Thursday, November 21

Tag: airtel

Vodafone and BSNL Go toe-to-toe with Jio’s New Rs 349 Plan
INDIA

Vodafone and BSNL Go toe-to-toe with Jio’s New Rs 349 Plan

Since Jio’s entry in the Indian telecom market, the competition for the best data plan has been fierce; with ever dropping prices and better data plan deals. Vodafone and BSNL, two major competitors of Mukesh Ambani’s telecom company have announced a new prepaid plan, priced at Rs 349 each. Vodafone subscribers will benefit from 3GB of 4G/3G data per day, unlimited local, STD and roaming calls, and 100 SMS messages per day for the duration of 28 days. As for BSNL users, they will benefit from 1GB data and 100 SMS everyday but for 54 days. The prepaid pack proposed by Vodafone rivals leading telecom company Airtel’s Rs 349 recharge and Jio’s Rs 299 prepaid plans. With a budget of Rs 349, Airtel offers 3GB data, 100 SMS per day and unlimited STD, and national roaming calls for 28 days....
Airtel Payments Bank Receives 5 Crore Fine From RBI
INDIA

Airtel Payments Bank Receives 5 Crore Fine From RBI

Airtel Payments Bank is seeing red this week after the Reserve Bank of India imposed a Rs 5 Cr penalty on the company for violation of operating guidelines and Know Your Customer (KYC) norms. After receiving several complaints and media reports asserting that the bank had opened customer accounts without the explicit consent of the customers, the RBI conducted an administrative visit to the bank on November 20-22, 2017. The fine was later imposed after RBI inspected the banks documents related to the opening of accounts. "The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed, on March 7, 2018, a monetary penalty of Rs 50 million on Airtel Payments Bank Limited (the bank) for contravening the ?Operating Guidelines for Payments Banks and directions issued by RBI on Know Your Customer (KYC) norms...
UIDAI Allows Airtel Aadhaar Based Verification till March 31
INDIA

UIDAI Allows Airtel Aadhaar Based Verification till March 31

Aadhaar-issuing authority UIDAI has extended the temporary permission given to Bharti Airtel for using the biometric identity for re-verification of its mobile customers till March 31. It had last month allowed Airtel to use Aadhaar for re-verification of its mobile customers till January 10 with stiff riders after the company returned ₹138 crore LPG subsidy that allegedly flowed into unsolicited payment bank accounts. The Unique Identification Authority of India maintained however that Airtel Payments Bank’s eKYC licence will remain suspended till final enquiry and audit report, sources privy to the development told PTI. When contacted, an Airtel spokesperson said: “We can confirm that the UIDAI has permitted Bharti Airtel to continue Aadhaar based e-KYC till March 31, 2018, subj...
India Lost 2 Crore Mobile Users in November
INDIA

India Lost 2 Crore Mobile Users in November

The number of telecom subscribers dwindled by 1.58 crore to 118.5 crore in November, even as Reliance Jio continued to lead in customer addition with over 15 crore subscribers, as per a report by Trai. "The number of telephone subscribers in India declined from 1,201.72 million at the end of October 2017 to 1,185.88 million at the end of November 2017, thereby showing a monthly decline rate of 1.32 per cent," the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India said in a monthly subscriber report today. The decline was mainly on account of closure of mobile services by some of the operators including Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications (RCom), which lost over 2.57 crore subscribers during the period. As per the report, the number of total mobile subscribers declined to 116.24 crore from ...
Bharti Airtel Is Selling iPhone 7 at Rs 7,777
News

Bharti Airtel Is Selling iPhone 7 at Rs 7,777

Bharti Airtel is selling iPhone 7 32GB at a down payment of Rs 7,777 and 24 monthly instalments of Rs 2,499 each through its online store, which went live today. The company will sell other devices as well through its online store and the handsets will come bundled with monthly mobile service plans. "Airtel's online store went live today with Apple's iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus variants and the company plans to add devices from all leading brands to the stores offerings in the near future... The iPhone 7 (32 GB) is available at a down payment of just Rs 7,777 and 24 monthly instalments of Rs 2,499," Airtel said in a statement. The monthly instalments have a built-in high-end postpaid plan which offers 30 GB data, unlimited calling (local, STD, national roaming), and Airtel secure packa...
Bharti Airtel To Acquire Tata’s Money-Losing Mobile Unit For Nothing
ACQUISITION

Bharti Airtel To Acquire Tata’s Money-Losing Mobile Unit For Nothing

Bharti Airtel Ltd is acquiring the Tata conglomerate consumer mobile business virtually free of charge in a deal that gives India’s top wireless player a major subscriber base boost, while stemming the bleed for Tata from a money-losing venture. Bharti Airtel will gain over 40 million customers from Tata Teleservices and a subsidiary along with airwaves the company's own on a “debt-free (and) cash-free” basis, according to a joint statement on Thursday, although Bharti Airtel will take on a “small portion” of Tata’s unpaid dues for its airwaves. India’s telecoms market, with 1.2 billion mobile subscribers, is in the midst of a wave of consolidation as smaller debt-laden players seek exits after overspending in airwave auctions. Small players and their larger rivals have also been ...
How To Buy Airtel’s Rs 1399 4G Smartphone, All You Need To Know
News

How To Buy Airtel’s Rs 1399 4G Smartphone, All You Need To Know

What is now being termed as 'Jio-effect', Airtel partners with Karbonn Mobiles, to offer a 4G smartphone-  the Karbonn A40 Indian for Rs 1,399, undercutting Reliance Jio's 4G feature phone, which was 'effectively free', priced at Rs 1,500. The initiative will see the telecom network join hands with more OEMs in the days to come to "create an open ecosystem of affordable 4G smartphones and bring them to market for virtually the price of a feature phone." Airtel's 'Mera Pehla 4G Smartphone' initiative, aka-  'My First Smartphone', is aimed at allowing "every Indian to buy a 4G Smartphone" in a highly affordable package. Smartphones under the initiative will soon be available in offline stores, with after sales being handled by the device manufacturers themselves. The Karbonn A40 Ind...
Airtel Looking to Launch 2500 Rs 4G Smartphone
News

Airtel Looking to Launch 2500 Rs 4G Smartphone

Indias largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel in talks with multiple handset makers to bring a 4G smartphone for a price as low as Rs 2,500-2,700 to take on Reliance Jio. While Mukesh Ambani-led Jio has announced plans to offer Internet-enabled feature phone for a refundable deposit of Rs 1,500, Airtel is placing its bet on a full-fledged smartphone as it believes people would be ready to shell out a little more to get a loaded handset. A source familiar with the development said the new 4G smartphone that will debut around Diwali - will come bundled with Airtels 4G connection and "attractive" data and voice plan to woo mass market customers. The planned dual SIM 4G smartphone will sport a four inch display, dual camera, VoLTE calling and a longer battery life. The Android hand...
Jio Effect: Airtel Q4 Net Income Plunges 72%, From 1319 Crore to Rs 373.4 Crore
BUSINESS

Jio Effect: Airtel Q4 Net Income Plunges 72%, From 1319 Crore to Rs 373.4 Crore

Bharti Airtel today registered a sharp 72 per cent decline in consolidated net income at Rs 373.4 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2017, hit by "sustained predatory pricing" by newcomer Reliance Jio. Net income stood at Rs 1,319 crore in the same period a year ago. Total revenue fell 12 per cent to Rs 21,934.6 crore, from Rs 24,959.6 crore in the same period last fiscal. The earnings numbers came in after market hours. "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," Bharti Airtel MD and CEO (India and South Asia) Gopal Vittal said. Pointing towards the "tsunami" of incoming voice traffic...
Airtel Hits Back After Jio Allegation Over Ookla backing
News

Airtel Hits Back After Jio Allegation Over Ookla backing

Bharti Airtel today lashed out at Reliance Jios allegations around its fastest network ad campaign, saying the complaint is a deliberate attempt to "malign the brand" and "misguide customers". Further, mobile internet speed testing firm Ookla has stood by the finding that Airtel had the fastest broadband network in the country, a claim which has been challenged by Reliance Jio. "Ookla fully stands behind Airtel being named India?s Fastest Mobile Network," Speedtest (Ooklas app) COO Jamie Steven said in a statement. Ookla has named Airtel as the "Fastest Mobile Network" in India based on data from Q3 and Q4 of 2016 which has been challenged by Reliance Jio. Jio has approached advertisement sector watchdog ASCI against Bharti Airtel, saying the latters claim of being "officially ...