TRAI

The total telephone subscriber base in India grew marginally to 1,189.92 million in December 2024 with Jio adding the highest number of subscribers in both mobile and fixed-line segments, a Trai report released on Tuesday said. Total telephone subscribers stood at 1,187.15 million in November, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). Reliance Jio Infocomm was the frontrunner with 476.58 million subscribers, followed by Bharti Airtel (289.31 million), and Vodafone Idea (126.38 million). While urban telephone subscriptions rose from 659.87 million in November to 663.37 million in December, rural subscriptions fell from 527.27 million to 526.56 million during the same period. Wireless subscribers grew from 1,148.65 million in November 2024 to 1,150.66 million in December 2024, at a monthly growth rate of 0.17 per cent. Wireless teledensity increased to 81.67 per cent at the end of December, against 81.59 per cent at the end of November. Reliance Jio added 3,906

Say Trai's role may get diluted, satco, OTT concerns unmet

Under the telecom law enacted in December 2023, satellite spectrum can be assigned administratively for a fee, whereas terrestrial spectrum is allocated through auctions

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 .

Trai has said private networks are non-starters, telcos argue

Say tougher telemarketers, OTT communication platforms need to be regulated

Telcos criticised the lack of regulations for OTT communication services, highlighting their growing role in spam proliferation, while new norms introduce significantly higher penalties for operators

COAI on Monday expressed concerns that the sector regulator's new norms to tackle spam calls and messages have prescribed substantially increased penalties for telcos, and rued the absence of any regulation for OTT Communication Services that, the industry body pointed out, has seen an influx of spam. Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) contended that while telecom operators have taken ample steps to curb spam calls and messages, there has been a significant increase in the quantum of unsolicited communications as well as legitimate commercial communication, that has moved to OTT communication apps, substantially leading to the rise in financial crimes in the country, COAI Director General S P Kochhar said. COAI said it is also concerning that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has substantially increased the penalty to be imposed over the telecom service providers. "COAI had submitted that Financial Disincentives (FDs) on TSPs, being only intermediary in .

Telecom regulator TRAI on Wednesday intensified its crackdown on pesky calls and messages with new rules that prescribe fines ranging from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 10 lakh for recurring and repeated instances of violation, in cases where telcos misreport the count of such spams. The regulator has mandated all telecom operators to analyze call and SMS patterns based on parameters such as unusually high call volumes, short call durations, and low incoming-to-outgoing call ratios to flag potential spammers in real-time. The amendment in the regulation in Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations come with graded penalty that will be imposed on telecom operators in case they fail to implement the provisions of the rule. For instance, a financial disincentive (FD) of Rs 2 lakh for the first violation, Rs 5 lakh for the second instance of violation and Rs 10 lakh per instance for subsequent violations will be imposed on access providers in case of misreporting of the count

On Tuesday, TRAI recommended opening up key high-band spectrum for 5G

The move came after telecom regulator called for data-less plans to allow low-paying consumers more choices

TRAI allows users to keep their SIM activated for more than 90 days without recharge. However, users can extend for an additional 30 days with Rs 20 recharge

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Wednesday released its recommendations on "Regulatory framework for Ground-based Broadcasters (GBB)" to fully leverage technological advancements for the delivery of television channels to distributors. TRAI has recommended that the GBBs' scope should be to provide television channels to distribution platform operators (DPOs) using terrestrial communication medium, for onward re-transmission. "A ground-based broadcaster may use any terrestrial communication medium(s), for delivery of channels to the DPOs. There shall be no restriction on the use of terrestrial communication technologies/systems and the entity may use more than one such systems, as per its business decision," it said. The advancement of technology has made it feasible for broadcasters to provide their television channels to DPOs terrestrially also i.e. using terrestrial communication technologies like wireline or wireless, an official statement said. The terrestria

Last month, Trai recommended a clear definition for international traffic, classifying SMS messages originating or terminating on devices, servers, or apps outside India as international

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 ...

TRAI will start, this month, a pilot to onboard paper-based and past permissions given by customers for receiving commercial communications onto its digital distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform, a process that in the long-run would include scrubbing and verifying their current validity and offering opt-outs to those keen on it, Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti said, adding that tighter regulations on curbing spam as well as new consultation examining an authorisation framework for telemarketers can also be expected in coming weeks. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has also ruled out any rethink on its latest regulation that mandates service providers to offer separate special tariff vouchers (STV) for voice calls and SMS. Lahoti told PTI in an interview that while consumers can be encouraged to use data, they cannot be "compelled" to do so. TRAI's focus is to protect not only the interest of the industry, but also the interest of the consumer, who must have the option

Telecom regulator Trai will issue recommendations on rules for satellite spectrum allocation very soon, an official said on Monday. The government will evaluate recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) and thereafter decide on allocating spectrum to satellite communication companies, which will pave the way for satellite-based broadband services in the country. In response to a question on the recommendation on satcom spectrum rules during an event on National Consumer Day, Trai Chairman A K Lahoti said it will be issued "very soon". Trai concluded an open-house discussion on the terms and conditions for the assigning spectrum for certain satellite-based commercial communication services in the second week of November. Telecom service providers like Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel want spectrum for full mobility across the country should be allocated through auctions only. However, Elon Musk's Starlink and global peers like Amazon's Project Kuiper and othe

The consumer affairs ministry will release guidelines next month to tackle unsolicited commercial communications or pesky calls, a senior government official said on Tuesday. Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said the department has prepared draft guidelines in consultation with stakeholders, which will be harmonized with upcoming regulations of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). "We are ready with the draft guidelines on pesky calls. We will harmonise it with their (Trai) norms and issue it next month," Khare told reporters on the sidelines of a National Consumer Day event. Trai Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti, who was also at the event, said the consumer affairs ministry is focusing on guidelines for business entities' roles, responsibilities and conduct, while the telecom regulator will separately introduce stricter norms in response to growing consumer complaints. The initiative stems from a joint committee of Indian regulators, led by Trai, which decided to strength

Scindia said there is a scientific argument and then an economic argument linked to the spectrum allocation

90% of businesses accounting for the majority of commercial traffic have registered, telcos say