The operator was acquired four years earlier by Essar, when the latter had more telecom ventures, such as the 33 per cent stake in Vodafone Essar, and also owned telecom towers.
Prasad asked private operators to play a role in skill development.
Among the Sensex firms, major winners included Tata Steel, rising 3.77 per cent, followed by HCL Tech, which gained 3.62 per cent. IndusInd Bank and PowerGrid closed with a gain of 3,60 and 3.34 per cent, respectively. Other gainers were Tech Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Finserve and Bharti Airtel, among others. On the other hand, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance and TCS were the only laggards, sliding up to 2.94 per cent.
India has pipped China to become the world's fastest growing market, thanks to the various "innovative" ways such as infrastructure sharing and network management outsourcing adopted by it that has also helped telecom operators keep the service charge low, says a report.
Despite the inherent attractiveness of the rural market for telecom operators various challenges still mar their entry.
The company said that intense competition following the disruptive entry of a new player, legal and regulatory challenges, high level of unsustainable debt and increased losses had together caused significant "negative business and reputational impact".
The government on Thursday ruled out setting up an ombudsman to redress complaints of poor mobile telephony services like call drops saying state-run BSNL/MTNL were taking effective steps to upgrade technology.
Vodafone Idea board on Tuesday approved a fund-raise of up to Rs 20,000 crore through a combination of equity and equity-linked instruments, the crisis-ridden telco said, adding promoters will also participate in the proposed equity raise. Overall, Vodafone Idea plans to raise around Rs 45,000 crore through a mix of equity and debt, the company said. The company has been fighting a desperate battle for survival -- it has a debt of Rs 2.1 lakh crore and is reporting quarterly losses, amid massive subscriber churn.
The telecom industry has condoled the death of former Communication and IT Minister and BJP leader Pramod Mahajan, while describing him as one of the dynamic and charismatic leaders.
Private telecom operators have overtaken their public sector counterparts -- Bharat Sanchar Nigam and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam
...benefiting 350,000 persons. Also, Trai detected and blocked seven million mobile phone connections involved in cyber fraud and suspicious activities.
Demand has outstripped capacity, not enough spectrum (in the case of mobile) and maybe not enough on-ground investment to keep data speeds high and voice quality good.
A higher-than-expected consumer price inflation (CPI) print for March in the US has dashed hopes of an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve (US Fed) in June. Analysts now expect the US central bank to start cutting rates in September, provided inflation remains in check and oil prices remain supportive. The markets, analysts believe, partially factored in this possibility.
DoT has issued notice for licence cancellation to Etisalat DB and Idea Cellular on ground of failing to meet roll out obligation.
"The telecom companies under the (proposed)NTP-2011 will have to file an application 30 months prior for the renewal of the telecom licenses and it (the licence) will be renewed for 10 years unlike 20 years as of now," Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal said.
'In the next 15-20 years, India will have at least 50 new (AI-driven) billion-dollar companies that are going to solve problems for the largest companies around the world.'
For the smart phone industry, it has been a lacklustre quarter of CY2024, with sales falling by 3-4 per cent over the same period last year, according to Counterpoint Research projections. However, with the launch of many new models in Q1 of CY24, overall shipments grew year-on-year by 10-12 per cent. In CY23 shipments remained flat, ending the year with 152 million units.
Telecom honchos Sunil Bharti Mittal, Anil Ambani, Kumar Mangalam Birla and Vittorio Colao are expected to meet IT and Communications Minister Kapil Sibal tomorrow to discuss various issues impacting the sector.
Flag Telecom, a Reliance group company, has awarded a multi-million dollar contract for construction of its Falcon submarine cable to Alcatel, a global networks and application service provider.\n\n
Warid Telecom, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Dhabi Group, offers mobile telecom services with a user base of over 2.9 million in Bangladesh.
The Internet is too important to let a few private telecom players decide what the rules will be for consumers, says Rajeev Chandrasekhar, independent member of Parliament who was one of the key petitioners seeking the scrapping of Section 66A of the Information Technology Act.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) began making submissions on Monday on its appeal before the Delhi high court challenging the acquittal of accused persons, including former telecom minister A Raja, and firms in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case in December 2017.
The company operates in 21 circles. Mumbai will be in exception, which has a separate licence.
Ahead of its Rs 18,000 crore further public offer (FPO), Vodafone Idea on Monday said it expects to roll out 5G services in select pockets within 6-9 months of raising fresh capital. Its chief executive Akshaya Moondra said rollout of the modern 5G telecom services is one of the objectives of raising the capital from the public and once the funding comes, it will start work on the rollout. "With this round of funding, we believe we will be able to (come) back to participate in the industry growth which has not been possible," he said.
Reliance Industries Ltd on Friday reported a 9 per cent rise in its December quarter net profit as a planned maintenance-induced weakness in oil business earnings was offset by stability in retail and telecom verticals. The oil-to-retail-to-telecom conglomerate's consolidated net profit of Rs 17,265 crore, or Rs 25.52 per share, in October-December - the third quarter of the current 2023-24 fiscal - was 9.3 per cent higher than Rs 15,792 crore, or Rs 23.19 a share, earning a year back, according to a company statement. Quarter-on-quarter, the profit was lower when compared to Rs 17,394 crore earnings in the preceding three months ended September 30.
Malaysia's state-controlled top telecom operator Telecom Malaysia is to buy a 49 per cent stake in India's Spice telecom Ltd, both companies said in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.
The operating profit growth rate of mobile service providers is expected to double in next two years buoyed by increase in call rates and clarity in policy, credit rating agency CRISIL has said.
Seeks clarification on a few issues such as enhancement of entry fee and performance bank guarantee from telecom regulator
Telecom and petchem businesses will drive growth for RIL.
M Corp Global has applied for six new telecom licences to the department of telecom and dispelled rumours that its company Spice Telecom is up for sale.
'I am shocked that the BJP makes so many commitments. What did they deliver as the NDA?'
Telecom Ministry over issues ranging from one-time spectrum charges to 3G roaming and a uniform licence fee.
Telecom tariffs are likely to come down further with the Telecom Regulatory Authority saying on Wednesday that it would recommend lower access deficit charge
Despite the economic slowdown, most students consider the telecom sector a 'favourable industry' to work for, according to a study conducted by a Chennai-based Human Resources firm.
The number of telecom subscribers in the country grew by 4.12 crore (41.2 million) in 2005-06 to touch 13.96 crore (139.6 million). \n
The launch of 5G services in India turbocharged mobile download speeds here, pushing the country's ranking 72 notches higher to 47th spot in Speedtest Global Index, ahead of nations like Japan, the UK and Brazil, according to Ookla. India's speed performance has zoomed up 3.59 times since the introduction of 5G, it said dubbing the country's 5G advancement as "remarkable". In this global pecking order, India ranked not only ahead of its neighbours like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, but also some G20 countries, such as Mexico (90th), Turkey (68th), the UK (62nd), Japan (58th), Brazil (50th place), and South Africa (48th place).
The government is likely to offer a slew of tax sops to telecom operators, including asking state governments not to levy sales tax on telecom services, seven years of exemption of revenue sharing on revenues from rural subscribers, etc.
