FinMin spikes BSNL revival plan; no VRS, free 4G spectrum: report

The union finance ministry has rejected the Nripendra Misra committee report on plans to revive state-owned telecom operators BSNL and MTNL, including plans for a Rs 8,500 cr VRS package and ‘free’ 4G spectrum, Malayalam newspaper Mathrubhumi reported, quoting sources. The report, if correct, would make the condition of the state-owned telecom player precarious as […]

Kerala Electricity Board to offer free fiber internet

Kerala State Electricity Board, the public sector power distribution monopoly that is used by major broadband operators to hang their cables, has decided to start a fiber-to-the-home service on its own. The service, to be called K Fone, will also include a free-tier, which will come with limited data allowance and will be provided to […]

Nila Infra gets first contract from Dholera Industrial City

Construction major Nila Infrastructures Limited said it has received a contract to build a public services building for Dholera Industrial City Development Limited (Dholera ICDL) at a cost of Rs 46.21 cr. The building, to be constructed in the Dholera Special Investment Region (Dholera SIR), has to be completed in 545 days, and is the […]

Sterlite Tech offers ‘intelligent network’ solution for fiber broadband players

Pune-based networking component manufacturer & servic provider Sterlite Technologies Ltd has unveiled an advanced and open standards-based software-based networking solution for fiber-based broadband providers. “With the programmable FTTx announcement, STL becomes one of very few companies in the world to have a software-defined network (SDN) solution for access connectivity,” it said. SHIFT TO SMART NETWORKS […]

Vodafone Idea starts Kerala roll out of Turbonet 4G from Kochi

Vodafone Idea, the biggest telecom operator in Kerala, has started rolling out its faster, integrated 4G service in the state, beginning with Kochi. Back in July, the company had put up posters in recharge outlets in the state promising that a faster, more powerful 4G service will be launched in August. However, the company has […]

Zee completes sale of 8.7% stake to Invesco Oppenheimer

Zee Essel Group today said it has completed the sale of 8.7% of its crown jewel, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, to US-based Invesco Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund as per a plan announced in July. The remaining 2.3% stake that is to be transferred to the fund will also be sold in the “next few days”, the […]

Discovery Communications opposes equal treatment to all cable/DTH players

Discovery Communications, the country’s most popular provider of reality-based television programming, has come out strongly against TRAI’s current rule that requires channel owners to treat all cable and DTH operators equally. Media regulator TRAI had earlier this year implemented Tariff Order of 2017, under which broadcasters like Discovery, Zee and Star have to offer channels […]

Tata Sky slashes monthly charge under TRAI tariff scheme

Tata Sky, a premium satellite TV provider in India, has unveiled a scheme by which heavy customers can bring down their monthly network fee by up to Rs 300. However, to get the lower network charge — also known as network capacity fee or NCF — a subscriber must buy some television channels picked by […]

JIO FIBER tariff plans unveiled; slightly costlier than expected

Reliance Jio has unveiled detailed prepaid tariff plans for its Jio Fiber broadband-cum-IPTV service. The plans start at Rs 699 per month (Rs 825 including 18% GST) for 100 GB and go and go all the way up to Rs 8,499. On the face of it, the plans are slightly more expensive than most people […]

Ashok Leyland gets BSVI certifications for its heavy trucks

Ashok Leyland, flagship of the Hinduja Group, said it has received BS-VI emission norm certificates for all its heavy duty truck, ahead of the April 1 deadline for the switch over to the new fuel and emission standard. All of the company’s trucks with a rating of 16.2 tons or above have received certificates from […]

Can Airtel Xstream’s open approach beat Jio’s walled garden?

When cellular telephony started in India, Bharti and Reliance took two divergent approaches towards launching cellular services — Airtel decided to focus on providing the services, leaving third party players to provide the hardware, while Reliance decided went with CDMA, a technology in which everything was more tightly controlled. Despite the obvious technological shortcomings of […]

Hero MotoCorp, Tata Motors, Royal Enfield posts sharp falls in August auto sales

Hero MotoCorp, Tata Motors and Royal Enfield have reported sharp declines for their August 2019 auto sales. While Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer by volumes, reported a 21% fall in August sales to 5.43 lakhs, Royal Enfield reported a 24% decline and Tata Motors reported a 48% fall. Hero MotoCorp’s numbers indicated an […]

Discovery sues TRAI again over latest move to cut TV channel prices

Discovery Communications, India’s biggest provider of infotainment content, has taken broadcasting regulator TRAI to the Delhi High Court for the second time in three years for trying to bring down prices of individual TV channels. TRAI had earlier this month announced a move to force channel owners to bring the prices of their individual channels […]

L&T Mitsubishi wins large order for Khurja Super Thermal Power Plant

Larsen & Toubro said L&T-MHPS Boilers Private Ltd (LMB), one of the company’s joint ventures with Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, won a thermal power project order worth Rs 2,500-5,000 cr from the UP government. The order, from THDC India Limited – a joint venture of Government of India and Government of Uttar Pradesh – is […]

TRAI asks Den, GTPL to let consumers to change their packs

Media regulator TRAI has shot off letters to most of the top cable TV feed providers in India, asking them to allow users to change their packs, and ensure that their business partners provide itemized billing to customers and pay tax to the government. It, however, remains to be seen how cable feed providers are […]

Reliance Jio will be 70% bigger than Airtel, Vod-Idea in 3 years-India Ratings

Reliance Jio, the start-up telecom operator, will become 70% bigger than current market leaders Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel in India in three years, India Ratings said. By FY22, Reliance Jio will have cornered 43.2% of the Indian telecom revenues, while Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel will have to be content with 25.4% each, the […]