India National Telecom Policy 2011 – Government’s Views

The first National Telecom Policy was written in 1994 and subsequently changed as the New Telecom Policy in 1999 and amended in 2004. With the 2G Wireless Spectrum Scam at the helm of affairs in Parliament, Supreme Court, CBI, the Government will unveil India’s National Telecom Policy 2011 shortly. April 2011 is the deadline the Minister has set for himself.  We already know that at the roundtable with Telecom operators, every operator was busy protecting his interest and  thus the opinions were divided to extremes when it came to Spectrum, Licensing and yearly recurring fees on the same.

Here is the sense which I get from Minister’s underlying talk @ the conference. He will try to find common ground, in case the situation does not materialize he will make a decision so the sector can move forward. Without any doubt he wants reforms in the sector to connect Indians and move ahead at the same time preserve the interests of Government as well as consumers.

What you can expect from the National Telecom Policy 2011 ? It is likely to disappoint to some extent incumbent operators and move away from recent regulatory changes but it will drive much-needed clarity and stability on the regulatory front. Finally, excess spectrum charge will be applied but the extent and indirect concessions to compensate the Telcos is worth watching.

In my view, Kapil Sibal nor his team in DoT [integrity is severely compromised by corrupt officials] / TRAI [influenced by lobbyists] is  the right entity to head the National Telecom Policy and the Prime Minister  must entrust this job to an official with high integrity and knowledge of the sector with the vision to take India forward without leaving any loopholes for yet another scam 5 years down the line.