Telecom subscribers in the country can now make intra-state call at the rate of a local call, with the state-owned telecom company Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) extending its group-dialing facility to private operators. Group dialing facility enables local dialing within a state by pre-fixing `95' to the receiver's number.
Wannabe telecom operators will take a while to know whether they have passed the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's test. But that hasn't stopped them from taking the next step: tying up with infrastructure providers such as tower operators for rolling out their nation-wide operations.
Call blocking is one facility that telecom service providers claim is only for the chosen few, for instance the celebrities. Not withstanding its niche appeal, service providers in the country are in various stages of implementing the technology.
A user can list certain numbers with the operator from which he does not want to receive calls, and calls from these numbers would be blocked. Around 10-15 numbers can be blocked, while the caller will get a "busy tone or a recorded message".
Companies like state-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited, Tata Teleservices Limited, Reliance Communications and Bharti Airtel are rolling out coin-operated PCOs that will support international calls across the country.
Confirming this, Chief Financial Officer S Venkatesan said that the company has passed an enabling resolution to raise around $200 million from foreign investors either through an FCCB or a private placement.
In financial year 2006-07, the exchequer earned Rs 2,090 crore (Rs 20.90 billion) as spectrum charges and Rs 6,360 crore (Rs 63.60 billion) as licence fees.
Apart from Caf Coffee Day, companies like Pantaloon, Levi's and Pepsi among others are also offering goodies through bluetooth that can be downloaded free-of-cost.
The board of GSM service provider Vodafone-Essar is expected to discuss the income tax issue at its meeting to be held on Friday.
The Department of Telecommunications, which has been mandated to simplify the multifarious levies, would introduce the new regime in phases.
DoT is also planning to carry out verification on operators' premises to check the technologies they employ.
The UK-based telecom major is looking at single name branding of its Indian joint venture firm, Vodafone-Essar (formerly Hutchison-Essar).
The service, first of its kind in the country, is expected to be launched shortly, if not within a week.
The content providers -- TV channels, FM Radio stations, e-commerce companies and credit card majors -- have blamed the service providers and mobile value-added services (VAS) operators for the problem.
Three Japanese submarine cable construction companies have been short-listed by Flag Telecom, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Communications
If you want to buy the latest high-end phone, be ready to dump your current service provider
Flag Telecom, a subsidiary of Reliance Communications, has signed a $100 million
Making its foray into mobile content outsourcing, the CDMA major, Reliance Communications, has signed its first contract with a Singapore-based GSM service provider.
On 60th Independence Day, it is bonanza time for telecom subscribers with operators rolling out a range of services.
Next time you answer the phone, chances are there won't be a caller at the other end, but a recorded message trying to sell a product or service. It doesn't expect an answer, but goads you to punch in a few keys in acceptance or simply hang up.
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