Identifying major thrust areas for growth of telecom sector, Planning Commission has stressed on the need to upgrade and modernise telecommunication technology being used by the country's defence, police and para military forces.
According to sources, DoT has been asked to prepare a matrix of various levels of reserve price and spectrum usage charge at every Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) difference in descending order and the impact that would have on tariffs for end-consumer and the revenue accrued to the government.
The Power Grid Corporation of India and the State Grid Corporation of China have signed a three-year memorandum of understanding to share experiences in transmission and telecommunications.
The commission has disagreed with another key proposal -- that of allowing operators a deferred payment scheme after the auction.
While Reliance/Infotel Broadband stands to gain if Qualcomm is forced out of the BWA race, will the potential Indian consumer of broadband wireless services gain from this unseemly tussle? That is a question that remains unanswered.
Qualcomm had received its internet service provider licence last month, after a delay of 18 months, with a validity period of 20 years after a Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal direction to DoT.
The move is being considered after growing clamour from competing 4G operators for a level playing field in relation to Qualcomm.
The reference will also seek the court's view on a more fundamental issue: whether the judgement lays down auction as mandatory for allocation of all natural resources across all sectors and in all circumstances.
Though millions of BlackBerry users may be worried about the Indian government snooping on them, only the phones of certain terror suspects would be tracked, reports Vicky Nanjappa
The reassessed Plan size for the railways in 2012-13 has already shrunk to Rs 56,950 crore (Rs 569.5 billion) from Rs 60,100 crore (Rs 601 billion) after the first quarter.
'It's the brazen corruption involving politicians that makes you sit up years after the event,' notes Nivedita Mookerji after reading B K Syngal's Telecom Man.
The auction of 2G spectrum might be delayed, as the government may file a petition in the Supreme Court for an extension of the timeline. According to current SC directive, the auction has to be conducted by August 31 this year. However, due to procedural delays, the department of telecommunications is looking at extending the timeline.
A punitive majoritarian State can make an example of individuals who raise their voice in criticism of the prime minister and divisive politics, warns Sunil Sethi.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) expects to finalise the norms for mergers and acquisitions and spectrum sharing by the end of June. It also plans to approve the National Telecom Policy (NTP), 2012, by the end of July.
'We demand immediate release of all public representatives of mainstream political parties and innocent citizens,' the resolution said.
The New Telecom policy 2011 and the Spectrum Act are expected to address these concerns.
Major carmakers in the country are loading barrels for the coming battle in the field, reports Arnab Dutta.
The regulator has also agreed to the one-nation, one-licence proposal, which will make roaming free across the country. But it wants to decide the modalities of the issue.
The ministry wanted to use spectrum in the 700-MHz band for mobile TV services.
The empowered group of ministers, headed by P Chidambaram (who has now taken over as the Finance Minister) has suggested a 20 per cent lower base or reserve price at Rs 14,000-15,000 crore (Rs 140-150 billion) for 5 Mhz of airwaves as against around Rs 18,000 crore (Rs 180 billion) recommended by sectoral regulator Trai for the auction of spectrum vacated after the Supreme Court order.
'At this stage, you should distribute money and food.' 'Like you queue up to vote, let people queue up to collect this.' 'This will arrest the decline in demand which will have a multiplier effect on the demand side for the economy as a whole.' 'The government should earmark about 2% of the GDP for this.' 'And this should be the first step to revive the economy.'
'BSNL employee cost is Rs 14,500 crore and we anticipate that around 80,000 should opt for VRS.'
The government on Friday gave its analysis of the Supreme Court's 2G judgments saying it "travelled beyond" the established limits of judicial review and entered the exclusive domain of the executive when it held that the policy of first-come-first-served was flawed.
It will also file a review petition on Friday, which, while not challenging the cancellation of licences, will seek a reconsideration of the court's declaration.
To launch 4G long-term evolution services in 1,800 MHz band.
Beximco Group imports Nayek's Peace mobile.
Legal experts say under existing Indian cyber laws, Sibal cannot do much harm to Google, Yahoo, Facebook or the like. They are not so clear on whether it can be done, or to what extent.
The three companies for sale are Reliance Communications, Reliance Telecom and Reliance Infratel.
Department of Telecommunications has reportedly blocked the popular website.
In a move that could pave the way for open auction of the 2G spectrum released from 122 cancelled operators, a draft Cabinet note prepared by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has recommended the spectrum price be discovered through an auction involving "existing players and new parties".
A draft report of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament has expressed shock that Department of Telecommunication has no monitoring mechanism to verify authenticity of the self-certification of the operators, deprecating "such a mindless arrangement made by the DoT to check the radiation level."
Following is the chronology of events in the 2G scam.
The sales would be held within three months, India's Telecommunication Minister A Raja said in New Delhi. He added the government expected good sale.
The Cabinet approved giving Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea Ltd and Reliance Jio an option to avail of a two-year moratorium on payments they were supposed to make in yearly installments for the spectrum bought in auctions.
Bharti Airtel, nearly a third owned by Southeast Asia's top phone carrier SingTel, said it was helped by lower competition and an increase in voice call prices.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has asked the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to indicate the formula used in international markets to fix the ratio between the reserve and the discovered prices of 2G telecom spectrum. Trai has assumed that the base price should be 80 per cent of that of the auction discovered price which is much higher than the internatioanl norm of 50 per cent.
The Department of Telecommunications is planning to give more powers to the telecom regulator, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, in the new telecom policy, including the power to impose financial penalties on the erring telecom service providers.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to meet United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi again on Sunday to discuss matters related to Monday's expected Cabinet reshuffle. Dr Singh had met Sonia Gandhi in this regard earlier on Saturday. Dr Singh also met Kapil Sibal, who is presently holding the telecommunications and human resources development ministerial portfolios. It is likely that he may be relieved of some responsibility in the reshuffle.
The recommendations on the subject will be sent in due course to the government, according to an internal communication of DoT
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