Regulator to discuss cartelisation with airline operators

September 23rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - According to an audit done by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the US, India has been found to be fully compliant with international safety standards, the government said Wednesday. "They (FAA) have taken a view to keep us in Category 1.

September 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's telecom regulator Friday made it mandatory for operators to twice seek confirmation from cell phone users before they subscribe to value-added services (VAS). Under the amended rules, subscribers will be required to first confirm their subscription by pressing any cell phone key other than '*' (star) or '9'.

August 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Yashwant S. Bhave Saturday took over as the first chairperson of the newly constituted Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA), a watchdog that will look at issues such as the tariff for various ground operations and landing fees for airlines.

June 30th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's telecom regulator Tuesday issued draft regulations for mobile number portability (MNP), highlighting the rights, obligations and duties of service providers. MNP allows users to switch operators without changing numbers.

March 31st, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's telecom regulator Tuesday slammed the Department of Telecom (DoT) over its suggestion to charge a higher entry fee on internet service providers (ISPs) for rolling out internet telephony. In a reply to DoT, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said: 'The authority proposes no change in entry fee for ISPs to provide Internet telephony...

March 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's telecom regulator Thursday asked direct-to-home (DTH) service providers to carry out repairs of equipment during the warranty period free of cost and leave packages unchanged in the first six months of enrolment of a subscriber. 'Visiting charges and maintenance charges of DTH equipment will be carried out free-of-cost during the warranty period.

February 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The country's telecom watchdog, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Wednesday said broadcasters should not have any control over distribution operations and vice-versa. 'Any entity having more than 20 percent equity participation in a broadcasting company cannot have more than 20 percent equity in a distributor (operators of cable, DTH, or mobile TV operators) and vice-versa,' TRAI said in a statement.

February 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The aviation regulator has got explanation letters from six airlines on why they withdrew promotional fares and hiked base tariff, a government official said here Saturday. He refused to divulge details of the letters.

February 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Fair trade practices body Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) Thursday ordered a probe on airlines for hiking fares at the same time, saying it appeared to be a case of cartelisation. The MRTPC's investigative arm, the Director-General of Investigation and Registration (DGIR), has been asked to probe the issue, its spokesperson said, and added that it had taken sou-moto action following newspaper reports in this regard.

February 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - A day after Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel warned airline operators against 'cartelisation', the aviation regulator Thursday asked them to explain the reason for hiking fares and the measures that would be taken to maintain transparency in airfare advertising. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in a statement Thursday said: 'All domestic airlines had increased their airfares simultaneously in the second week of February.

February 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's anti-trust body as well as the aviation regulator Thursday questioned domestic airlines' decision to hike fares at a same time and warned them against 'cartelisation'. The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) Thursday ordered a probe on airlines for hiking fares.

February 10th, 2009 NEW DELHI - After Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel Wednesday morning warned airline operators against 'cartelisation', the aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), asked them to explain their fare hikes. The move came a day after Indian carriers, including budget airlines, withdrew promotional fares and hiked the base tariff.

February 10th, 2009 NEW DELHI - A day after Indian carriers, including budget airlines, decided to withdraw their promotional fares and hiked the base tariff, the government Wednesday warned operators against 'cartelisation'. 'The government is against any cartelisation among airlines.

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 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - A new aviation regulator - the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) - will come into effect by March 31 this year, according to a ministry official. 'AERA has been notified in the gazette.