Bidding for the sixth round of spectrum auction for radiowaves worth Rs 3.92 lakh crore will start from March 1, according to a notice issued by the Department of Telecom on Wednesday. The long-awaited spectrum auction is being held after a gap of four years and over two years after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) calculated and recommended base price for the radiowaves. The DoT has fixed January 12 for the pre-bid conference and January 28 as the last date for seeking clarification to the notice.
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio has introduced a 20-per cent cashback offer on select prepaid plans, intensifying competition in the Indian telecommunications (telecom) market. Jio is the largest telecom service provider in India, with 443 million subscribers as of July. Jio's cashback offer will drive cross-selling across Reliance's various retail businesses, but the move is also being seen by some analysts as a signal that tariff hikes may not be around the corner just yet.
Apex telecom industry body COAI has asserted that spectrum pricing should be kept conducive to market conditions as 5G entails upfront capital investments with monetisation spread over a long-haul, and pricing radiowaves high will only push the players up against the wall. The stage is set for Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to come out with its recommendations on 5G spectrum pricing and other modalities for upcoming auctions, and the announcement from the sector watchdog is expected anytime now. Norms will also be worked out for new frequencies such as 526-698 MHz and millimetre band, that is 24.25 - 28.5 GHz, in addition to bands such as 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz, 3300-3670 MHz.
The government is engaged in talks with telecom firms for a launch of commercial 5G services in some cities by Independence Day and has assured them that spectrum auction will take place in April-May, providing them a three to four-month window for the rollout. A top executive of a leading telecom gear company said the deadline was feasible in some cases. "It can be achieved in some cities as it will take us 4-6 weeks to deploy a network, once the equipment or components have reached India.
'We are targeting the 5G tender around January-March 2023.'
Companies have activated a comprehensive pandemic response plan with requisite risk mitigation protocols for keeping networks working as telecom is an essential service.
Idea may have to shell out Rs 4,500 crore in cash
Attempts are being made to balance the need for health of the sector, consumer interest while complying with the Supreme Court order on statutory dues.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, research, Religare Broking, answers your stockmarket queries.
Ailing telecom operator Vodafone Idea has flagged the industry's "unsustainable financial duress" in its latest annual report and hoped that the government would provide the necessary support to address "all structural issues" faced by the sector. In the chairman's letter to shareholders, Himanshu Kapania cited persistent challenges in the operating environment, amid "unsustainable pricing" and "hyper-competition" during FY21. Kapania expressed hope that government will support efforts to generate reasonable returns on massive investments.
Analysts said even though the Indian economy is expected to slow down to 7.2 per cent in fiscal 2020, it is still the best bet for investment for foreign investors.
Reliance Jio has accused old operators, including Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, of "illegally" masquerading wire-line numbers as mobile numbers for "undue enrichment".
Analysts have pointed out that with the dues arising out of the SC judgment there could soon be only two private telcos in the country, and not three - Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea - as now.
Airtel, Vodafone-Idea and other telecom operators may have to pay the government a whopping Rs 1.42 lakh crore following the Supreme Court order last week that sent shock waves through an industry already grappling with billions of dollars in debt and an intense tariff war to retain customers.
Amid economic uncertainties owing to the pandemic, the government's key revenue agency, the Income Tax Department, has close to 400 vacancies at commissioner level and above, affecting its functioning. Seventy-three of the 91 chief commissioner positions are lying vacant, with some for more than a year. Chief commissioner is the second-highest post in the department, below principal chief commissioner, which is at par with secretary in a ministry.
Only 300 assessees came forward with disputed tax liabilities amounting to Rs 10,000 crore
Airtel, Vodafone, BSNL increase subscriber share while Idea manages to retain
Jio's global partnerships took shape this year when Jio Platforms, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Reliance Jio which has invested in various digital platforms, was able to woo a bevy of marquee investors: Facebook, Google, Qualcomm, Intel, and a numerous PE funds.
The Mukesh Ambani-owned company had complained to Trai about incumbents offering segmented offers to different customers
Telecom industry body COAI has approached the information technology ministry for removal of fake and misleading messages from social media platforms like Facebook, Whatsapp and Twitter linking spread of COVID-19 to 5G technology. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), whose members include Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, said the claims linking 5G with coronavirus are baseless as 5G networks have not yet been installed in the country and even 5G trials are yet to be started by the telecom operators. In a letter dated May 15 to MeitY additional secretary Rajendra Kumar, COAI director general S P Kochhar said: "To safeguard the national interest, we request your good office to kindly instruct all the social media platforms such as Facebook, Watsapp, Twitter, etc, to remove all such posts and misleading campaigns from their platforms on an urgent basis." People have been sharing audio and video messages on social media platforms in which 5G towers are being blamed for rise in casualties across the country even though none of the companies have installed 5G technology anywhere in India.
It reported adding 698,3146 subscribers in September, the lowest since it added 6.1 million in November 2017.
The retrospective tax controversy was highlighted by Vodafone, but Cairn Plc's continuing problems point to the impact this law has had on FDI in India's oil and gas sector.
Jio makes data on call drops public, says 121 mn calls failed in a day
The companies that have seen sharp erosion of market wealth include YES Bank, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Zee Entertainment, Vodafone Idea, and Bharat Heavy Electricals.
Amid long-pending dispute between the UK-based telecom giant Vodafone and the tax authorities in India, Finance Minister's advisor Parthasarathi Shome on Wednesday said the government should not use retrospective amendment of tax laws to raise revenues.
Jio to charge users 6 paisa/min for voice calls made to rival phone networks. However, these charges are not applicable on calls made by Jio users to other Jio phones and to landline phones and calls made using WhatsApp, FaceTime and other such platforms.
Not surprisingly, equity investors are bidding-up stock prices across sectors and the broader market is now more valuable than pre-Covid levels.
BSNL will allow free local and STD calls to other BSNL mobile phone users as well as 100 MB data for seven days for its prepaid users.
Jio says it has completed mobile number portability testing and is certified MNP-compliant
The Centre had earlier urged the top court that up to 20 years be given to telecom companies for the payment of dues in staggered manner.
The move will help telcos, including Reliance Jio, Vodafone, and Idea Cellular
Cabinet will take a decision on a conciliation offer from Vodafone.
Jio's adjusted gross revenue share went up by 7 percentage points in Q2FY18-19 over the previous quarter in the circles of the C category.
Says govt and Vodafone would have a reasonable compromise.
The telecom industry, he said, is vital to the nation and the digital agenda of the government.
For the fifth consecutive time, the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) will be splashed with pink for the Vodafone Pink Test featuring Australia and Sri Lanka, starting on Thursday.
Airtel had previously responded to the DoT's order by offering to pay Rs 10,000 crore by February 20 and the remaining before March 17. Airtel owes nearly Rs 35,586 crore, including licence fee and spectrum usage charge, to the government.
Has the advent of technology made it easier, or more difficult, for brands to communicate with you and your valentine?
In a setback to telecom service providers, the Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Centre's plea to recover adjusted gross revenue (AGR) of about Rs 92,000 crore from them.
Among other segments, home broadband subscriptions have picked up and the virtual private network service, too, increased by around 15 per cent.
