The department of telecom is currently looking into guidelines relating to spectrum allocation and other financial criteria like net worth of the applicant for the purpose of awarding new licences.
The government is expecting Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 200 billion) from the second round of spectrum auction later this fiscal,
Tensions between private telecom players and the government ratcheted up a notch after it was discovered that state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd was given additional spectrum of up to 10 MHz for GSM technology services in over 16 circles even as private competitors have been waiting to be allotted spectrum by the Department of Telecommunications since December 2006.
The government struck a cordial note with the GSM mobile lobby by agreeing on the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (Trai's) norms for spectrum allocation, a move described by rival CDMA player Reliance Communications (RCom) as "succumbing to pressure".
Telecom operators continued to place bids for 800 MHz and 1800 MHz bands.
Addressing a pre-bid conference for auctioning 3G and BWA spectrum, telecom commission member (finance) R Ashok said, "Successful 3G bidders will be eligible for getting 2G spectrum." The auction for the allocation of third-generation radio waves is due next month. But there was confusion whether 3G players would be eligible to get 2G spectrum.
To revive the two state-run telecom operators, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), the government is likely to waive the one-time fee these telcos need to pay for retaining additional spectrum.
The battle for spectrum has now spread among the key members of the committee that was set up by the Department of Telecom (DoT) to suggest new subscriber norms for allocation of additional spectrum.
A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta took note of the submissions of lawyer Prashant Bhushan, appearing for NGOs 'Common Cause' and the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, that the plea needed to be listed for hearing at the earliest.
Commenting on the development, Rajiv Mehrotra, Chairman of Shyam Group, told PTI: "We are delighted that the government has opened up the way for new telecom players to operate telecom services as soon as possible and this is a major step towards offering cost-effective mobile services." Russian conglomerate has already announced up to $5 billion (Rs 20,000 crore) investment in the Indian telecom sector.
A meeting of United Progressive Alliance allies scheduled for Monday night, in the wake of persisting Opposition demand for a joint parliamentary committee into 2G spectrum allocation, was postponed at the last moment. The meeting convened by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is now expected to be held in a day or two. It had to be postponed as a number of leaders of allies were not in Delhi. The issue has paralysed Parliament.
The government may earn about Rs 50,000 crore (Rs 500 billion) from the new telecom spectrum policy, which seeks to delink licences from spectrum, if it decides to fix the price based on the figure discovered through last year's 3G auction.
According to senior officials in the department of telecommunication 20 Mhz of spectrum has been given to the four firms -- Infotel, Bharti, Aircel and Tikona Digital, which have licences to offer services.
After poor response to last month's 2G spectrum sale, a ministerial panel on telecom on Friday decided to lower the base price by 30 per cent for radiowaves in 1800 Mhz band in four circles, which attracted no bidders, for fresh auction this fiscal.
The ministry wanted to use spectrum in the 700-MHz band for mobile TV services.
As Election 2024 hurtles towards result day in a medley of mangalsutra, mujra, mutton, machli and other barbs, these may sound like character names from Hindi comics of yore. Instead, these are the mocking, sometimes vicious monikers given by political rivals to each other.
Winners of recently held 2G spectrum auction will have to make payment, either in full or at least 33 per cent of the due amount, by December 1, the Department of Telecom said on Thursday.
The government has raised over Rs 38,300 crore (Rs 383 billion) from the 16-day long auction for Broadband Wireless Access spectrum, which closed on Friday.
Multiple disputes to ensue; auction begins today, but will do little to quell uncertainty.
'In life insurance, it is about creating distribution capacity and solutions for customers. We are constantly working on that.'
Some 74 applications for these licences for mobile services are pending with the Department of Telecom.
Imagine if the sale of telecom spectrum resulted in a cash payment directly into the hand of every Indian citizen. Absurd? Well, there is a place where petroleum reserves were treated as a 'commons' and their sale now earns every local resident an annual revenue.
The triennial exercise will take place for two hours and fifteen minutes during the day, dusk and night, he said.
The government has accepted Telecom Engineering Centre's report that has suggested tough norms for spectrum allocation to GSM operators, a move that may make it difficult for players like Airtel, Vodafone and Idea to get additional frequency.
Decks were cleared on Wednesday for launching 3G mobile and broadband services in the country, with the government allocating air waves to private operators after making certain amends to the licence terms.
Demand for 1,800-MHz weak but govt secures a combined Rs 42k cr on Day-1
Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Airtel acquired the African business of Kuwait-based Zain in a $10.7-billion deal, which was completed in June.
Collectively, these companies spent Rs 628 crore (Rs 6.28 billion) on political contributions in the past five years, according to their annual reports.
The telecom spectrum auction entered the 33rd round of bidding today after starting off from the Rs 52,689 crore (Rs 526. 89 billion) mark this morning.
Led by Ola Electric, which registered an industry record of 53,186 vehicles in March, electric two-wheeler (e2W) penetration hit a record at 8.91 per cent - the highest ever for a month (based on Vahan data).
Parliament failed to function for the fifth consecutive day on Thursday with the Opposition insisting on a joint parliamentary committee probe into 2G spectrum allocation and Congress and Janata Dal Secular hitting back, alleging land scams involving the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in Karnataka. Rajya Sabha adjourned almost immediately after it met for the day with Opposition members creating an uproar, while Lok Sabha was first adjourned till noon.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is understood to have taken a decision to recommend auction of spectrum for the launch of next generation (3G) mobile services.
a scarce resource. By some estimates, spectrum worth Rs 7,690 crore (Rs 76.90 billion) has been given away for ''free'' for mobile licences.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has recommended up 62 per cent reduction in base price of premium 2G spectrum and up to 37 per cent in case of radiowaves freed from the cancellation of 122 licences, compared to the amount fixed for previous auction.
'Which is growing fast and where we are very strongly positioned.'
About Rs 52,500 crore (Rs 525 billion) has been offered as of the fourth day of the ongoing wireless spectrum auction on Thursday, with metros like Delhi seeing renewed demand for airwaves.
Some have been cherry-picked to assert the BJP's supremacy over its allies or, significantly, its leaders who charted an independent course in the recent past.
National flags should not be "messed with", British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Friday, after Nike's decision to use an altered design of the St George's Cross on England's soccer shirts angered some fans.
Reliance Infotel to be the biggest beneficiary.
Foreign companies, except those already present in India, have stayed away from the auction of third-generation mobile spectrum, or 3G, though two new ones are keen on broadband wireless access.Not one new foreign company has applied for 3G. The last day for showing interest in bidding for 3G and BWA spectrum drew to a close on Friday.
