NEW DELHI: Consultation paper on frequency spectrum will be released this week by the Telecom regulatory Authority of India (Trai), while recommendations on cable TV is expected in two-three weeks time, Trai chairman Pradip Baijal has said.
While interacting with FICCI yesterday, Baijal disclosed that Trai would come out with a consultation paper on frequency spectrum within this week, which will give directions on requirement, allocation and efficient use of spectrum.
Another discussion paper on International Long Distance (ILD) and Net Long Distance (NLD), which will be released by Trai in a month's time, will look into the national and international communication.Similarly Trai will also be coming out with a list of recommendations for cable TV networks so that networks can be turned into an engine of growth for broadband, Baijal said.
It may be recalled that consultation paper on cable has already been released by Trai.
While addressing an interactive session with Trai, Baijal said that the Authority's main focus is to increase penetration and growth rather than focusing on quality of service (QoS).
To avoid duplication of the infrastructure for communication services across the nation, Baijal suggested that a master plan for the industry should be prepared that would set the pace and direction for the industry.
However, Baijal himself was not very clear that who should prepare this plan. According to him this plan should address issues like interconnectivity, roaming, avoiding some duplication infrastructure and optimum use of existing infrastructure.
Rajan Bharti Mittal, chairman of Ficci telecom committee and joint managing director Bharti Telecom, said that if telecom services are expected to grow at its fullest capacity, it is necessary that Trai should help in resolving issues like infrastructure sharing, rationalization of taxes, bundling of handsets, lowering of revenue sharing and allocation of spectrum.
Ramraj, chairman of e-business task force of FICCI and MD of Sify, raised issues related to the incentives given to the companies that host Internet sites from India.
