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Defence forces to get $ 3.1 bn from 3G spectrum auctions
February 27, 2009
The defense forces will receive over Rs. 15,700 crore (US$ 3.1 billion) of the proceeds from upcoming 3G auctions in the country for the purpose of building an alternate communications network.
The main beneficiary of these proceeds will be state owned telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL), which is to build and maintain this alternate network for the defence foces.
TRAI to submit rural telephony recommendations
February 26, 2009
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) will submit its report on rural telephony to the Department of Telecom (DoT) next week.
The report is focusing on the next phase of growth in Indian telecom, which is expected to come from the untapped markets of rural India. According to TRAI, the next 100 million customers will be from rural areas.
Mobile number portability licenses to be given in March
February 26, 2009
The communications ministry will announce the names of those companies that will be granted licenses for mobile number portability (MNP) in March 2009.
MNP is a technology that allows a mobile phone user to retain his phone number even after changing operators. As per the MNP guidelines issued earlier in January this year, MNP is to be implemented in all metro and category 'A' service areas within six months of the award of the licence, and in rest of the service areas within one year.
TRAI restricts media ownership
February 26, 2009
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released a set of recommendations restricting common ownership in broadcasting and distribution in media.
The regulator has recommended that any entity having 20% stake in a broadcasting company should not have over 20% stake in any kind of distribution company, such as a multi-system operator, cable company or direct-to-home firm.
TRAI, however, said that a single company can own media companies across different segments, like print, television and radio.
TRAI extends date for submission of comments on NGN
February 25, 2009
At the request of stakeholders, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has extended the last date for submitting comments on issues related to Next Generation Networks (NGN) to March 10, 2009.
TRAI had released a consultation paper on licensing issues in deploying NGN networks on January 27 and sought the views of the industry.
CCEA clears DoCoMo’s TTSL stake
February 24, 2009
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved Japanese telco NTT DoCoMo’s proposal to acquire a 27.31% stake in Tata Teleservices (TTSL) for Rs. 12,924 crore.
It also approved DoCoMo’s to acquire 20.25% stake in Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Ltd. for Rs. 949 crore. The Japanese company’s total investment is one of the largest FDI inflows to enter the Indian telecom sector in the last year.
Telcos to save Rs. 5000 cr in levies
February 23, 2009
With the Indian government postponing its plans of imposing new levies and increasing spectrum charges and imposing a one-time charge on operators with airwaves beyond the prescribed limits, telecom operators may get to save over Rs. 5000 crore in this fiscal.
Since November 2008, the communications ministry had suggested hiking spectrum usage charges for all existing companies up to 2% in January 2009. It had also wanted to impose a one-time fee on all telecom companies that held radio frequencies beyond 6.2 Mhz.
However, all these plans have been put on hold till the next financial year.
$1.6 bn investment flow in first year of WiMAX
February 25, 2009
The WiMAX Forum has estimated that over US$ 1.6 billion worth of investments would flow into Indian telecom within the first year of WiMAX services. At least 2.5 million subscribers are expected to adopt WiMAX in the first year.
The forum also projects the combined revenue of WiMAX operators and device vendors to cross US$ 20 billion by 2012 when the national WiMAX subscriber base is expected to hit 19 million.
VAS Industry reaches $ 1 bn
February 24, 2009
India’s VAS industry has reached the value of US$ 1 billion in 2008 with an estimated annual growth rate of 40-50%.
Great prospects are expected for mobile VAS especially as India’s mobile subscriber base is expected to reach 550 million in 2015, from the present 350 million. Introduction of 3G services allowing faster download speeds are also expected to fuel growth in the VAS industry.
Surge in mobile handset sales
February 24, 2009
After the unimpressive sales performance in the Indian mobile handset market during 2008, January 2009 saw a growth of 10% in the handset space. According to the Indian Cellular Association (ICA), the cellphone market will maintain this growth rate in 2009.
ICA estimates a sale of 130 million mobile handsets will be sold in the country during 2009 as compared to 108 million handsets sold in 2008. Expansion in India’s rural market along with a growing replacement market will fuel this growth.
Hi-Tech GPS systems in law enforcement
February 24, 2009
The Gurgaon Police has equipped its Police Control Room (PCR) jeeps, motorcycles and patrol parties with Global Positioning System (GPS) enabled Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA).
This will enable them to co-ordinate their ground forces in a smoother manner. The Haryana state police is planning to extend this modernization drive to other districts of the state as well.
3G Femtocell to be available by 2010
February 24, 2009
Integrated 3G femtocells are expected to be commercially available by as early as 2010. Femtocells are personal base stations fixed at a mobile phone user’s residence and can be plugged into fixed-line broadband connections to provide voice and data services at faster speeds. Basically, femtocells provide converged fixed and mobile services from single handsets.
Femtocells are expected to have a positive impact on ARPU’s by encouraging a mobile phone user to make more calls from their handsets rather than their fixed-line devices at home.
BSNL shuts towers along Indo-Nepal border
March 1, 2009
State owned telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) has shut down more than a dozen cell phone towers along the Indo-Nepal border.
The move is in light of security concerns arising from increased activities of the ISI, and smuggling of arms, counterfeit currency and drugs across the border.
BSNL launches 3G in 11 cities
February 27, 2009
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL), the state-owned telecom company, has launched 3G services in 11 cities. The company states that it has invested Rs. 2700 crore (US$ 530 million) in 3G infrastructure to cover all district headquarters and important commercial towns.
MTNL not to be a pan-India operator
February 26, 2009
The proposal to allow state-owned telecom company Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. (MTNL) to become a pan-India operator has been shelved. MTNL had submitted its proposal to expand to circles outside Delhi and Mumbai
Currently, MTNL only offers landline and mobile facilities in Delhi and Mumbai, while other state-owned telco Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) offers services in the rest of the country. A reason for shelving MTNL’s proposal could be to prevent competition between the two state-owned operators.
Virgin Mobile to enter GSM space
February 25, 2009
Virgin Mobile India is planning to enter the GSM service segment. As a joint venture between UK’s Virgin Group and India’s Tata Teleservices (TTSL), the company is banking on TTSL’s GSM network which will be launched soon.
Currently Virgin offers CDMA services on TTSL’s technology platform under a revenue sharing arrangment between the two companies.
Motorola, Pressmart introduce News on the Go
February 24, 2009
Motorola India Pvt. Ltd. and digital publisher, Pressmart Media Ltd., have announced a live ‘news-on-the-mobile’ service on certain Motorola phones to be distributed in India.
The service enables mobile phone users to access news content and their favorite newspapers on their mobile handsets through their GPRS connection.
Newspapers offered on the service include Indian Express, The Financial Express, The Asian Age and Deccan Chronicle.
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