iWorld
Airtel launches 4G trials in Mumbai; partners Flipkart, Samsung
MUMBAI: The 4G wave is picking up pace in the country with telcos scrambling to roll out its services and offers to gain subscriber traction. Global telecommunications company Bharti Airtel has now launched 4G trials exclusively for its existing customers in Mumbai.
As part of this, Airtel customers across the city can now avail a complimentary upgrade to Airtel 4G at 3G prices and be the first to experience blazing Airtel 4G speeds. The company will use this trial phase as an opportunity to gather customer feedback around the quality of its 4G services and assimilate these market insights into Airtel’s wider agenda of building a world-class 4G network infrastructure for the city.
Additionally, Airtel has also inked go-to-market partnerships with Samsung and Flipkart to proliferate 4G devices and transition more and more customers to experience the fastest browsing experience.
Bharti Airtel Mumbai, Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat hub CEO Ashok Ganapathy said, “As an increasing number of Indians show a preference for consuming data and content over their mobile devices, we at Airtel are excited to bring the power of 4G to our customers in Mumbai. While launching Platinum 3G, we significantly augmented our network and now have made further investments in building a robust 4G network here. For us, delivering a compelling service experience to our customers is our utmost priority. We want our existing customers to be the first ones to enjoy the Airtel 4G experience and are offering them a free upgrade to Airtel 4G at the same price as 3G. We look forward to our customers’ valuable feedback towards delivering a truly world-class 4G experience in Mumbai.”
To avail this offer, existing Airtel customers with 4G ready mobile devices can walk into any of Airtel’s retail touch points across Mumbai and upgrade to a 4G SIM and experience high mobile internet speeds.
As part of the deal with Samsung India, the two companies have decided to promote each other’s 4G offerings at their respective outlets. Samsung India’s retail stores will now facilitate easy Airtel 4G SIM swap for customers buying 4G smart phones. In the weeks to come, Samsung will also offer bundled Airtel 4G SIMs along with Samsung 4G handsets available in the Indian market. Airtel 4G double data offers are now available for Samsung’s Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy A7 and Galaxy A5 mobile devices. Samsung will also be looking at launching its all new Core Prime 4G mobile smartphone in Airtel 4G markets.
Flipkart, on the other hand, will be offering Airtel 4G with double the data benefits for customers buying select 4G handsets. Flipkart-exclusive 4G devices (including brands like Xiaomi, Motorola, Lenovo, Asus and Huawei) that will soon come bundled with an Airtel 4G SIM. While existing Airtel customers will be able to follow a quick SMS registration process to activate 4G, non-Airtel customers buying their 4G device from Flipkart will be guided through a simple process to smoothly transition to the Airtel 4G network.
Airtel’s 4G services are now available across India including Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune, Chandigarh and Amritsar.
iWorld
Anirudh Ravichander and Universal Music India join forces to take South India’s sound to the world
The composer behind 13 billion streams launches Albuquerque Records with UMI as its exclusive global partner
MUMBAI: Universal Music India has struck an exclusive partnership with Albuquerque Records, the freshly minted independent label of singer-composer Anirudh Ravichander, in a deal that bets big on South India’s booming pop and hip-hop scene going global.
The arrangement, announced on 17 March, will see Universal Music India handle future pop and hip-hop releases by Anirudh himself, as well as artists signed to the new label. A first release is already in the pipeline for April, featuring Anirudh.
The numbers behind the man are hard to ignore. Debuting in 2012 with the viral sensation “Why This Kolaveri Di”, Anirudh has since clocked over 13 billion audio streams across more than 770 tracks, cementing his position as the No.1 South Indian artist on Spotify by total streams. His fingerprints are all over some of the Tamil film industry’s biggest musical moments, from Hukum and Vaathi Coming to Arabic Kuthu and the A23 Theme.
But Albuquerque Records is a different beast. Built for the non-film space, it is designed to nurture independent talent and champion the next wave of Indian pop voices. “Universal Music India’s leadership in pop and hip-hop made them the natural partner,” said Anirudh. “I’m excited to take independent voices to audiences around the world.”
Universal Music India’s chairman and CEO Devraj Sanyal was equally effusive. “Anirudh represents the future of Indian music, bold, original, and with enormous potential,” he said. “Identifying transformative talent is our superpower, and this partnership reflects that belief.”
Sanujeet Bhujabal, managing director of Universal Music India, framed the deal as more than a distribution play. “Albuquerque Records represents Anirudh’s bold artistic vision in the world of pop and hip-hop,” he said. “True to his legacy of innovation, this partnership is set to establish yet another landmark creative space, this time for the emerging world of iPop and beyond.”
For Universal Music India, the deal deepens a long-running push into South India’s four key language markets: Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu. The label already has regional imprints, film partnerships with Maddock Films and Excel Entertainment, and a growing non-film roster. Landing Anirudh, arguably the south’s most bankable music brand, is a statement of intent. South Indian music has the streams. Now it is coming for the world.
