Page 29 - Telecom Services

Tighter quality of service norms for telecom service providers on the cards

It intends to improve telecom services at a time when the country is quickly adopting 5G technology

Private companies lap up Esri's GIS software for multiple uses

Government departments have used it to build village land records, track rural roads, and manage water resources

Vodafone Idea, ATC extend subscription date of Rs 1,600 cr OCDs to Feb 28

Debt-ridden Vodafone Idea and its vendor ATC Telecom Infrastructure have agreed to extend the last date for subscription of Rs 1,600 crore optionally convertible debentures to February 28, the telecom operator said in a regulatory filing. Vodafone Idea's proposal to issue Rs 1,600 crore debentures to mobile tower vendor ATC Telecom Infrastructure has lapsed in the absence of any response from the government on the conversion of interest dues into equity. "...the Company and ATC have mutually extended the last date for subscription of the OCDs to 28th February, 2023 or such later date as may be mutually agreed, subject to fulfillment of certain conditions precedent," Vodafone Idea (VIL) said in a filing. The conditions for approval include nod of VIL shareholders and conversion of interest liability on the company arising from the deferment of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) and Spectrum Dues into equity shares by the government. Last month, shareholders of debt-ridden Vodafone Idea ..

Podcast: What is network slicing?

One of the key features of 5G technology that everyone is waiting for is network slicing. What is it?

Vodafone Idea's fundraising put on hold as govt delays equity call

The development spells further trouble for the company, which has an overall debt pile of Rs 2.2 trillion including hefty dues to the government

Airtel World Pass international plans for prepaid, postpaid users announced

The Airtel World Pass international roaming plans offer significantly higher value in terms of data and voice benefits, Airtel said in a statement

Free riders vs piggy-riders: A tale of two cities caught in an OTT debate

The debate over whether over-the-top services should pay telcos user revenues bids fair to overlap with the issue of net neutrality

Power Grid to separate telecos, gets nod to foray into data centre biz

Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd is in the process of carving out its telecom vertical to a new fully-owned subsidiary, Powergrid Teleservices Ltd, in a bid to have a "focused approach" and to move up the value chain, senior company officials said. The move by the state-run power transmission major comes close on the heels when the telecom sector is ramping up its 5G service across the country to bring business transformation that can contribute two per cent to the national GDP. The state-owned power transmission major has also got approval from the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) to operate data centres. "The telecom division of Powergrid will be transferred to the new subsidiary Powergrid Teleservices after receiving all regulatory approvals to provide greater impetus to the business and move up the value chain by entering into the data centre business. The process for regulatory clearance is in progress," Powergrid executive director (telecom) B Vamsi Rama Moh

Need separate pan-India licence for Satellite Earth Station Gateways: TRAI

A satellite gateway (also referred to as a teleport or hub) is a ground station that transmits data to and from the satellite to the local area network

Have OTT players pay telecom firms usage charges, COAI writes to DoT

Telcos point out that based on global estimates 56% of telco bandwidth is used by OTT communication platforms and in India it is even higher due to the proliferation of users which are over 400 mn

GIP plans to acquire Tower Vision India Pvt in a $400-million deal

GIP already owns a significant stake in Indian tower owner Ascend Telecom Infrastructure Pvt. Deliberations are ongoing and GIP could decide not to proceed with a transaction, according to the people

OTT players must pay to use the telecom service provider's network: COAI

COAI added that the government must provide a legal framework to enable the service providers to charge any user that uses their services

India second among 21 countries in H1 2022 Arpu rise, shows data

Also ranked 6th among 26 countries in data usage growth over same period

5G signals won't interfere with flight operations, telcos reiterate

Senior industry executives say no recent discussions with government on issue of 5G signals interfering with aviation instruments, companies remain open to talks

Telecom firms fear surge of 'pseudo-TSPs' due to private 5G network

This, they feel, could happen under direct allocation of spectrum by the govt

Telcos' AGR rises 18% to Rs 60,530 cr in Apr-June; govt collection up 19%

Telecom service providers' adjusted gross revenue grew 17.91 per cent on a year-over-year basis to Rs 60,530 crore in April-June 2022 with Jio leading in terms of revenue share, telecom regulator Trai said in a report on Wednesday. The adjusted gross revenue (AGR) of telecom service providers was Rs 51,335 crore in June 2021 quarter, according to the performance indicator report for quarter ended June 2022 released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). The government collects it share of revenue from telecom service providers based on their AGR. Among pan-India mobile service providers, Jio made the highest contribution of Rs 21,515.88 crore with year-on-year (YoY) growth of 20.58 per cent to the AGR. Pan-India operator Bharti Airtel topped the chart in terms of growth rate. Its AGR grew 25.15 per cent year on year to Rs 17,140.56 crore. Vodafone Idea AGR grew 17.93 per cent to Rs 7,356.54 crore and BSNL registered 2.6 per cent year on year growth in AGR at Rs 2,177

Zoom seeking VoIP licence indicates organisational shift in India: Experts

Zoom Video Communications has sought approval from the government of India to launch its Zoom Phone services in India, according to media reports

Vodafone Idea shareholders' approve issuing debentures to ATC Telecom

Shareholders of debt-ridden Vodafone Idea have approved issuing shares worth Rs 1,600 crore to ATC Telecom Infrastructure on a preferential basis, according to a regulatory filing. Vodafone Idea Ltd's (VIL) board has given its nod to settle Rs 1,600 crore dues to equipment vendor ATC Telecom by converting the due amount into equity, if the amount remained unpaid in 18 months. As per the scrutiniser's report with respect to the voting on proposals during the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on November 21, as many as 99.99 per cent shareholders voted in favour of the "special resolution for issue of securities on a preferential basis". The report was submitted as part of the filing by the company to the stock exchanges on Tuesday. VIL is raising the amount through equity convertible debt bonds that carry a coupon rate of 11.2 per cent per annum payable every six months during its term. According to the company, the funds raised would be used to pay amounts owed to ATC under

Reliance Jio announces rollout of 'True 5G' service in Delhi, NCR cities

Company's welcome offer will give users unlimited data at up to 1Gbps speeds

Reliance Jio rolls out 'True 5G' network service in Delhi-NCR

Jio has developed its 5G network on the standalone technology which has zero dependency to its existing 4G network