Rival operators' lobby to approach Delhi High Court.
The second largest telecom operator said auction would avoid possible legal disputes and pave the way for licence extensions.
The government has announced starting auction in March for 2G spectrum that remained unsold in November auction.
Key operators of GSM mobile services are working on a counter-proposal on spectrum allocation that would include accepting a 25 per cent increase, at the most, in minimum subscriber numbers for operators to qualify for additional access to the radio frequencies that enable mobile communications.
The multi-mission communication satellite, also known as PAKSAT MM1, was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China's southwestern province of Sichuan, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Etisalat DB Telecom chief executive officer Atul Jham was also questioned by the panel headed by senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi.
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.
Reliance Communications chairman Anil Ambani has proposed that the government should make it mandatory for telecom service providers to surrender additional spectrum that they are not utilising. Putting his proposal into practice, Ambani has also conveyed his willingness to surrender the extra 1.8 MHz spectrum that his group has in the Bihar circle.
Bharti Airtel said on Wednesday the government has alloted additional spectrum to the company in five telecom circles in the country. The five circles are West Bengal, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh (west), Assam and Haryana.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has mooted a proposal under which operators will pay a one-time fee for all spectrum allotments beyond 6.2 MHz.
In a strategic climb-down, key members of the Cellular Operators Association of India have come to a consensus that they are willing to go for open auction of spectrum for second-generation services beyond 10 MHz.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India favoured on Monday auctioning spectrum for third generation mobile services to firms which already provide second generation services, a development that could be a setback to new players who wish to offer only the advanced telephony system. The regulator also said entry fees for new mobile licensees in all the circles should be raised as there is good growth potential in the telecom sector.
Bharti Airtel is the largest mobile phone operator in the country.
'Our border guarding forces have also been instructed to be exceptionally alert in view of this complex situation.'
Telecom Ministry has confirmed that more spectrum will be allotted to telecom players as soon as Defence ministry releases this additional spectrum.
Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea will roll out revised mobile service tariffs increasing rates in the range of 10-24 per cent from the first week of July. Bharti Airtel announced a 10-21 per cent hike in prepaid and postpaid mobile tariffs from July 3, a day after larger rival Reliance Jio announced an increase in rates. Later in the day, loss-making telecom operator Vodafone Idea (Vi) also announced its plan to raise mobile tariffs by 11-24 per cent from July 4.
Harrish M Bhatia, chief executive of 94.3 MY FM, the station under the Dainik Bhaskar group, tells Gaurav Laghate regional markets hold great potential.
The Cellular Operators Association of India, industry body representing GSM operators, had argued that TTSL's spectrum was allotted through the same press release issued on January 10, 2008, which led to the cancellation of 122 licences.
Chidambaram's comments come in the backdrop of lukewarm response to the 2G spectrum auction which could fetch the government only Rs 9,407 crore (Rs 94.07 billion) as against the target of Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion).
DoT opposes the auction of 2G spectrum as anti-consumer and warns PMO that such a move can result in monopolising of mobile services in India.
As per TRAI norms, Vodafone and Airtel are close to getting added spectrums, given their growing subscriber rates.
Previous experiments with auctions ended up disastrously and some of these regimes then had to be modified.
The biggest players in the country's telecom industry had all managed to secure more than their authorized share of spectrum and would have to pay for it, has been in the public domain for some time now.
The government will get an additional revenue of 20 per cent from the auction of the 1,800 MHz and 900 MHz bands of spectrum, based on the Telecom Commission's recommendations, compared with those of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).
In return, BSNL should be allotted 1.2 MHz in the 1800-MHz band in each circle, subject to some conditions.
In these two cities, TTSL has 5 MHz of spectrum but will surrender only 1.25 MHzy. Company executives say 3.75 MHz in these two high data usage markets will be adequate to ensure services like Tata Photon Max, the bulk of whose revenues come from these two cities, are not impacted.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Friday came out with a revised subscriber-linked policy for spectrum allocation to GSM operators, which is in line with the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday hit out at Opposition parties for stalling the proceedings of Parliament, after their demand for a probe by the Joint Parliamentary Committee into the spectrum scandal was not accepted by the government.Reacting to a question on whether Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would make a statement on the resignation of Telecom Minister A Raja over the 2G spectrum scam, Pranab lost his cool.
In a letter sent to DoT last week, a senior ministry official said the Rs 1,650 crore did not reflect the current value of spectrum, the radio waves that enable wireless communications.
Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular have demanded allocation of a part of CDMA spectrum in 800 Mhz band for GSM services.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B ministry) may launch its review of the government's plan to potentially reserve the crucial C-band of radio frequencies for 5G and 6G telecommunication (telecom) use, said officials. While the incumbent broadcasting operators have warned that the plan will leave "precious little spectrum" for broadcasting services, telecom service providers (TSPs) have pressed hard for getting access to the C-band. In multiple letters to the I&B ministry over the past month, the News Broadcasters & Digital Association (NBDA) has said the industry would be left with precious little spectrum for broadcasting services if the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) further allocates the scant C-band for 5G.
The auction is the biggest ever sale of 2G and 3G airwaves.
The auction will continue on Tuesday as there is still some spectrum left.
The auction will continue on Monday.
As a uniquely multi-hyphenated writer-director-lyricist-author, Gulzar has built a reputation across multiple spheres of film-making and literary creative endeavours. Dinesh Raheja salutes the Master who turns 90 on Sunday.
The auction will help operators augment expansion of high-speed 4G voice and data services in the world's second largest mobile phone market.
Norwegian telecom firm Telenor, which won licences to operate in six big states in November, is hoping for a further reduction in the start price for the second round of spectrum auction in March.
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited has got two Mhz of additional spectrum from Department of Telecom to support its growing mobile subscriber base in the country.
The spectrum auction has already generated record amount.
