A large team led by Kumar Mangalam Birla has taken charge of the integration process.
The government on Monday asserted that there was no loss to the exchequer due to allocation of 2G spectrum to some telecom companies in 2008.
For re-verification through Aadhaar-based eKYC process, the operator will send a verification code to the mobile number of the subscriber.
Bharti recorded $5 billion liability for past-due AGR fees, but is still completing its self-assessment to determine the final amount.
A key prosecution witness in the 2G spectrum case on Wednesday told a Delhi court that former Telecom Minister A Raja had communicated to the prime minister about the policy for distribution of licences 'at his level' and the issues involved in it were 'not processed' in the DoT files.
The regulator has also agreed to the one-nation, one-licence proposal, which will make roaming free across the country. But it wants to decide the modalities of the issue.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) expects to finalise the norms for mergers and acquisitions and spectrum sharing by the end of June. It also plans to approve the National Telecom Policy (NTP), 2012, by the end of July.
The deal between Bharti group and Tata Teleservices is yet another example of how swiftly things can change in business.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed anguish at the loss of lives in Uttarakhand and noted that rescue operations are underway to help the affected.
The telcos have assured the government that things would improve over the next 45 days.
Departments of electronics, excise, I-T launch probe into Rs 251 smartphones
In a move that could pave the way for open auction of the 2G spectrum released from 122 cancelled operators, a draft Cabinet note prepared by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has recommended the spectrum price be discovered through an auction involving "existing players and new parties".
A merger between state-run telecom firms Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd is the best option because it would create the country's largest telecom company, said Kuldeep Goyal, chairman and managing director of BSNL.
Income Tax Department has slapped fresh tax notice on Nokia India, tax authorities said.
The recommendations on the subject will be sent in due course to the government, according to an internal communication of DoT
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has asked the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to indicate the formula used in international markets to fix the ratio between the reserve and the discovered prices of 2G telecom spectrum. Trai has assumed that the base price should be 80 per cent of that of the auction discovered price which is much higher than the internatioanl norm of 50 per cent.
Former telecom minister A Raja, who has so far not cross-examined any witness in the 2G case trial, is likely to open his defence next week by questioning his former additional private secretary Aseervatham Achary, a prosecution witness, sources said.
US-based technology major IBM is contesting a claim of the revenue department which has increased the company's taxable income substantially to around Rs 11,000 crore (Rs 110 billion).
The Department of Telecommunications' restriction on this service flies in the face of both policy precedents and market logic.
In May, Trai had gave its recommendations on a 'Spectrum Management and Licencing Framework', in which it had said that consequent to the merger of licences in a service area, the total spectrum held by the resultant entity post-merger shall not exceed 12.4 MHz for GSM technology, or 10 MHz in case of CDMA technology.
It also issued notice to the Centre and the IT department on Vodafone's plea.
The books of these companies had come under a cloud after it was alleged that many of them had not been paying the goverment's share of revenue by showing the revenue earned under other categories. Under a suggestion of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, a special audit of all the integrated telecom companies will be undertaken once in 3-5 years.
Some 74 applications for these licences for mobile services are pending with the Department of Telecom.
To speed up the vacation of additional 2G and 3G telecom spectrum, the government will likely make a Rs 5,000-crore (Rs 50 billion) provision in the Budget for an alternative network for defence services. The spectrum released in lieu of that would increase the availability for civilian use.
It is believed that apart from Bharti Airtel and Bharti Infratel, there are four players that have made a bid.
Telecom Minister A Raja said on Wednesday that the government is considering number portability in the mobile sector.
The fast growing telecom sector is set to witness another round of mergers and acquisitions with the DoT recommending against lock-in of promoters equity, saying this would only hamper growth and competition.
The Cabinet is believed to have asked the Department of Telecom to examine imposing a Swachch Bharat cess on spectrum charges paid annually by service providers.
Denial of interconnection "appears to be with ulterior motive to stifle competition and is anti consumer", Trai said.
The power infrastructure and the farm sector have also suffered a considerable damage, Chief Secretary A K Tripathy said. However officials said the telecom infrastructure is largely intact.
In order to popularise the social security schemes for the unorganised sector, a Committee on Tuesday suggested PFRDA access the postal department's network and enter into tie ups with mobile phone operators who have vast reach.
India's stand is important against the backdrop of US FCC's decision to roll back its net neutrality rules adopted in 2015
You telephone bills will become cheaper if the finance minister P Chidambaram heeds to the telecom operators' demand for a reduction in levies.
The government may relax the Telecom Engineering Centre's recently finalised spectrum allocation criterion, the minimum subscriber limits that entitle mobile service operators to additional spectrum, radio frequencies that enable mobile communications.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has proposed to simplify the country's telecom landscape. It has suggested one tariff for each licence holder across the country, all-India mobile number portability and doing away with roaming charges.
Recommendations may encourage consolidation.
