Number of forward looking initiatives taken in Telecom Sector in Last One Year: PM

During the last one year, the government has taken a number of forward looking initiatives in the telecom sector. This was stated by the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, while inaugurating India Telecom 2012, here today. He said, “We have announced the New Telecom Policy 2012. We have attempted to clarify the policy positions on a number of complex issues. We have attempted to ensure adequate availability of spectrum and its allocation in a transparent manner through market-related processes. I am confident that the futuristic policy regime that we are now putting in place will address, and address effectively, the concerns that have been worrying investors and will provide a new impetus to the growth of telecommunication industry in our country.” 

The Prime Minister flagged the issue of penetration of basic telecom services in our rural economy. He said, ” The full potential of telecommunications in enabling higher growth will not be realised until the use of telephones spreads much wider in the rural economy of India as well. While urban India has today reached a teledensity of 169 percent, the teledensity in rural India stands at only 41 percent. Not only this, the bulk of the 59 percent people who do not use phones in rural areas is perhaps from the socially and economically backward sections of our society.” 

“We must address this rural-urban divide if we have to achieve our goal of socially inclusive growth. Today, network coverage is there in most parts of our country and the bulk of the population is already covered. It is possible that there are economic or other barriers preventing the spread of telephone usage. There is also an economic case for investing in business at the bottom of the pyramid. I urge industry, which has shown great innovation in the telecom sector, to come up with strategies to expand teledensity in rural areas. I also urge the Department of Telecommunications to think big and think creatively to see how the resources available to it, either through the USO Fund or otherwise, are better used to achieve this purpose. We cannot and we should not have an India where lack of a phone is a hindrance to inclusive growth. The New Telecom Policy-2012 envisages 70 percent rural penetration by 2017 and 100 percent by 2020. We should all work together to achieve these targets and in fact do better than what we have promised.” 

Another issue flagged by the Prime Minister is the availability of broadband services. He said, “Broadband improves the lives of people by providing affordable access to information and knowledge. Many Information and Communication Technology applications such as e-commerce, e-banking, e-governance, e-education and telemedicine require high speed Internet connectivity. Studies show that there is a direct correlation between an increase in broadband connectivity and growth in a country’s GDP. 

“The advent of smart phones and tablets at reasonable prices along with wide availability of telecom infrastructure across our country would provide an opportunity for us to ensure an equitable spread of broadband services. We must, therefore, seize this opportunity. Recognizing the significance of broadband connectivity as a tool for empowering our rural masses, our government has launched the National Optical Fiber Network project to provide broadband connectivity to all our Panchayats. I am confident that this unique project will usher a new era in telecommunications by establishing information highways across the whole length and breadth of our country, particularly in rural areas. I would urge all government departments and the private sector to work creatively to ensure that this infrastructure is efficiently used to make broadband services truly affordable and.” 

Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister for Communications and IT, Shri Kapil Sibal said the telecom industry today faces multiple challenges to drive revenue growth while sustaining profitability. Yet its future prospects continue to be bright, he added. He pointed out that recent decisions by the government like Liberalised Merger and Acquisition norms, proposed sale of spectrum in 900 Mhz and 700 Mhz bands and Unified Licenses will give a new boost to the data revolution and mobile telephony with value added services. 

Shri Sibal said that the Department of Telecom has finalised an agenda for the next three months i.e. from December 2012 to February 2013. he said, “Some of the key activities proposed to be completed by February 2013 are – approval of policy on spectrum assignment and pricing, approval of Unified licensing regime, approval of M&A guidelines, finalisation of guidelines for spectrum sharing, creation of fund for R&D and manufacturing, Mobile Number Portability on a nationwide basis, removing roaming charges across India and coverage of the remaining inhabited villages in the North Eastern states.”

Source: http://cablequest.org/news/telecom-news/item/947-number-of-forward-looking-initiatives-taken-in-telecom-sector-in-last-one-year-pm.htmlSource: http://cablequest.org/news/telecom-news/item/947-number-of-forward-looking-initiatives-taken-in-telecom-sector-in-last-one-year-pm.html