Latest revision as of 21:00, 13 January 2023

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1 Business
- 1.1 2019: crisis threatens survival of most operators
2 CAG report: 2006-10
3 ‘Call drops’
- 3.1 2015
- 3.2 2016: No cellular operator meets call-drop cutoff
4 Coverage, tele-density
5 Inter-connect usage charges
- 5.1 30p in 2004> 6p in 2017
6 Data
7 Legal aspects/ Superior court judgements
- 7.1 Call registry/ do-not-call registry
  - 7.1.1 2008: SC asks govt to bar unregistered telemarketers from operating
- 7.2 Privacy: right is primary, SC
8 Licence fee
- 8.1 2019: Telecom firms owe govt. over ₹92,642 cr
  - 8.1.1 SC asks them to pay ₹92,000cr to Centre
9 Market share/ Subscriber growth
10 SIM cards
- 10.1 SC: Link SIMs to users' Aadhaar IDs
11 Spam calls
- 11.1 2019/ India drops to 5th spot
12 Spectrum access and investment: India and the world
- 12.1 2011, 2015
13 Speed
- 13.1 2017: Access to 4G, speed
- 13.2 2019: Indian operators’ speed, 4G, latency
14 Tariffs
15 Towers and the law
- 15.1 SC shuts down tower because man claims it gave him cancer
16 5G
- 16.1 Launched in 2022
17 See also

[edit] Business

[edit] 2019: crisis threatens survival of most operators

Dec 25, 2019 The Times of India

NEW DELHI: From being the world's cheapest and fastest growing market, India's telecom sector is sputtering as it faces life-threatening liability running into billions of dollars, a crisis that may alter the character of an industry that has already seen a painful price war destroying profits and push several operators out of the market.

The Supreme Court order for including non-core revenue in telecom groups' gross adjusted revenue -- the figure on which the levies are charged -- revived the rivalry between the old operators and Mukesh Ambani's low-cost upstart Reliance Jio during 2019, but there are signs of a truce with the rival camps agreeing to raise tariffs and also favouring regulator's intervention in fixing floor or minimum tariffs.

"We have fundamentally gone from an all (mobile) voice (calling) network to a hybrid network (of voice and internet data), to soon an all data network," said Rajan Mathews, director general of Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI).

And to survive, a floor price is needed quickly, before March 2020, he told PTI.

With 1 gigabyte (GB) of mobile data costing just $0.26 compared to $12.37 in the US and $6.66 in the UK, India in 2019 emerged as the nation with the cheapest telecom tariff in the world. It was also the fastest-growing telecom market.

But below the surface, a price war since the 2016 launch of Jio had ringed the sector hallow. And when on October 24, the Supreme Court, on a petition moved by the government, ordered payment of past dues according to its new definition of AGR, the country's second-biggest carrier Vodafone-Idea Ltd warned of shut down if no relief is given. The total dues for the industry ran into a whopping Rs 1.47 lakh crore.

For an industry that has come from 7-8 operators to just three private players and state-owned fourth operator, the warning by Vodafone-Idea sounded like a death knell.

The year saw resurfacing of a bitter war of words between the old and the new operator, and intense lobbying by telecom czar Sunil Bharti Mittal and billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla of Vodafone-Idea.

Mittal and Birla had faced the brunt of brute competition unleashed by Ambani, as Jio ate into their user base and quickly grew to become the nation's biggest operator in terms of subscribers.

Airtel and Voda-Idea reported record financial losses but Jio continued to surprise the markets with astonishing profits through the year.

The representations to the government, worked. The government announced a two-year deferment on spectrum payments for the stressed telecom companies as it worked to avoid the sector becoming a monopoly, soon after the three operators signalled the end of price war by raising tariffs.

Mittal lobbied for regulator prescribing for a floor tariff for industry viability - an idea Jio had initially opposed on grounds that it would tantamount of giving up industry right of forbearance, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) quickly moved in to float consultation paper to fixing minimum rates.

COAI - the association that represents Airtel and other operators - wants the regulator to bring floor prices for data at the earliest, before March, arguing that mature mobile market merits such safeguards for investors.

And shocking loss numbers only led the telecom industry to seek doing away with the "obsolete mechanism" of AGR, in the best-case scenario, and if not, certainly a redefinition.

The industry is also pinning its hopes on fixation of floor price by the regulator to put an end to the sustained hemorrhaging of players and has also urged the Finance Ministry to substantially cut levies to give the industry a fighting chance.

The industry body remains optimistic that a recent increase in tariffs won't take the sheen off data consumption; the hunger for data will increase as more and more Indians transact online, buy clothes and indulge in online shopping and simply binge-watch the latest shows on video-streaming platforms. Greater speeds, smarter phones would aid that process, it argues.

"Still, the floor price is certainly needed to bring certain discipline back into the marketplace. We have fundamentally gone from an all voice network to a hybrid network, to soon an all data network. In a voice network, the de facto floor was the interconnect charge, question is, in the new world of data what should it be," Mathews said.

Mittal whose company is in the midst of $3 billion dollar fund raising to help pay off AGR dues, has sought Trai's urgent intervention in the telecom sector saying, "We are unnecessarily killing this industry in a manner and way that is not conducive..."

He underlined the need for a balance between protecting investments and consumer interest.

Airtel posted a staggering Rs 23,045 crore net loss for the second quarter ended September 30, due to provisioning of Rs 28,450 crore in the aftermath of the SC ruling on statutory dues.

Both Airtel and Vodafone Idea have petitioned the government for relief in waiver of interest and penalty, which will halve the dues, and also filed a review petition in the Supreme Court.

The year, however, brought cheer to state-owned telecom companies MTNL and BSNL. The government recently approved a plum Rs 69,000 crore revival package for the two telcos that were in news over delay in salary payment for the most part of the year.

The revival package includes merging the two loss-making firms, monetizing their assets and giving VRS to employees so that the combined entity turns profitable in two years. Nearly 92,700 employees of BSNL and MTNL have opted for voluntary retirement, which is expected to save about Rs 8,800 crore annually in salary bills for the debt-laden telecom companies.

[edit] CAG report: 2006-10

i) The growth of internet usage in India andthe world (2008-15); ii) The price of mobile (cell) phones in Indiaand comparable countries, 2014, and mobile phone growth in the world (2005-15); Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, June 3, 2016

Level of technological access in India and the ten top countries of the world, 2014-15; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India

Cellphone call rates per minute, 1995 to 2008; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, September 2, 2016

The Times of India, Mar 12, 2016

CAG: 6 telcos understated revenue by Rs 46,000 crore, govt lost Rs 12,490 crore

A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on the accounts of six private telecom operators, tabled in Parliament, blamed the department of telecom for the lack of monitoring that resulted in companies adopting "ingenious methods" to understate revenue by over Rs 46,000 crore, which resulted in a loss of around Rs 12,490 crore to the government. The auditor — as reported by TOI on March 9 — examined the accounts of six operators — Airtel, Tata, Reliance, Idea, Vodafone and Aircel — between 2006-07 and 2009-10, and found that Tata group and Reliance Communications were among the top defaulters, followed by Bharti Airtel. The three together caused a loss of Rs 10,000 crore to the exchequer. The CAG had been prevented from auditing these private service providers since 2009 after they moved different courts challenging its mandate. However, after the Supreme Court settled the issue in favour of CAG by an order of April 2014, these companies were compelled to share their accounts for inspection. During the period from when the accounts were examined, the private operators were in a revenue sharing arrangement with the government.

After a few years of reporting all income, some of these operators started shifting their profit to subsidiaries created for this purpose or adopting other measures to understate revenue. According to the CAG, Reliance Communications Ltd (RCL) understated revenue by over Rs 4,400 crore by entering into a separate arrangement with subsidiary Reliance Communications Infrastructure Ltd, and shifting all revenue on account of value added services into the accounts of RCIL instead of RCL, thus denying the government its share of Rs 520 crore during the period. "The government was deprived of a total revenue of Rs 12,488.93 crore on account of non-payment of licence fee of Rs 3,752 crore, spectrum usage charges of Rs 1,460 crore and interest of Rs 7,276 crore due from the six companies," CAG said.

The auditor said proper monitoring of Controller of Communication Accounts was required and the "DoT also needs to strengthen its internal audit mechanism to ensure that verification of deductions is checked regularly". The telecom firms had also not taken into account their income from interest, foreign exchange etc. "The companies were also reducing their revenues by adjusting bad debts," the CAG said, adding that infrastructure sharing revenue was an example of concealing revenue by recording it as reduction of expenditure.

"Another area for suppressing the revenues was transfer of assets by telecom companies to their subsidiaries at a value lower than market value or at nil value," a senior CAG official said. Companies were also found indulging in providing interest free loans to their subsidiaries.

[edit] ‘Call drops’

How calls are made and how do they get dropped?
From: Shweta Punj, MG Arun, July 27, 2015: India Today

See graphic:

How calls are made and how do they get dropped?

[edit] 2015

Call drop rates by different telecom networks across India, state-wise;
Traffic channel (TCH) congestion, Immobile service and all routes busy- statistics, state wise-
Based on Index for Congestion Density- 2015
From: Shweta Punj, MG Arun, July 27, 2015: India Today

See graphic:

Call drop rates by different telecom networks across India, state-wise;
Traffic channel (TCH) congestion, Immobile service and all routes busy- statistics, state wise-
Based on Index for Congestion Density- 2015

[edit] 2016: No cellular operator meets call-drop cutoff

The Times of India, June 2, 2016

Pankaj Doval

A survey conducted by telecom regulator Trai between May 3 and May 6 has pointed out that nearly all operators in the national capital have call drops beyond the stipulated benchmark of 2% of all calls. This finding of a 12city survey (results for the other cities will be released soon) comes amid protests by telcos against imposition of any penalty for call drops.They have even earned a reprieve from the apex court in this regard. Bharti Airtel, the leading company , saw a deterioration in services when its performance was compared to a similar survey conducted in January . The call drop rate rose to 3.3% on the 2G network (1.4% in January) and 2.2% on 3G (1.6%). Airtel claims it is working towards a voluntary benchmark of 1.5% to impro ve its services beyond Trai's mandate.

Close-rival Vodafone had a 2.8% call drop rate on its 2G network, though this came down from the 3.9% in the previous round. However, Vodafone's 3G was found to be well within the prescribed limits.

Idea Cellular, the third-largest company operating in the city, fared miserably on its 3G network with a rate of 6.2%.Calls on the 2G network were under the set limit.

“There has definitely been a degradation in quality of performance when it comes to call drops,“ Trai chairman RS Sharma said.

The Cellular Operators Association of India has in the past raised questions on the results of the surveys conducted by Trai. The operators, who blame the poor service to lack of permission to install additional cellular towers, have also questioned the manner in which the tests have been conducted by Trai. Officials of the telecom regulator now say they are looking at ways to fix accountability on the operators as their move to impose a penalty was not allowed by the apex court.

“We will come out with some remedial measures very soon,“ said Anil Kaushal, a member of Trai. The regulator will also write to the telecom ministry regarding some proposals that will give it teeth to impose financial penalties, Trai secretary Sudhir Gupta said. Telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who has been vocal about the need for improved telecom services, has already said the government will consider amendments to the Act governing Trai in order to give it penal powers.

The survey showed that state-run MTNL's network is in very poor condition. Call drops on MTNL's 2G network were at an extreme 10.4% while it was 8.2% on 3G. Anil Ambani's RCom had a poor 5.2% call drop rate on its 3G network, though it was at 1.4% on the 2G network.

Many independent analysts have said telcos are not ready to make requisite investments in upgrading their alreadychoked infrastructure, and this is one of the main reasons behind the poor services. Most of the telcos have, however, disagreed with the comments.

[edit] Coverage, tele-density

[edit] 2014: 8.8% villages lack coverage

Indian states with 1,000 villages or more that are not on a cellphone/ mobile network: 2014
From January 5, 2017: The Times of India

See graphic:

Indian states with 1,000 villages or more that are not on a cellphone/ mobile network: 2014

[edit] 2018: Poorer circles have more active users

The telecom ‘circles’ with the most active and least active users, presumably as in 2018.
From: July 26, 2019: The Times of India

See graphic:

The telecom ‘circles’ with the most active and least active users, presumably as in 2018.

[edit] Tele-density

[edit] 2020

Tele-density in the Indian states, presumably as in 2020
From: July 10, 2021: The Times of India

See graphic:

Tele-density in the Indian states, presumably as in 2020.

[edit] Inter-connect usage charges

[edit] 30p in 2004> 6p in 2017

Pankaj Doval, Mobile bills to drop as interconnect rates slashed 57%, Sep 20, 2017: The Times of India

Inter-connect usage charges paise per minute, February 2004-January 2020; Pankaj Doval, Mobile bills to drop as interconnect rates slashed 57%, Sep 20, 2017: The Times of India

Mobile phone bills are set to come down further with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India announcing a steep cut in charges that phone companies pay each other for connecting calls. Trai on Tuesday cut the inter-connect usage charges (IUC) to 6 paise per minute from 14 paise. While the new charges come into effect from October, the regulator has laid the roadmap to do away with the IUC altogether from January 1, 2020. TOI was the first to report on the impending IUC cut in its edition dated August 13.

“It has been observed that reducing termination rates (IUC) has benefited consumers and enhanced competition... The reduction in the mobile termination charge is likely to yield consumer benefits,“ Trai said. Older telecom operators such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular have opposed cutting IUC and instead asked for it to be raised.

[edit] Data

[edit] 2014-18: Indians use 8GB data/month

Sindhu Hariharan, August 22, 2019: The Times of India

File:Average mobile data usage per subscriber per month, 2014-18.jpg

500px

Indian subscribers consumed almost 8GB (gigabytes) of mobile data per month in 2018 — a 75% increase from the previous year on the back of cheap tariffs and increasing 4G penetration.

India leads most major countries in wireless data consumption per subscriber per month, including the US, the UK, Singapore, Japan and South Korea. An average user in the US consumes around 4GB data on mobile devices per month, followed by South Korea (6GB), Japan (4.5GB), and Singapore (3GB).

A first-of-its-kind study by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) shows data usage on wireless devices has been on a steady rise, with 2017 being an inflection point. A Trai official said the growing relevance of mobile data prompted the study, based on data provided by telcos, and such a review will be done annually going forward.

Average cost of accessing the internet on your mobile has declined close to 40% from 2017 to 2018, and fell 96% from the cost in 2014.

Telcos’ revenue from data services grew 41% from Rs 38,882 crore in 2017 to Rs 54,671 crore in 2018. Average revenue has shown a mixed trend over last five years — falling in 2016 and 2017 and increasing thereafter. In case of individual telcos, for April-June, Airtel overtook peers Jio and Vodafone Idea in average revenue per user at Rs 127, compared to Jio’s Rs 122 and Vodafone’s Rs 108. Trai projects consumption of mobile data to increase by over 200% in the next two years. “The total estimated wireless data usage may reach 100 billion GB per annum by 2020.” The number of wireless data subscribers grew 36% from 424 million in 2017 to 578 million at the end of 2018. Indian mobile users consumed a total of 46,404GB of data in 2018 — up 131% from the previous year.

Without naming the operator, Trai also hinted at shake up in the telecom space after Jio’s entry.

[edit] 2017: Indian telcos carry most data in world

Rachel Chitra and Ranjani Ayyar, March 31, 2018: The Times of India

Mobile-/ cellphone- traffic in India and the other regions of the world, in EB/ m (exabytes per month), in 2017
From: Rachel Chitra and Ranjani Ayyar, March 31, 2018: The Times of India

When it comes to global internet traffic, India sees the heaviest data carried on its network after the country’s data usage grew five times in the last one year. The country’s network carries 2.1 exabytes of data per month (1 exabyte = 1 million terabytes) — way ahead of North America, European Union, Latin America (Latam), China, Eastern Europe and Middle East & Africa.

The entry of Jio has proved to be a game changer of sorts with average data consumption sky-rocketing and prices falling by more than half. “The key tussle between the top-three telecom operators has been for high ARPU (average revenue per user) data-using subscribers. This has resulted in data cost falling from Rs 12/GB to Rs 5/GB currently,” said Piyush Nahar, equity analyst, Jefferies. The price cuts are more visible in prepaid than in post-paid packs.

“This 60% cut in data prices has driven a sharp increase in volumes. Total data carried per month by the top four operators has increased five times over the past 12 months.We believe that this fight for data subscribers will continue and data prices may actually bottom out at a lower pricing,” Nahar added.

Airtel attributed this boom to digital consumption of social media, music, videos and more on smartphones. Data also showed this boom has led to the average Indian consuming four times more data in the last one year.

“Increasing penetration of high-speed 4G networks along with affordable smartphones and budgetfriendly data packs with large bundles of GBs is leading to a massive boom in data consumption in India. In fact, video is now touted as the new language of internet and is seeing the highest growth,” said a spokesperson from Airtel, which saw total data traffic on its mobile network grow by more than 550% to over 1 million TB during quarter ended Dec 2017.

[edit] 2016-18: voice usage and revenues

Sindhu Hariharan, Voice Calls Jump 70% In 2 Yrs Due To Cheaper Plans, January 24, 2019: The Times of India

2016-18- average voice usage and voice revenues/ India
From: Sindhu Hariharan, Voice Calls Jump 70% In 2 Yrs Due To Cheaper Plans, January 24, 2019: The Times of India

Poor Connectivity For VoIP An Issue

At a time when users worldwide are getting on the data bandwagon and ditching voice calls for services such as WhatsApp, Indians continue their strong bond with phone calls.

Voice calls have seen a spike of almost 70% in the past two years, according to telecom regulator TRAI’s data. The average time spent on voice calls by a subscriber each month has increased steadily the quarter ended September 2016 to the September 2018 quarter (see graphic). Interestingly, consumers seem to be chatting away at the expense of the telecom operators. The average revenue each minute for telcos from voice calls has dipped in the same period.

Industry watchers TOI spoke to say a combination of cost-effectiveness and the Indian penchant for verbal communication has resulted in voice calls holding their ground in the country amid dwindling relevance globally. Further, with data itself not as strong and flawless as is needed for VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) calls, smartphone owners say they often rely on regular calls for a better experience.

“It is mainly a function of Indian consumer behaviour. People are used to the convenience of dialling a call, and a growing number of users are getting into the voice mode with the hindrance of cost also going away,” Faisal Kawoosa, founder of tech and telecom consulting firm techARC, said. He added that, with over 500 million feature phones in the Indian market, we cannot write off voice services in India yet.

The feature phone market is also growing. According to IDC, vendors in India shipped a total of 56 million feature phones in the fourth quarter of 2017, making it “the highest-ever shipments” in a single quarter, at a time when smartphone sales itself have been either flat or declining. Research firm Counterpoint notes that India accounted for almost 43% of the global feature phone shipments in the quarter on the back of devices by Reliance Industries’ Jio.

The socio-economic situation in India is also driving preference for voice calls. A recent survey by Pew Research Centre found that, despite the push for digital, only 25% of Indian adults use the internet or own a smartphone, compared with 96% in South Korea and 89% in the US.

Jigar Doshi, co-founder, Komparify.com, a comparison platform for mobile plans, says telcos making voice calls free has driven high adoption, making the operators re-look at the plans structure. “We have started seeing terms such as ‘not for commercial usage’ appearing prominently on plan descriptions in recent times,” Doshi says.

On the flip side, observers believe low prices of voice calls are also contributing to poor quality of call services and the infamous call drops.

Despite increasing adoption, Hemant Joshi, partner for technology, media and telecommunications at Deloitte India, says it is “very unlikely that voice services could be monetised by the operators”, given the fierce competition in the sector. Kawoosa adds revenue from data, too, is still a distant dream for telcos. “The data growth is artificial in a way, as it is not priced at what it deserves due to hyper competition.”

[edit] 2018: Indians used 12 times more data than in 2015

February 28, 2019: The Times of India

Pan-India mobile data usage, in Petabytes (PB) per month, December: 2014- 2018
From: February 28, 2019: The Times of India

Average monthly 4G data consumption: 2015-18
From: February 28, 2019: The Times of India

Data traffic by content, presumably in 2018
From: February 28, 2019: The Times of India

Average mobile data usage per month (excluding Wi-Fi) vs broadband connection, presumably in 2018
From: February 28, 2019: The Times of India

See graphics:

Pan-India mobile data usage, in Petabytes (PB) per month, December: 2014- 2018

Average monthly 4G data consumption: 2015-18

Data traffic by content, presumably in 2018

Average mobile data usage per month (excluding Wi-Fi) vs broadband connection, presumably in 2018

4G traffic has more than doubled in 2018 compared with 2017 as data prices continue dropping and more consumers purchase 4G capable devices and migrate away from 3G and 2G networks. Despite low levels of mobile broadband penetration, India is a constantly growing market for mobile data connections with 4G. In 2018, the country had 432m 4G users downloading more than 10 GB of data on average per month.

[edit] 2014-20: data usage per person rises 43 times

Chethan Kumar , June 7, 2021: The Times of India

As data grows cheaper by the day in India, its consumption grows in tandem at a phenomenal rate. Data usage per subscriber has jumped by around 43 times in just six years, while data cost decreased by 96% (24 times) compared with 2014.

Seven years ago, data usage per subscriber was 3.2GB while customers paid Rs 269 per GB. Comparatively, cost dipped to just Rs 10.9/GB in 2020, while data usage jumped to 141 GB/user. But not all data used is for surfing the internet. Data usage per subscriber in 2020 was 20% more as compared to 2019 as most regular officegoers, school kids and even some aspects of healthcare and several other sectors worked remotely. The cost of data decreased further by nearly 2% to Rs 10.9 from Rs 11.1 in the previous year, as per the latest data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).

Data cost (to customer) in India is one of the cheapest in the world, Trai said. In the US it is Rs 531/GB, and in the UK it is Rs 286/GB. The global average is Rs 366/GB.

As first reported by TOI, the number of internet connections in India breached a significant milestone of 75 crore in 2020. Trai attributes the massive data boom to ‘4G’, which brought about a technological revolution.

Earlier, the data subscribed by a user was used purely for surfing while voice calls happened through a dedicated (radio frequency) channel established for the call. “Now, the calls we make use data, which has made it the primary source of revenue,” Lt Gen (retd) SP Kochhar, director general, Cellular Operators Association of India, told TOI.

[edit] 2019: 11.7GB a month

Aparna Desikan, February 28, 2020: The Times of India

Total data growth between 2015 & 2019
From: Aparna Desikan, February 28, 2020: The Times of India

Video consumption using 4G mobile technology drove data traffic in India last year, with an average 70 minutes a day spent on overthe-top (OTT) platforms on phones. Monthly data usage also grew to 11.7GB a month from 10GB in 2018.

The Mobile Broadband India Traffic Report from Nokia said that 2019 saw a 47% yearon-year (YoY) increase in data traffic, 96% of which was constituted by 4G, up from 92% in 2018. Most telecom operators have switched off their 3G networks in big cities and the consequential impact saw 3G connections witnessing the highest-ever decline of 30% during 2019. In 2018, a mere 1% subscribers surrendered 3G connections. Total data traffic grew by 44 times in 4 years and 2019 saw overall data subscribers grow to 600 million, the report added. The 4G device base grew in parallel by 1.5x, driven by the launch of a variety of models by brands’ aggressive pricing. Despite the growth registered, broadband penetration in India is at around 47%, which is significantly lower compared to China at 95%, and other European nations at 95-115% Nokia senior VP & head (India market) Sanjay Malik said, “We believe the migration of subscribers to 4G will continue to drive broadband growth in the country. The upcoming 4K/8K videos and Industry 4.0 solutions that promise to enhance productivity and bring down expenses for the industries across different verticals demand ultra-high speed and extremely low latency. Indian telcos will need to consider other connectivity solutions to leverage the new opportunities and to address the growing data consumption.”

[edit] Legal aspects/ Superior court judgements

[edit] Call registry/ do-not-call registry

SC reflects Times View on pesky calls

Suggests ‘Call Me’ Registry

Dhananjay Mahapatra | TNN From the Archives of ‘‘The Times of India’’: 2008

New Delhi: Those pesky calls may finally dry up. Reacting to a common complaint of millions, the Supreme Court on Thursday maintained that the year-old National Do-Not-Call Registry (NDNCR) has just not worked as telemarketers have continued to breach the citizen’s right to privacy, and suggested that NDNRC should be replaced by a “call registry” — that is, those wishing to receive telemarketers’ calls should register themselves for the purpose.

Remarkably, a little over eight months ago, this newspaper in its Times View had made precisely this suggestion. On the front page on November 18, 2007, we had said, ‘‘There’s a better way out of this mess than trying to make the do-not-call registry work — have a “call registry” instead. In other words, the default option should be that telemarketers cannot make unsolicited calls. Those who wish to receive calls can register themselves on the call register.’’

In response to the suggestion of a bench comprising Justices A K Mathur and Dalveer Bhandari, additional solicitor general Gopal Subramaniam said the Centre would consider it in all seriousness and get back to the court within six weeks. Subramaniam appeared to have been impressed by the suggestion, which he termed as ‘‘weighty’’.

On the issue of pesky calls, the SC has not just been concerned but proactive. Last year it had virtually forced the government to operationalize the “do-not-call registry” while dealing with a PIL filed by one Harsh Pathak accusing service providers of selling their data base to telemarketers who made unsolicited calls.

“In the last one year, we have experienced such calls galore. At least we are victims of it. A year back, you (the Centre) were not willing to implement the regulations. They were implemented after we threatened to do it through our order. After one year, we feel something more needs to be done,” the court said.

[edit] 2008: SC asks govt to bar unregistered telemarketers from operating

From the Archives of ‘‘The Times of India’’: 2008

A year after the “do-notcall registry” got under way, nearly 8.3m cellphone users have registered

Yet pesky calls continue. It’s time to launch a new registry of people who wish to receive commercial calls, says the Supreme Court

Govt says it is difficult to take action against telemarketers not registered with DoT

[edit] Privacy: right is primary, SC

From the Archives of ‘‘The Times of India’’: 2008

New Delhi: The SC on Thursday maintained that the yearold ‘National Do-Not-Call Registry’ (NDNCR) has just not worked as telemarketers have continued to breach the citizen’s right to privacy.

‘‘It is time to rechristen the ‘Do-Not-Call Registry’ as ‘Call Receivers Registry’,’’ said the court and explained that those who registered in the latter would only be entitled to receive calls from telemarketers. “Persons interested in commercial calls must volunteer and get registered. Those who do not wish to register should not be disturbed,” it said.

Additional solicitor-general Gopal Subramaniam said the government was finding it difficult to take action against many telemarketers, who were not registered with the telecom department and continued to escape the rigours of the rule banning unsolicited commercial calls. On this, the SC directed the government to stop the operations of unregistered telemarketers right away. When the government informed the court that till date, nearly 8.3 million mobile phone subscribers have registered in NDNCR, it wondered how could these pesky calls be still so rampant and bother so many people.

Subramaniam said the government has control over registered telemarketers, who come under the purview of penal regulations for making unsolicited calls. So it was imperative that no telemarketer be allowed to operate unless it is registered, he said. Considering the impact of the SC’s views on their marketing strategy, banks and service providers were adequately represented before the court. Their counsel, senior advocates T R Andhyarjuna and C S Vaidyanathan, informed the SC that the position was not as bad as was being projected. Till date, about 13,600 telemarketing operators have registered with the government, they said. They relied on figures to argue that through telemarketing, a lot of business has come to people.

The court disagreed and asked: “For your business, do we have to suffer?” Vaidyanathan joined issue and said imposing a total ban on telemarketing would be at cross with the constitutional provision. But the SC rejected the argument, saying right to privacy always gets primacy.

[edit] Licence fee

[edit] 2019: Telecom firms owe govt. over ₹92,642 cr

July 30, 2019: The Times of India

Telecom firms owe over ₹92k cr as licence fees: Centre tells SC

New Delhi:

Leading private telecom players like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and stateowned MTNL and BSNL have a pending licence fee outstanding of over Rs 92,000 crore till date, the Centre has told the Supreme Court.

In an affidavit filed in the apex court, the department of telecom (DoT) said that, according to calculations, the total amount which has to be recovered from all the telecom firms accrues to Rs 92,642 crore as on date, it said.

According to the New Telecom Policy, telecom licencees are required to share a percentage of their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) with the government as annual licence fee (LF). In addition, mobile telephone operators were also required to pay spectrum usage charges (SUC) for the use of radio frequency spectrum allotted to them.

Telecom operators had moved the top court against the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal’s (TDSAT’s) order, which ruled that certain non-telecom revenues like rent, profit on sale of fixed assets, dividend and treasury income would be counted as AGR, on which licence fee would have to be paid to the gover nment.

The TDSAT order had exempted a large number of streams from the definition of AGR, like capital receipts, bad debt, distribution margins to dealers, forex fluctuations, sale of scrap and waiver of late fee.

The telecom tribunal also said revenue from miscellaneous income must be included while computing a carrier’s AGR, dealing a setback to telecom operators who would have to shell out more towards licence and spectrum usage fees. AGENCIES

[edit] SC asks them to pay ₹92,000cr to Centre

AmitAnand Choudhary , Oct 25, 2019: The Times of India

File:What the telcos would have to pay to the Centre.jpg

500px

In a major blow to the telecom sector, the Supreme Court allowed the Centre to recover over Rs 92,000 crore from telecom companies as licence fee and penalty along with interest based on the revenue-sharing model for the gross revenue of Rs 14,98,181 crore earned by them during 2004-2015.

Under the revenue-sharing model introduced in 1999, telcos had to pay a certain portion of their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) as licence fee. Initially, 15% AGR was fixed as licence fee under revenue-sharing, which was reduced to 13% and then to 8% in 2013. The SC dismissed the plea of telcos, which contended that AGR, on the basis of which fee is paid by them to the Centre, should include only core telecom services and revenue from other sources should be excluded. It accepted the Centre’s contention that AGR should include dividends, handset sales, rent and profit from scrap sale, apart from revenue from services.

[edit] Market share/ Subscriber growth

2015: Tele-density in India; the best and worst connected states of India/ [Number of telephones per 100 of population]; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India Jan 8 2016

[edit] 2013

Chennai second among metros in mobile subscriber growth

Ishan Srivastava, TNN | Aug 27, 2013 The Times of India

CHENNAI added 82,296 mobile subscribers in July 2013, the second highest among four metros, according to the latest data released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). With this addition, total number of subscribers in Chennai has reached 1.15 crore. As per the 2011 census, Chennai has a population of 46 lakh.

Chennai's growth is second only to Delhi in that month, which added four lakh users on a subscriber base of 2.8 crore. Mumbai follows Chennai with 81,738 additions and Kolkata added 39,946 to its subscriber base.

Teledensity -- the number of mobile connections relative to population --crossed the 100% mark for the metros in 2009, implying that there were more mobile connections in these cities than the number of residents. The current teledensity in Chennai is nearly 200% or two mobile connections for every person, but the growth shows no signs of slowing down with constant monthly additions. For example, Chennai added 83,290 users in June and 70,444 in May.

Multi-SIM usage, increased migrant population and data consumption are seen as the main reasons driving growth. "A lot of these additions are 'passive' SIMs that people keep just to avail of offers or to enjoy better rates on particular routes and are not in regular use," said Sandip Biswas, director at Deloitte, a consultancy firm. "Operators don't mind it either and are happy with any increase in numbers in such a highly competitive market."

Also, a lot of usage of new SIMs is driven by data consumption where people buy SIMs to access internet on their media devices such as tablets in addition to the one they use for voice, said Milan Sheth, partner at consultancy firm EY.

However, some experts said that subscriber numbers have become less relevant now and what matters is how much data is being consumed by people and how much money is realised by telecom companies through it. "Inactive connections can be as high as 20%-30 % of total ," said Prashant Singhal, partner at EY and who tracks telecom sector.

[edit] … and Airtel

The revenues of the telco majors, 2018-19/ 20.
From: Dec 23, 2019 Times Of India

See graphic:

The revenues of the telco majors, 2018-19/ 20.

[edit] 2014: BSNL share

The Times of India

Feb 14 2015

2012-14: market share in broadband and mobile/cellular phones

Mobile services in Delhi: performance of operators ,The Times of India

Pankaj Doval

BSNL's share in mobile biz dips to single digit

Edged out by Airtel in broadband market

Jayanta Kumar was a harried customer of BSNL. A resident of Ghaziabad in the National Capital Region, he had been running from pillar to post just to get a bill for his landline and broadband connection, which was not delivered for six months.“Finally , I had to use my contacts to prompt them in generating a bill. Is this how you do business?“ says Kumar, who discontinued his BSNL connection and hopped on to a private operator. It's a sorry state of affairs at the telecom PSU that once was the backbone of the country's telecom infrastructure.The company has been in losses for the last many years. It appears to be stuck in a time warp as failure to keep pace with the highly competitive private operators and a general lackluster attitude of ground-level and managerial staff has seen its share in mobile subscribers narrow down to single digit, while Bharti Airtel has moved ahead and gained the top spot in broadband, according to numbers released by regulator Trai.

BSNL's share in the mobile phone market came down to 8.6% in 2014 against 11.6% in 2012. This happened even when the overall mobile subscriber base had grown from nearly 865 million in 2012 to 944 million at the end of last year.BSNL had losses of around Rs 7,000 crore in 2013-14.

BSNL old-timers blame the flight of customers to private players due to poor network quality brought on by delays in procurement of equipment. While BSNL's current CMD Anupam Shrivastava is hopeful of a turnaround on the back of a “renewed focus“ after the entry of the Modi government, not everyone is happy with the present situation.

R K Upadhyay , former CMD of BSNL, said he is surprised by the fall in the com pany's market share as most of the network expansion had been done. “We have network capacity and coverage to support growth. So, it is difficult to justify the fall in numbers,“ he told TOI.

Asked about the poor lastmile services, he did concede that the attitude of groundlevel and managerial staff needs to change. “There is a PSU hangover, and I cannot deny this. However, unlike the private operators, we cannot outsource our functions.With technology advancement, some of our existing staff may not be relevant today , but we cannot abandon them. They need to be paid till they serve.”

[edit] 2014: An increasing use of data than voice calls

November 24, 2014

Bharti Airtel’s 2014-16 revenues, with the relative share of voice and data; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, April 27, 2016

India Today

More use of data than voice, India Today

A Newsflicks study of the latest mobile phone user and revenue trends reveals we are talking more through data than voice.

[edit] RCom, Aircel dial merger/ 2016

Reeba Zachariah, RCom, Aircel dial merger, create fourth largest telco, Sep 15 2016 : The Times of India (Delhi)

Reliance Jio targets it in shortest possible time; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, September 2, 2016

New Entity Will Have Revenues Of $4Bn, 180M Subscribers

In the biggest telecom merger in India, Reliance Communications (RCom) and Aircel have agreed to combine their wireless operations, creating the country's fourth biggest player with revenues of $4 billion and a subscriber base of 180 million, after Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular.In terms of subscribers, Bharti Airtel led the pack in sept 2016 with 250 million customers followed by Vodafone (200 million) and Idea Cellular (175 million).

The merger assumes significance in the telecom market where an intense competition following the entry of Reliance Jio is expected to trigger consolidation. RCom and Aircel will hold an equal stake of 50% in the combined entity , which plans to have a new brand name for its mobile phone services.

The Anil Ambani-led RCom and Aircel, in which Malaysia's Maxis is the largest shareholder, had been in negotiations since December 2016.

Maxis said that the merger and the further equity support reinforces its commitment to India. Maxis had invested Rs 35,000 crore ($5.2 billion) in Aircel, which was one of the largest foreign investments into India. The other shareholders of Aircel are United Telecom (including Saudi Telecom) and the Reddy family of Apollo Hospitals. RCom said that the partners are in talks with leading international investors to raise capital for the merged entity. RCom had recently acquired Russian conglomerate Sistema's local unit, which operated under the MTS brand, and as part of the latest deal Sistema holds 10% stake in the company .

[edit] September 2016: Landline connections

Waiting list in acquiring a landline connection, rural and urban as on September 30, 2016; graphic courtesy: The Times of India, December 31, 2016

[edit] 2017/ Vodafone- Idea merger: India’s no.1, world’s no.2

Partial retreat for Voda from losing mkt, sweet deal for Idea?, Mar 21 2017, The Times of India

Birla-British deal, some facts; Partial retreat for Voda from losing mkt, sweet deal for Idea?, Mar 21 2017, The Times of India

How telecom sector has changed in India, 2005-16; Partial retreat for Voda from losing mkt, sweet deal for Idea?, Mar 21 2017, The Times of India

Number of subscribers, June 2016; The Times of India, March 21, 2017

Combined Co To Be Global No 2 In Subscribers

London-headquartered Vodafone and Kumar Birla-controlled Idea Cellular on Monday announced India Inc's biggest-ever merger to create the country's undispu ted leader in the world's second largest telecom market after China. The combined 394 million subscriber base of India's second and third largest telcos will eclipse Bharti Airtel's 270 million -and catapult the merged company to No 2 spot globally. It could also alter the landscape of an in dustry that's facing cut-throat competition from Mukesh Ambani's recently-launched Reliance Jio.

TOI was the first to write, in its edition of January 28, that Vodafone and Idea were in advanced discussions for a merger (there had been some speculation last year, also re ported by TOI, but nothing had come of it at the time).

The mega-merger will create a company that will be No. 1 or a strong No. 2 in all telecom circles except Jammu & Kashmir. Voda's 204 million subscribers and Idea's 190 million (at the end of 2016) will give them a combined market share of 35%. Aggregate revenues of over Rs 80,000 crore represent 42% of the national pie.

Vodafone's global CEO Vit torio Colao told TOI in a joint interview with Birla that the consolidation was driven primarily by the “arrival of data, which is very capital heavy and consumes a lot of spectrum“ along with reasons like synergy and cost savings. Although Vodafone will hold 45% and Idea Cellu lar 26% stake in the postmerger company , which is being valued at $23 billion, they will have equal voting rights (again, TOI had reported on Jan 28 that Idea was pressing for it). The combine the name and brand identity of which will be decided in due course will be jointly managed with three representatives each on a 12-member board. Birla will take over as chairman of the new entity upon the completion of the deal in 2018. While the two sides will together decide on the CEO, Idea's Himanshu Kapania is expected to steer the combined operations; the choice of chief financial officer will be Vodafone’s.

The transaction gives Idea the option to buy 9.5% stake in the new company over the next four years at Rs 130 per share. If Birla chooses not to exercise the option, Vodafone will sell down shares to equalize its shareholding with Idea. On January 30, two days after the TOI report, Vodafone and Idea had confirmed they were in talks. On Monday , they maintained that the merger would not breach subscriber and spectrum threshold limits in a big way (only in five circles, according to telecom analysts) as reported by this newspaper on January 28.

Perhaps in a bid to bring about near-parity between the two, the merger excludes the Vodafone's 42% interest in Indus Towers while valuing the British telecom giant unlisted Indian subsidiary at $12.4 billion (Rs 82,000 crore), but includes Mumbai-listed Idea's 11% stake in Indus in its $10.8 billion (72,000 crore) valuation.Analysts viewed the deal making as a strategic retreat for Vodafone from a lossmaking market where it has written off $9 billion till date. Jio's freebies have pushed incumbents into a corner with Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea posting quarterly losses.

In 2007, Vodafone stepped into Indian market when it paid Hutchison Whampoa $11 billion for controlling stake, and later coughed up another $5.5 billion to buy out the 33% held by the Ruias of Essar. Vodafone has since invested billions in multi ple rounds of spectrum auctions even as competition ate into pricing power in what was once hailed as one of the world's most promising telecom markets. Losses from the Indian business have weighed down Vodafone's global results in the recent past and prompted its CEO to consider `de-consolidation’.

The merger will also strengthen Birla's hand in a bruising war , providing him a leadership platform and a bigger balance sheet to take on rivals, including Jio. Idea shares have been beaten down until the merger speculation gained credence as it was considered to be the weakest among the top three to face the Jio onslaught. Idea shares gyrated wildly rising 15% in morning trade but subsequently declined10% indicating investor apathy with the deal construct. Both Vodafone and Idea played down the market volatility stating it would take markets “a while to digest details of a complex transaction“.

“For Idea shareholders and lenders who have supported us thus far, this transaction is highly accretive, and Idea and Vodafone will together create a very valuable company given our complementary strengths,“ Birla said. “The combined company will have the scale required to ensure sustainable consumer choice in a competitive market and to expand new technologies that have the potential to transform daily life,“ Colao added.

[edit] 2017/ Market controlled by local heavyweights

India's Big Club helms telecom story , Mar 21, 2017: The Times of India

India's telecom market is firmly in control of local heavyweights -Kumar Mangalam Birla, Sunil Mittal and Mukesh Ambani -after foreign players retreat from a sector with over a billion subscribers.

Though Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao emphasised the company wasn't exiting India, it was clearly “deconsolidating“ the troubled Indian business from its global footprint. Recent M&A deals have seen Norwe gian giant Telenor selling out to Bharti Airtel and Malaysian telco Aircel and Russian operator Sistema folding into Anil Ambani's Reliance Communications.

Japan's NTT DoCoMo decided to exit an under-perfor ming joint venture with Tata Teleservices, while Bahrain Telecommunications (Batelco) snapped ties with C Sivasankaran's S Tel and UAE's Etisalat exited the country after the spectrum auction scandal, which erupted six years ago.

Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel), remains a large but passive shareholder in Bharti Airtel. Then there were others like Australia's Telstra and South African major MTN calling off India plans, following the spectrum controversy and intense market competition.

“Don't expect any reduction in the market competition in medium term, as large telcos would continue to keep the intensity high. However, in the long term this consolidation would restore some pricing power and give better bargaining terms with vendors and suppliers.The industry will be left with five major players namely -Vodafone-Idea, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, RCom-Aircel-Sistema and BSNL plus MTNL,“ Harsh Jagnani, VP, sector head, Icra, said.

[edit] 2017: profits, revenues plunge

MG Arun , Race to the bottom “India Today” 23/10/2017

The Rs 1.5 lakh crore Indian mobile telephony sector is going through one of its toughest phases since the 2G spectrum scam that rocked it at the start of the decade. At a time when a wave of consolidation has swept the industry following the launch of Reliance Jio, the industry's pricing power has been falling continuously, with prices of data crashing 67 per cent over the past six months. This is bad news for the sector, where companies have already been grappling with falling revenues ever since the Mukesh Ambani-led Jio unleashed a price war offering its services practically for free till April this year. The profits of market leader Airtel, with a 34 per cent revenue market share, plunged 72 per cent to Rs 373.4 crore in the last quarter of 2016-17 as it slashed tariffs to retain customers, while Vodafone India's operating profit for the financial year fell over 10 per cent. According to CLSA, a brokerage firm, India's mobile industry revenue fell for the first time in FY 2016-17 to Rs 1.88 lakh crore and will decline further to Rs 1.84 lakh crore this fiscal.

Besides the squeeze in revenue, telecom service providers have also had to cough up high fees for procuring licences, pay spectrum usage charges to the government every year and instalments towards auction payments to the government every year as a percentage of their adjusted gross revenue. While the adjusted gross revenue grew a mere 6.8 per cent in fiscal 2016, payout to the government rose by 24 per cent. Reports say the telecom industry has bought spectrum worth Rs 3.45 lakh crore since 2010, partly on upfront payment and the rest on deferred payment till 2028-29. With the Idea-Vodafone merger, Tata's reported plan to exit the telecom business and the now-aborted attempt by Reliance Communications, led by Mukesh's brother Anil Ambani, to merge its telecom business with Aircel to pare debt, the sector is in the midst of a major churn. While the industry is steeped in Rs 5 lakh crore debt, Tata Teleservices alone has a debt amounting to Rs 34,000 crore and Reliance Communications, Rs 25,000 crore. The shakeout in the sector is impacting jobs, worsening an already grim scenario. While winding up Tata Teleservices would result in 5,000 jobs being lost, RCom has laid off some 1,200 people. Both Idea and Vodafone are planning to lay off staff by the thousands by the time their merger comes through. Overall, the telecom industry is set to lose around 150,000 jobs as it struggles to contain costs in an increasingly challenging environment. "The price war for data subscribers has dented the bottomlines of wireless telecom service providers, yet none of them is likely to pull a punch," says a Crisil report.

If anything, competition will only heat up further given that market leadership is critical to the business. "It offers many advantages once the dust settles, as is borne out by profitability trends across the world. The leader typically commands a premium with higher average revenue per user (ARPU), a larger share of premium subscribers and relatively lower churn," adds the report. But till the entire process of consolidation plays out, telcos will continue to be in deep trouble.

[edit] 2017: Indians get most spam in the world

Himanshi Dhawan|Indians get most spam calls in the world|Jul 16 2017 : The Times of India (Delhi)

You're not imagining it. Spam calls are on the ri se. A study of 20 count ries has revealed that Indians received the most number of spam calls in 2017.

Research by Truecaller, an app which has over 250 mil lion users globally , showed that an Indian smartphone user received over 22 spam calls a month, or almost a call a day. The US and Brazil came in second with over 20 calls per user each month.

The report says that over half of India's spam calls (54%) originate from telecom operators. “Many of these operators are seeking to provide special offers for free data, or unlimited calls. Which doesn't sound so bad, until you get bombarded by them.“

Nuisance calls -including unwanted, harassment and pranks -stake claim to 20% of the calls. Among the other spam calls Indians receive are 13% from telemarke ters, 9% from financial services while 3% are related to insurance and scams.

This is despite the fact that India's regulatory system includes a do-not-disturb (DND) registry as well as an unsolicited commercial communication regulation. Other countries are not much better off either. Unwanted calls to Americans have risen sharply by 20% in the last two months. Telecom operators are the top spammers (33%) in Brazil, with calls seeking to provide special offers for data and calling plans. The second biggest spammers in Brazil are debt collectors, though sometimes these calls can be fraudsters pretending to collect money for illegitimate reasons.

Chile, South Africa and Mexico are next among spam-plagued countries. The data for the report was aggregated anonymously from incoming calls that were either marked as spam by users or had automatically been flagged by Truecaller.

[edit] Market share, subscribers, profit-loss-debt

The market share, no. of subscribers, and profit-loss-debt in the Indian telecommunication industry, May 2017
The country's two corporate goliaths were in the past engaged in a cold war when they were on opposite sides. The Tata Group and RIL haven't had much business connections in the past and even restricted recruiting employees from each other. The last decade's telecom battles saw Tatas and Ambanis pitched on opposite sides.
This started changing with Tata Trusts and Reliance Foundation collaborating in areas such as highspeed connectivity and cancer care. More recently , Tata bagged the Jamshedpur franchise of Indian Soccer League---a men's professional football league co-managed by RIL.
From The Times of India

See graphic, 'The market share, no. of subscribers, and profit-loss-debt in the Indian telecommunication industry, May 2017'

[edit] 2018-19: Jio ahead of Voda-Idea

Pankaj Doval, July 27, 2019: The Times of India

Rel Jio vis-à-vis Voda-Idea in 2018-19:
Number of subscribers,
Revenues,
Revenue per user.
From: Pankaj Doval, July 27, 2019: The Times of India

Less than three years after making a re-entry into the telecom business, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio has emerged as the country’s largest mobile operator, edging out Vodafone-Idea from the top position. Jio has made more revenue than Vodafone-Idea in April-June quarter.

Jio had started operations in September 2016 and finished quarter ending June 30, 2019 with a subscriber base of 33.1 crore. Compared to this, Vodafone-Idea had 32 crore users in the same period as it continued to shed low-spending customers as part of a new business strategy. For the new 4G-only telecom entrant — which had moved ahead of Bharti Airtel in March this year — the growth has been swift and profitable, despite its charge being led by dirt-cheap tariffs and free voice calling.

Vodafone-Idea had come into existence a year ago after the merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular. It had over 42 crore subscribers then and was hoping to challenge Jio by synergising business operations and spendings. However, the new company seems to be going through tough times. As far as Jio is concerned, Ambani has made it clear that aggressive posturing will continue. He has said that the company plans a high-pitched expansion beyond traditional mobile business and will become a stronger digital player in areas such as financial services, entertainment, commerce, healthcare, agriculture, and education.

“Jio management is focused on giving unmatched digital experience at most affordable price to every citizen, and accordingly expanding the network capacity and coverage to keep pace with demand,” Ambani said.

For Jio’s rivals, going remains tough. Airtel, which has now become the country’s third-biggest operator against its long-held top position, is struggling to get back into profitability. Vodafone-Idea said on Friday that its April-June loss stood at Rs 4,874 crore against a loss of Rs 4,882 crore in Q4 2018-19. “We are delivering on our strategy, although benefits are not yet visible in topline… We are well on track to deliver synergy targets by Q1 of 2020-21,” Balesh Sharma, CEO of Vodafone-Idea, said.

[edit] Q1 of FY19 and 20

Rel Jio, Voda-Idea and Airtel in Q1 of FY19 and FY20: Number of subscribers
From: August 16, 2019: The Times of India

' See graphic ‘:

Rel Jio, Voda-Idea and Airtel in Q1 of FY19 and FY20: Number of subscribers

[edit] SIM cards

[edit] SC: Link SIMs to users' Aadhaar IDs

Dhananjay Mahapatra, Link SIMs to users' Aadhaar IDs: Court, Feb 7, 2017: The Times of India

The Supreme Court directed the Union government to register identity details of all 105 crore mobile phone users by linking their SIM cards to their Aadhaar number.

While giving this direction to the Centre, a bench of Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justice N V Ramana commended advocate Ashok Dhamija for filing the PIL on behalf of NGO `Lokniti Foundation' seeking 100% verification of cell phone subscribers with regard to their identity and address by linking their phone numbers to their Aadhaar cards.

Attorney general Mukul Rohatgi said the Union government was agreeable to the idea. “But the task is gigantic as more than 90% of the 105 crore subscribers are using prepaid SIM cards. These SIM cards get recharged at roadside kiosks, making it difficult to register them,“ he added.

The bench said, “The gov ernment has to devise a method. The person who comes for recharge of the phone should be given a form to give his details including Aadhaar number. He should submit the filled form the next time he goes for recharge. You can give him more time. May be three or four recharges before he furnishes the details. But make it mandatory that he must furnish details or else there would be no recharge of prepaid SIMs.“

The AG said, “Taking coercive measures immediately could be difficult. After demonetisation,cell phones are used for several activities. How long it would take to register each and every cell phone user is difficult to estimate.“ The bench would have none of it and told the AG that the government may take one year to complete the task but it has to do it.When the AG said the government would put in place an effective mechanism to register details of all subscribers, the bench disposed of the petition saying it would be done not later than one year.

[edit] Spam calls

[edit] 2019/ India drops to 5th spot

Sindhu Hariharan, Dec 4, 2019 Times of India

Top countries affected by spam calls;
Top spammers in India, 2019
From: Sindhu Hariharan, Dec 4, 2019 Times of India

Spam calls and texts received in India and comparable countries in 2019.
From: Dec 5, 2019: The Times of India

See graphics:

Top countries affected by spam calls;
Top spammers in India, 2019

Spam calls and texts received in India and comparable countries in 2019.

India may have improved three positions in the list of most spammed countries, but mobile users here still receive almost 26 spam calls every month.

India dropped to the fifth spot in Truecaller’s annual global study of spam calls (from being second last year) but spam calls grew 15% from the previous year. The improvement was due to a relative increase in spam faced by other markets and not by reducing instances of its own spam, Truecaller data showed. Brazil remained the most spammed country for the second year in a row. “It’s good to know that India dropped lower in ranks, but the fact remains that the spam volume is still going up by a large margin,” Truecaller MD Sandeep Patil told TOI. With a monthly active user (MAUs) base of around 140-145 million, India is our largest market globally, he added. Globally, Truecaller has approx 195 million MAUs.

Telecom operators continued to be top spammers for Indian mobile users with 67% calls (90% last year) received for upselling of various offers and reminders.

With the rise of mobile payment systems and a growing middle class and cheap phone calls, 2019 saw more banks and fintechs spam users with marketing calls, holding 10% and 17% shares respectively.

One out of three women in India also received sexual harassment or inappropriate calls and SMS on a regular basis, Truecaller said, as ascertained by user categorisation and survey. Truecaller also looked at global levels of spam SMS this year and found it to be an emerging market phenomenon. India ranked eighth, and users received an average 61 spam SMS every month.

[edit] Spectrum access and investment: India and the world

[edit] 2011, 2015

The quantum of spectrum available with Indian operators as compared to the rest of the world, 2015; Investment in infrastructure- 2011-15, year-wise
From: Shweta Punj, MG Arun, July 27, 2015: India Today

See graphic:

The quantum of spectrum available with Indian operators as compared to the rest of the world, 2015; Investment in infrastructure- 2011-15, year-wise

[edit] Speed

[edit] 2017: Access to 4G, speed

Performance of mobile networks according to internet speed, India and the world; The Times of India, June 21, 2017

See graphic:

Performance of mobile networks according to internet speed, India and the world

[edit] 2019: Indian operators’ speed, 4G, latency

2019: The performance of Indian telecom operators on speed, 4G and latency.
From: April 17, 2019: The Times of India

See graphic:

2019: The performance of Indian telecom operators on speed, 4G and latency.

[edit] Tariffs

[edit] 2013-16: decline in data prices

Decline in data prices, between 2013 and 2016; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, September 2, 2016

See graphic:

Decline in data prices, between 2013 and 2016

[edit] 2014, monthly phone usage cost: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka

Mobile tariffs and monthly phone usage cost in 2014 in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, compared with other countries; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, January 19, 2016

See graphic:

Mobile tariffs and monthly phone usage cost in 2014 in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, compared with other countries

[edit] 2016, %age of revenue from service: Airtel, Vodafone and Idea

Voice vs data, %age of revenue from service, for Airtel, Vodafone and Idea, August 2016; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, September 2, 2016

See graphic:

Voice vs data, %age of revenue from service, for Airtel, Vodafone and Idea, August 2016

[edit] 2018: India has cheapest mobile data in world

Sindhu Hariharan, India’s mobile data is cheapest globally, March 7, 2019: The Times of India

Cost of 1GB data, in India and comparable countries.
From: Sindhu Hariharan, India’s mobile data is cheapest globally, March 7, 2019: The Times of India

1GB Costs $0.26

Half Of Top 20 Plans In Asia

A large data-hungry base of smartphone users and a fierce price war between the country’s telcos has made India home to the cheapest mobile data price in the world.

One gigabyte (1GB) of data costs $0.26 in India, compared to an average $6.66 in the UK and $12.37 in the US, finds a global analysis of mobile data prices by UK-based price comparison portal Cable. It compared data from 6,313 mobile data plans in 230 countries between October and November 2018 for the study.

For instance, there is a 97% difference in the price of 1GB of data between India and the US, while the gap in the 2018 edition of the Big Mac index (a quirky measure of purchasing power parity between nations using the price of McDonald’s Big Mac burgers) between the two countries is far narrower at 54%.

Asia makes up half of the top 20 cheapest mobile data prices in the world, with the average price of 1GB less than a dollar in Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Myanmar and Bangladesh. On the other hand, Zimbabwe is the most expensive country for mobile data as 1GB there costs $75.2, the survey said.

“A country whose young population has a particularly high technological awareness, India offers a vibrant smartphone market, with strong adoption and many competitors. Data, therefore, is quite staggeringly cheap,” Dan Howdle, consumer telecom analyst at Cable-.co.uk, said.

Without specifying why India ranks first, the study said the cheapest countries either have “excellent mobile and fixed broadband infrastructure”, or have a large user base reliant on mobile data. The large cost differential for mobile internet between India and other countries is primarily driven by a crowded and competitive telecom sector and is not just a factor of purchasing power.

“We can see a significant drop in the price of mobile internet after the entry of Jio as the telco aggressively priced its data on the back of a stronger 4G infrastructure,” Ankit Chhajer, co-founder of tariffs comparison startup Komparify.

As for the trajectory of data tariffs, Rajan S Mathews, DG of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), noted that pricing has largely been stable recently, and there may not be any noticeable hikes in the near future.

[edit] 2022: India 3rd cheapest

The average cost of one gigabyte of mobile data, presumably in 2022, in India and comparable countries
From: January 11, 2023: The Times of India

See graphic:

The average cost of one gigabyte of mobile data, presumably in 2022, in India and comparable countries

[edit] Towers and the law

[edit] SC shuts down tower because man claims it gave him cancer

Dhananjay Mahapatra, Man claims cell tower gave him cancer, SC shuts it down , April 12, 2017: The Times of India

First In Country To Be Closed On Individual's Plea

A 42-year-old domestic help will go down in history as the man who persuaded the Supreme Court to shut down a mobile phone tower on the ground that its electromagnetic radiation afflicted him with cancer.

Last year, Harish Chand Tiwari, who works at the residence of Prakash Sharma in the Dal Bazar area of Gwalior, moved the SC through advocate Nivedita Sharma, complaining that a BSNL tower illegally installed on a neighbour's rooftop in 2002 had exposed him to harmful radiation 24x7 for the last 14 years.

The order is likely to fur ther fuel the debate over the effects of radiation from mobile phone towers with a section of activists feeling vindicated while the government argues there is no evidence to prove that the waves cause cancer.

Radiation from the BSNL tower, less than 50 metres from the house where he worked, afflicted him with Hodgkin's Lymphoma caused by continuo us and prolonged exposure to radiation, Tiwari complained.

In a recent order, a bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Navin Sinha said, “We direct that the particular mobile tower shall be deactivated by BSNL within seven days from today .“

The tower will be the first to be closed on an individual's petition alleging harmful radiation. The SC, which began he aring the issue relating to radiation from cell towers from March 18 last year, had asked the parties to file additional documents to show that radiation from such towers were harmful to humans and animals. Private petitioners have been predicting disastrous consequences in the future. Activists have alleged that radiation from mushrooming mobile phone towers have caused sparrows, crows and bees to vanish. But the Cellular Operators Association of India and the Union government have vehemently denied the allegations and said such fears were unfounded and that no scientific study had conclusively linked mobile phone tower radiation to cancer or vanishing of sparrows, crows and bees.

The department of telecom (DoT) in its affidavit before the SC in October last year had said that of the over 12 lakh mobile phone towers in the country , it had tested 3.30 lakh towers. It said only 212 towers were found exceeding radiation limits and they were fined Rs 10 lakh. It said so far Rs 10 crore was collect ed from different cellular op erators as penalty .

DoT had relied upon a World Health Organisation (WHO) report as well as over 25,000 articles in the past 30 years to say that there was no confirmation of “any health consequences from exposure to low level electro magnetic fields“.

In 2014, a parliamentary committee had recom mended to the Union government to carry out a scientific study by a reputed govern ment agency on im pact of telecommunication and mobile phone towers and handsets on humans. Private petitioners had alleged that no such study had been un dertaken. But the DoT had informed the court that the Centre had constituted an expert committee to study the possible impact of elec tromagnetic field radiation on living beings.

[edit] 5G

[edit] Launched in 2022

Pankaj Doval, Oct 2, 2022: The Times of India

New Delhi : India took a mega generational leap in mobile telephony as the ball was set rolling for the launch of 5G network with Prime Minister Narendra Modi – who inaugurated the services – promising a leg-up in economic activities and citizen empowerment through the high-speed network that boasts of minimum speeds of at least 100 Mbps.

 India now joins a select set of countries that offer 5G telephony and these include the US, Korea, UK, Japan, China, and nations across Europe. While Airtel has launched the service in eight cities, Jio willbegin from Diwali and Vodafone Idea is also gearing up.

 Modi, who launched the services at the annual India Mobile Congress (IMC) in the presence of industry leaders such as Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, Airtel chief Sunil Mittal and Vodafone Idea promoter Kumar Mangalam Birla, said that 5G – while being transformative for the industry and enterprises – will lead to empowerment of the poor in rural and semi-urban areas through efficiencies in areas such as education and health.

[edit] See also

Telecommunications, India: 1

Telecommunications 2: Indian government data

Cell/ Mobile phones: India

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-This article has been sourced from an authoritative, official <br/>publication.  Therefore, it has been ‘locked’ and will never be <br/> thrown open to readers to   edit or comment on.<br/>
+This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content.<br/>
+Additional information may please be sent as messages to the Facebook <br/>community, [http://www.facebook.com/Indpaedia Indpaedia.com]. All information used will be gratefully <br/>acknowledged in your name.
-After the formal launch of their online archival encyclopædia, <br/> readers who wish to update or add further details can do so on <br/> a ‘Part II’ of this article.  </div>
+</div>
 |}
-[[Category:India|T]]
-[[Category:Government|T]]
-[[Category:Name|Alphabet]]
-[[Category:Name|Alphabet]]
-==The source of this article==
-''' INDIA 2012 '''
-A REFERENCE ANNUAL
-'' Compiled by ''
-RESEARCH, REFERENCE AND TRAINING DIVISION
-PUBLICATIONS DIVISION
-MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING
-GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
-=Department of Telecommunications: Indian government data=
-The Telecommunication services were introduced in India soon after the invention
-of telegraphy and telephone. The first Telegraph line between Kolkata and Diamond
-Harbour was opened for traffic in 1851. By March 1884, telegraph messages could
-be sent from Agra to Kolkata. By 1900, telegraph and telephone had started serving
-Indian Railways. As in the case of telegraph, telephone service was also introduced
-in Kolkata in 1881-82, barely six years after the invention of telephone. The first
-automatic exchange was commissioned at Shimla in 1913-14 with a capacity of 700
-lines.
-The telecommunications services have improved significantly since
+=Business=
-independence with the sector witnessing series of reform measures that included
+==2019: crisis threatens survival of most operators==
-announcement of National Telecom Policy in 1994 that defined certain important
+[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/worlds-cheapest-biggest-telecom-market-faces-life-threatening-crisis/articleshow/72965944.cms Dec 25, 2019 ''The Times of India'']
-objectives, including availability of telephone on demand, provision of world class
-services at reasonable prices, ensuring India’s emergence as major manufacturing/
-export base telecom equipment and universal availability of basic telecom services
-to all villages. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the independent
-regulator, was established in 1997 and New Telecom Policy was announced in 1999,
-which further laid stress on providing an enabling framework for the development
-of this sector and to facilitate India’s vision of becoming an IT superpower and
-develop a world class telecom infrastructure in the country.
-Since then, Indian telecom sector has come a long way in achieving its dream
+NEW DELHI: From being the world's cheapest and fastest growing market, India's telecom sector is sputtering as it faces life-threatening liability running into billions of dollars, a crisis that may alter the character of an industry that has already seen a painful price war destroying profits and push several operators out of the market.
-of providing affordable and effective communication facilities to its citizens. As a
-result, common man today has access to this most needed facility. Larger efforts are
-continuously being made to provide universal service to all uncovered areas
-including rural areas. The other thrust areas include building a modern and efficient
-telecommunications infrastructure, transforming telecommunications sector to a
-greater competitive environment with equal opportunities and level playing field
-for all players, strengthening research and development efforts in the country,
-achieving efficiency and transparency in spectrum management and enabling Indian
-telecom companies to become truly global players.
-The reform measures coupled with the proactive policies of the Department
+The Supreme Court order for including non-core revenue in telecom groups' gross adjusted revenue -- the figure on which the levies are charged -- revived the rivalry between the old operators and Mukesh Ambani's low-cost upstart Reliance Jio during 2019, but there are signs of a truce with the rival camps agreeing to raise tariffs and also favouring regulator's intervention in fixing floor or minimum tariffs.
-of Telecommunications have resulted in an unprecedented growth of the telecom
-sector. Today, the Indian telecommunications network with 846.33 million telephone
+"We have fundamentally gone from an all (mobile) voice (calling) network to a hybrid network (of voice and internet data), to soon an all data network," said Rajan Mathews, director general of Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI).
-connections at the end of March, 2011 is the second largest in the world. With its
-.60 million wireless phones at the end of March, 2011, India has the 2nd largest
+And to survive, a floor price is needed quickly, before March 2020, he told PTI.
-wireless network in the world. India has emerged as a major base for the telecom
-industry worldwide and it is the endeavor of the Government to facilitate further
+With 1 gigabyte (GB) of mobile data costing just $0.26 compared to $12.37 in the US and $6.66 in the UK, India in 2019 emerged as the nation with the cheapest telecom tariff in the world. It was also the fastest-growing telecom market.
-growth of this vital industry as it is not just the growth of a sector but it has ‘multiplier
-effect’ on the entire economy.
+But below the surface, a price war since the 2016 launch of Jio had ringed the sector hallow. And when on October 24, the Supreme Court, on a petition moved by the government, ordered payment of past dues according to its new definition of AGR, the country's second-biggest carrier Vodafone-Idea Ltd warned of shut down if no relief is given.
+The total dues for the industry ran into a whopping Rs 1.47 lakh crore.
+For an industry that has come from 7-8 operators to just three private players and state-owned fourth operator, the warning by Vodafone-Idea sounded like a death knell.
+The year saw resurfacing of a bitter war of words between the old and the new operator, and intense lobbying by telecom czar Sunil Bharti Mittal and billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla of Vodafone-Idea.
+Mittal and Birla had faced the brunt of brute competition unleashed by Ambani, as Jio ate into their user base and quickly grew to become the nation's biggest operator in terms of subscribers.
+Airtel and Voda-Idea reported record financial losses but Jio continued to surprise the markets with astonishing profits through the year.
+The representations to the government, worked. The government announced a two-year deferment on spectrum payments for the stressed telecom companies as it worked to avoid the sector becoming a monopoly, soon after the three operators signalled the end of price war by raising tariffs.
+Mittal lobbied for regulator prescribing for a floor tariff for industry viability - an idea Jio had initially opposed on grounds that it would tantamount of giving up industry right of forbearance, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) quickly moved in to float consultation paper to fixing minimum rates.
+COAI - the association that represents Airtel and other operators - wants the regulator to bring floor prices for data at the earliest, before March, arguing that mature mobile market merits such safeguards for investors.
+And shocking loss numbers only led the telecom industry to seek doing away with the "obsolete mechanism" of AGR, in the best-case scenario, and if not, certainly a redefinition.
+The industry is also pinning its hopes on fixation of floor price by the regulator to put an end to the sustained hemorrhaging of players and has also urged the Finance Ministry to substantially cut levies to give the industry a fighting chance.
+The industry body remains optimistic that a recent increase in tariffs won't take the sheen off data consumption; the hunger for data will increase as more and more Indians transact online, buy clothes and indulge in online shopping and simply binge-watch the latest shows on video-streaming platforms. Greater speeds, smarter phones would aid that process, it argues.
+"Still, the floor price is certainly needed to bring certain discipline back into the marketplace. We have fundamentally gone from an all voice network to a hybrid network, to soon an all data network. In a voice network, the de facto floor was the interconnect charge, question is, in the new world of data what should it be," Mathews said.
+Mittal whose company is in the midst of $3 billion dollar fund raising to help pay off AGR dues, has sought Trai's urgent intervention in the telecom sector saying, "We are unnecessarily killing this industry in a manner and way that is not conducive..."
+He underlined the need for a balance between protecting investments and consumer interest.
+Airtel posted a staggering Rs 23,045 crore net loss for the second quarter ended September 30, due to provisioning of Rs 28,450 crore in the aftermath of the SC ruling on statutory dues.
+Both Airtel and Vodafone Idea have petitioned the government for relief in waiver of interest and penalty, which will halve the dues, and also filed a review petition in the Supreme Court.
+The year, however, brought cheer to state-owned telecom companies MTNL and BSNL. The government recently approved a plum Rs 69,000 crore revival package for the two telcos that were in news over delay in salary payment for the most part of the year.
+The revival package includes merging the two loss-making firms, monetizing their assets and giving VRS to employees so that the combined entity turns profitable in two years.
+Nearly 92,700 employees of BSNL and MTNL have opted for voluntary retirement, which is expected to save about Rs 8,800 crore annually in salary bills for the debt-laden telecom companies.
+=CAG report: 2006-10=
+[[File: i) The growth of internet usage in India andthe world (2008-15); ii) The price of mobile (cell) phones in Indiaand comparable countries, 2014, and mobile phone growth in the world  (2005-15).jpg|i) The growth of internet usage in India andthe world (2008-15); ii) The price of mobile (cell) phones in Indiaand comparable countries, 2014, and mobile phone growth in the world (2005-15); Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=03_06_2016_027_035_001&type=P&artUrl=INDIA-DRIVING-GLOBAL-INTERNET-AND-MOBILE-GROWTH-03062016027035&eid=31808 ''The Times of India''], June 3, 2016|frame|500px]]
+[[File: Level of technological access in India and the ten top countries of the world, 2014-15.jpg| Level of technological access in India and the ten top countries of the world, 2014-15; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=06_12_2015_023_031_002&type=P&artUrl=PUTTING-INDIA-ON-THE-MAP-06122015023031&eid=31808 ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
+[[File: Cellphone call rates per minute, 1995 to 2008.jpg| Cellphone call rates per minute, 1995 to 2008; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=02_09_2016_024_059_011&type=P&artUrl=Dont-misuse-market-power-Mukesh-tells-competitors-02092016024059&eid=31808 ''The Times of India''], September 2, 2016|frame|500px]]
+[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/CAG-6-telcos-understated-revenue-by-Rs-46000-crore-govt-lost-Rs-12490-crore/articleshow/51365866.cms ''The Times of India''], Mar 12, 2016
+'''CAG: 6 telcos understated revenue by Rs 46,000 crore, govt lost Rs 12,490 crore'''
+A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on the accounts of six private telecom operators, tabled in Parliament, blamed the department of telecom for the lack of monitoring that resulted in companies adopting "ingenious methods" to understate revenue by over Rs 46,000 crore, which resulted in a loss of around Rs 12,490 crore to the government.
+The auditor — as reported by TOI on March 9 — examined the accounts of six operators — Airtel, Tata, Reliance, Idea, Vodafone and Aircel — between 2006-07 and 2009-10, and found that Tata group and Reliance Communications were among the top defaulters, followed by Bharti Airtel.
+The three together caused a loss of Rs 10,000 crore to the exchequer.
+The CAG had been prevented from auditing these private service providers since 2009 after they moved different courts challenging its mandate. However, after the Supreme Court settled the issue in favour of CAG by an order of April 2014, these companies were compelled to share their accounts for inspection.
+During the period from when the accounts were examined, the private operators were in a revenue sharing arrangement with the government.
+After a few years of reporting all income, some of these operators started shifting their profit to subsidiaries created for this purpose or adopting other measures to understate revenue.
+According to the CAG, Reliance Communications Ltd (RCL) understated revenue by over Rs 4,400 crore by entering into a separate arrangement with subsidiary Reliance Communications Infrastructure Ltd, and shifting all revenue on account of value added services into the accounts of RCIL instead of RCL, thus denying the government its share of Rs 520 crore during the period.
+"The government was deprived of a total revenue of Rs 12,488.93 crore on account of non-payment of licence fee of Rs 3,752 crore, spectrum usage charges of Rs 1,460 crore and interest of Rs 7,276 crore due from the six companies," CAG said.
+The auditor said proper monitoring of Controller of Communication Accounts was required and the "DoT also needs to strengthen its internal audit mechanism to ensure that verification of deductions is checked regularly". The telecom firms had also not taken into account their income from interest, foreign exchange etc. "The companies were also reducing their revenues by adjusting bad debts," the CAG said, adding that infrastructure sharing revenue was an example of concealing revenue by recording it as reduction of expenditure.
+"Another area for suppressing the revenues was transfer of assets by telecom companies to their subsidiaries at a value lower than market value or at nil value," a senior CAG official said. Companies were also found indulging in providing interest free loans to their subsidiaries.
+=‘Call drops’=
+[[File: How calls are made and how do they get dropped.jpg|How calls are made and how do they get dropped? <br/> From: [https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/20150727-call-drops-airtel-vodafone-idea-trai-820109-2015-07-16  Shweta Punj, MG Arun, July 27, 2015: ''India Today''] |frame|500px]]
+'''See graphic''':
+''How calls are made and how do they get dropped?''
+==2015==
+[[File: Call drop rates by different telecom networks across India, state-wise; Traffic channel (TCH) congestion, Immobile service and all routes busy- statistics, state wise- Based on Index for Congestion Density- 2015.jpg|Call drop rates by different telecom networks across India, state-wise; <br/> Traffic channel (TCH) congestion, Immobile service and all routes busy- statistics, state wise- <br/> Based on Index for Congestion Density- 2015 <br/> From: [https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/20150727-call-drops-airtel-vodafone-idea-trai-820109-2015-07-16  Shweta Punj, MG Arun, July 27, 2015: ''India Today'']|frame|500px]]
+'''See graphic''':
+''Call drop rates by different telecom networks across India, state-wise; <br/> Traffic channel (TCH) congestion, Immobile service and all routes busy- statistics, state wise- <br/> Based on Index for Congestion Density- 2015''
+==2016: No cellular operator meets call-drop cutoff==
+[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=No-cellular-operator-in-city-meets-call-drop-02062016001071 ''The Times of India''], June 2, 2016
+Pankaj Doval
+A survey conducted by telecom regulator Trai between May 3 and May 6 has pointed out that nearly all operators in the national capital have call drops beyond the stipulated benchmark of 2% of all calls. This finding of a 12city survey (results for the other cities will be released soon) comes amid protests by telcos against imposition of any penalty for call drops.They have even earned a reprieve from the apex court in this regard.
+Bharti Airtel, the leading company , saw a deterioration in services when its performance was compared to a similar survey conducted in January . The call drop rate rose to 3.3% on the 2G network (1.4% in January) and 2.2% on 3G (1.6%). Airtel claims it is working towards a voluntary benchmark of 1.5% to impro ve its services beyond Trai's mandate.
+Close-rival Vodafone had a 2.8% call drop rate on its 2G network, though this came down from the 3.9% in the previous round. However, Vodafone's 3G was found to be well within the prescribed limits.
+Idea Cellular, the third-largest company operating in the city, fared miserably on its 3G network with a rate of 6.2%.Calls on the 2G network were under the set limit.
+“There has definitely been a degradation in quality of performance when it comes to call drops,“ Trai chairman RS Sharma said.
+The Cellular Operators Association of India has in the past raised questions on the results of the surveys conducted by Trai. The operators, who blame the poor service to lack of permission to install additional cellular towers, have also questioned the manner in which the tests have been conducted by Trai. Officials of the telecom regulator now say they are looking at ways to fix accountability on the operators as their move to impose a penalty was not allowed by the apex court.
+“We will come out with some remedial measures very soon,“ said Anil Kaushal, a member of Trai. The regulator will also write to the telecom ministry regarding some proposals that will give it teeth to impose financial penalties, Trai secretary Sudhir Gupta said. Telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who has been vocal about the need for improved telecom services, has already said the government will consider amendments to the Act governing Trai in order to give it penal powers.
+The survey showed that state-run MTNL's network is in very poor condition. Call drops on MTNL's 2G network were at an extreme 10.4% while it was 8.2% on 3G. Anil Ambani's RCom had a poor 5.2% call drop rate on its 3G network, though it was at 1.4% on the 2G network.
+Many independent analysts have said telcos are not ready to make requisite investments in upgrading their alreadychoked infrastructure, and this is one of the main reasons behind the poor services. Most of the telcos have, however, disagreed with the comments.
+=Coverage, tele-density=
+==2014: 8.8% villages lack coverage==
+[[File: Indian states with 1,000 villages or more that are not on a cellphone, mobile network- 2014.jpg|Indian states with 1,000 villages or more that are not on a cellphone/ mobile network: 2014 <br/> From [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F01%2F05&entity=Ar01117&sk=1B19EDCB&mode=image  January 5, 2017: '' The Times of India ''] |frame|500px]]
+'''See graphic''':
+''Indian states with 1,000 villages or more that are not on a cellphone/ mobile network: 2014 ''
+==2018: Poorer circles have more active users==
+[[File: The telecom ‘circles’ with the most active and least active users, presumably as in 2018. .jpg|The telecom ‘circles’ with the most active and least active users, presumably as in 2018.  <br/> From: [https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/poorer-telecom-circles-have-more-active-users/articleshow/70392661.cms  July 26, 2019: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
+'''See graphic''':
+'' The telecom ‘circles’ with the most active and least active users, presumably as in 2018. ''
+==Tele-density==
+===2020===
+[[File: Tele-density in the Indian states, presumably as in 2020.jpg|Tele-density in the Indian states, presumably as in 2020 <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL/2021/07/10&entity=Ar02702&sk=7DA5DC5D&mode=image  July 10, 2021: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
+'''See graphic''':
+'' Tele-density in the Indian states, presumably as in 2020. ''
+[[Category:Bangladesh|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
+[[Category:Bhutan|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
+[[Category:Development|T TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
+[[Category:Economy-Industry-Resources|T TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
+[[Category:Government|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
+[[Category:India|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
+[[Category:Pages with broken file links|TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
+[[Category:Pakistan|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
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+[[Category:Sri Lanka|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
+=Inter-connect usage charges=
+==30p in 2004> 6p in 2017==
+[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=Mobile-bills-to-drop-as-interconnect-rates-slashed-20092017001013  Pankaj Doval, Mobile bills to drop as interconnect rates slashed 57%, Sep 20, 2017: The Times of India]
+[[File: Inter-connect usage charges paise per minute, February 2004-January 2020.jpg|Inter-connect usage charges paise per minute, February 2004-January 2020; [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=Mobile-bills-to-drop-as-interconnect-rates-slashed-20092017001013  Pankaj Doval, Mobile bills to drop as interconnect rates slashed 57%, Sep 20, 2017: The Times of India]|frame|500px]]
+Mobile phone bills are set to come down further with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India announcing a steep cut in charges that phone companies pay each other for connecting calls.
+Trai on Tuesday cut the inter-connect usage charges (IUC) to 6 paise per minute from 14 paise. While the new charges come into effect from October, the regulator has laid the roadmap to do away with the IUC altogether from January 1, 2020. TOI was the first to report on the impending IUC cut in its edition dated August 13.
+“It has been observed that reducing termination rates (IUC) has benefited consumers and enhanced competition... The reduction in the mobile termination charge is likely to yield consumer benefits,“ Trai said. Older telecom operators such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular have opposed cutting IUC and instead asked for it to be raised.
+=Data=
+==2014-18: Indians use 8GB data/month ==
+[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2019%2F08%2F22&entity=Ar01918&sk=4939DD99&mode=text  Sindhu Hariharan, August 22, 2019: ''The Times of India'']
+[[File: Average mobile data usage per subscriber per month, 2014-18.jpg|Average mobile data usage per subscriber per month, 2014-18 <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2019%2F08%2F22&entity=Ar01918&sk=4939DD99&mode=text  Sindhu Hariharan, August 22, 2019: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
+Indian subscribers consumed almost 8GB (gigabytes) of mobile data per month in 2018 — a 75% increase from the previous year on the back of cheap tariffs and increasing 4G penetration.
+India leads most major countries in wireless data consumption per subscriber per month, including the US, the UK, Singapore, Japan and South Korea. An average user in the US consumes around 4GB data on mobile devices per month, followed by South Korea (6GB), Japan (4.5GB), and Singapore (3GB).
+A first-of-its-kind study by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) shows data usage on wireless devices has been on a steady rise, with 2017 being an inflection point. A Trai official said the growing relevance of mobile data prompted the study, based on data provided by telcos, and such a review will be done annually going forward.
+Average cost of accessing the internet on your mobile has declined close to 40% from 2017 to 2018, and fell 96% from the cost in 2014.
+Telcos’ revenue from data services grew 41% from Rs 38,882 crore in 2017 to Rs 54,671 crore in 2018. Average revenue has shown a mixed trend over last five years — falling in 2016 and 2017 and increasing thereafter. In case of individual telcos, for April-June, Airtel overtook peers Jio and Vodafone Idea in average revenue per user at Rs 127, compared to Jio’s Rs 122 and Vodafone’s Rs 108.
+Trai projects consumption of mobile data to increase by over 200% in the next two years. “The total estimated wireless data usage may reach 100 billion GB per annum by 2020.” The number of wireless data subscribers grew 36% from 424 million in 2017 to 578 million at the end of 2018. Indian mobile users consumed a total of 46,404GB of data in 2018 — up 131% from the previous year.
+Without naming the operator, Trai also hinted at shake up in the telecom space after Jio’s entry.
+==2017: Indian telcos carry most data in world==
+[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/PrintArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F03%2F31&entity=ar01908&ts=20180331012958&uq=20180326022508&mode=text  Rachel Chitra and Ranjani Ayyar, March 31, 2018: ''The Times of India'']
+[[File: Mobile-cellphone- traffic in India and the other regions of the world, in EB- m (exabytes per month), in 2017.jpg|Mobile-/ cellphone- traffic in India and the other regions of the world, in EB/ m (exabytes per month), in 2017 <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/PrintArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F03%2F31&entity=ar01908&ts=20180331012958&uq=20180326022508&mode=text  Rachel Chitra and Ranjani Ayyar, March 31, 2018: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
+When it comes to global internet traffic, India sees the heaviest data carried on its network after the country’s data usage grew five times in the last one year. The country’s network carries 2.1 exabytes of data per month (1 exabyte = 1 million terabytes) — way ahead of North America, European Union, Latin America (Latam), China, Eastern Europe and Middle East & Africa.
+The entry of Jio has proved to be a game changer of sorts with average data consumption sky-rocketing and prices falling by more than half. “The key tussle between the top-three telecom operators has been for high ARPU (average revenue per user) data-using subscribers. This has resulted in data cost falling from Rs 12/GB to Rs 5/GB currently,” said Piyush Nahar, equity analyst, Jefferies. The price cuts are more visible in prepaid than in post-paid packs.
+“This 60% cut in data prices has driven a sharp increase in volumes. Total data carried per month by the top four operators has increased five times over the past 12 months.We believe that this fight for data subscribers will continue and data prices may actually bottom out at a lower pricing,” Nahar added.
+Airtel attributed this boom to digital consumption of social media, music, videos and more on smartphones. Data also showed this boom has led to the average Indian consuming four times more data in the last one year.
+“Increasing penetration of high-speed 4G networks along with affordable smartphones and budgetfriendly data packs with large bundles of GBs is leading to a massive boom in data consumption in India. In fact, video is now touted as the new language of internet and is seeing the highest growth,” said a spokesperson from Airtel, which saw total data traffic on its mobile network grow by more than 550% to over 1 million TB during quarter ended Dec 2017.
+==2016-18: voice usage and revenues==
+[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2019%2F01%2F24&entity=Ar02707&sk=9954A648&mode=text  Sindhu Hariharan, Voice Calls Jump 70% In 2 Yrs Due To Cheaper Plans, January 24, 2019: ''The Times of India'']
+[[File: 2016-18- average voice usage and voice revenues- India.jpg|2016-18- average voice usage and voice revenues/ India <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2019%2F01%2F24&entity=Ar02707&sk=9954A648&mode=text  Sindhu Hariharan, Voice Calls Jump 70% In 2 Yrs Due To Cheaper Plans, January 24, 2019: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
+''Poor Connectivity For VoIP An Issue''
+At a time when users worldwide are getting on the data bandwagon and ditching voice calls for services such as WhatsApp, Indians continue their strong bond with phone calls.
+Voice calls have seen a spike of almost 70% in the past two years, according to telecom regulator TRAI’s data. The average time spent on voice calls by a subscriber each month has increased steadily the quarter ended September 2016 to the September 2018 quarter (see graphic). Interestingly, consumers seem to be chatting away at the expense of the telecom operators. The average revenue each minute for telcos from voice calls has dipped in the same period.
+Industry watchers TOI spoke to say a combination of cost-effectiveness and the Indian penchant for verbal communication has resulted in voice calls holding their ground in the country amid dwindling relevance globally. Further, with data itself not as strong and flawless as is needed for VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) calls, smartphone owners say they often rely on regular calls for a better experience.
+“It is mainly a function of Indian consumer behaviour. People are used to the convenience of dialling a call, and a growing number of users are getting into the voice mode with the hindrance of cost also going away,” Faisal Kawoosa, founder of tech and telecom consulting firm techARC, said. He added that, with over 500 million feature phones in the Indian market, we cannot write off voice services in India yet.
+The feature phone market is also growing. According to IDC, vendors in India shipped a total of 56 million feature phones in the fourth quarter of 2017, making it “the highest-ever shipments” in a single quarter, at a time when smartphone sales itself have been either flat or declining. Research firm Counterpoint notes that India accounted for almost 43% of the global feature phone shipments in the quarter on the back of devices by Reliance Industries’ Jio.
+The socio-economic situation in India is also driving preference for voice calls. A recent survey by Pew Research Centre found that, despite the push for digital, only 25% of Indian adults use the internet or own a smartphone, compared with 96% in South Korea and 89% in the US.
+Jigar Doshi, co-founder, Komparify.com, a comparison platform for mobile plans, says telcos making voice calls free has driven high adoption, making the operators re-look at the plans structure. “We have started seeing terms such as ‘not for commercial usage’ appearing prominently on plan descriptions in recent times,” Doshi says.
+On the flip side, observers believe low prices of voice calls are also contributing to poor quality of call services and the infamous call drops.
+Despite increasing adoption, Hemant Joshi, partner for technology, media and telecommunications at Deloitte India, says it is “very unlikely that voice services could be monetised by the operators”, given the fierce competition in the sector. Kawoosa adds revenue from data, too, is still a distant dream for telcos. “The data growth is artificial in a way, as it is not priced at what it deserves due to hyper competition.”
+==2018:  Indians used 12 times more data than in 2015==
+[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/indians-now-use-12-times-more-mobile-data-than-in-2015/articleshow/68195062.cms  February 28, 2019: ''The Times of India'']
+[[File: Pan-India mobile data usage, in Petabytes (PB) per month, December- 2014- 2018.jpg|Pan-India mobile data usage, in Petabytes (PB) per month, December: 2014- 2018 <br/> From: [https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/indians-now-use-12-times-more-mobile-data-than-in-2015/articleshow/68195062.cms  February 28, 2019: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
+[[File: Average monthly 4G data consumption, 2015-18.jpg|Average monthly 4G data consumption: 2015-18 <br/> From: [https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/indians-now-use-12-times-more-mobile-data-than-in-2015/articleshow/68195062.cms  February 28, 2019: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
+[[File: Data traffic by content, presumably in 2018.jpg|Data traffic by content, presumably in 2018 <br/> From: [https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/indians-now-use-12-times-more-mobile-data-than-in-2015/articleshow/68195062.cms  February 28, 2019: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
+[[File: Average mobile data usage per month (excluding Wi-Fi) vs broadband connection, presumably in 2018.jpg|Average mobile data usage per month (excluding Wi-Fi) vs broadband connection, presumably in 2018 <br/> From: [https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/indians-now-use-12-times-more-mobile-data-than-in-2015/articleshow/68195062.cms  February 28, 2019: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
+'''See graphics''':
+''Pan-India mobile data usage, in Petabytes (PB) per month, December: 2014- 2018''
+''Average monthly 4G data consumption: 2015-18''
+''Data traffic by content, presumably in 2018''
+''Average mobile data usage per month (excluding Wi-Fi) vs broadband connection, presumably in 2018''
+G traffic has more than doubled in 2018 compared with 2017 as data prices continue dropping and more consumers purchase 4G capable devices and migrate away from 3G and 2G networks. Despite low levels of mobile broadband penetration, India is a constantly growing market for mobile data connections with 4G. In 2018, the country had 432m 4G users downloading more than 10 GB of data on average per month.
+==2014-20: data usage per person rises 43 times==
+[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL/2021/06/07&entity=Ar00711&sk=817D3A69&mode=text  Chethan Kumar , June 7, 2021: ''The Times of India'']
+As data grows cheaper by the day in India, its consumption grows in tandem at a phenomenal rate. Data usage per subscriber has jumped by around 43 times in just six years, while data cost decreased by 96% (24 times) compared with 2014.
+Seven years ago, data usage per subscriber was 3.2GB while customers paid Rs 269 per GB. Comparatively, cost dipped to just Rs 10.9/GB in 2020, while data usage jumped to 141 GB/user. But not all data used is for surfing the internet. Data usage per subscriber in 2020 was 20% more as compared to 2019 as most regular officegoers, school kids and even some aspects of healthcare and several other sectors worked remotely. The cost of data decreased further by nearly 2% to Rs 10.9 from Rs 11.1 in the previous year, as per the latest data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).
+Data cost (to customer) in India is one of the cheapest in the world, Trai said. In the US it is Rs 531/GB, and in the UK it is Rs 286/GB. The global average is Rs 366/GB.
+As first reported by TOI, the number of internet connections in India breached a significant milestone of 75 crore in 2020. Trai attributes the massive data boom to ‘4G’, which brought about a technological revolution.
+Earlier, the data subscribed by a user was used purely for surfing while voice calls happened through a dedicated (radio frequency) channel established for the call. “Now, the calls we make use data, which has made it the primary source of revenue,” Lt Gen (retd) SP Kochhar, director general, Cellular Operators Association of India, told TOI.
+==2019: 11.7GB a month==
+[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2020%2F02%2F28&entity=Ar02311&sk=D6CCCEE3&mode=text  Aparna Desikan, February 28, 2020: ''The Times of India'']
+[[File: Total data growth between 2015 & 2019.jpg|Total data growth between 2015 & 2019 <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2020%2F02%2F28&entity=Ar02311&sk=D6CCCEE3&mode=text  Aparna Desikan, February 28, 2020: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
+Video consumption using 4G mobile technology drove data traffic in India last year, with an average 70 minutes a day spent on overthe-top (OTT) platforms on phones. Monthly data usage also grew to 11.7GB a month from 10GB in 2018.
+The Mobile Broadband India Traffic Report from Nokia said that 2019 saw a 47% yearon-year (YoY) increase in data traffic, 96% of which was constituted by 4G, up from 92% in 2018. Most telecom operators have switched off their 3G networks in big cities and the consequential impact saw 3G connections witnessing the highest-ever decline of 30% during 2019. In 2018, a mere 1% subscribers surrendered 3G connections.
+Total data traffic grew by 44 times in 4 years and 2019 saw overall data subscribers grow to 600 million, the report added. The 4G device base grew in parallel by 1.5x, driven by the launch of a variety of models by brands’ aggressive pricing. Despite the growth registered, broadband penetration in India is at around 47%, which is significantly lower compared to China at 95%, and other European nations at 95-115% Nokia senior VP & head (India market) Sanjay Malik said, “We believe the migration of subscribers to 4G will continue to drive broadband growth in the country. The upcoming 4K/8K videos and Industry 4.0 solutions that promise to enhance productivity and bring down expenses for the industries across different verticals demand ultra-high speed and extremely low latency. Indian telcos will need to consider other connectivity solutions to leverage the new opportunities and to address the growing data consumption.”
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+=Legal aspects/ Superior court judgements=
+==Call registry/ do-not-call registry==
+''' SC reflects Times View on pesky calls '''
+Suggests ‘Call Me’ Registry
+Dhananjay Mahapatra | TNN From the Archives of ‘‘The Times of India’’: 2008
+New Delhi: Those pesky calls may finally dry up. Reacting to a common complaint of millions, the Supreme Court on Thursday maintained that the year-old National Do-Not-Call Registry (NDNCR) has just not worked as telemarketers have continued to breach the citizen’s right to privacy, and suggested that NDNRC should be replaced by a “call registry” — that is, those wishing to receive telemarketers’ calls should register themselves for the purpose.
+Remarkably, a little over eight months ago, this newspaper in its Times View had made precisely this suggestion. On the front page on November 18, 2007, we had said, ‘‘There’s a better way out of this mess than trying to make the do-not-call registry work — have a “call registry” instead. In other words, the default option should be that telemarketers cannot make unsolicited calls. Those who wish to receive calls can register themselves on the call register.’’
+In response to the suggestion of a bench comprising Justices A K Mathur and Dalveer Bhandari, additional solicitor general Gopal Subramaniam said the Centre would consider it in all seriousness and get back to the court within six weeks. Subramaniam appeared to have been impressed by the suggestion, which he termed as ‘‘weighty’’.
+On the issue of pesky calls, the SC has not just been concerned but proactive. Last year it had virtually forced the government to operationalize the “do-not-call registry” while dealing with a PIL filed by one Harsh Pathak accusing service providers of selling their data base to telemarketers who made unsolicited calls.
+“In the last one year, we have experienced such calls galore. At least we are victims of it. A year back, you (the Centre) were not willing to implement the regulations. They were implemented after we threatened to do it through our order. After one year, we feel something more needs to be done,” the court said.
+===2008: SC asks govt to bar unregistered telemarketers from operating===
+From the Archives of ‘‘The Times of India’’: 2008
+A year after the “do-notcall registry” got under way, nearly 8.3m cellphone users have registered
+Yet pesky calls continue. It’s time to launch a new registry of people who wish to receive commercial calls, says the Supreme Court
+Govt says it is difficult to take action against telemarketers not registered with DoT
+==Privacy: right is primary, SC==
+From the Archives of ‘‘The Times of India’’: 2008
+New Delhi: The SC on Thursday maintained that the yearold ‘National Do-Not-Call Registry’ (NDNCR) has just not worked as telemarketers have continued to breach the citizen’s right to privacy.
+‘‘It is time to rechristen the ‘Do-Not-Call Registry’ as ‘Call Receivers Registry’,’’ said the court and explained that those who registered in the latter would only be entitled to receive calls from telemarketers. “Persons interested in commercial calls must volunteer and get registered. Those who do not wish to register should not be disturbed,” it said.
+Additional solicitor-general Gopal Subramaniam said the government was finding it difficult to take action against many telemarketers, who were not registered with the telecom department and continued to escape the rigours of the rule banning unsolicited commercial calls. On this, the SC directed the government to stop the operations of unregistered telemarketers right away. When the government informed the court that till date, nearly 8.3 million mobile phone subscribers have registered in NDNCR, it wondered how could these pesky calls be still so rampant and bother so many people.
+Subramaniam said the government has control over registered telemarketers, who come under the purview of penal regulations for making unsolicited calls. So it was imperative that no telemarketer be allowed to operate unless it is registered, he said. Considering the impact of the SC’s views on their marketing strategy, banks and service providers were adequately represented before the court. Their counsel, senior advocates T R Andhyarjuna and C S Vaidyanathan, informed the SC that the position was not as bad as was being projected. Till date, about 13,600 telemarketing operators have registered with the government, they said. They relied on figures to argue that through telemarketing, a lot of business has come to people.
+The court disagreed and asked: “For your business, do we have to suffer?” Vaidyanathan joined issue and said imposing a total ban on telemarketing would be at cross with the constitutional provision. But the SC rejected the argument, saying right to privacy always gets primacy.
+=Licence fee=
+==2019: Telecom firms owe govt. over ₹92,642 cr  ==
+[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIM%2F2019%2F07%2F30&entity=Ar01709&sk=770A8DEF&mode=text  July 30, 2019: ''The Times of India'']
+Telecom firms owe over ₹92k cr as licence fees: Centre tells SC
+New Delhi:
+Leading private telecom players like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and stateowned MTNL and BSNL have a pending licence fee outstanding of over Rs 92,000 crore till date, the Centre has told the Supreme Court.
+In an affidavit filed in the apex court, the department of telecom (DoT) said that, according to calculations, the total amount which has to be recovered from all the telecom firms accrues to Rs 92,642 crore as on date, it said.
+According to the New Telecom Policy, telecom licencees are required to share a percentage of their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) with the government as annual licence fee (LF). In addition, mobile telephone operators were also required to pay spectrum usage charges (SUC) for the use of radio frequency spectrum allotted to them.
+Telecom operators had moved the top court against the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal’s (TDSAT’s) order, which ruled that certain non-telecom revenues like rent, profit on sale of fixed assets, dividend and treasury income would be counted as AGR, on which licence fee would have to be paid to the gover nment.
+The TDSAT order had exempted a large number of streams from the definition of AGR, like capital receipts, bad debt, distribution margins to dealers, forex fluctuations, sale of scrap and waiver of late fee.
+The telecom tribunal also said revenue from miscellaneous income must be included while computing a carrier’s AGR, dealing a setback to telecom operators who would have to shell out more towards licence and spectrum usage fees. AGENCIES
+=== SC asks them to pay ₹92,000cr to Centre ===
+[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL/2019/10/25&entity=Ar00906&sk=0F51DE5A&mode=text  AmitAnand Choudhary , Oct 25, 2019: ''The Times of India'']
+[[File: What the telcos would have to pay to the Centre.jpg| What the telcos would have to pay to the Centre <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL/2019/10/25&entity=Ar00906&sk=0F51DE5A&mode=text  AmitAnand Choudhary , Oct 25, 2019: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
+In a major blow to the telecom sector, the Supreme Court allowed the Centre to recover over Rs 92,000 crore from telecom companies as licence fee and penalty along with interest based on the revenue-sharing model for the gross revenue of Rs 14,98,181 crore earned by them during 2004-2015.
+Under the revenue-sharing model introduced in 1999, telcos had to pay a certain portion of their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) as licence fee. Initially, 15% AGR was fixed as licence fee under revenue-sharing, which was reduced to 13% and then to 8% in 2013. The SC dismissed the plea of telcos, which contended that AGR, on the basis of which fee is paid by them to the Centre, should include only core telecom services and revenue from other sources should be excluded. It accepted the Centre’s contention that AGR should include dividends, handset sales, rent and profit from scrap sale, apart from revenue from services.
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+=Market share/ Subscriber growth=
+[[File: cellular.jpg|2015: Tele-density in India; the best and worst connected states of India/ [Number of telephones per 100 of population]; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=08_01_2016_010_035_002&type=P&artUrl=STATOISTICS-NO-MOBILE-SERVICES-IN-OVER-55000-VILLAGES-08012016010035&eid=31808 ''The Times of India''] Jan 8 2016|frame|500px]]
+==2013==
+''' Chennai second among metros in mobile subscriber growth '''
+Ishan Srivastava, TNN | Aug 27, 2013
+[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Chennai-second-among-metros-in-mobile-subscriber-growth/articleshow/22084977.cms The Times of India]
+CHENNAI added 82,296 mobile subscribers in July 2013, the second highest among four metros, according to the latest data released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). With this addition, total number of subscribers in Chennai has reached 1.15 crore. As per the 2011 census, Chennai has a population of 46 lakh.
+Chennai's growth is second only to Delhi in that month, which added four lakh users on a subscriber base of 2.8 crore. Mumbai follows Chennai with 81,738 additions and Kolkata added 39,946 to its subscriber base.
+Teledensity -- the number of mobile connections relative to population --crossed the 100% mark for the metros in 2009, implying that there were more mobile connections in these cities than the number of residents. The current teledensity in Chennai is nearly 200% or two mobile connections for every person, but the growth shows no signs of slowing down with constant monthly additions. For example, Chennai added 83,290 users in June and 70,444 in May.
+Multi-SIM usage, increased migrant population and data consumption are seen as the main reasons driving growth. "A lot of these additions are 'passive' SIMs that people keep just to avail of offers or to enjoy better rates on particular routes and are not in regular use," said Sandip Biswas, director at Deloitte, a consultancy firm. "Operators don't mind it either and are happy with any increase in numbers in such a highly competitive market."
+Also, a lot of usage of new SIMs is driven by data consumption where people buy SIMs to access internet on their media devices such as tablets in addition to the one they use for voice, said Milan Sheth, partner at consultancy firm EY.
+However, some experts said that subscriber numbers have become less relevant now and what matters is how much data is being consumed by people and how much money is realised by telecom companies through it. "Inactive connections can be as high as 20%-30 % of total ," said Prashant Singhal, partner at EY and who tracks telecom sector.
+===… and Airtel===
+[[File: The revenues of the telco majors, 2018-19, 20.jpg|The revenues of the telco majors, 2018-19/ 20. <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2019%2F12%2F23&entity=Ar02106&sk=5993EBA5&mode=image Dec 23, 2019 ''Times Of India''] |frame|500px]]
+'''See graphic''':
+'' The revenues of the telco majors, 2018-19/ 20. ''
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+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
+==2014: BSNL share==
+[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com//Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=BSNLs-share-in-mobile-biz-dips-to-single-14022015023049 ''The Times of India'']
+Feb 14 2015
+[[File: 2012 14 market share in broadband and mobile cellular phones.jpg|2012-14: market share in broadband and mobile/cellular phones|frame|500px]]
+[[File: mobile services in delhi performance of operators.jpg| Mobile services in Delhi: performance of operators ,[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com//Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=Trai-survey-fails-to-notice-call-drops-poor-14022015024037 ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
+Pankaj Doval
+''' BSNL's share in mobile biz dips to single digit '''
+''' Edged out by Airtel in broadband market '''
+Jayanta Kumar was a harried customer of BSNL. A resident of Ghaziabad in the National Capital Region, he had been running from pillar to post just to get a bill for his landline and broadband connection, which was not delivered for six months.“Finally , I had to use my contacts to prompt them in generating a bill. Is this how you do business?“ says Kumar, who discontinued his BSNL connection and hopped on to a private operator.
+It's a sorry state of affairs at the telecom PSU that once was the backbone of the country's telecom infrastructure.The company has been in losses for the last many years. It appears to be stuck in a time warp as failure to keep pace with the highly competitive private operators and a general lackluster attitude of ground-level and managerial staff has seen its share in mobile subscribers narrow down to single digit, while Bharti Airtel has moved ahead and gained the top spot in broadband, according to numbers released by regulator Trai.
+BSNL's share in the mobile phone market came down to 8.6% in 2014 against 11.6% in 2012. This happened even when the overall mobile subscriber base had grown from nearly 865 million in 2012 to 944 million at the end of last year.BSNL had losses of around Rs 7,000 crore in 2013-14.
+BSNL old-timers blame the flight of customers to private players due to poor network quality brought on by delays in procurement of equipment. While BSNL's current CMD Anupam Shrivastava is hopeful of a turnaround on the back of a “renewed focus“ after the entry of the Modi government, not everyone is happy with the present situation.
+R K Upadhyay , former CMD of BSNL, said he is surprised by the fall in the com pany's market share as most of the network expansion had been done. “We have network capacity and coverage to support growth. So, it is difficult to justify the fall in numbers,“ he told TOI.
+Asked about the poor lastmile services, he did concede that the attitude of groundlevel and managerial staff needs to change. “There is a PSU hangover, and I cannot deny this. However, unlike the private operators, we cannot outsource our functions.With technology advancement, some of our existing staff may not be relevant today , but we cannot abandon them. They need to be paid till they serve.”
+==2014: An increasing use of data than voice calls==
+November 24, 2014
+[[File: Bharti Airtel’s 2014-16 revenues, with the relative share of voice and data.jpg| Bharti Airtel’s 2014-16 revenues, with the relative share of voice and data; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=28_04_2016_019_043_008&type=P&artUrl=Bharti-Airtel-Jan-March-net-grows-3-to-28042016019043&eid=31808 ''The Times of India''], April 27, 2016|frame|500px]]
+[http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/indians-are-shutting-up-but-not-talking-less/1/400676.html ''India Today'']
+[[File: More use of data than voice.jpg|More use of data than voice, [http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/indians-are-shutting-up-but-not-talking-less/1/400676.html ''India Today'']|frame|500px]]
+A Newsflicks study of the latest mobile phone user and revenue trends reveals we are talking more through data than voice.
+==RCom, Aircel dial merger/ 2016==
+[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=RCom-Aircel-dial-merger-create-fourth-largest-telco-15092016019024 Reeba Zachariah, RCom, Aircel dial merger, create fourth largest telco, Sep 15 2016 : The Times of India (Delhi)]
+[[File: Reliance Jio targets it in shortest possible time.jpg|Reliance Jio targets it in shortest possible time; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=02_09_2016_023_005_008&type=P&artUrl=Telecom-dream-realised-after-13-yrs-02092016023005&eid=31808 ''The Times of India''], September 2, 2016|frame|500px]]
+New Entity Will Have Revenues Of $4Bn, 180M Subscribers
+In the biggest telecom merger in India, Reliance Communications (RCom) and Aircel have agreed to combine their wireless operations, creating the country's fourth biggest player with revenues of $4 billion and a subscriber base of 180 million, after Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular.In terms of subscribers, Bharti Airtel led the pack in sept 2016 with 250 million customers followed by Vodafone (200 million) and Idea Cellular (175 million).
+The merger assumes significance in the telecom market where an intense competition following the entry of Reliance Jio is expected to trigger consolidation. RCom and Aircel will hold an equal stake of 50% in the combined entity , which plans to have a new brand name for its mobile phone services.
+The Anil Ambani-led RCom and Aircel, in which Malaysia's Maxis is the largest shareholder, had been in negotiations since December 2016.
+Maxis said that the merger and the further equity support reinforces its commitment to India. Maxis had invested Rs 35,000 crore ($5.2 billion) in Aircel, which was one of the largest foreign investments into India. The other shareholders of Aircel are United Telecom (including Saudi Telecom) and the Reddy family of Apollo Hospitals. RCom said that the partners are in talks with leading international investors to raise capital for the merged entity. RCom had recently acquired Russian conglomerate Sistema's local unit, which operated under the MTS brand, and as part of the latest deal Sistema holds 10% stake in the company .
+==September 2016: Landline connections==
+[[File: Waiting list in acquiring a landline connection, rural and urban as on September 30, 2016.jpg|Waiting list in acquiring a landline connection, rural and urban as on September 30, 2016; graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=STATOISTICS-In-the-era-of-mobile-phone-12000-31122016008018 ''The Times of India''], December 31, 2016|frame|500px]]
+==2017/ Vodafone- Idea merger: India’s no.1, world’s no.2==
+[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=Partial-retreat-for-Voda-from-losing-mkt-sweet-21032017021017  Partial retreat for Voda from losing mkt, sweet deal for Idea?, Mar 21 2017, The Times of India]
+[[File: Birla-British deal, some facts.jpg|Birla-British deal, some facts; [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=Partial-retreat-for-Voda-from-losing-mkt-sweet-21032017021017  Partial retreat for Voda from losing mkt, sweet deal for Idea?, Mar 21 2017, The Times of India]|frame|500px]]
+[[File: How telecom sector has changed in India, 2005-16.jpg|How telecom sector has changed in India, 2005-16; [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=Partial-retreat-for-Voda-from-losing-mkt-sweet-21032017021017  Partial retreat for Voda from losing mkt, sweet deal for Idea?, Mar 21 2017, The Times of India]|frame|500px]]
+[[File: Number of subscribers, June 2016.jpg|Number of subscribers, June 2016; [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=21_03_2017_022_045_007&type=P&artUrl=Surplus-telco-talent-to-be-redeployed-21032017022045&eid=31808 The Times of India], March 21, 2017|frame|500px]]
+''' Combined Co To Be Global No 2 In Subscribers '''
+London-headquartered Vodafone and Kumar Birla-controlled Idea Cellular on Monday announced India Inc's biggest-ever merger to create the country's undispu ted leader in the world's second largest telecom market after China. The combined 394 million subscriber base of India's second and third largest telcos will eclipse Bharti Airtel's 270 million -and catapult the merged company to No 2 spot globally. It could also alter the landscape of an in dustry that's facing cut-throat competition from Mukesh Ambani's recently-launched Reliance Jio.
+TOI was the first to write, in its edition of January 28, that Vodafone and Idea were in advanced discussions for a merger (there had been some speculation last year, also re ported by TOI, but nothing had come of it at the time).
+The mega-merger will create a company that will be No. 1 or a strong No. 2 in all telecom circles except Jammu & Kashmir. Voda's 204 million subscribers and Idea's 190 million (at the end of 2016) will give them a combined market share of 35%. Aggregate revenues of over Rs 80,000 crore represent 42% of the national pie.
+Vodafone's global CEO Vit torio Colao told TOI in a joint interview with Birla that the consolidation was driven primarily by the “arrival of data, which is very capital heavy and consumes a lot of spectrum“  along with reasons like synergy and cost savings. Although Vodafone will hold 45% and Idea Cellu lar 26% stake in the postmerger company , which is being valued at $23 billion, they will have equal voting rights (again, TOI had reported on Jan 28 that Idea was pressing for it). The combine  the name and brand identity of which will be decided in due course  will be jointly managed with three representatives each on a 12-member board. Birla will take over as chairman of the new entity upon the completion of the deal in 2018. While the two sides will together decide on the CEO, Idea's Himanshu Kapania is expected to steer the combined operations; the choice of chief financial officer will be Vodafone’s.
+The transaction gives Idea the option to buy 9.5% stake in the new company over the next four years at Rs 130 per share. If Birla chooses not to exercise the option, Vodafone will sell down shares to equalize its shareholding with Idea. On January 30, two days after the TOI report, Vodafone and Idea had confirmed they were in talks. On Monday , they maintained that the merger would not breach subscriber and spectrum threshold limits in a big way (only in five circles, according to telecom analysts) as reported by this newspaper on January 28.
+Perhaps in a bid to bring about near-parity between the two, the merger excludes the Vodafone's 42% interest in Indus Towers while valuing the British telecom giant unlisted Indian subsidiary at $12.4 billion (Rs 82,000 crore), but includes Mumbai-listed Idea's 11% stake in Indus in its $10.8 billion (72,000 crore) valuation.Analysts viewed the deal making as a strategic retreat for Vodafone from a lossmaking market where it has written off $9 billion till date. Jio's freebies have pushed incumbents into a corner with Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea posting quarterly losses.
+In 2007, Vodafone stepped into Indian market when it paid Hutchison Whampoa $11 billion for controlling stake, and later coughed up another $5.5 billion to buy out the 33% held by the Ruias of Essar. Vodafone has since invested billions in multi ple rounds of spectrum auctions even as competition ate into pricing power in what was once hailed as one of the world's most promising telecom markets. Losses from the Indian business have weighed down Vodafone's global results in the recent past and prompted its CEO to consider `de-consolidation’.
+The merger will also strengthen Birla's hand in a bruising war , providing him a leadership platform and a bigger balance sheet to take on rivals, including Jio. Idea shares have been beaten down  until the merger speculation gained credence  as it was considered to be the weakest among the top three to face the Jio onslaught. Idea shares gyrated wildly rising 15% in morning trade but subsequently declined10% indicating investor apathy with the deal construct. Both Vodafone and Idea played down the market volatility stating it would take markets “a while to digest details of a complex transaction“.
+“For Idea shareholders and lenders who have supported us thus far, this transaction is highly accretive, and Idea and Vodafone will together create a very valuable company given our complementary strengths,“ Birla said. “The combined company will have the scale required to ensure sustainable consumer choice in a competitive market and to expand new technologies that have the potential to transform daily life,“ Colao added.
+==2017/ Market controlled by local heavyweights==
+[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=Indias-Big-Club-helms-telecom-story-21032017021011 India's Big Club helms telecom story , Mar 21, 2017: The Times of India]
+India's telecom market is firmly in control of local heavyweights -Kumar Mangalam Birla, Sunil Mittal and Mukesh Ambani -after foreign players retreat from a sector with over a billion subscribers.
+Though Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao emphasised the company wasn't exiting India, it was clearly “deconsolidating“ the troubled Indian business from its global footprint. Recent M&A deals have seen Norwe gian giant Telenor selling out to Bharti Airtel and Malaysian telco Aircel and Russian operator Sistema folding into Anil Ambani's Reliance Communications.
+Japan's NTT DoCoMo decided to exit an under-perfor ming joint venture with Tata Teleservices, while Bahrain Telecommunications (Batelco) snapped ties with C Sivasankaran's S Tel and UAE's Etisalat exited the country after the spectrum auction scandal, which erupted six years ago.
+Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel), remains a large but passive shareholder in Bharti Airtel. Then there were others like Australia's Telstra and South African major MTN calling off India plans, following the spectrum controversy and intense market competition.
+“Don't expect any reduction in the market competition in medium term, as large telcos would continue to keep the intensity high. However, in the long term this consolidation would restore some pricing power and give better bargaining terms with vendors and suppliers.The industry will be left with five major players namely -Vodafone-Idea, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, RCom-Aircel-Sistema and BSNL plus MTNL,“ Harsh Jagnani, VP, sector head, Icra, said.
+== 2017: profits, revenues plunge ==
+[https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/up-front/story/20171023-mukesh-ambani-reliance-jio-tata-teleservices-sbi-arun-jaitley-1063309-2017-10-13 MG Arun , Race to the bottom “India Today” 23/10/2017]
+The Rs 1.5 lakh crore Indian mobile telephony sector is going through one of its toughest phases since the 2G spectrum scam that rocked it at the start of the decade. At a time when a wave of consolidation has swept the industry following the launch of Reliance Jio, the industry's pricing power has been falling continuously, with prices of data crashing 67 per cent over the past six months. This is bad news for the sector, where companies have already been grappling with falling revenues ever since the Mukesh Ambani-led Jio unleashed a price war offering its services practically for free till April this year. The profits of market leader Airtel, with a 34 per cent revenue market share, plunged 72 per cent to Rs 373.4 crore in the last quarter of 2016-17 as it slashed tariffs to retain customers, while Vodafone India's operating profit for the financial year fell over 10 per cent. According to CLSA, a brokerage firm, India's mobile industry revenue fell for the first time in FY 2016-17 to Rs 1.88 lakh crore and will decline further to Rs 1.84 lakh crore this fiscal.
+Besides the squeeze in revenue, telecom service providers have also had to cough up high fees for procuring licences, pay spectrum usage charges to the government every year and instalments towards auction payments to the government every year as a percentage of their adjusted gross revenue. While the adjusted gross revenue grew a mere 6.8 per cent in fiscal 2016, payout to the government rose by 24 per cent. Reports say the telecom industry has bought spectrum worth Rs 3.45 lakh crore since 2010, partly on upfront payment and the rest on deferred payment till 2028-29. With the Idea-Vodafone merger, Tata's reported plan to exit the telecom business and the now-aborted attempt by Reliance Communications, led by Mukesh's brother Anil Ambani, to merge its telecom business with Aircel to pare debt, the sector is in the midst of a major churn. While the industry is steeped in Rs 5 lakh crore debt, Tata Teleservices alone has a debt amounting to Rs 34,000 crore and Reliance Communications, Rs 25,000 crore. The shakeout in the sector is impacting jobs, worsening an already grim scenario. While winding up Tata Teleservices would result in 5,000 jobs being lost, RCom has laid off some 1,200 people. Both Idea and Vodafone are planning to lay off staff by the thousands by the time their merger comes through. Overall, the telecom industry is set to lose around 150,000 jobs as it struggles to contain costs in an increasingly challenging environment. "The price war for data subscribers has dented the bottomlines of wireless telecom service providers, yet none of them is likely to pull a punch," says a Crisil report.
+If anything, competition will only heat up further given that market leadership is critical to the business. "It offers many advantages once the dust settles, as is borne out by profitability trends across the world. The leader typically commands a premium with higher average revenue per user (ARPU), a larger share of premium subscribers and relatively lower churn," adds the report. But till the entire process of consolidation plays out, telcos will continue to be in deep trouble.
-The structure and composition of telecom growth has undergone a substantial
+==2017: Indians get most spam in the world==
-change in terms of mobile versus fixed phones and public-private participation.
-The growth of wireless services has been phenomenal with wireless subscribers
-growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 56.3 per cent per annum
-since 2004. Today, the wireless subscribers are not only much more than the wireline
-subscribers in the country, but also increasing at a much faster pace. Wireless phone
-customer base is growing at the rate of about 19 million per month. The share of
-wireless phones has increased from 46.54 per cent in March 2004 to 95.90 per cent at
-the end of March, 2011. Improved affordability of wireless phone has made universal
-access objective more feasible.
-The liberalization efforts of the Government are evident in the growing share
+[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=Indians-get-most-spam-calls-in-the-world-16072017001062 Himanshi Dhawan|Indians get most spam calls in the world|Jul 16 2017 : The Times of India (Delhi)]
-of private sector in total telephone connections, which has increased to 85.11 per
-cent in March, 2011 from a mere 5% in 1999.
-Promotion of rural telephony and accessibility of telephones to remote areas
+You're not imagining it.
-is an important thrust area of the Department. It is well recognized that a well
+Spam calls are on the ri se. A study of 20 count ries has revealed that Indians received the most number of spam calls in 2017.
-spread out provision of telecom services in rural areas enhances the ability of people
-to participate in the market economy which, in turn, improves their productivity
-and contributes to their earnings.
-At the end of March, 2011, there were 282.29 million phones in rural areas
+Research by Truecaller, an app which has over 250 mil lion users globally , showed that an Indian smartphone user received over 22 spam calls a month, or almost a call a day. The US and Brazil came in second with over 20 calls per user each month.
-with a teledensity of 33.83% and the strategy for network expansion in rural areas
-mainly involves provision of phones in the viable areas through market mechanism
-and through Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) in the nonviable areas. While
-Village Public Telephones (VPTs) will enable public access, a scheme of infrastructure
-sharing scheme Infrastructure Provider (IP) and Universal Service Provider (USPs)
-has been launched under USOF to create infrastructure in rural and remote areas.
-Recognizing the potential of Broadband service in the growth of GDP and
+The report says that over half of India's spam calls (54%) originate from telecom operators. “Many of these operators are seeking to provide special offers for free data, or unlimited calls. Which doesn't sound so bad, until you get bombarded by them.“
-creation of an enabling environment for promoting knowledge based society, the
-Broadband policy announced in October 2004 envisioned covering 20 million
-broadband subscribers by the end of 2010. The wireless broadband is likely to be
-the preferred route that many operators adopt in delivering broadband services to
-the masses of the country. Introduction of BWA services will enhance the penetration
-as well as growth of broadband subscribers. Wi-Max has also been making headway
-for penetration of wireless broadband connectivity across all the sectors. The
-broadband subscriber grew from 0.18 million in 2005-to 6.2 million as on 30th April
-and about 11.47 million at the end of February, 2011. Government has decided
-to provide broadband connectivity to 250000 Panchayats by 2012.
-''' Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) ''' is one of the important sources to meet the
+Nuisance calls -including unwanted, harassment and pranks -stake claim to 20% of the calls. Among the other spam calls Indians receive are 13% from telemarke ters, 9% from financial services while 3% are related to insurance and scams.
-requirement of huge funds for rapid network expansion. The FDI policy provides
-an investor-friendly environment for the growth of the telecom sector. Today, telecom
-is the third major sector attracting FDI inflows after services and computer software
-sector. At present, 74 per cent to 100 per cent FDI is permitted for various telecom
-services. This investment has helped telecom sector to grow. The total FDI equity
-inflows in telecom sector from April 2000 up to February, 2011 have been Rs. 47,108
-crore which is 8% of the total FDI equity inflows in India during the period.
-The telephone tariffs have declined dramatically over the last two years making
-the mobile telephone affordable to the common man. The prepaid tariffs have gone
-as low as 1/2 paise per second.
-The auction of 3G and BWA Spectrum have been successfully conducted. This
+This is despite the fact that India's regulatory system includes a do-not-disturb (DND) registry as well as an unsolicited commercial communication regulation. Other countries are not much better off either. Unwanted calls to Americans have risen sharply by 20% in the last two months. Telecom operators are the top spammers (33%) in Brazil, with calls seeking to provide special offers for data and calling plans. The second biggest spammers in Brazil are debt collectors, though sometimes these calls can be fraudsters pretending to collect money for illegitimate reasons.
-will encourage further expansion of wireless services. In June 2010, the Government
-allocated 3 blocks of 2x5MHz 3G spectrum each in eighteen service areas, and 4
-blocks each in four service areas through auction. In July 2010, the Government has
-allocated 2 blocks each of 20MHz Broad Band Wireless Access (BWA) spectrum in
-all the twenty-two service areas based on the auction results. The Government
-realized a sum of Rs.106204.73 crores from these auctions. 3G and BWA spectrum is
-expected to be the next growth wave in the industry.
-Indian telecom industry manufactures a complete range of telecom equipment
+Chile, South Africa and Mexico are next among spam-plagued countries. The data for the report was aggregated anonymously from incoming calls that were either marked as spam by users or had automatically been flagged by Truecaller.
-using state-of-the-art technology. Considering the growth of telecom, there are
-excellent opportunities to domestic and foreign investors in manufacturing sector.
-The five years (2007-12) saw many renowned telecom companies setting up their
+==Market share, subscribers, profit-loss-debt==
-manufacturing base in India. The production of telecom equipments in value terms
+[[File: The market share, no. of subscribers, and profit-loss-debt in the Indian telecommunication industry, May 2017.jpg| The market share, no. of subscribers, and profit-loss-debt in the Indian telecommunication industry, May 2017<br/> The country's two corporate goliaths were in the past engaged in a cold war when they were on opposite sides. The Tata Group and RIL haven't had much business connections in the past and even restricted recruiting employees from each other. The last decade's telecom battles saw Tatas and Ambanis pitched on opposite sides. <br/> This started changing with Tata Trusts and Reliance Foundation collaborating in areas such as highspeed connectivity and cancer care. More recently , Tata bagged the Jamshedpur franchise of Indian Soccer League---a men's professional football league co-managed by RIL. <br/> From [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=04_08_2017_022_050_007&type=P&artUrl=Tatas-explore-all-options-in-bid-to-clear-04082017022050&eid=31808 '' The Times of India ''] |frame|500px]]
-is expected to increase from Rs. 5,10,000 million (2009-10) to Rs. 532750 million during
--11. The growth of telecom manufacturing industry has largely attributed to
-the rapidly growing telecom sector. India has potential to emerge as a global hub
-for telecom manufacturing. There are favourable factors such as policy moves taken
-by the government, incentive offered, large talent pool in R&D and low labour cost
-which can provide an impetus to the industry. Exports are also expected to increased
-from Rs. 81310 million in 2007-2008 to Rs. 142750 million during 2010-11.
-=NEW HORIZONS FOR FUTURE GROWTH=
+See graphic, 'The market share, no. of subscribers, and profit-loss-debt in the Indian telecommunication industry, May 2017'
-The explosive growth of the telecom industry in India is being followed by the urge
-to move towards better technology and the next level of service delivery. While the
-last 5 years have been transformational for Indian telecom industry, the next few
-years look even more exciting. One of the key frontiers which would make journey
-in coming years exciting is the launch of 3 G technology. The government has recently
-announced guidelines for penetration of 3G telecom services. This will provide a
-good opportunity for existing operators and also for foreign players to make an
-entry into the Indian market and bring in new technology and innovations.
-MNP allows any subscriber to change his service provider without changing
-his mobile phone number. With the announcement of guidelines for MNP, telecom
-service providers will be forced to improve quality of their service to avoid losing
-subscribers. This can be seen as a maturing element of the Indian telecom industry
-and a natural step for the industry to go forward.
-The mobile value added services include, text of SMS, menu based services,
-downloading of music or ringtones, mobileTV, videos, streaming, sophisticated mcommerce
-applications etc. Prior to 2008, a majority of VAS revenues were
-attributable to SMSs. However, recent trends indicate that this mix is evolving. With
-greater penetration of new services, availability of relatively inexpensive feature
-rich handsets and consumer education, VAS other than SMS is gaining importance.
-It is further expected that over the next few years, non-SMS VAS would become a
-dominant contributor to VAS revenue.
-=TELECOM COMMISSION=
+==2018-19: Jio ahead of Voda-Idea ==
-The Telecom Commission was set up by the Government of India in 1989 with
+[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2019%2F07%2F27&entity=Ar01917&sk=3D28B095&mode=text  Pankaj Doval, July 27, 2019: ''The Times of India'']
-administrative and financial powers of the Government of India to deal with various
-aspects of Telecommunications. The Commission consists of a Chairman and four
-full time members who are ex-officio secretaries to the Government of India in the
-Department of Telecommunications. Besides there are four part-time members who
-are the Secretaries to the Government of India of the concemed Departments.
-The major functions of the Telecom Commission include policy formulation,
+[[File: Rel Jio vis-à-vis Voda-Idea in 2018-19, Number of subscribers, Revenues, Revenue per user.jpg|Rel Jio vis-à-vis Voda-Idea in 2018-19: <br/> Number of subscribers, <br/> Revenues, <br/> Revenue per user. <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2019%2F07%2F27&entity=Ar01917&sk=3D28B095&mode=text  Pankaj Doval, July 27, 2019: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
-review of performance, licensing, wireless spectrum management, administrative
-monitoring of PSUs, research and development, standardization/validation of
-equipment and International Relations.
-=Role of Department of Telecommunications=
-The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is responsible for policy formulation,
-performance review, monitoring, international cooperation, Research &
-Development and grant of licences to operators for providing basic and value added
-services in various cities and telecom circles as per approved policy of the
-Government. The Department also allocates frequency and manages radio
-communications in close coordination with the International bodies. It is also
-responsible for enforcing wireless regulatory measures and monitoring the wireless
-transmission of all users in the country. A brief description of various services of
-Department of Telecommunications is given below:
-=MAJOR POLICY INITIATIVES=
+Less than three years after making a re-entry into the telecom business, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio has emerged as the country’s largest mobile operator, edging out Vodafone-Idea from the top position. Jio has made more revenue than Vodafone-Idea in April-June quarter.
-Given the central aim of NTP 99 to ensure rapid expansion of tele-density and the
-objective to transform in a time-bound manner, the telecommunications sector to
-greater competitive environment in both urban and rural areas providing equal
-opportunities and level playing field for all players, the Department has taken
-various Policy Initiatives, as below, which have helped the growth of the Telecom
-sector, increased competition to benefit the customers to ensure affordable and
-quality service.
-l Decided that there should be no cap on the number of access providers in any
+Jio had started operations in September 2016 and finished quarter ending June 30, 2019 with a subscriber base of 33.1 crore. Compared to this, Vodafone-Idea had 32 crore users in the same period as it continued to shed low-spending customers as part of a new business strategy.
-service area. 122 new UAS licenes were granted in year 2008 to 17 companies
+For the new 4G-only telecom entrant — which had moved ahead of Bharti Airtel in March this year — the growth has been swift and profitable, despite its charge being led by dirt-cheap tariffs and free voice calling.
-in 22 service areas of the country.
-l Permission of use of dual technology spectrum under the same UAS/CMTS
+Vodafone-Idea had come into existence a year ago after the merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular. It had over 42 crore subscribers then and was hoping to challenge Jio by synergising business operations and spendings. However, the new company seems to be going through tough times.
-licence was granted to 8 companies including BSNL & MTNL. BSNL & MTNL
+As far as Jio is concerned, Ambani has made it clear that aggressive posturing will continue. He has said that the company plans a high-pitched expansion beyond traditional mobile business and will become a stronger digital player in areas such as financial services, entertainment, commerce, healthcare, agriculture, and education.
-were exempted from the prescribed fee for such usages.
-l On 11th July 2008, provision of mobile service within 500 meters of international
+“Jio management is focused on giving unmatched digital experience at most affordable price to every citizen, and accordingly expanding the network capacity and coverage to keep pace with demand,” Ambani said.
-border within Indian Territory has been permitted.
-l Keeping in view the interest of consumers, the Department has decided to
+For Jio’s rivals, going remains tough. Airtel, which has now become the country’s third-biggest operator against its long-held top position, is struggling to get back into profitability. Vodafone-Idea said on Friday that its April-June loss stood at Rs 4,874 crore against a loss of Rs 4,882 crore in Q4 2018-19. “We are delivering on our strategy, although benefits are not yet visible in topline… We are well on track to deliver synergy targets by Q1 of 2020-21,” Balesh Sharma, CEO of Vodafone-Idea, said.
-introduce Mobile Number Portability (MNP). This will allow subscribers to
-retain their existing telephone number while switching over from one service
-provider to another or from one technology to another of the same service
-provider. This would make the telecom market truly competitive.
-==GRANT OF LICENSES==
+===Q1 of FY19 and 20===
-===Unified Access Services===
+[[File: Rel Jio, Voda-Idea and Airtel in Q1 of FY19 and FY20- Number of subscribers.jpg|Rel Jio, Voda-Idea and Airtel in Q1 of FY19 and FY20: Number of subscribers <br/> From: [https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/telcos-poised-to-capitalise-on-improving-industry-structure/articleshow/70699669.cms  August 16, 2019: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
-l There were 241 Unified Access Service (UAS), 2 Basic Service and 38 Cellular
-Mobile service (CMTS) Licenses as on December 31, 2009.
-l Permission for usage of dual technology spectrum (both CDMA and GSM)
+''' See graphic ‘'':
-under the same CMTS/UAS Licence has been granted to 8 companies as on
-December 31 2009.
-==MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY (MNP)==
+'' Rel Jio, Voda-Idea and Airtel in Q1 of FY19 and FY20: Number of subscribers ''
-Department of Telecom is in the process of introducing Mobile Number Portability
+[[Category:Bangladesh|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
-(MNP) in India which will allow subscribers to retain their existing telephone number
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
-when they switch from one service provider to another or from one technology to
+[[Category:Bhutan|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
-another of the same service provider. For the purpose of grant of Licences for MNP
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
-service in India, the whole country is divided into 2 MNP zones consisting of 11
+[[Category:Development|T TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
-service areas each and one licence for MNP service in each MNP zone has been
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
-awarded in April 2009 based on tendering process.
+[[Category:Economy-Industry-Resources|T TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
-===MOBILE VIRTUAL NETWORK OPERATOR (MVNO)===
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
-The Government has accepted the Recommendations of Telecom Regulatory
+[[Category:Government|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
-Authority of India (TRAI) dated 6th August, 2008 for introduction of Mobile Virtual
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
-Network Operators (mVNOs) Licences in India. The detailed guidelines for grant
+[[Category:India|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
-of MVNO Licence shall be issued by the Department of Telecom shortly.
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
+[[Category:Pages with broken file links|TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
+[[Category:Pakistan|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
+[[Category:Sri Lanka|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
-===NATIONAL INTEGRATED DIRECTORY SERVICE (NIDQS)===
+=SIM cards=
-The Government has accepted the Recommendations of TRAI dated 19th June 2008
+==SC: Link SIMs to users' Aadhaar IDs==
-regarding introduction of National Integrated Directory Service (NIDQS) Licences
+[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=Link-SIMs-to-users-Aadhaar-IDs-Court-07022017011032 Dhananjay Mahapatra, Link SIMs to users' Aadhaar IDs: Court, Feb 7, 2017: The Times of India]
-in the country. The detailed guidelines for award of NIDQS Licences through open
-tender shall be issued by DOT shortly.
-===CARRIER SERVICES===
-Licensing for National Long Distance (NLD) and International Long Distance
-(ILD) Service
-l After announcing opening up of ILDS and NLDS for free competition,
-Government has so far issued 24 ILDS licenses and 29 NLDS licenses (including
-BSNL) as on December 31,2009. The net worth and paid up capital requirement
-for obtaining NLD and ILD licence by the applicant company is Rs. 2.5 crore
-each.
-l The annual license fee for NLD/ILD has been reduced to 6 per cent (including
+The Supreme Court directed the Union government to register identity details of all 105 crore mobile phone users by linking their SIM cards to their Aadhaar number.
-USO contribution) of Adjusted Gross Revenue w.e.f. January 1, 2006.
-l There is no mandatory roll out obligation for NLD operators. For ILD operators,
+While giving this direction to the Centre, a bench of Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justice N V Ramana commended advocate Ashok Dhamija for filing the PIL on behalf of NGO `Lokniti Foundation' seeking 100% verification of cell phone subscribers with regard to their identity and address by linking their phone numbers to their Aadhaar cards.
-the roll out obligation is the establishment of at least one ILD gateway within
-a period of three years.
-''' Registration Certificate of Infrastructure Provider Category-I (IP-I) '''
+Attorney general Mukul Rohatgi said the Union government was agreeable to the idea. “But the task is gigantic as more than 90% of the 105 crore subscribers are using prepaid SIM cards. These SIM cards get recharged at roadside kiosks, making it difficult to register them,“ he added.
-l Under IP-I registration, Company can provide Dark Fibre, Right of way, duct
+The bench said, “The gov ernment has to devise a method. The person who comes for recharge of the phone should be given a form to give his details including Aadhaar number. He should submit the filled form the next time he goes for recharge. You can give him more time. May be three or four recharges before he furnishes the details. But make it mandatory that he must furnish details or else there would be no recharge of prepaid SIMs.“
-space, tower etc. to licensed telecom service providers. 288 companies
-have been registered as Infrastructure Provider Category-I as on December
-,2009.
-''' Voice Mail/Audiotex/Unified Messaging Service ''''
+The AG said, “Taking coercive measures immediately could be difficult. After demonetisation,cell phones are used for several activities. How long it would take to register each and every cell phone user is difficult to estimate.“ The bench would have none of it and told the AG that the government may take one year to complete the task but it has to do it.When the AG said the government would put in place an effective mechanism to register details of all subscribers, the bench disposed of the petition saying it would be done not later than one year.
-l New Policy for Voice Mail/Audiotex Service in terms of NTP-99 was
+=Spam calls=
-announced in July 2001 by incorporating a new service, namely, Unified
+==2019/ India drops to 5th spot==
-Messaging Service (UMS). UMS is a system by which voice mail, fax and emails
+[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2019%2F12%2F04&entity=Ar02514&sk=133AABDF&mode=text Sindhu Hariharan, Dec 4, 2019 ''Times of India'']
-(all the three) can be received by one mailbox using telephone instrument,
-fax machine, mobile phone, Internet browser, etc.
-l There are 20 licences in 7 cities owned by 12 companies as on December 31,
+[[File: Top countries affected by spam calls, Top spammers in India, 2019.jpg|Top countries affected by spam calls; <br/> Top spammers in India, 2019 <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2019%2F12%2F04&entity=Ar02514&sk=133AABDF&mode=text Sindhu Hariharan, Dec 4, 2019 ''Times of India''] |frame|500px]]
-for providing Voice Mail/Audiotex/Unified Messaging Service.
-l There is neither entry fee nor licence fee.
-''' Public Mobile Radio Trunk Service Licence '''
+[[File: Spam calls and texts received in India and comparable countries in 2019.jpg|Spam calls and texts received in India and comparable countries in 2019. <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2019%2F12%2F05&entity=Ar00404&sk=2D1ED000&mode=image  Dec 5, 2019: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
-l Policy for Public Mobile Radio Trunk Service (PMRTS) in terms of NTP-99
+'''See graphics''':
-was announced on November 1, 2001. The new PMRTS licenses shall be
-granted on non-exclusive ‘‘first come first service’’ basis.
-l Presently, there are 55 licences in 4 metros and 16 circles owned by 15 companies
+'' Top countries affected by spam calls; <br/> Top spammers in India, 2019 ''
-for providing Public Mobile Radio Trunking Service.
-''' GMPCS Service Licence '''
+'' Spam calls and texts received in India and comparable countries in 2019. ''
-l Policy for grant of licence for Global Mobile Personal Communication by
-Satellite Service (GMPCS) in terms of NTP-99 was announced on November
-, 2001. As on date, there is no licence for providing GMPCS service in India.
-One Letter of Intent (LoI) has been issued for GMPCS license to M/s Noida
+India may have improved three positions in the list of most spammed countries, but mobile users here still receive almost 26 spam calls every month.
-Software Technology Park Limited.
-===Manufacturing of Telecom Equipment===
+India dropped to the fifth spot in Truecaller’s annual global study of spam calls (from being second last year) but spam calls grew 15% from the previous year. The improvement was due to a relative increase in spam faced by other markets and not by reducing instances of its own spam, Truecaller data showed. Brazil remained the most spammed country for the second year in a row. “It’s good to know that India dropped lower in ranks, but the fact remains that the spam volume is still going up by a large margin,” Truecaller MD Sandeep Patil told TOI. With a monthly active user (MAUs) base of around 140-145 million, India is our largest market globally, he added. Globally,
-India has fast emerged as a manufacturing hub as multinational companies look
+Truecaller has approx 195 million MAUs.
-for long term alternatives. As a result of Government policy, progress has been
-achieved in the manufacturing of telecom equipment in the country. There is a
-significant telecom equipment manufacturing base in the country and there has
-been steady growth of the manufacturing sector during the past few years. In the
-last 5 years, the country’s contribution in mobile devices has been increased from 0
-per cent to 6 per cent of the global device production. Several Indian companies in
-the telecom and electronics industry are creating global scale.
-Rising demand for a wide range of telecom equipment, particularly in the
+Telecom operators continued to be top spammers for Indian mobile users with 67% calls (90% last year) received for upselling of various offers and reminders.
-area of mobile telecommunication, has provided excellent opportunities to domestic
-and foreign investors in the manufacturing sector. The last two years saw many
-renowned telecom companies setting up their manufacturing base in India. Nokia
-and Nokia Siemens Networks have set up their manufacturing plant in Chennai.
-Ericsson has set up GSM Radio Base Station Manufacturing Facility in Jaipur.
+With the rise of mobile payment systems and a growing middle class and cheap phone calls, 2019 saw more banks and fintechs spam users with marketing calls, holding 10% and 17% shares respectively.
-Motorola, Foxcom (OEM) has set up large manufacturing plants in Chennal. Elcoteq
-has set up handset manufacturing facilities in Bangaluru. LG Electronics has set up
-plant of manufacturing GSM mobile phones near Pune. Ericsson has launched their
-R&D Centre in Chennai, Flextorics has set up an SEZ in Chennai. A large number of
-companies like Alcatel, Cisco have shown interest in setting up their R&D centers
-in India. With above initiatives, India is expected to be a manufacturing hub for the
-telecom equipment.
-=Telecom Centres of Excellence (TCOE=)
+One out of three women in India also received sexual harassment or inappropriate calls and SMS on a regular basis, Truecaller said, as ascertained by user categorisation and survey. Truecaller also looked at global levels of spam SMS this year and found it to be an emerging market phenomenon. India ranked eighth, and users received an average 61 spam SMS every month.
-The increased use of new technologies, the move towards corporatisation,
+[[Category:Bangladesh|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
-competition and the separation of regulatory functions from operational services
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
-require advanced level policy, regulatory, managerial and technological expertise.
+[[Category:Bhutan|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
-In order to develop and strengthen the capability to generate this expertise, Telecom
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
-Centres of Excellence (TCOE) have been established in Public Private Partnership
+[[Category:Development|T TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
-(PPP) mode. The seven TCOEs at the premier academic institutes at IITs, IIM
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
-Ahmedabad and Indian Institute of Science, Bangaluru supported by a major telecom
+[[Category:Economy-Industry-Resources|T TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
-operator have centers have identified important projects in association with the
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
-industry and are working to generate a skilled talent pool, cutting edge research,
+[[Category:Government|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
-customer centric regulatory framework and innovative business models for rural
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
-India with the ultimate vision to extend the education and economic benefits to the
+[[Category:India|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
-poorest of the poor through telecommunications. So far, 70 R&D projects at a cost of
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
-about Rs. 16 crore have been taken up in the areas of energy efficeient devices and
+[[Category:Pages with broken file links|TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
-low backhaul for rural areas, network security, voice mail banking etc. TCOE India
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
-has been accepted by International Telecommunication Union as a valuator for its
+[[Category:Pakistan|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
-international mobile telephony cards data proposal for 4G network.
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
+[[Category:Sri Lanka|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
-The Department of Telecommunications organized an exhibition and conference
+=Spectrum access and investment: India and the world=
-‘‘India Telecom 2009’’ in December 2009 at New Delhi with the objective of promoting
+==2011, 2015==
-and showcasing the capabilities and opportunities in the Indian Telecom Sector.
+[[File: The quantum of spectrum available with Indian operators as compared to the rest of the world, 2015; Investment in infrastructure- 2011-15, year-wise.jpg|The quantum of spectrum available with Indian operators as compared to the rest of the world, 2015; Investment in infrastructure- 2011-15, year-wise <br/> From: [https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/20150727-call-drops-airtel-vodafone-idea-trai-820109-2015-07-16  Shweta Punj, MG Arun, July 27, 2015: ''India Today'']|frame|500px]]
-The conference brought the Government, policy makers, potential investors,
-operators, manufactures, infastructure providers, content providers, academia and
-non-governmental organization together at a common platform to discuss how
-telecommunications can lead to an ‘‘all inclusive growth’’ of the Indian economy in
-terms of GDP, growth, employment and revenues, among others. There was also a
-Special session on Telecom for Inclusive Growth with address by Dr. APJ Abdul
-Kalam, Former-President of India. The exhibition held during the event at Pragati
-Maidan was also a huge success with more than 200 participants from 28 countries.
-During the event, there was a CEOs Roundtable with Hon’ble Minister of
-Communications & IT. The focus of the Roundtable was to have decision makers
-together at one platform to have concrete discussions on taking the Indian Telecom
-Sector to the next level and to share Government's vision for the growth of telecom
-sector particularly in rural areas. The Hon’ble Prime Minister of India addressed
-the participants of the event during the closing ceremony of the event held at Vigyan
-Bhawan.
-=WIRELESS PLANNING AND COORDINATION=
+'''See graphic''':
-The Wireless Planning and Coordination Wing of the Department of
-Telecommunications deals with the spectrum management, wireless licensing,
-frequency assignments, international coordination for spectrum management and
-administration of India Telegraph Act 1885. (ITA, 1885), for radioicommunication
-systems and Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act 1933, (IWTA, 1933)
-Following Notifications under sub-section (54) of Section 7 of the Indian
+''The quantum of spectrum available with Indian operators as compared to the rest of the world, 2015; Investment in infrastructure- 2011-15, year-wise''
-Telegraph Act, 1885 regarding amendment in Experimental service and
-Demonstration license were published through Gazette notifications in 2009, i.e..
-l The Indian Wireless Telegraphy (Experimental Service) (Amendment) Rules,
+[[Category:Bangladesh|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
-were published in Notification No. G.S.:R. 324(E) in Gazette of India
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
-dated the 15th May 2009.
+[[Category:Bhutan|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
+[[Category:Development|T TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
+[[Category:Economy-Industry-Resources|T TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
+[[Category:Government|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
+[[Category:India|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
+[[Category:Pages with broken file links|TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
+[[Category:Pakistan|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
+[[Category:Sri Lanka|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
-l The Indian Wireless Telegraphy (Demonstration License) (Amendment) Rules,
+=Speed=
-were published in Notification No. G.S.R. 324(E) in Gazette of India dated
+==2017: Access to 4G, speed==
-the 15th May 2009.
+[[File: Performance of mobile networks according to internet speed, India and the world.jpg|Performance of mobile networks according to internet speed, India and the world; [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=STATOISTICS-INDIA-AMONG-BEST-IN-4G-AVAILABILITY-WORST-21062017011029 The Times of India], June 21, 2017|frame|500px]]
-The ‘‘Core Group’’ formed by National Disaster Management Authority
+'''See graphic''':
-(NDMA), New Delhi, convened various meetings for preparation of Guidelines on
-National Disaster Communication Network (NDCN) within the country wherein
-WPC wing made significant contribution. NDMA were informed during various
-Core Group meetings that the current National Frequency Allocation Plan-2008
-(NJFAP-2008) document, effective from 1 April 2009, has been developed within
-the framework of ITU taking into account spectrum requirement of Government as
-well as private sectors in the fast changing scenario with a view to meeting
-requirements of new emerging and existing technologies and taking into account
-the decisions/recommendations of the World Radiocommunication Conferences
-& 2007 (WRC-2003 & 2007) of International Telecommunication Union (ITU),
-etc.
-As per NFAP-2008, which is available on WPC Wing’s website, viz.
+''Performance of mobile networks according to internet speed, India and the world''
-www.wpc.dotgov.in suitable provisions for public protection and disaster relief
-(PPDR) communications have been made in the current NFAP spectrum policy
-document to meet the sepctrum requirement for various wireless communication
-needs during any disater. Relevant IND 73 remark mentioned in the NFAP-2008
-document, presently in force has been carved out taking into account the existing
-International Radio Regulation practices adopted worldwide, which depicts that
-requirement of public protection and disaster relief (PPDR) communications may
-be considered, as far as possible, in the frequency bands 380-400 MHz, 406. 1-430
-MHz, 440-470 MHz, 746-806 MHz, 806-824/851-869 MHz, 4940-4990 MHz and 5850-
-MHz on a case basis depending on specific need and equipment availability.
-==Automation of Spectrum Management & Augmentation Monitoring
+==2019: Indian operators’ speed, 4G, latency ==
-System==
+[[File: 2019- The performance of Indian telecom operators on speed, 4G and latency..jpg|2019: The performance of Indian telecom operators on speed, 4G and latency. <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2019%2F04%2F17&entity=Ar02506&sk=0C9A1355&mode=image  April 17, 2019: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
-The project ‘Design, Supply, Installation & Commissioning' of ‘‘National Radio
-Spectrum Management & Monitoring System (NRSMMS)’’ is being implemented
-by the WPC Wing. Under the project, spectrum management and monitoring
-functions have been automated with a view to making these activities effective and
-efficient. The NRSMMS has two interrelated components of ‘‘Automated Spectrum
-Management System (ASMS)’’ and ‘‘National Spectrum Monitoring System
-(NSMS)’’. ASMS has been completed and is in operation.
-After Completion of Operational Acceptance of NRSMMS facilities for 20 fixed
-sites and 21 V/UHF Mobile stations, excluding SHF parts (fixed & Mobile), on 14
-October 2008, Liability Period (DLP) has been started from 15 October 2005.
-=UNIVERSAL SERVICE OBLIGATION FUND=
+'''See graphic''':
-The Universal Service Obligation Fund formed by an Act of Parilament is headed
+''2019: The performance of Indian telecom operators on speed, 4G and latency.''
-by the Administrator USQ Fund, appointed by the Central Government, for the
-administration of the Fund. He is empowered to formulate procedures for
-implementation of USO Fund schemes and disbursement of funds from USOF. His
-office works as an attached office of the Department of Telecom, Ministry of
-The Universal Service Support Policy came into effect from 1 April 2002. The
+=Tariffs=
-guidelines for universal service support policy were issued by DoT and were placed
+==2013-16: decline in data prices==
-on the DoT website on 27 March 2002. Subsequently, the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885
+[[File: Decline in data prices, between 2013 and 2016.jpg| Decline in data prices, between 2013 and 2016; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=02_09_2016_024_059_009&type=P&artUrl=Dont-misuse-market-power-Mukesh-tells-competitors-02092016024059&eid=31808 ''The Times of India''], September 2, 2016|frame|500px]]
-was amended giving statutory status to the Universal Service Obligation Fund
-(USOF) in December 2003. An ordinance was promulgated on 30 October 2006 as
-Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Ordinance 2006 to amend the Indian telegraph Act
-in order to enable provision of all types of telegraph services in rural and
-remote areas. Subsequently, Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Act 2006 was passed
-on 29 Septemeber 2006.
-=RESOURCES FOR USO FUND=
+'''See graphic''':
-The resources for implementation of USO are raised through a Universal Service
-Levy (USL), which is 5 per cent of the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) of all Telecom
-Service Providers except the pure value added service providers like Internet, Voice
-Mail, E-Mail service providers etc. Annual License fee payable by Basic Telephone
-Service/UAS Licensees for rural fixed wire-line services in rual areas has been
-exempted with effect from 1 October 2008. In addition, the Central Government
-may also give grants and loans. The balance to the credit of the Fund does not lapse
-at the end of the financial year. Credits to the Fund are being made through
-Parliamentary approvals.
-==FUNCTIONS AND OBJECTIVES==
+''Decline in data prices, between 2013 and 2016''
-The USO Fund was established with the fundamental objective of providing access
-to ‘Basic’ telegraph services to people in the rural and remote areas at affordable
-and reasonable prices. Subsequently the scope was widened to provide subsidy
-support for enabling access to all types of telegraph services including mobile
-services, broadband connectivity and creation of infrastructure like OFC in rural
-and remote areas. As per the Rules, the following services shall be supported by the
-Fund, namely:-
-Stream-I: Provision of Public Telecom and Information Services
+==2014, monthly phone usage cost: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka==
+[[File: Mobile tariffs and monthly phone usage cost in 2014 in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, compared with other countries.jpg| Mobile tariffs and monthly phone usage cost in 2014 in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, compared with other countries; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=19_01_2016_030_018_001&type=P&artUrl=STATOISTICS-BE-GLAD-YOU-ARE-IN-INDIA-EVERY-19012016030018&eid=31808 ''The Times of India''], January 19, 2016|frame|500px]]
-a) Operation and Maintenance of Village Public Telephone in the revenue villages
+'''See graphic''':
-identified as per census 1991 and installation of village Public Telephones in
-the additional revenue villages as per Census 2001.
-b) Provision of additional rural community phones in areas after achieving the
+''Mobile tariffs and monthly phone usage cost in 2014 in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, compared with other countries''
-target of one Village Public Telephone in every revenue village.
-c) Replacement of Multi Access Radio Relay Technology Village Public Telephone
+==2016, %age of revenue from service: Airtel, Vodafone and Idea==
-installed before 1st day of April 2002.
+[[File: Voice vs data, %age of revenue from service, for Airtel, Vodafone and Idea, August 2016.jpg| Voice vs data, %age of revenue from service, for Airtel, Vodafone and Idea, August 2016; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Gallery.aspx?id=02_09_2016_024_059_010&type=P&artUrl=Dont-misuse-market-power-Mukesh-tells-competitors-02092016024059&eid=31808 ''The Times of India''], September 2, 2016|frame|500px]]
-Stream-II: Provision of household telephones in rural and remote areas as detemined
+'''See graphic''':
-by the Central Government from time to time.
-Stream-III: Creation of infrastructure for provision of Mobile Services in rural and
+''Voice vs data, %age of revenue from service, for Airtel, Vodafone and Idea, August 2016''
-remote areas.
-Stream-IV: Provision of Broadband connectivity to villages in a phased manner.
+==2018: India has cheapest mobile data in world==
+[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2019%2F03%2F07&entity=Ar03503&sk=8A73F6DC&mode=text  Sindhu Hariharan, India’s mobile data is cheapest globally, March 7, 2019: ''The Times of India'']
-Stream-V: Creation of general infrastructure in rural and remote areas for
+[[File: Cost of 1GB data, in India and comparable countries..jpg|Cost of 1GB data, in India and comparable countries. <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2019%2F03%2F07&entity=Ar03503&sk=8A73F6DC&mode=text  Sindhu Hariharan, India’s mobile data is cheapest globally, March 7, 2019: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
-development of telecommunication facilities.
-Stream-VI: Induction of new technological developments in the telecom sector in
-rural and remote areas.
-The implementation of USO releated activities is carried out by the ‘‘eligible
+'''1GB Costs $0.26'''
-operators’’ as per the aforesaid Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Rules covering Basic
-Service Operators, Cellular Mobile Service Providers, Unified Access Services
-Licensees, Infrastructure Providers (IP-I) and Internet Service Providers (ISPs). These
-Telecom Service Providers are both public and private sector companies. The
-implementation status of the activities being undertaken by the USO Fund is
-available on DoT website www.dot.gov.in.
-=REGULATORY FRAMEWORK=
+''Half Of Top 20 Plans In Asia''
-The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has always endeavored to
-encourage greater competition in the telecom sector together with better quality
-and affordable prices in order to meet the objectives of New Telecom Policy, 1999. A
-number of regulations and Directions were issued by TRAI during 2009-10 which
-inter-alia included the Telecommunication Mobile Number portability Regulation
-, Telecommunication Mobile Number portability per port transaction charge
-and dipping charge Regulation, Telecommunication Tariff order 2009, and Direction
-to Access Service providers on provision of value added services for enhanced
-transparency with regard to taking explicit consent of customers and preventing
-accidental subscription to value to Value Added Services, Direction to IPTV
-providers, direction to all access service providers for submission of their
-performance Monitoring Report etc. These directions and regulations will help to
-develop the telecom sector.
-In order to protect the interest of the consumers, TRAI has taken steps regarding
+A large data-hungry base of smartphone users and a fierce price war between the country’s telcos has made India home to the cheapest mobile data price in the world.
-audit of metering and billing system for bringing uniformity and transparency,
-prescribing standard relating to accuracy of measurement and reliability of billing
-etc. The service providers have to furnish the Audit report to TRAI every year, with
-corrective action taken on inadequacies by the service providers. Besides, TRAI has
-undertaken activities towards consumer education.
-TRAI has also taken steps to ensure the quality of the service provided by the
+One gigabyte (1GB) of data costs $0.26 in India, compared to an average $6.66 in the UK and $12.37 in the US, finds a global analysis of mobile data prices by UK-based price comparison portal Cable. It compared data from 6,313 mobile data plans in 230 countries between October and November 2018 for the study.
-service providers by way of monitoring the performance of Basic and Cellular Mobile
-Telephone Service on quarterly basis and also point out interconnection (POI)
-congestion through monthly reports.
-The above measures are expected to facilitate orderly growth of telecom sector
+For instance, there is a 97% difference in the price of 1GB of data between India and the US, while the gap in the 2018 edition of the Big Mac index (a quirky measure of purchasing power parity between nations using the price of McDonald’s Big Mac burgers) between the two countries is far narrower at 54%.
-by promoting healthy competition and enchancing investment efficiency besides
-protecting interests of consumers.
-The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Act, 1997 (as amended)
+Asia makes up half of the top 20 cheapest mobile data prices in the world, with the average price of 1GB less than a dollar in Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Myanmar and Bangladesh. On the other hand, Zimbabwe is the most expensive country for mobile data as 1GB there costs $75.2, the survey said.
-provides for the establishment of the TRAI and the Telecom Disputes Settlement
-and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) to regulate the telecommunication services,
-adjudicate disputes, dispose of appeals and to protect the interests of service
-providers and consumers of the telecom sector, to promote and ensure orderly
-growth of the telecom sector and for matters connected therewith or incidental
-thereto.
-The Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) was created
+“A country whose young population has a particularly high technological awareness, India offers a vibrant smartphone market, with strong adoption and many competitors. Data, therefore, is quite staggeringly cheap,” Dan Howdle, consumer telecom analyst at Cable-.co.uk, said.
-in the year 2000 by the Central Government under the TRAI Act, 1997 to settle and
-adjudicate disputes involving licensor, service providers and a group of consumers
-on telecommunication services. In January, 2004 the jurisdiction of TDSAT was
-extended to include broadcasting and cable services besides telecommunication
-services. TDSAT exercises appellate jurisdiction over regulations, determinations,
-orders and directions of the TRAI. It also exercises original jurisdiction.
-The jurisdiction of TDSAT is exclusive and its orders can be challenged before
+Without specifying why India ranks first, the study said the cheapest countries either have “excellent mobile and fixed broadband infrastructure”, or have a large user base reliant on mobile data. The large cost differential for mobile internet between India and other countries is primarily driven by a crowded and competitive telecom sector and is not just a factor of purchasing power.
-Supreme Court of India on points of law only. Statutory appeal does not lie against
-the interim orders of TDSAT. TDSAT is an expert body and comprises a Chairperson
-and two Members. The Chairperson happens to be a retired Judge of the Supreme
-Court of India while two Members are the experts in the field of administration/
-telecommunications.
-TDSAT is not bound by the provisions of Civil Procedure Code. It has
+“We can see a significant drop in the price of mobile internet after the entry of Jio as the telco aggressively priced its data on the back of a stronger 4G infrastructure,” Ankit Chhajer, co-founder of tariffs comparison startup Komparify.
-formulated its own Procedure (TDSAT Procedures 2005) which is simple and is
-based on the principles of natural justice. Court fee for filing a petition, appeal and
-miscellaneous application before TDSAT is Rs. 5000/- Rs. 10,000/- and Rs. 1,000/-
-respectively.
-World over, the disputes in telecom and broadcasting sector are resolved by
+As for the trajectory of data tariffs, Rajan S Mathews, DG of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), noted that pricing has largely been stable recently, and there may not be any noticeable hikes in the near future.
-the regulator or normal courts. However, in India, unique institution in the form of
-TDSAT exists for speedy settlement and adjudication of disputes on telecom and
-broadcasting sector. As such, dispute resolution in India is outside the purview of
-the telecom regulator. Indian model for resolution of disputes has been seen with
-great interest by various telecom regulator. Indian model for resolution of disputes
-has been seen with great interest by various telecom regulators across the world as
-per feed back received during meetings and interaction of Hon’ble Chairperson,
-Members and officers of TDSAT with representatives of regulatory authorities of
-different countries.
-=RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT=
+==2022: India 3rd cheapest==
-C-Dot, an autonomous society under DoT, is carrying out research & development
+[[File: The average cost of one gigabyte of mobile data, presumably in 2022, in India and comparable countries.jpg|The average cost of one gigabyte of mobile data, presumably in 2022, in India and comparable countries <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/article-share?article=11_01_2023_021_005_cap_TOI  January 11, 2023: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
-for areas of national importance in Telecommunication. C-DoT is working on various
-developmental projects like shared Global System of Mobile Communication Radio
-Access Network (SG-RAN) for rural India, upgradation of legacy switches to Next
-Generation services for North Eastern region, communication monitoring systems,
-secure dedicated communication networks, broadband service delivery platforms
-like Gigabit Passive Optical (GPON) systems. The projects like SG-RAN & GPON
-are expected to give an impetus to indigenous manufacturing.
-The increased use of new technologies, the move towards corporatisation,
+'''See graphic''':
-competition and the separation of regulatory functions from operational services
-require advanced level of policy, regulatory, managerial and technological expertise.
-In order to develop and strengthen the capability to generate this expertise, the
-Telecom Centers of Excellence (TCOE) concept has been established in a Public-
-Private Partnership (PPP) mode with all stake holders onboard. Apart from
-application oriented research, the Centers are designed to assist and offer training
-to both high level decision makers of telecommunication entities to manage sector
-reforms and to corporate managers for management of networks and services. There
-will be eight TCOEs at the premier academic institutes of the country with the seven
-major telecom operators supporting one center each. The spectrum management
-center is being developed in an autonomous model with the support of an industry
-consortium. To provide a further boost to our manufacturing and R&D efforts, it
-has been further decided to set up a Telecom Testing and Security Certification
-Center (TETC) for communication security, research and monitoring. A large number
-of companies like Alcatel, Cisco etc. have also set up their research & development
-(R&D) centers in India.
-=TELECOM PSUs (public sector undertakings)=
+'' The average cost of one gigabyte of mobile data, presumably in 2022, in India and comparable countries ''
-MTNL and BSNL are the two premier PSUs under the Department that have thrived
-to meet the growing requirements of telephones and other related service. MTNL,
-which was set up mainly to expand the quality telecom network and to raise revenue
-for developing telecommunication facilities in India’s key metros-Delhi and Mumbai,
-has taken rapid strides since its formation in 1986, to emerge as India’s leading and
-one of Asia’s largest telecom operating companies. Besides having a strong financial
-base, MTNL has achieved a customer base of 8.37 million at the end of December
-. The company had 768037 broadband customers as on December 31, 2009. The
-Company has also been in the forefornt of technology induction by converting 100
-per cent of its telephone exchange network into the state-of-the-art-digital mode.
-The Government of India currently holds 58.25 per cent stake in the company.
+[[Category:Bangladesh|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
-BSNL formed in October, 2000, is the world’s 7th largest Telecommunications
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
-Company providing comprehensive range of telecom services in India-Wireline,
+[[Category:Bhutan|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
-CDMA wireless, GSM wireless, Internet, Broadband, Carrier service, MPLS-VPN,
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
-VSAT, VolP services, IN Services etc. Within a small span of eight years, it has become
+[[Category:Development|T TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
-the largest public sector service provider in the country serving 90.96 million
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
-subscribers including 62.86 million wireless customers in December 2009. Rural
+[[Category:Economy-Industry-Resources|T TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
-telephony is one of the focus areas of BSNL. It has provided Village Public Telephones
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
-(VPTs) in 5.63 lakh villages and had 323.27 lakh telephones in the rural areas as on
+[[Category:Government|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
-December 31, 2009. BSNL introduced broadband services from January 2005 and
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
-had provided 47.30 lakh broadband connections till December 2009.
+[[Category:India|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
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+[[Category:Pages with broken file links|TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
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+[[Category:Pakistan|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
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+[[Category:Sri Lanka|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
-==ITI LIMITED==
+=Towers and the law=
-ITI Limited is India’s pioneering venture in the field of telecommunications since
+==SC shuts down tower because man claims it gave him cancer==
-. With state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities spread across six locations and
+[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=Man-claims-cell-tower-gave-him-cancer-SC-12042017001064  Dhananjay Mahapatra, Man claims cell tower gave him cancer, SC shuts it down , April 12, 2017: The Times of India]
-a countrywide network of marketing/service outlets, the Company offers a complete
-range of telecom products and total solutions covering the whole spectrum of
-Switching, Transmission, Access and Subscriber Premises equipment. In tune with
-the technology trend, ITI has embarked on manufacture of mobile infrastructure
-equipment based on both GSM (Global System for Mobile) and CDMA (Code
-Division Multiple Access) technologies. ITI has also acquired the technology for
-manufacture of broadband infra equipment and next generation network equipment
-based on IP technology. ITI has a dedicated Network Systems Unit for carrying out
-installation and commissioning of equipments, as well as for undertaking turnkey
-projects and providing value added services. Network Systems Unit has been
-awarded ISO 9001-2008 standard. ITI has aptly earned recognition as Top Turnkey
-Services Company in Indian Telecom for four years in the past.
-ITI joined the league of world-class vendors of GSM technology with the
+''' First In Country To Be Closed On Individual's Plea '''
-inauguration of BTS equipment manufacturing facility at its Mankapur and Rae
-Bareli plants, which opened a new era of indigenous mobile equipment production
-in the country. During the current year, Company has received a total order of 18
-million lines from BSNL, 9 million lines each for West Zone and South Zone and
-supply of equipment for both orders are under progress. The success of technology
-upgradation and induction is visible across all units of ITI, which fully conform to
-ISO-9001:2000 Quality Management System. ISO 14001:2004 Environmental
-Management System standard was also successfully implemented at Palakkad,
-Mankapur (PCB & Hybird Circuits Division) and Bengaluru Plants. Next Generation
-Soft Switch and STP (Signaling Transfer Point) are slated for production at the
-Palakkad Plant, which is already producing SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) Cards.
-The Naini Plant has taken up production of SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy)
-and DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing) optical equipment besides
-DLC (Digital Loop Carrier) equipment.
-The Company is also starting the manufacturing of the broadband equipment
+A 42-year-old domestic help will go down in history as the man who persuaded the Supreme Court to shut down a mobile phone tower on the ground that its electromagnetic radiation afflicted him with cancer.
-like WiMAX / WiMAX-CPE and GPON at Rae Bareli plant. The Company is geared
-to provide all equipment for total network solutions and specific communication
-needs of Defence forces. The Bangaluru Plant manufacturing the CDMA infra
-equipment, IFWTs (Integrated Fixed Wireless Terminals) and ADSL-CPE
-(Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line-Customer Premises Equipment) has also set
-up a state-of-the-art world class Data Centre in Partnership of M/s TRIMAX on
-revenue sharing model to handle IP Projects for banks/financial sector and other
-telecom related software.
-By deploying its rich telecom expertise and vast infrastructure, the Company
+Last year, Harish Chand Tiwari, who works at the residence of Prakash Sharma in the Dal Bazar area of Gwalior, moved the SC through advocate Nivedita Sharma, complaining that a BSNL tower illegally installed on a neighbour's rooftop in 2002 had exposed him to harmful radiation 24x7 for the last 14 years.
-is consolidating its diversification into IT and IT-enabled services, acquiring a
-competitive edge in the convergence market. ITI’s competency in the WAN (wide
-area networking) segment is reflected through two major projects commissioned
-successfully for BSNL: Countrywide MLLN (Managed Leased Line Network) and
-SSTP (Standalone Signal Transfer Point). ITI is one of the agencies selected for
-preparation of National ID cards.
-==TELECOMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANTS INDIA LIMITED==
+The order is likely to fur ther fuel the debate over the effects of radiation from mobile phone towers with a section of activists feeling vindicated while the government argues there is no evidence to prove that the waves cause cancer.
-On March 10, 1978, Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd. (TCIL) was
-incorporated as a wholly owned Government of India company. The company was
-set up with the objective of extending the wide ranging Indian telecom expertise to
-friendly developing countries. On August 1, 1978, the company commenced its
-business. The company has since then been engaged in adopting world class
-communication and IT technologies for catering to the total needs of countries mainly
-in the developing world. The company is establishing itself in the changed Telecom
-and IT scenario and has diversified into Information and Technology and civil
-construction sector.
-The Mission statement of company is:“To excel and maintain leadership, in
+Radiation from the BSNL tower, less than 50 metres from the house where he worked, afflicted him with Hodgkin's Lymphoma caused by continuo us and prolonged exposure to radiation, Tiwari complained.
-providing communication solutions on turnkey basis in telecommunication and
-information technology service sector globally”.
-The objectives are :
+In a recent order, a bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Navin Sinha said, “We direct that the particular mobile tower shall be deactivated by BSNL within seven days from today .“
-* To provide world-class technology and Indian expertise globally in all fields
+The tower will be the first to be closed on an individual's petition alleging harmful radiation. The SC, which began he aring the issue relating to radiation from cell towers from March 18 last year, had asked the parties to file additional documents to show that radiation from such towers were harmful to humans and animals. Private petitioners have been predicting disastrous consequences in the future. Activists have alleged that radiation from mushrooming mobile phone towers have caused sparrows, crows and bees to vanish. But the Cellular Operators Association of India and the Union government have vehemently denied the allegations and said such fears were unfounded and that no scientific study had conclusively linked mobile phone tower radiation to cancer or vanishing of sparrows, crows and bees.
-of telecommunications and information technology.
-* To sustain, expand and excel in its operations in Overseas/Indian markets by
+The department of telecom (DoT) in its affidavit before the SC in October last year had said that of the over 12 lakh mobile phone towers in the country , it had tested 3.30 lakh towers. It said only 212 towers were found exceeding radiation limits and they were fined Rs 10 lakh. It said so far Rs 10 crore was collect ed from different cellular op erators as penalty .
-developing proper marketing strategies.
-* To acquire state-of-the-art technology on a continuous basis and maintain
+DoT had relied upon a World Health Organisation (WHO) report as well as over 25,000 articles in the past 30 years to say that there was no confirmation of “any health consequences from exposure to low level electro magnetic fields“.
-leadership.
-* To diversify into cyber parks, cyber cities, intelligent buildings, highways and
+In 2014, a parliamentary committee had recom mended to the Union government to carry out a scientific study by a reputed govern ment agency on im pact of telecommunication and mobile phone towers and handsets on humans. Private petitioners had alleged that no such study had been un dertaken. But the DoT had informed the court that the Centre had constituted an expert committee to study the possible impact of elec tromagnetic field radiation on living beings.
-roads and other civil works.
-* Entering areas of cost-effective network technologies for building new telecom
+[[Category:Bangladesh|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
-& IT networks and upgrading legacy networks.
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
+[[Category:Bhutan|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
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+[[Category:Government|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
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+[[Category:India|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
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+[[Category:Pages with broken file links|TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
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+[[Category:Pakistan|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
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+[[Category:Sri Lanka|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
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-* Focusing on broadband multimedia convergent service networks.
+=5G=
+==Launched in 2022==
+[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/article-share?article=02_10_2022_001_007_cap_TOI  Pankaj Doval, Oct 2, 2022: ''The Times of India'']
-* Entering new areas of IT as systems integrator in telecom billing, customer
-care, value added services, e-Governance networks and the like.
-* Aggressively promoting O&M contracts abroad in the IT and telecom fields
+New Delhi : India took a mega generational leap in mobile telephony as the ball was set rolling for the launch of 5G network with Prime Minister Narendra Modi – who inaugurated the services – promising a leg-up in economic activities and citizen empowerment through the high-speed network that boasts of minimum speeds of at least 100 Mbps.
-by utilizing TCIL’s expert technical manpower.
-* Developing telecom & IT training infrastructure in countries abroad.
+ India now joins a select set of countries that offer 5G telephony and these include the US, Korea, UK, Japan, China, and nations across Europe. While Airtel has launched the service in eight cities, Jio willbegin from Diwali and Vodafone Idea is also gearing up.
-* Aggressively participating in SWAN projects in various states.
+ Modi, who launched the services at the annual India Mobile Congress (IMC) in the presence of industry leaders such as Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, Airtel chief Sunil Mittal and Vodafone Idea promoter Kumar Mangalam Birla, said that 5G – while being transformative for the industry and enterprises – will lead to empowerment of the poor in rural and semi-urban areas through efficiencies in areas such as education and health.
-The success of the telecommunications sector so far had been limited more or
-less to the urban areas. Over the last few years, however, the Government as well as
-private players have been making a concentrated attempt to replicate the success
-achieved in urban areas to the newer markets of rural India. While voice service
-has traditionally been the key driver for the development of the sector, the industry
-is now at the threshold of the next big shift and is poised to drive growth through
-other avenues. Broadband connectivity is likely to open up newer markets while at
-the same time improve the social and economic conditions of the lower pentrated
-states. Mobile VAS is expected to benefit all sections of society with relevant content
-being developed to enhance business, provide financial assistance, and promote
-education and healthcare for the masses. The relatively newer industries of telecom
-manufacturing and research and development bring with them a plethora of
-employment opportunities for all.
-While celebrating the success in the telecom sector, the Government recognizes
+[[Category:Bangladesh|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
-the fact that there is no room for complacency. The Government recognizes the
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
-need to take a forward-look approach, based on an appreciation of changing
+[[Category:Bhutan|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
-technologies and accelerate structural changes in this sector in line with trends in
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
-other countries to ensure that the telecommunication services are not only made
+[[Category:Development|T TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
-available on the scale needed to sustain rapid growth in the economy as a whole
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
-but also that the quality and cost of these services come up to the requirements of a
+[[Category:Economy-Industry-Resources|T TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
-modernizing economy.
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
+[[Category:Government|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
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+[[Category:India|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
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+[[Category:Pages with broken file links|TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
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+[[Category:Pakistan|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
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+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
-The Government is now looking forward to achieve the target of 600 million
+=See also=
-telephone subscribers by the end of Eleventh Plan.
+[[Telecommunications, India: 1]]
-Rural telephoney continues to be thrust area of the Government; it is recognized
+[[Telecommunications 2: Indian government data ]]
-that provision of affordable telecom services in rural areas enhances the ability of
-people to participate in market economy, which in turn improves their productivity
-and contributes to their earning. It is therefore, proposed to achieve rural teledensity
-of 25 per cent by means of 200 million rural connections at the end of 11th Plan. In
-view of the present growth, 40 per cent rural teledensity is expected by 2014.
-Recognizing the potential of Boardband services in the growth process, it has
+[[Cell/ Mobile phones: India]]
-been proposed in the Eleventh Plan targets to provide the broadband for all
-secondary and higher secondary schools, all public health care centres and Gram
-Panchayats. It is also envisaged that internet and broad-band subscribers will
-increase to 40 million and 20 million, respectively, by 2010.
-The Government has a vision to provide telephone connection and broadband
+[[Category:Bangladesh|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
-facilities on demand across the country and at an affordable price and it strives to
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
-achieve the same.
+[[Category:Bhutan|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
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+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
+[[Category:Economy-Industry-Resources|T TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
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+[[Category:Government|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
+[[Category:India|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
+[[Category:Pages with broken file links|TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
+[[Category:Pakistan|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]
+[[Category:Sri Lanka|TTELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1
+TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INDIA: 1]]

Telecommunications, India: 1

Latest revision as of 21:00, 13 January 2023

Contents

[edit] Business

[edit] 2019: crisis threatens survival of most operators

[edit] CAG report: 2006-10

[edit] ‘Call drops’

[edit] 2015

[edit] 2016: No cellular operator meets call-drop cutoff

[edit] Coverage, tele-density

[edit] 2014: 8.8% villages lack coverage

[edit] 2018: Poorer circles have more active users

[edit] Tele-density

[edit] 2020

[edit] Inter-connect usage charges

[edit] 30p in 2004> 6p in 2017

[edit] Data

[edit] 2014-18: Indians use 8GB data/month

[edit] 2017: Indian telcos carry most data in world

[edit] 2016-18: voice usage and revenues

[edit] 2018: Indians used 12 times more data than in 2015

[edit] 2014-20: data usage per person rises 43 times

[edit] 2019: 11.7GB a month

[edit] Legal aspects/ Superior court judgements

[edit] Call registry/ do-not-call registry

[edit] 2008: SC asks govt to bar unregistered telemarketers from operating

[edit] Privacy: right is primary, SC

[edit] Licence fee

[edit] 2019: Telecom firms owe govt. over ₹92,642 cr

[edit] SC asks them to pay ₹92,000cr to Centre

[edit] Market share/ Subscriber growth

[edit] 2013

[edit] … and Airtel

[edit] 2014: BSNL share

[edit] 2014: An increasing use of data than voice calls

[edit] RCom, Aircel dial merger/ 2016

[edit] September 2016: Landline connections

[edit] 2017/ Vodafone- Idea merger: India’s no.1, world’s no.2

[edit] 2017/ Market controlled by local heavyweights

[edit] 2017: profits, revenues plunge

[edit] 2017: Indians get most spam in the world

[edit] Market share, subscribers, profit-loss-debt

[edit] 2018-19: Jio ahead of Voda-Idea

[edit] Q1 of FY19 and 20

[edit] SIM cards

[edit] SC: Link SIMs to users' Aadhaar IDs

[edit] Spam calls

[edit] 2019/ India drops to 5th spot

[edit] Spectrum access and investment: India and the world

[edit] 2011, 2015

[edit] Speed

[edit] 2017: Access to 4G, speed

[edit] 2019: Indian operators’ speed, 4G, latency

[edit] Tariffs

[edit] 2013-16: decline in data prices

[edit] 2014, monthly phone usage cost: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka

[edit] 2016, %age of revenue from service: Airtel, Vodafone and Idea

[edit] 2018: India has cheapest mobile data in world

[edit] 2022: India 3rd cheapest

[edit] Towers and the law

[edit] SC shuts down tower because man claims it gave him cancer

[edit] 5G

[edit] Launched in 2022

[edit] See also

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