Question : De-Licensing of Services

(a) whether the current telecom policy and its norms are restrictive and the telecom operators are seeking revamp of the said policy and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether the telecom companies have asked the Government to de-license some of the communication services in order to enable them to compete with communication applications and if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto; and

(c) the steps taken by the Government to address the problems of telecom companies?

THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS &
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
(SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

(a) With a vision to provide secure, reliable, affordable and high quality converged telecommunication services anytime, anywhere for an accelerated inclusive socio-economic development, the National Telecom Policy, 2012 was formulated with norms to develop a robust and secure state-of-the-art telecommunication network providing seamless coverage with special focus on rural and remote areas for bridging the digital divide; to create and inclusive knowledge society through proliferation of affordable and high quality broadband services across the nation; to reposition the mobile device as an instrument of socio-economic empowerment of citizens; to make India a global hub for telecom equipment manufacturing and a centre for converged communication services; to promote R&D, Design, products and services with focus on security and green technologies; to promote development of new standards to meet national requirements, generation of IPRs and participation in international standardization bodies’ to attract investment, both domestic and foreign; and to promote creation of jobs.
With the recent technological advancement in the Telecom Sector such as 5G, Internet of things and changed global scenario in the social sector, a need was felt to revisit the existing policy and formulate a new National Telecom Policy so that the present and coming requirements of the telecom sector may be addressed appropriately. Accordingly, the new National Telecom Policy, 2018 is being formulated by the Department with focus on end users and newer opportunities for expanding the availability of Telecom services.
(b) No Madam, the telecom companies have not asked the Government to de-license some of the communication services in order to enable them to compete with communication applications.
(c ) In order to address the problem of telecom companies, the government has amended Licenses for Deferred payment Liabilities & enhancing spectrum cap. The Licensee may opt one time for higher number of installments including in the current financial year 2017-18 (maximum 16 installments) for deferred payment liabilities as per Notice Inviting Application (NIA) for auctions conducted for award of spectrum in the years 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. Also the overall spectrum cap is revised from the current limit of 25% to 35%. The current intra-band cap is removed and a Cap of 50% on the combined spectrum holding in the sub-1 GHz bands (700 MHz, 800 MHz and 900 MHz bands) is applicable. Further there shall be no Cap for individual or combined spectrum holding in above 1 GHz band.