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Tag: Jio

  • CCI rejects Airtel charges against Jio

    MUMBAI: The fair trade regulator has dismissed the case of ‘predatory pricing’ that Airtel alleged against Reliance Jio. Airtel officials declined to comment on the development.

    Just giving free access to its services cannot be termed as ‘anti-competitive’, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) stated.

    Airtel had alleged that Jio, in a bid to race ahead in the telecom competition, had indulged in ‘predatory pricing’ since its commercial launch on 5 September 2016.

    With unfair trade practice of free services, Airtel alleged, Jio had used its financial muscle to gain a foothold into the telecom world of stiff competition.

    Airtel charges, the trade regulator stated, would not be considered ‘anti-competitive’ since Jio’s offers were to attract customers.

    A short-term business offer or strategy of a new entrant to penetrate a market cannot be considered as ‘anti-competitive’ in nature and could not be a subject of investigation, CCI stated.

  • Airtel mobile & DTH subs up, Jio-hit data customers & rev drop

    BENGALURU: Saying that Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel), once touted as the largest cellular operator in the country both in terms of revenue as well as subscriber numbers, has had a tough battle with Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani’s Reliance Jio Infocomm would be making an understatement. Ambani’s largest startup in the world ever has given a run for the money to all its telecom and internet services provider peers in the country.

    As on 31 March 2017 (Q4-17, FY-17 – quarter and year ended 31 March 2017), the company had 273.6 million (27.36 crore) GSM customers in India as compared to 251.2 million (25.12 crore) in previous year, an increase of 8.9 percent. DTH subscribers for Airtel’s Digital TV Services segment (Airtel DTH) increased 9.3 percent to 12.815 million (1.2815 crore) at the end of the FY-17 from 11.725 million (1.1725 crore) at the end of FY-16. The company had 57.4 million (5.74 crore) data customers (21.0 percent of total customers) as on March 31, 2017, representing a decline of 1.5 percent as compared to 58.2 million (5.82 crore) (23.2 percent of total customers) at the end of the previous year.

    The total MBs on the network for the full year FY-17 increased by 47.3 percent to 733.1 billion (733,100 crore) MBs as compared to 497.7 billion (497,700 crore) MBs in the previous year. Mobile Data usage per customer for the full year FY-17 witnessed an increase of 31.0 percent to 1,049 MBs per month as compared to 801 MBs in the previous year. Data ARPU decreased by 4.5 percent to Rs 185 during Fy-17 from Rs 194 in the previous year.

    Revenue from operations (operating revenue) declined 12.1 percent year-on-year (y-o-y) to Rs 2,193.46 crore in Q4-17 from Rs 2,495.96 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter. FY-17 operating revenue declined 1.1 percent to Rs 95,468.3 crore from Rs 96532.1 crore in the previous year. PAT for Q4-17 declined 69.2 percent to Rs 470.6 percent (2.1 percent of operating revenue) from Rs 1,462 crore (5.7 percent of operating revenue) in Q4-16. PAT for FY-17 declined 38.5 percent to Rs 4,241.4 crore (4.4 percent of operating revenue) from Rs 6,893 crore (7.1 percent of operating revenue).

    In its earnings statement, Airtel’s MD and CEO, India & South Asia Gopal Vittal said, “The sustained predatory pricing by the new operator has led to a decline in revenue growth for the second quarter in a row. The telecom industry as a whole also witnessed a revenue decline for the first time ever on a full year basis. The deteriorating health of the industry was compounded by the tsunami of incoming voice traffic from the new operator as a result of which significant investments had to be made just to carry the incoming traffic on our network. The net result of this was a revenue decline of 7.1 percent in Q4 even as EBITDA margins eroded by 2.9 percent. FY-17 saw a muted top line growth of 3.6 percent vs the double digit growth witnessed in preceding years.

    Our long term commitment to provide the best experience to our customers continues to drive all our actions in every single aspect of the business. This belief coupled with brilliant execution of our people has led to acceleration in market share in an industry that is now rapidly consolidating,” he added.

    Airtel’s DTH segment reported 10.4 percent y-o-y growth in operating revenue to Rs 865.7 crore in Q4-17 from Rs 784 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) in Q4-17 increased 35.4 percent to Rs 97.5 crore from Rs 72 crore in Q4-16. The DTH segment’s revenue for fiscal 2017 increased 17.6 percent to Rs 3,430.6 crore as compared to Rs 2,917.8 crore in FY-16. Average revenue per customer (ARPU) in FY-17 increased to Rs 231 from Rs 226 in the previous year.

    The company’s capex in its DTH segment in FY-17 declined to less than half (declined by 52.9 percent) to Rs 138.6 crore as compared to Rs 294.3 crore in FY-16. Cumulative investments in the DTH segment at the end of FY-17 reached Rs 7,351.3 crore.

    Note: The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:

    (a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.

    (b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion…

  • TRAI to probe ‘opaque’ offers to departing customers

    MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India will study complaints about operators doling out customised retention offers to influence subscribers who plan to shift to a rival network. Jio had alleged that incumbent operators are lining up customised offers for subscribers wanting to shift.

    While it may be standard for operators to play up offerings and the strength of their networks to the departing customers, telcos cannot offer plans that they do not file with TRAI.

    TRAI chairman R S Sharma asserted that all offerings by operators need to be non-discriminatory, transparent, and filed with the regulator but refused to be drawn into the specifics, PTI reported.

    Because the tariff has to satisfy the criteria of being non-discriminatory and transparent, Sharma said, these principles would have to be followed.

    In a letter to TRAI, Jio had termed such methods as being “unfair and deceptive”, and claimed that the offers were being presented to customers “surreptitiously” on a one-to-one basis and not available to the public.

    Those companies were not openly publicising such offers on their website as is stipulated, Jio charged, demanding that “strongest action” against the three operators – Vodafone, Airtel, and Idea Cellular — for what it called a gross violation of TRAI norms. However, Airtel and Vodafone had refuted Jio’s allegations.

    As per the norms, while tariffs are under forbearance, every plan has to be filed with the TRAI within seven working days from its launch. If the regulator will call operators for a meeting to resolve the issue, Sharma said the matter was still in a “preliminary” stage.

  • OpenSignal too finds Airtel better than Jio in 4G speed, latter tops in reach

    MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel is the top performer among the mobile service providers in India in terms of 4G data speed, concluded a report by OpenSignal, a provider of insights into coverage and performance of mobile operators worldwide.

    OpenSignal said its survey was based on 1.3 billion measurements from 93,464 customers on the major wireless networks between December 2016 and February 2017. It stated that Airtel’s average 4G speeds came in at 11.5 Mbps. In second slot was Vodafone at 8.59 Mbps and Idea was the next with speeds of 8.34 Mbps. Jio was fourth, with speeds down to 3.92 Mbps. This clearly showed that Airtel still continues to be the best network of India.

    All the carriers were found to be below the current 17.4 Mbps global average for 4G download speeds.

    However, Jio customers were able to get an 4G signal from its network 91.6 per cent of the time. Idea came in second place at 59.45 per cent, Vodafone was third at 59.05 per cent, and Airtel came in fourth in this category with 54.72 per cent.

    Global internet speed test platform Ookla, based on web and app platforms, had recently shown Airtel as the top 4G high-speed internet provider in India. But, the report was questioned by Jio. Earlier this week, TRAI released a report suggesting Jio was the fastest 4G high-speed internet provider, while Airtel was the third-fastest.

    Also Read: Airtel does not agree with ASCI’s ‘conclusion’ on misleading ad

    Jio freebies: TDSAT puts off Airtel-Idea hearing to May

    Jio says Ookla has admitted to flaws in speed measurement system

  • TRAI advises Jio to withdraw free offer, no loss to ‘old’ consumers

    MUMBAI: On 31 March, Jio had announced its JIO Summer Surprise offer. Under the offer all JIO Prime members making their first recharge payment of Rs 303 (or higher) plans got three months complimentary services in addition to the benefits of their purchased plan.

    Today, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has advised Jio to withdraw the three months complimentary benefits of Jio Summer Surprise. Jio has accepted this decision. It is in the process of fully complying with the regulator’s advice, and will be withdrawing the complimentary benefits of the offer as soon as operationally feasible, over the next few days.

    However, all customers who have subscribed to Jio Summer Surprise offer prior to its discontinuation will remain eligible for the offer.

    Reliance Jio, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (“RIL”), has built a world-class all-IP data strong future proof network with latest 4G LTE technology. It is the only network conceived and born as a Mobile Video Network from the ground up and supporting Voice over LTE technology. Jio will bring transformational changes in the Indian digital services space to enable the vision of Digital India for 1.2 billion Indians and propel India into global leadership in digital economy.

  • Tele-war: 10GB per day BSNL data at Rs 249 a month & unlimited night calling

    MUMBAI: Enjoying internet services may not get cheaper than this. The telecom tug-of-war is under way. Jio is proving to be undefeatable, but BSNL 4G has made a strong new pitch.

    In an attempt to give a fillip to broadband, adoption BSNL has announced a new “unlimited” wired broadband plan which also offers voice-based telephony packs.

    BSNL announced the new wired broadband plan on:

    https://twitter.com/hashtag/BSNL?src=hash

    BSNL customers will get 10GB of data daily at 2Mbps connectivity speed only for Rs 249 a month. The new plan also offers unlimited voice calling on Sunday and unlimited night calling between 9pm and 7am – not only on BSNL network but on others as well.

    Jio may have extended free services for three months. But, BSNL is giving tough competition. The only thing that remains to be seen is the Internet speed

    Also Read :

    Jio extends Prime deadline, freebies period

    BSNL launches FMT & Ditto TV; 4G planned this year

  • fbb: WB, Sikkim & AP girls win at Colors Femina Miss India

    MUMBAI: India’s most exciting, glamorous and credible beauty pageant Colors Femina Miss India 2017 is underway and continues its talent hunt in at fbb / Big Bazaar at Salt Lake City, Kolkata.

    Miss India is the most sought after glamorous beauty pageant in the country that turns dreams into reality. fbb, Fashion hub of India has been the face of affordable fashion destinations in India since 2008. ‘Colors’ is Viacom18’s flagship brand in the entertainment space in India. Jio, the Digital Content partner, enabled it to reach many more fans across India!

    The auditions received an overwhelming response witnessing more than 80 contestants participating from all parts of the state. The encouraging response assured a wide coverage of the state, in terms of ‘talent scouting’. These auditions at the fbb / Big Bazaar stores were cheered and supported by fbb customers and the public.

    The judge for the auditions included — Priyadarshini Chatterjee – She is an Indian model who was crowned fbb Femina Miss India World in 2016. She is the first to represent India at Miss World 2016 from a North East state. She was born in Dhubri in a Bengali family and was brought up in Guwahati city in the state of Assam. She believes that we all are born with a purpose and as we grow up, we find out what that purpose is. Luckily for her, she discovered early on, that she wants to do something for the community in her hometown Guwahati. She is currently endorsing a number of brands and is face of a number of renowned designers including Sabyasachi Mukherjee.

    With a new and improvised format this year, Miss India in its 54th edition will be touring to all 30 states of the nation and to crown 30 state representatives who will then compete for the coveted Miss India crown. The top 3 of West Bengal and Sikkim and the top girl from Arunachal Pradesh have been given a golden ticket to the East zonal crowning ceremony to be held at Swissotel, Kolkata, on 28 March. Here the most deserving candidate from each of the 13 states i.e. Miss India Arunachal Pradesh, Miss India Assam, Miss India Bihar, Miss India Chhattisgarh, Miss India Jharkhand, Miss India Manipur, Miss India Meghalaya, Miss India Mizoram, Miss India Nagaland, Miss India Odisha, Miss India Sikkim, Miss India Tripura and Miss India West Bengal will represent their state at the grand finale which is going to be held in Mumbai in June.

    For the very first time, the pageant will host mentors for each zone who will guide the contestants to merit. To take charge of the proceeding for the East Zone we have none other Dipannita Sharma. She enthusiastically quoted, “The girls who are chosen are beautiful and talented. I feel their inherent simplicity is their strength. I expect this strength to come forth and help them forge their path in the pageant”.

    The details of the top three winners of West Bengal include:-
    • Shivankita Dixit
    • Ankita Kumari
    • Ruchira Mookherjee

    The details of the top three winners of Sikkim include:-
    • Roshni Ghimirey
    • Prerna Pradhan
    • Amela Norku

    The details of the top winner of Arunachal Pradesh include:-
    • Licha Thosum

    The auditions were concluded with the felicitation of the top three contestants, where the fbb / Big Bazaar Store Manager Sankar Banerjee presented a bouquet to each of the winning contestants. India’s leading fashion hub – fbb – has once again partnered this year to be the title sponsor of this beauty pageant. fbb is a premier platform for fashion brands in urban India, and so this association is perfectly in sync with the brand’s objective to make India more fashionable.

  • MIB: Check permission of ads using emblems & important names, Paytm, Jio apologise

    MUMBAI: The Department of Consumer Affairs sought clarification from Paytm and Reliance Jio regarding use of the photograph of the prime minister in their respective full page advertisement contravening the ‘prior permission’ stipulation in such cases under ‘The Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950’.

    Paytm and Reliance Jio apologised for their inadvertent mistake. Further, based on a request from the Department of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has issued an advisory to print medium to check-up the permission/authority from Competent Authority before issuing any advertisement wherein the Emblem and Names Specified under the act are mentioned.

    Section 3 of ‘The Emblems and Name (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950’ stipulates that ‘no person shall, except in such cases and under such conditions as may be prescribed by the Central Government, use, or continue to use, for the purpose of any trade, business, calling or profession or in the title of any patent, or in any trade mark or design, any name or emblem specified in the Schedule or any colourable imitation thereof without the previous permission of the Central Government or of such officer of Government as may be authorized in this behalf by the Central Government.’ A committee is in existence in Department of Consumer Affairs for inter-alia examining proposals regarding prior approval stipulation under ‘ the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950’.

    This information was given by the minister of state for consumer affairs, food & public distribution C.R. Chaudhary in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.

  • iVOOMi to launch four economy smartphones

    MUMBAI: iVOOMi, a Chinese electronic major OEM/ODM is set to enter the fast-growing smartphone market in India with the launch of series of High-End Smartphones. The brand plans to launch 4 models in India ranging from Rs. 4000–Rs. 10,000.

    iVOOMi will unveil iV505 as their first smartphone in Indian Market in the month of March, priced at Rs. 3,999. iV505 provides high-end features – Jio ready 4G VoLTE SIM cards on both the slots, flash charge technology, and Android Marshmallow 6.0 which is unique to smartphones in this price range.

    iVoomi global business head Bradley Yan said, “We are committed to establishing iVOOMi in the Indian market with our innovative products loaded with highly valued SmartMe OS (Customized OS) & features at an affordable price.”

    iVOOMi currently has its focus on “Online-only” strategy and therefore, has tied up with Shopclues, India’s first and largest managed marketplace. The partnership will focus on a successful launch and entry into the Indian market.

    The company has a broader plan for Indian market and intent to establish its R&D and Manufacturing unit in India by 2019. iVOOMi is currently working with key brands from Europe , Russia, South East Asia and Asian countries.

  • Industry surprised on Deepak’s transfer from DoT, Jio connection refuted

    NEW DELHI: Senior Indian Services officer J.S Deepak, who is to take charge as the next Indian ambassador to the World Trade Organisation in June this year, has been removed from his post of telecom secretary in the Department of Telecommunications.

    He has been temporarily moved to the Department of Commerce as Officer on Special Duty (OSD).

    A telecom ministry official, when contacted by indiantelevision.com, sought to play down the change, saying it was a routine transfer. However, he declined to answer questions on why this was not announced the way other transfers are announced through the personnel ministry.

    Although the official denied any connection with the Jio controversy, industry experts expressed surprised at the abrupt transfer and said it appeared a very clearly motivated act.

    Interestingly, Deepak was moved shortly after he wrote to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India asking it to restrict the period of promotional packs offered by telcos, which is currently has a maximum validity of 90 days. He added that the Reliance Jio’s free offers have cost the government almost Rs 8 billion and that has affected the telecom industry. He pointed out to TRAI’s regulation which mentions that any kind of pack which is “promotional in nature” cannot be offered beyond 90 days.

    Deepak has earlier played the role of chief negotiator (India) at the WTO while signing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement, a global free trade agreement. Deepak also held an administerial position at DoT when it first introduced e-auctions during the 2010 spectrum auctions.

    Deepak joined the DoT first in 2008 as Joint Secretary and has also worked with various government departments overlooking policy. He earlier served as the chairman and managing director of State Trading Corporation (STC) of India, member of the board of directors of state-owned telcos BSNL, and MTNL.

    Deepak also holds a board position at the Board of India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO), Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) and the Governing Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).

    He has also worked as a consultant with The Policy Project, a group of US-based institutes that looked into framing population and health policies. He holds an MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.