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. 

Videocon to launch 8 mega pixel full touch screen phone

The touch screen phone will have an 8 megapixel camera and is expected to be available within Rs 7,000. The phone will be launched over the next 15 days along with 4-5 dual SIM phones.

Videocon is all set to launch a new phone featuring an 8 megapixel camera and a 2.8 inch touch screen.

Sources said to 'The Mobile Indian' that the phone will haveoptical zoom, just like Spice S12 and that the company has also planned 4-5 other phones which will be in different price ranges and will use two SIM cards. Pricing has not yet been disclosed but the 8 megapixel handset is expected to be available within Rs 7,000.

The company recently launched upgraded versions of its Android phone, called Zeus Evolve, and Videocon V7500. It also released five other phones, one of which is called V 1755 and features a 3.2 inch touch screen; while V 1665 has a 3 inch touch screen along with a 2 megapixel camera.

The company has aggressive plans and has tied-up with electronic retail chain Next and several other stores to sell its phones. It is also expanding its service network beyond the 450 service centers it already operates.

Indian DTH subscriptions soar to 32 million

A remarkable 22.4% jump in subscriber growth forIndia’s direct-to-home (DTH) satellite TV offerings has been recorded for the last three months of 2010.

According to the latest figures from the broadcast industry’s regulator, a total of 32.05 million people inIndiareceived pay-TV services from the nation’s six private DTH providers by 31 December 2010, up from 26.4 million at the end of October 2010, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has revealed.

This compares to a base of 23.77 million who had taken out DTH subscriptions inIndiaby 30 June 2010.

The figures relate to customers of Dish TV, Tata Sky, Sun Direct, Airtel Digital TV, Reliance Digital TV and Videocon d2h. Viewers of state broadcaster Doordarshan’s DTH service are not included in the TRAI survey.

The figures also showIndiahad 155 pay TV channels out of a total of 604 registered channels at the end of last year. A total of 786,422 set top boxes had been installed in areas where conditional access systems have been mandated by the regulator, according to the new TRAI figures. This is up from 770,519 at the end of June.

The growth ofIndia’s love affair with pay TV over satellite is not yet showing signs of abating. One ofIndia’s DTH operators, Airtel Digital, recently announced that it had added 3.07 million subscriptions alone so far in 2011.

Indeed, consultants RNCOS anticipate the DTH subscriber base in India will reach about 69 million by 2014, registering an annual compound growth rate (CAGR) of about 23% between 2011 and 2014.

Although these figures are impressive, the Indian DTH industry continues to face major challenges, such as low returns on average revenue per user (ARPU), the expense of acquiring both content and new subscribers – given set top box subsidies – and high taxation.