As per the telecom department's statistics, there are 7,05,131 telecom towers and 23,25,948 base transceiver stations while merely less than 33% of sites are fiberised as of March 2022.
India’s top telcos—Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea—in their recent submissions had urged the regulator to cut the starting price of 5G airwaves in the mid-band and 700 Mhz bands, by up to 95% and set low starting rates for the new frequencies to be put on sale.
Spectrum in the `E’ band, which falls between 71-76 Ghz and 81-86 Ghz, and `V’ band, between 57-64 Ghz, can transmit data at super speeds of around 1,000 megabit per second m.
In a letter to Telecommunications Secretary K Rajaraman, dated March 14, 2022, BSNL Chairman Pravin Kumar Purwar said: “BSNL is in the best position and has previous experience in rolling out mobile networks in difficult terrain with complete professionalism.
The government has removed several revenue heads that were part of AGR as well as abolished spectrum usage charges (SUC) on radio waves that will be purchased in the future auctions as part of the telecom reforms last year.
Telcos, whose 5G trial permits draw to an end on November 26, had cited lack of readiness of the 5G ecosystem partners as one of the reasons for seeking extension of the trial time period.
The telcos have challenged the DoT demand for Rs 3,050 crore as cumulative penalties for allegedly denying adequate points of interconnection (PoIs) to Reliance Jio which affected quality of its services
Telecom operators will now be able to share active infrastructure, including core networks following amendment made by Department of Telecom in the licence norms.
The Delhi High Court has directed the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) not to revoke Reliance Communications (RCom) telecom licenses for another 10 days and has asked the defunct telco to approach the dedicated bankruptcy court for relief.
The new portal under the Cyber wing of the National Security Council Secretariat will mandate telecom service providers to use equipment through trusted or authentic sources only.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is likely to ask telecom operators to conduct trials of 5G technology in rural areas also, along with urban centres for which they have been given permission, an official source said.
Get updates on your preferred social platform
Follow us for the latest news, insider access to events and more.
