The telecom industry, he said, is vital to the nation and the digital agenda of the government.
The country's two top telcos, Reliance Jio and Airtel, are working overnight to undertake one of the fastest global roll-outs of 5G services in any country just a month down the line. India might be late in the game (already 70 countries have some kind of 5G and there are 698 million 5G subscribers across the world), but it's moving at breakneck speed. In his speech at the Reliance Industries AGM, Mukesh Ambani unveiled his plan to roll out the fastest 5G network in the world, starting from four metros in October but hitting every town taluka and tehsil - there are some 5,600 of them - in the country in 18 months.
The statement came a day after Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea Ltd announced a hike in call and data charges from next month.
At the 45th Annual General Meeting of Reliance Industries (RIL) in August, chairman and managing director (CMD) Mukesh Ambani described the company as an "unputdownable book" with never-ending chapters of success. "Reliance grew from strength to strength because we internalised the founder's mindset of purpose, philosophy and passion," he said. Wednesday marked the 90th birth anniversary of RIL founder Dhirubhai Ambani.
Market regulator Sebi has sought clarifications from the merchant banker of Videocon D2H Ltd, the satellite television arm of Videocon Group, regarding the company's proposed Rs 700 crore (Rs 7 billion) initial public offer (IPO).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the much-awaited 5G services in India on October 1, 2022, an official release said on Friday. According to the release, 5G to be launched by the Prime Minister in select cities, will progressively cover the entire country over the next couple of years. The cumulative economic impact of 5G on India is estimated to reach $450 billion by 2035. Capable of supporting ultra-high-speed internet services, the fifth generation or 5G is expected to unleash new economic opportunities and societal benefits, serving as a transformational force for Indian society.
Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal on Wednesday said the regulatory regime needs to be simple to avoid fresh litigations in the telecom sector, asserting that collaboration among competing players, lower duties and reduction in spectrum pricing will help unleash the full potential of the industry. The telecom czar noted that the "temperature" of the industry needs to be lowered when it comes to litigations and appealed to the government to look into the matter. The timely reforms that were announced brought in cheer and heightened comfort for all the active players in the sector, Mittal said and urged the industry counterparts to focus on building the next wave of connectivity in the run-up to 5G and beyond.
China Mobile extended its lead as the world's largest operator group, growing connections by 11 per cent year-on-year to 683.1 million.
India is today the second-largest telecom market in the world with over a billion customers and close to 600 million Internet users. New connections are available on the tap, calls are virtually free and it's hard to imagine anyone without a mobile phone today. Globally, there would be few parallels to this success story that truly democratised telephony and empowered a billion-plus people, observes Airtel's Sunil Bharti Mittal.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is India's most-valuable brand in 2022 replacing HDFC Bank, which held the number one spot since 2014, according to Kantar BrandZ report on India's most-valuable brands. TCS was able to grab the top slot due to rising global demand for automation and digital transformation, following the pandemic. Indian brands have bounced back from the pandemic to increase their brand value by 35 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) since 2020.
Zee is estimated to have paid around Rs 225 crore for the complete rights of Radhe. The total revenue that it may earn could be around Rs 135 crore, implying a shortfall of Rs 90 crore.
Currently, only three have completed more than six months of operation in the space - Fino Payments Bank, Airtel Payments Bank and Paytm
Akash Ambani's first big job as he takes over as chairman of Reliance Jio, the group's telecom arm, is a no-brainer - he has to get his company through the long-awaited 5G auctions that are a few weeks away. But his bigger job, analysts said, will be to lead the transformation of the telecom company into a tech giant, a process that is underway as it seeks to list in the US. Insiders said there has been plenty of debate within the company's top executives on the auction strategy.
Tata Steel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, zooming 7.57 per cent, followed by Sun Pharma, IndusInd Bank, L&T, ITC and HCL Tech.
Use a "virtual credit card" for every online transaction when you can't pay cash on delivery.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani on Tuesday hinted at rolling out 5G telecom services in the second half of 2021 and said policy steps are needed to accelerate the early rollout of ultra-high-speed 5G services that are affordable and available everywhere. Ambani, whose four-year-old telecom venture Jio has captured the No.1 spot offering free voice calling and data at dirt-cheap rates, also pitched for developing hardware manufacturing in India, saying the nation cannot rely on imports in such a critical area. 5G is the 5th generation mobile network that enables connecting virtually everyone and everything together including machines, objects, and devices. India, he said, is today among the best digitally connected nations in the world.
Home minister heads several groups of ministers, including the one to decide the revival package for Bharat Sanchar Nigam and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam. His ministry also takes decisive calls on national security in relation to telecom operations as well as equipment and technology used in the industry.
Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani on Monday said his company is open to joining hands with Bharti Airtel for improving telecom network for 4G services in Punjab.
By the time the security failure is discovered and fixed, the damage is already done. A CIO survey by Forcepoint and Frost & Sullivan found that 69 per cent of Indian organisations were at risk of data breach. Whenever there is data breach, there is a potential disaster waiting to happen.
95 per cent of advertising inventory has been sold on television and 18 on-air sponsors have been signed up so far, the highest for any season.
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 IPL broadcast rights -- internet, TV and mobile -- are expected to fetch the BCCI a massive sum of around Rs. 20,000 crore-plus.
Infrastructure funds, which bet on stocks closely linked with infrastructure development in the country, have emerged as one of the best-performing categories over the past year. They have generated an average return of 90.63 per cent - the third-best, after technology funds and small-cap funds. Of the 21 schemes in the category, seven have given a return of more than 100 per cent in a year.
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.
RIL plunged around 4% after scaling its life-time high of Rs 1,978.50 as investors rushed to book profits after the company's AGM. Bharti Airtel, ONGC, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance and SBI were also among the laggards. On the other hand, shares of Infosys rallied around 6 per cent ahead of its quarterly earnings. HCL Tech, TCS, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank and HUL too ended with robust gains.
'In the next five years both online and TV viewership will grow and complement each other.'
The Department of Telecom on Tuesday approved applications of telecom companies -- Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and MTNL -- for conducting 5G trials but none of them will be using technologies of Chinese entities. The list of telecom gear makers approved for trials include Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung, C-DOT and Reliance Jio's indigenously developed technologies.
The temptation to get into businesses that are hot is perhaps too great for any politician, no matter what his public slogans are. Nehru plunged into hot sectors of his time -- engineering and iron and steel. Modi has plunged into digital payments -- the hot sector of his time, notes Debashis Basu.
TCS was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 3 per cent, followed by L&T, Bharti AIrtel, HCL Tech, Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto and Reliance Industries. NSE Nifty rallied 164.70 points to its fresh closing peak of 16,529.10.
'There is no doubt at all that Jio's disruption of the mobile broadband market was a turning point for India's digital economy.'
Bharti Airtel on Thursday announced the commercial launch of 4G services in 296 towns across India after testing the market in select cities.
Nivedita Mookerji explains why a timely rollout of 5G may not be easy in India.
The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has bluntly told the government there is no reason for its members to roll out 5G networks as they will be unviable if 'captive private wireless networks' are allowed to be run by enterprises. The COAI, which has Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea as its key members, has written to Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw saying there is 'no business case for the roll out of 5G networks'. Permitting such captive networks will 'diminish the revenue so much that there will be no viable business case left for the telecom service providers and there will not remain any need for 5G network roll out by telecom service providers (TSPs)'.
'We are targeting the 5G tender around January-March 2023.'
With telecom disruptor Reliance Jio not raising tariffs, incumbents Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea are focusing on the minimum monthly recharge and higher first recharge offers to ensure they retain only loyal and revenue-incremental subscribers, reports Romita Majumdar.
Star India successfully bagged the global media rights for the next five seasons of Indian Premier League -- including broadcast and digital -- for a massive Rs. 16,347.50 crores ($2.55 billion), in Mumbai, on Monday.
Stock market barometers Sensex and Nifty ended marginally higher on Monday as rise in wholesale inflation capped early gains despite a positive trend in global markets. The 30-share index settled 32.02 points or 0.05 per cent higher at 60,718.71 with half of its constituents ending in green. The broad based Nifty edged up 6.70 points or 0.04 per cent to close at 18,109.45.
Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea said the Railways should not be permitted to offer commercial services like Wi-fi and voice and video communication.
Board of Control for Cricket in India's Chief Executive Officer Rahul Johri says the revenue generation from the upcoming Indian Premier League's media rights auction could be "historic".
Providing services like broadband connectivity, cable TV, enterprise solutions, and payment wallets is the need of the hour for telcos, and a second wave of consolidation is upon the industry, a rating agency said on Tuesday. India Ratings and Research said the sector, which was battered following the aggressive entry of Reliance Jio, will continue showing signs of recovery amid conducive regulatory environment and maintained a "stable" outlook for the industry in FY22. The second round of consolidation (Consolidation 2.0) is kicking-in in the industry, which will bring a transformation in the business models of telecom companies, leading to the evolution of incumbents from the providers of traditional voice-only services to complete digital solutions for households, it said.
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