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Top Headlines: India's billionaire club shrinks, Airtel 5G monetisation

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DoT discusses fall in service quality issues, measures needed with telcos

The telecom department on Wednesday met operators to discuss rising instances of call drops and service quality-related issues, as it deliberated on policy interventions that can be considered for improving call quality. The meeting, which comes amid the rollout of massive 5G networks in the country, was chaired by Telecom Secretary K Rajaraman and attended by telecom service providers, including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea. The issue of interference from illegal boosters and Right of Way (RoW) challenges came up for discussion at the meeting, which lasted for almost two hours. Sources said that operators made a detailed presentation to the Department of Telecom on current levels of service quality against stipulated benchmarks. DoT sources said that the department is taking a long-term view of the service quality-related matters and has asked players to identify problem areas, and make suggestions on policy interventions that could improve the call connectivity.

Need to quickly end call drops, improve quality: Govt tells telcos

Poor quality unacceptable at a time when India is adopting 5G technology: Companies are told

DoT forms 4 task forces to boost domestic telecom mfg, remove hurdles

The Department of Telecom (DoT) has formed four task forces to recommend to the government measures that will boost the domestic telecom manufacturing ecosystem and remove the bottlenecks, an official memorandum said The development follows a round table between Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and 42 chiefs of telecom gear makers early this month where he identified the need for creating a task force to resolve issues that the companies raised before him. Under one of the task forces, the DoT has sought recommendation for a phased manufacturing programme for telecom gear manufacturing to boost domestic component supply chain ecosystem as well as attract global players. This task force will be co-chaired by state-run research arm C-DoT CEO RK Upadhyay, the memorandum dated December 20 said. In 2016, the government notified a phased manufacturing programme for developing the mobile phone manufacturing ecosystem in the country. The task force under chairmanship of Tejas Netwo

DoT proposes to drop Bharatnet infra from its asset monetisation plan

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has proposed not to monetise rural broadband network infrastructure built under Bharatnet project and plans to replace it with alternate assets to achieve its target fixed under the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP), sources said. Sources also told PTI that BSNL tower monetisation bid launch will be targeted within FY22-23. According to sources, the earlier attempt to monetise the asset under Bharatnet failed to get satisfactory response from private players. "Bid response under PPP (public-private partnership) mode was not satisfactory," the source said. DoT under the ministry of communications has so far not raised any money through asset monetisation against the target of Rs 20,180 crore in the current financial year. An e-mail sent to DoT seeking comments remained unanswered. According to the NMP document, 5,25,706 kilometres of optical fibre has been laid under Bharatnet project which aims to connect all villages in the country w

C-DOT emerges as govt's biggest bet for India's ongoing 5G rollout

The body's latest achievement is designing a fully indigenous non-standalone 5G core in record time

No word from DoT on dues' conversion since April: Vodafone Idea CEO

In an analyst call following the release of Vi results, CEO Akshaya Moondra said the company is trying to quickly close funding talks with banks so that stuck vendor payments can be quickly addressed

No violation of net neutrality in network slicing, find Trai, DoT

To make the most of 5G technology, which offers features like network slicing and giving a dedicated experience to an organisation, Jio, Airtel have urged lawmakers to review the net neutrality rules

TRAI's concerns over draft telecom Bill provisions duly addressed: Report

TRAI's apprehensions over potential dilution of powers under the draft telecom bill have been addressed, and the government may look at the option of taking up provisions related to strengthening of the regulatory body separately at a later stage, DoT sources said. On Over-the-top (OTT) communication apps, sources said, the focus is on user protection related regulation, not licencing. The Department of Telecommunications (DOT), through the provisions of the draft bill, will come down heavily on spammers and those indulging in cyber frauds, sources said. Amid reports of TRAI's opposition to certain clauses of the draft telecom bill, that were seen diluting its powers, sources said, ???discussions have taken place between the two sides. All the outstanding issues have been resolved, they said. There are no differences between Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the telecom department on this issue, sources said. The thinking in telecom department now is that specific ..

DoT to address Trai's concerns on dilution of power by draft telecom bill

DoT has also sought feedback on the bill from all ministries of the Central government, state government and the public along with Trai

Musk's SpaceX seeks DoT's nod for Starlink broadband-from-space services

Bharti Group-backed OneWeb and Reliance Jio have already received DoT's approval for GMPCS licences

Only OTT communication players to be regulated under new telecom bill: Rpt

Under the new telecom bill, if the OTT communication services are brought under the ambit of telecom services, companies will be required to do the KYC verification of their users

DoT summons mobile device makers, telecom companies to push 5G updates

The two sides play a blame game as users' search for 5G services continues

DoT may bring digital apps under licensing purview in draft telecom bill

The companies will convey their fears during the consultation process

Eye on 5G opportunities, Tatas to recast telecom biz with extra funding

In June this year, the central government allowed enterprises to set up captive non-public networks to buy 5G spectrum directly from DoT, to establish their isolated networks

ED files complaint against DoT official in disproportionate assets case

The Enforcement Directorate has filed a prosecution complaint against a senior Department of Telecommunications officer and a few others before a special court in Kolkata under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in a disproportionate assets case. The court has taken cognisance of the offence of money laundering in the prosecution complaint against Soumyendra Nath Banerjee, a former deputy director general, new technology, DoT, Kolkata, and a few others filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday, an ED statement said. The ED initiated money laundering investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by the CBI, ACB, Kolkata for offences punishable under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. As per the charge-sheet filed by the CBI, ACB, Kolkata, Banerjee had allegedly amassed huge assets, beyond his known source of income, and was in a possession of disproportionate assets worth Rs 7.58 crore, the statement said. The ED investigation reveal

Will take Isro's NavIC live on 5G phones by 2025, handset makers tell govt

However, opinion is divided among them on the additional cost of enabling the indigenous navigation system being touted as an alternative to GPS

How many mobile SIMs are linked with your Aadhaar: Check details here

According to DoT guidelines, an individual mobile subscriber can register up to nine mobile connections in his or her name

DGCA writes to telecom dept, flags concern over rollout of 5G services

DGCA's concern comes after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) raised concerns over the last year since telecom operators in the US started rolling out 5G services

DoT proposes fee, penalty waiver under new telecommunication bill

The government on Wednesday released the draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022, under which it has proposed a provision to waive off fees and penalty of telecom and internet service providers. The ministry has proposed provision for refund of fees in case a telecom or internet provider surrenders his license. "Seeking your views on the draft Indian Telecom Bill 2022," Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a post on a social media platform in which he also shared the link of the draft bill. The last date for public comment on the draft is October 20. According to the draft , the central government may, "waive in part or full any fee, including entry fees, license fees, registrations fees or any other fees or charges, interest, additional charges or penalty" for any licence holder or registered entity under the telecom rules. The bill proposes to exempt "press messages that are intended to be published in India" of correspondents accredited to the central or state governmen