Unitech gets spectrum space for telecom in West Bengal

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 - 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 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.

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 21st, 2009 KOLKATA - Telecom operator Sistema Shyam Teleservices, a joint venture between Russia's Sistema and India's Shyam group, Thursday launched its CDMA services for the West Bengal circle, and said it would invest $150 million in this telecom service area over the next four years. The company had earlier launched CDMA services in the Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Rajasthan circles.

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 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.

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.

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 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 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 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.