| 'Do we need a new spectrum policy?' | 18-NOV-09 |
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| Telecom spectrum and licensing reform are key to India’s economic future. A recent research carried out by Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (Icrier) shows a 10 per cent increase in mobile penetration raises GDP growth by 1.2 percentage points. The spectrum and licensing policy will determine whether the industry can deliver a long-term growth or will die a “death by a thousand cuts” — uncertainty and fragmentation may cause higher costs which, in the end, must be passed on to consumers. The long-term future of the industry is at stake. There is no room for complacency, or giving way to vested interests. |
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| Vodafone tax saga (re)surfaces | 09-NOV-09 |
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| Early last week, the Mumbai revenue department issued show cause notices to Vodafone, proposing to tax offshore transaction, as a result of which Vodafone acquired a controlling interest in GSM licences from Hutch. |
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| Two-in-one phones catch on | 09-NOV-09 |
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| Users are increasingly taking to dual-SIM handsets, which enable two connections on a single device. |
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| Go long | 09-NOV-09 |
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| The increased competitive intensity between wireless telephony service providers has not only had a dampening effect on the stock prices but is also reflecting in their September 2009 quarter results. India’s largest wireless telecom companies by subscribers—Bharti Airtel (Bharti) and Reliance Communications (Rcom)---have seen their revenues and net profits register a drop in growth for the first time in the last three quarters. |
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| Devangshu Datta: Looking good in comparison | 07-NOV-09 |
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| Behavioural scientists chuckle over the “Lake Wobegon Effect”. Lake Wobegon is a fictional small town whose residents claim that all the women are beautiful, all the men strong, and all the children intelligent. Similar effects are seen in surveys where everyone is a self-assessed good driver. |
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| BSNL places order with Huawei for expansion; no fresh bids | 06-NOV-09 |
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| State-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) today said it has placed purchase order for mobile equipment for 20 million GSM lines for the south zone with Chinese firm Huawei and will not call for any fresh bids. |
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| BSNL keeps 'fresh bids' option open in expansion project | 06-NOV-09 |
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| State-owned BSNL today said it was negotiating hard with telecom equipment suppliers — Ericsson and Huawei — for its Rs 32,000 crore project, to expand GSM network by 93 million lines, but has kept open the option for re-inviting bids if the talks lead nowhere. |
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| Trai mulls fixing SMS termination charges | 06-NOV-09 |
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| In the next few months new operators offering a large number of free short messaging service (SMS) deals to attract mobile subscribers might soon find it difficult to do so. Telecom operators that have contracted bulk deals with companies to send unsolicited messages to operators in other networks might also find it more expensive. |
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| Battle for touch screens | 02-NOV-09 |
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| The price war in the touch screen mobile phone market in India has just begun. While Samsung has created a stir with Corby, which it launched a few weeks ago, Nokia is planning to catch up fast with the 5230 and 5530 models. |
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| Newsmaker: Andimuthu Raja | 30-OCT-09 |
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| Controversy and the telecom ministry have been closely connected ever since the business was opened to private competition in the mid-nineties. With last week’s raids by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Andimuthu Raja is continuing a tradition. |
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| TTSL bags top slot again with highest subscriber addition | 27-OCT-09 |
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| Continuing its growth momentum, Tata Teleservices today said it has added over 40 lakh (4 million) new subscribers in September, becoming the top grosser in the industry in terms of new subscriber additions for the second consecutive month. |
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