Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed anguish at the loss of lives in Uttarakhand and noted that rescue operations are underway to help the affected.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) has recommended levying a one-time fee on existing mobile operators for spectrum they may hold in excess of 6.2 Mhz limit to garner at least Rs 22,640 crore.
Bharti Airtel has paid Rs 11,374.7 cr while upfront amount due from it was Rs 7,832.20 cr
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.
Across the world, there are around 150 trials on 5G currently going on and India has lagged behind. The government has now formed a committee which will look exclusively at developing a model for conducting 5G field trials, reports Kiran Rathee.
The government on Thursday made it clear that BlackBerry services may be banned if its maker, Research-in-Motion, fails to provide a monitoring solution in the next five days.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday night arrested three people, including V Gowthaman, the then additional private secretary of Dayanidhi Maran, in connection with alleged allotment of more than 300 high-speed telephone lines to the then telecom minister's residence in Chennai which were extended to his brother's TV channel.
All 'grameen dak sevaks' in rural post offices will be given handheld devices by March 2017.
As many as 342 aspirants, including AT&T, DLF and Deutsche Telecom-MoserBaer who failed to get new telecom licences in the last round, may get to bid for spectrum for launching next generation (3G) mobile services.The department of telecom (DoT) is understood to have mooted the proposal to allow those who had applied for licenses between September 25, 2007 and October 1, 2007, to participate in the next generation 3G mobile telephony services.
The Department of Telecom has worked out a one-time spectrum charge of over Rs 2,060 crore to be levied from operators for the period they remained in business after their licences were cancelled in February last year, sources said.
In a development that has huge financial implications for existing as well as new operators, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has recommended fixing the price for 6.2 Mhz of pan-India start-up 2G spectrum at Rs 10,972.45 crore (Rs 109.724 billion), more than six times the present cost of Rs 1,658 crore (Rs 16.58 billion).
The govt says the step has been taken to prevent miscreants spreading rumours. The order also applies to SMS services.
Currently, ISPs pay only Re 1 as annual licence fee while Internet telecom service providers, or telecom operators providing Internet services, pay 6 per cent of their annual gross revenue as licence fee.
Concerned over poor track record of Internet service providers, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India recommended on Thursday lowering of foreign direct investment on par with telecom sector at 74 per cent from the existing 100 per cent.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a case against former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran and BSNL officials for allegedly allotting 300 high-speed telephone lines to Maran's residence in Chennai which were extended to his brother's channel.
A company spokesperson said Vodafone has received a copy of the report submitted to the DoT and said the company's accounts are in line with statutory standards set by telecom tribunal Telecom Disputes Settlement And Appellate Tribunal.
Department of Telecommunications has reportedly blocked the popular website.
The British telecom major on Tuesday moved the dispute resolution panel, seeking relief from an order sent by the I-T department in December.
G C Murmu rarely speaks in public and when he does, his statements are always in lockstep with the thinking within this government.
The government is understood to have decided to issue letters of intent to all applicants seeking permission to start telecom services and is expecting that at least six companies will convert them into pan-India licences after submitting over Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) as initial licence fee.
The spectrum tangle has also resulted in the fall of telecom share prices as investor confidence was eroded after the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) decided to permit CDMA (Code division multiple access) players operate GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) services in their existing circles.
The auction for Broadband Wireless Access started on Monday with 11 players, including Bharti, Vodafone, RCom and Tatas, in the race to acquire the two slots on offer.
The company shot off its second letter to the Department of Telecom in the last four days, seeking clarifications from the government.
The government on Friday said the telecom operators, who had bagged 3G spectrum in the auction held recently, would be allocated airwaves from September 1, paving way for launch of high-speed mobile broadband services.
Importers will now have to provide sufficient proof to the domestic customs authorities that the goods being imported have a minimum 35 per cent value addition in the country from which it is being exported to India.
The much-awaited auction for 3G spectrum has begun. Top telecom operators including Bharti, Vodafone, Idea, RCom and Tatas are in the fray.
In a major setback to the leading telecom giant, telecom tribunal TDSAT on Wednesday dismissed Bharti's petition for refund of Rs 135 crore (Rs 1.35 billion) paid by it as licence fees for entry into basic services prior to the new uniform licencing
Hit hard by the rising number of illegal telecom exchanges and unauthenticated mobile customer base, Department of Telecom is considering amending the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 to include stringent penalties of up to Rs 5 crore.
Concerned over mobile signals crossing the international border, the department of telecom is planning to take action against telecom operators
The case is likely to come up for hearing on Monday.
The government is looking for a speedy roll out of Wi-Fi services at select public places in top 25 cities with population of over 10 lakh by June 2015.
S Tel, a joint venture between Chennai-based Siva Group and Bahrain Telecom (Batelco), has been directed to immediately stop its mobile services in Himachal Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa, citing national security concerns.
Public sector companies and some government departments have come in for severe criticism in the India Infrastructure Report 2003. The report says the inefficiencies of PSUs have provided private firms with a huge pricing advantage.
After BlackBerry, the government has included a whole host of services, including video chats offered by telecom players, Nokia's push email service and Skype, into the ambit of security issues.
The Apex Court has asked the minister and the two agencies to respond to the notice within the next ten days.
Instructions of the personal secretary to the minister were taken as instructions of the minister himself.
Tamil Nadu has cornered around 18.63 per cent of the fresh investments in Q1FY21 and topped the list of state-wise investments. These investments should help create over 67,212 jobs.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting convened by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), and attended by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) among others.
