The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has submitted its comments on the draft National Telecom Policy (NTP) to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
In its response, the regulator has divided the aim of the NTP into five broad categories, including:
- Establishing a ubiquitous, robust, reliable, secure, affordable and efficient converged telecommunication network capable of providing high speed broadband and seamless converged communication services, with special focus on rural and remote areas;
- Repositioning telecommunication services as an instrument of socio-economic empowerment of citizens, both in the rural and urban areas;
- Achieving self-sufficiency in telecom equipment manufacturing through promotion of Research and Development (R&D) and indigenous production;
- Strengthening the institutional framework to meet the requirements of the sector.
- Attracting investments in the telecom sector.
TRAI?s recommended strategies broadly include:
Licensing framework: This refers to establishing an appropriate licensing framework for facilitating converged network and services, facilitating easy movement of customers across networks.
Strategies recommended:
- Moving towards a unified licence regime by enabling operators to offer converged services;
- Creating a path for existing licensees to migrate to the unified licence regime;
- Eventually moving towards achieving One Nation, One License by providing full Mobile Number Portability and removing roaming charges. A decision on this will be taken by TRAI
Spectrum Management: This refers to ensuring efficient and optimal use of available spectrum.
Strategies recommended:
- Ensuring adequate availability of globally harmonised spectrum including through audit and refarming;
- Making available an additional 500 MHz spectrum for telecommunications services by 2017 and another 300 MHz by 2020;
- Ensure availability of adequate spectrum to meet current and future demand for microwave access/backhaul, in appropriate frequency bands;
- Delinking spectrum from license with respect to all future licences;
- Allocate spectrum to holders of Unified Licence, based on TRAI?s recommendations in a transparent manner through market related processes, keeping in view the objectives of efficiency revenue and affordability;
Broadband: To recognise broadband as a basic necessity and to provide ubiquitous and efficient networks capable of increasingly higher speeds so as to eventually move towards a level where broadband can be a right for all citizens.
Strategies recommended:
- Providing reliable and affordable broadband access in the country including in rural and remote areas by appropriate combinations of optical fibre, wireless and other technologies;
- An optical fibre network to be laid by an independent agency, initially up to the village Panchayat level and to be extended progressively in a time bound manner, to all villages and habitations having a population of more than 500 persons. Access to this Optical Fibre Network will be open, nondiscriminatory and technology neutral;
Deployment of telecom infrastructure: To facilitate deployment of telecom infrastructure in a cost effective and timely manner.
Strategies recommended:
- Declare telecom infrastructure to be an essential infrastructure and provide requisite tax benefits;
- Bring the telecom Infrastructure providers under unified Licensing regime;
- Authorise the unified license holders the Right of way to install telecom Infrastructure;
Rural Telephony and Universal Service: To obliterate the digital divide between the rural and urban areas
Strategies recommended:
- Impose rural roll out obligations in all licenses where spectrum is being provided such that all habitations with a population of 500 and above are covered by the service providers;
- To enforce rural rollout obligations through appropriate disincentives against non-performance of the obligations and appropriate incentives for performance;
- Make use of the USOF component of the licence fee and spectrum charges to provide appropriate incentives and disincentives
