Big boost to Elon Musk’s Starlink as India opts for spectrum allotment
Sunil Bharti Mittal-led Airtel and Reliance had lobbied for auction of satellite spectrum.
Sunil Bharti Mittal-led Airtel and Reliance had lobbied for auction of satellite spectrum.
The new telecom bill has also proposed a provision to waive off any fee, interest and penalties of telecom service providers.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had earlier recommended a certain amount of exclusive spectrum to be earmarked for private 5G networks.
Apart from handholding a stressed industry, the larger question is—what does GoI hope to achieve by owning a stake in a standalone telco?
The auction made the exchequer richer by around ₹77,815 crore. According to earlier estimates, the government had put on the block airwaves worth ₹3.92 lakh crore.
As 5G commercial launches are set in motion through spectrum auctions, Communication Service Providers must strategise their investments that would drive the 5G-related business growth.
A new Supreme Court order burdens telecom companies with additional payments to the government. Already highly leveraged, these companies will put additional stress on banks.
A settlement with shareholders such as HSBC Daisy Investments improves R-Com’s chances of proceeding with its deal with Reliance Jio, but the Ericsson matter needs to be resolved too.
Even as heavy consolidation in the telecom space signals more job losses to come, the Department of Telecom says it is working on opening up new job opportunities.
The National Company Law Tribunal’s Mumbai bench admitted three petitions by Ericsson to start bankruptcy proceedings at Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications.