Category: Editorial

Ever since the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) brought out a consultation paper on “Regulatory Mechanism for OTT Communication Services, and Selective Banning of OTT Services”, there has been an aggressive debate on...

In a significant move aimed at facilitating the seamless deployment of 5G in India, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has introduced the Indian Telegraph Right of Way (Amendment) Rules, 2023. These amendments build upon...

Two very important announcements were made by the government during the month of July 2023. In early July 2023, the government launched the Bharat 6G Alliance, a collaborative platform comprising public and private companies,...

Telecom operators and tech companies seem to be divided on the crucial issue of spectrum assignment for space-based communication services. Both parties have submitted contrasting views in response to the Telecom Regulatory...

At a recent event, Union Minister of Communications, Electronics and Information Technology and Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw assured industry stakeholders that the telecom sector is not heading towards a monopoly or a duopoly as...

Soon after stepping on the 5G bandwagon, India is now gearing up for the next phase of technological revolution by moving towards 6G. To accelerate India’s transition to 6G, the prime minister recently unveiled a vision...

In a historic step forward in public interest and to provide a major fillip to broadband uptake, the government has revised the definition of broadband connectivity and upgraded the minimum download speed fourfold. The earlier...

The promotion of domestically manufactured telecom and electronic equipment has been a key priority for the government during the past months. On the electronic equipment manufacturing front, the government approved total...

Phased roll-outs of 5G services finally began in October 2022. Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio have since been rapidly expanding their 5G coverage to enable customers to access the services on their smartphones. This rapid...

October 2022 witnessed the milestone launch of 5G services in the country. The launch, indeed, was the highlight of the India Mobile Congress 2022, where telecom operators demonstrated key features of 5G technology such as low...

During the past month, India has made giant strides in the satellite communications space. In a major move, Hughes Communications India Private Limited announced the com­mer­cial launch of high-throughput satellite (HTS)...

The Indian telecom market is brimming with opportunity as the country is finally ready to step into the 5G era. After a successful round of 5G auctions, telcos are now vying with each other to get an early start in launching 5G...

With just about a week to go for the 5G spectrum auctions, industry stakeholders seem to be gearing up to grab a share of the airwaves. In addition to the three private telcos, the Adani Group has announced its participation in...

The government has finally set the ball rolling for the much-awaited 5G spectrum auctions. The move comes after the Union Cabinet gave the go-ahead for auctioning 72,097.85 MHz of spectrum by the end of July 2022. The auction...

The month of May 2022 has been an eventful one in shaping India’s 5G journey. A number of policy and regulatory decisions have been taken to speed up the delivery of 5G services in the country. For one, the Digital...

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has finally released its recommendations on 5G spectrum. TRAI has suggested a 35-36 per cent reduction in the base price of the 5G spectrum band (3300-3670 MHz) to Rs 3.17 billion...

In a significant move, the government has announced that the process of merging Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL) with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) will be completed by March 31, 2022. Earlier, in January 2022, it...

The tide seems to be turning for Vodafone Idea Limited (Vi), which has been struggling to remain afloat in the market. First, the government’s telecom reform package brought a ray of hope as Vi opted for a four-year deferment of...

With this issue, we celebrate our twenty-second anniversary. As in previous years, we have produced a special anniversary issue for you, complete with sector reviews, segment analyses and industry perspective. And as in previous...

The Supreme Court’s recent ruling on AGR has dealt a big blow to the incumbents’ already strained finances. During the quarter ended September 2019, Vodafone Idea reported losses of almost half a trillion rupees on account of...

In an unprecedented move, Reliance Jio has decided to recover IUC of Re 0.06 per minute from its users. This means, it is now charging users for making voice calls to other telco networks, reneging on its promise of a lifetime...