New Delhi, Apr 22 () Facebook's move to pick up about 10 per cent stake in Jio Platforms will accelerate Jio's digital monetisation drive and put Reliance Industries (RIL) on course to turn net debt-free by March 2021, analysts said on Wednesday. "RIL had restructured its digital business into one consolidated wholly-owned subsidiary - Jio Platforms - which would host all the digital initiatives of the firm, including Jio digital services (mobile, broadband), apps, tech capabilities (AI, Big Data, IoT) and investments (like Den, Hathway)," Credit Suisse said in a note. It said that Facebook's investment into this entity will further Reliance Industries' digital initiatives and will help in deleveraging. "...The deal will aid in achieving net debt-free (target) by March 2021. As of December 31, 2019, net debt for the group stands at Rs 1,531 billion (Rs 1.53 lakh crore) and with Facebook's investment, this should put RIL on course to be net debt free by Mar-2021," it said. The announcement includes commencement of a partnership among JioMart (platform of RIL's new commerce initiative), Reliance Retail and WhatsApp, it noted. "Currently, new commerce is under purview of Reliance Retail and outside of Jio Platforms. The partnership will entail leveraging the messenger platform to facilitate new commerce transactions between a consumer and a kirana store," Credit Suisse said. In similar vein, Bernstein said the partnership is strategic for both companies. "The investment in Jio is one of the biggest investments Facebook can make. The transaction fits with their recent push to build themselves and experiment more and provides a closed network of 388 million users to test on, proof point around the already announced partnership to build and test a WeChat like app," it said. "Facebook has already launched WhatsApp as customer service/social commerce tool in India allowing brands and retails to talk directly to customers/prospects, this can strengthen that offering both for 60 million small merchants on JioMart but also for Reliance Jio itself," Bernstein added. Facebook on Wednesday announced an investment of USD 5.7 billion (Rs 43,574 crore) to buy a 10 per cent stake in the firm that houses billionaire Mukesh Ambani's telecom arm Jio as the social media giant looks to expand presence in its largest market in terms of subscriber base. "Today we are announcing a USD 5.7 billion, or Rs 43,574 crore, investment in Jio Platforms Ltd, part of Reliance Industries Ltd, making Facebook its largest minority shareholder," the company said in a statement. Reliance in a separate statement said the investment by Facebook values Jio Platforms at Rs 4.62 lakh crore pre-money enterprise value (USD 65.95 billion, assuming a conversion rate of Rs 70 to a US dollar). "Facebook's investment will translate into a 9.99 per cent equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis," it said. Jio Platforms, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), houses digital services of the group. Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, with 388 million subscribers, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jio Platforms. The Facebook deal is part of value unlocking by RIL to cut debt. RIL has been seeking strategic partnerships across its businesses while targeting to deleverage its balance sheet. MBI ANSANS

Facebook investment to accelerate Jio's digital monetisation drive: Analysts

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/59901736.cms" /> 
 <keyword id="1494390" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="VoLTE">VoLTE</keyword> or Voice over LTE services have been launched by 100 operators all over the world, in India Reliance <keyword id="2003276" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jio">Jio</keyword> is the first and only telecom operator to launch VoLTE services. Other telecom operators like <keyword id="15491" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Airtel">Airtel</keyword>, Vodafone too are at various stages of launching their VoLTE services. Simply put, VoLTE means your voice call too is treated like data and a VoLTE enabled phone can handle calling and other data-based activities simultaneously. VoLTE is seen as a promising technology as it helps in optimal use of data along with HD call quality. Ericsson estimates the VoLTE subscriber base in India will reach 370 Million by 2022. Even though the VoLTE device ecosystem has grown rapidly in the last 2-3years, there is still a dearth in availability of entry level VoLTE phones in India. Newest telecom operator in the country, Reliance Jio has also launched its own VoLTE enabled <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Jio-phone-to-be-a-single-sim-feature-phone-and-existing-customers-can-shift-to-it/articleshow/59776367.cms">Jio phone</a> priced under an “effectively free” scheme targeting the ‘2G’ or feature phone market of India. It means the technology will now be experienced by not just high end or mid range smartphone users but entry level mobile phone customers too will be using the technology. So I sat down with Rahul Karnik, Engagement Director, Global Performance Partnerships at Ericsson to get a complete lowdown on VoLTE technology around the world and started by asking how mature is the VoLTE technology for deployment in India? 
 
The overall ecosystem for VoLTE has matured over the past five years. This includes the handsets, radio networks, packet core and IMS networks used by operators. Most VoLTE deployments involve equipment components from multiple vendors. Standardization of interfaces, between these components used for VoLTE, has helped in reducing deployment times as well as increasing the reliability of these networks. Learnings from early deployments are allowing vendors to help operators with their VoLTE deployments. In general, VoLTE continues to mature and this can be seen from the improvement in the key performance indicators that are tracked by operators. 
 
Also Read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/TRAI-sources-Free-Basics-was-a-problem-Zero-Rating-was-a-problem-Jio-Phone-is-not-a-problem/articleshow/59847112.cms">Is Jio phone flouting the principles of Net Neutrality?</a> 
 
What are the benefits of VoLTE to customers? 
 
The main benefits of VoLTE to customers are: High-definition voice, Faster call setup times, Improved battery consumption compared to OTT voice, Interoperability with voice over Wi-Fi, and the potential to add video as well as messaging, location sharing, whiteboarding, etc. VoLTE calls are more efficient than regular voice over IP calls and help customers by consuming lesser data for voice calls. Finally, VoLTE offers the same “green button” promise that customers have relied upon for a long time. VoLTE is a telecom grade service and provides higher Accessibility, Retainability, and Integrity as compared to over the top voice services. 
 
At the global level, wherever VoLTE has been launched, how has been the uptake? 
 
Overall, the VoLTE uptake has been strong, Network measurements show uneven uptake across regions. In the US, Japan, South Korea and Canada, VoLTE uptake was very strong in 2016, with most networks having more than 60 percent of voice calls on LTE smartphones provisioned using VoLTE. In some networks this figure was close to 80 percent. In Europe, the service is used by relatively fewer people, as many launched networks still require subscribers to configure VoLTE themselves in the device settings, or to buy a special VoLTE subscription. Past launches of the service demonstrate that for VoLTE usage to take off, automatic operator provisioning is necessary. In these circumstances, the VoLTE penetration then quickly rises to the percentage of LTE smartphones that are VoLTE-enabled. 
 
How are operators in other markets charging for VoLTE calls ? 
 
Pricing for telecom services is regulated by the appropriate regulatory bodies for each country. Initial deployments for VoLTE were not allowed to charge separately for VoLTE calls as they were considered to be part of the all-inclusive data plans offered by operators. Since then things have changed and most operators who have launched VoLTE either provide it under “unlimited talk” plan or continue to use a “minutes” based tariff for subscribers who are not part of the plan. 
 
What are the capabilities of a VoLTE call ? 
 
As part of the GSMA IR.92 document, a list of supplementary services which are expected to be supported by VoLTE calls have been defined. These include Ad-Hoc Multi Party Conference, Communication Forwarding (Unconditional, Busy, Not Reachable, Etc.), Barring, Etc. 
 
What are the pre -requisites/factors to be considered ahead of launching VoLTE? 
 
If operators have already launched LTE, the primary factors to be considered are Deployment of the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), Integration of IMS with the other network components, Enabling VoLTE related features in the Radio Access Network (RAN) and other network domains, Implementing Quality of Service (QoS), and performing Device and Application verification. After the network components have been deployed and integrated, operators need to tune and optimize the VoLTE service to ensure a high-quality experience to their customers. 
 
What kind of investment would be needed? 
 
In addition to the Network Readiness activities listed in the previous questions, operators who desire to launch VoLTE services need to consider Operational Readiness and Organizational Readiness. Operational Readiness (People/processes/tools/data to support all operational aspects of VoLTE are in place e.g. Ordering, Fulfilment/Provisioning, Billing, Support, Cancellations, Etc.), and Organizational Readiness (Goes beyond the Network and IT organizations and must identify impact on Marketing/Sales/Customer, Legal, Vendor Partnerships, Etc.) are other considerations that would need investments from the operator. 
 
What is the significance of VoLTE from a 5G perspective? Is it critical for 5G deployment? 
 
Operators have a large amount of spectrum currently allocated for 2G and 3G technologies. As operators move towards 5G and IoT deployments, they will need more spectrum which can be achieved by freeing up what they already have or acquiring more spectrum. One of the reasons that operators still have the 2G/3G networks is that voice is primarily carried over those technologies. VoLTE, due to its spectral efficiency, can help operators in freeing up spectrum currently being used for 2G/3G voice calls. Going to VoLTE can speed up the process of switching off the older technologies, which also helps from an opex/capex perspective. 
 
As far as the spectrum is concerned what will be the requirements VoLTE has? Will VoLTE need more spectrum? 
 
VoLTE has a better spectral efficiency than its predecessors for audio calls. VoLTE can carry, for the same spectrum, between 3 to 6 time more audio calls as compared to 3G or 2G technologies. This is one of the benefits that VoLTE offers to operators. Operators can leverage VoLTE to efficiently use their available spectrum. Over time, we will see the 2G/3G spectrum being re-farmed to LTE. 
 
What is the roadmap beyond VoLTE ? 
 
In order for operators to start offering VoLTE services, they need to deploy IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem). IMS will then allow for additional services to be offered for both, consumers, and businesses. These services include Video Calling, Voice over Wi-Fi, RCS (Rich Communication Services) which includes Messaging, File/Location Sharing, Presence, Group Conversations, Etc. for consumers. For businesses, the offerings could include Corporate Video Services, Fixed Network Integration, Integrating IP communications within existing business processes, Etc.

Ten key questions about VoLTE - technology of the future - answered

The adoption of <keyword id="50691" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="digital" source="Orion">digital</keyword> radio technology can help the broadcast sector double its revenues to Rs 12,300 crore in five years riding on a robust mobile ecosystem, a new report showed on Thursday. The country has so far tested two technologies -- <keyword id="14635242" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="hd-radio-and" source="Orion">HD Radio and</keyword> <keyword id="10330418" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="digital-radio-mondiale" source="Orion">Digital Radio Mondiale</keyword> (DRM) -- for digital broadcasting in FM bands. According to a report by the <keyword id="7825659" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="india-cellular-and-electronics-association" source="Orion">India Cellular and Electronics Association</keyword> (ICEA) and EY, radio stations will go up from less than 300 today to over 1,100 without additional spectrum and mass adoption cannot happen without the support of a mobile ecosystem. "Digital broadcast radio has the ability to cater to segments of entry-level smartphones and several hundred million feature phone users to receive enhanced services in areas of health, education, emergency and weather which by complementing data networks decongest them," said Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman, ICEA. "Communication usage with internet of things (IoT) devices are next steps envisaged in the pipeline too," he added. Digital radio broadcasting can be extremely beneficial for all the stakeholders in the sector -- broadcasters, listeners, advertisers and the regulators -- and can help the FM radio segment boost revenues. This comes at a time when the FM radio segment has been struggling to generate robust revenues over the past few years. "It would lead to more advertising inventory to sell with the ability to charge higher rates based on segmented audiences. Given that the digital radio system can provide listenership data, broadcasters can build trust and eventually grow revenues," the report noted. Cost optimisation is another major factor of these technologies for the broadcasters as their transmitters use significantly less power as compared to analogue radio transmitters, it added. "Digital radio can provide a much-needed boost to the <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>n radio segment. It can help grow the radio segment in India by 3x over 5 years," said <keyword id="263905" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="ashish-pherwani" source="Orion">Ashish Pherwani</keyword>, Partner, EY LLP (India). Around 4 times more channels are possible within the same frequency which can provide more options to listeners. Further, the technology is broadcast-centric, and consumers would not have to pay any data charges, said the report. The report recommended innovations around cost-effective chipsets, antennas and software to drive quicker adoption of digital radio. SEE ALSO : <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/amazon-great-freedom-festival-2022-sale-best-kickstarter-deals-available-right-now/articleshow/93342722.cms">Amazon Great Freedom Festival 2022 Sale: Best Kickstarter deals available right now</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/reliance-jio-5g-services-could-be-launched-on-august-15/articleshow/93341992.cms">Reliance Jio 5G services could be launched on August 15</a>

Digital radio can help the broadcast sector double its revenues to Rs 12,300 crore

<keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> faced an acute talent demand-supply gap of 28 per cent in 2021 for jobs in new-age technologies amid the demand of nearly 1.5 lakh jobs in areas like 5G, Cloud computing, AI/Big Data analytics, IoT, mobile app development and robotic process automation, a new report showed on Wednesday. The talent <keyword id="1761478" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="demand-supply-gap" source="Orion">demand supply gap</keyword> will continue to widen with the advent of 5G and allied technologies rollout, according to the report by the <keyword id="1640349" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Telecom-Sector-Skill-Council" source="Orion">Telecom Sector Skill Council</keyword> (TSSC), as <keyword id="6354814" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Prime-Minister-Narendra-Modi" source="Orion">Prime Minister Narendra Modi</keyword> dedicated an indigenous 5G Test Bed, in the form of 5Gi, to the nation on Tuesday. "A deeper look at the technological changes, along with proper skilling, will prepare the workforce of the future. We hope to address policy issues like low penetration of broadband and the industry needs to proliferate at a CAGR of 30-40 per cent in order to create a phenomenal number of jobs," said <keyword id="12218680" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="K-Rajaraman" source="Orion">K. Rajaraman</keyword>, Secretary, <keyword id="58770" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Department-of-Telecommunication" source="Orion">Department of Telecommunication</keyword> (DoT). "TSSC should put in place a set of occupational categories such as rural broadband technician which can support the development of BharatNet in rural areas," he emphasised during the launch of the report. The telecom council plans to train 1 lakh people in the next three years and open 10 new Centres of Excellence across the country. "With original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) setting shop in India, they will need a plethora of job roles to set up their supply chain. We aim to aid the ecosystem with a world-class skilled workforce for 5G and its allied technologies," said Arvind Bali, CEO, TSSC. TSSC President Akhil Gupta (Vice Chairman, Bharti Group) said that they now plan to accelerate skilling initiatives to international regions and map the international workforce demand. "It is important to train the workforce to use these new technologies in a much more effective fashion. When we talk about jobs in the telecom sector, we should not talk about only the jobs here but how they need some kind of upskilling," added Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/reliance-jio-vs-bharti-airtel-four-charts-to-showcase-how-indian-telecom-giants-faired-in-2022/slidelist/91640306.cms">Reliance Jio vs Bharti Airtel — four charts that showcase how the Indian telecom giants faired in 2022</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/unacademy-launches-offline-classes-to-take-on-byjus-owned-aakash-institute/articleshow/91639300.cms">Unacademy launches offline classes to take on Byju's-owned Aakash Institute</a>

India is witnessing a 28% of talent crunch in the technology area, says report

<ul><li><keyword id="10591" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="samsung" source="Orion">Samsung</keyword> and <keyword id="10875" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="ibm" source="Orion">IBM</keyword>’s new chipset design could potentially double either the performance or battery life of smartphones, crypto mining rigs among other things.</li><li>This new design is called <keyword id="12740717" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vtfet" source="Orion">VTFET</keyword> and could succeed the current-gen FinFET design used in most modern chipsets.</li><li>Earlier this year, MIT, <keyword id="1187141" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ntu" source="Orion">NTU</keyword> and TSMC developed a new chipset manufacturing process that could result in chipsets up to 1,00,000 times thinner than a strand of human hair.</li></ul>Tech giants Samsung and IBM have teamed up for a new chipset design that could potentially result in a one-week battery life on smartphones. The new chipset design seems ingenious, too – instead of laying flat on the chipset, the transistors are now stacked vertically. Samsung and IBM have named this design <keyword id="12740718" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vertical-transport-field-effect-transistors" source="Orion">Vertical Transport Field Effect Transistors</keyword> (VTFET), which will succeed the FinFET (Fin Field Effect Transistor) design that is used by most of the modern smartphone chipsets. Stacking up the transistors vertically would allow Samsung and IBM to pack the chipset more densely, which alone would result in a performance and efficiency bump. The current would now pass up and down instead of horizontally, as is the case in current chipsets. Samsung and IBM claim that this new design would allow Samsung to offer up to a two-time jump in performance, or power savings of up to 85% when compared to the current chipsets. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="More semiconductor breakthroughs in the works" comment="subhead" text="More semiconductor breakthroughs in the works">More semiconductor breakthroughs in the works</cmsannotation> If the Samsung-IBM collaboration seems like a breakthrough in chipset design and performance, there’s more in store – earlier this year, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), National Taiwan University (NTU) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) teamed up to develop a <a href="https://interestingengineering.com/semiconductor-breakthrough-widened-gap-tiny-chips">new process</a> that would allow them to manufacture chipsets thinner than 1-nanometre. For context, a human hair is <a href="https://www.nano.gov/nanotech-101/what/nano-size">approximately</a> 80,000-1,00,000 nanometres wide. Even at one nanometre thickness, 80,000-1,00,000 chipsets would have to be stacked above each other to be as thick as a single strand of human hair. To be sure, it might still be a while before we see this new chipset design in consumer electronics – most importantly, smartphones – but it could be a game changer for other use cases as well. For instance, the companies claim that this could result in less power-hungry crypto mining operations, internet-of-things (IoT) devices that last much longer between charges and more. Basically, anything that uses this chipset design could last almost double the time between two charges. <div type="Youtube" id="OF3Zwfu6Ngc" title="IBM and Samsung Unveil Semiconductor Breakthrough That Defies Conventional Design" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OF3Zwfu6Ngc/mqdefault.jpg"></div> SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/reliance-jio-1rs-data-plan-recharge-benefits-cheapest-4g-data-plan/articleshow/88292543.cms">At ₹1, Reliance Jio’s latest data pack is the cheapest in the world – costs less than a packet of water</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/snapchat-launches-short-video-editing-app-story-studio/articleshow/88290788.cms">Snapchat is getting serious about short videos with its new standalone editing app ‘Story Studio’</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/indian-government-issues-urgent-warning-for-google-chrome-users-install-the-latest-update-now/articleshow/88290651.cms">Indian government issues 'urgent' warning for Google Chrome users, install the latest update now</a>

Samsung and IBM’s new chipset design could mean you need to charge your phone just once a week

<ul><li>The Indian government approved <keyword id="16054" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="dot" source="Orion">DoT</keyword>’s 5G spectrum auction during a cabinet meeting held on June 14.</li><li>Reportedly, an auction of 72097.85 MHz of spectrum with 20 yrs validity by July-end will be put to auction.</li><li>India is going to get 5G connectivity soon.</li></ul>The Union Cabinet has approved the auction of airwaves capable of offering fifth-generation or 5G telecom services including ultra high-speed internet, and gave its nod for setting up of captive 5G networks by the big tech firms. The auction of over 72 GHz of the spectrum will be held by July-end, said an official statement detailing the decision taken by the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="narendra-modi" source="Orion">Narendra Modi</keyword>, at its meeting held on June 14. The spectrum auction will commence on July 26, 2022. Sources told PTI that the Cabinet has approved 5G auctions at reserve prices recommended by the sector regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). TRAI had earlier recommended about a 39 per cent reduction in the reserve or floor price for the sale of 5G spectrum for mobile services. While the 5G spectrum in nine frequency bands will be auctioned to telecom operators like Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, the Notice Inviting Applications -- bid-related document issued by DoT -- said big tech firms for the time being will be allowed to take the 5G spectrum for their captive non-public network, on lease from the telecom companies. The Notice Inviting Offer said direct allocation to the big tech companies will follow a demand study and sector regulator TRAI's recommendation on aspects such as pricing and modalities of such allocation. Big tech companies like Google have been seeking direct allocation of spectrum for applications such as machine-to-machine communications, IoT and AI, while telecom companies have been opposing direct allocation of 5G spectrum to them saying it will distort the level playing field and rob the government of revenues. "Enterprises setting up Captive Non-Public Network may obtain the spectrum on lease from TSPs (telecom service providers) having Access Service Authorization and establish their own isolated network. Required Licensing terms and conditions and Spectrum Leasing guidelines shall be issued by DoT," the Notice Inviting Applications said. As per the document, the government from time to time will publish required provisions and guidelines and licensing terms and conditions for enabling the setting up of Captive Non-Public Network (CNPN). According to the document, the auction is slated to start on July 26, 2022. Among other key dates to watch-out for is the pre-bid conference scheduled for June 20, 2022, submission of applications with a deadline of July 8, and pre-qualification of bidders on July 18. Mock auctions will be held on July 22 and 23, 2022. A total of 72097.85 MHz of spectrum with a validity period of 20 years will be put to auction to be held by the end of July, 2022. "The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved a proposal of the Department of Telecommunications to conduct spectrum auction through which spectrum will be assigned to the successful bidders for providing 5G services to public and enterprises," the official release said. The auction will be held for spectrum in various Low (600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz), Mid (3300 MHz) and High (26 GHz) frequency bands. Overall, the payment terms have been eased for bidders in the upcoming auction. Continuing the pace of telecom sector reforms, the Cabinet announced various progressive options with regard to the spectrum auction, for facilitating ease of doing business. "For the first time ever, there is no mandatory requirement to make upfront payment by the successful bidders. Payments for spectrum can be made in 20 equal annual instalments to be paid in advance at the beginning of each year," it said, adding this is expected to significantly ease cash flow requirements and lower the cost of doing business in this sector. The bidders would be given an option to surrender the spectrum after 10 years with no future liabilities with respect to balance instalments. No SUC (spectrum usage charges) will be charged for spectrum acquired in this auction. "The availability of sufficient backhaul spectrum is also necessary to enable the roll-out of 5G services. To meet the backhaul demand, the Cabinet has decided to provisionally allot 2 carriers of 250 MHz each in E-band to the Telecom Service Providers," the official statement said. The Cabinet also decided to double the number of traditional Microwave backhaul carriers in the existing frequency bands of 13, 15, 18 and 21 GHz bands, the release informed. The India market is gearing up 5G services, that will usher in ultra high speeds and spawn new-age services and business models, and the mega-auctions will pave the way for roll out of next generation services by telcos, in 2022-23. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/asus-story-from-nobody-knows-you-sell-laptops-to-the-third-largest-laptop-maker-in-india/articleshow/92220613.cms">INTERVIEW: From ‘nobody knows you sell laptops’ to the third largest laptop maker in India — the Asus India story</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/tcs-infosys-and-hcl-tech-can-do-better-in-a-shallow-recession-than-a-slowdown/articleshow/92214156.cms">TCS, Infosys and HCL Tech can do better in a shallow recession than a slowdown</a>

Indian govt approves 5G spectrum auctions, but telcos might not be happy

<ul><li>Shares of <keyword id="1061730" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Himachal-Futuristic-Communications">Himachal Futuristic Communications</keyword> have surged significantly by 497% from March 2020.</li><li>The largest provider of WiFi solutions says the disruptions caused by COVID-19 pandemic have increased the demand for home and industrial internet of things (IoT) devices and applications.</li><li>HFCL’s profit after tax grew to ₹90.69 crore in June quarter as compared to ₹21.34 crore in corresponding quarter last year. </li></ul>While the pandemic slowed business for sectors like aviation, automobile, and hospitality, some sectors related to information technology enjoyed a boost due to the digital transformation demand. Himachal Futuristic Communications (HFCL) is one such company that benefited enormously from the heightened demand for internet devices. The technology enterprise company manufactures high-end transmission and access equipment, optical fibre and optical fibre cables used in WiFi portals and creating communication networks for telecom service providers, railways, defence, and smart city and surveillance. In fact, it is one of the largest providers of WiFi solutions. Also, the company is likely to be a big player in 5G telecom services. The disruptions caused by the pandemic have increased the demand for home and industrial internet of things devices and applications, said the company in an investor presentation. The company has already shipped 1.5 lakh units of wi-fi and ultra broadband radio to leading telecom service providers in FY21. In fact, under Bharat Net phase II project, wi-fi, infrastructure, electronics and optic networks brings out an ₹40,000 crore opportunity for the company <div type="image" title="HFCL profit revenue" height="900" width="1200" msid="84470091" hostid="261"></div> The company serves technological equipment and services to Reliance Jio, Tata, Airtel, Vodafone, Nokia, BSNL, Larsen &amp; Toubro, Bharat Petroleum, Indian Oil and many more. It has also been working with the government under the Prime Minister WiFi Access Network Interface (PM-WANI) project to provide internet access to every nook and corner of the country. “Initiative by Indian government like BharatNet, which is the world's largest optical fiber-based rural broadband connectivity project, growing usage of wifi connection in home segment, provision of production linked incentive scheme (PLI) by the government, approval of 5G spectrum plans has amplified the company’s operations,” said Mahendra Nahata, managing director of HFCL in a financial report statement. <div type="image" title="HFCL stock" height="900" width="1200" msid="84470137" hostid="261"></div> At 2:52 p.m., the stock was trading 2% higher at ₹ 80.40. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/angel-broking-shares-surge-as-rising-awareness-among-investors-turns-in-favour-of-the-stock-broker/articleshow/84469007.cms">Angel Broking shares surge 20% as rising awareness among investors turns in favour of the stock broker </a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/tatva-chintan-pharma-chem-ipo-should-you-subscribe-to-the-ipo-check-out-analysts-review/articleshow/84464187.cms">Tatva Chintan Pharma Chem IPO -- Should you subscribe? Here’s what analysts are saying </a>

An investment of ₹10,000 in HFCL stock in March last year is worth ₹60,000 now

New Delhi, Nov 29 () The Supreme Court ruling on adjusted gross revenue will not just lead to the collapse of the telecom sector but will also have a cascading effect on several other sectors including power, steel and railways, according to industry chamber FICCI. 
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in a letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman seeking her urgent intervention to resolve woes in the telecom sector said the debt-ridden industry has no appetite left to invest in networks and future technologies while businesses across the world are exploring new opportunities around emerging technologies like 5G, artificial intelligence and internet of things. 
"Given the multiplier impact the (telecom) sector has on the economy and various intermediary industries, it is of critical importance that the sector remains healthy, dynamic and vibrant," FICCI said.
The Supreme Court On October 24, 2019 upheld the government's way of calculating telecom revenue, on which licence fee and spectrum usage charges are computed.
As per the initial calculations, access players like Airtel, Vodafone Idea and other operational telecom operators may have to pay the government a whopping Rs 1.33 lakh crore within three months.
Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in Parliament last week said that there is no proposal before the government at present on waiver of penalties and interest on outstanding licence fee payments based on adjusted gross revenue (AGR), or on extending the timelines for telcos to pay up their statutory dues.
"This ruling will have a cascading effect and will severely impact many other companies in multiple sectors such as internet service providers, satellite communications providers, cable operators and even companies in power, steel and railways sector," FICCI said. 
According to internal estimate of the Department of Telecom, telecom companies which are operational at present will have to cough up around Rs 1.33 lakh crore by January 2020 as per the apex court order.
This is beyond the total debt on the telecom sector estimated to be around Rs 7.87 lakh crore as on August 2017.
"...As you are aware, currently the sector is saddled with a massive debt and has almost no appetite to invest in networks and future technologies. Adding further woes to the sector, the recent ruling on the AGR, dues of the telecom service providers will lead to an unfortunate and disastrous collapse of the already battered sector," the letter said.
Both Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have expressed uncertainty on continuing their operations following the apex court judgement and in the absence of relief from the government. 
Vodafone Idea posted an unprecedented loss of 50,922 crore-- highest ever by any corporate in Indian Inc and Bharti Airtel posted it highest loss of Rs 23,045 crore in the second quarter of current fiscal. 
Reliance Communications posted Indian Inc second biggest loss of Rs 30,142 crore following the apex court judgement. 
"At a time when the world is witnessing the advent of new possibilities and business opportunities from emerging technologies such as 5G, AI, IoT, etc which will redefine the way businesses and economies will work in the coming decades, it is important that India retains its leadership position in the telecom space," the letter said. 
The industry body called for change in policy saying that timely intervention and support will not only save the sector from the brink of collapse but ensure a healthy growth adding to the economic momentum of the country. 
 The government recently doled out a Rs 42,000 crore relief to debt-laden telecom companies after it agreed not to take any payments for spectrum they use for the next two years.
The Union Cabinet approved giving Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea Ltd and Reliance Jio an option to avail of a two-year moratorium on payments they were supposed to make in yearly installments for the spectrum bought in auctions.
While the move will give Rs 42,000 crore relief to Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Reliance Jio, the government is unlikely to intervene in the Supreme Court-mandated statutory payments, top sources said. PRS MKJ

Supreme Court's AGR ruling will lead to telecom sector's collapse: FICCI to FM

<ul><li>Samsung is getting ready to work with Indian telecom operators to prepare them for the upcoming 5G rollout. </li><li>The South Korean tech giant already had a taste of success as the sole infrastructure partner behind Jio’s 4G network rollout.</li><li>Samsung will compete against Nokia, Ericsson and maybe, Huawei, to provide Jio, Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel with 5G infrastructure for their new networks.</li></ul>Samsung, the South Korean tech giant, is preparing itself for a possible 5G rollout in India, after equipped with the experience of doing the same in the US and South Korea. The company is looking to take advantage of the fact that it had deployed the massive network for Reliance Jio’s 4G services all by itself. And, it’s not the only company looking to capitalise on the $27 billion market potential that India presents. Meet the other players Ericsson, the Swedish multinational company, is also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/ericsson-sees-27-billion-revenue-from-5g-as-it-sells-5g-network-equipment-to-vodafone-idea/articleshow/68075972.cms">working with Airtel and Vodafone Idea</a> — two of the primary players in India’s telecom space — with their 5G infrastructure. Nokia is working on India’s 5G spectrum and has already <a href="https://www.themobileindian.com/news/nokia-chennai-factory-to-manufacture-5g-radio-equipment-in-india-24145">started manufacturing</a> 5G radio equipment in its Chennai factory. The 5G New Radio (NR) is based on the new 5G standards that will increase the network’s capacity for transferring data, dole out lower latency and handle congestion better. And, they’re all hoping that Huawei is cut from the race so that there is one less competitor to face, when 5G spectrum allocation finally takes place. Huawei’s participation in the 5G race, as of now, still hangs in the balance. Indian government is yet to take a decision on the the Chinese company which was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/google-ends-ties-with-huawei-no-more-youtube-gmail-maps-play-store/articleshow/69408135.cms">blacklisted by the US government</a> — a move that Donald Trump, the US President, seems to be <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trump-says-us-firms-can-sell-to-huawei/articleshow/70000658.cms">rolling back on</a>. Samsung’s 5G push Samsung has the first-mover advantage with 5G. It was the first among global smartphone manufacturer to launch the world’s first 5G smartphone, the Galaxy S10 5G, earlier this year. It also promoted its 5G solutions that can be applied to self-driving vehicles, smart factories and the Internet of Things (IoT). Big money in the works The Indian government is hoping to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/the-indian-government-wants-to-raise-6-trillion-from-the-largest-5g-spectrum-auction-ever/articleshow/69787896.cms">raise ₹6 trillion</a> from the largest 5G spectrum auction ever, but the telecom lobby says that the planned base price is of the 5G spectrum is <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/telecom/telecom-news/planned-base-price-of-indias-5g-spectrum-too-high-says-telecom-lobby/articleshow/69651660.cms?from=mdr">too high</a>. Rajan Mathews, the director general of the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), stated, “The majority of our members believe the present pricing of the 5G spectrum is unaffordable and above even global discovered prices.” 5G is the fifth-generation of cellular network technology that is expected to boost connectivity speeds 20 times faster than 4G connections and reduce latency — the speed at which data gets from one point to the next — to as little as one millisecond. This means, a full season of a TV series can be downloaded in minutes and users can engage in graphic rich cloud gaming without lag. (with IANS inputs) See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/the-indian-government-wants-to-raise-6-trillion-from-the-largest-5g-spectrum-auction-ever/articleshow/69787896.cms">The Indian government wants to raise ₹6 trillion from the largest 5g spectrum auction ever</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/5g-network-rollout-in-india-as-scheduled-2021/articleshow/68151978.cms">5G vendors claim India’s next-gen network rollout will still happen as scheduled</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/ericsson-sees-27-billion-revenue-from-5g-as-it-sells-5g-network-equipment-to-vodafone-idea/articleshow/68075972.cms">Ericsson's pact with Vodafone Idea is the next step towards a $27 billion goal</a>

Samsung, Ericsson and Nokia get set for the big 5G windfall from India

<ul><li>The rise in automation will likely lead to job losses in India with the women workforce taking a big hit. </li><li>According to the Mckinsey Global Institute, over 11 million women will need job transitions as automated systems take over most tasks. </li><li>Automation is expected to hit the clerical and administrative positions the most among women, highlighted the report.</li></ul>The rise of artificial intelligence is changing the job market in a big way all over the world. But in Indian women face a bigger risk compared to men in the automation industry. According to the latest research titled <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/jobs/nearly-107-million-women-at-risk-of-losing-jobs-globally-as-automation-takes-over-mckinsey-report/articleshow/69659364.cms?from=mdr">“The future of women at work: Transitions in the age of automation”</a> by McKinsey Global Institute, automation may cost India a major transition in jobs over the next 10 years. The report highlighted that nearly 11 million Indian women in the workforce will need to change their jobs by 2030, thanks to automated system carrying out majority tasks at workplace. This is nearly 8% of the total women employed across the globe. Globally, this may impact nearly 160 million female working professionals. The job losses will majorly impact the clerical and in-service jobs including administrative positions, accounting for over half of the job loss among women. While the manufacturing industry will be the most prone to job loss among men. For instance, nearly <a href="https://mobile.edweek.org/c.jsp?cid=25920011&amp;item=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.edweek.org%2Fv1%2Fblog%2F63%2Findex.html%3Fuuid%3D79173">40% of the total elementary school tasks</a>, performed by the teachers can be potentially automated to ease the workflow. Low-paid occupations including labour workforce accounts for a large proportion of India’s female working population, with agriculture producing nearly 60% jobs. However, this will also lead to creation of new jobs. India is expected to generate nearly 23 million new jobs for working-age women, compared to 91 million among men, the report suggested. Given that, the automated systems will eventually lead to a rise in demand for workforce skilled in artificial intelligence and machine learning tools. “Women start with lower representation in the workplace and in most economies there is a strong genderization of work or more concentration of women in certain occupations than others,” Anu Madgavkar, partner with Mckinsey Global Institute <a href="https://www.livemint.com/news/india/up-to-12-mn-indian-women-may-lose-their-jobs-to-automation-by-2030-study-1559669338838.html">reportedly</a> said. Within the IT space, skills that are needed include “AI, machine learning, blockchain, cloud computing, data visualization, data engineering, IOT, data science and analytics, and extended Reality (virtual reality and augmented reality),” said Bhajneet Dhingra, independent talent advisor for IT majors and startups. According to him, globally women contribute only between 10-12% in AI and machine learning, leaving a lot of room to make an impact. The McKinsey research studied the fastest growing economies including India, Japan, Germany and the US among others. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/highschool-passouts-will-be-now-groomed-for-it-jobs-in-india/articleshow/69592019.cms">Highschool passouts will be now groomed for IT jobs</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/taco-bell-is-going-on-expansion-spree-in-india-with-plans-to-hire-20000-people/articleshow/69356621.cms">Taco Bell is going on expansion spree in India — with plans to hire 20,000 people</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/mukesh-ambani-led-reliance-jio-cuts-contractual-staff/articleshow/69576896.cms">India’s telecom giant Reliance Jio cuts contractual staff</a>

You Searched For "reliance jio iot" and got 10 results

Facebook investment to accelerate Jio's digital monetisation drive: Analysts

PTI

Ten key questions about VoLTE - technology of the future - answered

Nazia Bijal

Digital radio can help the broadcast sector double its revenues to Rs 12,300 crore

IANS

India is witnessing a 28% of talent crunch in the technology area, says report

IANS

Samsung and IBM’s new chipset design could mean you need to charge your phone just once a week

Rounak Jain

Indian govt approves 5G spectrum auctions, but telcos might not be happy

PTI

An investment of ₹10,000 in HFCL stock in March last year is worth ₹60,000 now

Bhakti Makwana

Supreme Court's AGR ruling will lead to telecom sector's collapse: FICCI to FM

PTI

Samsung, Ericsson and Nokia get set for the big 5G windfall from India

Prabhjote Gill

Automation will affect women the most in the Indian job market: Report

Prerna Sindwani