Raja defends government’s spectrum policy

October 7th, 2009 FCC chairman warns of 'looming spectrum crisis'SAN DIEGO — The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission warns of a "looming spectrum crisis" if the government fails to find new ways to ensure there is enough bandwidth for mobile devices. Julius Genachowski said at an industry conference Wednesday in San Diego that the government is tripling the amount of spectrum available to companies.

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 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi has asked his party colleague and IT and Communication Minister A.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The defence ministry has agreed to vacate spectrum for commercial use, Minister of State for Communications and IT Gurudas Kamat said Friday. According to an accord reached between the defence and the telecommunications ministries, the latter will set up an exclusive optical fibre cable (OFC) network for the armed forces.

July 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Economic Survey 2008-09 tabled in parliament Thursday has sought to end the controversy surrounding allocation of radio frequency by advocating an open and transparent auction process. "Spectrum should be auctioned and be freely tradeable among companies having a telecom licence, the survey said.

May 28th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The DMK, the third largest party in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), Thursday got three key portfolios of communications and information technology, textiles, and chemicals and fertilizers. DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.

May 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D. Raja on Thursday exuded confidence about the Third Front forming an alternative government at the Centre, and said the Front would neither support the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government nor the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

May 9th, 2009 Goldman director Friedman defends role at NY FedNEW YORK — Goldman Sachs director Stephen Friedman, who resigned Thursday as chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's board, defended his conduct Friday in serving in both posts. "I followed the rules as I always have," he said at Goldman Sachs' annual meeting Friday.

April 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The military requirement for radio frequency or spectrum has to be given priority to deal with security issues, the Indian Army chief General Deepak Kapoor said Tuesday. 'The requirement of spectrum for both commercial and army use is on the rise.

April 8th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday condoled the death of his 'valued colleague and very close friend', noted economist Raja Chelliah. In his message to the economist's wife, the prime minister said: 'It is with deep grief that I learnt of the sad demise of your husband, Prof.

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 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government will set up 100,000 common service centres (CSC) across the country by March 2010, Communications and IT Minister A. Raja said here Tuesday.

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 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.

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.