Telecom Tribunal clears 3G intra-circle roaming pacts

1.    Telecom Tribunal clears 3G intra-circle roaming pacts

i. The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) today ruled in favour of private telecom operators by saying that 3G intra-circle-roaming (ICR) does not violate condition of licence agreement. 

ii. A TDSAT bench headed by Justice Aftab Alam quashed all penalties imposed by Dept of Telecom on Bharti Airtel, Idea and Vodafone for providing the 3G facilities through ICR agreements under which they had agreed to acquire customers in area where they did not win spectrum. 

Note: DoT had issued notice to telecom operators asking them to stop 3G ICR service and imposed penalty,cumulatively amounting to about 1,200 crore Rupees.

2.    Russia assures America that it will not invade Ukraine

i. Russia has assured America that it will not invade Ukraine, with the US warning that continued aggression would isolate the country further and result in more diplomatic and economic pressure.

ii. US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, who made a call to his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoygu yesterday, also emphasised that any diplomatic engagement must include the government of Ukraine.

iii. Pentagon Press Secretary, Rear Admiral John Kirby said, Hagel repeated his call for an end to Russia's destabilising influence inside Ukraine and warned that continued aggression would further isolate Russia and result in more diplomatic and economic pressure .

iv. According to Kirby, Shoygu reiterated his assurance that Russian forces would not invade Ukraine to Hagel.

3.    Ukraine, Slovakia sign deal on reverse gas supply

i. Ukraine has signed an agreement with Slovakia on reverse flow of natural gas deliveries, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk said Monday.

ii. According to the deal, Kiev could annually import around 8 billion cubic metres of gas from the European market through Slovakia, Yatsenyuk said.

iii. The deal inked by Ukrtransgaz, the transport arm of the state-run Naftogaz firm, and Slovak pipeline operator Eustream, stipulates that Kiev is due to start reverse gas imports through Slovakia in October.

4.    Supriya Mondal qualifies for Youth Olympics

i. Swimmer Supriya Mondal has qualified for the 2014 Youth Olympics by winning a gold medal in the 200m butterfly event at the Dubai International Aquatic Championships in Hamdan.

ii. The 17-year-old swimmer clocked 2:03.93s, achieving the ‘A’ qualification mark and will compete in the same event in the Youth Olympics, to be held in Nanjing, China in August.

iii. Mondal had earlier won silver in 100m butterfly with a timing of 56.45s and followed it up with a gold in 50m butterfly clocking 25.67s, achieving the ‘B’ qualification mark in both the events.

iv. Mondal had earlier won silver in 100m butterfly with a timing of 56.45s and followed it up with a gold in 50m butterfly clocking 25.67s, achieving the ‘B’ qualification mark in both the events.

5.    New version of Facebook Messenger allows video sharing

i. Facebook has released a new version of Messenger for iOS devices, which allows video sharing and faster photo messages.

ii. According to CNET, the version 5.0 of Facebook Messenger includes a new messaging interface allowing people to see a single row of icons that will allow them to insert multimedia content quickly.

iii. Facebook assures that Android users will get a similar version of the app soon.

iv. Mark Zuckerberg said that Facebook is taking a three- tiered approach to mobile with Instagram, Whatsapp, and Messenger.