Ongoing M&As have triggered fears that potential job losses could be in offing
Govt needs to hand-hold the industry at a difficult time
The telecom sector is undergoing a lot of stress and the bank is making extra provisions for this, said Arundhati Bhattacharya
Inability to hire new employees, train old ones could have an adverse effect on other aspects of biz
The study said the existing manpower in the sector may not match up to the upcoming demand
The inter-ministerial group (IMG), formed to address the stress in telecom sector, today undertook an internal meeting to discuss and finalise its report.During the meeting, the panel explored on various options like extending the deferred payment schedule, change in interest rate among others. However, no final decision was taken and another meeting is likely on August 16 to further deliberate on the matter.According to sources, a few members raised the point that financial health of the industry has started to improve and it can be seen with the numbers reported by operators in the first quarter. However, not everybody in the meeting agreed to it. The panel is likely to come out with its recommendations before August 27. The recommendation of the group will be placed before the Telecom Commission and ultimately to the Cabinet. The panel is also debating if some relief can be given to operators in terms of licence fee, which currently stands at 8 per cent of telcos adjusted gross ...
The govt is taking initiatives to promote manufacturing in the telecommunication sector in India
Analysts see three big players with market share of 30% each after 12-24 months
The Indian telecom industry is locked in an intense tariff war following entry of Reliance Jio
At present, telecom companies pay an average of 8% of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) as licence fee
However, the company said the mergers will lead to short-term tanacies
IMG was set up to examine issues affecting viability and repayment capacity of telecom companies
The telecom industry's outstanding debt was to the tune of Rs 4.5 lakh crore
To revive the health of telecom sector in India
A bank official said SBI's exposure to telecom companies is in the range of Rs 80,000 crore
It will also recommend policy reforms and strategic interventions for the telecom sector
Telecom ministry needs to rethink its policy
The Indian telecom market is second-largest in the world after China in subscriber base
Telecom sector has a debt of about Rs 4.6 lakh crore
When number of telecom operators is shrinking the tower infrastructure companies are expected to lose tenants. But now there is an unusual rush to invest in these infrastructure firms. Yesterday KKR and CPPIB bought a 10.3% stake in Bharti Infratel for Rs 6193 crore in third such deal in the last six months where financial or strategic investors are lapping up the tower companies. In December Canada-based Brookfield Infrastructure bought controlling stake in tower business of Reliance Communication for Rs 11,000 crore. And in October American Tower Corporation (ATC) bought a 51% stake in Viom Networks for Rs 7635 crore which included 35% from Tata Teleservices."Telecom operators need cash as they now pay for spectrum at market price through auction so they are monetizing their investments in tower companies," says Manoj Tirodkar, chairman GTL Infrastructure. The Mumbai based telecom tower company is under strategic-debt-restructuring process to be completed in next 12 months with a ...