Signal, the instant messaging app, has secured the top spot in the Apple App Store. They say one man’s loss is another man’s gain, and there won’t be a better example than this. As everyone might be aware of by now, WhatsApp is asking all its users to accept the new privacy policy as part of which it will share data with parent company Facebook. A lot of WhatsApp users around the world are now migrating to either Signal or Telegram....
Smartphone shipments in India have taken a hit in the April-June quarter due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Since the government of India announced lockdown at the end of March 2020, smartphone vendors witnessed a halt in production, which further dropped the shipments in India. A new Canalys report states that smartphone shipments in India dropped 48% in the April-June quarter to 17.3 million units. All the smartphone manufactures faced low supply issue due to production halt and decreased demand as all the offline and online retailers were prohibited from selling smartphones during the lockdown period....
Snapchat, a globally popular social media application, has announced a premium subscription for the Indian market. Worry not, though; it is not too expensive. From the headline itself, you can get that it would cost only Rs 49 per month. This is not a forced subscription, meaning that if you want it, you can purchase it. If you don’t want it, you can continue with the free version of the application....
The emerging satellite communications (satcom) segment will definitely give a push to the tech companies operating in the space sector. Space is the next big marketplace for billionaires, and it is no longer just reserved for select entities such as governments, aerospace agencies and defence. The rising investments in space are making way for space tech startups to gain big by moving first. In 2021, the space economy was valued at $469 billion, up from 9% in 2020, said a report by McKinsey Quarterly, citing Space Foundation, an NPO (a not-for-profit organisation)....
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has finally allocated the spectrum to the telcos for conducting 5G trials. The telecom department has approved spectrum in the coveted 700 MHz, 3.5 GHz, and the premium 26 GHz band (mmWave). According to an ET Telecom report, all the Indian operators, including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea (Vi), and Reliance Jio, can now go ahead with their chosen partners and start with the trials using the spectrum offered by the government....
As the queue of companies, social media giants, and various media bodies form in front of the High Courts against the new IT Rules issued by the IT ministry, the centre has come up with its own rebuttal. The centre approached the SC asking for a transfer of all the petitions being filed across the country in various high courts to the Supreme Court. The government also asked for a stay in the proceedings which were ongoing regarding the new IT rules and its opposition....
COAI Waiting to See How New Tariff Plans Impact Customers Reliance Jio entered the Indian telecom market at a time when incumbents like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, Idea Cellular and so on are enjoying a purple patch. ARPU of Airtel and Vodafone Idea used to be over Rs 200 and both the companies used to charge around Rs 250 for 1GB of 4G data. Reliance Jio changed this entirely with its cheap tariff plans and a majority of the customers inclined towards Jio because of the LTE-only network....
Tata Play has launched a Binge Starter pack for users. This pack will come for a mere price of Rs 49 and will offer content from four over-the-top (OTT) platforms including ShemarooMe, Eros Now, Hungama, and ZEE5. Tata Play Binge subscription also comes for Rs 149 and Rs 299 per month. But with the launch of the Rs 49 plan, Tata Play Binge has become way more affordable and might attract new users its way....
Tata Sky Broadband, a subsidiary of Tata Sky has withdrawn its presence from select cities across India. The company that is creating “the first PAN India truly Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) broadband infrastructure” offered services in over 20 cities. However, Tata Sky Broadband has now withdrawn its services in three major cities. The company offers four unlimited plans and four “fixed GB” limited plans across India. In late May, the company revamped its plans with the operator introducing a 300 Mbps unlimited plan said to be available in “select areas....
Tata Sky Optimises Your Channel Pack to Reduce Monthly Price Earlier, you used to pay money for channels you didn’t even watch. Then there are channels which you were paying a lot for watching. But with Tata Sky’s optimisation and Trai’s National Tariff Order now, you don’t have to worry about spending a lot of money on TV channel packs. You can now optimise your channel packs with Tata Sky and get discounts for the channels you have selected....
India’s leading Direct-to-Home (DTH) operator Tata Sky is now providing users with 2 months of cashback when they recharge for full 12 months. The operator highlighted that the offer is only to those users who recharge their account with an ICICI debit or credit card. Further, if the subscriber wishes to recharge for 6 months, then the user will be eligible to receive a one-month cashback. Similar to the annual cashback offer, the users recharging for six months must use an ICICI debit or credit card to be eligible for one-month cashback....
Tecno Mobile has just launched the Tecno Pova 5G in India. This is the first-ever 5G smartphone from Tecno in India, and it is priced under Rs 20,000. The device comes with a large display and 120Hz refresh rate support, which is amazing for the price it is coming for. The Tecno Pova 5G also packs a huge battery with support for decent fast charging. Let’s take a look at the specifications and price of the smartphone....
Tecno as a brand has been away from the limelight, due to the brand catering only to the budget segment. It had unveiled the Tecno Spark Go 2020 in September of the same year, with the device having amounted to decent sales amidst the budget crowd, with the main aim to focus on tier-2 and tier-3 cities. According to the details on offer via the site, we can deduce that the Tecno Spark Go 2021 will make use of a water-drop notch display, come packed with a dual-camera setup and a massive 5000 mAh battery....
Telecom industry is facing substantial distress due to the outbreak of COVID-19. As of result of the abnormal rise of the deadly virus, the telecom industry will witness tariff hike, and it will be unavoidable as the telecom operators are already facing financial distress amid difficult times. Prashant Singhal, emerging market Technology, Media & Entertainment and Telecommunications Leader stated that the analysing the current scenario, tariff hike will not be done immediately....
In a recent development, the Jammu and Kashmir Home Department issued an order. Going by the same, the mobile internet services in the region will be suspended until 17:00 hours on September 6. This restriction in the mobile internet services in the Union Territory is due to the demise of Syed Ali Shah, the hardline separatist leader. Jammu And Kashmir Internet Services Suspended The situation in Jammu and Kashmir following the death of Geelani is tranquil....
Telecom stocks, including Vodafone Idea (Vi), Bharti Airtel, and Reliance Industries Limited (owns Reliance Jio), saw a strong opening on Tuesday morning. All the telecom operators were trading in the green shorts after the market opened. At the time of writing, Vodafone Idea (listed as Idea) is trading at Rs 11.55, which is 3.13% in the green. Vi’s stock had previously closed at Rs 11.20 and opened at the same price mark as well....
5G rollouts are expected to take place around early October 2022. Things look set for the private telcos, and with 5G, Indian consumers will be able to get very fast mobile download and upload speeds along with lower latency networks. However, this is not all there is when we talk about 5G. SP Kochhar, Director General of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), talked with TelecomTalk about the challenges that telecom operators are going to face while rolling 5G and more....
22 BSNL Prepaid Plans Now Come With Voice Calling FUP Limit The 22 BSNL prepaid plans in question are: STV 9, STV 18, STV 29, STV 39, STV 43, STV 47, STV 78, STV 99, STV 118, STV 146, STV 187, STV 199, STV 298, STV 319, STV 349, STV 395, STV 392, STV 399, STV 447, STV 449, PV 96 and PV 1188. Almost all of the plans mentioned above are available on a pan-India basis, but some of them are available at different denominations in circles like Kerala....
Administrative Spectrum Allocation Should be Audited: Trai Trai chairman, Ram Sewak Sharma said in this regard, “In order to ensure the availability of spectrum and appropriate utilisation, the Department of Telecom (DoT) should carry out studies on its usage and necessity so that various departments holding a scarce resource can use it in a right manner.” What’s not known commonly is that almost 60% of the total identified spectrum is held by agencies who do not operate in the telecom space....
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released its recommendations on the ‘Licensing Framework for Establishing and Operating Satellite Earth Station Gateway (SESG)’. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) reached out to the regulatory body on September 10, 2021, for its recommendations on the licensing framework for the establishment of a satellite gateway. With respect to that, TRAI floated a consultation paper on the matter on November 15, 2021. Now after factoring in comments from the stakeholders and adding its own inputs, TRAI has recommended that the SESG license should be different from the Unified License (UL)....
