JOIN USNew telecom policy to up tariff
Currently, telecom operators get licences for 20 years bundled with start-up 2G spectrum of 4.4 Mhz. However, in future these licences will be given for only 10 years and the service providers will have to give market-based price for spectrum as the same has been delinked from the licence.
To acquire a new licence, a company will have to apply again for spectrum in the competitive market—which means it will have to chip in more money to get it. This will certainly force the companies to hike the tariff of both mobile as well as broadband services to recover their money, said a senior official in the Department of Telecom.
Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal, who unveiled a broad picture of the proposed New Telecom Policy-2011, said the government is planning to bring a new telecom policy by end of this year.
The telecom companies have to file an application before the Department of Telecom 30 months before the expiry of the telecom licences. He also announced that spectrum will be delinked from licence. The government is yet to decide on the pricing mechanism for 2G spectrum although it is expected that it is likely to be market-driven.
Other key issues which will be included in the new policy is auditing of the spectrum to monitor whether the companies were using it properly or not. The auditing by Trai or CAG or external agencies will be decided later.
He said mergers and acquisitions policy will be liberalised and post merger or acquisition, the number of competitors in each circle should not be allowed to fall below six.
The existing roll-out obligations will also be modified as the Department of Telecom was finding it difficult to monitor the same.
The government is also planning to allow the companies to sharing of spectrum, but discussion is still on in this regard.
He also announced formation of a committee for National Spectrum Act headed by retired Judge Shivraj V Patil.
The department has also formed a broadband committee to look into the issues related to national broadband plan headed by Sam Pitroda, telecom expert and adviser to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.