TELECOMMUNICATION SECTOR

By, Cyriac Jomy

DoT issues notices to operators for under reporting revenues for the period between 2006 and 2008.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has started issuing notices to operators, which under reported their revenues for the period between 2006 and 2008. DoT is likely to recover collective revenue of about Rs 8.63 billion from operators found under reporting their revenues. DoT is issuing notices to operators including BhartiAirtel, Vodafone India, Reliance Communications (RCOM), Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL), Tata Communications Limited (TCL) and Idea Cellular. According to DoT, RCOM and BhartiAirtel owe revenues of Rs 2.98 billion and Rs 1.6 billion, respectively TTSL including its subsidiary Tata Teleservices Limited (Maharashtra) may have to pay Rs 1.42 billion. Vodafone India, TCL and Idea Cellular may have to pay revenue of Rs 1.21 billion, Rs 0.78 billion andRs 0.65 billion, respectively. In 2009, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) asked DoT to conduct a special audit of financial accounts of these operators for the period between 2006 and 2008. TRAI was of the view that the operators were underreporting their revenues to avoid payment of licence fee to the government on revenue sharing basis.

Vodafone India and ICCI bank ink a strategic pact to launch m-pesa
Vodafone India and ICICI have come together for a strategic partnership to launch a mobile money transfer and payment service called m-pesa. Vodafone India through its 100 per cent subsidiary, Mobile Commerce Solutions Limited (MCSL) will start offering mobile payment services m-pesa shortly. The offering will comprise a mobile money account with ICICI Bank and a Mobile Wallet - issued by MCSL. The service will allow customers to deposit and withdraw cash from designated outlets, transfer money to any bank account in India, recharge mobile and DTH services and pay utility bills. The mobile payment service will be initially launched in the eastern region of the country including Kolkata, West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand and then will be rolled out to other parts of the country.

Five firms to bid for telecom spectrum on Nov 12

Bharti Airtel, Idea, Vodafone, Videocon and Telenor-promoted Telewings are the five companies that will compete for the GSM spectrum in 1800 Mhz band in the auction slated to begin on November 12. It is conducting auction of spectrum in the band following cancellation of 122 telecom licences by the Supreme Court in February in the 2G scam case. The government aims to garner a total Rs 40,000 core from the auction of spectrum and levy of other charges on the airwaves.

Bharti Airtel Q2 net dips 29.7 per cent, income up 17.4 per cent
Bharti Airtel's net profit declined for the 11th quarter in a row, dropping 29.7 per cent to Rs 721.2 core in JulySeptember this year over the same period last year. It had posted a net profit of Rs 1,027 crore in the same period last financial year, Bharti Airtel said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Trai tries to rein in pesky SMSes, only 100 per day on discount tariff
As part of its plan to crack down on pesky short messaging service (SMSs), the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has said only 100 SMSs per day per SIM card would be allowed at concessional rates. Telecom service providers cannot charge less than 50 paise per local SMS.

Govt may Hang Up on CDMA Auction as Tatas too Pull Out

Tata Teleservices has withdrawn its application to bid for airwaves used for CDMAbased mobile services, sounding the death knell for spectrum auctions on this technology platform while reaffirming the supremacy of its rival GSM in the Indian wireless market place. Videocon, the only other participant in CDMA spectrum auction on Friday. Telecom department officials said that all bidders for GSM airwaves Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular, Telenor and Videocon had confirmed their participation in the spectrum auction in the 1800 MHz frequency band, scheduled to begin on November 12. Tata Teleservices, the countrys sixth biggest mobile operator, had previously indicated that it planned to bid for CDMA spectrum in the 800 MHz band in the North-East, Assam and Jammu & Kashmir circles, after it lost its permits in these three regions when the Supreme Court quashed 122 licences issued by former telecom minister A Raja. The withdrawal of Videocon and Tatas could reduce the governments targeted revenues from the spectrum auctions by around . 6,000 crore.

Bharti Airtel world's fourth largest operator:

Bharti Airtel is the fourth largest mobile operator in the world with over 250 million connnections globally, according to analyst firm Wireless Intelligence. China Mobile continues to be at the top spot with 683.08 million connections, followed by Vodafone Group (386.88 million) and America Movil Group (251.83 million). Bharti Airtel (250.04) and Telefonica Group (243.51) are at fourth and fifth position respectively.

EGoM for one-time fee on excess spectrum

The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on telecom, headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram decided to impose a one-time fee on mobile operators holding spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz, a step which is expected to fetch over Rs 10,000 crore to the exchequer. This will be in excess of Rs 27,000 crore surcharge that the EGoM had last week decided to impose on GSM carriers having spectrum in excess of 4.4 MHz and CDMA operators with 2.5 MHz airwaves.

2G: Govt wants Airtel, Vodafone to give up spectrum before licence renewal
Leading telecom companies Bharti Airtel and Vodafone India are in for more trouble ahead with the Telecom Commission recommending that they would have to give up the entire 900 MHz band of spectrum (being used for 2G services, which gives wider coverage) they hold when their licences come up for renewal in 2014. In order to continue operations, these companies would have to compete with other players in a fresh auction for this band of spectrum. Bharti Airtel and Vodafone hold over threefourths of the superior 900 MHz spectrum.

BSNL aims for Rs 30,000 cr revenue in 2012-13

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), the state-run telecom firm, is aiming to generate revenues of Rs 30,000 crore in the ongoing financial year, a growth of over 7 per cent over 201112. Total revenues of the company for 2011-12 declined to Rs 27,933.5 crore during the year, compared to Rs 29,687.62 crore it had posted a year ago.