Bharti Airtel on Tuesday announced that it has scrapped the minimum recharge plan of Rs 99 in seven circles -- Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Northeast, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh (West). In these circles, the price of the entry-level plan now would be Rs 155. This 57 per cent increase in Airtel's entry-level plan comes two months after the telco discontinued the Rs 99 plan in Haryana and Odisha in November last year.
Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal on Tuesday warned that the growth of the telecom industry would be hurt if companies did not align their profit-making motives with the national interest and such a scenario could lead to over-regulation of the sector.
Buoyed by the entry of new telecom players and entry of Reliance Communications in the GSM space, the Indian telecom industry clocked the highest subscriber-addition in a month, by adding 15.87 million subscribers in March 2009.
Indian IT services sector's revenue growth will slow down to 3 per cent in the current fiscal from 9.2 per cent in the previous financial year, a domestic ratings company said on Tuesday. Icra Ratings said the profitability will also take a beating in this financial year and the operating profit margin will narrow by up to 1 percentage point to 20-21 per cent. The topline growth will come down to 3-5 per cent in FY24 from the 9.2 per cent posted in FY23, the agency said, attributing the slowdown to softening demand.
Bharti Airtel is the country's largest telecom operator.
Burdened with debt, cutthroat competition and declining ARPUs, Bharti is the first of the telco biggies to raise prices. Others are likely to follow.
While Ambani, 66, drew nil salary from the company since the 2020-21 fiscal year, other executive directors including his cousins Nikhil and Hital are paid a salary, perquisites, allowances and commission. His three children - twins Akash and Isha (both 31) and Anant (28 years) - will get only a sitting fee and a commission on the profit earned by the firm.
The telecom (wireless) industry has grown by leaps and bounds during the past few years to become one of the leading mobile markets on the global map
State-level reports every quarter for service quality and artificial intelligence-based solutions may be officially mandated as part of a set of more stringent, updated quality-of-service (QoS) norms by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) soon. The new norms will also factor in user experience for 5G networks, officials informed Business Standard. In February, Trai asked telecommunication (telecom) service providers (TSPs) to submit updates on measures taken to reduce call drops and lags and raise the quality of connection.
In 2011-12, 2010-11 and 2009-10, the sector attracted FDI worth $1.99 billion, $1.66 billion and $2.55 billion respectively.
Huawei came under a cloud after allegations that the firm's electronic and telecom devices helped China spy on US corporations and agencies.
Mobile entertainment is set to become a $5-billion industry in India in the next two years, telecom experts said in New Delhi on Friday.
If 4,000 workers could work round the clock for the construction of the new Parliament building, then there is no reason why all infrastructure projects too cannot follow that model, asserts Dr Sudhir Bisht.
The decision of the Telecom Commission to approve in-flight connectivity won't just bring cheer to the chat-friendly passengers, but even more to the telecom industry facing severe financial stress, says Nivedita Mookerji.
Vodafone India MD & CEO Marten Pieters, 59, blames regulation and the spectrum policy for the telecom industry's troubles.
Reliance Industries Ltd on Friday reported a 15 per cent drop in its net profit to Rs 15,792 crore for the third quarter, according to a company's stock exchange filing. The net profit of Rs 15,792 crore in October-December 2022 compares to Rs 18,549 crore a year back.
The Indian telecom boom is not only about numbers. In what is the first of its kind in the domestic telecom industry, telecom operator Aircel will deploy WiMax networks in all 23 circles across the country.
The Indian aviation industry would create 40 lakh (4 million) jobs in the next 10 years, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said in Mumbai on Saturday.
RIL, RCom working on partnership blueprint.
According to a study by industry association Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and telecom consulting firm BDA, 3G revenues in the country will reach $15.8 billion, 46 per cent of the total wireless revenue, by 2013.
More and more women are making their presence felt in jobs related to sciences, technology, and engineering across organisations.
Shrinking tariffs and falling handset costs have made Indian telecom subscribers the most pampered lot. Though it has resulted in a declining average revenue per user (ARPU) for service providers, they are not complaining as yet.
5G networks in India can be deployed in three months but in limited areas as the optical fibre based infrastructure to support the technology is not ready yet, telecom industry players said on Tuesday. Nokia India head of marketing and corporate affairs Amit Marwah said that India has to take a call on deployment of 5G services otherwise it will miss to take advantage of the next generation technology that it can bring for the economy.
'You have to have commitment to both, but it has to be done at the individual level.'
Trai's pre-consultation paper comes at a time when the government is yet to fix a deadline for auctioning spectrum for the third generation mobile services.
As per location-specific salary trends, IT capital Bangalore tops the chart as the highest paying city in the country, with an average annual CTC paid for talent across all levels and functions at Rs 14.6 lakh.
After strengthening physical security around establishments, it is now time for the Indian IT companies to focus on securing data, industry experts said.
If the apex court decides on a 15-year repayment tenure, it would pose a grave challenge for the debt ridden VIL.
Letter to telecom secretary alleges Jio is masquerading full-blown services in the guise of a trial; no word from Reliance.
According to a list of UK's 100 most powerful people in technology and telecom sector, published today by the Daily Telegraph newspaper, Sarin won the top slot. Nikesh Arora, internet search giant Google's Indian-origin president for Europe, Mid-East and Africa, is ranked fourth.
From the Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra, ITC, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Titan, Reliance Industries and Nestle were the major winners. Hindustan Unilever, Power Grid, Axis Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, State Bank of India, Asian Paints and Wipro were the laggards.
Led by Huawei Technologies and ZTE, Chinese manufacturers are challenging the domination of European equipment-makers by grabbing contracts (some of which are in advanced stages of negotiations) worth over $2 billion in 2008 -- nearly one thirds of the Indian market of around $6 billion.
Bulk of these customers use 2G phones and are still focused on voice services and might prove useful for both Bharti Airtel and the Idea-Vodafone combine.
Surprisingly, RIL scrip also fell by 2.73 per cent to 1,029.15, becoming the second biggest loser in the index
Indian telecom operators are world-leaders in terms of profitability, enjoying better EBIDTA margin than their counterparts in developed countries.
India and the US on Friday said they have started talks to put in place a strategic framework for human space flight by year-end as they plan to send an Indian astronaut to the International Space Station in 2024.
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