India's Supreme Court has set 25th October as the next hearing for Vodafone's tax appeal. Vodafone could owe the Indian government more than 120 billion rupees (around £1.7 billion) following a court ruling earlier this month, although the company insists nothing is due. The case centres on Vodafone's 2007 purchase of Hutchison's Indian business, which saw Netherlands-based Vodafone International acquiring a stake in Hong Kong-based Hutchison; the stake was owned by a company in the Cayman Islands. Mumbai's High Court says Capital Gains Tax is payable and should have been collected by Vodafone.
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Independent telecoms analyst Ovum says 2009 was the worst for telecoms in a decade, with telecoms service provider revenues only growing by 2.2% year-on-year due to the global economic downturn. However, 2010 is expected to be much better.
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It's reported that the government in India has said it'll allow BlackBerry devices to continue using email and internet services for at least another 60 days. RIM has been working to avoid a ban that was due to come into effect from 31st August.
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The death of a man in India last week is being blamed on his mobile phone by many people, although a lightning strike is also being suggested as the cause. Gopal Gujjar died after taking cattle to graze near in the village of Kota. His death wasn't witnessed; he was found dead the following day, having suffered burns to his head. His shattered mobile phone was discovered nearby.
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Research in Motion is currently working to resolve the Indian government's concerns about the encryption on BlackBerry devices. The government has said BlackBerry email and instant messaging services will need to be shut down is no acceptable solution is reached by 31st August. It's reported that a concession with BlackBerry Messenger has already been reached between RIM and government officials.
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