Page 16 - Telecom Services

From 68k crore, trade deficit in telecom has dropped to 4k cr: Scindia

Telecom gear sales crossed Rs 50,000 crore, exports at Rs. 10,500 under PLI, DoT said

Monthly prepaid ARPU crosses Rs 150 for the first time in Q4 FY24

Monthly prepaid ARPUs have consistently risen for more than six quarters, but the pace has been slow

To help pilgrims, DoT upgrades telecom infrastructure for Amarnath Yatra

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Monday announced significant improvements in telecom infrastructure for Amarnath Yatra to ensure seamless mobile connectivity for pilgrims. In collaboration with major telecom operators, including Airtel, BSNL, and Reliance Jio, the infrastructure has been upgraded to provide continuous coverage along the yatra routes, according to an official release. To ensure seamless mobile connectivity, a total of 82 sites (Airtel, RJIL and BSNL) will be active, an official release said. "A total of 31 new sites have been installed along the Yatra routes, increasing the total number from 51 in 2023 to 82 in 2024. This enhancement aims to provide seamless mobile connectivity to the pilgrims and public," it said. The routes from Lakhanpur to Qazigund and from Qazigund to Pahalgam and Baltal are fully covered with 2G, 3G, 4G, including 5G technology, at many places for pilgrims and the public. Further, some key points of SIM distribution centres have

Market concentration increased across India's key industries in FY24

The numbers indicate a steady rise in the revenue share of top two firms across industries in the last ten years leading to a rise in HHI scores

Reliance Jio tops with AGR at Rs 25,331 cr, Airtel sees steepest growth

Reliance Jio posted the highest adjusted gross revenue, on the basis of which the government calculates spectrum and licence fee, at Rs 25,330.97 crore while Bharti Airtel saw its AGR grew at sharpest pace in March 2024 quarter, a report by sector regulator Trai said on Thursday. Reliance Jio's adjusted gross revenue (AGR) grew by 10.21 per cent during the latest January-March quarter from Rs 22,985 crore in the same period a year ago. Airtel's AGR grew by 13.25 per cent to Rs 20,951.91 crore in the March 2024 quarter from Rs 15,500.36 crore a year ago. Loss making Vodafone Idea posted a marginal 2.22 per cent year-on-year increase in AGR at Rs 7,370.75 crore from Rs 7,210.63 crore. State-owned BSNL and MTNL posted declines of 4.41 per cent and 13.78 per cent in AGR to Rs 1991.61 and Rs 156.61 crore, respectively. Overall, telecom service providers' gross revenue grew by 3.01 per cent on a year-over-year basis to Rs 87,926 crore and adjusted gross revenue grew by 9.25 per cent in

Telcos' tariff hikes to push up core inflation by 0.2% in FY25: Report

The near-simultaneous tariff hikes of over 20 per cent by the country's top three telcos will push up core inflation by 0.20 per cent in FY25, a foreign brokerage said on Wednesday. Analysts at Deutsche Bank also upped their core inflation or the price rise, excluding food and fuel, by 0.20 per cent to 3.8 per cent. Apart from the tariff hikes, the below-trend monsoon rains will be another factor that will be of focus from an inflation trajectory perspective, they said. The report said the impact of telecom tariff hikes will start getting reflected from July, and the hikes will alone push the month-on-month core inflation by over 0.85 per cent month on month. "Overall, core inflation will likely rise by 0.20 per cent in FY25 due to the telecom tariff hikes. Consequently, we revise our FY25 core inflation forecast to 3.8 per cent, from 3.6 per cent average earlier," they added. It can be noted that after a hiatus of over two and half years, the telcos announced a price hike of over

Vodafone, Virgin Media to continue network sharing amid competition woes

The $19 billion merger between Vodafone's UK operation and Hutchison's Three UK is the subject of a Competition and Markets Authority investigation

Airtel, Vi follow Jio in raising tariffs; prices hiked by up to 21%

Says mobile Arpu needs to be raised beyond Rs 300

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

Jio rings in up to 25% tariff hike; Airtel, Vodafone Idea may follow suit

Jio's competitors have been clamouring for tariff hikes for months now, and are expected to soon announce hikes of their own

Vi in talks with Samsung to get network equipment for 4G/5G rollout

Telco has already deployed Samsung's vRAN tech in 3 circles

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

US probing Chinese telecom cos over risks to American data privacy

The companies -- China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom -- have a small presence in the United States, providing cloud services and routing wholesale US internet traffic

Telcos eye four spectrum bands as auction enters round 4 on Day 1

Telecom operators showed interest in four spectrum bands -- 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, and 2,500 MHz -- as the auction entered the fourth round around 3pm on Tuesday, sources said. Spectrum auction for over 10,500 Mhz mobile services worth over Rs 96,238 crore started at 10 am, an official statement said. "There was activity in four spectrum rounds initially -- 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, and 2,500 MHz band. Spectrum auction entered the fourth round around 3pm," a source told PTI. It is the 10th spectrum auction since the process for sale of radiowaves started through an online bidding process in 2010. The last spectrum auction was held in August 2022, which, for the first time, included radio waves for 5G services. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has initiated the spectrum auction and notice inviting applications was issued on March 8. "The Ministry of Communications announced that the following spectrum bands will go up for bidding in the upcoming auction -- 8

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 Act 2023 based on inclusion, growth, security for developed India

The Telecommunications Act 2023, which will be implemented partially from June 26, is based on principles of inclusion, security, growth and responsiveness to achieve the vision of developed India, an official statement said on Saturday. The Telecommunications Act, 2023, was passed by Parliament in December 2023. It received the President's assent on December 24, 2023 and was notified the same day. "Guided by the principles of Samavesh (Inclusion), Suraksha (Security), Vriddhi (Growth), and Tvarit (Responsiveness), the Act aims to achieve the vision of Viksit Bharat (Developed India)," the statement said. The rules that will be effective from June 26, will allow the government to take over the control and management of any or all of any telecommunication services or network, in the interest of national security, friendly relations with foreign states, or in the event of war. With these new rules in place, the universal service obligation fund will become Digital Bharat Nidhi, which

Vodafone Idea stock falls 2.5% on weak April telecom data, profit booking

On June 19, Vodafone sold 18 per cent stake in Indus Towers for Rs 15,300 crore to repay debts. Post stake sale, Vi's holding in Indus Towers stood at 3.1 per cent

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

Telcos dial into caller ID service trials to combat rising spam calls

Telecom operators are assessing the feasibility of CNAP, where both number and caller name will be displayed during incoming calls