Mobile, Internet, etc

It could have been the biggest cross border deal India has seen at an estimated $24 billion. While it’s slipped out of the country, the government has done little but shrugged its shoulders.

It could have been the biggest cross border deal India has seen at an estimated $24 billion. While it’s slipped out of the country, the government has done little but shrugged its shoulders.

The government on Tuesday said it has a positive approach towards the proposed $23-billion deal between Bharti and South African MTN.

Telecom regulator TRAI on Wednesday laid down the framework for the implementation of mobile number portability (MNP). TRAI said that MNP would be effective from December 31, 2009 in metros and A-group cities.

Within a week of the government announcing plans to auction spectrum for 3G mobile services, India’s largest private cellular operator Bharti Airtel on Wednesday said it will launch the service by October next year.

EBay is trading control of the online telecommunications service Skype for about $2 billion, reversing a 2005 acquisition that many analysts considered a head scratcher from the beginning.

Indian call charges touched a new low on Tuesday with telecom operator Tata Teleservices’ new tariff plan that allows CDMA subscribers unlimited hours on local calls for just Re 1.

South African telecom major MTN, which is in talks with Bharti Airtel for creating a combined entity worth $23-billion, today said the proposed transaction is compelling as it fits into the company’s emerging market strategy.

Seven months after Tata Teleservices and SREI-owned Quippo announced the merger between their tower companies, they have finally closed the deal.

The first meeting of the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) constituted to take a decision on the pricing of spectrum for third-generation telecom services has got postponed, making the wait for 3G services in the country even longer.

Telecom firm Tata Communications on Saturday reported a 67.56 per cent decline in its net profit at Rs 31.94 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2009, over the same period last year.

Even though Bharti’s growth in revenues was below expectation, it reported better profits than predicted by analysts which were up more than 24 per cent when compared to same period last year.

Idea Cellular on Thursday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 297.06 crore for the quarter ended June 30 against Rs 263.09 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Airtel today reported 22.21 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 2,647.95 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2009.

The government today said it is looking at listing BSNL and Telecommunications Consultants India Limited, but the timeline for this will be decided in consultation with the Finance Ministry.

Telecom czar Sunil Mittal has said that Bharti Airtel’s proposed $23 billion transaction with South African telecom major MTN is a “well thought out” deal. The planned deal with MTN is expected to create an entity with more than 200 million subscribers.

The government today constituted a Group of Ministers to look into pricing and auctioning of spectrum for 3G telephony that will revolutionize the way data is received and transferred on mobile phones.

Suggesting delinking of spectrum from telecom licences, the Economic Survey for the year 2008-09 has suggested auctioning radio frequencies for the forthcoming 3G mobile services.

Telecom firm BSNL on Tuesday entered into a three year partnership with technology giant Microsoft under which it will offer business mail applications for its customer for Rs 420 per month.

The new iPhone went on sale on Friday morning, greeted by much smaller lines and less hoopla than previous models. This year, Apple and AT&T Inc., the phone’s US carrier, defused the drama by taking pre-orders for the new phone online.