The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has reportedly urged all telecom license holders to transition to a time-bound authorisation regime to avoid potential litigation due to two separate frameworks. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has provided recommendations, most of which have been approved by the Digital Communications Commission (DCC), which will be implemented as part of the Telecommunications Act, 2023, replacing the current licensing regime.
The proposed authorisation mechanism will allow companies to offer services under separate terms and conditions under the Telecommunications Act. Meanwhile, all telecom firms are currently following the licensing regime. As per TRAI, they can continue providing services until their licenses expire. However, they cannot renew their licenses and must opt for the authorisation mechanism.
Telcos are advised to migrate to the new regime as soon as possible and the government will address their concerns. They have sought to continue with the contract arrangement in the new regime, but the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has not agreed to this request.
TRAI had recommended a complete overhaul of the licensing regime, suggesting a unified authorisation to offer all kinds of telecom services from mobile and internet to international calls across the country, and three broad categories of service namely main, auxiliary and captive.
In addition, the proposed unified authorisation would enable an entity to offer all types of telecom services including mobile, internet, landline, national long distance, international long distance, satellite and machine-to-machine (M2M) across the country.
