Page 2 - Telecom Operators

Spectrum auctions, high payments to help hit Rs 1.2 trn telco revenue goal

Non tax revenue from the telecom sector rose by 44 percent in FY24

Price wars: Startups, smaller OTTs may be exempted from fair share charge

Telecom industry body says 4-5 large traffic generators need to pay up

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.

Proposed US bill to charge large apps should be adopted in India: COAI

Telecom operators want the government to adopt a bill, similar to a proposal in the US Congress, that would make large internet apps contribute to infrastructure costs to help lower broadband costs for consumers, a senior industry official said. A bill sponsored by US Senators Markwayne Mullin, Mark Kelly and Mike Crapo in US Congress last month aimed at lowering broadband costs for consumers proposed a direction to telecom regulator Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to mandate social media platforms, streaming services apps, cloud computing service providers like WhatsApp, YouTube, Netflix, Google etc to contribute to universal fund that is used for building networks. The proposed bill named, Lowering Broadband Costs for Consumers Act of 2023, has classified social media platforms, streaming service, over-the-top messaging service, video gaming service, videoconferencing service, e-commerce platform, search engines under edge services providers. Telecom industry body Cellular

Next spectrum auction to be held in February, reserve price to remain same

Lesser revenue generation expected as telecom operators have already bought most 5G airwaves

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

Airtel launches self-service digital marketing product Airtel IQ Reach

Airtel IQ Reach already live for communications via Whatsapp

TRAI imposes penalty of Rs 35 cr on telcos for violating call, sms norms

Telecom regulator Trai has imposed a penalty of Rs 34.99 crore on service providers for failing to curb pesky calls and sms on their network, Parliament was informed on Friday. Union Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha said that as per the reports, telecom operators have disconnected 15,382 and 32,032 connections during the calendar year- 2021 and 2022, respectively, for violating Telecom Commercial Communication Customers Preference Regulation (TCCCPR), 2018. "TRAI has imposed financial disincentives of Rs 34,99,98,000 on the Access Service Providers for failing to curb unsolicited commercial communications in their networks from Registered Telemarketers," Vaishnaw said.

Bangladesh's telecom operator Grameenphone launches 'Tourist SIM'

With 80.59 million customers at the end of April, Grameenphone, 55.8 per cent owned by Norwegian telecom company Telenor

Extend mandatory equipment testing deadline: Telecom operators to govt

Guidelines to come into effect on July 1 but companies seek one-year extension

Trai directs telecom companies to report network outages with reasons

The telecom regulator Trai on Tuesday directed telecom operators to start reporting about network outages that affect all consumers in a district. The direction has come into force with immediate effect. "..the access service providers have been directed to report...all incidents of major network outages affecting the telecom services to the entire consumers of a district continuously for a period of more than four hours, within 24 hours of their occurrence," the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) said in a statement. The development follows after the regulator learnt about major network outages in the country of prolonged duration especially in the border and hilly areas, which adversely affect the quality of services being provided. Trai has directed telecom operators to report the root cause of major network outages and corrective actions taken by the telecom operators within 72 hours of restoration of the service. The regulator said that the information will be colle

Trai asks telcos to take action on pesky telemarketing calls, messages

Trai on Monday asked telcos to take immediate action to curb pesky calls and messages by getting banks and FIs to clean up unused templates, as the regulator initiated a slew of steps to crackdown on the issue of unsolicited commercial communications (UCC) that, at times, leads to instances of frauds and scams. Telecom Regulatory Authority of Indian (Trai) held a review meeting with telecom operators like Bharti Airtel, Jio, and Vodafone Idea (VIL) on issue of UCC detect system. During the meeting, Vodafone Idea made a presentation on a AI/ML (Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning) system that can analyse and detect patterns when it comes to fraudulent messages being sent from mobile numbers by scammers. Trai said permission will now be given to VIL for a pilot, and based on its success Trai will come out with principles/regulations for such solutions in the industry. The deadline for review of implementation of UCC detect system using AI/ML is May 1. "Today we have made it ver

Violation of norms led to 32,032 disconnections in 2022: Vaishnaw

Telecom operators disconnected 15,382 and 32,032 connections during 2021 and 2022, respectively over violation of regulations, meant to curb Unsolicited Commercial Communication or pesky marketing calls and messages, Parliament was informed on Friday. Till date, TRAI has imposed financial disincentives of Rs 34.9 crore on the access service providers for failing to curb unsolicited commercial communications in their networks from Registered Telemarketers, Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulation - 2018 to curb the Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC). "The Access Service Providers have disconnected 15,382 and 32,032 connections during the calendar year - 2021 and 2022, respectively for violating TCCCPR-2018," Vaishnaw said. To another question in Rajya Sabha on domestic production of telecom equipments, Minister of State for

Airtel rolls out family plan starting Rs 599 to increase postpaid user base

Bharti Airtel has rolled out various family plans offering monthly data in the range of 105-320 GB as it looks to attract prepaid users to switch to postpaid connections. The new family plans uploaded on the company website are in the range of Rs 599 to Rs 1,499 per month, while Black family plans, that bundles DTH and fixed broadband service, are in the range of Rs 799 to Rs 2,299 per month. A company official told PTI that the new plans are aimed at attracting prepaid customers to switch to postpaid whereby family members will be able to optimally use the data limit, calls, SMS etc bundled in a plan. Out of the total mobile subscriber base of 332 million, the company had 5.4 per cent postpaid users on its network in the December 2022 quarter. The postpaid customer base of Bharti Airtel grew by about 8 per cent on a year-on-year basis to 18.9 million as of December 31, 2022. These new family plans allow bundling 2-5 mobile phone connections under one plan. Airtel has bundled Ama

Mobile operators may deploy AI to check spam calls amidst rising fraud

To tackle the persistent menace of spam calls, mobile phone operators are considering using artificial intelligence (AI)-led interventions

Telcos claim of usage fee violates net neutrality principles: COAI

Firing a fresh salvo in the revenue share debate, industry body COAI on Monday said the demand of telecom operators for a reasonable usage fee' from OTT communication service providers towards network use is "fair and rational", and would drive the digital infrastructure while contributing to the economy. Just days after Internet and Mobile Association of India's (IAMAI) assertions that demand for 'revenue share' was an underhanded attempt to violate net neutrality, COAI returned fire saying it is "misleading" to state that Net Neutrality principles will be violated. "Certain entities with vested interests are misdirecting the issue of the need for a regulatory framework for the communication OTTs and the need of usage charge to be paid by OTTs to the TSPs, by bringing in the aspect of Net Neutrality in a misleading manner, to make it a populist issue," SP Kochhar, Director General of COAI, said in a statement, without naming IAMAI. The Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI

Trai chief asks telecom operators to improve service quality at state level

Telecom regulator Trai has asked telcos to report call drop and service quality data at state level, as the regulator instructed operators to immediately improve quality of service and connectivity across the country. Trai chief P D Vaghela met representatives of telecom companies, including Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, on Friday to review service quality, and asked operators to take necessary steps to reduce call drops. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has made it clear to operators that it will tighten service quality benchmarks, for which a consultation process will be initiated. Vaghela told reporters that Trai will make the service quality standards more stringent. To start with, Trai will monitor call drop data at the state level too, immediately. At present, the data is collected LSA (licensed service area)-wise and averaged quarterly. This makes it difficult to pin-point problems, and patchy networks in smaller states. The reporting of da

69% mobile service subscribers face call drop, connection issues: Survey

A majority of respondents in a survey claimed that they face call drop or call connection issues on any given day, online survey firm LocalCircles said on Thursday. According to the survey report, 28 per cent respondents said that they get uninterrupted access to 4G or 5G network while 32 per cent shared that they do not have access to 4G or 5G services most of the time despite paying for it. "Sixtynine per cent mobile service subscribers face call connection/call drop problems on any given day," the report said. The survey received over 42,000 responses from citizens located in 338 districts of India. However, the number of responses varied from question to question, LocalCircles said. A total of 10,927 people responded to questions on the frequency of call connection or call drop on any given day. "36 per cent or more than one third of respondents stating 'up to 25 per cent of the calls'; 13 per cent indicated the percentage was as much as 25-50 per cent; while 10 per cent indic

Implementation of caller name display should not be mandatory: Telcos' body

Industry body COAI has contended that implementation of Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) should not be made mandatory but kept optional for telecom operators

Tech companies, telecom operators against mandatory caller ID display

Just like the Truecaller app displays the names of people calling, the Centre through Telecom bill 2022 is seeking to establish this feature as a part of the telecommunications network