This is the second instance of a realty firm foraying into telecom in less than a month. In August, Delhi-based Parsvnath Developers had submitted an application to the DoT for a Unified Access Service licence in 22 circles.
The Telecom Policy 1999 which revolutionised the telecom sector will be revamped soon with the Department of Telecom likely to retain licensing powers.
Life has come full circle for Nobel laureate Professor Mohammad Yunus, who faced persecution during Sheikh Hasina's regime for embezzlement, is now all set to head of the interim government in Bangladesh after she resigned and fled the country.
The main thrust of the policy is on the multiplier effect and transformational impact of such services on the overall economy.
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 Ministry of Corporate Affairs has asked the Department of Telecommunications to reconsider its decision to issue Mumbai-based Loop Telecom an all-India mobile services licence, suggesting the company had links with Essar Group that violate restrictions on telecom cross-holdings by groups.
...benefiting 350,000 persons. Also, Trai detected and blocked seven million mobile phone connections involved in cyber fraud and suspicious activities.
The syndicate used "stooge" bank accounts and shell companies to transfer the largest amount linked to a single case recorded in the city, the Customs and Excise Department of Hong Kong said.
The package gives the officers time until October 15 to take a decision on staying back with one of the two public service undertakings.
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 government has warned telecom operators against marketing or advertising their services below 256 kbps download speed as broadband.
In a bid to spread its telecom footprint across the country at a time when the government has decided to unify basic and cellular licences, Tata Teleservices has applied for licences in 7 more circles, including Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
The Department of Telecommunications has called a meeting of the heads of all leading telecom companies offering GSM technology services on November 21 to resolve contentious issues that have arisen following recent changes in telecom policy.
Consumers and businesses can tweet to communications minister Manoj Sinha (@manojsinhabjp) using #DOTSeva, #BSNLSeva, #MTNLSeva, and #PostalSeva.
The three-day India Mobile Congress (IMC) will showcase the widening convergence of telecom with new domains, such as semiconductors and deep tech, P Ramakrishna, the forum's chief executive officer, said on Tuesday. With more than 250 global and domestic exhibitors, the seventh edition is expected to draw more than 100,000 visitors this year, he said. There will also be over 5,000 CXO-level delegates and more than 350 speakers.
Lawyers representing govt point out that telcos, because of the large money they can save if they get a favourable judgement, prefer to fight till all legal options are exhausted
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has initiated discussions with banks to address financial stress in the telecom sector, particularly Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) that urgently requires fund infusion to stay afloat. There was a meeting of DOT officials and senior bankers on Friday on the issue of Vodafone, sources said, adding that banks have been asked to look for a solution within the prudential guidelines. According to sources, senior officials from the country's biggest lenders State Bank of India and Bank of Baroda were also present among others in the meeting. More such meetings are expected to take place in the coming days, they said.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will finalise its internal view on the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai's) recommendations, which was given in May last year, on mergers and acquisitions, spectrum allocation, spectrum sharing and other licencing aspects by the end of this month, a senior official from the department said.
The Income Tax department has struck an estimated Rs 50 crore (Rs 500 million) deal with state-owned telecom company BSNL to provide 51,000 mobile connections and 1,000 high-end Blackberry phones for secure and fast communication amongst its officers and staff.
American tech billionaire Elon Musk on Saturday said his proposed visit to India has been postponed due to "very heavy Tesla obligations". The electric carmaker Tesla CEO -- who was expected to be in India on April 21 and 22 and scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- wrote on X that he is looking forward to coming to India later this year.
'Initially, I didn't think much of him. But when I walked alongside him, I realized he has what it takes.'
In a major reform push, government on Thursday approved 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the telecom sector, meeting a key demand of the fund-starved industry.
The IAS officer was later taken into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and is expected to be produced before a magistrate seeking his remand, the sources said.
In a setback to former Telecom Minister Sukhram, the Delhi high court on Wednesday upheld his conviction and three year jail term in the 1996 telecom scam.
Inter-ministerial body Telecom Commission on Tuesday approved hiking foreign direct investment limit in the sector from 74 per cent to 100 per cent.
The commission has disagreed with another key proposal -- that of allowing operators a deferred payment scheme after the auction.
The telecom and banking departments along with the railways accounted for the maximum number of public grievances among the various arms of the government in the last three years.
The move comes against the backdrop of the US and some of its allies banning the purchase of Chinese telecom gear over security concerns and pressuring other countries to follow suit.
The government on Friday unveiled long awaited Unified Licence norms that provide for delinking of spectrum from operational permits and allows companies to offer services using any technology.
Indian family-run business houses have in recent years seen ugly public spats between owners over control. But metals-to-ports conglomerate Essar's Ruia family seems to be an exception. Three generations of the Ruia family - founder brother Shashi and Ravi Ruia, their children and grandchildren - continue to live under one roof and jointly run the business empire.
The Department of Telecom on Monday said it would hold consultations with various operators on the issue of foreign direct investment but denied that the FDI issue was in any way linked to unified licencing regime.
'Tinkering will not do. Merely staggering spectrum dues comes nowhere near solving the problem,' cautions Rahul Khullar.
The Cellular Operators Association of India has suggested that the government, in allocating telecom licence, consider applicants with experience and impose a five-year lock-in period under which promoters cannot sell their equity.
The government believes firms which are subject to China's laws could be forced to hand over information to Beijing's security services.
While the market for satellite broadband currently is small, the potential is large as an estimated 30 per cent of the country does not have reliable terrestrial broadband services.
The department of telecom will issue guidelines on raising the foreign direct investment limit to 74 per cent from 49 per cent next week.
The rush to enter the world's fastest-growing mobile services market has attracted a wide range of applicants for telecom licences with the Department of Telecommunications.
The government has issued a stern warning to telecom companies to put the required security system for Blackberry services in place within 15 days or stop the services. The directive has been issued to the respective service providers to work out with officials of Blackberry licensor Research in Motion (RIM) of Canada to provide full-proof security system in the country. Currently, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone-Essar, BPL Mobile and Reliance are offering this premium service.
The Bombay High Court has dismissed Vodafone petition challenging the show cause notice issued by income tax department asking them to pay over $2 billion tax on the multi-crore Hutchinson takeover deal.
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'.
