Telecom Sector

COAI bats for industrial electricity tariff rates for telecom infra

Telcos' body COAI has made a strong plea that the telecom sector be charged industrial tariffs for electricity and not commercial rates, and that power connections be expeditiously provided to telecom infrastructure facilities. It said doing so was important given the essential nature of services and socio-economic benefits that accrue across multiple sectors from faster 5G deployments. COAI - whose members include telecom operators like Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea - has also batted for the sector to be provided uninterrupted 24x7 power supply. "Telecom is an infrastructure industry, but we are still being charged at commercial rates for power. So we don't get the benefits," SP Kochhar, Director General of Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) told PTI. COAI has demanded that telecom infrastructure be charged at industrial and not commercial rates for electricity. Today, most states provide electricity on commercial tariff rate to telecom industry, placi

Bharat 6G Mission: Here is all you need to know about India's 6G project

6G network in India: The deployment of 6G technology is expected to reduce differences in regional and social infrastructure and in economic opportunities

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 .

China's Sunwalk Group intends to invest $2 bn in Pakistan telecom sector

The company started deployment and invested about USD 5 million and has the plan to deploy 5,000 km OFC as the next step, according to Business Recorder

India, US, and Japan talk greater cooperation on 5G, telecom stacks

Telecom Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw's met with senior government figures from Japan, US over the weekend

Indian telecom market sees 36% value growth in offline retail: Report

Experts forecast 2023 to be stable with value-driven growth for the Indian telecom market compared to 2022

India will have over 150 mn 5G users by 2024, 2G count falling: Report

Nokia study projects average data usage per user per month will grow over 136 per cent by 2027

Trai directs telecom companies to block all unverified telemarketers

Telemarketers have to be registered on the DLT platform

Liberty Global buys 4.3% stake in Vodafone betting on share revival

Liberty Global, which acquired 1.34 billion shares in Vodafone, said in a statement on Monday that it isn't considering an offer for the Newbury, England-based telecom group

Government to convert Vodafone Idea's dues into equity; stock zooms 24%

Shares of Indus Towers, too, surged 15 per cent to Rs 164.80 on the BSE

From automotive to telecom, here's how the Budget affects key sectors

Financial sector identified as one of the priority sector as part of "Vision Amrit Kaal

India-made 4G, 5G technology stacks may go global during G20 meet

The plan remains a proposal at the moment, dependant on key developments in telecom space in 2023

Jio, Airtel bag 20 million 5G customers in 4 months of service rollout

5G services rolled out in 190 cities already; India to have 369 million 5G customers by 2026

India second largest sales market for Ericsson in October quarter

India contributed 6 percent of net sales for the telecom network equipment maker, a share smaller than only the United States

Adani Group has no plans to enter telecom sector: Chief financial officer

Adani Enterprises' unit Adani Data Networks purchased airwaves worth nearly $27 million in the country's 5G auction last year

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.

Vodafone Idea approaches banks for loans worth Rs 7,000 crore: Report

The lenders have, however, sought clarity from the telco on the Government's potential shareholding and its plans to infuse capital in Vi

Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel launch 5G services in Bhubaneswar

Telecom operators Jio and Bharti Airtel on Thursday started their 5G services in the state capital. The 5G services of both the companies were unveiled by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Union Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at an event here. Vaishnaw said that the Narendra Modi government has sanctioned a total of Rs 5,600 crore for telecom services in Odisha in the 2022-23 and 5,000 mobile towers will be installed across the state for world class communication facilities. Vaishnaw had committed to start 5G services in the state before January 26. Telecom Secretary K Rajaraman said that the government has also dedicated 100 towers for 4G services in rural areas of the state. He announced the setting up of a 5G research lab at Siksha O Anusandhan (SOA) University in collaboration with Jio.

Indus Towers appoints Prachur Sah as MD & CEO, to suceed Bimal Dayal

Telecom infrastructure company Indus Towers on Wednesday said it has appointed Prachur Sah as managing director and chief executive officer of the company with effect from January 3, 2023. The position had been vacant since the resignation of Bimal Dayal in July. Prior to his appointment as MD and CEO of Indus Towers, Sah led the oil and gas vertical of Vedanta, Cairn. At Vedanta, he was instrumental in leading the next phase of organizational growth with a focus on delivering volumes, cost, growth projects, etc. "As India enters the 5G era, Indus Towers stands to play a crucial role in partnership with various stakeholders including mobile operators," Sah said. He was previously associated with Schlumberger for close to 18 years in various roles including Managing Director of South Asia region, leadership positions in line management, HR, safety, marketing across the Middle East, Latin America, Europe, India, and the US.

5G rollout to drive telecom hiring in 2023: Staffing company NLB Services

The 5G rollout is expected to drive hiring in the telecom sector in 2023, as the expansion of the high-speed service unleashes a "compounding impact" on recruitment for both non-niche skills and technical skills, according to NLB Services. As compared to 2021, demand for specialised telecom technology talent grew by almost 20 per cent in 2022, the international staffing and recruiting company said in a statement. Going forward, the hiring demand is not going to be restricted to the telecom sector alone, it estimated. NLB Services predicted that sectors such as healthcare, retail, manufacturing, and automotive are also expected to recruit tech talent to scale up their service capabilities around 5G. Data scientists, and cybersecurity professionals are some of the key profiles in non-telecom sectors. "In the last year, there has been a 15-20 per cent rise in demand for technology talent in the telecom and allied sectors, and the trend is expected to create a new record 25-30 per cen