Category: telecom

GSM operators add 8.9m in June

GSM wireless operators reported 9.3m (estimate) net-adds in Jun vs. 8.7m in May; our June est. assumes RCOM added 0.4m subs (same as in May) in its ‘existing’ GSM (RTL) circles. Increase in overall net-adds was driven by BSNL (net-adds up 0.6m; 98% mom) and Idea (0.3m;24%). Vodafone’s net-adds (down…

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Higher MAT will Impact Cash Flow

The Finance Minister, as part of the Union budget 2009-10, announced an increase in MAT to ~16.8% (incl. surcharge/cess) from 11.2% though extending time line for using MAT credit to 10 years (7 years). This will Result in higher cash outflow, it will be EPS neutral given: both Idea and…

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Tariff War Not Yet Intense – 3G be big Dent

Following GSM (global system for mobile) launches by Aircel, Vodafone, RCOM and Idea in the first quarter of calendar 2009, net adds have stabilized at 11.5-12mn in the last two months, down from 15-16mn in the previous quarter. Initial launches, especially by RCOM, offered ARPM as low as Rs0.1/min for…

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Mobile numbers with "8" as first digit

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is expected to permit mobile telecom operators to roll out new mobile numbers with ‘8’ as the first digit. The move has been necessitated following a huge spurt in the mobile subscriber base and having used up all mobile numbers beginning with ‘9’. India’s cellular…

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DoT contemplates separating license + spectrum

The Department of telecommunications (DoT) is contemplating to separate the issue of spectrum from license, a move that can help develop a suitable long term policy for the 2G spectrum allocation. DoT came under heavy criticism last year after it issued 2G licenses to a number of new entrants at…

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DoT postpones 2G spectrum allocation till 3G policy is finalised

In a development that is likely to hit telecommunications companies, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is understood to have decided to postpone any decision on grant of second generation (2G) spectrum or radio frequency till a final decision on the 3G spectrum allocation is arrived at. A meeting between the…

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GSM Subscriber Net Adds Decline in May

GSM operators reported 8.7m (est.) net-adds in May vs. 9.4m in April; our May estimate assumes RCOM added 0.4m subs (same as in April) in its existing GSM (RTL) circles. Decline in overall net-adds was driven by BSNL (net-adds down by 0.6m; 56% mom) and Vodafone (0.2m; 35%). Idea’s net-adds…

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National Security – Rcom disables 36,000 connections in J&K

The Anil Ambani Group-led Reliance Communication has deactivated around 36,000 connections in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) due to security threats. The company has started an internal probe into issuance of mobile connections on the basis of fake documents. In J&K , there are more than 20 lakh mobiles connections of…

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