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Outlook for telecom tower industry revised to stable: ICRA

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The headwinds faced by the telecom tower industry have largely subsided and the industry is now treading towards a regime of steady addition in tenancy levels and a stabilisation of the working capital cycle. As per an ICRA note, telecom service providers are end users of telecom towers and while they have witnessed severe pressures in the past, green shoots of recovery are visible in the form of improvement in their operating metrics.

According to Sabyasachi Majumdar, Senior Vice President and Group Head, Corporate Ratings, ICRA, “There has been a stabilisation in the telecom services industry, which has brought stability to the tower industry by, arresting the tenancy exits. Further, demand for telecom services, especially data, has witnessed a very strong growth, translating into consistent network expansion and upgradation by the telcos. This is expected to keep the demand for tower companies buoyant. Given the consolidation in the telecom services industry in the past, tenancy ratios for tower companies declined to 1.3-1.5 times from historical highs of more than 1.8 times. These tenancy ratios are expected to become the new normal for the industry, given that it’s a ‘3+1’ structure for the telecom services industry. While the receivable cycle witnessed elongation to more than 60 days in FY2021, against less than 30 days in FY2017, the liquidity position of tower companies remains strong. The capital structure also remains healthy with limited external net debt, which coupled with healthy profitability translate into strong debt protection metrics, with interest coverage of around 5x and net debt (including leases)/OPBDITA of around 1.5x for FY2021.”

ICRA had earlier revised the outlook on the telecom tower industry to Negative, following the levy of AGR penalty on the telecom service providers, as it exacerbated their already stretched balance sheets leading to weakening of their credit profile and thus exerting pressure on the receivable cycle of the tower companies. Further, there were concerns on the continuity of operations of one of the service providers, which may have led to tenancy losses for the tower operators. With alleviation of these issues to some extent, ICRA has now revised the outlook to Stable from Negative. Moreover, implementation of revival package of the state-owned telco and planned/completed fund raising by some of the privately owned telcos have aided the improvement in their liquidity position; and thus, payments to the tower operators, which remain essential to the telecom service providers.

The telecom services industry has been witnessing steady improvement in its performance, driven by continued healthy demand for data services and consistent upgradation of subscribers to 4G from 2G, which has resulted in sequential improvement in the ARPU levels. ARPU, although witnessed a decline in Q4FY2021, due to abolition of interconnect usage charges, the normalised trajectory is expected to remain upwards. However, the balance sheets of the telcos remain precarious, given the elevated debt levels and consequently weak coverage indicators. ICRA expects the improvement in the operating metrics to sustain enabling it to restore the stable outlook on the sector, with strengthening of the credit profile of telcos, as marked by scaling up of revenue and margin expansion. This will be supported by increase in ARPU levels and contribution from non-telco businesses, strengthening of balance sheet and liquidity position.

“While the network expansion and technology upgrades point towards steady growth in the IP business, the tower industry is set for a journey towards exploring new revenues sources and opportunities of growth. Some of these can come from active infrastructure sharing, apart from partial monetisation of existing tower spaces as well as small cells, data centers, smart cities, etc. The business plans and extent of revenue and return generation from these would remain a key monitorable,” concluded Majumdar.

Nokia rolls out next-generation AirScale 5G portfolio powered by ReefShark technology

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Telecom gear maker Nokia today announced the global launch of its latest range of industry-leading AirScale 5G products covering baseband, remote radio heads, and massive MIMO active antennas with digital beamforming. The innovative solutions are powered by the latest generation of Nokia’s ReefShark chipsets and deliver the highest capacity and network performance while enabling efficient deployments and operation. The rollout of the new products is already underway.

Nokia introduced its new generation of ReefShark-powered AirScale massive MIMO antennas with both 32TRX and 64TRX products, as well as 8T8R remote radio head solutions. The 32TRX is the industry’s lightest, at 17kg, simplifying and speeding up site deployments. Notably, this low weight is achieved at the same time as supporting high radio frequency bandwidth (200 MHz occupied bandwidth and 400 MHz instantaneous bandwidth) and delivering high radio frequency power output, without compromise. Both the new 32TRX and the new 64TRX massive MIMO antennas support both fragmented spectrum and network sharing cases.

Nokia also introduced its new SoC-based baseband plug-in cards to boost the capacity of the AirScale System Module. The new ReefShark-powered plug-in cards deliver up to eight times more throughput and serve up to eight times more cells compared to previous generations. They are easily installed and simplify the upgrade and extended operation of all AirScale deployments. Nokia’s baseband module can support 90,000 connected users simultaneously and has 84 Gbps throughput. The highly efficient ReefShark powered plug-in cards also reduce power consumption by up to 75 percent. Nokia’s modular AirScale baseband enables mobile operators to scale capacity flexibly and efficiently and as their 5G business evolves.

Nokia Single RAN software now includes 5G, accelerating 5G rollouts and cutting overall radio access network TCO (Total Cost of Ownership), by unlocking network efficiencies with common transport, common operability, common software delivery, and increased hardware sharing. The combination of Nokia’s Single RAN software and the new baseband plug-in cards offer multi-mode (2G, 3G, 4G, 5G) and multi-band and supports the latest fronthaul interfaces (eCPRI) on a single baseband platform, simplifying the network and lowering costs.

Nokia’s AirScale baseband architecture is designed to be future-proof and support the increasing demands for wireless traffic. By keeping the L1 and L2 (Layer 1 and Layer 2) computing separate from L3 (Layer 3) and Transport baseband plug-in units, capacity can be added when and where it is needed in the network. Network modernization can be simply achieved either by software upgrade or by adding new plug-in units into the existing baseband.

Nokia’s ReefShark chipsets will also play a critical role in future Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) capabilities. Nokia has already introduced AI/ML features in areas such as predictive load balancing, anomaly detection, and intelligent traffic steering. All Nokia ReefShark platforms are AI/ML ready and Nokia is carrying out proof of concepts with customers this year in innovative areas such as Massive MIMO beam pattern optimization, energy-saving, advanced traffic steering, advanced packet scheduling, and alarm pattern discovery.

Patrick Filkins, Senior Research Analyst, IoT and Mobile Network Infrastructure, IDC, said, “5G networks are absolutely critical for improving network capacity and performance, particularly when higher bandwidth is in demand. Nokia’s new portfolio addresses these concerns by enabling mobile operators to flexibly scale capacity while helping to smoothly transition to 5G from existing technologies easily and cost-effectively. The integration of Nokia’s ReefShark SoCs across both radio and baseband boosts performance and capacity and the new massive MIMO antennas set a new benchmark for low weight without compromising on performance. These solutions will help mobile operators to address the increasingly dynamic mobile services space that urgently requires more capacity.”

Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks, Nokia, said, “Our new generation of ReefShark-powered AirScale radio and baseband products is evidence of the successful transformation of our business and ability to deliver market-leading products to our global customers. Nokia’s new portfolio enables communication service providers to offer both consumer and enterprise customers with cutting-edge 5G experiences with premium speeds, capacity, and connectivity underpinned by seamless, simple, and efficient ‘plug-in’ deployment. Our new AirScale products are O-RAN ready. They consume less energy and highlight our commitment to climate change. We’re excited to see our customers deploying these products and see the transformative impact of 5G technology.”

Infinix Note 10 Pro goes for open sale on Flipkart from today

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The recently-launched Infinix Note 10 Pro is now available for sale on Flipkart starting today. Packed with an array of top-notch features, superior Dar-Link gaming technology, powerful Helio G95 processor, latest XOS 7.6 and a massive 5,000mAh battery, the all-new award-winning smartphone is up for grabs in three colour options- 7 Degree Purple, 95 Degree Black and Nordic Secret.

Available at a competitive price of Rs 16,999 on its 8GB RAM+256GB storage variant, the Infinix Note 10 Pro stands out for its elegant design that has won the renowned IF Design Award 2021. It has a 6.95-inch FHD+ Super Fluid display with a punch-hole center and narrow bezels giving a 91% screen-to-body ratio.

To complement the big screen, the handset comes with a 90Hz refresh rate, which ensures super smooth interaction between the users’ fingers and the screen. Meanwhile, the display is backed by Low Blue Light Technology that has been certified by TUV Rheinland to avoid eye fatigue after long hours of gameplay and content consumption.

The all-new Note 10 Pro is backed by MediaTek Helio G95 processor with a CPU clock speed of up to 2.05 GHz and G76 GPU clocked at up to 900MHz. The device operates on the latest Android 11 with the upgraded XOS 7.6 skin enabling users to enjoy a smooth and faster software UX with refreshed icons, new design, refreshing wallpapers, and advanced in-built features like Ultra Touch, Video Assistant, Thunder Back, XHide, XClone, Kids Mode, Photo Compressor feature, Wi-Fi Smart command and more. To give smooth performance, the device is further backed by 180Hz touch sampling rate.

In terms of optics, the smartphone comes fitted with a quad camera set-up with a primary camera of 64 MP and f/1.79 large aperture. There is an 8MP Ultra-wide angle and a 2MP super macro lens with f/2.25 large aperture along with a 2MP Portrait lens with f/2.4 aperture and an additional Black and White lens.

The handset is backed by a heavy-duty 5,000mAh battery with 18W of safe fast charging support, certified by TUV Rheinland.

Western Digital unveils UFS 3.1 flash memory for new generation of 5G smartphones

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US-based data storage solutions provider Western Digital has come up with its second-generation UFS 3.1 storage solution for 5G smartphones. The new Western Digital iNAND MC EU551 delivers the high-performance storage consumers need to be able to use their phones for emerging applications like ultra-high-resolution cameras, AR/VR, gaming and 8K video, it said in a statement.

IDC expects 5G smartphone shipments to account for more than 40% of global volume in 2021 and grow to 69% in 2025. As networks continue to expand available bandwidth and offer lower latency to enable new user experiences, Western Digital’s iNAND solutions deliver the high-capacity, high-performance embedded storage needed to power these new applications.

Emphasizing the data surge on smartphones, Jaganathan Chelliah, Director, Marketing – India, Western Digital, said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted consumer habits drastically. The new normal hastened the Indian consumers and businesses to adopt digital technologies. Consumers have increased dependence on gadgets to maintain continuity in their personal and professional lives. With the advancement in technology like high-speed cellular networks, sensor innovation and AI, we are observing a growth in the average capacity in smartphones. This is registering the need for higher performance to handle new multimedia capabilities like creating video content, and accessing OTT platforms, via smartphones. To power these emerging data-rich applications, our UFS 3.1 iNAND solutions offer high-capacity and high-performance embedded storage, that can enable faster streaming and improved experiences for users.”

Khalid Wani, Director, Sales – India, Western Digital, said, “The last 15 months have changed the entire content consumption landscape drastically, especially for smartphone users. A deluge of data is being created and consumed, the majority of it through mobile devices, leading to the requirement for high-capacity embedded storage, which also delivers high performance and ensures faster data access. The first-ever iNAND MC EU551 mobile storage device, built on the latest flash-based UFS 3.1 platform promises to deliver improvement in read and write performance, faster application launch time and reduced boot-up time, giving consumers a better workload experience.”

The iNAND MC EU551 mobile storage device is the first product built on Western Digital’s new UFS 3.1 platform, first announced on May 26 at the company’s Flash Perspective event. Leveraging faster NAND, a faster controller, and an improved firmware design, the iNAND MC EU551 delivers the following improvements over the previous generation, with up to:

  • 100% improvement in random read performance and up to 40% on random writes, to help support mixed workload experiences like running multiple applications simultaneously
  • 90% improvement in sequential writes to help realize the new 5G and Wi-Fi 6 download speed potential. This gives consumers a better experience when streaming rich media files such as 8K video, as well as improved performance for applications like burst mode photography
  • 30% improvement in sequential reads lets applications launch faster with shorter boot-up time, and enables faster upload speeds

The device is designed to meet the JEDEC UFS 3.1 specification requirements and uses the latest Write Booster technology based on Western Digital’s 7th generation SmartSLCTM. It also features Host Performance Booster version 2.0, further combining the latest advancements in the standard.

The iNAND MC EU551 is the latest addition to the iNAND family, which has been used by all major smartphone manufacturers around the world for more than a decade. As part of its work in the mobile ecosystem, Western Digital continues to work with leading system on SoC designers to qualify its UFS 3.1 solution for smartphone reference designs that offer a pre-tested solution for manufacturers to integrate.

The Western Digital iNAND MC EU551 UFS 3.1 embedded flash drive (EFD) is sampling now with volume availability planned in July. The storage solution is available in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB capacities.

Virtual nutrition coach Fitza officially gets launched in the market

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Virtual nutrition coach Fitza paved its way into the digital fitness market on June 22. It’s a one-of-a-kind mobile application conceptualized to touch the lives of people through holistic health and nutritional wellbeing, leveraging modern technology. Available on both Google Play Store and Apple App Store, the app is free to download now. Also, the app is offering a two-week free trial plan, to let the users begin their journey of healthy transformation.

A human-centered, AI-powered mobile application, Fitza is deeply rooted in delivering personalized and sustainable nutrition plans based on age-old practices, user likes and dislikes, grandma recipes and natural homemade remedies with proven outcomes and most importantly, addressing immunity building. It adapts to your body type i.e., body prakriti and doshas and intelligently changes your meal plan to drive meaningful results.

“With the inspired intention to restore wellbeing and wholeness in the social environment and emphasize preventive healthcare, this one-of-a-kind mobile app is conceptualised and developed with the intelligent features that retrieve nutritional abundance and magnify lifestyle progress,” said Nikhil Behl, CEO and Co-founder, Fitza.

“Fitza is an important step in integrating nutrition care into the care delivery ecosystem and certainly in terms of empowering people with the knowledge of nutrition,” said Sir Dr. Huzaifa Khorakiwala, CEO at Wockhardt Foundation. “We feel proud partnering with them in their mission to make nutrition advice easily accessible and very affordable,” he said.

“The application reveals powerful and natural healing diet plans and simple healthy living techniques, solemnly designed to bridge the nutrition gap while accommodating every body type with their personal delicacy preferences,” said Shweta Shah, a celebrated nutritionist and Co-founder, Fitza.

Vivo to roll out V21e in style with first of its kind Instagram launch

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Smartphone brand Vivo today said that it will launch its design and camera focused V21e in a never done before format on Instagram. The one of its kind launch will have leading influencers including Ayush Mehra, Shehnaaz Gill, Barkha Singh, Jannat Zubair, Tony Kakkar, Nikki Tamboli and a few more walking the ramp while revealing the best in class features of the new V21e.

Nipun Marya, Director Brand Strategy, Vivo India, said, “Staying indoors most of the time has altered consumption patterns, large part of modern-day smartphone users has shifted to digital platforms like Instagram for content consumption. At Vivo, we always aim to cater to the evolving needs and passions of our consumers and for the launch of our upcoming Vivo V21e, we are delighted to partner with popular influencers to unveil the product on a leading social media platform like Instagram.”

This will be the first time when 9 premium CAT A influencers will be walking the ramp and revealing one feature each in a fashion ramp setup.

Recently, Vivo announced star cricketer Virat Kohli as the Camera Xperience Officer and will be seen across the marketing campaign of Vivo V21e.

Truecaller appoints Helena Svancar, Annika Poutiainen as new board members

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Telephone search engine and caller ID service Truecaller has announced the appointment of Helena Svancar and Annika Poutiainen as new board members. Helena and Annika join with extensive experience from leading positions within governance, finance and telecommunication.

“We are delighted to announce that Annika Poutiainen and Helena Svancar have been elected to join True Software Scandinavia’s (“Truecaller’s”) Board of Directors. The rising problem of fraud and unwanted communication have accompanied digital growth as the smartphone continues to be the gateway to the digital economy, creating nuisance, mistrust and hindering economic activity. We are proud to say that Truecaller is an essential part of everyday communication for over 250 million active users and half a billion downloads since launch. These new board appointments will support Truecaller on our vision to make tomorrow’s communication smarter, safer and more efficient,” said Nami Zarringhalam, Chairman of the Board at Truecaller.

Annika Poutiainen serves as a member of the Listing Committee Nasdaq Helsinki, the advisory board of Unzer Group GmbH and the board of Airtel Africa plc. Annika has previously been chair of the Council for Swedish Financial Reporting Supervision, head of market surveillance at Nasdaq Nordics, head of unit at Finansinspektionen (Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority), member of the consultative workgroup of the committee of corporate governance within the European Securities and Markets Authority, Esma, and member of the Swedish Securities Council.

Helena Svancar has close to 20 years of experience from investment banking in London, New York, and Stockholm. She is currently the Head of M&A at Ericsson and responsible for the company’s M&A strategy, and the corporate ventures business. Prior to joining Ericsson in early 2018, she spent 18 years in investment banking, the last ten years with Deutsche Bank in London where she was Head of Corporate Finance, Nordic Region. Her other professional experience includes Rothschild and SEB Enskilda. Today, Svancar is a board member at Hoist Finance.

Paytm introduces Health and Wellness Store, integrates top health-tech apps on its platform

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Leading digital financial services platform Paytm today rolled out its dedicated Health and Wellness Store for search, discovery and ordering of COVID-related products and services across top Indian health apps to fight the pandemic. Users can now seamlessly avail the services of different health apps without downloading them, said Paytm in a statement.

Paytm’s Mini App store now gives users one-click access to a large selection of health supplements, essential vitamins, immunity boosters and ayurvedic medicines through top health tech platforms including 1mg, Netmeds, Apollo 24×7, DocsApp/Medibuddy, Zyla, Mfine and Credihealth among others. Through the integration of these apps, Paytm is helping users search and book doctor consultations, pathology services, buying medicines, immunity boosters, and opting for health insurance among other pandemic essentials.

The company also recently launched the Vaccine Finder and Booking service on the app. Through the same, Paytm users can search, discover and also book their vaccination slots for both Covaxin and Covishield at the nearest centre through the Paytm app. The service is helping Indians seamlessly book vaccination slots and gain immunity.

“During these unprecedented times, we want to ensure that everyone has all the means and services at hand for their health and wellness. Therefore, we are giving access to all health-related services at one place to bring more convenience for our users, who then do not have to step out either for doctor consultation or buying medicines and stay safe at home,” said a Paytm spokesperson.

Airtel ropes in Amrita Padda as Chief People Officer

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Telecom major Airtel today announced the appointment of Amrita Padda as Chief People Officer with effect from October 1 this year. She will report to Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO, Bharti Airtel.

In her new role, Amrita will be responsible for Airtel’s People strategy as the company transforms into a digital services provider of choice.

Gopal Vittal said, “I am delighted to welcome Amrita to Airtel. Our People and culture of empowerment are our biggest strengths that enable us to deliver world-class experiences to our customers. I am confident that Amrita will add immense value to Airtel’s exciting journey, help build new capabilities and ensure the company continues to be a magnet for top talent from across the world.”

Amrita has a work experience of over two decades with Hindustan Unilever, where she has handled the entire spectrum of Human Resources roles. Most recently, she was the Chief People Officer for Unilever Marketplace, their newly set up global business unit to transform Distributive Trade. In the past, she has also led Human Resources for Unilever Philippines and for their Global Procurement function. She has strong expertise in leading Human Resources transformation projects globally and has been a pioneer of new initiatives at Unilever.

Amrita takes over from Samit Deb, who has decided to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities outside of Airtel. “I would like to thank Samit for his contribution to Airtel and strengthening our People practices. On behalf of everyone at Airtel, I wish him the very best in all his future endeavours,” added Gopal Vittal.

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