BS Annual Awards 2014: Power-packed jury picks the best 7 of corporate India
Country's largest telecom service provider Bharti Airtel on Monday revealed its plans to launch iPhone 4, the latest product from Apple Computers's stable, by October.
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.
Though the controversy over the security of BlackBerry services is yet to be resolved, the four operators that offer these services - Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar, BPL Mobile and Reliance Communications - have added over 50,000 customers in the four months since the problems began. Before this, the push-mail service, which was introduced in India in October 2004, had 400,000 subscribers according to industry estimates.
His strategy of acquiring cheap assets and selling at high valuations may not have impressed shareholders, but after the mega deal with Vodafone peers are quick to compare him with the Oracle of Omaha.
Apart from digital advertising revenue, both companies want to reach out to the 'next billion' Indian customers. After all, around half of the 1.3 billion population is still not on the net and this represents a challenge as well as an opportunity.
Reports by CAG earlier on the 2008 telecom licence scam had resulted in the cancellation of 122 licences.
Telecom operator Vodafone has been the top gainer of customers through mobile number portability facility while Reliance Communications is the biggest loser.
India's tax officials, long the scourge of foreign investors, are under government pressure to avoid aggressive claims against overseas funds.
The Cupertino, California-based company, according to Apple retail sources, said initially the 8 GB version of the much-hyped touchscreen device -- which combines Wi-Fi capabilities with a powerful email client, TV feeds, online music store and map-based location guide -- will be launched at a price ranging between Rs 27,200 and Rs 28,000.
Big ticket investments by Vodafone and Matsushita Electric lifted FDI inflows in the first half of this fiscal to $7.2 billion, a 65 per cent rise from the year-ago period. India retained its position as the second most preferred destination for global investors as measured by the AT Kearney FDI Confidenx Index, 2007.
Ahead of his scheduled meeting with Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin, who is bidding for Hutch-Essar, Communications Minister Dayanidhi Maran on Wednesday said the government wanted good companies to enter the country.
Vodafone Plc's trusted ally, Analjit Singh of Max India, has been appointed non-executive chairman of its India operations. He talks about the backdrop of the two recent Supreme Court verdicts.
The apex court had on December 4 last year, reserved the verdict after hearing counsel for corporate honchos and the Central Bureau of Investigation.
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.
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.
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.
Ajay Piramal bets highly on infrastructure, realty
A user will need to buy a 4G-enabled handset and then upgrade his or her existing 2G/3G SIM card to a USIM (Universal SIM)/4G SIM.
It reported adding 698,3146 subscribers in September, the lowest since it added 6.1 million in November 2017.
Foreign-origin companies may still hold sway over consumer product and electronics companies but, in several areas, be it tractors, liquor or specialised financial products, it is the Indians who are the kings.
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.
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.
A senior official in the central labour commissioner's office said the efforts of the government were to resolve the cases amicably and not to press for legal action against employers. "Everyone is going through tough times. We could initiate legal action if we want but that's not the idea. We want to address the issues amicably," the official said.
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Cairn India said it has always been fully compliant with all Indian income tax laws.
'We are targeting the 5G tender around January-March 2023.'
Three more positive cases of novel coronavirus have been reported in India.
From spending a little less than three hours on making voice calls, Indians are spending well over 5 hours. So, while people make more calls, they are spending less than ever, reports Romita Majumdar.
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.
The recent Indian telecom spectrum auction will hasten industry consolidation, strengthen tariffs and reduce regulatory risks.
The smartphone is priced at Rs 9,199.
Airtel, Vodafone, BSNL increase subscriber share while Idea manages to retain
'How can you explain the necessity of selling an institution that has been delivering regular returns to the government, that has never asked for any capital from the government, that has invested Rs 38 lakh crores in the Indian economy and that owns 4 per cent of the market capitalisation in India?'
The launch of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd last September, particularly the tariff war it has unleashed on its competitors, has deepened the crisis facing India's telecom sector. One offshoot of this is the major drop in earnings reported by industry leaders Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular with each passing quarter. Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com tells the story in numbers.
The board is likely to take up the matter this month.
"Kraft's acquisition of Cadbury is a global acquisition, where some value is attributable to India. This is different from Vodafone, where the transfer of a single share of the offshore company by Hutch resulted in the Indian business getting transferred to Vodafone," said Pranay Bhatia, associate partner at legal firm Economic Laws Practice.
Inflows for the first quarter of financial year 2007-08 went up by 185 per cent to $4.9 billion from $1.7 billion received during April-June last year.
Among other segments, home broadband subscriptions have picked up and the virtual private network service, too, increased by around 15 per cent.
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.
Compared to a 64 per cent penetration in Brazil (130 million users total) and 53 per cent in China (total 733 million users), India has barely 28 per cent penetration. Of the digital reach, almost 80 per cent are from affluent segments in urban areas. How can this change?
