IDA Decreased wef April 2014
It is reliably learn't that the IDA w.e.f. 01.04.2014 has decreased by 2.1%. Therefore the new rate of IDA will be 88.4%.  

CC SNATTA WBTC

31-03-2014: regarding TTA being Circle cadre

it is learnt that  Mangement connittee aproved agreed TTA to Circle Cadre... all the DSs and All members of Snatta wb circle are requested to send their veiws on the matter... that we should accept or protest ... wheather TTA cadre will be benefitted/hampered by including only TTAs into Circle cadre excluding all other NE employees...? whats your opinion send it within 2 days.....to snattawb.cs@gmail.com

31-03-2014: thanks to Dharmendra Verma , Gujrat Circle, our Ex-GS snatta chq, for his contribution Rs. 300/- towards roshan barla

31.03.2014: Thanks to The Divisional secretary as well as all the members of of Krishnagar SSA for deposition of Rs 2500 to Roshan Barla

31.03.2014:Anupam Shrivastava: Director (Consumer Mobility), BSNL first interview

Government-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is going through interesting times. On one hand, the company is all set to merge with its sister company, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) and on the other hand it is getting ready to welcome its new Chairman and Managing Director. BSNL's Director-Consumer Mobility, Anupam Shrivastava would be taking charge of the company as its CMD on July 1, 2014. In his first interview, Anupam Shrivastava talks at length about his vision for the company, the road ahead on the enterprise side and how merger with MTNL will change things. Here are the excerpts from the interview: On The Vision Ahead I am supposed to take over as CMD of BSNL from July 1, 2014 based on approval from the government. What we see now is a loss of Rs 8,000 crore although it has stabilized in the last two-to-three years. However, if you analyse the profit and loss account you will realize that most of this loss is coming from depreciation. It is probably a silver lining that we are not making operational loss. We are more or less meeting our revenue. Having said that the prime focus before us is to convert the Rs 8,000 crore loss into profit sooner than later. Our P&L should improve and we again see ourselves as a company that makes profit. Our prime focus would be on making profit and then we would be looking at profits of Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 crore. Our topline right now stands between Rs 26,000 crore and Rs 27,000 crore. So our turnover should go up to between Rs 36,000 crore and Rs 37,000 crore. And it is not impossible since BSNL has a lot of inherent capabilities. We would be focusing on three core areas: mobile data communication, landline broadband and leasing out of infrastructure. We are confident that if we focus on these areas, which are showing positive trends then we should be able to generate the kind of topline that would put us back on the path of profitability. We are focusing on making our company data centric, we are focusing on changing our network to carry out the data. We would like to emerge as a company which is a very powerful data infrastructure provider. We are well positioned for that because we have landline assets. We have around seven lakh kilometer of fiber with us and if we are able to converge this capacity with our mobile capacity I think we will emerge very strong. Similarly, we have tower assets, passive infrastructure, and we also have factory assets. On Monetizing Optical Fiber Assets Monetizing the optical assets is a very strategic decision. We need to ensure that if and when we monetize our optical infrastructure we are very careful in taking decisions. Should it be required we would also go for monetization of optical fiber network. Our optical fiber network is our biggest strength. As far as passive infrastructure is concerned there is no doubt in our mind that it is expected to bring us a lot of revenue. On Mobile Data Uptake One parameter that we are watching is our thoroughput on a day-to-day basis. It used to be 75 to 80 terabytes and has now gone up to 120 to 130 terabytes. So there is a jump of 50 to 60 percent. Market has that demand and hunger… if we are improving on our connectivity, our IP addresses, if we are making our radios compatible to the data, we find that whatever we do is consumed. That shows the hunger for data in the market. Last two years, some kind of turnaround has happened and we are again in a position to improve on our mobile network. We are putting up the latest mobile network in all the zones. So now as far as network availability and capacity is concerned we have got things and networks in place, we have got orders in place and things are being rolled out at a very fast pace. On Enterprise Business The moment we talk about the enterprise business we realize that we are not present in Delhi and Mumbai. This synergy will come when BSNL and MTNL merge. However, the enterprise business will not take off only with the merger of two entities. It requires vision and we should do away with the way we work, our legacy mindset. Along with the synergy between BSNL and MTNL we need to generate new skills and new temperament. There is no dearth of business in the enterprise segment. Market is looking at us to provide that service, especially the Government sector. We ourselves lag and that is why we don’t get it. On Challenge From Private Telcos In The Enterprise Space Obviously the challenge is going to be there. The business will not come walking to you. You have to make effort and prove yourself. Gone are the days when you can just provide the service and you don’t provide customer service. Now we have our technical infrastructure in place, we have 100 percent redundancy in all our networks with the result that we are in a position to meet the SLA requirements, which is prime. We are focusing on both the government and private sectors, because that is where the business is. On BSNL+MTNL Synergy BSNL network is very good and matches the standards. But when we come to Delhi and Mumbai. MTNL in the past was not in a position to invest and in fact they are not in a position to invest even now, so they need to improve their services now. The perception of our services is affected because of MTNL’s service in Delhi and Mumbai. The merging of BSNL and MTNL will help in the sense that MTNL’s network in Delhi and Mumbai can be improved without much investment. The coming together of BSNL and MTNL will also help in saving us a lot of revenue. We are raising bills, that part will go away. On that bill we are raising taxes, that part will go away. Union is not opposing this as a principle…see BSNL is not having much debt if you compare it with other telcos like Bharti, Vodafone and Idea. MTNL’s debt is too high and has almost eaten away their net worth. They [Union] feel that MTNL’s debt’s impact should not come in such a way that it spoils your overall structure. It is a very valid concern. The debt should be either taken care off or written off. The debt should not impact our strengths. The talks of merger between the two are at a very advanced stage and should come through in the next six months. MTNL would be merging in BSNL and I feel Bharat Sanchar Nigam is a beautiful name, so we would like to continue with that. On Controversy Surrounding CDMA spectrum We have been given two carriers in all the circles and Government wants us to surrender one carrier. We evolved with two carriers. It just so happened that CDMA subscribers shrunk. However, if you look at the system it is based on two carriers. Now we have to transit and move to one carrier and that requires some investment. It is also going to be time consuming. Government does not want us to surrender the services since it knows that CDMA provides services to rural poor in fact. On Offering Application-Specific Service Plans We should be in a position to ensure that our customers get the data service they require. For instance, if you want to only access Facebook while other person only wants Twitter, then we should be in a position to provide that. We don’t have this functionality right now but we are trying to get that. We should be in a position to offer function-wise data services. On Leasing Towers To Reliance Jio We are the second largest tower infrastructure company after Indus I think. Our towers are being given to Idea, Airtel and other private operators. Proposal is there from Reliance Jio and we are actively considering towers to be given.

31.03.2014: SSA Wise Land Line Target For Financial Year 2014-2015

We are very much amazed about the farce of Management that huge no of telephone lines have been disconnecting day by day due to poor services, but they are not bother about it and quarterly basis new land line target has issued by them . Total target for West Bengal Circle for the year 2014-2015 on quarterly basis: Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 TOTAL 5375 5375 5575 5675 22000 SSA wise target: SSA Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 TOTAL ASN 850 850 850 900 3450 BKU 175 175 200 200 750 BHP 250 250 275 275 1050 CAL 725 725 750 750 2950 COB 250 250 250 250 1000 GTK 250 250 250 250 1000 JPG 375 375 400 400 1550 KGP 250 250 250 250 1000 KSH 250 250 250 250 1000 MDA 175 175 200 200 750 PRL 100 100 125 125 450 RAJ 225 225 225 225 900 SLG 850 850 850 900 3450 SUR 175 175 200 200 750 TOTAL 5375 5375 5575 5675 22000

30.03.2014: Our TTA friend Anup Raj and Dilip Parmar from BHARUCH SSA, GUJARAT CIRCLE, donated Rs 600/- toward Roshan Barla's Family...

28.03.2014: Great News for all Direct Recruited TTAs. As per NFTE CHQ site, The Committee constituted to finalise the revised R/R of JTO Cadre has agreed to reduce the qualifying service for LICE to 5 years in place of 7 years...

28-03-2014: Gangtok SSA TTA joined snatta wb by filling up the original hard copy form of snatta.........thanks to Rakesh and Chetri for their cooperation ........

28.03.2014: Koyu circle brought under BSNL

ITANAGAR: The BSNL has brought the entire Koyu circle of East Siang district under its network, fulfilling the demands of people of the area.

The network will cover Koyu EAC headquarters and 10 other nearby villages, a source said here on Thursday. Koyu zila parishad member Takir Kakki, who had moved the BSNL general manager in Itanagar for extension of its service to the area, expressed gratitude to the BSNL authorities for fulfilling the demand.

Koyu EAC headquarters with more than 4,000 people was established 20 years ago. Later, a circle office was established at Korang.

The Koyu-Korang area in Nari-Koyu constituency is lagging far behind the rest of the states in terms of infrastructure development. Though there is a full-fledged circle office, higher secondary school and various other departmental offices at Korang, people are still suffering a lot due to lack of proper road connectivity.

28.03.2014: 2G case: Court dismisses Loop Telecom plea for settlement

NEW DELHI: A special CBI court here today dismissed a plea by Loop Telecom Limited seeking directions for referring to Lok Adalat a case arising out of the 2G scam probe, saying prima facie there were "no chances of settlement" and the case has "wider ramifications". 

Special CBI Judge O P Saini turned down the plea of Loop Telecom Ltd (LTL), chargesheeted by the CBI along with promoters of Essar Group and Loop Telecom. 

"Prima facie, there are no chances of settlement. CBI is opposed to settlement and DoT agrees with it. As such, the case does not appear to be fit to be referred to Lok Adalat," the court said. 

"The case of the prosecution is that the DoT was induced by the applicants/accused to grant these valuable licences and thereafter, spectrum to them by deceit. 

"Accordingly, considering the wider ramifications of the case, nature of allegations and the orders of the Supreme Court, I do not find that the case is good enough to be referred to Lok Adalat as CBI is expressly opposed to it and the DoT has decided to go along with the views of the CBI," the judge said. 

During the arguments, CBI had opposed LTL's plea saying Lok Adalat normally looks into or disposes of cases of petty nature, whereas this case has wider ramifications and magnitude and was investigated under the close monitoring of the apex court. 

CBI had also argued that the Supreme Court has designated the special trial court as the only court to deal with matters arising out of 2G cases and no other court can entertain this matter. 

DoT had told the court that it would abide by any decision taken by the court in the matter after taking into account the views of CBI. 

LTL had argued that the company was facing trial for the alleged offence under section 420 (cheating) read with 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and these offences are compoundable. 

Lok Adalat is an alternative dispute resolution mechanism by which the parties involved in civil and compoundable criminal cases try to arrive at a compromise to settle their case. 

f the concerned parties do not arrive at a compromise, the matter is remanded back to the court for disposal. As per the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), offence under section 420(cheating) of the IPC is compoundable if both the complainant and the accused arrive at a mutual consent. 

Essar Group promoters Ravi Ruia and Anshuman Ruia, Loop Telecom promoters Kiran Khaitan, her husband I P Khaitan and Essar Group Director (Strategy and Planning) Vikash Saraf are facing trial in the case along with three firms -- LTL, Loop Mobile India Ltd and Essar Tele Holding Ltd. 

All of them have denied the charges levelled by CBI. CBI had filed the charge sheet against them alleging they had cheated DoT by using Loop Telecom as a "front" to secure 2G licences in 2008. 

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28.03.2014: UTStarcom in $24 million multi-service access network deal with BSNL

UTStarcom today announced a $24 million contract with Indian telecoms BSNL to will supply multi-service access network (MSAN) equipment and support design, engineering and installation.

The state run BSNL is upgrading its network to offer next generation multi-media services to its customers. The upgrade entails migrating existing PSTN/ISDN customers to next generation network (NGN) to enable supplementary services using Internet Protocol along with basic telephony.

The upgrade will cover broadband lines for a wide swath of residential and enterprise customers across western and northern regions of India that include large urban centers such as Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakand and Chattisgargh.

BSNL starts migration to IP-based Huawei NGN switches to reduce Opex

Recently, Chinese telecom network vendor announced its NGN switch deal with BSNL to migrate its traditional telephone exchanges to Internet Protocol (IP) based NGN. The IP transition will be in phases and will cover all major telecom circles of BSNL.

As part of the NGN deal, BSNL will migrate 4 million existing PSTN subscribers to IMS platform and offer next generation services besides voice, such as video, IPTV, IP-Centrex and MMVC.1 million lines will be replaced in Phase-1 and 3 million lines in Phase-2 to migrate existing 4 million PSTN subscribers to IMS (IP Multi-media Subsystem) platform.

UTStarcom is working with India government-owned telecom equipment vendor ITI for the BSNL network upgrade.

RK Upadhyay, chairman and managing director of BSNL, said: “UTStarcom has been a reliable partner in the past, and we have deployed a large number of their broadband access products on our network.”

UTStarcom India claims that it already holds 35 percent share for broadband Internet network equipment. There are approximately 15 million wireline broadband customers in India, of which UTStarcom has supplied more than six million DSL ports.

UTStarcom’s customers in India include telecom service providers, such as Bharti Airtel and Tata Communications.

Recently, UTStarcom launched a major sales and marketing initiative to promote its latest broadband products to carriers in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific.

28.03.2014: BSNL’s decision on solar technology in naxal areas flawed: DoT

KOLKATA: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has pulled up state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) for its decision to use a solar-powered conventional technology solution for establishing mobile connectivity in the country's Naxalite hotbeds, claiming it is both expensive and ill-suited for meeting rollout challenges in these inhospitable regions. 

"Capex cost of the conventional solar-based system proposed by BSNL would be 119% more than the original cost estimates for establishing mobile networks in regions prone to Left-wing extremism (LWE)," according to an internal note seen by ET. 

DoT said the higher capex projection is based on bid details of BSNL's recent GSM expansion tender for the west zone. For instance, BSNL's capex component for powering 1,836 sites in the west zone, using such a conventional network solution, is pegged at Rs2,876 crore, effectively 119% higher than the Rs1,314-crore capex estimate of rolling out an equal number of sites using GSM technology advocated by the DoT and the Universal Services Obligation Fund (USOF). 

The USOF, which is an independent DoT arm, will fund the Cabinet-approved mobile rollout in Naxal areas, internally known as the LWE venture. But the project has been hanging fire as the USOF is opposed to a 28.5% cost escalation proposed by BSNL for rolling out such mobile networks. 

The state-run telco, which is implementing the LWE project, has justified the cost escalation on the ground that it will have to buy network gear at current market rates. 

BSNL's plans to buy the solarbased network gear from Delhibased VNL and Himachal Futuristic Communications LtdBSE -2.19 % (HFCL) at current market rates. VNL, which is the lowest bidder (L1), will meet 70% of BSNL's needs while HFCL, the second (L2) bidder, will supply the remaining requirement if it matches VNL's price bid. 

A BSNL director aware of the matter said "there is no difference" in the solar-based network solution being offered by VNL and HFCL viz-a-viz the solar-based GSM solution proposed by USOF and DoT. "Both companies have demonstrated the compatibility of their products and they meet the general requirements specified by DoT's Telecom Engineering Centre".

28.03.2014: BSNL offers free calls for telephone e-bills

KOLKATA: State-owned telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd ( BSNL) has taken a step toward paperless telephone bills or electronic bills to attract consumers offering 10 free units per month. 

"We are trying to send telephone bills on e-mail as a greener initiative. Customer who decide to accept paperless telephone bills will get 10 free units per month as incentive," Calcutta Telephones CGM Gautam Chakraborty said here today. 

This would help in reducing postal delays of telephone bills and reduce cost, Chakraborty said speaking at an interactive session with the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 

Calcutta Telephones had taken several measures to cut cost and boost revenue by raising tariffs after reeling under financial constraints. 

"We have decided to levy rental of Rs 140 on free phones offered earlier on main phone line with broadband connection," Chakraborty said, adding that consumers with phones with bills below Rs 500 would have to pay the Rs 140 or would be disconnected. 

There were total 38,000 free phones of which 2,500 phones generated revenue of less than Rs 500 a month. 

26.04.2013:Kolkata state transport buses will have telephone facility

KOLKATA: Come September and some of the Calcutta State Transport Corporation buses will have mobile facility.

A senior CSTC official said, "We will be the first in the country to introduce this system by which the passenger will be able to pay and make a telephone call. This will be like a mobile public booth." Mobile telephone sets will be available on the buses and the commuter will be charged the same rate as that of a public booth.

The CSTC authorities have invited BSNL, Hutch and Airtel to quote their prices. The official said, "For us, this will be a zero investment. The mobile telephone companies will invest and earn." The CSTC will purchase around 300 new Euro II compliant buses next month. The mobile phone service will be introduced in five of these buses. "We shall first install the telephone service on five new buses first. If it works, we shall introduce the service in more buses," the official said.

But what made CSTC think in this line? "We hit upon the idea when some passengers came to us saying they wished they could call their homes while travelling. It could be for emergency reasons, or just for the sake of communication. Rajdhani Express is the only train that has a telephone facility. But this sort of thing is quite normal abroad where buses and trains have been provide such service for a long time," the official said.

A senior official of the transport department said, "The corporation has been running at loss. This is an effort to attract commuters, and also a way of generating income. The CESC can only gain out of this."

26.03.204:Satellite phones in Maoist belt

BHUBANESWAR: Over 200 satellite phones will be used in Maoist-hit districts and at places with poor communication during the twin elections in the state.

The phones will be used by police and paramilitary forces deployed in these areas, said chief electoral officer (CEO) Mona Sharma.

"The use of satellite phones in sensitive areas will be decided jointly by collectors and SPs of the respective districts. While police will use handsets available with them, we have requested the BSNL to install phones in inaccessible areas at the earliest," Sharma said.

"Certain areas are not covered by mobile networks and satellite phones will be of absolute necessity at polling booths there," she added.

The CEO has also urged BSNL to set up Digital Satellite Phone Terminals (DSPT) in interior and inaccessible areas before campaigning begins.

"We are providing logistic support to expedite the installation process, especially in Maoist-hit areas where many heavyweights will go for poll campaign," said a senior officer.

The Maoist-hit areas will go to polls on April 10. According to intelligence reports, Maoists may attempt to disrupt the election process in some areas and target voters.

The CEO has sought 50 additional companies of paramilitary forces for the Maoist-affected districts, which shares borders with equally-sensitive Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. A total of 89 companies of central forces are deployed in the state, sources said.

Besides, the CEO has asked for three helicopters for transportation in Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Nuapada, Balangir, Kalahandi and Gajapati districts.

Meanwhile, the district administrations are busy with vulnerability mapping of polling booths and will soon submit reports to the CEO.

The vulnerability mapping of booths is being done on the basis of law and order and road and mobile connectivity.

Of the total 35,894 polling stations across the state, 2,500 booths have so far been declared sensitive.

26.03.2014: Jharkhand police bank on SAT phones in Maoist areas

RANCHI: Jharkhand police have written to the Union home ministry asking for dozens of satellite phones to help conduct the Lok Sabha election in Maoist-hit districts.

Earlier, Maoists had targeted mobile towers during elections disrupting communication network. Jharkhand police spokesperson Anurag Gupta said he would not disclose the number of phones due to security reasons.

Satellite phones will be used in places with poor communication network or at places where Maoists disturb the communication channels.

State's chief electoral officer P K Jajoria said satellite phones would be used by state police and also by paramilitary forces deployed in Red zones. There are some parts of Jharkhand, like the core zones of Palamu Tiger Reserve and Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary which do not have mobile phone network coverage. Satellite phones will be necessary in such areas.

The phones will be extensively used in the first phase of polls on April 10 when election will be held in Chatra, Palamu, Lohardaga and Koderma all Maoist-hit. In other phases too the phones will be extensively used. The intelligence inputs available with police suggest the Maoists may try to disrupt polls.

The chief electoral officer has also requested BSNL to improve existing telephone network. The satellite phones would have BSNL connections. "We have also requested BSNL to set up Digital Satellite Phone Terminals (DSPT) in very remote areas well before polls," said Jajoria.

An expert said a satellite phone works well without terrestrial cell sites because it connects to orbiting satellites.

"It is beyond the capacity of Maoists to disrupt its service and even when they disrupt the existing terrestrial cell sites in a particular area, these phones would ensure zero-disruption communication between poll officials in the field and at the control room," said a police officer.

Gupta said we have written a requisition to the Union home ministry. A police officer said the phones would be used according to the wit of the deputy collectors and SPs. The phones would be additional communication infrastructure to existing wireless phones.

25.03.2014: BSNL to deploy new system to get rid of forced VAS activations: CVPS cum CG

BSNL has signed agreement with VAS service providers M/s Pyroand M/s Netxcell for deploying Centralize Value added services Provisioning System Cum Consent Gateway (CVPS cum CG) to get rid of forced VAS activations.

BSNL Customers would be able to use CVPS cum CG platform on SMS/ USSD/ IVR and for that Short code 57171 has been allotted for SMS and IVR Systems while short code 777 has been allotted for USSD.

Following are the features of CVPS cum CG

• CVPS cum CG is a easy opt-in and easy opt-out customer friendly tool to BSNL subscribers that shall be capable to handle requests for subscription, renewal and deactivation of VAS as well as all Pull based VAS services of BSNL.
• Obtaining 2nd consent from the customers.
• Obtaining explicit consent of customers before enforcing any charges against the services which may be initially free for some period.
• Customer requests are to be captured using short code (may be multiple short codes, each for different VASP) for SMS or USSD or IVRS or by browsing WEB/ WAP.
• Complete record of all requests with that of 2nd consent will have to be preserved for a period of one year.
• Customer shall be informed well in advance, from the due date for renewal of any such service along with the charges for renewal through SMS. Clear options shall be provided to the customer on how to opt out of the renewals.
• Charging of VAS by the billing system (Prepaid as well as Post-paid) through Service Deliver Platform (SOP).

So with implementation of this new system, BSNL customers may get relief of forced activation because until and unless they will give consent two times, VAS can’t be activated on their phones.

If at present you want to get rid of forced activation of VAS, you may follow the steps as detailed:

t is not You, who has become the victim of forced activation of value added services on your mobile but almost all the prepaid mobile user faced such situation and their prepaid balance get deducted regularly for some value added service.

OK, let me ask you, Do you know how many value added services (VAS) are activated on your smartphone?. You may know about some of the value added services which you have subscribed willingly but you may not be aware about those value added services, which have been activated without your knowledge or some of them might be activated on your smartphone forcefully.

For example, during your favorite world cup cricket, you might have activated cricket VAS. And when now the world cup cricket is over, this VAS has no significance but you are paying regularly for this VAS because it is still activated on your smartphone.

I know some of mobile operator don’t know the codes to sent for deactivation of the VAS or those who contact the call center of the mobile operator, that also don’t provide instant solution to them.

Here is the instant solution, If you want to deactivate some of unwanted VAS, you just need to follow the following two easy steps.

1. Send a blank SMS to 155223, this is toll free number and work all over India for all mobile operators, from your smartphone and your mobile operator will send you back the list of all value added services which are currently activated on your smartphone.
2. Now type the number of those VAS, you want to get deactivate, and again send to 155223. These VAS will be deactivated within four hours by your mobile operator. You will also receive again the SMS confirming this with reference number.

As soon as your unwanted VAS deactivated by your mobile operator, Again a SMS of successful deactivation of VAS will be sent to you by your mobile operator.

If you make complaint about the activation of unwanted VAS by sending SMS to 152233 withing 24 hours of activation of unwanted VAS, you will also get refund of the charged amount for the unwanted VAS.

25.04.2014:US law firm charges DoT $112,721 in Khaitan Holdings Mauritius arbitration case

NEW DELHI: New York-based law firm Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP has demanded a fee of $112,721, or about Rs 73.26 lakh, from the department of telecom (DoT) for representing it in an international arbitration initiated by Loop Telecom promoters Khaitan Holdings Mauritius last year. 

The DoT, while seeking financial approval, said the law firm has given justifications for its two bills of $97,220 and $15,501. According to internal documents reviewed by ET, the finance ministry has sought a 'judicious review' of the first bill for service in terms of number of hours put in and 'a clear distribution' of the second bill related to travel costs. 

Khaitan Holdings Mauritius Ltd (KHML), an investor in Loop Telecom slapped a $1.4 billion notice on the Indian government on September 30, seeking international arbitration while arguing that the South Asian nation was not able to protect investments made in the mobile phone operator since 2008. 

KHML had invoked the India-Mauritius Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (BIPA) treaty to protect its investments. The ministries of communications, finance and external affairs were also made aware of the alleged treaty violations. 

The mobile phone company becomes the first among those who lost their licenses in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's February 2012 ruling to go ahead with international arbitration. 

Mumbai-based mobile phone company Loop Telecom was among the nine mobile phone operators whose licenses were cancelled by the Supreme Court, citing irregularities in the grant of the permits. Loop lost 21 of its 22 permits. KHML holds 26.95% of Loop Telecom, while the rest is owned by some members of the Khaitan family. 

25.03.2014: Consolidation in telecom sector will not benefit consumers: Martin Cave

NEW DELHI: India's telecom sector could continue to do well without participating in the consolidation trend, according to a leading sector expert, as the country's diverse market and consumer dynamics may not favour only three or four players.

"India clearly has substantial margin, in terms of competition. I don't think it is inevitable to proceed towards consolidation. Living in a comfortable duopoly is what many companies prefer, but all the evidence suggests is that while it's good for the companies, it is generally bad for consumers," Martin Cave, a telecom expert and deputy chairman of UK's Competition Commission, told ET during his recent India visit.

Higher number of operators would ensure adequate competition, which in turn will benefit consumers, said Cave, who has worked on spectrum strategy for markets including the UK, Canada and Australia. "There is a risk that if you reduce the number of operators to three or two, they may stop competing as hard as they should and that's going to have an adverse affect on customers."

India's telecom sector has more than 10 national and regional players, a sharp contrast to the developed markets of the US and Europe where only two or three large carriers operate. The government recently announced new norms where companies can merge as long as their consolidated customer and revenue market share remains under 50% of the market.

A company acquiring another will have to pay the market price for the allocated airwaves held by the target company. Analysts feel that the M&A norms will not benefit the industry, as new entrants may "struggle with limited exit options", while the cap on customers and revenue will deter the top three players from combining synergies.

Telecom operators have been seeking clarity on the consolidation norms, which in turn could ease hyper-competition—a key reason why Indian customers enjoy the lowest voice and data tariffs in the world. 

25.03.2014: Merger of Tamil Nadu, Chennai telecom service arear deprived government of 2.4k cr: CAG

NEW DELHI: The Comptroller and Auditor General has flagged the way the telecommunications department in 2005 merged the Chennai and Tamil Nadu telecom service areas, a decision that the national auditor says deprived the government at least Rs 2,400 crore of revenue and benefited Bharti Airtel  and Aircel. 

According to an internal CAG note, which was reviewed by ET, merging of the two circles had effectively extended the licence period for the companies in one of the areas. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has done this bypassing the route it should have followed - that is of seeking opinion of the finance ministry, telecom commission and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, the note says. 

Bharti Airtel declined to comment on the matter , while Aircel could not be contacted immediately.

The telecom minister at the time was Dayanidhi Maran, who is currently facing a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation for his role in alleged irregularities in the Aircel-Maxis deal.

The telecom department had cited public interest for the merger of Chennai and Tamil Nadu service areas, saying that it would ensure that a subscriber when travelling out of Chennai to therest of the state or vice versa would not have to pay roaming charges. 

24.03.2014: Telecom industry welcomes Kerala govt’s decision to implement Central guidelines

CHENNAI: Indian telecom industry has welcomed the Kerala government's decision to accept the Central guidelines for clearance for installation of mobile towers in the state and said the other state governments can take a leaf out of the Kerala government's initiative of adopting the Central guidelines in totality.

"The move by the Kerala government is a step in the right direction for the development of ICT sector. India has adopted stringent safety norms for emissions from base transceiver stations (BTS) which is one-tenth of the international standards. Further, the central norms of tower guidelines were formulated after elaborate discussions with all stake holders including, the State governments, Department of Telecommunications and the industry and we find no reason why they should be subjected to further scrutiny and change," said Rajan S Mathews, director general, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).

The Kerala government has adopted the guidelines issued by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in its entirety for the state through its order dated March 15, 2014, and supersedes all earlier orders in this regard.

The DoT has advised all state governments to take suitable action for the installation of mobile towers by the telecom service providers (TSPs) in line with the guidelines issued by it on August 1, 2013.

The Kerala government has accorded sanction to the TSPs to install new towers, according to the new guidelines. The order regarding the formulation of state and district committees to address public grievances and a nominal one-time fee for issuing permission for installation of towers will be issued separately, from time to time.

The Indian telecom sector has witnessed phenomenal growth and mobile telephony in particular has revolutionized the communications sector in the country over the last decade. Out of the 922 million telephone connections in the country, 893 million connections are wireless.

22.03.2014: BSNL Expands Broadband Coverage in Chennai

BSNL Chennai Telephones has brought several key areas in the city, once deemed ‘technically non-feasible’ for sanctioning landline-broadband connections, within the reach of its underground copper cable network. 

While underground cabling has now connected parts of Arumbakam, Koyambedu and Ganga Nagar in Urappakam, there are still about six ‘shadow regions’, including Ganesh Nagar (Adambakkam) and Radha Nagar (Chromepet) that are yet to be covered. 

BSNL Chennai Telephones currently has 3.8 lakh broadband customers and shortage of certain types of copper cables was hampering efforts to scale up the broadband business. 

Following arrival of fresh stocks in January, BSNL has started issuing connections in several areas, officials said. However, securing permission from the Corporation or the Highways for digging up roads for laying cables continues to be a bottleneck, sources said. 

““We are aware that in many areas, prospective customers have been waiting for nearly two years for a connection. We will be seeking expeditious clearance for laying copper cables,” a BSNL official said. 

Business managers of BSNL see a high market potential for broadband in the newly connected areas in the city. BSNL’s plan is to bring all its 8.5 lakh landline users into its DataOne fold. 

In several upmarket gated communities that have 500 units or more, BSNL is also pushing its fibre optic-driven Fibre-To-The-Home offering that promises a far superior broadband experience.-News from the hindu

22.03.2014:Alas! we are very much upset upon all our beloved TTA friends that after several request to all our DS, no amount has deposited till now for financial support to Sudhangshu Chowdhury & Roshan Barla’s family . Farther ,all district secretaries and district treasurers are requested to send contribution as early as possible.

Wage loss for the Post 2007 Non executives appointed on or after Jan 2007

21/03/2014 : A letter has been written by JAC  Convener Mr P Abhiimanyu on Immediate settllement off wage reductiion iissue off those Non--Executives who are appointee on or after 01..01..2007- demanded for extending 30% fitment benefit in the wage revision off the Non--Executives who are appoiinted on or after 01..01..2007 and who are facing wage reduction without further loss off time.

CC SNATTA WB Telecom Circle

20-03-2014: Government plan to connect rural India with Bharat Broadband by end-2013 moves beyond deadlines...ET news

20-03-2014: PMO wants Telecom Commission to resolve cost jinx holding up mobile rollout in naxal hotbeds....ET News....

KOLKATA: The Prime Minister's Office wants the Telecom Commission to swiftly resolve all cost-related differences holding up the rollout of mobile networks in India's left-wing extremist hotbeds, especially in the aftermath of a recent naxal attack in Chattisgarh's Bastar region in which 15 CRPF jawans were reportedly killed. 

The Telecom Commission is the highest-decision making body in the communications ministry. 
Following the discussions, it was decided that Telecom Commission would either directly look into USOF's reservations on the higher cost projection by BSNL or refer the matter to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), which had originally cleared the project cost of rolling out mobile networks in naxal-infested regions, according the minutes of the meeting seen by ET. 

It was also decided that BSNL would be asked to "immediately operationalise mobile networks in 351 locations  .. 

13-03-2014: UPDATE ON JAC MEETING

                      Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Unions and Associations of the Non-Executives of BSNL formed.

With a view to conduct sustained struggles for the settlement of the important and burning problems of the Non-Executives, it was decided to form a platform of the Unions and Associations of the Non-Executives of BSNL. Accordingly the Joint Action Committee of the Unions and Associations of the Non-Executives of BSNL was formed in yesterday's meeting. The following comrades are unanimously elected as the office bearers of the JAC. 

President: Com.Chandeswar Singh, GS, NFTE BSNL

Convener: Com.P.Abhimanyu, GS, BSNLEU

Joint Convener: Com.Jayaprakash, GS, FNTO

Joint Convener: Com.Pawan Meena, GS, SNATTA

Treasurer: Com.R.C.Pandey, GS, BTEU BSNL

All the General Secretaries of the affiliated Unions and Associations will be the members of the JAC.

12-03-2014: update on CHQ ...coutsey from Naresh Vallakati, Our CHQ EXECUTIVE MEMBER posted in FB.....

   Yesturday (11.03.2014) Naresh Vallakati and our GS Pawan Meena ji attended meeting of non-executive unions and associations at new delhi. It is decided to form joint action committee (JAC) of non-executive unions and associations to solve problems. SNATTA allotted with joint secretary post in JAC

We added following points from our side:

Removal of pay disparity between pre and post 2007 employees 

Reduction of JTO/JAO service condition to 3 years

30% superanuation benefit to BSNL recruited employees

Change of designation to JET

Restoring non-executives eligibility for MTRR

10% relaxation in qualifying marks of recently held JTO-LICE

Providing 2 increments for departmental promotions...............

.......

It is decided to demonstrate at Corporate Office new delhi on 26 th march 2014 by all General secretaries and non-executives near delhi.

12-03-2014: yesterday our Circle President Sri Jagannath sarkar met our newly recruited TTAs who are now on INDUCTION training at CTTC kolkata, .and extended our warm welcome to them.....it will surely smoothen the bridge with them.....thanks to Jagannath for his effort.....

10-03-2014: an update on all india forum meeting......

A meeting of All Unions and Associations of the Non-Executives of BSNL will take place at 1600 hrs on 11.03.2014 at the BSNL MS office, New Delhi. The meeting will discuss about the important pending demands/problems of the Non-Executives and will chalk out action programme for the settlement of the same.SNATTA CHQ leadership will also join this discussion and will place the burning issues of newly recruited TTAs.Shri Amit Mittal and Shri Naresh Valkatti will attend this meeting on behalf of SNATTA CHQ.

10-03-2014: Durgapur Division again Deposited Rs. 5400/- towards roshan Barla and Sudhangsu Chowdhury of siliguri SSA....thanks to all of them.....

10-03-2014: friends, some clever TTAs are waiting for result of our issues without contributing any help and support towards us...this peopole are the only responsible for whom our issues being given less important by management as well as recognised unions.....

09-03-2014: Only Two SSA Siliguri and Durgapur SSA deposited financial support to Roshan nad Sudhangsu of Siliguri......we should not be silent selfishly regarding this matter.....send the donation within 31 st march..2014.....till the snattawbtc will be silent regarding any other matter....

09-03-2014: Only Two SSA Siliguri and Durgapur SSA deposited financial support to Roshan nad Sudhangsu of Siliguri......we should not be silent selfishly regarding this matter.....send the donation within 31 st march..2014.....

07.03.2014: An amount of Rs. 17700.00/- Deposited to Sri Sudhangshu Chowdhury's Account for his treatment, by DS SNATTA Siliguri SSA on today 7th March 14...

Following Staffs of Siliguri SSA contributed to Support Sri Sudhangshu Chowdhury..

07-03-2014: FORUM meeting regarding................

as per invitation from Convener , FORUM of BSNLexecutive/non-executive Union and Association, SRI AMIT KHAN, CS/SNATTAWB    attended the meeting on 6 th March, 2014....all union and association like BSNLEU ,NFTE, SNATTA, SNEA, AIGETOA, AIBSNLEA joined the forum meeting...
the Agenda was :
1) Develoment of Service of BSNL WBTC
2) merger of BSNL/MTNL
all the present leaders delivered their speech on the issue... from our side we said that:
1) Proper utilisation of manpower
2) proper follow up: creation of monitoring cell/unit of all level , Level 1( SSA ) , Level 2( Circle) , level 3(Corporate ) and fix up the responsibility/Accountability.
4) strong administartion.....etc
to be implemented to revive BSNL  otherwise no gathering , or meeting will result..

after meeting   Sri Amit Khan /CS/SNATTAWB met    Dy GS BSNLEU Com A.Mitra, regarding development on wage Loss issue and 30% superannuation issue.

04.03.2014: An amount of Rs. 42,351.00 Handed over to Late Roshan Barla's Family by DS SNATTA SLG and other staffs of Siliguri SSA on 19.02.2014..

Following Staffs of Siliguri SSA contributed for Late Rosan Barla..

02-03-2014: Sri Bidyut Roy Circle Treasurer snattawbtc deposited Rs. 500/- towards contribution regarding Roshan Barla and Sudhangsu chowdhury