GSM mobile service providers are opposing an 11-digit mobile numbering proposal on grounds that it would inconvenience the country's 390 million subscribers. They are also seeking to end the exclusive two-digit operator code provided to three service providers.
The report on RCom would now be examined by a four-member committee of department of telecommunication, headed by member finance, sources said. The content of reports, howeever, were not divulged.
With hopes of raising funds through an initial public offer (IPO) or selling a stake to a strategic investor fading due to stiff opposition from the unions, the government is working on a proposal for a private placement of shares for Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), India's fifth-largest telecom company,
An attempt is to be made over the next month to get over the opposition of staff unions to the Pitroda Committee recommendations on the revamp of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), the state telecom network outside Mumbai and Delhi.
The move would allow mobile operators with relatively less number of subscribers to share spectrum with other players.
It is pertinent to mention that the ministry of defence had agreed to vacate the spectrum only during middle of this year.
The decision had been communicated to the department of telecommunications, a senior official of the department told Business Standard.
A bitter battle between the finance ministry and the Department of Telecommunications over their jurisdiction might force the latter to withdraw its decision to waive licence fees for fixed-line service operators in rural areas.
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.
Further, pan-India readiness is required for the proper implementation of call routing, according to the service providers who had met DoT officials recently. The operators also mentioned that due to delay in completion of various activities, it would be difficult to meet the timelines for MNP implementation.
In a definite signal that mobile phone service providers are not going to lose their licences even after the scheduled end of their validity, the Department of Telecommunications has asked the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to recommend terms and conditions for extending the licence periods forever.
Fresh trouble seems to be brewing between the defence ministry and the Department of Telecommunications over spectrum and this could put a question mark on the launch of third generation telephony services in the country by March next year.
DoT prepared an internal note last week also suggesting an alternate payment structure for winning bidders who do not get spectrum immediately.
The DoT is acting as a liaison between telecom companies and the CAG for an audit by the latter.
Even the CBI has filed a case against some unknown officials of the DoT for conniving with private companies for manipulation of licence terms and conditions.
Earlier this month, the department of telecommunication had said that MNP that will allow users to switch providers without changing their phone number was likely to be launched by June 30, 2010.
The move to disinvest the public sector Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd has united all central trade unions once again and they have called an indefinite agitation from April 19 against the move.
The DoT is conducting a special audit on companies that have multiple licences -- mobile, international long distance, domestic long distance and internet service provider among others. Contractor, Nayak & Kishnadwala has been appointed to examine the books of Bharti Airtel, while S K Mehta & Co will check Vodafone-Essar's accounts. Varma & Varma has been appointed as auditors for Tata Teleservices, while Chhajed & Doshi will examine the books of Idea Cellular.
Bharti Airtel will launch the 3G services by the year-end.
The Delhi high court on Wednesday questioned actress-environmentalist Juhi Chawla for directly filing a suit against the setting up of 5G wireless networks in the country without giving any representation to the government on her concerns related to the technology.
A decision on this issue is important because new operators would shy away from bidding for a standalone 3G licence if they are made to wait for years to get the UAS licence even though they have won bids for 3G. That would make the 3G project unviable from the very beginning.
India's controversial 3G auction has attracted the attention from some very unusual quarters.
Quattro is the first BPO to have secured permission for this model from DoT. "This is a provisional permission. Once the company is able to meet all our security concerns, we will grant them a license," confirmed a senior DoT official on condition of anonymity.
In April, DoT introduced a graded penalty system under which operators pay Rs 50,000 per subscriber if more than 20 per cent of their user base is without valid identity documents.
Four leading telecom multi-national companies - AT&T, BT, MCI Worldcom and Equant - may face penal action in India for providing long distance services without having a licence that may have caused revenue loss to the government.
In the wake of a threat to national security, the Intelligence Bureau has asked the Department of Telecommunication to block all internet telephony services until a system is put in place to track such calls.
The department of telecommunication has decided that the existing variable licence fee structure for telecom operators should be replaced with a uniform one. An departmental note suggests a uniform licence fee of 8.5 per cent for all types of services.
This could be a setback to the Home Ministry's plans to secure the country against any misuse of its vast telecommunication network by terrorists.
DoT will call operators offering such services within a few days to discuss the issue and make it clear that they may not be left with any option but direct stopping of the services.
Tharoor put the blame for the logjam in Parliament on BJP and accused the saffron party of reducing the "temple of democracy to a rubber stamp for its agenda or worse, a notice board to announce its unilateral decisions".
According to sources, various players specialising in e-auction like Deloitte, Metal Junction (it specialises in e-auctions for steel manufacturers and allied industries), Spiderboon Internet Service Pvt Ltd (an e-auction and e-tender service provider), N M Rothschild and Sons (investment banking and advisory firm) were represented.
Besides non-executive employees, over 10,000 engineers are also on an indefinite strike from Tuesday seeking absorption of officers on deputation from the department of telecommunication.
A delay would also result in a loss of opportunity to add at least 10 million broadband customers per year, which would have helped increase broadband penetration. India had a total of 5.65 million broadband connections as on January 31, 2009, way below the 9-million subscriber target set by the DoT for 2007. The meagre growth -- the country is adding around 1 million subscribers per annum -- will make it difficult to meet the government's target of 20 million users by 2010.
Trai has asked the department of telecommunication to 'keep in abeyance' the grant of new 2G (mobile) licences till the watchdog finalises its recommendations.
The report has revealed that BSNL, which contributed around 98 per cent to the financial irregularities, failed to pay a government loan amounting to Rs 7,500 crore (Rs 75 billion) in spite of having adequate cash reserves in short-term deposits with other banks during the year 2005-06 and 2006-07.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is likely to reject the telecom regulator's proposal to charge operators holding excess spectrum at a rate determined on the basis of the ongoing 3G bids.
Department of telecommunication and intelligence agencies have long been demanding access to data on Blackberry phones, which is available only to the owners of the handset. RIM executives had met senior DoT officials recently.
The inter-ministerial battle over spectrum for 3G telecom services has intensified, with the department of telecommunications (DoT) rejecting a claim by the ministry of defence (MoD) that it has not accounted for 10 MHz of spectrum given to DoT at the end of October in the information memorandum (IM). This document provides potential private bidders with details on the auction process slated for January 14, 2010.
A senior department of telecommunication official said the estimated figure for 2009-10 is Rs 10,000 crore and the actual figures could be a little higher.
The BSNL board had last year approved a plan under which the government would divest 10 per cent of its shares to the public. But opposition from the unions backed by the Left parties -- which supported the United Progressive Alliance in the last Parliament -- had stalled the process. That opposition has abated, now that the Left is no longer a factor in the current ruling alliance.
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