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Telecom Regulator

Trai proposes new regulatory framework for ground-based broadcasters

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

Trai proposes new regulatory framework for ground-based broadcasters
Updated On : 15 Jan 2025 | 11:47 PM IST

Trai to come out with recommendation for satcom spectrum 'very soon'

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

Trai to come out with recommendation for satcom spectrum 'very soon'
Updated On : 24 Dec 2024 | 7:57 PM IST

DoT asks telcos to play cybercrime awareness caller tune 8-10 times daily

The telecom department has ordered operators to play cyber crime awareness caller tune 8-10 times per day to telephone subscribers for three months. According to the order copy sent to the telecom operators, the caller tunes will be provided by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) -- a cyber crime wing under the Home Ministry. "In order to make the public aware about cybercrime through the caller tune campaign, it has been decided to play caller tune audios through pre-call announcement/ring back tone arrangement, which will be provided to TSPs by nodal officers of I4C. Caller tunes to a subscriber may be played about 8-10 times a day," the order dated December 18 said. The order asked telecom service providers (TSPs) to immediately take action on the order. "Different caller tunes related to cybercrime will be provided on a weekly basis for a period of three months," the order said. There has been a rise in the incidence of financial fraud through new scams like digita

DoT asks telcos to play cybercrime awareness caller tune 8-10 times daily
Updated On : 20 Dec 2024 | 10:08 PM IST

Trai's new message norms: Your OTPs safe, but spam may have a hard time

Trai's new message traceability norms go live from Dec 11 and aim to protect users by ensuring OTPs and essential messages are delivered seamlessly, while tackling spam and fraudulent communication

Trai's new message norms: Your OTPs safe, but spam may have a hard time
Updated On : 11 Dec 2024 | 3:10 PM IST

COAI urges licence fee cut, says telcos face double burden of AGR payments

Telecom industry body COAI on Thursday sought abolition or reduction of AGR-related fees for telcos at the earliest and pitched for lowering licence fee to 0.5-1 per cent of gross revenues. COAI argued that with the separation of spectrum from the license and its assignment at market price, the justification for imposing licence fee had ceased to exist long back. The license fee should "at best" cover the cost of administration of the license only, which is around 0.5 per cent to 1 per cent of the gross revenues, instead of the 8 per cent paid currently. COAI, whose members include Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, said payments charged on the basis of the AGR (Adjusted Gross Revenue) from telcos, ends up being a "double whammy" for players, who, as it is, incur huge investments towards procuring the spectrum. "It is evident that Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) buy the Spectrum for utilisation through transparent auction processes, paying a substantial amount for ...

COAI urges licence fee cut, says telcos face double burden of AGR payments
Updated On : 24 Oct 2024 | 5:19 PM IST

Elon Musk takes on Ambani over satellite spectrum allocation in India

The disagreement centres around whether satellite broadband spectrum should be auctioned or administratively allocated in India

Elon Musk takes on Ambani over satellite spectrum allocation in India
Updated On : 15 Oct 2024 | 2:55 PM IST

Trai relaxes URL whitelisting mandate for SMS to minimise disruptions

Trai reassured banks that only the static parts of URLs in SMS need whitelisting to avoid disruption fears

Trai relaxes URL whitelisting mandate for SMS to minimise disruptions
Updated On : 01 Oct 2024 | 10:54 AM IST

Trai urges DoT to encash Rs 115 cr from telcos for spam-related violations

The telecom regulator maintains that telcos are responsible for controlling unsolicited commercial communications under the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations

Trai urges DoT to encash Rs 115 cr from telcos for spam-related violations
Updated On : 11 Sep 2024 | 11:55 AM IST

Trai's anti-spam push: 50 firms blacklisted and 275,000 lines cut by telcos

Trai has introduced new regulations requiring telecom operators to block promotional calls originating from unregistered sources after receiving over 790,000 complaints about spam calls

Trai's anti-spam push: 50 firms blacklisted and 275,000 lines cut by telcos
Updated On : 04 Sep 2024 | 10:02 AM IST

Rs 80,000 crore 'Digital Bharat Nidhi' fund to boost urban telecom services

To secure the funds, the projects have to meet certain criteria, such as improving telecom service affordability and security

Rs 80,000 crore 'Digital Bharat Nidhi' fund to boost urban telecom services
Updated On : 02 Sep 2024 | 3:51 PM IST

Telecom regulator calls for thorough review of existing rules on spam

Fighting unprecedented incidence of spam calls and texts, Trai begins the process to review the definition of commercial communication

Telecom regulator calls for thorough review of existing rules on spam
Updated On : 28 Aug 2024 | 9:26 PM IST

How Trai's new rules may cause OTP delays for you starting Sept 1

Trai has ordered telecom companies to stop transmitting messages containing URLs, OTT links, APK files, or call-back numbers unless they have been whitelisted

How Trai's new rules may cause OTP delays for you starting Sept 1
Updated On : 26 Aug 2024 | 4:32 PM IST

Trai issued norms without much change in challenges faced by telcos: COAI

Telecom regulator Trai's new quality of service norms with stricter provisions have come without much change in challenges that telecom operators face on ground in terms of roll-out, illegal transmitters etc, industry body COAI said on Sunday. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has issued new quality of service rules on Friday, making it mandatory for telecom operators to compensate subscribers in case of service outages for more than 24 hours at a district level. Trai has also increased the penal amount to Rs 1 lakh from Rs 50,000 for failing to meet each quality benchmark under the new rules. The regulator has introduced a graded penalty system of Rs 1 lakh, Rs 2 lakh, Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh for different scales of rule violations and submitting false report under revised regulations -- "The Standards of Quality of Service of Access (Wirelines and Wireless) and Broadband (Wireline and Wireless) Service Regulations, 2024". Cellular Operators Association of India ..

Trai issued norms without much change in challenges faced by telcos: COAI
Updated On : 04 Aug 2024 | 7:08 PM IST

Telcos dial into caller ID service trials to combat rising spam calls

Telecom operators are assessing the feasibility of CNAP, where both number and caller name will be displayed during incoming calls

Telcos dial into caller ID service trials to combat rising spam calls
Updated On : 15 Jun 2024 | 1:06 PM IST

Vi approves offer price of Rs 11 per equity share for Rs 18,000 cr FPO

Telecom operator Vodafone Idea's (VIL) board has fixed the FPO offer price at Rs 11 per equity share, according to a regulatory filing. The anchor investor offer price of Rs 11 per equity share has also been greenlit by the board. "... Following resolutions were also passed... determined and approved the offer price of Rs 11 per equity share... approved the anchor investor offer price of Rs 11 per equity share," VIL informed. Debt-laden telecom operator Vodafone Idea Ltd has raised Rs 18,000 crore pulling off India's largest-ever follow-on public offering (FPO) as the issue got subscribed nearly seven times after institutional investors poured in money, stock exchange data showed on Monday evening. The fundraise will arm VIL with an ammo to improve its competitive positioning in the Indian telecom market, where it trails Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, by a wide margin. "Further to our letter dated 17 April 2024, intimating you about the meeting of the board of directors of the ..

Vi approves offer price of Rs 11 per equity share for Rs 18,000 cr FPO
Updated On : 23 Apr 2024 | 12:21 PM IST

Telecom tariff hike imminent, expect 15-17% rise after elections: Report

The telecom industry is expected to take a 15-17 per cent tariff hike post general elections, according to an analyst report that termed the tariff increase in the sector as "imminent" with Airtel as the biggest beneficiary. The general election in the world's largest democracy is scheduled to be held in seven phases between April 19 and June 1, and results will be declared on June 4. "We expect the industry to take a 15-17 per cent tariff hike post the elections," a report by Antique Stock Broking said, as it described the tariff hike as imminent and Bharti as the biggest beneficiary. The last hike of about 20 per cent was in December 2021, it said. Offering a break-up of ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) for India's second largest telco, the brokerage note said Bharti's industry-leading current ARPU of Rs 208 is set to go up to Rs 286 by end of FY27. This will be driven by a tariff hike contributing Rs 55, upgradation of 2G customers to 4G contributing Rs 10, and customer upgradat

Telecom tariff hike imminent, expect 15-17% rise after elections: Report
Updated On : 11 Apr 2024 | 2:13 PM IST

Trai wants district, state level data to boost quality of telecom services

QoS has remained a priority for the regulator, with Trai Chairperson Anil Kumar Lahoti naming call drops as a key area of his focus after taking charge in January

Trai wants district, state level data to boost quality of telecom services
Updated On : 02 Apr 2024 | 5:52 PM IST

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 will not intervene in 2G network shutdown; parks decision with telcos
Updated On : 23 Feb 2024 | 11:27 AM IST

UK antitrust regulator begins investigation of Vodafone-Hutchison merger

The tie-up announced last year will reduce the number of mobile networks in Britain from four to three

UK antitrust regulator begins investigation of Vodafone-Hutchison merger
Updated On : 26 Jan 2024 | 10:13 PM IST

Waiver provision removed in Telecom Bill, could hurt Vi recovery: Experts

The original draft of the Bill contained a framework to waive the license fees for financially troubled companies. Had these provisions made it to the final bill, things would have been easier for VI

Waiver provision removed in Telecom Bill, could hurt Vi recovery: Experts
Updated On : 22 Dec 2023 | 11:16 AM IST