NEW DELHI:The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved a new telecom policy, replacing more than a decade-old rules, aiming to boost transparency and revive growth in one of the country’s showpiece sectors that has been rocked by a massive scandal.
The government plans to abolish zonal roaming fees and will allow users to retain their numbers even if they move from one zone to another, under the new policy.
The policy will separate telecoms permits and radio airwaves, against the current practice of bundling them, and will charge a market-derived price for lucrative airwaves, among other things.
Under the new policy, India will also seek to refarm, or switch, airwave bands held by government agencies and private telecoms operators “from time to time” to make way for new technologies, telecoms minister Kapil Sibal told reporters after a meeting of the cabinet.
Private telecoms carriers have been opposing the airwave switch plan.
The policy, whose broad contours were announced previously, also seeks to ease mergers and acquisition rules in the sector to facilitate consolidation in the crowded market.
India decided to overhaul telecoms rules last set in 1999 after an alleged below-market price sale of telecoms permits bundled with airwaves in a 2008 state grant process, which a state auditor estimated to have cost New Delhi as much as $34 billion in lost revenue. India will also relax rules for Internet telephony under the new policy, a move which will be a positive for companies such as Reliance Industries that owns nationwide fourth-generation (4G) mobile broadband spectrum. Internet telephony is currently allowed in India, but in a restricted manner.
Pricing of airwaves is, however, not part of the telecoms policy, and will be set through an open auction process. India is due to conduct its first ever auction of second-generation (2G) radio airwaves by end-August. (Agencies)
