Both have largely remained shackled by high tax rates, harming the goals that Modi set out for Digital India at the start of his first term.

Issues surrounding licence tenure and the financial impact of reducing interest rates on annual instalments may prove to be a stumbling block.

Even after the apex court initiated contempt proceedings, there is little clarity on whether coercive action will be taken and if operators will be allowed to pay less than what was submitted during court hearings.

In an e-mail sent out by COAI, the industry association has said the government's proposal envisages operators paying the massive AGR dues to the SPV through annual instalments.

The Wire’s analysis indicates that the total dues on Airtel till March 2017 comes out to be about Rs 50,000 crore, while Vodafone Idea will have to pay about Rs 40,000 crore. 

The regulator's decision has effectively increased tariffs for all low-income subscribers.

The interconnect usage charge game is one that's always placed corporate interests before those of India's consumers. So why has the regulator blinked?

When it comes to bailing out the sector through financial incentives, there is not a very strong case for the government to help out. 

In September 2018, Prabhash Singh, the then telecom commission member (technology), had written a note to the secretary, accusing some committee members of delaying the matter to help the companies.

While there have been mysterious delays, sources say that the final note before the DCC proposes accepting the regulator's recommendations.

Modi's flagship BharatNet project is nowhere near its goal of functional internet for all.

The new first-come, first-serve kerfuffle places both Ravi Shankar Prasad and KK Venugopal in curious positions, considering the stances they took on a similar case three years ago.

In the current kerfuffle over E and V band spectrum allocation, the Centre’s arguments echo ones made by former telecom minister A. Raja during the 2G controversy.

The DoT plans on using an underhanded method, through the creation of a new category of users, to allot V- and E-band spectrum on a FCFS basis and at an administered price.

It appears that banks are the true losers, with Ebix now acquiring the firm that was used to siphon off Educomp's core 'smart class' business.

The auditor's report raises concerning questions over its balance sheet and there is evidence to show its core business was effectively transferred to a separate but connected company before the insolvency process started.

The move, which is a gross violation of the Supreme Court order on 2G and auctioning spectrum, could result in potential revenue loss of up to Rs 4 lakh crore.

The regulatory body should terminate interconnection usage charges completely by 2019 instead of 2020, encouraging operators to turn the new disruption into an opportunity to meet Digital India goals.

There are approximately 50 crore feature phone users in India. According to analysts, Reliance could snap up anywhere between 10% to 20% of this market.

Industry observers say that the big winner could be Reliance Jio, which is looking to accumulate and directly control a large chunk of spectrum.