Honest

TRAI moots 2 pc of highest 3G spectrum bid amount as admin fee Press Trust of India l 10 Dec l New Delhi Telecom regulator TRAI on Wednesday proposed two per cent of the highest bid amount of 3G spectrum auction as the annual administrative charge. In its latest revised recommendations to the Government, it said two per cent of the highest bid amount in the 3G spectrum auction had been suggested as the annual administrative charge during the spectrum validity period. "As this is an additional charge on the 3G spectrum bidders, DoT has to place this before the Telecom Commission for clearance. If okayed, this will raise the cost of licence for a 3G spectrum owner or the operator," said an official. While TRAI has suggested this in response to a DoT reference over the spectrum charges for stand-alone 3G and existing 2G players, who would also bid and own 3G spectrum, DoT has accepted former's proposal on no segregation of 2G and 3G revenues. Justifying the 2 per cent charge, TRAI said, "As the operators will take time to roll out their services after the allocation of spectrum, the Authority recommends a moratorium of one year from the date of allocation of spectrum in respect of the payment of administrative charge. It is being recommended as a transparent, just, fair and equitable criterion, specific to owners of the 3G spectrum." "The all-India reserve price for 3G spectrum is Rs 2,020 crore and the number of slots to be auctioned in each circles has been referred to the Finance Ministry," the regulator said and added that it was possible to give 2G services also using the 3G spectrum and it was difficult to segregate between 2G and 3G services that could be provided using the 3G spectrum. "Therefore, the standalone 3G operator who does not have any allotment of 2G spectrum should also pay an annual spectrum charge of 3 per cent of Annual Adjusted Gross Revenue, which is equivalent to the lowest slab of 2G operator. It is clarified that this is besides the administrative charges," TRAI clarified.

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My dear Vikas, below are the addresses of Authorised Service Centre of Spice Mobiles in Bangalore : Service Centre Name : M/s Hot spot Retails Pvt Ltd Bangaloar Contact Person : Mr. Vishwanth Address : #21/2, 1st Main Road, Gandhi nagar, Opp: Indian Overseas Bank, Bangalore - 09 City, State : Bangalore , Karnataka Telephone / Mobile : 60005566 EMail ID : hemantbanswal@hotspot.co.in & Service Centre Name : M/s Digitronix Tele Services Contact Person : Mr D. Ravi Kumar Address : #65 Ist Flr Eshwari Complex dr. RajkumarRoad Prakash Nagar Bangalore City, State : Bangalore , Karnataka Telephone / Mobile : 9886208333 EMail ID : dtsravi@gmail.com Hope the above will be helpful to you. Regards.

Google's Android Gets Sony Ericsson, Vodafone 14 companies including Asus, Toshiba join Open Handset Alliance Open Handset Alliance, the group behind the Android platform, added 14 new members to its fold yesterday. The list comprises of biggies like Sony Ericsson, Asus and telecommunication major Vodafone. Other companies that embraced the Android platform include AKM Semiconductor, ARM, Atheros Communications, Borqs, Ericsson, Garmin International, Huawei Technologies, Omron Software, Softbank Mobile, Teleca AB and Toshiba Corp. Undoubtedly, the biggest entrant is Sony Ericsson, which after months of speculation and rumors finally confirmed the news of joining the alliance. Though it is quite early to contemplate on what the company is planning to offer to its costumers, it is believed that an Xperia model running Android OS is on the cards. Sony Ericsson's strategy with the Android platform could turn out to be interesting. Will the company churn out mid-level, co-branded (Walkman, Cybershot) handsets that integrate the Android OS? Or will it be an entire line-up of phones that exclusively use Android? Only time will tell. As for the others, AsusTek, Huawei and Garmin too are expected to churn out Android handsets in the very near future. Currently, only the T-Mobile G1 would be able to let you use the Android OS. The second Android based phone, the Kogan Agora has just been announced and will be available by the end of January 2009. Courtesy : Techtree

Airtel Sabarimala offer Business Line l 9 Dec l Kochi Bharti Airtel has announced the launch of two special pre-paid vouchers for its pre-paid customers. Customers from Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh who are on pilgrimage to Sabarimala can make use of the Sabarimala Pack. On Easy Recharge of Rs 120, the customer will get talk time worth Rs 107. On Easy Recharge of Rs 220, the customer will get Rs 196 worth talk time and in this option customer will also get 24 minutes of free local Airtel to Airtel calls valid for 30 days. Now Airtel has full coverage in Erumely, Pamba, Nilakkal and Sabarimala. - Our Bureau

MTNL to launch 3G services tomorrow Business Line l 9 Dec l New Delhi Plans free trial package to existing premium subscribers. _________________________________________________________________ First mover The service is expected to be launched by the Prime Minister It will launch the service in Delhi initially followed by Mumbai in two months Motorola is setting up the core network for MTNL’s 3G services _________________________________________________________________ State-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd will become the first mobile company in India to launch 3G mobile services on Thursday. The company is planning to give 3G services without any additional charge to its existing premium subscribers for a period of two months on a trial basis. The service is expected to be launched by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, during the Indian Telecom Summit in New Delhi. Speaking to Business Line, Mr R.S.P. Sinha, Chairman and Managing Director, MTNL, said, “MTNL has been the pioneer in introducing the latest technologies on its network. We were the first to launch broadband service, IPTV and Voice over Internet Protocol. Now, we are all set to become the first to launch 3G services in the country.” “We will offer our premium customers to take the 3G connection over their existing connections to start with. We want them to get a feel of the service before we ask them to pay for it. Once our network is complete we will make it available for everyone,” Mr Sinha said. The company will launch the service in Delhi initially followed by Mumbai in two months. The network in Delhi, however, is not fully complete yet. The service will be restricted initially to the New Delhi Municipal Corporation area and National Capital Region of Gurgaon. Mr Sinha said that 3G coverage in Delhi will be completed in one month. “We would have been able to complete it faster but there were some issues with the vendors facing the heat due to the economic slowdown. They were saying that they could not deliver the equipment at the cost that was agreed to due to increasing costs,” Mr Sinha said. Motorola is setting up the core network for MTNL’s 3G services. Expects more revenues Mr Sinha said that he expects a large part of MTNL’s revenues to come from the new services such as IPTV, broadband and 3G by next year. “Broadband service is already generating an income of Rs 400 crore annually. We are getting good response four IPTV and VoIP services too and by next year this time MTNL should get a significant revenue from these new services.”

mChek, redBus Launch Ticket Booking Via Mobiles mChek and redBus have tied up to facilitate booking of bus tickets through mobile phones. Customers can avail of this service by choosing the mChek option on the redBus website, or by sms-ing ‘REDBUS’ to 543219 (toll-free) from their mobile phone. This service is, however, available only to Airtel users. "mChek's vision is to make payments for all goods and services through the security and convenience of mobile phones, and we are pleased to work with redBus and extend the reach of mChek to bus ticketing," said Sanjay Swamy, CEO, mChek. SMSing 'Redbus' to 543219 allows customers to browse routes, select the appropriate journey, authorize the purchase with their mChekPIN, and receive an instant payment confirmation and ticketing information on their mobile phone. By using the mChek option on the redBus website, customers can enter their mobile number on the site and authorize the transaction on their mobile, without having to share payment credentials with a merchant. Phanindra Sama, CEO, redBus said, "redBus was founded to help travelers book bus tickets with convenience and by partnering mChek, we are taking this convenience one step further – as they can now book bus tickets just by sending an SMS." Courtesy : Tech2

End Billing Woes With mChek Pay bills through SMS Citigroup-owned broadband service provider You Telecom has announced the launch of mChek, an option for customers to pay their bills through SMS. You Telecom already has a drop box and online payment mechanisms in place. Adding a mobile bill payment option is a step towards taking convenience closer to their customers, says the company. Through mChek, users can pay your mobile bills, insurance premiums, buy air tickets, and movie tickets from the convenience of your phone. As of now, the mChek facility is being made available only to the post paid users; this service will be extended to the prepaid users soon, the company has said. Currently, You Telecom operates in 12 cities including Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, and Gurgaon. For details about this facility, view the mChek website. Courtesy : Techtree

Bluetooth 2.2 To Be Introduced In 09 Bluetooth is all set to get a much needed upgrade, in 2009. This was announced by the Bluetooth standard body called "Bluetooth Special Interest Group", which plans to introduce two new Bluetooth standards called 10x and 100x by the middle of 09. These new formats will simply be called Bluetooth 2.2 and promise significant speed jumps. The new high-speed Bluetooth standards, will work in conjunctions with WLAN or USB to offer vastly improved speeds. Given the fact that current Bluetooth 2.0 maxes out at 3 MB, a 10x jump will translate to a theoretical maximum of 30 MB and 100x would mean a speed of 300 MB. This is a fairly huge jump and it will be interesting to watch which standard can make the transition first. Given the fact that most handsets now have Wi-fi, the 10x standard will probably find more widescreen acceptance with 100x BT being relegated to notebooks and desktop use. Courtesy : Tech2

Bluetooth 2.2 Out, New Version Could be 3.0 It was just last week that word was out on the next Bluetooth upgrade to hit the market in 2009 – Bluetooth 2.2. However, according to the latest reports form the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, that’s not accurate anymore. The next version will probably be 3.0. Support features will still remain the same though with provision for obviously faster connectivity to other Bluetooth enabled devices and of course, an increase in speed of transfers. We’ll have to wait for an official announcement though so stay tuned. Courtesy : Tech2

DoT panel favours lifting rollout obligation for fixed line operators Business Line l 9 Dec l New Delhi Suggests diluting norms for mobile players. ________________________________________________ The recommendations will be discussed by the Telecom Commission, which will take the final decision on the issue. ________________________________________________ A panel set up by the Department of Telecom has suggested diluting the rollout obligations for mobile operators and completely removing it for fixed line telephone companies. If the recommendations are accepted by DoT, it will come as a relief to the private operators most of whom have not completed their rollout targets set by the Government. The DoT had also proposed to impose a fine on all the operators who have not adhered to the obligation. The committee was set up by the DoT after the industry claimed that the targets were unrealistic. Operators said that they could not fulfil the rollout obligation in time due to delays in allocating spectrum and getting clearances from various authorities. Existing rules For example, under the existing rules, operators are required to cover at least 10 per cent of each district headquarters in a circle within the first year of getting the licence. However, most operators could not launch their service in time since they got spectrum towards the end of the first year. The committee has suggested that the date of allocating the radio frequency should be taken for computing the target. It has also said that existing targets at the end of one year should be removed, which means that the operators should be given only a 3-year target. Similar concessions have already been announced by DoT for new players. It has also proposed to do away with the condition to achieve coverage inside buildings. Mobile companies had raised concerns with this rule on grounds that it was not practical to provide cellular coverage inside each and every building. The panel has said that operators should not be penalised for failing to achieve the targets in Assam, North-East and J&K circles. The DoT panel has said that the decision to allocate additional spectrum to existing players should not be linked to whether the rollout conditions have been fulfilled or not. The recommendations will be discussed by the Telecom Commission, which will take the final decision on the issue. The proposal will come as a relief for the operators who were earlier asked to collectively pay out in excess of Rs 400 crore to the Government for failing to complete the rollout obligation.

iPhone fails to take off in India Indiatimes Infotech l 10 Dec l New Delhi Launch of Apple's iconic iPhone in India on August 22 had fuelled speculation of similar frenzy that had followed its launch in the US two months ago. But the high Indian price tag seemed to douse the appetite of the Indian middle class which Apple thought would have given an arm and a leg to own the ultimate piece-de-resistance. The high price definitely disappointed iPhone lovers and aspirants alike, and Apple was lambasted for having got its strategy all wrong in this price-sensitive part of the geography. Now, it appears the doomsdayers may have been right after all. According to a media report, Apple has been able to sell no more than 12,000 iPhones in the country as against an inventory of 50,000 that its two resellers in India -- Bharti Airtel and Vodaphone Essar -- had piled up here. Apple has been mum on how many units have been sold in India ever since its launch. Flawed sales and distribution model and severe failure on the communications front have only added to the failed pricing strategy and allowed Apple's rivals like the well-entrenched Nokia, Samsung and others to come up with potent options. They are now in an advanced phase of rolling out handsets that have long been dubbed iPhone killers. According to a report in Indus Business Journal, Apple spent very little on marketing for the iPhone leading up to its launch in India. It even purchased just a handful of commercials on Indian television and had very little communication with the Indian media. "We're a product-focused company. We don't comment on pricing strategy, market outlook, country strategy, etc," Apple's Singapore-based spokeswoman was quoted as saying. But such attitude, coupled with failures on marketing and advertising front on top of a flawed pricing meant Apple had ensured that it could never sell its iconic touch phone in respectable numbers despite a very high degree of awareness about iPhone. And that, obviously, cannot be good news for any cellphone company considering India is the second biggest market for handset makers in the world. Whether Apple considers itself as one is the big question!

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Vote 4 me: 60 million cell users get spammed as politicos go tech savvy Economic Times l 10 Dec l New Delhi Here’s one mobile phone application that most users might find too bugging—political SMS campaigns via mobile phones. Yet that’s what unfolded in the recent elections. While the NSG commandos were fighting a pitched battle with terrorists in Mumbai last month, the country’s political parties were engaged in a high-pitched m-campaign, bombarding users with political messages on mobile phones. The recent election campaign in five states saw over 60 million mobile subscribers being spammed with about double the number of SMSes! Delhi alone witnessed about five million SMSes sent out by each of the main parties in the fray. And many messages were sent without scrubbing the Do Not Call (DNC) Registry list. According to the watchdog, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), spamming mobile phones of registered subscribers is illegal. If a public interest litigation is filed against them the parties may have to shell out lot of money as compensation. Taking an average of Rs 1,000 per incident, for just about one crore SMSes (far more were sent out), the size of the penalty on political parties reaches to about Rs 1,000 crore! However value added services (VAS) providers who were engaged to send the political messages said they had scrubbed the data. One97 Communication CEO, Vijay Shekhar Sharma said: “On an average, two SMSes per person were sent by each party. We have worked for all the political parties and sent out close to 50 million messages. We have scrubbed numbers from DNC and have sent out messages only to those numbers which are not registered. The parties have spent close to 6% of their total budget in this mode of promotion.” In contrast, the CEO of one of the leading SMS sending websites said that: “The mode these parties have used is illegal and their basic modus operandi was spamming. The parties did not scrub numbers with DNC registry and sent messages to people irrespective of whether they are registered with DNC or not. More than 50 lakh SMSes were sent out by each party. This apparently is banned following the scam when some messages were sent out defaming the ruling party (Congress). The parties approached us too but we refused simply because of the legal angle attached to it.” Political parties however plead ignorance. Speaking to ET, Delhi BJP unit chief Dr Harshvardhan said: “SMSes were mostly sent by party members to inform others about party meetings and announcements. However we need more clarity on it.” Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi declined to comment on the issue. Another major bulk messaging and VAS provider Valuefirst said that it scrubbed all data through the DNC database which has about one crore out of 30 crore mobile subscribers in India. “We provide application tools to independents and political parties which they can integrate with a simple spreadsheet or database, to send them SMSes,” said a Valuefirst spokesperson. A TRAI source however said that implicating a candidate in the fray will be very difficult as a mobile operator can take action only by disconnecting a line, and they are not regular telemarketers. “We are deliberating on this technical issue as anybody can send any anti-national SMS to a large population and get away by just discarding the SIM. With IP based communication, tracing a sender becomes difficult sometimes.” There are divergent views on the legality as well. Internet and Mobile Association of India president Subho Ray maintains that it’s a violation of law if a candidate sends a SMS to a voter registered with the Do Not Call Registry. But a Delhi-based telecom analyst Mahesh Uppal offers another view. “These messages are a nuisance. However, these cannot be treated as a violation of a norm since the DNC has no mechanism to deal with non-telemarketing operators. The power to act in this case lies only in the hands of the Election Commission,” he said.

"Samsung Instinct" to Challenge the iPhone Sprint Nextel Corp. will be taking on the iPhone with a lower price for its own touch-screen smart phone, the "Samsung Instinct". The carrier said Wednesday that the Instinct will cost $129.99 when released on Friday. That compares with $199 for the cheapest model of the new iPhone, which goes on sale July 11 with AT&T Inc. as the carrier. The Instinct shares many features with the new iPhone, including access to a fast wireless data network and a GPS receiver. Sprint was unusually involved in the phone's development, and plans to promote it heavily. The new iPhone costs half as much as the old one, since AT&T is now subsidizing the hardware, much like carriers do for other phones. Previously, Apple had a unique arrangement with AT&T under which the phone was sold at full price, but Apple got a share of wireless service revenue from the carrier. Before the announcement of the iPhone price cut, Sprint had indicated that the Instinct would cost more than $200. Afterward, it said it would match the price. Wednesday's announcement lowers the price further, and points to the intense competition in the smart-phone market, which has been very strong the last six months. The Instinct's price is with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate. The purchase price of a smart phone is only a fraction of the total cost of ownership, since the phones require a data plan. The cheapest monthly plan for the Instinct will cost $69.99, which ends up closer to $80 with taxes and fees. The cost for two years of service is then about $1,900. Courtesy : Tech2

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Nokia Siemens Double EDGE Speeds Nokia Siemens Networks' Dual Carrier EDGE solution, which will be available as a software upgrade, is the first step in evolving EDGE. Dual Carrier is based on the 3GPP release 7 standard. As a strong innovator of EDGE Evolution, Nokia Siemens Networks already has additional plans to introduce in its networks the next substantial step, the so called EGPRS 2B, to further double the end user experience in up- and downlink performance. This will result in downlink speeds of up to 1.2 Mbps and will double uplink speed to up to 473 kbps, thus quadrupling the capabilities of EDGE today. GSM/EDGE operators can serve their customers even better using the Dual Carrier solution as the demand for data services and connectivity is booming, proven by the steep increase on mobile broadband traffic in 3G/HSPA networks today. With Dual Carrier solution, 3G/HSPA operators can offer better service continuity for their data services. Courtesy : Techtree

Blackberry Curve 8900 Emerges Launch imminent We finally have something to hear about the new Curve which slid into hibernation for almost two months - from the RIM stables. The phone is expected to ship today in the form of a low-key corporate launch. While the Storm and the Bold dominated the scene for a better part of this year, many seem to have forgotten the Blackberry Curve 8900 that was showcased a few months ago. The 8900, also know as the Javelin, is a smaller, non-3G sibling of the Bold. With bigger, well-endowed cousins' launch being the priority, the 8900 seems to have been "sidelined". If that was not all, the Storm is still facing multiple issues with its software versions resulting in the folks at RIM left extremely busy. Now that some of the issues with the Storm have been fixed. RIM seems to have turned its attention back to the younger sibling, Curve. General consumers should get their first devices by December 8, according to fresh rumors. The 8900's spec list has been published on Blackberry News. Let's hope this one lands in India too. With 3G still seeing no signs of arrival, the Curve might turn out to be a cheaper alternative to the Storm or the Bold. Courtesy : Techtree

Blackberry Curve 8900 is Out, Finally Commercially debuts in Canada RIM (Research in Motion) has (finally) launched the much-delayed Blackberry Curve 8900 in Canada. The phone, which was out for corporate customers a few days earlier, made its commercial debut yesterday. We had reported earlier about its probable December 8 launch. The phone, sans 3G, happens to be the thinnest full-QWERTY BlackBerry smartphone to date. The phone will be available for users on the Rogers network in Canada. There is no word yet on its release elsewhere, but its worldwide launch is expected soon. Featurewise, the phone has everything you d want from a Blackberry. The device, which happens to be smaller than the Blackberry Bold, carries over the same screen albeit smaller in size. However, the resolution remains the same resulting in a crisper display. The phone also sports a 3.2 mp camera for executives who would love to snap a picture or two. Although it misses 3G, there is some saving grace in the form of WiFi support. The 1400 mAh battery provides approximately 5.5 hours of talktime and 15 days of standby time. The phone would be a good replacement for the fast ageing Curve lineup here in India. With adoption of 3G still some months away, the EDGE-enabled 8900 does make sense especially with the device expected to be cheaper than its elder sibling the Bold. Courtesy : Techtree

DoT to ring in norms for mobile radiation 31 May, 2008, 0000 hrs IST, TNN MUMBAI: India, the world’s fastest growing telecom market, will now implement the international guidelines for minimising health hazards due to emissions from mobiles and base stations. After much deliberation, department of telecom’s (DoT) policy-making arm, Telecom Commission (TC), has adopted the guidelines prescribed by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), sources told ET. ICNIRP guidelines prescribe permissible radiation levels for telecom installations, base stations, mobiles and handhelds. At a meeting held on May 27 in New Delhi, TC decided to adopt ICNIRP guidelines regarding basic restrictions and reference levels for limiting exposure to electromagnetic radiations, said sources. This implies that all mobile handsets in India will compulsorily need a certification from manufacturers that they meet standards on transmission. “For base stations, the operators will have to conduct audit and provide certification that they are meeting ICNIRP standards on emission,” sources said. ICNIRP guidelines, which provide the benchmark for maximum permissible emission, are already being followed in Spain, Germany, Australia, France, Japan and many other countries. In India, nearly 270 million customers use cellphone and there are over 1,15,000 towers, which emit electormagnetic radiations. Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC), DoT’s technical arm, has prepared the guidelines on emissions. “TEC also measured emissions at some base stations in Delhi and levels were found to be exceeding the norms in certain cases. At a later stage, TC may also set up a conformity assessment body (CAB), which will measure radiations and provide certifications. Till then, operators themselves will have to do the job,” said sources. For handsets, SAR (specific absorption rate) is an indication of the amount of radiation that is absorbed by body while using a cellphone. The unit of SAR is watts per kilogram (W/kg) and the higher the SAR rating the more radiation absorbed. ICNIRP has two sets of limits, one for general public exposure and another for occupational exposure. Globally, cellphones cannot be officially sold without specifying SAR level. In the US, a mobile exceeding SAR level of 1.6 W/kg cannot be sold while in Europe, manufacturers must ensure that the maximum SAR level of a cellphone does not exceed 2W/kg, this being the safety limit fixed by the EU council. “Manufacturers of mobiles will be asked to adopt ICNIRP standards and self-certify their products,” said sources. Among the top manufacturers, Nokia is already adhering to SAR norms. “All Nokia products, including mobile devices and base stations, comply with science-based international safety standards and limits set by public health authorities, based on SAR,” a Nokia spokesperson said. According to Indian Cellular Association president Pankaj Mohindroo, most of the handsets sold in India are branded and comply with global emission norms. Industry sources, however, said unbranded cellphones form Chinese and Taiwanese manufacturers, flooding the Indian market, are probably not adhering to these standards. According to various studies, there are two types of effects of electromagnetic waves—thermal (rise in body temperature) and non-thermal, which includes behavioural effects. Some of these effects are sleep and hearing disorders, memory disturbances and cognitive disorders. However, there is no concrete evidence of health hazards and it is widely felt that more concrete studies on the matter are needed. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that “national authorities should adopt international standards to protect their citizens against adverse levels of radio frequency fields.”

Mobile phone chip to counter radiation unveiled Brussels l 9 Dec l REUTERS Belgian health products distributor Omega Pharma will launch a chip it claims can counter potentially damaging radiation from mobile phones and has high hopes for its sales. The company, which sells non-prescription products such as wart treatments, pregnancy tests and sun tan lotions to pharmacists, unveiled the E-waves phone chip on Tuesday, a day before its launch in Belgium. Testing of the chip, which offsets the electromagnetic radiation from the phone, showed it lessened symptoms such as headaches and loss of concentration that might be associated with mobile phone use, Omega said. It also neutralized the heating effect within the body produced by electromagnetic signals. Testing of consumers appetite for the product, costing 38.95 euros ($50.1), will start on Wednesday. The company will only have 30,000 of the chips available on day one, but believes it can ramp up production easily for foreign expansion. "If we need 10 million, then we'll go for that," Chief Executive Marc Coucke told Reuters on the sidelines of the launch, although he said that was not a forecast. Coucke and the scientists who have developed the chip argue there is a growing body of evidence showing a link between mobile phone use and the growth of tumors. "It's like smoking. Eventually we reached a point where the health impact is widely acknowledged," Coucke said. However, scientists worldwide remain split between those that believe there is a risk and others who believe there is insufficient evidence to show mobile phones are unsafe. Omega, which has exclusive international distribution rights, will begin selling the product in other countries from early 2009. It will also launch three similar devices designed for use in the car, linked to a computer and in the home. Omega competes with the over-the-counter arms of pharma giants such as Johnson & Johnson and Bayer and of consumer products groups such as Procter & Gamble. Omega, the only sizeable stand-alone OTC company, ranks itself 11th in the world in that market. It is mainly active in western Europe, but is also pushing into eastern Europe.

MPs’ panel asks DoT to explain spectrum allocation Business Line l 8 Dec l New Delhi 34 questions sent focussing on procedures followed. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT has asked the Department of Telecom to explain its various decisions relating to spectrum allocation to new players, merger and acquisition guidelines and auction for 3G services. The Parliamentary Committee has sent 34 questions to DoT primarily focussing on the procedures followed in taking the decisions. On the issue of spectrum allocation, the committee points out that the telecom regulator had suggested that the current policy has to be reviewed since it is not an efficient way of using a scarce resource like spectrum. DoT has been asked to explain whether it had followed the suggestion of the TRAI and if not, any reason has been given by the DoT for not adhering to the recommendations. CVC probe Pointing to the investigation being carried by the Central Vigilance Commission on the decision to allocate spectrum on a ‘first come-first served’ basis, the Committee said that while DoT has said the policy was based on the recommendations of the TRAI, the regulator has denied it. “Please reconcile and cite specific recommendations of TRAI by which DoT was guided while allocating spectrum in the manner it has been done,” the Committee said. The Committee has also asked DoT whether excess spectrum had been given to existing cellular players and why the Government had not taken it back. M&A guidelines On the M&A guidelines, the Committee said while the TRAI has suggested that any proposal of merger and acquisition should not be entertained till the roll out obligation is met, the DoT deleted the word ‘acquisition’ from the final policy. “What were the reasons/factors necessitating deletion of the word acquisition? And to what extent do the department justify the deletion in the context of present developments?” the Committee has asked DoT. 3G auctions On the reserve price for 3G auctions, the Committee has asked the DoT to explain why it has fixed an amount that was decided two years ago. “As these recommendations were made more than 2 years back and in the meantime the mobile telephone business has seen a quantum jump in operations and profitability, does not that department think that the reserve price recommended by TRAI are not in consonance with the prevailing scenario?” the Parliamentary body posed.

Telecom Min refers matter of 3G slots to MoF Press Trust of India l 9 Dec l New Delhi Telecom Ministry has referred the matter of number of 3G spectrum slots in each circle to the Finance Ministry for a wider view. Sources said Telecom Minister A Raja wants to consult the Ministry of Finance before taking a decision on the number of 3G slots for each circle. The response of the FinMin is expected shortly. The reserve price for pan-India 3G auctions would be Rs 2,020 crore. BSNL and MTNL, the state-run companies, have already been given a slot each in Chennai and Delhi, respectively. As per the guidelines, in each circle five operators would be allotted the 3G spectrum and five more operators are expected to be allotted the spectrum on a later date. Currently, 60 Mhz of the 3G spectrum is available. Off late there are indications from the DoT that the number of players could be restricted up to five per circle, including BSNL and MTNL. This leaves out three private players in a circles. If this happens, it would be a drift from a decision announced by Raja in August, which allows five to 10 operators per circle or service area for 3G services, that enable faster data downloads via mobile phones. Operators fear of high bidding price for lesser number of slots. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had suggested that five 3G licences of five Mhz each be given through the auctioning route. Consumers may also lose out on quality of service due to restricted competition and the exorbitant bidding price (in case of less number of players), which may reflect in high retail prices for them. Industry sources said that the government has not enough radio waves at its disposal and hence it can give no more than four 3G licences, including BSNL and MTNL, in any of the 22 telecom circles. At present, there are 11 to 12 mobile operators per circle in the country. If there will be few slots up for bidding, the bids are bound to be high, an operator said.

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