"TRAI's assessment does not include the cost of license extension in addition to the cost of spectrum to be auctioned. Taking into account these two factors only, EY-COAI estimates that the impact on cost per minute will be more than six times the 4.4 paisa ( for FY'13)," Partner in member firm of EY Prashant Singhal said in its analysis of spectrum base price recommended by telecom regulator TRAI.
The analysis comes in back drop of steep spectrum base price of Rs 3,622 per unit of airwaves to be auctioned recommended by TRAI. This price has earned sharp criticism from industry.
Inter-ministerial panel at Department of Telecom, the Telecom Commission in its recommendation to EGoM has said that balance needs to be struck between spectrum price and three other critical factors -- revenue to government, tariff to consumer and viability of investment and continued attractiveness of the sector while taking decision.
The Commission asked TRAI to come up with analysis on impact of spectrum price recommended by it in each of 22 telecom service area and re-look at the points made by industry.
The report jointly prepared by telecom industry body COAI and EY has claimed that TRAI has made false assumption while calculating impact of spectrum price on telecom tariffs.
"Trai has done simple calculation to arrive at cost impact. It has divided the amount of spectrum to be auctioned and divided it by total number of minutes being used by all telecom subscribers which is incorrect," Partner for Advisory service at E&Y Bharat Bhargava said.
He added that Trai missed to consider spectrum quantity that is being used to support 332 minutes of telecom network used by a subscriber in a month where the revenue comes from only outgoing minutes.
"So one factor of TRAI getting low number is due to less spectrum being put in numerator," Bhargava said.
The analysis said that TRAI has assumed that minutes of usage for telecom services by subscribers will grow around 160 per cent over a period of 20 years (2012-2032) which is contrary to historical trends, which indicate that MOU per subscriber have been falling over the last few years.
"Industry reports indicate that an average tariff increase of around 20 per cent by leading Indian operators in second quarter of 2011 resulted in a sharp decline in MOU in the range of 2.6 to 6.9 per cent," the report said.
The report further said that TRAI assumption of MOU per subscriber will grow 84 per cent during the 20 year period, is in contrast to the declining trend seen over the last 3-4 years.
Singhal said that there will be also significant impact on operator costs and consumer tariffs.
"The substantial payout for spectrum may compel the operators to raise further debt and strain their already leveraged balance sheets," he said.
TRAI is expected to discuss its analysis with Department of Telecom on Monday before submission to EGoM.
iPhone 5 observations & why it could prevail - Phones Review
The Apple iPhone 5 is highly anticipated even though the release could still be several months away. As usual its biggest competition will be the latest Samsung Galaxy S phone, the Galaxy S3 (and other upcoming Android handsets) but we have some observations for why the iPhone 5 could prevail.
The iPhone 5 has been subject to rumor and speculation almost since the iPhone 4S was released last fall and just a few of the most recent rumors include a possible front panel spot, a lowdown on the hardware and iOS 6 and news that some of the parts for the iPhone 5 will be manufactured in the U.S. Although no specs and features have yet been confirmed for the iPhone 5 (even the name is not confirmed) some of the inclusions that have been widely reported and expected are an A5X or A6 processor, an improved camera, even higher-resolution display, larger screen, iOS 6, LTE connectivity and more.
So why do we think the new iPhone will be able to hold its own against the competition? First off is simply Apple’s reputation and brand loyalty. There’s no doubting that many people who purchase an Apple device then find themselves sticking with Apple, in much the same way as Android enthusiasts stay loyal to Android devices. Apple has an excellent reputation for high-quality, top-notch goods and in recent years has managed to keep its prices down in an endeavor to counter its earlier reputation for being expensive. Thus the iPhone 5 is guaranteed success almost regardless of what it brings to the table, although of course the better it is the more it will sell.
There’s also the fact that although the iPhone 4S has sold (and is still selling) in huge quantities, Apple probably would have sold even more if it had come up with a new design. Many people held back and providing Apple comes up with a revamp this time around, those who missed out on the iPhone 4S are likely to opt for the iPhone 5. On top of this there’s also the fact that although the Galaxy S3 is highly regarded, one of its only criticisms has been the rather bland design and feel. Please note before Android fans bombard us with complaints that we’re basing this on readers’ comments to Galaxy S3 posts when many of them noted their disappointment on the design. Of course plenty of others have no problem with the look of the S3 and Apple really has to pull out all the stops with the iPhone 5 design.
As well as this there’s a growing acknowledgement that technical specs aren’t everything. Although as a tech site we provide relevant specs and features on new devices some people just aren’t too worried about the internals and are more concerned with the software or a premium look and feel. Although the hardware is always expected to improve with every iteration of the iPhone, or other smartphones come to that, there seems to be less difference between top-end device specs now, with a plethora of impressive devices to choose from.
When it comes to software then, it would be churlish not to note that Apple’s iOS operating system and apps are hugely popular. As Apple’s mobile devices only use one operating system there’s a parity across devices and a focus there that just isn’t available with some other manufacturers devices. Of course these are just our observations on why Apple’s iPhone 5 could more than hold its own against the competition and we know that Android enthusiasts are likely to vehemently disagree. Nevertheless it does seem as though there will still be plenty of good reasons for purchasing the next iPhone but this is where we’d like to hear from you.
Are you an iPhone fan, already committed to the iPhone 5? If so you may feel that no other smartphone comes close to this iconic smartphone? Alternatively you may be an Android user determined to stick with your platform of choice and may want to argue the benefits of another device, such as the Galaxy S3? We’d like to hear from you so send us your comments.
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