Mobile Services
Government asks Apple to export more from India, promises sops for company
NEW DELHI:The government of India on Monday exhorted iPhone maker Apple to expand manufacturing base in India, and use the country as export hub, as it promised to line up fresh incentives and sops to galvanise electronics as well as phone industry in coming 2-3 months.
Apple’s manufacturing investment so far is only the “tip of the iceberg”, IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, adding the government wants global giants like Apple and Samsung to have a “robust presence” here.
“India will offer you Human Resource, investor-friendly policies, and incentives for making in India, and for exports,” the minister said after holding a CEOs roundtable with over 50 electronics and phone companies.
Apple and Samsung are international players and should work as a team with domestic companies to transform India into a global powerhouse, he said, adding he did not foresee any conflict of interest between the two sides.
“Apple has started manufacturing iPhones in India… making components and are exporting as well…Apple is on board as far as India’s success story is concerned,” Prasad said.
Apple, which works with Taiwanese contract manufacturer Wistron in India, currently makes iPhone 6S and 7 here. Sources said Apple is looking at assembling more models in the country, although there has been no official word from the company on the same.
The minister’s day-long brainstorming session with CEOs comes at a time when India is trying to pitch itself as an international hub for electronics, and grab opportunities that have cropped-up in the backdrop of rising trade tensions between the US and China, a global manufacturing destination.
India is looking to galvanise smartphone and component manufacturing and position itself as a global hub, dishing out incentives to sweeten the deal for international brands. It also wants to attract supply chain and ancillary firms, and increase value addition.
Prasad said the government will roll out, in the next 2-3 months, a complete roadmap including incentives and sops that will act as catalyst for companies to deepen their manufacturing and export commitments.
Niti Aayog will bring out a plan soon in this regard in consultation with the IT Ministry, he added.
The plan to incentivise manufacturing will entail various aspects including sops by states as well as favourable policies related to land and energy.
Prasad also asserted that India must become a hub for 5G, and that such an ecosystem needs to be backed by Intellectual property (IP), patents and Research and Development.
India is also open to companies that want to levearge it purely for exports, he said.
Earlier in the day, the minster asked captains of electronics and mobile industry to step up investments as well as manufacturing in India and asserted that fundamentals of the economy remain strong despite global turbulence.
Addressing heads of leading electronics and mobile companies like Apple, Dell, Oppo and Samsung, Prasad had made an aggressive pitch, urging players to look at India “with greater vigour, and more commitment”.
India has set its sight on creating a USD 400 billion (around Rs 28.43 lakh crore) electronic manufacturing ecosystem by 2025, and notified a new policy to boost manufacturing activities.
Prasad also instructed the ministry to set up an institutionalised mechanism in form of a taskforce that would regularly interact with the industry, take their suggestions and address concerns.
The closed-door meeting included representatives from all major verticals of electronics sector such as mobile handsets, consumer electronics, strategic electronics, medical devices, electronics manufacturing services, components, telecom and LED lighting, among others.
Big names in the electronics and manufacturing industry including Vivo, Oppo, Qualcomm, Xiaomi, Dell, HP, Bosch, Cisco, Flextronics, Foxconn, Nokia, LG, Panasonic, Intel, Wistron, and Sterlite Technologies attended the meeting.
The minister said the players discussed various challenges pertaining to single window clearance, component manufacturing, among others.
Over the last few years, there has been a visible ramp up of smartphone production in India, as new mobile factories mushroomed across the country to cater to data-hungry smartphone users.
Steps taken by the government in the past years to promote electronics manufacturing include Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme, phased manufacturing programme, electronics manufacturing clusters and electronics development Fund.
The National Electronics Policy 2019 – cleared by the Cabinet earlier this year – plans to bolster mobile manufacturing in the country to 1 billion units worth USD 190 billion (about Rs 13 trillion) by 2025, of which 600 million units worth USD 110 billion (about Rs 7 lakh crore) will be exported.
The government had recently relaxed FDI norms for single-brand retail, offering players like Apple more flexibility on local sourcing norms. It also did away a provision that required companies to mandatorily set up a brick-and-mortar store before getting into online retail trading.
MAIT (Manufacturers Association of Information Technology) President Nitin Kunkolienker said during the discussion, the industry body highlighted the need for creation of a component manufacturing hub in India that needs to be promoted aggressively by incentivisation by the government.
The recommendations include offering production-linked export incentive, leveraging India’s geo-political influence and FTA influence with countries to accept BIS and TEC standards as sufficient to access their markets.
Source: Press Trust of India
NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel, India’s telecommunications services provider, today announced the launch of its ultra-fast 5G services in 125 cities. Airtel 5G Plus service is now available to customers in over 265 cities in the country.
Airtel 5G Plus has three compelling advantages for customers. First, it runs on a technology that has the widest acceptance in the world with the most developed ecosystem. This ensures that all 5G smartphones in India seamlessly work on the Airtel network. Second, the company promises to deliver the best experience – between 20 to 30 times higher speeds than today coupled with brilliant voice experience and super-fast call connect. Finally, Airtel 5G Plus network will also be kinder to the environment with its special power reduction solution. Powered by the reliable Airtel network infrastructure, Airtel 5G Plus will provide superfast access to High-Definition video streaming, gaming, multiple chatting, instant uploading of photos et all.
Commenting on the launch, Randeep Sekhon, CTO, Bharti Airtel said, “5G has revolutionized the world of internet, ushering new era of connectivity and communications that will prove to be a game-changer for the country. At Airtel, we remain committed to delivering the highest quality of network and service to our customers as we roll-out 125 more cities today. Airtel was the first in the country to offer 5G services in October 2022, and today’s mega launch is our promise to connect every Airtel customer in the country with ultra-fast Airtel 5G Plus. Our 5G rollout is on track to cover all towns and key rural areas by March 2024.”
Airtel 5G Plus service availability will continue to rapidly expand – including service in all towns and villages in the country soon – as the company is working towards offering nationwide coverage. Airtel is now offering its 5G services in every major city from the upper northern city of Jammu to the southern tip of Kanyakumari.
In the last one year, Airtel has demonstrated the power of 5G with a host of powerful use cases that will change the way customers lead their lives and do business. From India’s first live 5G network in Hyderabad to India’s first private 5G network at the BOSCH facility in Bengaluru to partnering with Mahindra & Mahindra to make its Chakan manufacturing facility, India’s first 5G enabled auto manufacturing unit, Airtel has been at the forefront of 5G innovation.
NEW DELHI: Apple Inc has rolled out a beta programme to enable 5G on Apple devices as the upgrade lets users try out pre-release software.
This software upgrade enables 5G access on Apple devices, as and when service providers Jio, Airtel and Vodafone enable 5G network access, sources said.
Apple Users have to enrol for the Beta Programme on the website, install a profile and download the software.
Jio users using iPhone 12 and above, in cities where JioTrue5G has been rolled out, will be invited to the Jio Welcome Offer. Jio Welcome Offer provides unlimited 5G data at up to 1 Gbps speed to users at no additional cost. However, there is a condition that prepaid users must be on active Rs 239 and above plan. All Postpaid users are eligible for this trial.
Airtel is not providing any special 5G offer like Jio to their users. In the cities/areas in which the Airtel 5G network has been launched, users can trial 5G services as a part of their existing plan, once they have updated the latest Apple Beta software.
While an email sent to Apple did not solicit an immediate response, the firm had last month stated: “We are working with our carrier partners in India to bring the best 5G experience to iPhone users as soon as network validation and testing for quality and performance is completed. 5G will be enabled via a software update and will start rolling out to iPhone users in December”.
Airtel and Jio customers on iPhone 14, iPhone 13, iPhone 12 and iPhone SE (3rd generation) models can experience 5G as part of Apple’s iOS 16 Beta Software Program. The Apple Beta Software Program is open to anyone with a valid Apple ID who accepts the Apple Beta Software Program Agreement during the sign-up process.
If a user has an iCloud account, that is an Apple ID, it is recommended they use that. If they do not have an iCloud account or any other Apple ID, they can create one.
Customers who want to try the beta software should back up their iPhones before installing the beta software. It is recommended to install the beta software only on non-production devices that are not business-critical. Users can also provide feedback to Apple on quality and usability, which helps Apple identify issues, fix them, and make Apple software even better.
The iOS beta comes with the built-in Feedback Assistant app, which can be opened from the Home screen on the iPhone or iPad or from the Dock on the Mac.
Source: Press Trust of India
5g
Nokia wins multi-year deal with Reliance Jio India to build one of the largest 5G networks in the world
NEW DELHI: Nokia has announced that it has been selected as a major supplier by Reliance Jio to supply 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) equipment from its comprehensive AirScale portfolio countrywide in a multi-year deal. Reliance Jio is India’s number one mobile operator and has one of the largest RAN footprints in the world.
Under the contract, Nokia will supply equipment from its AirScale portfolio, including base stations, high-capacity 5G Massive MIMO antennas, and Remote Radio Heads (RRH) to support different spectrum bands, and self-organizing network software. Reliance Jio plans to deploy a 5G standalone network which will interwork with its 4G network. The network will enable Reliance Jio to deliver advanced 5G services such as massive machine-to-machine communications, network slicing, and ultra-low-latency.
Akash Ambani, Chairman Reliance Jio, commented: “We are pleased to be working with Nokia for our 5G SA deployment in India. Jio is committed to continuously investing in the latest network technologies to enhance the experience of all of its customers. We are confident that our partnership with Nokia will deliver one of the most advanced 5G networks globally.”
Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO at Nokia stated: “This is a significant win for Nokia in an important market and a new customer with one of the largest RAN footprints in the world. This ambitious project will introduce millions of people across India to premium 5G services, enabled by our industry-leading AirScale portfolio. We are proud that Reliance Jio has placed its trust in our technology and we look forward to a long and productive partnership with them.”
Nokia has a long-standing presence in India. This new deal will mean that Nokia is now supplying India’s three largest mobile operators.
