Telecom Sector

GTL Infra raises Rs 7265 crore; plans to setup 23,700 telecom towers by 2011

Telecom infrastructure provider GTL Infrastructure has raised Rs 7265 crore through a mix of debt and equity to fund the expansion of its telecom towers business.

BSNL ties with PNB for ‘Bill Payment System’

Government Plans To Link 5,000 Blocks Via Broadband

The government announced that as soon as the third generation spectrum is allocated, it will connect 5,000 blocks through wireless broadband.

The Department of Telecom (DoT), said it through a statement that the connecting of 5,000 blocks will be done with the help from DoT’s Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), after the spectrum is allocated through an auction by the end of this year.

The USOF, which promotes rural telephony, gets five percent of private players’ earnings as a support. DoT also confirmed about the village to be coonected, which comes in 10 km radius of the block headquarters.

Give full talk-time on recharges: TRAI

TRAINew Delhi, Sep 1 : Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today directed telecom operators to waive off the processing charge on the top-up cards of recharges, resulting in full talk time.

Prepaid mobile subscribers will henceforth, have to pay just an administrative fee not exceeding Rs. two per recharge and other applicable taxes, TRAI said.

TRAI said that it has come to its notice that telecoms are deducting a fixed amount even for recharges exclusively meant for providing talk time to subscribers who already have validity.

British Telecom May Exit Tech Mahindra

The UK’s largest telecom company, British telecom (BT), may be considering an exit from Tech Mahindra and further may sell out all or part of its 31% stake in the telecom software services company.

Though, it is not confirmed whether any transaction is about to happen, a relevant industrial official who knows a lot about the recent development informed that its not the right time to talk about BT’s exit. The official clarified, “BT has not approached Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) and there is no indication of a formal process. All one can say is that they could be contemplating selling at some stage.”

Ericsson to build and operate network for Saudi Arabia’s smart city

EricssonNicosia, Aug 30: Ericsson, which is the worlds leading provider of services and technology to telecom operations, has been awarded a contract worth 85 million dollar to supply, build, integrate, operate and manage multi-play communications infrastructure for Saudi Arabia’s high-tech flagship city, the King Abdullah Economic city (KAEC).

When the project is completed, King Abdullah Economic City, near Jeddah, will be the world’s truly smart city.

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