Ratan Tata: A Life, the much awaited biography, reveals that after a year of 'parallel running', Tata began having second thoughts about Cyrus Mistry's 'suitability'. 'Mistry targeted Ratan, the man who had elevated him from virtual oblivion into the mainstream of the Tatas...'
A primer on the ongoing spectrum auction, its process and how it would impact the companies
'Kiran ma'am, Aamir sir and my lovely audience have given us wings to fly internationally.'
Tech and startup industry bodies have again pushed back against calls by telecom operators to bring over-the-top (OTT) services under a licensing regime similar to telcos, and open them up to taxation. Ahead of public consultations on the issue later this week, the Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), Nasscom and the US India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), among others, have written to the government arguing against such efforts.
The move would allow mobile operators with relatively less number of subscribers to share spectrum with other players.
Artificial scarcity and lack of clarity on available bandwidth blamed for scam.
Fast, furious and fashionable, it's all there on OTT this week. Here's the action-packed menu.
The 5G networks have rolled out in 738 districts across the country, and around 100 million subscribers are using these services, marking one of the fastest fifth-generation rollouts in the world, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. Telecom service providers have also committed a total investment of Rs 2 lakh crore, including a commitment of Rs 1.5 lakh crore for spectrum acquired through auction in July-August 2022, Minister of State for Communications Devusinh Chauhan said in a written reply in Lok Sabha. "As on November 24, 2023, 5G networks have been rolled out in 738 districts across the country and a total of 3,94,298 base stations have been installed with around 100 million subscribers using 5G services," he informed.
De-centralised execution should drive the operational concept and support military strategy, under a unified command architecture. Enablers and technology need to be positioned first for such an activity to be undertaken, recommends Lieutenant General Anil Chait (retd).
US telecom major Qualcomm on Wednesday said the recommendations of TRAI on spectrum allocation for 3G service are fair and forward looking but termed the existing criteria of allocating spectrum linked to subscriber base as "negative approach".
The DoT has set up a committee for the issue of spectrum cap.
Says tradability will ensure greater economic efficiency & higher revenues for the government.
'Unfortunately, most of our students use AI to replace knowledge when they should be using the AI tools to enhance their knowledge.' 'I am sorry to say, even those students who have opted to study AI have no idea what AI is.'
Stung by criticism that some big operators were allegedly hoarding spectrum, a leading telecom firm Vodafone on Monday said it was "ridiculous" to imply the incumbent players were resorting to such a measure.
Telephony and broadband need innovative spectrum management.
Akhilesh's fielding candidates from a broad spectrum of castes, not just Yadavs, and with the BJP losing in several seats in Purvanchal, suggests that smaller OBC communities shifted from the BJP to the SP in the region.
The government has allocated spectrum to Vodafone in all 14 service areas, where the telecom major won in November 2012 auction for Rs 1,127.94 crore (Rs 11,27 billion).
Over the years, India has enjoyed bipartisan support in the US and this asset must be kept intact and nurtured through across the board political and civil society engagement, suggests former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
The Speaker is the final authority to take a call on cases of defection. Although this may not be an immediate concern now, but its occurrence in the future cannot be ruled out considering the volatile nature of politics, points out Rup Narayan Das.
It is more efficient than 2G spectrum but is still not available for use. The introduction of 3G services can only help in improving the use of ICT for commerce and will therefore help the economy grow faster. The argument that 2G is more important than 3G since only the richer strata in urban areas will use 3G services is irrelevant since spectrum is not even an issue in rural areas, whether it is 2G or 3G.
'The top 10 per cent of the population should adopt and handhold the bottom 20 per cent of the population as a social responsibility.'
The recent Indian telecom spectrum auction will hasten industry consolidation, strengthen tariffs and reduce regulatory risks.
Airtel, Vodafone-Essar favour delinking; Reliance, Tata oppose.
'There are ominous portents of an isolationist administration not only building a physical wall to the south to prevent unwanted immigrants from entering the land of milk and honey, but also trade walls not just against China, but all nations,' foresees Sreekant Sambrani.
Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance Jio Infocomm and five other telecom firms will battle it out at the spectrum auction tomorrow, from which the government expects to garner at least Rs 11,300 crore (Rs 113 billion).
The Cabinet last month approved rules for mega-spectrum auction in which airwaves worth Rs 5.66 lakh crore will be put up for sale.
The finance minister's office had sought the Cabinet Secretary's opinion whether Mukherjee should remain part of the EGoM in the wake of his presidential candidature.
He feels that the reserve price set by the government for the 2G spectrum auction was very high.
Accumulated sum Rs 31,500 crore in 2015-16
The telecommunications regulator had recommended last month that the reserve price for spectrum in the 900 megahertz band in some key cities be cut by about 60 percent, and also suggested a 37 percent cut in the reserve price for spectrum in the 1800 megahertz band.
The Department of Telecom has put on block around 385 MHz of radiowaves in the 1800 MHz band, and 46 MHz in the 900 MHz band.
Under the UASL norms, spectrum is linked to licences, and a particular band of radio wave is restricted to be used in a particular technology
Surfing makes its second Olympic appearance at the Paris 2024 Games after a successful debut in Tokyo, with competition being held this time on the French Polynesian island of Tahiti.
"There has to be a transparent mechanism, where equal treatment is meted out to all. the 3G spectrum auction last year has shown that auction of spectrum is the best way forward," Pitroda said.
In a relief for foreign firms giving loans to Indian subsidiaries, tax authorities have said goods and services tax (GST) will not be imposed on them, subject to some caveats. Additional fees, commissions, or related payments - over and above the amount charged as interest - on these loans will attract GST at 18 per cent, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has said.
With an aim to offer more spectrum to wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) networks for faster Internet connectivity to the users, the government is considering proposals to delicense spectrum for two new wireless technology standards 802.11(a) and 802.11(g).
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday called upon the top military brass to analyse the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza as well as the current situation in Bangladesh to "predict" any future problems and stay prepared to deal with the "unexpected".
Apart from other things, this would have put a spanner in the government's Digital India campaign.
The case is likely to come up for hearing on Monday.
