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The government should immediately implement sectoral regulator TRAI's recommendation to reduce the licensing fee from the current 8 per cent to 3 per cent of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR), said Dish TV CEO Manoj Dobhal on Thursday. He urged the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) to act swiftly as it can drive long-term sustainability and growth of the DTH industry, which is currently struggling. "Implementing TRAI's recommendations will unlock greater investment, foster innovation, and improve consumer access to quality services. A forward-looking regulatory approach is crucial for ensuring a competitive and thriving Pay TV ecosystem. We urge the MIB to expedite these much-needed reforms to support the industry's evolution in an increasingly digital landscape," Dobhal told PTI. On February 21, TRAI to ease the financial burden on DTH operators, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended a reduction in the authorisation fee from the current eight per .
An expected gathering of 40 crore people at the world's largest religious gathering for over a month and no call drops and seamless internet streaming. Telecom service providers and the Maha Kumbh Mela administration are on their toes to ensure smooth connectivity at the grand event set to witness record teledensity. Laying down of additional optical fibre, installation of new towers and Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) and deploying Cells on Wheels (transportable towers), are among the various measures taken to ensure robust and uninterrupted connectivity in the mela area during the event. According to officials at the Integrated Control and Command Centre (ICCC), three disaster management centres have been established in the mela area to support emergency communications and ensure prompt response during any crisis situation. "Mostly, all telecom providers have augmented their services here to ensure seamless communication for the millions of devotees and visitors. "Three disaster
Telecom operators including Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have introduced new voice and SMS only plans for prepaid users in India. The move assumes significance as telecom regulator TRAI, last month, had amended tariff rules to mandate mobile service providers to issue a separate plan for voice calls and SMS, for customers who do not require data. Airtel has introduced a new Rs 499 plan, which offers unlimited voice calls, 900 SMS with 84 days validity. Another offering, Rs 1,959 plan, would offer prepaid users unlimited voice calls, 3,600 SMS and comes with a validity of 365 days. Jio too has unveiled two plans. According to information on Jio website, the Rs 458 plan - with 84 days validity - offers unlimited voice calls, and 1,000 SMSs. The Rs 1,958 plan offers unlimited voice calls and packs in 3,600 SMSs with 365 days pack validity.
The telecom services industry has batted for the abolition of levies and extension of carry forward of business losses to 16 years in its Budget wishlist, and argued that large traffic generators (LTG) should contribute to USO Fund/Digital Bharat Nidhi Fund. It has pitched for a cut in licence fee, and suggested that the definition of gross revenue (GR) be made more precise by stipulating that the revenue from activities that requires no licence, would not be a part of it. The suggestions are aimed at enhancing the financial stability of the telecom sector, COAI said in its recommendations. "Considering the huge capital that Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) have to invest in the current scenario, especially for the deployment of 5G, COAI recommends that the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) levy be abolished. Alternatively, the government may consider the suspension of the USO contribution of 5 per cent of AGR, till the existing USO corpus of over Rs 86,000 crore is exhausted
British telecom firm Vodafone has sold its entire stake in Indus Towers for Rs 2,800 crore, the telecom infrastructure firm said on Friday. Vodafone has sold 7.92 crore or 3 per cent stake in Indus Towers and used Rs 890 crore from the proceeds to clear lenders dues, the company said in a regulatory filing. "Vodafone Group Plc announces that it has successfully completed the placing of its remaining 79.2 million shares in Indus Towers Limited ("Indus") representing 3.0 per cent of Indus' outstanding share capital through an accelerated book build offering on 5 December 2024," the filing said. The company held 3 per cent stake through its indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries, Omega Telecom Holdings Pvt Ltd and Usha Martin Telematics Limited. "Residual proceeds of Rs 19.1 billion (USD 225 million) have been used to acquire 1.7 billion equity shares in Vodafone Idea Limited through a preferential allotment of shares (a "Capital Raise"), increasing Vodafone's shareholding in Vi to 24.39
Italy's Premier Giorgia Meloni said Thursday that her government is in talks with several private companies, including Elon Musk's SpaceX, over the country's telecoms security system, but denied having discussed the issue privately with Musk. I never talked about this with Musk. It's not my habit to use my public role to do favors to friends, Meloni said, responding to reporters' questions during her start-of-the-year press conference on a possible deal with Musk's group over Italian telecoms security. Meloni stressed that national interest was the only lens through which she judged such potential contracts with SpaceX, the owner of satellite system Starlink. Reportedly worth 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) and spread over five years, the project sparked an outcry by Italy's opposition parties, questioning that the handling of such communications could be handed to a Musk company. If the deal is sealed, SpaceX would provide encryption services for the Italian government and ...
The Delhi High Court has set aside an order of the Central Information Commission directing the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to demand information from the phone service provider and give it to a customer under the RTI Act. Justice Sanjeev Narula said TRAI requesting information from telecom service providers (TSP) was confined to fulfilling its regulatory functions and did not extend to addressing individual grievances or accessing customer-specific information solely for dissemination under the RTI framework. The high court, in its order, said the CIC's observation requiring a customer to seek redressal before the consumer disputes redressal forum was misplaced and beyond its statutory mandate. "TRAI is not a service provider or a consumer under the Consumer Protection Act, and any grievance against TRAI's actions or inactions must be pursued before the TDSAT (Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal), as established under the TRAI Act. By making ...