Page 8 - Trai

Ministries test the AI waters: Try out use cases in bid to reduce workload

'A case study is being carried out across ministries by a dedicated wing which consists of experts to figure out the AI use cases under AI mission,' a senior government official said

Trai recommends introduction of CNAP service for caller name display

Trai on Friday recommended that Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) Supplementary Service be introduced in telecom network and that the service involving display of caller names on phones be offered by all telcos to subscribers on request -- a move that is expected to curb spam. The government should issue suitable instructions for making CNAP feature available in all devices sold in India after a suitable cut-off date, once recommendations are accepted, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) said. The name identity information provided by the telephone subscriber in the Customer Application Form (CAF) should be used for the purpose of the service, Trai said in its recommendations. "Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) Supplementary Service should be introduced in the Indian telecommunication network," Trai said. Put simply, CNAP is a supplementary service that enables the caller's name to flash on phone screens when someone calls. While native smartphone tools and third-party

Trai asks telecom operators to speed up roll out of anti-spam tech

DCA will take customers' consent for the brands or companies they would like to receive communication from

Telecom subscriber base grows marginally to 1.19 bn in December: Trai data

Telecom subscriber base in the country grew marginally to 119 crore in December 2023 on account of new subscriber addition by Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, according to a Trai report published on Thursday. The broadband subscriber base also grew marginally to 90.4 crore, accounting for about 76 per cent of the total subscriber base, as per the monthly subscriber report published by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). "The number of telephone subscribers in India increased from 1,185.73 million at the end of November to 1,190.33 million at the end of December, showing a monthly growth rate of 0.39 per cent," the Trai report said. Reliance Jio added 39.94 lakh mobile subscribers while Bharti Airtel onboarded 18.5 lakh. However, the growth was mitigated with Vodafone Idea (VIL) losing 13.68 lakh mobile customers, state-run BSNL 1.5 lakh and MTNL 4,420 mobile customers. Wireline subscribers increased to 3.18 crore at the end of December 2023 from 3.15 crore at the end

90% respondents getting pesky calls despite being in DND list: LocalCircles

Around 90 per cent of people surveyed stated that they are getting pesky calls from individuals selling financial services, real estate projects and other products despite being registered on the Do Not Disturb list, says a survey by LocalCircles. A vast majority of respondents surveyed have shared that they get spam calls every day and most of the calls are from individuals selling financial services and real estate products and services, according to the survey. The survey comprising seven questions claims to have received 60,000 responses from 378 districts but the number of replies on each question varied. In response to a question on the number of calls that people get, 90 per cent of respondents shared that they get at least 1-2 calls daily while 3 per cent said that they get over 10 pesky calls daily. Similarly, 90 per cent of respondents shared that they have been getting unwanted, pesky, sales promotional or robo phone calls on their mobile number in the last 12 months ...

Trai seeks views on allocation of more spectrum to Railways for safety

Telecom regulator Trai on Wednesday sought stakeholders' views on the assignment of additional spectrum to Indian railways for safety and security applications. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in mid-2023 had informed Trai that Indian Railways has requested for an additional 5 MHz of paired spectrum in the 700 MHz band to be allocated for enhancing its safety and security systems. The DoT had requested Trai to examine and provide its recommendations on the matter. "The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has today released a consultation paper on the assignment of additional spectrum to Indian railways for its safety and security applications," the regulator said in a release. In the consultation paper, Trai sought stakeholder views on whether an additional 5 MHz (paired) spectrum in the 700 MHz band should be assigned to Indian Railways (IR) for its requirement related to safety and security applications, and whether spectrum harmonisation is needed to make the

Tanla Platforms appoints former TRAI Chief RS Sharma to board of directors

Tanla Platforms on Monday announced the appointment of former TRAI Chairman RS Sharma to its board of directors. With this, the total number of directors on Tanla's board now stands at 7. "Tanla Platforms, India's leading CPaaS (Communications Platform as a Service) player, announced the appointment of former TRAI Chairman Dr RS Sharma to its board of directors, bringing the total number of directors on Tanla's Board to 7," according to a company release. Sharma was the chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) between 2015 and 2020, and his tenure was marked by initiatives promoting net neutrality and consumer rights. Over the years, he spearheaded multiple government initiatives. As the chairman of the Empowered Group of COVID Vaccine Administration (EGVAC), Sharma steered the design and rollout of Co-Win - the digital backbone of the vaccination drive in India. As CEO of the National Health Authority, he was instrumental in implementing two health initiatives

Airtel loses 1.2 million users, Jio gains 1.84 million in October: Trai

Trai data suggests that Airtel's market share was flat at 32.85 per cent in October and Jio's share rose to 39.30 per cent

Jio adds 3.16 mn subscribers in October; Vi loses 2.04 mn: Trai data

India's largest telecom operator Reliance Jio added 31.59 lakh mobile users while rival Bharti Airtel's subscriber gain came in at 3.52 lakh in October 2023, as per monthly subscriber data by TRAI. There was no relief for the troubled telco Vodafone Idea on subscriber front, as it lost 20.44 lakh wireless subscribers in October. With the addition of 31.59 lakh users, Jio's total wireless subscriber count climbed to 45.23 crore in October from 44.92 crore in September. Sunil Mittal-led Airtel's wireless subscriber gain of 3.52 lakh pushed up the telco's user tally to 37.81 crore in October. The subscriber losses of Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) dragged its wireless user base to 22.54 crore in October, the data by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) showed. Cash-strapped VIL has been battling fundraising woes and subscriber losses.

Telcos likely to show little interest in upcoming spectrum auction

The telcos already have ample spectrum with them. With little scope for 5G monetisation, telecom companies do not see the need to spend towards acquiring more spectrum

HC refuses to direct Trai to furnish tapping info to mobile user under RTI

The Delhi High Court has set aside an order upholding the Central Information Commission's (CIC) direction to telecom regulator TRAI to collect and furnish information under RTI proceedings about the alleged tapping of a mobile user's phone. A bench headed by Justice Vibhu Bakhru allowed an appeal filed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) against a single-judge bench order and said an act of surveillance is carried out under the government's directions and in the interest of the country's sovereignty and integrity, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign states or public order, or for preventing incitement to the commission of an offence, and is exempted under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. "Any orders passed by the government concerned in relation to interception or tapping or tracking of a phone is passed when the authorised officer is satisfied that it is necessary or expedient to do so in the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of ...

Reliance Jio gains 3.47 mn, Vi loses 0.74 mn users in September: Trai

Bharti Airtel, the second-largest player in the market, saw its subscriber count increase by 1.32 million users

Telecom Bill consumer-centric, pro-investor; clarifies on key issues: BIF

Broadband India Forum (BIF) on Wednesday said the new telecom bill brings clarity on a slew of important issues facing the sector, including the regulator's power and functions, protection and duties of telecom users, and exclusion of OTTs from the purview of telecom regulations. In a statement, the industry body said its executive council, at its recent meeting, praised the bill, and termed it a historic milestone and extremely progressive. The bill, BIF said, is consumer-centric and investor-friendly, and will propel the growth of the sector. BIF said the bill brings in clarity on a plethora of key issues, including Trai's power and functions, protection and duties of telecom users and clarity in definition of telecommunication services. There is also clarity on issues such as exclusion of OTTs from the purview of telecom regulations, administrative allocation of satellite spectrum and certain other types of spectrum, right of way issues, spurring of Universal Service and ...

Law for a new era

Telecommunications Bill addresses several gaps

Telcos' satellite spectrum wait may end in 5 months; Trai to fix price

The Bill is expected to be fully debated and passed in Parliament only by the Budget session in February

Dialling in: Admin price rings louder than satellite spectrum auction bid

while the market for satellite broadband currently is small ($10-15 million), the potential is large as an estimated 30% of the country does not have reliable terrestrial broadband services

Second time in 6 mths: DoT invites applications for Trai chairman post

The DoT had first advertised for the position on June 22

Govt re-invites application for Trai Chairman post vacant since Oct 1

The Department of Telecom on Friday invited applications for the post of Trai chairperson, which has been lying vacant since October 1, again. Earlier, the DoT had issued an advertisement on June 26. "The government of India, Department of Telecommunications proposes to fill up the post of Chairperson, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), New Delhi which is vacant since October 1, 2023," the advertisement said. Candidates who have applied for the position in response to the advertisement issued earlier are not required to apply afresh, according to the fresh advertisement. The DoT in the advertisement issued on Friday fixed December 22 as the last date for submitting applications. The position of Trai chairperson has been vacant since October 1 after the completion of the tenure of P D Vaghela. Trai member Meenakshi Gupta is handling the additional charge of chairperson of the regulatory body.

Telcos gross revenue rises 5.8%, govt spectrum usage charge declines 59%

Telecom service providers gross revenue increased by 5.88 per cent on a year-on-year basis to Rs 80,899 crore during the quarter ended June 2023, sector regulator Trai said on Tuesday. According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) Performance Indicator Report, the gross revenue declined 5.22 per cent on a quarterly basis from Rs 85,356 crore registered in March 2023 quarter. The applicable gross revenue (ApGR) and adjusted gross revenue (AGR), on which government share of revenue is calculated, increased by 6.17 per cent and 8.42 per cent to Rs 78,349 crore and Rs 65,354 crore, respectively, according to the report. Gross Revenue (GR) decreased by 5.22 per cent, Applicable Gross Revenue (ApGR) fell by 0.36 per cent and Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) increased by 1.75 per cent during the quarter ended June 2023. On YoY basis, GR increased by 5.88 per cent, ApGR rose by 6.17 per cent and AGR increased by 8.42 per cent in the quarter ended June 2023, the report said. The

Trai directs Jio, Airtel to clarify terms on unlimited 5G data offerings

Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio have both clarified that unlimited does not equate to infinity as data usage is restricted by speed and network