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DoT's new Telecom Act rules explained: Internet shutdowns to infra updates

The Telecom Act, which replaces outdated laws like the Indian Telegraph Act of 1885, has raised concerns over mass surveillance and online privacy

5G, 6G rollout will spur growth to become developed nation: DoT secretary

After 5G, India is now gearing up for 6G rollout which will spur the growth that is required to achieve the developed nation status, Telecom Secretary Neeraj Mittal said on Wednesday. Mittal said that the government has replaced 150 years old Telegraph Act with a new Telecommunications Act which is expected to stand the test of time for the next 20-30 years. "5G technology has been already rolled out. We are now planning for 6G. All of them will spur the growth in achieving the developed nation status that we are yearning for," he said while speaking at a public relations industry event Prana. Mittal said that the race of technology is not going to stop. He said policymakers need to visit global manufacturing hubs in countries like Vietnam and China and get their acts together to replicate the success stories in India. "I think the 12 (industrial) cities which the government has announced will be able to do that. I think if we can do that in 100th years, at 2047, we will not fail o

DoT asks M2M service providers to register by Sep 30 or face disruption

The Department of Telecom has asked unregistered machine-to-machine service providers to register by month-end, as non-registration may lead to disruption of services, an official statement said on Tuesday. As of June 30, there were 5.2 crore M2M cellular mobile connections. "Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has urged all unregistered M2M Service Providers (M2M SPs) and WPAN/WLAN (devices connected wirelessly) Connectivity Providers for M2M Services, to register with DoT immediately and latest by September 30, 2024, to avoid disruption of their M2M services. "Non-compliance may lead to withdrawal or disconnection of telecom resources obtained from the Authorised Telecom Licensees," the statement said. The segment is dominated by Bharti Airtel with 2.82 crore connections with a market share of 53.86 per cent, followed by Vodafone Idea Limited, Reliance Jio and BSNL with a market share of 27.77, 12.80 and 5.58 per cent, respectively. M2M services comprise devices that can be .

Telecom minister to meet telcos and internet service providers on Tuesday

Jyotiraditya Scindia met with satcom, OEM and electronic makers on Monday

'BSNL CMD Purwar denied extension, DoT's Ravi to get additional charge'

The government has denied extension to BSNL Chairman and Managing Director P K Purwar and is likely to give the charge to a senior department of telecom officer Robert J Ravi, official sources said. Purwar, who took charge as BSNL CMD in July 2019 for five years, had applied for an extension. "DoT is mulling to hand over additional charge of BSNL CMD post to DDG Robert J Ravi. There is no decision on extension sought by the present CMD," an official source said. An Indian Telecom Service officer, Ravi, has 34 years of experience in the telecom sector. He is serving as Deputy Director General at the Department of Telecom. This will be Ravi's second stint at BSNL. He had served as additional general manager at the state-run firm for about six years.

Modi govt 3.0 cabinet: Jyotiraditya Scindia becomes new telecom minister

Scindia's political journey took a turn in 2020 when he resigned from the Congress party, triggering a political crisis that led to the collapse of the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh

DoT's 100-day agenda intact: Crackdown on rising spam calls, text messages

DoT is also preparing terms of reference for allocation of satellite spectrum

DoT plans trials for drone & balloon-based 5G restoration during disasters

The Department of Telecommunications will likely conduct trials in the coming months to assess the effectiveness of this initiative

DoT identifies property assets of BSNL and MTNL for 'outright sale'

The government has listed over 100 properties of MTNL for outright sale through an auction process

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 extends spectrum auction application deadline by 14 days to May 6

The Department of Telecom has extended the last date for submission of applications for spectrum auction by 14 days to May 6, according to an amended notice issued on Monday. The last date for withdrawal of applications has been extended by 9 days to May 17, and the final list of bidders will be declared on May 20, as per the amendment. "Application must be submitted in hard copy...on May 6, 2024, during office hours," the amendment to the Notice Inviting Application (NIA) said. Earlier, the last date to submit an application was April 22. The government will auction eight spectrum bands for mobile phone services at a base price of about Rs 96,317 crore. All the available spectrum in the 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, 2,300 MHz, 2,500 MHz, 3,300 MHz, and 26 GHz bands are part of the auction. The spectrum will be assigned for a period of 20 years and successful bidders will be allowed to make payments in 20 equal annual instalments. The DoT has provided an option to surr

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

Govt cautions against calls impersonating as telecom dept officials

Citizens getting calls from callers posing as the Department of Telecom officials and threatening to disconnect their connections are fake calls to steal the personal information of individuals and carry out financial frauds, an official statement said on Friday. The DoT also issued an advisory about WhatsApp calls from foreign-origin mobile numbers (like +92-xxxxxxxxxx), impersonating government officials and duping the people. "The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued an advisory to citizens that calls are being received by the citizens wherein callers, in the name of DoT, are threatening that all of their mobile numbers would be disconnected or their mobile numbers are being misused in some illegal activities. Cybercriminals through such calls try to threaten/steal personal information to carry out cyber-crime/financial frauds," the statement said. The DoT said it does not authorise anyone to make such calls on its behalf and has advised people to stay vigilant and .

DoT's new CHAKSU portal to allow citizens to report fraudulent calls

A new Digital Intelligence Portal will help banks, agencies and telecom operators to share data on suspected fraud

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

DoT to establish quantum certification lab, set computing standards: Secy

The Department of Telecom is working to establish a quantum certification lab and set standards for quantum computing, a senior official said on Thursday. While speaking at the Second International Quantum Communication Conclave, Telecom Secretary Neeraj Mittal said that a lot of work is happening in C-DoT on quantum communications, and India has to be cautious in developing the technology with like-minded parties. "We are working with TEC to create standards (for quantum computing). We are also working on setting up a quantum certification lab," Mittal said. He said that the certification lab will test and verify the solutions that claim to be based on quantum technology. "There are countries who have massive resources at hand but do not necessarily believe in democratic values as India. We need to find the right partners and work with them," Mittal said. The Cabinet approved the National Quantum Computing Mission on April 19, 2023, with an outlay of Rs 6,003.65 crore for 8 ...

Trai seeks views on allocation of more spectrum to Railways for safety

Telecom regulator Trai on Wednesday sought stakeholders' views on the assignment of additional spectrum to Indian railways for safety and security applications. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in mid-2023 had informed Trai that Indian Railways has requested for an additional 5 MHz of paired spectrum in the 700 MHz band to be allocated for enhancing its safety and security systems. The DoT had requested Trai to examine and provide its recommendations on the matter. "The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has today released a consultation paper on the assignment of additional spectrum to Indian railways for its safety and security applications," the regulator said in a release. In the consultation paper, Trai sought stakeholder views on whether an additional 5 MHz (paired) spectrum in the 700 MHz band should be assigned to Indian Railways (IR) for its requirement related to safety and security applications, and whether spectrum harmonisation is needed to make the

Cybersecurity co claims data leak of telecom users, DoT demands audit

The Department of Telecom has asked service operators for a security audit of their systems following claims by a cybersecurity firm that data of 750 million Indian subscribers has been leaked, a government official said. Cybersecurity firm CloudSEK has claimed that its researchers have found that hackers are selling 1.8 terabyte of database comprising 750 million Indian mobile consumers on the dark web. The hacker has denied any involvement in a breach and has claimed to have obtained the data through undisclosed asset work within law enforcement channels, CloudSEK said. "The DoT has asked telecom operators to get a security audit of their systems," a senior government official said. The officer, however, said that telecom operators have informally shared with the department that the leaked information claimed in the ClouSEK report seems to be a compilation of old data sets of telecom subscribers and it is not due to any vulnerability in their system. CloudSEK in its report last

DoT asks telecom operators to block malicious overseas calls about bourses

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has cautioned the public about malicious calls from international numbers spreading false information about Indian stock exchanges, and advised people to report such cases to telecom operators. Such malicious calls are initiated by anti-national elements and are aimed at creating panic, an official release said, adding that the telecom operators have been directed to block malicious calls from such numbers. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), DoT cautioned the public about malicious calls from international numbers spreading false information about Indian stock exchanges. "The recorded message urges to sell Indian stocks before March 12, claiming impending destruction of BSE and NSE," as per a DoT social media alert. Regarding the malicious calls, the release said, "Citizens, on receiving such calls, are advised to report to DoT at help-sancharsaathi@gov.in or their telecom service providers.

Second time in 6 mths: DoT invites applications for Trai chairman post

The DoT had first advertised for the position on June 22