City Sanchar Financial News

CERT-In) had reported possible intrusion and data breach at state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) on May 20, 2024, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. An Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC) has been constituted to conduct an audit of the telecom networks and suggest remedial measures for prevention of data breaches in the telecom networks, Minister of State for Communications Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

government has named senior telecom department official Robert Jerard Ravi as chairman and managing director (CMD) of Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL), along with Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL) and Bharat Broadband Network (BBNL) for a period of six months. According to an order issued by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, the government has decided to not extend the tenure of Pravin Kumar Purwar, current CMD of BSNL beyond July 14. «Entrustment of additional charge of the post of CMD, BSNL along with CMD, MTNL and CMD, BBNL to Ravi A Robert Jerard, DDG (SRl), DoT for a period of six months w.e.f. July 15, 2024, till January 14, 2025, or until further orders, whichever is earlier,» the order said.

«There is enough competition in the telecom sector and the situation is not critical that requires intervention of the authorities. Consumers may feel some pinch of the price rise, but the hike has happened after three years,» one of the officials told ET, asking not to be named. India's three private telcoraised mobile tariffs by 11-25%, with the changes taking effect this week. As per analysts, this would increase the spending on telecom services in urban India to 2.8% of household expenditures in fiscal 2025 from 2.7% in FY24.

government is considering the option of handing over operations of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) to BSNL through an agreement, instead of pursuing a merger route, a source privy to the development said. A final call on this is likely to be taken in a month's time. The source said the option of handing over debt-laden MTNL's operations to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) through an agreement is being looked into. The source said that given MTNL's high debt, a merger with BSNL was not a favourable option. Once the decision is taken, the proposal would be placed before the Committee of Secretaries, and thereafter taken to the Cabinet.

TCS too received a big boost from a $1.83-billion network project that it is executing for Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). A senior equity analyst at a Mumbai-based brokerage firm said the company’s performance was “better than expectations." “There is a clear environment of weakness in the industry, and recovery has not panned out as yet. On overall terms, HCL’s business has strong foundations, and we saw its resilience clearly in the last fiscal.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) reported a sequential 3.16% drop in net profit in the June quarter due to the impact of wage hikes for many of its 600,000-plus workforce and an unabated slowdown in demand. TCS posted a net profit of Rs 12,040 crore, below analyst expectations but 8.7% up from the year earlier. It reported revenue of Rs 62,613 crore, up 5.4% from the year earlier and 2.25% sequentially. The company didn’t signal any significant uptick in technology services demand, which has hit an all-time low due to macroeconomic uncertainties and geopolitical strife that’s impacted the key markets of the US, the UK and Europe. Much of the incremental growth came from the Rs 15,000 crore deal with state-owned telco Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) signed last year that led to its India business showing a jump of 61.8% from the year earlier.

telecom regulator has called on mobile users to report fraudulent calls, text messages and WhatsApps from third-party agencies falsely claiming to be the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) and threatening disconnections.

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) will prepare a three-year roadmap to transform state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) so that it can effectively compete with private telecom operators.

financial fraud. These calls seem to originate from within India but are actually made by cyber-criminals abroad who manipulate the calling line identity (CLI).

Also read | Prashanth Prakash: Master Mentor For Lakshminarayanan, used to moving frequently and living in different countries, this unexpected start to his new role driven by the pandemic was just another problem that needed to be worked out. “You are just able to move on quickly," he says about the impact that constant travelling and moving have had on him.

The Lok Sabha elections 2024 have witnessed a significant voter turnout, with polling stations registering approximately 66.95 per cent participation during the four phases of the ongoing general polls. This marks a substantial engagement from the populace, with an estimated 451 million individuals exercising their voting rights.

digital intelligence platform (DIP) to the servers of Amazon Web Services (AWS) from those run by state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) and the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT) triggered a fierce initial reaction from mobile phone companies. They seem to have backed down after the DoT told them that critical subscriber database records (SDRs) of customers won't be stored on AWS. The DIP is used to help fight cyber crimes and fraud. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) had called the move «abrupt and unilateral» in a May 11 letter to DoT secretary Neeraj Mittal and telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. COAI represents India's top telcos Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea. The carriers had added that the shift would compromise the privacy of consumers' personal data due to the inherent nature and architecture of such cloud-based solutions.

Telecom regulator to revive talks on spectrum allocation “The courts had to be informed and the application has been disposed of. The government will not go back to the Court," the person said.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) matches in the IPL continue to witness massive turnouts, with fans cheering loudly for the team and especially for former captain MS Dhoni. However, scammers are trying to take advantage of Dhoni's popularity by sending deceptive messages on Instagram. The Department of Telecom (DoT) has cautioned fans to stay alert and not fall prey to these fraudulent schemes. In a recent alert posted on their official platform, the DoT revealed that scamsters are impersonating MS Dhoni on Instagram and requesting money from unsuspecting individuals. «Hi, I am MS Dhoni, messaging you from my private account. I am currently in the outskirts of Ranchi and I have forgotten my wallet. Could you please transfer ₹600 via PhonePe so I can return home by bus? I will send the money back once I am home,» read a screenshot of the Instagram message shared by the DoT.

telecom industry recorded a 1.88% sequential growth in adjusted gross revenue (AGR) to Rs 67,835 crore in the October-December quarter, led by growth of Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, which expanded their 5G services. State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) also saw its AGR for mobile services rise but cash-strapped Vodafone Idea continued to witness a decline. As per data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Tuesday, of the total AGR of the telecom industry, access or mobile services contributed 82.07% at Rs 55,669.76 crore while NLD (national long distance) AGR stood at 6,523.30 crore and ISP (internet service provider) AGR at Rs 3,881.79 crore.

Bloomberg poll of analysts, showed the Noida-headquartered company may grow revenues by 4.7% in FY24, the best by a large-cap firm in India's $253-billion IT services industry. In comparison, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s largest IT services firm by market value, could end the year with a slightly slower revenue growth of close to 4%, driven by what Nomura and HDFC Securities project could be a 1.5% sequential growth in dollar revenue in the March quarter. TCS’s revenue growth in the quarter could be driven by a digital transformation deal it won from state-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.

Chakshu portal and under the Sanchar Sathi initiative. The portal aims to empower subscribers to report suspected fraud calls and messages, as well as instances of leaked phone numbers by businesses. The new platforms, 'Chakshu' and 'Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP)', will integrate with the Sanchar Saathi portal, enabling prompt sharing of intelligence among various stakeholders. Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Union IT and Communications Minister, emphasized the effectiveness of digital measures in fighting fraud and crime. Over the past nine months, these measures have resulted in citizens saving approximately Rs 1,000 crore and freezing Rs 1,008 crore in bank accounts linked to fraudulent transactions. Subscribers can utilize the Chakshu portal to report incidents of leaked mobile numbers, with appropriate action promised against wrongdoers.

Sanchar Saathi portal, which was unveiled in May last year. While launching the platform, Union Minister for Communications Ashwini Vaishnaw said, the government has been persistently making efforts to check cyber-frauds under the Secure India project.

BSNL Revamp: In an attempt to provide an impetus to the state-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to compete effectively with private players, the government is exploring various measures, including network upgrades and employee cost rationalisation, according to a report by Economic Times. Also Read | Is it too late to revive BSNL? The recommended initiatives also include improving sales and distribution channels along with introducing more value-added services (VAS), sources said, as per the report.

telecom gear company HFCL has bagged an order worth Rs 179 crore from state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited to supply 4G and 5G network equipment, the company said on Tuesday. Out of the total advance purchase order worth Rs 179 crore, the company has secured an order worth Rs 141 crore comprising Rs 119 crore in capital expenditure and Rs 22 crore for annual maintenance contract. «HFCL has secured a purchase order worth Rs 141 crore(Capex Rs 119 crore and AMC Rs 22 crore) from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) out of the advance purchase order worth Rs 179 crore issued to the company,» HFCL said in a statement. Under this order, HFCL will provide product and services to BSNL crucial for supporting 4G and 5G network requirements. The scope under this order encompasses initial planning, on-site surveys, supply installation, testing, commissioning, operations and annual maintenance of microwave links.

Airtel added the maximum number of 4G/5G subscribers in November with 3.98 million users joining its network, followed by Reliance Jio with 3.45 million. Beleaguered Vodafone Idea added 0.96 million 4G subscribers, even as it continued to lose overall wireless subscribers, data shared by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) said Monday. At the end of November 30, Reliance Jio commanded the leadership position in wireless broadband space with 455.82 million subscribers followed by Bharti Airtel with 255.07 million and Vodafone Idea at 126.63 million.