Complete Guide to MNP Offers in India


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.

Continue reading “Complete Guide to MNP Offers in India”

Arun Sarin Steps down from Vodafone CEO post

May be being an Indian Himself he knew VodaFone India did terribly poor services and most of the subscribers are an unhappy lot.

Well thats not the reason why Arun is stepping down. Arun Sarin is Old He is 53 which is not quite old if he is working in India. Well Arun Sarin informed that he will retiring from the post of CEO of the worlds largest cellular conglomorate Vodafone. (PS Not in India though he is an Indian himself). Continue reading “Arun Sarin Steps down from Vodafone CEO post”

Vodafone India plans JV to expand operations in India

Vodafone is currently in expansion mode in India. According to a Wall Street Journal report

Vodafone is planning Joint Venture to speed Indian Expansion.

Theres a lot of rivalry between telecom operators in India but when it comes to cutting costs they seem to be joining hands. Setting up towers is a very costly deal for the tel cos.

Continue reading “Vodafone India plans JV to expand operations in India”

Vodafone India sports the Global Red branding

The Global Mobile Service Providers starts operations in India, the 2nd largest mobile market in the world. The Vodafone logo is synonymous with the Global Red Branding strategy of Vodafone.

Vodafone_logoAs an Indian Mobile user, I have never seen Vodafone as a Mobile brand. I relate it to the Ferrari Formula 1 Team ( Vodafone is a sponsor for the team)

But now all of a sudden, Vodafone is a Mobile Operator in India. Vodafone is known worldwide for its Value Added Services. Will be interesting to see what Vodafone does in India considering the nature of the market.

Vodafone-pug

The Hutch pug in the new Vodafone TV AD

Vodafone-hutch-operator

My Vodafone number phone was showing the Hutch operator text till yesterday

but changed to Vodafone suddenly . A really fast re-branding excercise I must say.

Now the hutch website hutch.in points to vodafone.in

Vodafone India will replace Hutch from September 20

The Hutch pug and the Hutch pink will soon not be seen on Indian screens and hoardings as Vodafone is going to roll out its Global branding in India from September.

Arun Sarin, CEO of Vodafone will unleash the Vodafone logo later this week in India

Vodafone has made bulk bookings on Star and Sony Television for airing the new Ads.

Hutch logo will be replaced by Vodafone soon

We had hinted earlier the Hutch might change colors again in What will Vodafone do with Hutch

Looks like Vodafone wants to spread its brand image in India soon. So its going to be the the Battle of the Reds (Vodafone vs Airtel) as Hutch and Airtel are the largest mobile operators in India. Hutch has always been seen as an elite brand in the country as it is present only in a few circles.  Vodafone is known for its Premium services around the world. Vodafone cannot use the same global pricing strategy in India for sure due to the nature of the market here. Lets wait and watch Till then it may may bid good bye to the Hutch Pug

Hutchison Essar rechristens as Vodafone Essar

Vodafone Essar will be the new name of the old Hutch venture in India. This move comes after Vodafone’s acquistion of HTIL.

Asim Ghosh, Hutchison Essar’s current chief executive, will be chairman and chief executive officer.

Arun Sarin will be the Vice Chairman.

Ravi Ruia will  non-executive chairman

What will Vodafone do with Hutch ?

Hutch has changed colors since it started operations in India.

I remember seeing Hutch first in the Orange. They then changed to pink and blue.

Now after Vodafone has taken over Hutch , will Hutch move to Red synonymous with India’s other largest telecom provider Airtel.

It would be interesting to see what Vodafone does with Hutch.

hutch_dog_vodafone.jpg

Hutch India now Vodafone’s Baby

The battle’s finally over ? Atleast IBN Live says so.

The long battle amongst the Telecom biggies for the aquisition of Hutch India might be over.

Vodafone has won the bid for $19 Billion.Essar is happy about the deal and the price. Vodafone is said to have even offered Essar to become a partner firm.

Hutch is expected to announce an official statement tomorrow

via [ibnlive]

The Hutch Saga continues

The rumors have started again. Reports suggest that the Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa group is believed to be considering a sale of its telecom business. The sale might include Hutchison Essar as well. Hutch has postponed its IPO in India so many times.

Vodafone has shown interest in taking over Hutchison Essar. Its willing to offer upto 13.5 Billion Dollars for the deal. Reliance is reported to have teamed up with Blackstone Ventures and is willing to offer upto 15 Billion Dollars.

Its interesting to note that Vodafone has an 10% stake in Bharti Airtel  which is valued at  close to 1.4 Billion pounds. But  there is a no compete attached to this deal.

We still need to wait and see the turn of events.

[ibnlive ]

3G might soon be rolled out in India

The Government has alloted low power 3G spectrum to MTNL, BSNL, Hutch and Bharti for testing.TRAI will finalize pricing and allocation details by end of this month.Sources say that 3G spectrum allocation will be made available for less than a month. Strength of spectrum allocation will be 1,000 times less than the actual 3G spectrum.

TATA Teleservices had sought 3G trial spectrum but was not considered.Reliance had sought the 1900 MHz Band which did not conform to the International CDMA 3G trial norms.

But if Reliance sought the 800 Mhz band for Testing EVDO , it might be considered

The government’s spectrum allocation to telcos is mainly for equipment testing and
interference measurement.
via [ibn-live]

Zero Rental GPRS

Airtel and Hutch are coming up with Zero Rental GPRS service as pointed out by Mobile Pundit.

Airtel Chennai offers a zero-rental GPRS service for its post-paid customers at pay-per-use rate of Re 1 per 100 kilobytes. Which works out to Rs 10 per 1MB.

Hutch is also planning to bring out something similar.

Its great news for those people who wish to try the service but not willing to shell out a monthly rental.