Department Of Telecommunications

An app nobody noticed, until everyone did. Political heat and curiosity pushed it to the top in downloads. How long before the slide?

The government's cyber security and safety app Sanchar Saathi recorded a 10-fold jump in downloads on Tuesday, rising from a daily average of around 60,000 to nearly 6 lakh, DoT sources said on Wednesday. The number of downloads jumped even as Opposition leaders and a section of industry experts criticised the Department of Telecom order to mandatorily pre-install the app on all mobile phones alleging that it is meant for "snooping" and violating privacy of citizens. "There has been very good response to the Sanchar Saathi App from the public suddenly. The download on a single day jumped 10 times to around 6 lakh from an average of 60,000 a day," a DoT source, who did not wished to be named, told PTI. According to official data, 1.5 crore people have already downloaded the app even before the order was issued. The order dated November 28, mandates all mobile phone manufacturers to pre-install Sanchar Saathi app in all handsets to be sold in India as well as in existing devices thro

Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia clarified that Sanchar Saathi is optional, following uproar over the government mandate asking phone makers to pre-install the app to help curb cyber fraud

A directive from India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will soon change how messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal work.

The government mandated all manufacturers to ensure that the government's Sanchar Saathi mobile application is pre-installed on all mobile handsets manufactured or imported for use in India

The Congress on Monday rejected the directions of the Department of Telecommunications on pre-installation of the Sanchar Saathi app in new mobile handsets as unconstitutional, and demanded its immediate rollback. Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said that the right to privacy is an intrinsic part of the fundamental right to life and liberty. Big Brother cannot watch us. This DoT direction is beyond unconstitutional. The Right to Privacy is an intrinsic part of the fundamental right to life and liberty, enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution. A pre-loaded government app that cannot be uninstalled is a dystopian tool to monitor every Indian. It is a means to watch over every movement, interaction and decision of each citizen, Venugopal said in a post on X. The move, he alleged, is part of the long series of "relentless assaults" on the Constitutional rights of Indian citizens, which will not be allowed to continue. We reject this direction and demand its immediate ...

Telecom operators want SMS-based OTP to become the primary authentication layer for financial transactions as DoT moves to tighten security

Industry and policy experts warn the new rules could upend user experience while doing little to curb cyber fraud

Short-range vehicle radar systems, widely used in automotive ADAS, that operate in the 77-81 GHz frequency range, have been exempted from the spectrum assignment rule by the telecom department, according to a gazette notification on Wednesday. The move is expected to ease the process for the development of autonomous vehicles in the country. However, for the exemption, radars will follow certain technical standards, including non-interference, non-protection and the frequencies will be shared, which means it will be non-exclusive for users. "No frequency assignment shall be required by any person to establish, maintain, work, possess or deal in any wireless equipment for the purpose of short-range automotive radar system in the 77 to 81 GHz frequency band on non-interference, non-protection and shared (non-exclusive) basis, and using the technical parameters...," the notification said. Many automotive players are offering ADAS ( advanced driver-assistance systems) as a premium feat

IT services firm Tech Mahindra on Tuesday said it has entered into a licensing agreement with AT&T to offer telecom operators a highly automated solution for conducting network health checks and connectivity tests, ensuring more robust and reliable networks. As part of the deal, Tech Mahindra will use AT&T's Automated Network Testing (ANT) and Open Tool platforms to transform network testing and certification for LTE and 5G networks globally, the company said in a statement. "Tech Mahindra today announced a licensing agreement with AT&T for its proprietary ANT and Open Tool platforms. These applications deliver an advanced platform designed to transform network testing and certification across Long Term Evolution (LTE), 5G Non-Standalone (NSA), and 5G Standalone (SA) domains, it said. The ANT platform features a user-friendly interface and an automated backend, integrating multiple industry traffic generation tools for streamlined test execution and validation. The Open ..

The feature is being introduced to help curb spam, fraud, and scam calls, as well as reduce incidents of impersonation where callers pretend to represent other people or organisations

The telecom department will review the Supreme Court's order permitting reassessment of Vodafone Idea's AGR dues for FY16-17, as the government weighs legal options and next steps

Trai's backing clears path for nationwide CNAP rollout; feature to display caller names by default on 4G, 5G phones with opt-out option for users

The plea of Vodafone sought directions to quash the additional demand of AGR dues, saying that it belonged to the pre-2016-17 period that had been settled by the Supreme Court's earlier ruling

Vodafone Idea rallied 8 per cent to ₹9.20, its highest level since February 10, 2025, on the BSE in Tuesday's intra-day trade amid heavy volumes

Earlier this year, in May, the DoT released the draft rules to delicense the 5925-6425 MHz portion of the 6 GHz spectrum band

Vodafone Idea has petitioned the Supreme Court to quash fresh AGR dues raised by DoT, arguing the new demands exceed the court's ruling and threaten its financial survival

The telecom department will reportedly return the proposal to Trai for review, noting that the suggested ₹500 annual levy on urban satcom users is difficult to implement

Trai is unlikely to change its stance on satellite spectrum pricing even as it waits for the Department of Telecommunications' response, a senior official says.

Trai held talks with RBI, Sebi, and DoT to fast-track a digital consent system that lets users block spam calls and revoke permissions via a tamper-proof interface