Page 8 - Telecom Industry

Govt's nod for bank guarantee waiver will reduce telcos' burden: COAI

Industry body COAI on Tuesday said the Cabinet nod for bank guarantee waiver for past spectrum purchases is a "landmark decision" that would help reduce financial burden on telecom operators in the country. The association - whose members include Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio - further said the move will enhance cash flow, free up capital and enable capital investments in network expansion and technology upgrades. This, COAI said, will ensure a stronger and robust rollout of telecom networks in the future. "COAI welcomes the Union Cabinet's move and thanks the Government on approving the waiving of bank guarantee for telecom operators on spectrum purchased before 2022. This landmark decision will significantly help reduce the financial burden on the telecom operators in the country," SP Kochhar, Director General of COAI said in a statement. The Union Cabinet has waived the requirement to submit bank guarantees for spectrum purchased through auctions held before 2022

Over 25% subscribers report drop in pesky calls after Trai action: Survey

Around 27 per cent mobile subscribers have experienced reduction in pesky calls after telecom regulator Trai's stringent action against unregistered telemarketers, according to a survey by online platform LocalCircles. However, a majority of subscribers said there is no relief yet from pesky callers, instead there has been an increase in robo calls, the survey, which was released on Monday, said. According to the survey report, only 9 per cent mobile subscribers surveyed confirmed net reduction in pesky calls post Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) blacklisting of spammers. About 18 per cent subscribers confirmed decline in pesky calls but experienced increase in automated and robo calls. "For the first time in this survey series in last 5 years, LocalCircles is seeing 27 per cent mobile subscribers surveyed confirming that pesky calls have reduced, however, of them 18 per cent are reporting an increase in robo/automated pesky calls indicating that regulator must be vigil

Fraud detection system blocks 13.5 mn calls, saves Rs 2,500 cr: Scindia

The technical system deployed by the government is blocking 1.35 crore fraud calls daily and has helped save people's assets worth Rs 2,500 crore till date, Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia has said. The minister, in an interview with PTI, said most of the spam calls originate from servers outside the country, and the systems have been able to block the majority of such fraudulent calls. "In terms of the number of marketing calls you get in your phone, the number of fraud calls that come in, we have put in place a full system to be able to tackle that. Our DoT fraud detection network has saved close to about Rs 2,500 crore of people's assets today, as we speak, through Sanchar Sathi and Chakshu," Scindia said. The systems have led to the disconnection of close to about 2.9 lakh phones and blocked close to about 1.8 million headers that were used for sending out messages, he added. "Along with that, (there) was another vicarious method through which people woul

Satellite spectrum: Jio, Airtel bat for restricted validity of 3-5 years

Elon Musk's Starlink and Amazon's Kuiper have proposed the 'shared spectrum' be given to them for 20 years

RIL lobbies for India satellite spectrum auction in clash with Starlink

Billionaire Ambani runs India's biggest telecom company, Reliance Jio. Analysts say a spectrum auction, requiring much more investment, would likely deter foreign rivals

Starlink disputes predatory pricing allegations at Trai open house

Starlink on Friday asserted that it maintains absolute transparency on pricing as Elon Musk-backed satellite internet service provider vehemently dismissed arguments aired by certain players about "predatory pricing of next-generation systems" in a high-voltage open house discussion conducted by TRAI. With battlelines between terrestrial players and satellite aspirants clearly drawn, TRAI's marathon open house discussion that stretched for several hours saw telcos Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel banding together and speaking in unison about the need for level-playing-field as India works out the norms for satcom spectrum. Jio, which has made a case for the auction of satellite spectrum, on Friday said it is "not afraid of competition" but that 'same services same rules' must apply. "We are working in a hyper-competitive market. We are not afraid of competition. It is the other way around. Actually, the entities who are wanting to be in this space via satellite, in the telecommunicati

Telecom issue: NCLAT dismisses petitions, says IBC to prevail over Trai Act

Insolvency tribunal NCLAT has said that the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (IBC) would prevail over the provision of the Telecom Service Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Act, as it dismissed two petitions filed by the sectoral regulator in the RCom matter. The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) dismissed the plea by the telecom regulator TRAI against the classification of the balances of the customers of RCom as operational debt by the resolution professional in the insolvency proceedings of the defunct service provider. NCLAT also dismissed the second petition filed by TRAI, where it sought direction to the resolution professional of RCom for payments of statutory dues amounting to Rs 85.10 lakh. "The submission of the appellant (TRAI) that Act being a special law, would prevail over the provisions of IBC cannot be accepted." "The Supreme Court has already held that Section 238 of the IBC has overriding effect over any other law. Hence, IBC shall prevail over the ..

Level playing field: Jio sends second legal opinion to Trai on satcom

Former SC judge says Trai should have sought stakeholder comments on satellite spectrum allocation

To be a leader in telecom, you need to lead in AI: Chandru Sargor

He tells that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is solving real life challenges in telecom networks

Sunil Mittal's Bharti Telecom to raise Rs 8,500 crore via bond market

The borrowing is coming days after India's second-largest wireless carrier Bharti Airtel Ltd., in which Bharti Telecom is the largest shareholder

Why telcos fear trouble if Starlink gets spectrum at administrative prices

GSMA research reveals that only 1 per cent of India's population is unconnected or has no coverage. Domestic telcos say that is too small a market to make a business case

Protect key frequency bands used for satellite communications: Industry

The satellite-communication industry has urged the government to protect the key frequency bands used by them, particularly the Ka and Ku bands, from being allocated to terrestrial services. The Satcom Industry Association of India has also asked the government to reserve the 27.5-28.5 GHz band exclusively for satellite services, instead of transferring it to IMT (International Mobile Telecommunications) for flexible use, in line with global practices. "Any reduction in satellite bandwidth will not only double the gateway requirements but also increase operational costs for satellite operators, ultimately affecting end-users. We must prioritise the preservation of these frequency bands for satellite-communication services to avoid unnecessary financial burdens," Subba Rao Pavuluri, president, SIA-India, said in a statement. The industry body has also proposed specific frequency ranges in the Ku and Ka bands for the NGSO-based Fixed Satellite Services (FSS). SIA-India represents maj

Trai rating platform to assess, rate properties on quality of connectivity

Trai has decided to set up a 'rating platform' to assess and rate properties on the quality of digital connectivity as the telecom regulator outlined an elaborate framework and norms to nudge property managers to think of a "good digital connectivity experience" for customers. Based on the quality of digital connectivity and scores awarded, the properties will be assigned star-based ratings -- ranging from one star to five. The properties for digital connectivity rating are classified into different categories - Residential, Government Properties, Commercial Establishments, Other private or public areas, Stadiums or Sports Arenas or spaces of frequent gathering and Transport corridors, Trai said. Unveiling the contours of a new rating framework on Friday, Trai noted that the coverage and quality of digital connectivity inside buildings remains a major issue despite significant coverage of the 4G (LTE) network, the rollout of the 5G network and availability of more spectrum bands. T

ITU to prioritise global standards on DPI and AI after India push

The World Telecom Standardization Assembly in Delhi adopted resolutions across new tech areas

Satellite spectrum wars: No auction, foreign companies likely to benefit

Despite domestic telcos' insistence, earlier legal judgements have only called auction 'preferable' in the case of natural resources

Indus Towers Q2FY25 results: Net profit increases 72% to Rs 2,224 cr

Telecom infrastructure company Indus Towers on Tuesday reported a 71.7 per cent year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 2,224 crore for the September 2024 quarter. Notably, Q2 FY25 had a write-back of Rs 1,077 crore in provision for doubtful receivables, aided by collections against past overdue, the company said in its earnings release. For the just-ended quarter, the consolidated revenues stood at Rs 7,465 crore, 4.7 per cent higher than the year-ago period. "Our operational performance reflects sustained demand for network expansion and our endeavour towards securing a larger share of our customers' rollouts. This continues to drive our financial performance, aided by steady collection of past overdue from a major customer," Prachur Sah, Managing Director and CEO of Indus Towers, said. Sah noted that given a healthy cash generation, the company had rewarded its shareholders through buyback during the quarter. "We expect the performance to continue in the wake of netw

Trai releases consultation paper on T&C of network authorisations

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Tuesday floated a discussion paper on terms and conditions of network authorisations to be granted under the Telecom Act, 2023. DoT had approached TRAI, through a letter dated July 26, 2024, asking it to provide recommendations on terms and conditions, including fees or charges, for authorisation to establish, operate, maintain or expand telecommunication network as per the provisions of the Telecommunications Act, 2023. Subsequently, through another letter dated October 17, 2024, DoT requested TRAI to consider an authorisation for satellite communication network under Telecommunications Act, 2023. "In this regard, a consultation paper on 'the Terms and Conditions of Network Authorisations to be Granted Under the Telecommunications Act, 2023' has been placed on the TRAI's website (www.trai.gov.in) for seeking comments/ counter comments from stakeholders," it said. Stakeholders have been asked to submit written comments and counter

No tariff hike on cards, want to retain existing customers: BSNL CMD

State-run telco launches anti-spam network, direct to device satcom, intranet TV services, and a new logo

Generation gap: Will 6G find enough use cases to go where 5G hasn't?

Hope rises as a new generation of telecom technology knocks on our doors. Will it live up to expectations?

Musk's win on satellite spectrum raises prospect of price war with Ambani

The Indian government says its decision to allocate spectrum administratively to whoever applies for it is in line with global trends