Category Archives: Telecom

Issues connected with telecom matters

CDMA Spectrum on Auction – Spectrum with BSNL/MTNL to be put on auction – TRAI

22 Saturday Feb 2014

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

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The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Saturday announced reserve prices for CDMA (800 MHz band) spectrum, putting minimum cost of pan-India per MHz of radio waves at Rs.2,685 crore, almost 50 per cent jump for the last auction’s base price. Of 22 telecom circles, the top five service areas in terms of their reserve price are – Delhi Rs.450 crore per MHz, Mumbai Rs.352 crore, Maharashtra Rs.282 crore, Tamil Nadu Rs.247 crore and Gujarat Rs.212 crore.

The regulator has also recommended that the entire CDMA spectrum held by the telecom PSU MTNL in Delhi and Mumbai be put up for auction as it is underutilised, besides suggesting that spectrum held by BSNL should be taken back and put for auction, except for one block of frequency in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and North-East service area. (Courtesy: Hindu)

Internet Users in India cross 23.87 crore, 9.4% of population

20 Thursday Feb 2014

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New Delhi: India’s Internet population rose to 238.71 million last year helped by growing number of users especially in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. In a written reply to Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Communication and IT Milind Deora said: “As per the Census of India 2011, 9.4 per cent of households of India have access to computers and 3.1 per cent of households have Internet.”
Quoting TRAI data, the Minister added that India’s total Internet subscribers stood at 238.71 million as of December 31, 2013. Maharashtra has the largest Internet subscribers at 38.78 million followed by Uttar Pradesh (22.90 million), Tamil Nadu (19.65 million), Gujarat (17.92 million) and Andhra Pradesh (17.07 million), Deora said.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had pegged Internet subscribers in India at 164.81 million as of March 31, 2013, with seven out of eight accessing the Internet from their mobile phones. In a separate query, Deora said according to the IT hardware industry body MAIT, the IT hardware market in India is likely to reach Rs 3 lakh crore in 2013-14 fiscal. (Courtesy: IBN)

Active Subscribers of BSNL is only 7.53%, far below Airtel, Vodafone, Idea and Reliance

16 Sunday Feb 2014

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

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Not only the BSNL is below on the total number of wireless connections to Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance and Idea, it is also much below all of them in active connections also.
The total wireless connections as in March 2013, the total connections and active connections are given below: % of active connections given in brackets.

Airtel 188,196071 ( 24.73%), Vodafone 152,353,654 (20.15%), Reliance 122,972,717 (14.76%), Idea 121,607,390 (16.63%) BSNL 101,206,625 (7.53%) MTNL 4,999,351 (0.32%).

The less number of active connections may be due to the government and other official connections. MTNL, which functions in Delhi and Mumbai alone has got only 0.32% connections.

However, this is a matter to be examined and the reason found out.

Mobile Charges may increase after high Spectrum Bids

14 Friday Feb 2014

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The Government will get more than Rs.61,000 crores from the present 2G Auction, though it may be in installments. This year it will get about Rs. 18,000 crores. Well for the government.

But what will happen to the customers? Though big companies like Reliance, Vodafone, Airtel etc. have got sufficient margin and deep pockets, they will utilise the opportunity to raise tariffs on the plea of the high auction price.

More burden on the customers to maximise the profits of the corporates and the super-rich!

Government approves Rs. 4,156.79 crore for Revival of ITI

14 Friday Feb 2014

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The government today approved a Rs 4,156.79-crore plan for revival of ailing ITI Ltd which is expected to be implemented over a period of 18 months.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, approved the revival plan of ITI Limited based on the recommendations of the Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprise (BRPSE).

The CCEA, an official statement said, has also approved regular monitoring of the implementation of the revival plan to be done by suitable committees which will be constituted at the corporate level and unit level in ITI and by an Apex Committee to be chaired by Telecom Secretary.

“Out of Rs 4,156.79 crore, capital grant of Rs 2,264 crore will be given in the form of equity for project implementation (CAPEX) for up-grading manufacturing infrastructure at various units and for new projects,” the statement said.

The balance Rs 1,892.79 crore will be financial assistance in the form of grant-in-aid for statutory liabilities and other commitments made by ITI such as redemption of preferential share capital of BSNL/MTNL, arrears due to 1997 pay revision and VRS.

“The revival plan is expected to be implemented over a period of 18 months. With the cleaning of the balance sheet to a certain extent, ITI will be able to raise resources for their operations and compete in the market,” the release said.

Further, it said, with upgrading of the manufacturing infrastructure at its plants, ITI will be able to manufacture new technology products in telecom / diversified fields and able to increase its market share.

ITI Ltd, earlier known as Indian Telephone Industries Limited, was established in 1948 and later converted as the first PSU of the country to assist the Government in the sensitive and strategic telecommunication field.

Government holds majority equity stake in the Company. The company was referred to the BIFR in 2004-05 and declared a sick company.
(Courtesy: Business Standard)

Govt. gets Rs. 62,000 crores through Spectrum Auction

13 Thursday Feb 2014

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The ten days spectrum ( 900 MHz and 1800 MHZ) auction which ended today, 12th February has made the government richer by Rs.61,162 crores. The bidding was aggressive and saw one of the most competitive auction.
As per the auction condition, the payments can be made in instalments. Accordingly, the government is expected to get about Rs.16,000 crores this year. The budget estimate for this year was only Rs. 11,343 crore.
The private companies may try to increase the charges on the plea of higher value of spectrum, but this can not be accepted. There should be no increase in the charges.

Govt. – Vodafone conciliation fail on Rs.11,200 Crore Tax case

12 Wednesday Feb 2014

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The negotiations going on between the Govt. of India and Vodafone, the second biggest telecom company in India, on the tax arrears of Rs. 11,200 crore to be paid by the latter, seems to have been failed and the Government is
The conciliation had no moral justification. Because it is a foreign and influential company, the government was bending its knee, and coming out for conciliation. These MNCs, with the strong support from their governments, are trying to bend Indian rules to suit their requirement and maximise profit. While the conciliation was going on, the Vodafone put another demand that another tax case of Rs. 8,500 crore also be brought under this negotiation. That issue is pending in court and the government case is very strong. The government refused to agree to the proposal and stated that the negotiations on Rs.11,200 crore proposal will not continue.
In such a situation, Vodafone will have to pay about Rs. 20,000 crore including the interest etc.
We feel that these taxes which are due to the government should be strictly collected. There need not be any leniency towards the Corporate Tax evaders.

Spectrum Auction goes to Rs. 52,698 crores.

09 Sunday Feb 2014

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New Delhi, Feb 7 : The third round of spectrum auction commenced for the fifth day today with Delhi witnessing an upward revision in prices for both the premium 900 Mhz and 1800 MHz band.

“Auction has started. There is excess demand in circles including Assam, J&K, MP, West Bengal, UP (E) and UP (W),” a Department of Telecom (DoT) official said.

At the end of fourth day, telecom companies have jointly made bids worth about Rs 52,689 crore. The government has got bids of around Rs 30,754 crore for 1800 Mhz band and Rs 21,935crore for 900 Mhz band.

The price of 900 Mhz in Delhi shot up by about 78 per cent to Rs 639.24 crore per megahertz as compared to the base price of Rs 360 crore fixed by the government; whereas for the 1800MHz band, the reserve price rose by 5 per cent to Rs 230 crorea MHz.

The auction for the fourth day ended with no excess demand for the first time for 900 Mhz in any of the three metros-Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.

In Mumbai, the price of 900 Mhz band increased by 72 percent to Rs 563.09 crore for a Mhz and in Kolkata by 54 percent to Rs 192.71 crore.

Government has put on auction about 385 megahertz of spectrum in the 1800 Mhz band, which started on February 3,following a February 2013 Supreme Court order.

Government is auctioning airwaves in 900 Mhz band in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, which are held by Vodafone, Airtel and Loop Mobile through their licences which are expiring in November.

The 3G auction in 2010 lasted for 34 days, while the auction in November 2012 lasted for 2 days and March auction last year lasted only one day.(PTI)

Aggressive Bid for Spectrum – Till now bids for Rs,42,000 crore

03 Monday Feb 2014

Posted by in 2G Scam Corruption, Telecom

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The spectrum auction today saw aggressive bidding by the telecom operators. After 7 rounds of bidding, the government has already ensured about Rs. 42,000 crore. There are still more circles for which the auction is to take place.
The bids have reached more than 44% of the bid price as per reports received.
Those who criticised CAG for calculating the loss in 2G auction at 1.76 lakh crore can think again. Spectrum is costly, very costly.

National Commission imposes penalty for Pesky calls.

03 Monday Feb 2014

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The National Commission has upheld the decision of the State Commission imposing penalty for pesky calls on the customers.

The National Commission upheld the State Commission’s order imposing a penalty of Rs 25 lakh each on Airtel and COAI. Similarly, penalty of Rs 12.5 lakh each on ICICI Bank and American Express Bank was also upheld. This penalty would go to the state consumer welfare fund.

This is a good decision. The customers are unnecessarily troubled and harassed by these unsolicited calls and messages.