Panel for ending DoT monoply

NEW DELHI, Jan 23: No more monopoly of government-run organisations such as the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on STD calls, endi...

NEW DELHI, Jan 23: No more monopoly of government-run organisations such as the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on STD calls, ending VSNL’s hegemony over international calls (ISD) by 2002, and allowing even local cable operators to instal phones at subscriber’s homes. These are some of the revolutionary suggestions made by the sub-group on telecom headed by ICICI chief K.V. Kamath today.

The sub-group, whose draft has been sent to the Group on Telecom headed by External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, has also suggested that an entry- fee-cum-revenue-sharing formula be adopted for all future telecom licenses. It has suggested that, when a new policy is in place, the existing licenses be suitably amended. It has suggested that the revenue sharing formula be fixed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) “before June 30, 1999”.

The draft policy has recommended the immediate opening up of domestic long distance telephone services – which means private companies can come into the field toprovide STD calls creating more competition in the rates for these calls. The licences for domestic long distance (DLD) will be valid for a 20-year period, extendable by another 10 years with no restrictions on the number of licences cornered by a single company. Different licencees will be allowed to interconnect between themselves, or any other service providers. Since the country has already awarded licenses for different segments of the telecom sector — basic telephony, cellular, internet, and so on — the sub-group has decided not to alter this too much. What it has suggested instead is to virtually open up what in telecom parlance is called the last mile linkage’ for basic telecom services. This means that, eventually, even your local cable operator can provide you a normal land-line telephone (the ones that all of us have at home).

For example, if Bharti Telecom is the basic license holder in Madhya Pradesh, Bharti does not necessarily have to provide cable links to set up telephones in eachsubscriber’s house. While Bharti will run the overall network, all it will have to do is to take its telecom cable upto some point in the city. After this, other operators such as the cable TV ones who in any case have their own cables, can take the signal into a subscriber’s house on behalf of Bharti. Your internet connection can also be got through your cable operator who would be representing internet provider.

The sub-group’s draft will be put on the internet late tonight, and comments would be invited till February 7, after which the feedback received will be analysed and suitable changes incorporated in the draft. This was stated by N K Singh, member-secretary of the GoT, after a GoT meeting here today. Apart from this, the draft has recommended a new nomenclature for all services – basic, cellular, paging and cable. Basic services will now be called “Fixed access service providers”, cellular operators will be called “cellular mobile access service providers”, paging operators as “radio pagingaccess service providers” and cable operators as “cable access service provider”.

Cable operators to install phones

Open up STD services for private competition

ISD services to be opened up in 2002

Last mile in basic services to be opened up to competition

Licence fees to have two tiers – fixed entry fee and revenue sharing

TRAI to decide the licence fees

VSNL to be barred from STD services till 2002

DoT/MTNL to be third cellular operator

TRAI Act amended for adjudicating disputes between DoT and operators