Mumbai: As per the National Company Law Tribunal’s (NCLT) Mumbai bench order, the merger between Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) and Culver Max Entertainment (Sony) has received a green flag.
The objections raised by financial and operational creditors have been dismissed.
MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has been working overtime to bring some order to the Indian pay TV ecosystem over the years by passing various regulations. But it has not been able to find a perfect solution to address the needs of broadcasters, cable TV MSOs, DTH operators and LCOs. Even its last attempt in November 2022 when it notified the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services (Eighth) (Addressable Systems) Tariff (Third Amendment) Order, 2022 and the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services (Addressable Systems) Interconnection Regulations (Third Amendment) Order, 2022, led to a lot of howls from all concerned.
Since then, it has been holding meetings with various bodies like the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF), the Indian Broadcasting & Digital Foundation (IBDF), payTV DTH operators, LCOs all over the country. And they raised their concerns relating to the latest orders as well as earlier ones relating to tariff, interconnection and quality of service of broadcasting and cable services. In response to that, the authority today released a consultation paper seeking stakeholders’ comments.
Among the issues it is seeking industry’s feedback are:
Issues related to Tariff for Broadcasting and Cable Services
· Ceiling on Network Capacity Fee (NCF) of Rs 130.
· Network Capacity Fee and pay TV channel fees for multi-TV homes
· Ceiling of 15 per cent on discount on sum of MRP of a-la-carte channels for fixing MRP of bouquets by DPOs
· Number of SD channels equivalent to One HD channel
· Mandatory FTA News Channels in all packs formed by DPOs
· Level playing field with DD Free Dish for DPOs.
Issues related to Interconnection for Broadcasting and Cable Services
· Amendment to Reference Interconnection Offer
· Listing of channels in Electronic Programme Guide (EPG)-
· Language genre problem in EPG
· Revenue Share between LCO and MSO
· Carriage Fee
· Minimum subscription period for a channel by a subscriber
· Removal of a channel from the platform of a DPO after expiry of existing Interconnection agreement
Issues related to Standards of Quality of Service (QoS) and Consumer Protection Regulations
· Review of prescribed charges
· Display of channels in EPG and LCN listing of channels
· Issues related to billing cycle
· Regulation of Platform Service Channels
· Review of mandatory provisions of Toll-Free Number, ConsumerCorner, Subscriber Corner, Establishment of Website andManual of Practice Etc.
The Questions the new consultation paper raises are as follows:
A. Tariff related issues
Q1. Should the present ceiling of Rs.130/- on NCF be reviewed and revised?
1.If yes, please provide justification for the review and revision.
2.If yes, please also suggest the methodology and provide details of calculation to arrive at such revised ceiling price.
3. If not, provide reasons with justification as to why NCF should not be revised.
4. Should TRAI consider and remove the NCF capping?
Q2. Should TRAI follow any indices (like CPI/WPI/GDP Deflator) for revision of NCF on a periodic basis to arrive at the revised ceiling? If yes, what should be the periodicity and index? Please provide your comments with detailed justification.
Q3. Whether DPOs should be allowed to have variable NCF for different bouquets/plans for and within a state/ City/ Town/ Village? If yes, should there be some defined parameters for such variable NCF? Please provide detailed reasons/ justification. Will there be any adverse impact on any stakeholder, if variable NCF is considered?
Q4. Should TRAI revise the current provision that NCF for 2nd TV connection and onwards in multi-TV homes should not be more than 40% of declared NCF per additional TV?
1. If yes, provide suggestions on quantitative rationale to be followed to arrive at an optimal discount rate.
2. If no, why? Please provide justification for not reconsidering the discount.
3. Should TRAI consider removing the NCF capping for multi TV homes? Please provide justification?
Q5. In the case of multi-TV homes, should the pay television channels for each additional TV connection be also made available at a discounted price?
1. a) If yes, please suggest the quantum of discount on MRP of television channel/ Bouquet for 2nd and subsequent television connection in a multi-TV home. Does multi-TV home or single TV home make a difference to the broadcaster? What mechanism should be available to pay-channel broadcasters to verify the number of subscribers reported for multi-TV homes?
1.b) If not, the reasons thereof?
Q6. Is there a need to review the ceiling on discount on sum of MRP of a-la-carte channels in a bouquet (as prescribed through the second proviso to clause 4 (4) of the Tariff Order 2017) while fixing the MRP of that bouquet by DPOs?
a. If yes, what should be the ceiling on such discount? Justify with reasons.
b. If not, why? Please provide justification for not reviewing the ceiling
Q7. Whether the total channel carrying capacity of a DPO be defined in terms of bandwidth (in MBPS) assigned to specific channel(s). If yes, what should be the quantum of bandwidth assigned to SD and HD channels. Please provide your comments with proper justification and examples.
Q8. Whether the extant prescribed HD/SD ratio which treats 1HD channel equivalent to 2SD channels for the purpose of counting number of channels in NCF should also be reviewed?
1. If yes, should there be a ratio/quantum? Or alternatively should each channel be considered as one channel irrespective of its type (HD or SD or any other type like 4K channel)? Justify with reasons.
2. If no, please justify your response.
Q9. What measures should be taken to ensure similar reception quality to subscribers for similar genre of channels? Please suggest the parameter(s) that should be monitored/ checked to ensure that no television channel is discriminated against by a DPO. Please provide detailed response with technical details and justification.
Q10. Should there be a provision to mandatorily provide the Free to Air News / Non-News / Newly Launched channels available on the platform of a DPO to all the subscribers?
a. If yes, please provide your justification for the same with detailed terms and conditions.
b. If not, please substantiate your response with detailed reasoning.
Q11. Should Tariff Order 2017, Interconnection Regulations 2017 and Quality of Service Regulations 2017 be made applicable to non- addressable distribution platforms such as DD Free Dish also?
Q12. Should the channels available on DD Free Dish platform be mandatorily made available as Free to Air Channels for all the platforms including all the DPOs?
Q13. Whether there is a need to consider upgradation of DD Free Dish as an addressable platform? If yes, what technology/ mechanism is suggested for making all the STBs addressable? What would be the cost implications for existing and new consumers? Elaborate the suggested migration methodology with suggested time-period for proposed plan. Please provide your response, with justification.
B. Interconnection related issues
Q14. In case of amendment to the RIO by the broadcaster, the extant provision provides an option to DPO to continue with the unamended RIO agreement. Should this option continue to be available for the DPO?
a. If yes, how the issue of differential pricing of television channel by different DPOs be addressed?
b. If no, then how should the business continuity interest of DPO be protected?
Q15. Sometimes, the amendment in RIO becomes expedient due to amendment in extant Regulation/ Tariff order. Should such amendment of RIO be treated in a different manner? Please elaborate and provide full justification for your comment.
Q16. Should it be mandated that the validity of any RIO issued by a broadcaster or DPO may be for say 1 year and all the Interconnection agreement may end on a common date say 31st December every year. Please justify your response.
Q17. Should flexibility be given to DPOs for listing of channels in EPG?
a. If yes, how should the interest of broadcasters (especially small ones) be safeguarded?
b. If no, what criteria should be followed so that it promotes level playing field and safeguard interest of each stakeholder?
Q18. Since MIB generally gives permission to a channel in multiple languages, how the placement of such channels may be regulated so that interests of all stakeholders are protected?
Q19. Should the revenue share between an MSO (including HITS Operator) and LCO as prescribed in Standard Interconnect Agreement be considered for a review?
1. If yes:
i.Should the current revenue share on NCF be considered for a revision?
ii. Should the regulations prescribe revenue share on other revenue components like Distribution Fee for Pay Channels, Discount on pay channels etc.? Please list all the revenue components along-with the suggested revenue share that should accrue to LCO.
Please provide quantitative calculations made for arriving at suggested revenue share along-with detailed comments / justification.
2. If no, please justify your comments.
Q20. Should there be review of capping on carriage fee?
1. If yes, how much it should be so that the interests of all stakeholders be safeguarded. Please provide rationale along with supporting data for the same.
2. If no, please justify how the interest of all stakeholders especially the small broadcasters can be safeguarded?
Q21. To increase penetration of HD channels, should the rate of carriage fee on HD channels and the cap on carriage fee on HD channels may be reduced. If yes, please specify the modified rate of carriage fee and the cap on carriage fee on HD channels. Please support your response with proper justification.
Q22. Should TRAI consider removing capping on carriage fee for introducing forbearance? Please justify your response.
Q23. In respect of DPO’s RIO based agreement, if the broadcaster and DPO fail to enter into new interconnection agreement before the expiry of the existing agreement, the extant Interconnection Regulation provide that if the parties fail to enter into new agreement, DPO shall not discontinue carrying a television channel, if the signals of such television channel remain available for distribution and the monthly subscription percentage for that television channel is more than twenty percent of the monthly average active subscriber base in the target market. Does this specified percentage of 20 percent need a review? If yes, what should be the revised prescribed percentage of the monthly average active subscriber base of DPO. Please provide justification for your response.
C. Quality of Service related issues
Q24. Whether the extant charges prescribed under the ‘QoS Regulations’ need any modification required for the same? If yes, justify with detailed explanation for the review of:
1. Installation and Activation Charges for a new connection
2. Temporary suspension of broadcasting services
3. Visiting Charge in respect of registered complaint in the case of DTH services
4. Relocation of connection
e. Any other charges that need to be reviewed or prescribed.
Q25. Should TRAI consider removing capping on the above-mentioned charges for introducing forbearance? Please justify your response.
Q26. Whether the Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) for consumer convenience should display
1. MRP only
2.MRP with DRP alongside
3.DRP only?
Justify your response by giving appropriate explanations.
Q27. What periodicity should be adopted in the case of pre-paid billing system. Please comment with detailed justification.
Q28. Should the current periodicity for submitting subscriber channel viewership information to broadcasters be reviewed to ensure that the viewership data of every subscriber, even those who opt for the channel even for a day, is included in the reports? Please provide your comments in detail.
Q29. MIB in its guidelines in respect of Platform Services has inter-alia stated the following:
a. The Platform Services Channels shall be categorised under the genre ‘Platform Services’ in the EPG.
b. Respective MRP of the platform service shall be displayed in the EPG against each platform service.
c. The DPO shall provide an option of activation /deactivation of platform services.
In view of above, you are requested to provide your comments for suitable incorporation of the above mentioned or any other provisions w.r.t. Platform Services channels of DPOs in the ‘QoS Regulations’.
Q30. Is there a need to re-evaluate the provisions outlined in the ‘QoS Regulations’ in respect of:
a. Toll-free customer care number
b. Establishment of website
c. Consumer Corner
d. Subscriber Corner
e. Manual of Practice
f. Anyotherprovisionthatneedstobere-assessed
Please justify your comments with detailed explanations.
D. Financial Disincentive
Q31. Should a financial disincentive be levied in case a service provider is found in violation of any provisions of Tariff Order, Interconnection Regulations and Quality of Service Regulations?
a. If yes, please provide answers to the following questions:
i. What should be the amount of financial disincentive for respective service provider? Should there be a category of major/ minor violations for prescription of differential financial disincentive? Please provide list of such violation and category thereof. Please provide
justification for your response.
ii. How much time should be provided to the service provider to comply with regulation and payment of financial disincentive. and taking with extant regulations/tariff order?
iii. In case the service provider does not comply within the stipulated time how much additional financial disincentive should be levied? Should there be a provision to levy interest on delayed payment of Financial Disincentive?
1. If yes, what should be the interest rate?
2. In no, what other measures should be taken to ensure recovery of financial disincentive and regulatory compliance?
iv. In case of loss to the consumer due to violation, how the consumer may be compensated for such default?
b. If no,then how should it be ensured that the serviceprovider complies with the provisions of Tariff Order, Interconnection Regulations and Quality of Service Regulations?
E. Any other issue
To download the full consultation paper please click here.
Mumbai: TRAI has released telecom subscription data In the month of May 2023. 11.47 million subscribers submitted their requests for Mobile Number Portability (MNP). With this, the cumulative MNP requests increased from 830.65 million at the end of April 23 to 842.12 million at the end of May-23, since implementation of MNP. Number of active wireless subscribers (on the date of peak VLR#) in May 2023 was 1043.41 million.
Highlights of telecom subscription data as on 31 May 2023
I. Broadband subscriber
As per the information received from 1,015 operators in May 2023 in comparison to 1,011 Operator in April 2023, the total Broadband Subscribers increased from 850.94 million at the end of April-23 to 856.81 million at the end of May-23 with a monthly growth rate of 0.69 per cent. Segment-wise broadband subscribers and their monthly growth rates are as below. Top five service providers constituted 98.39 per cent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of May-23. These service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. 445.23 million, Bharti Airtel 246.61 million, Vodafone Idea 123.58 million, BSNL 25.40 million and Atria Convergence 2.15 million.
Segment–wise broadband subscribers and monthly growth rate in the month of May 2023
The graphical representation of the service provider-wise market share of broadband services is given below: –
Service provider-wise market share of broadband (wired + wireless) services as on 31 May 2023
As on 31 May 2023, the top five Wired Broadband Service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd 8.92 million, Bharti Airtel 6.40 million, BSNL 3.61 million, Atria Convergence Technologies 2.15 million and Hathway Cable & Datacom 1.12 million. As on 31 May 2023, the top five Wireless Broadband Service providers were Reliance Jio Infocom Ltd 436.31 million, Bharti Airtel 240.21 million, Vodafone Idea 123.58 million, BSNL 21.79 million and Intech Online Pvt. Ltd. 0.24 million.
II. Wireline subscribers
Wireline subscribers decreased from 29.39 million at the end of April-23 to 29.36 million at the end of May-23. Net decrease in the wireline subscriber base was 0.02 million with a monthly decline rate of 0.07 per cent. The share of urban and rural subscribers in total wireline subscribers were 92.55 per cent and 7.45 per cent respectively at the end of May, 2023. The Overall Wireline Tele-density in India decreased from 2.12 per cent at the end of April-23 to 2.11 per cent at the end of May-23. Urban and Rural Wireline Teledensity were 5.55 per cent and 0.24 per cent respectively during the same period. BSNL and MTNL, the two PSU access service providers, held 30.05 per cent of the wireline market share as on 31 May 2023.
Access service provider-wise market share of wireline subscribers as on 31 May 2023
Access service provider-wise net addition/decline in wireline subscribers during the month of May 2023
III. Wireless subscriber
Total wireless subscribers decreased from 1,143.13 million at the end of April-23, to 1,143.21 million at the end of May-23, thereby registering a monthly growth rate of 0.01 per cent. Wireless subscription in urban areas decreased from 626.74 million at the end of April-23 to 626.26 million at the end of May-23 however wireless subscription in rural areas increased from 516.39 million to 516.95 million during the same period. Monthly growth rate of urban and rural wireless subscription was 0.08 per cent and 0.11 per cent respectively.
The wireless tele-density in India decreased from 82.34 per cent at the end of April-23 to 82.29 per cent at the end of May-23. The Urban Wireless Tele-density decreased from 128.09 per cent at the end of April-23 to 127.79 per cent at the end of May-23 however Rural Tele-density increased from 57.44 per cent to 57.49 per cent during the same period. The share of urban and rural wireless subscribers in total number of wireless subscribers was 54.78 per cent and 45.22 per cent respectively at the end of May-23
As on 31 May 2023, the private access service providers held 90.93 per cent market share of the wireless subscribers whereas BSNL and MTNL, the two PSU access service providers, had a market share of only 9.07 per cent. The graphical representation of access service provider-wise market share and net additions in wireless subscriber base are given below:
Access service provider-wise market shares in term of wireless subscribers as on 31st May, 2023
Net addition in wireless subscribers of access service providers in the month of May 2023
Growth in wireless subscribers
Except U.P.(E), Kerala, Gujarat, West Bengal, Punjab, Haryana, Kolkata and Tamil Nadu, all other service areas have showed growth in their wireless subscribers during the month of May-23
Access service provider-wise monthly growth rate of wireless subscribers in the month of May 2023
Service area-wise monthly growth rate of wireless subscribers in the month of May 2023
IV. Total telephone subscribers
The number of telephone subscribers in India increased from 1,172.52 million at the end of April-23 to 1,172.57 million at the end of May-23, thereby showing a monthly growth rate of 0.004 per cent. Urban telephone subscriptions decreased from 653.88 million at the end of April-23 to 653.43 million at the end of May-23 however the rural subscription increased from 518.64 million to 519.14 million during the same period. The monthly growth rates of urban and rural telephone subscriptions were -0.07 per cent and 0.10 per cent respectively during the month of May-23.
The overall tele-density in India decreased 84.46 per cent at the end of April-23 to 84.40 per cent at the end of May-23. The urban tele-density decreased from 133.64 per cent at the end of April-23 to 133.34 per cent at the end of May-23 however Rural Tele-density increased from 57.69 per cent to 57.73 per cent during the same period. The share of urban and rural subscribers in total number of telephone subscribers at the end of May-23 was 55.73 per cent and 44.27 per cent respectively
Overall tele-density (LSA Wise) – As on 31 May 2023
Eight LSA have less tele-density than the all India average tele-density at the end of May-23. Delhi service area has maximum tele-density of 273.19 per cent and the Bihar service area has minimum tele-density of 55.61 per cent at the end of May-23.
V. Category-wise growth in subscriber base
In the wireless segment, on a monthly basis except Circle ‘A’ and Circle ‘B’, all other circles have registered growth rate in their subscriber base. On a yearly basis, except Circle ‘A’ and Circle ‘B’ other circles have registered growth rate in their subscriber base. In the Wireline segment, on a monthly basis except Circle ‘A’, all other circles have registered growth rate in their subscriber base. On a yearly basis, all circles have registered a growth rate in their subscriber base.
Circle category-wise net additions in telephone subscribers in the month of May 2023
Circle category-wise monthly and yearly growth rates in telephone subscribers in the month of May 2023
VI. Active wireless subscribers (VLR Data)
Out of the total 1,143.21 million wireless subscribers, 1043.41 million wireless subscribers were active on the date of peak VLR in the month of May-23. The proportion of active wireless subscribers was approximately 91.27 per cent of the total wireless subscriber base. Bharti Airtel has the maximum proportion 100 per cent of its active wireless subscribers (VLR) as against its total wireless subscribers (HLR) on the date of peak VLR in the month of May-23 and MTNL has the minimum proportion of VLR 25.59 per cent of its HLR during the same period.
Access service provider-wise percentage of VLR subscribers in the month of May, 2023
Service area wise percentage of VLR subscribers in the month of May, 2023
VII. Mobile Number Portability (MNP)
Intra-service area Mobile number portability (MNP) was implemented first in Haryana service area w.e.f. 25 November 2010 and in the rest of the country w.e.f. 20 January 2011. Inter-Service Area MNP has been implemented in the country w.e.f. 3 July 2015. Now, the wireless telephone subscribers can retain their mobile numbers when they relocate from one service area to another.
During the month of May-23, a total of 11.47 million requests were received for MNP. Out of total 11.47 million new requests, 4.71 million requests received from Zone-I and 6.76 million requests received from Zone-II. The cumulative MNP requests increased from 830.65 million at the end of April-23 to 842.12 million at the end of May-23, since the implementation of MNP.
In MNP Zone-I (Northern and Western India), the highest number of requests till date have been received in Uttar Pradesh-East (about 73.21 million) followed by Maharashtra (about 68.62 million) service area.
In MNP Zone-II (Southern and Eastern India), the highest number of requests till date have been received in Madhya Pradesh (about 64.36 million) followed by Karnataka (about 60.98 million).
Mumbai: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT) signed a “Memorandum of Understanding” (MOU) at TRAI, HQ, New Delhi-02 on 25 July 2023. MoU has been signed by TRAI CSR DG Anil Kumar Bhardwaj on behalf of TRAI, C-DoT registrar Rajeev Kumar on behalf of C-DoT in presence of authority of TRAI, secretary DoT, secretary TRAI, CEO C-DoT, and officers of TRAI and C-DoT.
TRAI Centre of Studies and Research (TRAI CSR) was established as an entity within TRAI to conceptualise, coordinate, and enable technological studies in the telecom and broadcasting sectors. Its vision is to enable technology driven growth of India by synergizing cross-sector initiatives and facilitating knowledge sharing. TRAI CSR and C-DoT have collaborated through the MOU signed and the parties have reached the common recognition aiming at establishing a mechanism of technical and institutional cooperation in the field of telecommunications with the purpose of contributing to its development. With a unified vision, the aim is to explore the potential of emerging technologies, this MOU marks a significant step towards cooperation and knowledge sharing, fostering an environment that promotes research on regulatory practices, regulatory gap studies, and the dissemination of vital insights.
TRAI chairman Dr P.D. Vaghela expressed pleasure on this auspicious occasion and said, “This commencement of a formal partnership shall empower us to embark on a journey of understanding new emerging technologies. The partnership aims to promote cooperation for research on regulatory practices and bridge gaps in our understanding. We will conduct technical sessions, seminars, and conferences to share knowledge and for capacity building. The potential that lies within these emerging technologies is immense, and it is with a sense of responsibility and foresight that we undertake this endeavour. By synergizing our resources, knowledge, and expertise, we aspire to understand the transformative power of these technologies and address the regulatory and policy gaps.”
Mumbai: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released recommendations on ‘Leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Big Data in Telecommunication Sector’. The regulatory authority stated in a press release, dated 20 July 2023, “The impact of AI is not limited to only the telecom sector. AI has the potential to impact a wide range of sectors, including healthcare, finance, transportation, education, agriculture and many others. Therefore, it is important to take a holistic approach for examining the impact of AI across all sectors rather than focusing only on telecom.”
It further said, “As AI technology is still evolving, it took time to examine and bring out the multiple aspects of AI/ML in the telecommunication and other sectors by studying various international practices which are also in the nascent stage.”
Based on the comments of the stakeholders, discussion during the Open House Discussion and analysis thereof, the authority has finalised these recommendations. In view of the impact of AI in all sectors, the framework which has to be suggested for telecom cannot be treated in isolation and hence a common framework covering all the sectors is being proposed.
Mumbai: Telecom carriers have called the regulator’s discussion paper on regulating over-the-top (OTT) players such as WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal, and on selective banning of apps during instances of civil unrest a progressive step and a backing of their concerns.
Tech sector experts said that they are sceptical about any selective banning and want the government and regulator to ensure such action is not discriminatory.
Telcos have for long been demanding that communication apps be regulated as they offer similar services without the security and financial obligations attached to licensed telecom operators.
But OTT players have contended that they are already regulated under the IT Act and more rules would stifle innovation.
Experts also added that any selective banning or shutting down of OTT apps must not be unjustified as that won’t be in larger public interest.
Mumbai: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released a Consultation Paper on Regulatory Mechanism for Over-The-Top (OTT) Communication Services, and Selective Banning of OTT Services.
Department of Telecommunications (DoT), through a letter dated 07.09.2022, requested TRAI to reconsider its recommendations on Regulatory Framework for Over-The-Top (O1T) Communication Services dated 14.09.2020 and suggest a suitable regulatory mechanism for OTTs, including issues relating to ‘selective banning of O1T services’ as part of its recommendations.
Through the letter dated 07.09.2022, DoT has also mentioned that “/n view of the humongous growth of 071 services in the recent past and these services having reached a matured stage, there is a need to holistically look into the various aspects of these services induding regulatory, economic, security, privacy, and safety aspects. This is a/so in keeping with para 2.2 of the National Di:gital Communications Policy – 2018 which mentions the policy goal for “Ensuring a holitic and harmonL?ed approach for harnessing Emerging Technologies’ It has been mentioned therein that a policy framework for ‘Over the Top’services will be developed.”
In response to the DoT letter dated 07.09.2022, TRAI through its letter dated 01.11.2022 conveyed to DoT that “the Authority is of the view that a fresh consultation process may be initiated to frame suitable regulatory framework for OTT.”
Written comments on the issues raised in the Consultation Paper are invited from stakeholders by 4 August 2023 and counter comments by 18 August 2023.
Mumbai: Reliance Jio has pipped Bharti Airtel in revenue market share (RMS) in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2023. Jio’s Infocmm’s gross revenue market share shot up by 13 basis points (bps) to 41.7 per cent between January-March 2023 while Airtel’s RMS remained unchanged at 36.5 per cent. Vodafone Idea (vi), the third private telco in the country, lost its RMS by 42 bps to 16.6 per cent, according to data mentioned by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
Jio added 30.5 lakh mobile subscribers in March while Vi lost 12.12 lakh wireless users during the month, according to TRAI. Bharti Airtel onboarded 10.37 lakh mobile subscribers in March, raising its subscriber base to 37.09 crores in March against 36.98 crores in February.
Reliance Jio added 30.5 lakh subscribers in March, as its subscriber count exceeded 43 crore, compared to 42.71 crore in February.
Vodafone Idea, which trails Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel in the mobile market subscriber tally — lost 12.12 lakh mobile users in March. Vodafone Idea’s mobile subscriber base shrunk to 23.67 crore in March, from 23.79 crore in the previous month.
Mumbai: ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. chairman R Gopalan has issued an official statement regarding SEBI order that has passed an interim order against Essel group chief Subhash Chandra and ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. managing director & CEO Punit Goenka. The order states that they cease to hold any directorial positions in any of the listed companies or its subsidiaries until further orders.
The statement said, “The Board of Directors of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL) has noted the interim ex-parte order issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), with respect to Dr. Subhash Chandra and Mr. Punit Goenka.
The Board is currently in the process of reviewing the detailed order, and appropriate legal advice is being sought in order to take the next steps as required.
With a singular focus on enhancing the shareholder value year after year, the Board of the Company has continued to guide the management towards its strategic goals and priorities for the future. All the appropriate steps will be actioned as necessary, in order to ensure that the interest of the Company and all its valuable shareholders is kept at the forefront.
The Board recognises the significant contribution made by Dr. Subhash Chandra as the founder of the Company and the growth and value generation centric leadership showcased by Mr. Punit Goenka. The Board is confident that the Company will continue to achieve the set goals for the future and most above, create value for all stakeholders.”
Mumbai: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in an unprecedented action has passed an interim order against Subhash Chandra chief of Essel group and Punit Goenka, managing director & CEO of ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEE) . The order states that they cease to hold any directorial positions in any of the listed companies or its subsidiaries until further orders.
An objection can be filed within 21 days and this SEBI order will be placed before the board within 7 days.
The capital market regulator has alleged that Chandra and Goenka as Directors abused their positions and siphoned off funds. The promoter family is only holding 3.99 per cent shares in Zee, Subhash Chandra and Punit Goenka continue to be at the helm of affairs of Zee.
In a 16-page order, Ashwani Bhatia, whole time member of SEBI said, “Considering the above, I am of the opinion that, while the investigation is still underway, their continuation as a director/KMP in any listed company or its subsidiaries is likely to be prejudicial to the interest of those companies, particularly its investors.’’
‘’Therefore, I am convinced that, pending completion of investigation by Sebi, interim directions need to be issued to safeguard the management of such companies and protect their investors and other stakeholders.”