Page 3 - Telecom

Reliance Jio seeks govt intervention for fair spectrum allocation

How spectrum for satellite services in India will be given out has been a contentious issue since last year

Telecom service authorisation regime should retain contractual nature: COAI

Telcos also complain about AGR calculations, exclusion of OTTs in new regime

BSNL adds 2.9 mn users after telecom rivals hiked tariffs in July

State-owned telecom company was the only one in industry not to raise tariff

Nokia signs deal with AT&T after losing network contract to Ericsson

Nokia said the fibre deal with AT&T is "Build America, Buy America-compliant", to meet the requirements of U.S. government funding

Jio now world's largest data company, carries 8% of global traffic: Ambani

JioAirFiber, the company's 5G-based home Wi-Fi service launched in October last year, acquired 1 million customers in the first six months, and the next 1 million in succeeding 100 days, Ambani said

Trai urges telcos to control misuse of message headers, content templates

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Tuesday hardened its stance on pesky telemarketers, as it directed telcos to take specific measures to curb misuse of messaging services and protect consumers from fraudulent practices. Continuing its offensive against unsolicited spam calls and messages, TRAI made it clear that from September 1, 2024, all access service providers will be prohibited from transmitting messages containing URLs, OTT links, or call back numbers which are not 'whitelisted' (authorised) by the senders. To enhance message traceability, TRAI has mandated that the trail of all messages from senders to recipients must be traceable from November 1, 2024. Any message with an undefined or mismatched telemarketer chain will be rejected. The latest move assumes significance as TRAI has cracked the whip on unauthorised telemarketers indulging in promotional calls and messages to telecom subscribers. Last week, TRAI directed telcos to disconnect all telecom resourc

Airtel begins re-farming mid-band spectrum to meet growth in 5G traffic

Ready to begin 5G services through Standalone technology, telco says

Centre to pay MTNL's bond interest by Wednesday, says DoT officials

With this date having been passed, the government now has to step in and deposit the necessary funds in the designated trust and retention account at least three days before the due date

Telecom dept invites proposals on 'Quantum Standardisation, Testing Labs'

The Department of Telecom has invited research proposals on 'Quantum Standardisation and Testing Labs' from Indian academic institutions or research and development institutions, an official release said on Sunday. The goal is to drive research and development in quantum technologies, ensuring the interoperability, reliability, and security of quantum communication systems. These labs will serve as innovation hubs, uniting quantum technology developers, testing equipment manufacturers, and academic researchers to explore and harness the full potential of quantum technologies for the benefit of all citizens. "The initiative aligns with the Prime Minister's vision for 'Jai Anushandhan', aiming to support research and development in telecom products and technologies that directly enhance the lives of Indian citizens," the release said. It underlines efforts towards making India self-reliant in quantum technologies and setting global benchmarks in this cutting-edge field. "The effort

New telecom law to come into effect from June 26: What are the changes?

The Telecommunications Act of 2023 was approved by both Houses during the Winter Session in December last year and received presidential assent in the same month

Telecom subscriber base crosses 1.2 billion mark in April; Jio tops chart

The telecom subscriber base in the country has crossed the 1.2 billion user mark for the second time, with Reliance Jio leading the chart in terms of new additions and the total customer base, according to a sector regulator Trai's report. According to Trai's monthly subscriber report, the total telecom subscriber base increased by 0.16 per cent to 1,201.22 million at the end of April from 1,199.28 million in March 2024. The total subscriber base crossed the 1.2 billion mark in May 2017, and touched a record of 1.21 billion in July 2017. Wireless subscribers continue to dominate the total subscriber base, with 1,165.49 million during the reported month. Reliance Jio led the growth in the wireless segment by adding 2.68 million net new subscribers, taking its total customer base to 472.42 million. It was followed by Bharti Airtel, which added 752 thousand customers, thereby its subscriber base growing to 267.57 million in April 2024. The huge loss of 1.23 million subscribers by ...

Indus Towers Q4 results: PAT rises 32% to Rs 1,853 cr, revenue up 6.5%

Telecom infrastructure company Indus Towers on Tuesday reported around a 32 per cent jump in its consolidated net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 2024. It had registered a net profit of Rs 1,399.1 crore a year ago, as per the company's regulatory filing. The company's consolidated revenue from operations grew 6.5 per cent to Rs 7,193.2 crore during the reported quarter against Rs 6,752.9 crore in the March 2023 quarter. For the year ended March 31, 2024, Indus Towers posted close to a three-fold jump in consolidated profit to Rs 6,036.2 crore from Rs 2,040 crore at the end of the financial year (FY) 2023. The annual revenue from operations of Indus Towers remained almost flat at Rs 28,600.6 crore during the reported fiscal compared to Rs 28,381.8 crore in FY23. "The network expansion by a major customer and increase in our market share helped us deliver record tower additions, surpassing the milestone of 2,00,000 towers. On the financial front, we were pleased to see ste

Porting requests at 8-month low; Voda biggest loser among major providers

In Feb 2024, subscribers made nearly 12 mn portability requests, lowest since June 2023

Trai wants district, state level data to boost quality of telecom services

QoS has remained a priority for the regulator, with Trai Chairperson Anil Kumar Lahoti naming call drops as a key area of his focus after taking charge in January

Growing interest: FMCG, telcos on foreign portfolio investors hot list

Analysts said large part of the flows into the FMCG sector were due to the block deal in ITC, where the British American Tobacco (BAT) sold a 3.5 per cent stake for around Rs 17,000 crore

DoT imposes Rs 4 lakh fine on Airtel for violation of verification norms

The Department of Telecom has imposed a penalty of around Rs 4 lakh on Bharti Airtel for violation of subscriber verification norms in Delhi and Bihar circles. According to a regulatory filing by Bharti Airtel, the Department of Telecommunications, Delhi circle, has issued a notice imposing a penalty of Rs 2.55 lakh for alleged violation of subscriber verification norms. The Delhi circle has issued notice for "alleged violation of terms and conditions with respect to subscriber verification norms under the Licence Agreement, pursuant to Sample CAF Audit conducted by DoT for January 2023", the filing said. The department's Bihar circle has given a notice to the company, imposing a Rs 1.46 lakh fine for "alleged violation of subscriber verification norms", Bharti Airtel said in a separate filing. For Bihar circle, the notice has been issued "pursuant to Sample CAF Audit conducted by DoT for January 2024", the filing said. The company has, however, contested the penalty levied by DoT

Spectrum auction for eight bands to start from 20 May 2024: DoT notice

The upcoming spectrum auction will start from May 20, according to the notice inviting application released by the Department of Telecom on Friday. Government will auction eight spectrum bands for mobile phone services at a base price of Rs 96,317.65 crore. Spectrum which is held by certain companies undergoing insolvency processes as well as frequencies expiring this year will also be put on auction.

Geopolitical convergence on terrestrial broadcasting

Both ATSC 3.0 for BPS in the US and D2M in India have the potential to deliver communications of national importance during crises and disasters independent of satellite systems and cellular telephony

Telcos made Rs 10,000 crore extra capex to support large apps: COAI

Telecom operators are estimated to have spent an additional Rs 10,000 crore in 2022-23 to support traffic generated by large entertainment and communication apps, according to an estimate of telecom industry body COAI. Cellular Operators Association of India, Director General, SP Kochhar told PTI that the infrastructure support provided by telecom operators to top 4-5 apps large traffic generator apps also corresponds to their revenue growth and in the absence of fair share norms for large apps, the government has lost about Rs 800 crore revenue in 2023 alone. He said that the industry body has submitted a white paper to the Ministry of Finance in this regard in January. "The additional capex required to provide the infrastructure to carry the LTG-related data traffic for the year 2023 alone amounts to around Rs 10,000 crore. Accordingly, the proposed fair share to TSPs on the amount would have resulted in enhancing AGR-related licence fees and USOF levies (combined 8 per cent of A

Tarun Chhabra to replace Sanjay Malik as Nokia India country manager

Finnish IT and tech firm Nokia on Tuesday announced the appointment of Tarun Chhabra as its country manager in India with effect from April 1, 2024. He will replace Sanjay Malik who retires on March 31, 2024. "Tarun Chhabra will continue in his role of Head of Mobile Networks Market India in addition to assuming India Country Manager responsibilities," the company said in a statement. "India is such an important market for Nokia and I believe that, in this new role, I will be able to help our customers to benefit from Nokia's leading technology across our portfolio, at a time when technology is playing a vital role than ever before in the lives of organizations, companies, individuals and societies," Chhabra said.