Page 9 - Trai

Trai issued norms without much change in challenges faced by telcos: COAI

Telecom regulator Trai's new quality of service norms with stricter provisions have come without much change in challenges that telecom operators face on ground in terms of roll-out, illegal transmitters etc, industry body COAI said on Sunday. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has issued new quality of service rules on Friday, making it mandatory for telecom operators to compensate subscribers in case of service outages for more than 24 hours at a district level. Trai has also increased the penal amount to Rs 1 lakh from Rs 50,000 for failing to meet each quality benchmark under the new rules. The regulator has introduced a graded penalty system of Rs 1 lakh, Rs 2 lakh, Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh for different scales of rule violations and submitting false report under revised regulations -- "The Standards of Quality of Service of Access (Wirelines and Wireless) and Broadband (Wireline and Wireless) Service Regulations, 2024". Cellular Operators Association of India ..

Trai mandates telcos to compensate users for outages, raise penal amount

Telecom operators will have to compensate subscribers in case of service outages for more than 24 hours at a district level under the new quality of service rules issued by the sector regulator Trai on Friday. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has also increased the penal amount to Rs 1 lakh from Rs 50,000 for failing to meet each quality benchmark under the new rules. The regulator has introduced a graded penalty system of Rs 1 lakh, Rs 2 lakh, Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh for different scales of rule violations under revised regulations --"The Standards of Quality of Service of Access (Wirelines and Wireless) and Broadband (Wireline and Wireless) Service Regulations, 2024". The new norms supersede three different regulations -- Quality of Service (QoS) for basic and cellular mobile services, broadband services, and broadband wireless services. In case of a network outage in a district, telecom operators will need to provide a rebate on rent for postpaid customers and .

Trai intensifies crackdown on spam, robocalls with new directive to telcos

Telecom firms are only allowed to use the 140 series to make calls to consumers, however, unregistered telemarketers continue to use 10-digit phone numbers, making identification a challenge

Monthly prepaid ARPU crosses Rs 150 for the first time in Q4 FY24

Monthly prepaid ARPUs have consistently risen for more than six quarters, but the pace has been slow

Submit monthly data on spam complaints, Trai tells telecom companies

"Essential details for the registration of complaints should be automatically populated if users grant permission to access their call logs and other relevant data," the regulator said

Trai calls for reliable audience measurement system for radio, OTT, TV

Trai has proposed enlarging the audience measurement system's sample size to better reflect India's diversity, and called for fostering competition among multiple rating agencies

Telcos dial into caller ID service trials to combat rising spam calls

Telecom operators are assessing the feasibility of CNAP, where both number and caller name will be displayed during incoming calls

Customers won't be charged for holding multiple SIMs, says Trai

The plan aims to assess all factors affecting the allocation and utilisation of TI resources and proposes potential modifications to enhance the allocation policies and utilisation procedures

Will you be charged for your phone number? Here is what Trai has said

The telecom regulator is also considering penalties for operators that hold on to underutilised number resources

Trai explores penal option for hoarding unutilised fixed line numbers

Telecom regulator Trai is exploring an option to penalise telecom operators for hoarding utilised fixed line phone numbers as it seeks to address the crunch of numbering resources inhibiting growth of new connections, according to a consultation paper issued on Thursday. In the consultation paper on "revision of national numbering plan", the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is exploring options to change the fixed line numbers in line with the method used for mobile numbers so as to address the shortage of numbering resources in the segment. The consultation paper follows request from the Department of Telecom to the Trai d to address present and possible future constraints related to availability of adequate fixed line numbering resources arising out of rapid growth. "Should a financial disincentive be imposed upon TSPs for retaining X per cent or more of the allocated TIs remaining as unutilized beyond a certain timeframe? If yes, please specify the X per cent with ...

Telecom operators seek 5-6 year moratorium on spectrum purchases after 2025

Operators said such a moratorium is needed on spectrum bought in auctions from next year due to significant capital expenditure incurred in deploying 5G services

Ineffective interventions

Spam calls must be stopped

Analysts wary of Vodafone Idea's falling subscribers, broadband users

'Recent fundraise could have a bearing on subscriber additions '

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

Telecom subscriber base in the country grew marginally to 119.9 crore in March due to new additions by Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, according to a Trai report released on Friday. The broadband subscriber base rose to 92.4 crore, as per the monthly subscriber report published by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). "The number of telephone subscribers in India increased from 1,197.75 million at the end of February 2024 to 1,199.28 million at the end of March 2024, thereby showing a monthly growth rate of 0.13 per cent," the report said. Reliance Jio added 21.4 lakh mobile subscribers, while Bharti Airtel onboarded 17.5 lakh customers. However, Vodafone Idea (VIL) lost 6.8 lakh mobile customers, state-run BSNL 23.5 lakh and MTNL 4,674 subscribers. Wireline subscribers increased to 3.37 crore at the end of March 2024 from 3.31 crore at the end of February 2024. Reliance Jio led the new customer addition in the wireline segment by registering 3.99 lakh new subscribers

Vi FPO rings in vigour for telecom sector, may reduce subscriber loss

But low capital expenditure and large debt weigh down Vi's revival prospects

DoT to finalise terms of reference for satellite spectrum in few weeks

TRAI to begin new consultation on allocation of satellite spectrum

Telecom service sector's AGR up 1.8% to Rs 67,835 cr in Dec 2023 qtr: Trai

The Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) of the telecom service sector rose 1.88 per cent on a sequential basis to Rs 67,835 crore in the December 2023 quarter, according to telecom regulator Trai's data. Seen year-on-year, the AGR (earned by telcos from the sale of telecom services and other stipulated items) increased by 7.84 per cent. "Gross Revenue (GR), Applicable Gross Revenue (ApGR) and Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) of the telecom service sector for the quarter ended December 2023 have been Rs 84,500 crore, Rs 81,101 crore and Rs 67,835 crore, respectively. GR increased by 2.13 per cent, ApGR increased by 1.70 per cent and AGR increased by 1.88 per cent in the quarter ended December 2023, as compared to the previous quarter," Trai's latest report 'Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicators' showed. Access services accounted for 82 per cent of the total adjusted gross revenue of telecom services. "In Access services, Gross Revenue (GR), Applicable Gross Revenue (ApGR), Adjusted Gr

Opening up several high band spectrum not enough for 5G, say telcos

Telecom service providers have pushed instead for opening up the 6 gigahertz band for auctions

DoT to seek Trai's view on satcom spectrum allocation, licensing process

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is expected to approach Trai this month to seek the regulator's views on method and pricing for allocation of spectrum and scope of licences to be issued for satcom services, according to sources. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had floated a consultation paper on "Assignment of Spectrum for Space-based Communication Services" on April 6, 2023 but returned the reference back to DoT after announcement of new Telecommunication Act. "DoT will seek views of Trai on pricing and methodology to allocate spectrum for space based communication services. It may also look to fine-tune existing licences to bring in full clarity on the kind of services that satcom companies with administratively allocated spectrum can provide," a source, who did not wish to be named, told PTI. Satcom or satellite communication technology enables service providers to ensure internet connectivity in remote areas or difficult terrain. Bharti Group-backed

Allow only Indian entities to participate in regulatory sandbox, says Trai

Only Indian nationals or entities should be eligible to participate in telecom regulatory sandboxes that can provide real-time but regulated access to networks and customer resources during product or technology tests, sector regulator Trai recommended on Friday. The Telecommunications Act, 2023, has introduced the provision of setting up multiple regulatory sandboxes. The regulatory sandbox (RS) will emphasise on testing of new products, services, processes, and business models in a live testing environment on a limited set of users for a specified period of time after obtaining certain regulatory relaxations. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) recommended that the Department of Telecom shall put in place an end-to-end digital process to handle RS applications and all related activities, including intimations, approvals, sharing of information, monitoring, reporting requirements etc. "Only Indian nationals or entities will be eligible," Trai said in its recommendatio