Diwali heralds exciting times for telecom sector

Diwali 2010 has turned out to be an especially exciting season for the telecom sector, what with the launch of the first 3G services by Tata DOCOMO, as well as the release of two new tablet PC's cum mobile phones, in the form of the 5-inch Dell tablet PC, and the latest Samsun Galaxy Tab that is to be available in the Indian market in a couple of days.

While Tata DOCOMO promises services like Video-SMS, Video-Streaming, Mobile Television, Ultra-High-Speed Data Transfers, Route-Finder, Live Prayer, and more at speeds of up to 21.1 Mbps on a 3.5G network in nine top telecom circles in the country, BSNL has announced its decision to roll-out 3G services in 120 more cities by December, and Vodafone is also likely to start 3G services by year-end.

Vodafone is offering free additional talktime for its prepaid customers till November 30 and special offers for its postpaid customers till month-end that include 100 minutes to any local Vodafone mobile phone, 100 sms to any local mobile and 500 MB of data usage, available on all tariff plans, along with other contests and gift offers. Uninor — the telco that became famous for its Badalta Discount plan of offering 24/7 discounts of up to 60% for prepaid users, launched its RC 35 Diwali offer for its Karnataka subscribers, offering 100 local minutes free to any network in Karnataka, as part of a plan with 3 days validity, after which subscribers will be charged according to their normal tariff plans. Idea Cellular also started its Diwali offerings of assured gifts on every new connection from October 15th, that include free minutes, free alerts, VAS packs and consumer goods, as well as similar gifts for its prepaid and postpaid users, that include assured gifts of gold coins and other prizes on recharge vouchers of Rs 30 or more for prepaid customers, or with every increase in 15% of the bill for its postpaid customers, valid till November 30.

Taking advantage of the festive season, MTS expanded its reach in Maharashtra and Goa, with the launch of 13 new branded retail outfits simultaneously on November 2 -the eve of Dhanteras, and the company plans to open 10 more outlets in the next 30 days in these two states. Having launched services in May 2010, MTS was the first operator to offer local calls across Maharashtra and Goa at ½ paisa per second, and std calls at 1 paisa per second. The telco has garnered 2.25 lakh subscribers within five months of operation, that include 2 lakh voice and 28,000-plus data customers, for its extremely popular MBlaze data offers. Speaking at the inauguration of the company branded outlet in Gayatri Nagar in Nagpur, Ashoo Sethi, COO, Maharashtra Telecom circle, had said, “We at MTS are delighted to open 13 branded retail outlets across Maharashtra & Goa in a single day. This expansion is in line with our endeavor to reach and connect with customers in the shortest possible time.”

berylm@cybermedia.co.in