Category: Telecom

Balesh Sharma to head the Vodafone-Idea merged entity

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The old guard will make way for new blood once the USD 23 billion Vodafone-Idea merger is completed. The companies have announced a new leadership team for the merged entity.

Balesh Sharma who is now the chief operating officer at Vodafone India will become the CEO of the merged entity.

Akshay Moondra, who is currently the CFO of Idea Cellular will continue to look after the finances of the merged entity.

What’s interesting is that the current CEOs of both Vodafone and Idea will move out of their offices and assume new responsibilities. Himanshu Kapania will become a member on the board of the merged entity.

Sunil Sood who is now the CEO of Vodafone India will join the Vodafone Group AMAP leadership team and also help governance through board memberships.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Reliance Communications confident on stake sale approval even as Supreme refuses to lift stay

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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After a huge setback from the Supreme Court (SC) who directed Reliance Communications (RCom) to hold on from selling its assets to Reliance Jio for Rs 25,000 crore, the company, in a statement on Thursday said that it remains confident of its asset sale plan before August 31, 2018.

“RCom and its Lenders led by SBI have filed Special Leave Petitions (SLPs) in the Hon’ble Supreme Court against the stay granted by two lower Courts on sale of certain assets by the Company. The SLPs were heard today, and notices have been issued to the Respondents, Ericsson and minority investors holding approx. 4% in Reliance Infratel, allowing them time to file their replies by 28th March, 2018,” the company said in a statement.
The matter will come up for hearing on April 5, 2018.

The company further said, “As legally advised, RCom remains confident that its asset monetisation programme will be completed expeditiously to protect the interests of its secured lenders, much in advance of the time limit of 31st August, 2018 prescribed by the RBI for resolution of such cases.”

The SC, while staying its asset sale plant to Jio, said that the details on the asset sale will be issued with its final order.

RCom had submitted its resolution plan in December, which stated that its wireless spectrum, tower, fiber and media convergence node (MCN) assets will be bought by Jio.

RCom is selling its assets to reduce its debts by Rs 39,000 crore. The plea, however, was rejected by Bombay High Court on March 8.

The SC Bench has refused to lift the stay ordered by Bombay High Court on RCom asset sale. The next hearing will be held on April 5, where the court will hear the lenders’ plea, led by the State Bank of India and the firm itself against the stay of assets sale.
(Disclosure: RIL, the promoter of Reliance Jio, also controls Network18, the parent company of CNBCTV18.com)

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Navi Mumbai becomes the largest 4G city

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Navi Mumbai registered average 4G speeds of 8.72 Mbps in OpenSignal’s latest measurements, which track average 4G download speeds among 20 of India’s largest cities between December and February. Chennai saw its 4G speeds nearly double, jumping up from 4.4 Mbps. At the other end of the scale, Allahabad was only city to register less than 4 Mbps with average speeds of just 3.5 Mbps.

Six out of the top ten cities were in the southern or western regions, with Chennai coming in second with average speeds of 8.52 Mbps, followed by Kolkata at 8.46 Mbps and Bangalore with 7.17 Mbps. Speeds were calculated for 20 of India’s largest cities, but it’s by no means a comprehensive list of every city in India. So while Allahabad is at the bottom of the chart, this does not mean it is the slowest city in the country – it’s the slowest of the 20 cities being analyzed.

The Indian 4G market is growing rapidly, with being one of the largest LTE footprints in the world. The shockwaves from the debut of Reliance Jio are still being felt, with no less than three mobile mergers on the table, meaning the  fastest 4G city rankings are likely to change significantly in the coming months.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Xiaomi’s increase in sales disrupts the Indian smartphone market

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Chinese Smartphone maker Xiaomi has become the undisputed leader in the smartphone market in India displacing the Samsung. The reason behind its No.1 position is that it has outshined Samsung in terms of sales in the Oct-Dec quarter of 2017. In Maharashtra alone, it has 13.7 per cent sales during the quarter. Xiaomi sold 31.2 per cent of the Smartphones during the period as compared to Samsung which sold 15.3 per cent. Redmi Note 4 was the key model behind the increase in sales of Xiaomi.

Vivo, Oppo and Lenovo (including Motorola) were the other three players in the top 5 Smartphone sellers for Maharashtra in 4Q, 2017.  Together top 5 sold more than 84% of the Smartphones.

The increase in the sales of Xiaomi smartphones were also due to replacements and upgrades where users shunned their existing Smartphones.  Micromax (including Yu) amounted to over 26% of the Smartphones that were discontinued by users during the quarter. Intex, Karbonn, Sony Mobiles and iBall were the other brands in the top 5 losers.  Collectively top 5 losers amounted to 66.5% of the Smartphones that were discontinued by users in Maharashtra during the period.

This switch from Indian brands to Chinese and global Tier I brand like Samsung is primarily driven by users upgrading for 4G Smartphones where the Indian brands haven’t been able to establish a foothold.

In the month of October and December, Xiaomi opened two Mi Homes in Maharashtra which strengthened its presence in the state.

Maharashtra registered a decrease of 362,420 subscribers as the net subscriber addition was negative during the quarter. The primary reason for the decrease was due to R-Com and Aircel subscriber reduction during 4Q 2017 in the state.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow