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Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
AIDCF urges Centre to reject TRAI's proposal to reduce DTH license fee
All India Digital Cable Federation ( AIDCF ) has written a letter to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, reiterating its concerns around the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's proposals to reduce the license fee paid by DTH operators . In February 2025, TRAI reiterated its earlier proposal, made in the Recommendations on License Fee and Policy Matters of DTH Services , dated 21 August 2023, to reduce the DTH license fee from the current 8 per cent to 3 per cent, with a further plan to phase it out entirely by 2026-27. In their letter this June to the Ministry, AIDCF argued that any reduction or waiver of license fee for DTH operators, despite their reliance on free spectrum, would deepen this inequity between the cable TV operators and DTH operators. "This move would also further exacerbate the loss to the public exchequer," they argued in the letter to the government. Currently, spectrum is allotted to DTH operators in Ku band on administrative basis - Free of cost. According to AIDCF, the DTH operators are paying license fee because spectrum was bundled with license fee on AGR in order to avoid initial capex burden on the sector. In their letter, AIDCF also argued that DTH operators already enjoy structural and commercial advantages over cable TV operators. "Unlike DTH operator's free spectrum, Cable TV operators incur substantial cost over ROW (Right of Way charges) which is up to Rs 3,000 per pole per year besides permission charges to be paid to local authorities for overhead and underground cables. The Cable TV operators also incur a CAPEX of Rs 8 lakh per km for underground cabling besides annual and regular maintenance of Overhead and Underground Cabling of those deployed cables," the letter read. Additionally, for the acquisition of each customer, a Cable TV multi-system operator (MSO) and local cable operator (LCO) have to incur approximately Rs 5,000 per customer as capital expenditure, while DTH operators face minimal incremental capital expenditure spending for new customers, and in addition, no sunk infrastructure costs in case of churn, AIDCF noted. "To ensure fairness and prevent further regulatory arbitrage in favour of DTH operators, the license fee on DTH services should not be reduced or eliminated. Instead, the regulatory framework should include mechanisms to recover the full cost of the spectrum assigned to DTH. Such measures would align with principles of equity, sustain government revenue, and maintain a level playing field across service providers," the AIDCF letter read. Any reduction in the license fee for DTH operators will not only destabilise the market but also jeopardise the livelihoods of nearly 10 lakh people directly dependent on the cable TV industry, cable operators asserted, reiterating their demand to "reject" the TRAI recommendation to reduce or eliminate the DTH license fee.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
All India Digital Cable Federation urges Centre to reject TRAI's proposal to reduce DTH license fee
All India Digital Cable Federation ( AIDCF ) has written a letter to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, reiterating its concerns around the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's proposals to reduce the license fee paid by DTH operators . In February 2025, TRAI reiterated its earlier proposal, made in the Recommendations on License Fee and Policy Matters of DTH Services , dated 21 August 2023, to reduce the DTH license fee from the current 8 per cent to 3 per cent, with a further plan to phase it out entirely by 2026-27. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category Healthcare Public Policy Data Science MCA Management PGDM Technology Degree Artificial Intelligence Finance Operations Management Data Science others Data Analytics Project Management Design Thinking MBA healthcare Product Management Cybersecurity Digital Marketing Others CXO Leadership Skills you'll gain: Financial Analysis in Healthcare Financial Management & Investing Strategic Management in Healthcare Process Design & Analysis Duration: 12 Weeks Indian School of Business Certificate Program in Healthcare Management Starts on Jun 13, 2024 Get Details In their letter this June to the Ministry, AIDCF argued that any reduction or waiver of license fee for DTH operators, despite their reliance on free spectrum, would deepen this inequity between the cable TV operators and DTH operators. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Satiwali: 1 Trick to Reduce Belly Fat? Home Fitness Hack Shop Now Undo "This move would also further exacerbate the loss to the public exchequer," they argued in the letter to the government. Currently, spectrum is allotted to DTH operators in Ku band on administrative basis - Free of cost. According to AIDCF, the DTH operators are paying license fee because spectrum was bundled with license fee on AGR in order to avoid initial capex burden on the sector. Live Events In their letter, AIDCF also argued that DTH operators already enjoy structural and commercial advantages over cable TV operators. "Unlike DTH operator's free spectrum, Cable TV operators incur substantial cost over ROW (Right of Way charges) which is up to Rs 3,000 per pole per year besides permission charges to be paid to local authorities for overhead and underground cables. The Cable TV operators also incur a CAPEX of Rs 8 lakh per km for underground cabling besides annual and regular maintenance of Overhead and Underground Cabling of those deployed cables," the letter read. Additionally, for the acquisition of each customer, a Cable TV multi-system operator (MSO) and local cable operator (LCO) have to incur approximately Rs 5,000 per customer as capital expenditure, while DTH operators face minimal incremental capital expenditure spending for new customers, and in addition, no sunk infrastructure costs in case of churn, AIDCF noted. "To ensure fairness and prevent further regulatory arbitrage in favour of DTH operators, the license fee on DTH services should not be reduced or eliminated. Instead, the regulatory framework should include mechanisms to recover the full cost of the spectrum assigned to DTH. Such measures would align with principles of equity, sustain government revenue, and maintain a level playing field across service providers," the AIDCF letter read. Any reduction in the license fee for DTH operators will not only destabilise the market but also jeopardise the livelihoods of nearly 10 lakh people directly dependent on the cable TV industry, cable operators asserted, reiterating their demand to "reject" the TRAI recommendation to reduce or eliminate the DTH license fee.
New York Post
12-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Americans need full answers on the Secret Service's Trump assassination-attempt failures
A full year (as of Sunday) after Matthew Thomas Crooks came within a hair of killing President Donald Trump, the nation still has no good answers as to the how or why of it. That is, no clear info on the would-be assassin's motives — and no satisfactory explanation of how the Secret Service let him come so very close to succeeding. The New York Times managed to (seemingly) get access to Crooks' web-browsing history, and still couldn't say much of anything for sure. His family won't talk to the press; that may be wise of them, but is frustrating to the many Americans who feel we should know more. He looks like a smart, lonely kid who sank into mental illness at an age common for the onset of several deep disorders; maybe we just can't find out much more. But we surely can learn more about the security failures that cleared the shooter's way onto that roof. Indeed, it's pretty telling that only the determination of Corey Comperatore's widow seems to have forced several Secret Service heads to roll — and it was only Thursday, three days before the anniversary, that six agents who worked the Butler, Pa., rally got suspended. Not fired, suspended, for 10 to 45 days. The timeline of what went wrong that day is damning: Crooks, armed with a rifle, was somehow able to get onto the roof of the the AGR building just 400 feet from the stage from where Trump would speak — a building the Secret Service had already identified as a security concern, yet somehow failed to secure. Nearly 30 minutes before the shooting, local cops raised alarms that a suspicious man with a rangefinder was spotted hanging around the building. And two minutes before, the Secret Service Security Room was told that someone was on the roof. Yet with all of that information, agents failed to act in time to stop Comperatore from being killed and Trump from very nearly being killed. This was no run-of-the-mill ball-dropping by one or two agents, but deadly incompetence on every level. The agency's Biden-era leadership may have slow-rolled any investigation or punishment once then-USSS Director Kimberly Cheatle quit soon after the epic failure, but shouldn't Trump's hires have caught up by now? Getting to the facts is no impossible task; it starts with grilling each and every agent on duty that day, and the chain of command above them about each of their decisions: Give the public a complete accounting of who left the security team so undermanned; exactly how communications failed so badly; why information about a clear threat didn't bring the appropriate response. That should be a top priority for FBI Director Kash Patel. Trump has graciously dismissed the whole thing as 'a bad day' for the Secret Service, saying he has 'great confidence in these people.' But that doesn't let his top people off the hook; this cannot happen again. Imagine the national and global turmoil, had Trump turned his head just a second or two later. At the very least, get Americans a full tick-tock timeline of exactly who decided what when, and so left such gaping holes in Trump's security. Expose everyone at fault, and hold them all accountable.
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Business Standard
06-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
AGR dues: Vodafone Idea unlikely to get further relief or payment extension
"There may be some payment terms being proposed (by the company), but the question remains whether they'll be able to honour those payments," the official added New Delhi Listen to This Article The government is not keen on giving further relief to Vodafone Idea (Vi) in the form of relaxed or extended payment schedule for the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) amount due from FY26 onwards, according to officials. While discussions with the country's third-largest telecom player are ongoing, giving further financial leeway is becoming increasingly difficult, an official at the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) said. To be specific, the government is not willing to convert more dues into equity and cannot reduce the ₹84,000 crore AGR amount owed by the company. 'The government has already taken equity. The idea was to give
Mint
04-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
Vodafone lenders worried about the fate of loans as telco seeks more debt
Mumbai: Lenders to Vodafone Idea Ltd are worried that the telecom operator which is trying to borrow ₹35,000 crore more may prioritize paying its government debts over its new bank loans, a person aware of the matter said. Their concern centres around the company's ability to sustain loan repayments on the proposed loans if Vodafone Idea has to pay the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues to the government. The weakest player in India's telecom landscape has been steadily posting losses since FY17. On 19 May, the Supreme Court rejected petitions from Bharti Airtel Ltd and Vodafone Idea to waive some of the dues linked to their AGR. Vodafone Idea had sought a waiver on interest, penalty, and interest on penalty crossing ₹45,000 crore on the ₹83,400 crore pending AGR dues. The four-year moratorium on these payouts ends in September. In May, the operator told the Supreme Court that it would not be able to operate beyond the current financial year without bank funding. According to another person, whether banks approve the fresh loan proposal depends on promoter Aditya Birla Group injecting additional equity or providing a backstop to assure banks in case the telco's health worsens in future. To be sure, last financial year, the telco raised ₹4,000 crore in a preferential issue of shares to promoters, with Aditya Birla Group putting in ₹2,100 crore and Vodafone Group ₹1,900 crore. 'The company wants to raise ₹35,000 crore from banks; but for that, the promoters have to put in more equity or produce a corporate guarantee from a strong group company," said the first person cited above. 'In such a situation, if there is no additional skin in the game, bankers are not willing to put in more money." The second person said discussions between Vodafone Idea and a consortium of banks have been underway even before the AGR case returned to court. The person said there were a few virtual meetings between the bankers in the consortium and the management of Vodafone Idea a few months back, where lenders raised the two contentious issues on additional equity and promoter guarantee. 'This information is incorrect, and no such proposal is on the table," a spokesperson for Vodafone Idea said, without saying which proposal was being referred to. The spokesperson added: 'We remain in active discussions with lenders and will provide an update at the appropriate time." Also Read: Sword of Damocles hangs over Vodafone Idea's bank guarantees 'The position of lenders has not changed; the AGR setback in the Supreme Court has only made it worse," said the second person cited above. According to Care Ratings, bankers to Vodafone Idea include State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, and Axis Bank. While some have given term loans, others have provided bank guarantees. Its bank debt stood at ₹2,330 crore as on 31 March, as against ₹4,040 crore a year ago, as per disclosures made to analysts on 2 June. Email sent on Wednesday to the State Bank of India—Vodafone Idea's largest lender—remained unanswered. What complicates the matter is the government's decision not to convert more of the company's dues to equity. Following two rounds of such conversions, the government now owns a 49% stake in Vodafone Idea. Promoters Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Group held a 25.6% stake, while the remaining are public shareholders. On Wednesday, telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia told CNBC TV18 in an interview that the government's stake in the telco 'will not go beyond the current 49%". While banks seem reluctant, the company is actively chasing loans. Akshaya Moondra, chief executive officer, Vodafone Idea told analysts on 2 June that the 'primary source of fundraising remains bank borrowing", which the telco is working on. 'The conversion of government dues to equity, along with the upgrade in the credit rating, are facilitating factors for us to take those discussions forward. Post the conversion, the engagement has started again seriously," Moondra told analysts. While the first round of equity conversion took place in 2023, the latest one happened in April, taking the total government stake to 49%. In May, Vodafone Idea's board approved raising ₹20,000 crore through a follow-on public offering (FPO), private placement, or other permissible mode. Also Read: Two months after second lifeline, Vodafone Idea again raises survival fears Analysts believe that raising debt is crucial to the telco's expansion plans. '...we believe the company's network investments remain contingent on debt raise which, in turn, is dependent on continued support/AGR relief from the Government of India. Stabilization of the subscriber base, along with further relief from the government of India remains imperative for Vi's long-term survival," analysts at Motilal Oswal Financial Services said in a note to clients on 2 June. The tussle over AGR has stretched out over almost 20 years. On 17 April, Vodafone Idea, which has 198.2 million mobile subscribers, submitted a representation to the government, seeking a waiver of interest, penalty and interest on penalty on its AGR dues. The telco said the government's AGR liability demand stood at ₹83,400 crore as of March end, with an annual instalment of approximately ₹18,000 crore due starting 31 March 2026 for the next six years. In comparison, Vodafone Idea generated ₹8,400-9,200 crore cash annually in the last three years.
