iWorld
Spectrum sharing may soon become a reality for telcos
NEW DELHI: After receiving some clarifications from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the Government is understood to be giving last minute touches to a policy of sharing of airwaves, or radio frequency spectrum, among operators.
While the Telecom Commission has cleared the policy, a cabinet note is being prepared to get approval of the Union Cabinet.
TRAI has said that it can improve cellphone services, check call drops and also lower tariffs.
“We have finalised our view on spectrum-sharing and trading guidelines. We will try to send the norms to the Cabinet by the month-end,” Telecom secretary Rakesh Garg said after a meeting of an inter-ministerial panel to deliberate on the issue.
TRAI had in July last year made its suggestions under which two licensees in an area with the same band of spectrum could pool or trade this scarce resource. “The basic objective of spectrum sharing is to provide an opportunity to telecom service providers to pool their spectrum holdings and gain better spectral efficiency. Spectrum sharing would involve both the service providers utilising the spectrum,” the regulator said while ruling out leasing of spectrum permitted.
Following the recommendations and comments from the operators, the Commission had sought some clarifications from TRAI in April.
In March this year, the government had conducted e-auction of spectrum for telecom operators that spanned 19 days and got a record commitment of nearly Rs 110,000 crore.
Radio frequency spectrum is a band of electromagnetic airwaves, used to transmit signals. The mobile phone you make and receive calls from, the FM radio, the TV programmes you watch or the GPRS devices you use, all function by receiving and transmitting these invisible signals.
iWorld
Subedaar puts Indian original cinema on the global map with record-breaking Prime Video debut
MUMBAI: Prime Video has a runaway hit on its hands. Subedaar, the gritty action drama starring Anil Kapoor, has stormed to become the most-watched Indian original movie on the platform in its opening weekend, cracking the Top 10 across 31 countries and landing in 91 per cent of India’s pin codes within days of its March 5 premiere.
The film, a visceral, emotionally-charged story of a retired soldier, Subedaar Arjun Maurya, wrestling with civilian life amid crime and corruption, has struck a nerve. Directed by Suresh Triveni and co-starring Radhikka Madan, Mona Singh, Saurabh Shukla, Aditya Rawal, Faisal Malik, and Khushboo Sundar, the film is already being hailed as a showcase for what Indian original storytelling can achieve on the world stage.
“Subedaar’s success is a reflection of the growing scale and global resonance of Indian storytelling,” said Nikhil Madhok, director and head of originals at Prime Video India. “The film’s emotional narrative, its rooted portrayal of a soldier confronting his toughest battles beyond the battlefield, has struck a chord. Anil Kapoor delivers an acting masterclass, while Suresh Triveni’s solid direction and great performances from the ensemble cast have resulted in love and appreciation from customers across the world.”
Kapoor, 62, has been here before, but rarely at this altitude. Written by Triveni and Prajwal Chandrashekar, with dialogues by Triveni, Saurabh Dwivedi, and Chandrashekar, the film is a production by Opening Image Films in association with Anil Kapoor Film & Communication Network (AKFCN), produced by Vikram Malhotra, Kapoor, and Triveni.
Subedaar streams exclusively on Prime Video in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu across India, and in over 240 countries and territories worldwide.
For Prime Video, the numbers tell the real story: one weekend, one film, a global footprint, and a very loud signal that Indian original cinema is no longer just travelling well. It’s arriving.
