Wireless wars of India

Broadsheets are full of wars of words and allegations between various stakeholders in the Indian wireless telecom environment like

Large Incumbent 2G Gsm telcos - Bharti , Vodafone, Idea etc
Bharti and Vodafone with pan-india licenses form the spine of Cellular Operators Association of India COAI, the body created to protect and lobby for the interests of GSM operators. They have lobbied & consequently benefitted from the DoT (Governments telecom arm) policy of Allocation more 2G spectrum linked to subscriber norms in return for a nominal percentage(~6%) for their Aggregate gross revenues AGR.
It is akin to as government saying, ok so you bought off a small plot of land off me for commercial purpose last year. But the more you grow your business, we give you extra land for expansion in return for a small percentage of your revenues. New operators and the fact that the Govt has only so much of land to give away, not withstanding.
Bloody steal, if you ask me.

Strengths
- Established players with depreciated pan-india networks, reach, economy of operations and subsequent cost advantages
- Have indulged and bnefitted imensely by spectrum hoarding due to DoT's liberal(corrupt!) policy of leniant (to say the least) subscriber-linked spectrum allocation norms
- All three have outsourced their IT operations to IBM and Network management to the likes of Ericsson, Siemens and Nokia to focus of Customer acquisition & service

Weaknesses
- Infighting amongst themselves.

Opportunities
- Get as much 2G spectrum as possible
- Create barriers for new entrants in Wireless play

Threats
- CDMA operators armed with Dual technology licences are the biggest threat. Reliance telecom already licence and spectrum to launch nationwide gsm services(2)
- Auctions for new 2g spectrum
- Someone to question 2G spectrum already allocated to them allegedly without any fair pricing built in causing massive losses to exchequer
- Dot going by New TEC's subscriber-linked spectrum allocation norms are far more stringent then TRAI's norms
- Favour auction of 3G spectrum but would like to restrict it only to existing players. Read-Keep out big international telcos or otherwise with deep pockets

Regional incumbent 2g gsm telcos - Spice, aircel, shyam telecom, BPL mobile, Reliance Telecom
Idea was placed with big incumbent GSM operators as they have licences in 11 circles and customer base of 17 million subscribers(1). These are regional operators who have applied for licences in additonal circles to get more of most covetted resource, the scarce 2G spectrrum which adds value to them as an enterprise along with the obvious use of helping them to launch services in more circles.

Strengths
- Regional like BPL in Mumbai, Aircel in Chennai (although with with presence in 9 telecom circles)
Weakness
- Awaiting either letter of Intent LoI's from DoT to start telecom services, followed by license and then spectrum.
- Lack the economies of numbers to compete with bigger players

Opportunities
- Would like to get as much spectrum to increase their valuation as serve as launching ground by getting bought by international telco's

Threats
They fiercely oppose and dread the entry of real-estate and other sector behemoths in telecom spectrum fray because of increased competition

CDMA/Dual Technology license operators -Reliance, Tata, HFCL, Shyam - Reliance and Tata have PAN India presence in CDMA platform. Reliance has become the first operator to get Dual technology license which means they will be able to acquire & service customers on both the dominant wireless technology platforms. As expected, COAI is crying wolf. Tatas's aplication for gsm license has also been cleared(4)
Strengths
- Big and growing subscriber base. Tatas with 19 million in 20 circles(3) and reliance with 40 million(2)
- Backing of ADAG and Tata each

Weakness
- CDMA handsets perceived as low quality(cheap) with fewer services in big metros
- Natioanwide and worldwide roaming only supported with other CDMA operators (doesnt work in europe)

Opportunities
- Reliance telecomnow armed with Dual technology license. Reliance to target existing GSM subscribers to switch to them.
- Reliance to launch dual CDMA/GSM handsets
- CDMA operators known for extremely low priced offers

Threats
- Lower ARPU than GSM operators
- Voice still contributing to major source of revenue. Uptake of data services not as successful

Cellular operators Association of India COAI
The umbrella body for GSM operator of India. Has admitted Reliance Telecom in its ranks which is part of ADAG which also owns and operates Reliance communications, india's biggest CDMA operator.


AUSPI
Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India (AUSPI) is the representative industry body of Unified Access Service Licensees providing telecom services in the country with CDMA technology.

New (and some old) 2g aspirants(those who submitted their applications before 25 September 2007) - Unitech, HFCL, ShippingStop Dot Com, Datacom Solutions and Swan(5). LoI's have been issued and the firms have also deposited the licence fees of 1651 crore INR(for pan india license). When will the spectrum be allocated is anybody's guess.
New 2g aspirants - (Those who submitted their applicatiosn between 26 Sep - 1 october 2007)- 24 companies including Parsvnath et all(7)

TRAI
The mission of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is to ensure that the interests of consumers are protected and at the same time to nurture conditions for growth of telecommunications, broadcasting and cable services in a manner and at a pace which will enable India to play a leading role in the emerging global information society.


TEC
WPC
DoT
Public sector Telcos - BSNL, MTNL
International 3g aspirants - AT&T, Verozon, singapore telecom, BT etc
TDSAT,
Telecom Minister - A Raja
NGO's - Telecom watchdog
Media
eGoM - Empowered Group of Ministers
Strengths

Weakness

Opportunities

Threats


References
1)http://www.ideacellular.com/IDEA.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=IDEA_Page_AboutIdea
2)http://www.rcom.co.in/webapp/Communications/rcom/Media/press_release_detail.jsp?id=284
3)http://www.tataindicom.com/t-aboutus-ttsl-organization.aspx
4)http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2690885.cms
5)http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1143853
6)http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/India_Business/Babu_adds_fresh_twist_to_licence_row/articleshow/2673197.cms
7)

Wisdon teeth : To keep or not to keep!

I took mine out, well not me personally but I authorized my dentist who performed a minor surgery yesterday to extract two of them. I hear you ask "Painful", and I answer "Not in the slightest". Well uncomfortable, it is indeed. For, I cant enjoy anything vaguely solid for at least for one more day. It hurts when I try and speak too much which in my line of work is not too uncommon.
But all in all, as scots would say, its "not too bad"!

Some useful web-pages whilst we are on this subject

Who doesnt love unmanned Police road blocks at night on highways

Causing hours of frustration and tonnes of pollution. But hey its our own - Delhi Police. As they say, "With you, For you, Always".
And even when they are too busy to be around, they like to leave little reminders which say "DP has been here" in the form of unmanned, unexpected road blocks. Not just creating traffic choke points but also causing accidents.

Past few weeks, I have been traveling a bit to go in to Delhi to catch up with friends in evenings. By the time I come back, just before the state border of Haryana, Delhi police puts their pickets to reduce the number of lanes on the state highway from four to measly one. As a law abiding citizen, normally I wouldn't have any issues with that. But on most occasions, the bobbies were busy either smoking on the service lane or eating, drinking and chatting.

As they say, this happens only in India :)

Thai food

Some cousins dropped in couple of days ago. And we decided to go out for food. Now I was bit averse again piling up on north indian cuisine so I asked them how about if we try something different. Adventurous as kids are these days, this got them going. After vetoing few choices of chinese, italian and of course mexican, I got them thinking about Thai. Hesitant as they were, considering this was not something they had tried before, I finally managed to sell it to them. And we had a great time.
The best thing we tried was honey-chilly chips. The rest of the food was below average, mostly due to the fact that my palate still doesn't enjoy too spicy food. But all in all it was a good experience.

I even took my parents out there after our first visit and I think they enjoyed the place, the ambience as well. Cant be sure of the food, as me dad asked me mum to get him something to eat as soon as we got back home. Parents :(

Principles of fun

Came across this site. The guys behiend it have put in loads of effort and it does make sense. Many times, we all know what needs to be done, but need to hear it from someone else to act upon it.

I hope this does it for some of you out there!

The wicked hour

Should go to bed but somethings keeping me. Read some interesting posts on Scott Adams blog. Now this is one helluva guy who knows where his towel is! Which reminds me that he shares his surname with another great "Adams" I admire, Douglas adams, the author of THHGTTG. Also there was a noted scottish economist Adam Smith. A quick google search led me to this interesting article about flat tax rates

My newly found independence

For whats its worth, I have been granted exceptional approval from my employer to be a mobile worker. With the caveat, that if my deliverables suffer, then I have had it!

Now this remains to be seen if this less(I hope) travelling would translate to more time! That is because now I wont have the excuse of only eight working hours in a day. I am expected to put in however much time it takes to finish, deliver and deploy. Also since my team(s) would continue to work from locations which are almost an hour's drive from my home so I probably would make the trip atleast few times a week.
Assuming I do get more time on my hands, I would like to spend it on keeping fit. My healths been pretty lousy even since I came back to gurgaon. Also I had forgotten, how harsh the north indian summers can be. You sweat, sweat and then you sweat some more! Throw in my bad eating habits(roadside food) and you've got yourself a perfect recipe for catching virals, flu shots not withstanding.

Touched by an angel

Thats precisely how I feel after watching snaps capturing first two months of my niece. I am told she recognises the touch of her grany, turns to voice of her grapdpa, smiles to the soft whispers of her daddy, cries when her mummy leaves her side, makes faces to her other uncle and sleeps in the lap of her auntie.

Dont think this is something I can pick up from I want one of those :)

They are back!

My parents, that is. After spending three months with my younger brorthers. Coming back to the concrete city that gurgaon (near delhi) has become. The scorching heat with dust storms must be a quite a shock from the torrential chill that Melbourne's been seeing for past few weeks.
One thing I am reasonably sure of though. Our modest three bedroom house was sparkling clean. Not one spot of dirt anywhere. Not too bad for a batchelor, eh! With everything where it should be, all linen fresh, my shirts ironed, refrigerator full of veggies, I am sure I quite surprised them!

Well - not that I have been partying everyday ;-)

To buy or not to buy!

I have always dreamed of owning and driving a mean SUV. I remember getting high on a Tata Mobile and Estates. Worthy as they were, sadly they didnt survive the test of time and were superseded by more efficient, useful models.
When almost ten years ago, Tata launched their Safari, I knew I wanted it! Well - I still do. But do I really?

Being one of those who hate getting chores done around the house. things are supposed to work. And so when my brother's two years old Indica broke down few days ago, I was hardly inclined to take it to the garage! My excuse being, this isnt the last time its showing same problem (engine fan not working) and so its time when it should be replaced. Given that my brother doesnt stay with me and the car's with me not just for safe-keeping for for my personal use as well, where does that leave me!

If I dont get it repaired, not only I become immobile(well if you dont count my bicycle) but I am stuck with a car in a non-running condition which will be difficult to offload later!
So I am in a fix - I am magically waiting for someone to come say, Hey buddy, dont worry. Why dont I get this fixed for you while you sip your smoothie!

We don't need no education!

Someone accused me very recently that I had confused them with my use of a "double negative"!

Now all I said while responding to their question as to what did I think of their blog was, "Its not unlike reading a good book". You wont believe the lenghts I had to go to, to convince my dear friend that I only and unequivocally meant it as a compliment!

This incident reminded me of another friend who advised me few years ago that use of double negatives was not quite encouraged by his English teacher !!

Well, I like them!

For me, double negatives resolving to a positive add a touch of mischief. Take for example the classic statement from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. When Arthur Dent observes about the Nutri Matic Machine on board the starship "Heart of Gold", "This machine provides the user with a plastic cup filled with a liquid that was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea."

Or it that a triple negative :)

Moving to the Dark side

Yes, its been long since I wrote anything here. Partly because I am embarassed to accept that I have accepted a day job offer from Big blue. So as Mirza Ghalib said

'GHalib' wazifaa_KHwaar ho, do shaah ko duaa
woh din gaye ki kehte the;, "naukar naheeN hooN maiN"

[ wazifaa_KHawaar = pensioner ]

Here the poet says that he now thanks his master to let him keep his job. As gone are those days, when he used to boast that he bows to no one!