Vodafone Essar is the Indian subsidiary of Vodafone Group and commenced operations in 1994 when its predecessor Hutchison Telecom acquired the cellular license for Mumbai. The company now has operations across the country with over 118.04 million customers**.

 

Vodafone is the world's leading international mobile communications group with approximately 347 million proportionate customers as on 30 June 2010. Vodafone currently has equity interests in 31 countries across five continents and around 40 partner networks worldwide. For more information, please visit www.vodafone.com

 The Essar Group is a diversified business corporation with a balanced portfolio of assets in the manufacturing and services sectors of Steel, Energy, Power, Communications, Shipping Ports & Logistics, and Projects. Essar employs more than 50,000 people across offices in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.

Vodafone EssarFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vodafone Essar Limited

Type Limited

Industry Mobile telecommunications

Predecessor Hutchison Essar

Founded 1994

Headquarters Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Products Mobile networks,

Telecom services, Etc.

Owner(s) Vodafone Group (67%)

Essar Group (33%)

Employees 10,000 – March 31, 2009[1]

Website Vodafone India

Vodafone Essar, usually referred to simply as Vodafone, is a cellular operator in India that covers 23 telecom

circles in India. It was formerly known as Hutchison Essar. It is based inMumbai.[2] Vodafone Essar is the

Indian subsidiary of Vodafone Group 67% and Essar Group33%. It is the second largest mobile phone operator

in terms of revenue behind Bharti Airtel, andthird largest in terms of customers.[3] The company now has

operations across the country with over 113.77 million customers.

On February 11, 2007, Vodafone agreed to acquire the controlling interest of 67% held by Li Ka Shing Holdings

in Hutch-Essar for US$11.1 billion, pipping Reliance Communications, Hinduja Group, and Essar Group, which

is the owner of the remaining 33%. The whole company was valued at USD 18.8 billion.[4] The transaction

closed on May 8, 2007. Despite the official name being Vodafone Essar, its products are simply

branded Vodafone. It offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone coverage throughout India with

good presence in the metros.

Vodafone Essar provides 2.75G services based on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz digital GSM technology, offering

voice and data services in 23 of the country's 23 licence areas. It is among the top three GSM mobile operators

of India.

Vodafone Essar will launch third-generation (3G) services in the country in the January-March quarter of 2011

and plans to spend up to $500 million within two years on its 3G networks.

GROWTH

Initially, around 1995, the company services were branded Max Touch¸ renamed to Orange in 2000. In

December 2006, Hutchison Essar re-launched the "Hutch" brand nationwide, consolidating its services

under a single identity.

The company used to be named Hutchison Essar, reflecting the name of its previous owner, Hutchison.

However, the brand was marketed asHutch. After getting the necessary government approvals with

regards to the acquisition of a majority by the Vodafone Group, the company was rebranded as Vodafone

Essar. The marketing brand was officially changed to Vodafone on 20 September 2007.[6]

On September 20, 2007 Hutch became Vodafone in one of the biggest brand transition exercises in

recent times.

Vodafone Essar is spending somewhere in the region of Rs. 250 crores on this high-profile transition

being unveiled today.Along with the transition, cheap cell phones have been launched in the Indian

market under the Vodafone brand. The company also plans to launch co-branded handsets sourced from

global vendors as well.

A popular daily quoted a Vodafone Essar director as saying that "the objective is to leverage Vodafone

Group's global scale in bringing millions of low-cost handsets from across-the-world into India."

Incidentally, China's ZTE, which is looking to set-up a manufacturing unit in the country, is expected to

provide several Vodafone handsets in India. Earlier this year, Vodafone penned a global low-cost handset

procurement deal with ZTE.

[edit]Growth of Hutchison Essar (1992-2005)

In 1992 Hutchison Whampoa and its Indian business partner established a company that in 1994 was

awarded a licence to provide mobile telecommunications services in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) and

launched commercial service as Hutchison Max in November 1995. Analjit Singh of Max still holds 12% in

company.

In Delhi, UP (E), Rajasthan and Haryana, ESSAR was the major partner. But later Hutch took the majority

Stake.

By the time of Hutchison Telecom's Initial Public Offering in 2004, Hutchison Whampoa had acquired

interests in six mobile telecommunications operators providing service in 13 of India's 23 licence areas

and following the completion of the acquisition of BPL that number increased to 16. In 2006, it announced

the acquisition of a company (Essar Spacetel — A subsidiary of Essar Group) that held licence

applications for the seven remaining licence areas.

In a country growing as fast as India, a strategic and well managed business plan is critical to success.

Initially, the company grew its business in the largest wireless markets in India — in cities like Mumbai,

Delhi and Kolkata. In these densely populated urban areas it was able to establish a robust network, well

known brand and large distribution network -all vital to long-term success in India. Then it also targeted

business users and high-end post-paid customers which helped Hutchison Essar to consistently generate

a higher Average Revenue Per User ("ARPU") than its competitors. By adopting this focused growth plan,

it was able to establish leading positions in India's largest markets providing the resources to expand its

footprint nationwide.

In February 2007, Hutchison Telecom announced that it had entered into a binding agreement with a

subsidiary of Vodafone Group Plc to sell its 67% direct and indirect equity and loan interests in Hutchison

Essar Limited for a total cash consideration (before costs, expenses and interests) of approximately

US$11.1 billion or HK$87 billion. In the same year, the company entered into an agreement with NTT

DoCoMo to launch i-mode mobile Internet service in India.

1992: Hutchison Whampoa and Max Group established Hutchison Max

2000: Acquisition of Delhi operations Entered Calcutta and Gujarat markets through ESSAR acquisition

2001: Won auction for licences to operate GSM services in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Chennai

A 'You and I' print advertisement of Hutch featuringCheeka (dog)

2003: Acquired AirCel Digilink (ADIL — ESSAR Subsidiary) which operated in Rajastan, Uttar Pradesh

East and Haryana telecom circles and renamed it under Hutch brand

2004: Launched in three additional telecom circles of India namely 'Punjab', 'Uttar Pradesh West' and

'West Bengal'

2005: Acquired BPL (Except Mumbai)- 3 Circles, another mobile service provider in India

2008: Vodafone acquired the Licence in remaining 7 circles and has started its pending operations

inMadhya Pradesh/Chhattisgarh with its headquarters at Malviya Nagar, Bhopal as well as in Orissa,

Assam, North East and Bihar

2008: Vodafone launched the Apple iPhone 3G to be used on its 17 circle 2.75G network.

Hutch was often praised for its award winning advertisements which all follow a clean, minimalist look. A

recurrent theme is that its message Hello stands out visibly though it uses only white letters on red

background. Another recent successful ad campaign in 2003 featured a pug named Cheeka following a

boy around in unlikely places, with the tagline, Wherever you go, our network follows. The simple yet

powerful advertisement campaigns won it many admirers.

2009: Vodafone launched Recharge Online

2009: Vodafone Essar - 1st Indian Telecom operator to receive the Payment Card Industry Security

Standard (PCI DSS) certification for its Mumbai operations and launches unlimited SMS offer in Mumbai.

[7]

2010: Vodafone emerged as the most admired marketer in India. 2010: Vodafone crossed 100 million

subscribers in India[8]

2010: Vodafone picks Nokia Siemens, Ericsson as 3G partners[9]

[edit]3G

Vodafone Essar, India's third-largest mobile carrier, will launch third-generation (3G) services in the

country in the January-March quarter of 2011 and plans to spend up to $500 million within two years on

its 3G networks. Vodafone Essar won 3G licences in nine of 22 telecom zones for Rs. 11617.86 million,

and has spent the second highest amount in the May 2010 auction. The circles where Vodafone will

provide 3G services are Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Kolkata, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Tamil Nadu, Uttar

Pradesh (East) and West Bengal. The company named Nokia Siemens Networks and Ericsson as its 3G

equipment suppliers. [10]

[edit]Subscriber Base

Subscriber Data for May 2010

Mumbai Vodafone Essar 5,223,050

Delhi Vodafone Essar 5,416,687

Kolkata Vodafone Essar 3,657,252

Chennai Vodafone Essar 1,815,133

Gujarat Vodafone Essar 11,304,719

A.P. Vodafone Essar 6,175,850

Karnatka Vodafone Essar 5,405,997

Punjab Vodafone Essar 3,246,338

Haryana Vodafone Essar 3,056,743

U.P.(E) Vodafone Essar 10,781,644

Rajasthan Vodafone Essar 7,634,793

UP (W) Vodafone Essar 6,769,802

W B Vodafone Essar 7,647,809

Maharashtra Vodafone Essar 7,580,180

T.N. Vodafone Essar 7,465,390

Kerala Vodafone Essar 4,357,308

Orissa Vodafone Essar 1,212,187

Assam Vodafone Essar 890,226

North East Vodafone Essar 553,482

MP Vodafone Essar 2,048,312

Bihar Vodafone Essar 3,664,639

HP Vodafone Essar 197,440

J & K Vodafone Essar 242,387

Total Vodafone Essar 106,347,368

The total is Vodafone Essar = 106,347,368 subscribers i.e. 23.94% of the total 444,295,711 subscribers.

Why is FDI into India declining?

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in India fell by nearly a quarter in the first seven months of 2010 and the much-publicized chaos around preparations for the Commonwealth Games has added to worries foreign firms could put off further investment.

A UN survey found investors ranked India as the second top-priority destination for FDI this year, replacing the United States, after China.

Following are some questions and answers on foreign investment flows into India.

WHY ARE FDI FLOWS IMPORTANT FOR INDIA?

India needs inflows to drive investment in infrastructure, a lack of which is often cited as restricting the country's economic growth. Investment is also needed to expand capacity and technology in sectors such as autos and steel, as well as to offset a big current account deficit.

In 2009, India attracted $36.6 billion in FDI funds, equivalent to 2.7 percent of its gross domestic product. China attracted $95 billion, or 1.9 percent of GDP.

But foreign direct investment flows into India fell by over 24 percent in the first seven months this year to $12.56 billion, putting pressure on domestic investment to take up the slack.

WHY HAVE FDI FLOWS SLOWED DOWN?

The slow pace of policy reform that would further open sectors such as retail, insurance and real estate to foreign investment have acted as a deterrent. Delays in framing a new land acquisition act, which would ease availability of land for industry, have also hurt FDI flows into infrastructure and other sectors.

FDI flows to India are likely to remain subdued in coming months as well, analysts said, given the shaky global recovery. That's a contrast to flows of foreign funds into Indian stocks, which are on track to hit a record high this year.

FDI flows into India, which held up reasonably well during the global financial crisis, are likely to total between $20 billion and $30 billion in 2010, economists say.

WILL THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES HAVE AN IMPACT ON FDI?

Negative publicity surrounding preparations for the Commonwealth Games, which opened in New Delhi on Sunday, could hurt sentiment among portfolio investors, but is unlikely to have a big impact on FDI flows.

A report by credit research agency Moody's Analytics said negative publicity around the Commonwealth Games could tarnish India's image as a foreign investment destination as it reflected poorly on India's capacity to handle big projects. The games chaos may give multinationals considering expanding in India reason to think twice, Moody's Analytics said.

However, most major corporate investors are aware of the challenges of doing business in India and will focus on the longer-term opportunities in a country where the 1.2 billion population is growing at a rapid 8.5 percent a year.

WHICH SECTORS ARE FACING SLOWDOWN?

FDI flows in financial services, real estate and power fell as regulatory restrictions and strong domestic investment squeezed out some foreign bidders for high-return projects.

FDI flows to real estate declined to 6 percent of total FDI flows during the June quarter from 11 percent in 2009/10, while flows to the services sector fell to 11 percent from 17 percent.

However, FDI in telecoms, at about $1 billion during the June quarter, formed 16 percent of the total FDI funds during the period, up from 10 percent in the 2009/10 fiscal year.

Big foreign firms have had mixed success investing in India. Vodafone paid $11 billion for control of an Indian mobile carrier but earlier this year booked a 2.3 billion pound ($3.64 billion) charge on its business due to fierce competition and the high cost of wireless spectrum.

South Korea's POSCO has endured more than three years of delay for a $12 billion steel plant in Orissa due to protests by farmers.

London-based Vedanta Resources said in August it had reached a deal to pay up to $9.6 billion for control of oil producer Cairn India.

HOW WILL A DECLINE IN FDI AFFECT THE CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT?

The trade ministry forecasts that the current account gap will reach 3 percent of GDP this fiscal year, or about $46.4 billion.

Officials have said that India may end up with a balance of payments deficit this year given the rapid expansion in the current account deficit and fall in FDI. If so, massive foreign exchange reserves of some $291 billion will be more than sufficient to fund the gap.

WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF FDI FLOWS ON MONETARY POLICY?

A fall in FDI inflows will keep the balance of payments under pressure and could undermine the rupee. If commodity and oil prices rise globally, a weaker rupee will add to inflationary pressures.

With fighting inflation is the central bank's top priority, any development that could push up prices will be carefully watched and play into its thinking on tightening monetary policy.

On the other hand, a wider deficit could lead to some liquidity tightness in the market, helping the central bank's five rate hikes so far this year be passed on more effectively.

Forbidden Territories: 

FDI is not permitted in the following industrial sectors:

1. Arms and ammunition.2. Atomic Energy.

3. Railway Transport.

4. Coal and lignite.

5. Mining of iron, manganese, chrome, gypsum, sulphur, gold, diamonds, copper, zinc.

FII generally means portfolio investment by foreign institutions in a market which is not their home country. These institutions are generally Mutual Funds, Investment Companies, Pension Funds, Insurance House's is a short term benefit to the country and the rules and regulations to enter the Indian Market are not much, the fluctuations in the stock market is generally due to the FII Investments , cause the rules are eased the investor can leave the market at Any point of time. There investments are in the stock market whereas FDI is generally a long term commitment to a particular company in a sector in terms of equity investment by some foreign entity. Therefore we could see Lehman investing 15% in say Unitech, now that would be FDI. However if Lehman has bought shares of Unitech though secondary markets (stock trading market) it would have been an FII. FII funding is a paramount maker of stock markets and there selling or buying moves the stock in a day. FDI also have to follow a high rules and regulations to enter the market and the subs. given to such players are huge in term of taxes .FDI have long term commitment and hence we see flight of capital in terms of FII outflows but not generally in FDIs. The Economy high and low depends on the FDI's Investment where as the Stock mark fluctuations are generally because of FII

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_is_relation_between_FDI_and_FII#ixzz17RRkZuPG

Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into the primary market whereas foreign institutional investment (FII) flows into the secondary market, that is, into the stock market.All other differences flow from this primary difference. FDI is perceived to be more beneficial because it increases production, brings in more and better products and services besides increasing the employment opportunities and revenue for the Government by way of taxes. FII, on the other hand, is perceived to be inferior to FDI because it only widens and deepens the stock exchanges and provides a better price discovery process for the scrips.Besides, FII is a fair-weather friend and can desert the nation which is what is happening in India right now, thereby puling down not only our share prices but also wrecking havoc with the Indian rupee because when FIIs sell in a big way and leave India they take back the dollars they had brought in.

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_is_relation_between_FDI_and_FII#ixzz17RRrLFl7

Portfolio investors: buy stocks or bonds in foreign country's and foreign direct investment: Investment that establishes a lasting interest in another country.SK(APEX) 

FII is investing into financial markets of India. Majorly secondary market. 

FDI is acquisition of physical assets or capital in INdia. It leads to change in management, transfer of technology, increase in production etc. 

1. FDI is an investment that a parent company makes in a foreign country. On the contrary, FII is an investment made by an investor in the markets of a foreign nation. 

2. FII can enter the stock market easily and also withdraw from it easily. But FDI cannot enter and exit that easily. 

3. Foreign Direct Investment targets a specific enterprise while FII targets the capitak markets of foreign country. 

4. The Foreign Direct Investment is considered to be more stable than Foreign Institutional Investor 

5. FDI flows into the primary market, the FII flows into secondary market. 

6. FIIs are short-term investments, the FDI's are long term. 

FDI means foreign direct investment. FDI outflow means withdrawal of investments from a country is more than new investment, i.e.. more money is taken out than invested at a particular time. 

Portfolio investors: buy stocks or bonds in foreign country's and foreign investment: is an investment in an enterprise or buisness that operates outside the investors country

FII is investing into financial markets of India. Majorly secondary market. 

FDI is acquisition of physical assets or capital in INdia. It leads to change in management, transfer of technology, increase in production etc.

Defination of FDI

Foreign direct investment (FDI) occurs when an investor based in one country (the home country) acquires an asset in another country ( the host country) with the intent to manage the asset

9

Modes of FDI•1) By Direction •* Inward•*Outward•2) By Target •* Mergers and Acquisitions•* Horizontal FDI•* Vertical FDI •(a) Backward Vertical FDI•(b) Forward Vertical FDI•3 )By Motive •* Resource-Seeking

•* Market-Seeking•* Efficiency-Seeking•* Strategic-Asset-Seeking

Tata DOCOMO is Tata Teleservices Limited's telecom service on the GSM platform-arising out of the Tata Group's

strategic alliance with Japanese telecom major NTT DOCOMO in November 2008. Tata Teleservices has received a

license to operate GSM telecom services in 19 of India's 22 telecom Circles-and has also been allotted spectrum in

18 telecom circles. Of these, it has already rolled out services in all the 18 Circles that it received spectrum in from

the Government of India-Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Orissa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Madhya

Pradesh-Chhattisgarh, Haryana-Punjab, Kolkata, Rest of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, UP (East), UP (West),

Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Tata DOCOMO has also become the first Indian private operator to launch 3G services in India, with its recent launch

in all the nine telecom Circles where it bagged the 3G license. In association with its partner NTT DOCOMO, the

Company finds itself suitably positioned to leverage this first-mover advantage. With 3G, Tata DOCOMO stands to

redefine the very face of telecoms in India. Tokyo-based NTT DOCOMO is one of the world's leading mobile

operators-in Japan, the company is the clear market leader, used by nearly 55 per cent of the country's mobile phone

users.

NTT DOCOMO has played a major role in the evolution of mobile telecommunications through its development of

cutting-edge technologies and services. Over the years, technologists at DOCOMO have defined industry

benchmarks like 3G technology, as also products and services like i-Mode, e-wallet and a plethora of lifestyle-

enhancing applications. Last year itself, while most of the rest of the industry was only beginning to talk of 4G

technology and its possible applications, DOCOMO had already concluded conducting 4G trials in physical

geographies, not just inside laboratories!

DOCOMO is a global leader in the VAS space, both in terms of services and handset designs, particularly integrating

services at the platform stage. The Tata Group-NTT DOCOMO partnership will see offerings such as these being

introduced in the Indian market through the Tata DOCOMO brand.

Tata DOCOMO has also set up a ‘Business and Technology Coordination Council', comprising of senior personnel

from both companies. The council is responsible for the identification of key areas where the two companies will work

together. DOCOMO, the world's leading mobile operator, will work closely with the Tata Teleservices Limited

management and provide know-how to help the company develop its GSM business.

On the CDMA platform, despite being the latest entrant, Tata Indicom has already established its presence and is the

fastest-growing pan-India operator. Incorporated in 1996, Tata Teleservices is the pioneer of the CDMA 1x

technology platform in India. Today, Tata Teleservices Ltd, along with Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Ltd, serves

over 84 million customers in more than 450,000 towns and villages across the country, with a bouquet of telephony

services encompassing Mobile Services, Wireless Desktop Phones, Public Booth Telephony and Wireline Services.

Tata DoCoMoFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tata DoCoMo Limited

Type Joint Venture

Industry Mobile telecommunications

Founded November 2008

Headquarters New Delhi, India

Products Mobile networks,

Telecom services, etc.

Parent Tata Teleservices (74%)

NTT DoCoMo (26%)

Website TataDoCoMo.com

TATA DoCoMo, usually referred to as DoCoMo (not to be confused with NTT Docomo), is aTata Teleservices Limited's (TTSL)

cellular service provider on the GSM platform-arising out of the Tata Group's strategic joint venture with Japanese telecom

giant NTT Docomo in November 2008. Tata Teleservices received a pan-India license to operate GSM telecom services, under the

brand "TATA DoCoMo". Tata Docomo launched GSM services on 24 June 2009. It first launched in South India and currently

operates in 18 of 23 telecom circles.[1] Tata Teleservices is the country's fourth largest operator in terms of wireless subscribers

(including both CDMA and GSM), after Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and Vodafone.[2]

Tata DOCOMO offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone in 18 circles. It has become very popular with its one second

pulse especially in semi-urban and rural areas. They are launching their service from the south of India to central, east and north.

Tata DOCOMO had about 32.82 million users at the end of June 2010.[3]

On 5 November 2010, Tata DOCOMO became the first private sector telecom company to

launch 3G services in India .

Contents

[hide]

1 Network Coverage

2 3G

3 3G Coverage

o 3.1 Gujarat

o 3.2 Haryana

o 3.3 Karnataka

o 3.4 Kerala

o 3.5 Madhya Pradesh and

Chattisgarh

o 3.6 Maharashtra and Goa

o 3.7 Punjab

o 3.8 Rajasthan

o 3.9 Uttar Pradesh (West) and

Uttarakhand

4 Share holding

5 Call charges

6 References

7 External links

[edit]Network Coverage

Currently, Tata Docomo mobile service is available in the following circles:[4]

Andhra Pradesh

Bihar  & Jharkhand

Gujarat  & Daman & Diu (3G)

Haryana  (3G)

Himachal Pradesh

Karnataka  (3G)

Kerala  (3G)

Kolkata

Madhya Pradesh  & Chhattisgarh (3G)

Maharashtra  (excluding Mumbai) & Goa (3G)

Mumbai

Orissa

Punjab  (3G)

Rajasthan  (3G)

Tamil Nadu  (excluding Chennai) & Puducherry

Eastern Uttar Pradesh

Western Uttar Pradesh & Uttarakhand (3G)

West Bengal  (excluding Kolkata), Andaman & Nicobar Islands & Sikkim

Tata Docomo does not offer services in Assam and the North Eastern states.

[edit]3G

On 19 May 2010, the 3G spectrum auction in India ended. Tata Docomo paid   5864.29 crores for spectrum in 9 circles. The circles

it will provide 3G in are Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra (excluding Mumbai)

& Goa, Punjab,Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh (east) & Uttarakhand.[5]

Apalya Technologies, has been selected by Tata Docomo as their exclusive partners for providing mobile TV services on 3G

platform across India. Apalya's technology will be used to provide high quality mobile TV services on Tata Docomo's 3G platform

enabling subscribers to view television channels at a higher resolution and speed.[6]

On 5 November 2010, Tata DOCOMO became the first private sector telecom company to launch 3G services in India. DOCOMO is

expected to roll out in 125-135 cities by the end of 2010.[7] The company will be investing USD 500 million in network roll out

nationally, a company statement said.

The 3G services that Tata Docomo currently offers are:

Video Calling – This service allows subscribers to do video conferencing while making voice calls.

Mobile TV – It is live TV on mobile screen that can be recorded and paused. Video from here can also be posted to social networks,

and it's possible to browse the program guide and set reminders.

Let's Play – A portal for online and downloadable, single and multiplayer games. It's like a social network for gamers so users can

share their scores with their friends.

Catch Up – One interface for accessing multiple email accounts, social networks and instant messengers.

Video SMS and mail – Allows users to add 30 second videos to text SMSs, and send video emails. The picture or video SMS is

delivered instantly, unlike traditional MMS messages; while video mail is like voice messaging, but with video instead of voice.

On Demand Services – This service lets users watch and download videos on the phone along with news, weather and mobile

premiers and movies made exclusively for mobiles. It also has music for download.

Market – an app store that contains thousands of applications across categories such as music, books, movies, travel and

business.

Docomics – a comic viewer application that has popular comics such as Spiderman, X-Men, Japanese Manga etc.

Prayer – Live darshan videos from famous shrines. One can also watch live aarti and sing along with karaoke aartis.

Fortune – This service lets subscribers get live advice from astrologers on the basis of sun sign.

[edit]3G Coverage

Tata DOCOMO’s 3G service is currently available in the following cities in 9 telecom circles[8]:

[edit]Gujarat

Ankleshwar, Bharuch, Rajkot, Vadodara, Anand and Amreli [9]

Having bid Rs 1,076 crore for the 3G license in Gujarat, Tata Docomo has lined up an investment of Rs 250 crore for roll out of its

3G services in the state by December 2010. Tata DOCOMO plans to complete the phase one roll out within a month or so. The

company plans to open 250-3G Life Experience Zones-in Gujarat, where customers can experience the various features of 3G like

video calling, mobile TV, video mails and SMS, besides high speed surfing facility.[10]

[edit]Haryana

Ambala, Karnal, Panipat, Thanesar

[edit]Karnataka

Bangalore, Mangalore, Manipal, Udupi [11]

[edit]Kerala

Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram

[edit]Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh

Bhopal

[edit]Maharashtra and Goa

Pune, Shirdi

[edit]Punjab

Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula, Jalandhar, Patiala

[edit]Rajasthan

Udaipur, Kota

[edit]Uttar Pradesh (West) and Uttarakhand

Meerut, Modinagar, Muzaffarnagar, Roorkee

[edit]Share holding

NTT DoCoMo holds 26 % stake in the jointly formed company. It has also emerged as the first mobile operator in India to have re-

introduced ‘per second’ pulse, after Loop Mobile (formerly BPL Mobile) discontinued their 'pay per second' service which was

introduced in 2004.

[edit]Call charges

TATA Docomo charge all local & std calls at 1p/1s. The same tariff is applicable while roaming also (In home network only)

DIESL provides the logistics support to Tata DoCoMo.

Communications in IndiaFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about communications in India. For a more general coverage of media in India, see Media of

India.

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page.

It may need copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone or spelling. Tagged since

May 2010.

It may require general cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Tagged since

May 2010.

The Indian telecommunications industry is the world's fastest growing telecommunications industry,[1][2]

[3] with 723.28 Million telephone (landlines and mobile) subscribers and 687.71 Million mobile phone

connections as of Sep 30th 2010 [4] It is also the second largest telecommunication network in the world in

terms of number of wireless connections after China.[5] The Indian Mobile subscriber base has increased in size

by a factor of more than one hundred since 2001 when the number of subscribers in the country was

approximately 5 million[6] to 687.71 Million in Sep 2010.[4]

As the fastest growing telecommunications industry in the world, it is projected that India will have 1.159 billion

mobile subscribers by 2013.[7][8][9][10] Furthermore, projections by several leading global consultancies indicate

that the total number of subscribers in India will exceed the total subscriber count in the China by 2013.[7][8] The

industry is expected to reach a size of  344,921 crore (US$ 78.3 billion) by 2012 at a growth rate of over 26 per

cent, and generate employment opportunities for about 10 million people during the same period.[11]According

to analysts, the sector would create direct employment for 2.8 million people and for 7 million indirectly.[11] In

2008-09 the overall telecom equipments revenue in India stood at  136,833 crore (US$ 31.06 billion) during the

fiscal, as against  115,382 crore (US$ 26.19 billion) a year before.[12]

Contents

[hide]

1 Modern growth

2 History

o 2.1 Introduction of telegraph

o 2.2 Introduction of the telephone

o 2.3 Further developments

2.3.1 Indian telecom sector: recent

policies

3 Emergence as a major player

o 3.1 Privatization of telcommunications in India

o 3.2 Telecommunications Regulatory

Environment in India

4 Revenue and growth

5 Telephone

o 5.1 Mobile telephones

o 5.2 Landlines

6 Internet

o 6.1 Low Speed Broadband (256 kbit/s - 2

mbit/s)

o 6.2 High Speed Broadband (over 2 Mbit/s)

o 6.3 Statistics

7 Broadcasting

8 Next generation networks

9 Mobile Number Portability (MNP)

10 International

o 10.1 Submarine cables

11 Telecom Training in India

12 See also

13 References

14 External links

[edit]Modern growth

A large population, low telephony penetration levels, and a rise in consumers' income and spending owing to

strong economic growth have helped make India the fastest-growing telecom market in the world. The first

operator is the state-owned incumbent BSNL. BSNL was created by corporatization of the

erstwhile Indian_Telecommunication_Service, a government unit responsible for provision of telephony

services. Subsequently, after the telecommunication policies were revised to allow private operators,

companies such as Vodafone, Bharti Airtel, Tata Indicom, Idea Cellular, Aircel and Loop Mobile have entered

the space. see mobile operators in India. In 2008-09, rural India outpaced urban India in mobile growth rate.

Bharti Airtel now is the largest telecom company in India.

India's mobile phone market is the fastest growing in the world, with companies adding some 17.1 million new

customers in Sept 2010.

The total number of telephones in the country crossed the 723.28 million mark in Sep 30th, 2010. The overall

tele-density has increased to 60.99% in Sept 2010. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India,Information note to

the Press (Press Release No. 61 / 2007), 20 July 2010. In the wireless segment, 17.1 million subscribers have

been added in Sep 30th 2010. The total wireless subscribers (GSM, CDMA & WLL (F)) base is more than

687.71 million now. The wireline segment subscriber base stood at 35.57 million with a decline of 0.2 million in

Sept 30th 2010.

[edit]History

Telecom in the real sense means transfer of information between two distant points in space. The popular

meaning of telecom always involveselectrical signals and nowadays people exclude postal or any other

raw telecommunication methods from its meaning. Therefore, the history of Indian telecom can be started with

the introduction of telegraph.

[edit]Introduction of telegraph

The postal and telecom sectors had a slow and uneasy start in India. In 1850, the first experimental electric

telegraph Line was started between Kolkata and Diamond Harbor. In 1851, it was opened for the British East

India Company. The Posts and Telegraphs department occupied a small corner of the Public Works

Department,[13] at that time. Construction of 4,000 miles (6,400 km) of telegraph lines connecting Kolkata

(Calcutta) and Peshawar in the north along with Agra, Mumbai (Bombay) through Sindwa Ghats,

and Chennai in the south, as well as Ootacamund and Bangalore was started in November 1853. Dr. William

O'Shaughnessy, who pioneered telegraph andtelephone in India, belonged to the Public Works Department.

He worked towards the development of telecom throughout this period. A separate department was opened in

1854 when telegraph facilities were opened to the public.

[edit]Introduction of the telephone

In 1880, two telephone companies namely The Oriental Telephone Company Ltd. and The Anglo-Indian

Telephone Company Ltd. approached the Government of India to establish telephone exchanges in India. The

permission was refused on the grounds that the establishment of telephones was a Government monopoly and

that the Government itself would undertake the work. In 1881, the Government later reversed its earlier

decision and a licence was granted to the Oriental Telephone Company Limited of England for opening

telephone exchanges atCalcutta, Bombay, Madras and Ahmedabad and the first formal telephone service was

established in the country.[14] 28 January 1882, is aRed Letter Day in the history of telephone in India. On this

day Major E. Baring, Member of the Governor General of India's Council declared open the Telephone

Exchanges in Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. The exchange in Calcutta named "Central Exchange" was

opened at third floor of the building at 7, Council House Street. The Central Telephone Exchange had 93

number of subscribers. Bombay also witnessed the opening of Telephone Exchange in 1882.

[edit]Further developments

BSNL Microwave Tower Mangalore.

1902 - First wireless telegraph station established between Sagar Islands and Sandheads.

1907 - First Central Battery of telephones introduced in Kanpur.

1913-1914 - First Automatic Exchange installed in Shimla.

23 July 1927 - Radio-telegraph system between the UK and India, with Imperial Wireless Chain beam

stations at Khadki and Daund, inaugurated by Lord Irwin by exchanging greetings with King George V.

1933 - Radiotelephone system inaugurated between the UK and India.

1953 - 12 channel carrier system introduced.

1960 - First subscriber trunk dialing route commissioned between Lucknow and Kanpur.

1975 - First PCM system commissioned between Mumbai City and Andheri telephone exchanges.

1976 - First digital microwave junction introduced.

1979 - First optical fibre system for local junction commissioned at Pune.

1980 - First satellite earth station for domestic communications established at Secunderabad, A.P..

1983 - First analog Stored Program Control exchange for trunk lines commissioned at Mumbai.

1984 - C-DOT established for indigenous development and production of digital exchanges.

1985 - First mobile telephone service started on non-commercial basis in Delhi.

While all the major cities and towns in the country were linked with telephones during the British period, the

total number of telephones in 1948 was only around 80,000. Even after independence, growth was extremely

slow. The telephone was a status symbol rather than being an instrument of utility. The number of telephones

grew leisurely to 980,000 in 1971, 2.15 million in 1981 and 5.07 million in 1991, the year economic reforms

were initiated in the country.

While certain innovative steps were taken from time to time, as for example introduction of the telex service

in Mumbai in 1953 and commissioning of the first [subscriber trunk dialing] route between Delhi and Kanpur

and between Lucknow and Kanpur in 1960, the first waves of change were set going by Sam Pitroda in the

eighties.[15] He brought in a whiff of fresh air. The real transformation in scenario came with the announcement

of the National Telecom Policy in 1994.[16]

[edit]Indian telecom sector: recent policies

All the villages shall be covered by telecom facility by the end of 2002.

The Communication Convergence Bill 2001introduced in the Parliament on August 31, 2001 is

presently before the Standing Committee of Parliament on Telecom and IT.

National Long Distance Service (NLD) is opened for unrestricted entry.

The International Long Distance Services (ILDS) have been opened to competition.

The basic services are open to competition.

In addition to the existing three, fourth cellular operator, one each in four metros and thirteen circles,

has been permitted. The cellular operators have been permitted to provide all types of mobile services

including voice and non-voice messages, data services and Publica Call Office PCOs utilizing any type of

network equipment, including circuit and/or package switches that meet certain required standards.

Policies allowing private participation have been announced as per the New Telecom Policy (NTP),

1999 in several new services, which include Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS)

Service, digital Public Mobile Radio Trunked Service (PMRTS), Voice Mail/ Audiotex/ Unified Messaging

Service.

Wireless in Local Loop (WLL) has been introduced for providing telephone connections in urban, semi-

urban and rural areas promptly.

Two telecom PSUs, VSNL and HTL have been disinvested.

Steps are being taken to fulfill Universal Service Obligation (USO), its funding and administration.

A decision to permit Community Phone Service has been announced.

Multiple Fixed Service Providers (FSPs) licensing guidelines were announced.

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have been allowed to set up International Internet Gateways, both

Satellite and Landing stations for submarine optical fiber cables.

Two categories of infrastructure providers have been allowed to provide end-to-end bandwidth and

dark fiber, right of way, towers, duct space etc.

Guidelines have been issued by the Government to open up Internet telephony (IP).

[edit]Emergence as a major player

In 1975, the Department of Telecom (DoT) was separated from Indian Post & Telecommunication

Accounts and Finance Service. DoT was responsible for telecom services in entire country until 1985

when Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) was carved out of DoT to run the telecom services

of Delhi and Mumbai. In 1990s the telecom sector was opened up by the Government for private investment as

a part of Liberalisation-Privatization-Globalization policy. Therefore, it became necessary to separate the

Government's policy wing from its operations wing. The Government of India corporatised the operations wing

of DoT on 1 October 2000 and named it as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). Many private operators,

such as Reliance Communications, Tata Indicom, Vodafone, Loop Mobile, Airtel,Idea etc., successfully entered

the high potential Indian telecom market.

[edit]Privatization of telcommunications in India

The Indian government was composed of many factions (parties) which had different ideologies. Some of them

were willing to throw open the market to foreign players (the centrists) and others wanted the government to

regulate infrastructure and restrict the involvement of foreign players. Due to this political background it was

very difficult to bring about liberalization in telecommunications. When a bill was in parliament a majority vote

had to be passed, and such a majority was difficult to obtain, given to the number of parties having different

ideologies.

Liberalization started in 1981 when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi signed contracts with Alcatel CIT of France to

merge with the state owned Telecom Company (ITI), in an effort to set up 5,000,000 lines per year. But soon

the policy was let down because of political opposition. She invited Sam Pitroda a US based Non-resident

Indian NRI to set up a Center for Development of Telematics(C-DOT), however the plan failed due to political

reasons. During this period, after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, under the leadership of Rajiv Gandhi,

many public sector organizations were set up like the Department of

Telecommunications (DoT) , VSNL and MTNL. Many technological developments took place in this regime but

still foreign players were not allowed to participate in the telecommunications business.[17]

The demand for telephones was ever increasing. It was during this period that the Narsimha Rao-led

government introduced the national telecommunications policy [NTP] in 1994 which brought changes in the

following areas: ownership, service and regulation of telecommunications infrastructure. They were also

successful in establishing joint ventures between state owned telecom companies and international players.

But still complete ownership of facilities was restricted only to the government owned organizations. Foreign

firms were eligible to 49% of the total stake. The multi-nationals were just involved in technology transfer, and

not policy making.[17]

During this period, the World Bank and ITU had advised the Indian Government to liberalize long distance

services in order to release the monopoly of the state owned DoT and VSNL; and to enable competition in the

long distance carrier business which would help reduce tariff's and better the economy of the country. The Rao

run government instead liberalized the local services, taking the opposite political parties into confidence and

assuring foreign involvement in the long distance business after 5 years. The country was divided into 20

telecommunication circles for basic telephony and 18 circles for mobile services. These circles were divided

into category A, B and C depending on the value of the revenue in each circle. The government threw open the

bids to one private company per circle along with government owned DoT per circle. For cellular service two

service providers were allowed per circle and a 15 years license was given to each provider. During all these

improvements, the government did face oppositions from ITI, DoT, MTNL, VSNL and other labor unions, but

they managed to keep away from all the hurdles.[17]

After 1995 the government set up TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) which reduced the

interference of Government in deciding tariffs and policy making. The DoT opposed this. The political powers

changed in 1999 and the new government under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee was more pro-reforms

and introduced better liberalization policies. They split DoT in two- one policy maker and the other service

provider (DTS) which was later renamed as BSNL. The proposal of raising the stake of foreign investors from

49% to 74% was rejected by the opposite political party and leftist thinkers. Domestic business groups wanted

the government to privatize VSNL. Finally in April 2002, the government decided to cut its stake of 53% to 26%

in VSNL and to throw it open for sale to private enterprises. TATA finally took 25% stake in VSNL.[17]

This was a gateway to many foreign investors to get entry into the Indian Telecom Markets. After March 2000,

the government became more liberal in making policies and issuing licenses to private operators. The

government further reduced license fees for cellular service providers and increased the allowable stake to

74% for foreign companies. Because of all these factors, the service fees finally reduced and the call costs

were cut greatly enabling every common middle class family in India to afford a cell phone. Nearly 32 million

handsets were sold in India. The data reveals the real potential for growth of the Indian mobile market.[18]

In March 2008 the total GSM and CDMA mobile subscriber base in the country was 375 million, which

represented a nearly 50% growth when compared with previous year.[19] As the unbranded Chinese cell phones

which do not have International Mobile Equipment Identity(IMEI) numbers pose a serious security risk to the

country, Mobile network operators therefore planned to suspend the usage of around 30 million mobile

phones (about 8 % of all mobiles in the country) by 30 April.[20] 5–6 years the average monthly subscribers

additions were around 0.05 to 0.1 million only and the total mobile subscribers base in December 2002 stood at

10.5 millions. However, after a number of proactive initiatives were taken by regulators and licensors, the total

number of mobile subscribers has increased greatly to 687.71 million subscribers as of Sept 30th 2010.[21][22]

India has opted for the use of both the GSM (global system for mobile communications) and CDMA (code-

division multiple access)technologies in the mobile sector. In addition to landline and mobile phones, some of

the companies also provide the WLL service. The mobile tariffs in India have also become lowest in the world.

A new mobile connection can be activated with a monthly commitment of US$0.15 only. In 2005 alone

additions increased to around 2 million per month in the year 2003-04 and 2004-05.[citation needed]

In June 2009, the Government of India banned the import of several mobile phones manufactured

in China citing concerns over quality and the lack of IMEI's which make it difficult for authorities in India to track

the sale and use of such phones.[23] In April 2010, the Government was also reported to be blocking Indian

service providers from purchasing Chinese mobile technology citing concerns that Chinese hackers could

compromise the Indian telecommunications network during times of national emergency. A series of attacks on

Indian government websitesand computer networks by suspected Chinese hackers has also made Indian

regulators suspicious with regards to the import of potentially sensitive equipment from China. The companies

reported to be affected by this are Huawei Technologies and ZTE.[24][25][26]

[edit]Telecommunications Regulatory Environment in India

LIRNEasia's Telecommunications Regulatory Environment (TRE) index, which summarizes stakeholders’

perception on certain TRE dimensions, provides insight into how conducive the environment is for further

development and progress. The most recent survey was conducted in July 2008 in eight Asian countries,

including Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Pakistan, Thailand, and the Philippines. The tool

measured seven dimensions: i) market entry; ii) access to scarce resources; iii) interconnection; iv) tariff

regulation; v) anti-competitive practices; and vi) universal services; vii) quality of service, for the fixed, mobile

and broadband sectors.

The results for India, point out to the fact that the stakeholders perceive the TRE to be most conducive for the

mobile sector followed by fixed and then broadband. Other than for Access to Scarce Resources the fixed

sector lags behind the mobile sector. The fixed and mobile sectors have the highest scores for Tariff

Regulation. Market entry also scores well for the mobile sector as competition is well entrenched with most of

the circles with 4-5 mobile service providers. The broadband sector has the lowest score in the aggregate. The

low penetration of broadband of mere 3.87 against the policy objective of 9 million at then end of 2007 clearly

indicates that the regulatory environment is not very conducive.[27]

[edit]Revenue and growth

The total revenue in the telecom service sector was  86,720 crore (US$ 19.7 billion) in 2005-06 as against 

71,674 crore (US$ 16.3 billion) in 2004-2005, registering a growth of 21%. The total investment in the telecom

services sector reached  200,660 crore (US$ 45.5 billion) in 2005-06, up from  178,831 crore (US$ 40.6

billion) in the previous fiscal.[28]

Telecommunication is the lifeline of the rapidly growing Information Technology industry. Internet subscriber

base has risen to 6.94 million in 2005-2006. Out of this 1.35 million were broadband connections.[29] More than

a billion people use the internet globally.

Under the Bharat Nirman Programme, the Government of India will ensure that 66,822 revenue villages in the

country, which have not yet been provided with a Village Public Telephone (VPT), will be connected. However

doubts have been raised about what it would mean for the poor in the country.[30]

It is difficult to ascertain fully the employment potential of the telecom sector but the enormity of the

opportunities can be gauged from the fact that there were 3.7 million Public Call Offices in December

2005[31] up from 2.3 million in December 2004.

The value added services (VAS) market within the mobile industry in India has the potential to grow

from US$500 million in 2006 to a whopping US$10 billion by 2009.[32]

[edit]Telephone

On landlines, intra-circle calls are considered local calls while inter-circle are considered long distance calls.

Currently Government is working to integrate the whole country in one telecom circle. For long distance calls,

the area code prefixed with a zero is dialed first which is then followed by the number (i.e. To call Delhi, 011

would be dialed first followed by the phone number). For international calls, "00" must be dialed first followed by

the country code, area code and local phone number. The country code for India is 91.

Telephone Subscribers (Wireless and Landline): 723.28 million (Sept 2010) [4]

Land Lines: 35.57 million (Sep 2010)[4]

Cell phones: 687.71 million (Sep 2010) [4]

Yearly Cell phone Addition: 216.01 million (Sep 2009-10)[4]

Monthly Cell phone Addition: 17.1 million (Sep 2010) [4]

Teledensity: 60.99 % (Sep 2010) [4]

Projected Teledensity: 1 billion, 84% of population by 2012.[33]

[edit]Mobile telephones

See also: List of mobile network operators of India

With a subscriber base of more than 680 million,[4] the Mobile telecommunications system in India is the second

largest in the world and it was thrown open to private players in the 1990s. The country is divided into multiple

zones, called circles (roughly along state boundaries). Government and several private players run local and

long distance telephone services. Competition has caused prices to drop and calls across India are one of the

cheapest in the world.[34] The rates are supposed to go down further with new measures to be taken by the

Information Ministry.[35] In September 2004, the number of mobile phone connections crossed the number of

fixed-line connections and presently dwarfs the wireline segment by a ratio of around 20:1.[4] The mobile

subscriber base has grown by a factor of over a hundred and thirty, from 5 million subscribers in 2001 to over

680 million subscribers as of Sep 2010 [4] (a period of less than 9 years) . India primarily follows

the GSM mobile system, in the 900 MHz band. Recent operators also operate in the 1800 MHz band. The

dominant players areAirtel, Reliance Infocomm, Vodafone, Idea cellular and BSNL/MTNL. There are many

smaller players, with operations in only a few states. International roaming agreements exist between most

operators and many foreign carriers.

India is divided into 23 telecom circles. They are listed below:[36]

Assam

Andhra Pradesh

Bihar  & Jharkhand

Chennai

Delhi  & NCR

Gujarat  & Daman & Diu

Haryana

Himachal Pradesh

Jammu and Kashmir

Karnataka

Kerala  & Lakshadweep

Kolkata

Madhya Pradesh  & Chhattisgarh

Maharashtra  (excluding Mumbai) & Goa

Mumbai

North Eastern States (Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, & Tripura)

Orissa

Punjab

Rajasthan

Tamil Nadu  excluding Chennai & Puducherry

Eastern Uttar Pradesh

Western Uttar Pradesh & Uttarakhand

West Bengal  (excluding Kolkata), Andaman & Nicobar Islands & Sikkim

The following table gives details regarding the subscriber base of each Mobile Service Provider

in India as of 30 Sep 2010

Operator Subscriber base[4] Market Share [4]

Bharti Airtel 143,292,272 21.34%

MTNL 5,311,254 0.81%

BSNL 78,321,735 11.31%

Reliance Communications 117,337,370 17.37%

Aircel 46,515,378 6.64%

Sistema 6,638,470 0.86%

Loop 2,983,299 0.45%

Unitech 11,267,660 1.05%

Idea 74,213,507 10.84%

Etisalat 56,583 0.005%

Videocon 4,482,272 0.43%

Stel 1,642,272 0.22%

Tata Teleservices 79,071,716 11.47%

HFCL Infotel 1,022,944 0.13%

Vodafone 115,553,042 17.08%

All India 687,710,364 100%

A list of ten states (including the metros Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai in their respective states) with the

largest subscriber base as of Sept 30th 2010 is given below

State Subscriber base [4] Population (01/08/2010) [37] Mobile phones per 1000 population

Uttar Pradesh 90,453,481 199,415,992 427

Maharashtra 81,986,446 110,351,688 707

Tamil Nadu 62,216,471 67,773,611 881

Andhra Pradesh 52,736,516 84,241,069 600

West Bengal 50,199,257 90,524,849 520

Bihar 44,672,870 97,560,027 430

Karnataka 43,086,825 58,969,294 709

Gujarat 38,864,347 58,388,625 618

Rajasthan 37,626,621 67,449,102 535

Madhya Pradesh 37,306,654 72,362,313 489

India 687,710,364 1,188,783,351 580

[edit]Landlines

Until recently, only the Government-owned BSNL and MTNL were allowed to provide landline phone services

through copper wire in India withMTNL operating in Delhi and Mumbai and BSNL servicing all other areas of

the country. Private operators such as Touchtel and Tata Teleservices have entered the market however, the

primary focus of their business is on the mobile-phone sector.[citation needed] Due to the rapid growth of the cellular

phone industry in India, landlines are facing stiff competition from cellular operators. This has forced landline

service providers to become more efficient and improve their quality of service. Landline connections are now

also available on demand, even in high density urban areas. The breakup of wireline subscriber base in India

as of September 2009 is given below[38]

Operator Subscriber base

BSNL 28,446,969

MTNL 3,514,454

Bharti Airtel 2,928,254

Reliance Communications 1,152,237

Tata Teleservices 1,003,261

HFCL Infotel 165,978

Teleservices Ltd 95,181

All India 37,306,334

The list of eight states (including the metros Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai in their respective states) with

largest subscriber base as of September 2009 is given below[38]

State Subscriber base

Maharashtra 5,996,912

Tamil Nadu 3,620,729

Kerala 3,534,211

Uttar Pradesh 2,803,049

Karnataka 2,751,296

Delhi 2,632,225

West Bengal 2,490,253

Andhra Pradesh 2,477,755

[edit]Internet

The total subscriber base for internet users in India is 81 million as of 2009.[39] Internet penetration in India is

one of the lowest in the world which is about 7.0% of the population, compared to other nations like United

States, Japan or South Korea where internet penetration is significantly higher than in India.[39]

The number of broadband connections in India has seen a continuous growth since the beginning of 2006. At

the end of January 2010, total broadband connections in the country have reached 9.24 million.

Broadband in India is more expensive as compared to Western Europe/United Kingdom and United States.[40]

After economic liberalization in 1992, many private ISPs have entered the market, many with their own local

loop and gateway infrastructures. The telecom services market is regulated by the TRAI and the DoT, which

has been known to impose censorship on some websites.

See also: List of ISPs in India

See also: Internet censorship in India

[edit]Low Speed Broadband (256 kbit/s - 2 mbit/s)

The current definition of Broadband in India is speeds of 256 kbit/s. TRAI on July 2009 has recommended

raising this limit to 2 Mbit/s.[41]

As of January 2010, India has 9.24 million broadband users comprising of 6.0% of the population.[42] India ranks

one of the lowest provider of broadband speed as compared countries such as Japan, South

Korea and France.[9][40]

Because of the increase in Broadband penetration and the quality of service steadily improving, many non-

resident Indians are now enjoying the ability to communicate with family in India from around the world.

However, many consumers complain that ISPs still fail to provide the advertised speeds - some even failing to

meet the 256 kbit/s standards.

[edit]High Speed Broadband (over 2 Mbit/s)

Airtel  has launched plans up to 16 Mbit/s on ADSL2+ enabled lines and is piloting new 30 Mbit/s and

50 Mbit/s plans in limited areas.[43]

Beam Telecom  offers plans up to 6 Mbit/s for home users and has 20 Mbit/s plans available for power

users in only Hyderabad city.[44]

BSNL  offers ADSL up to 8 Mbit/s in many cities.It also started offering FTTH speeds ranging from

256Kbps to 100Mbps.[45]

Hayai Broadband  will offer FTTH services up to 100 Mbit/s, with an Internal network speed of 1 Gbit/s.

Honesty Net Solutions  offers Broadband over Cable at up to 4 Mbit/s.

MTNL  offers VDSL at speeds up to 20 Mbit/s in selected areas, also provides bandwidth at astonishing

speed of 155 Mbit/s , thus making it the fastest ISP in India/[46]

[47]

Reliance Communications  offers 10 Mbit/s and 20 Mbit/s broadband internet services in selected

areas.[48]

Tata Indicom  offers 10 Mbit/s, 20 Mbit/s and 100 Mbit/s options under the "Lightning Plus" tariffs

structure/[49]

Tikona Digital Networks  Wireless Broadband service which is powered by OFDM and MIMO 4th

Generation(4G) technologies with 2 Mbit/s [50]

O-Zone Networks Private Limited  Pan-India public Wi-Fi hotspot provider giving wireless broadband up

to 2 Mb/s.[51]

See also: List of ISPs in India

The main problem consumers face with High Speed Broadband in India is that they are frequently expensive

and/or they have limited amounts of data transfer included in the plan.

[edit]Statistics

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) & Hosts: 86,571 (2004) Source: CIA World FactBook

Country code (Top-level domain): IN

[edit]Broadcasting

Main article: Media of India

AIR FM Tower at Kadri,Mangalore.

Radio broadcast stations: AM 153, FM 91, shortwave 68 (1998)

Radios: 116 million (1997)

Television terrestrial broadcast stations: 562 (of which 82 stations have 1 kW or greater power and 480

stations have less than 1 kW of power) (1997)

Televisions: 110 million (2006)

In India, only the government owned Doordarshan (Door = Distant = Tele, Darshan = Vision) is allowed to

broadcast terrestrial television signals. It initially had one major National channel (DD National) and a Metro

channel in some of the larger cities (also known as DD Metro).

Satellite/Cable television took off during the first Gulf War with CNN. There are no regulations against

ownership of satellite dish antennas, or operation of cable television systems, which led to an explosion of

viewership and channels, led by the Star TV group and Zee TV. Initially restricted to music and entertainment

channels, viewership grew, giving rise to several channels in regional languages and many in the national

language, Hindi. The main news channels available were CNN and BBC World. In the late 1990s, many current

affairs and news channels sprouted, becoming immensely popular because of the alternative viewpoint they

offered compared to Doordarshan. Some of the notable ones are Aaj Tak (meansTill Today, run by the India

Today group) and STAR News, CNN-IBN, Times Now, initially run by the NDTV group and their lead

anchor,Prannoy Roy (NDTV now has its own channels, NDTV 24x7, NDTV Profit, NDTV India and NDTV

Imagine).New Delhi TeleVision.

Here is a reasonably comprehensive List of Indian television stations.

[edit]Next generation networks

In the Next Generation Networks, multiple access networks can connect customers to a core network based

on IP technology. These access networks include fibre optics or coaxial cable networks connected to fixed

locations or customers connected through wi-fi as well as to 3G networks connected to mobile users. As a

result, in the future, it would be impossible to identify whether the next generation network is a fixed or mobile

network and the wireless access broadband would be used both for fixed and mobile services. It would then be

futile to differentiate between fixed and mobile networks – both fixed and mobile users will access services

through a single core network.

Indian telecom networks are not so intensive as developed country’s telecom networks and India's teledensity

is low only in rural areas. 670,000 route kilometers (419,000 miles) of optical fibres has been laid in India by the

major operators, even in remote areas and the process continues. BSNL alone, has laid optical fibre to

30,000 Telephone Exchanges out of their 36 Exchanges. Keeping in mind the viability of providing services in

rural areas, an attractive solution appears to be one which offers multiple service facility at low costs. A rural

network based on the extensive optical fibre network, using Internet Protocol and offering a variety of services

and the availability of open platforms for service development, viz. the Next Generation Network, appears to be

an attractive proposition. Fibre network can be easily converted to Next Generation network and then used for

delivering multiple services at cheap cost.

[edit]Mobile Number Portability (MNP)

TRAI announced the rules and regulations to be followed for the Mobile Number Portability in their draft release

on 23 September 2009. Mobile Number Portability (MNP) allows users to retain their numbers, while shifting to

a different service provider provided they follow the guidelines set by TRAI. Once a customer changes his/her

service provider & retaining the same mobile number they are expected to hold theile number with a given

provider for at least 90 days, before they decide to move to another service provider. This restriction is set in

place to keep a check on exploitation of MNP services provided by the service providers.[52]

As per news reports, Government of India decided to implement MNP from December 31, 2009 in Metros &

category ‘A’ service areas and by March 20, 2010 in rest of the country.

It has been postponed to March 31, 2010 in Metros & category 'A' service areas. However, time and time

again, lobbying by the state-run firms, BSNL and MTNL has resulted in innumerable delays in the

implementation of Mobile Number portability. The latest reports suggest BSNL and MTNL are finally ready to

implement the Mobile Number Portability by October 31, 2010.[53]

A press release by the Department of Telecommunications on 30 June 2010 said "Keeping the complexity and

enormity of the testing involved before MNP is implemented and keeping in view the present status of

implementation by various operators, it has now been decided to extend the time line for implementation of

MNP to 31st October 2010."[54]

The latest official report is that Mobile Number Portability will be phased in slowly, starting with Haryana which

will have MNP on or soon after November 1 2010.[55]

A news report on 25 November 2010 said Mobile Number Portability (MNP) was finally launched in Haryana.

The MNP service inaugurate by the Union Minister of Communications & IT Mr. Kapil Sibal by making the

inaugural call to Shri Bhupindrer Singh Hooda, the Chief Minister of Haryana from a ported mobile number in

function held at Rohtak city.[56]. Another news report said it will be implemented across India on January 20,

2011. Even as DoT has recommended a porting fee of Rs. 19, some operators such as Idea Cellular may

consider waiving off the porting charges.[57]

[edit]International

Nine satellite earth stations - 8 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region).

Nine gateway exchanges operating from Mumbai, New

Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Jalandhar, Kanpur, Gandhinagar, Hyderabad andErnakulam.

[edit]Submarine cables

LOCOM  linking Chennai to Penang, Malaysia

India-UAEcable  linking Mumbai to Al Fujayrah, UAE.

SEA-ME-WE 2  (South East Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 2)

SEA-ME-WE 3  (South East Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 3) - Landing sites

at Cochin and Mumbai. Capacity of 960 Gbit/s.

SEA-ME-WE 4  (South East Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 4) - Landing sites

at Mumbai and Chennai. Capacity of 1.28 Tbit/s.

Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe  (FLAG-FEA) with a landing site at Mumbai (2000). Initial design

capacity 10 Gbit/s, upgraded in 2002 to 80 Gbit/s, upgraded to over 1 Tbit/s (2005).

TIISCS  (Tata Indicom India-Singapore Cable System), also known as TIC (Tata Indicom Cable),

Chennai to Singapore. Capacity of 5.12 Tbit/s.

i2i  - Chennai to Singapore. Capacity of 8.4 Tbit/s.

SEACOM  From Mumbai to the Mediterranean, via South Africa. It currently joins with SEA-ME-WE

4 off the west coast of Spain to carry traffic onward to London (2009). Capacity of 1.28 Tbit/s.

I-ME-WE  (India-Middle East-Western Europe) with two landing sites at Mumbai (2009). Capacity of

3.84 Tbit/s.

EIG  (Europe-India Gateway), landing at Mumbai (due Q2 2010).

MENA  (Middle East North Africa).

TGN-Eurasia  (Announced) Landing at Mumbai (due 2010?), Capacity of 1.28 Tbit/s

TGN-Gulf  (Announced) Landing at Mumbai (due 2011?), Capacity Unknown.

[edit]Telecom Training in India

The incumbent telecom operators (BSNL & MTNL) have maintained several telecom training centres at

regional, circle and district level. BSNL has three national level institutions, namely Advanced Level Telecom

Training Centre (ALTTC) at Ghaziabad, UP; Bharat Ratna Bhim Rao Ambedkar Institute Of Telecom Training

at Jabalpur, MP; and National Academy of Telecom Finance and Management.

MTNL incorporated Centre for Excellence in Telecom Technology and Management (CETTM) in 2003-04. It is

the largest telecom training centre in India and one of the biggest in Asia with a capex plan of over  100 crore

(US$ 22.7 million). CETTM is situated at Hiranandani Gardens, Powai, Mumbai with built area of 486,921 sq ft

(45,236.4 m2). It provides training in telecom switching, transmission, wireless communication, telecom

operations and management to corporates and students besides its own internal employees.

Other than the government opearators some private players like Bharti (Bharti School of Telecom Management

part of IIT Delhi), Aegis School of Business and Telecommunication(Banglore and Mumbai) and Reliance have

started their own training centres.

In addition some independent centres like Telcoma Technologies providing Telecom Training have also

evolved in India.

[edit]See also

TRAI

Indian Telecommunication Service

List of Indian wireless communications service providers

Telecommunications Statistics in India

Mobile phone industry in India

Media of India

List of countries by number of mobile phones in use

List of countries by number of telephone lines in use

Telecom News India

[edit]References

1. ̂  "India is one of the world's fastest growing and biggest mobile phone markets" (stm). BBC News. 2010-04-

07. Retrieved 7 April 2010.

2. ̂  "Indian telecommunications industry is one of the fastest growing in the world" (doc). IBEF. Retrieved

February 2010.

3. ̂  "Telecom companies revive value of the Indian paisa" (doc). Economic Times. 2010-05-18. Retrieved 18

May 2010.

4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n

NTT Docomo, Inc.[1] (株式会社エヌ・ティ・ティ・ドコモ Kabushiki Gaisha Enu Ti Ti

Dokomo?, TYO: 9437, NYSE: DCM, LSE: NDCM) is the predominant mobile phone operator in Japan.

The name is officially an abbreviation of the phrase, "do communications over the mobile network", and

is also from a compound word dokomo, meaning "everywhere" in Japanese. Docomo provides phone,

video phone (FOMA and Some PHS), i-mode (internet), and mail (i-mode mail, Short Mail, and SMS)

services. The company has its headquarters in theSanno Park Tower, Nagatachō, Chiyoda, Tokyo.[2]

Docomo was spun off from Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) in August 1991 to take over the

mobile cellular operations. It provides 2G (mova) PDC cellular services on the 800 MHz band,

and 3G FOMA W-CDMA services on the 2 GHz (UMTS2100) and 800 MHz(UMTS800(Band VI)) and

1700 MHz(UMTS1700(Band IX)) bands. Its businesses also included PHS (Paldio), paging, and

satellite. Docomo ceased offering a PHS service on January 7, 2008.

Contents

[hide]

1 Customers

2 Research and

development

3 Earthquake warning

system

4 Mascot

5 Investments outside

Japan

6 See also

7 Notes

8 References

9 External links

[edit]Customers

NTT Docomo is a subsidiary of Japan's incumbent telephone operator NTT. The majority of NTT

Docomo's shares are owned by NTT (which is 33.71% government-owned). While some NTT shares are

publicly traded, control of the company by Japanese interests (Government and civilian) is guaranteed by

the number of shares available to buyers. It provides wireless voice and data communications to

subscribers in Japan. NTT Docomo is the creator of W-CDMA technology as well as mobile i-

mode service.

NTT Docomo has more than 53 million customers (as of March 2008), which is more than half of Japan's

cellular market. The company provides a wide variety of mobile multimedia services. These include i-

mode which provides e-mail and internet access to over 50 million subscribers, and FOMA, launched in

2001 as the world's first 3G mobile service based on W-CDMA.

In addition to wholly owned subsidiaries in Europe and North America, the company is expanding its

global reach through strategic alliances with mobile and multimedia service providers in Asia-Pacific and

Europe. NTT Docomo is listed on the Tokyo (9437), London (NDCM), and New York (DCM) stock

exchanges.

On April 19, 2008, it was announced that Ryuji Yamada, the current co-president of NTT Docomo, will be

promoted as the president of NTT Docomo in June 2008. Masao Nakamura will stay in NTT Docomo as a

director and also the senior adviser. Since October 2006, when the introduction to the service which

allows the user to carry their original phone number with a new provider was made, NTT Docomo has lost

many users to KDDI and SoftBank. This promotion was made in order to get more users for NTT

Docomo.[3]

VodafoneFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vodafone Group plc

Type Public limited company

(LSE: VOD, NASDAQ: VOD)

Industry Telecommunications

Predecessor 1983–1991 Racal Telecom

Founded 1984

Headquarters Newbury, United Kingdom

Area served Worldwide

Key people Sir John Bond (Chairman)

Vittorio Colao (CEO)

John Buchanan (Deputy Chairman)

Andy Halford (CFO)

Services Telecommunications

Revenue £44.47 billion (2010)[1]

Operating income £9.480 billion (2010)[1]

Profit £8.645 billion (2010)[1]

Total assets £156.98 billion (2010)[1]

Total equity £90.38 billion (2010)[1]

Employees 79,000 (March - 2009)[1]

Subsidiaries List[show]

Website Vodafone.com

Vodafone's original logo, used until the introduction of the speechmark logo in 1997

Vodafone Group plc (LSE: VOD, NASDAQ: VOD) is a global telecommunications company headquartered in Newbury, United

Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest

measured by subscribers (behind China Mobile), with around 332 million proportionate subscribers as at 30 September 2010.[2][3] It

operates networks in over 30 countries and has partner networks in over 40 additional countries.[4] It owns 45% of Verizon Wireless,

the largest mobile telecommunications company in the United States measured by subscribers.[5][6]

The name Vodafone comes from voice data fone, chosen by the company to "reflect the provision of voice and data services over

mobile phones".[7][non-primary source needed]

Its primary listing is on the London Stock Exchange and it is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It had a market capitalisation of

approximately £92 billion as of November 2010, making it the third largest company on the London Stock Exchange.[8] It has a

secondary listing onNASDAQ.

Contents

[hide]

1 Vodafone Group

2 Europe

3 Asia-Pacific

4 Africa and the Middle East

5 The Americas

6 Mobile Money Transfer

Service

7 Chief Executives

8 Financial results

9 Criticisms

10 Products

11 Corporate sponsorship

12 See also

13 References

14 External links

[edit]Vodafone Group

Newbury: New Vodafone Headquarters. This HQ is situated in the north western section of the grid square and the picture

was taken from the west side of the building. Most of this square is residential with some farmland and some commercial

activity.

In 1980, Sir Ernest Harrison OBE, chairman of Racal Electronics plc's, the UK's largest maker of military radio technology, agreed a

deal withLord Weinstock of General Electric Company plcto allow Racal to access some of GEC's tactical battlefield radio

technology. Briefing the head of Racal's military radio division Gerry Whent to drive the company into commercial mobile radio,

Whent visited GE's factory in Virginia, USA in 1980.[9]

In 1982, Racal's newly formed subsidiary Racal Strategic Radio Ltd under CEO Whent, won one of two UK cellular telephone

network licences; the other going to British Telecom [10] [11]  The network, known as Racal Vodafone was 80% owned by

Racal, Millicom with 15% and Hambros Technology Trust 5% respectively. Vodafone was launched on 1 January 1985.[12] Racal

Strategic Radio was renamed Racal Telecommunications Group Limited in 1985.[11] On 29 December 1986, Racal Electronics

bought out the minority shareholders of Vodafone for GB£110 million.[13]

Under stock market pressure to realise full value for shareholders (the mobile unit was being valued at the same amount as the

whole Racal group), in September 1988, the company was again renamed Racal Telecom, and on 26 October 1988, Racal

Electronics floated 20% of the company. The flotation valued Racal Telecom at GB£1.7 billion.[14] On 16 September 1991, Racal

Telecom was demerged from Racal Electronics as Vodafone Group.[15]

In July 1996, Vodafone acquired the two thirds of Talkland it did not already own for £30.6 million.[16] On 19 November 1996, in a

defensive move, Vodafone purchased Peoples Phone for £77 million, a 181 store chain whose customers were overwhelmingly

using Vodafone's network.[17] In a similar move the company acquired the 80% of Astec Communications that it did not own, a

service provider with 21 stores.[18]

In 1997, Vodafone introduced its Speechmark logo, as it is a quotation mark in a circle; the O's in the Vodafone logotype are

opening and closing quotation marks, suggesting conversation.

On 29 June 1999, Vodafone completed its purchase of AirTouch Communications, Inc. and changed its name to Vodafone

Airtouch plc. Trading of the new company commenced on 30 June 1999.[19] To approve the merger, Vodafone sold its 17.2% stake

in E-Plus Mobilfunk.[20]The acquisition gave Vodafone a 35% share of Mannesmann, owner of the largest German mobile network.

On 21 September 1999, Vodafone agreed to merge its U.S. wireless assets with those of Bell Atlantic Corp to form Verizon

Wireless.[21] The merger was completed on 4 April 2000.

In November 1999, Vodafone made an unsolicited bid for Mannesmann, which was rejected. Vodafone's interest in Mannesmann

had been increased by the latter purchase of Orange, the UK mobile operator.[22] Chris Gent would later say Mannesmann's move

into the UK broke a "gentleman's agreement" not to compete in each other's home territory.[23] The hostile takeover provoked strong

protest in Germany, and a "titanic struggle" which saw Mannesmann resist Vodafone's efforts. However, on 3 February 2000, the

Mannesmann board agreed to an increased offer of £112bn, then the largest corporate merger ever.[23] The EU approved the

merger in April 2000. The conglomerate was subsequently broken up and all manufacturing related operations sold off.

On 28 July 2000, the Company reverted to its former name, Vodafone Group plc. In April 2001, the first 3G voice call was made on

Vodafone United Kingdom's 3G network.

Vodafone in Iaşi, Romania

A map showing Vodafone Global Enterprise' footprint.       Vodafone Operating Countries       Vodafone's partners and affiliates

In 2001, the Company acquired Eircell, the largest wireless communications company in the Republic of Ireland, from eircom. Eircell

was subsequently rebranded as Vodafone Ireland. Vodafone then went on to acquire Japan's third-largest mobile operator J-Phone,

which had introduced camera phones first in Japan.

On 17 December 2001, Vodafone introduced the concept of "Partner Networks", by signingTDC Mobil of Denmark. The new

concept involved the introduction of Vodafone international services to the local market, without the need of investment by

Vodafone. The concept would be used to extend the Vodafone brand and services into markets where it does not have stakes in

local operators. Vodafone services would be marketed under the dual-brand scheme, where the Vodafone brand is added at the

end of the local brand. (i.e., TDC Mobil-Vodafone etc.)

[edit]Europe

Networks in Europe

Majority-owned Minority-owned No Ownership

Albania France Austria Belgium

Czech Republic Poland Bulgaria Channel Islands

Germany Croatia Cyprus

Greece Denmark Estonia

Hungary Finland Faroe Islands

Ireland Iceland Latvia

Italy Lithuania Luxembourg

Malta Rep. of Macedonia Norway

Netherlands Russia Serbia

Northern Cyprus Slovenia Sweden

Portugal Switzerland Ukraine

Romania

Spain

Turkey

UK

In February 2002, Finland was added into the mobile community, as Radiolinja is signed as a Partner Network. Radiolinja later

changed its named to Elisa. Later that year, the Company rebranded Japan's J-sky mobile internet service as Vodafone live!, and

on 3 December 2002, the Vodafone brand was introduced in the Estonian market with signing of a Partner Network Agreement with

Radiolinja (Eesti). Radiolinja (Eesti) later changed its name to Elisa.

On 7 January 2003, the Company signed a group-wide Partner agreement with mobilkom Austria. As a result, Austria, Croatia,

and Slovenia were added to the community. In April 2003, Og Vodafone was introduced in the Icelandic market, and in May

2003,Omnitel (Omnitel Pronto-Italia) was rebranded Vodafone Italy. On 21 July 2003, Lithuania was added to the community, with

the signing of a Partner Network agreement with Bitė.

In February 2004, Vodafone signed a Partner Network Agreement with Luxembourg's LuxGSM, and a Partner Network Agreement

with Cyta of Cyprus. Cyta agreed to rename its mobile phone operations to Cytamobile-Vodafone. In April 2004, the Company

purchased Singlepoint airtime provider from John Caudwell (Caudwell Group), and approx 1.5 million customers onto its base for

£405million, adding sites in Stoke on Trent (England), to existing sites in Newbury (HQ), Birmingham, Warrington and Banbury. In

November 2004, Vodafone introduced 3G services into Europe.

In June 2005, the Company increased its participation in Romania's Connex to 99%, and also bought the Czech mobile operator

Oskar. On 1 July 2005, Oskar of the Czech Republic was rebranded as Oskar-Vodafone. Later that year, on 17 October

2005, Vodafone Portugal launched a revised logo, using new text designed by Dalton Maag, and a 3D version of the Speechmark

logo, but still retaining a red background and white writing (or vice versa). Also, various operating companies started to drop the use

of the SIM card pattern in the company logo. (The rebranding of Oskar-Vodafone and Connex-Vodafone also does not use the SIM

card pattern.) A custom typeface by Dalton Maag (based on their font family InterFace) formed part of the new identity.

On 28 October 2005, Connex in Romania was rebranded as Connex-Vodafone, and on 31 October 2005, the Company reached an

agreement to sell Vodafone Sweden to Telenor for approximately €1 billion. After the sale, Vodafone Sweden became a Partner

Network. In December 2005, Vodafone won an auction to buy Turkey's second-largest mobile phone company, Telsim, for US$4.5

billion.[24] In December 2005,Vodafone Spain became the second member of the Group to adopt the revised logo: it was phased in

over the following six months in other countries.

In 2006, the Company rebranded its Stoke-on-Trent site as Stoke Premier Centre, a centre of expertise for the company dealing

with Customer Care for its higher value customers, technical support, sales and credit control. All cancellations and upgrades

started to be dealt with by this call centre. On 5 January 2006, Vodafone announced the completion of the sale of Vodafone

Sweden to Telenor. On February 2006, the Company closed its Birmingham Call Centre. On 1 February 2006, Oskar Vodafone

became Vodafone Czech Republic, adopting the revised logo, and on 22 February 2006, the Company announced that it was

extending its footprint to Bulgaria with the signing of Partner Network Agreement with Mobiltel, which is part of mobilkom

Austria group.

Vodafone HQ in Ireland at Central Park, Leopardstown Rd.

On 12 March 2006, former chief, Sir Christopher Gent, who was appointed the honorary post Chairman for Life in 2003, quit

following rumours of boardroom rifts.[citation needed] In April 2006, the Company announced that it had signed an extension to its Partner

Network Agreement with BITE Group, enabling its Latvian subsidiary "BITE Latvija" to become the latest member of Vodafone's

global partner community. Also in April 2006, Vodafone Sweden changed its name to Telenor Sverige AB, and Connex-Vodafone

became Vodafone Romania, also adopting the new logo. On 30 May 2006, Vodafone announced the then biggest loss in British

corporate history (£14.9 billion), and plans to cut 400 jobs; it reported one-off costs of £23.5 billion due to the revaluation of

itsMannesmann subsidiary. On 24 July 2006, the respected head of Vodafone Europe, Bill Morrow, quit unexpectedly,[25] and on 25

August 2006, the Company announced the sale of its 25% stake in Belgium's Proximus for €2 billion. After the deal, Proximus was

still part of the community as a Partner Network. On 5 October 2006, Vodafone announced the first single brand partnership withOg

Vodafone which would operate under the name Vodafone Iceland, and on 19 December 2006, the Company announced the sale of

its 25% stake in Switzerland's Swisscom for CHF4.25 billion (£1.8 billion)., After the deal, Swisscom would still be part of the

community as a Partner Network. Finally in December 2006, the Company completed the acquisition of Aspective, an enterprise

applications systems integrator in the UK, signalling Vodafone's intent to grow a significant presence and revenues in

the information and communication technologies (ICT) marketplace.

Early in January 2007, Telsim in Turkey adopted Vodafone dual branding as Telsim Vodafone, and on 1 April 2007, Telsim

Vodafone Turkey dropped its original brand and became Vodafone Turkey. In addition, Vodafone Turkey also gives service

in Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. On 1 May 2007, Vodafone added Jersey and Guernsey to the community, as Airtel was

signed as Partner Network in both crown dependencies. In June 2007, the Vodafone live! mobile internet portal in the UK was

relaunched. Front page was now charged for, and previously "bundled" data allowance was removed from existing contract terms.

[26] All users were given access to the "full" web rather than a 'Walled Garden', and Vodafone became the first mobile network to

focus an entire media campaign on its newly launched mobile internet portal in the UK.[27] On 1 August 2007, Vodafone

Portugal launched Vodafone Messenger, a service with Windows Live Messenger andYahoo! Messenger.

Vodafone Lion of Munich's Löwenparade

At the end of 2007, Vodafone Germany was ranked 6th in Europe by subscriber numbers, whilst its Italian operation was listed as

10th. Vodafone UK was ranked 13th, whilst Spain was listed in 16th place.[28]

On 17 April 2008, Vodafone extended its footprint to Serbia as Vip mobile was added to the community as a Partner Network, and

on 20 May 2008, the Company added VIP Operator as a Partner Network, thereby extending the global footprint to the Republic of

Macedonia. In May 2008, Kall of the Faroe Islands rebranded as Vodafone Faroe Islands.

On 30 October 2008, the company announced a strategic, non-equity partnership with Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) group of Russia.

The agreement adds Russia, Armenia, Turkmenistan,Ukraine, and Uzbekistan to the group footprint.[29]

On 20 March 2009, it was announced that the group's Luxembourg partner has been changed toTango: the agreement with

LuxGSM was not renewed in favour of Tango, the Luxembourg unit of another partner network, Belgacom of Belgium.[30]

On December 2009, Vodafone Spain created a fake entry on Wikipedia to promote a mobile phone plan called "Feliz Borabó" [31]

[edit]Asia-Pacific

Networks in Asia-Pacific

Majority-owned Minority-owned No Ownership

Australia China mainland Afghanistan Armenia

India Fiji Azerbaijan Hong Kong

New Zealand Japan Malaysia

Samoa Singapore

Sri Lanka Taiwan

Thailand Turkmenistan

Uzbekistan

In July 1993, BellSouth New Zealand's network went live, and October 1993 Vodafone Australia's network also went live. This was

followed in July 1994 by Vodafone Fiji's network going live.

The Vodafone building on Fanshawe Street, corner Halsey street, looking northeast, Auckland City, New Zealand.

In November 1998, Vodafone purchased BellSouth New Zealand, which later becameVodafone New Zealand. In 1999, J-Phone

launched the J-sky mobile internet service in response to DoCoMo's i-Mode service. In December, 2002 J-Phone's 3G network went

live.

On 1 October 2003, J-Phone became 'Vodafone', and J-Phone's mobile internet service J-Sky became Vodafone Live!. On 3

November 2003, Singapore became a part of the community as M1was signed as partner network.

In December 2004, Vodafone Australia agreed to deploy high-speed MPLS backbone network built by Lucent Worldwide

Services usingJuniper hardware.[32]

Then in April 2005, SmarTone changed the name of its brand to 'SmarTone-Vodafone', after both companies signed a Partner

Network Agreement. In August 2005, Vodafone launched 3G technology in New Zealand, and in October 2005, it began launching

3G technology inAustralia. On 28 October 2005, the Company announced the acquisition of a 10 per cent stake in India's Bharti

Televentures, which operates the largest mobile phone network in India under the brand name AirTel. On 22 December 2005, the

Company announced the completion of the acquisition of the 10% stake in Bharti Televentures of India.

In January 2006, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka were added to the Vodafone footprint as Vodafone Group signed a partner

network agreement with Telekom Malaysia. On 17 March 2006, Vodafone announced an agreement to sell all its interest

in Vodafone Japan toSoftBank for £8.9 billion, of which £6.8 billion will be received in cash on closing of deal. Vodafone Japan later

changed its name to SoftBank Mobile. On 9 October 2006, Vodafone New Zealand bought New Zealand's 3rd largest internet

service provider, iHug, and on 1 November 2006, Vodafone Australia signed the Australian Football League (AFL)'s biggest

individual club sponsorship deal with the Brisbane Lions for seasons 2007, 2008 and 2009.

On 6 February 2007, along with the partnership with Digicel Caribbean (see below), Samoa was added as a Partner Market. Then

on 11 February 2007, the Company agreed to acquire a controlling interest of 67% in Hutchison Essar Limited for US$11.1 billion.

At the same time, it agreed to sell back 5.6% of its AirTel stake back to the Mittals. Vodafone would retain a 4.4% stake in AirTel.

On 21 September 2007, Hutch was rebranded to Vodafone in India.

On 6 February 2007, Vodafone Group signed a three-year partnership agreement with Digicel Group. The agreement, which

includes Digicel's sister operation in Samoa, will result to the offering of new roaming capabilities. The two groups will also become

preferred roaming partners of each other. Along with Digicel's markets, the Vodafone brand is now present in 81 countries, regions,

and territories. What is interesting to note, is that as well as being partners, Digicel and Vodafone are also rival operators in Fiji,

where Digicel Fiji recently launched, and Vodafone owns a minority (49%) stake in Vodafone Fiji.

On 10 February 2008, Vodafone announced the launching of M-Paisa mobile money transfer service on Roshan's (Afghanistan's

largest GSM operator) network: Afghanistan was added to the Vodafone footprint.

On 5 September 2008, Vodafone purchased Australia's largest bricks and mortar mobile phone retailer Crazy John's adding 115

retail stores to its local operations.[33]

On 9 February 2009, Vodafone announced a merger with 3/Hutchison via a joint venture company VHA Pty Ltd, which would offer

products under the Vodafone brand. dtac in Thailand is signed as a partner network of the Group on 25 March 2009.

On 19 June 2009, Vodafone-Hutchison Australia (VHA) announced the end of its outsourcing of retail operations. VHA committed to

buying back and managing its entire retail operation, including 208 Vodafone-branded retail outlets Australia-wide. This project was

slated to be completed by 1 September 2009.

On 31 August 2009, Vodafone enabled an extended 900mhz 3G UMTS network which functions outside their 2100mhz 3G network,

boosting Vodafone's 3G population coverage from around 8% to around 94% on dual-band 900/2100mhz 3G UMTS devices.

Nar Mobile in Azerbaijan was signed as a Partner Network on 22 July 2009, while Chunghwa Telecom of Taiwan was signed on 12

November 2009.

[edit]Africa and the Middle East

Networks in the Middle East and Africa

Majority-owned Minority-owned No Ownership

DR Congo1 Egypt Kenya Kuwait

Ghana Lesotho1 Bahrain

Mozambique1 Qatar2 Libya

Tanzania1 South Africa1 UAE

1Majority stakes held through majority-owned Vodacom Group2Effective ownership is not majority, but full control exercised by the group.

Egypt

In November 1998, Vodafone Egypt network went live under the name ClickGSM.

On 8 November 2006, the Company announced a deal withTelecom Egypt, resulting in further co-operation in the Egyptian market,

and increasing its stake in Vodafone Egypt. After the deal, Vodafone Egypt was 55% owned by the group, while the remaining 45%

was owned by Telecom Egypt.

Kuwait

On 18 September 2002, Vodafone signed a Partner Network Agreement with MTC group of Kuwait. The agreement involved the

rebranding of MTC to MTC-Vodafone. On 29 December 2003, Vodafone signed another Partner Network Agreement with Kuwait's

MTC group. The second agreement involved co-operation in Bahrain and the branding of the network as MTC-Vodafone.

South Africa (Vodacom)

On 3 November 2004, the Company announced that its South African affiliate Vodacom had agreed to introduce Vodafone's

international services, such as Vodafone live! and partner agreements, to its local market.

In November 2005, Vodafone announced that it was in exclusive talks to buy a 15% stake of VenFin in Vodacom Group, reaching

agreement the following day. Vodafone and Telkom then had a 50% stake each in Vodacom. Vodafone now owns 65% of Vodacom

after purchasing a 15% stake from Telkom.[34]

On 9 October 2008, the company offered to acquire an additional 15 per cent stake in Vodacom group from Telkom. The finalised

details of the agreement were announced on 6 November 2008. The agreement called for Telkom to sell 15 per cent of its 50 per

cent stake inVodacom to the group, and demerge the other 35 per cent to its shareholder. Meanwhile, Vodafone has agreed to

make Vodacom its exclusive sub-Saharan Africa investment vehicle, as well as continuing to maintain the visibility of

the Vodacom brand. The transaction is closed in May/June 2009.

On 18 May 2009, Vodacom entered the JSE Limited stock exchange in South Africa after Vodafone increased its stake by 15% to

65% to take a majority holding, despite disputes by local trade unions.

Ghana

In December 2007, a Vodafone Group-led consortium was awarded the second mobile phone licence in Qatar, and on 3 July 2008,

Vodafone agreed to acquire a 70% stake in Ghana Telecom for $900 million. The acquisition was consummated on 17 August

2008. The same group-led consortium won the second fixed-line licence in Qatar on 15 September 2008.

On 15 April 2009, Ghana Telecom, along with its mobile subsidiary onetouch, was rebranded as Vodafone Ghana.

U.A.E.

On 28 January 2009, the group announced a partner network agreement with Du, the second-largest operator of the United Arab

Emirates. The agreement involved co-operation on international clients, handset procurement, mobile broadband etc.

Libya

On 24 February 2010, the group signed a partner network agreement with the second-largest operator in Libya, al Madar.

[edit]The Americas

Networks in the Americas

Minority-owned No Ownership

USA1 Anguilla2 Antigua & Barbuda2 Aruba2 Barbados2

Bermuda2 Bonaire2 Canada3 Cayman Islands2

Chile4 Curaçao2 Dominica2 French West Indies2

Grenada2 Guyana2 Haiti2 Honduras2

Jamaica2 Panama2 St. Kitts & Nevis2 St. Lucia2

St. Vincent & the Grenadines2 Trinidad & Tobago2 Turk & Caicos2

1 – Verizon Wireless

2 – Digicel (Partner)

3 – America Movil (Partner in some countries)

4 – Entel PCS (Partner)

For more information, seeVerizon Wireless.

In the United States, Vodafone owns 45% ofVerizon Wireless, the country's largest mobile carrier after their merger with Alltel. The

percentage of the customer base, and revenues of Verizon Wireless that Vodafone consolidates is slightly lower, since some

Verizon Wireless subsidiaries have minority investors. (Hence the exact percentages that Vodafone and Verizon report vary from

period to period: in June 2006 Vodafone reported that Verizon Wireless owned 98.6% of its customers at that date.) Before this joint

venture was formed, Vodafone merged withAirTouch Communications of the U.S. in June 1999, and changed its name to Vodafone

Airtouch plc. In September 1999, Vodafone Airtouch announced a $70-billion joint venture with Bell Atlantic Corp. Verizon Wireless

was composed of Bell Atlantic's and Vodafone AirTouch's U.S. wireless assets, and began operations on 4 April 2000.

However, Verizon Communications - the company formed when Bell Atlantic and GTE merged on 30 June 2000 - owns a majority of

Verizon Wireless, and Vodafone's branding is not used, nor is the CDMA network compatible with GSM phones. This relationship

has been quite profitable for Vodafone, but there have historically been three problems with it. The first is the above-mentioned

incompatibility with the GSM 900/1800 MHz standard used by Vodafone's other networks, and the consequent difficulty of offering

roaming between Vodafone's U.S. and other networks. The other two stem from the fact that Vodafone does not have management

control over Verizon Wireless. Vodafone is thus unable to use the Vodafone brand for its U.S. operations, and (perhaps more

importantly) has no control of dividend policy at Verizon Wireless, and is therefore entirely at the mercy of Verizon management with

respect to cash flow from Verizon Wireless.

Perhaps as a consequence of these reasons, Vodafone made a bid for the entirety of AT&T Wireless when that company was for

sale in 2004. Had this bid been successful, Vodafone would presumably have sold its stake in Verizon Wireless, and then rebranded

the resultant business as Vodafone. However, Cingular Wireless, at the time a joint venture of SBC Communications and BellSouth

(both now part ofAT&T), ultimately outbid Vodafone and took control of AT&T Wireless (the combined wireless carrier is now AT&T

Mobility), and Vodafone's relationship with Verizon has continued.

Early in 2006, Verizon re-iterated their desire to buy out the remaining 45% of stock of Verizon Wireless from Vodafone Group.

Vodafone has also repeatedly indicated that it would be willing to buy out Verizon's stake.

Verizon has announced that its 4G data network will be LTE, which is considered part of the GSM path and not the CDMA2000 path

Verizon has been using; it has been suggested[who?] this is to appease Vodafone, which uses GSM on its own networks.

On 11 May 2008, Vodafone sealed a trade agreement with the Chilean Entel PCS Chile, in which Entel PCS has access to the

equipment and international services of Vodafone, and Vodafone will be one of the trademarks of Entel for the wireless business.

This step will give the Vodafone brand access to a market of over 15 million people, currently divided among three

companies: Telefonica Movistar, Claro, and Entel PCS.

[edit]Mobile Money Transfer Service

In March 2007, Safaricom, which is part owned by Vodafone and the leading mobile communication provider in Kenya, launched a

mobile payment solution developed by Vodafone.[35] M-PESA is aimed at mobile customers who do not have a bank account,

typically because they do not have access to a bank or their income is insufficient to justify a bank account. The M-PESA system

allows customers to deposit and withdraw cash via local agents, and transfer money to other mobile phone users via SMS.

By February 2008, the M-PESA money transfer system in Kenya had gained 1.6 million customers[36] and Vodafone announced that

it was to extend the service to Afghanistan.[37] The service here was launched on the Roshan network under the brand M-Paisa with

a different focus to the Kenyan service. M-Paisa was targeted as a vehicle for microfinance institutions' (MFI) loan disbursements

and repayments, alongside business to business applications such as salary disbursement.

The Afghanistan launch was followed in April 2008 by the announcement of further a further launch of M-PESA in Tanzania. As an

operator of money transmission services, Vodafone became subject to anti-money laundering regulation and in July 2008, it was

revealed that it had deployed a sanctions and PEP (Politically Exposed Persons) screening solution from Datanomic for weekly

screening of 2.5 million customers in Tanzania.[38] The screening service was to be rolled out to Afghanistan, Kenya, India

and Datanomic disclosed that the solution might be used to screen all of Vodafone's 300 million customers globally.

[edit]Chief Executives

Name Between

Sir Gerald Whent October 1988 – December 1996

Sir Christopher Gent January 1997 – July 2003

Arun Sarin July 2003 – July 2008

Vittorio Colao July 2008 – present

In a period just short of twenty years from its initial public offering, the Company had had just three Chief Executives. The fourth

CEO, Vittorio Colao, stepped up from Deputy Chief Executive in July 2008. Each of his predecessors made a personal contribution

to the development of the Company.

Sir Gerald Whent, at that time an Executive with Racal Electronics plc, was responsible for the bid for a UK Cellular Network licence.

The Mobile Telecoms division was de-merged, and was floated on the London Stock Exchange in October 1988 and Sir Gerald

became Chief Executive of Racal Telecom plc. Over the next few years the company grew to become the UK's Market Leader,

changing its name to Vodafone Group plc in the process.

Sir Christopher Gent took over as Chief Executive in January 1997, after Sir Gerald's retirement. Sir Christopher was responsible for

transforming Vodafone from a small UK operator into the global behemoth that it is today, through the merger with the American

AirTouch and the takeover of Germany's Mannesmann.

Arun Sarin was the driving force behind the Company's move into emerging markets such as Asia and Africa, through the

purchases such as that of Turkish operator Telsim, and a majority stake in Hutchison Essar in India. Faced with increased

competition, and penetration rates above 100% in the more mature European markets, he saw it necessary to diversify from being a

mobile-only business into a company which provided all telecommunications services. This has seen Vodafone launch DSL and

other fixed-line services in markets such as Germany and the UK.

[edit]Financial results

Vodafone reports its results in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

Vodafone has some large minority stakes, which are not included in its consolidated turnover. In order to provide additional

information on the overall scale and growth trends of its business, it publishes "proportionate turnover" figures, and these are

included in the tables below. For example, if a business in which it owns a 45% stake has turnover of £10 billion, that equals £4.5

billion of proportionate turnover for Vodafone. Proportionate turnover is not an official accounting measure, and Vodafone's

proportionate turnover should be compared with other companies' statutory turnover.

Vodafone also produces proportionate customer number figures on a similar basis, e.g. if an

operator in which it has a 30% stake has 10 million customers that equals 3 million proportionate

Vodafone customers. This is a common practice in the mobile telecommunications industry.

Year ended 31 March

Turnover £m

Profit before tax £m

Profit for the year £m

Basic eps (pence)Proportionate customers

(m)

2009 41,017 4,189 3,080 5.81 302.6

2008 35,478 9,001 6,756 12.56 260

2007 31,104 (2,383) (5,297) (8.94) 206.4

2006* 29,350 (14,835) (21,821) (35.01) 170.6

2005 34,073 7,951 6,518 9.68 154.8

2004 36,492 9,013 6,112 8.70 133.4

*Losses for year to 31 March 2006 reflect write downs of assets, principally in relation to the Mannesmann acquisition. Proportionate turnover

includes £7,100 million from discontinued operations.

The group's recent first quarter trading update (24 July 2009) saw management reiterating its profit guidance for the full year. Whilst

revenues across Europe had been relatively weak, mirroring general economic conditions, there had been a positive showing from

South Africa, with the company's Indian purchase of Hutchison Essar continuing to generate returns. Meanwhile, its joint venture

with Verizon in the US had strengthened further, with Vodafone's overall customer base now standing at 315 million - 8 million

having been added during the first quarter. In addition, management noted that its cost reduction programme, targeted to save £1bn

in operating costs by the end of the 2011 financial year, would reach 65pc of its target by the end of the current financial year. [39] The

Group admitted in August 2010 that £1.25 billion in tax that should have been paid in Britain was actually paid in Luxembourg and

elsewhere.[40]

[edit]Criticisms

In September 2010, an investigation by Private Eye magazine revealed certain details of Vodafone's tax avoidance activities. It was

reported that Vodafone routed the acquisition of Mannesmann through a Luxembourg subsiduary, set up to avoid paying tax on the

deal, and continued to place its profits in Luxembourg. Following a long legal struggle with HMRC (during which a senior HMRC

official, John Connors, switched sides to become head of tax at Vodafone), it was eventually agreed that Vodafone would pay

£1.25bn related to the acquisition. Based on Vodafone's accounts, experts have estimated the potential tax bill written off as a result

of the negotiations was over £6bn.[41]

The news of this legal tax avoidance sparked angry protests in October and November 2010 outside Vodafone shops across the

UK, which caused the closure of over a dozen stores, including the flagship Oxford St. branch.[41]

[edit]Products

Motorola "T2288" (Talkabout) mobile phone, branded "Vodafone"

Products promoted by the Group include Vodafone live!, Vodafone Mobile Connect USB Modem,Vodafone Connect to Friends,

Vodafone Passport, Vodafone Freedom Packs, Vodafone at Home, Vodafone 710 and Amobee Media Systems. Between June and

August 2009, Vodafone suspended roaming charges within 35 different countries, allowing their customers to take their standard UK

price plan abroad.

In October 2009, it launched Vodafone 360 [1], a new internet service for the mobile, PC and Mac. On February 15, 2010 Vodafone

launched world's cheapest mobile phone known asVodafone 150, will sell for below $15 (£10) and is aimed at the developing world.

It will initially be launched in India, Turkey and eight African countries including Lesotho, Kenya and Ghana.[42]

[edit]Corporate sponsorship

This section is written like an advertisement. Please helprewrite this section from a neutral point of view. (November 2010)

Vodafone sponsors the following teams and events:

Spring Fest , Annual Socio-Cultural Festival of IIT Kharagpur, as a Title Sponsor 2008

Techniche 09 , Annual Techno-Management Festival of IIT Guwahati, INDIA as the Title Sponsor

Kshitij , Annual Techno-management festival of IIT Kharagpur, Strategic Partner 2008

Albania national football team , 2008 sponsor

Australian cricket team , official sponsor of the Australian test team and home test series from the 2010-11 Ashes, taking

over from 3 mobile following the two parenting companies merger.

Indian Premier League  (Cricket), Associate sponsor

A parade during 2005 showing Vodafone as team sponsor of England Cricket Team.

Bucharest Ring  – Vodafone Bucharest Challenge 07, primary sponsor

Clare  Gaelic Athletic Association

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters  (DTM - German Touring Car Masters) series (2002–2007) (formerly D2).

Vodafone Oaks  and Vodafone Derby horse races

Gaelic Athletic Association  - Vodafone is one of the main sponsors of Ireland's GAA

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship for the 2009 Summer.

Dublin GAA  - Gaelic Football team, beginning in 2010 until 2016.

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes  Formula One team, title sponsor (since 2007)

New Zealand Warriors  – An NRL Rugby League team

UEFA Champions League  from the 2006/7 season

A Vodafone-sponsoredMcLaren-Mercedes driven by Lewis Hamilton.

Romania National Football Team , major sponsor from 2006

Vodafone Arena (Rosenholm) multisport arena in Karlskrona, Sweden (since 2005)

Wellington Lions  – New Zealand rugby union team

West Coast Eagles , Australian rules football team, elite sponsor since March 2006

Triple Eight Race Engineering , V8 Supercars team, primary sponsor (since 2007)

Olympiakos , Greek football team

Newbury R.F.C. , Newbury Rugby Club

Newbury Comedy Festival

Newbury Buses

Home-Start International  worldwide family support charity

Al Ahly , Egyptian Club football team

UCD Ents , the Entertainments Division of UCD Students' Union – primary sponsor (since 2007)

Penske Racing  - Primary sponsorship of the #12 NASCAR Nationwide Series, Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series,

and Indy Racing League IndyCar Series cars entries. A Associate sponsorship of the #3 and #6 Dallara-Honda IndyCar Series.

All are through the Cellco Partners venture with Verizon. This sponsorship was moved from the NASCAR Sprint Cup

Series because their purchase of Alltel broke NASCAR's grandfather clause prohibiting wireless telephone companies from

advertising in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and was split among all other racing efforts.

Previous sponsorships by Vodafone include those of S.L. Benfica, Manchester United, Ferrari and the Benetton (now known

as Renault F1) Formula One constructors, the England cricket team, AFL sides Port Adelaide, the Brisbane Lions, North

Melbourne and St Kilda, the Egypt national football team under the name of ClickGSM, and the Australia national rugby union team.

Essar GroupFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Essar Group

Type Public

(BSE: 500630)

(BSE: 500134)

Industry Conglomerate

Founded 1969

Founder(s) Shri.Shashi Ruia

Shri.Ravi Ruia

Headquarters Essar House, 11 Keshavrao Khadye Marg,

Mahalaxmi, Mumbai,India

Area served Worldwide

Key people Shashi Ruia

(Chairman)

Ravi Ruia

(Vice-Chairman)

Prashant Ruia

Director

Anshuman Ruia

Director

Smiti Kanodia

Director

Rewant Ruia

Director

Products Steel

Oil & Gas

Power

Mobile networks

Construction

Shipping

BPO

Revenue US$ 15 billion (2009)

Employees 60,000 (2009)

Subsidiaries Essar Steel,Essar Steel Algoma,Essar Oil,Essar

Shipping,Essar Hypermart,The MobileStore

Website Essar.com

The Essar Group (BSE: 500630, BSE: 500134) is a multinational conglomeratecorporation in the sectors of

Steel, Energy, Power, Communications, Shipping Ports & Logistics as well as Construction headquartered

at Mumbai, India. The Group's annual revenues were over USD 15 billion in FY08-09.

Essar began as a construction company in 1969 and diversified into manufacturing, services and retail. Essar

is managed by Shri.Shashi Ruia, Chairman – Essar Group and Shri.Ravi Ruia, Vice Chairman Essar Group.[1]

Contents

[hide]

1 Steel

2 Global footprint

3 Indian operations

4 Products and services

5 Energy

6 Exploration and

production

7 Power

8 Existing and upcoming

plants

9 Communications

10 Vodafone-Essar

11 Shipping Ports &

Logistics

12 Sea transportation

13 Ports and terminals

14 Logistics

15 References

16 External links

[edit]Steel

Essar Steel is a global steel company with strong presence in intensive steel consuming markets in Asia and

North America. It is India's largest exporter of flat steel with 14 MTPA (million tons per annum) of capacity.[citation

needed] Essar Steel is fully integrated from mining to retail and has strong downstream capability with a global

retail capacity of over 3 MTPA.

[edit]Global footprint

In 2007, Essar Steel acquired Algoma Steel in Canada, which has a current capacity of 4 MTPA, and

Minnesota Steel, which has iron ore reserves of over 1.4 billion tons. The company is building a 6 MTPA pellet

plant, a concentration plant and a direct reduced iron plant in Minnesota. In Indonesia, it operates a 400,000

TPA cold rolling complex with a galvanizing line of 150,000 TPA, making it the largest private steel company in

that country.[citation needed]

As of May, 2010, Essar GLobal Limited the holding company of the Ruia brother raised up to £1.3bn by

floatation of Essar Energy Plc on the London Stock Exchange. Essar Energy Plc is a FTSE 50 company. Essar

had hired banks JPMorgan Cazenove and Deutsche Bank to organise the share listing. Sanjay Mehta a senior

board member of Essar Global Limited was identified in the Economic Times of India* as the person who led

the transaction. 7 March 2010, Essar announced that it had signed a deal to buy US coal producer Trinity Coal

Partners from US private equity group Denham Capital for $600m.[2][3]

[edit]Indian operations

Essar Steel is the largest steel producer in western India,[citation needed] with a capacity of 10 MTPA at Hazira,

Gujarat. The Essar Steel complex at Hazira in Gujarat,[citation needed] India has a complete infrastructure setup,

including a captive port, lime plant and oxygen plant.[citation needed] The company is building a 1.5 MTPA plate mill

and a 0.6 MTPA pipe mill in Hazira.[citation needed]

The Indian operations also include an 8 MTPA beneficiation plant at Bailadila, Chhattisgarh,[citation needed] an 8

MTPA pellet complex at Visakhapatnam,[citation needed] a 5.5 MTPA hot briquetted iron plant in Hazira[citation needed] and

a 1.4 MTPA cold rolling complex.[citation needed] Additionally, Essar is setting up an 12 MTPA pellet plant in Paradip,

Orissa.[citation needed]

[edit]Products and services

Essar Steel produces customized products catering to a variety of product segments and is India's largest

exporter of flat products to the US and European markets,[citation needed] and to those of South East Asia and the

Middle East.[citation needed]

[edit]Energy

Essar Oil is a fully integrated oil & gas company of international scale with strong presence across the

hydrocarbon value chain from exploration & production to oil retail.[citation needed] It has a portfolio of onshore and

offshore oil & gas blocks worldwide, with about 70,000 km2 available for exploration.[citation needed]

[edit]Exploration and production

The Exploration and Production business of the company has participating interests in several hydrocarbon

blocks for exploration and production of oil & gas. This includes the Ratna and R-Series fields and one shallow

water offshore exploration block, both in proximity to the Mumbai High field in the Mumbai offshore basin. The

business also has interests in an exploration block in Mehsana, Gujarat, which in currently under commercial

production. It additionally owns a Coal Bed Methane (CBM) block at Durgapur in West Bengal, and two more

exploration blocks in Assam, India. The overseas exploration assets include two onshore oil & gas blocks in

Madagascar-Africa, one onshore block in Indonesia, two offshore blocks in Australia and one offshore block

each in Vietnam and Nigeria.[citation needed]

Essar also owns a 50 percent stake in an 88,000-bpd refinery operated by Kenya Petroleum Refineries Ltd in

Mombasa, Kenya.[citation needed]

[edit]Power

Essar Energy, approximately 76% owned by Essar Group, is today India's second largest power generation

company in the private sector.[citation needed] Its current generation capacity of 1,200 MW is being expanded to

6,000 MW.[citation needed] With a portfolio of gas, coal and liquid fuel based power plants, Essar Energy is among

the lowest cost power producers. It has also entered the transmission and distribution sectors in India where it

has quickly built a strong presence.[citation needed]It is market leader in western India. Essar Energy holds a

controlling stake in Essar Oil.

[edit]Existing and upcoming plants

Essar Power operates five power plants with a combined capacity of 1,200 MW in three locations across India.

Including two gas-based plants and one liquid fuel based plant in Hazira, a co-generation plant in Vadinar and

a coal-based plant in Visakhapatnam.[4]

[edit]Communications

Essar Communications is in the communications sector with presence in telecom services, telecom retail,

telecom tower infrastructure and business process outsourcing. More Info

[edit]Vodafone-Essar

Vodafone-Essar is a joint venture of Essar Communication Holdings Ltd and the UK-based Vodafone Group. It

is one of India's largest cellular service companies, with a subscriber base of over 90 million. Essar is also

venturing into emerging markets in Africa and South Asia. In Kenya, Essar Communications has launched a

new cellular services brand called “yu”, becoming the country’s fourth telecom operator.[citation needed]

[edit]Shipping Ports & Logistics

Essar Shipping was started in 1945.Ports & Logistics is a comprehensive sea logistics company with presence

in sea transportation, ports & terminals, logistics and oilfields services. It owns a shipping fleet of 25 vessels,

and has placed orders for 12 new ships.[citation needed] It is one of India's largest operators of ports and are building

a cargo handling capacity of over 150 MTPA[citation needed].

[edit]Sea transportation

The Sea Transportation business provides transportation management services for crude oil and petroleum

products, and dry bulk cargo to the global energy, steel and power industries. It has a diversified fleet of 25

vessels, including Very Large Crude Carriers, product tankers and cape-sizes. It provides crude oil and

petroleum products transportation, transportation management services and integrated dry bulk transportation

services.[citation needed]

[edit]Ports and terminals

The Ports & Terminals business is among India's largest owners and operators of ports and terminal facilities.

The operations include an oil terminal in Vadinar and upcoming bulk terminals in Hazira and Salaya, all in the

state of Gujarat. Vadinar, which is an all-weather, deep-draft port, serves major oil refineries and independent

cargo traders in the region. The terminal has crude receiving capacity of 32 MTPA (being expanded to 50

MTPA) and sea-based product dispatch capacity of 14 MTPA. The port at Hazira has a capacity to handle 8

MTPA of bulk cargo. This will be enhanced to 30 MTPA through building a shipping channel that can berth

larger vessels. The enhanced capacity will not only serve the expansion in the Hazira steel plant, but also cater

to the needs of the upcoming Essar SEZ units. The business is also building a port, of about 20 MTPA

capacity, at Salaya comprising a bulk and liquid terminal with container handling facilities.[citation needed]

[edit]Logistics

The Logistics business provides end-to-end logistics services from ships to ports, lighterage services, intra-

plant logistics and dispatch of finished products. It owns trans-shipment assets to provide lighterage support

services, and onshore & offshore logistics services. It also operates a fleet of 4,200 trucks to provide inland

transportation of steel and petroleum products.[citation needed]