Page 9 - Telecom

Telecom tariffs remain at 'unsustainable levels': Vodafone Idea CEO

Telecom operator Vodafone Idea (VIL) has said telecom tariffs in India continue to remain at "unsustainable levels" and the industry needs "tariff correction" to support continued investments. VIL has seen average revenue per user (ARPU) growth for five consecutive quarters now. Its average revenue or realisation per user at Rs 131 in Q2 FY23 was 19.5 per cent higher than the year-ago period, aided mostly by tariff hikes and subscriber upgrades. ARPU for the September quarter was higher sequentially as well, when compared to Rs 128 in Q1 FY23. "However, it is important to note that despite the price intervention made in the last one year, the tariffs in India continue to remain at unsustainable levels. And we believe that industry needs further tariff correction to support the continued investments going forward," Vodafone Idea CEO Akshaya Moondra said during the company's analyst call on Q2 FY23 earnings on Friday. Over the last one year, the company has taken several tariff ...

Airtel says crossed 1 million customers on 5G network amid network build-up

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Wednesday said it has surpassed 1 million customers on 5G network within 30 days of its commercial launch even while the network is being built. Earlier, Airtel had announced phase wise roll-out of its 5G services in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Siliguri, Nagpur and Varanasi. The services in these cities are getting rolled out in a phased manner as the company continues to construct its network and complete the roll-out, according to Airtel. "Bharti Airtel...today announced that it has crossed the 1 million unique 5G user mark on its network. The company achieved this milestone in less than 30 days of its commercial launch even as the network is being built," the company said in a statement. Randeep Sekhon, Chief Technology Officer of Bharti Airtel, said these are early days but the response from customers have been "very encouraging". "Our network is being built every day even as all 5G devices are now capable of working on the .

DoT may mandate local purchase of high-quality telecom equipment

Focus on high-quality products, indigenous manufacturers told

Draft telecom Bill: Trai opposed to regulation of OTT platforms

Has communicated this to the telecom dept

'Telcos may see steady Q2 as SUC saving aid margins; 5G updates key focus'

Telecom companies are expected to witness "steady" revenue growth in Q2FY23 with slight sequential uptick in average revenue per user albeit softer net additions, while SUC (spectrum usage charges) savings are seen lifting margins, say analysts. Amid mega 5G network deployments by telcos, market analysts will be keenly tuning in to management commentaries on pace of roll-out for next-generation services, capex outlook and markers on tariff hikes. "We expect Indian telcos to report a steady quarter with stable ARPUs and slowing net adds. Margins would be higher q-o-q as we get 45-50 days benefits of lower SUC," BofA Securities said in its Q2 earnings preview for the sector. India's largest telecom operator Reliance Jio is expected to come out with its Q2 report card on October 21 (Friday), while Bharti Airtel is scheduled to announce its results on October 31. In the earnings' preview for the sector, ICICI Securities anticipated "steady revenue growth" and said margins may jump on .

Jio topples BSNL to become largest fixed-line service provider in August

Private telecom operator Reliance Jio toppled state-run BSNL in August to become the largest fixed-line service provider in the country, according to a Trai report released on Tuesday. This is the first time since the beginning of telecom services in the country that a private operator has gained the numero uno position in the wireline segment. According to Trai's subscriber report for August, Jio's wireline subscriber base reached 73.52 lakh while that of BSNL was at 71.32 lakh. BSNL has been providing wireline services since the last 22 years, whereas Jio launched its wireline offering 3 years ago. The wireline subscribers in the country grew to 2.59 crore in August from 2.56 crore in July. The growth was dominated by the private sector, with Jio adding 2.62 lakh new customers, Bharti Airtel 1.19 lakh, Vodafone Idea (Vi) 4,202 and Tata Teleservices 3,769. State-run telecom firms BSNL and MTNL lost 15,734 and 13,395 wireline customers, respectively, in August. The overall telec

India sees 34% uptick in jobs related to 5G adoption, telecom: Report

As enterprises look at 5G adoption at an accelerated pace with its roll out in India, job postings for telecommunications and 5G have increased by 33.7 per cent in the last 12 months

Musk's SpaceX seeks DoT's nod for Starlink broadband-from-space services

Bharti Group-backed OneWeb and Reliance Jio have already received DoT's approval for GMPCS licences

VVDN signs deal to make Intel products for telecom, networking in India

Gurgaon-based company is a beneficiary of the government's PLI scheme for IT hardware, telecom

DoT may bring digital apps under licensing purview in draft telecom bill

The companies will convey their fears during the consultation process

The 5G opportunity for a unitary paradigm

Adopt high-speed wireless subnetworks of small cells, and a commons approach

Sensex down 638 pts; Nifty nears 16900; Adani Group stocks slide, pharma up

CLOSING BELL: Adani Enterprises was the biggest Nifty dragger as it dropped 9 per cent

Delhi High Court stays TDSAT order asking broadcasters for OTT content

TRAI has argued that broadcasters are supplying signals of linear channels to OTT platforms circumventing Clause 5.6 of the Uplinking and Downlinking guidelines for television channels

DoT open to expand list of offences in draft telecom Bill, say officials

Growing international focus on India's fast growing tele-scammers has led govt to specifically focus on call-based frauds and scams, sources say

Powering 5G services: Telcos may spend up to $2.5 billion on optical fibres

5G, fibre-to-home, Bharat Net will lead to demand surge in next 3-4 yrs

BS Views of the week: Project Cheetah, Telecom Bill, Ukraine Oligarchs, and more

Business Standard's opinion pages this week focused on Project Cheetah, Telecom Bill, Ukraine versus the ex-Soviet economies, and much more

New Telecom Bill provides road map for innovation: Ashwini Vaishnaw

"It's a matter of a few days only when the bill will be uploaded for consultation," he said

Inclusion of OTT platforms in Telecom Bill maybe a risk to digital economy

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) released the draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022, late on Wednesday

5G handsets, tech limitations keep tariff hikes at bay for Jio, Airtel

Telecom operators Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are not looking at higher tariffs for 5G services during the initial level of launch in metro cities

Disclosing end-use of goods must while claiming concessional import duties

Move aimed at enabling tracking of goods to ensure they don't end up in replacement market