TRAI Wants Unlimited Operators

NEW DELHI: In a move that could enhance competition and spur mergers in an industry waiting to consolidate, telecom regulator Trai has recommended that there be no limit on the number of players in this sector, relaxation of stringent M&A norms, technology neutrality for telecom licences, in addition to suggesting that both GSM and CDMA players pay an entry fee and higher spectrum fee additional 2G radio frequency allocation.

Trai has called for the setting up of a multi-disciplinary committee consisting of representatives from the department of telecom, the Telecom Engineering Centre, the telecom regulator, the wireless planning and co-ordination wing and operators’ associations be set up to frame the new spectrum allocation criteria, different from the subscriber base-linked policy followed currently.

In the interim period before the spectrum committee comes out with its report, Trai has said that the existing spectrum policy should be tweaked where operators be awarded additional spectrum against a larger subscriber base.

Additionally, Trai has also proposed increasing the spectrum fee in addition to recommending a one-time entry fee for allocation of spectrum beyond 10 Mhz for GSM operators and 5 Mhz for CDMA operators. (Operators pay a certain per cent of their total revenues as spectrum fee based on the circle of operation.)