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   Ready to enjoy blazing-fast speeds with 5G? Looking forward to enjoying entertainment options, such as immersive video and wireless holograms, which were hard to come by in the past? Well, there is good  news  for you, at least depending upon which city you live in. We are one step closer in our tryst with new high-speed services. The decks have reportedly been cleared for the Department of Telecommunications, or DoT, to auction the 5G spectrum. In fact, India might see 5G services being showcased on 15th August. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, or TRAI, has left it to the  DoT  to take a decision on three crucial issues. The first is the validity period of spectrum assignment. The second is the deferment of auction in the 27.5 GHz-28.5 GHz band. And, the third is the quantum of spectrum that will be reserved for BSNL and MTNL. As a result, the whole process has become simple. Going ahead, the Digital Communications Commission, or DCC, will cle...

WeTransfer seems to have been blocked by some internet service providers (ISPs) in India. This came after the  Department of Telecommunications  (DoT), in an order on May 18, directed all licence holders or internet service providers to block the website in the ‘interest of national security or public interest’. Interestingly, the DoT letter does not specify a reason for blocking the website. The popular file sharing platform in a blog post said, “At this moment in time, WeTransfer seems to be blocked and unavailable in India. We are working hard to understand the reasoning behind this block, as well as how to get it reverted as soon as possible."  The block, however, seems to have affected only limited batch of users. On June 2, the service worked fine to transfer a 1GB file and its recipient was able to download the file, too. It seems that not all  ISPs  are affected by the block and there is a partial ban on the services of the file sharing pla...

After Supreme Court rap and the government's stringent deadline,  Bharti Airtel  on Monday said it has paid Rs 10,000 crore to the telecom department towards statutory dues. The company said it will make payment of the balance amount after self assessment exercise. "The...total amount of Rs 10,000 crore has been paid on behalf of Bharti Airtel, Bharti Hexacom, and Telenor. "We are in the process of completing the self assessment exercise expeditiously and will duly make the balance payment upon completion of the same, before the next date of hearing in the SC," Bharti Airtel said. The company said it will also submit supporting details at the time of making balance payment. The telecom department on February 14 began issuing orders asking firms such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea to clear past dues immediately. The DoT, which faced the ire of the Supreme Court for putting on hold recovery of dues from telecom companies, had start...