Here is the list of the email addresses:

[email protected] (Sunil Mittal, Chairman),
ceo.[email protected],
[email protected] (CEO, Bharti Airtel),
[email protected] (CEO, Bharti Telemedia, the subsidiary that offers broadband services)

You could paste the email written here:

http://afup.broadbandforum.in/

I hope that this works and wakes them up from their slumber.

Another boring launch. Airtel wants to “differentiate” itself from the other providers by having a different format of watching channels. Thats about it.

You can follow the news as it happens on the forums or their official website which on expected lines is full of coding errors. I understand that they have invested a lot in the unified billing. I see no sight of the expected IPTV launch.

Its one thing to have the “stars coming home”- who happen to be beautiful people with some talent to be able to market themselves effectively. Apart from that, I see no real merit in having “brand ambassadors” in a crowded segment with the competitors burning equal amount of money to get a pie in your living room.

Sadly, the DTH has not matured enough here in India. Cant we get premium adult channels on the existing networks? Or there is too much of “content regulation”. We are a nation of billion people, but mention the word “sex” and there is a “smell of controversy”.

TRAI needs to learn its lessons fast.

I had mentioned about it earlier(and this link) that Bharti would be looking forward to buy out MTN with Singtel’s help. They don’t have enough money (and guts) to venture out; it’s too early in their life cycle to take big gamble and risks like these. Although Sunil Bharti Mittal promotes himself agressively (and is probably not rich enough like Mukesh Ambani), he is spreading himself out too thin (witness his forays in Retail). I doubt whether he’d go under but has been willing to act as a front for Singtel’s acquistion.

Here is the published story from Business Standard with all legal flotsam. Of note here is the following:

1) Sunil Mittal, the founder of Bharti Airtel, plans to set up a separate company in partnership with Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) that will be the vehicle for acquisition of the South Africa-based MTN Group.

2)The SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) may be registered in a tax-haven country, like Mauritius or Bahamas, the sources said.

3)When contacted, a Bharti Airtel spokesperson said: “We have already issued a statement and have nothing further to add to our last statement. “At this stage, MTN is not commenting further than the cautionary announcement released on May 5, 2008,” an MTN spokesperson said.

4)As equipment and software purchases are huge for telecom companies, the merger would give joint bargaining power to Bharti.

5)”The SPV would also look at listing on the New York Stock Exchange, where valuations of telecom companies are relatively higher,” said a source. The SPV would also be the vehicle for the Bharti Airtel-MTN combine’s future acquisition plans in the US and Europe.

I stand vindicated regarding my future predictions and the fact that Bharti is looking forward to leverage it’s position in purchase agreements. This is in addition to create monopolistic telephone operators which would limit the choice to the consumers.

Pity that these morons can’t extend something to Broadband initiatives. All this is being done prior to the auctioning of 3G licences. Bharti wants to have an exciting piece of this cake. Let’s see who spoils their party….