Latest news with #TelecomRegulatoryAuthorityofIndia
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
a day ago
- Business
- First Post
Why India will be the data capital of the world in five years
Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that the telecom subscriber base in India has expanded from 800 million a decade ago to 1.2 billion this year, a level where India is now the second largest mobile market read more Indian telecom minister has projected that the country is poised to become the data capital of the world within next five years. Source: PTI Indian telecom minister has projected that the country is poised to become the data capital of the world within next five years. While speaking at the CII Annual Business Summit 2025 on Thursday (May 29), Jyotiraditya Scindia said that India is leading a digital-first economy, with the telecom revolution being the driving force. 'India, I believe, in the next five years, will become the data capital of the world,' Scindia said. The minister informed that the telecom subscriber base in India has expanded from 800 million a decade ago to 1.2 billion this year, a level where India is now the second largest mobile market. He added that the broadband base in the country has also grown to 940 million. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The minister highlighted how connectivity costs have fallen drastically over the past decade, recalling days when tariffs were as high as Rs 16 per minute. 'When we talk about data, 11 years ago, 1 GB of data would cost you Rs 287. Today, 1 GB of data costs you Rs 9. There is a 97 per cent reduction in the cost of communication,' Scindia was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. The minister concluded by stating that India's cost of data communication is currently just 5 per cent of the global average. Sanchar Mitra Scheme Meanwhile, the government has also launched the Sanchar Mitra Scheme, which aims to improve the connection between the telecom industry and everyday citizens. When asked about whether satellite communication service would be available in India, Scindia said it was up to telecom companies to decide how to go about it after they get necessary permission from the government. He emphasised that the government's role is to issue these licenses as long as the companies meet specific requirements. Currently, two companies have already qualified, and a third is close to qualifying. Scindia reaffirmed the government's commitment to granting licenses to companies that comply with the rules. He also mentioned that once companies receive the necessary spectrum to operate their services, they must chart their own course based on the regulations set by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Crooks impersonating telecom regulatory officials & Mumbai cops dupe retired Kolhapur university professor of Rs 3.6 crore
Kolhapur: A 75-year-old retired professor fell victim to cybercriminals who coerced her into transferring Rs 3.6 crore through 14 transactions between April 21 and May 16, 2025. This is the largest cyber fraud case recorded in Kolhapur city. The fraudsters, impersonating Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and Mumbai police officers, contacted the elderly woman about an alleged case registered at the Colaba police station. They claimed Rs 6 crore from an aviation firm owner's fraudulent activities had been deposited, using her Aadhaar card, in her account at a nationalised bank in Mahim. The perpetrators warned of legal consequences and arrest unless the retired professor complied with their verification process and sought her banking information. Through WhatsApp video calls, they pressured her to transfer funds to various private bank accounts. The elderly academic exhausted funds from three personal accounts, three joint accounts with her husband, and four accounts belonging to her husband. The transfer amounts ranged from Rs 7 lakh to Rs 60 lakh, according to police reports. The academic had retired from the Shivaji University-Kolhapur in 2013, and her husband retired in 2005. The couple have a daughter, who is a doctor and resides in Tarabai Park. The elderly woman later told her daughter and son-in-law about what had happened, and they subsequently reported the matter to authorities. A complaint was lodged at Rajarampuri police station on Tuesday evening. Speaking to TOI, inspector Sushant Chavan, the investigating officer, said, "The woman really believed that she was going to be arrested as she was told by the caller that they would arrest her and make the news of it public. She was also told not to tell anyone about the case against her, which was totally made up. We asked her if she had never heard the caller tune messages on not getting scammed by people claiming to be from CBI or the customs office. She told us she was aware of the message, but somehow forgot it." Chavan said three officers, including himself, have initiated the investigation. "We have asked the banks concerned to stop the transactions from the accounts where the money has been transferred by the victim. We are going to find the connections between the calls made, as they were made from nine different numbers. We are going to trace Internet Protocol addresses for all the calls made using the internet," said Chavan. The victim's statement indicated that video calls featuring Supreme Court bench proceedings and individuals seated before a Mumbai Police board convinced her of their authenticity.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
75-year-old retired professor duped of Rs 3.57 crore in Kolhapur
Representative Image KOLHAPUR: A 75-year-old retired professor from Shivaji University Kolhapur was forced by cybercrooks to make money transfers totaling Rs3.57 crore in 14 transactions between April 21 and May 16 in the biggest cyber fraud so far to hit Kolhapur city. The victim retired from service in 2013 while her husband retired in 2005. Their daughter, a physiotherapist, stays in her marital home at Tarabai Park. The crooks posed a Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and Mumbai police officials while calling and informing her that the Colaba police have registered a case in which Rs 6 crore of proceeds from a money laundering and investment fraud by a prominent aviation firm owner, have been deposited to an account in her name and using her Aadhaar card at a nationalized bank in Mahim. The callers threatened that she will face action and arrest if she did not cooperate with their verification process and sought all her bank details. Through video calls made from various WhatsApp numbers, the crooks pressurized her into making the money transfers to various accounts _ mostly private banks. The elderly woman used up all the money in three bank accounts held by her, another three accounts held jointly with her husband and four accounts held by her husband, to make the 14 transfers of amounts varying from Rs 60 lakh to Rs 7 lakh, police said.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Trai issues consultation paper on microwave spectrum across bands
In a first, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Wednesday released a consultation paper seeking to assess the demand for, and the scope of service for microwave spectrum across eight spectrum bands. Aiming to create guidelines for microwave spectrum in the 6 GHz, 7 GHz, 13 GHz, 15 GHz, 18 GHz and 21 GHz bands, along with V-band and E-band, the paper seeks industry views on how to assign spectrum in various microwave bands for commercial backhaul, along with the terms and conditions, including pricing, spectrum caps, and carrier aggregation. Called the 'lifeblood of today's cellular mobile networks', microwave spectrum is used for providing both last mile 'access' to consumer devices, as well as backhaul links in places where laying the optical fiber cables is difficult or economically unviable. The microwave spectrum ranging from 400 MHz to 4 GHz was used for providing cellular mobile radio access, while the one ranging from 6 GHz to 24 GHz was used for providing backhaul. However, the recent introduction of 5G technology has led to the need for wider frequency channels and now frequencies above 24 GHz are also used for both cellular mobile radio access and backhaul. DoT also wants TRAI to examine whether the 7 GHz and 15 GHz bands, currently used for backhaul, should be re-evaluated for mobile telephony now or after the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) takes a call on them in it has asked which commercial telecom services should the spectrum in traditional microwave backhaul bands be assigned for radio backhaul purposes. Trai has also been asked to examine how spectrum in non-mobile telephony bands could be used for last-mile connectivity through fixed wireless access, and for captive backhaul services. The feasibility of permitting low-power indoor device-to-device communication in the V-band on a licence-exempt basis is also under review. Stakeholders will have to submit their inputs by June 25, with counter-comments accepted until July 9.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
TRAI seeks views on assignment of microwave spectrum in lower 6GHz, E&V-bands
NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India ( TRAI ) on Wednesday floated a consultation paper to seek stakeholders' views on the assignment of the microwave spectrum in the lower 6GHz band, 7GHz, 15GHz, 18GHz, 21GHz bands, and E & V bands. In August 2022, the Department of Telecommunications had requested the telecom regulator to provide recommendations for the assignment of spectrum in E&V bands and microwave access (MWA) and microwave backbone (MWB) spectrum in frequency bands of 6GHz/7GHz/13GHz/15GHz/18GHz/21GHz. In this regard, TRAI released a consultation paper on the assignment of spectrum in E&V Bands, and Microwave Access (MWA) and Microwave Backbone (MWB) for stakeholders' inputs on the subject. However, in the meantime, the Central government enacted the Telecommunication Act, 2023, in December 2023. Subsequently, the telecom watchdog told DoT that a review may be needed on the abovementioned topic. In response, the DoT, through a fresh reference letter in September 2024, while agreeing to the TRAI's observation that backhaul spectrum is a part of the First Schedule of the Telecommunications Act, 2023 for which the assignment method would be administrative, requested TRAI to provide recommendations under Section 11(1)(a) of the TRAI Act, 1997 on aspects such as demand assessment and scope of service or usage for V-band (57-66GHz) and E-band (81-86GHz), and the mode of assignment of spectrum and associated tersm and conditions. The DoT had also asked TRAI to provide its suggestions on spectrum charges and related terms & conditions, such as spectrum cap, carrier aggregation, etc., for the assignment of spectrum in lower 6GHz)/7GHz/13GHz/15GHz/18GHz/21GHz bands for backhaul purposes of commercial telecom services, and if there is any need to review the use of the 7GHz and 15GHz bands in view of consideration of these bands for Access using International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) after World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) - 2027. To this extent, stakeholders can submit their views on the consultation paper by June 25, and counter-comments by July 9.
