Swan Telecom to roll out mobile services by second quarter

August 31st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Telecom majors Reliance Communications (RCom) and Aircel are on the verge of signing a $300-million agreement for sharing telecom infrastructure like towers, sources close to the deal said Monday. "The deal will offer RCom a revenue upside of over Rs.1,500 crore.

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.

August 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Telecom major Reliance Communications (RCom) Wednesday announced it had partnered US-based telecom solutions provider Kodiak Networks to roll out nationwide mobile conferencing service. RCom will roll out the services on both GSM and CDMA platforms, the company said in a statement.

July 25th, 2009 MUMBAI - Telecom services provider Tata Communications Saturday said its net profit for the quarter ended June 30 fell 67 percent to Rs.32 crore ($6.6 million) as against Rs.98 crore in the same period last fiscal. Tata's stand-alone revenue also fell 3.2 percent to Rs.843 crore for the quarter under review from Rs.871 crore, the company said in a statement.

July 22nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Etisalat DB, a joint venture between Dubai-based telecom major Etisalat and Mumbai's Dynamix Balwas group (DB), and the Anil Ambani-promoted telephony operator Reliance Communications (RCom), have entered into an agreement to share infrastructure for 10 years, a RCom statement said Wednesday. The agreement, which will enable Etisalat DB to share tower and transmission infrastructure owned by RCom and sister company Reliance Infratel, is expected to increase RCom's revenues by Rs.10,000 crore ($2.2 billion), the company said in the statement.

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.

April 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Tata Teleservices Ltd, one of the leading mobile telephone service providers in the country using CDMA technology, Monday said it has earmarked $2 billion as capital expenditure for rolling out services through the other technology, GSM. 'We will roll out GSM services in few weeks,' company managing director Anil Sardana told reporters here.

April 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Tata Teleservices Ltd (TTSL), one of the leading mobile telephone service providers in the country using CDMA technology, Monday said it will invest $2 billion to roll out services through the other technology, GSM. 'We will roll out GSM services in few weeks,' TTSL managing director Anil Sardana said.

April 20th, 2009 China Telecom 1Q profit down 27.4 percentBEIJING — China Telecom Ltd. said Monday its first quarter profit plunged 27.4 percent as demand for traditional fixed-line telephone services weakened.

March 23rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Shyam Sistema Teleservices (SSTS), the joint venture between telecom equipment manufacturer and service provider Shyam Group and Russian telecom major Sistema SSA, will launch CDMA mobile services in two telecom circles, the Chennai-Tamil Nadu circle and Kerala, by this month-end, industry sources said. The company will launch the service in Chennai-Tamil Nadu circle March 26, and most likely by March 30 in Kerala, the sources said.

March 10th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has selected two US-based companies - Telcordia Technologies and Syniverse Technologies - to provide mobile number portability (MNP) services in India, a government spokesperson said Monday. MNP once implemented will enable mobile phone users to change their telecom operators while retaining their mobile phone number.

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 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Rural population is the key growth driver of India's telecom industry though 'affordability still remains a key issue', said a study released here Thursday. According to the study by LIRNEasia, and information and communication technology policy organisation, 27 percent of the total mobile owners at the bottom of the pyramid (BOP), or the poorest socio-economic group, were added last year, whereas the urban areas added only 19 percent.

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.

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.