http://www.fonearena.com/blog The Mobile Blog Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:38:32 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44287/bharti-airtel-awarded-for-best-delivery-of-network-services-with-customer-focus-in-2011.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44287/bharti-airtel-awarded-for-best-delivery-of-network-services-with-customer-focus-in-2011.html#comments Mon, 12 Dec 2011 07:47:57 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=44287 Bharti Airtel has been awarded with Telecom Centre of Excellence (TCOE) Award for delivery of network services with customer focus for the year 2011. This award is based on Network Quality of service KPIs, Network Coverage, Product Innovation and Network Bench-marking processes based on network parameters and customer voice. Airtel offers 2G services in 23 circles and 3G services in 13 circles across India. Press Release below New Delhi, December 12, 2011: Bharti Airtel, a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 19 countries across Asia and Africa has been awarded with “Telecom Centre of Excellence (TCOE) Award” for service provider with customer focus for best delivery of Network Services - for the year 2011. The evaluation criteria were primarily focused on Network Quality of service KPIs, Network Coverage, Product Innovation and Network Bench-marking processes based on network parameters and customer voice. The award is a recognisation of Airtel’s commitment to offer best in class service experience to its customers. Jagbir Singh, Director Network Services Group – Bharti Airtel received the award from Sachin Pilot and Milind Deora - Ministers of State, Communications and Information Technology in a glittering ceremony at New Delhi. The Quality of the Telecom services offered to subscribers directly affects the ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44287/bharti-airtel-awarded-for-best-delivery-of-network-services-with-customer-focus-in-2011.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43653/the-mysterious-story-of-the-apple-iphone-4s-not-working-in-india.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43653/the-mysterious-story-of-the-apple-iphone-4s-not-working-in-india.html#comments Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:25:21 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=43653 If you are one amongst consumers who had purchased the iPhone 4S from outside India and were facing issues getting it to work here , good news for you. Many users including me were seeing no signal bars on the iPhone 4S in India. Calls and SMS were not working.Surprisingly 3G data was working fine on most operators including Airtel , Vodafone and BSNL. I had tried using some international SIM cards such as AT&T, T-Mobile , O2 UK, 3 UK, SmarTone (HK). The issue was strange as I had another iPhone 4S which was working perfectly fine with all the SIM cards. Look at the speedtest below on BSNL. Awesome speeds but no signal bars ! Weird right ? Awesome speed yet no bars iPhone 4S was working perfectly fine outside India This is the same phone which was working perfectly fine in the UK. In fact i was using the 4S as a Hotspot for my laptop as I had unlimited data from 3UK. Hardware problem  ? Not convinced If the device had a manufacturing defect or if the hardware was faulty, how would it work in the UK that too for a couple of days without throwing up an error. In fact ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43653/the-mysterious-story-of-the-apple-iphone-4s-not-working-in-india.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42409/airtel-launches-go-go-goal-contest-for-football-lovers-in-rajasthan.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42409/airtel-launches-go-go-goal-contest-for-football-lovers-in-rajasthan.html#comments Mon, 19 Sep 2011 07:28:05 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=42409 Airtel has launched GO! GO! GOAL Contest 2011 for their Rajasthan customers. This contest would let the Airtel customers in Rajasthan to subscribe to their Football Day Alerts and Hall of Fame  packs and win exiting prices. The HALL OF FAME PACK lets you follow your favorite footballer of all times and Football Match Day Alerts Pack offers you Live and specialized content from the world of football like European leagues (EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga and lots more), the Indian I-League and International Championships. To take part in the contest, Airtel customers in Rajashtan can subscribe to either one of these packs Football Match Day Alerts Pack (SMS ‘SUB GOAL’ to 54321 or dial USSD: *321*471# for Rs 3 per match day) Football Hall of Fame Pack (SMS ‘SUB HOF’ to 54321 or dial USSD: *321*471# for Re 1 per day) After subscription, Airtel Mobile customers will get access to exciting football alerts and also receive 5 simple questions on the sport every day. Each correct answer will help participants earn points and stand a chance to bag a range of prizes. The prizes for the contest include football jerseys, Samsung Galaxy Tabs, Sony Playstations and even a 50 inch LED TV. The contest is now open for all football loving Airtel prepaid and postpaid customers ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42409/airtel-launches-go-go-goal-contest-for-football-lovers-in-rajasthan.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41782/bharti-airtel-betting-big-on-indian-formula-one-grand-prix.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41782/bharti-airtel-betting-big-on-indian-formula-one-grand-prix.html#comments Thu, 18 Aug 2011 10:00:51 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=41782 Bharti Airtel has announced that they will be the Title Sponsor for the Indian Formula One Grand Prix by joining hands with Formula One Group Companies. They have also announced the official logo and the F1 Grand Prix in India would be known as Airtel Indian Grand Prix. The 17th Formula One Grand Prix of this season would take place at Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh, India on October 30, 2011. Airtel has also announced that they would offer lots of innovative offerings and initiatives for Formula One enthusiasts in coming weeks. Press Release New Delhi, August 18, 2011: As millions of fans gear up to witness their Formula One dreams come alive in India, leading global telecommunications company Bharti Airtel today joined hands with Formula One Group Companies to announce Airtel Grand Prix of India, India’s eagerly awaited F1 foray. Announcing Airtel as ‘Title Sponsor’ for this sporting event, Sanjay Kapoor (CEO - India and South Asia, Bharti Airtel) and Bernie Ecclestone (Formula One Group CEO) together unveiled the official logo of Airtel Grand Prix of India. To be hosted at Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida (Uttar Pradesh, India) on October 30, 2011 – this first ever Airtel ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41782/bharti-airtel-betting-big-on-indian-formula-one-grand-prix.html/feed 1 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41261/beetel-to-launch-android-powered-beetel-magiq-tablet-in-india.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41261/beetel-to-launch-android-powered-beetel-magiq-tablet-in-india.html#comments Wed, 27 Jul 2011 07:14:32 +0000 Omkar Dutta http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=41261 Almost all the major handset manufacturers are entering into the tablet market. Even Micromax and Maxx mobiles are planning to launch their tablet in India. Beetel, a part of the Bharti Group, will soon launch its first tablet device, the Beetel Magiq in India. This tablet was recently listed at Sagar Telecom, an unknown online retailer in India, but the page was later removed. This tablet runs on the Android 2.2 (Froyo) Operating System and it seems to be a rebranded version of Huawei SmaKit S7. Beetel Magiq Specifications: 7 inch touchscreen display 800 x 480 pixel resolution 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon Processor Android 2.2 (Froyo) Operating System Custom UI 2 megapixel rear camera VGA front camera for video calling Wi-Fi 3G Connectivity Bluetooth USB connector 3.5 mm audio jack 8 GB Internal memory 2200 mAh battery Beetel Magiq is expected to launch later this week in India. This tablet will come with a price tag of Rs.8,900. Stay tuned for more info and official announcement. [ via. AndroidOS ] ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41261/beetel-to-launch-android-powered-beetel-magiq-tablet-in-india.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41117/download-hello-tunes-on-your-airtel-mobile-and-win-a-chevrolet-spark.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41117/download-hello-tunes-on-your-airtel-mobile-and-win-a-chevrolet-spark.html#comments Fri, 22 Jul 2011 07:59:19 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=41117 Bharti Airtel has announced ‘Win a Chevrolet Spark’ contest for its mobile customers. The Airtel customers could stand a chance to win in this contest by downloading the highest number of Hello Tunes on their Airtel mobile. To download Hello Tunes dial 57878 or 578781 from your Airtel connection and it cost Rs.15 per Hello Tune subscription and Rs.30 as monthly charges. The contest is now open for the Airtel postpaid and prepaid mobile customers in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir and ends on 15th September 2011. ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41117/download-hello-tunes-on-your-airtel-mobile-and-win-a-chevrolet-spark.html/feed 1 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/40350/airtel-launches-international-video-calling-for-3g-customers.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/40350/airtel-launches-international-video-calling-for-3g-customers.html#comments Mon, 27 Jun 2011 14:32:06 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=40350 Airtel has launched International Video Calling facility for its 3G customers across India. This would let the Airtel 3G customers to connect with the people in 227 countries worldwide using the video calling facility on their phone. Video call to USA, Canada, Bangladesh costs Rs 14/min and video call to UAE, Singapore, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Oman costs Rs 20/ minute. To use this facility both the caller and receiver must have a 3G enabled mobile phone with a front facing camera. We are not sure if receiver will be charged international video calling charges or local charges. Better check with the concerned local operator for charges. Customers can call 12134 to know more. ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/40350/airtel-launches-international-video-calling-for-3g-customers.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/38293/airtel-iphone-4-price-plans.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/38293/airtel-iphone-4-price-plans.html#comments Wed, 01 Jun 2011 07:07:51 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=38293 Airtel launched iPhone 4 in India last week for the price of 34, 500 for the 16GB version and 40,900 for the 32GB version of the iPhone 4. Here are the postpaid and prepaid plans available with the iPhone 4. All the plans mentioned here are monthly for the period of 24months. Airtel iPhone 4 Postpaid Plans Effective Monthly Rental (Rs) 300 400 500 600 700 800 1000 Free A2A local minutes / month 550 700 950 1050 1250 1440 1900 Free Local SMS / month 500 750 1000 1250 1500 1750 2000 Free 3G data (MB) / month 300 400 600 800 950 1150 1350 After the monthly consumption in the offered postpaid plan is over, you would be charged at 50p for all local calls, Re1 for SMS and 3p/30kb for Data. Airtel iPhone 4 Prepaid Plans Monthly Recharge Amount (Rs) 600 1006 1601 2002 Monthly Charges After Discounts (Rs) 328 548 875 1094 Free A2A local minutes / month 550 950 1400 1900 Free Local SMS / month 500 1000 1750 2000 Free 3G data (MB) / month 300 600 1150 1350 After the monthly consumption in the offered prepaid plan is over, you would be charged at 50p for all local calls, Re1 for SMS and 30 p / 20 KB for data. You may opt for 3G data packs except flexi shield and time based plans. If you opt for prepaid plans, you need to recharge for a particular amount (Rs ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/38293/airtel-iphone-4-price-plans.html/feed 5 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/37152/airtel-launches-airtel-money-in-chennai.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/37152/airtel-launches-airtel-money-in-chennai.html#comments Tue, 10 May 2011 15:47:17 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=37152 Airtel has launched its mCommerce service - Airtel Money, in Chennai, after the launch in Guragon this January. This lets the Airtel customers to make cashless payment using their mobile phone. Airtel has tied up with 750 merchants across Chennai including, Oriental Cuisines (Benjarong, Zara, Cascade and French Loaf), Univercell, Poorvika, Inox, PVR, Bharti AXA, LIC and more. Other than retail payments, customers can also recharge any Airtel prepaid number or Airtel DTH, pay Airtel postpaid bills and electricity bills. As a promotional offer, there are special discounts for recharges and bill payments made through Airtel Money that include Special talk time offers for Airtel prepaid users for the recharge denominations of Rs 75 and Rs 99 5% discount on monthly bill value for Airtel postpaid customers 5% extra value for DTH customers for the recharge greater than Rs 500 To use Airtel money, Airtel customers need to Register at Airtel Money outlet by filling an application form and submit ID and address proofs and 2 passport size photographs. Initial deposit for Airtel money is Rs 150, in which Rs 50 will be deducted for activation and Rs 100 would be credited back to your Airtel money account. Your existing airtel SIM will be upgraded to the new ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/37152/airtel-launches-airtel-money-in-chennai.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/32223/airtel-3g-launched-in-delhi-gurgaon-faridabad-and-noida.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/32223/airtel-3g-launched-in-delhi-gurgaon-faridabad-and-noida.html#comments Thu, 03 Mar 2011 07:38:23 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=32223 Airtel has finally launched 3G services in the Indian capital New Delhi and NCR ( National Capital Region) which includes Gurgaon, Faridabad and Noida. The company claims it has installed over 1800+  3G cell sites for this region. Seems like the tariffs are same as the Airtel 3G tariffs revealed before.  I know a lot of readers have been asking about Airtel's 3G launch in Delhi and here is good news for you all. Press Release below New Delhi, 3nd March, 2011: India’s leading telecommunications company - Bharti airtel - today launched its Third Generation of Mobile services on the back of a robust network powered by 1800 plus 3G sites in the National Capital Region spanning Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad and Noida. This is, by far, the strongest 3G network in the region by any mobile operator and will ensure a seamless 3G experience for 76 Lakh airtel mobile customers in the region. airtel also announced that it has achieved the milestone figure of around Half a Million 3G customers across the country – having launched a little over a month ago. “As the undisputed leader in the Indian telecom industry, we are truly driving the mobile data revolution in the country. Today, ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/32223/airtel-3g-launched-in-delhi-gurgaon-faridabad-and-noida.html/feed 4 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/31544/airtel-launches-new-services-right-in-time-for-cricket-world-cup.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/31544/airtel-launches-new-services-right-in-time-for-cricket-world-cup.html#comments Wed, 23 Feb 2011 09:07:20 +0000 Venkatesh Atluri http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=31544 Are you a Cricket maniac? Don't you want to catch all the live action and updates during the World Cup 2011? Then here is what you need! Airtel has launched a wide range of  offerings, to keep you updated with every moment of your favourite game. Airtel customers can dial 543210 to opt for various cricket related services. With the 543210 portal now live with an exciting range of offerings – airtel will continue to add more products for its cricket loving customers over the period of the tournament. The various services are listed in the table below. Looks like Airtel has managed to come up with attractive list of services. Which one are you interested in? ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/31544/airtel-launches-new-services-right-in-time-for-cricket-world-cup.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/29933/airtel-money-mobile-payment-service-launched.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/29933/airtel-money-mobile-payment-service-launched.html#comments Mon, 31 Jan 2011 09:04:24 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=29933 Airtel has launched it's mobile payment service under the Airtel Money banner. The service is initially available in Gurgaon. This is the first time a Mobile Operator has launched such a similar in India.Airtel already inked tieups with several merchants in Gurgaon including coffee shops, restaurants etc. to accept payments. The service will gradually be scaled to over 3,000 merchants in the city.“The mobile phone is fast emerging as a device that enables our lives in more than many ways. Taking this a step further, we are proud to launch airtel money as a first-of-its-kind  service from a telecom operator, that transforms the mobile phone into a secure and convenient wallet which customers can use to load money and use it for shopping and making payments. We see a huge potential for mCommerce services in India and are confident that the launch of airtel money will facilitate a paradigm shift in the way consumers transact” said Mr. Atul Bindal, President - Mobile Services, Bharti airtel This is how you can start using the Airtel Money Service Register by filling in the application form and submitting KYC documents (2 photocopies of proof-of-identity, 1 copy of proof-of-address and a passport size photograph). After the above, ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/29933/airtel-money-mobile-payment-service-launched.html/feed 1 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/29800/airtel-3g-launched-in-chennai-coimbatore.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/29800/airtel-3g-launched-in-chennai-coimbatore.html#comments Thu, 27 Jan 2011 14:53:29 +0000 ArunD http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=29800 Bharti Airtel, one of India’s leading telecom service provider has today launched their 3G services in two of Tamilnadu's major cities Chennai and Coimbatore. FoneArena was present at the launch event today. Cinestar and Airtel's Brand Ambassador Karthi Shivakumar was present at the event, and was one of the first persons to try out Airtel's 3G video calling. Mr. Atul Bindal, President-Mobile Services and Vineet Taneja, Operations Director (South) mentioned about some of companies services that could take complete advantage of their 3G network. And those services included were - video calling, live streaming of video, high speed internet, mobile TV Check out the launch promo video below httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSykdlkU22Q And here is the speed we got in a PC connect to the network with a dongle. We got about 1-2 Mbps on a handset though ! Also the existing Chennai & Coimbatore Airtel users can avail the 3G service through existing sim cards. For laptop users Airtel has also come up with 3G dongles. Rate plan goes like this : (Pretty much same as the tariff announced in Bangalore) 1. PAYG VBC (Pay as you go):The customer will pay the 30p /20Kb for 3G access. 2. Sachet Plans: These plans will have validity of lesser than or equal ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/29800/airtel-3g-launched-in-chennai-coimbatore.html/feed 2 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/29598/airtel-3g-coming-soon-to-chennai.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/29598/airtel-3g-coming-soon-to-chennai.html#comments Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:15:46 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=29598 Good news for our Chennai readers who have been asking about the Airtel 3G launch in the city. It's finally coming soon ! We are hearing that the launch will happen on Jan 27th  We brought you news about the 3G launch in Bangalore today. Although the news about the service being launched is a good one , the Airtel 3G tariffs and plans don't look very enticing especially when you compare it with BSNL 3G. So whos looking forward to Airtel 3G in Chennai ? ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/29598/airtel-3g-coming-soon-to-chennai.html/feed 3 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/29518/airtel-3g-plans-tariffs.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/29518/airtel-3g-plans-tariffs.html#comments Mon, 24 Jan 2011 08:50:08 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=29518 Airtel launched 3G services in Bangalore today and we have some news about the plans and tariffs. Activate 3G First you have to send a SMS 3G to 121 You would get a reply from Airtel if your handset is compatible We got back a message stating the tariff as Rs. 30p / 20kb and we were asked to confirm by sending 1 as a reply. This is the pay as you go plan (3G PAYG VBC) Any 2G pack will be de-activated once you activate 3G We request you not to activate 3G as you might be charged heavily. Instead activate a data pack below by calling customer care ! Update tariffs chart added Airtel 3G Data Plans Sachet Plans Rs. 9 for 10 MB, validity 1 day (will expire on sameday midnight) Rs. 60 for 65 MB, validity 3 days Sacher Plan Time Based Rs. 45 for 30 minutes and then Rs.3 per minute (will expire on sameday midnight) Standard Plans Rs. 103 for 100 MB, validity 30 days Rs. 200 for 250 MB, validity 30 days Rs. 450 for 600 MB, validity 30 days Rs. 750 for 2 GB, validity 30 days Flexi Shield Plan There is also another plan in which you pay Rs. 675 as a monthly rental and get 1.25 GB free usage on ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/29518/airtel-3g-plans-tariffs.html/feed 66 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/29496/airtel-3g-finally-launches-in-karnataka.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/29496/airtel-3g-finally-launches-in-karnataka.html#comments Mon, 24 Jan 2011 06:51:22 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=29496 Airtel has finally launched it's 3G services and decided to launch it in an event in Bangalore as we reported earlier.The main reason Airtel launched 3G first in Karnataka is because this circle is Airtel's largest circle by revenue market share. The company plans to launch 3G services in all the 13 circles it won a license by March 2011 Sanjay Kapoor, CEO - Bharti airtel said, “It is indeed the start of a new era when 3G services in India roll out on airtel's network. World over ‘Data traffic’ on the back of high speed internet and use of social networking has already exceeded the ‘Voice traffic’. India is ushering in the domain – though later than most of the world - but no doubt we will catch up at a much faster speed. 3G is much more than a technology migration - it is a transformational shift - and airtel's focus would be to bring to its customers an enriched user experience on the back of a world class delivery network. I welcome all 745 million mobile customers of the country to be a part of this journey with airtel!" Airtel has deployed a HSPA network for offering 3G services ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/29496/airtel-3g-finally-launches-in-karnataka.html/feed 4 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/29489/airtel-3g-launching-in-bengaluru-today.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/29489/airtel-3g-launching-in-bengaluru-today.html#comments Sun, 23 Jan 2011 19:34:09 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=29489 Airtel is holding an event today at Bengaluru / Bangalore , Karnataka today and one of our readers shared the invite he received. The invite reads 'get set' airtel 3G is coming to Bengaluru and nothing more. We are also hearing that there are several such events lined up for this week. Hopefully Airtel will finally share some details about it's 3G launch. We should be getting more info soon. Thx Rajan ! ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/29489/airtel-3g-launching-in-bengaluru-today.html/feed 3 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/29263/complete-guide-to-mnp-offers-in-india.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/29263/complete-guide-to-mnp-offers-in-india.html#comments Thu, 20 Jan 2011 11:08:33 +0000 ArunD http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=29263 We told you that Mobile Number Portability aka MNP has gone live in India today and we have compiled a list of offers from all major mobile operators. BSNL BSNL waives off Port-in charges, Also they are giving away 32K SIM free of cost. In case of specific demand for other SIMs, actual SIM price will be charged. Prepaid a) At the time of activation of all port-in customers, additional talk value of Rs.100 will be offered in addition to the normal free talk value available with FRC. b) All port-in customers will be offered 5 GB GPRS for one month free of charge. Postpaid a) 50% rebate in the FMC of first month after port in. b) 5GB GPRS will be free of charge for one month. Free GPRS/DATA usage associated with FMC shall not available for one month. c) Freebies attached with the plan will remain same. d) Where ever, the data usage offered with existing plans is more than the data usage offered, the higher data usages already offered will prevail. For all Telecom Circles except Haryana the above tariff will be implemented with effect from the date of implementation of MNP. In respect of Haryana Telecom Circle, the above tariff will be effective ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/29263/complete-guide-to-mnp-offers-in-india.html/feed 20 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/28867/state-bank-of-india-and-airtel-announce-joint-venture-for-mobile-banking.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/28867/state-bank-of-india-and-airtel-announce-joint-venture-for-mobile-banking.html#comments Wed, 12 Jan 2011 07:42:18 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=28867 State Bank of India (SBI) and Bharti Airtel have announced a joint venture to offer banking services to consumers who don't have access to traditional banking services.   Consumers can open a bank account with SBI at Airtel's customer service points and avail banking services.We are really trying to get more information how this tie-up with actually work and what part of it is mobile banking. But for now we only have the official statement. Find the press release below SBI and airtel join hands to usher in a new era of financial inclusion for unbanked India - Form joint venture to target financial inclusion on the ubiquitous mobile platform - New Delhi, 12th January 2011: State Bank of India, the country’s largest commercial bank, and Bharti airtel, India’s largest telecommunications company, today announced that they have entered into a Joint Venture (JV) agreement to make available banking services to India’s unbanked millions. The newly formed entity, will harness the power of State Bank’s strengths and airtel’s mobile telephony to add value to the banking and financial services sector and empower millions of financially excluded in the country to enhance their livelihood and quality of life. The Joint Venture will become ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/28867/state-bank-of-india-and-airtel-announce-joint-venture-for-mobile-banking.html/feed 1 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/27276/airtel-3g-speed-test.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/27276/airtel-3g-speed-test.html#comments Tue, 30 Nov 2010 12:57:05 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=27276 Airtel is offering a demo of their upcoming 3G service in many showrooms across India and we headed to a showroom in Chennai to do a Speed Test as many of  you have been asking us about the speeds offered by Airtel 3G We saw the Airtel 3G dongle with the all new logo and it's most likely to be a Huawei dongle as the dialer software seems familiar. The dongle was connected to a really slow Lenovo netbook and still me managed to stream video and conduct speed tests The Speed Test The download speeds were constant at around 2.3-2.4 Mbps and upload speeds were hovering at 400-500Kbps Watch the video of speed test below httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p_OvriDtUM Here are couple more pics from the 3G Demo area Airtel is expected to roll out the 3G services in December and tarrifs will be released in 1st week according to the folks at the showroom. ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/27276/airtel-3g-speed-test.html/feed 25 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/27242/vodafone-logo-on-airtel-site.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/27242/vodafone-logo-on-airtel-site.html#comments Mon, 29 Nov 2010 21:37:13 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=27242 A FoneArena reader was about to pay his monthly Airtel bill when he was shocked to find the Vodafone logo in the bottom of the page along with the old Airtel logo. Its really surprising how that image ended up on the site We headed over to the page and could confirm the same.It should be embarrassing for any brand to carry a rival's logo on it's website.We don't know what went wrong. At first we thought it might be some photoshop image or some 3rd party image but surprisingly the image is hosted on Airtel's server ! Let us know what you think ! UPDATE : Airtel-Vodafone is a joint venture operating in Jersey and Guernsey and part of the Channel islands  archipelago  in the english channel We have to admit that we never knew about this association until today. Now the Airtel_Jersey Logo makes more sense ! ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/27242/vodafone-logo-on-airtel-site.html/feed 15 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/20662/airtel-blackberry-prepaid-service-at-rs-80-per-week.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/20662/airtel-blackberry-prepaid-service-at-rs-80-per-week.html#comments Fri, 23 Jul 2010 01:15:08 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=20662 Vodafone and Tata Docomo are offering daily rental plans for Blackberry Service on Prepaid. Airtel does not have a daily rental plans but weekly plans starting at Rs.80 per weeek for Email and BBM and Rs.100 per week for Email, BBM and Browsing. Find the various plans after the break. This offer is only for Airtel prepaid customers and not valid on international roaming. Airtel promises instant activation via SMS.To activate SMS < airtelbb > to 121 and choose your plan. You call 121 from your Airtel mobile number. Don't you think Airtel is slightly expensive ? Do you want a daily rental plan ? ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/20662/airtel-blackberry-prepaid-service-at-rs-80-per-week.html/feed 6 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/18954/airtel-app-central-completes-4-months-13-million-downloads.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/18954/airtel-app-central-completes-4-months-13-million-downloads.html#comments Tue, 22 Jun 2010 10:10:33 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=18954 India's leading mobile operator Airtel  entered the app store game with the Airtel App Central . The company has just announced the store has crossed 4 months and seen over 13 million downloads since its inception.Users across downloaded apps at a speed of 1.2 downloads/second. Airtel App Central boasts of over 71,000 Apps and the according to the company its the largest App Store in India Here are some numbers shared by Airtel regarding the App Central Clocks 13 million downloads – Airtel’s mobile customers downloaded at the rate of 1.2 downloads/ second over 4 months Grows store to offer 71,000 plus Apps – becomes largest App Store in India Increases compatibility across 780 devices - up from 550 devices at time of launch Announcing this, Atul Bindal, President-Mobile Services, Bharti Airtel said, “Four months since it opened - Airtel App Central continues its triumphant march, transforming into Smartphones the basic devices of an increasing number of Airtel mobile customers across the country. Airtel customers have identified our Easy Single-Click Purchase Mechanism as the most popular aspect of the Store.” He added, “With over 32% of downloads paid for, App Central is also emerging as the preferred destination for existing and upcoming developers in India ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/18954/airtel-app-central-completes-4-months-13-million-downloads.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/16369/bharti-airtel-joins-hands-with-radio-mirchi-to-launch-mirchi-mobile.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/16369/bharti-airtel-joins-hands-with-radio-mirchi-to-launch-mirchi-mobile.html#comments Fri, 30 Apr 2010 11:11:00 +0000 Vikas SN http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=16369 Bharti Airtel has joined hands with the premier radio station Radio Mirchi to launch "Mirchi Mobile" for all its mobile subscribers. Under this service, any Airtel subscriber can now listen to one of the 12 Radio Mirchi Stations across India including Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi, on their Mobile phone without any FM receivers. Powered by Spice Digital, this service will be initially rolled out in New Delhi and Mumbai and rolled out to the rest of the country in a short period of time. To make use of this service, you need to simply dial 59830 on your Airtel Phone and listen to around 100 minutes of Radio Mirchi for a price of Rs. 10/week. Radio Mirchi CEO, Prashant Pandey said: "Mobile radio is going to be a good business proposition in coming months. We want to leverage it now. Radio is a very big draw among the Indian population". Shireesh Joshi, director, marketing, mobile services, Bharti Airtel, said in a company statement, “Today we are happy to partner with Radio Mirchi to innovate the radio listening experience for our customers, enabling them to carry their favourite radio experience wherever they go to any part of the country. ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/16369/bharti-airtel-joins-hands-with-radio-mirchi-to-launch-mirchi-mobile.html/feed 2 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/14372/airtel-launching-iphone-3gs-in-india-today-takes-frontpage-advert-in-newspaper.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/14372/airtel-launching-iphone-3gs-in-india-today-takes-frontpage-advert-in-newspaper.html#comments Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:52:59 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=14372 Airtel is finally launching the Apple iPhone 3GS in India today and I just saw an advert in leading newspaper The Hindu You get 500MB of free data every month for 1 year on the iPhone.  The iPhone 3GS is available at select Airtel stores . Many users who are excited about the iPhone already have got the 3GS from the grey market or from overseas.  Apple originally planned to bring the 3GS to many markets including India in August 2009. Now it's March 2010 and the India launch is just 8 months late ! With the iPhone 4G expected to be launched in June this year many users in India are disappointed. How will the sales numbers look like . We should only ask Airtel after a month or two ! And if you are one those souls who waited patiently for the official launch , be proud and if you need advice check out our review FoneArena Apple iPhone 3GS Review ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/14372/airtel-launching-iphone-3gs-in-india-today-takes-frontpage-advert-in-newspaper.html/feed 4 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/10845/nexus-one-the-dummies-guide.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/10845/nexus-one-the-dummies-guide.html#comments Tue, 05 Jan 2010 21:21:50 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=10845 With so much information overload about the Nexus One. Even a Geek can get confused about what the hell is the Nexus One ! . We put together a guide known as the Dummies Guide to the HTC Google Nexus One What the hell is the Nexus One ?  Is Google launching its own spaceship as the world is going to end in 2012 ? Are they giving tickets only to Gmail users ? Well the world is not going to end that soon.  So Google has decided to sell its own Android phone called the Nexus One. Its not a normal phone. Its a Superphone meaning you can do really super things which you have never done before on your phone like checking email,  taking photos , browsing the web etc. You can make calls too and install apps from the Android Market. You will need a gmail account to purchase this device and activate it. Whats so cool about it ? Its a Superphone and it runs Android 2.1 software. What do the specs look like ? A 1Ghz Snapdragon processor that is amazingly fast a 800x480 pixel AMOLED Touchscreen display that is awesome indoors and troublesome outdoors Voice recognition which processes your Voice on Google's ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/10845/nexus-one-the-dummies-guide.html/feed 4 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/8267/airtel-launches-tweetsms-to-sendreceive-tweets-on-your-phone.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/8267/airtel-launches-tweetsms-to-sendreceive-tweets-on-your-phone.html#comments Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:52:00 +0000 Vikas SN http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=8267 Cashing on the phenomenal growth of Twitter since a year, Airtel is launching a third-party application that allows you to receive Twitter SMS updates directly onto your phone called "tweetSMS". Initially when Twitter was launched, they had SMS updates option and they were sending the users their replies and their friends updates via SMS but somewhere in 2008 Twitter stopped sending free SMS updates to users, and instead started teaming up with different service providers around the world to create an economical and easy way to get SMS updates on your phone. In India, Twitter has teamed up exclusively with Airtel to offer the SMS service for an unknown period of time. Atul Bindal, President, Airtel Mobile Services added that this is one of their consumer-connect initiative to help retain high-end customers and also bring in more subscribers, especially the youth brigrade onto their network. Kunal Bajaj, MD of consulting firm BDA Connect. agreed to Mr. Bindal's Statement and added that the launch of tweetSMS is clearly intended as a retention and brand image play rather than a revenue play. However, after mobile number portability is introduced, it could help attract other subscribers to the Airtel network. To signup for tweetSMS, An Airtel ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/8267/airtel-launches-tweetsms-to-sendreceive-tweets-on-your-phone.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/4040/bharti-airtel-reaches-100-million-customers.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/4040/bharti-airtel-reaches-100-million-customers.html#comments Fri, 15 May 2009 13:22:44 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=4040 New Delhi, Delhi, India, Friday, May 15, 2009 --Bharti Airtel becomes the 3rd largest single country mobile services operator in the world and 6th largest single country integrated telco in the world -- Announces a series of Network augmentation and Customer service initiatives - To roll out over 100,000 BTS sites across the country - To establish a State of the Art Customer Service Management Centre - 100,000 Airtel Service Centres to be set up in rural India by March 2010 Bharti Airtel, Asia's leading Integrated Telecom services provider, today announced that it has crossed the 100 million customers mark. This milestone makes the company the 3rd largest single country mobile services operator and sixth largest in-country integrated telecom operator in the world. "The Indian Telecom sector, seen as providing the most affordable services in the world, has grown by leaps and bounds in the last decade. We are proud to have led the telecom revolution that made a positive impact on the lives of people in every corner of the country as well as the Indian economy. This remarkable journey to 100 million customers is a testament to the vision and commitment of a company that benchmarks itself with the best in the world", ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/4040/bharti-airtel-reaches-100-million-customers.html/feed 3 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/3164/airtel-india-ad-featuring-cute-kid.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/3164/airtel-india-ad-featuring-cute-kid.html#comments Mon, 23 Mar 2009 06:45:47 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=3164 You might have seen this Airtel ad on TV which shows a Kid with a Toy phone. The ad is cute and shows a kid complaining to his Dad on the toyphone about his mom not letting him play Worth a watch ! ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/3164/airtel-india-ad-featuring-cute-kid.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/1232/confirmed-3g-coming-at-the-end-of-this-year-in-india.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/1232/confirmed-3g-coming-at-the-end-of-this-year-in-india.html#comments Tue, 27 May 2008 18:29:05 +0000 Team FoneArena http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=1232 Indians were still waiting for 3G mobile services when other countries are forgetting 3G and looking towards 4G mobile technologies. Its time for the Indians to be happy now as, India’s Union Minister of Technology and Communication has made it clear that 3G telecom services in India will be up and running at the end of this year. Let me remind you that few months back the government had said that they will be opening up the 3G spectrum but this news now gives a confirm date. Earlier TRAI had said that only domestic players can bid for the spectrum but now the Union Minister has made it clear that even foreign players can bid for the 3G spectrum. May be AirTel was aware that all this is going to happen so they tested their 3G application across metro cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. Also, Videocon is launching their telecom business soon and has tied up with many players to offer 3G services and don’t forget AirTel is getting the iPhone at the end of 2008, which I think is the 3G version of current iPhone. All these things fit like a jigsaw puzzle, don’t you think so??? ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/1232/confirmed-3g-coming-at-the-end-of-this-year-in-india.html/feed 1