Airtel to join Google’s Android One plan

BL 14 Sep 14

 

Telecom operators, including Bharti Airtel, and e-commerce firms such as Flipkart and Amazon, are expected to be part of Google’s Android One devices strategy, which will be unveiled today.

Airtel is expected to offer free data plans bundled with handsets, adding to Google’s efforts in making mobile Internet more affordable.

The devices will be marketed by Micromax, Lava and Spice. The handset makers will sell the devices exclusively through e-commerce sites, such as Amazon and Flipkart.

Low-cost smartphones

Google had first talked about the Android One strategy in June. The Internet giant’s objective is to make quality smartphones at lower costs for emerging markets. It has picked India to launch these devices first as the smartphone market here is growing at a record pace.

While the phones are expected to be priced below ₹6,000, the tie-up with Airtel will ensure tariffs do not hinder Internet access.

Under the Android One programme, handset brands will be given a standardised hardware and software design, which until now was available only on expensive phones. Users will also get faster updates of the operating system.

One of the biggest criticisms of Android has been the lack of standards at the lower end. But with the Android One programme, device makers will make phones with minimum specifications.

Google is also bringing multi-lingual capabilities on the devices to enable users from different parts of the country use text or Internet browsing in local languages.

How Google benefits

The Android One plan will help Google reach the next billion users. The more users it gets for its services built into smartphones, the more its ad revenues will rise. Other Internet companies such as Facebook are also strategising to enable cheaper data access.

For instance, Facebook has the Internet.org platform under which it is partnering with telecom firms, device makers and developers to make Internet services affordable. In India, Facebook is offering free access even to users with feature phones.

According to research firm IDC, smartphone sales in India grew almost three-fold to over 44 million in 2013. In the second quarter of 2014, 18.42 million smartphones were shipped. Though Samsung is the leader with 29 per cent market share, Micromax (18 per cent), Karbonn (8 per cent) and Lava (6 per cent) are closing in. The Android One devices could propel the Indian brands further up in the market.

While Android is the dominant OS, the challenge could come from newer platforms such as Firefox. Intex recently launched a phone with the Firefox OS, for ₹2,000. It will be interesting to see how Google responds to this challenge.

Aircel-Airtel SMS dispute leaves users fuming

The Hindu : Karthik Subramanian :chennai  :20 Nov 2012

Text channel between networks broke down earlier this month; Aircel has taken issue to apex court

An ongoing dispute between mobile service providers Airtel and Aircel on the settlement of an inter-connection agreement over SMS services has left millions of users in the lurch.

The SMS channel between the two companies broke down just before Deepavali, and the blockade is likely to continue for some time, with Aircel having taken the issue to the Supreme Court.

CONSUMERS CONFUSED

Scores of users, unaware that the inter-connectivity between the two networks has broken down, are confused: specifically Airtel users who are not able to text or reply to messages from Aircel users. Some of them have even taken their mobile phones to service centres to get them checked.

“Mobile networks often bombard us with promotional messages,” says N. Arjun, a college student. “So why did they not inform us by text message that there was a problem of inter-connectivity,” he asks.

Small businesses that depended on text messaging as a primary means of communication between clients and service providers have been most hit. “No wonder my clients could not reach me over the past few days,” Narayanan Hariharan, an entrepreneur said.

Another heavy SMS user R. Sathyanarayanan, a professor with a management institute here, asked: “I have been struggling to understand the ‘message not sent’ alerts on my phone. Why could the service provider not inform us that there have been some restrictions on usage?”

The scenario has also led to some of the younger users conversant with instant messaging services on data networks, to opt for services like WhatsApp and Viber as the de-facto messaging service on their smartphones.

LONG-STANDING DISPUTE

The dispute between Airtel and Aircel is a long-standing one. Aircel had filed a petition with the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) in New Delhi last year over Airtel raising a bill of approximately Rs. 25 crore towards inter-connection usage charges for the period April to October 2011, at the rate of 10 paise per SMS terminating in its network.

Aircel contested the fee demanded by Airtel as too high and said it was untenable to pass on such a huge burden to its users. On Monday, both companies responded in very brief statements, as the issue is sub-judice.

An Airtel spokesperson said: “Airtel continues to be in compliance with Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) regulations as well as TDSAT judgements on the issue of SMS interconnection between operators. The TDSAT judgement has inter-alia specified execution of interconnection agreement for SMS services by Aircel with Airtel, which is pending till date with Aircel. Consequently, SMS services have been impacted.”

An Aircel spokesperson responded: “Bharti Airtel was the first to block SMSes between the two companies – Aircel and Airtel. This started on November 9, 2012. In these circumstances, if an SMS is accepted but is not delivered to an Aircel customer, the responsibility lies with the sender operator, in this case ‘Airtel’, and Aircel is in no way responsible for customer inconvenience or the customer being charged for the message not going through to its recipient. The case against Airtel is pending in Supreme Court and since it is sub-judice we will be unable to comment any further on this topic till the court hearing is over.”

ICICI Bank topples Bharti, enters top-10 most valued list

PTI: BL: Mumbai:Aug,8,2012

ICICI Bank today toppled Bharti Airtel to become the country’s 10th most valued firm in terms of market capitalisation, pushing the telecom major out of the top-10 list following a sharp fall in its share price after it posted a sharp dip in first quarter profit.

Bharti Airtel’s scrip was under pressure, down 4.4 per cent on the BSE in early trade, as its net profit declined 37 per cent to Rs 762.2 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2012 — the tenth straight quarterly fall.

As a result, Airtel’s m-cap slipped to Rs 1,08,305 crore, making it the 11th most valued firm, as against ICICI Bank’s Rs 1,12,006 crore m-cap which pushed it to 10th place.

Market experts blamed the fall in Bharti’s scrip and market cap to below-expectation results.

“Bharti reported below estimate numbers, both its domestic and African operations reported a marginal decline,” Rikesh Parikh, VP Markets, Motilal Oswal Securities, said.

Another analyst, Ankita Somani, Research Analyst-IT & Telecom, Angel Broking said, “Bharti reported a disappointing performance for Q1 FY13, with its net profit declining for the tenth straight quarter due to higher operating costs. Overall the results were subdued.”

Meanwhile, the shares of ICICI Bank were trading at Rs 971.5, down marginally by 0.24 per cent.

The top-10 list is led by RIL with a m-cap of Rs 2,59,409 crore, followed by TCS (Rs 2,45,141 crore), ONGC (Rs 2,37,885 crore), Coal India (Rs 2,19,462 crore), ITC (Rs 2,04,529 crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 1,40,568 crore), SBI (Rs 1,39,332 crore), NTPC (Rs 1,37,740 crore), Infosys (Rs 1,31,154 crore) and ICICI Bank (Rs 1,12,006 crore).

The market capitalisation of a listed company corresponds to the cumulative market price of all its shares. This figure changes daily with the stock price.

IBM to manage Bharti Airtel's IT operations in Africa

Source :Hindustan Times :New Delhi, September 17, 2010

India's largest cellphone operator Bharti Airtel Friday said global technology major IBM will supply the computing technology and services for its telecom  network across 16 nations in sub-Saharan Africa. 

The two companies, whose partnership began in 2004, will finalise an agreement to this 

 

effect in the fourth quarter, the company said in a regulatory filing.

The deal will enable Bharti Airtel to provide innovative and affordable second and third generation mobile services across the continent.

"There are huge opportunities throughout Africa to transform how people communicate and how communities interact. Delivering on that opportunity through affordable mobile communications for everyone is our focus," said Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman and managing director, Bharti Airtel.

Under the 10-year agreement, IBM will consolidate 16 different IT systems across Bharti Airtel's African operations into an integrated one and will oversee the management of all of the applications, data centre operations, servers, storage and desktop services.

"We are delighted to extend our successful relationship with IBM in South Asia to Africa. This transformational business delivery model, which will be a first in Africa's telecom industry, will bring enhanced efficiencies to our operations and help us deliver world-class mobile services to our customers," added Mittal.

According to a Deloitte report commissioned by the mobile communications industry association GSMA, only 40 out of every 100 Africans have a mobile phone. However, demand is growing at an average rate of 25 percent annually, and a 10 percent rise in mobile penetration could increase gross domestic product by 1.2 per cent in developing markets.

The partnership will enable the telecom operator to scale up its network and systems to cater to more than 100 million African customers by 2012.

Once the agreement is completed, IBM  will handle customer service for Bharti and provide the hardware, software and services to run everything from billing and call-traffic management to delivering new services like music and video.

Bharti Airtel a few months ago acquired most of the African assets of Kuwait’s mobile telecom company Zain.

Soon, Airtel users can shop up to Rs 5000 via mobiles

Source ; ET Bureau, Sep 16, 2010, 12.07pm IST



NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel customers will soon be able to make virtual payments at retail outlets and restaurants using their cell phones.

The country's largest telco by both revenues and customers has got the nod from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to collect a maximum of `5,000 from customers, which can be converted to virtual money stored on mobile phones, and can be used at outlets that have a tie-up with Airtel.

All leading mobile phone companies are also slated to get the 'semi-closed wallet' licence over the next couple of months.

India has over 650 million mobile users and all telecom companies are looking at offering a range of financial services, including the electronic version of the leather wallet, which can be used to make secure payments across a wide spectrum of goods and services covering all sectors, Such concepts are already operational in Japan, South Korea, parts of China and certain markets in Europe.

Earlier this year, RBI in its annual monetary policy said that it was looking to use mobile phones as a medium for taking banking facilities to the remote and far-flung areas while also adding that banks and cellular operators must cooperate, rather than compete with each other for this initiative.

"Semi-closed wallet are prepaid payment instruments that are redeemable at a group of clearly-identified merchant locations/ establishments which contract specifically with the issuer to accept the payment instrument. These instruments do not permit cash withdrawal or redemption by the holder," Bharti Airtel said in a statement. In fact, Bhutan Telecom has already introduced M-money or mobile money payment, which is a one-stop

shop for making payments of all utility bills including telephone, electricity and water bills. Bharti Airtel did not give any timeframe for the launch of services on this platform.

"Currently we are evaluating various options that this licence provides to find out how best we can create a value proposition for Airtel customers. It is imperative to design a safe & convenient deployment before we can take to the market," its statement added.

As per RBI guidelines, the pre-paid value that is being loaded will be distinct from talktime. In other words, the telecom operator will not be able to create money. For the consumer, this implies, they will not be able to exchange this money for talktime. Bharti Airtel will also be mandated to deposit the money raised in a zero balance escrow account with a bank.

Analysts say that RBI's move to approve 'Semi closed wallet' will be the first step towards democratisation of mobile commerce in the country. It is estimated that only 1% (8 million) of the country's 650 million cell phone users avail mobile commerce services. This is expected to go up to 50 million by 2012.