Broadband Services

Why India's 5G and broadband expansion is slowing despite high demand

India's 5G and broadband expansion is moving slower than expected, raising concerns among telecom companies about meeting the country's long-term digital goals

Starlink to conduct security, technical demo runs in Mumbai on Oct 30-31

Elon Musk-led Starlink is scheduled to conduct demo runs on October 30 and 31 in Mumbai to show compliance with security and technical conditions for satellite broadband services, sources said. The demo, to be done before law enforcement agencies, will be based on the provisional spectrum assigned to Starlink, sources told PTI. The move would mark a significant step ahead of its planned entry into the Indian satellite broadband market, as these demos are an essential requirement for Starlink to secure clearances before it can launch commercial services. Sources said Starlink will run a demo to show compliance with the security and technical conditions of GMPCS authorisation. This will be conducted in Mumbai on October 30 and 31, sources added.

GX Group to invest ₹500 crore in India for photonic module and chip unit

Broadband gear maker GX Group on Friday said it will set up a photonic module and chip arm in India with an initial investment of Rs 500 crore. The new subsidiary, headquartered in Manesar, Gurgaon, is expected to create over 300 direct jobs, GX Group CEO Paritosh Prajapati said. The group currently has about 250 employees in India. The Phase 1 investment of Rs 500 crore will be deployed towards establishing a manufacturing facility in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan, and expansion of its existing R&D centre in Chennai, Prajapati told PTI. "We will start operating the facility and the R&D centre by Q1 FY27. And we will start rolling out chips immediately after. The local market will get the chips by October 2026," he said. Quantum Photonics eyes a USD 50 billion addressable market in India, with GX Group's existing customer base, including tier I telecom operators and data centre companies, already showing interest. GX Group's existing customer base includes Airtel, ACT, and Tata Play.

Starlink can provide services only to 2 million users in India: Centre

High cost and limited reach of Starlink's satellite internet will not impact BSNL's rural services, says Minister of State for Telecom Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar

Vodafone Idea must stop seeking waivers from government and courts

Vi must urgently raise capital

Govt delays mandatory broadband gear testing rule till Sep 1 amid US tariff

The telecom department has deferred mandatory testing requirements for broadband gears till September 1 amid ongoing negotiations with the US on tariff issues. The US government has specifically termed India's testing and certification requirements in the telecom sector as burdensome that make it difficult or costly for American companies to sell their products in India. The National Centre for Communication Security (NCCS) under the Department of Telecommunications on April 7 notified that optical network terminal (ONT) and optical line terminal (OLT) products will be under the voluntary security certification (VSC) regime till August 31 during which administrative fees and security test evaluation fees shall not be levied. Earlier the DoT had set April 1 for mandatory testing and certification of ONTs that have already been deployed in telecom networks and are proposed for change in hardware and software. The department had set February 2 as the last date for mandatory ...

Bharti Airtel, RIL shares rise upto 3% on deal with Elon Musk-backed SpaceX

Bharti Airtel rose as much as 3.37 per cent to hit an intraday high of Rs 1717.25 per share, while RIL share gained up to 1.13 per cent to hit an intraday high of Rs 1,261.55

SAR Televenture to acquire Tikona Infinet for Rs 669 cr in cash, stock deal

Network infrastructure company SAR Televenture on Monday announced that it will acquire internet service provider Tikona Infinet for Rs 669 crore in a cash and stock deal. The two parties have entered into an agreement under which SAR will acquire a 91 per cent stake in Tikona for Rs 669.04 crore in cash and stock deal, a statement said. Tikona Infinet will become a significant subsidiary of SAR Televenture and Tikona shareholders will get SAR Televenture shares. SAR, which is listed on the SME platform of NSE, would be able to expand its business post-deal, especially those in the enterprise sector, the statement said, adding there are operational synergies between the two businesses which will create cost savings. Post deal completion, timelines for which were not revealed, the SAR group will become an integrated telecom services provider with a presence in ISP services, IP1 services, broadband and enterprise services, the statement said. In FY24, the registered sales of the ..

GX group aims for 60% reusable materials in products within two years: CEO

Broadband equipment maker GX Group has set a target to use 60 per cent reusable material across all its products over the next two years, a top company official said. GX Group CEO Paritosh Prajapati told PTI that India is poised to become the second-largest fibre broadband market globally with 110 million active fibre lines by 2030, which poses a rising challenge in managing the environmental impact of telecom infrastructure. "India's climate action goals, which aim for net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in the European Union mandates stringent emissions controls on imports, and similar rules are also expected to be in India. We have set sustainability goals to use 60 per cent of reusable material in our products in the next two years," Prajapati said. The telecom production linked incentive (PLI) qualified company claims to have become the first firm in India to launch WiFi routers and GPON ONTs (broadband modems for high capacity optic

IPTV to challenge cable TV mkt in India: Excitel Broadband CEO Vivek Raina

Fixed line broadband player aims to triple 1 million customer base in 3 years

SAR Televenture to raise Rs 450 cr via FPO, rights issue to fund expansion

Telecommunication infrastructure provider SAR Televentures Ltd is looking to raise Rs 450 crore through a combination of Further Public Offer (FPO) and a rights issue to fund the company's expansion plans. The Noida-based SAR Televentures, which made its debut on NSE's Emerge platform in November 2023, is engaged in the business of installing and commissioning telecom towers in India. The composite public issue with a face value of Rs 2 consists of a further public offer of Rs 200 crore and a rights issue of Rs 250 crore, according to the draft offer documents filed last week. Proceeds from the issue, to the extent of Rs 273 crore will be used for funding the setting up of Fiber to the Home (FTTH) network solutions for 3 lakh home passes; Rs 42.50 crore for setting up of an additional 1,000 number of 4G/5G telecom towers; Rs 30 crore for funding incremental working capital requirement of the company. Besides, funds will be used for general corporate purposes. As part of its strateg

OneWeb sets sights on defence, governance for satellite broadband expansion

One Web can leverage on the fact that it has already rolled out services in parts of Europe, US and Africa and is in talks with at least 2 airline companies in Europe to offer the service inflight

Telecom Bill consumer-centric, pro-investor; clarifies on key issues: BIF

Broadband India Forum (BIF) on Wednesday said the new telecom bill brings clarity on a slew of important issues facing the sector, including the regulator's power and functions, protection and duties of telecom users, and exclusion of OTTs from the purview of telecom regulations. In a statement, the industry body said its executive council, at its recent meeting, praised the bill, and termed it a historic milestone and extremely progressive. The bill, BIF said, is consumer-centric and investor-friendly, and will propel the growth of the sector. BIF said the bill brings in clarity on a plethora of key issues, including Trai's power and functions, protection and duties of telecom users and clarity in definition of telecommunication services. There is also clarity on issues such as exclusion of OTTs from the purview of telecom regulations, administrative allocation of satellite spectrum and certain other types of spectrum, right of way issues, spurring of Universal Service and ...

OneWeb gets regulatory approval to launch satellite broadband services

OneWeb India is the first organisation to be granted this authorisation. Eutelsat OneWeb, the low earth orbit operator, is part of Eutelsat Group

Nokia bags WiFi6-ready broadband gear deal from Tata Play Fiber

Finnish telecom gear maker Nokia on Thursday said it has bagged a broadband gear supply deal from Tata Play Fiber to launch India's first WiFi6-ready broadband network. Nokia said with increasing broadband usage in both residential and enterprise areas, there is significant demand for new, high-capacity broadband connections and to meet this demand, broadband networks need future proof fiber and in-home solutions that can scale in line with evolving end-customer needs. Under the contract, Nokia will ship WiFi6 Mesh technology which the company claims is ideally suited to residential homes with large and multi-floor spaces, as well as for small office/home office (SOHO) enterprises, which represent a large addressable market in India. "Our partnership with Nokia allows us to bring WiFi6-ready network to our customers - which is a first in the category. "The deployment of this next generation best-in-class optical networking solution will boost up speed and coverage for multiple smar

Soon, you will be able to use satcom services on your phone; here's how

At the present moment, there are 5-6 devices available in the global market that provide support for satellite connectivity

Airtel vs Jio: Is satellite communication next battleground for disruption?

It is Airtel vs Jio again as a new wave of satellite communication promises to take broadband internet to the remotest corners

Tata Sons comes to rescue of Tata Play as it faces growth headwinds

Tata Sons' deal with Temasek is expected to value Tata Play at around $1 billion, or around Rs 8,300 crore

Amazon confirms plans to offer 'affordable broadband' through satcom

An Amazon spokesperson said that Project Kuiper (Amazon's broadband-from-space venture) will bring fast internet services to underserved communities around the world

Govt approves sharing of cable TV infra with broadband service providers

The government has notified amendments to the Cable Television Network Rules-1994, that grant registration for multi-system operators for a 10-year period and make the process online through the Broadcast Seva Portal. The amended rules for MSO registration also enable the sharing of infrastructure by cable operators with broadband service providers to promote internet penetration to the last mile. Besides shifting the process of registration and renewal of MSOs to online mode through the Broadcast Seva Portal of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the amended rules make it clear that registration shall be granted or renewed for a period of 10 years. The processing fee of Rs 1 lakh is kept for the renewal of registration, the rules said. According to the rules, the application for registration renewal shall be made within a window of seven to two months before the expiry of the registration. "The renewal procedure is in line with the government's commitment to ease of doi