Reliance Jio files complaint with ASCI over Airtel"s "fastest network" claim

March 21, 2017

Mar 21: Reliance Jio has filed a complaint with Advertising Standards Council of India against (ASCI) Airtel"s claims it is "Officially the fastest" network in India. Jio has said the claim of Airtel that it is India"s fastest network is “false, misleading and incorrect”. According to the company, the methodology adopted to determine Internet speed by Ookla, the web-based network and diagnostic applications, was flawed and Jio has issued a legal notice to Ookla as well.

airteljio“Further, your attention is drawn to the words appearing in the advertisement “Officially The Fastest Network”. Ookla, LLC, is a commercial enterprise who give awards for money. They do not have accreditation from the government of India. The word “officially” when used in the context of telecom services is linked to only TRAI or the licensor DOT,” the complaint reads.

In a statement, Airtel claimed it has been rated as India"s fastest mobile network by Ookla, “the global leader in broadband testing and web-based network diagnostic applications”. “This is clearly mentioned in the ad. Ookla"s findings are based on analysis of millions of internet speed tests logged on "modern devices" by mobile customers across India using its popular Speedtest app. The results include all mobile tests, regardless of connection technology.”

Ookla COO Jamie Steven said in a statement that Speedtest is the “definitive way to measure your internet performance”. “Speedtest has been actively used billions of times, making it the dominant global leader in internet performance testing and metrics,” he added.

Reliance Jio has requested the ASCI to call upon Airtel to withdraw advertisements claiming they"re the fastest network in India, desist from using the word “official” with Airtel"s brand name as well as withdraw any reference to Ookla from their advertisements.

In the notice to Ookla, Jio has accused the company of misleading India public by certifying Airtel the “India" fastest mobile carrier”. The notice states Ookla has “purported to provide an unfair advantage to Bharti Airtel and further their business interests for you commercial gains.” Calling Ookla"s acts reckless, malicious and malafide, Jio has alleged it has caused “monetary losses” and “irreparable damage” to the company.

“It is unclear you have indulged in these actions knowing that these will harm the business and commercial interests of our client and indeed the Reliance group. Your acts have resulted in reputation of our client"s business being damaged and our client having suffered huge and continuing damages which are not capable of being qualified at this stage,” the notice reads.

Reliance Jio has called upon Ookla to remove its October 6 report claiming Airtel is the fastest network in India. It has also asked to revoke the award given by Ookla to Airtel for India"s fastest network and declare it was incorrect. Further, Jio has asked Ookla to acknowledge there are “serious and fundamental flaws” in the methodology for determining data speeds.

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Agencies
July 13,2020

New Delhi, Jul 13: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has blocked Bharti Airtel's Platinum and Vodafone Idea's RedX premium plans that offer faster data speeds and priority services to customers as both the plans were violating net neutrality norms.

The telecom watchdog has asked Bharti Airtel to explain within seven days how such a similar plan being launched does not violate the rules of net neutrality.

Vodafone Idea's RedX plan has been in the market since November 2019. They made some modifications in May 2020 and the Bharti Airtel was soon going to launch a similar plan.

According to TRAI, the higher speed for premium customers discriminate against others and violates net neutrality.

Responding to TRAI's move, Airtel spokesperson said: "We are passionate about delivering the best network and service experience to all our customers. This is why we have a relentless obsession to eliminate faults and have been consistently recognised by international agencies as the best network in terms of speed, latency and video experience."

"At the same time, we want to keep raising the bar for our post-paid customers in terms of service and responsiveness. This is an ongoing effort at our end," the spokesperson said.

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Agencies
January 10,2020

Indian enterprises were flooded with a whopping 14.6 crore malware threats in 2019 - a growth of 48 per cent (year-on-year) compared to 2018, a new report said on Friday.

Manufacturing, BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance), education, healthcare, IT/ITES, and the government were the most at-risk industries in the country, said the report from Seqrite, the enterprise arm of Pune-based IT security firm Quick Heal Technologies.

Interestingly, almost a quarter (23 per cent) of the threats were identified through 'Signatureless behaviour-based' detection by Seqrite, indicating how a growing number of cybercriminals were deploying new or previously unknown threat vectors to compromise enterprise security.

"With the latest Seqrite annual threat report, we want to empower CIOs, CISOs, business leaders and all key public stakeholders with the insights they need to combat the growing complexity of the threat landscape," said Sanjay Katkar, Joint Managing Director and CTO, Quick Heal Technologies.

The most prominent trend was the drastic increase in the volume, intensity, and sophistication of cyber-attack campaigns targeting Indian enterprises in 2019.

The rapid integration of IoT devices, BYOD (bring your own device), and third-party APIs into enterprise networks has created newer security vulnerabilities that might go unnoticed until a major breach occurs.

Threat researchers at Seqrite observed several large-scale advanced persistent threats (APT) attacks deployed against organisations in the government sector.

"The entry of nation-states and organised cybercrime cells into the fray is expected to add more complication to this situation and will require Indian government bodies and corporate enterprises to shore up their cyber defence strategies in 2020 and beyond," the report noted.

More alarming, however, was the continued lack of security awareness amongst enterprises and government organisations.

"Unsecured Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) and Server Message Block (SMB) protocols continued to be targeted through brute-force attacks," said the report.

Spear phishing attack campaigns leveraging Office exploits and infected macros were also used extensively by cybercriminals to gain access to enterprise networks and steal critical data.

"India's digital journey depends on ensuring robust cybersecurity for all stakeholders within the enterprise ecosystem," said Katkar.

The sharp spike should be a cause of concern for CIOs and CISOs in the country, especially given the growing digital penetration within their enterprise networks.

"With network vulnerabilities and potential entry points increasing at a rapid pace, threat actors are expected to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to power their malware campaigns in the future to capitalise on newer attack vectors," the report added.

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Agencies
March 10,2020

New Delhi, Mar 10: Crisis-hit Yes Bank on Tuesday said that it has enabled inward IMPS and NEFT services.

The move allows people to send money from other bank accounts to their Yes Bank account through IMPS (Immediate Payment Service) and NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer) mode.

In a tweet, the bank also said that Yes Bank customers can pay their credit card dues and loan obligations from other bank accounts.

"Inward IMPS/NEFT services have now been enabled. You can make payments towards YES BANK Credit Card dues and loan obligations from other bank accounts. Thank you for your co-operation. @RBIA @FinMinIndia," said tweet.

Last week Yes Bank was placed under moratorium and a withdrawal cap of Rs 50,000 was imposed till April 3.

The administrator of Yes Bank, Prashant Kumar and Rajnish Kumar, the Chairman of the State Bank of India are hopeful that moratorium would be lifted within a week.

As per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) draft reconstruction scheme for the crisis-hit private lender, the SBI will take up 49 per cent in the bank by investing Rs 2,450 crore.

The new board of directors will stand constituted from the appointed date. It will comprise a CEO and MD, non-executive chairman and non-executive directors. The SBI will have nominee directors appointed on the board of the reconstructed bank.

The RBI may appoint additional directors to the board, who shall continue in office for one year, or until an alternate board is constituted by Yes Bank.

The SBI will not reduce its holding below 26 per cent before completion of three years from the date of infusion of the capital.

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