Bharti Airtel, the second-largest player in the market, saw its subscriber count increase by 1.32 million users
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 ...
Telecommunications Bill addresses several gaps
The Bill is expected to be fully debated and passed in Parliament only by the Budget session in February
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
The DoT had first advertised for the position on June 22
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.
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
Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio have both clarified that unlimited does not equate to infinity as data usage is restricted by speed and network
The delay in plans to raise fresh funds is crippling the telco's plan to launch its 5G services
India's largest mobile operator Reliance Jio added 32.4 lakh users in August, and its wireless subscriber tally topped 44.57 crore, according to data released by telecom regulator Trai. Bharti Airtel gained 12.17 lakh wireless subscribers in August, while cash-strapped Vodafone Idea lost 49,782 users. The mobile subscriber count of Bharti Airtel rose to 37.64 crore in August. Vodafone Idea (Vi), on the other hand, saw its wireless subscriber numbers dip to 22.82 crore during the month. Reliance Jio cemented its position as India's largest mobile operator, adding 32.45 lakh users in August and its wireless subscriber base swelled to over 44.57 crore, according to monthly telecom subscription data released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). Jio's net adds for August were, however, lower than 39 lakh additions in July. "In August, 12.67 million subscribers submitted their requests for Mobile Number Portability (MNP)," Trai said. With this, the cumulative requests (sinc
The rollout of satellite-based communication services by Bharti Enterprises -backed OneWeb and Reliance Jio will be affected by the delay in appointing Vaghela's successor
Not to raise tariff; focus not only on mobility but also on connecting India's over 330 million households with broadband based on 5G last-mile connectivity
On semiconductor manufacturing, the minister said at least three players were in advanced talks with the government for building a chip plant in India
Recent signature campaign "Save the internet" against the proposal of network usage fee, that was signed by several startups, is based on "falsehood and misinformation", telecom industry body COAI said in a letter to regulator Trai. Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said the proposal of "fair share charge" will put the onus on large global entities, who are profiting from India, but not contributing to its economy or infrastructure development. The industry body, whose members include Jio, Airtel, Vodafone Idea etc, said the people and companies are being misguided by propagating unfounded fears and supposed scenarios by certain entities with vested interests. Meanwhile, calling for signatures of startups, a note from "Save The Internet" campaign members mentioned that the letter meant for submission to Trai is to oppose network usage fees proposed by telecom operators, and against the idea of imposing telecom licensing on online services. The note said that Airtel, Ji
This order was in response to a petition by the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) against Star India Pvt Ltd (STAR)
Indus Towers has also criticised the telco for 'wilful and continuous' failure to make the due payments
Trai data revealed that 11.7 million subscribers had submitted requests for Mobile Number Portability (MNP), signalling a sustained trend of Vi users migrating to other operators
Will more regulators such as Trai follow suit?
The report noted that the United States' decision to make the full 6 GHz band available for unlicensed use has set a trend, influencing countries like Brazil and Saudi Arabia