Telecommunications is one of the prime support services needed for rapid growth and modernization of various sectors of the economy. It has become especially important in recent years because of enormous growth of Information Technology (IT) and its significant impact on the rest of the economy. India is perceived to have a special comparative advantage in IT and in IT-enabled services. However, sustaining this advantage depends critically on high quality telecommunication infrastructure. Keeping this in view, the focus of policy is vision of world class telecommunication facilities at reasonable rates. Provision of telecom services in rural areas would be another thrust area to attain the goal of accelerated economic development and social change. Although the telecom network has grown rapidly in recent years, its growth needs to be accelerated further in the Tenth Plan. The telecom sector in India has been witnessing a continuous process of reforms since 1991. With the opening of international long distance services and internet telephony from April, 2002, the process of liberalization and opening up the sector for competition is complete. Convergence of services is a major new emerging area and the telecom sector will have to address this in the Tenth Plan.
New Telecom Policy
The New Telecom Policy (NTP) announced in 1999 modified the NTP, 1994 to take into account the far-reaching technological development taking place in the telecom sector globally and to implement the Government's resolve to make India a global IT superpower. NTP, 1999 also seeks to solve problems arising out of the implementation of NTP, 1994. The objective of the NTP 1999 are to:
1: Make available affordable and effective communications for the citizens.
2: Strive to provide a balance between the provision of universal service to all uncovered areas, including the rural areas and the provision of high-level services capable of meeting the needs of the country's economy.
3: Encourage the development of telecommunication facilities in remote, hilly and tribal areas of the country.
4: Create a modern and efficient telecommunications infrastructure taking into account the convergence of IT, media, telecom and consumer electronics and thereby propel India into becoming an IT superpower.
5: Convert Public Call Offices (PCOs), wherever justified, into Public Teleinfo centres offering multimedia services like Integrated Service Digital Network (ISDN) services, remote database access, government and community information systems etc.
6:Transform in a time bound manner, the telecommunications sector to a greater competitive environment in both urban and rural areas providing equal opportunities and level playing field for all players.
7:Strengthen research and development (R & D) efforts in the country and provide an impetus to build world-class manufacturing capabilities.
8: Achieve efficiency and transparency in spectrum management.
9: Protect the defence and security interests of the country.
10: Enable Indian telecom companies to become truly global players.
High Growth in Recent Years
During 1997-2002 period, a record growth rate of telecom services was achieved in the country. The network (equipped capacity) grew at an average rate of about 22 per cent. Growth of both cellular mobile phones and fixed line phones has been equally impressive. While private sector concentrated in cellular mobile phones segment, the growth in the Government sector was primarily due to fixed line connections. Against the target of providing 237 lakh Direct Exchange Lines (DELs), about 240.55 lakh additional DELs have been provided during the Ninth Plan. The cellular network has grown from a small base of 3.40 lakh connections to 64.31 lakh connections by the Plan end. As a result of this growth, the tele-density has nearly tripled from 1.57 at the beginning of the Ninth Plan to 4.4 as on March 31, 2002.
The performance of the Public sector units, i.e. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. (MTNL), has been impressive. Against the target of installing 185 lakh new connections in the original Plan (which was revised to 222.7 lakh in Mid-Term appraisal for BSNL and MTNL) and 237 lakh for the whole sector including private sector the achievement during the Ninth Plan is 240.55 lakh connections including contribution of private sector i.e. more than the target envisaged in the Ninth Plan Document. Ninth Plan also witnessed the beginning of cellular services by the public sector. MTNL launched its mobile services in Delhi and Mumbai as the third operator.
The performance of the private sector during the Ninth Plan has been a mixed one. While it did very well in the expansion of cellular network, the performance was not encouraging in the fixed line segment. Only about 5.9 lakh DELs have been installed against the target of 52 lakhs (original) and the revised target of 14.3 lakh. Constraints like licensing agreements, unrealistically higher licence fees, revenue share, right of way etc. have been basically responsible for the slow progress for the private sector.
Regulatory Bodies
The Wireless Planning and Coordination (WPC) Wing, set up in 1952, is the National Radio Regulatory Authority to ensure orderly utilisation of radio frequency spectrum and Geo Stationery Orbit (GSO). It is supported by the The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in this activity. With the opening up of the economy the number of players and services in the telecom sector is bound to increase manifold. Therefore, the Organisation would need to be further strengthened and modernized to enable it to perform its regulatory functions effectively.
The TRAI, set up in 1997, is the apex organisation responsible for performing the regulatory functions in the telecom sector. As a result of the TRAI Amendment Act, 2000, Telecom Dispute and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has been set up.