According to sources, spectrum was available in the range of 50-60 MHz in nine states and was sufficient to accommodate all the new players as well as demand from the existing operators. However, in some important circles like Delhi, only one of the new players could get initial spectrum. Some of the existing players have objected to the move, saying allocation of spectrum at this juncture would be illegal as the matter is subjudice.
Corporate affairs ministry note for ministerial group says can't keep banking, telecom out of CCI purview as RBI, Trai enable but not regulate competition
Gearing up for its pan-India 4G services launch in coming months, Reliance Jio Infocomm has approached the Department of Telecom for a network test conducted along with security agencies.
The government on Thursday said it has directed Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd to monitor illegal international calls through its Nepal subsidiary.
Special CBI Judge O P Saini adjourned Monday's proceedings in the wake of stay granted by the Supreme Court on separate pleas filed by Mittal and Ruia challenging the March 19 order of the trial court summoning them as accused in the case.
Tamil Nadu has cornered around 18.63 per cent of the fresh investments in Q1FY21 and topped the list of state-wise investments. These investments should help create over 67,212 jobs.
Reliance Jio Infocomm, expected to start commercial operations in the Indian telecom space in the next few months, had a net worth of Rs 5,026.16 crore, the company said in a statement submitted to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Monday.
Regulator wants the power to fine errant telecom companies.
The department of telecom (DoT) on Friday announced a set of rules for granting telecom licences and allocating spectrum that is likely to impact GSM-technology service providers like Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar, among others.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting convened by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), and attended by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) among others.
It was the relentless pursuit of justice over a decade by a group of senior citizens that resulted in the Supreme Court's order for demolition of the illegal 40-storey twin towers of a real estate group in Noida.
All 'grameen dak sevaks' in rural post offices will be given handheld devices by March 2017.
Bharti Airtel has paid Rs 11,374.7 cr while upfront amount due from it was Rs 7,832.20 cr
The Government of India has decided to launch a massive rural public works scheme, 'Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan', to "empower and provide livelihood opportunities to the returnee migrant workers and rural citizens". Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch this scheme on June 20 through video conference in the presence of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) has recommended levying a one-time fee on existing mobile operators for spectrum they may hold in excess of 6.2 Mhz limit to garner at least Rs 22,640 crore.
In a notification on its website, DoT said all internet and broadband subscribers using Wi-fi connectivity would need to get themselves registered with the respective telecom service providers for completing the centralised authentication procedure within 60 days.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday night arrested three people, including V Gowthaman, the then additional private secretary of Dayanidhi Maran, in connection with alleged allotment of more than 300 high-speed telephone lines to the then telecom minister's residence in Chennai which were extended to his brother's TV channel.
Qualcomm had received its internet service provider licence last month, after a delay of 18 months, with a validity period of 20 years after a Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal direction to DoT.
The Supreme Court on Thursday admitted an appeal by Reliance Infocomm against a government order imposing Rs 150 crore penalty for violating telecom licensing conditions by diverting international calls as local ones.
The government on Thursday made it clear that BlackBerry services may be banned if its maker, Research-in-Motion, fails to provide a monitoring solution in the next five days.
British telecom giant Vodafone Group plc on Friday won an arbitration against the Indian government over a demand for Rs 22,100 crore in taxes using retrospective legislation.
The Department of Telecom has worked out a one-time spectrum charge of over Rs 2,060 crore to be levied from operators for the period they remained in business after their licences were cancelled in February last year, sources said.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a case against former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran and BSNL officials for allegedly allotting 300 high-speed telephone lines to Maran's residence in Chennai which were extended to his brother's channel.
In a development that has huge financial implications for existing as well as new operators, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has recommended fixing the price for 6.2 Mhz of pan-India start-up 2G spectrum at Rs 10,972.45 crore (Rs 109.724 billion), more than six times the present cost of Rs 1,658 crore (Rs 16.58 billion).
As many as 342 aspirants, including AT&T, DLF and Deutsche Telecom-MoserBaer who failed to get new telecom licences in the last round, may get to bid for spectrum for launching next generation (3G) mobile services.The department of telecom (DoT) is understood to have mooted the proposal to allow those who had applied for licenses between September 25, 2007 and October 1, 2007, to participate in the next generation 3G mobile telephony services.
A company spokesperson said Vodafone has received a copy of the report submitted to the DoT and said the company's accounts are in line with statutory standards set by telecom tribunal Telecom Disputes Settlement And Appellate Tribunal.
Currently, ISPs pay only Re 1 as annual licence fee while Internet telecom service providers, or telecom operators providing Internet services, pay 6 per cent of their annual gross revenue as licence fee.
Concerned over poor track record of Internet service providers, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India recommended on Thursday lowering of foreign direct investment on par with telecom sector at 74 per cent from the existing 100 per cent.
Department of Telecommunications has reportedly blocked the popular website.
The British telecom major on Tuesday moved the dispute resolution panel, seeking relief from an order sent by the I-T department in December.
The 61-year-old, who was administered the oath of office by Jammu and Kashmir High Court Chief Justice Gita Mittal at a simple function in the Raj Bhavan, also said he wants to accelerate development in the union territory, carved out of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir last year.
Known as 'vikas purush' (man involved in developmental work), Sinha is a three-time Lok Sabha MP who held charge of the communication ministry as a minister of State in 2016 when the telecom industry was engaged in the sale of spectrum.
The auction for Broadband Wireless Access started on Monday with 11 players, including Bharti, Vodafone, RCom and Tatas, in the race to acquire the two slots on offer.
The commerce department has said that earnings through the new tax will equal the losses faced by Indian industry after the US tariffs on steel and aluminium.
The company shot off its second letter to the Department of Telecom in the last four days, seeking clarifications from the government.
The government on Friday said the telecom operators, who had bagged 3G spectrum in the auction held recently, would be allocated airwaves from September 1, paving way for launch of high-speed mobile broadband services.
The government is understood to have decided to issue letters of intent to all applicants seeking permission to start telecom services and is expecting that at least six companies will convert them into pan-India licences after submitting over Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) as initial licence fee.
The spectrum tangle has also resulted in the fall of telecom share prices as investor confidence was eroded after the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) decided to permit CDMA (Code division multiple access) players operate GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) services in their existing circles.
The case is likely to come up for hearing on Monday.
