Date:17/02/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/02/17/stories/2005021700900900.htm

Back Maran invites global telecom cos to India

Our Bureau

``We in India, do not commit ourselves to any single technology. Our policy is technology neutral. A telecom team is looking into spectrum related issues.''

New Delhi , Feb. 16

THE Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Mr Dayanidhi Maran, said on Wednesday that the Government would soon come out with a technology-neutral spectrum policy in tune with international best practices.

Speaking at the third World GSM Congress at Cannes, France, the Minister also invited telecom manufacturers to look at India as an attractive destination for setting up manufacturing units not only for domestic supplies but also for servicing other countries of the region.

"We in India, do not commit ourselves to any single technology. Our policy is technology neutral. But it does not mean that we embrace inefficient or discarded technologies. We are also committed to ensure that paucity of spectrum does not throttle the growth of the telecom industry. We therefore foresee, participative growth of all players as well as technologies. A telecom team is already looking into issues relating to spectrum,'' said Mr Maran.

There is debate between the GSM operators and CDMA operators over the allocation of the 1900 Mhz spectrum. While the GSM operators want the band exclusively for third generation (3G) services, CDMA operators also want to share the frequency band.

Speaking on the theme ``Mobile Communication as Driver for Social Development and Economic Growth'', Mr Maran said though India has allowed 100 per cent FDI in the manufacturing sector, it has not lead to expected growth. To surpass the target of providing 250 million telephone connections over the next three years, the country has to reduce dependence on imports.

He assured the international community that India's fiscal, taxation and trade policies will be in tune with the expectations of the telecom manufacturers.

Speaking about the progress made by India in telecom sector, the Minister said that the country has been keeping pace with the fast-changing technologies and today ranks among the top 10 telecom networks in the world and the second largest in Asia.

"We have more than 90 million telephone subscribers with a tele-density of around 8.62 per cent. A target of providing 250 million telephone connections by 2007 has been set. A target of three million broadband subscribers and six million Internet subscribers has been set for December 2005. India has also joined the exclusive club of those countries, where the cell phones subscribers have outnumbered the fixed line users, in 2004," Mr Maran said.