Consumers and businesses can tweet to communications minister Manoj Sinha (@manojsinhabjp) using #DOTSeva, #BSNLSeva, #MTNLSeva, and #PostalSeva.
The Department of Telecommunications has called a meeting of the heads of all leading telecom companies offering GSM technology services on November 21 to resolve contentious issues that have arisen following recent changes in telecom policy.
We asked colleagues, present and past, to reflect on a man who has made such a difference to their lives and careers. Here it is then, a rich collection of memories that offer enchanting glimpses of the enigmatic Ajit Balakrishnan.
Lawyers representing govt point out that telcos, because of the large money they can save if they get a favourable judgement, prefer to fight till all legal options are exhausted
While the market for satellite broadband currently is small, the potential is large as an estimated 30 per cent of the country does not have reliable terrestrial broadband services.
Signalling both change and continuity, India's new government, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a third consecutive term, got into work gear on Tuesday with cabinet ministers and ministers of state filing into their respective offices to assume charge.
The Income Tax department has struck an estimated Rs 50 crore (Rs 500 million) deal with state-owned telecom company BSNL to provide 51,000 mobile connections and 1,000 high-end Blackberry phones for secure and fast communication amongst its officers and staff.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will finalise its internal view on the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai's) recommendations, which was given in May last year, on mergers and acquisitions, spectrum allocation, spectrum sharing and other licencing aspects by the end of this month, a senior official from the department said.
The government believes firms which are subject to China's laws could be forced to hand over information to Beijing's security services.
Bharti Airtel on Monday posted a 54 per cent jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 2,442.2 crore in the December quarter, mainly on account of growth in high value customers. Airtel prepaid mobile customers are required to pay at least Rs 155 for about a month-long service as the company had raised rates by 56 per cent in January 2023. Bharti Airtel managing director Gopal Vittal has indicated a need for further increase in mobile services rates.
Reliance Jio has paid about Rs 10,700 crore to the telecom department towards outstanding amount for spectrum acquired in 2016 auction, sources said. The payment was made by Jio last week, sources added. With this, the company has made full payment with regard to spectrum bought in 2016 auction, and the outstandings now pertain to 2014, 2015 and 2021 auction.
To check digital frauds, the government has disconnected 70 lakh mobile numbers so far involved in cybercrime or financial frauds, Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi said on Tuesday. Emerging from a meeting to discuss issues related to financial cyber security and increasing digital payment fraud, Joshi, who chaired the meeting, said banks have been asked to strengthen the system and processes in this regard. More such meetings would take place, he said, adding the next meeting is scheduled in January.
The court said Shroff is a celebrity and this status inherently grants him certain rights over his personality and associated attributes.
In a major reform push, government on Thursday approved 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the telecom sector, meeting a key demand of the fund-starved industry.
In a setback to former Telecom Minister Sukhram, the Delhi high court on Wednesday upheld his conviction and three year jail term in the 1996 telecom scam.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the much-awaited 5G services in India on October 1, 2022, an official release said on Friday. According to the release, 5G to be launched by the Prime Minister in select cities, will progressively cover the entire country over the next couple of years. The cumulative economic impact of 5G on India is estimated to reach $450 billion by 2035. Capable of supporting ultra-high-speed internet services, the fifth generation or 5G is expected to unleash new economic opportunities and societal benefits, serving as a transformational force for Indian society.
Inter-ministerial body Telecom Commission on Tuesday approved hiking foreign direct investment limit in the sector from 74 per cent to 100 per cent.
The commission has disagreed with another key proposal -- that of allowing operators a deferred payment scheme after the auction.
The move comes against the backdrop of the US and some of its allies banning the purchase of Chinese telecom gear over security concerns and pressuring other countries to follow suit.
DoT still working on final AGR dues due to varying accounting practices. Telecom operators have been submitting two separate audited details of deduction towards interconnection usage charges and roaming fee to the DoT.
Expressing concern over frequent internet shutdown without any empirical study, a Parliamentary panel has pulled up the Department of Telecommunications for not maintaining the record of incidents and inaction on several of its recommendations. The Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology on 'Suspension of Telecom Services and Internet and its impact' tabled in Lok Sabha on Thursday, the panel has asked the Department of Telecom (DoT) to lay down a clear cut principle of proportionality and procedure for lifting of shutdown in coordination with the home ministry to prevent any misuse of the suspension rules. The panel rejected the logic of the DoT and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for not maintaining the record of the shutdown, saying it cannot simply take the plea that police and public order are essentially state subjects and suspension of the internet does not actually come under the ambit of crimes.
'Tinkering will not do. Merely staggering spectrum dues comes nowhere near solving the problem,' cautions Rahul Khullar.
The government on Friday unveiled long awaited Unified Licence norms that provide for delinking of spectrum from operational permits and allows companies to offer services using any technology.
The Department of Telecom on Monday said it would hold consultations with various operators on the issue of foreign direct investment but denied that the FDI issue was in any way linked to unified licencing regime.
The Cellular Operators Association of India has suggested that the government, in allocating telecom licence, consider applicants with experience and impose a five-year lock-in period under which promoters cannot sell their equity.
A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde took note of the submissions by a battery of senior lawyers including A M Singhvi and C A Sundaram and said it will list the fresh pleas "sometime in next week" before the same bench which had heard the earlier petition in the high-stake matter.
The rush to enter the world's fastest-growing mobile services market has attracted a wide range of applicants for telecom licences with the Department of Telecommunications.
The department of telecom will issue guidelines on raising the foreign direct investment limit to 74 per cent from 49 per cent next week.
The Bombay High Court has dismissed Vodafone petition challenging the show cause notice issued by income tax department asking them to pay over $2 billion tax on the multi-crore Hutchinson takeover deal.
The government has issued a stern warning to telecom companies to put the required security system for Blackberry services in place within 15 days or stop the services. The directive has been issued to the respective service providers to work out with officials of Blackberry licensor Research in Motion (RIM) of Canada to provide full-proof security system in the country. Currently, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone-Essar, BPL Mobile and Reliance are offering this premium service.
A department of telecommunication official said the regulator has already put questions relating to uniform licence fee to the stakeholder in its consultation paper 'Overall Spectrum Management and Review of License Terms and Conditions'.
Telecom services across the country could suffer, with the Department of Telecom ready to recall over 2,200 of its officers on deputation in MTNL and BSNL.
At present 100% FDI is allowed, of which up to 49% investment in a company can be done through the automatic route
Shyam's application comes even as real estate major DLF Ltd confirmed on Wednesday that it will apply for telecom licences by Friday, the fourth real estate company to do so in the recent past.
The DoT has sought legal opinion on whether to seek a review of the court order or withdraw the penalty.
Companies like Amazon Prime Video are also temporarily lowering bit rates -- a measure of how much data is being transferred -- to ease pressure on telecom network infrastructure.
The Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) of the department of telecommunications (DoT) has traced 285,000 lost or stolen mobile phones and blocked 680,000 devices since being launched. However, recoveries remain relatively low at 20,771 devices. According to government estimates, around 50,000 mobile phones are stolen every month in the country. Launched nationwide on May 16, the CEIR is a part of the DoT's Sanchar Saathi portal. It is the primary government platform aimed at protecting mobile phone users from various frauds such as identity theft, forged KYC, theft of mobile devices and banking frauds.
Chinese banks -- China Development Bank, China Exim Bank and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) -- will get a lion share of 30 per cent or Rs 7,000 crore in RCOM/RTL/RITL resolution plan, with the DoT getting nothing if the proposed plan goes ahead.
The department is planning a complete overhaul of the archaic Indian Telegraph Act.
Expressing concern over frequent internet shutdown without any empirical study, a parliamentary panel has pulled up the department of telecommunications for not maintaining the record of incidents and inaction on several of its recommendations.
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