- Vodafone Idea launches pay per view service in alliance with Hungama Digital Media Entertainment“With the opening of the economy and entertainment business, new content consumption models are emerging that allow users to watch single content for a specific price,” said Avneesh Khosla, chief marketing officer of Vi.
- Airtel, Vi mention AGR calculation error plea in Supreme Court, court says to hear in 2 weeksThe case was mentioned in the apex court on Wednesday. The latest in the AGR battle between the telecom department and the operators started when Airtel in January, sought for a modification, clarification or recall of “mistaken orders” that allowed the government to demand Rs 43,980 crore as AGR dues against the telco’s calculation of Rs 13,004 crore.
- GoldenTree exits Vi lenders’ consortium, remaining members may sign binding pactThe remaining members of the consortium, including Pacific Investment Management Co (PIMCO), Sixth Street, Twin Point Capital and Varde Partners, though, they said, are strongly committed and likely to ink a binding pact with Vi by end-February, just ahead of the upcoming 4G spectrum auction, starting March 1.
- Jio, Airtel, Vi's EMDs suggest telcos to give 700 Mhz spectrum a miss: ICICI SecuritiesThe EMD size is indicative of a telco’s bidding strategy as it gives an operator eligibility points, based on which it can target a certain quantum of airwaves. The upcoming auction for nearly 2300 units of airwaves across seven 4G bands – from 700 Mhz to 2500 Mhz – are valued at Rs 3.92 lakh-crore at base price.
- Vodafone Idea's EVP (regulatory) Sundeep Kathuria quitsIn recent months, Vi has seen a spate of senior level executive exits, including ex-CTO Vishant Vora, former legal head Kumar Das, ex-brand officer Kavita Nair and chief technology security officer (CTSO) Amit Pradhan.
- Airtel, Jio Rs 349 and Rs 599 prepaid plans: A comparisonApart from unlimited talktime and SMSes, some of these plans also offer free streaming of OTT services and other complimentary subscriptions.
- Airtel adds more subscribers than Jio for 4th straight month in Nov, Vi loses more: TraiAirtel gained a whopping 4.37 million wireless subscribers against Jio’s 1.93 million, while struggling Vi lost 2.89 million users in November, according to subscriber data collated by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) released Thursday.
- Vodafone Group may sell small stake in Indus Towers to inject capital into ViThe Vodafone Group has previously said that it would not infuse any fresh equity into Vi. But its stake in the now-listed Indus Towers is an existing and separate telecom-related investment in India, which may make it easier for the British telco to convince shareholders, if required, one of the people told ET.
- Who'll be responsible for breach? Telcos worried over security note on gearsIn their meetings with security officials as part of the process to identify trusted sources for telecom equipment, telcos urged the government to ensure an adequate number of vendors to keep costs in check, while also seeking clarifications around maintenance, upgrade and repair of already installed equipment.
- DoT errors have led to manifold increase in AGR dues: Vi plea in Supreme Court"The present application is being filed inter alia, seeking clarification/ modification of the judgment of this court dated 01/09/ 2020..... and other connected matters to a limited extent of allowing to carry out corrections relating to manifest/clerical/ arithmetic errors, etc. In the computation of applicant's adjusted gross revenue," Vodafone Idea said its petition that ET has seen.
- Vi enters into strategic partnership with Firework to offer vertical video stories to usersVi claims that this is the first time any Indian telecom operator has taken the lead to introduce the stories format to its users, which has already become a global trend.
- Vi inks pact with Firework to bring short video storiesA first for an Indian telco, the partnership allows "Vi to leverage Firework's content repository from global content studios and also get access to unique occupational generated content (OGC) creators who are expert storytellers across a wide genre of subjects," said the telco in a statement on Tuesday.
- Airtel, Vi may have to spend more on network gearThis expected increase in gear procurement costs may be tempered, though, since non-Chinese network vendors such as Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung will have less bargaining power in demanding a premium with fewer telcos to choose from.
- Airtel in pole position in race with Jio to grab struggling Vi’s customersAirtel is likely to continue gaining more mobile broadband users than Jio, especially as the low-end customer churn, which had driven Jio’s customer gains earlier, has largely stabilised, analysts said.
- Mobile broadband services may be hit as telcos face hurdles in setting up new infraTower firms and telcos have sought immediate intervention of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the ministry of electronics & information technology (MeitY) amid the huge backlog in applications awaiting clearances.
- Airtel tops most network metrics in Aug-Oct: TutelaIn terms of latency, Airtel was the most responsive network with a delay of 24 millisecond, followed by Vi’s 26.5 millisecond and Jio’s 28.5 milliseconds. Latency is a measure of round-trip delay in transfer of each data packet from source to destination.
- Telecom services to improve but tariffs may rise after auctions: AnalystsAnalysts say that while a tariff hike is good news for the sector, especially Vodafone Idea, the stressed telco is expected to face further pressure on its market share with Bharti Airtel making make strong inroads into some of its weaker rival’s biggest markets such as MP, Maharashtra, UP-West, Gujarat and Kerala, having bolstered its sub-Ghz spectrum holdings in these circles.
- Airtel, Vi, RIL shares gain on Day 2 of spectrum auctionCommunications minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had said on Monday that if 700 Mhz and 2500 Mhz bands are excluded, the Day 1 bidding represented 60% of the spectrum put to auction.
- 4G spectrum sale: Most shopping done in round 1, ‘clean & boring’ auction ends middle of day 2The telecom sector’s most watched event – the spectrum auction – ended halfway through the second day, making it the second shortest sale after the one in 2013 that lasted 4 hours.
- Jio, Airtel may corner more market share at the cost of Voda Idea post auction: AnalystsGoldman Sachs expects “Jio to have largely closed its gap with Bharti and Vi on total spectrum,” though it said data carried on the Mukesh Ambani-led telco’s 4G network is almost 2 times that on Airtel’s, and accordingly, the latter’s spectrum holding still remains “materially higher vs Jio”.
- Voda Idea buys airwaves in 5 circles to boost 4G coverage, capacity"The spectrum we have acquired in the five circles will further help us to enhance our 4G coverage and capacity, enabling superior digital experience for our customers,' said the third largest telco in a statement on Tuesday.
- Jio may have spent Rs 42,000-50,000 cr on day 1 of spectrum auction, Airtel around Rs 25,000 cr: AnalystsGoldman Sachs said Jio has likely spent Rs 50,000 crore, Bharti Airtel spent Rs 25,000 crore while Vodafone Idea has renewed its spectrum by spending around Rs 3,000 crore. Brokerage firm Axis Capital estimates the bidding by Jio to be Rs 42,000 crore, Airtel to be Rs 25,000 crore and Vi to be Rs 7,000 crore.
- Voda Idea says customers were never charged additional IUC & nothing changes for themVi’s statement came on back of Reliance Jio Infocomm saying it will stop charging subscribers for local calls made to rival networks from Friday, when interconnect user charges (IUC) are scrapped.
- Telcos eye strong enterprise business push post pandemicIn a recent analyst call, Bharti Airtel India chief executive Gopal Vittal said that the enterprise business has grown in double digits over the last few years.
- Reliance Jio’s new bundled offers may not hit Airtel: AnalystsThe new JioPhone offers won’t change the sector’s competitive dynamics as the minimum upfront commitment of Rs 1,499 (including device) is more than double what a 2G user, typically, spends upfront on a device and the initial recharge.
- Telecom spectrum auction starts today. Here is what to expectIt would be interesting to see how much bandwidth the government would be able to sell, given the existing debt burden of over Rs 8 lakh crore for the industry and sufficient quantity of airwaves already held by the likes of Airtel and Vodafone Idea.
- Jio writes stern letter to TRAI, alleges rivals Vi, Airtel inciting public by portraying it anti-farmerTelecom operator Reliance Jio has alleged that industry peers Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) are running "vicious and divisive campaign" against it and making preposterous claims that migrating Jio mobile numbers to their networks would be an act of support to farmers' protests. The country's biggest telecom operator in a letter to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has sought strict action against the two companies and said that such acts of the rival companies can jeopardise safety and security of Jio's employees.Jio writes stern letter to TRAI, alleges rivals Vi, Airtel inciting public by portraying it anti-farmer
- Airtel, Vi trash Jio's allegations about unfairly rival's users to port out“We have just been made aware through media about an outrageous complaint made to the TRAI by Reliance Jio against Airtel…this complaint relates to market activities in Punjab/ Haryana LSA (licence service area) that are purportedly encouraging customers to port to Airtel…we wish to emphatically deny this baseless charge,” Bharti Airtel said in a reply to the telecom regulator on Monday.
- Jio tells TRAI it's losing users due to 'rumors' spread by Airtel, Vi that it will gain from Farm BillsRetailers in Faridabad , Bahadurgarh, Chandigarh, Firozpur and other parts of NCR and Punjab have seen an increase in customers porting out of Reliance Jio and joining either Vodafone Idea or Bharti Airtel.
- Telcos to also come under regulatory scrutiny of revised intermediary rules"We are studying the regulations…the telcos with value added services will come under the OTT regulations," said a senior executive in one of the three telcos. Another senior executive at a second operator confirmed the same, adding their legal teams are still going through the revised intermediary guidelines under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, announced Thursday.
- Airtel, Vodafone Idea file segmented offer details to telecom regulator TraiOn December 4, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had directed all telcos to submit details of all segmented offers made between January and November 2020, including offer name, tariff rates, terms and conditions, validity spans and benefits within 15 days.
- Jio expanded revenue market share in Oct-Dec quarter, rivals lost ground: AnalystsBrokerage firm Axis Capital observed that "RJio reported QoQ market share improvement, while Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea (Vi) and BSNL posted a decline".
- Need rapid progress in 5G trials: Vodafone Idea’s Ravinder Takkar“The recent report on India's preparedness for 5G by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology underlines the need for rapid progress on 5G trials and deployment of India-specific use cases,” Ravinder Takkar, managing director and chief executive of Vodafone Idea said.
- Airtel, Jio, Vi seek cheaper spectrum, ask govt to fix bandwidth & right-of-way issuesOperators have been calling current prices unsustainable, with Vi saying it might become the first off the blocks to raise rates — prices were last raised in December 2019 — and was confident it would be followed by its rivals, too.
- Vi may raise tariffs by 15-20% end of 2020 or early 2021Bharti Airtel may follow but both will closely watch rival Reliance Jio’s moves and calibrate their rates accordingly, said two people familiar with the matter.
- Big 3 telcos to conserve cash to buy 3.3-3-6 GHz spectrum in likely near-term 5G auction: AnalystsAnalysts estimate 275 units of airwaves in the 3.3-3.6 Ghz bands to be available in a near-term 5G auction and expect the government to cut overall reserve prices by 30-40% in a follow-up sale as a sizeable chunk of airwaves are likely to stay unsold in the upcoming 4G sale, starting March 1.
- Telcos may need Rs 50,000 crore to renew expiring spectrumThe absence of a 5G sale in the forthcoming March spectrum auctions would lower the risk of financially stressed telcos burning more cash and will allay investor fears around ‘earlier-than-expected’ launch of the next-generation services, the analysts said.
- Vodafone Idea December active user losses less than in NovemberThe telecom regulatory authority of India (Trai) posted a 9-month high decline of 5.7 million in Vi’s gross subscribers to 284 million, whereas active users felly by 1.5 million to 26.3 million. Meanwhile, as per Vi’s October-December quarter results, its gross mobile subscribers fell only by 2 million. The company reported 270 million subscribers at December-end.
- Airtel adds more users than Jio in December for the fifth straight monthAirtel gained 4.05 million wireless subscribers against Jio’s 0.47 million while struggling Vi once again lost nearly 5.7 million users in December, according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) data released on Thursday.
- Jio puts in EMD of Rs 10,000 cr, Airtel & Voda Idea put Rs 3000 cr, Rs 475 cr each for spectrum auctionThe deposits are part of the applications that the three telcos have filed to participate in the spectrum auction starting March 1. The quantum of EMD is indicative of a telco’s bidding strategy as it gives an operator eligibility points, based on which it can target a certain quantum of airwaves in specific circles.
- Meghbela Broadband to launch services in West Bengal, takes on Jio, AirtelThe Kolkata-based internet service provider (ISP) which operates across 70 cities in India with a subscriber base of 150,000 users is targeting to add another 200,000 users (including 50,000 Android Box users) within a year of launch and expand the services outside Bengal.
- Operators, vendors, Facebook call upon government to ensure adequate 5G spectrumAirtel’s VP-Regulatory Affairs, Amit Kushwaha said trials are must to start building up the ecosystem and use cases which are unique to India. Facebook called for flexibility in licensing of spectrum. Vodafone Idea (Vi) added that 5G dream would be incomplete without adequate fiberization of towers which is abysmally low in India.
- Telecom industry headed for strong growth: Ind-RaThe rating company said the sector turnaround is being driven by a mix of “moderation in competition intensity between the big telcos, resulting in waning tariff differentials, increasing data penetration, supporting growth in average revenue per user (ARPU), and a growing subscriber base”.
- Voda Idea to use funds from capital raise to boost 4G coverage to stem user lossesThe telco reported a narrower net loss for the quarter, while its key parameters such as average revenue per user, minutes of use and subscriber base continued to trail rivals Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio. Its shares closed 2.3% lower at Rs11.80 on the BSE Tuesday.
- Voda Idea to shut 3G in FY22, fund raising to be closed 'soon'Brokerage firm CLSA has called it an “unsatisfactory performance”, highlighting the “enormous debt burden” of the operator.
- Vodafone Idea CSR arm, Nokia team up for SmartAgri solutionA pilot project, being implemented across 100 locations in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, aims to benefit over 50,000 farmers in the region by enhancing their productivity and income.
- Vodafone Idea gives extra month’s salary to all employees to curb exitsThe additional compensation, though, is on condition that Vi staffers remain on the company's rolls till March 31, 2021, failing which it would get deducted from the final settlement, two people with direct knowledge told ET.
- Multiple SIM use helped Vodafone Idea cut user losses in Q3: AnalystsThey added that the deceleration in Vi’s subscriber losses was also helped by Reliance Jio’s lowest-ever net user adds in the fiscal third quarter amid the slowdown in the market leader’s JioPhone customer gains.
- Vodafone Idea networth Rs - 43,474.70 crore at September end: DoTLoss making Vodafone idea’s shares closed down 2.8% at Rs12.54 on the BSE Friday, while the Airtel stock ended 2% lower at Rs586.55. Reliance Jio isn’t listed.
- NGO moves Supreme Court to seek swift recovery of AGR dues from telcosThe NGO petitioned that delays in recovering adjusted gross revenues (AGR) will cause loss to exchequer, violating fundamental rights of Indian citizens.
- NGO files intervention plea in SC, seeks swift recovery of AGR duesThe petition comes on the back of Vodafone Idea (Vi), Bharti Airtel and Tata Teleservices (TTSL) moving apex court earlier this year, pointing out errors in calculations of AGR dues.
- Higher earnest money to allow Reliance Jio, Airtel to bid for all 4G bandsVodafone Idea (Vi), financially the weakest of the three private telcos, is said to have put in less than Rs 500 crore, which would enable it to buy spectrum worth ₹2,500-3,500 crore, only in some bands and some circles.
- Airtel, Vodafone Idea urge DoT to lower bank guarantees for statutory dues“Both Airtel and Vi have written to the DoT to recalibrate the guarantees that telcos offer annually to the government. Their revenues have been on a decline over the last few years but the amounts they need to provide through BGs are not in proportion to the declining revenue," a senior executive at one of the two telcos told ET on condition of anonymity.
- Vodafone Idea beats Jio & Airtel in fastest internet speed in Oct-Dec last yearThis result comes at a time when the main battle for customers is being played out between the three private telcos on 4G networks. The faster speed will also ensure high tariff customers, specially postpaid ones remain on Vi.
- Deadline for Vodafone Idea’s funding talks extended to February 28US-based investment firm Oak Hill is leading the consortium, which includes GoldenTree Asset Management, Pacific Investment Management Co, Sixth Street, Twin Point Capital and Varde Partners to provide an around $2 billion (Rs 14,600 cr) credit line to Vi.
- 4G auctions: Jio, Airtel, Vodafone Idea to participateThe auction for over 2300 MHz of airwaves — valued at Rs 3.92 lakh crore at base price — though is likely to see limited bidding intensity for spectrum worth less than Rs 48,000 crore, with Jio and Airtel expected to be the main players.
- Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel & Vodafone Idea apply to bid in spectrum auctionsThe auction for over 2300 MHz of airwaves - valued at Ras3.92 lakh crore at base price - is likely to see limited bidding intensity for spectrum worth less than Rs50,000 crore, with Jio and Airtel expected to be the main players.
- Private Sector in India rolling out new products in anticipation of 5G: ETILCAs 5G becomes a reality and the cultural shift toward social distancing lingers, we could see it enabling 4K/8K high-resolution video for telemedicine, personalized AI-based teachers in virtual classrooms, and lag-free Zoom meetings.
- SC upholds Trai's appeal, asks Airtel, Vi to share details of all segmented offers with regulatorThe Supreme Court on Friday ordered Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi) to disclose to the telecom regulator all segmented or 'specific offers' made to their subscribers, delivering a jolt to the two companies that say submission of such details could end up violating commercial confidentiality and help rivals poach their customers.
- DoT accepts telcos' plea to accept bank guarantees valid for 1 yearThe telcos need to provide bank guarantees to back their earnest money deposits (EMD) to bid in the auctions and to cover for their annual instalment amounts towards the airwaves they buy in the sale.
- India becomes largest IPv6 subscriber, seeks self-reliance in Internet domainIndia ranked No. 1 in IPv6 with nearly 60% adoption, followed by Belgium (58%). Thanks to Reliance Jio's greenfield network that holds 91.8% of the IPv6 subscriber base, capturing second position to T-Mobile (92.3%).
- VI could continue to be a dominant telecom player along with Airtel and Jio: Sudip BandyopadhyayAs far as Vodafone Idea is concerned, to a certain extent, the uncertainties about its survival are over though the fundraising part is a huge challenge , says the Inditrade Capital Group Chairman.
- Bharti Airtel, COAI differ on impact of delays in refurbished 2G gear clearancesVodafone Idea (Vi) and Airtel are the country’s biggest 2G operators and jointly command over 300 million 2G users who are critical to their revenues. Vendors, on their part, need a no-objection certificate (NoC) from the ministry of environment, forest & climate change (MoEF) before deploying any imported refurbished 2G/3G gear in mobile networks.
- Airtel, Vodafone Idea seek clarity on methods used to calculate AGR duesThe two most affected telcos had previously pointed out in the top court anomalies in the DoT's calculations, and had submitted their own self assessments, which put the dues at substantially lower than the government's calculated amounts. The court though had scrapped all the reassessments and upheld DoT's calculations.
- ‘Vodafone’s arbitration win unlikely to trigger any fresh investments in Vi’Vodafone Group Plc on Friday won a decade-long battle in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague against the Indian tax department’s demand of Rs 20,000 crore, stemming from its entry into the country in 2007.
- The week that was: PSUs shine in Budget’s afterglow; Vi suffers most in 1 yearThe Nifty50 and BSE Sensex indices fell over 1 per cent each for the week as some investors saw the opportunity to take some profits.
- Mobile tower companies protest steep rise in installation fee in DelhiTower installation rates, recently revised by two of the Delhi municipalities, have effectively jumped almost 150% to ₹5 lakh per tower for a five-year span.
- Telcos fret over hike in tower installation costs in DelhiMobile tower installation rates, recently revised by two Delhi municipalities, have risen sharply from around Rs 2 lakh per tower for a 5-year span to Rs 5 lakh per tower for a 5-year period, a senior industry executive aware of the matter told ET.
- Vi eyes handset tie-ups to grow high ARPU usersThe telco said that strong macro growth drivers such as growth in data consumption, especially with more users migrating to 4G, amid increasing smartphone adoption will help it drive up ARPU, from Rs 114 at June end. It added its target is to achieve Rs 4,000 crore in annualized cost savings over the next 18 months.
- Spectrum auction: Vodafone Idea would prefer to skip net worth mention, unless mandatoryAccording to analysts, loss-making Vi’s net worth is a negative ₹26,699.8 crore. The telco has never posted a profit since its formation through the merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular in August 2018, and has been rapidly losing subscribers to rivals, mainly as it trails Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio in 4G coverage.
- Telcos differ on adoption of India-centric 5G norms; Bharti Airtel, Vi caution of gaps in standardsTSDSI’s 5G standard, among other things, calls for deployment of 5G services in the 3.4 GHz band and suggests mobile towers be spaced 12 km apart in villages to ensure ubiquitous 5G coverage in rural India.
- Jio may keep tariff hikes on hold as rising churn hits net user additions: AnalystsJio added a net 5.2 million users in the quarter compared with 7.3 million in the September quarter and 10 million in the June quarter of FY21. Its monthly churn rate for wireless subscribers rose from a modest 0.46% in the June quarter to 1.69% in the September quarter and 1.63% in October-December.
- Vodafone Idea, recently rebranded as Vi, becomes co-sponsor for IPL 2020"Vi has acquired the co-sponsorship rights of the live broadcast of T-20 premier league which will be held in Abu Dhabi, UAE and telecast on the Star Sports network," Vi said in a statement on Saturday.
- Jio unleashes new tariff war, ramps up offerings in postpaid segment to target high paying Airtel, Vi usersReliance Jio Infocomm (Jio) has rolled out post-paid tariff plans to woo higher-paying subscribers, most of whom are currently with rivals Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea (VIL), likely triggering another round of price competition in the mobile telephony space, benefiting consumers. But analysts say the Mukesh Ambani-led telco would find it far more difficult to poach historically stickier post-paid subscribers from its two rivals, given that mobile phone users already have access to a variety of content and large dollops of data.Jio unleashes new tariff war, ramps up offerings in postpaid segment to target high paying Airtel, Vi users
- Telcos seek lower levies, taxes in upcoming Budget“In this challenging time, the industry also faces major upcoming expenses on infrastructure upgradation like spectrum auction, 5G introduction, network expansion and fiberisation, which is very critical for providing future communication services,” SP Kochhar, director general of the Cellular Operators Association of India, said in a statement detailing the sector’s budget recommendations.
- Vodafone Idea in talks to offer tracking tech to vaccination companiesThe end-to-end monitoring will start the minute the vaccine leaves the factory bound for an inoculation hub, including storage time at cold chains. Vi’s enterprise business unit has developed the IoT solutions and vaccine temperature sensors.
- Trai heeds Vi request, drops RedX inquiry after telco files revised offerAfter a complaint by Jio on July 8, Trai, over the past two-and-a-half months, had been examining if Vi’s RedX plan degrades the quality of services for its other users on non-premium tariff offers. Trai, in fact, had on July 11 suspended the original RedX plan, following which, Vi had moved the Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal.
- DoT pares telecom revenue estimate by 70% to Rs 40,000 crThe govet expects to net around Rs 40,000 crore from telecom sector this fiscal, less than a third of the budget estimate of Rs 1.33 lakh crore, mainly due to the absence of 5G airwaves in next auctions and limited payments towards past AGR dues.
- Jio adds nearly 4.5 million subscribers in June; Airtel, Vi suffer customer losses: TraiBharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi), however, lost 1.12 million and 4.82 million customers respectively in June, in the aftermath of the December 2019 hikes and post-lockdown pangs as many feature phone users with prepaid connections gave up mobile connections as they were unable to recharge.
- Reliance Jio just sent a message for Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel investorsKotak Institutional Equities said that upfront payment may be a deterrent for incremental customers despite attractive propositions.
- Jio unleashes post-paid tariff war, targets high paying Airtel, Vi usersUp till now, Jio, which had just one postpaid plan at Rs 199, concentrated largely on the prepaid customers, who form the main segment of telecom subscribers in India.
- NGO moves SC, opposes Voda Idea plea seeking correction in AGR dues calculationsThe non governmental organisation alleges that the telco had sufficient time to highlight these "errors" to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and its latest appeals are "frivolous attempts to overturn the orders of this... court ".
- Tata Tele moves SC seeking AGR dues recalculationBoth telcos highlighted the manifold increase in AGR dues as a result of these arithmetical errors. Earlier appeals by the telcos to allow self-assessment of their dues during the AGR case hearings were rejected by the court. Their last batch of letters to DoT on this issue have not elicited any response.
- Dharmendra Pradhan bats for IOC's Haldia refinery expansion; writes to fellow Union ministersPradhan on Thursday wrote to Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers D V Sadananda Gowda and Shipping and Ports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya seeking their personal intervention to get the land needed for the project.
- Airtel,Vi or Jio: Who has the better recharge plan under Rs 350?Airtel's Rs 350 recharge plan provides 2GB data per day with 28-day validity. This means a total of 56 GB a month. It offers unlimited calls and 100 SMSes per day. Additionally, it also provides subscription to ‘Amazon Prime’ and access to Airtel Xstream premium and Wynk Music.
- Vi launches integrated 4G network GIGAnet to stem loss of customers to rivals"GIGAnet is Vi’s effort to move beyond connectivity to be the platform for a digital society. It offers faster downloads & uploads, low latency and real-time connectivity. We have deployed technology whereby parts of the NW have the ability to self-optimize to meet demand where necessary," said Vishant Vora, Chief Technology Officer, Vodafone Idea.
- Vodafone Idea moves SC, pointing out calculation errors in AGR duesLoss-making Vi, the worst hit by the AGR case ruling of October 2019 which left it facing the most dues among telcos, follows rival Bharti Airtel in highlighting what it claims are calculation mistakes. But unlike its competitor, it has not called on the top court to recall its earlier "mistaken" orders.
- Telcos need to pay Rs 50K crore for renewing spectrum permits, but only Jio will renew: AnalystsBharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea are unlikely to renew most of their airwaves, given their surplus holdings. The upcoming auction between three telcos is expected to be tepid as analysts say it is a buyer's market and Jio is expected to be the largest contender.
- Airtel likely to be in black after 6 quarters, Vi may lose groundBharti Airtel and Reliance Jio are likely to report sequential gains in mobile revenue and operating income in the fiscal third quarter, helped by continued 4G subscriber additions and the fully captured impact of the December 2019 tariff hikes.
- Recall ‘mistaken orders’ to allow DoT to recalculate AGR dues, Airtel tells SCIndia’s No. 2 telco also sought permission for the DoT to arrive at the final adjusted gross revenue due amounts of mobile phone operators after taking into account calculations done by the companies.
- Airtel moves Supreme Court over DoT’s AGR math ‘errors’The telcos are only pointing out the “arithmetical errors” in DoT’s calculations and haven’t taken a final call on filing curative petitions, a second person said.
- Jio warns Centre that delay in auctions will lead to fall in network quality, blames rivals for stifling competitionJio has laid a scathing attack on its rivals Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea – without naming them - and alleged that they have created hurdles in the auction sale.
- DoT to kick off formal process for spectrum auction this weekIndustry executives said it takes 45 to 60 days to hold the auction after the issue of the NIA. The NIAs to prospective bidders, likely to only be the existing private telcos Jio, Vi and Airtel, come on the back of the Cabinet's approval in December for holding the auction of 4G airwaves in March 2021.
- Vodafone Idea is now 'Vi': All you need to know about the 'unified' telecom brandVodafone Idea Limited Monday unveiled a new brand identity, as the struggling telco looked to rediscover itself post Supreme Court's ruling on AGR dues. The operator, which had about 280 million subscribers as of June, said that Vodafone and Idea brands will now be called 'Vi'. ET's Devina Sengupta has all the details. (Text: PTI)Vodafone Idea is now 'Vi': All you need to know about the 'unified' telecom brand
- Jio moves Punjab Haryana High Court, blames rivals for acts of vandalismJio alleged that the acts of vandalism were instigated by “business rivals” - who in this case are Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi).
- Telecom majors to push DoT to release new 5G spectrum bandThe NFAP is a central policy roadmap that defines future spectrum usage by all bodies in the country, including DoT, the Department of Space and the defence ministry.
- Vodafone Idea hits out at Jio for baseless allegations over tower disruptions, port-outsThe latest battle of words between telcos comes at a time when Jio has requested the telecom department to suspend mobile number portability in Punjab and Haryana.
- Vodafone Idea to upgrade 3G users to 4G in key markets, won't switch off 2GThe company’s enterprise customers currently using 3G based services will be upgraded to 4G and 4G-based IoT applications and services, in a phased manner.
- Expect domestic PV industry growth in double digits in FY22: Tata MotorsDespite uncertainties over increasing commodity prices and supply of semiconductors, Tata Motors expects its growth in the upcoming fiscal to be better than that of the industry.
- Bharti Airtel regains active mobile users crown from Jio in June: TraiAirtel’s active mobile user base has risen to 311 million (307 million) in June, while Jio and Vi’s have shrunk to 310 million (313 million) and 273 million (277 million) respectively over the previous month.
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