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Aircel appoints ZTE for 4G network deployment starting from Tamil Nadu and Chennai

Aircel has appointed China’s ZTE Corporation to supply and deploy its 4G network in India. ZTE had already partnered with Aitel to deploy 4G network in Kolkata and Chandigarh. We already reported that Aircel would start 4G LTE trial starting from Chennai by the end of 2013. Now Aircel has announced that LTE deployment will be initiated in Chennai, Rest of Tamil Nadu (RoTN) and few other business critical circles.
Continue reading “Aircel appoints ZTE for 4G network deployment starting from Tamil Nadu and Chennai”

Airtel Mobitude 2013 survey shows 124% jump in data users, 3G devices contributed to 87% of data traffic

Bharti Airtel has released the results of Airtel Mobitude 2013, the 5th edition of its Indian annual survey that reveals that mobile TV, Bollywood, Hello Tunes, Re 1 entertainment store and gaming ruled customer preferences. Mobile TV witnessed 400% plus jump in viewership over last year. Airtel Re 1 entertainments store paved way for data usage growth . The number of data users jump 124% from last year and data consumption jumped 220%. About 87% of data traffic was contributed by 3G-enabled devices. Smartphones with 5.5″ plus screen jumped 123% in last two quarters and Google remains in top as most visited site, followed by YouTube and Facebook.
Continue reading “Airtel Mobitude 2013 survey shows 124% jump in data users, 3G devices contributed to 87% of data traffic”

Airtel now offers free Facebook access for prepaid customers in 9 Indian languages

Earlier this year Airtel launched “Free Facebook on Airtel” offer for their pre-paid customers that offered Free Facebook access for Airtel customers for 1 month without any extra packs. The offer is back again, now Airtel allow pre-paid customers access Facebook both on mobile web (m.facebook.com) and through Facebook apps in 9 regional Indian languages. Continue reading “Airtel now offers free Facebook access for prepaid customers in 9 Indian languages”

Aircel now offers 3G video calling benefits with select data packs

Aircel now offers video calling benefits across its 3G circles for this festive season. Aircel now offers cheaper tariffs of 1.6 paisa per second on video calls (Aircel to Aircel). The PI 29 and PI 128 data packs now offer on-net (Aircel to Aircel) video calling minutes, apart from standard data benefit . The PI 29 packs offers 10 minutes of video calling and the PI 128 packs offers 100 minutes of video calls within validity. Aircel slashed data rates on 3G packs earlier this year. These packs come with a validity of 7 days and 30 days, respectively. Cost of the pack might vary depending on the circle. Continue reading “Aircel now offers 3G video calling benefits with select data packs”

Vodafone India launches Music service along with an Android app

Vodafone Music

Vodafone India today launched Vodafone Music, the company’s new music service that enables users stream, share and download music and watch music videos at a nominal cost. Vodafone has also launched an Android app that lets users listen, explore and download audio and video songs. This subscription-based service for Vodafone users comes in daily, weekly and monthly packs. The music service is powered by Hungama with a vast collection of songs in various genres and languages. Continue reading “Vodafone India launches Music service along with an Android app”

Micromax and MTS partner to launch Canvas Blaze Dual SIM (CDMA+GSM) smartphone for Rs. 10999

Micromax Canvas Blaze

Micromax Canvas Blaze MT500 that appeared online last week, has been officially launched in India. Micromax has partnered with MTS to launch the Dual SIM (CDMA+GSM) smartphone. It comes with a 5-inch (480x 854 pixels) display, powered by 1 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with integrated EVDO and a GSM modem and runs on Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean). It has a 8-megapixel auto focus rear camera with LED Flash and a 0.3-megapixel (VGA) front-facing camera. MTS offers free data and Voice benefits for 6 months from the date of purchase. Continue reading “Micromax and MTS partner to launch Canvas Blaze Dual SIM (CDMA+GSM) smartphone for Rs. 10999”

Aircel launches a new pack with voice calling benefits and 6 months validity in Delhi

Aircel has launched a new pack with 6-months validity for their customers in Delhi. This pack offers local and outgoing calls at discounted rates and free local and national calling minutes for a period of six months and also comes with free data for 30 days. The FRC 95 costs Rs. 95 and is currently available only in Delhi. Continue reading “Aircel launches a new pack with voice calling benefits and 6 months validity in Delhi”

Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel to share telecom infrastructure

Reliance Tower

Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio Infocomm would share their telecom infrastructure to cut the cost on their networks, according to a report from PTI. This includes optic fiber network – inter and intra city, submarine cable networks, towers and broadband services. This might also be extended to roaming on 2G, 3G and 4G, and any other mutually benefiting areas relating to telecommunication in near future. Continue reading “Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel to share telecom infrastructure”

Airtel to invest Rs. 4000 crores to expand 4G LTE services in Punjab

Airtel has announced that they have partnered with the Government of Punjab to sign an agreement at the Progressive Punjab Investors Summit to expand the 4G LTE services to all towns and villages across Punjab. The company will invest Rs. 4000 crores in Punjab over next 5 years. Continue reading “Airtel to invest Rs. 4000 crores to expand 4G LTE services in Punjab”

Vodafone to reportedly buyout its Indian partners for Rs. 10,141 crore

Back in October there were reports that the UK telecom giant Vodafone was planning to increase its stake in the Indian unit by buying out its Indian partners. Now Economic Times reports that Vodafone Group will buy out its Indian partners by paying Analjit Singh Rs 1,241 crore and Piramal Enterprises Rs 8,900 crore for their stakes in Vodafone India. So the company would end up paying Rs 10,141 crore. Vodafone currently holds 64.38% stake in the Indian unit directly. Continue reading “Vodafone to reportedly buyout its Indian partners for Rs. 10,141 crore”

Idea Netsetter 21.6 Mbps 3G Dongle launched for Rs. 2160

Idea

Idea Cellular has launched Idea NetSetter MF677, a new version of 3G USB dongle, in four of its 3G circles in India. The new dongle offers speeds up to 21.6 Mbps and also lets users transfer data, stream media, and send SMS messages seamlessly while on the move. It is also India’s first Microsoft Windows 8 / 8.1 and Windows RT certified device and is also compatible with Windows, Linux and MAC operating systems as well as backward compatible on EDGE and GPRS. Continue reading “Idea Netsetter 21.6 Mbps 3G Dongle launched for Rs. 2160”

Videocon Telecom launches new voucher to cut outgoing roaming call rates by 50%

Videocon Telecom has introduced a new tariff voucher that reduces outgoing roaming call rates by 50 percent. This pack lets customers make local calls at 50 paise per minute and STD calls at 75 paise per minute while roaming across India. Videocon was the first operator in India to make incoming calls free while on roaming on their own network, without any processing fee or a special tariff voucher. The company launched 3 free National Incoming Roaming packs recently with free incoming calling minutes while roaming on other networks. Continue reading “Videocon Telecom launches new voucher to cut outgoing roaming call rates by 50%”

Airtel and Manchester United launch Manchester United Tricks game for iPhone and iPad in India

Manchester United Tricks for iPhone and iPad

Bharti Airtel and Manchester United has partnered to launch Manchester United Tricks game for soccer fans in India. This interactive game features animations of past and present Manchester United players, which lets you control the animations to perform tricks to earn points & bonuses. Users can purchase and unlock new players and virtual items such as club kits and locations and also engage with favorite football club. Airtel launched Manchester United’s Fixtures App in India recently. Continue reading “Airtel and Manchester United launch Manchester United Tricks game for iPhone and iPad in India”

Airtel to launch 4G LTE on Smartphones in Bangalore this December

Airtel launched 4G LTE services in Pune last October, and rolled out the 4G TD-LTE service in Kolkata, Bengaluru and Punjab, but it doesn’t support voice or SMS currently. Earlier this year Airtel had announced that they would offer voice services for 4G customers in Pune. The company recently shared on Twitter that they plan to introduce 4G services for customers with 4G-enabled smartphones. Continue reading “Airtel to launch 4G LTE on Smartphones in Bangalore this December”

BSNL Penta Smart PS650 and PS501, 6.5-inch and 5-inch Smartphones launched for Rs. 7999 and Rs. 6999

BSNL Penta launch event

BSNL has partnered with Pantel Technologies Private Limited (PTPL) once again to launch Bharat Phone PF300, a feature phone, Penta Smart phones, PS501 & PS650 and the Penta T-Pad WS707C tablet in India. The Bharat phone PF300 is based on Java and supports mobile banking, tele-medical care delivery and streaming data delivery. The PentaSmart PS650 is the first smartphone with a 6.5-inch screen in India priced under Rs. 10,000, says the company. Both the Penta smartphones are powered by a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor and run on Android 4.2. All the Penta Smart devices are pre-loaded with the suite of Anti-Malware offerings from TrustPort. These devices also come pre-bundled with BSNL 3G data and voice minutes. Continue reading “BSNL Penta Smart PS650 and PS501, 6.5-inch and 5-inch Smartphones launched for Rs. 7999 and Rs. 6999”