It will help in reducing the turnaround time.
Trai has said the three operators were "intentionally denying and delaying" the provision of points of interconnects (PoIs) to Jio, "only to restrict a new entrant thus violating the terms and conditions of licence and regulations of the Authority which also caused a lot of inconvenience to the consumers."
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 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.
Given how the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (Trai's) recommendations on 2G spectrum will hit telecom firms, it's not surprising that telecom stocks have plunged. Of course, the fun and games have only begun since it is up to Telecom Minister A Raja to decide whether to accept the recommendations, which ones to accept, and when to accept.
The Indian regulatory framework forced Citi to hibernate -- contrary to the claim that it never sleeps!
Amidst the controversial sale of stake by two new telecom operators, Swan and Unitech, at a huge premium, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Thursday recommended a three-year lock-in period for stake sale by companies, which have recently got licences, in a bid to prevent them from making windfall gains overnight.
Bharti will have to deal with 15 different regulatory regimes in Africa as opposed to just one in India.
Mobile television allows the consumers to watch live as well as pre-recorded television content on a mobile handset using a specialised mobile television broadcasting technology. Currently, only video clips can be downloaded on mobile handsets.
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.
Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) CEO Ravinder Takkar did some plain speaking. In an analyst call after its quarterly results recently, Takkar said that the main stumbling block to raising fresh capital from investors is "pricing" - telecom tariffs, in other words. Nine months ago, the telecom company's board had cleared a proposal for raising Rs 25,000 crore from investors, after the promoters made it clear that they were not ready to pump in more money. But potential investors are concerned that without clarity on tariff hikes (there have been none for more than 18 months) they might just lose their money. The lack of visibility on raising tariffs has also impelled VIL to request the Department of Telecom (DoT) for a fresh reprieve by extending the two-year moratorium on paying its spectrum instalment of Rs 8,200 crore for another year till FY23.
Responding to queries from the Central Vigilance Commission amid allegations from political parties that Rs 50,000 crore (Rs 500 billion) was squandered in distribution of spectrum, telecom ministry said it had gone by the book and had done nothing wrong.
The department of telecommunication has so far considered applications for telecom licences that were received till September 25, 2007, and is yet to take a decision on those that came between September 25 and October 1. This had led to widespread speculation that the applications after September 26 would not be taken up at all and there would be a cap in that sense.
Dubai-headquartered Baer Capital Partners is planning to launch 2 India-centric hedge funds this year. The two funds - Beacon India Opportunities Fund with a corpus of $400 million and the $100 million Beacon India Growth Fund - will invest in listed companies. It is also planning an exclusive $100 million FMCG fund. These funds will invest across sectors including IT, pharma, FMCG, banks and auto. It has got approval from Sebi. These funds will not involve momentum trading.
A group of officials from the National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank ) are in India to meet officials from the finance ministry, Reserve Bank and market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India to discuss regulatory matters related to the deal.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is recommending the cancellation of sports broadcaster ESPN STAR Sports' downlinking licence for non-compliance with the DTH platform's pricing formula.TRAI's proposed action follows its direction and a show cause notice to ESPN Software India in the last two months asking it to fall in line with its DTH pricing formula.
Cable TV operators can register under the Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act, 1995, to provide Internet Protocol Television services without requiring any licence, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has said. In its recommendations, TRAI has also said that the IPTV operators are required to register as cable operators to provide services in the country.
"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.
Ask for file notings on dual spectrum, new licence issues.
The department of telecom (DoT) on Friday announced a set of rules for granting telecom licences and allocating spectrum that is likely to impact GSM-technology service providers like Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar, among others.
Bharti Airtel, the country's largest mobile operator, has already joined the global Seamless Alliance to provide in-flight connectivity.
The policy proposes a single-window platform for facilitation of the Indian software product industry, to help fast-track legal and regulatory issues over import and export, as well as setting up and winding up enterprises.
Analysts at rating agency ICRA say the debt level of the telecom companies is very high and the ecosystem for the premium band is not in place.
State-owned Mahangar Telephone Nigam's (MTNL) ambitious drive to become a major player in the internet protocol TV (IPTV) services sector is facing a roadblock. IPTV is a technology that uses telephone lines to provide TV programming to viewers.
They should keep themselves out of the race for the time being and wait for a better time, suggests a recent report by research firm Strategy Analytics. Foreign operators like AT&T, Deutsche Telecom, NTT Docomo and others who have been eyeing the domestic market for a long time now finally got a chance to enter world's fastest growing telecom market but looking at the current 3G auction policy, it is advisable for them not to participate in the race, it said.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (Trai) decision to stop issuing new licences for district-level operators or category 'C' players has effectively shut the door on smaller Internet service providers (ISPs) interested in setting up shop. Those who have moved on to category 'B' or state-level operations, too, are feeling the heat as they have to compete with the likes of Reliance, Bharti Airtel, BSNL, VSNL and Sify.
After the quality of service regulations for cable operators in CAS-notified areas, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has recommended a slew of service obligations for Direct-To-Home operators.
Indian entrepreneurs who made global acquisitions are bullish since they've achieved margin expansions which were even higher than what they'd originally anticipated, and global managements have accepted Indian shareholders very well.
Rahul Khullar's guiding credo was that a civil servant must never lose sight of his client: The little guy. The evil men are those who are decision-makers but abdicate their responsibility of taking decisions, leading people to lose confidence in public institutions.
In a strong pitch for limiting cut-throat competition, GSM operators have urged the government to limit the number of telecom operators per circle.
Bogged down by regulatory issues and lack of earning opportunities in smaller towns, the 30-odd private FM radio companies may not participate in the third-phase expansion of private FM radio mooted by the government. In the third phase, government will issue licences for 680 FM radio stations across 237 cities in the country, mostly very small towns like Achalpur, Bettiah and Churu.
Around four months ago, GoAir had returned two aircraft to lessors as a part of its "dynamic fleet strategy" that involved inducting more aircraft in the peak season and letting go in the lean season.
Whether this happens because DGCA actually cares about the future of the national carrier or for other motives is not clear.
The Reserve Bank said overseas investors, including FPIs and NRIs, can invest up to 26 per cent in insurance and allied activities through the automatic route.
Uber and Ola continued to operate in New Delhi while their licence applications were pending approval.
Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Capital Ltd is all set to start life insurance business with regulator IRDA approving the acquisition of Chennai-based AMP Sanmar Life Insurance Ltd.
'Tinkering will not do. Merely staggering spectrum dues comes nowhere near solving the problem,' cautions Rahul Khullar.
'With over 50 per cent of medical seats reserved for those who have the ability to pay a fee ranging from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore for a five-year MBBS course and quotas in accordance with affirmative policies in government colleges, the band of seats available for the not-so-rich and non-OBCs is very narrow.'
