Reliance Jio was the only net gainer adding 84.45 lakh subscribers in August, while other telecom operators including Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea were on the losing side, a report by regulator Trai showed on Friday.
Telecom regulator Trai on Thursday said customers will not be able to submit requests for mobile number portability between November 4-10, during the switch-over period to the new and simpler port-out regime which comes into effect from November 11.
Jio users will now be charged 6 paise per minute for voice calls made to rival phone networks. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio has taken the decision forced by regulatory uncertainty over review of sunset clause for call termination charges. However, the company will also compensate the customers by giving them free data of equal value.
Telecom regulator Trai has extended, to November 11, the deadline for implementation of new mobile number portability rules for consumers wanting to switch to a new operator without changing their mobile number.
Telecom regulator Trai has sought public views on increasing the digits in a mobile phone number to 11 from 10 at present as one of the options to address rising demand for telecom connections in line with growing population.
A telecom operator pays for connecting calls of its subscribers to the company on whose network a call is made. Currently, an operator is required to pay 6 paise per minute as mobile call termination charges, called interconnect usage charges (IUC), which is proposed to be made nil from January 1, 2020.
The regulator on Friday hit out at the broadcasters and said the lack of any caps on discounts offered on bouquets, compared to a-la-carte channel pricing, is being "misused to throttle market discovery of TV channel prices, by giving huge discounts on the bouquets."
The telecom regulator is not allowed to modify its previously recommended penalty on Vodafone India and Idea Cellular (now merged) and Bharti Airtel as it is bound by the provisions of Trai Act, according to a senior Trai official.
A day after Trai held its ground on spectrum pricing, Broadband India Forum (BIF) on Tuesday said it firmly believes spectrum prices recommended by the telecom regulator are "extremely high" with potential to dampen 5G plans, and urged policymakers to take a calibrated view on the issue.
Sources in TRAI said that a holistic view should be taken on the pricing of 5G spectrum and the prospective business opportunities it offers, which it has done in its current spectrum recommendations, thereby indicating that there may not be much scope for any further revision of price from its side.
Telecom regulator Trai Monday floated consultation paper on Indian Railways' demand for free allocation of 15 megahertz spectrum in premium frequency band, valued at Rs 98,520 crore, to enhance security and passenger amenities.
The government is working on a framework to allow shopkeepers, restaurant and other small businessmen to retail WiFi services on a model similar to yesteryears public calling booths, a top official said on Thursday.
While Digital Communications Commission (DCC) approved imposing penalty on the companies, it disagreed with a proposal of one of the secretaries to fine Reliance Jio as it "too failed to deliver quality service to customers".
The apex decision making body at the Telecom Department Thursday decided to refer to TRAI for reconsideration the recommendations on spectrum auction amid industry's concerns on pricing.
Broadcast regulator TRAI Friday said it is examining possible solutions for achieving TV Set-Top-Box (STB) interoperability, and expects to make headway with industry involvement by the end of this year.
This is being done in view of the Supreme Court earlier judgement that all natural resources be sold through auction only. The regulator will now examine whether government controlled entities could be exception to the rule set by the apex court.
Sharma, who was involved in development of Aadhaar, said that the Supreme Court after lot of deliberations held there is no threat to individual privacy from Aadhaar and despite this judgement many people continue to debate on Aadhaar.
The service providers have been issued show-cause notice to explain their position including reasons for non-compliance.
The new pricing policy is aimed at bringing in transparency and empowering the audience who were earlier offered packs by DTH and cable operators without much choice.
The new tariff regime for cable and DTH TV services, which mandate consumers to select channels of their choice -- either individual channels or bouquets -- came into effect on February 1.
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