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
X launches XChat messaging app on iOS with calls and encryption
Standalone app marks shift from “everything app” vision, adds E2E messaging.
MUMBAI: From one big app to many small chats, X seems to be splitting its ambitions. X has rolled out its standalone messaging app, XChat, to iOS users, opening up a new front in its evolving product strategy. The app allows users to connect with existing X contacts through private and group messages, file sharing, as well as audio and video calls. The launch follows a limited beta phase, where the platform tested the product with a smaller user base to refine the experience. Now available publicly, XChat marks a notable pivot from earlier ambitions championed by Elon Musk to turn X into a single “everything app” combining messaging, payments, commerce and more.
Instead, the company under xAI ownership and backed by SpaceX appears to be building a suite of standalone applications, each targeting specific use cases while expanding its broader ecosystem.
At launch, XChat includes end-to-end encrypted messaging, PIN-based access, disappearing messages, and features such as message editing, deletion for all participants, and screenshot blocking. The company has also said the app is free from advertisements and tracking mechanisms, positioning it as a privacy-first alternative in a crowded messaging space.
However, security claims around the platform are likely to face scrutiny. Earlier iterations of XChat drew criticism from experts who argued it fell short of established encrypted platforms like Signal. With the wider rollout, the app is expected to undergo fresh evaluation to assess whether those concerns have been addressed.
Beyond messaging, XChat will also house X’s Communities feature, which is being discontinued on the main platform due to low usage and spam concerns. Migrating these users could provide an early boost to adoption, effectively turning XChat into both a communication and community hub.
The move underscores a broader recalibration at X less about cramming everything into one app, and more about spreading bets across multiple touchpoints, one message at a time.
