Page 8 - Telecom

Mobile calls may turn pricey, providers likely to hike 4G rates: Report

Inability to pay vendors and invest in business could hurt its operations, especially its ability to retain high ARPU postpaid customers, the report said

Govt issues rules to make entities pay for causing damage to telecom infra

The government has notified new rules to make entities pay for damages that they may cause by digging or excavating to telecom infrastructure like optical fibre network and mobile towers, according to an official statement issued on Friday. According to official estimates, due to digging or excavation activities undertaken by various entities, there are nearly 10 lakh optical fibre cuts (OFC) every year that cause an economic loss of approximately Rs 3,000 crore per annum. The Department of Telecom expects that the Indian Telegraph (Infrastructure Safety) Rules 2022 was notified on January 3 will be able to curb damages caused to the telecom infrastructure and inconvenience caused to citizens because of frequent breakdown of communication services. "Many utilities can be saved from unwanted cuts and wasteful costs towards restoration, thus saving thousands of crores for businesses and associated tax loss to the government," the statement said. The rule mandates that any person or .

BSNL aims to introduce 4G network in 45,180 villages across India

With its planned 4G services launch, public sector firm targets rural market spanning 7% of all villages

Mixed bag of job opportunities await aspirants in 2023; skills in spotlight

A mixed bag of opportunities is likely to greet job aspirants in the New Year as telecom and services-oriented sectors are anticipated to accelerate hiring after recent gloomy months of pink slips in the technology segment amid global economic turmoil. Short-term opportunities will be on the rise and companies will focus on building a work-life integrated culture, nurturing niche talent, enhancing skills and providing flexible work arrangements, experts opined. Experts also said one of the major recruitment trends of 2023 is expected to be companies looking to boost internal mobility of talent. After 2022, especially the second half, resonated with reports of mass layoffs and hiring freeze amid the pandemic-related business disruptions, experts said it is not going to be all gloom and doom in 2023. According to staffing firms and job portals, it will be a mixed bag for the Indian job market next year. Amid subdued tech hiring, some of the non-tech hiring, especially in telecom and

USOF successor to focus on indigenising tech, hiring global bandwidth

Govt plans to include fund in upcoming telecom Bill despite telcos' opposition, officials said

Top Headlines: Tax levy on SUVs, tighter service norms for telcos, and more

Business Standard brings you the top headlines at this hour

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

Vodafone CEO Nick Read to step down from the post by end of month

The mobile group's chief financial officer Margherita Della Valle will take over as interim group chief executive, Vodafone said

Vi in talks with SBI for loan of Rs 15K-16K crore for capex needs: Report

The talks have reportedly been going on for over a month now and SBI is waiting to get clarity on the govt's potential shareholding in Vi

Telcos to stop 5G services in high-frequency bands in and around airports

Telecom operators will need to shut down 5G services in high-frequency bands in and around airports following restrictions imposed by the Department of Telecom at the request of the civil aviation ministry, according to sources. Based on buffer and safety zone details provided by the aviation ministry, the DoT has asked telecom operators to not install 5G base stations in the 3.3-3.6 Ghz band in the area of 2.1 kilometres from both ends of the runway and 910 meters from the centre line of the runway of Indian airports with immediate effect. "Telecom operators will need to shut down 5G service in the 3.3-3.6 Ghz band only in and around airports based on the order. It is a temporary restriction. The services can be restored after DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) ensures that altimeters at all aircraft have been replaced. DGCA has not shared any timeline for completing the replacement exercise," a source told PTI. Airtel is the only telecom operator that has installed 5G ..

NCLT dismisses bankruptcy proceedings against GTL Infra, GTL Ltd

The court said several companies owe GTL Infrastructure money as it has made claims of Rs 13,393 crore against Aircel and others

C-DoT's indigenous, low-cost 4G and 5G stack attracts global interest

Global vendors like Nokia and Ericsson have been selling both proprietary hardware and software integrated into one which does not give users any flexibility

Airtel may end cheap subscription plans but decision has risks: Analysts

Telecom company discontinues its Rs 99-recharge offer in Haryana and Odisha circles

Trai recommends applying trusted source procurement rule on data centres

Telecom regulator Trai on Friday recommended trusted source procurement rule be applied on data centres to discourage the use of insecure equipment in the network. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) under its recommendation for "Regulatory Framework for Promoting Data Economy Through Establishment of Data Centres, Content Delivery Networks, and Interconnect Exchanges in India" has suggested registration of content delivery networks, which includes entities like Google Cloud CDN, Amazon CloudFront, Azure CDN etc with the Department of Telecom. "The Authority recommends that trusted source procurement applicable for licensees under section 4 of India Telegraph Act 1885, should also be made applicable for DCs (data centres) for security sensitive equipment," Trai said. The trusted source norms bars telecom networks from procuring any equipment from entities that are not notified as trusted sources by the National Cyber Security Coordinator. Trai has recommended the centr

Qualcomm doubles down on 5G access with Jio to connect 100 mn Indian homes

Qualcomm is working very closely with Reliance Jio to provide its chipset platforms for the 5G fixed wireless access and the Open RAN 5G network.

Reliance Jio tops 4G network speed chart in October, shows Trai data

Telecom major Jio topped the 4G network speed chart in terms of both average download and upload, according to data published by sector regulator Trai. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has dropped BSNL from the 4G speed chart in October as it is yet to roll out 4G services. In October, the telecom major maintained its leadership in download segment by recording an average speed of 20.3 megabits per second (mbps). It was followed by Airtel, which recorded a download speed of 15 mbps and Vodafone Idea (Vi) with 14.5 mbps speed. Jio's 4G upload speed declined marginally to 6.2 mbps in October from 6.4 mbps in September. However, it continued to maintain its lead in the segment. In September, Jio had pipped Vi to top the upload speed segment. Jio was followed by Vi which recorded an average upload speed of 4.5 mbps in October and Airtel with an average upload of 2.7 mbps The average speed is computed by Trai based on the data it collects across India with the help of

5G set to cover 80% of India by next October if chip supply is assured

Telcos to install over 1.5 million radios by then; all metros, and towns will be covered, say vendors

DoT mandates telecom infra firms to share assets with notified entities

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has amended registration rules of telecom infrastructure companies to provide access of their assets to entities that will be notified by the central government in public interest and for national security, an official notice said. Earlier, sharing of assets like dark fibres, duct space and mobile towers of telecom infrastructure companies was allowed on mutually agreed terms with the other parties. The norms amended on November 10 added that "IP-1 registration holders shall also share the above mentioned infrastructure with the entities as may be specified by the central government in the interest of national security and public interest as per the terms and conditions which may be specified by the central government". Telecom infrastructure body Digital Infrastructure Providers Association (DIPA), which represents companies like Indus Towers and American Tower Corporation, said that the amendment in the Scope of IP-1 registration has been

DoT extends deadline for public comments on draft Telecom Bill to Nov 20

The Department of Telecom has extended the deadline till November 20 for submitting public comments on the draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022. The bill proposes to bring internet-based calling and messaging services under the telecom rules as well as strengthen security for consumers. "In response to the requests received from several stakeholders, the ministry has decided to further extend the last date for receipt of comments till 20th November, 2022," the DoT said in an official note on Thursday. The draft of the bill was released on September 21. The last date for comments on the bill was earlier extended from October 20 to October 30. It was further extended to November 10.

India set to witness multi-billion-dollar 5G roll-out by leading telcos

India is set to witness the world's largest roll-out of 5G infrastructure with multi-billion-dollar being spent by the country's leading telcos over the next several years, according to Syed Shahid Hussain, Managing Partner, Financial Services Sector, Asia Pacific, at IBM Consulting. Additionally, the government is expected to lead in developing the India stack, a network building process that would cover every segment of the economy being digitised with the latest advanced technologies, he told PTI at the Singapore Fintech Festival last week, held from November 2-4, 2022. "This is a big play," he said of the advanced technologies adoption in India, with IBM Consulting joining international technology groups participating in the large-scale development over several years through strategic partnerships with telcos such as Bharti Airtel and Reliance Group. "We plan to work with Indian telcos, where we have strategic partnerships like Bharti Airtel to bring secured hybrid cloud service