On these routes, the train speed would also be increased to above 160 kmph over the next four or five years by revamping the entire signaling, tracks and fencing.
Even as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has started investigating into the complaints of predatory pricing offered by some of the new operators, experts are divided over whether the current scenario actually resembles predatory pricing.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday sent notices to former telecom minister A Raja and corporate lobbyist Niira Radia asking them to appear before the agency for questioning while grilling former Telecom Regulatory Authority of India chief Pradip Baijal in connection with the 2G spectrum scam.
Is it time to consider the Internet as mass media? Maybe.
Citing an opinion poll that says 80 per cent of people surveyed favoured the right to say no to government decision on genetically modified food, an NGO on Friday sought withdrawal of the proposed "flawed" bill aimed at setting up of a biotechnology regulatory authority.
The telecommunications industry in India is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world. The booming telecom industry has been attracting large amount of investments in the country.
As the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India deliberates on spectrum and licensing after the hearings ending December 2, some important points are worth highlighting.
"I want to reiterate that I went as per the telecom policy of 1999, as per recommendations of Telecom and Regulatory Authority of India and vision contemplated by the government. If there have been any procedural lapses. Let it be investigated. No problem at all," Raja told reporters here two days after he unceremoniously put in his papers.
According to the data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, wireless subscriber base (GSM, CDMA and fixed wireless phones) rose to 635.51 million by the end of June from 617.53 million in May, registering a growth of 2.91 per cent.
The company had over 1.66 crore (16.6 million) landlines in February.
A department of telecommunication official said the regulator has already put questions relating to uniform licence fee to the stakeholder in its consultation paper 'Overall Spectrum Management and Review of License Terms and Conditions'.
Modi has appointed P K Sinha, who superannuated as cabinet secretary on Friday, as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), he said.
Demanding a level playing field for the old operators, Bharti group chief Sunil Mittal told PTI: 'our view is that the spectrum given to us and other operators from time to time is under a policy and there is no question of any additional payment for this.'
Rivals say the concessions would benefit AirAsia alone.
Telecom minister A Raja on Tuesday said he followed the same procedures as his predecessors in awarding licences and allotting spectrum and decisions were taken in conformity with the opinion of the top law officer.
Mobile phone companies wish to curtail toll-free calls from customers. According to a proposal being evaluated by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), calls made by customers to the phone company, other than complaints, will have to be charged.
According to data released by the telecom regulator, the wireless subscriber base increased from 601.22 million in April to 617.53 million by the end of May 2010, registering a growth of 2.71 per cent.
The company at present provides monthly mobile services at starting price of Rs 24 without data, and plans with data service starts from Rs 33 onward. It did not disclose the quantum of hike.
The decision had been communicated to the department of telecommunications, a senior official of the department told Business Standard.
With already around 500 television channels on air, the ministry is now concerned about streamlining the process of allowing the opening of new channels.
Besides Sunil Mittal (Bharti Airtel) and Anil Ambani (Reliance Communications), Sarma has written to Sanjeev Aga of Idea, Anil Sardana of TTSL, Marten Pieters of Vodafone, Kuldip Singh of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited and Kuldeep Goyal of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited.
Trai's pre-consultation paper comes at a time when the government is yet to fix a deadline for auctioning spectrum for the third generation mobile services.
GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) is unlikely to post profit in the near future even after the proposed hike in the user development fee (UDF) from Rs 340 to Rs 420 for domestic passengers and from Rs 907 to Rs 1,656 for international passengers, effective November 1.
The fourth generation or 4G technology offers download at faster speed known as ultra-broadband and high definition video on demand among other such services.
Analysts say that Jio's substantial slowing down in net additions is possibly because the company has dramatically reduced its bundled 4G feature phone offering, which contributed an average 30-40 per cent of its net additions.
Leading mobile phone operators came down hard on the telecom regulator on a day when most saw their stocks on a crash course.
Operators Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone-Essar, Aircel, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd and Idea Cellular might have to fork out over Rs 11,200 crore for having spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz, if the government accepts the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) recommendations.
With the addition of 20 million new users in March, the highest ever this year, the mobile subscriber base in the country has jumped to 584.32 million customers, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India said on Tuesday.
An airfare regulatory authority likely soon.
Mobile telephone subscribers would have to wait a little longer to change their service provider without changing their numbers.
Earlier this month, the department of telecommunication had said that MNP that will allow users to switch providers without changing their phone number was likely to be launched by June 30, 2010.
Telecom minister A Raja had said that mobile tariffs should come down to 10 paise for local calls and for 25 paise STD calls per minute.
As per the service licence, three types of charges, including Per Port Transaction charge, which means the charge payable by the Recipient Operator (the operator, where the subscriber is willing to port his number) to the MNP service provider for processing the request, are applicable in case of MNP. The second charge is porting charge -- the charge payable by the subscriber for porting his number -- and the third is dipping charge.
In a definite signal that mobile phone service providers are not going to lose their licences even after the scheduled end of their validity, the Department of Telecommunications has asked the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to recommend terms and conditions for extending the licence periods forever.
In its tariff order for 2010, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India also included provisions to protect the consumers from rise in rates, like no increase in subscription charges in the first six months of enrolling.
SMS messages can be easily wiretapped from outside the network operator's environment using equipment available in the black market.
Hospitals and medical research organisations that conduct clinical trials on humans may soon face surprise inspections from the regulatory authorities. The hospitals, the sponsor pharma companies and the institutional ethics committees that oversee these trials will all come under the regulator's scanner.
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.
The FDI in pension sector would move in tandem with the insurance sector, official sources said, adding that the revised norms would be incorporated in the Pension Fund Regulatory Authority Bill expected to be introduced in Parliament during the upcoming Budget session.
At present, there is no such system to know if the customer's complaint has been addressed or not, if not why, once a user lodges complaint with a service provider on any issues ranging from billing to quality of service. It is left to the telcos to look at complaints and act on it and sometimes there are long-pending complaints which go unadressed for a long time or not looked into at all and the customers become helpless and stop pursuing the solution.
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