No SMOKING !

Anti smoker campaigners will be happy to see that now cigerette makers are coming up with packets with massive disturbing photo of throat cancer along with the specific warning : smoking causes throat cancer. 

I personally think with such photos, people will be little bit bothered to use such packets in public. 

Reliance Messed up with CDMA to 4G Migration (4G SIM is Active for Me)

On 6th May I visited local Reliance store and recharged my Reliance cdma no with 4G migration voucher.

Tata Docomo CDMA is Not Dead, Confirmed by CC

At least in Kolkata, CDMA services from Tata Docomo is not dead as confirmed by CCR (Customer Care Representative).

RCom Revised 4G FRC at Re 1, Pre-Migration Offers Withdrawn

Reliance Communications has revised their 4G offerings - all FRC has been changed and now it is priced at Re 1 for prepaid and data card users.

Check out the previous offer from RCom as 4G SIM Upgrade: LINK

Prepaid customers will not get 1GB EVDO data and 150 mins of local calling and unlimited R2R for 30 days as pre migration offer. However the base tariff will be 2p/sec for all local calls and other local/STD calls at 2.5p/sec - the thing is not clear that is it R2R local @ 2p/sec or R2others local, STD and R2R STD @2.5p/sec.

Telenor India Discards Payment Bank Plan, Acquires Prabhu Money in Malaysia

Oslo based telecom giant Telenor's 100% owned local Indian unit - Telenor India has planned to move away with their financial services. 

Last year in September Telenor Financial Services, IDFC Bank and Dilip Sanghvi of Sun Pharma were granted licence of 'Payment Bank' by RBI. Anyway all the three parties have mutually agreed not to persue the plan to start payment bank services. 

The reason of withdrawl of plans are yet to be known, however ET quotes an advisor of the JV that the lack of adequate physical presence will hamper the JV's bussiness. 

However in Malaysia, Telenor is acquiring Prabhu Money Transfer Sdn Bhd. 

Idea 3G Speedtest at Barasat (West Bengal) [May 2016]

Once again, I tested Idea 3G (the network was actually latched to Vodafone 3G) in Barasat, West Bengal.

Checked on 18.05.2016 - in between 3:30 am to 4 am (when the network has least traffic)

[Press Release] Ballr - Sports App Launched by Harabhajan Singh

•  Unique & disruptive, free to play; Ballr, the second screen of live sport addresses upwards of 400 million sports fans in Asia.

•  Addictively social gaming platform that offers fans a chance to win sporting experiences, phones, apparel, cars, sporting tickets & other premium prizes.

•  Launching in three Asian markets, Ballr open offices in Singapore, Sydney, Delhi & New York.

New Delhi, 19 MAY 2016: Today, Fantasy Sport Technologies held a landmark press conference at the Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi, hosted by much celebrated Indian cricket star Harbhajan Singh, to celebrate the launch of its unique and disruptive sporting application, Ballr.

Ballr, the entirely mobile, micro fantasy, fan engagement platform is the first of its kind to launch in Asia. Unlike traditional fantasy sports games, Ballr has introduced a new way to play - rapid fire micro gaming and has replaced monetary prizes with money can’t buy experiences and premium prizes.

Speaking on the occasion, Harbhajan Singh said, “I’ve been deeply associated with the leadership of Ballr in India and believe this will be a great platform for fans to connect with the game. It gives them the chance to play alongside, test their skill and get rewarded by brands. It is a much more interesting way to watch cricket and I am sure to play with it as well.”

Jio Can't Have a Cakewalk in the Business, Airtel Keeps Kryptonite Ready!

Jio is probably ironing out all the last moment wrinkles from its 4G & Digital services at this moment, but Jio will not have a cakewalk in Indian telecom once it's launched.

How is Bharti Airtel making its pitch stronger against formidable rivals?

No doubt about the fact that all the major telecom operators are now gearing up for the 4G war. When it comes to India’s top service provider Bharti Airtel, it has not left any stone unturned to brace itself up against its formidable rival Reliance Jio. Project Leap, and 4G launch in every other city are some of the examples, which indicate that it is in no mood to compromise with its numero uno position.

LYF Smartphones+ Ad Emails Getting into My Spam !!

Just checked my 'JUNK MAIL' and guess what found, LYF SMARTPHONE+ ad from  support[A]evouchercode dot com & support[A]kiddybazaar dot com - Definitely they are from spam senders, and clicking on them new pages opens biibo dot com, which is blocked by my Avast AV.

However check out the ad [pic]

[Press Release] Gemalto offers audio services over LTE with world’s first VoLTE Cat. 1 module

Santa Clara, California, May 09, 2016 – Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), the world leader in digital security, is revolutionizing Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity by bringing high-quality voice capabilities over LTE to industrial applications using single-mode LTE Cat.1. At its IoT World pre-event in Santa Clara, the company is demonstrating its world-first Cinterion® Voice over LTE (VoLTE) Category 1 (Cat.1) module enabling the combination of simultaneous voice and data capabilities using LTE. It is ideal for solutions migrating to LTE that want to keep the flexibility of cost-effective audio capabilities. This includes security and alarm systems, mHealth monitoring and smart home and building applications.

Being the most complete Machine Type Communication standard in service on the market today, this module joins Gemalto's growing family of LTE Cat. 1 modules offering the reliability, longevity and power efficiency of 4G. Delivering simplified end user control and voice capabilities, the solution benefits from greater cost efficiency and improved connection speeds compared with traditional VoIP services.

Yes You Can Use Jio 4G Now - Get Invitation and Buy LYF Smartphone

Reliance Jio is yet to be launched, and only Mukesh Ambani knows when. However Jio services are already in use by Jio and RIL employees and it has been expanded by invitation system to general population. A Jio user can send 10 invitations to other non-Jio users to jump into Jio 4G.

Well there is a catch, you need to buy a LYF smartphone to get this offer. Once you show referral code to Reliance Digital store you buy a LYF phone with a Jio SIM card.

Have a look into it:

In another note, check this picture too !!

Reliance CDMA to Reliance 4G - Answers to FAQ

Reliance Smart SIM Kit for 4G | LTE

So keeping a Reliance CDMA RUIM working turns out to be great, as I got offer from RCom to jump into their 4G services. Well I have got my Reliance Smart 4G SIM 1 days back.

Jionet Log-in Page Shows JioChat Offers

RCom Announces Migration Plans for CDMA-to-4G, Phase I Launch in 9 Circles Only

Anil Ambani headed Reliance Communications (RCOM) has announced its migration plans for the CDMA subscribers who will be migrated to RCOM's 4G/LTE network once it's commercially launched.

Details are available here: http://www.rcom.co.in/Rcom/personal/4G/4G_overview.html

Note that Reliance will use its CDMA spectrum (i.e. 850MHz band) for LTE-FDD roll out. That will be first LTE800 network in India.

In Phase I, RCOM will launch LTE800 in 9 circles. Including three metros (Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai) RCom will launch LTE800 in Gujarat, Andra & Telengana, Maharastra & Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh West and East.

Work in Progress : 5G May Go Commercial by 2020

Though India is yet to see 4G in full potential, developed nations are keeping their tastebud ready for next generation of mobile telephony. Verizon, United States' largest mobile operator already has kickstarted their 5G projects. and was able to hit 1Gbps+ speed in some 5G field trials.

Verizon has used infra from Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung, and deployed 5G at 15GHz, 28GHz, 39GHz and 64GHz band, though most trials ran on 28GHz. Due to Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s restricted rules, Verizon was able to conduct 5G for fixed wireless.

Jio Linked with LYF, Banners Seen on Regular Mobile Stores

Though RIL has launched LYF smartphones in December last year, these devices were exclusive to Reliance Digital stores. With TVC comes with IPL 2016, LYF smartphones are distributed to local non-branded retail stores.

The banner of LYF Smartphone+ comes with a Jio logo and reads as 'Jio Digital Life'. This could be the first advertisement of Jio coming offline.

These banners are seen across many stores of Kolkata and West Bengal.