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Airtel

Airtel – An Indian-based Company Operating Second Largest Mobile Network Across The Globe.

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Airtel is a telecommunication company that every Indian has heard of as well as people abroad. It is not only the second-largest telecom operator in India but also across the world. Sunil Bharti Mittal is the founder of the company. The company’s headquarters is based in New Delhi, India and it operates in 18 countries. The main services of Airtel are mobile services (2G, 4G LTE, 4G+), voice services, and fixed-line broadband. Airtel’s business strategy especially of outsourcing has made it successful in a few years. The IT support for the company is provided by Amdocs and it also made the partnership with Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers for the transmission network. Let’s have a better look at the history and operations of the company.

The Founding Story Of Airtel

Before the push-button phones were made in India, they were imported from Taiwan to replace the rotary phones. In 1984, Sunil Mittal started assembling the components of these push-button phones in India instead of importing them. To manufacture these phones, Bharti Telecom Limited (BTL) tied up with Siemens AG (a German company) and eventually started production. Sunil Mittal bid for one of the four mobile phone network licenses that were auctioned in India and finally his plan was approved in 1994 and he launched the telecom services in Delhi.

Sunil Mittal was the first Indian entrepreneur who spotted the potential of telecom services in the Indian market and beyond and grasped it quickly. Within a few years of launch, Bharti crossed the 2 million subscriber mark and brought STD/ISD under the brand name “India one.” From 1999, Bharti Enterprises started acquiring other businesses spread across India. The company also launched an Airtel theme song which gained much popularity in India.

In 2008, Airtel was considering acquiring the MTN group which is a South African telecommunication company. The company is spread across 21 countries and it has several subsidiaries which would have been very advantageous for Airtel. But, the deal was not fixed as MTN tried to make Airtel one of its subsidiaries. The discussions went on for a long time but after one year, the idea was dismissed. In 2010, Airtel acquired Zain mobile networks in 15 African countries and this acquisition became the second-largest Indian overseas acquisition after Tata Steel. Gradually, Airtel expanded to several other countries and climbed the ladder to becoming one of the largest telecom networks in the world.

Airtel
Image source: indiatvnews.com

Expansion, Mergers, And Acquisitions

After the MTN Group acquisition plans fell off, Airtel succeeded in acquiring Zain which made Airtel the fifth-largest wireless carrier in the world in terms of subscribers. In 2010, the company acquired a 70.9 percent stake in Warid Telecom and the remaining was sold to Bharti Airtel Holdings in Singapore. The same year, the company planned to acquire Telecom Seychelles which operated in 19 countries. After two years, the company acquired a 49 percent stake in Wireless Business Services Private Limited and it gave the company a stronger 4G presence. The other companies that Airtel acquired are Augere Wireless which gave Airtel 4G presence in Central India (partially), Indian assets of Telenor, Tikona Digital Networks Pvt Ltd, Tigo Rwanda followed by Tata Teleservices and Tata Docomo.

As mentioned earlier, the presence of Airtel outside India is also very strong. In Bangladesh, it operates as Robi and in Sri Lanka as Airtel Sri Lanka. Airtel Africa includes 15 African countries under the network. Some of the countries are Congo, Kenya, Madagascar, Zambia, Ghana, Nigeria, etc. Airtel also has network operations in the Channel Islands which include Jersey and Guernsey.

About The Founder

Sunil Bharti Mittal is the founder and chairperson of Bharti Enterprises. He is an Indian billionaire, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He graduated from Punjab University in 1976 and started his first business by borrowing the capital from his father. After a few years, he started a trading company with his brothers. The trading business included importing various equipment from other countries and one of them was push-button phones from Taiwan. But, in 1981 the government of India suddenly banned the import of specific items which led him to assemble the push-button phone in India. This is how he took the first step towards building the emperor of Bharti Airtel. He is the recipient of Padma Bhushan.

Spectrum auction

Reliance Jio emerged as the biggest bidder during Spectrum auction 2021 with Rs 57122. 65 crores

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The biggest bidder in the Spectrum auction 2021 was Reliance Jio with Rs 57,122.65 crores for 488. 35MHz spectrum (Gadgets 360). This information was conveyed by the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology in a statement. Reliance Jio after the latest bidding witnessed that the company’s spectrum footprint increased by 55 percent. With the spectrum increased to 1711MHz, the operator became the largest spectrum holder in sub-GHz and 2300MHz. In the Spectrum auction 2021, Bharti Airtel emerged as the second-largest bidder after Jio acquiring 355.45MHz of airwaves worth Rs 18,698.75 crores.

Spectrum auction 2021 came to an end on 2nd March 2021. There were a total of six bidding rounds in Spectrum auction 2021 and the e-auction this time was based on Simultaneous Multiple Round Ascending Auction (SMRA) methodology. The total worth of bids fetched in Spectrum auction 2021 is Rs 77,814.80 crores for 855.60MHz. And, this time the auction went “better than expected” as mentioned by the auction officials.

Bidding in Spectrum auction 2021

The three main bidders in Spectrum auction 2021 that has put airwaves in 700MHz, 800MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, 2100MHz, and 2300MHz bands on bidding are Reliance Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone (Vi). The ministry also informed that there was no bidding for 700MHz and 2500MHz bands. The government put out a total spectrum of 2308.80MHz for auction. The bidders in a total bid for 855.60MHz spectrum which sums up to 60 percent of the total spectrum offered.

Spectrum auction
Image Source: business-standard.com

Reliance on bidding

The Spectrum auction 2021 was exclusively for the 4G bands and the government plans to throw another auction specifically for 5G bands. So, even if Jio has emerged out to be the largest bidder in this auction, the operator still needs to wait for the 5G bidding auction for its 5G services. Many other operators are also making progress in the 5G network technology as well.

Reliance Jio has mentioned in a statement that the company has acquired the right to use spectrum in 22 circles across the country in the recently concluded spectrum auctions (Gadgets 360). And, this acquired spectrum will be very beneficial for the 5G services that will be provided to the Jio users in the country for transactions in 5G. But, the latest Spectrum auction 2021 was all about 4G bands. Mukesh Ambani, Chairperson of Reliance Industries mentioned in a statement that with this increase in the spectrum, the company tends to expand its digital footprint in more parts of India and prepare for the 5G rollout.

Airtel expanding its spectrum

Airtel after becoming the second largest bidder in the auction mentioned that the company acquired 355.45MHz spectrum across sub-GHz, mid-band, and 2300MHz. This huge expansion in the spectrum will help Airtel bring around 90 million additional customers onboard. Gopal Vittal, CEO and MD of Indian and South Asia, Bharti Airtel said that the company now has a very solid spectrum portfolio and this will enable the operator to deliver the “best mobile broadband experience in India.”

Apart from mentioning the future plans of Airtel in India and its spectrum expansion, the operator explained why no bidders went for the 700MHz spectrum band. The main reason behind this is an absence of the economic case which is based on the high reserve prices concerning the 700MHz spectrum. This is a low-frequency band that is extensively used for bolstering inner cellular coverage.

The company also mentioned that the reserving prices, particularly on this band, should be a focus point of discussion in near future. Because, if this band is coupled with the 3.5GHz band it will unleash the potential of India becoming one of the nations in terms of the digital era.  So, this is a very important issue that should be addressed by the government at the earliest as the nation will benefit hugely if these reserving price tags are taken off.

Apart from the bidding by Reliance Jio and Airtel, Vodafone was also one of the bidders. The company came last in the list with an 11.80MHz spectrum band worth Rs 1,993.40 crores. The government officials have mentioned that the spectrum of each operator will be valid for 20 years from now.

Airtel 5G

Airtel 5G service demonstration goes live in Hyderabad

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On Thursday, Airtel gave a live demonstration of its 5G network in Hyderabad. The company claims that it is the first telecom service provider in India to successfully give a live demonstration of its 5G service. According to Airtel, the newly launched 5G network has the capability to operate over the existing network technology of both mid-bands and sub-GHz bands.

Yesterday, the company successfully operated both 5G and 4G concurrently over the existing liberalized spectrum in the 1800MHz band through the Non-Standalone (NSA) network technology. (Gadgets 360) Airtel 5G service will increase the speed of existing technology by 10 times with 10 times latency and 100 times concurrency. This will help in improving the overall user experience from attending online calls to downloading movies and TV shows.

More about Airtel 5G network

Airtel worked jointly with Ericsson, its equipment partner to bring this new experience to its users. The company has claimed that the 5G network has the capability to work over existing network technology hence can operate in mid-bands of range 1800MHz, 2100MHz, and 2300MHz. The 5G service will also operate in the sub-GHz band of frequency 800MHz and 900MHz.The existing Airtel users can use 5G services by software upgrades as said by the operator.

Airtel is now waiting for the permission from Department of Telecom (DoT) to deploy 5G services dynamically. As both the 4G and the 5G services can be operated through the same spectrum block, it will only take months for the company to make it available. Though the live service in Hyderabad was successful yesterday, Airtel didn’t mention any timeline about the commercial rollout of the 5G services. But, the CEO of Bharti Airtel mentioned that the company is waiting for government approvals. As soon as they have the permission and enough quantity of the right spectrum band, they will make the rollout of the Airtel 5G service.

Gopal Vittal, MD, and CEO of Bharti Airtel said that made a comment that India has the potential to become the global center for innovations in 5G technology. He further said that to build a strong 5G ecosystem all the devices, applications, and network innovation should come together.

Demonstration of Airtel 5G service

Airtel carried out the 5G demonstration in Oppo Reno 5 Pro and Oppo Find X2 Pro. The company claims that there are more than 20 different smartphones, 5 models, in India that are ready to use the Airtel 5G services. The existing users of Airtel don’t need to upgrade their sim cards for 5G usage unlike what we used to do earlier for changing sim cards to 3G or 4G network. Since both the 4G and 5G service can be provided from the same spectrum block, things have become a lot simpler and easier in the switching part. The live demonstration of the 5G network is only available in some selected stores in Hyderabad.

Airtel 5G
Image Source: gadgets.ndtv.com

Jio’s attempt to launch 5G in India

Apart from Bharti Airtel, its leading competitor in the Indian telecom market, Reliance Jio has also started testing its 5G services. Recently, the company has announced the advanced 5G testing it is carrying out this year. The company has also mentioned that very soon it will be bringing the 5G service of Reliance Jio in India probably this year itself. Though the operator has promised to test its 5G network at a scale, the company hasn’t announced a date yet for any live demonstrations like Airtel. It is very likely that Jio might roll out the 5G services in the second half of this year. In a recent statement made by Mukesh Ambani, Chairperson of Reliance Industries, he said that the company will make the 5G services available at an affordable rate everywhere in the country.

6 months notice period for 5G rollout

Previously, the Department of Telecom (DoT) has announced that any telecom service provider should give a one-year notice before launching any new technology using the seven frequency bands that will be up for auction. But, yesterday DoT reduced the one-year notice period to 6-months. For the auction of the seven frequency bands, the government has planned to put a rate of Rs 3.92 lakh crore.

Airtel

Airtel Broadband, Postpaid Users Get Free Disney+ Hotstar VIP Subscription for a Year

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On 2nd November 2020, Airtel announced that Airtel Broadband is going to offer a VIP subscription of Disney + Hotstar to its broadband and postpaid users. The users have to install the Airtel Thanks App and it can be applied by using the same. The VIP subscription of Disney + Hotstar was previously provided by the company to the prepaid users only through different recharge plans. So, now the postpaid, as well as the prepaid users, can enjoy the VIP subscription.

This new subscription plan is applicable only for Airtel users. For broadband users, the newly launched offer is applicable for Rs 999 plans and above, and for postpaid plans, it is available for Rs 499 plans and above. You can find more plan related details on the operator’s page.

How to activate Airtel offer?

  • If you already have an eligible plan, first go to the Airtel Thanks app.
  • Then go to the #airtelThanks section from the Discover.
  • You will find the Disney + Hotstar option and tap on it.
  • From here you will be enabled to activate the VIP subscription and you can switch on Whatsapp update as well.
  • Also, this subscription will be automatically enabled if you recharge with a suitable pack, for example, Rs 401, Rs 612, etc.
  • After recharging you will receive a link in your SMS. Click the link and login to the Disney + Hotstar app.
  • Remember you have to log in using the same number you used for recharge.

The validity of the newly launched offer

The one year VIP subscription will become unavailable if you downgrade your pack or port your Airtel connectivity to any other telecom network. On the other hand, your telecom services and the VIP subscription are independent of each other. It means that once your telecom services are expired you can recharge with any desired pack except the four Hotstar packs to reestablish your telecom services. This will not harm the 1 year VIP subscription which will be interrupted for the next 365 days.

Airtel
Image Source: gadgets.ndtv.com

Some users might also have the confusion if they need to subscribe to this offer separately if they already have Disney + Hotstar VIP subscription. The new offer launched via Airtel will work independently with your existing subscription.

Benefits from the Disney + Hotstar VIP subscription 

  • You will enjoy all the free and live sports like cricket, football, premier leagues, formula 1, etc.
  • All Disney movies (dubbed) especially kids movies (dubbed), any Indian movies, Hotstar specials, Star serials will be made available. You will also be able to watch the serials ahead of time they are broadcasted on TV.
  • But, one disadvantage of this one-year subscription is that you will not get any access to Hollywood movies, American TV shows, and Disney + Originals. So, choose your plan wisely.

The prepaid plans of Airtel

In August of this year, Airtel launched several prepaid plans which include the VIP subscription of Disney + Hotstar. So, if some people are not interested in the postpaid options or Airtel broadband, you can have a look at these offers. They are as follows:

  • Rs 401 pack will provide a 1 yr VIP subscription and 30GB data for 28 days.
  • Rs 448 pack will provide a 1 yr VIP subscription and 3GB/day for 28 days.
  • Rs 599 pack will provide a 1 yr VIP subscription and 2GB/day for 56 days.
  • Rs 2698 pack will provide a 1 yr VIP subscription and 2GB/day data for 365 days.

Apart from the VIP subscription and data pack, Airtel also offers 100 SMS per day, unlimited roaming, STD, and local phone calls. But, you should remember that these four packs are once in a year deal which means you will be able to recharge with any of these above only once in 365 days. Apart from this plethora of choices, Airtel from last month also started offering an “Add to bill” offer so that the broadband and postpaid users can add the Disney + Hotstar subscription to the monthly bill.

With all these new choices coming up, Airtel and Jio have become very strong competitors as they are providing very lucrative offers to the customer. Let’s see what is next for us in terms of enjoying more entertainment at a cheaper price.

Airtel

Airtel launches Xstream new broadband plans with high-speed internet

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With almost no physical interaction after the outburst of the novel coronavirus in March 2020, the demand for better network connectivity has increased. From attending virtual online classes to attending business meetings, from chatting with distant family members to binge-watching in Netflix, the data usage per person has escalated rapidly. The demand for online video gaming, online education websites, etc has also increased.

With stuck in our own houses, it’s time we unleash the power of a truly digital era. So, this is a golden opportunity for large network companies to keep the existing customers and attract new customers by providing some lucrative deals.

Airtel providing unlimited data

Amidst the pandemic, every working family and student needs better network connectivity with high-speed internet and unlimited data. So, yesterday Bharti Airtel announced a series of new Airtel Xstream Bundle that will provide speed up to 1Gbps. On top of that, every plan with come with unlimited data and Airtel Xstream Android 4K TV Box.

The new normal since the pandemic started has opened the huge business potential for network companies. So, it is their responsibility to provide us with pocket-friendly packages and a better experience. Airtel is offering these packages from 7th September and once you subscribe for one of these you get access to all the OTT content. You can also attend online classes/ meetings and stream content of your own. The new Airtel Xstream Bundle looks like a wholesome package at an affordable price.

All the new broadband plans

After the new plans have been launched, all the plans now will include the Airtel Xstream box worth Rs 3,999. This eliminates the idea of having multiple smart entertaining devices in one house and this covers all your needs. This Android 4K TV Box runs in Android 9.0 OS and includes a remote that supports Google Assistant voice search. You can also have access to the apps available in the Play Store and enjoy online gaming.

Airtel Xstream
Image Source: airtel.in

The plans of Rs 499 (40 Mbps) and Rs 799 (100 Mbps) provides the Android 4K TV Box, 550 TV Channels, more than 10,000 movies, and TV series from 7 OTT apps and 5 studios. And, the next three plans of Rs 999 (200 Mbps), Rs 1,499 (300 Mbps), and Rs 3,999 (1Gbps) are provided with an additional subscription to Disney+Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video, and ZEE5.

Xstream Fiber vs. Jiofiber

Apart from Airtel Xstream Bundle, we also have Jiofiber service which is also very popular among us. It was only a few days ago that Reliance Jio announced the new pricing of the broadband services (JioFiber). So, after Airtel launching this exclusive new package with both high-speed connectivity and unlimited data, it is going to give a tough competition to Jio.

Jio announced the new pricing plans earlier this week with the same two goals that are, giving unlimited data to its customer with high speed. Keeping the pricing strategy at mind Jio announced about four packages, all of them with unlimited data. The package of Rs 399 and Rs 699 offers unlimited data usage with 30Mbps and 100 Mbps speed respectively. And, the other two packages of Rs 999 and Rs 1,499 includes the 4K Set Top Box and OTT apps like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Sony LIV, etc. The company also claimed that in these packages the download speed will be the same as the upload speed. On top of that, Jio has announced a no-condition 30 days trial that will provide 150Mbps unlimited data, 4K set-top box, top ten paid OTT apps, and free calls.

Now, it is for you to decide which the best plan is for you and your family. Both companies are providing unlimited data so that solves half our problem. Rest depends on your usage activity and the purpose.

What Airtel is saying? 

Director-Homes of Bharti Airtel, Sunil Taldar said that with every passing day people are investing more time on the internet. Educational, professional, and entertainment are the three most important reasons why data usage is increasing rapidly. And, entertainment is the sector with vast opportunity as people look for a source that can provide them with the best entertainment at an affordable rate. So, Airtel is trying to make more such plans that will drive the audience towards it.

Truecaller adds support for video calling and e-payments

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Truecaller, the Sweden-based startup, is quite popular among smartphone users as an alternative to their boring default dialer app. The ability to identify and filter out spam calls makes it the first choice for million of smartphone users worldwide. On Tuesday, at its first annual ‘Stay Ahead’ event in Delhi, Truecaller announced its intention of transforming the brand from a service oriented app to a platform by launching its completely redesigned Android App- Truecaller 8.

At the event, company representatives openly spoke about their future goals highlighting their partnership with Google and ICICI, an Indian Bank in order to integrate video calling and e-payment functionality into new Truecaller app. Alongside these tie-ins, Trucaller decided to integrate its True messenger app with their dialer to bring spam free messaging functionality to its customers.

According to Alan Mamedi, chief executive officer and co-founder, Truecaller: “Spam SMS account for 15% of all SMS messages sent globally, and represents 1.2 trillion spam messages each year. On average, every spam call is about 40 seconds long, so we will help save a lot of time.” On top of it, now users can send flash messages-from a pre-written text library-in just 2 steps. This will be extremely helpful in situations when you are busy or stuck somewhere; just in 2 seconds you can send a flash message to inform someone.

Truecaller Pay is an addition to the list of features as a result of their partnership with ICICI in India. This allows Truecaller India users to send and receive money electronically via their android smartphones. ICICI Bank is providing the technology required to for such services.

“This is based on the feedback received from the market that users wanted to be able to make a transaction straight from their Truecaller app”, said Nami Zarringhalam, CSO and co-founder Truecaller.

The company also tied up with Google to integrate Google Duo, a video calling service, with the app itself. This functionality will be available in next few months for both Android and iOS users. According to Google, the deal aligns with their aim to make video calling simpler, faster and available to everyone.

Truecaller has also launched extended the caller identification for Indian subscribers of telecom operator Airtel where even people with feature phones would be able to use caller ID feature some other features. Airtel’s non-data users will also be able to identify spam calls with this new feature informing them by a flash message prior to the call. This unique way of extending services allows users to get online experience without subscribing to a data pack or buying a smartphone.

Truecaller is not the only company attacking e-payment opportunity in India. In his last visit to India, WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton revealed his plans to tap into commercial messaging and digital payment whenever it’s the right time. Hike is another major player in the game with a strong focus on improving quality messaging supplemented with support of regular news, games and stickers.