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Mobile tariff hike:Congress blames NDA government for Rs 34,824 crore burden on public
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NEW DELHI: Hitting out at the NDA-led Narendra Modi government over three private firms increasing mobile service tariffs, the Congress on Friday accused it of “fleecing” 109 crore cell phone users and asked how can the firms be permitted to unilaterally increase rates without any oversight and regulation.
Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala said it may be Modi 3.0 but the thriving of “crony capitalism” continues.
The Narendra Modi government is fleecing 109 crore cell phone users by sanctioning profiteering by private cell companies, he said at a press conference at the AICC headquarters here.
“Effective July 3, the three private cell phone companies, i.e. Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, have increased their tariffs by an average of 15 per cent. The three private cell phone companies have a market share of 91.6 per cent, or 109 crore cell phone users out of a total of 119 crore cell phone users as on December 31, 2023,” Surjewala said.
The total additional yearly payment from the pockets of the common man and woman of India seeking connectivity is Rs 34,824 crore, he said, citing TRAI.
Cell phone market in India is an ‘oligopoly’ – Reliance Jio (48 crore cell phone users), Airtel (39 crore cell phone users), Vodafone Idea (22.37 crore cell phone users), Surjewala said.
Out of these, Jio and Airtel have a customer base of 87 crore making them a virtual duopoly, he said.
Effective July 3, 2024, Reliance Jio has increased its cell phone user’s charges from 12 per cent to 27 per cent and the average increase is 20 per cent, Surjewala said.
Effective July 3, 2024, Airtel has increased its cell phone user’s charges from 11 per cent to 21 per cent with the average increase being 15 per cent, he said.
Effective July 4, 2024, Vodafone Idea has increased its cell phone user’s charges from 10 per cent to 24 per cent with the average increase being 16 per cent, Surjewala said.
“Two things stand out ‘ Firstly, the date of announcement of increase of tariffs, appears to be clearly in consultation with each other by the three private cell phone companies. Secondly, the date of effective implementation of increased tariffs is the same,” he said.
Surjewala claimed that the additional per year burden of tariff increase is Rs. 34,824 crore for 109 crore cell phone users of these three private cell phone companies.
How can private cell phone companies be permitted to unilaterally increase cell phone tariffs by Rs 34,824 crore annually without any oversight and regulation by the Modi government, he asked.
Surjewala also asked why have the Modi government and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) abdicated their duty and responsibility towards 109 cell phone users.
“Wasn’t the increase in cell phone prices withheld till the conclusion of the Parliament elections as the Modi government would have been questioned on the justification for burdening 109 crore cell phone users and fleecing them of an extra Rs 34,824 crore?” Surjewala said.
Did the Modi government or TRAI conduct any study on need of CAPEX or impact on profitability by purchase of spectrum through auction after taking into account the previous set of concessions on AGR payable under Telecom Policy, 1999 or deferring of “Spectrum Auction Installments” by Modi 2.0 on November 20, 2019 or other related factors, he asked.
“How can all Private Cellphone Companies increase their average tariffs by the same range of 15per cent-16per cent, despite the fact that their profitability, investment and CAPEX requirements are completely different? Why is the Modi government is then turning a blind eye to the same?” Surjewala said.
“Isn’t it correct that the Supreme Court of India, in “Delhi Science Forum versus Union of India” clearly stated that ‘the central government and the Telecom Regulatory Authority have not to behave like sleeping trustees, but have to function as active trustees for the public good’?” he said.
Surjewala asserted that the prime minister must answer to the people of India, including the 109 crore affected cell phone users.
Bharti Airtel last month announced a 10-21 per cent hike in prepaid and postpaid mobile tariffs from July 3, a day after larger rival Reliance Jio announced an increase in rates.
Later that day, loss-making telecom operator Vodafone Idea (Vi) also announced its plan to raise mobile tariffs by 11-24 per cent from July 4.
Source: Press Trust of India
News
Indian Tech Startups Surge Ahead with $4.1 Billion in Funding for H1 2024
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NEW DELHI: Indian tech startups have secured an impressive total of $4.1 billion in funding during the first half of 2024, reflecting a 4% increase from the latter half of 2023, according to Tracxn’s latest report. Although this figure represents a notable decline from the $4.8 billion raised in H1 2023, India continues to hold its position as the fourth-highest funded country globally.
The United States remains the leader in overall funding volumes, followed closely by the UK and China. Tracxn’s India Tech Semi-Annual Funding Report H1 2024 offers insights into funding trends, sectoral performances, and major developments within the Indian technology sector for the specified period.
Notable increases were observed in seed-stage funding, which climbed to $455 million, marking a 6.5% rise from H2 2023 but a 17.3% decline from H1 2023. Late-stage funding also saw a modest increase of 3.8%, amounting to $2.4 billion. The period also witnessed eight significant funding rounds exceeding $100 million each, including Flipkart’s $350 million and Meesho’s $275 million rounds.
Source: Press Trust of India
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Ericsson has been ranked as the leader in the Frost Radar 5G Network Infrastructure Market 2024
For the fourth consecutive year, Ericsson has been ranked as the leader in the Frost
Radar™ 5G Network Infrastructure Market 2024 analysis, highlighting the impact of the
company’s strategy to meet the evolving needs of communications service providers (CSPs).
Maintaining top ranking in the Frost Radar™ report over the past years has shown that
Ericsson’s investments in R&D and across a wide product portfolio – which includes all areas
of 5G network infrastructure as well as previous generations of network infrastructure – is
valued in a market where technology is constantly evolving.
The report has also acknowledged Ericsson’s sustained focus on offering the latest and
lightest energy-saving products and solutions. It also touched on the company’s Open RAN
plans.
Fredrik Jejdling, Executive Vice President and Head of Networks at Ericsson, says: “The
latest Frost Radar report highlights our unwavering commitment to innovation and technology
leadership through the most competitive portfolio. In a challenging market, we remain
focused on our customers and move forward with even greater determination.”
Commenting on Ericsson’s top ranking, Troy Morley, Industry Principal, at Frost & Sullivan’s
Information & Communication Technology group, says: “Ericsson has done an excellent job
keeping its current customers and adding new customers, including significant replacement wins over competitors. Ericsson has a significant pipeline of customers that have yet to move
to 5G but will over the coming years.”
Ericsson currently powers *160 live 5G networks in 68 countries, which is the highest level
that Frost & Sullivan has seen publicly reported.
“Ericsson’s strategy continues to center on CSPs’ evolving needs in all areas of the world,”
Morley says. “However, with its 2020 acquisition of Cradlepoint, Ericsson also is expanding
its role with enterprise customers.”
The report has also discussed the importance of the open and virtual RAN movement and
the belief that eventually open and virtual RAN will be the norm. “Ericsson’s step into offering
Open RAN solutions in 2024 will help make this movement a reality,” Morley says. “The
company plans to offer O-RAN-compliant solutions in 2024; Frost & Sullivan believes this will
result in significant growth in open and virtual RAN revenue.”
Commenting further on the report, Morley says: “Energy efficiency has been a buzzword for
a few years and Ericsson continues to tout solutions that are smaller and lighter and that
save energy, answering its customers’ needs. This will continue with its traditional RAN
solutions and accelerate with its new Open RAN offerings.”
The Frost Radar report measures growth rates in addition to absolute revenue and combines
them with several other factors to measure companies’ performance along the Growth Index.
The report also measures innovation for each company by assessing its product portfolio, the
scalability of its innovations, the efficacy of its R&D strategy, and several other factors.
The latest report from business consulting firm Frost & Sullivan reaffirms Ericsson’s
leadership in the 5G network infrastructure market, which spans radio access networks
(RAN), transport networks, and core networks.
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Ericsson Showcases differentiated connectivity for the value of 5G
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Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) showcased its advanced 5G connectivity solutions and innovative 5G use cases based on differentiated connectivity at the Ericsson Imagine Live Roadshow today. Ericsson has announced the launch of a new software toolkit to strengthen 5G Standalone network capabilities and enable premium services with differentiated connectivity. The portfolio enhancement comes as the growth of new use cases and rising mobile user expectations on the quality of 5G experience are putting greater demands on network capacity and performance.
In the ‘Capture the value of 5G’ zone, experience sports like never before with the Enhanced Sports Experiences demo, where a feature-rich app allows sports clubs to engage directly with their vast fan bases, creating new revenue streams. Leveraging network slicing and APIs, service providers can ensure the ultimate fan experience and gain revenue share.In 2024, Ericsson is extending CSP slicing subscriptions to include micro-payments for short-term connectivity needs.
Another demo called Superior Uplink for Live streams, offers seamless real-time livestreaming via commercially available smart glasses, overcoming the hindrance of 5G upload speeds with Uplink Carrier Aggregation. This technology boosts upload speeds by combining frequencies, enhancing performance, promoting Standalone 5G adoption, and optimizing spectrum utilization.
In the ‘Programmable Networks’ zone, we’re showcasing how Ericsson is transforming the mobile network landscape by enabling elevated service differentiation for premium 5G experiences with Service Level Agreement assurance, revolutionizing CSP offerings. Ericsson’s new software toolkit with advanced RAN and Core capabilities empowers CSPs to seize growth opportunities by providing differentiated connectivity at scale. Another demo showcases how our RedCap technology supports CSPs’ business growth by reducing the complexity and size of device platforms for mid-tier use cases, expanding the 5G ecosystem to cater to diverse connectivity needs across consumer and enterprise/industrial segments on both FDD and TDD bands.
The ‘Enterprise Transformation’ zone showcases how critical infrastructure industries such as power plants, wind farms, and oil refineries can enhance worker safety and efficiency with our private 5G networks use case demos. Partnering with RealWear and OverIT, we enable secure, reliable, realtime access to complex data in order to provide an immersive connected worker experience for use in hazardous environments where accurate positioning and the ability to handle a high density of connected devices is required.
In the ‘Shape our Future Together’ zone, we’re building on the successful API showcase at Mobile World Congress 2023 with partners like Zoom and Blacknut. This year we are demonstrating high-demand use cases with world-leading brands such as Toyota and Sony using QoD API with network slicing. This underscores Ericsson’s thought leadership in the Network API and 5G monetization space, aligning with our strategy to build a platform business and our vision of industry cooperation with strong partners.