The Indian government has agreed to lower the proposed base prices for new 2G licences, with a government body known as the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) having recommended a base price in the upcoming auctions of between INR140 billion to INR160 billion (US$2.5 billion to US$2.9 billion) for a pan-Indian licence. That is below the INR36.22 billion/MHz proposed earlier this year by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), which would have required local operators to shell out  more than INR180 billion for a nationwide 5MHz licence.

According to local press reports, operators will still be required to pay existing spectrum usage charges of 3-8 per cent on top of the licence fee.

However, the EGoM has reportedly agreed to allow operators to pay for licences in instalments with GSM operators only required to pay 35 per cent up front, and CDMA players 25 per cent.

The EGoM’s recommendations will need final approval from the Indian cabinet before they can be introduced in time for the scheduled start of the auctions on August 31.

The new licence awards will replace those cancelled by India’s Supreme Court in February after a controversial earlier auction was ruled “totally arbitrary and unconstitutional,” and deemed to have lost the Indian government as much as US$39 billion in potential income.

But the new auctions have been heavily criticised by local operators, which claim that the expected steep costs involved in acquiring the airwaves will see them take on huge debts, and could lead to higher prices for end consumers.

Telenor announced solid results for the second quarter of 2012, with the company set to refocus its Indian operation in order to move it toward self-sufficiency. It also said it is looking at the long game for its investment in Russian operator VimpelCom.

For the period to end-June, the company reported a profit of NOK2.07 billion (US$339 million), down 54 per cent from NOK4.49 billion in the prior year, on revenue of NOK25.36 billion, up from NOK24.36 billion. Telenor counted 151 million mobile subscribers at the end of June, compared with 128 million at the end of Q2 2011.

In the second quarter of 2011, Telenor’s bottom line benefited from a greater contribution from VimpelCom, as well as an accounting gain related to the VimpelCom/Wind Telecom deal, and foreign currency movements.

With regard to its Uninor business in India, the company said that due to the uncertain regulatory environment, it is “reallocating resources in the nine most profitable circles”. The intention is to shorten the time and reduce the cost for this business to become self-financed, reducing the risk of Telenor’s India investment.

In the second quarter of 2012, Uninor saw an operating loss of NOK619 million, compared with a prior-year loss of NOK1.21 billion, on revenue of NOK1.03 billion, up from NOK698 million. This unit has a total subscriber base of 33.7 million.

The company said that moving forward; it is still evaluating its funding options in India, both for Uninor and for the creation of a “NewCo” venture in this market.

Elsewhere, Telenor saw “continued good development in Telenor Pakistan and in DiGi in Malaysia with strong growth and margins”.

Less positively, “challenging” market conditions in Denmark and Bangladesh resulted in weaker than expected development during the period.

Telenor also said it is taking a “long term perspective” on its ownership of Russia’s VimpelCom. This includes supporting “necessary investments” to strengthen its position in its home market.

The Qtel Group today announced the launch of 3G services by Tunisiana, the leading mobile operator in Tunisia, which is part of the company’s portfolio of operations.

With launch coverage extending to 48 per cent of the population, Tunisiana will offer 3G services in the regions of Tunis, Sfax, Sousse, Djerba, Cap Bon, Hammamet and Nabeul. The aggressive rollout will soon be extended to cover 71 per cent of the population by the end of the year, with 87 per cent coverage planned for early 2013.

Tunisiana’s license allows the company to deploy an HSPA+ network on both 900MHz and 2100MHz bands, providing for deeper indoor coverage for customers and high definition voice quality.

The Tunisiana offering will include flexible tariffs allowing for daily, weekly and monthly usage.

The STC Group announced that along with its affiliates, the Maxis and Oger Groups, they have selected Ericsson as one of their preferred global vendors for network infrastructure, as part of their global synergy creation activities. The agreement will allow Ericsson to offer its portfolio of network infrastructure equipment through a global price structure based on total business in Bahrain, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey.

In 2010 the telco groups jointly launched a series of global initiatives focused on capturing synergies across their nine operating companies and on working with best-in-class global suppliers to become preferred partners based on value creating agreements.

One of the initiatives is to focus on technology infrastructure synergies, with an objective of developing a global price book and formalising volume discounts based on overall groups scale.

Vodafone Group reported a revenue drop in the quarter to June 30, 2012, noting that “macroeconomic and competitive pressures in southern Europe have intensified further”.

In a statement, Vittorio Colao, the company’s chief executive, said that “despite the difficult market conditions, particularly in southern Europe, we continue to make progress in the key areas of data, enterprise and emerging markets, while maintaining our tight control of our cost base”.

Revenue for the period was £10.77 billion (US$16.71 billion), down 7.7 per cent year-on-year. Group service revenue was £9.98 billion, down 8.1 per cent. The company did not provide profit figures for this quarter, it only reports profit half-yearly, for the periods to September 30 and March 31.

The company ended the period with 146.95 million customers, down from 148.49 million at April 1, mainly due to losses in its core northern European businesses.

For its Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific unit, service revenue fell by four per cent, with growth in India slowing due to regulatory impacts on data and messaging. Vodacom experienced some weakness in South Africa, due to increased competition on mobile voice and data pressure. Specifically, there were small revenue rises in Turkey (up  three per cent) and Egypt (up six per cent) in the quarter.

Integrated voice, data and SMS plans now represent 50 per cent of consumer contract revenue in European markets, up from 32 per cent one year ago.

Vodafone said that fixed-line revenue now makes up 8.7 per cent of its Group service revenue, with the company having 6.3 million fixed broadband customers.

Free cash flow of £900 million was down £300 million year-on-year, due to the timing of dividend payments to minority shareholders in Vodacom and Vodafone Egypt, and the end of dividends from SFR following the disposal of its stake in this business.

Capital expenditure of £1.1 billion was £100 million lower year-on-year, with the company stating that its investment focus remains on network quality “in terms of coverage, reliability and speed.”

The group has maintained its outlook for the financial year.