Tech PIVI

While 3G gradually expands its coverage in India, the latest fourth-generation mobile services (4G) has seen a rapid growth since its launch in April this year. Bharti Airtel has so far added 3,180 TD-LTE subscribers through its 4G network in Kolkata and Bangalore, while state-run BSNL has provided 50,077 connections through 4G/WiMAX. The revelation was made by communications and information technology Milind Deora. Bharti Airtel launched 4G (TD-LTE) services in Kolkata and Bangalore in May and April this year respectively. The operator has BWA licences in four circles Kolkata, Karnataka, Punjab and Maharashtra - and 3G licenses in 13 circles in India. The telco has also purchased Qualcomm's BWA licence – move that is likely to help Airtel consolidate its position in 4G segment even before other operators launch their services. The Qualcomm deal will help Airtel expand its coverage of 4G and 3G along with own networks to 18 circles. It's notable that...

Idea Cellular has launched a new 'cloud-based' 3G dongle in India. According to Idea's official statement, the new 3G dongle offers Internet access, storage up to 2GB on the cloud, and Cloud Messenger - a cloud-based messenger service allowing free and unlimited communication between cloud users. Idea says its new cloud dongle enables users to share pictures, music, videos and documents through the ‘Cloud Share’ option, syncing all the attached devices. Users of Idea dongle can also avail other cloud features such as data backup and easy recovery. The device is capable of download speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 5.76 Mbps. Idea is offering free storage of up to 2GB for a period of one year. Users can simply plug in the dongle to use it, the dongle will automatically install the Idea software. Idea's new cloud-based dongle is priced at Rs. 1,799. Courtesy: ThingDigit

Vodafone India has announced new 3G data plans for its subscribers. It is noteworthy, that other major telecom operators such as Reliance, Airtel, Aircel and Idea have already announced their revised tariffs and now Vodafone is following suit.  Vodafone's 3G plans start from Rs. 25 for 25MB data usage and go up to Rs. 1,599 for 12GB of data usage. For any usage beyond the stipulated data usage on each plan, the customers will be charged at the rate of 2p/10kb. The UK based telecom service provider also claims that its 'Pay As You Go' (PAYG) rate for prepaid customers is now the most competitive in the market. Now prepaid users will have to pay 2p/10kb, which is an 80 percent reduction from the existing rate. Additionally, Vodafone will now allow its customers to use data from their bundle package while on-net roaming across any location in India without any additional charge. Commenting on these plans, Sanjoy Mukerji, Chief Commercial Officer said, "U...