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Govt working to prevent international spoof calls deceiving Indian citizens

The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre and the Department of Telecommunications are collaborating to block the influx of overseas spoof calls that falsely alleging digital arrests

DoT extends spectrum auction application deadline by 14 days to May 6

The Department of Telecom has extended the last date for submission of applications for spectrum auction by 14 days to May 6, according to an amended notice issued on Monday. The last date for withdrawal of applications has been extended by 9 days to May 17, and the final list of bidders will be declared on May 20, as per the amendment. "Application must be submitted in hard copy...on May 6, 2024, during office hours," the amendment to the Notice Inviting Application (NIA) said. Earlier, the last date to submit an application was April 22. The government will auction eight spectrum bands for mobile phone services at a base price of about Rs 96,317 crore. All the available spectrum in the 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, 2,300 MHz, 2,500 MHz, 3,300 MHz, and 26 GHz bands are part of the auction. The spectrum will be assigned for a period of 20 years and successful bidders will be allowed to make payments in 20 equal annual instalments. The DoT has provided an option to surr

DoT asks telcos to suspend USSD-based call forwarding, switch to other mode

The Department of Telecom has asked telecom operators to deactivate USSD-based call forwarding with effect from April 15 and move to alternative methods to re-activate it, an official order said. Mobile subscribers use USSD service just by dialling any active code on their phone screens. The service is often used for checking IMEI numbers and mobile phone balances, among others. The order has been issued to check frauds and online crimes that are operated through mobile phones. In an order dated March 28, the DoT said that it has come to its notice that USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) based call forwarding facility, most commonly known *401# services for unconditional call forwarding services, is being misused for some unwarranted activities. "In this regard, it has been decided by the competent authority that all licensees shall discontinue the existing USSD-based call forwarding services with effect from April 15, 2024, till further notice. "All existing subscribe

Govt cautions against calls impersonating as telecom dept officials

Citizens getting calls from callers posing as the Department of Telecom officials and threatening to disconnect their connections are fake calls to steal the personal information of individuals and carry out financial frauds, an official statement said on Friday. The DoT also issued an advisory about WhatsApp calls from foreign-origin mobile numbers (like +92-xxxxxxxxxx), impersonating government officials and duping the people. "The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued an advisory to citizens that calls are being received by the citizens wherein callers, in the name of DoT, are threatening that all of their mobile numbers would be disconnected or their mobile numbers are being misused in some illegal activities. Cybercriminals through such calls try to threaten/steal personal information to carry out cyber-crime/financial frauds," the statement said. The DoT said it does not authorise anyone to make such calls on its behalf and has advised people to stay vigilant and .

DoT's new CHAKSU portal to allow citizens to report fraudulent calls

A new Digital Intelligence Portal will help banks, agencies and telecom operators to share data on suspected fraud

DoT will not intervene in 2G network shutdown; parks decision with telcos

Around 50 million 2G handsets are sold annually, with over 500,000 2G base tower stations deployed throughout the country

DoT to establish quantum certification lab, set computing standards: Secy

The Department of Telecom is working to establish a quantum certification lab and set standards for quantum computing, a senior official said on Thursday. While speaking at the Second International Quantum Communication Conclave, Telecom Secretary Neeraj Mittal said that a lot of work is happening in C-DoT on quantum communications, and India has to be cautious in developing the technology with like-minded parties. "We are working with TEC to create standards (for quantum computing). We are also working on setting up a quantum certification lab," Mittal said. He said that the certification lab will test and verify the solutions that claim to be based on quantum technology. "There are countries who have massive resources at hand but do not necessarily believe in democratic values as India. We need to find the right partners and work with them," Mittal said. The Cabinet approved the National Quantum Computing Mission on April 19, 2023, with an outlay of Rs 6,003.65 crore for 8 ...

Trai seeks views on allocation of more spectrum to Railways for safety

Telecom regulator Trai on Wednesday sought stakeholders' views on the assignment of additional spectrum to Indian railways for safety and security applications. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in mid-2023 had informed Trai that Indian Railways has requested for an additional 5 MHz of paired spectrum in the 700 MHz band to be allocated for enhancing its safety and security systems. The DoT had requested Trai to examine and provide its recommendations on the matter. "The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has today released a consultation paper on the assignment of additional spectrum to Indian railways for its safety and security applications," the regulator said in a release. In the consultation paper, Trai sought stakeholder views on whether an additional 5 MHz (paired) spectrum in the 700 MHz band should be assigned to Indian Railways (IR) for its requirement related to safety and security applications, and whether spectrum harmonisation is needed to make the

Cybersecurity co claims data leak of telecom users, DoT demands audit

The Department of Telecom has asked service operators for a security audit of their systems following claims by a cybersecurity firm that data of 750 million Indian subscribers has been leaked, a government official said. Cybersecurity firm CloudSEK has claimed that its researchers have found that hackers are selling 1.8 terabyte of database comprising 750 million Indian mobile consumers on the dark web. The hacker has denied any involvement in a breach and has claimed to have obtained the data through undisclosed asset work within law enforcement channels, CloudSEK said. "The DoT has asked telecom operators to get a security audit of their systems," a senior government official said. The officer, however, said that telecom operators have informally shared with the department that the leaked information claimed in the ClouSEK report seems to be a compilation of old data sets of telecom subscribers and it is not due to any vulnerability in their system. CloudSEK in its report last

DoT asks telecom operators to block malicious overseas calls about bourses

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has cautioned the public about malicious calls from international numbers spreading false information about Indian stock exchanges, and advised people to report such cases to telecom operators. Such malicious calls are initiated by anti-national elements and are aimed at creating panic, an official release said, adding that the telecom operators have been directed to block malicious calls from such numbers. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), DoT cautioned the public about malicious calls from international numbers spreading false information about Indian stock exchanges. "The recorded message urges to sell Indian stocks before March 12, claiming impending destruction of BSE and NSE," as per a DoT social media alert. Regarding the malicious calls, the release said, "Citizens, on receiving such calls, are advised to report to DoT at help-sancharsaathi@gov.in or their telecom service providers.

Second time in 6 mths: DoT invites applications for Trai chairman post

The DoT had first advertised for the position on June 22

Advisory issued against calls threatening disconnection of mobile services

The Department of Telecom on Friday issued an advisory regarding calls threatening people with disconnection of their mobile services. The Department of Telecom (DoT), which governs telecom services in the country, alerted citizens about a surge in malicious calls whereby it is being said that the receivers' mobile numbers will be disconnected within two hours by the DoT. "The DoT does not make calls to citizens threatening disconnection. Citizens are urged to exercise caution and not provide any personal information if they receive such calls," the advisory said. In the advisory, the DoT urged citizens to not share any personal information if they receive a call threatening disconnection. "Verify the authenticity of such calls with your service providers. Be aware that the DoT does not communicate disconnection warnings via phone calls. Any such call should be treated as suspicious," the advisory said. The DoT asked citizens to report any suspicious calls at the National Cyber Cr

Simulated flights can end 5G signals dispute around airports, says COAI

The resultant dispute on this between telecom service providers and airlines has not been resolved

Reliance Jio seeks permission from DoT to widen E-band spectrum use

DoT was informed by Jio that its requirement to use E-band for access services is in alignment with international standards of 3GPP

Tata Communications challenges DoT's Rs 991.5 cr fee demand in TDSAT

Tata Communications has challenged Telecom Department's Rs 991.5 crore licence fee demand pertaining to past years, in TDSAT, which has directed the DoT not to take any coercive action till the next hearing, the company said in a filing on Friday. The Department of Telecom (DoT) in its demand letter dated August 8, 2023, has raised certain license-fee demands of Rs 991.54 crore pertaining to FY 2006-07 (international long-distance and internet service provider) and FY 2007-08 (NLD, ILD and ISP). "These demands have been challenged by the company before...TDSAT (Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal), wherein after hearing both the parties, ...TDSAT, vide its order dated 14 August 2023 received by the company on 17 August 2023, has directed DoT not to take any coercive action till the next hearing," Tata Communications said in a BSE filing. The company further said it has already included the amount in dispute as part of the notes to accounts in the quarterly financial .

Received 'emergency alert: severe' text on your phone? Here's what it means

The government said the alert system ensures that necessary emergency info reaches the maximum number of people in a timely manner

DoT relaxes spectrum trading norm, allows radiowave trade in frequency band

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has relaxed spectrum trading norms by allowing operators to trade radiowaves in a frequency band as per the block size notified in the last auction, according to guidelines published on Wednesday. The modification in spectrum trading guidelines allows telecom operators to lease spectrum to captive non-public network licence holders that use radiowaves for internal business requirements. "The block sizes of Access Spectrum to be traded in different spectrum band(s) shall be as per the block size(s) as specified in the NIA (notice inviting application) for the latest auction held. Further, if there is any residual spectrum to be traded, it may be considered on pro-rata basis," the new guideline said. Earlier, telecom operators were allowed to trade spectrum in block size ranging 1.25 megahertz (Mhz) paired spectrum to up to 20 Mhz in higher frequency bands of 2,300 and 2,500 Mhz. The modification allows telecom operators to trade spectrum in

Govt portal pins 285,000 missing phones, but only 20,771 recovered

However, recoveries stand at only 20,771 devices so far

Telcos to pay fee for activities covered under scope of licence, says DoT

In September 2021, the government had notified that non-telecom revenue would be excluded from the definition of AGR from October 1, 2021

Satcom spectrum allotment: Prefer auction for allotment, says DoT

DoT officials were quoted as saying that satcom airwaves should be given to the highest bidder since several firms are trying to enter the market