Sistema Shyam, first in the world to opt for Rev B

 Sistema Shyam Teleservices (SSTL) is the first operator in the world to go for CDMA EV-DO Rev B Phase 2 commercial contract. The EV-Do Rev B Phase 2 commercial launch will commence from Rajasthan circle.

The commercial use of EV-DO Rev B technology will greatly enhance the existing service speeds of mobile broadband for SSTL.

11.1 mn new GSM subscribers added in April

Idea cellular was the biggest gainer adding 2.45 mn users into its kitty followed by Airtel with 2.41 mn additions.

Indian GSM telecom operators added 11.1 million subscribers to their kitty in April, according to the Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI). 

However, the figure is lower than the March figure, when 14.49 million subscribers were added by the operators. With this, the total GSM subscriber base in the country has now climbed to 580.66 million. 

ZTE to supply CDMA upgrade to MTS India

India’s Sistema Shyam TeleServices has awarded what is claimed to be the world’s first CDMA EV-DO Rev B Phase 2 commercial contract to ZTE. 

Sistema Shyam, a joint Russian-Indian company which uses the MTS brand, will be able to increase the speed of its services following the upgrade. 

The commercial launch will begin in Rajasthan. ZTE also received CDMA expansion contracts and EV-DO upgrade contracts for 10 of MTS’s districts. 

The Phase 2 technology could further optimise the base station cell capacity, spectrum efficiency and peak rate. It can attain speed rate as fast as 4.9 megabits in single frequency carrier and 14.7 megabits in a three-frequency carrier bundle.

ZTE bags telecom equipment contract from SSTL

NEW DELHI: China-based telecom equipment-maker ZTE Corporation today said it has bagged technology expansion contracts from Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd (SSTL) for an undisclosed amount. 

ZTE has won CDMA expansion contracts and EV-DO -- a network protocol used by cell phones for wireless Internet communications -- upgrade contracts for 10 circles of SSTL, which operates under MTS brand, ZTE said in a statement. 

However, the company did not disclose the financial details of the contract. 

The company will commercially launch the EV-DO Rev.B Phase 2 in Rajasthan. The commercial use of EV-DO Rev.B technology will greatly enhance the existing service speeds of mobile broadband on SSTL's network. 

MTS launches MBlaze in Uttar Pradesh

Using MBlaze dongles and HSD (High Speed Data) compatible handsets, MTS customers can enjoy video streaming, High quality audio/video download and live play back.

MTS has announced the launch of its high-speed mobile broadband service, MBlaze, in UP East and UP West circles. In UP, the MTS mobile broadband services are now available in Lucknow, Allahabad, Kanpur, Dehradun, Aligarh, Agra, Bareilly, Gorakhpur, Meerut, Moradabad and Varanasi.

Commenting on the launch, Arvind Kumar, chief operating officer, UP East and UP West Circles, MTS India, said, "We are excited to launch our High Speed Mobile Broadband service in UP East & UP West. Customers in these circles would now be able to enjoy the unmatched MBlaze experience coupled with attractive tariffs and innovative offerings."

MTS offers Karnataka State Board Exam Results on SMS

CDMA operator MTS  has introduced a new  service for students who have appeared for Pre University Class (PUC) and Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examination conducted by Karnataka State Board.  Over 15 lakh students have taken Karnataka State Board examinations in 2011 and now using MTS connection they can know the examination results by just sending the roll number prefixed with the examination type to 58888 and register themselves. Once the State education board announces the result, all registered students will receive their result via SMS at a minimal cost of Rs. 3 per SMS. Students who have not pre registered can also avail this service after the result is announced and can get the result details instantly. They just need to send an SMS in same format & result details will be pushed on their mobile. Similar service from BSNL has also been introduced in Tamil Nadu.

BlackBerry Curve to come bundled with MTS

MTS BlackBerry Curve CDMA handset is likely to be sold at no cost beyond Rs 1,000 per month and a one year commitment to MTS.

MTS, a CDMA service provider in India, plans to launch BlackBerry Curve under a bundled plan in which consumers will get the smartphone free of cost. for Rs 1,500 per month for 12 months, with which they will get 1,500 minutes of talktime; 1,500 SMSes; and 1,500 MB of data at no extra cost. HTC Pulse is currently sold as MTS Pulse.

Sources familiar with the development said to 'The Mobile Indian', "The launch date of this phone is still not clear as the decision in this regard will be taken after analysing the response that MTS Pulse gets, which was recently launched bundled with MTS connection."

Currently, HTC Pulse is sold as MTS Pulse where, subscribers get the phone for free but have to pay Rs 1,500 per month for 12 months, for which the user gets 1,500 minutes of talktime, 1,500 SMSes and 1,500 MB of data at no extra cost.

MTS Gujarat offers handset and talktime in Rs 900

You would get a CDMA handset of MTS with colour display and 900 minutes talktime every month for 3 months for a price of Rs 900.

MTS, a CDMA mobile service provider of India, is offering a mobile connection for just Rs 900, which includes a colour handset bundled with free talk time of 2,700 minutes, to be utilised over three months. 

This translates to 900 minutes of free talk time each month over the three month period. 

Navid Rashid, chief operating officer, Gujarat, MTS India, said, "This offer besides providing a low entry cost to mobile telephony also maximizes the benefits in terms of a colour handset and free talk time of 2700 minutes."

There is a choice of three MTS handset including MTS Popular, MTS Striker and MTS Super Power. 

After the customer has utilised the free minutes, calls will be charged at 1 paise per second for both local and STD calls. 

The offer is available across the state of Gujarat through MTS retail outlets. Recently, MTS also announced a bundling plan with HTC under which consumer gets an Android phone for a commitment of Rs 1500 per month, in which 1500 minutes calls, 1500MB data and 1500 SMS where free.

India has only 500 mn mobile users, not 800 mn

NEW DELHI, INDIA: The number of real, active mobile users in India has just crossed 500 million, according to a analysis of statistics released by telecom regulator TRAI along with industry data and inputs. This is much lower than the 811.59 million that is projected as the official number of mobile subscribers in March 2011, says a study.

According to Voice&Data, the Indian telecom Industry journal from South Asia’s largest specialty publisher, CyberMedia, the actual numbers are much below this projection. The study is based on the April 6 release of TRAI, which gave details about the cellphone connections in the country in February 2011.

A footnote tells the actual story

Voice&Data said a footnote in the April 6 release provides the first caveat: “Active wireless subscribers in VLR in February 2011 are 563 million”, pointing to the fact that the actual number of mobile users in India is below the 810 million or even the 791 million mark.

The VLR, or Visitor Location Register, is a database of the subscribers who have roamed into the jurisdiction of the mobile switching center (MSC) which it serves. Each base station in the network is served by only one VLR, hence a subscriber cannot be present in more than one VLR at a time.

Mobile phone subscribers in India rises to 811.59 million

India’s mobile phone subscribers base has touched 811.59 million in March with the addition of 20.21 million connections, official data shows.

According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the wireless user base grew 2.55 percent, from 791.38 million in February.

While the share of urban subscribers declined to 66.30 percent from 66.36 percent, the share of rural subscribers increased from 33.64 percent to 33.70 percent, the report said Friday.

With this, the total number of telephone subscriber base touched 846.32 million, registering a growth of 2.43 percent.

Overall teledensity in India reached 70.89.

However, according to the report, of the total 811.59 million wireless subscribers in March, only 573.97 million subscribers were active subscribers on the date of peak visitor location register (VLR).

VLR is a temporary database of the subscribers who have roamed into the particular area, which it serves. Each base station in the network is served by exactly one VLR, hence a subscriber cannot be present in more than one VLR at a time.

The growth in this category was led by Vodafone, which added 3.65 million users to take its subscriber base to 134.57 million users.

Reliance Communications followed next with an addition of 3.54 million new subscribers, taking its subscriber base to 135.72 million.

Telecom giant Bharti airtel added 3.2 million subscribers to take its total number of customers to 162.2 million.

Idea Cellular added 2.7 million subscribers, increasing its subscribers count to 89.5 million while Uninor added 1.21 million subscribers to have 22.79 million subscribers.

According to the data, the broadband subscriber base grew 3.51 percent from 11.47 million in February to 11.87 million in March 2011. However, the wireline segment declined marginally from 34.87 million in February to 34.73 million at the end of March.