Indian Telecom Folder

The Technology & Economic Forum is a venue to discuss issues pertaining to Technological and Economic developments in India. We request members to kindly stay within the mandate of this forum and keep their exchanges of views, on a civilised level, however vehemently any disagreement may be felt. All feedback regarding forum usage may be sent to the moderators using the Feedback Form or by clicking the Report Post Icon in any objectionable post for proper action. Please note that the views expressed by the Members and Moderators on these discussion boards are that of the individuals only and do not reflect the official policy or view of the Bharat-Rakshak.com Website. Copyright Violation is strictly prohibited and may result in revocation of your posting rights - please read the FAQ for full details. Users must also abide by the Forum Guidelines at all times.
member_21708
BRFite
Posts: 284
Joined: 11 Aug 2016 06:14

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by member_21708 »

BSNL to launch 7-inch tablet @ Rs 3250 to rival Aakash
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech ... 030910.cms
ManishH
BRFite
Posts: 974
Joined: 21 Sep 2010 16:53
Location: Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democractic republic

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by ManishH »

Kapil Sibal: Govt to auction 4G spectrum by year end
"By the end of the year, we are actually going to auction 4G (spectrum). That is what our intent is. We have enough spectrum now to share with everybody,"
...
"We will auction spectrum. When that auction will take place is something that we have to work out. The procedure are laborious, the procedures are complex," he said.
Yes Sibalji; some hard work is needed to fund elections.
member_21708
BRFite
Posts: 284
Joined: 11 Aug 2016 06:14

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by member_21708 »

nawabs
BRFite
Posts: 1637
Joined: 11 Aug 2016 06:14

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by nawabs »

BSNL's Rs 30k-cr cash pile reduces to Rs 2,500 cr

http://www.business-standard.com/india/ ... /161373/on
Dragged down by payments for 3G, BWA spectrum auction and higher expenses, state-run telecom firm BSNL's cash reserve dwindled to Rs 2,500 crore in 2010- 2011 from a hefty Rs 30,000 crore two years back.

"As per the audited books of account, cash reserve of BSNL has gone down from Rs 30,343 crore as on March 31, 2010 to Rs 2,500 crore on March 31, 2011," Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal told Lok Sabha in a written reply.

BSNL incurred net losses of Rs 6,384 crore during the financial year ended on March 31, 2010, he added.

The main reasons attributed for the steep decline were payment of Rs 18,500 crore towards 3G spectrum and broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum auction price and payment of Rs 5,301 crore to LIC towards group leave encashment scheme.

Payment of Rs 2,900 crore on implementation of revised pay scale and Rs 392 crore in tax liabilities also added to the burden of the telecom firm, he added.

Decline in revenue and increasing expenditure resulted in losses for the telecom firm, Sibal said.

Stiff competition from private operators and decreasing average revenue per user accounted for decline in revenues, while increased expenditure resulted from large legacy work force whose wages accounted for 50% of the revenue, he said.

In response to another query, Minister of State for Communications and IT Milind Deora said BSNL had Rs 5,231 crore as outstanding dues from customers as on November 30, 2011. The company has recovered Rs 988 crore against the outstanding dues in the same period.

BSNL has sought continuation of support from the government towards rural wireline connections on phasing out of access deficit charge (ADC).

"Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (telecom regulator) has made an interim recommendation of Rs 600 crore as support," he said.

Struggling to survive in the highly competitive telecom sector, BSNL had offered to surrender its BWA spectrum to the government after its plans to rollout WiMAX-based services using these airwaves through a franchisee model flopped.

The government had also appointed Sam Pitroda, an advisor to the Prime Minister on infrastructure, to give a report on restructuring the PSU.

The panel in its report recommended a 30% divestment in the company and voluntary retirement for 100,000 employees among others. Unlisted BSNL has over three lakh employees.

Sibal said the government is taking various steps to improve the financial health of thecompany.Consolidation of infrastructure, strengthening of revenue streams through focus on broadband and enterprise business, focus on customer care and push on data usage are some steps the company is taking in this regard, he said.
Vipul
BRF Oldie
Posts: 3727
Joined: 15 Jan 2005 03:30

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by Vipul »

2G spectrum: TRAI sets base price at 10 times 2008 rate.

Mobile companies will have to shell out significantly higher money for buying spectrum in future.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Monday suggested a base price that ranges between Rs 3,622 crore and Rs 14,480 per megahertz of airwaves. If these recommendations are accepted, the Government can hope to rake in at least Rs 7 lakh crore by 2014 by selling various chunks of spectrum bands.

The immediate impact of this will be on the new 2G players whose licences have been cancelled by the Supreme Court. These operators paid a total of Rs 1,650 crore for 4.4 Mhz of pan India spectrum in 2008. Now they will have to pay a minimum of Rs 16,000 crore for the same amount of spectrum.

The telecom regulator has suggested that auction for 2G spectrum should be done in a single phase open to all players, including incumbent players, which is contrary to what the new players wanted. But the TRAI has tried to strike a balance by suggesting that operators who already have maximum airwaves under the prescribed cap will not be able to buy more.

This will put the larger incumbent players like Airtel and Vodafone out of the race as they already have between 8 and 10 Mhz of spectrum in most key circles, which is the prescribed limit for GSM segment.

In order to make the payout less painful, the regulator has proposed to allow a two-year moratorium for auction winners with the option of paying 33 per cent of the bid amount initially and the balance over a 10- year period. The dampener however is that it has given the Government the freedom to impose a suitable interest rate in consultation with the Finance Ministry. TRAI said that spectrum should be sold in tranches of 1.25 Mhz with the operator allowed to acquire at least 5 Mhz in each circle.

For 700 Mhz band, the TRAI said that the auction can be held later in 2014 once the handset ecosystem develops. 700 Mhz band is used for offering Fourth Generation (4G) technology. The base price for this band has been pegged at Rs 14,480 crore per Mhz.

In 2010, the Government had fixed Rs 1,750 crore as the base price for 20 Mhz of broadband spectrum. Reliance Industries will stand to gain from this proposal as it can be the only pan Indian broadband player at least till 2014-15. This will hurt other players like Airtel who were looking to acquire more 4G broadband spectrum this year.

What will hurt the incumbent GSM players even more is that the TRAI has suggested immediate re-farming of 900 Mhz band. This frequency band is considered to be superior in terms of efficiency and capital investments.

At present this is being used by Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular, which now the TRAI wants to take away once the initial licence expires (2014 onwards) and resell in the open market. Bharti's total liability will be around Rs 30,000 crore in 2013-15 to retain existing spectrum.

Not surprisingly, telecom companies blasted the recommendations and said that if implemented it will impact affordability.

“The TRAI's actions seem to be directed towards creating unnecessary constraints for the sector, overlooking the universal rules of sustainability and growth for this sector. Under such inconsistent, regressive and uncertain regulatory environment, it is inconceivable that the telecom industry, which is already in a state of doldrums, will be able to deliver on the Government's vision of affordable communications, rural penetration and rollout of data services,” said Bharti Airtel.
nawabs
BRFite
Posts: 1637
Joined: 11 Aug 2016 06:14

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by nawabs »

DoT may put more 2G spectrum on auction

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/ind ... epage=true
The Department of Telecom is looking to sweeten the auction deal by putting more spectrum on the block.

The Department has started talks with the Defence forces to get 55 Mhz of spectrum more in the 1,800 Mhz frequency band. If this comes through, there will be enough bandwidth to accommodate three-five players in each circle.

While the DoT has backed the base price set by TRAI, the move to get more spectrum freed up will enable the operators buy it cheaper than bidding for just one slot.

TRAI had proposed selling only 5 Mhz spectrum, which is enough for just one player. This is one of the sticking points with the industry, which has taken a view that the regulator's move will put an artificial squeeze on the supply of spectrum. The regulator has justified the move, saying that a large chunk of the available spectrum should be reserved for re-farming.

In a presentation to the Empowered Group of Ministers, the DoT has envisaged three auction scenarios including one where it is able to get the additional 55 Mhz spectrum vacated by the Defence forces. The DoT has stated that in case Defence forces give up 55 Mhz of spectrum, then it will have 47 slots of 5 Mhz chunk across the country compared with just 33 slots without it.

The extra bandwidth will be able to accommodate four players in three circles, three players in another four circles, five players in one circle, and two players in seven circles even if spectrum is reserved for re-farming in 2014 when the 20-year licences of incumbent operators come up for renewal.

The DoT has also presented the option of not keeping any spectrum for re-farming, in which case the number of 5 Mhz slots available go up to over 100. This is the best case scenario for which the operators are lobbying hard. They want all available spectrum to be put on the block in order to give a fair chance to more number of operators. In addition, the operators want the base price to be reduced by at least 80 per cent. The final decision on these issues will be taken by the EGoM after getting recommendations from the Telecom Commission.

Meanwhile, the DoT has initiated steps to finalise the auctioneer. On Thursday, it floated a Request for Proposal inviting bids from interested auctioning firms. Interested firms have been asked to submit sealed bids by June 11 and the auctioneer will be selected on June 20. The DoT plans to issue the information memorandum for conducting the auction on July 15.
Vasu
BRFite
Posts: 869
Joined: 16 Dec 2002 12:31

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by Vasu »

I was under the impression that Reliance was going to be the first company to launch 4G services in India.

I got a shocker yesterday when I logged onto http://www.airtel.in and realized that the company has launched 4G services in the Kolkata circle! It is planning to launch the services soon in Bangalore.

The rates arent that bad actually.
  • plan name rentals (per month-INR) free quota (GB) speed post FUP (kbps)
    breakfree 999 6 128
    breakfree max 1399 9 128
    breakfree ultra 1999 18 128
SRoy
BRFite
Posts: 1938
Joined: 15 Jul 2005 06:45
Location: Kolkata
Contact:

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by SRoy »

Vasu wrote:I was under the impression that Reliance was going to be the first company to launch 4G services in India.

I got a shocker yesterday when I logged onto http://www.airtel.in and realized that the company has launched 4G services in the Kolkata circle! It is planning to launch the services soon in Bangalore.

The rates arent that bad actually.
  • plan name rentals (per month-INR) free quota (GB) speed post FUP (kbps)
    breakfree 999 6 128
    breakfree max 1399 9 128
    breakfree ultra 1999 18 128
yeah, I've the flyer. i'll scan it upload it for ya if you wish.

so they are telling me that I buy a 4G device to access data over a blazingly hot 128 KBPS pipe?

EIC incarnate m*d*rc**ds, time to nationalize the telecom sector.
Tanaji
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4521
Joined: 21 Jun 2000 11:31

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by Tanaji »

^^^ Speed post FUP means after you have downloaded up to your monthly quota you get throttled. So in the case above it means that after 6/9/18 GB you will get throttled to 128 Kbps.

Speed before FUP will be whatever maximum bit rate they are offering which should be in some Mbps.

The above seem to be very very good deals, assuming you get a good bit rate at your location.
SRoy
BRFite
Posts: 1938
Joined: 15 Jul 2005 06:45
Location: Kolkata
Contact:

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by SRoy »

Thanks, I'm a 3G data user in addition to my broadband connection and I'm from the industry, so I understand what FUP is.
Whether F stands for Fair or FUBARED is another question.

Maybe operators are not finding it financially viable to provide world standard data services at reasonable prices. I'm okay with it. Nobody's asking them to be in the business if they don't see a business case.

Probably types of Mittal don't see the problem. Data is the king now. Voice is just a service over that. If he thinks he can keep up with subscriber growth share in his favour by selling ridiculously low GSM products by shafting premium users, then well its his business decisions. Data business is going to some other provider.

Airtel was first off the mark, but do check who's the 2nd one in the broadband market, despite numerous the disadvantages.
Tanaji
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4521
Joined: 21 Jun 2000 11:31

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by Tanaji »

^^^Veerji , I doubt if you are going to get anyone that will offer unlimited, unrestricted data for a decent price. The high cost of the spectrum simply does not permit that. Carriers have realized that building more capacity does nothing, the capacity increases get wiped out overnight. What we will find that eventually carriers will start charging for premium access. In other words in addition to data caps, you will have a classification of being a gold/silver/bronze type of user. In case of congestion, a gold user will get priority. Perhaps business users will pay for that.
EIC incarnate m*d*rc**ds, time to nationalize the telecom sector.
No thanks. The govt monopoly was great for those who had connections, but for poor mortals like me it meant 5 year waits for a simple phone line and making the linesman your God that had to be worshipped with bribes.
SRoy
BRFite
Posts: 1938
Joined: 15 Jul 2005 06:45
Location: Kolkata
Contact:

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by SRoy »

^^

There is always an implicit data cap. Given a bandwidth you can only download a certain volume with a time period. There is no such thing as being absolute unlimited usage.

I beleive you are looking at it solely from the carriers POV.

Let me put this is in a very much laymens term. I've data needs and my applications would work smoothly given a minimum bandwidth. Am I asking for a fat 8Mbps pipe? No. But on the other hand there are minimum needs.

A video stream at 280 dpi just manages a jitter free rendering with a 512kpbs bandwdth. An average webcam also manages through.

Now a virtual cap is already in place, but crippling the service at 128kpbs (which is way below the minimum bandwidth mark for most apps, in fact it does not even qualify as broadband) is just an underhand tactic to induce users to upgrade to a higher package. This unethical.
Carriers have realized that building more capacity does nothing, the capacity increases get wiped out overnight
Genuinly scaling up infrastructure is one thing. Robbing subscribers to pay off overseas acquisition is something else.

Agreed upon your comment about government monopoly, though I don't agree to swap that for a cartel of crony capitalists.
chetak
BRF Oldie
Posts: 32278
Joined: 16 May 2008 12:00

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by chetak »

No network in Nathula so jawans borrow phones from Chinese soldiers

The telecom revolution may have networked the length and breadth of the country but it hasn’t quite touched jawans at the China border at Nathula who are forced to borrow handsets from their Chinese counterparts on the other side of the fence to stay in touch with their families.

This was the startling discovery made by members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology during a study visit to Nathula Pass in July last year. The Committee’s tour notes record this: “The Army personnel during the deliberations brought the attention of the Committee to poor telecom connectivity at Nathula. The Committee expressed unhappiness to learn from the jawans that they have to borrow the handsets from the jawans posted in the borders on the other side to remain in touch with their family members.”

Several private players have a presence in Sikkim but these are focused on Gangtok and adjoining areas with state-owned BSNL being the only major service provider near the Nathula outpost. However, procurement of mobile towers and telephone exchanges by BSNL for deployment near the army camp has been delayed, “For the last four years, purchase orders have not been placed,”said a BSNL official. The House panel asked BSNL to fast-track the purchase but nothing has moved so far.

Nathula in Sikkim’s East district is one of the three open trading border posts between China and India. Agreements limit trade across Nathula to 29 types of goods from India and 15 from the Chinese side after it was reopened in 2006.
Vasu
BRFite
Posts: 869
Joined: 16 Dec 2002 12:31

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by Vasu »

SRoy wrote:
Airtel was first off the mark, but do check who's the 2nd one in the broadband market, despite numerous the disadvantages.
Who?


VAS is indeed king now.
I had an argument with a Vodafone customer rep a few days ago who couldn't understand why a 2 GB 2G connection was available to prepaid customers at Rs. 149 and at 299 to Postpaid customers. So another person called me and tried selling me a cheaper voice plan to compensate. Still couldn't explain why a postpaid consumer has to pay more for the same thing. Makes sense that so many Indians are prepaid. No use getting indentured to one telecom company at all!
Tanaji
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4521
Joined: 21 Jun 2000 11:31

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by Tanaji »

^^^I have no idea of the Indian telecom business side but perhaps the recoveries in case of post paid may be of higher risk than other countries which could be a pointer to the higher cost?

In most other countries pre-paid is more expensive due to the extra expense involved in the call processing and underlying infrastructure.
krishnan
BRF Oldie
Posts: 7342
Joined: 07 Oct 2005 12:58
Location: 13° 04' N , 80° 17' E

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by krishnan »

In most other countries pre-paid is more expensive due to the extra expense involved in the call processing and underlying infrastructure.
Does prepaid use some of there infrastructure ??? When you talk on airtel and whether its post paid or prepaid ...you are using the same infrastructure
Tanaji
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4521
Joined: 21 Jun 2000 11:31

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by Tanaji »

^^^ Infrastructure is the same but there is more call processing involved with prepaid. Firstly, the number of messages involved in signalling is higher. Secondly the call flow requires slightly different nodes in terms of billing. More (different) nodes means more expense.

CPU time is cheap these days but opex costs are not, hence more expense (compared to post paid).
SRoy
BRFite
Posts: 1938
Joined: 15 Jul 2005 06:45
Location: Kolkata
Contact:

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by SRoy »

Vasu wrote:
SRoy wrote: Airtel was first off the mark, but do check who's the 2nd one in the broadband market, despite numerous the disadvantages.
Who?
BSNL.
Vasu wrote: VAS is indeed king now.
Data/broadband is NOT VAS now (probably it used to be during the dial up internet age), its a basic service at present. Any operator that thinks data as VAS now will file for bankruptcy in a few years down the line. In fact voice is one of the VAS on NGN.
SRoy
BRFite
Posts: 1938
Joined: 15 Jul 2005 06:45
Location: Kolkata
Contact:

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by SRoy »

Tanaji wrote:^^^ Infrastructure is the same but there is more call processing involved with prepaid. Firstly, the number of messages involved in signalling is higher. Secondly the call flow requires slightly different nodes in terms of billing. More (different) nodes means more expense.

CPU time is cheap these days but opex costs are not, hence more expense (compared to post paid).
:) Your truly manages a online charging and billing system product line. Pre-paid billig is a nightmare.

Desi operators are extremely 'angootha chhaap' when it comes to infra. N/W management is outsourced to OEM's, OSS/BSS is outsourced (unless the N/W OEM agrees to share the burden themselves).
Gaurav_S
BRFite
Posts: 785
Joined: 16 Mar 2006 15:40
Location: Out on other planet
Contact:

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by Gaurav_S »

Anybody in telecom domain knows how technically challenging it would be to provide mobile network coverage in the tunnel. This tunnel can either have a road or railway track. Are there any tunnels (at least 2-3km long) in desh where you get mobile reception? Apologies if i have underestimated India's technical capabilities.
rajkumar
BRFite
Posts: 423
Joined: 22 Sep 2000 11:31
Location: London U.K
Contact:

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by rajkumar »

Gaurav_S wrote:Anybody in telecom domain knows how technically challenging it would be to provide mobile network coverage in the tunnel. This tunnel can either have a road or railway track. Are there any tunnels (at least 2-3km long) in desh where you get mobile reception? Apologies if i have underestimated India's technical capabilities.
Its not technically difficult to provide radio coverage in tunnels etc. The cost is not that much either. The issue is what is the traffic expected through the tunnel which would justify this expense.
member_20036
BRFite
Posts: 140
Joined: 11 Aug 2016 06:14

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by member_20036 »

Videocon, Huawei initiate legal action in supply row.huawei supplied poor quality

Videocon has slapped a legal notice on Chinese telecom equipment giantHuawei Technologies, seeking $180 million (about Rs 992 crore) in damages for providing faulty equipment and poor network services.
The move comes even as Huawei says it has sent a legal notice to the Indian consumer electronics to gas and mobile services company for$150 million (about Rs 827 crore) of unpaid dues. Videocon Chairman Venugopal Dhoot confirmed the development and said, “Yes, we havesent a legal notice of $180 million to Huawei for providing us poor network services and equipment.”

http://www.business-standard.com/india/ ... ow/481187/
SRoy
BRFite
Posts: 1938
Joined: 15 Jul 2005 06:45
Location: Kolkata
Contact:

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by SRoy »

rajkumar wrote:
Gaurav_S wrote:Anybody in telecom domain knows how technically challenging it would be to provide mobile network coverage in the tunnel. This tunnel can either have a road or railway track. Are there any tunnels (at least 2-3km long) in desh where you get mobile reception? Apologies if i have underestimated India's technical capabilities.
Its not technically difficult to provide radio coverage in tunnels etc. The cost is not that much either. The issue is what is the traffic expected through the tunnel which would justify this expense.
Can't say whether GSM-R will be profitable for Indian Railways. Major routes have almost complete cellular coverage.

Gaurav_S,

Have you rode Delhi Metro lately? Underground stretches? Signal quality seems decent without even a dedicated GSM-R network.
suryag
Forum Moderator
Posts: 4041
Joined: 11 Jan 2009 00:14

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by suryag »

Coverage can be provided inside tunnels by way of repeaters or the newer method of using Femto cells connected to an IP backbone
Gaurav_S
BRFite
Posts: 785
Joined: 16 Mar 2006 15:40
Location: Out on other planet
Contact:

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by Gaurav_S »

Thanks guys, answers my question. Have travelled in delhi metro just once when i was there. But this travel was very short for me to notice quality of coverage.
Vipul
BRF Oldie
Posts: 3727
Joined: 15 Jan 2005 03:30

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by Vipul »

RIL's Infotel may buy $1 billion 4G network gear from Samsung Electronics.

Reliance Industries-owned Infotel Broadband is likely to procure over $1 billion (about 5,500 crore) of network gear from Samsung Electronics to meet a sizeable chunk of its fourth generation equipment requirement.

Executives familiar with the matter told ET that talks are at an advanced stage for supply of LTE, or long-term evolution technology, network gear to launch the first wave of Infotel's 4G services in Mumbai and Delhi. The two companies have also discussed potential bundling of a 4G handset and devices supply deal within the contract, the executives said.

The entry of the South Korean conglomerate in India's telecom infrastructure market is expected to intensify competition in a sector where most operators have lowered capital expenditures, entailing fewer contracts for equipment providers and more pressure on their profit margins.

While Samsung said it would not comment on speculation, Infotel Broadband declined to comment on the specifics of the deal.

"Infotel Broadband Services has, and continues to be, engaged in discussions with numerous potential partners where a partnered approach creates win-win-win opportunities for IBSL, its customers and its partners. Given the strategic and confidential nature of the ongoing discussions, we are unable to confirm or comment on any specific discussion," said a Reliance Industries spokesman, in a written response to ET's email query.

Infotel has asked Samsung to supply, for its ongoing equipment trials, about 3,000 base stations, which may be eventually deployed in Mumbai, an executive said.

Infotel is likely to initially source a mix of Samsung's SmartMBS multi-standard base stations and small-cell LTE base stations, the executive said, adding that the 4G base stations are likely to be priced between $15,000 (about 8 lakh) and $20,000 (about 11 lakh) a piece.

"Reliance is in talks with reputed 4G gear vendors, including Samsung, and will shortly finalise a clutch of equipment contracts that will collectively run into billions of dollars," said an executive, who did not wish to be named.

Besides Samsung, Reliance is believed to be in talks with China's Huawei and ZTE, along with European players such as Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Networks that have more experience in managing the networks of mobile carriers in India.

Infotel is likely to take a final call depending on the ability of the vendors to adhere to the stringent 4G network rollout timelines in addition to offering competitive rates.

"Timelines for the subsequent countrywide 4G push will be fixed after we have tested the waters in Mumbai and Delhi," an executive said.Industry experts say Reliance has an edge over its rivals because it is the only player with pan-India 4G permit, even as the country's leading mobile carrier, Bharti Airtel, had a headstart after it launched 4G services in Kolkata and Bangalore.
chetak
BRF Oldie
Posts: 32278
Joined: 16 May 2008 12:00

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by chetak »

About time.

Foreign telecom equipment for critical networks to be banned
Fear of cyber intrusion and control by China has prompted an inter-ministerial panel to recommend a complete ban on overseas sourcing of telecom equipment for all critical networks while supporting 100 per cent domestic sourcing for such projects.

“India’s territorial boundaries are adjacent to unfriendly neighbours. If any critical network is built using equipment from hostile countries and the same is shut down for a small time period, the country’s security will be seriously compromised,” says the report on ‘Preference to Domestically Manufactured Electronic & Telecom Goods in Procurement, due to Security Considerations, and in Government Procurement’. “For this very reason, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, who also are in close geographical proximity to hostile countries, do not allow any critical network to be built using equipment from such countries,” says the July 19 report.
Vipul
BRF Oldie
Posts: 3727
Joined: 15 Jan 2005 03:30

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by Vipul »

Centre plays ‘Mobile Game’ ahead of 2014 polls.

Feeling the heat from the Opposition over failure to check inflation and exposed in multiple scams, the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre has been planning to play mobile card to retain third term in the 2014 general election.

As par the plan, Government is finalizing a Rs 7,000 crore project to provide one mobile phone to each BPL family.

Sources said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to launch the ‘Har Hath Mein Phone’ schemes on August 15.

The scheme will not only keep six million BPL families connected with the welfare schemes of the central government but also provide 200 min local talk time free.

Political experts believe that the move is aimed to keep connected with the sizable population of six million BPL families, which play major role in vote bank politics.

According to the sources, the funding of this scheme will be done by Telecom Department’s universal service obligation (USO) funds. The Telecom department will provide 50 percent of funding remaining part of the cost will be paid by the bidding company, who gets the right to provide the telecom services.

The scheme may be looked attractive for BPL families and may help in 2014 general election but the ground realty displays different story.

Whereas a millions of BPL families are forced to sleep without food every night, will mobile phone help them to get the sufficient meal to end the hunger? Definitely not. This scheme will make them addicted to ‘mobile phobia’ and force them to throw away their maximum earnings in mobile recharge.
gunjur
BRFite
Posts: 602
Joined: 11 Aug 2016 06:14

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by gunjur »

Apologies if already posted.
Sistema set to buy Aircel for $3 bn
If the deal happens, it will end the uncertainty about Sistema's future in India and give it the ownership of a national operator with close to 65 million subscribers. The Russian company, which operates mobile services on CDMA technology in India, lost its licence after the Supreme Court revoked all permits.
Abhijeet
BRFite
Posts: 805
Joined: 11 Nov 2001 12:31

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by Abhijeet »

I happened to click on a Tata Docomo ad for wired broadband, intrigued by an offer of "up to" 100 Mbps. I knew better than to take them at face value, of course, but still.

Here's the tariffs page I got: http://www.tatadocomo.com/Get-wired-broadband.aspx

6 Mbps unlimited broadband for the low, low price of Rs. 9,999 per month. No, there's not an extra 9 in there. An unbelievable value!
nakul
BRFite
Posts: 1251
Joined: 31 Aug 2011 10:39

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by nakul »

No roaming charges from next year: Kapil Sibal
Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal on Monday said that mobile phone subscribers will not have to pay roaming charges from next year.

“From next year… Our secretary has told you that it will be free from next year,” Mr. Sibal said here in response to a query on the timing of removing roaming charges as proposed in the National Telecom Policy 2012.

The Minister was speaking to the media on the sidelines of the curtain raiser event of India Internet Governance Conference.

NTP 2012, approved in May, aims to abolish roaming charges and allow mobile phone subscribers to use same number across country without having to pay extra charges for services once they are outside their telecom circle.
Avinash R
BRFite
Posts: 1973
Joined: 24 Apr 2008 19:59

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by Avinash R »

DoT issues notice to stop firms' 3G roaming accords
New Delhi, Sep 28 (IANS) The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued notice to telecom firms asking them to stop 3G roaming services outside their licensed area within three days, officials said Friday. The notice sent to Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Vodafone asks them to explain why penal action should not be taken against them.
Vipul
BRF Oldie
Posts: 3727
Joined: 15 Jan 2005 03:30

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by Vipul »

One-time fee favours ‘coterie led by Airtel’, Anil Ambani writes to PM.

Battle between Reliance Communication and Bharti Airtel on spectrum is now out in the open. Reliance Communications’ Chairman Anil Ambani has, in a letter to the Prime Minister, questioned the propriety of the plan to impose a one-time fee on 4.4 Mhz spectrum and upwards. The letter alleges that the policy is loaded in favour of a “coterie led by Bharti Airtel”.

“When I look at the completely biased and partisan approach adopted by the Department of Telecom against new players like Reliance and Tatas, to the staggering financial advantage of the older coterie of GSM operators led by Bharti Airtel, I am left wondering whether all this can be attributed just to poor judgment, or there is something more than meets the eye,” Ambani wrote.(The shoe is on the other foot, who could have imagined an Ambani :(( :(( over being out-manipulated) The letter dated October 11 was sent ahead of the last meeting of the Empowered Group of Ministers on this issue.

Unusual decision
The EGoM had overruled an opinion by the Attorney-General and fixed the spectrum cut-off limit at 4.4 Mhz for GSM and 2.5 Mhz for CDMA. The AG had opined that the cut-off be set at 6.2 Mhz. Due to the EGoM’s decision, RCom has to pay for the additional 2.5 Mhz of CDMA spectrum. It also won’t be able to apply for additional spectrum beyond 4.4 Mhz.

Ambani termed the EGoM’s decision highly unusual. “The views of the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission who had endorsed the approach of the learned AG have also been brushed aside,” he said. Ambani claimed that international lenders, rating agencies and investors were aghast at the new EGoM decisions which, he said, destroy the sanctity of past contracts.

According to analysts, the one-time fee will cost the operators around Rs 30,000 crore. Bharti Airtel and RCom would have to pay Rs 4,000-5,000 crore. Had the cut-off been set at 6.2 Mhz, RCom would not have had to pay anything.

“The global community is also concerned that these decisions of the EGoM will lead to fresh protracted litigation and widespread adverse international coverage,” he said.
vipins
BRFite
Posts: 471
Joined: 12 Jun 2008 17:46

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by vipins »

Govt takes a call on preventing Chinese Trojans
The government of India wants to promote domestic manufacturers of telecom products, as it is worried that foreign suppliers of telecom equipment, especially China, might indulge in cyber espionage during a crisis or war.
The department has identified 18 hardware items used for telecommunications that will be put under a preferential market access category and that will be manufactured locally. They include SIM cards, base stations switching centres, network management systems, modems used for WiFi or 3G broadband services and EPABX boxes. The new rules are expected to come into force from April 1, 2013.
Though the government wants to achieve 100% dependence on domestic manufacturers, the shift will take place gradually. It will first be mandatory for all telecom companies to procure a minimum of 30% equipment from domestic manufacturers in the first year. This will go up to 45% by 2017 and so on.
member_20036
BRFite
Posts: 140
Joined: 11 Aug 2016 06:14

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by member_20036 »

Chinese co second biggest SIM card supplier in India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech ... 620664.cms

The company also designed the chip that went into the latest and controversial version of Chinese passport that contains China's map showing India's Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin
PratikDas
BRFite
Posts: 1927
Joined: 06 Feb 2009 07:46
Contact:

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by PratikDas »

We're going to see website names ending with .कॉम soon. See prioritization number 26.

ICANN: New gTLD Current Application Status
Vipul
BRF Oldie
Posts: 3727
Joined: 15 Jan 2005 03:30

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by Vipul »

Rs 20,000-crore deals in push for rural broadband.

The government’s Rs. 20,000-crore project to provide high-speed broadband in 200,000 villages across India has finally taken off. Bharat Broadband Nigam Ltd (BBNL), a special purpose vehicle (SPV) created for this purpose, has invited bids for procuring 400,000 kms of optical fibre cable(OFC). About 200,000 villages will get broadband connections by April 2014, said N Ravi Shankar, chairman, BSNL.

Sterlite, HFCL, Birla Ericsson, and Teracom have submitted bids, said sources. “Procuring OFC is the first step of the project,” said MF Farooqui, secretary, DoT. “The project is being implemented on a priority basis.”

In a review meeting held last month, Ravi Shankar informed IT minister Kapil Sibal that BBNL aims to connect 100,000 Gram Panchayats by December end and total 200,000 villages by April 2014.

The government aims to provide e-education, e-health and various e-governance services to villages through this network.

In order to maintain high-speed and quality of services, the Gram Panchayats are to be connected through OFC. At present, OFC connectivity is available only up to block level. The project also plans to utilise existing OFC networks of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), Railtel and Power Grid. Once the network is complete it will be called National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN).
krishnan
BRF Oldie
Posts: 7342
Joined: 07 Oct 2005 12:58
Location: 13° 04' N , 80° 17' E

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by krishnan »

BBNL ??? for what , cant they just use BSNL ???
Vipul
BRF Oldie
Posts: 3727
Joined: 15 Jan 2005 03:30

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by Vipul »

Disconnect in India's rural telecom fund; Rs 27,949.91 crore idling.

A fund created 10 years ago to help link each of India's 638,596 villages with telecom and broadband connectivity with mandatory contributions by private service providers seems to be idling, with a whopping $4.65 billion in balance.Thus far, around $8.4 billion (Rs 50, 682.95 crore) has been collected towards what is called Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) since 2002-03 when parliament approved the scheme. Official data shows $4.65 billion (Rs 27,949.91 crore) remains unused.

While experts and stakeholers question the rationale behind continuing with this fund, which imposes a financial burden on telecom operators, those entrusted with it say it is just a matter of time before it starts showing and fetching results."This fund is equivalent to 0.25 percent of India's gross domestic product and remains unallocated and is highly inefficient," said Gabriel Solomon, the public policy head of Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA), the global association for mobile companies.

"If the fund were left with the industry, it would be spent on infrastructure investment that has a positive economic impact," Solomon said in an e-mail from London, based on the findings of a recent report on India's fund.

In fact, the report prepared by the association, which is a powerful lobby and public policy advocacy, also suggests that the Indian fund has had a net negative impact on the country's telecom and information and communications technology sectors."One of the main reasons why such funds remain unused in many countries is that a competitive industry like telecom moves at a pace which these funds cannot keep up with," said Solomon.

"In a matter of a few years, the mobile industry in India has built huge infrastructure, connecting hundreds of millions of people. Why even consider a USOF (Universal Service Obligation Fund) now? If the private sector is appropriately incentivised it will always outperform the public sector."

Not that N Ravi Shanker, the administrator of the fund under the Department of Telecom and chairman and managing director of Bharat Broadband Nigam Ltd (BBNL) disagrees. "But this is just half the story," he said.According to him, of the Rs.27,949.91 crore left unused, some Rs.20,000 crore will be deployed for the national optic fibre network project and another Rs.3,046 crore for installing 2,199 mobile towers in the nine Left-wing extremism-affected states."The criticism is valid for the time being. But we are evolving. As the projects start rolling out, we will need more funds," he said, adding the projects include one to link each of India's 250,000 village councils with high-speed data cables.

Mahesh Uppal, director of Com First, a leading consultancy, said it was true that money collected from operators was largely unspent and only a small fraction of it has been deployed for rural telephony so far."But the rules for the fund include its use for broadband too and the government will use most of it for the national optic fibre network. It is not that the money is idle. It is in the consolidated fund and is being used for other government activities," he said."Yes, the fund has not worked perfectly. There are some structural problems. It is very inflexible. We need to change the rules so that we can use it more creatively - that is by other entities, not just holders of telecom licences," Uppal said.
krishnan
BRF Oldie
Posts: 7342
Joined: 07 Oct 2005 12:58
Location: 13° 04' N , 80° 17' E

Re: Indian Telecom Folder

Post by krishnan »

11:46 Gujarat move to charge lower telecom rental challenged in High Court: The Narendra Modi government's decision to charge 20% lower rent for cables being laid in Gujarat by 4G service providers such as Reliance JioInfocom, as well as a uniform rental for towers built on municipal land, has been challenged in the high court by a local Congress leader Abdul Hamid Bhatti.
is there anything legally wrong with what Modi is doing ????
Post Reply