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Extend mandatory equipment deadline: Telecom operators to govt new new

Guidelines to come into effect on July 1 but companies seek one-year extension

India eyes active role in designing global policies on 6G, satcom

PM to inaugurate International Telecom Union's first India office, release 6G vision document today

DoT seeks Rs 33,111 cr for BSNL AGR dues: Parliamentary panel report

The Department of Telecom has sought Rs 33,111 crore for payment of adjusted gross revenue dues of state-run BSNL which is likely to be made in the upcoming April-June quarter, according to a Parliamentary panel report. In a submission to the Standing Committee of Communications and Information Technology, the Department of Telecom shared that against the proposal of Rs 39,725.07 crore for 2023-24, Rs 66,691.82 crore has been allocated to it in the budget. "The increased amount is towards the payment of AGR Dues to BSNL, which is a part of its revival package. The Department had proposed an amount of Rs 33,111.00 crore for the AGR Dues. The payment will be made once BSNL claims the amount and is most likely to happen in the first quarter of FY 2023-24," the DoT informed in a written reply to the panel. The Finance Ministry has allocated a total of Rs 1,08,153.25 crore under Budget Estimates for 2023-24 to the DoT comprising Rs 41,461.43 crore under revenue section and Rs 66,691.82 .

5G radios in India surpass 100,000 on March 5, Maharashtra leads count

Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel are putting up 5G BTS rapidly across the country. Total installations stood at 84,346 on Feb 16, up from 20,980 on December 20

DoT expected to exempt small 5G transceivers from clearance process

Move to allow installation of low-capacity 5G cells on street furniture

DoT to call OTT players, telcos to discuss usage charges, revenue sharing

Representations on the issue have been separate till now

DoT starts doling out PLI to manufacturers, GX Telecom gets 1st cheque

The Department of Telecom has started disbursing production-linked incentives to shortlisted manufacturers who have completed their target for 2021-22, a government official said. Telecom gear maker GX Telecom, which has been shortlisted under the PLI scheme for promoting local manufacturing, said it received an incentive from the DoT under the scheme. Our vision for 2023 will be to develop products that are designed in India, made in India which will create skilled job opportunities in the direction of building India as a global hub ... with the incentive received further supporting new innovation to cater international market demands with indigenous products," GX International Group CEO Paritosh Prajapati told PTI. The company has a capacity to make 3.5 lakh units of GPON equipment which are used for rolling out broadband networks. GX Group Head of Sales Sambit Swain said that there is an increased demand for Made in India telecom equipment in the global market and the group is

DoT may approach LawMin for clarity on spectrum allocation to entities

The DoT will likely enquire on whether the spectrum is to be given administratively or through auction.

PMO to take a final call if DCC should be disbanded, say officials

The Department of Telecommunications believes the Digital Communications Commission body serves no additional purpose since most approvals are often taken on an inter ministerial basis

UK-India trade body writes to envoy on Vi equity conversion delay

Considering that the issue may gather momentum in the upcoming months, Vikram K Doraiswami, the Indian high commissioner in the UK, has sought guidance from the finance ministry

Top Headlines: India's billionaire club shrinks, Airtel 5G monetisation

Business Standard brings you the top headlines at this hour

DoT discusses fall in service quality issues, measures needed with telcos

The telecom department on Wednesday met operators to discuss rising instances of call drops and service quality-related issues, as it deliberated on policy interventions that can be considered for improving call quality. The meeting, which comes amid the rollout of massive 5G networks in the country, was chaired by Telecom Secretary K Rajaraman and attended by telecom service providers, including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea. The issue of interference from illegal boosters and Right of Way (RoW) challenges came up for discussion at the meeting, which lasted for almost two hours. Sources said that operators made a detailed presentation to the Department of Telecom on current levels of service quality against stipulated benchmarks. DoT sources said that the department is taking a long-term view of the service quality-related matters and has asked players to identify problem areas, and make suggestions on policy interventions that could improve the call connectivity.

Need to quickly end call drops, improve quality: Govt tells telcos

Poor quality unacceptable at a time when India is adopting 5G technology: Companies are told

DoT forms 4 task forces to boost domestic telecom mfg, remove hurdles

The Department of Telecom (DoT) has formed four task forces to recommend to the government measures that will boost the domestic telecom manufacturing ecosystem and remove the bottlenecks, an official memorandum said The development follows a round table between Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and 42 chiefs of telecom gear makers early this month where he identified the need for creating a task force to resolve issues that the companies raised before him. Under one of the task forces, the DoT has sought recommendation for a phased manufacturing programme for telecom gear manufacturing to boost domestic component supply chain ecosystem as well as attract global players. This task force will be co-chaired by state-run research arm C-DoT CEO RK Upadhyay, the memorandum dated December 20 said. In 2016, the government notified a phased manufacturing programme for developing the mobile phone manufacturing ecosystem in the country. The task force under chairmanship of Tejas Netwo

DoT proposes to drop Bharatnet infra from its asset monetisation plan

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has proposed not to monetise rural broadband network infrastructure built under Bharatnet project and plans to replace it with alternate assets to achieve its target fixed under the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP), sources said. Sources also told PTI that BSNL tower monetisation bid launch will be targeted within FY22-23. According to sources, the earlier attempt to monetise the asset under Bharatnet failed to get satisfactory response from private players. "Bid response under PPP (public-private partnership) mode was not satisfactory," the source said. DoT under the ministry of communications has so far not raised any money through asset monetisation against the target of Rs 20,180 crore in the current financial year. An e-mail sent to DoT seeking comments remained unanswered. According to the NMP document, 5,25,706 kilometres of optical fibre has been laid under Bharatnet project which aims to connect all villages in the country w

C-DOT emerges as govt's biggest bet for India's ongoing 5G rollout

The body's latest achievement is designing a fully indigenous non-standalone 5G core in record time

No word from DoT on dues' conversion since April: Vodafone Idea CEO

In an analyst call following the release of Vi results, CEO Akshaya Moondra said the company is trying to quickly close funding talks with banks so that stuck vendor payments can be quickly addressed

No violation of net neutrality in network slicing, find Trai, DoT

To make the most of 5G technology, which offers features like network slicing and giving a dedicated experience to an organisation, Jio, Airtel have urged lawmakers to review the net neutrality rules

TRAI's concerns over draft telecom Bill provisions duly addressed: Report

TRAI's apprehensions over potential dilution of powers under the draft telecom bill have been addressed, and the government may look at the option of taking up provisions related to strengthening of the regulatory body separately at a later stage, DoT sources said. On Over-the-top (OTT) communication apps, sources said, the focus is on user protection related regulation, not licencing. The Department of Telecommunications (DOT), through the provisions of the draft bill, will come down heavily on spammers and those indulging in cyber frauds, sources said. Amid reports of TRAI's opposition to certain clauses of the draft telecom bill, that were seen diluting its powers, sources said, ???discussions have taken place between the two sides. All the outstanding issues have been resolved, they said. There are no differences between Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the telecom department on this issue, sources said. The thinking in telecom department now is that specific ..

DoT to address Trai's concerns on dilution of power by draft telecom bill

DoT has also sought feedback on the bill from all ministries of the Central government, state government and the public along with Trai