The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has reportedly agreed to extend the consultation process pertaining to the National Telecom Policy 2011 to December 8, 2011.
It is believed that industry stakeholders are uncertain on three grounds, the new concepts which were not discussed in the run up to the draft NTP 2011, the potential adverse revenue impact from concepts like spectrum refarming and a competitive threat unless issues of convergence and license unification are defined in a transparent manner through public consultation.
Spectrum issues, including refarming, are critical as they impact costs and viability. The industry wants to ascertain that the language in the policy does not in any way entrap the sector into committing massive revenues on account of refarming, or losing spectrum in the 800 and 900 MHz bands when licences come up for renewal.
The second issue arises out of the concept of a network service operator (NSO) and service delivery operator (SDO) type licences. This contradicts the current services specific licensing regime categorised under the Unified Access Services (UAS) licences.
Also, there are issues relating to equipment security pertaining to the use of language that borders on a quota regime and distortion of the market. This is expected to be opposed by global equipment manufacturers, including some who have assembly plants in India. Operators are also seeking detailed guidelines on security, encryption, lawful intercept, and other related matters.
