Category: Communications

Microsoft Chairman Brad Smith has told the European Commission his company will abide by European rules regardless of whether it agrees with them or not, the Commission’s Vice President Teresa Ribera said.

In a chat with reporters in which she addressed issues from digital competition to trade and a massive electricity outage in Spain and Portugal last week, Ribera praised the approach.

“I think it’s much more valuable to acknowledge that it’s about complying with the rules if we want to operate in this market and we’re going to respect them, rather than just saying ‘you’re targeting me because I’m American’,” she said.

The Commission has seen both approaches in its meetings with different players, she added. Microsoft said last month it would sell its chat and video app Teams separately from its Office software globally, six months after it unbundled the two products in Europe in a bid to avert a possible EU antitrust fine. Salesforce-owned Slack complained to the European Commission about Microsoft’s tying of Teams to Office.

“We are talking about operators that have been accumulating a significant concentration of power, and about a third of their global revenues are produced in Europe,” Ribera said.

Asked about trade tensions with the United States, the executive vice president said the EU wanted to avoid a trade war but “not at any price.” Reuters

President Donald Trump said he would give social-video platform TikTok another extension of a deadline to sell to a US owner if it was needed to reach a deal.

Trump said he has “a little warm spot” in his heart for the popular app and he would like to complete a transaction that would keep it available for Americans, he told NBC’s Meet the Press with Kristen Welker in an interview that aired Sunday.

Trump has already extended a deadline for TikTok’s parent company ByteDance Ltd. to divest the US operations for another 75 days in April. He told NBC there may not be a need for another reprieve.

He has previously indicated that China’s objections to his new tariffs stalled a deal to sell off the US TikTok arm, which Beijing has to sign off on.

Congress passed and former President Joe Biden signed into law a requirement that TikTok be divested from its Chinese ownership and find a US buyer. Trump has credited the app for helping him boost his standing with young voters during the 2024 campaign. Bloomberg

The number of newly launched active digital and software-defined satellites in orbit supporting cloud-native networks is projected to exceed 10,000 by 2031, driven by the rise of next-generation Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite networks and network unification efforts, according to ABI Research.

“As the United States, Europe, and China ramp up investments in LEO satellite networks to compete in the new Space Race, there is an increasing emphasis on software-driven, multi-mission space operations to support both national and commercial objectives,” explains Andrew Cavalier, Senior Space Tech Analyst at ABI Research. “At the same time, the industry is experiencing rapid consolidation and advancing toward network domain unification – driven by standardization and vertical integration –to improve access to space through more flexible, efficient, and accelerated supply chains.” Amid this rapidly evolving industry and geopolitical landscape, the winning space strategy now focuses on flexible digital space operations as part of a full-stack space solution that encompasses the entire space value chain, enabling companies and governments to adapt swiftly to global changes.

Cellular standards are increasingly embracing the concept of terrestrial and satellite network unification to create a multi-dimensional system optimized for dynamic resource allocation, spectrum sharing, and global interoperability. According to Cavalier, “Emerging technologies like Software-Defined Satellites (SDSs), Software-Defined Ground Stations (SDGSs), and Software-Defined Wide Area Networks (SD-WANs) will play a crucial role in unifying systems by enabling the programmability and reconfigurability of satellite networks.”

Satellite networks embracing the cloud are the critical next step for the space industry to unlock the speed, scalability, and flexibility that countries demand of modern space architectures. As such, advancing sovereign space capabilities for commercial and defense applications increasingly depends on unifying networking capabilities – driven by satellite and ground station operators adopting cloud-native architectures and integrating with NTN-compliant terrestrial networks—to break down silos between the telecom and satellite ecosystems.

Many satellite network operators are seizing this opportunity to invest in their networks or collaborate with technology companies. Networks like Amazon’s Project Kuiper, SpaceX’s Starlink, Globalstar’s C-3, Telesat Lightspeed, Iridium, Rocket Lab, Eutelsat OneWeb, and more are exploring new opportunities with vendors like Thales Alenia Space, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Airbus Space, MDA Space, among others, to deliver advanced flexible and software-defined satellites networks via cloud-native networking principles and enhanced vertical integration.

Chinese operators such as Spacesail, China Satellite Network Group, and Shanghai Landspace Technology are also accelerating the development of their satellite constellations to strengthen national defense and security systems. These multi-application networks are expected to collectively account for more than 30,000 next-generation satellites in Low Earth Orbit.

“To seize the growing NTN opportunity in the satellite market, ecosystem players must recognize the value of 3GPP standardization, software-defined payloads, and the cloudification of ground networks,” adds Cavalier. “The opportunity to enable the mass commercialization of space and enter an age of ubiquitous connectivity is imminent. Moving forward, it will be crucial to collaborate with local governments and ecosystem players to align regulatory policies, align priorities in networking architectures, and strengthen digital symbiosis across domains.” ABI Research

Intel India and IndiaAI a government initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to mutually improve artificial intelligence (AI) capability and skilling in India. This agreement is meant to assist the IndiaAI Mission through promoting AI learning, supporting startups, and augmenting AI-enabled governance initiatives.

The MoU creates a framework for Intel India and the IndiaAI Mission to work together on structured programs that provide students, early-stage entrepreneurs, and government officials with critical AI skills and tools. The program aims to target different segments of the ecosystem, such as school and college students, startup founders, and public administrators.

The collaboration will drive four major initiatives. The YuvaAI initiative, based on Intel’s ‘AI for Youth’ scheme, will expose school students to artificial intelligence concepts and applications with a social impact focus. For students in higher education, the AI for Future Workforce initiative will offer AI training to improve employability.

The collaboration, through the StartupAI program, will provide startups with access to technical assets, business strategy guidance, and go-to-market mentorship through Intel’s Startup Program, as well as individual and group workshops.

Furthermore, the project includes IndiaAI Dialogues that aims to prepare public sector leaders for the use of AI with workshops and interactive programs developed under Intel’s ‘Digital Readiness for Leaders’ framework. The sessions will promote well-informed policymaking as well as prudent use of AI in government.

A fourth area of focus is the Bhashini initiative, where IndiaAI and Intel aim to scale AI-powered educational solutions through Bhashini for distance classrooms. The goal is to improve student learning by overcoming language barriers, which will include optimizing performance, deploying multilingual AI tools into school systems, and encouraging case studies for broader adoption.

Santhosh Viswanathan, Intel India Vice President and Managing Director, and Abhishek Singh, CEO, IndiaAI Mission, emphasized the partnership objectives of skill development and accessibility of technology. Singh added that already under the YuvaAI program, data labs have been established and AI training conducted among students.

This MoU supports India’s larger national vision of becoming a world AI hub. The IndiaAI Mission, initiated by MeitY, is committed to fostering AI adoption, research support, and the use of AI responsibly and inclusively in governance and public services. The partnership with Intel seeks to tap into the company’s technical capabilities and existing initiatives to synchronize with national AI priorities. Silicon India

Bharti Airtel and Tata Group have terminated discussions for a merger of their direct-to-home (DTH) business, according to a Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) filing on Saturday, May 3.

In the BSE filing, Airtel said this was because the two sides were not able to find a satisfactory resolution.

“This is about our intimation dated February 26, 2025, wherein the company informed that it is in bilateral discussions with TATA Group to explore a potential combination of TATA Group’s Direct To Home (‘DTH’) business housed under Tata Play Limited with Bharti Telemedia Limited, a subsidiary of the company,” it said.

“In this regard, we wish to inform you that after not being able to find a satisfactory resolution, the parties have mutually decided to terminate the discussions,” Airtel added.

On February 26, Sunil Mittal-led telecom services provider Bharti Airtel said it was in talks with Tata Group for a merger of its loss-making direct-to-home (DTH) business.

Airtel was holding discussions with the salt-to-software conglomerate for a merger of Bharti Telemedia, which offers cable and satellite television services, with Tata Play, the regulatory filing earlier this year said.

“We wish to submit that Bharti Airtel and Tata Group are in bilateral discussions to explore a potential transaction to achieve a combination of Tata Group’s DTH business housed under Tata Play Ltd, with Bharti Telemedia, a subsidiary of Airtel, in a structure acceptable to all parties,” it had then stated.

The specific details were not shared at that point. If completed, this would have been the second merger in the DTH sector after the Dish TV-Videocon d2h merger in 2016. CNBCTV18

The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) dismissed Reliance Industries’ (RIL) appeal against a Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) order imposing a ₹30 lakh penalty for violating Prohibition of Insider Trading (PIT) Regulations.

In its June 2022 adjudicating order, Sebi found RIL in breach of PIT Regulations for failing to disclose details of a potential investment deal with Facebook in Jio Platforms promptly.

“We find the appellants in violation of Principle 4, Schedule A of the PIT Regulations and uphold the SEBI order,” said the SAT bench, presided over by Justice PS Dinesh Kumar.

The case relates to a confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement signed between RIL and Facebook in September 2019, followed by a non-binding term sheet on March 4, 2020, for Facebook’s investment in Jio Platforms.

Legal experts said that while the monetary penalty in this case was just ₹30 lakh, the SAT judgement could set a precedent for companies on handling news leaks and disclosures.

On March 24, 2020, the Financial Times reported that Facebook was nearing a deal to acquire a 10 per cent stake in Jio. Domestic media also followed up the news report, triggering a 15 per cent surge in RIL’s share price.

RIL formally disclosed the Jio-Facebook deal to stock exchanges only on April 22, 2020, after executing a definitive transaction document, prompting another 10 per cent jump in its stock price.

RIL argued it was not obligated to confirm or deny market rumours or disclose the deal under Principle 4, as the regulation applies only to “selective leaks.”

Sebi countered that confidentiality agreements do not override PIT Regulations and that undisclosed price-sensitive information (UPSI) must be disseminated promptly if leaked.

The SAT ruled that RIL was duty-bound to disclose the information once it appeared in credible media reports.

“It was RIL’s responsibility to make prompt disclosure to ensure information was generally available, especially when selectively reported by international media to a limited audience,” the order stated.

The tribunal emphasised that in cases of uncertainty, companies must disclose information to protect shareholders. It also noted the credibility of the Financial Times report, given the involvement of two global conglomerates and the need for high-level approvals in a cross-border deal.

“RIL’s argument that only a binding agreement triggers disclosure lacks merit and undermines the spirit of PIT Regulations,” the order added. Business Standard

Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang said he’d like the Trump administration to change regulations for exporting artificial intelligence technology from the US to the rest of the world so American businesses can better capitalize on the opportunities in the future.

“We need to accelerate the diffusion of American AI technology around the world,” Huang said in a brief meeting Wednesday with reporters in Washington. “The policies and encouragement from the administration really need to support that.”

Nvidia sells the leading AI chips for training artificial-intelligence models, including for OpenAI, but it’s been banned from selling its most-advanced products to customers in China. The Biden administration had sketched out an additional policy for AI diffusion, or limiting the sale of AI technology to countries around the world based on three bands of qualification.

“I’m not sure what the new diffusion rule is going to be, but whatever it turns out to be, it really has to recognize that the world has changed fundamentally since the previous diffusion rule was released,” Huang said.

He also cautioned that China is growing into a formidable rival in technology, and he singled out Huawei Technologies Co., the Chinese telecom giant that has expanded into designing its own AI chips.

“China is not behind,” he said. “Are they ahead of us? China is right behind us. We’re very, very close.”

Huang made the remarks during a trip to Washington that included an appearance at the Hill and Valley Forum, a gathering of tech leaders and US legislators.

Read More: Tech CEOs, VCs Meet With Lawmakers for National Security Summit

When asked about President Donald Trump’s tariffs, Huang said, “There should always be policy that enables, supports and accelerates our ability to on-shore manufacturing.”

Nvidia relies on production partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which has begun making some chips in Arizona. That company has long manufactured Nvidia’s most advanced products in Taiwan.

“With willpower and with the resources of our country, I’m certain we can manufacture on shore,” Huang said.

Later, he attended a White House event where Trump touted US investment pledges from a range of companies since his inauguration in January. Nvidia has promised to produce as much as $500 billion in AI infrastructure domestically, and Huang pressed Trump on Wednesday to help meet growing electricity demand from AI.

“We also need a progressive growth- and industry-oriented energy policy, which this president has really put his weight behind,” Huang said at the White House. “Without energy, we can’t possibly have new growth industries.” Bloomberg

The Trump White House’s statement that European Union fines on Apple and Meta last week were “a novel form of economic extortion” could have a bearing on India’s draft Digital Competition Bill (DCB), which is modelled on EU legislation.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), which counts Google, Amazon and Meta among its members, last week petitioned the United States (US) government against DCB.

The EU on April 23 handed out its first-ever penalties — $500 million on Apple and $200 million on Meta — under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), evoking a sharp reaction from the White House. Brian Hughes, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, told reporters a day later that the US will not tolerate “this novel form of economic extortion”.

“The EU’s malicious targeting of American companies and consumers must stop,” he said, reiterating the Trump administration’s position that such regulations “enable censorship” and pose a “direct threat to free civil society”. He observed that the DMA will qualify as a non-trade barrier.

Last week, CCIA labelled India’s DCB a similar barrier. In a four-page memo to the US government, the association outlined “India’s barriers to US digital service suppliers”.

The memo called for “avoiding ex-ante digital regulatory approaches similar to the EU’s DMA, such as the proposed Digital Competition Act [DCB]”. It said that DCB could potentially impact investment and innovation in India’s burgeoning digital markets.

CCIA’s work over the past 50 years has centered on promoting open markets and systems. According to the association’s website, its members employ more than 1.6 million workers, have invested over $100 billion in research and development, and contribute trillions of dollars in productivity to the global economy.

CCIA asked the US government to assess the draft DCB, along with stakeholder input, to identify market distortions that would justify intervention. It also called for examining whether foreign investment in India might be affected by such a regulatory regime.

Its memo comes at a time when India is seen as a global frontrunner to strike a bilateral trade deal with the US, as pointed out by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday.

Other demands
CCIA calls for removing barriers to US digital service suppliers in several key areas. These include the expiration of the 2023 import authorisation requirement for laptops, tablets, personal computers, and small servers

It wants to allay India to address concerns regarding the Telecommunications Act, clarifying that services defined as telecommunications apply only to the narrow subset of traditional telephony services (i.e., circuit-switched voice).

The industry body is also lobbying for the exclusion of Cloud-based software from the scope of information technology and telecom products subject to mandatory testing and certification.

It also asked the Indian government to address concerns about the guidelines for acquiring and producing geospatial data and related services. Business Standard

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti on Thursday (May 1, 2025) said it was not in favour of creating an environment where regulatory disparities put one medium of broadcasting at a disadvantage over another.
Lahoti’s remark came days after the Supreme Court sought responses from the Centre and others concerned on a plea seeking a ban on the streaming of sexually explicit content on OTT and social media platforms.

He said: “…the issues which are coming forward now are the regulatory disparities between one medium of dissemination and another. While we do welcome and want technology to come up and provide better and better audio-video experience so that the consumer can enjoy the fruits of the development of the technology, yet we do not want to create an environment where regulation discriminates between two mediums and puts one medium of broadcasting at a disadvantage compared to another; or one medium at a relatively undue advantage compared to another medium.”

‘Regulating Broadcast in the Digital Age: Key Frameworks & Challenges’ as part of the WAVES 2025, organised by the Information & Broadcasting Ministry, Mr. Lahoti said India has a very progressive regulatory framework so far as the traditional broadcasting was concerned. It was being regularly revised and updated to give the industry the requisite freedom, and also to protect the interest of consumers and small players in the entire value chain, he said.

“TRAI as a regulator has been regularly engaging with the stakeholders to see the need for review and has been updating it regularly,” he said, adding that it issued a revised regulation last year, one that was welcomed by the entire broadcasting distribution industry.

Another significant work done by TRAI in this regard was a complete revamp of the licensing framework for both the television and the radio broadcasting industries, where — in the context of the new Telecommunications Act — it reviewed the framework of the past 30 years and prepared a simplified authorisation structure, enabling ease of doing business. The different terms and conditions of various mediums were harmonised. The entire regulation was made “more or less technology agnostic”, and yet it gave a lot of freedom to the industry for infrastructure sharing etc., he said.

“However, now the challenge is that we have the digital video distribution services, which may be OTT streaming services or FAST (free ad-supported streaming television) etc., which are currently being regulated under the social media intermediary guidelines of MeitY, whereas the traditional broadcasting or the linear TV is regulated under the Telecommunications Act and the Cable TV Networks Act,” he said.

“Also, we have to see whether we are doing enough to protect the interests of consumers and also the interconnection between different stakeholders. In the case of the traditional TV, we have guardrails and the regulations to guide how they can interact and how they cannot exploit their dominant position, whether the same checks are available in the digital streaming services: these are the issues which would going forward need examination and would need certain actions,” he said.

During the panel discussion, Mr. Lahoti said a recent industry study showed that digital media surpassed linear television in 2024 in terms of the industry segment, and in India, digital media stood at nearly $9.4 billion as against $8 billion of linear television.

Going forward, there should be minimal regulation covering the industry, but it should be adequate to protect the interests of the consumers and those at the lower end of the pyramid, he added. The Hindu

Starlink is facing fresh regulatory hurdles in India, with the Union government asking the company for details of its upcoming operations in Pakistan and Bangladesh, according to sources close to the development.

A subsidiary of Elon Musk-owned SpaceX, Starlink has been awaiting the government’s approval for long to enter the India market with its satellite communication services, even as many other applicants have received approvals. In a surprising development recently, Airtel and Reliance Jio — both satellite communications (satcom) licencees — announced distribution tieups with Starlink, signalling that the American major was getting ready for India.

“There are still certain security concerns. For a company to provide communication services in India, a large number of technical complications need to be met,” a Department of Telecommunications (DoT) official said. “The company has been asked to clarify its plans to operate in neighbouring countries, one of which is openly hostile to Indian interests,” he explained.

Last month, the satcom operator received provisional registrations from Pakistan’s space regulator, with Islamabad stating on record that it hoped Starlink would receive full clearance and begin operations by the end of 2025. On the other hand, the Bangladeshi telecom authorities earlier this week granted necessary licences for Starlink to operate.

Responding to security conditions, the American company has so far promised to store data in Indian servers, and use satellites only for authorised services over Indian territory.

But it is yet to formally accept technical conditions with cross-border implications, such as monitoring zones and creating a data buffer zone along international borders where services are prohibited, with the specific width determined by the government, it is learnt.

Officials said the government’s latest communication to Starlink wouldn’t necessarily delay the evaluation of its application. It is part of the regular screening process for issues of national security, according to officials.

Business Standard queries seeking an official response from the DoT did not elicit a response.

Starlink provides satcom services in over 100 countries through a constellation of more than 7,000 low earth orbit (LEO) satellites operated by SpaceX.

Starlink’s application for a global mobile personal communication by satellite (GMPCS) services licence, needed to offer satellite-based broadband services in India, has been under processing since November 2022. DoT has already granted the licence to Airtel-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Reliance Jio’s satellite arm Jio Space Limited.

Last month, telecom operators Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio had announced separate deals with Starlink to distribute Starlink equipment and services for Airtel and Jio customers in India.

Long list of hurdles
Starlink’s application has also dragged on due to a lengthy list of exemptions that the company has sought citing technical limitations. According to GMPCS rules, a licensee must use satellites only for authorised services over Indian territory, excluding activities that could compromise national sovereignty and security, such as surveillance or electronic warfare, a regulation which has been repeatedly cited by India’s strategic establishment.

Starlink’s application for offering satcom services in India had been held up due to the company’s inability to comply with mandatory ownership disclosure norms overseen by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). Additionally, Starlink had also clashed with the government over rules that a licensee must provide call data records to security agencies upon request and turn off services at times of crises under government direction.

Starlink is also awaiting final authorisation from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe).

Overall, the satcom service is yet to take off in India due to lack of clarity on allocation of spectrum and its pricing. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has to issue recommendations on satellite spectrum, detailing the modalities for allocation of space spectrum, including its price. The Trai recommendations will also set the other licensing conditions. Business Standard