GIVING A FILLIP TO GROWTH: TRAI member D.P.S. Seth (second from right) speaking at a programme on `next generation networks' in Bangalore on Tuesday. TRAI advisers Rakesh Kacker (left) and S.N. Gupta (right) and senior consultant S.K. Hajela are seen . — Photo: K. Gopinathan

Bangalore: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is keen on wide consultations among all stakeholders, including users, before a large-scale switch-over by telecom operators to next generation networks (NGN), TRAI member D.P.S. Seth said here on Tuesday.

Participating in a consultation on "Issues on NGN", Mr. Seth said: "The purpose of the regulatory authority is to give a fillip to growth and not curtail growth... it is not an obstacle but an enabler.''

While public sector telecom operators are keen on going in for NGN, a few private operators are also thinking in similar terms but may not be operationally ready yet, he said. A private cable TV provider in Andhra Pradesh is offering fibre connectivity to several villages, and TRAI may have to initiate steps to encourage other such players, Mr. Seth said. NGN has the potential to help distance education and telemedicine applications, he added.

Unification of networks

According to the consultation paper, technological advancements in telecom are leading to a unification of networks and services and setting the stage for emergence of NGN. In NGN, multiple access networks can connect users to a core network, based predominantly on Internet protocol (IP) technology. NGN can significantly benefit both service providers and users, providing innovative services and applications through a common platform.

With efficient and cheaper IP technology forcing telecom networks to shift to NGN, "triple play" (voice, data and video) will become a basic service, the consultation paper said. Traffic of different services of data and television, and later voice, will be enclosed in IP packets and transmitted over these networks.

These networks can later support any number of additional value-added services and transmit them also as IP packets. Many telecom operators are already planning to move to such networks. As an early application and driver of NGN, voice over IP is growing fast and is expected to be widely used in developed telecom markets. IP telephony is not restricted and is likely to have a big impact on traditional circuit switched telephony, first on land lines and later on mobile phones, driving prices and margins down and forcing far-reaching changes in regulatory and licensing regimes.

With the convergence trend moving to core networks and with increasing use of NGN in core and access networks, related licensing and regulatory issues have become important, participants were told.

Representatives of users of services requested TRAI to introduce an NGN pilot project, with government funding, as an example for other players, both public sector and private.

For operators in rural areas, suitable incentives can be offered and an NGN designed, owned and managed by its beneficiaries as in the use of submarine cables, they suggested.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu