Even before the real 3G mobile services takes off, competition at the trial level is hotting up with Reliance Communications applying for the radio waves for testing of interface for both GSM and CDMA based services.
Nokia and Reliance Communications have joined hands to market the Nokia 1255 mobile handset that costs just Rs 1,999. \n
Reliance Communications has proposed an entry fee of Rs 150 crore (Rs 1.5 billion) for metro circles and Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) for category B circles for getting 3G spectrum.
Successful bidders will have to pay 25 per cent of the amount upfront for sub 1 GHz, and 50 per cent upfront for higher frequency bands.
While smart boys like the Ruias of Essar, Ajay Piramal, Max India promoter Analjit Singh laughed all the way to the bank, the Tatas, Anil Ambani, Malaysian tycoon T Ananda Krishna of Maxis (which invested in Aircel), Sistema, and Norway's Telenor burnt their fingers, notes Surajeet Das Gupta.
As the time draws closer to the expiry of exclusivity agreement between Rcom and MTN for negotiations, one newspaper after another in Britain and the US is commenting on the eruption of a battle between the two richest brothers in the world. The controversy over the possible deal started with Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries asserting its Right of First Refusal over the younger brother's company with legal notices to Rcom and MTN.
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The Reliance Group employee is among those who have been arrested
Fresh buying by domestic institutional investors and better-than-expected June quarter results from some blue-chip companies boosted investor sentiment
Under the pact, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries' telecom arm will hire nationwide optical fibre network of Reliance Communications for the roll-out of 4G services.
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.
Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had told Parliament in November that Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and other telecom companies owe the government as much as Rs 1.47 lakh crore in past statutory dues.
Reliance Capital has two credit verticals -- Reliance Commercial Finance and Reliance Home Finance -- with a cumulative asset of over Rs 25,000 crore.
Last year Etisalat had forayed into the Indian telecom scene with the acquisition of 45 per cent stake in India's Swan Telecom for around $900 million (around Rs 4,140 crore or Rs 41.4 billion). The deal puts the value of the Indian GSM service provider, which holds telecom licences in 13 circles, at around $2 billion.The company plans to launch its first telecom operation during April-June next year.
The BSE Realty, Power and Metal index gained 1.7% each at 5,208, 2,660 and 12,476, respectively. The market breadth was fairly positive - out of 2,718 stocks traded, 1,666 advanced, 969 declined and 83 were unchanged on Wednesday. Reliance Communications surged 3.8% to Rs 415, and Bharti Airtel rallied 3% to Rs 815.
Agressive buying in late noon deals helped the index touch the day's high at 17,366 - up 388 points from Wednesday's close. The index finally ended with a gain of 375 points at 17,353. The market breadth was fairly positive - out of 2,755 stocks traded, 1,772 advanced, 909 declined and the rest were unchanged.
Market share of Airtel, Vodafone & Idea rises to 70% from 60% in 2010 and 50% in 2008.
The government has suffered a loss of Rs 12,488.93 crore (Rs 124.88 billion) due to under-invoicing of gross revenue by six telecom companies including Reliance Communications, Vodafone and Bharti Airtel, the CAG said in a damning report on Friday.
Global businesses still believe that India consumption story is intact despite the slowdown of the past couple of years.
The RIL-RCOM deal is an indication of telecom sector's future. As the mobile subscriber numbers plateau, telcos need to look at alternate stream of revenues, and data services will be the key to their growth.
After being at loggerheads for 8 years, Ambani brothers have sealed a Rs 1,200-crore (Rs 12-billion) deal wherein Mukesh will use his younger sibling's optic fibre network for launch of his telecom venture.
The Indian stock market boom saw the rise of many wealthy investors. However, some of the high profile companies did not live up to the expectations of investors.
Their accumulated debt stood at Rs 1,85,720 crore in March.
Montek Singh Ahluwalia supports operators' plea. He tells the finance minister that existing players should not be charged for the remaining licence period.
The government is likely to get about Rs 24,000 crore from one-time spectrum fee that has been levied on existing operators for holding radiowaves beyond a prescribed limit.
Analysts rue the research firm's dramatic delivery approach, pan the bear cartel view.
Companies may face significant spectrum fees from the government.
"A global settlement was reached between the French tax authorities and Reliance Flag, a telecom company, in a tax dispute pertaining to the period 2008-2012," the French embassy said in a statement.
The UAE-based Emirates Telecommunication Corporation (Etisalat) on Thursday filed a petition against Shahid Balwa and Vinod Goenka, promoters of the beleaguered Swan Telecom, for "fraud and misrepresentation".
Operators oppose levying of charges for additional spectrum with retrospective effect.
Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) Chairman Anil Ambani has taken a huge cut in his total remuneration from his four main companies in 2011-12 at about Rs 5.5 crore (Rs 55 million), lower by nearly two-third from the previous year.
Incumbent operators can retain 2.5-MHz spectrum in 900-MHz band, rest to be refarmed decision final.
In his letter dated October 11, written before the last EGoM meeting, Ambani has said the government would incur a loss of at least Rs 35,000 crore if the EGoM had decided to charge for excess spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz only prospectively from 2012, and not from 2008.
In a setback to telecom service providers, the Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Centre's plea to recover adjusted gross revenue (AGR) of about Rs 92,000 crore from them.
The empowered group of ministers (EGoM) on telecom headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday decided to impose a one-time fee on incumbent operators prospectively for spectrum beyond 4.4 MHz in GSM and 2.5 MHz in CDMA.
In an interview with Shivam Vij in their IRC chat room, members of Anonymous India explain why they are doing what they are doing.
The junior Ambanis - Anmol and Anshul - were inducted on the board to respect the wishes of the shareholders who during the recent AGM asked the management to get fresh blood into the company by bringing them on board.
Typically these are high-beta stocks and earnings are volatile
Ambani's $15 bn bet will upend Indian telecom
The biggest losers on the National Stock Exchange's benchmark Nifty 50 index are stocks that have seen the highest turnover over the past 12 months, according a report by Morgan Stanley.
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