Fixed-phone service providers using WLL technology (FWT) may challenge in court DoT’s decision to categorise their services at par with mobile services on the ground that the directive has been issued even as the matter is sub-judice. Service providers said the department had jumped the gun and not waited for the TDSAT’s verdict on the issue, which was to be delivered shortly.

Telecom department officials, however, said the government did not have to wait for the TDSAT judgment as the directive was policy-related. “The issue in the courts is a fight between BSNL and Tata Teleservices over the non-payment of access deficit charge. The judgment will have a bearing on FWT services, but this is a policy decision,

According to the statement of particulars filed under Section 217(2A) of the Companies Act, 1956, Bharti Tele-Ventures has 11 crorepati employees with annual remuneration of over Rs 1 crore each.

The Promoter and Chairman & MD tops the remuneration chart with an annual pay packet of Rs 6.58 crore. Joint Managing Director Akhil Gupta and Rajan Mittal and corporate director Jai Menon, took home over Rs 2 crore last year.

The company had 98 employees under the managerial cadre drawing a yearly gross remuneration of over Rs 24 lakh as on March 31, 2005.

It is readying an ESOP scheme under which 93.67 lakh options will be issued to its eligible employees. The current valuation of these options is close to Rs 300 crore.

Good analytical article in Business Standard talking about future telecom growth in the country.

Given per-capita, India will hit the affordability barrier earlier

LG Electronics India is looking at a sales figure of around Rs 9,000 crore by 2010. It would use India as a production base for exporting to countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Middle East and Africa; with exports contributing 50% of LG India’s revenue from GSM handset sales by then.

LG claims to be the first company to start manufacturing GSM handsets in India. It has invested $ 35 million, both in R&D and manufacturing. The first indigenous product will likely hit the Indian market by 2006.

LG’s revenue from GSM sales is Rs 400 crore and current market share in the mobile handset segment is at around 4 per cent. It plans to spend around Rs 30 crore for mobile sales promotion in FY 2005 and double the handset sales to 80 lakh from 40 lakh in 2004.

It sees good growth potential in the North-Eastern states. GSM penetration in eastern states is far below the national average of 24-25%.

“GSM penetration in Kolkata is 11 per cent whereas for other states in the east it is below 2 per cent, and therefore, the market potential is immense,” he noted.

Source: Business Standard