Written by: ENS Economic Bureau
2 min readNew DelhiNov 19, 2011 01:55 AM IST
First published on: Nov 19, 2011 at 01:55 AM IST
Two of the largest Indian companies have warned that uncertainty over the governments stance on 3G services risks significantly slowing their spread. Subodh Bhargava,chairman of telecom equipment maker Tata Communications,accused the telecom department of playing a police officer rather than a policy maker.
Sanjay Kapur,who heads network operator Bharti Airtels Indian business,said the regulatory environment did not help investor confidence.
Operators like Airtel,Vodafone and Idea Cellular had entered deals that allowed them to provide services in areas where they did not have a 3G licence. But the telecom department has warned that it might cancel their 3G licences. Bhargava told a Confederation of Indian Industry conference that the government had been unable to form and enforce clear rules on 3G services after an auction which it earned it Rs 68,000 crore. Objections on security grounds and uncertainty on roaming arrangements had hurt the business. Telecom cannot be left to whimsical interpretation of licence rules, he said.
Less than 15 million subscribers,or 2 per cent of the market,have access to 3G services a year after their launch,data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India shows. Kapoor hoped for more transparency in the regulatory regime,which he said might hurt the companys investment plans. The government needs to reassure investors so that operators spent more on expanding their reach,he said.
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