Category: Information and Communications Technology

  • Bharti Airtel closes on Kuwaiti Zain assets

    Bharati Airtel’s hunt for inorganic growth this time around has come to an halt at the Kuwait based Zain group’s assests in the African continent excluding Sudan and Morocco. This move comes after facing two failed deals with African major MTN, whose deal size would have ranged from 20 to 25$ billion.

    Reports suggest that Bharati is offering 10$ Billion for all of Zain’s assets except Morocco and Sudan. The valuations are out there with out any supporting evidence of the actual value and the premium justification. Bharati says that it values the Zain assets at $12 Billion which seems absurd.

  • Praise them and kick them

    The Media is seemingly playing games. I fail to understand that why are they doing this. Yesterday, the Star News show “Shaaramnak” was just more pathetic as anything worse can be.

    Ofcourse there was a reason to worry but why such hysteria? India has lost many test matches and the team has failed before too. When they win, they just keep blabbering about how each individual performed but when they loose, they will poop each individual player.

    Now if Sachin has hit a century and he couldn’t help turn India’s fortunes, who is to blame? Well, if you go by how the Indian Media behaves then you would be in for a surpirse. First they blamed the master blaster himself.

    Why Sachin created hopes in Billions of Indians about a turn of tide and filed to finish it?

    To which I would politely reply: Creating hopes is better than not even doing something.

    Why can’t you take the sport lightly, without creating hatered. See the guy (bowler) who blew the top order and appraise his performace rather than creating much fuss about the non performance of the batsmen. Why cant you?

    Featured in Blogjunta Editor's Choice
    Featured in Blogjunta Editor's Choice

  • Water found on Moon: NASA thanks ISRO

    Its all over the news now. NASA’s M3 lunar payload has provided information about presence of water molecules on Moon.These molecules are hidden underneath a ton of rocks, totaling to about 27 ounces in one area. Roughly a liter of water.

    With this probe and some earlier probes like Cassini, the data collected is merged and confirmed that indeed there is water on Moon.

    NASA also, in its press conference, thanked ISRO for being the part of discovery. This is a big news for all of Indians and makes us proud too.

  • Tata Docomo launched in Mumbai

    Tata Docomo will launch their GSM Services in Mumbai today. The plan details are sketchy at the moment, but expect the one second billing to be re – introduced in Mumbai. Re – introduced, because erstwhile BPL had launched India’s first one second billing pulse rates in Mumbai in 2005.

    Key to Tata Docomo’s success will be its network. While no reports about their Mumbai network have come up yet, any Mumbaikar will only buy Tata Docomo if their network is strong. Mumbai is a very interesting market with a huge dynamic environment. With Tata Docomo coming in, Mumbai has now 10 telecom service providers. The list of service providers is as follows.

    Vodafone, Airtel, Loop, MTNL, Reliance GSM, Aircel, Idea Cellular. In CDMA, Reliance CDMA, Tata Indicom, Virgin (Serviced by Tata Indicom),

  • The Seconds Effect! Will Tata DoCoMo change market Dynamics

    If you are a Mumbaikar, you will remember this. BPL (now Loop) Mumbai had launched an aggressive campaign which reduced customers bill by almost 30%. That was called One Second Billing.

    Tata DoCoMo is the GSM based telecommunications service of Tata Indicom in partnership with Japan’s leading mobile operator, NTT DoCoMo. They have a Pan – India licence and are already live with 5 circles, covering Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. With interesting banners shouting “Why pay for unused?” and “One paisa across India”, you would be keen to know what are the charges and how do you save huge cost in your monthly bill. (more…)

  • A new toolbar!

    Hey folks, I have got myself a new toolbar. If you want to see it, just download one here…

    It is just an Alpha release I will update it as and when I find time to work on it. In the mean while, please do let me know if you like to suggest some changes or additions. I would like if you use it.

    You can set your location to get the weather updates in your area, you can search from the search bar, user links to get back to my blog etc. and RSS feeds from Hemal Shah’s Indianomics.

    More to come!

    File Size:

    Firefox: 614 KB
    IE: 1.5 MB

  • Aircel now in Mumbai

    Aircel now in Mumbai

    With the launch of Aircel in Mumbai, the telecom competition has certainly getting heated up. For my dear readers to get a fair view of the services of Aircel in Mumbai, I decided to get hands on one. The following are the few details I have been able to get. The connection will be active from tomorrow so you may just have to wait to know more about its overall performance.

    The First Glance

    Aircel was launched with a big bang in Mumbai at the Gateway of India and now the advertising banner shout very loudly about the arrival of a new competition. The branding of Aircel had always been different and with Dhoni now jumping as the brand ambassdor things look a lot better for Aircel.

    Costing and Ease

    The Aircel sim and connection costs Rs. 99 as opposed to Airtel’s Rs. 20. Connection comes with a default talktime of Rs. 10. The biggest difference is that Aircel has launched the card in Mumbai as a full lifetime card only. That means, no validity recharges.

    Other attractions include more talktime than the value of the voucher it self. For a recharge of Rs. 199, you get the value of Rs. 250. That is, a full Rs. 51 extra. Top that with Rs. 1500 Aircel to Aircel local call free every month for first three months and 300 local and National SMSes free.

    Call cost per minuite has gone in a decreasing mode as call time increases. For example, if you call someone, the first local minute will cost you Re. 1, second minute will cost you Ps. 50, and the third minute ownwards will cost you Ps. 30.

    For STD, the call rate for First minute will be 1.50 ps, second minute the cost comes down to Re. 1, and the from 3rd minute ownwards, Aircel will charge you with .75ps.

    I have not been able to get more details on how the VAS charges are, but believe that would also be market shattering.

    Wait for the full review as I start to explore serviecs of AircelMumbai.Network remains very important to me than any other parameter.

    Welcome to Mumbai, Aircel.

    Update 1:

    Aircel Customer Care in Mumbai is not equipped with much information. I called up Aircel customer care to find out what are the charges for GPRS on Laptop and she was fumbling for an answer. I then had to switch my language to Hindi to make her understand what exactly I wanted. Not an issue as such since I know both the languages very well, but for those who speak English more often might just find the going though.

    Anyways, the girl said that browsing internet on an Aircel phone using it as a modem will cost you 10ps. per 10kb. Oouch! That is too much.

    Update 2:

    SIM activation has taken 3 days which is very bad for a new company to start off with. The customer care continues to be pathetic and not well versed with products and services. On IVR, you cannot go back to menu by pressing 8 as the lady’s sweet voice tells you!

    Network remains the biggest issue. Though voice clarity is on par, but the connection is not constand while on the move.

    Update 3:

    Network in closed areas goes to Zero. Network in Mumbai local keeps fluctuating, hence not consistant and more chances for call drops.

    Hemal Shah’s List of Current Best Mobile Service Provider (GSM) in Mumbai:

    Vodafone reigns on the top even after Reliance and Aircel came with onslaught with cheapest charges and more talktime. A distant second is Airtel in Mumbai which still has a negative network in Mumbai, though it runs on 1800/1900 Mhz.

    Third position is shared by is Loop and Reliance, followed by MTNL and Idea at fourth. Aircel cannot be counted in the ranks because it has not got a fair amount of time to show what it can do.

  • Reliance GSM Network Quality (Review)

    Reliance GSM Network Quality (Review)

    Updated on 3rd April 09, original article dates back to 15th January 09.

    Reliance GSM Network Quality is poorer than I would have thought.

    Initially when I had inserted the SIM card and started the phone, It was working fine. Reliance to Reliance, GSM and CDMA both does not have a major connectivity problem with each other. Its for others who you have to bargain for. Connectvity to Airtel suffers big time, Vodafone was just ok.

    Features

    Other than its Network Quality, on a positive note for customers is that 900 Rs. worth of talktime you would get for a period of 90 days i.e. Rs. 10 every day (not in all circles). I have not been able to get in touch with customer care so that I can calrify a few doubts.

    1. Every day you would get 10 INR as talktime/
    2. For the first two days, you get Rs. 20 as validity. For the first day, you get Rs. 20 with validity of  two days. Then, Rs. 10/- each day till 90th day since your activation.
    3. Reliance to Reliance free, after 11.oo Pm
    4. No information about GPRS etc.
    5. 6 Months Validity
    6. Rs. 25 for Sim card and Rs 50 first recharge.

    With these information still at bay, you cannot have a good review. Wait and watch for a full review.

    Update day two:

    Call quality was very good against as expected. I don’t get network inside my office premises. Making a call is still a pain, you have to dial the same number some ten – fifteen times to get connected.

    Update: Month One

    Call quality is still superb, but Connectivity issues remain. Mobile GPRS enabled, Browsing as quick as others, though not better. Making a call still remains the pain, but otherwise the connection is active. Reliance GMS Call Quality is as same as the CDMA which really is appreciated. Call drops are more frequent, hence issues still remains on the network front.

    Update: Month Two

    After two months of using Reliance GSM Network, the Quality of Network has gone up, disconnections between calls have come down (call drops), Customer service pathetic. Customer Service is not good enough to beat the leaders in the Industry. Call quality has come down a bit, though making a call still is a pain.

    Update: Month Three

    The free talktime is now finished, hence I have stopped calling these days.

    Network remains bad. Call quality remains superb. Calling still is a pain and Call Drops are high.

  • Apple Safari 4.0: Something Very Different

    Believe it or not, I have started using Safari leaving Firefox behind. Yes, the new Safari 4.0 (beta) has caught my attention and I am glued to it. A claimed whopping 150 features are waiting for you to explore them.

    The most striking feature is the Top Sites which is ala Speed Dail of Opera and Most Visited on dashboard of Chrome.

    Then you have a full History search and Cover Flow which are imported from Mac. You get a similar interface. Works effortlessly. The feature of auto completion of the web address is intelligent. Tabs are put on the top, and added animation like a slide bar has been thrown in when you want to bring two far ended tabs closer.

    I love the way they have put it as against Opera and Chrome. Of-course it consumes more ram, but then if I have some extra ram to spare, then why not.

    Now, a bit from the Web Designer and Developer View.

  • How Consistant? Problems with complete Airtel now!!!

    How Consistant? Problems with complete Airtel now!!!

    I am experiencing constant network problems with Airtel of late. Ever since I have lost my Reliance data card, I have had to relay on Airtel to keep writing blogs. Airtel works best at night most of the time. In the day, the connection keeps breaking near about 700 KB of data transfer.

    The browsing speed is very pathetic. I hardly get 4 to 5 KB/S download speed on Flash Get where as on Reliance, I used to get atleast 15 to 25 KB/S.

    My place also do not have any broadband connection I can get. Even the cyber cafe near my building runs the same Reliance Data Card for access internet.

    Of late, Airtel network gets completely blacked out. 3 days before and yesterday, I was able to see the network strengh as 100%, however when I try calling or browsing, it simply does not work. I tried calling from a Vodafone and Virgin to my Airtel but it says my phone is switched off. Its network is going so poor that users are facing the pinch. To top it all, the amount which is deducted everyday for GPRS gets deducted regularly but when these kind of issues come Airtel should not charge us for their mistake. I am owl kinds who get time to work for personal stuff in the night. And the whole day I dont use the connection at all. When I discover that in the night the connection is not working, how am I supposed to communicate / work on Internet.

    If this is a one off event, I can understand that. But this happens several times a month.

    Airtel is becoming pathetic day by day. My other Airtel postpaid is in the limelight for not having paid the bill in the month of January.

    I got close to 17 calls with regards to the same. I have been telling each of these that I have made the payment well in time before my due date of 11th and also gave them the reciept number and  reference number. Some how, the payment is not updated with them and those who are calling me do not care to update.

    Registering a complaint with Customer Care also does not help. I enquired about my complaint status and what I was told shook me. The executive told me that the complaint department has already spoken to me and I have agreed that the issue is solved where I have not got a single call!

    Thats rubbish and insane. Airtel scores a big big Zero for me.

    Update (as of 19th February, 2009): After my complaint for non updation of my bill payment did not got me the desired results, I sent the mail to the Nodal Officer of Airtel. The nodal officer did revert on the mail, informing me about the updation of the bill amount with Airtel. However he did not revert on the late payment charges which were levied on the next month’s bill. Also, the amount mentioned by Airtel’s Nodal officer were wrong in the email. Though it was only some paise difference, I objected.

    I do not expect the nodal officer asking me to pay more than the billed amount (obviously after deducting the unreal INR 50 late payment charges) that I owe to Airtel for using its services. This happened a week back, and I am yet to get a revert from the Nodal Officer.

  • Google’s New: Google SMS 9773300000 (for India)

    Google’s New: Google SMS 9773300000 (for India)

    Google has launched an yet another first in India. Search via SMS.

    In a first of its kind service, this 10 Digit number does not fall under the “Special Numbers” category which enables the mobile service provider to change you anything between 3 to 10 Rupees of your hard earned money. Now, if you need to do some searching, then use this service.

    I costs you the same cost as your normal SMS. Also, if you have a free SMS Pack, you not even need to worry about cost et all.

    The most commonly used “Cricket Score” is now available from Google for a cheaper rate. This surely will eat into the mobile service provider’s earnings who have been banking on Value added services to cover the costs elsewhere.

    A complete list of services are available at Google’s website.

    The Airtels and the Vodafones of India may cry foul on this just because this may eat into their earnings. I think at the end of the day, it is the customers who will benefit from this service. We would all do the best to promote this service.

  • India’s own Nano Computer just for INR 500

    India’s own Nano Computer just for INR 500

    The Guys at IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), Chennai, and the IISc (Indian Institute of Science), Bangalore overshadowed the guys at MIT. These techies have just removed a 0 (which India had invented) from the $100 what MIT had specified, from the cost of the Super Cheap Nano Computer at barely $10. This upcoming and not yet named device would break all the records of the cheapest mobile computer till date.

    As reported in DNA Newspaper (Mumbai) today, India’s Human Resource Minister Mr. Arjun Singh will launch the device. The details are very skeptical as of now about what will be configuration, except that it would contain a DVD drive. One thing however is very clear that it would be based on Linux. I believe the a lot of Opensource technologies would have been applied to achieve the cost.

    What remains to be seen is how the Hardware challenges would be met. The Indian Government would be subsiding rate to make it affordable. The Ministry will provide these devices to Institutions at cheaper rates which will help students to access tailor made courses which would be made available.

    Putting a super cheap computer means volumes would be utmost necessary. Is this cost inclusive of taxes and other royalties? I dont think so. As Tata Nano’s standard cost sticks around INR 1 Lakh, the on road price goes up to 1.4 Lakhs.

    The actual price I would expect is around INR 1000 which seems a good price point. Also, the guys who have developed these should use eco friendly technologies, just because the volumes would be so large. At that given price point, Almost every Indian who can afford a Rs. 2000 phone can buy a Nano Computer.

    Update

    The $10 laptop turned out to be  a hype. It is mearly a storage device which will help the students to access and take along the educational content. I feel I was made a fool, which is an understatement. No body from the MHRD confirmed nither denied that it is a laptop. If they would have done that, atleast we would not have felt cheated. The whole world was looking at this event and after the announcement was made, it turned out to be a Storage Device.

  • Tata GSM, anyone? Choose your mobile service provider wisely.

    Tata Tele is also planning of launching its own GSM services in late January or Mid February.

    Reliance has already mopped up a huge crowd for its own GSM service, with a pathetic network [Read Reliance GSM Network Quality (Review) ]

    Lets see what Tata’s  come up with.  It would interesting to see how all these would add up for Customer. The Customer would be confused with so many players to choose from. The total tally for Mumbai would be 7. These are Reliance, BPL, Vodafone, MTNL, Airtel, Idea, Tata. As for CDMA, TATA (including Virgin) and Reliance are the only service providers. No new service provider are in for CDMA.

    The most important parameter I would rate any service provider is a combination of Service Quality with decent staff and Price at which they provide the service.

    So, here is the survey to find out the Best of Mumbai’s (Maharashtra) Telecom Companies’ Services.

    Vodafone

    Vodafone scores high on the Customer service front, though its on the decline from earlier when they were Orange and Hutch. However, in cost, it would score low and their network is only best of the rest. Network congestion has been a problem area for Vodafone for some time now, and call drops increasing by the day.

    Airtel

    Airtel offers a great combination of packages with cheap offers. Its probably best used for GPRS which they offer @ Rs. 15 per day. But the customer service is the worst I have faced. To top it all, a week network makes it the most offensive. The recent survey tells that Airtel does not meet the service quality benchmark set by TRAI this year, citing huge number of call drops.

    MTNL

    MTNL on the contrary offers a good mixture of both, but does not supersede any private player on either fronts. Network remains a good point, but coverage in most areas not too good.

    Idea

    Idea has good customer service, and average plans for customers. Network remains a sore point for Idea. Abhishek has failed to entice users to Idea in Mumbai. They need to grow their network coverage.

    BPL

    The fate of this company, once with the best network in Mumbai, remains to be in doldrums. BPL today is very shabby, ultra cheap and a bad customer care. It still has the good network they had always but it is now time to increase coverage area. Call drops have been few. They have enticed the young with a young image and probably are living up to their expectations to an extent. But the traditional users of BPL have been the oldies who had a strong brand recall for BPL as they had for Sony.

    Tata & Virgin

    This is a company which is backed by a trusted brand. Tata has been on the move, and slowly and surely, they have moved up the ladder. They are not in for a dog fight. Their fares are low, and offer a superior customer services in Virgin guise, over and above what Vodafone offers. Network is good and call drops are few. Definitely, my choice of  service provider. Only let down, the handsets offered are cheap and basic. Need to have a vast collection of handsets, like Reliance does.

    Reliance CDMA and GSM

    Reliance CDMA offers the best network in CDMA, betters Vodafone by a good margin. The availability of multiple handset choice with below average (if not worse) customer service is what its all about. Reliance plans and packages are good. The free calling between Reliance to Reliance is an awesome scheme. Every other operator has failed to put up such an alternative, of course which comes at a cost or 799 INR recharge. Good network coverage across India, and good packages for Data cards.

    Tata Indicom CDMA

    Perhaps, the best bet of all, this is a real tough call to make. Reliance has already triumphed on most parameters, but when it comes to Trust and Quality, Tata Indicom leaves Reliance behind by a whisker. Sure, network of Reliance is better than Tata’s, call drops on Tata network more or less as same as that of Reliance. If you are a traveler across India frequently, you should think twice going for a Tata. The corporate choice for Data cards, Tata offers the best data card packages around.

    Summing it up

    So, in the end it all boils down to who we should trust our money with! A provider can be chosen on basis your needs. If you a need a no nonsense, affordable service provider, TATA in Virgin guise has to be your choice. It gives you your basic communication needs a full satisfaction. It also tops on the charts of the Service Quality benchmark set by TRAI

    For more than basic use of a mobile, trust Reliance in CDMA, And in GSM, Vodafone. Here goes the order.

    Tata’s have truly lived up their hype, trust people put into.

    1. Virgin Mobile (Tata CDMA)
    2. Tata Indicom CDMA
    3. Reliance CDMA

    In GSM

    1. Vodafone
    2. MTNL
    3. BPL
    4. Reliance & Airtel
    5. Idea

    Overall, Tatas emerge winner. Virgin is the brand you need to look for. If you need some thing more than virgin, go for Tata Indicom or Reliance. This stands true for both the GSM & CDMA. It seems CDMA is winning the race for quality and cost.

    Good luck for your choice. Share your exprience with me. Post a comment here.