There’s a way out of this mess

The judgement has specified that the regulator, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), should come out in four months with the modalities for deciding on the level playing parameters. It has to determine the additional entry fees over and above that which is already paid, and charges for additional spectrum to be allocated to the BSOs.

This will not be an easy exercise as the cellular industry has already hinted that the BSOs have been provided back-door entry into their arena, while they had acquired the licences by paying huge fees and entering virgin territory often under adverse market conditions.

Their costs and efforts to create awareness in the market, and bring it to a sustainable level, have not been shared by the BSOs. It remains to be seen how the TRAI arrives at the formulae. It has promised to start the consultation process, and is likely to put forward a consultation paper and hold open houses in a few cities. Many of the previous open houses, however, have been stormy and to the dissatisfaction of the public and both sets of operators.

Another important aspect which the judgement has touched upon is the issue of roaming. Presently the BSOs have been offering roaming under ‘call-forwarding’. This TDSAT judgement has specified that the BSOs could offer services only in an Short Distance Charging Area (SDCA) and thus roaming per se is not legally possible, although the technology allows it.

This would create various pressures from market forces and other quarters alike. Today, thanks to huge ads and attractive pricing, many subscribers have joined the mobile bandwagon, fully aware that roaming would be available to them. The question arises here — what will the regulator do? Whatever it does, there is bound to be criticism and another round of legal wrangles.

The answer to this lies in a unified licensing regime (ULR) as claimed by Communications Minister Arun Shourie. This regime would be technology and service neutral. Thus there could be less of disputes on account of these factors, which are presently coming in the way of attaining greater tele-density. Consumers would benefit as prices are definitely going to fall further and common service providers would be a reality for many services.

The TRAI has already put forth a public consultation paper which covers many of the issues quite extensively. It has cited cases in a few countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Australia, where ULR has been implemented.

But are we prepared to have a ULR right away? The fourth cellular operator, licensed just recently, is still to realise a critical mass; the existing ones still need to do a lot in terms of quality, the BSOs have to improve their services.

But the most important question is this: Are there sufficient customers to allow players to have sustainable businesses? An important factor from the operators’ point of view is the need to instill confidence in the whole process.

The customers’ confidence in the regulatory process will also be of great consideration. Not unrelated is the Communication Convergence Bill, yet to be passed by the Parliament. Why can’t the whole issue of ULR be covered under this Bill?

At the moment, there are more questions than answers and things could well remain that way unless TRAI’s consultation process is able to throw up some wise solutions.