iWorld
3G spectrum pricing awaits WPC report: Maran
BANGALORE: The Union Government will unveil its pricing policy for 3G spectrum after the Wireless Planning and Co-ordination (WPC) Wing submits its report. This was announced by union minister for Communications and Information Technology Dayanidhi Maran while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function in the city.
Maran said the WPC was holding its consultation talks with the GSM and CDMA operations over the issue. “The Telecom policy of 1999 could handle the issues related to the 3G spectrum,” he added.
Maran’s target: 500 million connections in India by 2010
Inaugurating the new research and development facility of Tejas Networks, an optical networking products company, Maran said the government was looking at doubling the present monthly rate of two million new telephone connections being added to four million and achieving a target of 250 million connections in the next three years. This would mean addition of 150 million new connections over and above the current 100 million connections or so. This would also increase the tele-density from 10 per cent presently to 22 per cent.
Nortel would be adding around 10 million lines in South India by August 15, while BSNL would be adding 16 million lines by the end of the year.
He stated further that the total number of targeted connections would be 500 million by 2010. At current rates this would entail investments of at least $20 billion in infrastructure over the next few years.
Maran revealed further that at present the tele-density was just 1.7 per cent in the rural areas and 28 per cent in urban areas in India. USO funds would be utilised for creating passive telecom infrastructure in the rural areas, which could be utilized even by the private telecom operators.
Maran also announced that BSNL and MTNL had decided to incorporate a 20 per cent value addition clause for all supplies from global vendors, making it mandatory for them to undertake 20 per cent value addition from India. This was being done to ensure better service backup and was an indirect invitation for manufacturers including Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola and Nortel to setup facilities here.
However, he refused to discuss the status of the proposed MTNL-BSNL merger. During his short stay in the city, Maran took time to visit Electronics city at Bangalore also.
iWorld
T20 World Cup ’26: India–England semi-final sets global streaming record of 619 million views on JioHotstar
India–England semi-final records 65.2 million peak streams
MUMBAI: The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 set a new milestone in global sports streaming, as the India–England semi-final drew record digital audiences on JioHotstar.
The match on 5 March registered 65.2 million peak concurrent viewers, the highest ever recorded for a live event on any streaming platform worldwide. The semi-final also generated 619 million views, making it the most streamed T20 international match in history.
The landmark audience numbers were driven largely by viewers in India, setting a record achieved within a single market, rather than through aggregated viewership across multiple countries.
The high-scoring encounter between India national cricket team and England cricket team produced 499 runs across both innings, fuelling widespread fan engagement across platforms.
According to the International Cricket Council, the digital record surpassed the previous global benchmark of 65 million concurrent viewers, set in November 2024 by another international streaming platform.
Across television and digital platforms combined, the semi-final reached more than 320 million viewers, while total watch time exceeded 23 billion minutes, making it the most watched T20 international match ever.
“This World Cup demonstrates the immense passion of cricket fans and the progress made in bringing the game closer to audiences worldwide,” said ICC chairman Jay Shah.
“This moment reflects the scale of cricket fandom in India and the technological capability required to serve hundreds of millions of viewers simultaneously.”
JioStar vice-chairman Uday Shankar, said the audience surge underscored the future of large-scale digital entertainment.
“One in every three Indians tuned in to watch the second semi-final. Delivering such an experience at scale requires the very best of technology,” he said.
The 619 million views during the match also eclipsed the 533 million views recorded during the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
With the final yet to be played, the 2026 tournament has already set multiple benchmarks in audience reach and digital engagement.
India will face the New Zealand national cricket team in the final on 8 March at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The match will be broadcast on the Star Sports Network and streamed on JioHotstar.
