Heena Sharma Blog

India's telecom majors have decided to hike their tariffs by around 40%. While the new tariffs announced by Airtel and Vodafone Idea will take effect from midnight of December 3, 2019, Reliance Jio has decided to raise its tariffs from the midnight of December 6, 2019. State-owned BSNL has also announced plans to increase tariffs, but is yet to announce the date for the same. The move comes after the recent Supreme Court judgment on Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) which has left the telecom majors saddled with government dues of more than Rs 92,000 crore. Airtel and Vodafone Idea have ended their Rs 169 and 199 plans that offer 1GB and 1.5GB data per day, respectively, for 28 days. Airtel will provide access to its premium content on Airtel Xtream. Jio will be introducing All-in-One plans which will cost 40% higher, but will offer 300% more benefits to customers, the company said. Vodafone Idea and Airtel customers have time until midnight of December 3, 2019 to recharge

Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) has rolled out voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for its employees. The company hopes that about 100,000 employees will avail of the package. The scheme opened on November 4 and will continue till December 3. The total number of BSNL employee is 175,000. All regular and permanent employees of BSNL, including those on deputation to other organisations or deputed elsewhere, are eligible if they are 50 years old or older. The amount of ex-gratia for any eligible employee will be equal to 35 days’ salary for each completed year of service and 25 days’ salary for every year of service left until superannuation. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL), too, has rolled out a VRS for its employees. The scheme, based on Gujarat model and it will also be open till December 3. In a notice to employees, MTNL said, “All regular and permanent employees of 50 years and above as on January 31, 2020”, are eligible to opt for the scheme. Read More Article Source

Reliance Jio, a Mukesh Ambani owned telecommunication service provider, is reportedly planning to provide 4G LTE-based voice and data services in remote locations through satellites . The telecom operator has reportedly awarded a contract to the US-based Hughes Communication, a satellite-based internet and television service provider – according to a news report in the Economic Times. Jio would use capacity from Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and technology from Hughes to provide 4G LTE connectivity in remote locations, the report added. According to the report, Reliance Jio is planning to use satellite-backed connectivity solution in around 400 remote locations to provide 4G LTE voice and data services. These locations include hilly regions and islands where providing connectivity using a conventional tower-based set-up is difficult due to geography and terrain limitations. Therefore, the satellite-based connectivity solution would not only provide voice and data con