TRAI has not only recommended a steep cut of 43 per cent in the base price for the premium 700 MHz band spectrum - coveted for high-speed data services like 4G - but also called for the auction of the \"entire available spectrum\".

With the NCLT on Monday rejecting Cyrus Mistry's allegations of lapses in governance on part of the Tata Group in dealings with Aircel, Sivasankaran has reportedly bucked up and is planning a counter-attack.

The scale of value destruction in the telecom sector has been huge. Only sensible policies and practices can save it now.

Intense competition among the telcos is hurting the government's earnings from the sector.

The Department of Telecom today amended licence norms of service providers to increase number of instalments for spectrum payments and radiowaves frequency holding limit to provide relief to the sector reeling under deep financial stress.

The higher spectrum holding cap will encourage participation in the future auctions, thereby increasing government's revenues. The extended tenure for spectrum payment will earn it more interest income.

The Cabinet decisions include restructuring the deferred payment liabilities of the spectrum auction of telecom service providers and revising the limit of the cap for spectrum holding for telecom service provider.

The Cabinet may consider a relief package for the financially-stressed telecom sector today, a senior government official said

At the Mobile World Congress (MWC) held in Barcelona, the Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Group, Vittorio Colao, said the telecom operator is \"not in agreement with TRAI regulations\", and \"Trai predatory pricing favours Jio and it should be legally challenged\".

Much of the consolidation in the Indian mobile space has happened since Reliance Jio launched services in September 2016, offering free voice services and high speed data connectivity at low prices