TelecomLive April 2024

blocks), and connect 47,000 of them under the new model, based on ring topology. The initiative is fully funded by theUSO. WhatsApp ends global companies' cheap-OTP run Meta's WhatsApp has started a new category for international OTPs, and priced such enterprise mes- sages in India at 20 times more than it was charging earlier, in a bid to increase revenue fromsuch services. Despite the sharp increase, the pricing for India is still half of what enterprises pay for conventional SMSes, as WhatsApp tries to attract more enterprises for this growing segment. WhatsApp has introduced a new category called 'authentication-international' messages priced at Rs 2.3 per message for India market. The new category is applicable in India and Indonesia starting June 1, 2024. Telecom companies currently charge Rs 0.12 per SMS for local companies versus $0.05 (or Rs 4.13) for overseas ones. This large arbitrage created an opportu- nity forWhatsApp to peg its OTP delivery charges at Rs 0.11 for all enterprises alike. With the new system, however, WhatsApp will be charging foreign compa- nies at Rs 2.3 permessage. Exorbitantly high international SMS charges in India have long been a subject of debate between Ama- zon, Google and telcos. Operators treat the former as such because they have their data servers overseas whereas companies argue that they are India- registered entities whose SMSes are generated locally and travel over domestic networks. Apple cut at least 600 jobs in US when car and screen projects stopped Apple Inc laid off more than 600 employees in Cali- fornia as part of the decisions to end its car and smartwatch display projects, according to filings with the California Employment Development Depart- ment. [ News Bytes ] www.telecomlive.com 58 TelecomLIVE April 2024 The Cupertino, Cali- fornia-based company f i l ed e i gh t s epa r a t e reports to the state to comply with the Worker Adjustment and Retrain- ing Notification (WARN) programme. Companies must file a report to the state agency for each California address that i n c l ud e s emp l o y e e s affected by a layoff. Malaysian telco Axiata to sell Myanmar telco tower business for $150 mn Malaysian telco con- glomerate Axiata Group will dispose of its entire h o l d i n g i n E d o t c o Myanmar Ltd for $150 mn, signalling its exit from the telco tower business inMyanmar. Axiata said edotco Investments (Labuan) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of its telco tower arm Edotco Group, had agreed to sell its entire 87.5 pc stake in Edo t c o I nv e s tmen t s Singapore Pte Ltd, the s o l e s h a r e ho l d e r o f Edotco Myanmar. The company did not disclose the identity of the buyer. Axiata's Edotco Group entered Myanmar in 2015 by taking a control- l i n g s t a k e i n t h e Myanmar tower com- pany in a deal which gave it an enterprise value of $221mn. Telecom sector opposes US plan to reinstate net neutral- ity rules The US telecom indus- try opposes the Federal Communications Com- mission (FCC) plan to reinstate landmark net neutrality rules that were repealed in 2017 under chipmaker, ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc. Beyond compani es that actually produce chips, US officials may also sanction Shenzhen Pengjin High-Tech Co. The concern is that those companies, which make semiconductor manufac- turing gear, are acting as proxies to help Huawei obtain restricted equip- ment,. Vodafone Germany to cut 2,000 jobs in revamp Vodafone Germany aims to save around 400 mn euros ($434.48 mn) over the next two years as part of a restructuring that will hit some 2,000 jobs, the company said. The move is part of a cost- cutting drive announced nearly a year ago which will result in the loss of some 11,000 jobs world- wide. BSNL's BharatNet III: Domestic telecom gear makers cry foul Homegrown telecom equipment companies led by a local industry group said that the bidding conditions mandating a combined 50 pc value addition of active and pa s s i v e c omponen t s locally would discourage Centre's Atmanirbhar Bh a r a t ( s e l f - r e l i a n t India) ambition in the Rs 65,000 cr BharatNet phase III initiative. In February, BSNL rolled out a NIT for Prime M i n i s t e r N a r e n d r a Mo d i ' s p r e s t i g i o u s BharatNet-III program to provide last-mile connec- tivity as well as upgrade existing 164,000 gram p a n c h a y a t s ( v i l l a g e