Category Archives: Telecom

Issues connected with telecom matters

Crisis of private telecom companies

02 Friday Jun 2017

Posted by in BSNL, Telecom

≈ Leave a comment

]Inter Ministerial Group to study the crisis of private telecom companies.
The government has setup an Inter Ministerial Group (IMG) to study the financial crisis of the private telecom companies. The first meeting of this IMG begins on 12th June, 2017. As a precursor to this meeting, the DoT officers are holding a series of meetings with Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, Aircel and TATA Tele-Services. When the corporates earn hefty profit, they do not think about the country and the people. But, when the corporates land in crisis, the country and it’s government start worrying about them. Among all the telecom companies today, BSNL is having the least debt burden. Below is the list of loans taken by various private telecom companies.

Reliance Communications Tata Tele-Services Bharati Airtel
₹44,000 cr. ₹30,000 cr. $14.09 billion

Aircel Idea Cellular Vodafone India
₹23,000 cr. ₹50,072 cr. €8.7 billion (Courtesy: BSNLEU website)

Reliance Jio violate TRAI directions on special offers

08 Saturday Apr 2017

Posted by in Telecom

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

Despite clear direction from the TRAI to stop the summer special offers extended for more than 90 days to customers, Reliance Jio has given advertisements continuing the offer for more than 15 days.

Probably, Reliance Jio will be thinking that Modi government will not take any action against it, since  it was Prime Minister Modi’s photo that they put in their full page advertisements earlier.

TRAI and DOT should take serious action against the violation of rules by Reliance Jio, which has resulted in great loss to the government, in terms of licence fee to the extent of 30% as reported bt DOT to the Minister.

Telecom Subscriber Base in India crosses 112 crore.

04 Saturday Feb 2017

Posted by in Telecom

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Telecom subscriber base in India, crossed 1.12 billion (112 crore) in November, in November 2016.
The total number of telecom subscribers in India, has reached 1.12 billion (112 crore) in November,2016. Reliance Jio alone added over 1.62 crore connections in November, taking its total subscriber base to 5.18 crore. Idea Cellular followed Reliance Jio with net addition of 25.2 lakh new customers. Bharti Airtel added 10.8 lakh customers, Vodafone 8.90 lakh subscribers, BSNL 8.31 lakh, Telenor 4. 86 lakh,. Aircel 3.02 lakh, Reliance Communications 1.56 lakh and MTNL 3,364. (Courtesy: BSNLEU website)

Visit the Past (19) – Strike in Telegraph Workshop Calcutta in July 1937

17 Wednesday Aug 2016

Posted by in Telecom, VISIT THE PAST

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Since  formation of unions in P&T, struggles were organised. Sometimes, the workers have gone on strike action all of a sudden  against gross injustice. It is such a strike that had happened in the Telegraph Work Shop, Calcutta in July 1937.

The strike started in the galvanising section of the workshop by about 100 workers demanding increase in wages for the night shift and also for working on Sundays. Next day, more than 1000 workers of the workshop went on strike in  support of the galvanising workers who are on strike.

A report published in the “Statesman” of 14th July 1937, in this connection is quoted below:

“About 1,000 workmen of the Government Telegraph Workshops, Alipore comprising blacksmith, fitters and laskars, went on strike yesterday morning. These men, it is understood, have not formulated any demand, but have “downed tool” in sympathy with 86 men of the galvanising department, who struck work on Saturday last for an increase in wages, mainly, a day and a half wages for night shift and double wages for Sunday work.”

Two important things are to be noticed. The workers in one section went on strike on their own demands and the other workers in the same workshop went on solidarity strike. Yes the P&T workers have a great tradition of comradeship.

Rs. 45,000 crore telecom scam – spat between Congress and BJP

08 Friday Jul 2016

Posted by in BSNL, Telecom

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

Instead of recovering the Rs. 15,000 crore (exactly Rs. 12,488.93) from the private telecom firms which the CAG has found out as the amount of tax due from them for the fraud committed by showing under-valued revenue, the Congress and the BJP are shouting at each other accusing the other for the fraud.

By under valuing the revenues, the six telecom private companies viz. Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance Communications, Idea Cellular Tata Teleservices and Aircel India had cheated the government of its taxes, as part of the revenue sharing. The CAG had submitted its report to the government that theses companies had shown their revenue less by about Rs. 45,000 crores, resulting in a loss of Rs. 15,000 crore to the government.

The fraud has taken place during the period of Congress, but even after coming in to power, the BJP has not taken any action.

In the meantime, the DOT has stated that the process for the recovery is being initiated.

Whether UPA or NDA, both take a soft stand when it comes to the corporate, MNCs  and big business. Of course, they are the governments of the corporates!

BharatNet Second Phase may start soon

27 Monday Jun 2016

Posted by in Telecom

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

BharatNet, former National Optical Fibre Network proposes to start its II Phase by July 2016. 1.20 lakh km optical fibre pipe have been laid till June 2016 as part of its I Phase. BharatNet is managed and executed by Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL) through three central PSUs viz. BSNL, Power Grid and Railtel, the former having the major share.

As per the II Phase, it is proposed to provide high speed broadband connectivity to 150 lakh Gram Panchayats.

Private telcos cheat the government of due taxes by understating revenues

12 Saturday Mar 2016

Posted by in Telecom

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

The story of the private telecom companies cheating the government of its due taxes continues. Latest is the report of the CAG that the private telcos including Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, RCom, Tata have all cheated the government of taxes of about 12,488.93 crore. This is done by understating the revenue of about Rs. 46,045.75 crore.

The government should act immediately and collect the due taxes.

BSNL Debt Rs. 7,666 crore, MTNL Debt Rs. 13,530 crore

10 Thursday Mar 2016

Posted by in BSNL News, PSU, Telecom

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

The Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad informed Lok Sabha today, 10th March 2016, that BSNL has a debt of Rs. 7,666 crore and for MTNL a debt of Rs. 13,530 crore. He also mentioned that these debts have arisen due to the purchase of spectrum. BSNL was compelled to pay Rs. 18,500 crore for spectrum, both BWA and 3G Spectrum and MTNL Rs. 11,097 for the same spectrum. BSNL has returned the BWA spectrum, but the amount of more than Rs.6,600 crore is yet to be paid back by government. For purchasing the spectrum the PSUs took the above loans.

What the government should do is to refund the charges for spectrum which has been returned already by BSNL  as also Rs. 1,250 crore from USOF which is pending payment for more than two years.

TRAI takes firm stand on Net-Neutrality

09 Tuesday Feb 2016

Posted by in Telecom

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

,

Putting an end to the discriminating tariff plans of certain net-providers like Facebook and Airtel, the TRAI has taken a firm stand on Net-Neutrality. Violation of Net-Neutrality will invite penalty up to a maximum of Rs.50 lakh.

The TRAI stated as follows: ” Keeping in view of India’s large number of Net users and content producers, the authority has taken a view that  prohibition of discriminatory tariff for data services is necessary to ensure service providers continue to fulfill obligations in keeping Internet open and non-discriminatory.”

Facebook’s Free Basics and Airtel Zero are barred accordingly. It is reported that Facebook has spent thousands of crores of rupees towards publicity of its Free Basics.

Reason has won at least for the present. TRAI has stated that it may review the decision after two years. The service providers have been given 6 months time to comply with the present decision.

 

BSNL provided 20 lakh new connections in January 2016 – Congratulations!

05 Friday Feb 2016

Posted by in BSNL - Better Service to the Nation, BSNLEU, Telecom

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

A REPORT FROM BSNL TELESERVICES IS GIVEN BELOW FOR INFORMATION

“We all are seeing the BSNL rejuvenating plans which are becoming the success stories. Yes, BSNL did it. BSNL has declared a new achievement which is, it has got 2 million gross new subscribers for BSNL Mobile in the month of Jan 2016, a new millstone for the efforts they have put in. BSNL is going like a bullet train and very aggressively with its new plans and decisions to make itself one of the best in class service provider for its sector.

Being a Public Sector enterprise, any change is a great deal. BSNL the only PSU in the telecom segment is able to push new boost among its own employees and its stake holders. BSNL strategies and adoptions of market expectations are quite dynamic. On the prima face, we thought that BSNL is trying to stand after a great surge. After a couple months it started running with its new BSNL Mobile Plans and Broadband Plans catalyzing the change in BSNL plans which were quickly accepted by large consumer base making BSNL to drive like a bullet train.

The financial year 2015 16 have given a bight scope of agility among BSNL stake holders. BSNL agenda, to make the company customer centric rather than a monotonous PSU company. To make this realized by its subscribers BSNL had implemented many plans and approach routes and bridged the gap between the subscriber and BSNL.

In this new record, BSNL Employees, Unions, Associations supports with their hard work to achieve this new mile stone, and in this new record Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan records top most growth and Assam, UP East, UP West, HP, Madhyapradesh, Maharashtra and Tamilnadu followed the record of acquiring highest volume of new mobile customers.”

Yes, BSNL is on the way to recovery by the joint efforts of the Unions/Associations and the Management. Let us continue this magnificent effort to bring BSNL to its past glory!