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INTRODUCTION The telecommunication services have been recognized the world-over as an important tool for socio-economic development for a nation. It is one of the prime support services needed for rapid growth and modernization of various sectors of the economy. The Indian telecommunications network with 621 million connections (as on March 2010) is the third largest in the world. The sector is growing at a speed of 45% during the recent years. It is considered that this rapid growth has been possible due to various proactive and positive decisions of the Government and contribution of both by the public and the private sectors.1 The project proposed by CUTS will analyse the following aspects in details, highlight the issues under each head and suggest efficient and appropriate remedies, with an aim to further strengthen the already developed telecommunication sector in India: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (i) Impact of TRAI orders on investment climate in India; Allocation of Spectrum: Challenges and Solutions for India; Socio-economic impact of Telecommunication on Consumers; and Capacity Building of CSOs on regulatory issues in Telecom Sectors. Impact of TRAI orders on investment climate in India An attractive trade and investment policy, the latest National Telecom Policy, 2012 and the lucrative incentives for foreign collaborations have made India one of the worlds most attractive markets for the telecom equipment suppliers and service providers. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has been established, under the TRAI Act, 1997, as the main regulator of the telecommunication sector in the country. It aims to create favorable conditions for growth of telecom sector to enable India play a lead role in the emerging global information society. TRAI issues various regulations, orders and directives from time to time to this effect. It will be pertinent to study these TRAI orders in order to understand the impact of steps taken by TRAI on the overall investment climate in the sector. For the purpose of research, orders passed in the last five years will be analysed. (ii) Allocation of Spectrum: Challenges and Solutions for India Spectrum allocation is an important and necessary activity to ensure interference free operation for each radio service. Spectrum has a substantial economic value as the telecommunications services derived from spectrum are purchased not just directly by customers, but also form a key input into nearly every sector of a modern economy. 2 Therefore, it is essential that governments have appropriate objectives when allocating spectrum.

1 2

http://www.dot.gov.in/osp/Brochure/Brochure.htm http://www.trai.gov.in/WriteReadData/ConsultationPaper/Document/GSMA21-03.pdf

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In India, the Department of Telecommunications conducts auctions of licenses for allocating electromagnetic spectrum. In the light of recent discussions in the country on the issue, it will be interesting to analyse the spectrum allocation in India and also to examine the allocation of spectrum allocation and best practices across the world, in order to promote efficient use of spectrum by the telecom operators, by developing market incentives and differential pricing of spectrum in congested areas. (iii) Socio-economic Impact of Telecommunication on Consumers Telecommunication has a significant social, cultural and economic impact on modern society. It is expected that the telecommunication will be amongst the top three growth drivers of the economy by 2015.3 The communication has contributed vastly to the GDP growth and has also had a significant impact on employment in the country. Additionally, services like social networking, SMSs, MMSs, etc. have greatly impacted the social lives of the masses. With the help of telecommunication people now have easy access to films, music, latest news, advertisements, fast internet and most importantly connectivity in rural and remote areas. The rapid proliferation of internet and mobile phones as a medium of administration and governance, commerce, education, social networking and communication, has made the development of telecommunications infrastructure and policies a high priority for governments worldwide. However, any good technology is susceptible to abuse. With the news of rampant abuse of such telecommunication services such as internet, mobile phones etc., it will be necessary to study and examine the socio-economic impact of telecom in India and suggest any measure to curb the same. (iv) Capacity Building of CSOs on regulatory issues in Telecom Sectors In relation to the telecommunication sector, it is generally observed that there is an overall lack of public awareness about legislative and regulatory issues, market trends, international debates and research in this area, which is essential to ensure that regulatory and market developments promote consumer choice and interests. Therefore, it becomes imperative to educate and build capacity, both within India and globally. Capacity building is necessary to raise levels of expertise and provide a set of comprehensive skills to interested students, bureaucrats, media personnel and members of civil society, so that they can understand, engage with and influence the development of telecommunications in India.

Excerpts of a study conducted by National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER): Economic Impact of the Communication Sector in India by Dr Rajesh Shukla (Senior Fellow) and Mr K.A. Siddiqui (Associate Fellow), source: http://ronnie05.wordpress.com/2009/12/01/w890/, accessed on December 3, 2012.

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Such capacity building can be done by way of training programs across the country by giving the interested students, bureaucrats, media personnel and members of civil society a firsthand experience of various case studies in the telecommunication sector. Ball Park Figure: Rs. 1,00,00,000 (Rupees One Crore)