Arun 795 Report post Posted August 30, 2007 TRAI against cap on telecom operators Press Trust of India August 29, 2007 New Delhi, Aug. 29 (PTI): Refusing to shackle competition in India's booming telecom sector, regulator TRAI today said there should be no limit on number of operators in a service area, while favouring a panel with broad industry-government representation for deciding on spectrum allocation norms. Unveiling its recommendations for reforms in telecom licensing policy, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India said such a committee should have members from DoT, TRAI, wireless planning and coordination wing of the Communications Ministry and operator associations. GSM operators wanted a cap on the number of telcos in a circle, saying unlimited players were a strain on the scarce spectrum, leading to poor services. According to TRAI, the committee for framing of spectrum allocation criteria should have members from DoT, TRAI, the wireless planning and coordination wing of the Communications Ministry and operator associations. The telecom regulator has suggested a one-time fee from operators for allocation of spectrum beyond 10 MHz. At present, a company pays one per cent of its revenue to the Government for additional spectrum, being allocated based on the subscriber base. TRAI has forwarded its recommendations to DoT. TRAI has suggested that the cost of 2 x 5 MHz of spectrum in category ‘A’ circles and Mumbai and Delhi should be Rs. 80 crore, while for category ‘B’ circles and Chennai and Kolkata, it should be Rs. 40 crore and for category ‘C’ circles Rs. 15 crore. For allotment of 1 MHz spectrum, TRAI has suggested a one-time fee of Rs. 16 crore. It has also sought auction for future allocation of spectrum except in the case of allotment to mobile operator on 800, 900 and 1800 MHz band. On M&As, TRAI has said the combined market share of the merged entities should not exceed 40 per cent, either in terms of subscribers or revenue against 67 per cent now. It has proposed that an operator should be allowed to acquire up to 20 per cent equity in the target licensee company in the same circle against the present cap of 10 per cent. On the issue of access providers using a combination of CDMA and GSM technology, the regulator said the existing license may be permitted to be used to provide services through either of the technologies, subject to certain conditions. The recommendations, signed by advisor Sudhir Gupta, have been submitted to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). TRAI's Press Release Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
copperco2 24 Report post Posted August 30, 2007 a positive step indeep and will certainly lead us away from the cartelisation of the mobile operators. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HetalDP 947 Report post Posted August 30, 2007 TRAI you are a Dear. Belieave me All these the same thing which i also Recommended to TRAI Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Honest 836 Report post Posted August 30, 2007 ^^^ Its great to hear from TRAI. No more monopolys of the operators will be allow now. Trai must put some more Caps on them. Regards. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
