TRAI refuses to postpone tariff order implementation

The Indian broadcast and telecom regulator TRAI has refused to postpone the implementation of the amended tariff order on television channel pricing in court. The Bombay High Court had, on Wednesday, asked TRAI to state whether it was open to pushing back the date for the implementation of the amended tariff order by one month […]

BSNL to launch Fiber-WiFi, IPTV service in Kerala tomorrow

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, the state-owned telecom operator, will launch WiFi-based Fiber broadband connections in Kerala tomorrow, starting with the Kochi business area. This will be the first time that BSNL is offering last-mile connectivity over Wifi under its fiber broadband service. So far, BSNL has been giving fiber broadband connections only in those locations […]

BSNL offers unlimited data for 1 year for FTTH upgrade in Kerala

State-owned telecom operator BSNL has unveiled a new promotional offer under which it will give unlimited data to landline and DSL customers willing to upgrade to its fiber-to-the-home service Bharat Fiber in Kerala. The plan, called CS340, entitles the user to unlimited data at 1 Mbps for 1 year on payment of Rs 1,200 (Rs […]

Bombay HC asks TRAI if it can defer price cuts by 1 month

Bombay High Court today asked Telecom Regulatory Authority of India if it was willing to postpone the implementation of the amended TV channel pricing regulations by one month. This follows a change in the bench hearing a petition against the new rules filed by some industry stakeholders, including Indian Broadcasting Foundation. The judges who have […]

Hathway, Den to launch advanced, dual-tuner set-top-box

Reliance Jio, India’s largest telecom and cable company, has placed an order of around 5 lakh advanced set-top-boxes with Dixon Technologies, including those for deployment on Hathway and Den’s cable networks. Unlike the IPTV-enabled set-top-boxes being rolled out as part of the Jio Fiber network, many of these STBs sourced from Dixon are not meant […]

Jio reduces validity of long-term plans to 11 months

Reliance Jio, India’s largest telecom operator, has reduced the validity of its long-term recharges from 1 year to 11 months. Other operators continue to offer 1 year validity for their yearly plans. Jio used to offer two yearly plans – one priced at Rs 2,020 and another priced at Rs 1,299. The costlier plan was […]

Vodafone Idea cannot pay AGR dues – India Ratings

India Ratings, a unit of Fitch Group, downgraded the credit rating of Vodafone Idea and said it doesn’t see how the company can pay the money sought by the Department of Telecom as directed by the Supreme Court. A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra has asked companies such as Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel […]

AGR DUES: Why Vodafone Idea shutdown is unlikely

Vodafone Idea, one of the top telecom operators in India, is likely to deposit Rs 2,500 cr towards the demands raised by the Department of Telecom related to revenue share under India’s telecom license rules, according to industry sources. The company has been served with a total demand of over Rs 53,000 cr. Meanwhile, Bharti […]

Shutdown fears? Vodafone Idea is still expanding

Even as shares of Vodafone Idea tanked 17% over fears that the company may shut down or file for bankruptcy, the latest numbers posted by the company show that it continues to invest in its network. The correction in the stock price followed a renewed warning yesterday that the company may not be able to […]

TARIFF ORDER: TRAI sends reminder on Mar 1 deadline to cable/DTH operators, channels

Broadcast regulator TRAI has sent a letter to all broadcasters, cable and DTH firms reminding them to take “preparatory activities” ahead of regulatory and pricing changes from March 1. From that day, no channel priced above Rs 12 will be allowed to be sold as part of a package. Cable and DTH firms will also […]

Jio’s 6 paise charge led to massive shift in customers to Airtel

Reliance Jio’s decision to charge 6 paise per minute for outgoing calls to other networks had a massive impact on consumer behavior, according to indications from Bharti Airtel’s numbers and management commentary. Jio had, on October 9, announced that it was withdrawing all plans that came with free minutes to non-Jio networks, and from then […]

Who will get ISRO’s new capacity- Sun, Dish or Tata Sky?

Television enthusiasts in India are eagerly waiting to see which DTH provider will benefit from the recent launch of two powerful satellites by the Indian Space Research Organization or ISRO. The two satellites — called GSAT-30 and GSAT-31 — have been launched over the last 12 months. Originally, GSAT-30 was supposed to be placed in […]

Javadekar supports changes to TRAI tariff order

The recent changes made to the TV channel pricing rules of India by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to the tariff order on January 1 are targeted at dealing with the problems faced by the consumer and balancing the interests of various industry participants, Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar said today. The […]

Airtel keen for a second round of price increase

Bharti Airtel, the former No.1 telecom operator in India, said it is keen on having a second round of price increases in the year starting April, but can do it only if the rest of the industry follows suit. Airtel said it needs to get more money from its customers to ensure that its investors […]

BSNL asks for 5G spectrum from the Govt

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, which is in the middle of a massive turnaround program, has officially asked the government for the allotment of 5G spectrum, according to Sanjay Dhotre, junior minister for communications, Government of India. “Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has requested DoT to assign spectrum for 5G services on Pan India basis (except […]

Reliance blocks sideloading of third-party Android apps on Jio Fiber box

Reliance Jio, the country’s largest telecom operator, has started blocking the ‘sideloading’ of third-party Android apps on its Jio Fiber set top boxes. The operator had recently introduced Android Pie-based fiber set top boxes for its users over the last few weeks, and subscribers soon realized that the box came with two key assets that […]

TRAI TARIFF RULES: Tata Sky, Dish, others to announce new plans today

India’s major cable and DTH companies, such as Tata Sky, Airtel Digital, Dish TV, Hathway and GTPL, are likely to unveil new plans and TV channel packs today under TRAI’s amended tariff order. According to the amended tariff order — which has not been stayed by any court so far — all distribution platforms (cable […]