As the new chairman, Dr J.S. Sarma has taken over the reins of TRAI enthusiastically. Having served as telecom secretary earlier and more recently as chairman of the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), he is more than prepared to take on the challenge of finding solutions to long-standing issues relating to quality of service (QoS), rural telephony and broadband, tariffs, etc. In an in-depth interview with tele.net, Sarma discusses the progress, challenges and the future of the Indian telecom sector. Excerpts…
How would you rate the progress of the telecom sector?
The telecom sector has been growing rapidly and has been witnessing an increase of over 10 million subscribers a month. In the foreseeable future, the telecom industry will continue to grow at this rate. However, we need to ensure that this growth rate is sustained since most of the new growth will come from the rural areas. To that extent, there may be a slight reduction in the number of monthly additions. Nevertheless, I believe that the rural areas will continue to account for 40-50 per cent of the monthly additions. It is difficult to say whether drought will have any effect on the growth of the rural market. But the monthly additions seem to be good; last month too about 12 million subscribers were added, of which about 50 per cent were from the rural areas.
By and large, the telecom sector is likely to register buoyant growth as far as the number of voice customers is concerned. During the course of this financial year, or at least later this year or early next year, we will see the introduction of 3G. This is going to be one of the key events that will take place. The other thing that will take place is significant broadband growth. The fact that we have set for ourselves a target of 100 million broadband connections should indicate healthy prospects for the telecom sector.
What, according to you, has been the telecom sector’s greatest achievement in the past one year?
What are the major challenges before you?
The major challenge is not only in terms of growth but also in terms of diversification. We have already talked about the rural challenge above. The next key challenge will be how to increase broadband growth. Broadband is where both the challenge and the opportunity lie.
In addition to broadband, value-added services are a major challenge. I think the increased use of communications applications for development in terms of education, health, agriculture, etc. will be a major challenge. I don’t foresee challenges in terms of growth. What will need to be exploited is the challenge of communications being used for development.
What more can be done to step up rural telecom penetration?
The major area of concern for rural telephony is the lack of adequate infrastructure in terms of roads and power. The roads programme is being taken up under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. The second area of concern, which is also the most important area of concern, is that adequate power is not available in the rural areas. At present, a number of towers run on diesel. This poses problems of security, high expenditure associated with diesel consumption and environmental concerns. If we can really improve these two areas of concern, rural telephony will also increase. As far as power is concerned, we could think in terms of increasingly using solar power. The power situation is not something that can be addressed overnight. So, till then, solar power can be used as an alternative and in this way, the environmental concerns can also be addressed.
What steps should be taken to promote broadband growth?
I have always advocated broadband development, not only in terms of wireless but also in terms of optic fibre. My vision is that we have an optic fibre network connecting all habitations and all villages with a population of over 500 people. The last mile can be wireless broadband either in terms of 3G or Wi-Max, depending on the technology. It could also be on copper depending on the distances involved. Our estimation is that it would cost Rs 300-Rs 320 billion. Of this, Rs 200 billion would constitute the cost of digging alone, which can come from the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act programme and the balance Rs 100 billion can come from the Universal Service Obligation Fund.
What are some of the expected future trends in the telecom sector?
In the future, the Indian telecom sector will witness a move away from being voice centric to data centric. I wouldn’t be surprised if tomorrow (perhaps it’s just a dream), or at least in the not-so-distant future, companies offer free voice, based on an advertising model or by charging for other applications. In the course of the next one or two years, the price of handsets will also fall. Just a little while ago someone was mentioning that they are thinking in terms of a partially smart telephone for Rs 5,000 only. So, in other words, the sector will witness the same kind of a drop in prices for 3G handsets that we have seen in 2G handsets.
Which technologies hold the most promise for the Indian telecom sector?
4G will definitely start coming in. We should start looking at 4G options right now and get ready for the same. Data speeds will definitely start getting faster. Whatever applications will be enabled by high speed will occupy centrestage. There will be a lot of convergence. The mobile will be the instrument where you receive everything. For instance, you have a TV here, a computer screen there, and a mobile here. Shortly, we will have just one device that will be used to access all three.There will also be a lot of fixed-mobile convergence, so people will not use spectrum all the time but only when it is required. A lot of exciting developments will take place in the course of the year.
How will the spectrum issue get resolved in your opinion?
3G spectrum is no longer an issue as the band has been identified. The group of ministers is looking into the matter and we will soon see the auctions taking place. As far as 2G is concerned, the government has referred the issue to us and we are in the process of consulting various people.
What is the current status of MNP in the country? When can we expect to see its rollout?
The Department of Telecommunications is monitoring the situation. But there are many players and many issues involved. It is very difficult for me to say when the rollout will take place. The service providers are getting ready and interconnecting with MNP operators. As far as TRAI is concerned, we have completed our open house discussions on issues related to process as well as tariffs. We had an open house discussion regarding the same in Hyderabad.We are in the process of finalising the regulations. It is likely to be completed in the course of a fortnight.
What, in your opinion, can be done to improve QoS and customer care by telcos?
This is an important issue. I am definitely concerned about the quality of service and the need for it to be as efficient as in every other country. In my opinion, while we are growing very impressively, the quality of service is not completely satisfactory. There may be various reasons for this, but the fact of the matter is that the consumer experience is increasingly becoming a matter of concern.
There are three-four areas that are characterised as QoS issues per se. There are call drops, etc. More and more consumers are being piled on to the available spectrum. Service providers have to explore other possibilities. They have to ensure that the quality of service is maintained. I understand, however, that they have their limitations.
The other area of concern is unauthorised commercial communications. Here I think we are looking at the possibility of a “do call registry”. We have some views on the matter and we are looking at taking them all into consideration. Frankly speaking, the do not call registry has had very limited success.
Lastly, there is the question of billing and the grievance redressal system. I think the operator needs to do much more in this regard. We are also exploring the possibility of setting up a centralised grievance redressal system which will be a web-enabled system but will also be linked to the operators so that they can provide remedial steps. This is something we really need to work on.
