Page 5 - Department Of Telecommunications

Govt's telecom revenue for FY24 expected to miss target by Rs 10,000 cr

Under the 2022 revival package totalling Rs 1.64 trillion and the Rs 89,047 crore allocation in 2023, the government is set to provide spectrum and settle adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues for BSNL

Govt working to prevent international spoof calls deceiving Indian citizens

The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre and the Department of Telecommunications are collaborating to block the influx of overseas spoof calls that falsely alleging digital arrests

DoT asks operators to re-verify over 600,000 mobile connections in 60 days

The Department of Telecom has directed telecom operators to verify more than 6 lakh mobile connections suspected to have been obtained using invalid, non-existent, or fake documents, an official statement said on Thursday. The DoT has issued directives to telecom operators to carry out immediate re-verification of the identified mobile numbers within 60 days. "DoT has identified approximately 6.80 lakh mobile connections suspected to have been obtained using invalid, non-existent, or fake and forged Proof of Identity (PoI) and Proof of Address (PoA) KYC documents," the statement said. The department has flagged around 6.80 lakh mobile connections as potentially fraudulent after advanced AI-driven analysis. "The questionable veracity of the PoI/PoA KYC documents suggests the use of fabricated documents for obtaining these mobile connections. DoT has issued directives to the TSPs to carry out immediate re-verification of these identified mobile numbers. All TSPs are mandated to ...

Ineffective interventions

Spam calls must be stopped

Value of mergers and acquisitions at lowest level in at least 76 months

With 98 deals, the total value of M&A stood at $1.8 billion. In the same month last year, the value was $8 billion across 204 deals

Govt portal pins 898,000 missing phones, less than 15% recovered: DoT

Only 1.43% of traced stolen phones finally recovered, 69% in Telangana

DoT to telecom operators: How much of legacy gear is non-trusted?

Considers US-like 'rip & replace' scheme to help telcos shift to 'trusted sources' to ensure national security

Telecom operators group asks govt to ban sale of unlicenced WiFi 6E routers

Cellular Operators Association of India says routers are available for sale on e-commerce platforms and through offline retailer

In the works: Telecom Patent Fund to access costly tech, drive innovation

DoT plans fund to acquire critical licences from global firms for startups and SMEs, boost indigenous R&D

Vodafone Idea earmarks Rs 5,720 crore to roll out 5G wireless network

Plans to use Rs 18K cr FPO's proceeds to upgrade infra, clear deferred payments; govt holding will dilute to 24% from 32% currently

DoT postpones spectrum auction by 17 days to June 6 due to elections

The Department of Telecom (DoT) has deferred the spectrum auction by 17 days to June 6 as per the amendments made in the notice inviting application for the bids on Wednesday. The department has also reduced bank guarantee and guarantee for earnest money deposit, in a move to ease liquidity for the bidders. According to the amendment, the new date for "start of the live auction" has been changed to June 6 -- after the announcement of the Lok Sabha results -- from May 20. The mock auctions will now be held on June 3 instead of May 13 and 14. The government will auction eight spectrum bands for mobile phone services at a base price of about Rs 96,317 crore. The DoT has also reduced the number of blocks for auction in the 900 Mhz band in the West Bengal circle to 44 from 48 blocks that were proposed earlier. The validity of bank guarantee for earnest money deposit (EMD) in the form of bank guarantee will be valid for less period till September 30, 2024 instead of December 31, 2024,

DoT asks telcos to suspend USSD-based call forwarding, switch to other mode

The Department of Telecom has asked telecom operators to deactivate USSD-based call forwarding with effect from April 15 and move to alternative methods to re-activate it, an official order said. Mobile subscribers use USSD service just by dialling any active code on their phone screens. The service is often used for checking IMEI numbers and mobile phone balances, among others. The order has been issued to check frauds and online crimes that are operated through mobile phones. In an order dated March 28, the DoT said that it has come to its notice that USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) based call forwarding facility, most commonly known *401# services for unconditional call forwarding services, is being misused for some unwarranted activities. "In this regard, it has been decided by the competent authority that all licensees shall discontinue the existing USSD-based call forwarding services with effect from April 15, 2024, till further notice. "All existing subscribe

DoT warns against picking up WhatsApp calls with foreign numbers +92

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) stated that callers have falsely impersonated the DoT to scam people

Cases of equipment thefts at all-time high; COAI seeks DoT's intervention

Industry body COAI on Friday sought the government's intervention on the issue of rising cases of telecom equipment theft and said telcos are incurring huge losses and expenses in replenishing equipment at affected sites, and even customers are suffering. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which counts operators like Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea as its members, wrote to telecom secretary Neeraj Mittal, flagging the issue. The association has urged the Department of Telecom (DoT) to write to all State Chief Secretaries to prioritise such complaints and ensure strict action on the same. COAI also urged the DoT to issue orders for the immediate blocking of several foreign websites (including eBay, Alibaba, Telefly, Seeker816, Dorfatrade) that are "selling active equipment" suspected to have been stolen from networks of member telcos. "It is...critical that these websites are blocked immediately," COAI said. COAI requested the DoT to urgently interven

More than 2,500 fraud connections being cut daily, say DoT officials

DoT working on grievance redress portal

What are Chakshu and Digital Intelligence Platform introduced by the Government of India

The Department of Telecommunications has introduced two crucial digital platforms: 'Chakshu' and the 'Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP),' as part of the Sanchar Saathi portal launched in May 2023. >

Combating online frauds: All you need to know about 'Chakshu' and 'DIP'

Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw introduced two new initiatives, Digital Intelligence Platform and Chakshu, as measures to tackle cybercrimes

DoT will not intervene in 2G network shutdown; parks decision with telcos

Around 50 million 2G handsets are sold annually, with over 500,000 2G base tower stations deployed throughout the country

Centre to form panel to check rising internet, WhatsApp-based spam calls

The proposal to set up the panel was made in an inter-ministerial meeting on the issue chaired by Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh on Thursday, the Consumers Affairs Department said

New Trai chief A K Lahoti has work cut out as issues pile up with regulator

A former Railways board CEO, he is an unconventional choice to lead the regulator