New Delhi, Dec 01 (UiTV/IANS) – Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(TRAI) seeks views on proposal to display caller’s name on mobile phones. Customers would be soon able to see the name of the caller on their mobile phones, as telecom regulator TRAI has sought comments from all stakeholders on this proposal.
Stakeholders are expected to give their views on the proposal to a TRAI consultation paper titled “Introduction of calling name presentation in telecommunication networks”, till December 27, 2022 while counter-comments have been sought by January 10, 2023. The regulator has asked whether this proposal should be made mandatory or not.
Through the paper, which was released on Wednesday, TRAI has also asked whether the customer’s name mentioned on the application form (while applying for a connection) should be used for display on the device or not.
It has also sought stakeholders’ views on how customers’ permission can be sought for implementing this proposal.
If the proposal comes into effect, then the name of the person making the call would be visible on the receiver’s phone, even if the number is not saved in the receiver’s device.
TRAI feels that the move could help in preventing spam or fraudulent calls. Currently, users take the help of an app called Truecaller to trace the origin of the person or entity making the call.
The government tells telcos not to install 5G base stations within a 2.1 km airport radius
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has sent a letter to telecom providers Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone not to install C-band 5G base stations within the 2.1 km range of Indian airports with immediate effect, as C-Band 5G can create problems with the aircraft’s radio (radar) altimeters, which they rely on during takeoff and landing, and to help avoid crashing into mountains.
The DoT letter, seen by IANS, said that the telecom service providers (TSPs) are advised that “in the area 2,100 meters from both ends of runway and 910 meters from centre line of runway of Indian Airports shall have no 5G/ IMT base stations in the 3,300-3,670 MHz”.
“The base station, nodal or repeater installed in the periphery of 540 metres surrounding the area, the maximum power must be limited to 58 dBm/ MHz in 3,300-3,670 MHz range,” the letter said.
Airtel has installed 5G base stations at airports in Nagpur, Bengaluru, New Delhi, Guwahati and Pune, While Jio has installed 5G base stations in the Delhi-NCR area.
According to the DoT letter, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has provided the buffer and safety zone sketch and has requested to ensure mitigation measures while implementing C-band 5G spectrum, in and around the airport areas in view of the safety concerns for operation of aircrafts.
The DoT asked telecom providers to ensure downward tilting of 5G base stations to an extent such that the 5G emissions do not interfere with radio altimeters.
The new rule will be applicable till the replacement of all aircraft Radio Altimeters filters is ensured by the DGCA.
“It is expected that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will proactively ensure the above in a time-bound and expeditious manner. DGCA is requested to inform DOT as soon as the above task is complete to enable lifting of the restrictions,” read the DoT letter.
As high-speed 5G wireless networks roll out across the world, pilots in the US are also reporting frequent problems with the aircraft’s radio (radar) altimeters.
According to an analysis of reports by IEEE Spectrum (the world’s leading engineering magazine) made to NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS), complaints of malfunctioning and failing altimeters soared after the rollout earlier this year of high-speed 5G wireless networks, which use similar C-band frequencies.
In January this year, at least three flights above Tennessee in the US simultaneously experienced altimeter errors that made it “impossible to maintain assigned altitude”, according to one of the pilots.
One jet lost its autopilot completely, and reportedly had fire trucks waiting for it on landing.
According to the report, in February, a passenger plane on approach to the Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans experienced erratic low-altitude warnings as it flew below 1,000 feet.
In March, a commercial jet landing on autopilot at Los Angeles International Airport suddenly went into an aggressive descent just 100 feet above the ground.
All three incidents — and many more this year — were linked by pilots to problems with the aircraft’s radio altimeters, according to the report.
Telcos should also pay OTT platforms, BIF urges Government
Amid the ongoing debate on over-the-top (OTT) versus telecom providers, the Broadband India Forum (BIF) on Wednesday shot off a letter to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), saying that if the concept of paying network access charges is to be accepted, the telcos should also pay the OTT platforms.
The BIF letter to the government came after telecom industry body Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said that OTT platforms must contribute towards creating and developing digital telecom infrastructure in India in exchange for using the services.
In the letter addressed to K. Rajaraman, Secretary, DoT and Chairman, DCC, the BIF said that OTTs are not free riders and are actually responsible for more than 70 per cent of the telco traffic.
“This concept of paying for the use of infrastructure is an excellent concept wherein any entity that uses another entity’s infrastructure , should pay for it. However, the revenues earned by the infra provider should also be shared with the entity using it in the same proportion,” the letter read.
According to the BIF, the infrastructure for any communication network also includes data centres, under sea cables, content hosting centres and content delivery networks — and all of which are built by the OTT platforms.
“If the concept of paying network access charges is to be accepted, the telcos should also pay the OTTs for all the above. Given the cost of the other infrastructure is far greater than the cost of the access network, it is quite likely that telcos may end up paying to the OTTs besides sharing their revenues with them,” the forum argued.
The COAI had suggested levying a “usage charge” for actual traffic carried by OTT on telecom networks. It said that the usage charge will be decided mutually between telcos and OTT players.
According to the BIF, the majority of the telco revenues are because of the OTTs and majority of the network usage is because of the OTTs.
“Hence calling them OTTs is a ‘misnomer’. They are more appropriately named as Rich Interactive Applications or even better by CAP (Content & Applications), as termed by the EU regulator,” read the letter.
The BIF said that the claim made by the telcos has no substance nor any basis for any meaningful dialogue and should therefore be laid to rest.
The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) last week said that creating room for licensing provisions applicable to OTT service providers presents an existential threat to India’s startup ecosystem by creating “herculean barriers to entry”.
Slamming the ill-conceived recommendations on the Draft Telecom Bill, the industry body said that not only would this mean that aspiring Indian startups will risk massive compliance costs in their infancy but would also mean that foreign investors bullish on Indian startups “may experience a chilling effect owing to the drastic policy uncertainty”.