Digital Connectivity

Digital Connexion to invest $11 bn by 2030 in AP for AI-native data center

Digital Connexion will invest $11 billion to build a 1 GW AI-native data centre campus in Visakhapatnam, complementing Google's $15 billion plan for India's largest AI data hub

Northeast has been kept at centre of policymaking, says FM Sitharaman

Sitharaman says the Northeast now has the fundamentals in place and is rapidly building digital and semiconductor-ready capabilities with strong policy priority from the Centre

Misaligned incentives threaten to upset India's digital infra apple cart

Passing digital costs to users sends the wrong signal--cash is cheaper. India must align economics with policy to realise its DPI vision

HDMI 2.2 announced with support for up to 16K resolution at 60fps: Specs

Labelled as Ultra96, cables based on the HDMI 2.2 specifications will support 16K content at 60fps and up to 96Gbps bandwidth, targeting ultra-high resolutions of the future

Mumbai is 6th globally in under-construction data centre capacity: Report

Ranking 7th most established data centre market in APAC, Mumbai accounts for 42 per cent of India's projected under-construction capacity

Govt to launch digital platform for trade remedy document submissions

The government is developing a digital platform to enable the electronic submission of documents in trade remedy investigations with a view to further promoting transparency, efficiency, and ease of access for all stakeholders, an official statement said on Saturday. These investigations are carried out by the commerce ministry's arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR). Since 1995, India has initiated over 1,200 trade remedy investigations and recent interventions have protected domestic sectors including solar energy and advanced materials, such as solar cells and copper wire rods, from unfairly priced imports and subsidized goods. "Looking ahead, the government is developing a digital platform to enable the electronic submission of documents in trade remedy investigations," the commerce ministry said in the statement. The platform is expected to go live soon, offering enhanced transparency, efficiency, and ease of access for all stakeholders, it said. The main objective

Trai issues draft guidelines to rate real estate by digital connectivity

Telecom regulator Trai on Tuesday floated a draft manual for rating properties based on the quality of digital connectivity available on their premises. The move is expected to encourage property managers and owners to make arrangements for better connectivity on their premises and help property buyers as well as tenants to compare the real estate assets before making their choice. "A property with better ratings shall attract more users, buyers or investors and thereby add value to the properties. The draft rating manual provides a methodology to assess the digital connectivity of properties and areas across various categories. Properties shall be evaluated based on defined parameters in the regulation such as fiber readiness, mobile network availability, in-building solutions and Wi-Fi infrastructure, service performance etc," Trai. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has fixed June 2 as the last date for comments and June 9 for counter comments.

Cyberattacks could potentially cripple national stability: Amitabh Kant

As India transitions to smart meters and more digital grid, increasing cyberattacks pose potentially crippling consequences for national stability and everyday life, G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said on Tuesday. In 2024, the banking, financial services and insurance sectors witnessed a huge surge in the sophistication and diversity of cyberattacks and the average cost of data breaches reached almost USD 2.8 million in India, Kant said, adding that last year, Indian businesses faced over 3,000 cyber attacks per week. India has experienced a very sharp surge in state-sponsored cyberattacks, with such incidents rising by almost 300 per cent between 2021 and 2024, he said, while unveiling a study prepared by cybersecurity solutions company Lisianthus Tech in the national capital. As India transitions to smart meters and a more digital power grid, the risk of cyberattacks grows and expands, posing potentially crippling consequences for national stability and everyday life, Kant, who is also t

Digital sovereignty: India's first indigenous browsers make an appearance

Three teams out of 58 entrants took top honours in the Indian Web Browser Development Challenge, with Ashwini Vaishnaw announcing the winners on Thursday

Going dark: 296 internet shutdowns witnessed across 54 countries in 2024

Shutdowns were imposed 103 times due to conflict and 74 times across 24 countries during domestic protests

Muhammad Yunus, Musk hold talks to bring Starlink internet to Bangladesh

Yunus stated that integrating Starlink's connectivity into Bangladesh's infrastructure would create new opportunities for millions and integrate the country more closely into the global economy

India-US reaffirm commitment to secure digital connectivity, focus on AI

Discussions held in New Delhi highlighted areas of collaboration, including advancements in 5G and 6G networks, artificial intelligence, cross-border data flows, and promotion of Open RAN

The India story: An ongoing digital journey of joining India with Bharat

It all began five years before the dawn of 2000, when mobile phone service entered India

Airtel expands network capacity with Blue-Raman submarine cable: What is it

Airtel Business and Italy-based Sparkle have partnered to increase data capacity on the Blue-Raman undersea cable linking India and Italy. Blue-Raman is an intercontinental communications cable system

Airtel Business inks pact with Sparkle to enhance connectivity with Europe

Airtel Business, the B2B arm of telecom major Bharti Airtel, has inked a pact with Italy-based global operator Sparkle to enhance connectivity between Asia and Europe. As part of the partnership, Airtel will take capacity from Sparkle on the Blue-Raman Submarine Cable Systems, which will connect India to Italy. Under Sparkle's Blue-Raman cable system, Blue is deployed across Italy, France, Greece and Israel, while Raman connects Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Oman and India. "With this additional capacity, Airtel will further diversify its global network across multiple international submarine cable systems to serve the growing demand for data services in India and neighbouring countries," a company statement said. The partnership will also work on the development of new business opportunities and projects in the Indian sub-continent, leveraging Airtel and Sparkle's respective cable infrastructures, the statement said. Airtel Business Global Business CEO Vani Venkatesh said the .

Civil aviation ministry gets Rs 2,357 cr budgetary allocation for 2024-25

The budgetary allocation for the civil aviation ministry has been reduced to Rs 2,357.14 crore for the current fiscal ending next March, with regional air connectivity scheme set to get Rs 502 crore during the same period. In the revised budgetary allocation for 2023-24, the amount for the ministry was at Rs 2,922.12 crore. As per documents of the Union Budget 2024-25 that was presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Tuesday, the ministry will get an allocation of Rs 2,357.14 crore. The money set aside for the regional air connectivity scheme has been cut to Rs 502 crore from Rs 850 crore in the revised budgetary allocation for 2023-24. The amount is for revival of 22 airports as well as commencement of 124 RCS routes and Viability Gap Funding for North East Connectivity. To improve connectivity in the northeast region, a new scheme has also been formulated for providing air connectivity and aviation infrastructure, as per a document. However, the Product

Impact of Digital Competition Bill on India's homegrown startup ecosystem

The Draft Digital Competition Bill is part of a more significant endeavour by the government to address the above competition concerns in the digital and technology ecosystem

Navigating the export maze for MSMEs

Digitisation holds immense potential to revolutionise MSME exports. Digital technologies can streamline exports, reduce costs, expand reach, and enhance operational efficiency

Centre lays out guidelines for 4G tower installation in protected areas

The proposal also requires detailed plans encompassing location, logistics, renewable energy usage, and the Chief Wildlife Warden's assessment of future impacts on wildlife management

Elon Musk announces launch of 'Starlink Direct-to-Phone' satellites

Starlink Direct-to-Phone satellites will provide mobile phone access anywhere on Earth and also a solution for areas without cellular coverage