British telecom major Vodafone on Friday said it had made an adjustment to the tune of Rs 3,400 crore in its fair market value to account for the payment it has made for 3G licences. This will be the additional amount payable to Essar, the 33 per cent shareholder in the company's Indian operations, if Essar opts for an independent valuation of its stake while exercising its put option.
In a move that will result in further snowballing of the spectrum issue, British telecom major Vodafone has termed the Reliance Communications' (RCom) allegations "as false and inconsistent with the facts".
The Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, invites industry delegates and management students to attend its annual IT management seminar, AIMS 2006.\n
More companies on the subcontinent are looking for Western executives to provide international experience. There's no shortage of applicants.
The two companies in a joint statement said that they have entered into exclusive negotiations to combine T-Mobile UK, an arm of Deutsche Telekom, and Orange UK in a new 50:50 joint venture company. The new joint venture would create the country's leading mobile operator with a combined mobile customer base of around 28.4 million, representing about 37 per cent of subscribers in the UK, the statement said.
The race for Hutch-Essar, the country's fourth largest mobile service provider, quickened on Wednesday with Hong-Kong based Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd formally informing the 4 companies in the fray to submit their bids by Friday
Tech Mahindra has bagged a five-year contract from British Telecom, under which the Indian company will provide strategic sourcing services to the global communications solutions and services provider.
Vodafone recently bought the 67 per cent stake held by Hutchison. The remaining equity is held by the Ruias.
Finance ministry is understood to have reservations on the ownership of minority stakeholders in Hutchison-Essar and is likely to raise the issue at the FIPB meeting.
British Telecom of the UK is considering a low-powered global system for mobile communications service in India, which can bring down the costs significantly on calls made by mobile phones inside offices.
Amid speculation over his whereabouts, B Ramalinga Raju, who stepped down as chairman of Satyam Computer after admitting to financial irregularities, is believed to have left for the United States in connection with a court case.
The UK on Tuesday assured complete government neutrality on Tata Steel's bid to acquire Corus and sought similar treatment for British telecom firm Vodafone in its bid to acquire mobile venture Hutchison-Essar.
British telecom giant Vodafone could face a downgrade in its credit rating by Standard and Poor's if its proposed bid for Hutchison Essar Ltd exceeds $19 billion, a media report said in London.
As Vodafone started examining the books of Hutchison Essar, its existing partner Bharti Airtel on Tuesday said it has not been approached by anyone to buyout British telecom firm's stake in the company.
Singapore Telecom is believed to have sought the removal of Vodafone representatives from the board of Bharti Airtel, following the British telecom major's bid to acquire a majority stake in Hutchison Essar.
British telecom giant Vodafone's plans to acquire India's fourth-largest mobile operator Hutch-Essar has received mixed reactions from some of its key shareholders.
British telecom giant Vodafone on Friday said it is considering acquiring a controlling stake in India's fourth-largest mobile player Hutchison Essar.
Chetankumar Meshram from Northampton has been awarded a compensation of 5,000 pounds after his employer Talk Talk was found guilty of racial discrimination for sending him back to Britain just three weeks into a two-month post at the telecoms firm's India office, The Times reported in London on Wednesday.
Outsourcers will not migrate to China because of the sheer talent and English language proficiency in India, says Arun Seth, chairman, British Telecom India.
British telecom giant Vodafone on Tuesday announced a 14.1 per cent jump in the group's revenues to 35.5 billion pounds with its India business delivering a strong growth of over 50 per cent during the year ended March 31.
Global majors like Accenture, EDS and IBM as well as major Indian IT vendors have been shortlisted by the public sector BSNL for second phase of its convergent billing system.
The onus of the tax dues of Rs 22,100 crore on Vodafone India's British parent could also fall on the merged entity.
Amid reports that its chairman Christopher Bland has sought Indian government's help to resolve a bandwidth-related dispute with VSNL, British Telecom said it is engaged in a mutually beneficial dialogue with VSNL.
Cash-strapped telco Vodafone Idea's proposal for investment of up to Rs 15,000 crore through foreign direct investment (FDI) has been approved by the Union government, according to officials. A top-level group, comprising representatives from the ministries of home affairs, external affairs, finance and commerce and industry, took the decision. The nod, which is an enabling provision, would help the financially-stressed company raise funds to pay up some of its dues linked to adjusted gross revenue (AGR), reduce debts and use the money for operational expenses.
'All three players in the market are haemorrhaging cash. Average consumer is consuming 12 gigabits (GB) at price points you don't see anywhere else.'
Information technology major Infosys and Liberty Global, a London-based telecom firm, signed a 1.5 billion (about $1.64 billion) deal for five years to evolve and scale up the telco's digital entertainment and connectivity platforms, the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday. As part of the expanded collaboration agreement, the size of the contract will touch 2.3 billion (about $2.5 billion) if extended to 8 years. The collaboration allows Liberty Global to realise run-rate savings of over 100 million (about $109 million) per annum, inclusive of other savings and technology investments, Infosys said in a statement.
Sector set to see 31 players in the next 12 months.
"If we are not getting anything then I think it is end of story for Vodafone Idea," Kumar Mangalam Birla said at the HT Leadership Summit when asked about the future of Vodafone Idea in absence of a government relief on payment of Rs 53,038 crore dues.
VIL, in which Vodafone holds 45.39 per cent stake, is staring at unpaid statutory dues of Rs 53,038 crore, including Rs 24,729 crore of spectrum dues and Rs 28,309 crore in licence fee, and has already warned of shutdown if no relief is given.
While in all, 15 entities owe the government Rs 1.47 lakh crore -- Rs 92,642 crore in unpaid licence fee and another Rs 55,054 crore in outstanding spectrum usage charges, it is not immediately clear just how much of that has been sought by the government by midnight.
Both the promoter groups - Vodafone and Aditya Birla - have confirmed their participation of up to Rs 11,000 crore and up to Rs 7,250 crore, respectively, in the issue.
TDSAT had stated no amount was payable till resolution of the disputes.
India has challenged in a Singapore court a verdict of an international arbitration tribunal that overturned its demand for Rs 22,100 crore in back taxes from Vodafone Group Plc, sources said on Thursday. An international arbitration court had on September 25 rejected tax authorities' demand for Rs 22,100 crore in back taxes and penalties relating to the British telecom giant's 2007 acquisition of an Indian operator. Two sources privy to the development said India had 90 days to file an appeal against the tribunal award, and the same was done in a Singapore court earlier this week.