No more roaming in 3G services

Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular have suffered a severe setback with the department of telecommunications (DoT) ordering them to immediately stop 3G services in telecom circles where they don’t have spectrum. The three operators have roaming pacts and offer pan-India 3G mobile services without having spectrum in several circles. 

“We have come to a conclusion that 3G roaming deals are in violation of the terms and conditions of the licence and will ask operators to stop their services through such arrangements with immediate effect,” DoT Secretary R Chandrashekhar said. 

Government to Provide Countrywide Optical Fibre Broadband Network: Milind Deora

Government has decided to own and operate a countrywide broadband network with an optical fibre base through which different operators could provide a range of services, Union Minister of State for Communications and IT, Milind Deora announced today while inaugurating 8th Broadband Tech India Conference organised by Bharat Exhibitions.

“Keeping future users of this network in mind this will to be a non-discriminatory access to all types of information and services” Mr. Deora told. “This network would be the way governance will be delivered to the whole nation” reaching out to the last village, he added. The Minister recalled how several countries were supporting optical fibre and wireless broadband networks to reach out to everyone. The Minister termed this project as “unprecedented” in its reach and its vision.

Hungama brings Shah Rukh Khan exclusive

The digital entertainment company Hungama.com is offering exclusive content related to Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, ahead of the release of his movie Don 2. The SRK special is called Super Khan - Shah Rukh Unlimited. 

Hungama.com provides access to exclusive SRK songs, videos, wallpapers, ringtones and movies. Furthermore, SRK games like Don 2 - Prison Break and Don 2 - The Chase are available on mobile. 

Digitisation bill signals growth opportunity for DTH companies

With the Parliament approving the Digitisation Bill recently, cable, especially, multi-specialty operators and Direct to Home, or DTH, companies are expected to grab a higher market share from local cable operators, who are reported to declare lower subscriber numbers and in turn revenues.

Companies such as Den Networks, Hathway Cable and Datacom, Wire & Wireless India, and Dish TV India are among the companies that may see potential revenue improvement over the next year or two.

Sibal says no to censorship, wants social media support

Telecom and IT Minister Kapil Sibal on 15 December 2011 said the government had no plans to censor the contents on social networking websites. After a meeting with Internet firms like Google, Facebook and Twitter, the minister said the government was trying to find ways to use these social media platforms effectively to reach out to the masses. 

The discussion came a few days after Sibal asked Internet firms to ensure that no defamatory and incendiary material are uploaded in their platforms. 

TDSAT declines to hear Media Pro in Dish TV, ESPN dispute

Broadcast tribunal TDSAT has dismissed the plea of Media Pro to hear it as a party in the dispute between DTH operator Dish TV and the global sports broadcaster ESPN on their subscription agreement.

Media Pro Enterprise is a 50:50 joint venture between the Star Den and Zee Turner. Star Den is channel distributing arm of media giant Star, while Zee Turner is for the Zee group and global media leader Turner International.

Trai issues consultation paper for FM Radio

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has sought the opinion of stakeholders whether it would be acceptable if the minimum channel spacing within a license service area can reduced from the current level of 800 KHz. 

In a consultation paper on "Issues related to prescribing minimum Channel spacing, within a license service area, in FM Radio sector in India", Trai has asked stakeholders to consider the implications of reducing/not-reducing the minimum channel spacing within a license service area. Furthermore, should the reduction of minimum channel spacing be confined to A+ and A category cities or should it be reduced across the country, and how should funding for the modification of transmitting setups be funded.