Page 15 - Telecom Industry

Vodafone Idea Q3 results: Loss narrows to Rs 6,986 cr, revenue remains flat

Telecom operator Vodafone Idea (VIL) on Monday reported narrowing of losses to Rs 6,986 crore in the third quarter of the current fiscal. The losses stood at Rs 7,990 crore a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing. During the quarter under review, the revenue from operations for the ailing telco came in at Rs 10,673.1 crore, nearly flat over the corresponding period previous year. VIL's revenue from operations stood at Rs 10,620.6 crore in the third quarter of FY23. In a statement, the company said its ARPU (average revenue per user) in the reporting quarter stood at Rs 145 against Rs 135 in the third quarter of FY23. This translates into a year-on-year growth of 7.4 per cent. Akshaya Moondra, CEO of Vodafone Idea, said: "We are pleased to report highest EBITDA of Rs 21.4 billion in last 11 quarters. In line with the evolving industry landscape and changing customer needs, we have revamped our offerings as well as focusing on our execution to effectively compete in the

Airtel launches 14 stores in Pune, to display entire range of offerings

Bharti Airtel on Monday said it has launched 14 next-gen company-owned stores in Pune, which will be a one-stop-shop for all its offerings. In a release, the company said the stores will display the entire range of Airtel's offerings, including Xstream, Xsafe, and 5G Plus. The store staff, referred to as 'Airtel Friends', are trained to address and resolve customer queries across the telecom operator's portfolio, including mobile, broadband, and DTH. The new Airtel stores have been opened up in Pashan, Phursungi, Pimple Gurav, Dighi, BT Kawde Road, Dhayri, Sangvi, Keshav Nagar, Chikali, Lohegaon, Bhosari, Wadgaon Sheri, Nigdi, and Katraj Kondwa. "...Maharashtra continues to be a big focus market for us and we will continue to invest in this market," said George Mathen, CEO-Maharashtra, Bharti Airtel. The 14 new stores add to the existing count of 29 stores in the city.

Nokia Q4 results: Profit drops to $619 mn amid 5G cutback, sales down 23%

Nokia on Thursday reported a double-digit decline in sales and a fall in profit in the last three months of 2023, with the wireless and fixed-network equipment maker saying operators are cutting back on investments into 5G and other technology because of economic uncertainty. The Espoo, Finland-based company reported net profit of 568 million euros ($619 million) for the October-to-December quarter, down from 929 million euros in the same period a year earlier. Nokia is one of the world's main suppliers of 5G, the latest generation of broadband technology, along with Sweden's Ericsson, China's Huawei and South Korea's Samsung. Nokia's net income attributable to shareholders came in at 558 million euros in the fourth quarter, down from 931 million euros the previous year. Nokia's sales also fell 23%, to 5.7 billion euros from 7.5 billion euros. In 2023 we saw a meaningful shift in customer behaviour impacting our industry driven by the macro-economic environment and high interest ..

Got Rs 300 cr dues plus monthly collection from customer: Indus Towers

Telecom infrastructure company Indus Towers on Wednesday said it has collected and recognised on its books an amount of Rs 300 crore against the past dues alongwith 100 per cent monthly collection from a major customer. In its Q3FY24 earnings call, the tower company said that it does see the entry of satellite internet companies like Starlink and others as a threat to tower requirements from telcos at this stage, since satellites primarily provide the backhaul connectivity complimentary to telecom services, by reaching uncovered areas. Without naming Vodafone Idea, Indus Towers Chief Financial Officer Vikas Poddar said with regard to a major customer, the company has collected and recognised Rs 300 crore against the past dues in addition to the full monthly collection. "With regard to the provision for doubtful debts...reported in the current quarter, I would like to explain the transaction with a major customer and the treatment of the same...we have collected and recognised Rs 3 .

AT&T's equipment writedown hurts annual profit view, shares decline

The writedown of Nokia equipment will reduce annual earnings per share by nearly 17 cents and comes as AT&T shifts to new lower-cost ORAN technology, or open radio access network

Budget wishlist: Telecom infra providers bat for availability of input tax

Telecom infrastructure providers are seeking availability of input tax credit on telecom towers, and have made a plea for an increase in tax depreciation rate and rationalisation of TDS provisions in their Budget wishlist. The players under the aegis of Digital Infrastructure Providers' Association (DIPA) said measures to facilitate ease of doing business will increase investment and contribute to the industry's long-term growth. Being a sunrise sector, telecom has been providing affordable-quality assured communication services, DIPA noted. The association counts Summit Digitel, American Towers, Indus Towers, Ascend Telecom, Cloud Extel, Pratap Technocrats, Crest Digitel, Signotox Towers, Applied Solar Technologies, iBUS Networks, and Suyog Telematics, among its members. DIPA in a release said the telecom infrastructure industry is seeking government support for the availability of input tax credit on telecom towers, increase in tax depreciation rate to 65 per cent from 15 per cen

Reliance Jio Q3 results: Net profit rises 12.3% to Rs 5,208 crore

Revenue from operations climbed 10.3%, snapping five straight quarters of slowing growth

Telecom operators body calls for re-evaluation of D2M tech policy

Broadcasters have backed the tech, which allows handsets to capture terrestrial TV signals without the internet

Tanla Platforms appoints former TRAI Chief RS Sharma to board of directors

Tanla Platforms on Monday announced the appointment of former TRAI Chairman RS Sharma to its board of directors. With this, the total number of directors on Tanla's board now stands at 7. "Tanla Platforms, India's leading CPaaS (Communications Platform as a Service) player, announced the appointment of former TRAI Chairman Dr RS Sharma to its board of directors, bringing the total number of directors on Tanla's Board to 7," according to a company release. Sharma was the chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) between 2015 and 2020, and his tenure was marked by initiatives promoting net neutrality and consumer rights. Over the years, he spearheaded multiple government initiatives. As the chairman of the Empowered Group of COVID Vaccine Administration (EGVAC), Sharma steered the design and rollout of Co-Win - the digital backbone of the vaccination drive in India. As CEO of the National Health Authority, he was instrumental in implementing two health initiatives

USOF may be enlarged and used to boost telecom equipment manufacturing

Live since October 2022, the TTDF aims to fund R&D in rural-specific communications technology applications and develop the telecom ecosystem

Airtel Africa names Sunil Taldar CEO, Olusegun Ogunsanya to retire in July

Ogunsanya will retire on July 1, 2024, after a 12-year-long stint in the company. He had run the Nigeria Operations of the Telecommunications and mobile money company for nine years before Airtel

Airtel Africa CEO Ogunsanya to retire, Sunil Taldar named successor

Airtel Africa on Tuesday announced the retirement of Chief Executive Officer Olusegun 'Segun' Ogunsanya, with effect from July 1, 2024, and named Sunil Taldar as his successor. Taldar, who joined Airtel Africa in October 2023 as Director Transformation, will begin the transition to the CEO role, working alongside Ogunsanya. After the transition period, Taldar will be appointed to the board as an executive director and assume the role of CEO on July 1, 2024, when Ogunsanya will step down from the board and retire from the company, Airtel Africa said in a release. "Airtel Africa plc today announced the retirement of the Chief Executive Officer, Olusegun Segun Ogunsanya, with effect from 1 July, 2024," the release said. Ogunsanya, who joined Airtel in 2012, ran the Nigeria operations of the telecommunications and mobile money company for nine years before being appointed as CEO of the group in 2021. "With local knowledge of the African landscape and deep distribution experience he l

Bharti Airtel Services set to acquire 97.1% stake in Beetel Teletech

Bharti Airtel Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, has entered into an agreement for the acquisition of 49.45 lakh shares or 97.1 per cent stake in Beetel Teletech, another Bharti Group company, according to a filing. Pegging the cost of acquisition at Rs 669 crore, the filing said this acquisition is a part of the company's strategy to enable indigenisation initiatives within its own ecosystem of telecom products in line with the Government's policy of Make In India' and add distribution and service capabilities (including system integration) largely for the enterprise business. "...as a part of group restructuring, Bharti Airtel Services Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary company of Bharti Airtel Limited has entered into an agreement for acquisition of 49,45,239 equity shares representing 97.1 per cent stake in another Bharti Group company, Beetel Teletech Limited, which also has 49 per cent stake in Joint Venture having two manufacturing facilities which produce .

Airtel to seek reversal of Rs 24.9 lakh penalty order received under CGST

Bharti Airtel on Tuesday said it does not agree with an order it received under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act for levy of Rs 24.94 lakh penalty, and will take suitable action for rectification or reversal. The violation pertains to alleged irregular input tax credit claim from 2017-18 to 2021-22 and other related matters, Airtel said in a BSE filing. Submitting details of the orders received by the company under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, Airtel said the order was received on December 24. The order entails a levy of a penalty of Rs 24,94,316, it said, adding, "the company does not agree with the order and will take appropriate action for rectification/reversal of the same." "The maximum financial impact is to the extent of the penalty levied," it said.

Telecom Bill 2023: Here are 10 important changes that will impact you

Telecommunications Bill: If any mobile user has more than nine SIM cards issued on one Aadhaar card, they will be penalised up to Rs 50,000 for the first time and Rs 2 lakh for subsequent offences

Telecom Bill to fast track allocation of spectrum in various sectors

19 sectors listed in Bill for allocation route, national frequency allocation plan to be revamped

Reliance Jio gains 3.47 mn, Vi loses 0.74 mn users in September: Trai

Bharti Airtel, the second-largest player in the market, saw its subscriber count increase by 1.32 million users

Telecom tribunal asks DoT to adjust excess Rs 755 crore collected from Vi

Last month, the Bombay High Court also issued an order in Vi's favour asking the Income Tax department to refund Rs 1,128 crore paid by the telco in taxes for AY2016-17

The world is not flat

Despite the illusions that ICTs have levelled the global playing field for companies and nations, the reality is quite the opposite

Dialling in: Admin price rings louder than satellite spectrum auction bid

while the market for satellite broadband currently is small ($10-15 million), the potential is large as an estimated 30% of the country does not have reliable terrestrial broadband services