📶 Mobile network operators - Discussion Thread 📶

[BangaloreaN]

Budget allocates Rs 1.28 trn for telecom ministry; BSNL to get Rs 82,916 cr

Of the total proposed allocation, over Rs 1 trillion is meant for BSNL and MTNL-related expenses, including Rs 82,916 crore infusion in BSNL for technology upgradation and restructuring at BSNL



The Government Has Proposed To Allocate Rs 3,668.97 Crore For Payment Of Principal Amount Of MTNL Bonds.

The government has proposed the allocation of Rs 1.28 trillion for telecom projects and public sector firms under the telecom ministry with a majority of funds earmarked for state-owned BSNL.
Of the total proposed allocation, over Rs 1 trillion is meant for BSNL and MTNL-related expenses, including Rs 82,916 crore infusion in BSNL for technology upgradation and restructuring at BSNL.

"The total net allocation for this demand in BE (Budget Estimate) 2024-25 is Rs 1,28,915.43 crore (Rs 1,11,915.43 crore plus Rs 17,000 crore). The additional provision of Rs 17,000 crore is met from the balances available under Universal Service Obligation Fund and will be utilised for schemes viz., Compensation to Telecom Service Providers, Bharatnet and Research and Development," the budget document said.

The budget has proposed to allocate Rs 17,510 crore for pensionary benefits of the employees of the Department of Telecommunications, including employees absorbed in Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and employees of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd with effect from April 1, 2014.

The government has proposed to allocate Rs 3,668.97 crore for payment of principal amount of MTNL bonds.
The budget has made provision of Rs 34.46 crore for Technology Development and Investment Promotion, Rs 70 crore for Champion Service Sector Scheme and Rs 1,806.34 crore for Production Linked Incentive Scheme.

Besides the allocation, the government has proposed to increase import duty on motherboards, technically called printed circuit boards, by 5 per cent in the Union Budget 2024-25 to boost domestic telecom gear manufacturing.
"To incentivise domestic manufacturing, I propose to increase the BCD (Basic Customs Duty) from 10 per cent to 15 per cent on PCBA (printed circuit board assembly) of specified telecom equipment," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

The increase in basic customs duty for telecom PCB assembly comes with the exemption of critical minerals that are used in the manufacturing of communication equipment.
The finance minister proposed to fully exempt 25 minerals, such as lithium, copper, cobalt and rare earth elements, which are critical for sectors like nuclear energy, renewable energy, space, defence, telecommunications and high-tech electronics from customs duties and reduce basic customs duty on two of them.
"This will provide a major fillip to the processing and refining of such minerals and help secure their availability for these strategic and important sectors," Sitharaman said.
GX Group CEO Paritosh Prajapati said that the increased BCD on PCB assembly for telecom equipment supports local manufacturers and lowers costs for telecom OEMs (original equipment manufacturers). This development will invigorate the industry with renewed energy and confidence.

GX Group is one of the beneficiaries of the telecom PLI scheme.
Deloitte India, Partner and TMT industry leader Peeyush Vaish said an increase in BCD will boost domestic manufacturing of telecom equipment and it would have been more beneficial if the reduction was put in place two years ago when massive 5G deployment was happening in the country.

[BangaloreaN]

പോകുന്നിടത്തെല്ലാം വീട്ടിലെ വൈഫൈ; ബി.എസ്.എൻ.എൽ. ഇനി ‘സർവത്ര’

ടെലികോം രംഗത്തെ വിപ്ലവപദ്ധതി ട്രയല്*റണ്* കഴിഞ്ഞു, ആദ്യഘട്ടംതന്നെ കേരളത്തിൽ നടപ്പാക്കും



പത്തനംതിട്ട: വീട്ടിലെ ഫൈബർ കണക്ഷനിൽ കിട്ടുന്ന അതിവേഗ ഇന്റർനെറ്റ് വീടുവിട്ട് പുറത്തുപോകുമ്പോഴും വൈഫൈ ആയി കിട്ടാവുന്ന സംവിധാനം ബി.എസ്.എൻ.എൽ. കേരളത്തിൽ തുടങ്ങുന്നു. ‘സർവത്ര’ എന്ന പേരിൽ അവതരിപ്പിക്കുന്ന ഈ പദ്ധതി ടെലികോം രംഗത്തെ വിപ്ലവമായിമാറുമെന്നാണ് വിലയിരുത്തൽ. ട്രയൽ റൺ പൂർത്തിയായി. കേരളമുൾപ്പെടെയുള്ള സംസ്ഥാനങ്ങളിലാണ് ആദ്യം നടപ്പാക്കുക.

ബി.എസ്.എൻ.എലിന്റെ ചെയർമാനും മാനേജിങ് ഡയറക്ടറുമായ റോബർട്ട് ജെ. രവി മുന്നോട്ടുവെച്ച ആശയമാണ് ഇന്ത്യയിലെ ഗ്രാമങ്ങളിലേക്ക് ‘സർവത്ര’യായി എത്തുന്നത്. മൊബൈൽ ഡേറ്റയ്ക്കുവേണ്ടി ചെലവാകുന്ന തുക വലിയതോതിൽ കുറയ്ക്കാനാകുമെന്നതാണ് പ്രത്യേകത.


‘സർവത്ര’ ഇങ്ങനെ

വീട്ടിലോ സ്ഥാപനത്തിലോ എടുത്തിട്ടുള്ള ബി.എസ്.എൻ.എലിന്റെ ഫൈബർ ടു ദ ഹോം (എഫ്.ടി.ടി.എച്ച്.) ആണ് പദ്ധതിയുടെ അടിസ്ഥാനം

ഈ കണക്ഷനിലെ ഇന്റർനെറ്റ് ബി.എസ്.എൻ.എലിന്റെ മറ്റൊരു ഫൈബർ ടു ദ ഹോം കണക്ഷനുള്ള സ്ഥലത്തുപയോഗിക്കാം. ‘സർവത്ര’യുടെ പോർട്ടലിൽ രജിസ്റ്റർചെയ്യുന്ന എഫ്.ടി.ടി.എച്ച്. കണക്ഷനുകളിലൂടെയാണ് ഇത് സാധ്യമാകുക.

രജിസ്റ്റർചെയ്യുമ്പോൾ കണക്ഷനുകൾ ‘സർവത്ര എനേബിൾഡ്’ ആയിമാറും. പരമാവധി കണക്ഷനുകൾ രജിസ്റ്റർചെയ്യാൻ ബി.എസ്.എൻ.എൽ. അഭ്യർഥിക്കും.

‘സർവത്ര എനേബിൾഡ്’ ആണെങ്കിൽ രണ്ടാമത്തെ കണക്ഷന്റെ വൈഫൈ പാസ് വേഡോ യൂസർ ഐ.ഡി.യോ അറിയേണ്ട കാര്യവുമില്ല.


ഒരു വെർച്വൽ ടവർ ആയിട്ടാകും സർവത്ര പോർട്ടൽ പ്രവർത്തിക്കുക.

സുരക്ഷ ഉറപ്പ്

മറ്റൊരു മോഡം ഒരു സഞ്ചാരപാതയായി മാത്രം ഉപയോഗിക്കുന്നതിനാൽ സൈബർ സുരക്ഷയുടെ കാര്യത്തിൽ ആശങ്കവേണ്ട. സർവത്രയുടെ സേവനങ്ങൾ കൃത്യമാക്കാൻ ‘വൺ നോക്’ എന്ന സംവിധാനം 24 മണിക്കൂറും പ്രവർത്തിക്കും.

[BangaloreaN]

Amid reports of ‘cyber slavery’, telecom ministry to disconnect 2.17 crore mobile connections

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) said it has taken several measures to effectively implement Know Your Customer (KYC) for the procurement of SIM cards.



In May, the telecom operators were directed by DoT to block all incoming international spoofed calls that display Indian mobile numbers. (Representational)The Union Ministry of Telecommunications has informed the Centre’s high-level inter-ministerial panel it will disconnect around 2.17 crore mobile connections, that are either taken on forged documents or misused in cybercrime, and also block 2.26 lakh mobile handsets.
Earlier this month, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is learnt to have shared the data at a meeting held by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) with the officials of Bureau of Immigration, Financial Intelligence Unit, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity), National Investigation Agency (NIA), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), security experts of other agencies, and senior officials of all states and Union Territories.

On March 28, The Indian Express reported that more than 5,000 Indians were suspected to be trapped in Cambodia after being allegedly held against their will, and forced to carry out cyber frauds. According to government estimates, Indians had been duped of at least Rs 500 crore in the six months before March this year. The Centre had then set up the inter-ministerial panel to look into the issue and identify the loopholes. The panel is learnt to have identified gaps in the banking, immigration, and telecom sectors.
In the meeting, which lasted for around three hours, DoT said it has taken several measures to effectively implement Know Your Customer (KYC) for the procurement of SIM cards. “They are also disconnecting around 2.17 crore mobile connections, that are either taken on fake/forged documents, more than prescribed limit or misused in cyber-crime/financial frauds. They are also blocking 2.26 lakh mobile handsets,” said a source in the security establishment.
In May, the telecom operators were directed by DoT to block all incoming international spoofed calls that display Indian mobile numbers. “The telecom ministry has also informed that now 35 per cent of incoming international calls are being dropped and it will be fully implemented by December 31 this year,” the source said.


DoT said in the meeting that to identify roaming phone numbers in scam compounds in the Southeast Asia region, all the telecom service providers (TSPs) have been asked to provide data every week for Indian mobile numbers, which are under roaming facility in Hong Kong, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, and Myanmar. “As per information received from the DoT, the total number of Indian SIM cards roaming in the Southeast Asia region is more than 6 lakh for the duration of April-June of this year. More than 1.4 lakh point of sale (PoS) agents are involved in selling these SIM cards across India. All the States/UTs police were requested to take appropriate legal action against these PoS agents allegedly involved with such sale of Indian SIMs, which is further used in scam compounds in Southeast Asia,” the source said.
Analysis of data by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), a division of MHA, had found an increase in the number of cyber crimes targeting Indians — about 45 per cent were found to originate from the Southeast Asia region. Around 1 lakh cyber complaints have been registered with the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal since January 2023.

The Indian Express reported earlier the victims are sent to South East Asian countries after being told they would get “lucrative” data entry jobs, and are then forced to carry out cyber frauds. Some of the rescued men told The Indian Express that after they were sent to these countries, their passports would be taken away. The men were then employed by these “scamming companies”, to create fake social media accounts, using photos of women, to lure people to invest in a cryptocurrency app or fraud investment funds. As soon as some of these people invested, they would be “ghosted” by stopping all communication or “blocked”.

[BangaloreaN]

BSNL drops 'India' for 'Bharat', launches 7 new services in major rebrand



New Delhi: The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), a public sector undertaking under the ownership of the Department of Telecommunications, on Tuesday launched a slew of new offerings and initiatives, ranging from spam blockers to automated SIM kiosks and direct-to-device services, as the firm vowed to proactively woo subscribers and claw back market share. Sporting a brand new logo, the telecom service provider removed 'India' from its tagline and replaced it with 'Connecting Bharat'.
BSNL also introduced low-latency 5G connectivity for mining operations in partnership with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC), leveraging Made-in-India equipment and its technological expertise. Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia launched 7 new services of the telco, PTI reported.
Meanwhile, sources said that the telecom corporation is shifting to a higher gear to grab market share, with a game plan that includes the commercial launch of 4G services in the coming months.
Sources said the state-owned telco is also shaping asset monetisation plans, using an innovative multi-pronged approach that may include identifying land for 'data warehousing' and using the last leg as Mobile Edge Computing.

The telecom firm, which currently trails private sector counterparts in market share, will announce a 5G NAAS tender for Delhi and Mumbai by next week.
This will enable a 5G high-speed network on a hotspot basis and offer true 5G. BSNL's financing model will be based on 'Network-as-a-service'. The trials will be first conducted in Delhi and Mumbai.
Meanwhile, BSNL's initiatives unveiled on Tuesday include spam-blocking solutions that automatically filter out phishing attempts and malicious SMS and aim to create a safer communication environment for its users.
Automated SIM kiosks allow users to purchase, upgrade, port or replace SIMs on a 24/7 basis, leveraging UPI or QR-enabled payments with seamless KYC integration and multi-lingual access.


India's first direct-to-device connectivity solution converges satellite and terrestrial mobile networks to deliver "reliable connectivity", a release said, adding that the technology is particularly useful in emergency situations and isolated regions. It can even enable UPI payments in such areas.
BSNL has also launched wifi roaming services for its Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) customers, enabling high-speed internet access at the telco's hotspots at no extra charge - in its process of minimising data costs for users.
The telco also announced a fibre-based intranet TV service with 500-plus live channels and Pay TV through its FTTH network. This service would be accessible to all BSNL FTTH subscribers without additional charges. The data used for TV viewing would not be consuming the FTTH data pack.
"BSNL has been a flagship enterprise of the government, a flagship enterprise that represents aspirations, dreams and expectations of every single citizen of our country," Scindia said while unveiling the new services and new logo of BSNL.

BSNL has been serving the interest of people achieving various milestones year after year, Scindia said, exuding confidence that "as the landscape has become competitive and consolidated" BSNL "will rise to new challenges".
The telco has come up with its own 4G telecom stack, which will soon migrate to even 5G, Scindia said, terming it a huge accomplishment for India.
"Our hope is that BSNL will always be at the forefront of tech innovation," he said.
The minister said that BSNL will have 1,00,000 4G sites by mid-next year and graduate some of those sites to 5G by that timeline too.
"And in the last six months, since the beginning of the roll-out of 4G...we have not even completed the rollout of 4G yet....from 75 lakh subscribers in March 2024, we have now gone to 1.8 crore subscribers, almost 2.5 times in a matter of six months, whereas we have rolled out and fiberised only 38,000 towers out of one lakh towers," the minister said, adding that the amount of data that has increased in 4G traffic is almost 7 fold in this period.
Robert Ravi, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, said the telco is not looking to increase tariffs in the near future.
BSNL is looking to fully focus on consumer experience, and gain subscriber confidence, Ravi said, adding that "we don't see any need for tariff hikes in the near future".

[BangaloreaN]

വിളിച്ചാല്* കിട്ടുന്നില്ല, കിട്ടിയാല്* കട്ടാകുന്നു; BSNL നെറ്റ്*വര്*ക്കില്* പരാതിപ്രളയം



വിളിച്ചാല്* കിട്ടുന്നില്ല, കിട്ടിയാല്* കട്ടാകുന്നു, പറയുന്നത് കേള്*ക്കുന്നില്ല... ഇത്തരം പരാതികള്* ബി.എസ്.എന്*.എല്*. വരിക്കാര്* പറയാന്* തുടങ്ങിയിട്ട് നാലഞ്ച് മാസമായി. 4ജി ടവറുകള്* സ്ഥാപിക്കുന്നതിനാലുള്ള പ്രശ്*നങ്ങളാണെന്ന് കമ്പനി പറയുന്നുണ്ടെങ്കിലും, ഇതിന് ഒരു അറുതി ഉണ്ടാകുന്നില്ലെന്നതാണ് യാഥാര്*ഥ്യം. കോള്* വിളിക്കുമ്പോഴുള്ള പ്രശ്*നങ്ങള്* ഇപ്പോള്* കൂടിയിട്ടുണ്ടെന്നാണ് ബി.എസ്.എന്*.എലിന്റെ കസ്റ്റമര്* കെയറിലെ ടോള്*ഫ്രീ നമ്പരിലേക്ക് വരുന്ന ഭൂരിപക്ഷം പരാതികളും വ്യക്തമാക്കുന്നത്.


പ്രധാന പ്രശ്*നങ്ങള്*

• ആദ്യവിളിയില്* പലപ്പോഴും കിട്ടുന്നില്ല.

• ഡയല്*ചെയ്ത് കണക്ടായാല്* ആരെങ്കിലും ഒരാള്* പറയുന്നതുമാത്രം കേള്*ക്കാം.

• ചിലപ്പോള്* വിളിക്കുന്ന നമ്പര്* നിലവിലില്ല എന്നു കേള്*ക്കാം.


• വിളിക്കുന്ന നമ്പര്* സ്വിേച്ചാഫ് പറയുന്ന സന്ദര്*ഭങ്ങളും ഉണ്ടാകുന്നു

• ഫോണില്* സേവ് ചെയ്തിരിക്കുന്ന പേരുകള്* കാണിക്കാതെ കോള്* വരുന്നു. നമ്പര്*മാത്രമായിരിക്കും ഉണ്ടാകുക.

മാര്*ച്ചോടെ പ്രശ്*നം പരിഹരിക്കാനാകും

4ജി ടവറുകളുടെ സ്ഥാപിക്കലും അവയുടെ ട്രയലുകളും തകൃതിയായി നടക്കുന്നതിനാലാണ് കോളുകളില്* ചില പ്രശ്*നങ്ങള്* ഉണ്ടാകുന്നത്. തദ്ദേശീയമായി വികസിപ്പിച്ച 4ജി സാങ്കേതികവിദ്യയിലുള്ള സംവിധാനമാണ് സ്ഥാപിച്ചുകൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്നത്. ടാറ്റ കണ്*സള്*ട്ടന്*സി സര്*വീസ് സോഫ്റ്റ്വേറും തേജസ് എന്ന കമ്പനി ഉപകരണങ്ങളും തദ്ദേശീയമായി ഉണ്ടാക്കിയതാണ് സ്ഥാപിച്ചുകൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്നത്. ഇതിന്റെ ഭാഗമായി നെറ്റ്വര്*ക്കിലും വലിയ മാറ്റങ്ങള്* വരുത്തുന്നുണ്ട്.

സീപാന്* (CPAN) എന്ന നെറ്റ്വര്*ക്കില്*നിന്ന് മാന്* (MAN) എന്നതിലേക്കാണ് മാറുന്നത്.

വിദേശകമ്പനികളായ വാവേ, നോക്കിയ തുടങ്ങിയവയുടെ ഉപകരണങ്ങള്* ടവറുകളിലുണ്ട്. ഇവയുമായി പുതിയ സംവിധാനം ചേര്*ക്കുമ്പോളുള്ള പ്രശ്*നങ്ങളുമുണ്ട്. ഇനി ഇന്ത്യന്* വിപണിയില്* സാധ്യതയില്ലെന്ന തിരിച്ചറിവില്* ഈ കമ്പനികള്* വേണ്ടത്ര സഹകരണം ഇപ്പോഴത്തെ നടപടികള്*ക്ക് നല്*കാത്തതും ഒരു പ്രശ്*നമാണ്.

3ജി സര്*വീസ് നിര്*ത്തും

രാജ്യത്ത് 2ജി, 3ജി, 4ജി എന്നീ സേവനങ്ങള്* ഒരേസമയത്ത് കൈകാര്യംചെയ്യുന്ന കമ്പനി ബി.എസ്.എന്*.എല്*.മാത്രമാണ്. എന്നാല്* 3ജിയുടെ സേവനം ഇനി ആവശ്യമില്ലാത്തതിനാല്* അത് നിര്*ത്താനുള്ള നടപടികളുണ്ടാകും. എന്നാല്* 2ജി സേവനം നിലനിര്*ത്തും. സ്മാര്*ട്ട് ഫോണ്* അല്ലാത്തവ ഉപയോഗിക്കുന്ന നല്ലൊരുശതമാനം ആളുകളുടെ കൈവശവും 2ജി സേവനത്തിന് ഉതകുന്ന കീപാഡ് ഫോണുകളാണ്. വോയ്സ് കോളിനുമാത്രമുള്ള പ്രത്യേക താരിഫ് ഉണ്ടാകണമെന്ന ട്രായ് നിര്*ദേശം നടപ്പാക്കാനൊരുങ്ങുന്ന ബി.എസ്.എന്*.എലിന് 2ജി നിലനിര്*ത്തിയാല്* വ്യക്തതയുള്ള വോയ്സ് സേവനം നല്*കാനാവുമെന്ന കണക്കുകൂട്ടലുമുണ്ട്.

[BangaloreaN]

Vodafone Group clears Rs 11,650 cr dues, releases pledged shares in Vodafone Idea

Vodafone Group cleared Rs 11,650 crore of its dues by pledging its shares in Vodafone Idea as collateral against its debts. The funds, raised through a debt arrangement with HSBC, are used to clear loans secured against its Indian assets, resulting in the release of the pledged shares.




The Vodafone Group has settled Rs 11,650 crore as part of its outstanding dues secured against its shares in Vodafone Idea. The group had pledged almost its entire shareholding as collateral to the cash-strapped telco's debts.

The funds were raised by Vodafone Group’s entities in Mauritius in a debt arrangement by HSBC Corporate Trustee Company (UK).

UK’s Vodafone Group had pledged its stake in Indus Towers with lenders of over Rs 11,000 crore to fund its contribution to the rights issue of Vodafone Idea - its Indian telecom joint venture with the Aditya Birla Group back in 2019.

Vodafone initially sold an 18% stake in Indus — out of its earlier 21.05% holding — for Rs 15,300 crore through an open market transaction. The stake sale proceeds were largely used to clear a bulk of €1.8 billion borrowings secured against Indian assets.

“On 27 December 2024, HSBC Corporate Trustee Company (UK) Limited acting as the security trustee for the lenders has released the pledges pursuant to repayment of the outstanding dues owed to the lenders by the Vodafone Promoter Shareholders,” Vodafone Idea said in a regulatory filing Saturday.

Following the clearance, the 22.56% stake in equity share capital by the Vodafone Promoter shareholders has been released, the filing said.

The Vodafone Group holds a 22.56 percent stake in VIL, while the Aditya Birla Group holds 14.76 percent. The government has a 23.15 percent stake as of September 30, 2024.

Earlier this month, Vodafone sold its remaining 3% stake in Indus via multiple block deals, raising around Rs 2,801.7 crore, and fully exited the Indian tower company that is now a Bharti Airtel subsidiary.

[BangaloreaN]

SIM active for JUST Rs 10 a year: Modi govt's game-changing announcement


The central government has made a significant announcement. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recently issued new regulations for the country's over 1.2 billion mobile users, significantly reducing recharge costs. Learn about the new rules and the revised costs.

A revolutionary decision by the Modi government. This decision is taken to bring transparency in mobile services and ensure customer convenience.

The new guidelines are especially important for feature phone users, senior citizens, and people in rural areas.

Special Tariff Voucher (STV)
TRAI has introduced special benefits for 2G feature phone users under the 12th amendment of the Consumer Protection Regulation.

Users in this group can now get specific special tariff vouchers for voice and SMS services only. This is especially convenient for senior citizens and rural populations.

Extending Recharge Validity
Previously, the validity of special tariff vouchers was 90 days. But according to the new rules, this period has been extended to 365 days or one year. This will reduce the hassle of long-term recharges for users and save costs.

Control of Top-Up Vouchers
TRAI has made a significant change in the case of top-up vouchers. Now users can get their required services with just a 10 rupee voucher. This will be especially helpful for low-income customers.

Cancellation of Color Separation in Recharge Category
TRAI had earlier introduced a system of color coding for physical recharge vouchers. According to the new guidelines, this has been cancelled. This will make the recharge process easier and less confusing for customers.

New benefits for customers
These guidelines have brought great relief to dual SIM and feature phone users at a time of rising mobile service prices. They can keep their SIM active through cheap recharge plans.

Effective Timeframe
These new regulations of TRAI have been formulated through consultation with various stakeholders. It is likely to be effective within the next few weeks.

[BangaloreaN]

DoT pushes telcos to roll out caller ID feature for mobile phones urgently

At a meeting with telecom operators last week, the department asked the firms to implement the CNAP without any delay, said officials.




NEW DELHI: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has urged telecom operators to implement the calling name presentation (CNAP) service on mobile phones at the earliest. The service makes name display compulsory for incoming calls.

At a meeting with telecom operators last week, the department asked the firms to implement the CNAP without any delay, said officials.

During the meeting, the telcos are believed to have told the DoT that trials for the technology are ongoing and that they would implement the service once the technology stabilises. However, for 2G users, the service won’t be feasible as the technology does not permit it.

The plan to make name display compulsory for incoming calls is meant to curb spam and scam calls as the recipient of calls will be able to know who is calling. But technological constraints have prevented the implementation of the service on 2G networks, according to telcos.

In February last year, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had called on the government to mandate telcos to implement the CNAP service and push handset manufacturers to enable the feature in six months in a bid to reduce customer harassment from unknown or spam callers.

While the telcos have successfully achieved proficiency in the CNAP within a circle, trials are ongoing for intra-circle wherein calls originate in one telecom circle but terminate in another, said a telco executive present at last week’s meeting.

Handset industry experts said there is no real urgency to mandate the CNAP without taking cognisance of ground realities, especially since there are enough mobile apps that already fulfil the objective of displaying the name of the caller, to make an informed decision about accepting or rejecting a call.

Industry executives also cited potential challenges around customer privacy violation if the CNAP service is mandated nationally. Some mobile phone users might be averse to sharing their names, they said.

Apart from the CNAP, the DoT has asked telcos to mark non +91 calls as international calls so that users are not scammed. Recently, there has been a spurt in international calls aimed at scamming mobile consumers..

[BangaloreaN]

No signal: BSNL, Jio, Airtel users can now use any network to access 4G services


Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has recently inaugurated inter-circle roaming, which enables Jio, Airtel, and BSNL users to connect to any network for seamless access to 4G services.

Jio, BSNL, and Airtel users can now make calls using any available network even when their own SIM has lost signal. On January 17, the government launched the Intra Circle Roaming (ICR) facility during an event showcasing 4G mobile sites funded by the Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN). Essentially, this means users from any network can access 4G services through a single DBN-funded tower.

By allowing telecommunications service providers (TSPs) to share infrastructure at government-funded mobile towers, customers from different networks can enjoy 4G connectivity from the same tower. This approach reduces the need for multiple towers for each provider, leading to fewer installations overall.
Consequently, more individuals will benefit from improved mobile services without incurring significantly higher costs. This initiative aims to enhance reliable 4G connectivity for over 35,400 rural and remote villages, utilizing approximately 27,000 towers.

At the inauguration, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia announced the launch of the ICR service at the 4G mobile sites funded by the DBN. He underscored the importance of this initiative, describing it as a pivotal advancement. Scindia highlighted that the three major telecom companies—BSNL, Airtel, and Reliance—are collaborating to share their networks at all DBN-funded locations.
He pointed out that nearly 27,836 sites would be covered, emphasizing that the initiative not only seeks to enhance connectivity but also aims to provide users across the country with more options regarding their mobile services.
For those unfamiliar, the Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN), previously known as the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), plays a crucial role in improving mobile connectivity in rural and remote areas by funding the installation of mobile towers. These towers enable people in hard-to-reach locations to stay connected with specific telecom service providers.

However, currently, users can only benefit from the services of the TSP that has established the tower with DBN's support, which means subscribers from other telecom companies are not able to access these towers just yet.

[BangaloreaN]

Airtel satellite telecom services ready for rollout, awaiting Centre's go ahead: Rajan Bharti Mittal

Bharti Enterprises has already launched 635 satellites and is providing services in other parts of the world, he said.

Davos: Rajan Bharti Mittal, Vice Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, on Tuesday that its satellite telecom service is ready for rollout in India, and they were now waiting for the centre's greenlight.

"In India, we are waiting for, as you know, the spectrum allocation to be done. Both our stations are ready, one in Gujarat and one in Tamil Nadu. The base stations are ready. So as soon as we get permission, we will be launching in India as well," Rajan Bharti Mittal told in an interview with the World Economic Forum.

Bharti Enterprises has already launched 635 satellites and is providing services in other parts of the world, he said.

On the debate around spectrum allocation through administrative process or through auction, he reiterated Bharti Airtel's stance, stating satellite companies should be required to pay licensing fees and acquire spectrum through auctions, just as traditional telecom operators do.

"We are all saying it should be a level playing field. The unconnected areas where the terrestrial networks cannot go, this is a great provider of services especially for broadband. So it must be kept in mind that the Satcom services which are being given in far-flung areas and also in maritime or defense or other areas, that should have a different kind of a playing field," he added

He said "we are waiting for the recommendations to come through" from the government.

The Akash Ambani-led Reliance Jio had also pitched for satellite companies to pay license fee and buy spectrum for their telecom services just like legacy telecom companies do.

Elon Musk's Starlink and global peers like Amazon's Project Kuiper wants an administrative allocation of spectrum for satellite services.

On the pricing front for such satellite-based telecom services, he said Satcom will be able to deliver at far-flung areas at a "decent price".

"I think we strongly believe the terrestrial networks in India are very robust with 4G and 5G now in place. I don't think so that the satellite is needed for the urban areas, it is really for the far flung areas, and that's where the talk of administrative price has been kept in mind that the pricing should not be that high but in terrestrial they should ally with the terrestrial networks that's happening also in other parts of the world and I'm sure we'll be in the price points being in India what they are. we'll be able to deliver at far flung areas at a decent price," he argued.

On the much-discussed work-life balance matter that sparked widespread over the past few weeks among the working-class Indians, Mittal said his company's view is that one should be providing qualitative work output and not quantitative work output.

"At Airtel and at the Bharti Enterprise, everybody that comes as the owner, you know, owns the brand, works when it's, when it's desired," he added.

"Family is important, your health is important, yes so that's from saying you have to balance it out there is there's no saying anything different on that but I just say the qualitative output is important," Mittal continued.