Page 11 - Telecom Industry

Space regulator nod must for using non-Indian satellites from April 2025

The government has issued an advisory to satellite television broadcasters to seek authorisation from India's space regulator IN-SPACe for using non-Indian satellites from April 1 next year. In May, the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) issued Norms, Guidelines and Procedures (NGP) for the implementation of the Indian Space Policy-2023 which states that only IN-SPACe authorised non-Indian satellites will be allowed to provide services in the country. "With effect from April 1, 2025, only IN-SPACe authorised non-Indian satellites/constellations in any of the frequency bands shall be permitted to enable provisioning of their capacity in India, the advisory issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said, quoting the relevant section of the NGP document. The existing arrangements/mechanisms/processes for provisioning of capacity in any of the frequency bands (C, Ku or Ka) from the Non-Indian Satellite operators can be extended till March 31

Statsguru: Jio, Airtel, and Vi hike mobile tariffs to boost 5G investments

Subscriber churn is expected, though companies have varied the hikes to minimise the impact at the lower end. Reliance Jio is expected to widen its lead over others in terms of total subscribers

Spectrum auction: Govt to issue demand note to telcos this week for payment

The telecom department is expected to issue a demand note to telcos this week for payment of spectrum they bought in the just-concluded auction, according to a source. The auction -- lasted for two days spanning seven rounds this time around - witnessed the sale of 141.4 MHz of radio waves for Rs 11,340.78 crore. In all, 10,500 MHz of radiowaves used for mobile services worth over Rs 96,238 crore were placed on the block during the auction started on June 25. Sunil Mittal's Airtel emerged as the biggest bidder for radio waves, cornering about 60 per cent of the Rs 11,341 crore worth of spectrum sold in this auction. Airtel bid and won airwaves worth Rs 6,856.76 crore, and rival Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio - the market leader - got Rs 973.62 crore worth of spectrum - the least in the three-way contest. Vodafone Idea's (VIL) bid for spectrum was valued at about Rs 3510.4 crore. As per sources, the demand note would outline both options - upfront payment or payment via instalments

Morgan Stanley, Citi, Jefferies: Brokerages decode RJio, Airtel tariff hike

In the last two rounds of tariff hikes, Vodafone Idea (Vi) in December 2019 and Bharti (Dec 2021) took the lead, while R-Jio was the last one to raise tariffs

Spectrum auction ends on Day 2 with total Rs 11,340 cr bids, officials say

Volume limited as large part of spectrum already auctioned, says Scindia

Vi buys spectrum worth Rs 3,510 cr to improve 4G network coverage, services

Debt-ridden telecom operator Vodafone Idea bought spectrum worth Rs 3,510 crore to improve 4G network coverage and service, the company said on Wednesday. Besides renewing 900 megahertz spectrum in UP West and West Bengal, the company enhanced its 900 MHz spectrum holding in seven circles, namely Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Punjab, Rajasthan, UP East and Kolkata. "VIL has strategically acquired spectrum in the select markets to enhance and strengthen its overall spectrum portfolio. This acquisition will enable us to effectively use dedicated sub GHz spectrum towards advanced technologies to enhance the experience we offer to our customers," VIL CEO Akshaya Moondra said in a statement. VIL has plans to invest up to Rs 55,000 crore over the next three years with focus on expanding and strengthening 4G coverage. During the calendar year 2024, the company has raised around Rs 24,000 crore through equity issue (including proposed preferential issue of Rs 2,458 crore to Nokia

Bharti Airtel acquires 97 MHz of spectrum worth Rs 6,857 crore for 20 years

The spectrum auction saw the government receive Rs 11,300 crore in bids over seven rounds, with Airtel emerging as the largest overall bidder

Telecom Act gets partially notified, govt can now intercept, stop messages

This can be done for public safety or during public emergencies

Rs 96,000 crore telecom 5G spectrum auction to start today: Check details

Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea are likely to jointly invest Rs 12,500 crore in spectrum purchases, representing around 13% of the total Rs 96,320 crore worth of airwaves on offer

Telecom dept to begin auctions for Rs 96,318 crore spectrum on Tuesday

With lower EMD and more focus on renewals, auctions may be muted

Bharti Airtel in talks to buy 3% more stake in Indus Towers from Vodafone

If this sale is successful, Bharti Airtel will become the majority stakeholder in Indus Towers with a 52% shareholding

Vodafone Idea seeks Rs 23,000 crore term loan to boost 4G and 5G rollouts

Telecom major Vi plans to invest Rs 50,000-55,000 crore over the next three years to enhance and strengthen its 4G connectivity and rollout 5G networks in key markets

Debt repay call: Vodafone may sell $2.3 billion stake in Indus Towers

Vodafone owns 21.5% of mobile-tower operator Indus via various group entities. As of Friday's closing stock price in Mumbai, the investment is worth $2.3 billion

Telecom dept defers live auction of eight spectrum bands to June 25

The Department of Telecom (DoT) on Tuesday postponed the spectrum auction by 19 days to June 25, as per information available on its website. According to amendments made in the notice inviting applications for bids on Tuesday, the new date for "start of the live auction" has been changed to June 25 from June 6. 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. Reliance Jio has deposited the highest earnest money of Rs 3,000 crore for the spectrum auction, which gives the company the potential to bid for maximum radiowaves. According to pre-qualified bidder details released by the DoT, Bharti Airtel has submitted the earnest money deposit (EMD) of Rs 1,050 crore and Vodafone Idea (VIL) of Rs 300 crore. Companies get points based on the EMD amount they have deposited,

Spectrum auction signal fades: Lowest earnest money deposit since 2013

Mock auction kicks off on Tuesday, real bidding starts June 6

Manufacturing telecom gear in India may get a Rs 3,000 crore push

TTDF aims to fund R&D in rural-specific communication technology applications

5G subscriber up 20-25%, yet tariff upside may be minimal: Report

India's 5G subscriber count is seen rising several notches to 20-25 per cent of the overall base in one year, but though telcos are in a "better position" to execute tariff increase, actual visibility on a "meaningful" increase remains uncertain, Ind-Ra said. According to India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra), this is because globally too 5G has not yielded any major tariff premium over 4G rates. The use cases of 5G in India are still limited to applications such as video streaming and multi-person video calls. The Fitch Group company, in its telecom outlook FY25 has maintained a neutral outlook on the sector for the current fiscal. It expects the subscriber base to reach 20-25 per cent over the next one year from about 17 per cent currently, in line with global experience. Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), it said, may continue to exhibit organic growth albeit the growth rates, per se, have tapered somewhat. Ind-Ra believes Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have an opportunity to captur

MTNL Q4 results: Net loss widens to Rs 817 cr on high finance costs

State-run telecom company MTNL has reported widening of losses to Rs 817.58 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2024, mainly on account of high finance costs, according to a regulatory filing. The company had recorded a loss of Rs 745.78 crore in the same period a year ago. The finance cost of the loss-making telecom PSU increased to Rs 688.93 crore from Rs 640.91 crore a year ago. The revenue from operations of MTNL fell by about 5 per cent to Rs 192.66 crore during the reported quarter from Rs 202.35 in March 2023 quarter. MTNL's revenue from basic telephone operations comprising landline broadband services fell by 2 per cent to Rs 184.78 crore during March 2024 quarter from Rs 188.68 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago. The company's revenue from cellular services fell by about 42 per cent to Rs 8.16 crore during the reported quarter from Rs 14 crore in March 2023 quarter. The maintenance and running of MTNL wireless network has been handed over to BSNL as an

'Telcos will pay GST along with instalments towards spectrum charges'

Telecom companies will have to pay GST along with the instalments paid towards spectrum charges, a senior official said. The Department of Telecom (DoT) will hold the next round of spectrum auction on June 6 for eight spectrum bands meant for mobile phone services. The base price for the auction has been set at Rs 96,317 crore. The spectrum will be assigned for 20 years and successful bidders will be allowed to make payments in 20 equal annual instalments in the coming mega auction. The official said Goods and Services Tax (GST) will have to be paid at 18 per cent by telecom companies along with each instalment. "The GST Council in its next meeting is likely to clarify the procedure for payment of GST by companies winning the bids during the spectrum auction," the official told PTI. The clarification will end confusion among field formations regarding the method for collection of GST in the auction process. All the available spectrum in the 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz,

Ambani sets sights on African telecom market, plans to develop 5G infra

Radisys Corp., a unit of Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries Ltd., will provide key network infrastructure, applications and smartphones for Ghana-based Next-Gen InfraCo