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Ajay Chitkara has been appointed as Director and CEO, Airtel Business to spearhead the domestic and global enterprise business as one unit Country's top telecom operator Bharti Airtel has announced senior leadership appointments for its B2B unit. Ajay Chitkara has been appointed as Director and CEO, Airtel Business to spearhead the domestic and global enterprise business as one unit. Chitkara will continue reporting to Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO, Bharti Airtel. Airtel also announced the appointment of Pankaj Miglani as CEO - Global Business. Miglani will report to Ajay Chitkara. In his previous role, Miglani was CFO, Bharti Infratel and played a key role in the company's IPO in 2012. Chitkara has been with Airtel since 2001 and is credited with building brand Airtel in the global wholesale segment. In his previous role as Director & CEO, Global Business and Nxtra, he was responsible for creating business strategies for Carriers, Global Enterprise and...

It comes preloaded with Netflix, YouTube, Google Play Music, Google Play Games, Airtel Movies Airtel Digital TV, the direct-to-home arm of Bharti Airtel, on Wednesday launched 'Internet TV -- powered by Android TV, which brings online content to the TV screen along with a bouquet of over 500 plus satellite TV channels, the company said. Airtel 'Internet TV' transforms any TV into a Smart TV and enables users to switch seamlessly between online and linear TV content with a single device. It is priced at Rs 4,999 with three month Digital TV subscription. Also, for a limited period, customers can pay Rs 7,999 and get the   Airtel Internet TV   with one year subscription. Airtel 'Internet TV' will be available exclusively on Amazon India starting on Wednesday. It will be available through Airtel Digital TV touch points -- retail stores/website/contact centres soon after online launch, a company statement said. "Customers can stream and cast their fa...

Airtel 4G service is now available in all 22 telecom circles of the country Bharti Airtel, India's largest telecommunications services provider, announced the launch of its 4G services in Jammu & Kashmir, completing a national rollout. With the latest launch,   Airtel 4G   service is now available in all 22 telecom circles of the country. Raveendra Desai, COO — J&K, Bharti Airtel said, "We are pleased to launch our 4G services in Jammu & Kashmir and look forward to delighting customers with best-in-class services on India's best smartphone network." "We invite customers to avail the exciting data offers and get on to the digital superhighway. We remain committed to the government's digital vision for the state and will continue to invest in expanding our services," he said. The company plans to expand its 4G footprint to over 100 towns across J&K, he said adding that Airtel 4G has been rolled out in the state using FD LTE ...

Offer will close on Feb 28; prepaid users will get free 3GB data with Rs 345 recharge Telecom operator   Bharti Airtel   on Tuesday upgraded its existing unlimited calling schemes by adding 3GB free 4G data, worth up to Rs 9,000, for non-users of its 4G services. “Customers will get free 3GB data every month till December 31, 2017, with select prepaid and postpaid packs under this offer. This free data benefit will be over and above the pack or plan benefits,” Bharti Airtel said in a statement. Under the scheme, Airtel will offer free data for 12 months, worth up to Rs 9,000, to customers who switch to Airtel 4G network. “The 12-month offer is available to any customer with a 4G mobile handset that is currently not on the Airtel network. Any customer, including existing Airtel customers, upgrading to a new 4G handset can also avail this offer,” the statement said. This offer will be available to customers across India starting January 4 and will close on February...

Airtel unveils fresh packs to counter Jio heat Days after Reliance Jio extended its free services, mobile operator Bharti   Airtel   today came out with two prepaid offerings, including a Rs 145 pack, that will offer free unlimited local/STD calls along with 4G data. While Airtel's Rs 145 pack offers 300 MB 4G data along with free unlimited Airtel-to-Airtel local/STD calls, its Rs 345 pack offers unlimited free local/STD calls to any network in India and 1GB 4G data. Both packs have a validity of 28 days and are available for customers across the country. Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio -- which garnered 52 million customer base in the first three months of 4G launch -- recently announced extension of free domestic voice calls and data till March 31, 2017. Even after March, the company would offer free calls for life to its 4G customers. Industry watchers are of the view that extension of free services by Reliance Jio will add to the woes of the industry which is al...

Trai nod to Jio free offer till December 3 The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Thursday said   Reliance Jio   can offer its free promotional offer till December 3, also clarifying that tariffs offered by the Mukesh Ambani-led firm were not predatory or discriminatory. This means new customers won’t be able to avail the offer after December 3 and Jio subscribers would have to pay as per the tariffs announced by the company. Customers who have subscribed before December 3 will enjoy benefits till December 31. In its quarterly results, Jio said it might extend the period of free services in case its subscribers were unable to get adequate experience of seamless connectivity across the network because of interconnection congestion and the quality of service parameters are not as per the benchmarks desired by the Jio management. Jio had launched the commercial services on September 5 and also announced it would provide all voice and data services free ti...

India's first private rocket set for launch in 2020 The first  private rocket  built by a consortium of private firms in the country is set for launch by 2020. If successful, this would increase capacity to hurl smallsatellites into space, meeting both local demand and serving global customers such as OneWeb. Till now, Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) was the only manufacturer of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). In the two decades since its debut launch, PSLVs have done 35 flights, hurling 86 satellites - including 45 foreign, small and medium  satellites  - into space. Isro built this rocket by integrating components and systems made by Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), Larsen & Toubro, Godrej Aerospace, Avasarala Technologies and Walchandnagar Industries. However,  Isro  has been able to scale up production only up to a limit - it has the capacity to launch six PSLVs a year, compared to two a few years earlier. In the...

Benchmark shares  indices crashed over 2%, amid a sell-off in Asia and Europe, after suspension of trading in Chinese shares post the sharp plunge in Shanghai Composite. Further, geopolitical tensions in the Middle-East also dampened sentiment. The S&P BSE Sensex tumbled 534 points to close at 25,627 and the Nifty50 plunged 171 points to end at 7,793. In the broader markets, BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices cracked 1% each. Market breadth finished remain weak with 1,284 gainers and 1,598 losers on the BSE. “China's PMI continues to underline its downward growth trajectory with equity markets reflecting a sub-7% GDP figure for calendar 2016 and beyond. India’s manufacturing PMI has hitherto stayed reasonably resilient despite weak aggregate demand. However,a sub-50 print at the beginning of the year marks extended expectations on a recovery. One would hope that prudent fiscal expansion and select sector-wise recovery would bring back the ...