Vodafone awards Rs 2,040-crore 4G contract to Ericsson

Vodafone India has awarded a 4G deployment contract worth $300 million (about Rs 2,040 crore) to Swedish gear maker Ericsson for UP West, Rajasthan, Odisha, North East and Assam telecom zones, people familiar with the matter said.

“The deployment of 4G LTE network is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2017. Ericsson, under this contract, is deploying its full radio system portfolio that offers 50% improved energy efficiency,” said one of the persons, who did not wish to be identified. Queries emailed by ET to Ericsson and Vodafone India did not elicit any response till late evening on Tuesday.

Vodafone India, the domestic arm of the British telecom firm, which is expediting its network expansion and ramping up capacities to counter bigger rival Bharti Airtel and the 4G entrant Reliance Jio, is currently in talks with Aditya Birla Groupowned Idea Cellular for a potential equal merger. Vodafone India and Idea Cellular have common network equipment and managed services vendors.

he proposed merger could lead to realignments of existing contracts with their respective partners, industry analysts said. Both the telcos may have to renegotiate some vendor contracts to optimise network and bring in operational efficiency on a circle-to-circle basis, they said. The two companies had bought spectrum in the 2016 auctions.

Vodafone India has given network rollout contracts for all its 4G circles, including a 4G LTE deployment and expansion deal worth ¤450-500 million (about Rs 3,650 crore) to Nokia covering 10 circles and a similar contract to Huawei in Karnataka, Kerala and Delhi circles. Vodafone also awarded a multi-year managed services contract, worth ¤200 million (about Rs 1,420 crore) to Nokia, covering several telecom circles.

Anushka Sharma-Virat Kohli relationship

Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma just made their relationship ‘Insta-Official’. While the world may have a clue or two about the lovebirds’ hush-hush relationship, this might just be the very first time that Virat has taken to his social networking handle to profess his love and admiration for his lady love. Sharing a cute and casual picture of himself posing with Anushka on a lush green lawn, the cricketer wrote, “Everyday is a valentine day if you want it to be. You make every day seem like one for me.

The cricketer recently played the guessing game with fans when he sent out a cryptic tweet which hinted at something ‘forever’. In his tweet, he wrote, “When you’ve got something to tell the world. But you can’t yet.

irat Kohli and Anushka Sharma may be just back from their New Year vacation in Uttarakhand, but the duo is making news again. In latest development, the two were spotted outside the upscale residential building, Omkar 1973 in Worli, Mumbai, where Virat owns a sprawling 5-BHK house. He bought the sky bungalow in 2015.

Virat rubbished the rumours of their engagement after their holiday pics went viral in the last week of December, but their joint visit at the under-construction site hints at their future plans. The cricketer is expected to get possession of the property only after 2018.

Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma were holidaying with her family in Uttarakhand amid the countdown to the New Year. The year has been very busy and fruitful for both Virat and Anushka and this definitely calls for a quiet holiday together. In this latest picture that surfaced on the web, the couple was spotted posing with a saint in their winter gear. The two were seen arriving at the Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun and are currently soaking in the winter sun at a luxury destination spa in Narendra Nagar in Tehri. Anushka also shared a beautiful video in which she was seen feeding a peacock.

PM hits back at Akhilesh's jibe, rakes up issue of rapes

Hitting back at Akhilesh Yadav for his 'kaam ki baat' jibe, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said incidents of rape and abduction have gone up in Uttar Pradesh and asked whether the Chief Minister would describe it as his "work" or "misdeeds".

Addressing an election rally in the sugarcane bowl of UP, he found faults in the functioning of the Akhilesh-led Samajwadi Party government and raised the issue of non-payment of cane dues to farmers.

He said if BJP comes to power in the state, waiving off of loans to small farmers would be its first task and all cane dues of farmers would be cleared within 14 days.

Urging voters of the state to give BJP a chance, Modi said if his party is voted to power, all anti-social elements would be put behind bars within six months.

"Incidents of rape and murder (in UP) are on the rise and gangs are operating from inside the prisons... Cases of abduction and riots have increased," the Prime Minister said.
He further questioned, "Akhilesh ji, is this your 'kaam (work) or karname (bad deeds)' which is speaking?"

His comment on the law and order situation came as a 22-year-old woman, who had accused an MLA of the SP of rape in 2013, was found allegedly murdered+ .

Modi's attack on Akhilesh came a day after the Chief Minister took a swipe at him in the context of his 'Mann ki Baat' radio programme, saying "I want to ask him (PM) as to when will he do 'kaam ki baat' (talk something worthwhile)."

India team selection for Australia Test series: Unchanged India squad announced

The BCCI retained the same India cricket team squad that had featured in the Bangladesh Test in Hyderabad. Rohit Sharma and Amit Mishra were not considered for selection. Relive all highlights of the selection meeting here.

13:47 hrs IST: Rohit Sharma will get a chance to prove his fitness for the Tests in Ranchi and Dharamsala as he plays the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Mumbai. Mohammed Shami and Amit Mishra will also get a chance to showcase their fitness.

13:24 hrs IST: No major surprises in the Indian squad. Karun Nair and Jayant Yadav along with Kuldeep Yadav and Abhinav Mukund retained. No Rohit Sharma or Amit Mishra.

13:13 hrs IST: Steven Smith and the Australian cricket team had their first media interaction and he said that they had no specific gameplan to stop Virat Kohli.

12:52 hrs IST: In the 2013 series, Ashwin picked up 29 wickets while Ravindra Jadeja picked up 24 wickets. With Ashwin and Jadeja in prime form this time around, the task does not get any easier for Australia.

12:40 hrs IST: India are going to play three out of the four Tests against Australia in new venues. Pune, Dharamsala and Ranchi have hosted ODIs and T20Is but never Tests. In the England series, Rajkot was the new Test venue while for New Zealand, Indore was a new Test venue.

12:33 hrs IST: What will be the composition of the Indian attack for the Australia series? Will they pack their line-up with spinners or maintain the three pacers two spinners composition which they did in the Bangladesh Test?

12:14 hrs IST: With a settled middle order and with a settled bowling combination, the onus is on the top. While Murali Vijay has been consistent, KL Rahul has experienced peaks and troughs.

12:05 hrs IST: According to early reports, the team selected might not have any major changes. Perhaps, Mohammed Shami will come back but he has not had many opportunities to prove his fitness.

12:01 hrs IST: Will Rohit Sharma get a surprise call to the Test team? Considering he has not played much cricket since injury, he might get a nod for the last two Tests should he perform well in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

11:52 hrs IST: The selectors are meeting at noon to decide the squad for the upcoming four-Test series against Australia. The first Test will begin in Pune on February 23.

The selection committee, headed by MSK Prasad, will meet in the BCCI office at noon and chances are that it will announce the retention of the entire Hyderabad squad. At least for the first two Tests against Australia – in Pune from February 23 and in Bangalore from March 4. However, there is one case for the committee which should make their travelling to Mumbai worthwhile. They will need to apply their minds over the right time to recall Rohit Sharma into the squad.

Rohit’s plan is to play the domestic one-day matches, the Vijay Hazare Trophy, from February 25 in Chennai to prove his fitness.Mumbai play three back-to-back matches on Feb 25, 26 and 27, against Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, which will be as good as playing a three-day first-class game. If everything goes well and the selectors are convinced, then Rohit will be available for the second Test.

Virat Kohli’s Indian team has a settled composition and have dominated the home season. Kohli has not lost a single Test in 2016 and has not tasted defeat at home yet. India have not tasted defeat in a home Test for 20 matches while Kohli has not suffered a loss for 19 Tests since the loss in Galle to Sri Lanka in 2015.