The move gains importance after two new telecom players -- Swan and Unitech -- sold stakes to foreign companies at high premiums after the allocation of spectrum. The Left parties had also accused Telecom Minister A Raja of underselling spectrum that cost the national exchequer around Rs 60,000 crore (Rs 600 billion).
Nokia has already increased prices of its base models by around 3-4 per cent. Industry analysts expect other manufacturers to follow suit. "The 25 per cent increase in the value of dollar vis-a-vis rupee (the dollar rose to Rs 50 this month from Rs 40 in March) has resulted in our import costs going up. This has compelled us to increase the prices of our old models launched during the last 6-9 months," said HTC (India) Country Head Ajay Sharma.
The cost cutting efforts by corporates, like restricting travel, would also be beneficial to the industry. HotSpot, the multi-brand technology retail chain of the Spice group, will increase its presence to around 3,000 outlets in the next two years.
Days after NTT DoCoMo of Japan announced that it will buy 26 per cent in Tata Teleservices for $2.7 billion, NRI businessman C Sivasankaran has decided to put on the block his eight per cent stake in the company.
Mobile subscribers are in for a bonanza as telecom tariffs are set to come down by at least 25-30 per cent by the year-end. Factors such as a fall in the availability of international bandwidth, entry of new licencees and mobile virtual network operators, and the move to permit unrestricted Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony will help bring down the tariffs.
After 11 years of hanging like a sword on PepsiCo India Holdings Ltd, the government's condition that the company must dilute its equity in fully-owned downstream ventures is close to being waived.
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has rejected a proposal by Tata Investment Corporation (TIC) to issue zero coupon convertible bonds (ZCCBs) with detachable warrants to its shareholders.
The government and Reserve Bank of India are working on measures that include relaxing norms for Non-Performing Assets (sticky loans) and prudential lending to kick-start key infrastructure projects.
At present, the cheapest business phone (with personal digital assistants) is priced at Rs 15,000, while high-end phones are available around Rs 13,000.
The government is discussing a number of policy measures to insulate India from the impact of the global financial crisis including further banking reform, industrial de-control, auctioning all loss-making public sector units, foreign investment in retail, amending labour laws and notifying important pending legislation like the Delhi Rent Control Act.
Singur divided between those who want Tata back and those who just want their land.
The regulator has suggested that all spectrum will be auctioned as opposed to the current policy of bundling it with a 2G licence. A beginning has been made with the auctioning of spectrum for 3G services, which is due later this year. Trai has also suggested that licences for any telecom service should be auctioned as opposed to the current policy, where it is given on a first-come-first-served basis. The new policy is expected to be ready by the end of December this year.
If you are a wireless (read Wi-Fi) internet user, you could easily be the next victim of a terrorist who accesses your computer to send emails, which can get you into trouble with authorities as was the case with some users in Mumbai.
At least three major broadcasting companies have held discussions on forming a combine, the first of its kind, to counter the might of media buying houses in dictating commercial air-time rates.
Interconnect user charges are paid by one telecom service provider to another for enabling calls from one network to the other. The present interconnect charge of 30 paise per incoming minute was fixed in 2003. The price was considered high even then. Now, with equipment prices falling, a revision was called for, said industry analysts.
This is contrary to the BSNL technical committee's earlier approval to use the DR solutions of US-based Sun Microsystems and EMC Corporation. According to vendors close to the development, HP's DR solutions were not mentioned in the original purchase order issued to Ericsson, the main bidder.
The Ruias and other promoters own a 99.99 per cent stake through various companies in BPL Mobile Communications. They have already toned it down to 82.4 per cent, sources close to the development said. Now, the group is looking at further bringing it down to less than 70 per cent. This will make BPL Mobile Communications a shell company and diminish its values making its shares 'worthless,' says Vodafone.
The dispute between Vodafone and the Ruia-owned Essar Group, its 33 per cent partners in Vodafone-Essar, over ownership of BPL Mobile deepened this week after the UK-based telecom major alleged that Essar had altered the share structure of the Mumbai service provider in violation of a 2006 agreement
India will be one of the key centres for design and development of the A350 aircraft, European aircraft manufacturer Airbus' answer to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
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