Page 17 - Telecom Industry

Tax uncertainty

SC ruling will increase uncertainty in telecom

Ericsson India sales jump 3.5 times to about Rs 7,400 cr in Jul-Sept qtr

Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson's net sales in India grew over 3.5 times to about Rs 7,400 crore (9.6 billion Swedish Krona) in the third quarter ended September 30, as per its financial report released on Tuesday. Ericsson had recorded 4 per cent of total net sales contribution of 2,721.6 million SEK (about Rs 2,100 crore) from India for the September 2022 quarter. The net sales of Ericsson at the global level during the September 2023 quarter fell by 5 per cent to 64.5 billion SEK due to a sharp decline of business in North America, which was partly offset by sales in South East Asia, Oceania and India. "Networks organic sales in North America were down by 60 per cent YoY (year-on-year) from a record quarter in September 2022 quarter, due to customers' inventory adjustments and a slower deployment pace. The decline in North America was partly offset by growth in India as well as some early 5G markets resuming investments," Ericsson President and CEO Brje Ekholm said. The net

Fair share charge does not affect access to an open, free internet: COAI

Telcos' body COAI on Tuesday said the proposed 'fair share charge' does not affect access to an open and free internet, as it sought to debunk "misleading and speculative views being circulated by certain quarters" to allegedly "misguide" people. The comments by COAI assume significance as the past months have seen the telecom operators and OTTs exchange fire over the telcos' demand that large traffic-generating apps must dish out part of the revenue (fair share charge) for sustenance and upkeep of communications networks. Firing a fresh salvo in an escalating war of words, the Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) alleged that all concerns being raised -- including favouring one website or application, and pricing differentiation -- are devoid of facts and are speculative scenarios designed to mislead the public. Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea are members of COAI. "There is no violation of net neutrality if a peering charge is applied at an interconnection

Telecom cos invest Rs 2,419 crore under PLI scheme till date: Vaishnaw

Investment by telecom companies under the production-linked incentive scheme has crossed the halfway mark of Rs 2,419 crore, resulting in the employment of 17,753 people, Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Tuesday. The government shortlisted 42 companies in October 2022 that committed a total investment of Rs 4,115 crore and are likely to generate additional sales of Rs 2.45 lakh crore and employ over 44,000 people during the six-year scheme period ending 2025-26. "Today, in the telecom sector, we have crossed a major milestone where PLI-supported companies have already completed an investment of Rs 2,419 crore, where the sales are at Rs 34,516 crore, exports are Rs 7,600 crore, and employment is 17,753. This is a great milestone for the telecom industry," Vaishnaw said. He was speaking during the virtual inauguration of a production line to manufacture 4G and 5G connectivity modules and data cards for US-based Telit Cinterion by domestic firm VVDN. "Very complex manufacturi

DoT disposes VIL objections over license fee demand of Rs 3,273 crore

The telecom department has disposed-off Vodafone Idea's (VIL) representation and objections related to license fee demand of Rs 1,749 crore and Rs 1,524 crore, respectively, for FY2016 and FY2017, the troubled telco said. The company further said it is studying the communication to decide the next course of action. "Department of Telecommunication (DoT) vide its communication dated 04.10.2023 has disposed-off the company's representation and objections in respect of license fee demand of Rs 1,749 crore and Rs 1,524 crore respectively (including Interest till 31.03.2023) for financial Year(s) 2015-16 and 2016-17," VIL said in a regulatory filing. The company said in the past it has written to the DoT to correct the errors in demands up to FY 2016-17 "which DoT has not acted upon so far". "If, however, it is permissible for DoT to modify the demands for the period covered by the Judgment of the Supreme Court, then in that event there are various errors which need to be corrected and

May restrict services to Vodafone Idea if dues unpaid: Indus Towers to Trai

Indus Towers has also criticised the telco for 'wilful and continuous' failure to make the due payments

Jio, Airtel to invest Rs 75,000 cr on network this fiscal: JM Financials

Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are expected to invest about Rs 75,000 crore in the current financial year to strengthen their networks, according to a report by JM Financials. According to the report, Jio may invest around Rs 42,000 crore and Bharti Airtel around Rs 33,000 crore in FY24, but the investment will taper down after their 5G network rollout target is met as per their announcement. "Bharti's management capex guidance implies India business capex could decline to approximately Rs 200 billion (Rs 20,000 crore) from FY25 (versus Rs 280 billion, or Rs 28,000 crore in FY23) though we continue to conservatively build in approximately Rs 270 billion (Rs 27,000 crore) for FY25 and Rs 330 billion (Rs 33,000 crore) for FY24," the report said. As per the report's estimates, Jio's capex may be about Rs 42,163 crore in FY24, which may lower to about Rs 30,000 crore in FY25. Jio has announced plans to complete pan-India 5G rollout by December 2023, while Bharti Airtel aims to do the s

India 6G vision gets global play with acceptance by ITU Study Group

India's vision to have ubiquitous coverage under 6G technology has been accepted by UN body ITU's Study Group in its meeting held at Geneva-- a move that is expected to reduce the cost of deployment of the next generation technology. ITU is responsible for developing international mobile telecommunication standards. "In the current meeting, despite resistance and attempts to reverse our progress by few member states, the Department of Telecommunications was able to successfully include 'Ubiquitous Connectivity' and ratify the framework document," an official statement said on Wednesday. The proposal was accepted by ITU Study group (SG-5) meeting in Geneva held on September 25-26, 2023. IMT 2030, also known as 6G, is being developed by Working Party 5D of ITU-R Study Group 5. India in its 6G vision document, released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has proposed 6G technology implementation should be affordable, sustainable and ubiquitous. In the previous meeting of Study group In

Not acquiring Vodafone Idea: Verizon executive denies media reports

Denying that it was in discussions with Vodafone Idea with Verizon, Amazon, or Starlink, Vodafone Idea said that India is an important part of the company's growth plans

No plan to share revenue of OTT platforms with telcos, says govt: Report

Telecom firms have been asking OTT platforms to share their revenues with the telecom service providers as some apps have begun to provide bandwidth-heavy offerings

Trai directs annual audit for telcos, asks to refund overcharged tariff

The audit has to be conducted by a panel of auditors notified by Trai. Non-compliance or failure to submit the report can result in monetary penalties that can go up to Rs 50 lakh

TRAI reduces audit compliance for LSAs, to cover max tariff offerings

Telecom regulator Trai has reduced audit compliance of licensed service areas to once in year from four times earlier but it will cover maximum tariff offerings, including related to international roaming, according to the new regulations on quality of service. The new regulations on Quality of Service (Code of Practice for Metering and Billing Accuracy) Regulations, 2023, dated September 11, 2023, will result in reduction of audit burden by almost 75 per cent and enhance Ease of Doing Business (EODB), Trai said in a release on Wednesday. "Each LSA shall be audited only once in a financial year unlike four times as per old regulations, thereby reducing the audit burden by almost 75 per cent," Trai said. However, while simplifying the audit process, it is also ensured to cover maximum tariff offerings under audit unlike in previous regulation which has the provision for audit of 15 most popular tariff offerings only leaving aside a good number of tariff offerings with less number of

Airtel's contingent liabilities jump from Rs 4,100 cr to Rs 11,500 crore

Troubled Vodafone Idea (VI) has around Rs 7,000 crore in the form of one-time spectrum charge (OTSC) dues

ATIS' Next G Alliance, Bharat 6G Alliance ink MoU to explore collaboration

ATIS' Next G Alliance and Bharat 6G Alliance have signed a pact to explore collaboration opportunities on 6G wireless technologies, according to a release. The work will encompass aligning research and development priorities that support a common 6G vision and creating secure and trusted telecommunications as well as resilient supply chains. "ATIS' Next G Alliance and the Bharat 6G Alliance today announced they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore collaboration opportunities on 6G wireless technologies," the release said. Launched by the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS), the Next G Alliance is an initiative to advance North American wireless technology leadership over the next decade through private sector-led efforts with the initial focus on 6G. "The efforts of its working groups in Applications, Green G, National 6G Roadmap, Societal and Economic Needs, Spectrum and Technology are building the foundation for North American leadershi

Telecom Bill likely to stipulate authorisation regime for OTT apps

The proposed licensing regime had unsettled several tech firms which had warned that multiple regulations will stall the growth of the OTT communications industry

Reliance Jio seeks up to $2 billion in offshore loans to fund 5G plan

The report neither mentioned the individual amounts that Jio will pay back to Ericsson, BNP and other entities in the loan deal nor clarified whether BNP was acting on behalf of a consortium

Vodafone Idea rises 6% in weak market; stock surges 12% in 5 days

According to reports, the debt-ridden telecom operator plans to clear about Rs 2,400 crore of dues to the government by September

Jio, Airtel drive up telecom subscriber base to 1,173 mn in June: Trai

Telecom subscriber base in the country grew marginally to 1,173.89 million at the end of June on account of new customer additions led by Reliance Jio, sector regulator Trai said on Thursday. The subscriber base growth was driven by mobile telephony where Reliance Jio added over 2.27 million new customers and Bharti Airtel added 1.4 million customers. "The number of telephone subscribers in India increased from 1,172.57 million at the end of May-23 to 1,173.89 million at the end of June-23, thereby showing a monthly growth rate of 0.11 per cent," the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) said in its monthly subscriber report. However, the overall growth was mitigated by the loss of subscribers by state-owned BSNL, MTNL and Vodafone Idea (VIL). BSNL lost 1.87 million mobile subscribers, VIL lost 1.28 million subscribers and MTNL (1,52,912 subscribers). The net addition in wireless subscribers of telecom operators in the month of June was 3,73,602. "Total wireless subscriber

Telecom services' AGR up sequentially to Rs 64,494 cr in March qtr: TRAI

Telecom service sector's adjusted gross revenue rose 2.5 per cent sequentially to Rs 64,494 crore in March 2023 quarter, according to data released by sector regulator TRAI on Monday. Seen year-on-year, the adjusted gross revenue increased 9.5 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous year. Another notable takeaway from the TRAI report was around the metrics of monthly Average Revenue Per User or ARPU, which showed a sequential decline in the case of postpaid, and a quarter-on-quarter rise for the prepaid category. Overall, the monthly ARPU for wireless service increased a tad 0.83 per cent. The gross revenue (GR), Applicable Gross Revenue (ApGR) and Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) of the Telecom Service Sector for the quarter ended March 2023 was pegged at Rs 85,356 crore, Rs 78,631 crore and Rs 64,494 crore, respectively. While the GR decreased by 3.19 per cent, ApGR increased by 2.62 per cent and AGR increased by 2.53 per cent in March 2023 quarter, as compared to the

Trai sees rise in call drops complaint, begins service quality rules review

Telecom regulator Trai on Friday said that it has been receiving a number of call drop complaints from subscribers triggering the need to review existing quality of service rules to measure network performance at the district level and bring 4G-5G services also under its ambit. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) said that even with the technological advancement in mobile telecommunications and advancement in performance management tools, the quality of experience (QoE) of consumers has not improved as expected though such quality of service (QoS) requirements are supported by technology standards. "Even with widespread coverage of 4G networks in the country and rollout of 5G services, there are increasing number of complaints of call drops, call muting, low data throughput etc. which raises question marks on the network design and provisioning of required network resources," Trai said. The regulator has proposed to tighten call drop parameters, call success rate etc ..