Rs 3,050-crore penalty on Airtel, Voda Idea gets nod. Final decision will be taken by DoT.
The appointments committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared Bhalla's appointment as OSD in the ministry with immediate effect.
Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) has made a representation through the UAE government to request the Enforcement Directorate to withdraw a showcause notice over alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), insofar as it relates to the company and its directors on the board of its Indian joint venture Etisalat-DB Ltd. The UAE (United Arab Emirates) government owns 60 per cent of the Etisalat group.
The foreign investment regulator cleared a decision on Vodafone Group Plc's $1.6 billion plan to take full ownership of its local unit.
Telecom regulator Trai has asked operators not to present misleading advertisements of their tariff plans, while directing them to show recurring charges to consumers under single head.
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) have sent separate letters to the department of telecommunications (DoT), asking the government to bear the entire burden of nearly Rs 11,000 crore they need to fork out as one-time payment for additional spectrum.
The government is learnt to be preparing fresh plans to auction telecom spectrum that can fetch around Rs 39,895 crore.
Spectrum qualifies for the infrastructure criteria, say ministry officials.
While the company insisted it had enough spectrum across circles, analysts said the company might soon need to acquire some spectrum to ensure uninterrupted service.
Attempts to access the website opened up a page with the message: This site has been blocked as per instructions from the Department of Telecommunications
Miffed at a rise in annual licence fee on Internet service providers, industry body Internet Services Providers Association of India on Thursday said it would approach the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal, challenging the new fees.
Identifying major thrust areas for growth of telecom sector, Planning Commission has stressed on the need to upgrade and modernise telecommunication technology being used by the country's defence, police and para military forces.
The Power Grid Corporation of India and the State Grid Corporation of China have signed a three-year memorandum of understanding to share experiences in transmission and telecommunications.
Instead of only government departments and state-owned undertakings, the CAG can now audit private companies, too.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is working on various alternatives to overcome the hurdles arising out of a lacklustre auction of 1,800-MHz telecom spectrum.
The court issued notices to the Law Ministry and the DoT, rejecting their contentions that the same cannot be issued against them as they were not the parties to the case.
Corporate affairs ministry note for ministerial group says can't keep banking, telecom out of CCI purview as RBI, Trai enable but not regulate competition
Filing an affidavit before the TDSAT, the department of telecommunication has requested the tribunal to dismiss the petition of telecom operators challenging the government directive to stop 3G roaming immediately.
Newer telecom operators and dual technology entities are opposing the department of telecommunications (DoT)'s decision to ask the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to give its view on whether the price of spectrum being offered in the coming 2G auction should be valid for 10 years instead of 20 years.
Says action taken following Supreme Court order, not because of government decision
As the American Presidential elections entered its most heated phase, a senior White House adviser, who managed Barack Obama's 2008 campaign, was found to have accepted a USD 100,000 speaking fee in 2010 from an affiliate of a company doing business with Iran.
Mitali Rannorey, the 23-year-old telecommunications engineer speaks about how modeling happened and why she feels she might one day go back to work as an engineer.
A government group under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has broadly accepted a Department of Telecommunications (DoT) proposal favouring a three-pronged strategy to deal with the challenges arising out of the Supreme Court order cancelling 122 telecom licences.
Following is the chronology of the events in the 2G spectrum allocation scam in which the prime accused and former Telecom Minister A Raja was on Tuesday granted bail:
The UAE-based Emirates Telecommunication Corporation (Etisalat) on Thursday filed a petition against Shahid Balwa and Vinod Goenka, promoters of the beleaguered Swan Telecom, for "fraud and misrepresentation".
It had also led to delays in allocating even start-up spectrum.
While Reliance/Infotel Broadband stands to gain if Qualcomm is forced out of the BWA race, will the potential Indian consumer of broadband wireless services gain from this unseemly tussle? That is a question that remains unanswered.
Expressing concern over revelations by whistleblower Edward Snowden alleging that the NSA spied on Chinese leaders and businesses, China on Monday demanded that the US explain the facts and stop surveillance activities.
The commission has disagreed with another key proposal -- that of allowing operators a deferred payment scheme after the auction.
According to sources, DoT has been asked to prepare a matrix of various levels of reserve price and spectrum usage charge at every Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) difference in descending order and the impact that would have on tariffs for end-consumer and the revenue accrued to the government.
Qualcomm had received its internet service provider licence last month, after a delay of 18 months, with a validity period of 20 years after a Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal direction to DoT.
The move is being considered after growing clamour from competing 4G operators for a level playing field in relation to Qualcomm.
The reference will also seek the court's view on a more fundamental issue: whether the judgement lays down auction as mandatory for allocation of all natural resources across all sectors and in all circumstances.
Though millions of BlackBerry users may be worried about the Indian government snooping on them, only the phones of certain terror suspects would be tracked, reports Vicky Nanjappa
The reassessed Plan size for the railways in 2012-13 has already shrunk to Rs 56,950 crore (Rs 569.5 billion) from Rs 60,100 crore (Rs 601 billion) after the first quarter.
The auction of 2G spectrum might be delayed, as the government may file a petition in the Supreme Court for an extension of the timeline. According to current SC directive, the auction has to be conducted by August 31 this year. However, due to procedural delays, the department of telecommunications is looking at extending the timeline.
