Telecommunications

Reliance Jio won big in the month of May with over 3 million wireless subscribers joining its network, according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) report. Other telecom operators including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea (Vi), and BSNL lost subscribers. Bharti Airtel lost the most number of subscribers, followed by Vi and BSNL. Reliance Jio’s

Telecom operators in India are no longer bundling SMS benefits with their low-value prepaid recharge plans that are available under Rs. 100. As an industry-wide practice, players including Reliance Jio, Airtel, and Vi (formerly Vodafone Idea) have updated their entry-level plans to not club them with any SMS message allocation. It will be a major

Airtel on Wednesday revised its prepaid recharge portfolio by discontinuing the affordable Rs. 49 plan and replacing it with a Rs. 79 option. The revision will come into effect on a pan-India basis starting Thursday, July 29. The Rs. 49 Airtel prepaid recharge plan provided Rs. 38.52 of talktime, 100MB data, and 28 days of

Airtel on Thursday revised its postpaid plan portfolio for both retail and corporate customers. The revision upgrades the Rs. 999 retail Airtel postpaid plan with better data benefits, while corporate customers have now been provided with postpaid plans starting at Rs. 299. Alongside revising the postpaid plans for its retail and corporate subscribers, the telco

Verizon Communications will make Google’s Messages the default messaging app on all Android devices it sells starting next year, the US wireless carrier said on Tuesday. With that move, Verizon would join peers AT&T and T-Mobile US in propping up competition to Apple’s iMessage service. Alphabet-owned Google’s Messages comes with features similar to those in iMessage,

Verizon Business on Tuesday signed a deal with Mastercard to use 5G and wireless technology for contactless payments and provide an autonomous checkout service for retail stores. Telecoms operators such as Verizon are seeking to expand into new businesses ranging from robotics to fintech companies that they think will benefit from the growing adoption of

The Delhi high court on Monday deferred hearing on the plea by Bollywood actress Juhi Chawla in connection with the dismissal of her lawsuit against 5G wireless network technology. Justice Sanjeev Narula recused from hearing Chawla’s plea and directed that it be listed before another bench on July 29. “Subject to the order of the

Microsoft and AT&T on Wednesday said that the carrier will run core parts of its 5G wireless network on Microsoft’s cloud computing platform. The newer generation of networks, which AT&T began rolling out in 2018, is designed to rely more heavily on software and data centres for routing traffic rather than telecommunications specific gear. Microsoft,

Vi (formerly known as Vodafone Idea) has announced that its customers can now book a COVID-19 vaccine slot through its app. Vi says this has been made possible with the integration of the CoWIN app with its platform. Vi users will be able to search for available vaccine slots and also set reminders for when

Norwegian telecoms firm Telenor has sold its Myanmar business, blaming the difficulties of operating under the military junta and dealing a blow to activists who say they relied on the only Western operator for communications. Telenor, one of the biggest foreign investors in Myanmar, sold its Myanmar operations to Lebanese investment firm M1 Group for

BSNL has launched a new Rs. 447 prepaid plan in India. This plan comes with 60 days of validity and 100GB of bundled data. This plan comes with total data benefit and doesn’t have any daily data limit. Similar plans have been introduced by Airtel, Jio, and Vodafone Idea as well. BSNL may have introduced

The Cabinet on Wednesday approved public private partnership mode for the rollout of BharatNet project for broadband services in villages in 16 states with viability gap funding of Rs 19,041 crore, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said. Prasad said the decision to involve private players was taken after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on August

Vi (formerly known as Vodafone Idea) has introduced a Rs. 267 prepaid recharge plan with 25GB of data for 30 days. The new prepaid plan also includes unlimited voice calling benefits. The Rs. 267 Vi prepaid recharge plan competes against the Rs. 247 pack offered by Jio that brings 25GB high-speed data access along with

Looking for a way to check all phone numbers registered against your Aadhaar card? It is possible through a portal launched by the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) that lets individuals check how many phone numbers are registered on their Aadhaar number. The portal is initially working for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana consumers. It is helpful

Jio users now have the facility to get instant high-speed data on loan and pay for it later. Called Emergency Data Loan, the latest offering by the Mumbai-based telecom operator is aimed to allow its prepaid subscribers to get up to five data loan packs of 1GB each — 5GB in total. The subscribers will

Airtel Black was launched at a virtual conference on Friday as a new programme by the New Delhi-based telecom operator to let its subscribers combine postpaid, direct-to-home (DTH), and fibre services under one single bill. The telco will allow users to bundle two or more of its services together to avail features such as one

Airtel Black is a new offer for subscribers combining postpaid, DTH, and fibre connections into a single bill. At first glance it looks a lot like the company’s existing One Airtel service. The telco has made a microsite for Airtel Black, and it offers mostly the same benefits to subscribers including one bill, one customer

Verizon on Monday showcased two robots on the stage of the Mobile World conference, saying that bots use 5G connectivity and mobile edge computing to communicate with each other. Edge computing uses augmented reality and machine learning to analyse bulk data where it was gathered – whether factory floor, oil rig or office space –

Jio Rs. 3,499 prepaid plan with a year’s validity has been launched. The new annual plan can be spotted on both the website and the mobile app. It is present in the 3GB per day prepaid plan list and is the most expensive plan that Jio offers. The new plan comes with subscriptions to various

Qualcomm on Monday said it expects to work with more than 30 carriers and telecommunications gear providers who have committed to using the faster variant of 5G networking technology. Fifth-generation networks use a combination of technologies. The lower frequency version, called “sub-6” by industry insiders, travels well over long distances but is only somewhat faster

Vodafone Idea (Vi) has announced a new benefit for low-income group subscribers. It is offering free voice calling and data benefits for a limited period. The telecom provider says that the free offer is worth Rs. 75 and it is aimed at helping low-income group subscribers to stay connected as gradual state-wise unlocking efforts have

A Swedish court on Tuesday upheld a ban against Huawei selling 5G equipment in the country, dashing the Chinese company’s hopes of staging a comeback in Europe and increasing the chances of potential retaliation by China against rival Ericsson. In October, Swedish telecom regulator PTS unexpectedly banned Huawei supplying 5G equipment to Swedish mobile firms

Reliance is all set to host its annual general meeting (AGM) today. The AGM is set to begin at 2pm IST and Reliance is expected to introduce a new 5G phone, a new laptop, and possibly detail 5G rollout plans as well. Ahead of the event, Reliance Jio has also released a new chatbot to

Reliance Jio Chairman Mukesh Ambani outlined the company’s 5G rollout plans and promised that Jio would be the first company to bring 5G service to India, saying that the company is working on a 2G mukt, and 5G yukt, India, or 2G-free, and 5G-enabled. At the company’s 44th Annual General Meeting (AGM), Ambani also talked

Vi (Vodafone Idea) has introduced a new prepaid plan that offers 50GB total data with no daily limit. The telecom operator follows Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel in introducing such a plan for its subscribers. Jio has a similar plan with similar data benefit and price in its Freedom plan kitty that was announced recently.

Intel on Monday said it will work with Reliance Jio to develop 5G networking technology. Intel’s venture capital unit last year invested $250 million (roughly Rs. 1,857.42 crores) in Reliance’s Jio Platforms unit, saying the two companies would find areas of technology partnership. On Monday, Intel said it will work on “co-innovations” with Reliance Jio

Reliance Jio has continued to lead on 4G download speeds with 20.7Mbps average download speed recorded in May, while Vi (Vodafone Idea) surpassed the competition with its highest upload speed of 6.3Mbps, according to the data provided by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Jio’s 4G speed was marginally increased when compared with the

The US Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously on Thursday to advance a plan to ban approvals for equipment in US telecommunications networks from Chinese companies deemed national security threats like Huawei and ZTE. Under proposed rules that won initial approval, the FCC could also revoke prior equipment authorisations issued to Chinese companies. A Huawei spokesperson, in an

 A World Bank-led project declined to award a contract to lay sensitive undersea communications cables after Pacific island governments heeded US warnings that participation of a Chinese company posed a security threat, two sources told Reuters. The former Huawei Marine Networks, now called HMN Technologies and majority owned by Shanghai-listed Hengtong Optic-Electric, submitted a bid

Bharti Airtel has expanded its prepaid recharge portfolio and launched a new Rs. 456 plan that comes with 50GB of data and validity of 60 days. The new prepaid recharge plan also comes with unlimited voice calling benefits as well as 100 SMS messages per day — throughout the validity. The Rs. 456 Airtel prepaid