Spectrum auction proceeds to help plug fiscal deficit: Moody's.
The Department of Telecommunications has mooted a proposal for increasing additional spectrum charges and has also suggested slashing of one-time fixed spectrum charges.
Addressing an event in New Delhi, Gen Pande also said the recent global developments have underscored that the security of the nation can neither be outsourced nor be dependent on the largesse of others.
Despite getting lukewarm response from the earlier two auctions, the government on Monday said it is confident of meeting the revenue target of Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion) from spectrum sale this fiscal.
Addressing a hurriedly called press conference to clear his position in the wake of Left parties demanding a probe, alleging Rs 60,000 crore (Rs 600 billion) loss to the exchequer in spectrum allocation, the minister said that Trai recommendations were followed in letter and spirit.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B ministry) may launch its review of the government's plan to potentially reserve the crucial C-band of radio frequencies for 5G and 6G telecommunication (telecom) use, said officials. While the incumbent broadcasting operators have warned that the plan will leave "precious little spectrum" for broadcasting services, telecom service providers (TSPs) have pressed hard for getting access to the C-band. In multiple letters to the I&B ministry over the past month, the News Broadcasters & Digital Association (NBDA) has said the industry would be left with precious little spectrum for broadcasting services if the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) further allocates the scant C-band for 5G.
Telecommunication companies buying airwaves in an Indian auction next month will pay 5 per cent of their revenue as an annual fee.
Dr Ipshita Johri explains how you can keep your skin healthy in the rainy season.
Rival operators' lobby to approach Delhi High Court.
The second largest telecom operator said auction would avoid possible legal disputes and pave the way for licence extensions.
The government has announced starting auction in March for 2G spectrum that remained unsold in November auction.
Key operators of GSM mobile services are working on a counter-proposal on spectrum allocation that would include accepting a 25 per cent increase, at the most, in minimum subscriber numbers for operators to qualify for additional access to the radio frequencies that enable mobile communications.
Etisalat DB Telecom chief executive officer Atul Jham was also questioned by the panel headed by senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi.
The Bill allows stopping of transmission and intercepting messages in case of public emergency, in the interest of the public, to prevent incitement for committing offence.
The operators are willing to accept auction of second generation spectrum beyond what has been contracted. According to them, they are allowed to have spectrum up to 10 Mhz.
Reliance Communications chairman Anil Ambani has proposed that the government should make it mandatory for telecom service providers to surrender additional spectrum that they are not utilising. Putting his proposal into practice, Ambani has also conveyed his willingness to surrender the extra 1.8 MHz spectrum that his group has in the Bihar circle.
Debt mutual fund (MF) schemes, which witnessed relatively muted inflows in the past three years, saw a surge in investor interest in April amid election-induced volatility in the equity markets. Active debt funds garnered nearly Rs 66,000 crore net inflows in April, most at least since December 2020.
Debt-saddled telecom operator Vodafone Idea Ltd's Rs 18,000 crore follow-on offering (FPO) opened to a modest response on Thursday with just 26 per cent of shares on offer being sought by investors. Of the 1,260 crore shares on offer, 331.24 crore was subscribed on Thursday, according to information on the BSE. Qualified institutional buyers picked up 61 per cent of their 360 crore shares reserved for them while non-institutional investors sought 28 per cent out of 270 crore shares earmarked for them.
Bharti Airtel said on Wednesday the government has alloted additional spectrum to the company in five telecom circles in the country. The five circles are West Bengal, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh (west), Assam and Haryana.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has mooted a proposal under which operators will pay a one-time fee for all spectrum allotments beyond 6.2 MHz.
In a strategic climb-down, key members of the Cellular Operators Association of India have come to a consensus that they are willing to go for open auction of spectrum for second-generation services beyond 10 MHz.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India favoured on Monday auctioning spectrum for third generation mobile services to firms which already provide second generation services, a development that could be a setback to new players who wish to offer only the advanced telephony system. The regulator also said entry fees for new mobile licensees in all the circles should be raised as there is good growth potential in the telecom sector.
Bharti Airtel is the largest mobile phone operator in the country.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) could have performed better in the recently-held Lok Sabha polls and perhaps, too much time was spent in reaching seat-sharing agreements, Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya has said.
'With all outlets of public expression virtually choked for the last five years, suppressed anger and frustration is looking for an opening via the ballot box.' 'There is no escape from the inevitability of the 'Engineer Rashid' factor surfacing in a big enough way to upset everyone's applecart,' alerts Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the veteran commentator on Kashmir affairs.
Telecom Ministry has confirmed that more spectrum will be allotted to telecom players as soon as Defence ministry releases this additional spectrum.
Harrish M Bhatia, chief executive of 94.3 MY FM, the station under the Dainik Bhaskar group, tells Gaurav Laghate regional markets hold great potential.
Addressing mediapersons after the investiture ceremony of ARTRAC, Singh said the Army has to understand and study these scenarios so that it is prepared if it has to undergo a similar situation tomorrow.
The Cellular Operators Association of India, industry body representing GSM operators, had argued that TTSL's spectrum was allotted through the same press release issued on January 10, 2008, which led to the cancellation of 122 licences.
Chidambaram's comments come in the backdrop of lukewarm response to the 2G spectrum auction which could fetch the government only Rs 9,407 crore (Rs 94.07 billion) as against the target of Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion).
DoT opposes the auction of 2G spectrum as anti-consumer and warns PMO that such a move can result in monopolising of mobile services in India.
The biggest players in the country's telecom industry had all managed to secure more than their authorized share of spectrum and would have to pay for it, has been in the public domain for some time now.
As per TRAI norms, Vodafone and Airtel are close to getting added spectrums, given their growing subscriber rates.
Previous experiments with auctions ended up disastrously and some of these regimes then had to be modified.
The government will get an additional revenue of 20 per cent from the auction of the 1,800 MHz and 900 MHz bands of spectrum, based on the Telecom Commission's recommendations, compared with those of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).
In return, BSNL should be allotted 1.2 MHz in the 1800-MHz band in each circle, subject to some conditions.
In these two cities, TTSL has 5 MHz of spectrum but will surrender only 1.25 MHzy. Company executives say 3.75 MHz in these two high data usage markets will be adequate to ensure services like Tata Photon Max, the bulk of whose revenues come from these two cities, are not impacted.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday hit out at Opposition parties for stalling the proceedings of Parliament, after their demand for a probe by the Joint Parliamentary Committee into the spectrum scandal was not accepted by the government.Reacting to a question on whether Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would make a statement on the resignation of Telecom Minister A Raja over the 2G spectrum scam, Pranab lost his cool.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Friday came out with a revised subscriber-linked policy for spectrum allocation to GSM operators, which is in line with the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).
Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular have demanded allocation of a part of CDMA spectrum in 800 Mhz band for GSM services.
