Tata Docomo, the joint venture of TTSL and Japan’s telecom major NTT Docomo has announced launch of next gen 3G mobile services by diwali.
TTSL is one of those companies who operate both on CDMA and GSM technologies to offer telecom services throughout the country. The company has reached the mark of 80 million subscribers on GSM and CDMA platform at the end of September, 2010.
As Tata Docomo, the pioneer of per second tariff is going to be first private operator to start 3G services there are immense speculations and expectations from them. TTSL bagged 3G spectrum for nine circles in the auction held in May this year.
As of now only BSNL and MTNL – state owned operator duo together have been offering 3G services through out the nation.
Coverage & Roaming:
Tata Docomo will launch 3G services in 9 circles out of total 22 telecom circles of India. Tata Docomo gives its 3G services a miss in all of 4 metros – Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata & Mumbai and another two lucrative Category ‘A’ circles – Tamilnadu and Andra Pradesh.
As it is missing out high revenue circles, there is a chance of fewer takers of 3G. But as BSNL with its sick marketing strategy can not grab a huge 3G subscribers in these circles there are high chances of Tata Docomo as fast mover.
| Circles (Tata Docomo 3G will be live by Diwali) | Category |
| Kerala | B |
| Karnataka | A |
| Maharastra | A |
| Madhya Pradesh & Chattisgarh | B |
| Guajrat | A |
| Rajasthan | B |
| UP West (incl. Uttarakhand) | B |
| Punjab | B |
| Haryana | B |
| Total A category circles: 3
Total B category circles: 6 |
|
It is for sure Tata Docomo is going to enter in roaming agreement with other operators to offer 3G services on roaming. We guess it could be BSNL & MTNL. 3G Roaming is going to be another attractive source of revenue for these two PSUs. BSNL 3G has presence over 500 cities over the country.
Offering roaming in Delhi and Mumbai is going to be a must for Tata Docomo as they are offering 3G services in surrounding UP West and Maharastra circles.
Ultra Fast Launch:
While most of the operators who bagged 3G licences have planned to roll out 3G services at the end of this year, Tata Docomo is going to roll out same in next month. It is certain with this head-start they like to tap the market taking advantages of MNP (Mobile Number Portability) which is scheduled on 31st October.
Without NTT Docomo’s expertise on 3G Tata Docomo can not launch 3G services so quickly. “The service quality will be world class, with the network being provided by Nokia Siemens Networks and Huawei,” as Tata Docomo spokesman said.
Product Portfolio:
I am not sure about which series of HSDPA is to be employed on Tata Docomo’s network (FYI Airtel plans to deploy 14.0Mbps HSDPA category 10). BSNL & MTNL is offering 3G services on HSDPA category 6 (3.6 Mbps) and category 8 (7.2 Mbps).
India is a market which is price-driven not by quality of services; hope to see change of scenario as TTSL partners NTT Docomo, a global leader of 3G technologies.
Powered by 3G, Tata Docomo may bring bundled netbook, tablet, handsets and data cards also. Among handsets, it is expected to roll out Android powered devices mostly.
India needs data and more data, at an affordable price. So data plans from them are going to be crucial point. We can also check what the private players think about our data requirement. I do not think they are coming with any true unlimited plan – may be 10 GB data cap and then speed will be downgraded to 2G – GPRS/EDGE.
VAS portfolio could be exciting ones, courtesy NTT Docomo. mCommerce may hit up.
Competition
It is for sure, that 3G will not affect voice tariff of 2G, video calls also will not be too costly. Main differentiator of 3G market will be data plans, high speed coverage and VAS in some point. The shift in demand from voice to data has revolutionized the very nature of the market.
Voice plans will bit help them much to grab new customers, but high speed data plans will do. Let’s see who are currently offering high speed wireless internet services .
| Notes | |
| BSNL EVDO | Cheapest high speed wireless internet plan- unlimited at Rs 750 p.m. Has awesome coverage over Kerala. |
| BSNL 3G | Unlimited data plans @1499 p.m. around Rs 500 you can get 2GB data. Largest coverage. |
| Tata Photon+/Virgin vFlash | TTSL’s EVDO services. |
| Reliance Netconnect Broadband+ | Reliance communications’ EVDO services. Industry rumors they are coming with a revised tariff plan. |
| MTS MBlaze | Powerful coverage in Rajasthan, but other circles only main cities are covered, for example only Nagpur & Pune of Maharastra |
To keep away Photon+ from this competition TTSL may bring some dual mode (HSPA+EVDO) modems.
Tata Teleservices (TTSL) is trying to be telecom superpower of India over years, it has been trying a lot to get there – first to come up with CDMA (following Reliance’s success on CDMA), then move to popular GSM platform and prioritize it , made franchise agreements with Virgin Mobile and later with Future Group, launching the pay per second and pay per call plan for calls, and pay per character for SMS and pay per kb or pay per site for GPRS and now they are ready to boom by Diwali with 3G services. Let’s wait for what is coming.
jai October 24, 2012 at 2:18 pm
Anybody know, when tatadocomo 3G will launch in chennai?
Saptarshi Roy December 31, 2011 at 4:56 am
Does anyone know if and when Tata Docomo would launch 3G services in Kolkata? TT Desk?
samad May 8, 2011 at 1:16 pm
TATA DOCOMO IS VERY NICE COMPANY CHEAP AND GREAT SERVICES WITHOUT OF ANY PROBLEM
pravin November 8, 2010 at 7:33 pm
it has very poor coverage in pune. it is not even in Software park (Talawade) Pune area.
saatwik October 26, 2010 at 8:10 pm
tata is the best & cheapest service.tata has brought nano, docomo,steel,trucks,cars…..etc.this company is always thinking of a comman man with out any monopoly.i just wish to improve your docomo services at ahmedabad and we are also happy that u r launching 3g services early than others.we hope that cost and plans will be consumer friendly.
Webly October 25, 2010 at 2:51 pm
See the countdown to the Tata docomo 3G.
http://www.tatadocomo.com/handset-3g.aspx
amardeep October 24, 2010 at 9:20 am
TATA DOCOMO gives us oportunity to use internet.A good gift this Diwali. Good Luch DOCOMO,m so excited from the time i know that DOCOMO is giving us 3G.Its cool…..na
Raghu October 24, 2010 at 1:07 am
will miss docomo 3g in AP too
Sam October 24, 2010 at 12:22 am
I m so excited till now from the time i know that DOCOMO is giving us 3G services. Its cool now bcause most of companies takes more than affordable prices for internet services of 2G & BSNL is charging unaffordable too for 3G. For a student its not managable but TATA DOCOMO gives us that oportunity to use internet freely. Hopes it will again a good gift this Diwali. Good Luch DOCOMO.
anupam October 23, 2010 at 5:00 pm
TATA docomo coverage is very poor in roorkee espiacially in the IIT Roorkee campus
Madhan October 23, 2010 at 3:23 pm
Tata Docomo mobile gprs users list is high in tamilnadu state… So docomo launch 3g in tamilnadu Soon………Otherwise bsnl get that offers………. India is best forever
VTek October 22, 2010 at 11:46 pm
Yeah, now Tata docomo is gonna kick everyone’s ass with the 3G.
There are still many foolish fellas who won’t leave those costly Vodafone and Airtel,
3G might make them switch to DO CO MO. Yeah, the Japanese is the best indeed.
Anirban Mukherjee October 20, 2010 at 11:16 am
we will miss docomo 3g in kolkata……
vkraheem October 20, 2010 at 9:27 am
Tata Docomo 3G signal detected in Bangalore. we are almost there…
Debjyoti@Kolkata October 20, 2010 at 2:52 am
44 kbps edge speed !!!!! oops
AmitS October 19, 2010 at 10:46 pm
DOCOMO 3G signal live in Meerut in UP west.
Rohan Singh October 19, 2010 at 8:54 pm
@rahulraj
S tel is not present in kolkata. Bsnl in EDGE Network gave me 22-44kbps of dwnld speed at nights and in the morning. Rest of the time i got 18- 38kbps.
rahulraj October 19, 2010 at 3:55 pm
@Rohan Singh
bro STEL z giving bst gprs speed n plan wherevr it z present
Rohan Singh October 19, 2010 at 10:15 am
As per my Experience BSNL 2G has better speed than Docomo.
Rohan Singh October 19, 2010 at 10:14 am
I think Docomo will 50p/kb for 3G
Santu October 19, 2010 at 4:34 am
@chaitanya das
In my area docomo used to give 20 kbps and airtel 17 kbps. But right now docomo is facing acute netn problem. The best is BSNL.
manoj October 18, 2010 at 11:00 pm
can you please tell why? what’s the reason? what’s the problem?
Ajay Rao October 18, 2010 at 10:35 pm
i feel happy tata docomo 3g will b in gujarat. Hurray, bcoz other two operators r VODAFONE and IDEA r too costly and waste, fully faltu operators.
Swapnil October 18, 2010 at 9:24 pm
Never trust docomo…
hari October 18, 2010 at 9:05 pm
i see tata docomo 3g add in youtube
som October 18, 2010 at 8:48 pm
only time will tell
Raghu October 18, 2010 at 8:33 pm
@Amit.g
hehe yeah u are right.
PDNair October 18, 2010 at 8:17 pm
@Ganesh Srinivasan
Kindly provide us your Tata DOCOMO number and your alternate contact number and email id so that we can get in touch with you or go to the following link – http://bit.ly/24x7LiveChatSupport to get your query resolved through a Live Chat with our Customer Care executive.
Tata Docomo Dear Pallayil Nair,
We have received your complaint and we will ensure it is resolved soon.
TWO SAMPLE REPLIES THAT IS ALL their inside out !!!!!!
ARJUN October 18, 2010 at 7:50 pm
@Ganesh Srinivasan
If U Think Like This The Network Become Congested.
Neeraja October 18, 2010 at 6:57 pm
@akshay
Btw.. I am an employee with TTL
This is some rumor spread by compition to defame…You all know..how DOCOMO prices its offerings..1ps/1sec was a KILLER.. then why would we trun down that concept..So do worries
amar October 18, 2010 at 6:54 pm
@akshay i don’t think it is possible.if you are downloding a song(5 mb),it will take about 10-15 min and by 3G ,it will take 10-15 sec.
Dip October 18, 2010 at 6:23 pm
Keep on dreaming dude
@akshay
akshay October 18, 2010 at 5:06 pm
i’m a docomo customer. if the data price of docomo 3G is going to be high then i will not upgrade to tata’s 3G. the pricing should be close to their current 2.5g data tariffs.
chaitanya das October 18, 2010 at 4:57 pm
i want to know how much speed is for EDGE(GPRS) aCtually provided by the AIRTEL for downloading and uploading. I saw a downloading speed upto 25kbps in TATA DOCOMO at its highest. Where as airtel and bsnl never goes beyond 10kbps.
Kaushik Roy October 18, 2010 at 4:56 pm
only 3 operators
kya yaar add BSNL,RGSM,UNINOR,VODAFONE also
Arjun. October 18, 2010 at 4:50 pm
Yup Amit! RIGHT NOW I’M USING IDEA, DOCOMO AND AIRCEL THESE 3 ARE BETTER NOWADAYS IN KARNATAKA. @Amit.g
PDNair October 18, 2010 at 4:18 pm
The 3G media hype is unwarranted. The BSNl/MTNL hares have already surpassed this milestone with no impact ! None of the service providers and tatadocomo in particular were not able to give satisfactory services in 2G ! Hence subscribers especially belonging to lower and middle class group cannot expect much from them. Those living in metros and with costly handsets will have have one more option!
rajiev October 18, 2010 at 4:14 pm
@rahulraj
very true, but that is not crap if u r really torrent user, u know very well
rahulraj October 18, 2010 at 3:55 pm
90% of d people who shout for true unlimited plans r students who r sick of internet…24/7 they download crap 4m torrent…
Ganesh Srinivasan October 18, 2010 at 3:55 pm
@Attah
Unlimited with Fair Use Policy will not work
Instead what they should do is xx GB at higher speed and beyond that at slow speed – only this formula will work, especially in India with very young population who are fond of downloading audio / video contents most of the time
I would suggest the slabs for high speed to be 2 / 3 GB; 5 / 6 GB; 10 / 12 GB and 24 GB priced accordingly and beyond that at slow speeds
If telecom companies offer slabs like these, I would / in fact most would take two packages – lower slab for “work with fun” needs and higher slab for “fun with work” needs
rahulraj October 18, 2010 at 3:47 pm
@Attah
u r rite dude,most of d people don’t need unlimited download plans,10gb is more dn enough for 80% of d people especially professionals who don’t hav much time.
Abhijit October 18, 2010 at 3:09 pm
Don’t forget Tata Docomo has also bagged A circles of Maharashtra, Gujarat & Karnataka which are economically ahead than other circles and also has large number of migrant population for studies & job purpose, so there will be more than enough 3G takers in these circles which will encourage Docomo to give more offers & competition to other operators..
Deepak October 18, 2010 at 3:04 pm
Bad news guys! Tata docomo is going to price 3G data very costly…. 10-12 times more than 2G data prices. This is the info i got from one of my friends working in tata group.. though this info cannot be validated or confirmed and is only source based.
Amit.g October 18, 2010 at 2:59 pm
@Raghu
Hmmmm kya kare yaar this arjun is like tat only. he himself doesn knw wat he is telling. sometimes he says docomo is good sometimes it sucks.sometimes idea sucks n sometime idea rocks. BUT ULTIMATELY HIS OPENION IS AIRCEL IS BEST!!!!!
Amit.g October 18, 2010 at 2:56 pm
@Ganesh Srinivasan
wat u said is cent percent true but since 3G spectrum has got high capacity to accomodate customers chances of network congestion is less and also as we know NTT docomo is a leader in 3G its will be for sure tat they they ll make ter network ready to accomodate huge customer base…
Arjun. October 18, 2010 at 2:45 pm
@Raghu
Now Idea is Improving Slowly in Karnataka. That’s Why Idea’s Addition Become High. But i’m Not Saying About Coverage. Coverage Of Idea is Always Fine in Karnataka. But Calling Sms and Internet Functioning is Ok. (Similar like Docomo and Aircel.)
But AirTel Sucks in My Home No Network Points Of AirTel Available.
rohan October 18, 2010 at 2:41 pm
is dual sim data cards availiable in the market ? 3G+EVDO ? If so of which company ?
Raghu October 18, 2010 at 2:13 pm
@ARJUN
now u only agreed now that Idea is good.
Attah October 18, 2010 at 2:08 pm
The Fair-Usage Policy is very important nowadays as there r some if not most users who abuse the unlimited access by downloading 24/7 which creates heavy load on network servers nd results in bad service for ALL users even those who dont overuse….So just understand this nd stop cursing fair usage policy !!!! Nd as long as the networks r generous with the limits it wont be a problem for majority of users…
Ganesh Srinivasan October 18, 2010 at 2:08 pm
I have one Airtel and one Tata Docomo cards
As coverage was poor, call drops were high and data speeds were inconsistent, I had to stop using my Tata Docomo SIM
Now that 3G is getting launched, should I try out and remain with Tata Docomo / switch to Airtel when MNP becomes operational?
Will Tata Docomo expand {dramatically] their towers and coverage? Overload of their network happened rather quickly with more / most subscribers getting onto their network. I foresee a similar rush for their 3G services – mostly for data
Does TT have any insider information that Tata Docomo is indeed expanding their coverage and capacity?
al33m October 18, 2010 at 1:49 pm
I wished Docomo to win Andhra Pradesh circle but unfortunately it didn’t. Does that mean Andhra Pradesh Tata Docomo customer would not enjoy the 3g services from Docomo..
sri October 18, 2010 at 1:47 pm
zareef October 18, 2010 at 1:46 pm
TRAI and DOT have to take action against those operator who fool customer using UNLIMITED tag and put FUP….
operator License should be canceled
sri October 18, 2010 at 1:43 pm
Dont worry, it never be implemented in sight, karuna nidhi, Raja and marans targets not reached, we have to cross our legs and hands till they reach never ending goals
Whom we elected are the great leaders in the world, no replacement exists
Who said indians are brilliant/Intelligent/cleaver——-we are fools
zareef October 18, 2010 at 1:41 pm
BSNL is best data provider in india no one beat BSNL in term of UNLIMITED DATA without and FUP
rahul October 18, 2010 at 12:42 pm
hey don’t you know that mnp has been delayed by another 2-3 months? haven’t you read the media reports? the incumbents are behind the delay (through their backdoor lobbying). mnp will be launched in india only after 3G has been launched by the incumbents, before that mnp will remain a day dream!
so guys, we will not be able to take advantage of mnp and shift to tata docomo with our old numbers. we will have to get a new number instead, for tata docomo 3G.
hope tata docomo prices its data plans close to what it has now for gprs/edge (rs.95/month = 6GB download), especially applicable during roaming pan india on 3G.
Ganesh October 18, 2010 at 12:13 pm
@Amit.g
Hahah! They advertise as 14MBps but down load speed will barely reach 2MBps AT MOST!
Good info. But if I know TATA DoCoMo best, I think they will post exorbitant prices for 3G data! Will advertise Unlimited by give a “FAIR USAGE” of 2 GB!!
ARJUN October 18, 2010 at 12:11 pm
@Amit.g
But Airtel’s 2G Speed Is Idiotic. And How Can it Provide 14Mbps on 3G Network? Every Operator’s 3G Spectrum has it’s Own Limitation and AirTel’s Old Towers always Providing Bad Signal in Indoors and Yesterday i went From Kolar to Devanahalli. There i Found Airtel Has Zero Connectivity Whereas IDEA,Aircel,DOCOMO has Full Network
Praveen Pious October 18, 2010 at 12:10 pm
Anyone in Kerala getting TATA DOCOMO’s 3G test signals?
Anbu John Boban October 18, 2010 at 11:48 am
@Amit.g
which handset have the capable of getting 14 mbps… i have heard about 10.4 mbps… what is this 14 mbps ….
Anbu John Boban October 18, 2010 at 11:47 am
i am wondering why it laid hands on more @ B circles….
DEEPAK October 18, 2010 at 11:24 am
mnp is not comming
Webly October 18, 2010 at 11:20 am
Let’s pray that MNP is introduced on a scheduled date. I’m eager as you are….
Can’t trust TRAI on this, as they are happy to switch between dates with support from some biggies. (operators)
Abhi October 18, 2010 at 11:18 am
Innovation and aggression are running in the blood of Tata Docomo..
Great going and All the Best!!!
amar October 18, 2010 at 11:05 am
sorry,
India’s first ever private operator to provide 3G services.
amar October 18, 2010 at 11:02 am
nice preview.
Is 31st oct confirmed for MNP?
Let’s wait till diwali to see final price of 3G.
I hope TT will provide us first preview of INDIA’s first ever 3G plan and services
Amit.g October 18, 2010 at 10:47 am
from past 3 days the only news whic i see in TT is tata docomo 3G. Its great to hear tat airtel is planning to offer 14mbps speed in 3G. this makes airtel unique frm other operators
Webly October 18, 2010 at 10:41 am
I’m waiting to hear from idea for now. Since, they have a good quality network in Goa and will make lot of change in this circle.