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Airtel had in 2012 launched a 4G network in Kolkata and was currently running trials in 51 towns. As the company rolls out the services across India over the next few weeks, the stage is set for another face-off between the leading lights of the Indian industry, 13 years after Ambani took on the GSM operators led by Mittal with his CDMA offering.
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The go-to-market strategy of the two companies is uncannily similar. While both have opted for different technologies to offer 4G LTE, they have positioned themselves to garner higher volumes. Airtel’s 4G offering is clearly betting on data growth, so voice is offered free. While there have so far been whispers that Jio might offer voice free, Airtel is offering unlimited voice minutes with its monthly data packs.
Airtel is also offering its 4G service on all smart devices, including mobile phones, dongles, 4G hotspots and Wi-Fi dongles. One has to only switch to a 4G SIM which will be done in 10 minutes if a customer is already on Airtel’s network, and within four hours if it’s a new subscriber. The SIM swap will be done for free.
“We will offer 4G service at 3G prices,” Bharti Airtel (India & South Asia) MD & CEO Gopal Vittal said while announcing the nationwide launch.
The pricing of 4G plans — free voice and free music bundled with data — has been done to persuade high-value data consumers to migrate to Airtel. The company has launched an ‘Infinity Plan’ starting at Rs 999 for post-paid users. Here, a customer will get unlimited local calls within Airtel’s network and unlimited music with 3 GB data free and rest on a pay-as-you-go model at 25 paise per MB. Similarly, in the Rs 1,999 plan, a customer gets unlimited calls — local and STD — and free roaming with 7GB data, coupled with unlimited music and movies through its application Wynk.
| 4G TELEPHONY ALL that YOU NEED TO KNOW |
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What is 4G? 4G stands for fourth-generation mobile technology; it enables internet speeds that are up to five times faster than 3G. Compared with the speed of 21 Mbps that 3G claims to support, 4G promises a download speed of up to 100 Mbps Can I access 4G service on my current 3G-enabled handset? To transmit data, 4G networks use frequencies that are different from those used by 3G, so these require handsets enabled to receive new frequencies Will my existing phone and SIM work if I want to switch to 4G? A user will need to buy a 4G-enabled handset and then upgrade his or her existing 2G/3G SIM card to a USIM (Universal SIM)/4G SIM Where can I buy a 4G handset? Numerous 4G devices on Flipkart are now bundled and delivered with Airtel 4G SIMs. Airtel is also offering home delivery of SIMs and instant SIM swaps and activation How much does a 4G handset cost? 4G-enabled handsets are priced between Rs 7,000 and Rs 47,999. Airtel & Reliance Jio are partnering with handset makers to bring handset prices down to Rs 4,000 Will 4G service be more expensive than 3G? Airtel customers can get 4G at 3G data prices, with packs starting at Rs 25. Airtel’s ‘Infinity Plans’ start at Rs 999 and offer unlimited voice with 3 GB of data. Free movies and music are added to this pack. Currently, various operators typically offer 1 GB of post-paid 3G data at about Rs 250 How fast is 4G when compared with 3G? Downloading a song would take 2.5 seconds on 4G, compared with 8.2 seconds on 3G. Downloading a full Bollywood film would take 9.3 minutes on 4G, while it takes 41.3 minutes on 3G Is there any other telco that is offering 4G services across the country? Airtel is the first to roll out 4G across India. After this, Reliance Jio Infocomm is expected to launch nationwide 4G in December. Vodafone India, too, is expected to roll out 4G services by year-end |
Airtel customers can enjoy 4G at 3G data prices with packs starting at Rs 25. In addition, with every 4G SIM swap, Airtel is offering six months of unlimited music streaming and downloads on ‘Wynk Music’ and five free movies per month for six months on the Eros Now channel of ‘Wynk Movies’.
Vittal said: “We have now built India’s first commercial 4G network that will make high-speed mobile broadband a reality. The nationwide rollout today is another small step in our journey.” The commercial launch follows successful trials and feedback from customers.
The company refused to reveal the number of 4G subscribers and 4G sites it has on its network. But Airtel’s quarterly numbers clearly show data as the next big thing waiting to happen in the telecom industry. That is why the focus is now on expanding the data services portfolio. For the quarter ended June this year, about 19.6 per cent of the company’s India revenue came from data services, compared with 12.4 per cent last year. Data usage grew 83 per cent to 102 million MB, while data usage per customer was up 43 per cent at 706 MB.
Airtel has about 21.3 million 3G users, which it is expecting to switch to 4G. Even the 3G user base grew 25 per cent this quarter. The company has 4G spectrum in 14 circles, where it is using a combination of 2,300 MHz and 1,800 MHz frequency bands to offer services.
According to a recent report by Internet and Mobile Association of India and KPMG, the number of mobile web users in India is expected to grow by around 28 per cent annually from 2013 to 2017, to reach 314 million by the end of 2017.
The high-speed wireless broadband on Airtel 4G would enable customers to get on to the digital superhighway, to enjoy uninterrupted HD video streaming, superfast uploading and downloading of movies, music and images, the company said.
Airtel has entered into an exclusive alliance with Samsung for 4G-enabled mobile devices. The devices, available for Rs 6000-8000 at present, were expected to come down to around Rs 5000 over the next six months, Vittal said. Last year, the prices of such devices were around Rs 20,000 apiece.
The company also announced ‘Wynk Movies’ through a tie-up with Eros Now, Hooq and Sony Live. This application will give users access to about 25,000 movies and videos. A few weeks later, customers would also be able to watch movies in offline mode after downloading the app, he added. Bharti Airtel is the only telecom player to have an OTT (over-the-top) mobile application — Wynk Music.
The mobile carrier is partnering with India’s largest online marketplace, Flipkart, to bundle devices with 4G-enabled SIM cards. It has also entered into a pact with Samsung Electronics to sell services using the Korean company’s retail store network in India.
