Unitech allotted spectrum for four service areas

September 23rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - State-run upstream major Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) Wednesday said it has paid Rs.6,844 crore as dividend for 2008-09. ONGC shareholders approved a dividend payment of of Rs.14 a share, which along with the interim dividend of Rs.18 a share totals to Rs.32 a share.

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.

August 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Unitech Wireless has secured a loan of Rs.5,000 crore (about $1 billion) from State Bank of India (SBI) to fund its mobile network rollout, the company said Tuesday. Unitech Wireless is a joint venture between Norwegian telecom giant Telenor and real estate major Unitech.

August 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government Tuesday deferred foreign investment proposals of two telecom companies - Unitech Wireless (Tamil Nadu) and ByCell Telecommunication - citing security reasons. ByCell's proposal to start operations in India has been deferred due to security reasons, an official statement said.

August 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Realty major Unitech Ltd's first quarter profit fell 63 percent from Rs.4.23 billion to Rs.1.58 billion due to the sluggish demand for housing. Net income fell to Rs.1.58 billion ($33 million) for the quarter ended June 30, from Rs.4.23 billion, the developer said in a statement.

July 23rd, 2009 SHIMLA - Mumbai-based ship building major ABG Shipyard Ltd has been allotted three hydroelectric projects in Himachal Pradesh after global bidding, an official said Thursday. "The government has allotted three out of five major hydropower projects to ABG Shipyard Ltd of Mumbai.

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.

June 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Tata DoCoMo, the joint venture between telecom majors Tata Teleservices and NTT DoCoMo of Japan, commercially launched GSM telephony operations in Chennai and Tamil Nadu circles Wednesday. Tata DoCoMo's pan-India service rollout will be completed this year, with entire south Indian circles going "live" in a fortnight, it said in a statement.

May 20th, 2009 MUMBAI - Norway's Telenor has acquired another 15.5 percent stake in Unitech Wireless, the telecom arm of realty major Unitech, for Rs.1,130 crore (Rs.11.3 billion/$237 million), taking its shareholding in the Indian company to 49 percent, it was announced Wednesday. 'Unitech Wireless on May 19, 2009, received an amount of Rs.1,130 crore in aggregate from Telenor Asia Pte Ltd for acquisition of further 15.5 percent stake in Unitech Wireless by way of issuance of fresh shares,' the Indian telecom operator said in a regulatory statement.

May 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - French telecom infrastructure firm Alcatel-Lucent Friday said it had bagged a $150 million contract from Unitech Wireless to support its launch of GSM operations. Unitech Wireless is a joint venture between real estate major Unitech Ltd and Norwegian telecom giant Telenor.

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 17th, 2009 MUMBAI - Norwegian telecom major Telenor Tuesday said it will take 67.25 percent stake in Unitech Wireless, up from the previously stated 60 percent, for Rs.61.2 billion investment. 'While Telenor's initial investment under the agreement will continue to be the previously agreed Rs.61.2 billion ($1.2 billion), it has been agreed that Telenor, after this investment, would be holding 67.25 percent in Unitech Wireless,' Unitech said in a regulatory filing.

January 30th, 2009 MUMBAI - Infrastructure major Unitech Ltd Saturday said its profit after tax dipped 94.71 percent to Rs.195 million (Rs.19.5 crore/$4 million) for the quarter ended Dec 31 as against Rs.3.69 billion in the year-ago period. The company's total income stood at Rs.3.25 billion in the third quarter, a drop of 61.16 percent from Rs.8.48 billion in the corresponding period last year, an official statement said.

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.

January 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Unitech Wireless, the telecom arm of real estate major Unitech Ltd., Monday said it has received 4.4 megahertz (MHz) of spectrum in the 1,800 MHz GSM band in the West Bengal telecom circle. With this, the company has been allotted initial spectrum in 21 service areas of India out of 22, a company statement said.