We are turning 25!
Join us as we scroll through our archives and revisit the past.
To mark our 25th Anniversary, we are bringing out a special commemorative issue around the theme, “Connecting a Billion Lives – 25 Years of Indian Telecom”. It will have many special features, mixing memories with analyses and hopes with projections. It will showcase the successes, examine the failures and highlight the changes over the past 25 years. It will also attempt to identify the biggest challenges, the best strategies and the most promising technologies for the next 25 years. All this, through the voices of the sector, representing all stakeholders, making it a very special issue.
In the run-up to that issue, we will bring you a mix of “old” stories, interviews and features in our special. It will retrace the journey of the telecom sector, its moods and memorable moments. It will also feature some of the covers we are particularly proud of.
We hope you will enjoy browsing through this special section. Watch this space for more…
Future of Indian Telecom
tele.net’s first cover story took stock of the sector’s progress since the introduction of the National Telecom Policy, 1994 and outlined the need for world class telecom services to enable the country to plug into the global economy.
January 15, 2000
Another Round of Licensing
After a flurry of policy announcements throwing open all telecom service segments in 2001, the government got down to the task of awarding licences. The article took stock of how the government played this hand while avoiding the fiasco of the previous round.
April 21, 2001
The Big Gamble
A glimpse of the impact and after-effects of Reliance Infocomm’s Monsoon Hungama offer, which whipped up a frenzy among users to avail of the cheapest handset and connection offer for an upfront cost of Rs 501.
July 02, 2003
We have launched a mobile revolution
A late entrant into the Indian telecom sector, Reliance Infocomm decided to serve up a basket of telecom services to make its mark in the sector. Here is what Reliance’s Mukesh Ambani said in 2003 about the company’s ambitious rollout plans and its strategies for the future…
February 21, 2003
Bharti has ‘massified’ the mobile market
Despite aggressive competition, Bharti Airtel managed to hold on to its leadership position and became the first operator to notch up 5 million subscribers. In this 2004 interview, Sunil Bharti Mittal talked about the company’s innovative strategies and offerings that led to its soaring profits, stock prices and subscriber numbers….
February 13, 2004
FDI Hiked
In a big move in 2005, the government raised the FDI limit for telecom from 49 per cent to 74 per cent. This story analyses the implications of the hike for the industry, in terms of driving in fund flows and competition.
February 07, 2005
Interview with TRAI’s Pradip Baijal
In mid-2005, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had released its recommendations on spectrum allocation. In this interview from our archives, the then TRAI chairman, Pradip Baijal, shared his views on this rather complex issue as well as the need for 3G spectrum auctions and increased powers for TRAI.
June 07, 2005
Vodafone’s landmark acquisition of Hutch
The battle for Hutchison Telecom India’s 67 per cent stake in Hutchison Essar came to an end with UK’s telecom major Vodafone beating Essar, Reliance and the Hindujas to win the stake. The article recorded industry reactions to the biggest takeover battle in the history of Indian telecom.
February 16, 2007
The Great Licence Rush
What began as a trickle for licences when TRAI recommended lifting the cap on the number of players, ended as a deluge when the minister announced a surprise deadline for receiving applications. The story examined key aspects such as what prompted the great rush and would the move lead to spectrum hoarding and arbitrage?
October 31, 2007
Bharti’s acquisition of Zain’s African operations
In one of the biggest overseas expansions by an Indian company, Bharti Airtel clinched the deal with Zain to buy its African operations, other than those in Sudan and Morocco, for $10.7 billion. The story analysed potential opportunities and challenges of Airtel’s African foray.
April 22, 2010
2G Licence Crackdown
On February 2, 2012, the Supreme Court delivered its landmark judgment, revoking the 122 telecom licences awarded controversially in 2008. The article talked about the impact of such a move on Indian telecom’s competitive and business landscape.
February 7, 2012
The Big Spectrum Auction of 2015
In its biggest ever spectrum auction in Indian telecom, DoT garnered whopping Rs 1.1 trillion from the sale of airwaves in the 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz bands. Telcos picked up spectrum to enhance coverage and capacity, but the high payout was a matter of concern.
March 23, 2015