Page 23 - Telecom Services

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 ..

Telecom service providers wary of regulatory sandbox proposed by TRAI

The telecom regulator had suggested a national level controlled live testing environment for new products or services

Need entire 6 GHz band for deploying 5G: Telecom group writes to DoT

Telcos and tech majors have been locked in a fight over the crucial spectrum band

Telecom sector to see 7-9% revenue growth, Rs 70,000 cr capex in FY24: ICRA

The telecom services industry is expected to post moderate revenue growth of 7-9 per cent in FY 24, due to muted average revenue per user (ARPU) expansion in the absence of tariff hikes in the near-term, ICRA said. The industry has been "upfronting" 5G capex (capital expenditure) and ICRA foresees sectoral capex at around Rs 70,000 crore for FY2024, within an overall spend of around Rs 3 lakh crore over the next 4-5 years. ICRA believes that the ongoing 5G roll-out entails densification of the network and sizable deployment of fibre, which is likely to increase the capex intensity in the near to medium term. This would keep debt levels elevated at around Rs 6.1-6.2 lakh crore as on March 2024 (as against Rs 6.3 lakh crore as on March 31, 2023). "ICRA expects the telecom services industry to report moderate revenue growth of around 7-9 per cent in FY2024 over FY2023, owing to muted average revenue per user (ARPU) expansion in the absence of tariff hikes in the near-term," ICRA said

Jio rolls out 5G service in 26 Ghz band, claims top speed of 2 gbps

Reliance Jio Infocomm on Monday said it has rolled out 5G services in 26 gigahertz millimetres across India and has claimed a record top speed of up to 2 gigabits per second. The millimetre wave is a short-length radio wave that almost works like a dedicated spectrum pipe for each user and has the potential to deliver wired broadband-level speed. "Jio customers now using 26 GHz mmWave-based business-connectivity across all 22 telecom circles," Reliance Jio said in a statement. The telecom major said it has completed its minimum roll-out obligations in each of the 22 telecom circles, across each of the spectrum bands, ahead of time under the terms of the spectrum allocated to it on August 17, 2022. "On July 19, 2023, RJIL had completed submission of the prescribed details towards completion of the Phase 1 minimum roll-out obligation with the Department of Telecommunications Units and by August 11 2023, necessary DoT testing was completed in all circles," the statement said. Jio sai

Delicensing 6 Ghz band to hamper 5G, 6G roll out in India, incur loss: COAI

Telecom industry body COAI has cautioned the telecom department that delicensing spectrum in the 6 Ghz band will hamper roll out of 5G advance and 6G services in the country. In a letter dated August 10 to Department of Telecom Secratory Apurva Chandra, the Cellular Operators Association of India -- whose members include Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea etc -- has requested the Department of Telecom to include the 6 gigahertz spectrum in the auction and support its allocation for mobile telecommunication at the global level. COAI said that the 6 GHz band is the only additional contiguous spectrum available in mid-band for IMT (International Mobile Telecommunications), beyond what has already been put up in auction. "Hence, it is important for future growth of 5G and beyond technologies, including the roadmap for 6G introduction in India. This spectrum will be crucial as India firms up an action plan for Bharat 6G. Delicensing this important chunk of spectrum will seriously

HCLTech signs $2.1 billion managed network services deal with Verizon

HCLTech said it expects this deal to have a positive revenue impact over the next six years beginning in November 2023, with an estimated new total contract value of $2.1 billion over the term

Ericsson, TSSC launches 5G Centre of excellence in Delhi to train students

The roll out of 5G network in India, the rapid adoption of smartphones and IoT devices as well as boost in the manufacturing sector have led to the creation of new skill requirements in telecom sector

Airtel rolls out 5G on 26 GHz spectrum across 22 telecom circles

This was in accordance with the norms set by the Department of Telecommunications for complying to the minimum roll-out obligation criteria

Airtel emitting strong signals; improving margins along with debt-reduction

By the calculation, EBITDA minus Capex, operating cash flow was at $1.1 billion (up 26 per cent QoQ) while India Operating cash flow increased to $585 million (up 10 per cent QoQ)

Govt wants all telcos to rollout 5G in 26 GHz band before Aug 16 deadline

Strict stance to pressure Vi; Adani data networks to quickly roll out services

Q1 Preview: Airtel ARPU may near Rs 200-mark; Voda to see muted subs churn

Bharti Airtel Q1 preview: On average, analysts expect Bharti Airtel's consolidated net profit to rise around 60 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 2,676 crore in Q1FY24

300,000 5G sites installed within 10 months of service launch: Vaishnaw

Telecom operators have installed over 3 lakh 5G mobile sites within 10 months of launch of the service, Union Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Tuesday. The 5G sites have been installed across 714 districts. "The world's fastest 5G rollout continues. Over 3 lakh 5G sites installed in 714 districts," Vaishnaw said on social media platform Koo. Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are the only telecom operators rolling out 5G services in the country. Data shared by the minister shows that over 3 lakh sites have been installed within 10 months of 5G service launch on October 1 last year. According to official data, 1 lakh sites were installed within five months and 2 lakh sites within eight months of the launch of service.

TRAI imposes penalty of Rs 35 cr on telcos for violating call, sms norms

Telecom regulator Trai has imposed a penalty of Rs 34.99 crore on service providers for failing to curb pesky calls and sms on their network, Parliament was informed on Friday. Union Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha said that as per the reports, telecom operators have disconnected 15,382 and 32,032 connections during the calendar year- 2021 and 2022, respectively, for violating Telecom Commercial Communication Customers Preference Regulation (TCCCPR), 2018. "TRAI has imposed financial disincentives of Rs 34,99,98,000 on the Access Service Providers for failing to curb unsolicited commercial communications in their networks from Registered Telemarketers," Vaishnaw said.

Telcos to pay fee for activities covered under scope of licence, says DoT

In September 2021, the government had notified that non-telecom revenue would be excluded from the definition of AGR from October 1, 2021

Telecom panel approves licence for setting satellite earth station gateways

The Digital Communications Commission, formerly Telecom Commission, on Thursday approved issuance of separate licence for satellite earth station gateways that connect space communications with land-based networks, an official source said. The Satellite Earth Station Gateway (SESG) permit holders will not provide any service directly to end customers and be levied a non-refundable one-time entry fee of Rs 10 lakh. "DCC has approved Trai recommendation of Satellite Earth Station Gateway," the source said. The SESG licence holder will be allowed to set up several SESGs to cater to the requirement of constellation based satellite service providers but would need to obtain separate permission from the DoT before installing each SESG. The SESG licence shall be valid for a period of 20 years from the effective date of the licence with a provision of renewal for 10 years. At present, the DoT is the licensing authority for telecommunication services, while the Ministry of Information and

About 126,000 telecom skilled youth to be employed this fiscal: TSSC CEO

Around 1.26 lakh youth trained in telecom technologies will be employed in the current fiscal, a top official of the Telecom Sector Skill Council said on Monday. The Telecom Sector Skill Council (TSSC) also announced setting up a new Centre of Excellence for Skill Development Training in collaboration with Finnish telecom gear maker Nokia at Kaushalya - The Skill University campus in Ahmedabad. "TSSC will train 1.26 lakh youth in this financial year and they will be employed by the industry," TSSC CEO Arvind Bali said on the sidelines of the launching event of the new centre with Nokia. The CoE (Centre of Excellence) at ITI Kubernagar is setting up a Skill Lab for training candidates in 5G technology skills with the aim of providing placement offers within 4-6 weeks of course completion to at least 70 per cent of learners. About 300 such candidates will benefit from the programme in the first year of the project. "This is an important initiative supporting the Hon'ble Prime Minist

Telcos dole out 7-8% salary hikes, up to 110% bonus to retain talent

The market leader, Reliance Jio has not announced the increments and bonuses so far

Telecom Secy K Rajaraman named IFSCA Chairman, may take charge immediately

A 1989 batch IAS officer, Rajaraman has been appointed for three years; succeeds first ever IFSCA Chairperson Injeti Srinivas who led the authority since July 9, 2020