Page 4 - Trai

Telecom operators seek 5-6 year moratorium on spectrum purchases after 2025

Operators said such a moratorium is needed on spectrum bought in auctions from next year due to significant capital expenditure incurred in deploying 5G services

Ineffective interventions

Spam calls must be stopped

Analysts wary of Vodafone Idea's falling subscribers, broadband users

'Recent fundraise could have a bearing on subscriber additions '

Telecom subscriber base grows marginally to 1.19 bn in March: Trai data

Telecom subscriber base in the country grew marginally to 119.9 crore in March due to new additions by Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, according to a Trai report released on Friday. The broadband subscriber base rose to 92.4 crore, as per the monthly subscriber report published by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). "The number of telephone subscribers in India increased from 1,197.75 million at the end of February 2024 to 1,199.28 million at the end of March 2024, thereby showing a monthly growth rate of 0.13 per cent," the report said. Reliance Jio added 21.4 lakh mobile subscribers, while Bharti Airtel onboarded 17.5 lakh customers. However, Vodafone Idea (VIL) lost 6.8 lakh mobile customers, state-run BSNL 23.5 lakh and MTNL 4,674 subscribers. Wireline subscribers increased to 3.37 crore at the end of March 2024 from 3.31 crore at the end of February 2024. Reliance Jio led the new customer addition in the wireline segment by registering 3.99 lakh new subscribers

Vi FPO rings in vigour for telecom sector, may reduce subscriber loss

But low capital expenditure and large debt weigh down Vi's revival prospects

DoT to finalise terms of reference for satellite spectrum in few weeks

TRAI to begin new consultation on allocation of satellite spectrum

Telecom service sector's AGR up 1.8% to Rs 67,835 cr in Dec 2023 qtr: Trai

The Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) of the telecom service sector rose 1.88 per cent on a sequential basis to Rs 67,835 crore in the December 2023 quarter, according to telecom regulator Trai's data. Seen year-on-year, the AGR (earned by telcos from the sale of telecom services and other stipulated items) increased by 7.84 per cent. "Gross Revenue (GR), Applicable Gross Revenue (ApGR) and Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) of the telecom service sector for the quarter ended December 2023 have been Rs 84,500 crore, Rs 81,101 crore and Rs 67,835 crore, respectively. GR increased by 2.13 per cent, ApGR increased by 1.70 per cent and AGR increased by 1.88 per cent in the quarter ended December 2023, as compared to the previous quarter," Trai's latest report 'Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicators' showed. Access services accounted for 82 per cent of the total adjusted gross revenue of telecom services. "In Access services, Gross Revenue (GR), Applicable Gross Revenue (ApGR), Adjusted Gr

Opening up several high band spectrum not enough for 5G, say telcos

Telecom service providers have pushed instead for opening up the 6 gigahertz band for auctions

DoT to seek Trai's view on satcom spectrum allocation, licensing process

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is expected to approach Trai this month to seek the regulator's views on method and pricing for allocation of spectrum and scope of licences to be issued for satcom services, according to sources. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had floated a consultation paper on "Assignment of Spectrum for Space-based Communication Services" on April 6, 2023 but returned the reference back to DoT after announcement of new Telecommunication Act. "DoT will seek views of Trai on pricing and methodology to allocate spectrum for space based communication services. It may also look to fine-tune existing licences to bring in full clarity on the kind of services that satcom companies with administratively allocated spectrum can provide," a source, who did not wish to be named, told PTI. Satcom or satellite communication technology enables service providers to ensure internet connectivity in remote areas or difficult terrain. Bharti Group-backed

Allow only Indian entities to participate in regulatory sandbox, says Trai

Only Indian nationals or entities should be eligible to participate in telecom regulatory sandboxes that can provide real-time but regulated access to networks and customer resources during product or technology tests, sector regulator Trai recommended on Friday. The Telecommunications Act, 2023, has introduced the provision of setting up multiple regulatory sandboxes. The regulatory sandbox (RS) will emphasise on testing of new products, services, processes, and business models in a live testing environment on a limited set of users for a specified period of time after obtaining certain regulatory relaxations. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) recommended that the Department of Telecom shall put in place an end-to-end digital process to handle RS applications and all related activities, including intimations, approvals, sharing of information, monitoring, reporting requirements etc. "Only Indian nationals or entities will be eligible," Trai said in its recommendatio

Number of telecom subscribers up marginally to 1.197 bn in Feb: Trai

The number of telecom subscribers in India increased 0.38 per cent to 119.7 crore in February 2024 as compared to the previous month, according to a TRAI report published on Monday. The urban telephone subscription increased to 66.37 crore while rural subscription increased to 53.13 crore with a sequential growth rate of 0.40 per cent and 0.34 per cent, respectively. The total broadband subscribers also increased from 91.10 crore at the end of January to 91.67 crore at February-end, as per the monthly subscriber report published by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Top five service providers constituted 98.35 per cent of the total broadband subscribers. The service provider are Reliance Jio Infocomm (52.2 per cent), Bharti Airtel (29.41 per cent), Vodafone Idea (13.80 per cent), BSNL (2.69 per cent), and Atria Convergence (0.24 per cent). All circles in both wireline and wireless segments registered growth in subscriber base in February, the report said. The wireline .

Trai begins consultation on pricing, terms for new spectrum bands

Telecom regulator TRAI on Thursday sought stakeholder views on the auction of new three spectrum bands-- 3737.5 GHz, 37.540 GHz and 42.543.5 GHz for mobile services, as it released a consultation paper to discuss issues related to pricing, validity and payment terms of these radiowaves. This is the first time three spectrum bands in 37-37.5 Ghz, 37.5-40 Ghz and 42.5-43.5 Ghz are being proposed for the auction. The proposal will make available 4,000 Mhz spectrum for 5G services in the future. These blocks are different from the bands -- 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, 2,300 MHz, 2,500 MHz, 3,300 MHz, and 26 GHz which that be put on the block in the upcoming spectrum auctions scheduled for June 6. "The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has today released a Consultation Paper on 'Auction of Spectrum in 37-37.5 GHz, 37.5-40 GHz and 42.5-43.5 GHz bands Identified for IMT," an official release said. TRAI, in the consultation paper, has sought industry's opinion on vari

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

Ministries test the AI waters: Try out use cases in bid to reduce workload

'A case study is being carried out across ministries by a dedicated wing which consists of experts to figure out the AI use cases under AI mission,' a senior government official said

Trai recommends introduction of CNAP service for caller name display

Trai on Friday recommended that Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) Supplementary Service be introduced in telecom network and that the service involving display of caller names on phones be offered by all telcos to subscribers on request -- a move that is expected to curb spam. The government should issue suitable instructions for making CNAP feature available in all devices sold in India after a suitable cut-off date, once recommendations are accepted, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) said. The name identity information provided by the telephone subscriber in the Customer Application Form (CAF) should be used for the purpose of the service, Trai said in its recommendations. "Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) Supplementary Service should be introduced in the Indian telecommunication network," Trai said. Put simply, CNAP is a supplementary service that enables the caller's name to flash on phone screens when someone calls. While native smartphone tools and third-party

Trai asks telecom operators to speed up roll out of anti-spam tech

DCA will take customers' consent for the brands or companies they would like to receive communication from

Telecom subscriber base grows marginally to 1.19 bn in December: Trai data

Telecom subscriber base in the country grew marginally to 119 crore in December 2023 on account of new subscriber addition by Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, according to a Trai report published on Thursday. The broadband subscriber base also grew marginally to 90.4 crore, accounting for about 76 per cent of the total subscriber base, as per the monthly subscriber report published by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). "The number of telephone subscribers in India increased from 1,185.73 million at the end of November to 1,190.33 million at the end of December, showing a monthly growth rate of 0.39 per cent," the Trai report said. Reliance Jio added 39.94 lakh mobile subscribers while Bharti Airtel onboarded 18.5 lakh. However, the growth was mitigated with Vodafone Idea (VIL) losing 13.68 lakh mobile customers, state-run BSNL 1.5 lakh and MTNL 4,420 mobile customers. Wireline subscribers increased to 3.18 crore at the end of December 2023 from 3.15 crore at the end

90% respondents getting pesky calls despite being in DND list: LocalCircles

Around 90 per cent of people surveyed stated that they are getting pesky calls from individuals selling financial services, real estate projects and other products despite being registered on the Do Not Disturb list, says a survey by LocalCircles. A vast majority of respondents surveyed have shared that they get spam calls every day and most of the calls are from individuals selling financial services and real estate products and services, according to the survey. The survey comprising seven questions claims to have received 60,000 responses from 378 districts but the number of replies on each question varied. In response to a question on the number of calls that people get, 90 per cent of respondents shared that they get at least 1-2 calls daily while 3 per cent said that they get over 10 pesky calls daily. Similarly, 90 per cent of respondents shared that they have been getting unwanted, pesky, sales promotional or robo phone calls on their mobile number in the last 12 months ...

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

Tanla Platforms appoints former TRAI Chief RS Sharma to board of directors

Tanla Platforms on Monday announced the appointment of former TRAI Chairman RS Sharma to its board of directors. With this, the total number of directors on Tanla's board now stands at 7. "Tanla Platforms, India's leading CPaaS (Communications Platform as a Service) player, announced the appointment of former TRAI Chairman Dr RS Sharma to its board of directors, bringing the total number of directors on Tanla's Board to 7," according to a company release. Sharma was the chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) between 2015 and 2020, and his tenure was marked by initiatives promoting net neutrality and consumer rights. Over the years, he spearheaded multiple government initiatives. As the chairman of the Empowered Group of COVID Vaccine Administration (EGVAC), Sharma steered the design and rollout of Co-Win - the digital backbone of the vaccination drive in India. As CEO of the National Health Authority, he was instrumental in implementing two health initiatives