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CII for review of laws on spectrum management

Our Bureau

NEW DELHI, Dec. 24

WHILE the Convergence Bill will reduce segmentation in the market place, there is an urgent need to review laws governing spectrum management and licensing, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has said.

In a statement, the chamber has suggested that while Communications Commission of India should be an independent autonomous organisation, its functions should be clearly spelt out in the Act itself.

CII, under the National Committee on Communications, had set up a core group on convergence and, based on the final draft report of the sub-group on convergence, it has identified certain areas where it would like to offer suggestions.

The sub-group has highlighted the need for a unified authority for spectrum management. Currently in India, the Wireless Planing and Coordination (WPC) wing of the Ministry of Communication is the radio regulatory authority responsible for nationwide rad io spectrum management. Therefore, the chamber believes, that it is of utmost importance that frequency allocation be accounted for amply in the new convergence Act, with a focus on maintaining a fair and efficient national playing field.

For ensuring rapid growth of IT or IT-based industries, it stressed the need for quick and transparent allocation of spectrum. It said that it was the regulator's reliance on market forces, rather than the Government oversight, that allowed for most econ omical and efficient use of spectrum in the development of the most innovative technologies and in the universal deployment of wireless services.

In this background, the bifurcation of the role of spectrum manager among two authorities, one for the Government spectrum and the other for the rest is likely to reverse the trend for unified spectrum authorities around the world.

In the context of licensing, it stressed the need to promote an open licensing policy allowing any number of new entrants (except in specific cases constrained by resources such as the spectrum).

Further, it has said that licences should be granted

to all and that it should be the duty of the Communications Commission to grant these within 28 days. Besides, the commission should also explore granting multiple service licences and there should be no defined areas of services.

On seamless interconnection and infrastructure sharing, CII is of the view that the operators should be allowed to freely negotiate and agree to the terms of interconnectivity, including revenue sharing or other terms of consideration. All operators and specifically dominant/incumbent operators should be duty bound to interconnect their networks, facilities and services with other operators and in the case of infrastructure sharing, more flexibility in negotiations without any mediation of the Communica tions Commission may be provided.

Further, it has said that the Communication Commission should maintain effective competition and prevent anti-competitive behaviour and practices.