Page 2 - Telecom Services

Telecom firms get green signal for towers, services on railway land

The move is likely to give 5G network a boost

BSNL waiting for NLMC to prepare land asset monetisation strategy

All land properties nominally valued above Rs 100 crore being monetised by NLMC, but it has been slow to formulate a plan; DoT will handle assets of lower value

Jio installed 5x more 5G radios than Airtel as of Nov: Telecom dept in RS

Airtel cites difference in tech after govt presents data in Rajya Sabha

Working to cut cost of telecom ops to attract investments: DoT secretary

The government is working to bring down the cost of telecom operations to attract more investments in the sector, a top official said on Friday. While speaking at the CII Telecom Summit, telecom secretary K Rajaraman said the cost of maintaining optic fibre network is very forbidding. "(If) we are able to bring down the cost of operations for the telecom network, I am sure that more investment will come. We will be working on that. A lot of policy measures are underway," he said. Rajaraman said the government is running a pilot of 'Call before you dig' application in some states to avoid damages to telecom infrastructure while digging roads and doing other infrastructure-related works. He said that a good digital connectivity cannot rest on mobile service only and complimentary connectivity through fibre to support mobile services is very important. "In urban areas, optical fibre is available. In rural areas, BharatNet has enabled us to reach 1.89 lakh villages so far. Target is

USOF successor to focus on indigenising tech, hiring global bandwidth

Govt plans to include fund in upcoming telecom Bill despite telcos' opposition, officials said

Tighter quality of service norms for telecom service providers on the cards

It intends to improve telecom services at a time when the country is quickly adopting 5G technology

Private companies lap up Esri's GIS software for multiple uses

Government departments have used it to build village land records, track rural roads, and manage water resources

Vodafone Idea, ATC extend subscription date of Rs 1,600 cr OCDs to Feb 28

Debt-ridden Vodafone Idea and its vendor ATC Telecom Infrastructure have agreed to extend the last date for subscription of Rs 1,600 crore optionally convertible debentures to February 28, the telecom operator said in a regulatory filing. Vodafone Idea's proposal to issue Rs 1,600 crore debentures to mobile tower vendor ATC Telecom Infrastructure has lapsed in the absence of any response from the government on the conversion of interest dues into equity. "...the Company and ATC have mutually extended the last date for subscription of the OCDs to 28th February, 2023 or such later date as may be mutually agreed, subject to fulfillment of certain conditions precedent," Vodafone Idea (VIL) said in a filing. The conditions for approval include nod of VIL shareholders and conversion of interest liability on the company arising from the deferment of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) and Spectrum Dues into equity shares by the government. Last month, shareholders of debt-ridden Vodafone Idea ..

Podcast: What is network slicing?

One of the key features of 5G technology that everyone is waiting for is network slicing. What is it?

Vodafone Idea's fundraising put on hold as govt delays equity call

The development spells further trouble for the company, which has an overall debt pile of Rs 2.2 trillion including hefty dues to the government

Airtel World Pass international plans for prepaid, postpaid users announced

The Airtel World Pass international roaming plans offer significantly higher value in terms of data and voice benefits, Airtel said in a statement

Free riders vs piggy-riders: A tale of two cities caught in an OTT debate

The debate over whether over-the-top services should pay telcos user revenues bids fair to overlap with the issue of net neutrality

Power Grid to separate telecos, gets nod to foray into data centre biz

Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd is in the process of carving out its telecom vertical to a new fully-owned subsidiary, Powergrid Teleservices Ltd, in a bid to have a "focused approach" and to move up the value chain, senior company officials said. The move by the state-run power transmission major comes close on the heels when the telecom sector is ramping up its 5G service across the country to bring business transformation that can contribute two per cent to the national GDP. The state-owned power transmission major has also got approval from the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) to operate data centres. "The telecom division of Powergrid will be transferred to the new subsidiary Powergrid Teleservices after receiving all regulatory approvals to provide greater impetus to the business and move up the value chain by entering into the data centre business. The process for regulatory clearance is in progress," Powergrid executive director (telecom) B Vamsi Rama Moh

Need separate pan-India licence for Satellite Earth Station Gateways: TRAI

A satellite gateway (also referred to as a teleport or hub) is a ground station that transmits data to and from the satellite to the local area network

Have OTT players pay telecom firms usage charges, COAI writes to DoT

Telcos point out that based on global estimates 56% of telco bandwidth is used by OTT communication platforms and in India it is even higher due to the proliferation of users which are over 400 mn

GIP plans to acquire Tower Vision India Pvt in a $400-million deal

GIP already owns a significant stake in Indian tower owner Ascend Telecom Infrastructure Pvt. Deliberations are ongoing and GIP could decide not to proceed with a transaction, according to the people

OTT players must pay to use the telecom service provider's network: COAI

COAI added that the government must provide a legal framework to enable the service providers to charge any user that uses their services

India second among 21 countries in H1 2022 Arpu rise, shows data

Also ranked 6th among 26 countries in data usage growth over same period

5G signals won't interfere with flight operations, telcos reiterate

Senior industry executives say no recent discussions with government on issue of 5G signals interfering with aviation instruments, companies remain open to talks

Telecom firms fear surge of 'pseudo-TSPs' due to private 5G network

This, they feel, could happen under direct allocation of spectrum by the govt