Department of Telecom had sought the legal opinion of the matter from the government's counsel.
Government's resolution on the contentious issue of spectrum usage fee seems to have found favour with telecom operators with none of them withdrawing their application from airways auction on the last day on Monday.
The country's largest GSM operator Bharti Airtel on Thursday reported 22.21 per cent growth in net profit at Rs 2,647.95 crore (Rs 26.47 billion) for the June quarter, aided by increase in the number of subscribers, mostly rural, despite reduction in mobile termination charges.
GSM operator Aircel on Wednesday became the seventh telecom operator in Delhi. Gurdeep Singh, chief operating officer, spoke to Business Standard's Ishita Russell on the company's plan to tackle competition in a congested market.
The GSM telecom operators on Monday said that there was no scope for reducing call tariffs further and blamed the telecom regulator for slashing mobile termination charge below cost, but TRAI argued that its prescription was "cost based."
The Department of Telecommunications' Wireless Planning and Coordination arm has moved a note to issue start-up spectrum of 4.4 MHz to four leading service providers offering GSM technology, whose applications have been pending from December 2006.
Mobile operators are divided on the consensus reached in the government to increase the base price for 3G auctioning to Rs 4,040 crore. Earlier, the base price for auctioning ranged from as low as Rs 1,020 crore to Rs 2,040 crore.
Reliance Communications hopes roping in Hrithik Roshan will help separate them from the clutter. However, brand consultants and advertising veterans are sceptical.
The operators are willing to accept auction of second generation spectrum beyond what has been contracted. According to them, they are allowed to have spectrum up to 10 Mhz.
About 11.90 million wireless (GSM, CDMA and WLL(F)) subscribers were added in April 2009 as against an addition of 15.64 million during the previous month, taking the total subscriber base to 403.66 million, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India said. The total telecom (wireless and wireline) subscriber base stood at 441.47 million at the end of April 2009 as against 429.72 million in March 2009, it added.
Based on a feedback, the exchange could cap a sector's weight at 25 per cent, or align with the broader market.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has prepared an internal note that suggests reversing spectrum allocation norms by giving new applicants for telecom licences preference in spectrum due to be released by the defence forces early next year.
Private GSM mobile players' lobby Cellular Operators Association of India launched on Wednesday another attack on the government, warning that any proposal to issue Letters of Intent to all prospective licencees will seriously hamper investors' confidence. According to COAI, the entry fee of Rs 1,651 crore (Rs 16.51 billion) for a pan-India licence, as fixed by the department of telecommunication is for spectrum bundled with license.
Communications Minister A Raja met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday and briefed him about the developments in the telecom sector including recent policy decision like introduction of number portability and releasing spectrum for third generation (3G) mobile services. The meeting lasted for about 25 minutes, official sources confirmed but did not give details.
With at least seven more mobile service providers planning to launch operations in the Mumbai circle, following in the footsteps of GSM player Idea Cellular, the market is slated to become the country's most competitive and fierce telecom zone.
TEC, the technical arm of the Department of Telecommunications, is planning to recommend a steep increase in spectrum usage charges for GSM mobile service providers that seek additional spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz and raised the bar on access.
TEC, the technical arm of the Department of Telecommunications, is planning to recommend a steep increase in spectrum usage charges for GSM mobile service providers that seek additional spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz and raised the bar on access.
A Nielsen research states that it's the network quality which is on top of the consumer's mind. The research, carried out in the top 10 Indian cities, says that 42 per cent of Indian subscribers rate network performance as very important for selecting their mobile operator. In fact, with 34 per cent votes, network-driven choice is ahead of price-driven choice.
The 3G and broadband wireless access spectrum auction is running into further controversies with a section of telecom firms opposing the timing of the auction and internet companies planning to move the Prime Minister's Office.Even though Reliance Communications is ready with $1-billion investment for 3G rollout, it intends to focus on GSM rollout at the moment. The company is "receptive to the opinion that the 3G auctions should be held at a later date," a source said.
The Anil Ambani group company is in advanced talks with France Telecom for a branding, marketing and franchisee agreement. The company plans to launch the brand by the second quarter of FY09, according to sources close to the development. Initially, the Orange may be launched on RCom's CDMA network -- spanning across 23,000 towns and 5 lakh villages in India -- and later extended to its 8 GSM circles. The Indian company has a total of 44.5 million subscribers in India.
Despite its run-in with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Mumbai-based GSM telecom service provider Loop Telecom will launch its services in the Tamil Nadu and Orissa circles by next week.
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 Cellular Operators Association of India has suggested that the government, in allocating telecom licence, consider applicants with experience and impose a five-year lock-in period under which promoters cannot sell their equity.
"We always prefer long-term regulatory policies as we have to plan our businesses for long-term," Arun Sarin, the outgoing CEO of UK-based Vodafone Group, one of the world's largest mobile operators, said here.
The economic slowdown may have raised the spectre of job losses in most industries, but telecom is a notable exception. Far from cutting back, telecom companies expect to hire over 16,000 people, 15 to 20 per cent more than last year, to meet the unprecedented expansion in subscriber numbers, according to the Cellular Operators Association of India, the association for GSM service providers.
KKR has committed to investing around Rs 1,000 crore in Bharti Infratel, through KKR's Asia private equity fund and global private equity fund.
The plan available for Rs 99 would allow users to make local calls at Rs 1 for the first minute, 60 paise for the second minute and 40 paise for the third minute onwards. Aircel, a part of Malaysia's Maxis Communication, is India's fifth largest GSM mobile service provider with 17 million users.
Sunil Mittal is seeking subsidies from the Indian government to revive the dying fixed-line phones in the country. The chairman of Bharti Airtel, the leading private sector GSM service provider, has sought the removal of licence fee and service tax that are burdening the sector.
The Delhi high court on Thursday refrained from stopping the spectrum allocation exercise initiated by the government, but said the distribution of frequency depends on the final outcome of the petition filed by GSM operators grouping COAI.
The issue of spectrum allocation has become murkier, with the Association of United Service Providers of India (Auspi) -- the CDMA operators' body -- slamming the move by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to allocate additional spectrum to existing private GSM operators.
Also looks at creating a level-playing field for GSM and CDMA players.
Birla group firm Idea Cellular Ltd and Modis-owned Spice Telecom on Friday dared the government to allocate spectrum to those mobile operators who submitted applications after them.
He said that the telecom ministry is in discussions with finance ministry and GSM operators to work out new charges for additional spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz. The minister also said his ministry is also talking to finance ministry on the issue of relaxing borrowing norms for aspiring 3G spectrum bidders.
In a move that will result in further snowballing of the spectrum issue, British telecom major Vodafone has termed the Reliance Communications' (RCom) allegations "as false and inconsistent with the facts".
Ask for file notings on dual spectrum, new licence issues.
The Cellular Operators Association of India, the lobby of GSM players, has already petitioned telecom tribunal TDSAT challenging the government's decision to alow dual technology for mobile services and also spectrum allocation norms as suggested by the telecom regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
The Ruias and other promoters own a 99.99 per cent stake through various companies in BPL Mobile Communications. They have already toned it down to 82.4 per cent, sources close to the development said. Now, the group is looking at further bringing it down to less than 70 per cent. This will make BPL Mobile Communications a shell company and diminish its values making its shares 'worthless,' says Vodafone.
It is not clear, however, whether the two players are considering a majority stake or would be content as investors with 26 per cent.
The Department of Telecommunications has called a meeting of the heads of all leading telecom companies offering GSM technology services on November 21 to resolve contentious issues that have arisen following recent changes in telecom policy.
Bharti Airtel on Wednesday said introduction of mobile number portability is unlikely to affect the company's margins as it expects a major churn out of subscribers in favour of GSM operators.
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