Mini Project 2 Report

On

“Food Processing Industry”

Submitted as Partial fulfilment for the award of

MASTERS OF BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION DEGREE
Session 2023-25

By
Sinu Kalyani
2301720700282
Under the guidance of
Dr. Vandana Pareek
Masters of Business Administration
LLOYD INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
AND
TECHNOLOGY

AFFILIATED TO
DR. A.P.J. ABDUL KALAM UNIVERSITY (FORMERLY UTTAR
PRADESH TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY), LUCKNOW

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 Student’s Declaration/ Certificate

I “SINU KALYANI” hereby declares that the work which is being presented in
this report entitled “TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES INDUSTRY” is
my original work carried out under the supervision of Dr. Vandana Pareek.

The matter embodied in this report has not been submitted by me for the award of
any other degree.

Department of Business Administration Sinu Kalyani

This is to certify that the work which is being presented in this report
entitled “BANKING INDUSTRY” is an authentic record of the student
carried out under my supervision. The declaration by the candidate is
correct to the best of my knowledge.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am using this opportunity to express my gratitude to everyone who

supported me throughout the course of this MBA project. I am thankful
for their aspiring guidance invaluably constructive criticism and
friendly advice during the project work. I am sincerely grateful to them
for sharing their truthful and illuminating views on a number of related
issues related to the project.
I express my warm thanks to Dr. Vandana Pareek for her valuable
support and guidance at the “TELECOMMUNICATION
SERVICES INDUSTRY” project.
I would also like to thanks my fellow MBA mates and the entire
faculty of LLOYD INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND
TECHNOLOGY who provided me with the facilities being required
and conductive conditions of my MBA Mini Project.

Thankyou,
Sinu Kalyani
MBA

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 LIST OF CONTENTS

1. Summary
2. Introduction
3. Market share
4. Major players
5. SWOT Analysis
6. Challenges faced by telecommunication
7. Emerging technologies
8. Investment/ Major Development
9. Gap Analysis
10. Impact of covid -19 on telecommunication
11. Measures taken
12. Findings
13. Achievement
14. Suggestions and conclusions
15. References

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The modern telecommunications infrastructure—made possible by research performed over the

last several decades—is an essential element of the U.S. economy and society. But the U.S.
position as a leader in telecommunications technology is now at risk because of the recent
decline in domestic support for long-term, fundamental telecommunications research. To help
understand this challenge, the National Science Foundation (NSF) asked the National Research
Council to assess the current state of telecommunications research in the United States. This
report provides an examination of telecommunications research support, focus, and time horizon
in industry and academia and discusses the implications for the health of the sector.

The telecommunications services industry is a crucial component of the global economy,

enabling the flow of information and communication across vast distances. It encompasses a
wide range of services including voice, data, and video transmission via various technologies
such as fixed-line telephony, mobile networks, and the internet.

The telecommunications services industry is a dynamic and essential part of the global economy,
continually evolving to meet the demands of a connected world. The future holds substantial
growth potential driven by technological advancements and increasing consumer and enterprise
reliance on digital communication solutions.

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6
TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES INDUSTRY

INTRODUCTION

Telecommunications, also known as telecom, is the exchange of information over significant

distances by electronic means and refers to all types of voice, data and video transmission. This
is a broad term that includes a wide range of information-transmitting technologies and
communications infrastructures, such as wired phones; mobile devices, such as cellphones;
microwave communications; fiber optics; satellites; radio and television broadcasting; the
internet; and telegraphs. Before the emergence of the Internet and other data networks,
telecommunications had a clear meaning: the telephone (and earlier the telegraph) was an
application of technology that allowed people to communicate at a distance by voice (and earlier
by encoded electronic signals), and telephone service was provided by the public switched
telephone network (PSTN). Much of the U.S. network was owned and operated by American
Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T); the rest consisted of smaller independent companies, including
some served by GTE.

Then in the 1960s, facsimile and data services were overlaid on the PSTN, adding the ability to
communicate documents and data at a distance—applications still considered
telecommunications because they enabled new kinds of communication at a distance that were
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also carried over the PSTN. More recently, of course, communication at a distance has
expanded to include data transport, video conferencing, e-mail, instant messaging, Web
browsing, and various forms of distributed collaboration, enabled by transmission media that
have also expanded (from traditional copper wires) to include microwave, terrestrial wireless,
satellite etc.

Today consumers think of telecommunications in terms of both products and services. Starting
with the Carter phone decision by the Federal Communications Commission in 1968,1 it has
become permissible and increasingly common for consumers to buy telecommunications
applications or equipment as products as well as services. For example, a customer-owned and
customer-installed Wi-Fi local area network maybe the first access link supporting a voice over
Internet Protocol (VoIP) service, and a consumer may purchase a VoIP software package and
install it on his or her personally owned and operated personal computer that connects to the
Internet via an Internet service provider.

The technologies used for telecommunications have changed greatly over the last 50 years.
Empowered by research into semiconductors and digital electronics in the telecommunications
industry, analog representations of voice, images, and video have been supplanted by digital
representations. The biggest consequence has been that all types of media can be represented in
the same basic form (i.e., as a stream of bits) and therefore handled uniformly within a common
infrastructure (most commonly as Internet Protocol, or IP, data streams).

Subsequently, circuit switching was supplemented by, and will likely ultimately be supplanted
by, packet switching. For example, telephony is now routinely carried at various places in the
network by the Internet (using VoIP) and cable networks. Perhaps the most fundamental
change, both in terms of technology and its implications for industry structure, has occurred in
the architecture of telecommunications networks.

Architecture in this context refers to the functional description of the general structure of the
system as a whole and how the different parts of the system relate to each other. Previously the

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PSTN, cable, and data networks coexisted as separately owned and operated networks carrying
different types of communications, although they often shared a common technology base (such
as point-to-point digital communications) and some facilities (e.g., high-speed digital pipes
shared by different networks).

How are the new networks different? First, they are integrated, meaning that all media— be they
voice, audio, video, or data—are increasingly communicated over a single common network.
This integration offers economies of scope and scale in both capital expenditures and operational
costs, and also allows different media to be mixed within common applications. As a result, both
technology suppliers and service providers are increasingly in the business of providing
telecommunications in all media simultaneously rather than specializing in a particular type such
as voice, video, or data.

Second, the networks are built in layers, from the physical layer, which is concerned with the
mechanical, electrical and optical, and functional and procedural means for managing network
connections to the data, network, and transport layers, which are concerned with transferring
data, routing data across networks between addresses, and ensuring end-to-end.

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MARKET SHARE

1. Reliance Jio

Reliance Jio Info COMM Limited, Jio, is an Indian telecommunications services company
wholly owned by Reliance Industries and headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, it
operates a national LTE network with coverage across all 22 telecom circles

Market share: 36.5 %

Jio does not offer 2G or 3G service, and instead uses voice over LTE to provide voice service on
its network. The Company is largest in the list of top 10 telecom companies in India.

Jio launched on 27 December 2015 with a beta for partners and employees and became publicly
available on 5 September 2016. It is a private telecom operator in India. It is second in the list of
top telecom companies in India 2020.

Reliance Jio is the no 1 top telecom companies in India based on the Market share. As of 31 May
2019, it is the largest mobile network operator in India and the third-largest mobile network
operator in the world with over 372.99 million

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2. Bharti Airtel Limited

Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 18

countries* across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the Company ranks
among the top three mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers.

In India, the company’s product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile
commerce, fixed line services, high-speed home broadband, DTH, enterprise services (including
national & international long-distance services to carriers). It is a private telecom operator in
India

Total Employees: 19,721

Market share: 27.5 %

In other countries, it offers 2G, 3G, 4G wireless services and mobile commerce. Bharti Airtel has
over 403 million customers across its operations at the end of March 2019. The Company is third
in the list of top 10 telecom companies in India.

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VODAFONE IDEA LIMITED

Vodafone Idea Limited is an Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Group partnership. It is India’s
leading telecom service provider.

The Company has the largest spectrum holding amongst all Indian telecom operators comprising
1,849.6 MHz spectrum across 22 circles, of which 1,714.8 MHz is liberalized spectrum

Market Share: 23.5 %

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The Company provides pan India Voice and Data services across 2G, 3G, and 4G platforms. As
of March 31, 2019, the subscriber base of Company stands at 368.3 Mn (on VLR), with
subscriber market share of 36.0%, which is highest in the Industry.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. was incorporated on 15th September 2000. It took over the business
of providing telecom services and network management from the erstwhile Central Government
Departments of Telecom Services (DTS) and Telecom Operations (DTO), with effect from 1st
October 2000 ongoing concern basis.

It is one of the largest & leading public sector units providing a comprehensive range of telecom
services in India. The company is fourth Largest telecom service provider companies in India

Market share: 9.9 %

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As of the Year 2019, it has about 29.63 million lines basic telephone capacity, 1.39 million WLL
capacity, 114.62 million GSM capacity, 31,611 fixed exchanges, 1,46,172 GSM BTSs, 95
Satellite Stations, 8,49,990 RKm. of OFC, 2,548 RKm. of microwave network.

BSNL is the only service provider, making focused efforts & planned initiatives to bridge the
rural-urban digital divide in the ICT sector. It is largest telecom operators in India owned by
government of India.

MARKET SIZE

India is the world’s second-largest telecommunications market. The total subscriber base,
wireless subscriptions as well as wired broadband subscriptions have grown consistently. Tele-
density stood at 85.91%, as of December 2021, total broadband subscriptions grew to 792.1
million until December 2021 and total subscriber base stood at 1.18 billion in December 2021.

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Gross revenue of the telecom sector stood at Rs. 64,801 crore (US$ 8.74 billion) in the first
quarter of FY22.

The total wireless data usage in India grew 16.54% quarterly to reach 32,397 PB in the first
quarter of FY22. The contribution of 3G and 4G data usage to the total volume of wireless data
usage was 1.78% and 97.74%, respectively, in the third quarter of FY21. Share of 2G data usage
stood at 0.48% in the same quarter.

Over the next five years, rise in mobile-phone penetration and decline in data costs will add 500
million new internet users in India, creating opportunities for new businesses.

By 2025, India will need ~22 million skilled workers in 5G-centric technologies such as Internet
of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics and cloud computing.

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SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths

Cutting-edge fiber-optics technology, high-performing cable equipment, a respected brand name,

excellent customer service and a strong sales team are just a few strengths that boost the resource
capabilities of a telecommunication company. These strengths are attributes that enhance the
company's competitive advantage.

Weaknesses

Corroded cable lines, slow service and lackluster sales are three weaknesses that can hurt a
telecommunications company. Company weaknesses are competitive deficiencies that place the
company at a disadvantage in the marketplace. If corroded cable lines aren't replaced and slow
service continues, for example, angry customers will switch to a rival telecommunications
company that offers better services.

Opportunities

New technologies, increasing consumer interest and a decrease in competition are just a few
external opportunities that can really help a telecommunications company in the long run.
Opportunities are beneficial, outside events that a company can use to boost its existing
strengths. A telecommunication company keen on rapidly adopting new technologies, for
example, would highly benefit from immediately investing in new fiber optics the moment
they're introduced in the marketplace, especially if they speed up service.

Threats

A sluggish economy, increasing competition and increased government regulations against the
telecommunications industry are just a few external threats that can limit a telecommunications
company's future success. Threats are outside events or influences that create future hurdles for a

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company. New rivals that offer customers fast service and cutting-edge technology, for example,
may lure an older telecommunications company's existing customers away, especially if the
older company can't offer the same new features.

CHALLENGENCES FACED BY TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Demand for Traditional Services Is Decreasing

While Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G have started to fuel more diversity in vendor product
offerings, businesses using legacy tools have struggled to stay ahead of the curve.Vendors in all

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environments need to expand their offerings, going beyond the basics of voice, to deliver
everything from SMS to video.

The way that people are communicating is changing. Internet messaging, VoIP and other cloud-
based technology is taking over the industry. Even smartphone traffic is moving to WiFi. This
means that businesses of all sizes need to consider howthey’re going to evolve their service
packages to suit the new cloud-focused community.

Security and the Risk of Data Breaches

Monitoring call and communication quality is crucial to ensuring that customers get the kind of
telecom experiencethat they deserve.However, tracking and understanding your communication
life cycle will be essential to telecoms companies for another reason, too – data and privacy.It
has become increasingly important for telecommunications companies to make data security and
privacy a key priority.The Digital Media Trends Survey from Deloitte shows that customers are
still terrified by the idea of identity theft and financial loss.

Security and the Risk of Data Breaches

Monitoring call and communication quality is crucial to ensuring that customers get the kind of
telecom experience that they deserve.However, tracking and understanding your communication
life cycle will be essential to telecoms companies for another reason, too – data and privacy.It
has become increasingly important for telecommunications companies to make data security and
privacy a key priority.The Digital Media Trends Survey from Deloitte shows that customers are
still terrified by the idea of identity theft and financial loss.

2020: The Year of 5G Adoption

The 5G action plan created by the European Union already includes access to uninterrupted 5G
coverage by 2025 in the new vision of the future.As well as being able to support a considerable
increase (hundredfold) in connected devices, 5G will also offer things like improved data rates,

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better network slicing, and ultra-low latency.This opens the gateways for new services, network
operation, customer experience, and more.
5G has the potential to truly change the role of telecoms companies.

The Demand for More Thoughtful Companies

As the experience continues to stand out as the most important differentiating factor for many
companies, consumers are searching for brands that can understand their needs and deliver
exceptional results.With in-depth reporting tools, organizations can place themselves in a better
position to deal with things like rising and falling demands in staffing levels or trends in
customer experience.
However, customers on the hunt for better experiences aren’t just relying on their vendors to
deliver solutions that benefit them.

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
Existing technologies :
The 5 Biggest Technology Trends That Will Transform Telecoms In 2020
Big Data
In this new decade, Telecommunications companies will continue to capture and produce
evermore data volumes from mobile devices, applications, wearable tech and wireless
information. All this data however presents security and privacy risks, telcos need to tackle these
security issues to meet regulation compliance as well as ensuring that consumer data is handled
and shared with complete approval from the customer.

5G

We saw the launch of 5G in 2019, making fifth generation networks accessible to the consumer,
but what is to come for telecoms firms in this new decade? The European Union’s action plan
confirms implementing uninterrupted 5G in urban areas and along main transport paths by 2025.
By adopting 5G we will get improved data rates, enable networking slicing and ultra-low latency
efficiencies. 5G will open new opportunities for network operation, customer experience and

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new services for operators. We are seeing the telcos role change to be visible as both service
providers and technology distributors.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI is increasingly implemented throughout telecommunications, using applications such as

virtual assistants and chatbots to help improve customer service. AI is also essential for the
telecommunication network as it allows for optimisation and predictive maintenance through
predictive analytics AI.AI allows telecoms to gather actionable business insights from the
volumes of data they collect every day through predictive analytics.

Internet of Things (IoT)

There were around 400 million IoT devices with cellular connections at the end of 2016 and that
number is projected to reach 1.5 billion in 2022.If telcos can capitalize on IoT, given the unique
selling proposition 5G can bring them, they put themselves in the running for huge potential
profits in a global IoT market expected to reach more than US$600 billion by 2022.

DLT

Telcos worldwide are facing a crisis of identity as they are struggling to compete on offerings
other than cost and coverage. While telecommunications are one of the most important services
in the world, it is at the top of every telecom’s strategic agenda to remain relevant as more than
just a commodity. Using DLT is not only a great way tointroduce banking services, but also to
provide a payment system that does not incur high-cost banking fees.

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ROAD AHEAD

Revenue from the telecom equipment sector is expected to grow to US$ 26.38 billion by 2020.
The number of internet subscribers in the country is expected to double by 2021 to 829 million
and overall IP traffic is expected to grow four-fold at a CAGR of 30% by 2021.

According to a Zenith Media survey, India is expected to become the fastest-growing telecom
advertisement market, with an annual growth rate of 11% between 2020 and 2023.

The Indian Government is planning to develop 100 smart city projects, and IoT will play a vital
role in developing these cities. The National Digital Communications Policy 2018 envisaged
attracting investment worth US$ 100 billion in the telecommunications sector by 2022. App
downloads in India is expected to increase to 18.11 billion in 2018F and 37.21 billion in 2022F.

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 INVESTMENT/MAJOR DEVELOPMENT

With daily increasing subscriber base, there have been a lot of investment and development in
the sector. FDI inflow in the telecom sector stood at US$ 38.25 billion between April 2000-
December 2021.

Some of the developments in the recent past are:

 In January 2022, Google made a US$ 1 billion investment in Airtel through the India
Digitization Fund.

 In October 2021, Vodafone Idea stated that it is in advanced talks to sell a minority stake to
global private equity investors including Apollo Global Management and Carlyle to raise up to
Rs7,540 crore (US$ 1 billion) over the next 2-3 months.

 In October 2021, British satellite operator Inmarsat Holdings Ltd. announced that it is the first
foreign operator to get India’s approval to sell high-speed broadband to planes and shipping
vessels. Inmarsat will access the market via Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) after BSNL
received a license from the Department of Telecommunications.

 In October 2021, Dixon Technologies announced plans to invest Rs. 200 crore (US$ 26.69
million) under the telecom PLI scheme; this investment will include the acquisition cost of
Bharti Group’s manufacturing unit.

 In September 2021, Bharti Airtel announced an investment of Rs. 50 billion (US$ 673 million) in
expanding its data centre business to meet the customer demand in and around India.

 In August 2021, Tata Group company Nalco announced that the company is in talks with
Canadian firm Telesat to sign a commercial pact for launching fast satellite broadband services
in India under the latter’s Lightspeed brand, a move which will pit the combined entity against
Bharti Enterprises-backed One Web, Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Amazon.

 In March 2021, Vodafone Idea Ltd. (VIL) announced that the acquired spectrum in five circles
would help improve 4G coverage and bandwidth, allowing it to offer ‘superior digital
experience’ to customers.

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 In March 2021, Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) and Telecommunications
Standards Development Society, India (TSDSI) signed a deal to boost adoption of ATSC
standards in India in order to make broadcast services available on mobile devices. This allows
the TSDSI to follow ATSC standards, fostering global digital broadcasting standard
harmonization.

 In the first quarter of FY21, customer spending on telecom services increased 16.6% y-o-y, with
over three-fourths spent on data services. This spike in consumer spending came despite of the
COVID-19 disruption and lack of access of offline recharges for a few weeks

 India had over 500 million active internet users (accessed Internet in the last one month) as of
May 2020.

GAP ANALYSIS

In the current quest for sustainable development, it is imperative for industries to assess their
externalities and to address them. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has existed in several
definitions and dimensions but increasingly has been accepted as a business practice which is
economically, socially and environmentally beneficial complies with rules & regulations, and
maximizes the stakeholders’ benefits, all at the same time. CSR primarily has to be determined
on the basis of externalities caused by the business as usual and as efforts to address these
externalities along with other objectives that are aligned with the Sustainable Developments
Goals or as per the government policies. However, it is possible that all externalities are not
clearly evident or visible and get neglected. The paper aims at the analysis of Telecom Industries
externalities on the parameter of environmental responsibilities and efforts by the industry to
address these concerns. The paper tries to assess telecom organizations’ CSR initiatives by
analyzing their CSR Reports and Annual reports. The results show that as far as environment is
concerned, energy emission reduction has been a top priority of the industry but biodiversity
losses due to emissions of radiations don’t find much attention.

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IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS

According to news reports, overall traffic has jumped by 10% and streaming platforms have
witnessed a 20% spike in viewership [3]. Hence, several analysts now believe that unlike the
manufacturing and other sectors that have come to a near standstill, the telecom industry might
emerge as the golden child of this economic slowdown. However, the increased dependency on
telecom networks, and the other restrictions on account of COVID-19, has raised a different set
of challenges for the telecom sector, as highlighted below.

. A. Implementation of exemptions for the telecom industry

Although the MHA had clarified that telecommunications, IT and ITeS were exempted from the
lockdown, there were instances of local authorities asking personnel of telecom service providers
at NOCs (network operation centres) and call centres to shut down operations. In response, the
Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had written to chief secretaries of states on March 21,
urging them to allow movement of field staff of telecom companies.

B. Rising demand and current infrastructure

While demand for services continues to spike, given India’s dependence on wireless traffic, there
is increased pressure on cellular infrastructure.
According to reports[5], the mean mobile and broadband download speeds in India had fallen in
March due to strain on the networks. Hence, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI)
has written to the Government to request streaming service providers such as Netflix, Amazon
Prime Video and Zee5 to switch to a lower definition streaming, to reduce advertisements and
pop-ups, etc., in a bid to ease the strain on existing networks. Several service providers have
already started working on this issue.

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C. Impact of the lockdown restrictions

Admittedly, while there is increasing demand for telecom services, the telecom sector is
dependent on several other industries, which have been adversely affected by the lockdown.

D. AGR and other existing issues in the telecom sector

The COVID-19 outbreak and the resultant lockdown has come at a time when the
telecommunications sector was already grappling with the issue of payment of Adjusted Gross
Revenue (AGR). The Supreme Court had recently rejected the self-assessments of AGR dues
undertaken by a few Telcos and had refused to take up the Centre’s submission to allow telecom
companies an extended period of 20 years to pay the AGR dues, stating that the matter will be
listed in twoweeks.

MEASURES TAKEN

Record raking

While that worked in theory, policy makers also realized that the auction of airwaves and sale of
licenses could fetch billions of dollars, a revenue source key to narrowing the government’s
budget deficit. For instance, in a 2015 auction, India raised a record $18 billion, after getting
almost $10 billion in the previous year. But in 2012, a plan to collect as much as 400 billion
rupees ($7.3 billion at the then exchange rate) flopped as bidders balked, prompting it to cut
prices later.

Driving up costs
While the government set high prices, the carriers had themselves to blame too. Competition
drove the operators to outbid each other at spectrum auctions, driving up their costs.

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Tax demand

When Vodafone entered India by acquiring Hutchison Whampoa’s Indian operations in 2007,
the government slapped the buyer with a tax bill of $2.2 billion. Vodafone disputed the tax and
India’s Supreme Court agreed that no law upheld the levy of the tax. But the then Finance
Minister Pranab Mukherjee amended the tax rules retrospectively, and the carrier is still fighting
the demand.

License cancellations

In 2008, the government allocated 2G airwaves and licenses without auction. The Comptroller
and Auditor General in 2010 said that method caused a presumptive loss to the government. Two
years later, the Supreme Court canceled 122 mobile-phone permits won by companies including
Etisalat DB, Sistema and Telenor.

FINDINGS

Telecommunications has expanded greatly over the past few decades from primarily landline
telephone service to the use of fiber optic, cable, and wireless connections offering a wide range
of voice, image, video, and data services. Yet it is not a mature industry, and major innovation
and change—driven by research—can be expected for many years to come.

Without an expanded investment in research, however, the nation’s position as a leader is at risk.
Strong competition is emerging from Asian and European countries that are making substantial
investments in telecommunications R&D.

For many telecommunications products and services that are now commodities, the United States
is at a competitive disadvantage compared with countries where the cost of doing business is
lower. Continued U.S. strength in telecommunications, therefore, will require a focus on high-

26
 value innovation that is made possible only by a greater emphasis on research. Expansion of
telecommunications research is also necessary to attract, train, and retain research talent.

Telecommunications research has yielded major benefits such as the Internet, radio frequency
wireless communications, optical networks, and voice over Internet Protocol. Nevertheless,
research support has fallen off in recent years. Prior to the restructuring of the
telecommunications industry in 1984, the Bell System’s research labs played a dominant role in
long-term, fundamental telecommunications research for the United States. Post-restructuring,
industrial support for such research has declined, become more short-term in scope, and become
less stable.

A diverse array of competing telecommunications firms— telephone, cable, Internet, and

wireless—emerged, leaving most research to equipment vendors, which increasingly focused on
short-term goals. Telecommunications research is increasingly being done at universities rather
than by industry, and outside rather than inside the United States. In addition, the diversity of
players in today’s telecommunications industry makes it difficult to design and deploy major,
end-to-end innovations.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Following are the achievements of the Government in the past four years:

 Department of Telecommunication launched ‘Tarang Sanchar’ - a web portal sharing

information on mobile towers and EMF Emission Compliances.

 Payments on unified payments interface (UPI) hit an all-time high of 3.65 billion (by volume),
with transactions worth ~Rs. 6.54 trillion (US$ 87.11 billion) in September 2021.

 Over 75% increase in internet coverage from 251 million users to 446 million

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SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

A strong, effective telecommunications R&D program for the United States will require a greater
role for government-sponsored and university research, and more funding of long-term research
by industry. The committee recommends that the federal government establish a new research
organization—the Advanced Telecommunications Research Activity (ATRA)— to stimulate and
coordinate research across industry, academia, and government. ATRA would be a hybrid of
activities of the sort historically associated with DARPA (which through the ARPANET
program managed a research portfolio, developed a vision, and convened industry and academia
to build what would become the Internet) and SEMATECH (which brought the semiconductor
industry together, initially with some federal support to complement industry dollars, to fund
joint research, development, and road mapping activities). There are a number of options for
where within the federal government such a program could fit, each with its own set of tradeoffs
(see Chapter 4). For example, ATRA’s proposed mission would align with that of existing
agencies within the Department of Commerce, and NSF has developed mechanisms for joint
academic-industry engineering research, albeit more focused and on a smaller scale.

The committee also recommends that all segments of the U.S. telecommunications industry
increase their support for fundamental research, possibly taking advantage of the avenue
provided by participation in joint, cooperative research activities organized by ATRA. Indeed,
industry should provide a significant fraction of total R&D funding for ATRA, which would
support researchers from academia and industry and provide industry with a way to pool funds,
spread risk, and share beneficial results.
ATRA’s mission would be to (1) identify, coordinate, and fund U.S. telecommunications R&D;
(2) foster major architectural advances; and (3) strengthen the U.S. telecommunications research
capability. Key suggested steps for implementing ATRA are (1) establishment of mechanisms
for carrying out project-based research; (2) establishment of advisory committees with high-level
industry participation; (3) exploration of the need for R&D centers; and (4) establishment of a
forum for key parties to discuss critical technology development issues.

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Effective expansion of federal support of telecommunications research through ATRA will
require participation from both service providers and equipment vendors to help identify the
most critical research needs together with complementary industry investments in research.
ATRA can play an important role in facilitating mechanisms to enable service providers to pool
research support.

REFERNCES

https://www.nap.edu/read/11711/chapter/4
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunication
https://www.nap.edu/read/11711/chapter/2#2
https://corporate.cyrilamarchandblogs.com/2020/05/covid-19-its-impact-on-the-
telecommunications-sector-in-india/
callcentrehelper.com/challenges-telecoms-industry-2020-160408.htm
https://ditto.tv/5-emerging-technologies-to-transform-the-telco-industry-in-2020/

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