Biden has reiterated America's support for India's permanent membership on a reformed UNSC and its entry into the NSG during his first in-person bilateral meeting with Modi at the White House.
A recent note based on the audit said telecom companies such as Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular had demanded additional spectrum, based on subscriber-linked criteria for meeting the quality parameters of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India before the spectrum auction decision was taken.
Industry body COAI plans to approach DoT citing Supreme Court's 2012 order
The recommendations of the commission will now be put before the empowered group of ministers headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram for a final decision.
About 57,271 villages in the country are yet to be connected with mobile services, Parliament was informed.
An apex committee under DoT Secretary R Chandraskehar has been set up to oversee the required policy decisions and institutional framework for an alliance between the two public sector undertakings which have been incurring losses.
The government has 97 blocks of 1.25 MHz spectrum each, which DoT can put on the block in the third round.
In two other changes, young MP Milind Deora, MoS in telecommunication and information technology ministry, got additional the portfolio of Shipping in the same rank and Panabaka Laxmi, who was made MoS in textile ministry on Sunday, was reallocated petroleum and gas department.
Telecom Commission has recommended that existing mobile operators vacate airwaves in the 900 MHz band at the time of renewal of licences in 2014 -- a move that GSM players say would cost them over Rs 66,000 crore (Rs 660 billion) in replacing infrastructure.
DoT's proposal to impact many, including Vodafone
The government cannot force mobile operators to go beyond their roll-out obligation and give phone coverage to fishermen venturing into the deep sea, the Department of Telecommunications has informed the naval authorities.
Telecom regulator TRAI on Tuesday released a detailed consultation paper to discuss threadbare the modalities for auction of spectrum across multiple bands, including pricing, quantum and other conditions -- preparing the groundwork for 5G auctions slated for next year. Trai's comprehensive consultation paper runs into 207 pages and throws up 74 questions for industry-wide discussion, touching on crucial aspects like valuation and reserve price of spectrum, including 5G, quantum of spectrum, block size, eligibility conditions for participation in auction, roll-out obligations, spectrum cap, and surrender of spectrum. Norms will also be worked out for new frequencies such as 526-698 MHz and millimetre band, that is 24.25 - 28.5 GHz, in addition to bands such as 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz, 3300-3670 MHz.
International telcos such as Russia's Sistema and Norway's Telenor and foreign investment funds such as KAIF Investments Mauritius and Capital Global Ltd (investors in Loop Telecom) have sent legal notices to the Indian government under the respective Bilateral Investment Promotion & Protection Agreement or Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement.
Bharti Airtel has sought quashing of the government's September 28 decision directing the service providers to stop providing intra-circle roaming services.
It challenged the Delhi High Court's order giving its nod to the Centre's decision holding the 3G roaming pact of the telecom major as illegal.
DoT's data is based on inputs from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and service providers.
Attempts to access the website opened up a page with the message: This site has been blocked as per instructions from the Department of Telecommunications
Filing an affidavit before the TDSAT, the department of telecommunication has requested the tribunal to dismiss the petition of telecom operators challenging the government directive to stop 3G roaming immediately.
The high-powered panel, headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, which was to discuss the roadmap for auction of unsold GSM spectrum in Delhi, Mumbai, Rajasthan and Karnataka, has been deferred twice last month.
Telco moves Delhi High Court against order; Vodafone expected to get notice too
The reshuffle is aimed at speeding up the implementation of the government's ambitious programmes like the SmartCity project and focus on key sectors like Mines, Information Technology and Road Transport.
In a statement on Tuesday, DoT said, "1,800 and 900 MHz bands were to be auctioned simultaneously, starting March 11, and the 800 MHz band auction was to commence two days after the conclusion of the auction of the 1,800 and 900 MHz spectrum.
Telcos likely to get to switch from 2,300-MHz band for 4G services.
Limited monopoly period to airline bidding for least subsidy to connect any of 80 Tier-III cities.
Only the Supreme Court can rectify spectrum management in line with other resources, but all stakeholders can contribute, writes Shyam Ponappa.
Miffed at a rise in annual licence fee on Internet service providers, industry body Internet Services Providers Association of India on Thursday said it would approach the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal, challenging the new fees.
Companies like Amazon Prime Video are also temporarily lowering bit rates -- a measure of how much data is being transferred -- to ease pressure on telecom network infrastructure.
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) have sent separate letters to the department of telecommunications (DoT), asking the government to bear the entire burden of nearly Rs 11,000 crore they need to fork out as one-time payment for additional spectrum.
A government group under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has broadly accepted a Department of Telecommunications (DoT) proposal favouring a three-pronged strategy to deal with the challenges arising out of the Supreme Court order cancelling 122 telecom licences.
It had also led to delays in allocating even start-up spectrum.
Airtel, Vodafone-Idea and other telecom operators may have to pay the government a whopping Rs 1.42 lakh crore following the Supreme Court order last week that sent shock waves through an industry already grappling with billions of dollars in debt and an intense tariff war to retain customers.
While Reliance/Infotel Broadband stands to gain if Qualcomm is forced out of the BWA race, will the potential Indian consumer of broadband wireless services gain from this unseemly tussle? That is a question that remains unanswered.
Telecom companies have been desperately waiting for a bailout package from the government after a Supreme Court order put their statutory liabilities at Rs 1.47 lakh crore.
Newer telecom operators and dual technology entities are opposing the department of telecommunications (DoT)'s decision to ask the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to give its view on whether the price of spectrum being offered in the coming 2G auction should be valid for 10 years instead of 20 years.
The New Telecom policy 2011 and the Spectrum Act are expected to address these concerns.
Says action taken following Supreme Court order, not because of government decision
The government is learnt to be preparing fresh plans to auction telecom spectrum that can fetch around Rs 39,895 crore.
Following is the chronology of the events in the 2G spectrum allocation scam in which the prime accused and former Telecom Minister A Raja was on Tuesday granted bail:
The commission has disagreed with another key proposal -- that of allowing operators a deferred payment scheme after the auction.
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