Taking a leaf from telecom giant Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Vodafone also increased tariffs on their pre-paid plans in select regions while Bharti expanded its new tariffs to other circles, sources said on Thursday. Idea has increased its tariff from 1 paisa per second to 1.2 paisa per second for calls made from Idea to other networks including both local and STD calls in the Delhi region under the per second billing scheme. Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel also expanded its tariff hike plans during the course of the weekend.

Jailed former Telecom Secretary, Siddharth Behura said that Attorney General of India, GE Vahanvati (then Solicitor General) had cleared eligibility of Swan telecom for 2G-spectrum licences. The CBI has chargesheeted Swan and its owners for forging their application to secure the spectrum licenses. Behura's counsel, Aman Lekhi, appearing before the special CBI judge OP Saini, said in January 2008 Behura had cleared Swan eligibility for telecom license. Similarly, the SG in March 2009, along with other top-level officials of Department of Telecom gave the legal opinion, stating that Swan is eligible for telecom licenses.

Monet Ltd, a part of global investment firm ChrysCapital, on Thursday, sold over 8.34 crore shares of telecom operator, Idea Cellular, amounting to over 2 percent stake, for about Rs 750 crore. Monet sold about 8.34 crore shares of the country's fourth largest telecom company at Rs 90 apiece in a bulk deal on theNational Stock Exchange, the exchange data showed. Monet owned 8.95 crore shares (2.71 percent) ofIdea Cellular's total shares as on June 30, 2011, according to Idea Cellular website.

Corporate data services provider, Tulip Telecom Ltd, on Thursday, said that its April-June consolidated net profit rose 20 percent on the back of growing demand and a healthy pipeline of new clients. The company posted a consolidated net profit of 772.2 million rupees in April-June, compared with 641.6 million rupees a year ago. Total revenue rose 24.5 percent to 6.54 billion rupees.

After having quizzed former Telecom Minister A Raja, Swan telecom promoter, Shahid Balwa and others, the income tax department said that it will soon come out with a report of the investigation in 2G scam. "Our officials are inquiring into 2G spectrum case. They have taken permission from the court. A report will be prepared and action will be taken... This (investigation) is being dealt by different DGs (Directorate Generals) from Chennai and Mumbai," Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman, Prakash Chandra said.

Loss making PSU, MTNL will soon have a regular Chairman and Managing Director (CMD), as Telecom Minister, Kapil Sibal has asked the Cabinet Secretary to expedite the appointment. "I agree that it is very important for a company like MTNL to have permanent CMD and for that I have asked the Cabinet Secretary to immediately approve and send the file back with the person we have recommended. It should happen any time," Kapil Sibal said. The position of MTNL CMD has been vacant since January last year.

CRISIL Research has come out with its report on consolidation of Indian telecom industry. According to the research firm, the deteriorating competitive position of smaller operators - mainly comprising new entrants, their inability to keep investing in network rollout and expansion and concentration of 3G spectrum with established operators will cohesively trigger consolidation.

AIADMK MPs in both Houses of Parliament will raise the issue of a lull in the 2G investigation against former Telecom Minister, Dayanaidhi Maran among other issues. The Parliament's monsoon session opens on August 1. Chief Minister, J Jayalalithaa chaired a meeting of her party's MPs, on Wednesday and advised them to raise all people-related issues in the session.

The telecom sector in India is unique because more than 14 telecom operators compete neck-to-neck to grab market share while offering similar services. Over time, prices hit rock-bottom but demand for quality service remained. Then came the 3G wave that washed all the money off the companies' balance sheets. Now, ridden with high debt on books and a falling average revenue per user (ARPU) that resulted in squeezed margins, the operators were in dilemma to find a conducive solution. R K Upadhyay, Chairman of BSNL, in an interview, opine on whether the tariff party is over yet and what the future of the industry looks like. Excerpts: