India's first auction of 5G spectrum, that powers ultra-high data speeds, is currently underway with a total of 72 GHz (gigahertz) of radiowaves worth at least Rs 4.3 lakh crore up for bidding. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio, Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and a unit of billionaire Gautam Adani's flagship Adani Enterprises are in the race to bid for 5G spectrum, that offers speeds about 10 times faster than 4G, lag-free connectivity, and can enable billions of connected devices to share data in real-time. In addition to powering ultra-low latency connections, which allow downloading full-length high-quality video or movie to a mobile device in a matter of seconds (even in crowded areas), Fifth Generation or 5G would enable solutions such as e-health, connected vehicles, more-immersive augmented reality and metaverse experiences, life-saving use cases, and advanced mobile cloud gaming among others.
After Vodafone Idea, Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) on Tuesday said it will opt for conversion of the interest amount on AGR dues into equity and post conversion, the government's holding in the company is expected to be around 9.5 per cent. The announcement of Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) came within hours of Voda Idea also deciding to opt for converting the interest amount on AGR dues into government equity. In a filing to the BSE, Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) said Net Present Value or NPV of interest is expected to be nearly Rs 850 crore as per the company's estimates, subject to confirmation by the Department of Telecom (DoT).
This is the last lot of payments that telcos will make towards deferred spectrum liabilities, as the Union Cabinet had late last year approved a two-year moratorium on such spectrum payment dues.
The merged entity would be known as 'Vodafone Idea Ltd'.
'The announcement has come too late. This should have been done years ago.'
The government is looking at a time frame within the first two weeks of July to kick off and complete the upcoming 5G auctions, according to discussions between officials and stakeholders. It is expected that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) will give its recommendations on the base price by March, after which the necessary cabinet clearances will be given. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had earlier looked at undertaking the auction in the first quarter of 2022 but decided to push it back. Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had also said that the auctions are likely to take place in April-May.
To cement India's position as a preferred global outsourcing destination, the government on Wednesday liberalised guidelines for voice-based BPOs removing the distinction between domestic and international units as well as permitting interconnectivity between all types of OSP centres. Broadly, the rules would allow global companies, say an airline, with a voice-based centre in India to now serve global and domestic customers with common telecom resources, something that required dedicated, separate infrastructure previously. Moreover, the restrictions on data interconnectivity between any BPO (business process outsourcing) centre of the same company, a group company or any unrelated company has been done away with, allowing for massive flexibility in resource management for BPO operations.
If the apex court decides on a 15-year repayment tenure, it would pose a grave challenge for the debt ridden VIL.
Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) CEO Ravinder Takkar did some plain speaking. In an analyst call after its quarterly results recently, Takkar said that the main stumbling block to raising fresh capital from investors is "pricing" - telecom tariffs, in other words. Nine months ago, the telecom company's board had cleared a proposal for raising Rs 25,000 crore from investors, after the promoters made it clear that they were not ready to pump in more money. But potential investors are concerned that without clarity on tariff hikes (there have been none for more than 18 months) they might just lose their money. The lack of visibility on raising tariffs has also impelled VIL to request the Department of Telecom (DoT) for a fresh reprieve by extending the two-year moratorium on paying its spectrum instalment of Rs 8,200 crore for another year till FY23.
Banks do extensive investigation before declaring an account fraud; they owe it to us as they deal with our money. Why would they try to fix an innocent borrower? asks Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The move comes a few days after billionaire businessman Elon Musk tweeted that his Starlink internet services would be available in India as soon as it gets regulatory approvals next year. Musk's Starlink, which plans to have a constellation of 40,000 low-orbit satellites, recently started offering high-speed internet in the US as part of its beta launch phase.
"Delhi Police had requested the IT ministry to block two download links and the entire We Transfer website immediately. Following which orders were issued to the website and links suggested by the Delhi Police," an official source told PTI.
The department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) has suggested to the home ministry to allow limited activity in certain sectors such as heavy electricals and telecom equipment with reasonable safeguards. In a letter to Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla, the department said that these activities are essential to improve the economic situation and provide liquidity in the hands of the people.
Bidding for the sixth round of spectrum auction for radiowaves worth Rs 3.92 lakh crore will start from March 1, according to a notice issued by the Department of Telecom on Wednesday. The long-awaited spectrum auction is being held after a gap of four years and over two years after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) calculated and recommended base price for the radiowaves. The DoT has fixed January 12 for the pre-bid conference and January 28 as the last date for seeking clarification to the notice.
A day after Vodafone Idea Ltd opted to convert interest on dues to government equity, its CEO on Wednesday said the government had made its position amply clear that it does not want to run the telco, and added that existing promoters are fully committed to managing and running the company's operations. Vodafone Idea (VIL) on Tuesday announced its decision to opt for converting about Rs 16,000 crore interest dues liability payable to the government into equity, which will amount to around 35.8 per cent stake in the company. If the plan goes through, the government will become the biggest shareholder in the company which is reeling under a debt burden of about Rs 1.95 lakh crore.
7 key areas that the Budget must address to re-energise the infrastructure sector, suggests Vinayak Chatterjee.
Now BSNL customers will be able to make calls using the company's mobile app 'Wings' to any phone number in the country.
The proposal may provide relief to the tune of Rs 9,000 crore to service providers.
China on Thursday played down what appeared to be a tense conversation between President Xi Jinping and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the sidelines of the G20 summit a day earlier, saying the conversation is "candid, normal" and should not be interpreted as criticism or threat.
The policy was part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat package announced by Sitharaman in May 2020 as a coherent policy where all sectors would be opened for private sector participation.
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.
Britain's Cairn Energy Plc has dropped lawsuits against the Indian government and its entities in the US and other places and is in the final stages of withdrawing cases in Paris and the Netherlands to get back about Rs 7,900 crore that were collected from it to enforce a retrospective tax demand. As part of the settlement reached with the government to the seven-year old dispute over levy of back taxes, the company - which is now known as Capricorn Energy PLC - has initiated proceedings to withdraw lawsuits it had filed in several jurisdictions to enforce an international arbitration award which had overturned levy of Rs 10,247 crore retrospective taxes and ordered India to refund the money already collected. Two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said Cairn on November 26 withdrew the lawsuit it had brought in Mauritius for recognition of the arbitration award and took similar measures in courts in Singapore, the UK and Canada.
Vagela could not have reached this position if Narendra Modi, who'd known him from his chief minister days, had not backed the choice.
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Moving quickly towards ending a retrospective tax dispute with a firm that gave India its largest oilfield, the government has accepted Cairn Energy PLC's undertakings which would allow for the refund of taxes, sources said. Meeting the requirements of the new legislation that scraps levy of retrospective taxation, the company had earlier this month given required undertakings indemnifying the Indian government against future claims as well as agreeing to drop any legal proceedings anywhere in the world. The government has now accepted this and issued Cairn a so-called Form-II, committing to refund the tax collected to enforce the retrospective tax demand, two sources with direct knowledge of the development said.
The report has revealed that BSNL, which contributed around 98 per cent to the financial irregularities, failed to pay a government loan amounting to Rs 7,500 crore (Rs 75 billion) in spite of having adequate cash reserves in short-term deposits with other banks during the year 2005-06 and 2006-07.
The board will now be headed by Vinod Kumar Yadav as chairman and CEO, and it will have four other members.
During his first Union Budget in July 2014, former finance minister Arun Jaitley announced the setting up of an institution called 3P India, with an allocation of Rs 500 crore. The intention was to mainstream public-private partnerships (PPPs) in India. The plan was to bring together the capacities of the government and private sector to push PPP projects.
Telecom subscribers had it good during Rahul Khullar's watch as Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) chairman.
If it fails, the services will be stopped from March 1.
Microsoft has become the first global Big Tech company to join the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), an Indian government initiative for developing a first-of-its-kind open network for digital commerce. The world's second-largest technology firm intends to introduce social e-commerce via its app in the Indian market later this year. ONDC is expected to open to the public in Bengaluru over the next fortnight as it enters into the next phase of the pilot for further fine-tuning before rollouts in other cities, according to a source in the know.
India Inc on Thursday pitched for continuation of reforms while ensuring tax and policy stability in the forthcoming Budget to prop up the economy hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the virtual pre-Budget consultation held with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, industry chambers said that government measures will help firmly entrench the nascent signs of recovery being currently seen in private investment. Capital expenditure by the government through enhanced infrastructure spending should in the meantime continue to support growth, CII president TV Narendran said.
Vodafone's operating loss from India business jumped to 692 million euros in April-September from 133 million euros in the same period last year.
Huawei came under a cloud after allegations that the firm's electronic and telecom devices helped China spy on US corporations and agencies.
The Indian Navy has expressed reservations in vacating 100 Mhz of the spectrum, proposed to be sold in the tender expected next year, sources said. This could delay the Centre's plans to proceed with the 5G auctions in 2022. A department of telecom (DoT) official said, "The Indian Navy is showing reluctance in vacating the spectrum from the 3.3 GHz-3.4 GHz band that it is using. "Unless there is some traction with them on this issue, we can't seek consultation from TRAI." The 3300 MHz-3600 MHz (or 3.3GHz-3.6GHz) will be auctioned for the first time in the proposed 5G auctions, likely next year.
Bharti group-backed OneWeb and New Space India Limited, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation, have entered into an agreement that will help ensure OneWeb completes its satellite launch programme. The first launch with New Space India is expected in 2022 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota. The launches will add to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications firm OneWeb's total in-orbit constellation of 428 satellites -- 66 per cent of the planned total fleet -- to build a global network that will deliver high-speed, low-latency connectivity.
Just to promote govt's policy of Make in India, BSNL said, it cannot afford to procure sub-standard equipment from inexperienced companies, not having proven technology. BSNL complained that when competitors were procuring world-class 4G equipment from experienced vendors, why should BSNL be compelled to procure locally.
Availability of Wi-Fi is also expected to provide local airlines an additional source of revenues amid stiff competition in the fast growing Indian aviation market.
The latest move, even if it is symbolic, is the first rate hike after the one announced end of 2019.
Faced with prospect of its assets across the globe being seized just like Pakistan and Venezuela, the government decided to scrap retrospective taxation but the international embarrassment could have been avoided had 'attached' shares of Britain's Cairn Energy Plc not been sold, according to tax and legal experts. On Thursday, the government introduced a Bill in Parliament to scrap the tax rule that gave the tax department power to go 50 years back and slap capital gains levies wherever ownership had changed hands overseas but business assets were in India. The 2012 legislation was used to levy a cumulative of Rs 1.10 lakh crore of tax on 17 entities, including UK telecom giant Vodafone, but substantial punitive action was taken only in the case of Cairn.
All existing emergency numbers will be phased out within a year of rolling out 112, depending upon the awareness about this new facility.
