Airtel deploys Ciena software to optimize its core network ahead of 5G, FTTH

Bharti Airtel, one of India’s top three telecom operators, said it has chosen US-based Ciena to supply the core technology on which its countrywide optical backbone will be managed. The adoption of technology from Ciena — one of the original dotcom-era startups — will help Airtel adapt to the new age of 5G and fiber-to-the-home, […]

Infosys pays Rs 34.35 lakh to SEBI over severance to Rajiv Bansal

Infosys said it has paid Rs 34.35 lakh to settle the investigation into the incident of the company paying over Rs 17 cr as severance pay to Rajiv Bansal, who resigned as its finance head in October 2015. There have been allegations, including from the side of founder Narayana Murthy, that everything was not well […]

TRAI RULES: Republic TV biggest gainer; Hindi entertainment channels biggest losers

Free-to-air English news channels like Republic TV and Al Jazeera have got a massive boost in their reach, while paid Hindi entertainment and movie channels have seen the biggest drop in reach after the implementation of the new TRAI tariff scheme, according to data from Chrome Data Analytics & Media, one of the world’s largest […]

Airtel launches 4G on ‘Band 8’ in Mumbai to boost indoor coverage

Bharti Airtel has deployed LTE on 900 MHz band, which has the ability to pass through walls and other obstacles much better than other 4G bands. With this, customers with handsets that support this frequency will see an improvement in 4G signal levels. This is expected to be very beneficial for voice usage. It should, […]

Prepoll survey predicts sweep for Congress in Kerala as Sabarimala hurts Left

One of the biggest and first pre-election surveys held in Kerala has pointed to strong gains made by the United Democratic Alliance led by the Congress, and the National Democratic Alliance led by BJP due to the Sabarimala controversy. Even as the Left Front was riding high on a wave of popularity before the Sabarimala […]

Tata Sky Case: Delhi High Court pulls up TRAI for modifying roll-out plan midway

Delhi High Court, hearing a challenge by DTH and cable companies against TRAI’s new tariff scheme, today expressed its displeasure over regulator modifying tariff roll-out process of the new tariff system without even informing the court. Chief Justice Rajendra Menon asked the regulator to file an affidavit within a week explaining the latest changes to […]

Bad news for cable, DTH players: TRAI says long-duration packs must continue

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India today set the cat among the pigeons among cable and DTH operators by saying that customers should be given the option of continuing with their long duration packs if they so desire. This has potential negative implications for all operators, including Tata Sky, D2h and Airtel Digital, as all […]

Vodafone Idea users to get faster 4G this year

Customers of Vodafone and Idea networks will notice an improvement in their 4G experience in coming weeks, especially in areas like Mumbai and Delhi, as the company starts deploying massive amounts of cash to improve the networks in such areas. The network improvement will be done via several methods — by deploying extra spectrum, technological […]

Why Mayawati, not Rahul Gandhi, is Congress’ real PM candidate for 2019

With India’s general elections only weeks away, a large section of ‘secular’ voters in India are learning to live with Rahul Gandhi as their most viable bet for a non-Modi prime minister. However, a deeper look, along with recent experience, suggests that it is Mayawati, not Rahul Gandhi, who has everything going for her to […]

Mukesh Ambani: Reliance Jio To “Shortly Launch” E-Commerce Venture With 3 Cr Sellers

Even as Amazon and Flipkart find their business models crippled by new changes in the law, India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani announced that his upcoming e-commerce venture will partner with 3 cr sellers, making it the biggest such platform in the country by number of sellers. “Jio and Reliance Retail will shortly launch a unique […]

RBI fines UCO Bank over fraud reporting

The Reserve Bank of India has fined the UCO Bank for discrepancies in complying with the central bank’s norms on classifying and reporting frauds and on collection of account payee instruments, the bank said. “..the Reserve Bank of India..under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 imposed a penalty of Rs 2.00 crore for non-compliance of instructions […]

Would-be acquirers behind Zee Entertainment rumors?

Punit Goenka, the CEO and MD of Zee Entertainment Enterprises and part of the promoter group of the company, said recent controversies involving the promoters have not affected the determination of the promoters to find the right strategic partner for the media company. Goenka was responding to questions of whether international companies have been unnerved […]

4G PRICES: Vodafone takes off gloves in fight with Reliance Jio

With a long and painful process of merger with Idea Cellular over, Vodafone India has started has begun slashing its 4G prices and has dislodged new entrant Reliance Jio as India’s cheapest 4G provider. Vodafone Idea, which has been bleeding millions of customers every month in the face of relentless competition, has slashed the price […]

RCom gives up on lender talks, to file for bankruptcy proceedings

Anil Ambani Group’s Reliance Communications has given up on reaching a debt resolution plan acceptable to all its lenders and has decided to start bankruptcy proceedings at the Mumbai National Company Law Appellate Tribunal. The original plan, unveiled in 2017, envisaged a step-by-step asset sale process through which the company planned to raise tens of […]

Zee Entertainment confirms talks for stake sale, no buyer identified

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, the country’s largest listed media company, confirmed that its promoter is in talks to sell a part of its stake in the company, but also said that the talks are still ongoing. “Promoters have been in discussions/negotiations with various prospective investors,” the broadcasting company said. “The Company is not in a […]

TDSAT refuses to intervene in TRAI’s channel pricing rules

Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal, the appellate body for resolving industry disputes in the telecom and broadcasting sector, today refused to expeditiously direct the TRAI to implement the 85:100 rule to bring down the prices of individual television channels. TDSAT refused an early hearing in a case filed by cable operator Fastway Transmissions, which […]

TRAI TARIFF ORDER: Calcutta High Court lifts stay, gives breather to LCOs

The Calcutta High Court has vacated the stay it imposed on the implementation of the new tariff scheme by TRAI, even as it gave extra time for cable operators to negotiate a deal with their feed suppliers. The stay was imposed two days ago after cable operators said that the new rules would hurt them […]