Analysts and industry players, however, expect the process not just to be further delayed, but also to attract fewer participants for the bidding process.

Their apprehension follows recent media reports, citing government documents, that the finance ministry has sought to double the auction price for pan-India 3G radio bandwidth, or spectrum, to INR40.40 billion.

“There is no (further) delay. The auction is on schedule,” said Akshay Rout, a spokesman for India’s ministry of communication, told Dow Jones Newswires.

The Indian government had already delayed the auction to Jan. 30 from Jan. 16.

Read the full story in CNNMoney here.

As usual, media is blamed for their role in Mumbai. Unconfirmed reports claimed the terrorists trapped in Taj Mahal Palace constantly watched TV for news and they might have got a feeling of excitement if not ideas from the live coverage. Stupid guys. They never knew what they missed. The best ball-by-ball coverage was hardly on TV but on Twitter, anybody could have accessed thru a mobile. (Twitter added hashtags to terms like ‘Mumbai’ and ‘Attack’) Indian government at one stage requested ‘Twitters’ not to tweet anything about police activity, but it was more because the mainstream media too started depending on them rather than their own paid correspondents.

However, unlike in case of 9/11 no mobile based interactions with the victims were heard – which was bit surprising given the increasing mobile use in India.

There were also reports that the terrorists accessed British news sites using Black Berries. Well, on second thoughts, they might even have had a quick look at tweets – before being gunned down.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will hold a pre-bid conference here with all the potential consultants – one of whom would oversee the process to e-auction spectrum for next generation mobile applications, officials said.

Read the full story in ‘sify.com’ here.

The workshop included a variety of stakeholders from Indian government, civil society, international organizations, private sector, and NGOs. Mr. Mihir Bhatt, Honorary Director of AIDMI, along with Mr. Mehul Pandya, Risk Reduction Transfer Initiative Coordinator and Ms. Vandana Chauhan, Urban Risk Reduction Coordinator were in attendance from AIDMI’s Ahmedabad, Gujarat headquarters.

New Delhi HazInfo Workshop Report

New Delhi HazInfo Workshop Brochure

Inauguration | Rohan Samarajiva
Session I: Methodology, Preparedness, Training & Community Organization
Session I | P. Prasad
Session I | Menake Wijesinghe
Session II: Transmission of Warning to Local Levels
Session II | Vijay Pratap Singh Aditya
Session II | Natasha Udu-gama
Session III: First Responder Action
Session III | Suresh Mariaselvam
Session III | Natasha Udu-gama
Session IV: Determination of Hazard from National Level
Session IV | Nuwan Waidyanatha
Session V: Next Steps
Session V | Rohan Samarajiva

The bidding has been intense for deployment of mobile services (Part B) and most of the bids were for zero subsidy fund and in some cases negative bids were made! This strongly indicates that mobile operators in India perceive deploying mobile services in India’s rural areas to be commercially viable. Of the 81 clusters, results have been declared for 24 clusters that have been won by BSNL, Dishnet Wireless and Reliance. The remaining 57 clusters have to be re-bid because of tie between the third and fourth operators! The absence of Bharti from the list is a bit surprising.

The results of Part A of the auction for deploying passive infrastructures like towers and base stations were more uneven. BSNL has won 80% of the $570 million USO fund to deploy passive infrastructure like mobile towers in rural areas across the country.  BSNL won 63 of those clusters and will be deploying around 6000 mobile tower, the remaining clusters were won by other operators.

The USO least cost subsidy auction for fixed lines that was held in the past also resulted in BSNL bagging the majority of the clusters. However, unlike the previous auction the current auction resulted in bids being about 30% lower than the benchmark bidding rate due to “severe competition and bidder interest.” That is indeed a positive development.

More from the Hindu.

Now will the Indian government walk the walk?

Will the other countries take the lead?

Govt. committed to develop a robust disaster management system: PM

Addressing the First India Disaster Management Congress here, Dr. Singh called for a paradigm shift in disaster management from a “relief-centric” and “post-event” response.

Pointing to the draft National Policy on Disaster Management, he said that it placed greater emphasis on efficient management of disasters, rather than focusing only on immediate response to disasters.

“Such an approach should place emphasis on improving early warning systems, ensuring the reach and efficacy of dissemination, creating awareness and building capacities at all levels of public administration,” he said.

The Indian Government has now permitted mobile operators draw on the USO funds to roll-out service in 250,000 villages according to the Business Line report from November 24, 2006.
New rollout: Mobile phone services to 2.5 lakh remote villages soon
Thomas K. Thomas

Top 5 beneficiaries
Uttar Pradesh 38,763
Madhya Pradesh 26,483
Bihar 23,586
Maharashtra 19,816
Orissa 17,612

New Delhi , Nov. 24

The lone man staying in a village called Henry Island in the Andamans will soon be able to communicate with the rest of the world using a mobile phone. So will the people living in a single household village of Chingraliang in Arunachal Pradesh.

The mobile services project being undertaken by the Government under the Universal Services Obligation is expected to cover 2.5 lakh remote villages across the country, size varying from a single household village to those having a few hundred people. What is common though is that people living in any of these villages, spread across 27 States, have never known about mobile services.

Uttar Pradesh with 38,763 villages under the project is the biggest beneficiary followed by Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.

The Department of Telecom has shortlisted 21 companies to set up the passive infrastructure for rolling out 10,000 towers across these villages with financial support from the Universal Services Obligation fund.[...]

The Indians along the Bangladesh border in Meghalaya and other north-eastern states “are forced to use prepaid cards of GrameenPhone, the largest cell phone service provider of Bangladesh, paying ISD call rates.”

People without mobile phones cross the border and use Bangladeshi phone booths and they pay hefty amounts of international tariff to call own country, the report alleges.

Villagers have complained to the Telegraph correspondent that the Indian government does not provide them basic telecoms facilities on the pretext of security.

India’s state-owned telecoms major, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), has now decided to launch cell-phone services in areas bordering Bangladesh soon after receiving the ministry of communications’ written order.

BSNL does not provide mobile phone service in the rebellious north-eastern areas due to Indian home ministry’s objection to deploy the networks within 10 kilometres of border with Bangladesh border, fearing exploitation by the region’s militant groups.

“As long as everybody gets access to some network, what difference would it make whether it is Indian or Bangladeshi?” questioned a senior BSNL official to The Telegraph.

The BSNL’s Meghalaya telecoms district general manager, R Ramesh, said they were hopeful of receiving New Delhi’s nod in “black and white” within a week. “We will start erecting equipment once we receive the green signal,” he said.

BSNL would then commence services in Mahendraganj, Phulbari and Bajengdoba in the Garo Hills. Remaining areas of the state would soon be brought under the new network’s coverage, the Telegraph said.

Troops in Kashmir master new weapon: cell phones
Reuters
By Sheikh MushtaqSun May 21, 1:53 AM ET

Minutes after a bomb exploded recently in Kashmir and wounded Indian soldiers, a senior member of an Islamist rebel group called local newspaper offices to claim responsibility for the blast.

A few hours later, troops smashed the door of his hideout and arrested the militant “commander” after a brief gun battle.

Indian intelligence officers credited the bust in south Kashmir to the tracking of his mobile phone.

Until a few years ago, intelligence officials resisted attempts by the federal government to lift a ban on cell phone services in the region, fearing mobile phones would aid militants in planning attacks.

Now they know better and security officials say troops have eliminated many militants by tracking their mobile phones and tapping conservations, citing the example in south Kashmir.

“Such a quick strike operation was just impossible three years ago,” a senior intelligence official told Reuters.

“We tracked the calls made from his mobile to local newspapers which led to his arrest and that of some other suspects.”

India has been battling a 16-year Muslim separatist revolt in its part of Kashmir. Tens of thousands of people have died in shootings, bombings and other violence.

In 2003, New Delhi allowed mobile services, eight years after the rest of India, now the world’s fastest-growing market for cellular services.

At that time, India said it was a move to win the hearts and minds of Kashmiris, weary and alienated after years of conflict in India’s only Muslim-majority state which is also claimed by neighbor Pakistan.

After three years, there are now more than 850,000 mobile phone users in a state of 10 million people. And the spin-off for anti-insurgency operations has enthused security officials.

“So far, we have arrested or eliminated dozens of them (militants) including many senior commanders through mobile-tracking,” the intelligence officer said.

“It is easier to track them if they use mobile phones.”

BOON OR BANE?

Elsewhere across some trouble spots around South Asia, mobile phone services are still seen as a bane.

In Sri Lanka, which is teetering on the brink of a return to civil war, Tamil Tiger rebels do not allow mobile phone services in areas held by them.

“We do not allow mobile telephones because of security concerns,” said rebel media coordinator Daya Master. The Tigers fear they could be tracked and targeted through mobile signals. So they use satellite phones instead.

In Nepal, the ousted royalist government of King Gyanendra resorted to shutting down mobile services when the monarch’s opponents planned big rallies against his rule to foil the protests.

Indian security officials admit their initial resistance to mobile phones in Kashmir was misplaced.

“Earlier, we thought it would help terrorists in their communications and help their subversive activities,” army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel V.K. Batra said.

“But it is proving counterproductive to them.”

Militants also use satellite phones from their forest hideouts. But security forces say they are able to intercept or jam such communication.

Police in Kashmir say mobile phones have also saved the lives of hundreds of people trapped in buildings stormed by suicide attackers.

Hostages have often communicated with the police through mobiles and managed to guide security forces to rescue them amid gunfire, said K. Rajindra Kumar, a top police officer.

“This is the success story of mobile phones in anti-militancy operations,” Kumar told Reuters.

(Additional reporting by Simon Gardner in COLOMBO)