New Delhi, Jul 2 () Telecom industry body COAI on Thursday announced the appointment of Bharti Airtel chief operating officer for India and South Asia, Ajai Puri, as its new chairman and Reliance Jio president P K Mittal as vice-chairman for 2020-21. Puri has replaced Vodafone Idea CEO Ravinder Takkar as the chairman of the COAI on rotation basis. Puri has been with Bharti Airtel since 2004. "It is a privilege for me to take on this role and I would like to thank all the members of COAI for considering me worthy of this responsibility. On behalf of the industry, I would like to reiterate our commitment to support the government's efforts as we emerge from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic," Puri said. "It's a pleasure to take the responsibility as Vice-Chairman of COAI and continue to work with the industry to bring about the next level of reforms in order to uplift and strengthen the sector while initiating measures for the benefit of end consumers," Mittal said. Mittal was senior Deputy Director General in the Department of Telecommunications previously. This is the first time Reliance Jio has got a leadership position in the industry body. "We would like to thank our leadership for their guidance and support during this challenging time and further express confidence in their ability to steer the association and the sector towards long term health and stability. As the industry continues to play its critical role, the future has a lot in store for us with the ecosystem gearing up for 5G," COAI Director-General Rajan S Mathews said. PRS MR

Airtel's Ajai Puri to chair COAI, Jio's PK Mittal appointed vice-chairman

Several Indian telecom companies are offering incentives to use internet from midnight to wee hours of the morning, forcing Indian smartphone users to increasingly go online in those hours. These offers have existed for a long time but only 1% of data was being consumed by users post midnight. However, after <keyword id="2003276" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Jio">Jio</keyword>’s commercial entry last September, there has been a mammoth rise in such offers as data usage in these hours has gone up to 10-15%, as per Counterpoint Research. By the time this financial year ends, the usage might have crossed 20%, say industry experts. "The success of night calling plans has led the operators to come up with night exclusive plans, which was initially influenced by Jio," Satyajit Sinha, research analyst for mobility and Internet of Things at Counterpoint told <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/spurred-by-various-data-plans-users-are-going-online-after-midnight-to-make-most-of-data-plans/articleshow/59673814.cms">ET</a>. "And at the same time, the biggest challenge for an operator is not only to increase the subscriber base but also to provide customer satisfaction to existing consumers by updating plans frequently, so they don't port to other competitors." The rise in offers was triggered by Jio's night plan it offered from December to March, giving free and unlimited data between 2 am and 5 am along with a 1GB a day plan. This led to rival telcos, viz. <keyword id="6354287" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bharti-Airtel">Bharti Airtel</keyword>, Vodafone India and <keyword id="6354924" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Idea-Cellular">Idea Cellular</keyword>, to come up with their own night plans. "We hope that this will have a positive impact on the overall network experience during the day/peak-hours as Happy Hours can help shift some of the non-urgent data traffic to non-peak hours and help reduce congestion," said <keyword id="276810" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ajai-Puri">Ajai Puri</keyword>, director, operations (India and South Asia), Bharti Airtel. (Image source Inforisticblog)

Better internet speeds are keeping Indian smartphone users up all night

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/57430057.cms" /> 
 <keyword id="6354287" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bharti-Airtel">Bharti Airtel</keyword>, India’s largest telecommunications services provider, today said that it has been rated as India’s fastest mobile network by broadband testing and web-based network diagnostic applications, <keyword id="2431974" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ookla">Ookla</keyword>. 
 It's comes at a time when industry is seeing consolidation on big scale and while industry is still coping up with <keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword> led <keyword id="10926" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance">Reliance</keyword> <keyword id="2003276" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jio">Jio</keyword>'s entry in the telecom space. Jio's entry has led to much expected tariff war and a huge <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/war-between-airtel-and-reliance-jio-has-intensified-and-this-time-it-is-about-broadband-services/articleshow/56620063.cms">infighting in the industry</a>. Jio is currently providing free voice and internet services to all its subscribers, an offer that has not gone well with the telecom operators. The free services from Jio despites complaints of services from some customers has earned Reliance over 100 million customers making it the fastest growing startup. 
 
Also Read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/bharti-airtel-buys-telenor-before-idea-voda-merger-is-this-the-jio-effect/articleshow/57307250.cms">Bharti Airtel buys Telenor before Idea-Voda merger, is this the Jio effect?</a> 
 Ookla’s findings are based on analysis of millions of internet speed tests logged on ‘modern devices’ by mobile customers across India using its popular Speedtest app. The results include all mobile tests, regardless of connection technology. <keyword id="276810" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ajai-Puri">Ajai Puri</keyword>, Director - Operations (India &amp; South Asia), Bharti <keyword id="15491" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Airtel">Airtel</keyword> said “At Airtel, our constant endeavour is to provide the best possible experience for our customers. We are delighted to receive this recognition from a global leader like Ookla and it is yet another validation of our efforts to build a world-class smartphone network.” The latest speed tests published by the <keyword id="6356988" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="TRAI">TRAI</keyword> also rated Airtel as the fastest 4G network in India. 
 
This rating could prove helpful for Bharti Airtel considering the massive change the industry is going through with Jio's entry and consolidation in the sector , Airtel will have to maintain or up the quality of service in order to retain its number one position. 
 
Also Read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Bharti-Airtel-Success-Story/articleshow/53681254.cms">The Airtel Story: How Opportunity came Calling for the now World’s 3rd Largest Telecom Firm</a>

Airtel speeds past Jio and others as India’s Fastest Network

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/56311814.cms" /> 
 <keyword id="15491" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Airtel">Airtel</keyword> today announced a special offer under which, it will offer free data for 12 months, worth up to Rs 9000, to customers who switch to Airtel 4G. This offer will be available to customer across India starting tomorrow and will close on February 28, 2017. 
 
The 12 months 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. 
 
Also Read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/biggest-telecom-news-of-2016/articleshow/56287851.cms">Biggest Telecom News of 2016</a> 
 But unlike <keyword id="2003276" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jio">Jio</keyword>’s 1GB per day offer under the new ‘Happy New Year’ Plan, Airtel Customers will get free 3GB data every month till December 31, 2017. However it’s not completely free, this offer is available with select Prepaid and <keyword id="1016365" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Postpaid">Postpaid</keyword> packs prepaid customers will have to pay atleast Rs. 345 for the 3GB data and postpaid consumers can club the offer with any of Airtel’s ‘my infinity plans’. Mr. <keyword id="276810" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ajai-Puri">Ajai Puri</keyword>, Director – Market Operations, Bharti Airtel, said, “We are inviting customers to experience 4G through the year on India’s fastest network. We are seeing increasing penetration of 4G handsets across the country and believe that this attractive offer will provide an opportunity to more and more customers to enjoy high speed broadband on their devices with Airtel.” Also, telco’s spar over prolonged free services from <keyword id="6354504" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Jio">Reliance Jio</keyword> has already landed in court and with this new announcement of free data services for 4G customers from India’s top telecom operator, looks like 2017 will indeed be a happy year for the consumers.

Airtel tries to pull a Jio, offers free data services to consumers but there’s a catch

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/54479058.cms" style="width: 800px; height: 600px;" />In <keyword id="6354287" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bharti-Airtel">Bharti Airtel</keyword>'s recent efforts to combat <keyword id="6354504" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Jio">Reliance Jio</keyword>'s free data offers, the company has rolled out a 90 days free <keyword id="1553071" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="data-plan">data plan</keyword> priced at Rs 1,494 specifically for 4G users. 
 
The country's largest telecom services provider, said that the 90 days pack is available for Rs 1495 for existing users and new users will be able to avail it through first recharge of Rs 1494. 
 
 With this pack these customers can stay online round the clock without having to worry about exhausting their data limits or going for frequent recharges. 
 Ajai Puri, Director - Operations (India &amp; South Asia), Bharti <keyword id="15491" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Airtel">Airtel</keyword> said, "Customers with 4G handsets generally consume large amounts of data and this proposition is specifically aimed at them." 
 
The pack is currently available in Delhi and will soon be launched across other regions. 
 
Reliance Jio has amassed a large number of consumers through its free data and free voice offer for 90 days, along with a free SIM.

Airtel counters Reliance Jio with a special 90-day free data plan for 4G users

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/54749911.cms" /><keyword id="6354287" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bharti-Airtel">Bharti Airtel</keyword>, India's top telco, will offer <keyword id="1526623" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="free-data">free data</keyword> packaged with <keyword id="6354427" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Apple">Apple</keyword>'s new <keyword id="6354606" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="iPhone">iPhone</keyword>s. "iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus clients can appreciate 10 GB free 4G/3G data for each month for one year with any Airtel Infinity postpaid plan," the Sunil Bharti Mittal-controlled company said in a statement on Friday, when the latest gadgets from Apple went on sale in India. 
 The free data will be in addition to plan benefits, the telco said. Officials said the free data is justified regardless of some Rs 30,000 spread over a year. The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus can be purchased at retail shops or Airtel's official site. Clients can appreciate the latest iPhones on Airtel's mobile broadband network with bundles of data and unlimited voice calling with Infinity plans, said Ajai Puri, Director Operations (India and <keyword id="52011" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="South-Asia">South Asia</keyword>). 
 
The Infinity postpaid plans offer unlimited voice calling – local, STD and national roaming – along with packaged 4G/3G data, SMS and free subscription to Wynk music and Wynk movies.

Airtel Plays
Jio, Gives free unlimited voice calling and data services to iPhone 7 and
iPhone 7 plus users

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/54936783.cms" />Bharti <keyword id="15491" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Airtel">Airtel</keyword> is leaving no stone unturned to take on <keyword id="6354504" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Reliance-Jio">Reliance Jio</keyword>’s offers and has rolled out another data plan for customers. Now, Airtel is offering 10GB data for just Rs 259 all over India. 
 
Also, customers can avail a maximum of three recharges within 90 days. 
 
But, here is a catch. One GB data out of 10GB data will be instantly credited to the customer's account and the additional 9 GB data can be claimed by through the MyAirtel app. 
 
"This invitational offer has been designed for our data savvy customers who can now experience high speed broadband on Airtel's 4G network with their new devices,” said Ajai Puri, Director, Market Operations at Bharti Airtel. 
 
Initially, Airtel had launched this offer only for the buyers of Samsung Galaxy J series smartphones and later on it was rolled out in Gujarat. Now, it has been extended to all across India and is available across all brands of 4G handsets. 
 
Meanwhile, to counter Reliance Jio, Vodafone India too slashed data price for its prepaid and postpaid customers to allow 10 GB at a cost of 1 GB for new 4G smartphone users.

Airtel rolls out new plan to counter Reliance Jio, offers 10GB data at Rs 259

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/53910374.cms" /> Reliance is expected to formally launch Jio in the coming months, and the launch has already created quite some buzz in the market, perturbed by which India’s leading telecom company Bharti <keyword id="15491" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Airtel">Airtel</keyword> has slashed its 4G and 3G mobile internet charges by up to 80%. 
 
Also read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Telcos-vs-Reliance-Jio-over-Jio-4G-launch-and-free-trial-test/articleshow/53875879.cms">Reliance Jio vs Telecom Industry: Jio's Battle of Supremacy so Far</a> 
 
To avail the benefits of this special scheme, on recharging their numbers with Rs 1498, Airtel customers will get 1GB of 4G or 3G mobile internet usage valid for 28 days; after consuming the data limit, they can get 1GB 4G or 3G recharges for just Rs 51 over the next year, during which there would be no limit on the number of recharges. 
 
Also read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/4G-bands-auction-predictions/articleshow/53808055.cms">4G bands is going to sell like hot cakes in spectrum auction</a> 
 
As of now, Airtel’s 1GB of 3G or 4G mobile internet is available for Rs 259 and is valid for 28 days. 
 
The company is also going to launch a similar scheme for Rs 748, under which the consumers will get 1GB of 4G for Rs 99 over a period of six months. 
 
Also read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Airtel-offers-more-data-benefits/articleshow/53262486.cms">Airtel gets the ‘idea’ of offering more data benefits for prepaid customers</a> 
 
"With these innovative packs, we are redefining the value proposition on our data packs and allowing our customers get a lot more within the same budget," said a statement from Ajai Puri, Director - Operations (India &amp; South Asia). 
 
In the past few months, there have been a lot of changes in Airtel’s offerings to its customers, starting from up to 67% more data in existing 4G and 3G schemes, followed by free voice calling in roaming under a new plan for Rs 1,199. 
 
<a href="http://2ylsec33oqw11ordkfej3sx9.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/sasha.jpg">Image source</a>

Airtel readies to battle Reliance Jio, cuts
4G prices by up to 80%

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/54833285.cms" /> 
 Airtel has launched its V-Fiber 'superfast <keyword id="17591" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Broadband">broadband</keyword>' service in Chennai. The new new broadband service from the operator apparently offers speed up to 100Mbps and will be rolled out in 87 other cities in India starting with Delhi &amp; NCR and <keyword id="6354321" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bengaluru">Bengaluru</keyword> in coming weeks. Airtel also extended unlimited free voice calling that was earlier available on select broadband plans to now cover all customers. 
 
With ‘V-Fiber’, Airtel is looking to deploy additional capacity up to colonies and neighbourhoods and has also upgraded its local exchanges with equipment to handle fiber speeds. Airtel claims ‘V-Fiber’ will enable superfast data speeds and enable HD video streaming, heavy file downloads and uploads in a multi-device environment (over Wi-Fi). 
 Speaking at the launch, Ajai Puri, Director - Operations, <keyword id="6354287" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bharti-Airtel">Bharti Airtel</keyword> said, "India is witnessing an explosive growth in data usage and a lot of in-home data consumption is happening over fixed broadband that offers consistent speeds. Airtel has always innovated ahead of the curve and offered its customers best-in-class broadband technology and experience. With 'V-Fiber' and our national optic fiber backbone, we are all set to offer a future ready network for tomorrow's digitally connected homes. This solution, besides reducing our carbon footprint, offers a very quick and convenient upgrade to the customer. We are also delighted to launch our innovative myHome Rewards and unlimited free voice calling facility for our customers." 
 
Importantly, the operator says there is no new wiring, drilling etc. required at an existing customer’s premises. One simply needs to upgrade to a new modem to experience ‘V-Fiber’ speeds. Existing Airtel broadband customers can upgrade to ‘V-Fiber’ speeds with their current plan at no extra monthly cost for one month. If they are not happy with the service within one month, Airtel will refund the modem charges and the amount will be adjusted in the next bill cycle. New customers will get Unlimited three months trial offer. 
 
Also Read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Airtel-counters-Reliance-Jio-Gives-MyAirtel-app-a-complete-makeover/articleshow/54826318.cms">Airtel counters Reliance Jio: Gives MyAirtel app a makeover</a>

Airtel ups its game by launching V-Fibre- ‘super fast’ broadband service with free trails up to three months

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/49047088.cms" />Before anyone could point a finger at <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=airtel" target="_BLANK￿￿￿￿">Bharti Airtel</a>, it made a move which put all speculations to rest. 
 
Ending rumours that <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=telecom+operators" target="_BLANK￿￿￿￿">telcos</a> may be incentivising on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=call+drops" target="_BLANK￿￿￿￿">call drops</a>, Airtel has moved all its <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=prepaid" target="_BLANK￿￿￿￿">pre-paid subscribers</a> across the country to pay-per-second. This will ensure that all customers pay only for the time they use the network. 
 
"Starting today it will move all its pre-paid mobile customers nationally to the more affordable per-second bill plan. This will help ensure customers pay only for the time they use the Airtel network," the company said in a statement. 
 <keyword id="6354287" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bharti-Airtel">Bharti Airtel</keyword> (India and South Asia) MD and CEO Gopal Vittal recently said about 95% plans are second-based, so they don't earn anything if a call gets dropped. 
 
"While we continue to invest aggressively in our network quality and deploy new sites to further enhance our network presence... we are today taking the lead to move our customers to the affordable per-second plans ensuring they pay only for what they use," Bharti Airtel (India &amp; South Asia) director (market operations) Ajai Puri said. 
 
The company said that the standard base rate plans will be shifted to a pulse rate of per-second and consumers will have the freedom to opt for additional tariff discount packs of their choice for discounted per-second or per-minute benefits. 
 The <keyword id="6395111" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="call-drops">call drops</keyword> issue is on the rise and even <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=prime+minister+narendra+modi" target="_BLANK￿￿￿￿">PM Narendra Modi</a> has intervened in the matter, asking concerned officials to take urgent steps to address it. 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

Airtel puts call drops rumours to rest, enables all pre-paid customers to pay per second

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/53262767.cms" style="width: 800px; height: 600px;" /> 
 While we are expecting a huge tariff war with the commercial launch of <keyword id="6354504" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Jio">Reliance Jio</keyword>’s <keyword id="122479" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="4G">4G</keyword> services, looks like the turf is already heating up significantly with telecom biggies like <keyword id="15491" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Airtel">Airtel</keyword> and Idea slashing their <keyword id="1715005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="data-tariff">data tariff</keyword>. 
 <keyword id="6354287" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bharti-Airtel">Bharti Airtel</keyword> is looking to offer up to 67% more data benefits to its customers in what is seen as a bid to attract and retain users with <keyword id="2003276" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jio">Jio</keyword> to launch its services in a couple of months. India’s top telecom operator and first 4G player, Airtel has slashed data rates effectively by 50% for downloads by prepaid customers between 3 AM and 5 AM. "At Airtel, we always aim to deliver a great mobile experience and value to our customers. These refreshed data packs will help drive consumption and boost the uptake of mobile internet in the country. Given the deepening smartphone penetration and Airtel's roll-out of data networks across India, we believe these packs will also drive affordability and bring new users online," Ajai Puri, Director - Operations (India &amp; South Asia), Bharti Artel said in a statement. 
 <keyword id="6354924" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Idea-Cellular">Idea Cellular</keyword>, the third largest telco in the country, has also slashed effective mobile internet rates for its prepaid customers by up to 45%. 
 
Under the revised data benefits, the Rs 655 4G/3G monthly recharge pack will now offer 5 GB data vs 3 GB earlier, an increase of 67%. Similarly, the Rs 455 pack 4G/3G pack now offers 50% more data by increasing gata benefit to 3 GB from 2 GB. The Rs 989 4G/3G pack will now offer 10 GB data vs 6.5 GB earlier, offering 54% more benefits. 
 
Reliance Jio already has 1.5million customers on its network even before the commercial launch of their 4G services. And in order to get more subscribers, the company is expected to enter the market in a couple of months with extremely competitive tariff plan. Consumers can expect to avail data at much lesser tariff, this war is only going to escalate going forward.

You Searched For "Ajai Puri" and got 11 results

Airtel's Ajai Puri to chair COAI, Jio's PK Mittal appointed vice-chairman

PTI

Better internet speeds are keeping Indian smartphone users up all night

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Airtel Plays Jio, Gives free unlimited voice calling and data services to iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 plus users

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Airtel rolls out new plan to counter Reliance Jio, offers 10GB data at Rs 259

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BI India Bureau

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Airtel slashes mobile-internet charges by 50%, Idea by 45%! Go crazy surfing

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