iWorld
Telcos power past Rs 1 lakh crore in December quarter
Sector revenues surge year on year, with Reliance Jio in the lead and government levies swelling alongside
NEW DELHI: India’s telecom giants have punched through a psychological barrier. In the December 2025 quarter, their combined gross revenue vaulted past Rs 1 lakh crore, underlining the sector’s pricing muscle and data-driven momentum.
According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), cumulative gross revenue of telecom service providers rose to Rs 1.02 lakh crore in the quarter, up from Rs 99,828 crore in September and Rs 96,390 crore a year earlier. The climb is steady. The signal is clear.
Adjusted gross revenue (AGR) — the metric that matters most because it fattens both company coffers and government levies — grew 8.13 per cent year on year to Rs 84,270 crore, up from Rs 77,934 crore in the same quarter last year. AGR includes revenue from telecom services as well as licence fees and spectrum usage charges paid to the exchequer. When telcos earn more, so does the state.
Access service providers such as Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea accounted for 84.54 per cent of total AGR in the December quarter, reaffirming the dominance of the mobile heavyweights in an increasingly consolidated market.
Data published earlier by TRAI for the September 2025 quarter showed Reliance Jio topping the revenue charts with Rs 31,767.11 crore, ahead of its rivals. The December numbers suggest the pecking order is unlikely to have shifted dramatically.
For a sector once mired in bruising price wars and AGR litigation, the rebound is striking. Tariff repairs, premium data plans and relentless subscriber upgrades are doing the heavy lifting. Revenues are rising, government collections are firming and balance-sheets are breathing easier.
India’s telecom story, long defined by survival, is now tilting towards scale and cash. The quarter’s message: the industry is no longer merely connected — it is charging ahead.
iWorld
Meta warns 200 users after fake Whatsapp spyware attack
Italy-targeted campaign used unofficial app to deploy surveillance spyware.
MUMBAI: It looked like a message, but it behaved like a mole. Meta has warned around 200 users most of them in Italy after uncovering a targeted spyware campaign that weaponised a fake version of WhatsApp to infiltrate devices. The attack, first reported by Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata, relied on classic social engineering with a modern twist: persuading users to download an unofficial WhatsApp clone embedded with surveillance software. The malicious application, believed to be developed by Italian firm SIO through its subsidiary ASIGINT, was designed to mimic the real app closely enough to bypass suspicion.
Meta’s security teams identified roughly 200 individuals who may have installed the compromised version, triggering immediate countermeasures. Affected users were logged out of their accounts and issued alerts warning of potential privacy breaches, with the company describing the incident as a “targeted social engineering attempt” aimed at gaining device-level access.
The malicious app was not distributed via official app stores but circulated through third-party channels, where it was presented as a legitimate WhatsApp alternative. Once installed, it reportedly allowed external operators to access sensitive data stored on the device turning a simple download into a potential surveillance gateway.
According to Techcrunch, Meta is now preparing legal action against the spyware developers to curb further misuse. The company, however, has not disclosed details about the specific individuals targeted or the extent of data compromised.
A Whatsapp spokesperson reiterated that user safety remains the top priority, particularly for those misled into installing the fake iOS application. Meanwhile, reports from La Repubblica suggest the spyware may be linked to “Spyrtacus”, a strain previously associated with Android-based attacks that could intercept calls, activate microphones and even access cameras.
The episode underscores a growing reality in the digital age, the threat is no longer just what you download, but where you download it from. As unofficial apps become increasingly convincing, the line between communication tool and covert surveillance is getting harder to spot and far easier to exploit.
