Sterlite Technologies, a leading global provider of wire and cable solutions for the power and telecom industry, has pocketed a contract worth Rs 24 crore from Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL), to supply fiber optic cables with the highest density ever to be deployed in the country.

Under the arrangement, the company would supply ribbon-liter 288F ribbon fiber optic cables to BSNL, which BSNL would initially install at nearly 100 city sites across the country. This is the first time ever that, fiber optic cables higher than 144F would be deployed in India.

Reliance Communications (RCom), part of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, has finally launched its GSM services across major cities in the country.

The firm has initially launched the service in Mumbai, Delhi, Gujarat, Punjab, Bangalore and Chennai.

According to sources, the company has provided GSM phones to its employees for testing the service installed over 2,500 towers in Mumbai and Delhi circles and invested around Rs 800 crore each for the purpose.

Unitech, India's second-biggest real estate developer, has informed that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued the letters to its telecom subsidiaries for the allotment of 4.4 MHz of spectrum in the 1800 MHz GSM band in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh (West) Service Areas.

With this allotment, Unitech has been allotted intial spectrum in 12 service areas out of the 22 circles.

Earlier this month, the company received spectrum in Maharashtra, Mumbai, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh (East) service areas.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has decided to permit the resale of the International Private Leased Circuits (IPLC). The move of the telecom department would help the fast-growing small and medium enterprises (SME).

The telecom ministry has created a new category of license called “Resale of IPLC Service”. Business process outsourcing units, software exporters, call centers and banks can get maximum benefit from the resale of International Private Leased Circuits as such industries depend on leased line services to serve the customers.

UAE based Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat), acquired a 45% stake in Swan Telecom, the Mumbai-based Dynamix Balwas Group company for $900 million. It would ease the entry of the foreign telecom firm in the Indian telecom sector. Etisalat had already paid the required telecom license fee. Swan had also paid fees to operate in 13 telecom circles of India. However, total amount of $400 million as license fee, is required to cover total 22 telecom sectors of India.