Government seeks telecom industry’s views on reducing tariffs

September 17th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Telecom major Aircel has signed a $400-million tower sharing agreement with Datacom Solutions, part of the Videocon group, the companies said Thursday. According to the deal, Datacom, which holds a licence to roll out mobile telecom services but is yet to launch operations, can use at least 5,000 Aircel towers for 16 months.

September 14th, 2009 France Telecom mobilizing managers after suicidesPARIS — France Telecom SA was mobilizing all 20,000 of its managers Monday in an effort to respond to a string of 23 employee suicides that unions blame partly on layoffs and restructuring at the telecommunications giant. The company's head of human resources, Olivier Barberot, was holding a conference call with all of France Telecom's managers, in response to the latest suicide on Friday.

August 31st, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government is mulling a uniform licence fee for various services offered by telecom operators, a top official said here Monday. "The DoT (Department of Telecommunications) is considering implementing a uniform licence fee," said Telecom Secretary Siddhartha Behura at a conference organised by the Internet Service Providers Association of India.

July 23rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government Thursday said new entrants in the telecom sector cannot sell the promoters' equity within three years of getting the licence. "There shall be a lock-in period for sale of equity of a person whose share capital is 10 percent or more in the UAS (unified access service) licensee company," the Department of Telecom (DoT) said in a statement.

July 22nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The country's telecom watchdog has sought the views of the industry stakeholders on mobile number portability (MNP) charges that will help decide what service providers and a customer should pay for switching operators. MNP once implemented will allow subscribers to retain their existing mobile number when they switch from one service provider to another or from one technology to another of the same service provider.

July 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Five telecom firms will be audited for suspected misreporting of revenues by them, the government said Thursday. The telecom operators that are under the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) scanner are Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications, Vodafone Essar, Idea Cellular and Tata Teleservices.

June 23rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - State-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) Tuesday said it was awaiting approval from the government for its maiden initial public offering (IPO). BSNL chairman and managing director Kuldeep Goyal told reporters here that the company would initiate its valuation process and start talks with labour unions after getting the government's go-ahead.

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.

May 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI - J.S. Sarma, a member of the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal, Thursday took over as the chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), succeeding Nripendra Mishra.

April 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - With phone operators expected to run out of 10-digit mobile numbers soon, the Department of Telecom (DoT) is now considering an 11-digit numbering system. 'With so many telecom service providers and a growing customer base, the need for new numbers and their consequent shortage will be felt soon,' a senior telecom official, who did not want to be identified, told IANS Saturday.

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 25th, 2009 NEW DELHI - You may have to wait a little more longer than expected before you start paying less to access the Internet through a high speed broadband network, as the telecom watchdog is yet to come out with the guidelines on the next generation network (NGN) that will enable telecom operators to offer better services at lower rates. Telecom operators have been asked to submit their comments on NGN by March 10, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said here Wednesday.

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.

January 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Tuesday issued a consultation paper on next generation networks (NGN), seeking the views of the industry stakeholders on migrating to the new platform. NGN enables telecom operators to offer a range of new services from lower tariffs to high-speed broadband and intensive services including, internet protocol television (IPTV), high definition television (HDTV), videoconferencing, voice over internet protocol (VoIP), instant messaging and e-mail.

January 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The telecom regulator Wednesday extended the last date for receiving the industry's views on the proposed lock-in period on equity sale in new licence holding companies to Jan 27. On Jan 9, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had sought the industry's views on the lock-in period by Jan 20.