Indian Space Association (ISpA) chairman Jayant Patil has said that the executive council will debate whether it can include more telecom companies as founding members. The response came after some leading telcos said that they had been asked to be core members but preferred to be inducted as founding members. The key founders of the ISpA include the Bharti group through two companies (OneWeb and Airtel), L&T, Nelco, Walchandnagar, Alpha Designs and MapmyIndia.
The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh accepted recommendation of the empowered group of ministers that all existing mobile phone companies must pay one-time spectrum charge.
The telecom regulator had on Monday said that for the first unsolicited communication, a service provider would have to pay a penalty of up to Rs 5,000, which could go up to Rs 20,000 for each subsequent call.
The ED in its status report said investigation was in progress regarding the involvement of five foreign companies in the 2G scam which are registered in Virgin Island.
Telecom regulator Trai has asked operators not to present misleading advertisements of their tariff plans, while directing them to show recurring charges to consumers under single head.
Telecom operators Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea on Tuesday submitted applications to participate in the Rs 3.92 lakh crore spectrum auction scheduled to start from March 1, according to official sources. This round of auction will be held for 2,251.25 Megahertz (MHz) in seven frequency bands -- 700 Mhz, 800 Mhz, 900 Mhz, 1800 Mhz 2100 Mhz, 2300 Mhz and 2500 Mhz -- at a cumulative base price of Rs 3.92 lakh crore. "Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea have submitted applications (for the spectrum auction)," an official source told PTI.
SC said it would consider asking the operators to pay for using spectrum.
In a recent letter, the telecom equipment makers and their associations wrote: "We urge the government of India to suspend the October 30 draft DoT notification, clarify that the PMA policy will not be applied to any private sector procurements, and initiate a consultation process with global industry and other stakeholders to more effectively address India's security and economic concerns."
The Supreme Court on Monday asked the government to refrain from taking any "coercive steps" against Bharti Airtel, accused of illegally providing intra-circle roaming facilities in seven circles where it did not have the licences for the 3G spectrum.
To address this, OnMobile Global, a leading provider, is de-risking its business model by growing its international business.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the Centre and telecom companies for doing self-assessment or reassessment of the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues fixed by the apex court in its verdict given on October 24 last year. The top court, which was also anguished by frequently published newspaper articles on the AGR issue, said all managing directors of telecom companies will be personally responsible and held for contempt of court for any such future write-ups hiding the truth.
The report on RCom would now be examined by a four-member committee of department of telecommunication, headed by member finance, sources said. The content of reports, howeever, were not divulged.
By setting a single spectrum-release deadline for all bidders, the finance ministry aims to ensure a level playing field for all operators.
Accounting regulator ICAI on Wednesday said it has asked Reliance Communication, which is under attack for alleged overstating of revenues and evasion of licence fee, to provide financial details before it can initiate action against the teleco's auditors.
MTN suitors are facing a major problem as US bankers have made it clear they cannot fund the acquisition/merger of the South African teleco until it spins off or demerges its businesses located in at least four countries.
In an interesting move, S Ramadori, chief executive officer and managing director of information technology major Tata Consultancy Services, recently said that TCS may provide IT services to casinos in Macau.
Swedish telecom equipment giant, Ericsson, on Tuesday committed $100 million annually in India for years to come as the country was an important market for them with potential.
The government said on Wednesday that it will come out with a 'technology-neutral' spectrum policy in tune with global practices while looking forward to introducing the next generation 3G mobile services in the country.
Its pre-consultation paper has been silent on the issue of closed electronic communication network, a loophole telcos can exploit to offer discriminatory pricing.
Analysts cautious on outlook, expect earnings to remain under pressure over medium term.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to urge Tim Cook to begin manufacturing its prized iPhones in India.
Transcript of Nikhil Pahwa's chat with Rediff readers.
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