ITV

Category: Telecom

  • Google to invest $1 billion in Airtel

    Google to invest $1 billion in Airtel

    Mumbai: Bharti Airtel and Google on Friday announced that the latter intends to invest $ one billion in the telecom major as part of its Google for India Digitisation Fund which includes equity investment as well as a corpus.

    The investment will be for potential commercial agreements to be identified and agreed on mutually agreeable terms over the next five years. This will comprise a $700 million investment in Bharti Airtel at a price per share of Rs 734. Up to $300 million of that will go towards implementing commercial agreements which will include scaling Airtel’s offerings. Google will acquire a 1.2 per cent shareholding of Bharti Airtel including partly paid shares.

    The deal will be subject to regulatory approvals.

    “Airtel and Google share the vision to grow India’s digital dividend through innovative products,” said Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal. “With our future-ready network, digital platforms, last-mile distribution and payments ecosystem, we look forward to working closely with Google to increase the depth and breadth of India’s digital ecosystem.”

    Airtel and Google will work together to explore opportunities to bring down barriers of owning a smartphone in partnership with various device manufacturers, potentially co-create India-specific network domain use cases for 5G and other standards and focus on growing and shaping the cloud ecosystem in India.

    “Airtel is a leading pioneer shaping India’s digital future, and we are proud to partner on a shared vision for expanding connectivity and ensuring equitable access to the Internet for more Indians,” said Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. “Our commercial and equity investment in Airtel is a continuation of our Google for India Digitization Fund’s efforts to increase access to smartphones, enhance connectivity to support new business models, and help companies on their digital transformation journey.”

  • Trai directs DPOs to comply with provisions of interconnection regulations

    Trai directs DPOs to comply with provisions of interconnection regulations

    Mumbai: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has directed all distribution platform operators (DPOs) to ensure compliance with the provisions of the interconnection regulations pertaining to the listing and display of TV channels on the electronic programme guide (EPG).

    The telecom regulator has also asked DPOs to furnish a compliance report within fifteen days from the date of issue of the direction.

    After analysing the data received from multi-system operators (MSOs), Trai observed that some MSOs have failed to comply with the provisions under interconnection regulations relating to the listing of channels in EPG and display of channels in EPG.

    In a letter dated 17 September 2020, Trai had advised all MSOs to ensure compliance with the provisions of the interconnection regulations related to assigning a unique channel number for each TV channel available on the distribution network and indicating genre of TV channels as declared by broadcaster in the interconnection agreement and to submit to the authority data with respect to the same.

    As per the regulations, “every broadcaster shall declare the genre of its channels and such genre shall be either ‘Devotional’ or ‘General Entertainment’ or ‘Infotainment’ or ‘Kids’ or ‘Movies’ or ‘Music’ or ‘News and Current Affairs’ or ‘Sports’ or ‘Miscellaneous.”

    “It shall be mandatory for the distributor to place all the television channels available on its platform in the electronic programme guide, in such a manner that all the television channels of a particular language in a genre are displayed together consecutively and one television channel shall appear at one place only.”

    “Every distributor of television channels shall assign a unique channel number for each television channel available on the distribution network.”

  • Trai to come up with recommendations to facilitate 5G rollout

    Trai to come up with recommendations to facilitate 5G rollout

    Mumbai: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) will soon come up with recommendations to facilitate telecom connectivity and for easing out network rollout issues being faced by telecom companies, especially with regard to 5G.  

    During a virtual event organised by Digital Infrastructure Providers Association (DIPA), Trai chairman PD Vaghela said that it will be difficult to get 5G coverage inside buildings as signals will be transmitted on high frequencies which cover very small distances.

    “Holistic approach will be required to ensure availability of digital infrastructure in building complexes, that also in a non-discriminate manner. There is a huge problem in getting access to the buildings by the infrastructure providers, telecom service providers and other players. We have already prepared a consultation paper and very soon we will come out with a recommendation. This will require a change in by-laws and working with the states very closely,” stated Vaghela.

    Minister of state for telecom Devusinh Chauhan added that digital connectivity empowers people on the ground, and the government is committed to supporting telecom infrastructure companies in this context. “Realising the importance of connectivity, states will also give precedence to connectivity over revenues in the near future,” he further said.

    Telecom secretary K Rajaraman said that the recently announced telecom reforms are a step towards bringing the cost of operations of telecom services in the country further down.

    The telecom department said that it is working towards resolving network rollout issues being faced by telecom companies, as well as enhancing the ease of doing business in the sector.

  • Vodafone Idea reports consolidated loss of Rs 7,231 cr in Q3

    Vodafone Idea reports consolidated loss of Rs 7,231 cr in Q3

    Mumbai: Vodafone Idea on Friday reported a consolidated loss of Rs 7,230.9 crore for the third quarter ending December 2021. This is up from Rs 4,532.1 crore that the telecom major reported in the corresponding quarter previous year.

    It had posted a net consolidated loss of Rs 7,132 crore in the September quarter of 2021.

    The company’s revenues also declined to Rs 9717 crore a year-on-year. The total gross debt (excluding lease liabilities and including interest accrued but not due) for the company stands at Rs. 1,98,980 crore, comprising of deferred spectrum payment obligations of 1,11300 crore, AGR liability of Rs 64,620 crore that is due to the government and debt from banks and financial institutions of Rs. 23,060 crore.

    However, it improved its average revenue per user (ARPU) to Rs 115 up by 5.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter, due to several tariff interventions to improve ARPU, it said as it reported its Q3 results on Friday.

    The total subscriber base declined to 24.72 crore. However, 4G subscriber base continued to grow with 8 lakh customers added in Q3, 4G base now stands at 11.7 crore. Subscriber churn increased to 3.4 per cent versus 2.9 per cent in the previous quarter. The data usage per 4G subscriber is now at ~14 Gb/month versus 12 Gb/month a year ago.

    Vodafone Idea said that it added ~4000 4G FBB sites in Q3 primarily through the refarming of 2G/3G spectrum to expand their 4G coverage and capacity. Its overall broadband site count stood at 450,330 marginally lower compared to 450,481 in the previous quarter as it continued to shutdown 3G sites in a phased manner. Till date, the company has deployed nearly 67,000 TDD sites in addition to the deployment of ~13,850 massive MIO sites and ~13,150 small cells. Furthermore, the company continues to expand its LTE 900 presence in 12 circles at multiple locations, including through dynamic spectrum refarming, to improve customer experience.

  • Reliance net profit jumps 41 % YoY to reach Rs 18,549 crores in Q3

    Reliance net profit jumps 41 % YoY to reach Rs 18,549 crores in Q3

    Mumbai: Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) continued its golden run, and posted a net profit of Rs 18,549 crores for the third quarter ended 31 December 2021. This is an increase of 41 per cent from ₹13,101 crore reported a year ago during the same period.

    The company had posted a profit of Rs 13,680 crore in the September 2021 quarter.

    “I am happy to announce that Reliance has posted best-ever quarterly performance in 3Q FY22 with a strong contribution from all our businesses. Both our consumer businesses, Retail, and Digital services have recorded the highest ever revenues and EBITDA,” said RIL chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani on Friday.

    Ambani said the company continued to focus on strategic investments and partnerships across its businesses to drive future growth in the last quarter. “Retail business activity has normalised with strong growth in key consumption baskets on the back of festive season and as lockdowns eased across the country. Our digital services business has delivered broad-based, sustainable, and profitable growth through improved customer engagement and subscriber mix,” he added.

    The consolidated revenue for the company by market-capitalisation grew to Rs 1,91,271 crore, up by 62 percent for the quarter from Rs 1,17,860 crore in the year-ago period. Revenues in the previous quarter stood at Rs 1,67,611 crore.

    Reliance Jio’s revenue rise five per cent at Rs 19,347 crore

    The net profit of Reliance Jio, the telecom arm of the company rose 10 per cent YoY to Rs 3,615 crore for Q3. It was Rs 3,291 crore in the last year period. The revenue rose five per cent at ₹19,347 crore as against ₹18,492 crore in the last year period. “Jio now has over five million connected wireline customers and has been consistently enhancing its FTTH product with new apps on STB, Society Centrex, 4K content on JioTV+, Home Secure, Home Automation, LiveTV and Gaming solutions,” the conglomerate said.

    Jio also undertook ~20 per cent hike across prepaid plans effective 1 December 2021 in line with other industry operators. According to the company, while the ARPU is set to improve to Rs 151.6 led by a better subscriber mix and recent tariff hike, the full impact of tariff hike will be reflected in ARPU and financials over the next few quarters. During 3Q FY22, average data and voice consumption per user per month increased to 18.4 GB and 901 minutes, respectively.

    Meanwhile, Jio continues to maintain its top position in the 4G speed chart with a 22.0 Mbps average download speed in December 2021, according to the latest Telecom Authority of India (Trai) report.

    Ambani also highlighted that the recovery in global oil and energy markets supported strong fuel margins and helped its O2C business deliver robust earnings. “Our Oil & Gas segment delivered strong growth in EBITDA with volume growth and improved realisation. We are making steady progress towards achieving our vision of Net Carbon Zero by 2035. Our recent partnerships and investments in technology leaders in the solar and green energy space is illustrative of our commitment to partner India and the World in the transition to clean and green energy. We continue to pursue growth initiatives and collaborate with global leaders who share our vision of a sustainable future for our planet,” he added.

  • Vodafone loses 1.89 mn subs in Nov; Jio, Airtel post strong gains: Trai

    Vodafone loses 1.89 mn subs in Nov; Jio, Airtel post strong gains: Trai

    Mumbai: Reliance Jio added 2.01 million and Bharti Airtel added 1.31 million wireless subscribers in November 2021 according to subscription data by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). Vodafone Idea lost 1.89 million subscribers during the same period, the data revealed.

    The total number of wireless subscribers increased from 1166.30 million to 1167.50 million with a net addition of 1.19 million subscribers. Wireless subscription in urban areas increased from 637.44 million to 638.46 million and in rural areas it increased from 528.86 million to 529.04 million.

    Trai reported 996.38 million active wireless subscribers out of which Reliance Jio had 359.59 million followed by Bharti Airtel at 347.89, Vodafone Idea at 231.59 million and BSNL at 56.71 million.

    In November, Trai received information from 592 operators as compared to 577 operators last month, the total broadband subscribers increased from 798.95 million to 801.60 million. This comprised mobile device users at 775.93 million, wired subscribers at 24.42 million and fixed wireless subscribers at 1.26 million.

    The top five wireless broadband service providers were Reliance Jio at 428.62 million, Bharti Airtel at 206.02 million, Vodafone Idea at 122.39 million, BSNL at 19.41 million and Tikona Infinet at 0.30 million subscribers.

    The top five wired broadband service providers were Reliance Jio at 4.34 million, BSNL at 4.20 million, Bharti Airtel at 4.08 million, Atria Convergence Technologies at 1.98 million and Hathway Cable and Datacom at 1.07 million subscribers.

    The number of telephone subscribers in India increased from 1189.62 million to 1191.05 million. Urban subscription increased from 658.83 million to 660.08 million and rural subscription increased from 530.79 million to 530.96 million. The number of wireline subscribers increased from 23.32 million to 23.55 million at the end of November.

  • Reliance Jio prepays Rs 30,791 crore spectrum dues

    Reliance Jio prepays Rs 30,791 crore spectrum dues

    Mumbai: Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL) on Wednesday announced that it has paid Rs 30,791 crore (including accrued interest) to the Department of Telecom towards prepayment of the entire deferred liabilities pertaining to spectrum acquired in auctions of year 2014, 2015, 2016 and the spectrum acquired in year 2021 through trading of right to use with Bharti Airtel Ltd. 

    The company had acquired 585.3 MHz spectrum in the said auctions/trading.

    RJIL had executed the first tranche of prepayment on the anniversary date in the month of October 2021 pertaining to spectrum acquired in an auction in the year 2016. Subsequent to the Department of Telecom’s decision in the month of December 2021 providing the telcos the flexibility to prepay their deferred spectrum liabilities on any date, RJIL has now prepaid in the month of January 2022, the entire deferred liabilities acquired in an auction in the year 2014 and 2015 as well as spectrum acquired through trading.

    These liabilities were due in annual installments from FY 2022-23 to 2034-2035 and carried interest rates between 9.30 per cent to 10 per cent per annum with an average residual period of over seven years.

    The company estimates that the above prepayments will result in interest cost savings of around Rs 1,200 crore annually, at the current interest rates.

  • HCIPL, Airtel announce JV to provide satellite broadband in India

    HCIPL, Airtel announce JV to provide satellite broadband in India

    Mumbai: Hughes Communications India Pvt Ltd (HCIPL) and Bharti Airtel have announced the formation of a joint venture to provide satellite broadband services in India.

    The new entity operational as HCIPL combines the very small aperture terminal (VSAT) businesses of both companies to offer flexible and scalable enterprise network solutions using satellite connectivity for primary transport, back-up, and hybrid implementation. Now serving Airtel VSAT customers, HCIPL has a combined base of over 200,000 VSATs and is the largest satellite service operator in the country.

    The agreement, announced in May 2019, has received all statutory approvals, including those from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and Department of Telecom (Government of India) and the joint venture has been formed.

    “We are pleased to commence this joint venture, further delivering on our commitment to serving the growing demand for always on, always available network connectivity for enterprise and government customers,” said HCIPL president and managing director Partho Banerjee. “Combining the proven capabilities of both Hughes and Airtel, the partnership will bring synergies to the forefront – including multi-orbit solutions – for the benefit of customers across the length and breadth of India.”

    “We, at Airtel, are focused on supporting and accelerating the digital transformation journeys of our customers through an integrated solutions portfolio,” said Airtel Business director and chief executive officer Ajay Chitkara. “With the combined capabilities of Airtel and Hughes, customers will get access to next-generation satellite connectivity backed by proven enterprise-grade security and service support.”

  • Vikram Sinha to lead Indonesia’s telecom major Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison

    Vikram Sinha to lead Indonesia’s telecom major Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison

    Mumbai: Indian origin executive Vikram Sinha has been appointed as chief executive officer of telecommunications company PT Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison Tbk (Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison). The newly formed entity is Indonesia’s second-largest telco company.

    PT Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison Tbk was formed following the completion of the proposed merger of Indonesia’s two leading telecommunications businesses, PT Indosat Tbk (Indosat Ooredoo) and PT Hutchison 3 Indonesia (H3I), after receiving all required shareholder and regulatory approvals. The merger was completed on 4 January.

    Sinha was previously associated with Indosat Ooredoo as chief operating officer and director since 2019. He is a telecommunications industry veteran who has spent a decade with Bharti Airtel in India and Africa, before moving to the Ooredoo Group. At Ooredoo Group, he was posted in the Maldives in 2017 and later in Myanmar in 2018.

    “We are pleased to combine two of Indonesia’s leading telecoms brands to create a stronger number two player in Indonesia, backed by two highly committed partners in Ooredoo Group and CK Hutchison. Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison is well placed to achieve exciting long-term growth under the leadership of Vikram and his experienced management team with a proven track record in Indonesia,” said Ooredoo Group managing director Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo.

    “I have every confidence that this merger will be highly accretive for all stakeholders involved, including customers, shareholders, and for Indonesia,” said CK Hutchison Holdings group co-managing director Caning Fok. “Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison is now a stronger, world-class digital telecoms and internet company with critical mass, well-positioned to build an even more powerful network that can benefit Indonesia’s development and customers, who will receive improved services and an even broader product offering that would not have otherwise been possible.”

  • Reliance Jio adds 1.76 million wireless subscribers in Oct

    Reliance Jio adds 1.76 million wireless subscribers in Oct

    Mumbai: Telecom giant Reliance Jio has added 1.76 million net wireless subscribers in October, according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) subscription data. Vodafone Idea lost 0.96 million subscribers followed by Bharti Airtel at 0.48 million, the data revealed.

    The total number of wireless subscribers increased from 1166.02 million to 1166.30 million. In urban areas, wireless penetration decreased from 637.89 million to 637.44 million. Wireless subscriptions in rural areas increased from 528.13 million to 528.86 million.

    Trai reported 996.47 million active wireless subscribers out of which Reliance Jio had the highest share with 358.49 million followed by Bharti Airtel at 346.11 million, Vodafone Idea at 234.33 million and BSNL at 56.93 million.

    The number of telephone subscribers increased from 1189.15 million to 1189.62 million. Urban subscription decreased from 659.09 million to 658.83 million whereas rural subscription increased from 530.06 million to 530.79 million.

    In October, Trai received information from 577 broadband operators viz-a-viz 522 in the previous month. It reported that total broadband subscribers increased from 794.88 million to 798.95 million. The number of mobile device users increased from 769.22 million to 773.09 million. Wired subscribers increased from 24.39 million to 24.55 million and fixed wireless subscribers increased from 1.28 million to 1.31 million.

    At the end of October, the top five broadband service providers stood as follows Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd at 430.75 million subscribers, Bharti Airtel at 208.71 million subscribers, Vodafone Idea at 122.47 million subscribers, BSNL at 24.57 million subscribers and Atria Convergence at 1.97 million subscribers.

    The top five wired broadband service providers were BSNL at 4.72 million subscribers, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd at 4.16 million subscribers, Bharti Airtel at 3.98 million subscribers, Atria Convergence Technologies at 1.97 million subscribers and Hathway Cable & Datacom at 1.07 million subscribers.

    The top five wireless broadband service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd at 426.60 million subscribers, Bharti Airtel at 204.73 million subscribers, Vodafone Idea at 122.47 million subscribers, BSNL at 19.85 million subscribers and Tikona Infinet Ltd. at 0.30 million subscribers.

    The number of wireline subscribers increased from 23.13 million to 23.32 million with a net increase of 0.19 million. BSNL and MTNL held 45.07 per cent of the wireline market share.