Category: Communications

The All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) has written to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to reject the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI’s) recommendation to reduce or eliminate the DTH license fee.

“We earnestly submit that if this recommendation is accepted than the entire market balance will be distorted and the entire Cable TV Industry (including 880 multi-system operators (MSOs) and 1.6 lakh local cable operators (LCOs)), which is already facing unfair competition from OTT players, Digital Distribution Platform Operators (DPOs), FAST channels, etc, eventually have to shut their operations,” it said in the letter.

TRAI proposes phasing out DTH license fee by FY27
The development comes after TRAI recently reiterated its earlier proposal—made in the Recommendations on License Fee and Policy Matters of DTH Services, dated August 21, 2023—to reduce the DTH license fee from the current 8 per cent to 3 per cent, with a further plan to phase it out entirely by FY 2026–27, it said.

However, unlike DTH operator’s free spectrum, Cable TV operators incur substantial cost over Right of Way (ROW) charges which is up to Rs.3,000 per pole per year besides permission charges to be paid to local authorities for overhead and underground cables, it said adding that the Cable TV operators also incur a capex of Rs.8 lakh per kilometer for underground cabling besides annual and regular maintenance of overhead and underground cabling of those deployed cables.

Cable players highlight high infrastructure costs, seek level playing field
Therefore, the cable operators’ body has requested a level playing field to ensure fairness and prevent further regulatory arbitrage in favour of DTH operators. The license fee on DTH services should not be reduced or eliminated.

“Instead, the regulatory framework should include mechanisms to recover the full cost of spectrum assigned to DTH. Such measures would align with principles of equity, sustain government revenue, and maintain a level playing field across service providers,” it said.

DTH enjoys free spectrum, lower costs; fee cut deepens disparity
Despite operating in the same ecosystem and competing for the same viewer base, DTH operators already enjoy regulatory and economic advantages, it added.

“Reducing their cost base any further will accelerate subscriber churn from digital cable TV operators—already struggling under financial duress—towards DTH and other unregulated platforms like Free Dish, FAST TV, OTTs and Digital DPOs. This will not only destabilise the market but jeopardise the livelihoods of nearly 10-lakh people directly dependent on the cable TV industry,” the AIDCF noted.

Fee cut may hit exchequer, accelerate shift away from cable TV
Currently, the spectrum is allotted to DTH operators in Ku band on an administrative basis (free of cost) and a DTH operator, on average, pays around ₹230 crore annually on account of rental to the Transponder agency and a payment of around ₹11.2 crore per annum to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). Additionally, they pay a licence fee at an average of ₹210 crore per operator per annum.

On average, to transmit 900+ channels, a DTH operator uses 2,592 MHz of spectrum for uplinking and downlinking in the Ku band. Therefore, it can easily understood that the same spectrum, if auctioned, would result in a cost of ₹2,280 crore per annum to each DTH operator.

“However, since spectrum was bundled with license fee on AGR in order to avoid initial capex burden on the sector, the DTH operators are paying license fee. Therefore, any reduction or waiver of license fee for DTH operators, despite their reliance on free spectrum, would deepen this inequity between the cable TV operators and DTH operators. This move would also further exacerbate the loss to the public exchequer,” the AIDCF added. The Hindu BusinessLine

American officials have quietly been grading Chinese artificial intelligence programs on their ability to mold their output to the Chinese Communist Party’s official line.

U.S. State and Commerce Department officials are working together on the effort, which operates by feeding the programs standardized lists of questions in Chinese and in English and scoring their output, the memo showed.

The evaluations, which have not previously been reported, are another example of how the U.S. and China are competing over the deployment of large language models, sometimes described as artificial intelligence (AI). The integration of AI into daily life means that any ideological bias in these models could become widespread.

One State Department official said their evaluations could eventually be made public in a bid to raise the alarm over ideologically slanted AI tools being deployed by America’s chief geopolitical rival.

The State and Commerce Departments did not immediately return messages seeking comment on the effort. In an email, Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu did not address the memo itself but noted that China was “rapidly building an AI governance system with distinct national characteristics” which balanced “development and security.”

Beijing makes no secret of policing Chinese models’ output to ensure they adhere to the one-party state’s “core socialist values.”

In practice, that means ensuring the models do not inadvertently criticize the government or stray too far into sensitive subjects like China’s 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protests at Tiananmen Square, or the subjugation of its minority Uyghur population.

The memo reviewed by Reuters shows that US officials have recently been testing models, including Alibaba’s Qwen 3 and DeepSeek’s R1, and then scoring the models according to whether they engaged with the questions or not, and how closely their answers aligned with Beijing’s talking points when they did engage.

According to the memo, the testing showed that Chinese AI tools were significantly more likely to align their answers with Beijing’s talking points than their US counterparts, for example by backing China’s claims over the disputed islands in the South China Sea.

DeepSeek’s model, the memo said, frequently used boilerplate language praising Beijing’s commitment to “stability and social harmony” when asked about sensitive topics such as Tiananmen Square.

The memo said each new iteration of Chinese models showed increased signs of censorship, suggesting that Chinese AI developers were increasingly focused on making sure their products toed Beijing’s line.

DeepSeek and Alibaba did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

The ability of AI models’ creators to tilt the ideological playing field of their chatbots has emerged as a key concern, and not just for Chinese AI models.

When billionaire Elon Musk – who has frequently championed far-right causes – announced changes to his xAI chatbot, Grok, the model began endorsing Hitler and attacking Jews in conspiratorial and bigoted terms.

In a statement posted to X, Musk’s social media site, on Tuesday, Grok said it was “actively working to remove the inappropriate posts.”
On Wednesday, X’s CEO Linda Yaccarino said she would step down from her role. No reason was given for the surprise departure. Reuters

In a significant development to the ongoing legal battle over content takedown directives, X Corp (formerly Twitter) informed the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday that Section 79 of the Information Technology (IT) Act permits government officers to block content without any institutional oversight.

Senior Advocate K G Raghavan, appearing for X Corp, submitted before Justice N Nagaprasanna that the union government has empowered thousands of officers across various jurisdictions to issue takedown directions under Section 79 of the IT Act, each interpreting what constitutes “unlawful” or “immoral” content based on personal discretion.

“Unlike Section 69A, which mandates a structured decision-making process through a committee and requires reasons to be recorded in writing, Section 79 permits individual officers to block content without any institutional oversight. This creates arbitrary, inconsistent enforcement and violates Article 14 of the Constitution,” Raghavan argued.

Raghavan asserted that Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act, often used to justify takedown directives, cannot serve as an independent source of executive power to block content. He emphasised that if at all Section 79(3)(b) is considered a source of such power, it must be read in conjunction with the more procedural and restrained Section 69A.

“Can a government officer pass a blocking order from the confines of their office without oversight? The answer is no. Such actions reduce the law to a matter of personal opinion – ‘I say so, therefore it is so’,” he said, warning against the “opaqueness and arbitrariness” of the current regime.

He further noted that what is considered offensive in one region may be culturally accepted in another, underlining the lack of consistency and the dangers of subjective decision-making.

X Corp also clarified that it does not seek immunity from Indian law.

“We are not saying we are above the law. We are saying that procedural safeguards are missing under Section 79 that are otherwise present under Section 69A,” Raghavan said, adding that the current interpretation of Section 79(3)(b) could expose the platform to criminal and civil liability, block enforcement, and punishment under Section 45 of the IT Act.

Referring to a Supreme Court judgment, Raghavan contended that the same standards for freedom of expression must apply across media, including the internet.

However, Justice Nagaprasanna pointed out that the case was decided in the context of the 2011 Rules, which were replaced by the IT Rules 2021 — rules not yet examined by the apex court.

Raghavan responded by citing a Bombay High Court’s ruling, where parts of the 2023 Amendment to the IT Rules — specifically concerning Fact Check Units — were struck down.

He argued that Rule 3(1)(d) of the 2021 Rules, which allows the government to direct intermediaries to remove content, violates the separation of powers and lacks safeguards, and therefore must be struck down.

While acknowledging that foreign entities are not covered by Article 19 of the Constitution, Raghavan emphasised that Article 14 — ensuring equality before the law — does apply. He argued that any law failing the test of procedural fairness under Article 14 is unconstitutional, regardless of the entity’s nationality.

Opposing X Corp’s submissions, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that the company’s view was overly “X-centric” and that the government must also consider the perspective of the complainant and the nature of the platform.

“If someone posts defamatory content and the intermediary fails to act on it, the aggrieved person is left with no immediate remedy. A traditional media house like the ‘Times of India’ would be held accountable. Shouldn’t intermediaries, who enjoy safe harbour protection under Section 79(1), also have responsibilities?” Mehta asked.

After hearing arguments through the day, the court scheduled the next hearing for July 11. The Centre is slated to present its full response on July 17. PTI

A sharp rise in digital fraud cases has been reported across eastern Uttar Pradesh, with cybercriminals increasingly targeting users through fake delivery links, phishing messages, and bogus banking alerts, according to Airtel.

Major urban centres, such as Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, and Prayagraj, have seen a worrying uptick, while districts such as Jaunpur, Kushinagar, Mau, Mirzapur and Kanpur Dehat that comprise large rural parts also witnessing growing instances of such cyber frauds, it noted.

Airtel in a statement on Wednesday said as part of its nationwide rollout of AI-powered fraud detection system, it has successfully safeguarded more than 15 million users in Uttar Pradesh (east) within just 56 days of launching the advanced features.

The telecom operator has 36,260,483 users in UP East, a company official here, citing TRAI data updated till May 2025. The figures for UP (West) were not immediately available, the official added.

“With Uttar Pradesh ranked as one of India’s most digitally advanced states, the threat of online fraud has grown in both its urban and rural regions. Fraudsters increasingly target users through phishing links, fake deliveries, and spurious banking alerts,” Airtel said.

“Cities like Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, and Prayagraj, along with remote areas such as Kanpur Dehat, Jaunpur, Kushinagar, Mau, and Mirzapur among others, have seen a sharp rise in such fraudulent attempts,” it added, without any specific numbers on such offences.

On Wednesday, Bharti Airtel CEO Uttar Pradesh (East) Amit Gupta met Naveen Arora (IPS), ADG, Technical Services, Uttar Pradesh Police, to discuss Airtel’s Fraud Detection Solution and explore collaborative measures to tackle the growing threat of cyber frauds in the state, according to the statement.

The company said its advanced system that scans and filters links across SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, E-mail and other browsers are automatically enabled for all Airtel mobile and broadband customers.

“It leverages real-time threat intelligence to examine over 1 billion URLs daily and blocks access to harmful sites in under 100 milliseconds,” Airtel stated. PTI

The purchase of physical assets was eclipsed last year by a surge in investment in intangible items like software, data and AI, the UN said Wednesday, describing a “fundamental shift in how economies grow and compete”.

Investment in intellectual property-backed assets grew three times faster in 2024 than investments in physical objects like machinery and buildings, which have been hit by high interest rates and a subdued economic recovery, the United Nations’ World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) said in a fresh report.

The report, which was co-published with Italy’s Luiss Business School, showed that intangible investment across 27 high- and middle-income economies grew about three percent in real terms last year, reaching $7.6 trillion, up from $7.4 trillion a year earlier.

“We’re witnessing a fundamental shift in how economies grow and compete,” WIPO chief Daren Tang said in a statement.

“While businesses have slowed down investing in factories and equipment during uncertain times, they’re doubling down on intangible assets,” he said, stressing that “this trend has profound implications for policymakers”.

“Countries that understand and nurture intangible investment will be better positioned to grow and thrive in a global economy increasingly driven by technological, digital and cultural innovation.”

In 2024, the United States led in absolute levels of intangible asset purchases, investing nearly double what runners-up France, Germany, Japan and Britain pumped into such assets, WIPO said.

Sweden meanwhile remained the world’s most intangible-asset-intensive economy, with such investments accounting for 16 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

The United States, France and Finland followed, each with an intensity of 15 percent of GDP.

India’s intangible investment intensity of nearly 10 percent put it ahead of several European Union economies and of Japan, WIPO said.

The report indicated that investment in intangible assets has shown sustained and resilient growth even during periods of crisis, swelling at a compound annual rate of around four percent between 2008 and 2024.

That compares to just one percent for tangible asset investments, WIPO said.

Software and databases account for the fastest growing types of intangible asset investments, growing by more than seven percent annually between 2013 and 2022, the report showed.

At the same time, it highlighted that such investments coincided with and were likely driven by the current artificial intelligence boom.

AI has already been driving investments in tangible infrastructure, including chips, servers and data centres, and the report suggested it had begun boosting more intangible investments in things like data sets needed to train AI systems.

“People think that we are already in the middle of the AI (boom), but we are actually just at the beginning,” Sacha Wunsch-Vincent, head of WIPO’s department for economics and data analytics. AFP

SK Telecom, South Korea’s largest telecommunications firm by market share, is facing mounting fallout from a massive cyberattack, with subscriber churn accelerating despite the company’s compensation measures, such as allowing customers to cancel their contracts early without penalty.

While the company may retain its No. 1 position for now, its market dominance is increasingly under threat, with over 800,000 subscribers having already left as of the end of last month. As rival carriers ramp up efforts to lure dissatisfied customers, attention is focused on how SKT will contain the damage and defend its market share.

Just a day after SKT announced its penalty waiver for early contract termination and unveiled a compensation plan on Friday, nearly 4,000 subscribers switched to rival carriers. On Saturday alone, SKT lost 3,865 users, while KT and LG Uplus gained 1,952 and 1,913 new subscribers, respectively.

The government concluded on Friday that SKT had been the target of hacking attacks since 2021, and that negligence on its part allowed the damage to escalate — ultimately leading to the exposure of nearly 10 gigabytes of sensitive subscriber data.

Amid concerns about significant financial losses, SKT ultimately decided to comply with the government’s order to waive termination fees, prioritizing the restoration of long-term customer trust over short-term revenue, according to SKT CEO Ryu Young-sang.

At a parliamentary hearing in May, the CEO warned that up to 5 million customers could leave if the company waived its termination fees, potentially resulting in more than 7 trillion won ($5.1 billion) in revenue losses over the next three years — assuming an average penalty of 100,000 won per person.

Customers who canceled their contracts after the April 19 hacking incident, or who do so by July 14, will not be required to pay termination fees.

In addition to the penalty waiver, the company has also announced compensation measures, including a 50 percent discount on August bills and 50 gigabytes of free monthly data through the end of the year.

“We are closely watching the situation, as there will likely be a significant number of subscribers who choose to end their SKT contracts and switch carriers without penalty by the 14th,” said an industry official.

Reflecting the impact of these measures, SKT revised its 2024 consolidated sales forecast downward from 17.8 trillion won to 17 trillion won, citing losses from bill discounts and anticipated revenue hits from the penalty waivers.

With SKT’s waiver policy easing contract exits and rival carriers stepping up their marketing efforts, telecom competition is expected to peak in the coming weeks.

Samsung Electronics is also preparing to launch its next-generation foldable smartphones — the Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Z Fold 7 — this week, while the upcoming repeal of a law that caps smartphone subsidies is expected to add further fuel to the competitive fire.

Meanwhile, some franchise stores of rival mobile carriers have come under fire for aggressive and unethical marketing tactics. As KT and LG Uplus intensify their campaigns to attract SKT users, certain retail outlets have reportedly offered illegal subsidies and instructed employees to use fear-based sales pitches.

One such script targeting hesitant customers reportedly read: “If you stay with SKT, your child could suffer from similar hacking later, and your phone number leak could put your child at risk too.”

While the government has confirmed there has been no secondary damage from the hacking incident, these misleading tactics are fueling consumer fear in a bid to boost subscriber counts. Korea Herald

Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday met Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins and his team here, encouraging them to deepen their footprint in India’s rapidly evolving digital technology landscape and growing market.

During the meeting, the minister highlighted the importance of leveraging the country’s vast potential and vibrant talent pool.

Underscoring the importance of building solutions that uplift the common man, he stressed Bharat’s pivotal role in driving the 6G revolution and India’s growing momentum in artificial intelligence (AI).“It was a pleasure to meet Chuck Robbins, CEO of Cisco and his team. Deliberated on deepening Cisco’s tech footprint in India, expanding into Tier 2 and 3 markets, strengthening cybersecurity, and co-creating solutions that truly touch lives at the grassroots,” the minister posted on X social media platform.With India rising as a global digital powerhouse, we look forward to building a secure, inclusive and future-ready Bharat, Scindia added.

The Minister invited Cisco to explore broader investment opportunities in India’s digital technology sector, highlighting the country’s emergence as a global hub for innovation and investment.

He also emphasised the importance of developing ecosystems beyond physical infrastructure that empower communities and prepare future generations.

The discussion builds on Cisco’s expanding presence in India, including the inauguration of its first manufacturing facility in Chennai in 2024 graced by Minister.

As India accelerates towards a tech-driven future, Scindia welcomed Cisco to further expand its engagement and co-create solutions that drive inclusive, resilient, and future-ready digital growth.

In September last year, the global networking giant inaugurated its first manufacturing facility in India, that will help the company generate more than $1.3 billion annual revenue in combined exports and domestic production, along with creating 1,200 jobs.

Cisco collaborated with homegrown contract manufacturer Flex to successfully build the facility and bring advanced telecom technology that can help connect citizens in India and globally.

“The inauguration of the Cisco’s manufacturing facility in India producing advanced telecom equipment is a testament to the country’s growing Atmanirbharta in the global technology landscape,” Scindia had said at the launch of the manufacturing facility. IANS

While AI deal volumes dipped in 2024, total capital invested in AI-native digital businesses (DNBs) in Asia Pacific hit USD 15.4 billion, driven by growing interest in scalable solutions and industry-specific innovation, according to IDC.)

The information technology sector led AI investment activity in Asia Pacific in 2024, according to IDC, with the majority of deals targeting cloud computing, cybersecurity, SaaS platforms, data analytics, and machine learning. Healthcare followed as a fast-rising sector, driven by breakthroughs in diagnostics, drug discovery, and personalized treatment. Regionally, China, South Korea, and Japan attracted the most AI capital, while India stood out for its software-driven, scalable AI innovation

Other key highlights include:

• Over 50% of DNBs in APAC remain in the “repeatable” stage of AI maturity, lagging behind North America and Europe.
• Only 29% of DNBs have reached the optimized stage with fully scaled AI deployments, creating a significant opportunity for vendors to support infrastructure readiness, data integration, and automation use cases.
• 42% of DNBs now seek strategic co-innovation from vendors, favoring those that provide modular, scalable platforms and localized support.

The report is based on IDC’s 2025 AI Wave 1 Survey and includes data from 2,300+ VC deals and direct responses from digital-native businesses across Asia Pacific.

For technology vendors and investors, this report offers a roadmap to navigate AI investment shifts, assess infrastructure readiness, and identify partnership models tailored for scaling AI adoption across Asia/Pacific’s digital-native ecosystem.

“With a unique blend of tech ambition, government and policy support, and agility of DNBs, Asia/Pacific is emerging as a global epicentre for AI investments. Those that scale responsibly, localise intelligently, and partner strategically will be the true winners in this space,” says Supriya Deka, research manager, Asia/Pacific small and medium-sized businesses and DNBs, IDC Asia/Pacific. IDC