Looking Back at 2019 in India: 5G Miss, AGR, Price Hikes & More

The year 2019 was a particularly tumultuous one for the Indian telecom industry. Several issues, including ever-increasing debt, low margins and the weak performance of government-owned service providers, all came to a head.

Airtel tops mobile data download, latency tests; Vodafone, Reliance Jio closely follow: Tutela

Mobile data has become extremely cheap over the past couple of years. Sure, data usage is on a rise, but what about download speeds? You have Ookla’s Speedtest and Fast.com from Netflix, to test the speeds. But when it comes with getting all-round data, Tutela is a trusted provider. According to Tutela report, Airtel offers the fastest download speeds and low-latency, followed by Vodafone and Reliance Jio.

You Broadband customers can carry forward unused data of up to 1000GB

You Broadband customers can carry forward their unused data of up to 1,000 gigabytes to their next billing cycle. Under the ‘Data Rollover’ facility for its home broadband customers, the company is allowing its users to carry forward up to 1000GB data. But, this feature is only available for those You Broadband users who are on Dual Speed (FUP) plans.

This telecom company has been penalised most for call drops

New Delhi: Penalty of around Rs 3.2 crore has been imposed on telecom operators for call drop between September 2018 - June 2019, according to the data shared by Minister of State for Communications Sanjay Dhotre in Parliament.

BSNL seeks more senior technical officer to ensure uninterrupted service

New Delhi: The state-owned telecommunications firm BSNL has urged the telecommunications department to deploy an adequate number of senior ITS officials in key management positions to ensure uninterrupted service to its customers.
The company has implemented a voluntary retirement plan to reduce the number of employees and related expenses.

Opinion | A distress call from telecom operators

 It is a market that boasts of more paying customers than the population of most countries. The transformation of Indian life that it has caused over the past decade or so, be it social or commercial, has held us spellbound.

Vodafone Idea Gets Hit With Call Drop Penalties Along With Other Telcos

Things have gotten from bad to worse for Vodafone Idea and other telecom operators. As if the dues of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues was not enough burdening for the telcos, another pressure of penalties has been slapped on these companies.

Telcos penalised Rs 3.2 crore for call drop in 12 months; maximum on Vodafone Idea

Penalty of around Rs 3.2 crore has been imposed on telecom operators for call drop between September 2018 – June 2019, according to the data shared by Minister of State for Communications Sanjay Dhotre in Parliament on Thursday.

Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad Rules Out BSNL, MTNL Disinvestment

New Delhi: The government on Thursday ruled out any plans to sell stake or disinvestment of ailing telecom PSUs -- Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) in the Parliament while fixing a target of Rs 200 crore and Rs 300 crore for them from their asset monetisation in current fiscal.

BSNL Data Voucher With 54 Days Validity and 2GB Daily Data Costs Less Than Rs 200 Among Others

Out of all the telecom operators present in the industry right now, the state-led telecom operator, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is the one which has not made the tariff hike on its prepaid plans. All the other telecom operators, including Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel, and Reliance Jio, have succumbed to the situations of the telecom industry and have now hiked their tariffs for the

Paying salaries to BSNL employees government’s priority: Sanjay Shamrao Dhotre

The government’s priority is to pay the outstanding salaries of BSNL employees and contract workers once the condition of the debt-laden firm improves, Union minister Sanjay Shamrao Dhotre informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

“The situation is dire — it is a matter of survival for everyone. Vodafone (Idea) is in losses, Airtel is in losses, (state-owned) BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd) is in losses,”

Telecom companies are seeing some desperate times as can be witnessed by the kind of statements being issued by the top most officials from the organisations. If it was Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group saying last week that Vodafone Idea will have to shut shop if the government does not intervene, it was the turn of Sunil Mittal of the Bharti group to speak extensively on the bleak scenario the industry is confronted with.

At least 92,700 BSNL, MTNL employees opt for voluntary retirement

New Delhi: The voluntary retirement plan of BSNL and MTNL was closed on Tuesday with more than 92,700 employees who opted for it, according to senior officials of public sector telecommunications companies.

BSNL offers 20 GB per day broadband plan, launches Internet Telephony service ‘Wings’

While private telcos are pushing each other to lead Internet Telephony in India, government-owned BSNL has taken the pole position with the soft launch of its internet calling product.
This is the significant move by the oldest telecom in the country where private players like Vodafone, Airtel, and Jio have already been testing the service. The move will also give an edge to BSNL which is planning pan-India 5G rollout by 2020.

Amid Revival Plan For Ailing BSNL And MTNL, Government Rules Out Disinvestment Of Telecom PSUs

The government on Thursday (12 December) ruled out any plans to sell stake or disinvestment of ailing telecom PSUs -- Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) in the Parliament while fixing a target of Rs 200 crore and Rs 300 crore for them from their asset monetisation in current fiscal.

BSNL Facing Staff Shortage After 90,000 Employees Took VRS; Can Mobile Services Disrupt?

The State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd’s (BSNL) Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) got such a success that now it is likely to create a shortage of hands, as now around 13,305 executives has already opted for this scheme.

India must have at least 3 private telcos, says Sunil Mittal

NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal called on the government to ensure that the Indian telecom market continues to have three private carriers. He also urged the Centre and the judiciary to give “sympathetic consideration” to the industry’s appeal for relief after the Supreme Court’s order on adjusted gross revenue (AGR) left companies struggling.

BSNL offers 20 GB per day broadband plan, launches Internet Telephony service ‘Wings’

While private telcos are pushing each other to lead Internet Telephony in India, government-owned BSNL has taken the pole position with the soft launch of its internet calling product.
This is the significant move by the oldest telecom in the country where private players like Vodafone, Airtel, and Jio have already been testing the service. The move will also give an edge to BSNL which is planning pan-India 5G rollout by 2020.

No salary hikes to BSNL employees – Govt

The government of India today clarified that it will not be implementing any pay revision for the employees of state-owned telecom provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd as the company has failed to meet the profitability criteria applicable for all government enterprises.
BSNL has racked up tens of thousands of crores of accumulated losses since 2009-10 due to a failure to adapt to changing customer preferences and new technology, combined with a perceived lack of customer friendliness.

Govt to give 5G spectrum to BSNL without auction

Government of India today said it has decided to give 5G spectrum to state-owned telecom service provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd without the company participating in the upcoming spectrum auction.
In 2010, the government had set apart one block of 3G and 4G spectrum for BSNL, even as other telecom operators had to fight long and hard to get their share.

MTNL seeks shareholders' nod to raise funds, monetise land and holdings

State-owned MTNL on Wednesday said it will seek shareholders' nod for monetisation of land and buildings as well as for raising up to Rs 6,500 crore through non-convertible debentures (NCDs).
Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) said the company's extraordinary general meeting will be held on January 8, 2020, in this regard.

BSNL Subscribers Have Good Substitutes for 56 Days Validity Plans from Private Telcos

The latest news in the telecom industry is about the tariff hike which the telecom operator brought together for the subscribers. All the private telecom operators, Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and

BSNL Has Several Plans Offering Talk Time to Be Used After Running Out of Daily Calling Limit

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has started limiting voice calls on a daily basis. Almost all the unlimited prepaid plans from BSNL now has a daily FUP limit of 250 minutes, post which all the calls will be charged at standard rates. Similar to private telcos, BSNL is also providing several talk time plans to the customers and they at as low as Rs 10. The company also has a talk time plan of Rs 5,500 which comes with extra TT benefit of Rs 6,000. Bharti Airtel also has a prepaid plan of Rs 5,000, whereas Jio and Vodafone Idea have a maximum talk time plan of Rs 1,000. Besides BSNL, no other telco is shipping full talk time benefit with the talk time plans.

BSNL will get 4G spectrum, Lok Sabha told

The financial health of state-owned telecom company, BSNL, compromised personal data of users targeted through Pegasus software, filling up vacancies in High Courts and steps taken to prevent rail accidents in animal corridors were all raised during Question Hour in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Is Modi’s BSNL, MTNL rescue strategy real?

NEW DELHI: It was Wednesday afternoon October 23, 2019. Nearly a million individuals directly or indirectly linked to the two sick telecom companies– Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL)— were breathlessly awaiting the outcome of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-headed Union Cabinet’s meeting underway.