Page 9 - Telecom Sector

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

Centre reviews progress of PLI schemes in all 14 sectors: Govt official

The government on Friday reviewed the progress of the production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes for all the 14 sectors, an official said. The meeting assumes significance as the government has disbursed Rs 2,900 crore till March 2023 under the scheme. The empowered committee in PLI has also approved Rs 1,000 crore disbursal to beneficiary firms of the electronics sector. The scheme was announced in 2021 for 14 sectors like telecommunication, white goods, textiles, manufacturing of medical devices, automobiles, speciality steel, food products, high-efficiency solar PV modules, advanced chemistry cell battery, drones, and pharma with an outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore. Senior officers from different ministries, including the commerce and industry ministry and heavy industries ministry, participated in the review, the official said. The purpose of the schemes is to attract investments in key sectors and cutting-edge technology; ensure efficiency and bring economies of size and scale in

Airtel gets notice from DoT for violation of subscriber verification norms

Bharti Airtel on Monday said it has received a notice from the telecom department for an alleged violation of subscriber verification norms, entailing a penalty of Rs 3.57 lakh. In a BSE filing, the telecom operator informed that the notice pertains to Bihar LSA and was received on January 8, 2024. "We submit the details of notice received by the company from the Department of Telecommunications," Airtel said, informing about the "notice imposing a penalty of Rs 3,57,000 for alleged violation of subscriber verification norms". Citing details, the company said it pertained to an alleged violation of terms and conditions with respect to subscriber verification norms under the Licence Agreement, pursuant to a sample customer application form (CAF) audit conducted by the Department of Telecom for September 2023.

Vi shares rise 22% to 1 yr high as company nears fundraising deadline

The company has said multiple times that any new funding by banks will be used for the deployment of capital expenditure, and not to roll over existing dues

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

TMS Ep590: Telecom Bill 2023, India's space sector, bond market, Bhashini

Has the new telecom bill let OTT off the hook? Did 2023 launch India's space sector into a higher orbit? How should bond market investors prepare for 2024? What is Bhashini? All answers here

BFSI, telecom, e-commerce most coveted sectors by women in 2023: Report

BFSI, Telecom and e-commerce were the most sought after sectors by women jobseekers this year, with most looking for work from home opportunities, according to a report released on Wednesday. The report by revealed that the women seeking jobs showed a balanced approach between flexibility and career dedication, as 50 per cent (1.2 crore) of total job applications from women job seekers sought wfh opportunities, the report by apna.co said. The report is based on an analysis of job searches by women on apna.co platform in 2023. As per the report, this year, sectors like Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI), telecom, and e-commerce witnessed a remarkable surge in demand among women jobseekers. The report revealed that 18 lakh women embraced night shift roles, showcasing their willingness to tackle challenges with utmost dedication. Of the 1.38 crore women on apna's platform, 6.7 million hail from tier-II cities, seeing a 33 per cent growth compared to the previous year.

India shouldn't oppose consensus on 6GHz use at global talks: GSMA

Global telecom operators body says major nations nearing consensus on capacity requirements of 5G and beyond

DGCA rejects telcos' proposal to provide 5G services on airport premises

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stated that the frequency can interfere with aircraft altimetre and cause disruptions

Airtel explores $1bn fundraising to prepay majority of 2015 spectrum dues

Bharti Airtel bought a spectrum worth Rs 29,130.20 ($3.54 billion) during an auction in March 2015 out of which Rs 10,000-12,000 crore remains in dues

Clear signals for Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio: Dial into a future of growth

India leads as the highest data consumption market globally, with a per-capita consumption of 25 gigabytes per month

Stock of this SME telecom infrastructure company nearly doubles in 5 weeks

Shares of Bondada Engineering were locked in 10-per cent upper circuit after the company received five-year operations and maintenance (O&M) contract worth of Rs 381 crore from BSNL

India emerging as telecom technology developer, exporter & leader: Vaishnaw

India is emerging as a telecom technology developer, exporter and leader, and the world today is looking at the country with hope, Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Friday. Speaking at the inauguration of India Mobile Congress, Vaishnaw said that driven by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's clear vision and leadership, the telecom sector has achieved several milestones on connectivity, affordability and standards, and has moved out of the shadow of litigation and 2G scam of the past. Telecom is the gateway of digital, Vaishnaw said, citing the speedy roll-out of 5G services in India and the nation's clear 6G vision.

What is India Mobile Congress? Everything you need to know about IMC event

Asia's largest technology event, the India Mobile Congress (IMC), will take place on October 27, 2023. PM Narendra Modi has inaugurated the event, which is being held in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi

OTTs vs telcos: Who will steal a march in 'Walled Garden' season 2?

As telecom companies and OTTs tussle over revenue-sharing for data usage, the jury is still out on who will prevail

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

Fresh spectrum allocation plan in the works, may open up more bands

May provide clear direction on satellite spectrum

Trai recommends entry fee cut for mobile, other telecom service licences

Telecom regulator TRAI on Tuesday recommended a cut in the entry fee for mobile and other telecom service licences, and favoured merging of bank guarantees, in a bid to facilitate entry of new players and promote ease of business for existing ones. In a sweeping set of recommendations, the sector regulator has mooted that the entry fee for Unified Licence (UL) in case of access service be halved, which along with suggestions of merging bank guarantees and other measures will "facilitate the orderly growth of the sector". The measures will spur investment and growth, and in effect improve the quality of service and enhance consumer welfare, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). "Entry fee for following UL authorisations should be rationalised...Access service from Rs 1 crore to Rs 50 lakh for each telecom circle/ metro area; from 0.5 crore to 25 lakh for J&K and North east each," TRAI release said. For National and International Long Distance, TRAI has ...

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

SC junks PIL seeking to scrap Centre's relief to stressed telecom sector

The Supreme Court has dismissed a PIL seeking cancellation of Centre's decision of September 15, 2021 to grant relief to the stressed telecom sector from paying statutory dues, saying these are all matters of policy and decision-making is on the basis of experts' opinion. In a breather to telecom service providers struggling to pay Rs 93,520 crore of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) related dues, the top court on September 1, 2020 gave them a 10-year period to clear their outstanding amount to the government. A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan said that no doubt, the apex court by its judgment had issued certain directions with regard to the telecom sector but in the backdrop of the COVID-19 challenges, with huge surge in data consumption, online education, work from home, etc., reform measures were found necessary to boost the proliferation and penetration of broadband and telecom connectivity. "In our view, these are all matters of policy and decision-making which is