Videocon Telecom, the operator of mobile phone services in four circles, on Thursday announced a special tariff voucher offering a 50 per cent cut in outgoing roaming call rates.
In the debate whether spectrum was over- priced or not, the focus seems to have shifted from Videocon's telecom gamble.
The company has purchased the rights to use the 1,800 MHz spectrum in 6 circles.
The group is making a foray into the telecom space even as it closes in on Daewoo Electronics.
Consumer electronics major Videocon on Monday said it is in talks with foreign entities for a 26 per cent stake sale in its telecom subsidiary Videocon Telecommunications and that a deal would fructify "very soon".
Bharti Airtel and Tata Group have terminated discussions for a merger of their direct-to-home (DTH) business, according to a Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) filing on Saturday.
The Delhi circle licence will be available in the efficient 900 MHz spectrum, which is why Videocon is interested.
TRAI removed network interconnection charges.
Trai data show the company has no subscribers in Uttar Pradesh East & West and Bihar
It plans to offer 4G data with voice at rates 15-25 per cent lower than those of its competitors just as it has done with its TV sets. Many say it might be a recipe for disaster.
Confirming the development, Chairman Venugopal Dhoot said, "We will use the CDMA technology for mobile services in the country."
The interconnection charge has been reduced.
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved the resolution plan of Twin Star Technologies -- a promoter entity of the Vedanta Resources group -- for the Videocon group. But it has pointed out that the successful resolution applicant is "paying almost nothing" as the amount offered is only 4.15 per cent of total outstanding claim. It noted the hair cut for all the creditors is 95.85 per cent and suggested to both committee of creditors (CoC) and the successful applicant an increase in the payout.
The operator is planning to turn aggressive in adding subscribers.
The CAG report, tabled in Parliament, states the interest on the short payment stood at Rs 1,052.13 crore for the period up to March 2016.
Blind spots of the company were two-fold - managing cash flow and investments to upgrade technology and continue research and development.
Diversified group Videocon Industries on Wednesday said it may sell up to 26 per cent stake in the company to foreign players.
Mobile phone service providers alone jointly reported gross revenue of Rs 55,164.18 crore (RS 551.64 billion).
Videocon launched an app-powered air conditioner.
The telecom major at present has footprints in MP-CG, Punjab, Haryana, UP-East, UP-West, Gujarat and Bihar circles.
Datacom Solutions, promoted by consumer electronic goods maker Videocon Industries, is close to roping in South African telecom major MTN group as a partner for its GSM foray in the country. According to sources, Datacom, which was scouting for a partner to bring in investments and technology, has short-listed MTN. Discussions with the South African company are in the final stage and a deal is expected to be signed soon.
The government on Tuesday started allocating GSM spectrum to new telecom players, commencing with the Tamil Nadu circle including Chennai, in a move that would infuse more competition in the mobile telephony space.Five new players -- Videocon-promoted Datacom, Idea Cellular, realty major Unitech, Swan Telecom and Loop Telecom -- have been given start-up 4.4 MHz GSM spectrum in Tamil Nadu circle.
Before the pandemic hit the world and led to shutdowns, the company had received nearly half a dozen offers. But bidders are now withdrawing. They want to reassess the situation. They want to conserve cash and avoid acquisition.
The Videocon group has expressed interest in buying telecom giant Motorola's struggling mobile handset business, which is being split into a separate company. "We have hired one of the world's top three investment bankers who will convey our interest to buy out the mobile handset business of the US company," Group Chairman Venugopal Dhoot told Business Standard.
The fear of another scam pushed the government into a rather long period of so-called 'policy paralysis'. To play it safe, the price of spectrum in all subsequent auctions was benchmarked to the high 3G rates, says Surajeet Das Gupta.
The telecom tribunal TDSAT on Wednesday asked new operators S Tel and Videocon Teleservices to pay 60 per cent of the penalty within two weeks, imposed on them by the Department of Telecom for failing to meet their roll-out obligations.
NuPower will return loan with interest to consumer durables major by 2021
Leading Indian corporates Reliance, Bharti and Videocon along with seven other consortiums entered the race for the modernisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports, bids for which closed on Tuesday.
Govt's revenue estimates may take hit on spectrum sharing, trading deals
Consumer durables major Videocon Industries has firmed up its telecom plans and is making an initial investment of Rs 6,000 crore for rolling out GSM services, notwithstanding spectrum and legal issues besieging the sector. The services will be launched through its subsidiary, Datacom Solutions, by May. In case of a delay in spectrum allocation, the company may opt for taking spectrum on lease.
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.
Finnish telecom firm Nokia on Wednesday said it demonstrated a record 4G speed that enables a high-definition movie to be downloaded in only 11 seconds.
The CBI on Wednesday called Loop Telecom, CEO Sandeep Basu, Chairman of Shyam group Rajiv Mehrotra, former telecom minister A Raja's brother A K Perumal and close aide Sadiq Batcha, for questioning in relation with the 2G spectrum scam.
With the heat over the 2G telecom spectrum scam rising, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Thursday recommended the cancellation of 34 telecom licences of companies, including Etisalat, Uninor, Loop Telecom and Siestema, due to non-compliance of roll-out obligations.
Starting with a family, which had a dealership of Bajaj Auto's scooters, to becoming the owner of a household name in consumer appliances who could afford to have Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan as the brand ambassador, Venugopal Dhoot's is a story of an aggressive small town businessman's pursuit to be on the top. Now arrested in connection with the ICICI Bank loan fraud case, Venugopal Dhoot during his heydays was not the one to simply sit on small achievements like Videocon becoming the largest television set manufacturer in India.
A slew of real estate companies, like DLF, Omaxe, BPTP and Avnija Properties (Dalmia Cement), and large corporations like telecom bigwig AT&T, Sterlite, Videocon, JSW Power, Hinduja's HTMT, Moser Baer Infrastructure, Ispat Industries Ltd and a Sam Pitroda-owned company are among the 25 companies whose applications will not be immediately processed by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for awarding mobile licences.
Bharti Airtel is the largest mobile phone operator in the country.
Trai has recommended cancellation of 74 licences, including Unitech Wireless's 8, Aircel/Dishnet's 7, Etisalat DB's 2, Videocon's 4, Spice's 3, Vodafone's 1, among others.
Telecom subscriber base crossed the 95-crore mark in August, after a gap of more than two years, on the back of higher mobile users whose number touched 92.43 crore.
A no-holds-barred boardroom battle has broken out between Mahendra Nahata and the Dhoots of Videocon, 36:64 partners in Datacom Solutions, a company which wants to launch mobile telephone services all over the country in a month-and-a-half.
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