which is exclusive of taxes. Users get unlimited data and calling benefits with this plan. The plan offers a choice for the users to go for either an Amazon Prime Video subscription or a bundled pack of Zee5 Premium, Voot Select and EROS Now. Moreover, the Data offered by Netplus is truly unlimited and no FUP data is levied. Connect Broadband – 100 Mbps Plan Connect Broadband is a popular company which provides FTH connections in a few of the northern states of India such as Punjab, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir. Users can go for a 100 Mbps plan offered by the company which comes at a price tag of Rs 1,301 per month. The plan offers truly unlimited data as well as Local + STD calls. What makes the plan unique is that It comes with access to 8 OTT platforms including the likes of Eros Now, Zee5 Premium and more. Furthermore, the plan also offers free ISD calling of up to 1500 minutes. Hathway – 200 Mbps Plan When it comes to the broadband plans, Hathway provides multiple plans for its user base, however, it is a suitable option for those looking to invest in the long term as its plans start with quarterly subscriptions. One of the better plans provided by the telco is its 200 Mbps pack. The company offers a GPON Superpremium broadband plan that offers 200 Mbps of internet speed at a price tag of Rs 2,997 for a period of three months. The company also offers the plan for six months and 12 months at a price tag of Rs 5,994 and Rs 11,988 respectively. The plans from Hathway are truly unlimited and no FUP limit is levied. It is to be noted that the plan is based on the city of Mumbai and it may vary across different cities in India.

BSNL Offers These Amazing Heavy-Data Long-Term Prepaid Plans Posted: 06 May 2022 06:35 PM PDT The Indian telecom sector is dominated by the three private players – Reliance Jio, Airtel and Vodafone Idea. However, the state-owned telco BSNL also provides prepaid plans that offer benefits just as the other operators. In fact, BSNL offers significantly more data with its short as well as long-term validity plans. In this article, we are going to take a look at the long-term prepaid plans offered by BSNL that provide a hefty amount of data. The Plans The first plan on the list is STV_399 which offers 1GB data per day for a period of 80 days along with unlimited voice calls and 100 SMS/day for Rs 399. The plan also gives free access to BSNL tunes and Lokdhun content. The next is a similar plan but with slightly better benefits. The telco offers an STV_429 plan that offers 1GB data per day as well for 81 days with unlimited voice calls and 100 SMS/day along with the access to Eros Now entertainment services for Rs 429. The next on the list is a data-oriented prepaid plan offered by the telco. The plan comes at a price tag of Rs 447 and offers a total of 100GB of high-speed data. Beyond the set limit of 100GB of data, users can access the internet at 80 Kbps of speed. The plan comes with a validity period of 60 calendar days and even though it is mentioned under 'Data Voucher' on the website, it still offers unlimited voice calling along with 100 SMS per day. Along with the STV_447 plan, users can also get a subscription to BSNL Tunes and Eros Now Entertainment Services. BSNL also offers an STV_499 pack for its users that has a three-month validity period. For Rs 499, BSNL users can get 2GB data per day for a validity period of 90 days along with unlimited voice calls and 100 SMS/day. This plan does not come with any OTT subscription. In addition to this, BSNL also offers a prepaid plan with a yearlong validity that only provides daily data. Users can get the DATA_1498 plan which provides 2GB data per day for a validity period of 365 days at a price tag of Rs 1,498. Last on the list is the long-term as well as high data prepaid plan offered by the government-owned telco – BSNL. The prepaid plan called STV_WFH_599 from BSNL comes at a price of Rs 599 and offers 5GB data per day. Post the usage of the set data limit, users can enjoy the internet at 80 Kbps. Moreover, the validity period of this plan is 84 days. Users also get truly unlimited calls and 100 SMS per day in Home LSA and national roaming including while roaming in Mumbai and Delhi. The plan also offers a subscription to the Zing streaming platform which allows users access to thousands of songs, movies and other entertainment content. Another benefit this plan includes is that users can get unlimited free night data from 00:00 hours to 05:00 hours.

VPN Service Providers Find Themselves in a Fix With the Latest Order Issued by the Government Posted: 06 May 2022 09:25 AM PDT The government recently released an order according to which Virtual Private Network (VPN) service providers are required to keep user data for at least five years and share records with authorities when required. This has resulted in these service providers being worried about their position and major companies like NordVPN have also considered leaving the country if they don't get privacy to serve their customers. Let's know more. The Problem with the New Order The order was originally issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s agency CERT-In last week and will come into effect from June 28. According to the new guidelines VPN service providers are required to preserve data including the validated names, email IDs, and IP addresses of their users for five years or longer “as mandated by the law” even after cancellation or withdrawal of their registration. The order further states that “all service providers” should “mandatorily enable logs” of their systems and maintain them securely for a rolling period of 180 days and this shall be maintained within the Indian jurisdiction. These logs are required to be submitted to CERT-In when ordered or directed by the agency. It is explained that the latest order has been designed to prevent cybercrime and cybersecurity incidents in the country. However, privacy is the key element for VPN service providers to attract their customers. The Head of the Legal department at Surfshark, Gytis Malinauskas in a statement said that the company follows a no-log policy as it doesn't involve itself in the practice of collecting or sharing customer browsing data or any useful information. He added that Surfshark for now is analysing the order and what it implies, however, has no plans to compromise on user privacy. Nord Security which is the parent company of the very popular Nord VPN is also currently scrutinising the order released by CERT-In which was quite unexpected. The Head of Public Relations at Nord Security, Laura Tyrylyte stated that the company, for now, is operating without any changes as there is still some time left before the order comes into the effect. India has been one of the biggest markets for VPN service providers and ranks second globally according to a report. This is due to the ever-growing internet censorship in the country. A report suggests that around 45% of users in the country rely on a VPN and hence the latest released order raises a lot of questions for the VPN service providers in the country.

OnePlus Nord 2T Specifications Surface Ahead of the Anticipated Launch Posted: 06 May 2022 08:37 AM PDT The Chinese smartphone manufacturer OnePlus is soon going to launch its OnePlus Nord 2T smartphone in India. The new premium handset joining the Nord series devices will arrive with some upgrades over its previous iteration. New details on the design and specifications of the smartphone have appeared online. OnePlus is yet to announce the details of the device and reports suggest that OnePlus Nord 2T will be launched in India sometime around May end. Mentioned below are the specifications and price details of the upcoming handset. OnePlus Nord 2T Specifications OnePlus Nord 2T is expected to launch with a 6.43-inch display with a Full HD+ resolution which was also available in the previous version. The device has an AMOLED display and comes with a hole-punch cutout at the top left corner of the screen housing the selfie camera. The display of the device supports a 90Hz refresh rate. The smartphone is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 1300 chipset which will be coupled with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. The device is most likely going to be backed by a 4500mAh battery with support for 80W fast charging. To recall OnePlus Nord 2 comes with 65W charging tech. OnePlus Nord 2T will operate on Android 12 out of the box and has a layer of Oxygen OS 12.1 on top. As far as the camera specifications are considered, the device features a triple rear camera setup headlined by a 50MP Sony IMX766 main camera sensor with support for OIS. The secondary cameras include an 8MP ultrawide camera and a 2MP monochrome sensor. The front of the smartphone will come with a 32MP selfie camera. OnePlus Nord 2T Price OnePlus Nord 2T has been recently spotted on AliExpress which revealed the price details of the device. OnePlus Nord 2T will be available in a sole 8GB RAM with 128GB internal storage variant and has been listed at a price tag of EUR 399 which is roughly Rs 32,100. The smartphone will be available in Black and Green colour options.

Reliance Jio ARPU Sky Rockets to Rs 167.6 During Q4 FY22 Posted: 06 May 2022 07:55 AM PDT Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) just announced annual performance results along with the data for Q4 FY22. In the report, the performance of Jio Platforms Limited (JPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of RIL has also been revealed. The average revenue per user (ARPU) of Reliance Jio went up from Rs 151.6 in Q3 FY22 to Rs 167.6, a healthy 10.5% QoQ growth and 21.3% YoY growth. Positive growth in ARPU was expected to post the implementation of the prepaid tariff hike. At this rate, the ARPU of Jio and even Airtel won't take long to reach Rs 200 levels. The company's net profit has jumped to Rs 15,487 crore during FY22 and Rs 4,313 during Q4 FY22. The net profit for the year jumped 23.6% YoY with a total customer base of 410.2 million. Total Data Traffic for Quarter and Year Goes Up The total data traffic in FY22 was reported to be 91.4 billion GB, a growth of 46.3% YoY and for the last quarter was 24.6 billion GB, up by 47.5% YoY. The voice traffic also saw a significant positive jump. During Q4 FY22, the average data and voice consumption per user per month increased to 19.7GB and 968 minutes, respectively. In Q4 FY22, Jio's gross adds were 35.5 million subscribers with sustained traction in mobility and FTTH businesses. The company said that SIM consolidation post tariff hike led to a decline in the user base by 10.9 million during the last quarter. Reliance Jio is the Number One FTTH Service Provider in India Providing services in over 6 million homes in the country, Reliance Jio has become the number one FTTH service provider in the country. JioFiber had also launched Entertainment Bonanza plans recently for offering a lucrative service to users going for the lower end plans. The company is also readying to launch 5G services throughout multiple cities in the country in FY23. It will be worth watching the ARPU of Airtel in the last quarter post tariff hikes.

boAt’s Smartwatch Shipment Share Falls in Q1 2022 Posted: 06 May 2022 06:23 AM PDT Credit – Counterpoint Research boAt, one of the most popular consumer electronics startups, started by selling earphones and now sells multiple lines of products. This also includes smartwatches. The company's smartwatch shipment share fell in Q1 2022 to 17.8% compared to 23.7% in Q1 2021. Since early 2021, many new brands have entered the market, and in addition to this, there were chipset shortages which also contributed to problems with manufacturing and shipping. Regardless, boAt registered 106% YoY growth during the year and stood in the third position behind Fire-Boltt and Noise, taking the second and first position, respectively. The data comes from Counterpoint's India Smartwatch Shipments Model Tracker, Q1 2022. Note that all of this data is for the Indian market. Apple and OnePlus Also Made Good Strides According to the report, Apple grew 104% YoY in Q1 2022, with the Watch Series 7 contributing to two-thirds of the shipments in India. Apple kept its lead in the premium segment smartwatches in India with over 87% share. In the Rs 10,000 – Rs 15,000 segment, OnePlus took the first position. At the price range, OnePlus had a market share of 45%. During the quarter, Xiaomi also registered a strong growth of 238%, with its Redmi Watch 2 Lite performing pretty well in the market. Amazfit didn't have a good quarter, though. The company's sales declined 35% YoY in Q1 2022. The GTS 2 Mini contributed to 30% of its shipments. Counterpoint expects GTS 2 Mini's newer model to gain some of the market share back. Fire-Boltt had a pretty good quarter which helped the company take the second position in the smartwatch shipment share during the quarter. Noise, as mentioned above, kept its lead in the market share. Noise is one of the most recognised brands in India when it comes to affordable smartwatches and electronic accessories. It will be interesting to see whether any other smartwatch player can fight with Apple in the premium category.

Reliance Jio Net Profit Jumps to Rs 14,817 Crore for FY22 Posted: 06 May 2022 05:31 AM PDT Reliance Jio, one of the most profitable subsidiaries of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has reported that its net profit for FY22 jumped to Rs 14,817 crore. Compared to this, Jio had posted a net profit of Rs 12,015 crore in FY21. For the last quarter of FY22, Jio's net profit stood at Rs 4,173 crore which was more than the preceding quarter's Rs 3,615 crore. License Fees/Spectrum charges for the last quarter were Rs 2,504 core which is more than the previous quarter's Rs 2,252. The increase in LF/SUC was expected as the revenue from operations for the quarter had increased to Rs 20,901 crore as compared to Rs 19,347 crore in the December quarter of 2021. Details about the average revenue per share (ARPU) figure and more will be updated soon.

OnePlus 9 Pro Available in India Under Rs 50,000 Now Posted: 06 May 2022 04:48 AM PDT OnePlus 9 Pro has received a steep price cut. The company launched the OnePlus 9 Pro in March 2021, and it was the flagship device from OnePlus for the year. The OnePlus 9 Pro is the predecessor of the OnePlus 10 Pro, which launched just a month back in India. Users who don't want to spend the kind of money the OnePlus 10 Pro is asking for can go for the OnePlus 9 Pro, which is now available at a steep discount of Rs 17,000. Not just this, there are bank/card offers as well, which will further reduce the final price of the device. OnePlus 9 Pro Price in India After Discount The OnePlus 9 Pro has launched in India for Rs 64,999 and Rs 69,999 with 8GB+128GB and 12GB+256GB. Now, the device is available at a discount of Rs 17,000 on both variants. Thus, the base variant is now available for Rs 47,999, and the superior variant is now available for Rs 52,999. The device will come with a year's warranty. There's a Rs 1,000 discount if users purchase the device via the ICICI Bank Credit Card. So the question is, should you buy it? OnePlus 9 Pro, Should You Buy at Discounted Rate? Well, the OnePlus 9 Pro is a flagship of 2021 and thus is quite powerful. It has a curved display with LTPO technology (support for 120Hz) refresh rate. The cameras of the device are fine-tuned by Hasselblad. It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC. There is a 45000mAh battery with support for 65W wired and 50W wireless charging. All of these specifications at Rs 47,999 isn't a bad deal. But the thing is, Android updates for the OnePlus 9 Pro will not be many from now. Yes, the OnePlus 9 Pro is supposed to get three major Android updates along with four years of security updates, but the thing is, it has already been more than a year since the device came to India. Anyhow, at this price range, you have got some other options as well. But they probably won't give you the kind of premium experience the OnePlus 9 Pro would give.

Airtel, ACT, Connect and Netplus Offer a Very Similar 40 Mbps Broadband Plan Posted: 06 May 2022 03:42 AM PDT Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the country not only high-speed high-end broadband plans but also offer affordable plans for their users which also provides good connectivity speed. These plans are suitable for first time users, students, individuals or anyone who wants to go for a budget option. As a matter of fact, multiple ISPs offer a very similar base plan. Mentioned below are the 40 Mbps broadband plans offered by Airtel, ACT, Connect and Netplus that are very similarly priced. Airtel Broadband Airtel with its Xstream Fiber connection offers one of the fastest broadband connections and users can get access to the 'Basic' pack which provides 40 Mbps of internet speed at a monthly cost of Rs 499 exclusive of taxes. Users get 3.3TB or 3300GB of monthly fair-usage-policy (FUP) data with this plan. Airtel also provides 'Airtel Thanks Benefits' with its broadband plans which in this case include a subscription to Wynk Music and Shaw Academy. ACT's Affordable Offer The Internet Service Provider based in Bengaluru provides a 40 Mbps unlimited data plan called 'ACT Basic.' The plan usually costs Rs 549 for a month, but the ISP is providing a unique offer for its customers, wherein the 'ACT Basic' plan is available for a price of Rs 470 per month for a duration of 6 months. In addition to this, the FUP data limit levied on the broadband plans is 500GB post which the internet works at speed of 512 Kbps. Connect Broadband Connect Broadband is a popular company which provides FTH connections in a few of the northern states of India such as Punjab, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir. The company provides budget plans with ample internet speed and the most basic 40 Mbps plan from the ISP comes with a price tag of Rs 499 per month and offers fully unlimited data along with completely unlimited Local and STD calls. Netplus' 40 Mbps Plan Netplus is an ISP that offers its services in seven Indian states in the North. Netplus can provide connectivity with up to 1 Gbps of internet speed. However, the company also provides a truly unlimited plan offering 40 Mbps of internet speed at a price tag of Rs 499 per month which is exclusive of taxes. Users get unlimited data and calling benefits with this plan. Netplus also offers OTT subscriptions with its higher-priced plans for users who are interested. Data offered by Netplus is truly unlimited and no FUP data is levied.

BSNL’s Prepaid Plan Made for Validity Lovers Posted: 06 May 2022 02:54 AM PDT Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) offers a very affordable Rs 797 prepaid plan to the users, with which comes 2GB of daily data and a year-long validity. Are you confused about the pricing and the benefits? Well, it is obvious. How can a company offer 2GB of daily data for Rs 797 for an entire year? The thing is, there's a catch. The freebies offered by the plan only stay for the first 60 days. After that, if you want voice calling/data/SMS benefits, you need to purchase them separately from BSNL. However, even if you decide not to and keep the BSNL SIM as your secondary option with this plan, your SIM will remain active because of the validity offered by this plan. Note that BSNL is currently offering 30 days of additional validity with this plan. So instead of 365 days, users will get 395 days of validity. With 2GB of daily data, users also get unlimited voice calling and 100 SMS/day for the first 60 days. You can very conveniently purchase data vouchers or SMS/voice calling vouchers whenever you need to use your BSNL SIM after the first 60 days when the freebies expire. This plan with additional validity is currently on a limited offer from BSNL. The state-run telco will remove the offer after a certain period which is unknown at the moment. BSNL Doesn't Have 4G, But It is Coming BSNL doesn't have live 4G networks, but that's just for now. By year-end, India might get to see BSNL's 4G networks in multiple parts of the country. BSNL India on Thursday said that 4G networks are likely to launch in Pune by year-end. This is the same time when BSNL plans to launch 4G networks across Kerala. For now, if you want to keep a secondary SIM for the long-term at the lowest cost possible, you can try out the Rs 797 plan from BSNL.

WhatsApp Now Allows File Transfer Up to 2GB in Size Posted: 06 May 2022 01:35 AM PDT One of the biggest pain points for WhatsApp users was that they couldn't share a file that was very large. For a document, users could only send a file that was 100MB in size. Thus, users had to resort to other applications and platforms for sending big files over to their friends/family/colleagues. But no more now; WhatsApp has finally brought the capability for users to send files to their contacts which are up to 2GB in size. In a blog post, the company said that the limit of 100MB size for sharing a file has been changed to 2GB. This will certainly help all the small businesses and the educational groups leveraging WhatsApp for their daily communication. WhatsApp to Display a Counter to Let Users Know How Much Time Sharing a File Would Take To ensure that users get an estimate of how much time a big sized file being uploaded/downloaded will take, the company said that the app would display a counter. Further, WhatsApp said that it is slowly rolling out the ability for the users to add up to 512 users in a single group for communication. The company also announced that new emoji reactions are also available on the platform now. Note that these new features will not arrive for everyone at the same time. WhatsApp hasn't commented on which region users will get the updates first, but it will surely be a slow rollout. These new features will be able to take some attention off Telegram for now. WhatsApp has been very aggressively adding new features for its users and changing the design of the app to enhance the overall user experience. To ensure that you get these features for the WhatsApp app inside your smartphone, keep the app updated to the latest version. For Android and iOS, the app update rollout time and versions differ.

DoT Central RoW Portal Online Now Posted: 06 May 2022 12:32 AM PDT The Centra RoW Portal of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is online now. It will act as a single-window clearance for all RoW permissions. It is worth noting that the 31 states/UTs are already onboard. The Transport, road, and defence ministries, along with the environment ministry, are going to be a part of it soon. The link to the website is – https: // sugamsanchar. gov.in/ (we have broken down the link, kindly remove spaces in between to access it). New Central RoW Portal to Bring Transparency and Accountability The new Central RoW Portal will ensure that transparency comes into the process of approving applications, and it will also bring accountability to the system. The government has launched this portal to ensure that the ease of doing business for the industry is maintained. Inside the website, everyone will be able to see the number of states and UTs that are onboard. Further, things such as how many applications have been received, how many have been approved, and how many have been rejected, along with pending applications and reverted applications, are mentioned on the homepage. There's also a dashboard that will compile all the data for the users and the authorities to be seen in a very organised manner, such as graphs. The Dashboard will also show the date and time for when it was last updated. How to Apply Inside the Central RoW Portal? What Will This Do? With this portal, companies and authorities can track how fast the applications are being approved. One of the most frustrating processes for the telecom sector has been obtaining RoW permissions. With this one central portal, everything will run in a uniform manner, and it will help the telecom industry with the 5G rollout in the future. The telecom infrastructure within India is not at its prime and has a lot of headroom to be modernised and matured. This portal will certainly add to doing that.

Airtel Payments Bank Appoints New CISO, Check Who Posted: 05 May 2022 11:47 PM PDT Airtel Payments Bank, one of the most successful fintech companies in India has appointed a new Chief Information and Security Officer (CISO). The person appointed for this role is Manish Pandey. The company announced this via LinkedIn post. With fintech applications/platforms, security and user privacy are the biggest factors for consumers. Pandey will be directly reporting to Pradeep Rangi, Chief Risk Officer (CRO) of Airtel Payments Bank. The post was made on Thursday by the company. Being the CISO of Airtel Payments Bank, Pandey will be responsible for tasks including introducing, implementing and maintaining safe information security practices for strengthening the security framework of the bank. Further, Pandey's role will also extend to leading the regulatory framework, governance, and audit matters related to information security at the bank. Manish Pandey Has Over 12 Years of Experience in IT and Cybersecurity Pandey has taken up the role with pretty solid experience in working in the same line of IT security. He has over 12 years of experience working in different sectors with expertise in IT and cybersecurity, data protection, and cyber law. Before joining Airtel Payments Bank, Pandey was working for Paytm Payments Bank. Pandey is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and Certified Payment Card Industry Security Implementer (CPISI). He completed his Master's in Information Security and Cyber Law from the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad, UP. Airtel Payments Bank, a fintech subsidiary of Bharti Airtel had announced in August 2021 that it had reached its break-even point after 55 months of being in business. The company has become yet another profitable entity for Bharti Airtel. With Airtel Payments Bank, consumers get a lot of conveniences when they are trying to make online payments. Users can send money to other people or make self transfers from one account to the other, and do much more with the Airtel Payments Bank. Note that Airtel Payments Bank can be accessed inside the Airtel Thanks app.

Indian Govt Collected 19.21% More Licence Fee from Telcos in Q3 FY22: TRAI Data Posted: 05 May 2022 10:06 PM PDT The Indian government collected a total of Rs 4,541 crore as license fee (LF) from the telecom service providers (TSPs) in Q3 FY22, said the quarterly performance report published by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Thursday. This was 19.21% more than Rs 3,809 crore in LFs' during the same quarter in the previous year. More LFs came to the government because of the higher AGR (adjusted gross revenue). The AGR for TSPs' rose to Rs 55,151 crore, which was 15.81% higher than Rs 47,623 crore in the same quarter preceding year. Note that even though AGR went up during the quarter, the gross revenue went from Rs 71,588 crore in December 2020 quarter to Rs 69,695 crore in December 2021 quarter. Reliance Jio Had the Highest AGR, Followed by Airtel, Vi, and BSNL Out of all the TSPs', Reliance Jio recorded the highest AGR of Rs 19,063.75 crore during the quarter. Jio was followed by Airtel with an AGR of Rs 4,484.48 crore, Vodafone Idea (Vi) with an AGR of Rs 6,541.83 crore, and BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) with an AGR of Rs 1,984.94 crore. Tata Teleservices, MTNL (Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited), Reliance Communications, and Quadrant's AGR figures came at Rs 530.21 crore, Rs 254.78 crore, Rs 61.69 crore, and Rs 13.22 crore. The good thing for the telecom sector was the rise in average revenue per user (ARPU) figure from the prepaid segment. Both Vi and Airtel had removed the Rs 49 base plan, and the users had no other option but to go with the Rs 79 plan until December, when prepaid tariff hikes were announced by all the private operators. This has certainly helped the sector in gaining ARPU. However, the full effects of ARPU growth will be visible in the last quarter of FY22. The ARPU from wireless services increased by 5.55% to Rs 114.16 during December 2021 quarter as compared to Rs 108.16 in September 2021 quarter.

Satcom: GSA Asks Indian Govt to Put all Frequencies in 28 GHz for Auction Posted: 05 May 2022 09:19 PM PDT The UK-based Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) has asked the Indian government to put up all the frequencies in the 24.5 GHz – 28.5 GHz band for auction. According to an ET Telecom report, the body said that satcom (satellite communications) and terrestrial network service providers can co-exist. GSA wrote to K Rajaraman, Secretary of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) saying that it fully supports the recommendations given by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). GSA Says There Will be No Interference Between Satcom and Terrestrial Network Services GSA explained that a study was done considering the plans of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and there were no interferences found for the satellite services from the 5G services in the mmWave (millimetre wavelength) bands. Further, GSA said that the National Frequency Allocation Plan (NFAP) of India should be revised to match the World Radiotelecommmunications Conference – (WRC) 19 resolutions and frequency bands. However, the Satcom Industry Association (SIA) India had earlier said that India should discourage the allocation of spectrum in the 27.5 GHz -28.5 GHz band to the mobile carriers. However, the telecom operators are not happy with the demand made by SIA India. Note that the Indian Space Providers Association (ISpA) also believes that assigning the terrestrial network service providers spectrum in the 27.5 GHz -28.5 GHz band would be a case of over-supply of airwaves. However, the telcos are persistent that they want access to the entire mmWave frequency bands in the spectrum auctions. The government's stance on this matter is currently unknown. But since the spectrum auctions are not too far, the details should be out soon. GSA has said that 5G mmWave service would not cause any interference with the services provided by the satcom companies. But this is not what the satcom companies believe. The spectrum auctions are likely to take place in June or July this year.

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