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Tag: MTNL

  • Not much growth in broadband in July: TRAI

    Not much growth in broadband in July: TRAI

    NEW DELHI: Broadband subscribers grew by a mere 2.87 per cent in the month of July to 70.81 million in the country.

     

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said the number of subscribers at the end of June were 68.83 million.

     

    For the second month in a row, the largest growth was seen in mobile device users (Phones + Dongles) with a growth of 3.56 per cent. The change in wired subscribers was a mere 0.45 per cent and the growth in fixed wireless (Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, Point-to-Point Radio & VSAT) was 1.54 per cent.

     

    The top five broadband service providers constitute 85.12 per cent market share of total broadband subscribers at the end of July. They are BSNL (18.14 million), Bharti (15.61 million), Vodafone (11.23 million), Idea Cellular (9.06 million) and Reliance Communications Group (6.23 million).

     

    The top five Wired Broadband Service providers are BSNL (9.98 million), Bharti (1.40 million), MTNL (1.13 million), Beam Telecom (0.40 million) and YOU Broadband (0.40 million).

     

    The top five Wireless Broadband Service providers are Bharti (14.21 million), Vodafone (11.23 million), Idea Cellular Ltd (9.06 million), BSNL (8.16 million) and Reliance Communications Group (6.12 million).

     

    Wireless subscribers with less than 1MB data usage in a month are not considered as internet/broadband subscribers by Reliance Communication Group and Idea Cellular.

  • ACT reveals new brand identity, claims largest non-telecom ISP in India with 5 lakh subscribers

    ACT reveals new brand identity, claims largest non-telecom ISP in India with 5 lakh subscribers

    BENGALURU: ACT (Atria Convergent Technologies) Broadband claims that it is now the largest non-telecom ISP and the fourth largest ISP in the wired broadband category in India with its subscriber base of five lakh that it crossed last month.  Only public sector telecom companies BSNL and MTNL and the private sector communications giant Airtel are ahead of ACT, the company claims.

     

    ACT is a triple play service provider which claims a subscriber base of 10 lakh of Fibernet (Internet over fiber optics), digital TV and IPTV consumers. The company is headquartered in Bengaluru and its services are spread over towns and cities of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

     

    The company also announced a strategic move in the industry – the launch of its new broadband brand ACT Fibernet.  ACT says that its new brand underscores its continued commitment to offer fastest, most consistent and unparalleled internet experience through the scalable technology of fiber optics. The company announced the fastest speed currently provided by any service provider to the retail segment of 60 mbps.

     

    What is remarkable about ACT’s achievement is that, while the top three players and most of the other ISPs in the country have a pan-India presence, ACT has  achieved its milestones in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, with Chennai coming under its footprint only last year.

     

    “Over the next two years, we are confident of doubling the broadband subscriber base to 10 lakh,” said ACT managing director Sunder Raju.

     

    “We have been setting benchmarks in the industry since we began six years ago – when the industry in India considered 256 kpbs as broadband, our benchmark was 512 mbps, our new bench mark is going to be 5 mbps to the industry’s 1 mbps,” says ACT Group CEO Bala Malladi. “Right from the beginning, we have been laying fiber optic wires up to the last mile and hence scaling up to 1 gbps with small changes to the existing infrastructure should not be a problem for us in the future,” added Malladi.

     

    “There is ample scope for us to double our subscriber base within our current catchment area, but we will definitely look at bringing other towns and cities under our footprint,” said Malladi.

     

    The company has announced a high decibel marketing campaign with the tagline ‘Incredibly fast’ across print, outdoor, digital, newspaper inserts, handbills, bus shelters, metro pillars, kites, parking boards etc., over the next three months within their catchment areas. Minimum spend is on Television advertising. Company sources revealed that the campaign costs would be in the range of Rs 10 crore. RK Swamy BBDO is the creative agency and RK Swamy Hansa group handles the media buying duties and Madison PR handles public relations.

     

    The company has received funding from India Value Fund Advisers (IVFA) which would be used for doubling the subscriber base, an industry source reveals to www.indiantelevision.com that ACT had invested around Rs 600 crore in the current phase, of which IVFA funding was between Rs 350 crore to Rs 400 crore.  Last year, the company had raised privately placed non-convertible debenture (NCD) funding of Rs 180 crore.

     

    “ACT would need funding to the extent of around Rs 500 crore for further expansion. This should not be a problem, considering the fact that ACT has crossed Rs 500 crore in revenue a couple of years ago and has seen operating profits in recent years as compared to many other companies that have been bleeding. The company should be reporting profits in the next two or three years,” says an industry source who works for an MSO and who did not want to be named.

     

    Keeping its current consumers in mind, the brand has upgraded its entire subscriber base in Bengaluru to new fast plans at no extra cost starting 24 July. An ACT broadband consumer confirmed that his fair usage policy has been upgraded to 50 GB from the 40 GB that he enjoyed earlier.

  • Broadband growth rate just around 5 % between Feb-Mar this year

    Broadband growth rate just around 5 % between Feb-Mar this year

    NEW DELHI: The total broadband (> 512 Kbps) subscription increased from 58 million at the end of February 2014 to 60.87 million at the end of March this year, showing a growth rate of just 4.95 per cent.

    Of this, wired broadband subscription is 14.86 million and wireless broadband subscription is 46.01 million.

    Segment wise broadband subscriber base are as below:

    The top five wired broadband service providers are BSNL (10 million), Bharti (1.38 million), MTNL (1.13 million), YOU Broadband (0.38 million) and Beam Telecom (0.38 million).

    The top five wireless broadband service providers are Bharti (10.98 million), Idea (7.23 million), Reliance (7.11 million), Vodafone (7.02 million) and BSNL (6.77 Million). 

  • Govt. asks Union Ministries, PSUs to give preference to BSNL, MTNL

    Govt. asks Union Ministries, PSUs to give preference to BSNL, MTNL

    NEW DELHI: The government has proposed that union ministries, public sector undertakings and autonomous bodies give preference to the services of the state-run telecom operators – BSNL and MTNL.

     

    Proposing preferential treatment to BSNL and MTNL services in Central Government Ministries/Central Government public sector undertakings and autonomous bodies to enhance the revenues earned by BSNL and MTNL,” Minister of State for Communications and IT Killi Kruparani said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

     

    She said the government had constituted a group of ministers (GoM) on April 17, 2013 to recommend short term, medium term and long term measures for revival and revitalisation of BSNL and MTNL.

     

    In a separate query, Kruparani said BSNL suffered a loss of Rs 7,884 crore in 2012-13 whereas MTNL’s losses stood at Rs 5,321 crore in the same period.

     

    “The principal reasons for the rising losses of BSNL and MTNL are due to sharp decline in revenue and increase in expenditure,” she said.

  • Marginal growth in broadband connectivity between August and September 2013

    Marginal growth in broadband connectivity between August and September 2013

    NEW DELHI: The total broadband subscriber base increased from 15.28 million at the end of August to 15.36 million at the end of September 2013, thus showing a monthly growth of 0.52 per cent.

    The yearly growth in broadband subscribers is 1.90 per cent during the last one year (September 2012 to September 2013).

    As on 30 September, there are 158 internet service providers (ISPs) which are providing broadband services in the country. 

    Out of these, 95 ISPs have provided broadband subscription data for the month of September 2013, for the rest of the ISPs data from previous month has been retained.

    The top five ISPs in terms of market share (based on subscriber base) are: BSNL (9.98 million), Bharti Airtel (1.44 million), MTNL (1.10 million), Hathway (0.37 million) and You Broadband (0.33 million).

  • Marginal growth in broadband connectivity between August and September 2013

    Marginal growth in broadband connectivity between August and September 2013

    NEW DELHI: The total broadband subscriber base increased from 15.28 million at the end of August to 15.36 million at the end of September 2013, thus showing a monthly growth of 0.52 per cent.

    The yearly growth in broadband subscribers is 1.90 per cent during the last one year (September 2012 to September 2013).

    As on 30 September, there are 158 internet service providers (ISPs) which are providing broadband services in the country. 

    Out of these, 95 ISPs have provided broadband subscription data for the month of September 2013, for the rest of the ISPs data from previous month has been retained.

    The top five ISPs in terms of market share (based on subscriber base) are: BSNL (9.98 million), Bharti Airtel (1.44 million), MTNL (1.10 million), Hathway (0.37 million) and You Broadband (0.33 million).

  • Broadband base up in July, with monthly growth at rate of 0.33%

    Broadband base up in July, with monthly growth at rate of 0.33%

    NEW DELHI: The total Broadband subscriber base in the country has increased from 15.19 million at the end of June 2013 to 15.24 million at the end of July 2013. This is a monthly growth of 0.33 per cent. The yearly growth in broadband subscribers is 3.79 per cent during the last one year (July 2012 to July 2013).

    The top five internet service providers in terms of market share (based on subscriber base) are: BSNL (9.97 million), Bharti Airtel (1.43 million), MTNL (1.10 million), Hathway (0.37 million) and You Broadband (0.32 million).

    According to the latest telecom subscription data as on 31 July 2013 released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, there are 161 internet service providers (ISPs) which are providing broadband services in the country. Out of these, 121 ISPs (having 98.48 per cent market share) have provided broadband subscription data for the month of July 2013, for the rest of the ISPs data from previous month has been retained.

    Meanwhile, Indian rural telecom has faced downturn – despite service providers’ special packages – as mobile user base declined by two million in July 2013. TRAI said net mobile additions declined 0.57 per cent or by 2 million to 349.09 million from 351.10 million in June.

    In July – according to TRAI data – Indian urban mobile user base increased by 3.52 million or 0.67 per cent to 525.78 million from 522.27 million in June.

    The share of urban wireless subscribers has increased from 59.80 per cent to 60.10 per cent whereas share of rural wireless subscribers has decreased from 40.20 per cent to 39.90 per cent.

    TRAI statistics says total wireless subscriber base increased from 873.36 million in June to 874.88 million in July 2013, registering a monthly growth of 0.17 per cent. The overall wireless Teledensity in India has reached 71.13 per cent in July from 71.08 per cent of previous month. Wireless subscription in urban areas increased to 525.78 million in July.

    The urban wireless teledensity has increased from 139.16 to 139.87 whereas rural teledensity has decreased from 41.14 per cent to 40.88 per cent.

    Wireline subscriber base declined from 29.73 million in June 2013 to 29.58 million in July. The net reduction in wireline subscriber base was 0.15 million at the rate of 0.50 per cent.

    The share of urban subscribers has decreased from 78.11 per cent to 78.0 per cent whereas share of rural subscribers has increased from 21.89 per cent to 22.0 per cent. The overall wireline Teledensity has decreased from 2.42 per cent in June 2013 to 2.40 per cent in July 2013, with urban and rural Teledensity being 6.14 per cent and 0.76 per cent respectively.

    BSNL and MTNL, the two PSU operators hold 78.65 per cent of the Wireline market share.

  • BSNL continues to top the list of ISPs in country with share of over 60%

    BSNL continues to top the list of ISPs in country with share of over 60%

    NEW DELHI: The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) continues to top the list of broadband service providers in the country with a market share of 60.74 per cent in the first quarter of 2013.

    The state-run BSNL has 13.12 million internet subscribers at the end of March 2013, according to the report for the first quarter by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
    Reliance Communications is the second highest provider with 2.49 million internet users followed by MTNL with 1.96 million.

    TRAI says the total number of internet subscribers including internet access by wireless phone subscribers at the end of March 2013 was 164.81 million. This telecom statistics does not include internet accessed by mobile phones.

    There were 21.61 million internet subscribers excluding those subscribers accessing internet through wireless phone at the end of March 2013 as compared to 21.57 million at the end of December 2012, registering a quarterly growth of 0.16 per cent.

    In the internet subscription (excluding internet access through wireless phone), the share of broadband subscription is 69.65 per cent and share of narrowband subscription is 30.35 per cent at the end of March 2013.

    TRAI says the number of broadband subscribers increased from 14.98 million at the end of December 2012 to 15.05 million at the end of March 2013, registering a quarterly growth of 0.45 percent and year-on-year growth of 8.98 percent.

    The number of narrowband subscribers decreased from 6.59 million to 6.56 million.

  • Goldmine Advertising bags MTNL Account

    Goldmine Advertising bags MTNL Account

    NEW DELHI: Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited, the state-owned telecommunications service provider, has appointed Goldmine advertising to handle its creative and media duties.

    The multi-agency pitch process began in early 2012. The agency‘s Delhi office will service the brand, which plans to strengthen its presence in the country.

    The mandate was won after a multi agency pitch which included Percept, Concept and Graphic ads also participated in this pitch process.

    Speaking on this occasion, Goldmine Advertising regional director Rajindra Singla said, “We are happy to announce our association with MTNL which is one of the leaders in telecommunication. Today, with the presence of so many players in this sector, it will be a challenge for us to increase the brand equity that it has enjoyed amongst its customers.”

    Other agencies who have also been empanelled for creative and media duties with MTNL are Span, Airads and Crayons.

  • Percept/H CEO Prabhakar Mundkur now also on the board of directors

    MUMBAI: Percept/H has appointed its chief executive officer Prabhakar Mundkur as a member of its board of directors.

    Percept/H is the flagship advertising agency of Percept Limited. It is a 50:50 joint venture between Percept (entertainment, media and communications group) and Hakuhodo Inc. (Japanese advertising agency). The agency‘s Key clientele includes- Hero Honda, DLF, Bharti, Beetel, MTNL and Canon.

    Mundkur could not be a member of the board earlier despite being the CEO because of some provisions of the joint venture agreement.

    Mundkur had joined Percept/H in January 2005 and was spearheading the agency‘s growth over the last eight years. He is credited for business wins like Canon, Toyota, Fedex, Ditto TV from Zee Digital, Sahara Force India F1 team.

    He will continue to lead the agency‘s initiatives on key national businesses such as Toyota, Hero, Canon, Fedex and Sahara while he continues to oversee the company from a board perspective and steer the organisation to the next level, the agency said in a statement.

    Mundkur has over two decades of experience in the industry. Prior to joining Percept/H, he had also worked with JWT, Euro RSCG and Everest Advertising.