Economic Survey calls for transparent telecom spectrum auction

August 31st, 2009 NEW DELHI - The dispute between the Department of Space (DoS) and Department of Telecommunications (DoT) over vacation of broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum can delay WiMax rollout, a senior official said here Monday. WiMax or wireless Internet is essential for increasing broadband penetration in the country - especially in rural areas.

July 27th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Defending the policy of giving licenses without auctioning spectrum, Communications and IT Minister A. Raja Monday said his decision to issue telecom licenses at nominal rates has led to higher tele-density and fetched huge revenue for the government.

July 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Suggesting some sweeping reforms in areas like foreign direct investment, divestment, taxation and the subsidy regime, India's Economic Survey says the country can achieve 7.75 percent growth this year despite the difficult global circumstances. The economy can even expand much higher than last year's growth if the monsoon rains were normal, said the country's annual economic report card for 2008-09 tabled in parliament Thursday by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

June 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Tata DoCoMo, the joint venture between telecom majors Tata Teleservices and NTT DoCoMo of Japan, commercially launched GSM telephony operations in Chennai and Tamil Nadu circles Wednesday. Tata DoCoMo's pan-India service rollout will be completed this year, with entire south Indian circles going "live" in a fortnight, it said in a statement.

June 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's telecom equipment industry reported 20 percent growth in revenues at Rs.114,527 crore ($24 billion) in 2008-09, compared to 24 percent rise recorded the year before, an industry survey said Monday. The survey was conducted by Voice&Data, the flagship telecom magazine of Cybermedia.

June 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Despite the overall slowdown and driven by unprecedented demand for mobile phone connections, the Indian telecom equipment industry grew 20 percent last fiscal to top $24 billion in revenues, says a new survey. Interestingly, though, the market for mobile and fixed-line handsets grew just 6 percent because of crashing prices and focus on rural market, said the annual survey by Voice and Data, a telecom industry journal of CyberMedia group.

May 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Allocation of frequency for telecom service providers and new rules for subscribers to switch operators using the same telephone numbers are among the policy initiatives for the sector expected to be on top of the agenda for the new government. The new government is also expected to take the real first step towards listing the state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) on stock exchanges as the move could not materialise earlier in the wake of opposition by Left parties during the outgoing government's reign.

March 31st, 2009 NEW DELHI - The telecom tribunal Tuesday upheld the government's dual spectrum allocation policy, allowing companies to offer mobile services under CDMA as well as GSM domain. Hearing a petition filed by GSM operators challenging the government's decision, the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) said: 'We do not find any ground to level malafide intention on the part of the Department of Telecom (DoT) and accordingly hold that the issue of early completion of formalities is not a matter that would require intervention at our level.' This settlement will enable CDMA players like Reliance Communications and Tata Telecommunications to offer both CDMA and GSM services to its customers.

February 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government Wednesday said it has accepted the telecom regulator's proposal to allow companies to offer mobile phone services without owning network infrastructure or spectrum. The government decision would pave the way for foreign and Indian companies to set up mobile virtual network operators (MVNO) in India which can roll out wireless telecom services by renting spectrum and networks from existing telecom companies.

February 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Delhi High Court Thursday asked the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for its response to a petition challenging the government's policy on spectrum allocation, including the first-come-first-served policy. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice Sanjeev Khanna expressed objections over the recent allocation of spectrum to non-telecom companies.

February 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Minister of State for Communications and IT Jyotiraditya Scindia Tuesday said the government has accepted the calling card proposal, which would offer flexibility to consumers to choose their carrier for making long-distance calls. 'The calling cards for both STD and ISD calls have been accepted, making it flexible for consumers to switch their carriers for long distance calls,' Scindia said at a conference here.

January 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The new policy for Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO) will be announced next month, Telecom Secretary Siddharth Behura said here Monday. Under the policy, a telecom operator can buy airtime for mobile phones in bulk and retail it to subscribers.

January 17th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Swan Telecom, a part of the diversified Mumbai-based Dynamix Balwas Group, says it will end all controversies surrounding it by rolling out second generation (2G) GSM mobile phone services anytime between April and June. 'We received spectrum for 13 circles from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and we will roll out our services between April and June,' Dynamix Balwas marketing vice president Ruth Varsulkar told IANS.

January 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Unitech Wireless, the telecom arm of real estate major Unitech Ltd., Monday said it has received 4.4 megahertz (MHz) of spectrum in the 1,800 MHz GSM band in the West Bengal telecom circle. With this, the company has been allotted initial spectrum in 21 service areas of India out of 22, a company statement said.

December 28th, 2008 NEW DELHI - Telecom operator Unitech Wireless, a subsidiary of real estate major Unitech, Monday said it has received 4.4 MHz of spectrum in the 1,800 MHz GSM bandwidth in four service areas. The company received spectrum in Assam for all districts except Dibrugarh, Jorhat and Kamrup, a company statement said.