Airtel services suffered a brief outage on the evening of Tuesday in various parts of India. Many Airtel users took to social media to complain about the interruption of service and highlighted the issues they were facing. According to a downtime tracking website, the outage was first reported after 7:00pm on May 13, and it continued till 11:35pm.
Vodafone Idea (Vi) on Tuesday announced a new recharge plan for its prepaid subscribers in Kolkata and select other circles. Dubbed ‘Nonstop Hero’, it offers truly unlimited data, unlimited voice calls, and other benefits — all bundled in a single package. The telecom operator has rolled out several variations of the Nonstop Hero prepaid recharge plan with varied benefits and validity, the latter ranging from 28 days to 84 days.
Vodafone Idea (Vi) has introduced a new add-on feature to its Family Postpaid plans on Thursday. With this update, users can add up to eight secondary members to their existing family plan at Rs. 299 per member. This enhancement aims to provide a convenient way for customers to add family members to their existing Vi Family plan.
Vodafone Idea (Vi) has updated three International Roaming (IR) packages for postpaid users in India. The plans have been "revised with the onset of the summer holiday season, when outbound travel from India typically sees a sharp rise," the company claimed. The plans now come with more data, unlimited incoming calls, and travel security benefits.
Bharti Airtel on Tuesday announced a partnership with Google to offer a complimentary subscription to the Google One plan to its Wi-Fi and postpaid mobile customers. It enables them to gain access to the benefit through their existing plan at no extra cost, for a period of six months. It offers 100GB of storage across Google apps like Drive, Gmail, and Photos. Post completion of the complimentary period, they can avail of the subscription by paying a fixed monthly price.
Bharti Airtel on Thursday introduced a new fraud detection solution which aims to safeguard consumers against rising risk of online fraud. It is said to work across OTT apps and communication platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook, shielding them any potential threats. When a customer tries to access a website that has been flagged as malicious by Airtel’s security system, the page loading process is blocked and they are redirected to a page which details the potential threat.
Airtel Black has made changes to one of its existing plans for broadband, landline, and DTH customers in India. Priced at Rs. 399, the bundled plan now includes Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) services alongside other existing benefits such as broadband services and direct-to-home (DTH) benefits. With the inclusion of IPTV, Airtel Black’s most affordable plan provides customers with an extensive library of on-demand films and shows from up to 29 OTT streaming apps.
TRAI has recommended allotting satellite spectrum for commercial communication services for five years. The recommendations come as Elon Musk is working towards launching Starlink in India.
Vodafone Idea (Vi) has expanded the availability of its 5G services to one more city in India. Following its introduction in Chandigarh and Patna last month, consumers in Delhi can now avail of Vi’s 5G services. This is said to be part of the initial 5G rollout phase and may only be available to select users as of now. Notably, the telecom operator offers high-speed 5G internet with several prepaid and postpaid plans, with some of them even bundling unlimited data.
Airtel has introduced two new international roaming plans for users in India that offer voice calls and data in 189 countries. They are available with validity options of 10 and 30 days. Overseas travellers on Airtel postpaid connections can enjoy in-flight benefits with one of the newly released plans as well. Both new offerings are said to extend support for unlimited data.
Reliance Jio is said to have halted its plans of rolling out express home delivery of SIM cards in India. As per a report, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) intervened before the telecom operator’s initiative was publicly announced and objected to it, citing national security concerns. It has reportedly directed Jio, along with other service providers in the country, to make an Aadhaar-based self-KYC mandatory before SIM cards are delivered to customers.
Vodafone Idea (Vi) has launched new International Roaming (IR) packages for the Gulf region. The new roaming packs are supported in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The introduction of these new plans is timely as they come right before the beginning of the Hajj pilgrimage this year.
Samsung has asked the Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal in Mumbai to quash a $520 million (roughly Rs. 4,381 crore) tax demand for allegedly misclassifying imports of networking gear. The South Korean giant has said that Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance also imported the same component in a similar manner for years.
Vodafone Idea (Vi) on Monday expanded the availability of its 5G services to two more cities in India. Previously limited to the Mumbai circle where a majority of users are said to be enjoying high-speed internet with select prepaid and postpaid plans, the telecom operator has introduced its 5G network in Chandigarh and Patna in partnership with Samsung. It is leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) for network optimisation. Vi says it plans to expand the 5G network to more major cities next month.
Bharti Airtel has upgraded its international roaming (IR) portfolio by bringing a fresh recharge plan. The new roaming plan costs Rs. 4,000 and it covers a range of 189 countries. The latest plan, which is designed to aid people who travel to multiple destinations frequently, can be used both in India and overseas. It offers benefits like unlimited data, 100 voice minutes and in-flight connectivity.
Consumers in India may soon have to shell out more to continue enjoying telecommunications services. As per a report, telecom operators such as Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea (Vi) could again commence a periodic tariff hike by the end of the year in line with their recent tariff repair efforts to enhance the revenue visibility. The market is predicted to become more consolidated, with both Airtel and Jio potentially strengthening their positions and occupying a large market share.
Bharti Airtel has launched a new recharge voucher for prepaid users in India. Arriving amidst the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season, it bundles a complimentary subscription to JioHotstar, the streaming platform formed post amalgamation of JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar. It offers 50GB of data too. With this plan, Airtel customers can stream the live IPL 2025 matches along with other films, shows, anime, and documentaries on their mobile and TV.
Vodafone Idea (Vi) has silently rolled out a new prepaid recharge plan for users in India. It offers benefits such as unlimited voice calls, daily data, and a set number of SMS per day. The plan is said to be available in select telecom circles in the country and comes with a service validity of 28 days. Alongside, prepaid Vi customers also benefit from extra data at night in addition to Weekend Data Rollover benefit.
Bharti Airtel on Tuesday announced a strategic partnership with Blinkit for quick deliveries of SIM cards in select cities in India. It enables customers to get doorstep deliveries of both prepaid and postpaid Airtel SIM cards by paying a nominal convenience fee. The telecom operator will also offer the facility of porting SIM cards from another service provider to Airtel’s network.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) has instructed India's top three telecom operators to complete inter-operator trials for the Caller Name Presentation (CNAP) feature. A new report reveals that the CNAP technology, requiring additional network infrastructure for older 2G networks, will be exclusive to 4G and 5G smartphone users when it is rolled out.
Reliance Jio in March announced new benefits on select prepaid recharge plans in anticipation of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. The telecom operator has now extended the date till when the offer can be availed of. With the “Unlimited” offer, customers can enjoy a complimentary subscription to JioHotstar with mobile recharges worth Rs. 299 and above, along with a Jio AirFiber and JioFiber trial.
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has announced a new recharge plan for its prepaid mobile users in India. Priced at Rs. 251, it is introduced as a Special Tariff Voucher (STVs) which means it does not come with an active service validity. As per the state-run telecommunications operator, the new prepaid recharge voucher targets viewers of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 in the country and offers data benefits.
Reliance Jio emerged as the fastest mobile network provider in India across all technologies combined in the second half (H2) of 2024, according to a market analysis. The telecommunications service provider also led the market in terms of highest 5G availability across cities, with 73.7 percent of its users being able to access Jio’s 5G network a majority of the time.
The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) systems have slashed spoofed calls by 97 percent, curbing cyber-crime and financial fraud, according to Dr Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar, Minister of State for Communications. The Department of Telecommunications' Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) facilitates secure information sharing among stakeholders, effectively preventing telecom resource misuse.
Bharti Airtel on Wednesday announced the launch of its Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) services in India. It provides customers with an extensive library of on-demand content from 29 OTT streaming apps such as Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Netflix, ZEE5 and many more with select plans.
Bharti Airtel, along with Bharti Hexacom, has prepaid Rs. 5,985 billion to the government, clearing "high-cost" liabilities from the 2024 spectrum auctions. India's second-largest telecom firm has reduced its spectrum-related debt to Rs. 52,000 crore, lowering the cost of debt to 7.22%. Airtel has been actively prepaying dues from past aggressive spectrum bidding.
India has ordered Samsung to pay $601 million (roughly Rs. 5,149 crore) in back taxes and penalties for dodging import tariffs. The Samsung investigation began in 2021 when tax inspectors searched its offices in the financial capital of Mumbai and Gurugram near New Delhi, seizing documents, emails and some electronic devices.
Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi) have announced new entertainment benefits on select prepaid recharge plans ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. Both telecom providers have introduced new add-on packs which can be recharged with on top of active packs to receive a complimentary subscription to JioHotstar.
Vodafone Idea is exploring ways to bring satellite communication to India. The mobile operator made the disclosure after Indian stock exchanges sought a clarification on its stock move.
Vodafone Idea (Vi) launched its 5G services in India on Tuesday. The telecom service operator’s 5G network has gone live in Mumbai, with Bihar, Delhi, Karnataka, and Punjab expected to be the next in line to get the service. The company has also added a microsite detailing its 5G connectivity and highlighted new prepaid and postpaid plans that users can now purchase to access the Internet service.
Reliance Jio has announced new benefits on select prepaid recharge plans ahead of the upcoming cricket season. The telecom provider is bundling a complimentary subscription to JioHotstar with mobile recharges worth Rs. 299 and above, along with a free trial of Jio AirFiber, its wireless broadband service. Thus, customers will be able to stream the upcoming cricket matches from the Indian Premier League (IPL), along with other films, shows, anime, and documentaries in 4K on their mobile and TV.
SpaceX’s Starlink satellite Internet services could reportedly secure faster regulatory approvals in India. As per the report, the expedited approvals could be due to the Elon Musk-owned space technology company entering partnerships with Bharti Airtel and Jio Platforms. Notably, both the telecom service providers will make Starlink equipment available in their retail stores as well as offer services on behalf of the company.
Jio Platforms Limited announced a strategic partnership with SpaceX on Wednesday, a move which will introduce Starlink broadband services in India. The Reliance Industry subsidiary says it will leverage the Elon Musk-owned company’s constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites to provide its customers with high-speed broadband services even in the country’s most remote and rural areas.
Airtel has announced a partnership with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to deliver Starlink’s high-speed internet to its customers in India. This marks the first agreement in the country, pending SpaceX’s authorization to sell Starlink locally. The collaboration aims to offer Starlink equipment in Airtel stores, provide Starlink services to business clients, and connect rural communities, schools, and health centers across India.
Bharti Airtel has introduced a new recharge plan for its prepaid mobile users with data rollover benefits, according to a report. Dubbed as the Weekend Rollover Data Pack, it is said to carry over the unused mobile data saved from the weekdays and add it to the existing allowance for the weekend. It is currently reported to be available to Airtel users located in the telecom provider’s Haryana and the North-East circles.
Reliance Jio has introduced a new Rs. 100 recharge plan for prepaid users in India which offers the most affordable way to stream content from its new OTT platform, JioHotstar. By availing of this plan, Reliance Jio users can watch ad-supported content for free without having to subscribe to the streaming service’s monthly or yearly plan.
Reliance Jio has quietly removed an OTT benefit from its prepaid mobile recharge plans. The telecommunications service provider no longer bundles JioCinema as an add-on benefit with recharges. This move is said to be enforced following the introduction of JioHotstar, the streaming service launched as a result of the amalgamation of JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar. Notably, Reliance Jio users can still get a complimentary subscription to the new JioHotstar with select prepaid recharge plans.
Jio Platforms Limited (JPL), along with AMD, Cisco, and Nokia announced a partnership on Monday at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025 in Barcelona. The partnership revealed a new initiative dubbed the Open Telecom AI Platform. In a joint statement, the entities said that the initiative is aimed at co-developing and co-commercialising real-world artificial intelligence (AI) solutions in the telecom space.
Vodafone Idea (Vi) is reportedly conducting the trial phase of its 5G rollout in Mumbai ahead of its scheduled launch. As per the report, several users of the telecom operator have shared screenshots of 5G activation messages, in-app confirmation, as well as the 5G network icon enabled on their smartphones. This comes just weeks after the company’s Q3 2024-25 report highlighted that it was planning to commercially launch 5G services in Mumbai.
Qualcomm on Wednesday announced its plans for the development of 6G wireless technology, with several of the innovations set to be showcased at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025 in Barcelona. The company says it will commence standardisation of 6G cellular technology this year by increasing the spectral efficiency and improving coverage across all bands using new techniques. It is also betting big on artificial intelligence (AI) by integrating it across multiple layers of network and within devices.
Reliance Jio has introduced a new recharge plan for prepaid mobile users which bundles benefits targeted towards ICC Men's Champions Trophy viewers in India. It offers a complimentary subscription to JioHotstar, the streaming service recently launched as a result of the amalgamation of JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar, enabling customers to stream the ongoing cricket tournament as well as films, shows, anime, documentaries, and other live sporting events. Other benefits include the Cricket Data Pack.
Bharti Airtel announced a strategic partnership with Apple on Monday to bring access to Apple TV+ to its home Wi-Fi and postpaid users. The telecom service provider said that all Airtel Xstream Fiber users and postpaid mobile users can now access the entire content library of the Apple TV+ on opting for plans starting at Rs. 999.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has signed an agreement with Beckhaul Digital Technologies Pvt Ltd to enhance internet connectivity across its corridors. The telecommunication company will lay 700km of fibre optic cables along all metro lines, including the Airport Line. The rollout will occur in phases, starting with the Pink and Magenta Lines, with the rest expected to be ready within six months.
Reliance Jio now offers a complimentary subscription to JioHotstar with one of its prepaid recharge plans. The new streaming platform was created by bringing together JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar and was launched by JioStar last week. It combines the content library of the two over-the-top (OTT) platforms, in addition to hosting content from various international studios and streaming platforms too. While users can subscribe to monthly and annual plans to watch content, its complimentary access is now offered with Jio’s prepaid recharge plan.
TRAI recently amended its regulations to curb unsolicited spam calls and promotional messages from unregistered telemarketers (UTMs) and increase penalties for spammers and non-compliant operators. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has criticised the updated rules, including penalties on service providers.
Vodafone Idea (Vi) announced the commercial rollout of its 5G services in India on Tuesday. The telecom operator revealed its plans in its Q3 2024-25 report and highlighted that 5G services will first be launched in Mumbai in March. The company will then expand the services to four more cities in April. In December 2024, Vi first started 5G operation in 19 circles across the country, however, at the time it was not a commercial rollout.
Vodafone Idea (Vi) introduced a new baggage protection service with its postpaid international roaming plans on Monday. The new service was launched in partnership with Blue Ribbon Bags, a US-based lost baggage concierge service. Available with all postpaid international roaming plans with an add-on, the service will compensate users if their baggage is delayed or lost while travelling via flights.
Reliance Jio recently unveiled voice-only plans for prepaid subscribers in India. Shortly after, the company revised the plans with lower prices and validity adjustments. Now, the telecom operator has reintroduced an affordable prepaid plan at Rs. 189 after briefly discontinuing it. This plan is listed as a value offering which provides free call and SMS services alongside bundled data packs.
Vodafone said it had made the world's first video call via satellite using a standard smartphone from a remote location. The European mobile operator's CEO Margherita Della Valle received the call on Monday from company engineer Rowan Chesmer, who was located in the Welsh mountains where there was no network signal.
Starlink has reportedly accepted the security and data storage requirements mandated by the Indian government for satellite broadband providers, aiming to launch services in India. The satellite spectrum will be allocated administratively. Elon Musk-led Starlink will compete with providers like Reliance's JioSpaceFiber, Airtel, and Amazon Kuiper, which are also preparing to debut in India.
