ITV

Category: Telecom

  • RCom sells Rs 3000 cr fibre assets to Jio

    RCom sells Rs 3000 cr fibre assets to Jio

    MUMBAI: Reliance Communications has completed the sale of its fibre assets worth Rs 3000 crore to Reliance Jio Infocomm on Monday. After the completion of the fibre monetisation transaction, 178,000 kilometres of fibre stand transferred to Reliance Jio, RCom said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

    RCom had last week completed the sale of its media convergence nodes(http://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/telecom/rcom-sells-assets-worth-rs-2000-crore-to-reliance-jio-180823) and related infrastructure assets worth Rs 2,000 crore to Reliance Jio. The company said 248 MCNs covering about 5 million square feet of area used for hosting the telecom infrastructure were transferred to Reliance Jio.

    In December 2017, as part of its debt resolution plan, RCom had struck a Rs 25,000-crore deal with the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio for the sale of its assets mortgaged with different banks, to avoid insolvency proceedings. RCom’s assets are expected to contribute significantly to the large-scale roll out of wireless and fiber-to-home and enterprise services by Reliance Jio.

    The debt-laden company expects to raise about Rs 18,000 crore by selling the wireless assets to Jio and real estate assets to Canada’s Brookfield. The company also said that it would sell an additional 65 MHz spectrum in the 800 MHz band to Jio for Rs 3,500-3,700 crore. Last year, the company shut down its wireless services.

  • RCom sells assets worth Rs 2000 crore to Reliance Jio

    RCom sells assets worth Rs 2000 crore to Reliance Jio

    MUMBAI: Reliance Communications has completed the sale of its media convergence nodes (MCNs) and related infrastructure assets worth RS 2000 crore to Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio). The received amount will be the first tranche of payment in the Anil Ambani-owned operator’s asset sale which is sinking in debt of Rs 46,000 crore.

    Following the completion of MCN monetisation transaction, 248 MCNs covering 5 million sq ft of area used for hosting the telecom infrastructure were transferred to Jio. During early trade, shares of RCom were up by 1.97 per cent at Rs 19.14 on BSE.

    The debt-laden company expects to raise about Rs 18,000 crore by selling the wireless assets to Jio and real estate assets to Canada’s Brookfield. The company also said that it would sell an additional 65 MHz spectrum in the 800 MHz band to Jio for Rs 3,500-3,700 crore. Last year, the company shut down its wireless services.

    Back in May, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) cleared the proposals for the sale of assets of Reliance Communications Ltd to Jio.

  • Bharti Airtel appoints Abhay Savargaonkar as CEO for new fibre company

    Bharti Airtel appoints Abhay Savargaonkar as CEO for new fibre company

    MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel is forming a new independent fibre company and has appointed chief technology officer Abhay Savargaonkar as the new venture’s chief executive officer, The Economic Times has reported.

    Airtel had made an internal announcement to this effect last week, the report said, adding that Savargaonkar will continue to report to Bharti Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal.

    Moreover, the company is also bringing in Randeep Singh Sekhon,  replacing Savargaonkar, to head the networks department as the new chief of technology for its India and South Asia operations. 

    The telco is in the final stages of transferring its optical fibre cable network to  Telesonic Networks Ltd, by way of a slump sale. According to experts, Airtel has to sell a good amount of stake in order to form the new company.

  • RCom replenishes bank guarantees of Rs 774 cr with DoT

    RCom replenishes bank guarantees of Rs 774 cr with DoT

    MUMBAI: Four weeks ahead of telecom tribunal’s deadline, Reliance Communications (RCom) and its subsidiaries have reinstated bank guarantees (BGs) aggregating Rs 774 crore with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) while the deadline was of 10 September.

    The issue stems from the time when DoT issued two show-cause notices to RCom. DoT threatened to cancel its licences in 14 circles and revoke spectrum allotted in 2013 and 2015. The latest move has ensured the non-cancellation of license and spectrum. Following the reinstating, the RCom stock was up 2.3 per cent at Rs 19.94 on the BSE at midday trade Monday.

    “RCom and its subsidiary, Reliance Telecom Ltd, have today reinstated bank guarantees aggregating Rs 774 crore with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), four weeks ahead of the last date of10 Sep 2018 as granted by the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT),” said the telco in a regulatory filing on Monday.

    “The reinstatement of the BGs ensures that RCom’s licence and spectrum value of Rs 11,300 crore stands fully protected, and RCom is fully compliant with the guidelines of NIA 2013 and NIA 2015,” the telco added.

    Earlier RCom moved TDSAT against DoT’s notices and told the tribunal in prior hearings that cancelling licences would push the telco back into insolvency as it would not be able to complete deal with Jio. However, RCom expects to raise Rs 18,000 crore from the deal with Jio.

  • Apex Court permits Reliance Communication to sell its assets to Reliance Jio

    Apex Court permits Reliance Communication to sell its assets to Reliance Jio

    MUMBAI: The Apex court had recently permitted Reliance Communications Ltd to sell its assets to Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd.  On Friday, the Supreme Court cleared a settlement between RCom and the Indian unit of Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson AB, making it easier for the sale of the telecom operator’s assets.

    According to a report on Mint, the judgement regarding the sale of assets was delivered by a two-judge bench headed by justice R.F. Nariman. The bench directed Reliance Communications to pay Rs 550 crore to Ericsson by 1 October and asked RCom chairman Anil Ambani to give an undertaking to this effect. On 1 October, the apex court will also hear RCom’s plea to close the insolvency case. Bloomberg reports that Ericsson has objected to the settlement terms of the insolvency case.

    The report further notes that that the sale of RCom’s assets will reduce the lenders’ exposure by 50 per cent and it owes about Rs 42,000 crore to its lenders. As part of the deal, Reliance Jio will get 122.4 MHz of 4G spectrum in the 800/900/1800/2100 MHz bands. It will also get 43,000 towers and 1,78,000 RKM (route km) of fiber and 248 media convergence nodes that will cover five million square feet.

    Earlier in 2014, Ericsson had signed a seven-year deal with RCom to operate and manage its nationwide telecom network. The Indian unit Swedish telecom operator has stated that it has not been paid over Rs 1,000 crore. Earlier It has claimed outstanding dues of Rs 16,000 crore but settled for Rs 550 crore. The sale of Reliance Communications’ telecom assets to Reliance Jio is pegged at Rs 25,000 crore and the sale is expected to complete within the next three weeks.

    At the end of the deal, Reliance Jio will get more telecom assets to expand its wired and wireless business in the country. It will mainly help with Jio’s impending commercial availability of Reliance Jio GigaFiber service.

  • Reliance Jio, SBI partner to boost digital transactions

    Reliance Jio, SBI partner to boost digital transactions

    MUMBAI: SBI and Reliance Jio have entered into a collaboration to increase SBI’s digital customer base multi-fold. SBI’s Yono app will integrate with MyJio platform. Yono’s digital banking features and solutions will be enabled through the MyJio platform.

    Jio Prime will offer exclusive deals from Reliance retail, Jio, partner brands and merchants. SBI customers will be offered additional loyalty reward earning opportunities as well as broader redemption within Reliance, Jio and other online and physical partner ecosystems.

    “As India’s largest Bank with leadership in digital banking, we are delighted to partner with Jio the world’s largest network. All the areas of co-operation are mutually beneficial enhancing the digital foot-print for SBI customers with superior and rewarding customer experiences,” SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar commented on the partnership.

    SBI will engage Jio as one of its preferred partners for designing and providing network and connectivity solutions. Moreover, the public sector bank will launch customer-centric services such as video banking and other on-demand services.

    “The scale of the SBI customer base is unmatched globally. Jio is committed to using its superior network and platforms combined with the retail ecosystem to accelerate digital adoption serving all the needs for SBI’s and Jio’s customers,” RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani said.

  • Q1 earnings could make Reliance Jio second largest telco by RMS

    Q1 earnings could make Reliance Jio second largest telco by RMS

    MUMBAI: In the 1st quarter of FY 2018, Reliance Jio’s operating revenue increased 14.6 per cent quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q). On the back of its strong earnings number, the telco operator could emerge as the second-largest telco by revenue market share (RMS) in the April-June quarter displacing Vodafone India which is in the final stages of merging with Kumar Mangalam Birla-led Idea Cellular.

    As per brokerage CLSA’s estimation Jio’s RMS would have increased by 3 percentage points to 23 per cent in the April-June period, following the positive surprise on the average revenue per user (ARPU) front that was 13 per cent ahead of its estimates, according to a report from Economic Times.

    Amid the tarrif war started by Jio, both Vodafone and Idea Jio added 28.7 subscribers Q1 2019  are losing ground in the telecom market. The speedy closure of the merger would help the combined entity as it will emerge as the country’s largest telco with the highest RMS of 37 per cent. However, as Jio is unlikely to raise tarrif soon, analysts expect the bad financial phase of Bharti Airtel and Vodafone-Idea merged entity to continue.

    “Jio is in no mood to raise tariffs anytime soon as it’s adding 9-10 million subscribers per month, delivering strong minutes, data traffic and revenue growth, which is bad news for Bharti Airtel and the (emerging) Vodafone-Idea combined entity, who need to offer some resistance by raising large sums of capital to accelerate 4G network build and also start matching Jio on tariffs,” JM Financial said in a note to clients as mentioned by ET.

    Jio added 28.7 subscribers Q1 2019 and hence its subscriber base increased to 215.3 million in Q1 2019 from 186.6 million in Q4 2018. ARPU declined slightly q-o-q to Rs 135.50 per month in Q1 2019 from Rs 137.1 per month in Q4 2018. The company reported subscriber churn of 0.3 per cent per month in Q1 2019 as compared to a slightly lower 0.25 per cent per month in Q4 2018.

  • Jio numbers up on larger subscriber base and higher usage of services

    Jio numbers up on larger subscriber base and higher usage of services

    BENGALURU: When Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani’s biggest startup in the world Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (Jio) started operations it had startled the Indian telecom industry ecosystem in the country. Jio had reported a net profit of Rs 723 crore against operating revenue of Rs 20,154 crore and value of services of Rs 23,714 crore for fiscal 2018 (year ended 31 March 2018, FY 2018).

    For the first quarter ended 30 June 2018 (Q1 2018, quarter or period under review), the company’s operating revenue increased 14.6 per cent quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) to Rs 9,653 crore from Rs 8,421 crore in the immediate trailing quarter Q4 2018. Net standalone profit for the quarter under review was Rs 612 crore.

    Jio’s EBIT increased 14.7 per cent q-o-q n Q1 2019 to Rs 1,715 crore as compared to Rs 1,495 crore in Q4 2018. EBITDA increased 16.8 per cent q-o-q during the period under review to Rs 3,147 crore.

    Jio says in its earnings media release that customer activity grew substantially in the quarter under review with average data consumption per user per month of 10.6 GB and average voice consumption of 744 minutes per user per month.  Also, video consumption drove most of the usage, increasing to 340 crore hours per month on the network; average video consumption of 15.4 hours per subscriber per month. For Q4 2018, the company had reported average data consumption per user per month of 9.7 GB and average voice consumption of 716 minutes per user per month. Also video consumption was at over 240 crore hours per month in the immediate trailing quarter.

    Jio added 28.7 subscribers Q1 2019 and hence its subscriber base increased to 215.3 million in Q1 2019 from 186.6 million in Q4 2018. Average revenue per user (ARPU) declined slightly q-o-q to Rs 135.50 per month in Q1 2019 from Rs 137.1 per month in Q4 2018. The company reported subscriber churn of 0.3 per cent per month in Q1 2019 as compared to a slightly lower 0.25 per cent per month in Q4 2018.

    Reliance Industries numbers for Q1 2019

    Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is the parent company of Jio. RIL consolidated revenue increased by 56.5 per cent to Rs 141,699 crore ($ 20.7 billion) in Q1 2019. Consolidated PBDIT increased by 52.8 per cent to Rs 22,449 crore ($ 3.3 billion). Consolidated Profit Before Tax increased by 30.3 per cent to Rs 13,726 crore ($ 2.0 billion).Consolidated Cash Profit increased by 41.2 per cent to Rs 15,892 crore ($ 2.3 billion). Consolidated Net Profit increased by 17.9 per cent to Rs 9,459 crore ($ 1.4 billion).

    Company speak

    Commenting on the results, Reliance Industries Ltd, the parent company of Jio, chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani said: “We continue to focus on strong delivery through operational excellence in our portfolio of businesses. Financial results of Q1 2019 underscore the strength of the petrochemicals we have reinforced over the last investment cycle. Our petrochemicals business generated record EBITDA with strong volumes and an upswing in polyester chain margins. Refining business performance remained steady despite the seasonal weakness in cracks. Continuing strength in global demand for oil products and implementation of more stringent environmental norms for marine fuels augurs well for our refining business. Our consumer businesses continue to scale new highs and now account for nearly 21 per cent of consolidated segment EBITDA. Retail business revenues have more than doubled and EBITDA has trebled on a y-o-y basis. Jio added a record number of subscribers, highlighting the compelling technology and value proposition that Jio offers vis-à-vis other networks. The scalability of our consumer business platforms is driving unprecedented value generation for our customers, our country and our shareholders.”

  • Gas-O-Fast hands digital duties to Columbus India

    Gas-O-Fast hands digital duties to Columbus India

    MUMBAI: Columbus India, the data-driven digital marketing agency from Dentsu Aegis Network, has been appointed as the digital agency for Gas-O-Fast, a product of Mankind Pharma. The account was won following a multi-agency pitch and will be handled out of the agency’s Delhi office.

    As part of the new mandate, the assignment will involve using Columbus India’s expertise in the digital ecosystem for managing digital media, SEO (search engine optimisation), SMO (social media optimisation), website development and maintenance for Gas-O-Fast.

    Gas-O-Fast assistant general manager of marketing Joy Chatterjee says, “It gives us immense pleasure to partner with Columbus India as our digital social agency. This relationship will help Gas-O-Fast reach out to our potential users across the internet, thereby maximising our reach and keeping our focus on the healthy lifestyle of our customers.”

    Columbus India chief business officer Nitin Sabharwal adds, “Getting our first brand from Mankind Pharma is very exciting and we look forward to deploying our complete creative suite of services allowing us to deliver high social engagement for the brand.” 

    Columbus India CEO Anurag Gupta mentions, “It’s a start to our relationship with Mankind Pharma who have placed their faith in us for their brand Gas-O-Fast. We look forward to making this relationship into a multi-brand and multi-services engagement.”

  • CTOs of telecom giants Airtel and Jio quit

    CTOs of telecom giants Airtel and Jio quit

    MUMBAI: Two top executives from the Indian telecom behemoths, Airtel and Jio, have resigned. Jagbir Singh and Shyam Mardikar were working as chief technology officers in Jio and Airtel respectively, according to a Press Trust of India report.

    Jagbir Singh joined Reliance Industrial Ltd’s (RIL) telecom venture Jio in May 2015 before the soft launch of 4G services. He also worked with Jio’s rival Airtel and Korean multinational conglomerate Samsung. His experience spans over 28 years.

    Shyam Mardikar who joined Airtel six years back has also put in papers. Since January 2017 he was working as the CTO of the company. However, before this stint also Mardikar worked with Airtel for almost a decade from 2001-2010.

    While Jio did not respond to the development, the report says an Airtel spokesperson has confirmed the development. It also claims Mardikar has resigned for further growth in career.