Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that he is aware of the telecom industry’s concerns with regard to policies and added that his government is committed to sustaining growth in the industry.
Speaking at a telecom summit in New Delhi on 7…
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that he is aware of the telecom industry’s concerns with regard to policies and added that his government is committed to sustaining growth in the industry.
Speaking at a telecom summit in New Delhi on 7 December, Singh was quoted saying that the telecom sector is vitally important to the country’s economy.
A few days before that, five mobile phone companies reportedly made suggestions to tackle several issues currently affecting the industry.
Bharti Airtel, Reliance, Idea Cellular, Vodafone and Tata notably asked for 2G spectrum to be awarded following an auction process in order to determine its market value, according to local reports.
This comes in the wake of the 2G scam, which has been rocking the industry for the last 18 months or so. Back in 2008, underpriced 2G frequencies were allegedly allocated without any transparent process.
The other suggestions made by the telecom operators in a letter to Singh include a uniform licence fee and incentivising companies for faster rural rollout.
A new telecom policy is currently being drafted with the aim to address several of those issues. It is expected to be officially released early next year.
