... with a maximum speed of 200 megabits per second (mbps) across the country for Rs 3,000 per month.
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.
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.
Leh District Magistrate Santosh Sukhadeve posted this photo on his X account thanking the Indian Army's Fire and Fury Corps for successfully destroying 175 landmines in the villages of Phobrang, Yourgo and Lukung in Leh on Thursday, October 12, 2023.
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.
If the fiscal deficit target of 4.9% of GDP has to be met for 2024-2025, which the government must in view of the uncertainties and challenges emerging both domestically and globally, the finance ministry may see in the composition of the current year's capex a sliver of hope, notes A K Bhattacharya.
'... there are challenges to overcome and the country needs money for that.'
Launched in March, it triggers re-verification of suspected fraudulent numbers. Failing re-verification, the number will be disconnected.
Tata Consultancy Services-led consortium has bagged a Rs 15,000-crore contract from BSNL to deploy 4G network for the state-run telco. In a statement, TCS said it has received an "advance purchase order" valued over Rs 15,000 crore from BSNL.
Apart from that, as part of efforts to provide assurance to 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel and relieve their stress, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited has stepped in to provide them with a landline through which they can talk to their families.
Stocks of public sector undertakings (PSUs) have been on fire in the past year as investors cheered an improvement in key operating metrics and embraced counters of these state-owned enterprises, analysts suggest. The S&P BSE PSU Index has gained over 90 per cent in the past year, rising much higher than the S&P BSE Sensex, which has rose nearly 19 per cent during this period, according to ACE Equity data. The BSE PSU Index, reports show, has delivered a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28 per cent (including dividends reinvestments) over five years and risen by almost 60 per cent in the past year.
Telecom service providers (TSPs) have begun to monitor and prevent spam calls since May 1, with the help of an artificial intelligence and machine language-based system acting on the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (Trai) latest directive on the matter, its officials told Business Standard. Touted as the first big technological measure against the growing menace of unsolicited commercial communications, all TSPs have confirmed to Trai that they have rolled out the AI/ML tool. The filter system works on the distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform used by TSPs, and is set to go for incremental updates, rules for which will soon be released, they added.
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.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is set to secure a $2 billion deal from Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) to roll out its 4G and 5G services across the country. However, the final approvals from the publicly-owned telco may take a couple of months, sources in the know said. As part of the deal, TCS will develop 4G core and Radio Access Network (RAN) technology for BSNL's telecom services.
The government believes the listing especially of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited would help improve the company's image and promote its growth. BSNL sources said there will not be any fresh equity, but only offloading by the government. The company will not get any proceeds from the IPO.
Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd has entered into a collaboration with software giant Microsoft to launch ReadyAccess Business Messaging and Collaboration services for small and medium enterprise segment.
For national long distance calling, the government had proposed 'One-India' in a bid to create uniform call rate across the country and for this it had invited four telecom players.
Reliance Infocomm has offered 83 paise per minute across five sectors, including the United States and Canada.
India's largest telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam's dependence on routing its international long distance traffic through private players like Reliance, Videsh Sanchar Nigam
BSNL has warned that the fixed line telephone charges would go up considerably in case TRAI reduces the access deficit charge.n
Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd may have to take a hit of upto Rs 80 crore (Rs 800 million), with the Tatas-owned company losing a substantial ISD traffic originating from telecom PSU Bharat Sanchar Nigam to Reliance Infocomm.
Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd is opting for new business models including Internet Protocol based Virtual Private Network, Microprotocol Label Switching services.
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd will soon start negotiations with the Tata-controlled Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd to match the rates offered by other ILD operators like Data Access for routing its traffic.
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd has signed an agreement with Tatas-controlled Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd to use the latter's network for offering its international long distance services, a top BSNL official said on Thursday.
State-owned telecom monoliths, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd on Tuesday signed a pact to ensure seamless roaming between their networks to help their cellular subscribers have smooth mobility and connectivity.
The government told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday that Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited would not be privatised in the near future.\n\n\n\n
The government said on Wednesday that it would consider on commercial ground the request from Ratan Tata to route international long distance traffic of state owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd through Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd.
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