With a major network rollout on the cards, the government is not keen to change the pattern of tower monetisation for Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), officials at the state-owned telecom-service provider said. The monetisation target in the telecom sector had to be revised owing to a change in BSNL's approach to mobile-phone tower monetisation, which had shifted from a sale-based model to a lease-based one.
The government is considering the option of handing over operations of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) to BSNL through an agreement, instead of pursuing a merger route, a source privy to the development said. A final call on this is likely to be taken in a month's time. The source said the option of handing over debt-laden MTNL's operations to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) through an agreement is being looked into.
Of the total proposed allocation, over Rs 1 lakh crore is meant for BSNL and MTNL-related expenses, including Rs 82,916 crore infusion in BSNL for technology upgradation and restructuring at BSNL.
Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited slashes local and STD roaming tariffs, abolishes monthly rental for roaming for Delhi subscribers.
Stocks of government probables for divestment or stake sale such as Steel Authority of India (SAIL), Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL), National Aluminium Company (Nalco) and Container Corporation (Concor) have outperformed the markets in the past one year.
An apex committee under DoT Secretary R Chandraskehar has been set up to oversee the required policy decisions and institutional framework for an alliance between the two public sector undertakings which have been incurring losses.
Market concentration in the country's telecom sector continues to scale new heights despite government bailouts of public-sector Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), and private-sector Vodafone Idea. The combined revenue (or net sales) share of the country's top two telecom operators - Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio - in the sector's total reached an all-time high of nearly 72 per cent in FY23 from 70.4 per cent in FY22 and around 60 per cent in FY20. The net sales of Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel India were Rs 1.67 trillion in FY23, up 18.6 per cent from the Rs 1.4 trillion a year earlier.
Other members of the search panel are secretary (personnel) Shantanu Consul, telecom secretary P J Thomas, IIT Chennai professor Ashok Jhunjhunwala, IIM Ahmedabad professor Samir Baruha and IISC Bangalore professor N Balakrishnan.
During financial year 2011-12, MTNL was able to use only 14.66 per cent of the Budget estimate, while BSNL reported a better performance, according to a report by the standing committee on information technology.
Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), the two big state-controlled telecom companies, have written to the government asking that it bear the entire cost of the additional spectrum assigned to the two giants.
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) have sent separate letters to the department of telecommunications (DoT), asking the government to bear the entire burden of nearly Rs 11,000 crore they need to fork out as one-time payment for additional spectrum.
The proposal gains significance because the merger plan was given a quiet burial under former telecom minister A Raja.
'Their action in asking for blocking of entire websites is a mis-representation of a judicial order to cause indiscriminate blocking of these web-services throughout the country.'
Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd has increased pulse duration for its landline to landline local calls in Mumbai.
The service has been launched in partnership with transmission solutions firm Sterlite Technologies.
Govt to bear Rs 12k-cr cost of spectrum retention but without any cash outgo put up for Cabinet nod.
The circumstances under which United Carbide Chief Warren Anderson suddenly fled the country after he arrived in the aftermath of Bhopal Gas Tragedy will continue to remain in mystery with the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited, which could also have thrown some light, unable to provide phone call details.
A deputy general manager for Global System for Mobile Communications services and assistant general manager (sales) of MTNL, Mumbai, had allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy with nine distributors of MTNL subscriber identity module (SIM) cards and helped them in extracting commission from the company on the basis of fake customer forms.
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd has started talks on synergising operations with Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd, which offers telecom services in Delhi and Mumbai.
If candidates from the private sector are selected, this will be the first time that these telecom PSUs are headed by chiefs from the private sector.
The department of telecommunications has agreed to set up a search committee to look for new chairmen and managing directors for both, as suggested by the Sam Pitroda-led committee on the organsiation's revamp.
A decision on the merger will take some time as there are procedural problems with MTNL being a listed entity and BSNL non-listed.
BSNL has been among the top three net losers in terms of subscribers. MTNL, which operates in only the Delhi and Mumbai circles, has lost, too.
The prime minister's directive comes in the wake of telecom minister A Raja seeking his intervention for early resolution of BSNL's tender controversy.
This move comes after the appointment of the company's new chairman and managing director Kuldip Singh.
The telecom PSU plans to get back in black in two years; BSNL too has started discussions to lease out its towers.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has rejected a proposal by Communications Minister A Raja for refund of the Rs 29,598 crore paid by state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited for third generation (3G) and broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum.
The top three fixed line players Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited and Bharti Airtel reported a revenue decline.
Upon discovery of the price for 3G and Broadband Wireless Access spectrum, BSNL and MTNL recently paid Rs 18,500.38 crore (Rs 185 billion) and Rs 11,097.97 crore (Rs 110.97 billion), respectively, to the government.
Three US nationals are expected to give their testimony in the 26/11 terror attack case through videoconferencing while two Federal Bureau of Investigation officers are likely to appear in person before the special court in Mumbai on Wednesday.
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.
According to a senior company official, BSNL is in the process of appointing recovery agents on a commission basis to bring back the money.
While the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has approved the access of TV on mobiles, service providers still cannot stream live TV channels on to the handset due to spectrum allocation from the Ministry of Information and Broadcast. However, since the regulations do not allow a direct transmission of TV channels, service providers as well as content providers have started using a technology called Unicast which provides content to end-user on a one-on-one basis.
Until March 2009, MTNL had Rs 11,429.37 crore of reserves and zero debt in its books. In three years a lot changed. At the end of 2011-12, the debt stood at Rs 9,647.49 crore and the reserves had dwindled to Rs 1,906.70 crore, after it paid Rs 11,000 spectrum fee.
Even in the protected world of India's sick public sector units, it takes a special kind of government company to lose Rs 8 crore (Rs 80 million) a day, while earning just Rs 10 crore (Rs 100 million) as revenue - and that in the booming field of telecommunications.
One tenth mobile subscribers in India own multiple mobile phone connections, says a report.
A consortium led by Delhi-based Vavasi group has sent feelers to China Mobile, the world's largest telecom company, for a possible joint bid for Zain Telecom, adding another element of complexity to the battle for the Kuwait-based company that involves India's two state-owned telecom service providers.
The scheme will be offered to 15,000 employees, or one-third of the workforce, in the current financial year.
The PSU is planning to convert Rs 3,000 crore (Rs 30-billion) loan into long term debt.
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.
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