Three telecom operators under government scanner

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'.

September 1st, 2009 PANAJI - Ninety-one out of the 103 operators of leased mines in Goa are under the government scanner for possible violation of environmental norms, a senior official said Tuesday. Of these, 78 operators had been issued notices to submit official documentation and details of clearances submitted to the environment and forest ministry, said Goa State Pollution Control Board chairman Simon de Souza.

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 31st, 2009 NEW DELHI - State-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) hopes to generate Rs.1,000 crore ($207 million) of revenue in a year from its infrastructure sharing business. "The master sharing agreement (MSA) for sharing of BSNL towers is in the final stages with some telecom operators and likely to be finalised very soon," the company said in a statement Friday.

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 17th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Import of Chinese mobile phones without unique identity code numbers has been banned, India's commerce ministry announced. "Import of mobile handsets without International Mobile Equipment Identify (IMEI) number or with all-zero IMEI is prohibited with immediate effect, the Director General of Foreign Trade said in a notification.

April 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Cheap Chinese handsets that do not have an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) - a unique 15-digit identity code - will be phased out from the Indian market by April 13, industry operators said. The Department of Telecom (DoT) has directed telephone operators to disconnect services to handsets that do not have the IMEI code as such phones pose security threat, a telecom official said Saturday.

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.

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 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 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 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The telecom watchdog Tuesday introduced regulations that seek to improve the quality of service provided by cable TV operators in areas where set-top boxes are not mandatory. The regulations will come into effect April 1.

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.